AN: Happy to see The Clone Wars back. If there was a ship, or other piece of UNSC equipment that exists in the Halo universe, that wasn't listed in the Codex (1st chapter), chances are, the UNSC still has it in service, but as a reserve, mothballed, etc. When SpaceCowby2013 made this story, Halo 4 was not even released. I will eventually RetCon the fleet numbers and all that. I think the way SpaceCowboy had the UNSC technology progress is more realistic than what we have in the lore, so at least that is staying.
The UEG is a representative democracy that is believed to control around 1000 worlds, which vary in population (from a few thousand to several billion, all of which is centered on their homeworld of Earth). The Terrans insist that Earth is the homeworld of humanity, and that a race called the Forerunners transplanted Humanity throughout their galaxy. This is debated, for obvious reasons. The UNSC (the military arm of the UEG) was involved in a massive 28 year long war that makes the current conflict with the Confederacy pale in comparison, with an alliance of alien races called The Covenant. The exact cause and facts behind it, as well as information on the races of the Covenant, is very limited. The main cause of concern is though the territory the Terrans control is small, their worlds, the ones we know of at least, are highly industrialized, heavily defended, and their naval and ground forces are all well-equipped, well trained, and VERY experienced. UNSC equipment is both very advanced, powerful, and strangely antiquated at the same time.*
*SEE ATTACHMENT
We know the Terrans rely heavily on projectile weaponry; however they are not just some antique slug throwers on a backwater planet nor some oddball bounty hunter's gadget, like those that we have grown accustomed to. The Terrans have developed their projectile weaponry to a point to where it either equals, or in some cases exceeds blaster weaponry. Our forces, and for that matter almost any force in the galaxy, have little experience fighting trained soldiers armed with such weaponry. Our analysts have picked apart footage of the Terran-Covenant war, which the Terrans themselves have provided for us, and even their more antiquated equipment is still to be treated as very dangerous to any Republic asset. Older models of Terran weapons acquired through black market channels have a scarily effective wounding capacity, even for fully armored infantry hundreds of meters away.
What is more discouraging is the fact that the armor that their own infantry, at least their Marines, wear seems to be a highly advanced power armor suit that amplifies the wearer's movements. The next fact, and most concerning, is that they are equipped with personal energy shields, which can take multiple hits to bring down from our standard blasters.
One negative aspect this war has had on our troopers and Jedi generals is that the UNSC does not fight on the ground the same way the droid armies of the CIS do. The UNSC soldiers are trained, like our own, to be proficient warriors. Combat analysis of engagements in the Terran-Covenant War show they are accustomed to taking on enemies that are outnumbering and outgunning them. UNSC officers very generally fight with their heads to take the initiative in battle in order to outmaneuver and crush the enemy. Their own previous war was not one which tolerated incompetence. Though our troopers are more than capable of fighting against them, the problem arises that the CIS droid armies have almost always utilized simplistic tactics in order to achieve any given objective; their organic militias, up to this point, have not been well equipped, organized, or trained. The months of facing these brain-dead tactics have made our troopers, no matter how well trained they are, complacent in fighting this style of warfare. As a result, for a short time our troopers will have habits developed that will put them at a disadvantage.
(Note: We have reason to believe that UNSC slugthrowers will catch the Jedi completely off guard. You cannot deflect bullets, especially those of the UNSC which travel near, or at, hypersonic speeds. In the unlikely event a Jedi catches one with their lightsaber. the resulting spall from intercepted rounds will be just as deadly to an unarmored individual.)
UNSC naval strength is the most concerning advantage of theirs however. We witnessed this the hard way during the Anoco Incident, that the weaponry which UNSC vessels use are much more deadly than our own. We believe that they have engagement ranges that supersede ours by tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of kilometers. Their mass drivers, which are more complex than they seem, are the single biggest threat. The RNS Unstoppable had its command bridge section blown off from a single round from the Terran magnetic accelerator cannon, or MAC as they refer to it, after a previous shot and dozens of missile hits brought the shields down. The third shot completely disabled all engines, including backups. We have analyzed the debris, and have found evidence that they used a nuclear payload in their missiles. This galaxy has not seen nuclear weapons used on the battlefield since the Mandalorian Wars millennia before us, and even then, they weren't as effective as the Terrans' rendition.
We must crush them quickly before they aid the Confederacy. Our strength lies in our numbers.
- Republic Naval Intelligence report to the Senate, Republic High Command, and Jedi Council
Coruscant, Republic Executive Building, Chancellor's Suite, Private Office
Sidious gazed out of his office window, met with the daily lives of the denizens of Coruscant's unending duracrete jungles, with a shadow cast over him by the rising Coruscanti star.
They went about their lives, blissfully ignorant to what was truly happening behind the scenes of the Galactic theater.
The dark lord of the Sith pitied them for not being able to realize the forces at play, manipulating them, and controlling them into doing whatever they willed.
Whatever he willed.
Forces that were beyond their control.
'A gross understatement…' Sidious chuckled to himself in his office.
He closed his eyes, still smirking, and immediately began to tap into the thoughts of the citizens going about their business and routine that has been with them since they were younglings being carried in their mothers' arms.
He smiled, knowing that their incapable minds would easily bend under his prowess in the Dark Side of the Force, if he tried it.
