I was struggling to keep my eyes open.

Shep had already passed out; but Garth was still awake and taking the high altitude like a champ. It was nice to play catch up with him, after setting up a private channel between the two of us of course.

Most everyone was either asleep; or were vomiting into small doggie bags. Very few were awake and mostly unaffected like Garth or Myself; Kal and Ash were both leaning against each other, passed out cold.

I smirked, Seems that Ash has mostly gotten over her xenophobia. If her noises of pleasure last night were any indication. I thought to myself. Just hope Ziva impressed upon them that duel Amino Acid's mean that both are interchangeable now.

In spite of my thoughts, I was happy for them; they both deserved the win.

My smile faded as I remembered that in spite of the fact that Canon was going off the rails; the choice might still happen. Shaking my head to banish these unpleasant thoughts, I was rocked as the VTOL descended slightly; pulling the microphone down to my mouth and turning it back on, I asked, "Are we descending?"

"Yes Major, We are descending, ETA is five mikes." The Pilot replied coolly.

"Intentionally?" I asked.

It said a lot about the life I lived when that was my first question to the Pilot; "Say again Nomad?" He asked.

"Intentionally?!" I repeated, shouting into the mic now to make sure he heard what I was saying.

"Yes Sir, five mikes to landing."

That was good enough for me, and I reached over and violently shook Shepard awake. She immediately began thrashing around to wake herself up, reaching for her gun on instinct before she remembered where she was.

Shepard looked over at me with a 'what the hell?' expression on her face.

I just held up five fingers, and she immediately understood; and thus began the wake up call.

Everyone had woken up in waves as the VTOL's descended towards their destination.

Shepard was one of the first thanks to Major Lee practically punching her awake, and looked out the gunner's door to see rocky outcroppings and the side of a mountain. It wasn't until she saw a rippling of camo-netting that she realized they were over their destination.

She gave a sharp whistle over the comms, and everyone sat up just before the vehicle bumped down onto the landing zone. Thirty seconds later, they were all kneeling around their gear and the two supply drops as the VTOLs took off again.

Once the dust settled, a scruffy human dressed in brown who matched Bowman's description perfectly hustled over while keeping hunched down. "Don't stand up straight. You are?"

The security check seemed excessive, but she had to respect the diligence. "Shepard with TF 1-4-1. This is GT-Leshy." she nodded to Garth and his team.

"Bowman, IAA Field Team Liaison. Let's get out of the open. We have patrols out chasing EA fighters away, but a sniper team could still slip through the cracks." He explained, immediately grabbing one of the bags that they had dropped off to help out; and began walking towards the fort.

Everyone shouldered a pack and grabbed a crate, then followed Bowman into the Forward Operating Base. "Welcome to FOB Alpha-one." He announced, gesturing to the area with a sarcastic smile; "We call it the Alamo."

Fort Ulysses was positively opulent compared to the outpost they were now in; several trenches and fox-holes had been dug into the earth to accommodate equipment depots and observation and defensive points, while a couple of soldiers, a mixture of local Fighters Kaftans and armored vests and ethnic Han in OD-Green uniforms coming out of tunnels.

Shepard immediately found herself dissatisfied with the almost lackadaisical attitude most of the defenders seemed to have; and looked over at Lee, "Have Schultz, and Wizard come inside with us; spread the rest out and augment the perimeter. Battle Buddy teams, no one goes anywhere alone." She ordered, even as she kept following Bowman.

Lee nodded and split off to relay her orders.

As the team leaders entered the center building in the compound, Shepard heard Ash murmur behind her; "Uh… they know that everyone died at the Alamo right?"

Jane had to resist the urge to spin around and yell at Ash for jinxing them like that; but she restrained herself. She was mollified when she heard Kal whisper back, "I think, Inszel, it would be best if you kept that tidbit to yourself. See you later alright?"

"Be safe." Was all she heard Ash say. If it had been some kind of action or war movie, Jane was sure that they would have kissed; but this was real life, and there was no way either of them were going to give up that kind of information to potential spys.

