VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ
Now this is a chapter some people have wanted me to do for a while now, one that I have been wanting to do actually so I could make a few announcements here and there. From my personal life to this story and its futures, don't worry they are not going to be discontinued.
But I may be off for a while.
The first is the OC's, I think many of you know I am creating a lot of OC's for this story, specifically commissions for these characters to be made into art. Some my own and some belonging to other people on this site that I am friends with. Well to let you know that is costing me a lot of money to do. In fact I have calculated it to be a collection of about $9802.98, I have near spent ten grand on commissions and art pieces for these stories. That is a lot of money over three years. A lot of money. Money I had no idea I was spending that much.
So comes to my second thing, getting some of it back from those who are willing to help. I plan to start an account and have donations made towards getting more characters made for these stories. People who want to put money forward to have commissions done for their characters and others I am willing to do. But I cannot keep spending money like this. I have spent so much money on commissions it is far from funny or practical that a hobby turned into an investment that is draining me of so much.
I am happy to do it, but when you look at $9802.98 you get a knot in your stomach at seeing it. I was a little shocked and horrified I had spent that much money on commissions. For now I have stopped it, just so I can get a hold of this situation and plan it out. Hence why I am starting a account. I will put a link on my profile when I get it set up and it is ready.
The final piece is me regarding my stories, for the next few weeks I will be off doing work on this account along with getting my life in order. I need people to help me keep this story going because it may be something I love but I cannot afford to continue making commissions and expending my hard earned money on something I use all my free time doing.
Also with my father in the hospital, work picking up, me taking care of my nan and the house and all other things that are going on I am simply too busy and stressed out to consider doing anything else than crawling into my bed and going to sleep and never waking up. Because of that I need a break. These chapters were two weeks overdue, it took me two weeks of screwing around to get them done because of how stressed I am and I need a break.
Please, help me. Give me some space when I need it but help me with the money to bring these stories to life, even if it is one dollar, I am happy with that. It is something I need help with because I cannot lose anymore of this. So please help me.
Next chapters I update will tell you about how I am going and also that things are improving. Enjoy.
Are We Alone
Chapter 10: Lines Drawn in the Sand
Eden Prime, Pishon
The colony of Pishon was in upheaval as chaos and confusion was laid bare, shaken souls slowly picking themselves up, only to see the world around them destroyed. The pressure wave and sudden earthquake had toppled buildings, ripped free walkways and collapsed bridges burying an unknown number of people alive, if they were lucky. Marines had cast off their own injuries and immediately threw themselves on the rubble, digging up little else but cooling bodies for their efforts.
The dark mood had smothered all traces of confidence they'd once had, leaving an empty, gnawing despair in their chests. It was a nightmare worse than if they'd been slaughtered by the Geth, a hollow victory with the civilians they'd told to barricade themselves now buried under the walls they'd sought for safety. And yet, while some let themselves wallow in despair over their failure, others made of sturdier stuff kept pushing forward. Orders were barked and relayed, whipping the men back in line and focused and away from bleaker thoughts.
"We got eyes on anyone?" Sergeant Andrew called out. His radio was busted with the techs only able to report static from the interference. They were effectively stranded until they either worked around it or help was sent.
Waiting wasn't exactly the best of options for them, with several of his boys with lighter armor and weaker barriers not in great shape. Reports of mild burns and other injuries had flooded in, but there wasn't much that could be done with the severely limited equipment they had. He'd rather save what they had for those that really needed it. The soldiers could grit their teeth and bear with some discomfort until were restocked or returned to the ship.
But with no contact with the fleet in orbit, that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. The explosion had been so powerful that the best they could hope was that contact was cut off only due to interference and not some other, mechanical, reasons. Morale was bad enough without seeing one of their ships suddenly plummet from the sky, or something equally disastrous.
"Nothing! That nuke really did a number on us. From what I can see, this entire valley has been levelled." Corporal Singe replied.
"A big one at that: it fucking cleared out the sky!" Corporal Tyler groaned, hand shooting up to her face and grimacing as the tender skin stung.
She was just one of a few hundred that had burn scars, probably permanent with how long she'd have to wait to be treated, and a reminder of what the hell happened down here. Her words rung true, the skies eerily clear for likely hundreds of kilometers in a perfect circle probably visible from space. It had to have been several dozen megatons at least; there was no doubt about it.
None of the troops had heard anything from the Major yet, and apprehension was steadily mounting among the recovering ranks. Last anyone had heard, he'd charged through the path of destruction the anomaly had left in his wake in an attempt to reach the Prothean Beacon somewhere near the Space Port. From what they could see, that'd been directly below the epicenter of the explosion. Not exactly a comforting thought. Even less so when they had no way of knowing if those were the only nukes.
They were lucky, in fact, to get away with only some burns and collateral damage. Their barriers and armor had given some protection, enough to make it out mostly unscathed, but even that didn't help in the long run. In fact some of it was actually peeling off, the armour having melted and burned away, that was how intense the explosion had been. Now all they had to worry about was radiation poisoning, hence why they needed to get everyone out of this hell hole.
"Eyes on the shuttle!"
The familiar blue and silver shuttle moved in recklessly fast, landing easily in what remained of the plaza. It wasn't quite contact with the fleet, but the soldiers perked up regardless. The sight of their only operating shuttle returning filled them with nervous tension. It'd been sent out to find Mikkai and his squad and hopefully drag the Beacon back with them, so just what had happened to rush them?
The shuttle landed heavily, doors flying open before it'd even finished rocking. N6 operatives exited hastily and with a hint of panic in their movements. Only Mikkai seemed calm, stone-faced and professionally detached as he stood by the door and directed the soldiers out. The strongly grim behavior confused the rest of the men. Such highly trained and elite operatives, what could have possibly rattled them? It wasn't until the final two members exited, a stretcher burdened with a limp body carried between then, that they realized it.
Many were aghast and shocked to see the individual laid out on the stretcher, it was truly an expected reaction seeing a godly being such as he left in such a state. Bloody and bruises, and completely unconscious, even appearing to be dead.
"It can't…"
"How did he… what happened to him?"
"What did that?"
