Vanguard
Chapter 44
"The Azloc Findings Pt. 3"
[Observatory, Azloc lll]
"Medic! I need a medic over here!"
"Watch the left! Watch it!"
"GRENADE!"
"We have no cover! We need t- GACK!"
"Argh! These guys have tough shields!"
"Focus your shots lads! We can beat these guys!"
"Kidder! Look ou- GWAAH!"
This was the chorus of imperial voices crying out fighting and dying for something they knew nothing of. It wasn't long for the clone army to arrive at the Observatory after the Empire landed its troops on the icy flats of Azloc lll. In spite of suffering losses from harassing scouts and bombarding mortar tanks from afar, the Imperial forces have managed to secure the entrance into the Forerunner installation but beyond that they are currently unable to gain much more ground due to fierce Covenant resistance led by 'Vadamee. The Sangheili rangers have dug themselves in behind every bit of cover they could find fighting fiercely to keep the Empire away from the relic known as the Spyglass.
From said Spyglass Gran and his men could see the heavy fighting, volleys of plasma and blaster fire racing towards each ends of the facility. Clone soldiers dying by the dozens while Sangheili only fell in fewer numbers.
Upon seeing such bloodshed, Cobol felt the need to speak his mind "Sir, are we really going to just stand around and watch our brothers die? We can take these guys right now and secure the Observatory ourselves."
"As much as I hate to say it, yes, but please understand that we'll be able to do more good in the position we are in now…" the admiral explains "The Covenant has more knowledge about these installations than anyone else in the galaxy combined, if we stay at their side long enough we will be able to bring critical information back to the Empire."
"Assuming 'Vadamee keeps his word" the commander retorts.
"If he goes back on it, we'll need to be ready."
[Orbit]
In the space surrounding the planet, the naval engagement continued to rage on with no clear sign of a true winner. Covenant forces persist to show true defiance against a numerical foe, their ships relentlessly cutting and slicing into the imperial warships that smash and batter them in return. Fighter deployments have now dwindled to scattered pockets of heavy fighting after each other's forces have suffered innumerable losses. In the midst of one such pocket found within the ranks of the imperial cruisers, clone ace pilot Tracer continue to prove himself to be a versatile fighter as he moves from one target to the next effectively putting bolts of fire downrange and striking his enemies down.
One particular banshee interceptor began making rapid and wild fast-paced maneuvers to shake the ace the moment Tracer caught sight of him, the small and nimble alien craft showed that it had a well experienced pilot at the controls. However Tracer wasn't willing to let him go free just yet trying his best to stay on the banshee's tail until it killed its own propulsion drive, tilted its hull to where it faced the imperial dreadnought Assertor and immediately break out in a sudden force of speed gunning right for the flagship. This maneuver threw Tracer off target but only for a moment as he comes around and resumes pursuit.
"Assertor Actual this is Tracer, you got a bandit getting ready to make a run on the bridge!" the pilot warned.
Then in no time Admiral Res' voice responded "Acknowledged Gray-1, our shields are down, take out that fighter before he's able to complete his run!"
The clone pushed his throttle lever to the maximum pushing his engine output to greater lengths, the banshee fighter was darting right for the dreadnought's command tower and its command center was its main target.
"Not on my watch…" Tracer muttered as his strike craft closed in on the interceptor and prepared to acquire a firing solution.
But the Covenant fighter was already aware of what was happening and in response to Tracer's attempts the fighter began sporadically moving about in an attempt to disrupt the Z-95's targeting computer off track, banking hard left and right, up and down, in any direction but all the while still closing in on its target. Tracer cursed under his breath but he continued to slowly etch towards the banshee just until he was finally in range, but unfortunately for him, the banshee was in range of its target as well. Wasting not another second, Tracer thumbs the trigger on his control stick firing off twin bolts of plasma downrange onto target just as it too launched a green volatile capsule of radiation from its heavy launcher seconds before a bolt clipped its starboard wing and forced it to lose control.
He quickly warns the bridge crew "Shot incoming! Brace! Brace!"
The capsule smacked into the side hull plating of the command center, violently detonating and sending a splash of superheated plasma and radiation in all directions. The out of control craft however careened into the Assertor's superstructure somewhere below the command bridge but regardless where ever it landed it did rather significant damage.
"Target down…" Tracer spoke half-heartedly as he looks down at the impact zone, the hull twisted and turned in ways it shouldn't be after its atmosphere was vented out along with whatever crew stood in it at the time "What's the damage?"
"One of the tactical analysis bays is lost and our communications are somewhat at partial power" the admiral reports, his tone indicates he too felt that loss, "The fleet can't keep up with this for much longer, we need to end this fight swiftly before we're all destroyed."
"What do you have in mind Admiral?"
"To be honest I'm not quite sure, the enemy tears them apart as soon as they come in range but… I suppose we don't have any other option now. If we keep up with the current strategy none of us is going to get out of here- I'm calling in the rest of our forces, it's now do or die Tracer. Form up what pilots youcan and prep for a run on their flagship."
