A NOBLE Menace
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Star Wars in any way, shape, or form, they belong to their respective owners.
TheFishKing: Did you not read the note from the last chapter? Because I clearly wrote that if Six and Padme is the pairing for this story then they would not get together until the Attack of the Clones when Six is 29 and Padme is 24.
Firestar Prime: I never really thought about making this a Harem.
Cesarjunior233: I've never heard of the Zhan Consortium, as for the Yuuzhan Vong I haven't really thought about it at the moment. If I do include them then it won't be until the Clone Wars as the galaxy will be ill prepared to deal with them since they won't have a military to fight them off, and even with the Jedi they were severely outmatched since they're invisible to the Force as well as immune.
Mortarion The Death Lord: It is certainly a possibility. Right now, however he will see her as nothing more than an alien, but once the Clone Wars starts, plus having ten years to adapt to the Star Wars galaxy, that view may change.
Seros109: Well Halo slipspace drives may be more versatile but I still believe that Star Wars Hyperdrives are much faster with only Forerunner drives being superior since it went from Requiem to Earth within a matter of minutes which would've take the UNSC months, possible even years to replicate. I cannot remember how many lightyears that Hyperdrives can travel in a day by UNSC ships can go 2.5 LY and Covenant can travel over 900LY per day.
T3mp3rusMaximus: I'm not gonna lie your review cracked me up.
Otto Morris: Half a year? Maybe you are confusing this story for someone else's since I updated last month.
Technicaljoker: You're in luck!
Germanygsg91: True.
ExoGeni VI: Nothing is set in stone at the minute. It was just an idea I thought may be fun, maybe just before the Clone Wars Six discovered a Hyper Gate and travels to a galaxy that is almost identical to his milky way and discovers Eden Prime under attack and decides to investigate only to be pulled into the events of Mass Effect 1…and then by the time that the reapers attack not only would they Six helping them but also the Star Wars galaxy and maybe even the Halo galaxy too, make it a multi-crossover story.
This story would be a sequel/side story rather than me including it in this story.
Chapter 4: First Contact.
Contact established with the Spartan and his purpose now clear, Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan to the cargo bay and waited for Ric to open the hatch once they arrived inside of the unknown vessel.
He still had so many questions he wanted to ask the Spartan, first and foremost being what this Covenant were. From what little he had managed to get out of him it was clear that he was at war with them; whether it had been started recently or waging for a while was anyone's guess, but the way he spoke of them and the urgency in his tone he could tell that the Spartan was desperate to get back to Reach...possibly his species home world, or maybe even his governments capital, to warn them.
Which if it was feasible he planned to do just that, and if he couldn't then he was sure that the Republic would offer him sanctuary during his stay in Republic space; and if they managed to find survivors aboard the larger ship then possibly even an embassy on Coruscant as a way to build relations between the Spartan and the rest of his species...which he was still unsure if they were called Spartans or if the name was merely a title held for high-ranking officials, or maybe even a military rank.
"We're picking up movement from the larger ship, Jinn." Ric's voice reverberated inside of the cargo hold as he spoke over the comms pulling the Jedi Master from his thoughts. "We've got at least two..." he trailed off as he seemed to be thinking. "guess you could call them dropships heading our way from the ship."
"So, we have survivors?" Qui-Gon mused happy to hear that someone other than the Spartan had survived the journey and destruction of the ship. "Good to hear."
"You should know that judging from their flight pattern they're looking to intercept you." Ric informed the two Jedi who exchanged looks with one another. "Are you sure you still want to help out this Spartan? I'm beginning to agree with the Captain with it being a trap."
"It's entirely plausible that they coming to drive us back thinking that we're some sort of invaders or worse that we're a part of this Covenant that the Spartan mentioned." Qui-Gon stated pursing his lips. "Hopefully, this Spartan-B312 has seen these dropships as well and will relay back to them that we're friendly."
"Unless this Spartan is the enemy." remarked the pilot.
"Meaning?"
"Well, he seemed adamant that the crew was dead and when asked about it he refused to go into detail...wouldn't you say that is little suspicious?" Ric asked the Jedi. "What if it's the other way around, what if he is the cause the cataclysm that destroyed the ship and brought them here? For all we know this Covenant could be a collation of species that banded together to fight off the Spartan and his species."
"He has a point, Master." Obi-Wan said agreeing with the pilot. "Don't you find it a little odd that he was convinced that he was the only survivor without first confirming it? It has not even been half an hour since that portal spat out the ships and he was firm in his belief that he was the sole survivor. Furthermore, just like Ric noted he refused to go into detail about the Covenant or the portal that he claimed was a form of FTL...there is something seriously wrong here Qui-Gon and I am worried that we're on the wrong side."
The Jedi Master remained silent as he pondered on Obi-Wan's words. He did bring up a good point about the Spartans allegiances and if his word should be taken at face value. They knew next to nothing about him, which was in small doing to the Spartan who had been cryptic and tight-lipped on his identity and the details that had resulted in him being transported to the Outer Rim.
"Right now this is all baseless speculation on our part." Qui-Gon began slowly as he focused on his Padawan. "None of us can say whether or not the Spartan is telling us the truth or not and until we learn all the details...which I'm sure they will be more than happy to supply once we managed to get the ship up and running; and besides for all we know the people on the dropships could be just as surprised to see the Spartan as we are."
"If you say so, Jinn." the pilot did not sound convinced at all. "Just don't come running to me if this bites us in the ass."
"If this does quote 'Bite us in the ass' unquote then I doubt that I will be running anywhere, Mr Ollie." Qui-Gon shot back missing the smirk that formed on Obi-Wan's lips as he addressed the pilot. " How long until we arrive? I find myself growing anxious to get aboard."
"Any moment." Ric answered the Jedi Master. "Approaching the bay doors now...I just pray that we're not walking, well flying into a well laid out trap. To think we managed to escape from the Trade Federation only to be taken out in the ass end of nowhere because we decided to play good Samaritan; what a way to go out."
As soon as Ric finished his ranting the Jedi felt the Nubian start to gradually slow down as they boarded the smaller vessel after what felt like an eternity before it finally stopped dead in its tracks, wobbling slightly, as the ship landed. "We've docked." Ric informed them both as his voice came back over the comms. "And I'm regretting it already."
"Calm yourself, Mr Ollie." Qui-Gon said trying to appease the pilot. "As I told you I'm certain that the Spartan will answer all our questions once we meet him in person."
"Oh, Yeah?" retorted Ric. "Then maybe you should tell that to the dead bodies that are littered around the hanger. Because I'm counting at least twenty in the middle of the room let alone the ones that I can just make out on the ramp on the far side."
"Is there life support on the ship?" Qui-Gon questioned choosing to ignore what had just been said to him for the minute as he reached down and unhooked his lightsaber hilt from his robes and held it tightly in his hands, an action that Obi-Wan copied as he grabbed his own lightsaber.
"The scanners say that there is a breathable atmosphere but..."
