A/N: I own nothing put the words on this page. Still getting used to this interface, so please forgive any issues. Just as well, this is my first fan fiction so please no flames. Just constructive criticism.
Nathan Hale had done the impossible. Granted, he had done the impossible before, be it almost singlehandedly destroying the Chimera in England, or surviving project Abraham, but this took the cake. Hale, Capelli, Major Blake, and X-Ray team boarded the Chimeran battleship with a nuke, and made it to the airspace above the Chicxulub crater in Mexico. As usual, Hale and Capelli were the only ones who survived to see their plans come to fruition. Hale had fought his way to the reactor of the ship alone, fought and killed Daedalus alone, and now he was arming Nellie, the atomic weapon that would destroy the chimera's fleet, and hopefully end the war that claimed the lives of billions. He stole a glance at the body of Daedalus, if it could be called that, and began walking towards it. Killing him hadn't been difficult. One would think that killing the leader of the Chimera would take more effort that shooting some nodes on the reactor as he passed by them. As Hale walked closer, he felt a tingling sensation creep through him, when all of a sudden a massive surge flew through him. IT was painful yet exhilarating. When the tingling left him, he had an odd sensation in his hands. He stared at them with curiosity, but was broken from his reverie by the guttural growls of Chimera and the laser like sound of Bullseye rifles firing. He turned to face his attackers, and on a whim opened his palm in the general direction of the Chimera. To his surprise and sadistic glee, a powerful shockwave barreled out of his palm, shredding the hybrids in his path.
"What in the hell?" Hale questioned.
He began making his way to the shuttle where Capelli was located, firing a burst from his rifle here, and a shockwave from his hand there, accompanied by the liberal application of insults to the fatal injuries.
"Die you god damned stinks!" Hale shouted as he let loose a fusillade of heavy .30 caliber rounds, each of the massive projectiles tearing massive chunks out of the Chimera that dared to stand before him. As he neared the shuttle, he could hear the unmistakable whirring of a HVAP Wraith being fired. When he reached the top of the platform, he could see Capelli firing his minigun into the attacking chimera.
"Capelli, is the shuttle ready to go?" Hale asked as he sprinted onto the landing pad.
"Yes sir, shuttle is warmed up and ready to leave" Capelli replied.
"Good. You have about a minute and a half to get out of here."
"You aren't coming sir?" Capelli asked.
"No Capelli. You heard what Malikov said. I have three hours left to live before the virus kills me. I would rather die fighting than be turned into one of them" Hale replied as he fired a burst into the skull of a ravager.
"Alright sir" Capelli sighed as he continued "it has been an honor."
"Likewise, now get on that shuttle before I throw on"
Capelli nodded, and averted his eyes from Hale. He walked up the ramp and into the cockpit. Before long, the shuttle was lifting off and flying away from the ship. Hale had found Capelli to be a troubled soldier with his own issues, but he was still redeemable in the end. He wondered if the war would finally be over, if his final sacrifice would ensure the survival of humanity. He hoped so. He looked at his watch; he had about ten seconds before the bomb went off. He shot a chimera from the hip, his rifle tearing though the thing's chest.
9… Hale said a quiet prayer
7… What if we failed?
5… Did we win?
3… Will Capelli make it?
1… Hale felt at peace, and waited for the end.
0… Hale felt a massive rumble emanating from the center of the ship. His ears popped, his sinuses and lungs collapsed, the pain from which felt like he was being torn apart from the inside as the sensitive membranes and alveoli in his lungs were rent asunder by the shockwave, and he felt a horrible burning all over him, as if the gates to hell itself opened in front of him. He saw chimera collapse to the ground, writhing in agony as their exposed flesh burned and peeled away from the radiation. Hale's vision swam, dark tendrils enclosed around him as he slowly slid into unconsciousness.
