Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo/Star Wars crossover.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am back. I have posted a new version of Chapter 2 to replace the original version. If you want to understand what goes on in this chapter, read that one first. It's mandatory that you do so if you want to understand this chapter. I have also deleted the notice I had as Chapter 3.
In addition, I spoke with a DeviantArt artist named GC-Conceptart. He agreed to allow me to use a variant of the Scorpion that he designed for another DeviantArt artist named Azores-1994. They are the owners of that art, and I am just using that variant with their permission. For the image of the tank, here's a link: www. deviantart gc-conceptart/art/HALO-SCORPION-M808D-892771316 (The space are mandatory so that the website doesn't delete the entire link. Just remove them and you should be good to go. Remember, I do not own that art. GC-Conceptart and Azores-1994 do.)
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, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers 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 it's original composers and/or artists.
Sabaton - Stormtroopers
Scarif
Hanger 21-D, UNSC Infinity
October 26th, 2558, 6PM (April 11th, 0 BBY, 6PM)
"Time to get the show on the road," Linda-058 said. "You good to go, Kelly?"
"Yep," Kelly said as she walked into the Pelican they were using. "Chief?"
"Affirmative," came the reply. Outside of their Pelican, dozens of others were having troops and gear loaded on quickly. With military precision and discipline, soldiers loaded up onto the vehicles that would be taking them from the Infinity and down to the surface of an alien world. Every Pelican that was fully loaded with troops, supplies, or had vehicles mounted on them were quickly launched out of the hangar bay and towards the surface of the planet.
Part of this was to not only get people to the ground, but also clear enough room for the Tantive IV to land inside. Chief could see crews working quickly to move equipment and gear out of the way. While it would be a tight squeeze, the hangar, and the clamps overhead, were just large enough to fit a 140m long ship. The only concern was the compatibility of the clamps, though that was something that couldn't be avoided. They would have to do for now.
"First time I've seen the Infinity this busy since we tried to take out Jul 'Mdama at Kamchatka," Fred-104 observed. "At that battle, it was a real hornet's nest, with every Pelican we had getting ready for a ground battle."
"Now we're doing it again," Linda-058 added, "only this time we're heading to an alien world in what might possibly be an uncharted part of the galaxy." She loaded in last, making sure her Sniper Rifle, Nornfang, was ready for war. "Honestly speaking, there's something off about this."
Chief, also known as John-117, nodded in agreement. We're in a situation that no one's trained before, dealing with an enemy we haven't faced before. We need to gather any intelligence we can if we're going to be fighting a war against them.
His COM crackled to life. "Chief, you there?" Lasky asked.
"Yes sir." Chief replied.
"Once you're on the ground, I need you to head into the facility and find any HVIs that we can capture and interrogate. In addition, see if you can recover the plans for the superweapon Leia informed us about."
"Understood," Chief replied. Once all of the Spartans were loaded onto the Pelican, he said, "Pilot, we're ready to go."
"Copy that," the pilot replied. Keying her COM, she said, "Delta 3-1-5 to Infinity. We are go for ground operations. All members of Blue Team loaded on and ready to go."
"Copy that," came the voice of the ship's Combat Aerospace Group commander."You are go for ground operation. Be advised, its still quite hot out there. If you're fired upon, perform evasive maneuvers."
"Roger that," Delta 3-1-5 reported. "Delta 3-1-5 heading out." Pushing on the throttle control, she brought the Pelican up from it's position in the hangar bay. The VTOL quickly reached the hangar's maximum hover altitude of 10 meters, before the pilot gunned the throttle. The hybrid fusion drive engines on the rear shoved it forwards, with the Pelican quickly passing through the magcon field that prevented the atmosphere of the hangar bay from escaping into the vacuum of space. The pilot then angled the VTOL down and towards the shattered ruins of the gate that had once opened a way into the now non-existent shield.
Walking into the cockpit of the Pelican, Chief looked outside towards the planet. For a moment, the planet reminded him of his homeworld of Eridanus II, then he shook the thought away. We're on a mission, he reminded himself, not a tour.
Fred-104 entered the canopy. "Pretty," he noted. "Somebody ought to take a picture."
"Already did," the pilot informed them. "Damn shame that we have to go down there and fuck it all up. Still, whoever fired on us shouldn't have done that if they didn't want us to go down there."
"I can agree with that," Kelly-087 added. "If we are going in there, I'll take point."
"Understood," Chief said.
"So, what are we looking at down there?" Fred-104 asked. "What are the hostiles that we'll be facing."
"I can answer that," came Cortana's voice. "We're going to be looking at what the Empire calls 'Stormtroopers.' Sending an image to your HUDs now."
Looking at the upper-left corner of his HUD, Chief spotted the image that Cortana had sent them. The image showed an individual, likely human, that was wearing white body armor over a black undersuit. The helmet was designed to have a pair of eye-pieces, as well as what looked like a communicator and filter system. Chief noted that the helmet appeared to be designed to intimidate a combatant, though he knew it would be of little use against a Spartan. The man also held what looked like a carbine, with the carbine having a passing resemblance to the Sten Mk. II SMG from World War II.
"Real pretty," Fred noted, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"If they all look like that, the white armor must be to make it seem as though they are all the same," Linda noted. "That tells me that the Empire is more concerned about how intimidating a soldier looks rather than how well equipped they are."
"Normally, I'd agree," Cortana said over Blue Team's TEAMCOM system. "However, I did some more digging while we were at it. The standard issue long arm of the Imperial Army is the E-11 Blastech Carbine. My analysis indicates that it's designed to fire a bolt of particles at an enemy target at velocities comparable to small arms. Most Imperial Stormtroopers are armed with this weapon, though some do carry what are classified as 'Heavy Blasters' and 'Blaster Rifles.'"
"Will they pose a threat to us?" Chief asked.
"We won't know until we actually get down there and find out," Cortana remarked, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I can make a good estimate based on the energy figures I'm looking at. They'll deplete energy shielding faster than most UNSC weapons can, but they'll likely be weaker than what the Covenant uses. Either way, I recommend not getting hit if you don't have armor. One hit and most of your internal organs will be fried in an instant."
"Ouch," Fred deadpanned. "Good thing the Marines and ODSTs have been getting upgrades to their armor. They should be able to handle those 'blasters' quite nicely."
"Agreed," Linda added.
"What is their level of proficiency?" Chief asked Cortana.
"It depends," Cortana replied. "From what I can tell, most Stormtroopers have around the same level of accuracy as one of our Marines, though records indicate that standards have been relaxed lately. As such, the ones on duty might have worse accuracy, though I wouldn't expect that to stay that way for long."
"How resistant is their armor compared to our own?" Fred asked.
"Unknown at this point," Cortana replied. "For all I know, they could be bulletproof, though the concussions from each hit would break bones, or they could be relatively weak to bullets. Either way, we won't know more until we get to the ground and find out."
"Copy that," Chief replied. "Blue Team, make sure you're ready for ground combat. We're facing a new enemy whose capabilities we don't know much about yet."
"Roger that," the others replied.
. . .
Onboard one of the Pelicans, Captain Parisa made sure that the armor straps on her shoulders were comfortably, but firmly, fitted and ready. This is it, she thought to herself. First time boarding a 'Star Destroyer.' She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then let it out slowly. Her heart, which had been hammering into her chest, slowed down to a more reasonable pace.
She reached into an armored pocket and pulled out a photograph. While old and creased along the areas where it had been folded, the color photograph still had the same brilliant colors from the day it had been printed. She smiled at the girl in the photograph, as well as the young boy in it.
She ran an armored hand over the photo. I wish you were here with me, John, she said to herself. I wonder what you'd think of me if you saw me right now. She put the photograph away. Time to focus on what's going on, she said to herself.
"Who was that in the photo?" a voice asked. Looking up, Parisa saw one of the younger Marines looking at her. Seeing her gaze, he said, "I-I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't meant to -"
"It's OK," she replied, cutting him off. "That was me, before the war, along with one of my friends at Eridanus II. John was his name."
"What happened to him?"
"He died of some neural diseases," she explained.
The Marine looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I knew of a brother that died the same way. Fred was his name. Some days, I wonder what he would've looked like if he were standing alongside me today. It's memories like that which kept me going through the war."