"Then that's good enough for me." Qui-Gon interrupted. "If you would open the hatch, Mr Ollie; and once we make contact with the Spartan, I'm sure he will placate any concerns you have." as he finished the hatch door lowered to reveal a large purple circle in what he could only speculate was in the centre of the hanger, and in the circle he spotted the bodies of the crew, or possibly an invading party, laying on the ground.
"Come, Obi-Wan." The Jedi Master commanded his Padawan as he took a hesitant first step forward and began his descent down the ramp, Obi-Wan shadowing him, and stepped onto the Hanger Bay.
Scanning the room, the first thing he noticed was the purple colouration that seemed to be the primary theme of the entire ship, whether that was simply the designer's choice, or the colour held some significant, he had no idea to be honest but he hoped that the Spartan would be able to enlighten him once they met. Around the room there was segments of metal that acted as a barrier that had numerous plasma scarring across it. Looking all around he spotted three doors on each side of the room, the larger two situated atop the walkway that no doubt headed deeper into the ship.
Around the sides he spotted plenty of plasma coils that seemed in abundance, it appeared that their technology was not all that different if they used Plasma as well; whether or not that was solely for their weapons or if they had found a way to use it to power their engines again, he could not say...he was hoping that the Spartan would shed some light on that for him.
On both sides of the room were a set of bay shields that were stopping him and Obi-Wan from being pulled out by the vacuum of space as well as trapping the oxygen inside of the vessel; and on the far side of the room was a green medium-sized dropship that was not all that different from the ancient Zakuul dropship he had seen in the records, the only difference was that unlike with the latter it appeared that the wings did not retract when not in use.
Unlike the rest of the ship the dropship, which the Spartan had referred to as a Pelican, clashed with the colour scheme. It was obvious to everyone present that it did not belong there. As he focused on the Pelican he was starting to come to the same conclusion as both Ric and Obi-Wan that the Spartan was the invader...if that were the case the Jedi wondered if it would be wise to discuss matters with the Queen before he made the decision to help this Spartan-B312 out when he didn't have all the facts.
He now feared that Obi-Wan was correct in his suspicion concerning the man they had spoken to over the comms was the same man that had caused the destruction of the larger of the two ships; if that was the case then was it his duty to apprehend him and turn him over to the Republic so they could decide their fate, or would it be best to leave him for this Covenant to deal with?
Would his actions be seen as an act of aggression by the Spartan who if he manged to escape and reporting back to his people would declare war on the Republic? And without an army to defend themselves the Galactic Republic would look to the Jedi Order and the handful of militias to defend them...and with war already brewing on the horizon with the Trade Federation...and the prospect of being labelled as the man that started two wars simultaneously was not something he wanted to be remembered as.
Alas, without the guidance of the Council and the Force being uncomfortably silent on the matter he was stuck between a rock and a hard place...and with only his Padawan as backup he was not all that thrilled to be fighting against another army that wanted them dead simply for aiding their enemies; not when his mission was to protect the Queen and get her back safely to Coruscant.
But he digressed.
Looking up, the Jedi Master was forced to cover his eyes as he stared directly into the giant white light that was lighting up the hanger bay. Looking away from the light and blinking rapidly to try to focus his vision, he caught sight of several shell-like ships hanging on the ceiling, and behind a set of barriers more ships could be seen that like the ship they were standing in had a sleek design with the same purple colouration.
While the ships were never going to pose a threat to the Republic or even manage to take over one of their planets before they were shot down, the sight of numerous fighters gave the Jedi pause. If they had them on the little ship, then how many were stationed aboard the larger one? Granted most of the structure had been lost during their transition between wherever they had originated from and the Outer Rim, the fact remained that these ships were armed for war...something that deeply unsettled him.
Deciding to ignore the dropships/fighters for the time being, Qui-Gon looked up to stare at the platforms that overlooked the entire room. In the centre he saw a pair of shields that appeared to be made from plasma; and on the far side he spotted a pair of turrets looming over the hanger bay which had they been manned would've been at the perfect elevated position to catch him and Obi-Wan off guard.
However, as worrying as it was to see all munitions before him, the part that drew his attention was all the dead bodies that were scattered across the room. You couldn't walk a few meters without stepping onto a body, and on closer inspection he noticed that all of them were laying in a pool of their own blood and either had several holes through their armour or had entire segments of their bodies that had been blown off.
As he stared at the myriad of bodies that were littered across the Hanger Bay, he felt uncomfortable and it had nothing to do with the dead bodies before him, it was a sight that he had seen many, many times over the course of being a Jedi, and no doubt he would see it many more times before he became one with the Force. It was the ship that disturbed him, it just felt wrong and out of place like it did not belong there...worse like it shouldn't belong there.
Had he not been standing aboard the ship and had his eyes closed he could have easily been convinced that the ships were not there...something that greatly unsettled him. He had spoken to the Spartan and the transmission had originated from the ship that he was currently standing on...so couldn't he sense the Spartan through the Force? Deepening his senses, he tried to reach out and fell the people that were aboard the dropships that were looking to intercept them; but just with the former he felt nothing.
If not for the warning from Ric, he and Obi-Wan would have been taken by surprise when they finally arrived. Was it possibly that they were some type of synthetic lifeform not unlike the droids he knew only that they hadn't their memories wiped to prevent them from gaining personalities and independence from their owners; it was either that or it had been a perfectly executed plan to get them board the ship and commandeer the Nubian...
If it were indeed the latter than he would do everything in his power to keep the Queen safe and head to Tatooine like they originally planned.
"This was no simple firefight, Master." Obi-Wan's voice startled him as he was lost in his own little world and turned to see his Padawan standing over one of the aliens' bodies and examining it carefully. "It was a massacre...they didn't stand a chance."
Qui-Gon said nothing as he walked over and peered over his Padawan's shoulder to look at the alien. The first thing he noted was how stocky it was in comparison to their height, which while not tiny by any means neither were they all that tall standing around five and a half feet maximum. Next was the shell-like armour/pack they had been hefting around on their back that appeared to relate to the breathing apparatus covering their mouth.
Grey skin with large scaly, bumpy forearms, certainly compared to their mid arms that were quite thin, with three chubby fingers and a single thumb that all had black claws that looked sharp enough to slice through skin with relative ease; and it had stubby little legs that were covered in scales like its arms and four toes with the same sharp claws that were on its hand...in many ways it reminded him of a miniature Rancor.
"I fear that it was a mistake coming here Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan voiced his opinion as he reached forward and close the alien's eyes, now it looked like he was merely sleeping. " certainly, when we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. For all we know that portal was all part of their plan to draw ships into the area before they struck or strike in our case." he finished as he got to his feet and looked at his Master.
"For once I fear that you're right, Obi-Wan." frowned the Jedi Master as he felt a pit forming in his stomach as he looked around the hanger bay and stared at the numerous dead bodies in sadness. So many people had lost their lives during whatever altercation had taken place on the ship before they had arrived. "Now may be a good time to..."
Whatever Qui-Gon was going to say was interrupted as a thrumming resonated through the hanger followed by a loud clang as the sound of metal scraping was heard. Turning to the source of the noise, the Jedi watched as a large tuning fork-shaped dropship, which was angular in design with two parallel bays along the exterior of the prongs, and at the back of the ship was a sizeable turret that was aimed at them as it effortlessly pushed the Pelican out of the way.
