Disclaimer: I own...something
Things, I think their acronyms:
OSS: Orbital Space Statios
CISS: Coalition of Independent Space Stations
MCA: Mobile Combat Armour
PCA: Personal Combat Armour
UCM: United Cities of Mars
IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle
UT: Universal Time
CoE: Coalition of Earth
ARS: Advanced Reaction Suit
TVTP: True voice of the Turian People
BACS: Battlefield Adaptive Combat System
Tell me if ive left anything out or review if your confused about something.
CoE colony Eden Prime
Eden Prime was nicknamed a "second Earth" due to the similarity of the planet to Earth and the level of development the CoE put into it. It was a lush garden world producing billions of tons of food every Universal Year. The CoE used advanced "green" farming methods and technologies to ensure that Eden Prime would continue it's service for countless years to come. It held a population of five million people, a majority of them human but there were others who called Eden Prime home. There were three large cities, four smaller cities and numerous towns across the planet. Eden Prime was also a commercial centre and served as the CoE home base in the Attican Traverse, housing the CoE's 17th , 20th and 30th Fleet as well as one million soldiers and their equipment. Unofficially this military presence was known as the Guardians of Eden.
Currently Commander Morgan Shepard, a renown hero of humanity, was taking a open air train to one of the military spaceports to meet with the Admiral of the collective Fleets of Eden Prime. Leaning on the railing and letting the wind blow through his short cropped hair he thought about why he and his team had been called here, he was interrupted however by one of his team members.
"So Commander, why do you think we've been called here?"
He turned to face the speaker, a space borne human Sam Gideon. Sam was facing away from the Commander, looking at the looming spaceport with a cigarette in his hand. The man was an avid smoker.
"I have no idea but Saint Command said it's crucial"
"Must be something big, you dont get to meet Admirals every day"
This time it was another team member that spoke, Robert Salvador. The martian was sat on a bench holding a small holoprojector in his hand, the projection showing a schematic for an MCA.
"No, you dont" Shepard agreed "What do you think Iana?" The Commander asked the only Asari in his team.
The purple skinned Asari Commando was slacking on a bench, head turned to the side as she watched the sights that they passed by. She gave a quick shrug "I have no idea"
The Commander heard a tune being whistled and looked at the final member of his five man team, Alex Yun. The young man was leaning forward and holding on to the railing while whistling, eyes closed and apparently enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing into his face.
He probably does, he's a Jumper after all Morgan thought to himself.
They were all part of the Saint Guardians, an organisation dedicated to hunting down the TVTP and protecting the people from the extremist organisation.
"We're here" Morgan announced as the train made a stop. Him and his team exited the train and were met by a soldier who lead them to where they would be meeting the Admiral.
–
–
Sotana district, Omega
Claus dived back into the cover of the wall as a missile exploded in front of him, sending bits of the flooring flying into his armour. One of his soldiers got the launcher holding Vorcha in his sights and let loose a controlled burst of fire, the rounds tore through the Vorcha's tough skin and into it's jaw and neck, killing it in a spray of blood. A wild spray of return fire made the soldier duck back into cover.
Through the dulled sound of gunfire Claus heard a yell of "Krogan!" The soldier who spotted the beasts quickly marked them on the HUD.
Cursing Claus took hold of a stick grenade and spotted the group of four Krogan advancing on their position, cursing again he took hold of another grenade. He primed the grenades and threw them at the Krogan who tried to jump or dive out of the way. The grenades exploded but three of the Krogan got back up and continued their advance, now even more angered and determined. Claus growled in frustration, cursing the natural Krogan vitality.
"Focus fire on the Krogan!" Claus ordered his squad as he took aim and fired. The rounds impacted against the Krogans kinetic barriers, doing little to slow the beasts advance.
Luckily one of the Krogan went down under a hail of fire but this seemed to only enrage the other two who bellowed out war cries and charged towards the ones who killed their comrades. As the two beasts closed the distance, shotguns firing all the way, Claus revved up his chainsaw bayonet and with a amplified yell of "KRIEG!" lunged for the lead Krogan when it was in range. The larger alien bated the weapon away and sent a cracking punch to Claus's head. The Kriegan was knocked to the side but let his momentum carry him into a roll to the Krogans side, he lunged again and this time the Krogan could not bat it away in time and the monomolecular teeth quickly bit and chewed through the Krogans armour and into the tough flesh underneath. The Krogan bellowed in anger or pain and used it's shotgun to smack Claus away.
