Mass Effect: The New Journey
Chapter Ten: The Road to War
Giving you guys a New Years present! Glad to see reception of this has been pretty decent and/or good. This is an intermission chapter till the Alliance, or should I say, URSC, starts their brutal retaliation.
Disclaimer: I make no claim of anything except my own work. Mass Effect, Halo, and Titanfall, are under the rights of Bioware, 343 Industries, and Respawn Entertainment, as well as the publishing rights of Electronic Arts, Microsoft Game Studios.
Vixa System, November 4th, 2167
Onboard Alliance Dreadnought, SSV Atlas
Silence.
It was one of those acts that aboard a starship spoke volumes, saying nothing, yet always saying everything. Every single officer and enlisted personnel on the bridge of the most powerful dreadnought in the Alliance fleet could only stare in sheer horror as every single human and drell had their eyes practically glued to the main screen. The only sound in the entire bridge was the ships HVAC unit's fan keeping everything at room temperature.
Director Miles Andre Xavier's mouth was agape, his eyes only slightly widened, even with his dark chocolate skin, he look as if he had seen a ghost. He had been the leader of the Alliance, and by proxy, humanity, for the better part of almost two decades. Not since he learned that humanity's exponential progress had been from humans from a different galaxy had his mind came a complete and utter halt.
Kastella. It was the crown jewel and pride of the Zestirian Pact, and to a lesser extent, the Alliance. That was where he and the Kings signed the Interstellar Free Trade Agreement, saving the Alliance from a nearly disastrous recession that was brewing. Hundreds of millions of human tourists visited the city every year from then on, pumping trillions of credits in revenue alone. Along with that, the Pact had signed an alliance with humanity for military purposes for mutual benefit. That city was practically the symbol of humanity's optimism about first contact with other alien civilizations, and Xavier's legacy whenever he retired from being Director.
And now…that city was in a pile of a radioactive ash. On the main holotable was a casualty estimate…and the number just kept mounting higher and higher, well into the nine-digit range, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. Not only did the attack kill millions of civilians, but a good chunk of the Alliance's liberation force for the city had perished as well. Gone in the blink of an eye.
Once the initial shock had warn off, Xavier clenched his fists as he felt a rage he didn't think he was possible of feeling.
"Admiral Hackett," he intoned, his voice as cold as a glacier.
"…Sir?" the Admiral replied, gulping a bit as he stared at his superior. Vice-Admiral Hackett was a man who could read men like books. It was how he was able to keep his subordinates in line and get them the help and therapy they needed when they needed it. What he saw in the Director's eyes terrified him to his core. Something had fundamentally changed in the man, and only time would tell if that would be a good or bad thing.
"Has the last enemy dreadnought been disabled?"
"Yes, sir, we crippled the ship for boarding parties to leave at your order," Hackett replied professionally. By now, the battle for Vixa had been over, with over seven hundred Batarian ships destroyed. The Alliance had lost a few cruisers, a carrier, and a hundred or so frigates. The last capital ship was disabled instead of destroyed for more intelligence purposes.
"No. No boarders. I want you to hail them. There's something I wish to say."
"I…" Hackett was a bit unsure, but swallowed his confusion. "Yes, sir." He turned to one of his sensor operators. "Ensign, would you do the honors?"
After a few seconds of tapping on the controls, a shot of the bridge of the Batarian dreadnought To Punish and Enslave was on screen. Judging by the surprise of the crew, it was obvious the Director of the Systems Alliance, and consequently the single most powerful and influential human in the galaxy, was the last thing they expected.
The Batarian captain, in either arrogance or pure stupidity, glared at the dark-skinned man, who remained impassive. "What is it you want, human? For us to beg for mercy? Plead for you to spare our lives? To a bunch of vagrants? Never!" It was abundantly clear that the Batarian captain didn't make his rank on merit or skill, but by connections, unlike Esta Va'rek, who lead the invasion force.
The entire crew of the SSV Atlas was stunned at the sheer lack of empathy and remorse.
Now, Xavier glared at the Batarian officer. "Mercy? You honestly expected me to give you an option of mercy after what you monsters just did?!" he roared in anger. "The Alliance has laws against using nuclear grade weaponry on planets with high civilian concentrations...but you…you just destroyed an entire city that grew over the course of a thousand years of cooperation between the Draxians and Caleans whose coexistence wasn't always peaceful! Men, women, children, soldiers, comrades, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles, family. All of them are now gone. Even now you have the audacity to act high-and-mighty as if you've been wronged?!"
"I didn't order any—" the Batarian captain tried to lie, but he was interrupted.
"Stop," Xavier commanded, freezing the captain in his tracks, his eyes wide as a deer in headlights. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Captain, because you've just kicked the hornet's nest. For all of our faults, my people are known for their compassion and willingness to help out their neighbors even in the most trying of times, it's been documented well in our history, as we welcomed the Sangheili practically with open arms, and then a century later, the Caleans and Draxians joined our small covenant and we prospered." He took in a deep breath. "But, now? After they see what you've monsters have done? My people will want blood. Blood for the tens, possibly hundreds, of millions you killed in your initial invasion. For the hundreds of thousands you kidnapped to be enslaved, and for the tens of millions in Kastella that were wiped out just not even ten minutes ago! I promise you this, Batarian. Your homeworld will BURN and anything your species values has just been forfeited. We will unleash a force ten times greater than what your military attacked here with."
Xavier could see the captain's eyes widened in rage and shook his head; clearly the alien was in denial, having spent too much time enjoying the fruits of the labor his government sanctioned. "You DARE threaten my species with war?!" Sadly, the irony of what he just said was lost on him.
Director Xavier gave him a dark chuckle. " You think I'm threatening your species with war? Fools, I'm promising you outright annihilation. Be glad you won't be alive to witness as the full might of the Systems Alliance, the Zestirian Pact, and the Sangheili Empire bears down on your species. We will claim your homeworld, destroy your colonies, any outposts, everything, and we will free anyone and everyone you and the rest of your bastard species has enslaved. May your gods have mercy upon your souls and the billions of lives your actions just cost for…we will not."
The hailed ended and Xavier nodded to Hackett. At the bow of the SSV Atlas, the Plasma Accelerator Canon revved up. They had a clear shot. Try as they might the Batarian crew could not get their ship out of the way and jump to FTL to fight another day. The canon fired. There was nothing left of the Slavers as the plasma engulfed the entire ship and atomized it to dust.
With that one ship destroyed. The battle for Zestiria, at least in space, was effectively over.
