SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Planet Dolus
Valhalla Outpost
August 16th, 2553
After everyone had returned to Valhalla the previous day, the 'Local Group' (the Reds, Blues, Doc, Wash, & Carolina) had been shown the entirety of the coalition's 'data-footage' regarding events on worlds past; thankfully, the temporal distortion field was still active, so the entire viewing 'only' lasted until 10:30 at night. Now it was 10:30 the next morning and they were still talking about all the things they'd seen.
"I still can't believe the war against the Covenant's been over for half a year and we hadn't heard!" Grif said.
"Well, we've been stuck here on this planet for a few years now," Simmons replied, "and this world's pretty out-of-the-way, plus it seems like the Director deliberately had us kept in the dark on outside events. Still… I can hardly believe we actually have the Elites on our side now! And most of the Grunts and Hunters!"
"And there was that stuff with the Halos and the Forerunners and the Flood…" Grif shuddered. "Christ, those things were just wrong…"
"At least their leader's dead… I hope."
"And those ninjas and mages... Lanstar could've flattened that entire army of Tex-bots by herself! So why didn't she?"
"Apparently she loves a challenge, so she holds her power back to a degree depending on who or what she's fighting."
"Well, she coulda held back a little less, enough at least to prevent me from getting nut-punted… And whaddya think about that kid Erika?"
"You mean besides the fact that she's adorable?"
"…Okay, yeah, she's adorable. And did you see her fight? I didn't think something so cute could be badass."
"…And you're saying that after the first set of footage was a little nine-year-old in a poofy white dress and pink wings of magic using her BFG to dish out enough firepower to scrap a Covenant Scarab four times over?"
"…Good point."
As the two chatted, standing atop a flat boulder a little ways from Red Base, the ONI-S3 agent crept up behind them through the foliage. These two were confirmed to be former members of Project Freelancer's "simulation trooper" division; thus, they would die first. He slowly raised his silenced M6C pistol, aiming for the back of Grif's head… and, as he fired, Grif and Simmons spun to the side in a dodge, drawing their sidearms in fluid motion, and put four rounds into the surprised agent's center mass. He fall backward, coughing blood, as the two Reds hopped down and walked up to him.
"Guess what, asshole?" Grif said. "Earlier this morning Lanstar gave us motion trackers to install in our armor. Nice try, though."
He then delivered a coup de grace between the eyes of the agent.
"I wonder who this joker belonged to?" he wondered.
"Hey," Simmons said, "I recognize that visor system. It has a built-in camera that transmits data back to another location."
"Crap. So that means they probably know that we know they're there."
"Better go warn the others" Simmons said as he used the butt of his gun to smash the visor/camera (it was already damaged by Grif's bullet punching through it, but Simmons wasn't taking any chances).
A few minutes later, everyone had gathered around inside Red Base.
"Yeah, this is definitely one of Parangosky's goons" Teana said, inspecting the body. "What I don't know is how they'll react. If their presence here is small, they'll likely abort for a while and try again later when they think our guard is down, maybe in another location. …If they brought enough friends along, though, they could try to attack us soon now that their cover's blown."
"We should fortify our defenses" Washington suggested. "Just to be sure."
"Alright," Aqua said, "Tucker, Caboose, Washington, we should probably have you all stationed here; Red Base has better defenses than Blue Base, and it'll be easier if we only have to defend one location instead of two."
"I'll set up some autoturrets" Ginga said. "Simmons, Mana, help me with this, would ya?"
"I'll place some mines and other booby-trap stuff" Marie said. "Carolina, Subaru, help me out?"
"I'll go make sure our long-range scanners are working" Church said as he appeared from a nearby terminal.
"And I'll contact the Colonel and the Shipmaster," Teana said, "inform them of the situation."
"I'll make sure our weapons are ready" Sarge said. "Grif, Caboose, you're with me on this."
"I'll go conceal and set up defenses around my veggie garden," Donut said, "so those spooks don't squash my squash."
