Disclaimers: I do not own halo nor mass effect or any video game franchises for that matter. So don't sue me.
Author Note: Following the more controversial start to the original story, I have decided to refine the entire story to account for a more… "realistic" scenario as well as slightly, different approach...
The events of this story are different from what happened in the canon timeline following the events of Halo 3.
Please Review, tell me what you like what you didn't like. Trust me I do read them, so by all means say something.
In a future where Humanity is in a constant state of war within and without, heroes constantly arise… and fall. Humanity's greatest soldiers, the Spartan IIs are all but gone. The best and brightest of Humanity's leaders have long since been killed in action. Hundreds of planets and their citizens had been turned to glass by genocidal aliens. In a future where there is no hope, how will humanity move forward?
Hostile Area
Sparta
"Weston, checkpoint!"
"Shepard! Where the hell are you?!"
"RV twenty seconds ma'am."
Lieutenant Jane Shepard pressed down on the accelerator of the M12 Force Application Vehicle, also nicknamed the Warhog, revving the vehicle to over 120 kilometers an hour. The carbon nanotube wheels fought hard to find purchase in the slippery undergrowth that seemed to had taken over the unused road. The surrounding jungle slowly turned to a large green blur as the Warhog sped down the enclosed space of the tiny road, leaving dirt and dust in its wake.
Ahead of her, Shepard could see the entrance into an enemy compound: a rusty metal gate lined with thick strands of barbwire. And in the distance, Jane could hear the echoes of a raging firefight as her team and the enemies exchanged fire with one another.
Jane's comms crackled as her commanding officer called out for her once more "Shepard we need that extraction, now!"
Holding down the accelerator with anticipation, the Warhog crashed through the gate, undamaged and not slowed in the slightest. The same couldn't be said for the gate though, as two pieces of flimsy metal were twisted and came apart from the impact. With a skid, the vehicle's direction was expertly altered, allowing Jane to move towards the extraction point without having to waste time turning. However, Jane progress was hindered when she was forced to weave in and out of randomly placed barriers and small explosions. Getting through the obstacle course, she finally reached the location of her squad at the base of a polycrete plaza.
Most of the team was either was down or marked injured. Mud also covered the entirety of each and everyone one of their bodies.
Two bodies in combat gear lay motionless on the pocketed ground, and keeping the enemy from sticking their heads out of cover was Shepard's Squad leader, Lieutenant Commander Melissa Cantos. She seemed cold and calculating as ever, as she ran near a concrete barrier, pulled out a grenade and lobbed it towards a nearby car where a group of enemies had taken cover. Upon seeing the grenade roll to their position, some of the enemies broke off and ran towards separate directions, those who did were met by the bullets of the Lt Commander's gun. The rest were taken out by the grenade.
Unfortunately for the Commander herself, that split second where she was out of cover was all her enemies needed before shooting both of her legs, painting it in crimson red paint.
Shepard immediately pulled the vehicle to a stop, making sure to place the vehicle between the "injured" Squad Leader and the large amounts of incoming fire originating from nearby trees.
Hopping out of the Warhog, Shepard ran and slid over to her Lieutenant Commander, mud splashing all over her uniform.
"My legs are out Shepard. As exciting as it may be to crawl over to the Warhog; I would prefer it if I could keep my dignity and actually make it this time."
Shepard grabbed her by the handle on the back of her armor and dragged her to the Warhog. Paying close attention as to avoid being in the sights of any weapon, Shepard tried to minimize her target size by shrinking down as small as she could. She watched as two other members of her team provided covering fire for her, suddenly two roars could be heard, and each teammate came down with shot to the heads, a single round each. Someone apparently had a Designated Marksman Rifle.
A few words scrolled across her helmet's visor.
"JARED MILLER, ONYX SQUAD, KIA"
"ANGELA RODRIGUEZ, ONYX SQUAD, KIA"
When she finally got to the Warhog her helmet alerted her to a terrible development with a simple five words, "MELLISA CANTOS, ONYX SQUAD, KIA".
Fuck.
She turned to her squad leader, only to find her down with four shots to the chest.