"Sir, we still have reports of Batarians fighting on the ground still," Hackett reported after handing him the tablet with the relevant data.
"My orders still stand. None of them gets off Zestiria alive," He replied coldly.
"As you wish," Hackett saluted and left the man to his own devices. He couldn't help but pity the man. To have your entire legacy gone in the blink of an eye…
He shuddered before walking off the bridge.
"Director…I have gotten some interesting news," said the Atlas' A.I., Matias, as he materialized. He had chosen the appearance of a United States Supreme Court Justice as his avatar.
"What is it, Matias?" Xavier drawled tiredly. Clearly the man wasn't in the mood.
"While you were talking to our resident Batarian Captain, I was doing some snooping around in their systems. I have everything, sir." There was a proud smirk.
"Everything?" The black man had an eyebrow raised.
"Galaxy Maps, galactic encyclopedias, translators, star charts, military outposts, everything we need to launch our counterattack."
"Damn good work, Matias! Initiate ENDWAR and pass this along back to High Admirals and Fleet Admiral Ashdown. We'll be able to discuss our strategy in the upcoming weeks."
"Already done. But sir, there's also something you should know."
"What's that?"
"We're not the only players in the galaxy…"
Arcturus Station, Medical Bay, Room 42
Three Weeks Later, November 21st, 2167
"All right, Colonel, everything seems to be clear. You're good to go from where I'm standing," the female military doctor, a drell, informed Tyson with a smile. Drell who chose to become physicians were valued greatly, their eidetic memories allowing them to treat human and alien patients with the utmost of ease, remembering the finer details.
"Thanks, doc. I really appreciate it," Tyson replied gratefully.
She waved him off. "It's no problem, sir. Just doing my job. I do have to say though, you Titan Drop Shock Troopers are some seriously tough bastards," she complemented, which Tyson nodded a bit absentmindedly. She then asked, "What happened on Zestiria?"
He gave her a whimsical smile, even if she did see the traces of melancholy and desolation behind his chocolate brown eyes. "Doc, you know I can't answer that…at least not right now." After the nuke went off, destroying Kastella, the Alliance had placed the entire Vixa system on complete lockdown and an Emergency Directive media blackout. No one got in or out without the order of the Director himself. Other than Tarius, Sgt. Frost, and the OMEGA super soldiers, virtually every ship and soldier that arrived to liberate Zestiria was still there. Were it not for the Colonel's dumb luck of happening to hitch a ride on a Pegasus with the Royal Family—and a word from the Kings of Zestiria themselves to allow them to stay—he would've likely been ordered to stay as a clean up crew. For three weeks, the entire Alliance had hunted every single Batarian soldier stranded on the Pact's home planet. They took no prisoners. After three weeks of silence from the Vixa, the enite planet was now liberated from slavers. Just in time, as well. All over Alliance space, to include Earth, Axiom Prime, Eden Prime, Taurus-4, Titan-6, Freedom's Progress, Esoteria, were protests demanding the government release information on what the hell happened at Zestiria.
For that reason, Director Xavier had scheduled a press conference for today, three hours from now, noon, in the Arcturus' Parliament chambers, along with hundreds of members of the press. Analysts had already calculated that it would likely be the most watched news conference in human history, with even businesses across Alliance space making time out of their schedules to let their employees tune in, either from a computer or television. In a few hours, nearly 90 billion Alliance citizens would learn of a terrible truth.
The doctor sighed, knowing he was right. "Well, can't blame a girl for trying." Her watched beeped indicating she had another patient to attend to. She perked up in surprise. "Oh, excuse me! I have to go. Glad you're feeling better, Colonel. I'll come and check up on you again in a few hours so I can release you." Waving him goodbye, she hurried out of the room, eager to attend to her patient.
Tyson shook his head and laid back down on his pillow.
"Feeling better, Ty?"
Tyson huffed amused. "Yeah, I guess you could say that Tarius, you lucky bastard." Of course he would get off that hellhole with barely a scratch on him.
Tarius grinned and sat on a chair beside him. "This is nothing but grade-A badass. Don't hate."
"Wasn't trying too," he told him looking up at the ceiling. He turned to him, his face serious. "You know….after this war…I'm retiring," the Colonel declared suddenly.
The drell blinked, not even bothering trying to contain his surprise. "Whoa…" He honestly didn't know how to react.
"Yeah…" the Colonel twiddled his thumbs, a habit he had picked up as a teenager. "I'm just…tired…we lost some good men, Tarius. I just don't know how much longer I can take it—"
"Don't blame yourself, Tyson. That wasn't your fault."
"Yeah, that's what I tell myself every night I try to sleep. These four eyed freaks…." He growled as vengeance swelled up from within him. "They're going to pay…one last drop, for every soldier under my command they killed." It wasn't like him to take war so personally, as he never even hated the rebels, as he simply had a job, but the Batarians had rubbed him the wrong way. Slavery? In the 22nd century?! To top it off, they actually had the gall to nuke the capital city of the homeworld of one of humanity's allies? To say the Batarians had dug a giant grave on their home planet would probably be the mellowest form of an understatement possible.
Tarius nodded. "I agree. I'm dropping with you one last time then as well."
Tyson looked surprised. "What? You're retiring too?"
"Yeah. They'd probably put me under some asshole I really don't like," he half-joked. "That's a disaster just waiting to happen. You know me. I'm not going to take shit from some wet behind the ears El-Tee who thinks he's hot shit because he graduated top of his class at Luna Academy and Axiom Prime's Drop School, hell probably not even a Captain, either. Command probably would discharge me for insubordination," he chuckled, half-serious.
Tyson rolled his eyes. "Like they would do anything to you. You're a Sergeant Major and you have a shit ton of experience." The Colonel then smirked. "But I find it cute that you'd miss me too much."
"Shut up!" Both of them shared a good laugh, before both stared out into space, using the view port near Tyson's hospital bed. Arcturus was the capital of the Systems Alliance, and as such it had the First Fleet, lead by the Sangheili Empire's Flagship, the Steeple of Ascent. In the century since the Arbiter and his people had settled on New Sanghelios, a planet roughly ten light years from Earth, the Empire had protected the Alliance's key assets in its inner territory, including shipyards, mining colonies, and Arcturus itself. In fact, Sangheili ships modeled after the Covenant outnumbered "UNSC" type ships in the First Fleet by a ratio of 2-to-1. To add to this protection, Arcturus' hull was made out of Titanium-A3 with triple layer energy shielding and had ten heavy deck guns scattered across the outer shell that could easily replicate the effects of an Orbital Defense Platform, as well as literally thousands of Jericho missile batteries. If, by some miracle, the station was attacked from the inside, by either rebel infiltrators or a future alien faction, an entire division of Marines, a company of Orbital Assault Troopers, and the thousands of military and civilian police officers would be able to repel any serious attempt to take the capital. It wasn't anywhere close to as being as heavily defended as Axiom Prime—and Earth to a certain extent—but any enemy knew; trying to take Arcturus was a fool's endeavor.
