Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect multicrossover. Thank you for the continued support you've shown my story. I deeply appreciate the feedback that I have gotten, and I will continue to improve my story as time goes on. As always, leave a review and enjoy!
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SABATON – Fields of Verdun
Terminus Systems
Omega Station
June 27th, 3075
Of all the things that Aria T'Loak had seen in her entire life, she hadn't expected something like this. Looking at the holo-TV that was on the wall of the VIP booth of Afterlife, she could still tell that communications was offline, as large red words said Error 095-E: Communications Failure. Contact Your Local Repair Team. Looking at her data pad, she could tell that she still had local COMs, but beyond that, Omega might as well have been deafened and blinded to what was going on out there.
It had been roughly two centuries since she had come to Omega, as a simple Asari Maiden that was looking for adventure. Life in the early years on Omega had been rough, as many of the criminal elements had been harsh on the young woman, with most breaking under the immense pressure created by the criminals and mercenaries that called Omega home. Unlike most, however, Aria had quickly hardened under the pressure, before starting off a chain reaction that led to her deposing the Patriarch as the Pirate King of Omega, leading her to become the Pirate Queen of Omega.
Omega was, to many people in Council Space, the armpit of the galaxy, and this was rather appropriate given it's reputation. Unlike Council Space or the Inner Sphere, where law and order reigned supreme, there was no such institution on Omega, with most crimes usually being punished by a beat down or a gun. This meant that anyone could do whatever they wanted, with most people on Omega forming gangs and mercenary groups in order to rule over their half-acre of Omega. Those with similar goals merged their gangs and groups together, forming larger gangs, while some became professional mercenary corporations. For those that didn't turn to crime to make a living, life was harsh, though some were hard enough to withstand what many called an anarcho-collective.
Then the Star League arrived, Aria thought, a frown on her face as she recalled when she saw the Council making First Contact. When the Star League made itself known to the wider galaxy, Aria had been not only genuinely surprised, but alarmed as well; surprised as she didn't know there was another species that had existed in Council Space for thousands of years without anyone knowing, and alarmed because of how advanced they were in terms of technology.
As a result, when she learned of the Star League, she had decided to prepare for the future, as she had a feeling that, one day, the Star League would come around and invade Omega. The scary part was that she knew that, in this case, it was not a matter of if they would invade, but rather a matter of when they would attack Omega. Using her influence, she had gathered together the major powers on Omega, as well as some of the minor ones, in order to discuss countermeasures in the event that the Star League invaded Omega with the intent of taking it over. After a few hours of arguing and discussion, the Blood Pack, Eclipse, Talons and a few other criminal and mercenary corporations agreed to Aria's proposal.
To that end, she had helped coordinate the preparations for when the Star League would arrive. Fortifications were prepared, weapons bought or stolen, civilians recruited and trained, and pamphlets distributed on what to do when the Star League decided to invade Omega. Once they had prepared as best as they could, all that was left was waiting, as Aria knew that, sometime in the next two decades, the Star League would invade, and they would be hard pressed to keep Omega independent of the Star League and it's member Great Houses.
As she paced around the VIP booth in Afterlife, she looked inside of the main atrium, where the patrons usually gathered to have fun and drink themselves into a stupor. Today, since the communications blackout, the atrium was devoid of activity, with the tables and chairs having been replaced by fortifications and weapon emplacements. Most of her men were down there, getting the weapons cleaned and ready in the event an invasion began. Grizz, her best body guard, was down there coordinating the preparations, while Gorash had taken up a position on the upper level, sniper rifle ready as he waited for what he felt was the inevitable.
Hearing a pair of footsteps, Aria turned around to see a young, male Turian walking up to him, with a female Turian walking alongside him as well. The male Turian was tall, with green facial paint that emphasized a pair of bright blue eyes, with said facial paint in sharp, angular bends that followed his facial plates. He was also quite muscular, as Aria could see powerful muscles underneath the bodysuit he was wearing, while his dark facial plates and dark colored scales made him highly attractive. The female standing next to him also wore green facial paint, which emphasized a pair of brown colored eyes; she was similarly attractive, with dark facial plates and skin. In terms of proportions, both Turians were extremely attractive, with every physical feature being just perfect.
