Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo/Star Wars redux's short story collection.

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I appreciate it.

For those of you that wanted to see some more action, as well as the grittier side of the Battle of Despatar, this is the chapter for you. Chronologically speaking, it takes place between the newest main story chapter and the next one.

Either way, thank you for your feedback, and I hope to receive your support as the story progresses.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star Wars franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilms, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers, producers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to its original composers and/or artists.


Genarius

Despatar, Outer Limits

August 4th, 0BBY, 1900 Hrs (March 15th, 2559, 1900 Hrs)

If there is one sound that'll haunt me to the end of my days, it is the screams of the dying, Lucas Browning thought as he began checking the patients that were quickly coming into the field triage. Two medics burst through the door of the building they were using for triage. In their hands was a stretcher, upon which lay a badly wounded Marine. The man's howls of agony filled the room like a megaphone at a stadium.

"Got another one!" one of the medics shouted. "Need a triage unit to look at him!"

"Coming over now!" Browning shouted. Running over as the medics set the Marine down, he quickly began examining the man's wounds. More than a few charred craters were present in the man's armor, and in a few spots, Browning thought he smelled the scent of burning flesh. Pulling the man's armor off, he confirmed his suspicions.

"How bad is it?" one of the medics asked.

"He needs to head to immediate treatment immediately!" Browning said. "Get him onto the first Pelican to the Infinity, now! Any later and he'll die!" Using the small datapad he kept with him, he immediately changed the man's status from green to red. The medics quickly hauled the screaming man out on the stretcher they brought him in.

Moving to another part of the warehouse they were in, Lucas began checking over each of the wounded soldiers in the building. Those that were less seriously injured were lying on beds while field surgeons worked on them. The more seriously injured were placed onto stretchers, with some stretchers having spinal boards. Around the wounded, Human, Sangheili, Kig-Yar and Unggoy medics and surgeons did what they could to tend to the wounded and their injuries.

Shifting his grip on the datapad, Browning walked over to a few marines that were lying down. One of them, a woman that had lost her right arm above the elbow, asked, "Am I gonna be OK, doc?" Her voice was shaky, an effect of being on multiple painkillers.

Browning picked up a medical scanner, switched it on. "I don't think so," he said. "Aside from the obvious blaster injuries that you've got, you've lost your right arm and your left leg is badly damaged."

The woman frowned. "How bad is it? Be honest with me, doc."

Browning sighed. I hate having to lie to my patients, but I also hate being dishonest to them. "If I'm being honest, it doesn't look good. We might have to amputate it here."

The woman sighed. "Well… if that's what needs to be done…" Pulling up her pants leg with her one good hand, she said, "Well, have them come over and get it done. I had a feeling my leg was pretty badly fucked up when that grenade exploded."

"Would you like anesthetics for when we…"

The Army Trooper frowned. "No," she said. "I want to feel it, so that it serves as a reminder as to what I lost and to be more careful. Besides, the nerve endings in there are pretty badly fucked up, so no point in doing so."

Browning sighed, then nodded. "All right. If that's how you wish to do it, then so be it. I'll do what I can to salvage the leg below the knee." Whistling loudly, he said, "I need a tourniquet, two packs of blood and plasma, and a bonesaw! Gotta perform an amputation!"

"I have one here," a Sangheili said. She picked up an ornate looking object on a nearby tray. When she activated it, a thin plasma beam emerged. "It'll do the trick, and it'll cauterize the wound, so no need for a tourniquet."

"Well, let's get one on, just to be safe." Two more medics came over. One of them placed a bucket beneath the woman's shredded leg, while also taking out a few hemostats as the other took a loop of black, fabric-like material and looped it around the trooper's leg. Tightening the velcro strap, he secured it, then twisted a short, straight metal pole built into the tourniquet before securing it. A third doctor quickly performed an IV, while attaching two bags of blood and plasma to an IV tube. "No distal pulse," Lucas reported. "We're ready."

The Sangheili nurse nodded. Turning the plasma blade up to its full intensity, she slowly, but smoothly, brought the blade down onto the portion of leg they were amputating. The Army Trooper groaned loudly, her eyes squeezing shut as she fought through the pain. To her credit, she barely moved throughout the entire operation. Before long, her lower right leg dropped off below the knee and into the metal pan with a muted thump.

