July 25th
2583/20 BBY
8:15 am UNSC time
United Earth Government (formerly United Nations) General Assembly Hall
United Republic of North America
Earth
Nobody's POV:
The entire hall is in complete anarchy.
Men and women who represent various systems that are all UNSC-friendly are arguing with each other about what should be done regarding the Galactic Republic and the CIS, with members of the Swords of Sanghelios also being present. Lately, the CIS has been beating back UNSC attempts to scout the Inner Rim and tearing apart the Republic after the revelation that the entire Insurrection from UNSC space united and decided to cooperate with the Confederacy.
"Enough!" Lawrence's voice shouts, cutting through the people and Sangheili arguing with each other. It works and both parties quiet down so they can hear what the head of the UNSC has to say. "This bickering is pointless. We need to take action now. Arbiter, do you have anything to say?" He asks when he notices that the gold-armored Sangheili is standing up.
Arbiter nods in gratitude, then faces the crowd again. "Indeed, I do. Every second that passes merely holding the mongrel Republic and their Separatists gives them more time to find Sanghelios and Earth. We need to end this war now, before our people start to suffer the war's consequences. Thus far, as the humans would say, we have been handling our opponents with kid gloves. We need to show the Republic and CIS that we will not tolerate them any longer and unless they surrender, they will be obliterated."
Everyone sits in their seats, staring at the Arbiter in shock and contemplating his words. "I agree, Arbiter." Everyone's attention now turns to the Madame President, who is sitting at the front of the conference hall. She is frowning deeply and a hardened look on her face made some senators feel a shiver travel down their spines. "We have been treating both parties too nicely. If it means the safety of our people, I recommend that we start using tactics and weapons used during the Human-Covenant War. All in favor of using nuclear bombardments and energy projectors that were upgraded after the Great War to show our enemies that we are far from the 'primitives' they see us as?"
Almost every hand shot into the air at the proposal. The only exception is Senator Vanessa Kimball, but she lets out a sigh, catching everyone's attention. "If it means that my planet and people will finally have peace, so be it." Then raises her hand as well.
"Very good. I believe that due to its location, Esfandia would make a suitable example." Rtas, recently promoted to being the Fleetmaster of the entire fleet of the Swords of Sanghelios, states next to Arbiter.
"But who shall lead the attack? Winter and most of our captains and shipmasters are busy defending our colonies." A senator shouts.
"I know." A calm voice says. Then Senator Del Rio stands up to address the crowd. "My fellow Senators and Sangheili members, I think a joint attack is required for this operation to have success. As such, I believe that Shipmaster Atem 'Vladum and Captain Winter's uncle, Admiral Snow, should be sent."
"A shipmaster and admiral, both well-known for being rather brutal on the battlefield? Are they both necessary?" Vanessa asks, looking at Del Rio. But since her helmet is still on, no one can see her face, so they can't tell if it's an honest question or a scathing one.
Del Rio whirls on her, glaring slightly but regains his composure after a few seconds. "Yes. Thanks to ONI's new base at Scarif, we had recently received news that the Republic had upped their Grand Army's presence on the desert planet and bases there make it a perfect rallying point, ensuring no one takes it. Since the people of my system donated the materials that were sued to build the station that the ONI is now using, I will be personally inspecting the base while this operation occurs. I will make sure that the base is secure enough to repel any attack."
The assembly hall doesn't burst in argument this time, since they all already knew about the upped security. ONI had briefed them about it not too long ago. Peterson leans back in her seat, thinking, then straightens up again. "Very well. Fleet Admiral Lawrence Hood, send Shipmaster 'Vladum and Admiral Snow with their fleets and begin Operation: Hiroshima. This meeting is now adjourned. I wish you all godspeed."
Everyone gets up and walk out of the hall, conversing with each other about how they almost feel bad for the Republic and CIS for what will be in store for them.