Tyson and Tarius watched in silence, as dozens of slipspace portals seem to open and close around the clock, minute-by-minute. They were civilian vessels. Obviously, any member of press wanted to capture Xavier's announcement live as the talking heads were already making speculations of what it could be. Some ranged dangerously close to the truth, to the pitifully absurd.
"Three hours, Tyson," Tarius declared looking at him. "Three hours and everything changes." Tyson nodded, agreeing with his drell friend.
"To think…we went a century and some change in an era of peace and prosperity. Every species we met on the galactic stage treated us with peace and we the same…" he growled. "Talk about a new reality check."
Tarius was going to reply, but he was cut off as he heard a shriek of bliss.
"Dad!"
Tyson turned sharply before a thirteen-year-old teenager tackled him in an embrace, holding on tight, burying her head into his muscular chest.
"Alyx?" Tyson could barely hide his shock and surprise.
The young Shepard turned her head up to look at her father with bright cerulean blue eyes she had inherited from her mother. She was dressed in typical teenage garb, jeans, a black shirt, and a matching hoodie. Her pitch-black hair was straight, falling to her shoulders, not the long curly he remembered when they went to the park a month ago. She gave him a grin.
"What, surprised to see me, dad?" she playfully teased him. Just hearing her call him that warmed the TDST pilot's heart. Barely a month ago, he was unaware of her existence, and she him, yet it was almost as if it didn't matter. She had a father—her real father—and she was going to let the entire galaxy know it if need be without the slightest hesitation. 'Just how sheltered did you keep her, Hannah?' he thought to himself, inwardly frowning, before smiling back at her.
"I…well….yeah, I am. How did you—" The answer came to him almost immediately.
"Tarius," both he and Alyx uttered simultaneously.
"Jynx!" the junior Shepard called out. "You owe me some credits dad."
"Do I? I didn't know teenagers still played that game," he teased at her smirking.
Alyx still kept her grin. "So? I'm thirteen, broke, and I have no job. I'll take what I can get."
He playfully slapped her upside the head. "Smartass."
"She gets it from you, Tyson," Hannah declared, making her presence known. She was in her Alliance dress blues, only for the sole purpose of pulling rank and getting Alyx to see her father. She was becoming attached to the TDST pilot and Hannah was going to give her every opportunity to spend time with him.
"Oh, the great Captain Shepard finally graces us with her presence," Tarius mocked bowed. She rolled her eyes at the drell and sat on the bed. Currently, Alyx was Tyson's left, and her mother on his right.
"How you feeling?" she inquired tenderly, putting her hand on his and interlocking them. Tyson felt his heart rate rise. Even in her mid-forties, Hannah Shepard was still the stunning woman she was when they met fourteen years ago.
"Better, now that you two are here," he replied sincerely. Hannah gave him a smile and gently him a peck on the lips, much to their daughter's disgust.
"Mom…Dad….gross," Alyx huffed, gagging. Both of them shared a laugh at their daughter's discomfort.
"Don't worry sweetie, you'll get there someday," Hannah told her knowingly.
Alyx didn't reply, but looked at her father seriously. "Dad…what's going to happen? Are you going away for awhile?"
Tyson looked at Tarius who looked around and nodded. He nodded back. He couldn't lie to his family. Not now, not ever. To preserve Xavier's orders and to keep himself from lying, he kept it vague. "I am…for how long I don't know. Everything has changed…and I'm not sure when it will end."
Hannah frowned. "Just what's going on, Tyson?"
"Put it this way: In the next few hours, don't be surprised if the SUMMER Contingency is declared."
Hannah's eyes nearly bolted out of her eyes in shock as she covered her mouth. "But…that's only called for—!"
"DEFCON Zero," Tyson interrupted. Taking a page from the United States Military of old, the Systems Alliance went by various states of readiness, DEFCON, ranging from 5-Peaceful and 1—State of War. However, there existed an even bigger stage: DEFCON Zero: which was the mobilization of every single military asset for an invasion of a system of an alien territory. The difference between DECON One and Zero was that one was reactionary and mainly defensive, preparing all forces for imminent attack, Zero was a state of total war where the Alliance took initiative and would strike the enemy with extreme prejudice before the Big Five (Earth, Arcturus, Axiom Prime, New Sanghelios, Eden Prime) could be attacked. For nearly a century, the Alliance was always at DEFCON Four, sometimes at 3 during the months of heavy pirate and rebel activity. Going to DEFCON 1 was nearly inconceivable, let alone Zero.
"That bad?" Hannah could barely believe it herself.
"Hannah…if you saw the things I did on Zestiria…I wouldn't be surprised if you retired tomorrow and—"
"I don't want you to go!" Alyx hugged her father, cutting him off. "Why can't you stay? With us? With me?" she cried out. It was of no surprise. Hannah didn't trust her so called "family" as far as she could throw them, and as such Alyx traveled with her from post-to-post, ship-to-ship, and station-to-station. With all the frequent moves her daughter rarely had time to make lasting friendships and was more introverted, even though her mother had observed tremendous leadership potential in her daughter after witnessing her play a game of laser tag on Eden Prime's most prestigious Game Center She was rallying strangers to complete their objective in a quick and efficient manner. Even still, Alyx seemed uninterested in a military career….at least, as of now.
"I know, I know, I do too," he admitted. "I will try to spend as much time with you as I can. Once it's over and I come back. We can do whatever we want. That sound good to you?"
She wiped her tears and sniffed. "Yeah, it sounds perfect."
"So, we got hours to kill. Why don't you tell me about that Academy…."
And so, Alyxandria Shepard began sharing every single detail of her life to the Colonel, who listened intently, with her having his undivided attention. In a few hours life in the Systems Alliance would change forever, but in that few hours, Tyson Lamont Greystone never felt more at peace and content.
Arcturus Station, Quarters of Miles Andre Xavier
November 21st, 2167
Miles Andre Xavier wiped off a bit of sweat as he laid down on his bed, his naked body full of sweat.
