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Operation: RETRIBUTION: Difference between revisions
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Veta threw open the passenger's side door and climbed in and the Spartan-IIIs entered the back where two Kig-Yar were. The van 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 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 was obvious to Veta and Olivia, however, that Sarch had no such intentions and would probably double-cross them at the opportune moment. Even Veta's stipulation that she only pay half of what she would have to Nyeto for the ''Ghost Flag'' went unchallenged, which only made this conclusion more likely.<ref name="R3"/> | Veta threw open the passenger's side door and climbed in and the Spartan-IIIs entered the back where two Kig-Yar were. The van 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 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 was obvious to Veta and Olivia, however, that Sarch had no such intentions and would probably double-cross them at the opportune moment. Even Veta's stipulation that she only pay half of what she would have to Nyeto for the ''Ghost Flag'' went unchallenged, which only made this conclusion more likely.<ref name="R3"/> | ||
Over two hours later, the Kig-Yar vessel still had yet to jump to [[slipspace]]. It had been necessary to retrieve the HAVOKs and bring them aboard after the deal was struck. Unknown to the Jackals, each of them was inoperable and one was in reality a disguised starship emergency locator beacon, or "slipbeacon". Once they arrived at a new destination, it would be able to transmit that location to the {{UNSCship|Silent Joe}}, the {{Class|Sahara|heavy prowler}} that had brought them to Venezia and which Blue Team was aboard. Around an hour after first arriving at Ziggy's hangar, [[spy gnat]]s covertly place by [[Ash-G099]] transmitted a conversation between Chur'R-Sarch and her crew in the form of a microburst of data to the ''Silent Joe''. Rear Admiral Osman, Blue Team, and the ship's captain and senior intelligence analyst were present to overhear the Kig-Yar planning to deliver their cargo straight to the Keepers and to murder their guests with [[ostanalus]] gas. Captain [[Piers Ewen]] believed they had no choice but to extract the Ferrets, which was seconded by [[Anki Hersh]]. Fred was confident in the team's abilities and believed they could handle themselves. Osman and the Spartan-IIs were the only ones that knew about the [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|unique augmentations]] Mark, Ash, and Olivia had undergone that marked them as members of the [[SPARTAN-III program]]'s [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]]. The decision was made to withhold from interfering due to Fred's confidence and a sense of owing it to [[Admiral]] [[Graselyn Tuwa|Tuwa]] to take risks in order to see her family returned safely.<ref name="R4">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''chapter 4''</ref> | Over two hours later, the Kig-Yar vessel still had yet to jump to [[slipspace]]. It had been necessary to retrieve the HAVOKs and bring them aboard after the deal was struck. Unknown to the Jackals, each of them was inoperable and one was in reality a disguised starship emergency locator beacon, or "slipbeacon". Once they arrived at a new destination, it would be able to transmit that location to the {{UNSCship|Silent Joe}}, the {{Class|Sahara|heavy prowler}} that had brought them to Venezia and which Blue Team was aboard. Around an hour after first arriving at Ziggy's hangar, [[spy gnat]]s covertly place by [[Ash-G099]] transmitted a conversation between Chur'R-Sarch and her crew in the form of a microburst of data to the ''Silent Joe''. Rear Admiral Osman, Blue Team, and the ship's captain and senior intelligence analyst were present to overhear the Kig-Yar planning to deliver their cargo straight to the Keepers and to murder their guests with [[ostanalus]] gas. Captain [[Piers Ewen]] believed they had no choice but to extract the Ferrets, which was seconded by [[Lieutenant]] [[Anki Hersh]]. Fred was confident in the team's abilities and believed they could handle themselves. Osman and the Spartan-IIs were the only ones that knew about the [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|unique augmentations]] Mark, Ash, and Olivia had undergone that marked them as members of the [[SPARTAN-III program]]'s [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]]. The decision was made to withhold from interfering due to Fred's confidence and a sense of owing it to [[Admiral]] [[Graselyn Tuwa|Tuwa]] to take risks in order to see her family returned safely.<ref name="R4">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''chapter 4''</ref> | ||
[[File:H2A M7S-SMG.png|250px|thumb|right|The Ferret team smuggled four [[M7S SMG|M7S submachine gun]]s onto the Kig-Yar ship within the deactivated HAVOK devices.<ref name="R6"/>]] | [[File:H2A M7S-SMG.png|250px|thumb|right|The Ferret team smuggled four [[M7S SMG|M7S submachine gun]]s onto the Kig-Yar ship within the deactivated HAVOK devices.<ref name="R6"/>]] | ||