But he had more urgent matters to attend to.
He would have never had thought that his plans, his delicately laid out plans, which had been going so unbelievably well up until this point, could be so derailed by a single discovery. He was so close to ushering in the Empire, his Empire.
The existence of an entire community of Humans, from another galaxy no less, had come as a surprise to him as much as any other normal person.
"But still…" He murmured, tapping his fingers together.
The shocking discovery led to another. The Terrans had no presence in the Force. Only by concentrating on the void surrounding them could their presence be sensed. A Force user couldn't even read their minds; it was like hearing nothing but static. That was not even the strangest part, when their non-Human allies had shown up, they too were absent from the Force.
How in the Force that was possible was beyond him.
Master Yoda and the Jedi Council had about as much of a clue as he.
When their delegation had come to Coruscant, to much fanfare, the entire Galaxy had watched in wonder as they presented their history, and what they believed to be the history of the universe.
It had actually answered some questions, but raised more, many more.
Could an ancient race have really seeded their galaxy with Humanity and other races for that matter? It wasn't that far fetched, and they had evidence to back it up. One giant question was left unanswered, how did the 'Andromeda' Humans get there? It stirred controversy throughout the academic institutions of the galaxy nonetheless, Republic and Confederate alike.
They had been surprised to say the least when they learned that the UEG had only been traveling the stars for 500 years or so, for a race to develop so quickly was rare, though the reasoning for it that the Terrans had was sound. To be split into so many competing nations, states, and ethnicities would cause rapid development.
Then they were told about, briefly, the Human-Covenant War.
To say that he himself was disgusted and shocked would have been an understatement. It surprised him. Few things fazed Sidious. In his visions of the future, he had seen similar images of death, destruction, and terror, but from a different threat. A much more terrible threat.
If what they had said was true, then the Clone War is mere child's play to the likes of them. It was not a struggle for control of the Galaxy like the Clone War. It was a struggle for survival. The Terrans, backed into the corner, fought with savagery matched by no race of the Republic in previous Galactic history.
There had been several aliens with them, called Sangheili, which had been a former member of the Covenant, before learning the apparent truth behind the war and seceding from the Covenant, allying with the UNSC. The Sangheili were still fighting their own civil war as a result.
The UEG and the Sangheili wanted to become a part of the Galactic community and open trade with all of the worlds, or so it seemed.
In reality, it was the truth that they wanted nothing more than to be left alone in their isolation, as evident, as they adamantly were against becoming involved in the war, the Sangheili far more than their Terran counterparts.
Another thing that had caught them by surprise was how the UEG openly criticized the use of Clones by the GAR.
The words despicable, disgusting, pathetic, and even cowardly were commonly thrown around when Terrans and Sangheili alike discussed the Clone War. The UEG ambassador, in one of the infrequent interviews that had been granted, had openly declared the Clone Army to be a crime against humanity. That was when it all went sour. It also started up the debate again with Sentient Being Rights groups rallying behind the UEG's declaration. They had gotten some support at the beginning of the war, but now their ranks had been filled to the brim. COMPOR shot themselves in the foot with their old poster which featured Clone forces posed heroically and the caption "Support the Boys in White." This acted as a grim reminder that the backbone of the Republic military was all actually around the age of 10, thanks to their accelerated aging.
It was well known that the UEG and their allies were playing both sides in an attempt to be neutral; however, when they began to give direct medical aid to the CIS, the Senate went into an uproar. It had been hard for Chancellor Palpatine to keep order during the announcement.
It only got worse from there when the Republic Center for Military Operationshad its database hacked by a very advanced and malicious hardware that they claimed to be an artificial intelligence, and had extracted many pieces of incriminating evidence about the war and the Kaminoans.
'Only the UNSC had technology that could perform such a…' Sidious attempted to recall the old Terran story he had read. 'Herculean feat.'
That was just the beginning. The enmity between the Terrans and the Republic all culminated in what is now dubbed as the 'Anoco incident'. The crew of the Venator Class Star Destroyer RNS Unstoppable opened fire on UNSC ships in orbit of the ongoing battle of Anoco after the UNSC ships had failed to turn around and leave the system, as prescribed by the Unstoppable's captain.
In the end, the ship was left unrepairable and was thrown into the scrapyards of Bracca, a large Terran freighter was decimated, and the UNSC frigate was left heavily damaged.
When the news made its way back to Coruscant, the Senate was absolutely livid. Many called for an immediate invasion of the Milky Way, for the Terrans to be crushed and subjugated.
Sidious had found himself enjoying the ensuing standoff between the Coruscant Guard and the Terrans caught in their embassy.
After a week-long ordeal, the UNSC had somehow gotten one of their stealth corvettes into the Coruscant system. Blowing past the countless warships in the system and entering the planet's atmosphere, the vessel loomed over the UEG embassy. Within 10 minutes, it had evacuated the whole thing. It was no doubt a well planned and coordinated affair.
While taking fire from groundside batteries and outrunning the fleet which was moving to intercept, it made its daring escape and jumped out of the system. The tractor beams which would've stopped them had been deactivated by their damned artificial intelligence. Sidious had been outraged, and so had the Senate. The Republic had been absolutely humiliated.
That had been only three months ago.
