Author's Note:

Alrighty! Hello everyone! I'm going to keep the Author's Note short and leave the majority of info for the end note. Just a quick Need-To-Know for this read, The following is a combination of Halo, Star Wars, Legend of Zelda, Sonic, StarFox, Metroid, PlanetSide 2, Mass Effect, and a lot of Original Work. This story is written as if all of these fandoms exist in a single Universe, but since it's such a large Universe each fandom really only stayed in there parts of the galaxy's… until now. I hope you enjoy the read!

It was 13:00 when the red lights came on. We were an hour into a safety briefing when we were all rushed into our respective stations. My team and I headed for the aft hangar-bay and hit the armory. It wasn't normal for a drill to be run while going through slipspace, but I had my doubts about this being a drill at all.

I threw in the locker code, 459102, and the lockers popped open. My team and I rushed for gear, weapons and ammo… We had but minutes before we exited Slipspace. I immediately went to grab my G-106, more commonly known as a shredder. It was a 30-round sub-machine gun; I had a custom paint job down on it and an ACOG Scope. The next piece of gear I grabbed was my crowbar and Chestplate. My Chestplate was a simple duro-plast chestpiece, could withstand rounds up to a .504, it also had a small shield radius. And my crowbar was just a crowbar. Not all Federation soldiers were armed with Nano-sabers like the Vanu- Sovereignty; we had to use what we could where we could.

I grabbed some ammo and shield packs, and then turned to look at my team. Sonic, was a hedgehog that could run at the speed of Sound, he had blue fur and only carried a pistol slung from a bandolier across his chest. Link, a Knight dressed in green while wearing several duro-plast pieces of armor. He wielded a Nano-Saber and a Shock-Shield. Next was Midna, "Link's Guide." She was an interesting species called Twili, coming from Links part of the universe in some sort of realm of twilight; her combat specialty usually involved something along the lines of magic. Standing next to Midna was Krystal, a blue fox that was an expert pilot, and the second Anthropomorphic being on my team next to Sonic. Krystal wielded a blaster and carried around a magical staff slung across her back as backup.

I turned 180 degrees and faced the last two members of my team, the first finally sealing the dark OD green and gold visored Mark VI Helmet. This was Chief, or John. Chief was a special soldier, one of the more valued members of the Federation because of his armor and training. His part of the Universe was ruled by a people called the UNSC, and they biologically and chemically pumped Chief up to be a super soldier. Standing 7 feet tall and wearing armor that was better than standard duro-plast, he was the pinnacle of a soldier… He was also called a Spartan.

On Chiefs right was the last member of my team, Samus Aran. Samus was a skilled fighter all by herself, not to mention an ex-bounty hunter. But throw in her gold and red power suit with its arm mounted blaster cannon and all the other bells and whistles her suits arsenal had to offer, you can put her skill level close to Chief's, and she isn't even genetically altered… to our knowledge.

I smiled, we were all from different parts of the Universe, different worlds, yet we still acted and worked together like we had been at it for years… it was an accomplishment any alliance of this size would be proud of, and to be honest we were. Not to mention war pulling people together, if the Vanu threatening the entire Universe wasn't enough to bring people together, I dunno what would.

Finally, all my team members appeared to be ready for battle, fully suited up and armed to the teeth. They all turned to face me and I felt the weight of everyone's gaze fall upon my shoulders… I knew we were all thinking the same thing,

"Ok guys," I started, "I'm pretty sure this isn't a drill, as I'm sure you all were thinking as well. Is everyone here prepared for that?"

Each and every team member branded or loaded their weapons in a symphony of metallic clicking. That was answer enough,

"On your lead, Sir."

I turned to nod to Chief who was the only one who spoke up and slung my G-106 round my back, motioning for my team to follow as I turned on my heel and exited the armory towards the hangar.