Ichigo, the Guardian of Elysium, and easily the most well-known and adored of the anomalies, had been brought low before their very eyes. What remained of his clothing was nothing but singed rags hanging limply from his burned and bloodied body. He didn't stir even as the whispers reached a fevered pitch at the sight of their new god they'd thought invincible lain before them, broken and unmoving.
"Is he dead?"
It was unclear who asked it, but the words couldn't ever be taken back and the area exploded into panic. Shouts of alarm and unrestrained horror as despair rose up among the ranks, the circle collapsing as people pushed and shoved to see if their worst nightmare had come true. That the one man in the galaxy thought to be unbeatable, an unofficial symbol of humanity who'd inspired them all, was gone.
"Back off! Back off! He's not dead!" Mikkai barked, shamelessly pushing aside people and moving for the only standing building in the entire colony.
He was relieved when he ran into Ericson, who, thank all the stars in heaven, had a cool enough head to keep the wave of marines from falling on the body of the anomaly and crying, or something equally melodramatic. He couldn't believe these guys were acting this crazy, trying to get close to the body of this man like he was Jesus Christ. Well, he practically was new-age Jesus at this point, if Jesus was a ginger Asian with giant swords.
God, his life was crazy.
"That the medical station?" Mikkai asked, well shouting, over the crowd and looking to one of the only standing building left in the colony.
"What's left of it!" Ericson replied, helping push past the last of the crowd and getting the team inside.
They barred the door and placed a few guards outside to keep out any extra enthusiastic idiots that thought to try and weep over their deity. With the state he'd seen a few of them in, he wouldn't be surprised if they would have forced their way in if given half a chance. It was astonishing to Mikkai to see the sheer mania the supposedly hardened marines displayed whenever they saw the anomaly.
'Guess faith does some crazy shit to you.' Mikkai thought.
Except he couldn't really talk, not when he'd been gaping just as badly as anyone else when they'd found Ichigo practically dead. The shock and horror had slapped him so hard he'd nearly collapsed in the rubble they'd found him on, stretched out like an offering before the Beacon. No one had even cared they'd found their original goal, not when their whole world had seemed to collapse in that moment. Shepard, in particular, seemed to be taking the entire thing the hardest, movements too ridged and slow and numb to everything that seemed to be happening.
He'd noticed she was still carrying that huge fucking sword they'd strapped awkwardly to her back even though they'd have a sort-of rest here. Heck, she didn't even seem to notice it, and while he knew Shepard wasn't weak, that had to be at least sixty or more pounds of dead weight added to her already less than feather-light armor. Her eyes were that strange wide-open hollow look he saw on people who were struggling through their denial of reality, eyes skipping up and down the battered teen as medics started swarming in.
Mikkai wondered if he should tell Shepard to put down the sword before she really messed up her back, but thought better of it. The sword was probably comforting with its oppressive weight, grounding her so she couldn't get lost in her own internal spiral of ramblings. It honestly seemed completely impractical to use, but guess that was just his common sense getting in the way of reality. The kid swung the thing around like it was nothing, amazingly managing to not cut himself to ribbons on an edge Mikkai had nearly lost a few fingers just getting near. With that thought, he moved forward, hand brushing the black blade strapped to his belt.
'That explosion… he had to have been inside it.'
Shepard knew that it was the only way Ichigo could have been hurt as badly as he was. Taking several dozen megatons of force and only getting banged up and not outright disintegrated…it was a scary thought. Not even a Dreadnaught would be standing after that. Hell, a Dreadnaught couldn't handle a hundred kiloton shot, much less something literally five hundred times stronger. It was an insane, illogical, impossible, thing to ever happen, but she'd seen the proof with her own eyes.
She also knew that the gods, no, the anomalies, weren't nearly as powerful as humanity had led itself to believe.
It was an easy thing to do, really. Kenpachi had shrugged off dozens of rounds from an Anti-air cannon that punched through Frigates like tissue paper. Ichigo took a goddamned death ray to the face from the biggest Dreadnaught Shepard had ever seen and had only seemed mildly annoyed. The feats were so amazing, bordering on fantastical, that it was easy to overlook one simple fact: both of the anomalies had been injured.
It was small, barely noticeable. Kenpachi had looked a little bruised with maybe a gash or two, the videos weren't the best quality, and Ichigo looked a little sunburnt at worst; the kind you didn't even treat because it hardly hurt and was practically gone with a goodnight's sleep. Both of them had barely slowed down instead of reduced to paste like they should have been, going right back to cutting through bodies and buildings and ships like all that power thrown at them only amounted a half-stumble in their relentless stride. But the fact remained that they had been hurt. Even if it was only the tiniest amount, even if it barely affected them, it meant that, theoretically, enough power could seriously hurt, if not kill, them.
And the proof was practically at her feet, surrounded by frantic medics and covered in his own blood. It really put things into scary-sharp perspective and forced her to wonder: Just how powerful were the anomalies really? Because right now she could only wonder just how blinded by hero-worship she'd been, to think that they had truly been invincible even with all the signs contrary to that had been right in front of her eyes.
'I wonder if this is what all those apostles felt, right before Jesus was nailed to a cross.' Shepard thought, but there wasn't a drop of humor left in her. Truthfully, she was like the rest, in the middle of a crisis of faith and wondering just what she was to do with herself now.
She recalled what Ichigo had said to her not so long ago, how he and his people weren't gods. Maybe he was right, but she'd thrown out what he'd said without even realizing it, thinking he was just being humble. She really should have actually considered that possibility and even taken it to heart, since wouldn't the anomalies know what they were better than she ever could?
But Shepard still believed, with all her heart that these anomalies could be their chance to finally make people stand up and stop being stepped on. Ichigo gave her that feeling as he stalked forward without any hesitation, that if she were brave enough to follow him into hell, that she'd become something more. More than some street urchin and scum, she'd rise up and be the best and greatest she could be, if only to keep up with him. That, in spite of her beginnings and all the pain she went through, or maybe because of it, she could become just as mighty and powerful as him, if only she stepped forward to do it.
He inspired her, humanity, to get stronger, even with sanctions and others fear a heavy weight around their throat. It dug their heads down into the dirt, smothered them, and yet, through all the Council had done, humanity hadn't broken. They grit their teeth and pulled against the chain, growing tougher from the strain, learning to live independently. The tighter the chains put on, the harder the fight to get out, and when they were loose god help those who'd scorned them.
