Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Shattered Glass. Enjoy the 2700-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Bungie, Bioware, and 343 do.
(Citadel, Serpent Nebula, Widow System.)
"So, explain it to me again." Gadge asked Anderson while the two officers continued to talk.
"Saren Arterius." Anderson responded as Gadge hummed and folded his arms behind his back. "He's a highly decorated Spectre, he's had a vendetta against humanity for years…. I doubt this was just random." Anderson put in before Gadge turned to look at Kelly and Shepard.
"And you believe this vendetta is based on his hatred of humanity?" Gadge questioned and got a shrug which caused the Vice Admiral to sigh. "Well great. He sounds like the Covenant but sanctioned by the government. Is there a plan to take him out?" Gadge asked and got a shake of the head.
"Best I heard is there's some leads on the Citadel." Anderson said which caused Gadge to nod. "I'm going to guess your Spartan well help track down one of those leads?" Anderson questioned as Gadge hummed.
"Yes, I'm sure she will." Gadge put in as the officers continued their walk. "But if he has an army? I'm going to track it down, Saren wouldn't be able to field that many soldiers without logistics and supply. Plus, if the Covenant find him? Then he'll have an army of disposable fanatics in his command." Gadge stated and tugged at his admiral's cap.
"The council isn't going to like their white whale leaving them." Anderson put in which caused Gadge to chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure they already don't like us." Gadge said and turned to Anderson. "I'll keep in contact. We learned right away that radios still work in this galaxy. When I have the rest of Vanguard fleet together? We're return, if you need me? Then contact Sierra, she'll assist in any can. She's one of the best." Gadge said as Lieutenant Benson spoke up.
"Admiral?" The communications officer questioned which caused Gadge to hum. "We're getting hailed by Admiral Hacket, he wants to talk about something. We've also found Olympus and Morningstar. Their enroute and will be here within 6 hours, Hellion, Vigilance, and Zeus will need 8-12." Benson reported which made Gadge curse.
"Well, it seems things have changed…" Gadge muttered to Anderson then hummed. "Have the transmission sent to my quarters. I'll review it when I'm aboard Goliath." Gadge ordered and turned to Anderson.
"I'm assuming you're going to stick around for a bit?" Anderson questioned as Gadge hummed.
"Well, if my fleet is coming to me?" Gadge asked in response. "Then I suppose I'll stay. If Shepard is putting a case together? I suppose I could help supervise. Weakening Saren's forces would help make things easier…" Gadge stated before clicking his fingers together.
"Go answer the message." Anderson put in which caused Gadge to nod. "I'll meet you back at the dock when you come back." Anderson added as Gadge clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
Gadge walked to the hanger. Part of Gadge guessed that the Covenant would have found Saren.
He met the ODST squad who was busy protecting the Pelican from anyone who wanted to steal the craft.
(With Kelly and Shepard.)
Kelly checked her shotgun and checked the weapon. Their first stop was locating a C-Sec officer. Kelly heard he was investigating Saren because of something Udina had told them.
"So, you're a super soldier in your galaxy?" Kelly heard from Kaiden. The Alliance Lieutenant got a hum from Kelly.
"To most people?" Kelly said and shrugged. "You could call us that. Spartans don't think we're like that." Kelly stated before cracking her neck.
Kelly kept her shotgun ready, if she knew anything? It was that violence was going to break out sooner or later.
"You know you remind me of someone." Kelly said to Shepard as she put her gun on her back. "Their also named John. Best of the Spartans, happened to be in charge of Blue Team." Kelly added which caused Shepard to turn.
"Do all Spartans wear armor like that?" Shepard questioned as Kelly hummed.
"To us it's like a second skin." Kelly put in as she hummed. "It's how most soldiers know who we are. Spartans are considered the best soldiers the UNSC have. They put us through hell to make one of us though." Kelly added which caused Shepard to nod.
"Sounds a lot like N7." Shepard put in as Kelly turn to look at him.
"Maybe I should look that up when we're done here." Kelly heard before the elevator doors opened.
The trio moved towards the coordinates given to them. Kelly could only wonder how many obstacles had been set against them.
(UNSC Goliath)
The pelican docked in one of the dozens of hangers on Goliath. Gadge rode the elevator up to the captain's quarters. He entered his room and crossed over to his desk.
"Let's see what you have for me, Admiral." Gadge said as he sat down.
"I'm hoping this message reaches the Goliath." He heard as he tapped on the datapad. "I've heard from Captain Anderson that you want to stop Saren…. I've gotten word that several warships enforcing the Geth. Going off what you reported to me? Their Covenant based on their description." Hacket stated which caused Gadge to curse.
