A Mass Effect Reaction fanfiction
Hello, to anyone that's reading this. Thank you for doing that, and if you want to, I would appreciate any critique and reviews if you leave any, as this is my second fanfic. I do not own Mass Effect or Cod: Infinite Warfare, they are owned by Bioware and Infinity Ward respectively.
I would also appreciate any ideas for what the Citadel should react to because I don't have a very large list of that yet.
I know I said that I would do Gears of War before this one, but I got stumped halfway through writing it because I realized I wasn't sure I wanted to put all five games, the important parts of all five games, or just to summarize them. It's honestly the same problem I'm having with Cyberpunk because as that one's written now, I'm including the entire Cyberpunk timeline's major events, and I'm currently on the Second Central American Conflict. The only reason I'm doing the campaign for this one is because the campaign is shorter than the other ones that I mentioned, and it's only one game, however this chapter will still probably be one of my biggest yet.
Anyways, once again, sorry for all of those who were expecting Gears, I will do my best to get that one out next, and then I plan on doing Cyberpunk. Also, I have not abandoned my other fic, just this one is more at the forefront of my mind right now along with some other ideas that I might just post a single chapter of just to get it off my chest, then work on it later. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
COD: Infinite Warfare
XX Conference Room XX
"Well, while I'm glad we got there to help, I almost wish we never encountered them." Sparatus said, mulling over the information given in the last video.
"Indeed. While we may benefit greatly from the new technological base, the prospect of the Monsters still presents far too many dangers, especially with Mass Effect into play, and who knows what these human's Patterson Tech does." Valern said, his people having done calculations on what would happen if someone overloaded a Mass Relay. The result always came out as either a supernova or a black hole.
"But don't we hold the responsibility to protect the known galaxy as the Citadel Council?" Tevos asked. While she didn't want to have the Monsters exist, she knew that if they did they must be dealt with.
Rael then spoke up cheekily, "Well it's certainly not my people's problem anymore." Causing the rest of the group to give deadpan glares at him.
XX Citadel XX
While many didn't like the possibility of the Monsters, at the same time many were confident that they could deal with the problem, even if it would be a forever recurring one, though some chuckled at the thought of a Monster randomly trying to jump blind, and end up floating in the atmosphere. However it all stops as the screen comes back on, the announcer not speaking as it shows the title.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
XX Conference Chambers XX
"Well, it seems we're going to be doing a war again." Tevos said with a sigh as she got ready.
"Indeed, though I hope we can gain more insight on how human's strategize." Valenr said as he also got ready.
"It seems we might be listening to a soldier answering the Call of Duty." Sparatus said, air quoting the ending, though he was rather excited.
Rael then spoke up, "Yes, but the 'infinite warfare' part doesn't put my mind at ease."
XX Mordin's Clinic XX
"Ooo~, this one looks like it'll be fun." Wrex said with a grin.
Garrus then turned to his friend, "You just say that because of the prospect of a never ending war."
The video started, showing empty space before Reyes' voice spoke up, the camera starting to move, "The new frontier offered the promise of a new beginning…" His voice said.
Then it started to show a red planet marked with deep scars, "... but the distance gave way to a movement, with no connection to the place we call home."
It then started to show the glowing, dark cities of Mars from orbit as bright lights on the surface, almost carved out of the planet, "New rules, new ambitions, a new enemy. The Settlement Defense Front built an army and broke away from the Earth with blood and violence," Reyes said as it showed three ships flying away from the planet towards a massive ring space station connected to the planet through a space elevator.
"They aren't revolutionaries. They want absolute power. They raid colonies, take resources, and control territories by force." The voice said as it showed them approaching Tharsis.
XX Conference Chambers XX
Sparatus growled, "They have their own Unification War it seems." He said, not liking that particularly bloody history lesson. He remembered the videos in class, of the brutal, controlling systems put in place by the chieftains of various colonies.
"Indeed, though, let's hope it's resolved quickly." Tevos said, already not liking where this was going.
Valern was taking note of the ships and noted something, "They must be fairly new to space though, they're still using weapons mounted on what could be considered the 'top' of the starship instead of all over. They also don't appear to use spinal weapons, or at least not on the smaller ships."
"True, but those ships still look rather durable, shields or not." Rael said, admiring the design as one built not to look pretty, but to take a hit and keep moving.
"They use their fleet to block us from raw materials we need to survive. Their mission is to erase everything Earth born." Reyes said.
The video then showed the three cruisers approaching the Olympus Mons, "Today, the SDF is a war machine, ruled by its military. If a leader united that force…" Reyes trailed off as it showed the glowing center of the dreadnought sized ship.
"They would mobilize, and try to take our homeland." The video then showed hundreds of more ships behind the Mons, with everything ranging from cruisers to destroyers, as well as carriers.
The video then cut out and switched to show Jupiter, "Warlord, this is SCAR-1. Standing by for tasking." Wolf said.
"Copy 1-1. One of our weapons facilities is under attack by the SDF. We believe this is part of an operation, codenamed: RIAH." Warlord said as it showed a ship flying through space.
"Intel suggests their target is a prototype weapon. Your team will extract the prototype and torch the site before SDF can locate it." Warlord said, before the video showed the SCAR team looking out of the shuttle.
"Understood, Warlord. We'll get it done." Wolf said and patted one of his men on the shoulder, holding up a finger, "I one minute." and they repeated.
Sipes then spoke up, "Friendlies?" He asked.
"Facility is dark. We get our weapon, torch the site." Wolf said.
The screen then showed text on screen to explain to the audience, "EUROPA, UNSA weapons lab, P01 Dan "Wolf" Lyall, SCAR team 7."
As they were getting ready to leave, Wolf announced, "Gear check!" and Sipes checked Tee's combat rig as their helmets went down, the suit pressurizing.
Tee then asked Wolf, "Rules of engagement?"
Wolf replied, "Weapons free." And Tee nodded, before they opened the door of the dropship, cold winds and snow getting in as the ground was almost invisible through the blizzard.
Instead of skydiving though, they started to fly around the sky in jetpacks.
XX Conference Room XX
"Hmm, they're like an Armiger Squad doing Asari Commando work." Valern said, breaking down what they were seeing.
"That sounds messy, not to mention our jetpacks aren't as powerful as those ones seem to be." Sparatus said. The Armigers were the best of the best, but they weren't known for subtlety.
"Why not send a more stealth oriented team?" Tevos asked the others, not as well informed on military matters as the other three.
"Most likely because stealth won't be needed, or there will be a lack of civilians so there won't be a real need for true stealth." Rael deduced, getting nods from Sparatus and Valern.
Finally, SCAR 7 reached their designated landing zone, "Boost! Boost!" Wolf called, and they all boosted before hitting the ground, cracking the ice they landed on.
