December 2nd
2583
Bridge of Republic Venator Absolute
Orbiting Shield World Trevelyan
16:15 UNSC time
3rd Person POV:
Space.
The ever-empty void that makes up the entire universe, separating solar systems and galaxies alike.
However, that silence is broken when 5 red CCS-class battle cruisers and 5 Republic Venators pull out of slipspace and hyperspace respectively. They begin to orbit the planet, with the SoS warships launching probes that begin scattering across the system to alert them if any unwelcome guests enter the system without the proper jurisdiction.
Obi-Wan Kenobi just stands on the bridge of his personal Venator, stroking his beard as he observes the massive planet officially known as Onyx, its dyson sphere floating in the center of space as shards of broken pieces of the planet orbiting around it. It amazes the Jedi Master that the UNSC and SoS managed to make any use of a planet that was decimated so severely that after all these years, it still looks like a planet desolated by war. "General." Commander Cody says, walking up to Kenobi. "We are receiving a transmission from Shipmaster 'Vladum."
"Put it through." Kenobi responds, still staring at the planet intently. After the Second Battle of Earth, select members of the UNSC and SoS have started believing that the Covenant Empire has returned somehow. At first, Kenobi had no idea who the Covenant was until his debriefing for this mission. To know that the 2 organizations had been at war with an alien empire of vastly superior technology for 3 decades as well as deal with various insurrections is astounding.
At first, the 2 governments were skeptical of the claim, not wanting to believe that the adversary that nearly brought extinction to their ways of life had returned at all. But now, ONI had given out an alert that deeply alarmed everyone. The system-wide probes around the planet Onyx were scrambled, and contact with the system was lost. It could have been the Insurrection, but it could just as easily be the Covenant.
Kenobi walks to the comm table and watches as it flashes with bright blue light and the image of the Sangheili Shipmaster appears. "General Kenobi." 'Vladum says calmly.
"Shipmaster." Kenobi responds, bowing in respect. "Have you picked up any evidence as to who attacked this system?"
"Negative. The probes haven't picked up any signs of nearby ships, but that doesn't mean there isn't someone here."
Kenobi hums in thought, stroking his beard in thought again. "I see. I sugges that we send some transports to the surface. See if we can find any survivors that may be able to tell us what happened."
"Very well. Shipmaster Atem 'Vladum out." The transmission immediately dims before cutting out. With that done, Kenobi turns to Cody. "Commander, prepare 3 gunships to go planetside. I will join them."
"Yes, General." Cody responds, saluting respectfully.
Kenobi nods at his commander before slowly walking towards the bridge. All around him, the clones start running around and preparing for battle. The pilots are already onboard their gunships, preparing them for travel down to the large planet.
A clone with grey highlights and images of wolf heads on his shoulder plates takes notice of the approaching general and stands up, saluting him. "General Kenobi."
"Commander Wolffe. How are you coping with your new comrades?" Kenobi asks, slight concern in his voice. Wolffe's former general, Plo Koon, was killed after an unknown army attacked Oba Diah. Only Wolffe and 10 of his troops are the last survivors of their entire battalion. Once the Senate was alerted to these actions, they had all men and their resources transferred to Obi-Wan's own battalion.
"I'm doing alright, General. I'm just ready to jump back into the action and tear apart some clankers." Wolffe says, smiling for the first time in a long time.
"I understand. But I doubt we're dealing with droids this time." Kenobi says, looking thoughtful before looking back up. "Are we ready to go?"
"Indeed, we are. Aren't we, men?" Wolffe asks, howling in challenge. The other 10 men originally under his command boarding the gunship also howl in triumph, drawing the attention of the other clones to them.
"Alright, Commander. Let's get going." Kenobi says, chuckling a little at their enthusiasm. Wolffe nods, lifting up his blaster rifle as he walks onboard the gunship, immediately followed by Kenobi. Wolffe shuts the blast door behind them, and the gunship immediately lifts off the ground, flies through the blast shields and flies through the void of space.
"Red light, standing by." The pilot says over the comm line, and the lights go out, only to be replaced by the emergency lights.
"All right, men. Let us show these guys how the Wolfsquad does this." Wolffe says, gripping the hand rails tightly.
"Yes sir!" His men shout in unison back. After a few seconds, the LAAT starts shaking violently, and jerks in different directions. After a few minutes, the movements start becoming less extreme.
"Alright, boys. We are inside the meteor shower around Onyx. Setting down now." The pilot says over the comm line, then steers the gunship past another piece of the planet, until the pilot notices a large white starship hanging in the middle of space. "By the Force. The UNSC sure knows how to make ships."
