Daro – deep within the Imperial facility
After destroying the shield generator, Blue Team was soon engaged by at least a 100 stormtroopers outfitted with rifles and electric batons. But they were easily dispatched by Echo holding up his portable shield and Hardcase going to town with his minigun while taking cover behind the older ARC trooper.
In the meantime, Jesse and Fives had snuck around through the ventilation shafts and flanked the stormtroopers bringing up the rear. Throwing smoke cannisters, the ARC troopers enabled their newly equipped thermal vision before systematically cutting through the TK trooper ranks. After taking out an entire company of stormtroopers, a video announcement was made through the base's internal comms stations.
It was Palpatine, and he was telling Blue Team to come face him in his throne room. Attaching the co-ordinates, the elite team stormed through the base, decimating any resistance they faced. But just before entering the final stretch, Chief saw something; a door with the name Project Orion on it. Taking the clone troopers with him, the soldiers left Anakin to go deal with the knock-off spartan program.
In the meantime, Skywalker continued to go deal with the man responsible for all of this. Marching through the door, Anakin looked up to see Darth Sidious sitting in his throne, looking down on the Jedi Knight. Suddenly, Kenobi dropped in behind him from the ventilation shaft, the bearded general had traced Shaak's Force signature to this room and wasn't surprised to find Palpatine at the end of the trail. "It's over Palpatine, your armies have fallen and you are outnumbered."
"My boy, you have yet to even grasp the full nature of your predicament." Sidious spoke with his slimy voice, resulting in both Anakin and Obi-wan observing the rest of the room. Noticing his master's eyes glued to the corner of the room, Anakin turned his gaze to see both Ahsoka and Shaak Ti bloodied and broken in the corner of the room. Their clothes mostly ripped and torn, the only thing keeping their dignity being their undergarments. Palpatine had not just defeated them, he had humiliated them and put the two females on display for the pair to see.
Feeling the rage build up inside of Anakin, Obi-wan placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Anakin, don't give in to your emotions. That's what he wants, that's how he's going to try and turn you again."
Taking a deep breath, Skywalker calmed down, the hate simmering just beneath the surface but still retaining control. Suddenly a blur sped across the room, the only detail the Jedi could pick up being a glint of silver reflecting the few lights in the dark room. Concluding that this was the monster that defeated Shaak, Kenobi ignited his saber, followed by Skywalker.
Out of nowhere, two crimson blades flew towards the pair in a haze of black and red. As the two Jedi fiercely engaged the inquisitor, Obi-wan soon found himself purely defending while Anakin was doing most of the work. But it wasn't enough, as a massive wave of Force lightning erupted from the Sith warrior, Kenobi was sent flying backwards while Anakin blocked the onslaught with his saber. Worn out and exhausted, Obi-wan tried to get back up but was soon knocked out by another wave of lightning.
Using the Force, Anakin pulled his master's lightsaber from his unconscious body and ignited the second blade. As the duel progressed back and forth across the room, the two were evenly matched. The inquisitor channeling as much dark side and Anakin was channeling light. With an aggressive flick of his wrists, Skywalker knocked both the inquisitor's lightsabers out of his hand. Kicking his legs out from underneath him, Anakin demanded to know who he was. Hearing an evil laugh from the back of the room, Palpatine came back into view.
"He is everything you failed to become, my replacement for you should you ever have turned against me. My new apprentice... Starkiller." The Emperor said with a sadistic grin, showing his golden teeth. Before Anakin could even process what was happening, Starkiller produced his silver claws on each hand and stabbed the Jedi in the legs. Twisting the blades and bringing Anakin crashing to the ground, the Sith warrior pulled one of his sabers back to his hand. Raising the blade to kill the Chosen One, Starkiller was moments away from securing Palpatine his long-awaited victory when...
Time skip (back to when the team split up)
Entering the dark room, the soldiers noticed how it was more of a large open storeroom. But when the lights turned on and fully illuminated the space, Blue Team immediately came under fire as heavily armoured warriors shot at them from their fortified position.