"I can't get a scan on him; I need something to get through his skin!" A medic shouted, snapping Shepard out of her musings. She glanced over and saw the man hovering over Ichigo's torso with a bent needle, clearly at a loss at what to do.
"The hell? Look at this!" Another medic said, holding out a washcloth with blood on it as if it were cursed.
Shepard wondered what the fuss was about until, without warning, the blood on the rag seemed to evaporate, disappearing completely in a matter of seconds. Any smear of crimson removed from the body below them faded in a matter of moments, not even a tint of red left behind.
Shepard watched, fascinated, as the medics argued frantically over the strange phenomena while doing their best to work around it. A hand suddenly clasped her shoulder firmly, making her jolt and look up to see Mikkai behind her. He looked as stern as usual, but Shepard noticed a small amount of trepidation in his frown and followed him to the side of the room without a word. Something was up and he needed to talk with her about it.
When both were in a nice secluded corner, Mikkai quickly spun her around and begun cutting off those straps that kept the massive blade latched onto her back. It fell less than a foot but still embedded itself nearly six inches into the metal floor. Shepard felt a wave of relief, suddenly realizing just how heavy that thing was; she hadn't been forced to carry that much since her training in basic. With the literal weight off her back she turned back around and they got to talking.
"I think we both know that Ichigo being here like this is going to be a problem." Mikkai said, looking at the smaller blade and latching the sealed handle onto the grip of the larger weapon. It looked strange, but oddly right, and the feeling of being watched suddenly left him.
That was the understatement of the century, but she supposed it was more politically correct than saying 'we're royally fucked'. Now that Ichigo was unconscious, a state that these anomalies had never been left in before and most people probably thought was outright impossible, it was practically a given someone would try and take advantage of it. It was an open secret that there were rogue paramilitary groups, alien and human alike, that were doing everything in their power to try and capture an anomaly. And now they had one on a silver platter.
"You think someone like Cerberus will come along and try to take him?" Shepard asked.
"They're the least of my worries. I'm worried about when the Council eventually gets here." Mikkai snorted, knowing full well that this planet will only be occupied by Alliance soldiers for so long. Not when it seemed to be a hotspot for trouble.
Shepard really wished he hadn't reminded her of that little fun fact, but she knew that as soon as the Council got wind of the situation down here they would be all over this place. The Prothean Beacon, Saren Arterus, and an incapacitated anomaly, it was the trifecta that tickled the balls of any politician with an agenda to push. But everything here should have been kept under wraps for a while, meaning the Council likely would still be mobilizing a force to respond to the attack. All they had to do was get at least Ichigo and Saren off world, then the Beacon could be left as a red herring. Not the best of outcomes, but it'd justify an otherwise random Geth attack until the Alliance had put together a better plan. If they didn't, then this planet would almost surely be put under a blackout like so many others had been.
That was the usual method the Council used to keep information about the anomalies from getting out. It was hard to rally around something that barely appeared, so securing a site and completely blacking out all communications while they interrogated the residence was amazingly effective. Only a few cases of this where known publically, two, maybe three incidence where someone had snuck information to the outside, but the Alliance knew of at least three dozen colonies and counting. The only reason no fuss was raised was because, while the blackouts and interrogations were harsh, the Council was at least smart enough to not actually damage the colony or people on it.
But if they learned that an anomaly was still planet-side and vulnerable, then they would shut the entire planet down and censor everything that might be even remotely related. Not a whisper of what had happened here would ever been seen in the public eye.
"We need to get him off-world now. Not only him but our prisoner as well." Mikkai jerked his head towards the back of the room and Shepard turned, surprised to see the Turian Spectre there. Sedated and having been treated enough so he wouldn't keel over on them.
"If anyone says anything about Ichigo being here, they'll censor this place right off the damn galactic map and we'll all be taken away for interrogation. And once that's done, they'll have all our balls if we even so much as make a peep." Mikkai said. "So right now we need to make sure Saren isn't taken by them, because he sure as hell will blow the whistle on us to get a deal."
"Even if we do get them off-world, the Council will probably just search the ships when they get here, they have that authority." Shepard pointed out, though she wasn't half as concerned with that as keeping everyone's mouth shut.
What the Council didn't know they couldn't act on. They'd probably jump at the chance to be the good guys for once, sweeping in to save the colony and provide relief.
"I know. That's why we'll get Ichigo to a medical team and they'll try to see if they can wake Ichigo's ass up. Hopefully he can drag himself back to wherever he came from before the Council gets here. If not, he can go crawl into a closet or something; I don't care where he hides so long as he isn't seen. Once that's taken care of, we can act like he was never here, pretend the Geth dropped a bomb that detonated too early or something and blew up their own dreadnaught to try and get us. But the real trick is keeping Saren quiet, which isn't going to happen. So we get him off-world and to Arcturus. He doesn't talk, they won't know about Ichigo."
Shepard nodded along with the plan Mikkai outlines for her. The entire tragedy could still have a silver lining. It wasn't exactly the perfect ending she'd thought they'd have when Ichigo showed up, but she'd take whatever they could get. The Alliance Parliament could use this assault on Eden Prime to push the Council out of their space, maybe even dropping these sanctions completely depending on how other species reacted.
It was a risky situation they'd found themselves in, with even the slightest mistake will have it all blow up in their faces. As long as mankind was still bound by that red tape the Council had set up they would never be free, and this chance all hinged on making sure that the Council didn't get the ammunition they needed to keep them silent. That meant they couldn't know about Ichigo or let them interrogate Saren, at least not until they were ready. Even a single day was enough to spread word of what had happened to every Alliance colony in their space, and then there would be nothing the Council could do.
"What do you need me for then?" Shepard asked after a long moment to swallow the situation.
"Get the troops settled; we don't need them going bat shit crazy over the fact their messiah is dying." Mikkai replied, glancing towards the medics that had been reduced to cleaning off the weirdly evaporating blood and not much else. Delicate surgical equipment wasn't made to cut his skin, no matter how normal it looked and felt. "So go out there and tell the marines to man up and keep their mouths shut."
"What am I, his fucking spokesperson?"
"Go be a prophet or something, people listen to that holy bullshit nowadays." Was Mikkai's snark right back at her, slapping Shepard heartily on the shoulder and turning away. "I need to get Ericson and see if I can get in contact with Anderson."
