A beautiful sunset set this day apart from all else, a pure glory of natural brilliance, until one sees that it is the dead of night. Massive pillars of flames leapt from the melted remains of massive columns as towers of smoke billowed from the epicenter, a grand temple reduced to a storm of bloodshed and death. One being stares at the image blurred by tears as she cringes in a gutter, hoping to not be found by the murderous betrayers sent upon her and her family, wondering only why. Why?

Recon Satellite 34543 Eagle Eye

Edge of UEG Space

January 25 2234

14:35 Standard UNSC Military Time

The majestic blackness of space; lonely, foreboding, and incredibly dull. The ever present boredom of the monotonous work of monitoring the border of UNSC space would drive a human team insane. Thus, this lofty duty was given to monitoring satellites like Eagle Eye. Using slip space sensors, cameras, thermal imaging, electronic and radiation detectors, and radio receivers, relaying a constant stream of information back to the Office of Naval Intelligence. As the brilliance of deep space floated by, Eagle Eye took no pleasure in the view. It merely kept performing its scans as instructed three years ago. While remotely intelligent and aware of its mission, it lacked all but one emotion, curiosity, grown from years of solo operations. So when a radio sweep detected a transmission, the satellite took immediate interest. It returned to the frequency and began recording. The message was layered in static but Eagle Eye blocked it out as the message continued, now audible.

"I repeat, this is the cruiser Redemption to all friendly forces, have been boarded by unknown an enemy and need assistance repeat need assi-." The message ended abruptly. The satellite replayed the recording once, comparing it to all known UNSC naval frequencies and ship designations, coming up blank. Eagle Eye immediately sent the message to ONI while tagging the source with an infrared beam.

Destroyer Patton (DD-76)

5th Fleet

Orbital Repair Dock Chesapeake Bay

Reach Orbit

12:23 Standard UNSC Military Time

Captain Arthur Wheeler stared down at the vibrant world that was Reach, the blue and white sky that withheld the glory of human endeavor. Reach was reduced to ash, glass, and flame, the third circle of hell in every sense of the term. Millions died under the Covenant onslaught but humanity's stubbornness reclaimed the tranquility and made heaven out of hell. 40 years of terraforming rebuilt the planet to its former glory. Reach once again was the center of UNSC military power and home to the 5th and 2nd fleets. As the last bit of scaffolding retreated back towards the station, tugs moved into position to guide the large warship out of the docking station. The destroyer had been caught in a meteor shower on a previous patrol and had to replace a broken transmitter and dented plates. The beeping of the ship's transmission beacon interrupted Wheeler's mental history lesson. "Sir," Lieutenant Jack Hafflax reported from his communications terminal. "Admiral Fernson on the horn." Wheeler turned to the comm screen "Patch him through."

"Yes sir" was the automatic reply. The screen lit up, displaying the image of a frigate ringed by stars with the UNSC Eagle in the background and the words "5th Fleet, This we shall defend." Admiral Fernson appeared and Wheeler snapped to attention, saluting along with his bridge crew.

"Wheeler, you never change do you?" the Admiral commented in his gravelly voice, returning the salute.

"No sir," Wheeler replied. "Straight, trim, and never dim."

Admiral Fernson smirked, recognizing the "official" captain's motto. "Damn straight, now, down to business. One of our recon satellites detected a ship of unknown origin. We have already sent Laser Graphic Images and its location to your A.I. I need you to check it out. We may be dealing with a first contact scenario, but it could be Covenant stragglers, so don't dive in head first. We have two frigates being rerouted from a festival at Harvest but it will take them some time to rendezvous. If you run into trouble, call it in immediately, the nearest taskforce is refueling at Arcadia, but they are ordered to drop everything in the event this thing escalates. "

"Understood sir," Wheeler replied, saluting again. "Consider it done" The screen blinked to black and Wheeler turned to the holographic display. "Patton? What do you have for me?" The display flashed on and a General, chest full of medals, ivory pistols swinging from his hips, materialized.

"It is difficult to decipher, it looks triangular but it has four other shapes connected to it, all different, it doesn't match any silhouette on record."

Wheeler rubbed his chin. "Well, let's go say hello" Patton saluted, nodding. "No holding action sir? Excellent!"

Wild Space

Republic Cruiser Redemption

12:24 Standard UNSC Military Time

Another explosion rocked the ship, throwing Ashoka to the ground. Picking herself up from the deck, she turned to face the captain. "Report!"

