The Intergalactic War
By Chief Ratchet
(A.N: Well, a surprise for all you die hard fans of this story! As a Christmas present for you all, a second chapter for you all to bask in! Now, simply scroll down and use those eyes of yours to read this chapter! Also, a mistake on my behalf. In Chapter 2, I wrote five Spartans. In reality, there are only 4. Luckily, it won't affect the story. Enjoy to your hearts content!)
Chapter 8: New Allies
"Apart from a broken right arm, and a concussion, there was nothing too life-threatening about. There was some internal bleeding, but it was lucky that she got here before it became serious. She will recover, though she will have to avoid combat for at least the next few weeks," announced the medic. Everyone let out an inaudible sigh of relief-Linda would live.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, the Arbiter was discussing the terms of an alliance with the Grand Alliance. Being very influential in the UCNC, he had almost as much power as Lord Hood. He had the rank of Admiral within the UCNC, and was a member of the War Council. Finally, after much discussing, Captain Piett was glad that they could make and alliance-the Grand Alliance was in need of some new allies.
"Good. The co-ordinates for the planet are 000. We'll see you there, ok?" asked Piett.
The Arbiter agreed, and gave the co-ordinates to all the other ships, after the dropships had retrieved, as well as the Marines and Elites. The fleet then awaited the signal for the jump into Slipspace. "The fleet is waiting for your signal, Arbiter," announced Cortana.
"Good. We jump in ten seconds," said the Arbiter. "Give the countdown."
"Timer is set. Signal transmitted to the fleet. Everyone is ready."
The next second, there was a flash of light, and the entire fleet disappeared into the alternate dimension, not leaving a trace that they were ever there.
Over Coruscant, the centre of the galaxy, also known as the city planet, there was nervousness throughout the entire planet. Many had heard that the fleet that had liberated Dac was bringing back new allies. No-one knew who the new allies were going to be, and if they wouldn't attack the planet. There was a sudden gasp throughout the planet, as the fleet came back, and over two hundred ships came out, some sleek and silver, others bulky and with hard edges. What drew the crowds attention as the emergence of these vessels was displayed on the HoloNet throughout the planet, was the massive ship in the middle of the fleet. It dwarfed everything in the fleet, and even the Super Star Destroyer that was circling the fleet.
In the private and luxurious rooms of 500 Republica, Leia Organa-Solo was dressing as fast as she could. Cal Omas had asked her to represent the Alliance, so she was to go to the UCNC flagship and formally discuss the terms of an alliance between them, along with Supreme Commander Pellaeon. They were to take the Tantive V to the flagship, and to meet the leaders. For 'protection' as Omas had put it, a squad of Alliance Troopers was to accompany them.
"Why the rush?" a smug voice said from the doorway. Leia looked at the voice to see her husband, Han Solo.
"I am to meet with the leaders of the UCNC, if you must know," she told him. He frowned.
"Why you? Couldn't they have sent some other political big-head to negotiate?"
"Han, Omas asked me to go. It's not like I can refuse him, and he said that I have the best negotiation skills required for this," she said, and then added at the look on his face, "This is extremely important, love, because if we can secure a treaty, we might be able to push back against the CIS."
Many knew that the war wasn't going as well as some could hope. The fleets of the Grand Alliance were being pushed back, and in some sectors they were defending the Mid Rim, which wasn't a particularly nice thought. The fleets simply weren't strong enough to hold back the constant wave of destroyers and frigates, and add to the fact that there was much debate as to where to send a fleet, allowed the CIS to get a firm foothold before the fleets even arrived.
Han gave her a pained look. "Well, if you must go, at least come back to me in one piece, ok?"
Leia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then gathered herself and stepped out the door, shouting that she would come back in one piece. Leia before long reached the dock, and boarded the Tantive V. she then went to the conference room, where she met Supreme Commander Pellaeon. "Ah, Leia, it is so good of you to come. Please, sit, sit," as he ushered her to her seat.
"My thanks, Commander. Do you happen to know what they call themselves?" she questioned.