As the first ship flew into the hanger, passing above the Nubian, behind appeared an identical dropship that stopped just behind it as the bay doors opened before a myriad of different species jumped out, easily around thirty that quickly outnumbered them, and aimed their weapons at them. A large number of the troops were the same species as the little stumpy creature that Obi-Wan had been looking over that had what appeared to be pistols aimed at them.
However, the creature that was leading the troops gave the Jedi pause. At first, they thought that they dealing with a member of the Sanyassan race, there was certainly a similarity to them, but this creature was far more intimidating. It had a grey ape-like face that had several deep scars, large tusk-like teeth sticking out of their mouth, and a large helmet that encased most of their head; and towered over them both standing over eight foot. They were wearing armour pieces over their chest, had large shoulder pauldrons, thick armour covering their legs...
And a massive hammered that was hefted over their shoulder.
Peering over his shoulder, Qui-Gon saw the other dropship open its hatches allowing the troops inside to jump out and land on the ground rounding the number up to sixty. Again, the majority of the troops were the smaller aliens along with a couple of the ape-like creatures, only these ones were less armoured and were wielding a massive grey pistol that was easily the size of his head and had two curved blades attached, while another had a large golden-orange rifle of some kind pointed at them.
"Things are not looking good for us, Master." whispered Obi-Wan as he observed the unknown aliens that greatly outnumbered and began circling around them with their weapons pointed them ready to gun them down at any moment.
"Then let's try not to antagonize them, shall we?" Qui-Gon replied as he kept his eyes on the ape-like alien that was holding the massive hammer across their shoulder. As he looked him in the eyes, they barred their teeth at him, apparently that was the wrong thing to do...perhaps he had unknowingly offended them by doing so.
Reaching out with the Force again to get a read of their emotions, he was left baffled when he felt nothing from them. Not a thing, it was like they were not even there. It mystified him, they were all clearly sentient and yet they were dead in the Force...how could that be? Every living thing was connected to the Force, from the earth, the trees, rocks, and every living species that were lived in the known universe...the only things that were invisible were non-living things and anything manmade such as Droids, Starships, etc, etc.
So why could he not sense them through the Force? He felt disturbed by their presence, like they should belong. Their very existence was a paradox in itself. Because of the Midi-chlorians that resided inside the cells of every living thing allowing certain individuals to use the Force if they were sensitive enough, and without them life in the galaxy could not exist...so how were they standing before him? No matter what the reason may have been it greatly unsettled him.
Their every transgression violated everything that was natural; and with the risk of sounding sanctimonious, they were abominations...they simply shouldn't have existed. Every living thing was connected to the Force and yet they were not, it was maddening to Jedi Master. It went against the very laws of nature and everything that had been taught to the Jedi for the last twenty-five thousand years since they had been founded and yet there was a total of three species that were breaking the rules of nature...once he and Obi-Wan made it back to Coruscant he would need to inform the Council about this phenomenon.
"Avert your eyes human before I rip them out." the hammer-wielding alien growled barring their fangs, which immediately put Obi-Wan on edge. "You'll be coming with us, you and the rest of your crew."
"We have no issue with it." Qui-Gon said calmly, frustrated that he could not sense his true intentions through the Force.
"Master?"
"Silence, mongrel," one of the ape-like aliens roared with anger making the Jedi jump as Obi-Wan looked over at him to see that they were pointing the large metal pistol at him. "one more word from you and I shall tear the meat from your bones!"
"Why do get to eat him?!" another of the ape-like aliens growled ignoring the alarmed look of the Jedi Padawan.
"Because I saw him first!"
"Says who?!"
"Me!"
"Urgh! stupid Jiralhanae always thinking with their guts." one of the smaller aliens complained as they spoke to their companion next to them.
"What was that Unggoy?" Qui-Gon heard one of the large aliens, which had been identified as an Jiralhanae, sneer at the small alien that had also been identified as an Unggoy; he also swore that he heard a soft hissing as the two aliens argued with one another. " I'm starving as it is don't think I won't eat you, little shrimp."
"Bring it on, jerk!"
"Will you knock it off for TEN MINUTES!" the Jiralhanae with the hammer bellowed at the arguing Jiralhanae and Unggoy. "Otherwise, I'll eat you both!"
"NOOOO!" the Unggoy wailed hysterically as they started shaking erratically. "Please no eat me, Unggoy no taste good...very fatty."
"I beg to differ."
"Maybe if you told us how you got here, we could help you?" Qui-Gon finally spoke up as he addressed the Jiralhanae that he was certain was the leader of the group. "We recently spoke...
"You know exactly how we got here, human!" The Jiralhanae growled as he moved his hammer from his shoulder and slowly started to approach. "Like the little insects that you and your UNSC are. You knew that you are beneath us, knew that you would be cut down like the worthless dogs that your species are...and pulled a rotten tactic such as using a slipspace drive to transport us away from your little planet."
"Did you think that you would stop is from wiping your pitiful species from the face of the universe?" they mocked viciously as they towered over the Jedi Master who ran his finger up the face of the hilt and placed it directly above the button. "You think your actions saved you little world? By the time that you learnt of our presence we already alerted the Prophets who ordered another Fleet in as reinforcements, by the time they're finished they'll be nothing left of your world...it will fall just like all the others and when the last human is snuffed out the Great Journey will begin."
"You would willingly murder and entire race?" scowled Obi-Wan as he looked at the Jiralhanae in disgust; they seemed no better than Sith.
"I do not know what this UNSC is," stated Qui-Gon as he put the pieces together and thoroughly believed that the Spartan, he had spoken to was the innocent party. "but the Jedi and the Republic will not allow you commit genocide." he finished firmly getting a savage grin from the Jiralhanae.
"And how are you going to stop us?" if he knew or even cared what the Jedi and the Republic were, he didn't show it as he leaned forward and grinned viciously at the Jedi Master. "little whelp?" he ended with a taunt.
Instead of answering with words, he decided to let his actions do the talking as he thrust his hand forward to use a powerful Force Push that sent them flying across the room...or at least that was what it was supposed to do. Rather than that happened however all that happened was that the Jiralhanae stumbled and almost lost their balance; much to the shock and incredulity of the two Jedi, Qui-Gon more so.
Doing it again he tried to do a powerful Force Push to get the Jiralhanae away from him only for the same thing to happen, he stumbled and almost lost his balance. He repeated this a few times only to get the same result as the first time. After a while, Qui-Gon got the hint that it wasn't going to work and the Jiralhanae growing inpatient, as well as confused with the Jedi.
"I have no idea how you're doing that, nor do I care." snarled the Jiralhanae showing his teeth. "But go ahead, whelp," he taunted the Jedi Master. "Give it your best shot because this will be your final chance, little human."
"Stop wasting time and let me eat him!" another Jiralhanae bellowed to the apparent leader. "My belly aches and there nothing quite like the taste of human flesh." he grinned looking at the Jedi Padawan and placed his thumb over the button. He knew that it went against the code for a Jedi to allow emotion to control his actions, to strike in anger, but he could not just stand by and watch his Master, his friend, his father figure be cut down before him.
