Tides of Darkness

Chapter 1

Brothers in Arms

"Cortana, all I need to know is, did we lose them?" Keyes asked as he stood staring out the view port window of the Pillar of Autumn's bridge towards the gas giant Threshold and it's strange satellite.

Immediately she answered him. "I think we both know the answer to that."

Keyes sighed then scratched the back of his head. "We made a blind jump, how did they…"

Cortana interrupted him and finished his sentence, "Get here first? The Covenant ships have always been faster. As for tracking us all the way from Reach, at lightspeed, my maneuvering options were limited."

Keyes clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to a control panel. "We were running dark, yes?" He asked as he leaned over the shoulder of a crewmember, who was fidgeting with the console in front of him, and took a look at the readout on the monitor.

"Until we decelerated. No one could have missed the hole we tore in subspace." Keyes continued to regard the screen in front of him as Cortana continued, "They were waiting for us on the far side of the planet."

"So, where do we stand?" Keyes inquired as he walked over to the large transparent green shaded command screen. The screen in front of him was alive with data of every nature. Telemetry readings and ship movements were tracked all along the length of the display as Keyes observed it with a keen eye.

"Our fighters are mopping up the last of their recon picket now, nothing serious. But I have isolated approach signatures from multiple CCS class battle groups; make that three capital ships per group. And in about 90 seconds, they'll be all over us."

Keyes closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. He had given it his best shot, but the Covenant still managed to trace the jump and intercept them. He was certain that this time there would be no escape. However, Keyes quickly regained his composure and decided that they would stand and fight for as long as they could. If this was to be their last stand, then let them take as many of those alien bastards with them as possible.

"That's it then. Bring the ship back up to combat alert alpha. I want everyone at their stations." Keyes ordered.

Within seconds of the order, blaring alarms and red lights went off all over the ship.

Cortana, seeking to ascertain Keyes' level of preparation asked, "everyone, sir?"

"Everyone. And, Cortana, lets give our old friend a warm welcome" Keyes replied as he narrowed his eyes and glared out the window of the bridge.

Cortana's holographic figure flickered to life on the projector next to the command screen. "I've already begun." She said, informing Keys of her preparations.

However, unknown to Keyes, even as he prepared to fight what he was certain would be their last battle in the far reaches of space, an entirely different set of events were unfolding in a far off galaxy that would bring two mighty Empire's into direct conflict. The results of which could spell untold desolation and destruction across the universe.

On the Imperial home world of Coruscant, the Empire reveled in its second greatest era of prosperity since its inception nearly four decades ago. Not since the initial rise of the Emperor had the Empire, or the denizens of the galaxy, experienced such a flourishing age of Imperial rule. In the eight years following the ravages of the civil war and the utter obliteration of the Rebellion at the final, decisive battle at Endor, the Empire moved to further secure its iron grip on the galaxy. Using the prior transgressions of the Rebellion to justify his actions, the Emperor, in a bid to prevent any future uprisings against his rule, levied heavy taxes and fees from Imperial citizens who were forced to pay royalties, under the penalty of death for failure to do so, to ruthless system Governors and Moffs loyal to the Imperial throne. The resulting influx of monetary gains paid by frightened citizens allowed for the Imperial military to reap immense benefits from the spoils of war. A little more than half of all galactic income due to taxes or other fees, was immediately transferred into researching new military technologies that were aimed at increasing the Imperial war machine to three times the operational capacity it possessed during its war with the Rebellion. The ranks of the Empire's vast legions of Stormtroopers swelled following rigorous Imperial propaganda campaigns that promised opportunity for advancement and personal glory to all those willing to swear unwavering loyalty to the Empire. And in return for their cooperation and compliance with Imperial military recruitment efforts, civilians who took on the role of enlisted soldiers were equipped with state of the art armor and weapons, as well as a salary that was more than double the original salary of an enlisted soldier during the civil war.

Imperial fleets were outfitted with newer, deadlier classes of Imperial dreadnoughts. Equipped with more powerful weapons and engines, the Imperial armada was ready at a moments notice to enforce the steel will of the Emperor both across their galaxy and to unknown worlds beyond. The second Death Star had been completed. Larger and deadlier than its predecessor, the station clearly defined the pinnacle of Imperial military achievement and reflected the Empire's intent in the universe. And it was with these weapons that the Empire began to set its sights on extra galactic worlds. In a quest for ever greater power and dominion, the Emperor sought to expand the Empire's boarders to include galaxies beyond. And he would use the Empire's new military might to impose this will upon the myriad of unsuspecting beings across the universe. And the man he placed at the helm of his ambitions was Fleet Admiral Davro.

