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Operation: RETRIBUTION
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{{Status|Canon|Featured}} {{Battle infobox |prev=[[A Necessary Truth#Plot synopsis|Ambush on Neos Atlantis]]{{Ref/Anthology|Fra|Story=A Necessary Truth}} |conc= |next=[[Draco III rebellion]]{{Ref/X|bsangel|683713456873148418|Jessica Shea|Y=2016|M=1|D=3|Quote=#TodayInHalo 1/3/2554 Led by Edward Buck, Alpha-Nine squares off against rebels on Draco III. The Rookie is killed in battle.}} |image=[[File:Halo Retribution cover.png|350px]]{{Ref/Note|This image is a pictorial representation of the portion of the operation that took place on Meridian but does not indicate there was a moment in time during which Veta and Castor were not hostile to one another. Such an occasion never arose.}} |conflict= |date=[[2553#December|December 8–16, 2553]]{{Ref/Reuse|R2}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=R27|Ret|Chapter=27}} |place=*[[Venezia]], [[Orso system]]{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *[[Taram]], [[Pydoryn]], [[Shaps system]]{{Ref/Reuse|R6}} *[[Gao]], [[Cordoba system]]{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} *[[Meridian]], [[Hestia V]], [[Hestia system]]{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} |result='''UNSC victory'''{{Ref/Reuse|R27}} *[[Georgi Baklanov]] killed{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *[[Ross Nyeto]] captured{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *[[Salvation Base]] destroyed{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *[[Cryo-jar]]s with [[asteroidea]]-cultured organs destroyed{{Ref/Reuse|R27}} |side1={{Icon|UNSC Post}} [[United Nations Space Command]]{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- {{Icon|LDC}} [[Liang-Dortmund Corporation]]{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} |side2=[[Keepers of the One Freedom]]{{Ref/Reuse|R7}} ---- [[Ross Nyeto]]'s gunrunners{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- [[Georgi Baklanov]]'s enterprise{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} |side3={{Icon|Forerunner}} [[Dark Moon Enterprises]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=R5|Ret|Chapter=5}} ---- [[Gao Republic]]{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} |commanders1=*{{Icon|ONI}} [[Rear Admiral|RADM]] [[Serin Osman]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=R2|Ret|Chapter=2}} *{{Icon|ONI}} [[Piers Ewen|CAPT Piers Ewen]]{{Ref/Reuse|R4}} *{{Icon|Navy}} [[Lieutenant|LTJG]] [[Frederic-104]]{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *Lieutenant [[Veta Lopis]]{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- *{{Icon|LDC}} Administrator [[Sloan]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=R21|Ret|Chapter=21}} |commanders2=*[[Dokab]] [[Castor]]{{Ref/Reuse|R13}} *[[Orsun]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}{{Ref/Reuse|R13}} *[[Sarch Rach|Chur'R'Sarch Rach]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R3}} ---- Ross Nyeto {{C|captured}}{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- Georgi Baklanov†{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} |commanders3=*[[Intrepid Eye]]{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} *Director [[Agnes Sabara]]† {{c|critical brain injury}}{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} *[[Argie]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R17}}{{Ref/Reuse|R9}} *[[Oriel]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}{{Ref/Reuse|R21}} *[[Bartalan Craddog|LT Bartalan Craddog]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} *[[Bhu Zdenyk]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}{{Ref/Reuse|R21}} *[[Porter Sahir]]†{{Ref/Reuse|R21}} ---- *[[President of the Gao Republic|President]] [[Arlo Casille]]{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} *[[Minister of the Environment|Minister]] [[Duena Sandos]]{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} |forces1=*[[UNSC Silent Joe|1]] {{Class|Sahara|heavy prowler}}{{Ref/Reuse|R4}} *[[UNSC Silent Claw|One]] [[D102 Owl]]{{Ref/Reuse|R10}} *1 [[Turaco]] {{C|captured}}{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *[[Blue Team]] (Three [[Spartan-II]]s){{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *Veta Lopis' [[Ferret]] team (Veta and three [[Spartan-III]]s){{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- [[Pinnacle Station Security Force]]{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} |forces2=*[[Fleet of Glory]] (around 50 vessels ranging in size from [[R'shwupa-pattern Phantom|gunboats]] to [[Covenant corvette|corvette]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|R8}} *[[Stolen Faith|1]] [[Mudoat starsloop]]{{Ref/Reuse|R6}} *[[Jiralhanae]], [[Kig-Yar]], and [[human]]s{{Ref/Reuse|R7}} ---- *4 gunrunners{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *[[Picus|1]] [[Jiralhanae]] bodyguard{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- Georgi and three others{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} |forces3=*Several [[Dark Moon Enterprises]] operatives{{Ref/Reuse|R15}} *[[UNSC Fast Gus|1]] {{Class|Winter|prowler}}{{Ref/Reuse|R16}} *2 [[Turaco]]s {{C|1 captured by the UNSC}}{{Ref/Reuse|R22}}{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *2 remote aspects of Intrepid Eye{{Ref/Reuse|R21}}{{Ref/Reuse|R9}} *Security Team [[Papa-10]]{{Ref/Reuse|R16}} ---- *1 [[Bronto]]{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} *1 [[Roamer]]{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} *2 [[Murat gun truck]]s{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} *Several bodyguards{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} |casual1=*[[Ashveld|1]] pilot{{Ref/Reuse|R15}} *UNSC ''Silent Claw''{{Ref/Reuse|R15}} *2 [[Mongoose]]s{{Ref/Reuse|R14}} ---- Several security officers{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} |casual2=*[[Salvation Base]]{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *90% of Salvation Base forces{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *''[[Stolen Faith]]'' crew{{Ref/Reuse|R6}} ---- *3 of Nyeto's gunrunners.{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} *[[Picus]]{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} ---- Georgi Baklanov and 3 of his people.{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} |casual3=*Several Dark Moon Enterprises operatives{{Ref/Reuse|R15}} *All members of [[Papa-10]] and Bartalan Craddog.{{Ref/Reuse|R27}} *[[Argie]]{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *[[Oriel]]{{Ref/Reuse|R27}} *2 Turacos {{C|One captured}}{{Ref/Reuse|R22}}{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} |civilian1=*All human and [[Sangheili]] prisoners at Salvation Base{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} *Several [[Meridian]] civilians{{Ref/Reuse|R22}} |civilian2= |civilian3=*Multiple staff members at the [[New Leaf Extractions]] [[New Leaf Field Complex|Field Complex]]{{Ref/Reuse|R18}} }} {{Quote|'''Investigative abstract:''' refer to operational document #ONIS3-33456-SO Retribution for full report on assassination of UNSC Admiral Graselyn Tuwa, associated abduction and murder of her husband and two dependents, and subsequent utilization of security unit Papa-10 in failed effort to recover antibodies and erase evidentiary links to rogue science officer Lieutenant Bartalan Craddog.|From an internal ONI intelligence finding detailing the events that launched Operation: RETRIBUTION and its outcome.}}{{Ref/Reuse|R27}} '''Operation: RETRIBUTION''' was an [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] [[operation]] undertaken by [[Blue Team]] and the [[Ferret]] team lead by [[Veta Lopis]] in [[2553#December|December of 2553]].{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} Lopis' team had been training at the [[Mill]] and elsewhere since its formation just months prior, but RETRIBUTION was the first true mission given to the joint Spartan and civilian unit.{{Ref/Reuse|R1}}{{Ref/Reuse|R23}} Veta Lopis and the two groups of Spartans were assisted by the crew of the {{UNSCShip|Silent Joe}}, a {{Class|Sahara|prowler}}.{{Ref/Reuse|R4}} The operation was conceived as a response to the murder of [[Vice Admiral]] [[Graselyn Tuwa]] and the kidnapping of three of her family members.{{Ref/Reuse|R2}} The initial evidence pointed toward the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] bearing the responsibility for this heinous crime, but the Keepers had actually been framed by [[Dark Moon Enterprises]], which itself was secretly being directed by the [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]], [[Intrepid Eye]].{{Ref/Reuse|R2}}{{Ref/Reuse|R21}} The Spartans' first objective was to discover the location of the base the missing Tuwas were likely being held at, and to do this, Lopis' team went undercover as [[pirate]]s on [[Venezia]].{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} A feigned shootout with [[Blue Team]] enabled them to sell their cover stories and as a result, they were granted admission aboard a [[Kig-Yar]] vessel bound for the [[moon]] [[Taram]].{{Ref/Reuse|R6}} The four managed to survive a betrayal by their hosts and also escaped from a Keeper boarding party that met them at their destination.{{Ref/Reuse|R7}} The bodies of the victims they were searching for were found eventually, where they had been planted by Dark Moon operatives still present on Taram.{{Ref/Reuse|R12}} Blue Team inserted from the ''Silent Joe'' and helped aid the Ferrets in escaping a firefight with the Keepers, who captured a few survivors from the Dark Moon squad.