The Onyx Stars
Halo-Mass Effect Crossover
By: Sith
AN: Tons of thanks to WarpObscura, Imperial Waltz, JonHarper (Spartan303) and Atlan, again, for beta-ing and helping the plot be smoothed out. Also, wow! Reaction to this is stellar!
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
****Certain characters, technology, events and objects have been changed for the purpose of the story.****
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you see ANY formatting errors, please tell me and I will fix them as soon as possible. Thanks
Here's Chapter 10: Equinox, Part 1
Enjoy:)
-Sith
Dedicated to Iain M. Banks. May you rest in peace. Your impact on the literary world will be remembered by all your fans and those who they share your work with.
Chapter Ten: Equinox
UNSC Everest
Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole sat in the observatory of the Everest, watching as the planet below spun by. Hovering directly above the pristine, nearly-untouched world was the massive form of the UNSC Infinity flanked by her 9Charon-frigates. Hundreds of Broadswords were patrolling, practicing maneuvers, or towing the new static defenses into position above the settlement.
With ease, Admiral Cole reached out to his glass of water and grasped it, bringing it to his lips and taking a swig. He swallowed it before placing the glass back down on the black table to the side of his chair. Closing his eyes, he leaned back. He could hear the new power conduits pulsating through the room and throughout the entire vessel.
So much had changed in the two months since Everest had made contact with Infinity. His being alive was testament to such, as were the new upgrades installed into his flagship: three new, more advanced MACs, new missile pods, new point defenses, shields and a Forerunner-based FTL drive.
He opened his eyes and stood, running his hand along the freshly installed Titanium-Magnesium walls. They had that odd texture to them. It was not bad, per se, just different. Nothing like the brushed aluminum and exposed titanium that had dominated Everest's interior before the upgrade. It was darker, mixing in dark grays, whites blacks and blue, more like the halls of the Infinity than that of pre-war vessels.
It had taken Infinity a sizable amount of time to requisition and manufacture all these materials. Luckily, the system they were in, nicknamed Calvary, had a sizable asteroid belt to mine from. The dozens of alien Huragok had also proven incredibly useful. A job that would have taken upwards of a year, stripping everything from Everest and replacing it, had taken under two months.
Phenomenal.
He laughed slightly and with a flick of his hand summoned a holographic display. A series of reports and e-mails were scrolling down it and with another swipe he sorted the critical ones to himself while passing the rest onto Commander Christine Adams.
A squadron of Broadswords, squadron Messner, banked by the windows. The fifty Broadswords had been constructed by Infinity in conjunction with the Spirit of Fire. The powerful little fighters had been assigned to his ship to assist the Longswords and Pelicans. He personally thought them as ugly compared to the smooth, slopping lines of a Longsword but aesthetics didn't correlate to war fighting ability and in that regard, the Broadsword dominated.
He closed the holographic window and instead called up a projection of the surrounding star system. He and Captain Lasky were planning on placing nuclear warheads and electro-magnetic pulse devices along the system' s main points of entry, where space was calm and easily traversable with little to no stellar debris or asteroids prompting navigational hazards.
His comm buzzed. "This is Cole."
"Sir," Christine Adams responded, "Captain Lasky is on line one."
"Priority?" Cole questioned.
"High," She responded. "Code Black, if you would like to know."
"Understood," Cole said, "Thank you."
"As always, sir," Christine responded. She ended the comm channel.
"Everest, open communications with Captain Lasky. Audio and visual to this room's monitor," Cole demanded.
"Opening communication," The computer drawled, "12 billion-bit encryption complete, all networks clear of sniffers or observation and recording devices. You may proceed."
Admiral Cole stepped forward toward the display. The computer quickly scanned him and displayed Lasky's own feed. "Captain Lasky."
"Admiral Cole, sir," Lasky responded.
"What's the situation, Tom," Cole asked.
Lasky looked off to the side, "Long-range scanners just detected a communications signal being pulsed along our radio frequencies."
"Is it UNSC?" Cole inquired, "Another stranded vessel?"
"No," Lasky responded, "It's on the same communications channel we use, but, it lacks the signature."
Cole cupped his chin. "Your best guess?"
Lasky looked back up, "I'd say, sir, that it's someone we've contacted before. It's in english so the possibility that it's human is high. With that said, I request permission to send the UNSC Freelancer, to the area. She's a destroyer with a full stealth suite; she can hide and hold her own at the same time."
Cole crossed his arms, "What do you think it is, Captain?"
Lasky looked directly at Cole. "Judging by the voice, I'd say it was this Alliance officer by the name of Marcus Shepard."
"Good man?" Admiral Cole questioned.
Lasky shrugged, "Based on my limited interaction with him, I'd say he's a military officer. Not good, not bad, just trying to do what he thinks is right."
"Sounds like a lot of men and women I knew back during the war," Cole smiled, "God rest their souls."
Cole's statement seemed to wash over Lasky, garnering little to no reaction from the middle-aged ship commander.
"Freelancer will be deployed in about fifteen minutes, sir," Lasky said calmly. "In the mean time, I'll have Infinity take up position directly over the settlement and spread the Obsidians across the system to cover any easily accessible navigational routes."
"Understood, Captain," Cole responded. "Where would you like to place Everest?"
"Sir, you're in command here," Lasky pointed out. His expression maintained professionalism. He was being polite, Cole could tell.
"Yes, but our weapon systems aren't yet fully activated and you have the most powerful vessel," Admiral Cole responded.
"If you could, sir, I could use the Everest out at the second Lagrangian point." Lasky asked, "It's near the asteroid belt and would be a good place to funnel any aggressors. They aren't going to risk jumping into the asteroids and debris that fill the system, nor are they going to risk being hit by an asteroid."
"It'll be like sitting at the edge of a forest," Cole said. "Good thinking."
Lasky's face lit up, "Thank you, sir."
Admiral Cole tapped his earpiece, "Commander Adams, move us out to the second Lagrangian point. Shields up and full engines."
"Aye, sir. Right away."