"Right with you all the way Admiral."
Tracer pulls his fighter away from the battered dreadnought and begins to transmit on the secure network "All fighters call in, I need a headcount."
There was a pause of silence before he hears a voice come back "Dice here, kinda lost you in that mess for a bit."
"Haywire here, I'm doubling back to your position."
One by one other fighters responded to Tracer's call, rounding up to roughly thirty fighters and bombers still combat ready, then he sends his orders "Alright everyone form up on me, we're going to make a run straight for their command ship."
"Ah I can't wait for this! We're finally going to end this!" a bomber pilot so cheerfully speaks.
But Dice knew something wasn't right "That huge cruiser? That's a risky move with those escort ships so close to it."
"We're running out of options Dice, the Admiral is calling in the rest of the fleet for support."
"One final effort then… Alright I'm in."
"Count me in too!" another pilot spoke.
A chorus of clone voices complied in agreeance to the new plan, they knew this would be their last ditch effort knowing that if they fail they would be leaving the galaxy with a new threat to contend with. The last remaining fighters pooled up behind Tracer's leading craft, the force has now grown to about fifty strike craft. Meanwhile, the remaining imperial cruiser formations jumps in behind the Assertor totaling to about twenty some ships still in active service against the Covenant's dwindling numbers of cruisers and escort ships.
"Alright everyone, follow my lead and keep it tight, we're going in!" Tracer bellowed setting his thrust to full output.
The pilots followed by example and revved up their sub-light engines to keep up with the clone ace, the fighters began to form a sort of shell around the few bombers they had to keep them protected until they can come within weapons range of the Covenant heavy cruiser. However almost immediately upon entering Covenant aerospace the alien cruisers began unleashing their point-defense pulse weaponry lashing out with beams of concentrated energy into the flight of fighters trying to break their way through the outer-most layer of defense. Most fighters were able to avoid these incoming attacks but some were not as fortunate as they are shot down or blown apart entirely from pulse lasers. Not long after several wings of Seraph and Banshees were swiftly deployed from the few battlecruisers meant to quickly intercept the imperial attack, multiple clone fighters pull away from the formation to engage the Covenant and buy the rest of the pilots enough time to complete their run. By now they past the second layer of defense but now faced more intense fire coming from the capital ships and now the flagship itself, heavy flak and more pulse strikes filled the air around the clones who continue to charge right for their target regardless of the losses they're sustaining.
"Keep it together boys! We're almost there!" Tracer's voice barks as his flotilla of ships closes in on its target.
But with each passing moment the intensity of fire grew more and more, the difficulty of maintaining formation was next to damn near impossible, ships were shot out of the air and casted into the vacuum of space in roaring balls of flames. However, it was also at this time that they finally came within striking distance…
Tracer sets his gun sights on the three kilometer long cruiser, the gap between them was rapidly closing, then he finally barks the order "Fighters break!"
The escorting Starfighters broke formation around the sheltered bombers, one pilot in response speaks "Target locked, ion cannons ready!"
In unison, the remaining bomber closed into optimal weapons range and fired a single volley of ion charged particles into the heavy cruiser's shields, blasting away whatever was remaining of the Covenant's protective barrier causing the shields to finally fall after the long and enduring battle. The small nimble collection of fighters and bombers zipped past the cruiser, avoiding its close range point-defense batteries, and regrouped once more on the other side of the vessel for another attack run.
The fighters formed up and began their next run on the cruiser along its dorsal hull, meanwhile Tracer examined the ship and noted a potential structural weak point on the cruiser, it's 'neck' connecting its bulbous prow to the rest of the ship.
"Alright everyone, concentrate your fire on the neck of the ship, if we can do enough damage we can take the whole thing down."
"Copy that" a bomber pilot answered "Making our run on the neck, follow me in boys. Set power to front deflectors."
The Y-wings grouped up together and zeroed in with the remaining fighters following them in, by this point the ORS Heavy Cruiser has begun bearing all of its weaponry down on its attackers in coordination with a detachment of Banshees sent to stop the clones no matter the cost.
"Fighters coming in!" a fighter pilot roared, revving his thrusters to get ahead of the bombers and protect them.
The other fighters followed example and raced ahead of the Y-Wings to immediately engage the covenant interceptors, the two forces clashed and erupted into a full-on dogfight as the bombers flew right through still focused on their primary target. However they attracted the attention of several banshees that quickly gave chase to stop them before they could unleash their payload.
"Bandits on our six!" one clone pilot warned as he sets in the targeting parameters for his bomber.
"I got it! I got it!" a bomber turret gunner replies, his twin blaster cannons blistering with heat and plasma, doing his best to keep the banshees off of them.
