Chapter 12: Going Far
Shepard helped the dozens of Asari file into the Pelicans that awaited them, doing her best to return their thanks with a courteous nod. They seemed surprised that the Humans were able to so easily come and go from the shield world, judging by the murmuring from the transport bay. Just as she gave the pilot a quick thumbs-up, she heard a convoy of Warthogs speeding back towards the primary LZ, seeing them laden with ODSTs as she glanced over.
"Gone a while, Lieutenant." Shepard nodded to Brynna as she hopped out of the passenger's seat of the middle vehicle. "Captain was about to organize a search."
"Eh, we're alright." Brynna shrugged, pulling her helmet off. "Got something for Miss Naval Intelligence, though. Looks like we found a map of the place."
That was a welcome surprise. "Should be useful for the research team when they arrive. Combat elements are getting recalled to the ship for now."
"Copy, we'll get the 'hogs ready for transport." She nodded, turning to bark out orders at her platoon.
Seeing Liara and Garrus talking with a few members of her old force recon platoon, she decided to join in on the conversation. As she approached, she saw her apparent replacement in the platoon showing off his rifle to the Turian, whose expression Shepard couldn't hope to read.
"How heavy is that damn thing?" Garrus asked, gesturing to the rifle that was only slightly shorter than the Marine carrying it.
"'Bout fifteen kilos. Thing fuckin' sucks to lug around, but goddamn if it doesn't pack a punch." The corporal placed the rifle on the ground. "You a sniper too? Ya got that weird eyepiece thing I've seen Turian snipers use."
"Yeah, back when I was still with C-SEC they had me on-call in case we had a hostage situation. Used the M-97 Viper, still do in fact."
Looking the M-97 over, Mackenzie looked immensely confused. "Is that a fuckin' gas tube on a coilgun?"
"Nah, it's a counterweight." Garrus explained. "Keeps the recoil manageable."
"Comparing notes?" Shepard asked, approaching the strange collection of people.
"Eh, just shit-slinging." Mackenzie shrugged. "We gettin' off- er… out of this rock soon?"
She nodded. "This'll be ONI's problem soon enough."
November 2, 2537; 1700 Hours
Soell System (UNSC Thermopylae)
"Everything's proceeding surprisingly well, Fleetmaster." Admiral Harper began, swiping his hand across the holotable's interface. "Remaining resistance in the city is minimal."
"Indeed, though our primary concern is still Truth." Rtas gestured to the void, speckled with drifting debris. "It's likely he will gather loyal followers from the fringe of Covenant space. Sadly, tracking him will be impossible. That vessel's slipspace drive is beyond even the most advanced drives aboard Covenant vessels."
"And the other species?" Harper asked, bringing up the star charts Rtas has shared with him.
"Very few of them are spacefaring on their own, and fewer still were ever truly loyal to the Hierarchs." Rtas nodded to one of the highlighted star systems. "The Kig-Yar were largely mercenaries and pirates steered into direction by the Prophets. The Brutes have fallen into another internal war if the word of Jackal pirates is to be believed. The rest of the Covenant poses minimal threat to either of our peoples, if at all."
"For all intents and purposes, the war has been won." Thel added from beside his white-armored companion. "We can begin stabilizing the region, and hunting Truth."
"Well, the UEG is more than happy to assist with rebuilding, but there's something else..." Harper added. "These other ring installations… does the Covenant know their location?"
"I'm afraid not, and neither do we." Rtas explained. "Even the Oracle was unfamiliar with the location of the six other rings. I'm sure Truth will do his utmost to find another ring, but without access to the wider Covenant, it will be much more difficult for him."
"Better news than I was expecting." Harper nodded.
"Indeed..." Thel nodded. "With the war all but won, I do believe we have these other aliens to meet? My people have suffered enough at the hands of the Prophets… I'd rather avoid another war born of ignorance."
November 10, 2537; 1431 Hours
UNSC Normandy, Slipstream Space
Liara continued pouring over the data she had collected from the shield world. The sheer scale of the installation was almost mind numbing, even looking back at the photos and data. Despite being artificial, the ecosystem was completely indistinguishable from a normal planet's. She was pulled away from her studies by the familiar tone from the nearby holographic pedestal, Haggard's way of announcing his coming presence. She certainly appreciated the gesture.
"Doctor T'Soni, hope I'm not interrupting anything, but the Captain wants to speak with you ASAP."