"Infinity out," Lasky said, terminating the channel.
Cole watched as the display recessed itself back into the wall before focusing his attention to the Infinity as it slowly began to break away. Its Obsidian escorts broke away like a school of startled fish, followed by the twenty-four Broadsword squadrons dividing themselves up equally for the eight in-system frigates.
Everest began to move soon after, engines kicking into full power and slinging the powerful warship towards the nonphysical area in space, millions of kilometers away. Her Longsword squadrons followed suit, engaging their afterburners and main thrusters and trying to catch up to their base of operations.
Cole reached out and touched the glass, a heads-up-display springing to life.
"Everest, play historical log Alpha-Ceti six-twenty-two-five-five-two." Cole ordered.
"Affirmative. Playing historical log: the Fall of Reach."
Cole sat down in the black, leather chair. It was time to see what had happened all those years ago and what had set all these events into motion.
SSV Normandy
"This is the SSV Normandy calling the UNSC Infinity. Please respond. We are here independent of the Systems Alliance and/or the Citadel Council. Repeat, this is the SSV Normandy." The transmission looped again.
Jeff "Joker" Moreau leaned back carefully into his pilot's seat, arms dropping from the touch-sensitive holograms that hovered a few feet away from him. They had been sitting here for nearly an hour, looping the same radio signal that the Commander had sent.
Hopefully they would get a response here soon. Waiting in the middle of unclaimed space was not his idea of a 'fun' time, not matter how much the Commander tried to convince him. He looked over; there was space for as far as the eye could see. A few asteroids and the husks of eon-old destroyed vessels lingered far away, almost too far for the naked eye.
He heard footsteps echoing from behind him. Slapping the unlock button for his chair, he swiveled it around to see Commander Marcus Shepard, dressed in standard duty fatigues calmly walking up from the CIC. His hair was slicked back and exhaustion was prevalent in his eyes and facial features.
"Anything, Joker?" The Commander asked.
The pilot shook his head, "Nothing yet, Commander."
"Well, let's stay here for a while. See what happens," Shepard commented. "If we don't get a response in a half-hour, we'll move to the other system and try our luck there."
"So, cosmic fishing?" Joker asked, cracking a smile.
Shepard shrugged, "Sure, why not?"
"Because it sounds dumb, Commander," Joker responded.
Shepard crossed his arms, "And your suggestion would be..."
Joker laughed and swiveled back around to the helm controls. "I don't know, sir, I'm just a pilot."
"The best in the entire damn fleet," Shepard responded, "That's saying something."
"Ah, thanks, Commander? I wasn't in need of a pep-talk but since you gave one, I'll be less inclined to fly us into a sun," Joker replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes "Because I was totally planning to do that!"
Shepard shook his head, chuckling. "Anything I should know?"
Joker shrugged, "I dunno, another colony went missing."
"Batarians?"
"Nah, Alliance fleet had scanners and recorders in the system. It was some weird, big dreadnought," Joker told Shepard, "Looked like a stretched out bee hive. "
"You saw the pics?" Shepard asked, raising an eyebrow. "Its them, again?"
"Of course I did," Joker responded. "The extranet had them within a few minutes."
"Of course the extranet would have them," Shepard commented, "I swear, if Alliance command was bothered enough to check your browsing history, even the Krogan would want your head on a plater for 'grotesque and inappropriate' material."
Joker leaned over the side of his chair, head turned towards Shepard. "Hey, now. That was a low blow. You hurt me, dog."
"Sure I do." Shepard laughed. "All that Hanar stuff too, dear god man."
"Hey, don't make me break a leg walking over there!" Joker said, frowning.
"Bring it," Shepard said, a grin on his face.
"Okay, next time we're on shore-leave I'll go see about buying an Atlas mech, get a background check, wait three weeks and then we'll totally fight," Joker said.
Shepard walked up to Joker and leaned against the wall, "That is assuming you don't forget it by tomorrow morning. Or, that you don't lose all your cash playing a Hanar loan shark."
"Have I ever done that before?" Joker asked with a smirk. "Because I'd think I'd remem..."
"Last week, you lost your paycheck to a Hanar named Zeeketal," Shepard said.
"That's just..."
"August 1st, lost 500 to a Batarian named Jalokay. September 29th, lost 235 to Garrus, October 18th, lost 900 to Ash," Shepard continued.
"Okay, okay," Joker responded, holding up a hand. "I get it."
"Good boy," Shepard responded.
"Commander, this is Engineer Adams, would you mind coming down to Engineering? The staff and I need some help installing a new power coupling." Shepard's radio buzzed.
"I'll be right there," Shepard replied.
"Thank you, Commander. Adams, out."
Shepard sighed, "Ok, I'll be back in fifteen, give me a heads up if anything..."
"Whoa!" Joker shouted, "Got something coming in, fast."
"Looks like somebody heard us," Shepard commented. "Get our guns online and raise barriers."
"Done." Joker responded.
Shepard punched the shutter button and the shutters covering the front of Normandy's bridge slowly slid away. Space seemed to be boiling only a few hundred kilometers distant, tendrils of rapidly dying energy whipping out like a livid squid. The anomaly grew and expanded before settling onto a swirling white-purple vortex. A 520 meter vessel shot out from it.
The vessel was covered from top to bottom with thick sheets of armor and innumerable weapon mounts. Proudly embossed across the flanks of the vessel were the words UNSC FREELANCER in bright silver, a stark contrast to the midnight black of the rest of the vessel.
The Freelancer activated its engines and hovered directly over Normandy, so close that Joker was pretty sure that even the slightest miscalculation would send Freelancer crashing through the relatively delicate form of the Alliance frigate.
"Open a channel." Shepard said.
"Trying to; looks like they are blocking our outbound comms," Joker reported.
Shepard looked over Joker's shoulder, "Get ready to punch that FTL drive in case they decide they want to crack us open like an egg."
Joker's eyes widened, "Ok, so looks like they are establishing a communication link with us."
"Let's hear it." Shepard ordered.
"Done."
