Naboo, Theed Royal Palace
Mid-Rim Territories
Post-Ruusan Reformation 968 years
In the spacious chamber reserved for the Monarch of Naboo, a fourteen-year-old girl gazed at the beauty of her home, Naboo, with a sense of reverence. She understood that even the most beautiful things could face challenges. As the Queen of Naboo, she was determined to do her part. This summit was not just an event but a pivotal moment for her to shed the isolationist label attached to their planet. It was her opportunity to present a more unified sector community that would stand together in times of need.
"Your Highness, the summit will begin soon." Quarsh Panaka, the captain of the security forces, who was meant to protect the young Queen, stood by the entrance of the royal suites. Along her room stood her five handmaidens, confidants, and usually protection, though this time she would be the Queen with the importance of the summit and its more unique topic.
Naboos' newest neighbors seemingly appeared, though they were found along the edges of the unexplored section of the Chommell Sector. A Naboo ship found them along the orbit of the fourth planet from its star, of what they call the Othrys system, as they monitored the unstable cloud that produced ion-like pulses once touched. Initially, it was blocked off, yet a portion opened up, allowing the research ship to pass through before notifying the research center.
If Padmé could remember correctly, it was truly an oddity. The phenomenon had been studied since her people arrived on Naboo, yet no changes had occurred over the years. While the first contact between the two groups was tense, the harsh tension dissolved once communications began.
According to the researchers, a group of what they claimed to be 'warships' was present, a concerning revelation. Padmé hoped diplomacy would prevail as she invited this enigmatic group to the summit. Their response, an agreement to attend, was a promising sign.
"Do you believe that these people will bring war on us?" Sabé asked the question amongst those present in the Queen's room. The other four handmaidens attended to the Queen while listening for her answer.
"I hope to believe that they will not be a warmongering people." That's all Padmé could think with no official introduction, yet they could only hope for the best. There was silence among the six as they finished reading for the summit, and the face paint of the Queen was applied as Quarsh proceeded to enter the room.
"Your Highness, the delegate has just arrived." Padmé took a large breath and readied herself to meet with the delegate, hopefully to ensure peaceful communications.
Queen Amidala, along with her handmaidens and guard detail, waited for the ramp to the starship to drop down at the landing pad. The vessel's design was not aesthetic and did not detract from its appearance, while not having the appearance of a delegate ship.
A man seeming twice her age and his large armored guard had exited the starship with obvious weapons holstered to their thighs. It wasn't an understatement to say that his guards were tall. Queen Amidala would believe she would barely reach their shoulders without her headdress. The guards' armor was too unique to be comparable to something within her knowledge.
"Your Highness, I am Commander William Hayes, the delegate sent by our Rear Admiral." Military Ranks, then? While familiar with the rank of Commander, it seemed these people had a specialized rank of Rear Admiral, which was a note Queen Amidala thought of in her head as she assessed the man in front of her. A dark-haired man with tan skin and of similar height to that of Quarsh, with the rank she assumed that his outfit showed, was represented with its dark colors and the patches that rested upon his shoulders.
"Welcome, Commander William Hayes. Is that how you want me to address you?" The Commander seemed to be mulling it over from the Queen's perspective.
"Commander Hayes will be fine." The ONI commander chose to be formal.
"If you like, we can discuss this further as we move to the Throne room." The Commander agreed as he turned back to Noble Team. "Noble-6 and 7." The addressed Spartans moved behind Hayes, with others standing guard by the Prowler.
–
"I would like to introduce Commander Hayes of the Othrys system." Queen Amidala introduced Commander Hayes to the other heads of state in attendance from the various planets of the Chommel sector.
"Commander?" One of the dignitaries attending through holoprojection questioned.
Concern started to flow through the diplomats in attendance ranks in the security sector fleets, which was not uncommon. The Chommell sector did not have any fleet, nor did the diplomats know of this 'Othrys system.'
Most talks had already passed, and the Queen wanted the subject of their purpose to be the final topic discussed, along with his introduction being so late, possibly to get the dignitaries' attention. Hayes noted that all diplomats focused on him.
"I'm sorry, what is this Orthrys system, Queen Amidala?" Governor Kelma of Karlinus asked. To which Queen Amidala replied. "It would be the hidden system behind the Ion storm that we have been researching for so long."
"Yet how is it that they got through it?" A skeptical diplomat asked.
Those who studied it determined the ion field or storm to be unbreachable, and many starships were lost in researching it. The only ones still studying it were those closest to it, which was Naboo.
"Due to an FTL accident, we bypassed this storm and set up in the system behind the storm." This was the truth, but not entirely. The new system they had first contact with was out of the system in which the Nova Outset installation preceded it, and they were merely patrolling the outside system, which they named 'Othrys.'
Hayes also chose not to specify the use of slip space because they researched the ships that orbited 'Nova-3, ' their main base of operations with the Forerunner drydock. They found that the ships used a different method of FTL travel called 'Hyperspace.'
The patrol flotilla that made the first contact sent any data they recorded about the FTL jumps as the Naboo research team left the system after the first contact and once again when the second meeting occurred with their invitation to the summit. The information was given to the battlegroup's resident scientists for study. From the data, a theoretical speed was found, and it was shown to be faster than any UNSC ship travel time and the Covenant's own FTL speed. Unsurprisingly, it became a priority research topic to see if it could be implemented with their ship's technology.
"No matter but what of these ships of yours, my people have spoken of their large sizes and the easily seen weaponry attached to them." Choosing to be aggressive in the questioning to get answers and see how the Commander reacts.
"Yes, and your people must be aware of the laws of the Republic that restrict ships' armaments." Another diplomat chose to join in a verbal attack with more aggression than Amidala showed, with an angry expression shown through the holoprojection.
"We were not; we are far from our colonies due to a threat, Your Highness, and have been facing a powerful seeking our destruction." Looking away from the projected delegate and again facing the Queen. Hayes then turned his head to Noble-7, standing behind him, along with Six.
"If you would like evidence." Queen Amidala motioned for them to continue, to which Noble-7 placed a projector pad at the center of the delegates.
Once activated, it projected the image of Reach before its destruction, with green and blue covering most of the planet. Then, the image shifted to a more molten form of the planet caused by the Covenant glassing it.
