"Tell me Shepard. What do you know of Ghost Recon?"
"Mostly just rumors." Shepard said looking at Hackett. "A division within the Alliance that operates in secret."
"They're not rumors. A team was sent to Eden Prime to help secure the Beacon and ensure that everything went well." Hackett told her. "The same team that you met in the wards."
Shepard thought back to the four that were with Tali.
Hackett motioned to someone behind Shepard and soon she heard footsteps. A woman roughly in her late thirties to early forties with blonde hair tied into a bun, her eyes are a pale blue and she is wearing Army BDU's.
"This is Major Karen Perryman, Alliance Army." Hackett introduced Karen to Shepard.
"Commander." Karen said offering her hand.
"Major." Shepard shook her hand.
"I want to be clear. Your mission, your ship and your crew. We're just offering help and tagging along." Karen told Shepard.
"Karen and her team will be assigned to your mission to help bring in Saren." Hackett said handing Shepard a folder. "Good hunting." He said saluting the two woman who returned the salute.
"Major." Hackett said with a nod towards Karen before leaving the docks to return to his ship.
"Let's get underway." Karen said and Shepard agreed. The two women entered the ship with Karen's team. Once inside the ship Karen and her team went to store their equipment while Shepard went to the cockpit.
"Welcome back Commander." Jeff "Joker" Moreau said from his spot in the pilot's chair. "Sucks what happened to Anderson. Guy survives tons of battles and gets taken out by some backroom politics."
"No greater foe exists." Shepard said agreeing with what Jeff said. It should be Anderson in charge of the ship not her. "He stepped down so we could get Saren. We need to make that count."
"Everyone is behind you." Jeff said looking over his shoulder. "Intercom is open if you want to say anything."
Shepard walked over to the panel and flicked the intercom to on. "Everyone, we've been given a vital mission not only from the Council but from the Alliance as well."
Everyone stopped what they are doing to listen to what Shepard is saying.
"And that is to hunt down the rogue Spectre Saren. He has already attacked one of our colonies Eden Prime and tried to kill a fellow Spectre. The Council has already disavowed him and the Alliance has placed him on our Most Wanted list."
Some of the marines nodded ready to get some payback for what happened to their fellow marines on Eden Prime.
"We will track Saren and his cohorts and bring them to justice. We will not fail in our mission, a lot of people are counting on us." Shepard said turning off the intercom and everyone went back to their duties.
"Well said, Commander." Jeff said with a nod of approval. "We're ready to leave whenever you're ready."
"Set a course for Therum." Nihlus said coming up behind Shepard. "Benezia's daughter is there studying the Prothean ruins. She may have information on Saren and her mother."
"Do it." Shepard said and Jeff piloted the ship out of the docking area and back into space.
"She can give a hell of a speech." Dean said after Shepard's speech ended. "I'll give her that."
"That she can." Karen agreed putting her things away in the room that was provided to them. Once done a marine entered their room, his arm is in a sling.
"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, ma'am." Alenko said introducing himself, he didn't salute given his right arm being in a sling. "Commander Shepard wants to see you in the comm room." He told them before leaving for the medical bay.
Karen and her team went to the CIC and to the communication room. They entered the room and saw Shepard waiting for them alone. When the doors closed behind them she activated the SCIF mode for the room.
"So… what are your orders?" Shepard asked.
"Officially we are assigned to the Normandy as part of a joint training exercise between all three branches of the military." Karen told Shepard. "As Ghosts, we here to assist you in the capture of the rogue Spectre Saren. We do the heavy lifting, you get the credit."
"I do my own heavy lifting." Shepard said crossing her arms. "Since we're serving together what are your names?"
"Corporal Alice Bishop, call sign Sis. Sniper and recon." Alice introduced herself and shook Shepard's hand.
"Staff Sergeant Jake Langford, call sign Preacher. Techie and medic." Jake introduced himself shaking her hand.
"Second Lieutenant Dean Karl, call sign Odin. Heavy weapons and demolition." Dean introduced himself and shook Shepard's hand.
Shepard then moved to Karen.
"Call sign Wolf or Ghost Actual." Karen said shaking her hand again.
"Looking forward to working with legends." Shepard said after the introductions are done with. "Heard a lot of rumors about your unit."
"That's all they are. Rumors." Karen said. "Where are we headed?"
"Therum, according to the intel Nihlus has, Liara T'Soni is the daughter of Benezia." Shepard told them.
"Saren's cohort." Alice said having read the brief. "When do we land?"
