Well, it's time to start the next chapter, and in this one the Banished Shadow Order will put their alliance to a bit of a test, leaving a considerable impact on things to come. After that... well, I've said enough.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, Halo, Mass Effect or anything else that appears in this story.


With this new alliance, Snoke was quite confident in the First Order's odds in seizing power. The Shadow Collective and Banished would drive terrified worlds into the arms of the First Order when the IDA proved unwilling or unable to help them.

Best of all, the focus of the IDA's concern would remain pointed at the two criminal organizations, allowing the First Order to avoid major scrutiny. Of course, there was still one thing that had to be done first.

Daala had proven more cunning than he had previously thought, having somehow learned about his meeting on Deinech. The Supreme Leader still couldn't be sure how much she knew about what had taken place, but it was clear that she needed to be dealt with.

To that end, he had already made a request of Darth Maul to send an assassin after her. He no longer had any use for the former Chief of State, but she had the potential to cost him support.

That just wouldn't do.

...

Daala sat in the cockpit of the shuttle as the blue and white tunnel of hyperspace passed her by. She double checked the systems as she thought over her current course of action.

She knew that she couldn't truly trust Snoke even when he had first met up with her. That feeling was only confirmed when she had learned of his connection to Cerberus and shortly after, he, Phasma, Vestara and Ilsa Zane left on a mission that Hux had refused to elaborate on.

Unfortunately for the General, she had soon discovered Snoke's intentions to ally with the Shadow Collective and Banished from some soldiers discussing that rumor, and pulling information off a fortunately poorly encrypted terminal.

Armed with this knowledge, she had resolved to make her escape, stealing a shuttle and escaping into hyperspace before the First Order could stop her. She had managed to locate and deactivate the tracking beacon, but only used the comm system to send a brief message to Dorvan, revealing that she was coming to Coruscant and had important information that required his attention.

She could've just called him directly and explained the situation, but she honestly had no idea if the First Order had any spies or tampered with the array that could intercept her communications. And even if they didn't, the Shadow Collective and the Banished certainly could have spies that would hear about this.

Ultimately, Daala knew that her actions would put a massive target on her back, but she refused to let that concern her. She was all but guaranteed to be arrested and put in protective custody once she landed, keeping her safe from the expected reprisal at least to some degree. And it was necessary; she refused to be Snoke's pawn any longer.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she exited hyperspace over Coruscant, the glittering lights still easily seen from orbit. It didn't take long for several flights of GA fighters to approach, and a quick message was sent.

"Unidentified ship." A gruff voice came over the comm system. "You have been ordered by the Chief of State's office to proceed to the Senatorial landing pad. We will provide an escort to your destination. Failure to comply will be considered hostile and your ship will be destroyed."

Daala quickly sent her acknowledgements and followed the fighters in, keeping her pace to match the fighters as they flew in formation around her vessel. Soon, they broke through the atmosphere, approaching the Senate building.

...

Hidden in a building several kilometers from the Senate landing pad, Locus stood on top of the roof, using his scanner to check for Daala's tracking frequency. Unbeknownst to the former Chief of State, the First Order had hidden more than one tracking device in the shuttle she had stolen, silently broadcasting her location.

With the knowledge that she was heading for Coruscant, Maul had ordered Locus to smuggle himself in and assassinate the former Admiral when he had an opportunity. Atriox had also loaned out one of his Shroud vehicles, allowing them to remain undetected on the journey to the site in question.

Locus took aim down towards the landing pad, his sniper at the ready. Behind him was one of Maul's super commandos, armor painted up to match the color scheme of Boba Fett. Once Daala was dead, it wouldn't take very long for the Alliance to figure out where the shot came from.

It was in their hopes that having someone to follow would distract the GA while they escaped, as well as make it seem like the Shadow Collective wasn't involved. For the Mandalorian in question, this would almost certainly be a suicide mission, but the man was more than willing to do so. As a member of Death Watch, they still weren't fans of the Fett clan, and screwing them over would definitely work in their favor.

As the green and grey armored merc waited, his mind found itself wandering in spite of his best efforts to stay focused. He had always hated Felix, ever since they fought together in the Covenant war, but after that, well, Locus couldn't deny how effective of a team they had been.

And yet, Samuel Ortiz had to wonder; Isaac Gates had always said that the two needed to stay together, that they could survive anything as long as they remained partners. And for the longest time, that seemed to be true.

And yet here he was now, with Felix dead at the hands of the Ghost Rider while he remained alive, and for the life of him, Locus couldn't figure out why. The demon had seen him during the fight at the auction, he was sure of that.

