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Chapter 9
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Part 5
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
New Jerusalem
Cygnus System
Milky Way Galaxy
Ironically, fighting their way to the capital went faster and somewhat safer than pushing through it to get to an evacuation zone, Jonathan thought. The young Lance Corporal's unit got to the city's outskirts just before the Covenant began their final assault, both on the ground and in space. The civilians they managed to get this far was stuck in convoy behind him, trying to navigate streets chocked with fleeing people, abandoned traffic, and debris from Covenant bombardment.
A Covenant frigate slowly approached the city from the south. Pulse lasers lanced down at any AA emplacement that dared shoot at alien dropships and Banshees. They came in waves, strafing everything that moved with scorching plasma and dropping squads of murderous aliens.
What was left of Jonathan's unit acted as a rear guard alongside two marines squads. At the same time, the rest of the soldiers were busy corralling the civies towards an extraction zone a kilometer away at a nearby park.
"This is General Richards to all UNSC forces in New Jerusalem. The orbital lanes of evacuation will close within the next ten minutes. All military units and civilians that can make it to an extraction zone do so now. A last flight of dropships is entering the atmosphere as we speak. Everyone else, hold your positions for as long as possible. It's been an honor. I say again…."
"Fighting retreat towards the park. One klick, we might just make it," Sergeant Dallas growled over the radio. "Grenade the fuckers and… get moving! We've got incoming!"
The Corporal glanced up and cursed. More than a dozen colossal plasma balls were curving through the air, seemingly coming his way. A bunch of Grunts and Jackals were in front of them, screaming in alien tongues and laughing as they kept shooting at the marines. Jonathan threw a grenade in their direction and displaced, hoping he could get far enough away from the incoming heavy plasma.
Energy beams cut through the position he had just vacated. Great, that sniper was still alive.
Jonathan skedaddled, moving low. He could feel the heat of the plasma passing overhead. It didn't hit his position. Instead, it curved above the rear guard and most of the convoy and struck the street ahead of them, turning thousands of people and vehicles into so much slag. A wave of heat and scorching wind washed over him carrying burning pieces of… The Lance Corporal didn't want to think about what the cinders in the air used to be.
"Fuck me and fuck those Covenant bastards! The road is somewhat clear. Everyone on board, or we're leaving you behind!" The Sergeant snapped.
Jonathan ran, ducking under potshots, while the gunners of two Warthoghs provided cover fire. A stream of needles flew from the Covenant position. One of the gunners jumped off the vehicle in a desperate attempt to avoid the purple death. The needles didn't care and followed, impaling through his armor. The poor sod had a moment to scream in pain before he blew up, showering everything around in blood, gore, and crystal shards that glanced off the Warthog. Jonathan jumped on the vacant weapon emplacement and opened fire at the Covenant, uncaring he was burning through ammo at a rapid pace.
The Warthog shook and drove forward straight into the still-burning street. Jonathan saw a Jackal peeking over the rim of its shield and staring at them as if they were crazy to drive into the inferno. The Lance Corporal opened fire at it, forcing it to cower behind its shield.
"Rookie, are you still alive back there?" The Sergeant asked over the radio.
"Ready and able, sir!" Jonathan answered.
"Damn it, kid, it's just the two of us left," the Sergeant grumbled quietly.
Jonathan looked wildly around. From the squad of ODST that made it to the city limit, he could see no one else through the fires and smoke they were driving. He didn't even see the rest of his unit going down in the last engagement!
More plasma balls curved through the air and sliced through the smoke on their way down, making it billow around them. The street behind them and the building on both sides vanished in a wave of fire and half-melted debris, shaking the Warthog. It was good that those damn plasma mortars weren't the most accurate or responsible weapons; otherwise, they would be dead already.
"Evacuation lanes will close shortly. The last wave of dropships will be landing within the next two minutes. Ensure you are on them if you can reach an evacuation zone…." The General trailed off. "All units, stand by for new orders. Give me a confirmation on this!" He demanded before the comm line went silent.