Many delegates gasped when they realized it was the same planet and were even more horrified to see what caused it. The projector showed the Covenant glassing the planet and the attacks of Covenant ground troops.
The atrocities were new to those of the Chommell sector, as war has not been an issue of worry for the close to a thousand years the republic stood, and seeing that there was a threat out willing to destroy the likes of a garden world was more than troubling.
"We must warn the Republic!"
"Will they follow!?"
"You led them right to us."
After the projection disappeared, the delegates felt a mixture of outrage and fear, and even Queen Amidala and her retinue were not spared. However, she chose to calm herself and ask. "Commander Hayes, what did we just see?"
"That is the Covenant, a group of religious fanatical species hell-bent on the destruction of Humanity because they see us as an affront to their gods," Commander Hayes explained.
Hayes went on to explain to the delegates of the Chommell sector of their war with the Covenant, much to their horror and disbelief; of course, the ONI personnel chose not to explain details that would give much away, like being from a different galaxy and how they got here. Just enough to give them a picture of what they've been going through and explain their ships to the seemingly pacifist natives.
"We understand your need for such ships, though it is still worrying a naval force like yours in our sector." The Queen did not back down from addressing the issues of the UNSC warships.
"We understand the plight our ships put our neighbors in and hope to remedy that by respecting your space borders. We hope you understand ours and show good faith due to an excess of grain from our farms, and we will be able to relieve you as well in your grain shortage." To Queen Amidala, the negotiations seem to have gone well, and with Commander Hayes, he hoped he defused a call to this larger government to interfere or investigate them. The others seemed pacified when he mentioned them sticking to their borders, but they were still wary.
The talks continued for a couple of hours until evening arrived. Commander Hayes was given a sleeping arrangement to which he agreed with the Spartans being offered but declined the offer.
The Queen was in her suite, thinking of the summit's success so far and, hopefully, the promised actions will allow for a more unified sector. With the promises of the UNSC, peace will continue.
She was still worried about the Covenant, wondering if they could replicate how the UNSC arrived. From what Commander Hayes shared, it seemed words had started their war, not ones of diplomacy but a threat, and then began 27 years of war and loss. It was hard for the Queen to fathom with the Republic being in peace for so long. Amidala was broken from her thoughts as Rabé teased Sabé. As she had just arrived in the suite, they all knew where she had just come from or with whom she was with. Sabé had received an exciting invitation for all of them, and it seemed that tonight would be an enjoyable night filled with mischief and youthfulness. Except for Saché, the handmaidens and Queen prepared to sneak around.
Six swapped out for Kat when it came to guarding the Commander, as he required her intellect to discuss some of what was discussed during the summit. Six and the rest of Noble Team consisted of Jonah-B283 and Roland-B210, formerly from Headhunters operations. An incident in a mission halted their operations further, even with its success. Still, it made ONI realize a danger lurking in the shadows and with them only surviving due to a last-minute decision being made, though without their knowledge, until things went to hell.
The three guarded the entrance to the Prowler, with the rest of the personnel staying inside the ship.
"So, how was the little meeting ghosty?" Jonah sat beside the ramp leading into the ship while fiddling with his knife. It was a haunting image to Six, a reminder of a fallen team member.
"Jonah, you didn't even want to be there; why are you asking?" Roland asked with exasperation laced in his tone.
"I just wanted to know about some of these natives. I mean, come on, don't they seem a little too welcoming to you?" The two other Spartans understood and read between his sentences as the point was mainly toward the less human species. Fighting in a war against a collective of non-human species with an anti-human agenda, along with having such hatred for said species, would make it difficult for most, especially those among the Spartan-III. Six believed it was luck that they ran into the Humans of Naboo. The battlegroup would have responded less positively if it were any other species in this galaxy.
Movement! Six's eyes moved as he tried to understand what he was seeing. It was far from their position, yet his enhanced eyesight caught them in the darkness.
"J, let's just hope the rest of the galaxy is calm like these people." Roland looked at Six, noticing he seemed to be distracted.
"See something, Six?" Noble-9 got up in response and moved toward the other two. "I'll be back." Six said as he moved quickly to what he saw, leaving his teammates dumbfounded as they looked at each other.
"Well, it looks like he hasn't gotten rid of doing that," Jonah commented as they watched their team member go off.
"I'm not reporting that, by the way."
"Just shut up, Jonah."
—
Six kept his distance as he kept track of whom he pursued, as it was the same handmaidens he saw at the summit that stood alongside the Queen. He followed them without being seen as they moved through the royal palace to the streets of Theed. Six estimated his guess of where they were heading as lights flashed from what seemed to be a type of event.
Six head was full of ponder as he wondered why the handmaidens went to such lengths to sneak out of the palace. From what he saw, they had dropped from the fifth level of the palace and then chosen to sneak past the guards around the courtyard.
He watched as the two handmaidens met with the three others and one of the delegates at the summit meeting, yet something was off; he noticed as he watched over them. He counted five, but the heights of the handmaidens were off from studying them as they stayed close to the Queen. Their heights were mostly aligned, except for one who was relatively shorter.
It may have been that the Queen had more handmaidens, and the smaller one hadn't chosen to join them, but Six felt something was off and chose to continue monitoring them over his vantage point. Six felt odd. It was an unfamiliar setting; he watched the dancing civilians enjoying their night with the performers singing on stage. Spartans did not often socialize with civilians, but when they did, it wasn't ordinary folk but those like Doctor Halsey.
It was just a new experience, and he chose not to let it distract him. He continued watching through the night until he received a message from Noble-8 calling him back and noticed the two handmaidens he initially followed leaving the concert as well. Six felt like he was acting like Kat, full of curiosity about something that might get him into trouble.
Six sighed oddly, waiting for a comment in his head, though there was nothing, as Hestia had not come with them. She was one of the AIs assisting the science teams in analyzing the new tech.
Passing the same way he came, he noticed the security seemed to be more on guard, but with the help of active camo, he passed through their higher vigilance with ease. He was returning to the prowler with the addition of Commander Hayes and Noble Two and Seven. He may get reprimanded after all, and he knew it was not coming from the Commander as he moved. Ready to brief the Commander and later debrief with Kat, Six knew it might be a long debriefing.
