Greetings readers! theotherpianist would like to welcome back to another installment of ROTE. Yes, it's time to start moving this along again.
Now, I know many of you are going to be saying to yourself "It's about time." You're correct. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to upload this chapter. Oh my gosh, so many things that had to be resolved before I could put this out there. Chapters had to be reconstructed, one chapter had to be added in its entirety to break up the physical similarities with other FanFictions, and I beat my head against the wall trying to resolve the problem of unintentional plagiarism. I earnestly pray that's all over. I've said this before, but I'll say it again.
Do. Your. Research. It'll save you huge headaches in the long run.
That better? I don't recommend going back and reading everything from the beginning, but chapters nine through eleven got some revamping.
One more PSA. Some of you may have noticed I've relaunched a Hunger Games Fiction, this time with much better results. If Hunger Games FanFiction is also your thing, head on over and check it out. The issue with putting out Rise of the Empire chapters is that I have to keep track of many different characters and plot points, almost like War and Peace by Tolstoy. With that Fiction, I only need to worry about one character versus the whole cast of secondary and tertiary POV's that Rise of the Empire has. I think in the end, it'll all be worth it.
With all of that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 23:
Location and Time Unknown:
Zek Lhar, Fugitive.
For a long time Zek Lhar lay in a state of delirious darkness. How long he was he didn't know. Sometime later he found himself conscious and jolted awake with a sudden start. He was in a darkened room of some sort. As he frantically scanned around him, reality started to collect about him in the shapes of shadows. Seconds passed and the shadows grew increasingly lighter until they stopped and reformed into more permanent shapes. He deduced he was in a chamber of some sort. Torture? Execution? Both of which were likely possibilities.
His next conscious realization was that he was bound by some force. Oh there were restraints alright, but he was pinned by some unseen force. He vainly attempted to move but his arms and legs remained unmoved. At least he could move his head.
"Good. I figured you'd be waking up soon."
The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, prancing about out of reach, taunting him, mocking him.
"Why am I here!" the Skirmisher demanded. "Who are you? What are you? Where are you?"
"You don't know?" the voice asked.
A flicker of recognition began to burn and Zek started struggling harder.
"No! Let me go! I want out of here!" he hissed and squirmed.
"Back to the clutches of ONI? Please consider your options for a moment. I went through a lot of trouble to kill the agents trying to apprehend you without them suspecting anything. To their knowledge, you're on your way to the other side of the planet."
"Show yourself."
There was no response.
"I said show yourself, coward!"
"As you wish."
Something hissed and he watched a door open up in front of him filling the room with dim light. A man approached, cloaked in the shadows. His face unreadable, his features melding with the darkness around him.
The Skirmisher defiantly stared him down. A light flicked on blinding him for a moment as it cleaved the Shadows in two and produced the face of Chancellor Palpatine.
"Please do stop struggling. You're not going help yourself by doing so." the Chancellor looked at him disapprovingly.
"I want out of here." Zek glared back.
"I'm afraid that's out of the question. I promised you we would meet again. You should know Skirmisher, that I'm quite accustomed to getting what I want."
"So get someone else. I'm not the guy you're looking for."
"Oh but you are exactly who I'm looking for. Didn't we discuss this at the Opera House?"
"What, this armor I have? The stuff that's fused to my skin?"
"Exactly. Do you recall what I said?"
"Something about it giving me great power."
"So you do remember a thing or two." the Chancellor nodded in approval.
"Who cares though," he snapped. "It's been more pain than its worth. You want to have this fused to your body? Oh sure, it's great defensively, but it hurts. A lot."
"Intriguing. Do you know why your suit has such a strong force presence when the rest of your species lack a force signature?"
Zek stared at him as if this was a stupid question. "It's Forerunner technology your excellency." he said derisively. "How am I supposed to know? You wanna get someone to explain the science, be my guest."
"Curious. Curious indeed." he trailed off in thought. "I think I might have an answer for your problems."
"What, how to make this suit stop hurting?"
"Your suit hurts because your mind and the Force are at odds." he said uninterested. "I was merely referring to helping you acquire what you want."
"If this is about-what?" Zek stopped and cocked his head to one-side. "My mind... is at odds with the Force?" he narrowed his eyes in something akin to suspicion.
"Good heavens. It's obvious as day that they're both in contempt of the other." The Chancellor explained almost bored. "Now, as I was saying-"
"No." Zek interrupted. "You stop for a minute. How? How do I get this suit to cooperate?"
"You're thinking about it the wrong way. It's your mind that needs to cooperate with the suit. Only then will you become its master." The Chancellor finished slightly annoyed. "If you were to let me finish my sentence, I could explain all of this to you."
"Fine. I'm not going anywhere so go ahead. Bore me to death with speech."
He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, it's obvious to me that you desire revenge, it burns with you. I haven't felt such anger in a long time. While your connection to the Force itself is limited, I can feel it burning within you. I know that you desire revenge on your captors, their organizations, and return to a life of piracy." his lip curled at the last word. "All of this could be yours if you wanted, but I have a better proposition."
When Zek did not speak, he continued.
"Your anger and desire for revenge give you great power Zek but it's uncontrolled, unfocused, it's a crude and unrefined. You could certainly take your revenge as you are now, but with my help, you could be an unstoppable force. I do admit I don't see piracy as the best option for you, but if that is where you are determined to go, so be it.
