Chapter 9: Inquisitio et Explicatio.
A/N: in this chapter I use a timeline again.
Sometimes for losing a battle,
You find a new way to win the war
- Unknown
May 5, 2157: After failed peace talks, and waiting some days for the situation in UTC space to calm down, the Pact agrees to finance every promising project in R&D.
May 27, 2157: Today is the anniversary of the end of the Massive War. Millions of humans travel to Earth to a global commemoration, in order to remember the fallen.
Earth: Vatican City
O'Connor was part of a massive crowd in the Vatican City, holding a lit candle in his hands with his head lowered like everybody else. Today was the anniversary of the darkest day in human history, the day they remembered the end of the Massive War. The Pope was delivering a moving oration, like those around him O'Connor repeated the words, words that flowed more naturally off of his tongue than even his native language. When the oration ended everybody raised their candles, reciting the Lord's Prayer in perfect unison. Once they had finished, they lowered the candles and blew them out, signifying the start of the moment of silence. After a few minutes of silence the crowd dispersed.
Minutes later: Vatican City
O'Connor was in a coffee shop near the Vatican waiting for a cappuccino; given that all the candles were out he had his helmet attached to his waist. In the darkness, he saw a woman approaching him; she had her helmet on so he couldn't recognize her. Without missing a beat he silently reached for his glock 37 pistol, it was modified with a flash suppressor, ideal for situations like these. She then stopped in front of him, eyeing him, he could swear he saw her smiling from behind her visor.
"Alex?" she asked, once he heard her voice, he moved his hand from his pistol.
"Sandra?" he asked, surprised.
"The one and only," she said, a smile in her voice.
"What are you doing here?" asked O'Connor as he reached for his drink.
"Here for the commemoration like everyone else," replied Sandra pleasantly. "How have you been after all these years?"
"You mean since you left me? I've been fine," he said, taking a large sip of his drink. It burned on the way down.
Sandra put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on, we haven't seen each other on eight years, why bring that up now?"
"And why we haven't seen each other on eight years?" asked O'Connor coldly and she said nothing. "That's what I thought. I loved you Sandra, but all you left me with was a fucking note, so what the hell do you want for me?"
"I was young," she replied flippantly but in a sultry tone. "You know, this would be the ideal time to get reacquainted."
"Reacquainted?" he repeated, disbelief lacing his voice. "Do you honestly think that I'm going to betray my lifemate for someone like you?"
"Wha...what?" she stammered, surprised by the revelation.
"Yeah, I have a lifemate," said O'Connor as he flashed her his ring.
This did not seem to deter Sandra as much as he had hoped. "We still can have fun, your lifemate doesn't need to know."
"Now I'm happy we aren't together," he said smiling. "Nadia is a million times better than you."
"Wait, Nadia?" repeated Sandra as something in her mind clicked. "You married that fucking cat?"
"That what?" he asked, his hand reaching for his pistol again.
"That. Fucking. Cat," she answered with a disgusted sneer.
"Say that again," he dared her.
"That fucking cat," she replied with a slight laugh. "What are you going to do, Alex? Call her, so she'll bite me?"
She laughed louder and he grabbed the pistol by the barrel, he pistol whipped her and completely shattered her visor. She collapsed onto the ground; he holstered his weapon, put on his helmet and left as if nothing had happened.
June 10, 2157: The Citadel Council formally declares war against the Pact.
The Citadel: Presidium Commons
The Third Ghost platoon was under Huerta Memorial Hospital. They were using a new suit provided for them from R&D that allowed them to stick to and move across vertical surfaces and be completely cloaked. The team consisted of Peeper, Falcon, Ghost Lead, and 30K.
"Sir," said Peeper.
"What?" asked Ghost Lead, a little annoyed.
"Could we stop for a while?"
Ghost Lead rolled his eyes. "And why should we?"
"I'm thirsty," Peeper replied with a slight gasp.
"Negative, we're almost there," said Ghost Lead sternly. "You can drink after."
"Sir," said Falcon, a little cautious.
"What now?" grunted Ghost Lead.
"I support the idea of stopping, I'm hungry."
Ghost Lead shook his head. "You've got to be shitting me," he whispered to himself. "And what about you, 30?"
"I'm fine," 30K replied. "But I want to stop too."
"Fine, you win, lets get to the top first," sighed Ghost Lead.
Everyone then changed their direction, heading for the top. When they were about halfway, they passed by a window that allowed them to see the typical goings on of the hospital. They paused for a moment to watch the medics work before continuing on to the top of the hospital. Trust the cover of night, they deactivated their cloaking devices and sat on the edge of the roof. Peeper inserted a tube of water into his suit while Falcon inserted a food tube.