Aria smiled slightly when she saw those two, as they were the newest members of her organization. Proventus, the male Turian, was around 23 years of age, and was a quiet, soft spoken individual that believed that a single action was worth a million words. Zevira, the female Turian, was more active and outgoing than Proventus was, and she was about 21 years old, having worked in the HDF before becoming a model in the fashion business. That didn't mean she was spineless, as she was extremely ruthless whenever she had a mission to complete. Looking at the two, Aria asked, "Is everything ready?"
"Almost," Zevira replied. "We're still shoring up some of the defenses in some of the other districts, but beyond that, we are ready for an invasion. My husband inspected the defenses and found them satisfactory." Behind her, Proventus nodded in agreement.
"Good," Aria beamed, taking a sip from a drink before sitting down. "That is reassuring. Should the Star League invade, they'll find that Omega is not as unprepared for an invasion as they think we are. They'll find that Omega belongs to me and no one else." Taking another sip, she asked, "What of the other mercenary and criminal gangs?"
"They're ready for an invasion as well," Zevira replied. "Garm has reported that his men are ready to fight, and Talan says that the Eclipse is ready to go as well. In other words, if the Star League invades, they'll find a lot of stiff resistance waiting for them."
"Good," Aria nodded, putting her drink down onto the small table in the booth. "Get some rest, both of you. You've done a lot of good work and you deserve a good rest. Should the invasion begin, you will report to the front line and do what you can to make life difficult for the Star League."
"Yes, ma'am," Proventus replied, his deep voice echoing in the booth. Turning around, he walked out of the booth with his wife, their arms wrapped around each other's backs as they left. Aria smiled at that; those Turians were husband and wife, having married each other when they left the Hierarchy Defense Force. Either way, the fact that she had two talented people in her organization made Aria pleased. Good soldiers and people were hard to come by nowadays, all thanks to the Star League. With that in mind, she leaned back into her chair, sipping some more of her drink as she waited for what she felt was the inevitable: the arrival of the Star League.
. . .
What Aria didn't know was that the Star League had already arrived at Omega, and was now waiting for the signal to begin the invasion. One particular ODST was already itching to get onto the station and cause a lot of trouble for the pirates and criminals onboard, as he was checking his M42 PPR for the umpteenth time. Looking around, Dutch could see other Star League personnel getting ready, with other ODST's getting prepped for the invasion as well.
After the Covenant-Star League-UNSC War, also known as the First Interuniversal War, had ended, Dutch found that he was out of a job, or so he had thought. The UNSC needed it's top personnel in order to protect the UEG while it rebuilt from the war, a long and arduous process given how devastating the war had been. While they had over 200 colonies still, it would take a long time for both the UEG and UNSC to recover from the war. Fortunately, this process had gotten easier once the Star League offered it's assistance, speeding up recovery efforts by a significant degree.
During this time, he'd gotten an offer from the Star League to participate in the Interspecies Exchange Program, or IEP, a program the Star League created in order to foster cooperation between the UNSC, Star League and the newly reformed Covenant. Having gotten a positive opinion of the Star League from his experience working with them, he'd agreed to enter the IEP, undergoing extensive genetic therapy in the process. The training had been grueling, even by ODST standards, but in the end, he'd passed with flying colors.
As a reward for successfully completing the training course, he'd gotten his own personal suit of M45 Titan armor. As a nod to his allegiance to the UNSC, the armor had been modified to have an aesthetic that was similar to that of ODST armor, which Dutch thought was a nice touch. Once he'd gotten his armor and new weaponry, he had begun to serve the Star League as part of the SLDF's Special Forces Command, which he learned was their equivalent of both the ODST Corps and the Spartan Corps.
After that, four years had passed, with most of the time spent patrolling Star League controlled space in order to stop pirates and rouge mercenary companies. While boring at times, he reasoned that this was part of the job, and for the most part, he was right in that regard. When First Contact had been made with the Citadel Council, however, that was when he knew things were going to get exciting again, especially when the Star League learned about the Terminus Systems and what they were up to. The next seventeen years had been marked by the Quarians and Geth reconciling, before joining the Star League as a junior voting member. During that time, he'd participated in multiple, clandestine SFC and SLIC operations throughout both Council and Terminus Space. Most of those operations had been to gather intelligence on the Council Races, as well as to determine where best to strike if the Council became hostile towards the Star League.