14:23 UNSC time
Aboard the UNSC Charon-class flagship Panem
Slipspace
3rd Person POV:
ODST Sergeant Ahsoka Tano, despite sweating lightly, feels a smirk forming on her face. If she plays this right, the battle is hers.
"A-1." Fellow Sergeant David "Dave" Perry states, sitting across from her with a board game known as Battleship. It was passed down through Dave's family for many centuries, and Ahsoka finds it quite fascinating. Sitting in a ring all around them in the middle of the docking bay are the remaining 8 members of their ODST squad, watching the game with borderline awe. Both her helmet and Dave's helmets are off, just like everyone elses', so their faces are revealed. After Ahsoka returned to the UNSC after her farce of a trial, they commended her for her commitment and promoted her from normal marine status to being an ODST Sergeant after the last one was killed in a battle with the CIS. While the change was hard to adjust to for her, she had already befriended the entire unit she was assigned to.
"Miss." Ahsoka responds, receiving a low growl from Dave. She had already got a feel as to the formations of Dave's battleships, and if her instincts are right, she has won the game. "R-4."
Shock shone in Dave's dark brown eyes, before he shouts, "God damn it!" Then lowers his head, to the point where his curly black hair shadows his face. "Hit, and you sunk my last battleship."
Ahsoka snickers a little at his antics. While she does miss her old friends, like Captain Rex and Anakin Skywalker, she does find the sarcastic remarks and mostly jovial nature of the UNSC soldiers quite amusing; certainly a pleasant change from the stoic clones she led. Dave stands up, putting all the plastic pieces back into the box and closing it, before lifting his right hand. "Good match."
"Why, thank you." Ahsoka responds, shaking his hand.
"I'm impressed." Private Harold Bean states bluntly, an amused look on his pale, chiseled face that shows that he isn't that old, what with his short black hair that almost covers his right eye, which is a unique red. Quite contradictory to his last name, Bean is easily the brute of the group, often spending time to lifting weight and training with Sangheili to keep his physical condition he got during his time when he was a Spartan-IV at its peak. But he can still think through many complex situations, given enough time.
"What Bean is saying is that it's quite impressive that you beat Perry at Battleship. None of us have even come close to kicking his ass yet." Their unit's leader, Lieutenant Juan Gutiérrez, says with surprise in his voice. He has dark brown eyes, like Perry, but has a darker skin tone and dark tamed hair that gives people the vibe that he can maintain a cool composure even in the heat of battle.
"Probably 'cause we hadn't tried getting him drunk enough." Private Kali Parker responds with a borderline cocky tone in her voice, laying to the side.
Everyone starts cracking up at that mentality, until a man in a formfitting grey yellow uniform with grey shoulder pads that have the UNSC symbol printed on each side runs to them. The ODSTs immediately stop laughing and stand at attention, saluting the man. He salutes them back then turns to Ahsoka. "Sergeant Tano, Admiral Snow would like to speak with you. If you will come with me. The rest of you, gear up; we're almost at Esfandia, ETA 10 minutes." The officer says quickly, almost breathing hard.
"Good luck, Ahsoka." Bean says, crossing his muscled arms over his armored chest. Ahsoka nods and follows the bridge officer, anxiety forming in her stomach. She had met with so many Captains, Admirals and other military officers that she would normally felt comfortable being around them, but not UNSC Admiral Oswell C. Snow. He is as cunning as they come and would not be afraid of using any and all underhanded techniques ever invented if it would tilt any battle into his favor. At least he cares about the people under his command, so no one working for him have to worry…much. His high standards and aggressive training that he makes his soldiers endure so they are the best they can be.
Soon, the duo reach the bridge, where the rest of the deck officers are at work, doing their jobs. "Admiral, Sergeant Tano is here as you requested." The officer said, shifting back and forth slightly.