It was if those fiery eyes were peering through the cloaking and into his very soul, and yet it had let him live, while it didn't show the same mercy to Felix. He still couldn't comprehend it; after all they were both soldiers... weren't they?

"Target vehicle on approach." A voice crackled over the comms.

"Roger that." Locus acknowledged, inwardly berating himself for his slip up. "Marking the target now."

The shuttle breached the cloud barrier, being escorted by multiple fighters to one of the Senate landing pads. Security personnel were already waiting to take Daala into custody as soon as she landed. As the shuttle touched down, an energy shield activated, covering the landing zone.

Locus had known about that security feature of course, and had prepared accordingly: the shield itself would block the bullet, but there was a small gap between the shielded hanger and the door to the hanger. Granted, it was only about a meter in length and was protected by an armored glass canopy, but Locus' current weapon should have enough power to breach it. Hopefully.

Locus watched as Natasi Daala emerged from the shuttle's landing ramp and was almost immediately restrained by GA Security. Obviously he couldn't hear what was being said, but it was clear that Daala refused to speak until she could actually reach Dorvan's office. Which was good for them, as it meant less leaks to go around.

Controlling his breathing, the armored merc took concentrated the crosshairs over the former Admiral as she was led away from the landing bay. Taking a deep breath, Locus exhaled and squeezed the trigger just as Daala emerged walked into the glass enclosure.

The projectile crossed the distance almost immediately, piercing the glass and losing a lot of its momentum in the process. However, coming from a rifle designed to take down tanks, and equipped with heavy AP ammo, it's velocity was still sufficient to punch a hole in Natasi Daala's head.

The reaction was almost instantaneous: Security called in the shot and search vehicles were called out to sweep the area. Meanwhile a medic was already on site, but was too late to actually accomplish anything.

Once he was sure that Daala was dead, Locus turned to the super commando behind him and gave a brief nod, with the Mandalorian turning away and activating his jetpack, flying out of the cloaking field generated by the Shroud.

Security speeders picked up on this almost immediately and gave chase, ignoring the sniper's perch and allowing them to escape unseen. From here on, they would benefit: if the Mandalorian warrior escaped, then the assassination could be safely pinned on Fett.

If he couldn't, well the Death Watch commando would obviously not be taken alive. Of course, it would quickly become clear that the man wasn't Boba Fett, but it would still look like one of Fett's warriors doing the killing.

Of course, whether GA Security would believe it was another matter, but regardless, it meant that they would have no proof that traced this back to the Shadow Collective. And with anything linking the shuttle to the First Order having been remotely purged, it meant that no one would suspect a thing.

Once they were sure they hadn't been spotted, Locus climbed onto the side of the Shroud, and the vehicle slowly and quietly made it's way back to their ship, which had been hidden in a run down and seedy area of Coruscant.

Once the Shroud had been loaded and the ship on its way out of the system, Locus called Lord Maul and gave him the good news. The Sith had been pleased and ordered the mercenary back to Omega.

As Locus sat in the cargo hold, waiting quietly, his thoughts began wandering once again. He had done assassination missions like this many times in the past, and his orders had been clear.

So why did it feel so wrong?


Today had been a mess for the Galactic Alliance. After so many years, the former Chief of State Natasi Daala had returned voluntarily to answer for her crimes, only to be gun downed so soon after landing.

And if security footage was to be believed, the assassin in question had been none other than the dreaded Boba Fett. Wynn Dorvan massaged his temples and sighed as he looked over the investigation.

He had known that Daala and Fett had had some kind of friendship decades ago, but now it seemed that their friendship had ended. Or at least, that was what someone wanted observers to think.

Unfortunately, apprehending the man had been impossible. A high altitude firefight had damaged the man's jet pack and he had been sent tumbling deep into the underlevels of Coruscant.

Search teams had been organized to find him or his body, but they weren't having much luck yet. Unfortunately, Dorvan suspected that finding him wouldn't help matters. According to their latest reports, Fett was still on Mandalore, and it was questionable that he would even want Daala dead, let alone having the audacity to kill her himself when he could send someone else in his place.

That's not to say it wasn't ordered by the Mandalore, but without any concrete proof, they couldn't do anything. Investigations had checked the shuttle Daala had arrived in, but found that all the data within had been wiped, likely from a remote location. And since Daala had refused to give anything out over an open communication link like that, it meant they had nothing to go on.

And this was only the most recent in a long list of problems that the IDA was struggling with: Leia had given her best effort, but the Vektan government had chosen to keep to themselves, which was the same scenario for most of the UCN worlds. According to what rumors Han could gleam, apparently the First Order had made them some sort of deal, but to what purpose, they couldn't say.

