The New Threat
Chapter 6: Sub-Home Field Advantage
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.
Revan followed Richardson through the corridors, which were fortunately free of Covenant. The bridge was less lively, as many of the workers were either repelling the Covenant or working the communications link. "We need a fire team on Terminal Two!" a human said, probably the defense coordinator. Hood was watching a diagram of the battlefield, which showed thirteen rectangles, and two ovals.
"This fleet was the same size as the one decades ago..." Hood mumbled to himself.
"Something wrong?" Revan asked.
"This invasion was similar to the previous invasion during the First Human-Covenant War, but we didn't pick up their approach this time." The station shook again. "And they're hitting this station, instead of Cairo. Hood shook his head. Something tells me this is gonna be familiar...
"Private Tonthald, your orders: defend Accra, repel the Covenant forces. I think I know what will happen, and the enemy we are fighting now is similar to the Covenant that we have fought ten years ago."
"Yes, sir," Revan saluted. He walked out of the bridge, following Richardson, down to stairs where marines were busy gearing up with guns laid on boxes. He spotted a DMR amongst the guns, taking the rifle for his Battle Rifle and taking the spare ammo clips.
"Attention, boarders have taken Commons One!"
"We need a fireteam in Hanger B!"
"Both Terminals have been taken!"
So many problems... Revan thought. I'll meet up with Max then... Revan walked out the doors to his left, seeing Richardson manned at a deployable turret. A loud clang filled Revan's ears as another boarding craft attached itself to the station.
"I need a hail of fire on that blast door," Richardson said. "When it opens, let 'em have it!" A spark of energy burned itself on the door, increasing in intensity with each second. Revan readied his DMR, sighting it about just below the spark.
The door exploded, everyone waiting half a second before shooting, lead bullets weaving through the plasma shots. The strike team consisted of two Elites, both wielding T-51 Plasma Repeaters, and a squad of eight Grunts, five wielding T-25 Plasma Pistols and the other three with T-33 Needlers. Revan fired at one shot-per-second intervals, scoring headshots at the Grunts that were in front of the Elites. Richardson had then concentrated his attack on the two Elites leading the wave, and Revan picked them off with headshots.
"Let's go!" Richardson yelled, leaving his turret behind and running through the ruined door. Revan and the handful of marines followed suit, turning a right and going up the stairs. Plasma fire rained from the ground of Commons B-01 through the windows as snipers tried to kill the Elites.
Revan swapped his Magnum for a Sniper from a dead marine, he looked through the scope, setting his reticule on an Ultra Elite's splitlip. He fired twice, one to get rid of the shields and another to finish the Elite's life. Revan then fired at the other Elites, taking half-a-minute to dispatch of them, since reloading took a while.
After that, Revan jumped down from the window, bending his knees as he made contact with the ground. He inspected the bodies, making sure they were dead. "We have boarders in the port-side hangar bays!" The defense coordinator announced. "More boarders in the Habitat areas!"
"They're everywhere..." Richardson complained. "Let's get going Tonthald. Huh, what weird name to say..."
"Don't mind me," Revan said. "Besides, other people called me that."
"Whatever you say," the admiral said. "Hangar bays. Intruders and boarding craft."
"Yeah." Revan loaded his DMR before heading forward. "Maybe we'll see the cyborg guy too."
"He's the Chief. One of the last of the SPARTAN-III project and the last supersoldier we have. His existence ensures our existence, and nothing more. We have his back and we have his."
Revan thought what the humans would do if the Chief died, but decided not to dwell on it. They walked past the Commons grounds to Hangar-B, climbed a flight of stairs to get onto that level, and entered.
There was gunfire everywhere, plasma bolts and lead being exchanged like a BBS post. Revan caught the Chief firing Battle Rifle rounds, sweeping the anti-materiel shots and wiping out two or three Grunts with each sweep. Revan spotted boarding craft attached to the side of the hangar doors, loaded in a line of three.
Revan unpinned a frag grenade and tossed it into the Covenant forces. He raised his Sniper Rifle and scored headshots from the high ground. The grenade exploded, cutting down a large number of Covenant forces. Revan brought out the DMR when the Sniper depleted its magazine, dropping Elites and Grunts.
"Perfect timing, eh, Chief?" Richardson asked.
The Spartan only grunted. Soon, a bright light enveloped the room, and Revan could only see something he saw before.
He almost imagined that Coruscant was being bombed all over again.
"Lisithea, assessment!" Hood ordered.
"Covenant tactical bombs," the AI said. "They're trying to destroy the orbital defense stations..."
"All available hands that aren't engaging any enemy, head for the MAC control room! This was just like a decade ago, with the First Human-Covenant War! Chief, I need you and Lisithea to intercept the bomb, and override its detonation sequence!"
