Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Halo crossover redux.

Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I deeply appreciate it.

Today, we're about to see the start of a major event take place. While it might seem minor compared to what will follow, this is going to be the 'latchkey' for future events. Stay tuned for some more awesome action, as well as some nerdy scenes.

I have also finished a number of edits and corrections to Chapter 5 of this crossover. If you want to see the fully corrected chapter, you are more than welcome to do so.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

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

Soell System

SLiE Headquarters

March 20th, 2516 (2786)

Inside of his office, General Kerensky poured over the various reports and documents that had been flooding into his office ever since the signing of the Treaty of Soell. While Aaron DeChavelier had handled most of them, Kerensky had decided to take on the remaining few documents himself. Already, he had a stack of completed documents, with just a few left on the table.

As strange as it is to think about it, he noted, I find this peace to be oddly relaxing. Yes, he knew they had to deal with the Insurrectionists, as well as a few other troubles, but it was nice not to be constantly at war or on the run. Still, if history teaches us anything, it is that war will eventually commence once more, and we must be ready for it.

He was about to finish up when he heard a beeping at the door. Looking at a video feed on a monitor built into his desk, he saw Aaron DeChavelier standing outside the door, a concerned expression on his frowned; whenever his closest friend had a frown on his face, it didn't mean good news. "Come in," he said a moment later. Once Aaron had stepped inside, he asked, "Is there something wrong, Aaron?"

"Not necessarily," Aaron replied. "I'm just worried about something is all. You remember the policy we instituted when we began to have people from the UEG migrate to the SLiE?"

Alek nodded. It was one of many decisions that he had made out of practicality, as well as out of morality. With the SLiE having a much lower population compared to the UEG, he had decided to allow people to migrate between the two governments as they wished. "Yes," he said to Aaron a moment later. "I recall instituting that policy at the signing of the Treaty of Soell. Why are you worried?"

"Mostly because of the implications," Aaron explained. "Ever since your son, Nicholas, was made the head of SLiE Intelligence, we've been getting rumors and unconfirmed reports of a potential Insurrectionist strike on the SLiE, specifically Soell III. My best guess is that they want revenge for what happened at Sigma Octanus IV."

Alek nodded, his mind already processing this information. So that's what Aaron's worried about, he mused. He's worried about the Insurrectionists deciding to attack one of our colonies as retaliation for when we destroyed some of their ships during first contact with the UNSC. One of my sons, though, came up with an idea, but it seems as though he didn't inform Aaron of what we chose to do. "It seems I owe you an apology, Aaron," he said a moment later.

"An apology?" Aaron asked, confused. "Why?"

"It seems that, given the recent workload my sons have decided to take on, that they have forgotten to tell you of a policy decision we've made." Pulling out a manila folder, he said, "Shortly after we signed the treaty, and shortly after you left to help organize the Martial Olympiad, Nicholas came to me with his own concerns, with those being that the Insurrection would attempt to take revenge, as you said they might. He told me, though, that he had a solution."

"What was his solution?" Aaron inquired.

"His solution was to create a counter-insurgency task force that would employ members of the SLDF that were struggling to integrate back into civilian life. This would not only give them purpose and prevent trouble, it would also allow us to have a military task force ready to deal with said Insurrectionists if they tried anything. Andrey felt that it wasn't necessary, but given recent events, as well as what I've learned about the Insurrection, I feel that Nicholas Kerensky had the right idea."

Hearing that, Aaron seemed to deflate, though the expression on his face was one of relief. "That takes a weight off my shoulders," he sighed. "At least we won't be caught with our pants down should the Insurrectionists decide to try and cause trouble."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did," Alek agreed. "The fact that we have signed the Treaty of Soell with the UNSC, and allowed them access to Installation 04 for scientific purposes, means that, in the eyes of the Insurrectionists, we have conspired with the enemy and as such are the enemy as well. As such, a counter-insurgency force is not only practical, it's necessary."

"No argument here," Aaron concurred. Deciding to change the topic, he said, "I must admit, though, that Nicholas Kerensky seems to be doing a lot better. Ever since we settled down, he seems to be spending a lot more time with you."

