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"Lieutenant Commander Doe reporting as ordered, Sir." He snapped out, sliding into an armored salute as the Admiral turned to look at him from behind his desk. The man eased back in his chair and gave him a nod in greeting and the ODST slid into a more relaxed at ease. In front of him he noticed a folder and grimaced, asking quietly, "You called me to ask about my after-action report, sir?"

"I did." The man gestured to the seat across from him and, adjusting his still dirty armor, the trooper slid into it. At another signal the younger man sighed and pulled his helmet off, tucking it under his seat at the man's direction. Conversationally, Hackett waved a hand at his armor and asked, "You're still fighting on the station, son?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Why?" Hackett asked, fingers laced together and gaze impassive in the way of a soldier analysing something. When the ODST didn't answer immediately, he added, "You're on leave while we mop up Cerberus' resistance in-system. You don't need to fight on Omega, Doe. So why are you out there risking it?"

"Are you ordering me to stop?" The man's brow rose challengingly and he added, belatedly, "Sir."

"No, John, I'm not. From what I understand, you're just as much an asset wandering in to help secure a position as I would expect you to be." Hackett paused to take a drink and let the words soak in, licking his lips with a theatrical 'ah' sound before going on. "No, that isn't the issue. I'm asking you why you are choosing to endanger yourself and exhaust yourself when I have given you time to rest."

"Well, Sir, I…" He almost answered right away but then paused for a moment, something telling him to choose his words carefully. That there was something else at play he should be worried about. "I don't exactly have anything better to do, Sir. And frankly, my priority is winning this war as fast as possible."

"And you don't care what you have to do to that end?"

"No, Sir." He shook his head, adding, "Why do I dislike the way you said that?"

"A question for later." The man grunted, waving him off and reaching out with a long finger to tap the folder that held his report, still open to the last handful of pages. "For now, I have another question. You killed Aria T'Loak, rather than let her kill General Petrovsky."

"I did."

"Why?" Hackett asked simply, gesturing at the evidence of what he had to say with a hand. Namely, his own report. "The battle was already turned against Cerberus, and his ground forces were never going to surrender. At least beyond the officer corps. And from all reports, yours included, you two got along well enough. So why betray and kill her?"

"She was an unstable leader prone to bouts of irrational actions to get what she wanted, Sir. She knew we needed Petrovsky to find more Cerberus locations and root out their resistance before they could hamper our advance into the Terminus Systems." They needed to keep their secured little oases safe and supplied while the Geth built up for the second offensive, and Cerberus wouldn't allow that. Instability in the Omega system, one of their key anchors, was unacceptable for that reason. "Nyreen Kandros, by all accounts including Aria's own behavior, is a far more stable leader. And one that looks down on the seedier aspects of the criminal kingdom her predecessor built. It seemed… Like a simple decision, Admiral."

"And rationally speaking, you'd be right." The Admiral nodded, closing his folder and revealing a second lying under it. Opening that one, he began to skim it. As he did, finger trailing along the sentences idly, he spoke to him, "Nyreen Kandros is an ex-military Turian who served in the Heirarchy's Cabal units. Their Biotic forces," the man clarified when the ODST made to ask, "where she felt she was underutilized both as a Turian and as a Biotic soldier."

"Understandable." Many in the UNSC left for similar reasons, feeling wasted in whatever fields they were in. Some became Insurrectionists, he knew, but the vast majority retired to the private sector. Or moved to other arms of the massive UNSC military body. "And after she left?"

"She was a mercenary for a while." The older, more scarred man answered quietly, "Even worked under T'Loak herself, for a while. Left over disagreements about how Aria handled things and vanished. Apparently, she was working as a modern vigilante for a while. Modeled after Archangel's targeting methodology."

"Then I believe I made the right decision."

"You did, at least on paper. We've spun her death as a martyrdom and the Patriarch has fallen in line behind Kandros as a result. We get her forces, her territory as a push point, and a better ally. A win all around for the Coalition." The man nodded, sounding pleased but also exhausted by the entire matter. Meeting his eyes he let his brows furrow and asked, quietly, "But son, are you alright with what happened? And everything else, too. Gettin' dragged here, Krios' death, Javik's… You haven't slowed down in months, Doe."

