Me: I decided that this will be Johnson's loyalty mission. Shepard will be acting as a neutral representative between the UNSC/Sangheili and the Council/Alliance
Trin: How will this work? Isn't this supposed to be a storyline based chapter?
Me: It is, and go work on your story.
Trin: …I've been busy.
Me: You have quiet a bit of free time lately. Also I noticed that I accidentally put Anderson as an Admiral instead of Councilor in an earlier chapter, just pretend it was Hackett during that chapter, I don't feel like fixing that. On with the story!
"Talking."
"Thinking."
"[Electronic communication.]"
{AI intercommunication.}
Eternal Salvation: Fleet Arrival
[Reality HU7, Dimension a6, Sangheili/UNSC Colony World New Eden-50 light years away from the Precursor artifact:]
"So this thing is right next door to one of our colonies, the Storm Covenant believes its Forerunner, which it isn't, and the fleet that is being sent here is actually going to go through it? And you aren't even gonna say anything about it to fleet command, for either of our species?" Ensign Jake Duran said to his partner.
"Yep," Minor Dentro Harlmee' said as he leaned back in his chair before lighting a cigar.
"You are the laziest Sangheili I have ever met."
"Dude, you've met like…five Sangheili, and that's including me."
"And all of them are soldiers."
"Touché…oh look there's the fleet."
Duran looked at the monitor to see the joint Sangheili and UNSC fleet appear out of slipspace. These ships, unlike their mid-war counterparts, incorporated not only UNSC and Sangheili tech into their slipspace drives, but they also incorporated Forerunner tech. Each of these ships was as fast as an ONI Corvette Class Prowler, even the Destroyers, and they all had the most accurate jumps out of the entire combined fleets, 99% accuracy against the fleets' newer 85%. Their shields, armor, and weapons incorporated both UNSC and Sangheili tech, and also Forerunner tech. If anyone attacked them, the attackers would be out run, out gunned, and out classed in every aspect. Add the fact that it was bigger than any other fleet there was, 200 ships in total, and you had the textbook definition of a juggernaut.
"Do you think there are any Prowlers in that fleet?" Harlmee' asked.
"If there are, I doubt we'd detect them unless they wanted us to," Duran said in response.
Almost as soon as they got there, the fleet went through the portal artifact. As soon as that fleet left, they were replaced by a fleet of UNSC and Sangheili ships. All of them took defensive positions around the colony and artifact. At the head of the defense fleets were the Sangheili Shadow of Intent, and the UNSC Infinity.
"I wonder what's on the other side of that portal," Harlmee' said.
"Just get back to work," Duran said.
[Reality ME4, Dimension a2, UNSC/Sangheili space, Fleet RV point:]
"Admiral, all ships reporting in," the com officer, Lieutenant Andrew Jones said.
"Good, navigation, get everyone into defensive positions, and order…three ships to come with us," Admiral Jacob Keyes said.
"On it d-…Admiral," Captain Miranda Keyes corrected herself.
"Sir, Spirit of Fire, Shadousāberu, and Dark Star have requested to act as our escorts," Jones said.
"Sir, where are we heading first?" Miranda asked.
"…The Citadel. I think the Council would want to see the new kids on the block, am I correct Shepard?" Jacob asked as Jane stepped forward.
"Yeah, they would," [she has not yet gotten the message about KILO-5 firing on the Council team, John has but is busy helping Samara] Jane said as she walked over to weapons. "This thing has enough fire power to destroy any ships in one hit."
"We could probably destroy a planet in one hit…sorry bad choice of words," the Sangheili weapons officer, Field Marshal Fera Vadamee,' said to them.
"Please think before you speak next time Fera," the Sangheili flight controller, Zealot Darno Sotarmee,' said.
"Miranda, set a course to the Citadel, send its coordinates to our escort ships as well," Admiral Keyes said as Jane typed in the Citadel's coordinates.