"So, what do you think of doing this job?" asked Falcon once his food was finished.
"It's nothing special," replied Peeper as he removed one tube for another. "We're behind enemy lines, the only difference is the world."
"Yeah, but we're on the magnificent Citadel!" declared Falcon with false pride before dissolving into laughter. "These aliens aren't all that fucking impressive, we've been here for days and they haven't found us yet."
"Yeah, and they're the home of the great Citadel Council," said Peeper with a sneer. "They live with their heads up their asses, and it's our job to straighten them out with a kick."
"Hey, you lot," they heard someone shout; they looked down and saw a turian in C-sec armor staring up at them. "Identify yourselves!"
"What do we do?" asked 30K in a whisper.
"Leave," Ghost Lead replied.
"Roger," said everyone in unison.
In the distance, they could hear police sirens approaching fast. Just when as skycars arrived, they cloaked, disappearing from sight. Lights from the skycars shone right over where they had been sitting and they moved rapidly back down the building to the lower part of the hospital.
"Oh shit, that was close," whispered Peeper.
"Too close," Ghost Lead replied. "Next time we stop in one of those tunnels, now let's go. Double time!"
June 25, 2157: After the military investigation boom, the first technology for mass production tests leaves R the technology is the plasma sword.
July 19, 2157: Another technology is brought out of R&D, for testing for mass production; this technology is the plasma shield for personal use.
August 22, 2157: After passing qualities tests, the plasma shield and sword begin mass production and are distributed to the military.
August 30, 2157: The antimatter shield is created.
October 25, 2157: The gas shield is invented; all the ships capable of carrying it are upgraded.
November 1, 2157: The electromagnetic shield is developed; every vehicle that doesn't have a shield is upgraded.
December 25, 2157: All flagships land on Earth and are filled with diverse military vehicles such as helicopters, watercrafts, tanks, etc. Once they are fully loaded they take off again.
January 31, 2158: The LODW and the ion array are completed.
O'Connor stood there, watching as his team put the finals touches to the LODW. He was incredibly proud of them, they had accomplished what he thought was impossible and soon, they would soon embark on another unknown and he could hardly wait to see how they did. Suddenly he felt a tail wrap around his waist and followed by a head on his shoulder, without looking he reached out and found a hand, intertwining their fingers.
"A masterpiece," said Nadia as she looked out .
"Yes, it is," he said, his voice a little distant. "It's too bad it took eights months to build one, otherwise it might make a difference. How long do you think it'll take to build the ion arrays?"
Nadia smiled up at him mischievously. "Almost nothing, we're going to send the blueprints to a shipyard. And your precious LODW is going to be tested for mass production."
"Really?"
She nodded. "We received authorization from high command this morning."
O'Connor relaxed a little. "Do you know when the invasion is going to start?"
"I heard it might happen in as little as six months," she replied brightly before her face went stony. "And those turians bastard will pay for what they did to your race."
"That's my girl," replied O'Connor with a smirk.
July 23, 2158: A massive amount of fleets begin to gather on the border of human territory. Ships begin to form up, ready to activate their warp drive cores when given the order, ready to head to the crow home world. The flagships are filled with every kind of vehicle from tanks to jeeps, ships full of human, quarian, and saryn soldiers, alongside their special forces. They were ready, ready to fight, ready to avenge the eleven million innocents savagely massacred. Among them, there was one ship that stood out, the one that would be critical to the success of the invasion: the Stalingrad.
The Citadel: Council Chambers
"No, Tevos you don't understand," insisted Councilor Sparatus. "I know that the people are crying for my resignation, but this is not the time. We haven't heard anything from the humans for months, maybe they've decided not to attack us."
"Maybe? Maybe?" repeated Valern incredulously. "You don't really believe that, do you?"
"Look, Sparatus," said Tevos softly. "We know that you are sending almost every ship to protect the Citadel, but your faults are there; you cannot be the turian Councilor any longer."
"But-But-" he stammered and then trailed off when he felt the air moving behind him. He turned around to see five forms materializing out of nowhere, including a gun pointed just between his eyes.
"Good day, Councilors," said the human, his voice already pre-translated. "I suppose you know who we are."
His colleagues pointed their weapons at the rest of the Council.
"Humans," snarled Sparatus, then he received a punch in his head, he fell to the ground unconscious; the human who punched him laughed a little.
"What do you want from us?" asked Valern trying to sound brave.
"Well apart from this little bastard, a voice recording," replied the obvious leader of the group.
"What?" asked Tevos, she then watched as the human approached her, activating his omni-tool on the way.
"Speak into the recorder, miss," he said politely, clearly surprising Tevos.
"What?" she repeated.
