Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover. This chapter was difficult to write, since it was hard figuring out how to create an altered version of the beginning events of the Mass Effect story arc. I'm still not satisfied with it, so I'll be editing this chapter in the future. I've also noticed an error when it comes to chapters not showing up, so I've deleted and reuploaded the previous chapters. Thank you for your patience, and I hope to see you in future chapters. As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.


SLS/HDF Normandy

En Route To Fuchida IV

January 19th, 3081

The interior of the SLS/HDF Normandy was silent as the crew prepared themselves for another K-F Jump, with people making sure everything was strapped in solidly before getting themselves ready for another jump. Walking out of the grav-lift elevator, Shepard proceeded towards the front of the ship, where the cockpit was located at. Despite the fact that he was new to the ship, it felt to him as though he'd been down these hallways hundreds of times before, enough that he felt familiar with the ship's internal layout. Probably due to a sense of deja vu, he thought as he proceeded to the bow of the WarShip.

As he walked towards the bow, he could hear the pilot of the WarShip speaking over the InterCOM. "We are approaching the Jump Point," he announced over the speakers. "K-F Drive charged and ready." Continuing to walk to the cockpit, Shepard noticed that Saren was at the cockpit as well, his hands clasped behind his back in a relaxed parade rest. He must've heard Shepard coming, as he turned towards him and nodded once before returning his attention to the cockpit itself. "All systems are green," the pilot reported. "We are at Zenith Point. Initiating K-F Jump in five… four… three… two… one… now."

As soon as he said that, Shepard watched as the exterior of the ship glowed blue-white, before they jumped forwards into a Hyperspace wormhole. Stars and nebula streaked past the ship as the K-F Drive propelled them towards their destination: the resort/industrial star system known as Fuchida IV. Moments later, the exterior glowed blue-white once more, before the opaque, blinding light vanished to reveal the star system they were in. Fuchida IV's star was a fairly active G0 type star, since it had just entered the 10 billion year part of it's lifespan, at the relatively young age of just 5,000,000 years old. As a result, it's solar winds and coronal mass ejections were far more energetic and powerful than that of Terra's star, necessitating the use of radiation hardened electronics and equipment in order to prevent power grid blackouts and damaged computing equipment.

Despite this, Fuchida IV was highly famous in the Draconis Combine and, by extension, the Inner Sphere, as it was an extremely beautiful planet, filled with flora and fauna that continued to astound the scientific community. Another thing that made the planet especially unique was that it had a number of species that very closely resembled those from ancient Terra's mythology; one of those species was almost identical to the dragons of ancient Europe's mythology, down to the fact that they had three pairs of limbs, with separate wing-limbs strong enough to support their weight while flying, and laid eggs in large clutches. The only differences they had from the dragons of ancient mythology were that they couldn't breath fire, and didn't have the ability to speak. Their intelligence was high, but repeated scientific studies determined that the dragons of Fuchida IVb, while highly intelligent and clever, were not at Homo Sapiens level of intelligence, despite many claims to the contrary. They were also the apex predator of Fuchida IVb and, as such, had few, if any, natural predators; despite many concerns about any potential colonists or tourists being attacked, it was discovered that the dragons of Fuchida IVb were highly cautious and tended to stay away from anything they didn't recognize. As a result, few ever came close to the colony, and those that did were either raised in captivity, or had been tamed by the people that had come to live there. The presence of such fauna also led people to give Fuchida IVb it's own nickname: 'The World of Dragons.'

Fuchida IVb's exotic fauna and natural beauty wasn't the only thing special about the star system, however. Fuchida IVc was the star system's primary shipyard and industrial base, and was quickly growing into the largest industrial center that the Draconis Combine had, and the third largest industrial center in the Inner Sphere. The planet's moon, which was roughly the size of Terra's moon, was home to a number of scientific research centers, most of which were located under the ground in order to prevent their destruction should they be attacked. While advanced, they were not nearly as prestigious as the Inner Sphere famous New Avalon Institute of Science in the Federated Commonwealth. Despite this, the facilities did excellent work, and were quickly becoming the Draconis Combine's most advanced scientific facilities.

Beyond that, Fuchida IV was a typical, life sustaining star system, with a number of gas giants, asteroid belts that were rich in Element Zero and other strategic resources, as well as a few barren, terrestrial planets that were too close or too far from Fuchida IV's star to be life sustaining. While the defenses were still being constructed, it was the perfect location to perform the Normandy's shakedown run. You'd have to be crazy to attack this star system, Shepard thought as he looked out the viewport and at the star system itself. On top of that, since they were allowed to rearm themselves nearly 50 years ago, the Combine would flatten any invaders in it's lawfully gained territory.

