A/N: I am replacing part of the Fall of Reach with Operation: Red Flag.
Commander Shepard walked away from the Normandy, and he saw Ashley standing by a docking port to a frigate. She was wearing a white UNSC officer's uniform. There were several medals on her left breast. Her long hair was tied up into a regulation bun. Ashley saw him, and she started walking towards him. The two of them hugged each other when Shepard was halfway to the frigate. He was comforted by her warm embrace, as she was by his warm embrace. After everything Shepard had gone through, he was glad to have this break in the grind that was the brutal Human-Covenant War.
"Shepard, you made it back" Ashley said with a smile.
"No thanks to Cerberus, yes. It's good to be back in the UNSC. Where are the Chief and the Spartans?" Shepard asked
"They are on Reach, or at least en route to the colony. I imagine my sisters must be relieved to see so many Spartans coming back. Has Cerberus kept you up to date on the Human-Covenant War?"
Shepard shook his head, and he said, "The Illusive Man kept me in the dark about the UNSC's affairs. For all I know, we had won, and the galaxy has forgotten about me"
Ashley sighed, and she said, "No, we remembered you. Besides, if we forgot you, I am pretty sure those endorsements on the Citadel would help remind them who you are. Is every store on the Citadel your favorite store?"
Shepard chuckled, and he said, "I actually liked all of them. They just wanted endorsements"
"I may have to order the Chief to make an endorsement then, and see what that does" Ashley joked
Shepard paused for a moment, imagining the Spartan saying, "I'm the Master Chief, and this is my favorite store on the Citadel." Shepard said, "That may end up being the only time he will refuse to follow an order"
"Speaking of refusing to follow orders" Ashley said, changing topics, "I heard that you defied the Illusive Man's order to keep the Collector Base, and you told the Illusive Man to go screw himself"
"That's right. I saw what the Collectors were doing to the colonists, and I saw what Cerberus did in Project Overlord. I don't trust Cerberus to not repeat the same mistake"
"Good" Ashley said, "Those Cerberus bastards are the worst. Are Garrus and Tali okay? Did Cerberus hurt them?"
"No, and if they did, the UNSC would be cleaning up the blood of any Cerberus personnel who had hurt them"
"How did Cerberus manage to recruit them?"
"I recruited them, actually. I saved Garrus from a mercenary attack on his base, and I saved Tali from the geth. I don't think I need to tell you their reactions to me blowing up the Collector Base"
"How is Liara? Was Joker telling the truth when he said", Ashley lowered her voice to whisper, "When he said that Liara became the Shadow Broker?"
"Joker was telling the truth. Liara has been doing well since I last saw her. I think we can count on her support in the upcoming Reaper War" Shepard replied
"Good" Ashley said, "Where are Garrus and Tali going now?"
"Tali said she was going back to the Flotilla. She told me that she is going to be an admiral. As for Garrus, he's probably going back to Palaven"
"What about Wrex? I heard he is the leader of the krogan now"
"He is. He actually helped me with Grunt's Rite of Passage. I will explain what that is later"
Shepard and Ashley walked up to the hatch leading to the frigate. The marine at the entrance asked, "Are you Commander Shepard and Commander Williams?"
"That's us" Shepard replied, and the two of them presented their IDs. The marine looked them over, and he said, "Your IDs match your identities. Go on board"
Shepard and Ashley walked to their temporary quarters on the ship. They sat down, and Shepard asked, "Any word on your family? You told me on Horizon that you were relocating them"
"They made it safely to Reach" Ashley said with a smile, "I hope they will be safe there"
"They will be" Shepard said firmly, "It's hard to be a Cerberus agent on Reach and not be identified by someone. My parents are also serving on ships there. My mother is the captain of the UNSC Einstein, a supercarrier co-developed by the UNSC and the asari. It's a gift from the Council, their way of helping us with the war against the Covenant. y father is the captain of the UNSC Savannah"
"A frigate?" Ashley asked, "I thought he was going to be the captain of a much larger vessel"
"He always felt more comfortable being in command of a frigate. He thinks a cruiser is too large for him"
"Frigates also get a lot less attention. Is that why you went to the Bahak System? Was the Normandy the best ship for the job?"
