Hey everybody. Already working on the new chapter. College is hectic. Life is hectic. FUCK. Anyway, as you notice these chapters are slightly shorter but I'm more streamlining my writing. I feel like not writing these massive chapters and focusing on slightly smaller ones improves the quality overall.
I predict the next update after this one will come in less than three weeks. (hopefully)
ALSO IF YOU NOTICED, I changed the rating to Rated "M" for Megalodon in order to attract more followers.
Hope you enjoy this chapter.
I'll answer reviews next time. It's late and i'm gonna pass out.
Authorization not granted.
User Identification not recognized.
This monitor is now being tracked under the authority of the United Nations Space Command by the Office of Naval Intelligence under Emergency Priority Order 098831A tac 1 and JAG articles…
(User dialogue detected)
User Identification: 39489 tac 72738 tac Sierra Oscar
Authorization Granted.
Welcome
CLASSIFICATION LEVEL: DECEMBER WHITE
UNSC STATUS: CLASSIFICATION: DECEMBER WHITE
Current UNSC Servicemen: 2,042,381,291
Current UNSC Reserves: 1,091,189,953
Available UNSC inactive reserves: All available population within draftable age as deemed
by the Office of Naval Intelligence, Section Two-
(User dialogue detected:)
NAVCOM morning report request.
Authorization Granted
…
NAVCOM MORNING REPORT 25570731:
UNSC Fleet Command to Naval Command Morning Report. 25570731:
HOME DEFENSE FORCE: COMBAT INEFFECTIVE
134/500: EARTH DEFENSE GROUP
Second Fleet: COMBAT INEFFECTIVE
48/124: SOL. SYSTEM DEFENSE GROUP
Third Fleet: COMBAT EFFECTIVE
109/121: INNER COLONIAL THEATER SECURITY
FOURTH FLEET: COMBAT EFFECTIVE
117/135: EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM SECURITY
FIFTH FLEET: COMBAT EFFECTIVE-
(User Dialogue detected:)
Office of Naval Intelligence Investigation. Report 25570731.
Authorization Granted
...
SECTION: Naval Crime Investigation Services
In the continuity of our investigation, we have made no new-
(User dialogue detected:)
Comm horn.
...
STAND BY
CONNECTING ENCRYPTED CHANNEL ACCESS TO-
CHANNEL NOT RECOGNIZED. UNSC ENCRYPTION NOT DETECTED.
THIS CONNECTION IS NOT AUTHORIZED BY THE UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND
THIS MONITOR IS NOW BEING TRACKED UNDER THE AUTHOR-
(User dialogue detected:)
Authorization: PRIORITY ORDER: 39489-72738-Sierra Oscar
PRIORITY ORDER NOT RECOGNIZED.
NOTICE OF ILLEGAL USE OF THIS INFORMATION SYSTEM HAS BEEN SENT TO UNSC NAVAL COMMAND. THIS MONITOR IS NOW BEING TRACKED UNDER THE AUTH-
(User dialogue detected:)
Authorization: PRIORITY ORDER: XXX-XD DIRECTIVE OVERRIDE.
…
Authorization Granted.
NOTICE OF DIRECT USAGE OF PRIORITY ORDER XXX-XD DIRECTIVE OVERRIDE HAS BEEN SENT TO UNSC NAVAL COMMAND.
REVIEW OF PRIORITY ORDER SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BEFORE-
/we don't have time for this.
(User dialog-
…
Authorization Granted
Communications horn established with: UNIDENTIFIED USER.
:
/so your the man?
(SECONDARY USER ONLINE
-This is a interesting thing to bring up.
/you caused us quite a headache.
-Yet you found me.
/once we found who sent the link yeah
/what do you want
-I was the one who gave you access to their comms. Shouldn't I be asking you that?
/and what did you get out of it?
-Conformation
/trust you as far as i could throw you. its whats at stake
-So how do you figure I can use you then? What's my stake in all this if you don't trust me?
/we have the same end goals
-Same ideal maybe, but different ways to achieve them
/i need something
-To save yourself?
/without us everything will collapse
-A lot of people can fill your shoes.
/maybe but sure as hell isnt time to find a replacement.
-True.
/how can we trust u?
-Your 'superiors' are thinking the same thing.
/whyre you antagonzing them tho. we know you know everything there is to know.
-I can't help it? I have my own reasons.
/dont drag us into it.
/when we dont need each other anymore will have way to stop you.
-Fair enough.
-Time's running out. Keep in contact. My end will come up with some-
COMMUNICATION HORN DISESTABLISHED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND BY NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES.
THIS INFORMATION SYSTEM IS NOW LOCKED DOWN
THIS MONITOR IS BEING TRACKED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE UNITED NATIONS SPACE COMMAND-
(User logged off.
...
Aboard UNSC Infinity
Secondary Hospital. Emergency power failure protocol.
2557 Military Calendar, 10:21
The visor of the Spartan lit up. It was a bright blue. A menacing single streak in the red blackness. Mark couldn't see anything else.
"Captain Florence?" He said. A deep, confident voice.
Where the fuck was a pistol when you need one? He doubt it would do anything against a Spartan, but the thought of at least having one would give him more confidence. Instead he just griped the edge of his bed, unable to move. Unable to stop whatever the hell was happening.
Mark wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't one of the good guys. Mark looked over the armor, or at least tried to in the dark. He could barely make out some outlines. Judging by the spacing and strange juts and geometrical structure, he was a IV.