"…Shion, go with Donut, just in case there are more of these guys out there."
"End of one adventure, start of another…" Carolina mused.
"The rest of you, go secure our vehicles" Teana ordered. "Get them over here, conceal them but put them where we can make a quick getaway if things go FUBAR. And maybe we can add one or two of the Warthogs' chainguns to the defense."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Alright, people, let's make this place a fortress!"
-SCENE BREAK-
Valhalla Outpost
40 Minutes Later
"This is Gamma Actual to all groundside teams" Col. Holland reported over the comm. "Black Sun forces sighted approaching Valhalla Outpost. It looks like Parangosky's spooks have chosen to nudge the pirates in your direction rather than get their hands dirty directly. I'm sending you guys some help, but the hostiles will get there before reinforcements do. Do your best to hold out against them."
"Copy that, sir" Teana replied. "We're ready as we're gonna be."
"Good luck, Gamma. Holland out."
"Did everyone get that?"
"Yeah, we got it" Wash replied. "Let's just hope they don't send too many after us…"
"Hey Wash, what can you tell us about these 'Black Suns' guys?" Subaru asked.
"They're the oldest operating "extra-legal" group; they were founded in 2378 – that's 175 years ago, if you're not in the mood to do the math in your head. They're a large and powerful crime syndicate who have their hands in all sorts of dirty business – narcotics trafficking, slavery, illegal mining, piracy, corruption of government officials, cyber-attacks, even high-profile theft of UNSC property now & then, not to mention scavenging off battlefields left behind by other factions' fights. They've also worked as hired guns for the Insurrection, performing terror ops and harassing UNSC cargo ships. We thought they'd been wiped out by the Covenant. It seems we were wrong in that assumption; they just went into hiding."
"And now that The War is over and the Covenant are pretty much finished as a superpower," Teana said, "the Black Suns are thriving on the leftovers of such a massive conflict."
"I got eyes on two Pelicans, both with Black Suns markings" Church reported. "Everybody get ready; they're here!"
The teams quietly took position, as the two hostile dropships touched down, disgorging a total of 17 Black Sun troopers, three of them in stolen and altered/customized ODST armor. What caught the eyes of the heroes, however, was the very un-human structure of five of the troopers.
"Kig-Yar…" Teana muttered as she surveyed the hostiles through the scope of Mirage Sniper. "So the Black Suns have Jackals in their ranks now. …Why am I not surprised?"
"They're coming up on a trap" Marie reported. "Hold fire, guys."
The hostiles advanced toward the Red Base, weapons readied. Soon, the ones on point walked between a pair of shrubs… and Marie remotely set off the two claymore mines hidden there. The blasts killed a Kig-Yar and two human troopers, and wounded one of the ODST-armor-wearing ones. The 14 survivors went on alert, looking around for other traps.
"Tucker, Fuyō, fire on my mark" Teana ordered.
Each of the three snipers picked a target. After several seconds, Teana fired, a beam of charged particles accelerated to Mach 2 lancing out, burning a hole through the helmet and head of the wounded ODST-armor-wearer. Half a second later, Tucker fired the SRS99D rifle he'd been given for this op (Church had personally vouched for Tucker's marksmanship skills), blowing through the upper torso of a Black Sun soldier carrying an M19 rocket launcher. Kaede F.'s shot a fourth of a second after Tucker's, fired from a PLF 'Longshot', killed another B.S. trooper carrying an SRS99C rifle.
The remaining Black Sun soldiers immediately dove for cover behind the rocks, the four remaining Jackals activating their shields. The defenders, being in no real hurry, simply waited them out. When the pirates eventually decided to rush the base, the three snipers picked off six more. Four more were gunned down as they came within range of an autoturret, and as the last one turned and tried to run he was taken out by a shot from Wash's rifle.
"More dropships inbound" Church reported. "It looks like they've got a vehicle this time."
