Athena Nebula, Ialessa System, 2183 shortly after Eden Prime attack.
The SSV Independence exited FTL speed nearby the colony of Sanves. Despite being in asari territory, the Systems Alliance had set up a patrol route that took their ships into asari space. Likewise, the Asari had commandos patrolling human territories as part of a recently formed initiative to strengthen the allegiance between human and asari. The Independence was an experimental light cruiser that held a small hangar bay capable of housing up to six fighters, one shuttle, and one gunship. One of the fighters, piloted by the ship's Ace, was a newly produced air-to-surface and air-to-air hybrid vessel. The A-22 Halberd has a triangular body with two wings curved forward and a wingspan of 56'. The craft uses the same eezo core as a F-61. The body was painted white while the wings were Alliance blue. The two retractable M500 mass-accelerator autocannons are positioned on either side of the cockpit. One of the engineers, a history buff, had geeked out over the fact that the autocannons made the notorious Brrrrrrt when fired. The craft also holds eight air-to-surface missiles and four air-to-air missiles. While it can be deployed in low orbit engagements, the craft is at its best in battles near the surface. Due to the craft being heavier and less maneuverable than the Tridents, the Halberd is usually supported by a light squadron while conducting air-to-air engagements. Air-to-surface, however, the A-22 is unmatched. The Systems Alliance firmly believed that the A-22 would be a game changer in further battles.
1st Lieutenant Logan "Boomslang" Lorenzen was sitting in his shared officer's quarters reading through the most recent message from his brother when the call came over. Lorenzen was born on Terra Nova, November 12th 2161, to Grant and Susan Lorenzen. He was the youngest of four children and the second boy. Standing at 6'3" and 220 pounds he was the biggest of the Lorenzen children and he had the same narrow eyes as the rest his siblings, but that's where the similarities ended. Logan's hair was a shade of brown like his dad, his siblings had blond hair like their mom. Logan had hazel eyes like his grandfather, according to his dad, while the others had blue or gray to resemble their parents. When Logan was thirteen his dad, an engineer on a merchant vessel, was killed during a pirate raid resulting in both boys eagerly joining the military as soon as they could, much to the dismay of their mother. His brother, Lucas, was immediately scouted as a possible N recruit. N being the code for special forces. In typical Lucas fashion, he passed with flying colors and, owing to his proficiency with a sniper rifle, was designated an N7 Infiltrator. When Logan signed on he averaged every test put before him in basic but a scout somehow saw his flying potential because the next thing he knew he was training in F school. F being code for Aerial Combat. Logan graduated at the top of his class with the designation of F7 Ace. Aces were considered king of the skies. If a craft had wings and thrusters an Ace could make it dance. Much like N7s, F7s had their own special detailing on their outfits. Some smooth talking Admiral had convinced the others that the official outfit for F7s should be a leather jacket and blue camo military cargo pants. The jacket was black with two green stripes that formed a V. The official outfit made F7s some of the most popular units on base.
The message Logan was reading was irritatingly vague, in a way that only special forces know how to be, but he was able to deduce that his brother was in good health, albeit bored out his mind.
"Lieutenant Lorenzen to the CIC." came the voice of the Independence's executive officer, Major Carl Dimmel, from the intercom.
Logan quickly typed a reply to his brother then shut down his omni-tool display and stood, stretching away the stiffness in his back. With a nod to the other officer, ground squad leader Lieutenant Commander Brad Partly, he quickly threw on his leather jacket and exited as he zipped it up before heading for the elevator. He wound his way down a busy hallway, bustling with technicians. As he threaded his way through, Logan was able to detect a sense of urgency from the NCOs. In the elevator he ran into Ensign Deem, a slim Asian woman with raven black hair, who threw him a hasty salute before returning to her data pad.
"What's with all the commotion, Deem?" Lorenzen asked as the elevator door closed and began its slow ascent to the CIC deck.
The ensign answered without looking up, "Distress signal from Sanves, sir. No other patrols in the area, we'll be the first to respond. Captain can tell you more."
The elevator opened and the ensign disappeared before Logan could question her further. Up ahead was the circular construct that held the galaxy map along with a multitude of other reports. The ships commanding officer, Captain Margery Sumners, stood over the shoulder of a tech, reading the report he was compiling. The captain was a short woman with shoulder length auburn hair and brown eyes. Currently she was wearing her officer's dress blues and hat. She turned as Logan came to a stop in front of her and snapped off a crisp salute, which she returned.
"Ah, lieutenant, good," she stated as she tapped at the holo console. The galaxy map disappeared and the image of a planet replaced it. In the middle of the planet was a tab, indicating a precise location. "We received a distress call from the colony capital, Etheai. The call only lasted for twelve minutes and thirty eight seconds before being cut off."
A tall and muscular dark skinned man, also wearing dress blues, joined them at the console, "Could it have been a false alarm?" Major Dimmel asked in his smooth baritone voice.
"Negative, major. There are countless fail safes to prevent false alarms. Even if you blundered your way through them, there are certain codes that would have been broadcast to notify us 'all clear'. No, our engineers hypothesize that it's being jammed, there's a great possibility the colony is under attack,"
"Sanves is pretty deep in asari space," Lorenzen interjected, "who would dare risk an attack this close to Thessia?"
"Intel can't offer any speculation at this time," the captain stated, "Lieutenant Lorenzen, I want you to split your fighter squadron. Send two to find and destroy the jamming device. You and the others are to head to the colony and scout out the situation. If the colony is being attacked, you are to provide support until comms are restored. Major Dimmel will coordinate with Commander Partly and have the ground team standing by to offer assistance once we establish communication with the colony authorities. ETA is fifteen minutes, prepare your team."