As they walked inside, Jane found herself having to duck to avoid banging her head on the roof of the dirt and clay building. The four team leaders followed Bowman into a small hay floored room with a long coffee table in the middle of it.

Persian style rugs, or at least that was what they looked like to Jane, decorated the wall.

Lee stepped forward and set down the box of gifts that he had insisted they carry with them, stating that it was important for smoothing over relations with the General. Bowman seemed to immediately know what it was and popped it open, and upon seeing what was inside he scoffed; and he held up a bottle of Vodka, much to Jane's silent horror.

There was also a bunch of credit chits, and horse feed in the box as well.

"Huh, this is great; yeah this'll go over real well on a muslim planet." Bowman chuckled, not really taking seriously the great potential offense the gift may bring.

Lee shrugged while Alenko and Kal stared at the bottle with similar expressions of horror, "It's not our job to pick out the gifts, just deliver them."

Bowman huffed again with the ghost of a smile on his face, and set down his rifle and gear, and pointed to the food and drinks on the table; "Tea is about as good as you can expect; really weak at best. Help yourself to that dish right there; the bread's okay, and I have no idea what's in the center there but it's fuckin' delicious." He said.

Kal sat down, wincing as his backwards bowed legs were not meant for human chairs; "So what's the lay of the land here?"

"Well…" Bowman said, not missing a beat; "Our mission here is to assist General Malik Kamalov and his militia in a spearhead to this Eayan Allah facility out here in the mountains. Dunno what this facility is, or why it's so important; beyond the fact that no one can even get close to it or even look at it without getting shot." He said, setting out some maps for the four of them to look at.

"Know anything about General Kamalov?" Alenko asked next. "And where is he?"

"He's currently out in his mountain base; but he'll be back soon enough. And as to what I know about him… well not much." Bowman admitted, leaning back in his chair as he munched on some of the center mystery food. "He was a pro-Systems Alliance fighter during the initial subjugation invasion; started his own militia when he was sixteen. They called it the 'boys battalion' since they were all school children. Him, his right hand man, and a handful of his deputies are all that's left. The SA initially supported him, but then cut them loose when he began showing his Trotskyist-Maoist beliefs." Bowman explained, setting his food down and sipping some tea.

"So... how worried do we need to be over these guys selling us out?" Lee asked Bowman, taking some tea of his own.

The spook shrugged, "Uh, I'd be pretty fucking worried. Look, my job is to read people for a living, and I got nothing from this guy. I only know three things about him, he has a love-hate relationship with the Imam that goes both ways; he hates Eayan Allah, and EA really, really hates him."

Jane pursed her lips, "Love and hate relationship?" She asked, "I would expect the two to absolutely despise each other."

Bowman shrugged, rifling through the other gifts in the crate; pulling out a Soviet Era Makarov Pistol with an admiring eye; "I think it's a sort of grudging respect; they both appreciate and understand power, and terror as a means of governance." He held up the Makarov, "This'll go way better, the guy loves Russian weaponry as far as I can gather."

He set it back in the crate, while everyone else sat around and stewed over his words; "Um, what languages do you guys speak?" Bowman suddenly asked.

August went to open his mouth, and the Spook shook his head and pointed at Jane, Kal, and Kaiden; "I know you Ghosts know enough languages to get by well enough; but these three are unknowns. Your translators only work one way, they translate what you hear; not what you speak." He explained.

Kal shrugged, "I'm Quarian, so my native Kheelish and passable English."

Bowman shrugged, "Eh, enough of the fighters understand English; and since you're an Alien they'll understand and won't be insulted. You two?" He asked.

Alenko shrugged, "Smattering of Ukrainian, English, Spanish, and my Russian is rusty but still passable."

Jane shook her head, "Mandarin, Spanish, English, and passable Kheelish."

Bowman snorted while August asked in turn, "What languages does General Kamalov speak?"

The spook's eyes glazed over as he struggled to remember; "Lets see, Arabic, Dari, Pashtun, Uzbek, Mandarin, Kurdish, and Russian; so you guys have got two languages going for you."

