Mass Effect: Trailblazer

by TallYapflip

Humanity, left to its own devices for centuries, comes into contact with the Citadel Council. A misunderstanding leads to hostile first contact, and the UNSC is drawn into war with the Council shortly after the Insurrection's height. The Council finds itself face-to-face with a species that has broken the shackles of Mass Effect Technology. The Era of Humanity has only just begun.

10. Chapter 9: Operation AEGIS

Chapter 9: Operation AEGIS

October 17, 2537; 1231 Hours

UNSC All Under Heaven, Soell System (Slipspace)

The Master Chief sat atop a crate of small arms, checking and re-checking his BR55. ONI had called every single surviving SPARTAN-II aboard what was quite possibly the most secretive ship in the entire UNSC Navy: the All Under Heaven. All he knew was that this ship was capable of stealth deployments of SPARTANs. Why their… younger cousins were excluded from the call was beyond him, but it was nice to have the more-familiar generation together for the first time since Reach.

"Ground teams, prepare for insertion. Five mikes." The Captain's voice came over the ship-wide intercom. John looked up from his rifle, seeing the motley crew of SPARTAN-IIs moving towards their assigned pods. He stood upright, heading towards the small collection of pods that had been set aside for Blue Team. He locked his weapon into the retention arms in the pod just next to Fred's, and sat down.

The pod slowly closed and pressurized, followed by the mechanisms of the ship moving the pods into their deployment position. All twenty nine of the SPARTAN-IIs aboard the vessel, which excluded Kurt and Red Team due to their assignment on Reach, were prepared for deployment, and simply awaited the green light.

When that light finally came, the forty pods were deployed into the Slipstream for the briefest of moments, followed closely by the shunt back into real-space. From his pod's orientation, John could just barely see the curvature of an artificial ring-world from the corner of his pod's viewport. From what little of the ecosystem he could see, it seemed to be quite diverse. That was the Halo installation the Sangheili had mentioned.

What truly caught the attention of every SPARTAN was the massive space station just "above" the ring. It seemed to be carved from a large planetoid, with well over three hundred Covenant warships engaged in a knock-down, drag-out brawl. From what little information the Sangheili were able to provide, the Covenant Separatists were just barely losing the battle for this station, with individual streets within the station itself changing hands almost weekly. The space battle was brutal, with the wreckage piling around High Charity, which had been rendered immobile by Separatist sabotage.

Behind the insertion pods came a fleet of Sangheili-crewed warships, numbering in at just over four-dozen vessels of varying weights. The centerpiece of the fleet was the CAS-class carrier Shadow of Intent, a monolithic force compared to most any UNSC vessel.

John could swear that, just for a moment, the battle around High Charity slowed. The momentary respite was just that: momentary, as the Sangheili fleet unleashed a flood of dropships and a blinding barrage of weapons fire.

The SPARTANs continued on their vector towards High Charity, just ahead of the massive swarm of Separatist Spirit and Phantom dropships. Their mission was simple: eliminate the Prophets Truth and Regret.

October 17, 2537, 1241 Hours

Knossos System, UNSC Shade

Shepard ducked past a pair of ONI officers that were making their way from the Prowler's bridge, heavy MJOLNIR boots clanking against the plated floor of the stealth vessel. Her team's old home-vessel had been rushed out of refit due to some classified operation that the All Under Heaven was needed for. She did miss the slightly larger barracks, but there was something comforting about the Shade.

As she stepped onto the bridge, Agent Lawson was already deep in conversation with Admiral Cole regarding the distress signal they had picked up from the nearby Council archeological dig site on Therum. Apparently, a sizable Batarian pirate vessel was interested in whatever the Council team had dug up, and had arrived to take it by force. Judging by the resident ONI agent's posture, she wasn't liking whatever the Admiral had to say. "-for immediate deployment, Agent Lawson." Was all Shepard managed to catch at first, but the pieces started falling into place. "Whatever they found is of high value, and we cannot allow the Batarians access to it."