Today, however, was the culmination of Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS, which was the operation designed with the intention of destroying the Terminus Systems as a threat and restoring law and order to what many in the Star League believed was a lawless frontier. Even the Periphery Powers, who usually had a strong streak of independence and a pioneer spirit, had agreed to participate in this operation, the Taurian Concordant, Outworlds Alliance and the Magistracy of Canopus sending their best troops to assist the Star League in this operation.
That was why he was in here with the other personnel from the Star League and Periphery Powers: to invade Omega Station in the Terminus Systems and arrest the Pirate Queen of Omega: Aria T'Loak. The reasons for invading Omega were related to each other quite closely, with the first being that the Star League wouldn't tolerate a criminal power that was loose in the galaxy. The second reason was to serve as a show of force to the Council, to let them know that any invasion of the Inner Sphere would be punished with an overwhelming use of force and combined arms warfare. By doing this, the Star League would cement it's status as a galactic superpower to the Council, deterring any means of armed conflict. Either way, Dutch knew one thing: Aria was about to have a real, bad day.
His train of thought was derailed when one of the men spoke to him. "So, Dutch," Terry, who was a soldier from the Outworlds Alliance, "what do you think we'll find on Omega Station?"
"Probably a bunch of criminals scared shitless of us," Dutch remarked, putting on his helmet before checking his suit integrity. "That, or a lot of mercenaries ready to try and gut us. Either way, they're in for a nasty time."
"Agreed," Terry nodded. "Reminds me of the Reunification Wars during the early days of the Star League, only in this case, it's as if the Periphery unlawfully attacked the Star League instead of the other way around. Strange, but it make sense in an odd way."
"I know," Dutch replied. He'd read about the Reunification Wars, when the Star League annexed the Taurian Concordant, Outworlds Alliance, Rim Worlds Republic and Magistracy of Canopus at gunpoint. He felt that it was a little unfair for the Periphery, which was why the concessions that Paul Davion II had given to the Periphery were necessary. Not only had the concessions helped the Periphery powers rebuild from the Reunification Wars, it showed that Paul Davion II was a reasonable and intelligent person, with many of the Periphery Powers willingly joining the Star League during the early 3000's.
Still, he imagined that the pirates on Omega had pissed their pants when they learned of the Star League. He could imagine them thinking, 'Oh shit! The Star League's coming because we pissed them off! Oh fuck! Spirits help us all!' Seeing that his suit was fully operational and online, he said, "I kinda like how the Star League gave your government and the others concessions as a means of saying 'we're sorry. We don't want to force you to obey anymore.'"
"I know," Terry replied. "The Outworlds Alliance was the least damaged of the Periphery Powers, though. We couldn't defend ourselves adequately, so we used negotiation and payoffs in order to remain intact. When we got the concessions, the Governor of the Outworlds Alliance was actually surprised by the Star League's leniency, enough so that, about 200 years later, we joined the Star League as a voting member. The Taurians and Magistracy weren't so happy, so they remained independent for another fifty years before joining."
"Understandable," Dutch nodded. "They did get their asses kicked after all, and the Taurian Concordant suffered the most from what I recall. They put up a stiff fight."
"They did," Terry agreed. "They lost the most because they resisted the best. Either way, this is a different situation. The Terminus Systems assaulted us unlawfully, therefore they need to be punished." Noticing the time, he said, "We might want to finish getting ready. We've got just a few minutes before the operation to take Omega begins."
"Agreed," Dutch nodded as he got his weaponry ready once again. Standing up, he said, "You ready to hit the Terminus Systems where it hurts?"
"Always," Terry beamed, getting up and making sure his armor was fully ready in the process. "It's time we educate the Terminus Systems on why you don't piss off the Great Houses and Periphery Powers." With that, the others in the room got up as well, ready to teach the Terminus Systems a very hard lesson.
A moment later, the InterCOM came online as the Captain of the ship they were on, Captain Richard Connolly, began speaking. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, listen up," he said, his voice booming over the InterCOM. "I'm not one for speeches, so I'll keep it brief. We're here today because the Terminus Systems and their benefactor, the Batarian Hegemony, has unlawfully assaulted the Star League, in an attempt to gain access to our technology. Our orders are to invade the space station known as Omega, and arrest it's leader, the so called' Pirate Queen of Omega.' Expect heavy resistance, as they have had seventeen years to prepare for this day. As long as you fight as a cohesive whole, and use superior tactics, we will win the day. Good luck to all of you. The final phase of Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS begins… now." With that, Dutch and the others began moving to the hangar bays, where the Hermes-II VTOLS were stationed, ready to bring the SLDF forces to Omega in relative safety.