"A few hours, till then mingle and get to know the crew." Shepard suggested and deactivated the SCIF mode. Karen and her team left the room and each went in different directions to familiarize themselves with the layout of the ship.
Karen went to the cargo bay and saw the Krogan that she ran into at Chora's Den and later after saving Tali. Wrex, she remembered the name, is currently leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and scowling? It was hard to tell with krogans and turians, quarians are a given considering their masks.
In the far back is the turian she didn't know the name of currently inspecting the MAKO.
"Excuse me." A shy voice said behind Karen. She turned around and saw Tali. "I wanted to thank you again for saving me in that alley."
"Don't mention it. We just happened to be there." Karen said happy and surprised to see Tali safe and on board the ship.
"I volunteered for this mission and Shepard agreed to have me on her team." Tali said clearing up any confusion as to why she is here and Karen figured that the other non humans volunteered for the mission and Shepard accepted. She knew that some in the Alliance aren't going to be happy with that decision.
"Glad to have you on board." Karen told Tali offering a handshake which Tali took. "I'm sure you'll do fine."
"Thank you." Tali said nodding in thanks before heading back to Engineering.
Karen went over to the MAKO to talk introduce herself to the turian inspecting it. "Anything wrong with her?" She asked startling the turian.
"I wasn't aware the machine had a gender." The turian said with confusion.
"It's a human thing to give something a gender." Karen said making the turian nod.
"Yes, I noticed that humans tend to call their ships 'she' and 'her'."
"It comes from earth's history where the navy had the idea that a mother or goddess is watching and protecting the ship from harm." Karen said being a history buff when it comes to human history. "Major Karen Perryman, Alliance Army."
"Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec investigator." Garrus said introducing himself. "I wasn't aware that the Alliance had an army branch to their military."
"The Navy and the Marines tend to overshadow us, but we're there." Karen said getting that response before. It was true that when people think of the Alliance military, they tend to think of the Navy and the Marines. "Navy and Marines handle the space battles and Army handles the ground side of things."
"So, why are you inspecting the MAKO?" Karen asked Garrus.
"I get restless on long journeys." Garrus said. "Need to keep myself busy."
"Just don't take apart the MAKO without permission. Humans tend to get angry when you touch things without permission." Karen told Garrus who nodded and left him to continue whatever he was doing. She went over to Wrex.
"I remember you." Wrex said when she got closer. "Chora's Den."
"Major Karen Perryman." Karen once again introduced herself.
"Urdnot Wrex." Wrex said introducing himself. "You're Special Ops aren't you?"
Karen raised her eyebrow at that. Not many could pick that up.
"Ran into your people a few times." Wrex said and Karen could believe it given the fact that krogan have long life spans. It wouldn't be uncommon for a warrior like Wrex to have run-ins with Spec Ops or any other Tier 1 operators. "Looks like the Alliance is taking the threat Saren poses seriously if they sent Spec Ops to assist in the capture."
"Saren is a threat to us all. He has a Geth army and a massive ship, plus a head start." Karen said crossing her arms. "I'd say we need all the help we can get."
"True, it'll be fun fighting alongside you and your team." Wrex said with what could only be described as a smile. "I've seen what your training can do. This mission is already shaping up to be an interesting one."
"True, all the best missions usually are." Said Karen and little did she know that this was start of long and beautiful friendship. The talked some more about mundane things when Shepard came out of the elevator and approached them.
"Dr. Chakwas wants to see you." Shepard told Karen.
"Nice talking to you Wrex." Karen told the older krogan before heading to the elevator and going to the crew deck. She exited the elevator and headed for the medical bay, she saw Alice leaving the med bay.
"Get ready to answer a lot of questions." Warned Alice.
Karen smiled knowing that Alice has a phobia of needles and doctors. She entered the med bay and saw the doctor entering some data into the terminal.
"You must be Major Perryman, welcome aboard." Dr. Chakwas said looking up from her terminal. "Take a seat."
"Dr. Chakwas." Karen said walking over to an examination bed and sitting on the edge.
Dr. Chakwas stood in front of Karen and started her examination. "Just a routine examination for newcomers. Need to make sure that you don't bring anything contagious with you."
"Isn't that what the decontamination protocol is for?" Asked Karen.
"Yes, but it doesn't hurt to get a check up."
"I'm up to date on all my shots and vaccines." Karen informed the doctor who nodded.