As he thought this, the pilot of the ship began his diagnostic checks. When the Normandy was constructed, it was decided that the ship needed an expert pilot that could harness the ship's full potential, leading the SLIC to find anyone that was capable of even piloting the damn thing. Out of all the candidates, Ensign Jeff Moreau, known by his nickname of 'Joker', was the only one that had been considered fully qualified to fly the thing, as his scores clearly indicated that he wasn't your average pilot. After some internal debating, the SLIC had decided that he'd won the privilege of flying the SLS/HDF Normandy. Nearby, Joker began running through the diagnostic list that was displayed holographically. "Impulse Enignes: Check. Armor Integrity: Check. Sensors: Check. Weapon Systems: Check, and all other systems are functioning normally. Jump Point Drift: just under .3km."

".5 kilometers is excellent," Saren nodded. "Your captain's going to be very pleased to hear that." Without further ado, he turned around and left the cockpit, leaving Shepard with Joker and his co-pilot.

"Damn right it is," Joker remarked.

"Anyone ever tell you otherwise," the co-pilot asked. The current co-pilot of the ship was Kaidan Alenko, a native of the Capellan Confederation. Born and raised on a planet straddling the border between the Capellan Confederation and Free Worlds League, he'd been exposed to Element Zero when he was still a fetus inside his mother's body, the exposure being the result of an industrial accident. While he was above average in terms of biotic ability, he had been outfitted with L7A4 biotic implants, which were older than the standard L8A1 biotic implants that most Star League biotics received. Those implants were known for doing their job, at the cost of some nasty side effects; Kaidan was lucky, as he only got migraine headaches, but others with the older system tended to suffer crippling pain and other, nasty side effects.

Hearing his question, Joker nodded and said, "I knew this one guy who went through a K-F Jump. He was a stickler for accuracy, so when I came out of a K-F Drive jump with .8km drift, he simply said it was 'good enough' for him. Boy was I pissed; if you remember to zip up your jumpsuit after coming out of the bathroom, that's good. I hit a target the size of a pinhead, which is incredible! Besides, Capellan nobles are nothing but trouble, no offense intended."

"None taken," Kaidan replied. "To be honest, they do tend to get tiresome after some time. Probably one reason why I left the Confederation Armed Forces and enlisted in the Star League Defense Force Naval Command." Turning towards Shepard, he asked, "Why did you join the SLDF, if I may ask, sir."

"At ease," Shepard replied. "I prefer being called either Commander or Shepard. As for why I joined the SLDF, it was to leave an irresponsible youth behind." He remained silent after that, not wanting to tell his life's story to Kaidan.

Fortunately, Kaidan didn't pry any further, as he merely nodded before saying, "Same thing here."

As soon as he said this, Joker asked, "You get any strange vibes from this shakedown run?"

"No," Kaidan replied. "Why do you ask?"

"There are a lot of things that are unusual with this shakedown run," Joker remarked. "For one, we just happen to be sent to one of the most active star systems in the Draconis Combine, though I can understand that since it's well defended. On top of that, though, the ship is fully staffed; a skeleton crew would've made more sense, though that's probably my paranoia at work. Finally, there's the fact that we have a Turian onboard the ship. Now, don't you think all of that is weird."

"Not really, no," Kaidan remarked. "It could be that you're overreacting and that we should take what we're seeing at face value."

"That's one possibility," Shepard nodded, throwing in his own two cents about what was going on. "The other is that Joker is right and that something unusual is going on."

Anything that Joker might've said was promptly forgotten, as the COM speaker that Joker was at crackled to life. "Joker," came Anderson's voice. "Status report."

"All systems are good to go," Joker replied. "Engaging CAVSS now. We're inbound on Fuchida IVb now." There was a brief increase in the sound of the fusion reactor onboard the ship before it faded back into the background, indicating that the CAVSS was fully online.

"Good," Anderson replied. "Find an A-HPG and link us to the secure COM channels the SLDF uses. I want mission reports relayed back to Olympus Station before we reach Fuchida IVb."

"Aye, aye, sir," Joker replied. "Better brace yourself, sir. I think Saren's heading your way."