"I'm fine, Sir."

"Are you sure?" The drop trooper made to answer and Hackett cut him off, raising a hand and offering him a small, polite and understanding smile. Quietly, as though he were afraid to spook him somehow, "I need to know the truth, John. I don't need platitudes, or assurances, or anything of the sort. I need to know for absolute certain that I can depend on you before I deploy you."

"Hmph." After a moment, he sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and taking a deep breath to think. Finally, tensely, he admitted, "As long as I have an objective to focus on, I can deal, Admiral. Give me a mission to keep my attention and I'll be fine. Ship me off for mandatory leave or something, and I'll lose it, thinking too much."

"You could relax." The man suggested, "Find yourself a warm body and a soft bed, plus or minus a hot meal or three. Enjoy a few weeks away from all the killing and dying."

"Not my kind of thing." He shrugged simply, "I prefer to focus on my work rather than waste time like that."

"Not your kind of thing? What, living isn't 'your kind of thing'?" He met Hackett's eyes but said nothing and the man pursed his lips, looking very much like a grandfather as he sat there and considered him. Tapping a long finger on the files on his desk, he chewed a lip and then sighed. "Anyone else talked like that and I'd drum them out of the military. Any other time, preferably one without giant robots trying to kill us all, andI'd do it to you, too."

"I'm fine, Sir." He assured him again, "After the war I'll think about any of that. For now, I need my next objective."

"Assuming there will be an after."

"There will be an after, Admiral." Even if he wasn't there to see it, he knew they could win. Just like he had faith that the UNSC had come through somehow in his own place and time, even if he wasn't there to see it. Raising an eyebrow he added, "Unless you know something I don't, Admiral."

"The Coalition First Fleet just got cut down to a third of its fighting power, defending Citadel space in vanguard of defending Tuchanka." The man explained, smirking sadly when the younger soldier grimaced. Chuckling mirthlessly, the Admiral nodded knowingly and sighed, "Alliance Second and First Fleets are moving to take the defensive posture, don't worry. They're not in the best shape, but… Well, we knew the Reapers would target us eventually."

"And the refugee situation?"

"The Citadel is playing host to anyone that doesn't want to go to Tuchanka, and on Tuchanka itself there's plenty of work programs to keep people productive. Farms with short-run food-stuffs are beginning to see some return already too, but food is still an issue." He sighed, shaking his aged head tiredly and giving the man across from him a long look. Pursing his lips, he frowned even more heavily, which the younger soldier hadn't thought possible. "Our fleets are skirmishing all along the space adjoining Citadel and Coalition territories, fighting over the worlds we abandoned only a little while ago. You know what's stalling us most?"

"Having the large fleet we have out here, in the back lines, fighting Cerberus." He answered immediately. A fleet officer he might not be, but he could understand the more obvious matters of battle lines and territory defence.

"Technically, we're also skirmishing with the Reapers out here, too. We're on the other side of the Reaper battle line, sure, but behind us is Salarian, Asari and parts of Salarian space." His grim smirk turned roguish, then, and he leaned back in his chair. "The food, materials and volunteers from their space aren't things to be ignored either." At his raised eyebrow, Hackett gestured above him, at the emptiness of vacuum who knews how many feet above them both, "Five Asari ships just joined us out here. They won't push out, and neither will the three Salarian Special Tasks Group interception frigates, but they'll hold here to keep our rear safe."

"Useful."

"Mhm." The man nodded, "The Republics, for all that it took them months to do it, seem to be finally getting their heads out of their collective blue asses. But they refuse to fight Cerberus unless they fire the first shots."

"The Asari won't fight Cerberus?" That was strange, to say the least. Cerberus were clearly stalling the war effort against the Reapers and they had hit the Citadel as well. Their refusal to partake in the conflicts at large had sparked a lot of outrage, political loss and ethnic tensions already. Deploying against the Reapers helped, but not fighting Cerberus after everything… "Do we have any explanation on the Salarian and Asari neutrality towards Cerberus?"