A long debriefing started with Kat questioning why he went off with so few words to the team. Of course, Six replied, explaining his feelings from the Handmaiden's little adventure, which made Kat pensive. She asked for more details, which he provided. She seemed to have been thinking deeply about the situation like Six, and the debrief ended but not before she asked Six not to go off on his own without at least informing, of course, to reiterate that it was her duty as his CO, something Six became curious of her need to emphasize as if there would be another reason for him to think otherwise.
The morning talks went well. Six watched the handmaidens without noticing, as they could not see his face behind the visor. With the help of a holoprojector, each system went to show its borders to the Commander, with the data being given to the Commander along with the galactic map, including a modern star chart that contained the name and location of the sectors, systems, and planets in the galaxy.
Six understood from the information gained from the summit that tens of millions of species in the Andromeda galaxy occupied billions of planets. They seemed to have been dropped into an ocean from their little pond. In the end, they will have to rebuild with it already being common knowledge among every personnel of the battlegroup that a way home might be impossible or it would take past their lifetime. The information didn't pass them like the wind; it was hard for the people willing to lay their lives down for the sake of their species' survival, knowing they couldn't continue the fight and their homes and families might burn down by the Covenant.
They had to accept it, and they understood it; at least Six believed so because these soldiers continued following to at least start making a home out of the Nova Installation. But, like many things, time was needed. Hopefully, it will be on their side this time.
Due to courtesy, they stayed another night and would depart after the Naboo Queen's farewell this morning. The Spartans and Commander Hayes were at the Prowler, readying for their departure.
"How was getting scolded by the wife." Jonah joked at Six as the Team was aware of the debriefing their CO had with Six.
Six tilted his head curiously, wondering why Jonah had used that term to refer to Kat. He understood it was a joke, but was it because Kat showed worry like a wife? That wouldn't make sense to Six, as a CO should worry about the soldiers under their command.
"I would shut up if I were you, Jonah; otherwise, you might socked in the face." Grabbing Jonah's shoulder, Roland motioned toward Kat, who was looking at Jonah with the visor blocking her expression, but it was obvious from the long stare she gave him what Roland said might have merit.
Six looked toward the leaving Starship as it seemed to be last, and their turn with a farewell from the Queen was coming. Noble-7 or Daisy rushed down the ramp of the Prowler along with the Commander, alerting the rest of Noble Team.
"We got a problem, Noble!" The Commander yelled as he motioned for them to follow him as he ran to the palace.
"The Hyperscanner aboard the Prowler picked large tonnage ships entering the system after another alert of a smaller ship poking around the space near the planet." The Commander informed Noble Team as they made their way through the palace with the guards of Naboo security force seemingly on alert and preparing for something wrong.
When they entered the Queen's throne room, they could tell things weren't all right, as the room's holoprojector showed an Alien species unique to the UNSC.
"You will sign it," said the lean alien wearing robe-like garments. Or you will suffer." Everyone in the room heard an ominous threat, and Commander Hayes and the Noble Team were confused. The delegates made it seem the galaxy was at peace, yet an Alien species was potentially invading Naboo.
"I was under the impression that this Republic you spoke of was at peace." Commander Hayes Calmly said as he walked up near the steps of the throne room with Noble Team in tow.
The Queen maintained her aloofness, yet, like her fellow Naboo, she was unnerved by the situation. It was unthinkable but currently happening that the Trade Federation would take such drastic measures.
"It is a great offense to the Republic of what the Trade Federation is doing to our sovereign planet. Once the Senate finds out what they are doing, they will surely act swiftly." The Queen then motioned toward Governor Bibble. "Governor, I would like clarification on who is empowered to sign treaties with offworlders."
It could only be the reigning monarch of Naboo, and the Queen continued to ask what if she were incapacitated or more gravely to die. With each given answer from the Governor, it remained apparent that it would be more beneficial to keep the Queen alive and sign the treaty without harm.
Commander Hayes and Noble Team stood to the side, with the Queen addressing her subordinates with commands to prepare for what could only be led by an invasion. The Queen then asked Commander Hayes to follow her to talk. With both sides, guards followed as the two began to speak on the large matter at hand.
"I am aware, Commander Hayes, this is already not the most promising example of the Republic's peace and is rather hypocritical of me to ask." With the Queen's last few words, Hayes had an inkling of what she may ask. "If your people could aid the people of Naboo with this blockade seemingly not ending soon."
The large open halls of the palace, with large pillars to the sides that Commander Hayes thought were similar to ancient architecture that still hopefully stands on Earth from ancient Greece, and the decorated archway windows created a majestic atmosphere that showed Naboo's artistic values.
"While I hope this blockade would end sooner than later, I doubt our harvest stores are not large enough to support the whole planet long enough." Commander Hayes chose to respond now to the Queen. "I understand what you are asking, your Highness, and I will gladly move our excess grain to support the people of Naboo, but I would like to inform you that even with our added grain, it will not buy you much in time." It was true that they had excess grain from the farming facilities on Nova-3 that they chose to activate due to their limited rations. Commander Hayes could negotiate, though any action still had to be run through the higher-ups of the battle group, which came down to the rank of command. Rear Admiral Gatlin informed the Commander to be more diplomatic, knowing that ONI agents can be more critical and genuinely give the nickname 'Spooks' reaffirmation.
The battlegroup's resources are now scarce. With the rest of the UNSC cut-off, it would take time to fully operational at total capacity. Their fuel issues were easily solved with the help of the Monitor, and their Orion-class carrier was the workhorse, which helped them work on refineries for their ships' fuel. Sacrificing several of their prefabricated firebases helped finish the refineries faster, and the monitors helped make them more automated.
Commander Hayes eyed the ring-shaped vessels while Noble 6, 8, and 9 went to retrieve the weapons in the Prowler's armory. The Commander wasn't a master tactician but could tell if they were to have a naval engagement with those twelve ships, it would not be an easy battle with little knowledge of the ships besides having shields and energy-based weapons, but that told him all he needed to know. It is similar to the Covenant regarding advanced technology more than the UNSC.
