The Intergalactic War
By Chief Ratchet
(A.N: Hello again, everyone. Sorry about the extremely long wait, school started before I could finish this chapter. Also, a major case of writer's block struck. If you read the last chapter's Authors Note, then you would have known that these two chapters used to be a single document. Also, since school started, be prepared for long waits after each chapter. Well, enough ranting and let's get on the show! Err, story.)
Star wars 2136: Yeah, that chapter took a bit of a long time even if you ask me. Hope this one is faster! Keep reviewing for more chapters!
brian: Thanks for the words, and yes, I do wonder, what would happen? Hehehe. And unless you're saying that I can give Cortana a body, maybe not. Maybe, but it will still take a lot of time for me to think about it.
Anime-Drugee: Yeah, I did forget about Ion Cannons, but they will come in soon. Humans vs. Covenant? Maybe not. I've read too many of those, and I need something different. Anyway, I don't think the Alliance would allow the Empire to build another Death Star. See you soon!
Shadow Gravemind: Yep, the Alliance soldiers are definitely in trouble. Keep reviewing!
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, or anything related or to do with Star Wars. I do not own Halo, or anything to do with it.
Chapter 5: The Liberation of Dac, Pt.2
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Up in orbit around the planet, a scene not so different from the scene on the ground a few minutes ago was happening. Many ships were locked together in a battle for supremacy over the planet. The Alliance wanted to free it; the Brutes, to control it. Both sides had ships of every size and shape battling it out a wild match for control. Things went from bad to worse when a fleet of CIS ships arrived to also control the planet. Every side had casualties, and the amount of space hulks was rapidly increasing.
On the bridge of the Vengeance, Captain Piett looked at the sight with a grim expression. The CIS fleet was very quickly wiped out, and now the main concern was the Brutes. The Brutes were dumb, as many like him had figured in a relatively short order. They lacked the knowledge necessary for controlling the ships, and they didn't use any fancy manoeuvres or tactics. However, the ships they had were powerful, but not used correctly, which was the reason why Piett suspected that they had lasted this long against them.
"Have all turbolaser batteries target the Covenant frigate over there engaging the Crusader. As soon as their shields are down, fire all forward proton torpedo tubes," he ordered. The officers and gunnery crew did exactly as they were told, and the Covenant frigate was destroyed very quickly. The whole of the bridge crew cheered. That Covenant ship was the Vengeance's fourth kill, and morale was overall, quite high on the bridge. The Vengeance continued to move to provide a harder target to hit, and also to be able to evade a plasma torpedo hit, which could disable the shields. The turbolaser batteries continued to spew turbolasers at the Covenant ships, occasionally scoring a kill.
"Sir, Green Leader from the Justice reports that his squadron dock. They need repairs and resupply." Reported the communications officer.
"Very well, officer. Grant them access to hangar four, and have a repair crew ready to meet them." Replied the captain. The officer reported the details to the leader, and Piett could see a group of four X-wings flying towards the designated hangar. After the X-wings landed, Piett continued to watch the battle, with growing concern. More ships were lost, and he hoped that there would be reinforcements ready in time when he would send he request.
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After repairing all the ships, the Arbiter watched the scans being run across the navigation console. The Elite was also watching the information carefully, even though there was no need to. Cortana was also sifting through the information, looking for any readings that showed up as a Brute controlled ship. Cortana watched the information far more carefully than anyone else could do, and knew that if she could, she would have sighed in frustration. They had been scanning for almost an hour, and still nothing had come up. The bridge doors hissed open, and an Elite walked in.
The Arbiter nodded at the new arrival, and the Elite proceeded to walk towards the navigation console, and once their, he tapped the other Elite on the shoulder. The Elite nodded gratefully, and let the other Elite take over as a replacement. Cortana watched the whole thing through the cameras mounted on the walls of the bridge. That was the third replacement they had, and Cortana knew that they would have to find something soon.
The Arbiter was startled a bit when Cortana's holographic form appeared on the holopedestal. Her voice held a bit of excitement in them. "Arbiter, I have finally found a location where the Brutes are! I have transmitted the co-ordinates to the other ships, and I have sent them to the navigation console. Everything is ready, and we are waiting for your command."
The Arbiter stepped forward to address the captains of the fleet. He only spoke a few words, and then, as one, the entire fleet jumped into the alternate realm of Slipspace.