******
Commander Christopher K. Shepard, US Navy liaison to the Systems Alliance, was angry. Not at anyone in particular, just at the grating buzz of the alarm clock that tore at his ears when he woke up at 5:30 a.m. Earth time. He rose from bed, still groggy and in a daze, and half walked half stumbled over to the bathroom. One of the luxuries of working for a well-funded paramilitary organization was that the standard of living was far greater than that of the military. He shaved, showered, and brushed his teeth all at the same time, a trick he learned while in the Navy. Feeling slightly more human, he walked over to his closet, or the closest thing to a closet that he had on the Normandy SR-2, and pulled out a set of Navy khakis. Though he had rank in the Alliance, he considered himself a United States naval officer. With a practiced care, he pinned the silver oak leaf cluster to his collar, and looked himself in the mirror. At around 32 years old, Commander Shepard cut a striking figure in his naval uniform; a uniform that he thought was much better looking than those of the Alliance. His short, brown hair combed over, his craggy face with clearly visible laugh lines, and his neutral, brown eyes all belied the fact that he was a well-honed machine of war. He walked out of his room, his officer's cap sitting neatly on his head. He looked forward to grabbing some chow and coffee, black as any good naval officer would drink, and then go reminisce about the good ol' days with Garrus. Before he could indulge in his rosy visions of the perfect morning, Jeff Moreau AKA Joker called him over the intercom.
"Uhh, commander? I just picked up some really weird radiation spike. Skynet over here says that the signature is consistent with a low yield nuclear detonation" Joker said, likely smirking at the jab he made at EDI.
"That is correct Mr. Moreau. The radiation is similar to that produced by early fission type weapons. I am also detecting other energy signatures that I cannot identify." EDI said, seemingly oblivious to Joker's comment.
"Is it a threat? Can you identify the source? Is it a reaper?" Commander Shepard asked, his voice tinged with worry.
"Based on what little data I have pertaining to Reapers, I don't think that this is a Reaper. The source cannot be identified until we get eyes on" EDI replied, her electronic voice showing no hint of emotion.
"Alright then. Joker power up weapons and put us on a course to the location of this signature. ETA?"
"Around four hour's sir. You can still go about our morning routine" Joker answered.
"Tell me when we are an hour and a half out"
"Aye sir"
The two and a half hours passed by relatively quickly, with Shepard eating a decent breakfast with a large mug of coffee and spending an hour and a half talking to Garrus, catching up and swapping war stories. After what only seemed like a few minutes, Joker's voice announced over the intercom
"Commander, we are an hour and a half out. Might want to get the team together and suit up"
"Roger that Joker. Call Jacob and Mordin to the hangar bay. Garrus you are coming with, sound alright?" Shepard asked, knowing that Garrus was still in bad shape courtesy of a Blue Suns gunship.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world Chris. See you in the hanger bay"
"See ya there. And Garrus try not to get into trouble. You look ugly enough already" Shepard chuckled
Garrus just laughed and shook his head. Shepard smiled. He and Garrus had been together since the beginning, two soldiers fighting for the same cause. They were two of a kind. Down in the hangar bay, Shepard met up with his team. They were already suited up and armed, ready and raring to go investigate.
"Possibilities incredible. New species and tech maybe, or ancient technology. Can't wait to study." Mordin jabbered excitedly. The salarian just wasn't comfortable without something to experiment on.
"Or it could be a Reaper trap. You know how they are" Jacob stated, clearly not as excited with many variables that came with the discovery.
"Enough speculation team. We won't know anything solid until we see the thing, which should be soon" Shepard said, cutting off the rampant speculation.
"Hey commander, we have a visual, patching it through to your HUD. No EDI, I am telling you that your readings are wrong. There is no way that it could be a starship and run without eezo" Joker said with annoyance dripping off his words.
"Something wrong Joker?"
"No commander, it's just that EDI says that it isn't getting any eezo emissions from the ship. Here is the feed now"
What Shepard saw amazed him, to say the least. First off, the ship was massive, easily comparable in size to Alliance dreadnoughts. Another striking feature was the teardrop shape. It seemed similar to Reapers, in that it seemed organic, but that was the end of it.
"You may be right Mordin. This very well could be a new species. Joker, try hailing it. EDI, can you tell me what I am looking at?"
"I am hailing the ship now commander. As far as identifying the ship, I cannot. The shape and residual energy readings match no known ship profiles, council or otherwise" EDI answered.
"Alright team, we don't know if this thing has atmosphere on board, so seal your suits, and be prepared for radiation. We don't know what we're getting into so be prepared"
With that, Shepard and company boarded the shuttle and began their journey to the alien ship.