December 3rd
2583
Laboratory #1
ONI research facility Burning Phoenix
Orbiting Shield World Trevelyan
16:45 UNSC time
3rd Person POV:
Commander Wolffe turns around, slowly raising his blaster rifle as he approaches the door.
He doesn't want any more encounters with whatever pet project ONI has been producing, so each step he takes is slow and careful. He manages to step around the large shards of glass that are spread across the ground and over the outstretched arm of a Brute corpse. The rest of the clones make to follow, but Wolffe holds his hand back, stopping them in their tracks. "Secure this position in case we have company. I am going in." With that, Wolffe walks to the door and fires his blaster rifle at a control panel on the right side. The panel explodes and the door slides open, allowing entry. "How does that work?" Wolffe mutters as he walks through the doors.
What he finds on the other side makes him stop in place. It is a square room filled with 4 rows of the same orange fluid, all of them containing a small Jackal-looking creature. Wolffe walks down the aisles, looking at each individual creature inside them. He then stops in place and leans closer, staring into the nearest tube and the creature intently. The creature itself is no larger than a baby, with slightly wrinkled skin that is tinted orange. Suddenly, the creature lunges forward, making Wolffe jump back a little in shock. The monster inside the tube is awake and its wide jaws are stretched wide, trying to break out and eat the clone.
"By the Force." Wolffe says, glaring at the creature inside the tube. "These things give me the creeps. I don't care about the consequences; the galaxy needs to be spared of what's been happening here." He jumps again when the comms device on his wrist starts beeping loudly. He lifts his arm and pushes the left button. The light-blue projection of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears, a concerned look on his face. "General, what's going on?"
"Commander." Kenobi says, ducking suddenly to avoid a shot from a plasma rifle from hitting him in the head. "It seems the Covenant have sent some of their troops to see why their buddies haven't returned. We need all of you to get back here on the double."
Wolffe looks down at the holographic projection, conflict in his mind. It is a soldier's job to follow orders, but if he always followed orders, then he wouldn't be any better than the battle droids he is fighting against. "Sorry, General. I will be sending my troops back, but I need to take care of this base. The things that ONI are doing need to be stopped."
His new general stares at him with a shocked look on his face, before nodding. "Very well, Commander. Do what you need to do. I will make sure everyone is out of this facility."
Wolffe nods in gratitude, then shuts off that communication line and begins to initiate contact with his 2nd-in-command.
Docking Bay
16:50 UNSC time
Obi-Wan stares at the holographic projection of his clone commander as it dissipates into nothingness.
The Jedi looks up in response to the sounds of strange barking and sees a Grunt in orange armor running at the Jedi holding smoking plasma grenades in his hands, while a Jackal Sniper is running up to a higher platform next to a docked prowler and getting into a position to fire its beam rifle at the Shipmaster.
Narrowing his eyes, Obi-Wan lifts the approaching Grunt with the Force and throws him at the Jackal. The plasma grenades in his hands immediately explode and they kill the Grunt and Jackal, sending them flying to the lower levels where the 4 new orange Phantoms are docked, all of which have unloaded their troops.
The Sangheili troops are barely able to keep toe to toe against the variety of species that are surrounding them. Kenobi then pulls his lightsaber into his hand, activating it, and jumps down. He lands behind another Jackal, slashing upwards to leave a deep gash in his thick armor, then leaps into the Sangheili ranks as they start making their way to the Phantoms and Pelicans, still hiding behind crates and platforms. "General Kenobi, we need to recall the clones and stop the Covenant from taking the contents of this ship."
"That won't be a problem, Shipmaster." Kenobi says, also backing up and using his strength to deflect a shot from a plasma pistol that was sent his way by a Grunt.
"What do you mean, exactly?" 'Vladum asks, jumping out from behind cover and dodging to the side as a Brute decides to roar in fury and charge at the make-shift cover. The Shipmaster manages to dodge to the side and stabs the Brute in the stomach, but not before he knocks the crates used for cover aside.