Parisa nodded in agreement. Memories like that had helped her get through the Covenant-UNSC War as well. "What's your name?"
"Sergeant Richard Ellsworth," the Marine replied.
Smiling, she tapped him on the shoulder. "Always remember the lost, Richard. Those memories will help you get through. Now, are you ready to go kick some ass?"
"Yes, sir!" Sergeant Richard replied.
"All right," Parisa decided. Clearing her throat, she said, "Listen up, everyone! We're going to be fighting some faction calling themselves the 'Empire.' They decided that it was a really good idea for them to fire on the Infinity, claiming that we were working for some sort of Innie faction. Now we're going to show them that they made a big mistake! Our mission is to take all critical parts of the ship, including the bridge. You ready to take on some Imps?"
"YEAH!" the other Marines shouted.
"You ready to send them back in a pine box!" she asked next.
"OOHRAAH!"
"Then let's get to it! Keep your heads on a swivel, your rifles locked and cocked, and we'll all get out of here in one piece! Am I right, Marines?!"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" the other Marines shouted.
"Uh huh, damn straight I am!"
"Fifteen seconds!" the pilot informed them. Moving to the cockpit, Parisa looked to see where they were entering the Star Destroyer. Up ahead was a hangar that was wide open, and she could see racks that once held what she thought were those odd, square shaped fighters.
What had her attention the most, though, were the white armored soldiers that were inside, fighting against what she could tell were robots of a sort. Despite being outnumbered, the soldiers in the hangar bay were holding their own, while several black uniformed officers were running around, likely giving orders. She had to admit, they were quite disciplined, despite having their backs against a wall.
"Five seconds!" the pilot shouted as they flew closer.
Returning to the Troop Bay on the Pelican, Parisa made sure her MA5D was locked and loaded. The normal running lights in the troop bay winked out, replaced by a bright red glow. "Red light! Standby!" she shouted. Right on cue, several Marines stacked up at where the door was at. Once that light turned green, the doors would open, and it would be their jobs to cut down any hostiles that were directly ahead of them.
The Pelican flew through the magcon field keeping the hangar's atmosphere from blowing out into space. The pilot shouted, "Captain! LZ's too hot! Gonna thin out the competition!"
"Do it!" Parisa shouted. Closing the COM, the pilot activated the chin mounted turret on the Pelican, before linking it to his helmet cam. Outside, the rotary 70mm autocannon whirred to life, with the weapon loading a fresh shell into the chamber. Once the ready indicator came up on the pilot's HUD, he depressed the firing stud and looked left and right twice.
There was a loud BBRRRTTTZZZ as the GAU/53 autocannon roared to life. 70mm shells cut through the air at high supersonic velocities, tearing into the Imperial Stormtroopers that were in the hangar bay. Screams and howls of agony filled the air, along with severed limbs and dismembered body parts. One Stormtrooper was promptly bisected at the waist, with the man howling before losing consciousness a few seconds later. Another screamed as another shell ripped his arm off, before another one blew through his head and ended his misery. Within a few seconds, all of the Stormtroopers in the hangar bay were dead.
Grimly satisfied with the handiwork that he had just performed, the pilot rotated the Pelican around and landed it. The red light inside of the Pelican winked from red to green. "GO, GO, GO!" Parisa shouted. The doors opened almost instantly. The Marines at the entrance waited a second or two to make sure the Pelican had gotten all of the hostiles, then charged in. Exiting the Pelican, Parisa saw more Pelicans arriving, with Marines quickly jumping out.
Shouldering her weapon, she proceeded to the door, which had closed as soon as the Pelican had entered. Keying her COM, she said, "Roland, we need to get inside of the ship! Can you get the doors?"
"Copy that," Roland replied. "I've already gotten the schematics from Cortana. I'll guide you to the bridge by uploading a Nav-Point route to your HUDs. I've already informed the others of the plan that Sarpong came up with. Keep moving but take out any Stormtroopers that are still up and about. The hacked droids stunned most of them but don't take any chances!"
"Copy that," Parisa replied. The doors leading into the hangar bay opened, allowing her squad to move through. "Delta squad, on me!" she said over the COM. "Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Team, move through the ship to your assigned objectives! Roland will guide you to them and she'll relay instructions once you get there!"
"Copy that!" the others replied. "Moving through now!" All of the squads moved in, weapons raised as they advanced down the corridors.
Each of the corridors were designed around the same format; wide hallways lit by grating with lights behind them, lights in the ceiling and gray walls contrasted by black tiled flooring. As they moved through these sections of the ship, Parisa found many hostiles that were lying on the ground. Most of them were stunned, though they came across groups of people that had hands to their throats. Asphyxiated, she thought. Cortana really didn't mess around.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," one of the Marines groaned.
"Same here," Richard added. "Something tells me that we've got trouble up ahead."
"I agree," Parisa replied."Get ready!" she said when they reached a closed door "I've got a feeling that we've got some company on the other side. Prepare a flash-bang while we're at it." The Marines got into any cover they could find, while one Marine pulled out a small, cylindrical grenade and pulled the pin. "Roland, open the door up!" At her order, the door opened, making a hole the size of a basketball hoop. The Marine threw the grenade through the hole, then ducked down.
There was a collection of surprised shouts, followed by a series of loud banging sounds as the flash-bang grenade went to work. Almost instantly, the door fully opened, with the Marines leaning out of Cover. One of the hostiles, an officer judging by his unarmored black uniform, was stumbling around in obvious pain. The Stormtroopers weren't; instead, their weapons were pointed at the door, ready to unleash a barrage as soon as it opened.
The Marines were quicker on the draw. MA5Ds roared to life as the Marines opened fire. Firing her own MA5D, Parisa watched as her bullets punched into the armor one of the Stormtrooper was wearings. A loud wail came from the Stormtrooper as the bullets ripped through him, punching small holes into the front of his armor, while tearing open larger ones in his back as he fell to the ground, dead. Two more Stormtroopers fell down as their own armor failed to protect them, each one screaming as the AP rounds cut through like a hot knife through butter.
It wasn't completely one sided, however. One Stormtrooper that was smarter than the rest ducked into cover. Popping out of cover, he fired his blaster, sending red particle bolts towards the Marines. Most of the Marines ducked, but Richard got hit in his chest armor. With a shout, he fell to the ground. The other Marines, angered by this attack, retaliated with extreme force, pumping the Stormtrooper full of lead before he got the chance to get into cover.
"Clear!" one of the Marines shouted.
"You OK?" Parisca asked as she ran towards Richard.
"I'm OK!" Richard replied as he got up. "Felt like someone punched me in the chest there, and there was some heat. Beyond that, though, I'm A-OK."
"Any burns?" the medic, Lucas Browning according to Parisa's HUD, asked.
"No," Richard said, "It didn't burn me. My guess is that the new heat dissipating materials in the armor withstood the attack."
"Good," Parisca noted with a smile. "That means that, if we get hit, we won't be losing people in a single shot. Don't make yourselves an obvious target, though! We don't want to lose people if we can help it! Squad, keep moving!"
They continued to move through the ship, more cautiously though, now that they knew what they were up against. Reaching a door, Parisa noticed that the only way forward was through what appeared to be a lift of some kind. A control panel was nearby, though Parisa had no idea how to operate it safely. "Roland," she said over the COM, "we've reached some kind of lift."
"Head inside," Roland instructed her. "I'll take you up to the next deck."
Parisa keyed her COM. "All squads, report in!"
"We're OK!" said Bravo Actual. "Some light resistance, but we're fine."
"Same here," Alpha Actual added.
"Charlie here. Took a casualty, but he's fine. We'll keep going."
"Copy that," Parisa replied. Instructions came up on her HUD when she entered the lift. Pressing the call button, she heard something, before the door opened automatically to reveal a circular lift cab. Making sure it was clear, she had the squad enter, before they entered. More instructions appeared, telling her which buttons to press. Hitting them in sequence, she watched as the door closed with a whine, before the lift began to move upwards.
. . .
While the boarding action was going on, the ground battle on Scarif was still ongoing, only with even greater intensity. Running along the battlefield, Baze winced as a blaster cannon bolt from the nearby AT-ACT fired, narrowly missing him by a few feet. Chirrut was running alongside him, though at an even greater speed than Baze was. Gasping, Baze threw himself into a crater made by an earlier miss, with Chirrut doing the same.