"This is Commander Jennifer Ansil of the UNSC Freelancer to vessel SSV Normandy. We have received your transmission. How may we help you Commander?"
Shepard cleared his throat, "Commander Ansil, this is Commander Marcus Shepard. I am here to request a meeting with Captain Tom Lasky concerning an offer of cooperation I have for him regarding a mutual threat and possibly a mutually beneficial end to that threat. This mutual threat is attacking and abducting human ships and entire human colonies. I think that together we can end this threat before more lives are lost."
Commander Ansil's face gave away nothing yet Shepard could discern a subtle shift in her eyes he couldn't quite place.
"I have great sympathy for your situation, Commander," The CO of Freelancer responded in a softer tone of voice, "Believe me when I say that. But with that being said, why have you come to the UNSC with this? Your people have their naval forces if I remember correctly, do you not?"
Shepard nodded, "We do, Commander but unfortunately the nature of these disappearances leaves the Alliance Military in a position to where it can not respond effectively to deal with the threat."
The Freelancers Commanders face frowned in confusion. "And what would the nature of these circumstances be, Commander Shepard?"
"The Colonies in question are out in the Terminus systems, a lawless region of Space the Alliance has no jurisdiction over. To make matters worse the Colonies are small startup settlements. A few thousand people here and there. No one is paying attention, or if they are they don't believe it justifies an Alliance fleet in the area to protect the remaining Colonies."
"How many Colonies are we talking about, Commander?"
Shepard could see it in her demeanor. There was a fire in her eyes that betrayed her interest in this matter. Different though they might be, the UNSC were undeniably human. And they had adopted a policy of protecting humanity, no matter the cost. That kind of fiercely protective spirit didn't just end at national borders, different colony worlds...and as Shepard witnessed now, even across different universes.
"About two dozen, Commander Ansil."
"Do you mean to tell me Commander Shepard, that people are disappearing, and your government is doing nothing about it?"
Shepard felt the urge to bristle in indignation at the rather pointed accusation, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Joker's angry scowl as the young flight lieutenant struggled to hold his tongue. It was not a wise idea to antagonize the UNSC further. Things were already precarious with them as it was. Shepard needed this to work.
"They are doing something about it," Shepard kept his voice firm and level. "They sent me in to find out what is going on. But they risk openwar with the Terminus systems, especially the Batarians if they send a fleet in."
Now he could see the look of comprehension coming over the Commander's face.
"And since the UNSC has taken a public stance of standing apart from the SA and is not affiliated with the Citadel Alliance, We can go into regions you can not. Particularly in areas beyond the reach of local star clusters due to our unique form of FTL, or to slip in an out quietly without being detected as the locals are still not accustomed to the tactical advantages our alternatives offer us."
Shepard had to give it to her, the woman was sharp. He nodded, "As a Spectre I can use my authority to go into the Terminus systems with the Normandy. But that's about it. I can't use that same authority to justify an Alliance Task Force. And my movements will be monitored by interested parties."
"I see," Commander Ansil responded. "Be that as it may, Commander, while I do sympathize with your unenviable position, the UNSC can not be seen working in conjunction with the Systems Alliance. To do so would shatter the image of neutrality we have carefully nurtured. I will pass along your message to Captain Lasky, but he is likely to tell you the same thing I just did."
Shepard's eyes narrowed a bit. It was time to play his hand, "I still have more. Remember when I said this situation involved a mutual threat?"
The Fleelancer's commander nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"The UNSC presence here is small and relatively vulnerable. And your position is not that far from the Terminus systems. Whoever or whatever is abducting human worlds is doing so to worlds that are small in nature and relatively vulnerable. Worlds very much like the Colony you are no doubt building to house your people. Would it not be better to prevent the threat, rather than reacting to it?"
Shepard could see Ansil frowning in thought. He could tell she was resisting the urge to tell him otherwise.
"Your point is well taken Commander and while I trust in my people and in our ability to defend ourselves from attack, you also mentioned Mutual benefit?"
It was time to play his trump card while he had an opening.
"And...Because, I can give you the location of a recently discovered crash site relating to a UNSC vessel along with several Covenant ones. And, the Infinity is the best chance of stopping them."
Shepard saw Ansil's eyes lock with his own for a moment. In that moment Shepard felt his gut twist into a knot as the mask of professionalism slipped for but a moment on Ansil's face to be replaced by an expression of pure, animal-like rage at the mention of the Covenant. It shifted again, to a look of hope as her thoughts no doubt turned to recovering lost brothers and sisters in arms. Shepard could hear Commander Ansil talk with someone else over the line. Her voice was firm yet slightly rushed. He had played his hand and it seemed it was a winner, or at least not a complete waste.
Shepard looked down at Joker, "This'll work."
"You hope." Joker said.
"Yeah."
"This is an interesting offer, Commander," Ansil responded a moment later. "Let me contact my superiors and see what we can do. This won't take long, in the mean time, stay put."
Joker's face soured, "She's rather...blunt. I like that."
Shepard rolled his eyes, "Joker, chill. Bring it down a few notches here."
"Aye, Commander," The Normandy's pilot responded.
"Commander Shepard," Commander Ansil said, communication channel reactivated, "I have spoken with my superiors and they have cleared you for entry into our system. However, power down all high-detail sensor systems and observational and recording equipment along with any location-based services and beacons."
"Understood." Shepard responded. "Anything else?"
"Your outbound communications will continue to be blocked. If we detect any transmissions being sent and or received to your vessel, we will either block communications or board your vessel. If any scanning or recording equipment is detected, your vessel runs the possibility of being impounded." Ansil stated simply.
Shepard pursed his lips. He clearly didn't like the terms but he would take what he could get. "Understood, Commander."
"Thank you. Despite what you may think I don't want things to turn...unpleasant.." Ansil responded. "A docking and tethering suite will be extended from our ventral hull. We will attach your vessel onto it and you wait for our signal before we entire slipstream space. I look forward to meeting you face to face Commander Shepard. Freelancer out."