Lawson sighed. "Understood, sir. I'll prepare a team for deployment."

"Good… keep me posted." Cole nodded, his image blinking out a moment later.

"You asked for me, ma'am?" Shepard asked, catching Lawson's attention.

"Yes…" Miranda sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Have your team report to the hangar bay for immediate departure. We're intercepting those Batarians."

Shepard's face remained emotionless, her head giving a simple nod. "Understood, ma'am."

October 17, 2537, 1311 Hours

Knossos System, Therum

Shepard racked back the charging handle on her SRS-99C, locking a massive round into the chamber as the ammo counter flared to life on her HUD, reading out "4" on its display. The Pelican rattled rather softly against the somewhat thin atmosphere of Therum. She watched as her HUD blinked with an update from the Shade, signaling the ground team of her own SPARTAN-III team and six ODSTs that the small Batarian vessel had been crippled on the ground. Not long after that update, four ANVIL-II missiles shrieked from the missile pods attached to the dropship, striking a distant target.

As the Pelican quickly dropped towards the craggy surface of Therum, the transport bay doors hissed open, flooding the crew compartment with the searing Therum air. Shepard's HUD read the ambient temperature as almost-instantly spiking to 55 centigrade, and climbing. She stood up alongside her team of SPARTANs and ODSTs, and waited for the green light which came a mere moment after the Pelican came to a halt over a somewhat smooth stretch of ground and deployed its carried M12 Warthog APC.

The moment the last ODST dropped from the Pelican, it quickly gained altitude and began rattling off 40mm chaingun rounds at a distant collection of Batarian pirates. Shepard could see that the Sahara-class Prowler's relatively new pulse laser cannon worked to rather… great effect. The primary engines of the small Batarian vessel had been completely seared through by the weapon, completely unimpeded by its kinetic barriers.

Shepard sent a wordless nod to Ashley, who hopped into the driver's seat of the transport 'Hog as the rest of the team piled into the armored compartment on the back. Shepard climbed into the exposed passenger's seat, bracing herself against the frame of the vehicle and resting her rifle on the windshield's metal frame.

As they approached, the heavy 14.5mm rifle rounds sent a distinct crack through the air as Shepard found the few targets that the Pelican's pass missed. The missiles had torn massive chunks from the Batarian vessel, exposing much of the corvette's internal structure. The vessel itself had set down just in front of a small camp that the Council's archeological team had set up. There was a distinct lack of non-Batarian corpses, signaling that the Council's team must have retreated into the tunnels they had dug.

As Ashley brought the APC to a halt just a few dozen meters from the abandoned camp and a few of the ODSTs began piling out, a squad of Batarians rushed out of the tunnels, stunned by the sight of a UNSC platoon.

Three of the ODSTs took cover behind the armored Warthog, returning fire on the four Batarians who had begun peppering the vehicle with rounds. Both Ashley's MA5 and Shepard's SRS-99 returned fire on the Batarians, killing two outright and sending the other two scrambling back into the tunnels with drained barriers.

Shepard glanced down at her motion tracker, seeing that the rest of her team was now out of the vehicle. "Massani, Vega, take the ODSTs and secure the wreckage." She ordered. "Williams, on me."

Ashley nodded wordlessly, and followed Shepard towards the mouth of the cave. Shepard took a moment to exchange her rifle for the M90 shotgun that was attached to her armor's magnetic clamps. As they entered the cave, both Shepard and Ashley activated their VISR systems, bathing the entire darkened cavern in a green hue.

The two SPARTANs advanced through the winding tunnel ruthlessly and methodically, both 7.62 rounds and 8 gauge buckshot tearing through the few Batarian pirates that remained. As they finally made their way into the main dig site, which was a massive subterranean Prothean structure that was still half-buried, Shepard and Ashley ran into nearly two-dozen Batarians who almost immediately engaged them from cover. Enhanced reaction times alone allowed Shepard and Ashley to fire off a quick series of rounds at a selected target before pulling back into cover.