Shepard watched him leave and had to let out an irritated huff, hoping he hurt his hand on her armor. She had been given the damn 'honor' of having to talk to the masses and calm them down. Never before had she been so glad for the awful public speaking lessons she'd been forced to take after she was declared a hero. Something about the War Hero giving rousing, inspiration, speeches was good for morale. Or it was just probably a way to squeeze some good publicity out of her.
Really, it took more effort that she liked to admit to not be socially awkward in front of everyone. It hadn't helped she'd discovered she had more than a little stage fright
But that was a different matter.
Now she had to figure out what to do about Ichigo's little cult waiting outside and desperate to know what was going on. She went over a few ideas in her head she couldn't come up with anything to rouse their spirits while still being honest. Deciding that no matter what she did, this was destined to end poorly, she went with a slightly different approach.
With that in mind, she moved for the door and pulled out the latch, letting it swing open to the faces of dozens of marines waiting impatiently. Not a single one of them didn't look at least a little concerned, worry clear in the eyes, even the most grim-faced men there didn't look anxious. Their hero had been hurt badly, shaking the foundations of what they thought they could believe in and unsure how to process it all. But she knew how to snap them back into gear.
"Listen up boys and girls, we've got work to do!" Shepard called out, making sure to practically strut down the steps and look a whole lot more confident than she felt. "We still got a colony to search! We don't know how many people are still alive out here and we need to find them! Get ready for some search and rescue!"
They seemed to be taken by surprise by the orders, as if they were confused by her attempt to change the subject.
"Hey, what's up with the Guardian? Is he alright?" Someone called out causing a wave of rumbling whispers among the ranks.
"Does it matter?" Shepard barked, looking irritated as she let out a barrage of words. "You fucking marines are standing around like a bunch of FNGs who are worried people will see your wet panties! Suck it up! You've got a job to do! Gawking at the guy who saved this fucking colony is not the way to do it!"
Well, at least they'd stopped muttering and looking two seconds from a panic.
"He took the bullet for us, a big fucking one at that! So the least we can do is not huddle around him like a one year old looking for his mother's tit!" Shepard just let it roll off the tongue at this point. "Give the guy the respect he deserves and don't make fools of yourselves, you hear me? You are marines of the Alliance Navy! He did his part so let's do ours and get your asses in gear and find anyone out there that needs our help! The fighting is over but that doesn't mean are job is done, and we're not leaving here until we find everyone! Living, dead, it doesn't matter; we're making sure they are found! You got it!?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
She was certain everyone let off a shout now that their balls weren't stuck in their ovaries. God, she had spent way too much time around Mikkai. Ignoring that little tidbit, she was pretty happy with herself. A few choice words and these Marines were acting like proper soldiers again.
"Get too it then!"
SSV Achilles
Anderson scowled as he looked out through the portside window on the bridge, unhappy with the damaged state of the fleet. No, very nearly devastated would be a better word for it. Any closer to the explosion and half of it wouldn't even have been left, in fact.
No one had expected to be hit by a pressure wave when they were practically in space, and the suddenly wave of force from their side had resulted in some nasty collisions. Hull tears contained only by rather alarmingly damaged shield emitters hung open as gaping wounds, pieces of metal drifting near the damage eerily. Only half of the ships were operational at the moment, but even those unaffected required desperate repairs.
A few technicians had run the numbers and estimated the blast that'd hit them to be intended to be fifty or more megatons, their only saving grace being the thinner atmosphere peeling off most of the energy. They were lucky none of the ships were too close, nor that any had been thrown towards the planet to almost inevitably crash. But they were practically dead in the water for the next few hours, even after their relief fleet arrived. When that would be, Anderson had no idea. Hackett should have arrive some time ago, or at least sent a message if something had come up.
Anderson didn't like it.
He squashed the unease for the moment, "Do we have communications groundside?"
If Hackett wasn't here then something had to be wrong on his side of the Relay, meaning that Anderson had to do what he could with what he had and hope for the best. First, he needed to get a hold of anyone down in the colony and see if they were alright. And maybe understand just what was going on down there.
"Nothing sir, still not picking up anything other than interference from that detonation." One of his Communication Officers, Corporal Amina, answered.
Anderson was really starting to worry now, no matter how much he tried to help it. He had hundreds of men and woman and thousands of unprotected civilians down there, in the middle of an area likely being contaminated by radiation at this very moment. His ship, thankfully still mostly operational, was already detecting alarming radiation levels from the explosion, leaving whatever hadn't been thrown into space to rain down on the world below.
"Any ships we can send down? I'll take anything to get a team down there to at least get us some information."
"We've been trying to get in contact with some of the other ships, but the ones we have contacted say their shuttles are all damaged. We won't be doing any rescuing for a while, Captain." Corporal Amina replied.
Anderson forced himself to remain calm and the pillar of authority he was seen as, and only nodded tersely at the information. He wished there was some way they could hurry things up; with every minute that crawled by the chances that the Council would show up increased and then stumbled upon the Beacon and several other things he didn't want seen. This site wasn't secure and he wanted to change that. If Hackett could get here with his Fleet they could make an old fashioned blockade and actually prevent the Council from deploying whatever teams and forces they had on hand.
But, until he heard word or saw the Admiral, there was nothing he could do but wait for repairs to be done and pray that someone friendly came their way before the Council did.
"Sir, we are getting a communication from the relay buoy. It's heavily encrypted."
Anderson knew exactly who that would be.
"Patch it through." Anderson ordered, keeping himself calm as he waited for his old friend to tell him the bad news.
When the screen popped open, it was a display of flaring static and scrambled colors Anderson couldn't have identified if his life depended on it.
"… -son ca… Damn i… And…on...!"
"Can you clear it up?" Anderson asked slowly,
"Cleaning it up now, sir, a moment please." Ensign Douglas replied, fingers tapping at his holographic screen. After a moment, it snapped to clarity, with only an occasional shuddering distortion, "That should work, but there might be some residual interference. I will try to keep the line clear."
"Good." Anderson replied, turning back to the screen to find the Admiral looking less than pleased. "Admiral, where are you? You were supposed to arrive an hour ago."
