Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Shattered Glass. Enjoy the 2900-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Bungie, Bioware, and 343 do.
(Citadel, Serpent Nebula, Widow System.)
"So, the Turian does have information on Saren?" Shepard heard from Anderson over the comm line. "Thank you, sir." Shepard said and turned to look to Kelly.
"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground." Kelly stated as she looked to the side. "I'll find the Turian, you go question Fist? Kill two birds with one stone?" Kelly suggested and watched Shepard hum.
Kelly was used to having Blue Team around. John would have been assigning missions based on their best traits. Kelly wasn't an active leader; she was a soldier. Kelly handled better when she was being given a mission and allowed to determine how to achieve it.
"If you need backup, you tell us right away." Shepard stated as he nodded.
"On it, sir." Kelly said before turning and walking towards the nav point she set.
"Shepard, Fist barricaded himself in his office." Gadge reported and hummed. "I got a group of ODSTs engaging his men, I'll let you deal with his personal defenses. Me and Captain Anderson will be in the Presidium if you need either of us." Gadge added and then cut the transmission short.
Gadge knew for a fact that 8 ODSTs could deal with Fist's men. But Fist was akin to a rattlesnake if he was right. He would fight like hell to defend himself if he was backed into a corner.
The sounds of gunfire made him turn. He watched one of Fist's men collapse to the ground, his body pockmarked with bullets from a ODST's M7 SMG.
Gadge pondered if he should help his men. He decided on not doing so since they'd try and keep him out of their lines of fire.
"Sierra 087?" Gadge questioned as he exited Chora's Den. "What's your status?" Gadge asked and hummed.
He looked over his shoulder several times, his fingers continued to tap the case of his side arm as he walked away from the crime den.
The lack of action bothered Gadge. He was used to being on the bridge of a warship, fighting a war. This wasn't something he was used to.
"Just arriving at the waypoint… Hostiles, 4 of them." Kelly reported and then started to click off the line. "Their threatening a doctor." Kelly quickly added which made Gadge blink.
He almost wanted to wonder how many men Saren had aboard the citadel. It didn't give him a good view of the council that someone had dozens of criminals in their citadel.
(With Kelly)
Kelly was about to confront the thugs when the Turian from before popped out of cover and shot the thug in the skull while another held his gun to the doctor. Kelly watched the bullet sail through the man's head perfectly in his forehead. It was a shot only a master marksman could pull off on the first try.
The man collapsed to the ground. Kelly reached towards the rest of the thugs. Kelly could see them reaching for their guns.
Kelly was faster than that. She wrapped an arm around one of the criminal's arms and yanked their hand to the side. The bullet hit the wall as grabbed the man's neck and twisted it to the side.
The man fell limp as the others drew their weapons fully and fired. Kelly rolled behind cover as she felt one of the slugs impact her armor, disabling her shields.
Kelly cursed only for her to draw her shotgun. She watched the Turian fire his pistol which damaged the shields of another thug.
Kelly turned and fired a slug through the man's chest, the bullet cutting the man down like a stalk of wheat. Kelly looked at the Turian and hummed.
Kelly cocked her weapon and ejected the 8-gauge slug to the ground. Kelly turned to the 3 other thugs while her shields sluggishly recharged.
The thugs were either scared by the death of 2 of their number, or they were not good at tactics… Or both, they took cover and opened fire.
The Turian had gone to continue firing only for a shotgun slug to blow half his barriers apart. He looked at Kelly who was waiting for a pause. The man with the shotgun aimed for a shot only for Kelly to drain his barriers to 25% with another slug. Kelly cocked the weapon before surging forward.
The one man with an assault rifle managed to drain her shields again. He was cut off from a kill shot by the Turian draining his barriers in a barrage of bullets.
Kelly lunged at the man with the shotgun before she shifted his arm towards the thug with an assault rifle. She squeezed the trigger which blew the man across the room. He slumped to the side as Kelly turned towards the other thug.
He went to fire only for the Turian to shoot him, sending him crashing to the ground. Kelly tossed the other man into the wall before ending his life with another shell. If they were trained soldiers? They would have had someone guarding their flank, they could have coordinated their fire to suppress the Turian. They could have killed them.
They were like insurrectionists. Only they had some semblance of tactics and could match UNSC soldiers.
"Nice distraction." Kelly heard from the Turian which garnered a nod.
"I'm glad they weren't trained soldiers." Kelly said as she racked her shotgun once again. "I heard from the Admiral you had intel on Saren?" Kelly questioned the Turian as she holstered her shotgun.
"Not him." The woman stated which caused the Spartan-II to turn to her. "Me, that's why Fist's men came to speak with me." The woman stated which caused Kelly to hum.
"Spartan-087… I'm Kelly." Kelly introduced himself to the Turian.
"Garrus Vakarian." The Turian finally put in after a moment of silence.