"Ma'am." Logan replied, saluted, and was dismissed. He headed down to the hangar where he met his team, who had already been summoned. Five other fighter pilots, plus the shuttle pilot, surrounded the lieutenant in a semi-circle. With multiple deck crews hustling to prep the fighters for launch Lorenzen explained the mission. Logan would pilot, as always, the A-22 and take Nova 3, 4, and 5 to the colony capital and lend support. Nova, shortened from Thunder Nova, was the name of Logan's fighter squadron. The squads second in command 2nd Lieutenant Tucker Poole, or Nova 2, would take Nova 6 to search for, and destroy, the jamming device. After receiving their assignments the group split to gear up. At his personal locker Logan removed his jacket and began to don his blue camo flight suit. The flight suits were equivalent to light armor hard suits used by ground units. The biggest difference was the helmet. Flight helmets were roughly the same size as combat helmets with the breather attachment but with a large upside down diamond shaped blast proof viewing glass for maximum allowable vision.
Next to him Poole rubbed at his high and tight black hair before venturing a question, "Y'know, I get we're bad ass and all, but shouldn't we be notifying the asari of what's happening here instead of risking human lives?" at a look from Lorenzen he added, "I got nothing against aliens, sir."
Lorenzen sighed. This was one of the drawbacks of having a "speak freely" policy among his squad. Normally it allowed for free debate and consideration, but it also allowed the less than popular opinions to be voiced. Patiently he explained, "The asari are our allies. How can we, as humans, say we're the best if we leave our friends out to dry? Also, would you've liked it if an asari patrol caught the Eden Prime distress call and just forwarded it to the Alliance instead of helping?"
"Ah, I didn't think of it like that, sir. That would be a real dick move, or an asari equivalent move."
From down the line Nova 6, the youngest of the squad, called out, "You shouldn't complain, Poole, the asari are sure to be... um... grateful for our assistance. Even you will be able to get laid!"
With a smirk Lorenzen said back "I think you're overestimate our wing man's capabilities. He couldn't get laid if he was up a salarian's ass!"
The crew laughed, Poole the loudest, at that but were silenced by the deck sergeant bellowing for the pilots to board their craft and for the deck crew to clear out. Logan climbed into his A-22. Due to the lieutenant's nickname "Boomslang" a talented painter from engineering had been asked to paint the nose of Logan's craft like the Earth native snake, reminiscent of the fighter planes of the World War 2 era. Once the canopy closed and sealed he was cast in a silence so great that he became conscious of his own breathing as he set the craft's VI to run through the pre-flight checks. His helmet comms crackled as his squad patched into his frequency and sounded off with their call signs. The VI checklist came back all green, meaning the fighter was ready to go. There was a muted hiss as the deck was depressurized and suddenly the hangar was illuminated by a light source from below. The arms that held the fighter ships in place rotated so that the noses were facing down. Where the floor was supposed to be was now a large opening out into space. Their view was dominated by the green and brown coloring of the planet Sanves. There was mechanical whirring, clicks, and subtle movements as the arms prepared to launch the fighters one by one. Despite having gone through this numerous times before, Logan still felt the all too familiar butterflies in his stomach as he awaited the count down to begin. A large number ten appeared on his holo display, and his heart rate accelerated. He could feel his hands trembling in anticipation as the countdown began with a virtual feminine voice reading off each number.
When the number reached five Logan spouted his traditional prelaunch mantra , "Alright, Thunder Nova, aces high! Let's go!" He prolonged the word 'go' so that he was launched during it. The force of the launch caused the pilots to experience brutal negative g-force but due to gene therapy and extensive training, their bodies were able to withstand the punishment and within seconds they were guiding their craft through the upper atmosphere of Sanves.
Etheai, capital of Sanves.
Commander Nirissra T'Loris shouted to two of her soldiers, "Shore up the northern barrier!" as another salvo of machine gun fire battered the weakening biotic bubble being held by a commando. Five hours ago an unidentified ship had landed eighteen kilometers east of the city, out of range of the anti-aircraft batteries. Less than an hour after that the shuttles came. They were of batarian design, with long wedge shaped noses attached to rectangular bodies. The crafts had four heavy duty thrusters to keep the heavily armored ship airborne. Escorting the shuttles were batarian fighters. These craft were one big wedge shape with a bubble designed cockpit at the front. While not the fastest or most nimble of ships, they were heavily armored. The AA guns managed to take down two fighters and a shuttle before a pair of suicide pilots ran their fighters into the batteries, effectively neutralizing the colony's main line of defense. The commandos activated the distress beacon but shortly after, Nirissra was notified that all long distance communication was jammed.
Presently, the remaining ten fighters were conducting strafing runs on the the commander and her commandos. The only saving grace was that the fighters were not designed for air-to-surface engagements and therefore the runs were, at most, a distraction. They would hear the incoming engines and take cover as the rounds peppered the structures around them. Thankfully the shuttles had no armaments of their own because Nirissra didn't have anything under her command that was powerful enough to take them out. The commandos had entrenched themselves at the entrance to the city and were locked in a stalemate with the enemies ground forces. The enemy line was four hundred meters away. In between the two armies was a no man's land that neither side had been able to advance across. The capital was built at the edge of a six hundred square mile forest which left only one direction the ground units could approach. The enemy were troops of the Cos'cochar cartel. Cos'cochar was one of the largest drug cartels in the galaxy. The funding came through the red sand and slave trade that the cartel held a monopoly on within Citadel space. The cartel consisted of mostly batarians and turians with a smattering of salarians and even the odd krogan. While their troops were well armed, the cartel had trouble getting their hands on military grade equipment. The shuttles and fighters were outdated. Even the mother ship, a freighter outfitted as a warship, was over twenty years old.