He had no problem cutting downs droids in the thousands...but living creatures? His master had taught him that ever life was sacred even those as vile as the Hutts. Sure, he had no problem disarming, both figuratively and literally, an enemy, but outright killing them? He felt some trepidation on taking a life when other peaceful alternatives were still on the table.
"But, but, the Sangheili said we were..." one of the Unggoy tried to say only to be silenced when the hammer wielding Jiralhanae rounded on them with a look of fury.
"Are you challenging my authority, Unggoy?" they growled savagely making the little alien tremble in fear. "One more word out of you and I'll personally tear the flesh from your bones and chew on your marrow, the same goes for the rest of you!" he roared at the others in the hanger making all, aside from the other Jiralhanae, mirror the first Unggoy.
The Jedi Master frowned as he looked up at the Jiralhanae that had just issued the threat. It would seem that he ruled his soldiers through fear and intimidation, if that was the case then was it possible that maybe they were all there against their own will? He cursed the fact that the Force didn't seem to work on them, if it had then he would've been able to sense their emotions and better understand the situation at hand.
Before Qui-Gon could even entertain the thought of attempting another Force Push or even activating his Lightsaber, the Jiralhanae grunted as they fell to their knee, dropping the hammer in the process, and started choking as they tried to reach up to their neck. Utterly confused what was happening to the behemoth that was in front of him, it wasn't until he took a closer look at his neck that he noticed the thick purplish red blood oozing out of an open wound that had appeared out of nowhere.
Keeping his eyes on the wound, the Jedi Master was startled when a figure decloaked before him to reveal that he had one arm wrapped around the Jiralhanae throat and had a knife sticking stabbed through the alien's neck that he proceeded to twist in a circle motion as they tried to fight back.
At first Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan mistook him for a Mandalorian, the old enemies of the Jedi and the Republic before they had reformed, the only difference was that they had a large golden visor, which reflected their reflections back at them, that covered most of their face rather than the traditional T-shaped visor the former warrior race were renown for.
The armour that they were wearing was also unlike anything that they had seen before. It looked like the colour had faded over the years but at a time it had been black, had countless scars and even a few dents across it, and looked as thick and heavy as the hull of a starship, yet it did not seem to hinder them in anyway considering that they had managed to sneak through the room without making a sound; and on his back was a grey rifle of some sorts.
The most notable facet about them was their height. While a great deal shorter than the Jiralhanae they were still considerably taller than the Jedi standing nearly seven foot tall.
As he pulled the knife out, the figure pushed the Jiralhanae to the floor and swiped the blood of their knife. Within seconds of falling to the ground hell broke loose as the myriad of aliens, mostly the Unggoy, started panicking and trembling at the sight of the armoured giant.
"Demon, Demon, Demon, Demon!" The Unggoy began screaming in terror at the sight of the Mandalorian that they referred to as a Demon, where that was merely a title, or they genuinely thought that he was an inhabitant of Chaos. (1)
"Kill the demon!"
A Few moments ago...
Leaving the bridge after contacting the Jedi that had identified himself as Qui-Gon Jinn, Noble Six and the Engineer made their way back to the Hanger bay to meet him and the rest of his crew and hopefully shed some light on what was going on. From everything that he had worked out within the last couple of minutes since he had initially spoken to him, he was nowhere UNSC controlled space, and quite possibly nowhere near Covenant-occupied space.
If that was the case, then where the hell had he been transported too? To the other side of the universe, to a remote system where a sub-species of humans or maybe another unidentified race had discovered his ship after he had been spat out of the Slipspace portal, or maybe something as incredulously as being sent to parallel universe; the latter wouldn't be out of the realms of possibilities considering that when you went Slipspace you entered eleven non dimensions existing inside a very small bundle above the temporal and spatial dimensions perceptible to humans, meaning that maybe during his trip he had gone from his universe and fell into another.
Alas, until he had more concrete evidence to back up his theory on being transported to an alternate universe, he couldn't confirm his hypnosis; hopefully the Jedi would be able to answer all the questions he had. then that was another thing...what the hell was a Jedi?
But he digressed. All of that could wait for the time being, right now his top priory was getting the Corvette back up and running, specially the engines. If he was lucky then he and the other Sabre pilots hadn't damaged them too much when they had been ordered by Holland to take them offline to prevent the ship from escaping before they managed to infiltrate the ship to initiate Operation: UPPERCUT.
Moving through the corridors, he passed the body of Paul, one of the troopers that had died on his watch, with a heavy heart. Had he been paying more attention and focusing on what his fireteam were doing instead of rushing off to do his own thing then Paul, along with Phil and Raj, would still be alive and he would have a full functioning fireteam to not only fight the Covenant that had survived the trip but also would have had three trained Sabre pilots that could fly the Sabres that were sitting atop the landing pad.
"Focus, idiot." Six mentally berated himself as he pushed his thoughts to one side, now was not the time to get distracted simply because he lacked proper leadership qualities and had gotten three good men, along with everybody aboard the UNSC Savannah, killed. Right now, all he needed to do was get to the hanger and make contact with this Qui-Gon Jinn; after that it was getting the Corvette up and running and if he failed to do the latter then he needed to destroy the ship and escape on the Prowler.
The Covenant could not get their hands on the Sabre under any circumstances. While the Sabre was not all that impressive compared to their more technologically advanced fighters, he wasn't about to just allow them to get their grubby hands on the UNSC technology to study and reverse engineer it...even if ONI had reversed engineered the energy shields from the Jackals shield gantlets in the first place.
He stopped mid-step as well as mid thought when he spotted one of the Elites that he had taken down earlier, specially something that was strapped to their person. Walking over to them, Six crouched down and removed the Active Camouflage module from the Elite and examined it. Just as with the rest of their technology it was far more sophisticated and more refined than the armour plug-ins that ONI had researched and replicated...there was only one problem.
"Could you configure this with my armour?" B312 asked as he peered over his shoulder to look at the Engineer that was floating towards him and chirped happily at the request as they extended two of their tentacles to take the module from the Spartan.
Having no issue and relived himself that the Engineer seemed to have no problem doing what he asked, he handed over module and watched as they dismantled it and resembled it within a matter of seconds at speeds that even his enhanced eyesight had trouble keeping up with. Once it was back together it moved behind him and pressed its tentacle-like arms into the back of his armour.
Alas before he could even entertain the thought of asking what it was doing foreign writing ran down the face of his HUD before it turned to English as his armour decoded the Covenant Langue for him, possibly with help from the Engineer, before a symbol appeared above motion tracker informing him that the module had successfully connected with his armour.
Activating it to make sure that it would work without any issues, Six watched as he vanished like a ghost and he was complete invisible to the naked eye...unless you were an augmented human that was able to spot the slightest ripple in the air moments before a cloaked Elite would try and run you through with an Energy Sword. Bringing his hands up, he noted that he was concealed far greater than when he was using the modules manufactured by the UNSC...no wonder the Elites could hide in plain sight.
