Chapter 8- Revolt
December 10th, 2159
Kar'shan orbit
Sam Taylor stood at the bridge of his freighter as it entered the Kar'shan system. He was the first of the alliance 'Corsairs', a private merchant fleet the alliance military. His job today was to carry the first cargo of weaponry to the Kar'shan rebellion. He signaled the the designated starbase, waiting for the Separatist contact to answer. A crackle was heard, before the deep voice of a batarian was heard. "Greeting human freighter. I assume you are carrying the cargo of industrial stem bolts that I ordered?"
"Yes, they are in cargo bays 3-14." Sam answered, confirming that he had a weapon shipment coming in.
"Good, I have a project that needs them. Hopefully, I can get them there soon." The batarian replied.
"Yes, I am also eager to see the sunrise on Kar'shan, I heard its remarkable!" Sam said, completing the code phrase.
The batarian signed off, and Sam brought the freighter in to dock. The cargo was a series of human made weaponry, made based off of council tech in order to avoid giving away human military secrets. The ship docked, and Batarian workers, all separatist, began unloading the ship. Sam exited the ship, several aides carrying a cargo container behind him, heading to the office of his batarian contact. He walked in, and the batarian officer gestured for him to sit down. He motioned for Sam to be silent, while he scanned the room for bugs. He caught one, and destroyed it.
"Now, what goods did you bring me?" He asked.
"I have samples with me. Sam said, turning to his aides, who opened the cargo container. Inside were several weapons. "These guns are new models, fresh off the assembly line. We've been experimenting with council tech, and we have made these guns as a result of our research into their personal weaponry."
"Yes, but I would like to see them in action." The batarian said.
"Is there a place on this station that I can test them without alerting the loyalists or causing a hull breach?" Sam asked.
"Yes. This entire station is separatist, and we have converted one of the cargo bays into a makeshift firing range."
"How durable is the hull plating around the firing range? Because the M920c Personal Artillery Unit is capable of obliterating a fully shielded fighter if used right."
"Oh... that could be a little... problematic. I trust some of your weaponry is more conventional?"
"Yes." Sam answered, before being led down to a firing range, his aides carrying the crate with them.
"Now, show me what you have." The batarian said.
"Yes. First we have the M-12 Eagle pistol. It has 2 modes of fire, single shot and burst fire. Aim it like so..." Sam said, pointing it at the target, activating its laser sight "And shoot." With three sharp reports, the pistol fired, putting three neat holes in the target dummy.
"How is its rate of fire? How long before it overheats?" The batarian asked.
"Its designed to take out enemies with well placed shots, not spray and pray. That job falls to the M-21 Cicada SMG. Overheat wise, you don't have to worry. We have developed a thermal clip, a device that, in conjunction with special autoloaders, allows this weapon to be fired indefinitely with no heat generation. All other weapons in this arsenal, M920 excluded, have a similar system.
Sam demonstrated the remaining weaponry to the batarian, then his ship's AI, Mira, messaged him, telling him that his ship was unloaded and ready to go.
He boarded the freighter, and then left the system, leaving the separatists with 200 tons of weaponry at their disposal.
3 Months Later, Kar'Shan surface
Saharak clutched the human made rifle tightly as he waited for the signal. Every single separatist had been armed with human weaponry over the past few months, before being stationed throughout Kar'shan's capital city. Today, the preparations were finally complete, the revolution would finally begin in earnest. Suddenly, every communications system in the city, every loudspeaker at every checkpoint, screamed "FOR THE BATARIAN PEOPLE! FOR THE REVOLUTION!", before going silent. Saharak aimed out of the second floor window he was in, and opened fire on a batarian security checkpoint in the street below. Several soldiers fell before they even knew what was happening, with more falling before the alarm could be raised. The survivors came to, some running to cover, others attempting to return fire. A sniper three floors above Saharak took those ones out. The whine of a gunship was heard, as one painted in separatist markings flew overhead, releasing a barrage of missiles into a checkpoint further down the road, raking the area with gunfire. Thousands of hegemony soldiers died in the first few seconds of the revolution, as the fires of rebellion were lit all over Kar'Shan. Saharak jumped out of the building, his armor cushioning the impact. He sprinted down the street, towards the capitol tower. As fate would have it, however, he ran into a loyalist checkpoint. The machine gun turret ripped through his armor, sending him to the ground. As he lay on the ground, bleeding out, his last sight before his eyes went dark was that of a rebel gunship laying waste to the turret that killed him.