The shuttles were constantly ferrying troops from the mother ship to the front lines. Even though the enemy forces were being held in place, the asari commander knew it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed by superior numbers. The commandos were all starting to get fatigued, having been nonstop fighting since the first shuttle offloaded its troops. Stims were quickly becoming scarce and casualties were starting to take its toll. Nirissra had sent the colony authorities back into the city as a last line of defense should she and her commandos fail. Roughly an hour earlier their already low moral had taken another hit when a shuttle dropped off an old turian design tank. It was a bullet shaped vehicle with a massive 215mm canon on top. The 215mm shells were bombarding the barriers on the flanks. Each asari that tried to hold the barriers could feel the backlash of the force of the shells, which served to weaken them quicker meaning they were rotated out faster. The commandos were rotating too fast, not getting enough rest. A few of the asari were already burned out from constant use of their biotics. The asari could feel the impending defeat. It was only a matter of time before the barriers fell and they were overrun by the cartel.
Suddenly a commando manning a terminal shouted, "Ma'am, we have four unidentified aircraft coming in from the south!"
In her exhausted state Nirissra was slow on the uptake. For a few bewildered seconds she struggled to comprehend why the Cos'cochar would bother sending fighters on such a wide approach.
The commando at the terminal, Sergeant Eali Berix, was almost hopping with excitement, "Long range communication back online!"
The commander perked up, then her comms crackled to life and a male voice came through, "Sanves forces, this is Nova 1 of the SSV Independence, do you read me?"
Sergeant Berix shot a confused look to her commander, "Alliance?"
Nirissra shrugged, but a spark of hope ignited in her as she replied, "We read you, Nova 1. Be advised, we are under attack by Cos'cochar forces. Enemy fighters are attacking our position and we have multiple ground units converging, as well as one armored unit,"
The voice sounded smug as he replied "Nova 1 copies. We'll deal with the them," then to his squad he said, "Thunder Nova, engage the fighters, I'll see to the tank."
The other fighter pilots, having been patched into their frequency, let out calls of affirmation. Nirissra grabbed a spotting scope and pointed due south. There in the distance she could make out four rapidly growing shapes in the sky flying in a V formation. The spark of hope erupted and flooded her body as they approached. The lead ship was slightly larger than the others and had a green tipped nose. As they drew nearer the commander lowered the scope and watched as the leader broke formation and lowered his altitude. She chanced a peek out to where the tank sat. She tried a quick headcount of the troops surrounding the tank and came up with a rough estimate of just under twenty. The tank commander seemed oblivious to the arrival of the Alliance fighters as the unit continued to fire on the northern barrier. Looking back to the fighter she recognized that its trajectory was bringing it into an attacking run. Suddenly four missiles were pumped out from the ship in a plumes of fire.
"Fire in the hole!" the asari commander shouted before throwing herself flat. KATHOOOOM! A couple of seconds after the explosion, Nirissra felt the shock wave pass over, drenching her with dust. When she stood and surveyed the damage she saw that there was nothing left but a burning shell of the tank and no sign of the twenty troops. A column of smoke began to rise from the crater. An explosion from above and behind her caused her to pivot and glance skywards. A cheer rose from the commandos as an enemy fighter rapidly descended to the east with a trail of smoke and fire. The fighter rotated as it plummeted and, upon hitting the ground out behind the cartel lines, detonated. Two more Alliance fighters emerged from the east to join the fight and she tracked them back to the aerial battle. It only took her a few seconds to discern that the Tridents vastly outmatched the cartel ships. It was a massacre. All across the sky enemy fighters were dropping, as humans would say, like flies. The lumbering batarian style fighters couldn't keep up with the nimble F-61s and their armor was torn to shreds under the constant barrage of gunfire. Nirissra caught movement out of her peripheral vision and she turned to see a batarian shuttle slowly descending, intending to drop off a squad of troops. The side doors were open and she could see a mix of roughly ten people inside. From the north came the green nosed fighter on another attack run. The asari commander was expecting more missiles but this time the twin autocannons went BRRRRRRT! The rounds carved through the shuttle like a hose through tissue paper and it split in half sending the remaining occupants to their fiery death. The asari were hopping and cheering on Thunder Nova as they mopped up the fighters. The relief spread throughout the commandos like a contagious disease. They could feel the tide turning.
Sergeant Berix wiped at her misty eyes as she said "Enemy is in full retreat, commander!" True enough, the cartel ground troops hand abandoned their positions are were in a full on sprint away from the Etheai. A few fired, uselessly, into the sky as they fled. Some abandoned their weapons and comrades altogether.
"Look!" another asari shouted, pointing out towards the east.
In the distance the Cos'cochar warship was taking off but was being approached by the SSV Independence. There were four bright flashes as the Independence's main gun fired. From this distance it looked like little balls of light were being sent at the warship. Upon impact large plumes of fire could be seen, The cartel ship stopped ascending and quickly began descending. Suddenly the ship split in two under a massive mid-ship explosion and the halves abruptly plummeted. The pieces had dropped out of sight when a fireball erupted sending a column of smoke into the atmosphere. Around ten seconds later the rhythmic whump of the main gun could be heard followed by a explosion. The asari were in a frenzy of cheers and hugs. A few even broke down and openly wept. Nirissra herself had to fight tears of relief from spilling.