"Goddamn," he heard a voice say, distinctly female. "I know you're a good lay, Miles, but goddamn. You really do know how to please a woman. No wonder you keep me in line."
Xavier allowed himself a small smirk before tuning over to see Admiral Sayuri Ishigami, naked as the day she was born, all of her curves and bare breasts in plain sights. Had Xavier not already spent himself, he knew he would've continued, but alas, they were pressed for time.
"Yeah, guess I do, don't I?"
Admiral Ishigami took a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled a puff. "You know…don't you have a speech to prepare for? Don't get me wrong, I love screwing you as much as the next woman, but this is kind of the most important announcement of your career."
"Don't remind me," Xavier groaned as he put on a pair of boxers and sat on the bed. He closed his eyes. "I'm going to declare the SUMMER Contingency you know?" He didn't see the smirk on Ishigami's face. 'Good, exactly as I predicted and planned.'
"I figured as much. We're taking the fight directly to them so it's only natural. I've already had the liberty of setting up a War Summit. I've invited Admiral Lasky and the Arbiter."
"I appreciate the initiative," Xavier told her as he walked towards his private bathroom. Not even ten minutes later, did the Director walk back inside freshly clean and shaven.
Ishigami whistled appreciatively taking in his muscular physique. Clearly the man did more for himself than just sign documents, and relay orders from light years away. She still hadn't bothered to put any panties on, let alone her uniform. "Damn, Miles. Making me want you all over again."
"Shut up, Sayuri," Xavier rolled his eyes, as he got dressed in his director's garb. Ishigami smirked again. Xavier was probably the only person in the Alliance who had the sheer balls to tell her, of all people, to shut up outright. As ruthless as she was, the power dynamics of her technically unprofessional relationship with the Director intoxicated her, as he exuded confidence and was held no true fear of her, a fact that turned her on to ludicrous degrees.
"Listen," the leader of the Office of Alliance Intelligence suddenly said, seriously. "I don't know what you're feeling right now or what kind of turmoil you're going through, but you need to shake it off. I know you, Miles. Whatever it is, it's done. The Alliance needs you to lead us to victory against these four-eyed aliens who dared to attack our own. They've dug a grave the size of a nebula." Of course, she left out the part where she and Harper's people were largely the reason the Batarians even knew where Zestiria was, but that was a secret she, and the rest of the crew of the Start of Darkness, would take to her grave.
He scoffed a bit amused. "Glad you believe in me."
"I do," she told him. That time she was honest. She wasn't sure if she was in love or was even capable of such an emotion, but if there were any such man, Miles would be at the top of the list, winning in a landslide
A pair of N7 agents walked inside the room, unceremoniously. "Director, it's time, sir," they informed him. The two elite ninja-like soldiers didn't even bat an eyelash at seeing the Japanese Intelligence Flag Officer, being naked in front of them and judging from her expression, she didn't care either. It was practically common knowledge amongst the Special Forces operatives assigned to protect Xavier at any cost, much like the Secret Service and JFK two hundred years prior. It was none of their business and they were smart enough to not speak of what went on between the two.
"I'm aware, thank you." They both saluted and walked out the same way they came in.
Xavier was about to cross the threshold before something compelled him to ask his pseudo-girlfriend a question that had plagued his mind for years on end, yet never had the courage to ask, at least till now. "Tell me something, Sayuri." He turned around to face her. She raised both eyebrows, indicating for him to continue. "You know the one thing I never understood about you? How do you make killing someone or something sound…so easy?"
Sayuri Ishigami gave him a cold smile. She glanced left toward a replica of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" painting, which hung on Xavier's wall along with other paintings from the Italian Renaissance era. "God Himself doesn't discriminate…I guess he made me in His own image," she coldly replied.
Xavier felt a chill go down his spine and for the first time ever, he felt something he never thought he would from Ishigami: fear.
He walked out not even a second later, trying to clear his head for what he was about to do.
Arcturus Parliament Chambers
November 21st, 2167
The Parliament Chambers inside Arcturus was truly enormous, at roughly 1 kilometer in diameter and 500 meters tall in a dome shape. This was where the roughly 500 legislators with representation from ALL of the colonies debated various laws and regulations, alongside dozens of A.I. helpers, where, after a law was passed with majority vote, it was sent to Director Xavier to sign into law. He, as Director, had discretionary clauses in the Systems Alliance Charter to enforce any laws passed by Parliament as how he saw fit…within reason, of course. There was little worry from the Legislators about Xavier, as the man enjoyed high approval ratings, from both military and civilian personnel for one simple reason: he didn't try to horde power like a power hungry despot and made conscious efforts to reduce corruption whenever he could and tried to make the Alliance Government as transparent as he could (ARCHON and OMEGA, non-withstanding). Just five years ago, the Deputy Director of the Systems Alliance—essentially the Second-Most Powerful person in Alliance Space— was charged with embezzling funds in various front corporations. Once the evidence was found and gone over, he was dismissed without a second thought and thrown in prison. It had sent a message: it didn't' matter who you were, if you were corrupt, broke the law, and were dumb enough to get caught, you were going down.
Seated were all five hundred members of Parliament, several thousand members of the press, and even more civilians. Every species was present: Human, Drell, Sangheili, Huragok, Unggoy, Calean, and Draxian. It was clear by the confused murmurs that even the Calean and Draxian civilians had no idea what was going on, as they had been visiting Alliance colonies and the few Pact colonies before Zestiria was invaded. So, it seemed that Xavier's lockdown order had some multitude of success.
Inside the crowd were a good number of disguised N7 agents and Sangheili Spec Ops on the roof cloaked with Active Camouflage and beam rifles, ready to take down any and all threats to the Director's Life.
As for the Director himself, he was behind a curtain, backstage mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. He looked at his watch: 11:59 P.M. One minute. In one minute everything would change and if he was perfectly honest, he wasn't sure when it was going to end. His people would demand vengeance, retribution, and everything in between. Because that's what humanity was: striving for peace, but could declare war and carry it out with ferocity that other species couldn't dream of.
12:00 P.M.
Always wanting to keep his reputation of being punctual, Xavier swallowed his anxiety and put on the face of confidence that others looked up too. He walked out.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Director of the Systems Alliance!" Everyone present stood up, immediately, and those in the military stood at attention. Xavier swaggered out with raw confidence and waved silently at the dozens of cameras broadcasting an FTL signal throughout Alliance space. He was being watched by, literally, tens of billions of sapient beings. Unknown to everyone, he was flanked by two Sangheili Spec Ops soldiers, who, like their comrades on the roof, were cloaked by active camouflage. They were completely unnoticed, not by any civilians, nor any viewers at home, naturally.