With that, the attack began. Dutch could hear the weapons on the SLS/FCS Kentares opening fire as the WarShip directly engaged Omega's Anti-Orbital Defenses. He felt the ship shudder slightly as the Anti-Orbital Defenses on Omega fired, the energy shields flaring as they blocked the lasers that were directed at them. A moment later, he watched as some of the Anti-Orbital defenses were cracked wide open as ASF's bombed them into oblivion, destroying one layer of Omega's defenses.
The other was a fleet of pirate WarShips that were being commanded by some of the gangs that Aria, the leader of Omega, had managed to scrap together. Compared to the highly advanced and well maintained SLDF WarShips, who were crewed by some of the most experienced personnel in the Star League, the rusty bucket of bolts and ill prepared crews of the Pirate WarShips stood little chance. As he traveled to where the Boarding Shuttles were located at, he heard a loud, bell-like sound, indicative of the WarShip firing it's Light Mass Driver. A moment later, he heard cheering from the crew, indicating an enemy WarShip had been blasted out of existence.
After a few minutes of traveling, they entered Hangar Bay Zulu-5, where the Hermes-II VTOLS were stationed at. The Hermes-II VTOLS were the replacement for the venerable Hermes VTOL, which had served the Star League admirably for a good fifty years. When Element Zero was discovered, and breakthroughs in studying Forerunner technology were achieved, the Star League put out a contract to any aerospace corporation to manufacture a replacement for the Hermes. It was Lockheed-CBM, the manufacturer of the original design, that won the contract, having been developing the Hermes-II VTOL for quite some time now. With the addition of Element Zero, Lockheed-CBM had been able to make a number of improvements, resulting in the Hermes-II VTOL today. The new VTOL had an Advanced Compact Element Zero Core which gave it impressive maneuverability despite it's size, while several tons of Advanced Ferro-Lamellor armor gave it excellent protection against enemy weaponry. Combined with the Diana-III energy shield, it was incredibly hard to destroy with anything short of Forerunner weaponry. This, combined with it's C-RAC/5, VS-LPL's, VS-MPL's and ATM-15 missile racks meant that the Hermes-II was not a VTOL to be trifled with.
As soon as they entered the hangar bay, Dutch could see some Geth Combat Platforms that were present. He always liked the draconian appearance of the Geth's new Combat Platforms, which reports indicated had some pirates pissing their pants as they begged for mercy, more so since these were fully armed and ready to fight. Walking inside one of the VTOL's, he watched as the others piled in, with some Geth Troopers entering the VTOL as well. "Dutch-Sergeant, are you prepared," one asked him.
"Always," Dutch replied. "You ready to smash some pirates?"
"This platform is operational and ready," the Geth Trooper replied.
"I'll take that as a yes." With that, the Geth made sure they were securely in place, just as the VTOL lifted off. Moments later, they shot out of the hangar bay, heading directly for Omega. Looking outside, he could see Boarding Shuttles that were flying directly for the station, ready to attach on and drill inside to disgorge their cargo of personnel. All around, mass accelerator rounds splashed against advanced shielding, while pulse lasers, Gauss rifle slugs and missiles responded in kind.
"Thirty seconds," the pilot of the VTOL shouted to them. "Get ready to come out swinging! Good luck!"
"I want five men per squad," Dutch shouted to the others, "at a three meter spread. A clump of targets is a juicy opportunity, one man's a waste of ammunition. Remember, these guys might be less advanced than we are, but they have the home field advantage and a lot more personnel than we do. Understood?"
"Sir, yes sir," the others shouted in acknowledgment.
"Ten seconds remaining," the VTOL pilot called out. "Firing weapons! Clearing an LZ!" Moments later, Dutch heard the sound of the C-RAC/5 firing, with the HEAP shells passing through the mass effect field holding the atmosphere of that part of the station's hangars inside of the facility. At the same time, he heard the Pulse Lasers firing off, "Targets eliminated," the pilot shouted. "Touchdown! Hit it people!"