The Chief only nodded, then started backward. "Chief, the elevators are offline for the moment," a marine informed the Spartan. "We have to take the back service elevator." The Chief angrily shot a pistol shot at a dead Elite's head, obviously pissed off.
"The Chief's a sensitive one," Richardson whispered to Revan, who could only nod. "First, we have to get to the Engine Room. I'll bet that place is a heavy firefight right now, and it's just gonna get tougher."
Revan and Richardson piled through the Covenant Forces, through Hangar R-01 and Commons R-01. Hood appeared to be right, since the Covenant were heavily concentrated in defending that area. "Exit into the station's exterior, and weave toward the MAC tower. The elevator lift shall be infested with Drones. Once you've cleared them, head outside into space again, take care of the forces there, and enter the service elevator further on. Be careful not to drift away." Hood's directions could never have sounded so easy.
Nonetheless, Revan kept up his awareness, since he wasn't one of the people that had dealt with the Covenant some ten years ago.
Revan started forward toward a door, which was unlocked by a marine. The door gave away to two primed-plasma grenade-wielding Grunts. Revan shut the door with the Force, and explosions reverberated through the metal. Revan walked to the pad and opened the door. Only blue splattered the room.
"Lucky door malfunction?" a marine asked.
"Sure," Richardson said. "Let's go." Revan smirked as the Marines passed him.
At the next Hangar Bay, fireteams were already repelling Covenant forces, stairs to the MAC Storage already open. "Go on!" cried a marine. "We can hold 'em fine!" Two turrets were stationed at each boarding craft, effectively killing Covenant forces as they made their way through the connection chamber. Revan nodded, then made his way down the stairs, the Chief and Richardson following close behind. Revan crept up to a daydreaming Grunt and snapped its neck, dropping it. Revan set the body down slowly and continued forward, up another flight of stairs into Armory A-01. Commons R-01 was just outside the door. There was no gunfire... so that meant...
"Barricade is taken out," Revan announced.
"Wonderful," the Chief said. He raised his Battle Rifle and checked the corner, ducking away almost immediately. "Two Elites, five Grunts each. Plasma turret on upper level."
Revan took out his Sniper and refreshed its ammo clip. He looked around the corner and carefully placed a shot at the Grunt in the window. The crack sent the room into a frenzy, the turret gunner dead. Revan peeked out again and scored a headshot on an Elite.
"Can't we just use a rocket or something?" Revan asked. The Chief merely lifted a segment of floor and pulled out a M41SSR Rocket Launcher. The letters SPNKR were written on the rocket barrel.
"Already ahead of you." The Chief sprinted out and fired a rocket, its explosion followed by the death screams of Covenant. Revan ran out with a DMR, scoring headshots in Grunts and picking off low-shield Elites.
"Through here is the umbilicals to the nearby ships," Richardson said. "We'll need to make contact with it, and get down to Earth."
"Why?" Revan asked.
"'Cause that's where the Covenant are going. Take out our central government or head for Installation Zero One again. I was in the Battle of Earth, ten years ago."
Revan nodded and followed the Chief up the stairs. Through a door, a fireteam was being suppressed by plasma fire. "Damn those bastards!" a marine cried, chucking a grenade. The Chief ran out and fired a Battle Rifle shot. An explosion rocked the corridor as a grenade exploded in midair. "Was that a grenade snipe?"
"Sure," the Chief said. He raised his gun and walked into the corridor. Revan and the marines followed suit. "Stay," the Chief said. "I'm going into space. You don't have material for vacuum."
Revan dug behind his robes for a second and slowly lifted out his mask - the Mandalorian helmet that he had worn during the Mandalorian Wars and during his time as a Sith Lord. "Surely the Covenant know we're coming," Revan said. "Shouldn't two go to lighten the load?"
The Chief only turned. "Admiral Richardson. You should return to your ship. If the battle leads us down to Earth, we'll need immediate transport."
"Yes, Chief," Richardson said, saluting.
"Perhaps a spacesuit will help," the Chief suggested. When Reven denied the offer, he turned to the door. "Then let's go. Tonthald, set your radio channel to eighty-six-point-nine." Revan set the mask on his face and adjusted the radio settings. He pulled his hood on just to compensate his look; wearing only a mask did not seem right to him. Concentrating on the Force, he created a breathing environment with the use of Force Barrier and the art of Tapas. There was a quick sheen around Revan as he set up the Barrier, but the Chief didn't notice.
He followed the Chief down the corridor, exiting onto an observation airlock. The door into the station closed, and Revan felt the air depressurize around him as the airlock door into space opened. "Just follow me," came the radio.
