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Chapter 6
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Part 3
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
14.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
Bridge, UNSC Leviathan
low orbit above Reach
Epsilon Eridiani System
Milky Way Galaxy
Hard deceleration brought the surviving UNSC fleet above the heart of the slowly dying firestorm. Visual sensors were useless. Radiation blinded the fleet's most advanced sensors, leaving them nearly blind. It was pure luck that the odd energy bolt that tore its way through the abused atmosphere of Reach to head into space missed the UNSC ships converging above the anomaly.
Displaced cloud cover compressed and gathered in newborn thunderstorms at the edges of the affected area. Thousands of square kilometers burned, throwing smoke into the atmosphere and ensuring visibility would fall down soon.
The titanic detonations could be felt all the way to New Alexandria, where Spartan teams, marines, and army units were gathering. Covenant forward elements were on the city's outskirts, killing and scouting for heavier forces that now might not be coming. The regular military dug in and facilitated evacuation while the Spartans searched for a feasible insertion way towards the anomaly. The latter was now a moot point. Vice Admiral Stanforth had to give them new tasking now.
Under the circumstances, there wasn't much infantry could do around the anomaly save for aiding in SAR. That would be a gross misuse of the Spartans' talents.
"Electromagnetic radiation won't be dissipating for at least an hour. Until then, we won't be able to contact Noble Six, Admiral," Centurion reported. "Radar and Lidar are useless and would remain so until the interference clears and the firestorm abates."
"The Imperials have surviving ships down there, and they can only be shooting at Covenant survivors. I want firing solutions on any Covenant ship that made it through that hell. Make sure a miss or over-penetration won't hit our guests." Stanforth ordered. "Get into contact with our forces on the ground, and find out who needs orbital support against Covenant incursions. We will have control of the orbitals until enemy reinforcements arrive, and we will put it to good use."
Slowly, the firestorm abated. Flashes and shock waves could be seen pushing away the fires, even as hurricane winds hurled air into the furnace. Eventually, visual sensors and Lidar could make up the shapes of somewhat intact ships slugging it in the turbulent atmosphere. Two mostly intact Imperial vessels were systematically demolishing the crippled Covenant fleet.
"Firing solutions calculated. Distributing fire plan through the fleet," Centurion announced.
The Vice Admiral spared a moment to observe the plan.
"Execute," Stanforth spoke with grim satisfaction lacing his voice.
MAC cannons spoke in anger, and high-speed slugs tore their way through Reach's brutalized atmosphere. Covenant cruisers shattered on impact. The bombardment rounds were meant to slice their way through the atmosphere and then squash when impacting something solid enough, transferring their kinetic energy into the target. That type of ammunition was excessively deadly in the atmosphere and against already crippled ships.
The last remains of the Covenant fleet died as soon as the UNSC ships in orbit could locate and target them. Between battle damage and the desperate fight to survive engaging the Imperial Star Destroyer stalking them, no one was paying attention to the primitive UNSC fleet. Even if they did, the remaining Covenant Shipmasters could do little. There was too much interference, and their ships' sensors were too damaged to target anything in orbit accurately if they had survived the monstrous explosions in the first place.
Turbo lasers firing at full power and what was point-blank range was a death sentence for the Covenant as well. The moment one of their wrecked ships could be located by the Star Destroyers, it died.
Nevertheless, between the shower of debris, and the few ships that managed to return fire, one of the Victory Star Destroyers did suffer significant damage, forcing her to fall back and head towards the Senate to facilitate faster evacuation.
By the time the firestorm cleared, the only things in the air were Imperial ships and the wreckage of over eighty Covenant vessels raining down like burning meteors.
The Dauntless and Duros' Revenge kept slowly making their way to orbit, where the UNSC fleet met them, still unable to communicate with the approaching Star Destroyers.
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New Alexandria
Reach
Epsilon Eridiani System
Milky Way Galaxy
"At this rate, we won't get a Covie transport for you to crash, Carter," Kat chuckled from her position high up in a nearby building.
