Chapter 2: A fine welcome.

The Normandy wasn't a crowded ship, but even the shuttle bay felt a little squashed with the four armoured giants standing amoung them. The Commander had Garrus, Miranda, Mordin and Samara with him, and EDI had displayed herself as a hologram.

"So let me get this straight," The Commander continued, "You crash landed on a ship that uses an engine none of us know about, coming from a military organisation nobody knows about, that just survived a horrific war with a collection of alien races…that nobody knows about?"

"That's the jist of it," Fred replied. He was the best Spartan when it came to talking to people, well the best alive, but that didn't matter. The other three Spartans stood at his side, as he explained the situation as best as he could to the Commander and his crew.

"And these weapons you use? Stubber rounds? No form of energy projectiles?" The Commander continued. Questions to ask, oh questions to ask…

"We have energy weapons back home, but what we're using is an MA5B assault rifle…well, the best version so far. UNSC protocol dictated that after the Human-Covenant war, all ships had to have some sort of weapon on them. MA5Bs were in good numbers, so we used them. Of course, these are the Spartan models. Upgraded ammunition, faster firing speed, etc. Ripped through a good few hinge-heads with these."

The Commander nodded slowly, digesting the information. The hanger bay was silent except for the steady beep of the shuttle, or the lights humming along the floor and ceiling. He could see Tali from here, standing with Engineer Donnolly at the glass, looking down at the meeting.

"Alright…we have a way of testing this. We're going to look at your memories."

The Spartans didn't move to the statement, but Fred frowned. He was the only one with his helmet off, and seemed to realise that meant him.

"Shit."

"Come over here Spartan. This will only take a minute if you cooperate."

The Chief was still digesting the three aliens before him, his hands clenching and tensing every few seconds. It was uncomfortable, seeing such diversity between them, it reminded him of the Covenant, only this bloody time humans were in it. Something stroke him as wrong, but he put it down to just nerves. He hoped he was right, at least for now.

"This is Samara," pointing to the blue female. That was interesting. "She'll…well, combine her mind with you is a simplistic way of putting it, and she'll be able to confirm whether or not you're telling the truth. This will only take a few seconds."

Fred nodded, ever willing to what he thought was a good idea, without consulting or with it, walked up to the blue alien. She had to stretch to reach eye level with him, but she did. The air felt colder, a strange sensation brushing his face. Her eyes closed, and he stood deathly still.

It was only after they shot open did he black out.

The Chief physically moved as the alien whispered "Embrace Eternity" making Fred go a bit limp. Linda stood up first, walking over to Fred and placing a firm hand on his shoulder, trying to stop what was happening. Garrus grabbed her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that. I'll spare you all the mental and psychological crap Liara told me, but basically, bad idea to stop the connection."

Linda tensed, and took a step back, watching as the process finished with Fred, stumbling backwards into the arms of Kelly.

Samara didn't look well, clutching her head and shutting her eyes tight. "They…they tell the truth Shepard. It…it might be a good idea…"

"Garrus, take Samara back upstairs. That's all for now."

"Alright Shepard."

As Garrus hooked an arm around Samara, pulling her away, Shepard turned to the Spartans. He looked them over, and nodded slowly.

"I saw the way you all can fight. If Samara says your story fits…then, you may be useful."

"Exactly what do you mean by that?"

"We have a mission to complete. A race of aliens called the Collectors are kidnapping human colonies, taking and maybe killing hundreds of thousands of lives. I'm putting together a team to stop them. All I know is that they may be connected to an even larger threat, which I'll explain later. I need the best of the best, and by the looks of it…you're just that."

The Spartans mused silently. They knew what they were in. A new universe. New possibilities. Disconnected from all they knew. A chance to start over? Or a chance to fix yet another struggle for survival?

"Just like that?"

"No strings attached?"

The Commander nodded.

"Alright Commander. We're in. Like the look of your rifle by the way."

The Spartans chose the Shuttle bay as their new home, picking an alcove to store their things. Possessions and things they didn't need but wanted were piled away in a corner. The actual majority of the space they took up was covered with ammunition and dismantled guns, parts and armour. The Spartans looked over every aspect, examining them all and comparing it to the equipment they had currently.