"Should I even bother asking what about?" Liara gave her best attempt at a joke, having seen the Marines and ODSTs crack jokes at the AI every now and again. A feeling of pride welled up in her chest as the AI gave a little smirk.
"Probably not. I'm her AI, and she doesn't even tell me anything." Haggard shrugged. "Just the messenger and all that. Good luck."
As Haggard's blue avatar fizzled out, Liara took a moment to collect herself and made her way out of the small quarters she had been assigned. As she headed for the bridge, the continued friendliness of the vessel's crew still surprised her. As she made her way to the bridge, spotting the pair of black-clad ONI security personnel standing to either side of the door to the captain's quarters. Despite their intimidating appearance, being the only ones on board carrying longarms, they were friendly as anyone else.
"Afternoon, Doctor." He gestured to the door with the butt of his MA5. "Head on in. Mind the glow."
Unsure of what exactly he meant, she stepped past the two troopers. Her eyes were immediately assaulted by the glow of nearly a dozen holographic images, technical readouts, and data feeds. "Apologies, Doctor." Agent Lawson began, closing down the more offensive of the displays. "The past few weeks have seen my workload increase a bit more than I'd like. Please, have a seat." Lawson certainly wasn't lying, she looked exhausted.
"As I'm sure you're aware, none of us were expecting to find this when we set out." Miranda pulled up a display of the shield world. "I assume you still have the field recordings you took on the installation?"
"Are you asking me to delete them?" Liara asked, incredulously. "This find is unlike anything we've-"
"Quite the contrary, Doctor." Miranda raised a hand. "My superiors are in agreement that this discovery could serve as a fantastic start to a more… cooperative relationship between the UEG and the Council. When we return to the Citadel tomorrow, I'll be bringing this to the attention of the Council for a joint research effort." That was the exact opposite of what Liara expected. She had no real point of reference for that expectation, but judging by the amount of times she had heard the Marines refer to ONI as the 'four-sided puzzle palace', she had a decent enough idea.
"That's great news." Liara nodded. "If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to give you a copy of the data. I think I'm making some progress on those glyphs."
"Greatly appreciated, Doctor, but there's another matter I'd like to discuss." Miranda began, closing down the hologram of the shield world. "For obvious reasons, this discussion cannot leave this room..." At Liara's nod, she continued. "It's my understanding that your work on Therum was freelance, yes?" At the nod, Miranda produced a datapad and placed it on the desk in front of Liara. "I'm in the position to offer you a career with Naval Intelligence."
Now that wasn't at all what Liara expected. "You may be young for an Asari, but you have experience to rival even the most renowned Human archaeologists. You would have access to ONI funding and personnel for future… excursions."
"I-I'm not quite sure what to say..." Liara began. "I'm not even in your military, let alone a citizen."
"I can assure you, Doctor; military service is not a requirement for a career with ONI, Doctor Halsey being perhaps the most famous example. As for citizenship, you accepting the offer would rectify that problem."
It took a moment, but Liara eventually narrowed down the million questions in her head to one. "What would I be doing, exactly?"
"You would officially be a researcher employed with the Sydney Museum of Natural Sciences on Earth, in reality you would be a field agent under Section III's Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group. Of course, you'll remain under my watch for some time, and keep your place aboard the Normandy."
"Mind if I give it some thought?" Liara asked, looking down at the datapad.
"Of course." Miranda nodded. "But please… this conversation does not leave this room." If looks could kill, Miranda's stone-cold gaze would've made Liara drop dead.
"I understand… thank you, Captain."
November 11, 2537; 1831 Hours
Widow Nebula, Citadel
Miranda gave a respectful nod to the Councilors as she stepped into the conference room alongside Shepard, Garrus, and Liara. "Captain Lawson… I'd like to start off by thanking you for rescuing what's left of Saren's team." Sparatus began, returning the nod.
"Your report also mentioned something about a lost Council survey vessel from nearly a century ago?" Tevos asked.
"Indeed. The CSV Lumeria." Miranda nodded, taking a seat across the table. "The Pillar of Autumn will be arriving in three days with the survivors and their descendents."
"I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the rest of your report, Captain." Councilor Mesu added, closing down his Omni-Tool. "You mentioned an artificial planet?"
"Indeed. Its builders are evidently quite ancient, and quite advanced. Beyond even the Protheans for that matter. The planet is similar to a Human concept known as a 'Dyson sphere' on a smaller scale. I believe Doctor T'Soni can offer some insight on its creators."
