Hello, hope you enjoy the second part of this section I'll save the comments and notes till the end of the chapter...

Guest DCDGojira - Yes the Jedi will visit Lucazec but no the Masterchief is still putting down the last remnants of the covenant but you never know when he'll appear or if. I'll consider that though the genres are quite different.

DemoKnight42 - He was a Sgt Major during then and yes he is the New Alexandria Mission in Halo Reach but is mainly quoted as saying "Hell of a day so far. Let's keep it from getting any worse, huh?"

Psihopatul - Thanks for reading and yes I did think that it would be a way too long of a read for one chapter and even while writing this one I thought I am going to have to stretch it into three chapters. Hope you enjoy the rest.

Guest - Sorry Avery Johnson is dead, especially since if you remember Guilty Spark 343 would have definitely still not been okay with him activating installation 08. Also, I think that he is tied in awesomeness with Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez.

TheFishKing - Yeah we'll see, we certainly will

Dragon lord Syed 101 - Yeah pretty much though I feel that the Galatic Marines would have actually liked Krell since Clone Marshal Commander Baccara and Krell had similar commanding styles.

Guest - I did not know that it was Count Dooku, San Hill and Poggle the Lesser who orchestrated the near-fatal shuttle accident that Grievous into the cyborg we know mostly since I prefer Halo and while I have read/seen all if not most of all the Halo books, films, games, series, etc. I do still like reading the star wars comics and books.

Guest DCDGojira - I can't give a date for chapter releases since I have work and Summer papers I have to write for college so I publish them when they are finished.


Chapter Nine: Fog of War Part 2

Umbrian blaster fire pours down onto the Republic and UNSC forces from mountainous amounts of enemy forces that are using fighters and never seen before heavy shielded vehicles that almost represented centipedes. None of their conventional blaster or projectile weaponry could get through the powerful tanks and fighters. The enemy fighter where incredibly manoeuvrable and dodged all of the ground debris and natural foliage that would have blocked their path, strafing the troops with green deadly blaster fire and Electromagnetic plasma projectiles similar to the ones used by the Umbaran hover tanks.

ODST and Clone rocket squads moved up the line and armed with RPS-6 and M41 Rocket launchers aimed to fire missiles at the solid structure of the fighters and cripple them. In the midst of the battle around, focused on the target and all of them got a lock and 7 missiles launched from the weapons, three were from Republic used RPS-6 and the other four from two UNSC double-barreled M41 missile launchers.

The Clone launched missiles were fast and had the same kind of smoke trail left by the M41 and when the three missiles struck the Umbaran fighter in its left triangular loop-shaped wings that were backwards swept from the cockpit causing it to lose control and crash to the ground behind Umbaran battle lines. UNSC M41 Rockets while slower could deliver a much more serious blow and only needed to lock two rockets onto a single fighter and the last two remaining fighters that were still thinning the front battle lines were locked.

The tracking tech and manoeuvrability of the ferocious missiles made them almost impossible to escape and hardly a seconds later they hit the top of one of the fighters and caused a secondary explosion where the blaster cannons on the fighter had been causing it to explode and debris fell to the ground crushing some Umbaran Militia and narrowly missing three marines and a clone trooper. The final fighter managed to dodge the final missile but still got hit by the remaining one and was clearly heavily damaged since it retreated back to where it came from.

Meanwhile on the ground, Fireteam Royal was on the front lines next to Captain Rex and Colonel Duvall who was giving orders to his men while dodging enemy fire. An Umbaran Crawler tank was assaulting their position and blaster fire and Rockets were ineffective against its armour and shielded cockpit. Spartan Kate saw it and quickly put away her suppressed BR-55 battle rifle onto her back mag holster and ran towards the Crawler at full Spartan speed and reaching it in a second, it noticed the incoming super soldier and the controller of the crawler tried to fire its front-mounted blasters at her and it seemed like the soldier was hit but instead of falling to the ground the figure just fluttered into nothing and vanished, it was too late when he saw in the corner of his eye the same soldier reappear as if they were never even in front of them.

Going around the right of it and using her left hand to grab one of the blaster turrets and pulls herself up with the immense speed and agility to the top where she lands on both her feet and runs to the front of the nearly 55-metre long crawler and underneath one of the armour gaps plants a heavy-duty plasma grenade under its plating. As soon as the grenade is fused

To the, glows in almost pure white light with streaks of blue and white crisp smoke coming off of it and the Spartan dives off the crawler while it rears and falls 20 metres landing perfectly into a roll and behind her as she lands the crawler explodes in a blinding light and all that is left if the burning blue wreckage.

That was their opportunity to move while the Umbarans had no heavy support, "Now, we've got to move before more fighters and tanks arrive." Captain Rex shouted to his men. Colonel Duvall acknowledged this and ordered his men to lay down suppressing fire to their left flank where most of the enemy remained and once Captain Rex and his men got to the secure position with more cover they laid down covering fire so that Duvall and his men could fall back. Soon they were at a stalemate with the firefight lasting hours and no side having a clear victor. A clone trooper had been hit by shrapnel and was in the open when he went down, calling for a medic.

Spartan Jack cocked his head towards Matt "Come on" He shouted gesturing over the cover.