"None." The man answered, "But a Colonel Kirrahe has reached out to us with suspicions. What those were, he wasn't sure, but he's been an outspoken advocate of the remaining Citadel races actually joining the war."

"Colonel…"

"Formerly Major." Hackett explained quietly, as though suddenly wary of someone hearing him. Who it could have been, Doe had no idea, but he didn't question the paranoia. "He's since been promoted a fair number of times for gallantry, field successes, casualties above him and political connections to the sitting Salarian councilor."

"The same councilor who refused to join our war effort?"

"The same, yes, but word is that decision was not his." The man answered with a small shake of his head, "Rather, it was the current matriarch of the Union. She ordered him to make that decision, and did so against his recommendations according to Kirrahe. Why the Asari didn't fall in line we don't rightly know."

"Blackmail?" Hackett raised an eyebrow and he explained, "The Union places a lot of value on its intelligence gathering networks. And for good reason, from what I understand they are excellent bordering on the ludicrous. And the Asari are obsessive over their galactic face. If the Salarians knew something that the Asari wanted kept quiet…"

"Then they could blackmail the Asari into falling in line and tie up any Citadel votes after the fact to keep the Citadel from acting." Hacketts brows furrowed, though, and he asked, "But that doesn't gel with the current situation on the Citadel. Why do that and oust the Turians, and then after all of that, still come in to defend against the Reapers?"

"Cerberus has something on the Union." He concluded, grimacing at the prospect of a group like Cerberus having something on the greater galactic powers. "Not enough seemingly to get them to attack us, and doing so would be suicide regardless. But enough to keep two of the stronger galactic factions out of the fight against them. At least before we had the Rachni, Geth, Turians, Quarians and Omega on-side."

"A good line of thinking, Lieutenant Commander." Hackett sighed, evidently not thrilled about where it had led but resigned to pursuing the suspicions. "I'll see our own intelligence corps and contacts all notified of the suspicion and turn some assets to clearing it. For now, though, I needed to brief you on our next steps against Cerberus. Petrovsky, for all his Cerberus credentials as a pile of human refuse, has kept his word."

"Sir." He nodded, leaning forward as he pulled a third file from under the other two and set it down.

"He's not cleared to know everything Cerberus has, or where, regardless of his rank." Compartmentalization made sense for any organization, and especially one like Cerberus was, so he nodded understandingly. Seeing it, Hackett went on, "He's detailed us to two large scale projects he was tasked to direct manpower and resources to from Omega. Refugees, enlistees, ammunition and salvage, the works."

"The first is Project Time Keeper." Hackett explained, drawing out its dossier and laying it on top of the folder. At a nod when he reached for it, the ODST took the dossier and began skimming through it. Seeking to move things along while he did, Hackett detailed in brief, "Military production supplies, general goods and luxury supplies were detailed to be sent there. And in far smaller amounts than the other project he was supporting."

"I see." He nodded, "Officers, maybe. Or very important persons, secured in a safehouse of sorts."

"Our thoughts exactly." Hackett agreed, "But given the state of the war at large, Cerberus having money isn't as big a deal to us." He didn't draw out another dossier this time, instead handing the folder over to him bodily, "This is the supply and manpower requisition list for Project Safe Haven and Project Turncoat. The files were identical, which we take to mean the locations are the same."

"Thousands of people, entire fleets of escorts, mountains of food, water, supplies… Construction equipment, mapping systems..." He blinked his realization and looked up to the Admiral, hefting the heavy folder in his hand. "This is a colonial charter, Admiral. Not some project dossier."

"Our thoughts precisely." Hackett agreed, standing and continuing. "I'm dispatching you with a handful of our frigates to investigate the two projects named in that file. Normally, I'd prefer to move the fleet in being there, but while you are gone I intend on carving my way further into the Terminus. There are a few planets currently being purged that I would very much like to rescue."

"Understood, Sir." He nodded, standing and snapping a salute.