"That he is," Alek remarked. "Part of this is that I learned from his unit's psychologist that Nicholas showed signs of sociopathy, from his deceptive tendencies, to his seeming lack of emotion at times. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he caused the Prinz Mugen mutiny and roped Andrey into it."

Aaron's eyes widened. "You mean that it was Nicholas that -"

"-that caused the mutiny," Alek finished. "Yes, it very well could have been. Andrey, from what I can tell, was simply the victim of naivety and misplaced trust. However, given what has happened, especially since Nicholas was watching the entire event, that, if he caused it, the failure of his mutiny was punishment enough. In addition, it happened quite some time ago, and what is past is past."

"But you're keeping an eye on him, yes?"

"Indeed," Alek reassured his friend. "In fact, part of the reason why I assigned him to be the head of SLiE Intelligence is due to the fact that it will redirect his deceptive tendencies towards an occupation where those tendencies will be useful, rather than a detriment to us."

"And Andrey?"

"I believe that he will be my successor in the event that I pass on or step down," Alek explained. "Andrey has shown that he has the capability to lead, and he has learned much from the Prinz Mugen mutiny. No longer is he the somewhat naive young man that he was. He has become much more cautious and he has shown the ability to lead. He also has some military achievements to his name, which will help out greatly when the time comes."

"I agree," Aaron added. "I've always like Andrey. Young, spirited, charismatic, intelligent. It was the fact that he was too trusting at times that was a problem. Now, he's much better about it."

"Indeed," Alek agreed. Tapping his fingers idly on the table, he thought of other topics to discuss. Finding none, he said, "Thank you for coming to me on this. I appreciate it, Aaron."

"Anytime," Aaron replied, smiling. "At least I feel a little better about what's been going on."

"I'm glad you do." With that, Aaron strode out of the office, leaving Kerensky to finish up the paperwork. Once I am done for the day, then I will speak to my sons, he decided. Nicholas has grown quite a bit, and so has Andrey. Besides, if the Insurrection is going to strike, we will need actionable intel on their plans.

. . .

Up in orbit, Master Sergeant Richard Sinclair was having similar thoughts about the Insurrection, as well as the duty that he was performing. Walking along, he could hear his boots quietly clomping on the ground as he made his rounds. Nearby, he saw other soldiers going about their business, along with cargo handlers that were busy working nearby.

This prompted him to look around at the place they were at. Omicron Station was one of three, 2.5 kilometer large space stations that orbited the planet of Soell III. Designed to serve as a way station for DropShips ferrying supplies to the surface, the station was shaped like a pole, with two arms coming off the station at the top, middle and bottom thirds. Most of these arms held living quarters and the canteen, while the lower arms were for DropShips that ferried cargo.

The central cylinder housed the station's recreational and administration parts. Right now, Richard was located in one of the cargo arms of the station, where cargo was initially picked up and checked for any contraband. He observed a number of docking tubes nearby, as well as large airlocks that were designed for allowing cargo to be brought in. Everywhere he looked, he could see warning signs that were installed throughout the place, along with view ports that allowed one to look out into space.

Either way, it's a marvel of engineering. First space station we build, and we don't even need mag-clamp boots, he thought as he he nodded at a soldier that saluted him. The UNSC certainly knows how to do artificial gravity right. Hell, we didn't even know what an 'inertial compensator' was until we ran into them. Kinda makes one wonder what might've happened if we invented AI early on, like the UNSC did.

His train of thought was interrupted when he heard someone walking over towards him. Turning around, he spotted a man wearing the gray flannel shirt, khaki jumpsuit and thick purple boots that most enlisted and officer personnel in the SLDF wore. The presence of two green bars on either man's shoulders indicated that he was the Captain of the station. A name tag on the man's uniform showed that his name was Cpt. Osman Reeves.

A tall man with black hair and a well trimmed beard of the same color, Cpt. Reeves was one of the more experienced SLDF officers on the station. Rumor had it that he had once commanded a WarShip that had been destroyed during the Battle of Terra, but had escaped due to a loyal crew member shoving him into an escape pod at the last minute, despite his protests and his duty to remain onboard until all of the crew had evacuated. This, combined with the way he treated his men, had given him a considerable amount of respect among the SLDF's enlisted personnel.

