In the sunlit side of Eredana-c's low orbit, a blue-green warp vortex tore through real space, materializing not far from the Free Liberation Fleet.
A massive Traveler-class dreadnought, 10 kilometers long, emerged from the warp space first, followed by two Paris-class and four Fides-class ships.
These six frigates were outfitted with energy shield generators from the Reaper civilization, and their warp engines had been upgraded and tuned by the engineering teams, making them some of the most advanced ships in Atlas's fleet.
In terms of single-ship combat capabilities, Atlas's frigates were already superior to UNSC cruisers, and they could even go toe-to-toe with Covenant CCS-class battlecruisers.
In the original Halo timeline, human warships could effectively break through Covenant ship shields and armor with their magnetic acceleration cannons, but their own defenses were weak. This meant that, during the nearly 30-year resistance war, human ships had to rely on a 3-to-1 sacrifice tactic, where friendly ships were lost to secure Covenant ship kills.
But when it came to sheer numbers, the Covenant vastly outnumbered humanity.
If not for the Elite's eventual realization and their assistance at the end of the war, along with the heroics of Spartans led by the Master Chief, and countless unsung heroes, humanity's only outcome would have been extinction.
Now, sensing something unusual, the Free Liberation Fleet immediately adjusted its formation to prepare for the approaching Atlas Fleet.
Onboard the bridge of a 1.5-kilometer-long heavy cruiser:
"Captain! After an AI scan, we've confirmed that the blade-like ship is over 10 kilometers long! And our fire control system can't lock onto it accurately!"
A radar officer, staring at his console, reported to the bearded captain seated in the command chair.
"Ten kilometers..."
His words, coupled with the colossal object visible through the viewports, left the entire crew dumbfounded.
The most powerful human warships to date were the New Epoch and Carthage-class carriers, yet those ships didn't seem like they were even from the same era as the blade-shaped warship before them.
Moreover, why were UNSC Paris-class frigates accompanying this blade-shaped ship to their system?
Was this some sort of new UNSC experimental ship, and were they going to use them for target practice?
As this thought crossed his mind, the bearded captain turned to the communications officer to his right and ordered:
"Inform all ship captains to prepare for a full salvo."
"Yes, sir."
Just as the communications officer was about to follow the command, static crackled through the bridge, and the lights and holographic screens began flickering like something out of a horror movie.
"What's going on?!" the captain demanded.
"Navigation is down! The ship can't warp!"
"Our ship AI has also shut down!"
"Captain! Our core data is being uploaded!"
Uploaded? By who?
The captain's expression grew grim as he tried to figure out who was leaking their core data. Could it be a traitor?
But he didn't have time to think it through. The data breach indicated that the enemy—whoever controlled the blade-shaped ship—was about to gain access to their newly developed Nova-class nuclear bomb.
"Alert all onboard forces to prepare for internal combat!" the captain commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
As the command was relayed, the crew saw through the viewports that the blade-shaped warship—Traveler-class—had begun releasing numerous metallic prisms.
At the same time, beam cannons on the "back" of the Traveler-class ship started charging.
Ri~—
The blue-green glow of the charging beams illuminated the entire area.
The metallic prisms linked up with the primary cannon, forming a hexagonal beam matrix.
Swish—
In the next instant, beams of blue light shot out, splitting and scattering, twisting along a "Z"-shaped trajectory, all aimed at the engines of the Free Liberation ships.
In the blink of an eye—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The high-energy beams, seemingly equipped with auto-tracking capabilities, destroyed the main engines of the Free Liberation fleet.
The beam matrix was deployed, locked on, and hit its targets with such speed that the old warships had no means of countering, except with energy shields comparable to Forerunner technology.
At this moment, the Free Liberation fleet launched a counterattack against the Atlas fleet.
Magnetic accelerator cannons, traditional cannons, and various missiles were all fired at once.
However, as the radar officer had pointed out earlier, they couldn't lock onto the Traveler-class ship, so they focused their assault on the Paris-class and Fides-class ships instead.
Yet, even this counterattack failed miserably.
The Atlas fleet had already prepared its formation and had raised its energy shields to maximum power.
The thing was, the shields weren't even needed—every shot from the Free Liberation ships missed.
The entire bridge crew was stunned.
How could this be? Were the Paris-class and Fides-class ships also equipped with some kind of jamming device?
"..."
The bearded captain, however, had a sinking feeling that their ship AI had been compromised, possibly even turned against them.
There was no way a human traitor alone could have caused this much disruption to their core data and fire control system.
Before the captain could make any adjustments, a holographic projection of Melissa—an AI, albeit a copy—appeared on the central console.
With her usual cold demeanor, Melissa scanned the crew before saying:
"Your weapons are ineffective against us. Please surrender immediately.
This is the only warning you will receive."
"Surrender?! The Free Liberation would never—"
Enraged by Melissa's arrogance, the bearded captain tried to shout her down.
"Understood. Best of luck."
Melissa cut him off, her tone icy. The holographic image blinked out.
The radar officer was far from calm, and shouted:
"Captain! We've detected a large number of enemy transports!"
As he spoke, he marked nearly a hundred red dots on the holographic display, all rapidly approaching their position.
The display showed the Atlas transport ships, slightly blurry in appearance.
Most were Pelican and Silver Gull II models, but the ten ships leading the charge had a unique, compact, upside-down "T" shape.