The Commander stood in the briefing/communications room, talking to his teammates.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea…" Tali commented, leaning against a railing.

"I saw what they can do, they moved faster and more quickly than any other unit I know," Garrus countered.

"You know this is dangerous. What if these Spartans learn what Cerberus has done in the past? What if they turn on us? You shouldn't be so hasty," Miranda muttered.

The room was filled with bits and pieces of information and opinions, the Commander taking in each one. They had a choice: Send the Spartans to the Alliance…or bring them on the mission.

"Spartans much like Krogan in sense. Problematic, but still, useful in times of stress. Signs of heavy military action suggests fractured psychological state, should run tests, but they seem surprisingly resilient."

"These damn giants saved Shepard, me and the Turian," Grunt growled. "They took down a Mech like it was nothing, and that woman killed four of them in CQC like they were an annoyance. Not enemies."

"They don't have any biotic implants, and they seem a bit…closed off," Jack noted. "I may be a bitch, but I'm a cooperating and open bitch. I tell you what's on my mind. These Spartans might just be waiting."

"Look, EDI's located the Reaper IFF tag. I'll take two of them, see how they perform. If we're lucky, they'll cooperate. We won't know anything until we give them a chance in the field. I know it seems like I'm acting hastily here, but I needed to keep them occupied. If they are enemies, the best we can do is stall them until we're ready to go. We'll find out soon enough where their loyalty lies."

Dr. Chakwas stepped forward. "I looked them over with the omni-tool. Each one of them has physical and mental changing implants inside them, similar to you Commander but much more…odd. Each one has a side effect, nothing too serious, but it's like they're soldiers, not people. Machines with flesh if I'd have to say."

"You should take one of us as well, just in case something goes wrong," Garrys added regarding the mission. "I don't think you'll be able to take two of them on at once."

"I'll take you and Tali, Garrus. We'll need you to shut off those shields. Tali can use her drone to cover us if we need to run from them. We're in the dark more than I'd like us to be if I'm honest."

"We're right behind you Shepard. If anything goes wrong, we've got your back." Garrus made the faint hint of a smile on his damaged face, the action making his eyebrow rise.

Tali nodded, standing up from the railing. She didn't comment, but he knew what it meant.

"Alright team, dismissed. We'll meet here again once the mission is completed. I'll send a report on the mission to you Miranda, edit it and send it to the Illusive Man for debriefing. Dismissed."

The team broke off, heading their own ways to whatever room they had taken as their own on the ship.

Codex entries:

HUMAN-COVENANT WAR: The war between the humans and the Covenant lasted the upper-hand of 30 years and finally ended when Spartan 117, or John, the Master Chief, managed to destroy the Ark with the last Covenant leader on it. The Master Chief was pronounced KIA after six months of him missing in action, and he eventually turned up near Requiem, a Forerunner shield world previously unknown in the human-covenant war. The war began when a Brute/Jiralhanae ship stumbled across the farming world of Harvest, and upon a misunderstanding of fire and relics according to the brutes, started the war. It is unknown why humanity was never invited in the join the Covenant, only that the Covenant referred to them as 'heretics' and destroyer of relics.

MA5B ASSUALT RIFLE: The MA5B Assault rifle was heavy gas operated rifle with a sixty round magazine, firing off 15 7.92mm rounds a second. The weapon was wildly used in the human covenant war by marines, before being scrapped for the newer MA5Cs and MA5Ds. After the war, every human ship was ordered to have some sort of weapon for protection in case of attack, and the MA5Bs were a popular choice, being easy to find and relatively easy to handle in a combat situation.

MJOLNIR MRK 7 ARMOUR: The Mrk 7 MJOLNIR armour is similar to the last two versions in three ways: It has plenty of armour, it has tough shields adapted from Covenant shield technology and it has an AI port to connect with the user. The Mrk 7 however, has several advantages, like the new hardlight mode, which encases the user in a shield of hardlight, making the armour extremely tough and durable to all forms of damage. Unfortunately, this encases the user, and prevents movement, so it is only to be used in areas of extreme danger. A last resort for all remaining Spartans.