(With Gadge)
Gadge hummed and walked to the railing where Anderson stood at. He was wondering what Kelly was up to at the moment.
Anderson looked out over the massive artificial lake below them as Gadge stood next to the Alliance captain.
"You know there's only a few areas in UNSC where you see things like this?" Gadge questioned and looked out over the lake as well.
"The war with the Covenant is really that bad?" Anderson questioned as Gadge hummed.
"It's a war for survival, Captain." Gadge put in as he looked out over the water. "And if it wasn't? I could guarantee that I'd be court marshaled for what I think… I value my soldiers over rules." Gadge stated and looked at Anderson.
"Then it's something we agree about." Anderson said while Gadge chuckled.
"I doubt the council will agree with me just trying to protect everyone I can." Gadge stated and watched Anderson nod.
"They've been against humanity being in charge of anything… And you can add the war with the Batarians in the Skyllian Blitz." Anderson said and got a raised eyebrow from Gadge.
"A war with the Batarians back in 2176… Batarians never forgave us for it." Anderson explained and then cleared his throat. "The first contact war was a 3-month battle with the Turians… The police you keep seeing all over the citadel." Anderson explained which caused Gadge to hum.
"Seems no matter where humanity lives, we solve fights with guns and violence…" Gadge responded and hummed. "I was a captain for 3 years or so… And from what I heard? The Covenant attacked us first. They've been hunting us for years." Gadge added which made Anderson sigh.
"So now we have another alien species that wants to kill us." Anderson put in as Gadge rubbed at his chin.
"The Covenant have several races within them, actually." Gadge said while he shook his head. "I'm planning on sending Admiral Hacket what the UNSC have on them. Right before we leave." Gadge stated and rubbed at his brow.
"You trust Admiral Hacket like you've just met him." Anderson put in which caused Gadge to hum.
"There's 3 or 5 important figures within the UNSC navy." Gadge stated and looked at Anderson. "1 of them faked his death in my opinion. He's too much of a tactical genius to not have a way out." Gadge added and hummed.
"And the other 3?" Anderson asked which caused Gadge to smile.
"One is a commander or captain like you are by now. I've only heard about him a few times." Gadge stated and leaned on the railing. "The other 3 are Admirals. Admiral Stanforth, Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb… A man I greatly respect. Then there's Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood." Gadge added before clearing his throat.
"Admiral Hood is in my opinion?" Gadge questioned and tapped his fingers on the railing. "The head of the Navy. He reminds me a lot of Admiral Hacket. I might not be the most 'by the rules' military commander in the UNSC? But I can respect someone who puts things aside to focus on the big picture." Gadge finished and pushed himself away from the railing.
Anderson wanted to say something only for Gadge to hear someone contact him.
"Admiral?" Benson stated over com. "I just got word from the ODSTs. Shepard just joined them and their pushing through. I've also heard that Hellion and Morningstar will be within the system soon. Other ships in the fleet are going to need a few more hours." Gadge heard and turned to Anderson.
"6 hours seem like nothing…" Gadge said and rubbed at his temples. "Captain, I know the UNSC and Systems alliance aren't the same entity…. But I need a favor." Gadge stated as he started to walk towards the elevator.
He'd wait the rest of Vanguard Fleet arriving before launching into operations against the Covenant and Geth.
"Which is?" Anderson questioned and got a hum from Gadge.
"Tell Admiral Hacket to have someone standing by if I fail…" Gadge said and started to turn before he whipped his head back like a snake. "I'm going to spend the trip getting some sleep. Vice Admiral or not? I'm not going to be able to lead a campaign against Saren's forces exhausted." Gadge said and then turned.
"Lieutenant?" Gadge questioned over his earpiece. "I want those coordinates passed to Lieutenant Jason… I'll be asleep and unless it's 10 minutes we drop out of Slipspace? Then I don't want anyone to wake me up. Not unless Goliath is splitting in half around you." Gadge stated, more amused at the idea of the communications officer dreading disturbing him.
Still? Gadge planned on overcoming the Covenant. If they were defeated here? Gadge not only had hope they could be defeated for good… But that he could gather support for the UNSC.
Maybe being brought here was a blessing. It at least gave him time to clear his head if he was going to die.
(With Kelly)
Kelly walked with Garrus toward the presidium. Kelly turned to Garris as they continued their trek.
"How did you manage to pull off that shot?" Kelly questioned, more curious then angry.
"Which shot?" Garrus questioned with a wry smile pulling at his lips. "I made plenty of shots during the fight." Garrus stated which caused Kelly to hum.
"The perfect headshot you made at the start of the fight." Kelly said while she blinked. "That isn't something you learn in basic training. You learn it by practice." Kelly pointed out as she hummed.
Kelly heard Garrus exhale and then fall silent. Kelly wanted to press the issue. She didn't decide it was worth it at the moment to ask. Kelly opened a comm line to Gadge as she walked with Garrus.
