Chapter 263 – The Rebel Stronghold in Eridanus! Time to Wipe Them Out in One Go!
At this moment, inside the control room of the Neptune—
"I've exited slipspace as you requested. Please, just let my crew go—they're innocent!"
The captain, seated at the helm, looked anxiously at the nearby marines and pleaded:
"If you've got a grudge, take it out on me. Leave them out of this."
From the star chart, the captain had already discerned their location—Sector II of the Eridanus system. This was a known hub of the United Rebel Front. These people had hijacked the entire crew and taken them straight into the rebels' lair!
Eridanus was an expansive celestial region, encompassing numerous stars and planetary systems. The Yuen-4 System, home to Reach, was one such region.
Sector II of the Eridanus System, where they now were, lay less than four light-years from Reach—practically a neighbor.
Because of this proximity, and fearing attacks from the United Rebel Front, the UNSC had stationed a substantial military presence around Reach.
Unfortunately, even that couldn't stop the deep infiltration of rebel sympathizers. Getting hijacked by insurgents like these was just a stroke of rotten luck.
But despite the captain's desperate pleas, the marine commander merely sneered. As the mastermind behind the hijacking, there was no way he was letting the crew off easy.
"Captain, I appreciate your cooperation. Thanks to you, we've managed to haul in a nice fat flock of sheep. These hostages will bring much-needed resources to our struggling base."
"As for you UNSC lapdogs—you're worthless. Unless you happen to know someone powerful who'd be willing to pay a high price for your life?"
letting out a chilling laugh. He already had the full identity profiles of the crew and passengers, obtained from the check-in terminal.
Most of the crew, including the captain himself, were just regular people. No one with real influence was going to ransom them at any cost.
And to the rebels, those without value had only one fate—death.
you can't do this! Aren't you afraid that—"
Before the captain could finish his sentence, lnglis gave the order. The marines opened fire one by one, executing the crew and navigators on the spot.
A gory hole opened in the captain's forehead, his brain matter spraying from the back of his skull, misting the cramped control console.
Frozen in a mask of terror, the captain collapsed onto the metal deck, motionless.
The rest of the crew met the same grim end—clean headshots delivered by disciplined marines.
They deliberately aimed for the head to avoid ricochets injuring their own, or accidentally damaging vital ship systems.
Once the control deck was cleared, Inglis stepped up to the captain's seat, flipped on the shipwide broadcast, and spoke calmly:
"Attention, everyone. My name is Inglis, your warm and welcoming host here in Eridanus Sector II. Of course, you're now all hostages."
"I'll be reaching out to the UNSC and the UEG to negotiate an exchange—your lives for the resources we want."
"I sincerely hope some of you have powerful enough connections to make that happen. If not... well, sorry to say—"
"You're all going to die."
Everyone knew just how ruthless humans could be to their own kind.
And for rebels like Inglis, the pampered elite living in luxury were not brothers-in-arms—they were fat lambs waiting for the slaughter.
They had no qualms about killing. Hijacking ships and kidnapping passengers was a means to an end: securing supplies, weapons, even industrial equipment.
Even rebellion required infrastructure—a base of operations, manufacturing zones. Without that, they'd remain nothing more than ragtag raiders, forever insignificant.
Snatching up friends or family of high-ranking officials and extorting the UNSC or UEG for supplies was a tried-and-true tactic.
After issuing his warning, Inglis shut off the broadcast and programmed the Neptune for autopilot, directing it toward an orbital station in Eridanus Sector II.
Both Inglis and his associate Sullivan—who was securing the dining and recreational areas—belonged to the United Rebel Front.
The United Rebel Front was, in essence, the rebel equivalent of the Heaven and Earth Society in the Halo universe: a unifying organization welcoming any anti-UNSC fighters into its fold.
It had grown into the largest and most promising insurgent group, boasting high recruitment and support rates among other rebel factions.
Their stronghold, the Eridanus II system, lay just 8.5 light-years from the Sol System—within the bounds of the Inner Colonies.
The Inner Colonies, in simple terms, were like the tier-one and tier-two zones of a city—rich in resources and privileges.
Those living in the "city center" were first-class citizens enjoying the high life.
Beyond that, in the tier-three and tier-four outer zones, lay the factories and labor zones—the human cattle pens.
After humanity entered the interstellar era in Halo, this same "tiered ring" structure was preserved: planets colonized and terraformed first were brought into the Inner Colonies.
The Sol System was tier one. The Yuen-4 System and the Eridanus System were tier two and three respectively.
Reach, within Yuen-4, was the largest and most densely populated system in the Inner Colonies.