"Temperature's 300 below. We gotta move. Reaper, SCARs are boots on the ground." Wolf announced as he talked into his comm.
Reaper replied, "Copy, 1-1. Insert is a vertical drop, North of your position."
"Copy. On the move." Wolf said, before Tee spoke up.
"Tracking two targets below." He said as they approached the drop off, the two targets in question were just standing around.
Wolf then jumped off, holstering his weapon and pulling out his knife, boosting just before landing on the SDF soldier, causing them to turn around just in time for Wolf to kick his helmet off, hold him down by the mouth, and jam his blade into the soldier's neck, Sipes not far behind with the second soldier.
"Sipes, take point." Wolf ordered as he made the hand motions, and Sipes nodded as he led. As they walked through the ice tunnels, Sipes activated his jetpack and threw an elbow into an SDF soldier's face, knocking off their helmet and the soldier out cold to suffocate.
XX Clinic XX
"Damn, these guys are brutal!" Wrex said with a laugh as Tali nodded.
"Their spec ops, of course they're brutal." Garrus said with a sigh, remembering having to clean up a few Spectre's messes.
"Indeed, and rather efficient at that. Had not thought of using a jetpack for hand to hand combat." Mordin said.
"They apparently teach the Armiger's similar stuff, but they focus more on using heavy weaponry mid-flight, and killing whatever's there before they land." Garrus said.
As they reached the facility, they killed the four guards on top, but they couldn't save the prisoners on the rising platform as they were all executed by three SDF soldiers, who the SCAR team quickly killed.
"They just executed them…" Sipes said grimly.
"SDF wants weapons, not prisoners." Tee said, obviously having seen it before.
They started to clear the facility, killing all the SDF encountered, and reached the objective just in time as the SDF had just finished cutting through the door with a drone.
When they reached the facility, the weapon was revealed, "F-SpAr prototype…" Tee said as he saw it.
"Boot it up Sipes, we're going to need it." Wolf ordered and Sipes said he'd need time.
"Here you go Wolf, compact model, same tech." Tee said, handing him the compact F-SPaR, which many on the Citadel were now interested in.
Reaper then informed them of heavy resistance, Wolf acknowledging as they opened each set of heavy bay doors, though on the first they found some enemies which were quickly cut down by Wolf with the energy weapon.
XX Conference XX
Sparatus sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You know, I really shouldn't be surprised that another humanity managed to get true laser weapons before we did."
Valern also felt a headache coming on, "That is becoming a reoccuring theme."
Finally, after destroying even a massive, manned mech with it, they were able to leave, the facility's self-destruct being activated in the process, yet at the very end, three C12s blocked their path, forcing Wolf to use the larger, prototype F-SpAr, the station decompressing as the SCARs are dragged out, Wolf getting knocked out in the process.
When he awoke, they were all wounded, and Wolf was running low on air, but before they could get up and help each other, two SDF soldiers came over and kicked Sipes and Tee in the ribs, forcing them down, and one of them repeatedly tried to bash Sipe's face plate off, before someone shot into the air, causing everyone to pause.
When Wolf turned, there was a man with a huge pistol stalking forward with two C6s at his sides, "Get him up. He needs air." Admiral Kotch said.
The C6s did so, though not gently.
XX Clinic XX
"Hmm, orders the execution of a bunch of scientists yet provides air to three soldiers?" Garrus asked.
"Most likely for interrogation purposes, not to mention, species might have different rules of warfare than the rest of Citadel space." Mordin said.
"Yeah, take mine for example. We're all warriors at 9, and you Turians are all trained to kill at 15, though you're right about something weird being with him, something with his face." Wrex said.
"It's the eyes." Tali spoke up, "His eyes don't have any emotion in them, no fear, no happiness, no care, it reminds me of a sociopath." She says, a bit frightened. Quarians were very good about reading eyes and body language, as that was how they told each other their moods, so to see eyes so empty genuinely scared her, as it was like looking into a Geth's eye.
"Catch your breath, trooper." Kotch says as he gives the man a canister, attaching it to his helmet and allowing him to breathe again.
Another soldier then walks up, "Admiral Kotch. Gun destroyed. Data retrieved. Initiating RIAH." The man said, almost mechanically.
Kotch nods, and then turns back to Wolf, "How many did you come with?" He asks, his voice almost kind.
Wolf, not seeing a way out, looked at his men at the ground and then back to Kotch, "We're it."
"What about the airship we shot down?" Kotch asked.
Wolf, not wanting to answer and hoping that Kotch would play by the Geneva Convention's rules, turned to him and said, "My men need medical."
Kotch exhaled at that, "You care about your men?" He asked, then stood up, still holding his pistol as Tee struggled on the ground. Kotch then aimed at him, causing everyone's breath in the Citadel to freeze, before Kotch shifted his aim up and shot his own man in the chest, causing many in the Citadel to cry out in surprise.
Kotch then spoke again, all while the man he shot's blood and air was leaking out, "Care clouds judgment." He said as he walked over, grabbing the oxygen still stuck in Wolf's helmet, "That is why you cannot win." He said cruelly.
XX Conference Room XX
Sparatus growled at this 'admiral' displaying such callousness to his own soldiers, and turned to the rest of the Council as well as Rael, "If this man wins, we now need to prepare for another cruel humanity." He said, already thinking up battleplans not writing them down for now as he still didn't know if this is the universe they would get for their humans.
"Indeed, not even my species are that sociopathic." Valern said, acknowledging that members of his species were either very emotional, or almost completely devoid of them.
Tevos and Rael nodded, though Rael was just as furious as Sparatus, as his people's lives were few and very precious, so to think that there was a species that would do this to them made him very angry.
XX T'soni Hotel Room XX
"Why does anyone follow him?" Liara asked her mother as she saw the brutality of Admiral Kotch.
"Most likely because he gets the best results, you would be surprised how common that is in the Terminus systems, Little Wing." Benezia said with a grim look, thinking that Admiral Kotch would fit right in with a few SIU captains.
"This place…isn't yours anymore." He said as he looked at the horizon of the frozen moon. He then took out Wolf's oxygen supply, making him fall back, coughing and sputtering at the lack of air.
Kotch then turned to the C6s, "Kill them. And save the bullets" He added as an afterthought, dropping the empty oxygen canister as one of the C6s came on screen, turning sharply as it walked over to Tee, stomping his head into paste, the other doing the same to Sipes as the remaining SDF soldier ran up to Wolf and started bashing his face plate in, but not before Wolf got to see the SDF planting their flag on Europa.
Then, his perspective went back up to the soldier, who was grinning in cruel glee, punching Wolf's faceplate, before it finally broke and the screen changed, revealing it was a recording.
"What is RIAH?" Reyes asked.