"What, he doesn't speak English?" Jane was surprised; while there was no official language for the Systems Alliance, the unofficial default was English because of things like all Air Traffic Controllers and Pilots required to speak, and understand English with little to no accents.

Bowman shrugged, "If I'm honest with myself he probably does; but he doesn't speak it around me to try and throw me off balance." He admitted. "Alright, we got about five hours to sundown; and I've been awake for twenty hours at this point, so I'm gonna hit the hay." The IAA spook stood up and started walking out of the room, grabbing his rifle as he did so.

"Just a word of warning; make sure you have at least four people awake at all times. I'm left alone because they trust and respect me; you guys? You're unknown, so don't expect them to roll out the red carpet."

I kept an eye on the perimeter.

Shepard stood next to me, since she was my battle buddy for this shift. "You see our shadows?" I asked; glad that my balaclava hid my mouth. Neither men were close enough to hear, and so long as we kept our voices down they would have no clue what we were talking about.

She nodded, "Yup, mine is an older gent that could be my grandfather in all honesty."

I gave a non-committed hum as I looked outward into the mountain ranges, "A younger man for me, he's around his mid-thirties; but he's nice enough once I got around the language barrier. My Mandarin is rusty but passable, and his english isn't too hot; but both of us combined can string together a few sentences." I said.

After a few moments, I asked; "What about you? Is he giving you any trouble?"

Jane seemed to scoff at it, "Quite the contrary, he seems to be chasing away any trouble that comes near me." Her face was mostly hidden by her Shemagh, but her eyes softened; "He's a nice old man, insisted on having tea when he found out I knew he was my shadow."

I smiled lightly behind my balaclava; As much as I didn't trust these folks, Shepard was a good judge of character. If she thought the man's intentions were genuine, that was good enough for me.

"I saw Kal and Ash's shadows." She looked at me, and I could tell she was a little confused. "They're kids, a boy and a girl; I think they might be either twins, or half siblings with the same father."

"Child soldiers…" She said coldly.

I just shrugged, I had long since become desensitized to things like that; but I still didn't like it. In the old days, I would have demanded the kids come home with us at gunpoint; but that was the last thing either probably wanted. They wanted to live and die here on their homeland.

"Hm… Probably around six years old; eight at the absolute oldest." I started, and then heard footsteps to my left. I turned, and smiled lightly in amusement; "Speak of the devil."

It was Kal and Ash, both glancing over their shoulders as they approached; both looking aggravated. Kal gestured for the kids to hang back; and both did so, staring at the adults with wide doe like eyes.

I glanced at their weapons, and my amusement turned to slight surprise at seeing that the boy was carrying an honest to God Pattern 1914 Enfield; and the girl was carrying an honest to God Lee-Enfield SMLE, both rifles beaten to hell and back, but were doubtlessly the real thing.

Ash and Kal walked up, and Kal didn't waste a beat by whispering; "Hey Uber, Nomad; see those kids right there?"

I didn't say anything; while Shepard gave an absent nod of assent, "Skipper, neither of us can even take a piss without these kids up in our business; now I wouldn't care so much if they weren't carrying guns." Ash hissed, glancing back at the two child soldiers.

I just huffed a chuckle, "Well it is pretty fascinating." smirking at the furious glares both gave me.

"Well how about you guys stop giving them treats." Shepard joked, clearly trying to ease them into the idea that those two kids were assigned to protect them, not the other way around.

"That's the thing Skip, we don't give them shit; they just follow us around smiling the whole time with their little pee-shooters." Ash snapped, keeping her voice down.

I sighed, it was always hard breaking down the realities of this planet to first timers; but I had practice with it by this point. "You two don't get it do you?" I asked, sweeping my eyes out towards the perimeter again.

Their expressions morphed into one of confusion; "Get what Nomad?" Kal asked, casting a glance back towards the two kids; who were excitedly chatting in Dari.

