Author's Notes
Still having a blast! Thank you so much for the input. Hopefully everything improves as long as I have fellow fanfic enthusiasts helping me out.
A warning; we are approaching the end of what I had already written. Means longer spaces of time before I post new chapters. Sorry!
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Chapter 4 - New Horizons, Familiar Territory
/
"These children will have guidance. They will have discipline. And they have one thing no ordinary children have, not even the SPARTAN-II candidates. Motivation."
-Spartan II Kurt Ambrose (Kurt-051), conversation about training the Spartan III's
/
Shepard had donned the Cerberus equivalent of an officer's dress uniform. Chakwas' comments had really gotten to her. She had turned her armor in to Jacob for repair already, finding the armory tech was trying in vain to repair Garrus' sniper rifle. Jacob had sounded confident, but as Jane looked over the wreckage, she was pretty sure it would be more effective as a club at this point.
She'd also double-checked with EDI to make sure no one had touched Six's armor and no one had attempted to enter his ship. She was about to bombard the man with questions. The least she could do was make sure she held up her end of the deal. She approached the briefing room but Kelly stopped her.
"Commander, I heard about what happened. Are you alright?" she asked.
Say what you want about Cerberus or Kelly, but if she was anything, she was sincere.
"I'm fine, Kelly. Thank you for asking. I'd be happy to let you poke around my head about it but I've got a meeting with Six and I'm already late."
"Of course, Commander. Happy to serve... But speaking of Six, I was wondering," she began.
Not surprising that Kelly would be interested. He was new and Kelly was a curious thing. Jane had to admit that she wouldn't mind knowing more about him too, since he was currently hitching a ride.
Shepard crossed her arms and tried to keep a straight face. 'I bet you wondered,' she thought.
"What's up, Kelly?"
"What's his name?"
"He's going by Six for now. His choice."
"I see. He seemed out of sorts when I saw him. I do hope if he ends up joining us, I'll get the chance to do an evaluation on him."
"Oh, I'm sure you'd hope. I'll send him right to you if he joins us but... I'm not so sure just yet. Out of sorts?"
"Thank you, Commander. Yes. I'm sure it's only the new environment and new people but I worry it may be more. Do you know anything of his history? Nevermind! Sorry, now isn't the time. He's already waiting for you," she said before lowering her voice. "Did you see those eyes," she whispered conspiratorially.
Yes she had. They were one of the first things you noticed when looking at him. Shepard smiled at her Yeoman. She couldn't help it. She was adorable.
"Thank you, Kelly. I think I'd better go see him," she said, finalizing the conversation.
"Of course, Commander," she responded turning red.
Shepard turned and headed straight for the large conference room. She spied Six already seated through the glass. She took a deep breath before opening the door. The door slid ajar and he stood at attention. Shepard cocked an eyebrow. She half expected him to yell "officer on deck!"
"At ease," she said and moved past him to sit at the head of the table. He had chosen the chair to her left but was standing behind it. He stood at ease in the military sense.
"I meant you could sit down, Six."
"Yes, Commander," he responded and seated himself. Even seated, he was ramrod straight. His back never touched the chair and his posture was perfect. She quickly looked him up and down. Freshly shaved face and head was a good look for him. His carved features were even more striking now and she couldn't help but wonder how noble Kelly's intentions were for that evaluation.
She was struck once again by how incredibly young he looked. She saw a scar across his chin, another that disappeared into his right eyebrow from his forehead, and a slender burn that went from the left side of his head straight down past his ear and onto his neck. She noted the freshly closed gash on top of his head he'd had when in the med bay. Young but with so many scars. His face had filled in some but his features had lost none of their sharpness. The uniform was a bit tight across his chest, shoulders, and arms but otherwise suited him. She noted the varied and numerous scars along his hands, fingers, and forearms. When Shepard looked up, she got caught in his stare again if only for a moment. In the lighting he sat in, they looked an almost luminescent sapphire. All semblance of "young" shattered when you saw those eyes. He suddenly seemed much, much older.
"Is this conversation private?"
He had caught her off guard now but she was intrigued. She nodded.
"What have you got, Six?"
"Lieutenant, actually," he corrected. Shepard's eyes widened a little but she had an idea where this was going. He was good, but he was overplaying the friendliness.
"I might have guessed you were some kind of military. I know my own kind. Lieutenant who, exactly?"
All of his studying, the reading, the research from his omnitool. He had constructed an identity that wouldn't draw too many questions and left no loose ends. It wasn't perfect, but posing as Alliance intelligence was his only shot. At least for now. It gave him the opportunity to keep to himself, make requests, and hopefully open the crew up to some questions. Shepard was former N7, connections in the Navy and Marine Corps. She'd have significantly less knowledge of intelligence operations, minus ground ops, which gave Six just enough wiggle room to adlib an identity. He opened his mouth to proceed but was stopped.
"You're about to lie to me," the Commander said simply.
Six had to consciously close his mouth but even he couldn't hide his surprise and dismay.
"My suggestion is don't. I can tell you're probably trained and I can tell you're probably very good. But if you lie to me, this won't work. So this is your one chance to fix this conversation BEFORE you screw it up."
Caught entirely off balance now, he believed her. She was far from a fool. He'd underestimated this one. Well, there went that plan. He tried to piece together an alternative story in his enhanced, hyper-tactical mind. Before he could form a Plan B she leaned forward and drew his full attention to her. Her face was soft, eyes sincere.
"Six, I'm not your enemy. I'm not trying to trip you up. I'm not trying to sabotage your stay here. I'm only trying to look out for my crew and find out more about you. Look, that was some wild shit on a ship no one had ever seen before, with aliens no one had heard of. You're human, but... I already know there's a whole other story there. Probably very long and something you're not up for just yet. That's fine. Most of the people on this ship aren't gleaming examples of benevolence. But an unknown enemy is not something I need you to lie about. If you know of some danger out there, I'd like to have a heads up. Can you tell me what happened?"
He hesitated. She saw him struggling behind that unreadable face.
"I... Don't know," he finally said, haltingly.
Jane actually felt for him now. He was completely out of his element and clearly uncomfortable.
"Well, let's start with something simple. That ship we found you on and the aliens. Is that something I need to worry about?"
"No," he replied firmly enough to convince Jane he at least thought he was being honest. "Not as far as I can tell. They don't do subterfuge. If there was a problem, you would know."
'Not one for conversation,' she thought.
"Okay, then. What can you tell me about them? Maybe they're not here now but will be. Maybe they're trying to be sneaky for once. The more we all know, the better off we'll be. Even if it only happens once in a million chances..."
"It only has to happen once," he finished
"Now you're getting it. So, care to share?"
He looked around the room, corner to corner, as if looking for invisible spies and Jane almost chuckled until she reminded herself that she actually had one on board. He leaned forward, hands folded on the table.
"They're called the Covenant, multiple species. If you've never heard of them, consider yourself fortunate. Their religion demands humanity's extinction. They don't negotiate, they don't take prisoners, they don't hesitate. Doesn't matter if civilian or combatant, doesn't matter age or gender. It's wholesale genocide wherever they appear. Sometimes in the millions. They're superior in numbers, technology, destructive power, engineering, every way that matters."
Shepard ruminated on that for a moment. It was a lot to process.
"Are they really that bad?"
"The ship you found me on was a light cruiser. They have carriers spanning almost 30 kilometers with firepower to match. Their most recent conquest was a planet of 700 million, reduced to glass."
He didn't feel up to mentioning that it was the planet he'd just come from. Not yet.
"Glass?" She asked. "Is that jargon of some kind?"
"It's literal. Plasma bombardment. Concentrated orbital fire that superheats a planet's surface. They can vaporize mountains, oceans, and anything in-between. Secondary damage is radiation, debris, ash... Planet-wide nuclear winter," he finished slowly.
He wondered now if that was how they came to the term 'Winter Contingency.' He let his words settle on Jane, who for her part, was having difficulty imagining such a thing. He could sit and explain it for hours but he knew first hand it was an entirely different experience to witness. It hadn't been his first experience with the Covenant, not by a long shot. "Personal Grim Reaper" extended to all targets, all races, any location. Deep behind enemy lines where one false step meant the end was familiar territory. But watching an invasion, a glassing, a genocide in person... It wasn't the same thing and he was finding the whole experience hard to shake. He knew he was above this, he'd be fine. Jane had thought she'd detected a pause or falter toward the end of his explanation but she couldn't be sure. She wondered exactly how much this man had been involved with this conflict. She was pretty sure she wouldn't get him to say much but for a number like 700 million, she needed a bit more. She looked like she felt. Troubled, digesting the idea of an enemy out there like the Covenant.
"But you fought back. And you lived. If they show up, we can fight too."
"We faced opponents who have never known defeat, who laugh in alien tongues at our efforts to survive. Our fights are suicide."
His voice was shaking ever so slightly now.
"Holy shit," she breathed and rubbed her eyes.
"They don't do subterfuge," he repeated slowly.
"You weren't kidding," she said quietly. She wondered if this had been anywhere on the outskirts of known space. It was possible there may be unknown factions but humans being involved didn't entirely fit. There was just no way all of this was happening without the Alliance knowing. And if they had soldiers like this one, she'd have known. There was more at play here, she sensed.
"What planet? What races were there?"
"Epsilon Eridani II. Human world," he said coldly, using it's official designation. He'd already mentioned Reach on the cruiser and that he was coming from there. He didn't want anyone making that connection. ONI S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) in absence of reason or direction, gather information available, reveal none gathered.
She tried to read his face but she may as well have tried to guess the daydreams of granite or the romantic ideations of a Krogan. He revealed nothing.
"That is definitely one of the more disturbing things I've heard. And considering the last few years, that's not a small thing. Where do you fit into all of this exactly? Where are you from? And how did you wind up on one of their ships?"
He didn't know if she would know if he was lying. She had essentially offered her hand at the onset of their meeting. She was clearly intelligent and from what he'd seen, she was a good leader; a good person. He felt small pull to tell her everything he knew. But his discipline denied the option. He played it close to the chest. Not lying, but not giving away anything valuable either.
"Soldier. Front lines. And I'm not from anywhere your Extranet seems to have heard of. You're not the only one with questions and no answers, Commander. I'm beginning to think I'm not anywhere close to home... I don't think my home ever even existed here."
"That made as much sense as anything else the last six hours. Care to elaborate?"
