Chapter 2: Welcome to the System Alliance's planet Earth

Earth, Solar System

One day before Reaper Invasion

2186

Lieutenant Kathleen Allison held onto the shuttle as she and her team descended into Earth's atmosphere. They were not the only shuttle descending. Five other shuttles also were following their lead, all of them with the same mission. Approximately twenty-three minutes ago, a ship wreckage of unknown design and origins had crashed into one of Earth's oceans, just a few kilometers from the shores of the city Vancouver, in the country of Canada. The mission was simple: find out what they were dealing with, whether it be aliens or something else. Judging from the reports and information that they gave, which was very sparse, it was highly unlikely that there was anyone who had survived, given that there appeared to be only half a ship. If the lack of atmosphere hadn't killed the crew, than the vacuum of space had. Either way, it was a salvage operation, and it needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

Allison's hand was loosely on her sidearm, a standard-issue pistol. She had this strange feeling that there was more than a simple wreck. Things like these were too easy, and easy things were such a rare luxury these days. With the System Alliance getting ready for… the Reapers or whatever it was that was coming, everyone was working double and triple-timing their pace without pause. Allison had dared to question the nature of the many reinforcements and ships now orbiting the planet, but Captain Hughes only gave her the details that pertained to her and her station, and nothing else.

Preparations had been underway for many months. Rumor was that the reason for all the security was because of Commander Shepard, the Human Spectre, but they were just rumors. Most everyone knew that Shepard had been place under arrest, though for what reason, they could only speculate. Some say it was because she had worked for the terrorist organization, Cerberus, while others claimed that she destroyed a Mass Relay connecting this new threat to the galaxy.

Another rumor was that she had been behind the abduction of Human colonist worlds, but that one seemed extremely far-fetched, given Shepard's extensive combat record, not to mention her profile in general. Shepard was a war hero, and was willing to put her life before that of civilians, her squadmates, and her crew. Really, she was the shining example of everything good, or as good as one could be as a soldier and leader. She had never once been recorded or witnessed defying her own principals. Hell, she had even turned herself and the SSV Normandy over as a sign of good faith, not something that many could say they had the ability to do, and she seemed to do without any regret, bitterness, or hatred.

Speaking of ships, the Lieutenant's head perked up at the shuttle pilot's voice over the com.

"Lieutenant, we're approaching the drop zone. Receiving a visual now."

Allison turned her head to the video screen as it projected the incoming feed. There was no denying that it was a ship, but it was nothing like she had seen. The ship was a dark grey, or maybe black. Although damaged, she could make out a rough shape. The ship looked to be many boxes pieced together. There were many protrusions that represented barrels, gun emplacements, she guessed. The wreck itself was fairly sizeable. If she had to guess, this ship was probably half the size of the biggest ships in the Alliance Arsenal. For a moment, her curiosity began to spout more questions as she wondered what kind of aliens would build a ship of this design. She was about to relay an order when her eyes strayed to the video as the feed got a better visual. Her sights were set on something on the side of the ship. It was as clear as daylight. Words were painted on the sides.

UNSC Forward Unto Dawn

Her mind began to think. That was English. If that was case, then perhaps they were not dealing with anything alien. It had to be human. How else could she explain it? The words, the ship design, they were all human. What were the chances that they were dealing with an alien species that just happened to develop a language and ship of similar design. It was Human, but that suddenly made her careful. This was awfully convenient and simple.

"Take us in further," she relayed to the pilot, "but stay on guard and watch for anything suspicious. Something is amiss here."

The shuttle accelerated slightly as it began to close in on the location of the ship that was now half-sunk ship wreckage, but given that the sea was not terribly deep this many kilometers out. Perhaps there was something worth salvaging, and if this ship was human, then the System Alliance would have free reign over what to do with it, not that this was terribly important in the big scheme of things.

The pilot came over the comm again.

"Lieutenant, I have something else...that you may want to see."

