UNSC Colony Shanxi, 2594

Michael's senses overwhelmed him. The stench of expending rounds and high-grade explosives permeated the air. His ears ached with the loud explosions and seemingly unending weapons fire. Palms sweaty, he gripped hard on the handle of his BR55HB SR2 Battle Rifle. His heart beat rapidly; adrenaline pumping through his veins - breath coming fast and heavy.

Stay focused. Concentrate on your objective.

Crouching low, Michael moved to the edge of the half-demolished wall he was using for cover. He took a peek around the corner; his mind absorbed every detail before him - just as he was trained to do. The lessons learned at basic were ingrained in him; second nature.

Take in your surroundings. Observe every centimeter of the battlefield. The smallest of details will mean the difference between life and death.

Two Sangheili warriors - a major and a minor - as well as eight Unggoy were bunkered behind rubble, guarding the entrance to an underground bunker; the temporary headquarters of the enemy. One Unggoy, perched on top the slightly rising hill overlooking the field, manned a plasma turret. The lone grunt posed the greatest threat to his team. He must be taken out first.

Michael checked his battle sensors on his visor. His strike team - a total of twelve marines - was in position; scattered among the same rubble as he was. He activated his comm. link. "Our objective is to clear the entrance to that bunker so that the Army units can rush in and destroy their headquarters. Three, can you get a good firing position to take out that grunt on the plasma cannon?"

"Already in my sights" came the curt reply of Lilith, his sniper specialist.

"Two, Four, Five and Seven - you will be designated as Red team. I want you to advance to the enemies left as soon as that grunt falls. One, Six, Eight and I will make up Blue team. We'll flank the enemies' right. Everyone else, you are Green team. Stay here with Lilith and provide suppressive fire. Hit em' hard. Don't give them a chance to fight back."

A throng of 'affirmatives' and 'yes sirs' were confirmed on the radio. The marine's visors automatically updated the information of the commands, designating and color coding the team.

Michael had joined the marines to protect humanity, and was prepared to sacrifice his life in defense of Earth and her colonies. He took one last deep breath and readied himself. This is it.

"Lilith, now!"

On Michael's command Lilith squeezed the trigger of her SRS99C-S3 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle; the great boom drowning all other noise. The bullet whizzed through the air at blazing speeds, impacting the cannon-mounted grunt square in the chest. Immediately Michael and his team sprang into action. "Go, go, go!"

Green team lay down suppressive fire, quickly taking down 3 grunts in a barrage of bullets. Red and Blue team rushed forward, weapons firing as they crossed the open field as quickly as possible. The enemy tried to react, but was disorganized from the assault. With not stop fire coming in from every direction, they were pinned, hardly able to get any shots off. Michael's legged pumped hard, running full speed towards the bunker. A couple of plasma rounds hit him, causing his shields to slightly flicker. In the previous generation those shots would have certainly killed him - as Marines of the past didn't have shield technology. How they fought without it he would never know.

His team slid to a halt behind some low rubble roughly 20 meters from the entrance. Red team took cover just near the left embankment, behind a destroyed Wraith. The Marines continued to fire; grunts dropping like flies. In a matter of seconds the squad had wiped out all but two grunts and a single elite. The enemy could not even retreat due to Red team's clear line of fire to the Bunkers entrance.

Michael focused down the sights of his rifle, when suddenly his battle suits radar briefly registered a flicker of movement to his right. He stopped firing and scanned the area. Nothing.

Probably an underground rodent. His battle sensors were good, but sometimes they picked up too much, often displaying the movements of small animals on the field. Satisfied his team wasn't being flanked, he once again arose from cover to join his team. By now all but a single grunt remained from the onslaught, who cowered behind cover. Michael was about to rush forward when suddenly, he heard a sound. It was familiar to him - similar to the noise of an electrical current or shimmering shield. It was the sound of an energy blade.

The two elites de-cloaked behind Blue team and immediately slashed One and Six in the back. A shocked Eight turned to fire but was cut down as well. It was now just Michael and two elites.