A trio of interceptors closes in on a single Y-Wing bomber and let loose a torrent of automatic plasma fire from their twin repeating cannons, the bomber in question was quickly ripped apart and sent spiraling ablaze before it violently detonates in mid-air, afterwards the bombers were beginning to be systematically wiped out from fighters and anti-air artillery coming from the cruiser. However the few bombers that made it to firing range swooped in and deliver a barrage of proton bombs each leaving a trail of utter destruction across the neck of the cruiser, each bomb penetrated the outer nano-laminate hull and explodes with unrivaled ferocity from within.
One pilot looks back at the damage he had caused "That was a perfect run, but we're going to need to do another run if we want the job done."
"Okay get ready for another run" Tracer answers "We'll do everything we can to keep these guys off your backs."
"Acknowledged, regrouping for another pass."
As the bombers regrouped for another attack, Tracer turns his attention back to the fight he was already a part of and quickly shoots another banshee out of existence.
He then asks aloud "Dice, Haywire, where are you?"
"I'm here" Haywire answered.
"Hang on!" Dice's voice sounded with alarm "I got two of them on me- I can't shake 'em!"
"Dice where are you!?" Tracer demanded.
Haywire reports "I see him, he's right above us!"
Tracer turned his eyes upwards in time to see a single headhunter fighter being tailed by two more banshees who were staying on him despite the amount of maneuvers Dice tried to take.
"Hang on Dice, we're coming! Haywire, on me!"
"Right behind you boss!"
Two headhunter starfighters immediately broke from the engagement and begun to race their way upwards to aid their friend in need, fearing they might come too late they set power to their thrusters gaining them a boost in max velocity to help them get to Dice.
Dice ducked and rolled in every possible direction but he couldn't shake the interceptors that were keeping up with him "Argh" he grunts as he sees bolts of plasma whiz pass his cockpit.
"We're almost there Dice, just hang on a little more!" Tracer barked to him.
"They're closing on me! Get these guys off me!" Dice cried out loud.
Haywire attempted to reassure his brother "We're coming buddy, just a little more time!"
Tracer and his wingman now had a clearer sight on Dice and his two pursuers, with one more joining the chase, they only needed to come into weapons range to hopefully save their friend. They however came too late…
A single plasma bolt pierces through Dice's right wing, taking out a stabilizer and causing the pilot to begin losing control of his craft "Damn it! I lost my stabilizer I can't hold it!"
"Dice make heading towards us, we'll cover you!" Tracer demanded.
But following that single bolt came a wave of plasma that soon found their mark as well, the combined firepower of the three banshee interceptors quickly and brutally ripped the Starfighter apart.
Dice only had enough time to let out one last cry "No! No! NOO-WAA-" before his fighter erupted into a blazing fireball spiraling out of control and explode into a cloud of debris.
"Dammit!" Tracer yelled as he slammed the side of his cockpit with his left hand.
Haywire however said nothing and instead he guns right for Dice's killers effortlessly wiping them out in a volley of blaster fire sending them all to their own demise. Afterwards Haywire rejoins Tracer who was now in a solemn state of mind.
"C'mon Haywire…" he spoke with a calm but saddened tone "Let's finish what we started…"
"I'm right behind you."
The two fighters broke off and made their way back to the Covenant flagship, already suffering from another run by the dwindling bombers that were preparing for another attack, but this time Tracer was going to make the finishing blow.
"Prep your missiles Haywire, those bombers are going to need all the firepower they can get."
Haywire made no response but does as he was told, the two fighters then revved their thrusters and bolts right back down towards the cruiser. They could see the damage wrought along the neck but it surprised them on how the cruiser was still functional after such tremendous carnage. The few remaining clone fighters continued to make their last effort against the interceptors they battled, this gave the bombers, Tracer, and Haywire an opening to attack the command ship and destroy it.
"This is it boss…" Haywire spoke, he could see the end coming.
Tracer lets out a small but slow sigh "… Let's go, set power to engine and weapons."
Not another word was said, instead both fighters bolted right for the cruiser with engines at full thrust power. Tracer's eyes kept darting between the cruiser's neck and the approaching bombers and adjusting his velocity accordingly to their distance to the target. The cruiser then rotated several of its plasma batteries upwards towards the incoming duo before letting loose a volley of plasma bolts and pulse beams into the dark sky above them. But regardless of the wall of fire, Tracer and Haywire dodged and weaved through it all and continued on course refusing to turn away now, not after having lost so much.
"Missiles armed, alright we're going in!" the clone ace spoke with determination in his voice.
"I'm right behind you!"
The bombers passes the optimal range of their bombs and drops another barrage of proton torpedoes along the hull breach, several bombs entered the breach itself and caused massive integral damage within. In addition to the bombs, Tracer and Haywire closes within range before launching their payload of concussion missiles and blaster fire into the gaping hole of the cruiser causing further damage. They continued their attack up until the last second where they immediately broke off to avoid crashing into the Condemnation's hull.