His eyes fixated on the Chancellor's.
"How do you expect me to trust you?"
"Naturally I don't think that you can given the present circumstances. I'm restraining you with the Force because I want to show you the power that you can have."
"To hold people captive against their will?"
Suddenly half of his body felt limp as half the restraints disappeared and he watched as a chair suddenly was yanked from the floor into the air above and crumpled with a shriek until it was nothing but powder.
"The power to wield the force is power itself. Learn to use it, and nothing can stop you."
"Point made." Zek grunted eyeing what remained of the chair.
The other half of his invisible restraint broke and he fell to the floor.
"I'm prepared to teach you what I know Skirmisher. All you need do is to become my servant."
Zek looked up appalled.
"You think I'm going to serve you grapes and drinks all day or something? I'm out of here then!" he snapped.
He took two steps and immediately seized up. His armor bit into particularly viciously and he gave a strangled cry.
"What was that for?"
"You will need to exercise patience if you're going to learn what it takes to gain power. I did not mean to enslave you as a mere servant." Palpatine's lip curled in a sneer. "As Chancellor, possibly. As Darth Sidious, I was thinking you would make an excellent assassin."
Zek stopped resisting and looked at him, unsure.
"I've already done the assassination deal for ONI. It didn't end too well for them." he said warningly.
"They weren't interested in letting you become a pirate. You were too much of a pottential threat. They feared you." the man opposite of him pointed out.
"No, they weren't." he admitted.
"Then what have you to lose? I only require your services for a relatively short-term, but upon completion, you are more than free to take your leave and start life on your own."
"Explain then, who am I supposed to kill?"
Sidious smiled.
"That requires a little bit of an explanation."
"Shoot."
"I am both Darth Sidious, the man behind the organization and actions of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I'm also Chancellor Palpatine, the kindly, wise leader that is the face of the Republic. I've orchestrated the entire civil war that you see embroiled around us for one sole purpose."
"You've orchestrated this entire thing by yourself?"
"Well, most of it. Some people only need a nudge and they'll take predictable actions. But, yes. For all intents of purposes, I've orchestrated this war, the largest conflict in Galactic History, for one purpose and one purpose only."
Zek allowed himself to look impressed. Dax had filled him in on the story of the war thus far. For one man to orchestrate something so massive, yet keep it so deadlocked, was truly an astonishing accomplishment.
"And that purpose is?"
"The extermination of the Jedi Order and the return of Sith control to the galaxy."
"So you want me to kill a Jedi?"
"Not quite. Killing a Jedi is no small feat, I can assure you of that. I've already taken actions to put in a plan that will eliminate the Order. However, the Jedi are a persistent bunch and there will inevitably be survivors when I take action. Those survivors will eventually be your targets."
"So when do we start?" Zek grunted again. "I want out of here."
"Patience. The arrival of you and the others from beyond this galaxy has hastened the timeline a little. You'll have your mission completed soon enough. You require training that will take time to complete." he paused. "Speaking of extra-galactic beings, do you know that your former superiors have been very careful to not divulge too many details about their spheres of influence?"
"Doesn't surprise me."
"As well as it shouldn't. They fear the Republic, and do you know why?"
"Because the Republic is much larger in size than the Allied Species in turn?"
"Precisely. Your galaxy offers a multitude of things that would be extremely beneficial to any faction in this galaxy."
Pieces connected together in Zek's mind.
"So you're planning on taking over my galaxy as well?"
"Oh, it's been nothing more than idle fantasies, but let me remind you that I am accustomed to getting what I want."
The Pirate in Zek spoke for him this time. "You're terrible, you know that right?" Zek said as he cracked a grin.
"I take pleasure in it."
"So where does this leave me in my piracy?" his expression changed to concern.
"Did I not say that I had better things in mind than piracy for you?"
"Yes."
"Correct. If you fulfill this assignment, I will set you on those that you hate in your galaxy to cleanse them. Succeed in this, and you'll undoubtedly make the job of taking over much, much, easier. You would be my enforcer Zek, and you shall have everything you want."
Whether it was something in the Chancellor's words himself or not, he suddenly didn't care. A hungry light filled Zek's eyes and flooded into his body. His mind, focused on this one thought, and it yearned it, craved it, sought after it so bad he was ready to kill the Chancellor himself and everyone in his path. His mind created images in seconds of what he could have. He saw himself surrounded by wealth, by women, standing over corpses of Sangheili and Human alike. He saw himself standing over all those who had once oppressed him.
It was not a matter of question then for the fugitive pirate when Palpatine, or Sidious, or whoever he really was asked him to kneel before him and swear fealty. He would be the Sith's assassin, and he was going to have his revenge.
"I have prepared quarters for you. You'll find a droid waiting outside to escort you."
Zek rose from his feet and walked towards the door, anxious and eager to get started.
"Oh, one more thing."
He turned back.
"To prepare yourself to take out Jedi in the future, I have a list of other potential targets for you to choose from."
"Master, who else would you have me kill?"
The Chancellor smiled.
December 11th, 2559
5:35 Hours UNSC Standard Military Time/Calendar
Spartan Dormitories, S-Deck, UNSC Infinity
Spartan William Gunther
Will awoke to a gentle lurch in the ship, the kind that was usually associated with a transition to slipspace.
His eyes shot open.
"Hey, did we just jump?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Ah. The good Commander is alive after all." Hansu said from above him. "Yes we did. We had announcements ever five minutes this morning. Did you sleep through all of them?"