I swept my free arm towards all the Militia fighters, "These guys? They're all protecting us. Any one of us gets hurt or killed; the General will probably execute the person he thinks is responsible, including their families."

I pointed at the two kids, even as Kal's silver eyes dimmed to almost nothing; and I could see in the approaching evening darkness that Ash's were welling up with tears. "Those two? My guess is that they're probably war orphans. They look similar enough that I think they're twins or half siblings from the same father; you know, since men can take multiple wives in Islam. They were probably starving in the streets, and they just so happened to be naturally good with guns; so the General brought 'em on as snipers. They shoot EA and Batarians and do whatever task he assigns them, they get food privileges." I had turned to face the two sergeants fully by this point, careful that I didn't sweep anyone with my rifle.

"And those poor two kids have got you." I pointed my fingers at them. "And either they see you as surrogate older siblings, or replacement parents." I turned to Ash who looked ready to protest such an idea, "And keep in mind Gunny, the average age for first time mothers on these planets is fifteen years old; first time fathers is sixteen." I poked each in the chest with my fist to punctuate my point, "Now be nice to the Kids, got it?"

They both nodded, and I sighed and turned to Shepard; "Their turn for the shift?" I asked, having lost track of time, but ready to go to sleep.

"That it is." She replied, slinging her rifle and walking up to the two Sergeants with a cheeky grin on her face. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. 'Reegar; It's a boy and a girl."

I burst out laughing in spite of myself, and Shepard quickly joined me; the rest of the Militiamen in the compound staring at us in confusion as we walked back to the central hut. I was still laughing and giggling like an idiot even as I lay down on the straw floor and went to sleep.

"Dost/Péngyǒu." Two young voices could be heard from the perimeter berm. Jane moved silently, allowing the Camo-cloak to hide her so she didn't startle the impromptu language lesson.

"Dust/Ping-you." Two more mature voices came from the same area, though slightly accented. She peaked over the entrance to the trench and saw Ash and Kal sitting in front of the twins.

There was some giggling before the twins enunciated the words again, though slightly slower. "Dost/Péngyǒu." While the two youths were entirely focused on Ash and Kal, Jane could tell the Sergeants were diligently scanning the horizon.

"Dost/Péngyǒu." Ash and Kal put great emphasis on the correct pronunciation, and elicited a short round of clapping.

"Dost/Péngyǒu. Frond/Nayha."

This time, it was the adults who chuckled. "Friend/Nehya."

"Friend/Nehya, Dost/Péngyǒu." The twins happily extended their hands towards the older pair.

"That's right; friends." Ash beamed at the pair, even as she tracked a buzzard circling something halfway down the mountain.

Jane silently slipped by them on her way. Shock-and-Awe might win battles, but history showed it was Hearts-and-Minds that secured real victories.

I stepped up to the roof of the building to help get a better eye on the surrounding area.

"Hey boss, how long do you expect this campaign to last?" I heard Colt ask behind me; even as he pulled himself up, our shadows effortlessly pulled themselves up along with us. I had little doubts my own understood more English than he let on, but I was content to let the man think he still had the advantage.

"I don't know Colt." I replied, looking at my Casio Calculator Watch; it was archaic, but small and easily concealed. It helped when I needed it to do quick calculations that I couldn't manage in my head. "We've reached Mid-March; I say that at the Earliest we're done here by mid-April. At the latest… Well I think we'll be stuck here until the summer thaw in June."

I turned to look at him, and noted with amusement a slight shimmer that looked like heat waves; I ignored it, knowing that we didn't have anything important to discuss. "Why are you askin' anyway Colt? We've only been here a day."

He shrugged, keeping his eyes out in the Valley; "Just curious is all." A shit-eating grin spread across his face, "So… you think the Sarge and Gunny are all 'fixed'?" He asked.

I just huffed, "They'll be fine, they got it out of their system; so that biological urge is gone." I paused, then grimaced, "I guess we'll find out in six to ten months if Ziva's 'addition' to the cure works if they weren't Careful."