Next to her Sergeant Berix was looking to the sky "Veimuri," she said in awe.
Nirissra followed her gaze to see that all six fighters were evenly spaced as they circled the city like a halo.
Nova 1's voice said over comms, "Sanves forces, you are all clear. Repeat, all clear. A shuttle is en route to get the fleeing units. Thunder Nova, return to the Independence,"
The green nosed fighter broke off with the others following one by one, heading east towards the their ship.
Nirissra smiled as she said, "This is Commander T'Loris. Thank you for your assistance. Come by the city if you get the chance, drinks are on me."
Logan guided the A-22 into the hangar of the Independence to a hero's welcome. Being in atmosphere, the deck crew were able to be present as the fighters docked. All twenty four engineers were lined against the wall cheering, clapping, and high-fiving as the squadron linked with the ship. Any time a squad, ground or air, came back from an engagement without casualties was cause for celebration. As Logan slipped out of the cockpit he was surrounded by the three engineers designated to his fighter. They were slapping him on the back and shaking his hand. The other pilots were getting similar treatment from their engineers. Suddenly the elevator opened and a stone faced Captain Sumners, along with Major Dimmel, stepped out. The hanger immediately silenced. A pin drop would have been heard.
The captain stopped in front of the crowd, "That was excellent work, Lieutenant Lorenzen. Commander Partly is sweeping the area, detaining any survivors. In forty eight hours all officers will gather for a post-mission debrief," her composure cracked, her mouth forming a smile, "Until then I'm ordering all pilots to take a mandatory forty hour shore leave. Aces high, Thunder Nova."
Her announcement was met with a thundering cheer. Captain Sumners did a parade ground perfect about face and, along with the major, disappeared into the elevator.
Erszbat, Kite's Nest.
Hatak Ferank stood naked in the cool night out on the balcony of his high rise apartment on the outskirts of the city. His heart rate was beginning to descend to normal after having taken his frustration out on a slave. His omni-tool pinged, notifying him of a message from his second in command.
Hatak was a high ranking warlord of the Cos'cochar cartel. He worked directly under one of Eternal Five, the highest leaders of the cartel. There was one member of the five per section of the Milky Way galaxy. The Citadel space sector was the most powerful and profitable part of the cartel. The identities of the Five were unknown with rumors circulating that even the Shadow Broker didn't know and was offering a fortune to any who could provide that information. Even Hatak didn't know the name or face of who he answered to. Periodically he would get instructions via omni-tool call with the person on the other end using a voice distortion device. The man previously in Hatak's position had tried to discover the name or face of the one pulling the strings. He disappeared. The new batarian drug lord had no ambition to join him. The boss let him run the show, most of the time, so why bite the hand that feeds?
After reading the message the batarian returned inside and slipped into a pair of pants and then growled at the naked, roughed up human woman still laying on his bed, "Return to your chambers."
The slave said nothing, even avoided eye contact, as she dressed and walked out. Hatak wasn't worrie about the woman trying to escape. All the slaves in his compound were well and truly broken. Those caught trying to escape were harshly punished in front of the others. Each escapee was exposed to new and inventive punishment, making the other slaves fall in line as to not be subject to the cartel's sadistic imagination. It had been three years since the last attempt and even longer than that since one successfully escaped.
The door hissed open and Hatak's second in command, and closest friend, stepped through. Cay For'dah was a massive batarian. Most batarians are large specimens by nature but Cay was taller than average and built like a krogan. His voice, however, was light for a batarian. From a pouch on his belt Cay produced two Khar'shan cigars and offered one to Hatak. The leader accepted one and allowed Cay to light it with his omni-tool. The room's ventilation system kicked on to keep the room from filling with smoke.
After a few moments of silence Cay said, "We've got more information on why the attack on Sanves failed," he used his omni-tool to activate a massive vid screen on the wall across from the bed. The screen showed a muted news reel covering the attack on the colony. An asari broadcaster was talking silently to camera and over her shoulder, in the distance, floated the Systems Alliance ship called the Independence.
Hatak growled, "Humans. I shouldn't be fucking surprised."
"The commander of our raid underestimated the asari commandos. The bitches were able to hold off our men until reinforcements arrived. Instead of retreating immediately, Va'hors tried to call his men back to the ship. The Brigand was shot down, no survivors."
"Saves me the trouble of putting a bullet through Va'hors' empty skull myself."
"Some of our men were captured by the humans, we won't know how many for a while yet."
Hatak ventured his next question, "My brother?"
"He was manning a tank on the front lines of the attack." Cay said carefully, knowing Hatak had an explosive temper, "The report says a human fighter bombed it, no way he survived."
The room became deathly quiet, tension quickly built. While Cay wasn't worried for his own safety, the two had known each other too long, he was worried that in his rage, Hatak might harm himself.
After an excruciating minute of silence Hatak said calmly, "Find the pilot. Bring him to me."
"It won't be that simple, Hatak. The pilot, his name is Logan Lorenzen according to my intel, is stationed aboard the Independence and it only docks at Alliance bases or the Citadel. Impossible for any of our guys to infiltrate."
"Family?"
Cay, correctly assuming that Hatak would target the human's kin, typed through his omni-tool, "Two older sisters, an older brother, and a mother. None of them will be easy, either."