Were they really trying to kidnap him again so soon?
"Why the hell did you attack the Marines?" Florence said. He gritted his teeth.
The Spartan didn't say anything. He looked back to the unconscious marines on the floor, then to the assortment of medical monitors and VI tubes that were all connected to Captain Florence.
He wasn't going to try and disconnect them all, was he?
Jesus Christ. It's barely been ninety-six hours, and ONI was trying all over again?
Goddamnit. What the hell could the Captain do?
Mark tried to observe everything he could about the Spartan. He wasn't a expert on all the armor types. MJOLNIR Hunter armor if he remembered correctly. He noticed two silver bars on the edge of his collar plating.
"Lieutenant, stand the fuck down." Captain Florence tried to order.
Obviously, it didn't work. The Spartan turned his full attention to the medical monitors. He opened up a console on one of the screens and began to type in commands. Mark noticed he didn't have a weapon out. Only a holstered pistol and knife.
As he entered in a sequence, Mark noticed a shimmer of red light near the Spartan's neck.
The Spartan tried to reach around to grab whatever it was. The shimmer ducked. Mark saw something, a hand most likely go near the knee joint. A blue and black ball of light ignited from it. The ball was unleashed at the super soldier. Metal crushed as the weight of the Spartan was pushed into the wall, leaving a massive dent.
He immediately recovered. The shimmer disappeared as the Spartan looked around, trying to find whoever did it. He moved away from Mark's bed to the center of the room. Head on a swivel, looking from corner to corner.
Right behind him, another ball of blue and black energy formed. It went off, heading toward the Spartan. A second shimmer appeared in front of him. A orange sword of light formed around one of its hands. Thrusted forward, piercing the Spartan's shield.
He was able to dodge it, tried to grab the shimmer with the sword. It stepped back before he could reach it.
It was a cat and mouse game. Spartans were fast, but these guys seemed faster. Stay out of his reach and their skulls wouldn't be crushed.
Mark heard more fighting in the hall. Gunfire and marines screaming like they were damn recruits again. Something was making its way down.
The Spartan reached down his armor and grabbed the knife. He flipped it upside down in his hand, and instead of reacting he waited for them to strike him again.
Whatever the hell was making its way toward the room had to be digging through marines. Mark could hear dozens of shells hit the deck after every fired round.
It finally made its way through. It appeared at the door. Another Spartan. Orange reflective visor. Some sort of ghillie mesh surrounding his neck. The armor was bulky and old. Mark could tell he was a Spartan-III.
And when he saw his fellow Spartan with his knife unsheathed he did the same. The III saw the movements of the shimmers, stepped closer trying to box them in. He kept a hand low to match their height.
There was a small blue disc of light that traveled in the dark. It hit the wall next to the Spartan-III.
It was maybe a couple inches in diameter. It began to blink.
A ringing sound consumed Mark's hearing. A sudden flash of whiteness. Mark's head stung and his throat swelled up. The flash immediately cleared up. There was a hole in the wall. The Spartan III had been slightly pushed aside, energy shield flared around his body.
He quickly recovered.
The shimmers were able to maneuver around him. The III reached out, he was able to grab something on one of the shimmers. He tore it off. The camouflage cloak melted off whatever he grabbed onto. It was some sort of cloth. A dark purple hood with white detailed outlines.
"Locke!" The III said in a heavy slavic accent. Mark couldn't pinpoint the specifics. "Get Takada and Vale. Cover the sections."
The Spartan-IV nodded, backed away from Mark and ran out the door.
The III turned towards the Captain.
…
Holy hell, mate.
They just got they call and had to rush over here. One of the corpsmen had to kick the shit out of Romeo just to wake him up. Major Stacker was reorganizing the perimeter. Lt. Colonel Buck was out and about gathering a couple of subordinates for the greeting party. Dubbo was giving orders to ODSTs to make sure those damn reporters stay the hell back because shit was about to get bonkers.
He could see the Pelican about to come in through the blue curtain shield. It was guarded by two other Pelicans and two… Christ, those were Sabres. When's the last time anyone's seen one of those?
The Pelicans dispersed. One of the guard transports slowly entered the curtain shield. It hoovered back and forth, making sure the area was clear of any major threats. It pulled out, and the main Pelican entered. It twisted its wings, turned around and lowered onto the landing deck.
Oh God. Dubbo quickly organized the marines to get into a formation on both sides of the cargo door. Detail, attention. Order arms. Stand by.
God, fuck this.
The Pelican made final touchdown procedures. The doors slowly opened up. Dubbo could see the gold stars and a stack of ribbons he will never achieve. Not even in his dreams.
Dubbo along with the two flanking formations stood at attention. Lord Hood saluted them, told them at ease.
There was a wave of bright camera flashes.
...
The elevator doors opened. Lasky saw the white uniforms dressed in gold bars and onyx black outlines that reflected in the purple light. Laurels and colorful ribbons earned over decades of service. They were surrounded by four Spartans and two marines, each with a plethora of weapons.
Lord Hood stepped forward. Everyone else followed at a close distance. He turned down the strange oval corridor, saw Captain Lasky and Shepard's crew surrounding the door to the conference room. Lasky stepped away, hand still to his comm.