As such, it wasn't surprising for Richard to promptly salute him. "Captain Reeves. Sergeant Richard Sinclair reporting for duty!" he reported.

"At ease," Captain Reeves replied, his husky voice loud in the cargo bay. "I take it all is going well, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir," Richard confirmed. "We're about to have a cargo DropShip dock to the station. My team is on standby to scan the cargo and perform a visual inspection of the contents. All in accordance with procedure."

"Good," Reeves replied, a slight smile on his face. "We can't be too careful, especially with the Insurrectionists coming around to cause trouble. So what are we looking at in terms of personnel and cargo?"

"Just cargo for the most part," Richard explained as the arrived at one of the docking tubes. "From the looks of it, we're going to be bringing in more of the computers that the UNSC manufactures for its military personnel, as per the Treaty of Soell. Plus, we're making preparations for when UNSC scientists come to study Halo."

Reeves smiled. As per the Treaty of Soell, Installation 04, nicknamed 'Halo' by SLDF personnel, was open only to the scientists of the SLiE and UNSC, all of whom wanted to study the technology the Forerunners had on display. This, however, would only come about once all samples of the Flood had been disposed of. "How goes the preparation process?"

"Very well," Richard reported. "Within a year's time, the UNSC and SLiE can start sending scientists and engineers to Halo to begin studying the ring-world. That will likely mean an assignment change for me."

"Indeed," Reeves agreed. Then the PA made an announcement. "Attention, Attention. DropShip Docking at Docking Bay 4 Delta. Repeat: DropShip Docking at Docking Arm 4. Cargo & Security Teams, Report to Docking Arm 4." There was a click as the PA was closed.

"That's my cue," Richard noted. "See you around, sir."

"You too," Reeves agreed. With that, the two men parted, with Reeves returning to his post, while Richard headed for his.

When Richard arrived, Docking Bay 4-D was already bustling with activity. Here, Richard could see cargo handlers and soldiers that were already in position, ready to do their duty. Just as he entered, there was a muted jolt as the DropShip docked. Near the entrance to the docking tube, one could hear an explosive exhalation of air as the tube was filled with breathable atmosphere. Once the doors opened, everyone got to work.

As cargo crates were brought along, SLDF soldiers came and scanned each one, before opening the crates to perform a visual inspection of the cargo. Once that was done, and if all was well, the soldiers would allow the handlers to keep at their duties. For the most part, this was done with little incident, and the cargo was legitimate: a large number of computers that had been ordered by the SLiE for the SLDF.

It was around the 200th cargo crate that things took a turn. While performing a scan of the cargo, one of the soldiers immediately raised his Mauser 960 at the handler, who immediately threw his hands into the air. "Don't shoot!" the man shouted. "Don't shoot!"

"Sir!" one of the soldiers shouted to Richard. "You need to come see this!"

Richard, hearing the alarm in the man's voice, immediately marched over. "What is it?" he asked.

"We've picked up an anomaly on the sensors," the soldier explained.

"What kind of anomaly?"

"Radiological, sir," the private explained.

As soon as Richard heard this, he knew what they might've stumbled on. Keying his comm, he said, "Sergeant Richard to Captain Reeves, we have a Code X-Ray! I repeat: Code X-Ray!"

Immediately, he got a response back. "Roger, Sergeant. Bomb Squad is on its way. ETA: 2 Mikes. Secure the area immediately!"

"Affirmative," Richard acknowledged. Closing the comm channel, he said, "Echo Squad, I want that DropShip turned inside out ASAP! If anyone resists, shoot to kill! Beta Squadron, move to assit them! Rho Squadron, secure this area and prevent anyone from leaving!" Turning to one of his subordinates, he said, "Corporal Gerald, you are in charge of the bomb threat!"

"Understood," the Corporal replied. With that, he took up position near the suspicious crate, while Richard and the others immediately began to move onboard the DropShip. Mauser 960s ready, they quickly advanced into the DropShip. Moving into the cargo bay, they didn't encounter resistance. The moment they reached the stairwell, all hell broke loose.