"Everyone please take your seats," he soothingly called out, a command, which was followed immediately, while the veterans, opted for parade rest.
He inhaled and decided to go for it. "My people, fellow citizens of the Systems Alliance…I thank you all for coming here on short notice," Xavier began, while he saw some in the audience simply nod along. "There are rumors circulating on the extranet about a terrible tragedy that has taken place. I'm here to confirm that they are indeed true." Multiple murmurs spread throughout the crowd, but they died down soon as Xavier began speaking. "Some of you have noticed that your friends, colleagues, family and anything in between were called for an immediate deployment, of which their destination was classified to the highest order. Though I'm sure you all have put it together by now, I'm here to confirm it: Zestiria, the Homeworld of our Draxian and Calean allies…was invaded by a hostile alien civilization who call themselves the Batarian Hegemony." A holographic representation appeared beside him, showing your average run-of-the-mil Batarian soldier.
There was complete and utter silence as every single person in the room went wide eyed in disbelief and some even shook their head in denial. He couldn't blame them. For over a century, humanity had good relations with aliens, with the arrival of the Sangheili in 2054, then the drell forty years later, and finally the Zestirian Pact, not even a decade ago. Three contacts had all ended peacefully had created a sense of naivety among the populace, even with Humanity's ever growing military power. Now, Xavier had shattered that notion with a single proclamation.
"We were able to repel the invaders for three standard days of fighting, both in the void and on the ground. We knew their objective: Slaves." There. Another bomb dropped. "We don't know how, but they learned of the Zestirian homeworld and were able to bypass their early detection systems and invaded the planet en-masse. They destroyed everything in their path and captured anyone who didn't resist, and killed the rest. Even now, we have no idea how many they took back to their homeworld. But our closest estimate is in the low seven-digit range."
That brought out hundreds of questions from reporters and angry Calean civilians. They had to be restrained in the off chance one of them got a bit too crazy.
"Please calm yourselves and I'll answer your questions!" They did, if a bit reluctantly. This was one of those times where he was glad journalism culture as a whole had changed from the embarrassment it was in the early 21st century. They had remarkable discipline when they were ordered. There were still a few knuckleheads, but they were easy enough to deal with seeing as how they were a minority. However, he had his doubts the beings watching right now were calm, though.
"Director, sir," a drell journalist stood up. "What's the status of the planet? Are we going to retaliate? What's our next move?"
Xavier resisted the urge to smirk. He asked all the questions he was going to answer and nothing more. "The planet is stable and we have the Kings secured in a classified location...however, we still have a series of teams cleaning up the fallout…" he spoke softly and solemnly.
"…Fallout?" the reporter retorted, confused. "Sir, are you saying, that…?"
Xavier looked toward the ceiling. "Matias, if you will?" he asked his personal A.I politely. The room went dark, but the lightning on the stage was still visible. The projector in the room showed Kastella post-invasion. Gasps of horror filled the room. The entire city was a pile of radioactive ash, with very few building still standing. It was going to take years to repair the city with the invasion, with the nuke; it was going to take decades, if not centuries in the worst-case scenario!
The lights went back on and Xavier could practically feel the bloodlust coursing through the crowd, not that he could blame them in the slightest. "For hundreds of years and our laws have made it clear: slavery of any kind is not acceptable and those who are found guilty of this crime against Sapient kind, they will be punished to the highest extent of the law. We have estimates now that including those who were killed in the initial invasion, our fellow service members bravely giving the ultimate sacrifice in its liberation, and the millions obliterated in a flash of light now tops five-hundred million and that number keeps climbing as we find more corpses. Make no mistake; this is a declaration of war against us. The Batarians are arrogant and they think of slavery as part of their culture and can take from us what we hold dear at any time they wish. They made the mistake of attacking a race we call friends. An attack on the Pact is an attack on all of us! We will rescue our own, claim their territories, colonies, trade outposts, and much more and we will burn Khar'shan to the ground!"
Everyone stood up and clapped at the declaration, having the full support of the Alliance.
"As of now, I have talked with the Kings for three weeks, now and they have agreed: The Zestirian Pact has given their full consent to integrate fully with the Systems Alliance, with a vote decided on by the Alliance Parliament and the signing of the charter by the Director of the Systems Alliance. The motion has been put forth!"
On the tablets of all members of Parliament were three options: Yes, No, and Abstain. Although they were caught off guard, not expecting to vote on any legislation, they nearly tripped over themselves to vote in favor, hoping to use it to further their political agendas. Xavier got his answer: it was unanimous, without a single no vote.
The law appeared on the podium's digital monitor, as the charter was already drafted years ago, the ball was simply in the Kings' court to approve. Xavier signed it quickly enough with his own personal electronic pen that was coded to his genetic code. "As of this moment, 21st November in the Year of Our Lord 2167, I hereby declare the Systems Alliance military dissolved and its place, the United Races Space Command, headed by the Unified Species Government (USG), and all Alliance Laws in accordance to the Unified Species Charter, Article X, Paragraph 1, subsection D, will formally carry over under the new government with no apparent changes unless debated by the USG Parliament for a formal drafting for further refining. So mote it be!"
Even with the high tension and declaration of war, there were still cheers at the tremendous achievement.
"My first act as Director of the URSC is to ask the members of Parliament to formally declare a state of war between the USG and the Batarian Hegemony." As with the URSC charter, the vote was unanimous. Even the most pacified lawmaker knew voting no was committing political suicide.
Xavier nodded and then went for the big announcement. "I, Miles Andre Xavier, Director of the USG and Commander-in-Chief of the URSC Armed Forces, hereby declare URSC Emergency Directive XX-945-517."
While the majority of the civilians and a good bit of members of Parliament were confused, every single veteran of the former Alliance military instantly knew what was at stake and the sheer gravity of the situation.
"As of now, ALL of USG space is hereby placed under the SUMMER Contingency! This order supersedes all previous orders and all URSC military personnel are to report to their home station for further orders, as well as all reserve personnel, we are calling you to arms as well to remain on high alert." His order was being relayed light years from Arcturus to Eden Prime to Axiom Prime to Taurus-4, and even Earth itself. Within the next 72 Standard USG hours, approximately 1.8 billion troops both active duty and reserve would be armed to the teeth as they prepared for the largest counterattack in any species history. Now, obviously, all 1.8 billion wouldn't participate in the invasion, but this was a state of emergency and a temporary war economy would be in the process of converting factories all over URSC's territory would be converted to a war machine on a galactic scale.