In quick reaction Michael reflexively primed a frag-grenade and lobbed it towards the elites. They managed to jump away in time, but one of the elite's shields was completely drained by the explosion. Ceasing upon this, Michael fired a burst of rounds into the elite's chest - he dropped to the ground, unmoving.

The remaining elite charged towards Michael with incredible speed. He managed to just barely dive out of the way, the sword swinging inches from his body. Without delay, Michael spun around and fired 3 bursts into the elite; whose shields collapsed and body went limp.

But Michael's victory was in vain. For behind him, yet another elite de-cloaked and - before Michael could react - slashed him in the back, bellowing a mighty roar of triumph. Michael's armor locked in place, his shields drained. He knew it was over, that he had lost. Michael's limp and unmoving form fell face down, and landed on top of the elite he had just killed.

But Michael wasn't dead. No, he was very much alive. Unmoving, but alive. And so too was the elite he fell on, who stared back at him - face a mere inches from his. Both alive; both unable to move.

"Well" Michael said, slight amusement in his voice, "this is a little awkward."

The elite looked at him in annoyance. "You got lucky with that grenade; it drained most of my shields. Had I been at full strength I would have pummeled you to the ground."

"Suuurre you would. Oh, and stabbing us in the back? Really? That's low."

"It was a sound military strategy" the elite retorted.

"The only thing it 'sounds' like is cowardice."

The elite was about to respond when suddenly a loud siren pierced the air. A slightly synthesized feminine voice spoke over the loud speakers. "Live battle training is over. Please report back to the main facility for the debriefing."

Michael's body armor unlocked, and he, along with everyone else who 'died', could now move. He stood up, offering the Sangheili - Relo 'Lemai - a hand. "Come on, I'm sure Sergeant Roland is anxious as hell to chew our asses off every little mistake, best not to keep him waiting."

All across the field Humans, Sangheili, and Unggoy picked themselves up - many laughing and trading jibes about how exceedingly badass they were on the battlefield. The Unggoy who was shot by Lilith's sniper rifle had to get three fellow comrades to help him up. Although the training weapons and ammunitions weren't lethal, they still hurt like hell. Being shot by a gun bigger than him - real or not - is something Michael hoped he would never experience.

"Everyone is improving greatly" Relo said as he and Michael headed for the main facility with the others.

"Yeah, maybe" Michael replied sheepishly.

"Is something wrong?"

"What? No. Well…It's just that, we've been doing these training exercises non-stop for nearly a year. You and I both know we should be out fighting Jiralhanae and Kig-Yar pirates on the border colonies, not wasting time playing games."

Relo slightly chuckled. "You are eager to prove your worth Michael, but you should remain patient. In time you will have your glory."

"In time? We're stationed at Shanxi, Relo. This is the furthest colony away from Jiralhanae space. Do you really think we're ever going to see action?"

"Shanxi is the second, and largest, joint species colony - It is a symbol of what our people can accomplish together. You are a protector of that symbol; you guard the lives of over 2 million of our people. It is a great honor to serve them."

Michael sighed. He knew Relo was right. His posting was important - in many ways more important than those protecting the borders. The UNSC/United Republic of Species joint command defense force was a symbol of unity - a way to heal the wounds of resentment from the Great War. Although 41 years have passed, and both side were in the process of recovery, lingering animosity still remained.

"You know what would really bring our races closer together? Wiping out any brute stupid enough to enter our territory." Michael replied.

"These joint colonies are just as important too. The Great War may be over but the resentment is not."

It was true. Although technically allies, there wasn't a whole lot of love between the UNSC and URS. Of course, these feelings have become slightly abated with humanity and the newly formed URS (made up of the Sangheili, Unggoy, and Mgalekgolo) forming a military alliance to protect themselves against the warring Jiralhanae clans and Kig-Yar pirates. For the first decade the alliance was viewed by many to be meaningless - mostly symbolical; that was until a major Sangheili colony world - Xialios - was attacked by the Jiralhanae. The planet, boasting a population of over 300 million, would have certainly been glassed had it not been for the timely arrival of UNSC's 5th fleet - who, with the help of the Sangheili, expulsed the Jiralhanae out of the system. It was the first time either side helped the other with no gain for themselves, and it greatly commanded the respect of the Sangheili people.