As they placed distance between them and the flagship, Tracer glanced back through his cockpit to see the damage done. At first glance, the Harmonious Condemnation still remained intact until something changed. Along the neck of the ship small explosions began to erupt from within bursting out through the hull, the outer layering of armor began to turn and buckle as the structural integrity of the neck could no longer be sustained, then it collapsed. Like a decapitated head, the prow of the cruiser broke and tore away from the rest of ship and began its slow decent down to Azloc's surface, the main hull of the cruiser also began to drift away as further explosions took place around vital hardpoints and other locations, this led to the assumption that a primary conduit within the ship's electrical systems has been severed and is causing the core to overload. The ORS-Heavy Cruiser Harmonious Condemnation was finally taken out of commission.
Not long after, a wave of cheering roared over the comms "Yeah-ah! Look at it go!"
"It's going down! We did it!"
"She's finally going down! That's the way to do it brothers!"
"Yeahhah!"
Tracer gave himself a small grin, the sight of the cruiser falling apart right before his eyes was payback for his lost brothers.
[Assertor]
The sight of the cruiser now drifting in the cold vacuum of space brought joy and triumph to the crew of the imperial dreadnought, Admiral Res grinned as he watch the remaining Covenant cruisers attempt to regroup and strategize a new method of fighting off the now overwhelming imperial forces.
Upon such a sight, he was not about to let an opportunity go to waste "We have them routed, all cruisers ahead full, push them out of the system."
He receives acknowledging responses from the remaining fleet and watches them move ahead to allow the Covenant no chance of recovery. Victory now seemed absolute.
"Sir!" a clone officer's voice barked, his voice seemed concerned.
Res turns his head back towards one of the men in the pits, despite the victory something felt amiss, "What is it?"
"We're detecting a massive anomaly on our scopes, something is building up behind the enemy fleet…"
The admiral looks out to the Covenant Fleet and beyond, then he quickly noticed it. A surge of electrical energy darting across the nothingness of space itself. The surge continued to grow in intensity until the space around it began to turn and warp into something they couldn't begin to describe. Then out of the blackness, a violent turbulent storm of energy and spatial manipulation erupted into view, the storm tore and lashed out at any object close to it, regardless if it was simple stardust to starship debris. The warp grew larger and larger in size until it showed to be much larger than the Assertor and even the remaining imperial fleet itself.
"Recall all fighters and prepare to sound the retreat!" the admiral orders, now starting to recognize a vast potential threat.
"Recalling all ships!" a crewmember replies.
Res turns back to the portal as it continued to grow and grow in size and intensity, then the worst has come.
From the deep depths of the pitch blackness within the storm, a massive object began to appear, slowly climbing its way out of the storm and show itself to the galaxy. The appearance of a gargantuan bulbous prow erected from within, following it was a vast vessel of unimagined size and proportions, not even halfway through exiting the portal a lance of bright white light flashed from its bow slicing clean through one of the Imperator-Class Star Destroyers, its shields and heavy armor was nothing before such raw power.
The admiral watches as one of his most powerful ships fell without a fight, he swings his body around and yells to the top of his lungs "Order all ships to make an emergency jump to hyperspace, I don't care where they go! GET US OUT OF HERE!"
He swiftly turns back to the colossal ship as its entirety finally exits the portal, causing it to close, and now stood before them was a ship of Covenant origin and design, measuring at a staggering twenty-eight kilometers long from bow to stern, its hook-like prow inhabited the front as it connects to the rest of the ship's body via a neck much like the flagship they had just destroyed, littered along the immensely armored hull were pockets of weapon batteries and hangars each loaded with its own array of devastating power.
Without warning a second and third lance of light shoots out and claims a Venator and the last Imperator destroyers. Several cruisers in response rotated their turbolaser batteries towards the new threat and opens up with a torrent of heavy cannon fire but once they have reached their target they were greeted by an immensely powerful shielding system. Res already saw the huge mistake being made, the sight of the Covenant dreadnought caused panic among the ship captains forcing them to immediately forget about the smaller battlecruisers that were virtually right next to them. The battlecruisers took advantage of this shock and quickly tore down what ships were close by, reducing the imperial numbers to a dangerous low.
Fortunately some cruisers were able to make a successful jump into hyperspace, sparing themselves from the might of the Covenant, however there those who refused to run away.
"This is the cruiser Attrition, we're falling back to regroup with the Assertor" a voice sounded, his tone was calm and collected but Res could still sense the utter fear behind it.
"No, I am giving you a direct order to evacuate the system! Save yourselves and-" but it was too late once he saw a fourth lance stream out from the dreadnought and struck the Attrition down in a single blow.
He cursed himself under his own breath "Dammit!" but he remained calmed and quickly drew up a plan that was by all means not safe "Get me Tracer and all remaining wing commanders."
[Open Space]
Tracer couldn't believe it, they had just destroyed the enemy's flagship- seemingly seizing the day from the Covenant in victory. But then this dreadnought appears on a never-before-seen scale of size and utter raw power. Four cruisers were immediately destroyed upon arrival, leaving the Empire with only about ten vessels left in the fleet, the battle became lost the moment they had killed that command ship…
"Grey leader come in… Tracer are you there!?" a voice calls to the pilot.