Seeing bleeding coming from part of the stump, the other medic tightened the tourniquet slightly, while the other quickly applied hemostat bandages and gel to the wound. Soon, the bleeding stopped in its entirety. Patting the woman on her head, Browning said, "You did good. Once this wound heals up, I'll see if I can get you onto the waiting list for a prosthetic. We might even be able to get you a cloned limb."

The Army Trooper nodded. "That would be nice, doc. Thanks."

Browning smiled. "Any time," he said at length…

By the time it was 1900 hours, Browning was yawning loudly. I'm so damn spent, he thought, but the work never stops being unfinished. A low groan came from him as he looked towards the entrance. Several more Marines and Army Troopers had been brought into the triage station. "Jason, you've got this shift," he said.

"You got it," Jason, another medic, said. Heading to the back room, Lucas sat down on a nearby couch. He rubbed at his face/ Stubble scratched along his cheek, and he could feel drowsiness coming on.

Something else sat down next to him. Looking up, he could see the female Sangheili from earlier doing exactly what he was doing. "Tired too, eh?" he asked.

"Yep," the Sangheili said. "Some things never change."

"Yeah. I can agree with that. By the way, I never did get your name. I'm Lucas Browning. You?"

"Thalia 'Tsalam," the Sangheili said.

"I usually don't see a lot of Sangheili medics. From what I recall, most Sangheili see medical work out in the field as something dishonorable. Why did you become a medic?"

Thalia looked at him with tired brown eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Browning shrugged. "Just curious is all. I meant no offense."

Thalia smiled tiredly. "None taken, Browning. In fact, it's a question that I hear a lot from many fellow Sangheili. You're also right in that most believe that most of the battlefield medical professions are dishonorable. Many believe that the only way one should shed blood is in the field of battle, in order to preserve their so-called 'honor.'"

"Why is that?" Browning asked.

"It's because of an ancient belief that a Sangheili's blood is his essence, which is synonymous to their honor."

"So to spill one's blood…" Browning said.

"Is to spill one's honor," Thalia finished. "It is why doctors and medics such as I are seen as the lowest members of society, as we make other Sangheili bleed without 'honor.'" She spat on the ground. "As if they know what the meaning of 'honor' truly is. Odious, stuck up pala'ke are what they really are."

"Then why become a combat medic or field surgeon? No offense intended."

"None taken," Thalia said. "As for why…? Well, it's quite simple really. When we were once part of the Covenant, we could survive with that old belief, especially since we had aliens like the Huragok to heal our wounds. This meant that those that held that useless belief were able to dictate how our warriors were to be treated on the field of battle.

"Now however, things are changing. We can no longer afford to follow the old ways, as they often result in our warriors dying for no reason. The ones that believe in the old ways are satisfied, but they are a rapidly dwindling number. In this new and strange galaxy, the Arbiter's path is the one we need to follow. We must change if we are to survive, otherwise we will be come stagnant, and then our society will die the same way the Covenant did."

Browning nodded. "That's pretty wise," he said. "I was asking more about you, though. Why did you become a field surgeon?"

Thalia frowned, then shrugged. "It happened a few of your years ago, around the year 2554 on your calendar. At that time, I was just like every other Sangheili on the planet: headstrong, courageous to the point of foolishness, fully drunk on feelings of invincibility… Then an accident happened that forever changed my life."

"What kind of accident?"

Thalia frowned, then she began undoing the upper parts of her Combat Harness. "Would you be willing to help?" she asked. Browning made sure the door was closed, then moved closer, helping her remove the armored parts of her armor. Once they were removed, he helped her remove her combat harness down to her waist.

First time I've seen a Sngheili without their armor, he noted. With the Tech Suit, he could see muted brown scales that covered Thalia's skin. Strong muscles rippled under her flesh, but he noted that they weren't nearly as obvious as that of male Sangheili. Two breasts bulged from her chest, a thin, leather-like material covering them to give her some modesty.

Then he saw why she had removed her tech suit up to her upper waist. While one of her arms was a fully organic arm, the other was completely robotic. Beautiful purple, segmented nanolaminate armor plates covered what he realized were strips of dark blue artificial muscles that flexed and relaxed whenever Thalia moved her arm. Two thumbs and four fingers were on the robotic hand that had, until now, been hidden under the tech-suit.

He looked at her intently. "You lost your arm?" he said. "How did that happen?"

Thalia sighed as Browning helped her put her Tech Suit, and armor plating, back on. "I was playing near the shores to one of Sangheilios' oceans," she said. "My father and mother had strictly warned me never to go there, as my father had a bad experience with the local fauna. My fellow siblings and I didn't listen, and we regularly played there. As fate would have it, we were about to learn why we were no to do so."

