November 13th

2583

13:10 UNSC time

Galactic Republic Acclamator-class star cruiser' Bridge

Orbiting Earth

3rd person POV:

"Good work, Master Skywalker. I will begin landing troops immediately. May the Force be with you on your journey." Jedi Master Mace Windu states to the projection of his fellow Jedi, who is holding his bleeding arm at an awkward angle to keep the bleeding as minimal as possible, before the transmission is cut out. "Trooper, get me in contact with Master Yoda."

"Yes, General." The trooper salutes then starts working the comm table. After a few seconds, the image of Yoda flares to life.

"Master Yoda. I just got a report from Master Skywalker. He disabled one of those defense towers. I'm going to start landing troops."

"Very well. Take command of this battle, I will." Yoda responds, gripping his cane tightly before his down projection cuts out.

Windu then turns to his starcruiser's Admiral, Lorth Needa. "Admiral Needa. Take this ship planetside and make sure to stay our course. Alert all fighters from our cruiser to follow us. We'll need them to secure a landing zone and keep the UNSC's fighters at bay."

"Yes, General." Needa salutes then relays the orders to the deck officers, who immediately get work and start relaying communications to the fighters flying around in open space. After a minute, the Acclamator dips down and flies down past the ring of ODPs that surround the planet* with hundreds of fighters returning to the docking bay so they will not get burnt to a crisp from entering Earth's atmosphere. With great sadness, Windu can only watch helplessly as a Charon-class light warship takes a risk and fires its MAC cannon at a Venator as it cruises toward the warship, the MAC shot piercing the side of the ship and making it implode for a second as it crashes into the Charon ship, resulting in both ships exploding in a bright orange ball of fire and death.

Windu forces his attention away from the space battle and watches as the docking bay closes up and the Acclamator flies past the disabled Orbital Defense Platform, making sure to stay away from the other active platforms that are firing side weapons on the Republic's Might to keep them at bay. But about 2 Venators and 3 Acclamators, all led by Jedi, have also been notified of the disabled platform and are now following Windu to the planet's surface.

13:30 UNSC time

Old Portland, United Republic of North America

Earth

Jedi Knight Depa Billaba is looking around anxiously, watching as her Acclamator flies through the planet's atmosphere and hovers above a small coastal city, with a highly-advanced space elevator on the top of a green hill.

Suddenly, a swarm of UNSC Wasps screech through the air, making their way toward the Republic transport. "Get all side turbolasers blazing at full speed. We need to secure a landing zone and now."

"Yes General." A clone commander responds, saluting and relaying the orders. The Wasps start firing missiles at the Acclamator, continuing on their path and turning around for another sweep. However, they never get the chance to do their 2nd sweep because the turbolasers start blazing on the side of the Acclamator and the first few rounds hit the wings of 3 Wasp fighters, causing them to spin out of control and slam into the beach, exploding upon impact. The remaining fighters fly in different directions, not certain as to what to do. Then the docking bays open up and the remaining ARC-170s fly out to continue dishing out pain as they also barely dodge the turbolasers. After a mere minute, the Wasps are no more. A pang of sadness fills Billaba's heart, but she can't figure out why. "Commander, set this ship down."

The Commander only nods and a minute later, the entire ship is settled on the beach and everyone is unloading their heavier equipment, like the AT-TEs and heavy cannons. Her padawan, Caleb, suddenly has an alarmed look on his face and he looks to the right. "Master. Look."

Billaba looks in the same direction and her heart sinks. For in that direction, another swarm of Hornets and Wasps are flying at them, with a single Wolverine tank with dozens of UNSC marines and Army soldiers charging towards them at alarming speeds. "Alright, men. Prepare to hold your ground here. I wonder what the people of this planet think of our invasion." She mutters the last part before activating her lightsaber and charging into the battle field with Dume following close behind.

November 14th

2:00 UNSC time

New Austin, United Republic of North America

Earth

New Austin Police officer Richard Deckerson is always far from happy lately.

The Galactic Republic had not only managed to find his home planet, but sent the largest fleet ever rallied for one rather obvious purpose: To kill the Senators of the United Earth Government. So, now that 1 of the ODPs are disabled, the Republic has started landing troops all across the planet. One of those ships had just landed and all of its heavy equipment had been unloaded. Sadly, New Austin does not have the deflector shields and walls that make Manhattan safe in case of a potential attack, and the heavy weaponry had allowed the invaders to easily capture the city, killing any UNSC personnel or civilian who didn't get evacuated in time. Those two tanks, the marines are now dubbing the Juggernaut, had secured the victory which was led by a werewolf-looking Jedi named Voolvif Monn.