Colts face grew serious, "And if they weren't careful?" He asked.

I shrugged and turned away from him, noting that Jane had not moved from where she was cloaked; "Well… guess the cat will be out of the bag; and the Migrant Fleet will almost assuredly get destroyed to stop the Quarians from rising up again. The Alliance will probably have passed the Defense Treaty by the time we get back, so that means all out war between us and whoever attacked them." I mused, before turning my mind to something more optimistic; "At least we'll get to find out what a true human-alien hybrid looks like."

Colt snorted, pulling out a pair of binoculars; "How do you figure it Boss?"

"I ain't smart enough to know that Colt; I just know what Ziva tells me." I replied, adjusting my shoulder strap; "Externally, they would probably look Quarian; with a few exceptions like a wider range of skin tones and hair coloration, and five fingers and toes for greater dexterity and balance."

Colt lowered the binoculars and looked at me, raising an eyebrow behind his own balaclava; "And internally they would look mostly human." He finished.

I just nodded, "Hit the nail on the head."

Neither of us said anything for a long moment, until Colt asked; "So… how long until Kal and Ash demand we take those kids back to the Normandy with us."

"At least we'll get to find out what a true human-alien hybrid looks like."

The thought rolled through Jane's head as she continued along the trenches. Are we ready for that?

She had certainly entertained the fantasy of her and Garrus having a child of their own. It in no way diminished her growing love for Eve, but there was still that small desperate part of her that wanted some piece of her and Garrus to live on.

The unfortunate, ugly side of the coin was that a great many humans were not tolerant of interspecies relationships, much less the idea of interspecies hybrids. She had weathered plenty of poorly veiled insults and even threats because of her relationship with Garrus; some even coming from the SA Military PR agents. That was nothing compared to some of the horror stories she'd heard.

Families disowning a member because they were dating an Asari.

A Salarian businessman turning up dead after a date with a human.

People, both human and alien, simply disappearing with whole communities closing ranks against investigators.

Are we even remotely ready to accept another species as our own, when we still have such bigotry about our own species?

Truth be told, only the Krogan had gotten a more raw deal by the Galaxy… no... by the Citadel than the Quarian race, and were it up to her they would be accepted with open arms. There were still some old nations back on earth that had fewer citizens than the entire Migrant fleet, while there were at least four cities with larger populations. The Systems Alliance certainly had the resources to spare.

A memory teased at her, from a time when she was still very small and she met a very old missionary.

And now abideth Faith, Hope, Charity, these three; but the greatest of these is Charity

Words from more than 2100 years ago, that still sounded in the darkness, calling humanity to be better than itself.

She shook her head. I'm starting to sound like August and the rest of these Ghosts. Still, the message had merit. Maybe it was time humanity stood up and took the plunge. We often only succeed when we're given no other choice. Maybe this is the push we need to be better than we are.

She continued down the trench, wondering about a bright future where she and Garrus could openly raise Eve in a world that could accept them.

I noticed Jane's shimmer moving away, and I didn't bother stopping her; I knew the two of us had given her a lot to think about.

"I suppose it's because we're still on a 24/7 schedule internally; that's why it feels like more time has passed than normal." Colt admitted.

I just snorted at his flimsy excuse for complaining, we had spent four days at 'Fort Ulysses', and two days here; he had had more than enough time to acclimate to the damned day night cycle. "We just need to be patient, all good things come to those who-"

I heard shouting in Dari, and both of us snapped our rifles into a shooting position as gunshots began to echo in the distance. Then both our shadows cheered and pointed their own Assault Rifles into the air and fired a burst of ammo.

"What is this? Is this the General?" I asked my escort, turning to look at him.

"Shì! Shì! Tā dàole!" The man replied, nodding frantically and slinging his weapon.

I looked down into the compound, and saw all of my fellow Ghosts and the Marines piling out of the building with their weapons at the ready; Kal and Ash having pushed the twins behind them, their eyes bugging out of their heads as they caught sight of what was approaching.