Jane felt bad about having to leave the Lt-Commander behind but at this point it would take more effort to put her into the warhog then just leave her behind. So without a further thought, she dropped her on the mud outside the warhog and called out to her fellow squadmates, only to receive no reply. As if things couldn't get any worse, Shepard's helmet suddenly provided another alert, one that showed how bad the situation had deteriorated.
"JANE SHEPARD, LAST MAN STANDING."
She immediately raced to the other side of the warhog, searching for the weapon she placed on the passenger seat. Placing her hands on the handle of the weapon, she was instantly smart linked with it. The image of the weapon showed on the upper right corner of her visor, her choice of weapon, an old M6H magnum with a wooden finish, a gift from her father.
With a flick of the safety, Jane felt she was ready to take on the world. But she was caught off guard as turned around at the sound of splashing mud, only to find herself facing down the barrels of a pistol and a DMR. Holding those weapons were some of the cruelest bastards she had ever met.
A young man's voice spoke out, unfriendly and unforgiving "Shoot her legs."
Shepard instantly lost all feeling of her lower body, and quickly slumped to the ground, back against the warhog. In an act of defiance, Shepard looked up to her attackers and managed to squeeze down the trigger of her pistol once before a rifle round to the head ended all feeling.
Sparta Academy of Military Studies
Sparta
Shepard would awake later to the revving of engines and the sound of soldiers marching across the grounds of a large campus. Opening her eyes, Shepard found herself in a large medical tent, where each and every bed in the little space was occupied with unconscious marines or soldier cadets. All of who were involved with the recent training exercise that she was a part of. She scanned across the room, personal belongings and olive-drab clothing lay neatly folded near every sleeping person on single shelved furniture. Outside she could see numerous Cadets in the same olive drab clothing, doing various activities under the heat of the golden sun that lie above.
Less than a minute after she woke up, Shepard was greeted with the sight of a familiar dark skinned man in a blue working uniform, the three golden stripes that ran down the length of either shoulder identified him as a Commander of the Navy. She immediately tried to get up of the bed to salute, only to be told to not move by her ranking-superior.
"Relax Shepard," He said with a smile. "I'm just here to check on how you're doing. Heard those two kids got you again." Shepard knew whom he was talking about, the Close Quarters Combat specialist named Kaiden Alenko and his little girlfriend, the school's second best marksmen (or Markswoman), Rahna Batca. Officially, of course, they were not dating; the rules against fraternization assured that. Unofficially though, everyone knew that they were totally a thing.
"I'm okay, I only got tagged in the head." She knew she was being modest of course, but she didn't want to look bad in front of the man she virtually considered to be her mentor.
The man simply pursed his lips in frustration, before tussling her hair in an uncle-like way. "You may think you can lie to me Shepard but I didn't get these wrinkles for just any plain, old reason. A round to the head, regardless of whether it's a Tactical Training Round or not can kill someone. Hell most of these people-" He motioned his hands towards the numerous cadets who lay unconscious on the beds. "-were all taken out by shots to the chest. Come on Shepard you should already know this, better yet you should have known better then to stay in the wide open."
Shepard remained silent, her eyes looking downward at nothing in particular.
Waiting for a reply and not getting any, the man spoke once again "Keep Alenko in an enclosed space, he needs more room then you to move. And Rahna has always had trouble when it comes to hesitating, use that to your advantage. But nevertheless, I'm glad to see you are doing better. Just try not to let these damn kids beat you at this again." She knew he was staring down at her but she did not dare looking him the eye, she just could not bring herself to do it.
"Get better Shepard. Kick those kids asses next time." and without another word, the man walked out of the tents.
Leaving Shepard to her own thoughts.
It was not until thirty minutes later when some Doctor arrived that she was cleared to head back to her dorms. Putting on the olive-drab clothing next to her bed, Shepard left the tent, and entered the great outdoors. Dozens of cadets just like her marched across the well-trimmed grass doing everything their Senior-Year leaders told them to do. Around the open field, low-rise concrete buildings created walls, creating a sort of boundary for where people could and could not go. Small concrete barriers created an area for where vehicles were not allowed to enter.
Continuing her walk to the dorms, she passed more concrete buildings, all of which looked the same. The only difference being the numbers on the walls that marked each building. More cadets passed back and forth, running, walking, or just conversing with another. If people had not been wearing uniforms or military buzzcuts it might have even looked normal. But this place was nothing near normal.