"Y-yes." Liara nodded, bringing up her Omni-Tool. She had been through quite a bit in the past few weeks, but having the eyes of all three Councilors staring her down still made her clam up. "The Protheans made reference to a civilization that predated their own that they called the Inusannon, or 'Forerunners' in their language. The architecture inside this planet matches the descriptions that Prothean scholars provided, brief as they may be."
"What do we know about these Forerunners?" Tevos asked.
"Decidedly little." Liara shrugged. "I spent most of my time on the return journey studying what examples of the language the ODSTs were able to photograph, but it's an unusually complicated language. I can say with certainty that they were easily one of the most advanced civilizations to ever exist."
"What did you encounter, Officer Vakarian?" Sparatus asked, glancing over.
"Other than the Humans, There were several types of strange drones. They seemed to be stripping the ship down, repurposing the materials for something. It's almost like they were confining me to the wreck."
"How so?"
"Every time I'd try to open an airlock to get outside, at least three of the bigger ones with the three arms would float over and almost… herd me back inside before one of the smaller ones would close the airlock behind me."
"The crew of the Lumeria reported much of the same. They described it like they were quarantined in their crashed vessel for about a week before being allowed to leave." Miranda added.
"Did these drones attempt the same with your crew, Captain?" Tevos asked.
"No, they didn't. Interestingly enough, one of my own ODSTs was able to access some sort of map of the planet from a structure near the crash, a feat none of the Lumeria's survivors were able to accomplish."
"How did they do it?"
"She simply placed a hand on a console." Miranda shrugged. "A glyph appeared, being this one..." Miranda pulled up a still image from Brynna's helmet camera, showing the circular glyph that still gave her an eerily familiar feeling. "When the survivors attempted, regardless of seemingly any factor, it would always respond by flaring red and shutting down. As a test, I also had Doctor T'Soni and another Marine make an attempt. It locked out the Doctor and allowed the Marine access to the map."
The Council was at a loss for words. "I… I'm not sure what to make of this..." Tevos began.
"Neither am I, to be frank." Miranda half-lied. "But, Admiral Cole and Admiral Parangosky have cleared me to offer you the ability to send research teams to the installation. Consider it a cooperative research effort." With a quick swipe across her datapad, she transferred the coordinates to all three Councilors.
"Thank you, Captain." Tevos nodded. Before she could continue, the vidcomm terminal before her blinked with an incoming call request. Glancing down, half-expecting it to be some low-level bureaucratic meeting she had forgotten about, she was surprised to see it coming from President Yevgeny, flagged as urgent. Councilor Tevos took a moment to dismiss Miranda, Garrus, and Liara before answering the comm. As she accepted the call, she got about halfway through her greeting before the image before her stopped her dead in her tracks. "Mister President, how can I..."
In the center of the conference table, the holographic image of the UEG's president was joined by another being that nobody in the room recognized. It was a tall alien, completely towering over the already rather tall President, dressed in golden armor with a set of four mandibles clamped tightly. Its almost reptilian eyes scanned over the Councilors as Tevos found herself trailing off.
"Apologies if I'm interrupting anything, Councilors, but there's been a development in our corner of the galaxy." Yevgeny began. "The UEG has made successful first contact with several alien species native to the Orion Arm, I felt it only right to notify you in person."
The alien evidently took that as his cue, and respectfully bowed his head. "Greetings, Councilors. I am Fleetmaster Thel'Vadam, current supreme commander of the Swords of Sanghelios. It is an honor."
"It's a pleasure, Fleetmaster." Tevos returned the nod after taking a moment to compose herself. "Apologies, I just… wasn't exactly expecting this. How did this first contact happen?"
"A Human fleet stumbled upon my battle-damaged vessel several months ago, quite luckily might I add." Thel began recounting his contact with Blue Team, the Great Schism, and the role the UNSC played in fracturing the Covenant. "Much to my dismay, the Prophet of Truth is still at large. We will do what we can to eliminate him before he rallies support from remaining Covenant loyalists, but tracking him will be difficult with continued attacks from Covenant splinter groups."
"This is… a lot to take in." Tevos sighed. "You said this Covenant was planning a genocidal campaign against Humanity? Would they have done the same to us?"