"No, the Normandy had nothing to do with it. Admiral Hackett ordered me to go there because there were reports of a Reaper artifact in the base. He wanted me to confirm the artifact, and destroy it if it proved to be a threat"
"And an entire system got wiped out" Ashley said, remembering the emergency broadcast that showed a blue supernova full of dark energy. Someone had mentioned in the broadcast that such an explosion was only possible if a mass relay exploded.
"That relay was going to be the Reapers' entry point to the galaxy. If I hadn't taken it out, the Reapers would have arrived a few weeks ago. I delayed the invasion by destroying the relay with the asteroid. It was tough, and I had to fight through a base full of indoctrinated soldiers and scientists, but I succeeded"
"Killing 300,000 batarian bastards in the process. If you ask me, there should have been at least a billion batarians on that colony" Ashley said bitterly, "They would have learned how we felt about the Covenant destroying our colonies"
"Agreed"
The batarians were the odd species in the Covenant. They actually did not worship the Forerunners. They had no belief in the Great Journey, and before humanity appeared, they were opposed to the Covenant. When the UNSC was granted an embassy, the batarians were so upset that they joined the Covenant and declared to the galaxy that they worship the Forerunners.
The ship's AI announced, "We are now entering Slipspace. We will arrive at Reach in a few days"
Shepard and Ashley looked at each other. Ashley said, "That's a little faster than usual"
"They must want us at Reach as soon as possible" Shepard said, "This sounds serious"
Ashley suddenly tensed up when she thought of the possibility of the Covenant attacking Reach. Ashley asked, "Do…do you think Reach could be under attack?"
Shepard looked at Ashley, and neither of them said anything. They knew what each other were thinking. A likely reason the UNSC was pushing this mission is that Reach itself was in danger of falling to the Covenant, and they didn't want to lose their chance to turn the war around. Without Reach, all that was left were the several dozen Alliance colonies and Earth itself.
The Systems Alliance is a mere remnant of what it used to be. While the UNSC was struggling with conflicts in the solar system in the 2100s, the Alliance split off from the rest of humanity, and they expanded through the galaxy. It was the Alliance, not the UNSC, who made contact with the turians and the rest of the Council in 2157. It was the Alliance, not the UNSC, who had established some of humanity's first interstellar colonies. The Alliance didn't last long in the galaxy because it wasn't able to sustain itself. Consequently, the Alliance government dissolved, leaving several dozen human colonies that were isolated from the rest of humanity. If the Alliance government hadn't dissolved, the batarians would have joined the Covenant much earlier. When the UNSC started expanding into the galaxy, they rediscovered the isolated colonies and incorporated them into the UNSC. The Alliance colonists still call themselves Alliance though, in honor of humanity's first attempt at interstellar expansion, and they still use Prothean technology rather than the UNSC's technology.
"If Reach is under attack….then we need to get your family out quickly" Shepard said, "I only pray we can get there in time to warn them"
"Me too"
The two of them sat tensely, waiting for the frigate to finish its journey to Reach. When they arrived, they noticed that the planet was already under attack. Shepard and Ashley both stood up, and they walked over to a window. Ashley gasped, and she said, "Oh my God….Reach…." They watched a UNSC vessel pass by them. The ship was firing on a Covenant vessel while it was slowly being destroyed. Ashley thought she saw a Supercarrier in the distance start glassing the surface.
Shepard frowned, and he said, "How could no one know that Reach is under attack? It's one of our biggest colonies!"
"They must have tried to keep it secret….but why?"
The captain of the frigate said, "Commander Shepard, Commander Williams, Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn is contacting us. He requests you board the Pillar of Autumn ASAP"
Shepard and Ashley looked at each other, and Shepard said, "We should go"
Shepard and Ashley made their way through the frigate to the bridge. They saw a massive cruiser floating ahead of them. The words "Pillar of Autumn" were barely visible on the ship's stern. Shepard said into the comm, "This is Commander Shepard. I have Commander Williams with me. I understand you want us to be on the Autumn?"
