---

The Sangheili did not particularly acknowledge Jerius’ gratitude, though he also did not seem to be bothered by it. In any case, Eri directed them all to get moving quickly as soon as the Tarentatek’s head was separated from its body. Although it was not too heavy, by their standards, on its own, the head’s general bulk meant that it was most convenient for two of them to carry it by its horns. Jarraj’s leg had stopped bleeding, but he still could not walk at any reasonable speed on his own, so Sel ended up carrying him as well.

Eri remembered the way back to the camp, so the only stop they made was to pick up the crate of extra supplies they had brought with them outside the tomb. Otherwise, they made their way straight back to the Mandalorians. Zlas kept an eye on Jerius, but their trophy was slowing them down enough that Jerius would not need to strain too much to keep up.

When they arrived at Clan Ordo’s camp, Eri was at the lead of the group, just ahead of the pair of Sangheili prominently carrying their trophy for all to see. Eri did not bother searching for the chief, as she was sure that word of their return would quickly find its way to where it needed to be. Now, it was time to see if this Mandalorian chief was good to her word.

As the other crews settled aboard, and Sheppard's omni-tool was detected on the ship. Travis turned off the Coruscant broadcast, waiting for the N7 crews to approach him for a debrief. He sent the recording of the broadcast to those who had just entered the ship so they could review it on their own time, he was sure Sheppard would like to see it. He was certain his next move would be to head to Alderaan to evacuate what crews were on the planet, and as many civilians as they could. Whatever this Anubis was thinking he was clearly unhinged, he killed the Emperor publicly, which was sure to divide The Empire. So one could probably only guess as to why he did it. Perhaps to root out his political enemies, but Travis doubted he was going to keep the senate together for very long. It was very clear either submit to him, or die. What a statement, and with him summoning a storm over Alderaan could only be a show of power.

When the operators from both missions arrived in the briefing room. Travis heard them out as they went over the mission. The Jedi Temple mission was a bust, but at least nobody had died. While the bank mission was a mixed bag. They got the credits they needed, but they had been had. Thankfully they got away without incident so they had time before they could leave the system. He would be leaving the other N7 operatives in place, to keep an eye on Anubis, Coruscant, and whatever underworld elements they could. SO his compliment of special forces was slowly dwindling, but the information they would give him would help him in the long run. After the debriefing, he dismissed his operatives, and opened an encrypted transmission to the fleet. "This is The Glasgow our mission at Coruscant has been met with mixed success. Our infiltration of the Jedi Temple has met with failure, but we have managed to glean enough credits to support our war effort. It has been wired through several dummy accounts so it's untraceable. Details to access the account will follow after this transmission.

Seeing as we are close enough to Alderaan to respond in a small amount of time. I am suggesting that the Glasgow go on ahead, despite the evidence of a capital-class ship in orbit over the planet. If we have to we'll stall for time until the fleet can arrive, or if we can find a way to deal with the ship, try to have it neutralized before you arrive. But it is suggested that you come as soon as possible to assist. We will try to evacuate as many of our own, and civilians as we can before exiting the system. Glasgow signing off." With the transmission sent out, Travis exited the briefing room heading to the bridge, sending out his orders before he arrived.

When he reached the bridge he opened up a channel through out the ship. His voice broadcasting through out the ship. "This is Captain Elliot. We're heading to Alderaan. I know some of you will say this isn't our fight. But we must remember not long ago, The Citadel said the same when Earth was at it's darkest point, when the Reapers were destroying our home. But they came, and together we took back our home. So this is our chance. Only by helping each other, only by standing together will we go home again. We're the closest ship right now, and those people need us. So we are heading out, and we're gonna send Anubis' people back to the fucking hole they crawled out of, because they're about to go up against the biggest baddest mother fuckers in four fucking universes! Now all crews to your positions. Elliot out." With that said, he turned to his navigator. "Enter Hyperspace. Let's go help Alderaan." His orders delivered the ship hit light speed, and entered hyperspace setting course for Alderaan.

---

After the Weequay had left, Thaz started to look around at the rest of the bar and its patrons. She did afford another few moments to examine the droid, but it was clear that was not the aspect of their reward that she was most interested in.

“This place does seem interesting. Kind of place I’d want to explore.” Thaz commented, though she quickly vocalized something like a high-pitched growl or grunt. “But my Commander wants me back as quick as I can. She doesn’t want me…lingering. Maybe once we get back, you two can talk with my Shipmaster. Get a deal going for the tech you want.”

---

---

Vael had obviously not felt what some of the others had, but he certainly did not feel normal. Perhaps it was just the change in pressure, but there was a certain unease that washed over him. In only his recent past, Vael would not have put much faith into the claims of his allies, but even his own Shipmaster believed the claims about Anubis. He was a being that claimed to be a god, and had the power to make his lies convincing.

