Author's Note: Nothing happening in this one. More of a filler, really.

UNSC Uniforms:

The Marines have the HALO: CE Anniversary BDUs.

Navy and Pilots have the 343i (Postwar) look.

Army and ODST have the Bungie look.

Ages:

Jane Shepard: 32

Captain William Clarke: 28

Mindy (AI): 3

Commander Wade 'Director' Daniels: 48

Holly 'Hollywood' Jones: 45

Wesley 'Wes' Kreiss: 47

Power Overwhelming:

Motto: Morior Invictus

Class: Orion-class Assault Carrier (Combat)

Commander: CPTN William Clarke

Notable Crew:

•CMDR Wade Daniels

•Maj. Holly Jones

•MND 0189-8/Mindy (Ship's AI)

•CPT Jeremy Cruz

•1stLt. Michael Evans

•SgtMaj. Al Apone

•LTC Joseph Turner

•2LT William Pierson

•SFC Jane Redding

Length: 2.22 km (2,220.0 m)

Width: 0.61 km (610.00 m)

Height: 0.66 km (660.01 m)

Armaments: 2 MACs, 20 Archer Missile Pods, Point-defense Guns, 3 Shiva Nukes

Complement:

2,000 Naval Personnel

Spartan-IV Fireteams

• Fireteam Eagle (4 Spartans)

• Fireteam Boar (4 Spartans)

6,000 Marines

• Marine Raider Regiment (MARSOC)

• ODST (101st Shock Troops Battalion)

2000 UNSC Army (1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division)

• 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment

• 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment

I still don't have names for the Spartans of Fireteam Eagle and Boar nor their armor and personalities so if anyone has any ideas, it's certainly welcome.

~7777777~

"Alright, Ma'am. This here is the MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System. Fires 7.62x51mm Full Metal Jacket AP Rounds at 550 Rounds per Minute. 32-round mag. Short-stroke, gas-operated, rotating-bolt. 150 meter range."

Quartermaster Beckman recited as he placed the gun on the table in front of Shepard. The two were currently in the Shuttle Bay, the Quartermaster her a description of the weapons and their capabilities. He then pulled out a magnum.

"M6H2 PDW. I heard Major Jones gave you one as a present. A custom-made Tactical variant, if I recall. Fires 12.7x40mm Semi-AP High Explosive rounds. If you have a good enough aim and your target isn't heavily armored, then this is the gun for you."

Shepard raised an eyebrow "Major? I thought Holly was a Lieutenant."

"She got promoted after Palaven's moon. She oversees the Helljumper training in Hungary." He pulled back the slide and placed it next to the MA37. He then took out the next weapon "BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle or Heavy Barrel Battle Rifle. Select-fire but mostly used in burst mode. Less recoil. Fires M634 Experimental High Powered Semi-AP rounds at 432 Rounds per Minute. 36-round mag. Good on all ranges. Short, Medium or Long. A personal favorite."

He placed down the Battle Rifle and stroked his beard "What next?" His eyes widened and he snapped his finger "I got just the thing."

He took out a shotgun "M45E Tactical Shotgun. Pump-action. 12 shells. Greater stopping power than the odder variants. Go and test it on armoured hostiles and see how it fairs against that and barriers."

He placed the weapon down to the nearly completed set "There's still a lotta weapons the Captain brought onboard the Normandy to go through but I'll let you figure 'em out on your own. Best to experience them than just hear about what they can do, Commander. By the way, I got some ODST, Army and Marine armor placed in the back if you're interested. The Captain said you can have Mindy customize it to make it act like your suits." He tipped his cap "Be seeing ya, Commander. I'll be heading back to Overwhelming, ma'am."

Jane nodded "Thanks, Beckman. Be seeing ya."

Beckman left and Shepard studied the weaponry the UNSC gave her. She left to look for the armors Beckman mentioned and saw three crates labeled 'Armors for Shepard'. Each one had the symbol of their respective branches. She'd already seen the Marines and ODST armor but she was curious to what the Army one looked like. She walked over to the crate and opened it. She examined the armor before asking James to help her carry the crates to her room.

~Line Break~

Wade stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked to the Mess Hall, not minding the looks some of the crew gave the half-naked Spartan. Wes was sitting by the tables, conversing with Ashley about Faith, Beliefs and all things religion. Wes, without looking away from Ashley, grabbed the bottle of beer on the table and threw it at Wade. The Spartan caught it and took a big swig before nodding his thanks. He turned around and headed for the Elevator. Once the doors opened, he was met by the sight of a conversing Shepard and Diana Allers. He walked in between them and calmly drank his beer. He nodded in greeting.

Instead of eyeing his body, unlike Allers, Jane was eyeing the beer in his hands "You know that drinking in the job is against regulations, right?"

Wade shrugged "Off duty."

He continued to sip on the bottle, unaware of the journalist's eyes gazing lower. Shepard saw this and smirked in amusement. She shook her head before the Elevator stopped at the Armor Deck. It was added for the machine that is used to help Wade remove and apply the Mjolnir Power Armor. It also became Wade's quarters. Wade walked out the lift and entered his quarters. Allers kept staring while Jane watched her in amusement.