"You're in perfect health, as is your team." Dr. Chakwas said finishing her examination and going back to her desk. "If you do get injured out in the field. Come back and I'll patch you up as best I can."
"Will do, thanks doc." Karen said getting off the table and leaving the med bay only to run into the Spectre Nihlus.
"Major Perryman, I was looking for you." Said Nihlus sparking Karen's interest.
"Why?"
"Follow me." Nihlus said and Karen followed him back to the elevator and to the comm. Room where he activated SCIF mode again. "I wanted to thank you for saving me back on Eden Prime."
"I don't know what you mean?" Karen said feigning confusion.
"Spare me the act, Major." Nihlus said crossing his arms. "Your Admiral Hackett has already briefed me."
"Really?" Karen asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"I understand your hesitation… Wolf." Nihlus said uncrossing his arms. "I heard stories about your division, Ghost Recon. I never thought I would meet any actual Ghosts."
"I didn't realize we had a reputation with the Spectres." Karen said uncrossing her arms and taking a seat in one of the many chairs in the room.
"Your division is well known among the Spectres." Nihlus said also taking a seat. "I've known Spectres who lost their lives to your people."
"Then they picked fights with us." Karen said defending her fellow Ghosts. "We don't actively hunt Spectres. Our goal is the protection of the Alliance and her colonies from all enemies, both foreign and domestic."
"Spectres are the same." Said Nihlus. "Regardless, thank you for what you did on Eden Prime. Were you and your team not there, Saren would have killed me."
"You're welcome." Karen said. "Are you really ok with hunting down Saren?"
"I know humans don't know much about turian culture." Nihlus said putting his hands on the desk. "What Saren did is practically treason in our culture. He killed our allies and tried to kill his fellow Spectre. By all accounts, he is a dead man as you humans say."
"He is number three on our Most Wanted List, has the Council after him, along with two Spectres." Karen listed off the people currently after Saren. "I'd say his chances of making it alive are pretty slim."
"Do not underestimate Saren." Warned Nihlus. "He was the best of us and has many associates outside the Council and in the Terminus to help him hide. I wouldn't be surprised if some Spectres are aligned with him and feeding him information about our mission."
"No one runs forever, we'll get him." Karen said having the experience of hunting down some pretty elusive targets.
"I admire your confidence." Nihlus said with what sounded like humor in his voice. "I look forward to working with you and your team, Major."
"Likewise." Karen responded getting out of her seat and leaving the room after deactivating the SCIF mode. She headed back to the crew deck to get something to drink from the mess while they traveled to Therum. She got herself some water and took a seat at one of the many tables, opening up her omni-tool and checked her messages from her family and to read the brief that Hackett forwarded.
"May I?" A male voice asked and Karen looked up to see Kaidan holding a tray with his good arm.
"Sure." Karen said and Kaidan sat down across from her. "How'd that happen?" Karen asked looking at his sling.
"Lack of situational awareness." Kaidan responded before eating. "Are you here to help with Saren?"
Karen closed her omni-tool and looked at Kaidan who coughed slightly. "One of the marines overheard you and Wrex talking.
Karen sighed knowing that if Kaidan knows about her being Spec Ops then the whole ships knows. Scuttlebutt does tend to travel fast on a smaller ship. "Yeah, we're to help in the capture of Saren and his allies." She said confirming what was overheard and also to those at nearby tables.
"Sorry, it's rare to see army on navy vessels." Kaidan said. "Rumors are bound to spread."
Karen waved him off. "No worries, LT. Truth be told you just helped me win 200 credits."
Kaidan didn't know what to say.
"My team had a bet on how long it would take for the crew to figure why we're here." Karen explained after taking a sip of her water. "Did the doc say how long you'll be out of action?"
"Another week before I'm fully healed and given the go ahead to participate in missions once again." Kaidan said setting his fork down. "I'm looking forward to being in the field again."
"Heal up first." Karen advised. "I get the feeling Chakwas doesn't like having her orders ignored."
"She doesn't." Shepard said setting her own tray down and sitting next to Karen. "I made the mistake of ignoring her medical orders once and let's just say, never again." She said with a shiver that made Karen wonder just what happened. Then again some things are better left to the imagination.
"What do you think of the Normandy?" Asked Shepard.
"A good ship, with a good crew." Karen admitted from what she's seen. "They seem ready to take on anything."
"Most of them want payback for what happened at Eden Prime." Kaidan said looking at a nearby table where a squad of marines are eating. "Some had friends or family there."
"They know this isn't a revenge mission, right?" Karen asked.
