Hello everyone! The next chapter awaits!
When it comes to the timeline in the Halo universe, the main storyline of halo 5 and everything after doesn't take place, the characters and ships will still exist however. And in the Star Wars universe, it's only a half a year before Revenge of the sith/Clone wars season 7 takes place as of this chapter.
But other than that, I hope you enjoy!
The air on Coruscant was chilly today. Cold almost. Despite the warm and durable clothing we were wearing, it seemed to slowly seep into everything. Like it was trying to carve its way down to the bone like all those years ago. Sighing as a shiver went down my back, I clutched my weapon ever more slightly. The wind blowing in from the partially destroyed wall to my right, our only window that has a direct shot to target, and I couldn't help but shiver as I looked over the city as the clouds cast the city in white light.
"It gets to you too huh?" my friend asked, an old friend from days long past.
My eyes snapped to him from across the room, his form sitting on the ground against the wall. He was the person that I trusted more than anyone else, even if he did go and betray the marines by becoming a Spartan. He didn't have his armor on, and I wasn't wearing my ODST armor ether. Leaving us in a way, exposed to one another as we both couldn't hide behind the visors and armor pieces. It was a rare, but not an unwelcome experience.
"More than I'd like to admit Buck," I admitted, not bothering to hide my sullen look from my friend.
Buck has seen his better days as well, his brown hair was starting to turn grey at the edges, and small wrinkles were starting to form. His brown eyes, hardened by years of war. Enough war to fill any man his age ten-fold and some more, something I hope never happens to me.
"Yeah. I remember the cold days… the waiting was the worst part." he said solemnly, his eyes shifting to the floor in front of him.
Another shiver went down my spine and I quickly looked back out over the city, the thousands of ships flying about, the hundreds of tall buildings in all directions, and no matter how different it was, no matter how civilized it all looked. I was still sitting in a cave, waiting to take out my target. A target that was so evil, so unstoppable, that they needed to be stopped before anyone else was hurt by them.
My eyes drifted to the target area and I shook my head, looking away as memories of the war flashed through my head. Gripping the barrel of my sniper rifle as that horrible conflict made its way back into my mind. All of this was too similar, too personal. I still remember their names, their faces, all of them. And now I'm back in the fight, as though the war never ended.
"Oh my god... they killed them all." I clenched my eyes shut as the memory of those words echoed in my head.
A picture of dead and mutilated friends, squadmates, and children following in its wake. Something I'll never forget.
"Does it ever get better?" I asked in a whisper, my voice cracking somewhat.
Buck didn't respond at first, preferring to stay silent. I looked up at him, his own eyes plastered on the ground, his body deflated.
"The cold? No. It never will." he said quietly, the cold sinking deeper into my skin.
He looked back up at me, a strong look slowly returning his eyes "If it ever got better… I would be worried that my own humanity is finally broken beyond repair. And I can't lose that. Not after making it out alive… " he said honestly, his voice dipping into sadness at the end
I looked at him with confusion "But how do you live with it? How do you keep fighting when our battle is already over?" I asked, almost begging for an answer.
"Over?" he said with slight surprise, squinting his eyes in disbelief.
"The battle is never 'over'." his eyes hardened, his form inflating again as a determined look took hold "I'm a soldier. And I'm ready to lay down my life so that others don't have to. So humanity keeps on living. So that scumbags like Palpatine can't roll over us like a wet blanket after we made it out of hell," he said fiercely.
My eyes widened in surprise and I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came to mind
"I'd be damned if I let Earth, hell, even Sanghelios get destroyed by some fucking interloping, power hungry, piece of shit psychopath!" Buck leaned forward, his hands clenched into a fist on the ground beside him "We fought too damn hard to keep on breathing, and I'll blow away any son of a bitch who thinks they can take that away" Buck stated sharply, a fury in his eye that couldn't be rivaled by anyone.