Shepard looked up, watching as a massive piece of machinery extended itself from the bottom of the Destroyer. There seemed to be multiple hydraulic arms, multiple docking tubes and strong magnets composing the giant hand.
"Drop kinetic barriers." Shepard ordered. "Commander Ansil, our shields are down. You may attach the tether onto our ship."
"Normandy, this is Freelancer Helm, proceeding with tethering." A male voice drawled. "Do not move your vessel."
Shepard saw blue lights illuminate the sides of the tether before it shot out, smacking directly onto the hull of Normandy. There was a constant trembling as the magnets asserted themselves and the various tethers and tubes aligned and attached themselves like leeches onto the relatively thin hull.
"Tethering complete." Freelancer's Helm reported. "Rotating vessel, overriding system to match our thrust and velocity. Complete. Preparing for slipspace jump."
Shepard felt the Normandy swing around. Space seemed to boil again, tendrils forming and lashing out before settling into that familiar swirling vortex.
The engines on Freelancer glowed with greater intensity before flinging it and Normandy into the gaping maw of exotic energy and ruptured dimensions.
The Citadel
Ambassador Donnel Udina's eyes scanned down the report, paying close attention to every word and every line that had been printed. What he read did not make him the least bit content or secure; there had been another multitude of bombings at the Terran Pax rallies and headquarters. Dozens had been killed and with the death of Representative Sinclair a few weeks prior, it seemed as if more militaristic segments of the Alliance were coming forward and into action.
He sighed, flicking to the next report. It was suspected that Cerberus was behind the recent attacks; only pacifists had been targeted. He didn't think Cerberus had the gall nor the resources to do such an attack. The latest reports indicated the Cerberus was about to fracture into two groups; Cerberus and an as of unnamed one.
There was a small portion of Alliance officials pushing for a decisive finishing move to the former Alliance black-ops division but they were in the minority. The Joint Chiefs weren't bothered by Cerberus' actions against the various alien races.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, or something to that effect.
His door bell chimed.
"Come in," Udina said.
The door slid apart, revealing the imposing form of Admiral Steven Hackett. His officer's cap was tucked under his arm and he walked with a confident gait that shouted years of military professionalism.
"Admiral Hackett."
"Councillor."
"What can I do for you, Admiral?" Udina asked, stepping away from his desk and towards his book case.
"Something." Hackett said, setting his hat down on a table and taking a seat adjacent to the main couch. He turned his attention to the air cars racing by the window, there were a few Turian and Alliance drones sprinkled into the never ending stream. His expression was calm and almost cold.
"And what would that be exactly?" Udina asked, pulling a book from his shelf and flicking through its pages. It was a book about the fictional Rainforest Wars.
"The Treaty," Hackett said bluntly, "I need it tweaked."
Udina's eyebrow cocked, "Admiral, we've already–in the span of two months–watered it down to making sure a species can't annihilate entire council planets from orbit." He placed the book back on his shelf, "The Turians are building another three dreadnoughts, we six and we've reduced two Pirate planets to radioactive craters. I'm not sure what I can do for you next, exactly."
Hackett steepled his fingers, bringing his gaze to level on Udina. "I am doing this for humanity, Councillor."
Udina sighed, "Admiral, what exactly do you want?"
"I need a complete dissolving of the limits against the total number of dreadnoughts. We are reaching the limit again."
Udina shook his head, disappointment etched across his face. "I'll talk to the other councillors but the next session is in a few days and we require a full vote. Sparatus fell of the map a few weeks ago and Tavos is busy on Thessia dealing with a planet-wide outbreak of a virus."
Hackett smiled weakly, "I bet you'll do the best you can. Correct?"
"Of course, Admiral,
" Udina said, "The political machine is slow, but I will steer it to the best of my ability."
"Thank you, Councillor." Hackett responded.
"What about the Infinity...Captain Lasky?" Udina asked.
"We haven't heard as much as a peep from them since they had the stand off with the SSV Logan and its commander." Hackett responded.
"What about Shepard? Didn't you send him to find where the Infinity was?" Udina asked.
Hackett nodded, "Not directly. We placed a tracking device onto the outer hull of Normandy, he has full knowledge of it. He knows that what's in that ship holds the keys to humanity's inheritance of power."
"You said yourself, Admiral, that if Infinitybecame hostile it would take a herculean effort to neutralize her," Udina explained, "And that's not even considering the escorts she carries."
Hackett looked disapprovingly at the Councillor. "It has a Batarian signature. If its discovered, they'll think its Batarian and Infinity will move against the Batarians."
"You're talking about all-out war," Udina said. "A war that humanity, honestly, isn't ready for."
"What do you mean by that exactly?" Admiral Hackett asked.
Udina gritted his teeth. Hackett and the rest of the ALliance naval command had been looking for a way to neutralize the Batarians as a threat for a long time. While the four-eyed aliens were weak, they weren't weak enough to attack without massive casualties.
"I mean, that we haven't even launched our newest dreadnought and we're so backlogged that it will take almost four years to fill the orders." Udina explained. "If we go to war now, all we have are nine dreadnoughts, a few hundred cruisers and frigates and a handful of carriers. That's not enough to eliminate an entrenched enemy with hundreds of thousands of small, fast, armed vessels."
"While you are correct in that aspect, Councillor," Hackett responded, "We have other plans in motion."
Udina slammed down The Rainforest Wars onto his desk. "Do you hear what you sound like Admiral? You sound no better than those goddamned fools at Cerberus before they were exiled! You are pushing for a war that would collapse our economy and bring ruin to our worlds too!"
Hackett disapprovingly shook his head. "Can I tell you something?"
"What?" Udina snarled. "What? You want me to risk my own career and the political stance of humanity just so your sailors can have their pretty little boats?"
"The Reapers," Hackett stated bluntly. "They're the reason for all of this. Infinity is just a convenient scape goat, an easily manipulated piece of information that has been disseminated to the public."
If Udina could have unhinged his jaw, it would have dropped. "You...are telling me this now?"
