Ch 10

One Giant Leap

Normandy landing area Surface of Halo

2 months before Reaper invasion

The air was comfortable, a breeze could be felt blowing through the forest. There wasn't a single insect or animal to be seen for miles, only the wind flowing through the trees. It was calm, the sun shining through a crystal clear sky which allowed for the opposite side of the ring to be seen easily, even from such a distance. Despite the incredible oddity that was the Halo, it still seemed remarkably Earth like.

It possessed a constant day and night cycle, with the night being several hours shorter than the day. The air was nearly a perfect mixture of Earth's atmosphere. And the temperature remained at a constant 70 degrees. If they weren't being hunted by genocidal aliens, Shepard and his crew would have enjoyed the unexpected shore leave. But as it were, there was no time for any sort of relaxation.

Three days had passed since they crashed onto the Halo, it came and went in the blink of an eye. In that time the crew had set up a formidable defense, albeit they had no access to any heavy machinery. Any crew not assigned to medical or repair was more than likely patrolling the perimeter. There was a decent seven kilometer radius between the patrols and the makeshift base. The Normandy itself had been coated with dirt and grass, in an attempt to camouflage it from enemy air patrols. So far the Normandy's surviving crew had gone unnoticed.

"Recon one, its been several hours since your last update. Everything alright Lieutenant Reynolds?" Traynor asked through her computer's radio. In a better attempt to organize, Specialist Traynor had been placed as the control for any squads on patrol. She was able to do her job remarkably well requiring only minimal assistance from EDI. Luckily the structure the entire crew was based in allowed for a remarkably strong signal despite any other interference.

"It's been over two months and you still insist on calling me Reynolds. I've told you Traynor call, me Church," Church said coming through Traynor's radio.

"Um sorry, what's your situation then Church."

He laughed a moment before giving his response. "We already sent most of the squad back with fresh water from the lake. Sam and I got a blip on the motion trackers, we're checking it out now."

"Roger that, just be careful Church. We don't have the resources to send a rescue party."

"Nah careful is never fun, much rather go find us some trouble," Sam said interjecting his thoughts.

Rolling her eyes, Traynor dropped the connection. Boys will be boys, she thought to herself. She began reviewing the other reports before packing up. They had gotten comfortable, all of them. There was an abundant amount of food still left in the Normandy's storage, and with Shepard rationing everything from thermal clips, to showers it would last for months. Even a fresh source of water had been found and the Normandy's supply was slowing rising.

After finishing her report for Shepard, Traynor started shutting down the computer's systems. Night was falling and all the recon teams would be heading back to the temporary base.

"This is recon one to control! Samantha can you hear me?" it was Church, his voice was frantic and worried. Traynor could hear the fear even through the radio's static.

"Yes I read you, what the hell's going on?"

"God is your voice a relief," he seemed calmer now, as though his most immediate worry was contacting her. "We found what made our trackers ping. There was a Ghost on recon, we were able to take it out but..." static was again cutting through the signal causing Church to become unintelligible.

"Your signal is coming in weak. Where the hell are you?" Traynor grew more and more frantic. They all knew it was a matter of time before the Covenant were able to find them and slaughter them all. With the Normandy's engines still out of commission there was no way off the ring. Meaning when the Covenant did find them, it would be a fight to the last man.

"Several klicks outside the recon perimeter, we took the Ghost back down the way it came. We're en rout back to base now."

"Wait you took 'the Ghost'..." she was cut off abruptly before finishing her question.

"Long story, patch us into Shpard he's gonna need to hear this too."

Stumbling with the controls she connected Shepard into the conversation. Traynor was relieved to finally see his face on the screen. Despite everything that occurred, Shepard had managed to keep the crew alive. Without him the crew might not have survived Harvest, let alone this alien structure.

He was in the temporary clinic on the base floor of the structure when Traynor connected him. Any moment he could spare was spent trying to get the entire crew into better shape. It would require everyone to be at their best in order to survive. Which meant the wounded would need to be up and fighting soon.

"What is it Traynor?" Shepard asked through his omni-tool.

"Commander I'm patching you through to Church."

"Shepard we're coming in on a Ghost,"Church's voice was barely audible through the static. "We've been able to find the Covenant!"

Stunned by what he heard, Shepard froze in place. Fear had taken hold of his mind and panic started to set in. Surely if they had found the Covenant, then it was only a matter of time before they themselves were discovered. Their defenses would only hold out so long against a ground invasion, and would do nothing against the Covenant ships. Slowly, but surely, they would face their deaths on the ring.

"What's your ETA?" Shepard asked. Despite the danger, Shepard was still able to remain levelheaded.

"They're coming in now, Commander," it was Traynor who responded. Sure enough the sound of a Ghost was heard from outside.