Looking up to the growing storm in the sky, Vael clenched his hand into a fist. The destruction of a planet, the frantic evacuation of far more people than could ever realistically be saved…this was all treading on old, painfully familiar ground for him. He let out a low growl. “Every second is vital. I must report to my shipmaster, and if we intend to have any impact on their survival, then we will need to coordinate with their leadership.” Vael replied, wasting no time in rushing back to their ship to access their slipspace communication node.

---

---

It seemed that the fleet was just trading one crisis for another. They did not even have time to assess any damage to the fleet before they received Anubis’ broadcast. The galaxy’s Emperor had been executed, and now Anubis intended to destroy a planet to institute himself as a god. The message he received from Vael confirmed that great storms had suddenly manifested on the planet. This was a planet they had identified as having potential allies for their cause, so its potential destruction was of immediate concern to the goals of the fleet.

Without much hesitation, Falul opened a channel to the Separatist fleet’s commander, in addition to the rest of the ships in his own fleet. “I presume you were sent the broadcast from Coruscant as well? What ships can your planet lend to an evacuation?”

---

---

---

---

Yiithren listened to the broadcast with concern. Even if they travelled to Alderaan with the others, there wasn't much they could do evacuation wise as their ship was already filled to capacity from the crew alone. Still, he supposed they could provide combat support against whatever forces Anubis had deployed in the area.

"Kurqruik," Yiithren said, glancing over at her with one pair of eyes. "Ready the jump drive."

"I assume we're going to Alderaan then?" she asked as she shuffled over to a nearby panel.

"Indeed," he replied. "And once we arrive I want all stations to be ready for engagement."

"Understood." Turning back to the panel, Kurqruik selected four crew to power the drive, before running through the startup list for the device itself. Once that was done, and the crew were in their respective pods, she transferred control over to Yiithren.

"Ready when you are sir."

He nodded and pressed another button on his chairs armrest, activating the drive and transporting the Va to Alderaan in a flash of warped space and violet light...

The call to action fell deaf on the Twi’lek’s ears as he kept hearing the words over and over again in his head that Alderaan would once more fall to be an example of a psychotic ruler’s power. Even without Falul saying anything, within moments, the Resurgence was already gone, it’s drive spun up and activated before the Separatist fleet had replied. As the stars around the ship and visible from the bridge became streaks of light, Kol’Zife fell into his seat, tears on his face. Elsewhere on the ship, one of the enlisted men had pulled a bottle of Corellian Whiskey from a hiding place under his bunk and sat alone, drinking.

No tears adorned his grim face, but it wasn’t hard to tell what was on his mind. The man’s name was Forzen Hartan, a member of Krayt Squad from the enlisted Infantry division on board and for him, the Alderaan Crisis was somewhat personal as he was a member of one of the lesser Houses from his home universe, House Hartan and had lost everyone he knew when Grand Moff Tarkin had used the Death Star to destroy the planet. He had been offworld at the time, along with most of his unit, to scout an asteroid belt that was suspected to house the base of operations for some pirates who’d been hitting Alderaan’s hyperspace lanes and take out the brigands, when they had returned a few days later, all they found was the asteroid field that was the planet’s remains.

Finding out what had happened to the world hadn’t been had, as Tarkin had ensured that all the worlds under the Empire’s control had seen a broadcast of what would happen if they took up arms against it anymore. Most of the men in Forzen’s unit gave up the will to fight after watching their homes, families, and loved ones instantly vaporized by a weapon powerful enough to crack a planet. Others decided to make a suicide attack on the local Imperial Garrison, deciding it was better to join their loved ones in death. They didn’t get too far before the AT-STs dealt with them. And Forzen and the rest? They became a rebel cell, using their experience as soldiers to wage guerilla warfare on the Garrison.

This fight went on for a couple of years before the cell was cornered and everyone wiped out. One of the members had been bribed by an Imperial squad captain to betray them and, well, the lesson learned by Forzen was members of House Rist would always take good coin over a good cause. The last member of house Hartan himself was barely alive and waiting for the Stormtrooper over him to execute him when the group that had cornered his cell were wiped out by four white armored individuals. They took him back to the Deep Labs and he joined the Remnant with the determination to punish the Empire.

Taking another deep swig, he felt a deep remorse at being in this alternate timeline of his own galaxy, because while he could fight the Empire here, it wasn’t the Empire that had wronged him. And when he’d learned they could possibly go to Alderaan, he vaguely hoped he’d see this universe’s version of his family. Now, with Anubis having decided to turn the planet into his example, the hurt from years prior was returning, the pain as he watched his homeworld vaporized with a single blast of a planet destroying weapon. And so he drank, trying to drown out the memories and pain.

