Chapter 17: Shielded
"W-what is that?!" Ahsoka asked as In Spirit of Fire dropped from the slipstream near the edge of Andromeda, several thousand light years above the galactic plane. The lifelike depiction of the hull-mounted sensors of the dreadnought depicted one of the Coalition's megastructure marvels, Respite. The massive shield world, constructed from the enriched elements taken from the many lifeless systems beyond the galactic rim, was gargantuan in its construction, measuring at just under ten thousand kilometers in diameter. The outer shell looked to be Forerunner Alloy, hardened to withstand potential asteroid impacts or possible attack. A GC fleet of similarly massive size guarded it, numbering at over a hundred capital-class vessels and an escort fleet of two hundred cutters and light cruisers.
"Respite." Kathryn answered. "Or Shield World 001A."
"A Shield World?" Ahsoka asked in wonder as the vessel neared the gargantuan micro-dyson sphere. Her questions were somewhat answered as a circular pattern on the outer shell of the object slid open, providing just enough space for the Infinity-Class Dreadnought to slip through. On the other end stood a monument to engineering the likes of which she had never seen. In the center of the sphere, an artificial star was suspended and contained by Constraint Field Generators scattered around the internal surface of the world. The inner surface of the massive construct was lush with green forests, tropical jungles, sandy beaches, and rolling hills. Some evidence of civilization on its surface was the only proof that this construct was indeed inhabited. "It's… It's like a paradise…"
"A fitting description." Kathryn smirked. "This one was built to mirror Earth. A few more are planned to undergo construction soon, each mirroring the homeworld of a GC species."
"You're building more?!" Ahsoka stood slack-jawed at how casually Kat had described the Shield World. She acted like this was just a regular planet, no different from any other, but they had built it. "How long does that take?"
"Well, this one took a few months." Kathryn shrugged.
"A few months?" Ahsoka declared her question, seeing the massive dreadnought starting to head towards one of the larger city-like constructs on the surface. "How big is it?"
"Nine thousand eight hundred and sixty four kilometers in diameter." Cutter answered simply, walking from his quarters and onto the bridge. "Currently houses a population of two million GC citizens, and four million recovered slaves and refugees from Zygerrian space."
"And word is that this one's gonna have a population of around eight billion by the time it's fully occupied." Cole smirked, his hard light form shimmering into existence beside the Admiral. Seeing that Ahsoka was somewhat startled by his sudden appearance, he quickly moved to correct himself. "Sorry, where are my manners?" He gave an apologetic smile. "Captain Preston Cole, Executive Officer of the GCSS In Spirit of Fire." He extended his hand to Ahsoka, who was visibly surprised to find that she could feel his hand just as if it were any normal Human's.
"A pleasure to meet you, sir." Ahsoka smiled, quickly recovering from her startled state.
"Ready to head down?" He looked to Kathryn, who nodded in return. "Good, there's two Pelicans waiting for us in the hangar."
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Ahsoka looked around the groundside city of Respite, the city sharing a name with the world is sat upon. While it was remarkably similar to the Central Decks of the Infinity, something that In Spirit of Fire sorely lacked due to its designation as a Warship instead of a Scientific Vessel, it was also starkly different. The city seemed to blend seamlessly with the flora around it. Trees dotted the alleys between buildings, vines ran the length of buildings, and the green grass seemed to completely overtake the ground, only broken up by the walkways. Up above, what Ahsoka could only describe as GC Speeders flew by, carrying people and cargo around the relatively small city.
"Right when I thought you had thoroughly impressed me…" Anakin mused, looking up and seeing the distant continent directly above him, barely visible through the light cloud layer.
"Is that the refugee camp?" Ahsoka asked, spotting the pre-fabricated structures assembled in a large grid on the edge of the city.
"Yeah." Kathryn nodded. "Medical Technicians are working on getting all of the emancipated slaves back to perfect health before we ship them home."
"Any word from the Senate?" Jane glanced over to Cutter and Alice, who were quietly discussing things near the back of the group.
"Senate's just entering into a hearing about the GC's mobilization now." Cutter explained, looking up from the hard light projection emanating from his wrist.
"Oh boy…" Willow muttered. "Marshall 'Vadam is going to have a busy day."
"Speaking of which…" Ahsoka began, looking to Kat. "I've been reading a bit about your history… what your officers let me, at least. How did you wind up allied with the species that tried to exterminate you?"
Kathryn sighed. "It's a long story. It took a century and a half of near-constant war to finally have true peace in our galaxy. First it was the Covenant, then the Covenant Storm, then the Remnants, The Banished, the Guardians, then the Jiralhane. After the Guardians… we all realized just how dependent we were on each other for survival."