I looked into his eyes, unable to say anything back due to the conviction in his words. An aura of strength surrounded him, making my original question sound stupid and almost childishly ignorant. Looking away from him, I shook my head, surprised to see my own weakness laid bare. My own lack of will. It scared me too the bone and I swear I could feel my hands shaking slightly; when suddenly, a timer went off.
I jumped slightly at the sound, almost forgetting what we were here to do in the first place. Bucky straightened up and reached for a pair of binoculars on a pack to his right, standing up and walked up to the opening in the wall with them in his hand.
I watched as he raised the binoculars up, about to look through them, when he stopped. He looking back at me with a raised brow "You with me Rookie?" he asked, using my old nickname.
I opened my mouth to say something, but I just nodded with a smile back. The strength in my friend filling up my chest with determination that I haven't felt in years since the war ended. I tightly clenched my fists and stopped my shaking hands, determined to get the job done. I pulled up my sniper rifle up to my lap and primed the rifle, the strange click of the NT-242 echoing through the small room.
"Let's make sure Humanity keeps on breathing," I said to myself, trying to emulate the conviction and strength that were in Bucks words just moments before.
"That's the spirit!" Buck said with a encouraging smile.
I quickly pulled myself up and walked towards to opening in the wall, careful to place the barrel of the gun in a grove that lined right up with where the target should be in about five minutes, 2.4 kilometers away. Taking a breath, I calmed myself, bringing my focus back to the mission at hand.
We watched and waited silently as 10 aircraft flew overhead, four official but identical black multi-person transports, surrounded by two gunships on each side and two Jedi fighters. One in the front and the other in the back.
"You set up the failsafe right?" I asked as I lined up my scope, making sure the rifle was properly calibrated for the distance of the shot.
"What do you take me for, a Rookie?" Buck said playful back.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Chancellor Palpatine, or Lord Sidious as known in the Separatist world, was making his speech today at the steps of the Jedi Temple in response to an 'unknown threat', not that he knew it was us. The Swords of Sanghelios and the UNSC have been careful to slowly and meticulously take out his high-level cronies in places of power throughout the Republic and Separatist alliance, we've even killed an up and coming Senator before he could even apply for the senatorial elections. All of them meet their demise because of 'accidents', but even so, through his contacts in the media and the military, he has framed this as a national security situation and has his other remaining and important cronies protected by clone garrisons throughout the galaxy. We have, however, set back his plans by years, as several important people that are crucial during a transition from a free Republic to an oppressive Empire, are no longer in place.
I took a few calming breaths as the convoy of ships made their final approach, descending in altitude and disappearing behind buildings before appearing again.
"I wonder what the Jedi would do if they knew there was a Sith at their front door." Buck wondered aloud.
The convoy began there final descent "Given he would be outnumbered, probably stepped on" I said with a plainly.
"That would be one painful step," he mumbled back.
I only nodded, tracking a diverging black transport making its way towards the temple steps. Two dropships and one of the Jedi fighters following after it.
"That must be him," Buck said as all the diverging ships landed at the top of the steps
"Most likely," I said in agreement as the bays of the two dropships opened up, almost two dozen shock troopers piling out.
A crowd of protestors and supporters were gathering at the base of the stairs, a Jedi, Jedi temple guards, and regular clone troopers keeping them back. There were more security measures when it came to crowd control, but we couldn't see them from our vantage point. The red shock troopers quickly surrounded the black ship, prepared for any threat that may arise as a few of them had rocket launchers on there back. The Jedi in the yellow fighter got out next, the future pawn of Palpatine if I remember the briefing correctly.
"Why is Skywalker always with him? I would think being the most powerful Jedi in history would grant him the ability to sense Palpatine?" Buck asked aloud.
"Beats me," I said with a shrug, the canopy of the black ship opening up to reveal the Chancellor of the Republic.
The chancellor stepped out of his black transport, the friendly and supportive grandpa facade suiting him well in his old age. He was talking to Skywalker, but he was soon gonna walk to the podium.
"Winds from the northeast" Buck stated.
I glanced over at him with a raised brow "You know winds don't affect blaster rifles right?" I asked.
"Oh right. Force of habit" Buck muttered to himself.
