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Chapter 7
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Part 1
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
UNSC Leviathan
low orbit above Reach
Epsilon Eridiani system
Milky Way Galaxy
Commander Tokuda watched with interest how the Imperials got a small holographic projector from one of the cases, then put it on a table in the center of the room. The golden robot, C-3PO, walked beside it. Knight Skywalker opened the protective casing around its head, showing a primarily solid construction below. Then they linked it to the projector with a cable.
"Why the hardline connection?" One of the network engineers asked.
"Security. Even before the Black Rebellion, allowing wireless access to most networks, much less a droid's brain, was deemed too risky."
Tokuda glanced at the engineers, then at Centurion's image on the largest screen in the room.
"That would be terrible for efficiency," The AI pointed out.
"Droids getting remotely reprogrammed and going on to kill everyone in sight would be the alternative. If it weren't for those precautions, the Black Rebellion would have been catastrophic instead of merely a bloody disaster for everyone involved," Skywalker grumbled. "The rogue droids had to compromise production lanes or convince stranded Confederate droid armies to join them. The only military units they could directly subvert were among the fully networked Confederate fleets, and fortunately, not all of them. More networking would have…." The armored man shook his head and shuddered, recalling or imagining horrors, no doubt. "On that note, keep your mouths shut about the use of droids by our new friends where civilians could hear. We don't need to give the crazies more reasons to riot."
"Do I dare ask?" One of the boffins asked.
The holoprojector came to life and began displaying the first two alphabets, then a series of side-by-side words for Centurion to watch.
"Keep talking and the translation ongoing. That way, I can build up a language database and crack spoken Basic faster," The AI reminded them.
"The Black Rebellion? It was a kick bellow the belt," Skywalker grumbled. "It came on the heels of what was supposed to be the deciding campaigns of the Clone Wars. We technically won them, breaking the back of the Separatist fleets. After that, the bastards were no longer a strategic offensive threat. They lost too many ships, and we were back in a position to outbuild them. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple," Skywalker paused, letting the droid translate questions from the boffins.
Despite Tokuda's engineering degree, many of the in-depth details of the conversation about making their comms and computers talk with each other flew over his head. The basics- different software protocols and hardware architecture he mostly understood. The details about those and how to even begin building devices to bypass them, on the other hand…
"As I was saying," Skywalker continued, while paying an ear to his engineers speaking between themselves and leaning over a datapad, "We technically won the campaign. However, in the chaos, certain Confederate fleet elements fled the field. We assumed that they were racing to reinforce Fondor – a major industrial center with one of the largest shipyard complexes in the galaxy. We would have to neutralize it as a threat before risking deep incursions in Confederate space or risk fleets stationed there cutting off our logistics and striking our industry."
Tokuda could easily imagine Skywalker's scowl at that point. The Imperials kept their armor sealed so far, citing the possibility of diseases. While Six had been clean and enjoyed immunizations, the same wasn't valid for everyone else. Considering there were many humans in the Federated Empire, something Tokuda was still trying to wrap his head around, that threat was genuine.
"What we didn't see coming was that those reinforcement fleets were fully upgraded CIS naval elements controlled by droids that went rogue during the deciding battles. They took over Fondor, then smashed through our fleets at key hyperlane nodes. That would have been bad under normal circumstances, yet manageable when reserve fleets and units we could now put away from the front caught up to them. However, during the Confederate Grand Offensive earlier in the war, the traitors captured or invaded hundreds of worlds in the Core and deployed droid army groups to the surface. After we pushed their navy out of the Core during Operation Star Hammer, those armies on the ground remained. It wasn't practical to remove them with orbital strikes. The rogue droids managed to subvert them, resulting in a pure horror show and unimaginable slaughter. We spent most of the following year fighting murderous droids and bleeding our ground forces white to rescue countless civilians. There are still pockets of besieged droids we are yet to muster the forces to deal with properly."
Tokuda wasn't sure how to react to that admission. At least it explained why people with the apparent technology level of the Empire built such clunky robots like C-3PO. They were intentionally limited and designed to be less of a threat if they became murderous. The implications of network use and security were going to be interesting once they became evident. After all, even the best Smart AIs couldn't hack networks they couldn't connect with. That was a point for the defense.
On the other hand, the limited use of wireless networks would mean a significant loss of efficiency at all levels. You would have to throw more people at most problems and have larger crews on ships with less networking and automation. The same would be true for factories.