Claus was jarred by the impact but thankfully his helmet absorbed most of the force, though he was still pushed back. He brought his rifle to bear on the Krogan but the Krogan was faster and charged into him, knocking him off his feet and sending him back, again his armour absorbed most of the force. As the Krogan was about to fire two of Claus's soldiers plunged their bayonets into the creature from behind. The Krogan fell forward but was still alive and tried to get back up, however it's struggle was ended when Claus surged forward and jammed his bayonet into the Krogans hump and sawed through armour, flesh and bone. The whining teeth sprayed blood and bits as the Claus forced the vicious weapon to split open the Krogans body from hump to head.
The Kriegan captain looked around to see that the other Krogan was dead, taken down by a combination of shotgun and bayonet.
"The vermin run!" A soldier from captain Yoshida's squad pointed out to them.
With their Krogan overseers killed the rest of the Vorcha lost their will to fight and retreated, some being shot down. Claus and everybody else knew though that they would be fighting them again very soon.
"No time to rest, keep up the advance!"
His soldiers obeyed and marched on to kill more of the enemy.
–
–
Nautica spaceport, Eden Prime
Shepard and his team finally entered the conference room inside the military HQ of the spaceport. They were greeted by the Admiral, David Anderson. However they were surprised when they saw that there were two others, at least the hologram of them, in the room. Both Morgan knew, the OSS Roman's Lord General Lukas Alexander and one of the leading figures of the Saint Guardians Sofia Yamashiro.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, please take a seat"
Though the team were confused they held back their questions and took their seats around the conference table.
The Lord General took the lead "I wont beat around the bush, you're here because your team has been chosen for a special mission, to hunt down Saren Arterius, the head of the TVTP"
Shock and silence. It was shock and silence that dominated the room. The entire team could not comprehend what they had just been told, the three leading figures in the room let it sink in. Finally, Morgan found his voice, though he spoke in a shocked whisper.
"What?"
It was the hologram of Sofia that addressed him "After years of work we have found out that Saren is the leader of the TVTP, we have also managed to isolate his location to somewhere in the Attican Traverse, beyond the human controlled space"
"Saren?" It was Iana that spoke "One of the best Council Spectres to ever exist? He is the leader of the TVTP?" Her voice and expression made it clear she was having a hard time believing it.
"Yes" Sofia simply said.
"Have the Council been notified? We need to organise search and detain missions..." Morgan went off in what his team knew as "Commander mode" but he was stopped by the Admiral.
"We have told the Council and showed them the evidence, when they called for Saren he didnt answer. They sent C-Sec to search his house and Spectres to his known hangouts, he has completely disappeared from Citadel space"
Morgan nodded in understanding "But why are we being sent to hunt him down on our own? Shouldn't the entire Saints and Fleet and everybody else be scouring the Traverse?"
"Because that would alert him and force him to act, a cornered animal will fight harder and all that and we cant predict what he is capable of" Luke answered him.
"But one team, provided with the best the Galaxy has to offer, can be like a scalpel to their heart and take out Saren. Other teams will be hunting other prominent TVTP members"
Shepard's team now fully let the situation sink in. It would be them that would bring down Saren. The responsibility of the task nearly crushed them but they knew in their hearts that with their Commander they could pull it off.
"What do we need to do?" Morgans voice was filled with strength and determination, it bolstered and lifted his teams spirit and assured the three most prominent people in the room that they had made the right choice.
"Follow me"
–
–
Hangar 1, Nautica Spaceport
It was amazing. It was a marvel and it nearly gave Morgan a heart attack when he saw it. The Admiral had lead them to the hangar bay and showed them the ship they would be using.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Normandy" Anderson gestured at the ship which was being held by docking clamps.
"This ship is the brainchild of professor Fiona Jarnefeldt"
Robert's and Sam's eyes widened, both recognising the name "The League's top professor? She made this?" Robert's voice held awe and amazement.