I looked back through my scope as the Chancellor finished his talk with the Jedi, shaking his hand as he… I narrowed my eyes. Did he just hand him something? I moved the scope to see the Jedi hand, but he already slipped whatever was handed to him into his pocket.
"I'll make note of it" Buck stated, apparently noticing the little handoff as well.
I moved my scope back to Palpatine as he turned around and approached the podium that overlooked the crowd at the bottom of the Jedi temple steps, the Jedi statues on either side of him making him seem a little more official than usual. He raised his hands, dawning a smile as cheers and boos rose from the crowd. It was almost funny, if he was where he wanted to be, the boo's would be silenced with death.
"Whenever you're ready Rookie" Buck whispered.
I took one last calming breath and placed my hand on the trigger. He was beginning to speak to the crowd and a few small cameras were floating off to the side. The clones were on every side while the Jedi stood behind and to the right of the Chancellor.
And just as the security information taken from the Jedi Temple, there was no force field, leaving him wide open. I aimed the reticle at the Chancellors head, and with one last calming breath, I pulled the trigger.
The blaster bolt shot out and it should connect in 3… 2… 1… BINGO!
The blaster bolt blew cleanly through the chancellor's chest, a gaping hole left where his lungs should be. The blaster bolt killing a clone behind him as well.
"Woohee, that's gotta hurt" Buck said with a whistle.
I didn't respond, watching as the red clones surrounded his body, beginning to pull him away as medics ran forward and one of the dropships landed off to the side. That's not what caught my attention, however, I moved my scope to the Jedi, Skywalker, a shiver going down my spine as his eyes seemed to connect with mine. Like he knew we were here.
His eyes seemed to peer into my soul with a burning hatred "Hey Buck, does it look like Skywalker is looking at us?" I asked as I looked over at Buck.
"huh,Uh… yeah." he said with a little surprise "Let's get moving, now!" he ordered.
He quickly got up and moving towards the door with his pack as I took one last look through my scope, and it seemed the Jedi was running to his fighter.
"Shit!" I muttered.
If our position was somehow discovered, I was to leave the sniper here along with a basic communicator used by the clones. The communicator and the sniper were both smuggled off a Republic cruiser a while ago that's still in service. It is meant to direct any investigation away from us and towards those in their own ranks. And with the serial numbers still on both of the smuggled items, it'll be a good reason for the Jedi to be extra wary for a time, in case the Chancellor somehow survives and jumps to… conclusions.
"Come on let's go!" Buck yelled from behind me.
I dropped the sniper to the ground right as Skywalker jumped into his Jedi fighter. Quickly running back towards the door and picking up my pack on the left side and slinging it around my back. We both looked back out the hole in the wall as we heard the whir of the Jedi fighter engine's getting closer, a yellow dot getting closer.
"Run!" Buck yelled.
We both booked it out of the room and closed the door behind us, quickly running down to the end of the hall and turning left into another room that had a good sized garbage chute. It leads all the way down to the 4th level beneath the surface, the perfect escape. I closed the door to the room as Buck pulled the cover off the top of the garbage chute
"Let's hope the landing is soft," Buck said with apprehension as he looked down the chute.
"Just get in!" I yelled as I turned to him, the sound of the fighter engine somehow even closer.
Bucky groaned slightly, before lifting himself up and going down feet first. The sound of him sliding down the chute reached my ears before he soon disappeared down the chute.
I picked up the cover for the chute, quickly lifting myself up over the opening.
"Soft would be preferable," I said hopefully.
I dropped into the chute with my hands up. The cover snugly fitting onto the opening as I slide down the garbage chute after Bucky. Leaving the pursing Jedi behind.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this little beginning of mine, and even if you didn't, it's a much better then my first attempt. Though I will admit, I feel that my writing is... off, strained in places, I don't know for sure but I hope it's not too bad for ya. So leave a review if you liked it, loved it, hated it, or if you just think it needs a little improvement here and there.
But other than that, to all the Star Wars fans reading this, I hope you all have a good day!