{{Ref/Reuse|R15}} Following forensic analysis of the corpses recovered, it became evident that someone had targeted the Tuwas based on a shared genetic mutation that had allowed them survive [[Barugi incident|a deadly outbreak]] of [[Asteroidea merozoite|protozoal disease]] years prior.{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} The ''Silent Joe'' next made haste for [[Gao]], where the Keepers had already struck the [[New Leaf Field Complex|research facility]] where the Tuwas had been taken to and killed.{{Ref/Reuse|R18}} A conversation with the [[President of the Gao Republic|president]] of the [[Gao Republic]], [[Arlo Casille]], revealed that Administrator [[Sloan]] of [[Pinnacle Station]] on [[Meridian]] had approached him on behalf of Dark Moon in order to let the corporation use the lab.{{Ref/Reuse|R19}} The UNSC teams arrived at Pinnacle Station just behind the Keepers once more and pursued both a group of them and [[Papa-10|a rogue ONI team]] to the surface.{{Ref/Reuse|R22}}{{Ref/Reuse|R23}} In the end, [[cryo-jar]]s housing the Tuwas' organs were destroyed and everyone who might have been able to explain why they had been harvested were killed.{{Ref/Reuse|R26}} Intrepid Eye's plans to use anti-asteroidea merozoite antibodies to create a vaccine that she would selectively expose only those she thought worthy to bear the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] to were foiled.{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} Despite losing the Tuwas and their organs, Intrepid Eye's role in the events that precipitated Operation: RETRIBUTION went undiscovered for a time and she was able to persist in directing the continuation of [[Project SLEEPING STAR]], which entailed research of asteroidea onboard the ONI station ''Argent Moon''.{{Ref/Reuse|R27}}{{Ref/Reuse|HRen13}} ==Prelude== {{Quote|So it wasn't ''just'' about killing the admiral. They came for the family--and it was important to take them alive.|Veta Lopis sifts through the evidence left behind on the ''Donoma''.}}{{Ref/Reuse|R2}} In [[2538]], there was an outbreak of disease at the [[Barugi]] [[Barugi Preparatory Academy|Preparatory Academy]].{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} The illness was caused by the merozoites of a protozoal lifeform named [[asteroidea]]. It took only thirty hours for ten thousand people at the school to become infected. All but nine died shortly after. These nine were all partially resistant to being infected thanks to mutations they had that resulted in variants of [[Wikipedia:thalassemia|thalassemia]]. Six with [[Wikipedia:Delta-beta thalassemia|delta-beta thalassemia]] survived for years before finally succumbing to the asteroidea but those with gamma-thalessemia from a novel mutation did not suffer any adverse consequences whatsoever. These three survivors were [[Kerbasi Tuwa]], the medical officer of the academy, and his two children, [[Catalin Tuwa|Catalin]] and [[Yuso Tuwa|Yuso]]. The devastation wrought by the infection caused the academy to be shut down and by [[2541]], the entire planet was placed under biohazard quarantine (BQ).{{Ref/Reuse|R17}} [[File:Halo Last Light cover.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Intrepid Eye allowed herself to be captured by Fred-104 within the [[Montero Cave System|caves]] beneath the [[Montero]] region.{{Ref/Novel|LL|Chapter=15}}]] In May of [[2553]], a mysterious transmission from the [[Outer Colony]] of [[Gao]] drew the attention of the [[UNSC]], and the [[Marine Corps]]' [[717th Xeno-Materials Exploitation Battalion]] was dispatched to the planet to investigate.{{Ref/Novel|LL|Chapter=1}} The battalion was escorted by [[Blue Team]], comprised of eight [[Spartans]] at the time. The transmission had in fact been a request for a status report sent by [[Intrepid Eye]], an ancient [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]] that had been charged thousands of years ago with protecting the hidden [[Covert Support Base 4276]].{{Ref/Novel|LL|Chapter=3}} Intrepid Eye was awakened from stasis following the partial [[glassing]] of [[Shaps III]], site of [[Line Installation 444-447|the]] [[line installation]] the base on Gao had supported. Before long, [[insurrectionist]] elements within the [[Gao Republic]] exploited the UNSC presence to stage a coup with assistance from the [[Venezia]] [[Venezian militia|militia]] and the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]].{{Ref/Novel|LL|Chapter=5}} Ultimately, the Spartans managed to secure Intrepid Eye and exfiltrate from the planet.