Immediately recognizing it he responds "I'm here Admiral…"
"Tracer, the fleet doesn't stand a damn chance against that dreadnought. I'm placing all remaining fighters under your command to attack that monster and buy the fleet enough time to retreat. Once the last cruiser is away you and your pilots need to jump into hyperspace and get the hell out of here."
Tracer hated the sound of that plan, attacking what is essentially a god in the battle of space superiority, but knowing the importance of the cruisers and the Assertor he acknowledges "Affirmative Sir, we'll have that window for you."
"Thank you, all remaining Starfighters and bombers are rerouting to your location now. Good luck and may the Force be with you…"
"Tracer…" Haywire spoke "This isn't going to end well is it?"
"Don't worry Haywire, we'll make it out of here. Just stay close to me."
It wasn't long before fighters and bombers regrouped around Tracer, from there they began their travel to the Covenant dreadnought, about a hundred strike craft in total, but everyone knew it won't be enough.
"So what's the plan here?" a nervous bomber pilot asked.
Another pilot responds "I dunno, I've never seen anything this massive before- how the hell were they able to build that?"
"Must've had a lot of time and resources to do it, that thing must've took them decades to build…"
"Alright everyone" Tracer began "We'll use the same strategy that helped us take down the command ship, we'll make concentrated runs along its neck and hopefully take it out the same way."
"Well it's the best thing we got…" one pilot mumbled.
Then everyone began voicing their opinions in low mutters "This isn't going to work…"
"How the hell are we going to do that?"
"Those shields are going to be a huge problem."
"Heavy casualties are expected."
Hearing enough Tracer silenced them "All wings form up behind me, we got to buy the cruisers enough time to get out of here."
Without any open protest, the fighter squadrons followed Tracer up to a position above the gargantuan Covenant warship several miles away, the pilots were still nervous about attacking this beast head-on but they also knew that they stood a much better chance of survival than any cruiser, they were the fleet's only hope.
"Okay let's not waste any more time, all ships lock S-foils in attack position and follow me in."
"We're right behind you Grey Leader."
"Let's cause some damage."
The fighters changes course and makes a mad dash right for the dreadnought's neck, as expected the dreadnought's anti-air artillery rotates themselves to greet the incoming strike crafts and lets loose a barrage of pulse beams and plasma fire. The wall of fire quickly knocks out several fighters that were unfortunate enough to get caught, however everyone else were able to duck and weave through the incoming fire.
"Hang tight, everyone focus your fire on a single point. We're going to try and punch a hole right through the shields."
One bomber reports "Closing in on target… ion torpedoes armed and ready…"
They quickly close the distance and like a choir of singers, they launch their payloads of ion torpedoes, concussion missiles, and blaster fire onto a single spot on the shields. Blasters and missiles did some damage but it was the torpedoes that managed to punch through and created a whole large enough for ships to pass through simultaneously in few numbers.
Once passing through the shield Tracer quickly barks an order "Red Squadron and Green Squadron, draw those gun batteries away from the bombers!"
"We're on it!" Red leader responds before he takes his squadron of fighters to make diversionary runs along the dreadnought's hull.
"Bombers, start making as many runs as you can, we need to cause as much damage as possible."
"Copy that, we'll make our runs on the neck. Let's go boys!"
Haywire quickly reports "Boss, we got fighters coming out of the main hangar."
Tracer looks through his canopy window to see multiple squadrons of Banshee and Seraph fighters mobilizing inside the gargantuan hangar "That's going to be our job, Haywire, all remaining fighters engage those bandits and keep them off the bombers."
In compliance, the remaining fighters that weren't assigned a previous task quickly moved to engage the Covenant that were now starting to deploy from the hangar bay. In moments the space around the dreadnought erupted into war between dogfighting ships, it even came to a point where the dreadnought had to lower its shields in order to accommodate the amount of fighters that were still trapped inside its bubble. This acted as both a blessing and a curse allowing both sides much more room to move about and commence their attacks more effectively. Fighters raced across the hull of the covenant warship as they danced through incoming fire either taking down enemy craft or knocking out weapon hardpoints located around the ship.
Tracer quickly tails and clips the wing of a banshee, causing it to crash into the side of the dreadnought's durable hull. But as he looks back out into the battle at large he could already see that the republic fighters were beginning to be overwhelmed by the superior numbers that still continued to pour out from the hangar. He looks further out to see the remaining cruisers turn about to make an emergency jump to hyperspace, unfortunately he was in time to witness another star destroyer be struck down by the dreadnought's powerful weaponry while another is already being dissected by a pair of covenant battlecruisers. The Assertor however held on strong as it tries to provide cover for the fleeing ships and thanks to the fighters' efforts and the lowering of the dreadnought's shields, the Mandator-ll Class Dreadnought rotated its turbolaser batteries towards the massive covenant warship itself.
"What the hell is Res doing? I thought he was supposed to retreat?" the pilot muttered to himself.