The rest of Noble Team were trying to sneak up to a Covenant staging ground where transports brought reinforcements and supplies around the clock. A massive explosion from the area they were supposed to infiltrate shattered the windows of most buildings on their side of the city a few minutes ago, spooking the Covenant. That slowed down the Spartan's covert approach. They were just getting in position, preparing to assault the next vessel that approached, when the situation changed.
Instead of deploying more troops, the incoming Covenant transport opened its ramps, and Elite Majors waved at it, barking orders. Elites ran to get on board while Grunts milled around in confusion. A Jackal in particularly colorful armor barked something at the Majors, who growled at him, then boarded as well. The transport remained deceptively out of reach. It rapidly turned around and accelerated for the mountains.
Carter looked at the remaining Covenant, who were busy exchanging confused glances.
"This is Vice Admiral Stanforth, Acting Commander of Reach's Defense Fleet. The attacking Covenant fleet has been neutralized. All ground forces in contact with Covenant forces, be advised orbital support will become available in the coming hours. Contact High Command to coordinate orbital strikes with the Navy. All Spartan units previously ordered to secure Code Latchkey, be advised, Latchkey is now secure. Do not attempt an approach to the newly designated exclusion zone. Continue combat operations against Covenant forces in your current areas of operations. Further orders will follow soon, Stanforth out."
"Fuck me, Latchkey secured? What the hell just happened?" Emile exclaimed.
"We'll hear about it eventually. Now there's no need to wait for the next transport. Kat, take out their overwatch on my mark. Emile, subtle approach. We'll begin the assault as soon as you are in position," Carter ordered.
Emile moved like a ghost, silencing Grunts and Jackals until he deemed it no longer feasible to remain covert.
"Ready to go loud," The Spartan announced.
Carter aimed a Jackal arguing with a bunch of Grunts.
"Mark," He said and opened fire. His battle rifle kicked against his armored shoulder. Sentries on guard towers fell one after another, like the Jackal officer and the Grunts around him. "Displacing," Carter informed his team and dashed for the next piece of solid cover in search of more targets.
Shotgun boomed to the right, and Grunts screamed. Jun offered covering fire and waited for Carter to get into position before advancing. Under the circumstances, there was no reason to take risks, so they did everything safely by the book.
The only coordinated resistance they faced with the Elites gone came from a group of Jackals bunkered into a small reinforced storage building. They used their shields to block the door and single window, turning the place into an improvised stronghold.
"Grenades, missiles, or breaching charge?" Emil asked.
"Preserve the missiles in case we encounter fliers or armor. There's no reason to waste a breaching charge on this. Suppressive fire at the door and roll a grenade against their shields," Carter ordered.
Often, the simple solutions were the best in his experience. There was less chance for something to go to hell that way.
Controlled busts kept the Jackals' heads down. Jun approached from an angle that kept him out of sight, then rolled a frag grenade to the corner of the door just as a sniper shot from Kat pushed the Jackal's shield aside, forcing an opening in the corner. The frag rolled into the building, and the resulting explosion resulted in sympathetic detonations of Covenant plasma grenades.
"What did they build that thing for?" Emile exclaimed. The door blew off its hinges. Pieces of cooked Jackals flew out the door and window, yet the building appeared all right, even after it turned into a furnace.
"ONI conspiracy?" Jun offered.
"Might as well be. Who builds a storage shed to resist plasma grenades blowing up inside? This place doesn't look like it would make a good bunker to cover the area," Carter noted. "Kat, can you find us more Covenant to hunt? Jun, get on the comm and see if the army or marines could use a hand until we receive a new tasking."
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Part 4
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
14.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
Kerel–pattern Super Carrier Long Night of Solace
Coruscant
Coruscant System
Corcusca Galaxy
Rho'Barutamee glared at holograms showing Covenant cruisers burning while a firestorm engulfed his crippled ships. Boarding parties swarmed through the Long Night of Solace like the worst of UNSC demons. Still, his vessel was massive and had tens of thousands of crew left to fight. The Sangheli had already issued the relevant orders – everyone who could pick a gun was to do so and go to kill the heretics infesting their blessed supercarrier.
