Aces High Prologue: Shuffle the Deck, Deal the Cards
As the yellow lights flashed, they were accompanied by a synthetic voice over the loud speakers.
"WARNING! LEVEL ONE PRISONER IN TRANSIT. WARNING! LEVEL ONE PRISONER IN TRANSIT. ALL PERSONEL ARE CLEARED FOR LIVE FIRE. ALL PERSONEL ARE CLEARED FOR LIVE FIRE."
The hologram sighed wondering if all the hoopla was necessary. In a way it was. The very prisoner that was being transported was, of course, the most dangerous one of all in recent history.
It was also the prisoner he'd requested an audience with.
Admiral Steven Hackett rubbed his face tiredly. The Reaper War was getting out of hand and the fact they were getting so desperate as to conspire with criminals to achieve victory was… troubling.
Especially one such as this prisoner.
The door opened and security personnel flooded the communications room. Techs were tapping systematically to ensure complete security of their consoles and system.
Finally all movement and noise ceased.
Hackett steeled himself as the only noise was that of the metallic whine of hydraulics straining.
Boxed in by no less than 8 guards all armed with heavy caliber weaponry and two techs monitoring the mobile prison, a lone figure slowly marched his way into the room as fast as the hydraulic exoskeleton restraint would let him.
The stoic visor displaying no emotion whatsoever staring predatorily at the Admiral focused solely on him.
Eventually said figure stood before the holograms of Hackett and a few other Admirals. It looked ridiculous in the oversized exoskeleton but the mech was a precaution. The powered armor the figure bore allowed him strength beyond measure and could not be removed as far as anyone knew. It wouldn't do to allow him to bring that power to bear.
"Hackett." The synthesized voice acknowledged the being before him. Despite being computer generated, scans showed it wasn't a scrambler and that the prisoner was male.
"I hope the accommodations are satisfactory Vigilante." One of the Admirals sneered practically spitting the name.
Vigilante's head turned to lay the visor across the offending Admiral. "Compared to the accommodations outside the walls Admiral Davis, this is quite the Five Star Joint. Compliments to the Warden. I think I could get used to this."
Davis frowned at the Terrorist.
Vigilante, a well known anti-human Terrorist and Galaxy's Number One Most Wanted Criminal, simply chuckled. Ever since his appearance two years ago shortly after the Battle of the Citadel in which Staff Commander Shepherd defeated the Reaper Sovereign, he had been a thorn in the side of Galactic Civilization, a threat to humanity, and a nightmare to bring in. His first major attack on humanity had been a shock to the entire galaxy as the death toll was finally confirmed in the hundreds of thousands. Nobody could ever have pulled off an act of terror on the level of near early civilization genocide but he had gone down in history as even worse than all of Earth's well known dictators combined.
As the years went by his attacks grew more focused, hitting specific targets but he didn't seem to care if bystanders were hurt.
Eventually his attacks leading up to the Reaper invasion were sparse and random making little to no sense at all.
A month before the Reapers invaded, he went silent.
The only good thing he'd done for the galaxy was his private war with the Pro-human Group Cerberus. Vigilante had actively hunted down Cerberus whenever they reared their heads doing significant damage to the group only returning to civilian targets when they went silent.
After Cerberus emerged from the shadows in the wake of the Reapers though, He was nowhere to be found.
He'd been "killed" numerous times only to rise up from the grave and resume his bloody trail of carnage.
However after the Reapers had invaded, the Galaxy braced itself for an attack by Vigilante, ether of opportunity in the confusion or as some conspiracy theorists thought, as an Agent for the Reapers. It made sense, Vigilante appeared after Sovereign and went silent leading up to the appearance of his Reaper masters.
Nobody expected that 6 weeks after the Reapers appeared, a distress beacon from an uninhabited planet would summon the Alliance to investigate…
…to find the Terrorist that had struck fear in the Galaxy for two years and 7 months on his knees, hands on his head, willing to go quietly at gunpoint.
