Harmonious Friction

Chapter I

Adrift in space. Bored. I miss the echo of cannons, the screams of pain, the stench of the battlefield. That is home.

"Lieutenant, transmission from fleet, sir" Thomson calls over the intercom. The words are distant whispers to Alric, his vision remains locked on the glowing mass beyond the view port.

"Sir?" Thomson inquires. Again his words pass over Alric into nothingness. Deep within his chest he listens to pounding bass drum that is his heart. Why must we secure peace? We are soldiers. Our job is to fight. Without war our existence is meaningless. His thoughts are interrupted this time by the blaring and crackling tone of an intercom page."Lieutenant Ravenshaw, transmission from fleet. It is Admiral Hackett, sir. How shall we respond?" this time Thomson's tone is much more severe. His emphasis on the Admiral's name hinting at an underlying urgency.

Torn from his thoughts Alric pays full attention to his pilot's call. "Patch him through to my private quarters now. Hopefully he is feeling patient today." His words roll off his tongue without thought. Why is the Admiral contacting me? Why not use the normal channels. Straightening in his desk chair and perfecting his composure the lieutenant turns on the monitor before him.

"Admiral, excuse the delay."

"Excuse the pleasantries Lieutenant," the Admiral's tone is passive and emotionless. "I require the services of the Ickubo and her crew. Something has come up that requires a special touch, one that only you can offer."

"A special touch?" Alric asks, leaning closer to the screen. "Sir, I do not understand the implications being made here."

"I am sure you have heard of the recent incident on Eden Prime, concerning the SSV Normandy. So I will spare the details. After Captain Anderson was forced to leave due to casualties there was quite a mess left behind." On the screen the Admiral's face was worn and the bags under his eyes looked unusually large. Rubbing his chin the Admiral struggles to find the right words. "The report's that came in a few hours ago all mention the same three things; a large number of Geth, a dead Spectre, and no resulting action by the council. Things here at the Citadel are getting very uncomfortable."

"So the Council has decided to do nothing, just like we expected. Political bullshit!" Alric curses under his breath. "How can they sit back and do nothing, the Geth have invaded our colonies."

"They are blaming us for the incident. Saying we knew of the dangers of our proximity to the terminus systems yet still settled colonies. Trust me you aren't the only one who feels so strongly about it. Word is that Anderson and his team blamed another Spectre." The Admiral turns in his chair leaning back, letting the shadows of his office cascade of him.

"Another Spectre?" Alric's eyes widen and his heart beats slightly faster. "Was the Council behind the attack then?"

"No." The Admiral's tone shifts to a much deeper and solemn one. "Its much worse. It's Saren."

The name echoes loudly in Alric's head. A hammer pounds hard into his skull and he wipes his face slowly. "Saren. That means the rumors were true, he has gone rouge."

"Exactly," the Admiral swivels his face back onto the screen, "and that's why the Council must act!" He slams his fist hard onto the desk in front of him. His face absent of the many wrinkles normally present now red and lips pursed. "Captain Anderson contacted me moments ago informing me that his crew was staying here at the station to attempt to persuade the Council to do otherwise. How they can do that is beyond me. Those racist bastards don't give a damn about human affairs." Admiral Hackett pauses and takes a deep breath. "Eden Prime is being evacuated and the security forces deployed have all but green-lit the planet. I don't believe that the Geth were solely on Prime so I want you to take the Ickubo to Asphodel, a moon of Zion. We lost signal with a small outpost located on the planet-side. We are classifying this as a red zone, you are clear to use all provisions."

"Understood sir." Alric sits up taller. The words of his superior cause a small smile to cross his face. "When will we have relay clearance?"

"Immediately," the Admiral dully replies. "Report back to me on this line for debriefing."

"Yes sir," the Lieutenant salutes his superior.

Admiral Hackett ignores the salute, "Be careful. I am sending you as much Intel as I can. I would review the information before addressing your crew. Some of it may prove sensitive."

Alric grins at the Admiral's words, "No offense sir, but I haven't let you down yet."

"True," the Admiral adds before the screen flickers off.