"I am on Arcturus Station, along with my fleet. I've been forced into drydock, I'm not coming." Hackett replied, shaking his head and sighing. "We've been caught red handed, and now the Council is on its way."
Anderson felt his stomach tighten and his heart quicken with a flair of panic. There…really wasn't any worse news he could have gotten short of a full declaration of war.
"How?" Anderson asked, hoping he didn't sound as tired as he suddenly felt.
"They monitored our chatter. They're allowed to access all military chatter between fleets when engaging enemy forces." Hackett replied. "They know everything, the Beacon, Ichigo, and what we planned on doing with all of it. They even know Saren is down there. Anderson, the Council is going to cover up everything here."
Anderson knew that, it'd happened so many times before, what was one more to them? Cover it up, hide the information and use it to try and track the anomaly's movements to mostly likely attempt to capture one if possible. But most of all, do their best to starve off the rumors and legends surrounding the powerful beings before humanity grew too attached, too rowdy and tried be like the anomalies' and destroy those that threatened them. The Council's motives and plans were predictable, but there wasn't much that could be done against them, even knowing all they did.
They wanted to crack down on that and make sure that people didn't get the idea in their heads to fight against the Council's little tyrannical occupation. Information was key to doing that, by keeping it sealed and away from the population so that they remain mostly ignorant. Or ignorant to the real details that would have them storming government buildings in protest to get the Council out of their yard.
The Council were making sure that the people didn't know the true depths of their sanctions, trying to hide how much damage it was doing.
It wasn't doing them much good, the people were growing more rowdy with every passing day as a new story of an anomaly, be it real or fake, was born and spread into people's hearts. Control was slipping and the Council was desperate to maintain the peace until such a point they could pull out and restore order and good relations. Well, at least the order part of that would happen if Anderson had anything to say about that, but it was more likely that hell was as cold as the North Pole and Santa lived there with Easter Bunny than the Council actually saving face after the brewing storm settled.
So the Council would just double down and continue to cover up whatever they could, surprising even the knowledge that the Geth had attacked a colony and that one of their highest operatives had been on the planet. Even if by some miracle they did convict and charge him with the crimes he'd committed, it was unlikely it would be made public. Not when that would risk revealing why he was being dismissed and then imprisoned. But considering the many other monstrous things he had gotten away with and never was prosecuted for, it was likely he'd slip right through the very wide gaps in the justice system.
It was almost up to the toss of a coin if Saren would be charged or not. That was what galled Anderson the most.
"There has to be something we can do." Anderson said. "The Beacon…"
"The Beacon is almost surely going to be taken by them when this all over, and we'll be charged for concealing and then conspiring to use ancient technology against the Council." Hackett replied.
Considering that the Admiral was ordered to do so with several incredibly important people, including the Prime Minister, it was likely all their heads were going to roll. A whole rather overdramatic show would be made of their 'plot to defy the Council and galactic peace' would be made, until they were all forced to resign and rot in prison. Even with how much it'd surely anger the people, the aftermath would be easier to tame and handle than if Hackett wasn't feeding that political wildfire from a distance.
"Listen, just get as many people off the planet as fast possible. If we can get them to Earth they can spread the word." Hackett said. "We can still turn this around if we act quickly, so get a ship and get it to earth quickly."
"I can't do that Admiral, most of my Fleet is dead in the water; we got hit by the shockwave of a fifty megaton nuke. We won't be rescuing anyone from below, not when we need help just as much as they do." Anderson grit out, knowing that they had just used up the last of their rope and were already dangling.
Hackett very nearly lost it at that, hands tight and lips drawing back to swear. Except he could only bring himself to sigh, suddenly seeming so much older as all his plans fell apart and chance after chance slipped between his fingers. With the Council coming and no one able to escape from Eden Prime, anything regarding this attack was going to simple cease to exist.
"We need a new angle on this, one that actually helps us and gets the Council off our backs long enough to figure out a way to save our asses." Hackett said quickly, deciding nothing would work out with the way things were.
Right now they were on the chopping block with the executioner sharpening the axe. They had to keep that blade blunt for as long as possible by whatever means necessary. The two men had no illusions that they'd both be detained within the next few hours at most, leaving them only that precious time to sort out a game plan. But that was the problem: they had nothing to protect themselves or reliably hold over the Council's head anymore.
Everyone that could challenge the Council and make their lives difficult was on this otherwise unremarkable planet and were all practically already convicted and waiting to be stripped of their power. With them out of the way the rest of the Government would resort to twiddling their thumbs and hoping this problem goes away, all the while ignoring the people demanding change and freedoms to be reinstated.
With how strained their economy and military was at the moment they would be lucky if the Council let up simply because they pitied them.
"Can we reveal anything?" Anderson asked, knowing that the communications sent to Hackett could be leaked to the public 'accidently', but would it be enough?
"No, we need something heavy to hit the Council with. Word of an attack isn't going to do it, we need to show the people what is going on and make them see just how much damage the Council has caused." Hackett replied.
Revealing the Council has been covering up events and information was nothing new, and practically expected by even the general masses. Attacks once hidden had been leaked before, but often with grossly inaccurate information that just so happened to make the entire incident more palatable to the public. This would be no different; the STG would do their work properly and make sure nothing got out, at least, not for long.
"We're dead aren't we?" Anderson cut straight to the heart of it all, slumping forward a bit with defeat weighing heavy on his shoulders
"Looks like it." Hackett replied, dropping into his chair and massaging the bridge of his nose. "Do what you have to do Anderson; we can't do any more than that."
His fleet was barely holding itself together, the bulk of his forces were stuck planetside, and he was about to be met with a Council Fleet that was going to gleefully string him up for slaughter later. They were all but done for, the only upside being that his people would at least get some much needed medical treatment.
"Sir, we have a message from the surface!"
Anderson looked up lamely and with a press of the button listened to the message.
"This is Major Mikkai… Pishon has been levelled and we…. Survivors and require immediate evacuation." Anderson listened carefully and realized how sick he was getting of his shoddy communications. "Repeat… Ichigo is down… down, was hit by the… currently unconscious and in need… attention. Do…read me, Achilles? I… right away."