"And Doe?" He looked up from collecting his helmet and the Admiral smiled thinly, raising an eyebrow almost teasingly. "Try to get yourself some of that life we were talking about before. It would do you some good and I know for damn sure anything with legs in the fleet would listen if you paid 'em any attention."

"I'll…" He blinked, "Think about it, Sir. I promise."

"Good enough for now, son." The man answered, retaking his seat and setting to work cleaning up the briefing files. Quietly, he added, "Dismissed and good hunting, Lieutenant Commander Doe. Send some of those hounds to hell for me."

"Sir," he nodded, "Yes, Sir."

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As the main command ship for one of the highest ranking Coalition officers, the Everest had a handful of the expensive, advanced communication suites. Six of them, in fact, set in heavily armored rooms along a single hallway along the spine of the ship right in its core. The safest place in the entire ship, it had been explained to him, which was why they'd been put there. Even if the Everest were crippled they could hope to recover the quantum entanglement systems, at least in part, after the fact. Obviously no one planned to lose the flagship of the fleet, and everyone knew that if they did do so then it was less than likely that they would both lose the flagship and win the battle. But such was the nature of compartmentalization and planning, he'd been told time and again by logistics officers.

Needless to say, with all the security measures taken to protect them,they were incredibly useful. Critical to daily operations, even. As such, securing a few minutes of their use for a private matter was nearly impossible for almost anyone except Hackeet himself. And whoever he saw fit to pay a favor to.

"Doe?" Shepard said as the holographic pixels formed into her familiar shape, the woman looking tired even through the blue edge that the technology lent everything. She smiled, though, and even laughed when he only nodded in greeting. "It is you! I thought the ident-transcript the Everest sent had to be some kind of trick. How are you doing out there? I heard Omega got dealt with."

"You did?"

"Liara told me about it." And he knew she had the Broker's assets in her ear, so there was no real secret keeping from her. He'd have been surprised if Liara, and thus the commander herself, hadn't been aware of Omega's conquest virtually as soon as it fell. "How are you doing? Grapevine says that some shit went down when you captured Petrovsky."

"Aria refused to let him surrender." He explained shortly, hands curling into fists at his side as he spoke. His voice didn't waver, though, and for that he was proud of himself. "So I killed her to save him, and further the plans against Cerberus. She wasn't expecting it, trusted me, and I stabbed her in the back."

"Shit…" The woman chewed a lip for a minute, watching him, and sighed. Knowing him, she didn't bother reinforcing that it was the right decision to make. Instead, she offered a small smile and asked, "And you aren't okay with any of it. Are you?"

"No."

"And you shouldn't be. Stabbing an ally in the back is… Well, about as fucked up as it gets, really." The woman acknowledged, nodding curtly along with the statement but then shrugging. As though she were dismissing her own words, she added firmly, "But sometimes what's fucked up is what's right for everyone involved. You can regret that it had to be done, but do not regret doing it."

"I don't." He assured her, "I just… Feel shitty over it."

"Then feel shitty, but don't let it break you down." She counseled, smirking when a thought occurred and then sighing. "Fuck knows I know about feeling shitty and pushin' through it. You do too, John." She tapped her head, "I know you do, and not just 'cus Mama Shepard knows everything."

"Yeah." You couldn't serve the UNSC and not do anything that you didn't like. And they both knew that he would get over it eventually. "I just wanted to tell you myself, I guess."

"I get that." She nodded, face splitting in a wild, almost manic sort of smile. "Now, wanna hear the crazy shit I've been up to out here? Because I gotta say, crazy as my kind of crazy tends to be, this takes the cake."

"I find that hard to believe…"

"I made friends with giant space squids that made the Reapers, and they can control 'em." He only blinked, surprised by the ludicrous claim, and the woman barked a laugh. "No, yeah, I know. It's fuckin' crazy, and my head is still splitting from how it talked to me. Psychic bullshit," she explained when he cocked his head to the side, "they talk in your brain, and gods does it hurt."

"Are you alright?"