"Yes," Hackett said bluntly. "The fewer people who know this, the better."
Udina hung his head, "All this militarization, all these shadowy movements have been to combat the space squids?"
"Councillor Udina, the Reapers present the greatest threat to humanity since we opened Relay 314," Hackett responded sharply. "They are the mongoose, we are the snake."
"And what convinces you that these Reapers even exist?" Udina questioned.
Hackett reached into his back pocket, retrieving a trio of images neatly folded. He expanded them and pointed towards the red circled areas.
Udina walked over and grabbed the three, examining them closely.
"We found the remains of several Reaper vessels that match up with the form of the one that attacked the Citadel a few months ago." Hackett explained. "We found the dead ones in fields of other destroyed ships. Thousands just to take down a single Reaper."
"These symbols," Udina said. "What are they?"
The symbols were a light blue and geometric, appearing as if a capital letter Y had been turned on its side.
'We don't know," Hackett said, "But we think..."
Udina handed the images back to Hackett. "I can't go before the Council with something you think might happen, Admiral. You know that. Now, bring me hard evidence and I can make the blind see what really is occurring."
Hackett took a deep breath, "Councillor Udina, it is imperative that the Council is kept in the dark in regards to the true purpose of our military build-up."
Udina rolled his eyes and walked away from the Admiral, "I think they can see through your ruse easily enough, Admiral. Parliament? Not so much."
"What do you mean exactly, Udina?" Hackett questioned, standing up.
"I mean," Udina responded, turning to the Admiral, "That the Turians are rumored to have dispatched dozens of scouting vessels and freighters laden with food and medical supplies destined for the Infinity as a gesture of good-will and alliance."
Hackett's expression soured. This was the first he was hearing of this, "The Asari? The Salarians?"
Udina scoffed, "The Asari are too busy to care about some insolent human captain and his mega-dreadnought. The Salarians, however, are another matter entirely."
"How so?" Hackett stepped forward, intrigue danced in his eyes.
"Admiral, you must let me finish what I am saying. I am growing quite tired of your interruptions," Udina commented. "How so? Specter Aran'la Korlag had been tasked by the Council, without Valern's knowledge, to monitor the activities of Salarian Stealth Dreadnoughts."
"I assume they have gone missing?" Hackett asked.
"I'm surprised that you don't know this already, Admiral," Udina looked back at him.
"I've been touring the Attican traverse and securing third-party colonies, I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and read up exactly," Hackett retorted. "Now, the Dreadnoughts?"
"The Salarians were scheduled to launch two of their Stealth Dreadnoughts; the SMS Provoked Response and the SMS Interdiction. They claimed budget and supply issues caused the cancellation of the two warships and their twenty-plus escorts. Specter Korlag had a very different report. They were launched, we don't know where but, we suspect one was heading towards Alliance space and one toward an uninhabited rock that we detected a massive energy burst originate from some 15000 light-years away."
Udina sat back down behind his desk, bringing his hands together and placing them at the forefront.
"When did you receive this information?" Hackett asked.
"A few hours ago. I sent it on an encrypted communication channel to both Arcturus and your own omni-tool." Udina answered.
Hackett crossed his arms. "If this is true–"
"It is."
Hackett looked at Humanity's Councillor. "–then I need to bring the fleet to full alert status and make sure our black sites and top-secret programs are secure. War might be on the horizon."
"Do so, Admiral Hackett, but do not cast us into the fires," The man responded. "Humanity can not afford another war on its hands, especially if these Reapers are approaching."
SSV Normandy
"Joker," Shepard barked, "Status?"
"We're almost out of FTL, Commander." Joker responded, swiveling around to face his CO. "I've made sure the little present Fleet gave us is...umm..."
"Disabled?" Shepard inquired.
"More like broken," Joker shrugged, "We apparently had an accident with some plating and it flew off as soon as we accelerated into their FTL."
Shepard shook his head and chuckled.
"That's what happened, right, Commander?" The pilot smirked.
"I'm Commander Shepard and I corroborate my pilot's report."
Joker snorted.
"Incoming transmission!" Someone called out. "It's from Freelancer."
"Let's hear it," Shepard ordered.
"Right away," The Junior Officer responded.
The speakers popped. "Normandy, this is Freelancer. We are emerging from Slipspace. Once we do so, the tether will be broken and you will be given a navigational path to follow. Do not deviate from this or you will be disabled. Understood?"
"Understood, Freelancer," Shepard responded, "Thanks for the ride."
Commander Ansil didn't respond, instead choosing to terminate the communications channel.
"Isn't she just a bundle full of sunshine?" Joker quipped, not flinching from his work. "Let's hope they aren't all like this."
"I hope so too but I don't think they will. Lasky seemed level-headed when I met him. One of his officers though, not so much," Shepard commented. "Crazy lady."
"Hot?" Joker asked.
Shepard shrugged. "8.5."
"Out of what? A scale of one hundred or ten?" Joker asked. "Swamp monster?"
"On a scale of one to nine," Shepard smiled, letting slip a small chuckle.
"Nice!" Joker said, "I'll have to meet her."
"She'd snap your spine," Shepard responded.
Joker closed his mouth and turned his head back forward.
The tunnel of slipstream space began to fall apart, revealing the stars and the bluish-black space that lay beyond it. Filaments and streaks fell off like old skin before Freelancer, with Normandy in tow, breached the transitional phase, bringing both back into real space.
The tether was released and Freelancer pulled upwards.
"We're being scanned," Joker reported. "It's the Infinity, another big sucker and nine smaller ships."
"On screen," Shepard responded.
"Done, commander."
Shepard turned towards the wall mounted display. The Infinity was at the center of the formation with her smaller cruiser escorts surrounding her like a swarm. Beneath the six kilometer warship was a smaller, two kilometer one that looked like tuning fork had mated with a brick.
"Transmission inbound," Joker said, leaning over to Shepard, "It's a navigational path."
"Scan the transmission and follow the course. Don't open any packets that aren't needed," Shepard responded, "In the mean time, follow the navigation course."