Pivoting towards the door, Shepard sprinted outside the structure. Ahead of him, the group of sentries were gathering around. Blocking his view of the Ghost. Pushing them aside, Shepard found Church and Sam attempting to deactivate the vehicle. The purple hull showed small scratches and a few twigs were stuck to the front wings. The entire thing seemed to shimmer with a scale like pattern on it.

Finally, after several failed attempts, they were able to power down the Ghost. The anti-gravity engines died, and the entire thing fell to the ground with a thud. Suddenly Joker appeared, gawking over the alien device.

"For me? You shouldn't have," Joker said mockingly.

"Please, the acceleration on this thing would easily cripple you," Sam laughed at his own joke. "Perhaps you should stick with your talking ship."

"Yeah, yeah make fun of the crippled who talks to robots."

"Is EDI technically considered a robot?" Church piped up the question. He was only half paying attention, but the idea of EDI as a walking machine peaked his curiosity.

Sam visibly shook, "Don't even joke about that. Bad enough we rely on it, I don't want that thing walking around with hands!"

"Hey she's not a thing! She's saved the Normandy and you on more than one occasion," Joker said defensively. Walking up to Sam, he stuck his finger in his face attempting to intimidate the soldier. Unfortunately, Sam stood a foot taller than Joker. Making the entire scene comical.

Sighing, Shepard shook his head. "I need a drink," he mumbled under his breath.

"Church Sam, meet me at Traynor's station after chow," as he spoke, Church and Sam snapped to attention. Shepard was normally lenient, when it came to military doctrine. However, due to the circumstances, he cracked down harder now on insubordination. Even Joker, who had always been quick with a joke, refrained from any out of line comments. "Dismissed."

"Sir, you really should hear this though," Church said sheepishly.

"Are we in any immediate danger?" Shepard demanded

"Um, no but..."

"Do you have anything so vitally important that I can't first grab a drink?"

"No," Church spoke flatly. His opinion of the Commander was souring by the minute.

"Then it can wait a half hour."

Sam waited until Shepard had gone out of sight before moving from attention. Once Shepard left his sight, he left Church and Joker, who were trying to find a way to reactivate the Ghost, and dashed for the med-bay in the structure. Luckily most of the injured crew were resting comfortably, the medical supplies on the Normandy were one of the few things that were in surplus. Unfortunately, not everyone had survived the Covenant's boarding parties. The first night after landing they had held a small service to honor the dead, now the only thing on any of their minds was surviving. But Shepard was right, his and Church's information would be able to wait a moment.

Once inside the clinic, Sam immediately went to the cot at the far end that held Erin. Nearly every chance he got, Sam would go and visit to ensure she was still breathing.

"Hey," she had spotted him trotting over to her. Sitting her head up, she patted her hand on the side of the cot offering him a seat.

"Hey," he responded in kind. Looking her over, he noticed the bandages across her stomach had been recently changed. The medi-gel was healing the burns nicely, and she would be fine in days. Of course his mind was still never put at ease.

"I'm fine, Sam. I really am," she smiled at him. "You don't have to keep checking up on me."

"I know, but if I don't who will?"

"Chakawas is plenty of company. Besides shouldn't you be looking into us getting home sometime soon?" Despite her protest, she enjoyed his visits. Church wasn't able to find the time, accept to say hello once the day before, and Manny couldn't look her in the eye. He blamed himself for her being injured, and despite her insistence that it wasn't his fault, Manny still couldn't forgive himself. He was always the emotional one, Erin thought to herself chuckling.

"Shepard's giving the Normandy's repairs top priority, but even if we get her flying again we still have to find out what the Covenant are looking for."

"And how is the great Commander Shepard handling all the stress?" She stressed the "great" in a mocking tone. Raising her arms above her head for affect

Sam chuckle. "To be honest, not well. The stress is getting to him. Even Traynor says she can see it, he hasn't slept or eaten properly. And I swear he has a secret stash of alcohol he's kept to himself."

"Might be why Church finally shut up about him. For two damn months all we heard was him and James claiming 'what an honor it was to serve under Commander Shepard,'" again she added a sarcastic snarl to the name.

Laughing again, Sam checked the time. He still needed to eat before he met Church and Shepard, and already twenty minutes had come and gone.

"Go on, I'll be alright here by my lonesome," Erin said noticing his unwillingness to leave.

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Standing, Sam held Erin's hand, and squeezed it lightly. "No. You really don't."

Carefully, Church drove the Ghost into Normandy's hanger bay. After much frustration, he and Joker were able to lace it behind the Mako. Unfortunately the entire bay was packed, nearly to the brim. There was little room to move anything around, let alone an alien vehicle wider than a Krogan. Finally, Church stepped off the Ghost and deactivated it. Wiping his brow, he turned to Joker who threw him a canteen of water.

"Well it fits at least," Church said. He pressed the canteen to his lips, and tilting his head back pushed the cool liquid down his throat.

"You know, I never was able to ask about your name," Joker said changing the subject. He leaned against the Ghost's front end and looked towards Church.

"What about it?"