He hesitated, ONI S.O.P. ringing in his ears. But ONI wasn't here. No one was. He truly was on his own.
"Earth to Six," she teased.
"I know Earth," he said slowly. "I wasn't born there but I've been there. I know about the history of humanity. Rome, the world wars, going to space in 1969," he trailed off.
She looked at him expectantly, hoping he would start making sense soon.
"But nothing else. I've never heard of the Citadel, any of it's races. I've never heard of element zero, mass effect fields, or biotics. Your first contact war was three months against the Turians trying to enforce laws and it lasted months. Ours was the Covenant for almost three decades now who fight only for our extinction. I don't remember much about the trip. I've been in slipspace many times but this trip was something else. One minute I'm there, the next I'm here. I don't know your Alliance Navy and you don't know my UNSC. I really don't know what else to think."
She looked at him skeptically. This had to be a prank or someone's idea of an elaborate but poorly imagined joke.
"I'm sorry, it's been a long day. You're going to have to do better than that."
"If I had a better explanation, I'd be sharing it."
She was spinning now, trying to even comprehend possibilities. It seemed impossible, even for her. But evidence seemed to lean that way, improbable as it seemed. Whether he was lying or not, she didn't know, by she was convinced she wasn't going to get any further answers about it today.
"Okay, moving on for now. What exactly is slip space?"
"As I understand it, it's a place between dimensions. Time and space don't count. Wrapped in a quantum field, a ship can pass through unaffected and reach FTL. It's the only way to achieve it."
"Wait... But without element zero it's impossible," she said flatly.
"No. Element zero allowed you to reach FTL capability faster. It's what everything here is based on, right? Without it, the rest of us out there had to find our own way."
"You realize there's a whole series of questions around all of that," she said finally. "And there's also some questions about planets, organizations, and wars no one has ever heard of, right?"
"I don't know how to respond to that."
"Even if you did, I'm betting it would be brief," she said.
The conversation lulled. Six was trying to get a read on her reaction and Shepard wasn't sure how to react.
"Anything else?" She asked sarcastically.
Six shifted his gaze and folded his hands in front of him on the table once more. "I don't think so," he said quietly.
"So... Where does all of this leave you and me?"
"Here is what I can tell you... I'm not your enemy either. I'm a soldier. A good one. But right now, I'm a little short on missions."
'And answers,' she thought. She leaned back, arms crossed and unconsciously chewed on her bottom lip. He stared into her and waited but she wasn't finished just yet.
"Alright, Six. I can't even begin to tell you..."
"I can help you," he interrupted.
'Well then,' she thought. She was off-balance now but her natural curiosity got the better of her.
"How do you figure?"
"I've read about you. Special forces, first human Spectre, the battle on the Citadel, and the ambush that killed you. Dead, but here you sit. You have a ship. You've assembled a dangerous crew. You're up to something."
She smiled a little. 'Well played, Six,' she thought.
"I might be."
"I know you're chasing the Reapers and I know a cover-up when I see one. Cerberus is by all accounts some terrorist cell but promoting human interests isn't something I see as bad. You needed resources and Cerberus was the only one offering."
She maintained her smile. He was smart, she'd give him that. How much reading had he been doing? He was clearly able to put pieces together quickly. Sorely lacking in social skills, maybe, but...
"And you think I could put you to use? And that if I do, I'll just forget all the crazy you just coughed up?"
It was his turn to smirk now, surprising her that his face had moved at all.
"Forget? No. But between yourself and your crew, maybe even Cerberus, I might get some answers for you. I help you, you help me."
"You're really going to push this whole mysterious thing to the limit aren't you."
Six shrugged but didn't respond.
"Okay, let's try an exercise. What's your name?"
A long three seconds passed. She held her breath.
"Six," he said.
She scrunched up her face and rubbed her temples, clearly annoyed.
"Dammit... Well, it was worth a shot. At least I got Lieutenant out of you. Was that part real, by the way?"
He nodded. "Lieutenant was accurate."
"I'm fine with it while you're on my ship. But you know, you're going to have to learn to trust us. To trust me. And you're going to have to earn our trust in you. You've heard of trust where you're from, right?"
He nodded but Jane wasn't convinced he understood what that meant. Maybe he'd learn. She hoped he would. She stared him down for just a bit longer but she'd made her decision. In a small part she wanted to know exactly everything he wasn't telling or didn't know. Maybe he was right. Maybe they could find answers together.
"Alright then. We probably have another mission coming up. Cerberus' leader, The Illusive Man, he calls himself, will no doubt give us something to do soon. We move quickly here. You'll get your chance to prove yourself then. You look pretty fresh right now but we were pulling shards out of you just a few hours ago. And..." She paused. "God knows what else you've been through before that. I need to know; are you... Okay?"
His response was immediate. Almost reflexive. "I'm mission capable."
"Good God, who talks like that? That's great to hear, Six, but not what I asked."
She caught just a glimpse of him then. Like back on the covenant ship, like just a few moments ago. She watched him struggle with the question. She couldn't place the exact thoughts behind those eyes. It was a tenth of a second, maybe worry, turmoil, or even guilt. And then it was gone so fast, she wasn't so sure she'd seen anything at all.
"I'm fine."
Shepard chewed on her lower lip again. She wasn't buying it but she'd let him have it for now.
"Well then. Welcome to the team, Six," she said and stood, extending her hand. He stood and shook it, surprised at the strength of her grip. "If you're serious about joining us, I expect you at the next briefing. And visit the armory. I'm sure we can find you something. With her left hand, she pulled out a thick file and handed it to him.
"What's this?" He asked as he took it.
"Call it trust," she replied.
Six thumbed it open and read over his own medical report. It was VERY thorough. ONI would have had an aneurysm if they'd known this was floating around. He read the words "potential brainwashing," "indoctrinated," "augmentations," and "prepubescent" in the same paragraph. His examination had been very thorough indeed. He now knew Chakwas knew too much. Miranda may very well be in the same position. Now he had two people to sort out. It was one thing to talk about the Covenant since they were a known element. Well, they were yesterday. But classified information was another matter.
"It's the only copy, as requested," the Commander continued. "No electronic record exists. And no, I didn't read it, before you ask. I was only appraised of the medical procedures performed here on the Normandy. You can trust the good doctor not to say a word. But I'd hide or destroy the file if I were you. I know we're supposed to build trust and all but if your ass goes down, I can't promise I won't use it to try and piece you back together."
He didn't smile, not really. Only his impossibly blue eyes seemed to shine a little more brightly. It would have to do for now.
"I won't go down," he said.
"I'll get a proper smile out of you yet, Six," she threatened. "And a name. Maybe even a joke. Hopefully I'll get an answer right now for something that's been bugging me. I wanted to ask about your helmet. Why was that stuff written on there?"
"Written there?" he asked, confused.
She furrowed her brow. Maybe she wouldn't get an answer after all. "On the back of your helmet. There was that writing."
"Writing?"
Now she was confused. "It said "situation," then an equals sign, then "hopeless" on the back. Was that like a unit thing?"
He looked at the table, visibly disturbed at her question. He seemed to ponder it for several seconds. His features resumed a neutral expression and he turned and nodded to her.
"Excuse me, Commander," was all he said.
She watched him rise, amazed again at just how huge he really was. He collected the folder and exited the briefing room, doors hissing behind him.
"Something I said?" she asked quietly, shrugging exasperatedly.
Shepard rose from her chair and headed for the door. Instead of exiting, she locked it before turning back to face the room.
"Now comes the tricky part," she said.
She pressed a button and the table lowered into the floor. An orange laser grid flashed on, reading her shape. An orange projection of a middle aged man in a chair appeared. He took a drag on a cigarette and exhaled.
"Hey, Smokey Joe. How's tricks? Don't get up."
As usual, he ignored her initial barb and pressed forward.
"Shepard, I think we have them," he said. "Horizon, one of our colonies in the Terminus System, just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the Seeker Swarms?"
"Not yet. We were sidetracked."
"So I've heard but we'll talk about your new guest later. Let's hope Mordin works well under pressure. There's something else you should know," he said. He paused and took another long drag. She was always puzzled about the cigarettes. Who smoked these days? And where did he even get them?
"One of your former crew, Ashley Williams. She's stationed on Horizon."
That struck Shepard deeper than she wanted it to. Ashley had been there for the hard times and they had been close. Jane kicked herself for not reaching out to her old friend but with everything, Cerberus, her death, the Collectors...
"Last I knew, Ash was Alliance. What is she doing out in the Terminus Systems?"
"Officially? It's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies but they're up to something. And if they sent Chief Williams, it must be big. Perhaps you should take it up with her."
Jane didn't like hearing Ash's name coming from his mouth. Even less so when it sounded like he was implying something. She'd find out who he really was someday. But right now, she found the implications of Ashley's presence disturbing.
"The collectors just happened to pick a colony with my former crew... I don't buy it."
"It shouldn't be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they're working for the Reapers," he added. Almost too quickly. "They might be going after her to get to you."
Jane weighed her options quickly. She could get there faster than anyone else. She'd never admit that dying at the Collector's hands had shake her. Shepard wasn't looking forward to meeting up with them again but she'd never shied away from a fight either. But she had another option…
"We should send a message to the Citadel. The Alliance can give us reinforcements."
"Not until you investigate. I don't want the Alliance getting in our way. Once you have the situation under control, I'll send the message personally."
'Could have guessed that response,' she thought.
"Send the coordinates. We'll head straight there."
"This is the most warning we've ever had, Shepard. Good luck."
And he was gone.
"Joker, set a course for Horizon. I've gotta go see the Professor."
"Aye, aye, Commander."
/
Six practically ran for the elevator and hit the button. He didn't even wait for the door to fully open before he climbed in. Someone tried to enter with him but he staed down the unfortunate crew member who tried. She had taken one look at him and, wide-eyed, simply turned around and walked away.
"Six?" he heard an unfamiliar voice ask.
Locating the source of his name, he saw the same redhead he'd seen on his way to the briefing room standing at a panel next to a holographic map of the galaxy. The Yeoman, he'd assumed. He watched her stare at him as the doors closed but said nothing.
He had a million questions running through his mind alongside everything he remembered Halsey saying before he wound up here. His heart was hammering in his chest, fists clenched. This didn't make sense. Nothing made sense.
