Project Ares Gold Edition

Chapter 50 - Project Olympus

Senate Building - Coruscant

About a week after the wedding, Master Chief was ordered to report to the Senate Building. After catching a ride on a shuttle down from the Pillar of Autumn, Chief stepped out to see a large group of military figures, politicians and scientists, in the back of the group stood a small detachment of Jedi that included Yoda, Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi.

With the last few people arriving, the group was quietly ushered into the building, with 117 mostly remaining close to the Jedi. Immediately recognizing where they were going, Chief tensed up ever so slightly when they eventually reached the reconstructed Chancellor's office. Entering through the doors, they were greeted by a few senators and key judicial personnel. "As of right now, this meeting is in session, none of you are to disclose any information you hear until deemed appropriate. If these terms are unsatisfactory, the door is behind you."

"Thank you, High Judge Tuk." Bail Organa spoke before explaining why everyone was present. In essence, a new Chancellor has been appointed, and she has deemed Project Olympus necessary. Hushed murmurs filled the room as people tried to figure out who the new chancellor was. In the corner of the room, Anakin smiled as it was announced that Padme Amidala would be announced as the new Chancellor of the Republic in a few days with Bail Organa being appointed as the Vice Chancellor. As if perfectly on que, the newly elected Chancellor Amidala walked through the door amidst a group of staff holding papers and tablets.

Dismissing the group, Amidala walked over and sat in her chair before turning her attention to the group of people in front of them. Making her stance on military action crystal clear, Padme explained that unlike her predecessor, she believes that military involvement should always remain the last resort, meaning that there will be a lot of demilitarisation happening over the next few months. "Ma'am, then why Project Olympus?"

"Master Chief, thank you for joining us. Given the reduced number of Jedi, the Republic needs a group of people capable of operating in situations with low numbers and near certain results. Blue Team's record during the Clone Wars and then the Liberation of Coruscant proves that." The Chancellor spoke, earning nods of approval from the senators. Informing everyone in the room that Project Olympus is to proceed under the direct command of the Master Chief while under heavy observation from both the Jedi Council and Chancellor's office.

Given its importance and fragility at the moment, this project was to be kept in secret for now until the first few batches of Spartans are ready to move out. Explaining to the Chancellor that training a new force of Spartans would take time and a lot of funding, Padme simply answered by stating: "You have the pen Master Chief, I'll make sure you get the blank check."

After a few other details were sorted out, Chief informed everyone that they will meet in 3 days aboard the Pillar of Autumn and in the meantime, they should just continue on with their lives. Concluding the meeting, Padme motioned to the door as everyone thanked her for her time and congratulated her on the new appointment.

Returning to the battlecruiser in orbit, Chief quickly called Blue Team to the war room as everyone met up to figure out what was going to happen next. Fives was on his honeymoon at the moment, but that didn't mean he could join via a hologram form. Explaining the new task that lay ahead of them, everyone scratched the back of their heads as they tried to figure out how they were possibly going to construct a brand new force made up of the most powerful soldiers the galaxy had ever know.

Eventually they settled on a few details, first; all Spartan candidates had to be clones. This was to make the augmentation process safer and more consistent as well as keeping costs at a manageable level regrading armour. Speaking of which, that led straight to the second point; it was impossible to recreate the hyper-advanced armour Blue Team was currently wearing. Well, within the next 5 years at least, too much data was lost on Daro and honestly; the risks  outweighed the reward. But that didn't mean the gear was going to be lacking for this new generation of super soldiers.