Kelly knew for a fact that things would only get harder. Kelly didn't personally know Saren, but if a Spectre was anything like a black op soldier it sounded like? Then he knew how to cover his tracks and bases.
He was probably well on his way to his next objective if he was operating through other agents.
"Do you mind answering a different question?" Kelly asked more awkwardly then she normally would. "What's a Spectre?" Kelly questioned and got a hum from Garrus.
"You're really not from around here, are you?" Garrus questioned as he looked at Kelly. "I could tell from your armor; nobody around here really wears armor like this… You moved like a Salarian, though." Garrus stated which caused Kelly to hum.
"Salarians are the ones with black eyes and horns." Garrus stated with humor all over his tone. "Spectres are elite citadel operatives. Off the books, cops without restrictions." Garrus put in which caused Kelly to nod.
"Government sanctioned black ops cops…" Kelly said before shaking her head back and forth. "Great, so Saren is a government sponsored terrorist. Just add the army of killer soldiers, hordes of mercs and the 2-kilo warship I saw." Kelly stated, snark lining her tone like a pool filter.
She wondered how Shepard, Kaiden, and Ashley were doing.
(With Shepard)
Shepard watched another of Fist's men collapse before another ODST collapsed to the ground. 2 were face down on the ground as the squad continued to fire down the hallway.
Shepard opened fire at the Krogan at the other end of the corridor. He hadn't seemed to have moved.
"Damn it, I must have emptied 2 clips into that sob!" One of the black armored soldiers yelled.
"It's a Krogan." Kaiden explained while looking over the half dozen or so dead criminals. "They can regenerate from minor wounds. You have to suppress them till they stop recovering." Kaiden stated as they took cover.
"Of course, you do…" One of the ODSTs muttered which caused Shepard to hum.
"Where's Fist?" Shepard questioned which got the ODSTs to share looks.
"Past him." One of the ODSTs stated and pointed to the Krogan. "We wiped out all his other men. That sob there got 2 of us before you showed up." The other ODSTs pointed out.
"We're take care of the rest." Shepard put in before one of the ODSTs started to speak up.
His partners shook their head. They were soldiers, their objective was to deal with the enemy. They had done their duty, and it wasn't like they were equipped to kill something like him.
"Kill it for us." One of the ODSTs stated before they hunkered down. They were planning to kill the Krogan before they retreated, offer some small means of comfort to their fallen brothers. It would not be something they seemed capable of at the moment.
But if Shepard knew half as much about an ODST as they knew about themselves? ODSTs didn't back down from fights with anyone.
The Krogan roared and charged into the hail of bullets. The ODSTs thumbed their triggers and unleashed a crossfire of bullets which cut down the barriers of the Krogan.
It was Shepard who scored the final shot with his shotgun.
(With Gadge)
Gadge waited for the ODSTs so they could depart for Goliath. Gadge tapped his earpiece to speak to Kelly.
"Spartan, what's your status?" Gadge questioned and crossed his arms. He watched a group of C-Sec officers pass by.
"Proceeding to sync up with Shepard's squad, sir." Kelly reported which caused Gadge to hum.
"Are you reporting back to the Goliath?" Gadge questioned and tapped his earpiece once more.
"I'll link up with you later, sir." Kelly stated and signed off.
"Hmm…" Gadge thought to himself while he rubbed at his temples. "This is going to be a long day." Gadge put in and cracked his knuckles.
Gadge could only hum and wonder how many ships the Geth and Covenant had between them. Part of him wondered why Saren didn't have them with him personally.
It was then he heard footsteps as the ODSTs arrived back at the ship. They carried 2 of their number in their arms. Gadge sighed and frowned. His lips stretching out in a flat emotionless line as his eyes narrowed.
'Now that's 2 more soldiers that got killed under my watch… Damn it.' Gadge said and then turned to the pelican without another word.
Gadge could only hope that they didn't suffer any major losses. Gadge sighed and took his seat as the Pelican slowly closed its hatch. The ship spun and lifted off towards the Goliath.
Gadge said nothing on the ride back to his ship. ODSTs and Spartans kept to themselves. They were soldiers who had traditions outside of the military.
The Pelican drifted into one of the hanger bays with Gadge going to sleep. He'd sleep off the deaths of 2 of his soldiers, it would give the ODSTs time to get their minds ready.
Gadge would also spend the time planning a campaign against the Covenant and Geth. He was going to wait for his ships to arrive.
They didn't know how long and brutal this war would be… Or how the entire UNSC and Covenant would be pulled into this.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that I will be cutting out some of the regular Mass Effect moments to put in new moments and such. Next chapter will show Gadge beginning operations against the Covenant and Geth… And getting a report from Kelly on her status along with begin Kelly and Shepard's campaign against Saren. Until 2-10 weeks, Lighting Wolf out!