When the doors opened into the shuttle bay he was out before the door even opened all the way and power walking to the pelican. He whipped around to the back hatch and punched the release button, again, hopping through before it opened all the way. He unstrapped the boxes and lined them up. They were numbered 1-4. He tried to open the first one but the lock wouldn't budge. Frustrated, he pulled out his knife and put it into the mechanism. He pulled with every ounce of strength he had until the entire mechanism was pried off of the box, lock still intact.. With a metallic whine, he wrenched the box open. It was covered in some kind of padded overlay, hiding it's contents. But there, on top of the padding, was a metal clipboard. It was the kind that opened but clipped to the top was a folded piece of paper with "Lieutenant" scrawled across the top.
He swallowed hard and picked it up, pulling it off the clipboard. He unfolded it and read the scratchy writing.
Lieutenant,
I'm sorry I wasn't more forthcoming. I saw an opportunity, maybe the only one I would get, and I took it. I hope I did the right thing but these days, that line is getting harder to see. I don't know as much as I should but I can still help you.
If you're reading this, you made it. Though, where exactly that might be, I can't be sure. I am only trying to prevent more death. I've trusted ONI no more than they've trusted me. I know that they've made contact with where you are, our family across dimensions, and I know they have been sharing secrets. I know they know what's coming, though I don't know what it's called.
ONI is playing a dangerous game and I know from experience the true cost of sacrificing few in the name of saving many. But even that distant line is visible to me now. The cost of many isn't worth the potential victory. I've disrupted them as much as I could but I feared it wouldn't be enough.
Not until you.
There is a threat out there somewhere. A dangerous, insidious enemy who will stop at nothing to destroy everything. And ONI will bleed those worlds dry and leave them to their fate. What they intend to do after that, I have no idea. I don't even know if you're the only one there now.
You now have a choice, Spartan. Where does your loyalty lie? Is it to the UNSC? Or are you a shield for all of us, no matter where we may be?
What I'm asking for is nothing short of the unthinkable; help them. Do whatever it takes. Do what no one else can.
Then find us.
I realize that I may have also sacrificed you for the good of many. I hope someday you can understand why. But I didn't send you with nothing. I sent you more prepared than you may know just yet..
And I didn't send you alone.
-Catherine
She'd sent him here, confirming his fears that this was some other reality. Maybe a crazy idea at first, he couldn't figure out what else it could be. She'd lied to him, betrayed him. She went on about nonsense, helping people that weren't his against people who were. Why? No mention of how to get back either. There was no UNSC here, no backup, no war to fight, no orders... This was his own personal hell. There was no Reach, not even a memory of it. He flashed back to the moments before their deaths. He was the only one here who knew their names, knew their sacrifice. He was the only one…
He could feel the noise in his head rising. He pushed it down, trying to force his thoughts back in line. He brought every mental force he could martial to bear, trying to slow his heart, calm his nerves, and cool the fire in his chest. He was starting to calm down now, breathing deeply. But he was slowly realizing that something may be wrong with him after all.
'Youre on your own, Noble...'
Suddenly overcome, Six whipped his fist back and threw it with every ounce of power he could muster into the side of the Pelican. Then he did it again. He brought his breathing back under control and, with great difficulty, resumed his self-control. He looked at his hand. It was cut up and bruised but he barely registered the pain.
Six closed the box and sat on it, not knowing what else to do. He had a good idea what she'd sent him with in those boxes. He had the tools now, he figured, but he didn't feel overly compelled to use any of them. It was one thing to wonder, quite another to have his suspicions so bluntly confirmed. The note was still in his hand. There was no way back, no instructions, not even a clue how to communicate, or even a hint about his next move. She'd brought up ONI, and while Six wouldn't be caught dead singing their praises, they were still a part of his humanity. Whatever kind of place or time he had landed in, it wasn't his.
He opened the clipboard and found his second surprise. A data crystal chip with an orange hue caught his attention. He gently picked it up and examined it. Unlike the orange chip he'd already had, this one had a very different glow to it. When he looked closely, he could see lines of what looked like electricity firing from one side of the light to the other in countless, intricate, and beautiful patterns. Unsure of what to make of it, but aware of what the last chip had done, he shoved it in his pocket.
He looked silently around the Pelican. No use in sitting here, no matter his thoughts. Sitting still only made it worse. He stood, ducking his head slightly. He needed to take his mind off of things. He tossed the letter behind him into the cockpit and exited using the ramp. He hit the button outside on the last step as it closed. He started pacing the perimeter of the shuttle bay, collecting his thoughts.
After wandering for a bit, he found a makeshift gym. It wasn't much. There were scattered weights, a spot to do pull-ups and dips, a couple of benches, and various bars. He knew at some point he'd have to regain his lost strength but right now he wasn't up for it. He needed space.
'Not that it's easy to come by here,' he thought, casting his eyes to his left for a brief moment, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
He stooped down to pick up a small pin that was used to lock plates onto bars and lightly tossed it into the air a couple times.
"You're good," he said out loud. "I've seen better."
Without looking, he threw the pin to his left where it stopped midair and hovered. From nothing, the shape of a thief took form. Her arm was outstretched, holding the pin pinched between her fingers. She began lightly tossing it and catching it in her palm.
"For a big guy," she said. "You move quietly. How does a soldier know so much about stealth, anyway?"
"Experience," he said flatly.
"Yourself or enemies?" she asked.
He looked at her, expressionless.
"I guess you're really putting effort into the strong and silent type, huh? Suit yourself. I heard your little fit though."
"I don't have anything to say to..." He started but wasn't allowed to finish as she spoke over him.
"I don't need details. And I definitely don't need lies. Hold your secrets. After what I saw on that ship, I don't think I want to know. I did hear you pounding the inside of your ship, however."
He didn't know what to say. He only looked at her, keeping his face impassive and holding his sense of embarrassment back.
"Look, I know Shepard probably offered you a slot on the roster. She's got a soft spot for soldiers and broken things. I don't know what your deal is but there's a few things you should know."
He turned to make his exit. He wasn't interested in talking to anyone right now. Not after what he'd just learned. But she carried on undeterred.
"For instance, no one will care where you came from or even what you did. We all come from a lot of different places. You prove yourself capable, you'll be fine here. Second, Shepard is a lot of things but she's no slouch. That woman works harder than any of us. Honest, too. It's a nice change from a lot of leaders we tend to encounter, wouldn't you agree? Third, and I mean this in a very literal sense... We need all the help we can get, Six. Where we're going is somewhere people don't walk away from and that's just right now. Who knows what comes after that. You're clearly going through something no matter much you try to play it cool. And don't get me started on the running theories of where you're really from because that's a whole other conversation. But I caught the last part of that fight on the bridge. If you can bring that to the table, I'm asking you to think about it. Besides, I get the impression that you may not have anywhere else to go."
He finally pivoted around to look at her. Her last words unsettled him. He couldn't gauge her with that damn hood on. But she hadn't been wrong in her assessment. He didn't like overly-perceptive people. They made him uneasy and Kasumi was more adept than most.
"I can see you trying to get a read on me. Free advice? Not every conversation requires a tactical or psychological analysis. Things are bad out there, Six. I don't know where you land on the whole Reaper thing and the end of existence every 50,000 years but, as unbelievable as it is, they're still out there. They certainly haven't forgotten about us. And the Collectors are all too real."
Kasumi finally dropped the pin and stepped forward, arms crossed, hood pulled low as always.
"I don't know what your deal is. Be mysterious if it makes you feel better. But if there's even a chance you think Shepard might be right about any of this, and there's plenty of evidence to think she is, stick around for a while. If you get any other ideas besides being helpful, crawl in that rust bucket you flew in on and disappear. It's better for everyone that way."
She was beginning to hate those eyes of his. As good as she was with the body language and gestures, he gave her close to nothing. He certainly wasn't afraid of her, at any rate.
"Oh and... Love the jewelry look on you. Very 'bad boy.' But that omnitool works better if it's under the skin."
And she was gone again, leaving Six to consider his thoughts. He checked his omnitool. Six hadn't made up his mind yet what his next move was. Nothing long term, at any rate. He sighed heavily. Halsey had said in the note that she hadn't sent him unprepared. He cast a sidelong glance back at the Pelican. Maybe he didn't know what came next but he had a good idea what was in those boxes. And he was starting to think that something might be better than doing nothing.
He made his way back to the craft and hit the button. With a metallic clang, the ramp touched down. He walked slowly up and there stood his mystery boxes. He found the box labeled number one and pulled it out from the others and opened it. He tossed the clipboard from earlier into the cockpit and pulled the packaging out. Inside the crate was yet another lid. There was a keypad with a thumbprint bioscanner in the bottom right corner. On the left, it said in big, bold letters;
PROPERTY OF THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
PROPRIETARY - FOR TESTING ONLY BY AUTHORIZED USER(S)
AUTHORIZED USER(S) - S-104, LIEUTENANT
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS WILL RESULT IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION, IMPRISONMENT AND/OR DEATH
Watershed Division - "Mens est mihi gladium meum"
Prototype - MJOLNIR MK. VI - "Centurion" Field Unit
Seongnam, Korea
If ever there was proof that Halsey had him playing some game of hers, this was the equivalent of a slap in the face. 'If I had armor, I'd give it you' she had said. He brushed his fingers over the keypad, pressing a button. It lit up.
"Please select your code," read across the display.
So no code had been set... Interesting. He thought for a moment, unsure what to enter. Finally he pressed 259 320 266 239 052 312. It asked him to confirm and he reentered the number.
"Biometric? 1 = YES 2 = NO" it read next.
He hit 1 and the display text changed, indicating that it needed 5 examples of the thumb and index finger of each hand. He did so and waited. Smart system, he thought. Using both sets of fingers in case someone lost a hand. It beeped three times and the display went dead.
He pressed a button and it promoted him for his code and fingerprint. He entered both and he heard the muffled sound of machinery whirring to life. It stopped, however, and didn't move.
"Insufficient space. Please move to open area," it read. Exasperated, Six yanked the box from the Pelican, sliding it down the ramp. The last time he had lifted this box on Reach, it had been heavy even with his Mjolnir on. Now, he could really feel the drag of a box that easily came in at 3/4 of a ton if not more. He finally managed to spin it around, open it up, and reenter the code. The whirring came on again but didn't stop this time.