Admiral Davro was a highly decorated and seasoned commander amid the ranks of the Imperial Navy with a family lineage steeped in Naval pride. However, long before he affected an impressive service record in the war against the Rebels, he began as little more than a child with a dream. A dream to follow in his father's footsteps. But, tragedy struck early in Davro's young life as his father was killed during a combat mission to end a Rebel uprising on Abregado Rea.

Undaunted by his father's demise and driven by a desire to avenge his death, Davro vowed to continue where his father had left off and was accepted into the Naval Academy's Officer training program at the age of sixteen. As his years passed at the Academy, the young officer easily adopted the Imperial doctrine and philosophy of total dominance over the galaxy in exchange for their unwavering loyalty to the Emperor. However, despite the ease of his acceptance of the Imperial philosophy, he usually tended to disagree with his instructors. Holding contempt for what he viewed to be "weakness" on their part whenever they gave him orders to cease further combat action or spare the lives of Rebel prisoners during the training simulators. He despised the Rebellion so, blaming them directly for what happened to his father, and always detested the order to spare their lives. In direct defiance of his tutors orders, Davro always had Rebel prisoners executed during training exercises and was fond of pushing soldiers to their limits, projecting his quest for personal perfection onto the men under his command by verbally berating and physically exhausting them. Additionally, he was not above sanctioning the use of capital punishment as a means of motivation for troopers. None the less, in spite of his constant friction with his teachers and ruthless performance, Davro proved to be an apt pupil, due to his continual drive for perfection, and quickly rose to the top of his class, graduating second after attaining the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Upon his graduation from the academy he continued his training in the field under Captain Piett, who edified the recent graduate on the practical application of what he had learned in the Academy.

However, his service under Piett would be interrupted following a brush with death when he was wounded in the right eye by shrapnel from a thermal detonator set off by a Rebel insurgent during an attack on an Imperial outpost on Byss. The result of the attack left him blind in the eye and imprinted a very noticeable scar that ran from his cheek to just above his eyebrow. Of course, the Lieutenant underwent surgery in an attempt to correct the blindness. But the operation ultimately failed, rendering his eye completely useless, succeeding only in discoloring it to a pale white pigment, save the pupil and a feint remnant of his pale blue iris. At first, doctors were willing to try replacing the eye, but Davro refused. Instead he kept his damaged eye, wearing it like a badge of honor and distinction as well as a permanent reminder to himself to never underestimate the treachery of others.

But, upon his recovery from his injuries, he was immediately placed back into service under Captain Piett aboard the newest Imperial warship, Executor where he would eventually receive a promotion to full Lieutenant following Piett's promotion in the place of the blundering Ozzel. Two years later, he would receive yet another promotion to Captain, a position which he would serve with distinction and loyalty for several years.

Now, a full ten years after the battle of Endor, Piett has been promoted to High Admiral, and upon his departure from his already lofty position, in an unprecedented gesture of respect and trust in the Captain, he relinquished the title of Fleet Admiral to Davro. The once young child, who had aspired to continue his father's legacy, now stands, unexpectedly, at the threshold of a new era for the Empire. Having achieved far more than he could have ever dreamed of and being charged by the Emperor to personally oversee the first Imperial expansion beyond the known galaxy, Davro felt an overwhelming pride in his task and had a firm sense that he had avenged his father's life ten fold. There was no doubt in his mind that if his father were alive to see the fruits of his son's labor, he would be bursting with pride beyond measure. And it was with these thoughts and feelings of pride and exuberance that Davro had pledged his unerring loyalty to the Emperor, promising that he would not fail, no matter what the cost.

"The Emperor is nearly ready to broadcast his planetary address, sir." Captain Sykes informed the Admiral as he approached his commander on the command bridge of Impend.

Sykes, though far from being a raw recruit from the Academy, was still a young officer, relatively inexperienced but still certain in both his position of power and abilities. And though he was a competent young Captain with vast untapped potential, Sykes, unlike Davro, had not seen action in the civil war to help foster his abilities. Instead, he was one of those who had joined the Imperial military right on the cusp of the Rebellion's defeat. When Admiral Davro discovered him and took him on as his protégé after making note of how much the young officer reminded him of himself at that age, one of the first things he remembered the cadet telling him was how he lamented over the fact that the very next day following his admittance into the training Academy, the war was over. It was like an instantaneous switch. One day, he's off to train for war, the next it's being reported all across the galaxy on the holonet that the war is over. It was that string of events that caused Sykes to become a bit too eager to engage in combat. In fact, when he first learned that he'd be traveling with the Admiral on an exploration mission to extra galactic worlds, he happily accepted the post with the hope that they'd experience something out there in the depths of space that wanted to put up a fight. Sykes would be all to happy to oblige them. And even though that drive and determination greatly impressed the Admiral, Davro still attempted to temper the Captain's bold nature by offering words of caution whenever Sykes started to act over eager in military situations. For the most part, Sykes listened, but the urge for combat still dwelled within him, waiting to be unleashed like a slumbering beast.