The internal sensor painted a grim picture, despite the best effort of Covenant warriors of all species. Even Sangheli fell in large numbers, barely able to slow down the enemy. These new heretics paused only when they were getting low on ammunition and awaited supply parties to reach them.
Sealed doors were brief obstacles for advanced weapons. Barricades and killing grounds became the sites of quick and brutal running battles and close assaults. Rho could confirm the conclusions gleaned by the assault parties he sent to secure relics from a nearby building. These heretics had access to surprisingly advanced and potent technologies. Their soldiers were nearly as tough to kill as demons. If slower than the UNSC's heretical weapons, they made up for it with sheer durability and firepower.
Losing a super carrier here, or worse, having it fall into enemy hands, would not do.
"Helm, get us through the anomaly while our engines still work. The rest of the fleet will be able to handle the enemy ships that went through and reinforce us," The Fleetmaster ordered, admitting his crew might be unable to hold his flagship. The Sangheli shook with barely restrained rage at being forced to utter such defeatist words.
Yet, he had no other choice. The enemy was either desperate or angry beyond reason for turning their world into a sea of molten rock and metal. As crippled as the Long Night of Solace was, she wouldn't be able to survive the firepower that just wiped out two squadrons of cruisers if brought to bear upon her. His choices were to either self-destruct the ship to cause as much damage as possible out of spite or preserve it and much of his crew, then come back and exact vengeance on the heretics.
The first option was out of the question. As tough as the defensive shields protecting nearby heretical buildings were, they might not hold upon the destruction of his ship. Some relics in those buildings made all the difference in the universe. Destroying gifts from the Forerunners out of spite would go beyond heresy into outright madness!
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CIC
Imperial Command Cruiser Coruscant's Shield
high orbit above Coruscant
Coruscant system
Corcusca Galaxy
Communications from emergency services on Coruscant were going haywire. Requests for emergency evacuation flooded usually silent channels. Orbital Control stations began demanding assistance from light freighters and passenger ships under martial law conditions to augment evacuation efforts.
All the while, Republic City burned.
"Sir, we've got movement from Covenant super capital," One of the tactical displays shimmered, showing a close image of the monster ships ponderously turning to starboard and attempting to rise.
The only thing that made sense in Admiral Coburn's mind was that the enemy Commander had enough and was about to retreat through the anomaly, or at least try to. The damned thing had more than a division of troops inside boarding it, both from the fleet and ground bases across Coruscant. If it made it to the other side, the soldiers inside would be cut off from resupply and medical evacuation. A ship that size was equivalent to a large city. There could be tens of thousands of crewmembers at the very minimum, perhaps hundreds of thousands. There was likely more than enough space for that.
The Task Force Coburn sent to the other side would be busy protecting and evacuating the Senate. However, it could provide only limited support to the boarding parties. That would be the case if those ships had their transports compliment on board instead of having deployed most of them to either boarding actions or assist in the evacuation. Some of those vehicles and troops made it out, while others were lost in the crossfire.
Coburn briefly considered attempting to stop the enemy from fleeing but dismissed the idea. If that ship went down, it would be better for it to happen on the other side. Worse, if it self-destructed catastrophically, then Coburn wanted it off Coruscant. It would be safer and more feasible to supply boarding parties across the portal if it came to it. In that regard, his gaze went to a small display hovering to his left. Multiple timers were counting down on it, designating the expected arrival times of reinforcements – QRF ready for rapid deployment. Major fleet units would take time to mobilize, and those expected to do it fastest were far from Coruscant, prepared to reinforce the borders with the Confederacy or Hutt space.
A battle group from Empress Theta and another from Alsakan were supposed to get here the fastest. Next, Coburn could expect significant reinforcements would come from the fleet nodes at Kuat and Corellia or the first mobilized squadrons from the strategic reserve fleets under Yularen. The latter had a few hours of mobilization time, and the closet could reach Coruscant at least four hours later. They were among the naval units reported to be slow on the uptake today.