The three Spartans returned carrying a mixture of UNSC and Covenant weaponry, and Noble-6 was in the lead, declaring their readiness. The Commander nodded and wished the Spartans the best of luck. Followed by Noble-2 and Noble-7, not before wishing their luck to their teammates as Noble-2 had seemed to be informing Six of something. With that said and done, the two Spartans followed on a couple of days' trip to inform Rear Admiral Gatlin and the battlegroup of the events happening upon Naboo.
Naboo, Royal Palace Throne Room
January 21, 2553, 10:16 hours
Six were currently watching over the Queen, even with her lead security distrustful of them, though they had to concede because the Queen had vouched for them. She is naive. Six thought that while it was true that they would not harm the Queen, the fact that she readily trusted them was something Six found odd in the political ruler of a planet. For a week, he and the other two Spartans have been watching over the Queen with no action yet coming from the dozen ships still blockading the planet with the Queen and her advisors in meetings that lasted most of the day as they discussed potential defense strategies and logistics. However, the central logistics topic has been food supply, which had been slightly improved with the first shipment from Nova-3 that arrived four days with the three prowlers the battlegroup had and the only ships that could bypass the blockade without action needed.
"Theed is not the only city on Naboo; what about the whole planet?" Currently, another meeting showed the patience of the Queen wearing thin on this blockade. Six watched the discussions from the side with Noble-8, and nine spread around the throne room.
"Forgive me, Your Highness, with the additional food reserves brought by our neighbors." One of the Queen's advisors motioned at Six. "It would be two weeks with their added crops to our reserves for the whole planet." Based on what was reported to Six, it would be in two days when another shipment from Nova-3 would be expected. The reason for this one taking longer would be the mobilization of the part of the battlegroup to assist Naboo against the blockade. However, they would only mobilize if the negotiations from this 'Republic' delegates failed.
Politics is something that Six wasn't unfamiliar with working in the shadows of ONI since the beginning of Beta-Companies deployment. If it were anything like what he was used to, then it would be a challenging experience. Their people needed an easy time in this galaxy, and diplomacy would be essential. Of course, Six knew another fact would be some sort of coexistent and might have to be tolerated, such as the UNSC personnel's distrust of Alien species. He was Spartan-III, whose sole reason for becoming one was to avenge his family with his anger and drive. Family It was an unfamiliar thought as he was so young when he was taken off of Jericho-VII. The idea of populating a few planets had been discussed over the past months, and some more confidential discussions awakened with the first contact with Naboo by the higher-ranked official, which Hestia informed him who, with the other AIs, was a part of the discussion.
The meeting ended as the Queen and her advisors moved to further work under the Queen's command. Noble Six watched the Queen move with Quarsh Panaka, her head of security, who once again asked the stubborn Queen if she would move into hiding until the blockade ended. Appreciating the gesture, the Queen declined, and the Captain sighed in defeat.
"Noble-6." The Queen called upon him as he and the other two followed the Queen with a distance between them. Six ordered his fellow Spartans to rest, which Noble-9 conceded faster than Noble-8.
The Queen, without her guards but not her handmaidens, rarely was she not together. They were so similar in looks, yet there were some outliers, like the smaller one named Saché or the blonde one named Eirtaé. The names were too similar, and the Spartan listed the names in his head.
"Your Highness." The Spartan addressed the young Queen as he easily towered over the group of young women. Of course, spending time with the Spartans around had an effect they had gotten used to.
"I've hoped you could come to enjoy another converse with me." Noble-6 nodded in agreement as he walked side by side with the Queen, and her handmaidens followed behind the two.
"I've wanted to discuss some more about your people." Throughout the week, the Spartan and the Queen chatted about each other's people, as the Queen started wanting to learn more about the people who had come causing fear and are now helping them through their crisis.
When the large group arrived in the Queen's suite, most of the handmaidens broke off to complete their assigned tasks, with only the one named Sabé staying by the Queen's side. The Queen sat, and the Spartan stood, and they would talk and learn.
Queen Amidala, or Padme Amidala Naberrie, watched the Spartan remove his helmet because she asked of him. He was pale—yes, that was true of the Spartan—yet his eyes were bright blue. Calling his face comely would be a disservice to his handsome looks, and the Queen blushed, though hidden under her heavy makeup.
He was young, too, at least five years her senior, she had to guess, as his hardened face added a maturity she found attractive. The other two Spartans seemed less serious than Six to her, especially the one referred to as Noble-9, who was a jokester. She mentioned this in their earlier talks, and he said, "They are Spartans; they will get their job done."
The young Queen trusted his words as they came from him, and right now, she looked at his face, which watched the beauty of Naboos's nature. Maybe it reminded him of his home and where he came from, something she was interested in learning about. The Commander had mentioned colonies, as in numerous worlds, maybe in which their people inhabited.
"Noble-6." Again, she called out that callsign. It was not a name, and apparently, it was forbidden. To her, it was odd, as she recalled the others calling each other by name sometimes, yet how come he wasn't allowed his name?
His attention now shifted to her, and once again, she was glad for her makeup, as it hid her easily heated-up face. Her Queen's voice had stayed when talking to the Spartans, and although she trusted the Spartans, she could not be too careful.
"Yes, your Highness?" His voice hints at his youth and carries an odd, soothing touch. "I would like to ask about your homeworld if you don't mind." The Queen notices the Spartan pause and is going to retract her question.
"It's not something I can remember, Your Highness. I was too young to remember before my parents sent me off the planet, and the Covenant glassed it." The tone was now somber with the revelation brought by Six.
The Covenant was a collective of races that targeted the UNSC and destroyed many of their planets; she already knew this and should've known it would be like that—such pointless violence over religious beliefs. The Queen thought over what was shared this Covenant and the hatred that seemingly radiated off the UNSC, mainly when Commander Hayes had spoken of them. Even Noble-6 was not immune to it, but it was understandable, and she believed she wouldn't be immune to such hate, an idea she disliked.
Maybe it was his reason for joining the military. The Queen did not know how correct she was about the Spartan before her. To have one's focus on revenge was wrong, and yet Padmé could not fault him if it was his drive. The Queen wondered if maybe he would find peace now that he was so far from the Covenant, and maybe he and the rest of the UNSC would focus on what remained of their people.
