When two worlds mess with powers they don't understand, they bring their own problems unto each other.

Chapter 1

The final push was called only ten minutes ago but it felt like an eternity had passed her by. Two minutes suiting up, two minutes loading ammo and reserves, two minutes storing emergency supplies, two minutes reviewing the battle plan, and two minutes saddling up and heading off down the long, empty streets of Earth's London to join the convoy of other heavy vehicles of war. Lieutenant Skythix Teratus sat quietly inside of an APC, looking down at her helmet that she had clutched between her fingers that was marred with scratches and dents from too much wear in such a short amount of time. She could see her reflection in her helmet of her tan colored plates and her blue and green colony markings tracing the lines of her tired face. The forty year old biotic veteran who stood a head over even a tall human, for the first time in her career, feared for her life. It was too much time to be thinking to herself. Scenarios flew through her mind of everything that could go wrong. So much already had that it was nearly impossible to see any upside. She glanced around at the other exhausted spirits inside of the vehicle who all looked entirely ready to throw in the towel. They were a medley of races attached to their own squad, a mixture of souls both too fatigued and terrified of what was to come. The only other two soldiers left in her Havoc squad were sitting next to her on both sides; Varima Xeratus on her left who was being uncharacteristically quiet while clutching her grenade launcher tightly and Aryus Orick on her right was tapping his foot constantly, staring at his omni-tool as a constant feed of information scrolled down the display. They lost their medic, Valus Thyren, upon entry of Earth's atmosphere when their Kodiak crashed into a building infested with reaper forces. It was strange being surrounded by people not of her own race but all shared the common goal of fighting for survival. Every op she had ever been on had a plan, a goal, and an end point where they got to go home afterward. Now… Now it was difficult to even see the end. They were staring into the gaping maw of a beast unlike any of them had ever seen and it showed on everyone's faces.

Skythix nudged Varima with her elbow, startling Varima into turning her head towards Skythix.

"You still with us, Brig?" She said to her demolitionist. Skythix's voice came out husky, her mouth feeling as dry as the flaming wreckage they were driving over.

"Yeah, I'm still here Ice." Ice was Skythix's codename for missions. "J-just a lot going through my mind." Varima said, a small voice crack marring her usually peppy tone. Varima stood a similar height to Skythix with dark red colony markings that ran horizontally across her cheeks and forehead. She had been in the military for only five years before she was put into Skythix's squad and for good reason. The woman knew how to handle explosives and enjoyed being in the front lines but was no short fuse herself. She was more akin to C4, extremely dangerous when handled properly while calm and collected when not in use, ready for the right hands to utilize her skills properly.

"You're not the only one." Skythix responded with placing a hand on her shoulder. Varima responded with a small nod before looking forward again at the wall of the vehicle. "Just make sure to get Sledge's attention away from his omni-tool before we disembark." Skythix said, thumbing over to Aryus. "He'll be thinking about so many things at once I'm afraid he might overload and just stay seated." She attempted to bring some humor to the somber blanket covering them all. Aryus was tall even for turians but he was much younger than Skythix was. His plates were a charcoal grey and he had black and white colony markings that weaved elegant lines across his face. Skilled at staying out of harm's way and attacking from where the enemy least expects it, he was extremely useful as a frontline support soldier and their official 'tech head'. Aryus looked up suddenly and did a double-take at Skythix.

"You say my name?" Aryus asked, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.

Varima's shoulders shook with a silent chuckle as Skythix shook her head. "See? It's those omni-games rotting his brain."

"It's not a game, Ice." Aryus spat back, catching Skythix off guard. "It's a list of our numbers and what we're facing. I'm all for an uneven fight but this is suicide. They're almost tripling our forces!"

Skythix wanted to strike back at him. She saw the reports. She had seen the number of wounded overflowing field hospitals. None of it was easy to swallow and getting angry at him wasn't going to make it any better. A few heads turned away from Aryus and scowled at his words, mostly likely ringing incessantly in their own heads already.

"I know Aryus." Skythix answered, keeping her voice low and even. "We all know."

Aryus froze, realizing what he had just said. Perhaps it was Skythix saying his real name out loud that woke him up. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it, trying to find words but coming up blank. "Sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to lash out." He said after a moment's pause.

"Don't worry about it. We're all on edge." Skythix said, looking around at the other people in the APC who were looking at them. Some lowered their gaze while others continued to stare. "I just need your head in the game. Focus on what's in front of us for now, alright? Leave the numbers and logistics for the officers because today we're the vanguard and it's our job to lead the cavalry." Varima and Aryus both nodded.