The sky suddenly lit up. Distant, massive explosions buffered the city, shoving away smoke and the dark clouds gathering above it due to all the fires left to burn. Jonathan was in an excellent position to see bolts of fire descend from the heavens and strike over the horizon, as well as the approaching Covenant frigate. The horizon lit up with massive explosions. The alien ship glowed brightly as its shields strained to resist the firepower raining upon it. Yet, this did nothing to stop the next wave of Covenant dropships and Banshees from reaching the city.
Jonathan could see bright explosions in orbit, followed by what appeared to be a meteor shower. He knew better. As an ODST, he had seen orbital drops from both sides.
"This is General Richards to all UNSC units on New Jerusalem," The General's voice sounded a bit off. It took the Lance Corporal a few moments to recognize its sheer relief. "Navy reinforcements are securing the orbitals as we speak. Reinforcements are on the way down. Hold your positions if feasible. If not, fall back and cover the nearest evacuation point. Mark your positions with flares to guide incoming ODST support.
"Hell, yes! It's about fucking time!" Sergeant Dallas growled. "Eat lead and die, you alien fucks!"
"Sarge, since when does the navy has energy weapons?" Jonathan couldn't help but ask. What kept hitting that frigate didn't look like MAC rounds and most certainly wasn't missiles.
"Fuck me if I know, Rookie. Just be glad that the Covenant are burning for once!"
The Covenant wasn't happy to have the tables turned on them. Those already in the city went on the offensive, determined to kill as many people as possible. Reinforcements might be minutes away, yet that was cold comfort for the tens of thousands stuck at the park's outskirts, barely held at bay by a thin line of marines. Pelicans landed, got packed up to bursting with civilians, and roared into the sky. At the same time, Banshees strafed the crowd killing hundreds with every pass. Tracers and the odd missile rose to meet them. However, there were too many of the damn things, and they didn't care if they got shot down. Tracer fire from thee Warthogs focused on a Covenant attack craft that didn't even attempt to go evasive. Instead, it kept shooting its plasma guns, then unleashed a giant ball of green, shrieking fire before blowing up and raining debris all over the civilians, wounding and killing more of them. The green ball turned dozens into charred pieces of meat and burned at least a score more people. All Jonathan could do was shoot at the damn aliens while doing his best to avoid the park and the constant stream of Pelicans.
The dropships weren't immune. A loaded Pelican struggled to shrug off two Banshees that went after it. Despite all the defensive fire, the marines could throw at the Covenant, the dropship went down with its cockpit turned into a burning oven. The resulting crash, when it struck the edge of the packed park, killed hundreds.
Jonathan hadn't even imagined this kind of bloodbath in his worst nightmares. He did all he could do, yet it was too little too late. He screamed at the incoming Covenant and wasn't alone in it. Dropships deployed aliens on nearby buildings while their mounted weapons scythed through civilians who couldn't even try to run. Bullets glanced off alien armor. The few missiles that rose to strike the Covenant dropships merely dented their armor.
A glowing ball flew from the sky and struck one of the alien ships. It hit the prong linking up its troop bays and blew it up, breaking the craft in two. A second, then a third such missile erased two more dropships. Jonathan didn't have time to look for whoever helped them. He was too busy shooting at the Covenant on the nearby buildings, who were gleefully shooting at the civilians below, ignoring the return fire from the marines.
A four-legged metal beast with a head made of weapons slammed into the roof of a building and through it, bringing it down alongside all the Covenant who were using it as a firing platform. Another one decelerated on rocket plumes coming from clawed feet and opened fire at another building used by the aliens. Red energy bolts and something that rippled through the air shattered the upper floors of the residential building, turning the Covenant there into red mist.
Shards of metal and pieces of drop pods rained all over the city while what looked like heavily armored ODST decelerated as if wearing rocket packs. Hell, some of them did and flew through the air!
Jonathan stared up in disbelief now that there were no Covenant in range for him to shoot.