Hatak rolled his hand in a 'continue' gesture, "We'll get them, I don't care how."
"The oldest sister, Lori Lorenzen, works and lives on the Citadel. She's an assistant to a human diplomat. We have a little over thirty officers on our payroll in C-Sec but none have clearance for the embassies."
Hatak studied the picture of the lady. According to the dossier, the petite woman stood at 5'7" and weighed 110 pounds. She had glittering gray eyes supported by high cheek bones. Her tiny mouth was open in a dazzling white smile above a sharp chin. Her long blond hair flowed over her shoulder past her breasts.
"I can work on getting one of ours stationed at the embassy but it might take a while," the second in command offered.
"Get on it. The others?"
Two pictures popped up. One was a younger woman, also blond, with light blue eyes. Standing at 5'5" and 100 pounds she was the smallest of the Lorenzens. She had a wider face and jaw with round cheeks. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail. Compared to the previous woman she was plain looking. The other picture was a middle-aged woman. 5'8" and 140 ponds. Her shoulder length hair was blond going on silver. Her gray eyes were supported by high cheek bones, same as her eldest daughter, and she had the same tiny mouth over a pointed chin.
Cay explained, "The second oldest, Luann Lorenzen. Lives on earth, works as a teacher. The mother, Susan, lives with her daughter. Retired."
Hatak shook his head, "Scratch them from the list. No way any of our men can get to them on Earth." Batarian and human relations were strained at best. Any batarian visiting Earth would be susceptible to interrogation. Turians and salarians were welcome on the human home world as tourists, but they would be heavily screened upon arrival and then they would be under surveillance throughout the duration of their visit. The few humans on Hatak's payroll were wanted men. If they returned to Earth they would be arrested.
"I thought the same, but figured I'd add them in case an opportunity comes up," Cay stated.
"The brother?"
Cay sighed as he brought up the file, "Lucas Lorenzen, a soldier as well. Currently stationed on Horizon."
The dossier showed a military photo of a 6'1" and 210 pound man. His blue eyes were hard and intimidating. His dirty blond hair was cut high and tight, the traditional military style. His rock hard jaw protruded from slim cheeks and ended at a wide chin.
"Horizon? That's in the traverse. He should be easy to get to, Alliance or not. What's the catch?"
"He's an N7. Hell of a record, too, and that's just the stuff we can access. There are plenty of classified info that we couldn't get."
"Special forces? Shit." Hatak wasn't keen after going after an N7, not after what the human soldier on Torfan was able to accomplish. He deliberated his choices for a quiet minute, then with a sinister sneer he decided, "Get a hold of Vilcus. His mercenaries should be able to handle an N7."
"Vilcus? He won't come cheap."
"I'll fund the turian personally," Hatak's jaw tightened as he stared daggers at the photo of Lucas, "Make sure they take him alive."
Etheai, Sanves.
The Alliance shuttle landed at the edge of the colony, observed by the massive crowd of civilians. The door opened to reveal six humans, five males and one female. The crowd burst into cheers to which the humans smiled and waved. As the cheering died away a chant of 'Veimuri' broke out. Commander T'Loris singled out the tallest human as the leader. He was dressed differently than the others. His squad was wearing military fatigues. He had the same cargo pants but, instead of a rolled sleeved shirt, he wore a leather jacket with green striping. On his left breast was a circular symbol with the F7 designation in the middle. Under that was the single silver bar denoting his rank as 1st Lieutenant. He had medium length walnut colored hair in a quiff style. When he cast his hazel eyes on the commander, she was taken aback by the sheer strength they exhibited. Just his gaze alone caused the asari's breath to catch in her throat. His face had a five o'clock shadow along a sharp jaw and over his wide chin. In her opinion the man was very handsome and, judging by the gawking from some of the ladies, she wasn't alone in thinking that. She quickly tapped out a message to her subordinates to prep the V.I.P, stationed at the hotel, for a visitor.
"Lieutenant Lorenzen?" she stepped forward, having gotten her information on the hero pilot when she contacted the Independence.
Logan watched as a beauty of an asari detached from the crowd. She had glistening cerulean scales. Her round face had multiple dark blue, almost indigo, lines that semi-circled her eyes, giving the illusion that her eyes caused ripples like a stone dropped in a pond. The asari's dark brown commando leathers hugged the curves of her body, leaving nothing to the imagination. He noted, with pleasure, that her abs rippled as she walked.
"You must be Commander T'Loris," he stated as they shook hands. Despite her slim fingers she had a strong grip.
"Yes, but please call me Nirissra. We've got a bar ready for your crew if they'll follow her," she indicated a cobalt colored asari standing off to her side, "But, if you would, there is someone who wants to meet you, lieutenant. It won't take long and then you can party with your friends, in fact I'll even join you for a bit."
"Lead the way, and call me Logan."
A sky car took the pair to a high rise hotel guarded by a platoon of commandos. They took the elevator to the top most floor which opened up into one giant suite. Inside was a berry blue colored asari in a tight red and white dress. There were multiple vid screens on the walls, each one was showing a different news coverage of the attack. The lone asari was watching one that was showing a replay of Lorenzen departing from the shuttle. She turned to face them at the sound of their footsteps.
"Ambassador Irissa, this is Lieutenant Logan Lorenzen, the squadron leader that saved us today." Nirissra introduced.
The ambassador was another beauty. Her face had sharp features and a wide jaw. Intricate white markings surrounded narrow purple eyes and extended up into her fringe. The dress she wore accentuated her slim figure. Her mouth opened into a smile that showed off perfect white teeth.