"Thank you. You may go back to your post." Snow responds, not looking at the officer. He nods and returns to the front of the bridge to check on Engineering. Snow then turns to Ahsoka and looks at her. She, in turn, sees the man in the standard grey UNSC military uniform, with pale, lightly wrinkled skin with white hair that stretches down into a short beard and piercing black eyes. "Now, you may be wondering why I called you here. It's so I can ask you a question: What do you know about the base?"
Ahsoka is confused by the question. "What do you mean?"
Snow looks at her calculatingly, which almost sends shivers down Ahsoka's back. It seems that all those who fought in the Human-Covenant War have some degree of intimidation about them. "I mean; what do you know about the base on Esfandia? More specifically, according to your records, you were one of the 3 Jedi who were in the system as the base was being built. If we are to have victory, I need to know what we are up against."
Ahsoka mulls the words over, thinking about her time on the planet about 6 months ago. Six months…it's hard to believe that not much time had passed since the war took its turn for the worse. "OK. I'll tell everything I know, even though it might not be much. I do know that there is a major Republic base on the surface of the planet, but it's built into a mountain so it's not visible from the surface. It wouldn't surprise me if more bases were built there recently."
Before Snow could respond, the holographic devices activate and the shipboard AI, Geronimo, appears. He has a slim build and traditional Indian attire on him. "Admiral. We have arrived at our destination."
"Good. Pull us out of slipspace."
The AI disappears and the officers immediately get to work and soon, the Panem pulls out of slipspace, with 2 Epoche-class cruisers and either side and 3 Sangheili ships, 2 of which are Man O' Wars while the flagship is a CAS-class carrier. Before them, about 600 klicks below them, is the red rocky planet of Esfandia. To everyone's surprise and extreme suspicion, only 6 Venator-class star destroyers are hanging outside the planet's atmosphere. "It's not a trap." Ahsoka says, catching the Admiral's attention. "When I helped oversee the construction of the main base, it was built so there would be loads of space for the star cruisers to set down on the planet and refuel. It just means we caught them offguard."
Snow nods. "Thank you, Sergeant. Now rejoin your squad. You will be dropped via pod into the Venator's docking bay. Secure it and you shall be assisted by the marines once they land and take the bridge. Good luck, Sergeant."
"Thank you, Admiral." Ahsoka responds, saluting him. He returns to the gesture and she runs out of the bridge and back to the docking bay, where the ODSTs stationed there are already boarding their specifically marked pods and Spartan Fireteam Crimson are getting loaded up on a Pelican as well.
"Let's show these clones how we do things." Parker says, her helmet back on and her battle rifle in her lap.
Ahsoka smirks, thanking Perry when he gives her the ODST helmet she was given, immediately putting it on, and straps herself onto the seat of the unit's pod. Soon, everyone is loaded up and Bean pulls the door closed. Silence reigns in the pod as everyone does their last checks on their weapons, along with Ahsoka who looks at her lightsaber. Just because she isn't a Jedi doesn't mean she should just get rid of it. "Is that a lightsaber?" Gutiérrez asks.
All Ahsoka can do is nod, before the pod starts shaking heavily and start bouncing up and down. "This is the stairway to hell." Bean mutters as the pod continues shaking around them. It continues for several more minutes until…BOOM!
The pod instantly jolts to a stop, smashing into something hard. Bean gets up, unbuckling himself from the seat, and punches the door with all his might. Luckily, the Republic had already put up emergency measures so the suction of space is not affecting the docking bay. The door pops off its hinge and smashes into a startled clone soldier, smashing him into the side of a LAAT. "Go, go, go!" Gutiérrez shouts, running out of the pod and firing his SAW in all directions. The clones don't stand a chance as they are cut down by the rapid-fire gun. The rest of his squad run out and take cover behind a LAAT as clones start firing their blaster rifles at the ODSTs. Ahsoka looks at them, then gets an idea. "Perry, throw one of your frags." Ahsoka shouts.