"As I speak now, I'm ordering for all Zestirian ships and troopers to be given upgrades and crash course basic training in using our equipment to the fullest extent of their potential! The Batarians believe they are a superior race and we will show them just how wrong they are! We will NEVER bow to any aggressors and we will stand against the mightiest of foes and we send a message to the entire galaxy!"
The lights went out suddenly and the alarms on the station began to blare. It was the SUMMER Contingency's alarm: the URSC's defense condition went from four straight to Zero.
"Good luck, and God Speed ladies and gentlemen!"
URSC Infinity, en-route to Axiom Prime, War Summit
November 26th, 2167
"And you're sure of this?" Admiral Lasky asked once again, pinching the bridge of his nose in complete frustration.
"While I can't confirm it with absolute certainty, sir," Cortana replied, as her hologram was on Lasky's desk inside his personal office. "The Zestirian Kings likely knows who John is."
"And you have no evidence other than just a feeling? No files? Nothing in their records? Computer systems?"
"I…" Cortana was flustered for a microsecond, and then recovered quickly enough. "No," she admitted. "They keep all of their secrets on physical paper. Whatever they knew died when Kastella was destroyed. "
Admiral Lasky frowned and shook his head, obviously disappointed. "Then I'm afraid I'm sorry, Cortana, Chief, I can't do much of anything. Not without hard proof. The risk is too great and—"
"But, Admiral—!"
"Let. Me. Finish," Lasky growled out, silencing the A.I. "We're already on thin ice as it is. Director Xavier had to move mountains so we could repair Infinity away from URSC engineers and maintenance crews. We still have irreplaceable equipment on this ship that would make it abundantly clear we aren't from here. So, my answer is a resounding no, until you get hard evidence that's irrefutable."
The Master Chief stared at the UNSC-turned-URSC Admiral. "Sir…over a hundred years ago…you were willing to take a chance with the Didact…why not now?"
"Because we had clear evidence of the Didact, Chief. Del Rio simply ignored it because he was an idiot and a coward to boot," Lasky instantly replied, already expecting that question. He held no love or respect for his former superior. Why HIGHCOM had given him command of Infinity was a question he asked himself a number of times. "If you think I'm a hypocrite, be my guest. But I still have the lives of our crew to think about. You have your orders. Get me clear evidence of what I need and I'll back you 100 percent, no questions asked. You know that. But until such time, you both are to remain an asset to the URSC."
"…I understand, sir." Even Lasky could detect the Chief's disappointment.
Lasky pinched the bridge of his nose, he was probably going to regret what he was about to order next, but he had to leave some sort of wiggle room. "But, as a compromise, if you do find overwhelming evidence to what you need and I'm unavailable...well…I'm giving you my full permission to execute your best judgment Master Chief."
John looked back at him, surprised. "…sir?" unsure if he had heard that correctly.
"Don't abuse that order, Chief," Lasky told him seriously. "I have enough problems already. Just so we're clear, you two gathering intelligence is a secondary, if not an outright tertiary concern and your primary mission comes first. Am I clear?"
"Crystal, sir!" Cortana smiled, giving him a proper salute.
"All right then, I have a War Summit to attend. Dismissed!"
John saluted and Cortana returned to his suit. Walking out, John couldn't help but smile, if only slightly.
It wasn't every day that your superior officer listened to reason, even if it was, technically, a compromise.
He banished those thoughts ahead and focused on his next mission: taking down the Batarian Hegemony.
Timeline
November 26th, 2167- Director Xavier meets with the URSC's top military officials, along with the Arbiter and Sangheili Fleet Masters and Field Marshals. The URSC devises a counter attack plan that would involve the deployment of 100 million URSC soldiers across all Batarian Colonies to include the Batarian Homeworld, Khar'shan. Draxians and Caleans, are given upgrades to their amour to include energy shielding and basic training in URSC tactics, strategy and doctrine. Fueled by the desire of revenge against their homeworld's scarring, both inducted species pick up their skills relatively quickly. The URSC counter attack is code-named: OPERATION FIRESTORM. Director Xavier holds the existence of the Citadel Council from the public, but senior military officials are made aware of its existence.
December 11th, 2167: The Office of Strategic Intelligence, the successor to OAI, covertly scouts out Batarian Systems, from navigation data captured by the A.I Matias. The Batarians are seemingly preparing for war as thousands of ships are patrolling the Batarian homeworld. Despite this clear build up, Xavier decides to wait, instead of attacingk prematurely, as not all upgrades and repairs are done for Pact ships.
December 12th, 2167: The Kings of Zestiria officially retire, but it's clear they still have enormous influence among their species. LNOS, as per an agreement, will be open to the URSC's most trusted members when the Batarian War is over.
December 25th, 2167: Christmas Day, the URSC's war machine is in full throttle and with the help of the Huragok, hundreds of Pact ships are being given a spit-shine and various other upgrades to comply with URSC naval regulations. Pact officers are given crash course knowledge of space warfare with the new weapons.
January 4th, 2168: Colonel Tyson Lamont Greystone is assigned a new division aboard the URSC John. F Kennedy, a carrier in the URSC Third Fleet. Hannah Shepard is promoted to Rear Admiral and assigned to the dreadnought, Beautiful Annihilation, and will lead a task force to the Batarian colony, Adek.
January 18th, 2168: The Pact is fully upgraded after hundreds of hours of labor from the URSC's brightest engineers and Huragok.
February 1st, 2168: Final preparations are still underway as the URSC goes over final logistics of the counter-attack. Over 15,000 ships are involved. The attack is set a week after Valentines Day.
February 2nd, 2168
Kronos System, Top Secret Shipyard, 3 parsecs from ARCHON
"Exciting slipspace in 3….2…1," the technician aboard URSC Amaterasu called out, as the flagship of Admiral Ishigami exited slipspace.
"Excellent. Well done, Lieutenant. On course and on-time," she praised the technician who sported a blush and he nodded to her in clear gratitude.
"Now, will you tell me what's going, Admiral? I don't like my time wasted," a drell spoke as he dusted himself off. The reptilian humanoid alien was wearing a black dress suit that was clearly in the four-digit range in terms of cost.
Ishigami smirked a bit. Shi Abu was no ordinary drell, that was for sure.
