Operation: RETRIBUTION: Difference between revisions

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|next=[[Draco III rebellion]]<ref>[[Jessica Shea]] on Twitter [https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/683713456873148418?lang=en]</ref>

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|date=[[2553#December|December 8–16, 2553]]<ref name="R2"/><ref name="R27">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''Chapter 27''</ref>

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 name="R1"/><ref name="R4"/> ONI sources within the city had reported that a Keeper gunrunning crew was in port looking for cargo.<ref name="R3">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''Chapter 3''</ref> 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]] [[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 name="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>''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref>]]

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 name="R1">''[[Halo: Retribution]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref>

===Out of time===

{{Quote|no=three|q1=Still here. But that's going to change when I'm back inside. There's a time differential ringing the spaceport.|Ash-G099|q2=Time differential? Like on [[Trevelyan|Onyx]]?|Olivia-G291|q3=I guess. It might even be a continuum warp. With as much artificial gravity as it takes to hold an atmosphere over the entire installation, that's a real possibility--especially since it's Forerunner tech.|Ash-G099|Ash shares his theory after figuring out something is off about how time is passing relative to the detention center within the contemplarium.}}<ref name="R11"/>

Shortly after reaching Pydoryn, [[Blue Team]] was ready to deploy to Taram in ''[[Silent Claw]]'', an [[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 M947 [[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"/>

===The cavalry's arrival===

{{Quote|Sorry we're late.|Lieutenant, Junior Grade Frederic-104 to Inspector Veta Lopis.}}<ref name="R15"/>

Midway through the ''[[Silent Claw]]'''s stealthy insertion, [[Damon]], a fifth-generation [[Dumb AI|"dumb" A.I.]] riding in Fred's [[Mjolnir]] armor, intercepted a recall order that went out from [[Taram]] to [[Fleet of Glory|the Keeper fleet]].<ref name="R14"/> All vessels which had launched from Salvation Base had suddenly been commanded to inexplicably return. For Blue Team and the Owl's pilot, [[Ashveld]], breaking comm silence to request an intelligence update from the ''Silent Joe'' would instantly alert the enemy to their presence. Though the ''Claw'' had already been detected in other ways, it was still outside of the visual range of any other ships and could pass itself off as one of them. In order to keep up this facade, Ashveld piloted them in as if they were part of the fleet. Plan Charlie had outlined that Blue Team would be inserted just over the horizon from Salvation Base and make its way there on [[M274 Mongoose]]s. The prime objective was then to secure the Turaco and if possible, the team would attempt to reactivate the nukes still on the ''Stolen Faith'' with the required tritium boosters and wipe the Keepers' base from the moon. Their Owl was eventually recognized for what it was, however, and began to be shot at. Plan Charlie changed in an instant to plan Delta, as they would now be dropping from the craft under heavy fire. One particular hit sent the ''Claw'' spinning after it had already entered the atmosphere. Knowing the dropship was doomed, the Spartans begin launching themselves from the rear compartment when they were just under seventy meters from the ground. Fred followed last, from a height of fifty meters.<ref name="R14"/>