"I cannot say for certain what would have been done, but it is a fair guess to assume that you would be given the option to join the Covenant, or be forced to. Were it not for the Sangheili discovering the lies of the Prophets, it's likely my fleet would have been sent to carry out the deed."
"Why even consider this genocide against Humanity, though?" Sparatus asked, trying to wrap his head around the whole situation.
"I still do not know the specifics, questioning the will of the Prophets was grounds for execution under the Covenant. It's likely only Truth knows the reasons. Regardless, the war has slowed considerably. With luck, we will be able to bring Truth to justice. I look forward to discussing further in person."
"Will you be visiting the Citadel, Fleetmaster?" Tevos asked.
"Indeed. I will be arriving within the week." Thel nodded. "I will not be staying long, much of Sangheili space is still vulnerable to attack, but it is only right for me to make the acquaintance of a potential ally. It has been an honor, Councilors." With that, the gold-armored fleetmaster stepped away from the vidcomm, his image fizzling out.
"You launched this campaign without notifying us, Yevgeny?" Sparatus asked, more out of confusion than anything. "It certainly explains the fleet movements, but why?"
"My apologies, Councilor." Yevgeny nodded. "As much as I would have preferred to bring the Council up to speed earlier, there was quite the lobby in favor of keeping this conflict strictly in our court, largely as a result of what Thel mentioned regarding the Covenant 'offering' you a place. Many of the senators from the Outer Colonies are still… hesitant to trust the Council."
"Whatever the reasons may be, what's done is done." Tevos sighed, finally beginning to wrap her head around the ridiculous events of the day. "Thankfully, everything turned out well enough."
"I appreciate your understanding, Councilors." Yevgeny nodded. "I'll leave you to your business."
November 12, 2537; 0921 Hours
Widow Nebula, Citadel
"What's up, big man?" Brynna clapped Garrus on the shoulder as she sat down across from him in the Normandy's mess hall. "How'd the debrief go?"
"Captain was just as scary as you said." Garrus chuckled, setting down his tube of nutrient paste. "Are all your officers like that?"
"Nope, just the ONI spooks." Brynna smirked. "Got any plans now that your Spectre got… well, got?"
"Well, gave up my job at C-SEC to join Saren's group, so..." He simply shrugged. "Been considering mercenary work for a while, might give that a go. Plenty of people willing to pay for some Terminus thugs to get a cranial rearrangement."
"Tell 'ya what, Bravo-Eight's gonna go check out the Citadel for a while, you're free to tag along if you want. Could use some direction."
"Sure, why not?" Garrus shrugged, standing up and following behind the Helljumper. He was surprised to see the entirety of Brynna's platoon of ODSTs wearing full casual attire, almost looking like tourists… almost. The wicked-looking Helljumper tattoo each of them wore on their shoulder was proudly displayed by all twelve of them.
Garrus did his best to corral the Helljumpers towards the higher-end areas of Zakera Ward, but they wound up where all soldiers on leave do: the bar. "Nothing like liquor at noon, huh?" Garrus joked, leaning against the bar as he elbowed Brynna.
"Hey, we are decidedly off-duty." She smiled. "You should see this bunch 'a goons when we've got the whole week off. Usually ends with a few fistfights."
"Sounds familiar." Garrus smirked. "And I'm not judging. You lunatics fall from orbit in giant metal coffins. If anyone deserves some day-drinking, it's you guys."
"Damn straight!" The platoon all declared. "Feet first into hell."
Garrus smiled as he saw all of the non-humans in the bar, including the bartender, looking on in a mix of amusement and confusion. The smile was immediately wiped from his face when he saw a ping from the Presidium on his Omni-Tool. Sure enough, it was a summons from the Council. "Oh spirits… Council called."
"Ouch… two debriefs in one day." Brynna winced, accenting her point. "Godspeed, big man."
"Thanks… don't burn anything down." Garrus smirked. "I don't wanna have to call in favors with C-SEC to get you idiots out of jail."
"We'll do our best." Brynna laughed.
Sighing, Garrus made his way towards one of the many elevators to the Presidium. When he finally made his way to the conference room he was directed to, he was surprised to see not only Councilor Tevos, but Captain Lawson as well. "Mister Vakarian, thank you for coming." Tevos sent him a warm smile. "I know this may be a bit sudden, but… in light of recent events, the Council has agreed that you are a perfect candidate for the Spectres." Of all the things Garrus was expecting, that was at the bottom of his list.