"Tracer come in… Grey Leader report!"
"I hear you Admiral, I thought you were retreating? What's going on?"
He hears the captain sigh "There's been a change of plans, Emperor Palpatine is ordering us to press our attack."
"What? Are we getting reinforcements?"
"No, we have to make do with what we have…"
The pilot grew agitated "Admiral, you know that's insane. You need to get the fleet out of here before there is no fleet left to save."
"I know, the fleet is still following orders to retreat. But the Assertor will provide the necessary cover for their escape."
"What!? Admiral, you need to get out of here too. We can get you enough time to jump!"
"That won't be needed Tracer, I've ordered all non-essential personnel to evacuate the Assertor, remaining imperial shuttles and corvettes will provide transport as they escape."
Tracer then sighed, knowing he won't be able to change the Admiral's mind "…What can we do to help Sir?"
"Get your pilots out of here… We'll take it from here."
He shifts his sights over to the Assertor, the eight kilometer long dreadnought was already moving towards the Covenant warship at flanking speed.
"Go… Consider that my last official order."
Tracer drew his eyes away from Res towards the colossal covenant dreadnought and gives a tiresome sigh "… Alright…"
"Thank you…" the Admiral spoke softly, a tone Tracer has never heard of in his time of service.
"I'll see you on the other side."
"Likewise Tracer, good luck, this is Admiral Res… signing off."
Communications was then promptly cut, Tracer then turns his attention to the remaining clone fighters under his command "You all heard the Admiral, disengage and get the hell out of here."
"I'm not leaving the Admiral" one pilot responded rather firmly.
"The Admiral gave us an order."
"We're just going to abandon this?"
"We're leaving the galaxy at the hands of a monster! We can't turn tail and run!"
"We can't beat them at this point, best chance is to retreat and regroup, we'll have another chance at this."
The pilots fell into dispute, arguing one another over what they should do, eventually Tracer broke the banter "Enough! I'll make this easy for all of you, if you want to stay and fight then give the Admiral as much fighter cover as you can. If you want to leave, then start making your emergency jump out of here."
"What're you going to do?" one pilot asks curiously.
"Don't worry about me, just do what you're told."
"Right, we're disengaging."
"We're moving towards the Assertor now, hopefully we'll do as much damage as possible."
Tracer watches the fighters break up to their individually chosen paths, some fighters already jumped into hyperspace while others began providing cover for Res' ship.
The ace then looks over to his right to find Haywire still with him "Haywire?"
He could see Haywire look back at him and give a thumbs up "Where you go, I go."
"Heh, alright, let's get out of here…"
"Roger, spooling up hyperdriv- Bandits up high!"
Tracer's head shoots upwards catching sight of a squadron of Seraph Starfighters closing in "Break!"
The two imperial Starfighters broke from each other quickly dividing up the covenant squadron that began to pursue them.
"These guys just don't know how to quit!" Haywire barked as he performs a barrel roll to avoid an incoming spray of plasma.
"We'll lure them towards each other, you take the ones behind me and I'll get the ones behind you."
"Roger, coming around."
Tracer turns his craft about and quickly catches sight of Haywire and his three pursuers, priming his ship's cannons he moves in at high speed as does his partner. Both fighters closed in one another and just as they came within weapons range they fired upon one another just to avoid each other's shots and knock out the shields of three Starfighters while the other two remained untouched. The afflicted fighters pulled away in self-preservation but the two last fighters closed in and begins to tail the clones, letting loose are torrent of plasma fire despite the clones' efforts lose them.
"Ragh… I can't get these guys off me!" Haywire barked.
"Stay with me Haywire! Start up your hyperdrive!"
"I'm trying, but I can't get a vector locked in!"
"Hang on Haywire, I'll get you that-"
A single bolt of energized plasma rips right through Haywire's port engine pod causing the whole module to set ablaze and explode, Tracer could only hear the scream as his partner's ship careens out of control into the emptiness of space.
"Haywire!? HAYWIRE!?" Tracer yelled, but there was no further response.
Without sparing a moment, the two seraphs turned their attention onto the last remaining clone "Alright you bastards, you're gonna have to work harder to get me… Let's see how you handle atmosphere."
Tracer immediately dives towards the planet below him, the covenant fighters were unmoved by this maneuver and stays right on their target. In the distance Tracer could see that the Assertor was now fully engaged with the Covenant dreadnought, volley after volley of turbo laser fire countered with storms of plasma torpedoes and lances of particle beams. Both seemed to be ripping each other apart but it was upon closer inspection that Tracer realized that few of the Assertor's main guns were hardly even damaging the super-thick armor plating of the colossal vessel whereas each torpedo or energy projector blast effortlessly tore and sliced through the thick durasteel plating. At this point during the engagement, the covenant dreadnought was looming ever so ominously over the Mandator-Class Dreadnought now showing how diminutive the eight kilometer long imperial flagship was compared to the near twenty-nine kilometer long covenant behemoth. Soon he notices a faint light shimmering underneath the prow of the covenant warship, an eerie pinkish light that started to grow brighter and brighter in intensity, particles began to draw near it and the howls of energy became louder and louder with each passing second. Then in the next instant, a violent blast of concentrated energized superheated plasma shoots out from the underside ripping right through the entirety of the Mandator in seconds. The beam cleaves its way right through the spine of the whole ship from bow to stern leaving no resistance and in moments, the Assertor was downright destroyed… and it never stood a chance.