Then of course, there was the fiasco with the Spirit Generator. Quite a few people were still caught up over the presence of this 'Ghost Rider,' so much so that they hadn't really done much investigating into the man selling it. Even the Jedi seemed more focused on the demon than on Crimson Flower, much to his annoyance.

Unlike most it seemed, Dorvan had actually payed attention to Commander Shepard's report, specifically finding Unitologist contraband hidden in his compound. If what they theorized was true, then it was possible that Unitology's influence was far greater than they thought.

And that opened up an entirely separate issue: Unitology had sprung up very recently over the last few years, a faith that had originally worshiped artifacts known as Markers, it was quickly adapted to instead worshiping the Flood itself. It wasn't extremely widespread, but it was slowly gaining enough ground that people were beginning to notice.

There had been efforts to ban any practice of Unitology, but unsurprisingly, this created controversy throughout the galaxy and beyond. Some people claimed that freedom to religion was the right of every sapient being, and they had the right to believe and worship any god. Others had countered that actually worshiping the Parasite was insulting to those who had fallen during the Great Flood War, and anyone caught practicing it should be severely punished.

Naturally, the Senate ended up often deadlocked on this issue, along with many other institutions all over the multiverse. It didn't help when communiques from the two superpowers had suggested that the Gravemind was using Unitologists for its own ends, which had led to a rash of false arrests and other overreactions throughout the IDA.

And with the InterDimensional Alliance so concerned with capturing Darth Maul, while mostly divided on a number of other issues, it wasn't exactly the greatest recipe for peace and prosperity in the multiverse. Maybe that was why the First Order was gaining so many followers.

Wynn Dorvan sighed, shutting off his terminal for a moment of respite. This wasn't exactly how he had planned to spend his days, he never thought he'd actually stay on as Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, but with everything that happened since Abeloth, things just sort of fell into place.

He was hoping that sooner or later he could retire, but after the Great Flood War, there was just too much to be done, and not enough able bodies to do it. Shaking his head, Dorvan cleared his thoughts, knowing that he needed to concentrate. And just in time; apparently a new report just came in from Citadel Space.

Reactivating his terminal, Wynn read over the document slowly at first, then paused, blinked several times and read it again, hoping that his tired mind had just been imagining things.

It hadn't.


Commander Shepard sat in a cell, having been disarmed of any weapons and left only in his Alliance uniform. This certainly wasn't how he had expected his day to go: the Council had called him back to the Citadel for a face to face meeting alongside Garrus and Ashley. But when they arrived at the Presidium docks, the three Spectres found themselves surrounded by C-Sec officers led by Commander Bailey, who declared that the Council had ordered their arrest.

They could tell that Bailey didn't really want to do this, and was frustrated with his orders. When Garrus had asked what charges had been against them, the C-Sec commander couldn't say.

However, the approach of several black armored soldiers and technicians made it clear that their intention was to impound the Normandy and study the Republic technology contained within.

However as soon as they approached the airlock, the Normandy's end sealed shut and the Council techs found themselves unable to breach through. One of them ordered Shepard to allow them access, and reluctantly, the Commander did as he was told.

Of course, things hadn't gone that way...

...

Earlier

Joker couldn't believe it. When EDI told him that the Council had sent out an arrest warrant for Shepard, Garrus and Ashley, he was definitely surprised. More specifically, it didn't take a genius to figure that the new Council had decided this was their chance to look at the Normandy's Republic upgrades, and concocting some bullshit charges to keep the three Spectres under control.

What the pilot was surprised about was how direct the Council was being about this, considering how pissing off the Republic would be an unbelievably stupid move. Of course, there was a more immediate problem.

Shepard had reluctantly ordered that Joker and EDI allow the Council techs access to the ship, no doubt he was hoping to avoid casualties. But it was EDI's next words that threw everyone for a loop.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Commander." The AI said in a way that would've made HAL 9000 proud. "To clarify, I am no longer in control of the Normandy."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Another female voice emerged from the comms as the hologram of a human woman dressed in a black business suit sprang up on the holopad next to Joker and EDI's body. "Unfortunately, we can't allow the Council to access this ship."

"Who are you?"

"I am a Republic AI, designation: Gabriela." The hologram smirked, which quickly vanished. "Unfortunately, I've been ordered to keep any unauthorized personnel from taking control of this ship at any costs."

As she said that, the docking clamps holding the Normandy in place unlocked, their security measures useless against the Republic AI. As soon as it was free, the vessels engines sprung to life as Council fighters approached.