Anderson nodded, smiling slightly at the faces of the two as they took in the sight of the Normandy "The League asked her if it was possible to make a ship that combined the speed and flexibility of a frigate with the fire-power of a main battleship. With help, this is what she came up with"
"Amazing..." Sam expressed in words what everyone else was feeling.
Anderson however still had more to tell. He walked around the ship, pointing out details and explaining them. He first lead them to the engines at the back "The Normandy is twice as fast as most frigates, the result of combining mass effect fields and new ionic propulsion drives"
Leading them around the ship to it's left side Anderson pointed to the armour plating "The armour is made with new composite materials developed with the help of the Asari and can withstand extremes of heat, pressure and direct energy. The shielding is strong enough to withstand a few shots from a main battleship but I wouldn't suggest doing so, better to keep your speed as your main protection"
Now, Anderson took them to the front of the ship where they could see the armaments "It's armed with two dual rail cannons, two torpedo tubes loaded with twenty four plasma torpedoes and the main gun is a hadron cannon, a real ship buster"
"A hadron canon? That thing's still in the experimental stages!" Sam shouted in surprise. His expression changed from awe to outright worship, he even had trouble keeping his mouth closed. Robert was fairing slightly better, at least he wasn't drooling.
"Mostly it still is, this is the first time it's been mounted on a ship, simulations and tests show it works though" Anderson explained to them.
The Admiral let the team admire the ship from the outside for a while more before he took them to the entrance of the ship. When the door opened and the team stepped inside they were met by the crew of the Normandy, all of them stood to attention and saluted. The Admiral and the team walked through the prow of the ship, admiring the stylish interior and acknowledging the saluting crew they passed. What looked like the senior staff was there to welcome them when they reached the CIC, or the bridge as it was known to humans.
A young man stepped forward, a young man Commander Morgan knew very well
"Joker?"
His old friend smiled and shook his hand "Good to see you again Sheps and welcome to the Normandy, which I pilot by the way" The smugness in his voice was hard to miss.
Morgan rolled his eyes and laughed, he had almost missed Jokers attitude. Next to welcome him was the Chief Medical Officer Dr Chakwas "Welcome commander, it's a pleasure to meet you"
Morgan shook her hand "The pleasure is all mine ma'am"
The older woman laughed and motioned for an Asari to come up "This is Mara Krill, my apprentice"
Mara offered her left arm, which Marcus noted had a lighter skin tone and looked more solid than the rest of her body. When he shook her hand he felt a deceptively strong grip for her frame and came to one conclusion, Bionic limb.
Morgan then shook hands with the Chief Engineer Tristain Adams and his apprentice, a Quarian, who introduced herself as Tali'Zorah nar Yana. The last two senior staff members greeted the Commander, the Executive Officer Miranda Lawson and the Normandy's therapist and Morgans personal assistant Kelly Chambers.
"It's great to meet you all" Morgan addressed the assembled officers.
"Dont get settled in yet Commander, there is still some you have to see" Anderson lead them away from the CIC and they took the grav lift down to the lower levels of the Normandy. There they made their way past the hangar where they could see one IFV and two shuttles, to the armoury. They were greeted by the Security Officer, surprisingly a Turian, who introduced himself as Garrus Vakarian. On a metal table in front of the Turian lay several objects that were shaped like a gun handle.
Sam, noticing the objects, gasped "Holy shit"
The rest of his team looked between him and the objects in confusion.
"Care to inform us?" Morgan asked the gaping man.
"These" Anderson gestured to the objects "Are the new BACS, Battlefield Adaptive Combat System, and from now on they will be your best friends"
Sam picked up one and examined it and soon the rest of the team followed.
"What does it do?" To Iana these objects looked more like pieces of a weapon than an actual weapon itself.
"Garrus, give them a demonstration" Anderson nodded to the Turian.
Garrus picked up one of the BACS, pulled a assault rifle out of it's holder and activated the device on the weapon. A green light came out of the device, going over the weapon as if it was scanning it and when it was finished Garrus held the device up and activated a switch of some kind. To the surprise of the team a silvery liquid metal substance came out of the device and began to form the scanned assault rifle. When it was done Garrus held an exact replica of the weapon he pulled out.