"What is it," Allison asked.

"I honestly don't know. It's… I can't really explain. Video feed being uploaded now."

Her head turned once again to the small screen. All the officers, along with her, let their eyes analyse it. What they say was somewhat interesting. At first, they thought, their eyes seemed to be deceiving, as it looked like some figure, roughy Turian. A Turian on this wreckage? That made no sense. Turians were not known to be pirates because their species lived a life of honesty and honor, something that kept them from doing the less than ideal careers. Alison decided that video was trying to deceive her. Better check again.

After looking again a bit closer than before, she noticed almost immediately that it did not look like a Turian at all. Even with a distant feed, it was clear that this was no Turian. What was also clear was that the alien brandished weapons in its hands, no doubt preparing to defend itself, and she didn't blame it for doing so. She couldn't see what the alien was armed with, but in any case, it was prepared, but the fact that there was no weapons fire from this unknown indicated a tempered manner, or at least a controlled manner. Perhaps this one was willing to talk, but did it even speak their language? She was not sure if it was monogender, or multi-gendered, or how to try to communicate in general. So many things she had to know in order for things to go smoothly. Perhaps she just had to assume the worst so as not to get her hopes up too much. It would be too easy if otherwise. She keyed into her comm and relayed an order to the soldiers.

"Combat personnel, we are attempting contact with an unknown alien species. Stay on guard, but do not fire unless forced to."

She got a string on acknowledgement signals from the other shuttles. Satisfied they were ready, the shuttles began to descend as close to the wreck as possible, but given there were no landings here, they would have to improvise. heavily, unless they used the wreckage as a sort of landing. It would be probable. They would have to remain steady, or as steady as possible.

The side doors opened and three shuttles, including Lieutenant Alison's shuttle, hovered near the crash site, with soldiers holding their weapons out at the individual. For a moment, the alien held the two strange weapons loosely in their direction, but he did nothing further. Then, it slowly placed all its weapons on the ground, including some other devices and technology. It then took a step back, arms at its side, remaining still. With minor reluctance, Alison signalled for three of the N4 soldiers flanking her to collect the weapons the alien surrendered. They made quick work of the neatly arranged weapons and technology, saying nothing. She then exited the shuttle, landing a meter before hitting the "platform", or rather tweaked panel that was now a platform. The N4's held their weapons loosely at the alien, who remained where he was, quiet, and staring at them. For a few moments, Alison felt a bit tense. She decided that the alien was sizing her up, and she was rather surprised by how tall it stood.

"You are human." The voice was masculine and was spoken with much authority.

So this alien was male. She could stop calling him an it. And he spoke english like it was a language he had spoken his entire life, or maybe it was because her translator in her Omni-tool was doing something to translate his language, but given that this was a new species she doubted it, but she needed to be sure. She tapped a few commands on her Omni-tool before resuming the conversation.

"Yes, but we do not know who or what you are," she responded.

"I would be more than willing to answer any questions you have for me," he replied. "but I would prefer to do so when I am certain I can remain grounded."

Okay, so this alien could speak english genuinely and do it fluently without much of an accent. This alien had to have had contact with Humans at some point. No other explanation could fit this situation.

"We have no reason to trust you," she said, warily. "We came here, expecting no survivors. Why should we trust you? We know nothing about you or your species or what you will do."

The alien responded almost immediately.

"Understandable," he continued, "but ask yourself this: how will I fare against your forces? Do you truly think that a single individual can evade an entire army? Sooner or later, I would find myself captured or dead. Defying you would serve no purpose."

Alison, although she did not say anything, was impressed by his rather quick-thinking and for being diplomatic. She could also detect no hint of deception or anything to indicate that he would take any hostile actions. Perhaps this might just be worth something to the Alliance.

"Fair point," she agreed. "but why submit to us? Why don't you put up more of a resistance?"