"Damnit!" one of the Rebel Troopers that was with them shouted. "Those AT-ACTs are tearing us apart! If we don't do something soon, we're all going to be dead!"
"I've got an idea!" Baze shouted. "Hand me that missile launcher!" A soldier tossed the missile launcher, along with a missile, towards Baze. Grabbing it, he quickly loaded the missile launcher, then took aim at the incoming AT-ACT. As soon as he heard an buzzing tone from the launcher, he pulled the trigger.
There was a loud FWOOSH as the missile launched out of the missile launcher. Streaking through the air, it created a smoke trail as it flew towards the cockpit of the AT-ACT. It then smacked straight into the side of the AT-ACTs head, knocking it to the side, creating a cloud of smoke that temporarily obscured what happened. Baze, seeing this, smiled, while the other Rebel Troopers smiled as well.
That quickly changed when the AT-ACT swung it's head back around. "Oh, no," Baze groaned as he saw that the only damage that he'd done to the AT-ACT was to blacken part of the cockpit and cut a shallow furrow alongside it's head. The others, spotting this, prepared for their impending doom.
Suddenly, red blaster bolts to tear into the side of the AT-ACTs cockpit, blasting it apart. Looking around, Baze spotted the source of their unexpected help. "LOOK!" he shouted. Right on cue, two X-Wing fighters zoomed into view, before flying towards the tower…
Inside one of the Imperial Transports near the fighting, Bodhi Rook was working frantically to try and reestablish communications with the Alliance Fleet. Ever since the Shield Gate had been closed, all attempts to reach the fleet had failed due to the shield blocking their transmissions. This time, however, he had a desperate plan to get the comms back online.
Right now, he was waiting for one of the troops to get in touch with them. "Melshi! Meshi, come in!" one of them shouted. "Bodhi sent a signal from here. He's patching us in, but he needs you to open up a line for the tower!"
"How?" Melshi asked, his voice crackling over the com. "Please advise!"
"There's a master switch at the base of the comms tower!"
"Master switch? Describe it. What are we looking for!"
Hearing that, the Rebel Trooper in question turned to Bodhi "What does it look like? The master switch! Where is it?"
"I know where," Bodhi replied…
While this was going on, General Antoc Merrick was coordinating with the X-Wings that had made it to the surface. "U-Wings, deploy ground forces! All fighters on me!" he shouted. "We have to shield the ground forces from attack!"
"Roger, Blue Leader," came the reply. With that, they split off, before engaging any hostile TIE Fighters that had made it into the atmosphere as well.
"I've got one on my tail!" one X-Wing pilot shouted. "I can't shake him!"
"Hold on!" Merrick replied. As they flew towards the tower and up into the sky, Merrick fired on a TIE Interceptor that was chasing the X-Wing pilot in question. "I've got him!" he shouted as he destroyed the hostile fighter. He frowned as he saw more TIE fighters being launched from the facility.
Down below, Bodhi was running along the beach, hefting along the cable extension unit. Spotting a nearby comm relay, he quickly ran up to it, plugging the male connector end of the cable into the female connector on the control panel. Hearing a reassuring beep, he began making his way towards the ship. Almost there, he told himself.
. . .
There was another drama playing out inside of the Citadel Tower, the centerpiece of the Imperial Center of Military Research. Inside of a vault room in the tower, Cassian Andor was working with Jyn Erso to find the data drives holding the schematics for the Death Star, the super-weapon responsible for destroying Jheda City on the moon of Jheda.
Right now, Jyn was searching through various parts of the archives to find what they were looking for. "Hyperspace tracking," she listed off as she looked through the various systems. "Navigational systems."
"Two screens down," K-2SO instructed her. "Structural Engineering. Try that one." Just as he said this, there was a gunshot as he fired his blaster, presumably at a Stormtrooper that was trying to get inside.
Deciding to try a different approach, Jyn ran a series of queries through the vault computer. "Project code-names. Stellarsphere, Mark Omega, Pax Aurora, War Mantle, Cluster Prism, Dark Saber…" She trailed off.
Noticing this, Cassian asked, "What?"
"Star Dust," she replied. "That's it."
"How do you know?"
"Because it's me," Jyn explained. "My father always called me 'stardust' as a child. My guess is that he named the Death Star project that so that I would recognize it the moment I saw it."
Cassian smiled at that. Keying his comm, he said, "K, we need to find Star Dust." A green light on one of the drives flashed in response.
Manipulating the controls, Cassian quickly maneuvered the robotic retrieval unit towards the dot. Working quickly, he stopped the unit at the required row, then moved to the left before rotating his right hand to the left and pushing forwards. This resulted in the two smaller robotic arms extending into small slots on either side of the data drive. A moment later, he pulled back, with the data drive being pulled backwards as well. "Got it!" he cheered.
That was when bad news came along. When the lights flickered, he looked at Jyn, then keyed his personal com-link. "K-2SO, what's going on?!"
"Climb!" They heard K shouting, his transmission slightly garbled. "Climb! You can still send the plans to the fleet. If they open the Shield Gate, you can broadcast from the tower! I'm sealing the vault door now! Taking critical damage!"
"K!" Cassian shouted, realizing what was going on. "K!"
"Goodbye," K said. "It was an honor, Cassian." There was a clunk as the vault door locked itself, and the comlink came to an end with a crackle. Stopping just short of the door, Cassian turned to look at Jyn. She could see tears misting in his eyes…
At the same time in the control center, Krennic was looking at the ongoing battle, as well as the orbital feeds. His mouth wagged open and closed as he saw the remains of the Golan Station, before he shook his head to clear it. His thoughts were interrupted when an officer said, "Sir, unauthorized access at the data vault."
"What?" he asked, coming out of his worried stupor.
"It's just come in," the officer continued.
Damnit! he thought. Things have gone from bad to worse! Taking a breath, he let it out and then said, "Send my personal squad into battle. Two men, with me!" Looking at the others, he shouted, "Get that beach under control!"
"Sir!" another man shouted. "We've got incoming! The unknowns are sending in ground forces to the beaches and they've sent in starfighters!"
"Get more men to the beach now! Bring out the AT-ACTs! Crush the Rebels to powder!"
. . .
Nearby, at one of the landing pads, Bodhi was finding himself to be in a bit of a pickle. While trying to connect the cable to the shuttle's comm array, he had to backtrack to get through a shorter patch, as the cable had snagged on some cargo. Then a firefight had broken out, forcing him into cover. "Bodhi, have you contacted the fleet?" he heard someone ask him on the comm.
"I'm at the shuttle!" Bodhi shouted, recognizing the voice as Cassian's. "I can't reach it!" He winced as a blaster bolt struck nearby.
"You have to!" Cassian shouted over the comm. "You have to! If the Gate is open, we can send the plans!"
Just as he said this, Bodhi winced as he heard a loud squeal on the comm. Stormtroopers clutched at their heads, while a few Rebels threw their helmets off. Bodhi gasped as he heard a voice say, "This is Admiral Raddu! We've opened the Shield Gate and have reestablished comms! The Star Dreadnought that arrived in the midst of the battle has agreed to help us! They are sending reinforcements to the ground battle!" As soon as he heard this, Bodhi and the other Rebel Troopers cheered.
In the sky, General Merrik was still flying his X-Wing when he spotted new contacts coming in. TIE Interceptors! he realized. Firing his X-Wing's blaster cannons, he destroyed a few, while maneuvering through the resulting dust cloud. "General!" one of his wingmen shouted. "Behind you!" Looking behind himself, he could see the Interceptors, one of which was lined up on his six.
Throwing the X-Wing into a series of evasive maneuvers, he narrowly avoided some shots, then a warning blared over his helmet speakers. Shields are almost gone! Time's run out for me! Might as well take them with me! He threw the controls into a hard bank to avoid being killed. The Interceptor, however, remained on his tail, intent on killing him.
The Force, it seemed, decided that now wasn't his time to die. His heart skipped a beat when all four of them were struck by a flight of missiles. Each missile hammered into the Interceptors, blasting them out of the sky and sending them to a sandy grave down below. He was about to question his good luck when he heard a voice on his comm say, "This is Charlie Squadron to Blue Leader. We've got your back, sir!"