"So what happened?"

"A leval'thorek happened," Thalia said. "I was about to go for a swim when it burst out of the water. If I had to use your homeworld's fauna to describe how it looked, think of a cross between a shark and a crab. It saw me and, due to my small size compared to the males, it thought I was easy prey, so it charged and bit down on my right arm.

She shivered as the memories traveled through her mind. "The pain was… unimaginable. It felt like my entire arm was melting into molten lava while leaving the nerve endings intact. I screamed… I screamed louder than I ever had in my entire life as the leval'thorek began tearing my arm off. One of my friends, Borusor, may the gods bless him, ran over and began attacking the thing's eyes. It backed off then, but I had lost my hand and part of my lower arm. My upper arm and elbow were nearly fully ripped apart.

"When we reached the nearby hospital, I was fading in and out of consciousness. My mother and uncle were angry, but it was because they were terrified that I was going to die. According to the doctors, my hearts stopped four times during the operation to stop the bleeding. They went through eight packs of blood to save my life. In fact, when I was beginning to fade out of consciousness, I began to wonder if it was my time to die."

"What saved you from dying?" Browning asked. "How did you make it?"

"I realized I had a choice to make," Thalia said. "I could either give up and allow my spirit to fade into the void, or I could hang on to whatever life I had and do what I could to survive. I chose the latter, as you can see."

"How long did it take for you to recover?"

"Three weeks," Thalia said. "Three weeks were I had to endure the most agonizing pain of my life. My family, however, was with me every step of the way. I can still see the pain in my uncle's eyes, the terror and shame; I can even remember where the tears from his eyes fell when he weeped for what I had lost. My mother was also as terrified, and she wept more openly than he did.

"Eventually, when I had recovered, a pair of Sangheili and a Huragok approached me with a cybernetic limb that they had crafted. Ended up amputating the rest of my arm, and removing a few of my ribs to install the prosthetic, but while I was laying in bed recovering from that operation, I realized that the gods were pointing me to where I needed to go. I could no longer serve as a warrioress on the field, but I could use my talents to heal the injured, the sick and to comfort the dying."

"That can't have been easy."

"It wasn't," Thalia agreed. "Some males thought I needed to remain home, while others tried to… entice me into sleeping with them. My uncle and mother, however, encouraged me every step of the way. After I became a field surgeon, my uncle revealed to me that he was my father, but he told me that he was deeply proud of what I had accomplished, that I was one of the new Sangheili that would guide our species to the future. Since then, I've been doing what I've been called to do: heal the injured and comfort the dying."

Browning smiled. "I see. In that case, you should be proud of yourself. You've done something that most Sangheili believed was impossible, and you've thrived as a result."

Thalia returned his smile. "I thank you for your kind words. Now, we must go and sleep. I believe that, when tomorrow comes, we will need all the strength we can muster to make it through the day."

"Amen to that," Browning said as he moved to the door.

. . .

Out in the field, similar bonds of brotherhood were being tested. Once more unto the breach, Krakovski thought, eyes scanning the neighborhood for any signs of trouble. Nearby, eight Army Troopers scanned the area alongside him.

These pirates must really like this place, enough that they will kill to keep it, he thought. Ever since the invasion had begun, the pirates had tried to draw it out into as long of an engagement as possible. Now, here we are, fighting in the dark with night vision equipment. Some wars really don't change from the looks of it.

His gaze was drawn towards the skyline of the city. The battle was still raging, even in the sky, as tracer rounds and blaster bolts filled the air like confetti up in the sky. Occasionally, he could see tracer fire from other Marine and Army units flying through the air, with the most activity happening near the front lines. For a moment, he allowed himself to become fixated on the sight.

Sergeant Miller, one of the Army soldiers, came up to him. His normally black and gray armor was now a muted cyan thanks to the white phosphor the NVGs used. "Krakovksi, you doing all right?" he asked. "You zoned out for a moment."

Krakovski shook his head, then looked at Miller. "Да, I'm fine," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"We've just got new orders," Miller said. "According to one of the AIs, there's been an uptick in pirate chatter near our current location. From what we can tell, they're talking in code, and some of the pirates we captured last time were willing to explain to us what they were saying."

"And?"

"We think they might have a cache of explosives that they plan to use to kill Marine forces closer to the center of the city," Miller said. "There are rumors, though unsubstantiated ones, that they might be more powerful than your typical explosives. Speakman's subordinates want us to check it out if we can."