"Commander, I am relieved you are here. We have little time" Captain Keyes said, "I will brief you as soon as you two are on board. The Spartans are already on board"
"Affirmative"
Shepard and Ashley made their way to the hanger. They passed by numerous marines, who tried to salute them. Shepard passed by some windows, too focused on the impending mission to pay much attention to the battle outside. Fortunately for him, he missed the Savannah's destruction. Ashley managed to catch a glimpse of it though, and she gasped. She whispered, "Shepard….I'm sorry"
Shepard glanced at her, and he asked, "Is something wrong?"
Ashley shook her head, and she said, "I will tell you later. I don't want to distract you right now"
"Commanders, the Pelican is this way!" A marine said
"Thank you" Shepard said, and he went in the direction the marine pointed. Shepard and Ashley climbed into the Pelican, and the hatch closed behind them. The Pelican quickly lifted off, turned around, and sped out of the hanger. In a matter of minutes, the Pelican arrived at the Pillar of Autumn. The Pelican gently entered the hanger bay, turned around, and landed softly. The doors opened, and Shepard and Ashley both saluted Captain Keyes. He was waiting for them in the hanger.
Captain Keyes returned their saltues and said, "At ease. You don't need to salute, Commander Shepard. You are a Spectre after all. You outrank me"
"Not on this ship" Shepard said, "I'm just another officer, or at least that's what Admiral Hackett has told me, sir"
"I see. Come with me"
Captain Keyes turned around and walked towards the bridge with Shepard and Ashley in tow. Keyes asked, "While we are on the way there, tell me what you know so far"
Shepard said, "I know that we have been assigned to the Autumn to assist in a high risk mission, and Commander Williams is your XO, and I'm here as an advisor"
"So not much" Keyes said, "I will tell you the rest, then. You are now part of Operation: Red Flag, which is an attempt to capture the Covenant leadership and return them to the UNSC for negotiations"
Shepard's eyes widened momentarily, and he asked, "Wait, are you saying that we…are going right for their homeworld? Is such a thing possible?"
Keyes glanced at Shepard with an amused smile, and he said, "You are the last person I would expect to say that. But, yes, it is possible. We have seen the battle reports of Spartan Blue Team's deployment in the Battle of the Citadel. They were on a mission to defend the Council, but it was enough to get the top brass thinking about the feasibility of the mission"
"With all due respect sir, I doubt the Covenant has their own Citadel, or that attacking their homeworld is just like attacking the Citadel" Ashley said
"It is…a possibility though, especially since they are an amalgam of species. Palaven, Sur'Kesh, and Thessia are homeworlds of the main Council species, but none of them are the Council's capital. The Citadel is"
The three of them entered the CIC. A screen showing the mission steps was in the middle of the CIC. The ship AI's pedestal flashed, and the ship's AI, Cortana, popped up.
"The Spartans are in position, and they are ready to attack the Covenant Supercarrier" Cortana reported
"Good" Keyes said, "After I brief our last additions to the crew, I will send you with Commander Shepard to the Spartans' Pelicans. He will give you to the Master Chief personally. Do you stand by your decision to be with the Chief? You can change your decision at any time"
"I'm surprised you would ask me that. I have gone over the Spartans' service records. There is no other Spartan I would rather serve with"
"Good. If it was up to me, I would assign you to the Chief myself. Now, Cortana, can you brief these two on Operation: Red Flag?"
Cortana turned to face Shepard and Ashley. Shepard wondered if Cortana's appearance would be…distracting to the crew. The AI wasn't clothed, and although her breasts were barely visible, they were still visible nonetheless. Fortunately, she looked more like a hologram than an actual woman with flesh and bones.
"The first step is to attack and disable a Covenant ship. That is already underway. Long Night of Solace is already under attack, and it is close to being disabled. The second step is to board the ship. That's where you, Commander Shepard, and the Spartans and ODSTs will come in. The third step is to pilot it to High Charity. The fourth step is to capture one of the Covenant's leaders and take him back to force the Covenant into negotiations"
Cortana held a hand up and said, "Hold on a moment. Captain Keyes, I think we are ready to start Phase Two. The Commander should take me to the Chief now"
"I agree" Keyes said, and he waited for Cortana's avatar to disappear. Once the avatar was gone and Cortana's chip was sticking out of the pedestal, Keyes took the chip and handed it to Shepard.