The two of them rushed out from the debris of a mantis they had been using for cover and fired on the enemies in front of them and after ten seconds of dodging blaster fire they reached the wounded soldier who was bleeding heavily from the piece of shrapnel that had hit him in his lower right abdomen, Spartan Matt laid down covering fire while Jack dragged the soldier to the nearest cover they could find. They were covered by half a dozen clones who realised what they were doing jumping from cover. Soon they got him behind a large boulder and Jack drained a container of bio-foam into his wound and stabilised him long enough to get him back to a medical centre.

Colonel Duvall and Captain Rex made their way to General Pong Krell to inform him of the situation when he appeared to be speaking with General Kenobi via hologram. He finished and put away the holo communicator when they approached, "Captain there is an airbase to the west of our location that is resupplying the Capitals defences, we must take it in order to sever the cities supply lines have the coordinates mapped and all clones ready to move out Immediately" Krell ordered.

"Just clones, General? Allow Fireteam Royal and some ODST units to accompany the men at least" Colonel Duvall said to Krell who didn't seem to care when he was throwing clones into the fire but had more thought when it involved other troops. General Krell stopped for a minute probably knowing that Duvall would send a team to follow them anyway.

"Very well Colonel, Fireteam Royal and a platoon of your shock troopers, I need the rest of them to secure this area one mile south of the base so we have a staging ground for the attack" Krell compromised.

They moved out and eventually the soldiers reached the vantage point where they could see the airbase that shone brightly in the distance, Rex was handed a pair of electrobinoculars and used them to get a better-enhanced look at the enemy airbase. "There's a base there, alright and it's heavily guarded at least three tank divisions plus guns" Rex reported using the Electrobinoculars to view in on the defences.

"We'll advance along the central gorge and engage their forces in a full-forward assault" Krell commanded

Spartan Iona crouched a little and enhanced her view through her helmets optics and could see the gorge Krell was referring too "General Krell that gorge is narrow, we'll only be able to move up in single squads, that leaves us in a very thin formation Sir" Iona told the Jedi

"Perhaps we should scout for a better route, one that doesn't leave as open" Rex said

"As we speak General Kenobi and his forces are holding off the enemy while they wait for us to take this base, we don't have time to look for a more secure route, Krell told the Captain.

"Yes Sir," Captain Rex replied knowing the General wouldn't change his mind, especially if it was a suggestion from a clone.

They made their way back down to the soldiers assembled at the rear of the cliff and Rex went to brief them. Since most of the UNSC forces including Colonel Duvall had remained behind to secure their position there were only around 50 Shock troopers and Fireteam Royal, however, due to the small, could send he made sure to send the most elite ODST units he had. "Alright listen up, we'll assemble the squad into two divisions, we'll move right up this gorge to the airbase on the other side with Shock troopers divided amongst the rear and front of the line." Captain Rex told the troops.

"The Casualties are going to be high!" One of the clones shouted to him.

"Is Krell trying to get us killed?" Another clone behind asked

"First we had to retreat on the Capital because of his flawed plan and now this" Fives angrily commented

"General Kenobi's forces won't last much longer we have to take this base now and this is our only option, Spartan Lexi said from the front

"No recon, No air support, we have no idea what we're up against, they have weapons we have never seen before" Clone trooper Jesse shouted tapping his helmet against his head.

"We've all served under General Skywalker and a lot of his plans seemed reckless too, but they worked" Captain Rex said trying to bring them around.

"Captain, Skywalker leads his men from the front, so far General Krell has either stayed back so we had no orders or has completely abandoned the units" Spartan Jack yelled, getting a slightly disapproving look from Iona. Murmurs of disapproval amongst the clones and a few of the ODST units turn into loud arguments against General Krell and his orders. IN an effort to ease the troopers Rex and FIves step away for a brief moment Spartan Iona follows.

"You want me to coax them into yet another one of Krells suicide missions, we lost a lot of men last time" Fives pointed out

"Krell may do things differently but he is effective in getting them done, he is a recognised war hero" Rex countered

Fives got closer to the Captain "He may have had some victories but have you seen his casualty numbers, more troopers have been killed under his command than anyone else" Fives said

Captain Rex sighed "That's the price of war Fives, we're soldiers we have a duty to follow orders and if we must lay down our lives for victory, Rex said turning to face the soldiers when Fives stopped him by his shoulder.

"Do you believe that or is that what you were engineered to think?" Fives asked him.

"I honour my code, that's what I believe, '' Rex said shrugging him off.

"I agree that Krell is reckless and downright foolish and he has proven it many times so far but unfortunately Captain Rex is right casualties are a part of war and so is following orders so until Krell does something that can be considered enough to relieve him off command it seems we are still attacking this base through the gorge and whatever else the General orders". Spartan Iona says.

The clones and shock troopers move out and eventually make their way down to the section where the gorge begins and the organised squads prepare to enter, Hardcase, Fives, Rex and Iona crawl to a high part of the land to view ahead and it is clear of any Umbarans. "Is everyone clear on the plan?" Captain Rex ask

"Yes Sir" Hardcase answers

"Affirmative Captain" Iona responds

Fives is silent for a second and doesn't answer

"Are you clear Fives?" Rex asks Fives again

"Yeah, Fives says

"Alright, let's get into our groups, Rex tells then and they crawl back down and meet up with the men, the ODST units had been split between the two groups and Fireteam Royal was in the second group that went in on the right side of the gorge whereas the one led by Fives and Hardcase went through the left, though they insisted to go in first with the left group, Rex had assured them they would be better in support for the right side in case the other was under attack. Nervously the clones and shock troopers made their way through the gorge in loose formation. Two Mantis went to the left since the right team had Spartans.