Eridanus II also belonged to the Inner Colonies, but it was lower in priority than Earth or Reach—its status was roughly on par with Harvest.
This meant people from Eridanus II acutely felt the sting of class disparity. They woke each day to hard labor, while the fat cats relaxing on Reach drank fine wine and dined on gourmet steak.
In the face of such glaring inequality, anyone would start thinking about revolution.
Still, despite Eridanus II's push for independence, the UNSC dared not take direct military action. The rebels had control over an impressive stockpile of production assets.
Shipyards, thriving industrial complexes—and more importantly, a Nova-class nuclear warhead.
With that kind of firepower, they could easily force a mutually assured destruction scenario with the UNSC.
The Nova bomb was one of the UNSC's strategic-level weapons.
Each warhead contained nine separate nuclear charges encased in a lithium triteride shell. Upon detonation, the warheads were compressed, amplifying their destructive power a hundredfold.
A single Nova bomb could flatten an entire planet's surface, with its shockwave capable of wiping out orbital satellites and Navy fleets alike.
This bomb was the exact reason the UNSC and UEG treaded so carefully—they couldn't risk the rebels lobbing it at Earth.
Even if the UNSC did muster a full-scale offensive against the rebels, there was always the risk of leaks and traitors sabotaging the operation from within.
After all, the United Rebel Front had long since embedded spies and agents deep within Reach and Earth itself.
In the lower and mid-tier ranks of the Marine Corps, those units were the hardest hit by rebel infiltration. And who could blame them? The higher-ups treated them like dirt and were so stingy with the military budget they could barely scrape together the essentials.
Any money they did have went straight to building warships for the Navy, while these poor Marines—young and old—lived like sweatshop workers in a coal mine.
And they expected them to die for the UNSC? Not a chance!
Take the squad that hijacked the Neptune, for example. Nearly all of them were "moles" planted by the United Rebel Front.
Their main motives for taking hostages were twofold: to demand ransom and resources, and to pressure the UNSC into recognizing the independence of Eridanus II and other systems.
Sure, it was a dirty tactic, but it worked like a charm. This was exactly how the rebels had clawed their way into gaining independent rights—and siphoning off all kinds of free resources in the process.
...
At this moment, inside the upper-level cabins of the Neptune.
Under the watchful eyes of twenty heavily armed Marines, the passengers sitting on the floor trembled in fear, clearly shaken and traumatized.
Mothers clutched their children tightly, whispering soothing words to calm their sobbing. Gloomy-faced men sighed repeatedly, regretting ever stepping aboard this doomed voyage.
Some brave souls had attempted to resist, but without exception, they were shot dead on the spot—now cold corpses sprawled on the floor.
Every rebel soldier in this squad was armed with standard-issue UNSC MA5B assault rifles, loaded with 7.62mm metal-penetrating rounds.
Coupled with their ruthless nature and solid training, their combat effectiveness was no joke—not something pampered elites could ever hope to match.
Which was why just twenty of them were enough to keep hundreds of passengers completely subdued. None of them dared risk their lives testing the patience of these rebels again.
At this moment, Alex, Rita, and Cage sat among the crowd like everyone else, quietly waiting for the cruise ship to arrive at the rebels' hideout.
From the information broadcast over the intercom, they had already deduced that the hijackers were likely part of the United Rebel Front, and they were well aware of the dangerous situation they were now in.
The sudden twist of fate left Cage and Rita deeply frustrated. After all, their mission was to head to Earth, search for a portal, and assassinate key UNSC personnel.
But before they could even get halfway there, this mess had derailed everything. How could they complete their mission now?
The Neptune was already nearing the rebels' home turf—what were they supposed to do next?
Cage sat there sullenly, itching to leap up and slaughter the rebels on the spot, take control of the ship, and redirect it to Earth.
But doing that would immediately blow their cover, and the UNSC customs authorities would be on them in a heartbeat.
Beside him, Rita also frowned deeply. It was obvious she was just as annoyed that the rebels were getting in the way of their mission—and equally eager to spring into action.
Then she and Cage both glanced at their superior, Alex, blinking subtly as a signal: "When do we make our move?"
As long as Alex gave the order, they could take out the rebels and seize control of the Neptune at any moment.
However, Alex shook her head. The risk was simply too high. After all, they were already deep in enemy territory.
This was just a civilian cruise ship—how could it possibly outrun the rebels' warships? If they provoked these maniacs, they might just get blown to pieces.
"We're not getting to Earth now, that's for sure," Alex said. "But since we're already here in the Eridanus II system, the rebels' home base, why not just take it for ourselves?"