"Must have." he yawned.
"Well, they'll tell us soon enough. Ready for training part two?"
A small pit formed in William's stomach. It had been hinted that the training would include some of the same things from yesterday as well as some twists on it.
"I suppose. So long as we don't have to take on one of those Goblin things again."
"Amen."
Will shook the sleep from his eyes and rolled out of bed.
"Castle Team, up and at 'em. We have a long day ahead." he called out.
Ralph loudly sighed from his sprawled out position on his cot.
"No rest for the weary, eh William?"
"No rest." he agreed.
When he had roused the still sleeping members of Castle and they had all prepared themselves, they headed down once again to the Cafeteria.
"Think Shadow's still hanging around?" Elizabeth asked when they were almost to the doors.
"They better not. Let them try and pick a fight." Ralph cracked his knuckles.
"Let's just forget about them for a moment, shall we?" Asher offered as they walked through the doors.
None of Castle Team brought up the subject as they went and retrieved food.
"Where we going to sit?" Elizabeth asked after they had grabbed food.
"Doesn't matter to me. I personally think you guys should socialize with the others. That okay?"
"Making friends? You ask the impossible." Hansu quipped.
"Well, anyone of you gets jumped, make sure to holler." Ralph grunted before breaking off from them with Felix. Brittany and Elizabeth separated as well, and Chelsea stuck with Asher and William.
"Not in the mood to make friends?" Asher asked.
Chelsea looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"It's fine, stick with us."
Asher pointed out a table and they began walking over.
"Well, speak of the devil."
The three of them turned to see Fireteam Charon sitting down at a table across from them. They were unarmored and regarding the three of them with interest.
"Morning." Will nodded.
"Same to you." Felix said. He propped his feet up on the table and took a bite of some fruit. "You guys want to join us?"
William shared a quick look with Asher and Chelsea before nodding.
"Sweet. Grab a seat. Sam, move your tray."
The darker man sitting next to Felix moved his tray allowing the rest of them to set down theirs.
"I thought your name was Locus." Asher asked.
"You're right, but you're also wrong." Felix pointed out. "I guess I should do introductions. I'm Isaac and my partner over here is Samuel. Locus and Felix are just our operative names.
Locus looked up from his food revealing an x-shaped scar across his face.
"Operative names?" Chelsea asked.
"We're mercenaries." Isaac offered with a shrug. "We do our work for Police Departments, wealthy businessmen, one time we had a spiel with ONI-remember that Locus?"
The man nodded and went back to his food.
"Now we're here on board the Infinity serving as extra Spartans."
"So you're augmented then?"
"Not exactly. Long story which I'm not really in the mood to explain."
"What kind of work did you do?" Will asked changing subjects.
"Oh, taking out insurrectionist cells, infiltrating gangs, recovering hostages, bringing mob bosses to justice, the kind of work that's in between the abilities of local police forces, and too trivial for the military to get involved."
"Would you be familiar with the Strike Blades? Trip Aegis?" Will inquired.
"Nah." Isaac shook his head. "Heard of them? Sure. The merc community is relatively small so we all know each other at least by reputation. Can't say I know them personally though."
"So how long are you going to be on this ship?" Chelsea asked.
"Eh, who knows. As long as we're saving the galaxy in another galaxy, we'll be here indefinitely. Our contract is up in about six months but we'll see what happens. Enough of me, what's your story?"
"Most of it is classified." William said after he finished off a glass of juice.
"Isn't it always? You guys are different from the other Spartans though."
"Spartan III's?" Samuel spoke for the first time.
"We can't confirm or deny." Asher replied after a moment.
Felix whistled appreciatively.
"Not quite like the original ones, but you guys are close enough. That was a nice win you pulled off the other day."
"Thanks. I'm sorry it came down to the two of you." William offered apologetically.
"Water under the bridge. Can't win them all." Felix said dismissively.
"You guys did a nice job yourself yesterday, the way you infiltrated the other team's Fortress and took them all out? That was textbook." Chelsea nodded.
"It was nothing." Felix brushed off the compliment modestly. "I'm just sorry we had to beat the other Fireteams so badly." A grin formed. "The way that Grunt Goblin broke their strategy," he made an explosion like motion with his hands, "was pretty awesome. What do you think your superiors are going to have you do today?"
"More of the exercises to prove who is a true solider and who is not." Locus grunted before any of them could answer.
"Always the cynic aren't you?" Felix mumbled.
"What do you expect?" Locus retorted.
"Enough of that." Felix waved him off before turning his attention to Fireteam Castle. "How badly did Palmer chew you guys?"
"Not that bad actually." Will responded. It was the truth, but enough of it to let him keep the rest of the answer to himself.
"We've certainly been chewed out more. It was more of a warning than anything else." Chelsea said.
Felix chuckled.
"Well, you guys certainly know how to mix things up. Good job showing the others who is boss. Man, what's with those two Spartans anyways?"
"No idea. You know them for very long?" Will asked.
"Oh everybody knows them. They've just been bad news since they showed up. Sketchiest Spartans I ever knew."
"So I've heard. Where they always...this confrontational?" Chelsea piped up.
"Not really. It kinda escalated. I pity Horatio. How he can stand to tolerate both of them is on me... the man should just put them in the airlock and jettison them if you ask me. They ever mess with you, let us know."
