2175 CE

"Protests and demonstrations continue on the independent world of Anhur, a developed garden world with a population of over 200 million made up overwhelmingly by humans and Batarians, located in the Eagle Nebula out in the Terminus Systems." An Asari news anchor spoke. "For years, the world has been host to civil strife due to the poor working conditions faced by the majority of the population but has enjoyed lucrative business with the various species of the Terminus though not so much with those within Citadel Space. In order to compete with Batarian slave produce, the inde..."

Jason quietly watched and listened to the screen in front of him and to the various moving people inside the room he was seated. He was inside the CIC of a Turian battlecruiser, THS Menae's Rebuke, seated beside one Council Spectre Tela Vasir. After Vasir brought the information about Tullius and his drug trade to the Turians, the Primarch whose sector Pheonix's base was located in was furious. Quickly assembling a flotilla commanded by one Rear Admiral Hastagan Taag, he ordered the flotilla to apprehend Tullius and his mercenary group with the Spectre and her aide in tow.

The force assembled rallied around the flagship Jason was currently aboard. It included heavy cruisers, light cruisers, heavy frigates, light frigates, as well as corvettes. For the Turians, a proper fleet would be led by at least one Dreadnaught and perhaps the Primarch's fury would compel him to form such a task force but the restraints of time in needing to bring the criminal to justice as soon as possible prevented such a fleet. Pheonix was currently in the process of finding their next contract and so the majority of their forces would be in the home field which would most definitely include their dedicated warships. Pheonix primarily employed infantry forces, and damn good ones at that from the reports Jason had read, but getting said forces to where they were needed would undoubtedly not be welcome by the party they were being paid to fight. Their warships would ensure the safe delivery of men and materiel to their destined battlefields and could further provide support in the ensuing conflict.

When Pheonix was not engaged in an active contract, many of their infantry forces would spend time at home with the rest undergoing training to keep their skills sharp. Their warship elements would anchor at their home base and conduct patrols of the system, a practice they began years ago which, alongside the regular Turian Navy patrols, has made it so the system was practically piracy-free, a fact that the sector Primarch was particularly proud of considering the system's proximity to Batarian Space. At this point in time, though, such warm feelings no longer existed.

Pheonix's station itself was also not be taken lightly. Defensive and offensive systems on the station, as well as on the surrounding asteroids of the belt the station was located in, made an assault unattractive to anything less than an organised military force that could only be assembled by an organisation with great power over men and materiel, far outside the scope of any pirate groups or local warlords that might have a bone to pick with Pheonix.

The Hierarchy was comfortable with such a presence within their borders due to the good relationship fostered by Pheonix with many individuals in higher positions of command as well as being a useful deterrence to any possible Batarian interests that might arise, however small the chance.

Jason and Vasir came aboard the ship during the final preparations of departure for the flotilla and as such most of the crew were too busy tending to their tasks to pay them much mind. The command staff had accommodated them in spare rooms for the journey and as they approached the final hours all the ships within the flotilla rotated within FTL and began to slow themselves down so that they may exit faster-than-light safely. Jason chose this moment to get comfortable in the CIC because, much to his disapproval, Vasir had informed him that neither he nor she would be involved in the operation to seize the station. This was to be a Turian operation that would act as a well-oiled machine that didn't need additional variables to worry about.

The Spectre and her aide would remain in the CIC to provide tactical advice given that they were responsible for acquiring the information that caused such an operation in the first place. All personnel had been briefed on the operation and what their role would be in it, all they needed to do now was wait.

Pheonix was made up of honourable Turians, this was why they could enjoy a good relationship with the Hierarchy, and the information acquired heavily suggested that the drug trade was not known to the vast majority of Pheonix's members. Operational command predicted their most likely outcome would be a surrender of the majority of Pheonix's forces with a small minority, the ones that were guilty, likely attempting to flee. This was the prediction accepted as most likely by the command staff but, of course, they made plans and preparations for every other outcome that could be foreseen. You didn't get to become the premier military superpower of the galaxy by having plans that weren't thorough and were not compatible with adaptation.

When the flotilla had entered the system in FTL some of Pheonix's corvettes had attempted to hail them through comm buoys. Sensors were limited by the speed of light but you could still detect ships in FTL, at least where they had been. By its very nature, by the time you detected them with your sensors, they'd be long gone from that position. You could, however, use this information to predict their course and attempt contact through the comm buoy system which sent signals through FTL, sort of like mini Mass Relays but for the transmission of data. Not doubt, at least one corvette had gone back to Pheonix's station to appraise them of the incoming flotilla and how they were not responding to hails.