Perry nods, then unclips a grenade from his equipment, pulls the ring out, then throws it out of their cover. The clones jump out of the way, trying to avoid the explosion and shrapnel. Ahsoka takes advantage of the chaos to run out and activate her lightsaber. Swishing her blade in all directions, she slashes the clones apart. "Not a bad plan." Parker states. Then the doors open up and another squad of clones run out, firing at Ahsoka. But before they could get very far, a whoosh of flames flies out and strikes the clones, who scream in pain before collapsing to the ground, dead.
Bean emerges from his cover, holding a large flamethrower in his hands. "Clear." He states, looking around for a few seconds. Just then, the alarms start blaring all around them.
"Let's take the bridge. I can hack the mainframe and make the docking bays open and allow the marines to clear out any stragglers. Half of you, follow my lead. The rest, hold your ground here." With those last words, Gutiérrez breaks out into a full-on sprint, with half of his squad only just barely keeping pace with him as they run down the hallways, gunning down any clones who stand in their way or letting Bean torch them to death with his flamethrower. When they all turn to the right to make it to the elevators, Gutiérrez recoils and runs back to the corner when numerous blaster shots go off where he was. "Damn it. There are about 30 of those jackasses blocking the elevator shaft."
"I got this." Perry says, then fiddles with his helmet before he straightens up and whispers, although it sounds like he's talking normally. "Everyone, cover your ears." Once Ahsoka and the others do so, Perry sucks in a breath and lets out nonsensical singing for several seconds. But it is magnified a hundred-fold, making it obnoxiously loud. He then lifts his dual SMGs and fires. After sheathing his weapons and pushing the button on his helmet again, he looks at his friends. "We're good."
All of the squad look around the corner and see the entire group lying on the ground, dead. "What was that?" Ahsoka demands.
"My voice amplifier from the old Project Freelancer. My uncle's cousin's roommate gave to me after they decided that it had no more use."
"Those idiots. You probably didn't have to try too hard to get it." Gutiérrez mutters, before they make their way to the elevators. Bean sheathes his flamethrower and grabs the opening of the doors and after a few seconds, pulls the door apart. Everyone shuffles onboard, and after the Lieutenant hacks the elevator, the doors close and they start riding up.
"You know, some elevator music would be nice." Perry says as the trip lasts longer and longer, before the doors open up and the bridge is revealed. The ODSTs leap into action, waving their blazing guns around Rambo-style, killing clone technicians left and right. The Captain tries to blast them with his blaster pistol, but Ahsoka cuts his hand off and stabs him in the chest. Once everyone's dead, the team spreads out, and Gutiérrez walks to the terminal, hacking into it and turning off the alarm. The UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios ships become visible from the bridge, sending Pelicans and Phantoms to the other ships.
"Lieutenant. We are receiving a transmission from the Panem." Parker states, looking at the holo-table.
"Put it through." He responds absently, finishing his job and watching as the docking bays open up and several Pelicans fly inside.
The holo-table flares to life and Snow appears in the middle. "Lieutenant Gutiérrez. Have you taken the ship?"
"Yes Admiral. The marines you sent us are going to kill off any stragglers. The ship is ours."
"Good. The other ships in orbit have already been captured. I want you to patch a message to the Republic and make them watch as Operation: Hiroshima happens."
July 26th
9:10 UNSC time
Docking Bay 4
Scarif
Obi-Wan Kenobi ducks back to his makeshift cover as a sniper bullet that was aimed at his head zooms by. The 'cover' is an AT-TE that recently got its legs blown off by a fighter the UNSC calls a Hornet before the tank manages to shoot the wings of the Hornet, making it spin out of control and crash lands on the beach nearby.
He had hastily been dispatched to this remote planet under orders from the Jedi Council while Anakin was sent off to Esfandia to see if there's anything worth salvaging. Mere hours before, when the Jedi High Council was holding a meeting regarding battle strategies and movements across the galaxy, a Temple guard took the elevator up to the Council chamber, telling them that there was something they all had to see. Boy, did Obi-Wan regret doing that.