Running for cover behind some nearby crates, the GAR troopers looked across to see a dozen warriors clad in white metallic armour with dark grey details covering their bodies. Wielding modified DC-15a rifles, their red bolts screamed towards the clones and spartan. Returning fire, Chief saw how the Imperial forces each had personal shields, just like him.
Ordering the clones to throw all their grenades, a volley of silver spheres lobbed through the air and landed behind the Imperials' cover. As the EMP grenades detonated, the spartans' shields were fried, soon followed by the thermal detonators engulfing them in flames.
Pushing up from their cover, the Republic troopers inspected the burnt corpses, noticing how the Imperial armour was much more focused on performance enhancement than actual protection. This was likely due to the spartans not having as strong or aggressive augmentations, making them need the extra boost from the armour. The result of this was only a few armoured panels and a thick bodysuit that insulated the wearer from extreme temperatures and toxic atmospheres. However, this bodysuit offered almost zero protection from blaster fire, blades or explosives, rather leaving that part to the enhanced shield that each spartan was equipped with.
But before Blue Team could further inspect the dead spartans, a large blast door opened up on the side of the room as a menacing red light encompassed the room. Other than the light, there was nothing to be seen, no army of spartans or stormtroopers, just an empty tunnel. Then they heard it, thunderous stomps as a large mechanical beast marched down the corridor.
It was massive, towering at least 4 maybe 5 meters in height and brimming with armour, the mech was the stuff of nightmares. Equipped with a missile rack on its left arm, quad Z-6 rotary cannons on the right and featuring an advanced rocket array on each shoulder. Painted in the same colour scheme as the Imperial spartans, the mech was soon flanked by a full squad of TK troopers and another six spartans.
Running for the door, Blue Team immediately opened fire on the advancing Imperials before noticing that the mech had its own personal shield generator. "Fives, we need to buy some time, you and Echo figure out how to close this door!" Chief commanded as the two ARC troopers ran back into the room to try and close the door.
Thankfully, there was just a simple off switch that Echo could just hack before permanently disabling the door. However, given the amount of ordinance the armoured beast was packing, there wasn't much time left. Running around and looking for anything that could give them a fighting chance, Hardcase luckily found a small armoury that contained some rocket launchers and more grenades.
As each clone trooper grabbed two rocket launchers and took up a defensive position, Chief looked around and found a prototype weapon that might work on the mech. Reading the description, it was a large shoulder mounted laser cannon that focused energy from a kyber crystal through a series of lenses before firing in one immense blast. But given the amount of heat and energy released, the gun would need a few seconds to cool down before charging up for the next shot. Throwing the large laser on his back, Chief joined the four clones just in time as the door was blown off of its hinges and blaster fire erupted from both sides of the storage room.
The stormtroopers were fairly easy to take care off, their inferior armour and brute force tactics being no match for Blue Team's fortified position and heavy weapons. When the spartans started to come through the door, Jesse and Echo each fired their first rocket launchers, dealing massive damage to the Imperial forces, but only taking out the spartans' shields. However, Hardcase soon opened up with his minigun and mowed down the knock-off super-soldiers as blue bolts tore through their bodysuits.
In the meantime, the mech was easily shrugging off any weapon the clones threw at it; blasters, grenades, even rockets were no use against the combination of thick armour and shields. "Pathetic clones, always trying to fight against me. Now you will see the full power of this mech!"
It was Tarkin, he was piloting the mech, enraging Chief. Taking out the laser, Chief powered up a shot and took aim, the red laser lighting up the entire room as molten plasma burned through the air and hitting Tarkin's mech directly in the centre. But it only took out the shields and a small chunk of armour. Laughing through the mech's speakers, the Admiral opened fire with the quad machine guns, landing several hits on Chief before being interrupted by Fives leaping from one of the platforms onto the mech.