"They know but the feelings remain." Shepard said with a sigh. "Can't say I blame them. I went through the same thing after Elysium."
"After the Skyllian Blitz?" Kaidan asked looking at his Commander.
"Yeah, I wanted revenge for all the lives we lost that day." Shepard said poking her food with her fork. "It didn't sit right with me that we let them go."
"Many felt that way." Karen said having read the reports on what happened on the planet. It amazed her that Shepard was able to hold back the pirates with only 45 men and women. They were outnumbered and outgunned yet, they continued to hold and fought hard against the pirates until reinforcements arrived.
"How do you feel know?" Karen asked.
"I've gotten over it." Shepard said. "Shit, most of the pirates in the attack are probably dead."
"Yeah." Kaidan said and Karen agreed having been apart of the team that actually hunted them down in an attempt to learn who planned the attack. It was on that team that she was approached by Ghost Recon.
"I'm gonna get some flan." Karen said after seeing the desert on the trays of crew that passed by. "Just hope that made it right."
"It is tough to master the flan." Shepard said using the fork to spear some of the desert.
Karen stood in line for the food and came back to the table to find more people sitting at it including her team. She sat back in her previous spot and listened to the conversation around her as she ate the flan. Garrus and Tali at a dextro paste since the cafeteria didn't have any dextro food for them, something she suspected would change soon.
When she finished her desert she got up and set the plate down with the other dirty dishes and went back to her team's room to get her workout clothes, once changed she entered the elevator and went to the cargo hold where the crew had set up a small workout area complete with a pull up bar, free weights, a bench press, and even a punching bag. After all the Normandy is an Alliance frigate and her crew need to keep in shape.
Karen exited the elevator and headed for the workout area she spotted earlier and set down her towel along with her water bottle next to the bench press. She then did a few light stretches and removed her outer shirt revealing an olive tank top and her dog tags. She added weights to the bench press bar and laid down, she griped the bar with both hands and lifted the bar starting her work out. She finished her fourth rep when she spotted Shepard walking around the bar to her head.
"Need a spotter?" Shepard asked standing by her head and looking down.
"Sure." Karen said. "What did you want to talk about?"
"That obvious?" Asked Shepard.
"Your file said that you like to get to know your crew and team." Karen said raising and lowering the bar. "It's what makes you a good leader."
"Yeah, has its downsides though." Shepard said.
"When you lose a team member in the field?"
"Yeah." Shepard said and Karen could tell that she is thinking of the young marine that died under her watch on Eden Prime. She had read the report and saw the footage.
"Don't torture yourself." Karen said setting the bar back in its resting place. "You're not the first to lose men in combat and you won't be the last."
"I know. Still hurts though."
Karen sat up and the two traded positions with Karen as the spotter and Shepard laying down. "Hazards of being in command." Shepard gripped the bar and raised it. "What did you want to ask?"
"How long have you been in the army?" Shepard asked starting off simple.
"Signed up after high school." Karen said. "Twenty-two years."
"Got any stories?"
"Some but the interesting ones are classified." Karen said seeing the disappointed look on Shepard's face. "I'm sure Wrex has some."
"Asked him already and he said no." Shepard said with an actual pout that reminded Karen of her daughters.
"Maybe he values his privacy." Karen suggested. "This is probably the first team he's worked with in a while." She got the distinct impression that the krogan likes to work alone.
"Yeah." Shepard agreed. "What do you think of our mission?"
"I think Saren has a head start, plenty of resources at his disposal and an army at his back." Karen said helping Shepard when she saw the bar wobble a bit. "We have to move quickly to close the gap."
"Intel is sparse right now. The only lead we have is Therum." Shepard said setting the bar back in its resting place. "But you're right. We need to get him before he finds the Reapers."
"You really think they are real?" Karen asked looking down at Shepard.
"I just know that ever since the Prothean Beacon. I get the feeling of dread every time I think about the name." Shepard said sitting up. "I can't explain it."
"You should see Dr. Chakwas about it."
"I did." Shepard said looking at Karen. "She said it could be side effects from the Beacon."
"Keep an eye on it. We don't need you freaking out in the field." Karen warned.
"I will." Shepard said standing up and wiping the sweat off the bench with her towel. "Bag?"
"Sure." Karen said and the two women continued their workout and continued to talk about their background. She already knew that Shepard is an orphan from Earth from her file and where she did her Basic. Karen divulged some information about herself such as where she did her Basic and some of the various stations she was deployed at. She didn't bother telling Shepard about her family since she didn't really need to know.
