Ch 25

They'll Regret That too

Normandy: Unknown System

"Shepard, I told you to give me some recon on the Covenant, not follow them halfway across the galaxy," came the disgruntled voice of Admiral Hackett. He stood with his arms crossed, glaring disapprovingly at the Commander through the hologram.

Leaning on the rail between him and the hologram, Shepard gave off a frustrated sigh. "They came, and then left with the Reapers. Something didn't sit right. I saw an opportunity and I took it."

"Udnia will be meeting with the council as soon as they arrive back from their home worlds. He's expecting you to be there to help testify for the invasion of Earth, and this Prothean weapon you found."

"The Normandy's the fastest ship in the fleet," he cursed. "We're not going in blind here, we know what's in store this time. We'll stop the Covenant from activating the Halo, then head to the Citadel and bring the council's fleets to Earth."

Shaking his head, Hackett voiced his disapproval. "You fail to see that the Reapers aren't just on Earth, this war will spread across the galaxy before long, Commander."

"None of it will matter if the Covenant activates the rings!" Shepard shouted, his frustration growing now.

"According to your report, they can't do that without a Human there."

"They might be able to find a way around it, we can't risk that."

Rubbing his chin, Hackett thought for a moment, carefully going over what few options he had left. "Alright, Shepard. You have two days, enough time for me to get the fleets regrouped. After that, I'm ordering you to leave and return to the Citadel."

"Thank you sir," Shepard said with a sigh of relief.

"And have Dr. T'soni send me the information you have on the Prothean device. I'll see what our scientist can make of it," Hackett said, as his hologram vanished from view.

Pushing himself from the railing, Shepard walked out of the communication room and into the war room, careful to avoid the large wires that spread across the floor. In the war room, the central hologram gave a detailed depiction of the entire system, showing the positions of the Normandy, Covenant, and Reaper ships, which had all landed on the ring's surface.

"Joker," Shepard said aloud. "Do we know where this Halo's activation index is?"

Before the pilot could respond, a metallic clank could be heard on the far side of the room, as the door to the conference room hissed open. The robotic body of Eva Core walked in, giving off a different stride than it had on Mars.

"As a matter of fact, we do." It was EDI's voice that spoke through the machine, giving the former combatant a somewhat friendlier atmosphere.

"EDI?" Shepard questioned. "Is that you?"

"Affirmative, Shepard. I thought this device would prove of use to you," she said, with an almost seductive smile.

Another person appeared behind her, leaning against the door frame when he saw the Commander within view.

"Sorry, sir," said a tired and weary Adams. "AI core had a small fire, but everything else is fine." His gaze moved over to EDI, "Though she did give me a heart attack, walking out of the smoke like that."

"My apologies, Adams. If you or the crew were in any danger, I would not have proceeded with the transfer." She started away from the door, followed closely by Adams, walking around the room to Shepard, who was sill focusing on the hologram in front of him.

"You could have at least warned us," Shepard grumbled. "What are you planning to do with that thing anyway?"

Stopping next to him, she turned to observe the hologram as well, as if the machine's eyes were the only way she could see. "The Normandy is not equipped for every possible combat scenario. This body will allow me to assist you on he ground when needed."

"Could be useful, Commander," Adams pipped in. "Especially if we're going where your thinking of."

"Speaking of which," Shepard interrupted. "EDI, what were you saying about the index?"

The hologram suddenly changed, now showing the ring's surface in minute detail. "There's a structure similar to the last Halo we were on, the activation index should be there as well. Assuming the rings work in the same way." She spoke in an almost matter of fact kind of way, as if this new body brought with it unseen emotions her previous avatar couldn't express.

"However," she continued, "There's something else that may interest you." The hologram shifted again, showing now where the Covenant had taken control of temple in the center of a large lake, their massive vessels floating above. Close behind were the Reapers, floating almost peacefully in the sky.

"What are they doing?" Shepard asked.

"Waiting, Shepard," the AI answered. "They don't know how to activate the ring, but it won't be long before the Prophet of Regret finds out how."

"Regret?" asked a curious Adams.

"One of the Covenant's highest religious and political leaders," EDI answered again. "One, of only three."

Now it was Shepard's turn to think in silence, going over any possible plan of action before he decided to commit to it. "You want to take that thing into combat?" he asked.

"Affirmative, Shepard." Her body seemed to tense up a bit, almost as if she was somehow nervous as to his next command. It worried the Commander slightly.

"Go and gear up, I'll meet you in the hanger." Without another word, EDI spun on her heels and started quickly to the elevator. Once she was gone, Shepard turned towards Adams. "How's the ship doing?" he asked.

"So far, so good. Little shaken up after that surprise FTL she had, but I don't think I've ever seen her preform so remarkably well. That engineer really did a number on this. The stealth systems would have never lasted this long without him."

"And there's no sign the Covenant or Reapers will notice us?"

"It be best if we kept communications at a minimum, but they shouldn't. We're not giving off any heat signature or detectable radiation." As he spoke, Adams seemed to give off a proud gleam of hope. He truly believed the Normandy could lead them through anything, so long as Shepard was left in charge."

Grabbing a mug he had left on a nearby terminal, Shepard started walking towards the exit. "Good work Adams," he said, reaching the doorway. Pausing for a moment, he turned his head to see the engineer going over a data pad in his hand. "And don't let Joker run any suicide missions while we're gone," he said with a smile, before turning to head towards the elevator.

Upon reaching the lift, the doors slid open with a small hiss, revealing the worried expression donned by Liara. Stepping out of the elevator, she remained completely unaware of the Commander's presence, until she violently bumped into him, spilling what little remained of his coffee over his work uniform.