Deactivating it and becoming visible once more, Six stood up and turned to face the Engineer that tilted their head in curiosity. "Thank you." he said simply earning a cheerful chime in return, getting a small smile from the Spartan...if they weren't apart of the Covenant, he might of thought that it sounded somewhat adorable; but seeing as it was he opted to keep it at arm's length for the time being...even if he/she had been very accommodating and eager to help.
"Come on." Six urged the Engineer as he moved his bobbed his head in the direction of the hanger. "This Jedi is probably waiting for us." he added getting another cheerful chirp from the Engineer as it floated passed the Spartan and headed for the Hanger Bay with Six quickly following behind them, eager to make contact with Qui-Gon and get the Corvette up and running.
Leaving the plasma battery and the plasma cannons that the dead Elites were slumped against, B312 moved down the halls and headed back the way he came until they both finally reached the door to the hanger bay. However, as he approached the door and went to hit the button to open it multiple red dots appeared on his motion scanner halting his movement.
Frowning behind his visor screen, Six pursed his lips. He had no idea if the dots belonged to the crew of the unidentified Prowler or if somehow the Covenant, assuming that some had survived the journey like he had, had intercepted them and had killed the moment that they had stepped outside their ship.
"Wait here." The Spartan ordered as he looked over his shoulder and peered at the Engineer that tilted their head to the side in confusion. "Don't move until I call for you." he finished getting a nod from the Engineer who seemed more than happy to follow his orders as Six activated his new activate camo and pressed the button to open the door.
Within a few seconds the door hissed open and retracted into the walls allowing the cloaked Spartan to sneak into the room silently, better yet compared to the modules created by the UNSC he could hear everything in perfect clarity, including his own footsteps, rather than everything being muffled out which typically happened with the Active Camo modules he had used on Reach.
Sneaking into the room, he cursed his supernatural bad luck when he saw that it was filled with over fifty Grunts that were all wielding Plasma Pistols, and three Brutes, two that were designated as Armour Brutes, and finally a Brute Chieftain that was wielding a Gravity Hammer on his shoulder.
Although, what drew his attention were the two humans that were standing in the middle of the room and surrounded by the Covenant. Judging from their choice of attire they looked like they were monks, the white robes and dark brown cloaks that went down past their knees and stopped a few centimetres off the ground. The first and obviously older of the two had long brown hair that was greying around the sides, and a short, neatly-trimmed beard, while the other had short brown hair and a braid rested on their shoulder, and if he had to make a rough estimate he'd say that he was in his early twenties.
Above the group were two Sprit dropships that had their Plasma Cannons aimed at his fellow humans and just stationed there ready to dispatch them if they tried something stupid...nevertheless he did find it strange how the Covenant had not killed them yet. They never took prisoners, it simply wasn't their usual MO, so why were they keeping them alive? Had they come to the same conclusion that they had been transported to a parallel universe and wanted confirmation by one of its inhabitants which just happened to be a pair of humans.
And finally parked in the middle of the hanger bay was the unidentified Prowler that he had seen on the holographic imagine on the bridge. Bizarrely it seemed to be a mix of human and Covenant design, however most notably rather than being made from Titanium or the metal that the Covenant used for all their ships it was covered in Chromium plating, which in his option came across as obnoxious and pompous, the thing stuck out like a sore thumb.
"I'm starving as it is so don't think I won't eat you, little shrimp." Six heard one of the armoured Brutes threaten a Grunt who refused to back down, which was rather impressive considering how easily they cowered.
"Bring it on, jerk!"
"Will you knock it off for TEN MINUTES!" the Chieftain roared at the Brute and Grunt that were arguing. "Otherwise, I'll eat you both." the Spartan knew for fact that the Chieftain wasn't exaggerating in the slightest after personally witnessing the Brutes capturing humans and eating them alive, enjoying the sounds of their screams as they ripped the flesh from their bones...as well as killing countless Grunts and Jackals under their command during their fits of rage, followed by eating them considering it a waste of meat.
"NOOOO!" the Grunt cried out and visibly started shaking. "Please no eat me, Unggoy no taste good...very fatty." they tried their best to deter the Chieftain from eating them, a sentiment that the other Grunts shared as they all either nodded in agreement or shifted uncomfortably on the spot.
"I beg to differ."
"Maybe if you told us how you got here, we could help you?" The older of the two humans as they for some reason waved their hand in front of the Chieftain as Six slowly started to sneak through the room praying that the Covenant would be too distracted to notice him. Looking at the corner of his HUD he noticed that there was no bar telling him the duration of how long until his Active Camo would run out...again it showed just how superior it was to the ones that ONI had reversed engineered.
"We recently spoke..."
"You know exactly how we got here, human!" roared the Chieftain as he rounded on the elder Jedi, assuming of course that was Qui-Gon Jinn, as they took the hammer from his shoulder and marched over to him, concerning the Spartan. He needed to take out the Brute quickly and preferably before they killed the two civilians. They were dangerous enough already, but with a Gravity Hammer it was near-on suicidal...even for a Spartan-III.
"Like the little insects that you and your UNSC are. You knew that you are beneath us, knew that you would be cut down like the worthless dogs that your species are...and pulled a rotten tactic such as using a slipspace drive to transport us away from your little planet."
"Did you think that you would stop is from wiping your pitiful species from the face of the universe? You think your actions saved you little world? By the time that you learnt of our presence we already alerted the Prophets who ordered another Fleet in as reinforcements," so it seemed his assumption was correct, not surprising considering that they had been there long enough to build entire bases with Stealth Pylons to hide themselves from radar and virtually making themselves invisible.
"by the time they're finished they'll be nothing left of your world...it will fall just like all the others and when the last human is snuffed out the Great Journey will begin."
"You would willingly murder and entire race?" the younger of the two exclaimed in disgust as they scowled at the Chieftain, pretty ballsy but taking into account that they probably knew nothing about the Brutes, such as looking them dead in the eyes was a sure way to get yourself killed.
"I do not know what this UNSC is," the older man stated calmly as Six passed by a pair of Grunts who thankfully did not notice him as they had their eyes trained on the human. "but the Jedi and the Republic will not allow you to commit genocide." despite how noble it sounded it was foolish to believe that anybody to halt the Covenant genocidal crusade, the UNSC had been fighting for the last twenty-seven years and as hard as it was to accept it was a war that they were losing...he just hoped that with Jorge back in the fight that they would be able to hold Reach long enough until the fleet arrived.
"And how are you going to stop us?" the Chieftain taunted with a savage grin as he leaned down and bared his fangs. "Little whelp."
Instead of answering with words, Six was taken back when the Jedi thrust his hand forward and somehow made the Chieftain stumble like the wind had just been knocked out of them as they stumbled and almost made them lose their balance. He did this a couple of times which has the same effect as the first time until finally the Brute had enough and growled like a rabid dog, not a bad analogy all things considering.
"I have no idea how you're doing that, nor do I care." the Chieftain finally had enough as they growled at the Jedi "But go ahead, whelp," he taunted the Jedi Master. "Give it your best shot because this will be your final chance, little human."
"Stop wasting time and let me eat him!" one of the armoured Brutes bellowed at the Chieftain growing impatient with all the talking. "My belly aches and there is nothing quite like the taste of human flesh." he grinned getting a scowl in response from the younger man.