The gold-tinted visors of the two SPARTANs shared a silent nod as Shepard produced a fragmentation grenade and Ashley produced a flashbang grenade. Ashley removed the pin and allowed the spoon to clatter to the floor, waiting two seconds before tossing it into the darkened cavern. There was a startled cry from the Batarians within as the ones unlucky enough to be watching the tunnel were blinded by the sudden flash of light and deafening bang. Shepard then tossed her frag grenade around the corner, hearing it bounce twice before sending shrapnel all throughout the dig site.

The two SPARTANs stormed into the dig site, finding only sixteen Batarians still standing, and still reeling from the blinding and deafening flashbang grenade. They closed the twenty meter distance in mere seconds, both emptying their weapons as they took down the remaining Batarian resistance. Shepard spent the entirety of her shotgun's twelve-round tube in slam fire, downing nine Batarians with point-blank 8 gauge buckshot. The remainder were either killed or incapacitated by Williams, who had managed to get two to surrender, killing the other three with the entirety of her 32 round magazine.

As the fighting wound to a close, the eerie silence was broken by a single voice calling out. "Hello? Can you hear me?!" Shepard's HUD recognized it as the Asari language, translating everything for her. She zeroed in on the source of the voice, finding what seemed to be a dull blue glow at the base of the Prothean tower, with an Asari suspended about a foot in the air by the energy field.

As Shepard approached the barrier, sliding fresh shells into her shotgun, the Asari's face seemed to go from elated, to confused, to downright awestruck as the hulking half-ton mass of powered armor walked towards the barrier curtain carrying a distinctly Human weapon. "Wait… you're a Human!"

"Doctor T'Soni?" Shepard asked, recognizing the voice from the distress signal sent out by the archeological team.

"Thank the Goddess…" Liara sighed in relief. "I wasn't expecting anyone to respond to our distress call so quickly. Listen, this thing is a Prothean security device. I can't move, so I need you to shut it down to get me out of it, alright?"

Shepard nodded, quietly disabling her helmet's vocal systems and connecting to the Shade. "Shade, this is Shepard. We've found a single survivor from the dig site, it's T'Soni. She's been trapped in a Prothean ruin, how should we proceed?"

"Free her as quickly as possible and await further orders, Lieutenant." Agent Lawson responded. "I'll notify the Admiral that she's been recovered."

"Aye, Ma'am." Shepard nodded, closing down the comms and reactivating her vocal system. "How did you activate it?" She asked, looking at Liara through the hazy blue energy field.

"The Batarians arrived when I was exploring these ruins, and I activated these systems to keep them out." Liara explained. "When I did, I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. There's a terminal in here that can deactivate the barrier, but you'll have to find some way past these defenses."

Shepard took a step back, sizing up the tower. It seemed to be rather sturdy for a fifty thousand year old ruin, but there was definitely some damage done over time to the metal structure. There was some stress on the right hand side, likely due to millennia without any upkeep. "Williams, you bring that Compound-12?"

"Yeah…" Ashley nodded, keeping her eyes trained on the two surrendered Batarians as she reached behind her back, producing a small bundle of C-12 plastic explosives and tossing it across the cavern to Shepard, who caught it in her free hand.

She looked over to Liara, who was watching the interaction with interest. "Give me five minutes. With that, Shepard headed towards the particularly stressed section of outer wall, and began lining the edges with the putty-like C-12 explosive compound, tying the detonator to her armor's systems. After taking a moment to ensure everything was in place, she stepped back and triggered the detonator, startling both Liara and the two captured Batarians with the earth-shaking blast.

Shepard waited for the dust to settle, then climbed through the jagged hole that the C-12 had blasted into the side of the Prothean tower, keeping a finger just above her shotgun's trigger guard just in case. After ascending a winding ramp, she found herself looking at Liara's back, with a strange-looking computer terminal about halfway between the two of them. "Walk me through this, Doctor." Shepard declared, startling Liara again.

