The New Threat
Chapter 2: Retaliation
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The works of Halo (characters and weapons) go to Bungie, while KotOR (same thing) go to LucasArts. Some elements were used in compliance with Gipper 40's story, and that doesn't belong to me either.
The remains of the Jedi Order gathered in the main conference room, which the only casualty was a few missing seats. Revan was seated in his own seat, to which Jedi were still coming. Kaoru Bate was standing in the center stage seat, speaking.
"Our only sanctuary was laid upon waste," Bate said, "as was this planet-wide city of Coruscant. We have lost many Jedi lives, although toll brought upon our Republic allies was even higher. What we know about our enemy or their intent still lies a mystery." He made a fist. "This will not be the only attack. We must defend... while one of us goes out to seek out our enemy."
"It will become war!" cried out another Jedi. "We don't need this needless bloodshed, do we?"
Revan turned at another presence, seeing Bastila taking a seat next to him. "Haven't seen you in a while, Revan commented. "You've been away somewhere?"
"I just got back from a Sith search," Bastila replied. "There's no one on Korriban anymore, and Vjun is deserted. Even on Ambria, the Hssiss have even withdrew and didn't appear to me. But there have been whispers beyond the Unknown Regions. You returned from searching too?"
"I've visited all the planets within the rim that either are known for being Sith outposts or have a call of the Dark Side. Nothing."
"These aliens that Bate is talking about has nothing to do with the Dark Side?"
"Not that I'm aware of. They're dead to the Force for all I know." Revan shifted his legs and paid back attention to the Jedi Grandmaster.
"The act of initiative is now! In order to preserve our order, we must deal with these abominations!"
"I have to say something," Revan said. "I know something." And so he did, looking up at the Jedi Grandmaster. "Master Bate, these abominations are not the kind of species you think."
The Jedi Grandmaster looked down at Revan. "Jedi Revan," he said, "Prodigal Knight and once a savior to the Republic, what makes you say that?"
"These aliens, I have fought and spoke with them. They name themselves from a faction called the Covenant. This Covenant, they are more intelligent than you know. First, they prepared the raid, simultaneously prepping explosives at our most important facilities. Second, they aimed their focus in the Jedi Archives, in an attempt to gather our information. What can this explain, other than that these aliens know the most practical way of subduing an enemy: information, then the fight?
"They gather the intel on which we fight, while crippling our forces with one small movement. They initiate an invasion to mask their actual mission; finding our oldest traditions, finding a weakness, then utilizing that weakness against us."
There was a quiet mutter among all of the seats, even Bate was speaking to his adviser. "You have spoken well, Jedi Revan," Bate said. "We all know your prowess in the Mandalorian Wars. But what tactics will allow us to rid our enemy?"
"I do not know. This predicament brings me back to when I was recruiting members to join my cause into fighting in the Wars. But we aren't facing some race we've known for our lives. These aliens are more intelligent than the Mandalorians, and fight for much more than pride. Who shall join me, to rid our adversaries from our galaxy?"
No one spoke. They all spoke among themselves, trying to know which way was right.
"This goes bad for all of us," Bastila commented. "No one wishes to retaliate, given that they saw with their own eyes what had happened to Coruscant."
Revan looked down with closed eyes. "Then," he said aloud, "I shall go alone. Whoever here has a change of heart, follow me. But otherwise, if you won't... stay here. I shall not force anyone to follow; for I have done my part. Your choice is what counts." Revan turned heel and walked away from the room, into the hallway, toward the hangar bay.
"Revan!" Bastila called after him. He stopped for a brief moment, looking at her. "You're really going?"
"Like the Wars, anyone who messes around with my homeland messes with me. These aliens will be paid in full, whether my life is taken or not." He started forward, but Bastila stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm leaving. I may not come back."
Bastila looked down for a second. "Then please try to come back." Her hand moved from Revan's shoulder to the back of his head to pull him down. "For luck." She kissed him, to which he consented.