Watching from the rooftop Richard is hiding on using a binocular, he silently curses and ducks back to cover when a squad of 4 ARC-170s soar overhead, watching the destroyed street filled with corpses and toppled cars, ensuring their security at this now-abandoned city. He runs along the roof, taking the staircase down the emergency entry to a once-bustling shopping mall. At the bottom of the stairs but on the top level are 40 survivors who lost their homes and friends to the attack. Half of that group are civilians, but the other half are made up of marines and the last of the New Austin police officers including Deckerson. At least they all managed to secure a vast array of weapons from the dead soldiers in the streets or at the New Austin Police Department, most of them being assault rifles or magnum pistols but some of the luckier people managed to acquire a blaster rifle so now they can use those weapons against the invaders. "What kind of forces are we looking to deal with?" Alicia Redfield asks, holding a blaster rifle she recovered from one of the few clone soldiers who were killed in the attack. She is wearing long black jeans, a red tank top that reveals a small amount of her stomach which is covered by a black biker's jacket. She is not wearing a helmet so her long, messy black hair is flowing freely down her shoulders and has a hardened look on her pale face. Deckerson has to admit that he has some feelings for her, but he won't pursue any romantic relations. His divorce was already enough.

"Alright. From the looks of it, the clones who have captured the city are now patrolling in groups of 4. We take the patrols out one by one then we take out the Juggernaut." Deckerson responds calmly.

One of the marines, a man of Japanese ancestry, walks forward with a skeptical look on his face. "Excuse me, Officer Deckerson, but can you say that to my non-drunk ear? I could have sworn you said that despite being a ragtag resistance, you think we can destroy 2 Republic tanks that look like they can take on a goddamn Mammoth tank and probably a fucking Covenant Scarab while it's at it. So, tell me. How do you plan to achieve that?"

Deckerson thinks over his answer for a few moments before responding. "Simple. Private Lee, take most of our group and eliminate the patrols so they won't interfere, then Alicia, I want you to accompany me to the abandoned storage facility on the edge of the city. I can operate the Mark VI Cyclops buried in the rubble there to punch a hole in the side and make the Juggernaut's reactor implode."

"…I like the idea. When do we start?" Alicia asks, a small smile creeping on her face.

Deckerson pulls out his M6K Magnum pistol from his brown overcoat which covers his thick dark green chestplate with the white symbol of a bird with outstretched wings on the front. The gun had been modified during Deckerson's years as an officer so it can fire sniper rounds as well and a silencer equipped on the end as well. He pulled the barrel back to check and sure enough, the bullet magazine is full. "Alright. I have a full magazine. But Private Lee, use combat knives to silently take out the clones. Use your bullets only if you have to. Good luck to you all." With those last words, Deckerson hold his pistol up near his head with 1 hand and runs down the stairs and out of the temporary base, with Alicia following close behind.

The duo run out of the main entrance, then hide behind an 18-wheeler truck on its side as another squad of 4 clones in their shining white armor march past them. They then stop in the middle of the street and one of them lifts up his left arm and a holographic projection appears on the wrist, with the image of Voolvif Monn coming to life. "General Monn, the UNSC and their people have been routed."

"Good work. Fall back to the base that we need help setting up. Our priority right now is to allow a safe zone for more Republic troops to land and then we can continue our campaign. General Monn out."

When the projection cuts out, the squad leader turns around. "Alright, men. We're pulling back to base."

"Oh, thank the Force. These corpses are starting to creep me out." A clone responds, looking down at the corpse of a UNSC marine. "It really makes you wonder how kriffing hardened the UNSC's forces are if they are used to scenes like this. Very rarely in the wars did it get this bad."

Alicia pulls out a combat knife which she kept on a sheath on her belt, then sneaks out of her cover and up to the troops before stabbing one of them in the neck. He lets out a short scream of pain before collapsing to the ground, dead. The other 3 turn around and are about to fire, but Deckerson decides to throw caution to the wind and fires his pistol. The silenced bullet punches through the back of another clone's chest, making him collapse to the ground. Deckerson points his pistol at the other troops and fires again, killing the 3rd trooper. The leader fires his blaster to which Deckerson dodges easily, and Alicia takes advantage of the pause on her, grabbing the right hand of the troop and pulling it back, dislocating the hand. He shouts in pain, unused to a dislocating limb, before Deckerson grabs the clone's head and twists it at an odd angle, snapping his neck.