"Move out," Dutch shouted as soon as the VTOL landed, with everyone inside racing out as soon as they were able to do so. As soon as they came from around the back of the VTOL, gunfire rang out as the pirate gangs of Omega clashed with their superior, Star League counterparts. Getting out of the VTOL, he moved behind cover before glancing out at the hangar bay itself.
If there was one word that he could use to describe the hangar bay, it would be 'shitty.' All around, Dutch could see that the hangar bay hadn't been well maintained, with corroding girders, walkways that looked like they were ready to fall apart, and lights that were barely functional, if at all. A number of dark colored splotches were on the ground, with Dutch's HUD identifying some of the splotches as blood and dried bodily fluids, while the rest were either grease, oil or other fluids. He also thought he spotted some feces on the ground in areas, which greatly disgusted him.
Looking around, he could see some of the enemy OpFor in the area. The pirates were firing at them from behind barricades that were surrounding the doors leading into Omega, with some firing down on them from the upper levels. Leaning out, he fired his M42 PPR at some Pirates, killing a few as phased plasma bolts shot across the room. Aiming again, he began targeting the pirates on the ground level, pelting them in a hailstorm of plasma bolts. Behind him, the other soldiers began to fire as well, with HEAP slugs and Pulse Lasers cutting through the air moments later.
The Pirates might as well have been using tissue paper to protect themselves. Left and right, Turians, Batarians, Vorcha and Krogan fell as pulse lasers, plasma bolts and HEAP shells tore through their flimsy armor and into their bodies. One Vorcha, in an moment of epic stupidity, charged at a Geth Trooper, only for the Platform to grab the Vorcha by the throat and squeeze. Said Vorcha's head was promptly severed from it's body via the sharpened claws on the Platform's hand. Nearby, some more SLDF personnel tore into an enemy squad, with one man using his armor's Jump Jets to fly up into the air, before coming down onto a Krogan's head, splitting the alien's head in half with his Armored Boot.
Moments later, Dutch heard a loud, thumping sound from behind him. Turning around, he watched as two, Clan Ghost Bear Elementals wearing the new Elemental-IV Battle Armor leaped up onto the upper catwalk, firing at any pirates that were in the way. Plasma bolts and ATM-2's tore through the air, with some pirates being ripped into bloodied tatters of flesh by the missile warheads. Some Pirates, intimidated by the sight of Battle Armor, dropped their weapons and ran away, screaming at the tops of their lungs as they did so.
Within a minute, the Hangar Bay they'd landed in was clear. "Alright," Dutch shouted to his men, "get the explosives in place! Michaels, Rodgers, I want you and the others to stack up on the walls. Once the door's open, we'll move in and clear out any resistance. Do not fire on any civilians."
"Roger that," his men replied, running over to the door before stacking up against the wall.
"I have got the door," one of the Ghost Bear Elementals told the others. "Stand back." Once the men were out of the way, the Elemental fired one of his ATM-2's, blasting apart the door in spectacular fashion. Firing his Plasma Machinegun for a minute, the Elemental said, "You are good to go. We will take out any hard targets inside of Omega."
"You heard the man," Dutch shouted. "Move up!" Moving back into position, the men charged through the door, weapons at the ready as they moved deeper into Omega. It was clear that there had been pirates behind the door, as a Krogan had been blasted backwards by the missile warhead, with it's upper body having been almost separated from it's lower body. Nearby, pirates were lying on the ground, their chests drilled full of holes, while a few were still alive, but clearly disillusioned, with many throwing down their arms and surrendering. Only a few were willing to fight still, and they were quickly disarmed.
As they moved forwards, Dutch could see that they were entering one of the populated areas of Omega. Moving through another pair of doors, he found himself entering a large avenue that had buildings on each side. Looking up, he could see what he realized was part of the hollowed out asteroid that Omega was partially built inside of, with the large rocky roof having a number of structures built onto it as well. The left and right sides of the avenue were occupied by a number of buildings, while the avenue was completely empty. Almost immediately, Dutch could feel his gut instincts telling him that something was wrong. "It's too quiet," he said to himself. "We're walking into an ambush."