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As Corr and his assault force moved up the slope, the taskforce was met with increasing tough resistance. The Brutes were tough enough, taking almost fifty bolts from a blaster just to kill. Thermal Detonators made things a bit easier, but a trooper carried a limited amount, and there was still a whole city to take. The weapons the Brutes used were strange, as they fired plasma that burned holes in armour and skin alike, and the grenades were sticky-luckily the Brutes couldn't throw it well with enough accuracy, or else the taskforce would have suffered a great deal more casualties than they had right now. A pair of TIE Interceptors screamed out of the clouds and strafed the city walls with laser cannons. Then the TIEs blasted the slope that the taskforce was heading up as well, making things a lot easier for them.
Corr waved his troops forward as the line of Jackals that had stubbornly refused to move finally broke after the Interceptors had killed off most of the Brutes in the area. The assault force moved forward, taking cover when the portable plasma cannon above them fired in a surprise attack. Three Sea Commandos were cut down before a Seatrooper wielding a MiniMag PTL missile launcher blew the cannon and the Brute operating it to hell. After that little distraction, the assault force continued to scramble up the slope, also hoping that the latest weather broadcast: heavy hails of plasma grenades, would not be true.
The assault force had finally reached the city walls, and they saw the damage the TIE Interceptors had done. Bodies lay all over the place, and in all various postures of death. There was also a helpful hole or two blown in the wall, courtesy of a few Concussion Missiles. The Shades which would have torn apart the assault force had they reached the top while the cannons were manned lay wrecked and their operators flung to the ground. Corr judged the walls and came to the decision that they could be a chokepoint if they were to enter them.
Corr decided that they would enter through the holes, as well as scaling the wall, and climbing over. He told the other Captains and Sergeants, and they all agreed to the plan. The troops took their position, even though it was a bit cramped with two hundred and forty eight troops crowding around the walls and near the holes. When Corr spoke, it was a single word: "Now!"
At that word, the troops threw hooks with their ends attached to a strong wire, started to scale the walls and also started to climb through the holes. The Brutes were taken by surprise when the troops started appear through the holes and on top of the walls. The soldiers that were waiting to climb through threw Thermal Detonators over the top of the walls, and the explosions caused more confusion and disarray through the Brute ranks. As soon as they were over or through, the Commandos fired at the Brutes and held them off from advancing. Once all the troopers were through all they spread out through the city, fighting the Brutes and Jackals that were also spread out through the entire city. Many times a group of Commandos or Seatroopers would be ambushed, and then wiped out. Occasionally, a group would survive. As the brutal urban combat continued, the battle in space also continued. However, the Alliance would soon receive help in an unexpected way.
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Piett hit the floor hard when the Vengeance shook from a turbolaser barrage fired by Munificent-class frigate. He cursed. The situation was getting worse with every second that passed. The fleet was now only consisted of about seventy four ships, and very few Imperial-class Star Destroyers were left. The Mon Calamari Star Cruisers weren't much better off, with a good amount of them destroyed. "St-status report, now!" he ordered shakily. He wiped off a trickle of blood that came from a cut when he fell with his sleeve. The officer didn't hesitate. "Severe damage across the ship! Hull breaches in section four, eight and nine! Sealing pressure bulkheads in the affected areas. Many personnel are dead, many more wounded. The medical bays are full. The medical personnel are requesting more hands to help, as well as more supplies."
Piett cursed. Things were really bad now. "How many proton torpedos are left?" he asked.
The weapons officer answered after a moment. "None sir. The turbolaser batteries are also beginning to overheat, and battery four and seven has been destroyed when the cooling mechanism overloaded." Piett cursed again. Things were about to get worse, however, when his navigation officer reported.
"Sir, the long range sensors report that a large force of ships are heading this way. The profiles match the Covenant ships, as well as some from unknown origins."
"How many ships are there?" asked Piett, dreading the answer.
"Approximately two hundred ships, sir" the navigation officer answered.
Piett sighed. It was over. The remainders of the Alliance fleet couldn't hold off another two hundred ships. They might as well give up. The hole in real space opened and out slipped two hundred ships. It was the ship in the lead that froze Piett to the spot. It was larger than a Super Star Destroyer. The strangest thing was that the Covenant ships that had just arrived fired on the other Brute fleet. The sight confused Piett. Why was the Covenant firing on themselves, when the Covenant was fighting the Alliance? Still, the opportunity gave the turbolaser batteries a chance to cool down.