On the engineering deck, three engineers, a human named Dwayne, a Twi’lek going by Xol’Tine, and a Selkath called Gersu played cards in silence. Before joining the Remnant, they’d all been to Alderaan, Xol’Tine’s family had even settled there before the Empire blasted it. The loss of the world had affected Dwayne’s business and personal life, as he’d been unable to really visit, but his sister had been when it was destroyed. As for Gersu, his parents had been helping an old family friend rebuild after a Kilik attack on her home and had been lost with its destruction, though they all mourned the loss of a culture and billions of lives regardless. Anubis choosing the planet as his example of the fate of rebels was wrong, but it only renewed the crew’s will to fight him.

---

Even as Lord Organa went to leave, the members of the rag tag fleet that Elizabeth had summoned were getting to work trying to help evacuations. Jason followed the head of House Organa. “We can’t save them all.” Bail didn’t stop, but he did sigh heavily.

“I know. What aid can you offer?”

“Vael’Virisusai already went to inform our fleet, assuming the broadcast you were informed about was missed by them. They’ll get here as quick as they can, but it isn’t exactly hidden nearby. The Taris is available to offer what aid we can, but there’s not much space on an Arquitens-Class, as you already know.”

“Something is better than nothing. House Panteer and House Thul are already getting their people gathered as fast as they can and using the shuttles they have available to ferry them into orbit until aid ships from nearby systems can arrive.” He shakes his head. “Ulgo and Rist will be taking their own ships and Houses Alde, Antilles, and Cortess also took precautions to evacuate as many of their own as possible. The Kiliks will enjoy us leaving until the storms wipe them out, and perhaps some day…”

“You can repair the damage. We’ll have to hope you can, Lord Organa.”

---

“Suppose you make a good point, much as I’d like to-” Whatever Jerus was about to say is cut off as Anubis makes his broadcast. Jerus watches with his jaw slack, as to many of the other beings whose jaws were visible or able to extend, or those who had them. When it ended, the bounty hunter stood, leaving credits behind to pay for the drinks. “You’ll fly with me D-0.”

“I prefer Dose.” Jerus sighs and nods.

“Dose it is. Either way, you’ll fly with me.”{ The droid nods an affirmative and stands to follow him. “Plan’s to head to Alderaan. Something tells me the fleet will be.”

---

Jerius stood with the beings around him, awaiting the return of Clan Ordo’s chief. After several minutes, she appeared, a heavy blaster rifle in hand. Upon seeing the head of the Tarantetek, however, a grin broke out on her face. “Well blast me in the knee, you actually brought that beast down. Suppose I should honor my side of our deal. What is it you want?” Jerius stepped fowards and bowed his head.

“Your clan’s alliance, Ordo’alor. To face a threat that could destroy the entirety of the galaxy. Do you feel like being a galactic savior?” Temari turned to Eri and appraised her before nodding.

“Gladly so long as that one agrees to exchange blows with me when next we get the chance. No armor of course.”

---

Once he had concluded his discussion with Falul, Vael marched back down from the landing pad, following after Erthos and Lord Organa. Before, Vael had kept in mind the fact that he was serving the role of a representative with the way he acted, but now that there was a clear and imminent threat to this planet, he moved back towards his more military side. When it came to saving lives from a doomed planet, politeness and formality quickly gave way to speed and efficiency. No moment could be wasted.

Vael paid no heed to anyone or anything else until he had Bail and Erthos in sight. Even without outright running, Vael could be surprisingly quick when he moved with purpose, so even Erthos might not have expected him to find them so soon. Lord Organa and Erthos were speaking, but Vael did not care if he interrupted them. Erthos had not yet spoken with the fleet, so the information Vael had was of greater, more time-sensitive importance than anything the two of them could be discussing. “Our fleet saw Anubis’ transmission. Several of our ships are already on their way to this planet. Our fleet just defeated an Imperial force above a planet called Muunilist. My shipmaster is attempting to secure additional support from them, then will join the others here. Several of our ships can carry a substantial number of your refugees, Lord Organa, but you will need to make preparations to make the most efficient use of them. You will need to have those you intend to evacuate ready and waiting to board as soon as they arrive. Our ship can operate within the atmosphere, and will be able to board more quickly from the ground through our gravity lift. We will require you to find a suitable location on your planet with enough open space to take advantage of the entire lift.”

Vael took out his datapad, which he used to project a holographic image of the Immaculate Aegis. It showed the dimensions of the gravity lift he described, though those measurements also showed the size of the ship itself. It certainly gave weight to Vael’s claim for how impactful their fleet could be to the success of the evacuation. The measurements placed it as the largest ship in the known galaxy, and that was not even considering the other ships they had available.