All four walls of the box folded outward, coming to rest on the ground. From there, different components emerged, twisted and folded out. Display screens emerged, a shelf with multiple boxes on it opened, and a series of arms extended. It continued it's expansion until the whirring died. The display screens turned on and he saw a spinning insignia of a bull head and the word
"INITIALIZING."
"Ready..." Finally appeared and Six caught his first glimpse of something that gave him hope since he'd gotten here.
Gleaming in the light of the shuttle bay and held in place by mechanical arms was a semi matte gray, full suit of brand new Mjolnir MK VI armor. On the shelf on the left side were several boxes with labels. In order it read "Inner Skinsuit (2 CT.), Titanium Bodysuit (2 CT, nanocomposite), Hydrostatic Gel (Do no overfill!), Biofoam (10 CT - Cannisters), Manual and BIOS (Copy Install Chip)," and some other maintenance related boxes. The monitors now had readouts of the armor also, but it wasn't all networked yet. He also saw the reactor hadn't been activated.
He pressed the touchscreen option to spool it up and after some muffled thunder could be heard coming from the back piece, it soon quieted down and power level read 100%. The lights along the armor flickered on and there in the center stand, perfectly positioned to be fitted thanks to maneuverable and counterbalanced arms to hold the weight, was a work of art. The armor had tags everywhere, displaying the serial number, part number, and name of each piece. They were meant to be removed by the user. But there in the helmet rack, where the tag should have said "Centurion," there was a different helmet. The tag instead said "Beweglichkeitsrüstungsysteme/ Mjolnir MK. VI, CQB (variant)/ Helmet/ ESSEN, DEUTSCHELAND." He had to admit, it looked remarkably close to the helmet he'd worn on Reach and the color matched the rest of the armor. He reached out and touched it, feeling the smooth, matte, unblemished surface.
Six could see reflected in the muted gold visor his own approving stare.
/
Miranda was leaning as far back as her overpriced chair would allow, staring at the ceiling. She'd compiled every scrap of data she could access. She'd been at it ever since they got back.
Audio, visuals, stills, readouts... She'd finally had everything organized in the proper order even though EDI had failed to properly hack the program they were meant to run on. She had to admit, she was impressed with the level of security on simple helmet camera footage.
Once everything was assembled, she hit play and watched. All of it. Her intent had been to gather intel on their latest crew member and then put that in a report to the Illusive Man along with their trek through the alien ship before it had plunged into a black hole. And, she admitted to herself, knowing more than Shepard always satisfied her. It was a chance to subtly rub the Commander's nose once again into offering passage to someone she knew too little about.
She'd taken copious notes for the first 20 minutes. Names, dates, location names, important details. She'd send the video files also but she knew the Illusive Man preferred his information in text when possible. Adding the files themselves was just her being thorough. But the longer she watched and listened, the less notes she took, the less she thought about Shepard, and before long, she'd forgotten her original intent altogether.
Miranda was a hardened woman. Her entire history had seen to her strength's necessity. She'd had to be strong. She had learned through the years with the things she had seen, the things she had done. She was almost perfect in her apathy. She did not lack any capability or feeling but she was not sentimental, overly caring, or emotionally invested, as a rule. What came across to others as distance, she simply felt as appropriate to ensure her mission success. She wasn't unfeeling, simply aware of a bigger picture and the ability to understand every small role necessary to see it's completion. They were all small pieces in a larger machine; means to an end. And as much as the crew on this ship were her instruments, so too was she an instrument to others. She held no allusions about her place in the universe.
She also believed in the Cerberus mission. She believed wholeheartedly that humanity would need to ensure it's own success. Though Cerberus had gotten more bold over time, and she didn't necessarily agree with every method used, her idealism about human heroism, resilience, and strength under adversity had proven that Cerberus was necessary, perhaps even a necessary evil when required. It was either them or the Alliance, as broken and political as they were. The means justified the ends.
But as she watched this mystery planet on the screen before her fall apart, she watched an unknown faction of humanity at their best. She had witnessed through first-hand eyes the horrors and courage of an invasion by overwhelmingly superior forces and humanity's unblinking defiance. Their defeat had been assured from the onset but they gave as good as they got, spitting in the face of a genocidal alien faction even as they fell. And their defeat had been haunting to behold. But certainly no more haunting than watching the planet turn to glass.
This Noble Team, and these Spartans, were a different breed. They couldn't seem to be stopped, didn't slow down, never compromised, and were full of unconventional surprises. It was more than just the high level of cohesion or the advanced tactics, and the leadership. When they showed up, the entire tide of battle turned. The impossible was their every day normal. They were an unadulterated force of nature, more than flesh and blood. Miranda silently cheered at every victory. And she felt tugs on her conscience every time one of them fell.
Until only Six remained.
His final decision had been a sacrifice. He'd willingly stayed on a fallen, dead planet to cover those trying to escape and he hadn't even hesitated. His actions after that were the work of a man resigned to his death. He engaged scores of aliens directly, all semblance of tactics gone. His helmet was damaged and came off and she watched, even as more of those things surrounded him and he had fallen. He fought them all, screaming his defiance. When he picked up the helmet, camera aimed into his bloodied face, he had presumably pulled the data that she had been viewing and all footage ended there. He'd been resigned to die.
She'd finished a half hour ago. She'd been staring at the ceiling ever since, unsure what to do next. It was that feeling people get when they witness or hear about something so far beyond the scope of their own experiences that they suddenly feel small, their problems seem trivial.
She couldn't quite take her mind off of it.
A knock on her door shook her from her reverie.
"Just a moment!"
She practically leapt out if her chair at the intrusion, quickly clearing her terminal screen, hiding the files, and shoving the chip into a desk drawer. Of course she'd had to request Shepard's presence. She'd almost forgotten entirely.
"Lights at full, EDI," she said.
The lights came up just as the operative sat back down. There was a knock at the door moments later.
"Come in, Commander."
The door slid open but it wasn't the Commander. Six strode in, taking in her office as he moved towards her. She unconsciously pushed her chair back, trying to create space. His eyes shone and reflected the light back at her.
"Six. I must apologize, I wasn't expecting you. Is there something I can help you with?"
Her tone was thankfully poised and even. She certainly didn't feel either. He sat straight as an arrow. His unnaturally blue eyes pierced through her, reading everything.
"Miranda," he said as a greeting before striding up to one of the available chairs and seating himself across from her. The chair groaned under his weight. The silence became heavy. She was about to break it before he spoke.
"You took something from me. I'd like it back"
Her reaction was practiced; mock outrage.
"Excuse me? How dare you. You can't just stroll into my quarters and accuse me of a crime! I don't even know what you lost."
His face remained passive and unreadable. He almost looked bored.
"Let's skip the theatre," he said. "I want it back."
She knew what he was capable of. She'd just finished watching him slaughter frightening creatures in droves with cold precision. But this wasn't her first time in this position with a threatening person. Far from it. She would not be so easily swayed.
"Six, listen to me. I have no idea what you're referring to. I took nothing from you and I do not appreciate being accused so casually."
"Maybe Shepard could help me find it," he countered.
Miranda paused at that. He was clever. Leveraging her and Shepard's dislike for each other. There was a small chance Shepard would believe him and the Cerberus agent couldn't be sure how the Commander may respond. He waited patiently while she thought it through.
"Maybe she could. What exactly are you looking for?"
"Data chip, black, small."
"And what's on this data chip?"
Now it was Six's turn to shift in his seat. "Classified," he finally responded. "But if someone were to see what's on there, they'd know there's no way to stop me from forcing my way into a desk drawer."
The threat was clear here. She felt her blood turn cold at the implication but she held her composure. She scrambled to find a third option.
"Hand it over now and it only needs to be between us."
He let it linger and waited for a response. He watched the options flow through her eyes until she realized there was no play here. She sighed, opened her drawer, grabbed the chip, and held it out to him. He took it and rose to leave.
"Six," she said, halting him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about Reach."
He slowly turned to read her. She seemed sincere but there was no way to be sure. He carefully resumed his seat. He was sure the encryption was good but there was an AI on board. Or a VI, whatever it called itself. He hadn't actually known until now if she'd seen anything at all. He moved slowly back to the chair and resumed his seat.
"How much do you know?"
She leaned forward, elbows on her desk and cleavage on full display.
"Quite a bit. About what happened, about your team, the invasion... It wasn't all put together but I managed to view most of it."
They sat in palpable silence, staring at each other as unreadable as one to the other. Internally, Miranda was being partially sincere. She meant her empathy, but she also wanted to push Six. For his part, Six was equal parts rage and sorrow. For the briefest moment, he entertained the idea that at least someone here knew what he'd been through.
'Someone knows their names,' he thought. 'Someone knows their sacrifice.'
He quickly dismissed the notion.
"If you mean that apology, keep this between us."
Miranda blinked. That was it? She'd prodded what she assumed was his Achilles heel. Shepard had flown into full conniption when Miranda had done the same thing by bringing up Akuze. Maybe he wasn't such a liability after all.
"I meant it," she said simply.
"We'll see."
And with that, he stood, and calmly walked out of her office, leaving her there to collect herself.
/
Shepard hit the holographic release on the door and stepped through into Mordin's lab. She was distracted, however, by the flying creature in the polycarbonate case. She curled her lips up at it's hideous appearance. Mordin walked up beside her. She continued staring into the glass but spoke.
"Tell me you have something."
Mordin turned and she followed suit. An almost creepy smile flashed across the Salarian's features. He turned and walked toward the center of the lab.
"Yes," he replied simply.
"Wait, that's it? That's gonna be our whole conversation?"
He looked over his shoulder at the Commander, still smiling.
"Yes," he said again.
"Great. Thanks. And don't smile like that on this ship ever again. That's an order."
He wasn't listening anymore and had instead busied himself on whatever he was working on. The seeker swarm defense, she hoped. With an annoyed exhale she turned and walked out.
"EDI," she said.
"I am here, Commander."
"How far out from Horizon are we?"
"At current speed, we will reach Horizon in 2 hours and 14 minutes."
"Thanks, EDI. Tell the crew to meet me in the briefing room in 60 minutes."
"Yes, Commander."
She thought about the Collectors for a moment and steeled herself. After their last encounter, things hadn't exactly ended on a positive note. She was the epitome of calm on her exterior, but she was twitchy inside. She had stared down this beast before and it had killed her. And she would be damned if her discomfort stood in the way.