Fives led the group through carefully "Everybody stay alert, fingers on triggers" FIves told the men. Fireteam Royal was close-knit at the front in a horizontal line scanning their surroundings through their weapon scopes. Several creatures flew over them, the same ones which had before brutally attacked them but now they just flew away. "They looked spooked, Hardcase said.

Suddenly the ground started to rumble and all the units and AT-RTs stopped. From the ground bust a large Umbaran Crawler tank with guns and armour all over it, it moved rapidly and killed any trooper that was standing in front of it when it emerged and immediately started firing green lasers from its combined sixteen double-ended blaster cannons killing many clones and a few ODST units before they could reach cover, though the cover was hardly correct since the tank moved so quickly around them that they would be covered one second and exposed the next.

Fire from troops and AT-RT did nothing to it. "Fives contacted Rex's group immediately "Rex, we need rocket launchers now" He shouted into his comm. Iona heard the comm chatter and ordered the Mantis to move forward into the battle to assist, they immediately at full speed ran into the area where the Umbaran Crawler tank was attacking and aimed their combined ten rockets at the Crawlers and fired all of them. The two Crawlers were hit by the missile right in the front of the head and the Umbarans manning them were killed causing the tanks to lose control and fall to the ground lifelessly.

There was one final Umbaran Tank Crawler that had gone underground for covers and the rumbling of it could be heard and felt on the surface, they all looked around for it since the vibrations were all over, There and then from right in front of the two S-Mantis the Crawler sprung from the ground and immediately fired on the two armour mechs and one of them had their shields overloaded it had its left leg blown off causing it to crash to the ground, luckily though the soldier manning it still had control and managed to just barely fire three missiles at the crawlers head causing it to again fire at the downed mech, the soldier ejected and was thrown several metres away but still breathing and a clone medic managed to reach him and drag him to safety.

The other S-Mantis that was still active used thrusters to build up immense speed and jump onto the head of the Crawler Tank that thrashed and moved to try and get the armour defence system off of it but it didn't work instead it stood and used immense mechanical strength to stomp its right foot down onto the head and it went right through the metal, it crashed to the floor where the Mantis climbed down and right in front of the Crawler Tank fired a continuous stream of machine cannon fire which forced the ray shield to eventually go down and he killed the driver operating it.

Wreckage of the crawlers settled and the troops regrouped to move up again towards the airbase, The two teams had met up and their strength was increased for it. The soldiers walked through the wreckage of the downed Umbaran vehicles killing any survivors that tried to fire on them, some of the predatory creatures in the sky tried to attack them when they were eating the flesh of the dead Umbarans but the men had none of it and put blaster bolts and bullets into them as soon as they moved. Rex had one come within an inch of him and he just aimed his DC-17 duel sidearms and put the creature down with two shots to the head.

All of them stopped just a few dozen metres ahead though as Captain Rex used his Electrobinoculars to scout ahead and saw something moving at first it wasn't clear a better look and a retraction on the enhancement revealed though that it was a massive mobile platform with a large cannon on top. It fired a massive green Electromagnetic plasma projectile at them and then the second platform behind it also fired. Captain Rex gave the order to retreat the second he saw the incoming heavy fire, all the troops turned and fell back as it rained down enemy fire on them. The sight of the Republic and UNSC forces pulling back must have been visible to General Krell because Captain Rex was immediately contacted by Krell.

"Captain, Continue your attack" Krell commanded

"Sir, we're overpowered. We need reinforcements" Captain Rex reported

"The rest of the Battalion is defending the gorge Captain, they're holding it so that your troops can break through to the airbase and Duvall's troops are facing a group of Umbarans that tried to ambush our rear," Krell told the Captain.

"Sir, We can't possibly-" Rex tried to say but Krell cut him off immediately

"You must stand your ground, Do you read? Captain are you listening! Do not fall back, that is an order!" Krell demanded as he cut the comm to the Captain.

While the Umbaran mobile Heavy cannon continued to hammer down on the troop's position Rex and Spartan Jack drag a wounded soldier to cover. "Try to keep the wounded as quiet as possible, he said trying to keep their cover hidden so the cannons wouldn't see and hit their location. "Alright you heard the General, let's go, He said taking a step forward before Jessie stopped him

"You can't be serious, He said seriously

"Captain, charging head-on into that slaughter is as reckless as everything Krell has ordered, we don't have the weapons to destroy those platforms," Spartan Jack told the clone Captain.

"He's right Sir, we have to find another way, Fives told the Captain

Captain Rex got right in Five's face "You got any ideas?" He asked deeply

Fives just shook his head and it looked as though Rex was about to run out again and try to somehow take out the enemy Mobile Canons until Spartan Jack raised his hand "I do Sir" He told him

"What?" Rex asked while the enemy fire pounded down around them.

"We are already close enough to the airbase that it will only take a light force minutes to get there, I recommend that three of us head down there sneak in and steal a few Umbaran fighters and I'm betting to guess they have the firepower to take down those Cannons" Jack Suggested to the Captain

"We have never seen fighters like those before, none of us including you know how to fly them, Rex told the Spartan.