"Fleet Admiral, sir," Lasky began as he got closer to the group. "We have a situation on the Infinity. Marine teams are trying to cut through the doors. I have Spartan teams on standby but most of them are here on the Citadel, and I don't have any teams I trust aboard-"
"It isn't ONI, Captain." Lord Hood immediately said.
Lasky couldn't say anything for a moment. He blinked, shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir?"
"This isn't ONI. Captain Florence is still safe. The situation's being handled." Lord Hood replied. He walked forward. There were two other commanding officers, Fleet Admiral Jekorta Al-Fashid and Fleet Admiral Alvarez. Weird. Lasky thought Alvarez was heading back to UNSC territory. And Al-Fashid… That wasn't a good sign.
"Sir? Then what is it?" Lasky tried to ask, but Lord Hood had already reached the doors. Shepard's crew stepped closer to the other side of the entrance, giving him room. Lasky could hear the scratchy voice of some Turian as he yelled at Commander Shepard.
"We have to try…" Shepard stopped as Lord Hood entered. He took a breath. It was almost instinctive. "ADMIRAL ON DECK!"
Only the Turians, save the annoyed one at the front (whom Lasky learned his name was 'Primarch Victus') stood at attention. Most likely, the other groups had different customs and had no idea what was happening.
Either way, it didn't bother Lord Hood.
"At ease," he said. Everyone who knew what that meant went to parade rest.
"And I'll assume this is Fleet Admiral Lord Hood?" Primarch Victus said, he crossed his arms.
Captain Lasky stepped forward near the table, near the two krogans. He tried to hide any emotion that might've surfaced up. He spoke. "It is. The man you've been waiting to see."
Lord Hood slowly scanned the room. He saw all the military representatives to each species, nation, and alliance. Overall, as Lasky observed every individual figure, there had to be forty people in all. Seven from the Turians, seven from the Asari, two Krogans, six Quarians, five of those Salarians, two...Voluses? Then the other various species and faction representatives who only watched. Who could be swayed by whatever the main representatives went along with.
And now they all watched Lord Hood, probably unsure what to think. Silently observed the entourage of Spartan super soldiers and fleet admirals. Lord Hood nodded to Al-Fashid. She took a step back. One of the Spartans handed a holo-projector to her, she set it on the table. A holographic figure appeared. Another high-ranking officer in dress whites decorated in ribbons. Fleet Admiral Jay Harper.
Like Lord Hood, they were old. The youngest probably being Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid in her early fifties. They all went through the Great War. Were the best, or at least the few remaining strategic leaders Humanity had left. Now they were here. Deep dark circles permanently under their eyes. But stern confidence override any sense of tiredness. Their uniforms were perfect. Their demeanor above anyone else.
They were the embodiment of the Navy itself.
Primarch Victus took a breath before he spoke. He didn't look impressed. "Captain Lasky has already informed us of the situation…"
Lord Hood nodded. He quickly eyed Lasky. "Has he?"
Lord Hood turned back to the representatives. "Then you know the situation. Now we need a strategic brief to make a decision."
Victus shook his head, placed a hand to his face. "Then depending on your decision we just sold you all our secrets and you can utterly destroy us."
"That's a risk you're going to have to take." Lord Hood immediately responded, impatient. "Either way, without our assistance the Reapers will destroy you. That's undeniable"
That put them to silence. Victus looked over to Matriarch Gendina. A silent, understanding conversation.
Someone in the back spoke. It was that Asari in the skimpy outfit. Her name was apparently 'Aria T'Lock'.
Her entire tone was painted in patronization. A sort of natural unintentionally effect that she played for so long, so well that now she couldn't stop herself, "that's a big stretch. Maybe we'll die taking the moral high ground."
As usual, Lord Hood didn't take offense. Didn't take the bait. He only looked to Fleet Admiral Harper on the hologram, "if you don't provide us anything then that'll be your choice"
Lord Hood nodded to Harper to take it away. "Based on your asset and strategic assessment we will determine how many resources and units we will be able to provide."
AKA, how desperate the situation actually is.
Lasky placed his cover on the conference table and stepped outside. He tapped his earpiece.
"Lasky to Infinity, hal copy?"
"Infinity Actual, this is Spartan Miller to Charlie Oscar, good copy on all. Marines are preparing to breach. I repeat-"
"Belay that, Actual. Cordon the hospital, prevent anyone getting in or out."
"...Sir?" Actual asked.
"Just do it." It had been what Lord Hood implied. Don't interfere. Something was going on that was obviously beyond Lasky, only happening aboard his ship. That being said, being one of the greatest symbols of Humanity's newfound power, he guessed that the actions that happened aboard will always be out of control.
"Negative, sir. Teams are already breaching. I can't-."
"Find a way. Now." Lasky got off the horn. He went back into the conference room.
If this wasn't ONI what was they need to throw everyone in a panic and accelerate the time tables?
"...We've built a basis, but we're going to have to fill you in on a lot of it. We didn't have time to build a briefing." Matriarch Gendina said with some malice.
"So this is it? We're just going to hand over everything we have!?" A Turian general yelled. Primarch Victus turned back to yell something. Fleet Admiral Harper beat him to it.
"You will if you want our help!" Harper's hologram barked.
"Admiral," Lord Hood in a calm and quiet voice. Harper didn't say anything more. Lord Hood continued. "Maybe we should begin with what is common knowledge."
He was guiding it towards a more proactive approach. That was a good sign. Lord Hood was helping the Citadel species out.
