Time frame for next update: At least a week and half possibly two weeks because of exams and swimming. Enjoy.


Chapter 8

Orion Arm

Shanxi Cluster

2589

"Two months in slipspace. Two months spent running away from the nearest battle zone," Thinks Radm. Tornabene. As his battle group reverts back to reality amid a lighting storm in space, he calls together all the Commanders, Captains, Shipmasters, Shipmistress, and the Fleetmaster to the Whitcomb for a last-minute conference. One of the downsides of having such a large ship is that it takes forever to get anywhere. Mendicant did offer the use of slipspace portals instead of the tram routes but no one wants to disappear into another dimension on the way to the mess deck. It takes ten minutes for the Rear Admiral to reach the main conference room, his XO Rha Vadum is already waiting along with Blue Team and the file of Spec-Ops sangheili that make up my personal guard.

Having time before the rest of the fleets officer arrive Tornabene ask, "I want general opinions people, about this mission. Given that the border regions are heating up, do you think HighCom should be wasting precious resources like a Cole class super carrier instead of a Valiant or Marathon strike group? Pacing Tornabene heads over to the table and gets a cup of coffee from his special pot The head of engineering and his boys make the best coffee on the ship and the standing orders on-board ship are make sure that the admiral always has a pot of black gang coffee hot and ready. The only people allowed to indulge is the admiral, the XO, the third officer. Woe to anyone else who tries to take a heavenly cup, scuttlebutt has that one of the Ultras guards the coffee in active camo. No one has mustered up the courage to find out if that particular rumor is true.

The Spartans are standing in silence shifting slowly, to the uninformed they may seem like statues or robots, but the three non-spartans they know that they are discussing the question privately before answering. The Shipmistress however does not stay quiet for long, "Fleetmaster, As much as I want to lead my brothers and sisters alongside you reclaimers against the heretics. This task was given to us by an oracle from the gods. We would be remiss if we did commit a large and powerful force to finding our path. This journey is only for the worthy and the worthy must be strong. Besides we have the chance to win much honor and glory something our ancestors demand." The sangheili ultras on the room's perimeter nod in agreement.

Seeing this the Admiral turns the leader of the sangheili, Usze 'Taham, "What do you think," questions the Admiral.

The Ultra places his hand over his heart and cocks his before replying. "The Shipmistress is correct Fleetmaster, he begins, "The gods have sent us, not another ship or other warriors, but us. They deem us worth to fight in their name and we must disgrace ourselves before the gods. I am looking forward to this challenge, for any foe to stand before the chosen sword of reclamation must be mighty or foolish. Either way they will be tested by your skill, bested by our might, given no mercy by our weapons." When he finished his speech about his willingness to be challenged the other ultras place a close fist over their hearts. They start to slowly pound their chest. They start to pray in sangheili and once that was finished they started again in English.

They are chanting the Oath of Reclamation and Atonement, "On the blood of our fathers, on the blood of our sons! We tore the Covenant asunder! Our past stained with the dishonor. The countless dead lay restlessly at our feet. Lost, ready for deaths absolving embrace. The darkness called, hope was lost. Forgiveness though undeserved was given! Forward, warriors, and fear not pain or death. We continued our march to glorious salvation! Humans and Sangheili. Will you not come with us, brother? The Journey to the Mantel has begun. It demands great courage. So we may regain our honor and bask in the glory of the heavens."

The chanting end as the rest of the UNSC senior officer enter, saluting the rear admiral they quickly take their seats and review mission data and their own ship's status. A few minutes later the heavy footfalls of several Imperium warriors are. Three Shipmasters, their Helios guards, and the Fleetmaster enters. Bowing to the rear-admiral he nods at the rest of the humans. The sangheili already present render their honors with Rha doing so begrudgingly. Taking his seat the meeting begins. "Taylor pull up the start charts of this cluster." Orders Tornabene from the head of the table. The various systems are projected onto the surface of the table. The three central systems are labeled; Shanxi in the middle, Nihlus on the left, and Kryik on the right. The weird thing about them is they are all equidistant from each other and arranged in a triangle.