This Black Rebellion and whatever incidents led the Imperials to take the precautions that limited it in the first place must have been exceptionally bad, Tokuda thought.
"We have the alphabet, basic syntax, and grammatical rules covered. Our written and oral language databases continue to grow. I am working on compiling a translator matrix we can load into datapads to make basic communication viable," Centurion announced.
"I am doing the same," C-3PO announced.
Finally, progress! Now only if the boffins could figure out how to make comms and computers talk with each other and hear anything but gibberish…
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observation lounge
Imperial Cruiser Vindicator, Palpatine class
Reach
Epsilon Eridiani System
Milky Way Galaxy
To Obi-Wan's disgust, evacuation efforts were proceeding slower than anticipated. It wasn't just because the available ships didn't have the full complement of transport craft. Personal vehicles and the various transport craft within the Senate's hangars could help in that regard, even though some of them were either damaged or potentially compromised after alien incursions. No one was willing to risk riding in a transport left without supervision in a hangar raided by the Covenant.
The bickering Senators, who were sometimes fighting with security to get off the world faster, were the trouble. In contrast, most civilian personnel were reasonably leaving calmly following evacuation protocols.
Since the evacuation began, only a third of the people in the building had boarded a Star Destroyer. Twice, ships left carrying critical personnel and not risking putting too many high-value politicians on the same ship just in case.
Now Obi-Wan knew his stunt ensured that evacuation would be slower. With the fallout outside the shields, many private vehicles were out of the question as far as getting to a nearby ship's hangar was concerned. Combat damage, and the fear of cloaked Covenant special forces still on the loose in the building, further limited evacuation routes and capacity.
At least that wasn't his job to manage these days, Obi-Wan mussed. Imperial Knights were on the ground, doing what he would have had to mere years ago. Now, Kenobi had to consider the strategic situation. Part of him was eager to leave this cursed place behind and never look back.
Realistically, that wasn't an option. As long as that portal was active, the enemy force could strike directly at Coruscant from here. The Covenant had already proved themselves a group of murderous fanatics. While Obi-Wan wasn't about to take what the commando or the UNSC Admiral told him as gospel, the pieces fit too well to dismiss their words.
Kenobi fought the Covenant. He could sense their emotions. The sheer glee and determination radiating from them were something else.
The Empire had to hold the portal on this side to protect Coruscant. Better fight here than in a city world with trillions of people. The Senate building would make for an excellent forward operations base. Anti-orbital defenses could be built under the nearby mountains, and more extensive generators and embitters for a larger theater shield. They would have to hold the orbitals, and Obi-Wan still needed to figure out how well his ships would fare against the enemy in a fair, straight fight. Without that knowledge and more strategic information, he couldn't even begin to make an educated guess about the force necessary to hold the portal on this side for good.
There was, of course, the slight issue that the Imperial military was already stretched thin and still recovering and rebuilding after the war. They had many commitments to deal with back home.
The Force rippled, making Obi-Wan's head snap up. He looked through the windows to see a massive metal wall emerge from the portal above. It moved at an angle aimed toward the sky. The enormous ship was Covenant in origin and had taken heavy damage. Even as kilometer after kilometer emerged, it became clear how much damage it suffered. Its armor was shattered in many places. Sooth and ash blackened it at hundreds of spots where weapons' fire had struck weapon emplacements.
As if that wasn't enough of a clue, Obi-Wan could soon feel a familiar presence in the Force. There were former Jedi, now Knights, on board that ship. As reported, the monstrous Covenant super carrier that struck Coruscant was crippled.
It wasn't crippled enough, and Obi-Wan couldn't
allow it to try and flee with his people on board. He reflexively switched on his comm and barked orders.
"Captain, have your ships target the engine section as soon as it appears. This thing can't be allowed to leave the planet with our people on board! Then contact Skywalker, and get me the UNSC Admiral through him. We have a problem to solve!"
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Part 2
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
lounge
Imperial Star Destroyer Vindicator, Palpatine class
Reach
Epsilon Eridiani system
Milky Way Galaxy
A handful of cruisers, shooting at the engine section of a massive super capital ship. That image brought back memories of Grievous' Malevolence and the first time Obi-Wan worked with Veil. Back then, partially operational deflectors and meters of conductive armor meant that the significant firepower of the Venators was simply absorbed and dispersed for no visible damage. Until the engagement ended, the handful of Republic ships in range couldn't muster the firepower to overwhelm the Malevolence's defenses properly. It did hurt that Grievous ships lacked an Umbrella system. Its armor scheme wasn't compromised by the hundreds if not thousands of additional laser cannons, missile batteries, and sensor clusters that a refit would have required. On the other hand, if the Malevolence had an Umbrella, Anakin's crazy stunt of going after the enormous Ion Cannon built into the ship's sides would have meant suicide for no gain.