Confusion reigned in Merrick's mind, then he remembered what Admiral Raddu had just said over the comm. "Roger that," he replied. "Are you from the Star Dreadnought?"
"We're from the Infinity, yes," Charlie Leader replied. "Captain Lasky sent us to provide assistance. We have a flight of Pelicans on the way down to provide ground reinforcements and our fighters are outfitted for ground and air combat."
Merrick nearly cheered at that. "Roger, Charlie Leader. Form up on me! We need to keep the ground forces covered!"
"Roger that. Charlie Squadron, form up on Blue Leader! Time to help out the ground pounders!" Merrick watched as several starfighters that had a vague resemblance to the Headhunter series fly in. As he flew on, he could hear explosions as some of the starfighters began bombing runs.
. . .
Onboard one of the Pelicans, Chief and the other Spartans were quickly reaching ground level. The Pelican deftly dodged incoming fire as it, and dozens of others, streaked towards the ground as fast as they safely could. "Thirty seconds, Spartans!" the pilot of Delta 3-5-1 shouted.
Movement caught Chief's eye. Turning in that direction, he spotted what looked like a walker of some sorts. Standing at an impressive height, it resembled a turtle that had grown incredibly long legs. A single head was firing at ground troopers, with large red bolts streaking towards them. "Hold on, pilot!" he shouted. "Cortana, what's that?"
Cortana, who was still using the TEAMCOM, said, "I just dug up some information on that. From what I can tell, we're looking at what the Empire calls an 'All-Terran Armored-Cargo-Transport', or AT-ACT for short. It's got what looks like a pair of blaster cannons on the front, and the armor's thick enough to stop most kinetic and energy munitions!"
"That'll tear the ground troops apart!" Fred told Chief.
"Pilot, bring us down on the ground near the AT-ACT!" Chief ordered.
"Got a plan?" Fred asked.
"Yeah," Chief replied. "We'll assault the AT-ACT and provide relief for the Rebels and Marines that are on the ground."
"Already ahead of you on that," Cortana replied. "Thanks to the Shield Gate being destroyed, I was able to hack into the systems for the facility. Lasky's also been contacted by Admiral Raddus. Apparently, there are two Alliance personnel inside of the facility, Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso according to the COM burst. Raddus' trying to get in contact with them so that they know we're coming."
"Got it. Anything else?"
"I've also managed to find out who runs this facility, one Orson Krennic. Apparently, he's the Director of this place, the Imperial Center of Military Research. If we capture him, we'll have a wealth of information at our disposal, though I doubt he'll be willing to share it with us."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Negative," Cortana replied. "I'm still trying to work out what I can do with their systems. They're bloody slow and ancient! By the time I get them all to work, Krennic will likely have reached the data archives or even the top of the tower!"
Chief keyed his COM. "Sierra-117 to Captain Lasky, do you read me?"
"Go ahead, Chief!" Lasky replied.
"Cortana has identified a high value target at the hostile facility. Permission to capture?"
"Granted," Lasky replied. "Cortana just told me about Krennic, and he's a nasty piece of work. Capturing him should definitely give us an idea of what's going on. In fact, I'll divert Fireteam Majestic to capture Krennic. You Spartans help out in the ground battle where possible. After that, make your way inside and get to where Cassian and Jyn are at!"
"Yes, sir," Chief replied. The Pelican touched down, allowing the Spartan team to move out. "Cortana, where to?"
"Head to this area. Marking it with a waypoint!"
A blue chevron appeared on Chief's HUD, allowing him to see where the entrance to the facility was. Looking at the AT-ACT, Chief said, "Blue Team, with me. We'll take out the AT-ACT, then head to the facility and find Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso."
"Copy that," Fred replied. Running faster than a human being could ever hope to achieve, the Spartans quickly advanced along the beaches of the Citadel and towards the AT-ACT.
Chief activated the Grappleshot Launcher on his gauntlet. Advancing forwards, he ran underneath the AT-ACT, getting between it's legs and raised his arm skyward. There was a loud POP as the Grappleshot fired it's hybrid mechanical/electromagnetic claw. There was a dull thunk as it latched on, with the others from Blue Team joining it seconds later.
Electric motors set into their gauntlets whined as they were lifted skywards, bringing the team to a stop underneath the AT-ACT next to a hatch. Pulling out an explosive charge, Fred slapped it onto the hatch and keyed the detonator with a helmet command. There was a loud BANG as the charge detonated, blowing a hole through the durasteel hatch. Swinging themselves inside, they checked the interior of the vehicle.
From what Chief could tell, they had entered the cargo portion of the AT-ACT, as there were crates and cargo pallets all around him. He was about to move forwards when one of the passengers, a Stormtrooper, walked into an isle between the crates. Spotting him, he gave a loud shout, before firing his E-11. The shots, though, were poorly aimed, with the blaster bolts splashing harmlessly against a crate. Chief's fired two shots with even greater accuracy. The Stormtrooper fell to the ground dead, his head pierced by a bullet.
The shots, however, had alerted the other passengers, as they came rushing into the cargo bay, blasters firing. The Spartans, however, did not let them have a moment of respite. Speeding through the cargo bay, Kelly closed in and began firing her shotgun, while delivering lethal melee blows to any Stormtroopers in her way. One Stormtrooper's chest was eviscerated by a shotgun blast, while another screamed as he was sent flying into a nearby wall. A loud CRACK echoed in the cargo hold, and he went down instantly. Unable to counter the Spartans lightning fast reflexes, it wasn't long before the passengers were dead.
Reaching the door to the cockpit, Chief motioned for Fred to place an explosive charge on the door, before detonating it. Blasting it wide open, they entered the cockpit, which had an Imperial officer, as well as two pilots manning the vehicle. The officer pulled out a pistol, only for Kelly to blast him with the shotgun. The other two pilots moved to react, but were terminated by Chief and the others in rapid succession.
"All targets down," Fred replied.
"Place explosives here and at the nearest heat source," Chief ordered. "After that, egress out the hatch we blew and detonate." The Spartans quickly began to place explosives. Once the explosive charges were placed, they quickly exited the AT-ACT. At that moment, his COM crackled. "Blue Team, this is ODST Squad Hotel! We've secured an entrance to the facility! Ready when you are!"
"Copy that," Chief replied. Seeing the waypoint on his HUD, he said, "Blue Team, double time!" With a mental command, he triggered the explosives. A loud KA-BOOM could be heard, followed by the shriek of metal as the AT-ACT crumpled like tissue paper.
. . .
At the same time, Richard Bisenski, one of the Marines, was inside of a M808D Scorpion, one of the latest variants of the venerable tank to enter service. A computerized voice said, "Target. Traverse Left." Obeying the command, Richard spotted the target in question: an AT-ACT that was moving towards him. Thumbing a control on the joystick in his right hand, he switched to a sabot round, waited for the computer to compute range, then fired.
There was a loud KRA-THOOM as the 105mm ETC gun fired, sending a 105mm tungsten APFSDS shell towards the AT-ACT. Against most normal projectiles, durasteel would've been highly protective. Against a tungsten alloy APFSDS shell, the armor on the cockpit of the vehicle might as well have been tissue paper.
The shell ripped through the cockpit at 4 kilometers per second, tearing through the metal as though it didn't exist. The crew inside were instantly liquefied by the impact of the shell, with said shell soon blasting its way out of the other side. A trajectory analysis indicated that it would fall harmlessly into the ocean.
"Target neutralized," he said as a Warthog, one of five on the ground, drove by. Gunning the throttle, he quickly began moving. He was about to target another AT-ACT when he heard a COM burst. "This is ODST Squad Whiskey! Is there anyone on this frequency?! Over!"
Keying his COM, he said, "This is Richard Bisenski. What do you need?"
"We're pinned down by Imperial Stormtroopers and they have a small walker with them! Can you provide assistance?!"
"Roger that," Bisenski calmly replied. "ETA: One Mike." Gunning the throttle, he began driving there as fast as he could.
It wasn't long before he reached the target area. Near some crates and the entrance to the facility were ODSTs fighting for their lives as Stormtroopers poured in. Some of the Stormtroopers, seeing his vehicle, fired at him with their blasters. Richard smirked. They would need quite some time to get through the 230mm of Titanium-Ceramic armor that protected the front of the tank.
