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Chapter 4

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Part 5

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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
14.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/

Senate building

Reach

Epsilon Eridiani system

Milky Way Galaxy

No matter how dangerous, a single corvette couldn't hope to stem the tide of incoming Covenant troops. However, she could break up force concentrations and take out armor, blunting many of the enemy's advantages. By the time the bulk of the Covenant ground forces reached the building, they had resembled a scattered mob instead of proper military units. That would buy time for the defenders in the lower levels; Six knew.

Unfortunately, the strike teams deploying through various combat transports and even Thick boarding vessels either arrived whole and intact, ready to fight or didn't arrive at all. A satisfying number died in the air, swatted away by effective anti-air defenses.

Dozens of ships were going to make it to the side of the building. Six could see from the curved corridor they were marching through. The Spartan kept talking to one of the Clones, telling him everything he could think of about enemy tactics, equipment, strengths, and weaknesses. The droid dutifully translated, and presumably, the information made it through whatever military network these people used. Thicks and the odd, much larger transport made it through the final defensive fire and slammed into the building. The larger craft opened fire with its defensive weaponry as soon as they were through the shield and headed up towards the roof.

Kenobi shouted an order, and their procession came to a halt.

"We have incoming. Oh, dear. We are all going to die!" The droid exclaimed.

Six glanced at C-3PO with bemusement. That was the kind of emotion one would expect from a Smart AI, though not the personality.

Loud clangs sounded, drowning the muffled sounds of combat coming from outside. The windows turned out to be made of transparent metal. The boarding craft had to cut their way through instead of smashing into the corridor. At least three of them attached themselves on this floor, ahead of their group, ready to deploy boarders.

To Six's bafflement, Kenobi walked ahead of his security detail. He removed a cylinder that hung from his utility belt and pressed a button on it. A blue energy blade came to life with a distinct snap-hiss sound.

Two rows of power-armored soldiers formed behind the Emperor, the first one taking a knee like soldiers from ancient times. Six's bafflement at this apparent insanity didn't last long. Circles of glowing metal fell to the floor with sharp clangs, and Covenant warriors ran in screaming battle cries.

The nearest Thick disgorged a wave of shouting Grunts followed by a pair of Elites. Zealots and what looked like Spec Ops Elites came farther down the corridor. The Covenant warriors didn't look phased at the appearance of the Imperial soldiers. One of the Elites shouted something, and they all opened fire.

What followed would remain carved in Six's mind until the day he died. Kenobi moved so fast that he was a blur, even to the Spartan's enhanced perception. The Emperor's blade burned through the air in sweeping arcs, catching and deflecting the incoming plasma fire. Some shots flew wildly at the walls and ceiling. More importantly, others returned to the sender to the utter surprise of the Covenant. All but a pair of Grunts died to reflected fire. The shields of the Elites flared up and were about to fail when one of them shoved a Grunt's weapon away so it would stop firing. The other stared at Kenobi with what had to be bafflement stretching its split jaw. At the same time, a deflected plasma shot hit the second remaining Grunt in the face. It few down with a pained screech that soon cut off.

The Emperor spoke to the Covenant in a voice holding crushing authority. The only answer he got was confusion, followed by the arrival of more enemy forces. A Zealot in golden armor shoved his way forward, and he looked down at the Emperor as if judging him. He barked a possible challenge that no one but the Covenant understood.

The droid was babbling as well, to no effect. At that point, Kenobi shook his head. Cody said a sharp word, and the Imperial soldiers opened fire, surprising the Covenant. What did they expect, an honorable duel?!

Red energy bolts splashed over shields and, within moments, burned through armor. Rapid fire energy weaponry cut through the Covenant before they could shoot more than a few times in response. Kenobi seemingly effortlessly blocked those shots, sending most of them back into the mass of dying Covenant.

Not for the first time, Six was glad for his sealed armor. He didn't want to imagine how the corridor smelled with all the burned bodies and melted armor they had to march over. Kenobi remained on point, and for once, doing so made sense. Six wondered what kind of enhancements and possible AI support the Emperor had and if the soldiers around them shared them.

Their trek through the building suddenly ended when Kenobi went right and walked through a wide corridor that led into an enormous chamber that had to be the heart of the Senate. After glancing around, Six understood the Emperor and C-3PO weren't bullshitting him about the nature of the building.

They were near the top of a chamber with hundreds, if not a thousand or more circular pods in it. Many of them contained people – some were humans, others were aliens of various shapes Six had never seen before. There were squads of infantry near many entrances of the vast chamber. Some appeared to be identical to those near him; others had armor painted in noticeable blue or red color. Those were either law enforcement or honor guard, Six decided.

Just above them, a single, larger pod hung in the air. A few soldiers stood at attention at its back while a human man and woman flanked an elaborately dressed human woman. She was speaking in a clear, angry voice. Her most striking feature was the ornate, highly impractical way her hair was braided and the ornaments holding it up. Six didn't even know how to call those things if English even had words for them.