Three more Black Sun Pelicans flew in, one of them dropping off an M12G1 Gauss Warthog. The vehicle began driving about, the gunner pelting the structure with hypersonic metal slugs. A rocket from Simmons was easily dodged by the mobile vehicle, and the maroon-armored soldier avoided decapitation via gauss round by only a few feet. Teana, realizing that this thing was enough of a threat to warrant 'unique methods', cast a Fire-type Sagitta Magica, the 23 magical arrows racing out, tracking the vehicle. Around seven of them hit the gunner, killing him and wrecking the gun; a few more hit the rear wheels, blowing them off and leaving the vehicle to skid to a stop.
A particle-beam from a Kig-Yar Sniper barely missed Tucker's head; Tucker's return shot didn't miss, blowing the avian alien's head apart. An armored pirate trooper with a jetpack tried to fly up and get an angle with his stolen Fuel-Rod Cannon on the roof, where Teana, Tucker, and Asa were. Teana simply used her Sharingan to track the man and put a particle beam through his chest, punching through his heart and detonating the jetpack, sending his corpse hurtling down to the ground. While this was happening, a handful of Black Sun soldiers had reached the base, only to be now met by a hail of gunfire from two autoturrets. Their focus caught by the autoguns, they were easy pickings for Mana, Sarah, and Caboose, who peeked out through the two doorways and added their shots to the guns'.
Subaru stationed near a second-floor window, firing rounds from a UNSC M319 grenade launcher down at the pirates. A small part of her questioned the morality of casually killing these men, but the rest of her mind squashed that; these people were vicious members of a dangerous and ruthless crime syndicate responsible for the deaths of millions of people over the centuries. And if she didn't kill them, someone else would, anyway. Several meters to her left, Kaede F. fired her Longshot every several seconds through the other second-story window, gunning down more Black Sun soldiers.
A boom and a rising plume of soil signaled the detonation of one of Marie's 'Antlion' anti-personnel mines, blowing apart a Black Sun Kig-Yar and two human pirates. Soon, however, another threat made itself known: a flight of four AV-14 Hornets, all painted in Black Sun colors. Upon sighting them, one of the heroes' Warthogs rode out, Ahsoka driving and Carolina manning the gun. The ex-Freelancer fired the chaingun at the closest Hornet, ripping its thrusters apart and sending it plummeting. Two more gave chase, firing their rockets and machineguns at the vehicle as it drove about, dodging fire. A rocket streaked up from the roof, courtesy of Simmons, and impacted one of the Hornets just behind the cockpit, sending it spiraling down to the ground in flames. Carolina managed to shoot down the other pursuer.
The fourth Hornet was pounding the base with its rockets, trying to bust a wall down and get a clear shot on the defenders inside. It did not catch sight of Grif carefully aiming his Brute Shot upward. The propelled grenade detonated against the Hornet's underside, sending it off-balance. The pilot regained control in time to catch a few rounds from a Concussion Rifle fired by Sarge, the aircraft now trailing smoke from accumulated damage. Before it could retreat, a few well-placed shots from Washington hit something vital, and the craft dropped like a rock to the ground below.
Two more Black Sun Pelicans flew into the canyon, one of them carrying a Warthog. Suddenly, however, a barrage of heavy plasma fire smashed into the lead Pelican's side, fired by the green-plated Phantom dropship that flew in from the east. The wounded pirate dropship listed, trailing smoke and dropping its Warthog, which hit the ground hard. It tried to escape, only for another volley to take out both its rear engines, leaving it to crash back down. The other Black Sun Pelican tried to bug out, but a barrage of rocket fire from an arriving UNSC Pelican took it down.
"Cavalry's here!" Teana reported to those who hadn't noticed.
The two coalition dropships touched down and disgorged their troops – nine UNSC marines, four Sangheili (three Minor, one Major), and a pack of 12 Unggoy. The pirates, already on the losing side, were quickly crushed between the coalition forces. After all was done, six pirates had surrendered after the rest fell, without a single coalition casualty. With the area secured, the heroes exited Red Base, waiting outside it as the leader of the reinforcements – a UNSC Marine Corps Captain – walked up; they saluted him.