Anderson looked on, not seeing anything but the perfect disaster play out in his mind. This was an absolute living fucking nightmare right now. An anomaly was still on the planet instead of being incredibly evasive like normal at the worst possible time. And it just had to be their goddamn posterchild who'd somehow gotten himself knocked out. Which left the symbol of human will vulnerable.
Fantastic.
"Captain… read me? We need… Ichigo needs to get off-world before…"
"Sorry sir, the message is breaking up. I can try to get it back but it might be a while." Amina said.
"Do it." Anderson said, tone hard and all but demanding that his command be met without fail.
He turned to look at Hackett, expecting him to share his dread, to Anderson's surprise he looked thoughtful for a moment. What could be going through that man's mind right now that he didn't immediately think that this could possibly get any worse?
"So Ichigo is wounded and unconscious." Hackett said, raising an eyebrow. "Any idea how that happened?"
"Probably the fifty megaton nuke that went off in the upper atmosphere." Anderson didn't dare even think about the physics of it all- it was the techs jobs to deal with that math disaster.
Hackett looked vaguely disturbed at the implications for a moment before nodding. The boy had brushed off over a hundred kilotons of concentrated energy being shot at him without any real effort, so it wasn't impossible he'd survived the blast. Still, that was several hundred times more powerful than the massive Geth Dreadnaught's punch. If that was what it took to seriously hurt, not even kill, them, then the most powerful Dreadnaughts in the galaxy wouldn't be able to do any damage to the anomalies. Their most powerful guns could only dish out thirty kilotons or so.
"Admiral, we need to get a shuttle down there and get the boy off-world..." Anderson started, but stopped when Hackett raised a hand for silence.
For a minute he stayed silent and continued to think on the matter, eyes roaming and lips muttering half-formed thoughts. He seemed to have made up his mind, turning and regarding the screen and Anderson with all his attention.
"Do not do anything. Stick to repairing your ships and waiting for the Council Fleet to arrive." Hackett replied, much to Anderson's shock. What could the Admiral have planned that he'd give such a command? Before he could ask that very question, the Admiral made to ask one of his own.
"Tell me Captain, what do you think the Council will do when they learn Ichigo is below, unconscious and unable to leave or fight back?"
Anderson didn't know where the man was going with this. Maybe he had a plan to either get Ichigo out of this, or maybe there was something he was missing entirely.
"They will capture him and likely lock him up somewhere."
"Exactly." Hackett replied. "Get what evidence you can for this, contact Mikkai and tell him to get recordings of that happening."
Anderson had no idea what was going on, and, like before, he found himself perplexed by the Admiral's ability to remain so calm. No, calm was the wrong word, right now the man looked ecstatic. But, wasn't that the worst possible thing that could happen for them?
"I have a plan that might just get us what we want after all." Hackett said slowly, smirking in a manner that was unbecoming of an officer of the Alliance Navy.
He looked positively vindictive.
Pishon
Shepard stepped inside the medical station and let out a sigh, glad her moment in the spotlight was over with. Now that she'd preoccupied the soldiers, no one was asking any difficult questions anymore, giving her a chance to breath. Her orders were being carried out with the upmost efficiency and detachments had been sent out to search the nearby colonies for survivors and survey the damage. The remaining forces here shored up the defenses in case any Geth were left, and also to keep the area secured and a designated landing zone.
In the corner she could see Mikkai speaking with someone and ignored it, instead checking back on their prisoner. Someone had been far too generous and given the Spectre a thin cot they'd jammed into the corner of the room where he laid, still unconscious. Shepard personally hoped whatever meds the doctors had given him to keep him sedated had one hell of a kickback when he woke.
'Speaking of treatment.' Shepard thought, turning and looking to the man of the hour.
Ichigo was still limp on a bed, most of his surprisingly intact clothing having been removed, aside from the loose pants. The doctors had finally stopped trying to figure out his blood and finished cleaning him up, revealing a healthy, lean, and otherwise completely normal, if not very fit, human body. He was practically already completely healed aside from a gash or two, though the doctors had said something about internal injuries. Shepard herself had spent a long moment staring at him, trying to figure out why she felt as if something were missing before she realized it: he had absolutely no scars, not even any from the explosion. She'd even turned over the hand she remembered blocking the Dreadnaught's attack only to see unmarked skin.
"Hey doc, how is the patient?" Shepard asked, strolling over and looking down at the calm face of the young man. Eerily calm too, considering all he'd just been through.
Well, except for the way she could see his eyes darting around under his lids. "Is he dreaming?"
"I have no fucking idea, we need a goddamn Quantum Physicist or someone that knowns meta-physics or some shit. I have no fucking idea what I am looking at right now!" The Medic growled, shaking his head and looking as if he was about to burst a blood vessel.
Shepard would have laughed at the dramatic reaction if she didn't know just how much they needed to keep the doctor's head cool and focused. "Whoa, calm down, we already got enough people who need medical attention. Don't lose your head. What did you even find out about him?"
"That he shouldn't even exist, much less look so human." The Doctor, name emblazoned on his right breast as Barnard, shot back. Seeing Shepard's completely lost expression, he sighed, calmed himself, and began: "I am sure you know that the body is made up of multiple compounds, correct?"
Shepard gave him an unamused look; she wasn't a doctor but she knew what he was talking about. It was part of her very basic medical training: there were six main components that made up the human body - oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus – along with five elements in smaller quantities – potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. There were a whole lot of trace elements that she hadn't been forced to memorize, but she assumed that she knew the basics well enough.
"Right… you're not stupid, sorry." Barnard said, before he brought up his Omni-tool and showed her the image on a datapad.
Shepard looked it over, and, while she wasn't a doctor or biologist by any stretch of the imagination, she instantly noticed just how terribly off the scan looked. Usually the image was highly detailed and varied, highlighting separate aspects of the body with different colors. It was an invaluable tool for a doctor to have, giving them an instant picture of a person's body, both inside and out. It let them quickly look over areas for trauma, investigating bones for fractures, muscles for tears, internal organs for any damage or bruising, any aspect of their patient they needed to see was at their fingertips, even the different layers of skin and intricacies of the nerves system.
"Why is it all blue?" Shepard asked plainly. That didn't mean what she thought it did, right?
"This guy right here," Barnard pointed almost accusingly at Ichigo, "is defying everything we've learned about the nature of life just by existing! His entire body is composed of a single type of molecule, one hundred percent of whatever the hell this is."