"Shepard," Liara gasped, "I was just on my way to find you." As she stuttered, Liara violently wiped her hands over Shepard's shirt, desperately trying to remove the liquid before it left a stain. Grabbing her hand gingerly, Shepard pulled it off of him and to their side.

"It's fine, Liara," he said with a smile. It had been nearly a year since he had last seen her, or anyone else from his old crew for that matter. The sight of her just seemed to bring back memories of old.

"Goddees," she stammered, pulling her hand away from Shepard's and placing it in her own. "I just don't know what to do." Nervously, she rubbed her hands together, in the nervous habit she had developed.

"Come on," Shepard said, motioning her into the elevator. Once they had both stepped on, he hit the button for the bottom deck, and the elevator began its descent. Looking to Liara, he could see the worry in her eyes, the pale expression of fear in her cheeks, which only troubled him further.

"Now tell me what happened after the Alliance took you into custody?" she asked, somewhat angrily. Not knowing something as seemingly important as his whereabouts did not sit well with the Shadow Broker.

"What, you don't already know?" Shepard asked teasingly.

"This isn't the time, Shepard." Her voice rose a tad in frustration, giving an audible emotion to how she felt.

"I know," he responded, giving off a deep sigh. "It's just been too long since I've seen you, Liara. Any of you."

"Shepard," she muttered, her voice gaining a tender tone. Taking his hand in hers, she gave it a tight squeeze of affection. She started to give him another apology, some sign of compassion for the man who had just lost his home, only to be interrupted by the elevator door opening again.

The hanger bay appeared before them, Cortez was already readying one of the shuttles for a take off, while James and Ashley were busy strapping on their boots and armor. It wasn't long before Liara noticed the metallic body, adding a pistol to its belt. Pulling himself away from her, Shepard walked over to the locker, readying himself for more combat

"EDI?" she asked, blinking away the confusion. "That's a new look for you."

"Tell me about it," Ashley grumbled, obviously displeased by the sudden and drastic change. "First we were shooting flashlight heads, now we'll have one covering our six," she muttered to herself, prompting a glare from Shepard that silenced her on the subject.

"Alright everyone, gather round," the Commander said, popping into place his chest piece. He cringed a little as it pushed the still damp shirt against his skin. "We can't allow the Covenant to activate this ring." Glancing to Liara, Shepard could see she was still confused on the whole matter. Taking notice too, James pulled Liara aside, whispering to her a summarized version of their events of the last six months.

"EDI's also found a high ranking Covenant leader," he continued, "one who will finally give us some answers. So here's what we're going to do. James, Liara and I will fly in with Cortez and fight our way to him. Ashley," he pointed towards his squadmate, who straightened at the call of her name, "you're going to take EDI and secure the index. Once Joker picks you up, we'll hopefully be ready for extraction with Cortez, so long as shit doesn't hit the fan."

"Which it inevitably will," Ashley grumbled, still slightly agitated. She finished gearing up with the rest of them, strapping her gauntlets into place before grabbing her sniper and rifle. Liara found herself some spare armor, easily slipping in to the white painted pieces, before strapping an smg to her belt. Seeing that everyone was geared up and ready, Shepard ordered Liara and James into the shuttle, before turning around to see Ashley, standing there watching them.

"Commander," she stuttered.

"What is it now, Ash," he said, crossing his arms and awaiting a response. She seemed to fumble around for a moment, having the words stuck under her tongue, desperate for release.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said. About Cerberus, you." She spat out the words quickly, desperate to move past the awkwardness of the whole situation. "About us," she whispered after a long pause. Biting her tongue, she turned her face away from Shepard's, unable to meet his eyes with her own.

"Ash," he sighed. "It's fine, can we just move on?"

She turned to face him before responding, her earlier awkwardness replaced now with agitation. "Then why aren't you taking me? I should be the one covering your ass."

Taking a step off of the shuttle, Shepard placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to physically reassure her of his intentions. "Someone needs to find that icon. EDI can't do it alone, and I wouldn't trust James to go in by himself."

"Hey, I resent that," came the disgruntled voice of James from the shuttle, causing Ashley to give a small chuckle.

"Alright skipper, just try not to go all lone wolf on us again."

With that, Shepard walked back into the shuttle, gripping the handrail tight once he was on board. The shuttle door closed, and the hanger bay opened, bringing with it a blast of warm air from the ring's surface.

"All set, Commander?" Cortez asked from the Kodiak's controls.

"Ready when you are."

Floating up from the deck, the shuttle maneuvered out from open hanger bay door, before its engines roared to life and took the small ship in the opposite direction of the Normandy.

"So you and LC going to be alright?" James asked, somewhat mockingly.

"She seems more irritable, from what I remember," Liara chimed in.

Shepard looked at them both, eyebrow arched in a mock hurtful face. "Just remember you two haven't always been the most pleasant to be around. You didn't seem too keen on leaving Earth the first time James."

"Don't know what you're talking about, Loco," James said, turning his body to avoid delving further into the topic.

"Sure you don't, James," Shepard said with a laugh, noticing his squad mate's embarrassed reaction.

AN: Right starting this next section off with a heavy dialogue part. Don't worry, there'll be a lot of action coming next round. We're reaching the middle point, and I'm excited to see how everyone reacts with the Arbiter as a squad mate! Hopefully I can stay true to all the characters, and I trust all of you will be more than willing to correct me when I don't.

Don't forget that you can go and vote for the major decisions on my profile poll to alter the storyline here!

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to drop a review =)

P.S. I forget to mention something last chapter, but just so you guys know how much research I've actually put into this story. At the start of the year 2186 Mars, Earth and Pluto will be in a relatively straight line with each other. Meaning that going to Mars from Earth, then back to Pluto, would cause one to travel straight past Earth again. Granted this is before the cannon Reaper invasion, but hey it's a minor detail that I did consider before writing it.