Very soon, the new Covenant fleet had destroyed the other fleet. However, some of the ships at the edges of the fleet managed to escape into Slipspace while the other fleet was distracted with the ships at the front of the formation. After the destruction of most of the Brute fleet, the enormous ship turned to face the Alliance fleet. Or what's left of it anyway. The ship must have cooled down its weapons, but Piett was still worried. The ship had a weapon of some sorts slung underneath it. The gun was half the size of the ship itself, but that was still extremely large. The navigation officer shook him from his thoughts. "Sir, the ship is hailing us. Should we answer?"
Piett thought about it for a while before answering. "Yes, answer it. Put it on the main channel."
"Yes, sir. Putting it online now, sir." The main view screen turned on to reveal an alien wearing ceremonial armour, as well as the most distinguishing feature: the alien had four mandibles in the place of a mouth. The alien spoke. "Unknown fleet, this is the Arbiter of the New Covenant and officer in charge of the Fleet of Retribution. We have come to destroy the Brutes, and there are Brute forces on the ground. If you wish, we will assist you."
Piett looked doubtful, but help was rare around the galaxy. The Alliance fleet was stretched thin, and any help would be needed. He had some questions that needed to be answered first, though. He straightened himself. "This is Captain Piett of the Star Destroyer Vengeance, if I may ask, why did you fire on your own fleet?"
The Arbiter paused for a moment, and then answered. "We did not fire on our own fleet. We fired on the Brute fleet, as they are the reason why we are here. The Brutes are dumb, mindless pawns of the Prophets, who live for the reason of manipulating other beings to do their bidding. That is the reason why we are after them. They wish to unleash destruction upon the galaxy for the reason of being the only race. That is why. That is all."
Piett took the time to ponder this information. "Alright, we believe you. Our ground troops need help. A lot of it. I'm sending you their co-ordinates now." The Arbiter didn't reply. He merely nodded and then the screen turned off.
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Onboard the Divine Blade, the Arbiter gave the co-ordinates of the city to all the Elites, Humans, Hunters and Grunts that would participate. The Arbiter then opened a link to Zuka 'Zamamee, the Special Operations Commander. "'Zamamee, take a group of SpecOps Elites and Grunts, as well as three Demons, and use the Stealth Phantom to get in behind the bulk of the Brute forces. Distract them, and then attack them if possible."
The face of 'Zamamee smiled. "Alright. It will be done."
"Good," replied the Arbiter. "You will leave the ship in ten. Arm yourself with whatever you want, and then proceed to the launch bay. A lot of this operation depends on you and your team, 'Zamamee. Arbiter out."
After the Arbiter had switched off the link, 'Zamamee turned on another link. "SpecOps team four, meet me at the armoury. Spartans 117, 058 and 104 meet at the armoury as well." And with that, 'Zamamee switched off the com link. 'Zamamee then proceeded to walk towards the armoury as well, with his gleaming white armour on. Though most of the Covenant stilled called the Spartans 'Demons', 'Zamamee called them by their number, as well as their name. He occasionally called them demons as well, especially if they annoy him. He had learned their names from the Arbiter, who in turn learned it from Dr. Halsey. However, he recognized them by their weapon load outs.
Soon, 'Zamamee reached the main armoury of the Divine Blade. The armoury was a large room, and there were weapon racks along every wall. The weapon racks reached to about halfway to the ceiling. Every centimetre of the racks was used to store weapons and ammunition was kept in lockers, and storage cabinets. The armoury held every weapon created by both the humans and the Covenant was stored here. Human weapons ranged from the M6C Magnum Pistol, to rocket launchers, to portable machine guns. Every Covenant weapon as well, from Plasma Pistols, to Carbines and to portable plasma cannons.
Right now, what held 'Zamamee's attention was the group of beings standing in the armoury. There were fifteen of them, and all seemed to be interested in the weapons. Each one, however, turned and acknowledged him when he walked in. They all knew what they were going to do, so there was no point in addressing them. Instead, he ordered them to load up on ordnance, since they would not be back here until the Brutes were wiped out.