The Covenant's mind-numbingly large ship was orders of magnitude larger than anything the Confederacy, the fallen Republic, or the Empire had fielded to date. Yet, strike craft had ravaged its weapons and sensors. Its armor was brittle and shattered in patches. It was also cracked and melted on the underside and sides. Obi-Wan had some idea what could have caused that amount of damage in the atmosphere and fervently prayed to the Force that he was wrong. It appeared that Admiral Coburn had no choice but to implement Case Omega. The sheer destruction and the death toll at the heart of Coruscant would have been significant.
Yet, if that was the case, Obi-Wan wondered why he didn't feel those deaths.
The only silver lining of the situation was the effect of Imperial firepower on the Covenant ship. Compromised armor vaporized while its more intact sections shattered and boiled, allowing turbo laser bolts to bite deep within the superstructure. Explosions blossomed all around the massive drive section of the enemy ship. In places, the turbo laser strikes sent out streams of molten metal ejecting through breached parts of the hull.
A brief power spike came from the amidship before the engine spluttered and died, surrounded by spreading explosions that ravaged kilometers worth of warship. The behemoth's ponderous rise through the atmosphere ceased slowly, and it began toppling like an ancient tree.
"Cease fire," Obi-Wan ordered. He hoped the bombardment didn't kill too many of his people. Nevertheless, allowing this ship to flee to the Force only knew where with thousands of his soldiers on board, was not an option.
A last barrage hit, visibly breaking something within the grievously wounded ship. Its drive was misaligned during the resulting explosions. If it was still active, the results could have been catastrophic.
"Move us around its flanks and uses light firepower to neutralize any remaining weapon emplacements," The Emperor decreed.
"Obi-Wan, I'm in contact with Admiral Stanforth. By the way, he likes your handiwork. Be advised the Admiral claims the Covenant can go to their version of faster-than-light travel in the atmosphere. He believes you just prevented their escape, so good work!"
"I live to hear about your approval, Anakin," Obi-Wan dryly shot back. "The Admiral?"
Whoever was translating this time, it wasn't C-3PO, so there was progress on that front, Kenobi decided.
"Emperor Kenobi, I won't beat around the bush. We need the databases of that ship captured intact. They should contain precious strategic data on the Covenant."
"Admiral Coburn had the same thought. We have multiple units active on board that ship in need of reinforcements. Unfortunately, my ships on this side of the portal lack a full complement of small craft. Most of those available are tied up in SAR and evacuation efforts."
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briefing room
UNSC Leviathan
low orbit above Reach
Vice Admiral Stanforth had only a few minutes to debrief Noble Six before an emergency call interrupted him. So far, he got nothing surprising from the Spartan, even though his first-hand impressions and insights would be valuable in the future.
The news confirmed, at least in the Admiral's mind, that the slipspace bomb utilized during Operation Upper Cut had something to do with current events. The return of the same super carrier Noble Team went to take out through the portal was a strong piece of supporting evidence. The battered state of the Covenant ship was proof the Imperials were not to be trifled with. From what he could see while the carrier sluggishly passed through the portal, it was the next best thing to mission killed.
The call he got from the Emperor, relayed by the Imperial personnel on board, had many exciting implications. Just as interesting as watching a handful of cruiser-sized ships, if on the smaller side, take out the engines of the Covenant ship just as it was trying to spin up its slipspace drive. The ensuring secondary explosions aborted its attempt to run into slipspace, leaving it uniquely vulnerable.
"Contact all available Spartan teams on Reach. Red Flag is a go. Ensure priority transport for the Spartans to the fleet so they could deploy in strength. In their place, move available army units to strengthen the defense of the Super MAC generators on the surface," Stanforth started issuing orders, "Retrieve ODST and marine units not currently engaged with Covenant ground forces so they could resupply and prepare for deployment in support of Red Flag. Coordinate with High Command to rotate units to replace them and ensure continued evacuation efforts and cover of essential infrastructure. Centurion, I need translation protocols ready for distribution ASAP. I also need the number of Pelican dropships and other transports we can spare for deployment on the Covenant super carrier. We will lend some of them to the Imperials to augment their logistics for the coming operation…."
