Chapter 264: The rebels’ lair in Eridanus! Just in time to catch them all!
At this moment, in the control room of the Neptune!

"I have already left the jump space as you requested. Please let my colleagues go. They are all innocent."

The captain sitting in the driving seat looked at the Marines beside him in panic and pleaded:

"If you have anything to say, come to me alone, don't hurt them."

The captain has learned from the information on the star map that this is the Eridanus Galaxy II area, the hideout of the United Rebels. This group of people has kidnapped all of them and taken them to the rebels’ hometown!

Eridanus is a vast region of the sky that includes numerous celestial bodies and galaxies, including the Tetralogy of Apollo 9, where Reach is located.

The Eridanus II galaxy is also part of this area of ​​the sky. This galaxy is less than four light-years away from Reach, and the two are quite close to each other.

Therefore, in order to guard against attacks from the United Rebel Front, the UNSC had to deploy a large number of armed forces in the area around Reach.

It's a pity that a large number of rebel members had infiltrated their organization, and they were unlucky to encounter the rebels who hijacked their ship this time.

However, in the face of the captain's pleading, the Marine Corps commander, Ingri, looked at him with a sneer. As the leader of this hijacking incident, how could he let these crew members go easily?

"Captain, thank you for your active cooperation. You have allowed us to carry so many fat sheep this time. These meat tickets will help us get more resource subsidies for our impoverished base."

"And you, the lackeys working for the UNSC, are not worth living. Or, do you know any nobleman who can pay us what we want in order to save your life?"

Ingri let out a sinister laugh. He had already learned the identity information of these crew members and passengers through the ticket check at the front desk.

The vast majority of crew members, including the captain in front of him, are actually ordinary people. No one would be willing to use high resources to redeem them.

For people who have no value, here in Ingri, there is only one end, and that is - death!

"Ingri, you can't do this, aren't you afraid...!"

Before the captain could finish his words, the leader, Inger, gave an order for the soldiers around him to shoot one by one, killing all the crew members and the helmsman.

There was also a hideous bloody hole on the captain's forehead, and the blood mist and brain tissue spurting out from the back of his head floated in the cramped center console.

Then, the captain fell to the metal deck with a look of horror on his face, and was completely motionless.

The rest of the crew and helmsmen suffered the same fate as the captain, and were shot dead by well-trained Marines.

They specifically aimed at the opponent's head to prevent the bullet from bouncing back and injuring their own people, or accidentally damaging some important equipment.

After seeing that the crew at the center console had been almost dealt with, Ingri walked to the captain's seat, turned on the radio familiarly, and said to the passengers:
"Everyone, please take note. My name is Ingri. I am the warm host who invites you to visit the Eridanus System II. Of course, you are now hostages."

"I will try to contact the UNSC and UEG and ask them to send us the resources we want in exchange for your lives."

"I sincerely hope that your background and connections are strong enough, and that some big shot will come forward to snatch you all away. If I get nothing, I'm sorry..."

"You all must die!!"

As we all know, humans are a species that is always cruel to their own people.

But for rebels like Ingri, the human nobles who sleep soundly are not a loving family, but fat lambs to be slaughtered.

They regarded human life as worthless, plundered merchant ships and kidnapped passengers just to obtain sufficient supplies, weapons and even production equipment.

Nowadays, even if you want to rebel, you must have a rear base and a production area of ​​your own. Otherwise, you will always be an insignificant bandit and will not amount to anything.

Kidnapping relatives and friends of the rich and powerful and getting free resources from the UNSC or UEG is a good way.

After giving this warning, Ingri turned off the radio and used his authority to set the Neptune on automatic navigation to the orbital space station at Eridanus II.

Ingrid and Sullivan, who was controlling the situation in the restaurant and leisure area, both belonged to the United Rebel Front.

The so-called United Rebel Front can be simply understood as the rebel "Heaven and Earth Society" in the rebel camp of "Halo". Heroes from all walks of life who want to rebel can join here to start a business.

This rebel force can be regarded as the largest one in the current rebel camp. It has great potential and a high chance of going public. Therefore, it has also been favored and joined by many rebel organizations.

The Eridanus II galaxy controlled by the United Rebel Camp is only 8.5 light-years away from the solar system.

This distance range is within the near-Earth colony.

The so-called near-earth colonial area can be simply understood as the third or fourth tier of a city. Inside it is the urban area, and the resources and treatment are very good.

People living in urban areas are naturally first-class citizens and powerful people who enjoy life.

In the suburbs outside the fourth and fifth tier cities, there are basically only factories, production areas, and herds of cattle and horses.

In the Halo universe, after humans entered the interstellar age, they continued the setting of the first and second rings, and incorporated the planets that were first colonized and transformed into near-Earth colonies.

For example, the solar system in the first ring, the second and third rings of Apollo 4, and the Eridanus galaxy.

