The Neptune, a nearly kilometer-long spacecraft, was forcibly pulled from hyperspace and into deep space in the physical universe.
Ahead of the Neptune was a barren, Earth-like planet, with barely any signs of green or blue on its surface.
At that moment, inside the bridge:
"We've exited hyperspace as per your instructions."
The white-haired captain, seated in the command chair, looked at the holographic screen in front of him while addressing the Marines who had taken control of the scene. He continued, "According to the star chart, we have entered the Eredana star sector and are about 200,000 kilometers away from Eredana C, in its second orbit."
After speaking, more cold sweat appeared on the captain's forehead.
Looking around from the captain's perspective, it was clear that aside from the captain himself, the first officer, and the helmsman, the rest of the bridge crew had already become corpses, slumped at their stations.
As for the four Marines controlling the bridge, they seemed to have entered without resistance, likely thanks to the first officer's help.
After all, while the captain and the helmsman were drenched in sweat, the middle-aged first officer stood by the observation window with a smile, gazing out at Eredana C in the distance.
It was obvious that the first officer had betrayed them and unlocked the doors leading to the bridge, allowing the current situation to unfold.
At this moment, the first officer turned to the captain, still smiling, and said, "Thank you for your cooperation. You've given us the leverage to negotiate with the corrupt government."
"Freedom? Frick, you..."
Hearing the first officer's words, the captain tried to say something, hoping to change his mind.
Bang!
Unfortunately, before the captain could finish speaking, a gunshot rang out.
Splurt!
A bullet hole appeared on the captain's forehead, and blood and brain matter sprayed from the back of his head.
Thud!
The captain's body fell forward, slumping lifelessly onto the metal floor.
The one who fired the shot was none other than the first officer, holding a small-caliber handgun in one hand.
"Captain! You bastard!"
Witnessing this, the helmsman, enraged, charged at the first officer, clearly intending to risk his life in an attempt to take the traitor down with him.
It wasn't that the helmsman was particularly brave, but after the captain was shot, he realized that no matter how much they cooperated, once they were no longer useful, they would be ruthlessly executed.
Rat-tat-tat!
Splurt!
However, the helmsman's fate was sealed as he was shot down by one of the Marines, his body torn apart by the rifle rounds.
Clang!
The bullets ricocheted wildly around the bridge.
!!!
The first officer quickly took cover behind the control panel and shouted angrily, "Use your pistols! Use your damn pistols! And I don't need your help, damn it!"
The Marine who had been scolded just shrugged, his expression showing slight disdain.
The first officer, frustrated, left the control panel and glared at the Marine before walking over to the captain's seat and activating the ship's intercom. He announced, "Attention all personnel, this is First Officer Lato Frick of the Neptune.
"The Neptune has been liberated and is now under our control. We are en route to our home planet, Eredana C.
"I urge all of you to abandon any illusions. You are now hostages of the Free Liberation. We will use you as bargaining chips in our negotiations with the UNSC and UEG.
"If the UNSC refuses to negotiate, don't blame us for using deadly force. If you end up in hell after your death, take your grievances out on the corrupt Earth government.
"So, pray that the UNSC doesn't try anything funny. Haha."
After finishing his speech, the first officer turned off the intercom and used his authority to set the Neptune on autopilot, directing it towards the orbital space station near Eredana C.
The Neptune, despite its massive size, equivalent to two Paris-class frigates, was not built to withstand the same stresses as warships or colony ships. The vessel was designed and assembled in Earth's orbit, making it incapable of atmospheric entry, and could only dock at an orbital station.
As for the Free Liberation, they were an extremist rebel faction active in the Near-Earth Colonies.
The Eredana star system they controlled was only 7.2 light years from the Solar System.
The Near-Earth Colonies referred to the planets and moons that were the first to be colonized and terraformed during humanity's early spacefaring era in the Halo universe. These included the Moon, Mars, Europa, Titan, and Reach, with around 200 planets and moons in total.
The Epsilon Eridani system, home to Reach, was the largest and most populous of the Near-Earth Colonies.