As he was slowly becoming absorbed in his thoughts, Sidious received an urgent message from Count Dooku. Sidious donned his hooded cloak and closed the shutters on the window with a press of a button.
"What is it, my apprentice?" Sidious snarled with displeasure to the Count of Serenno.
It took a while for Count Dooku to explain the developing situation, but Sidious was furious by the end of the conversation.
The UNSC had found the code buried deep in all CIS droids, a code which ordered them to shut down. They then proceeded to warn the CIS commanders of this in case the Republic discovered this flaw.
The cowardly financial backers of the CIS were squirming in fear that their plans would soon be uncovered. They talked of going into hiding or surrendering to the Republic, something which couldn't be allowed to happen.
Only Count Dooku and Sidious knew what was planned for the end of this war, and even then Count Dooku wasn't privy to what would happen to him.
His apprentice also told him about the Patriots, a faction in the CIS Senate that was seeking to fight a real war against the Republic to crush them and secure their continued independence. Thanks to the Terrans, the Patriots were too large to silence.
"We must alter our plans accordingly." Sidious ended the line of communication abruptly with his apprentice, crushing the holoprojector in his old and wrinkled, but still very strong, hand.
'Those damn Terrans have ruined my plans!' He fumed interiorly as he wrinkled his brow. Were he a more unreasonable man, he would've slammed his ornate desk into pieces.
It took him a minute to regain his composure, slowly revealing a sinister smirk all the while.
'A challenge to be sure, but not an impossible one. When has the Grand Plan ever not met challenges before?' He thought to himself.
He had to plot accordingly. If the Clone War needs to last another decade so he could finally form his new Empire, then so be it.
In the meantime, he knew he had to learn all he could about his new enemies.
He sat on the floor, with his legs crossed and eyes closed, and started to meditate on the Dark Side of the Force.
No matter how potent he was with the Force, he couldn't affect people who weren't attached to it.
It was obvious that they had orchestrated the 'Patriot Party', planting seeds of doubt in the CIS leadership with a political party recognized by the Terrans, sending military advisors to train their militias and commanders, giving out humanitarian aid. The UEG had hardly been a neutral power during the war at all.
Though the CIS might not now be the victim of Sidious's insidious influence as it had been, the Republic could still defeat them on the field of battle. The strategic initiative of the war was still in the Republic's firm grip, Kamino was producing Clones at a rate never seen before, the shipyards at Kuat, Anaxes, and many others were ramping up production, and Malastare was on the verge of ceasing their neutrality and joining the Republic war effort with their vast fuel reserves. Sidious was certain the newest Financial Reform Bill to be introduced alongside more expansive military legislation could be further enlarged with some 'political maneuvering'. Threats, bribes, and blackmail were the name of the game.
But it still left Palpatine's plans to destroy the Jedi and turn the Republic into an Empire delayed.
No matter how much Darth Sidious hated the Jedi, they would be needed as bodies to throw at the UNSC, and changing the Republic during wartime would not be problematic at best, and disastrous at worst.
He was smart enough to know that if he overthrew the Republic and Jedi now, there would be a massive uproar among the Republic, and put an even bigger dent in his already nearly foiled plans.
However, the real problem was that, like it or not, the UEG was gaining support amongst the populace, in both the CIS and inside of the Republic itself. The CIS had seen the most change in this regard.
The Terrans had galvanized the populations of the CIS systems, and the rallying cry, for what Palpatine had crafted as a mere deception to have support for his pawns, had turned into actual beliefs overnight.
They truly believed that the Republic was rotten to the core and that they wanted to be free of it.
Patriotic pride swelled within the chests of Separatist men and women alike. They would die for their freedom, and would take as many Republic oppressors as possible down with them
Now citizens of Confederate aligned worlds were lining up to join the swelling militias to supplement the vast droid armies.
It was alarming that the militias were fast morphing from a motley bunch of armed civilians, to a legitimate military force.
And much of their training was clearly provided by the UNSC.
The Terrans were a threat that needed to be removed, and fast. It was a cancer that was quickly becoming malignant.
As such, after sending out countless probes and gathering as much intel as the Republic Military could, a fleet of over 250 ships was gathering to be the spearhead of the invasion of the UEG, which was just about to launch from Taris.
It was more or less just testing the waters and seeing if the UNSC were a capable foe, and if the fruits of victory shall fall into the mouth of the Republic.
Among them were three Jedi, including Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti, who would assist in whatever way the utterly incompetent Council would order them to. The Jedi were decent peacekeepers, but most of them could hardly call themselves a tactician.
Their target would be one of the colonies they had scouted out, on the very fringe of Terran held space.
The colony was located in a system which served as a staging ground for a fleet. From what they could tell, it seemed to be the perfect target to gauge the threat the newfound enemies of the Republic posed.
The operation, codenamed Star Fist by the Admiral who would lead it, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin, would be the most important operation the Republic Navy had taken so far, more so than the Second Battle of Geonosis, as this battle needed to be won quickly and decisively to prove to the reluctant Jedi and Senate that the UNSC needed to, and could, be removed as a threat.
Convincing them that they were a legitimate threat had been difficult enough, as any brilliant, or lucky, commander would be able to take a Venator-Class one on one, or even blow straight past Coruscant's defenses. Thankfully he was able to… sway a few dissenting senators, besides those on par with Senator Amidala, just because of his sheer control over the Senate.