"Great, now the government sponsored terrorist has Covenant forces." Gadge said with a curse and tapped the message.
"I'm sending you these files for 2 reasons." Hacket continued which caused Gadge to hum. "One? If you can eliminate these forces? I'll trust your fully on our side. Second? The Alliance can't deal with these Geth currently… I was hoping the UNSC could… I'll await an update, Hacket out." Hacket put in as Gadge nodded.
He tapped the datapad and moved it to the side. The Vice Admiral sighed and pondered his options.
He wouldn't send Goliath after the Geth/Covenant forces alone. Not only would his fleet be coming up which would put them under citadel scrutiny. He also didn't intend to pit one warship against a small empire.
"Captain Anderson?" Gadge asked as he activated his own communicator. "I'm coming back to the citadel. Admiral Hacket just informed me of something." Gadge stated before he sighed and pushed himself to his feet.
Gadge wondered what the rest of the UNSC would think of this war. Perhaps the security council would cut a deal with the Citadel for help with the Covenant. Perhaps they'd try and find a way to reverse engineer the technology.
Gadge would need time to plan something. If he could figure out Saren's plans? Then he could think up a counter to it. Gadge only required time.
"I'll send coordinates." Anderson stated as Gadge hummed and walked towards the hanger to take a Pelican back to the citadel.
Now was not the time for action yet. Now was time to set the battlefield and determine the next move. Neither he nor the Covenant knew the terrain… Hopefully.
(With Kelly and Shepard)
Kelly looked at the Turians. Kelly's MJOLNIR armor picked up their audio as they drew closer.
"Sir, I just need more time." The Turian with their back to them put in.
The other Turian shook his head. He could see them coming as they approached.
"You've had more than enough time to investigate, Vakarian." The other Turian put in as the group drew closer. "The case is closed; you can forget it." The other Turian said and walked away.
Kelly could feel the hostility bristling off the Turian. She almost wondered if everyone she found was going to try and fight them.
"Damn." The Turian said as the group finally reached him.
"I'm starting to wonder if we should just shoot Saren next time we see him." Kelly put in which got a chuckle from Kaiden.
"You all saw that, didn't you?" The Turian asked which made Kelly hum.
"Saw what?" Kelly questioned with a raised eyebrow under her helmet. "Us losing another lead on someone who attacked a human colony? No, I didn't see anything." Kelly snarked out which got a chuckle from the Turian and Shepard.
"You didn't happen to know anything about Saren, did you?" Shepard questioned as the Turian sighed.
"No, that was part of that argument I had just now." The Turian said which made Kelly look at Shepard.
(With Gadge)
Gadge continued walking to the Chora's Den, it was where Anderson had asked to meet… Anderson warned him that the bar was frequented by criminals.
Gadge met the man by the bar. Gadge was glad he kept his sidearm on him at all times.
"Care to tell me why we're meeting here?" Gadge questioned and kept his hand close to the holster to his magnum.
"There's people who want to kill us all over the citadel." Anderson put in which made Gadge hum.
Gadge could guess that Saren had men all over the place. The man had several armies already, that tended to get attention to them.
"Shocker." Gadge stated, cupping his chin a moment. "I'm guessing you picked here for a good reason? What we have to discuss? It's pretty important." Gadge said and took a seat.
The Vice Admiral kept his hand on his magnum. He could almost physically feel the eyes on him.
"Oh, I doubt their tell." Gadge heard from Anderson who looked around the bar.
"Admiral Hacket told me the Covenant and Geth are working together." Gadge put in and cleared his throat while he leaned closer to the bar. "And since you happen to know about this little slice of the galaxy… And I happen to be the expert on Covenant? I was hoping we could discuss battle tactics." Gadge stated while tapping his fingers on the counter.
"Then tell me who the hell these Covenant are." Anderson said while a man in armor started to walk up to them.
"You two." The man said and drew his pistol while walking closer. "Fist wants to see you." The man said which caused Gadge to sigh.
"Well, that's too bad." Gadge stated before other patrons started to stand up. "I think I'll stay here." Gadge added and hummed.
The man went to grab Gadge only for the Vice Admiral to grab a nearby bottle. He pulled his pistol from its holster.
Anderson punched the man backwards and drew his M-3 Predator Handgun. He put a round through the man's head.
This caused all hell to break loose as several of Fist's men drew their own guns and took cover. The bartender drew a shotgun while the others drew their own guns.
Gadge tossed the bottle into one man who had already started to draw his gun. His magnum was already in his hand.
The 12.7x40mm round ended the life of the man as the bullet ripped through his skull. Gadge and Anderson ducked under the bar as bullets began ripping through the air.