"But how does that work?" Shepard asked, trying to wrap her mind around what that even meant.
How was his skeleton not as fragile as his hair and his joints not too stiff or brittle? It went against all rules of biology, heck it went against simple common sense for his entire being to be built from a single element and yet having all the diverse characteristics of being organic, of looking so very human. He bled, his skin was smooth, his hair wild and spiky, and his lips even looked a little chapped while his hands had callouses. How could that much detail exist without most of what made a human a living creature?
"My guess is that he is only making himself look human." Barnard replied with a shrug, not having anything but his intuition to go off of without more tests. "Most of what we're seeing now is actually energy given the shape we see by the atoms keeping together in a particular way. But that isn't even the real kicker."
Barnard turned and picked up a clean piece of cloth, showing it to Shepard who raised a brow. He turned and cleaned one of the few oozing injuries left. "He releases some kind of field that serves to keeps his body from doing what it should and dissipating and disappearing from sight. He, quite literally, he exists on a separate dimensional plane that shouldn't interact with our own like this if he wasn't forcing it." The doctor shrugged. "I've heard some theories on these guys possibly being from a higher dimensional plane than us, possibly Fifth Dimensional Space. I thought it was all bunk before, but now?"
Shepard had no idea what he was talking about and didn't have any interest in a damn science lecture, so she ignored his ramblings and opted to look at the scans again. Even with her limited knowledge she found it incredibly strange his body worked this way, so she could only imagine the frustration someone actually trained to understand these things felt. Looking closer at the scan, she found an oddly discolored patch on his chest. There was no indication it actually meant anything, unable to be read, but her gut told her it was important. It probably had something to do with how the patch sat right where his heart was, practically entwined with the area. It looked almost like…
"Is there something odd about his blood?" Shepard asked.
"I see you've noticed. His blood is actually where most of his power is." Barnard said, bringing his Omni-tool forward and scanning the smeared blood on the rag seconds before it finished dissipating.
The readings were off the charts and practically unbelievable. No, it really was unbelievable even after everything Shepard had seen; his blood gave off enough residual energy to power an Alliance Cruiser for a good ten years. It wasn't even as if that were all his power, just a patch on some cloth, and if all his blood had that much power, then the sheer amount flowing through him was staggering.
It suddenly made a whole lot more sense as to how he survived the nuke. He had enough energy flowing just under his skin that it was like an unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. And clearly he had won.
"No wonder he survived that nuke." Shepard thought. "This guy says he isn't a god, but this seems pretty godly to me."
"You've got that right." Mikkai announced, strolling up and peering down at Ichigo. "Fifty megatons and he only gets knocked on his ass for it. He also blew apart a mountain coming down, tough son of a bitch."
Shepard shook her head in exasperation at Mikkai's blunt but effective way to framing things. Ichigo surprised everyone each time he appeared, shattering their expectations without even trying. But, if what the doctor said held true, then their brief scans were proof the anomalies were higher dimensional beings, or at least something completely beyond life itself.
"So, what do…?" Shepard started, before she got a message over the coms.
"Lieutenant! We got shuttles coming down, a lot of them!" Rochelle shouted from the doorway, confusion clear on his face.
It wasn't their support.
"Geth?" Shepard asked.
"No, Council ships, Turian and Salarian." Rochelle replied, "a whole lot of them."
Shepard turned to Mikkai, who seemed a little too calm right now. Well, if the venomous stare could be considered calm just because he hadn't flown into a blind rage. Ignoring it, she moved for the door and stormed outside, finding the marines and N6's all watching with almost morbid silence as a fleet of shuttles drop down and began to unload troops. Mikkai strolled forward until he was in front of the shuttle that had deposited a single Salarian and a team of rough-looking Turians. It didn't take a genius to realize that the little group that's touched down in their yard was Blackwatch, a team dedicated to responding to anomaly activity.
Shepard tensed. How the hell did they know that Ichigo was here?
Mikkai, however, was cool and icily confident, practically stalking up to the Salarian STG officer and, very nearly growled in his face, "Why the hell are you here?"
The Blackwatch members moved forward threatening, but the Salarian dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He looked around the colony, disinterested and hardly bothering to look at Mikkai. "I am Captain Enarth Paeyor, Special Task Group, we are here to access the damage, but I want to know where two things are. The first is the Prothean Beacon and the second is Saren Arterus. If you would?"
It wasn't a request.
"The Beacon was destroyed; it collapsed along with the entire Space Port after a nuclear warhead went off. A warhead your Spectre friend brought with him to demolish this colony." Mikkai replied, teeth clenched and muscled tightening.
"We are aware of the accusations and will deal with them later, along with any evidence you may have on the matter." Captain Enarth replied, before he waved his hand towards his two guards and then the building.
"Is that where he is being held?" The STG officer asked, looking to Mikkai.
Mikkai glared silently back, brushing off Enarth's returning look of contempt. When it was clear the human wouldn't be of any help to him, Enarth ignored him entirely and waved his troops along, destination clear. Shepard was seconds away from physically barricading Blackwatch's path when Mikkai caught her eye and shook his head.
Don't.
Shepard was torn between trusting her commanding officer and protecting the injured guardian, stuck in a hellish war of her mind and heart. The two Turian agents brushed past her and the pang she felt compelling her to rush forward and stop them from reporting reached a fevered pitch and nearly ripped her control away. But the choice was taken from her when the Salarian's head tilted into his earpiece. His calm exterior shattered violently and he practically threw himself forward, throwing open the door and disappearing inside.
It was silent for a disturbingly long time in which more Blackwatch and Turian military moved in, the gathered human troops watching distantly from the side. Shepard felt the small hope she had that Ichigo would suddenly awaken and flee slowly die in her chest when there was no sudden outcry or explosion, but only Enarth strutting back through the doors, looking unreasonably pleased with himself.
It wasn't exactly a surprise when two gurneys were wheeled out behind him, one with the still unconscious Saren Arterus and the other with Ichigo. It didn't stop Shepard from bristling, nor the Alliance marines from exploding into an uproar.
"Where are you taking him?" Mikkai asked, not bothering to specify.