Alric stares at the blank screen for a moment before leaning back into his chair. Running his hand through his short cropped brown hair he looks back out the view port. A chill runs over his body. Something isn't right, the Admiral never worries. The situation at the Council must be much worse than he let off.

Waiting a few moments to dwell on his thoughts the Lieutenant opens the intel files. Before him on the screen a large number of files are present. One catches his eye, "Spectre Agent Nihlus confirmed dead." Opening the file the image of the Turian fills the screen, a deep and angry look complete his face. Reported dead at the scene, confirmed by a witness to be killed by Spectre Saren. Further investigation into the topic has been barred by the Council. Finishing the text Alric returns to a picture of the Turian.

The Lieutenant continues to quickly scan all of the files, each one causing his eye lids to press closer to one another. Finally a file appears that perks him up. "Anti-Geth Tactics." He opens it and reads each sentence closely, looking over the many diagrams and taking in all of the information in front of his eyes. The lieutenant quickly begins to realize that the Geth are not merely simple synthetic machines but far more capable assailants. I need to make sure the whole crew gets this. Sliding his chair back he stands to his full height and stretches out, scraping the ceiling with his extended hands.

Pushing the comm button on his armor Alric calls Thomson. "West, set a course for the nearest relay. Then get the crew together in the conference chamber. 5 minutes."

"Yes sir. This mean we are going out?" Thomson asks overzealously.

The same boyish smile that came across his face moments ago now slides onto his face. "Yes it does."

Closing the comm quickly before the pilot can pry further the Lieutenant pulls his jacket from the back of his chair. Over the speaker Alric can hear West relaying his orders very happily.

Finally, a reason to exist, he thinks as he steps out of his chambers.

Walking down the cold gray corridors Alric makes his way towards the conference chamber towards the front of the ship. Voices from inside can be heard in excited conversation. Stopping outside the door he looks up at the ceiling seemingly studying the lights. Alright, just give it to them straight. For some reason he always got nervous when addressing his crew. Even though they all were so close and personal.

Stepping into the small room that resembled a classroom more than anything Alric gazed at his small troop. In the desk farthest from the door West Thomson , the pilot, sat engaged heatedly in a conversation with Cori Phillips sitting beside him. Leaning against the door Alric decides to watch.

"There just no way in hell you swindled a Volus," West shakes his head in disagreement.

Cori laughs wildly, "just because your too stupid to do it doesn't mean its impossible."

"Too stupid? I hate to break it to you but I don't think any of us believe you."

"Okay West," Cori quips, "and what about the time you supposedly wrestled a Krogan?"

"That happened," West is now standing in front of Cori. The two stand dead locked glaring at each other.

From across the room Ike calls out, "Speaking of wrestling why don't you two settle it like that instead of moaning about it."

Both Cori and West turn and glare savagely at Ike whose mass could swallow the two whole. "What? Something to say?" he asks looking over the data pad in his face.

"They would much rather swallow each others spit," Nolan adds jokingly. Ike bellows loudly at the joke. Nolan nods to the Lieutenant briefly before returning to his rifle.

"That's funny coming from the guy who always sits back safely. While we, the real men, get up close." Cori snaps at Nolan harshly, his face red.

"Who is 'we', the day you two count as men…will never come." Ike snickers.

Nolan sets his rifle down and asks, "Cori? Ever stop to think about what would happen if I didn't do my job? It wouldn't be Ike lying dead."

"Trying to say something Shifty?" Cori moves closer to Nolan forgetting his argument with West.

"Ahem!" the Lieutenant clears his throat loudly. Cori and West jump to attention embarrassed. Ike and Nolan simply slide to their feet trying not to laugh at the two younger soldiers.

"Sir, how long were you there?" West asks fearing the answer.

"Long enough to know I need to buy the two of you dresses." Ike and Nolan both grin at this. "You done bitchin'?" Alric asks with a raised eyebrow.

Cori and West shamefully look at the floor before answering their CO, "Yes sir."

"Then sit down," Alric chuckles lowly. "I see you're already reading the report I sent you Ike."

Without looking up from his data pad Ike replies simply, "Yup."

"What report?" Cori asks somewhat detained.