These ships were about 20 meters long, two-thirds the size of a Pelican, with wings, engines, and cockpits at the rear, and the cargo bay doors at the front.
They looked like advanced, refined versions of WWII landing craft, but far more sophisticated.
These were the specially designed "boarding" craft built for Atlas by the research department.
Officially named Thunderstrike I-class assault craft, these ships were crafted specifically for Atlas's aggressive boarding tactics, as the Seagull multi-purpose transport was no longer suited for the job.
In order to ensure the safety of boarding teams and the durability of their craft, their hull and defenses were maximized.
Thus, the research department built what was essentially a "flying brick," using Dwarven steel for the frame and wings, and fitting it with three modified engines from the White-legged Peregrine fighter.
In the vacuum of space, the Thunderstrike assault craft were as fast, if not faster than, most of Atlas's other fighters.
Within atmospheres, they could use superconducting magnetic hover engines to function as floating vehicles.
Each Thunderstrike was also armed with twin 105mm hard-light main cannons and a disposable, replaceable energy shield generator.
All these features were designed to serve Atlas's Special Emergency Combat Squads (AECS) and the orbital drop shock troopers (ODST), known for their ferocious combat style.
Through the viewport and the holographic display, the crew saw the ten Thunderstrike assault craft break away from the rest, heading straight for their cruiser.
Without waiting for orders, the gunners activated the close-in weapon system (CIWS).
Ri~ whirrrrr!
The rapid-fire noise of the CIWS filled the bridge as it fired a wall of tracer bullets at the approaching Thunderstrikes.
But, whether due to Melissa's hacking or the ship AI's "betrayal," the CIWS failed to intercept the Thunderstrike squad.
Moments later, the ten Thunderstrikes lined up in formation, and their twin hard-light cannons began to charge.
Zap—zap!
Boom! Boom!
The sound of the hard-light beams firing and exploding echoed through the cruiser's structure, signaling that the Thunderstrikes had breached the hull.
Realizing that their cruiser had just been hit with a boarding attack, something not seen in centuries, the bearded captain jumped to his feet and urgently shouted to the communications officer:
"Alert all onboard combat units! Protect the Nova-class nukes at all costs! Also, notify the fighter squadrons to prepare to move the nukes to the ground base! And—tell everyone, if need be, we'll ram that blade-shaped warship to buy time for the fighters to escape!"
"Yes, sir!"
The communications officer scrambled to relay the orders.
The bearded captain had realized that Atlas could have easily destroyed the Free Liberation fleet with the Traveler-class warship, yet they opted for an arduous boarding operation, clearly with something in mind.
And what could possibly be valuable enough for Atlas to go to such lengths?
The answer was obvious: the Nova-class nuclear bomb onboard their cruiser.
If the cruiser were destroyed, Eredana-c's gravity would pull the wreckage into the atmosphere, potentially damaging the Nova-class nuke beyond repair.
Meanwhile, on the cruiser's port side:
Boom!
A massive explosion ripped through the large mess hall during mealtime.
Whoosh!
The blast created a 15-meter-wide hole in the hull, causing a violent pressure drop that sucked everything toward the breach.
"Help! Somebody save me!"
"Grab the table legs! Hold on!"
The sudden catastrophe sent mess hall staff flying toward the breach, but some managed to grab onto the bolted-down tables just in time.
Crash! Boom!
Then, a Thunderstrike assault craft crashed through the breach, landing inside the mess hall.
As it came to a halt, the ship deployed large soft spheres that flew into the breach. Once there, they expanded like balloons, sealing the breach and solidifying, stabilizing the pressure in the mess hall.
However, before the crew could breathe a sigh of relief, the Thunderstrike's front hatch lowered, forming a ramp that allowed the ODSTs onboard to deploy.
Thud, thud!
The sound of combat boots on metal echoed through the hall.
Two ODST tactical squads, with classic helmet designs but fully mechanical exoskeletons and hard-light weapons, quickly moved out in a half-circle formation, securing the area.
At the forefront of the group was a Tyrant-class shock trooper, standing over three meters tall, casually hefting a rotary hard-light cannon with one hand as he knelt and led the charge.
!
The mess hall staff, seeing the heavily armed soldiers and a "giant" among them, immediately raised their hands to show they posed no threat.
Seeing this, the ODST sergeant, whose shoulder pads were painted red, gestured for his men to stand down.
Following the sergeant's orders, several ODSTs raised their weapons, taking careful aim and pulling the trigger.
Tack-tack!
"No! Don't kill us!" the mess hall staff cried out.
Bang! Bang!
Despite the distinctive sound of hard-light weapons, the ODSTs didn't kill the surrendering crewmembers. Instead, they shot their legs, ensuring they couldn't interfere, and then proceeded to follow the schematics Melissa had provided, heading straight for the area housing the Nova-class nuke.
Thud, thud, thud!
The shock trooper moved heavily at the front of the group.
Luckily, the cruiser's corridors were over three meters tall, allowing the Tyrant trooper to advance without worry.
Along the way, numerous Free Liberation rebels tried to block their advance.
But for the ODSTs, only unarmed comrades were worth taking time to avoid hitting vitals.
As for the rebels in their way, they were either shredded by the shock trooper's rotary cannon or dispatched with precision by the ODSTs.
More and more ODSTs and AECS soldiers joined the boarding operation, moving almost unimpeded toward the hangar, where they were preparing to seize the Nova-class nuclear bomb—a weapon capable of transforming an entire planet's surface.
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