After their workout Karen and Shepard grabbed their items and went to the showers to wash the sweat off. After the quick shower Karen went back to her room and grabbed her book that she just started and found an empty chair in the commons to read, she was one of the few that preferred actual paper books compared to the ones on data pads. She sat down and opened the book to her last position and resumed reading.
Shepard decided to visit the armory to check on things since they were assigned a new Sergeant to oversee the armory. She walked past the other crew members and entered the armory which runs parallel to the cargo hold so ground teams can get their weapons and immediately head to the cargo hold for deployment. She entered the armory and saw the new Sergeant behind the armory barriers working on a rifle.
"What can I do for you, Commander?" Sergeant Linda Wells asked looking up from her work.
"Wanted to check in and see how your doing?" Shepard said. "We had to leave Arcturus Station quickly."
"I'm settling in, got my gear stowed away." Sergeant Wells setting her tools down. "Armory is squared away and ready to go."
"Have our guests checked in their weapons?" Shepard asked leaning against the counter.
"Yeah, had specific instructions to keep them away from the other weapons." Wells said gesturing to weapon cases set apart from the others. "Damn good weapons, much better than N7 gear."
"Really?" Shepard asked knowing that N7 gear is highly sought after by the other species for their durability and stopping power.
"Spec ops do get the best toys."
"I imagine." Said Shepard. "What is it?" She asked seeing the nervous look on Wells' face.
"Can you talk to your krogan team member?" Wells asked. "He raised a ruckus when I asked him to check in his weapons."
"What happened?" Shepard asked since this is the first time she's hearing about it.
"I asked him to check in his weapons and he got really defensive about it." Wells explained. "Said the only he'd give up his weapons when he's dead. Had to explain to him that it's SOP to check in all weapons. Can't have a repeat of the Majesty."
Shepard nodded in agreement. The Majesty was notorious among Alliance Navy personal. Several young crewmen had just returned from shore leave and they smuggled alien narcotics on board, they had taken it and had a negative reaction to it. They suffered from hallucinations and were convinced that the crew had been taken over by something and had to reclaim the ship. One of the drugged out crewman stole an unchecked weapon from the XO's quarters and killed the crewmen in the armory and armed themselves. They had killed 45 of their fellow crewmen before they themselves were killed by the security personal. After that it became policy for the Alliance to screen any returning crewmen from shore leave for any drugs and to check all weapons into the armory.
"I'll have a talk with him." Shepard promised. "Who calmed Wrex down?"
"The turian, Garrus." Wells said. "Cool guy for a turian, definitely breaks the mold."
"Yeah. I'll have a talk with Wrex and explain Alliance procedure." Shepard reassured Wells. "Take care and if you need anything, let me know."
"You got it, Commander." Wells saluted before returning to what she was doing. Shepard left the armory and decided to check on the boys in Engineering and see how they are handling the situation. After a brief conversation with Chief Engineer Adams about Tali, who has nothing but praise for the young quarian. After talking with Adams, she then talked with Tali about just what the Pilgrimage entails and other questions she has about the quarian people and the Migrant Fleet.
Her omni-tool beeped and she checked her messages to see that Joker and Nihlus had sent her a notification that they are an hour and half away from Therum and that the Council's STG unit sent over drone footage and other related intel. She thanked Tali for the enlightening conversation and went to her new quarters to go over the intel.
Karen just finished the fourth chapter when Shepard's voice came over the intercom and asked for Karen and her team, along with some of the crew to report to the comm room. She closed her book and returned it to her bunk before heading to the elevator where she met the rest of her team. Karen and her team are the first to arrive and took their seats at the table as more of the crew arrived and took their seats. With everyone seated Shepard activated the screen showing a topo map of Therum.
"Liara T'Soni's dig site is located here." Shepard said highlighting the dig site on the map. "We can't land near the site due to the active volcano. So we'll be taking the MAKO in and approach on foot."
"Any signs of Saren or his men?" Garrus asked.
"We have confirmed presence of Geth at the site." Nihlus spoke up highlighting more sections of the map. "They've set up roadblocks along the road."
"So, we'll have a fight going in." Wrex said looking at the map.
"How do we know that Liara T'Soni isn't already captured by the Geth?" Tali asked.
"We don't." Shepard admitted. "If she is, then we free her and leave the planet fast before the Geth can respond."
"We'll have to be fast. The moment we touch down the Geth are going to move her quickly." Said Ashley.