____
This day was different. Six moved through the palace's corridors with a Type-51 Carbine in hand and moved to set up a vantage point at a nearby window. The Queen was surrounded by two of the members of Noble, who watched over the Queen in the shadows. With Six watching a vessel touch ground with the mechanical droids taking over as a welcoming party, Six scoped in with the Carbine. Aiming the scope at the ramp of the starship and waiting only to be rewarded with the lanky alien, he saw through the holoprojector, which sent the ominous message to the Queen and her advisors.
"Noble-6 to Queen Amidala: I have a visual on the Viceroy. Do I have permission to take the shot?" Six had acted quickly, with their presence hidden from this Trade Federation. Maybe he could disorganize them long enough for a quick UNSC response by taking out their leader.
"...No, Six, please. If you do, it will be worse for Naboo if he dies a–." The Queen's pleas were cut off, but Six returned from the Vantage point. He wouldn't be taking the shot, it would seem and trusted the Queen's judgment. If it would be worse to kill him, then it looks like they would have to capture him, but not now, as he activated the Team COMs.
"Noble-6, to the rest of the Noble Team, I will secure transport, and you will meet me at the hangar with the Queen." Six remembered the royal starship docked at the hangar, something he learned about in his week-long stay on the planet, and he knew it would be guarded.
It took some minutes to reach the hangar without alerting the rest of the patrols. Six with active camo quickly slipped through the singular entrance to the hangar. Swapping the Carbine out with his M6S silencer magnum Six with active camo still on, he fired upon the multiple droids guarding the pilots.
Immediately after the droids were destroyed, the pilots scattered for cover, with some grabbing the dropped weapons. Six assisted by firing at the tens of droids scattered around the hangar. Switching to the Covenant Carbine, Six scoped and aimed at the yellow-marked droid, signifying its command status.
Six moved back behind his cover as he received some blaster bolt hits with his camo gone, which were absorbed by his shields. He quickly switched his firing position and fired upon the many droids closing in on the pilots, who couldn't return blaster shots. Six then shifted on the droids that enclosed him with quick shots before they could retaliate.
No more droids were in sight, and Six met with the pilots, passing over the destroyed droids. "Thank you, sir, for your help. Do you have any news on the Queen?" The lead pilot, Ric Olié Six, remembered him as he attended one of the meetings held by the Queen.
"The Queen is being escorted to our position; prepare the ship for her." The pilot did so, and Six and the armed pilots guarded the ship.
Meanwhile
Droids led the queen and her entourage out in the palace's open to be processed for the prison camps. In the act of an ambush, two Spartans dropped down, quickly destroying the droid guards with their ballistics.
"Your Highness, we need to move on to the hangar." Noble-8 spoke as he looked around the area with him, and Noble-9 noticed the robed men walking toward them and aimed their weapons toward them. The two men looked at the Spartans strangely and warily, then motioned to the Queen. The group moved to the nearby alleyway as the Queen's security equipped themselves with the weapons of the destroyed droids.
"Are you Queen Amidala of Naboo?" The Older man asked, with the strange alien behind them falling to the ground.
"Who are you?" The Queen, still behind the Spartans guard, asked hesitantly.
"Ambassadors of the supreme chancellor." Noble-8 looked toward the Queen, who nodded, and then the two Spartans moved their weapons away from the trio.
"I am unaware of these droid types. Do they serve you, Your Highness?" The younger of the two-robed men asked the Queen.
"They are not droids." The Queen spoke in disbelief, and the two Spartans stared at the young man as Noble-9 spoke something to Noble-8.
"Thats imposs–"
"Forgive my Padawan, Your Highness, but he is just surprised I am Qui-Gon Jinn, and my Padawan is named Obi-Wan Kenobi. We are Jedi as well as ambassadors of the supreme chancellor." Informing the Queen once again before Governor Sio Bibble interrupted.
"Your negotiations seemed to have failed, Ambassador."
In response to the Governor's statement, Qui-Gon faced him and said, "The negotiations never took place." Now, facing the Queen again and addressing her. "Your Highness." With a pause, he then continued. "We must contact the Republic."
"We can't." Captain Panaka volunteered his voice, explaining to the Jedi. "They've knocked out our communications."
Alarms started to blare, alerting the group. Noble-8 moved up and pulled his hand away from his COMs. "Your Highness, we gotta move to the main Hangar. Noble-6 has secured it." The group then moved ahead with the Spartans leading; they moved without interruption, with no enemies in the area.
They reached the hangar with Six and the pilots guarding the area. The large royal starship, gleaming due to its chromium hull, was not made for battle but was a beautiful ship.
"Your Highness." Six addressed the Queen and then briefly looked at the three new additions to the group with his visor reflecting them. "The pilot is ready for departure."
"Thank you, Noble-6, but my place is with my people." Six was about to disagree with the Queen, but then Qui-Gon intervened. "Your Highness, I would suggest going to Coruscant."
"I will not, sir Jedi. My people are here, and I will be by their side."
Qui-Gon still disagreed with the Queen and chose to inform her of his thoughts. "The longer you stay, the more I fear the Trade Federation will destroy you."
Sio Bibble disagreed with the statement. "They wouldn't dare."
"They need her to sign the treaty to make the invasion legal." Captain Panaka added the point.
"Your Highness, the Trade Federation's actions make no sense. My instincts tell me that they will destroy you." Finishing his statement.
With the Jedi's statement, Governor Bibble was alarmed and voiced his support for the Jedi to the Queen. "Maybe you should reconsider. The Senate will surely take our side in this matter. Senator Palpatine will need your support."
"Will your people's next shipment be coming soon?" Captain Panaka asked Noble-6, who shook his head in response. "There won't be enough time for us to hide the Queen that long before they find us."
"Getting past their Blockade then will be next to impossible. Your Highness, it's too dan—" The Captain was cut off as Sio Bibble spoke.
"Your Highness, I will do what I can. They will at least need the Council of Governors to have some control, but I urge that you must leav–"
The Queen brought attention from both men by raising her hand sharply, and the alarm blaring was still ongoing. "Either choice brings a great risk to all of us …" she glanced at her Handmaidens, who looked amongst themselves, yet Six frowned upon looking at them.
The one named Padmé chose to speak up. "We are brave, Your Highness."
"If we are to leave, it is now Your Highness." Qui-Gon urged the Queen.