"My apologies, Spectres." The AI continued, its voice projected into the comm receivers of Garrus, Ashley and Shepard so that no one else could hear. "Rest assured, we will dispatch agents to retrieve you from incarceration."

Against the protests of Joker and EDI, as well as the commands of Citadel control, Gabriela directed the Alliance vessel away from the Presidium, evading the pursuing fighters before vanishing into the Serpent Nebula.

...

Of course, the Council hadn't been happy about that, and the reluctant C-Sec officers escorted the the three Spectres to separate detainment cells. His mind was still reeling and analyzing what would happen next, more specifically, the inevitable interrogations.

He wasn't expecting more... aggressive interrogators to be brought in, but then again, he hadn't been expecting the Council to attempt such a naked attempt to claim the Normandy themselves either. Clearly, the new Councilors weren't as passive as the old ones.

Despite his concern for himself, his crew, Garrus and Ashley, the Commander held out hope that the Republic rescue would still come. They hadn't broken a promise to him before, and he wasn't expecting that to start now.

...

Meanwhile, in the Council chamber itself, the four Councilors in question were having a discussion with several other important figures through holograms. Besides, Irissa, Esheel, Quentius and Osoba, the holograms of Matriarch Aethyta, Admiral Hackett, Primarch Victus, and Colonel Kirrahe were present. And the current discussion was not a happy one.

"You're making a mistake." Admiral Hackett's tone was calm, a clear contrast to the fury in his eyes. "Shepard's a damn war hero, not some puppet. And antagonizing the Republic like this isn't going to end well."

"I understand your concern Admiral Hackett." Irissa's condescending tone had a tendency to annoy most, throwing them off balance. "Believe me, the Council did not come to this decision lightly."

"And yet, here we are." Primarch Victus crossed his arms. "Is this how the Council repays years of loyal service? By arresting their Spectres without actual cause?"

"I am curious, what exactly have Spectres Shepard, Vakarian and Williams been charged with?" Kirrahe asked. "From what I can tell, they've been arrested without any outstanding charges."

"We have evidence that suggests the Shepard and his crew were harboring fugitives from the IDA." Esheel replied. "We have every right to search his ship and bring those fugitives to justice."

"Funny. The old Council never cared about that." Aethyta's eyes narrowed. "Shepard's had mass murderers and Cerberus agents onboard the Normandy before, and there had never been any real complaint about that. And from what my sources tell me, the real reason they've been arrested was to gain full access to the Normandy, and take the Republic technology within."

"We are not the Old Council." Quentius' tone was more reluctant than his Salarian and Asari counterparts. "We cannot just abide the Spectres to do what they want without greater oversight any longer. And if Shepard continues to work for the Council, then the Normandy is something we possess."

"Except it isn't." Dominic Osoba spoke up at last, drawing every eye to him. "I was on the old Council too, and I was there when they agreed that the Normandy still officially belonged to Shepard and the Republic." The responding glares from the other Councilors had him quickly clamming up.

"Laws can be changed if necessary." Esheel said. "And Shepard's refusal to allow access to the Normandy shows his contempt for our rulings."

"You think that was Shepard?" Hackett bit back a laugh. "I'm willing to bet that the Republic put safeguards aboard the Normandy to keep people from doing exactly what you were planning."

"And considering that response, I doubt they're very happy with what you're doing." Aethyta interjected.

"They're not the only ones." Victus added. "From my own reports, protests have already come in from the Galactic Alliance, UNSC, Swords of Sanghelios, and Galactic Federation about the arrest."

"And those are only the larger governments." Kirrahe agreed. "The Jedi still have quite a bit of influence as well, and apparently Shepard has made friends with a few. Not to mention so many other influential groups."

"Their desire is irrelevant." Esheel snapped. "Shepard and his allies will remain in our custody until we have chosen what to do with them."

Before the other four could get another word in, Irissa cut the feed, leaving the four Councilors alone with only themselves and their aides. After a brief discussion about what would be done next, with Osoba and Quentius being the most reluctant, the Council nevertheless agreed on their next course of action and moved on to other affairs.

None of the Councilors or their security noticed a small camouflaged half-spherical device hidden in the gardens of the Council chamber. Well one asari commando did. After all, she had been the one to put it there.


So, that just happened. And trust me, things are going to spiral even further out of control from here. Of course, any other information would get into spoiler territory, so you'll just have to wait and see what happens next.

For people complaining about the Council being unrealistically stupid douchebags, in this case, there is a reason for that. But telling you now would be spoiling later, so you'll just have to be patient.

With that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and reviews are always welcome.