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Part 6
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"This is Victoria Halcyon with more breaking news! The confirmed death toll caused by the Covenant's unprovoked attack on Coruscant rose to six hundred million as of an hour ago," The famous host declared grimly. "Updated conservative estimates now point at casualties from the fighting potentially exceeding a billion souls. In related news, twelve hours ago, General Veil, Mandalore himself, deployed his flagship, the Victory, to assist in defending a UNSC colony under assault by the Covenant on the other side of the portal. We will later air disturbing images from the fighting, showing Covenant ground forces indiscriminately firing at evacuating civilians and even ignoring PDF forces firing back at them to kill more innocent people…This is yet another proof that the Confederate propaganda aimed at our Mandalorian allies is nothing but lies, based on 'truths' that haven't been a reality for centuries now!"
GNN's The Galaxy at War restarted after the Battle of the Anomaly, later updated to Galaxies at War;
"In an emergency session, the Imperial Senate officially declared war on the alien theocratic state, the Covenant. Federal Imperial Forces and volunteer units deployed by SDFs and PDFs in sectors near Coruscant are converging on the capital to reinforce the defense of the portal and for potential deployment on the other side. Right now, all Federal Military Forces are at combat footing, with reserve fleets mobilizing and moving in to reinforce the borders in case of more Confederate treachery. The same is true for our borders with Hutt Space…."
From Holonet Archives, Holonet News;
"Emperor Kenobi returns victorious after personally leading the defense of the Senate building. The Emperor evacuated all Senators and civilians in the building before leaving the front lines and returning to Coruscant to resume his post of Supreme Commander of the Federal Military…."
GNN Nightly News
"General Ahsoka Tano's famous Thirty-First Assault Division and its attached naval elements just began deployment to the other side of the portal on Coruscant. As previously reported, General Tano and her forces were returning from a successful campaign on Neimoidia against Black Rebellion and Confederate remnant forces before being redirected due to the ongoing hostilities with the Covenant. General Tano is most famous for her participation in the Liberation of Corellia as a Regimental Commander early in her career. She continued to make a name for herself as an adept military commander, and not just a former Jedi Padawan and Imperial Knight during the campaign to liberate over a dozen Core Worlds before and during the Black Rebellion. This includes deployments and heavy fighting from Duro all the way to Devaron…."
Anaxes War College Magazine
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
Federal Military High Command secure complex
Coruscant
Coruscant system
Corcusca Galaxy
It was mid-morning in this part of Coruscant. Yet, despite all the machinery doing its best to counter the side effects of the fighting, there were still all kinds of contaminants in the air, even thousands of kilometers from the Galactic City Region. Echoes of dying screams, terror, and pain still caused ripples through the Force like those made by stones thrown into a pond. The fear of a whole world was right there, ready and waiting like an aging wine to be drunk by those embracing the Dark Side.
Coruscant had rarely been a beacon of light and hope outside the former Jedi Temple. Yet, it wasn't until the last years of the war that Obi-Wan could sense anything even close to this. Beyond everything else, he knew this was the taste of failure. It didn't matter that they couldn't have foreseen a portal opening on Coruscant to allow murderous fanatics a way to murder hundreds of millions.
The Federated Empire's very existence and military were founded upon a singular pledge – that they would prevent such atrocities from striking their people again. Where the Republic failed and abandoned its defensive responsibilities, the Federated Empire would do its best to keep its citizens safe.
All too often, keeping that pledge was easier said than done.
Obi-Wan marched into the command bunker deep below Coruscant's surface. Specialists sat working on a few hundred consoles on a lower level, with a shielded command pod overseeing their efforts. Inside, Telar Valentra and a few other Generals were busy coordinating the mobilization and deployment of naval and army units.
"At ease, keep working!" Obi-Wan barked as he entered, speaking a split second before one of the guards could announce his arrival. "Do we have any pressing internal issues cropping up beside the portal and Covenant?" Kenobi demanded as he took place around a large holotanks, surrounded by dozens of holographic windows.
"The sudden appearance of the portal and following engagement has the usual suspects laying low. While SDFs and PDFs across the Empire are mobilized, they remain in a defensive posture. No one knows if another portal can open," General Blue – the Clone in charge of Military Intelligence, reported.