"Unclear. Helmet cam stopped transmitting. It's 18 hours, no contact. SetDef's made no demands." Raines said.
It then showed Reyes, in full combat gear, with Raines standing just behind him fatigues, "Settlement Defense Front doesn't make demands. They planted a flag on our rock. They executed three men and shot down a pilot." Reyes said, clearly getting worked up.
"Our team was sent to secure classified weapons from a closed facility." Raines said, remaining calm.
"That facility is a blacksite, Admiral." Reyes said, clearly pissed and confused, "Why the hell is SetDef even allowed in that airspace?"
Raines then spoke up, "By permission of the Accords, all nations have access to free an un-"
But Reyes interrupted him, "Sir, that objective required a full strike force, not a four man team."
"Lieutenant Reyes," Raines said, admonishing him, "I implore you to use diplomacy in this office. Take a different tact." Raines said as he turned around.
"Yes Sir." Reyes said, halfway between attention and parade rest before he followed Raines, "Who else knows about this?" He asks.
"Right now, Joint Strategic Air Command, and you." Raines said as the automatic shuttered windows opened.
"This is a deliberate act of aggression, Admiral. We should be out there on patrol, not down here throwing confetti." Reyes said as they looked over a parade.
"The rules of engagement prohibit definitive action under these circumstances." Raines said.
Reyes then started to walk to the other side, "So we stand by with our barrels in the sand and watch a fleet week parade?" He asked, clearly having a problem with it all.
XX Citadel XX
While many of the Turian generals and admirals agreed with Reyes, they could see what the Admiral was saying. They've all had their hands tied at one point, wanting to wipe out a colony of the Batarians for doing something like this, but couldn't because of the Citadel Conventions.
The Asari, meanwhile, were hopeful this would reach a peaceful ending. Afterall, they had rules in place, surely they would be followed.
The Salarians, meanwhile, were livid. More than a few of their STG teams had been killed in situations like this, but unlike the humans when an STG team was killed, there tended to be immediate backlash to the killers, such as a colony's water supply being poisoned or trade routes and patrol times suddenly getting leaked to all of Omega.
Raines then spoke up, "Lieutenant Reyes, make no mistake, my instincts, which are aligned indelibly with yours, are that we need to engage." He said.
Reyes then asked quietly, "Why don't we sir?"
Raines sighed and laid a hand on Reyes' shoulder, "They're politicians Reyes. They'll wipe hell's ass with whatever flag keeps the smokestacks burning. To these men, mounting an offensive triggers a fresh and unplanned piss. Until there's a war, the warriors aren't in charge." Raines said as he and Reyes sat down, many of the military minded on the Citadel sighing as they knew how truthful that situation was.
Reyes then leaned forward, putting his finger on the desk, "But, sir, by the time there's war it's too late. 'Hesitation is a hole in the head'. You drilled that into us relentlessly in flight school. 'Work the problem, respond'."
Raines smiled as he nodded his head, "You were always a fast learner, Lieutenant." He then leaned forward, his smile falling, "STRACTCOM is well aware of our grievances. At this time, no use of force is being considered on the operational level. These are the laws of war, son." Raines said as the camera switched back to Reyes.
Reyes sighed and leaned back, "Thank you for the briefing, sir."
Just then a petty officer was shown on a screen in the back corner of the room, "Admiral Raines, E3N is in position on the roof."
"Thank you, Petty Officer." Raines said.
"What is E3N?" Reyes asked, never having heard of that.
"Go take a look for yourself. I think you'll be quite impressed. Dismissed." Raines said, clearly happy about it as the camera switched back to Reyes.
Reyes then got up, leaving the room, getting approached by a woman in a similar uniform, "How many?" Salter asked.
"Four, KIA." Reyes said grimly.
"Europa?" Salter asked, clearly not happy with the situation.
"Front was already there. Took out the whole team, looted the site." Reyes said.
Salter then shook her head a bit in anger, "Son of a bitch. This whole fleet sh…stuff is nonsense. We should be up in our Jackals flying watch."
Reyes nodded, "Admiral doesn't disagree." He reported.
"Captain Alder know?" Salter asks.
"Negative. Today, Retribution isn't a warship, she's a parade float." Reyes said, clearly not happy with that.
"Whole fleet here in Geneva, doesn't seem right." Salter said, hands on her hips as she shook her head.
"We do this every year Salt." Reyes said with a shrug.
"Well, let's not miss the party." Salter said.
Reyes then waved a hand, "After you Lieutenant."
"Thanks slick." Salter said and Reyes opened the door for her.
XX Conference Room XX
Sparatus huffed, not liking this situation at all. He was really glad that he Hierarchy is so military oriented. This kind of thing would not stand among his people. While they did have the occasional parade, they never put more than a fleet, if that, into it.
"Come on, we'll take the scenic route." Salter said as they walked through the memorial room, military personnel's names chiseled into the rock, all having died in combat, "Not a list you want to make." Salter said as she ran a hand over some of the names, clearly reminiscing.
"Peace to the fallen." Reyes said quietly as he looked at one.
Then, they opened the door to cheering personnel as fighter jets flew by, "Welcome to fleet week." Salter said with a small grin.
The people of the Citadel then got to see many smaller frigates, destroyers, and even a cruiser in the atmosphere.
XX Mordin's Clinic XX
"The strength of some of those ships has to be incredible, despite how new this species seems to be in terms of space combat." Tali said as she saw the ships.
"Why do you say that, Tali?" Garrus asked, Wrex giving her the same look, mildly interested.
"Well, most cruisers tend not to cruise in the atmosphere due to heavy maintenance costs afterwards, so the fact that this species can do it so casually means their ships are tough enough to not get ripped apart by gravity." She said.
XX Conference Room XX
Despite some design choices that Sparatus knew would pass, he admired the ships, all looking like they could take a beating.
Rael then spoke up, "Now there's a few pieces of hardware the Migrant Fleet could use. They look like bruisers." Rael said.
"Indeed, they seem built on the basis of being able to shrug off rounds with heavy armor, I can only imagine how tough they'll get when they get their hands on Kinetic Barriers." Valern said, intrigued.
Tevos admired the looks of the more sleek ones, and many of the ships reminded her of the few water-based warships they made on Thessia, thousands of years ago.
The Citadel then saw one ship get really close, and what must have been a Cruiser size as well, "There she is. 'Retribution'. Home sweet home." Salter said as she looked at the Carrier, with many on the Citadel getting surprised before remembering Humanity was just colonizing their solar system, so it was still a rather impressive ship.
Reyes then spoke up, "Only been down here a day Salt." he teased.
"I prefer the wild black yonder." She said,
"You and me both." Reyes responded, many of the people who lived on their ships currently visiting the Citadel agreeing. "Raines mentioned a thing called E3N- Heard of it?" He asked, curious.