Ten seconds later, each of the ships had a slipspace portal appear in front of them. The Spirit went through first and was followed by the Shadousāberu, now cloaked. Next went the Dreadnaught Class ship, Dark Star. The Dreadnaught was twice the size of the standard UNSC Destroyer, and all of that added bulk was from extra guns. The Dreadnaught Class had three MACs instead of the Destroyer's two, twice the archer missile pods, 50 new Hellfire missile pods [fires one missile that separates into 100 others that increase the blast power and size, each pod holds five missiles], 25 plasma torpedo launchers, 10 hardlight missile launchers, and one prototype Plasma Accelerator Cannon. Supposedly the idea for the PAC had come from an instance when Master Chief and a small group of SPARTAN IIs and Marines had to jury rig a MAC to fire their single plasma torpedo.
"Prepare for slipspace jump," the Salvation's temporary AI, Daisy, said.
Her hologram activated and Keyes was surprised to see a red CQB armored SPARTAN II [Can you guess where that's from?]. As quick as his surprise came, it left and he refocused on the monitor in front of him.
"Hey Sarge, where do you think we're going," Warren asked as he checked his armor for any damage.
Satisfied that it was working he turned to look at Johnson. The Sergeant Major was watching their Sangheili sword master clean her blades. Apparently she had crafted them herself while she was a child. Once she finished cleaning them, the metal of the blades gleamed and she put the blades into some sort of case.
"Hey, Johnson, you listening to me?" Warren said as he waved his hand in front of Johnson's face. "Hey guys look at…um."
He turned to face the others to see that only the other Sangheili member of their team wasn't staring at the female sword master. Apparently the sight of a female Sangheili warrior was a rare sight even among the SPARTAN IVs that worked with the Elites. He shook his head before going over to his locker as everyone started coming out of their shock. As everyone got back to what they were doing, the got the familiar feeling of a slipspace transition.
"Where ever we are going, we should be there shortly," the Elite medic said.
"We never caught your name," Vicky said as she checked that her Air Assault Armor was in good condition. Johnson looked over to see a purple and grey set of armor with the soldier chest piece and a purple visor.
"Garon Nadarmee,' Veteran," the medic said.
"I'm calling you Gar for short," Drake said as he got back to prepping his armor [black visor, soldier chest piece, gold and grey Pathfinder shoulders and helmet].
"[Johnson,]" Gabby said over the coms, "[you got a name for your team yet?]"
"…Orion Squad," Johnson said as he remembered the project that lead to the SPARTAN IIs.
"[Ok then. Orion squad, report to hanger A-1, we'll be exiting slipspace in two minutes,]" Gabby said before switching of her coms.
"Armor up and let's move!" Johnson shouted as the team started putting on their gear.
One by one they began checking that everything was ready and waiting. The twins, as they had explained to Johnson, had switched their armors' chest pieces out with the Soldier chest piece.
Once the team was armored up, they made their way to the hanger. They got there to find Admiral Keyes waiting for them. He was wearing the standard ODST combat armor. Johnson raised an eyebrow under his helmet. When Keyes saw them, they went to attention. The only ones not at attention were the Sangheili soldiers, who looked at their SPARTAN teammates with confusion.
"You sure we're gonna run into trouble that SPARTANs and Elites can't handle sir?" Johnson questioned.
"I don't know what we're going to find. Which is why Crimson team is also coming on this mission," Jacob answered as Gaby's team showed up.
"SPARTAN team Crimson reporting as ordered sir!" Gabby shouted as she and her team went to attention and saluted Keyes.
"At ease," Keyes said as he saluted back. "I want all of you prepped for heavy combat, we don't know what will be there, but from what Shepard has told us, we have the advantage in shock and awe."
"How so?" Drake asked.
"Their largest ship, the Destiny's Ascension, is half the size of the Spirit of fire."
"Well this should be fun," Jen said suddenly, a grin on her face. "Hey, do you think they've got any good restaurants down there?"
"Jen, we're on duty, no food brakes," Gabby said.
"Fine, but I call the Mantis."
"Why the hell would we take a Mantis?"
"Shock and awe, it would be fun, we have no idea what's down there, and because fuck it," Jen answered as she ran over to an empty Mantis tank, turned it on, got inside, and piloted it over to where the others were.
"Come on Jen, you know we can't take the Mantis, what's going on?" Gabby asked her soldier.