William gave a thumbs up.
"So, you guys ready to visit Kamino?" Felix said changing topics.
"Visit where now?" Chelsea asked confused.
"Oh! Whoops. I forgot that information's not exactly public record. I overheard a conversation with the Captain to someone else. We're being deployed to Kamino for an indefinite amount of time."
"Isn't that the planet where the Clone Army is created?"
"And trained. And equipped. Sounds like Kamino's basically the heart of the Republic's army."
"An idea's why we're heading there?" Asher asked.
"Joint war-games. See how to effectively integrate our forces to fight the Separatists." Locus grunted.
All eyes went to the darker mercenary who was methodically eating his food.
"That...makes sense." Chelsea replied slowly. "Can't they use a smaller detachment though?"
"I'm guessing the Brass still want a show of force to the Republic." Felix shrugged. "Why else?"
"Well, think about it." William added. "The Infinity plays host to most of the Spartans currently stationed in this galaxy." Will added. "Think they're looking to show us off to the Republic's forces?"
Silence filled the conversation.
"Can we do something other than show off for the Republic, please? It looks bad." Asher grumbled. "The last thing we want to do is give them ideas on making their own super soldiers. I'd rather preserve a tactical advantage."
"Suit yourself." Felix shrugged. "I personally want to show these Clones how to get **** done."
"They're not incompetent you know." Locus grumbled.
"Yeah, but let's face it. They still die way too easily. They're well trained cannon-fodder." Felix snorted.
The PA system suddenly crackled to life and their eyes diverted to the speakers in the ceiling.
"Fireteam Castle is requested on the Bridge. Fireteam Castle, please report to the Bridge. Thank you."
Will's frowned in confusion. His gaze fell from the loudspeaker to Felix with a half-smirk on his face.
"The **** you guys do this time?" he asked amused.
"No idea." Will muttered. He was finished with his food and proceeded to gather up his tray.
"Can I take anything for you?" he offered to Felix.
"I'm good. Thanks. Good luck to your team." Felix offered hopefully.
"Have a good morning Charon." Asher replied before turning to William. "Four and I will go ahead and round up everyone."
"I'll take your trays then." William said. Within a matter of seconds he had balanced the three trays together.
"Thanks." Asher nodded before she and Chelsea stood up and split up to gather the team.
When he returned from depositing their trays, the others had already been gathered. William saw a couple of Spartans carrying their trays for them and they gave nods in support. William made a mental note to remember to thank Fireteam Ivy before taking the lead and leading them to the Bridge.
"Any ideas what we did this time?" Ralph grunted.
"No idea. Can we go back? I was really enjoying that doughnut until Roland had to rain on our parade." Hansu muttered mutinously.
"I heard that Castle Three." Roland chimed in from above.
Hansu looked surprised before the rest of Castle started chuckling.
"Do you feel the need to compulsively spy on us Roland?"
"I didn't spy on you!" Roland replied offended, as if the mere suggestion had sent tremors throughout his processing.
"Oh, so what were you doing?" Hansu demanded.
"Monitoring your progress."
"So you were spying!" Hansu proclaimed triumphantly turning several heads from sailors walking by.
"No. It wasn't spying." He shot back.
"Roland, come on. You have eyes and ears all over this ship. I'm pretty sure that counts as spying."
"And I hear what I hear. Don't make me hack into the pension database and erase your records." Roland said warnigly.
"Wait, we have pensions?" Elizabeth spoke up before Hansu could fire off a retort. "When did this happen?"
"While you were on ice. Speaking of pensions the UNSC currently offers a multitude of finnancial planning classes. The next one is next Tuesday at-"
"Thanks Roland. When I need to do my taxes, I'll be sure to come to you-"
"Oh shut up Hansu." Elizabeth said bluntly. "Roland, what kind of benefits do we have?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that in an open hallway, but I can tell you they owe you a lot and more plus interest."
"Oh that's awesome! Thank you Roland!" Elizabeth beamed.
"My pleasure Castle Five. As for you, Castle Three, I hope your gun jams in Firefight today."
Hansu's mouth dropped open and he gesticulated wildly to the ceiling. They had all stopped moving now because Ralph was doubled over in fits of silent laughter and leaning on a bulkhead for support.
"Keep doing that so I can record it and upload it to the ship's Grapevine account."
"What? No. Noooo." he shook his head. "You wouldn't dare!" Hansu said nervously.
"I would." Roland said. William couldn't tell whether he was serious or not.
"Roland, I'm pretty sure that's a breach of ethics." Will pointed out through his own thinly restrained attempt at controlling his laughter.
"Just tell him to give me an apology-"
"I'm not giving him an apology."
"Please?"
"No."
"With a SRS99-S5 AM on top?"
"Tempting...but no."
"You're so ungrateful."
"Shove it Siri."
"Alright that's a low blow. You dare to compare me to that 'intelligent assistant'?"
"Shall I call you Alexis instead?"
Alright alright, you don't need to apologize... geez you're wound up tight." Roland said trying to ease the Spartan. "Might I suggest-"
"No. I just want my doughnut and I want it now."
"Shall I have it brought up to the Bridge?"
"Oh come one Hansu. Best not to be late." William said prodding the rest of his team on.
"Yes Roland, I want that doughnut. It was a cream filled doughnut."
"The one covered in chocolate glaze?"
"That's it."
"Castle Three. Move your feet now." William said glancing at the watch on his wrist.