"We're with you lieutenant" Varima said.

A voice came over a speaker from the front end of the APC. "5 minutes to insertion people! Gear up and put your big boy pants on!" All heads lifted up at the voice and began checking their equipment. Skythix was the highest ranking person in their APC, even amongst the various races' militaries so she released her harness, placed her helmet on her seat, and stood up to grab on to a bar above her as all eyes fell on her. For once in her life she was at a loss for words. She'd always found it simple to rouse her troops into a concentrated frenzy, rallying everyone towards a goal no matter how challenging. Even difficult times when she had to deliver bad news to a loved one who lost a little bit of light in their eye when they heard, she always managed to say something comforting. This was different. Every soldier in this confined space looked at her with forlorn faces as if they'd given up already. How could she blame them? Some of these humans had been on Earth fighting the reapers since they first arrived while their spirits were being beaten down relentlessly. Even some asari who'd already seen their home planet be glassed were already despondent. They witnessed horrors worse than most could imagine while their home world was being covered in fire. Even now, her own home world was under siege and she wanted nothing more to be there helping but she knew the importance of this mission. She paused, looking at the eyes of each hardened soldier who now had to give everything they had or they, and everyone else to come, would be lost.

"How do you fight an enemy who feels no pain? An enemy who doesn't care about the ground that they raze in their wake? Their one and only goal is to see you take your last breath and steal everything you and your kind have ever made to see it burn." A few of the people in the APC began to frown at her. "Even when you feel like you're outmatched or outgunned, remember that you have something that the reapers can never dream to have; hope. They have nothing to come home to like we do. They don't care about the soldier's bond that we've all built together. They couldn't care less if the monster next to them went down, they'll just keep coming at us. They're mindless war machines that fight with numbers while we have a strength that they can never wish to match and overcome. Their entire existence is built on repurposing and exterminating, cleansing everything in their path and it is in that narrow-minded weakness that we will exploit them. When an enemy is hell-bent on doing one thing, you can learn to predict them and that's exactly what we're going to do." Most of the frowning faces were beginning to turn more determined. Both Varima and Aryus were staring at Skythix with intent. They'd heard her make a few invigorating speeches before but nothing compared to what they were seeing now.

"How do you fight an enemy who feels no fear? No remorse?" Skythix galvanized, raising her voice even louder. "You fight with all your heart! Nothing can outmatch our combined power because at the end of all of this it's going to be either us or them and I will fight until I've fired my last bullet, until my hands and feet are broken and bloody, and until they understand that we are not to be trifled with; this I swear to you!" Gloomy expressions were beginning to transform into the determination they were going to need to win. "We will cross battlefield to battlefield, city to city, and we will show them what it means to fight to the last! It is with your rifle and your spirit that we will succeed!" She shouted, thrusting her rifle as high as she could inside the APC. Everyone else did the same, exclaiming their cheers at her words.

"30 seconds!" Came the voice over the speaker again. Skythix let everyone's cheers die down as the call to action came.

"Today, we fight for the lost." Skythix said, leveling her voice out. She could feel the APC coming to a halt and she waited for it to stop completely before slamming a fist on the door release button. All the harnesses in the vehicle lifted as Skythix grabbed her helmet and disembarked out of the ramp that was made from the door with her M-76 Revenant over her shoulder. Gun fire could be heard in the air along with a sinister wind that carried the smell of ash and death. Between plumes of smoke in the distance, the standing behemoths that were the reaper ships could be seen laying waste to everything in front of them. Skythix steeled herself and placed her helmet on top of her head, snapping it into place with a hiss from the suit connecting the internal life support systems. Her HUD blinked to life in front of her eyes, dulling the already depressing surroundings as everyone pilled out of the APC. Varima loaded her M-100 grenade launcher and phaeston rifle while Aryus did the same to his m-11 suppressor and Krysae rifle while each secured their helmets immediately after.

"You two ready?" Skythix asked her squad.

"After hearing that? You bet your ass! We're with you Ice!" Varima exclaimed through their helmet radios.

"I'm ready to go." Aryus said coldly. "Nothing's gonna stop us."

Skythix looked at both of them and nodded before facing forward, motioning a 'move out' gesture with her hand.

"Everyone get your things and move because we're not coming back" Skythix called out to all the soldiers. "It's time to make good on our promises. Spirits be with us all."