The Queen straightened herself in preparation for facing the group. "I will plead our case before the Senate." Then, looking at the governor, she said, "Be careful, Governor. "
The Queen embraced the two handmaidens who would not join them on their journey to the galactic center. She spoke in their ears, likely to reassure them with words of encouragement. The Captain also selected two guards to follow them, and the four remaining were to stay on the planet.
"What of you and the other Spartans, Noble-6?" The Queen questioned the Spartan, with the Jedis looking at the Spartans, unnerved by them. "We were ordered to protect Your Highness and will continue to do so." The Jedi Kenobi seemed to want to argue, but was stopped by Qui-Gon. The Queen briefly glanced toward the handmaidens coming with her and then faced Noble-6 again.
"Then I thank you for your protection." Six responded with a nod as he looked closely at the Queen's features. The group then entered the royal starship as battle droids flooded the hangar. The ship's engines fired, and the passengers buckled due to the force. Laser fire spews out of the hangar, seemingly trying to chase the ship.
"Thank you," Padmé said softly as Noble-6 held her while she looked back at her reflection in the Spartans' golden-orange visor. Noble-9 proceeded to whistle and mutter an 'ouch' as Noble-8 punched him.
The handmaiden moved to the Queen's side next to the large throne built into the ship. All eyes settled on the Jedi, who entered: Obi-Wan Kenobi without his master, and the Gungan.
"We are heading to pass the blockade; make sure you are strapped safely, " the Jedi informed the group. The Spartans held on to nearby handles attached to walls, seemingly meant for safety, while the rest of the group strapped themselves in seats in the next room over the throne room.
The ship started to rock, and as it came under fire, Noble-6 moved up, following the young Jedi as they entered the cockpit of their transport. Six viewed the large battleships as they fired directly upon the ship, their laser fire missing by a margin. The pilot, Ric Olié, was advising the Jedi that they should abort, with the Jedi simply telling him to keep moving ahead. Captain Panaka became increasingly angry with Qui-Gon, asking if the ship could cloak or have any notable defense. The Captain responding it wasn't a 'warship' and that their people didn't move to weaponize it because they were peaceful people, which was why the Trade Federation was brave enough to attack in the first place.
Six held on as the ship started to spin due to the advice of the Jedi, taking advantage of the battleship's tracking system. The Nubian ship flew closely to the enemy ship, avoiding laser fire and whizzing past parts of the battleship that jutted out of the ship's hull. The ship quickly spiraled out of control due to a lucky shot from one of the battleship's cannons.
They continued to hug the battleship as the pilot went to flick a lever. "Sending out the repair crew!"
A view screen showed what looked to be another variant of droid Six had yet to see, assuming, based on the pilot's words, they were a repair type. Another Viewscreen showed the ship's outer hull with the droids venturing to assess and fix the damage. The laser fire continued rapidly, destroying each droid one by one until the last to arrive remained. It continued to work even with the laser fire and shifted its photoreceptors to the oncoming laser fire as if mocking it.
When the ship reached the blind spot, the laser fire abruptly ceased, but the Trade Federation wasn't ready to admit defeat. Realizing their weapons were ineffective, they countered by deploying a squadron of starfighters. These agile vessels quickly pursued the Nubian starship as it darted out of the massive battleship's hangar bays.
Still working with the new obstacle in its way, the droid kept working on its lonesome, finishing the work of its destroyed compatriots. Not long after, another screen on the cockpit changed from red lighting to blue, and Ric Olié shouted praise to the droid.
"The shields are up! That little droid did it!" He moved the thrusters to maximum acceleration with their protection, with their transport escaping the blockade. Six checked his HUD to switch off his helmet recording. The droid returned to the ship through the airlock and disappeared from the viewscreen.
Ric Olié checked the ship's status and controls, viewing any irregular issues. The Jedi and the Captain were waiting for the pilot's report, and Six stood next to the cockpit entrance.
The pilot shook his head as he turned to the two. "We can't go far. The hyperdrive is leaking."
The Jedi Qui-Gon nodded his head, stating their next steps. "We'll have to land to make repairs. What's out there?"
A star chart appeared over a monitor with the younger Jedi studying it. "Here, Master," Obi-Wan said with his finger hovering next to a planet. According to what Six could make from the enlarged image, it was an arid planet.
"Tatooine. It's small, poor, and out of the way. With little attention attracted. The Trade Federation has no presence there."
Captain Panaka remained skeptical and questioned the Jedi. "How can you be sure?" Instead of the younger Jedi answering, Qui-Gon chose an answer and glanced at the Captain, saying, "The Hutts control it."
Six didn't understand the significance until the Captain blew up in alarm at the Jedi. "The Hutts?"
"It's a risk." Obi-Wan stated, "But there is no other alternative."
The Captain faced Six and asked, "What of your planet? You might have what we need to fix our transport." The younger Jedi looked at his master uneasily, and the Older Jedi shook his head.
Six denied the Captain's suggestion. "We have barely set up. We do not have the equipment to fix it as of now." It was a little lie, but Six couldn't share that they had a different FTL system altogether, and with their small number of scientists and engineers working to reverse engineer the hyperdrives on those ships floating around Nova-3, it was a matter of time.
Agitated, the Captain looked back at the Jedi. "You can't take Her Royal Highness there! The Hutts are gangsters and slavers! If they–"
"It wouldn't be any different if we were to land on a planet in a Trade Federation-controlled system." The Captain's frustration leaked from his face as he turned away, with Six following as he moved towards a communication console.
Forerunner Dyson sphere: November 2552
An alarm blared while the viewing screen showed many different POVs. She looked at the images as she could see the images of Covenant ships fighting amongst each other, one side with a significant number advantage with their ships, and the other barely fending off the attack.
Looking at another screen, she saw a group of brutes with engineers working next to a dimly glowing broken crystal. Chaos was in the making, and then briefly, something changed, with a bright light blinding the previous screen.
She looked at the screen with the big naval battle, which was a confusing sight, but it pleased her that they were killing each other after all they had caused. Something changed. The structure they fought over started to glow, with the towers blinking light; in a moment, everything changed; a portal appeared, however briefly, as if a vortex was consuming the hundreds of ships that tried to flee. Those ships were gone in less than a minute, and a few stragglers farther away from the battle survived.