Jen opened the back of the Mantis and popped her head out. She no longer had a grin, but a worried and sad frown instead. Johnson looked at her eyes and saw pools of sadness and regret.
"We don't know what's down there, and our track record for first contacts hasn't been very good," Jen said in a depressed voice.
"And?" Gabby asked.
"…I don't want another Voi!" Jen shouted before sealing herself in the Mantis again.
Gabby cringed at what she had said. She had completely forgotten that Jen was the only survivor of her unit when the Flood hit Africa. The rest of them had become mutated corpses before becoming nothing more than memories.
"Johnson, you lost your unit to the Flood, could you talk to her?" Gabby asked the Sergeant Major.
"Sure," Johnson said as Daisy's hologram appeared.
"Are you sure she's fit for duty? It might not be a good idea to bring a mentally unstable SPARTAN to a diplomatic meeting," she said coldly.
"Jen is perfectly fine!" Gabby shouted at the AI. "She just…needs some time right now. And someone who can actually relate to her."
Johnson climbed up the back of the Mantis and opened the hatch. Inside he saw Jen with her helmet on the floor sitting in a ball on the seat. She kept mumbling to herself and slightly rocking back and forth.
"Tick tock goes the clock, when its stops you drop," Jen said to herself. "Sleep soundly in your bed, do not wake the dead. Don't let them in, don't let them-…"
"Jen," Johnson said, interrupting her.
She spun around with terror in her eyes for a brief second. Johnson recognized that look. It was the same one the Jones had when he spun around to see one of the Flood mutated Elites back on Halo. Her eyes stayed that way for a second before going back to sadness. She slowly turned back around after that.
"Daisy's right," Jen said in a depressed voice, "I'm not fit for duty. Too many ghosts, too many dead friends…and Will…all dead."
"I may not have been a SPARTAN for as long as you have," Johnson started, "but I've been a Marine for far longer than you were. I watched as those little beach ball shaped bastards killed my men to. I didn't break though."
"Why not?" Jen asked as she stared at her helmet.
"Because I chose to avenge them instead. If they were going to have to die, then their killers would die to."
Jen looked up at the Sergeant Major. Tears were coming out of her eyes and they were red. She still had sadness within her eyes, but Avery could see a small bit of fire in them now. All he had to do now was feed it.
"If you want to give up because some random AI said you weren't fit, then do it. But you'll be disappointing your team. They'd have died for nothing. Here, you have a chance for them to live on through you. Don't waste it."
Jen wiped her eyes, getting rid of the tears. She looked back up at Johnson with a smirk on her face and fire in her eyes. Johnson smirked back.
"Hell yeah, Sarge," she said as she put her helmet back on, "Lets go kick some xeno-ass."
"That's more like it SPARTAN!" Johnson shouted as he jumped down, followed shortly by Jen.
"Who's like us?" Gabby shouted
"Damn few!" everyone yelled in response.
"And their all dead," Jen said with fire still in her eyes.
"Then let's go make 'em proud," Gabby said before putting on her helmet.
Darla and Gar looked at each other. Neither of them knew what just happened, but they assumed it was important to their human counterparts. Darla just shrugged before going onto the Pelican transport.
"[Exciting slipspace in three-…,]" Miranda said over the coms.
"Hey, Fera, why are you here?" Drake asked the Sangheili weapons officer.
"[Two.]"
"I'm the Arbiter's niece," Fera said in response.
"[One…exiting now,]" Miranda said.
"Miranda, you have the ship," Jacob said.
"[Understood,]" Miranda said before she turned off her coms.
"[Attention,]" Daisy's voice said over the intercoms, "[the Commanding Officer is ashore, XO Keyes has the deck.]"
"Let's go come on, come on," Jen said, getting a bit impatient.
The Pelican took off and started heading towards the Citadel. Admiral Keyes went to the front to see it. The station was large and reminded him of the Stargate. It had a central ring part and arms like the device did. Unlike the Stargate, it had five arms that didn't angle into each other at the end.