Davro had been silently watching the five other ships of the expedition fleet as they lingered effortlessly in orbit above Coruscant, his mind racing with both exhilaration and apprehension at the mission he would be called upon to execute in a matter of minutes, turned and addressed the Captain. "Isn't this ship magnificent?" He asked, stretching his arms wide in a gesture reflecting the grandeur of the Imperial cruiser.

Impend was just one of four brand new Imperial ship designs that were being groomed to eventually replace the aging Imperial class destroyers that still comprised the bulk of the Imperial fleets. Impend, though sharing the same wedge shaped design of its Imperial class brethren, was nearly twice the size of a standard Imperial Mk II destroyer. Measuring 3,100m in length and sporting a sleek, polished chrome colored hull, an aesthetic effect meant to reflect the prosperity and sovereignly of the Empire's rule, Impend boasted an impressive array of armaments that not only doubled, but overpowered, the weapon systems of the Mk II cruisers. Impend's hull bristled with more than sixteen Octuple barbette turbolaser cannons, ten concussion missile and torpedo tubes, forty ion cannon batteries as well as a further compliment of more than 120 turbolaser batteries defending the length of the imposing craft. In addition to the intimidating armory at Impend's disposal, upgraded shielding, in the form of a far stronger and more robust version of the original Kuat Drive Yards ISD-72x shield generator, eliminated the need for the two iconic dome shaped towers that capped the command decks on older Imperial ships. Now, Impend was entirely protected by a single, semi-circle shaped shield projector located on the ventral hull of the ship between the hanger and the four immense KDY Mk VI jump drive engines that propelled the craft and allowed it to attain faster than light travel for instantaneous deployment to any point within, or beyond, the galaxy at a moments notice.

Yet further improvements to the original Imperial Mk II cruiser design could be seen in the ships electronic war fare capabilities. Impend, unlike its Mk II counterparts, also fielded an interdictor jamming field generator for defense against capital ship grade torpedoes and missiles, long range sensor scramblers to mask its approach and an experimental prototype cloaking field that it could employ, lending the ship a deadly tactical advantage. And, as one might expect, the sheer size of the ship not only accommodated twice the crew, military personnel and material of older ships, but the increased dimensions of the ship's design allowed for a larger interior hanger that could house and launch nearly double the standard number of TIE's, men, equipment and material that a standard Imperial class cruiser was capable of. The ship was also equipped with four powerful gravity well generators, positioned around the shield generator beneath the ship, in place of the phylon Q7 tractor beam generators that had been so popular on the Mk II's. By all counts, Impend represented the finest achievement in the Imperial navy since the introduction of the Super Star Destroyer class and was to be the flagship of Imperial proliferation through out the universe.

"Indeed it is, sir." Sykes agreed. "It must be a great honor to have been chosen by the Emperor himself to head this expedition with the newest ship in the fleet."

"That it is." Davro pridefully stated as he nodded.

"With your command and Impend at the apex of the Imperial advance through the universe, nothing can stop us." Sykes confidently added, praising the Admiral as he grinned with excitement for their coming journey.

Davro nodded before he cautioned his compatriot. "Perhaps you are correct. But you must bear in mind that we will soon be venturing into the unknown. We cannot even begin to predict what we might find beyond the boarders of the Empire. We must prepare ourselves for as many possible scenarios as is humanly possible to prepare for." He stated, folding his arms across his chest as he turned his gaze back to the vast universe before them.

Sykes, in an attempt to bolster his position and get Davro to set aside his anxieties, however small they were, walked up on the Admiral's left and fixed his eyes on the great beyond as well before again asserting his belief that the Empire was the ultimate power in the universe. "Even if we do find something unpredictable out there, sir, with the second Death Star fully operational, any effort made against the Empire would be one in futility." He boldly stated as he looked at Davro.

The Admiral chuckled to himself, finding the Captain's confidence and conviction to be a welcomed, and somewhat amusing, asset to his post. Turning his attention to the young officer, Davro placed a hand on Sykes' shoulder and cracked a feint smile. "I admire your spirit, boy. But you still have much to learn." He stated, patting the Captain's shoulder before he returned his thoughts to their current task. "Come, we should prepare for the address. We wouldn't want to keep the Emperor waiting."

Sykes nodded and followed the Admiral off the bridge to prepare to travel to the Imperial Palace where Davro was to take part in a christening ceremony that would officially launch the Empire's goals for extra galactic domination.

"Attention, combat positions Alpha through Sierra, sensors show inbound Covenant boarding craft. Stand by to repel boarders." Cortana warned over the ships comm system, alerting the Autumn's marine force to their imminent re-engagement with the enemy.