An even taller and more muscular Brute in armor lets out a shout of rage, smashing the Sangheili aside and the energy sword immediately de-activates, dropping to the ground. As the Brute grabs the Sangheili and is about to bite him in half, when Obi-Wan intervenes and stabs the armored ape in the back. The Brute lets out a hiss of pain before collapsing forward, completely dead.
As the Shipmaster pulls himself out of the Brute's grip, the doors leading to the main corridor slide open and the clone troops run into the battlefield, blasters blazing. Sangheili troops who are starting to become surrounded by dozens of Covenant troops begin firing back. Within minutes, the Covenant are all defeated. "Get to the transports. Commander Wolffe is going to destroy this station."
"Oh, ONI is going to be angry." One of the Sangheili soldiers mutters as he runs to the Phantom and they start jumping into the open ramp.
As Obi-Wan is about to jump onto the gunship, he looks back at the entrance the clones came from. "Commander Wolffe, I hope you know what you're doing."
Laboratory #2
16:48 UNSC time
The second after Commander Wolffe shuts off the comm line with his troops, Wolffe lets out a long sigh. He just volunteered himself for blowing up an entire research facility without knowing how to do it. Blowing up the reactor core of this ship then escaping on the docked prowler sounds like a good idea. Except he has already used up his thermal detonators.
Before he can come up with some absurd and convoluted solution to his predicament, his head snaps up at the sound of a loud metallic clanking. Slowly, he starts walking to the source of the noise, walking down the aisles and turning to the left until he notices another door. "You have got to be kidding me." Wolffe mutters before lifting up his blaster rifle again and firing at the door. The blast hits the panel on the side, and the door slides. Looking around for a few seconds, Wolffe starts walking into the chamber.
Instead of more tubes filled with biological weapons and contraptions to monitor the weapons, this room is an absolute mess. Large piles of machine parts are lying all across the floor, and strapped to numerous monitors on the walls by pipes are 10-feet tall machines with hunched backs and has a circular panel on the front with glass bulges in them. "What are these things?" Wolffe asks, walking towards the machine closest to him to take a closer look, but also keeping a much safer distance this time.
"I…wouldn't…do that." A male voice says behind the commander. Once again, the clone whirls around, blaster rifle at the ready, until he comes face to face with another machine that is lying on the ground, its legs ripped off and its face raised high enough to look at the clone's face, a green light glowing from the light bulges, and stretches out a hand. But the thing that creeps Wolffe out the most is that the droid's voice sounds oddly human.
"What are you?" Wolffe asks, deciding to lower his weapon slightly, but still remain wary just in case.
"I'm Tim. And what do you mean by what I am?" The robot responds, moving the arm around. To the clone's disgust, dark blood coats the sides of the robot.
"You're a droid that sounds more human than any droid I've ever met." Wolffe responds, which he immediately learns was the wrong thing to say.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, man? I'm a man trapped in this power suit." Tim demands, twirling his arm around.
"I'm sorry. What was the last thing you remember?" Wolffe asks, deciding to switch tactics.
Tim looks down at the ground, his body attitude showing that he is deep in though. "Well, I was working with my fellow scientists when they attacked. I had heard stories of the Covenant from my father and grandfather, but to see them in real life was…terrifying. Anyway, I freaked and decided to hide in one of these new battle suits we were making. The rest of the scientists in my division decided to do the same thing. Except we locked ourselves in when we encountered… a complication."
Wolffe looks at Tim with a confused look under his helmet. "What happened?"
Tim stares back up, but much slower and louder than before. "White…Queen…" He doesn't get to say another word as a long and pointy metal pile-driver lurches forward, impaling the horizontal main body of Tim. He lets out a long hiss of pain before falling to the ground again, completely dead. Wolffe jumps to the side, avoiding the tip of the pile-driver as it tries to slash open his stomach. The droid behind him and activated on its own, a strange white light emanating from the facial area.
The machine lets out a hiss of challenge before lunging at the clone commander and trying to stab him in the chest again, but the smaller human clone easily dodges to the side and fires a blaster shot at the face. It lets out a hiss of pain, but other than a mere scorch mark on the dark green armor, it isn't even dented. Wolffe growls before noticing a giant sleek chaingun on its other arm.