"We can figure it out sir, look around any plan is better than this' ' Hardcase said as Rex saw several more clones and a few ODSTs get vaporised by the cannon fire.

"Alright Hardcase, you and Fives go with Spartan Jack and infiltrate the airbase and steal enemy fighters then get back here and use them to take out those mobile canons. We'll hold them off for as long as possible" Captain Rex told them.

The three soldiers made their way as stealthy as possible around the massive canons by using their surroundings to conceal their movement from the enemy and it worked as soon enough they were clear of the enemy though in the distance they could still faintly hear the cannon fire. Hardcase kept swearing he heard something creeping up on them but Jack had his armour sensors set to medium range so he assured that there were no enemies about to attack them.

"Fine but the second they spot us I start blasting, Hardcase said with his rifle pointing ahead.

"Hardcase, can't you take it easy for once, stick to the plan instead of going guns blazing, Fives said, his duel DC-17's out and ready.

"So your armour can really scan this whole area?" Hardcase asked.

"Yeah, up to a thousand meters for movement but I don't want to mistake wildlife for an enemy though so I just have it on 200 right now" Spartan Jack replied featuring to his helmet

"Wow, don't suppose the 501st could get something like that? I mean all the things I've heard they must cost countless credits to make" Fives asked

Jack chuckles slightly "Afraid not these sets of armour were decades in the making and I doubt that ONI will ever let the info out and as for the cost not even we know, but some leaks a while back said the early models could have paid for entire starships, Jack told them.

"Hmm An entire fleet of war vessels or a single division of soldiers, Hardcase said with a laugh.

As he said that they climbed over the last hill and the airbase was right there in front of them, Fives shushed him and they made their way forwards. A massive wall of almost pure white waving energy stood between them and the airbase. "Some kind of sensor wall, Fives said

The three of them moved to a closer location "Use the tree to get over the sensor wall" Fives said as he loaded the base of the tree with thermal explosives while Hardcase fired his ascension cable up and into the top of the tree and checked it was secure before climbing up. Fives finished planting the explosives. "Come on, let's head up, He said to the Spartan who didn't even reply, just holding his rifle with one hand and aiming his other one upwards and fired his wrist cable and let the retracting motor pull him up. Fives just looked and began to pull himself up on Hardcase's cable "Show off" he muttered casually.

When they reached the top one by one they walked carefully to the edge of one of the long branches and they started to droop down under their weight especially Jacks who only just made it far enough so that he got past the wall before his branch fell completely and he managed to land on the ground as did the other clones only a few feet ahead, they regrouped and managed to make their way deeper into the base, avoiding several patrols before coming across an open area with five of the Umbaran fighters but they were guarded. At this point, Fives detonated the explosives he had laced the tree they climbed with and hearing the massive explosion all of the Umbarans guarding the fighters left and the three of them carefully ran over to them but they ran into a guard.

The Umbaran soldier was running when he found them but didn't have time to react or shot his weapon at them because Fives put a fist in his chest and then a blaster bolt to his head and hoped the rest of them would be too busy to hear it. With the fighters clear they approached them, there was no distinct cockpit instead just a chair with what looked like flight controls. "So how do we start these" Asked Hardcase as Jack and Fives both got into the chairs

"How should I know, start pressing buttons, Fives said as all three of them were in the flight seat when after a short hassle they all had the ray-shields up and were hovering slightly, Hardcase immediately lost control and started spinning in the sphere whereas Fives and Spartan Jack manage to barely get a hold of it. "I think I got it, left hand is for speed and direction and right is for banking manoeuvres, Spartan Jack said as the other two heard and manage to pilot their seats into the aircraft and it linked up with it and they got them into the air when a squad of Umbarans saw them and started firing but having no effect on the ray shields. They were now all in the air only just gaining control over the aircraft with them all still struggling to get a proper idea on the controls.

Suddenly Fives's fighter started firing "Hey use your fist to fire, Fives told them as he continued what he was doing and firing at the enemy as well as the other fighters some by accident. The other two tried it and they began firing at the Umbaran soldiers. Once they were not being fired on and had considerably damaged all the other fighters in the area they flew upwards above the base. "Let's hope this trip was worth it, come on, Fives said as the three of them flew out of the base's airspace and headed back towards Captain Rex's position.

The Umbaran fighters were very fast and it took very little time for them to reach Captain Rex and the company flying over multiple Umbaran troops who thought nothing of the fighters since they assumed they were friendly and couldn't actually see the soldiers that were piloting them, by the time that word reached them regarding the attack and theft from the airbase it would be too late. Closer they got and the three of them could see the ground troops barely holding on by a thread. The three of them approached and got as best possible aim they could on the massive cannon platforms and fired their cannons.

Streaks of green came down on the mobile cannons and even though it took several volleys of fire they eventually erupted in a fury of fire and smoke killing all the Umbaran militia it crushed when it collapsed to the ground. The second one now started firing at the Umbaran fighters since they finally realised that they were being piloted by their enemy and thanks to what can only be blink luck and skill the clones and Spartan managed to wildly avoid all the incoming anti-air fire and came down again at high speeds to destroy the remaining one which when they fired at blew up in just a big explosion as the previous one and one of its legs was completely blown off and it had no support and so fell to the ground and a secondary explosion wiped any firepower it was dispatching left.