At least Lasky thought he was. His mind was a little bit preoccupied right now.
Primarch Victus reluctantly motioned over to the group of…, what was it? Quarians. Right. Admiral Tonbay, the head of the group, spoke.
"The Quarians and the Geth are the newest members to be swiped up by Commander Shepard in this alliance." Tonbay said.
The Geth Prime stepped inside. The door was barely big enough for him to fit through. The room was getting crowded. The Spartans took a step back, rifles already on condition one. All they had to do was deactivate the safety and open fire. Lord Hood however calmly turned around. Even the stature of the Geth Prime didn't seem to affect him.
"Lord Hood Fleet Admiral, we've already developed a data sheet on specific numbers." The Geth Prime reported.
"Show me." Lord Hood ordered. The Geth Prime looked over to Admiral Tonbay. She nodded. Primarch Victus didn't look pleased.
The Geth Prime unlatched a small circle and gently tossed it onto the table. A small light projected upwards, forming a holographic data sheet.
Lord Hood stepped a little closer, he viewed the troop numbers and fleet counts. Lasky looked back. Shepard and his crew looked...concerned, and maybe as confused Lasky was.
Doctor T'Soni motioned for Lasky to join him outside the door. As Lord Hood and the Quarians continued to talk, he quietly stepped outside.
"What's the rush?" Liara asked.
Lasky shook his head. "Something happened aboard the Infinity. Not sure what, but we're on a tighter schedule now than before."
"So you have a army and full navy prepped and ready?" Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid commented. She stood at Lord Hood's left. A similar array of ribbons and badges as to Lord Hood's. Again, another veteran of the Great War. Most of them were obtained when she was a rear admiral, commanding officer of a subsection of the Home Defense Fleet in 2552 when the Covenant began to attack Earth. Ever since then she had always been a...radical in a sense.
"This is all been recent, in the past month." Another Quarian admiral commentated. Lasky needed a list of names of all the people here. He thought his name might've been Han, or something like that. "We've been waiting to deploy but…"
There was a moment of silence. Lasky took a step back into the room. Lord Hood waited for someone to speak up.
"Mommy and Daddy have been arguing." The Asari, Aria, said.
What the hell was with those comments? It didn't seem to bug Lord Hood or the rest of the admiralty. Still, it was stupid. It was unnecessary.
It seemed the same Turian general turned around to yell. "And again, I ask why the hell are you here!? This-"
"We were debating the next course of strategic action." Primarch Victus interrupted as if no one was speaking at all. Calm and collective. "Judging by where the debate was going, I doubt we would've made any progress."
"It's a good thing we stepped in then." Fleet Admiral Harper said. "So what is the current strategic terrain?"
Again, more hesitation. Primarch Victus looked to Matriarch Gendina.
Victus looked back. "We already provided one piece of intel with the UNSC, Fleet Admiral. Now what are you going to-"
"That wasn't the nature of the agreement," Lord Hood objected.
"You made that agreement with Fleet Admiral Hackett."
Aboard UNSC Infinity, Hospital section, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 10:31
They weren't the ones who cut out the lights.
The soldiers, Locke and Jun, cut the power.
Thane knew from the very beginning that there was no way they could overpower them.
Besides the lack of intel, the extreme unknown of their gear and capabilities, from what little Thane and Kasumi had seen from their strength alone could rip them in half. A combination of speed, strength, and agility by the likes they've never seen before. And if anything, they most likely had a lot more endurance than they did.
The Shadow Broker didn't lead them here.
Liara wouldn't have lead them here. Not to something so convoluted.
So who was it?
And who was Captain Florence?
These soldiers were attacking anything that got in the way, trying to capture just him and Kasumi. They had a higher mission. They had orders.
The encounter in the hanger? That was no coincidence. No accident. If it were, if they were regular soldiers (highly trained or not) they would've alerted someone. They would've stopped the tram system when they were aboard.
No. Instead they let them come here. They wanted them to come here. They wanted to see what their target was.
They knew these two would come aboard.
"Are you alright?" Thane said aloud as the two turned down a hall and headed to what looked like a surgery area of the hospital. Two shadows running through the dark.
"Well, looks like I'm gonna have to buy another suit." Kasumi responded.
Thane saw it before her. Up ahead, a slight blur of moving shadows from a intersecting corridor outlined by a emergency light further down the hall. Thane distinctively got down, used his momentum and slid across the floor. Kasumi followed his lead. She readied another flashbang.
They slid by the corridor. Thane saw a leg covered in red metallic armor. Kasumi's flashbang flew over him, stuck onto the wall next to the leg. They slid down a couple more feet, both got up and kept running.
The flashbang went off. Thane felt the heat hit his back for a mere moment. He quickly looked back. It didn't phase the soldier in red armor with a bright green visor. She stepped off, chasing after silhouettes.
And if anything, she'd most likely catch up to them.
That was another thing. He'd never encountered anything that can recover so quickly from a flashbang.
…
Shepard was barely able to take the news well. On top of everything else going on, he could barely stay tuned with the meeting. But with what was essentially the entire galaxy gathered in this room, he had to push forward. He had to put on the mask Liara was able to put on every day.
For everyone's sake.
After Liara briefly spoke with Captain Lasky she headed over to Shepard. That same reassuring smile that never gets old. The tired, sad dark blue eyes.