'If only that towel was a little lower or wasn't there at all. Oh, well.' She thought to herself before restarting the conversation she had with Diana.

~Line Break~

After one 'exclusive' interview with the journalist, Jane watched Diana leave her cabin. A one time thing, huh? She idly wondered if she was ever gonna get tied down if they survive the Reapers. She once heard James talk about an Asari friend he met on a mission, apparently they were more than friends now. Wade's got Holly. Wes has a wife back in their dimension. Kenneth and Gabby had their own thing going. She sighed. Not the time to be thinking about it.

She got up from the bed and yawned. She grabbed a shirt, Holly's ODST PT shirt, but stopped midway when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She saw the scars that ran through her body. How long had she been fighting? Sovereign, the Collectors and now the Reapers. Will she even have a body left if they win this? Shaking her head, she wore the shirt. Huh, tight fit. She walked over to her dresser and looked for her underwear. She saw package with a note taped to it.

"A little something for you, Janey. -Holly XOXO"

She dropped the note and opened the package. She chuckled as she took out a black and red, lacy lingerie. She saw another package and unwrapped it. She let out a laugh as she saw the contents of the package. A black strap-on dildo and a bottle of lube. She saw another note and read it.

"Next time, tiger~"

She crumpled the note and hid the strap-on and lube. She stored the lacy lingerie and walked over to her desk before taking out her custom M6H2 Tactical. Like she always does with her guns, she disassembled while trying to familiarize herself with the weapon. After hearing Beckman's description of the weapons, she has to see examine all their ammunition types. She realized that the bullets they uses were either AP, HE or Semi-AP rounds. She wonders how did their weapons faired against the Covenant's shield tech. Unlike the Citadel Races and the SA, the UNSC didn't have kinetic barriers and energy shields were not standard-issue to their ground infantry. Only Spartans had energy shields. Jane wondered how Traianus, Lahr and Lipyap were doing with their arsenal. After seeing Lahr used that Plasma Cannon, she wanted one. She looked at her arms and decided she needed to work out more if she wanted to even lift the HMG Wade used in Grissom Academy.

She examined the weapon in front of her before quickly reassembling the Magnum and storing it away. She got up from the desk and started doing pushups.

"1...2...3...4..."

~Line Break~

"Captain, the War Games Simulator has been completed. Right now, only Firebase Vancouver has it. I am so glad a copied those schematics. Anyway, the Alliance Command wanted to see it first hand and asked if the Normandy Crew would be the first one to train in it."

William hummed before nodding "Notify Shepard, Mindy. Tell her she can bring the ground team with her. They'll be going against some Marines, ODSTs and Infantry. No Spartans, not yet."

Mindy placed her hands on hips "So, it's Easy mode then Normal then Hard then Legendary. Like a video game, right?"

William shrugged "If you say it like that, then yes. Like a video game. Oh, and stick with the UNSC, Alliance and Citadel guns. The only Covenant tech they'll get are the only ones Traianus, Lahr and Lipyap brought with them. So, no Covie vehicles."

"Oh, boo. Can I still put in the Hunters?"

"Any other Covenant species is acceptable. But keep the Forerunners and Flood a secret. God knows they already have their plate full with Protheans and Reapers and whatnot."

"Of course, sir. Mindy, out." Her avatar dematerialized and William was left to tend to more incoming projects. The Cyclops are green. They're still working on the Colossus. Jackrabbit production is currently underway. M290 Mongoose or Mothergoose were already running around the Firebases. Recruits are flooding in, every single one of them wanting to fight for the safety of Earth and the Galaxy. He wondered how the Army was doing.

~Line Break~

"I think they had enough Pierson."

Second Lieutenant William Pierson scoffed before dismissing the recruits. These new guys are too soft, those Reapers are gonna eat them for lunch. Literally and metaphorically. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Turner walked over to Pierson as he watched the recruits salute him. He saluted back before turning to Pierson "All that peptalk from Red and your still making these recruits live through Hell."

"It's for their own good. If they can't handle this then they can't handle being in the Bloody First."

Turner shook his head "We still need recruits you know."

"Fine. I'll tone it down a bit. By the way, where the hell is Redding?"

Turner chuckled "She's a bit preoccupied with an old friend. Got a leave for the week."

Pierson sighed and rubbed his temple "I expected something better from a BRO Infantry. Not have her fucking a Helljumper for a week."

Meanwhile...

"Oh God! Harder! Harder!"

"This bed's not gonna last another day... Ohh~"

"That's it! I ride top, you shut up!"

"Jane, wait! Oomp-"

~Line Break~

"...98...99...100."

Jane let out an exhausted sigh. 100 Push-ups, Pull-ups and Crunches. She's gonna need a dumbbell and a treadmill installed in her room soon. Grabbing a towel, a change of clothes and the lingerie, she hit the showers. While the Commander was busy freshening up, Wade entered her cabin to inform her of the War Games Simulator. Hearing the shower running, the Spartan decided to lounge on the couch and took out his datapad. He needed to know what happened to Ibarra and Elias.