In the skies above the capital, Kurial piloted one of the gunships that the humans had provided the resistance. The separatists controlled the skies above Kar'shan, with most ground based fighters being destroyed before they could be launched, and the few that managed to get airborne were shot down in the hour following the start of the rebellion. Kurial spotted a hostile Dominator tank suppressing a small group of rebels. Flying in low, he released several missiles. Two impacted off the vehicle's kinetic barrier, but the rest flew true, destroying the vehicle. Several loyalist soldiers near the tank attempted to run, only for Kurial to mow them down with the chin mounted cannon. The rebels had caught the hegemony flat-footed, and by the time the loyalists had managed to bring out the heavy equipment, the rebels had already made irreversible gains. He flew higher, spotting a second tank. He moved in, ready to destroy it, but before he could fire his missiles, the tank exploded in a small mushroom cloud as a rebel with a M920 hit his target. The rebels had forced the hegemony into several small pockets around the city, centered on their military bases and the Capitol palace. Kurial flew over the building, releasing his bombload as he went. Suddenly, several alarms blared in his cockpit. A missile had locked onto him. He never had the chance to take evasive maneuvers.
In the space above Kar'Shan, separatist and loyalist ships dueled in the void. Separatist agents had locked down many of the docks carrying military vessels, allowing for the tiny rebel fleet to successfully destroy its adversaries, before moving in to bombard the helpless ships in drydock. Now, with the Kar'Shan defense force being reduced to orbiting debris, the fleet sent several frigates down to begin support of ground forces. The few rebels remaining in orbit were caught unaware when reinforcements arrived from the batarian colony worlds. The rebels suddenly went from dominating orbit to facing a losing battle, outnumbered ten to one. Help came from an unexpected source. A massive portal opened up near the rebel fleet, and two hundred human ships poured into the system, bolstering the rebel fleet. Several ships began to launch transports, hauling troops down to reinforce the already winning rebels. Meanwhile, the suddenly outclassed batarian fleet attempted to turn tail and flee for the relay, only for human ships to chase them down and open fire. Many loyalist ships were unable to return fire, given that their backs were turned as they ran for the relay. The batarian relief force was destroyed in under a minute by overwhelming human firepower, while the rebel fleets focused on ground support. The battle for Kar'Shan had been won in space.
"FOR THE PEOPLE!" Baral screamed, as he, along with thousands of other rebel batarians, charged across the open plaza leading to the capitol palace. The frigate overhead, as well as scores of gunships, pounded any loyalists that dared move out of their cover. Baral ran past the smashed corpses of tanks and the burnt out husks of crashed gunships. The frigate's main gun spoke, its speech manifesting itself as a shell, striking the last batarian position outside the palace. Baral was among the first into the building, the few remaining guards inside proving to be no match for the rebel army. He fought his way through the opulent palace, floor by floor, room by room, until he reached the top. There, he saw the grand Hegemon being helped aboard one of the last batarian shuttles. He fired, but he missed his mark, as the shuttle door closed, and it started to lift off. Then, a shell from one of the frigate's broadside guns slammed into the shuttle-pad. The hegemon's shuttle fell, striking the ground, before a second shell slammed into it, wiping away any trace of it or its inhabitants. Baral let loose a cheer, one that was soon echoed by his fellow soldiers. Baral and several of his fellow soldiers raised the first flag of the New Batarian Republic over the ruins of the capitol palace, the moment being immortalized in hundreds of photos taken by their watching comrades. The moment would become the most famous war photo ever taken in batarian history, as it signaled the end of the rebellion, the end of the hegemony, and the start of the Batarian republic.
Here you go! The rebellion on Kar'Shan has begun and ended, and the humans and rebels have won the day! See you tomorrow, on A Special Task.