In particular, the Tetranasian system where Reach is located is the star system with the largest scale of near-Earth colonies and the largest population.

As for the Eridanus II system, it is also within the range of the near-Earth colony, but its priority is not as high as that of Earth and Reach, and it has basically the same attributes as Harvest.

This also means that the humans in the Eridanus galaxy are the ones who can most accurately feel the sense of division brought about by class differences. After all, they have to work as soon as they open their eyes.

If you look up, you can see the masters who exploited your blood and sweat are leisurely drinking delicious red wine and enjoying exquisite steaks on Reach.

Faced with such a clear gap, anyone would want to rebel.

However, even if the rebels in the Eridanus II system demand independence, the official UNSC troops dare not act rashly, because this group of rebels controls a considerable amount of means of production.

With a complete shipyard, a developed industrial zone, and a Nova-class nuclear bomb, the rebels have the military power to perish together with the UNSC!
You know, the Nova-class nuclear bomb is one of the UNSC's strategic weapons.

This nuclear bomb contains 9 nuclear warheads wrapped in a lithium triterpene shell. At the moment of the nuclear explosion, the warheads will be compressed, increasing its power a hundred times.

A Nova-class nuclear bomb can flatten the surface of an entire planet, and the shock wave it creates can also destroy satellites and naval fleets in the planet's orbit.

This nuclear bomb is the key reason why UNSC and UEG are so cautious. They dare not bet on whether these crazy rebels will drop this nuclear bomb on the earth.

More importantly, even if the UNSC wanted to launch a general offensive to wipe out this rebel force, there is no guarantee that there would not be a traitor who leaked the information inside.

After all, the spies and soldiers of the United Rebel Front had already infiltrated Reach and various parts of the Earth after a long period of infiltration.

The middle and lower-level Marine Corps formations are the hardest hit by the rebels. It's because the higher-ups are so inhumane that they are too stingy to give out even the military funds.

As soon as they got money, they gave it to the navy to build warships. These Marines, young and old, were as poor as the sweat laborers in a coal mine.

You still want them to work for the UNSC? No way!
The Marines who hijacked the Neptune were basically all "traitors" of the United Rebel Front.

The main reason they kidnapped passengers was, on the one hand, to demand ransom and resources, and on the other hand, to put pressure on the UNSC to force them to recognize the independence of Eridanus II and other star systems.

Although this method is a bit dirty, the effect is immediate. The rebels relied on this to gradually gain independent rights and various resources for free.

……

At this moment, in the upper cabin of the Neptune.

Under the strict supervision of 20 Marines, the passengers sitting on the ground were trembling with fear.

Women hugged their children tightly, soothing their sobbing children, and sad-looking adults sighed and regretted why they embarked on this fatal journey. During this period, some warriors tried to resist, but they were all killed on the spot without exception, becoming lifeless corpses.

All the rebel soldiers are equipped with UNSC's MA5B standard rifles, and the bullets they use are 7.62mm metal armor-piercing bullets.

In addition to being well-trained and ruthless, their fighting capabilities are not comparable to those of this group of powerful people.

Therefore, even 20 soldiers were able to suppress hundreds of passengers, and these passengers did not want to risk their lives and challenge the patience of the rebels again.

At this moment, Alex, Rita, and Cage, like the other passengers around them, remained quiet and waited silently for the cruise ship to sail to the rebels' lair.

Through the information mentioned in the broadcast, they have guessed that the other party is most likely the rebels of the United Rebel Front, and they also understand their current situation.

Faced with this sudden change, Cage and Rita felt very troubled. After all, the purpose of their trip was to go to Earth to search for the portal and assassinate high-ranking UNSC officials.

But they encountered such trouble before they were halfway there. Wouldn't this delay their mission?
Now that the Neptune is almost reaching the rebels' hometown, what should they do next?

Cage was a little depressed and wished he could just jump up immediately, kill these rebels, turn the situation around, and then drive the Neptune to Earth.

But if they do so, their identities will be exposed instantly, and then the UNSC customs will definitely catch them.

Rita on the side also frowned. It was obvious that she was very unhappy with the rebels for delaying her mission, and she also had an urge to try.

Immediately, Rita and Cage winked at their boss Alex, signaling her when to start.

As long as Alex gives the order, they can deal with these rebels at any time and seize control of the Neptune.

However, Alex shook his head, saying that it was too risky to do so since this was already the rebels' lair.

How could their civilian cruise ship possibly outrun the rebel warships? If they really pissed off these lunatics, they might even bombard them directly with artillery!
"It's definitely impossible for us to go to Earth now, but since we have come to the Eridani II system, the rebels' lair, we might as well take it for ourselves."

"It saves the boss from sending troops to wipe out these scum."

Alex had seen the strategic plan deployed by Leon, and subduing the rebels was one of them.