"I may be experienced in combat, but shooting an opponent in the back never felt right." He mutters before looking up at his partner. "Good job. Who taught you to fight like that?"

"My brother. He's a Sergeant in the UNSC and was stationed on a Defense Platform that's orbiting Earth. I hope he's OK."

"I hope so, too." Deckerson responds, although his tone indicates that if he was on the station that was knocked out, he probably isn't around. Just then, he notices activity in the building and he pulls Alicia back into cover. "We got snipers watching for us. It will be very difficult to reach the storage facility."

"Don't worry. I got an idea." Alicia answers, then sheathes her knife having finished wiping the blood off and runs out into the street with her partner following, each picking up a motorcycle lying on its side. She revs its engine, producing a loud noise that would certainly attract any Republican attention then after the duo hop on their respective motorcycles, they drive it down the road. Numerous shots from snipers in the buildings go off and the clones run out to try and land a shot on the fleeing civilians but they are too fast, and they continue their ride into the edge of the Republic's newly-acquired territory, even though they don't encounter any clones along the way. Richard feels a hint of suspicion crawl into his mind as to why they have not encountered any resistance yet as they pass hastily formed barricades and the ruins of war machines such as Scorpion tanks and Warthogs, but the thought is pushed away when they reach the abandoned facility. Half of the curved ceiling on the left has fully collapsed and the bodies of New Austin police officers are lying around in all directions. Deckerson stares at the scene for a long moment, sadness filling every crevice of his body. He was part of this last stand before the Juggernaut and a battalion of clones marched in, killing almost everyone inside with only Deckerson and a handful of fellow officers surviving.

Just as they stop riding their motorcycles, numerous clones jump out from their cover and a barrage of blaster fire reigns down on them. Luckily, the duo manages to get off the bikes in time and start returning fire as they back into the factory, making sure not to stumble on the corpses inside. "What's going on?" The voice of Monn asks a clone as he approaches the clones forming a semicircle around the abandoned building.

"Sir. We encountered 2 survivors inside. One of whom looks like a survivor of our main assault." Answers a clone sergeant, after saluting his General.

"Very well. Hold your fire. I'm going to try and solve this situation diplomatically." Monn answers, watching the door closely. The clones look surprised by the order, but they do so. Monn straightens up and addresses the facility before him with a booming voice. "You have fought valiantly against us. If you surrender now, I can assure you that you will leave this city alive and unharmed. You have 2 minutes to come out."

"Richard, you better hurry up." Alicia mutters to Deckerson as she watches from the shadows, her weapons ready. Meanwhile, in the level below them, Deckerson is pulling boulders of concrete off a massive pile in the middle of the facility underground where numerous crates of different sizes and are lying around as the moon's light shines down on him, the tiny explosions of fire from the space battle that is still raging on above the planet's atmosphere. Fortunately, he manages to pull a particularly large slab of concrete and metal off, revealing the cockpit for the New Austin Police Cyclops with the body of his former boss, the well-respected Police Commissioner Bryant, strapped in. Heaving a sigh of relief and sadness, he pulls open the door and after unstrapping the corpse, throws it out and enters the cockpit, strapping himself inside and turning the war machine on. It takes a surprisingly long time, judging by the damage it sustained, but it whirs to life and control is regained.

"Alright. You have left me with no choice. Clones, prepare to fire. Bring down this primitive facility." Monn calls out, with his men nodding and lifting their rifles. Suddenly, the Cyclops uses its full strength to rip itself out of the pile of concrete, lifting its massive machine gun arm up in the air and grabbing the riot shield. Despite several dents in the armor from the concrete tomb which also smashed the blue and red lights on either side and scorch marks on the white chest due to blaster shots trying and failing to cripple it, the Cyclops is still holding together and ready for combat.

"Um...Did you hear that?" A clone asks, slightly unnerved by the loud noises he heard in the facility.

"Yes. Hold your positions here and don't let anything leave. I am going inside to…" He gets cut off as the loud noise echoes again and suddenly, a damaged Police Cyclops charges out of the warehouse and charges into the barricades. Clones go flying in all directions, shouting in panic while they do so, and the machine gun blazes, sending bullets in all directions to wipe out more clones before marching off to the right, no body noticing as Alicia gets back onto a motorcycle and she speeds off after him.