'Zamamee picked up a Carbine, and for a side arm, twin Plasma Rifles. When the Plasma Rifles were secure on the magnetic lock on his armour, he picked up the hilt of an Energy Sword. It would be most useful against the Brutes. After, he armed himself with four plasma grenades to deal with especially annoying Brutes or any plasma cannons they might meet. Seeing as his arsenal was done, he settled back to watch the others in the armoury, choosing their choice of weapons. Spartan 117, or Master Chief, armed himself with a Battle Rifle with what looked like a grenade launcher slung underneath the barrel. In reality, it was a plasma weapon, acting like a plasma rifle.
Spartan 104, otherwise known as Fred, had chosen a Shotgun, and a Battle Rifle. Spartan 058, whose name was Linda, had a Sniper Rifle, and a portable 30 cal. Machine gun. 'Zamamee was happy with his decision on which Spartans would follow, and he was glad that they could come with his squad. It would make things a lot easier when dealing with the Brutes.
SpecOps Team Four was one of the most elite special operations teams in SpecOps history. First assembled when the Human-Covenant war began, they had performed many secretive operations under night and under Active Camouflage. The team was made up of eleven members, seven Elites and four Grunts. Every one of them wore the black armour that signified their rank, and every Elite had a hilt of an Energy Sword strapped to their armour. Their leader was the Elite named Tova 'Vortamee, though 'Zamamee was taking charge of the group for this operation.
Once all the members of 'Zamamee's entourage were ready and armed, he ushered them out of the armoury and into the launch bay, which wasn't very far away. On their way their, they passed many Marines, Elites, and other combatants lining up to board the dropships and to be taken down to the surface for the one thing they did best: kick some Brute ass.
When the team reached their designated launch bay, they found the Stealth Phantom already there and waiting. There were hardly any recognizable differences from a standard Phantom to this Stealth Phantom, but the main difference was that it had a coating of silver, instead of purple. Also, multiple stealth and Active Camouflage units were mounted on the main body, as well as jamming devices. This made it virtually undetectable, although it still could barely be seen by the naked eye, although it was extremely hard.
'Zamamee stood at the bottom of the magnificent craft, and waved his team into the Phantom. Once they were all inside, 'Zamamee took one last look around before stepping into the miniature gravity lift and then lifted into the interior of the ship. Once inside, 'Zamamee took his place at the front of the Phantom, and stood on one of the glowing rings positioned there.
A Phantom dropship has no seats, but the occupants stand on the glowing rings situated around the ship, and their weight is supported by the miniature gravity manipulation device within the ring. The device erased most of the gravity, allowing for the occupant to stand with their feet on the floor, with the device supporting their weight. The device can be disengaged at anytime by simply stepping off the ring.
None of that was on 'Zamamee's mind, however, when he stepped onto the ring. What he was thinking about was unknown to the rest of the group. It was a good thing too, because he seriously doubted his and their abilities. Although he had fought hundreds of Brutes before, him and team four had never worked with Spartans; he only chose them because he would need the Spartans help. Only the Spartan named Linda had experience with Team 4. She had worked with and shared a friendly rivalry with Team 4's sniper, Neto 'Novamee. He then shook the thoughts out of his head. Whether they would work together or not, their assigned mission would not be a failure. He would make sure of that.
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Soon after settling in, 'Zamamee set his helmet com link to receive anything that was said by the pilot and any orders issued from the Divine Blade, which acted as a mobile command centre. He heard the pilot over the link. "Phantom 34 requesting launch from bay 3."
The voice over the other end of the link answered, "Launch request approved, Phantom 3. Hold position for a moment until Seraph wing 7 is ready to fly cover down to the surface. Good luck." The other voice at the end of the link closed the link. Soon, another voice belonging to the lead pilot of Seraph Wing 7 came in. "Phantom 34, Seraph Wing 7 is in position. There are only four of us as the others are out there."
The pilot's voice came over again. "Affirmative, lead. Launching from bay 3 now."
The whole Phantom shook as the engines on the Phantom lifted it a few feet into the air, and then fired up again as the engines propelled the Phantom out of the launch bay and into the inky blackness of space.
Inside the Phantom, everyone was fairly nervous; even the Spartans, as the Brutes had killed Spartans in surprise attacks with Brute Shots, so not even the Spartans were invincible. The main view screen on the Phantom came to life as the screen showed Cortana's holographic face. "Your objectives have been updated," she told them "There are several anti aircraft guns that need to be neutralized, or they will pick off the majority of the incoming dropships one by one. A few would make it, but a lot more would if the AA is destroyed. Your own dropship should be relatively safe, as their systems most likely can't find you. All the other dropships will be leaving in one hour. Do your best. Good luck, Cortana out."