"Correct and they are going to want to slow us down." Nihlus said looking at the people in the room.
"Karen and her team will be assisting us on this mission as you've no doubt heard by now." Shepard said gesturing to said people who nodded back. "Ok, get your gear ready and meet in the cargo bay." She said ending the meeting and everyone left the room to gear up.
Karen and her team went back to their room and changed into their Ghost gear and headed for the armory to get their weapons. They drew a lot of attention as they headed for the elevator.
"Holy shit, they're Ghosts." One of the crew said watching them from a distance.
"Bullshit, they're a myth."
"Then explain their gear and glasses."
"Army always has better gear then us."
"Whatever."
Karen and her team entered the elevator and headed for the armory to retrieve their weapons. They walked into the armory and got their weapons without any fuss and they headed for the cargo hold to meet with the rest of the ground team. Once again they drew attention as they approached the MAKO where Shepard and her team are gathered.
"Everyone." Shepard said getting their attention. "This is Major Perryman of Ghost Recon and her team, Wolf Squad."
"This mission is getting more interesting by the minute." Wrex said with a chuckle. "I heard rumors about you."
"Everyone has." Tali said looking at the four Ghosts. The gentle blue glow of their glasses reminded her of the Geth.
"It goes without saying, but you are not allowed to speak about them to anyone outside the Normandy." Shepard told the team and everyone nodded. "You'll call them by their call signs during missions."
"Wolf or Ghost Actual." Said Wolf stepping forward.
"Odin."
"Sis."
"Preacher."
"Alright, everyone in. first in, last out." Shepard said opening the doors to the MAKO. Everyone entered the MAKO and strapped in after securing their weapons. Shepard sat in the driver's seat while Nihlus took the gunner's seat.
"Everyone good?" Asked Shepard.
"Good." Said everyone.
"I hate these things." Odin said holding the harness tightly when the MAKO slowly moved forward.
"Why?" Tali asked curious.
"Army and Marines call them dump trucks because of how they drive." Sis explained. "Hope no one gets motion sickness."
A/N: After some lore hunting I discovered that 1) the Alliance military follows Sun Tzu's maxim, "He who tries to defend everything defends nothing." Which is interesting to learn and 2) the Alliance Marines are a specialized branch of the Navy and not just a separate branch like I initially thought.
So things are going to be different for the Alliance in this story. The Navy, Marines, and Army are going to be separate branches of the Alliance military but still within the umbrella of the Alliance. With Navy handling the space battles, along with the Marines assisting them for ship boarding and other ground operations. The Army is mainly going to be focused on ground operations and assisting the Marines.
I went down the rabbit hole so quickly after making this decision because I started thinking about earth and the different countries. For instance does each country still retain their military but offer troops to the Alliance, or train them in their home country, or are they trained off planet in space boot camp.
Also why in the name of that is fiction would you have your central government based on a space station and not remain on earth. When the Reaper invasion happened in the third game, Arcturus Station is destroyed essentially depriving humanity of their leaders and commanding officers leaving Hackett and others in charge of the defense of humanity. Then again their leaders would've just been killed during the Reaper invasion of earth.
I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking things when it comes to this story. Also it would be hard for the Ghosts to remain a secret during the mission with Shepard considering they are going to be going on ground missions with her.
Also an interesting fact about this chapter. I based Shepard's actions on Elysium on a real life encounter in WW2 in 1940 during the Battle of Belgium, the German offensive that were pushing through Belgium were delayed by a company of 40 men under the command of Major Maurice Bricart. They were the Chasseurs Ardennais, a light infantry group that were not expected to fight the Germans and tasked to destroy bridges and other traffic spots.
Major Bricart tried to reach his headquarters for further orders but never got an answer because German paratroopers cut the communications lines. As a result Bricart never got the order to disengage and so he upheld his original orders and held the border with his 5th company. They fought hard and fiercely until they were forced to surrender after the Germans used 88mm guns to shell their positions. They fought hard for 18 days and even the feared Panzer division commander Erwin Rommel said; "They are not men; they are green wolves."
The Chasseurs Ardennais motto is Resiste et mords which means Resist and Bite. Their insignia is that of a boar.
Also there is a song about them by Sabaton called Resist And Bite. Check it out, I enjoyed it.
Anyway sorry about that brief history lesson. There are a ton of amazing stories of bravery that are slowly being forgotten and need to be remembered.
Next chapter will be when I finish writing and going over any mistakes.