Krasnikov nodded. "All right. If that's what our orders are, then let's get to carrying them out. Squad, on me! We're heading out!" The Army troopers quickly made sure their weapons were ready, then they moved out.

As they proceeded along, Krasnikov felt as though the air itself was ready to explode from the tension he was feeling. I hate night fighting for this reason, he thought. It's hard enough fighting the enemy when it's broad daylight. Fighting during the night is another thing entirely. It becomes much harder to see and acquire the enemy at night. Aloud, he said, "Check every corner to every street you come across. If the syndicate and pirate thugs are like the Innies back home, they'll use every opportunity they can get to ambush us."

"You got it, TL," Miller said. "Guys, split up. Corporal Greg, you take four people with you and head right. We'll keep going on our current path. If we run into any trouble, we'll radio you so you can come and help us. Got it?"

"You got it," Greg said. "Come on, guys, let's go. We're going for a walk, but keep your guard up. They might ambush us at any one of these intersections. We're about to reach one of the gaps in the front line, so be careful."

"Quiet now," Krakovski said. "We're approaching enemy territory. Hand signals and helmet COMs from now on." Everyone fell silent in an instant.

Before long, they had reached the front lines of the effort to take Despatar from the syndicates. Moving through an abandoned building, Krakovski carefully guided his fireteam through the invisible border that marked where the UNSC's hold on Despatar ended and where the syndicate's control of the area began. Army troops looked at each other nervously as they began quietly moving through the streets of the city.

Flipping his helmet mask and visor closed, Krakovski keyed his COM. "Command, we're pushing through the front lines now. Any word on that group of ODSTs we're supposed to meet?"

"You're about to come up on them now," came a man's voice. "You should have them in sight shortly."

"Copy that." Closing the COM, Krakovski opened up the visor of his helmet. Spotting a piece of cloth hanging from a small metal pole, he held up a fist, bringing the others to a halt. He motioned with his hands and fingers. Two Army troops came up behind him, then he and they slowly advanced towards the hanging cloth. Weapon raised, he rounded the corner.

A quiet curse came from the alley, then the sight of an annoyed ODST came into view. "Yeesh!" he snarled quietly. "You're paranoid, Krakovski! You nearly poked my eye out with the muzzle of your gun!"

"Just being careful," Krakovski said. "You with the ODSTs coming to help us?"

Eight more ODSTs came into view. "Yep," the first one said. "Lieutenant Richard Silva of Viper Squad ready to help."

Krakovski cocked an eyebrow. "Silva? As in?"

"Yeah," Richard said. "My cousin Antonio Silva gave my family a bad name, what with what happened at Alpha Halo. Unlike him, though, I'm not a racist bastard that's got a superiority complex. I don't care if you're a Spartan or a Marine. If you're higher in rank than I am, what you say, goes."

"Good. So, what's the SitRep on the building up ahead?"

"Got a large number of pirates and syndicate thugs guarding the building," Richard said. "No idea as to why, but we suspect that it's where the bombs are being kept at. General Speakman's got some Marine units ready to push forwards in our sector once we've entered the building. They'll secure it while your squad and mine clears the building and secures the explosives. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go…"

It wasn't long before they reached the building in question. A short but wide and long structure, the warehouse was surrounded by what appeared to be a combination of chain-link fencing, as well as a short ferrocrete wall. A number of pirates and mercenaries were patrolling the exterior, each of them tense as they prepared for any incoming attacks.

"They're dug in real good," Krakovski said. "Any ideas on how to get through?"

"Yeah," Richard said. "Let me contact my boss, tell him we're in position. He's got a diversionary squad ready to draw away attackers so that we can get inside. Just say the word, and I'll tell him."

"Do it. I'm ready to tear apart the enemy."

"Same here," Richard said. Keying his COM, he said, "Zulu 1-1 to Golf 3-1. Do you read me?"

"I read you five by five," came the reply. "What do you need?"

"We're in position to begin the attack on the facility. We need a diversionary attack in order to get through to the facility without being slaughtered. Ready on your go."

"Copy that," Golf 3-1 said. "Beginning attack now." Within seconds, gunfire erupted from the other side of the facility. Many of the mercs and pirates, seeing the gunfire, quickly moved in. Only a token few remained where they were at, E-WEBs and heavy blasters ready to fire at any threat.

"Take the gunners out, then neutralize the heavy weapon teams," Krakovski said. An ODST armed with a DMR quickly moved into position. Raising his weapon, he took aim and fired his DMR. Three loud BANGs erupted in the night as he fired.