Cheers came from the soldiers on the ground and they waved their fists into the air as the stolen fighters flew overhead and began to slow down, on the ground Captain Rex was reporting to General Krell that they had taken the path to the airbase and to send in the reinforcements. Despite the Jedi's clear anger at the Captain having given such an order of the three soldiers he couldn't argue with the results and ordered all troops forward to capture the airbase. When the overwhelming force of UNSC and Clone troopers stormed the base there was not much resistance and the troops were taken prisoner and put in the bases own brig until proper arrangements could be made.

Walking in behind all of the other troops, General Krell reviewed all the damage and work of the soldiers and finally arrived at the base with Colonel Duvall and several clones. "Well despite Hardcase's flying you three saved us all" Captain Rex said to the troopers and Spartan.

"Ah, wasn't so tough" Hardcase put down

Jesse took off his helmet "You sure, looked a little green coming out of that fighter" He said jokingly.

"Could have done a lot worse for a pilot that's for sure?" Spartan Jack said giving Hardcase a friendly pat on the back. Behind them, however, was the General approaching with the Colonel next to him. All of the troops stood to attention when they heard and saw him, including Spartan Jack though mostly since Colonel Duvall was there as he already displayed his disliking of Krell.

"Captain Rex, Report, what is our situation" General Krell Demanded

"General, we have taken the base and cut off enemy supply lines to the Capital" Captain Rex reported

"Luck has smiled on you this day Captain, consider yourself fortunate," Krell said to him

"It wasn't all luck Sir, a lot of men died to take this base" Captain Rex replied

"The price of Victory, perhaps someday you'll realise this" Krell lectured with his arms crossed, Rex clenched his fist tightly behind his removed helmet, trying to conceal his anger at the Jedi General. Colonel Duvall approached the group after Krell walked away.

"You did good Captain, I know that Krells recklessness resulted in a lot of losses but as much as I hate to agree with him on anything it is the price of victory" Duvall calmly said to the Captain, hand on his shoulder.

"I know that sir, it just didn't have to cost so many men" Rex replied

Colonel Duvall could only nod slowly in recognition, he walked past him to the three soldiers that had managed to steal the fighters in the first place. "Spartan Jack, guess I should've known it was your idea," He said looking at the Spartan who had his helmet and rifle next to him on a grey metal crate.

"I can't take all the credit, Sir, without Fives and Hardcase not sure we'd have made it out, least not in one piece," Spartan Jack said looking at the two soldiers still standing at attention.

"At ease, you know I'm not your commander right?" He asked looking at them, they lowered their guard slightly.

"Sorry Sir, force of habit," Fives said.

"Damn good job soldiers, I'm sure you'll be highly commended for this, Spartan Jack return to your unit, your team leader lost contact during the battle with you and she doesn't seem best pleased you went 'rouge' on this flight," Duvall said

Spartan Jack stood and saluted the Colonel, he grabbed his gear and left to return to his team and get an earful from Iona about going solo so to speak on a mission they were not made aware of. Duvall then left to rejoin General Krell and one of the clones reporting to him "The insurgents have stepped up their attacks, sir". Clone trooper Dogma reports.

"They want their base back. We cannot let our guard down for a moment. Have all Umbaran security reconfigured and locked down. Interrogate the prisoners if you have to. But I want this base under our complete control, and I don't want excuses," Krell says firmly to the soldier.

At that moment Captain Rex approaches them "Sir, there is a transmission for you both from General Kenobi" Captain Rex Reports standing at attention.

"We'll take it in the tower," Krell tells the Captain as both he and Colonel Duvall start walking in the direction of the high tower and ride the lift upwards to the observatory at the very top where miles of the surrounding land could be just seen with the darkness, as they entered the room an odd Umbaran holoprojector which was almost like a cross between the UNSC holotanks and Republic communications with advanced molecules making up the transmission but with incredible detail showed a transmission of General Kenobi.

"Congratulations on your capture of the Umbaran airbase, General. It's refreshing to have good news." Kenobi speaks to them

Krell waves it off "There will be time for celebration when we've taken that capital," Krell says.

Kenobi's look isn't promising, "Yes, well, I'm afraid that's going to be more difficult than anticipated. Their attacks have increased, and their long-range missiles are forcing us to retreat from our positions," Obi-Wan responds, Colonel Duvall's face deepens in confusion.

"But we've taken their airbase, where else are they being resupplied from?" Colonel Duvall asks

"Intelligence shows that they are receiving new arms shipments from a supply ship orbating-" the hologram starts to flutter and the audio cuts out randomly.

"Sir something is interfering with the signal, I can only hold it for a few more seconds," A clone at a communication post said.

"Are we able to destroy this supply ship?" Colonel Duvall asked the Jedi

"We're trying but enemy reinforcements arrived and our fleets are currently fending them off, if the fleets manage to drive off the enemy reinforcements then one of the Autumn cruisers may be able to descend and destroy it, but they are outnumbered in orbit, if not for the power of the UNSC ships I doubt our Venators would be able to hold out and unfortunately Republic reinforcements have not arrived yet," Obi-Wan explains

"We'll just have to take that capital regardless of the missiles. My forces will meet you at the rendezvous coordinates," Krell says, Duvall and Obi-Wan look at General Krell in utter shock and Kenobi tried to put forth his objection but the signal finally died before he could and the particles that made up with projection collapsed and fell apart.