He was getting the sinking feeling that both the UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios were holding back in the war, but now that they are going all out (at least, he hopes), he has never felt more scared of them in his life. A white-haired human and a yellow armored Sangheili, well known throughout the Republic as Admiral Snow and Shipmaster Atem 'Vladum, sent them a message saying that they shall tolerate them no longer and unless they surrender, they will start burning their planets one by one. To prove their point, they make everyone on the Holonet watch as the UNSC ships drop nuclear bombs onto the surface and the Sangheili warships activate their energy projectors, burning the surface to the point where it resembles glass. The Jedi felt through the Force all of the bases being obliterated, the ships on the surface destroyed and hundreds of clones being killed in seconds.
However, that was nothing compared to the message's aftermath. People were rampaging throughout the city, protesting the war's continuation and wanting to surrender so their home won't get glassed like Esfandia was. The Council resumed their meeting with new urgency in mind, since some Jedi were (and still are) also calling for a surrender to the UNSC. Unwillingly, the Jedi agreed with the UNSC in that they need to end the war as soon as possible.
So when Admiral Nils Tenant discovered coded UNSC transmissions coming from the isolated planet of Scarif an hour later, the Jedi decided to send their 2 last available Jedi on separate missions. Anakin to see if the glassing was true or false propaganda issued to spread chaos, while Obi-Wan was sent with 10 Acclamators to investigate Scarif and figure out what's on the planet.
Of course, the limited intel received from Tenant didn't mention the fact that the UNSC's intelligence branch, the ONI, had an established base there. Several Charon-class ships had intercepted their travel and Obi-Wan was left with no choice but to launch half the LAATs to the planet's surface, with him leading the assault while Tenant leads the space battles.
Leading him to this moment, when Obi-Wan's forces took over a docking bay to the main fortress minutes before the UNSC troops intercepts.
After a few seconds, Captain Rex leaps into the cover that Obi-Wan is behind. "General, we are losing men fast. They are throwing everything they have at us, and those Scorpions are tearing through our AT-TEs."
Obi-Wan nods, thinking over the news. He has a feeling that the ONI is delivering intelligence to the UNSC, so breaking into the main tower so he can deliver something worthwhile to the Republic is mandatory. Quickly, a battle plan formulates in his mind. "Here's what we need to do. Rex, get some men out here and secure this docking bay. Make sure there is enough space here to land heavy weaponry and set up the heavy cannons. Without them, we are going to get torn apart."
"What about you, sir?" Rex asks, concern weaving its way into his voice.
"I am going to infiltrate that fortress. Until we are absolutely certain that we will make it out of this battle alive, I am going to secure intel from the base so the Republic can gain some leverage."
"Yes, General. Good luck, and may the Force be with you."
"You too, Rex." With those last words, Obi-Wan activates his lightsaber and leaps from out of his cover. Marines who are converging on the cover with dead clones at their feet jump back in surprise while some let loose some fire. Obi-Wan uses the Force to enhance his reflexes to deflect the bullets back to the marines, the bullets punching through the weak points in their armor and some shots killing them. Obi-Wan pays no attention to them as he runs from the docking bay on the beach to the forest. All around him, marines and clones engage each other in combat, each holding their ground despite losses on either side. Just then, a revving noise rings out and a Warthog starts charging at a small group of clones and the missile launcher on the back makes quick work of the troops.
He keeps on going, approaching the oddly-shaped basethat is getting closer with each step he takes. That is, until he reaches a clearing where a bunch of marines are surrounding a group of clone prisoners on their knees, and one of them threatens a clone, pointing her sniper rifle at the clone and about to kill him, when Obi-Wan slashes through the small marine group. The clones stand up and look at the dead clones around them, before focusing on Obi-Wan. "Thank you, General."