{{Ref/Novel|Id=LL28|LL|Chapter=28}} With them went [[Veta Lopis]], a [[special inspector]] from the [[Gao Ministry of Protection]] who had aided them during [[Operation: JOVIAN WHISTLE|the fighting]]. Lopis was offered a civilian position within the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] and the chance to lead a new "[[Ferret]]" investigative team made up of herself and three [[Spartan-III]]s of the former [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] which she had forged a bond with.{{Ref/Reuse|LL28}} Intrepid Eye was delivered to the recently-commissioned ''[[Argent Moon]]'', an [[ONI]] research and development station, where she was kept under heavy guard to be interrogated and studied as part of [[Project ARCHEON]].{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} Despite the many limitations placed upon her, the [[archeon-class ancilla]] managed to covertly smuggle bits of code off of the station over a span of five months that resulted in the establishment of remote aspects of herself in five different sectors of human-held space.{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} These aspects were used by her to establish and control [[propaganda]] outlets, private security contractors, law practices, and political consulting firms.{{Ref/Reuse|R16}} During her detainment on Gao, Intrepid Eye had been convinced by [[Wendell|another]] [[A.I.]] that [[human]]s were the intended [[Reclaimer]]s the [[Forerunner]]s had meant to inherit all their work.{{Ref/Novel|LL|Chapter=24}} Since that revelation, it had become her primary purpose to make the species worthy of the great responsibility inherent in holding the [[Mantle]]. To this end, she began laying the groundwork through her multiple aspects for a series of events that she believed could bring humanity closer to this worthiness.{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} One of her remote aspects presented itself to the [[dokab]] [[Castor]] of the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]], who had nearly been killed on [[Gao]].{{Ref/Reuse|R13}} Eye had little trouble making him think he was being visited by a holy [[oracle]] with his best interests at heart, as she recommended a location for him to grow a new base for the Keepers and began to feed him information she had gathered concerning the routes and itineraries of human vessels. From the moon of [[Taram]], Castor waged a campaign of [[piracy]] to rebuild his forces and had soon ascended to first among the Keepers' dokabs.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R13|Ret|Chapter=13}} It was her belief that Taram and the [[Suluhu Contemplarium]] on its surface would become known to humans eventually thanks to this, as she was concerned that telling them about it outright could compromise her plans. She hoped to keep track of those that would eventually visit the contemplarium and achieve a sufficient amount of spiritual enlightenment through it.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R16|Ret|Chapter=16}} Onboard the ''Argent Moon'', she also handpicked a young ONI [[lieutenant]] by the name of [[Bartalan Cradogg]] to serve her ends. Through the selective supply of information to he and nobody else assigned to Project ARCHEON, she ensured that he was promoted to higher importance than he rightfully deserved, and she also began to gather evidence of his sexual proclivities with which to blackmail him.{{Ref/Reuse|R5}} On [[2553#December|December 1, 2553]] the UNSC passenger schooner ''[[UNSC Donoma|Donoma]]'' came under attack while en route to the [[human colony]] of [[Nephis]] in the [[Tisiphone system]]. Onboard the ship was [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Graselyn Tuwa]], commander of the [[UNSC Navy]]'s [[Isbanola sector]] patrol fleet. She had been traveling with [[Kerbasi Tuwa|her husband]], [[Catalin Tuwa|her daughter]], and [[Yuso Tuwa|her son]] to attend the [[Threshold Ceremony]] of the daughter of [[Prudence Tuwa|her sister]], the [[Premier of Nephis|Nephis premier]]. The strike was carried out at the behest of [[Dark Moon Enterprises]], one of the security contractors controlled by Intrepid Eye. The ancilla's goal was to kidnap the survivors of the [[Barugi Incident]] so that the antibodies their bodies had made against [[asteroidea merozoite]] could be cultured and reproduced. Eventually, she intended to undertake a massive culling of the human species wherein only those deemed worthy would have been inoculated with a vaccine to the merozoites of asteroidea ahead of time.{{Ref/Reuse|R21}} Dark Moon used a combination of Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar, and humans to hit the ''Donoma'' in order to frame the Keepers.{{Ref/Reuse|R16}} Veta Lopis and her Ferret team were summoned to the schooner to investigate it by Rear Admiral [[Serin Osman]] and based on their findings, they concluded that the Keepers did indeed seem to be the responsible party. Operation: RETRIBUTION was henceforth set into motion with the objectives of both rescuing the captured Tuwas and getting justice for Admiral Graselyn Tuwa, who had been brutally murdered during the assault.