"General! They are going for the base." Shouts a clone, realizing the direction they are heading.

"Get all men alerted of the coming attack and have them man our Juggernauts. We are not losing our turbo tanks to these locals." Monn shouts, activating his lightsaber and getting back on the speeder he used to come here before riding down the streets, with about 10 more clones boarding the remaining speeders. As they weave around the highway, they come up on Alicia who is riding her bike in the middle of the road. Sensing the danger, she pulls out her blaster rifle and fires behind her. Her shot strikes the front of a speeder and the clone topples off, landing in front of a large truck and getting crushed by his own speeder that rolled into him.

The chase goes on for several minutes before they reach the Republic's main base, where several crates of Republic supplies are thrown around chaotically and clones lying on the ground, dead. Deckerson is firing his machine gun arm at the clones and using another arm to punch into the armor of one of the parked Juggernauts. After another monster punch, he penetrates the armor and crushes the generator in the center, after which he concentrates fire on the exposed core. "No!" Monn screams, but it's too late. The tank explodes, knocking everyone back. Deckerson then turns around and is about to let loose another stream of fire, but the Jedi leaps into action. He lunges into the air, swiping his lightsaber and cutting off the machine gun mounting and uses the Force to push the Cyclops back to the ground. Two clones run to the cockpit, pulling the glass doors open and forcing the ex-cop out. Monn stares as the clones also capture Alicia and force her down to her knees, next to Richard. "You have fought valiantly. But for the safety of the Republic, you will have to die." Monn states, looking down and feeling a little bad about this.

"Men. Ready your weapons." The clone sergeant calls out. His men raise their rifles, ready to fire on their hostages, but then, a massive explosion goes off. They all look in that direction and in the distance, they can see a single Paris-class cruiser flying back into the air and away from the destroyed city. Suddenly, a squad of UNSC Army soldiers charge forward, blasting clones aside and knocking them aside as they progress. They are led by a squad of 20 UNSC marines wielding a variety of weapons. One of them lifts up twin magnum pistols and fires upon the Jedi, only for him to barely deflect the shots. Some clones start running to the last Juggernaut in the hops of taking control of the battle again, but they are picked off by a pair of marines wielding sniper rifles, twins with curls of blonde hair sticking out from under their helmets. However, their situation only gets worse when a Wolverine tank and a Scorpion tank roll into the city block, firing missiles and tank shots at the Juggernaut. They manage to strike the center and their combined power makes the reactor go critical and the entire explodes, sending large pieces of shrapnel in all directions which impale several clones in the chest or face. Voolvif Monn is about to engage a UNSC Army soldier when he senses the shrapnel coming and he slashes behind him, barely doing it in time. However, that moment of distraction cost his attention and by the time he realized what was going on, he already felt the bullet from a magnum pierce his side and he goes down to the ground. The marine sergeant walks forward, taking his standard helmet off to reveal his short black hair. Alicia walks up to his side, pulling out her blaster rifle.

He looks at her with an expression of relief on his face. "It's good to see you alive, Alex."

"It's good to see you too." Her brother responds then point their weapons at the fallen Jedi who tries using the Force to pull his lightsaber to him. But as the lightsaber returns to his hand, the Redfield siblings fire simultaneously, each shot piercing the Jedi's heart and each shot takes more and more life from him until the grip on his lightsaber loosens and his head slumps back to the ground in death.

"Sergeant Redfield. Area is secured." An Army soldier reports as he walks back to his superior officer.

"Good job. Keep the men alert; we may have destroyed the base, but that doesn't mean we wiped them all out." He then turns to Deckerson and raises his hand. "So you're the famous officer Rick Deckerson. It's nice to meet you in person. I'm Sergeant Redfield."

"I know. A pleasure to meet you too." Deckerson responds and they shake hands. Before they can continue conversing much further, another Army soldier runs up to them.

"Sergeant, Fleet Admiral Lawrence Hood would like to talk with you." He says, then pulls out the small circular communicator and out comes a holographic projection. Unlike the ones the Republic uses, this communicator can work at long distances and is much harder to disrupt. The projection of the well-kept Fleet Admiral appears in miniature form.