“I regret I cannot say with certainty how many we can evacuate at once. I know that we have empty quarters for thirty thousand more people, but the Immaculate Aegis can likely support far more than that on a temporary basis, as long as we have a nearby destination to bring them to. Unfortunately, I am no engineer, so I cannot say how many our life support systems can sustain. Space will not likely be a concern, so you may sent with them as many supplies as you feel they need.” Vael explained.

---

---

Eri too looked down at the Mandalorian Chief, sizing her up as she spoke. She found the prospect of going hand to hand against her to be an amusing thought. Unless she had some hidden advantage like Jerus with the Force, then it would not matter their relative skill levels. Eri simply had too many physical advantages. Still, taking on the challenge despite the overwhelming odds was admirable, and certainly matched Jerius’ description of them as a warrior culture.

“If you truly wish to try, I shall not deny a challenge, whenever you are ready to go through with it.” Eri answered. She found the Mandalorians’ straightforward approach to diplomacy to be refreshing, and it also suggested that they had already been poised for a fight before she had even arrived. She could guess that the Mandalorians had already intended to fight the Empire in one way or another; the test simply showed that the Sangheili were worthy allies. Although, so far, Eri only had Jerius’ word that the Mandalorians would even be useful as allies to them.

For now, Eri supposed it was her turn to be the judge of their honor, though she had no arbitrary tests to present them with. She needed only to observe. “We also encountered a…what was the word you used Jerius? Dar’jetii? He escaped through some use of the ‘Force’ before we could slay him. A shame, he would have made for a more challenging kill than his pet. He may still be on this world somewhere.”

---

---

---

---

Samus' gazed soon turned to hear the broadcast casted by the being known as "Anubis". It appeared as the true mastermind of this ordeal had revealed himself, whilst exterminating the previous ruler's title as the new big-bad boss. From what she heard, the god-like being claimed to have taken control of the Imperial Government and had erected a storm that would threaten to wipe the planet right off the star-charts if no one began worshipping him. Obviously, not being from either this world or Anubis', this bluff didn't affect her as much as it did to the more familiar-based Jerus at first. However, the bounty huntress was still alarmed by the fact that this Anubis person has the ability to destroy entire planets from just his capabilities. And from what the screen had shown, he seemed to be doing just that. Unless there was somehow a self-destruct mechanism within Alderaan's core, he might as well be telling the truth.

Jerus hastily gathered his belongings as he ordered Samus and Thaz to meet the fleet at said planet.

"We'll be there." the bounty huntress acknowledged as she motioned towards Thaz to follow her back to her ship.

This was going to be a very long day...

Muunlist

As soon as the Resurgence jumped into Hyperspace the Daedalus was already turning to get its bearing towards its destination. As Marks was plotting the hyperspace co-ordinates Caldwell hit the transmit button to the rest of the fleet. "Once we've arrived at the coordinates to save time we can beam people aboard your ship Shipmaster to save time. If there is a nearby habitable world perhaps we can ferry people there to increase the number of refugees we can save. If you can grab the Unbroken Hope first, then we can save even more."

The ship turned as a hyperspace window formed before the ship and the Daedalus disappeared into nothing.

As the Daedalus left the Separatist Commander looked towards the screen, appearing on Faluls monitor with a grave expression. "I will speak to the council in an emergency meeting and send what ships I can." With that, he disappeared from the screen, before the audio was cut he could be heard calling for an immediate meeting.

Nodding in approval, Temari turns back to her warriors and barks a series of orders in Mando'ade before she turns back to the group. "Our camp will be broken within the hour and we'll be ready to leave. I trust you can guide us to your fleet?" Jerius nods and the Clan Chief heads back into her camp to prepare for departure as the clone turned back for their shuttle.

"Nothing else we can do here. We need to report back, probably rendezvous with the fleet."

---

Having recieved an answer from the Separatists, Falul had no reason to remain in the system. Whether they ended up sending ships or not, the Aegis needed to make it to Alderaan as quickly as it could. He would be returning them to their base of operations first in order to bring along the Unbroken Hope. It was only a short detour, and the size of the Hope made it worthwhile.

“Bring our engines to their full power and take us back to our shipyard. We will be bringing the UNSC vessel with us to Alderaan.” Falul ordered to his crew before settling his gaze firmly on Dr. O’Connell, and particularly Dr. McKay. “I expect our slipspace drive to work without interruption, this time.” He snarled, though he did not truly believe there was any reason to be worried about it. The circumstances had been all too convenient, and he doubted there had been any malfunction to begin with.