"Contact General Kenobi again," Colonel Duvall said at the clone who was about to attempt to contact him before Krell dismissed the order.

"Don't bother. They're jamming our transmissions. We are on our own," Krell says.

"General Krell, you seriously can't be ordering the men to march right into the path of those missiles are you?" Duvall asks

"I am serious Colonel If our fleets cannot destroy that supply ship than we do not have any other choice and wait for reinforcements is not an option," Krell replies

"That is suicide General, the men won't even make it within firing distance of the city, they'll all be killed!" Duvall shouts at General Krell

"It is not a topic for discussion Colonel, I want all of the men ready to move out in 6 hours towards the capital" Krell orders turning to leave assuming it was over.

"No" Colonel Duvall speaks quietly but with anger, Krell stops and turns to face him.

"Excuse me?" Krell asks almost threateningly

"I have followed your plans despite how perilous and suicidal every one was but this, this is just straight-up murder. I stuck with the clones before but not this time, send in your troops General I will have the courtesy to at least send in Fireteam Royal and a company of hell jumpers with them men but apart from that none of my men will be participating in this" Duvall explained to the General bitterly.

Krell restrained himself "Very well Colonel," he said before leaving

Colonel Duvall waits before heading down to the ground again and when he does he heads to the makeshift Barracks where most of the clone and UNSC soldiers were held up and he explained the plan. Immediately all of the clones and despite not accompanying so did the marines. Eventually, they begin to quiet when Captain Rex enters and is also told of General Krells plan to march right into the path of the enemy missiles.

"So unless that supply ship is destroyed we'll be marching right to our deaths" Hardcase shouts

"Why don't we take it out then?" questions Fives

"Our fleets are in battle and if a single one leaves then we risk losing control of the airspace" Colonel Duvall explained

"Then we do it from here" A voice from the back came. Looking towards it, it was Jack of fireteam Royal who had been checking their equipment listening in on the briefing. Spartan Jack was stood closest to them and leant against one of the bunks.

"Care to elaborate on that Spartan?" Duvall asks

"You've made it clear sir, we can't risk the fleets so why don't we find a way to take it out from here," the Spartan says to them.

"The Umbaran fighters," Fives says

"They aren't equipped with weapons to take down an entire supply ship" Captain Rex tells the arc trooper.

"No, but if we use them to get inside the ship we can destroy it from the inside, we find its reactor core or a munitions depot and we fire on that and blow it up from the inside."

The Captain and Colonel think it over for a minute. "Ok. If we this plan works, we'll have finally cut off arms shipments to the capital," Duvall says. He then looks at Rex and says, "Come on, Rex. Let's go and show this to General Krell." He says as the two of them leave for the tower.

Once they reach it they walk up to General Krell who was going over the route to the capital. As the two emerge from the lift, Rex looks over at Krell, who is examining a map being projected by the holoprojector. "General Krell. With all due respect, might we suggest another option to secure the capital?" Captain Rex said

"What would that be, captain?" asks Krell, still not looking away from the map he was studying.

"My men have cracked the Umbaran codes. If we use the starfighters, we can sneak past their defences and destroy the supply ship, cutting off arms to the capital," Rex explains.

"And who do you propose would fly these starfighters? Are your troops now pilots?" Krell asks.

"I put forth that Spartan Jack, Arc Trooper Fives and Trooper Hardcase be the ones to pilot the Umbaran fighters since they are the most experienced with them and with a short time gaining some extra skill will prove valuable and I am confident they will complete the mission," Colonel Duvall said

"Colonel you have already made your intentions of abstaining your main force from assaulting the capital and so I need to make sure this base is defended and the entire battalion will be needed for it so all of your soldiers especially your Spartans, I'm afraid I cannot authorize this mission and risk any soldiers". Krell tells them.

Duvall's face doesn't change, he just turned and left followed by Captain Rex.

Sometime later Colonel Duvall enters the Hanger after one of the Spartans requested his presence in the hangar where the Umbaran fighters had been locked down. It was nearly abandoned except for Spartan Jack and several helmeted clone troopers one of which was easily identifiable as Captain Rex.

"Captain, I was called," He said to the Captain

"Yes Sir, I know General Krell made it clear that the plan for using the Umbaran fighters to infiltrate and destroy the supply ship was denied but I can't lead troops in a plan that I know will get them all killed so I have ordered Hardcase and Fives to go ahead with the plan and I would answer to Krell but Spartan Jack is not under my command so I need your authorisation for it but I ask that you not report it to Krell no matter your answer.

The Colonel looked to the soldiers and fighter craft behind the captain and walked past him towards them. "I agree with you Captain and I to believe this mission is necessary but let me be clear to you three. If this mission fails I will have no choice but to say that I was not aware of your actions and will deny all knowledge of it, Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir," They all said in unison.

"I was never here Captain," He says before leaving the Hanger

The three soldiers spent a short while learning the controls more so they could fly them in more control and not crash into what they were intending to destroy or the hanger they were in for that matter and a short dangerous speed learning session later they piloted the fighters out of the hanger and into the black sky.