"Even before that, though, there were Sangheili that fought alongside you…" Ahsoka though aloud.
"The Sangheili were deceived for thousands of years… that deception cost billions of lives. After seeing what that war had done, our uneasy alliance became a brotherhood."
"What do you mean?"
"A Kaidon, or Keep Elder, of House 'Vadam explained it best. On the 'Vadam Saga Wall, there's a passage about the UNSC and Swords of Sangheilios fighting side-by-side against the Jiralhane. It's become so legendary that just about every Sangheili can recite it word-for-word."
"What does it say?" Ahsoka asked.
"'Our brotherhood is etched in stone. This unbeaten path we walk is never alone. And through the trails of terror there is no obstacle we will fear, because we are unbroken. I would die for you, and you would give your life for me. The very sense of being… free. Can we revisit the times of past as if I wish they would never fade, and always last? For no demon, real or in mind, could ever challenge the courage of brotherhood tested in time. So may we walk in the memory of those who forever hold the burden of our freedoms. And I promise to never let your memory die, for I am free in it, and you are always with me… and never forgotten.'" Kathryn effortlessly recited the Saga Wall's words.
Ahsoka felt the weight of that passage slam down on her. She knew so little about the Coalition's history, so little about their culture, but that simple passage spoke wonders. "H-How long after your Great War was this written?"
"About a century after…" Kathryn explained, having now fallen quite far behind the rest of the group that was heading for the transport back to In Spirit of Fire. "The Kaidon wrote it personally after fighting alongside SPARTAN-IVs and Marines on Doisac, the Jiralhane homeworld. It was the first piece of Sangheili writing that was placed alongside the Living Monument on Earth." Kathryn smiled. "He even recited it at a memorial service for the UNSC soldiers that died on Doisac. People say that the Sangheili and Humanity became brothers at the start of the Jiralhane War… but we truly became brothers when the Kaidon stood in front of twenty billion Humans and said what he did."
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"This is an outrage!" The Kaminoan Senator shouted, glaring down Aiter, who remained steadfast. "You have violated the very treaty that you proposed! You've devolved a Species!"
"And your Republic has shown itself to be incapable of dealing with a minor nuisance." Aiter answered without missing a beat. Even with the heavy scarring on his face and arms from the bombing, he moved with grace and fluidity as he spoke. "I understand that this war has been profitable for you, yes? Especially now with the recent order for five million more Clones. Why would you want this suffering to end? Especially as the blood of innocents greases the wheels of your immoral war machine."
"As for the recent… regression of the Zygerrians, it is a fitting end for their kind: to be given a new beginning with one more chance to prosper without the forced labor of slavery to build their civilization for them."
"You have seen fit to completely ignore the requests of this Republic!" The Nemoidian Senator shouted. "What you've done is an act of war!"
"This is not a threat you wish to make against me." Aiter growled. "Standing here listening to your barbarity is an atrocity unto itself, Nemoidian."
"You dare speak of atrocities?!" The Nemoidian shouted. "This senate is well aware of your people's actions in your so-called 'Human-Covenant War'… barbarity seems to be in your blood."
That made Aiter's blood boil. "You should not speak on matters you know nothing about. The Dark Time was horrid, yes, but that is a thousand years past. Despite the war against Humanity all those centuries ago, our brotherhood is etched in stone."
"Lecture the Senate all you like, Sangheili, your kind has committed atrocities never before seen on Raxus and Zygerria." Kamino's senator barked.
"Ambassador, Senators, please…" Palpatine raised his hands, calming the Senate chambers. "Attacks against individual species will get us nowhere. There is a far more pressing matter to discuss. As the Kaminoan Senator so eloquently stated…" Palpatine began with a hint of sarcasm. "The Galactic Coalition has indeed violated the Treaty of Coruscant, but for good reason. The war's end draws ever closer as a result of their actions. If anything, they should be thanked."
"If it is any consolation to this Senate, once the Clone Wars come to an end, the Coalition will be withdrawing its combat forces back to the Milky Way." Aiter added.
"And with any luck, that will be soon." Palpatine nodded.
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"I can't believe it…" Ahsoka mused, walking back towards the city of Respite, having just met her parents for the first time in over a decade. "They… they're alive."
"And well, all things considered." Kathryn smiled down to Ahsoka. "They'll have a safe and secure home to return to in a matter of weeks."