"But, but, the Sangheili said we were..." One of the Grunts tried to say only to be silenced when the Chieftain rounded on them; so it seemed that a few Elites had survived the trip...that complicated matters. If the Grunts and Brutes had been ordered to capture the survivors and bring them back to the remains of the supercarrier then they had something planned for the crew, no doubt they planned to torture them to get the information they needed. It made sense why the Chieftain initially wanted to bring rather than just kill and eat them like they typically did, funny how they often went out of their way to undermine the Elites.
"Are you challenging my authority, Unggoy?" the Chieftain growled viciously as Six moved behind them. "One more word out of you and I'll personally tear the flesh from your bones and chew on your marrow, the same goes for the rest of you!" he finished as they rounded on the other Covenant in the room that all began to visibly tremble in fear aside from the other Brutes that seemed unfazed.
Seeing his opportunity, Six slowly unsheathed his knife from his sheath that rest on his chest then struck. Carefully standing up, he got right behind the Chieftain and kicked as hard as he could into the popliteal fossa, or at least the Brute equivalent, knocking them down to one knee followed by wrapping his left arm around its neck to keep them in place and plunged his knife into their throat making them gasp as blood filled their lungs and oozed out of the open wound.
Knowing that the game was up, Six decloaked making the others in the room jump as he proceeded to twist the knife to finish off the Chieftain before pulling the knife out and throwing them to the ground, a loud bang resonating throughout the hanger bay. Swiping the blood off the knife he looked forward to see a Grunt trembling at the mere sight of him as they pointed at him.
"Demon, Demon, Demon, Demon!" they wailed hysterically and had it been Emile there instead of he knew that he would've relished in their fear, as for him he found it more annoying than anything.
"Kill the Demon!" One of the two remained Brute roared as Six flipped his knife then threw it at the closest Grunt, killing them as it embedded into their cranium and they fell back lifeless and hit the ground.
"NOOOO!" One of the Grunts screamed seeing their comrade fall back. "He was my best friend!" they said as plasma flew from every direction as the Spartan grabbed his Assault Rifle and started firing short, controlled bursts and quickly took out a couple of Grunts that were closest to him.
Quickly pressing the attack, he continued to fire as plasma splashed against the floor and brushed passed his armour while others hit their target thankfully his shields took the brunt of the damage protecting him from harm. Ejecting the now empty mag, he replaced it for a fresh one as a barrage of Plasma and spikes were fired at him. From the corner of his eye, he watched in amazement as the two humans activated the canisters they had been holding to reveal a set of emerald green and cerulean colour plasma blades spring forth from the canisters.
While the single bladed Energy Swords were a sight to behold, they were not what amazed him, rather it was how the youngest of the leaped up easily a hundred foot in the air and summersaulted over the swarm of Covenant before landing behind a group Grunts and reflected the plasma bolts back at them with ease, killing them with their own attack.
Taking down another group of Grunts with short controlled bursts, he watched as the older man reflected a few bolts of his own by swinging his fast enough that it looked like a wheel of green plasma had formed in front of him, followed by him cutting down the stocky aliens at they tried to take him off guard.
Landing back on the ground after using the Force to leap over the Unggoy, Obi-Wan deflected the plasma bolts that were fired at him sending them right back at them before they fell to the ground. Spinning around to protect himself on all fronts, he cursed the fact that he couldn't sense them through the Force making an already tense situation tougher.
Bringing his lightsaber back up, he ricocheted a bolt back at one of the Unggoy that saw it coming and ducked underneath it to avoid certain death. "Hahaha! not so touch now are yo-urgh!" they tried to boast only to be cut off when the bolt ricocheted off the floor went through the back of their head killing them. Spotting more Unggoy firing at him he twisted his Lightsaber to block and deflect the upcoming bolts that were fired at him.
As he spun his Lightsaber, making a blue cyclone of death for anyone that approached him, he failed to see one of the Unggoy charging up their weapons and building up a small ball of condensed plasma until it was too late as they fired it at the Jedi Padawan who brought his Lightsaber up to block up but as it did his weapon sizzled as it shut down leaving him exposed.
As his Lightsaber deactivated as a green hue appeared around the hilt his eyes widened in fear when he saw a barrage of Plasma bolts fired at him as well as one of the drop ships firing a massive ball of condensed plasma at him.
"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon called out upon seeing the danger his Padawan was in and used the Force to pull him across the room and towards him to get him out of harm's way as the plasma that was fired at Obi-Wan stuck the ground where he had been standing moments ago splashing the ground and scorching the metal flooring.
Unfortunately, as the Jedi Master was getting him to safety something slammed into him sending him flying back across the air and the Hanger bay before he hit the ground, violently, and slide across the cold metal panels until he eventually came to a stop after feeling like he had just been ripped in half. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head up to see his attacker, which happened to be one of the two remaining Jiralhanae charging towards him.
Eyes widened like a Padawan being caught being stupid by their Master, he instinctively tried to use the Force to send them flying back which only made the Jiralhanae stagger but did little to deter them as they fired their large pistol at him sending a barrage of spikes straight at him. Using all his strength after feeling like he had been ripped in two and had the wind knocked out of him, Qui-Gon tried to stand up and use his lightsaber to block in the incoming projectiles.
Bringing the emerald green plasma blade up and holding it horizontally to reflect the projectiles, the spikes make contact instead of being deflected like the plasma bolts the spikes melted as they made contact with the blade but not completely as the fragments that were left behind were became superheated and went through the plasma and carried on all the way to the Jedi burning through his torso and his hands making him scream in pain as he dropped his lightsaber.
Grabbing one of the Grunts by the face, the Spartan-III lifted them up and threw them to the ground which was followed by slamming his armoured boot into their skull crushing it with ease and turning it into a bloody paste. With the first Grunt out of the way he fired the last few remaining rounds of his rifle's magazine at the rest of the Grunts that tried to circle him just as he heard the eldest Jedi scream out in pain.
Turning to the source of the noise, he saw the elder of the two laying on the floor wiggling in agony as they held their hands close to them, their Energy Sword laying in front of them, as well as spotting the Brute that was charging towards him and fired at the downed Jedi who was defenceless to defend himself as they tried to scot away from the charging behemoth.
"Master!" The young man cried out as they deflected more bolts from the Covenant now that the EMP had worn out with their single-bladed energy sword as the surviving Grunts and Brute swarmed him. Ignoring how he referred to him as his Master, Six darted forward knocking over a Grunt that got in his way, with his right hand he reached over and grabbed the Spartan laser and aimed it at the dropship that aimed their weapon at the young man, held down the trigger and fired the laser straight at the cockpit of the Spirit, burning through the metal hull and killing the pilot inside.
As the Spirit exploded it went crashing into the ground making the Corvette rumble and the sound of metal scraping against metal resonated throughout the hanger bay followed by bright purple explosion that rocked the ship once more causing many of the Grunts to stagger and lose their balance as they fell to the floor. Obi-Wan faired a little better than them as he managed to stay on his feet.