"Target. Traverse Right," the computer reported. Hearing this, he thumbed a switch. He could hear a mechanical sound as the APFSDS shell was replaced with the 26th century version of the historic HEAT shell: a MAHEM-F shell designed for both anti-vehicular and anti-infantry work. Once the shell was loaded, he fired.
In an instant, the group of 20 Stormtoroopers vanished in the powerful detonation that followed. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing but a crater.
"Thanks!" he heard the ODSTs tell him.
"Much obliged," he replied.
. . .
Pulling out her blaster pistol, Jyn told Cassian, "Stand back." Realizing what she was going to do, he stood as close to the vault door as he could. Once he was far away enough, Jyn fired her blaster pistol.
The bolt, traveling at high speed, smacked into the glass, melting a hole into it, while also blasting it outwards at the same time. Air rushed out of the chamber they were in as the air pressure equalized with the rest of the atmosphere in the chamber. Their ears popped as they adjusted to the new pressure.
Both of them examined the long climb ahead"If we're climbing up that, we'll have to take off the uniforms we stole," Cassian observed. "We need the freedom of movement."
"My thoughts exactly," Jyn agreed. Both of them then went to work stripping off the overcoats they were wearing, while making sure that the clothes underneath had the flexibility needed for them to climb. Clambering over the frame of the now shattered view port, Jyn tensed her legs before throwing herself over the other side. Grabbing onto the column, she nearly slipped, but managed to hang on. With her grip secured, she quickly began climbing up to where the data drive was at. Behind her, Cassian also made the jump and began to follow her.
After a few minutes of climbing, Jyn reached the data drive. Grabbing a hold of it, she said, "I got it!", then she began to pull at it. For a few moments, it stubbornly refused to come out, then with a loud metallic PING, the data drive pulled free of it's holding chamber.
The sudden movement threw Jyn's left arm backwards. "Careful!" she heard Cassian shout as she swung about. Steadying herself, she quickly regained her footing. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah!" Jyn replied. Keeping a hold of the column, she quickly clipped the data drive onto the back of her belt. If we can get to the top of this room, we can not only escape, but send the plans as well. She continued climbing with single-minded tenacity.
While this was going on, Krennic and the others were quickly advancing through the structure. Looking down, he could see all of the dead Stormtroopers that had been killed by K-2SO. A pity, he noted to himself. Shaking the thought away, he made sure his personal blaster pistol was ready. Moving through a hallway with his guards, he reached one of the doors and opened it.
What he didn't anticipate, however, was that Cassian was keeping a close eye on the door itself. As soon as it opened, he shouted, "JYN!" before firing at Krennic with his own blaster pistol. Krennic and his guards threw themselves back as the blaster bolts hit the walls of the corridor, sending sparks and molten metal flying everywhere.
Regaining his composure, Krennic pulled out his blaster pistol and his guards pulled out their own weapons. They opened fire simultaneously, forcing Jyn and Cassian into cover. As Cassian and Krennic exchanged blaster bolt fire, Jyn quickly moved so that she wouldn't be left exposed to the blaster bolt exchange. Cassian shouted triumphantly as he shot both of Krennic's guards, with one falling backwards into the corridor, while the other fell forwards to his doom, screaming all the while. "Keep going!" he shouted at Jyn. "Keep going!"
Krennic, however, saw an opportunity and took it. Just as Cassian popped out of cover, he fired his blaster, nailing Cassian in the right shoulder. Shouting from the pain, Cassian reeled backwards, his left hand losing its grip before falling away completely. "Cassian!" Jyn shouted as he fell onto a platform down below her. The wound that he'd sustained wasn't lethal but the fall had knocked him out. Steeling herself, she continued to climb upwards.
. . .
Outside, Baze and the others were now having to deal with another threat that had arrived to destroy them. Leaning out of cover, he fired his heavy blaster at a group of black armored Imperials that were firing their own weapons at them. Most of the Rebels out in the open were cut down, though a few that had taken cover behind some crates continued to fire back. "Those must be Krennic's personal guards!" he observed.
"I would imagine so!" Chirrut remarked as he fired his own blaster at the hostiles. "The Force flows darkly around them!" He ducked down just as a blaster bolt flew overhead, creating a crater that was just a few inches above his head.
"I'll take your word for it!" Baze shouted. Leaning out, he fired his heavy blaster at the incoming hostiles. Just as he did so, though, he thought he heard a strange sound. Unlike the shuttle that had dropped off Krennic's personal guards, this sound was like a great wind rushing through the place, only many times louder.
The source of the noise promptly revealed itself. Baze watched as a strange shuttle of some kind came into view. The front end was quite large and bulbous, with two canopies on the front and upper surface, while the back was fairly narrow and thin. Two stubby wings were present on the front, and he could see jets of blue-white fire coming from nozzles on the front and back. It wheeled around, with a hatch on the back opening to reveal the inside. While he couldn't see much due to the smoke, Baze could see what he thought was a man standing at what he thought was a heavy blaster. The man, spotting the hostiles, quickly took aim at them and pulled the trigger.
Instead of blaster bolts, Baze was shocked to hear a loud and percussive banging sound. Yellow-white streaks of light cut towards the Imperial Death Troopers. Baze could hear loud screams of agony as what he realized were slugs cut into the Death Troopers.
That wasn't all, though, as he spotted soldiers getting out of the vehicle as well. All of them wore olive green body armor, as well as black and green fatigues underneath them and helmets that hid most of their faces, though their eyes could be clearly seen. The surviving Death Troopers, spotting the new threat, quickly opened fire, forcing the newcomers to close the distance quickly. A few were knocked down, while the others opened fire, pumping the attackers full of more slugs.
One of them ran over to Baze and the others. "Who's your CO!" he shouted.
"I am!" came a shout. Baze watched as Melphi came out, clutching a blaster wound on his shoulder. "Who are you?!"
"Master Sergeant Stacker," the man replied, "and we're the guys saving your sorry asses! What's the SITREP!"
"We have to keep the Imperials distracted long enough for Jyn and Cassian to retrieve the data drive containing the Death Star schematics!" Melphi explained. "That's what we were doing, only these Imperials sent out the big guns after us!"
"Well, you're lucky you ain't dead yet!" Stacker remarked. "Whoever came up with the plan for this attack needs some retraining!"
"Incoming!" Baze shouted, pointing at a squad of Stormtroopers that were advancing at them.
"Sit tight, guys!" Stacker shouted. "We'll handle those Stormies! Omaha Squad, start taking those Stormies down! We're gonna get these guys out of here!" With that, the soldiers quickly turned and began firing at the Stormtroopers...
Another fierce battle was taking place near one of the entrances to the facility. Popping out of cover, Rikard fired his blaster rifle at the Stormtroopers, only to be forced back down when more blaster bolts whipped overhead. A loud scream came from nearby as a Rebel fell to the ground, his chest blasted open by a blaster bolt. Resigned to his fate, Rikard got up and fired once more.
Fate, however, had different plans. He soon heard a strange, whistling sound, like a mortar shell was falling through the air. Before anyone could react, several oddly shaped pods fell from the sky and smashed into the ground. One Stormtrooper was unlucky enough to be caught directly underneath one. Seeing what happened next, Rikard ducked down, then vomited at the sight he saw.
Loud, percussive banging sounds forced him to look from behind cover. He watched as several individuals wearing bulky black armor fired on the Stormtroopers. Whatever weapons they were using were proving to be lethal to the Stormtroopers, as each one fell to the ground. Spotting one coming over as the Stormtroopers were wiped out, he asked, "Who are you?!"
"ODST Sergeant Alan Greaves," came the reply. 'Our mission is to secure this entrance for the Spartans and get you guys out of here."
"I don't know what an ODST is, but you kicked those guys butts. Thanks for the assist."
"You're welcome," Greaves replied. Keying his COM, he said, "Blue Team, this is ODST Squad Hotel! Entrance secured! Ready when you are.!"
. . .
Up in space, Parisa and her team were now storming the last few meters that separated them from the bridge. Ducking behind cover, she and another Marine narrowly avoided being hit by a blaster bolt. Nearby, Richard leaned out and fired his MA5D, blasting open the head of a Stormtrooper. "Fuckers are fighting hard!" he shouted. "Heavy resistance!"