And ironically, he had to thank the Terrans for their lack of connection to the Force, as the Jedi Council was completely focused on how this could possibly be, as it nearly went against their teachings. This made it easier and easier to get away with his task of manipulating the Senate under the practically blind observance of the Jedi Order.
His plans regarding Skywalker would still take some time, but if the Jedi kept up their ways, he would be swept under by his influence soon.
But alas, it was of no consequence for Sidious, as he stared into his reflection on the glass of the window, brooding over how he could finalize his plan with another variable in mind, the final stretch that would ensure the destruction of the Jedi, and the galaxy's control being in the hands of the Sith.
The Terrans would soon be shown the destruction that could be unleashed by the Dark Side of the Force. But even with his confidence, he still recognized how his delicately laid plan could be fouled.
He reflected on his thoughts. 'This war will test the constraints of my power.' He pondered silently.
Venator-Class Star Destroyer, RNS Intrepid
Taris System, 10th Systems Army 'Crimson Dagger' Command
Jedi Master Aayla Secura stood near one of the large transparisteel windows of the port bridge tower of the great warship, staring out at the grand fleet that was continually gathering for the assault on the UEG and its military arm, the UNSC.
There were ships as far as her eyes could see. Their blinding lights and engines looked like thousands of glistening stars, a stark contrast to the dark expanses of space, far surpassing the glimmering surface of Taris.
Presently, there were over 40 Venator-Class Star Destroyers, just under 70 Victory II-Class Star Destroyers, almost 100 Acclamator-Class Assault ships, 20 Dreadnaught-Class Heavy Cruisers, 12 Arquitens-Class Light Cruisers, 15 Carrack-Class Light Cruisers, 38 Consular-Class Cruisers, dozens of support and logistical ships, and 10 of the new massive Imperator-Class Star Destroyers, not to mention the thousands of fighters, all readily assembled to be thrown into the unknown.
If the operation went as planned, there would be more fleets, each far larger and more powerful than this, all with one target in mind, the Terrans.
The Jedi Master sighed as she reached out into the Force and searched for answers to the future.
She moved out past the millions of souls, through each and every unique signature present in the fleet, and into the Force. The sensation of falling took hold as she searched for what she was seeking, the answer.
She had been one of the first to receive the report from Anakin that had floored the galaxy. For an entire race of extragalactic Humans to be completely absent from the Force shook the Jedi to their core. How it was possible, and more importantly, why, was unknown.
Not to mention that despite the debates still raging on, more and more people are beginning to believe that Earth and their 'Milky Way' Galaxy might actually be the true birthplace of Humanity.
Their ideas of an ancient and almighty race they, and the mostly isolated Sangheili, believed had stormed throughout the academic community. They were called the Forerunners, having seeded the galaxy with Humanity and most life after a catastrophic war with a parasite called the Flood. It was a far-fetched theory, straight out of a conspiracy holovid, but their evidence was substantial.
It was possible that Humanity was more or less the remnants of the Forerunners, as it was known that Humans and Forerunners were very similar. It could be possible that the Humans were as ancient as the Forerunners. Were the Humans in this galaxy the result of a mass exodus? Were they transported here by some other ancient race like the Rakata? Maybe after the war with the UEG was over, she could get some answers out of the Terrans.
However, that did not matter now, as the Republic was just about to launch itself into a war with an enemy whose power it did not know.
Despite its small size, the UEG had an abnormally large military, a military more than suitable to fight off more than a few Republic sector armies. The fact that most of the Terran general public thought that the armies of the rest of the Galaxy were proportionally small spoke volumes of their history (a history which Aayla herself found fascinating).
They had, in a 1000 years, advanced from swinging primitive metal swords, to launching satellites and splitting atoms. In just another 500 years, they leaped from landing on their moon, to colonizing moons of worlds, many light years away from their home system.
Aayla still was amazed at how many different cultures, languages and religions had formed and were all packed onto one world. Their history was just as interesting.
If one word was used to describe their history in a nutshell, violent would not do it justice.
Thousands of wars, civil wars, 2 gigantic ones called World Wars, an Intersystem war, hundreds of insurrections, rebellions, and revolts.
The Covenant War, however, was almost frightening to read about. There were plenty of wars, many spanning the galaxy, that had led to whole worlds being destroyed, but for one species to deliberately try to kill off one another at such a grand scale was horrifying.
It partially explained why Terrans seemed to be very wary of alien species.
The Force gave her the usual sensation of another person coming up beside her, and she opened her eyes to see Shaak Ti looking out the window as well. Prior to arriving at the fleet's staging area, Aayla had heard Shaak Ti had just been transferred from Kamino to Taris.
"Greetings, Master Ti." Aayla bowed her head.
"Master Secura." Ti replied curtly, her drab robes twirling around her form as she came to a stop next to her. Both of them were treated as if they were non-existent by the bridge officers, who were caught up at their stations performing their duty.
The 2 Jedi stood in silence before Shaak Ti spoke.
"You are still searching for the answer, no?"
Secura sighed and cast her look downwards, "Yes, I still don't know what to think about this, or the Republic and CIS anymore."