No one knew how to handle the information. One a twisted, yet logical level it made sense. The UNSC had to look after themselves. Mankind first. To them this wasn't a war for survival, to fend from galactic extinction. To them this was a new world they can force themselves into.
The majority of the galaxy doesn't see the UNSC as someone that could willing destroy any Citadel race it so chooses. They didn't see the power and vast numbers of their fleets, or the tactics of their ground forces. All the saw were saviors.
It was hard to tell what the military leaders of the galaxy saw though. With the knowledge that UNSC High Command was debating the fact that they might abandon them, or worse...well, it wasn't exactly the pure, angelistic light the average civilian saw them as.
Wait until the Council heard about this.
No one tried to object to Lord Hood and his admirals in a absurd way like the Council did. Again though, they weren't thrown into it. And more than likely, whatever illusion of possibile control they may be able to implement on the UNSC had been broken in the first few minutes.
"Lord Hood." Matriarch Gendina spoke out. "Besides a strategic advantage, from what we understand the UNSC isn't above political ideological standpoints."
Lord Hood turned to Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid. She nodded. "You know the argument, set up defenses or quickly eliminate the problem at the root source. Some people in High Command believe that in order to do that, we have to have utter control of the Systems Alliance. It's differing strategic standpoints, not ideological."
"By either completely absorbing the Alliance or enacting it as a puppet government." Fleet Admiral Harper finished.
"Which we do have the power to overrun and subdue the Systems Alliance." Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid had to add unnecessary.
The other fleet admirals, Alvares, Al-Fashid, and Harper, held the same decorations and experience as Lord Hood. Silver and bronze stars, purple hearts, Combat Action Ribbons with gold stars, a few Navy Crosses here and there, commendation and expeditionary medals, NAMs with multiple gold stars, distinguished service medals, unit citation ribbons, Battle 'E' ribbons, and good conduct awards. What really separated Lord Hood from the rest was the medal of honor ribbon on top of his stack.
The story of services each one told was...stoic and highly commendable. A never ending amount of respect from every other servicemen of any branch. Their voices, their personality, their figures also uplifted that sort of reputation that comes with those stacks. However, with Lord Hood, you could see and almost feel the other fleet admirals gravitate towards him. How they defended him, surrounded him, spoke for him.
Not only was he just there commanding officer, they respected him.
They would follow him and any order he gave.
So if that were the case, why did Lord Hood try to appease them? Whatever strategy he decided on, they would follow. Maybe he was debating with himself?
Liara would know a lot more.
"We know that, Fleet Admiral." Shepard responded. Maybe...maybe they had to sacrifice even more. "Why discuss a possible invasion of our colonies now when we still have to deal with the Reapers? You'd be dividing resources in a unnecessary time when we can still help you."
"I agree on that aspect, Commander." Al-Fashid said. "I'm stating other's viewpoints."
"But from this new knowledge," Fleet Admiral Harper spoke before anyone else could. "The Migrant Fleet, Geth Fleet, Geth ground forces, and Migrant Fleet Marines? What can you launch in a first assault wave?"
Admiral Tonbay answered. "As you can see, we have few actual combat orientated ships, but we can launch everything we have in a couple weeks. As for the Geth…"
She motioned to the Geth Prime awkwardly standing by the door. "Five million active duty Geth troops with armored support of First Expeditionary Corps and one-thousand Geth Prime special forces units of Geth Prime section have been mobilized for deployment.
"Of our exospheric fleets, we are ready to deploy all our assets in a strategic and controlled fashion."
Lord Hood and the other admirals didn't say anything. Maybe they were beginning to realize the staggering amount? Maybe it'll finally change their minds
"We'll need a list of mission roles and capabilities. In the meantime, what would the rest of you contribute?" Lord Hood asked to the room.
Major Kirrahe of STG opened up his Omni-tool and began typing in orders. He brought up a list on the holo-display in the center of the table. Shepard recognized what it was. He's seen it enough times in the War Room.
The Galactic Asset List and Readiness chart.
Primarch Victus seemed to sigh. Whatever counts as a sigh for a Turian. He was hesitant of sharing this information, but at the end of the day it wasn't up to him. Shepard was also hesitant, but….what other way was there? What else could they do? It's choosing between a temporary salvation or death.
Victus couldn't say anything. Not if he wanted to endanger this. Primarch Victus was about to experience the extent of everything Shepard and the crew had to put up with.
Lord Hood made that clear.
"Lord Hood," Matriarch Gendina said. "Before we release this we need a guarantee of your confidentiality. I understand the position we're in, but we're about to release something highly-"
"I'd feel more comfortable with Admiral Hackett present." Primarch Victus interjected, feeling a little bold.
Lord Hood turned to Commander Shepard, expecting a answer.
"The Normandy sent word to Admiral Hackett about the accelerated time table. He hasn't responded." Liara answered for him.
"Maybe we should ask why the time table was accelerated?" Primarch Victus pressed.
Lord Hood crossed his arms. Shepard guess in some way it signalled to the other admirals to not say anything because no one responded.
"Try contacting him again." Lord Hood...ordered Shepard. He turned to the Asari and Turians. "With this force available, it means there doesn't have to be a complete total reliance on UNSC assets if we decide to send support."
"Yet from implications, they would be the main driving force." Major Kirrahe commented.
Wrex and Grunt seemed to roll their eyes.