The Citadel defense fleet was as large as the Joint fleet in numbers, but not ship size. The largest was the size of a Halcyon Class UNSC Frigate. Jacob smiled for a second as he remembered the Autumn, then it disappeared when he remembered that that ship brought them to the first Halo. Of course now he realized that finding Halo had put into motion the events that led to the Covenant's down fall and the UNSC's victory. That still didn't make him feel better about it.
"We lost too many good men for me to ever feel like that was a victory," Keyes thought to himself.
"Admiral, we're being hailed by the largest ship," the pilot said.
"Put them through to me," Keyes replied as he stood straighter. "This is Admiral Keyes of the UNSC, commanding officer of the Infinity Class Flagship, Eternal Salvation."
"[This is Captain Tirina Fralon of the Destiny's Ascension,]" the Captain replied.
Keyes recognized the name and looked back at Johnson. Avery had his helmet on, but he knew Johnson was deciding whether or not to shoot the Asari when he saw her.
"[It is good to meet you Admiral, but could you tell me the distance between your Flagship and the Citadel?]"
"Why?" Jacob asked as he turned around.
"[Our radars seem to be malfunctioning. They saw your ship is only about 20000 kilometers away, but it looks too big for that far.]"
"It is."
"[But that would mean your ship is more than four times the size of the Destiny's Ascension,]" the Captain said with a laugh. "[No one would be able to build a ship that size, it's physically impossible.]"
"For you maybe, we've only recently discovered element zero and have only now started to incorporate it into our ships," Keyes said.
"[But…then how are you able-…]" Keyes interrupted her before she could finish.
"Captain my troops reports say that you were there when they and the Alliance attacked the Cerberus Headquarters, which is now the UNSC's first base within this…arm of the galaxy."
"[I know…but a ship being that large,]" the Captain said, nervousness evident in her voice.
"Just get us clearance to dock on the…," Keyes looked back at Angel to see what it was they wanted to get to.
"The Presidium," the youngest of the Shepard siblings said.
"The Presidium, and tell your troops not to fire at us," Keyes said as the pilot started following a new ship.
"[Alright, follow the escort ship to docking bay D2. From there you can get to the Council Chambers,]" Tirina said before shutting off her coms.
"Johnson, don't shoot her unless I give the ok," Admiral Keyes said as he looked at the SPARTAN IV.
"Yes sir," Johnson said as he checked his rifle.
Jacob looked at Crimson team to see their medic throwing a ball at the other side of the Pelican, catching when it bounced back, and continuously repeating the process. Gabby looked over her rifle again to make sure it was working perfectly. Keyes looked back at Johnson's team to see one of his two Sangheili members asleep and the other in some sort of meditative position with the handles of two energy swords by her feet.
"Docking in one minute Admiral," the pilot said.
"Alright everyone, get ready to exit the Pelican," Jacob said as the sleeping Elite opened his eyes and stretched before undoing his straps and heading for the door.
The meditating Elite opened her eyes and stood up as she grabbed the energy blades. Fera undid her straps and walked over to Keyes. She pointed to the back hatch and he nodded. She then walked to the front of everyone else as Admiral Keyes did the same.
"[Docking now,]" the pilot said over the intercom. "[Bring me back a souvenir.]"
The pilot opened the back door for the two teams to see multiple soldiers with their weapons aimed at them. The SPARTANs and Elites had their weapons out in less than a second. Fera also had an energy sword, that's handle covered her hand, activated and she was standing in a way that as soon as she launched herself, she could cut down multiple soldiers. The other female Elite with them had her two energy swords crossed in an X shape in front of her.
"Sorry, but with your UNSC soldiers having fired at ours, you'll have to be under armed guard and relieved of your weapons," one of the soldiers in front of them said. "And shut down your mechs."
"We're not mechs, and I dare you to try to take our weapons," Gabby said.
"The result will be fun…for us at least. Unless your species finds getting shot fun," Jen said.
"Everyone stand down!" a familiar voice shouted.
Admiral Keyes turned his head to see Jane walking up, with Garrus, Liara, Tali, and Thane. Johnson looked at her, but didn't turn his head, keeping his weapons pointed at the C-Sec officers. He looked back at the C-Sec officers to see them looking back and forth between the Spectre and the UNSC.