I felt the ship lurch as it came out of Slipspace. Outside of the Hangar viewports I saw ship debris… our ship debris. Not specifically to our ship, but to the Federation Fleet. This confirmed my suspicions on whether or not this was a drill, and seeing the debris, this was no drill.

People were up and running now, pilots to their ships, soldiers to mounted turrets and boarding crafts as well as anti-boarding stations, we all knew this was the real deal; this was truly the beginning of the war.

It hit us hard, a proton shot from one of the Sovereignty flagships must have scorched our engines, the ship slowed to a steady drift, and we couldn't maneuver. The Deck Sergeant on duty in the hangar was yelling orders and getting ships in the air. I motioned for my team to follow and started towards our ship, the Marenia.

Half-way across the hangar our first fighter was about to launch… but then something came flying into the hangar, smashing into the fighter and sending both to the far wall. Whatever the object was it was huge and it took several other fighters prepping for take-off as well as soldiers with it. On impact with the wall the fighter exploded, taking her crew with it.

I blinked from the flash and looked to examine the huge object. To me, it looked like a very large drill,

"Vanu Pod!" A voice rang out above the commotion, "Go, go, go!"

I immediately sprinted for the nearest cover of some debris littering the Hangar bay floor, my team doing the same. Vanu Pods were rumored to explode seconds after impact… but after sitting in cover for a few moments, I stuck my head up to see what was happening.

My stomach lurched as tons of Vanu-Sovereignty troopers started flooding the Hangar, exiting the pod from small hatches several at a time,

"Contacts!" I yelled, flipping off the safety on my G-106 and bringing the stock into my shoulder, "Engage! They're moving for our ships!"

My sudden outburst startled the cocky few enemy troops nearest to me, and were met with a quick demise as I squeezed the trigger of my weapon and gunned down un-lucky few that were in my way.

Ducking immediately back into cover the ear-rattling sound of return fire, as well as the symphony of what was Federation weapons returning fire filled the Hangar.

Quickly dropping the empty mag from my weapon I loaded a fresh one in. I looked to my left and right quickly as I slide the charging handle back on my G-106. On my right, Chief, Krystal and Sonic were engaging the enemy. On my left were Samus, Midna, and Link. Samus was returning fire, and Link was using his shock-shield to send the Vanu rounds right back towards them. Midna was knelt down and had her eyes closed… I knew from all the training simulations what that meant.

As Midna opened her eyes she stood and pointed towards the Vanu troops, her hands sweeping over the mass of them from left to right and as they passed over a trooper, each one suddenly was light aflame and was sent screaming to his left and right.

I popped back up and gunned down three more Vanu troops, ducking back down just in time for some Vanu rounds to soar by over my head,

"This is going to delay the planned mission by a few hours… Great." I popped back up to return fire once more.

Vanu pods don't explode seconds after impact… they explode roughly four minutes after.

My team and I were helping to remove the Vanu and Federation bodies, when slowly the pod starting pulsing,

"Sir," Samus called over our team's radio frequency from inside her helmet, "That's the pulse of an engine overload."

The urgency in her voice was unmistakable and my jaw dropped in realization of the fate of the pod, "Go! Aft exit! Everybody clear the bay!"

I ran for the exit I indicated and soldiers and pilots were running every which way trying to clear the hangar whether it was getting their ship in the air of merely booking it out of the general area.

Once through the exit I turned as people ran by and further into the ship. Sonic was already waiting for me in the hall as expected. Link and Midna came in a few seconds later with a rush of soldiers and Krystal and Chief were the last to enter.

I slammed the door controls shut and ushered everyone down the hall at a quick pace,

"Wait," I suddenly stopped where I stood, "Samus!" Immediately turning I ran back towards the Hangar Bay doors… too late.

A blast of heat and bright light flooded into my face. I fell onto my back and started to slide downwards. Below me was space… literal space, the dark void of space, the pod blew a hole in the ship!