When she spoke her voice had an slight icy tone that didn't match her grin, "The Hero of Sanves. Your actions today were admirable, everyone in Etheai owes you a great debt, myself more than others."
"You are very welcome, ambassador," Logan said, not trusting himself to speak for any great length. It wasn't often that the Ace became tongue-tied in the presence of good looking women, but the ambassador was on another level. He could feel his IQ dropping just being in her presence.
"Your captain has forwarded what little intel they have gained from the prisoners they took. It seems the Cos'cochar were after me. I dread to think of what they had in store."
"I get that the cartel owns the slave trade, but abducting a politician seems ambitious, even for them," Logan offered.
"I'm in the middle of a campaign to retain my seat as ambassador. I assume the cartel hoped to dictate the outcome by capturing me. That, or they were hoping for a substantial ransom. Nevertheless. You spoiled their plans. You are a testament to what the Alliance strives for when it formed an alliance with us. Tell me, have you heard of the Athame's Earth initiative?"
"Negative, ma'am."
"Strange that your admirals would keep it a secret. Well, you didn't hear this from me then. Athame's Earth is an operation, thought of by our matriarchs, to strengthen the alliance between human and asari. It was the reason your ship was patrolling in our territory today. Part of the initiative calls for the Alliance to send some of its best troops to our commandos for training and assignment. We would also send some of our best commandos to you. For years, long before humans joined the galactic scene, the matriarchs have been trying to get this operation off the ground with the other council races. The turians were too proud to accept our help and the salarians are too protective of their secrets. Two years ago we forwarded the offer to your admirals and, after the attack on Eden Prime, they finally accepted, which caused the brains behind the operation to change the name to Athame's Earth. However, it seems the plans have stalled. The matriarchs are dead set on having some N7s but your military leaders are reluctant to give them up."
"Naturally."
"Quite. Your arrival has given me a thought. Our main military strength is in ground units and warships. No offense, but I doubt there is much your N7s can teach us, our commandos have centuries of experience. Fighter squadrons, on the other hand, are almost nonexistent in our military. Due to our natural biotic abilities we would rather have our commandos on the ground where we can us them. I think today's invasion proved that we need to adapt. I'll speak with our matriarchs and the councilor in the coming days. See if we can get funding for fighters and, hopefully, convince the Alliance to release fighter pilots to us. Who knows, maybe the 'Hero of Sanves' will be flying for Thessia in the future."
Logan was thunderstruck, "I would be honored, ambassador."
Irissa's smile nearly put him in cardiac arrest, "Glad to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a busy rest of the day. Once again, thank you for your help."
Logan and Nirissra left. They reached the bar where his squadron was partying and entered to a chorus of cheers. There was a sudden shout of "Boomslang!" from Poole to which Logan fist pumped in response.
Nirissra chuckled, "If you don't mind having a drink with me first, I have a booth reserved." Logan nodded and she led them to a quiet corner. Soon an azure colored asari joined them with three Thessian Temple drinks. While she wasn't the fatal beauty that Irissa was, she was still stunning. Taut cheeks and a narrow chin. Lime green lines in her fringe with two lime green semi-circles that created a bridge between her pale blue eyes. Like the commander, she was wearing black commando leathers that showed off ample breasts and shapely hips as well as luscious backside. Logan sat in the middle with Nirissra to his left and Eali to his right.
"Logan, this is Sergeant Eali Berix," the commander said before taking a sip of her drink, "I'm curious about a few things about you, lieutenant, if you don't mind me asking some questions."
"Go ahead, as long as you don't mind answering some of mine." Logan responded, taking a slightly larger sip. He suddenly felt nervous as what to she was going to ask.
"Deal. First question: your fellow pilot shouted 'Boomslang' at you, what does that mean?"
"A boomslang is a very deadly snake native to Earth. During training I was considered such a lethal force in the skies that another student said I was as dangerous as a boomslang. He also wanted to give me an original nickname. Eagle, hawk, and the like were too cliché according to him."
"Correct me if I'm wrong but snakes don't fly, right?"
Logan chuckled, "Yeah, I said the same thing but my friend pointed out that back in the old days we nicknamed one of our planes 'Warthog', which is a fat animal native to Earth that definitely does not fly, either. My turn. What was being chanted at us when we arrived?"
Eali answered this, "Veimuri. It's an ancient asari term. Best translation I can think of is: Disciples of Athame. It is said the Veimuri protected Thessia from dangerous enemies and that they could also fly."
Eagerly Nirissra spoke, "Before you attacked the cartel today, you told your squad 'aces high', is there a meaning behind that?"
"When Thunder Nova was in its infancy one of our pilots, now transferred to another ship, wanted to have a saying for our unit. He searched popular media dating back a couple centuries and found a song from late in our 20th century. The song was called Aces High and was about an aerial battle during one of the biggest wars in human history," Logan chuckled at a sudden memory, "During a training exercise he played the song over comms, which broke about twenty of our regs. He got his ass chewed for that, but I liked the term aces high, so I turned it into our squadrons motto."
Logan glanced to the tables where his crew was partying and, upon seeing they were surrounded by numerous hungry looking asari, excused himself. He approached the table and signaled that he wanted to talk to them privately. Or at least as privately as he could in a packed bar.
Once alone he warned them, "I don't mind you partaking in some...comforts tonight, but if any of you leave this colony as parents I will kick your ass up one side of the Indy and down the other, clear?"
"Clear, sir!" his squadron chorused.