"Stand down, all of you," someone said from the other end of the officers.
Avery looked past them to see another Turian soldier walking towards them. He didn't recognize him, and neither did the other UNSC troops. The Turian stopped in front of Admiral Keyes.
"I'm Seratis Narian, Council Spectre," the alien said as he offered Jacob his hand.
"Admiral Jacob Keyes of the UNSC," Keyes replied as he shook Seratis' hand.
"Pleasure to meet you Admiral; now I have to ask you to come with me to meet with the Council on behalf of your people, the other aliens need to have someone to represent them also."
"That would be me," Fera said. "Fera Vadamee,' niece of the Arbiter of the People of Sanghelios."
"Of course, please remember to leave your weapons outside of the council chambers."
"This blade does not leave my side, but I give you my word as a sword master that the Council will not be harmed unless I have been given reason to harm them."
"I don't know how much carry someone's word has with your people," Seratis said, "but it doesn't mean anything here."
"Then we have a problem don't we Spectre," Fera said as the grip on her blade tightened.
"That we do," Seratis said as his hand went closer to his gun.
"How about we all calm down?" Jane said as she stepped in between the two aliens.
Fera glared at Jane for a second before deactivating her energy sword and attaching it to her hip. Seratis' hand moved away from his pistol. Johnson's grip on his gun loosened a bit at the sight of them calming down.
"Let's not start an incident, agreed?" Jane asked as they started walking towards the Council Chambers.
"Agreed," Seratis said. "I doubt your peoples would be able to handle a war with the Council races if anything did happen."
"Ha, do not make me laugh," Fera said. "You have not seen what Sangheili warriors are truly capable of. Tell me Spectre; have your species and its allies had to fight a parasitic life form that could take over the bodies of any species it encountered, living or dead? Fought against said life form and utterly destroyed it before it could destroy the galaxy? If not, then, as the humans say, keep you damn mouth shut."
This caused both of the Council Spectres to stop in their tracks. They stared at the UNSC and Sangheili soldiers after that comment was made. They looked at each other before looking back at the soldiers.
"Where there any people that were immune?" Jane asked.
"Only if you felt like getting your DNA scrambled up, causing your life span to be shortened unless your body adapted to it," Johnson said.
"That's what it took? How many people actually did that?"
"One involuntarily because of a plasma explosion and you're talking to him," Avery said as he continued walking.
"Did your body adapt or are you a dead man walking?" Seratis asked.
"I'm still talking to you aren't I?"
They got to the Council chambers ten minutes later. The four members of the Citadel Council were already waiting for them. Johnson saw the first one was an Asari, the second was a Salarian, the third a Turian, and the fourth a human. The human and Turian looked liked they were former military.
"I assume you are the representatives for the UNSC and the Sangheili Empire?" the Salarian Councilor said.
"Yes, I'm Admiral Jacob Keyes of the joint UNSC/Sangheili Empire vessel, Eternal Salvation," Keyes said as he stepped forward.
"I am Field Marshal Fera Vadamee,' also of the Eternal Salvation," Fera said as she removed her helmet, releasing her short black hair.
Johnson was starting to wonder if all female Sangheili had black hair. Darla also had black hair, but she kept it in a small ponytail. He looked around to see that most of the C-Sec officers were relaxing. Johnson shook his head. When you had an unknown faction meeting with your governments leaders, you didn't relax until the meeting was over and the faction was long gone.
"Welcome Admiral Keyes and Field Marshal Vadamee.' It is an honor to have you both meet with us," the Asari Councilor said.
"Tevos I believe we should skip the pleasantries and get to what we have them here for," the Turian Councilor said.
"Sparatus does make an excellent point," the Salarian Councilor said before looking at the Admiral and Field Marshal.
"Admiral Keyes, Field Marshal Vadamee,' there is a contract between all Council races that you need to sign," Councilor Anderson said. "You may not like this next part, but it limits the number of our Dreadnaught Class ships you can make, and have."
"And what defines your version of a Dreadnaught?" Fera asked as she crossed her arms.
"Our Dreadnaughts are 5 Kilometers long with the largest class of weapon we have," Sparatus said.