Continuing, "I want the battlegroup to mark off systems one day, three, days, and one week away from the central three systems and survey them. You are also directed to set up slipspace monitoring probes at these locations. I don't want any Storm, Remnant, or Innie finding us without fair warning. If we do find any of our disagreeable friends you are weapons free at your discretion however nose cold on NOVA bombs I want planets and systems to search not debris fields. Also the other reason why these ships were selected is that they all have advanced stealth systems and optical cloaks. The surveying the ships will cloaked the entire time. Consider this a standing order until told otherwise. Each system will be given forty hours until moving on to the next system. Any delay must be reported to either the Shadow of Intent or the Whitcomb. You have your orders. Dismissed." With the briefing concluded the senior officer's head back to their respective ships. "Fleetmaster may I have a quick word," adds Tornabene. Waiting till they were both alone Tornabene begins, "The arrangement you have with my ships XO is not going to be a problem is it?"

Fleetmaster Indo Vadam cocks his head to the side. Most sangheili do this if the topic is unexpected or in this case humorous. His mandibles flex into the sangheili equivalent of a smile before laughing, "Not at all Supreme Commander. Yes we are betroth. Yes she joined your command to get away from my irresistible charm. She however is just jealous that I have become a Fleetmaster before her. I am sure she told you about our rivalry yes?" Seeing Tornabene nod yes Indo continues, "We both started training at the same time, each task we traded first place as our natural abilities developed. The first major blow was when she won her blade before me. I must say much to detriment of my pride that you will hard pressed to find a better swordsman than her. I however am a better leader. She got a file to command, I would receive a lance and so on and so forth. I reach Zealot first than she countered by commanding a CVP destroyer. I then got command of a CCS-class cruiser and she only received a CRS cruiser and worse yet she was put under my command. When she got the Unflinching Resolve, from me I might add, she went and broke it over Sigma Octanus IV. I however was promoted and given the command of the Task Group Herald of Damnation along with the Shadow of Intent, her father's command. She did not speak to me for a year. We are close friends and fine warriors Supreme Commander have no fear our petty squabbles pale in comparison to the task ahead." His fears dispelled he thanks the Fleetmaster and wishes him good hunting.

Arriving in the Nihlus system the Whitcomb engages its cloak and begins searching for the energy signature that Mendicant gave the UNSC. The Whitcomb however is not alone in this search, though MI has made progress there are still monsters that hide in the shadows.

Scutum–Centaurus Arm

Attican Traverse

Hades Gamma Cluster

Chasing Batarian Pirates

2589

"Don't let them get away Joker," yells Shepard.

"I know, I know, it's not like I want them to get away Commander," Joker replies over the comm as he throws the Normandy through several high g turns as the hull groans in protest.

In the raised section of the CIC Shepard gripping the railing tight hits the comm link to fire control, "Garrus can you disable that ship with the main cannon?"

In the depths of the frigate, Garrus strapped into the gunnery controls replies tersely, "No problem, I need Joker to give me three seconds of level flying to line up the shot. Dodging a brace of disruptor torpedoes, Joker pulls a split S and then throws the Frigate into an Immelmann to get a clear line of fire on the fleeing Batarian. Leveling out in a shallow dive Garrus takes the shot as the Batarian flees into the mass relays approach corridor.

As the relay activates and spreads its mass altering tendrils out. The Batarians increases speed hoping to out run the rapidly approaching Normandy. Before Garrus can fire again the frigate reached the relay jump point just as the first mass accelerator rounds hits an engine. It explodes and shakes the ship wildly but it does not halt the relay jump. In a flash of blue they are gone. In a flash of orange the Normandy explodes as the drive and hull damaged earlier succumbs to the stress of battle. A section of the outer hull sheared off. All power goes out, lights flicker as back generators come to life. "Dam," yells Shepard as he punches the bulkhead. Hitting the comm to Adams in engineering he orders, "Get the ship back online as soon as possible." Switching to Joker's channel Shepard continues, "I want to run these bastards down. Now they went and fled through a previously inactive relay, something else I can kill them for, once we get Tali back."