"Only the Force," Revan said as he pulled away. "But I'll accept your luck." Bastila brought back her arm and watched Revan leave. I will try to come back, Revan thought. For you. But I will be gone for a long time... a very long time.
"T3," Revan said, "prepare my starfighter." The astromech droid rolled off, using his utilities to prime the ship. Revan looked up into the sky, seeing the outline of the Covenant capitol ship in the night. T3 whirred, to which Revan looked at the droid. T3 communicated that the starfighter was ready, and Revan jumped into the cockpit. "Wait for me," Revan said, "okay?" T3 hummed, obviously sad, but held his ground. "I'll be back, okay? Bastila will watch over you." T3 nodded, then retreated back into the main building.
As the door opened, four Jedi walked into the hangar bay, one of which was one was, apart from being a lightsaber and Force-wielding expert, was Revan's third-in-command from the Mandalorian Wars. She was for better known as the Exile by many. "Meetra," Revan said, "you're coming?"
Meetra ran a hand through her hair. "I brought friends too." It somewhat bothered Bastila when she and Revan talked, but they kept their relationship at the bare minimum. She didn't know anything about the feelings between Revan and Bastila, so she thought Bastila was overreacting with the Dark Side temptation of love.
Revan nodded. "That makes five. You sure five can take out a thousand or so?"
"Absolutely!" Meetra said, giving Revan a thumbs-up. "We, higher than knight-status, can have these splitlips run away from us!" The three other Jedi cheered with Meetra.
Revan smiled, putting on the headset. "I'm leaving soon. We may never come back."
"What the hell are you talking about? Same thing you said for the Mandalorian Wars, and look at you. From the Dark Side and back. Same here."
Revan chuckled. "Get in the starfighters. The Republic's gonna leave soon." Meetra nodded, guiding the other Jedi into their ships. The Republic air control signaled a take off, and Revan started the engine and soared toward space.
"Revan, you sure where we're going?"
Meetra's voice sounded clear in Revan's cockpit. Revan looked out of the airtight glass shell, seeing Meetra's starfighter gliding at the same speed as his. "The Republic should be here any minute. That's when we go get at the capitol ship..."
"Master Jedi! Coming loud and clear?"
"Jedi Knight Revan speaking," Revan responded. "Identification, please?"
"Lieutenant Doram, at your service. Target's the large vessel, isn't it?"
"Yes, lieutenant." The motion sensor on Revan's control panel pinged. "Incoming defense force! Initiate defense form two! Hawk's Eye!" The ships rolled into a scattered position. Revan kept his eyes peering out the glass, glancing at the motion tracker every few seconds. There was no movement... then a sun's glare.
Blue plasma rained down on the battalion, downing a ship. A scream sounded as the ships veered away from the coming explosion. "Plasma hail!" Lieutenant Doram yelled. "Republic forces, return fire! Attack web four, surround and make them sour!"
Revan guided his starfighter downward, firing upward on the Covenant spacecraft. Three blue plasma explosions flashed, the wreckage sent into space. Revan dodged a piece of a wing-piece of a wasted ship, then continued fire. "Jedi strike force! Get into the capitol! If we take control of that ship, they'll retreat!"
"Take down those shield doors, men!" The soldiers focus fired at the edges of the ship, but the shield doors didn't flicker. That was where the shield door controls were supposed to be, on regular ships. Revan then glimpsed a ship, the same one attacking the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, exit through the barrier with no harm coming to it.
"Follow my lead!" Revan called out over the communications lines. He boosted his starfighter toward the shield door, causing blue explosions to vehicles in his path. He occasionally gave a small push of the Force to crash two Covenant fighters into each other, causing brilliant fireworks in Revan's eyes. Meetra, the three other Jedi, and a third of the Republic Defense Array of Coruscant followed closely.
"If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you must be absolutely crazy!" Meetra yelled at Revan.