A voice then came over the Imperial Comms Net "Commander Verga to all remaining Imperial forces, Assertor is down. I repeat, Assertor is down. All surviving ships proceed to make emergency jumps hyperspace, get the hell out of here."
The last of the cruisers have escaped and those who stayed behind were destroyed, it would seem that Tracer was all on his own. But despite this he remains determined to now survive and escape, the only problem now were his two pursuers. He begins entering the outer-most layers of Azloc's frozen atmosphere but continues his dive towards the surface at maximum thrust. Diving faster and faster he now could see the ground coming up to him closer and closer. He closes in little over five hundred feet from the ground before immediately pulling up and break his descent however the seraphs and banshees were just as quick to break off as well and continue their attack. Tracer maneuvered through the snowy mountains hoping to elude his pursuers but they kept up with him despite his efforts, it would seem to him that covenant craft were just as adept in atmosphere as they were in space.
"Agh, just can't shake these guys… time to get out of here…"
Tracer pulls himself out of the mountains and aligns his fighter for orbit, immediately spooling up his hyperdrive for an emergency exit. However the covenant were still right on him when they open fired with several bolts striking Tracer's port thrust pod causing it to set aflame.
"Dammit!" the clone curses as his console began to whir in alarm to the damage the ship received.
Another burst of plasma fire racks his port wing and stabilizer causing the ship to lose control and begin rapidly decline towards the surface. The ship's console interface sparked and screamed in alarm as Tracer quickly grabbed hold of the controls and attempted to regain control of the fighter. But his efforts became futile as the craft came closer to the ground, he tried his best to avoid crashing right into the mountainsides and manages to get his ship out to a small open area. The fighter gave its last bit of energy and crashes into the snow with speed and force, violently ripping off the port wing and engulf the rest of the craft under the snow. Upon impact Tracer incidentally slammed his head against the controls and rendered himself unconscious.
It was however a few short minutes before he comes back to with an aching head to deal with "…uragh…damn… "
Coming to his senses he grabs hold of the emergency ejection lever and pulls it allowing the cockpit canopy to blow right off along with the snow that buried it. The sudden rush of the cold wintery winds swept in and overwhelmed the pilot however his suit provide him limited protection from the elements as he climbs out of his craft and retrieves a DC-17S carbine from the emergency provisionary crate stored in the craft along with some rations and other tools needed for survival.
"Eh.. this is just great…" he muttered to himself as he looked around his surroundings "Hopefully the ground force is still around, gotta find them before they retrea-"
His words were cut off by the sound of something massive approaching through the air, he looks up to find an Acclamator transport making haste towards planetary orbit but in moments he watches as a pillar of red plasma rains from the clouds and skewer the seven hundred and fifty two meter long vessel through its center hull. The piercing shot tore clean through and sent the ship sailing back towards the ground in a crash landing, one with very few survivors to be expected. Nonetheless that was his best chance of survival and therefore he begins making his way in the direction the assault ship had fallen.
"Just my luck…"
[Observatory]
"They are fleeing!" a Sangheili roars as he watches the imperial forces fall back to the entrance after having suffering insurmountable losses to the superior covenant soldiers.
Another ignites his energy sword "Do not let them escape!"
In compliance several elite warriors ignited their blades and charged after the clones that were now breaking into a full retreat, some were caught and impaled by the pursuing aliens who sought to wipe them out.
Gran watched as the imperial army, consisted up elite troopers bred and trained for combat, be run down and slaughter by this unstoppable foe. His men stood by in anger, they couldn't watch their brothers be torn apart and they hate themselves for not being able to help.
Shev followed his brothers through the installation's entrance and charges into the outdoor plains where the clone army was already in shambles after heavy constant bombardment from far off Wraith tanks, the imperial army numbering nearly a thousand has been reduced to a few hundred if not only a dwindling hundred. Despite this some troopers continue to fight on, one particular trooper lines up his rifle on 'Vadamee and fires off a shot that landed against the Sangheili's chest however the bolt refracted off of the elite's shields and in turn the clone was run through the chest by the twin blades of his attacker's sword.
Pulling the dead off his blade and tossing it aside, Shev barked to the remaining clones still standing "Heed my words humans! Your armies have been obliterated- your fleets are now burning before our might! You are the very remaining presence upon this planet, so I offer you an ultimatum. Surrender your arms- devote yourself in service to our holy Covenant and become a part of something greater, or die a warrior's death in the name of the Empire who now has left you abandoned."