However, the Eredana system also fell within the Near-Earth Colonies, and its colonists had long been subjected to exploitation, as all resources were prioritized for Earth and Reach.
If not for the fact that Eredana had a fully operational shipyard with slipstream capabilities, and that the Free Liberation had managed to acquire a NOVA-class nuclear bomb, the UNSC would have already deployed a fleet to suppress them.
The NOVA-class nuclear bomb was one of the UNSC's strategic weapons.
The bomb had a lithium-tritium shell and housed nine warheads with a combined yield of over 10 megatons of TNT. Upon detonation, it would undergo "infinite" compression, multiplying its destructive power several times, even dozens of times.
In theory, a single NOVA-class bomb was capable of altering the surface of an Earth-like planet.
If the Free Liberation lost all reason and decided to drop this bomb on Earth, it would create a situation that the UNSC and UEG would be unable to tolerate.
Moreover, Free Liberation spies and soldiers had infiltrated the mid and lower levels of the UNSC on both Earth and Reach over a long period of time.
Half of the UNSC Marines responsible for the Neptune's security were actually Free Liberation operatives.
Furthermore, no combat platoon on Reach was willing to act as high-level security for a mere cruise ship, so a battle platoon with half its members as "moles" was assigned to the Neptune.
When the time was right...
Specifically, when the "value" of the passengers had reached a certain threshold, they executed the kidnapping.
Their goal wasn't ransom but rather to force the Earth government to publicly recognize Eredana's independence and to cease interfering in its free development or using military force against it.
Although their actions were no different from those of terrorists, Free Liberation had no choice but to resort to such methods to secure "legitimate rights" given their lack of hard power.
At this moment, inside the Neptune's buffet restaurant, three Marines, who were actually rebels, were guarding the passengers sitting on the carpeted floor.
Children wept quietly out of fear, while adults sighed and shook their heads, regretting their decision to take this cruise or lamenting their ticket purchase.
Among the crowd, there were a few hotheads with a "I can do this!" mentality who tried to grab the rebels' rifles.
The result? They became mutilated corpses.
The rebels were using UNSC-issued MA5B assault rifles, bullpup-configured with a 60-round capacity, firing 7.62x51mm full-metal-jacket rounds.
These features made the MA5B devastating against human bodies.
Despite the numerical advantage of hundreds of passengers against three rebels, none of the travelers had ever faced life-and-death situations, nor did they have the resolve to sacrifice themselves.
No one wanted to die, especially since they were all civilians with no combat experience.
Had they been residents of the O3 universe (like those from Doom), they might have tried to take on the rebels as soon as chaos began.
Meanwhile, Leon, Mike, and Maggie sat quietly among the crowd.
Having heard the term "Free Liberation" over the intercom, they quickly pieced together what had led to the Neptune's hijacking.
After all, Free Liberation was one of the most notorious and radical rebel factions.
However...
Their mission was to deal with corrupt officials on Earth, not to get involved with the rebels.
But fate had thrown them into this mess.
Mike grew increasingly "angry" as he glared at Leon, who was leaning against the wall.
"?"
Leon looked confused, not understanding why his friend was upset.
In truth, Mike's frustration stemmed partly from a superstitious belief that Leon, who always seemed to attract trouble, had somehow dragged them into the human civil war of the Halo universe.
Maggie, sitting nearby, winked at the two of them, signaling her readiness to act.
The superhuman warrior clenched her right fist, indicating her confidence in taking out the rebels guarding the restaurant without harming any innocent people.
However, both Leon and Mike shook their heads.
Leon whispered, "Plans change. Now that we're in the Eredana system, let's take it over."
Take it over?
Maggie was stunned.
From her perspective, the mission was still to assassinate corrupt officials.
Her plan had been to rely on her superior physical abilities and the two gene-enhanced elite agents to eliminate all the rebels on the ship, seize control of the Neptune, and continue on to Earth.
She intended to leave the handling of any aftermath to Cortana.