"More boarding craft sir," the Captain replied. "That makes twelve so far, they just keep coming!" Redemption had been on a routine patrol when she detected a distress call. Jumping to the scene, she was greeted with a flotilla of raid ships and the floating remains of a cargo vessel. Before Redemption had a chance to activate her shields, she was swarmed with boarding craft.

Now, the ship was falling, the clones were simply overwhelmed. As these thoughts passed through her mind the sealed door to the bridge was glowing red, smoking. The bridge guards readied their rifles, pointing at the door. The captain drew his sidearm, clicking the power lever forward. Ashoka drew her lightsabers which flashed into brilliant green beams. The sounds of the arch welders cutting through faded into silence. The troopers steadied their stance. With a massive boom, the door blew open, shrapnel removing the leg of a bridge officer, who screamed in pain. The clones opened fire into the smoke, blue bolts casting shadows as they crashed into the forms behind. Grunts and screams filled the air as multiple Trandoshans were cut down. The remaining slavers returned fire, particles filling the air.

Two troopers fell, chests smoking, one more fell to one knee as he took multiple rounds to the leg. Then face. The captain pointed his pistol and blew the face off the lead Trandoshan, then the next. Another trooper fell, and a member of the bridge crew grabbed his rifle, firing a burst before he too was killed. Ashoka deflected as much as she could but the corridor was filled with particles and lasers. Piercing pain burst from her shoulder and knee and she staggered. The barrier she was creating removed, the last remaining bridge crew officers were cut down. The captain steadied her and led her to the front of the bridge, where consoles sparked and smoked. Three troopers had found cover and were making a stand. Joining them, Ashoka and the captain beat back the slavers. Then, a massive form lumbered through the door. The troopers opened fire but the lasers bounced off. The hulking Trandoshan was clad head to toe in armor of an unknown metal, carrying a heavy repeater. The Trandoshan fired.

A thick stream of lasers spewed from the massive weapon, engulfing a trooper. The smell of melted plastoid filled the air and the clone ceased to exist. His comrades began to retreat, but they met the same fate. The Trandoshan then dropped its weapon, and reached for the blade on its back. With a screech, the pitted sword slid from its sheath. Lumbering forward at a surprising pace, it swung its blade. Ashoka reflexively blocked and the blades met. The sword won. Lightsaber flung from her hand, Ashoka fell to the ground as a blue bolt seared over her head. The Trandoshan reeled back with a cry, face plate smoking. The captain fired again, point blank. Stepping back, the monster ripped off its mask, and charged forward, blade first. The captain let out a scream, impaled in the chest, red blood dripping to the deck. With a massive claw, the Trandoshan slid the captain off his blade, turning to face Ashoka. Grinning, it produced a net tossing it over her. Ashoka struggled, but the heavy net kept her pinned. Pressing a button on his gauntlet, the Trandoshan laughed as electricity coursed through the net. Ashoka screamed in pain, then silence.

UEG Border

Destroyer Patton (DD-76)

13:04 Standard UNSC Military Time

Well, that answers question number one, Wheeler thought, as he looked out at the patch of space below. The unknown ship was clearly boarded by a gaggle of vessels, like a mother frog carrying her babies.

"Give me a zoom on that tower structure," Wheeler ordered. The image zoomed in as the camera focused on the tower. The captain could tell it was a mess, even though Wheeler had never seen a ship of this type before. Fire gushed out of holes, thus showing that whatever occupied the vessel breathed a flammable gas. "Send the transmission; let them know we're here." The communications officer nodded and sent out a ping. The motley gaggle of ships immediately turned towards them. "Remove locks on archer pods A through D and one of our Excalibur nukes, MAC gun to be heated to 96%" The bridge crew nodded, and the clacking of keys filled the air.

"Sir," Patton materialized from his podium arms clasped behind his back. "Our hail has been answered"

"Put it on screen" The screen lit up to reveal a reptilian creature with a squat face and large nose and mouth. Ugly SOB aren't ya? Wheeler noted in shock as he addressed the, the thing. "You are within the boundaries of the United Earth Government without previous warning, state your business," Wheeler ordered sharply. The thing looked at him in silence. "I repeat, state your business or we will fire on you, this is your final warning, exit the system, acknowledge, or be destroyed." Finally, the thing began to speak in a deep, gravelly voice.

"You have just secured your own doom and my increase in profits, your crew will make a fine addition to my stock, I look forward to seeing you soon, in chains!" The screen winked off, the transmission ended. Wheeler beat down his shock at both the creature's ability to speak English and the fact that a new race was discovered, and wanted to kill them. The more things change

"Sir! The enemy ships are firing!" Patton reported.