"That's what I was thinking," one of his men remarked. "It's way too quiet for my liking. If I were a pirate, and I'm not, I would be holed up in one of the buildings." On a move from Dutch, one of the men pulled out an M520 MGL (Magnetic Grenade Launcher), aimed at one of the buildings and fired.
There was a loud THOONK as the MGL fired, sending a 40mm HEI grenade into one of the windows in a building directly opposite of them. Moments later, an explosion ripped through the building, with a number of Pirates being thrown out of the windows by the powerful explosion. Moments later, the front of the building, unable to withstand the force of the detonation, collapsed, with more Pirates being revealed in the back of the rooms, their eyes wide from the fact that they had been exposed by some well placed explosives. "They're in the buildings," an SLDF soldier shouted. "Open fire!"
Just like that, it was as though the Fourth of July had arrived, only instead of fireworks, there were missiles, pulse lasers and HEAP shells being thrown through the air. Firing his M42, Dutch threw himself behind an overturned table, before leaning out and firing his weapon at the pirates in the buildings. Thanks to the shock value of the grenade being so devastating, the pirates had been rattled and their aim thrown off, with most being quickly taken out by the SLDF personnel. Despite the fusillade of mass accelerator rounds being hurled at them, the SLDF SFC personnel continued to move up, firing their weapons furiously as they did so.
That wasn't the only surprise though, as Dutch was quick to learn. Kicking a Batarian in the chest, he fired a few plasma bolts into the alien's chest, with the alien tumbling down what appeared to be a ladder of some kind. Surprised, he walked over and looked down to see a ladder leading downwards. "Cover me," he told the others, before climbing down the ladder. Reaching the bottom, he found that the ladder led downwards into what appeared to be a tunnel of some kind. Keying his COM, he said, "SLS/FCS Kentares, this is Delta 3-1. We've found what appears to be an underground tunnel of some kind."
"Affirmative," Captain Richard replied. "Agents Prometheus and Diana delivered intelligence indicating the presence of tunnels throughout Omega Station. You are cleared to use them to get behind the enemy's lines and assist the forces moving through the station."
"Roger that," Dutch replied. "What's the status of the invasion?"
"Excellent, so far. The Pirates were preparing for an invasion, but we're getting through them fast. We've already got control of several of Omega's districts. Most of the new recruits the Pirates have are surrendering, giving us control of large sections of the station. Continue moving through the station. Your new objectives are to head to a nightclub called Afterlife. Intelligence data indicates that Aria T'Loak is located in the nightclub. Your objectives are to assault Afterlife and capture or kill Aria T'Loak. Should you capture her, return to the Kentares for immediate extraction. One of our Special Forces squads will drop off some equipment you need to keep her contained."
"Roger that," Dutch replied. "We'll continue to make our way through the station towards Afterlife. Any ideas on what we should expect?"
"Expect a number of hardened mercenaries and pirates," Richard replied. "Also, be advised, Agents Prometheus and Diana are inside of Afterlife. They'll help you capture Aria T'Loak."
"Roger that," Dutch replied. "Delta 3-1 over and out." Turning to his men, he said, "We've got new orders. We're heading to Aria's confirmed location: Afterlife. We're capturing that bitch."
"I've been waiting to hear that," one of his men replied. "It'll be good to see Aria in a jail cell, with nothing but prison clothes, a cot and three hots per day."
"Agreed," Dutch nodded. "We'll head through the tunnel we've just found and make our way towards Afterlife. Once we reach the nightclub, we'll exit the tunnels and engage the pirates there before we move inside. Once we're inside, Agents Prometheus and Diana will assist in capturing or killing Aria. Let's move!"
. . .
This isn't how it was supposed to go at all, Aria thought as she continued to get reports that SLDF personnel were cutting through her men like a knife through hot butter. The SLDF should've been slown down by our efforts, not able to cut through us this easily. A frown grew on her face as she continued to get increasingly negative reports on the battle.
On top of that, the Geth had made their heyday, and it was clear that the Star League had upgraded them considerably. Reports of draconian looking Geth Troopers smashing through enemy lines had flooded the COM temporarily, with some reporting what appeared to be Geth QuadMechs tearing apart enemy fortifications. Having seen the quadruped vehicle herself, Aria knew that the Star League had invested a lot of time and money in upgrading the machine race, allowing them to become a deadly threat.