"Before I got back, the navigation sections of our ships in orbit of Reach were reasonably sure the other side of the portal wasn't in our galaxy. We need to dispatch a science vessel with the appropriate astrogation and navigation sensors to get a confirmation. If true, that fact will change the strategic situation significantly."
A few moments of stunned silence followed after the Emperor dropped that particular news.
"If true, this changes everything…." Valentra groaned. "Anything we send, we should be ready to write off if the portal closes."
"We need to hold both sides of the portal. Otherwise, all it will take is for one ship carrying a strategic weapon to make it to Coruscant. Theater shields could do only so much!" Admiral Mark Jerjerrod exclaimed.
He should know, Obi-Wan thought. As the man overseeing naval procurement for years now, Jerjerrod's job included keeping a close eye on the research, development, and testing of strategic weapons to report on their feasibility and cost.
"That is the plan, Admiral. However, we can't afford to commit too many assets to the other side," Obi-Wan agreed. "We lack sufficient strategic information on the Covenant to decide what a minimal realistic commitment should be. This has to change as soon as possible."
"Sir, in one of your messages, you mentioned that the UNSC and Covenant use an alternative method of faster-than-light travel?" Valentra inquired.
"That is correct. However, at this time, we have little information about its capabilities. We know they can utilize it to jump into or from a planet's atmosphere, even if it is supposed to be dangerous," Obi-Wan explained. "General Veil should be gathering more information on that, among other things, when he makes contact with the UNSC's government."
"If that's the case, at least in theory, we might finally have a way to bypass the galactic barrier. Use ships with both hyperdrive and the UNSC's FTL equipped. We know the galactic barrier is gravity based!" Valentra exclaimed. "We should get examples and all available theory to Imperial R&D. In theory, an alternative FTL might allow us to reach the Tyrene galaxy in a reasonable amount of time by bypassing the barrier and utilizing regular hyperspace travel to get there."
Everyone stared at Valentra after his outburst.
"You've been spending too much time talking with Veil or keeping our R&D people in line," Obi-Wan concluded. "This is something I would have expected from them. Please contact the Director of our R&D complex on Coruscant and have his people crunch some numbers. I need to know what we would need to send an expedition to Tyrene if we can bypass the barrier. Now, long shots aside, we still need a long-term strategy to deal with the defense of the portal and the Covenant. After all, we can't just hope the portal closes itself one day."
"Its very existence has implications…." Valentra pointed out.
"I am well aware," Obi-Wan nodded. "What is the status of the fixed defenses under Admiral Yularen's control?"
"Freighters carrying two Gollan II stations and two hundred defense platforms to cover them are en route to Coruscant as we speak. Seventh Aerospace Combat Engineers Regiment is en route as well. Their Mobile Suits will be invaluable in rapidly deploying the static defenses and begin work on ground facilities if necessary," Jerjerrod reported.
"Another thing to discuss is something General Veil mentioned in his message before deploying to protect that UNSC colony, New Jerusalim was it?" Valentra added. "He believes that deploying units led by Imperial Knights, or with Imperial Knights as part of them, might give us a warning through the Force before the portal closes if that is to happen in the future."
"We didn't get a warning when it opened yet…." Obi-Wan paused to think. The Force rarely gave clear messages. Crimson was an exception that proved the rule. However, with the portal stable for now, Obi-Wan wasn't in that much danger. There was more than enough time for reinforcements to arrive, and they could have held the Senate until the Covenant received heavy reinforcements.
In contrast, any Imperial Knight stranded on the other side would be cut off and in deadly peril because of the Covenant.
"The presence of Imperial Knights won't necessarily give us enough warning, yet it might happen. At this point, that's our best option as far as predicting the potential collapse of the portal is concerned. Consider the deployment of Imperial Knights with any unit we send through authorized," Obi-Wan decided. "Now, Veil's not just one of our Generals. He is also a head of state and is busy rebuilding our intelligence services. We can't have him deployed on the other side for long. I want options about his replacement, a roster of available naval and ground units we can send to hold Reach in the long run."