"Well it's just odd. Not everyday you meet someone with no religious ideology, be named after a place of worship."

"Odd? Say's the guy named 'Joker.'"

"Yes, but that's just a nickname. Not the one on my dog tags."

Grimacing, Church sat down on a crate opposite Joker. "Fair enough. I was actually adopted, by a Turian couple."

"Wait what? Some skull face actually wanted to have a human child?"

Laughing, Church returned to his story. "No not exactly. Ol' Pop was part of the embassy for the Turian Hierarchy and the Alliance. He thought it would help his standings if he took in a lowly Earth child. Not that I could complain, they were good enough parents, raised me since I was born"

"How does this relate to your name being Church?" Joker said, crossing his arms in puzzlement.

"I'm getting to that. So obviously neither he nor Mom spoke much English, they could only carry on very formal polite conversations. Mom was a very religious person though, often shouting at me saying I'd... well basically sinned. Never understood what a Turian sin was to begin with. But I digress, apparently men in her family were named after prominent titans, based off an ancient religion on Palaven. I being a Human it would be wise to name me after some of our religious icons. Most would have done say Jesus, or Muhammad. But the first religious word my mother ever learned in English was 'Church'. And the rest is basically history."

"I've got to say that story's kind of lame."

"Lame? What were you expecting?"

Contemplating the thought, Joker placed his chin in his fist and began to rub it mockingly, trying to show his mind in deep thought. "I don't know, how bout if you were captured and raised by Batarian pirates. And that 'Church' is just an old nickname that continues to follow you to this day."

Shaking his head, Church stood up a hand on Joker's soldier. "How bout... No," he said coldly. Turning around, Church grabbed his flask off the crate and began to exit the Normandy's bay. Joker quickly followed.

"What if you captured an Asari matriarch and..." Joker said continuing the discussion as they exited the ship.

One thing the galaxy never seemed to lack was liquor. There never seemed to be a problem that couldn't be solved, at least temporarily, through the timeless act of drinking. Desperate to find some release from the stress, Shepard found himself again in his cabin pouring a bright bottle of scotch into a small glass. The past three nights had been like this, him alone with nothing but a very old bottle.

Holding the glass high, he shouted as he toasted with himself. "To hell with it all!" he tilted his head back and quickly downed the glass. Slamming it on the desk, he started to pour a second round.

"Room for one more?" Ashley had some how managed to enter undetected. "Hey skipper."

"Look Ash, I don't need to hear it." Shepard kept his eyes away from her. Instead he focused them entirely on the bottle, expecting it thoroughly.

"Perhaps not, Liara was always better at these heart to hearts than me anyway," Ashley pulled a chair out, and sat down next to Shepard. "I just need a drink."

Shepard grumbled. "Wrex was better at heart to hearts than you, and better at drinking too," he went back to pouring himself a glass, and, after grabbing another one from a drawer, poured her one too.

Ashley tipped the glass to her mouth, smirking ever so lightly as she did. "I won't argue that."

They both drank in silence for a moment, it wasn't until after the third round that Ashley tried to talk.

"Shepard I can't imagine how difficult this has to be. You're keeping us all alive, single handed," she paused as he refilled their drinks. "God knows I haven't been much help of late."

Unexpectedly, Shepard muttered something through his drunken state. "That much is for sure."

Ignoring his remark, Ashley continued. "The point is Shepard, I'm here for you, like I should have been for the Collectors. Like I should have been for everything else," she leaned over and grabbed his hand. Still Shepard refused to look at her. "I know we don't have the old squad, but what would they say if they saw you like this? What would Kaiden say?"

He visibly flinched. She never used Kaiden's death as a tool to manipulate him, but now was not the time for babying.

"What do you want Ash?"

"I want the old Shepard back. The one who was able to stop Saren, the Geth, and the Collectors! The one who single handily changed the galaxy and Humanity's place in it. The one saved so many lives, both Human and alien."

He continued to sit, his position unchanged since she entered. Losing hope, she released his arm and leaned back in the chair. She'd tried almost every trick she could think of to get to him. Almost everything.

"I want the man I loved."

Sighing slowly, Shepard sat and thought for several minutes. Finally he looked at her, he still wore a blank exhausted face, but the spark was back. It was the first one she had seen it since their landing.

"Come on then, let's go get to work."

AN: Well I'll be quick here. I've been working on this chapter for a while and using techniques I've picked up. I hope they show. Still trying to be as realistic as possible, but I wanted to slow down a bit and develop the characters here more. The first few chapters were, again, trying to set up what will be happening and getting through all the early action. Now I'm going to slow down a bit. Please review and let me know what you think. Also this chapter does not mean Shep will end up with Ash, just that he romanced her after the events of Mass Effect 1
If anyone is confused about the lore of either universe, I'll be attempting to make a Codex of sorts that will explain everything from races to how the Reaper-Forerunner timeline could work.

And as always thanks for reading