---

The return to the fleet’s mobile shipyard was a short trip at the Aegis’ improved FTL speed. When the Aegis exited slipspace, there might have been a few moments of concern from the fact that it was returning from a battle alone, but Falul was quick to hail the Unbroken Hope.

“Admiral Oliver. I assume you received Anubis’ broadcast as well. Our fleet is going to the planet Alderaan. The planet contains potential allies, and with Anubis planning to destroy the planet, we must move quickly. I want your ship to assist in the evacuation. I am aware that your slipspace drive has not yet been upgraded, but a ship of your size should be able to make use of a portal created by the Immaculate Aegis. ” Falul explained. “Prepare your ship. I will be opening the portal as soon as our borer is ready. Your AI and Spartan team may return to your ship, in the meantime.”

After Falul closed the transmission, he turned his attention to the holographic avatar of Isaac. There was a few moments of silence from him before he gave a reluctant few words. "Your efforts in the battle were...useful, AI. Your kind are not entirely worthless." He remarked. It might not have sounded like much of a compliment, but even those words turned a few heads from a few members of the bridge crew. It was far more of a compliment than any of them had expected their shipmaster to give to an artificial being.

--------------------
Marcus Oliver, Security Team One and Mark Bradford / Unbroken Hope Bridge / Interacting with: @EliteCommander
--------------------

Marcus nodded, closing the viewscreen and shaking his head at the continual absurdity of it all. Yet the reveal of Anubis was able to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He'd never fought against a being claiming to be a literal God, save for the Prophets and their droll broadcasts across UNSC communications during the war. The alarm klaxon still sounded as he keyed the PA transmitter. "Attention all elements, we will be performing a shared jump alongside an allied vessel en-route to a planet called Alderaan. We are going to be evacuating as many refugees as we can carry from the planet. I want all transports prepped and fighters tasked for escort. Oliver out." Marcus turned to his crew as he released the transmitter, speaking up so that everyone could hear him. "Have Engineering begin spooling up the drive. Navigation, align with the Ageis's destination solution and align the ship parallel to the battlecruiser. Once we make that jump, I'll need all hands to TAC-CON Alpha One. Am I understood?"

"Aye aye, Sir!" A roar of acknowledgement briefly deafened the room's quiet nature as the crew responded to their Captain. With orders underway, one of the ventral hangar doors opened up to make way for Omicron's arrival with Issac. Perhaps, after this battle, he could potentially get his ODST team back as well.

---------------------
Sentinel 1-1 / Glasgow Hangar / Interacting with: @Enalais
---------------------

"That's insane. Hopefully we don't encounter any more of those things." Leon said aloud. His team remained in the transport and arrived back to the Glasgow. After transit, Leon's team exited the shuttle and stood around their Pelican as the only source of home they knew while they recuperated. Prior to stowing their weapons inside the troop hold of the Pelican, Leon walked over to Liam and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did good out there, for a pilot. Glad to have you with us." With a sigh, Liam chuckled and turned around. "Quit blowin' reek up mah crease, A'm a Marine first an' foremost." Leon struggled with the man's heavy brogue, but took it as Liam's response being capable to handle himself in combat. Perhaps he could ease off; he was a Marine once. Hell, everyone on his team was before they volunteered for the Helijumpers. "Still.. Cheers lad." Liam returned the pat, and soon rejoined Leon out to the front of the dropship where the rest of his team awaited. Unless they were called to the bridge, he was going to stay with his squad until otherwise reported to do so.

---------------------
Issac and Team Omicron / Immaculate Ageis bridge / Interacting with: @EliteCommander
---------------------

As the Spartan team strode over to the platform to retrieve Issac, the blue hologram gave a respectful nod to the Shipmaster. "You honor me with your words, Shipmaster. Thank you for your trust." Issac vanished into the podium as Kendra was the one to walk up and yank the chip out of the podium before inserting it into the back of her helmet. The Spartan stared up at the Sangheili and, as far as a gesture of respect was reciprocated by a Spartan-II went, she nodded at the Shipmaster. "Glad to help. Doctors." She addressed the two in parting as she and her team turned to leave the bridge and board the Pelican waiting in the hangar.

The ride back was quiet. Despite the initial encounter, it was clear that the interaction had left a notable impression on everyone present. Everything they'd gone left them internally screaming that they had failed as Spartans; that they were supposed to destroy any Covenant they saw- but they didn't have that choice. Not anymore. They served a different purpose now, but at least they had the honor of serving alongside someone they trusted. Marcus wouldn't have made the call otherwise.