I followed their gaze, and my Jaw dropped; while Colt choked on air, "Horses!? Motherfucking Horses?!" He asked in disbelief.

I just shook my head as Bowman jogged up to the approaching group; "And so it is; goddamned Horse Soldiers." Was all I could bring myself to say, quickly hopping down from the rooftop and walking up to the rest of the group.

Everyone was spread out in pairs, but they formed a loose circle as the Horses entered the compound; One horse that looked a little healthier than the others trotted up to Bowman and Shepard. Normally I would join them, but I kept my distance; my instincts telling me that identifying myself as a leader was not something I wanted to do.

I took the opportunity to look over the General; he was middle aged, with a shaved face except for a thick grey moustache on his lip. His hair was hidden under a Ushanka hat, but I could see his bangs peeking out from underneath; and I noted that they were also grey.

He was dressed in dull olive clothing, mixed with military gear and Armor; and I could see that he was examining Shepard. He wasn't eyeing her up because she was a woman, no... the look in his eye was that of an experienced killer judging whether or not he should fear or respect or ignore what was in front of him.

After a long moment, Shepard stepped forward and held out a hand; "General, I am Lieutenant Commander Jahenne Shepard of Task Force 1-4-1; and we're here to assist you with taking the Eayan Allah Facility." she said, Bowman translating for her.

The General took her words silently, and nodded; walking around her and looking over the rest of us.

He looked over at Ash and Kal, and his eyes flashed with an unknown emotion as he noted that the Human and Quarian were rather close together; and on top of that, they were both hiding the two sniper children behind them.

Then his eyes settled on Garth, and his eyes flashed again; this time with calculation and a little bit of mirth. I knew a test when I saw one, and to Garth's credit, he saw it too; as the General brushed past Bowman and Shepard with a smile, saying "marhabaan 'akhi." Kissing him on each cheek, then gesturing for everyone to go inside the building while his men remained on guard.

Shepard and all the women looked a little offended but hid it well.

I just shrugged to Garth when he gave me a stunned look; and followed the man inside; even as I heard Brooks whisper to Alenko, "I guess the General prefers Blondes."

The General reverently looked over the antique pistol, rolling it this way and that in his hands. "Pistolet Makarova," he said in slightly accented Mandarin, "one of the most enduring designs in human history; only the American M1911 can boast as long a service history."

A number of people breathed a silent sigh of relief as he set the weapon aside to take in the remainder of the 'gifts'. His eyes and hand passed disdainfully over the bag of horse feed. He flicked his wrist and his aide-de-camp lifted the sack and carried it out of sight.

His lips turned up into a grin as he took the bottle of Vodka out of the case. "Ganbei!" He twisted the cap off and downed a visible portion before slamming the bottle back on the table.

His eyes swept over the assembled group. "I count only a handful of you with the eyes of a killer." His disdainful leer settled on Ash and Kal for a moment until they locked on Shepard. "It will have to do.

"Once my horses are rested, I will leave two squads here and take your 'Task-Force 1-4-1' to Shān Yàosài." He seemed to sense the confusion between the gathered people. "I do not have your 'Gunships' and 'Shuttles'; only my horses, and only so many. The rest of your men shall stay here, and secure our supply line."

Jane ground her teeth at the Generals declaration, she hated even entertaining the idea of splitting up the teams; but the Major beat her to it, which she was grateful for, since she was certain that there was no way that she would be as civil as Lee.

"General." He replied in Mandarin, giving Shepard a look of warning; "How many people can you take with you to your Underground Mountain Base?" He asked.

The General seemed to think it over, "Eleven at most, if you desire to take some of your more advanced 'equipment' with you." He stated, before clapping his hands and standing up; "We leave in ten minutes."

And with that declaration, he walked out of the room.

Jane shared a look with August, Garth, and Bowman; the last of whom just shrugged, "I don't know how to ride horses, so my team and I can stay here and set up a proper supply line."

Bowman nodded, "Yes, and I want to go to the locals and see what kind of information I can dig up on the rebels here."