Any formation of ships moving through FTL was only as fast as the slowest ship. A corvette fitted specifically for the purpose of screening could detect the wakes of ships moving through FTL and basically outrun them back to their flagship or, in this case, their station.

As the flotilla was approaching its FTL exit point, general quarters was sounded across all ships in the formation and the Turians rushed to their battle stations.

Over 100,000 km from Pheonix Station, well outside the range of even Dreadnaughts, a formation of Turian warships exited FTL. The image of a fleet of ships exiting FTL together with their noses pointed directly at their intended target could only exist in fiction. Reality dictated all ships in any formation keep at least some kilometres away from one another and when they exited FTL they did not do it nose-first. It would be the drive-plumes of their engines that would first exit FTL to face their destination. In the vast darkness and emptiness of space, though, this was far more visible to sensors that would quickly pick up their thermal signature and luminosity. To the observers located at the destination of a squadron of warships, their zoomed-in cameras might show what may look to be the very stars coming for them.

"All ships report successful FTL exit, sir, the flotilla is moving to correct formational drift." A Turian called out from their station.

"All weapon systems are online, sir, and all other ships in the flotilla are reporting the same." Another Turian called out.

Jason could faintly hear said weapon systems deploy from their otherwise concealed hardpoints. For larger ships, it was common to employ weapon systems on retractable hardpoints. Starship weapons, especially that of the Turians, were advanced and expensive and they didn't need to be exposed out on the hull of the ship unless their near-future use was expected. This practice was even more popular with Asari ships that valued the aesthetic forms of their ships and didn't want said forms being interrupted by protruding weapons unless otherwise needed.

"Give me a wide-beam." The Rear Admiral commanded.

"On screen, sir." A Turian officer responded.

With that, Rear Admiral Taag leaned forward in his seat and began to speak.

"Pheonix Private Military, this is Rear Admiral Hastagan Taag of the 42nd Flotilla sent on the orders of Primarch Octavius." He began. "The investigation of a Council Spectre has revealed heinous illegal activity of the top-level individuals within Pheonix and as of this moment, under the authority of the Turian Hierarchy, every single member of Pheonix Private Military is to be detained and investigated for any participation in these illegal acts. All ships are to come to a safe and stationary drift within the belt and power down engines and weapons. Pheonix Station is to power down all weapons on the station itself and in the surrounding asteroids. Every single man and woman is to surrender themselves or by the Spirits, you will meet your ancestors as bare-faced traitors to the Hierarchy!"

"Active fighter squadrons are deployed and in positions, sir, reserve squadrons are on standby." A Turian called out.

"Marine teams and their transports are reporting green and ready to go, sir." Another Turian called out.

The Rear Admiral waited for a response and it was not long before he heard the unsure voice of a Turian man.

"This is Lieutenant Colonel Fabius Quintus, the ranking officer on Pheonix station. We are complying but Tullius and his command staff have locked themselves in the command centre of the station and we've had no word from them ever since our corvettes first reported your arrival in the system."

As the Turian spoke, an officer in the CIC reported that all of Pheonix's ships were powering down as was the defence batteries on the station and the surrounding asteroids. There was an inaudible sigh of relief in the CIC as this happened but they still had a job to do.

"I am sending marines to seize all Pheonix ships as well as the station. You will comply." The Rear Admiral stated.

"We will comply." The colonel repeated before the feed as cut.

Seeing that their predictions were mostly correct, the flotilla sent forth their cruisers supported by their frigates while the flagship and its escorts remained to observe from afar. Jason was able to view the body cameras of Turian Marines inside their transports. As the Hierarchy ships approached Pheonix's, boarding pods were deployed to dock with the surrendered ships and seize them. Having a frigate or cruiser dock with every ship that had surrendered would have taken too much time so instead, they sent boarding pods filled with Turian marines while the ship these pods came from maintained security.

These pods were not unarmed nor unarmoured and could quickly evade from their designated ship and employ countermeasures should anything untoward occur but they were not shuttles either because they could only be used in zero-G for sending individuals or teams of individuals quickly from one ship to another.

Jason watched the first Turian marines dock with their designated ship as the airlock doors opened for them. Immediately, Pheonix Turians could be seen assembled in their enviro-suits with their arms up and their backs turned towards the incoming marines showing their deactivated kinetic barriers. Barriers produced heat when in use and this heat was vented at the back of the user through cooling strips, not unlike those employed on starships. As such, you could tell someone had their kinetic barriers deactivated if there were no glowing strips on their back.

The process of reactivating a kinetic barrier from a deactivated state was not quick and was easily visible to outside observers as faint light could be seen slowly engulfing its user in a glove. Because of this, the Turian marines were not worried about someone quickly reactivating their shields and lashing out with a gun.