"Get this to the Chief ASAP. I would give you a pistol, but I don't think that would be necessary. The Spartans and ODSTs have already loaded up the Pelicans with the weapons and equipment they will need"
"Yes sir" Shepard said, and he saluted. He walked off the bridge, and started walking towards the Pelicans. A pilot called out, "Sir! We have an incoming transmission from Colonel Holland! He says it's about Noble Team"
Captain Keyes looked up, and he was a little puzzled by the urgent message. Keyes said, "Put it through"
Colonel Holland's face showed up on the view screen. Holland looked tired, and Keyes could hear sounds of people rushing from one place to another. Keyes guessed that one of Holland's operations is not going as planned, or his base is actually close to being attacked by the Covenant. Keyes hoped it was the former.
"Captain Keyes, sir, I noticed you are interested in the Long Night of Solace" Colonel Holland said
"That is correct" Keyes said, and he asked , "Is there something wrong?"
"We have a Spartan on a Corvette headed for a crash course with the Long Night of Solace. The bomb has to be detonated manually….and he has volunteered to detonate it. Please state your intentions with the Supercarrier"
Keyes hesitated, and he said, "I cannot tell you the details as to why I am interested in that ship. However, it is vital that it survives. Do not, I repeat, do not destroy that Supercarrier!"
"Understood. We will relay those orders at once. What do you want me to order the Spartan to do?"
"Tell him to prepare to board the Supercarrier, and to disable the bomb as soon as possible"
"Understood"
Jorge-052 sat by the Pelican, watching the planet rotate below him. The view would be peaceful if it wasn't for the intense space battle around him. He hoped that Noble Six would be able to get back to Noble Team safely. He had a nagging feeling that Reach was still going to fall. He was surprised to hear Colonel Holland contacting him. Jorge-052 put on his helmet and said, "Colonel Holland, sir"
"We have orders for you, Noble Five. You are to not detonate the Slipspace bomb. You are to board the Long Night of Solace as soon as the Corvette docks. Understood?"
"Understood, sir. May I ask why the plan changed?"
"I cannot say. Good luck Noble Five"
Jorge-052 walked over to the makeshift bomb and worked on disabling the bomb. He had a feeling as to why the mission changed, and why the Pillar of Autumn was involved. He vaguely remembered a briefing with Dr. Halsey a few weeks ago with the other Spartan IIs. He suddenly remembered the briefing. It was for Operation: Red Flag! Jorge muttered to himself, "Chief…it has been too long"
On the Pillar of Autumn, Shepard finally made it to the hangers. He saw Blue Team and a large number of other Spartans he didn't recognize. Before he went up to them, he saw Major Silva walk by him. Shepard reached out and stopped him.
"Silva? Antonio Silva, is that you?" Shepard asked, surprised to see a member of his ODST squad on board the Autumn
Unfortunately, Major Silva was not happy to see Shepard. Silva turned around with a scowl on his face.
"Shepard. I see you are not finished betraying the ODSTs you served with" Silva growled
Shepard was offended by both Silva's comment about being a traitor, and Silva not referring to him by rank. "Betrayed? If it's about Cerberus" Shepard started to say, but Silva shut him off.
"Sometimes you are forced into a situation you can't get out of. It happens to everyone. I am referring to your affiliation with them!" Silva jabbed a finger at the Spartans, and he said, "You are buddies with those freaks. Those freaks killed three of our men!"
Shepard crossed his arms, and he said, "As I recall, ODSTs get killed by other ODSTs, or even marines, by accident. Yet we still trust them. They are all human. The same applies to the Spartans"
"One of those freaks tore four ODSTs apart in training!" Silva spat angrily, "This isn't a matter of firing a rocket too close to a warthog, or running someone over in a vehicle!"
"Those…freaks, as you call them, are vital to the UNSC war effort. They also helped me take down Saren, and they stopped the Reapers from invading, at least for now. They are good soldiers, and I could not have asked for better people to serve under my command. Now, unless you want to get kicked off this ship, I suggest you fall in line, follow my orders, and work with the Spartans. Understood?"