August looked at Jane, "Well I guess we've already decided on who is going then." He said, raising an eyebrow.

Jane nodded, "That we have; alright, let's mount up."

I walked up to the horse being provided for me, and I grimaced.

For a guy who had grown up on a farm, this was one of the sorriest excuses for a horse that I had ever seen. It was only barely taller than me, to the point that my legs would be below the damned things knees. Sighing, I walked up to it and slung my rifle; quickly hoisting myself up into the 'saddle' while grabbing hold of the reins.

'Saddle' was too generous a term to describe what I was sitting on.

It was nothing more than a bundle of blankets tied around the middle of the horse; with some ropes with knots in them tied into loops to make some stirrups. This was going to be painful, even to a moderately skilled rider like myself. And I had zero doubts the others were having loads of trouble behind me.

Pulling the reins and turning my horse around, I saw that I was right.

Kal, Tali, Nina, and Fon were all staring at the Horses with something akin to terror.

"What are we doing again?" Kal looked particularly uncomfortable.

Ash chuckled while brushing her mount's mane. "Looking like you're too scared. Just get on; what's the worst that can happen?"

Tali barked a laugh, then squeaked when her horse threw it's head at the sudden noise. "As a people who survive by virtue of jury-rigged life-support and 200 year old welds, we are not the people to ask about potential 'worst case scenarios."

Jane, Kaiden, and to my surprise Phil looked uncertain at best regarding the prospect of riding. Archer had hoisted herself up no problem, and Colt had done the same with his own horse; Ash had no problems either, which was a bit of a surprise to me to be honest. But all three of them seemed to be as uncomfortable as I felt with these poor imitations of saddles.

I gave a light flick of the reins, and my horse trotted forward; catching the rest of 1-4-1's attention.

"I guess that answers my question regarding who can ride." I snarked, unable to contain the smirk coming to my face at the sight of the Greatest Soldiers in the Galaxy cowering like children at the concept of riding a horse.

They all looked at me, and I just sighed; "Okay, put your right foot through the right loop in the stirrups; grab hold of the blankets in the middle, then jump and pull yourself up at the same time. Make sure you loop your other foot through the other stirrup." I explained.

The sound of horses galloping drew my attention, and I looked over to see the Generals vanguard had already started to move away. Looking back, I shrugged; "I don't think he's waiting for us guys, so let's get a move on."

The Quarians actually managed to mount swiftly, if unsteadily, by simply hopping up. Fon, Nina and Tali immediately clung to their horses necks, while Kal's horse tried to bolt were it not for Ashley's timely intervention.

"Easy there girl. If anyone's breaking Kal, it's me." She smirked at the muttered words that didn't carry over the distance. "Promises, promises. For now, just hang on; they'll follow each other."

The two kids actually jogged up to the Sergeants, and looked at the two with wide eyes; their old rifles slung over their backs. If I didn't know better, I was pretty sure the twins were giving the two adults the 'puppy dog eyes'.

Kal looked at the twins, when a thought came to him. "Qí?"

The two nodded, with the girl joining Kal and taking the reins, while Ash hoisted the boy into the saddle behind her.

Kal noticed the look Ash was giving him. "A good soldier knows when to defer to subject matter experts. Whoa!" He clutched the young girl around her waist as she guided the horse towards the rest of the herd.

Phil actually looked like he was afraid he would crush his horse with his bulk; but the fighters had given the big guy their biggest horse, which would register as a normal sized horse if a little lean.

He growled something under his breath, which sounded like the Ghosts creed; before he swung himself up. The Horse whinnied in protest, and Colt and Archer both grabbed the reins to stop the thing from bolting.

Jane and Alenko were the last to do so, and I guided my horse over and grabbed both their reins to give a helping hand. Jane climbed on first, and went deathly pale for a second before gritting her teeth.

Alenko took a breath, then did the same; and to my surprise, the Staff Lieutenant actually seemed to settle in rather well. Satisfied, I looked at Shepard with concern; noting that she seemed to be getting paler by the second. Deciding that she probably wasn't in a fit state to give the marching orders, I whispered to her; "You delegate to me to give the orders ma'am?"