The Kig-Yar's starsloop, ''[[Stolen Faith]]'', eventually departed Venezia for [[Pydoryn]] in the [[Shaps system]]. Having learned of the aliens' plan for them, the Ferrets devised a plan of their own. Before heading off to sleep, Mark secretly killed one crew member and switched out the ostanalus so that the dispersal of gas would be completely harmless. After it was released, the four humans played dead: Veta and Olivia in a sleeping compartment and Mark and Ash in the cargo hold, where they had been permitted to stay to guard the HAVOKs. All caught their would-be murderers by surprise. Veta and Olivia killed three Kig-Yar that came to check on them in their compartment and Mark and Ash did likewise to five more. Inside the casings of the inert nukes were four disassembled [[M7S SMG]]s and ammunition, which the Ferrets at this time put back together. With five Kig-Yar left aboard the ship to subdue, the females made for the flight deck where Chur-R-Sarch was sure to be while the boys went to put down any others. Veta and Olivia surprised one individual in the galley, who had no chance to defend himself whatsoever before three silenced rounds from Veta ended him. Sarch and a co-pilot were seated on the flight deck. The [[Chur'R]] was attempting to reason with Approach Control on the moon, [[Taram]], evidently the location of the Keepers' [[Salvation Base]]. The human on the other end of the communication channel was nervous about the Kig-Yar's stated intention to "deliver" nuclear devices to Castor. After being told they would have to wait for a vigilance squad to inspect their vessel, Sarch tossed her headset away in frustration and turned to find herself face-to-face with the human females. Olivia dropped the copilot as soon as she reached for something, presumably a weapon, but Sarch made excuses for why they had not traveled to Shamsa and denied ever trying to gas them. Her defenses fell away quickly, however, and once she was told they had been playing her all along, she said it was regretful the ostanalus did not work. She was shot and killed while diving for her copilot's controls.<ref name="R6">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''chapter 6''</ref> | The Kig-Yar's starsloop, ''[[Stolen Faith]]'', eventually departed Venezia for [[Pydoryn]] in the [[Shaps system]]. Having learned of the aliens' plan for them, the Ferrets devised a plan of their own. Before heading off to sleep, Mark secretly killed one crew member and switched out the ostanalus so that the dispersal of gas would be completely harmless. After it was released, the four humans played dead: Veta and Olivia in a sleeping compartment and Mark and Ash in the cargo hold, where they had been permitted to stay to guard the HAVOKs. All caught their would-be murderers by surprise. Veta and Olivia killed three Kig-Yar that came to check on them in their compartment and Mark and Ash did likewise to five more. Inside the casings of the inert nukes were four disassembled [[M7S SMG]]s and ammunition, which the Ferrets at this time put back together. With five Kig-Yar left aboard the ship to subdue, the females made for the flight deck where Chur-R-Sarch was sure to be while the boys went to put down any others. Veta and Olivia surprised one individual in the galley, who had no chance to defend himself whatsoever before three silenced rounds from Veta ended him. Sarch and a co-pilot were seated on the flight deck. The [[Chur'R]] was attempting to reason with Approach Control on the moon, [[Taram]], evidently the location of the Keepers' [[Salvation Base]]. The human on the other end of the communication channel was nervous about the Kig-Yar's stated intention to "deliver" nuclear devices to Castor. After being told they would have to wait for a vigilance squad to inspect their vessel, Sarch tossed her headset away in frustration and turned to find herself face-to-face with the human females. Olivia dropped the copilot as soon as she reached for something, presumably a weapon, but Sarch made excuses for why they had not traveled to Shamsa and denied ever trying to gas them. Her defenses fell away quickly, however, and once she was told they had been playing her all along, she said it was regretful the ostanalus did not work. She was shot and killed while diving for her copilot's controls.<ref name="R6">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''chapter 6''</ref> | ||
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After Olivia had arrived at the Turaco, she had used an ONI override code to gain entry.<ref name="R9"/> Within, she encountered a [[smart AI|"smart" A.I.]] calling itself [[Argie]], which was, unbeknownst to her, actually a remote aspect of [[Intrepid Eye]] herself. Argie contested Olivia's presence onboard the craft, but the A.I. did not give her up when a [[Kig-Yar]] inspection party had come sniffing around while Olivia hid inside an [[vacuum suit|EVA suit]]. Olivia learned the Turaco belonged to [[Dark Moon Enterprises]] while searching for its name and transponder code. After over four hours had passed, she instructed Argie to put the ''Stolen Faith'' within view of one of its external cameras, but the construct refused to cooperate with even that simple request, even after being threatened with a complete system restore. Olivia manually followed through on her threat but even so, she knew the system resident AI would still be present once she turned the power back on. In that time without it, however, she peered out at the Keeper activity around the mudoat starsloop and wondered about how she would proceed if much more time went by without her hearing from anyone else.<ref name="R9"/> | After Olivia had arrived at the Turaco, she had used an ONI override code to gain entry.