Immediately, gunfire rang out as someone fired at them. Richard, who was point man for the squad, felt something impact his right pauldron. Ducking into cover, he checked to make sure he wasn't injured, a grim smile spreading on his face when he saw that whatever had hit him had bounced off, leaving only a dent on his armor. Leaning out and looking up, he immediately spotted the shooter, a young man with green eyes and blond hair that was standing on the second level. With the shooter in sight, Richard pulled the trigger of his Mauser 960.

A rapidly pulsing beam of red light cut through the deck above and into the shooter. The man screamed in agony as the laser beam tore through his body, severing his right arm at the shoulder while cauterizing the wound. He tumbled to the deck, his single weapon, an M6D, clattering to the deck loudly.

Advancing up, Richard and Echo Squad moved cautiously up the stairwell and into other parts of the Union-class DropShip they were on. As he moved up, he heard gunfire throughout the ship, indicating that the crew of the ship was fighting back against the aggressors. Entering the canteen, he found a pitched firefight happening between hostiles armed with black armor and UNSC weapons, while the crew fired back with their laser weapons. Tables had been overturned into makeshift cover, while the kitchen was being used as cover as well. So far, the crew was winning, as the hostiles hadn't anticipated the crew being armed and trained in counter-boarding operaitons.

Firing his rifle, Richard blasted off the head of one of the hostiles, before helping the crew gun down the rest. One of the crew howled in agony as a .50 caliber bullet tore his hand off, sending the appendage flying towards the back of the canteen. Another crew member, enraged by his friend's injury, fired at the offending hostile, cutting through armor plating not designed to stop laser weapons. "That's for hurting Jason, you son of a bitch!" the crew member in question shouted.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, the hijackers realized that they were fighting a losing battle. They immediately began to retreat, only to run into part of Echo Squad, who had circled around towards the back of the canteen. Howls and screams of agony ripped through the air as Echo Squad gunned them down. "All hostiles down," one of the soldiers reported.

"Good work," Richard noted.

Just then, the intercom crackled to life. "This is Captain Osman Wright of the Herald of Free Enterprise. I'm on the bridge of the DropShip and I'm engaged in combat against the hijackers. They have a nuclear bomb onboard the station and they're planning to detonate it remotely! You need to jam the signal before its too late!"

"Shit!" Richard snarled. "Captain Reeves, did you catch that?!"

"I did," Reeves confirmed. "We're moving to enact the jamming procedures, but it'll take time. You need to storm the bridge and take out the hijackers before they can detonate the nuke! If that bomb goes off, we can kiss this space station goodbye! The blast alone will knock us out of orbit!"

"Copy that," Richard replied. Closing the comm channel, he said, "You heard the man! Get to the bridge ASAP!" With that, they quickly began to advance towards the bridge of the ship.

. . .

Down in the cargo bay, the air was thick with tension as the bomb squad arrived. Nearby, Corporal Gerald watched with dread as the bomb squad went to work. Each member of the bomb squad wore a specialized suit designed to catch shrapnel and prevent the blast wave from killing them.

One of them, holding a scanner, said. "We can confirm a radiological signature inside the crate. We are removing the bomb from the crate now." With that, each member of the bomb squad moved aside the computers and the packaging around them. Then, with near-infinite care, they lifted the source out of the crate and onto a pallet.

The source of the signature looked identical to the warhead of a ballistic missile, with the classic truncated cone at the front, as well as a cylindrical body near the rear. A control panel was nearby, though a small screen on the device indicated that it was set to detonate remotely. On the device, the word FENRIS could be seen in angular, bold white letters.

"Shit," Gerald hissed. "It's a nuclear bomb all right."

"Agreed," one of the bomb squad members replied. "We'll need an Advanced Codebreaker for this thing." At that, he pulled out a device that resembled a small noteputer, only it had a keypad on it. Opening up the keypad after checking to make sure a pressure sensor wasn't rigged to it, he connected the ACB's leads to the electronics inside and pressed a few buttons. "Now we wait," he added. "This version won't detonate the bomb, but it will take some time."