With a grenade in hand, the ARC trooper planted the thermal detonator in between the joints of the mech's left arm. Rolling off the giant robotic body, Fives landed on the metallic floor with a heavy thud and a large groan. Just before Tarkin could step on the clone, Fives detonated the explosive, sending the mech sprawling off to the side as the missile arm ripped itself from the main body.
Seeing his opening, Chief fired another blast from the massive laser, illuminating the whole room once more in a sea of red light. Landing the perfect hit in the armour gap, the mech started tumbling off to the side before collapsing on the ground. At this point, all the other spartans had been eliminated and the last remaining TK troopers were running for their lives as they witnessed their commanding officer's mech crash into the floor.
As Chief ripped off the hatch to the mech, Tarkin still tried to fight by firing his blaster pistol into the spartan's head, but to no avail. Grabbing the Admiral by his collar, Chief plucked the officer out of the cockpit as Tarkin screamed a long line of curses and insults. How was this happening to him? He had tried at almost every turn to get this pain in the ass of a spartan killed or thrown in prison, but every time Chief would just bounce back with more support from the Jedi and clones. Dropping him to the floor, Blue Team surrounded the Admiral, but Tarkin had one last play.
Taking out a vibroblade from his pocket, the Admiral lunged at the nearest trooper as he plunged his blade into Jesse's torso. But before he could even get the third stab in, a blue bolt erupted from his stomach as the Imperial officer dropped off the clone trooper. Looking around, Tarkin saw the smoking barrel of Fives pointing right at him as the ARC trooper stared with hate at the Imperial officer.
But the most terrifying thing was the massive green goliath walking emotionlessly towards him, his every step echoing through the room. Picking him up by the neck, Chief looked into the petrified eyes of Tarkin before punching his other hand straight through Tarkin's heart, causing a cascade of blood spewing across the metallic floor. With his last breath exiting his mouth, 117 dropped the lifeless corpse of Tarkin to the ground as he rushed to Jesse's side where the other three troopers were already admitting as much first-aid as they could.
"We need to find General Skywalker and evac now. Once we're back on the Autumn, we can regroup with the rest of Blue Team and come back down." Chief commanded, Jesse was losing blood fast and Chief had a feeling that there were more surprises lurking around the Imperial base in tunnels and hidden rooms. Picking up the wounded ARC trooper between them, Hardcase and Echo carried their brother while Chief led the way. Fives would be bringing up the rear to make sure that they weren't ambushed from behind.
Following the hallway back to where they parted ways with Skywalker, the group walked up to a doorway when they heard the sound of lightsabers clashing before an agonizing scream. Slowly opening the door, Chief saw a mysterious figure with a crimson blade standing victorious over Skywalker. Not hesitating for a moment, Chief charged the massive laser one last time before firing lighting up the whole room as molten plasma streaked towards the mysterious Sith, sending him flying across the room and deep into the back wall.
Rushing in with Fives in tow, 117 dropped the laser and raised his assault rifle to secure the room while Fives checked the general. It was bad, Anakin had severe stab wounds across both legs and probably a broken femur one either side. But then Chief heard a loud shout from Fives; "SHAAK!!"
Tracing the ARC trooper running towards the bloodied bodies of Shaak Ti and Ahsoka Tano, 117 saw General Kenobi regaining consciousness on the floor. Effortlessly dragging Skywalker with him, Chief arrived at Obi-wan's position and asked for a situation report. But before the bearded general could warn him, purple lightning bolts danced across Chief's broad back as Palpatine fired lighting from on top of his throne.
Shrugging off the intense warning signals jumping up across his HUD, Chief slowly got up and started advancing towards the Sith lord's elevated position before getting Force pushed across the room by the mystery Sith assassin. Getting out of the crater in the wall, Chief tried firing his assault rifle at the assassin but he was too fast, literally dodging the blaster bolts as he darted towards the spartan. Producing razor sharp claws from his hands, Chief barely managed to catch one hand as it swung at his chest before crushing the claws. But the second hand had found its mark, cutting across Chief's helmet and leaving a massive crack spanning the entire visor. As orange/golden shards fell to the floor, 117 was unrelenting as he headbutted his opponent before punching him a few meters away.