"Did you send more of those Constructor Drones to Shili?" Ahsoka asked, walking through the densely metallic streets of Respite, occasionally catching a glimpse of a Constructor or a Huragok Engineer building structures and roads.
Kathryn nodded. "And more Lifeworkers. We can't heal all of the scars, especially the mental ones, but the planet will be made whole again."
"Wow…" Ahsoka sighed, looking around. "Now I really want to see Earth."
"Once the war's over, I think that can be arranged." Kathryn smiled. "Now c'mon, we've got some preparations before we're sent on our next mission."
"Any word on what it is?" Ahsoka asked, looking to the towering SPARTAN.
"We're being sent to Onderon to assist in an insurgency against the CIS." Kathryn answered. "Onderon's a densely-populated world, so we won't have much in the way of support. We need to break the Separatist hold on the planet and free their deposed king. With any luck, that should spark enough mass unrest to force a Separatist withdrawal."
"How are we getting planetside?" Ahsoka asked.
"We're being reassigned to the Stealth Prowler that we originally arrived in Andromeda on." Kathryn explained. "In Spirit of Fire can't exactly sneak past a planetary blockade."
"Who's going on this mission?"
"I know the Council wanted us to go, and Captain Haywood is bringing a platoon of ODSTs, a platoon of Promethean Soldiers, and two Force Recon Sniper teams."
"Wait…" Ahsoka began, suddenly remembering something. "I thought you said Prowlers weren't meant to land on planets?"
"Never said we'd be landing in the Prowler." Kathryn smirked. "We're going feet-first."
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"Are you sure this is safe?" Ahsoka asked, looking at the large Forerunner Alloy pod that would be dropping her through Onderon's atmosphere within a few minutes.
"It's a tactic that we've used for centuries." Kathryn assured her, doing a final equipment check. "If the average human can survive it, it shouldn't be a problem for a Jedi."
"Yeah, the average genetically modified human." Ahsoka added.
"ODSTs in the UNSC didn't have anywhere near our level of biological augmentation." Alice called out from inside her own pod as she made a few adjustments to the sensors within.
"What does that even stand for?" Ahsoka asked. "UNSC, I mean."
"United Nations Space Command." Kathryn explained. "The scientific, military, and colonization arm of the Unified Earth Government. Technically, it still exists, but it's a part of the larger Galactic Coalition now. Think of it like a… planetary defense force that extends across what's considered 'human space' in the Milky Way."
"Still… can't say I'm too fond of this idea." Scorch piped up, attaching his DC-17 to the retention arm of the SOEIV pod.
"Ah, don't be such a baby." Willow called out from the other side of the bay. "You've got a drag chute and ventral thrusters. You're only hitting the ground at like… a hundred kilometers an hour."
"Not helping!" Scorch called out, earning a laugh from a few of the ODSTs that were gearing up near the back of the bay.
Everyone's attention was re-directed to the intercom system aboard the Prowler. They heard Captain Haywood's voice call out. "Ground team, we are one mike out. Load up and prepare to drop."
"You heard the man!" The ODST Lieutenant shouted, grabbing his Particle Lance and slotting a power cell into it. "Find your coffins and get set for a Combat Drop!"
"Coffins?" Scorch asked, concern heavy in his voice.
"Do not worry." One of the Sangheili Rangers said, pounding the side of Scorch's pod with his fist. "You will have solid ground under your feet in a few minutes."
Kathryn couldn't help but smirk as she heard Scorch gulp. Sometimes, hearing things like that was a bit strange, but other times it was funny.
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Kathryn climbed out of her pod, happy to feel solid ground under her feet again. The drop had gone perfectly, and the ground team had all landed within a few meters of each other. The rest of Fireteam Gamma disembarked their pods with little issue, already very acclimated to the feeling of an orbital drop. Same went for the ODSTs. The Jedi seemed to have handled it… decently well. Obi-Wan and Anakin stumbled for a moment, but soon recovered. Ahsoka seemed a bit frazzled from the drop, but she was keeping herself anchored in the Force to steady herself. Delta Squad, on the other hand, was having a bit of a harder time.
Delta Lead almost fell out of his pod, dropping to one knee and taking a few heaving breaths before pulling himself to his feet. Sev seemed to handle it best, stumbling out of his pod and nearly tripping over his own feet. Fixer found himself leaning against the side of his pod, trying to steady himself. Scorch, by far, handled it the worst. Kathryn could tell quite clearly that the Clone Commando was on the verge of "Drop Sickness", something that was quite common for ODSTs in training. It was usually manifested in vertigo, vomiting, and in some severe cases unconsciousness. Luckily, Scorch managed to keep his meal down. "I see why you call them coffins, now." Scorch managed, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.