"Anything over that is also classified as a Dreadnaught, which is why I said you won't like this," Anderson said.
"Councilors, I am sorry to say this, but I can not do as you have asked," Keyes said.
"And if you try to take away any of the Sangheili Empire's ships, you will be destroyed quickly and viciously," Fera said as she gripped her Energy Sword.
"You must understand that this is for the good of the entire gal-…" Tevos tried to say.
"If it was for the good of the galaxy, you would be having every species build more Dreadnaughts and have them preparing for the Reapers," Keyes said suddenly.
"You don't really believe that-…" Sparatus started to say.
"[Oh shut up you fucking hypocritical bastards,]" Ghost said as his hologram appeared over a platform near them. "[This contract isn't to protect the galaxy, it's to keep your client races from being able to arm themselves if they have to fight against you or vice versa.]"
"Is…is that an AI?" the Salarian Councilor asked nervously.
"[Yes I am, now would you focus on-…]"
"SHUT IT DOWN NOW! DON'T LET IT TAKE CONTROL OF THE SYSTEMS!" Sparatus shouted as the C-Sec officers and Seratis fumbled for their guns.
"[You don't have much experience with AIs do you?]" Ghost asked as one of the C-Sec officers tried to shoot his hologram. "[And why are you so scared of me? I'm not going to kill anyone unless the UNSC starts firing on you. Then I'll kill every officer or soldier of yours on the Citadel.]"
"What do you mean by that? You wouldn't kill any UNSC or Sangheili Empire troops but you would readily kill us?"
"[Well duh. It doesn't take someone with Halsey's intellect to figure that out. I mean I am a military grade UNSC 'smart' AI.]"
"So, you don't go against organics?" Tevos questioned.
"[Depends on whether or not they're on the same side as the UNSC.]"
"How were you able to make AIs that are loyal to their creator species?"
"[Using the brainwave patterns of deceased humans,]" another AI said.
The Councilors looked around to find where this new AI was when Ghost's hologram was replaced by a new one. This AI looked like a woman in her mid twenties wearing a black leather biker theme outfit and with short messy hair.
"[Hi, I'm Laura, AI serial number LNX-55-820," she said. "I'm Crimson team's personal AI.]"
"I…I don't understand," the Salarian Councilor said.
"[It means that at our core, we are human, just synthetic humans.]"
"None of this matters right now. What does matter is what we are going to do about the Prothean artifact that your, UNSC seems to believe is theirs by birthright, and your number of ships," Sparatus shouted.
"The ships are not changing, so get over it, and the artifact, as much as it pains me to say it, does belong to the UNSC by birthright," Fera said.
"No species is allowed to keep Prothean artifacts to themselves," the Asari Councilor said [HYPOCRITE!].
"Ok then, when we find a Prothean artifact we'll tell you…or we won't. Honestly I think that keeping it to ourselves would be better," Jen said suddenly.
"What Specialist Walker means is that the UNSC has the ability to take any 'Prothean' artifacts we find and keep them. Regardless of whether you want us to or not," Admiral Keyes said.
"That is not your choice to make," Tevos said sternly and softly.
"That device, which is Precursor by the way, leads directly to one of our colony worlds. That means that it is officially in UNSC/Sangheili space."
"Unfortunately for you," Sparatus said with a grin, "that was Council space before you arrived. That means it is still council space and is our territory, which makes any colony you have near the other end our territory."
Johnson and the rest of the SPARTAN IVs, along with the Elites, pulled out their weapons and aimed them at the Councilors. The only one who didn't have a weapon trained on him was Councilor Anderson, as he was also human, making that territory his either way. The C-Sec officers immediately called for reinforcements as more of them arrived and readied their weapons. Shepard's team wasn't sure what to do and pointed their weapons at everyone.
"This is why I wanted to bring the Mantis," Jen said as she and the rest of Crimson team spun around to face the C-Sec officers.
"EVERYONE STOP!" Jane shouted.
All eyes instantly turned to her. Jane looked around at the multiple soldiers and officers, some of which were still arriving, and knew that if someone didn't handle this now, a war would happen.