The feed came from the helmets of the Turian marines and also displayed the HUD of the user and all the information he was exposed to. The technology of the 22nd century allowed soldiers to view the battlespace of any action almost as if they were omniscient. They could see their squadmates highlighted, their objectives, any flagged targets, etc, etc. They knew where each other were at all times and what they needed to be doing at any given time. Apprehended individuals were marked, cleared rooms were marked, floor plans of the ship could be displayed, it was absolutely beautiful. The operational awareness of even the most basic soldier allowed for warfighting Jason could only have dreamed of from his time.

This process repeated many times as more teams began seizing more Pheonix ships. Jason looked around the room and saw every crew member fixed to their individual screen, singularly focused on their task at hand. That determination was what made them Turians and any man would be a fool to not admire them for it. The crew, of course, had their own enviro-suits on - hardsuits. Enviro-suits could either come in either soft or hard suits, the latter being used by warship crews when in general quarters condition. It featured hard plates that served as personal protective equipment against anything that might fly around when the ship was maneuvering or any debris caused by damage to the ship. It was not, however, made to defeat mass-accelerated slugs - that task was for dedicated combat armour.

As the Hierarchy ships closed on the station, Vasir flicked a display from her holo-screen to Jason's so he could look at the same thing she was. It showed yet another Turian marine team, this time in a shuttle. However, their armour was different Jason immediately recognised it as powered armour.

"Blackwatch." Vasir said. "They've been field testing powered armour for a while now and it's only recently that the Hierarchy has been issuing them to special operations forces as well as special operations capable."

As the shuttles approached the landing pads of the station, the doors opened and the Blackwatch operators deployed from their shuttles and completed the rest of their journey through air thrusters on their suits. As they touched down and began to move out, Jason could faintly hear the whirring of servos and machinery. The Blackwatch teams moved fast, faster than any of the Turian marines he was watching before. The marines kept each other appraised through radio chatter and using their Omni-tools to update their HUD information. The Blackwatch didn't speak a word. Not one operator even brought out their Omni-tool.

Yet their HUDs were being continuously updated with directions and appraisals of the developing situation.

"Neutral interface assisted by on-board advanced VIs." Vasir explained. "Pretty advanced stuff."

"Isn't something like this pretty classified? Operational security and all?" Jason asked.

"You're in the employ of a Spectre, Miller." Vasir responded. "You get some benefits. And besides, I could always ask them to send a Blackwatch team after you." She joked.

"Looks like they're nearing the command centre." Vasir returned to her screen.

This was the moment everyone was waiting for. Tullius and the command staff of Pheonix were the ones really responsible for the drug trade and everyone was waiting on what they'd do once they were eventually confronted. It would seem that they chose the path of most resistance.

The Blackwatch team entering the command centre began taking fire as the operator Jason was watching took two slugs to his shields as he returned four of his own towards the shooter while he was moving back into cover. When contact was made the Blackwatch operators absolutely opened up with accurate and concentrated fire. Two operators focused on a lone hostile that had just peaked out of cover and pierced both his shields and his armour, sending him crashing to the floor.

The best any defender could do was damage the shields of the Blackwatch operators as they moved further inwards.

It was not long before they found Tullius and the highest-ranking members of Pheonix, all dead by suicide. Having no prisoners, the Blackwatch team began searching for data drives as all other Hierarchy marine teams reported objectives complete.

"So what'll happen with the Pheonix members?" Jason asked.

They were back on Vasir's ship, making their way back to the Citadel after everything had wrapped up.

"They, along with all other members arrested throughout Citadel Space, will be investigated as to their involvement in Tullius' drug trade." She began explaining. "Whatever the case, every single member of Pheonix has been tainted in the eyes of the Turians. Even if they weren't involved with running drugs, they served under the people who did and that shame will stick with them. They'll probably be sent to the Penal Legions to redeem themselves."

The Turian Penal Legions, a scheme whereby those that had brought shame upon themselves would be organised into a fighting force as a form of redemptive service. It was mostly for criminals of good character to reduce their sentences but in relatively high-profile cases such as what happened with Pheonix, the Penal Legions was penitence for their shame. Upon entering the Penal Legions a Turian will have their face markings removed so that the galaxy could know their shame and a small icon would be replaced on their forehead so the galaxy could know their journey to redemption.

After completing their service in the Penal Legions, a Turian will have the small icon on their forehead completed across the rest of their face to show the mark of the Redeemed so that all may know they had overcome their shame.

"Tell me, Miller, would you be open to more jobs?" Vasir posed.

"Working for a Spectre has been an opportunity and a half." Jason replied. "If you want to give me more then I'd definitely be up for it."

"Good to hear." Vasir nodded.