{{Ref/Reuse|R2}} ==Operation== ===Making a scene=== {{Quote|no=two|q1=You're stalling.|Ross Nyeto|q2=The Spartans are coming for ''us'' and you think I'm stalling?|Veta Lopis|Veta rebuffs the Goliath's suspicion.}}{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} On [[2553#December|December 12, 2553]], Phase One of the operation saw Veta's [[Ferret]] team and the legendary team of [[Spartan-II]]s, [[Blue Team]], deployed to [[New Tyne]], [[Venezia]].{{Ref/Reuse|R1}}{{Ref/Reuse|R4}} ONI sources within the city had reported that a Keeper gunrunning crew was in port looking for cargo.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R3|Ret|Chapter=3}} In order to trick these Keepers into approaching Veta's team, they would need to create a public scene that would pique their suspects' interests in them. For the past few days, the UNSC had been making a show of stopping and boarding [[S77 Crow|Crow]]s and specifically pretending to be on the lookout for one with [[Archer missile]]s or [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon#Mini-MAC|Mini-MAC]]s. In addition, a story of the {{UNSCShip|Taulanti}} being hit and having ten [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK]] [[nuclear weapon]]s stolen was permitted to spread. These things were done so that the Ferrets could present themselves as the [[piracy|pirates]] who had raided the ''Taulanti''. In order to really sell the idea that the UNSC was desperate to recover the nukes and that they had indeed been the ones to take them, the plan was for it to appear as if Veta and the [[Spartan-III]]s just barely escaped when Blue Team arrived.{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} [[File:Venezia.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Venezia is home to all manner of pirates, [[salvager]]s, [[Insurrectionist|rebels]], and others looking to get away from their respective governments.{{Ref/Novel|MorDi|Chapter=2}}]] To this end, Veta's [[Spartan]]s disguised themselves to look older than their actual ages and to look like street punks that fit the profile of those belonging to a pirate gang. They got a table at the [[Trattoria Georgi]], where they knew a gunrunner known as "the Goliath" would be that evening.{{Ref/Note|Though the time at which Veta approached Nyeto was only a little after 1430 hours [[Military Standard Time|MST]], it was evening in New Tyne at that time.}} Veta approached the Goliath, who was in fact [[Ross Nyeto]], the son of [[Ross Nyeto|a famous]] [[lieutenant commander]] that had defected from the [[UNSC Navy]] to take up the cause of the [[Insurrection]]. She revealed that she knew who he was to set him and his three men on edge and offered to pay for the transport of her crew aboard one of his {{class|Razor|prowler}}s, the ''[[Ghost Flag]]''.{{Ref/Note|[[Hector Nyeto]] and his theft of the Prowlers, including the ''Ghost Flag'', happened during [[Operation: SILENT STORM]] in [[2526]] as seen in ''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]''.}} Nyeto was resistant to her offer since he was not accustomed to transporting people as opposed to contraband and also had little interest in being paid in [[boson bead]]s, which she had produced whilst stating her case. The beads did, however, provoke [[Marco|one of Nyeto's men]] to place a beefy hand over Veta's when she tried to gather them up off the gunrunners' table. Veta did not hesitate to use a pain-compliance technique on the man that caused all eyes in the restaurant to focus on them and for some patrons to nervously exit. Her Spartans also drew their sidearms at this time. The situation was diffused by the owner of the establishment, [[Georgi Baklanov]], who assured his wary customers that the Goliath would be paying for everyone's tabs. Veta noticed [[Gyasi|two]] [[Ruuht]]ian [[Kig-Yar]] take their seats at a table closer to her than the one they had been at previously, and surmised from this that they could be affiliates of the Keepers and therefore the ones this whole show was for. Continuing her conversation with Nyeto, she casually let it be known to all within earshot that the reason her crew needed transportation was due to a problem with their [[S77 Crow]], which also had been modified to sport Archer missiles and a mini-MAC. The Goliath put the pieces together immediately and changed his tune, now making an offer of his own wherein he would take them to their destination in exchange for ten of the ''Taulanti's'' nukes.