Shaak Ti frowned and stared into Aayla's eyes, "The Force is still shrouded by the Dark Side, and one cannot easily find the answers they seek. I assume you wish to know if this war is right?"
"That is correct; I don't see why we must attack them. We don't even know if we can defeat them, even with all of this." Secura replied as she turned her back to the window of the bridge and the otherwise bleak expanse of space.
"We will only know when it all begins if the Republic will emerge victorious. Though I still don't know whether this war is right or wrong, it is clear the Terrans are a threat to the Republic. They clearly have supported the CIS the entire time they've shared diplomatic relations." Shaak Ti calmly replied.
Aayla's lekku twitched as she sensed Tarkin's presence, he was almost complete with his preparations. Operation Star Fist was in the last stage of organization before its execution.
"But is that such a bad thing? The UEG is a democracy similar to the Republic; in fact, it is far more efficient and wishes very publicly to not meddle in Galactic affairs. We all know that the Republic hounded them into joining the war as did the CIS. The UEG remained almost completely neutral; at least until Republic Intelligence had its servers breached. They must have found something to cause them to drastically reverse their position on the Clone War and the Republic."
Shaak Ti turned to face her fellow Jedi Master, and with a worried expression spoke. "Aayla, the Republic has lasted for thousands of years. Yes, it has had its fair share of problems, but the UEG has begun openly supported the CIS and destroyed a Republic vessel. A power that supports the CIS is-"
Aayla interjected, "I know, the CIS has done horrible things, and it's a creation of the Sith. However, a new party has risen up, and it is the people of the systems who will soon lead them. They themselves believe that they were pawns of the corporations and companies who were really pursuing their own agenda and who are controlled by their goals. That's something which we all believe to be true and-"
The intercom buzzed as the door slid open.
"Admiral on deck!" An ensign called out to the bridge crew, promptly snapping to attention.
Aayla and Shaak Ti spun around to see the familiar face of Wilhuff Tarkin, alongside the third Jedi to accompany them on the attack. It was a Human Jedi master, with over 30 years of experience, a light complexion, blond hair, and his name being Jax Sieflan.
The officers, Clones and regular volunteers (or regs, as the Clones called them), all snapped to attention with crisp salutes and their backs as straight as humanly possible.
The veteran admiral, who was just recently promoted, returned the salute as he went to his post, almost lazily, with Master Jax following right behind him. Aayla could've sworn Jax was mimicking Tarkin's movements.
Shaak Ti turned to look at Aayla, who could not help but scowl as her lekku curled upwards.
'Jax may be a fellow Jedi, but he is one arrogant… as the Terrans say, son of a bitch.' Aayla thought to herself, with a slight grin forming on the edge of her lip.
She immediately regretted her mental outburst, it being very unbecoming of a Jedi and unprofessional in general of her. Shaak Ti shot her a judgmental look.
The war had hardened everyone, Jedi were not exempt from this either, but her occasional bits of anger made her worried.
Was she allowing the Dark Side to creep into her thoughts?
Ever since her brush with the darkside, she always worried about it, far more so than any other Jedi, it seemed. She knew Shaak Ti had felt her thoughts, a fact only confirmed when Shaak Ti calmly reached out into her mind.
"Aayla, I know you don't like him, and I don't either for the same reasons as you, but outbursts of anger like that will slowly degrade you."
Aayla wanted to turn her head away in shame. "Yes Master Ti, it won't happen again."
At least she knew that she wasn't the only one who thought that, aside from Tarkin himself.
Jax had been held back as a Jedi Knight due to his stated over confidence, but the strain of the Clone War had forced him to be promoted to make up for the numbers lost in battle.
He had proven himself as capable, however his sheer arrogance still made Aayla, and anyone who had previously been acquainted with him for that matter, want to cave his skull in with a duracrete brick, as one officer had put it.
To bring that point home, Jax immediately swiveled his head towards Aayla, "So how fast do you think we will sweep aside these Force senseless kriffs?"
Aayla felt him sneer at her through the Force as she cooly replied. "Never underestimate your enemy Jax, it will lead to your doom."
Jax laughed."Please!" He scoffed. "They still use slugthrowers for Force's sake. I bet we will have them absorbed into the Republic in under six months."
"That sounds an awful lot like imperialism Jax." Shaak Ti replied before Aayla could say something she would regret.
As if sensing the feud like a Jedi would be able to by using the Force, Tarkin strode over to the Masters.
"All ships are accounted for, the preparations are complete. We will be launching shortly." He announced.
Taris System
Winter-Class Prowler, UNSC From Dusk 'Til Dawn
"Tangos moving into a standard hyperspace jump formation, they're charging up their drives now." The sensor operator called out to his captain, Oni Bin Huesda, from his post.
Captain Huesda's holographic interface showed the targets in the fleet moving into position, ready to begin the invasion.
The 10 year veteran sighed, they all knew this was coming. They had intercepted Republic communications 2 weeks ago indicating an imminent attack. Huesda's cybernetic enhancements glowed a dull white as he downloaded the full report of the Republic invasion force.
"HIGHCOM is definitely going to want to see this." He observed quietly.
The UEG President and the General Assembly had ordered the UNSC to DEFCON Level 2, as all forces were put on high alert while the Senate and Assembly began to draft the declaration of war on the Republic in the capital of Sydney all the way back on Earth.