"I… I honestly don't know what to say… thank you, Councilor." Garrus eventually managed.
"You've earned it." Tevos nodded. "Now, I'm afraid that we won't have the time for a formal ceremony, as your first mission has already been decided. You'll be working with Captain Lawson to investigate a series of strange transmissions made on encrypted Spectre channels. Should you agree, that is."
Glancing over to Miranda, Garrus was met by a completely neutral expression. After a moment, he nodded. "I'd be honored."
"Excellent. I believe Captain Lawson already has a briefing packet for you." Tevos gave a warm smile, her gaze turning back to Miranda.
"Indeed." She nodded, handing a datapad to Garrus. "An unknown source is using Spectre comms channels to coordinate attacks against not only the UEG, but specific individuals in Council space as well. Doctor T'Soni was one of their targets, and this same source was likely responsible for the attack on the colony of Harvest."
Getting back into his C-SEC mode, Garrus gave a firm nod as he read over the surprisingly sparse datapad. "Any leads?"
"Very few, I'm afraid." Miranda shrugged. "Whatever technology they're using to encrypt their transmissions is alien to us, not even our sixth-gen Smart AIs can seem to crack it. All we know is that the transmissions were sent to both Batarian space and the Terminus."
"Well, Omega might be a good place to start." Garrus nodded. "If anyone was going to know something about this, it'd be Aria."
XXXXX
"Do you have all the equipment you'll be needing?" Miranda asked, stepping out of the Presidium's elevator beside Garrus.
"I should be alright." Garrus nodded. "We heading straight for Omega?"
"Afraid not. We'll be making a slight detour to Reach to rearm." Miranda explained, stepping out to the docking bay. "Please tell me the ODSTs didn't do anything stupid." Garrus was almost afraid, up until he saw the faintest hint of a smirk on Miranda's face.
"Other than some day drinking, nothing crazy." Garrus chuckled, stepping onto the Normandy. "I'll get my gear squared away."
Just as Miranda prepared to turn for her office, she was greeted by Liara. "Captain? I've given the offer some thought and… I'll take it."
Miranda couldn't help but smile as she produced her datapad, swiping a few commands across the screen. "Excellent to hear, Doctor. I'll make the necessary arrangements for your security clearance. In the meantime, see Lieutenant Pembroke on deck three for your equipment."
November 17, 2537; 1337 Hours
Epsilon Eridani, Reach
Garrus watched from one of the precious few viewports on the Normandy as the ship began approaching the famed planet Reach. When Lawson had described the planet as a fortress, she wasn't kidding. The whole of Reach's orbit was bustling with military activity, and was densely packed with orbital defense stations, orbital hangars, comm buoys, and the occasional smattering of civilian transports. Despite being one of Humanity's older colonies, it looked surprisingly sparsely inhabited, with only a few major cities dotting its surface.
The planet itself looked to be right on the edge of the Roche limit with its neighboring world, with a nearby gas giant pulling thin wisps of atmosphere up into the void. "And there she is..." Brynna smirked, stepping up beside Garrus in her formal uniform. "Beautiful, huh?"
"Definitely impressive." Garrus nodded. Try as he might, there wasn't a single hole in the planet's defenses that he could think of. All he knew was that this planet housed the Spartans' training grounds, and that alone made it a force to be reckoned with. "Not as… urban as I expected. I was half-expecting something like Illium."
Garrus watched as the Normandy drifted into dock with a massive orbital shipyard, one of many orbiting the UEG's primary source of titanium for their starships. It wasn't long before he was ushered into a Pelican by Captain Lawson and her small entourage of ONI security troopers. Just as the 'small' ship that he'd be calling home for the meanwhile began to leave eyeshot, he noticed a few drones attaching new armaments to the missile hardpoints that had been extended from the ventral side of the frigate.
By the time he landed in New Alexandria with Lawson, Liara, Brynna, and Shepard, the sun had just started dipping below the horizon. Despite that, the city remained lively.
Lawson led Shepard, Liara, and a few of the Normandy's resident ONI personnel towards one of the larger structures in the massive complex they had landed in, leaving Garrus with the platoon of Helljumpers. He wasn't exactly surprised by the few glances he got from passersby, but he was quickly dragged out of his sightseeing by Brynna and her troopers."C'mon, big guy." Brynna nodded towards the checkpoint leading out of the FLEETCOM complex. "Least I can do is show you around my hometown."