"Negative. Rainman's got all kinds o' tricks up those four star sleeves." Salter said.
"He's flying to the ceremony with us. Make sure you don't call him that." Reyes said, clearly having heard Salter do this before.
"Never, to his face." Salter said with a cheeky tone, before coming up to some security, "Make a hole." She ordered, the guards helping her, before she turned back as they went through the metal detector, "Service has its perks, we have a plane to catch."
"Crowd's eating this thing up." Reyes said as another ship, the classification a missile destroyer, something that the Citadel generals have never heard of, flew by and shook the whole building.
"Public relations Reyes." Salter said, clearly tired of it.
"It's propaganda Salt. We lost four men. We're throwing a party." Reyes said, upset.
"Our hands are tied." Salt reasoned, "Take a little R today Reyes. That's an order." Salt joked, but she clearly cared about him.
"You can't give me an order, we're the same rank." Reyes joked back.
"Got me there, Lieutenant." Salter said with a grin as they approached their shuttle.
When the door opened, there was a drone inside of an obviously different make from the C6s, and it moved much smoother too, "Lieutenant Reyes." It said, its voice far too filled with emotion to be a VI.
XX Conference Room XX
"Okay, I feel like this species is just asking for something bad to happen." Rael said, rubbing his mask.
"Hmm, humanity seems to constantly toy with the idea of AI, and almost always seems successful so far." Valern said, noticing a pattern.
"Well, they're AI always seems different from ours. Theirs always seems to have emotion, while ours are just logical beings focused on themselves. Maybe if we found a way to simulate emotions…" Sparatus said, seeing the advantages of an AI, and if these kept proving they could actually be safely created, that would be another weapon in the Citadel's arsenal.
"But how would you even do that?" Tevos said, clearly trying to dissuade her coworkers, "Besides, even if it had emotions, how would there be a guarantee that it would like us." Tevos tried to reason, before Valern beat her to it.
"Just don't treat it like a slave, most likely. If it has emotions, then they would essentially be 'born', they're children. Humanity always seems to be searching for something, maybe it's us, so when they don't find aliens soon enough, they quite literally MAKE friends." He reasoned, intrigued by the thought.
Ethan helped Reyes into the shuttle, "What the hell is that?" Salter asks as she looks him up and down.
"I think we found E3N." Reyes said.
"Indeed sir. Petty Officer First Class. E3N." He said, his 'head' moving a bit, "Enhanced tactical humanoid. Third revision." He explained.
"That's a mouthful." Salter said.
"You ain't kidding. Call me Ethan, ma'am." Ethan said professionally.
"What are your orders?" Reyes asked curiously.
"I'm assigned to Retribution reporting to Captain Alders." Ethan reported.
"You programmed for combat?" Salter asks.
"Thoroughly ma'am. Born to kill." He said, clearly gloating, making some on the Citadel nervous, though a few others rolled their eyes, realizing that he wasn't being threatening, just trying to impress, reminding them of new soldiers.
"You look like you can kick some serious ass." Reyes said.
"Well, now you're just making me blush, sir." Ethan said, and everyone could practically hear the smile in his voice as he took the compliment as he saw Raines approaching and was about to help him out.
"Step aside Ethan, this old goat can still climb." Raines said.
"Welcome aboard, Admiral." Ethan said.
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's get up and away." Raines said as the dropship started to take off, Ethan taking a knee to look out.
"You kept the Ethan project well under the radar, Admiral." Reyes said.
"Captain Alder knew. First troop ready model. Quite remarkable. We're revealing him at the ceremony today." He said.
Ethan froze for a second before quickly turning to him so fast his servos made noise, "You know I get stage fright, right sir?" He asked.
"You've got feelings Ethan?" Salter asked.
Clearly ecstatic someone asked, he turned to her, "I do Lieutenant, I do. I carry the brain of a human farmer." He said, sounding halfway serious.
"Holy shit. Are you serious?" She asked, a little creeped up but curious, like the rest of the Citadel.
"Not ma'am, not at all." He shook his head, Reyes laughing.
XX Citadel XX
While many were still apprehensive of Ethan, a few laughed at the joke, while others realized, astonished, an AI made a JOKE.
XX Clinic XX
Garrus was laughing on the couch as Wrex smiled, "Oh, I love this bot, he's hilarious." He said, admiring the sarcastic humor.
Tali shrugged, though she giggled a little, not fully trusting Ethan but she's been getting used to humanity attempting AI.
"Interesting, not only capable of exhibiting emotions, but humor as well. That speaks of almost equal if not equal intelligence to known sentient species." Mordin said, clearly excited by the prospect of people like Ethan.
XX Conference Room XX
Sparatus smiled a bit at the jokes, surprised an AI could make one, thought he preferred to the stage fright bit over the brain part, that one actually getting him as well.
Tevos, meanwhile, started warming up to Ethan much faster than she did to previous humanity's AI. While she liked BT, his voice to her was just a bit too mechanical, meanwhile Ethan genuinely sounded like has stage fright, reminding her of maidens with stage fright.
Rael, meanwhile, saw Ethan as a bit dangerous, but he resolved that if beings like him were real, he would remain civil and keep Daro'Xen away from experimenting on them.
Valern, though focused on the brain part, "you know, with willing donors, that might be possible." He remarked, jotting that down and creeping out his colleagues.
"He got you Lieutenant." Reyes remarked.
"Did not." Salter said childishly as the video gave an exploded view of the ship flying, though everyone started to get a bad feeling.
"AATIS guns are working overtime today, huh admiral?" Reyes asked.
"Lotta allied traffic. Always vigilant, Lieutenant." Raines said, the military leaders in the Citadel agreeing.
"You familiar with the air intercept systems, Ethan?" Salter asks, obviously quizzing him.
"Earth's iron shield. Major firepower." He said proudly, many on the Citadel appraising the platforms, wondering if they could shoot into orbit. Then, they saw an AATIS gun moving, and everything went wrong as they fired on the Allied Fleet, the SDF fleet starting to invade as Reyes, Salter, Raines, and Ethan's ship went down, all while the AATIS ripped apart heavily armored cruisers and frigates.
When they landed, plowing through a building, they saw the SDF arrive and start slaughtering people, military and civilian, before they finally reached the floor.
They then saw Raines, Reyes, Ethan, and Salter fight their way to the tower, slaughtering any SDF in their way, giving them a good impression that their military leaders, however, they also got to see just how far they've come in developing anti-personnel energy weapons as they fought through the streets, the VOLK appearing very low tech and cobbled together, but firing highly damaging plasma shots. They also got to see Humanity's hacking capabilities when Reyes took over a C6 bot, eventually forcing it to self-destruct after it ripped through other C6s.