"Don't worry, soldier. Gather what troops are left and form a beachhead to the fortress." Obi-Wan orders before he reaches another beach where a group of about 20 clones, all of whom are ARCs, are successfully holding back a squad of marines, who are backing up to the forest. That is, before a Mantis-class Assault droid marches into the clearing, firing its machine guns and rocket launcher at the same time, with 3 soldiers wearing dark blue armor with light blue lights glowing on their armor, firing on the clones. With a chill running down his back, Obi-Wan realizes that they are one of the more notorious Spartan Fireteams, Majestic. The new onslaught starts killing ARCs like no tomorrow, reducing their numbers to 5 and forcing them to start backing up.
The Force prompts him to look to the right, and to his delight, there is a still operational Warthog lying tilted on its side and dead marines on the ground. This Warthog has 4 seats on it, and since he might need help infiltrating the base… He quickly gets to work, using the Force to flip the Warthog back onto its wheels. "Come on, men. We need to get out of here!" Obi-Wan calls to his men as he jumps into the driver's seat. The ARCs notice him and immediately start pulling back to the Warthog. One more is killed by the sniper's disturbingly accurate shot punches through his head. The rest of the troops get onboard and Obi-Wan guns the Warthog, driving out of the beach and going back to the jungle.
"General, what are your orders?" the ARC by the name of Appo who is sitting in the passenger's seat as they drive into the forest to avoid the Spartan Fireteam and the miniature standoffs between the troops.
"I need you as escorts so we can secure the main tower and end this." Obi-Wan responds while also focusing on learning how the Warthog operates. Appo and the rest of his unit can only watch as Republic fighters engage the UNSC Longswords and Hornets in a brutal dogfight.
After several tense minutes, the base is finally in view, and marines start piling out of the main entrance. That is, until they see the Warthog with Republic troops in it. The marines panic and jump in every direction, barely avoiding the Warthog as it smashes into the base and comes to a stop.
They all jump out and make their way into the base, climbing up the staircases and passing through hallway after hallway, most of the soldiers outside the base holding the clones back. Higher and higher they climb until they reach the top floor. On the floor is row upon row of shelves, full of data that the ONI possesses. The Republicans walk down the hall, until an alarm goes off and the figure of a woman in a simple dress glowing red appears. "Get out. You don't belong in here."
"Yeah? Watch me." Appo growls, shooting his blaster at a projector and making the AI dissipate.
They spread out and walk through the chamber, walking past a circular device in the middle of the room. "Hang on." Obi-Wan says, stopping in place with his troops freezing as well. The Force is whispering to him, telling him that something important is here. "There's something we need to find." He murmurs, walking to the device and pushing some buttons on the side. Seconds later, a chip sticks out of the wall. Obi-Wan walks to it and pulls it out of the wall. "Whatever this is, we need to get it back to the Republic."
"You will be taking that data nowhere." A new, arrogant voice says. Obi-Wan turns around and he nearly has a heart attack. The ARCs are lying on the ground, dead, and the entirety of Spartan Fireteam Majestic is standing over them, with the one who the Jedi guesses is their leader, sticking a combat knife into Appo's neck and dropping the body. From behind the Spartans come a man with short greying hair, sharp blue eyes and a cold look.
"Senator Andrey Del Rio." Obi-Wan states, remembering briefly seeing the UNSC Senator back when negotiations between the Republic, UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios held promise. He remembers thinking that the Senator is a man who is very sure of himself and if bark comes to bite, Del Rio can bite hard just like all of his people can. "It's an honor to meet you again."
"It's not a pleasure to see you again, General." Del Rio responds, practically spitting out the Jedi's title. "I was just inspecting this place when your inbred bastards you call soldiers decided to rain down on my people. But you will die today." With that, he raises his personal Magnum pistol and points it at Obi-Wan's head, the Spartans following the Senator's lead. Obi-Wan gets into a fighting stance, thinking about how best to escape the room. He still remembers how effectively the UNSC soldier known only as Agent Washington fought in battle and the injury he received. Against 4 Spartans who could be as good as Wash…he doesn't want to push his luck.