"No, yeah, I'll be fine." She waved him off, "Chakwas just says it's making me irritable and more sweary than normal."

"She's not wrong."

"Fuck off!"

"Judge, I present exhibit A…"

"I may be lightyears away but I will turn this galactic apocalypse around and bend you over my knee, young man."

"I'm sure the Reapers will put everything on pause for you."

"Hey, I could talk pants on a Reaper and then talk 'em right back off, too. This ass could end a galactic war if I felt up to shakin' it." She laughed, the sound mirthful and predictably infectious, lightening his mood and heartening him the way he'd known talking to the woman would do. The woman was simply too magnetic not to cheer him up. Quietly, she asked, "How much longer did Hackett give you on the QEC?"

"Three minutes." He answered, checking the clock on his Omni-Tool. "It was a favor that got me time to call you at all."

"Hackett cleared you himself as a favor?" He nodded and the woman whistled, impressed as much as she was surprised by the idea. "Damn, Doe. And I thought I was the charismatic one. How'd you get Admiral Hackett to start playing favorites?"

"I don't know, Commander." He shrugged, not bothering to point out that he wasn't really playing favorites. Rather, he wanted the ODST in the best shape possible going after what sounded very much like a colony-sized Cerberus investment. Hearing his little warning go off, though, he sighed, "I have to sign off Commander. I hope to see you soon."

"Same." She nodded, "Ideas on when that'll be?"

"Hopefully after this station of Hades, Commander." Assuming, at least, that Hackett didn't have anywhere else for her to be. Having her pursuing Cerberus had all the same politics around it as before but now things were different. And bringing her in for a coffin nailing ceremony seemed fine, even if bringing her in for the rest hadn't. Nodding a farewell, he grunted, "Be safe out there, Ma'am."

"You too." She nodded, her image flickering and dying a moment later as the quantum connection was severed.

Turning to leave, he let out a sigh that was somewhat more content than it would have been fifteen minutes ago. Talking to the Commander had been the balm he expected it to be, and while he still felt somewhat sick over everything that had happened, he no longer felt as bad. He could deal with it, now that he'd had someone properly talk to him. Even if they hadn't talked much about it, the matter still felt more resolved. A soldier by the door nodded an acknowledgement as he left and turned to head towards the disembarkment decks and, from there, to his new home while he took on the next leg of Operation Hades.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to it.

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Bit of a short chapter, sorry. Not feeling well atm. It isn't the virus, I'm asymptomatic. Just allergy headaches. And besides, this made for a nice down-time chapter.

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Smokey Panda :

Glad you enjoy it~!

Dr Killinger :

I feel like it feels unsatisfactory because of what it is compared to. I mean the Rannoch Arc had Javik and before that was the Krogan and such and such. So yeah, I guess it may be a good arc and I'm just overly critical comparing it to other arcs.

Thank you.

Rook 115 :

Hackett stated that if Aria wouldn't let Petrovsky live and Doe saw a way to get around it, he should. Further, he based his opinions on Kandros on Aria's behavior and demeanor. The two things combined made the choice for him. I did explain it a bit in the story here for you and others, though, just o clarify.

7th Maniac :

About that hug from Shepard…

Also, love the analysis. Yeah, he did what he had to because he wasn't Shepard. A bit of show regarding the effect of having DOE around, but not the Commander herself. He can motivate soldiers to, er, soldier harder, but Aria is no soldier. He has no edge there.

Enji Benjy :

I kind of forgot as I planned that chapter that he had the Harrier, too, and realized only after planning was done that I had done so. Is meh. As for his VISR? Yeah, it'll get repaired. I merely wanted to establish that he could get hurt and lose tech for the fifteenth time this story because… Raisins.

Glad you enjoyed the chapter though!

Nerdy Gal :

Hope what i did here satisfied, then, and glad you enjoyed it so much. Don't forget about your school stuff though! Lol.

A boy and his starship :

I genuinely don't know. I never actually PLAYED the DLC, so I don't intuitively know it. And while I will consult the wiki and my story plan, I can't guarantee I find space for it. At least, not in this story.