"Nice defense you folks have set up here" the Captain said. "These Black-Sun bastards didn't stand a chance of breaking through."
"We had no idea how much we'd be up against," Washington replied, "so we thought it best to prepare for the worst. The actual amount of hostiles we faced was significantly less than we anticipated."
"Still, you did well. And while you folks were puttin' the fear of the UNSC into these jackholes, our orbital drones managed to pinpoint the location of their headquarters on this planet – including their ship, the frigate Procyon."
"So are we going after them next?" Carolina asked.
"Indeed we are. Rather than destroy a perfectly good frigate, though, we plan to board and capture it, add it to the UNSC's Navy, which is still in bad need of warships. It could prove a little easier than anticipated: the Procyon is presently ground-docked and undergoing maintenance. If we can get in there and take control before they can lift off, it'll be easier than tryin' to board it when it's already space-borne."
"And if we're lucky," Shion said, "we might find a lead on Parangosky's goons."
The man nodded. He then turned to the Blood-Gulchers. "I've been instructed to bring you all to the Starshot to meet the bosses and maybe get that old armor upgraded. Now, we're not gonna make you join up properly with the coalition and help fight our battles, but the option is available to you."
"We'll consider it" Church said as he appeared on Carolina's shoulder.
"Also," the man continued, "we just got a new shipment from the Infinity: new weapons, fresh from R&D. Gamma Team, Sigma Team, if you girls would like to come see what we've got…"
"Sure thing, Captain" Teana replied.
Within minutes, they were aboard dropships and on the way up.
-SCENE BREAK-
Starshot
Port Hangar 2
20 Minutes Later
The Blood-Gulch Crew looked around in wonder as they stepped out of the Pelican.
"If you folks would follow me…" the Marine Captain said. "We'll get you new guys your armor upgrades – better power supplies, VISR systems, energy shields, stuff like that – later. First lemme show you all our new toys."
He led them all through a few corridors, eventually reaching an armory, where several weapons sat on a large table. The Captain left, and a Gunnery Sergeant came out.
"First off," the G-Sgt. said, "I'll show you the newest models of gun types already in use." He picked up an M6 pistol that showed subtle differences from the C, D, and E models. "This is the M6H Magnum" he said. "The newest in the M6 series. Pretty much the same gun, with a few minor technical improvements that I won't bore you with."
He then lifted an assault rifle off the table. There were subtle differences in the shape of the grip and stock, and in intricate structure.
"This here is the MA5D assault rifle" he said. "Technically, this baby's been in service for a few years already. But the brass are gettin' set to phase it in as the go-to for marines."
He set the assault rifle down and picked up a battle rifle that bore slight differences in the framework, as well as a different scope.
"This is the BR85 Heavy-Barrel Scoped Rifle – the new battle rifle. It's… pretty much the same as the old one."
He next picked up a gun with a long barrel and an impressive-looking scope.
"This is the M395 Designated Marksman Rifle, set to replace the M392 that's been in use for at least 40 years. They improved the scope a bit, and recoil's a tad easier to handle now, too."
He put it down and picked up a sniper rifle, which carried a new type of scope and a slightly different muzzle brake, along with other tiny changes.
"And this is the SRS99 S5, successor to the S2. Once again, it's basically minor changes."
He set it down.
"Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, I can show you the new stuff. First is this."
He picked up a rifle that carried a drum magazine.
"This is the M739 Light Machine Gun" he said. "The boys are calling it the SAW, for 'Squad Automatic Weapon'. Basically, consider it the MA5's bigger, meaner brother. With a 72-round drum magazine, you can dish out a lot of pain with this fella. Reloadin's a bitch, though."
He set it down and picked up a pistol-looking weapon with a large, fat, round thing attached to the front.