"Sergeant, good to see you alive. You are needed to come to the New York area. A whole army of Republic soldiers, led by about 3 Jedi, are using heavy cannons to punch through our walls. Your orders are to assist the Spartans in holding off the enemy troops and prevent them from taking Manhattan Island. I have your location and am sending a squad of Pelicans to pick you up. Am I clear?" Hood reports with a stoic and hardened tone.

"Crystal, sir." Redfield responds, saluting his superior officer. Hood does the same before the transmission cuts out.

"So…What are your orders?" Private Mandus asks, his twin brother standing at his side and looking ready for action.

"Secure the city and kill any surviving clones and destroy any last Republic ships. When those Pelicans pick us up, I want us to make the Republic have nightmares of us. I want to make them regret ever coming to this planet."

3:30 UNSC time

New York City, United Republic of North America

Earth

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker is practically bouncing on his feet with anxiety. He and a fellow Jedi by the name of Et Rex are in charge of all Republic troops in the middle of a city with skyscrapers that could rival those on Corusant while the 3rd Jedi, Aayla Secura, leads a small group of clones and 2 AV-7 Anti-vehicle Artillery Cannons, or Heavy Cannons, are firing at full power on the base of the deflector shield surrounding an island on the other side of a massive overpass bridge.

"I hate this." Anakin states bluntly, pacing in circles as clones march past them, watching the streets while dozens watch from the buildings on either side through their sniper rifles, ready to alert the Jedi if any UNSC troops are approaching.

"Patience, Master Skywalker." Et Rex answers, watching Anakin's pacing with a look of mild amusement on his face, mixed with concern as well.

"I know. But I have felt it in the Force. Master Monn had been killed recently, his men sharing the same fate. I could be helping them, but now we're stuck protecting our troops from nothing. I guess this silence is starting to get the better of me." Anakin answers, looking around at the base. A single AT-TE is stopped in the middle of the road, its barrel facing the empty streets in the case a tank that decides to roll down the streets. Commander Cody walks towards them, holding his blasters in hand.

"Generals, I just received word from the scouts. There's…nothing. Permission to speak freely?"

"Permission granted, Commander." Et Rex answers before Anakin can get the chance.

"This place is starting to give me the creeps. With all the side alleys and abandoned buildings, there are far too many places for us to get ambushed for my liking, even though we have complete control over the city."

"I hear you, Commander. I can't help but get the feeling that our enemies are waiting for something. Something that will turn the tide of this battle." Anakin mutters, staring at the empty street of the city that reminds him too much of Corusant for his liking. It wasn't like the UNSC had to put up much of a fight for the city, either. The entire place was empty when they got there, devoid of civilians and a small presence of soldiers, few enough to make the Jedi suspicious. And the Force nagging at Anakin's mind, warning him of danger, doesn't help matters in the slightest.

In that moment, the Force screams at the Jedi, much stronger than before. "What is going on?" Et Rex asks, looking around to find the source of the disturbance. "I am going to talk to the patrols. Something is horribly wrong." With that, the Jedi walks to the semicircular control panel set up as the center of the base, and pushes a button. The projection screen on the right of Rex beeps for a few seconds until the image of a clone appears, ducking as blaster fire reigns on the other side. "What's going on?" Et Rex demands, a shocked look on his face.

"General. We have been ambushed by a bunch of Spartans. We can't…" He never finished his report before a blast from a blaster goes off, killing the clone instantly. He disappears from the screen and a fully-armored Spartan appears on the screen, lifting up his leg and stomping it. The transmission cuts out a split second later. The 2 Jedi are shocked beyond belief, now realizing what the UNSC were waiting for, until a massive explosion goes off in the distance and the Acclamator that Et Rex came to the planet on collapses to the ground in a heap. The Force screams again at the Jedi, and Anakin looks up at the buildings. In a split second, he realizes what is going on.

"Troops, take cover!" Anakin shouts, before leaping out of the way. A second later, the glass on the buildings smash outward as a squad of 10 ODSTs jump out and rocket through the air using their jetpacks. One of their group lifts up a railgun and fires it at Et Rex. He dodges the blast barely and the blast strikes the central panel, making it explode and all directions. The ODSTs then land on the ground and start firing on the clones with deadly accuracy.