Hearing a cry, Parisa watched as a Marine fell to the ground, clutching at a nasty looking charred crater on his arm. "We need to take these Stormtroopers down now, or we'll lose the initiative!" Richard shouted.
"Please do!" Browning shouted. "I can't treat any injuries until the fighting stops!"
"Copy that!" Parisa shouted. "Everyone, grenades!" All of the Marines pulled out the grenades. Pulling the pins, they kept their thumbs on each grenade's spoon, preventing them from going live until they were thrown. "Throw 'em!" At that command, the Marines threw the grenades at the Stormtroopers.
A series of powerful detonations erupted where the grenades landed, shredding the Stormtoopers armor while blasting them apart. With the blaster fire sharply tapering off, the Marines quickly popped out of cover and gunned down the remaining Stormtroopers. "Lucas, how bad are the injured?" she asked.
"So far, it's minor wounds, though the craters in some of the exposed areas are worrying," Lucas reported. "I recommend getting them to the medical bay once this is all over."
"Good idea," Parisa agreed. "Squad on me! Prepare for door breach!" Moving up, they stacked up on the door, with Roland opening it on a signal from Parisa. Moving inside, they found the rest of the command crew, though most of them were still stunned and unconscious. A few were starting to regain consciousness, chiefly among them Admiral Gorin, who was staring at them wide eyed. "What are you?!" he gasped as the Marines quickly began to secure the prisoners.
"We are the UNSC," Parisa stated. "Now, would you be kind enough as to ask the rest of your crew to surrender? I'd rather not have to kill all of them."
A defeated expression came on Gorin's face. "Fine!" he shouted "You win today, Rebel." Pulling himself up to his console, he slid his code cylinder into a slot and keyed the ship wide intercom. "All hands, this is Admiral Gorin. We've been boarded and I've been captured. Stand down. Don't waste your lives trying to save the ship." Looking at Parisa, he asked, "Happy now?"
"Yes," Parisa replied, then she smashed the stock of her rifle into Gorin's face. The Admiral fell down to the ground like a sac of potatoes, an ugly bruise beginning to form on his mug. "Bag and tag him! I'll bet a few friends of ours will want to squeeze him dry of his secrets." She keyed her COM and said, "Roland, inform Captain Lasky that we've taken the bridge! Also, any idea on how to get this bucket of bolts moving?"
"I've already informed him," Roland replied. "As for moving the Star Destroyer, I've figured out how to do that. I've also acquired the star charts that were stored in the Star Destroyer's data banks. It's got a map of the entire galaxy, and boy is it a big one!"
"I'll leave that last bit to you and Lasky," Parisa decided "Anything else?"
"Yeah. Capture any code cylinders that the Imperial officers have. We'll need them to access classified data."
"Got it," Parisa replied. Switching frequencies, she asked, "Echo, Foxtrot and Golf Squads, come in. What's your status?"
"The hostiles are throwing down their weapons and surrendering!" the leader of Echo squadron reported. "Looks like they've decided to listen to their Admiral!"
"Golf Squadron here," came another call. "We've managed to get to Engineering. They were trying to restart the self-destruct mechanism when we came along. We've stopped them, and the rest are surrendering now that their Admiral has asked them to do so."
"Good," Parisa remarked. "Lock them up wherever the brig is located on this rust bucket! Looks like we've won today!"
. . .
Pushing up a cover for the walkway, Jyn peeked her head out to look around. Seeing no one, she pulled herself up onto the deck. Looks like Raddus was right about getting help, she noted as she spotted a large ship that was hovering in atmosphere. Didn't know the newcomers could have ships enter atmosphere as well. They look like they can barely fly.
Tearing her gaze away from the ship, she did a final sweep before heading towards a nearby control panel. Then she heard the sound of a turbolift door opening. Throwing herself behind cover, she peeked out to see four individuals coming out of the turbolift.
There were few times that Jyn felt intimidated, and she could safely say that this was one of those times. All four of the newcomers were wearing body armor that covered them from head to toe, with each plate of armor being quite thick. A black bodysuit was underneath, while their faces were hidden by helmets with face plates of varying color. They were also quite tall, and Jyn felt that if she stood next to one, she would be nothing more than a midget.
She could also hear voices, but the wind drowned them out. She was about to move when all of them raised their weapons, with one moving towards her. SPAST! she snarled. Not again! Diving out of cover, she fired her blaster.
To her shock, the blaster bolt splashed harmlessly against a gold-white barrier that shimmered over her target. Spotting her, they raised their weapons, but one that was covered with olive-green armor raised a hand and shouted in a deep, gravelly voice, "Check fire, Blue Team!" The force of the command surprised Jyn so badly that she jumped, dropping her blaster pistol in the process. The man advanced towards her and asked, "Are you Jyn Erso?"
"Y-yes," Jyn replied. "What's it to you? Are you with the Imperials?!"
"No," the man replied. "The Imperial forces here fired on the Infinity. Our mission is to retrieve you and the plans for a superweapon that the Empire was building and to capture Director Krennic, on orders from Admiral Raddus and Captain Lasky."
At that moment, she realized that these armored personnel were with the newcomers. "I heard about that on the communicator," she noted. "I take it you're from the Star Dreadnought that Admiral Raddus mentioned."
"Yes."
Jyn relaxed, then picked up her blaster pistol. "Sorry about shooting at you. I was expecting to see more Imperials and I didn't know what to make of you. What are your names?"
"You may refer to us as Blue Team. I'm Blue One, but Chief will do. With me are Blue Two, Three and Four."
"You can all us Spartans, though," Blue Two added.
"I like it," Jyn decided. "Easy to remember." Looking at the control panel, she asked, "So, shall we transmit the plans to the Profundity?" In response, the Spartans took up formation nearby, while Jyn advanced to the console. Spotting a slot for the data drive, she quickly pushed it in, then tried the console.
An automated voice said, "Reset Antenna Alignment." An image of the antenna appeared on a screen. "Damnit!" Jyn snarled.
"What is it?" Chief asked.
"The antenna's misaligned! We can't transmit the plans until that's done!"
"We've got that handled," Chief replied. "Cortana?"
"Already on it, Chief," Cortana said. A loud creaking sound echoed as the antenna dish realigned to where it could transmit a message to the Rebel Fleet and Infinity. "There, antenna's realigned!"
"Thanks," Jyn said. "Who was that?"
"That's Cortana," Blue Two said. "She's an AI that's assigned to our squad."
"AI? You mean a droid?"
"Again, with the whole droid thing!" Cortana sputtered angrily. "Let me make this loud and clear, Jyn Erso. I! Am! Not! A droid!" Oh, and we've got company coming!"
Jyn froze, then realized what Cortana was likely referring to. She whirled around at the same time the Spartans did. Krennic walked out from behind one of the columns, blaster pistol in hand, and a thoroughly flustered expression on his face. "Who are you?!" he shouted when he saw Jyn, as well as the Spartans.
"You know who I am," Jyn said to him. "I'm Jyn Erso. Daughter of Galen and Lyrren. You've lost."
"Oh I have, haven't I?" Krennic asked, a look of bravado on his face.
"My father's revenge. He built a flaw into the Death Star. He put a bomb with a fuse inside of your entire machine, and I've just told the galaxy how to light it. On top of that, I've got a few newfound friends that can stop you."
Krennic looked like he was about to shout, then he realized it. With the Star Dreadnought assisting the Alliance, the Shield Gate destroyed and the planetary shield gone, he had been defeated. His thoughts turned towards what might happen if the Empire learned of his defeat. What will the Emperor and Darth Vader do to make an example of you to others, a dark thought whispered to him. What would Vader do if he saw you right now?
A crestfallen expression came onto his face and his hand went limp, dropping the blaster pistol onto the ground with a quiet clank. Lowering his arm, he took a breath and then fell onto both of his knees. "So it would seem," he said. "Go on. If I am to die, please make it quick."
For a moment, Jyn kept her blaster pistol raised at Krennic Go on, a dark voice in her head said. Kill him. Take revenge for what he's done to you. It's only fair, after all.
Would it really be worth it, another mental voice asked her. Would killing Krennic be worth having to carry around that bitterness with you for the rest of your life?