Looks like she found another person, who had the sheer balls to stand up to her: she liked him already. "Oh, Ambassador Abu, please, calm yourself. I promise it'll be worth your while."
"Worth my while?! Admiral, I've been stuck inside Arcturus prepping myself for our eventual contact with this so called Citadel Council and you suddenly just whisk me away to go God knows where in the middle of the galaxy?"
"It relates to your work. Trust me," Ishigami replied neutrally, unbeturbed by the ambassador's small rant. "You use to work in Intelligence. Not under me, of course, but you should know I wouldn't show you this if there wasn't a reason."
"I suppose so," he huffed, but calmed down. "Now, what is it?"
Ishigami turned to another OSI agent. "Commander, turn on the observation deck. Full 360 degrees."
"At once, Admiral." Tapping a few icons on his monitor, all around the bridge various monitors seemed to "connect" to each other to show an entire cohesive image with the Amaterasu's ultra-high definition camera feeds, giving a view of space so realistic that it was literally almost like looking out a window. Ambassador Abu was certainly impressed, even a bit awed. He had joined the URSC military at the age of 19, long before the then-Alliance, had made contact with the Pact. Space had fascinated him as a child growing up on Earth in London and now, at the age of 35, he still felt admiration.
"You're tasked with selling our strength, no?" Ishigami declared rhetorically and then pointed left. "That's what of which that you'll be using when the time comes."
Abu looked towards where the Admiral pointed and he blinked his eyes in recognition. "Wait…what's the Infinity, doing here?"
Ishigami along with her crew, actually snickered in amusement. "That's not the Infinity, Abu. That is the URSC Daedalus."
"Wait a minute. You just commissioned Infinity a little over ten years ago and you've already begun creating another Infinity-class warship?" There were hundreds of workers working to complete the entire superstructure of the Daedalus, along with the Huragok. The large capital ship already looked practically done!
"An astute observation," Ishigami dully noted, before getting serious. "This will be one of the two you'll use to leverage our power when the time comes."
"One of two? I don't see….another….ship…" Shi Abu trailed off as he dropped everything he was holding and his jaw went completely to the floor as Amaterasu sailed through the void around a satellite. Adjacent to the Daedalus…was an absolutely enormous ship being constructed as well. It was essentially the same design as the Infinity-class warship except on an even larger scale, much like the Covenant Assault Carrier and Covenant Supercarrier.
"URSC Olympus. Currently the largest ship in our fleet. Supercarrier-class."
"Ishigami…my god…just how big IS that fucking thing? The engines are the size of the bloody Daedalus itself!"
"21 kilometers, as per the original blueprints. When all is said and done, that ship won't just lead fleets, it will BE a fleet."
"Is this necessary? I mean…good lord…21 kilometers…I can't imagine how much this thing costs…"
"Yes," Ishigami said resolutely and then looked at the Olympus. "She'll be a alone for a good while, though."
Abu raised the drell equivalent of an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"You're right. It IS expensive and we still have to plan our budget out, even with A.I. we can't just pull money out of our asses," she told him bluntly. "As such, Olympus will be the only supercarrier in the URSC for a minimum of 50 years. Not even the SUMMER Contingency can override that order."
"Military officials who don't want to waste more tax payer money than necessary, color me shocked," Abu sardonically sneered. "So, I know there has to be more to this than showing me these ships."
"You're a clever drell, Ambassador," Ishigami smirked again. "You're right. The Daedalus will be finished soon. Possibly within the next six months. It's ahead of schedule thanks to the extra funds from Director Xavier calling the SUMMER contingency. We'll need a Captain for it. I'm leaving that to your discretion."
"Is that so?" he dully retorted. "Why me? Aren't you more qualified?"
"Of course I am," she sneered in indignation. "But…I have a bit of a bias towards Intelligence Officers. A small bias, but one that's there nonetheless."
"A conflict of interest," Abu deduced.
"Exactly," she confirmed. A hard light hologram appeared in front of her and she pressed some icons. "I've already sent a list to your Tablet."
Abu nodded and sat down, briefly sharing a glance at the names he was seeing: Alexandra O'Halloran, Dorian Sejanus, Migel Madden, Paige Dyer, Isaac Lowe, among others. He blinked. "What the hell? How do you expect me to choose?! Some of these Captains are household names within the entire military!"
Admiral Ishigami just gave him a knowing cold smile, but chose not to retort. The Ambassador growled, but looked over the documents in depth.
"Admiral," Izanagi, her personal Artificial Intelligence, spoke up over the external speakers. "The Daxite Warheads are on course to be delivered as per your orders." Ambassador Abu's eyes widened.
"Excellent. Have a team ready to secure them in the hangar bay. I want an N7 team guarding them at all times."
"Yes, Ma'am." She knew Izanagi would relay her order to the rest of the crew.
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" One of her crewmembers turned in her chair to face the Admiral proudly.
"Granted," she premised, interested in what the young ensign wanted to say.
"Um…what's Daxite?" she asked, a bit embarrassingly.
"Ah, yes, I'm not surprised you don't know, since you haven't been in my crew long. It's an exceptionally rare crystal native to parts of this sector of the galaxy. We discovered it not long after we set up shop here in this shipyard. Its properties were unlike anything we've seen before and when you send an electrical charge through it…well…the results are…"
"Explosive," Abu finished seriously. Being a former OAI operative he knew some of the classified material, even it was highly compartmentalized. "Damn. A single pound of that stuff could level an entire building. Just how much did you use to make a warhead?"
"I'm afraid that's classified, Ambassador. Need-to-know. These warheads are classified level Ten. Which is above even your security clearance, I'm afraid. Until you get Director's override, you are to keep the existence of the weapons a secret."
"Figures," Abu rolled his eyes and sat back down. Daxite was incredibly lethal if it wasn't handled with extreme caution and care. Adding to that, they synthesized enough of it to put it on a warhead? Just what the hell was the URSC planning on doing with it?
Sighing, he scrolled through more names and went over each file one-by-one.
System Unknown, Time Unknown
Turian Facility, NOVA-6
February 14th, 2168
The first thing he experienced was the feeling of a jolt, akin to being shocked by static electricity. His eyes snapped open and he could see the inside of his stasis pod being drained of the rejuvenating liquid that provided nutrients while he 'slept' and trained. The mask ripped off from his face showing his glowing cybernetic eyes. The pod opened and Saren-711 took his first step outside in the real world in months. The Turian HUNTER's metal legs stepped slowly on to the tile floor creating an audible clank. He then stood at his full height of seven feet and flexed his muscles, trying as quickly as possible to readjust from being trapped inside the virtual reality simulation.