---

Thaz followed after Samus without argument or delay. She did remember the name “Alderaan”. It was one of the targets they had identified for potential allies. Her commander’s team had almost been chosen for it, but were selected for some other assignment instead. In any case, if their fleet had a vested interest in Alderaan, then there was a good chance that they would end up going there.

On the way back to Samus’ ship, Thaz ended up mumbling to herself in the series of hisses, screeching, and squawks that constituted her people’s language, but she did eventually make a few comments that would be intelligible to Samus. “Hmph, a ‘god’. Thinks he can prove himself a god just by destroying a planet. I’ve seen two or three destroyed myself, it’s nothing special. And I don’t believe for a second he’s doing it himself. Probably has some machine, or ship somewhere. We should take it, use it on his planet.”

In any case, Thaz boarded Samus’ ship and took her seat, awaiting takeoff.

---

---

Eri did return to their ship to access the slipspace communications node, though the messages it had stored quickly changed her plans beyond just reporting in. Falul had not elected to recall her team to the fleet, so the messages had not been pushed directly to their personal comms. However, now that they had secured the assistance of the Mandalorians, there was the potential for them to help. She sent a quick update on their status to the Aegis, then rushed back out to the Mandalorian camp with her datapad in hand.

Just as the chief had said, the camp was in the midst of being broken down for them to move, though the chief’s quarters were still standing for the moment. Eri went straight inside, rushing to put her datapad down on the table between her and the chief. She did not so much as speak a word before allowing Anubis’ broadcast to the galaxy to play in its entirety.

“I shall give you the short explanation.” Eri began. “We are not from this galaxy, and neither is Anubis. He is a being of great power who intends to institute himself as a god, but he is not truly divine. Our overall goal is to kill Anubis, but as there are potential allies on Alderaan, our fleet is moving there to assist.”

As the Glasgow exited Hyperspace, his ensign on scans and communication piped up. "Three ships on scan. We've identified the Va's signature, and the Taris which is an escort ship to The Resurgence. We have back up." He said. "Good, open a channel to both of them We'll need their support."
"Aye sir." As the channel was open, Travis spoke into his comm very clearly. "Captain of the Va, and Taris. This is Captain Elliot of The Glasgow. Do not damage that ship, I repeat do not cause damage to that ship. We're going to need it intact for evacuation of the planet. It's a big enough ship that we can evacuate a large chunk of the populace, and if we damage it too much then we're not getting it out of here. Any marines, or shuttles you can send to the surface will be greatly appreciated. As well as any assistance you can give us with keeping that ship busy. Glasgow Out." With that said, Elliot sent out a ship wide alert. "All crews to battle stations. N7 Squads A-J, ODST from the Unbroken Hope, Mayhem Squad, and Sheppard please report to the hangar we need to discuss things." With the message said, Travis turned to his left to his XO. "You have the ship while I brief the other crews." He ordered, and left.

The elevator ride to the hangar felt longer than necessary, but his squad of N7 operatives, and it seemed like the ODST were already within. He hesitated to bring in the aliens, but he had called them out of the simulations for their skills. Sure they weren't as established as his other teams. But this Operation was going to need as many hands as it could get. Inside the hangar besides Wilkes, and her team. Stood a towering geth, it's lightbulb head brought back many memories from the war but he would have to rely on it, it was a free unit now. Among the other aliens were asari, and turians. Both would prove invaluable to the operation with their skills. But for now he would just have to wait for the others to arrive.

---

---

---

---

"Understood," Yiithren replied, activating the com built into his chair. "We'll keep our matter disintegrators silent for this operation."

He took his tentacle off the button for a bit, briefly considering something, before placing it down again and continuing communications with the Glasgow.

"You'll probably need us to use our null void beam on that things shields though," he said after a brief pause. "Unless you want to spend extra time breaching it that is."

With that message sent, Yiithren turned his attention to the situation unfolding before them, ordering his crew move the ship into position behind the Aegis when it arrived so they could pop out from behind it when needed to fire upon enemy craft or, more importantly, breach the targeted Assimilators shields. Until then, he had the whole crew kept on high alert for incoming projectiles. While their shields might last for a few hits, he doubted they'd be able to sustain an extended barrage, and with their ships weapons and engines in a weakened state due to the jump, it was an outcome he wanted to avoid if possible.

The Ordo clan leader watched the broadcast with no visible amount of interest before it ended, though the storm he seemed to summon brought a small smile to her face. "Well then, if all that's true, then you've brought a truly worthy enemy to my attention. We'll set course to Alderaan as soon as we're on our ships." She turns back to making sure everything went to the appropriate areas. "We can also get you there faster than that Republic scout shuttle can. If you're alright with waiting a little bit."