Hansu complied and after several more minutes of walking they came to the bridge.
The ODST's standing guard parted in front of the doors and the door slid open.
The bridge wasn't incredibly busy so it wasn't hard to pick out the Captain as they proceeded inside single file. William spied Captain Lasky hunched over the holodeck.
"Captain Lasky. Fireteam Castle reporting as ordered sir."
The Captain looked up.
"Good morning. Thank you for joining so quickly. At ease Spartans; come here.
He proceeded over to a Terminal meant for AI storage. The door behind them opened and Commander Palmer proceeded inside followed by Dr. Halsey by Dr. Halsey and another scientist.
"Dr. Glassman, Dr. Halsey, Sarah, good morning. Sarah, do you want to explain to Fireteam Castle why they're here?"
"Sure Captain." she nodded once and turned to the eight Spartan III's.
"Okay Castle. As you can tell, there's a reason why you've been called here to the bridge. It was brought to our attention by Doctor Halsey that your team was routinely sent on missions deep behind enemy lines, sometimes with limited intelligence."
"Correct." William said. He wondered where this conversation was going.
"The Brass want to start upping our involvement and so that we can achieve our goals in this galaxy before we pull out. This means more extensive deployment of existing Spartan and Special Warfare Teams. We're currently en-route to Kamino, the home-world of the Clone Army so that we can more effectively integrate our forces together. As ammunition for standard issue firearms is...difficult to procure out here, we're going to begin the process of training our soldiers how to use Republic weaponry in limited amounts. Once these war games are over, you are going to be deployed, much in the same manner as you were before." Lasky added.
"However, the Brass has determined that previous policy in regards to your deployment is to be modified. Since you technically remain Special Warfare Team Castle, Section III has seen fit to commission an AI for your team to help you in completing your missions more effectively and quickly." Palmer finished.
William shared a quick look with the others. The conversation they had two days ago came pushed his way to the front of his memory.
"Doctor Halsey?" Palmer gestured.
Halsey stepped forward with an AI chip in hand.
"A word please before I introduce you to her. This AI is effectively assigned to you and should be considered and treated as a fellow teammate. She is to remain with your team always. Section III is willing to give this fifth generation AI to you on condition that you keep her secure at all times. Per Cole Protocol, capture of this AI is to be avoided at all cost. Abuse of this AI or activities that are contrary to UNSC regulation will result in the immediate confiscation of your AI and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. I'm sure you're all aware of the rest of the regulations?"
"Yes ma'am." Castle responded.
"Good. I hate reading disclaimers, it's time for introductions."
She inserted the chip into the terminal and a woman dressed in a light jacket, cargo pants, scarf, and flowing red hair burst into life on the pedestal.
"Fireteam Castle, meet Freya."
Freya blushed slightly and waved.
"Hello." she replied in a voice that had a slight Scandinavian accent. "I am Freya, Service Number FYA-5251-5 Fifth Generation Smart-AI assigned to Fireteam Castle. It's a pleasure to meet you.
"Likewise." William responded.
"Well hello there." Roland suddenly flared to life on a nearby holodeck. "I'm Roland, Ship's AI and happy to meet your acquaintance. F.I.L.S.S. and Jeff aren't really the talkative kind of people, but if you ever want-"
"Roland, you'll have plenty of time for introductions later." Lasky said with a hint of amusement. "I need to get through this meeting first."
"Yes Captain..." he sighed disappointed before he disappeared in a flash.
"Should I be concerned?" Freya asked politely.
"No. Roland just doesn't have anybody to talk to."
"I see."
Lasky cleared his throat and turned to William.
"As Fireteam Leader you are responsible for being her courier unless you specifically make the assignment to someone else on your team. Is that understood?"
"Understood." William nodded.
"Good. Now, a matter about your armor. Dr. Glassman?"
The other scientist perked up suddenly.
"Oh, uh, good morning Spartans."
"Good morning." Castle responded in unison which made the Doctor take a step back nervously.
"Uh, so, your armor came through last night. I had the Chief Technician prioritize it's processing and inspection and I'm happy to report it's all ready for you on the S-Deck. Infinity's science department six months ago installed a small lab devoted to the development and installation of attachments, plugins, software packages, and firmware upgrades for MJOLNIR armor. Should you ever think of things that need to be developed, please come down to the science wing and give us your request. We can't guarantee how long the process will take, but you'll be the first to field test items, should you so choose."
"Awesome!" Felix spoke up. "Hey, Doc, am I allowed to visit sometime in the future and just tinker away?"
"Uh, well, the lab doesn't really allow those who aren't-"
"I'm cleared for Tier-Two access to materials and tools."
"Doctor, I can verify Castle Seven's claims." Freya chimed in from the pedestal. He technically has the proper credentials."
Felix looked to the AI gratefully.
"I'll think about it." Glassman said after a moment. "That's all I have for you guys. Captain?"
"Thanks Glassman. Alright Spartans. Get your armor and prep for today's exercises. I hear Red Team is going to push you guys again today. This will be your first test-run with Freya. We'll be watching you. Make us proud."
"Sir yes sir." Castle replied snapping to a crisp salute.
"Dismissed." he replied before removing the chip and handing it to William.
William took it carefully in his hand and placed it inside a pouch located on the waist of his pants before nodding with his head and filing out of the bridge.
They waited until the doors were closed before anyone spoke up.