Founded in 2556, Sparta since the moment a UNSC craft discovered it, had been planned as a world for military use. In less then three months, the UNSC engineering Corp had established this entire facility as an institution for military learning. It was not for the men and women already in the military but for their kids, usually around the age of fourteen to sixteen. SAMS curriculum was geared around the teaching of military studies to its cadets so they would graduate with an Officer's Commission. The exact Military studies in question covered everything involved over the military theory, method, and practice, military science and history. All of these were consistent with the production of young capable men and women who would become the next-generation of military leaders.
Her dad always told her that "Today's world was impossible only a few years ago." Her first memory was that of a glassing, one of the last she would later discover had resulted in the deaths of over 99% percent of the colony and all her friends. She remembered the bright red beam that came down like a storm of fire from God himself.
Thirty million.
That was how many was lost on that little planet. Funny thing was, that was nothing, a drop in the bucket compared to how many total were gone in that war. Fast-forward a couple of years and now they were rebuilding, reclaiming all that they had lost in the covenant war. But that didn't come without a few obstacles, the covenant remnants were still a thing, glassing and killing the planets they stumbled upon. Brute raiders and Kig-Yar pirates still existed. Insurrectionists were making a rise. The occasional colony ship went missing outside of UNSC space for unknown reasons, it was just the way things were.
It wasn't until she finished her thought that Shepard realized where she was in. She had stopped by in the main courtyard. Slabs of smooth stone covered the floor, well-trimmed brushes fenced the area, and enclosing it was the offices of the staff, black/greenish buildings made of metal. It was a virtually square within a square within a square, once you added the pool of water in the middle. The seamless combination of colors made the small vista such a pleasing place to be in.
Unfortunately, Cadets were not often here unless they were either lost or in trouble. But in her case...
She looked up at statue that was in the middle of the pond, the center of attraction. The base of it contained a golden plaque of the school's motto. It read "Duty and Honor Above All".
Jane felt in instant tingling sensation running through her body when she read those words. It was as if she looking into the face of not just history but something more.
The entire colony was named after it, or more correctly 'him' she reminded was like a legend from some distant time, a knight in emerald armor who would slay the dragon, and bring peace to the kingdom. His stories always sounded like something from a comic pad, something so unimaginative and unreal you would think it is was impossible, part of someone's imagination. But her dad, no every veteran said otherwise. The man in emerald armor; the last of his kind, the "Unconquering Hero", "Spartan 117", and she remembered her dad saying something once when he drank too much, a strange name she remembered, "The Demon", but all of the UNSC knew him by one name "The Master Chief".
You hear a lot about him while growing up. Many of those who were there, both alien and human, in the Covenant war talked about him. Ask any little kid what they wanted to be when they're older and you'll likely get the same answer 9 out of 10 times, A SPARTAN.
Jane gazed upward at the tall, proud statue of the legendary hero, looking into the distance. With the black stone polished and gleaming against the golden sunlight, he looked like everything his uncles and aunts and fathers told her about him.
What if he was still alive? How different would things be now? During these kinds of moments, it was hard for one to not ask such questions. Stealing once last glance at the statue Jane left, her imagination running wild at the possibilities.
CSV Elasa's Song
Task Force 101
"Spectre Vasir, the Captain requests your presence abroad the bridge."
The elite agent sighed before closing down the programs on her omni-tool. Uncrossing her legs, she got off the plump, soft couch and stretched. Not bothering to thank the waiting crewmen, the Spectre walked right past her. Despite blowing her off, the asari crewmen stared in awe at the Council's operative. It wasn't every day that the Tela Vasir walked past you. Every asari in Citadel space (and in some cases the Terminus Systems) had heard of Spectre Vasir and her exploits. There were entire movies about her missions, shows about her combat prowess, and even an interview seen by billions about how she got her rock hard, delicious abs.
Trailing behind the Spectre, the asari crewmen watched as other ship workers and service crewmen made way for her. Each of them was staring at the Spectre, and then her as she followed behind. It felt awesome. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last long for as soon as the Spectre stepped into the bridge, the asari crewmen would be forced to return to her duties.
The same could be said for Tela Vasir however. Who now had to speak with the Captain, a one Alik Lytax, who was also a one, large pain in the ass.