---

Captain Erin wasted no time in moving her squad from the area they'd been directed to to rest up and getting them to the hangar. They'd already swapped their civilian clothes out for their combat armors and proper load outs, though Rhosom retained the DMR over his usual sniper rifle. Filing in, they were somewhat surprised to see non-human N7 operatives, but didn't ask any questions about it, instead forming up in an area that wasn't too intrusive and waiting for the Glasgow's captain to arrive.

---

Bail bowed his head in appreciation and acknowledgement. "We're already getting everyone we can in shuttles and as I told Commander Erthos, several of the noble houses have their own plans in motion." Jason frowns.

"Is there a planet nearby we can use to drop your people off on?"

"A planet called Mantor VII. It was being considered for colonization, but it may now become our new home." Jason opens his mouth to reply, but gets a communication from the Taris's captain, a Cathar named Leina.

"Supreme Commander, the Glasgow is here and calling for aid in taking the Assimilator-class in orbit over the planet. Should we send forces?" Jason considers for a moment before nodding.

"Prep two LAA/Ts and no more. Can't leave the Taris defenseless. I'll see if any of the delegation down here wants to go and if any of the Scorch Guard want to as well."

"As you order sir." The line cuts and Jason turns to Bail and Vael.

"It would seem one of our allied ships arrived in the system already, the ship that lead the mission on Coruscant as I recall. They're going to capture the Assimilator-class ship in orbit and use it to aid in the evacuation. Vael'Virisusai, would you like to join them?"

---

Vael’s expression appeared severe. At least, it would have if there had been anyone present capable of interpreting it. In any case, his tone at least showed that he was not taking Erthos’ question lightly. “Capturing a ship that size is no small task, and a dangerous endeavor. The risks could carry on to beyond just those who participate in the boarding, though if the Assimilator were to interfere in the evacuation…”

The Sangheili gave a single nod towards Erthos. “Several of our ships are known enemies of the Empire, and we cannot guarantee our fleet will arrive at the same time. We could face losses if we do not neutralize it as a threat. We may attempt to capture it, but we must at least disable it before our ships arrive. I should assist in planning this attack. I require transport to the Glasgow.”

Daedalus

The Daedalus dropped out of hyperspace directly above the Assimilator. Caldwell swore as Marks instinctively performed evasive maneuvers. The Daedalus spun on its axis as it cut a path down past the larger craft, its lasers lancing out and touching the shields of the Daedalus. That's when the call from the Glasgow came through about the reported boarding action. Caldwell hit his comms to the fleet frequency. "This is Caldwell, the Va can knock out the shields of an Assimilator. If they use that technology to disable the shields rather than using boarding craft we can beam our personnel aboard in key areas that have been identified by the schematics stolen by members of the Resurgence."

The radio crackled as Sheppard's voice came through. "Daedalus this is Sheppard, be advised at Coruscant we encountered Kull Warriors. We might also need you to beam any of them out we come across, do you have any Kull Disruptors aboard?"

Caldwell grimaced. Facing down Kull Warriors wasn't exactly what he wanted to do, the troops were infamous even after the SGC and her allies managed to design a weapon to counteract them. "We don't have any disruptors but we'll send over transmitters-" The entire ship shook as a turbolaser hit strafed their shield. Caldwell turned to Marks who nodded that they were okay. "-to mark targets to beam away. We'll send them out into space."

"Sir, they're launching fighters." As the Daedalus swung below the Assimilators its belly opened releasing a swathe of V-Wings and Arc-170s. While it did a ship dropped out of hyperspace and immediately opened a channel. "Attention Imperial Vessel. This is Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. Stand down and prepare to be boarded, in the name of the Galactic Republic we're commandeering your ship to rescue people on the surface of the planet."

On the bridge, Anakin turned to Yularen, confused momentarily when Padme stood in his place. It was like so many other battles in the Clone Wars yet lines had been drawn, the only reason the 501st were still on his side was due to the sacrifice of Fives after his discovery of the control chip. Had Tups not malfunctioned and Fives not gone with him to Kamino then it was very likely that he would have already been killed thanks to Order 66. He clamped down on his rage at the betrayal of his friend, his manipulation of him. Dark clouds spread throughout his mind, then he heard the soft clanking of Master Yodas cane.

"Calm young Skywalker. Remember your training, you must. Your mind clouded by Darth Sidious it was, mindful of your emotions you must be."

"Yes, Master."

"Strong in the Force, you are. Take time to recover it will. Faith in you, I have."

Anakin turned smiling at Padme then turning to Yoda. "I'm assuming then that I shall not be joining the fight?"

Yoda closed his eyes for a second as he thought. A 'hm' coming forth from the small being. "Ready for this, you are not. Stay here, manage the battle. A greater tactician than me, you are." Anakin bowed his head in respect as he turned to Rex.