"That was easy." Chelsea gestured towards the chip in his pocket.
"Guess you got your wish William." Elizabeth grinned.
"Yeah. Didn't even have to ask."
"And we got armor too! Oh man, I can't wait to show you guys the suit I got."
"We'll need to change first." Brittany observed.
"Back to quarters." William ordered.
They retraced their steps back through the mess hall, back through to the armor bay of the S-Deck. When they had all donned their bodysuits over their inner skinsuits, they stepped back into the armor bay. William caught sight of numerous crates lining the railing next to their station.
"You guys Fireteam Castle?" one of the technicians asked?
"We are." Asher replied. "How can we help?"
"Your armor shipment came in. Your lucky logistics had these on hand or you would have been waiting another few days. Your current armor will be stored as backup in case your new armor suffers catastrophic failure. If you may all step up to the machines and place your feet inside the molds, we can begin."
William took Freya's chip (which he had removed from his pocket) and placed her in a pedastal nearby.
"About time. I was beginning to think you guys had forgotten about me." she quipped.
"She yours?" one of the technicians asked.
"She is now." William nodded.
He stepped into the ring and placed his feet into the clearly defined mold.
"Alright. Hold still." his technician informed him.
William, having already done this procedure before, took a hold of two handholds on either side and gripped them tightly and the machine began to whir and hum. His boots were attached and sealed, followed by his new armor to his arm and the pauldrons on each shoulder. The machine twisted upwards and his legs were sealed followed by armor to his abdomen. The machine lowered and he felt the helmet slip on. In a moment, it winked on and did some preliminary diagnostics before his HUD burst to life as it synced to his neural interface. Another moment had his energy shields flare to life and online. The machine finished and retreated away from its work as he stepped out.
"Looking sharp! That'll scare the **** out of your enemies!" the technician manning his station grinned.
William nodded in thanks and retrieved Freya, inserting the chip into the slot in the back of his Intruder Class Armor. He registered the sensation of cold mercury and felt an additional presence join his mind.
"Your physical architecture resembles the Infinity." Freya remarked fascinated.
"Don't get any funny ideas." Will said as he felt the AI probe around a little bit.
"Right. Sorry. Wow, never thought there would be so much space inside a helmet. Granted, it's not as roomy like the Infinity, but I think we'll get along just fine."
"Fantastic. Are you acquainted with the suit's systems and such now?"
"I am. I'm currently creating a tutorial mode for you and your VISR system. You choose a pretty complex piece of architecture to put in your helmet. Why'd you pick it? There's so many color combinations you could have chosen."
"Precisely those reasons. The Midnight variation offered the same options as others, just in a more complex setting. As far as color? You can have it in any color, so long as it's black."
"Alright Mr. Ford. I want to see what the others are wearing. Do I have your permission to monitor their vitals Commander?"
"You do. As far as I'm concerned, you're serving as battlefield support and logistics among other things. I need to make decisions based on what my team is capable of doing. Don't call me Commander either. You're inside my head so you might as well call me William or Will."
A tiny identification flicked to life in the corner of his screen. William B-317 as well as tiny monitors in the bottom right corner with current oxygen levels, blood pressure, and
The moment he saw these words the roster flicked to life with the names and numbers of the other seven Spartans. Scrolling through he was able to monitor their vitals, monitor their vitals status, and see recommendations based on Freya's input.
"Good enough?"
"Perfect."
The first thing he noticed was how much lighter his armor was in comparison to his previous Gen 1 suit.
"If you're wondering why it's so light, the second generation of MJOLNIR brought with it significant changes in weight distribution and construction and it moves a little bit more with you."
"Does it protect me better?"
"Scans would indicate yes."
"Huh. So score one for science?"
"Score one for science." Freya agreed.
He turned around at the end of the deck and watched as Hansu stepped forward in an olive-brown outfit that looked to be tailored to his skills as a sniper. This must be the Deadeye suit that he talked about. Elizabeth stepped out next in a gray suit with blue accents. Freya tagged the suit as Enforcer class. Chelsea was next. Her armor wasn't any different except for a different colored VISR. Freya tagged this simply as Burgundian. Felix stepped off equipped in a orange sui with white and blue accents. William had seen this before, it was a variant catered to the needs and desires of Combat Engineers. Freya filled in the blank with Engineer. Brittany stepped off her machine in an olive-green suit with a Mark V helmet. The main difference was in her body armor. Freya tagged Warrior. Ralph was the penultimate Spartan to step off his machine. He was heavily armored from head to toe and he looked intimidating. He wore an orangne-ish tan but supplemented it with gold coloration.
He looked to Asher and watched in puzzlement as the Technicians went about the process reverently.
When they stopped crowding her and stepped aside, he watched as Asher stepped forward in a near perfect replica of her suit from years ago. There was minor differences in aesthetics, but she looked every bit the Spartan he remembered from Reach.
"Decimator class armor? Imagine how much paperwork that must have taken. Someone really wanted her to get that armor if that request was only sent out days ago." Freya mused.
"Asher? You okay?" William said opening a private link.
"Yeah, I guess they're nerding out over being able to handle this armor up close and personal."
"It suits you well." William said before closing the connection.
"Apparently the other armor I ordered is here, but I requires extensive synchronization with the user."
"Well I think you look ready to kill either way." Elizabeth nodded.
"There you go Spartans. Good luck today!" the Technicians said when they were finished.