On the barbarian frigate the crew is thankful to escape with their lives but now they wish to remain this way to enjoy the reward of delivering the quarian to Saren. Apparently she got on his shit list and now he wants deal with her personally. The ship shakes as secondary explosions continue were they had an engine pod. The engineering officer cuts power and air to the section and reroutes it, ending the fire and a dozen lives of those trapped. The captain paces the bridge angrier than a blood enrage krogan he growls to no one in particular, "Saren better pay extra for all the trouble we want through to get this quarian. We need to get out of here. Are there any large system nearby?" the captain Solem Dal'serah ask his navigator.

The young Batarian replies, "Scans have detected a major system about two hours. Even with the damage sustained we should be able to make without further risk."

Nodding Dal'serah says, "Plot a course. Alert me when we are close to the system edge."

48 hours Prior

Hades Gamma Cluster

Gathering the team in the team in comm room Shepard starts his briefing, "Just want to start with a good job done so far. Saren has yet to show himself so we are out of leads. Feros was hell and I am glad no one is hung up over it. Now on to business, the mercenary, pirate, and slaver bands in this sector have become more active with large amounts of krogan present. While this would not be so out of the ordinary, the thing is that the Blood Pack are nowhere near this region of space. The Council wants us to hit the base and crack their computers to find out routes and attack plans so the Turian and Alliance naval forces can actively interdict them and try to find out where so many krogan have come from. So I will need Tali, Wrex and Garrus to ready up and meet me in the hangar bay. Dismissed."

The Normandy gilded into the planet's atmosphere like a ghost. Its stealth systems fully active the mercenaries don't have a clue that they are going to be hit by an elite Spectre team. As Joker makes his way to the infiltration site he flies by a passing slaver patrol. A piece of bad luck. This bad luck however gives the mercenaries two hours to prepare for the incoming assault. Dropping off Shepard and the rest of his team, Joker then flew off to wait for the gun fire laced radio call so He can come and save the day.

No Mako for this operation, it would be too loud and hard to hide. The team is moving in on foot, slowly walking through the tough rocky terrain. The height of the hills makes even Wrex grumble also the planet being a higher gravity world doesn't improve the four kilometer hike. It takes the team an additional three hours to get into strike range. Garrus peering through he scope of his newly acquired Widow feeds the team intel, "There are a lot more of them outside the base. I estimate at least a platoon plus an old ass Batarian IFV Commander. Next time you want a sniper for a pirate raid take Ashley." Shaking his head Shepard looks with his own optics and sees that Garrus is right.

Calling the Normandy he has Kaidan and Ashely run out the Mako to draw their fire. Fifteen minutes later a single heavy round rings out and the pirate IFV explodes as Garrus nailed its power core. Distracted by the dying tank the mercs unprepared for the thunder run of the Mako. Doing three high-speed drive byes Ashley shredded most of the pirates outside. Those left standing had to deal with a Krogan Battlemaster who just bioticly charged into the middle of the survivors, reducing one unlucky S.O.B. to a bloody pulp on impact showering the others with blood. His shotgun barks as Tali and Shepard move up with Garrus eliminating any remaining snipers. After five minutes of chaotic hell the outside grows quiet except for the smoldering tank. They regroup in front of the airlock. Pulling security they wait for Tali to hack the door, it takes twenty seconds.

Entering the team splits into groups, Wrex and Tali on side and Shepard and Garrus on the other. The VI informs that it takes five minutes to pressurize and decontaminate before the airlock will cycle them through. Standing uncomfortably the waiting sucks as nerves tighten. Garrus switches to an assault rifle, his preferred weapon is a Thunder. "Once the door opens I want everyone to throw a grenade in hard, count to three and move to the first available cover point," orders Shepard. The VI counts down from five and the door clicks and hisses open. Four grenades are thrown and cause a zone of cover and death as the team moves in weapons flashing fire and fury. The slavers guarding the door were cut down before they had chance to put up fight.