Revan followed the Chief into space. After some time, Revan saw him jump over a container crate and disappear, only to find many more obstacles stippling the construct. Revan decided Force Jumps would take him out of the defense platform's gravity field, and so had a rougher time to get by. He spotted a door at the far side of the station, lit green. "That's our target," Lisithea's voice said. "Get moving."
Revan understood the situation, resorting to Force-Pushing both himself and the Chief toward the door. With one more burst of running, they entered the elevator and immediately started upward, pressurizing at the same time.
"There are quite a few Elites guarding the bomb," Lisithea remarked. "You may need to get creative."
"What happened to the fireteams dispatched to attack the bomb squad?" the Chief asked. "Are they wiped out or something?"
"They're pinned down in the elevator platform room," Lisithea said, "and there's no time to get back. The bomb could explode at any minute, if not second." The Chief cursed, but reloaded his Battle Rifle and Rocket Launcher.
"That's fine," the Chief said, just as the elevator doors opened. Revan and the Chief ducked behind a barricade, Revan glancing up from behind the metal sheet. There were six Elites, but only three Grunts. However... two of them were Ultra-class... with a Field Marshall. The ugly mass of bomb was right behind the defense force, pulsing blue on the control panel.
"It's a lower rank than Councilor," remarked the Chief. "Bet you can take him."
"Meh" was Revan's reply. "How about we thin their numbers with Plasma Grenades?"
"I'm on it." The Chief took the two Plasma Grenades from his belt, as did Revan, and tossed them at the Elites. Revan looked at their targets, three Elites and a Grunt growling or howling in fear. Four massive explosions rocked the room, every Covenant trooper laid on the ground, save for the Field Marshall who had rolled away at the last second.
"Dammit... was hoping the idiot Grunt would run up to him." The Chief pulled up his Rocket Launcher and fired the remaining two rockets at the Elite, whom deftly dodged one and batted the other aside. It drew an Energy Sword and soon absorbed all bullets from Chief's Battle Rifle.
"Wonderful," the Chief said. "Stay here. I'll deal with it." Revan was about to protest, but the Chief was already walking up to the Elite.
He's good as dead.
"I commend you, Demon, for finding us here," the Elite growled.
"Sure. Being a bastard and setting up a bomb in our station is very commendable too." The Chief pulled out a Combat Knife and taunted the Elite.
"You will perish with the station, and your entire race!" Revan saw the Chief run towards the Elite, the figure of Lisithea appearing at a holotank.
"Me, inside your head, now!" she commanded. The Chief placed a hand on the tank, then on the bomb. The Elite growled as it raised its sword on top of the Chief, and Revan had to save him by throwing a glowing barrel, a fusion coil, with the Force. It exploded on contact, only harming the shields of the two. Nonetheless, it still distracted the Elite.
The Chief recovered, swiped an Energy Sword from the Elite's leg, and ignited it. He was barely able to block the Elite's second strike, only centimeters away from his helmet. In the lock, the Chief rotated his knife into a "proper" grip and lunged at the Elite. The Elite rolled back to dodge the knife.
The Chief took the opportunity to throw the knife, but it was batted aside as the Elite stood up. It ran up to the Chief and started its flurry of attacks, which the Chief was able to block with his sword. The Elite kicked at the Spartan, sending him back. The Elite jumped on top of the Spartan and slammed its sword at the Chief's head, missing by a centimeter.
The Chief brought his foot up into the Elite's fork, causing a massive spike of pain into the alien's body. The Elite roared in pain and anger, downward-slammed the Spartan on the head and dazed him thus. He raised his sword for the kill...
"No!" Revan cried, forsaking his hiding spot with Heart of the Guardian primed. Revan swung at the Elite in midair, who had no other way than to stop the execution and dodge the orange blade.
"The Demon of Coruscant," the Elite growled, surprising Revan of their knowledge already. "But no matter; all I have to do is strike you down. 'Tarumee has already informed us much about your... advanced technology."
"Did he now?" Revan asked, assuming the person the Elite spoke of was male.
"Yes... and we have already gathered the intel on these humans. The only one left to study is your race... the Jedi, so you call yourself. So, Demon Revan, how can you fare against the Covenant?"
"Shut up," Revan declared, raising a palm and unleashing a pulse of lightning at the Elite. It blocked the stream of lightning with its Energy Sword, it gleaming as it absorbed the plasmic energies. Revan brought his arm back to lengthen the stream and then lunged at the Elite. The Elite spun to dodge the stab, bring its sword in a wide arc, an attempt to behead Revan.
Revan managed to duck under the blade, but the front on his hood was sliced off. At that, Revan initiated into Djem So, making sure he parried with the tip of his saber. The Elite was countered three times in rapid succession, greatly angering the Elite. It came to the point where the Elite started to back away from Revan every time the blades made contact.