"He's already here, Lieutenant," Anderson replied, prompting Joker to shake his head. He did startle slightly when he heard Anderson say, "Tell Lieutenant Commander Shepard to meet us in the C-HPG COM room."

"Affirmative," Joker replied. Turning to Shepard, he asked, "Catch all of that?"

"Yes," Shepard replied. "He sounds angry. Something must've gone wrong with the mission."

Joker snorted as Shepard left. "The Captain always sounds like that with me."

"Can't possibly imagine why," Kaidan remarked.

As the two men chatted to each other, Shepard walked down the main corridor and towards the COM room. As he walked along, he realized that Joker had brought up some good points during his talk about what was really going on. It was unusual that they were heading towards one of the most active star systems in the Draconis Combine, more so given that it had a number of research facilities, all of which were probably working on classified projects. Secondly, the fact that the Normandy, as Joker had pointed out, had a fully staffed crew, with people from beyond the Interuniversal Wormhole at Toland on top of that. That point made itself clear when he bumped into someone. When that happened, he looked up to see a male Sangheilian that was standing at a console, with said Sangheilian turning to look at him. It was a little nerve wracking at times to have a male Sangheilian look at you, especially when said Sangheilian was in fully body armor that looked like it had been grown rather than manufactured. "Sorry," Shepard said apologetically. "Excuse me."

"You're excused," the Sangheilian replied, his deep voice reverberating in the air as he turned back to his duties. As he walked away, Shepard recalled what had happened about two hours ago. Once they'd reached the location of the wormhole, they had fired up the K-F Drive before launching off through the wormhole and into UNSC territory, after which they'd jumped to Sangheilios and Earth to pick up the remaining crewmembers for the ship. They had a squad of ODST's on the ship, as well as a few Sangheilians, most of which were trained for special operations. Edward Buck, an ODST that had undergone Star League genetic and nanotechnological augmentations, was onboard the ship, along with members of Blue Team. Chief hadn't been able to come, mostly because the UNSC and Clan Wolverine were looking for any Forerunner artifacts, while hunting down any remmants of the former Covenant, a process that was long and tiring.

When it came to having Spartans on the ship, Shepard had learned that there was a friendly rivalry going on between Garrus and Linda, one of the Spartan-II's that had been assigned to the ship. Both marksmen would engage in contests to see who was the more accurate of the two, or who could hit a target the most at a given distance, or who was the better close quarters combatant. Given that Linda was a Spartan-II that had received augmentations given to her by Clan Wolverine, it wasn't surprising that Garrus tended to lose, though that didn't stop him from trying to one-up the UNSC operative. In fact, Shepard had a running theory that the two were becoming very close friends, which was probably why Garrus kept at it even though it was clear that he wasn't nearly as good as Linda was.

With that, he walked through one of the doors on the deck and into a room that served as the ship's primary Armory. On the back wall, Shepard could see suits of Battle Armor that were ready for deployment, including one that he had learned was Linda's Nighthawk-M Battle Armor. Walking past the armorer, who nodded in greeting at him, he walked through the door to his left and into a small hallway, which had a door on his right. Walking towards that door, he proceeded inside once the door opened up. The C-HPG COM room onboard the Normandy was one of the larger rooms aboard the WarShip. The room housed a table that could be lowered into the floor, allowing for a C-HPG COM-link to be created to anyone within the Inner Sphere. When the C-HPG wasn't being used, the holo-table would be used to provide a briefing for any squad that was going on a mission. In that regard, the room had enough space to hold roughly fifteen people to twenty people in relative comfort. Currently, the room only had a single occupant, who was looking at a holographic image of the surface of Fuchida IVb. As soon as he heard Shepard coming in, Saren turned around and looked at Shepard, his dark blue, avian eyes fixing onto Shepard's equally dark blue eyes. "Ah, Shepard," he beamed. "I was hoping to talk to you."

"About what," Shepard asked.

"About this planet were going to," Saren replied as he walked over to Shepard. "Fuchida IVb. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

"That's true," Shepard replied. "The colonists say that it's a paradise. Some say it's a fantastical paradise, given the type of fauna and flora that live there."

"Indeed," Saren beamed. "Serene, tranquil, safe. Proof that Humanity is more than capable of not only founding colonies, but protecting them as well. If our species met yours during the 2100's, we would've wondered if you were capable of protecting yourselves. Given how advanced your species is, anyone that wanted to attack would either be extremely bold, or be so insane that they've lost touch with reality."