When they finally reached the tower, they saw and operative about to make it all blow up, but thankfully they stormed the room just in time, Ethan taking down the operative as they killed the other soldiers and just barely saved the AATIS guns.
When they realized that the operative was RIAH, who caused the entire Europa problem, many in the Citadel wanted to see him shot.
XX conference Room XX
"Tevos, call me cruel all you like, but if these humans ever need someone questioned, well, our rules of warfare do not say anything against torture." Sparatus said, thinking of all the innocent lives lost.
Tevos nodded, not saying anything, somewhat agreeing with Sparatus.
The Citadel then saw just how good of a pilot Reyes was as he ripped through the stalkers, as well as hitting the larger enemy ships with every bit of heavy ordinance he had. They also go to see just how tough humanity built its fighters, coming with a defense measure they hadn't even thought of, thinking they'd be useless in space; anti-missile 'flare' rockets.
Then, Admiral Kotch arrived in the Olympus Mons, "This is Admiral Salen Kotch, you are defeated. Death is no Disgrace!" he yelled before it cut out, the words sending shivers down the Citadel's spine, all while the Olympus Mons annihilated ships with its SpAr cannon on top, and the Citadel knew that once humanity really hit the extra-solar stage, that thing would become one of the most dangerous spinal weapons ever seen.
Reyes and his fighters tried, again and again, to hit the Olympus and destroy the gun, but in the end the only thing that caused it to retreat was the Retribution literally scraping through the sides of one of its arms.
When Reyes finally managed to land on the Retribution, Gator reported multiple casualties and many systems had fried and burnt out in the crash. Everything seemed like it was going to hell as multiple pieces inside the ship, one piece even flying off and cracking the canopy of Reyes and Ethan's fighter, though thankfully they still had oxygen. When it was finally pried off, Reyes took stock of the situation.
It got even worse when he heard that all but he, Salter, and SCAR team 2 were taken out, and as they ascended the levels they got to see the damage the ship took, multiple hallways and floors being in complete disarray. Then, as they tried to reach Alder, they got to meet Staff Sergeant Omar, with Reyes criticizing Alder, Omar stood up for him, "Captain's duty is to get his men home alive, Staff Sergeant." Reyes said.
"Not always Lieutenant. Not always." Omar said grimly as Reyes walked ahead.
XX Citadel XX
While many Asari and the other races on the Citadel agreed with Reyes, with their military units never leaving a man behind or purposefully sacrificing some, the Turians and Salarians got it.
For the Turians, they did their duty, and if their duty was to die holding back the enemy, they would do so without question or hesitation.
For the Salarians, they knew that if the Intel they got didn't make it to the Citadel or the Union as soon as possible, it could already be too late.
Right as they got to the bridge though, things took a turn for the worst, "Where's captain Alder?" Reyes asked.
"Right here, sir." Boats answered, all of Reyes' anger leaving him as he saw Alder's body bag being carried out on a stretcher.
Reyes then turned to another man, "Gator."
"Captain's dead." Gator reported.
"Went down with his ship." Omar said, respect in his voice.
When Reyes asked about the XO, he pointed the body out to them in the corner, before revealing that since he was the highest ranking officer on board, Reyes was now the captain. As soon as he heard that, he froze for all but a second, before a destroyer's shuttle trying to dock snapped him out of it, and many of the higher officers in the Citadel could see Reyes face harden as he started handing out orders, prioritizing all wounded in being evacuated, and then focusing on getting the ship running.
As the captain of the Tigris came aboard, Admiral Raines called, and with everyone gathered up, he reported that SATO was now at war with the SDF, and that out of the entire navy, all they had was the Retribution and Tigris. He also reported that the SDF was trying to kill their moon base to destroy production and rebuilding of the fleet, so they had to mobilize immediately and stop them before the entire transport facility was nothing but dust. He finished his orders by promoting Reyes to Commander, and making him the acting captain of the Retribution.
As the captain of the Tigris returned to her ship, Reyes told the staff sergeant that because of the lack of troops and weapons, he would be deploying with them, before walking to his new office, Salter helping clean it up, before reassuring him that he's got this.
After another transition, the people of the Citadel got to see the Drop Engine in action, though it was obviously not a smooth trip as many of the crewmembers were knocked off their feet, and a few panels came loose.
One elevator ride later, and soon Reyes was getting his helmet and some strange device attached to the back of his suit, "what are these packs for ma'am?" Ethan asks.
"They power your jumps and your wall runs. Gives you control in zero-G." Salter tells Ethan.
"Don't you know all this, Ethan?" Reyes asked, remembering what Ethan said back on Earth.
"I do Captain. I find the Lieutenant's voice…soothing." He said, his humor lightening the somewhat dreary atmosphere that was developing on the Citadel after all the sad events.
"All aboard, sir, Lt." Brooks said as the three moved to the door.
As they arrived, they saw Omar setting everything up, and Brooks came up to report to him, "That's 18 sir, plus our officers. And this guy" He said, clearly not sure how to address Ethan.
"What's your assignment drone?" Omar asked, clearly seeing Ethan was a different type of bot compared to a C6.
"Captain's orders, Staff Sergeant. And it's bot, not drone, but, deserving attempt at humor, sir." Ethan said, getting his smart ass out.
"Don't call me sir, I work for a living." Omar said, clearly not expecting Ethan to do that, "Check your bot, Captain, before I throw him out an air-lock. I've seen what those things can do." Omar said, not trusting Ethan.
"That won't be necessary, Staff Sergeant. Ethan, Park it." Reyes ordered.
"Eh, Rovers are at capacity." Kashima said, clearly trying to make Ethan stay behind.
XX Citadel XX
Many on the Citadel, who had started to warm up to Ethan, glared at the human
While many were still distrustful of most AI, the humor and real emotions helped Ethan get accepted much faster.
XX Clinic XX
"Fucking assholes." Garrus said with a frown.
"Yeah, pyjacks just need to shut up and follow orders." Wrex said, clearly not liking mistreatment of the kind bot.
"But they're right, a bit, Ethan could be hacked." Tali tried to justify.
"Unlikely. Programming most likely far different from basic drone, tech needed would have to be several magnitudes more powerful unless Ethan himself let you in." Mordin said with a frown.
Salter then stood up for him, "Not a problem, Private. He doesn't need a suit. Step up Ethan, Hang on tight." She said, patting him on the back.
"Yes ma'am." Ethan said, more than a little smug.
Omar just brushed it to the side, "Let's load up!" He called out. "Shift it robot." He said to Ethan as he got in, "Eyes up on your HUDS! Be briefed, or be sorry." He called out. The Citadel then got to see the Lunar base and briefing, telling how they and another team will be inserting to clear out the SDF forces inside the base. As everyone was getting ready, the captain of the Tigris called, getting ready to engage as they all put their masks down.