Looking at the previously lit-up viewscreen was a mess; the room showcased destruction, as the previously cracked crystal was now a bunch of tiny pieces, with the Covenant troop dead and scorched like the room.
The Spartan sighed as she looked to her side. An engineer was intently watching the screen, which had a large crystal on it. The Spartan moved her hand on a glyph-like hologram, and the main view screen changed to another scene similar to the last set of scenes that she had witnessed. Then she clicked on another holographic view screen, which now showed a Spartan running into a portal. The main view screen showed UNSC ships moving into the portal.
Lucy sighed as she got lost in her thoughts and thought she needed to get to the others, especially with this new intel.
Naboo Royal Starship
Six are now standing in the throne room of the Queen's transport, with the other two Spartans in the following area. The Captain briefed the Queen as Six entered after sending a transmission to the battlegroup to inform them of current events and footage of their escape so that they could get information about the battleship's armaments.
The Captain commended the droids who fixed the ship's shields. Its designation was Artoo-Detoo, and its frame colors were a mix of blue and white. The Queen thanked the droid and called upon a name, making Six shift his posture.
The Queen then commanded her handmaiden Padmé to clean the dirty droid. Six were still watching as the handmaiden had yet to move with the Jedi Qui-Gon, who was moving forward to further brief the Queen. The Captain again looked tense as he glanced at the Jedi, who informed the Queen of their destination and informed her it was out of the way of the Trade Federation.
Of course, the Captain chose to show his disagreement with the Jedi and inform the Queen about the Hutts, who seemingly controlled the planet and had a hand in the galaxy's underworld structure.
The Queen then turned her attention to the Jedi, who chose to tell her to trust his judgment. The Queen questioned whether she should, and her gaze moved to the handmaiden, who had yet to move to do the task assigned by the Queen. Six saw the brief nod from the handmaiden, and then she moved with the droid in hand, only bringing him back to his previous thoughts as he glanced at the handmaiden as she passed him, not seemingly avoiding looking in his direction.
Six looked back at the young woman sitting on the throne as she spoke. "We are in your hands."
Above the orbit of Nova-03
January 21, 2553, 12:16 hours
Surrounding the holo table were several Commanders, Captains, Spartans, and the Rear Admiral; as they watched the feed sent from Noble-6, it showed him fighting off the mechanical droids and his assistance in the Queen's escape. It eventually switched to his POV of their transport trying to get past the blockade under laser fire, and the starfighters were sent to chase until they rapidly accelerated past the blockade.
A message informed the Rear Admiral of their current situation and forced them to stop at a potentially dangerous planet. An additional file showcased the ship's rapid acceleration and the whirling blue space of hyperspace for the science teams working on the hyperdrive installation for their ships.
"Commander Hayes, what are your thoughts?" asked Rear Admiral Gatlin, knowing his knowledge of politics might help.
"From what we heard, it would've been bad if Noble-6 had eliminated their leader. If what the young Queen said is true, then this Trade Federation has a heavy grasp on political power in this galaxy. We are an outside power of a seemingly 'peaceful' galactic community that would be keeping an eye on us already. If we were to assassinate an influential, politically connected individual, it would bring bad results." Listening to the Commander's points and explanations, the Rear Admiral looked around the bridge at all attending members.
"How do you think they would look at us?" Again, asking the Commander to try to grasp potential issues that might come their way.
The Commander momentarily thought before answering, "We are so far opposite of them. From what I observed from Naboo, they had little in what I could see of military assets, but that's just one planet. They might view us as a potentially hostile power with our ships. The fact that they haven't seen conflict in a while might have them skittish if they see signs of a potential military power like ours. Still, that said, if they see us as a power with our little count of ships compared to potential galaxy-wide security ships with advanced technology, they might choose to ignore us."
Nothing was for sure; they needed more information to work with and would have to fix it soon. The Commander then spoke again. "If this Republic is slow about their reaction to what is happening to Naboo people, then if we were to help get rid of those ships, maybe we can peacefully transition into the galactic scene. Of course, we won't join this Republic, but make show we don't wanna cause trouble."
"We would have to mobilize at least half of the battlegroup if we were to attack." The Rear Admiral said aloud.
It was already discussed that they would help the people of Naboo if the Republic chose not to do anything. Most battle group officers supported this idea, with their war with an alien group invading a human world still fresh in their minds. The Marines were ready to go for a fight along with the ODSTs. What they left behind was still hurting, but they were starting with something new, and it would start with some shock and awe.
Tatooine
Outer-Rim Territories, The Slice
Naboo Royal Starship
They landed on the outskirts, with the Queen convening with her entourage. Six shifted his eyes in their direction, standing with the other Noble, whom he briefed on the transmission he had made.
"The Rear Admiral would mobilize the battlegroup with the prowlers ahead for scouting." Noble-8 commented that Six agreed with the battlegroup that it would have to be careful, and just like the Covenant, it would have to outnumber them in naval combat, although it was something Six did not have excellent knowledge of; every soldier at least knew that much.
"Yeah, cool. Going from fighting actual living aliens to robots is such an upgrade." Noble-9 said sarcastically, his complaint, Six, remembering all the names and potential slurs he had used against the aliens for using robots to fight their battles.
The two Spartans continued conversing, with Six's attention caught by Captain Panaka and Padmé walking up to the Spartan. Padmé was not dressed in her usual handmaiden garb and wore an article of seemingly lesser clothing. "Noble-6, The Queen would like to borrow one of your Spartans to protect her handmaiden as she joins the Jedi at the spaceport. The Queen is curious about the planet."
Six faced the young handmaiden and then grabbed the attention of Noble-8 and 9. "Continue watching over the Queen. I'll be joining them at the spaceport."
"Affirmative."
"Okay, Ghosty."
With the two acknowledging the order, Six looked at the uneasy face of the young woman. Captain Panaka didn't say anything about the Spartans' choice. Grabbing his weapons, Six followed the two as they called out to Qui-Gon. There was a frown on the Jedi's face as he looked at them approaching.
Captain Panaka informed the Jedi of the Queen's wish to know the planet better. Qui-Gon interrupted the Captain in annoyance at the Queen's demand. Padmé informed the Jedi of her capability to take care of herself.