In a split second of thinking I pulled out my crowbar and smashed it into the already cracking floor. Thankfully, it caught and stayed, the strain yanking on my arm as I came to a halt abruptly yet was still being pulled out towards the void of space.

The vacuum was immense, and I saw some unlucky soldiers scream and soar past me, falling into space. Finally the blast shield doors running along the ship activated and sealed the hole, gravity kicking back in. I un-hooked my crowbar and slide down the crumpled hall floor a few decks downward until I landed on a solid surface,

"Tony?" I looked up at the call of my name and saw a short blue figure standing along the edge of the wreckage, "Yo boss!" He waved a gloved hand down towards me and I waved back, "Nice." He continued, "I'll get a rope of something."

I shook my head in response, "Don't bother," I saw the heads of the rest of my team peer down at me from behind Sonic, "You guys go and head for the drop room as planned, I'm only a deck lower and there's bound to be a G-106 along the way, race you."

In return I got a snicker and a snide, "Do you know who I am?" from Sonic as I saw my team rush off out of sight above me. I turned on my heel with a grunt and made my way to the nearest holo-lift, I was armed with my crowbar and a pistol… under normal circumstances I might have felt safe, but we were indeed at war. Turning a corner I read the deck indication along the wall, I was on deck C. I moaned in disbelief, I was actually two decks below where I needed to be… with a sigh, I continued running.

I made it to deck B but couldn't get to deck A, the stairs were blocked by debris resulting in me needing to running through another Hangar and then to the pods. I rounded a corner and saw a Vanu Trooper, in a matter of seconds my pistol was out and the Vanu soldier falling to the ground, lifeless.

I hopped over his body and kept going, keeping my pistol clenched tightly in my right hand, a few moments later, I was at the Hangar.

I opened the door and entered with my pistol ready… the Hangar was simply full of dead bodies of Vanu and Federation soldiers alike. Shortly after entering the Hangar I found a Federation Soldier that was alive… and the worst part was I was trying to take his rifle out of his barely moving hands,

"Oh… you're alive! Are you alright?" I stammered in shame, feeling like a total jackass,

His mouth moved but no words came out, and I sighed as I knew that this man was slowly and painfully dying. I frowned and looked down at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with the poor soul, when suddenly his hand came into my view.

He had pulled out a picture and was holding it out to me, two pictures actually. I took both and looked at him, knowing his intentions, "I'll take care of it." Was all I said to him. His eyes were filled with desperation and I placed my hand on his shoulder, "I promise." A tear slide down the soldier's cheek and I watched the light drain from his eyes, a sigh escaping from my own body. I placed the soldier's helmet on his lap and crossed his arms over it gently, and then slide the two pictures into my pocket while reaching for his dog tags, "Greggar", it was his name.

I slowly stood and grabbed some other dead soldier's rifle and ammo, taking one last look at the dead soldier Greggar and couldn't help but feel a sort of resentment or ignorance to a blunt fact, "He was only the first of thousands…" I said aloud. With a snort and a grunt I started rushing back across the Hangar towards my destination.

Nearly towards my exit I stopped, turning to my left and observing one of the only ships docked in this Hangar… The Marenia,

"What? I could've sworn she went down with the other Hangar."

Cautiously walking forward I inspected the vessel, it was definitely my ship. Shrugging I kept moving, there was no time to loose. Shortly after leaving the Hangar I heard gunfire down the hall I was currently traveling, I started to run faster hopping to help whoever was on the other end of said gunfire. A few paces away from a corner the shooting stopped and I bounded around the corner rifle ready and looking for a target.

There were just bodies, Vanu and Federation soldiers. I checked all their pulses this time, dead. Looking down the hallways I expected to see someone… but saw none. There was a sudden hand on my shoulder and I spun around, sliding my crowbar off my belt and posing to strike.

That thought quickly dismissed itself when I turned around completely and was staring into the green visor of Samus's power armor,

"Samus!" I called in surprise, "Where'd you go!?"