He had volunteered information on the Reapers that had made the fight significantly easier and even allowed his armor to be scanned revealing a considerable amount of Reaper Tech which he claimed "came from Sovereign" explaining his resiliency to all manner of firepower.
It was even revealed that he, the terrorist who wanted nothing more than the destruction of the human race, was human himself.
When questioned about his motives, he refused to answer stating, "My motives are my own. My reasons are a secret I'll take to my grave and God help anyone who learns them."
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you didn't bring me here to interrogate me further about 'My Reaper Masters'." Vigilante chuckled.
"YOU showed up after Sovereign and started killing everyone! Explain why thousands that could be alive and assisting with the war effort had to die you Reaper piece of-"
"Enough Davis." Admiral Jack Leign cut him off.
"I may be packed with Reaper Tech but those deaths were needless in the grander scale of the Reaper's goals. If the Reapers really were my Masters they would have me killed as an example to their other Agents on how not to go about things. Those deaths were my agenda."
"Goals you still won't clarify." Leign said.
"I barely understand them as they are now." Vigilante said. "I'd sound like gibbering idiot trying to explain them. It's a vision that needs to be seen to be understood. Verbal communication is… inefficient to allow proper understanding as your mind is biased. Without being able to see things though the mind's eye you'd only half grasp it at best and at worse well…" Vigilante shrugged. "I'd be better off attempting to teach a two year old calculus."
"And your agenda?"
"Still not telling." He turned back to Hackett. "Reapers stole your tongue Hackett? I know you wouldn't be here if you had anything to say. I'm missing 'Sharing Time' for this so unless you've got something more important than me telling others about how remorseful I am about slitting Jacobs throat because he looked at me funny I'm going to have to cut this session short."
"I see your sarcasm hasn't suffered in prison." Hackett finally said.
"Some habits die hard. Yippe kay aye muthafukas."
"It's getting bad out there Vigilante."
"So says the grapevine."
"We could always use more guns out there and hell, the stunts you pulled off out in the wild I could really use right now against the Reapers."
Vigilante seemed to pause bewildered. "That bad that you wish you had more of me huh? You must be desperate."
"I'm extending an offer to you. I'm willing to let you run around leashed if you'll turn your guns on the Reapers for us."
"You pullin' my leg Hackett?"
"No."
"This won't be a popular move, letting the Terrorist that killed millions go free now."
"I'm aware of that but right now I need victories. My career is the last thing I'm worried about because if we all go, less tin on my uniform will be the least of my worries."
"…Point taken. Nobody to remember you if there's nobody to bury you. Let me guess, there's still strings attached though."
"I'd be stupid if I let you go free without adult supervision."
"Oh boo hoo. Who's going to care if I get into a playground scuffle with Reapers?"
"Or Cerberus? No one. It's you turning on our allies I don't need."
"I'll think about it."
"Offer expires as soon as communications are closed."
"…What am I looking at?"
"A task force put together to deal with Reapers on a hit and run basis. We've fielded a few joint "N7" Operations already and they seem to be doing the trick."
"N7? Joint?"
"It's an… unofficial name we're letting slide for morale reasons."
"Resources?"
"We're looking to outfit another Frigate-"
"No dice. Bigger."
Hackett paused frowning at Vigilante.
"You want to see results similar to what I did when I first came out, trust me I could have done far worse with the resources you're offering to sling at the Reapers. Get me a bigger boat and I'll triple the casualties you saw at the Canterlope Stadium Massacre."
Silence as the Admirals paused to consider Vigilante's words.
"Triple?" Admiral Zezua Barlack questioned, her steel grey eyes searching for some kind of lie in Vigilante's visor.
"Triple." He confirmed. "Guaranteed. Can't promise I'll return it in the same condition it was given to me but you want results, I can deliver with more firepower."
"Can you even guarantee you'll even return it at all?"