Now the storm finally had arrived at the UNSC's doorstep.
As a grizzled veteran of the Human-Covenant War, the prospect of war with the Republic didn't frighten Huesda as much as it would have ten years ago during the climax of the conflict, but the fear still lingered in the back of his head. Even then, he still held strong faith in the UNSC. That thought relaxed him a little; it gave him comfort that he had never felt before in his entire military career. He had been desensitized to large-scale violence, although he still was aware of the fact that losing a battle in space could be costly, as over 20 billion Humans had learned during their war with the Covenant.
The UNSC's military is much more concentrated compared to the CIS and Republic, owed to the comparitvely small size of territory controlled by the UEG. Although each side of the conflict fielded millions upon millions of ships, they were all tied up on battlefronts across the galaxy. The UNSC could tip the scale in favor of the CIS by simply providing a few fleets to win crucial systems. Other than the Galactic Core worlds, such as Coruscant and a few other places, the UEG population is also much more dense when compared.
Another edge the UEG holds over the Republic is that the UNSC is largely situated on the outer arm of the Milky Way. It was able to concentrate its military far better, and aside from the Covenant Remnants and the Insurrection, who both had been relatively quiet in recent years, it isn't surrounded by enemies like the Republic was. It's also a galaxy away, adding to its defensive ability of being able to quickly concentrate in key systems and keep supplies flowing.
He quickly snapped out of his analytical thoughts, after a crewman informed him that the fleet was shortly going to begin jumping out of the system.
The Dusk 'Til Dawn had been stationed in Taris for 3 days now, watching as dozens of ships poured into the system, forming into a fleet that could conquer dozens of planets.
It seemed that the scanners of the Republic Fleet were unable to even detect the sensor ghost. They had come as close as 10,000 kilometers from their nearest ship, and there had been no reaction from the supposedly powerful ships, even the new Imperators.
And now the wave would come crashing down. Hopefully, the UNSC would be the hammer and not the nail in this case.
The captain stared, with child-like wonder, as over three hundred ships winked into hyperspace.
"Tell HIGHCOM that they have launched. Send a flash message to Sydney. Tell them it's beginning. And go forward with Operation Suckerpunch. As soon as we are complete with our mission, initiate a random jump sequence, then we're heading home to Reach." He ordered.
"Yes sir!"
"What is their estimated time of arrival to their destination?" He asked the ship's AI.
Its ghostly avatar sprung to life on its holopedestal as it replied in a monotone voice. "By my calculations, three to five days accounting for their inferior hyperspace drives." It was still being investigated and researched by the top brains of the UNSC, but one thing was for sure, it let the Republic get to UEG space, and fast.
Though technically, hyperspace was indeed faster than Slipspace, the fact that hyperspace was heavily affected by the gravity wells of celestial objects, going in straight lines was near impossible. Accurate star charts were needed to perform a hyperspace jump, whereas Slipspace Drives could mostly just simply input galactic coordinates and go there, but that damn anomaly opened up. They had a straight shot at UEG territory through the howling dark between galaxies.
Some egghead explained to him in a briefing that spacetime was being pressed together like an accordion. Essentially, there was a highway between the Milky Way and Andromeda.
"Sir, the mines have been launched. Maneuvering them into position above the planet." The officer announced.
"Good. we will show them what happens when they mess with Earth, Hooyah!" Huesda commanded his subordinate.
"Hooyah!" The bridge answered back.
"Are the mines in position yet? Are all systems green?" He asked.
"Yes sir, all green across the board. They are all good to go and positioned in geosynchronous orbit around the whole planet."
"Good. Get us out of here."
Earth, United Republic of North America, Manhattan District
The cityscape of Washington and what used to be New York City easily shined through the fog and two miles up into the sky.
Although Sydney was the official capital, the President happened to be in the URNA.
As the UN, and then the UEG, grew to encompass all of Humanity, the cities of the American Northeast slowly merged together, morphing into the super city that was soon simply referred to as Washington. Washington encompassed the District of Columbia, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Newark, New York, and all the way up to Boston.
The island eventually tripled in total area, thanks to enhanced dredging techniques. On it rose dozens of towering buildings (which could truly be called skyscrapers), rising miles into the atmosphere. Dwarfing above them all in size, while dominating much of the downtown skyline of the city, was the URNA Capital Building, a work of modern art fused with classical Gothic and Greek architecture, as well as modern uniformity that rose just a few feet short of 7 miles into the sky.
A sleek limousine pulled up in front of the building, flanked by vehicles carrying bodyguards.
Escorted by an armed entourage, the President stepped out and was ushered in by his security detail. He sighed as he pressed the elevator button to the top floor.
Finally reaching the top, he strode out into the conference room.
At one end of the giant semicircular table sat the commander of the entire UNSC Defense Forces, Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood. Filling the rest of the seats at the table were the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, General Assembly Speaker, Speaker of the Senate, Vice President Ruth Charet. The President of the UEG, Reagan Vladislov, remained standing.
"So, we are sure that the Republic is moving against us?" The Secretary of State asked as his aid handed the sleep-deprived man another cup of coffee, all the while he read the report on his tablet.