As the first Sprit out of the way and blocking off the exit preventing the second one from leaving, Six sprinted towards the Brute who was still stampeded towards the downed Jedi that struggled to get away from the Brute and seemingly accepted their pending demise at the hands of the armoured Brute. Placing his Spartan Laser and Assault Rifle on his back, he pushed himself harder to reach him.
The Jedi Master gritted his teeth in pain as the metal fragments burnt through his hands forcing him to drop his lightsaber, as well as patting down the flames that had combusted on his robes as the fragments burnt through the material and seared his torso; he had no idea how much damage it had done but considering the amount of pain he was it and the fact that the Jiralhanae was meters away from crushing him to death he guessed it didn't matter. It was only now that he regretted not paying more apt attention when it came to lightsaber combat with his master rather than studying solely on the Force.
Of course in his defence he never imagined that he would ever meet a foe, and organic one, that existed outside of the Force and was immune to it, nor did he expect to be dealing with Slug Throwers, the ideal weapon to use when dealing with either Jedi or Sith on account that the projectile couldn't be deflected entirely...he was really wishing now that he had listened to the Captain when he tried to deter him from investigating the ship.
Closing his eyes and waiting for the end to come, his eyes snapped open when he felt something pass him only to gawk almost comically when the Spartan dived above him and tackled the Jiralhanae when he was but meters away from trampling him to death. Time seemed to go to a standstill as he watched as they seemed to fly through their air and tackle the ape-like alien in two before they both went tumbling to the ground.
As he tackled the Brute and went tumbling to the ground, Six was knocked off him by a strong fist to the side of the helmet that shattered his shields with a single hit. Rolling away as the Brute swung for him again, he used his momentum to get back to his feet at the exact time that the ape did. Within seconds the Brute was in his face and tried to swing for him only for the duck underneath the arm and deliver a quick jab to the armpit staggering them and allowing him to get behind them, wrap his arms around their midsection and give them a Supplex, lifting them into the air and over their shoulder before slamming them into the ground.
Quickly getting back to his feet, Six lifted his foot and rammed it into the Brutes skull and crushed their skull beneath his boot. With the Brute now out of the way, he turned his attention back over to the injured Jedi and jogged over to him." Qui-Gon Jinn?" he asked carefully getting a hesitant nod as he examined the injured man. His wounds didn't look life threating but there was no way to tell without a proper examination if there was any internal bleeding...and unfortunately as well trained as he was, he was no doctor.
"And you must be the Spartan." it came across more of a statement than a question as the Spartan towered over him.
"I am." Six confirmed with a nod as he picked up his energy sword and placed it on his hip. "Can you stand?" he asked as he offered a hand to which the Jedi eagerly took.
"I think so." Qui-Gon commented as he was pulled up and used the Spartan to hold himself up. "But Padawan needs your help more than I do." he added as he spotted Obi-Wan backed up on the ramp by the Covenant that were firing a barrage of Plasma bolts, whereas the last remaining Brute was firing their weapons that sent blasts at the Jedi that almost knocked his Lightsaber from his hands...although he was doing far better than him right now.
"First I'll get you to the ship." Six responded firmly as crouched down and placed his arm around his shoulder and lifted him off the ground and carried him over to the chrome-themed Prowler. "Then I'll rescue your Padawan." he added as he sprinted across the room with Qui-Gon hanging from his person and felling stupid about it too.
Reaching the ramp of the ship within a couple of seconds, Six lowered the Jedi who reached for the pole that was connected to the hydraulics. "Get inside the ship." The Spartan ordered the Jedi Master as he pointed to inside the ship. "I'll return to your Padawan momentarily." he added before running off to help the young Jedi before Qui-Gon could even entertain the thought of asking for his Lightsaber back.
Racing across the room and over to where the young Jedi was holding back what reaming of the Covenant forces, Six grabbed the Spartan Laser from his back, aimed at the last remaining Sprit that fired another ball of plasma at the Padawan, which the Jedi saw and used the Force to enhance his jump and leapt to the platform above to evade, Six fired the laser at the dropship and finished off the pilot that was controlling the turret, before the Sprit lost control and went crashing into the bottom of the ramp, exploding in a purple fiery mess, and crushing most of the Grunts that had been caught unaware.
As the Spirit dropship exploded, Six grabbed the energy sword from his hip and activated it making the green blade spring from the top of the hilt as he used the wall at the bottom to climb to the top and run across the top of the burning dropship, the flames not effecting him in the slightest before jumping off on the other side and impaling the plasma blade through the Brute as they started getting up after they had dived out of the way to escape being crushed to death.
Finishing the Brute off by flicking his wrist and vertically cutting through them to remove the blade, the Spartan finished of the remaining Grunts that either tried to defend themselves or fled in terror only to meet the same end as he sliced through them with the energy blade that went through them like a hot knife through butter until it was only him standing there.
"There area is clear, Padawan." the Lieutenant called up to the young Jedi as he briefly inspecting the single-bladed Energy Sword. He knew that if he managed to find a way back to Reach then Emile would be green with envy the moment that he laid eyes on it and want one for himself...not that he could blame him, it was a remarkable weapon, one far more versatile than the variation used by the Elites. "You can come down."
Instead of answering, Obi-Wan jumped down off the ledge and landed in front of the Spartan and pointed his ignited blade at the Spartan's throat.
"If you're planning to use that then do it quickly." B312 said calmly as he looked as the nervous, dare he say scared Padawan that's face was drenched in sweat as they panted heavily as they tried look as intimidating as possibly even though they were struggling to catch their breath.
"That's my Masters Lightsaber." Obi-Wan stated calmly as cold sweat rolled down his face. "Give it to me." he commanded as he held his other hand out. "Now." he gritted his teeth.
"Master?" B312 repeated with frown. "So, you're his slave?" he asked curiously.
"W-what?" his response took the Padawan by surprise, all the questions he had been expecting that clearly hadn't been one of them. "No, of course not. I'm his student."
"I see." whether Six was convinced he did not let it show. "Well, we should head back to your ship. The Covenant will be back and in greater numbers." he explained to the Padawan. "Unless you plan to run me through?" he asked curiously seeing that Obi-Wan was still pointing the supposed Lightsaber at him.
"And how do I know that you're not the enemy?" challenged the Jedi Padawan getting the Spartan to, unknown to him, look at him incredulously. Even if the Jiralhanae had all but confirmed that they were the guilty party…..that didn't mean that he trusted the man.
"Because If I were, we would not be having this conversation." B312 said sharply. "And I wasn't the one that tried to kill you."
"You may have a point there." Obi-Wan concurred, accepting his answer for now. "But that fight could've been avoided if you hadn't killed the Jiralhanae."
"No, it couldn't." Six adamantly disagreed with the ignorant Padawan. "They would've killed you regardless of what your Master said."
"You can't know that for sure."
"Yes, I can."
"How?" demanded Obi-Wan. "All these lives could've been spared if you hadn't of killed the Jiralhanae in the first place."
"Your human." replied the Spartan as if that answered everything. "You represent everything they hate."
"..."
"Now, we've wasted enough time. Your master needs medical assistance." he added hoping use his affection for his Master to his advantage...which seemed to work as he lowered his Lightsaber but still kept it on just in case.