"This is the M363 Remote Projectile Detonator, or the Sticky Detonator. It fires a magnetic explosive shaped charge that can be manually detonated. It has a fold-out screen on the left which shows a motion tracker display from the view of the fired projectile, so you can wait until the opportune moment to inflict maximum carnage!"
The Gunnery Sergeant then set the weapon down and picked up a large rifle-looking weapon with two 'prongs' stacked atop each other.
"This bad boy" he said "is the new Asymmetric Recoilless Carbine 920, otherwise known as… the Railgun."
"We have portable railguns now?" Marie said. "Awesome!"
"Yep! It fires a 16-by-65 millimeter round at hypersonic velocity. Oh, and did I mention the rounds that it fires are explosive?"
"I'm gonna love using that thing…" Marie was almost drooling over the awe-inspiring weapon.
"Our last new addition isn't UNSC made. Hell, it's not human-made. Apparently, now that they're not lettin' the Prophets' bullshit guide them, the Sangheili are finally gettin' innovative!"
He pulled out a long, smooth-curved, bluish-purple weapon with a long, thin barrel.
"This is the new Sangheili Type-55 Directed Energy Rifle, a.k.a. the Storm Rifle. It's got a modular coil set, a high-mounted cooling shroud, an extended barrel, and other stuff. The Sangheili haven't decided yet whether they want this thing to replace the T-52 or just supplement it."
"This is definitely impressive" Teana said.
"Oh, honey, you ain't seen our biggest new toy yet. Follow me, folks."
The group followed the Gunnery Sergeant to a nearby vehicle bay. There, they stared at a blocky-looking machine crouched on the ground on two legs. The G-Sgt waved to a marine standing behind it, and he waved back and climbed in. The group watched as the machine came to life and stood up, towering over them at around 20 feet tall.
"This," the Gunnery-Sergeant said, "is the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark-9 Armor Defense System. An M655 Heavy Machinegun on the right arm, an M5920 Missile Launcher on the left, ultra-advanced hydraulics in the legs, high-strength energy shields, and the ability to literally stomp your foes into mush! This is the UNSC's newest war machine! Ladies & gentlemen, I give you the Mantis!"
"…I think I'm in love…" Mana muttered.
"We also got two more vehicles in development, though we don't have either of 'em aboard this ship yet. The UNSC and the Sangheili are both finishing up work on new classes of ultra-large troop transports – the Mammoth and the Lich, respectively. The Mammoth has a back-mounted MAC capable of hitting targets in orbit, and the Lich is supposedly slipspace-capable."
"Jeez, we're really goin' into high gear with the new stuff, aren't we?" Subaru asked.
"I have a feeling we're gonna need it" Teana replied. "Now how about we give you guys a tour of the ship while we're here?"
The tour was basic, lasting about an hour. Toward the end of it, the group came into an out-of-the-way room containing several monitoring devices around a large raised circular platform, which had a series of cracks and fissures spread across its surface.
"And this is the Precursor device the resurrected Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody" Teana explained.
"Why's it glowing?" Grif asked.
"Don't be foolish, it's… not…"
But indeed, a pale green light was issuing forth through the cracks, from within the machine.
"It's still active…" Teana whispered, eyes wide.
Before everyone's eyes, the device slowly unfolded, the light growing.
"It's still active!"
Portions of the artifact broke free, swirling and circling over and around it in ways that made the spectators' eyes hurt to watch, causing them to look away lest they be sick. A deep bass hum built up, rising in pitch until it was almost high. There was a bright flash of light, and the sound of three bodies hitting the floor in front of the device. Upon completing its task, the already-taxed Precursor machine fragmented completely, its light going out as it fell apart, its pieces & parts then breaking down into glowing green particles that faded away into nothingness.
"My God…" Carolina whispered. "I… I can't believe it… Is it really them?"
The three figures were all wearing full-body armor. The first was wearing armor of the same type as Washington's, only it was tan with white 'accents'. The second was in similar armor, though dark purple with green 'accents'. The third figure's armor was radically different, looking more like heavily customized ODST armor, deep blue in color.