"Ready the men, get over there and take that ship."

"Yes, sir."

---

---

---

---

Once Samus sat at the controls of her ship, she quickly typed in in the coordinates towards the planet in question while getting her gunship into orbit. While she did that, she could hear Thaz mumble something aloud.

“Hmph, a ‘god’. Thinks he can prove himself a god just by destroying a planet. I’ve seen two or three destroyed myself, it’s nothing special. And I don’t believe for a second he’s doing it himself.”

"This seems different." Samus replied as the ship took to the skies, "Planet destruction isn't new to me either, but something about this process feels off."

She failed to mention the fact that those "destroyed planets" she'd witnessed were caused by her hand, granted they were mostly unintentional. The only ones she could justify were the destruction of the Dark Aether and the planet Phaaze, as they both proved a valiant threat to her galaxy at large. The same however couldn't be quite said for the self-destruction of Zebes - which was caused by the pirates - or the near-extermination of an entire keystone species on SR38. Now she's about to see the destruction of yet another planet, and perhaps for once not having to directly involve herself as responsible.

“Probably has some machine, or ship somewhere. We should take it, use it on his planet.”

Samus simply shrugged.

"We'll just have to see what we find." she remarks before punching the coordinates and quickly jumped to lightspeed towards their destination.

Travis looked over the gathered soldiers. He knew with their expertise they would be more than able to take the ship. When Sheppard entered the hanger Sparky looked over the man. "Odd." The Flashlight head stated. "This is not the Shepard-Commander that we registered in our memory banks, is it possible that humans have similar names?" It asked, but Travis just shook his head. "It's not important. I gathered all of you here because you are the best of the best. And we need to take that ship. Not only would it's space make evacuating the civilians on that planet a breeze, but having an enemy ship would make slipping into enemy lines that much easier. So that means when you enter the ship no one can leave that ship alive, except us. I was thinking we'd infiltrate the ship, and if needed cut off life support through out the ship until their naval crews suffocated. It's not ideal, and i'm not entirely sure that it's all that ethical. But we don't have time to debate ethics while people down there are suffering." He stated, before walking over to the weapons lockers, and opening it with his omni-tool. "I suggest Sheppard, and the team from the Unbroken hope take our firearms. They're more efficient, work in vacuum, and probably pack a larger punch than your weaponry. I have also taken to having an old set of armor resized for Sheppard, so he could use it in vacuum. So by all account's you all should be ready to g-" Before he could finish the thought he was cut off. "Captain Elliot." Adrian's voice sounded from omni-tool. "The Daedalus just exited FTL right above the assimilator they're currently engaged in combat."
"Fuck!"
"Another signature has also entered the space around Alderaan it's a venator but it doesn't match the signature of The Resurgence. But it's engaged in combat with the enemy." Laskey stated.

This threw a wrench into the boarding operation. Elliot looked over the gathered special forces, and shook his head. "What are the odds of all the fucking points in space, the Daedalus would appear right over the fucking enemy. Excuse me a moment." He said, his voice tinged with a bit of anger. He opened a channel to every ship that was engaging the enemy, and those on the ground. "All ships stand down, we need that ship intact. Try to out run it, if you aren't capable of out running it then try to exit the system. Va, we need you to bring that things shields down. We're going to need that ship not only for evacuation, but for the days ahead. We will cover the Va, and if need be. We will give it a tow, to give it the speed to outrun it. If any of you have anything you want to add, then do so now. We don't have much time." He said, and turned toward the gathered special forces. "Same goes for you guys, any questions?" He added.

He opens his mouth to reply to Vael when his earpiece beeps again and the Taris's captain tells him that the Daedalus has arrived. Grinning, Jason resumes speaking as the Scorch Guard joins him. "We can make it happen quickly, Colonel Caldwell has arrived." He turns to a Devronian named Sheila Goran. "You'll take my place aiding things here on the ground. I'll-"

"Supreme Commander, Anakin Skywalker's Venator just exited hyperspace. Not Darth Vader, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. What do we do?" Jason's face blanches slightly, but he recovers quickly.

"We help and work with them." Closing the channel to the Taris, Jason opens one to the Daedalus. "Daedalus, this is Jason Erthos. Requesting beaming to the Glasgow ASAP. You can lock onto my earpiece to get myself, Vael'Virisusai, and most of my Scorch Guard there." He then turned to Sheila.

"Help get these people, or as many as you can, to safety. Work with Organa's forces and the Star Barrier brigade to get word to the whole planet." She nods and turns on her heel, heading for a holocommunications kiosk while he turns to the Sangheili. "I hope you haven't eaten recently, the first time is...jarring."