"Is Qui-Gon okay?" he asked quickly as Six deactivating the Lightsaber that he was holding.
"I don't know." The Lieutenant confessed shrugging his shoulders. "I'm no doctor, but he seemed fine." Six informed the Padawan as he turned on his heel and started walking down the ramp and towards the downed Spirit. "We best get moving." he added before he jumped up and climbed atop the dropship as the Jedi summersaulted over it and landed on the other side as Six jumped down.
"How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Obi-Wan asked as he glanced at the Spartan who was looking down at him.
"Jump that high." Six clarified for the Padawan as he matched his pace so that he could speak with him. "It shouldn't be possible."
"With the Force anything is possible." Obi-Wan said pointedly, although it sounded rehearsed like he the response drilled into him from an early age.
Before the Spartan could press him for further information, they reached the chrome-coloured Prowler. Following Obi-Wan inside to find Qui-Gon sitting on a metal container surrounded by a group of people that consisted of a young girl that looked around fourteen years old that was bandaging his hands, a dark-skinned man that was wearing a rather odd red and beige coloured uniform, a white and blue bin that had wheels, and finally a strange looking creature that looked amphibious with leather-like skin, a long snout, and massive floppy ears.
As soon as they heard footsteps behind them, they all turned around and gawked at the Spartan that towered over them, though the Captain quickly jumped to the defensive as he grabbed a rather extravagant looking pistol and aimed it at him. "Stop right there!"
"Calm down, Captain." Qui-Gon interjected before things could get out of hand. "This is the Spartan we spoke to overs the transmission." he introduced the two, though it did little to deter the Panaka as he kept his weapon trained on Six. "If not for him I would be dead."
"The one responsible for putting us all in danger you mean." the Captain retorted coolly as he glared at the unmoving Spartan. "For all we know this was all his idea!"
Six could not exactly blame for man for believing that, had things been the other way around he would have jumped to the same conclusion. Be that as it may he knew there was no time for to try and convince the Captain of his innocence not when those Spirits had no doubt reported back that not only had they made contact with the humans aboard the ship but there was also a Demon on the Corvette...the Elites would jump at the chance to take his head as a trophy.
"We can sit here and argue all day, Captain." Six interjected as he walked past Obi-Wan and handed the Lightsaber back to Qui-Gon who gingerly took it back almost like it was a lifeline. "But right now, we need to act and act fast."
"And why should we trust you?"
"Trust is a strong word." Six replied calmly to the Captain. "However, I am your only chance of getting out of here."
"He believes that more Covenant are on the way." Obi-Wan told his Master.
"It has nothing to do believing, Padawan." Six responded calmly. "They will be back now that they know that I'm here."
"Then maybe we should give you to them."
"Captain Panaka!" the girl exclaimed scandalized that he would say such as thing. "You cannot be serious?!"
"My duty is to protect Queen Amidala," Six noticed that his eyes shifted in her direction as he mentioned this Queen Amidala, almost like there was a secret discussion going on between the two. "I will not allow her to be put at risk simply because this Covenant want him." he said nodding in the Spartans direction. "and from what I've seen they have every reason to want him dead after killing the entire crew and those aboard those dropships."
"Regardless how you feel about me, Captain. The moment you leave the Corvette they will destroy your ship."
"Only because they think we're associated with you..."
"No." The Lieutenant shook his head. "Because you're human, that is the only reason they need."
"What does being Human have to do with anything?" the girl asked curiously as she looked up at him.
"They deem humanity an affront to their religion. They believe that humanities destruction is the will of the Gods, and they are their instruments." he said coldly as he recalled the message that the Covenant had sent out prior to the First Battle of Harvest, a date that would forever be marked as the darkest moment in human history.
"Why?"
"I won't pretend to understand the minds of the Covenant. All I know is that want humanities destruction." Six informed the group, most who looked sceptical. "And they won't hesitate to kill every one of you." he then looked at the strange looking individual. "Apart from him."
"Wysa nota messa?"
"He just said that they wanted humanity dead not Gungan's." Qui-Gon did his best to explain to Jar-Jar Binks, the simpleton that he had come across while searching for Obi-Wan when they had split up after escaping the Trade Federation's ambush. "I'm assuming that you have a plan?" he asked the Spartan who nodded.
"Judging by the girl's presence there are more civilians onboard?" said girl took offense by how he had referred to her.
"My name is Padme, not girl."
"That's nice." she pursed her lips at how uninterested he sounded he looked between the Jedi Master and the Captain. "Give me a rough number."
"We have two pilots, the Queen and her Handmaidens." Qui-Gon answered his question much to the Captains dismay. "Around five not including Padme," he added looking at the miffed brown-haired girl. "Why?"
"Because it would be better to move them to the bridge." Six explained to the Jedi Master. "The only way into the ship is through the Hanger meaning that the civilians will be caught in the crossfire if they stay here."
"I agree with the Spartan." surprisingly it was the Captain that said this as he stared at Six. "But what then? The Queen will be a sitting duck while we wait for this Covenant to arrive."
"Not at all." The Hyper Lethal disagreed. "You will stay with the civilians while myself and the Engineer attend with the engines..."
"Engineer? what engineer?"
"The one that I found aboard the Corvette."
"I thought you said that you were the only survivor?" Obi-Wan said suspiciously as he glared at the Spartan.
"I said that my team was dead...which they are. The Engineer that I'm talking about was on this ship beforehand...and waiting for me to get back." He cleared up for the Padawan and the rest of the group. " But as I was saying before, we will try to get the engines up and running."
"And if you can't what then?" grilled the Captain as he focused on the Spartan who seemed to think about it for a second. "The Queen is my top priority, and I will do whatever it takes keep her safe from harm."
"If that happens then there only other alternative is to try and fix the timer for the slipspace bomb and send the Supercarrier to oblivion." He uttered before thinking to himself." I just hope that this time they'll stay there."
And cut! Well here is the forth chapter for a Noble Menace, I hoped you enjoyed it even if I think it's somewhat subpar. The fight between the Jedi and the Covenant could've probably been written better but I just feel that without the Force to back them up they really have lost their advantage...that and the Brute using a slug thrower on Qui-Gon pretty much took him out of the fight hence why Obi-Wan handled them much better.
Also, as you can see I have decided to make Six and everyone that came from the Haloverse dead in the Force. The reason for this is I feel that when the Halos fired and wiped all life out in the galaxy it cut their connection from the Force. Now I'm unsure if the Zuuzhan Vong are immune to all force abilities, but I tried to research as much as I could on them and from what I remember when Mara Jade tried to use a Force Push on them, they only staggered back rather than being flung back hence why I did the same thing with Qui-Gon.
If I've made a mistake, then I can always go back and alter the chapter to make a little more realistic.
(1) In legends Chaos was where the sprits of the Sith went to after they died, basically it was the Star Wars equivalent of Hell.
And to everyone that is interested I created a poll for a Halo x Star Trek fanfiction on my homepage, vote if you are at all interested in those story ideas.
Anyway, let me know what you all thought about this chapter :)