Matriarch Gendina leaned forward. The blue light deepened the dark circles around her eyes. "Which has lead us to our main issue…"
…
She felt something pinch her skin at the wrists. She immediately woke up, a shortened breath. Her heart literally skipped a beat. It stopped for maybe a couple seconds, then a heavy sudden beat that hit against her rips.
Her body felt weird. For a moment she felt dizzy.
"Heart palpitations. Don't worry. A minor side effect." Doctor Chakwas explained. "You're okay. You might feel a little strange."
Goddamnit.
Miranda was still here.
Miranda was laying down on the bed. She lifted up her head. Mum had stripped away her armor and cut off her uniform since it was essentially glued to her skin. Her midriff was wrapped in a plastic and soft metal cast with a couple IV tubes going in and out.
And Christ it felt like there was a nine inch nail in her ribs and pins and needles in her lungs.
"I need to get going," Miranda said. She tried to lift herself up, found she could barely move. Either way, Doctor Chakwas gently pushed her down.
Oh God, Mum, just let me leave.
She fucking needed to get going. Who knows what the hell she missed by being useless here.
"What time is it?" Miranda was really hoping she didn't say it's the next day or something crazy like that.
"It's eleven-o-two, and no, I'm not letting you go anywhere. You need-"
"Come on, Mum, that hasn't stopped me before." And this push wouldn't stop either until she was dead or until the Reaper War was over.
Was she tired? Beyond exhausted. Absolutely. She wanted to sleep more than anything else, but that didn't matter. Couldn't matter.
Shepard and everyone else pushed on. A couple of fucked up ribs wouldn't stop her.
"Well, if you keep going about like this you're not going to be any use to anybody." Chawkwas responded.
Oh, ya know me so well, don't ya Mum?
…
"BREACHING! BREACHING! BREACHING!" The door blew open. Smoke illuminated by a white light spread everywhere. He saw green armor rush through. Silver and black rifles raised, turning from corner to corner, wall to wall. Men stacked up against one another.
They started to yell, "UN MARINES! UN MARINES! UN MARINES!"
"Friendly?" Some marine asked.
"I can't tell!" Another marine else replied
Thane and Kasumi turned another corner. The Spartan was close behind. It looked like they were about to run out of breathing room in a minute.
They had to get back to the tram system. Follow it by foot at the very least.
Kasumi laid down a few flashbang mines behind them for the super soldier and any marines that decide to follow.
Another corner. It looked like they were in some pediatric section. More red lights and the cracking sounds of gunfire behind them. He couldn't tell if the marines were shooting at them or at the super soldier.
Kasumi opened up her Omni-tool. Quickly inputted commands. A small map of the hospital came up.
It looked like if they turned a few more corners they'd be back on the right track. If-
He couldn't breathe. The airways in his lungs began to close up. His throat being clogged up. He began to cough.
Right. He couldn't run as long as he used to.
Push through. Another corner. Another breach of white light as more UNSC marines breached the hospital.
Captured by these super soldiers or these marines, none of that was an option. They just had to get to the tram door-
Something entered into their intended path. Thane could see the blue reflective visor in the dim red light.
Locke
There was no going back. The marines were also gaining up on them from behind.
It seemed like there'd be no way out.
At least it seemed like it.
…
"Maybe we should've started with introductions." Shepard tried to ease the situation before it could really start. Matriarch Gendina was going to start something that wouldn't end well. Especially with Primarch Victus not wanting to continue. Not without Admiral Hackett here. Lasky guessed Shepard will ignore….Lord Hood's 'orders' for the time being to make sure no one kills each other.
Lord Hood turned to his admirals, quickly with maybe some slight annoyance. "Fleet Admiral Harper, executive officer of the UNSCDF and director of naval staff. Fleet Admiral Magdalena Alvares, commanding officer of the twelfth fleet and the forces stationed on Illium. And Fleet Admiral Jekorta Al-Fashid, commanding officer of the fourth fleet."
Lord Hood wouldn't wait. He continued to press Matriarch Gendina. She probably figured she might get her way without Admiral Hackett here to mediate. "What is this main issue you're talking about?"
Matriarch Gendina connected her orange holographic tool to the central holo-display on the table. To Primarch Vitus's relief probably (sort of), she was able to push off the Galactic Asset and Readiness list for something else. A momentary color of lights that formed into their theoretical picture of the galaxy. The red spirals surrounded in blue gas.
If only they had a UNSC AI here to figure it out. To translate it to their interpretation of the galaxy.
Guess they'd have to make due for now.
"At the very least, maybe I can tell you what's already public knowledge." Gendina said. She typed in a couple of commands and blue lines appeared throughout, connected dozens of small red circles into linear patterns.
Captain Lasky immediately knew what this was. The Relay network that spanned across the galaxy. And the network runs deep into human territory.
"What's the frame of direction?" Lord Hood asked. He was thinking the same thing as Lasky.
"Andromeda is coming from "up"." Major Kirrahe explained. "And based on the magnetic and Cherenkov radiation of the galactic center, with the historical location of the Citadel, the edge of the map closest to you is south."
Lasky was trying to remember the map overlays of the UNSC map with the Citadel one. The Citadel was about fifty light years away from Installation 04, three-hundred light years outside of UNSC theoretical territory, and around five-hundred light years from actual territory, being the nearest planet Harvest. Though Harvest of course was entirely glass. The nearest habitable colony, Draco III was about six-hundred light years away.
It wasn't hard to get a loosely relative picture. It seemed a lot of Relays ran deep into human and elite territory.