"Krell is not going to be happy when he sees us fly out of here" Fives mentions

"To Hell with 'General' Krell he has given one to many stupid orders, well no more," Spartan Jack said confidently

"Defying orders has never felt so right," Hardcase says with a laugh.

Slowly the three of them gain more altitude and break through a thick layer of cloud that had been in their way and when they emerged, right in front of them was a massive battle between several Umbaran and Separatist warships fighting against the entirety of the Republic and UNSC fleet in the planet's atmosphere and no longer was the planet covered in darkness as the blaster bolts, missiles and MAC round light up the sky and they were flying right towards the centre where the Umbaran supply ships were. It was 908.78 meters long and 910.35 meters tall, while its armoured hull and barbell shape afforded a width of 1257.32 meters. It was armed with point-defence laser cannons that they hopefully wouldn't need to avoid.

Nearly two-thirds of the way there they noticed a pair of Umbaran fighters on their tail and thought they had been made when they banked away after a pair of UNSC Sabres dove on them and fired, they were lucky they hadn't been fired on instead.

Making sure to avoid friendly fire from the UNSC and Republic fighter and heavy guns as well as being spotted flying the fighter by the Umbarans they made it to the Supply ship and luckily for them the shield was down and so they flew right in not being shot at by any of the Umbarans at all, they glided so quickly down the constantly curved corridor that none of them managed to get a decent look at them to recognise they were not, in fact, Umbarans at all. The Separatist droids, however, were not so easily fooled especially since the flying wasn't the best, one of the fighters had its body completely destroyed by one of the fighters that partially crashed into it and this caught the attention of all the droids and despite seeing them or not an alarm was raised.

Alarms were blaring and soon blast doors ahead started to close and Fives and Spartan Jack fired their fighter cannons at them at obliterated it in a second a flew through it completely unharmed as they did with several others and manage to find the munitions area where all of the ammunition for fighters, ship batteries and whatever else was stored. "Munitions storage dead ahead, prepare to lock missiles" Fives shouted to the other two.

They gain lock and fire all the missiles that the fighters had but at the last second, a large white energy wall appeared blocking all their shots "Damn, its ray shielded" Spartan Jack said as the three of them halted their ships as they reached the shield. Behind them, multiple droids start to fire on them and the three pilots quickly turn around to fire on the attackers. "This may have been a bad idea after all," Fives says.

Soon though all the droids attacking them are destroyed but not for long as soon more squads would be on their way, they landed to try and find a way to lower the shields but it was hopeless and it seemed they would have to leave having failed the mission until the Spartan had an Idea but a risky one. "Fives, Hardcase help me with this" Jack said as he dismantled the missile bay from his fighter. The other two did with Fives asking what he was planning.

"There is a small gap in the shield by that entrance, I am going to send this flying right into the munitions form the other side," Jack tells them

They have it at the door on anti-grav and it floats above the ground."Whoa, wait you do that and you'll die" Hardcase told him concerningly

"I had an idea, my armour runs off of a compact fusion reactor and if I overload its power to the shields for just a few seconds then I should, in theory, be able to survive the explosion and then when this thing falls out of the sky I use my wrist cable to grapple onto one of your fighters and carry me back to base," Spartan Jack tells them.

"Even for the 501st, that plan is crazy, how do you even know if you'll survive the explosion?" Hardcase asked him

"I don't, best case my shields hold and I am falling through the sky with you coming to get me," He tells them

"And worse case?" Fives asked Jack concerned

"Worst case is my armours reactor overloads completely and detonates killing me and everything within a 1-mile radius but it is either this or we leave and end up marching into the path of Umbaran missiles anyway," Spartan Jack tells the two who agree and run back to their fighters.

"Don't die, Sir, I'd hate to have to tell Colonel Duvall that one of his men was killed on this plan," Hardcase tells him.

The two of them leave in their fighters and are almost at the exit when they feel and see the massive explosions around them and they are catching up quickly but soon the view of the sky appears at the end of the curved tunnel and in a hail of fire narrowly missing them they escape in time just as the missive explosion guts the ship in two and it begins to fall out of the sky gaining speed the more it falls. The two clones immediately try to contact Spartan Jack and luckily seconds later they get a burst of static followed by a voice interrupted by some frequent coughing, "Aliv-...Transmitting locati-" The rest cut out but they soon received a fast-moving signal appearing on their HUDs and flew as fast as they could and by the time they had reached the signal the ground was in view and amongst the wreckage they couldn't find Jack even with his signal until a purple light appeared.

"Flare Sir, over there," Hardcase told Fives as he leads the way to the light and they got close enough to see Spartan Jack falling like a rock and Fives flew in close enough dodging multiple piles of falling debris from the destroyed ship. He is mere meters away and Spartan Jacks armour looks like it is almost painted black from the explosion with multiple burnt sections, However, the Spartan sees the ship as well as the pilot and aims his arm at it and strongly fires his grapple cable attachment and it sores through the sir and latches onto the looped arch of the fighter and whips around securing itself in place and Jack retracts it till he has roughly two feet of cable between him and the ship using his other hands' mag grips to grip onto the cannon of the fighter and was steadied. He got a smirk from Fives inside and he nodded back as they made their way back to the airbase.