The Admiral trailed off, and his eyes focused back on the Spartan.
"Noble Six, you've got work to do. Head to the armory to resupply and await the rest of your team before deploying. You are the only one we have familiar with the Imperials. Your primary task will be to liaise with their forces deployed on the Super Carrier. Sierra-117 and his team will be deploying with an AI specialized in compromising Covenant systems. That should give you an edge in securing critical spaces on the ship and vital databases. Dismissed," Stanforth saluted the super soldier.
Noble Six returned the gesture and all but ran out of the room.
"Sergeant Kelly, you and your unit will be deploying with the Spartans to secure a crippled Covenant super carrier that just ran from the Imperial capital after causing havoc. Our new acquaintances just kindly blew up its engines, stranding it on Reach. Go take the damn thing," Stanforth got up and headed for the bridge, issuing more orders on the way.
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Command Center
ODG Facility A-331
Reach
A mostly intact marine Company, led by two Lieutenants because their Captain was KIA and a platoon of garrison troopers. That was what John and his Spartans had to work with. On the bright side, he had three Spartan II teams, and for the time being, the enemy was nowhere in sight.
"We got dropped here as a precaution," Cortana pipped up. She had been quiet as of late, undoubtedly poking her electronic nose into databases and networks to which it didn't belong.
"We need to know exactly what assets we have available to defend this place with, Lieutenant," Fred spoke calmly and didn't let any of the exasperation John knew he felt show into his voice or posture.
It was already clear that the man in charge of this place until recently was a sticker to protocol. Unfortunately for everyone involved, there wasn't a protocol for Spartans to take over the defense and be in charge of the security teams and deployed marine reinforcements.
Apparently, John's Master Chief's rank wasn't high enough, either. It didn't help that the marine's CO died covering the evacuation of civilians before Charlie Company got redeployed here, leaving the unit under the command of two First Lieutenants, who shared a rank with their shared pain in the ass.
"I am telling you, it's classified! You don't have the clearance or rank to know!" The man raised his hands in exasperation. Lieutenants Buckman and Chapman looked at each other as if they wanted to strangle someone.
"I have news!" Cortana happily exclaimed, ensuring only John could hear her. "The Pillar of Autumn landed safely for repairs, as expected. Most of the fleet deployed before dropping us has successfully engaged Covenant forces. I am sadly yet to figure out the nature of the Latchkey event Vice Admiral Stanforth cited before deploying. It isn't in any of the networks I can currently access!" John could hear the pout in the AI's voice.
"That's good to know," He answered dryly. "Now, do you have anything we can use to make this one see sense legally?"
Cortana shifted through the neural lace and armor's systems before looking through the suit's built-in cameras.
"Are you still arguing with him?" The AI exclaimed in disbelief.
"Charlie Company is already deploying and scouting the perimeter. Joshua's team is doing the same while Linda is skulking around, doing an inventory on the armory. It would be nice if we could access the computer systems and automated defenses…." John trailed off.
"Hint-hint, I get it! I'm in the building's network, and I have the security codes!" Cortana smugly declared. "Radars, seismic sensors, automated anti-air missile, and CIWC turrets… We're getting a priority call from Vice Admiral Stanforth. All Spartan units on Reach and marine forces not currently engaged in combat… Red Flag is a go. We are to redeploy to the fleet for new tasking immediately. There is a crippled Covenant carrier being boarded by allied forces as we speak. We are to take it…." Cortana eagerly summarized before patching a repeating crackling transmission into the Spartan's shared comm network.
"I say again, this is Vice Admiral Stanforth to all Spartan and marine units deployed on Reach…."
"We are to hold this position until replaced by army units, then head out. This facility is too valuable to abandon even for Red Flag," John nodded at the Lieutenant in charge.
Apparently receiving the same marching orders, the other Spartans and the marines nodded at that. At any rate, they were going nowhere until Pelicans arrived to transport them to the fleet.
"Cortana, do you know what allied forces the Admiral cited? It would be nice to know who we will be reinforcing," John inquired after hearing the message for himself.
"It's classified behind the Latchkey event. I don't need to tell you that it's big. However, I am yet to breach a database or active network with the relevant data!" Cortana grumbled in frustration.