"Builds character." The ODST Lieutenant offered, grabbing his Particle Lance from the internal rack on the pod. "Grab your gear, I'm leaving a little surprise for the Separatists."
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"Looks like they fell for it." The Lieutenant chuckled, resting his rifle on his shoulder as he walked. The soft warbling of a Pulse Charge could be heard in the distance, triggered by a small squad of droids that had gone to investigate the impact point of the drop pods. "Dumber than a goddamn Brute."
"Almost an insult to those animals…" A Sangheili piped up, scanning the jungle.
"Gamma-Actual, this is Assassin-2." Ahsoka heard a quiet, scratchy voice in her ear. The comms unit that had been given to her for this op crackled as the Kig-Yar spoke. "We have eyes on a battalion of droids that are moving in on the rebels in the region. How should we proceed?"
"Do they have armored support?" Alice asked.
"Negative, jungle is too dense." The Jackal Sniper answered.
"Form a kill box with Assassin-1 at the mouth of the valley, hold fire until the droids are within range of the rebel stronghold."
"Acknowledged."
"Why aren't they attacking them now?" Scorch asked. "Shouldn't they be thinning them out for the rebels?"
"Four Kig-Yar snipers against a thousand droids?" Willow asked, looking over her shoulder. They were still five kilometers out from the rebel base, so they had quite some ground to cover. "Kig-Yar eyesight and GC Tech or not, those odds aren't good."
"Well, best get movin' then." Anakin smirked. "No sense in keeping the Separatists waiting."
A/N:
Finally, I put this goddamn chapter out.
Gonna skip the whole explanation, I really don't have an excuse.
Review time:
Shadow Walker of Fire: We'll see, I have plans within the next few chapters.
Teck3: Don't worry, I'm not suicidal enough to keep the Empire out of this story. You'll be seeing the "End Game" here very soon (like within 2 or 3 chapters, depending on how lazy I get.)
Guest: Probably not, I'm REAL FUCKING BAD at writing anything like that (ask any readers of my RWBY/Halo fic and they'll tell you just how shit I am at it).
Helyanweh: Combustion ballistics to particle and hard light weaponry is a 20-year transition? We're talking about armor that can phase in and out of Slipspace instantly, organic to digital consciousness without the loss of sanity, and the re-building of the Domain.
SPECIALGUY: The primary difference between Hyperspace and Slipspace travel is longevity. Hyperspace requires a supply of Hypermatter fuel, while Slipspace travel just requires sufficient energy to be dumped into the drive. Essentially, the Republic was amazed at the fact that an FTL method had been developed to allow intergalactic travel because intergalactic travel with Hyperspace technology would require an obscene amount of fuel. The only thing that prevented Slipspace-capable vessels of super long distance travel was the Causal Reconciliation, which the Forerunners solved with Probability Mirrors. In short: The speed of Slipspace didn't impress them, it was the distance you could cover with Slipspace.
Hoangxuan2309/Halo Canon (Guest) [Are you the same person? Your questions are almost identical in their wording]: I don't believe I ever mentioned the GC being 1000 years ahead of the Forerunners technologically. If anything, they're on-par with the Forerunners.
Secondly: While yes, GC Shielding and Armor is significantly more advanced than anything in the Star Wars galaxy, that does not make them invulnerable. It's the exact same concept that the UNSC used in the Human-Covenant War. Regardless of technological superiority, sufficient volume of fire focused on a single ship can still destroy it. Hell, Infinity even put a hole through the Mantle's Approach's armor and shields with a single fucking shot. At that time, the UNSC was two full technological tiers below the Forerunners.
As for the Chief, this was a conscious decision on my part. I've noticed something of a trend among stories that take place post-war (Either immediately post-war or far-flung from the Halo timeline we all know and love), and that's the fact that these stories tend to focus so much on the Chief that it's almost exhausting. I can get it if the Chief is still alive, but we're talking about a full millennia since the end of the war. I'm writing this story to distance it from the Human-Covenant War (Hence Humanity allying with all of the Covenant Races. Except the Brutes. Fuck the Brutes.). While, yes, Chief would be a near-deified figure at this point, we can look at our own history and see that most people today don't really know much about the war heroes of a thousand years ago. Sure, it's easier with digital record-keeping to remember people like the Chief and ensure that they aren't lost to time, but it's still been a thousand years. For the most part, the Galaxy's moved on.
As always, thanks for the reviews and sticking with me on this. I promise I won't make you guys wait another five months for an update.
-TallYapflip