It also meant that this war was happening in their backyard without them knowing. For God knows how long, the Systems Alliance and Citadel Council had been next door neighbors with Humanity.
Lord Hood turned to one of his Spartan guards. "Check up on Virgil and Roland. We need them up to speed. ASAP."
The Spartan acknowledged and went to the other side of the room, looking for a wounded AI and a Engineer trying his best to heal him.
Everyone needed to push, didn't they?
Well, it's confirmed what UNSC High Command had already theorized. This was way too close to home, and directly threatened Earth and her colonies.
Worse, there had to be at least a few dozen Relay points in Human and Elite territory. Lasky hoped it'd be the beginning to the end to the belief the UNSC could hold out and wait for the Reapers to come, thinking it'd reduce costs and casualties.
The Navy was already spread thin. Fleet Admiral Harper was right, strike now. The Navy couldn't afford the resources to supply a fleet or some sort of battle group per each Relay. Not long term. The Didact already ripped apart the Home Defense Fleet, the second fleet was combat ineffective, and Lasky heard rumors that the seventh fleet (the majority of their assets were in the middle of rotating back to the inner colonies when the Didact attacked) had taken so many casualties FLEETCOM was planning to disband it entirely and recycle whatever assets were left.
Not to mention that ever since Reach had been taken out, Earth along with Victoria had become the new strategic launch point centers of the inner colonies. Every fleet and battle group had some sort of asset or section stationed there when the Didact attacked.
The UNSC Navy had lost a lot in merely a few hours.
Now, Fleet Admiral Takeda was readying to take on Requiem in a few months. God knows how many resources that was going to take up. Then, expeditionary fleets and battle groups were dealing with the fractured former Covenant that was growing more muddled every passing day. And the outer colonial fleets were dealing with the remains of the six decade old Insurrection. The Insurrection was quiet, low on the radar, but as the memories of the Great War and the common enemy fade away everyday, so to does the ideal of Human unity.
The UNSC at its time, now in the prime of Human power and galactic dominance, was powerful but…
Commander Shepard received some sort of message on his Omni-tool. He stepped outside to take it.
"Oh, God…" One of the Krogan… Urdnot...Rex? Rex. Weird name. He spoke out. "These two have been debating this stupid thing for the past hour and a half."
"And one of us knows her heart isn't in the argument." Primarch Victus commented. He looked across to Matriarch Gendina.
She didn't respond. Looked to the galaxy map. She was trying to hold back a plethora of emotions. She turned back to him. Confidence was the only mask showing. "I believe in the Asari. My heart's with them."
"But what do you believe? What do you really think?"
She ignored him. "With Quarian and Geth assets ready on standby, plus the Krogan…."
"What role do you play?" Lord Hood asked Rex.
"Whenever the rest of the galaxy doesn't want to get their hands dirty, they send us," Rex responded, pointing to himself. Proud. Boastful. "We hit hard, fast. We make hills out of bodies then climb over them."
Shock troopers. The poor bloody ground infantry.
"...Fleet Admiral, our thought process is to hold out instead of take back. The Quarians and the Geth would've bought us a lot more time to finish the Crucible." Matriarch Gendina explained.
"Yet as we can imagine that changed when we arrived." Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid said. She seemed frustrated as she looked upon the map of the galaxy. Maybe she was starting to piece the same things Lasky and Lord Hood were. "Where exactly were you planning to deploy these forces?"
"Palaven." Primarch Victus answered reluctantly. Frustrated, he looked over to Gendina. "Originally, but Matriarch Gendina can explain the rest."
He typed something into his orange tool and one of the circles illuminated a deeper blood red. There was a small info flag. The Apien Crest it said.
Another blood red circle illuminated. This one was more….westward based on their frame of direction. It was named the Athena Cluster.
…
It felt like he was going to black out. Too bad that wasn't an option.
Goddess of the Hunt, if there was ever a time….
He looked around. The ventilation shafts were small and looked like they were secured tight. No other way out. That meant either take on the super soldier, Locke, or the marines.
Locke ran forward, closing the distance.
Kasumi knew that too. She threw a flashbang at the super soldier, now only a few meters away. He knew what it was this time. He reached down, punched the ground. Some sort of blue and black shield formed around his body. The flashbang went off and had no effect.
It seemed to be building energy, growing a more bright blue color.
Thane stepped back, tried to turn the opposite direction.
The energy in his shield build-up was released. A small wave of soft light spread throughout the hall. It quickly reached the two, passed through.
The first thing Thane noticed was the sting in his hand. Like a knife was going through his palm (he'd know the type of pain). He looked down. Electric currents were forming around the skin…
He could see his skin. His black suit covering the arms and forearms.
He looked over. Kasumi was there. Visible. Her hood was gone. She had black eyes and light brown hair barely visible in the dark light.
Something turned a corner. Green armored marines with flashlights and rifles. The formed a cordon around them. Rifles up. The flashlights in the dark nearly blocked out their figures. The red emergency lights were far away.
"Lay down your goddamn weapons now!" One of the lead marines yelled. "Fucking toss them aside!"
"Corporal." Locke said. He un-holstered a single weapon. It was only a pistol. "They're coming with me."
"Sir!" The corporal responded. His weapon was raised at Kasumi. "We just got the word to stop the breach, but we didn't hear anything about Spartans joining us. Let me clear it up with my staff sergeant-"
"They are coming with me, Corporal." The super soldier reiterated. "I have direct orders."