"Who're these guys?" Simmons asked.
"I can't believe it…" Marie muttered. "They're back… And who's the blue guy?"
Wash turned to the group.
"This is just fucking crazy… It's Agents New York, North Dakota, and Florida."
"Wait, Florida?" Marie asked. "I thought that something never-explained yet tragic and/or terrible happened to Florida."
"That was a cover story" Church replied as he appeared on Carolina's shoulder. "He got assigned to some secret op. I don't know what or where, though. I didn't know he was dead, either."
"Let's get them to the medical wing" Teana said. "And we need to inform Colonel Holland and Shipmaster Arum."
-SCENE BREAK-
Starshot Medical Wing
Three Hours Later
It had taken around 40 minutes before the three freshly-resurrected Freelancers regained consciousness. It had then taken over two hours to explain everything to them.
"So the Director's dead…" York mused.
"Yeah…" Carolina replied, sitting beside him. "Shot himself yesterday. …I spent years hunting him down, but… Wash made me realize how far I was falling, how close to the abyss I was getting. And when I found the Director, saw what he'd become, how much he'd been… damaged… I couldn't do it. He asked for my pistol, and I gave it to him. He gave us FILSS, gave us some intel on the Black Suns, and then… did my job for me."
York closed his eyes, pensive. "And now I'm caught up in a multi-dimensional thing."
"Pretty much. …I still find it hard to believe that when that Precursor device brought you three back, it brought Delta and Theta back, too. Epsilon-Alpha is still 'complete', possessing the remnants of Delta & Theta within himself, and yet now they also exist outside of him simultaneously."
"I never really thought too hard about the fine points of AI stuff" York replied with a grin. "I always left that kinda headache-inducing line of thought to Delta."
In another room, North and Wash sat with their helmets off, having since completed explanations and talked about other things.
"It's like York said back then, I guess" North said. "The galaxy's moving too fast, and we're just trying to keep up."
"Yeah…" Wash replied. "And we get trampled if we can't…"
North frowned lightly; having heard it from the man himself, he could understand why Washington's cheerful innocence was long gone, but it was still sad to think about the loss of something so pure. What hurt him more, though, was learning the circumstances behind his own death: his own beloved little sister had betrayed and murdered him just to save her own skin… and she had apparently been looking for an opportunity to do so for quite some time, having grown to hate him out of jealousy at some point. Normally so observant, North was shocked that he had somehow managed to miss the subtle signs until it was too late.
Outside the third room, Marie hung out with Caboose and Tucker. Church appeared on a nearby holo-terminal.
"Alright," Church said, "Lanstar just finished explaining things to Agent Florida. Lemme see if I can tap into the camera for that room and see anything. …Hm, our blue friend has his… helmet… off…"
"What's wrong, Church?" Tucker asked.
"…Oh… Oh, no way… No fucking way!" the AI was in utter shock. "Holy shit, you've gotta be kidding me!"
"What is it?" Marie asked, alarmed.
"Agent Florida is Captain Flowers!" Church exclaimed. "Flowers is a Freelancer!"
Marie and Tucker had simultaneous jaw-drops (though you couldn't tell with the latter, what with his helmet).
"I always knew there was something special-secret about him…" Caboose said. "I just wasn't sure what. …Y'know, this is actually only the third most shocking possibility I'd considered; I'd have been even more shocked if he'd been, like, a straight robot or, um, if he were really made of flowers inside that armor…"
"Freelancers back to life, the Director's Carolina's dad, Captain Flowers is Florida…" Marie was muttering. "This is an entire season's worth of plot twists…"
Teana walked out of the room, and the Blues promptly walked in, Church piggybacking in/on Tucker's armor.
"So…" Flowers said. "You boys have been busy…"
As they talked, Teana and Marie walked away, stopping by a window-projection, staring out into the starry void.
"While I was talking to Mr. Flowers," Teana said, "I got word from Colonel Holland. Yesterday, the UNSC Infinity found Halo Installation 03."