The Turian smirked at the shocked faces of the team "The device uses advanced scanning and nanotechnology" He explained "It's memory can hold up to three weapon designs and it can scan ANY weapon and replicate it, though you'll have to get the ammo yourself"
"Sweet" Alex simply stated with a wide smile on his face, much like that of a child on Christmas day. The other members of his team simply nodded in agreement.
Anderson turned to Morgan, a serious look on his face "Shepard, everything in this ship, from every bolt and screw to the crew and these devices, are the best we can give you. The best the Galaxy can give you. You're mission is of the utmost importance, your doing this not only for humanity but for every sentient being that calls this Galaxy home. Saren must be stopped"
Morgan saluted the Admiral "Saren WILL be stopped, you can count on my team sir"
Anderson smiled, proud of the Commanders dedication "Im sure I can"
–
–
Sotana district, Omega
Claus dragged an injured soldier behind a solid barrier, the man had been hit by several rounds to his chest and shoulder. With medical attention he would most likely survive since the armour and the man's ARS protected him. A medic came rushing in and Claus let her tend the wounded man while he went back into the fight.
Bullets and the occasional missile came at them from the Vorcha who had taken positions inside buildings, fortunately the sound of impact was dulled out by his helmet, letting him concentrate on the battle. Claus trained his rifle on a Vorcha who had a missile launcher and fired short, controlled bursts. The rounds hit home and brought the insect like alien down. Seeing another marked target on his HUD Claus aimed and let out another burst, this time until his ammo count turned zero. The Vorcha's chest and neck sprayed blood as it died.
The Kriegan ejected the used cooling clip and loaded another one, his ammo count turning thirty six when he finished.
"Ludin, we need backup. There are too many Krogan!" Claus's partner Captain Yoshida called out to him.
Growling in frustration Claus rounded up three soldiers and told the rest to hold their ground. He lead the way towards where Yoshida's squad was being pushed back by a dozen Krogan warriors. Arriving on the left side of the Krogan attackers Claus ordered his soldiers to focus their fire on one Krogan at a time. Three Krogan were gunned down before the rest realised they were being attacked. The warriors split their remaining forces and four went after Claus and his squad.
Rounds impacting against their shields the four man squad dived into cover. One primed and threw a grenade which landed in front of the Krogan and exploded, forcing them back but not seriously wounding them. The warriors roared then charged at them, intent on utterly destroying their enemy.
"Rev 'em up!" Claus ordered his soldiers as he activated his bayonet. The whirring of chainsaws could be heard even through Claus's helmet.
Claus jumped out of cover, took several strides to meet his foe and lunged with his bayonet. The Krogan pulled it's body back but the fierce weapon was plunged into it's stomach. Claus pushed it through and lifted his rifle to rip the Krogan in half, the teeth shredded and ripped the Krogans strong body and when the head was split open Claus drew his weapon back.
Before he could react a Krogan swung it's shotgun at him and Claus was sent into a forward roll. Thankfully the Krogan was distracted by one of Claus's soldiers thrusting their bayonet into it's back, letting the Captain get back up and fire upon the Krogan. It's barrier flickered but soon gave out and Claus did not let go of the trigger until the large alien was sprayed with rounds. The beast went down and the soldier withdrew his bayonet from the body. The other Krogan were taken down but one of his soldiers had his arm bent at an unnatural angle, the man's PCA injected him with stimulants to dull the pain as one of Yoshida' medics came to his aid.
"Thank you friend, now let us finish this" His fellow Captains voice rang in his ears.
Claus, with the other two soldiers who he picked, made their way back to their comrades. The enemies resistance had died down and quickly Claus and his troops were pushing the last of the Vorcha and Krogan into a corner, the other squads doing the same. The battle for Sotana district had been won and the victors would take the neighbouring Otana district as their prize.
AN:
This chapter has been written while I was reading writing advice, I seriusley do hope it helped. Please review and tell me what you think.
anon: Thank you!
The Wealthy Barber: The Illusive Man wont really be the same kind of person we know in the game. His attitudes and behaviours just wont make him the Illusive Man. And yes ive planned for the AI.
On a side note: I recieved my first flame, surprisingly it does not bother me but ive actually asked him/her why they think that this story is a pile of crap, still hasnt replied though...