He dismissed them and returned to his own table.
Nirissra looked curious, "What was that about?"
The lieutenant blushed, "Uhm, just letting them know they better not start any families tonight."
Eali and Nirissra burst out laughing with the former saying, "You don't have to worry about that. My girls have been doing this for centuries. They know better than to meld during a one night hook up."
"Glad to hear it, I don't think my people will have that kinda control tonight."
Looking at her omni-tool the commander sighed, "Well, I have a busy day tomorrow. Not to mention the mountain of reports I need to fill out yet. Berix, you can have tomorrow off. Report to me at 0700 the following day. Logan, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'm on the list to sponsor an Athame's Earth candidate, maybe we'll work together again someday."
"I hope so." he stated, then enjoyed the view as she walked away. He finished his drink, which was shorty replenished by Eali. With Nirissra gone, the asari sergeant inched closer until their thighs were touching. As they chatted she leaned in close, eyes locked on his lips, but she was nodding as if following what he was saying. Two drinks later, she was sitting on his lap, arm about his shoulder, laughing at his stories about incidents that happened during F7 training.
The party atmosphere was ramping up and the dance floor, which Logan usually avoided like the plague, became packed. The lieutenant was content to drink and chat with the gorgeous asari sergeant. At some point he saw an asari in commando leather leading a human dressed in military fatigues towards the door. Due to the flashing lights and moving bodies, he couldn't see exactly who it was. Three hours later Logan was coming out of the bathroom into the corridor, shaking water from his recently washed hands, where Eali ambushed him. She had two drinks in her hands, one of which she handed to the human. Upon Logan accepting the drink, she grabbed his free hand and led the way. He noticed, with rising trepidation, that they were headed towards the dance floor. They reached the edge and she spun back around and put her arm around his neck, drawing him close. She pressed her forehead to his and gazed directly into his eyes, upon which she shuddered involuntarily and had to look away.
"Your eyes could thaw Noveria," she said in a husky voice and she swallowed before looking back at him.
It didn't take Logan long to fall into a rhythm with her. There were no complicated moves, they were just grinding. She was staring at him with hungry eyes, in short bursts, that caused the butterflies in his stomach to flutter. She spun around again and pressed her backside against his groin, still moving to the beat. He was thankful for the loud music, as it drowned out his groans. Clearly, though, Eali could hear him because she pushed her rear harder against him and increased the tempo. During a temporary quiet moment in between songs she grabbed his hand and headed, with urgency, towards the door. Logan barely had time to put his untouched drink down on a table before they were outside. They took a sky car cab to the same hotel as before. In the back the two were connected at the mouth, her cool hands exploring his entire upper body under his clothes while he rubbed his hands up and down her back and across the underside of her thigh. When they took a break for air she nibbled at his neck, her warm breath raised goosebumps on his arms. In turn he caressed her fringe, digging his fingers deep into the crevices and lightly massaged the base of each tendril. She shivered and squirmed under his touch, further encouraging him. If he wasn't intoxicated and horny Logan would have felt embarrassed for the salarian cab driver. At the entrance, after they exited the sky car, she once again grabbed his hand and took him on a forced march through the lobby. Logan's face was an inferno as they reached the elevator. The lobby had been packed with asari commandos, everyone gave the pair knowing smiles. A few started laughing outright. The elevator closed and Eali was all over him again. She jumped and wrapped her strong legs around his waist, squeezing tight. Logan grabbed onto her butt to support her, not that she needed it as she was strong enough to hold herself up, as their mouths smashed together. Her eyes were glazed over with lust and she was panted heavily in between kisses. Logan's heart was pounding like a jackhammer on steroids. Three floors up Logan carried her out of the elevator and, with a quick direction from Eali before she started hungrily kissing him again, headed her to her room. Inside he carried her to the bed but she dropped her feet to the floor, spun so that Logan's back was to bed, and shoved him onto it before pouncing on him like a predator on its prey. She frantically tore his jacket and undershirt off. She marveled at the tattoos on each of his arms for a second, then returned to business and began unbuttoning his pants.
The sex was fantastic. She was his first asari and, unknown to him, he was her first human. She set a vigorous, demanding pace. After they both climaxed they lay side by side, letting their breathing and heart rate calm down. Logan was drenched in sweat and felt dangerously close to a heart attack. He weakly reached out to find his shirt on the floor and used it to wipe away the perspiration from his head. His limbs felt rubbery and he was relaxed while fighting sleep. His ego was slightly bruised as he had hoped to go a few rounds, show her what he could do, but he was absolutely drained. However, judging by her moans and squirming during intercourse, she wasn't disappointed. With a sigh of content, and a light chuckle, she snuggled into him, laying her head on his shoulder, draping her thigh across his torso, and laying an arm across his chest. The fight was out of him at that. He immediately dropped off to sleep.
The next morning, in the shuttle ride back to the Independence, Logan was laughing at the state of his squad. The ones that were present all looked, and felt, like death. From what little talk there was, the lieutenant learned that only he and Dave Crokes, Nova 4, had gotten lucky the night before. Two of the pilots had returned to the Independence shortly after Logan had been hauled off by Eali. The others had drank themselves into oblivion and woke up inside the shuttle, having been picked up by Commander Partly's squad from the bar. One of the pilots had to be literally carried over a marine's shoulder. Logan had woken up that morning to Eali already dressed in her leathers. She handed him a cup of coffee and, with a kiss on the cheek and wink, left. Logan lazed around for another half hour before showering, dressing, and leaving.