"Aye, Commander."
Shepard thumbed his chin, eyes latched onto the UNSC fleet directly in front of Normandy's bow.
"Have Tali and Garrus meet me in the hangar bay, we'll be departing from there," He said. Placing his hands in his pocket, he retrieved his dog tags and placed them around his neck with precision and grace.
"Good luck, Commander," Joker said.
Unknown Location
Vessel known as Deliberator
Former Operative Cross adjusted her stance slightly, following the miniscule movements of the dreadnought Deliberator, the flagship of the breakaway Cerberus faction she had established.
Cross adjusted her glasses and tapped several commands into her console, bringing up a map of space surrounding her flagship. They had a handful of older, stolen Cruisers and two frigates. It wasn't a fighting force, nor anywhere near as large as the hundred or more vessels under Cerberus' control, but it was a start. They were on the very edge of the galaxy, tens of thousands of light-years away from the nearest Council planet.
"Ms. Cross," Her second in command called out.
Shifting her weight, Cross turned around and looked down at the middle-aged man. He had graying brown hair and dull, almost dead, brown eyes. There were crows feet nipping at the edges of his eyes and the weathers of age were beginning to become evident. His name was Harold Neb. Cross called him Harry.
"Ma'am," Harold reported, "Long range scanners are detecting a Council task force entering the system. They've found us again. They didn't come through the relay, though. So, I guess that's good?"
Cross bowed her head before looking back up. "Have the fleet form up; we'll make a direct push towards the mass relay and get out of here."
"Where exactly, Ms. Cross?" Harold questioned, "The frigate
Defiance and cruiser Distributor both have hull breaches and structural weaknesses, they won't last long accelerating fully, especially if we're going to be slinging around a planet. The gravity alone would likely tear them apart."
Cross pinched the ridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "We go anyway. Alert the fleet, we'll be bringing engines to full power and making a direct dash for the relay. Sans gravitational slingshotting, hopefully those two ships can last for that duration."
"Aye," Harold responded. "It'll be a few minutes before the Council forces see us; should we make a show?"
"What do you mean, Harold?" Cross asked.
"We have flares on board along with a few asteroid crackers, we should fire them off to make it look like we're firing at the Council force," Harold explained, "They'll raise their barriers and decrease power to their engines in order to reinforce their defenses. It'll give us a few moments of leeway."
Cross leaned back on her right hip, pondering the idea.
"Do it," She responded firmly. "It couldn't hurt."
Harold smiled, "On it."
Cross turned away, "Tactical, bring our secondary batteries online but keep our barriers down. Reroute any power saved straight into the engines. It'll give us a little extra boost."
"Understood, ma'am," The woman at Tactical responded.
"Ms. Cross, we're getting a transmission sent from the flagship of the Council task force." Communications Officer Suran said softly. "Playing it on screen two."
Cross called up the screen and was greeted by the familiar face of a Turian fleet commander. He had red tattoos covering his face and one of his mandibles appeared to have been cut off.
"This is General Juraka of Citadel Patrol Group 14. Cerberus vessels, surrender yourselves and I will ensure that your crew will not be harmed. However, if you resist, I will have no chance but to forcibly retrieve your vessels from your possession and in that eventuality, the safety of your crew would be ambiguous. You have two minutes to deactivate shields and engines and prepare for boarding. If you fail to do so, I will begin my assault. Hurakdan, out."
Cross gritted her teeth and took a deep breath in, "Get the General on the line."
"Right away ma'am." Suran responded. There were a few quick commands entered before he nodded to Cross.
Cross cleared her throat, adjusting her stance. "Citadel Patrol Group, this is the Deliberator, we are not affiliated with Cerberus and are merely transversing the system. Please allow us to do so in peace."
She could hear the Turian commander laugh over the line. "Human, I wasn't spawned yesterday. I can clearly see the Cerberus identification and chevron plastered onto the side of your vessel in addition to its correlation with known Cerberus designs. Oh, and what should I call you exactly, Ms. Cross?"
Cross pursed her lips, "That isn't a matter of importance, General. We aren't Cerberus. End of story. We broke away from them for reasons that I am not willing to divulge."
General Juraka laughed but his tone remained cold. "I'm going to be honest with you, Ms. Cross. You humans are absolutely horrendous when it comes to lying. It's like a Krogan Warlord fighting a newborn Volus. Sad, pathetic, and ever so slightly, in a sickly way, humorous."
"General, I am leaving this star system with my flotilla," Cross said defiantly whilst motioning for tactical to get a targeting lock on the Turian's flagship. "I don't want to engage your vessels, but I will if I must."
The Turian laughed again and Cross could hear him briefly ordering a subordinate to do something in his native tongue. "You are aware, dear friend, that doing so would likely result in your complete destruction. Honestly, Ms. Cross, I would really regret having to defile this system with additional ship debris and free floating particles of slain individuals."
"Ma'am, we're nearing the Mass Relay," Harold said softly, trying not to allow the General to overhear his report. "We can jump...inbound projectiles!"
"Cut engines, redirect power to kinetic barriers!" Cross barked out. "General, cease your attack immediately or I will respond with force!"
"I am sorry, Ms. Cross, but I can't let you leave this system–dead or alive. As regrettable as that is, you have chosen the worst fate for you and your crew. Good bye. It has been a pleasure communicating with you. General Juraka out."
"General! Please, wait...General!" Cross responded, begging. She grabbed onto the brass railing as the holographic screen snapped to a simulation of the projectiles rapidly approaching.
"He cut the channel from his end, Ms. Cross," Harold responded. "What should we do?"
Cross hung her head, "Cut our engines and bring us around. We can take the hits from the General's weapons; the rest of the fleet cannot. Ready weapons and fire!"
"Ma'am, are you sure that is wise?" Harold questioned. "What if we are destroyed?"
Cross looked back, her eyes cold and dead. "There have been contingency plans written in that eventuality. Now, please follow my directions."
Harold bit his bottom lip and returned to his duties.