Then, after everything was set, the hangar door opened, the ship already taking heavy fire as their vehicles fell out, the jets attached to them correcting mid-flight. One of the vehicles, though, was shot, spilling all of the soldiers out or incinerating them.
They continued driving the exploding space port, until they finally managed to ramp and drive straight through a window, the automatic shutters quickly covering the whole they made as they climbed out of the jeep, before entering the spaceport proper and clearing it out, even showing off a high tech ballistic shield.
Then, they saw one of the enemy's Jackals destroy the window they were next to, venting them all out of the space port and sending them tumbling across the surface, Reyes visor being cracked from an impact, as well as Ethan just barely saving him when a forklift almost landed on him, before they had to rush back in because of Reyes damaged helmet leaking air.
After taking it off and clearing out the rest of the port, they finally made it to the control room, "You got clearance for launch prep?" Salter asks, and when he says yes she says, "Then fire us up for send off."
Omar, confused, looks at her, "What's your course of action?" Already not liking where this is going.
"We're going to board a SetDef capital ship and take it down." Reyes says, bringing out his weapon.
XX Citadel XX
Everyone's eyes widened at that, those type of tactics usually only being scene in movies or by very brave and stupid Batarian pirates.
XX T'soni Hotel Room XX
"These humans are insane as well." Liara moaned in defeat as she watched them.
"Now now little wing, they might make it." Benezia says, trying hard to defend the tactic. After all, Commandos have done it in the past.
XX Clinic XX
Wrex laughed, "Oh I love these humans too. It seems like every video we watch they always do something stupid and awesome!" he says excitedly.
"Yes, though this might work. Have done it in the past." Mordin said, clicking down notes, not aware of the stares he was getting. When he did notice, he cleared his throat, "Terminus pirates, very sophisticated weaponry stolen from Illuminated Primacy. My superiors wanted it in tact, so I took it. It was my training mission." He says with a grin as Wrex laughs harder.
"Well then, I guess it can't be THAT insane then, right?" Garrus asks Mordin.
"Oh no, it was very illogical, and there was a high chance of failure." Mordin said.
"Then why did you do it?!" Tali asks, finding it very uncharacteristic of the scientist.
"I was younger, wanted to prove myself to my superiors." Mordin said with a shrug.
"Ground phase of this operation is over Sgt. SCARS are going airborne. Time to earn your wings." Reyes said with a grin to Omar.
Not believing what he's hearing, Omar replies, "You've got some spine captain." before he turned to his soldiers, "My guys, hold this rock, we'll send for exfil."
They then got in the elevator and descended to where the moon base's Jackals were, with Omar getting paired with Salter while Ethan went with Reyes again, though Omar wanted one of his guys with Reyes instead of Ethan, still not fully trusting him, though Reyes was steadfast.
When they got in the jets, they saw the hangar doors open to the sight of intense aerial combat, all while Reyes said the plan, which was to knock out the SDF capital before assisting Tigris.
When they finally killed the ship, which was a heavy cruiser, they activated the Jackal's boosters and rocketed off towards the Tigris at speeds that military pilots in the Citadel envied, and hoped that this viewing would inspire their respective militaries to invest more in their fighters like these humans did.
Then, they heard Reyes' plan to bail from the fighters and enter the ship mid combat, turning off the enemy's weapon systems and then evacing so Tigris can pound the shit out of it with her guns safely.
After they bailed, the Citadel species got to see just how adept this humanity was at Zero G and Vacuum combat, jumping around through the debris and using it as cover, all while using their grappling hooks to either move faster or even hook enemies.
Then, they reached the enemy's bridge windows, with Ethan taking down the combat shutters so Reyes could blow the windows apart, venting almost the entire bridge crew, with only one or two making it out before being sent to a cold, breathless death.
However, when Reyes got the card, they recognized the captain that it was one as the man that beat Wolf to death, and a few people felt some rather vicious vindication.
What followed was Reyes, Salter, Omar, and Ethan clearing out the ship as they turned off the various weapons, they even saw Ethan save Omar, with Omar giving appreciation and to finally start warming up to Ethan.
Finally, as they escaped the ship with two more Jackals after depressurizing the cargo hold, the Citadel got to see the sheer firepower in Tigris' broadside, completely annihilating the SDF ship.
When they got back in the Retribution after watching Kotch's new speech, a few people got a laugh out of Reyes forcing Ethan to go with Omar while he went with Salter to the bridge.
XX Conference Room XX
Sparatus especially got a laugh at this part, his coworkers and the Admiral looking at him weirdly, not used to seeing the usually stoic Turian even chuckle.
"I had a bit of 'rival' per say when I served. Nothing too bad, we just never truly agreed on the right way to go about operations. Well, one day, our squads had to train together. And the next day, and the day after that." He went on, giving them a funny image, "Eventually, we got so pissed at our superior officer that we started to work together just to get him off our backs, though that ironically ended up doing exactly what he wanted, like one of those cliche movies."
After that, seeing the Targets of Opportunity, Reyes picked the one in the Kuiper belt, deciding to do some stealth after all the loud operations.
The screen then shifted into showing Reyes and Salter camping out in an asteroid field, STG agents taking notes to copy this move if they could do so efficiently, and Turian captains taking note of this incase someone ever attempts it.
It then showed as Reyes slowly killed his way through the cruiser, leaving no survivors and lots of bodies just out of sight that, while someone who was actively searching could find them, would still be nearly impossible for someone who was just walking through.
Finally, he got a uniform and everyone tensed as he crept through the crowds of SDF soldiers, all of them going about their routines, and while it first it seemed like they really were just your average soldiers, that changed when they heard what they were saying, how they wanted to burn Earth and finally take control of the colonies.
When Reyes managed to get to the vents, turning off every bot station he found along the way, he planted the device and, trying to escape, ended up getting swept up with a squad that's hunting down Salter, though Reyes quickly helped kill them all when he did regroup with her, and, after escaping and getting into a Jackal, helped kill off the remaining fighters.
XX Citadel XX
While many in the Citadel didn't like the brutality of the essentially execution of the enemy leaders, basically suffocating them, the Salarians had other thoughts.
They thought that the humans did wonderfully for a group that's main focus wasn't even stealth, and they all agreed that it was a good, crippling blow to the enemy.
For the Krogan and Turians, while the latter could appreciate it, both didn't really like espionage work, finding it cowardly.
The Asari, seeing it was necessary, let it go for now, and wondered what actual human stealth troops were like.
For the next mission, Reyes then chose the SetDef's refueling post on Titan, and they got another good view of what a 'Drop' was as they were nearly bucked out of the 'tunnel' too early.
They also got a little peak of humanity's prosthetic research as Griff, the quartermaster, had a very well working one.