Silva saluted, and said, "Sir, yes sir" Silva walked away, but he managed to sneak a glare before he continued walking. Shepard walked over to the armory, and he put on a set of N7 armor. There was a battalion of ODSTs that called themselves "N7", after the Alliance's own version of ODSTs. The armor looked like standard ODST armor, but it had a red stripe on the helmet and a red stripe going down the right arm. Before Shepard put on his armor, he called the Chief over to the armory.
Shepard quickly put on the armor. It wasn't his personal armor though. That was still on the Normandy. The new armor was familiar enough for him to be comfortable with it though. When Shepard put on his helmet, he turned around to see the Chief enter the armory. The Chief saluted, and Shepard returned the salute.
"Commander. It is great to see you back" the Chief said, "We are ready for the mission"
"It's good to be back, Chief. If Major Silva gives you, or any of your Spartans, any trouble, come to me. I will sort him out"
"Understood. You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Captain Keyes wanted me to give you this" Shepard held out Cortana's data chip, "Cortana has chosen to accompany you on the mission"
The Chief took the data chip and inserted it into his helmet. Cortana said, "Huh. Your architecture isn't much different from the Autumn's"
"Don't get any funny ideas" the Chief said
Captain Keyes' voice came over the comm to say, "Boarding parties, the Long Night of Solace is now disabled. You are green to board! I repeat, you are green to board!"
"You heard him" Shepard said, "Move out! All Spartans and ODSTs, board your Pelicans and get ready to board the Long Night of Solace"
"Sir, yes sir!" the Chief said as he saluted, and he walked to his Spartans. The Spartan IIs all got into Pelicans, and they strapped themselves in. The Chief was surprised to see Shepard join them.
"Sir!" The Spartans saluted, and the Chief added, "I'm glad you are with us, sir"
"So am I, Chief" Shepard said, and then he said to all the Spartans and ODSTs in the Pelicans, "Okay, this is the plan. We are going to aim right for the hanger bays in the Long Night of Solace. When we get there, we will make our way to the bridge, and vent out every compartment on the ship into space. On the way there, I want you to divide yourselves into as many teams as you think are necessary. Since there are numerous ways to the bridge, I want you all to take different routes, to cover more ground. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir" the Spartans and ODSTs all called out
"Good. Now, there is one change to the mission. One more Spartan will be joining us on this mission. One team is to meet up with him and bring him to the bridge. Good luck" Shepard said
The Chief asked, "Sir, permission to be part of your team?"
"Permission granted….and I wasn't going to ask. I was going to order you to be part of my team"
"Sir, permission for Blue Team to join you?" Fred spoke up
"Permission granted. I couldn't do this without you guys. Spartans-029, 059, and 093, you are with us too"
"Understood" Spartans-029, 059, and 093 said
Shepard said, "Spartan-010, you are to lead Red Team. Spartan-006, you are to lead Green Team. Understood?"
"Understood" both Spartans said
Shepard was happy to have Grey Team back. They had come back just in time to rejoin the fight. It was an unexpected discovery, although some suspected that ONI may have had a hand in it. When a UNSC vessel had suffered a Slipspace drive failure near the Rubble, they had stumbled onto Grey Team. Grey Team just happened to have a crippled ship with a working Slipspace drive. The drive was transferred over to the ship with the broken down drive, and the ship was able to bring Grey Team back to UNSC space.
Shepard switched comms, and he asked Major Silva, "Major Silva, what is the status of the ODSTs?"
"We're as ready as we can be" Silva said, "We are ready to kick some Covie ass!"
"Glad to hear it" Shepard said, and then he switched to a private comm channel, and he said to Ashley, "Ash….before I go…."
"Shepard, if you are going to say goodbye….don't bother. You said goodbye when you went on the Suicide Mission, and you came back. You will come back from this. I know you will"
"Thanks, Ash. But in the event I do not come back….finish what I started. Finish the fight against the Reapers and the Covenant"
"Will do, Skipper. If you die, then the first Reaper I kill will be in your name"
Shepard signed off, and he said, "We are ready to go, Captain!"
"Good. All teams, launch!"
The Pillar of Autumn rotated so the hanger bays faced the Long Night of Solace. The bays opened, and several Pelicans shot out of the Autumn and made their way to the Long Night of Solace. If the pilots of the Pelican dropships looked carefully, they would see a small Corvette making its way to the Long Night of Solace. Operation: Red Flag was go.