/
Normandy SR-2 - Armory
"Maybe it's the Turian in me," Garrus said. "But if this a joke, I don't think I get it."
Garrus stood at the table in the armory. Weapons of every type, make, and model hung on the walls. A messy assortment of tools, grease, rags, and parts lay scattered on the table surrounding what had once been Garrus' favorite weapon. His beloved sniper, only bent before, now lay in pieces before Jacob.
"No joke, Garrus. Look, I did everything I could but this thing is toast. It was twisted so bad that I can't even put it back together the way you brought it to me anymore. We got all kinds of choices, though," he said as he turned and gestured at the gleaming stockpile.
"Did any of them by chance shoot a Reaper Saren in the head," he countered.
Jacob looked at the table, lips pursed.
"No. But the Widow would make sure that you didn't have to shoot him there more than once."
Garrus narrowed his eyes in response, remembering how clean the shot was at the time and how it hadn't been enough to drop the rogue Spectre in just a single well-placed but ineffective round. Garrus sighed.
"Touche... I suppose I don't have much choice either way. May I inspect the weapon?"
Jacob nodded and turned to try and find the sniper rifle. Garrus glanced around, spying several boxes with various weapons.
"Jacob. What are those?"
He pulled the Widow down from the rack and checked to make sure it wasn't ready for an accidental discharge. He didn't need to look to know what the Turian was asking about. He'd been knee-deep into trying to understand them before Garrus had insisted his lost cause rifle take top priority before the next mission.
"Weapons brought from the derelict," he said simply, strolling back to his spot on the table and laying the weapon before Garrus.
"Never seen anything like them," Jacob added.
"I didn't even know we grabbed that many," Garrus responded, still looking at them.
"All of you had a few here and there when you came back but uh... Kasumi... seems to have a knack for looting."
Garrus chuckled to himself as he heard the armory tech trip over the thief's name, confirming at least that Jacob was aware of her interests. Both men were now staring at the boxes awkwardly.
"You wanna see one," Jacob said at the exact moment Garrus responded.
"Yes."
Jacob walked over and grabbed a few different pieces, careful not to activate anything accidentally. He laid them out, now sharing the same side of the large table as Garrus. The Turian looked but didn't touch, not wanting to risk an incident.
"Most of their weapons seem plasma based. Best I can figure is these two points," he motioned at the green tips toward the end of one weapon and then a smaller but similar one. "Disperse gas and whatever it's using to ionize the gas. Round probably has its own magnetic field holding it together but now we're getting more into Mordin's territory."
Garrus brushed his fingers over the elegant weapons but did not pick them up. They were aesthetically well designed and Garrus could tell their solid construction, even before the satisfying thud when Jacob had placed them. He spied well over a few different types and landed on a couple that had nasty looking spikes.
Jacob noticed his gaze.
"Had Mordin look at the crystals. He found some interesting things but he didn't even know how it worked. Probably because he was working on the Collector swarm defense at the time. His best guess was something quantum, organic, or both. He said they might even seek a target. But what he knows for sure is that they emit some kind of resonance or something like that. They hit flesh and the resonance shatters them. It's like a grenade with diamond shrapnel."
"That's nasty," the Turian said.
"It gets worse. They interact with each other, too. So if more than one lands in close proximity on a target, they resonate together and the explosive force compounds. If they move slow enough, Mordin thinks they might bypass a kinetic barrier altogether. I'd hate to see what happens if someone catches 10 of these rounds..."
He trailed off but Garrus was already picturing it. He grunted approvingly. Garrus was something of an anomaly in his culture. Turians, as a rule, were organized, militaristic, and disciplined. They tended to focus on methods and honor, even if it cost some results. Garrus preferred the latter even at the cost of some of the former. And right now, a weapon like this would definitely fit exactly in his wheelhouse.
"And that?" Garrus asked. He was now pointing to a small device.
"Oh," Jacob said and picked it up. It had no barrel, no tip... No anything, as far as Garrus could see.
"You're gonna love this," Jacob continued as he held it out, clearly excited. "Grab here, and here. This is to activate it but don't touch it yet."
Garrus followed the armory tech's instructions. The device looked like it was made to fit into a hand, just not his. But he wielded it well enough. Jacob motioned for him to extend his arm and Garrus did.
"Alright, it's not gonna shoot anything or blow up, but it's loud when you first turn it on. So keep that hand steady and pointed away. Go ahead and hit it."
Garrus flicked the activation piece and with loud boom he felt in his chest followed immediately by a sinister hiss, he watched a blade made of pure, flashing, blue light spring fourth a full 4 feet and then some in his hand. Even as he held it, it crackled and fizzled, electricity arcing power from one point to another across the beam. It vibrated gently in his hand.
"Well now," Garrus said with a satisfied smile. "What do we have here?"
"Plasma based," Jacob said over the crackling hiss. "That thing will fly through a shield, armor, and a body like it's made out of air. It's pure plasma but there's a little more to it. You could maybe even cut a hole in a starship with that."
"Never got a proper look on that bridge when Zaeed got tagged but I remember seeing one of these. THIS is something I could get used to having," Garrus said.
Garrus waved it around carefully, appreciating the humming sound as it sliced the air. He could only imagine the devastation this could bring to a close quarters fight. Garrus and Jacob looked at each other, sharing a moment of enthusiasm for well-manufactured weapons.
"What the absolute hell, Garrus," the familiar and rather parental sound of Shepard's voice said loudly.
The two men snapped from their reverie and turned. Garrus looked at Jacob, then both turned to look at Shepard. Garrus glanced down at the crackling blade in his hand and back up to his Commander.
"Shepard," he said. "Thank goodness you're here. Jacob and I were just discussing how much you'd love one of these."
"Oh, is that what you two were doing? So this isn't just two men playing with an unknown weapon? Jacob, did you just say this can cut a hole in a ship? What do you two think we're standing in right now," she yelled.
"Of course, Commander," Jacob said. "Garrus," he snapped. "Turn it off."
Garrus tried different hand motions. "How?"
Jacob slowly approached and the two of them fumbled with the sword, a hand each, until it finally hissed off.
"Good to go, Commander," Jacob said.
"Well, now that you're both done handling each other's swords, have any of you seen Six? I told him he should stop by."
Garrus and Jacob looked appropriately sheepish and Shepard had to stifle her grin.
"Well?" She asked.
"Negative, Commander," Jacob said. "He hasn't been through."
Jane's humor quickly dissipated. She still wasn't sure about him. Despite her best efforts, Chakwas' warnings about his psychological state were tugging at her. He seemed rock steady but she'd seen that level of trauma before. Quiet, reserved, antisocial, but seemingly okay. Then the rounds started flying and they cracked.
"Shepard," Garrus asked. "Are you alright?"
She napped out of it.
"Yeah, Garrus. Just real damn tired. Briefing in 45 minutes."
She turned and left abruptly. Jacob and Garrus exchanged a look.
"She didn't look as good as she thinks she does," Jacob said returning to the mess of a rifle on the table.
"Yeah," Garrus said still staring at the doorway where she left. "Did you see the uniform she was wearing? A bit fancy for this crew."
Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, well, Doc went to see her a while ago about Six."
"Oh, I get it now. Even Sovereign never got under Shepard's skin the way the good doctor can."
"Yeah, I hear you," Jacob said sliding the Widow and some heat sinks over to Garrus' side of the table. "One time, before we got you, she wore nothing but her armor for a whole week after a conversation with Doc. I know Miranda and the Commander give each other a hard time too. Think it's easy working with Miranda?"
"The devil wears catsuits," Garrus chuckled, earning a chuckle from Jacob. Garrus was inspecting the Widow now, getting a feel for it.
"Who knew, right?" Jacob said with a grin.
It wasn't lost on Garrus that, by now, you couldn't judge groups; only the individual. He had reservations about humans until Shepard. He'd had outright bias against Krogan until Wrex. And once again, here he was on a Cerberus ship trading jokes with one of their agents.
Strange times made for strange circumstances and even stranger allies. He wondered how their new recruit was faring. It hadn't been made official yet but Garrus knew Shepard. And he'd seen Six in a brief bit of action. He couldn't get a read on the guy but it could have been worse...
At least he wasn't Jack.
/
The time had come. Shepard strode confidently toward the briefing room. She had been as patient as she could be but it was time to hit the Collectors back for once. She was anxious to start inflicting rather than just receiving. Even if that only took the form of disrupting their operations, denying them assets, or even casualties. They had to be stopped.
The door slid open and there her team was. Even Zaeed was seated, if awkwardly. Jack, of course, refusing to be mainstream had decided to lean against the wall with her arms crossed.
Shepard nodded at her as she walked by and Jack nodded back.
Jane walked to the far end of the table and took a seat. Six was nowhere to be seen. Shepard moved on.
"To quickly debrief, we still don't know much about the alien ship we encountered. It's long gone into a black hole by now. Six informed me about them a little. It's not good, team. But it's also not currently our problem."
"What the goddamn! One of those things nearly cut me in half," Zaeed shouted.
"True," Garrus said. "But on the bright side, at least the scar didn't wind up on your face this time."
Most of the table was now hiding their grins, including Zaeed.
"The Covenant aren't in this region of space," a voice said from the door to the briefing room. The room turned, and there was Six. Shepard let out a sigh, pleased that he'd decided to join. "Not even close," he continued. "But the Collectors are still out there. Shepard?"
He had strolled to an empty seat and occupied it as he spoke.
"Thanks, Six," Shepard said with a smile. "Zaeed, I understand your concern. There's nothing out there about them right now. The Covenant, they call themselves. And until we catch wind of them, we can't go chasing ghosts. I'll remind everyone here that we have bigger game to catch. Now," she said after a moment's pause. "We didn't walk away empty-handed. We got a stockpile of fun new toys, a new dropship that actually has some guns from the looks of it, and we got Six on the team."
Jack snorted loudly. "I knew it. EDI! Tell Joker he owes me a hundred."
"I will relay your message, Ms. Jack," came the synthetic reply.
"So," Jack continued. "What the fuck is your deal, then?"
Six turned, realizing that he was being addressed.
"Soldier," he said.
Jack's face darkened. "Soldier boy, huh? This ship is crawling with people quick on a trigger. Fuck makes you think we need you?"
"That's enough, Jack," Shepard said sternly.