"So, was this the plan?" Gadge questioned while checking his magnum. "Or did you just make it up as you went along?" Gadge questioned as both looked at the others.
"I was hoping you had those soldiers from before with you." Anderson put in before Gadge chuckled.
"Oh, don't worry, their nearby." Gadge stated before spotting movement.
Gadge turned and fired. Anderson heard 3 slugs, the first 2 shattered the man's Kinetic barriers with the third punching through the man's chest. Anderson heard the sounds of gunfire outside.
"And their called Orbital Drop Shock Troopers." Gadge stated as another of the 4 remaining thugs tried to flank them. "We call them ODSTs." Gadge added before the doors exploded outward.
The explosion threw off 2 of the thugs as Gadge and Anderson fired their entire clips at them. Their bullets sliced through shields and skin like a knife through butter. The men collapsed backwards onto a table. Gadge heard his gun click empty.
The group of elite soldiers emerged, sweeping their weapons while the remaining thugs backed into the alley. Gadge dropped the empty 12 bullet magazine. He grabbed another clip from his belt and reloaded the handgun.
"Nice gun for one that doesn't fire mass accelerated rounds." Anderson said while Gadge slipped the pistol back into its holster.
"Their SAPHE rounds." Gadge stated and brushed off his arms. "Semi-armor-piercing high-explosive rounds. Their blow something's head off if you hit them right." Gadge added and turned to look at the back door.
Gadge was no infantryman. He wasn't stupid, however. Fist's men had retreated to a more defendable position and gather reinforcements. It was the most logical move considering Fist's office was probably in the back.
"Damn, looks like we missed the party." Gadge heard from one of the ODSTs. "Should we hunt them down, sir?" Gadge heard from one of the ODSTs.
"Not worth the risk." Gadge stated and crossed his arms. He and Anderson surveyed the bar and the cadre of thugs slain by the two officers. "If I was smart? Fist has a small army between himself and us. Unless he has info? I'm not sending anyone to hunt him down." Gadge said with a hum.
"You brought me here knowing they'd try to capture us…" Gadge said while turning to Anderson.
"I wanted to find out if Saren had more agents on the Citadel." Anderson put in and brushed off his uniform. "A Spectre like Saren has plenty of money to burn. He's crafty, they only make the best of the best Spectres." Anderson added which made Gadge sigh.
"Then Fist does know something." Gadge said and turned to the squad of ODSTs. "Lock it down. Fist will have men waiting for us, let Shepard come back. We're raid Fist's office when we have backup." Gadge ordered which got a sigh from the ODSTs.
Gadge knew the soldiers wanted a battle. ODSTs were wound up like LOTUS mines, they'd explode the first chance they get to fight.
"Now, you were saying about the Covenant?" Anderson questioned and holstered his own sidearm.
"Their an empire of religious alien zealots who want to exterminate humanity." Gadge said and crossed his arms. "Every fight the UNSC has had with them? Their shields and plasma weapons butcher fleets of ours. You either have someone as talented as Admiral Cole fight them… Or you outnumber them 10 to 1. I don't know if your ships can punch through their hulls, but their more vulnerable on the ground." Gadge said and sighed.
"So Saren has a small army of fanatics who want to wipe out humanity." Anderson said which caused Gadge to hum.
"They glass worlds, not conquer them." Gadge stated and leaned against the bar. "Burn them with plasma weapons till the crust peels like wax paper. If they teamed up with Saren? They teamed up to burn every colony they see. We're an affront to their gods." Gadge said with a hum.
"Then what do you plan to do about their bases?" Anderson questioned as the two exited the bar.
"As soon as the rest of my fleet shows back up?" Gadge questioned to Anderson. "Then I'll strike at them. I'll leave Saren to Shepard and Sierra. I'll take care of his military power." Gadge stated and brushed off his uniform.
"Hunt his soldiers while Shepard hunts the leader." Anderson said while Gadge nodded.
"Something like that… Speaking of Shepard…" Gadge started to say as the duo gazed around.
It was then they heard a table shift which caused the ODSTs and both Gadge and Anderson to turn to it.
Neither noticed the Krogan just outside the bar looking at the Alliance and UNSC officers.
"Damn, it's just Anderson." The man said while Anderson hummed.
"Harkin." Anderson said as Gadge crossed his arms.
Author Notes
Phew, another chapter done! I want to point out that this story will reach Mass Effect 3 and undo the ending… I hate that ending when I played it. I want to point out the fleet battles will be more intense and will show far more death and such. More UNSC and Covenant ships will be entering the galaxy soon. Next chapter is in 2-10 weeks and will show Shepard and Kelly recruiting Garrus, Wrex, and Tali… And Gadge setting up operations against Saren's forces. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!