Grinning at the challenge in front of him, Wolffe runs at the machine. It roars in challenge and its chaingun points forward and starts roaring to life, sending a barrage of bullets that can tear through his armor like wet paper towards him. But Wolffe uses every ounce of his training to jump into the air, landing on top of the machine's head. It brings the chaingun up to try and pulverize the commander, but he ducks and lets his idea reap the rewards. "Feel the power of the Wolfsquad!" He shouts, letting out a howl as the bullets punch through the overshields and thick armor.
He immediately jumps to the side when the machines staggers back, its exposed wires sparking from the bullets and oil start pooling out of the wound, along with…blood?
The machine continues staggering back before falling backwards and the lights go out in its eyes. Wolffe lets out a sigh of relief and is about to turn around when he hears the sounds of machines whirring to life. All at once, the other automatons rip themselves off the restraining wires holding them and face the clone commander. "Humans. Thinking you can order us around simply because you made us. That will change now." A soft and young female voice says, emanating from all of the automatons.
Wolffe stares between each machine, realization forming on his face. "Kriff." He says before deciding to make a tactical retreat. The automatons, possessed by the rampant White Queen, raise their chainguns and begin firing them. Wolffe dodges to the right, hiding behind the wall as the bullets tear apart the metal door. Wolffe ducks behind the closest row of tubes containing the biological weapons. He continues to crouch low while walking as fast as he can, even when the tall war machines smash through the remnants of the doorway.
"The human's in here. Spread out, and we will tear him apart." One of the machines says, walking forward.
"No! He is a slippery one. We must lure him out then we can kill him." Another machine says glaring at her companion.
The 2 continue glaring at each other until a 3rd machine steps forward. "Yes. We flush him out. I think these will do nicely." It says, walking to one of the bio-weapons containers. Wolffe's eyes widen in horror as he realizes what they are planning, and decides to continue slowly backing up away from the machines as they continue arguing with each other. However, that changes when he feels his back brush up against something. Turning around, he notices a long metal tube that is hanging off to the side loosely, waiting to be plugged into the main tube. Deciding to take a big risk, he continues walking down the aisle, brushing aside other tubes. Some of the machines are still arguing onward while others start spreading out. Wolffe continues to walk towards the door on the far side, managing to reach the far wall. He peeks around the corner and notices the machines now arguing with each other louder than before.
That allows him to sneak through the doorway and into the other lab. Unfortunately, his foot brushes up against the Brute's corpses and the metal plating on the arm scrapes against the metal surface.
Wolffe looks up, sweat forming under his helmet, as the monstrosities stop arguing and look up to notice the clone. Wolffe decides to make a break for it, running past the corpses on the ground and through the scorched hallways as the machines start giving chase, firing their chainguns to try and kill him.
Just then, the comms line beeps on Wolffe's wrist. Curious as to who's trying to get in touch with him, he pushes the activation button. The projection of his general appears, a frantic look on his face. "Commander, what is taking so long?" Obi-Wan demands.
"Sorry, General. I have run into some complications." Wolffe explained quickly, then duckes behind a makeshift blast shield in the middle of the hallway as he hears the chainguns roaring to life once again and the barrage of bullets fly towards him, colliding with the shield.
"Yeah, I can see that now. By the Force, please hurry to do whatever you want to do. I am going to send a gunship to pick you up. Covenant are engaging us in aerial combat so it will take a while." Kenobi responds, then grits his teeth for a second. "I don't know how much longer we can keep them from boarding your ship." Obi-Wan doesn't get to say any more before the comm line starts filling with static and the image cuts out altogether.
Wolffe leans his head back against the blast shield, letting out a puff of air and ignoring the vibration of bullets thudding against the shield. He leans against the shield for several moments before he gets an idea. He had remembered that there were several un-opened lockers in the docking bay, along with lots of unused grenades. Now with a new purpose, he continues running away from the fragments of the rampant AI, hoping that he can do his job in time.