"I agree," Shepard replied. "The Covenant tried to take us out during the Interuniversal War. We kicked their asses and ripped them apart."

"Indeed," Saren nodded.

When he did that, Shepard noticed a glint he hadn't seen before. Before he could ask, however, Anderson walked into the room, fully dressed in his uniform. "Saren," he stated, "I think it's about time that we told Shepard what's really going on."

"Agreed," Saren nodded, looking at Shepard. "This mission is far more than a standard shakedown run, as you might've guessed already."

"I knew something was off," Shepard remarked. "Joker felt the same way as well."

"I know," Anderson replied. "Ensign Moreau has always been an observant individual, which is why he's as good of a pilot as he is. As for the reason why we're here, it's to make a covert pick up. This is confidential information, Shepard; information that's strictly on a 'need-to-know' basis. Around 14 hours ago, a construction team working on Fuchida IVb stumbled onto something they'd never encountered before. According to images, we believe they stumbled onto a Prothean artifact."

When Shepard heard this, his mind began pulling up any information he knew on the Protheans. According to Star League archaeologists, the Protheans were a highly advanced species that existed well over 50,000 years ago, with technology that would've made the Council races water at the mouth. The unusual part, however, was that they mysteriously vanished just under 50,000 years ago; there were a number of theories on what happened, with some believing that a virulent disease had wiped them out, while others believed that the Protheans had a civil war that was so devastating that it left behind little of their civilization. Others still believed that a cataclysm of untold magnitude had wiped them out, leaving behind only relics and ruins. This latter opinion came from those that worked on the Prothean Memory Core that had been found on Kentares IV, though rumors had it that the SLIC knew more than that. "I thought the Protheans vanished fifty thousand years ago," Shepard remarked.

"Their legacy remains," Saren replied. "The Mass Relays, the Citadel. Every piece of technology the Council has is all based off of Prothean technology."

"This is a big find, Shepard," Anderson remarked. "When the Turians made a discovery like this, it pushed their technology forwards well over 200 years. While it only caused a minor technological advancement in the Star League, it was still a major find since it allowed us to find Element Zero. The research facilities at Fuchida IVc, however, are not designed to study this kind of technology. That's why we'll be transporting it to Kentares IV for further study."

"On top of that, this discovery goes farther than just the Star League," Saren added. "The Council Races would find any form of information from this artifact to be highly useful. Normally, any Specres would be barred from this discovery, but one was permitted to travel to Fuchida IVb, as long as he signed a nondisclosure agreement, a Turian named Nihlus Kryik from what I recall."

"I see," Shepard nodded. "Well, you can count me in on this one."

"Indeed," Saren nodded. "The Prothean artifact isn't the only reason why I'm here, Shepard."

"Saren is going to be evaluating you, Shepard," Anderson added. "In addition to being a member of the SLDF, I was also informed that he is a Field Agent working for the Star League Intelligence Command. They want to see how well you will perform in the field as a member of STAR."

"OK," Shepard remarked. "That would explain why I bumped into him at the Shipyard Bay at New Avalon."

"Correct," Saren replied. "The Star League is taking a risk by creating a division designed to counter the Spectres that the Council makes use of. As a result, while I normally would be excluded, the SLIC decided that, given my experience out in the field, I was eligible to become an Agent, effective immediately. Not many, Shepard, could've survived what you went through. You showed considerable valor during FRACTURED TERMINUS, and the defense of New Elysium V. You also showed a powerful will to survive when on Akuze IV. As a result, you were chosen for STAR as the First Lord's first pick and if there's one thing I know about Hanse Steiner-Davion, it's that he does not do that lightly."

"Alright," Shepard nodded. "If those are my marching orders, then I'll get it done."

"Good," Anderson replied. "This event will make for good PR with the Council. Get it done right, and the Star League will see STAR as an excellent choice. We should be…"

Suddenly, the conversation was interrupted when Joker shouted, "Captain, we've got a problem!"

"What's going on, Joker," Anderson called out.

"Transmission from Fuchida IVb, sir," Joker replied. "You'd better see this!"

"Bring it on screen," Anderson ordered. Moments later, a hologram displaying the transmission came up over the table, showing a 360° image of what was going on. What they saw was a firefight, as DCMS and what appeared to be Covenant forces were engaging each other, weapons blazing as they fired. An SLDF Marine pushed one man to the ground, before firing her M35 MPL rifle at an enemy target nearby.