Reports were also coming in that some of the new recruits that had been picked out were surrendering to SLDF forces, clearly intimidated by the show of firepower that was coming closer to Afterlife. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Aria sighed. Clearly, the Star League had come prepared for this kind of thing, which told her one thing: there was a mole in her organization feeding the SLDF vital evidence.
Still, she would deal with them once she was certain she could hold out for some time. "Proventus, Zevira, you still with me?"
"Yes," Proventus replied. "What do you need?"
"I'll need you to stay at my side," she replied. "I'll need you to help fortify this position. From what I can tell, the Star League's just used cyber warfare to seal off all the exits. If they want a fight with me, they'll get one to remember."
"Affirmative," Proventus replied. As Aria walked off, Proventus watched as she left, before following her. If one had been observant, they would've spotted Proventus' pupils becoming slits for a moment before reverting to their normal shape. It will soon be time, he thought.
. . .
Outside of Afterlife, the mercenaries and criminals present were busy making sure their fortifications were ready. They had gotten reports that the Star League was using cyber warfare to disable some of their force's weaponry, rendering any counterattacks useless while allowing the SLDF to move through with ease. As they traveled deeper and deeper, more and more pirates surrendered to the SLDF, realizing that they were no match for the SLDF's superior forces. Some civilians had even told them were the Pirates were staging their attacks, resulting in more losses. The forces at the nightclub, therefore, were quite busy, so busy in fact that they failed to notice one of the manhole covers popping up briefly, before a small robot moved towards them.
This is hilarious, Dutch thought as he struggled to hold off a laugh, while his men remained stone faced as they prepared for the assault. Looking at his TACMAP, he could see a pair of blips, representing the two Ghost Bear Elementals helping them, moving towards Afterlife, using their Jump Jets to easily scale and cross buildings and gaps in the architecture. In about two minutes, the attack would begin, and they would capture the HVT. "What have we got, Private," he asked the man controlling the scout.
"We've got a number of Krogan at the entrance," the Private replied. "Looks like the leader of the Blood Pack, Garm, is here. We'll have to be careful; intelligence data reports that he has an unusually strong regenerative factor, more so than a typical Krogan. We'll need an ATM-2 to take him out. Our weapons might not cut it. We've also got some Turian mercenaries, as well as Eclipse personnel present. In other words, the Elementals have their work cut out for them."
"Agreed," Dutch replied. Keying his COM, he said, "Ghost Two and Three, what's your SITREP?"
"We are almost at the nightclub," Ghost Three replied, his voice gruff as he continued to traverse Omega's urban landscape. "The damn freebirth bitch is probably cowering in there. She, no doubt, has plans to deal with us."
"That we can agree on," Dutch replied. "You in position?"
"We will begin the assault on your signal," Ghost Three agreed. "By taking Aria down, we will win honor and glory for being the ones responsible for stopping the Pirate Queen of Omega's reign of terror."
"I hear you on that," Dutch replied. Opening a squad wide COM link, he said, "We're attacking on my mark. Three… two… one… now!"
On Dutch's signal, the Private controlling the drone pressed an icon on his omni-tool. Moments later, there was a bright flash as the drone detonated, blinding the mercenaries outside of the doors to Afterlife. As soon as the flash faded, Dutch and his squad burst out from the manhole, with Dutch firing a grenade from the M520 MGL he'd borrowed from one of his men. Mercs were thrown everywhere by the immense power of the blast, with one landing close to the manhole. At the same time, the Elementals attacked, firing their ATM-2's and arm mounted weapons.
It was a scene of absolute chaos as the mercs were ripped apart by the resulting fusillade. Garm, who was in the rear, roared as he charged forwards, his flesh visibly repairing itself as his regenerative factor went to work. He was promptly stopped in his charge by one of the Elementals, who punched him in the face with his arm mounted weapon, staggering the Krogan. Before Garm could react, the Elemental used his Advanced Support PPC, with the bolus of high energy ions ripping the Krogan in half. To make sure he was dead, the Elemental walked forwards and, with a note of finality, curb stomped Garm's head, splattering blood and brain matter everywhere. "Foolish freebirth," the Elemental remarked as he turned to Dutch, who had helped the others finish off the stragglers.