Their arrival at the base was surely an odd one as the clones and marines were greeted with two Umbaran fighters with a Spartan clinging to the side of one hanging half of attached with a caple and a hand. Close the ground inside the hanger he detached his cable and landed to the ground expertly and waited for the clones to land. Duvall, Rex and several other clones cheer and greet them as they return having received the news that the supply ship had been destroyed. The clones climbed out of the fighters while Spartan Jack retrieved his detached cable, then the three of them approached the Colonel and Captain and stood at attention.

"At ease, mission Accomplished well done" Captain Rex congratulates them

"Damn, what did you do to your armour Spartan? You have any idea how much those things cost?" Colonel Duvall loudly asked the Spartan

"I had a flight malfunction of sorts Sir," Jack tells them with a smirk behind his helmet.

"I could tell judging by your entrance, Dismissed, good luck explaining that mess to Iona or god forbid the Techs on Infinity that are going to hammer you for wrecking that armour, well it is still battle suitable, just," Duvall tells him

"Actually Sir I just received orders from General Krell that he requests your presence you the Captain and them," Dogma tells them gesturing to Fives, Hardcase and Jack. They do not look best pleased about the request but they still head to the tower and all make their way up wondering what Krell was requesting their presence for though they all had the same idea about what it was about though.

Walking onto the observatory there was a larger marine presence than usual which was slightly confusing and concerning to them. "General Krell you requested us" Captain Rex says as they walk in.

Krell is clearly not pleased. "Captain I have received word that that three Umbaran fighters manned by unknown individuals infiltrated the supply ship and destroyed it from the inside, I am fully aware this was your doing and that you and your soldiers executed a plan that I had quite clearly denied approval, even for a clone you cannot be so incompetent to disobey a direct order!" Krell shouts at the captain until Colonel Duvall followed by Spartan Jack step forward.

"General Krell, I ordered this mission because as well as my orders not to march my men to their deaths by following you assault plan I would not let Captain Rex lead his men to theirs and so even if it failed and we lost three soldiers it still would have been worth the risk to avoid following through on a plan that would have failed from the beginning," Colonel Duvall told the General very clearly narrowing his eyes at the Jedi.

Krell looked at Duvall and snared angrily about this disobedience but new he would not be able to do anything to the colonel, "Your men were completely aware of my order and yet completely chose to disobey it, Therefore CT-5555, CT-9415 and Spartan A-127 are arrested pending court-martial, marines!" He ordered to the absolute shock of everyone in the room.

"What!?, Sir you can't let this happen," Jack said to Colonel Duvall

"I'll fix this Jack, but for now I need you to follow my orders, stand down" Duvall reassured the Spartan who responded with a fist-clenching but acceptingly "Understood, Sir"

The marines looked to each other and to Colonel Duvall not knowing if they were to follow the order or not but Colonel Duvall looked at the lead marine and gave an angry but cursory nod to follow the order and they regrettingly raised their rifles at the three soldiers and escorted them out of the room.

"General Krell, you have gone too far this time, those men saved every single soldier down there with their actions, and respectfully you have no authority to imprison or court-martial any of my men" Colonel Duvall practically spat at Krell

"The actions of troopers CT-5555 and CT-9415 were a clear act of treachery and disregard for my command. If punishment isn't swift, their defiance may inspire others to follow suit," Krell says.

"Sir, the men are with you. It's just that some of them feel like you're putting their lives in danger needlessly," Rex says.

"They disobeyed a direct order and committed treason and I will not only have them punished for their actions but I am now ordering for those clones to be summerly executed, prepare a firing squad immediately" Krell orders walking past the Colonel and Captain as he finishes.

"What?! Bu-but sir!" Rex protests in astonishment.

"You heard me, Captain! Have it done immediately, or I'll do it myself!" Krell orders.

"General you can't be serious, we have not only almost finished our mission on this planet but it would not be possible without them, how can you just order their execution," Duvall says angrily

"The Umbarans have kept up their attacks. Who knows when we could be overrun? I will not tolerate traitors like them being captured or being set loose. This is my order!" Krell shouts back at Colonel Duvall.

Colonel Duvall storms out of the room followed by Captain Rex, they try to discuss options of reversing General Krells decision but come up with none and later walk down the main base path when in the distance they can see a line of troops carrying long rifles but not wearing helmets and infront of them by several meters was Fives and Hardcase, Marines and clones around saw what was happening and immediately started to shout out. Captain Rex looked to Colonel Duvall and him back when they realised that Krell had immediately ordered the execution of the clones. From the distance, they could hear Fives shouting out something at the clones aiming their rifles at the two of them

They ran towards them and just before the got close enough to stop the firing they heard and saw the men fire and thought they were too late but when they looked towards the two clones they had not been killed, all the clones had missed, on purpose. "Wh- What happened," Dogma asked phased.

"They did the right thing Dogma," Captain Rex told him

The clones had their binders removed and for now, they were taken back to the brig. Krell was at the tipping point with the Captain and Colonel...


Yes and that is the end of part two and I was going to finish this part in this chapter but it just became too long so it will be a three-parter and the last story of the Battle of Umbara will be the next one but for now, I hope you all enjoyed and make sure to leave any thoughts, ideas or things you noticed that I may have done wrong factually or grammar wise in the reviews and I will respond to it in the next chapter...