The thug manning one of the two E-WEBs promptly had his head explode in a shore of gore and blood. The other gunner, spotting the tracers, leveled his E-WEB onto the source, only for his head to explode as well. "NOW!" Richard shouted, with the ODSTs and Army troopers immediately opening fire.

Several thugs and mercenaries fell to the ground, with a few howling in agony as the bullets tore into their bodies. Ducking down from the returning fire, Krakovski heard a few Army troops shout and howl as blasters tore into them. Priming his M739, he popped out of cover and laid down a fusillade of bullets. Some of the mercs, moving too slowly, were promptly ripped apart, while the rest ducked down. "FRAG OUT!" an Army trooper shouted, tossing an M9 Frag grenade into the mix. Several mercs tried to get away, only for the grenade to detonate before they could flee.

"We're gonna need more men!" Richard said. "We're taking too many casualties!"

"Let's divide their fire!" Krakovski shouted. "Maybe we -" He stopped when he heard a familiar moaning sound, like the wind was starting to blow.

He was just about to ask what the sound was when a Phantom came into view. The pirates and mercs, seeing the Phantom, began firing their blasters at it. One of them hefted a missile launcher, only for one of Richard's men to blow his brains out, ending the missile threat. The Phantom fired, red-white bolus' of plasma tearing into the criminals. One screamed before his body was promptly vaporized by the high velocity stream of plasma directed his way.

"Well, that's one hell of a force multiplier!" Richard said. "I guess Speakman felt our mission was important enough to have the Sangheili come along."

"I guess," Krakovski said.

The Phantom quickly lowered to the ground, then deployed the side hatch built into it. Two Unggoy in black body armor dropped down, along with four T'Vao and two Kig-Yar. Two Sangheili SpecOps dropped down from the ship and rolled as they landed on the ground. One of them approached the two, plasma sword in hand. Seeing Krakovski, she said, "Greetings, Krakovski. I am Zavura 'Talshanam. This is my subordinate, Varuta 'Talshanam." The other female Sangheili bowed slightly.

"Siblings?" Richard asked.

"Twins," the two Sangheili said simultaneously.

"You know of me?" Krakovski interrupted. "Pardon my interruption, but you seem to recognize me."

"Yes," Zavura said. "You and I fought the Covenant-UNSC War. I remember giving you a gash in the face with my plasma sword during the battle of your homeworld. You seem to have healed well from our encounter, Krakovski."

Krakovski's face lit up with recognition. "That we have, Драко."

Richard looked at Krakovski. "Did you just call her a 'dragon?'"

"Zavura developed something of a reputation with George Glenn and myself," Krakovski explained. "The two of us regularly encountered her throughout the war, even managed to beat her on a few occasions. She always escaped, but she was always quite civil. Her armor, though, was custom made, and it made her look like a dragon of myth, hence the nickname we called her: Рыцарь-дракон сангхейли, the Sangheili Dragon-Knight."

"An an honorable title it is," Zavura said. "Now, I would love to speak some more with you, but we cannot tarry any longer. The pirate and syndicate scum move against us! We must strike now, or we will not stop them from using those explosives to kill your men. We must teach them the price of their cowardice and dishonor!"

"Which means it's time to get our asses moving!" Richard said. "Form up! Let's get in there!" The Army and ODST personnel formed up, then they began moving with the Sangheili strike team to the entrance of the building. "Anyone got explosives?"

"I have some," Vertua said. Hefting a cylindrical device, she placed it against the door. "It would be wise to stand back!" Scrambling, the two teams quickly moved away, then Vertua detonated the charge.

There was a loud BOOM as the plasma explosive detonated, blasting the doors off and melting a small crater into the ground. Once the explosion stopped, all three teams quickly moved inside, weapons aimed and at the ready. "Look out!" one of the T'Vao shouted. "Pirates up ahead!"

"Silence them!" Zavura roared. Plasma bolts and needler rounds flew through the air, while Krakovski and Richard's forces added bullets into the mix. One pirate howled just as several needles of blamite detonated, blasting him into steaming bits. Another man moved to take his place, only for Richard to blow his head cleanly off. "Sohmir, Votir, move up! Protect our human allies! The same for you, Unggoy!"

"We're splitting up!" Richard shouted. "Krakovski, you go with Zavura! I'll go with the Jackals and Unggoy!"