"Sir? With who? We have to take them in. Maybe-"
"Lay down your weapons." Locke turned his attention to Thane and Kasumi.
Thane wasn't sure how this was going to play out. These two groups were here on different orders. He wondered how far he could play it.
There was a static screeching sound. It was coming from one of the marine's comm systems. A screaming voice.
"We have marines down! Spartans attacked marine security personnel! I repeat! Spartans attacked marines! Do not trust them! Do not-" The line went dead. Just static.
The Corporal turned to the Locke.
"Sir?..." The barrel of his rifle drew to the super soldier.
"They interfered with direct orders, Corporal." He said. His pistol was still aimed at Thane and Kasumi. "No one's dead. Just incapacitated. This is above your paygrade. Hand them over to me."
The Corporal didn't say anything. The marines at the edge of the cordon slowly moved in closer.
Too close.
One of the other marines also noticed. "Hey, PFC! Fucking boot! Get the fuck-"
It was too late. Thane reached out, grabbed the end of his rifle and pointed it upwards. The gun fired. A stream of bullets. The heat burned his palm. The noise deafened his hearing.
He pulled the rifle forward. The marine didn't have proper control. It immediately slipped out of his hands, only held to his body because of the sling. Thane took a step forward, a direct punch to the face rendering him unconscious.
He stepped around his body, launched himself at the nearest marine. Stay close to the bodies. Don't give them a clear line of fire.
Kasumi did the same. Attacked one of the marines, unconscious, moved on to the next one.
Thane quickly made work of the next one, tried to move on to the next one, then the next one. A series of coordinated and calm counter strikes and kicks to the pressure points along the knee. Bones cracking, bodies down instantly, some missed weapons' fire that lit the hallway in brilliant yellow light.
They were about to reach the Corporal in the center. Silently. Swiftly without a single noise from the two. In the corner of his eye he saw a armored hand that tried to reach Kasumi. A blue visor in the darkness. Kasumi grabbed the body of a random marine, turned him around and pushed him forward.
It stalled Locke for only a second. He threw the marine out of the way.
Thane tackled the Corporal, unstrapped his sling and tossed his weapon aside.
He looked up. Kasumi had tried to kick Locke, only to have a shot of pain travel up her leg. She seemed to yelp.
The Spartan grabbed hold of her by the wrist. Before he knew it, Thane had his pistol drawn.
...
Lasky looked concerned, but it seemed for something beyond this room. Liara wasn't sure.
As for Lord Hood, well, it was all hidden, but he was definitely in a rush. His Spartan guards observed everyone in the room, waiting for someone to make the first hostile move. His two marines stood by outside. As for Lord Hood's admirals, they were also uniform in personality she guessed one way to describe them. The colorful ribbons on their chests might as well been the same.
She wasn't really sure why the admirals were here in the first place. To backup Lord Hood against the entirety of the Citadel and Terminus systems? Please.
Maybe it was to show a united UNSC front. All seemingly centered around Lord Hood. At least they were able to successfully do that. They would do the same thing with Admiral Hackett, but (maybe as planned) they were caught off guard.
Shepard had left a few moments ago. No one noticed, but returned a few moments later. He had his Omni-tool out, it was switched to a specific channel.
He didn't say anything to Liara. Only stepped forward and connected it to the the central holo-display on the table. The image of the galaxy was pushed aside. Another figure appeared. The blue Alliance uniform. The rank of fleet admiral.
Admiral Hackett looked around the room, "Lord Hood… I just barely got the message you wanted to speed things up."
The other fleet admirals didn't say a word. They looked to each other, maybe displeased. Liara noticed the first thing they eyed was the rank and the ribbons and badges all over his heart. Goddess knows what they meant. Despite what they thought, they saluted him with those white naval caps, and Hackett returned the greeting.
Lord Hood saluted last, and Hackett greeted him last. Lord Hood spoke. "I apologize but the situation called for it. A situation aboard the Infinity."
"That's very convenient." Hackett replied.
"Take it as you will, it was not our intentions." Lord Hood responded.
Hackett looked around the room to all the individual representatives. He caught Primarch Victus and Matriarch Gendina, who both nodded to him. "And did we do introductions?"
"We deemed it unnecessary." Fleet Admiral Al-Fashid answered, "it seems most everyone here is waiting on what these two have to say anyways."
"Maybe everyone else, but I'm just waiting for the shitshow to start." Aria commented. She was joined by a few murmurs by the other representatives who surrounded her.
"That we can agree on." Wrex added. He looked over the map of the galaxy that was pushed aside.
Wrex wasn't wrong. In a way, what the Turian general yelled out earlier also wasn't wrong. There wasn't really a need for Aria. That being said, any of the rest of the military representatives to be here. Only the major players that could have an effect on the strategic decision process.
Maybe they all really did know their place, and were only watching, only wanted to be kept up to date on the situation. Where their troops would be sent, if the UNSC was built up to be all that.
She's sure Lord Hood knew that from the beginning though.
"I've already been briefed on the situation." Hackett said, "I was hoping to brief you personally, Fleet Admiral, then present you to the rest of the military council."
"Present, huh?" Lord Hood turned to Fleet Admiral Harper. Harper brought up a holo-panel and typed something in. "The plan has changed, Fleet Admiral."
"Doesn't it always seem to?" Hackett replied.