<ref name="R9"/> Within, she encountered a [[smart AI|"smart" A.I.]] calling itself [[Argie]], which was, unbeknownst to her, actually a remote aspect of [[Intrepid Eye]] herself. Argie contested Olivia's presence onboard the craft, but the A.I. did not give her up when a [[Kig-Yar]] inspection party had come sniffing around while Olivia hid inside an [[vacuum suit|EVA suit]]. Olivia learned the Turaco belonged to [[Dark Moon Enterprises]] while searching for its name and transponder code. After over four hours had passed, she instructed Argie to put the ''Stolen Faith'' within view of one of its external cameras, but the construct refused to cooperate with even that simple request, even after being threatened with a complete system restore. Olivia manually followed through on her threat but even so, she knew the system resident AI would still be present once she turned the power back on. In that time without it, however, she peered out at the Keeper activity around the mudoat starsloop and wondered about how she would proceed if much more time went by without her hearing from anyone else.<ref name="R9"/> | ||
[[File:H4-ONIProwlerShip-ScanRender.png|thumb|left|250px|{{Class|Sahara|heavy prowler}}s like the ''Silent Joe'' are stealth ships, equipped with systems that mask them from both visual and sensor detection.<ref name="catherine">''[[Spartan Ops]]'', [[S1/Catherine|''Catherine'']]</ref><ref name="R10"/><ref group="note">The [[prowler]] pictured here is the {{UNSCship|Aladdin}}, not the ''Silent Joe''.</ref>]] | [[File:H4-ONIProwlerShip-ScanRender.png|thumb|left|250px|{{Class|Sahara|heavy prowler}}s like the ''Silent Joe'' are stealth ships, equipped with systems that mask them from both visual and sensor detection.<ref name="catherine">''[[Spartan Ops]]'', [[S1/Catherine|''Catherine'']]</ref><ref name="R10"/><ref group="note">The [[prowler]] pictured here is the {{UNSCship|Aladdin}}, not the ''Silent Joe''.</ref>]] | ||
Shortly after arriving near Pydoryn, [[Blue Team]] was ready to deploy to Taram in ''[[Silent Claw]]'', and [[Owl]] [[dropship|insertion craft]].<ref name="R10"/> Before it could leave, however, the team was recalled by Captain Ewen to the situation room. There, the Spartans were made aware of the big picture regarding the status of the operation. The Keepers' fleet had been visibly mobilized around Taram, indicating that the group was expecting trouble. In addition, recordings from the spy gnats within the ''Stolen Faith'' painted an unclear picture of what had happened after the Ferrets had been led off the ship. They indicated to those on the ''Silent Joe'' that the Keepers may have simply been preparing for the Banished assault they thought would be coming, but the sounds of gasping and wailing that followed the point at which the ship had landed were impossible to draw conclusions from. What had made the captain recall them just then, however, had been a microburst of data from just minutes ago. It confirmed that the Keepers had discovered the gnats, since they spoke of them and then presumably destroyed them. But more importantly, it confirmed [[Castor]] was present. Owing to his position as one of the Keepers' most important [[dokab]]s, Ewen was faced with a decision to make regarding the furtherance of the mission. There was nothing to suggest the Ferrets had accomplished their objectives or were even still alive, and if the ''Silent Joe'' pinged their TEAMCOM, it was likely that it would be giving away its position to every Keeper ship in the area. The best option left to them, Ewen thought, might have been to simply eliminate Salvation base with [[Shiva-class nuclear missile]]s. All three Spartans of Blue team strongly opposed this idea, but Fred conceded that he understood the captain's perspective and signaled for Linda and Kelly to stand down. Preparations were made for a launch against the base, but the captain stopped just short of giving the final authorization. He made sure Fred understood that even if they could know any of their own were still alive down there, Blue Team wouldn't be deployed to the surface unless it furthered the goals of their mission. Once Fred stated that he was in agreement regarding that point, Ewen told | Shortly after arriving near Pydoryn, [[Blue Team]] was ready to deploy to Taram in ''[[Silent Claw]]'', and [[Owl]] [[dropship|insertion craft]].<ref name="R10"/> Before it could leave, however, the team was recalled by Captain Ewen to the situation room. There, the Spartans were made aware of the big picture regarding the status of the operation. The Keepers' fleet had been visibly mobilized around Taram, indicating that the group was expecting trouble. In addition, recordings from the spy gnats within the ''Stolen Faith'' painted an unclear picture of what had happened after the Ferrets had been led off the ship. They indicated to those on the ''Silent Joe'' that the Keepers may have simply been preparing for the Banished assault they thought would be coming, but the sounds of gasping and wailing that followed the point at which the ship had landed were impossible to draw conclusions from. What had made the captain recall them just then, however, had been a microburst of data from just minutes ago. It confirmed that the Keepers had discovered the gnats, since they spoke of them and then presumably destroyed them. But more importantly, it confirmed [[Castor]] was present. Owing to his position as one of the Keepers' most