"You heard the man!" Krakovski shouted. "MOVE IT!" The Army troopers quickly formed up behind Zavura and Krakovski, weapons barking as they fired while Richard, the Unggoy and the Kig-Yar took one of the hallways leading to another part of the building. "Since we are now allies, shall we get to work?" he asked the two Sangheili.

"Of course," Zavura said as she opened fire on the pirates.

Faced with the combined assault from Zavura and Krakovski's combined squads, the criminals realized they had no chance of survival. Several of them fled, while a few remained behind, only to be cut down by plasma bolts and bullets. One pirate extended something from his hand. Zavura and Varuta gasped when their plasma swords flew forwards to the pirate's hand. Before the man could take advantage of the situation, Miller gunned him down. "What was that?" he asked.

"No idea," Zavura said. "It's as though the device he had stole our weapons."

"I did detect a magnetic field forming," one of the Army troopers said. "That's likely some kind of magnetic glove. Real cheap way of disarming your enemy."

"He dead now, so we can get your stuff back," Krakovski said. "Now move up! We've got the ублюдки on the run!"

Both squads continued to move through the building, weapons blazing. Eventually, Krakovski and the others entered a large room that had several catwalks, and a large door to a loading pad further ahead. Several pirates and thugs were in the area, weapons raised. As soon as his team entered the room, the pirates and thugs opened fire, forcing them into cover.

Popping out of cover, Krakovski laid down more suppressing fire, forcing the pirates to take cover. An Army trooper screamed as he took a blaster bolt to the chest, only to relax when he found that it didn't penetrate all the way through. "Look out!" Miller shouted. "One of them's punching in a code to something!"

"TAKE HIM OUT!" Krakovski shouted. He fired, but the pirate took cover behind the bomb. The man smiled maliciously, and prepared to press a red button on the bomb. Then a green bolt flew through the air, causing the man's head to explode, while sending him to the ground. His finger barely came close to the button. Several more gunshots rang out, killing the remaining pirates.

Looking to the right, Krakovksi watched as one of the two T'Vao lowered a carbine, while Richard and the others came into view. "Looks like our timing was perfect," Richard said. "We've got a hand on the explosives. One of the dudes was trying to detonate the explosives, though. Any idea why?"

"No idea," Krakovksi said. "The fact they were willing to blow themselves up shows how desperate they are. Чертовы сумасшедшие ублюдки! Why would they do that, though?"

While they were talking to each other, Miller walked towards one of the bombs. As he did, he thought he heard an odd clicking sound, like a switch was being thrown. "What's that sound?" he asked. "Jeremy, can you get me that scanner?" One of the troopers handed him a scanner. Turning it on, Miller checked the device. No biological contaminants so far. How about nuclear? He thumbed a switch.

As soon as he did, the device seemed to go crazy. The periodic clicking almost immediately increased in intensity. At the same time, Miller tasted something metallic in his mouth. As soon as he did, his eyes went wide. "GET BACK!" he roared. "GET AWAY FROM THE DEVICE!"

Almost immediately, everyone scrambled back. As they did, the clicking became less intense, then nearly tapered off completely. "What's going on?!" Richard asked.

"We've got a dirty bomb!" Miller shouted. "Repeat: dirty bomb!"

Krakovski was initially confused, then his memory jolted. "Are you telling me we've got a nuclear bomb on our hands?!"

"Hear for yourself," Miller said, tossing Krakovski the scanner.

The moment Krakovski pointed the scanner at the device, the clicking it gave off increased in intensity. "Shit!" he snarled. "Now we know what the pirates were intending to do! They were gonna nuke us!"

"Vartua and I can secure the nuclear device," Zavura said. "Our energy shields and armor will provide us near-total protection from the radiation it's giving off. Still, if the pirates have their hands on one such nuclear spear…"

Krakovski paled. "Then they likely have others as well. Richard, get on the horn and warn Lasky and Speakman. This situation just got a lot more complicated."

. . .

Off in another part of the city, another UNSC squad was moving through the area. Ducking down behind cover, Stacker fired on a few syndicate thugs that were holed up in a nearby building. While a few went down, the rest redoubled their fire, forcing him and his fellow ODSTs to take cover. "We're pinned down!" one of his men shouted. "We need fire support!"

Keying his COM, Stacker said, "Bravo 3-1 to Infinity Actual! Do you read me?!"

"I read you," Gabriela said. "What do you need?"

"We need fire support on grid square Lima 2-4-1! We're getting chewed up by a pair of E-WEBs in a building 200 meters north of our position!"