Jack ignored her and continued the staredown. He stayed silent but held her stare. When it became clear he wasn't going to respond to her, she stood up from the wall.
"Don't play fucking games with me, Jolly Green. I asked you question. You just walk in here from a death ship and we're all just friends!? We don't need you. What the fuck good are you?"
Jane was about to slam her fist on the table but Six beat her to the punch, so to speak. He maintained the usual tone but somehow he cut through the noise beginning to rise in the room.
"Give me a weapon," he responded. "And find out."
The room fell quiet as the crew exchanged glances. The subtle threat wasn't so subtle and most avoided direct confrontation with Jack. Shepard could see the tension rising. Even Jack didn't quite have a comeback to throw.
"Well," Garrus remarked. "That was... Sinister."
Jane noticed Six's head whip around to look at Garrus. She wondered if that was a warning sign of some kind until she realized this may have been the first time Six had understood the alien. His omnitool at work, no doubt.
"And unnecessary," Jacob added.
Jack was fuming.
"Think you're some kind of badass..."
Samara stood directly to Shepard's right and bore her gaze on the convict. "The Commander made her will known, Jack. I suggest we all listen." It was anything but a suggestion.
Jack sulked and leaned back against the well. "Fine."
Shepard exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Okay, debriefing over. Time for the new briefing. We have Intel on a possible Collector attack in progress. Potentially right now. We're not far out from Horizon. Colony there went dark not long ago."
"Commander," Six spoke up. "Details on the enemy."
"Right," she said. "Short version. Collectors killed me two years ago, been taking entire human colonies, and basically been real pains in our collective ass ever since. This will be our first look. Don't know what to expect, really. We know they use mechanical bug things to sting and paralyze people. Then they scoop them up and carry them to no one knows where for God knows what. Weapons and tactics unknown. Is that good?"
"Good enough," he said.
She returned to addressing the room.
"Good news is, Mordin has been cooking up a counter to the bugs. Mordin? Want to let us know?"
The Salarian stood and spoke. Once again, Jane watched Six turn to face another alien he could suddenly understand. His face looked weird when it was perturbed.
"Of course. Proprietary technology. Quite ingenious. Small device attached to armor. Simple," he finished.
"Doctor," Samara asked. "How does this device work?"
"Draws power from armor," he said simply
Zaeed, Jacob, and Garrus all groaned in unison.
"But it DOES work, right?" Miranda said, finally joining the conversation. Wait a minute... Jane cocked an eyebrow at Miranda. She always had something to say when a new crew member was added. Miranda should have had a field day with Six but she'd said absolutely nothing.
"Has been discussed. Very complex. Schematics in lab. May visit if you wish to see."
Now Miranda groaned. Jane, now paying attention to the Cerberus agent, couldn't remember her even looking at Six. Had they spoken? Something was going on there.
"Unknown enemy means unknown tactics," Six said. "Do we know the terrain? How are we going in?"
Jane watched Miranda once again not looking at Six. Shepard wasn't the only one who noticed as Kasumi was looking between the two of them also.
"Terrain is mostly rural, one to two story buildings. Cover might get tricky in some spots. Three of us will..."
Six raised his hand. How quaint. Jane nodded at him.
"Why are you only taking two?"
Garrus interrupted the conversation. "She's been taking people two at a time as long as I've known her. It's kind of her thing," he finished, shrugging.
"She had more than that on the alien derelict," Zaeed added.
"Commander," Six said. "May I make some suggestions?"
Shepard sighed. "What have you got, Six."
"If there's an engagement in progress, scouting isn't an option. In a semi-urban environment, I suggest one squad sized element consisting of three fireteams. Two ground teams with mixed armament to engage medium to close quarters. Both teams with an explosives expert to breach if necessary. If terrain allows, third team should be overwatch consisting of at least one spotter and one sniper, preferably two of each. At least one with anti-armor weapons. First and second team each take one side of the street covering their own sides on the ground and the floor above is covered by the team across the street. Overwatch can provide enemy troop movements in realtime and take out targets of opportunity if they present themselves. If your dropship has weapons, I'd have that on standby for air support or to potentially engage or distract their air support if they have any. If not, keep it concealed but close for casualty evacuation or a quick exit if things go south. Ground teams sweep and clear, moving from room to room, building to building. They'll stay spread out while outside to avoid well placed explosives taking out more than one team member. Overwatch continuously moves with cover and concealment to line up adjacent fields of fire rather than head on or perpendicular. No one needs friendly fire for this op. We move staggered, close with, and destroy the enemy until the city is clear. Overwatch will scan, picking off stragglers or runners. They'll also keep the ground teams informed if they spot civilians. Make sure everyone checks their fire before pulling the trigger."
Jane didn't know a Turian's eyes could get that wide as Garrus practically came out of his visor. But they matched every other set of eyes in the room. Six had laid out, in less than a minute, a complex, multi-faceted, military operation that would have made her N7 program instructors weep with pride. Not to mention that it was the longest he'd talked if you'd combined every word he'd said before this meeting. Jane was impressed. Not an easy feat to accomplish, even less so with something that was her specialty. It was a sound plan and exactly the sort of thing she'd have suggested for an N7 squad operation. She was slowly beginning to think less and less about Six's age. Not a chance he was as young as he looked with that level of experience. But while his suggestions were good, it couldn't be done with the people she had.
"No fair! That's exactly what I was going to say," Kasumi teased.
"Well, Six, I'd almost say you'd done this before. I'll explain in further detail sometime why that isn't our best play. Suffice to say that we don't have the numbers for it and we don't have the specialists to fill every role. But I'll meet you halfway. We'll take a team of five," Shepard said, trying to sound encouraging.
Six blinked and slowly turned to the rest of the room, realizing his mistake. Yet another reminder he was not home in the same moment he was in familiar territory. These were not military people. He'd read as much as he could on them, however. The only people at this table he suspected could pull off any of the roles he had laid out were Zaeed, Jacob, Garrus, and Shepard herself. The rest were far from soldiers, but they were supposedly sharp operatives in their own rights. Most of them lacked discipline and cohesion, and some hadn't even ever worked within a strong team dynamic before. Not unlike himself, he thought. As he was looking around his eyes caught Miranda's. Jane saw the Cerberus agent's eyes widen and lips part before quickly looking away. Six continued to look at her, however, before slowly turning back.
There was definitely something weird going on with the two of them. Had he spooked her somehow? Said something? A problem for later. Jane looked at Kasumi who shrugged, confirming she was aware of it too.
"Ah..." Six said awkwardly. "In that case, I'd like to take point."
"Done. As long as we have some armor that will fit you. Jacob?"
"I'm sure I can find something for him. Hey Six, when we get out of here, meet me in the armory. I also want to go over some of those weapons."
"Understood," he said simply and nodded at the gun expert. "But I have armor covered."
"Not a chance," Shepard replied. "The armor you came with is toast, Six. We can find you something else."
"I've got something else," he said cryptically.
"Fine. But you still take point. Well then, that settles one position. I'm gonna need heavy hitters on this one."
Zaeed looked disappointed at knowing he wouldn't be joining them. Poor bastard, Jane thought. He really did live for this sort of thing. Shepard weighed her other options. No need for stealth so Kasumi was out. Mordin was tougher than he looked and tech savvy but she couldn't see him being a 'heavy hitter,' per se. Jane felt a pang of sadness at the thought that Tali would have been perfect for one of the positions. She moved on. Miranda clearly had something going on with Six and she couldn't risk distraction like that but her tech skills combined with her biotic ability made her a tempting choice still... That left Jack, Garrus, and Samara. Garrus was a sure thing. Six was still an unknown element in the field and she wanted some firepower besides herself. Jack was powerful, even more so than most Asari but Samara seemed to scare Jack, if only a little. It was often hard to tell who was the more powerful. Samara was a scalpel, cutting through foe after foe with ease. Jack was a loose cannon that tended to shred through multiple targets at once. Shepard's deciding factor here was Morinth. It was a recent wound and, thousand year old Justicar or not, Jane figured she might need a little more time. She couldn't afford a distracted soldier.
"Alright, we don't know what to expect so we go in heavy. Weapons free but check your fire. Six is right, we don't need to start stacking civilians. Six, you're my point man. Garrus, you're my second. I want both of you up front. Garrus, you see a position for a scope, you take it."
Garrus nodded, clearly pleased to be an easy choice but he had earned that. He was dependable and deadly.
"I'd like to take this opportunity, once again, to say that a Krogan sure would be handy," he felt the need to add.
"I'll take that under advisement. Next is you, Jack. I need support for potential biotic users and... Well, I need crowd control."
The biotic stood away from the wall, clearly surprised to be picked. But she quickly put an arrogant smirk on.
"Fuck yeah, Shep" she replied as she cracked her knuckles. "Let's crack some heads."
Jane smiled ruefully, knowing that the convict's enthusiasm would waver momentarily.
"Miranda, I need you as well. You can throw down some decent biotics and I need tech backup."
"Fuuuuuuuuck," Jack said.
Miranda looked up, almost caught off guard. "Really, Commander? Are you sure?"
Shepard furrowed her brow. "Yup. Pretty sure. Unless you're not up for it for some reason..."
Shepard was digging now and Miranda knew it. She cast a final glance at Six, who was looking at Shepard, and steeled her resolve.
"Of course not, Commander. I'm at your service."
"Everyone heard that, right?" Zaeed piped up. Jack grinned only because it was a dig at Miranda, but Kasumi smiled, Garrus suppressed his Turian grin, and Jacob had turned his head away.
"Alright, we all know our positions. We'll be there within the hour. Jacob, get everyone geared up. Six, sit behind for a moment. Everyone else, dismissed."
They all shuffled out. Jack purposely cut Miranda off on the way out and Jacob, Garrus, and Zaeed were cracking jokes. 'The Normandy Boys Club,' Jane thought. The door closed behind them. If they all survived, maybe some expensive whiskey and cigars wouldn't be a bad celebration. She shook herself and looked at Six who, as usual, haunted her for a moment with his almost glowing eyes.
"Commander," he said.
"This is where you pull your weight," she said. "I know you have the skills up close but can you handle point?"
He nodded once in the affirmative.
"You think you're ready? I know you'll say yes but really take a second here, Six. For all our sakes. This is potentially a very big mission and you're taking a key role. If there's even the slightest chance you'll hesitate, fold, or regret coming along, I need you to say so now before you put my crew in danger."