An Imperial Senate. That was what this was. The realization that perhaps everything Kenobi and C-3PO told him was the complete and utter truth sent his mind spinning. Despite all the mounting proof, there had been this sense of unreality, of disbelief coloring everything that had happened since he awoke.

The Covenant almost certainly bit more than they could chew this time. The only question was Six, and the people here would live to see that matter. Further, considering the enormity of his situation, the Spartan couldn't help but loathe the fact that he couldn't properly communicate with these people. And with High Command, because they needed to know of this yesterday!

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CIC
Republic Star Destroyer Vigilant, Palpatine Class
Coruscant
Coruscant System
Corcusca Galaxy

Grim determination gripped Captain Jace Dallin's heart. For three years of uneasy peace, the Federated Empire kept proving he was right to shift his allegiance to it as the rightful successor of the fallen Republic. Those insane invaders tried to undo the New Order, struggling to bring security and prosperity back to the galaxy. Watching the unfolding attack on Coruscant helplessly had been infuriating.

Now, as he was about to enter the unknown, he was satisfied and disturbed. The Senate was supposed to be still intact. There was a chance to salvage the Imperial government, or at least the Imperial family, and avoid even more of a disaster than the one below his ship. Camera feeds from the outer hull showed the kind of devastation even the Confederacy's last desperate attack on Coruscant failed to produce. It was like watching one of the hundreds of worlds ravaged by the rogue droids during the war.

Utter hell.

"Task Force is in formation. We will enter the anomaly in one minute!" Dallin's XO dutifully reported. "We managed to get five LAATs with Shock Troopers on board. The hangar is sealed. Deflectors are at hundred percent."

A glance at one of the tactical displays told the Captain that Admiral Coburn was bringing most of the fleet into the atmosphere, ready to contest the anomaly against anyone who dared emerge from it. Only the fleet's flagship squadron and its escorts remained in orbit.

If he was at the observation lounge, Jace was sure he could see the Vigilant's escorts flying ridiculously close, just like the rest of the formed-up Task Force. Each Star Destroyer had an entourage of Corvettes. Some of them were even the now relatively rare advanced Corellian designs, actually built at Corellian shipyards.

Despite all proof to the contrary, everyone in the Navy believed no one else could build the Corellian escorts as well as the Corellians themselves. The significant increase in casualties among such ships late in the war was the often cited proof when the truth was simpler – the crews of said ships were too often painfully green, straight out of the academy. Then those poor bastards got thrown into some of the deadliest campaigns of the whole war with predictable results.

Three CR90s slowly moved to enter the anomaly, and the Vigilant followed, drifted carried by a slow, safe burn of its powerful engines. Dallin could see the odd shuttle or LAAT race to Star Destroyers farther back into the formation. They would have enough time to get on board before the hangar doors closed for the transit. What little information they had about it pointed at a transition through something that wasn't hyperspace. The Captain's orders, as Task Force CO, backed by the Admiral, was to take the risk while in transit. They would also use passive sensors to gather as much information as possible. A proper examination could wait until they weren't flying into combat or racing back carrying VIPs.

The Vigilant's nose entered the anomaly, and the ship slid into it effortlessly. It was nothing like the sudden transition to hyperspace. Entering this, whatever it was, took long, ponderous moments. Then they were inside, drifting slowly. All the cameras showed was pitch-black darkness, darker than the abyss between the stars.

"Sir, instruments are showing errors! We can't determine our speed or acceleration!" The pilot exclaimed. "Engines remain on what's basically idle! There's no gravity for the repulsors to work with either."

"All we can detect is scattered hydrogen atoms," The Senior Sensor Operator announced.

"What about our escorts?" Dallin demanded.

"They are not in sensor range, or the nature of this place is masking the. They may have moved beyond our ability to detect here by the time we fully entered the anomaly," The Commander at the primary sensor station suggested.

"Keep looking for anything out of the ordinary," Dallin said.

Now all they could do was wait.

=RF=

Part 6

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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
14.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/

Bridge

Covenant Ket-pattern Cruiser Dawn of Hope

Coruscant

Coruscant System

Corcusca Galaxy

After a relatively brief, if unusual voyage through slipspace, the mighty Covenant cruiser emerged on the other side of the portal. Shipmaster Gedo'Torunmee expected to see the Long Night of Solace laying waste to an enemy fleet and any ground forces who dared oppose the chosen of the Gods!

The ravaged massive city below them surely fit that expectation. The status of the Super Carrier on the other hand…

"Shipmaster!" The Major at the sensor station exclaimed, sheer disbelief evident in his voice.

Tactical holograms updates, complete with camera feeds from the outside world. The Long Night of Solace was below the, burning. There was a shattered area at her back larger than Gedo's ship. Most of her weapon emplacements were smoking, gaping wounds. The sensor feed updated, showing hundreds if not thousands of small craft doing a good impression of devouring the mighty ship.

"Pulse lasers! Sweep her clean of those parasites!" The Shipmaster snapped out of the brief stunned disbelief. "Contact the Fleetmaster for status update! Find out what is happening with out ground forces and where the relics are…"

"Unknown ships are descending from orbit on an intercept vector. Thirty plus cruiser sized ships, many escorts!" The Sensors overseer barked.