"Roger, Bravo 3-1," Gabriela said. "A Broadsword is on its way with JDAM ordinance. ETA: 30 seconds."

"Copy that!" Closing the COM, Stacker shouted, "Everyone, get down! Danger close!" The other ODSTs threw themselves into cover.

The sound of a Broadsword flying overhead filled the air, then Stacker thought he saw something zip towards the building. There was a loud CRASH as the Mark 208 JDAM smashed into the building; then, there was a loud BOOM as the JDAM detonated. The blast wave tore through the building, tearing apart structural supports, and sending the entire building crashing to the ground. The thugs screams of terror and agony were abruptly silenced.

"Splash! Good kills!" the Broadsword pilot reported.

"Good effect on target!" Stacker said. "Thanks!"

"My pleasure, man."

Closing the COM, Stacker said, "All right! Let's move into the market place!" Moving forwards, the team rounded the corner, weapons raised and ready.

Blaster fire erupted as soon as they took cover, with more syndicate members firing away. Pulling a frag, Stacker shouted, "FRAG OUT!", then hurled it over cover. Loud shouts of shock and terror were promptly silenced by a concussive BANG that ripped through the air. Leaning out, Stacker found that most of the syndicate thugs were dead. One raised his weapon, only for Bravo 3-2 to pierce a new nostril into the man's head via gunshot.

As they moved in to secure the marketplace, Stacker noticed a familiar building. "Let's secure that building first," he said, pointing at the building labeled 'Getonar's Fine Wares.' "That should make for a good staging point, plus ONI wants that guy for some reason." Two ODSTs came over, with one spraying C-7 Foaming Explosive onto the door. After they backed away, the other detonated the explosives. The door promptly caved in, with the ODST squad rushing in as an Army squad began securing the marketplace.

The first floor was empty, with most of the items on display having been locked down. The second story was another matter entirely; smashing in one of the doors, Stacker heard a scream of "WAIT! DON'T SHOOT!" Moving inside, Stacker found Getonar quivering on the ground like a piece of Jello out of its container.

"Stay on the ground!" Stacker shouted. "Don't move!"

"I'm not with them!" Getonar screamed, tears streaming from his eyes as the squad of ODSTs held him down. "They wanted to use my shop as a base! I told them they could get out and go away! I beg of you! Don't kill me!"

"We'll see about that," Stacker said. "Bag and tag 'im. ONI's gonna love this."

. . .

A few hours later, President Charet and the other members of the UEG Security Council were in the meeting room at the Presidential Suite. I hate late night meetings, Charet thought as she rubbed her eyebrows. We'll be having more of them when the war begins, but even so, I hate them.

"does anyone know what's going on?" Ambassador Leia said, her hologram shimmering into existence. "I got onto this meeting as quickly as I could."

"Everyone here will find out shortly," Charet said. Looking at Lasky and Speakman's holograms, she asked, "What do you need to speak with me and the others about?"

"We've got a problem, and a big one at that," Lasky said. "I'll let Speakman furnish you on the details, but to put it simply, we've got dirty bombs in the city."

Charet's mind parsed the information, then her eyes widened. It was Russel that said what she was thinking. "You think the pirates had possession of nuclear weapons?! You must be joking!" The other members of the UEG Security Council made scoffing sounds.

"We're not," Speakman said. "Don't believe us? Look at these." Moments later, holo-picts of various bombs were displayed, each one having a meter that showed the radiation coming from the devices.

The scoffing sounds quickly turned to gasps of shock, and then silence. They're right, Charet thought. They do have nuclear weapons! Then she felt a cold, icy rage pouring into her veins. How dare they use these weapons against us! a part of her mind roared. Taking a breath, she asked, "Where did they get these dirty bombs?"

Lasky shivered. The moment he noticed how cool and calm she was, he knew what she was feeling. "We don't know at the moment," he said. "However, Speakman has told me that the recovery team's preliminary findings suggest that the pirates acquired these nuclear bombs from various sources, including Imperial armories."

Leia frowned. "That's not good. The Imperials are usually very picky about that sort of thing. The fact that they've got nuclear weapons is… distressing."

"Do we know what types of nukes they are?" Russel asked.

"My teams have determined the possible yields and types of bombs we're looking at," Speakman said. "We're looking at 500 kiloton thermonuclear bombs contained in MIRV warheads designed to carry between three to four of these bombs. Intercepted pirate COMs indicate that they were planning to use these nuclear warheads against the ships in our fleet."