"I'm mission capable," he said.
She blinked and stared. He realized his slip up after a moment. He turned in his seat and looked at the door before swinging back around.
"I'm fine," he said. "All due respect, Commander, based on some of the people coming along, I might be the least of your worries."
Jane raised an eyebrow, cocking her head to the side.
"Did you just make a joke, Six?"
He stared at her evenly but revealed nothing.
"I'm counting it. I'm calling that progress. But I wanted to ask you about one more thing. Is there something going on between you and Miranda?"
She was staring at him hard now. Even her suggestive choice of words didn't phase him. He was a stone.
"Not that I'm aware of," he said, trying his luck.
"Alright. Fair enough. Go see Jacob and get outfitted. I'll join you shortly."
He nodded, rose to his towering height and walked briskly out of the room. He was more than a soldier, that much was for sure. Maybe a spook or spy of some kind. His mannerisms, his ability to reveal almost nothing about himself, how he adapted quickly, how he knew to dig for information and put it together... She couldn't know what he was for sure. Not yet.
But she knew he was full of shit. His face hadn't moved but she saw the very subtle posture change when he went just a touch more rigid. Whatever it was, it would have to wait. She had work to do.
/
Armory
Jacob was pleased to see Garrus finally appreciating the artwork that was the Widow. The Turian knew his way around a weapon. Garrus had disassembled and reassembled it several times and seemed pleased with the mechanics.
"Alright, Jacob. You've convinced me. I'd still like to see if you can fix my favorite but this will do VERY nicely."
Jacob smiled through clenched teeth. His old rifle was scrap now but the armorer didn't have the heart to say it out loud.
"You got it. I'll do everything I can."
Garrus nodded approvingly. Jack was seemingly picking weapons at random. Jacob had learned to just leave her alone. She mostly preferred her biotics anyway. Miranda had her own private stash in her quarters so it was no surprise that she wasn't here. But Jacob was waiting on Six. He had all the weapons lined up from the alien ship and he wanted to know everything he could. He didn't wait long.
The door spun up and opened. Six had finally made his way to the armory.
"Hey, Six. Welcome. We can start with some armor or weapons. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to start with this," he said, spreading his arms out at the assortment of alien weapons.
Six picked one up off-handedly, starting on the left. It was blue and elegant. It almost looked too fragile to be anything overly dangerous. Six went through the functions.
"Type 25 Directed Energy Weapon. Or Plasma rifle," he said. "Full plasma projectiles. Medium range. Muzzle velocity of 126 meters per second. Capable of semi and full auto at an average rate of 425 rounds per minute. Use short, controlled bursts to maximize accuracy and prevent overheat." He clicked some sort of function and the weapon opened. "Venting function for thermal drain. On a full charge, may get 200 rounds. With velocity and plasma, will overload a kinetic barrier quickly. Might even pass right through them."
He set the weapon down and picked up a similar but smaller weapon. Jack had maintained her distance but was now paying attention.
"Another Type 25 known as the plasma pistol. Reduced muzzle velocity to 108 meters per second, only semi auto action. What you lose in full auto," he said as he clicked something on the device and a green glow emitted and began to grow until the weapon was humming dangerously. "You make up for with overcharge." He gently aimed the tip down toward the big work table and held it approximately a foot away from the surface. Within seconds, the steel and ceramic coating of the surface began to turn blue, warp, and then begin smoking. Six clicked two spots on the weapon and the menacing green emission dissipated slowly, leaving the front of the gun with only green smoke. "One overcharge will seek a target to a degree if they attempt to dodge. On contact, overcharge will shatter shields and emit an EMP that can disable unprotected electronics, including vehicles. Splash damage will occur and damage anyone else in close proximity to the target."
He tossed the weapon to Garrus who eyed it suspiciously. Six noticed his hesitation.
"It's a versatile and lethal sidearm," Six said. "It's perfect in close quarters."
Garrus slapped the piece to his thigh. Six picked up a much longer and more threatening looking piece.
"Type 50 Directed Energy Rifle, heavy version. This is a rough equivalent to a concussion weapon but it's more akin to a portable mortar system. Six round magazine capacity of explosives bolts super-heated enough to stick into whatever they hit. Anyone it touches gets vaporized. Everything else gets sent airborne, light vehicles included." He pulled the magazine, checked it, then replaced it, loaded it and looked at Jack.
"Crowd control," he said. "Catch."
She caught it. "Fuck, this thing's heavy," she commented with a devilish smile. "I'd love to see what it can do to some collectors."
Six continued.
"Then there's this," Six said as he picked up a blue ball. "Type 1 anti personnel plasma grenade. Smart matter exterior, plasma generator interior with a hyperpinched plasma field. Between the two is a coolant. Press the button, coolant drains, three second until the plasma destabilizes. Everything within a 13 foot radius heats up a few tens of thousands of degrees. Heat dissipates the further out the blast gets but the casualty radius is just over 40 feet."
"Jesus," Jacob said. "Like everything they use is some kind of war crime."
Garrus was eyeing the device with a hint of disdain. Even Jack seemed a bit apprehensive but Six wasn't finished.
"The smart matter heats up as the coolant drains. Whatever it touches, it will stick to. Burning through and adhering. How many do you have?"
"We got a couple boxes over there," Jacob pointed. "Kasumi hit an armory of some kind on that ship. We've got boxes of all kinds. At least I know what some of it is but I'm also a lot less comfortable standing in this room now."
"Hey, soldier boy," Jack asked. "What's that?"
Six followed her pointing finger to several large, ornate, and heavy looking pieces of gear.
"Gravity Hammer," he replied.
"And I'm sure you're about to tell us how it does horrible things, right?" Garrus asked.
"They're melee weapons. 85 pounds. Brutes used them. Tungsten alloy hammerhead and a blade on the other side of the same material. In the head is a shock-field-generating gravity drive. It manipulates gravity fields, artificial and natural. Kinetic waves are emitted along with electromagnetic fields. It can push and pull what it's aimed at. When it connects with a target, it creates a vortex that pulls everything in a small radius, almost like a singularity, before it collapses and explodes outward. Violently. I've seen them used to knock rockets out of the air, crack a vehicle in half, and shatter multiple targets in a single swing. To give you an idea, if you used this on a Krogan, even the bones would splinter and liquify."
"That's nasty" Garrus said. "You said Brutes use them. Was that what we encountered when we found you?"
Jacob shot the Turian a glance. Garrus shrugged. Six ignored the question altogether.
"Covenant plasma weapons have very nasty ballistics damage. They'll melt armor, flesh, and bone. It cauterizes which makes field medicine difficult to administer. It vaporizes liquid rapidly which can cause organs and blood vessels to burst. It's both a weapons platform and a psychological deterrent the first time anyone sees someone hit with it. But once the charge is spent, it's done. No reloading."
He continued on for a while longer showing them the Type 50 particle accelerator, Type 2 energy sword, and showed them how to use each one. He also went over the scattered UNSC weapons he had brought with him like the M6 pistol, M90 Shotgun, and DMR. While interested, no one was impressed with the human weapons.
"No disrespect intended, Six," Garrus said. "But any weapon that uses cartridge based ammunition is pretty archaic. If your colony was fighting this Covenant, I can see how they would have had trouble."
Six looked at the weapons he had used to take the light cruiser, to defend Reach. They had probably been used in the battle for Reach by others at one point or another. And also as likely, whoever had used them before he had would have died. 700 million casualties, or so he figured... Humans. His people.
Jacob threw a glance from Garrus to Six but the big man showed no reaction. Not on the exterior, at any rate. Instead he just nodded. Jacob cleared his throat in an attempt to change the subject.
"Well Six, I guess that means it's my turn. We got all different kinds so let me know what you're into. We got assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, submachine guns, and pistols. We have grenades too but... I figure you might be sticking with those plasma grenades. What are you into?"
Six looked over the weapons all secured to the wall. He had to admit, they at least looked like they could get the job done, if also appearing a bit fragile. The types were easy enough to tell the difference between, at least, as they followed the same basic build and design. He'd already done his research, however.
"I'll take a Mattock, 4 Inferno Grenades, and the Claymore," he responded.
"Claymore is for Krogans, retard," Jack said as she looked over her newest toy.
"She's right," Jacob said. "You can pick anything else but that thing will break bones with recoil. You got something else in mind?"
"I'll take the Claymore," Six repeated.
Jack stared at Six like he was crazy. A look that Garrus thought was humorous. Jacob just furrowed his brow. Maybe Six had some of the boneweave stuff that was going around, the armory tech thought.
"Suit yourself," he said finally. "But it's gonna be hard to carry all of that without some armor on. Come on," Jacob motioned to the corner where the armor stand was. "The armor you came in is fried. Let's see if we can make something fit."
"Phrasing," Garrus said. Jack snorted.
"Thanks but I've got the armor covered," the giant said.
Jacob just shook his head. "Offer is on the table if you change your mind."
Without another word, Six turned on his heel and left.
"He gives me the creeps," Jacob said after the door closed.
"He's out of his fucking mind," Jack added as she was now rubbing her new plasma weapon affectionately.
Jacob and Garrus exchanged another look but neither of them were going to touch that comment.
"Well... I'm starting to think maybe he's earned it," Garrus said.
"What's that supposed to mean," Jack retorted.
"The tactics he spelled out in the meeting were advanced. Without any other evidence, I figured he might be a special operative, spy, or mercenary. When my people first engaged the humans at relay 314, they didn't tell the Citadel right away either. I had thought maybe humanity had contracted some high-tech organization to neutralize the threat of some other first contact they experienced and didn't tell anyone about... At first. Neither of you saw what I saw. That alien that ambushed us. It was strong, fast, well trained. It had some kind of shielding that wasn't anything like a kinetic barrier. I watched Shepard hit it with a charge attack. The shields caught some of her energy and the thing itself only took a step back in response."
"I've seen the Commander launch armored enemies with that same move," Jacob said. He had crossed his arms, growing uncomfortable.
"That's my point," the Turian continued. "I hate to admit it but just one of those things made us look like disabled amateurs in close quarters. Sure it had surprise, but even then... Think about an army of those things armed with any combination of this," he gestured to the weapons left on the table.
Now even Jack looked uncomfortable. She hopped up on the table and sat, glaring holes into the wall thinking.