As this went on, a soldier began speaking into a microphone in his helmet. "We're under attack," he shouted. "We're under attack by unknown hostiles. We need immediate backup now! The colonists have retreated to the underground bunkers, but the colony is under attack! We don't have enough men to guard the colony and a cyber attack disabled the defenses!" Just then, a loud, rumbling warble filled the air, with the SLDF Marines looking up to see what was going on. While the image was vibrating, Shepard clearly saw a WarShip, though he didn't recognize the design at all. Then, the drone was hit by a projectile, with the screen becoming filled with static.

"After that, there's nothing," Joker replied. "No COM traffic at all."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Anderson ordered. Moments later, the unidentified WarShip came into view. To Shepard, it looked like a giant squid, with long, mechanical tentacles that extended from it's organic looking hull, as well as a long tail-like structure that extended off of it's back. Red-white arcs of electricity were present at parts, and Shepard thought he saw what appeared to be Covenant technology built into it's hull. Nearby, Saren's mandibles twitched as he looked at the image. "How far out are we from Fuchida IVb, Joker," Anderson asked.

"Five minutes out, sir," Joker replied.

"Tell the squad to get prepped for the mission immediately," Anderson ordered. "Things just got a lot more complicated."

"Indeed," Shepard remarked. "Is that… Covenant technology I'm seeing?"

"It might be," Saren replied, looking at the video screen as well. "I'm not sure, though. We'll have to get closer in order to take a look."

"Indeed," Anderson remarked. Looking at Saren, he said, "Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold." Turning towards Shepard, he said, "Get your ground team together, Shepard. You're going in." Shepard nodded, even as he took one more look at the unknown ship that was harassing the colony.

. . .

A few minutes later, Shepard was in the cargo hold of the Normandy, making sure that his gear was ready to go before heading out. The cargo hold of the Normandy was a massive, expansive space, enough so that it also doubled as the WarShip's 'Mech/Combat Vehicle Bay. Currently, the vehicle bay had a Manticore-V MBT, which was the successor to the Manticore-IV used during the Interuniversal War, as well as a Shadow Hawk-V that was used by the sole 'MechWarrior on the ship. Shepard had been surprised when Alex Wolverine, who was known as one of the 'Heroes of Alpha Halo', had agreed to be posted on the Normandy. Shepard knew one thing: he felt safe under the watchful eye of the battle hardened Clan 'MechWarrior.

Looking up and around, he could see the other squad members that were coming along on this mission. The first was Sergeant Jenkins, one of the UNSC Marines that had been on Installation 04 before it was destroyed; after the Battle of Installation 04, as well as the battles that came afterwards, the UNSC and Star League decided that Jenkins had shown uncommon valor and courage, especially so during his engagements with the Flood on Installation 04, Delta Halo and the Forerunner Ark. The end result was that he was now a Sergeant in both the UNSC and the Star League Defense Force. Kaidan was also on the ground team, making sure his M50 Colossus IAK was fully ready to rock. Nearby, Saren had his gear ready as well, and was just making sure the armor on his prosthetic limb was ready for work. Once everyone was ready, they advanced to where Anderson was at.

"OK, listen up," Anderson informed them. "The SLDF is on the way, but we're the first responders. Alex Wolverine will go to the capitol of Fuchida IVb and ensure the underground bunkers are not breached. We'll handle the area that we're heading to."

"What about survivors," Kaidan asked, just as the Cargo/'Mech/Combat Vehicle Bay door opened up.

"Helping survivors is a secondary objective," Anderson shouted over the noise of the wind outside. "The Prothean artifact's your top priority! If you find any civilians, however, get them to safety!"

"Approaching Drop Point One," Joker called out.

Spotting Saren, Jenkins shouted, "Saren, you coming with us?"

"No," Saren shouted. "I'll move faster on my own." With that, he exited the bay, jumping out onto the ground outside.

"Saren will scout out ahead," Anderson told them. "He'll feed you scouting reports. Beyond that, I want radio silence."

"We've got his back, sir," Shepard shouted, just as Alex got into his 'Mech.

"I'll head to Constant, the Capitol of Fuchida IVb," he told the others. "You get to the dig site, I'll focus on keeping the civilians safe." With that, his 'Mech marched out of the ship and onto the planet, just as Joker took off moments later.

"The mission's yours now, Shepard," Anderson shouted. "Good luck!" With that, they reached the second drop point after a few seconds of travel. Weapons at the ready, Shepard and his team jumped out, ready to take the fight to the enemy.