"It's good to see you've recovered, Saren," General Septimus Oraka said as he watched the supersoldier get accustom to his surroundings..
Saren snapped into a salute, his discipline unwavering even in moments of weakness. "General!" he near-shouted. "A thousand apologies sir for the moment of weakness, it will not—"
Septimus Oraka waved him off. "Enough. I grow tired of your formalities," he told him dismissively. Saren shown no outward sign of being insulted. "I have a mission for Renengade, young one."
"Of course, sir."
"It's a simple reconnaissance mission on Khar'shan. We believe that a newcomer species will attack the Batarian homeworld. Your mission is to gather information, on this species and report back here for countermeasures to be employed. Probes would be reasonable solution, yes, but watching data won't tell us how they fight on the ground."
"Sounds, simple," Saren admitted. "But…if they attack…how will we escape off the planet?"
"That's already been taken care of, I assure you, Saren. I have a contact that I trust greatly on the planet right now as we speak. He'll smuggle you on the planet in a safe house. Then you'll wait." He stood up. "Garrus and Nihlus are already awake and armored up, along with your new team members. I'd suggest you get acquainted." He left without another word.
Saren nodded and made his way to the armory where he found four other HUNTERS getting suited up and ready for battle.
Garrus, H-850, was already dressed in a slick black in color armor. It may have been similar to the armor used by Havoc soldiers, but it was exceptionally more advanced, being built from the ground up for HUNTERS. Garrus was shorter than Saren by two inches, at 6' 10" and had his organic eyes entirely replaced with synthetic eyes when he was 14 years old to assist in designating targets. The Turian was unquestionably the greatest sniper in the entire HUNTER division, possibly the galaxy. Once he had you in his crosshairs, you were as good as dead and he'd be long gone before the target even hit the ground. The normally wisecracking Turian super soldier had his eyes closed and was meditating, to calm his nerves and as a form of practice to control his breathing.
Nihlus, a HUNTER that was 7'3" was near a computer terminal, accessing data with his omni-tool. His armor was blood red in color and strapped to his back were a Phaeston Assault rifle and an M-300 Claymore. The shotgun was designed for Krogan, but in the hands of HUNTER who had augmented strength that far surpassed the Tuchanka native aliens, it was considered child's play, as Nihlus barely felt any recoil from the gun. He was Saren's XO and filled a variety of roles, from tech support, suppressive fire, close quarters, assassination, among others. He was the classic case of jack-of-all-trade, master of none.
Finally, he was introduced to his newest teammates. He crossed the threshold and the discipline that was installed in the soldiers since they were eight years old, snapped to attention.
Saren dismissed them with a wave of a hand, much like General Oraka had done minutes before.
"Commander, it is an honor to serve under your fireteam." Saren looked at the newcomer. This HUNTER was female, and judging from her black armor, obviously a Cabal, meaning her skills with biotics were off the charts. She was the shortest of the team, at only 6'8", after Garrus.
"The honor is mine, Silvari. You've quite the reputation. I hope your coveted speed and skills in hand-to-hand serve us all well." Silvari nodded, saying nothing further. Finally, he saw an enormous Turian, who was big, even by HUNTER standards at an astonishing 9'.
"Commander," he deeply intoned, his voice ice-cold…but with a modicum of respect.
"Kryses," Saren acknowledged, recognizing him from the war with rogue Spectres on the Citadel in the simulation. He was ferocious on the battlefield and he used his great size to his advantage. Kryses was the type of HUNTER who would and could, break his enemies in twain, especially Krogan Battlemasters.
This was Renegade Squadron...chosen by General Oraka as the best out of an already elite fighting force. There was no force in the Galaxy, not even the Asari's coveted Commandos, that could stand up to their might, as Saren believed.
'And now…to this vagrant species who dare challenge the power of the Turian Hierarchy and our status as the premier military force in the galaxy…we will show you true power.'
The HUNTERS didn't feel the least bit sorry for the foe they were about to face. They would be the first to show these newcomers the raw might of the Turian military. They hadn't spilled real blood in a while and it was now time for them all to cut loose.
Khar'Shan, Batarian Homeworld, Harsa System
February 22nd, 2168
Khar'Shan was on complete and total lockdown. There were thousands upon thousands of warships in orbit and in the system, with constant patrols. That Grand Vizier had grown overtly paranoid after the failure of the Zestirian invasion. Nearly every ship the Hegemony could spare was here, ready to fire at an enemy they knew very little about.
A cruiser, near the outskirts of Harsta started to get strange readings. Then…it happened. Literally, thousands of slipspace portals opened up and ships from frigate all the way to carrier slipped through. Xavier had promised to bring a force ten times greater and he delivered in spades: there were now over 12,000 URSC ships, to include the upgraded ships that Zestiria still had, now on a course for the Batarian Homeworld with the intent of taking down the entire regime.
"We've arrived, sir." Mattias told Xavier as he sat in his chair in the URSC dreadnought, Midnight Sun. This was personal. There was no chance in hell he was going to sit back in Arcturus and wait for reports like some coward. These bastards were going to burn and he was going to watch the fireworks up-close.
"Fleet Master, how long until your ships can be in position?" Xavier asked over FLEETCOM.
"My ships will be ready within 90 seconds, director," Fleet Master Iassa reported from the Sangheili flagship, Baptism of Fire.
"Excellent. Might as well have a bit of fun before we get started, until then. Hail all of the ships. I know you've been dying to say something since you haven't seen combat in awhile." He smirked, knowingly.
The female Fleet Master suppressed an amused chuckled, knowing the Human was right. Clearing her throat, Iassa declared confidently to the Batarian Fleet and all Channels.
"Attention Batarian Fleet! This is Fleet Master Iassa 'Sadum of the United Races Space Command Navy! This is not a threat, this is not a bluff, nor is this a hostage situation. This is a courtesy call. You have attacked one of our own and you will now face the consequences. You have the next sixty seconds to prepare for your imminent annihilation!"
OPERATION: FIRESTORM had just begun.
(END)
Don't forget to read and review!
As you can see, some of the OC categories are now done as I've already chosen my ambassador and HUNTER soldiers. Keep sending more if you got ideas!
And for those of you naysayers worried this will turn into a "Humanity, Fuck yeah!" fix...looool. Just wait, till after the fallout of the Batarian-URSC war, because not only are you outright wrong on where this story is going, you're going to be in for one hell of a surprise. At least, I think so.