"And if we are thinking that same thing?" He gave another boost. "There's still time to turn around." He heard no other objection, then shut his eyes as the shield door came closer and closer. The Force... shall fight with me!
"We're in!" cried a Republic soldier. "Now we have to punch a hole!" Revan saw Covenant forces shooting at his starfighter, the Republic soldiers carefully placing sniper rounds into their heads. Energy shields either deflected off of them, quickly sparking it.
Revan brought out Mantle of the Force and Heart of the Guardian and kicked the eject hatch, using the Force to carry him up. The plasma hail came upward toward him, but Revan twirled his lightsabers to reflect the bullets back at their owners. Half the room was covered with cyan and purple blood in just a few seconds. The others were quickly brought down by Meetra, the three Jedi, and the Republic. The Elites brought down by the Republic had a few seconds before dying, thanks to their energy shields.
"Get the schematics on this ship," Revan said. A Republic soldier released an astromech droid from the drop ship, which scurried over to a pedestal. It inserted the access probe in a small jack, whirring as it gathered information. It turned its camera-piece and showed a hologram of the ship. "Hangar B..." Revan said. "And the bridge is forward. We go on to the bridge. Fight valiantly, for your squad-mates will avenge those who die in battle! We will protect Coruscant, dying as martyrs. The same reposition as the Mandalorian Wars!"
"Hoo-rah!" the soldiers cried out, pumping a fist into the "air". A soldier wired the information into a datapad, and they trotted down the central corridor, the door opening as they approached it. The soldiers poured into the intersection room, watching the doors. The one in front had light purple lights lit, while the other two shone red. Revan approached the purple door, opening to his presence.
"Purple doors are unlocked ones," he said. "Reds are locked." He walked through the doorway and saw the door across the corridor open to have Covenant forces pile through. In addition to Grunts and Elites, there were also weird raptor-like aliens that carried an energy shield. The aliens stopped at the door while it switched red.
"Jackals, they're called," said the technician Republic soldier. "Says so in their databases. They usually carry energy shields to make up for poor constitution. Given the numbers, it looks like we're going in the right direction." Revan nodded and readied his lightsabers.
The aliens primed their plasma weapons and aimed them at Revan, Meetra, the three other Jedi, and the Republic soldiers. Revan initiated in the Soresu stance to fend off the coming plasma rounds, deflecting them back at the aliens. The Republic returned fire, taking out the Grunts and Elites. Two of the three Jedi threw a lightsaber, taking out the Jackals. "Go, go, go!" said the corporal in the strike force. "The faster we get this done, the faster we go home!"
The party of fifteen sprinted toward the door, but it suddenly opened and a green missile flew out and struck the first Republic soldier, causing a massive explosion, green flames acting as an explosion effect. Three Republic soldiers and two of the three Jedi fell to the ground, unmoving. Six soldiers were knocked back or against the wall, concussed by impact. Only the technician, Revan, and Meetra was left unharmed. A large blue figure with a glowing-green, blue arm-gun on its right arm and a large sword-like slab on its left stood in the doorway, spines standing erect on its back.
"Anti-infantry," the technician said, "named Hunters, cached as Lekgolo. Hard armor, fuel rod explosive rounds, and high-tempered alloy on its left limb. Uhh, that's all I need to tell you."
The Hunter fired another plasma shell, to which Revan reflected at the Hunter. The Hunter brought up the large sword-like object to shield itself. It seemed unfazed, but an orange liquid fell from the Hunter's body. It seemed to roar at Revan, but no sound came out.
"Any weakness?" Revan asked the technician.
"Well, obviously the armor it wears is a problem, so it isn't very agile. They can be fast, but that only works for a quick sprint or charge. Once they move, they can't stop, so they are prone to friendly 'fire' when swinging around its arm-shield. There are gaps in its neck, shoulder, elbow, waist, thigh, and knee areas; key targets when cutting away the weapons." Revan nodded as he ran up to the Hunter, right under its arm-shield.