Jane stepped out of the shower and dried herself. Who knew this lingerie was comfy as fuck? She tossed the towel on her chair and saw Wade on the couch, reading from a datapad. She chuckled as he gasped and brought a hand to his mouth. A big man like him and he gasps like that, that was a funny image. He didn't even notice her even as she stood in front of him.

'That's Patriotism, right there.' His thoughts were interrupted by a cough. He looked up from his datapad and saw Shepard in a very, familiar set of underwear 'Isn't that Holly's?'

He shook his head and stood up "Sorry for intruding, Shepard. But the Captain told me to tell ya that the War Games Simulator is fully functional. He invited you and the Normandy crew to be the first ones to try it. He'll brief you the rest of the details once you're there."

He rose an eyebrow as he checked her out "Holly gave that to you?"

"Yeah."

Wade chuckled "That was hers. Only saw it a couple of times years ago. I gotta say, you look nice. Got a very important date, Shepard? Got a lucky man and/or woman waiting, eh?"

Jane shook her head before grabbing an N7 shirt and military pants "Just thought I'd try it out. Didn't know this was so comfy."

"That's what she said the first time. Be seeing ya." Wade left, still thinking about reading back to where he left off. Jane watched him leave and decided to contact Captain Clarke. She's gonna have to decline that offer until her team is assembled. Hopefully, he understands. Maybe even help her find them and get them back together.

~Line Break~

"She declined, Admiral Hackett. She says she wants her team first before going in the simulation."

"Alright, I guess we'll have to do without her. I'll have Anderson send some of the N7s. They're the best we got."

William nodded "Of course. We'll go with the Warzone simulation first. 12 participants from both sides. Their objective. Take out the opposing team's core or be the first to reach a thousand points. Points are obtained from taking out bosses, holding bases and eliminative enemy combatants. There are three bases and if all of them are captured by one team, the opposition's core will be vulnerable for attack. Weapons issued are UNSC, Alliance and Citadel made. There are different variations of Warzone but we'll start with the basic one. That'll be all, Admiral. I'll be overseeing how our Fortresses are doing."

"Of course."

They saluted each other before cutting off the feed. What William didn't tell was that the UNSC were currently building ships for the Home Fleet. He made sure that the Fortresses had underground bases to build ships. The underground bases aren't connected yet but it soon will be. On topside, they seem like normal bases but down below was something bigger. All the materials provided by the Alliance was a big help. Besides, as far as they know, most of these materials go to rebuilding cities and producing more UNSC arsenal. He turned to the terminal and said "Mindy, status underground?"

"Not fast enough. We need more manpower and resources to remake the Home Fleet like it was back on our dimension. We don't have those and we don't have the time. The Reapers are already pushing almost everyone in the galaxy into a corner. I heard that Doctor T'soni was working on uncovering the clues of a Prothean weapon. It could be the key to stopping those Reapers."

William sighed "I wish we had Battlegroup Dakota here. The Infinity could do much more than this old ship. Anyway, Mindy. Set a course for Earth. We're establishing UNSC HQ in Sydney."

"Affirmative, sir. Do you think there's an alternate version of Chips there?"

"Heh. Maybe, we'll find out soon enough."

~Line Break~

"So, Commander. Where are you off to?"

"I'm going to the Citadel. See if I can get some stationing and housing for the students. Give the crew shore leave."

Mindy nodded "Alright, Shep. I'll relay it to them. By the way, do you want me to customize those armor the Captain sent you?"

"Go ahead."

Mindy's avatar blinked out and Shepard walked of of her cabin. She entered the Elevator and headed for the CIC. Once there, she spotted Lahr observing the galaxy map.

"Hmm. How intriguing." His stomach growled and he grunted. He then left the galaxy map and walked over to Lipyap, who was tinkering with a M-6 Carnifex. The Unggoy looked up at the Elite and gave him a bundle of bananas. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the Elite eat banana after banana after banana 'til there was none. To think, these aliens that are so efficient in killing have their own little quirks. Traianus has his music player, Lipyap has his Master Chief plush and Lahr has his bananas. It's quite refreshing seeing that. She shook her head and walked over to the galaxy map.

"Joker, head for the Relay. We're going to the Citadel for a shore leave."

"Heading there now, Commander."

"Psst. Hey, Joker."

Jane could hear the pilot let out an exasperated sigh "What is it?"

"Now, EDI. Hold him down!"

"Wait, what's!?"

"Don't worry, Jeff. This won't take long."

"What are you-"

"Sing it, Toots."

"Very well. Daisy, Daisy..."

"Oh, Hell no!"

"Ahahahahaha!"

Jane smirked at her crew's antics. Two AIs in her ship. If this was two years ago, she would be in jail by now. Well, time to see if anyone in the Citadel got something for her to do. She always said it will be the last time she help but she couldn't stop herself. Her conscious wouldn't let her... and the rewards are pretty good too.

'Credits in hand, meet body in dirt. I think you'll get along just fine.'