If she did not know better, Alison would say that the alien seemed to express a face of guilt and sadness before returning to a more neutral expression and responding.

"For now, all I wish to say is that I have personal reasons."

Personal reason? It seemed like an odd response, but like his other responses, she detected no hint of deception, but she wanted to remain on guard. Genuine or not, it was standard procedure to approach any unknown with caution. Coming to a decision she began to relay an order to one of the other shuttles still hovering nearby.

"See to it that this alien is put under guard and monitored. He shows no hostile intentions, but remain on guard."

Another shuttle opened its hatches and three N4 soldiers, with their rifles held loosely, in the alien's direction began to guide him away. After giving the armor soldiers a look, he obeyed. As he approached the shuttle, it took Lieutenant Alison a moment to realize that the alien was huge as he was forced to crane his neck and body in order to even try to enter the shuttle. The soldiers said nothing, but they maintained a close proximity to their new charge should he attempt anything hostile. Alison then keyed into her communications to the SS Anaconda.

"Captain Hughes, this is Lieutenant Alison. We have an alien of unknown species in our custody. He surrendered without resistance."

"What kind of alien," the captain asked.

"None of the Citadel races as far as I can tell," the lieutenant said, "but certainly not terribly foreign. He speaks english like a second language."

"I will inform the Admiral Hackett of this. Perhaps he may want to have a word with this alien. In the meantime, secure the crash site until some of our salvage ships arrive. I expect this will take some time to clean up. If you find anything useful, secure it."

"Sir," Alison said.

"Did you find out anything else?"

"This wreck may be more human than we thought. Sending a visual now."

Alison tapped a few commands on her Omni-tool and sent a visual of the wreck. For a minute, the captain did not reply.

"UNSC," Captain Hughes said thoughtfully, "That must be either a government or military name of some sort."

"What should we do about the alien, sir?"

"...bring him to the locations I'm sending you…"

00000000000

Thel 'Vadam remained still has he watched the soldiers in the armor stare back at him. Even as he was hunched over and sitting, he still was taller than them, but because their faces were covered by a helmet, he had no way of knowing what they were thinking right now. They may well fear him, but were able to control it. Judging his weapons had been collected, he had no reason to hurt them, not that he even wanted to inflict harm on these humans.

The only things he could really use were his camouflage and shielding. After his defection from the Covenant, he had taken the liberty of upgrading his shielding and camouflage abilities to the most recent technologies, but for all the good his new additions to his armor did in battle, it would not serve him here. This was no battle, and the Arbiter did not want to fight these humans. They had reason to be weary. He was an unknown, which confirmed his suspicion that this was not Earth as he knew it. In good faith and to show that he could be reasonable, he had surrendered his weapons, including his energy swords, his most prized weapons. Any other time, Thel would have rather battled to the death rather than surrender, as surrender and capture were things that a Sangeheili could never live with, but as Arbiter, he had changed much. He would, however, want back what they took later, but for now, he had to somehow convince these humans that he was of no threat to them and that he could be an ally.

Apart from trying to reason with these humans, the Arbiter's mind had wandered to how he had come here. Thel's mind turned to a distant memory during the Human-Covenant War. It was towards the end. The planet Reach was one of the bloodiest campaigns against the humans, and the reason for the Covenant's presence there was due to a Forerunner artifact. At the time, all the information regarding the artifact was somewhat unclear, but what was known was that if harness correctly, this artifact would allow the Covenant to increase the speeds of slipspace a hundred fold. They could travel from planet to planet in mere minutes and hours. There was even a theory that it could open the gateway to other galaxies. The portal to Installation 00 was also built by the Forerunners, so it was not a ludicrous idea to think that perhaps the portal had led him here. Perhaps the portal had also been affected by Halo's destructive energies as well, because alone, the portal would return to Earth. Thel did not think too hard about it. He was no scientists. He knew enough to keep his equipment, weapons, and ships operational and working. That was what Huragok were for.