For a moment, she looked ready to shoot Krennic, then she lowered her weapon. "No," she said. "You won't turn me into you, Krennic. I'm not a murderer like you." Looking at the Spartans, she said, "Do what you will with him. There's been enough killing."
The Spartans advanced, with one roughly pulling Krennic up while putting handcuffs on his wrists. Chief keyed his COM and said, "Delta 3-5-1, move in and pick us up up at the tower platform.
"Copy that," Delta 3-5-1 replied. "Moving in now!"
"Affirmative. Sierra-117 to the Infinity. HVI has been secured. Cortana is transmitting the plans for the Imperial superweapon to both the Rebel Fleet and to the Infinity. We have also located Jyn Erso."
"What about Cassian Andor?" came Lasky's voice.
"JYN!" a voice shouted. A young man with brown hair, brown eyes and tanned skin limped into view. He aimed his blaster at the Spartans.
"Cassian, don't shoot!" Jyn shouted. "They're with the Star Dreadnought! They're friendly!"
"Really?" Cassian asked. When Jyn nodded, Cassian slowly lowered his blaster pistol. "Well, they certainly look the part too." Wincing, he nearly fell to his knees. Running over, Jyn propped him up on her shoulder.
"You look like a mess. We're getting out of here."
Chief said, "Infinity, all HVI's secured. Requesting a medical team for Cassian Andor."
"Roger that," Lasky replied. "Medical team's heading to your designated hangar. I've ordered all troops to be recalled to the Infinity. We're also helping the Rebel forces on the planet get to safety as well. Return to the Infinity."
"Yes sir," Chief replied.
As he did so, the loading ramp for the Pelican closed, with Jyn and the others inside. Looking at Cassian, she asked, "What's gonna happen now?"
"No idea," Cassian admitted. "No idea at all."
. . .
Onboard the Infinity, Lasky watched as the Pelicans that had recovered the ground troops on the surface flew past the ruins of the Shield Gate and back towards the Infinity. "Captain, the plans for the Death Star are being received by the Rebel Fleet. We've also got the plans and I'm currently reviewing them," Cortana said.
Lasky pumped a fist. "Yes!" he cheered. "What's the status on the Slipspace Drive?"
There was a click at the holo-table's intercom, then Jordan spoke up. He sounded pleased with himself, and more than a little relieved. "Great news, Captain! Halsey and I managed to get the Slipstream Space Drive fully operational again!"
That was cause for some unprofessional but heartfelt cheering on the bridge. "Nicely done!" Lasky replied. "What happened to it?"
"It turned out, all the modules that were installed from the Eternity caused the malfunction in the first place," Dr. Glassman reported in. "Jordan was able to trace the malfunction back to its source and fix it. In addition, we've discovered new functionality inside of the Slipstream Space Drive. We can go even faster than before, but I wouldn't recommend doing so unless absolutely necessary!"
Halsey came on. "Like I said, allow the professionals to get the job done, and things go well. I admit, Jordan, you've impressed me, despite your earlier stumble."
"Yeah…" Jordan sheepishly admitted. "That wasn't one of the better moments of my career. Either way, the problem's been solved, and we can perform FTL Jumps again."
"Good work," Lasky said. "Bridge out." Closing the 'com, he said, "Lieutenant Jet, are we good for when we're ready to travel?"
"Yes sir!" Jet replied. "Roland managed to swipe some data from the Star Destroyer. Apparently, its a map of the entire galaxy, including all of the coordinates we need in order to go anywhere in the galaxy we need to go to."
"Galaxy?" Lasky asked.
"Correct," Gabriela reported. "I was able to gain access to the Slipstream Space Drive. Using that data, I've figured out where we've ended up. According to my calculations, we've ended up in the Andromeda Galaxy, Captain."
Lasky let out a low whistle. "That's a really, really long ways from home. Any way we can get back home?"
"Well, now that the Slipstream Space Drive is functioning properly again, yes," Gabriela added. "However, I wouldn't recommend using that fast of a transit method again. If we do, we might tear the Infinity apart, unless we can find an easier way to do so."
Lasky frowned. "I understand."
"Captain," Lieutenant Murphy reported. "The Tantive IV is requesting permission to fly over and dock to the ship. In addition, they're requesting engineers for what they're calling the 'Hyperdrive Motivator."
"What's a Hyperdrive Motivator?" Lasky asked.
"I know what it is," Cortana explained. "The Hyperdrive Motivator's the primary FTL flight thrust initiatior for the Empire's ships. Without it, they can't go into FTL, and a faulty Hyperdrive Motivator will send faulty readings to the ship's navicomputer. If you jump with a faulty motivator, the results can be... less than pleasant. In addition, they can send fault readings to the navicomputer, which is bad if you're on autopilot."
"Ouch. No wonder they're requesting engineers. Question is, where are they going to dock at? The Infinity only has ten frigate hangars, not eleven."
"They could dock inside one of the smaller hangars," Murphy suggested. "The Tantive IV is around 126 meters long, which is around twenty meters shorter than the width of our standard fighter bays. It'll be a tight fit, but we can manage it. They are longer, at around 160 meters, so if you ask me, I'd recommend that they come in lengthwise."
"I concur as well," Cortana agreed. "Gabriela should handle the docking procedures."
"So, permission to have them come aboard?" Murphy asked.
"Granted," Lasky replied. "Having her onboard will help show that we didn't want a fight. Plus, if this 'Imperial Senate' decides to get uppity, Leia can prove that we do exist."
"Copy that, Captain," Lieutenant Murphy said. Keying the 'com, he said, "Hangar 21-D, you guy's ready?"
. . .
Down in Hangar 21-D, Benjamin Merrick, the Flight Officer of Hangar 21-D, was quickly coordinating with the hangar crew to make sure they had enough room for the Tantive IV. Looking around, he ran a mental check of the hangar's dimensions. It's more than wide and tall enough, but the length is where it'll be a tight squeeze. Hearing Murphy talking to him on the 'com, he asked, "Come again?"
"Is Hangar 21-D ready?" Murphy asked.
"We're ready!" Benjamin reported. "I've got the flight crew in position and ready to go!"
"Copy that," Murphy replied. Keeping the 'com open, he said, "Tantive IV, this is Lieutenant Murphy. Permission to come aboard granted. Fly towards Hangar 21-D. Sending flight path now. Be advised, they are suffering from mechanical and electrical problems."
Onboard the Tantive IV, Leia watched her pilot give her a thumbs up as he received the flight path. "Copy that," she replied. "We are coming now." Looking at her pilot, she said, "Be careful. The faulty Hyperdrive Motivator will send faulty readings."
"Understood," the pilot repliled. "I'll guide it in manually as far as possible. Do they have a remote operation system? That could allow us to get in without any trouble from the faulty Motivator."
"I'll ask them," Leia decided. Once her Comm Officer gave her a thumbs up, she said, "We are on our way, Lieutenant Murphy. Do you have a remote operation system? Our Hyperdrive Motivator is faulty, and if we use the automated system, we'll have trouble."
"We do," Murphy replied. "Just keep the COM channel open, two of our specialists, Cortana and Gabriela, are going to help you there. They're coming on now."
"This is Cortana here," came another woman's voice. "We'll help you get docked to the Infinity. Just keep the COM channel open and we'll be good to go."
"Understood," Leia replied. "Comms, keep the channel open." There was silence as they approached the Infinity.
"We're as close as I can get us," the pilot reported. "This is as far as I can go."
"Its all yours now"
Using the COM channel, Cortana quickly uploaded herself onto the Tantive IV's computer systems. "I found the problem," she told Gabriela. "Their Hyperdrive Motivator's sending faulty readings to the navicomputer. We can compensate by using our navigation computer to guide the ship in."
"My thoughts exactly," Gabriela agreed. With Cortana having made a hole in the Tantive IVs firewalls, she quickly moved in and began guiding the ship in. Working quickly, she used her subroutines to block out the faulty readings from the Hyperdrive Motivator, preventing it from causing any trouble. Using the navigation computer onboard the Infinity, as well as the one on the Tantive IV, she slowly, but expertly, guided the ship in once it was close enough to the Infinity...