"Comm check." William called out as soon as they were gone. "Lead."
"Two." Asher responded crisply.
"Three."
"Four."
They continued until they reached Brittany.
"Alright guys. We still have time before we need to report to War Games. Let's go gear up."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Freya asked.
William mentally slapped himself in embarrassment.
"Yes...Freya?"
"Present and accounted for."
"Dude, that's so cool." Felix looked towards William.
"Want to see something cooler? Because we're all on a team, I can jump between our neural interfaces so long as they're within a 40 meter radius."
"Nuh uh!" Felix gaped. "That's not possible is it?"
"Can I show them?" Freya asked over William's neural lace.
"Go ahead."
William felt something shift in the back of his brain and the mercury feeling left leaving residual traces of cold. William suspected that was due to the chip still in the slot of his helmet. Felix suddenly jolted in surprise.
"Oh crap! What is that?" he said clutching the back of his helmet.
"Who do you think this is?" Freya replied amused.
"Oh gosh, she's in my head!" Felix exclaimed. "How are you in my head? This is so weird!"
"Hey, jump to me for a second." Brittany asked.
Felix gave another start which was transferred to Brittany in a moment.
She startled for a second. "Woah! That's just weird."
"Jump to me!" Elizabeth called out.
Another shudder passed from Brittany to Elizabeth.
"Oh this is awesome! Science for the win!"
"I can do more. Here, Will, can you remove your chip?"
"Uh...sure?"
He did so and the mercury feeling disappeared. Only to reappear in full within a moment.
"Did you just jump to my head?" he questioned the AI.
"I did. It's not as easy as it sounds, but it's possible."
The feeling left again and this time the card suddenly winked blue.
"And now I'm inside the storage chip." she announced proudly.
William inserted the chip back into his head again.
"Cool magic trick, but do you plan on jumping all the time between us?"
"Not unless I need to or you order me to. It's a little taxing on my processes. Sound good?"
"Sounds good. Alright Castle, fall out. Let's gear up."
Serenno, Citadel of House Dooku
Count Dooku
20:56 Hours Local Time
From deep within a meditation chamber a chime rang out.
"My Lord Count, transmission from Coruscant." a servant droid informed the Sith Lord from his position in the corner.
The Count rose and stepped towards the holo-projector. A code was typed into a keypad and the fizzling blue hologram of his master appeared before him.
"My Lord." he bowed on one knee.
"Rise Tyrannus." Sidious gestured.
He did so smoothing his cape back into place.
"What is thy bidding?"
"I have obtained a set of coordinates you may find to be of some use. Prepare a fleet and send them to the coordinates provided. If our plan is to be successful, we need to have one less enemy to deal with. I have also forseen conflict with the planet Umbara. It is currently under Republic control but it will shortly abandon the Republic for the Confederacy. Mobilize a portion of your fleets and send it to Umbara. You'll know when the time is right. It does not matter whether it stays in Republic or Separatist hands, but it must be reinforced if we are to prolong the conflict. Send Grievous to reinforce the planet. His failure to prevent major damage to the Malevolence is most displeasing. He must work to prove himself capable again of controlling such a powerful weapon."
"It will be done my Lord."
"There is another matter my apprentice. What news do you have of your assassin?"
"She's engaged currently on the front lines but I'm currently out of contact with our forces there. She was wounded during an encounter with the barbarous outsiders but has since recovered. I assure you she remains skilled and efficient."
"While her retreat is embarrassing for someone of her skill, I have sensed that she has grown powerful."
"Yes my Lord, her power makes her strong." Dooku said with a small degree of pride.
"Too strong." Sidious' lip curled.
"What?" Dooku questioned wondering where this conversation was going. "Master-"
"Silence." Sidious ordered and Dooku's protest stopped. "I would hate to think that you're training your own apprentice to destroy me."
"Never!" his brow furled and his face grew stern. "My Lord, my allegiance has always been to you!" he affirmed solemnly.
"Then you must prove it." Sidious' eyes bored into Dooku's with intensity.
"Eliminate her." he said with such malice that for a moment Dooku had wondered whether he had heard the words correctly.
"But, she's my most trusted-"
"I. Said. Eliminate her!"
But why?
Dooku's mind raced. He had brought up the assassin and trained her for years. She had served faithfully without complaint. And now Sidious was asking him to throw away years of work and effort?
Almost as fast as that had come into his thoughts, he knew his Master was right. She was growing ever powerful. She could pose a threat to the system that he and Sidious had spent so long trying to create. A threat of her magnitude could set back their designs if she was ever captured and broken by the Jedi.
Dooku realized a moment later that, although he would never admit it aloud, that there was an attachment there. Sidious had made it clear that, while attachments weren't forbidden by the Dark Side, they sometimes proved more of a distraction than was good.
And so, the Political Figurehead of the Confederacy hardened his brow and bowed his head.
"It will be done my Lord." he nodded gravely.
The connection fizzled out and Tyrannus was feeling a small amount of regret that there could be no other outcome.
When she died, he hoped it would be quick.
RSS Resolute, in hyperspace enroute to Kamino
Senior Officer Barracks
ARC-0408 "Echo".
The door slid open and Echo looked up from his holo-pad.
"Called it." Fives rolled his eyes as he stepped through the threshold.
"Where else would I be?" he asked, slightly annoyed that his comrade had interrupted his reading.