"O-oh… if you put your hand near it, it will activate." She began, prompting Shepard to do as directed by the subject matter expert. Sure enough, the sickly-green hologram flared out from the terminal, bringing up a series of unfamiliar characters and symbols that her HUD couldn't translate. "From there, there should be a series of red symbols, activate the first from the left, second from the right, then the center one."

After tapping the three symbols in succession, Shepard heard a soft thump from where Liara was suspended. As she turned around, she saw the young Asari just beginning to stand up and straighten herself out. "Thank you…" Liara began, turning around to face the SPARTAN. "Did you… find any of my team on your way in?"

"Afraid not, Doctor." Shepard explained, slinging her shotgun back onto its magnetic holster. "The rest of my team is looking through the Batarian ship now, there might be survivors there."

Liara seemed dejected at first, but a bit of hope returned when she heard the SPARTAN mention potential survivors in the vessel. "I won't even bother asking why there's Humans on Therum, but… thank you again."

"Just doing our job, Doctor." Shepard nodded, gesturing for Liara to follow her outside the Prothean tower. As they exited the tower, Shepard looked over to Ashley. "Any word on these freaks?"

"Just grunts." Ashley shrugged, keeping her MA5 pointed at the two captured Batarians. "Already removed their Omni-Tools for analysis."

Liara watched as the two hulking masses of armor conversed with one another for a few moments, Shepard eventually speaking into her comms unit. "Shade, this is Shepard. Site secure, and data has been recovered from the captured Batarians for analysis. How should we proceed?"

Liara couldn't tell what their commanding officer had responded with, but she had a vague idea when the very same SPARTAN who had rescued her from the barrier field drew a sidearm and fired two rounds into each of the Batarians. She let out a soft gasp of surprise seeing the execution, earning a sideways glance from a gold-tinted MJOLNIR visor. "C'mon…" Shepard began, reattaching the magnum to her thigh's magnetic holster. "Extraction's waiting topside."

October 17, 2537, 1419 Hours

Knossos System, UNSC Shade (Therum Orbit)

Liara glanced around the passenger bay of the Pelican dropship, the silence practically drowning her. It had taken a moment for her, but she eventually realized that these soldiers were far from UNSC regulars. She recognized the black-armored ones rather easily, the ODSTs had become somewhat famous in the wider galaxy… mostly for being absolute lunatics in the eyes of most other species. It took a bit longer for the four soldiers in what appeared to be power armor, but she vaguely recalled them from Humanity's first peaceful meeting with the Council on the Citadel… they were the SPARTANs.

She was somewhat surprised by Shepard's display of… kindness? She had remained standing, allowing Liara to sit in the seat that would otherwise be taken by the half-ton woman. Eventually, the silence was broken by the gentle jolt of the dropship landing, followed closely by the rear bay opening. The bay was flooded with the cool, sterile air of whatever ship it was attached to.

Liara followed the lead of the SPARTANs and ODSTs, standing up and following them into the relatively small hangar bay of the vessel. Much to her surprise, it seemed rather barren, only housing a few crates. It seemed that this was the only dropship assigned to the vessel… whatever it was. Waiting at the base of the ramp was a rather tall, dark-haired Human woman who wore a uniform that Liara didn't recognize. It was a simple black jumpsuit with nothing more than rank pins on the collar, and a nameplate on the chest. As Liara walked closer, she saw that the nameplate read "Cpt. Lawson".

"Lima-One, return to your posts." Lawson ordered to the ODSTs, prompting the five shock troopers to give a quick nod, then head for a bulkhead behind the woman. As they moved out of earshot, Lawson's piercing blue eyes turned to Liara with a gaze that was so intense it practically made her shrink. "Miss T'Soni… welcome aboard. You're quite lucky we happened to be close by."

"I certainly am…" Liara attempted a smile, but it felt… strange. "Thank you, Captain."

"Of course." Lawson nodded. "As we're quite far from any major settlements, the Council has requested that we bring you back to the Citadel alongside any information regarding what caused the Batarian intrusion on Therum. We will be making a small detour to Aephus so you can be transported via a civilian vessel as opposed to a military one. All I ask of you for your two-day residence on my vessel is a certain level of… cooperation in the name of UNSC operational security."