Samus removed her helmet and smiled, "I wasn't going to let the Marenia burn."

I sighed, it all making sense now, "Oh thanks. I'm glad you're okay! I thought that-"

I cut myself off, Samus was raising an eyebrow at me, she stepped closer, "Oh? You thought what?"

I smiled awkwardly, getting sucked into the mind games Samus likes to play, but quickly thought of a counter, "I thought that my ship was gone."

Samus stepped back, "Oh." She frowned; obviously not satisfied that she had yet to best me at trying to get me to say what she wanted to hear.

An awkward silence followed, the majority of which pertained to me checking out how curvy she was even in Power Armor and her casually looking down the vacant halls,

"So… to the drop room!" I finally said at last, startling her momentarily. She nodded and put on her helmet, sealing it and looking back up at me. In an instant her blaster cannon was leveled at my chest, "Whoa wha-" I started,

"Don't move." Samus spoke through her helmet speakers, "There is a Daz-ar behind you."

I tensed in fear. Daz-ar were large lumbering beasts, trained by the Vanu to charge and plow down its enemies. They were reported to be extremely deadly and had such thick skin you'd need anti-tank rounds to combat one,

"What do we do…?" I whispered, my ears starting to register the short and harsh breathing of the creature behind me,

An energy ball started to form on the end of Samus's Cannon, "We run, run like hell."

I took a deep breath and ran to Samus's right, she let her energy ball fly and I heard it discharge down the hall. An ear-splitting roar boomed from behind us, followed by thunderous footsteps, "Keep running! Left and then straight on!" Samus was yelling directions from behind; I heard the automatic clatter of her cannon as well.

I spun my head around to see that she was right there with me, firing backwards at our mutant rhino friend. I grabbed her free hand and sprinted to the left, taking a quick glance over our shoulders to watch the Daz-ar blow into the hard walls of the ship. I smiled as it slumped to the ground, its head probably crushed.

I smiled and stopped, looking back at the Daz-ar's limp body. As I opened my mouth to make a snide remark towards the creature, its legs tensed and it was up and standing in a second, facing Samus and I, seemingly unphased by its crash into the wall. It roared once more and came charging at us once more,

"RUN!" Samus called, firing twice at the creature.

I was frozen with fear, I couldn't move. I was still astounded on how the creature could've withstood such a smash, and just stood rigid as it came plowing towards me. As the creature got closer, I came to my senses and realized Samus was pulling me down the hall at a rather slow rate, we wouldn't make it away this time, we were going to get impaled by this mutant rhino if we didn't do something!

In an instant an idea formed in my head, it was huge, insane… the best kind. I pushed Samus against the wall and flattened myself atop of her. I heard… well, felt the Daz-ar rush by, my shields firing up as it brushed by so closely. As soon as my shields turned on, I turned from Samus and dove into the hallway, my plan falling into place, and myself falling onto the Daz-ar's back. I reached out frantically for one of its horns and held on tightly, sliding my pistol from its holster on my leg and emptying the mag into the Daz-ar's skull… It kept charging forward! In desperation I pulled my crowbar off of my belt and smashed it into its face. Finally, the Daz-ar roared and doubled over, the weight of the huge creature rolled over me briefly and sucked all the hair out of my lungs before it continued to slide to a stop down the hall.

Several deep breaths later I stood and faced the creature, "Ha… well, that's done."

End note: Thank you guys for reading chapter one! I hope you enjoyed it! And to give you some explanation for the writing style and the short paragraphs and general pace of the story so far, I am taking this directly from three notebooks I filled during my Sophomore year of high school, generally speaking the writing skill level is low. I wanted to keep the plot and original writing though so most of this is directly from the first notebook. As we progress I'm going to do my best to clean up the writing and I'm sure you'll see some serious improvement in future chapters.
Other than that, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1, chapter 2 will be out very soon!
Reviews are always appreciated!
~Leaf