Thel had no idea where they were going. He dared not to hope for anything that would make things any easier. He was always prepared for the worst, the worst in this case being killed or imprisoned. but if he knew humans, they may be at least willing to hear him out. Also, judging from the fact that they seemed to have no issues with him being an alien, he assumed that perhaps these humans had made friendly contact with other races. They certainly were not the humans he knew, but he would give them the benefit of a doubt. He had no reason to doubt or distrust them until he was given a reason.

Thel found himself counting the time it took to arrive at their destination. When he felt the small ship begin to descend, the soldiers watching over him began to relay some information to another person through their communications. Thel listened to as much as he could to try and figure out where he would be going. As far as he could make out, he was to be taken to a high-security location for something. Thel showed no hostile intentions, but if the treatment he received was unjust, he would convince these humans to change their rules, whether by diplomacy or intimidation. He would not allow anyone to control his fate.

The side door opened and Thel was guided into a rather big and spacious building. If there was one thing humans shared in common it was how they constructed their buildings. This city, from the limited view he had seen from the shuttle, was very grand and spectacular. It was called Vancouver, as he learned from one of the soldiers speaking likely to a commanding officer or superior. Despite the differences he could spot, it was still distinctly human, as were some of the ships in the sky. Seeing this city reminded him of the glassing of the city New Alexandria on Reach. The city was the capital of the planet, the "crown jewel" as humans said, but it was reduced to nothing but glass. Thel was quick to push that memory aside. He had burned enough cities. He did not want to burn any more.

As he followed the two soldiers guarding him, he was more than aware of the numerous stares he was receiving. Some were of curiosity, others were of awe, and the one Thel was most familiar with was that of fear. He did not blame them. His species in general was a fearful sight. Thel knew that few humans grew to the physical stature of the Sangeheili, some of the few exceptions being the Spartans. Humans did fear Sangeheili a lot, but it was that fear that drove them to protect themselves and others. As he passed by many different men and women walking, talking, and working, he could see that he stood at least half a meter taller than virtually everyone. He was use to the fear, but it did not mean he liked it any better. The best thing Thel could do was ignore the people. Their notice of him would probably go away as quickly as it came.

After some time of walking through numerous hallways and ducking of his head whenever a doorway presented itself, the Arbiter found himself in a plain room with a human bed and some other amenities, nothing luxurious or fancy, not that the he desired anything complicated. Sangeheili grew up living in a stark, efficient, and humble manner, and he was no different, but he did appreciate the kind gesture. Before he could take anything else in, one of his guards spoke.

"You will remain here until Admiral Hackett comes debrief you."

Thel merely nodded, then turned to the window that overlooked the city. This was the first chance he was getting at being in a quiet place with all his thoughts to keep him company.

00000000000

Jane Shepard was busy, or as busy as she was allowed to be given where she was now. She was rather divided about her current position. She understood the Alliance's fears about her association with Cerberus. She hated working for the Illusive Man. She only worked with Cerberus to save lives, nothing else, but Alliance brass were not convinced. Had she been anyone else, she would have been court martialed and discharged dishonorably, but given her impressive record and undying loyalty to the Alliance and to helping those in need. she was stripped of her rank and placed here. Her dealings with Cerberus were not elaborated on. The Alliance did not want the details, but the Alliance did not need reasons to arrest.

That had been six months ago. Now, Shepard lived in essentially a security prison, though Shepard had far more freedom that any prisoner could ever be given because she was the only prisoner. At first, she had been really agitated about being treated like this. She had fought so much and bled so much to save not just Humanity but the galaxy from the Reaper Sovereign and the Collectors and this was the thanks she was getting? She had even turned the Normandy SR-2 in addition to herself. She had been monitored and guarded for six months and the Alliance brass was still not convinced that she severed all ties to Cerberus. At times, Shepard began to wonder what the hell it would take to convince anyone that her word was not false and never would be. People just never learned.