"Already?" Marie asked. "What are they gonna do with it?"
"Study it, apparently. They're planning to construct an orbital research base – Ivanoff Station."
"Hmm…"
The Reds came up, joining the girls in looking at the stars.
"Helluva view" Sarge remarked. "It's been a decade since I've last been on a ship and able to do this."
"You gotta wonder what else is out there that we haven't found yet" Grif mused. "I mean, besides five Halo rings."
"Four" Teana corrected. "The Infinity found Zero-Three yesterday."
"Still…" Simmons said, his attention focused on a moving object drifting past the ship. "Huh…" he looked closely.
"What's up?" Washington asked as he came up, joining them.
"Look at that thing, guys" Simmons pointed to the object. "It looks like… Is that a person?"
"Yeah, that definitely looks like a body" Donut said.
"Must've been drifting for a while, I think" Teana said. She looked close and winced. "Ooh, that looks bad. Well, we know what killed him. Is that the remnants of a jetpack on his back?"
"Yeah, I think it is" Wash replied. He stared closely. "It kinda… Wait… Is that…? It can't be… …I think… It is! Holy fuck, that's Georgia!-!"
"Or what's left of him" Simmons added.
"Who?" Sarge asked.
"Long story."
-SCENE BREAK-
Briefing Room
90 Minutes Later
The Reds, Blues, Freelancers, Gamma, and Sigma were all gathered in the briefing room, along with five AIs – Church, Sheila, Phyllis, Delta, and Theta.
"T-There's so many people…" Theta remarked nervously.
"Relax, kid" Church said, laying a comforting hand on his "brother's" shoulder. "These guys are cool. You're fine."
The door opened, and everyone saluted as Colonel Urban Holland entered the room.
"At ease" he said. "I'll now give you an outline of our plan of attack. Tomorrow, at 1015 hours, we will initiate our attack on the Black Sun base, with the goal of capturing the Procyon, and the secondary objective of crippling their operations on this planet. You all, along with a handful of other operatives who will be joining us this evening, will be tasked with infiltrating the frigate. Once there, your AIs will interface with the Procyon's systems and lock its engines down, preventing it from lifting off. Then, you will make your way to the bridge and neutralize the command crew."
"What about the legion of Black Sun troopers outside the vessel?" Carolina asked. "We can't fight them all."
"Yeah," Marie said, "we'll need something really distracting. Like a bomb. Or a fake Covenant attack. Or several dozen people rushing forward while screaming 'Leeroy Jenkins!'. Or Grif's sister's ping-pong ball trick."
Grif shuddered.
"Yeah" Carolina said, and then double-took, looking at Grif & Marie. "Wait, what?"
"Don't worry" Holland said. "Tonight, two Raynor's Raiders vessels – the Blunt Dagger and the Halberd – will arrive. Tomorrow, their forces and the Starshot's will launch a coordinated assault, both to cut down on the Black Suns' numbers and to distract them while you all wreak your havoc inside the Procyon. Any questions?"
"What about Parangosky's agents?" Washington asked.
"We'll have our own ONI operatives trying to track them down. Also, hopefully we might get some intel on them from the Black Suns."
"If I may interrupt, sir?" Phyllis asked.
"Go ahead" the Colonel replied.
"Delta and I have been going over records, and we have just discovered something interesting. Apparently, shortly after the Precursor device resurrected Agents New York, North Dakota, and Florida, something was transmitted out through slipspace comms. We have been unable to identify what it was, but it seems to have not been sent by any crewmen. It is almost as if it sent itself…"
"Curious… Keep an eye on the slipspace fields in this system; it could be benign, but we should be careful. Now, any other questions from our operatives?"
Nobody raised their hands.
"Good. Freelancers, Blood-Gulchers, report for armor upgrades. Everyone, enjoy the rest of the day, and get a good night's sleep. You'll be departing at 0955 hours tomorrow morning. Dismissed."
-CHAPTER END-
Next time: the assault on the Black Sun base.