"What's your point?" She asked.
"When we pulled him out of there, he was pretty torn up then. But I don't think he got all of that damage from that ship either. And where did he get it? He flew a clearly short range transport to it. His Pelican, Shepard said he'd called it."
"Okay, now you've lost me too," Jacob added.
"Just that... He said he'd come from somewhere else. Reach, I think. Never heard of it myself but sometimes colonies have different names for their planets than the Citadel. But the way he talked, I got the impression it was where his colony was located."
"Fuck me, Garrus, would you spit it out already?"
"If he came from his own colony, why did he show up on an enemy ship... And where is the rest of his colony? Joker said he didn't detect any Eezo onboard. Not strange if the core was damaged or shielded but... What if it didn't have any to begin with? What if he was the only survivor?"
As the lightbulbs clicked on in their heads, the biotic and the Cerberus tech looked at the floor to weigh the possibilities. They stayed silent as they ruminated.
/
Six hit the button and waited for the hatch to drop on the Pelican. He had passed by the damaged engine. He'd have to see about fixing it sometime. No way was he letting the crew here look at UNSC military tech but if he was stuck here for now, might as well have a reentry capable ship that had armament on it.
He spent a good minute just admiring the craftsmanship before he started opening boxes. He stripped down right there in Shuttle Bay and pulled one of the Inner skinsuits on. Even though it was a size up, the tightness fit him like a glove. Next, he fitted the Titanium Body suit, carefully lining it up with the Skinsuit to its anchor points. Although designed slightly differently than the MK V, the skillset and process seemed the same. He quickly latched, sealed, and overlayed the boots and gloves also. With a tool from the maintenance box, he attached and clipped the foot, ankle, and shin portions. The thighs were always the easiest after that. The counterweighted arms from the box held everything in place as he attached the connections and bolted the Titanium A shell on, one piece at a time. Six pushed the helmet up and away in its arm and stepped backwards into the back piece. He had some degree of trouble lining up all the connectors along with anchor points while still bolting the back and chest piece together and on to the outer suit. He did shoulders, arms, and forearms next, leaving only the hands and fingers left. Soon everything was secured. The suit weighed a literal ton and he felt every pound. It wasn't activated yet.
He pulled the screen up to eye level, and finally pulled the helmet down on his head, sealing the last piece in place. The helmet found it's connections, including the one on the back of his head. The helmet had a slot on the back. It currently housed a thick series of cables laid out flat into a connector that looked about the same dimensions as a data crystal chip.
Normally at least a two man job, or a team of scientists and engineers if available, were required to fit Mjolnir. Six raised his heavy arm and hit the "INITIALIZE" button on the screen.
His HUD came to life, displaying the same bulls head and "Watershed," before displaying other readouts that he saw on the display screen.
MJOLNIR PAA MK. VI
Centurion
BIOS (version 1.0.0)
INITIALIZING...
Power... 100%
Shields... Not Engaged
Biofoam... Ready
Pressure Check... Sealed
LMCP... Active
Hyd. Gel... 102% cap
FM circuits... Active
Armor Lock... Ready
Sensor Suite... Active
Visor Control... Active
HUD... awaiting user interface
Comm... Active
MP Superconduct... Ready
Magnatic sys... Ready
Failsafe... Ready
User Interface... Connecting...
Six snapped his head back in agony as a searing pain extended from his neural interface and traveled along every nerve ending he had. The engineers, when fitting him with his original Mk V, had called it "mapping." It lasted 4-6 seconds but felt like an eternity. It finally released, replacing the burning feeling with a gentle buzz along his nerves and head, then tingles, and finally nothing. He felt the inner suit contract along his skin to fit better, the heavy plating sitting exactly where it should be on his frame now. His HUD activated in a cool, blue light. His grenade counter appeared top left, shield bar and approximate health status in the top middle, weapon systems information on the right. On the bottom left his motion tracker came to life and began sweeping while mission information, time, and miscellaneous readouts could be viewed. He felt the temperature in the suit go from warm to perfect against his bare skin and the entire suit lift into its usual, self-supporting state. It felt weightless on him now. His HUD flashed into his view.
Shields... Engaging... Active 100%
He heard the low hum of the fusion generator spin up and a golden aura cascaded from his back, around to his chest, then spread over his body until he was covered before fading into invisibility. The Mk VI seemed to have a faster shield generation time. He wondered what else it might have improved upon since the V series.
The monitor in front of him had system readouts he couldn't quite understand but it said his suit was ready to go. Remembering to pull the diagnostic chip from the slot in the back of his helmet, he slowly tested the movements.
His first time in a Mk. V had resulted in some damage to equipment and an engineer. He tested his walking motions, finding the neural interface picking up his cues flawlessly. He tried his arms next, the movements noticeably less jerky than the old system. He tested fingers, wrists, shoulders, torso, neck, hips, knees, and feet. They all moved equally smooth. He also noted approvingly that this Centurion prototype was a lot less prone to pinching and discomfort in certain areas.
After some jumping jacks, CQC moves, and general calisthenics, he had enough of an idea how the armor would operate. He knew that their upcoming mission would be the real proving ground. He still didn't know the limits of the force multipliers, shields, or speed on this thing, but he gauged his reaction times as noticeably improved. To what degree, he didn't know.
Pushing buttons on the display screens, the machine began to fold into itself until it once again became a nondescript box. He hauled it back on board the Pelican and eyed the remaining two boxes. He opened the box marked 2 and pulled the packaging off the contents. He found boxes with armor attachments; active camouflage, advanced armor lock, deployable drop shields, hologram, and even jump jet packs. Six didn't know if he was more angry or impressed with Halsey's ability to plan in advance. He attached the jump jet and grabbed a couple of drop shields and hooked them to his waist. His HUD registered the attachments and added them to his display. He found slots for two additional armor enhancements instead of the single slot on his old armor. He attached the active camouflage and the hologram. The display on the armor stand had said he had armor lock built into the suit already and he didn't think testing the advanced version in combat would be advisable. He found ammo cans on the bottom of the box. Grenades, sniper rounds, DMR and BR, and 50 cal explosive head pistol rounds. He loaded up on grenades and his HUD reflected their exact counts.
He turned to find box number 3, entirely positive at this point what he would find in there. He opened it and confirmed his suspicions. M6 Magnums, MA5D assault rifles, BR55HBs, M392 DMRs, M319 Grenade Launchers, SRS99D-S2 anti-material sniper rifles, M6 G/GNRs, which most called Spartan Lasers, and a pair of M41 SPNKRs.
Yet another dash of hope, compliments of the conniving Halsey, he thought.
There were even more boxes in this one with enough ammunition and batteries to wage a small war. The best weaponry the UNSC could offer. He attached a Spartan Laser to his back but left room for the other weapons he'd be taking. He shut the boxes and latched them. He exited the craft and hit the hatch.
'Wonder what else Halsey cooked up,' he thought.
Feeling like he was forgetting something, his eyes landed on the Cerberus uniform he'd been wearing and spotted his knife. He moved and quickly detached it, strapping it to his shoulder. He reached down to fold the unform and store it until he spotted a golden light shining between the threads. He rifled through the clothes until he found the source. It was the data crystal chip he'd found in the clipboard. It was pulsing in his hand. He poked at it and it stopped. He halted his wonder, however, when Shepard came over the PA system.
"This is Shepard. We'll be on Horizon's doorstep in 20 minutes. Landing Team, finish up whatever you need to and head to the Shuttle Bay. I'll meet you all there. Shepard out."
Six jammed the crystal into a pouch, adding the orange data chip next to it, and moved for the elevator. Time to finish up his load out.
/
Shepard looked at her ground team. They were 8 minutes out and Six was the only one not present. Garrus, Miranda, and Jack stood around waiting. Shepard heard the elevator, assuming the giant would finally grace them with his presence. She stood from the leaning position against the Pelican.
"Form up," she said.
Garrus came to a standstill next to the Kodiak, Miranda on his right. Jack shuffled over at her own pace.
"What in the hell is that thing?" Jane asked, pointing to the oversized weapon Jack was carrying. "Last I checked, you used biotics and pistols."
Jack flashed a blood-curdling smile. "Compliments of soldier boy. I don't know what it is or what's it's called, but it goes boom and it sends people flying. Can't fucking wait to see it."
Jane didn't even know what to say. The elevator came to stop and the door rattled open. Jane kept her eyes on her team. Her new guy was now arming her team?
"Anyone else have any surprises," Shepard asked.
Garrus lowered his head and pulled a pistol off of his hip and raised it in front of him.
"Sorry, Shepard. Six said it's an EMP capable plasma weapon. KB's don't do so well with heat."
Jane rolled her eyes and locked onto Miranda. "Et tu, boobies?" She asked drawing a correlation with the betrayal of Cesar.
"You're hardly a Roman dictator, Commander. And for your information, no. I have my own weapons..."
Shepard heard nothing but cocked an eyebrow when Miranda stopped talking. The whole team was now looking over her shoulder. Six, Jane guessed.
"Ah, Six. I didn't think you'd make it," she started to say as she turned to glare at him. She did a double-take, looking him up and down. Whatever armor he had shown up in was impressive. It looked like a brick that could soak up endless damage and dish it back out twice as hard. It had given him a more utilitarian appearance. Now, he had on something that looked brand new. It was a black bodysuit with gray plating across his vital points. Where his original was boxy and garish, this one was sleek, refined, and every bit as lethal in appearance.
She closed her lips and finally did manage to glare.
"Commander," he greeted.
"I assume you're lateness has to do with the new look?"
"No excuse, Commander."
He was almost maddeningly professional. She gave him a hard look but he remained unphased. Finally, Shepard jerked her head toward the line of crew.
"Fall in."
He moved and it struck the Commander, Garrus, and Miranda just how quietly he managed to move. Given his size and how heavy his new armor looked, it was more than a little unnerving. He joined the end of their line and waited.
"This is it, team. Remember your roles. This is our first potential engagement of Collector ground forces so keep it tight. Six, you're point. Use your judgement on when to engage, call out everything you see. Miranda, you're support and tech. Use biotics as necessary and keep an eye out for anything that looks interesting. Garrus, you're my second. You already know your role. Jack, the second any fighting happens... Well, just follow your gut. Is everyone ready?"
They nodded.
"Fall out. Get to the Kodiak."