Cody fires back on them, engaging a particularly muscled ODST who is shooting flames in all directions with his flamethrower. Anakin is about to rejoin Et Rex on the battlefield, but he then activates his lightsaber and barely has time to stop the slash of a glowing blue energy sword. He turns around and comes face to face with the Spartan who killed the clone squad before his eyes. The armor is dark green and the number 117 is printed in white on the left half of the chestplate. As Anakin stares into the dark orange visor of the Spartan, a trickle of fear enters his mind when he realizes that he is facing the most famous soldier in the UNSC's military history, known only as the Master Chief. His name, along with the Spartans in general, is already striking fear in the hearts of the clone soldiers. Anakin slides the lightsaber to the side and tries to knock the energy sword out of his hands and slash at the Spartan.

But the stories of the legendary Spartan on the battlefield understate his pure strength since Chief manages to hold onto his energy sword, even with his arm twisted at an odd angle. He uses his open arm to punch Anakin in the face, causing the Jedi to fly backwards several feet, but he manages to land on his feet. He wipes his face, massaging his face. The punch had been much more painful than he was expecting and if he got hit in that spot again, his skull might be fractured. Slowly, Anakin stands up and faces the Spartan with a grin forming on his face. "You are an honorable opponent, Master Chief. I was hoping to fight you face to face." He calls out, raising his lightsaber.

"Indeed. I have heard that you are a hero to your people. But for my people to live, you must die." Chief responds, lifting up his energy sword and getting into a battle stance. After a brief pause, Anakin makes the first move with lunging forward, slashing at the Chief from different angles aggressively. But the Spartan is far more experienced, his enhanced instincts allowing him to block the slashes at the same speed as the Jedi can throw them. Then Chief gets the idea and allows Anakin to throw his weapon sharply to the side. Anakin takes advantage of the break and tries to stab the Master Chief in the chest. Chief reacts much faster, pulling his energy sword towards him and catching Anakin's lightsaber beam between the blades of the energy sword. Using his advantage, Chief throws his weight to the left, thrusting his weapon in the same direction. Since Chief's physical strength is much greater than Anakin's, he loses the grip on his lightsaber and it goes flying off in that direction, deactivating as it hits the concrete. Chief doesn't let up, charging at Anakin at speeds he never would have thought possible in the armor and slashes his energy sword upward. Anakin gasps in shock as he feels the energy sword cutting into his chest, splitting his rib cage and blood starts seeping out as he falls on his back.

Using what strength he has left, Anakin crawls away from Master Chief who is approaching him and holding his sword out, ready to end the Jedi. But he then turns around and raises his lightsaber to block Et Rex's attack, distracting him long enough for several clones to hoist Anakin up and carry him to a lone LAAT as the remaining clones desperately hold off the ODSTs and the newly arrived Spartan Fireteam Osiris. In the distance, Anakin can see the Fireteam's leader, the notorious Jameson Locke who has a bounty on his head higher than most Jedi do, fighting back to back with Chief, who is now holding an assault rifle in his hand, as they fire upon the clones and Et Rex. As the clones strap Anakin down and get him bacta so he can recover, he can only watch as Et Rex continues his fighting and an ODST throws a grenade at a nearby AT-TE that blasts an ODST in the back, the large shot killing him instantly. The explosion kills the grenade-throwing soldier instantly but knocks the Jedi to the ground, to which Locke steps on his opponent's chest. "You've got it backwards. You will pay for your crimes against the UNSC and her colonies." With those last words he could barely hear, he lifts up an M6H2 Magnum and fires it between Et Rex's eyes. The Force reeks of the death of the UNSC and clones, but most strongly the death of another Jedi as the LAAT flies away from the battle and towards Aayla's position where he will be safe for the brief time he needs to be recovered enough to fight again.

Back on the ground, Master Chief and the 4 members of Fireteam Osiris are using the downed AT-TE as cover to hold off the oncoming clones as they charge forward, the desire to avenge their defeated generals being their main thought. A squad of ODSTs were killed in the new wave of the attack while the one that Sergeant Tano was a part of before disappearing are now taking cover as well, massaging their various injuries. "Master Chief, it was an honor to fight at your side." Locke says, lifting up his battle rifle and firing at a clone in the chest, making him scream in pain, before the Spartan ducks back under cover.

After a few seconds, they all expected the clones to pour on top of them and end them. But to all their surprise, they all start screaming loudly with dozens of gunshots going off and a man with a profoundly strong Southern accent whooping loudly. Chief decides to take the risk and pokes his head out of their cover. To his surprise, a certain Spartan in cherry red armor and a Spartan in black armor with yellow stripes are standing in the middle of the street, dead clones all around them. Gesturing with his open hand behind him, Chief walks out of the cover with everyone else closely following. "Good to see you in one piece, soldier." The red armored man says, his Southern accent obvious.