"Starkiller, stop playing with your prey, end him." Palpatine spat from his throne as he watched the show-off between the two deadliest assassins in the entire galaxy. In the meantime, Obi-wan had fully woken up and was shuffling his way over to his former apprentice. Outstretching his hands, Kenobi channeled all the Force within him as he felt the broken bones and muscles within Anakin start to repair themselves. With a grunt of discomfort escaping Anakin's lips, the Chosen One was back on his feet and ready for a fight.
"Anakin, I was wrong. The entire Council was wrong, though they never realized it. You gain strength from your emotions, you always have. So let go Anakin, break the chains of the Jedi and Sith, Light and Dark. Finish this fight, bring peace to the galaxy." Obi-wan said , exhaustion pouring from his lips before turning to Fives and telling him that they have to get Shaak and Ahsoka out of there. Not needing to be told twice, the ARC trooper swung the love of his life over his shoulders before heading out to join Hardcase and Echo who expressed concerned faces as the saw two of their favourite Jedi officers bloody and barely conscious getting hauled out of the room.
Back inside, Anakin and Chief were fearlessly staring down Palpatine and Starkiller, tension filling the atmosphere. Deep inside Palpatine could feel something different within Skywalker, pure raw power pouring from his Force signature as if he wasn't just critically injured by Starkiller. Blasting the biggest wave of Force lighting he had ever produced, Anakin merely held up his hand as he deflected the blast to the walls. Realizing the only chance he was going to have against the Chosen One was with his apprentice backing him up, Palpatine pressed a button on his sleeve as a dozen Imperial spartans abseiled from the pitch black roof, equipped with spears, axes and swords.
Ordering his minions to handle the Master Chief, the room exploded into an intense fight as Chief started to engage his Imperial counterparts and Skywalker dueling both Palpatine and Starkiller at the same time. As the fight between Project Ares and Project Orion dragged back out into the hallway, Chief realized that there was only one way this all ended today. Throwing his last smoke grenade before ducking into one of the rooms, Chief sent out a signal to Captain Rex reading; 'Bravo Foxtrot Echo Romeo November'.
Up on the upper levels Rex received the transmission as his eyes widened in surprise. That callsign literally translated to 'Big Fucking Explosion, Retreat Now'. Pulling Appo behind cover and relaying the message, all members of the 501st were soon running out and getting on gunships as they pulled back. Calling Wolffe and telling him the message, the Wolfpack were also pulling out along with the troopers stationed at the massive ion cannon. Confused, General Secura asked why they were retreating, to which Rex replied. "Ma'am, if the Chief says there's gonna be a big explosion. There is going to be a BIG explosion."
Back inside, Palpatine was starting to tire out, the dark-side of the Force could only sustain him for so long and Anakin was not slowing down in the slightest. Every strike was more powerful than the last and any Force ability used on him was merely just deflected back at him. Starkiller had done well but his arrogance and lack of experience had started to outweigh his brutality and ferocity. Something that the Jedi capitalized on, landing a successful slice that cost the Sith apprentice to lose both his arms before Anakin brought his saber down on Starkiller's head, ending him.
Now it was only the Sith Lord and the Chosen One, two polar opposites. But the loss of Starkiller had enraged Sidious beyond anything remotely reasonable. Not only had he lost his prized pupil a few weeks ago to that Naboo bitch, but now that same traitorous slime had killed the next best thing as well. With renewed hate coursing through his veins, Palpatine's onslaught intensified. Reinvigorated by the sheer hate towards Anakin Skywalker, Sidious' attacks became even more vicious and unpredictable, resulting in him landing multiple near hits on Skywalker, singeing his black robes on the sleeves and chest.
But then Palpatine made a critical error in his strategy, previously he would taunt his opponents to put them off-balance. Verbally and mentally attacking their emotions and vulnerabilities. To the uneducated this may seem sadistic, cruel and/or grotesque, but it was actually a cunning strategy that had given the Sith Lord the edge multiple times before. But this time it just didn't work.