Her musings were interrupted when Lieutenant James Vega entered the room. She looked from the datapad that she held and gave him a small smile. She liked the Lieutenant. He was serious, committed, and loyal. She didn't know much about him personally, but she was good about reading people, and from what she had seen of him, he was a good person. She was aware that he was an full N7 like her, and a good one as well. She could respect that. Even making it to the N7 was nothing short of amazing, but she hadn't seen his combat skills in action, although she did have faith in him. No one graduated from N7 without earning it.

"Commander," James said, "you doing good?"

"Yeah. Same as usual, I guess, just like every other day," Shepard replied nonchalantly.

"Well, after everything you've done, I'd say you've earned at least a break."

Another thing about James was that he was a huge fan and deeply respected her. Despite being stripped of her rank, he still called her by rank and saluted her as well. It was amusing, but she kind of wished he would talk to her more as a person than as a commanding officer. For some odd reason, it reminded her about Kaiden.

Kaiden Alenko. That name did not bring much comfort to Shepard now, although some time ago, it did, or so she thought it did. Kaiden had been with her through a lot, and she had trusted him to watch her back. Through their time together, a mutual attraction had grown, though Kaiden was not very subtle about his feelings, having slipped up multiple times throughout the campaign. Shepard found him to be sweet and caring. What she liked about him was that he did not discriminate against anyone, regardless of species, and was willing to be lenient with people, though probably not to her extent. Through the mutual attraction, they found love, and that night before Ilos, what they had shared was indeed memorable, but all that changed when she had died and been rebuilt by Cerberus.

On Horizon, she had tried to save the colonistst, but her efforts were not enough. She was already feeling guilty about losing so many lives, and it worsened when facing Kaiden. At first, she was beyond happy to see him, but when she tried to explain about her relationship to Cerberus, he completely ignored her words and all attempts to convince him that she worked with Cerberus only to save colonists. Although her face did not show it, she was hurt to the core. For some reason, Kaiden became someone she did not love anymore. Even after he sent an apology to her via email, her love for him did not reignite. The apology, though good in intention, did nothing to change her mind. Now, she wondered if she would ever see him again, and if she did, she didn't know how she was going to tell him about how she felt.

Although looking back, she now realized that just as he was angry at her for working with Cerberus, she was angry with him for doubting her judgement. She had felt betrayed and abandoned by the one person she thought loved her. That hurt more than any physical pain she had ever endured.

She shook the the thought from her head. She would cross that bridge when she got to it.

"Anything else interesting going on," Shepard asked.

James thought for a moment before answering.

"Well," he began, "I think we're receiving a new prisoner."

With nothing better to do, Shepard decided to pry for more information.

"Who?"

"I honestly don't know. There's been a lot going on today. I've got no details about the prison, just that they are to be kept here until further notice. I heard a rumor that it's not human."

That instantly got Shepard's interest piqued.

"Another species imprisoned on Earth?"

"Like I said, the details aren't known to me. I've heard lots of rumors and speculation, nothing solid."

"What are the rumors," Shepard inquired.

"Rumors says that this species is nothing we've ever seen before. A new species I guess. Some say it's just a really large Turian, some say it has to do with the storm that's coming. No one's saying anything about it, and I didn't bother asking Admiral Anderson for any details."

Shepard nodded.

This chapter is a little boring and honestly, I had some difficulty trying to figure out how the First Contact interactions between the Arbiter and the Alliance would work out, so if this chapter came out kind of lame, I'll try to do better.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I notice that some say I got to work on grammar, and I agree. I'm trying to proofread more carefully. Also, when I update this story, it will be inconsistent, but I will try to get a chapter out at least every month at the worst. That being said, REVIEW so that I can get a better idea where people prefer or like this story to go. Don't sugarcoat your review. Say what was GOOD and BAD. Also, follow, favorite, and subscribe. Thank you all. Peace!