"Get me a firing solution for the MAC and lock on to those Sons-a-bitches!" Wheeler ordered

"Impact in ten!" Navigations Officer George Pruit announced. "Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, impact!" There was barely a shiver in the coffee mug on Pruit's desk.

"Damage?" Wheeler ordered, confused by the anticlimactic show of force.

"Minimal sir, hull is at 98% around impact area, no breeches, impact was centered on section F-3 through G-7, no casualties. The crystalline layer took most of the blow." Engineering Officer Laura Nandian replied

"Let's hit them back then, open fire." The ship shuddered as the MAC gun unleashed its 600-ton projectile at 30,000 meters per second. Archer Mark VIII missiles flew from their tubes on pillars of fire, their 600 pound armor piercing warheads leading the way. The MAC round struck the lead ship on the nose at a 75 degree angle, punching through the forward decks before exiting out the bottom and glancing the ship next to it. The second ship spun wildly, venting atmosphere, as the first ship tore in half amid-ship. The Archers punched through the thin armor of four more of the strange ships, explosions mushrooming from deep within.

"The enemy is retiring sir," Pruit announced. "Shall we resume firing?"

"Sir, the frigates Okinawa and St. Lo are coming on station." Patton announced, excited by the combat.

"Hold fire until those frigates arrive; let's see what these bastards do then." Wheeler ordered, a slight frown on his face. This was way too easy, how could such a large vessel fall prey to such inadequate firepower?

UEG Border

Trandoshan slave ship Bone Crusher

"Cargo" Hold

13:13 UNSC Standard Military Time

Ashoka's eyes fluttered open, revealing a dank, dark room. She snapped up quickly, wincing as she tugged her injured shoulder. Focusing, a nervous breath indicated she was not alone. Turning her head, she spotted two Twi'lek girls huddled together in a corner. A human female sat alone in the center, head in her hands. Both were dressed in rags and looked underfed. One Twi'lek had a scar along her left cheek, the white line contrasting on her blue skin. Ashoka reached out towards the human.

"Are you alright?" When Ashoka's fingers brushed against her arm, the woman leapt back, cowering away.

"Don't hurt me, please!" Ashoka felt her heart break.

"It's okay, I'm a Jedi, let me help."

One of the Twi'leks spoke up. "Bu-but you have been captured yes? It's no okay."

"Don't worry, I can get us out." The three other women said nothing, but all retreated as far against the wall as possible, eyes wide with fear. Ashoka turned her head only to be greeted with a massive fist. Her head slammed into the floor, opening a cut on her brow. The world began to spin, growing fuzzy. A large claw wrapped around her neck and she was lifted upward.

"What's this about escaping?" a gravelly voiced answered in the dark outside the cell. Ashoka gasped for breath, clawing uselessly at the hand that had her neck in a vice. A fat Trandoshan walked into view, whip dragging behind him. The human yelped and began to frantically back towards the wall trying to climb its slick, grimy surface. The fat Trandoshan chuckled at the sight before lashing out with the whip. It skated across the woman's rag, opening the front and drawing blood along her stomach. The woman doubled over, screaming. "No one escapes my ship, not even the likes of you." He motioned for the large Trandoshan to lower her. Glaring, Ashoka spit in his face, causing the Trandoshan to reel back. With a snarl, he back-handed Ashoka across the face before snapping a large metal collar around her neck. Ashoka summoned the Force, feeling it pulse around her, she charged up a force push, but just as she was to focus it into a wall of energy, the collar let loose a bolt of electricity, arcing across her body, and that of the other women. Screams filled the hold.

UNSC Destroyer Patton (DD-76)

UEG Border Space

13:23 Standard Military Time

Captain Arthur Wheeler scanned the holographic display projected from the arm if his chair. The two frigates were displayed, highlighted in blue; the four remaining enemy ships were appropriately colored red and were clustered around the enemy's largest ship. The boarded ship was highlighted green where it slowly drifted away from the standoff. So far, neither side had made a move, waiting for the other to take action. "Any response to our hails?"

Hafflax shook his head as he sent yet another attempt to reestablish contact with the vessels. "No sir, they seem to be content just giving us the finger."

Wheeler rubbed the back of his neck. "What about our scans of the boarded vessel?" Patton materialized on his holo-display, arms folded behind his back.

"Scans show numerous life signatures, but deep penetrating SONAR shows it is the same specimens as the ones that are on the enemy vessel. There are bodies, but no hold outs."

"Right, tell the St. Lo to deploy a combat team to sweep and secure that ship. EMP the other vessels, we are going to take them by force, the big one first."