{{Ref/Reuse|R1}} Feeling that the narrative about who she and her team were had been effectively communicated, she signaled Blue Team to move into position by working a certain phrase into her talk with Nyeto. They would be breaching the trattoria in four minutes and it did not take long before lookouts paid by Baklanov spotted [[M121 Jackrabbit]]s driven by [[Frederic-104]] and [[Kelly-087]] turning onto [[Via Notoli]]. The place cleared out due to fear of the encroaching Spartans and threats from its owner. Among those that hurriedly left were the two suspicious Kig-Yar. Now all the [[Ferret]]s had to worry about was making their escape convincing. A deal was struck between Veta and the Goliath, who came up with the idea to have his [[Jiralhanae]] bodyguard, [[Picus]], knock a hole in one of the exterior walls so that they wouldn't be flushed right through a doorway where an ONI [[sniper]] could be waiting for them. Things would have gone well enough had Baklanov interfered by making it clear that such an affront to his building would not be tolerated. He believed that he only needed to turn over these troublemakers to the Spartans to make them go away. He and his henchmen drew on Veta's team and though she convinced him he was in danger as well, it was too late. The delay made it so that her team was still present when Fred and Kelly crashed their Jackrabbits through the Georgi's front window and began a firefight. In the carefully-controlled engagement that resulted, [[Mark-G313]] was hit in the shoulder and everyone but Veta, Ross, and the [[Spartans]] were killed, including Georgi Baklanov, who was shot by Kelly as a target of opportunity as soon as she rolled away from her vehicle. Picus did manage to create an exit before being taken out by [[Linda-058]], who had been well aware that Veta and others weren't going to be coming out a door thanks to all the UNSC operatives being linked via an encrypted comm net. Nyeto glimpsed Linda briefly nodding at Veta before the Spartan-II knocked him out with a clean strike to the hinge of his jaw with her [[assault rifle]]. The Ferrets sprinted away from the wreckage of the restaurant, as Blue Team could only give them so much time before the need to make all this believable required that they pursue. Linda did fire a single shot at the fleeing "pirates" that tore into one of [[Olivia-G291]]'s thighs before giving her full attention to securing Nyeto for transport to an ONI interrogation facility. Capturing the Goliath had not been a primary objective of the operation, but it was a bonus. A shallow-draft airboat had been left floating on the water beneath a trapdoor in a building ahead of the running Ferrets. The plan was for them to use it to escape through the swamp that this part of New Tyne had been built on. Before they could reach it, however, a tri-wheeled minivan driven by a Kig-Yar screeched to a halt in front of the Ferrets. The side door opened, and another Jackal told them to climb inside if they wanted to live.{{Ref/Novel|Id=R1|Ret|Chapter=1}} ===Among the enemy=== {{Quote|no=three|q1=Lopis can handle this, ma'am.|Fred-104|q2=You sound pretty sure of that. Why?|Serin Osman|q3=Because she has a good team. The Kig-Yar will never have a chance to deploy that gas.|Fred-104|Fred and Osman during the discussion of whether or not to exfiltrate the Ferrets.}}{{Ref/Reuse|R4}} Veta threw open the passenger's side door and climbed in whilst the Spartan-IIIs entered the back where two Kig-Yar were. The van then sped away toward the [[New Tyne Airfield]]. The driver revealed herself to be [[Sarch|Chur'R-Sarch]], commander of her own starship. As the minivan approached [[Ziggy's Hangar]] at the airfield, Sarch told Veta she wanted the same deal that had been given to the Goliath: phase pearls in exchange for transportation. The Kig-Yar steered the van to the back corner of the hangar past several craft before arriving at [[Stolen Faith|a]] [[Mudoat starsloop]], parking the vehicle in a parking bay within its cargo hold. Veta was still unsure whether these Kig-Yar were members or even associates of the Keepers of the One Freedom, but given that most Kig-Yar on Venezia had at least a casual relationship with the group, the chances were good. In order to keep up appearances, Veta urged that they hurry in leaving. She stated that she wished to be taken to [[Shamsa]] to meet the [[Banished]] there. Chur'R-Sarch bristled at this and said that by no means would she allow them to sell their HAVOKs to the Banished. To Veta, this reaction implied a sense of rivalry which all but confirmed to her that they were on the right track and this gang could lead them to the Keepers. Lopis adamantly maintained that they must be taken to Shamsa and threatened to find someone else who could accommodate her wishes. When it seemed to Sarch that the humans were about to walk right off the ship, she relented and said she could take them. It