"From what Captain Piett told me after the Battle of Dac, they are the UCNC, or United Covenant Naval Command. It apparently consists of two groups-the UNSC and the Covenant, who were at war with each other, but joined forces after twenty years of war. Quite interesting if you ask me," he answered.
The captain's voice suddenly came over the speakers. "Mrs. Organa-Solo, Supreme Commander, we are approaching the flagship. If you wish to see it, I can give you a video feed of it right now."
"Put it on, please," called back the Commander. Instantly, a Holoscreen popped into life, and showed a massive ship on it. Leia and Pellaeon were stunned at the sheer size of the ship.
The screen soon clicked off, and the Tantive V was slowing down, meaning that they were docking with the flagship. There was a hiss, and the landing gear of the ship opened up, and the ship settled down in one of the larger hangar bays of the Divine Blade. Leia, Pellaeon and their guards moved to the boarding ramp, and walked down it when it had finished opening.
Outside, she stepped into an enormous hangar bay, and in front of her was who she presumed to be the captain. It was tall, and had four mandibles in place of where a mouth would be. It was also clad in armour that seemed ancient and ceremonial. Beside it were four more aliens of the same species, but they were clad in armour that seemed more suited to battle. The captain stepped forward.
"I assume that you are the representatives that the Grand Alliance has sent to negotiate?" it asked. Leia nodded.
"Good. We can step into the conference room for more privacy. Come, this way," it said, and then it started to walk away, the guards following. While on the way, the Alliance Troopers gave one of the aliens a glare. It growled threateningly, and the Trooper decided that it was enough for now.
Once in the conference room, they all sat down on chairs that moulded its self to fit more snugly. The guards stood behind the person they were protecting. "I am the Arbiter, the commander of the Fleet of Retribution, which consists of all the ships that you can see that belong to us. We are not an expeditionary fleet, but a fleet of war. Every single ship in our fleet is a ship of war, armed heavily. You are in the Divine Blade, a vessel designed to be the factor that turns the tide of battle. Now, on with the treaty making…"
The three of them discussed the terms of the treaty for over and hour. While Pellaeon wanted a united chain of command, the Arbiter had no wish for such a way of command. Also, the Arbiter had no intention of joining the Senate. Finally, it was agreed that while all UCNC ships had their own chain of command, they will still take orders from the Alliance if necessary. The Arbiter then stood up. "Well, allies, would you care to take a tour of the ship? She is a state of the art vessel." Leia and Pellaeon agreed.
As the Arbiter led his guests down to the gravity lift that would take them to the bridge, he kept thinking. What if they lost the war? Would any of his soldiers continue to fight? He kept musing until they reached the gravity lift to the bridge. His newest allies seemed alarmed when he stepped off, but they followed without question.
"Here is the bridge. The ship is crewed by a mix of humans and Covenant. They all get along much better than they did before, and we are lucky enough to have four of the remaining Spartans aboard," he informed them.
"Excuse me for the interruption Arbiter, but what are Spartans?" questioned Pellaeon.
"Spartans are genetically enhanced super-soldiers created by the UNSC to combat us during the Covenant War. If you wish, you can see them, though one is in the medical bay," answered the Arbiter.
Inside, there was a flurry of activity as a Ship Master stood there giving orders. A Ship Master was there to command the ship if t the Arbiter is incapacitated or wounded. Leia and Pellaeon stood watching as reports were delivered, and orders to change shifts were issued. Suddenly, an almost six-foot all blue woman materialized out of nowhere in front of the pair. Both of them almost jumped in shock. "Sorry about that. Cortana has a habit of surprising people." At this, Cortana frowned at the Arbiter.
"You're no fun anymore. Oh, I'm Cortana, this ship's main AI. I have almost complete control of the ship if needed, and help out the crews with their job," she said.
Cortana often downloaded herself to holo-drones to move around for fun, and to have an appearance for most of the time. "Cortana, maintain the bridge while I show our new allies around, would you?" the Arbiter asked her.
"I got a better idea. Why don't you maintain the bridge, and I'll show our new allies around?" shot back Cortana, though she had a smirk on her 'face'.
"You're funny," sarcastically remarked the Arbiter while leaving the bridge. Cortana had that kind of effect on people he mused.
