!!!
At Cortana's warning, the Spartans looked up to see the night sky above Tatooine being torn apart by some unspeakable force.
In the instant the sky split open, every Spartan's helmet display automatically switched to Threat Recognition Mode, highlighting the dark red fissure streaking across the heavens.
From within the rift, massive monstrosities—somewhere between flesh and machine—began to push their way through the dimensional barrier. Their surfaces were covered in twitching nerve bundles and rusted metal plates. Thousands upon thousands of agonized human faces emerged and faded between the seams of their armor.
Beneath their helmets, many Spartans tensed up in visible shock and disbelief.
They could scarcely believe it—Chaos forces were pouring out of the Warp on a massive scale once again and had breached into Universe Designation "17." This development far exceeded their expectations.
According to Dr. Halsey's briefing, their entry into Universe "17" (Star Wars) was supposed to be a routine deployment—an opportunity for each of them to demonstrate their usual battlefield performance so that the Research and Biology Divisions could collect sufficient combat data.
Dr. Halsey's voice seemed to echo in their ears—
"Your objective is to gather standard combat data and test Mjolnir performance under live conditions. But for you? This should feel about as intense as a school field trip. Relax."
She'd even been casually twirling her stylus as she said it.
Even though Intelligence had confirmed that this universe contained Force users—Jedi and Sith—the threat was still deemed manageable.
Yet reality had just delivered a brutal blow.
Spartan 087, Kelly, noticed that grains of sand on the ground were now floating against the laws of gravity, suspended in midair since Tatooine's orbit had been "torn" by Chaos. The grains began forming blasphemous, constantly shifting sigils in the air.
More terrifyingly, her motion sensors and dynamic detection system were picking up more than a dozen "ally" signals blinking behind them.
But when she turned around, the landing pad was empty except for the Spartans.
Ghosts?
"Eyes up! Maintain formation!"
John-117's voice cut through the chaos like a beacon in a storm.
Even faced with this madness, John remained calm and stepped forward to address the group:
"Remember your training! Chaos corruption, traitor Astartes, Warp entities—they're all just entries on the training checklist! The Empire poured enormous resources into making us Spartans to prepare for exactly this kind of emergency.
Even if the Chaos forces assaulting Tatooine include fallen Astartes—or worse, Warp entities—we give it everything we've got. We honor the Emperor and Dr. Halsey by living up to the name Spartan!"
"Yes, Chief!"
The Spartans' response erupted through the comms in perfect unison, voices laced with ironclad discipline and absolute loyalty.
In the distance, engines roared. The silhouette of a Pelican pierced through the sandy haze and came into view.
Its landing gear slowly extended, settling the craft in the center of the civilian landing pad, kicking up a swirl of sand.
"Blue Team, secure the perimeter. Everyone else, fall in for resupply."
At John's command, the Spartans moved with mechanical precision.
They quickly approached the Pelican's open ramp, retrieving ammo, grenades, and defense gear from the logistics crew. Empty magazines were tossed cleanly into recycling bins, creating a rhythmic chorus of metallic clinks.
After resupply, they divided into four squads—over twenty Spartans per group—and immediately began fortifying the area under direct orders from Sigismund.
They set up automated turrets around the pad, laid down IFF-coded proximity mines, and built overlapping fields of fire.
Every Mjolnir HUD displayed the evolving defense schematic in real time.
"Remember our primary objective," John's voice returned over comms. "This landing pad and surrounding zone must be held. It's a key aerial support node."
Per Sigismund's directive, they were constructing a fortified position to ensure the surrounding ground forces could receive timely air support—or request rapid evacuation if necessary.
But—
They had also received a special assignment: once auxiliary forces, clones, and Terminators secured the outer defenses, they were to assist in evacuating and relocating local civilians.
According to Sigismund's projection, reinforcements from Yavin 4 would need at least 48 hours to arrive.
And in that time, their twenty-ship fleet could not fully halt Chaos's advance on Tatooine.
If the situation deteriorated, they were to surrender their places aboard the ships to the local populace—especially women, children, and the elderly—and prepare mentally to make a last stand on Tatooine.
Meanwhile, aboard the Valor-class command bridge, Cortana's (data clone) hologram flickered atop the central console, her data streams surging with rare emotional fluctuations.
As a smart AI with autonomous cognition, she was supposed to process all decisions with cold logic—but now, conflicting data was overloading her core algorithms.
"Commander."
Her voice was lower than usual, and the blue light of her projection shimmered. "I must question the logic of this decision again."
Her gaze swept over the tactical map, briefly landing on the yellow markers representing civilians. "The Spartan-I class are Dr. Halsey's life's work. Their value far exceeds this recently-occupied desert planet. In fact, every member of the Imperial Fists is more valuable than the population of Tatooine.
Moreover, by my calculation, under heavy Chaos incursion, even if we execute full evacuation protocols, we'll only be able to rescue less than 10% of the local population. The survival odds of holding out for reinforcements are below 4%."
The projection's cold light reflected on Sigismund's armored helmet. The commander of the Imperial Fists replied in a voice heavy with metallic gravity:
"Data can't measure everything, Cortana. Those civilians include children. They are the hope and future of countless families."
Cortana's hologram suddenly flared, her data stream cutting jagged trails through the air.
"Exactly why!" she replied with clear emotion. "Spartans are children too! The eldest among them is barely eighteen! Are they really worth sacrificing for unrelated humans from another universe?"
"They are."
Sigismund's answer made Cortana momentarily pause.
Without acknowledging the AI's "protective instinct," the commander added: "Precisely because they are human—and these otherworldly humans are no different from us—they're worth protecting."