The pilot maneuvers the gunship, alongside 2 other LAATs and 3 red Phantoms, towards the Burning Phoenix, a white frigate that is an ONI research facility which is similar in design to the infamous Argent Moon, but larger and with highly-efficient solar panels installed all along the ship's top. As the transports approach the Burning Phoenix, the docking bay doors on the right-side start sliding upward to permit entry. Since that is the only way to board the ship, the ships fly towards the open docking bay, through the blast shields and start set down on the ground.
"Green light. You are free to go." The pilot shouts, turning on the neon green lights and releasing the seals on the blast doors.
Wolffe grabs the blast door and slides it open, allowing Kenobi and his clones to run out and begin check their surroundings while the other gunships and Phantoms also set down and unload their own troops. The bay is completely silent, with a dozen docked Pelicans at their designated posts, sealed lockers filled with UNSC weaponry on the walls and crates of spare ammo and supplies lying around in an unorderly fashion.
"Wait a second." Wolffe says, looking towards the yellow-armored Sangheili Shipmaster who is leading his troops on this mission. "Why did this ship open its blast doors for us? I've heard the ONI don't exactly let outsiders run around their facilities."
The Shipmaster also looks around, a Sangheili version of a smirk forming on his face. "We were given the security codes to enter. The ONI spooks don't normally give away those codes, but Admiral Snow managed to convince them into giving us those codes." 'Vladum responds, but he then turns to one of his officers, a female Sangheili who is wearing blue armor.
"Shipmaster, we found something you might want to see."
'Vladum just nods, and follows the female to the far wall, where one of the lockers is hanging open and its weapons spilled on the ground. What immediately catches the Sangheili's attention is the small patch of blood on the side of the crate. The final thing out of place is that the Pelican that is docked nearby has its hatch closed, unlike the rest of the Pelicans.
"Get this hatch open!" 'Vadum says to one of his soldiers, but before they can get to work, the hatch starts opening up slowly before opening all the way. A woman in a white overcoat with darker skin and short black hair lifts up a magnum pistol as she walks forward a few feet, terror written all over her face. Inside the Pelican, another dozen scientists and security operatives are lying on the ground and holding each other close while massaging their injuries. They have blackened spots on various parts of their bodies, exposing their burned muscles underneath.
"Are they gone?" The woman asks, sounding scared out of her mind.
'Vladum sighs on the inside. He has never had to comfort anyone, Sangheili or human, in his entire life. But now, it looks like he will have to try. "We're not here to kill you. We need to figure out what's going on."
The woman's face remains completely scared. "Y-you want to know? It's them. The Brutes ate my colleagues. Including my husband."
That immediately caught 'Vladum's attention. He lowers his hand as flashes of the Great Schism race through his mind, then stares at her, all 4 of his mandibles hanging loose in shock. "What did you say?"
As someone on board the Pelican is about to respond, the loud sounds of clattering can be heard from behind a closed doorway that leads to an elevator. The woman squeaks in fear, running onto the ramp and pressing a button on the side. The Pelican hatch immediately lifts up and seals behind them. "Well, they were real friendly." Kenobi says, still staring at wondering what could make them so afraid.
"General, we have contacts incoming." Wolffe shouts, pointing to the door that the clones and Sangheili are facing as they get behind various covers and wait for the battle to start.
"I can hear them." Kenobi says, lifting up his lightsaber and activating it. The bright blue light that is stretching on the door go out completely and the door explodes. The clones and Sangheili begin firing their weapons into the smoke that still hangs in the air. Several aliens on the other side shriek in pain before collapsing to the ground while a deep voice bellows in rage and a rapid series of loud stomping only gets louder and louder. From out of the low-hanging smoke cloud emerges a huge Brute completely covered in orange armor comes, charging forward and knocking several nearby Sangheili aside as he charges through their ranks. One of the clones in the back tries to fire on the Brute, but this only directs the Brute's attention towards him, and he runs right at the clone. The poor clone doesn't stand a chance as the Brute grabs the clone by the waist then bites off the entire top half of the clone's body.
All the while, the clones and Sangheili are routing their new opponents while the Sangheili Shipmaster, energy sword activated and at the ready, charges towards the Brute. He notices the Sangheili, then throws the legs of the clone aside as he then charges at the Shipmaster. But 'Vladum dodges to the right, and as the Brute charges by, the Sangheili slashes his energy sword at his back. The Brute lets out a roar of agony before whirling around and trying to ram into the Sangheili again. But the Shipmaster manages to stab the Brute in the mouth, making the beast let out a moan of agony before falling to the ground, dead.