Cross could feel as the Deliberator swung on its x-axis to face the General's approaching salvo of Mass Accelerator rounds. Scaffolding slid across the bridge's windows, allowing the fragile layer of translucent material a slight reprieve from impact by multi-kiloton slugs.
The Deliberator's singular main battery barked. Three powerful rounds slashed out at over 4000 kilometers a second. They streaked towards the General's forces but due to the distance, it would take several minutes for impact.
"All GARDIAN batteries, target theGeneral's rounds. They're far enough out that we might be able to intercept them," Cross ordered. She put her hand up to her chin, eyes examining the display.
"Our power conduits to the GARDIAN batteries are still under repair," Harold responded. Suddenly, his terminal began blaring alarms. "Unknown contact! It just jumped in sixteen hundred kilometers away from the General's forces."
"On screen!" Cross barked.
The holographic display shimmered and then split in two; one still detailing the approach of the General's munitions and the other the newly arrived combatant. It was two pronged with a sickly brown exterior, almost like an insect hive, obscuring a flat, silver layer. There was some sort of spinning ring around the mid riff of the vessel, likely for artificial gravity. A glowing yellow light sat at the center of the two prongs, slowly pulsating.
Harold smiled a bit, "Ah, ma'am, the Turian just cancelled the targeting on our vessel. The micro thrusters in the slugs are rendering them inert."
"Good, then get us clear!" Cross ordered, walking back to her Captain's chair. "Who ever they are, those bastards just saved our hides."
"Ma'am, the Birth of Power is reporting they are unable to establish a connection with the Mass Relay. We're locked out," Someone called out. "Orders?"
"Have them keep trying. Try using the different ciphers we took off the various races, maybe the General locked us out," Cross said.
"Understood," Harold responded. "I assume you want us to remain in position?"
Cross nodded.
"Unknown is firing," Harold calmly reported. "The General's shields just went down."
"Receiving transmission!"
"On screen," Cross responded.
The General's mug snapped onto the screen. There were fires in the background along with the collapsed forms of several of his crew. He himself had numerous cuts and lacerations to his cranium and upper torso. "Cross, what is this?" He snarled.
"I don't know, General," Cross responded.
"General, they are firing again! Cruisers one and two aren't responding! No life signs on board!" A surviving Turian screamed.
"Fire on them with everything we have! Slave the controls of the cruisers and shove them down these abominations' throats!" The General snarled bitterly.
"Understood!"
An orange light washed through the General's bridge. A few moments later the General's skin looked like it began to dry and flake off into orange embers. He screamed; his skin, muscles and tissues were being stripped away almost instantaneously. His skeleton was the last to be vaporized, jaw open wide in a scream for eternity.
Cross backed away. The entire Turian bridge was covered in piles of ash.
"Get us out of here!" Cross screamed at the top of her lungs. "Now!"
"Mass Relay just unlocked!" Harold called out, "Fleet is jumping."
Slowly, Cross' flotilla began jumping away, vanishing into distant blue sparks. The Deliberator was the last to leave, a single line of text crawling across the display which had been occupied by the General a few moments ago.
The debts of sins are always collected.
Reach
Calvary System
John watched silently, a slight grimace dominating his facial expression as two Fire Teams of Spartan 4s trained below him. Even after two months of constant drills, training and berating by him and Red Team, the next generation of super soldiers still weren't up to what he considered an adequate level of skill and ability.
At the moment, Fireteam Throne and Iron were assembled in a dirt pit about a mile wide and a mile long with various objects of cover. It had been dug out by a controlled firing of Infinity's main battery. There were two bases on either end along with a decommissioned Scorpion, a few warthogs and a Mantis mech for each. The objective was to either eliminate the enemy team without casualties, maintain control of the base and/or capture the opposing team's flag in a certain amount of time.
Thus far, they had gone over that time limit thrice and nearly hit his observatory nestled into the cliffside via a sloppily fired Scorpion tank round.
There was a reason why Marines, in addition to senior Spartans, were the only ones designated for armored and airborne divisions. These Spartan 4s were adequate in infantry-based combat but lacked the characteristics of a well rounded soldier.
"Cortana," John called out.
His small AI companion flared to life. "Yes?"
"Reset the course and add in the third variable," John stated. The third variable was the entrance of a group of twenty ATEN and HUSAD drones that would work against either teams.
Cortana smirked. "Not hard enough?"
"Their performance has been..." John tried to find the right words.
"They aren't going to be Blue Team overnight, John," Cortana said. "You know that."
John looked down. His orange-gold visor reflecting the light being emitted from Cortana's presence. "I'm not trying to make them Blue Team."
Cortana cocked her eyebrow. "Come now, John. We all know that is false."
"It's not," John retorted.
"Yeah, you are," Cortana responded. "I can clearly see it."
John looked away and turned his gaze back to the battling Spartan 4s. The drones had broken into two groups, flanking and intercepting the two Fire teams. No one had been taken down by the stun rounds yet, but John expected several to fall, soon.
"John," Cortana said, crossing her arms. Her tone as flat, slightly disapproving.
"What?" He responded.
"They're not Fred, Linda, nor Kelly," The AI answered. "And they won't be. They won't ever be Spartan IIs."
"I'm aware of that."
"No," Cortana interjected, "I don't think you are."
"Cortana," John responded, "I'm just trying to get the majority of teams to equate to Spartan IIIs. Besides the teams composed from ODSTs–Venator, Timber Wolf, Castle, Shadow and a few others– the rest are walking vulnerabilities."
"Do you really believe that?" Cortana asked. "Or are you just trying to make them something they aren't?"
John looked down at his AI companion, "I know they are capable of doing better. They were drafted into the Spartan program. Some of them are what a UNSC operator should be; some, however, aren't. I don't know why."
"Maybe because this is their first experience in actual war?" Cortana offered as a suggestion, "Or, maybe, Parangosky killed the good ones back when she attempted her coup and these were all the UNSC could muster."
"Then why are Crimson, Castle, Shadow, and Diamond still alive?" John retorted.