Cortana's projection flickered again. Her tone returned to its usual coolness:
"My apologies for the outburst, Commander. But as a smart AI, I must reiterate: Tatooine holds no strategic value. Its people have little allegiance to the Human Empire. From a pragmatic perspective—"
"This isn't a transaction, nor about gain, Cortana."
Sigismund interrupted her. His gaze pierced through the hologram, as if staring directly into her core code. "When the corruption of Chaos spreads, every survivor becomes the seed of a future civilization. If we abandon them today, we'll repeat that choice across countless worlds tomorrow."
Through the bridge's observation window, thousands of transport craft could be seen shuttling between the fleet.
Far in the distance, Darth Vader's Chaos fleet was nearly breaking through the rift.
And a warp-infused viral warhead had already detonated outside the Valor-class's energy shield, causing the entire vessel to shudder from the shockwave.
Yet Sigismund and the entire Imperial Fist crew stood unmoved, steadfast as stone.
Sigismund looked to Cortana and said, "The Imperial Fists swore to protect humanity—not to calculate profit. Understood?"
Cortana fell silent.
But time was short. After a brief pause, she nodded. "Understood, Commander. I will support the Imperial Fists to the best of my abilities."
In that moment, Cortana realized the depth of his resolve. She also understood that this was a declaration—the Imperial Fists were showing this universe that the Human Empire would uphold a people-first doctrine, laying the foundation for future unity.
At that same moment—
Spartan 130, Alice, was checking the safety on her plasma grenades, whispering to 092 Jerome over a private channel: "I recalculated. If the situation goes downhill, we need at least thirteen minutes to load all four transports to capacity."
"Thirteen's not exactly a lucky number..." 042 Douglas suddenly chimed in, with a touch of fatalistic humor.
He was adjusting his Spartan laser's scope, the cold moonlight of Tatooine reflecting off the lens.
Jerome, standing atop a civilian building, Mjolnir sensors sweeping the surroundings, replied: "The pad only fits four Luna transports at once. And four's not so lucky either."
A few stifled chuckles came through the comms—but Jerome's serious tone quickly brought the channel back to silence. "Enough. Focus on the mission."
Private comms went quiet again.
Soon after, clouds of dust rose on the outskirts of the landing pad.
The first wave of over 400 auxiliary troops arrived in formation, alongside four Cyclops exo-mechs, each thunderous step sending tremors through the ground.
Two specially modified Titan main battle tanks followed, locking into position with ground anchors. As their turrets adjusted modes, hydraulic systems hissed—preparing them to serve as heavy fixed gun emplacements.
The auxiliaries rapidly fanned out, taking control of the outer defenses.
The Spartans turned inward, coordinating with patrolling clones and Terminators to begin evacuating frightened civilians.
At that moment—
An old woman in a tattered robe clutched a child tightly, staring in terror at a Terminator's skeletal mechanical form. Alice knelt down, switched her faceplate to transparent mode, and said:
"Please come with me, ma'am. We'll make sure you're safe."
Her voice came through external speakers, softened to soothe the woman's fear.
No one could blame the elderly woman—Mos Eisley had endured daylong battles, only now calming by nightfall.
Fortunately, the Imperial Fists had committed no atrocities and even assigned extra troops to protect civilians in combat zones. As a result, locals held little animosity toward them.
Seeing Alice's face, the old woman, still clutching her child, finally took a trembling step forward.
Not far away, John and Blue Team were directing clone troopers to maintain order.
Hundreds of civilians were crowded in a temporary safety zone, their anxious murmurs and children's cries filling the air.
"Everyone, remain calm! Keep quiet and orderly!"
104 Fred's voice boomed across the area as clone troopers moved through the crowd, guiding the elderly, children, and women to the front, while assigning able-bodied adults to the rear.
If the situation turned critical, those at the front could board the incoming Luna transports first.
Suddenly, Douglas's voice blared over comms: "All units, heads up! Something's happening in orbit!"
Almost simultaneously, Tatooine's crimson, dim sky was torn apart by blinding flashes of light.
In low orbit, Sigismund's fleet had engaged Darth Vader's Chaos fleet in a fierce battle.
From the surface, brilliant explosions flared in the sky like bursting stars.
Wreckage from destroyed ships became flaming meteors, trailing long plumes as they plunged into the atmosphere, leaving scorching gashes through the clouds.
A massive piece of wreckage exploded in near-space, and the shockwave sent ripples through the sand on the ground.
Burning debris rained down like a storm. Pillars of black smoke rose on the distant horizon.
The civilians screamed in terror. The crowd surged with panic.
"Hold formation!"
Fred shouted, ordering clone troopers to stabilize the scene.
John turned to Cortana. "Cortana, notify the Commander—deploy a transport team to extract any civilians not yet tainted by Chaos."
"A transport group is already en route to your location."
"Good." John switched to full-channel broadcast and gave a command to all Spartans:
"All units, the orbital battle hasn't compromised ground evac yet! Continue evacuation ops and stay sharp!"
"Yes, Chief!"
Alice confirmed over comms. At the same time, she caught the elderly woman who had collapsed from the explosion's shock. Half-carrying both her and the child, she dashed toward the safety zone.
In the sky, another Chaos ship attempting to breach the blockade was hit by Imperial Fist fire. The explosion blossomed into eerie green warpflame, sending chills down every spine.
By the time Alice got the woman and child into the safe zone, countless explosions had already burst across orbit.
This time, the piercing crimson light lit up the entire sky, as if Tatooine's sun had been drenched in blood.
And then the sight none of them wanted to see—John, Alice, and the rest—finally unfolded before their eyes.
Countless "meteors" streaked through the atmosphere, descending rapidly toward Tatooine's surface...
------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!
Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]