"O-of course, Captain." Liara nodded, growing somewhat concerned by the Captain's choice of words. "I can answer any questions you might-"

"Oh, it's nothing like that." Miranda gave a smile in return, but all it did was unnerve Liara further. "This vessel is simply somewhat… sensitive, for lack of a better term. Lieutenant Shepard can explain your restrictions while aboard the Shade."

October 20, 2537; 0230 Hours

Aephus, Saint Dumont Orbital Station

Liara, despite being on an orbital installation that housed just about every species in the known galaxy in its halls, still felt woefully out of place. She had just stepped off of a UNSC Pelican, onto a civilian spaceport, while being escorted by what felt like the most ostentatious company possible. Both Captain Lawson and Lieutenant Shepard walked alongside her. Lawson wore her familiar naval uniform, still surprisingly bare compared to the other officers Liara could see walking the deck of the space station. Shepard was clad in her MJOLNIR Mk. IV armor, drawing the occasional look from around the station as she walked. Still, now that she was off the Shade, she felt like she could actually breathe again. Something about that vessel and its crew seemed… strange. What seemed especially strange was the fact that the Shade itself didn't dock with the station… rather, they took a Pelican.

It had barely been twelve hours since Lawson had explained to her what they had discovered on the Batarian corvette. Apparently, someone had contracted those Batarian pirates to capture her, but not even the seemingly hyperadvanced UNSC decryption systems could determine the source. For that reason, Lawson's superiors had decided to send a small security detail to accompany Liara back to the Citadel. Based on what she saw on Therum, there was no better protection in the galaxy than a SPARTAN.

After following behind Lawson and Shepard for what seemed like an hour, they eventually found themselves approaching an evidently high-ranked UNSC naval officer. Liara couldn't tell what exactly the rank pins on the man's uniform signified, but there were three stars pinned to the man's collar. "Vice-Admiral Hood." Lawson and Shepard both snapped into a salute as Lawson acknowledged the Admiral and his small contingent of four Marine guards.

"Captain, Lieutenant." Hood nodded, returning the salute. Liara watched as the middle-aged Admiral turned to look at her, his imposing stature and ornate uniform making her feel… small. "And Miss T'Soni…" He held out his hand to shake, which Liara did after a moment of remembering the importance of such a small gesture to Humans. "Vice-Admiral Terrence Hood, UNSC Fourth Fleet. Apologies for the sudden change of plans, but our analysis of the Batarian data has unearthed some… concerning implications."

At Liara's questioning brow-raise, Hood continued. "The individual who put the bounty out for you is not a Batarian as we had originally thought. The data was received from communications channels only available to Council Spectres, meaning that sending you to the Citadel on a Council transport would be far too dangerous."

"Wait…" Liara began, the Admiral's words stunning her. "A Spectre wants me captured? Why?!"

"We're still piecing that together." Hood explained. "The Council has already been informed of the discovery, and HIGHCOM has decided to send me as a liaison. Given that these Batarians were also contracted to… attempt to capture a SPARTAN, the Council has allowed the UEG to assist in an investigation. I can explain more on the ship." Hood nodded to the airlock, where Liara could just barely see the engine systems of a Paris-Class Frigate through the nearby window.

October 21, 2537; 2051 Hours

Widow Nebula, Citadel (UEG Embassy)

Miranda flipped through the various files on her datapad, occasionally glancing up to see Liara and Shepard attempting a conversation. Try as she might, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was… off with Shepard. She always seemed tense, even more-so than your average SPARTAN. Were it not for the fact that she had seen her act exactly this way otherwise, she would have assumed it to be because she was forced to leave her armor onboard the Burlington.

Flipping through a few more files on her datapad, she eventually realized that she had never looked into the dossiers for Fireteam Able. Keeping up with both the Batarian operation and the seemingly never-ending reports from the Covenant Civil War had stretched her spare time rather thin. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she started reading through those long-overdue files.