Inside of the flight deck, Benjamin watched as the personnel wearing the white Quality Assurance and yellow Aircraft Handing Officer uniforms moved in, while the Launch Crew, Aviation Fuel Handler, Trainee Plane Handlers in their green, purple and blue uniforms, respectively, waited for orders. Slowly, but certainly, the large ship slid into the hangar bay. On the ground, the Landing Signal Officer, along with the Flight Director, guided the ship towards a universal docking clamp the Huragok and a few UNSC engineers and mechanics had jury rigged earlier using flashing lights.
Before long, the Tantive IV was directly below the universal docking clamp. There was a pause, then whirring sounds sounded as the jury rigged clamps locked down onto the Tantive IV's hull magnetically and mechanically. Within a few seconds, the Tantive IV was firmly secured. The green, purple and blue uniformed personnel went to work while the Firefighting and Damage Control team, dressed in red uniforms, approached Benjamin with toolkits in their hands. "All right," he informed them. "I'm glad you guys are here. The Tantive IV is a nice ship, but she's sick. Once we're cleared to head aboard, do what you can."
"You got it, boss," the others said.
Benjamin keyed his 'com. "Flight Officer to bridge. The Tantive IV is securely docked. We've got about 20 meters of free space in front of the ship, so it's a tight fit, but we managed it."
"Copy that," Lieutenant Murphy replied. "Nicely done, you two."
"Thanks," Cortana and Gabriela replied."
. . .
Murphy smiled, then turned to Lasky, "The Tantive IV is onboard."
"Excellent," Lasky replied with a smile. "What about our Pelicans?"
"All Pelicans are back onboard."
"Excellent," Lasky replied. "Contact Admiral Raddus. Inform him that we'll need a rendezvous point."
"Got it," Jepersen replied from his station. After about half a minute, he said, "Captain, Raddus has sent us rendezvous coordinates."
"Permission to enter them in and get us there?" Lieutenant Jet asked.
Lasky was about to give out orders when Lieutenant Ryder shouted, "Sir! I've got a massive sensor contact coming in! Directly ahead!"
Looking up, Lasky spotted what Ryder had pointed out. While the haze of the planet's atmosphere made it hard to see, he saw what he initially thought was a moon with a large crater on it. As it cleared the planet, his heart sank when he saw that it was clearly an artificial object. Melody, who had similar initial thoughts, said, "That's not a moon. It's a space station."
"That thing's massive!" Ryder whistled. "Bigger than anything I've ever seen. It makes the Infinity look like an insect. I don't think that there's anything bigger than that!"
"There is," Lasky said to him. "Only the Covenant and Forerunners have built massive structures like that." In fact, the only things that Lasky knew could match what he now realized was the Death Star in terms of size was a Halo as well as the Covenant holy city known as High Charity. I wish I had a NOVA Bomb, he absentmindedly thought to himself.
. . .
Onboard the Death Star, inside one of the command rooms, Grand Moff Wilhuf Tarkin gazed out at the planet of Scarif. While the planet was beautiful, it was the enemy fleet over Scarif that had his attention the most. In addition, he could see the Star Dreadnought that recent distress calls had alerted him to.
An officer walked up to him as he looked out over the planet. "Sir? Shall I begin targeting the fleet?"
Tarkin shook his head. "Lord Vader will handle the fleet. Target the base at Scarif. Single reactor ignition."
"Yes sir," the officer replied. Tarkin waited for a few seconds. "Base targeted," the officer informed him.
"You may fire when ready," Tarkin replied.
the firing crew onboard the Death Star went to work. "Commence Firing Ignition," a PA announced. A few seconds later, Tarkin watched as a brilliant, emerald green beam of energy shot out from the Death Star's primary weapon before tearing through the atmosphere of Scarif. On the ground, the beam pierced through the communications array, disintegrating it. Impacting the ground, the beam superheated the water and rock in the ocean nearby, creating a tremendous explosion.
. . .
Onboard the Infinity, Lasky's blood ran cold as he watched the beam of energy destroy a part of the planet's surface. The entire bridge, in fact, was deathly silent as everyone watched a massive explosion erupt on the planet's surface. "Oh… shit!" Ryder gasped.
"Not good," Roland whispered, his laid back attitude now replaced with one of sheer terror.
"So, that's the Death Star," Cortana remarked, though even she looked pale for an AI. "That's not good. Captain, I performed a scan when the weapon fired. That was likely a low powered beam. If they wanted to, according to the Death Star schematics, they could destroy the entire planet."
Those words chilled Lasky more than anything. Such a weapon would be the ultimate deterrent, he realized. No one would want to attack for fear of annihilation Only the Forerunners are capable of such a feat "Shit!" he said. "We've gotta get out of here now!"
"Everyone's back aboard," Murphy reported. "We're ready to leave!"
"Plotting course now!" Jet added
"Sir, I've got another object coming into our area!" Ryder reported. "It's another Star Destroyer IFF tags identify it as the Devastator! They're moving to block the Rebel Fleet!"
"Understood," Lasky replied. "Let's see if we can help out our Rebel friends against these new hostiles!"
. . .
Onboard the Devastator was another man that was keenly watching the fleet, especially the Infinity. Gazing out at the fleet, Darth Vader could feel the devastation that the Star Dreadnought had wrought on the Imperial fleet. Around him, he could feel the Force bending and twisting at the devastation that had happened. He had even sensed the ripple in the Force that had happened when the Star Dreadnought had smashed through the Persecutor like it was matchwood.
He could hear the Force screaming a warning to him. That warning, as best as he could tell, was that engaging the Rebel Fleet would provoke the Star Dreadnought into attacking his ship, and in doing so, it would utterly destroy the ship and kill him. To fight the Star Dreadnought was to invite Death itself, and while Vader was a great many things to many people, he was most certainly not a fool.
As those thoughts swam through his mind, an officer came to him. "Lord Vader, we are targeting the Rebel fleet. Permission to engage?"
Vader looked at the fleet, then said. "No. Send a message to Grand Moff Tarkin. We will let the Rebel Fleet go."
"Sir?" the officer asked, confused. "I don't understand."
"Attacking the Rebel Fleet will invite a reprisal from the Star Dreadnought. It not only destroyed the Persecutor by simply ramming through it, it also severely damaged the Intimidator. Against a ship of that size, our ship will not survive. Have I made myself clear?"
The officer swallowed, his voice box bobbing up and down. "Y-Yes, my lord," he stammered. "Communications, send a transmission to Tarkin. We're letting the Rebel Fleet go at this time."
As the officer relayed his instructions, Vader looked at the Star Dreadnought once more. In the Force, the ship seemed to be dark, like a cloudy nebula. Who are you, he wondered to himself…
. . .
At Alderaan, Bail Organa had been having a calm and quiet day when he had been alerted to a new development. Walking into his office, he asked, "What happened."
"Sir," one of his aids informed him, "Senator Leia Organa has requested an emergency meeting in the Senate."
Confusion reigned on Organa's face. "What? I thought I told her to keep silent until her secret mission was complete." In fact,it was why he had ignored a previous call from her earlier. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he said, "Let me see the message."
The guard handed him a datapad. Looking down, Bail began to read the information on the 'pad. As he did so, his eyes went wide with shock. Putting the data pad down a tad fast, he said, "I'll contact the Senate immediately. Inform my officers to have my personal ship ready. I'm heading to Coruscant for this."
He rubbed his forehead. Now I know why she was contacting me, he thought with some guilt. This certainly means that her secret mission is canceled. Well, no better time to correct this than the present. Getting up, he began moving to his personal starship.
. . .
Back aboard the Infinity, Lasky watched as the ship began to turn around, before it seemed to dart forward and vanish. "Sir!" Ryder reported. "The ship has jumped to FTL speeds. From what I can tell, they've decided that engaging us is not a good idea!"
"I see," Lasky noted. Keying the COM, he said, "Admiral Raddus, did you see that?"
"Yes," Raddus replied. "We have a clear hyperspace vector to jump on now! All ships, prepare to jump to hyperspace! Captain Lasky, we are sending rendezvous coordinates now!"
"Gabriela?" Lasky asked.
"I've received the coordinates in question," Gabriela replied.
"Course plotted!" Jet replied. "Shall we make the jump?"
"Affirmative!" Lasky replied. With that, a massive Slipstream Space Portal erupted into existence, with the Infinity flying through. As it did so, Lasky knew one thing: whatever was going on was never going to be the same again.