"Colonel Sarge. Why aren't you aboard the Mother of Invention, sir?" Chief asks, not even looking at the carnage around him.

"Our ship was destroyed in the battle above, but we managed to evacuate everyone in time, sir. Also, since we heard about your situation, we all decided to help." Wash responds, holding his blaster rifle in hand.

"What do you mean 'all'?" Lieutenant Gutiérrez asks, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Sarge then turns around to address the empty street. "Alright, maggots. Get out her on the double."

A split second later, a giant Mammoth rolls down the streets, with 4 Warthogs on either side, each soldier, male or female, is a Spartan wearing armor of different designs and models but share one thing in common: They are all colored either red, blue or colors closely related to them, like yellow and green. After a second, the Mammoth stops and even more soldiers jump out, including Agent Carolina and the rest of the Blood Gulch crew. "Alright, Chief. May I present to you the Reds and Blues, united for a common goal. To wipe out those who seek to destroy us!"

"Uh yeah." A blue soldier with grey shoulder pads, a grey stripe down his helmet and a yellow stripe on his right arm and leg says with a cranky tone in his voice. "When we're done, can we get our hands on a White Russian?"

"God, I hope so." Another blue soldier, this one with rectangular grey shoulder pads and a grey stripe on his right leg says.

"Alright. Here's what we're going to do." Chief responds, slightly baffled by how crazy these people are acting. "Colonel, take the Mammoth and have your men use the MAC cannons to blast apart the Heavy Cannons on the bridge to Manhattan. Spartan Fireteam Osiris and I will stay in this city and eliminate any surviving clones." Despite their numbers and leadership, Chief can't help but feel a sense of dread about letting former Freelancers and simulation troopers be in possession of UNSC military equipment that could take on the Forerunners and their technology.

"You got it, soldier. Men, today is a good day to die." Sarge calls to his small army, cocking his shotgun.

"Don't you worry, Sarge. I've got your front and back." Donut responds, hopping back onto the mounted grenade launcher on the back of a Warthog being driven by Grif.

"I don't know why, but right now, I suddenly feel very sorry for those Republic dogs." ODST Perry says, watching them fight over what Warthog they get to ride on or watch as Sarge gets into the shotgun seat while the ex-Freelancers get onto the Mammoth.

4:00 UNSC time

Bridge to Manhattan, Unified Republic of North America

Earth

Jedi Knight Aayla Secura watches with anxiety as the Heavy Cannons start firing on the concrete walls that make up the deflector shields around Manhattan.

In the distance, ARC-170s are engaged in open combat with UNSC Longswords and Wasps while the Acclamators hang in the sky, adding their turbolasers to the chaos. The Jedi's anxiety started when she heard the explosion and saw the smoke pillars rising into the air. Then there was the lone LAAT that arrived there about 10 minutes before with an injured Skywalker. To know that the great Master Chief is nearby and that he managed to wound a Jedi of Anakin's caliber is only making her feel worse. Even though they are inside a giant blue shield generator that is small enough to keep the enemy fighters and tanks from shooting at them, it is large enough to encompass a large enough section of the wall so they can blast at it without problem. Commander Cody taps on her shoulder, breaking her from her musings.

"General, there's something coming towards us." He says, handing his binoculars to the Jedi. She takes the binoculars and looks out on the highway behind her. Sure enough, 2 Warthogs are charged towards them, each one loaded with Spartans in red and blue armor respectively.

"Get all men to fire on those Warthogs. Don't let them get near here." Aayla orders. Cody nods and orders all the spare men to take care of the oncoming UNSC troops.

But by the time the men are rallied and start firing, it's already too late. The Warthogs charge through the deflector shields, knocking the hastily made barricades aside and the turrets on each Warthog start blazing in all directions. It could have been Aayla's imagination, but she could have sworn the orange soldier shouted, "We're all gonna die!"

"Time to take out the trash!" A soldier in blue armor shouts, screaming loudly as the bullets fly in all directions. Aayla lifts up her hand and uses the Force to knock the Warthogs into each other violently.