Zaeed was nothing spectacular, just an effective Marine who happened to catch ONI's eye during the initial invasion of Aephus. He had nearly been court-martialed for insubordination once, but it was ruled inconclusive and tossed out. He was listed as being brash, rough, brutal, and combative… seemed about right. Were it not for the reactivation of the SPARTAN program, he probably would have been selected for ONI's internal security division.

Vega was a bit of a mixed bag. Deemed a narcissist by the ONI handlers assigned to the SPARTAN program. Miranda was thankful for her composed nature, as she just about started laughing when she saw the laundry list of illicit steroid screenings that Vega was obligated to undergo during his career with the ODSTs. He was ruled to be an excellent shock trooper, if a bit combative and occasionally insubordinate. She took special note of a list of injuries sustained during his training as a SPARTAN: fractured orbital bone, fractured tibia, dislocated shoulder, and dislocated wrist; all inflicted by one then-cadet Mia Shepard.

Williams was a picture-perfect Marine, coming from a long line of UNSC servicemen and women. She had a practically spotless record, only a single NJP that amounted to little more than a verbal reprimand. She had caught the attention of ONI due to her assuming command over a diversionary attack against Batarian pirates after her commanding officer had been killed. She was well-liked by both her comrades and superiors.

Miranda was surprised when she pulled up Shepard's dossier. She had perhaps the strangest military career she had ever seen. Even as a Marine, she was a crack shot marksman and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. She had served directly under Sergeant Avery Johnson, the very same man who had been an Orion Project operative, on Torfan. What really confused her was her personality description listing her as 'generally friendly, outgoing, and respectful'. Based on the few months Miranda had spent alongside the Lieutenant, only that last one was true. As she read over the addendum to the dossier, she was surprised to find a section on her actions on Torfan to be redacted at the request of SPARTAN III Operational Director Sierra-051. Even her considerably high security clearance wasn't enough to know what was hidden behind those blacked-out lines. When she read that Shepard was captured by Batarian slavers for a short time, she at least had some measure of an answer as to what had caused such a seemingly-drastic personality shift… and why the Lieutenant seemed to take absolutely no issue with the operations in Batarian space.

She glanced up for a moment, seeing the SPARTAN in question glancing up to her at the same time. She looked tense, even while she talked with Liara about seemingly nothing of import. Shepard looked back to Liara after a moment, allowing Miranda to look back down to her datapad as a ping popped up on the screen. Hood was requesting her presence in the next room.

With a sigh, Miranda tucked the device back onto her belt and stood upright, heading for the door. As it slid open, she found Admiral Hood and Ambassador Porter standing before a trio of holographic projectors, each bearing the likeness of a Councilor. "Councilors, Captain Miranda Lawson: Naval Intelligence."

"A pleasure, Captain." Tevos nodded. "Admiral Hood tells us you might have some pertinent information on what exactly you discovered on Therum?"

Miranda managed to mask the facial expression, but she was suddenly very concerned. Hood picked up on it quickly enough. "Already cleared with CICONI, Captain." He nodded.

Miranda sighed. "Very well…" She produced her datapad again, flipping over to the relevant information. "The contract on Doctor T'Soni was transmitted to these Hegemony-backed mercenaries through encrypted channels generally reserved for Council Spectres. Even with our advanced decryption capabilities, the identity of the sender is unknown. All we know is that it was indeed dispatched from the Citadel, likely by a Spectre."

The Councilors all shared a worried look as Miranda swiped a hand across her datapad, sending a properly-redacted copy of the information to the Council's terminals. "This decrypted message is eerily similar to the one intercepted by ONI after the attack on Harvest, suggesting that it was carried out by the same, or similar, parties."

"Which is why, with your permission of course, the UEG is requesting to investigate these seemingly-connected incidents." Hood added, folding his hands behind his back.