The clones began looking to one another, some looked confused while others remained determined with their weapons aimed at the enemy, 'Vadamee adds "It is your individual choice to make…"
Gran and his men approached the Sangheili that surrounded the straggling imperials, the admiral gently pushes his way through the aliens until he came up next to 'Vadamee. Almost immediately the clones turned their glares to him, the only imperial among the enemy.
"Men, I urge you to stand down" he spoke "There is a lot more to this galaxy than we realize, with your help we can learn the secrets hidden from us since the beginning of time itself."
He watched as blasters were slightly lowered, he was beginning to slowly win them over. But before he could continue he hears the whirring hum of an approaching phantom dropship, the said ship swooped in below the clouds and came to a full stop right outside the congregation of soldiers where the gravity well opens allowing a squad of five elites to drop from the belly of the craft. Upon recognition of the lead figure, the special ops Sangheili stood aside granting the figure a clear passage to 'Vadamee as well as Cobol and his men when they noticed the shift in movement but when the gold-plated passed by them he gave them a momentary stare from behind his opaque visor. The figure passes on until he reaches 'Vadamee who then turned to greet the arrival.
"'Artamee… your arrival was expected."
"I have only come to seek the relic your command ship has reported in your absence, the very ship I tasked you of safekeeping but failed in doing so along with the majority of your fleet."
"The Harmonious Condemnation has fallen?"
"Yes, repeated strikes from small human attack ships caused the ship to fall in two. We have ships scouring the remains for salvage and survivors."
Shev bowed his head in disgrace "Forgive me Fleetmaster, I-"
But 'Artamee immediately slammed his arm across 'Vadamee's head causing his body to topple over onto the snowy ground, then the Fleetmaster roared at his subordinate "You have carelessly wasted vital ships and manpower that are already in short supply! Have you not yet realized our dire situation!?"
'Vadamee was beginning to prop himself back up "Forgive me…"
"You are fortunate that you have located this holy relic or I would execute you where you lay"'Vadamee then looks up to the clones "And what are you seeking from them?"
"Their allegiance, Fleetmaster, so that we may replenish our numbers."
"You wish to conscript humans into our sacred cause!?" Sav roared angrily "Is there no more honor residing within you!?"
'Vadamee stood back up to meet his superior face to face "Hear my case sire" he then motions to Gran and his men "They have willingly agreed to aid us in our renewed quest…"
The golden ranger seemed to have calmed down to a small degree "Have they now?"
"Yes Sire, they have activated the Observatory within and with it we can finally return home to the Covenant."
Immediately 'Artamee stopped, he needed a moment to process what he had just heard "There is a way to return home?"
"It is possible, but in order to achieve this goal we require the humans to help us in this endeavor."
'Artamee slowly turned his head towards Admiral Gran and thus approached him, the imperial did not take on step back as a sign of fear but instead held his ground until the elite came to a stop before him.
"Why do you wish to aid us human?" Sav spoke with a low menacing tone.
"We seek to learn more about these 'Forerunners' and hopefully learn of our past. Besides, it'll get you to leave Azloc and stop waging your war against the Empire. We both want the same thing here…" Gran answered.
"And you are willing?"
"On one condition, you ensure the safety and well-being of my men, including the troops you have surrounded now."
Sav glanced back at the armed troopers, still posed to strike, then back to Gran "If you wish to continue their survival then I suggest you speak them out of their alert state…"
"Gladly…"
Gran steps past the elite and comes before the clones that were still fresh from battle "Troopers, I am Rear Admiral Gran of the Imperial Navy, I'm ordering you to stand down and surrender your arms."
The clones looked towards each other until one figure spoke "Sir? You're asking us to give up?"
"No, I'm asking you to stay alive. You pull a single trigger and you all die, I will not endanger the lives of my men. Yours included."
"What's going to happen?"
"You'll most likely be taken prisoner, but I will ensure that you all will be treated fairly. To be more blunt you are the bartering chip in this deal, if they want us to help them get home then they will have to meet our demands. I've also received a promise that once this quest of theirs is completed we will be returned back to the Empire and everything will return to normal."
This prompted Sav to glance at Shev who now stood beside him "Is this true?"
"Yes Sire…" 'Vadamee responded.
Gran continues "So I ask you again, for your own sakes please stand down…"
The clones hesitated for a few more moments longer until they finally came to a decision and begun dropping their blasters onto the ground, they finally surrendered.
Sav orders his troops "Recover their weapons and prepare to transport them to the carrier Long Night of Solace" he then turns to Shev and now Gran who is returning to them "You two will show me this Observatory and find us a way home…"
Gran acknowledges "Of course…"
The trio begins to make their way back into the installation, meanwhile Covenant troops began seizing weapons and prepping the surrendered clones for transport back to their flagship.
The bloodiest battle of Azloc lll, one which proved to be the most costly for the new Galactic Empire, has finally come to an end…
Please leave your comments and thoughts. Thank you.