"This is a war Admiral. I can't guarantee anybody will come home. All I can promise is Death and lots of it." Vigilante drawled as if in disbelief the Admiral didn't understand the nature of conflict.
"What about a Cruiser?" Leign asked.
"There is the SSV Dublin-" Davis started before Vigilante interrupted again.
"Bigger."
The Admirals visibly balked.
"A DREADNAUGHT?" Davis spluttered. "Who in their right mind would give YOU a DREADNAUGHT?"
Hackett frowned more visibly. "We don't have the resources to go giving you something like that."
"Then no deal." Vigilante said. "I don't mind rotting away in a comfy cell here while you go panicking about with Reapers hanging over your head."
"There is one option." A quiet voice spoke up. All turned to look at the previously unnoticed Admiral Kayla Murkia who had remained quiet throughout the entire exchange.
"Which?" Hackett asked.
"A new type of Carrier that just rolled out of drydock and recently completed shakedown. The SSV Jaygratz. First of its class."
"New how?" Vigilante asked curious. "And I've never heard of Jaygratz."
"Justzin Jaygratz was the human diplomat who brokered the peace treaty between the Systems Alliance and Council races following the First Contact War. The Jaygratz Class Carrier is a new design made to rectify the normal inherent weakness of the Churchill Class Carriers. Instead of being built around a corridor, the Jaygratz instead launches fighters from tubes and has two landing bays that swing outward on either side for shuttle launch and all small craft recovery. There's two "belly" docking bays to allow for two frigates of the Normandy Class Size to dock externally and be carried allowing personnel to move freely from the Carrier into the main hangar bay of the frigate. It allows for the Jaygratz to carry more and heavier armaments so this particular Class of Carrier can mix it up in combat. It doesn't have a main gun like a Dreadnaught but it can still dance with capital ships pretty effectively."
Vigilante turned back to Hackett. "Now we're talking. I'll take that."
Everyone looked at Hackett who considered everything.
"Carriers don't exactly scream Strike Ops." Hackett said.
"Frigates don't exactly scream at all compared with what I'm hearing from the lady." Vigilante countered.
"I don't like putting you in command of something like that."
"I won't be." Vigilante said. "Think of me as more of a Project Director and Intelligence Lead. I hold the project together and feed it intelligence and missions, your people are the ones still calling the shots. Like you said," There was almost a smirk to his tone. ""You're putting me on a leash" remember?"
Hackett half smiled. "I think I can live with that. Suggestions?"
"At least a third of the crew should be experienced. Preferably half. Half of that should be veterans of this war. Because it's a Carrier we'll need a fighter group obviously…"
"86th Attack Wing just rotated out of Legnbar. They've got some holes to fill but I think the 'Screaming Eagles' would be up to the challenge." Davis said.
"239th 'Long Knife' Interceptor Wing needs an assignment and a Carrier needs interceptors. They're mostly rookies but the CAG has been through more than six sorties alone in this war and the flight leads are experienced enough." Leing volunteered. "No dedicated shuttle group free though."
"We'll draw from volunteers." Hackett said. "Ground contingent?" He asked, the gleam in his eye betraying his excitement for the sudden rapid development before him. "Obviously we'll have the N7 Volunteer Operatives on board."
"We'll draw some from reserves." Barlack said. "The other races may want to contribute. Who do we put in charge though?"
"I have the solution to that and it's my final demand before I accept this offer." Vigilante said. "I want one specific person to accompany me along with the return of my AI…"
Well there you have it Humans and Xenos. Welcome to the Prologue of Aces High. Another fic revolving around those that served in the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer as N7 forces. Yes I would love to see submissions, if you want your Operative in the fun. I've got a Carrier to fill so I'm not going to be picky. N7, Marines, Ground Forces, Command Staff, Pilots, Tank Commanders, Ship Servicemembers, Hell you even want to submit a Janitor I'll take that!
Drop me a PM or a review if you're interested but remember to feed the author. He needs it.