Right after the entry succeeded Shepard and the team quickly surveyed the building, about the size of a football field it had numerous crates stack creating fire lanes and cover points in front of a large mess area. The upstairs area consisted of two balconies that overlook the right and left sides of the building with three bridges connecting them. The mercenaries recovering from their early shock opened fire. A lot of fire. The team was pinned as a tidal wave of bullets and rockets was poured forth. The only targets that Shepard and the rest of the squad were able to engage were the enemies on the catwalks and upper levels. Once they were killed the fire slackened greatly. "Garrus give me a mass overload, Tali use sabotage right after, Wrex barriers up were going to charge," shouts Shepard. The Omi-tools flash orange as the mercs wonder why their guns stopped working were left vulnerable to a krogan battering ram and N7 Vanguard pushing through their ranks. It work well until a dozen krogan counter-charged stopping the advance cold.

Garrus seeing the threat yells to Tali, "I need you to cover while I find a good spot and set up." Tali nods and sends her combat drone out to harass the mercs trying to flank them. Garrus finding a good crate bunkers down while sighting his widow on the nearest krogan, the nearest krogan about to kill Shepard anyway. Relaxing his heart and calming his breathing Garrus hits the assassination mode on the rifle and fires. The heavy round leaps from the barrel the report defining and booming over the fire fight. The krogan's head exploded as the high velocity armor-piercing high explosive round entered the krogan. Leaving the krogan' head the round continued and impacted the turian behind the intended target. Both went down in a spray of blood and brains.

The fight devolves into a close quarters brawl. Grenades are thrown around corners, necks are snapped in desperate hand to hand fights, and bullets rip through flesh and armor. The team did get to witness the finer aspects of the krogan's blood rage as Wrex succumbs to it and tore a dozen targets including one krogan limb from limb with his bare hands, also he shrugged off a dozen explosive rounds and an assault rifle burst to the gut. The mercs though more numerous did not have the skill to do much but prolong their inevitable demise and die in a suitably messy manner. The fighting stops as the last krogan drops dead with half of its body destroyed. "Well that was easy," remarked Garrus as he wipes some blood form his mouth.

"Yeah," agrees Wrex, "We did the galaxy a twofold service, got rid of a bunch of weak slavers and mercs as well as removed a group of idiots from the gene pool. Still all that matters is the fight and they did fair." Shaking his head Shepard begins to search their bodies looking for anything useful. The rest of the squad does the same after applying medigel to themselves.

"Tali you and Garrus head upstairs and crack into their armory, bank accounts, and computer records. We need to find the intelligence the Council wants. Wrex feel free to pick over any corpse on this floor and maintain security," orders Shepard. Walking over to a black armored turian he takes a look at the shotgun the body has. Finding it better model quickly swaps it out and reinstalls all of his weapon mods to his new toy, the Hydra V. All is going well with the cleanup phase of the operation until all hell breaks loose.

As the team was fighting against the slavers and mercs in the building a large portion of their company was stalking the Normandy. Joker set her down in a box canyon with only one way in and out. The Mercs knowing the terrain better than the crew of the Normandy moved up several small paths and trials to get above the Alliance frigate. The Normandy was powered down to reduce the wear and tear on the IES systems but is also more vulnerable to the heavy weapons that the mercs brought with them. Opening fire with several auto cannons and heavy rocket launchers, chunks of armor are blown off the Normandy. Though wounded it is not even close to being out of the fight. Barriers quickly turn on shrugging off the next barrage. Joker opens fire with the guardian lasers flash frying the attacking mercs.

Climbing into the sky he detects four enemy frigates on an intercept course and immediately climbs higher in order to gain the altitude advantage. Once he is at least seventy thousand feet up, Joker spins the ship and charges. The enemy frigates and the Normandy open fire at the same time. Railgun rounds impact shields with flashes of orange fire as blue white torpedoes are destroyed by red colored laser beams. The fight transforms into a swirling melee of missile exhaust and vapor trails. Joker catches one frigate in a high yo-yo and cuts it in half with a torpedo to the underside. Seeing his partner turned to atoms another frigate runs. For this act of cowardice and ease of shot all three open fire and transform the once sleek vessel into a twisted flame warped hulk.