A soldier in aqua-colored bulky armor and a bulbous visor on the helmet jumps out, holding up his energy sword before striking her. "Hey baby, when are you free? I would to show you my sword. Bow chicka bow wow." He says as he stabs at her. She parries the strike, confused as to what he's talking about. She then uses the Force on the soldier to knock him off-balance then kicks him. He falls to the ground and Aayla holds her lightsaber to his throat, but before she can deliver the killing blow, she jumps into the air to avoid getting blasted by a shotgun.

Tucker knows that even after their training, they will not be able to win this alone so when he sees Caboose fire on a clone soldier, Freckles making sure the targets are hit, he gets an idea. "Caboose!" He shouts.

"Yes, Tucker?" Caboose asks, while the clones firing on them.

"I just realized something involving her." He says, pointing to the Jedi. Aayla is now confused as to what they are up to. "She is trying to kill us. I think she killed your brother too."

"You…you mean the mean alien lady killed a brother I never knew I had? I…hate…" Caboose then let's loose a battle cry and to Aayla's shock, he charges through the clone soldiers, who scream as they fall off the edge and fall into the water below. "My name is Michael J. Caboose, and I hate mean alien ladies!" He shouts, his voice much deeper than before as he smashes his assault rifle into another clone's helmet, smashing it in and killing the clone instantly.

Aayla is shocked beyond belief to say the least. He doesn't have any midi-chlorians in him; how did he fall to the Dark Side like this? Caboose then charges between the heavy cannons and to everyone's amazement, he manages to lift the shield generator into the air before throwing it into the ocean as well. The remaining clones and Aayla, along with Commander Cody and a bandaged Anakin, surround the 4 red soldiers and the 2 blue soldiers.

"Who are you?" Aayla asks, honestly wondering who they are.

"Master Secura, they fought at the Chorusan Massacre. They are who the UNSC calls the Reds and Blues." Cody answers for them, holding up his blaster pistols

"Fuck you, man. You give orange dudes a bad name, just like Felix did." Grif responds, holding his Grif Shot in his hands and pointing it at Cody.

"Where are the rest of your men?" Anakin asks coldly.

"Why should we say anything to you?" Sarge asks, equally coldly.

"If you don't, then we will have to torture it out of you." Anakin answers. "So, you can tell us, or…"

"Ok, ok! We needed to destroy your shield generator so that they can attack you." Simmons shouts, holding his twin needlers up in surrender and panic in his voice.

"Wow. Nice fucking job, asshole." Grif deadpans with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry. You know I don't handle pressure well." Simmons argues back.

"Where are they coming from?" Aayla pressures, desperate to know the answer. In response, a blast from a MAC cannon goes off, blasting one of the Heavy cannons and making it groan loudly before falling off the edge. They all look to the highway and watch as a massive Mammoth tank drives along the straight road, more soldiers in Spartan armor running on either side. They start firing on the clones who try desperately to hold them off while their temporary prisoners start firing on the Jedi as well. The duo struggle with holding all these enemies off and another MAC shot on top of the Mammoth goes off and the other Heavy Cannon collapses to the ground, small explosions going off and sending UNSC and Republic forces alike sprawling. However, the Cannon gets off one last shot which strikes the plated walls. This last shot is enough to make the entire wall explode into the island, leaving a gaping entrance.

"Well, that's not good." Grif states, looking at the destroyed wall.

"All clones, with me! Alert the rest of our forces that Manhattan has been breached and we will need their assistance on the double." Aayla orders, then starts running towards the base with Anakin and the last remaining clones following close behind.

"Sarge. We need to seal that breach now!" Wash shouts as he jumps off the Mammoth that just reached the warzone and runs to the main group.

"…Men, this war has just gotten interesting. Some of us may live, one of us may die. But I just want y'all to know that no matter what happens, I will go down like a man." Sarge says, cocking his shotgun.

"Awesome speech, sir! I just wanted to let you know; it was an honor fighting at your side." Simmons says, saluting his superior officer.

Tucker just groans at Simmons' attitude and the Reds and Blues continue their march towards the island. Unknown to any of them, a small orange beam zooms above them and flies in the same direction.

AN: Yup, a really long chapter. That's why I decided to wait until Tuesday to do the update.

So yeah, summer vacation is here for me! After a few weeks, I hope to get my old publishing schedule returned to normal and everything, but we'll see.

See you all next time when the 2nd Battle of Earth progresses, but from another group's point of view.

Later, and good luck on any school work you might have left. You are all almost done, if not, completely done!