"Indeed," Dutch remarked. Seeing that all hostiles were down, he said, "Delta Squad, form up on me! We're breaching the door!" Following his command, the men in the squad gathered around him, while the Elemental got ready to breach the door. Moments later, another ATM-2 tore through the door, blowing it completely open. Moving down the hallway, Dutch and the others quickly stacked up on the opposite door, ready to capture Aria and force a surrender. On a motion from the Elemental, the others moved in, with one man hacking into the door controls.
On the other side of the door, Aria couldn't believe how quickly the SLDF had advanced into Omega, though it was clear that they hadn't completely overrun the station. Even now, she could tell that SLDF personnel were probably gathering at the door leading into Afterlife. She got ready to use her biotic capabilities to the fullest.
Instead of a massive explosion as she expected, she watched as the doors cracked open slightly, before a small, cylindrical object flew inside, rolling towards the group. Realizing what it was, Aria covered her eyes, before she heard a loud bang, and loud shouting as her men were blinded. Uncovering her eyes, she got up and began to charge her biotics. She wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Before she could, something wrapped around her neck, with her body going limp as her biotics faded. "What," she gasped when she saw Proventus and Zevira standing next to her, weapons pointed at her. "You're with them?!"
"That's right," Proventus replied as his eyes began to become slit, while his voice deepened. "I never really was on your side." A moment later, Aria saw something that would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life.
She watched as Proventus began to morph and warp, his physical features bending as he began to shape shift. His jaw split in half, with his teeth angling to the sides as his jaws morphed into mandibles, while his neck elongated slightly. At the same time, his waist became thicker, while his talons morphed into hoofs as his biology continued to change. His body and facial plates plates melted into his body, while horns grew out the back of his head, elbows and back as he grew slightly in height. Moments later, his clothing morphed and bent, becoming what appeared to be armor. Nearby, Zevira morphed and bent as well, her height growing as her body shifted and bent, while her facial features elongated forwards. Soon, two Sangheilians were standing where the Turians used to be at.
Aria's eyes were as wide as they could go as the changes occurred, her eyes darting to the left and right as she watched the two finish morphing. Looking at the Elite that was once Proventus, she gasped, "What are you?"
"What I told a certain Brute," the Sangheilian replied, "complicated." A moment later, all Aria saw was blackness, as the Elite's hoof came straight down onto her face.
Dutch had to admit it, that was probably the scariest, but at the same time most fascinating, thing he had ever seen in his life. Looking at the Sangheilian, he couldn't help but look with widened eyes as the symbol of the SLIC grew onto the Elite's shoulders. A moment later, he said, "Damn, I've never seen that happen before. Who are you?"
"Who am I," the Sangheilian asked, seemingly amused. "Bero 'Kusovai, Star League Intelligence Command. That over there is my mate, Riala 'Kusovai. We were sent here to spy on Aria as per the Star League's request. Given that they've been good to me and my mate, it was logical to accept."
"Pleased to meet you, Dutch," Riala purred.
"Uh, you too as well," Dutch remarked, still wide eyed from what he was seeing. "What the hell was that?"
"Shape-shifting," Bero replied, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "Riala and I are capable of altering our physical appearances into any organism that we've seen and touched. In this case, we took on the appearances of a pair of Turians we met when we arrived here. They were sympathetic to our cause, so they allowed us to take on their appearances so that we could assist the Star League. Given that we were an unknown factor, Aria had no idea that we were capable of what you just saw." Looking down at the unconscious Asari, he said, "Either way, we can now force the Pirates to surrender. The Neural Collar we put onto her will keep her paralyzed and prevent her from using biotics when we move her."
"Alright," Dutch nodded. "I'll call it in. We'll move her ASAP." Keying his COM, he said, "Delta 3-1 to SLS/FCS Kentares, we've secured Aria. We've also encountered Agents Prometheus and Diana. They… took her out."
"Good," Captain Richard remarked. "Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS is a success. The Batarian Hegemony formally surrendered and we're scouring the Terminus Systems for any more pirate gangs that might've escaped. With Aria's capture, we can take Omega and dictate our terms to the remaining forces. Good work, Delta 3-1. Report to the Kentares immediately."
"Affirmative," Dutch replied. Closing the COM link, he was about to pick up Aria when Bero casually bent down and tossed her over his shoulder like she was a sack of flour. With that, they left Afterlife, their objective fully secured. Operation FRACTURED TERMINUS was completed, with overwhelming success.