"Time that we don't have," Gerald groaned.

. . .

Onboard the DropShip, Richard and his team were about to enter the bridge of the DropShip. They were now down to around five people, with one of his men taking a bullet in the chest from one of the DropShip's hijackers. Made the bastard pay, he smiled to himself. Either way, we're about to break inside. "Place a breaching charge on the door," he ordered

"Affirmative," one of the men replied. Moving forwards, four of the squad stacked up on the left and right side of the door, while the fifth member attached some explosive charges on the door. Once the charge were in place, they retreated tot he bend of the hallway, whereupon they detonated the charges.

A loud BANG echoed throughout the hallway, with the blast wave washing over them. As soon as the blast wave passed by, they immediately charged forwards, while throwing flash-bang grenades through the now blasted-open door. More detonations rang out, while yelps and cries of surprise and pain came from inside the room.

Charging inside, Richard spotted five hostiles inside of the room. One of them had dropped a remote detonator in an effort to shield his eyes from the flash-bangs, while another charged forwards blindly, roaring as he swung a blade. Richard, unable to properly aim, fired using the video feed from the weapon's camera. The charging hijacker went down like a sack of potatoes, his body hitting the ground with a meaty THUMP.

The leader of the hijackers, regaining his sight, made a mad dash for the remote detonator, only for one of Richard's subordinates to charge and shoulder tackle him, knocking the man to the ground. As the other members of the squad dealt with the other hijackers, Richard fired at the remote detonator, cutting it in half and rendering it useless.

All of this happened within the span of just ten seconds. In that moment of time, Echo Squad took control of the ship and defeated the hijackers. "All targets neutralized," Richard reported. "Search the hijackers for any other detonators. Where's the Captain?"

"I'm here," came a weak voice. Moving around a console, Richard found Osman Wright leaning against said console. A thin, wiry man with gray hair, weathered tan skin and brown eyes, Osman looked like a stereotypical sailor from the Age of Sail on ancient Terra. The man was currently slumped onto the ground, a bullet hole in his right lung. "Bastards got me," he choked out.

"Not quite," Richard noted. "They shot you on the wrong side of your body. If they had aimed to the left more, they would've gotten your heart."

"Sir!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Check this shit out!" Walking across the circular deck and past the holoprojector, Richard spotted what the man was indicating. On one of the hijacker's necks was the tattoo of a fist crushing the symbol of an eagle. "I think we caught us some Innies!"

"That we did," Richard noted. Keying his comm, he said, "Bomb squad, what's your status?"

"We've disarmed the bomb," came the reply. "It was close, but we disarmed it. Did you find the detonator?"

"Yep. It's destroyed."

"Good. That means that this bomb won't be detonating any time soon."

"Good work," Richard sighed, a happy smile on his face. Turning to his squad, he said. "Bring the prisoners in for interrogation. Time to find out why the Insurrectionists wanted to nuke this station into free floating atoms. Inform the General too. He'll want to see this."

(Author's Q&A)

RoyalTwinFangs: BattleMechs will show up soon. Just wait a little longer, and you'll be well rewarded.

Danny79: I don't know. He'll certainly change his tune a few years from now. Just wait and see.

SulliMike23: Well, we're going to see an event that's going to change those dissenter's minds.

edboy4926: Thank you. I've read that story too, though it's actually the other way around. BattleTech Combat Vehicles are actually more advanced than what we have, especially those belonging to the Star League. While it was originally depicted as 'future of the '80s,' I believe that, as technology in the real world evolves and grows, a franchise should be changed to match accordingly. As such, I think that, given what we think the future will look like, the SLDF would have some pretty advanced gear. Still, we're going to be seeing the SLDF get a lot of custom made gear from UNSC manufacturers in order to catch up in some areas.

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.

Chronus1326: Thank you. As for if they figured it out, they did, but it's not stated outright. It's implied.

ZILLAFAN: An understandable viewpoint, though I think the Star League wouldn't allow genocidal tendencies to run rampant. Look at what happened during the Amaris Coup: the SLDF stopped him from doing such a thing.

Memer557: Thank you for reminding me of those. The SLDF would certainly find that useful.