"Get us above the Long Night of Solace and cover her! All pulse lasers that can bear on the parasites, burn them down! Warm up plasma lines and target the incoming heretics!"

Escort frigates came out of the portal, followed by a second, then a third CSS cruiser. Gedo's squadron would soon be out and clear for action, then the second one would follow. Refined scans of the enemy showed that he had most of them outmassed on individual basis. If they were anything like the UNSC heretics, this would be a short victorious battle.

Then again, the UNSC weren't supposed to be able to take out a Super Carrier with small craft! How that came to be, Gedo had no idea.

"We have contact with the Fleetmaster!

"Plasma lines are hot! Pulse lasers engaging! Refining targeting solution on leading heretic ship!"

"Fire when able! Fleetmaster, what is the situation?" Gedo asked showing just the bare minimum of deference the rank required. After getting his Super Carrier gutted like that, the Shipmaster doubted that Rho'Barutamee would retain his rank for long.

"Heretics are boarding my ships with unfortunate success. Many of them are fighting like Demons, Shipmaster! Air strikes and surprisingly effective ground forces crushed our deployed warriors on the streets. My ship needs assistance to handle the boarders. You need to secure a critical site with relics. I am sad to confess that my warriors failed to secure relics at a second site. The Heretics have moved those out of reach," The Fleetmaster's confession was damning.

Despite how Gedo felt, allowing heretics to besmirch a ship like the Long Night of Solace was out of the question!

"General Varo'Killume, you heart the Fleetmaster! Begin immediate deployment to hunt down and destroy the heretics boarding his ship! Have someone activate our Luminaries and locate any relics we must retrieve!" The Shipmaster issued order after order. This disaster couldn't be allowed to continue! "Deploy Seraphs in a defensive role! We won't end like the Long Night of Solace! Keep our escorts in close and have them burn any parasite craft that dares head our way!"

"Targeting solutions locked in! Firing!" The Major handling the weapons exclaimed in glee.

The primarily tactical display showed the portal and Super carrier below the, a constantly updating and refining map of the city, and the still emerging Covenant fleet. Far above it, dagger-like forms descended. They were yet to open fire, when purple dots separated by the three CSS cruisers that already in place. Gedo could imagine the purple plasma torpedoes burn their way through the atmosphere, carrying cleansing fire to the Heretics. The ship rotated a bit, and unleashed a broadside of plasma cannon beams. Soon the other cruisers followed suit, just as the fourth and fifth member of their squadron and their escorts arrived.

The Shipmaster had his second in command constantly update the newcomers about the tactical situation so they wouldn't waste precious time. There were Heretics to kill and relics to recover! And a Super Carrier to save too…

"Shipmaster, the Luminary is glowing! We have the location of many relics!"

"Dedicate all ground forces from the second squadron with retrieving them. Ours will fist secure the Long Night of Solace and act as a reserve to deploy where we need them," Gedo decided.

"Energy and thermal spikes form the Heretic fleet! They are firing both at us and at the plasma torpedoes!"

"Weapon impact on the leading Heretic ship!"

The Majors at the sensors and weapons stations exclaimed at the same time.

The Shipmaster stared intently, waiting for the icon of the lead dagger-ship to break up.

"Enemy ship is intact! We are detecting an unfamiliar type of shielding around it!"

"Plasma torpedoes tracking! Impact!"

The icons of sixteen plasma torpedoes merged with that of the closest enemy ship. Burning their way through atmosphere would have made them expend an inordinary amount of energy, weakening each projectile. Still, that was more than enough firepower to turn any known UNSC ship into molten metal.

Sensors and cameras focuses on the burning heavens. The pointed nose of a gray warship emerged from the inferno. Its armor glowed. There were patches of it that were melted, and fires burned where plasma had struck vulnerable sections. Yet, the ship was largely intact and returned fire with blue and red energy bolts. The rest of the descending fleet did the same, even as two more dagger-like ships came out worse to wear from their own infernos.

"Concentrate fire! Kill those things!" Gedo demanded.

"Incoming fire!"

The Dawn of Hope shuddered lightly at the impacts.

"Shipmaster, we detect incoming small craft from all over the planet! They are using the buildings to mask their approach! Small craft attacking the Long Night of Solace are breaking off their assault and disengaging!"

"Dispatch Seraphs to intercept them! Burn them out of the sky!"

"Shields down twenty six percent! Incoming fire is intensifying! Detecting larger power spikes from the enemy ships!"

The rest of the squadron transitioned, and soon the second one would follow. Then Gedo would have the firepower to end this, fast.

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"Case Omega is fully in effect. The use of full-power capital weapons within Coruscant's atmosphere is now authorized. Secure the anomaly at all cost!"

FE Military Archive, recording of Admiral Coburn's final authorization of Case Omega for Coruscant's Galactic City region used in the Senate inquiry over the Battle of the Portal