"When I'm done with you, I am going to kill Kenobi, that whelp Tano before tainting your offspring and making them my new slaves. Oh, and while I do that I will take your beloved Padme, tie her down and..."
Furious, Anakin let out a primal roar akin to that of a wild beast, the air around him turning into a ferocious wind, kicking up the dust and causing a small storm to form within the throne room. Advancing on Palpatine, Anakin brought his saber down, then again, and again, and again. Each blow draining the Sith Lord of his last few ounces of strength before Anakin knocked Palpatine's lightsaber out of his hand and kicking him in the face.
Stretching out his hand, Skywalker had finally unlocked his full potential, feeling the Force surround him, both Light and Dark, similar to his experience on Mortis. Channeling all the Dark side, Anakin sent a volley of Force power so unstoppable towards Palpatine that the Sith Lord literally erupted into flames as his shriveled body burnt from the inside out, finally putting an end the evil Lord of the Sith.
Chief was painfully making his way to the main reactor. And despite their downgrades, the Imperial spartans were still powerful and numerous enough to put up a massive fight against the Master Chief. Barely making it to the end of the reactor room, the bruised and exhausted spartan started hastily typing away at the controls when suddenly three Imperial spartans launched themselves at Chief. Turning around just in time, 117 blocked the downwards slash from the 1st spartan but the 2nd and 3rd had found their mark.
One had grabbed Chief's arm while the other brought a large hammer down upon the elbow joint, shattering the bones in Chief's left arm as he threw away the 1st attacker and stabbed the 2nd one in the neck with his vibroblade. In one powerful kick, Chief slammed the heel of his foot perfectly into the 3rd Imperial spartan's lower back where there was no armour plating, breaking their spine with a sickening crack.
But in that millisecond that he was open, a final Imperial super-soldier jumped into 117, impaling him with a long spear that had a vibro-blade at the front end. Bypassing Chief's already depleting shields and landing just beneath his chest plate, the spear pierced the spartan's right lung. With a heavy groan escaping his lips, 117 fell forwards on to the last Imperial spartan, his immense weight causing both of them to fall on the ground with Chief on top. Painfully sitting up, Chief sent a volley of powerful strikes with his right arm into the spartan's helmet, resulting in a shattered visor and a very dead opponent.
With every fibre of strength left in him, Chief got up and limped over to the controls once more. He was going to override the reactor core, sending explosions across the entire electrical grid, which according to the system, included almost every single Imperial base on Daro. That included the airstrip, the massive ion battery, at least two dozen smaller fortifications and of course, the main base itself.
Coughing furiously, blood escaped from Chief's mouth and covered his visor. Collapsing from the blood loss, Chief slumped up against the main console as Anakin rushed in while carrying the unconscious body of Barriss Offee across his back. "C'mon Chief, let's blow this place and get out of here!"
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm too heavy, even for you." Chief struggled to say before taking off his helmet. Looking into John's cold and calculating blue eyes, all Anakin saw was determination to finish the mission. Even without the emotionless helmet, Chief was as intimidating as they come. But in the end, he was still mortal, and he had pushed past his limits and then some. With a coarse unfiltered voice, Chief had one last request to make. "Sir, I'll man the console. Can you just do me one favour?"
"Anything spartan."
"Send me out *cough, cough* with a bang." Anakin smiled, a true warrior to the end. Setting the timer for 10 minutes, Anakin turned and saluted the spartan before running for safety. Just as Anakin left, Chief let out a deep exhale before reloading his pistol and ripping out his blade from the dead Imperial in front of him.
For the next 10 minutes, Chief engaged countless stormtroopers, clone commandos and Imperial spartans as he single-handedly held the line against the oppression of the Empire. Even as the facility started to tear itself apart, John kept firing his blaster. When that ran out, he tossed his knife with perfect precision into a charging spartan before the room was engulfed in a massive explosion, finally putting the spartan to rest.