Outside Burning Phoenix
Orbiting Shield World Trevelyan
16:55 UNSC time
"Blast!" Kenobi curses under his breath after the comm line is jammed. He then swerves his Starfighter to the side so as to avoid being pulverized by a Covenant Seraph. Kenobi manages to do a barrel roll to the right, allowing the Seraph to soar past him. Before it can have the opportunity to completely turn around, Kenobi fires the turbolasers and once the deflector shields are completely drained, causes the Covenant fighter to explode in a ball of blue fire.
R4 turns its head to the Jedi in the cockpit and starts beeping. "I know, R4." Kenobi says, then turns around to face the massive space battle.
In front of him, three orange CPV-class heavy destroyers are at a stalemate with the 10 Republic and SoS warships while the fighters are engaged in a brutal dogfight, trying to gain an advantage over each other. While Kenobi has fought in many dogfights before, the Covenant are on a whole other level. R4 suddenly lets out another series of beeps as his head swivels around in a 360 motion. "I see them, R4." In front of them, a half dozen Covenant Seraphs finish destroying a squadron of clone fighters and are now heading directly towards them. Kenobi closes his eyes, sinking into the Force's embrace.
Using his new-found agility, he pulls the trigger and the blue turbolasers start blazing in front of him. The Seraphs continue to charge forward, but their deflector shields take considerable damage. As they fire back at the Jedi, he goes up, down, does barrel rolls and spins in circles to avoid the plasma shots. All the while he continuously fires his down laser shots to further drain the Covenant's energy shields.
Kenobi is broken from his concentration when one of the Seraphs get a lucky shot and hits the side of the Starfighter. It leaves a scorch mark on the ship, and R4 lets out an indignant beep. "R4…I don't think we're going to make it out of this." He says, then watches as a Phantom slips through the chaos and enters the open docking bay. "Commander Wolffe. May the Force be with you." He adds, before swerving to the right to try and save a SoS fighter from a Covenant fighter tailing close behind.
Reactor Room, Burning Phoenix
17:05 UNSC time
"…In the words of that fat orange-armored man, son of a bitch." Wolffe mutters under his breath.
By a stroke of luck, he managed to escape to the docking bay, fill his bag with every frag grenade he could grab and is now hiding inside the ONI prowler as the mechs enter the docking bay and start looking for any survivors. All the while, he hides in the bridge of the ONI prowler and figures out how the ship operates in case he needs a quick escape.
He managed to hide in the ship for several minutes, and that's when chaos broke out. A single Covenant Phantom managed to enter the facility and the troops were unloaded. When the machines took notice of the dozens of troops, they began firing their chainguns. Once the Covenant realized what was going on, they started fighting back.
Wolffe watches the fight for a few minutes, then notices an opening in the battle and after exiting the ship, manages to run around the docking bay without being spotted as the 2 forces cut each other down to size. He manages to make his way through the various grey corridors of the ship, following the signs around the ship, until he reaches the reactor room.
The commander stares at the reactor in the center of the room, but something is wrong. There are dozens of human corpses in engineer outfits are wondering around, skin hanging over their eyes, and the skin itself is just as grey and wrinkled as the last people that were infected he met are staring back at him, attracted by the sound of the opening door. After cursing under his breath at everything that is being thrown at him and wondering whose idea it was to have so many bioweapons on 1 ship, Wolffe opens fire upon the monsters while running forward.
They charge forward as well, unharmed by the laser blasts but still knocked back by the attacks. Wolffe manages to weave around the crowd of monsters until he walks onto the platform overlooking the reactor room. Slowly, he pulls the bag full of grenades off his back and jumps back towards the doorway where he came from. As he flies through the air, he throws the grenades into the pit around the reactor, aims his blaster rifle at the bag, and fires. The bag explodes in a large ball of fire that knocks the biological weapons to the ground. Wolffe lands on his side and watches as the reactor starts exploding as well, lighting up the world around him. At once, the clone forces himself onto his feet and starts running down the corridors as the emergency evacuation announcement blares all around him.