But Leon and Mike, these two "old-timers," had a different approach: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
Since Free Liberation had "invited" them to the Eredana system and since Free Liberation had "invited" them to the Eredana system and severely disrupted their original mission plan, they decided to take this opportunity to completely dismantle Free Liberation and assert their company's influence openly in the Halo universe.
Additionally, their operations director, Ada, had determined that the best time to launch the company's official website would be right after they physically eliminated a group of corrupt officials. They would then use the website to publicly release select footage from the soldiers' helmet cams, along with details of their actions.
However, the interruption caused by Free Liberation led Leon and Mike to conclude that they might as well seize this chance to take control of Eredana C's communications hub and establish contact with the core base on 0459.
Both of them held the necessary clearance to know that six Dreadnought-class warships were now ready for deployment.
Four of these ships were tasked with assisting the company fleet in the Reach region, preparing to counter the full-scale assault of the Covenant's Prophet forces.
The remaining two were designated for dealing with unexpected crises.
If they could successfully contact the core base on 0459 and request one of the Dreadnoughts along with several destroyers and frigates, it would be enough to plant a "nail" in a key position within the UNSC and UEG's control zones.
Not only would they be able to dismantle Free Liberation with overwhelming force, but they would also demonstrate the raw power of Atlas to the humans in the Halo universe.
Meanwhile, Chris and the others could continue infiltrating Earth, eliminating corrupt officials, and gaining a firm grip on public opinion.
Leon and Mike, long-time comrades with a deep understanding of each other, immediately worked out a solution that would maximize the company's interests.
As Atlas's elite investigators, they had considerable freedom to make decisions in the field. Faced with the current situation, there was no reason the company would reject their proposal.
At this moment, Maggie still looked somewhat bewildered, unable to follow the "brainwaves" of Leon and Mike.
But since these two were her direct superiors, and Mike was the team leader, she had no choice but to abandon her initial plan and wait patiently.
It didn't take long before the three rebels in the dining area seemed to receive new orders. They raised their MA5B rifles, and one of the sergeants shouted, "Get up! All of you, get up!"
"Hurry up!"
"Stop dawdling, and don't think about stalling for time!" the two privates chimed in, urging the passengers to stand.
The crowd had no choice but to rise and follow the rebels' directions, moving from the restaurant to the main hall outside and then down the safety corridors toward the cargo hold.
Once they reached the cargo hold—
Thud, thud!
The sound of something large and metallic contacting the Neptune's hull echoed, causing noticeable vibrations.
Moments later, the cargo bay doors opened, revealing a large gangway that connected to the orbital station's transfer hall. More rebels, dressed in desert-colored combat uniforms, were waiting for them.
With that, Leon, Mike, Maggie, and the rest of the passengers left the Neptune and boarded the cargo elevators that would take them down to the surface of Eredana C.
When the elevator doors finally opened—
Whoosh!
A powerful gust of wind surged in, rushing into the elevator.
The glaring starlight and scorching surface temperature left most of the passengers momentarily disoriented, struggling to adjust.
"Move it! Get out!"
Rat-tat-tat!
The rebels on the ground fired warning shots into the air, urging everyone to quickly disembark from the cargo elevator.
Following the crowd, Leon, Mike, and Maggie stepped outside, finally getting a clear view of the surface of Eredana C.
Desolate, hot, and arid—those were the simplest descriptions.
The orbital elevator was located on the outskirts of Eredana C's capital, Kostia City.
From the platform of the orbital elevator, Leon and the others had a clear view of the city, capable of housing a million people.
However, Kostia City was a far cry from the prosperous New Alexandria on Reach. Its buildings were outdated, and the overall appearance of the city was bleak.
In comparison, even the working and living conditions on Harvest were far better.
After all, Harvest had not been subjected to the same level of exploitation.
Next, all of the passengers were herded by the rebels to a warehouse outside the city, where they would await the outcome of the negotiations between Free Liberation and the Earth government.
Meanwhile, Leon, Mike, and Maggie waited patiently for night to fall over Kostia City.
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