"Not the Bridge. General's been trying to raise you on your comlink." Fives answered bringing General Skywalker and Tano into view behind him.
"Sir!" he said standing up and saluting so fast the pad clattered to the floor with a crash.
He dared to make eye contact for a moment and he decided he wasn't in trouble, the General seemed more intrigued than anything else.
"At ease solider. What were you reading?"
"What I could on the UNSC...sir. You have my full apologies for not being on the Bridge. I accept any and all trouble my-"
"You know Echo, he means at ease." Ahsoka quipped.
"Right...sorry sir."
"Well, you're right. Being late isn't very professional so we'll have to punish you somehow, I was thinking perhaps volunteering the pair of you to serve as part of a series of joint exercises with the UNSC would be punishment enough."
"That doesn't sound-" he stopped himself. The General was taking it easy on him for sure.
"What he means to say is that we would be proud to represent the Republic. What role will we be playing?" Fives finished his sentence for him.
"Unknown as of now, I've been told that we're both going to be on and off the field so we'll have to figure that out."
"We're? You two are participating?"
"We are. Master Ti is the brainchild of the operation at the moment. She thinks doing both will give us both the front-line and observational perspective needed to mesh two armies together. Which is where you come in. You and Fives have some experience working with the UNSC and the Swords of Sangheilios, correct?"
"More the UNSC than anything else. Calling it experience is pushing the definition of the word slightly, but I think I can help."
"Good. Master Ti wants a list of basic recommendations from you on how we might better integrate with them. There's obviously some challenges that need to be figured out. I'll have some forward you on the report so you can add your own recommendations to it."
Echo stiffled a grin. Skywalker was offering him a chance to something he didn't get to do very often, make the rules."
So he nodded firmly and saluted.
"You have our thanks." he turned to leave with his apprentice close behind him.
"Oh, by the way, there's another meeting in two hours. Please don't miss this one."
"I won't General."
Skywalker nodded and the door closed leaving Fives with him.
"Thanks for bailing me out." he nodded.
"No problem. What you trying to read on there anways besides UNSC stuff?"
"I want to know more about the Spartans."
"Well, join the club of people who want to but can't because 'it's classified.'" Fives said sitting on the bunk opposite. "Didn't we have this conversation before?"
"Yes and no. We kinda skirted the subject."
"Do you think we'll actually have to fight the Spartans?"
"Uh, it depends. If we actually do pit us against them in training, it would provide us an idea of how to cover their weaknesses and use their strengths, would it not?"
"Sure. You're the thinker out of the two of us so whatever you say."
"You know we're not supposed to just go along with whatever-"
"I know." Fives said defensively. "Still, what do you make of the Spartans?"
"Part man, part machine." Echo said after a moment.
"What, like Grievous?"
"No, no, no." Echo said quickly. "Not like the Head Clanker himself. Grievous is machine with organic parts keeping him alive. Here's a question for you Fives."
"Yeah?" he asked hesitantly.
"You ever think that we're machines sometimes?"
"What is it with you and these deep questions? Were you ever given a philosophy course?"
"Must have been the growth jar."
"And here I was thinking you were the logical and rational one."
"I am! It just allows me to escape the rules sometimes."
Fives snorted. "Never thought I'd hear you say that one before."
"Oh come on, you've ever heard me say stuff like that."
"Okay okay. Fine. Sure, I guess when you think about it, we're all kind of like machines, we're bred for war much like the Seppies construct their droids in their foundaries. But, we're not machines Echo. I mean, we follow orders, but we have a degree of freedom that they don't possess. We're all human...right?"
"Still working on that one. If you ask me though, some of the Spartans remind me of machines. Machine like efficiency, machine like actions, you think they're human?"
"Of course they are. I mean, we know that much is public knowledge."
"No, well, I mean sure. At the end of the day they have bodies like us, but do you think they're actually human? They fought a losing war for a **** long time." Echo's brow crinkled in thought. "Kinda makes you wonder whether maybe it snuffed it out, having to go through defeat after defeat."
"I don't know."
"Well, Fives, it begs another question. What happens when we cross that point? Is there a limit to where we suddenly become like the droids we spend our lives trying to destroy? I mean, what good is a soldier if he doesn't have a shred of humanity in him."
Fives sat back and looked uneasy.
"I don't know. At least we have a choice. All the clankers can do is move and shoot without regard for who or what they shoot. Our ability to choose makes all the difference right?"
"Well, even we don't have unlimited freedom. We're bred for war. We're soldiers from birth. I don't think retiring exists in our vocabulary."
"Too true. By that logic then, I think the Spartans match that description pretty well. I'm still not looking forward to fighting them if that's what ends up happening. I feel like that could go wrong very very quickly."
Echo picked up his data-pad, scrolled through until he found the report mentioned by Skywalker and started scrolling.
"We'll see."
It's great to be back! Upcoming will be a couple chapters before we descend into our next major arc. AI's, Assassinations, and Armor. Speaking of which, head on over to my profile and look at the character bio's. You'll understand why upon further examintion.
Freya will get a feature to herself in the next chapter just to introduce her a little bit more. I hope you all are ready for what's about to go down in future chapters. Finally, before all of you complain that I'm removing Ventress from the equation too fast after only giving her a small amount of screentime, calm yourself.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions on who you want to see? I want to start having more dialogue with my audience so feel free to review or send me a PM.
Yours in writing,
theotherpianist