Cortana adjusted her stance, "John, the stance of the Fours training wise can't be all that is on your mind. What else?"
John didn't respond.
"Please," Cortana insisted. John could feel her establish a link with his neural net.
John sighed. "I've been having...visions."
"Like what? Like the ones on the Citadel or during the retaking of Calvary?" Cortana questioned.
"I was in something else's body; a Forerunner I think. I was activating Halo. The Flood were approaching. They were led by Mendicant Bias. Guilty Spark was there, watching." The Spartan responded. Cortana could hear his voice weaken.
Cortana's eyes were wide in surprise. "John, you were in the Didact's shoes...watching the end of the war through his eyes."
"It wasn't the one we fought on Requiem. This one was younger, stronger...he wasn't mutated or mad like the other," John informed Cortana."Guilty Spark called him IsoDidact."
Cortana pursed her lips, thinking intensely. She brought her hand up, "This IsoDidact, did he do anything else?"
"He asked Guilty Spark if he would fire the rings if he was in his position," John responded. "Guilty Spark didn't respond."
Cortana frowned, "How often have these visions occurred?"
"Off and on," John responded. "They aren't cyclical. They're random."
"Ok," Cortana said, "If you keep having these...wait, have you told Lasky or Admiral Cole?"
John shook his head, "No."
"Why?" Cortana asked.
"Because," John responded, turning around. "They don't need to know and I can't be under suspicion."
"Are they affecting your combat or command abilities?" Cortana questioned.
"No," John said.
Cortana smirked, "Then they don't need to find out. You ensured I was protected during my rampancy, now I'm doing the same thing for you."
John remained stoic. He didn't like this but, it was necessary.
There was a chime at the door.
"Come," John called.
The door parted and revealed a Naval Lieutenant in Full Dress, officer cap firmly on top, carrying a datapad. He saluted. "Commander Sierra-117, sir!"
John returned the salute. "Lieutenant?"
The Lieutenant held the datapad out, eyes locked directly into John's visor. "Orders from Admiral Cole, sir. You and Red Team are requested onboard Obsidian 9, the UNSC Night Stalker immediately."
John grabbed the data pad from the officer and quickly scrolled through it. "These orders are barebones, what else? Why am I being deployed?"
The Lieutenant brought his hands to the small of his back. "As of 12:34, local time, the UNSC Infinity detected the distress signal of the UNSC Prowler Iain. The last reported sighting of the Iain was during the outer colony wars between UNSC and Covenant forces; approximately 2535. Due to this, there is a high probability that there is sensitive UNSC material and information within the vessel. Retrieval is preferred but if impossible, destruction is mandatory."
John set the tablet down onto the hem of the console. "Have Major Marcus Stacker bring Fire Teams Iron and Throne to the nearest vehicle depot and proceed with their vehicular based training. Following that, Fire Team Castle is to go against them in a life-fire exercise using TR rounds. Understood, Lieutenant?"
"Aye, sir," The Lieutenant responded, chin up. "I will forward these orders to their respective recipients."
"Thank, you." John responded. "That will be all."
"Obsidian 9 will be at the spaceport in fifteen minutes. There is a Pelican waiting to take you there," The Lieutenant said, finishing his duty and quickly leaving the room. The door slid back together.
John turned to Cortana, yanking her data chip from its housing.
"About time."
Unknown Location
The Illusive Man watched impassively from his perch above the auditorium as thousands of Cerberus troops, enhanced with Reaper technology marched in perfect formation. Their weapons at parade rest and heads turned to him.
He smiled and leaned back slowly. He wasn't a man of showmanship, but occasionally reminding oneself of the power one holds can pay off handsomely.
Reaching down, he grabbed a fresh cigarette and ignited it. Holding it up, he took a breath in and then promptly exhaled it. A euphoric sense washed over him like a tidal wave and he allotted himself a brief reprieve to close his eyes.
The marching ended and the Illusive Man heard the door to his chambers part.
"What is it, Operative Pierce?" He asked.
Operative Coltan Pierce walked up beside the Illusive Man, arms clasped firmly at the small of his back. "A Citadel Patrol Fleet intercepted Ms. Cross and her faction."
"Destruction?" The Illusive Man asked, opening his eyes. "Or capture?"
"Neither; escape," Pierce said flatly. "The Citadel Patrol Fleet was then wiped out by an unknown vessel. Long and..."
"Tubular," The Illusive Man interjected, interrupting the operative. "It fired a beam that sliced through shields with minimal effort and reduced the victims to ash."
Pierce closed his mouth.
The Illusive Man looked up, "I assume by your newfound muteness that I am correct?"
Pierce nodded, "Yes."
The Illusive Man extinguished his cigarette and pushed himself out of the chair. He slapped several controls on the armrest and the entire chamber began to rise like an elevator. Slowly, it settled back into its native position, dominated by the ever burning star.
The head of Cerberus walked to the very edge of the glass and touched it, "They are Collectors, Operative. And they are the foreshadowing of the storm that will fall upon this galaxy."
Pierce looked off, thinking, "Should we begin counter operations?"
The Illusive Man shook his head, "No. It would be too costly in terms of resources. We'll allow the other races to battle and fight them. We'll use this time to reinforce our fleet and army."
"Of course, sir," Pierce responded. "What about Lazarus?"
"Shepard hasn't been killed. We cancel Lazarus and funnel the resources and man power into the Tempest Project," The Illusive Man informed Pierce.
Pierce nodded, "I will see to that personally, sir."
"Do so, Operative," The Illusive Man responded. "There is a war on the horizon. It is preplanned, scheduled, meticulously and ruthlessly calculated."
"Then what do we do, sir?" Pierce questioned. His demeanor was awash with worry, "Cross broke off with a significant amount of assets; naval and technological."
The Illusive Man looked back, "We make contact with Infinity, first."
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: John investigates the distress signal, the Collectors begin to fully move, Shepard and Cole's meeting and much more! Stay tuned to find out more. Be sure to hit that like/favorite button and be sure to leave a review if you like it!