"Saves the boss from having to send troops over later to clean up this trash."
Alex had reviewed the strategic directives laid out by Li Ang . One of the objectives was to bring the rebels under control.
Since they were already here, why not settle it now? The Earth operation could be handled by David's Astartes units anyway.
Having worked in intelligence for years, Alex had sharp instincts and quickly spotted a gap in the situation they could exploit.
"Wait, we can do that?" Rita and Cage were stunned. That angle had never occurred to them.
But after hearing Alex lay it out, it actually started to make sense.
After all, the rebels were still human. And humans wanted better lives.
They'd gone through all this trouble—sabotaging from within the UNSC Marines, hijacking ships—just so their little rebel "startup" could get listed, grow big, and give them a slice of the good life.
Now a megacorporation with deep pockets, serious firepower, and powerful connections had sent agents right to their doorstep. They were offering legit positions with benefits and job security—what rebel could say no to that?
Even the cutthroats of Liangshan Marsh had dreamed of joining the imperial ranks, drooling at the thought of government benefits.
These rebels envied the elites' lifestyle not because they hated it, but because they weren't part of it.
But now, the megacorp was giving them the chance to become the elite. All they had to do was seize the opportunity.
Of course, Alex couldn't reveal her identity outright. If she did, they'd just think she was a lunatic taunting them and shoot her on the spot.
To bring bandits into the fold, you needed to show up backed by imperial troops.
The immediate priority was to access the rebels' communications base and contact the corp's outposts on prosperity or Shield World—have them dispatch a dreadnought to assert dominance.
All it would take is one dreadnought and a few destroyers or frigates to crush the United Rebel Front.
Once the megacorp's forces dismantled the rebel organization in a swift and overwhelming show of force, it would send a loud message across the Halo universe about their might.
And once the rebel forces were shattered, David's infiltration and propaganda campaigns would go even smoother.
After all, this was the same megacorp that had fractured the Covenant and reabsorbed rebel factions. If the UNSC still refused to surrender, they'd just be asking for it.
As a seasoned field agent in the corp's intelligence division, Alex had a solid grasp of the big picture. That's why she instantly saw how to turn the situation to their greatest advantage.
Once Rita and Cage understood Alex's plan, it suddenly all clicked. So this is what it means to have real vision.
They immediately abandoned their earlier impulses and settled in to wait patiently for the situation to develop.
Not long after, the rebels—having received their latest orders—began herding the hostages at gunpoint.
"Everyone, move! Anyone tries to run and you're dead!"
With that shouted threat from one of the Marines, the passengers in the lounge stood up and began moving in an orderly line, led toward the lowest deck: the cargo bay.
Other Marines flanked them on the sides and rear, herding them like livestock toward their designated destination.
Once they arrived, they heard the clank of metal-on-metal and felt the floor tremble slightly. The sounds were unsettling.
The cargo bay doors slowly opened. The noises had come from the docking mechanism locking into a space station. They were now in the transfer hall of an orbital platform.
Under the looming threat of more rebel soldiers wielding weapons, Alex and her companions mingled with the crowd, disembarked from the Neptune, and boarded an orbital elevator to the planet's surface.
When the elevator doors finally slid open again, a gust of searing air surged in. The hot wind and blinding light from the nearby star overwhelmed the passengers inside.
But the rebels didn't care. They immediately opened fire on the ground—warning shots meant to frighten the hostages into submission.
"Get the hell out, now!"
Instantly, the hostages poured out of the elevator, and Alex and the others—keeping up their disguise—got their first glimpse of the United Rebel Front's planetary base.
A barren desert stretched as far as the eye could see. Cracked ground, blazing sun, and searing heat that felt like it could peel the skin off your bones.
This was the military base of the United Rebel Front: the city of Saegutus. The planet had once been rich in resources and renowned for its scenic beauty.
Its population had even surpassed one million at its peak.
But the elites of Reach and Earth had drained the planet dry, leaving it a desolate wasteland.
Even the conditions on Abundance were better than this.
Yet the rebels still clung to this place as their stronghold, refusing to relocate to another planet or system.
The reason? The location was just too perfect.
It wasn't too far from Reach and Earth, yet hidden well enough that the UNSC had a hard time tracking them down.
They could launch raids and loot resources with ease—and then disappear before anyone could find them. It was the ideal setup. Why give it up?
Soon, all the hostages were brought to a warehouse to await the outcome of negotiations between the United Rebels, Earth's government, and the UNSC.
As for Alex, Rita, and Cage—they waited patiently for nightfall, when they'd slip away and make contact with the megacorp's forces.
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