In about forty minutes, the ships from Theta should get in the system – an entire Palpatine Class squadron, leading Venators refitted as battleships and strike carriers. Between those ships and the Gollans, Coburn was confident his command squadron and support elements could feasibly keep the anomaly covered until more ships arrived.
"Contact Captain Kilo. He is to take on board ground troops from intact bases and ammunition to support the boarding efforts on the enemy super capital ship, then follow it through the anomaly with the most intact ships under his command. The damaged ships will pull back into orbit and transit to the fleet yards for repairs after transferring any ground troops on board to the second expeditionary force we are sending to the other side. On arrival, Captain Dallin will assume operational command barring orders from the Emperor," Coburn ordered. "I'm also authorizing the further deployment of Imperial Knights to ensure the capture of that super capital ship, its commander, and, more importantly, databases on board."
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Imperial Knights compound
Coruscant
Aalya Secura sat in the Room of Thousand fountains, surrounded by terrified younglings and younger teenagers of various species. The sheer loss of life, screams of the dying, and echoes of countless burning people reflected through the Force, making it impossible to ignore for those on Coruscant and anywhere near the capital world.
The usually soothing ambiance of the greenhouse did calm the children's emotions only a little bit. It didn't help that they were all awake to the Force, and most lacked the control that could only come with more training and experience. Many younglings broadcasted their fears for anyone sensitive around to pick up. The former Jedi did her best to soothe them with words and her very presence. After the horrors of the war and experiencing the touch of the Dark Side, it was easier to accept and endure the ongoing tragedy due to unfortunate experiences, if nothing else. It didn't help that Aalya's presence wasn't as bright as it used to be. While she avoided dabbling into the Dark Side as many of the former Jedi did, her mere acceptance of those who did so and went beyond diminished the light of her presence.
What did Master Yoda use to say? Luminous matter we are? Well, nowadays, Aalya wasn't that luminous anymore. She could hardly be, after all, she had experienced. While walking a darker path wasn't for her, she found it hard to blame those who did after the hell they beheld again and again. At least with people like her around, the Imperial Knights weren't as bad as they could be. The organization needed moderating presence, and as Emperor, Obi-Wan could do only so much to supervise what was happening daily. If left to those like Veil, the Knights would be little more than weapons. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed, which was one of the reasons why Secura still had hopes for the Federated Empire as a whole.
True, the Imperial Knights were far more militarized than the Jedi perhaps ever were. Dabbling in the Dark Side wasn't a taboo, though training in it was highly regulated and supervised. The military considered it a dangerous, double-edged sword that produced results.
Veil and Zash were prime examples of how Sith could be different than the tales taught by the Jedi and what history painted them as. Yes, they were extremely dangerous individuals. Yet, they could be sane and rational. It didn't help that many in the military would have done the same Veil did without a second thought, yet the Dark Side wasn't influencing them.
Yet, despite all that, there were branches of the Imperial Knight that focused on creating healers, diplomats, and peacekeepers. While the warriors could and did win battles and could protect the Empire from external foes, they weren't great when maintaining peace and stability was concerned. And in the long run, winning the peace would be as important as surviving existential threats from the outside. Otherwise, history would repeat itself, and the Empire would fall like the Republic.
There was one critical downside to being an Imperial Knight. When the military called, you had to go. Aalya sat up, doing her best to chase away her resentment at receiving marching orders. She had to repeat to herself the Knight's different creed. Don't let your emotions control you. They were fuel for the Force. Don't suppress them. Doing so makes you vulnerable to manipulation.
There was nothing poetic in the Imperial Knight's creed. It was utilitarian, more like a set of military regulations than the more poetic takes at the core of the old Jedi and even Sith philosophy – their respective codes.
The surprising part was that the Knights' creed worked for many people. No one was yet sure about whether the Sith or Jedi Codes would have worked as well or better for those people. That was an ongoing debate she sometimes participated in, with insufficient proof for either conclusion.
Secura stood up and bid goodbye to the children, leaving them in the care of younger Knights. She made sure that her aura blazed in reassurance and support before heading for the nearest exit leading toward the closest hangar. She had a boarding action to assist with.