So, he channels the Force into his body and runs out the door, dodging the bullets the Spartans threw at him. They chase after him, running down the long and winding hallways and climbing staircases until he reaches the top of the fortress. From here, he can see the dogfight still going down, with more Republic ships in orbit due to the heavy cannons on the docking bay, but he can see the clones falling back.
A click goes off and he turns around only to use his Force power to barely stop a bullet from hitting him in the chest. "Any last words?" Del Rio asks, pointing his pistol at Obi-Wan's head. The Force continues to be at the Jedi's side, as a LAAT fires its green blasters at the UNSC members, who dodge out of the way in time. The gunship lands on the side of the base and the door slides open, allowing Captain Rex to jump out and fire his blaster pistols at Del Rio. Each shot strikes the Senator in the chest, knocking him back more and more until he starts screaming and falls off the side of the base.
"Good job, Captain." Obi-Wan says as they jump onto the LAAT which starts taking off. Unfortunately, the Spartans start firing and get lucky on their shots, killing about 4 clones who fall out of the ship and also plummet to the ground.
"General, we can't hold them any longer. We need to get out of here now." Rex says as he slams the blast door closed and the LAAT soars back into the sky, returning to the Acclamator minutes later and the entire ship reenters hyperspace to return to Corusant.
"General, the Jedi Council would like to speak with you." A clone says when everyone is successfully unloaded and looking over their weapons and talking about the battle. Obi-Wan nods and follows him to the bridge, where Admiral Tenant is waiting for him.
"Admiral. What's the status of the fleet?"
"Grim. We lost 3 Acclamators to the UNSC fleet and hundreds of ground troops, so please tell me there's some good news."
"I assure you, Admiral, there is. Now, I would like to speak with the Council about this battle."
"Yes, General. They are on standby now. I shall get the status of this ship." Tenant then walks away to another part of the bridge, a frustrated look on his face.
Obi-Wan looks down, also frustrated. Even after months of fighting the UNSC, killing them has always felt wrong, like he's messing up something badly. But he has no choice but to push it to the back of his mind for now and take the holo-table out of standby. The entire Jedi Council appears in holo form, to which Obi-Wan bows to. "Master Kenobi, glad to see you, I am. Your mission, was it successful?" Yoda asks.
"Somewhat. We discovered that the UNSC had an intelligence base built on the planet. Judging by the size of the base and the forces stationed there, it's been around for a while. We failed to manage to destroy the base, but I managed to score some victories that might prove beneficial in the long run."
The Council watches him with rapt attention. "Tell us, what exactly did you achieve?" Windu asks, his elbows resting on his knees as he leans forward to look at Obi-Wan intently.
"While there, Captain Rex was able to kill one of the UEG's Senators who was visiting; Andrew Del Rio. Also, I managed to recover a single chip of data. Have a series of tactical droids and Jedi librarians crack it, and we can learn much about the UEG before they can continue glassing our planets." Obi-Wan says, holding up the data chip which is faintly glowing blue.
The Council stares at the device with great interest. "Excellent work, Master Kenobi. We eagerly await your arrival at the Temple. May the Force be with you." The transmission cuts out after that.
Obi-Wan looks down at the data, and he gets the sinking feeling that something bad is about to happen.
AN: Whew, that was difficult to write, especially since I had much action this week.
As you saw, I put in a Rogue One reference 'cause I felt that it was appropriate and celebrating the trailer for the Last Jedi. I also tried out quite a few new things in this chapter. Please let me know how I can adjust them in the future so I can (if you want).
So yeah, Del Rio is dead and a piece of ONI intelligence is in the Republic's hands. To be honest, I didn't like Del Rio at all so having a Humpty Dumpty-style death felt appropriate for some odd reason.
As for the data on the chip…yes, it's immensely important and you will find out next time what it is.
Have a nice day, reader.