Reyes also got to talk with Omar, learning the latter's dad and himself were from Titan before the SDF showed up, helping manage the natural gas and tanks. Omar was especially eager to invade, as the SDF had essentially stolen his home when they took Titan.
Then, Omar said that if they're doing a joint op then Reyes needs to throw away his pride, half messing with him half serious, and Reyes asks if Omar remembers that 'pride' is in the navy's creed. Omar then comments that must be the reason he didn't like them, from the fancy uniforms to the submarines, saying only the Navy could build a ship intended to sink, causing a few Navy personnel on the Citadel to laugh, though the Turians couldn't help but shudder at the thought of a vessel literally built to go underwater.
Finally, it ended with Omar asking to bring along Ethan, Reyes happy to hear it and telling him Ethan greatly respected him and his men, Omar obviously smug about that saying, "As he bloody should."
When they finally got to loading up, everyone on the Citadel was surprised to see Omar stand up for Ethan when Kashima tried to bully him again, but then realized that Omar was finally truly open to giving Ethan a chance.
As the dropship hurtled through the atmosphere, Omar spoke up, "My guys, eyes on me. As far as Ethan goes- I will personally vouch for this stiff metal motherfucker. He's one of us!" Omar announces, before turning to him, "Ethan, what's the Navy's official policy for a gunfight?"
And, everyone practically hearing the smile in Ethan's voice, he announced, "Send in the Marines!" getting laughs from all the marines and Reyes on the dropship, as well as some from the Navy and Marines equivalents on the Citadel.
"That one was for you, Captain." Omar laughed, before turning to one of his guys, "You alright Kashima?"
"A little dizzy, Sarge." Kashima answered, looking sick.
XX Clinic XX
Garrus winced, "I had a buddy like that. During dropship training one day, he had just gotten his helmet on when it happened, and he was stuck in his armor for a few hours after." He said, the others in the clinic cringing in disgust at the story.
Then, it showed the dropship landing and the craggy canyons of Titan as they made their way into the refinery. As they went, they saw more and more evidence of the horrible things that happened there, including a large pile of belongings, and Omar says that the SetDef turned the place into a labor camp overnight, showing the Citadel that the SetDef wasn't only bad to their enemies, but their people as well.
As the mission on Titan progressed, eventually encountering the enemy and sneaking through, killing their way through the refinery and crags as the dodged the sight of the drones and mech, and eventually having to clear it all out, they got a present dropped via Raider.
Omar asked first, "Ethan, what are we looking at here?"
"C12 battle tank. Manual firing controls. Low brain, lotta brawn." Ethan said, clearly jealous of the tank.
As the soldiers were questioning its loyalty for a second, Kashima can't help but mess with Ethan, this time in good fun, "He's like a cooler version of Ethan!"
"That's not funny." Ethan says petulantly as they follow the C12, causing many in the Citadel to laugh. As they made their way through the canyon though, Ethan at one point started to say that the C12s targeting tended to turn on their squadmates, though right as the Citadel was worrying, he revealed he was lying to mess with them, causing a few more laughs.
After they cleared out another area of the refinery, the C12 just opened the door when the Olympus Mons, fully repaired and ready to fight, jumped into the atmosphere and used the bottom guns to rip apart the soldiers.
As the mission on Titan started to end, all while the Retribution lured away the Mons long enough for them to kill the fuel tower, they just started to leave when the Olympus swung back in front of them, blocking them from reaching the retribution and killing several of the Scars, breaking a hole into the canopy of Reyes' and Ethan's fighter, and eventually bail out, Ethan literally having to rip Reyes out of the seat.
Having to make a hard decision, Reyes ordered the Ret to jump, Salter saying they'll come back as the Olympus went off to chase. As they were floating, Reyes noticed that his left warm was torn and his suit was leaking oxygen, Ethan trying to stop it.
"Captain, I can't stop it. What do I do?" Ethan asked Reyes, lost.
Reyes coughed, "Let it go Ethan."
"I can't, sir. You're my commanding officer, Captain. My mission is you." Ethan said, becoming resolute.
"Who says?" Reyes asked.
"I'm hardware, sir. Ultimately expendable." Ethan said, and if he could shrug he would.
XX Conference Room XX
"No soldier is expendable." Sparatus said quietly with a frown, his fellow Councilors and Rael nodding.
XX Citadel XX
Many were getting teary eyed, thinking this would be the death of them both.
The Turians saluted Ethan for doing his duty, going out like a true soldier and protecting their captain to the end, while Salarians, Asari, and others put their heads down in respect, though there were a callous few that agreed with Ethan and felt worse for Reyes.
"No no. You're my brother Ethan." Reyes said, getting a little delirious with the lack of oxygen, but still clearly meaning it.
"Your talking robot brother?" Ethan asked sarcastically.
"Affirmative." Reyes said, Ethan's tone getting him to chuckle.
"Yes, well, I am the handsome one, Sir." Ethan joked, getting a few teary chuckles from the Citadel peoples.
Reyes chuckled more as well as he patted Ethan's chest, "No doubt."
Reyes started to say it was the end, and then, Ethan said something that shattered any remaining doubt about him having emotions, that it was all a facade, "I think I'm scared, sir." With Reyes agreeing, before the screen started to fade to black as he passed out, Ethan trying to keep him awake.
The screen returned though, from the viewpoint of Reyes as he looked up and saw the captain of the Tigris, and a corpsman, but the first thing Reyes did when he was cognizant enough to speak was ask where Ethan was, Ethan calling out next to him with a wave, many in the Citadel cheering that he was okay.
Then, it was revealed that Tigris got lucky when they found the two, "We had to pry Ethan's arms open. They'd frozen around you. Protecting his captain to the end." That got many looks from people at the Citadel, once again showing that Ethan has more compassion than most organics. "Dauntless valor, Ethan." The captain of the Tigris told him, many of the military officers in the Citadel agreeing.
"Boundless terror, Captain." Ethan joked, getting laughs to lighten the mood up again.
Even Ferran found it funny, calling Ethan humble. Then, they started to dock with the Ret, Reyes thanking Ferran, and she said that they are a fraternity of two, and she wouldn't accept a 50% attrition rate. As Reyes was helping Ethan, several parts creaking a bit too loudly from the strain they'd been through, causing many in the Citadel to wince, "Try not to worry about me." Reyes said when he told Ethan to go to Engineering.
Ethan paused for a moment, before everyone could hear his smile, "Try and stop me sir." he said, his arms out as he walked away, Reyes smiling.
When Reyes finally got back to picking an Op, many on the Citadel were very worried about going on an asteroid, no matter how massive, right next to the Sun, and everyone was on the edge of their seats throughout the entire mission, especially when it was revealed that the bots seemed to turn on the miners, many thinking it was a hacking attack, and everyone jumped when Salter nearly got her neck broken by one that broke through its glass cage.