After waiting a few moments, the female turian placed the holopad in her hands down. "Vasir. I've been waiting for you." This bitch... "The turians have begun setting up defensive positions around the relay, they think that..." Vasirs mind slowly blocked out the turian's words as she rambled on about something. Her mind was no longer focused on what she had to say but in how many ways she could kill Alik, which as of now was thirty.
Fortunately for her, Tela needed the Captain for this mission, as her ship, this very ship, was one of the new stealth frigates produced jointly by all three Council races. And for this mission, Tela needed her ship. But as soon as it was over though, Tela would make sure to make Alik's life a living hell.
"-and thats the end of it. You think you're ready to go yet? I know I am."
She rolled her eyes at the Captain.
Just a little more time and I wont have to see this Sha-Shan again.
Taking a look out the window, Tela was greeted with the sight of a large, inert Mass Relay. It lacked the movement of the gyroscopic rings, or even the bright blue color of their eezo core in use. It was funny to think that this thing, this dead thing, could open up new possibilities. "Send the activation codes. Get the Relay moving. And Captain, I want the prisoner up here too."
The Captain frowned at that, apparently she wasn't too happy with that order. "The prisoner up here?" she asked.
Tela folded her arms in response. "Yes."
"Dormin!" she growled.
A salarian on one of the consoles turned his head rapidly.
"Tell security down below to bring up the prisoner."
"Yes ma'am." The response was fast as was the typing she could hear all the way from here.
Moments later... two turians in full, combat gear arrived, escorting a familiar figure between them. Bridge crew turned to get a look at the site of the pink-skinned, brown furred asari-like alien that came in.
"Get your slimy hands off me you Covie bastards.", spittle flew out of his mouth and tried staring everyone down. Despite his yelling, no body, expect Tela Vasir understood what he said. Thank god for Spectre Requisitions, her translator was top-of-the-line, with its newest language being that of the humans.
Turning to him with minor annoyance, Tela Vasir said '"You keep talking about these 'Covies', yet you don't explain who they are. But thats kind of irrelevant right now, all my superiors want to know is, how can we get in contact with your government?"
"What the UNSC?" responded the man, angry clear as day in his voice. "Fuck them! And fuck you!" Captain Alik turned around, pretending to not care what Tela and the alien said to one another. She was curious of course, but right now, running her ship was more important.
But Tela was a different story, her patience was waning thin.
"Listen, I don't care about your pity hatred. I have a job to do, and you're wasting my time. So this is what we're gonna do..." She came close to his face, close enough to smell his foul breath. "...we're gonna go to the next system and you'e going to point out which place I can get ahold of your leaders from. If you do not cooperate-" Tela looked down at the trousers he was wearing. "-I am going to slowly, cut off your half-quad and shove it in that already dirty mouth of yours. Do you understand?"
The man gulped at the final part.
Perfect.
"Y-Yes. I understand." he croaked.
Turning towards the ship's Captain, Tela spoke to her once more. "Are we ready?" she asked.
The Captain nodded her head. Whatever Tela said to the creature, had caused him to stop yelling. Even the two turians standing next to him were surprised. Alik smiled at that, she didn't like Spectres in the slightest but by the spirits did they know how to get things done.
With a flash of blue and white lightening, the CSV Elasa's Song was transported one and twenty light years, in the blink of an eye. Throwing out scans, from the stealth frigate's rather delicate, sensor array, the CSV Elasa's song was provided a detailed map of the system, albeit with light-second delays but for the most part were of very little concern.
Console operators began reporting immediately.
"Jump success."
"Engines green."
"Stealth systems engaged."
"Star maps collecting data."
"Captain. Locking on sentient transmissions from all nearby star systems."
The Captain nodded in turn, her hand running through her fringe. It was a force of habit.
"Can you translate them?"
The salarian paused as he read over the data. "Negative." he replied in a quick salarian accent. He began reading down the information "Insufficient data. Heavy encryption. Signal needs to be clearer. Would need to get closer for a better chance."
Turning to face Tela, Alik saw her nodding in agreement. The human behind them was scared, unsure of what exactly was going on.
"Very well. Bring us in, search every star, every planet and every moon for signs of life."
Captain Alik never realized how that very command would affect the Galaxy forever.
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