As the last Grunts and Jackals fall to the clone's blaster shots, the Sangheili and Kenobi tangle with the 6 Brutes that also charge out of the doorway.
"Blast!" Kenobi says, wiping the blood dripping from his nose after he received a blow from a Brute's Gravity Hammer that knocks him back well over 10 feet. "They are even stronger than they look."
"Don't compliment them." A blue Sangheili soldier says, firing his plasma rifle at a Brute's back then stabbing the spot with an energy sword. "The whole lot of them are savages."
In a matter of minutes, the alien forces are completely wiped out. "Fleetmaster 'Vadum was right. The damn Covenant have returned." 'Vladum mutters, still holding up his energy sword. "Spread out. We will not leave this station until every single one of those Brute bastards are dead."
"On the double, Shipmaster. Clones, we're going in." Wolffe says, then leads the entire squad of clones into the elevator shaft directly in front of them. The Sangheili spread out across the vast docking bay to look for any leftover Covenant forces who could still be there. Kenobi is using a UNSC med kit he uses the Force to pick up from a crate to treat his injury from direct exposure to the Gravity Hammer. The clones walk past the wall of swirling green light, holding up their blasters and start checking all of their surroundings. As they continue checking, the group also turn on their headlights before progressing onward; all the while the lights are flashing on and off. Cords are hanging from the loose ceiling and the smell of blood is filling the halls. "This was a massacre." Wolffe says, his eyes widening behind his helmet.
As the clones continue walking down the hallways, the patches of red blood on the walls are becoming more and more pronounced, mingling with bright blue blood. The farther they walk down the hallway, past damaged doorways, they notice something even stranger than the Covenant's presence. "What happened to the corpses?"
They have seen many types of battlefields during the Clone Wars, but one where the bodies of the fallen are torn open and look like they were eaten is just strange. "There's something going on. ONI must have been creating something they lost control over. I never trusted those spooks." One of the clones suggest absentmindedly.
The rest of the unit turns to look at the clone incredulously. "Possibly. But why are you calling their agents 'spooks'?" Wolffe asks.
"I heard the term from some UNSC marines we were stationed with on Corusant. And considering how the ONI do whatever they want without permission from our command or FLEETCOM, I can't help but agree with the sentiment."
Before the conversation can continue much more, the clone leading the pack raises a closed fist. The clones instantly go silent and start listening for what caught their companions' attention. After a few seconds, they hear the sounds of silent moaning and a battle can be heard down the hallways, where the shadows are starting to dance on the walls. Once the clones set their blasters to the right mode, they begin running up the ramps, into the higher levels of the ship, all the while passing by more scenes of carnage. As they continue progressing higher and higher, the sounds of battle are becoming replaced by alien screams of terror. When the clones reach the top floor, they stop in place and stare at the scene with absolute horror. The remains of a Covenant attack squad are lying on the ground, the bodies being torn into by 2 dozen Jackals and humans, but there is something terribly wrong with them. Their skin is a sickly grey with deep black spots all over their bodies along with heavy wrinkles. The monsters stop tearing into the corpses, raising their heads. The blood starts dripping down their mouths and their flabby eyelashes are hanging so low that half of their eyes are shut. What can be seen of the eyes are that they are black, like shark's eyes as they are about to feed.
"Scrap them!" Wolffe shouts, then fires his blaster weapon at the monsters. The clones behind him follow suite and waves upon waves of blaster fire rains down on the monsters. But as the blaster shots collide with their bodies, darkening their flesh with scorch marks, the monsters continue to rise to their feet and start to charge to the clones.
"Kriff! These things are tough. Let's see how they take this." Shouts a clone, then pulls out a thermal detonator from his belt and activates it. However, 2 of the monsters that were once human reach the clone ranks and they swing their arms at the clone. The sharp, black fingernails tear through the clone's armor, making blood gush out and the corpse falls to the ground, covering the detonator. Wolffe and several clones manage to evade in time before the grenade goes off, blowing up the corpse and vaporizing 2 of the approaching monsters in the process as they make to eat the body.