"How many are we looking at?" Charet asked.

"Cortana's finishing up her scans right now," Lasky said. "According to her, we've got roughly twenty major sources of ionizing radiation scattered across the city, and roughly twice as many orphan sources. Speakman and I have deployed teams to find these nuclear radiation sources and secure them before the pirates do. So far, we've gotten to them before they could be used against us, but we still have more than sixty orphan sources and missing quivers to recover. Fireteam Viper's the only squad where we came close to having a nuclear detonation."

"Shit," Patricia said. "This is a major problem."

"I agree," Russel said. "Still, the fact that some of these nukes came from the Empire indicates that the pirates bought off the Imperials to get at these weapons. Given what we're looking at, I would recommend adopting a mutually assured destruction policy if these weapons are used."

Leia looked at him, her expression aghast. "You would dare use nuclear weapons to solve a problem your military forces could handle?!"

"Would you allow me to finish," Russel said. When Leia remained quiet, he said, "I am well aware of the cost of life that would result, including civilian lives. As such, I can only recommend using nuclear weapons as a last resort against the pirates. I will not allow a nuclear arms escalation to happen if I can stop it from happening."

"Agreed," Charet said. "My orders also stand in this regard as well. We will not use nuclear weapons unless absolutely necessary. Lasky, Speakman, good work on securing that nuclear ordinance. Continue to do so and keep pushing the pirates back."

"Yes, ma'am," both people said as their holograms faded out.

"We'd best be going too," Russel said. "We'll reconvene on this later. UEG Security Council out."

As their holograms faded, Charet keyed her Holo-COM. "Leia, do you know Palpatine's contact information?"

"I do," Leia said. After a few moments, she said, "There. Why do you wish to speak to him?"

"I have a few questions to ask of him," Charet said.

Before long, the holographic image of Palpatine faded into view. "Ambassador Leia," he said. "How go the negotiations?"

"Quite well," Leia said. "However, that's not why I called you. President Charet wished to speak with you."

Palpatine's eyebrows went up slightly. "I see." Turning his attention to Charet, he said, "What do you wish to speak to me about?"

"The fact that there are a number of dirty bombs in Despatar," Charet said. "I'm certain that you're aware of the UNSC's invasion of Genarius, yes?"

"I am," Palpatine said. "A most unfortunate incident for the scum that infest that black heart of a city. I take it that the term 'dirty bomb' relates to that?"

"Yes. To put it bluntly, why are there terrorist manufactured nuclear weapons in Despatar? Here, we call such weapons 'dirty bombs.' Are you aware of the implications of such an event?"

Palpatine frowned. "I am aware of the implications," he said. "I can assure you, however, that I did not authorize the distribution of such weapons. However, I believe that the pirates might have bribed various scientists to show them how to make their own... A most distressing development."

"They bribed scientists to work for them?" Leia asked.

"It would seem so," Palpatine said.

"Why would they do so, despite knowing that such actions are illegal?"

"Greed," Palpatine said.

"There's one more thing too," Charet said. "Some of these bombs came from your government's nuclear armories, according to our techs. That leads me to believe that they've bribed some of your people to gain access to these bombs."

Palpatine's face went dead calm in that instant. "Are you certain?" he asked.

"Yes," Charet said. "We performed the scans ourselves."

Palpatine frowned. "I see. It appears as though they've bought off the local garrison. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, President Charet. I shall see to it that the officers responsible for this... slip in security are punished most appropriately."

"See that you do," Charet said. "But before you go, I have to ask, why would you allow the Imperial garrison to sell these nuclear weapons to pirates and slavers? What proof do you have that would allow us to believe any reassurances you give us. I find the fact that the Empire would allow such weapons to leak into the hands of criminals to be highly irresponsible, especially for a government that claims to be the greatest power in the galaxy."

"That is irresponsible," Palpatine said. "You are quite right about that. However, I appreciate you bringing this problem to my attention. I shall see to it that the people responsible are punished. You have my word on that. In fact, you should listen to Coruscant News about a month from now. You will see then that I intend to do as I say. Now, if you excuse me, I must retire now. Good day."

"That was… unsettling," Leia said as Palpatine's hologram faded out. "The fact that nuclear weapons were able to escape the Empire's clutches is… worrying."

"It is," Charet agreed. "It makes me wonder what else has slipped their grip. You should get to bed now, Leia. I have a feeling that some uncomfortable topics will soon be discussed in the UEG Congress."