"One related to our newest assignment, straight from Admiral Hackett himself." Alric's words cause a slight shift in everyone's appearance. Ike lays his pad down on the table in front of him, Nolan stops tinkering with his rifle, Cori sits straighter, and West twitches. " Now, as we all know the recent attack on Eden Prime stirred up a hornets nest. While we have been on security detail, Command has been busy at the Citadel."

"So what has the Council decided."

"To do nothing."

"What?" Ike barks.

"How can they not help us?" West adds. Everyone exchanges glances in front of Alric.

"Honestly, I don't know. Politics are beyond me." Pacing from side to side he tosses up ideas in his head. "Captain Anderson is working on the Council, and the Admiral himself seems to be stressed out. We need not worry about what happens in the Citadel, our focus should be on our objective."

Alric waits for acknowledgment from everyone. "Looking over the reports given to me, a lot of variables are at play here. For one, we know a Spectre is dead and another is accused of spear-heading the attack. We know the enemy wanted the Beacon, but have no idea what for. Geth have been confirmed to be involved. We…" he pauses as he notices that he has lost the attention of the others.

"Geth? A Spectre leading Geth? Doesn't make sense sir."

"Nothing makes sense right now. The reports I sent you are crucial to study in order to understand them. We are going to the Utopia cluster, same as Eden Prime. Our goal is investigate reports of Geth on the moon Asphodel. It would only make sense that the enemy would need a base of operations close by."

"Sir, shouldn't there be a much larger installment heading out with us. I mean a five man squad seems hardly enough to combat what could be a considerable number." Nolan leans forward, his shaved head gleaming in the light. "I mean if fleet expects us to fight a war and win, they have severely overestimated our abilities."

"Have they?" Alric responds, "this mission is merely an investigation. First sign of a large detachment we leave. Fleet can deal with numbers of that magnitude."

After going over many maps and details the crew decides where to land safely. "In order to effectively combat our enemy we will need to utilize every option we have available. We need to use Tungsten rounds, there is a small store of them in the armory. Make sure your kinetic barriers are charged and when we land we need to move fast."

"Yes sir," the crew volleys at Alric. "We have five hours before we make land fall, get some rest. At 1400 hours we will meet again, right after we enter the cluster. Understood?"

Another volley of "Yes sir's" fill the room. "Dismissed," he adds before slipping out of the door quickly to avoid questioning. I need to get a hold of Sheppard. He thinks as he closes his chamber door behind him.

Sliding back into his desk chair and throwing his jacket on the cot beside him, Alric hesitates. Rocking slowly in the chair he contemplates the many things he could say. Finally making up his mind after nearly ten minutes he sends out the call.

Seconds after the call is placed a hard knock shakes the walls of his chambers. Ignoring it he returns his attention to the blank screen. Again the knock rattles the chamber walls. "Sir, its Ike."

Shaking his head Alric cancels the call and moves to the door. Tearing the door open he glares at Ike, "What is it?"

"I think there is something you need to see sir. Its about the reports."

Alric's face twists painfully. "Something wrong with them?"

"No sir," Ike excitedly replies and pulls out his data pad, "Nolan and I were going over them and found something that we thought you would find interesting. See this?" he asks pointing at the pad.

Alric stares intently at the screen. "A hive mind. That could pose a serious problem."

"It means that if one sees us, they all do."

"So we are going to have to be quick and quiet. Do the others know."

"Not yet sir, I wanted to make sure I got it through you first."

"Good eye. Well let the others know."

"Sir," Ike pauses before continuing, "Lieutenant, permission to speak freely?"

"Of course."

"I've noticed you've been on edge ever the incident on Prime. Something bothering you?"

"No. I am just focused on the mission at hand. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important business to deal with." Without waiting for his subordinate to respond Alric slips back inside leaving Ike outside wanting to ask another question. Deciding against it he leaves.

Alric stands with his back to the door looking at the ground. Sheppard has to know if she made it. There were survivors. Or... Alric's thoughts stop cold as a tight pain grips his neck. His eyes wince and his lungs wheeze for air. Stumbling to his bed the Lieutenant collapses limply onto his bed.