"This is one of the many vehicle bays, where all our mechanized fighting units are stored, and repaired," announced the Arbiter while looking through a plane of glass down at one of the vehicle storage bays. Inside, all ready for action, were all the vehicles a commander could dream of, from the speedy Ghost to the lumbering Scorpion to the gigantic Scarab, it was all here. There were over fifty vehicles in one bay, and there were ten bays scattered across the ship, so a large crew was needed to man all the vehicles.
"Arbiter, what is that?" asked Pellaeon, pointing to a Scarab. It reminded him of an AT-AT, though it lacked a 'head'.
"That is a Scarab. It has one plasma cannon, and multiple machine guns and other weapons for anti-personnel fire," answered the Arbiter.
Next, he took them to the fighter bay, where the dropships, starfighters, bombers and atmospheric fighters were kept. Much like the vehicle bays, there were many fighter bays scattered throughout the whole ship.
"Due to safety reasons, I'm afraid that I am unable to take you to the reactors and the troops sleeping quarters. If you wish, you can see the firing range," apologized the Arbiter.
With both of them agreeing, he took them to the next gravity lift, where it took them to the level in which the firing range was located. When they reached a door, a sign said 'Wear Safety Gear'. Next to it, there was a rack where earmuffs were, as well as safety glasses. He handed them each a pair, before getting one himself, and opened the door.
When he opened it, there was orderly mayhem. Many Marines were firing at targets down almost fifty metres, with everything ranging from pistols, to Battle Rifles to even light machine guns.
Leia exclaimed in surprise. "You use slugthrowers?"
"What?" shouted the Arbiter. It was extremely difficult to hear anything in the firing range besides the firing of weapons, human and Covenant alike. Leia walked closer.
"You use slugthrowers?" she again shouted.
"What are slugthrowers?" the Arbiter asked. Pellaeon stepped up.
"Weapons that fire metallic projectiles," he shouted. The Arbiter nodded.
"We also use plasma weaponry. But recently we were outfitted with a plasma generator which we fitted into all the human weapons. It still fires bullets, or slugs as you call them, but coats them in plasma, making it much more effective against metal targets, as well as shields," he shouted back.
Pellaeon nodded. Slugthrowers weren't going to do much damage to battle droids, but the plasma would make it more effective. A Sergeant ran up to them. He gave a salute to the Arbiter, before addressing Leia and Pellaeon. "Welcome to the firing range, ma'am, sir. I'm Sgt. Pierce, and I'm in charge of this firing range here. Is there anything that you need to know?"
Both Leia and Pellaeon shook their heads. The Arbiter then led them out, putting the glasses and the earmuffs back. "Ok, do you still want to see the Spartans?" he questioned. More nods. "Alright. Let's go."
The three walked off to the Spartan quarters, where the three active Spartans, John, Fred and Kelly were playing cards. The door opened, and the Arbiter walked in, followed by two unfamiliar people. All three of them instantly stood up. "You can remove your helmets, you know," said the Arbiter. All three reluctantly removed their helmets, revealing pale faces, and their eyes stood out due to the lack of colour in their face.
"These are the Spartans, Commander. Well, what's left of them. They still perform exceptionally well, and three can do a job that a whole company can't," the Arbiter said.
"Very impressive, Arbiter. I hope that they will be able to turn the tide of the war."
With that, the three left. Kelly looked at Fred, who in turn looked at John. "What was that about?" questioned Kelly. Both John and Fred shrugged.
Back at the hangar bay, the Arbiter saw Leia and Pellaeon off. "Very interesting, Arbiter. I have a feeling that the tides of this war are about to turn-for the better," said Pellaeon as he stepped into the Tantive V. The Arbiter said nothing, merely nodding. The Tantive V rose up, and shot out of the hangar. The Arbiter turned and walked to the bridge. Things were going to get interesting now, very interesting indeed…
(A.N: I know, don't tell me, this chapter was rushed. Still, you got a good read out of both chapters I hope. Now, if you could be so kind as to leave two reviews… Anyway, you won't be seeing more of me until next year, so Merry Christmas to you all, and a happy New Year! Chief Ratchet)