Back on the Independence Logan returned to his quarters. After a quick shave to get rid of the five o'clock shadow he went to the hangar to help with maintenance on the A-22. The Halberd, and indeed all aircraft, had a crew assigned to it to keep the ships maintained but Lorenzen liked to help. His thinking was that since he flew the thing he should also know how to keep it running. In the hangar the only other pilot present was Kendra Marsh, Nova 3. The pale skinned woman was 5' 7" and 100 pounds even. Her cinnamon colored hair was kept short. She had wide almond eyes and a round face.
"Morning, lt," she said, pronouncing both letters, with her British accent, "I think we're the lone survivors from last night."
"You sound way too chipper for how much y'all drank last night." Logan responded with a laugh.
Kendra chortled as the she unbolted a panel on her fighter, "Buncha lightweights. Some water and I was ready to get back to work, sir."
Logan stood watching her, leaning on a terminal, "I heard you didn't find a companion last night. Poor girl."
"Not into asari, sir, and there weren't any cute guys out last night. Well, other than you and Collins, but regs and all that."
Logan returned to his craft and assisted the crew in rearming the Halberd. The work was hot and soon he was shirtless, covered in grime, and sweating. After a while the others started to trickle in, looking only slightly better than when he saw them earlier. Crokes was last to arrive, looking just as fresh as Marsh. Despite them still being on shore leave, each pilot was attached to their fighters and, as such, were diligent in their upkeep. Logan returned to his quarters four hours later for a shower after an intense workout in the ship's gym. He flexed in the mirror. While not built like a Greek god, Logan still had substantial muscle on his body. He kept to a strict workout schedule because he liked being in good health but, more importantly, he his body sculpted for the ladies. It was hard work but when women showed their appreciation for his body, as Eali had none last night, it was well worth it. The tattoos on his arms rippled as he flexed the different muscles. On his right bicep he had the Systems Alliance logo in black ink. Under that was a F7 Ace tattoo with bullet holes around it. His left arm had a unique colored sleeve. One of the ground units was a very talented artist and one day Logan asked him for a one of a kind piece. Allen Ope, the artist, was full of ideas and he put forth a few for Logan to choose from. The one he chose was inspired by Greek mythology as Allen was a fan of creatures from that lore. The tattoo was a modern take on the Gorgon. Instead of a snake body it had a long thresher maw body that started at his wrist and wound around his forearm and up to his bicep where it morphed into a violet colored asari. The asari's breasts were covered by a white cloth, giving her a tribal look. The arms of the asari were outstretched towards the viewer as if inviting them into an embrace. Her eyes were black pits as if she was in the melding process. A long blue thresher maw tongue dangled out from her open mouth. She had black face markings on the inside, and either side, of the bridge of her nose that curved outwards above her eyes and outlined her face. There were two arches above her nose that bridged her eyes. Allen advised him to keep the tattoo covered if he ever visited Omega, but wouldn't divulge further information no matter how many times Lorenzen asked. After the shower he lay in his bunk to take a quick nap. Before he dropped off his thoughts were of the Athame's Earth initiative. Given the choice he would sign up in a heartbeat. Getting to work around asari like Eali all day. Yes, please!
Horizon
Vilcus Decious stepped out of his transport with his mercenary band, the Fallen Spirits. Every member of his band were turian. Most of them were ex-Blackwatch, turian special forces, either dishonorable discharged or medically discharged arched but still capable of action. The merc band wasn't nearly as big as the Blue Suns of Eclips but they still numbered in the tens of thousands and just as dangerous. For this operation Vilcus brought a platoon, twenty two men, with him to bag the N7. It was rare for Vilcus to personally take part in an op but since they were after an N7, he thought it best to lead the men. Unlike a lot of turian special forces soldiers, Vilcus respected humans. He knew better than to underestimate any member of special forces, regardless of race. Humans especially earned his respect after what happened during what was known as the Skyllian Blitz, where a human N7 soldier single-handedly held off overwhelming numbers. After receiving the intel from Cay, Vilcus had done as much research into N7 as he could. Upon learning that the man they were after was an Infiltrator, he put his unit on high alert. The human wasn't expecting them but would, no doubt, quickly hear of their arrival. They had landed outside the colony which would further raise suspicion. The element of surprise was gone. Somehow Hatak had gotten a hold of a psych report done on the human, Lucas. It said he was ruthless but calculated and had the results to back his methods up. He had a no nonsense attitude and worked his handpicked men hard. Any soldier that Luke felt was not up to snuff was RTU'd. His merciless demeanor had earned him the nickname 'Cold Heart Luke', a nod to an old human vid. The turian was undeterred by any of this information, he delighted in a challenge.
Vilcus ran a talon over a nub where his right mandible used to be, "Get our field equipment operational. Send our scouts into the colony. Locate the human but do not engage." In the distance he could see multiple humans stopping in their day to day activities to watch them. High up on top of a prefab building a lone human in armor, holding a sniper rifle in one hand, was observing the turians working like a well oiled machine.
Vilcus sneered. The hunt was on.
Notes: Since this story doesn't involve Shepard, I'll try to keep all mentions of the character vague. The non cannon ship designs were inspired by Elite: Dangerous ships on a smaller scale. The A-22 Haldberd is based off the Eagle MkII. The batarian shuttle is based of the Federal Dropship. The batarian fighters are based off the Vulture. The SSV Independence is a non cannon design that visually looks like a cruiser but the size of the ship is in between a frigate and cruiser. Light cruisers are named after famous Earth forts.