It was also when Relo 'Lemai came to greatly respect humanity. Relo was just 15 at the time of the attack, born and raised on Xialos. If it weren't for humanity, he, his family, and his home would have been vaporized. He witnessed a race that his kind once tried to wipe out come to their aid. It was then that he decided that once he joined the military, he would apply for the UNSC/URS joint species command - a small branch that dealt with securing the border territory of both species.

Of course, another aspect that brought the two powers closer was the opening of trade and sharing of technology. Both sides benefitted greatly, with humanity getting access to shield, plasma, and practical energy weaponry; while the URS could now develop vastly superiors AI's. Still, twenty-seven years of bloodshed and war of attrition didn't simply go away. And although the younger generations were more open, the older on both sides still held mistrust and even outright hostility towards each other.

Shanxi was to be the shining example of the new era. Although not technically the first jointly held world - the military posting of Kelloko near the Jiralhanae border took that distinction - Shanxi was the first attempt at mass colonization and development. And it had succeeded beyond what anyone could have hoped for. Although chosen for the planets agricultural prospect, Shanxi quickly became a cultural hub and center of trade for the UNSC/URS Alliance. And in just a decade the colony had developed into an economical powerhouse.

"You know" Michael began as they neared the training facility, "I was just thin -

"Attention!"

Suddenly the whole group snapped to attention; Sergeant Roland storming to them, looking more pissed than an enraged Mgalekgolo. "That was sloppy! Unacceptable losses. Unacceptable tactics.

Great. Here we go

"It's clear you all need more extensive training. So I'm cancelling next week's leave." Everyone grimaced, but tried not to show it. Sergeant Roland mischievously grinned. "Now we have the whole week to train like one big happy family."

Michael inwardly sighed. Better cancel that date.

UNSC/URS 3rd Garrison Training Facility Headquarters

An elderly man stood by the window, dressed in his Navy uniform, overlooking the rolling fields of Shanxi's crops. He had a large scar running down the right side of his face. The skin over his lower jaw was slightly disfigured - obvious signs of a plasma wound. He stood rigid - although not an imposing figure, he non-the-less commanded enormous respect.

A much younger officer behind him spoke. "Are you sure? I don't doubt his abilities, but he's still young. He hasn't even had any real combat experience yet."

"We all have to start somewhere." Came the rusty reply of the old man.

"Yes, but you want him to 'start' on a project that could have profound consequences for both the UNSC and URS. And there's the fact that he's headstrong; too willing to blindly rush into battle without thinking things through."

The elderly man chuckled, then turned to face the young officer. "He passed the war games with flying colors. And besides, he reminds me of myself when I was younger."

"Well, he is eager to prove himself, and his command abilities are impressive. Okay, If you're sure about this Buck."

"I am."

The young officer nodded. "Commander Michael Shepard it is then. I'll let R'Loss Ravelumee know."

A/N Thanks to all of the reviews. This is my first story and your feedback will help craft me into a better writer.

Now to address a few issues about the last chapter. There is some confusion about the size of the Destiny Ascension. As it turns out, the size of the Destiny Ascension is never given. The only clue we get is in Mass Effect Revelations when David Anderson notes that it's 'four times the size of the largest human ships'. And since Alliance Dreadnaughts are typically 800 meters to 1 kilometer in length, I figured the Ascension is roughly 3 to 3.5 kilometers.

The UNSC Carrier is not the Spirit of Fire.

InhumanEnglishman: You are right. In hindsight I regret putting both the Space elevator and Super Carrier in the same chapter. I think it split the focus between two engineering marvels - and as you said, made the chapter seem a bit rushed.

Thanks to everyone for the story alerts. And let me know how I can improve.