"Yes, we intercepted their communications weeks ago, they clearly indicate that they are going to attack. It was inevitable, especially considering what happened over Anoco. Nevermind the whole ordeal with our embassy." Spoke the familiar and deep resounding voice of Fleet Admiral Lord Hood, wearing his standard white dress uniform, adorned with medals.
The Secretary of State, who was from Reach, seemed to be only partially convinced as he frowned. "Fleet Admiral Hood, I don't want to sound too skeptical, but could putting our military to DEFCON 2 be what set them off?"
Hood spoke before the Secretary of State could speak again, "We all know what ONI found on Kamino and Coruscant. We all know what is really behind their war."
The Speaker of the Senate cut in as well. "I understand your concern, Secretary, but after they fired on our ships at Anoco, they proved their hostility towards us. I think that going to DEFCON 2 isn't enough."
He turned to the titanic form of the President, who gazed out at the panoramic view of the megacity, filled to the brim by an astonishing population of 213 million, with its accompanying never ending activity, from cars on the roadways far below, to the sky ways and the lights from the flying transport taxis, all the way to the tiny green figure of the Madonna and Child on an island far below.
The skyline started fading away, slowly into the warm glow of Sol.
"Sir, the Senate and the General Assembly both agree to the declaration of war being delivered to the Republic, but only the moment they attack, and everyone is in agreement to execute Operation Suckerpunch."
The General Assembly Speaker, an older man from the inner colony of New Peking mumbled as if reminiscing. "Especially after what ONI found out about that Jedi."
President Vladislov turned and strode to his seat, his muscular form seemingly trying to escape out of his black suit. He settled into his seat.
A veteran Marine officer who served as an ODST during the Human-Covenant War, UEG President Vladislov was a man who was trusted and respected by most of the populace, while his enemies feared him. Their fear was only heightened by the fact his platinum hair was complemented by three gruesome scars on his left temple. It was the aftermath of a rampaging brute's handiwork.
President Vladislov decided it was finally time to give his word on the matter.
He cleared his throat. His deep voice, tinged with a Slavic accent, boomed as he silenced all of the others.
"The facts are gentlemen…" He paused, putting his finger up as to emphasize his point. "That someone very high up in the Republic government, or more likely a large part of the Republic government…" He paused again.
"Has manipulated and lied to the galactic community. This intergalactic clique has manipulated their galaxy into going to war. All for their own personal gain. We all can see that the Chancellor and his supporters have had their powers increased, nearly equal to that of a tyrant. If the Senate keeps granting the Chancellor all these so-called 'Emergency Powers' their democracy will unravel at the seams." He began to chuckle at that thought.
"Our AIs have uncovered enough credits transferred between various fronts and individuals for one year to pay for not only the Grand Army of the Republic, but the entirety of the CIS droid army as well, all from one mysterious person whom we cannot identify. Where or to whom are these funds going? Palpatine's inner circle. Chancellor Palpatine is becoming a dictator, and it is only a matter of time before he gains total power. For the Jedi to supposedly not know this, yet be in such proximity to the government suggests that they are foolish, or are just as corrupt and are hiding it."
He paused and fidgeted in his seat that was entirely too small for his hulking form, waiving an aide aside as his eyes quickly danced around the giant, yet immaculate room.
"We need to go forward with turning the CIS into a proper political movement. These corporations pulling the strings have got to go. Dooku looks like he's been a competent leader for them, but he's been blind to the companies robbing the Confederacy. The Patriots have proven to be quite useful in turning the direction of the CIS around. Section 2's propaganda campaign has been quite successful. The militias alone are enough to make up for the loss of 75% of the droid army. Our advisors are still trying to deal with training the massive amount of militia members, but otherwise, it has been very successful. We still have much ground to cover when it comes to our more… unconventional tactics but-"
The intercom rudely interrupted Vladislov as Lord Hood's personal datapad buzzed.
As Lord Hood excused himself and stood up to answer the call, the dumb AI secretary's voice announced. "Mr. President, we have an urgent message from HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6."
Lord Hood walked back through the door holding his data pad as he simply said. "It's them."
Lights dimmed as the central projector connected to the data pad and lit up, showing Fleet Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole, who immediately crisply saluted despite his age.
"Mr. President." He then spun to the others present. "Sirs, ma'am."
"At ease, what do you have?" Vladislov said, returning the salute.
"Sir, one of ONI's prowlers on station at the Republic's Taris system just reported that the Republic Armada has entered hyperspace and is heading directly towards UEG space. Their flash message is 10 hours old. We should be expecting their armada to be nearing our borders in as little as 3 days. The prowler has successfully started its part of Operation Suckerpunch and its payload is ready to go. Our fleets closest to the corresponding system and at the Strategic Deployment Bases are all on high alert and have been given permission to engage any and all Republic forces that enter our territory. From triangulating their approach vector, we believe the fleet to be heading straight for the Alpha Rendara system, where the colony of Cienna and Strategic Deployment Base 5 are located."
Cole pointed to a galactic map. "Midguard is readying to deploy fleets to the Outer Colonies and Reach is sending up the 11th and 31st Fleets as support. We have restricted as much civilian traffic throughout the Outer Colonies as we can and have alerted all planetary garrisons. We have now entered DEFCON 1."