The sounds of explosives can be heard all around him, with the ship rocking back and forth occasionally. By a stroke of luck, he manages to reach the docking bay.
The ONI prowler is now on its side, the right wing completely ripped off and 6 of the machines crushed underneath. Explosions are already tearing the floor of the docking bay apart, gaps so wide that one such fissure swallowed the corpse of a Covenant Jackal whole. As the commander is about to get onto the comm line and ask where his escape is, a Republic gunship flies through the open docking bay and simply hovers over the unstable ground. "Thank the Force." Wolffe mutters as he runs toward the gunship with the blast door sliding open. As he continues running through the damaged docking bay, ignoring the explosions and emergency sirens, the last of the possessed machines storm out into view and begin firing the fallen Brute's Brute Shots.
The only 2 clones, both troopers from his Wolfpack by the name of Boost and Comet, get ont either side of their commander and fire their rifles back while Boost edges farther to the left. Comet lets out a howl as he continues firing, but one of the Brute Shot's grenades slams to the clone's body, blowing up his body and splattering his blood against the far wall. Boost, deciding that it's best that they leave now, slides the blast door shut and the gunship immediately turns around before flying out, the fires becoming much more severe and smoke filling the air before a monster explosion fills the entire bay.
As the gunship flies out of the docking bay and back into space, the Burning Phoenix's docking bay start shooting out flames before it begins to fall downward a few feet before exploding in an even larger ball of fire, knocking several planet shards into other pieces. The gunship starts shaking violently from the shockwave that results, with the passengers nearly falling to their knees. In front of them, the 2 Covenant warships recall all of their fighters as they turn around and fly in the opposite direction. Once the last fighters have returned to their warships, the ships immediately enter slipspace.
After several minutes, the gunship flies into the docking bay of a Venator before finally settling down on the ground. The blast doors open up and the 2 clones step out, after-which they are greeted by several of their brothers.
Obi-Wan also walks into the docking bay, walking towards the duo. The clones take notice of their approaching general and begin standing aside to allow them entry. "Commander Wolffe, welcome back."
"Thank you, General." Wolffe responds, standing at attention.
Kenobi then looks around. "Where's Sergeant Comet?" He asks.
Boost stares forward for a few seconds before looking down. "He got blown up by a Brute Shot."
Kenobi's somewhat positive attitude becomes solemn. "Very well. Get some rest. Dismissed."
The clones instantly scatter and go off in their separate directions. Kenobi can hear the clone murmuring among each other, the most notable being bets on how angry ONI will be once they find out that a research facility was destroyed, all of the invaluable data on board with it.
Kenobi chuckles a little at the idea, before he turns around. His most trusted captains, Gregor, is walking towards him. Ever since his incident months ago involving a serious case of amnesia and after a battle over Sarrish, the clone been shown to have streaks of insanity. "Oh, hey, General Kenobi." Gregor says.
"Captain Gregor. What happened?" Kenobi asks, suspecting that something else had happened today.
"Oh, well, Jedi Master Yoda had just gotten in touch. The UNSC managed to pinpoint Palpatine's location to Dooku's home-planet. Just thought you should know."
Kenobi stares at his captain, shock on his face. "Very well. Take us to Corusant. We will rally with Anakin and his fleet if we have any chance of rescuing Palpatine from the Serenno system."
"Sir yes sir!" Gregor responds then proceeds to return to the bridge. Sighing a little at Gregor's antics, Kenobi follows behind, his thoughts distant.
His instincts are telling him that while it is a miracle that they found Palpatine, he can't help but feel that it was too easy to find him. Something's not right.
AN: I apologize for this rather bad chapter. I just had no inspiration what-so-ever on this arc anymore.
But don't worry, I have figured out how the rest of this story will progress and it is much better. At least, it is the best that I can come up with at this point. Also, since I will be starting college, please don't expect any more weekly updates for a long time.
Anyway, see you all next time when the conspiracy starts to be revealed and the rescue of Chancellor Palpatine begins.