"These messages do seem oddly similar…" Tevos nodded, staring down at her terminal. Indeed, both were transmitted along channels generally reserved for priority messages and Spectre communications, ones that a pirate or slaver band wouldn't have access to.

"For self-explanatory reasons, these accusations cannot be made public." Mesu spoke up, his eyes darting up from his console.

The Councilors all shared a look, with Sparatus in particular seeming hesitant at Hood's suggestion. Eventually, he let out a sigh and nodded. "For the sake of continuing the building of cordial relations between the Council and the UEG, we are willing to allow the UEG to investigate these attacks alongside a member of Special Tactics and Recon."

"Excellent." Hood nodded. "Agent Lawson, I want you overseeing the investigation."

October 20, 2537; 1931 Hours

High Charity (Soell System)

Chief jammed down on the trigger of his M45 shotgun, blasting a neat hole through the torso of a Brute and splattering its innards all along the boulevard they were pushing along. The street-to-street fighting for High Charity had been brutal, but the Separatist and UNSC forces were steadily pushing towards the center of the massive planetoid. Marine forces were lagging a bit behind the SPARTAN IIs, but that was to be expected. The Sangheili were keeping pace with the Human super soldiers, carving a path through the Loyalist forces for the larger units to move in.

The ground seemed to shudder as a Halcyon-class unleashed a MAC round into a particularly dense sector of the city, blasting a fair portion of it away. Distant balls of burning blue plasma darted around the skyline of the city as Blue Team and a platoon of Sangheili Rangers moved towards the center of High Charity, where an ancient Forerunner Dreadnought provided power for the entire structure. Five SPARTANs had already fallen in the fighting, yet they pushed on. As more Sangheili reinforcements arrived in-system and began bearing down on High Charity, the fighting grew fiercer and fiercer.

A/N:

No excuses. I'm lazy as shit. Sue me.

Reviews:

Zeus501- The Loyalist Covenant blockade over Sangheilios wasn't actually that many ships. The UNSC/Separatists had them outnumbered about 3-1, and the Covenant wasn't expecting a Human fleet to roll up on their block like they did. The losses will definitely pile up as the conflict continues (and no, High Charity is not the last battle of the conflict.)

TheBronzeLine- I chose the Human characters that seemed best-fit for the Spartan program. You can rest assured, there will be no other ME characters in the Spartan program. You will be seeing some familiar SPARTAN-IIIs relatively soon, however.

Carlosxvx- The IIIs are, just like in canon, nowhere near as good as the IIs. The primary difference between these ones and the canon ones is that the UEG can afford to budget them for MJOLNIR, rather than the SPI armor they got in canon. The reason they don't have energy shields yet is because the Mk. V armor's energy shields were reverse-engineered from Jackal shield gauntlets. In the absence of anything better, they adopted kinetic barriers.

Lord Demolitions- Whether or not there are multiple Infinity-class vessels remains to be seen. Even with "peacetime" production capabilities, they're absolutely monstrous undertakings to build.

Raw666- The Reapers got a rework, but not in the way you're expecting. All shall be revealed in time.

TheREALMightyKamina- All shall be revealed in time.

Fernix13- The meme that space battles take place within visual range of each other is one that grinds my gears like you wouldn't believe (As much as I may love it, I largely blame Star Wars for this). There's a saying for modern naval/air warfare that holds even more true for space battles: "If you can see the enemy with your own eyes, you've already lost". As for the population growth thing, my main reason for sticking with Halo's canon pop count is that growth rates slow dramatically as technology and living standards improve nearly universally across human societies.

Chloe- You would be correct. It's going to be a bit of an easier endeavor building Infinity now that it's being built in peacetime, along with having access to the Onyx shield world. And yeah, I've been busy as shit and writer's block is a massive bitch.

Laughingfox31- I just can't see Chief having a romantic interest of any kind, tbh.

- Oh, it'll be glorious.

Dantezess- There's a very particular reason that this has the "M" tag on it. I disagree on the "doing it once means you'll do it again" logic, as it's inherently predicated on the idea that something like that is something that can just be thrown around willy nilly.