"The Queen even asked for protection from the Spartans; with him, it would be less of an issue." This didn't appease the Jedi as he looked at Six, yet he relented. The Captain made a slight plea to the Jedi not to make him return to the Queen with a refusal because, in the end, she would allow the handmaiden to leave with the Spartan as her escort.
The Jedi shifted his gaze between the three, lingering on the Spartan for a bit longer, and in the end, gave Padmé a warning look. "Stay close to me."
The group of five, which included a mismatched group of characters, moved on to the spaceport settlement of Mos Espa.
Not long after leaving the ship, they arrived. Six looked off and saw the bright light coming from the twin suns. The planet was circumbinary, recalling the colony worlds he knew of. Six couldn't say he'd been on one, yet he'd only been on a few colony worlds compared to the more than eight hundred in the UEG territory. The buildings that filled the spaceport all looked similar in design, having domed roofs and thick walls. The streets were broad and busy, with many species walking past one another.
It was an experience for Six, who had been fighting a war against the only alien species they knew about. This led the Spartan to have his guard up constantly as they moved about. The Spaceport could be compared to a market from the Earth's medieval times, with cattle-like animals out in the open and many vendors selling their wares.
Six kept his hand over his sidearm, which stayed attached to his magnetic holster. Six then listened to the Jedi explaining to Padmé how 'Jabba the Hutt' controlled the planet's economy through contraband, piracy, and slavery, something Six grimaced at. Looking at the correlation of the name 'Hutt,' Six naturally assumed a connection toward what seemed to be a larger group of 'Hutts.' Continuing his explanation, Qui-Gon mentioned how Jabba had control of the spaceports and populated areas of the planet. At the same time, the deserts belonged to the natives, with Qui-Gon also hinting at their danger.
The Jedi mentioned how few spaceports are havens for those not wanting to be found, with the handmaiden responding. "Like us."
The Gungan was under Six's radar, and the moments he saw on the ship made him believe the alien was clumsy and could potentially cause trouble if not careful. However, as of right now, the alien cowardly ducked its head and swiveled its head at the unfriendly looks it received from the residents of the spaceport.
"Nutten good 'bout dis place!" The Gungan continued to whine, especially after speaking for a few seconds; it proceeded to step on what Six assumed was feces, then continued complaining out loud.
Arriving at the spaceport's main road, they kept walking down it, sticking closely together. Eventually, they arrived at a small plaza-like area after making a turn. They were salvage dealers and junk shops, which was what they were looking for. They moved toward a smaller shop, which the Jedi had advised.
Walking past the shop's entry, they were greeted by a flying pudgy and blue alien. Due to its flight, there was a constant buzzing sound, and with a guttural voice, it said a phrase in a language that Six couldn't understand. The Alien lightly reminded the Spartan of the Covenant drones.
"I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian," Qui-Gon told the alien as it gave a smile. Then the Jedi said. "Ah, yes! Nubian! We have lots of that." The Alien's eyes shifted to the Gungan. "What's this?"
Jar Jar hid behind Six, who was annoyed with its cowardly acts.
Gui-Gon brushed off the Toydarian and asked. "Can you help us or not?" The Alien then proceeded to make a joke. "Can you pay me or not–that's the question."
The flying pudgy alien asked with disdain, still in its eyes, in defiance. "What kinda junk you after farmer?" Qui-Gon's response was. "My droid has a readout of what I need."
The Alien glanced over its shoulder again, switching language as a young blonde-haired boy walked in from the salvage yard. His clothing was ragged and dirty with grime. He flinched at the tone of the Toydarian.
The boy responded in the alien's language and switched to Galactic Basic. With the two done with their little argument, the alien left, leading Qui-Gon, who warned Jar Jar not to make a mess. The Gungan responded defiantly by sticking out its long tongue like a child.
The young boy stood rooted, looking at Six, who took a brief glance at the boy's questions. Six saw the boy's eyes widen as he looked at Padmé, who was standing behind him, looking around the junkshop with curiosity.
Now noticing the boy's gaze, he moved up the counter of the shop, making a poor attempt to hide his gaze. Pretending to clean a piece of equipment, Padmé smiled at him in amusement.
"Are you an angel?" Six's attention was caught by the word referenced. Angel? Six wondered if this galaxy had a religion in which the icon of good was viewed through angels. The fact that the people had a language in verbal form that seemed identical was odd enough. Besides providing convenience in communication, it left the battlegroup confused. It would be even more bizarre if this galaxy had a similar religion to that of the UNSC colonies.
Confused, Padmé asked. "What?" With the Boy replying. "An angel."
Further explaining, the boy continued. "They live on the moons of Iego, I think. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They are good, kind, and so pretty they make even the most hardened space pirates cry like small children."
Still, the young handmaiden was confused. "I've never heard of angels," she said
The boy insisted that she was secretly one with Padmé, telling the boy with an amused smile on her face. "You're a funny little boy." Still smiling. "How do you know so much?"
The boy, returning the smile, shrugged. "I listen to all the traders and pilots who come through here." Padmé glanced around and then focused back on the boy, asking. "Have you been here long?"
When he arrived, the boy revealed his age and something that immediately caught Six's attention: he was a slave. Six knew he would have to report this information back to the battlegroup. Padmé, disturbed by the news in horror, said, "You're a slave?" This made the young boy angry, as he stated with a scowl.
"I am a person!"
Padmé apologized to him, explaining her ignorance of this new environment and her lack of understanding. The boy looked at her intently as if studying her. "You are a strange girl to me," he said.
The boy then introduced himself. "My name is Anakin Skywalker." The handmaiden returned the courtesy. "Padmé Naberrie." Both of their attention was caught as Six moved and grasped the Gungan's wrist as he was about to poke a deactivated droid. "Don't touch anything."
"Are you a Mandalorian?" Anakin asked the Spartan, who went from looking at the Gungan to the young boy. "No." The Spartan simply responded, not even knowing what that term meant.
"Really? From what I heard, your armor is like theirs. Did you kill one then?"
"No." Again, a simple response to the boy's queries.
A meeting that would have ended in tragedy quickly changed, like a rock thrown in water. Ripples went across the universe as the constantly changing destiny shifted, with the Andromeda galaxy seemingly having a pull that attracted and changed its story.