important [[dokab]]s, Ewen was faced with a decision to make regarding the furtherance of the mission. There was nothing to suggest the Ferrets had accomplished their objectives or were even still alive, and if the ''Silent Joe'' pinged their TEAMCOM, it was likely that it would be giving away its position to every Keeper ship in the area. The best option left to them, Ewen thought, might have been to simply eliminate Salvation base with [[Shiva-class nuclear missile]]s. All three Spartans of Blue team strongly opposed this idea, but Fred conceded that he understood the captain's perspective and signaled for Linda and Kelly to stand down. Preparations were made for a launch against the base, but the captain stopped just short of giving the final authorization. He made sure Fred understood that even if they could know any of their own were still alive down there, Blue Team wouldn't be deployed to the surface unless it furthered the goals of their mission. Once Fred stated that he was in agreement regarding that point, Ewen told [[Anki Hersh]] to signal the Ferret team. Olivia responded to their probe with a message wherein she informed them that she was alone within a captured Turaco and had been waiting for more than five hours to hear from the rest of her teammates. After the briefest mention of [[Argie]], whom she named an "uncooperative AI", the message cut out since Argie had terminated the connection in response. In what little she had been able to verbalize, however, she had given enough to hint through precisely-chosen language that [[Dark Moon Enterprises]] might have been involved in what was happening. It didn't take long for the Keepers to get a bead on the ''Silent Joe'''s location following the communication and relocating became necessary. The contact with Olivia convinced Captain Ewen that sending in Blue Team was now justified, since he wanted to know if Dark Moon truly was involved and why. Recovering the Turaco also was added as a new mission objective.<ref name="R10"/> | ||
Meanwhile, after taking just six steps from the grotto mouth, the mysterious waves had vanished from Ash's sight.<ref name="R11"/> He also was suddenly faced with the large crowd of Keepers surrounding the ''Stolen Faith''. To his further surprise, when he activated his microphone once more to contact his team, this time he was greeted with an acknowledgement from Olivia. She confirmed she was aboard the Turaco and told him that he wasn't going to believe [[Dark Moon Enterprises|who]] it belonged to. Ash figured she could pick him up from where he was, but Olivia let him know that Veta and Mark were still unaccounted for. Ash decided he would try to find them and that Olivia could then pick them all up at once, but Olivia let him know that he might not have to do that on his own, since Blue Team's arrival was imminent. This confused Ash, since he was still under the impression that only minutes had passed since the they had all gone their separate ways. He was unable to see how Olivia thought she could just hold her position for around five hours when a large crowd of agitated Keepers was already relatively nearby. Olivia, likewise, was puzzled by what had taken Ash so long and when he stated that it had only been around fifteen minutes, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for him and he asked for the time from 'Livi. His suspicions were confirmed and he relayed his conclusion to her: a time differential evidently existed between the contemplarium and the rest of Salvation Base. Since finding the Inspector and Mark could take hours from the perspective of those on the outside, Ash turned and rushed back to it with haste in order to find them as soon as possible.<ref name="R11"/> | Meanwhile, after taking just six steps from the grotto mouth, the mysterious waves had vanished from Ash's sight.<ref name="R11"/> He also was suddenly faced with the large crowd of Keepers surrounding the ''Stolen Faith''. To his further surprise, when he activated his microphone once more to contact his team, this time he was greeted with an acknowledgement from Olivia. She confirmed she was aboard the Turaco and told him that he wasn't going to believe [[Dark Moon Enterprises|who]] it belonged to. Ash figured she could pick him up from where he was, but Olivia let him know that Veta and Mark were still unaccounted for. Ash decided he would try to find them and that Olivia could then pick them all up at once, but Olivia let him know that he might not have to do that on his own, since Blue Team's arrival was imminent. This confused Ash, since he was still under the impression that only minutes had passed since the they had all gone their separate ways. He was unable to see how Olivia thought she could just hold her position for around five hours when a large crowd of agitated Keepers was already relatively nearby. Olivia, likewise, was puzzled by what had taken Ash so long and when he stated that it had only been around fifteen minutes, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place for him and he asked for the time from 'Livi. His suspicions were confirmed and he relayed his conclusion to her: a time differential evidently existed between the contemplarium and the rest of Salvation Base. Since finding the Inspector and Mark could take hours from the perspective of those on the outside, Ash turned and rushed back to it with haste in order to find them as soon as possible.<ref name="R11"/> | ||