Now that they have caught up, they might as well take advantage of this opportunity to deal with these rebels. Anyway, David's Astartes troops will be responsible for the mission on Earth.

Having worked in the Intelligence Department for so many years, Alex's ability to respond is quite good and he can immediately grasp the flaws in the current situation.

"Is this even possible?!"

After hearing Alex's idea, Rita and Cage were stunned. They had never thought that such an operation could be carried out.

But after Alex said this, they felt like they really had a chance.

After all, the rebels are also human beings, and as human beings they hope to live a better life.

They go to great lengths to rob and serve as underlings and traitors in the lower ranks of the UNSC Marine Corps, isn't it all so that their own rebellious "company" can go public as soon as possible so that they can share in the glory and enjoy the benefits.

Now a global giant company with enough influence, strength and money has come and directly sent agents to recruit them, offering them a regular position and welfare benefits. Which rebel group can resist it?

Even the murderous bandits in Liangshanpo were staring at the court's organization every day, feeling itchy and drooling with envy.

These rebels are jealous of the living conditions of the powerful and wealthy simply because they themselves are not powerful and wealthy and cannot enjoy their benefits.

Now the emergence of giant global companies can give them the opportunity to become powerful, it just depends on whether they can seize it.

But before that, Alex certainly couldn't be frank and directly reveal his identity to these rebels, otherwise he would definitely be regarded as a provocative madman.

The prerequisite for successfully pacifying the bandits is to have the support of the imperial army.

Their top priority now is to contact the base on Harvest Planet or Shield World through the rebel communication base station as soon as possible, and ask them to send the Sojourner Dreadnought to calm the situation.

The giant company only needs to send a Sojourner dreadnought and a few destroyers or frigates to defeat this group of united rebels.

After the troops of the giant corporations disintegrated the United Rebel Front organization with thunderous force, they also allowed the humans in the Halo universe to witness the strength of the giant corporations.

Once the rebel forces are disintegrated, David's infiltration and public opinion manipulation work will be much easier.

After all, the cosmic giant has split up the Covenant and reunited the rebels. If the UNSC doesn't surrender, it would be ungrateful!

As a veteran agent in the intelligence department of a giant corporation, Alex had a very good sense of the overall situation, so he considered this plan to maximize benefits at the first opportunity.

After understanding Alex's idea, Rita and Cage suddenly realized that this was the leader's long-term vision, so they gave up their original ideas and patiently waited for the situation to change.

Not long after, the rebels, having received the latest orders, began to escort the hostages at gunpoint.

"Everyone follow me. Anyone who dares to escape will be shot immediately!"

At the scolding of one of the Marines, the passengers in the leisure area stood up one after another, followed him and left the scene in an orderly manner and came to the cargo hold on the lowest level.

The rest of the soldiers surrounded the sides and back, driving the passengers to the designated location like driving a flock of sheep.

When everyone arrived at the cargo hold, they heard the sound of metal colliding. The vibration and sound caused made them feel a little frightened and uneasy.

Then, the hatch of the cargo hold opened. It turned out that the sound just now was the sound caused by the hatch docking with the space station. Now they have arrived at the transfer hall of the orbital space station.

Under the coercion of more armed rebels, Alex and others who were mixed in the crowd followed other passengers to leave the Neptune and then took the orbital elevator to the surface of the planet.

When the elevator door opened again, a gust of air rushed in. The hot air and the dazzling starlight made it difficult for the passengers in the elevator to adapt.

But the rebels outside would not tolerate these passengers. They fired at the ground on the spot to warn the hostages.

"Stop wasting your time and get out here!"

In an instant, everyone walked out of the elevator door, and Alex and others who followed the crowd outside witnessed the planet base of the United Rebels with their own eyes.

In the lifeless desert, there is dry and cracked earth everywhere, and the dazzling and scorching sun seems to crack the surface of human skin.

This is the United Rebel Front's military base, the city of Secudus. This planet was once a planet rich in resources and beautiful scenery.

Even the population once exceeded one million.

But the powerful people on Reach and Earth have drained all the potential and resources of this planet, causing it to become a desolate death planet.

Even the environment on the planet of abundance is much better than this planet.

But even so, the rebels still regard this place as their core area and are unwilling to move to other planets or galaxies easily.

The main reason is that the location of this galaxy is quite good!

It is not far from Reach and Earth, but the location is relatively hidden. It is not easy for the UNSC to find their lair.

It is convenient for robbing and getting free resources, and also allows one to hide so that the UNSC cannot find them. Such a good working environment certainly cannot be wasted.

Soon, under the escort of the rebels, all the hostages were sent to the warehouse, awaiting negotiations between the joint rebellion, the Earth government and the UNSC.

Alex, Cage and Rita waited patiently until the dead of night before trying to escape and contact the giant company's troops.

(End of this chapter)