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On the ground, Corr fired at the group of Brutes up ahead on the street. His original squad of ten men had been reduced to no more than five. Every one of them had used up all their thermal detonators, which were the most effective weapon against the Brutes, as a blaster on a standard power setting took a quarter of a power cell (approximately fifty bolts), but on the highest setting it took about twenty five shots, but that was using up half the power cell.
Corr fired another barrage of blaster fire down the road, succeeding in doing nothing except pissing the Brute he hit off. Then he heard the distinctive sound of a Brute Shot being fired, and ducked, and the grenade exploded behind him, the few pieces of shrapnel bouncing off the armour he wore. Taking careful aim this time, he fired four bolts at the nearest Brute's head, the first two knocking of the makeshift helmet, the other two penetrating the Brute's thick skull, killing it.
In return, another wave of plasma fire came down from the Brute lines, almost hitting Corr, and some of his soldiers. Corr heard much of the chatter on his com link, and most of it was bad. Nearly every squad was having trouble with the Brutes, especially Brutes that were reinforced with Jackal snipers. Corr fired another bolt down the street, and was surprised when he heard a Brute scream out in pain. Still, it was going to be a long day.
The Phantom dove through the clouds at extremely high speeds. The Phantom was glowing red, having just broken through the atmosphere. Eventually it straightened up, and was flying just a few scant metres above the ocean, well below the firing line of the anti-aircraft guns. 'Zamamee stepped out of the gravity 'seat' and stepped into the cockpit of the Phantom. He watched as the pilot skilfully manoeuvred the Phantom to the cliffs, and pulling up at the last minute, sending the Phantom flying up the cliff.
After the Phantom had completed its ascension, it flew towards the city, which was only a few kilometres away. The pilot made sure that the Phantom was flying fast to make sure that the AA guns couldn't get a lock on them. Once above the city, the Phantom just skimmed the rooftops so that the AA couldn't fire at them, even though the computers couldn't lock on to them. It was better safe than sorry. Once over the city, angry Brutes fired at the Phantom, with no success. 'Zamamee tapped the pilot on the shoulder. "See that building?" he pointed out. "Stop over there." The pilot did as he directed, and hovered over a fairly tall building. 'Zamamee went back to the passenger compartment. "Spartan 058, 'Novamee, this is your stop." Both of them looked at each other, in confusion, and then shrugged. They both then stepped into the gravity lift, and were immediately transported down onto the roof of the building below. The Phantom then continued on its course, to the centre of the city.
On the building, Linda and 'Novamee set up their snipers on the ledge, since Linda's modified sniper had a removable bipod. 'Novamee acted as her spotter, though he took an occasional shot with his Particle Beam rifle as well. 'Novamee suddenly saw a Brute manning a plasma cannon who was blasting the incoming Pelicans and Phantoms, and took his chance. He fired a single shot, and the beam embedded itself in the Brute's head. Unfortunately it was also the same Brute that Linda was aiming for. "Hey, that was mine!" Linda sarcastically complained.
"Too late now to complain about it; he's dead." 'Novamee retorted. Linda then shifted her aim to another Brute, with 'Novamee as spotter again. "Brute Captain on the right," announced 'Novamee. Linda fired a single shot, and the bullet punctured the Brute's head. "Brute with a Brute Shot, on your right." Said 'Novamee. The cycle of 'Novamee finding an enemy, and either telling its location to Linda, or shooting it dead himself went on for sometime, though Linda half the time located targets herself.
Suddenly, 'Novamee noticed a group of soldiers that he did not recognize fighting a group of Brutes. He tapped Linda on the shoulder, and pointed them out to her. Linda shifted her aim to one of the combatants competing in the battle, lined his head up with the crosshairs, held her breath to stabilize it, and rested one armoured finger on the trigger. Right that moment, Linda was God.
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A.N: Ohh, a cliff hanger (Sort of)! Don't you just love cliff hangers? Well, anyway, sorry about that extremely long wait, I had for the first time in my life hit a writer's block! That, and I was playing Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Also, the dreaded homework and assignments were on me by the truckload. So, not much could be done. Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to review! See you next chapter!