Finally, when they found two survivors, it was revealed that it was a hacking attack, followed up by the Olympus unleashing a lot of ordnance at the asteroid, everyone the Citadel feeling distinctly uncomfortable at the thought of any species being able to move an asteroid that size that quickly without eezo or fusion drivers.
As they were evacing though, everything seemed to go wrong as Lee got shot, telling people to leave but Omar couldn't leave him behind, and with Salter unable to stay any longer, they were left to the cruel fate of burning in the sun.
When Reyes got back to the ship, his face was that of a hard man willing to make a brutal decision, and many on the Citadel were shocked at his plan.
XX Conference Room XX
"Goddess, to willing draw an entire fleet to your home world…" Tevos trailed off.
"No. To willing draw an entire fleet into your homeworld's guns. Smart, but risky." Valern said, metaphorically crunching numbers and wondering how this could go.
"That would be like abandoning the liveships and using them as bait." Rael said grimly.
"It's intelligent, and daring, like Valern said, but they're right. They plan this right and the entire fleet will be ripped to shreds by anti-orbital guns." Sparatus said, and he could imagine if something like this happened to Palaven.
As they arrived back on Earth, they could see that Geneva still had a lot of fires as well as some fighting, and that the convoy was already under heavy fire. When Reyes finally caught up with Riah, he was savagely beaten as Riah monologued, his computer trying to shut down the AATIS network and the transponder at the same time. It worked, in the end, with the AATIS guns all being destroyed, and finally, Riah killed himself, stabbing the transponder in the process.
Thankfully, Reyes came up with a back up plan, and with the Ret's help, the disabled the Olympus long enough to board it with a lot of back up. As they killed their way through the ship, Kotch was taunting them all the while.
When Reyes finally got close enough, he hacked a drone on the bridge, pushing past various troopers before grabbing Kotch by the head, picking him up, and slamming him hard enough into the console to break it, turning off the self destruct, before Reyes finished off anyone too close by self destructing the bot.
When they stormed the bridge, Kotch was bleeding out in the Captain's chair. Reyes was about to stab him, but Kotch bled out first, so he threw Kotch's body out of the chair, kicking it away for good measure as they captured the Olympus.
When the assault on Mars happened, everyone was surprised by the sheer, destructive power that the Olympus held, single handedly destroying almost the entire defensive screening over mars before being shot down, though Reyes also went down in his Jackal on Mars, right along with Salter and many others.
As they were gearing up Ethan eventually regrouped with them with an entire dropship packed full of C6s, joking some more about how they're idiots but that they could fight.
When the assault happened, it was a long, grueling fight as many of the C6s and remaining marines were killed, but they were able to destroy the AA guns, but they eventually made it up to the shipyard, however MacCallum had to sacrifice herself as they destroyed the drop pod cannon from deploying more C6s, and the remaining crew of the Ret was thinning rapidly.
Finally, as they took control of the bridge, Reyes made another hard call, wanting to put the place out of commission forever, and while he would make his way to the firing command center, Salter would steal the fully loaded destroyer and unleash on the space station, meanwhile Ethan would stay behind to make sure Reyes got into the command center.
Salter obviously wasn't happy, but she wouldn't disobey a direct order, so as they left she gave them a nod and wished them fair winds. As it progressed, Reyes came to terms with the mission, and Ethan did as well, because at the end Reyes was forced to take control of Ethan, and, right as they dismantled the reactor, Reyes thought Ethan would make it, but that hope was crushed as Ethan informed him that his self destruct would be needed to detonate it, and when Reyes tried to find another way, he said he wasn't afraid, saying it was an honor.
Reyes reciprocated in kind as he was disconnected, before ordering Salt to fire on his position, and while she hesitated at first, with his command and the enemy fleet jumping in, she listened and fired everything she had, venting Reyes into the vacuum where his helmet shattered after cracking too much, and the final sight he got was of the Mars station being destroyed as Salt jumped out of the system.
Finally, the screen faded to black, before showing that the Ret only had four survivors, and Salter was in her dress uniform as she saluted the memorial, and when she walked away it revealed both Nick's and Ethan's names on it.
As the video ended, with barely a dry eye in the Citadel, the voice came back, "Following the defeat of the SDF, naval warfare was restructured, with drop drives being improved along with ship designs, which started to follow a hybrid mix between the tough bruisers of the SDF and the sleek and fast killers of the SATO forces. Soon, humanity began to colonize further and further, eventually discovering the Relay network inside Charon, the moon where the accords had been made."
The voice showed the reconstruction of the fleets, of humanity's colonies and how they rapidly began to expand and rebuild, Salter's name eventually joining Ethan's and Reyes'.
"AI was also improved, and they almost immediately gained equal rights, SATO not wanting to repeat their mistakes with the colonies." the voice said as it started to show many bots, and how they improved rapidly with colonization, though they still retained a somewhat similar head to Ethan's.
"By the year 2166, Humanity's fleets were bigger than ever, and their colonies were well protected, and the next year, First Contact was made." The voice said as it showed human ships staring at a Relay, before an Asari ship came though, and then it showed the diplomatic parties meeting on even ground, with the negotiations going smoothly.
XX Citadel XX
Many sighed in relief that there was no big conflict at first contact, and the Asari were very happy, being the first ones to meet with the only species who had successfully developed hand held and ship based energy weapons.
The other species were, naturally, jealous, but they knew that they would get it eventually.
"While humanity was unwilling to join as an Associate species, they did open up trade, trading their secret of the Drop Drive for improved Eezo tech, though they did keep some secrets to themselves." The voice said, confusing the people of the Citadel. No one had denied the offer, after all.
"However, just outside the fringes of human space trouble was stirring." The voice said ominously.
Then, it showed a human ship and several Citadel ships hovering over a the same world that Relay 314 supposedly led to, before zooming in on the people inside the city, both alien and human going about their day. This brought many smiles to the people of the Citadel at the easy integration, as the video dated that all this was happening almost 20 years later.
Those smiles vanished though as a Turian warship was destroyed by an F-SpAr, and a face soon broadcasted itself to every screen as an entire fleet jumped into the system, and everyone recognized them as being very similar to the Settlement Defense Front's ships, "I am Admiral Jack Harper-Kotch of the Cerberus Black Fleet. Surrender immediately all military personnel for immediate execution, or be destroyed, along with the Shanxi colony." the man ordered, his bright blue, synthetic eyes seemingly burning holes into everyone watching the screen before the video turned off.
Author's Note: hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading this chapter and I'm sorry that it came out so late. Like I said up top, my other fics aren't dead, I've just got a lot of ideas right now that are distracting me, so be warned that sometimes I will be a bit inconsistent with these updates. Hope you all have a great day, and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible.