Seeing the Elite being an opportunist, Revan changed his lightsaber form into his Juyo stance, relentlessly battering the Elite with swift, powerful sword thrusts. The alien jumped back from Revan's onslaught, in addition to stalling time which Revan thought to be a crude version of Soresu.
Revan quickly reverted to a Makashi stance, using pinpoint movements to overwhelm the Elite's defenses. Revan was easily able to maim the Elite, albeit slightly, on the wrist-guards and thigh-guards. Revan kept up the stabbing and subtle slashing motions, cutting the smallest digit off the Elite's offhand.
The Elite roared in anger as it forsook Soresu for an overhead blow. Revan initiated a counterstrike, a horizontal slash that knocked the blade away for an opening.
The results weren't thus. Instead, the ringing sound of the plasma fragments echoed in the room. The plasma shards began to become clear as the energy within them dissipated. Revan turned to counterattack, but the Elite had already drawn its Needler sidearm.
"The prophets have told us to dispose of the Jedi as efficiently as possible," it growled. "Our honor will be rebuilt with your death." Its arm pulsed; firing the trigger, and Revan saw the purple explosion on the barrel before a wave of gray sweep past him. The explosion sent the Elite and the figure flying backwards. Revan threw Heart of the Guardian at the Elite, which sliced it in half and effectively killed it.
Revan didn't gloat over the Elite's defeat, but jumped to the fallen Spartan instead. "Chief! Are you alright?" A cough answered him, and the jolts caused the open wounds on his front to spurt blood.
"Whatever kind of treatment won't save me," he said, his voice sounding vaguely female. "Needler explosions are hard to heal... sad that I die for saving someone that just got accepted..." The next cough loosened the helmet off.
A brown-haired woman with black eyes sat staring at Revan. "And I thought you were a guy..." Revan said stupidly.
"Voice shelter worked...? It was for the marines, thinking it was indignant for a woman to be holding the war for them."
"You're still a Spartan," Revan said. "And you'll be recognized for your actions anyway."
"Just my service tag," she said. "It was all Spartans got, it's all they will need. Many died not from fighting the Covenant, but searching for John-117. The best of us all..." There came another wracking cough, more blood. Her mouth became stained with crimson. "Look for 117," she said, "save Earth and save your people. You aren't human, you're whatever that splitlip said you were...
"Jedi Revan." The Spartan took off a Spartan glove, handing it to Revan. "Do not let Lisithea fall into enemy hands. She is the reason why we have stayed alive for so long. Blow up a ship for me, will you?"
Revan accepted the glove from her. "I will. Do you have a name?"
"Claire. Claire-385." She took another cough. "Death by hemorrhage," she sighed, "protecting the one that saved humanity." She closed her eyes and chuckled at the proposal, then breathed no more.
If I could protect those who protected me, and those who I care for... Revan thought. But for now, I will just have to avenge them.
"Lisithea," Revan said, "we're gonna blow us up some Covenant Assault Carrier."
"No problem," Lisithea said. "Private... uhh, I'm sorry we're dragged you into this."
"I dragged myself into this," Revan said. "To protect something means you have to destroy another. The only ones who should kill are the ones prepared to be killed. That is the way it should be." Revan augmented himself with the Force and dragged the bomb out of the control room into the elevator.
"Fleet Admiral Hood," Revan said, "permission to leave the station."
"For what purpose, Private?"
Revan formed the sentence in his mind. "To... give the Covenant... back their bomb." There was silence on the other end. "Sir?"
"Permission granted."
Revan punched the button labeled "Hr" for Hangar. It didn't matter which hangar bay he was headed to; every Covenant ship was headed for the planet called Earth, and it was all that was needed.
The elevator stopped, and Revan brought the bomb into the empty Hangar Bay. He looked outside the hangar bay door, where Covenant ship and UNSC frigates fired upon each other as the Covenant dove for Earth.
Revan headed for the control column, unlocking the hatch for the door mechanism. A red screen appeared, blinking a warning. Room not decompressed, please await for decompression procedure. "Now, don't blink," Lisithea cautioned. "Or you might lose me."
"Don't worry," Revan said, "I don't blink much. It's... part of my job." With that, he pulled the lever down. The doors opened, and Revan started his Force-Barrier-Tapas combination and watched the bomb. It scraped the floor, creating sparks, then zoomed forward. Revan let out a hand and held onto a spike, being sent out as he held onto the bomb.
"This was for the Jedi on Coruscant," he said aloud in the vacuum of space. "This is for imprisoning me. This is for killing one I had wanted to protect. And this... is for being the assholes that mess with Revan, former Dark Lord of the Sith."
A/N: I am sorry for yet another long update. Term Two came up and is taking up a lot of time. But excuses, excuses... thank you all for your patience, and do not forget to leave a review. I made it long to compensate.
-Kai