Vladislov grimaced as the rest of the members of the meeting cursed. Lord Hood stepped forward as Cole saluted him, Hood returning it to him in a timely manner. "What forces do we have at SDB5? What kind of presence do we have groundside ready for action?"
"There are currently 77 ships at SDB5, with 3 more on the way. 2 Concordia-Class Heavy Carriers, 15 Marathon-Class Heavy Cruisers, 5 Warlock-Class Battlecruisers, 25 Midlothian-Class Heavy Destroyers, and 30 Andraste-Class Heavy Frigates. Also present are some support ships, though they are jumping out with the civilian crafts. The 10 infantry divisions we have on Cienna are prepared, and all our ground-to-space batteries will keep them from overrunning the planet's orbit."
"It's a good sized fleet." The Secretary of State mumbled. "Damn good fleet."
Though it was true, it was rather unusual for that many ships to be located in such an unimportant world or sector. The whole idea of the Strategic Deployment Bases, of which there were ten spread along the border of UEG controlled space with around 70 to 80 ships at each, was to act as a deterrent and a rapid reaction force to defend the Outer Colonies and allow the UNSC to have more time to send in reinforcements. It could buy time for many other worlds to evacuate should the situation be that dire and allow Reach or another fortress world more time to react
Vladislov grumbled. "Our ships will be outnumbered over three to one."
Hood nodded. "We have sent the orders to evacuate the civilians and get them to somewhere safer. But for the first time in what seems like forever, this evacuation is not mandatory. We have faith in our field intel that the Republic will not target the civilian population centers."
Vice President Ruth Charet spoke out, "Are you sure that that's a good idea? We've never fought this 'Grand Army of the Republic' on such a large scale. We have no idea how they'll react if they gain orbital supremacy and our ground troops refuse to surrender."
"Don't worry; I doubt the Republic would pull such a stunt. If they do, it'll be a tremendous defeat for their home front. A war is won by the willingness and determination of the people." The Secretary of Defense tried to assure her.
The rest of the room nodded solemnly as Hood asked. "Fleet Admiral Cole, what ships are inbound to Alpha Rendara?"
Cole seemed to grin. "We have the Concordia-Class Carriers Black Dawn and Shinanio." He paused before adding. "The Medusa-Class Battleship Warhound with Sierra-117 on board is also en route."
The room was silent for a moment before the Secretary of Defense chuckled with a wide grin plastered on his wrinkled face.
"Of course Admiral White would sprint headfirst into any battle, he probably had his ship plopped directly on the fringe of Republic space waiting for the word. Hell, he might've even had his ship hiding a couple light years outside of Coruscant!"
"I wasn't aware that the Master Chief was deployed to Midguard." Hood said.
Cole shrugged. "Ask ONI."
Vladislov interrupted them. "No matter how much the presence of Admiral White and, let's face it, the savior of Humanity from extinction, will affect the battle, this isn't some border skirmish, it's an outright declaration of war."
He turned to the Speaker of the General Assembly, "Do you approve of the declaration of war against the Republic?"
The woman immediately nodded. "Yes sir, we do. The population of Earth and every colony already supports the declaration of war by a 90% margin after what happened over Anoco, and as we need only 70% to do it, it is more or less unanimous."
Vladislov crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "I spoke to the Arbiter recently, and the Swords of Sanghelios will not get involved unless something drastic happens. However, they have offered to take up the slack patrolling our portion of the Loyalist containment zone and the DMZ so we can free up more ships to feed into the war effort."
The occupants of the room were all murmuring and gesturing in approval of the decision.
The discovery of the CIS cruiser less than a year ago had the odd effect of making the Sangheili and the UEG cooperate far more. Before the discovery, relations had become lukewarm at best.
The two powers had agreed that they both wanted to stay out of most extragalactic affairs, in the case of the UEG, at least until the Clone War was over. The Sangheili were still… distraught, to say the least, about the Prophets lying to them, and found solace in their reclusiveness.
However ONI's hacking (which was almost routine at this point) was actually supported by the Swords of Sanghelios. Both the UEG and Sangheili wanted to find out as much as they could about the two combatants without revealing themselves in the process. The UEG's stance had changed violently when they found out about how a Jedi authorized the creation of the Clone Army, contact between the leaders of the CIS corporations and individuals on Coruscant, and of course, the vast amounts of funds changing hands across the galaxy. It was a huge scheme already, but ONI would have to keep up their efforts to see if there's an even deeper, or darker, meaning behind the war.
The Sangheili simply isolated themselves from all but the UEG. The UEG began to support the CIS, as it was seen as the only hope for the UEG to survive. Despite the fact that the UNSC was an excellent fighting force, taking on a single galactic power was suicide. Not even the Covenant spanned a whole galaxy.
It was obvious that there was no possible way to change the Republic, it was too old and bloated with corruption. Although the CIS is controlled by conglomerates, corporations, and the like, the UNSC hoped the Patriot Party would put a stop to that.
"Good." Vladislov replied as he stood up. "Gentlemen, this meeting is adjourned. I will make a public address tomorrow at four in the afternoon, informing them of these rapidly developing events."
They all nodded as they got up from their seats.
"Godspeed."
AN: It's been tedious revising the story, and with school coming up, I won't be able to work 100% on this, but I WILL try. I will never quit on finishing this story. I'm trying to cram as much work into this as possible before school.