She gave a grateful nod, and vowing to guide her horse I shouted; "Alright! Kick the heels to go fast, flick the reins to go forward, pull left to go left, pull right to go right, and pull back to stop. If your horse gets spooked, and you fall off while getting caught in the stirrups; shoot the damned thing." Everyone gave me startled looks, while Ash, Colt, and Archer all nodded in agreement.

Knowing that they needed a bit of elaboration, I explained. "These mountains are all rock, and these things can run up to an average of 88 and a half klicks per hour; not considering their sprinting abilities. We can find new Horses, we can't replace you."

Shepard was Ghost white now, which she had hidden by pulling up her Shemagh; while the rest looked uneasy. Nodding once, I shouted; "HAH!" driving my heels in my horse's flanks while keeping a tight hold on Shepards horse.

Together, we moved onto the rest of the herd; the rest of 1-4-1 joining us.

Archer hung out in the back of the group; but before they left, she knew that no one would believe this. Not without evidence anyway.

She quickly waved Garth and Bowman down, and gestured to the group.

To their credit, they instantly knew what she was talking about; and they pulled out camera's while she rejoined the group as Nomad gave his instructions. The two men took as many pictures from as many different angles as possible; but only one would forever be remembered by the Galaxy.

It got a good view of all of 1-4-1; all were mounted on their horses, and all were looking at Lee as he gave his instructions on how to control the horses, and his advice to shoot them if they got spooked and if the rider fell and got stuck.

Jane sat rigid and upright; her uneasiness in the saddle giving her a false commanding presence in that moment. Phil slouched forward on his mount which put him eye level to her. Colt and Archer both freely gestured with one hand at the Quarians while the other grasped their reins. Alenko's eyes were closed and his lips could be seen working, though nobody knew if he was praying, or just wondering what he was doing there. Ash had sidled up to Kal and was resting her free hand on his shoulder while he had a near death grip on his fellow rider. The twins were happily chattering between each other, their antique rifles slung across their backs.

Lee himself had his left hand on his massive Revolver, which was holstered under his left shoulder; and he was gesturing with his right hand while still holding the reins. In one of the only photos of him in combat, it was the one time he had his mask down. His Shemagh pulled tightly around his neck, his Jeep Cap pulled low over his head while his goggles were pulled up over the brim; his thick moustache looked well maintained as always, while his thick 5'oclock shadow showed just how long they had been there.

He had been in the middle of instructing the others to shoot the horses if spooked; and his gaze was laser focused and intense, the eyes of a killer.

A/N: I honestly don't have much to say here, beyond being sorry for the slight delay.

Bowman, the IAA agent, is meant to show that while some like Harkin are amoral jackasses; that are better described as Thugs with Badges, others like Bowman are genuinely good people. The Warchief Ride was based on the movie '12 Strong'; as was the horses and the meeting with the General. It's a good movie, y'all should go see it; though I think it would have been better as a mini-series.

The 'Hybrids' is something of a cheeky little nod to our other story, the ME-HL crossover 'Half Life: Entanglement'; which I feel is way better than this story, so go give it a read.

Thats all I really have to say at the moment, how 'bout you Ian?

Ian A/N:As with my fellow author, there's not a lot to say here.

This, and the last chapter, are about setting up the coming chapter and its implications on the story as a whole. We are introduced to 'The General', and he will play a part in events unfolding across the Galaxy.

We have a few new faces, mostly the kids. 10 internet points if you can guess what's going to happen.

Pilot: Well then, that's it for today; the next side story will be uploaded Monday at around 10-11AM EST. Half Life: Entanglement will be updated Wednesday at 11 AM EST, and AGAS will be updated on Friday, 11 AM EST.

This will be the schedule we try to follow from here on out.

Leave a review and tell us what you guys think, the feedback helps a lot.

A TV Tropes page would be loved and appreciated.

And we will see ya when we see ya.