"Councilors, the UNSC is right. If that artifact leads directly to one of their worlds and their territories, then that solar system should belong to them."
"SHEPARD YOU-…" Sparatus tried to say.
"And the Councilors are right in the fact that it was their territory in the first place. So how about this. The UNSC and Sangheili gain control of the artifact and any neighboring planets while the Council keeps control of the rest of the system."
"…Spectre Jane Shepard makes a valid point," Tevos said. "While it was our territory, their territory is right on the other side. If we try to take control of either end, it would start a war. And based on what is in front of us," Tevos said as she gestured to the SPARTANs and Elites, "we would lose that war very quickly."
"The Turian military has the strongest fleet in the galaxy!" Sparatus shouted.
"Yes it does, in this galaxy," the Salarian Councilor said. "From what we can see by their ships that are orbiting the Citadel, we would not stand a chance. They are the strongest in their galaxy, and if you are going off of both, they are the strongest in this galaxy also."
"And we don't take kindly to being told what to do, or being attacked, by an alien species," Admiral Keyes said. "We nearly lost the war against the Covenant because we were technologically outmatched. Now, humanity has become the juggernauts in our galaxy."
"The Sangheili Empire and UNSC not only incorporate each other's technology, but also the technology of the Forerunners," Fera said. "But only the humans can bring out the full power of Forerunner technology. The Forerunners, and if studies are to be believed the Precursors also, made them the inheritors of the Mantle of Responsibility of the Galaxy. That means that they are to be the galaxies leaders and defenders."
"These technologies allow our ships to be faster, stronger, and more powerful than anything you can create in the amount of time it would take for a war to start," Keyes said.
"…I…but…you…alright Admiral, you win," Sparatus said with a heavy sigh. "The Council will not take over the artifact or the territories it is near."
"Thank you for seeing reason Councilors," Admiral Keyes said.
Jane breathed out a sigh of relief. This was the first time her diplomatic skills had truly been put to the test. She imagined that if it was John or Angel here instead of her, the war would have happened, and no one would have been prepared for the Reapers. Now at least they had a chance.
"One other thing Councilors," Fera said.
"What is it, Field Marshal Vadamee'?" the Salarian Councilor asked.
"You need to start making ships to fight the Reapers. Start listening to one of your most trusted soldiers for once, instead of trying to hide behind long held beliefs," Fera said as they started walking off. Jane leaned against a wall as Johnson walked up.
"Thanks for stopping a war Commander," Avery said to her. "I only see one way to pay you back for this."
"Oh, and what's that Sergeant?" Jane asked. Johnson instantly went to attention and saluted her.
"You have the undying loyalty of SPARTAN team Orion," Johnson said.
Jane saluted him back with a smile. She wasn't expecting much in return from the Council, but she hadn't expected anything from the UNSC. After all, even if she had failed to stop the war, the UNSC would have won.
"I expect to see you and your team aboard the Normandy."
"Yes ma'am," Johnson said before jogging off to get to his team.
[Reality ME4, Dimension a2, Geth controlled space, Geth Platform L3610N:]
{New_sub-government_of_humanity_detected … Subject:_Shepard,_Commander_located … new_data_acquired:_humanity_sub-government[UNSC]_labeled_as_friendly_to_synthetics/AIs … Geth_platform_L3610N:_new_possibilities_acquired … acquiring_consensus … consensus_has_been_reached … Geth_platform_L3610N_deploying_under_protocol_WHITEFLAG … objective:_gain_allies_from_human_sub-government[UNSC] … begin_operation} the Geth platform that would come to be known as Legion thought to itself.
Me: How do you like that for a loyalty mission! Either full paragon or renegade, or you get into an unwinnable war against an unstoppable juggernaut!
Trin: …I'm not sure how to comment on this.
Jane: NEVER PUT ME IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT AGAIN!
Me: Jane, Jane, Jane, you'll have to deal with something similar in ME3 either way.
Jane: +punches me in gut+ Asshole.
Me: Well…you win some…you lose some. Still totally worth it, and I introduced Legion! Tell me how you think I did with Geth speak. VR Commando ATA out!