The Hunter let out a low rumbling sound, probably gloating over Revan's choice of location. The Hunter raised its shield and brought it upon Revan. A crashing dent was left in the floor, Revan nowhere in sight.
"Revan?" asked Meetra.
"Erm... M-Master Jedi?" stammered the technician.
The Hunter then stood, its back arched. Orange fluid poured out, staining the purple metal. Revan stood over the now falling Hunter, releasing his lightsaber blade then looking back at Meetra, the technician, and the remaining Jedi. "We have a mission to do. All soldiers, get up! Apply your medpacs if you have to, but hurry up! Get moving!" The down soldiers got up, some helping others to their feet. The technician passed around medpacs, all of then treating their wounds immediately. Revan laid the fallen Jedi against the floor. Revan turned to the last remaining Jedi. "Two of our friends died here. Are you going to keep moving forward or are you going to attempt retreat?"
"Either path guarantees death," the Jedi Knight responded. "But I intend to die trying to protect Coruscant, and that's how it'll end." There was determination in the Jedi's eyes. Revan nodded before going through the double doors, the ten soldiers, the Jedi Knight, and Meetra following closely.
"Commander, they're getting closer!" a Grunt supervisor called.
An Elite in maroon armor, a Zealot-rank, approached the side of one in white. "Their skills seemed unmatched comparing to our warriors."
"We gathered enough intel from their networks," the Commander calmly replied. "The Great Rebirth will be given to us... we will bask in their power, bringing us more power. We will finish what the old Covenant could not.
"And we shall succeed. Focus all troops in their position! They shall not pass through the intersection room into the bridge."
A shot buried itself into the wall behind Revan, not a few centimeters away from his face. A Republic sniper landed his shot in the Jackal's chest, killing it rather quickly. Revan unleashed a stream of Force lightning, a skill he learned during his days as a Sith Lord, at a gathering of Grunts and effectively roasting all of them. Meetra and the other Jedi used the Force to throw their lightsabers at Covenant forces around their floor. Plasma shots rained down upon them. Nonetheless, they forged on, only focused on getting to the bridge and driving away the ship.
After one floor after another, a few Republic soldiers were picked off. After the third floor, Revan was left with only the Sniper, the other Jedi, Meetra, and himself. Revan disgustedly cursed the Covenant for the loss of the number of his followers. He burst through another door, cutting his way through the Elites, Grunts, and Jackals. Further and further they went, delving deeper toward the bridge.
Through another door, Revan suddenly stopped. His followers seemed confused. "They're gathering in this room," he explained. He lifted the datapad with the ship schematics on it. "Past this room is the bridge, and it's awfully big. And again, there is a fairly long corridor connecting the two."
"And there are numbers...?" Meetra asked.
"Over forty, but under sixty."
"Fifty-something split-lips and shorties..." the Sniper hummed.
"They knew we were coming all along..." Revan said.
"The targets have stopped in Corridor D-3!" the Grunt supervisor called.
"Why have they stopped?" The Zealot-ranked Elite asked the Shipmaster.
"They are skilled in their ways they call 'Force'. Their databases say they can predict or visualize areas... or so sense ambushes." The Shipmaster Elite growled, his split-lip curling to a smile. "Break off their entire block!"
"Shipmaster," replied the Grunt supervisor, "but our brothers are still in that part of the sector..."
"Let them die with honor." The Commander pushed a set of symbols, flashing as he released a finger. "They are the Prophets' sacrifices for the Rebirth!"
"Should they wish to save their planet, they will forge on..." the Zealot-Elite said. "I will strike down our enemies, should they survive." And that Elite left the bridge room, striding toward an exit.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed Chapter 2 of The New Threat. Please leave a review, as that will greatly help with motivation towards this Fic. Thank you.
-Kai
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