"Alright, fall in troops! On the double!" Second Lieutenant James Shade ordered the rest of his squad.

Immediately the group of twelve marines that were with him formed up in the passageway outside escape pod air locks 41 - 43 on port deck eleven, ready to defend their ground with their commanding officer.

James had served as the ranking officer of Fifth Platoon for four years now following his own promotion from Sergeant First Class upon the recommendations of his prior commander, Second Lieutenant Hart, before Hart's eventual transfer to a different unit. But it was a commission that Shade was not entirely ready to take on alone, and in the preceding four years commanding marines against the Covenant, he had lost a combined total of 56 men and women to the enemy, almost double his command. Initially, the losses had little effect on him. He was a though soldier with a rough and tumble "do or die" attitude who had been presented multiple opportunities by Hart to lead soldiers in previous engagements to prepare him for an eventual promotion to platoon leader. And, as was indicative of his personality, he eagerly accepted every command with great enthusiasm and had, subsequently, experienced his fair share of loss during those early trials. But his promotion to Lieutenant did not act itself out as smoothly as he thought it would.

As the struggle against the Covenant raged and the death toll among the marines of his command mounted, their losses doing seemingly little to halt the inexorable alien advance as they devastated colony after colony in spite of the UNSC's best efforts, he began to doubt himself and lose faith in their cause, wonder what it was all for. He began to sink deeper and deeper into a world of depression from which there seemed no escape.

But that was before Sergeant First Class Erin Briggs was assigned to his command. She did for him in a matter of months what two and a half years of therapy, medication and psychological evaluation had failed to. Gradually, she broke through the fog of guilt and doubt that he had allowed himself to become entrapped in. She managed to free him of his guilt and self loathing by making him see that the deaths of 56 marines were not frivolous wastes, but necessary and heroic sacrifices that, though tragic, ultimately served the higher purpose of protecting the billions of innocents on Earth from the Covenant. Though he couldn't tell if it was actually her words that got him to believe that, or if he was just so desperate to leave his negative emotions behind that he'd believe anything. Regardless of the reasons, within a few months of her firm, yet compassionate counsel, James regained his spirits. No longer did he have the crippling self doubt or guilt that once burdened him. Instead of living with a continual cloud of dread and anxiety over him, he felt re-invigorated and carried with him once again a clear sense of duty and honor in his work. Erin had managed to reach him on the brink of psychosis and pull him away before it was too late. And for that she had his immeasurable gratitude.

"This is the same old song and dance people. Our objective is to hold this ship, keep the Covenant at bay for as long as possible until the Ops personnel can evacuate. We will keep these lifeboats clear so that can happen. You will all hold your ground until myself or Sergeant Briggs order otherwise. Understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!!" The group resoundingly replied in one voice.

James nodded. "Right. Sergeant Briggs."

"Sir?"

"Take Skip, Lauren, Chips and Ryan. Cover the left approach. Hold out as best you can. Do not, I repeat, do not allow the enemy to get past you. Seal the blast doors if you have to."

"Understood." Briggs complied.

"Sir, what about the Ops personnel? Wouldn't we be trapping them?" Ryan asked in concern.

"If we need to seal the blast doors, we can re-route survivors to this point through the maintenance access ways." James stated, pointing his attention to the small grated door in the middle of the wall behind him.

Shortly after James' assurance that they could still accomplish their objective even if they had to box themselves in, Sergeant Briggs began leading the four marines away from the group.

But, just as the Lieutenant was preparing to issue further orders to the others, Private Sam Edwards stepped forward and made a request. "Sir, permission to join the Sergeant."

James, clearly pre-occupied with more immediate concerns, granted his request. "Go.".

Edwards quickly broke from the group to catch up with Sergeant Briggs and her squad.

Turning his attention back to his remaining soldiers, Lieutenant Shade finished dividing his assets among defense points near the lifeboat bays. "Walker, Peyton, Valdez, you three stay here, guard these pods. Let us know if anything tries getting in behind us."

Peyton nodded and replied for the three of them. "Yes, sir."

"Stark, Black, Helms, you're with me." James finished, leading the last three troopers away from the air locks. While on route to his defensive combat station, he contacted Corporal Parks on his comm. "How's it going, Parks?" He asked, requesting a status report. He didn't have to wait long before his comm crackled with a burst of static.

"So far things are holding. We've only got two wounded right now. The Covies aren't moving in force yet. I think they're probing our position trying to find a weak point. I keep shifting troops to make them think there are more of us than there actually are." Parks responded.

"Keep it up Corporal. Hold your line as best you can. Report in as needed."

"Will do, sir." Was Parks last transmission before the link went silent.

All of the pieces were in place, Lieutenant Shade had made his first moves. Now all they could do was wait for the Covenant to make theirs and hope that they could live long enough to make it off of the ship.