Wolffe watches as the monsters' bodies completely vaporize, embers and ashes being all that remains of the monsters. He then stares at the rest of the pack, who are just standing off to the side, watching the clones with a strange glint in their eyes. A split second later, Wolffe figures out how to stop them. "Alright, men. On the count of 3, activate your thermal detonators and throw them at these things." The monsters start growling in challenge, walking along the platforms before charging. "Three!" The clones simultaneously activate their thermal detonators and throw them on the ground. They roll across the ground as the monsters let loose a series of terrifying battle cries and charge towards them. As they continue approaching the clones, the detonators explode and the heat melts the flesh from their bodies, leaving nothing but ashes.
"What…were those things?" One of the clones asks, walking forward and deciding to take a closer look at the scene before them. They continue walking onward, through the winding corridors and past even more corpses of humans and Covenant corpses alike, along with blood splatter and gashes all across the walls.
"By the Force, this place is starting to give me the creeps." Another clone says before they reach a large sealed door.
Wolffe then turns to a clone trooper with yellow stripes on his armor and holding a blaster cannon in his arms. "Waxer, get this door open."
Waxer nods and straps his blaster cannon on his back before pulling out a welding torch. Holding it to the top of the door with a glass window in it then activates it. Sparks fly from the torch as it burns through the sheets of metal the make up the edges of the door. The clones watch Waxer's back, making sure his progress isn't interrupted.
After several long and tense seconds, Waxer turns off his blowtorch. "All right, men. This is it." He then stands up and uses all of his might to pull the door open. As the clones fan out around the semicircular facility, with another door on the far side of the chamber, they immediately notice that something isn't right. There are 3 Brute corpses lying on the ground, their corpses and armor also having the look of being torn into. But the thing that truly stands out is that in the inside ring, there are 3 tubes that are full of a strange orange liquid, with the 4th tube being cracked open and its contents already spilled out on the ground.
Wolffe walks to the shattered tube and stares carefully at the remnants of the fluid gathered at the bottom. "Well, whatever happened here is directly related to this stuff here."
"A bioweapon." The clone trooper known as Boil says, walking towards the tube as well. "I heard rumors that ONI has taken an interest in producing bioweapons to wipe out armies of enemies in a matter of hours. Along time ago, a terrorist managed to use a single capsule to nearly wipe out an entire city."
The clones who heard that freeze in place then stare at the weapon with new-found fear. "Kriff…"
Wolffe stares at the tube for another few seconds, then looks around before his eyes fall on the door. "I don't know about you all, but I am going to go deeper into ONI's labs. I deserve to know what those spooks do behind everyone's backs."
Confederacy of Independent Systems Senate Chamber
Raxus
16:30 UNSC time
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is sitting on his stone chair, shackles still on his wrists to keep up appearances, and deep within his own mind.
Hours ago, Count Dooku had organized an emergency meeting with the remaining members of the Separatist Senate and discussed what should be done with Palpatine. After nearly a half hour of arguing, they agreed to hold the Chancellor as a trump card in case a major battle for the Separatist fleet goes awry. Once that was settled, they began discussing battle plans on important systems they should reinforce with their fleet, how they can strengthen diplomatic relations with the Insurrectionists, production rate of droids and how best to distribute them, the meeting was dismissed. But upon Dooku's order, Palpatine was left in the Council Chamber to remain shackled and guarded by the hundreds of droids in the main palace.
The real reason Dooku left Palpatine here was so the secret Sith lord could privately meditate on the Dark Side and make any embellishments to the Sith's overall plans to ruling the galaxy.
As of this moment, Darth Sidious came to a hard decision that could very easily shatter everything he has worked so hard to build. Once he was rescued and returned to the Republic Senate, he would begin making his moves on the famous Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. His growing anger towards the Insurrection and Separatists can easily turn him to the Dark Side, but Palpatine needs to push the Jedi if he is to fall.
To say Palpatine is reluctant with the choice he made is an understatement, but his hand is being forced right now. The humans of the battle-hardened UNSC and the Swords of Sanghelios are some of the most powerful military forces the Sith lord has ever seen. If he doesn't do something to ensure his plan succeeds in the end, and the 2 armies continue to be involved in this war for much longer, he has no doubt that Count Dooku will be eventually killed, the Separatists and Insurrection will collapse, thus ending the war with hundreds of Jedi still alive.
Sometimes, one needs to risk everything in order to progress onward.
AN: Hey, everyone. Sorry for skipping last week's update, I needed to do some research on how to progress for the next few chapters.
So yeah. The end of this story is starting to come into sight. Honestly, with college coming up and also working on Heart of Death, I am kind of relieved. When the school year starts, I believe that the updates will become monthly rather than weekly.
With that out of the way, I will see you all next time when the secrets inside the Burning Phoenix are revealed.