"Somewhere that he can be contained." Enarth replied. "Under Council authority he is being detained and held to be questioned, along with all personnel on this colony with him."
"Not happening!" Someone yelled, and then guns were aimed and ready with frightening speed.
If Shepard wasn't so pissed off, she would have laughed almost hysterically at the sight. It was a goddamn Mexican standoff right now, no less than fifty guns pointed at the Salarian's head.
"Stand down immediately! By order of the Council you will cease and desist, all of you will be questioned and processed! If you resist, lethal force will be used." Enarth said, sounding as if he were reading from a script as he drew his own weapon and boldly pointed it at Mikkai. "We have him now, it is over. We take him and finally figure out who they are. Now stand down or you will just another name they put on the plaque of who died on this colony."
Mikkai looked at the Salarian for a moment before he raised his hand.
"Stand down! Let them go." Mikkai grumbled out the order. "We can't do anything, just clench your teeth and take it as best you can."
The STG Agent seemed to nod his head and motioned forward, ignoring the guns still tracking his head. One by one, the marines lowered their weapons as he passed, some going so far as to throw them aside in frustration. Turian Blackwatch soldiers moved in, disarming everyone before beginning to move them off to be interrogated. Mikkai watched as all those men and woman that got burnt down here and felt his bone in his clenched fist creak.
No, they were not going to get burnt by the Turian military for trying to stop them. "I want to speak with Captain Anderson. I won't be taking no for an answer."
"Do not worry. You, along with most of your team, will be joining Anderson on a trip to the Citadel." Enarth replied. "So I advise you make your little trip quick, because you won't be seeing Alliance space for a long while."
Mikkai let him move on, certain that the STG officer was pleased with himself all the same. He could see the Salarian already trying to figure out the best way to spin what had to be the biggest success of his life, the best way to lord it over those he met for the rest of his life. Mikkai snorted in disgust at the thought, but turned and followed anyway, since they were his only transportation currently.
But, as Mikkai stepped into the shuttle, he heard the Salarian give one final command to his assistant
"Contact the Council, tell them to get the Cage read. We finally have someone to put in it."
Ichigo walked through the streets, passing by the high buildings that lined the wide street. It wasn't what his Inner World typically looked like, but, well, his world wasn't exactly typical at the moment. The shining walls and skies played flickering images across them, distorting the shapes and being an absolute mess to try and make sense of.
'The hell is this?' Ichigo mused at a particularly strange image flashed by. He'd been dealing with the strange flashes of not-memory for over an hour now and he'd yet to make any sense of it.
He'd woke up after being basically dragged in by the scruff of his neck by the sheer chaos of his Inner World as something did its damndest to work its way into his mind. He'd managed to calm it somehow, if only just barely. Any sagely advice he'd hope to get on what the heck was happening was absent along with the Old Man and his Hollow. He'd had the creeping suspicion that the damn vision he had just crammed into his mind had something to do with that. But that wasn't half as disturbing as the fact that he could see and feel everything in the scattered memories as if they were his own. No, not just someone, an entire people and all the suffering and pain they endured at the hands of whatever had hurt them.
He wasn't exactly sure what he'd seen except for a few flashes of images and color, easily the most distinct being more of the oversized ship he'd just taken out. A ship that War had somehow hijacked, apparently it being in pieces didn't even slow the bastard, and altered to hurt him and open his defense up just in time to get literally nuked. He'd wondered if they'd somehow been related, but he doubted it. There had been no references of these massive ships being in the Horsemen's arsenal, so War had to have just gotten lucky. Of course, the idea of there being yet another party to deal with was a headache.
Ichigo turned back to the memories and caught sight of something flat-headed, four-eyed and obviously not very human. "Wonder who these guys are anyway."
They looked weird. Was that racists? Specieiest? He didn't know.
"Ichigo."
The ever-stoic voice of the Quincy aspect of his powers called out. Ichigo immediately looked up and quickly spotted him standing on the ledge of a one of the taller buildings. Taking his que, Ichigo leaped up and onto the edge of the building, making himself at hope beside the old man. His hollow half was a little ways back and, for once, not trying to goad Ichigo into a fight. No, instead the pale copy stood, hands on hips and peering down at something at his feet: a disturbing looking black mass. The Hollow barely glanced at Ichigo looking like he was contemplating kicking the…thing just to see what happened. Or try stabbing it, really, the two actions were practically interchangeable with the Hollow.
Before his Inner Hollow poked the obviously suspicious mass and likely got them all killed, Ichigo made his way over with a sigh. Great, yet another strange thing to deal with, "What do we got?"
"Fuck knows, but this messed up shit isn't even the weirdest thing." Zangetsu replied, his usual sarcastic smirk and leer was gone and replaced with an annoyed frown. At least he hadn't lost his vulgar mouth or else Ichigo would have been more worried. "It looks like the memories are trying to build something."
Spoke too soon. That sounded really bad.
"The correct term would be manifest, but these memories and emotions are having difficulty doing so." The Old Man said, stepping forward and glancing down into the dark pit that had formed. "It appears to be using you to manifest something. A warning, perhaps."
"I kind of figured that out from all the images of death and mayhem I keep seeing." Ichigo replied, letting out a sigh. "That ship was a part of it all, somehow. Do we have any idea what this might be about?"
Both spirits shrugged, without any idea what they were seeing. They'd dealt with many different and even outright bizarre situations, but this was outside even their territory. They also had the approximant refined control of a bulldozer trying to move expensive china, couple that with no frame of reference and there was nothing they could do on their own. They needed to find someone who could help them with this, and maybe make sense of what the hell that strange beacon did.
But for now…
"Alright, so who's up for a little exploring?" Ichigo asked, taking a step towards the edge and getting ready to leap into the dark unknown.
This is it, the last chapter for the next few weeks. Truly I am sorry that I have to drop off the map like this but I am just so overwhelmed with things that it is not funny, I am stressed out and life is not doing me any favours at the moment.
My mind is all over the place and I just cannot focus on anything enough to write. Hell these edits took me a week to do, when it usually takes me a night for each story I get.
So please enjoy my works as I sort out my life and also get my account set up and all my other accounts as well. I have a damn long way to go.
Also to let you all know the next chapter will delve into the political side of this story and actually show you what other races think and feel about the Anomalies and the treatment of Humanity.