"Say something, anything," he ordered and she obeyed, giving just her name and rank to him. "Good. Jorje!"
"Yes, sir?" said a hologram that appear from his omni-tool.
"Is that enough for you?" he asked, returning to his group.
"More than enough," said the AI before he disappeared, only to reappear a few seconds later. "Done, sir. Now your modulator will broadcast in Councilor Tevos' voice. I'm opening a link to the lead ship."
"Councilor Tevos?" asked a female. "Is everything alright?"
"No, we've received a distress call from Thessia, dispatch all available ships immediately," he instructed, his voice disguised as Tevos'.
A few moments passed and the Ghosts started to grow nervous until the line lit up again.
"Understood, Councilor," said the female once again. "We will move out now."
The link went dead and suddenly one Ghost laughed. "Seriously? They didn't request a confirmation code, or a phrase; what the actual fuck?" He started laughing harder. "Seriously, I think we overestimated you."
"Shut up," said Ghost Lead, his voice normal again. "Jorge, how many ships are moving?"
"Every ship in the system is moving, sir; they should be leaving in a few minutes."
"Good, when that happens, tell the Stalingrad they have clear passage," he said and while the Councilors didn't understand, they were scared.
A few minutes later, after the ships left the system, a lonely frigate appeared, Ghost Lead then received a call.
"Ghost Lead here."
"Sir, the AIs have been dispatched; the relays should be shut down in the next two minutes."
"Understood, wait for them to finish their job and we will return home," he said as he looked at Sparatus' unconscious form. "High Command is going to be damned pleased after this."
"Understood, we will be waiting for your shuttle," said the other soldier before Ghost Lead cut the link. He then attached a cloak to Sparatus' waist, after that he ordered one of his men to carry him.
"What are you going to do with him?" asked Tevos, completely terrified.
"Show him why you don't fuck with the human race," he said before he and his team disappeared from sight.
Human Space:
When the Stalingrad returned safely from the Citadel, cheers erupted on all of the ships. After a few minutes of coordination, the ships initiated their drive cores and entered warp space simultaneously, en route for the turian home world.
A/N: before anyone says nothing about the technologies invented on this chapter, until now everything I invented has scientific basis, everything.
And if that doesn't convince you, this if fucking Science fiction.
Codex:
-Plasma sword: The plasma sword is capable of cutting almost anything, especially living things.
Function:
The part of the armor that protects the forearm (being left or right, depending on the dominant hand of the operator) has a container reinforced against high temperatures full of ionized gas. When the operator activates the sword (this is done with a specific movement of the thumb) a predefined electromagnetic field is created from the forearm, after that the gas is released, in the container door there is a small electromagnetic field powered by a laser that heats the gas. This turns it into plasma and then the plasma is expelled from the container by the field that ignites it. This forms the sword in the electromagnetic field and it all happens in 1.5 seconds. When the sword is deactivated the electromagnetic field retracts, forcing the plasma to return to the container; it can be reused.
-Antimatter shields. Given the risk of using personal shields, mankind declined the use of these by the investigation for other forms of protection.
Function:
The shield itself is a rectangular box of 5x2cms, once unfolded the box displays a thin "wall" of antimatter of 2 meters high by 4 long. These walls have a special technology that allows the bullets of an allied side to pass through, but not those of then enemy. Its disadvantage is after receiving a huge amount of damage the wall explodes and the explosion is indiscriminate in whom it catches. The advantage is if the fight ends, the wall can be deactivated and the box can be recovered to be filled and reused. Each platoon has at least a dozen of them.
-Electromagnetic shield: Shield of electromagnetism.
Function:
The shield possesses a thin outer layer of positrons (thus annihilating most of the electrons of the object) leaving the attacking weapon with a net positive charge. The weapon can then be repelled by an inner electromagnetic field. These shields were invented for frigates, also operating for land vehicles (tanks, APCs, jeeps, etc.). This shield can overload after stopping a quantity of bullets.
-Gas shields (Gas windows): This new shield was invented after the plasma ones were rendered useless against turian weapons.
Function:
A gas window is, as the name implies, a sheet-like structure consisting of an ionized gas at a very high temperature (about 10,000-15,000 degrees). It is confined by electric and magnetic fields generated by the ship itself. These shields have a high energy consumption, so it is impossible to use on a destroyer; when this shield is activated the ship cannot enter an atmosphere or warp space.
-Plasma shields: Plasma shields are reminiscent of riot shields.
Function:
This time the container (which is bigger) is in the forearm opposite the one with the sword (if the sword is on the right forearm the shield will be on the left). The way it is activated is exactly the same as the sword, and the shield protects from the waist up, and is primarily a last second defense mechanism as it only last a few seconds.
