Camp Taril, Tykis Frontline Sector, Thargora Thoraga, November 1 2192.
Kuril, carrying a sling bag, stepped off of the shuttle and onto solid ground. It had been quite a while since he was at the camp, and after looking around, he found that not much had changed since he last set foot on it.
Now that he had been promoted to captain, this meant that he had more soldiers to deal with, and more briefings to attend to.
First order of business, sign in.
The newly arrived captain quickly searched for the camp's quartermaster who, as it turns out, was busy going through the supplies that had arrived with Kuril. The captain walked up to her, stood ramrod straight, and saluted.
"Quartermaster Nyx, Captain Kuril from the 332nd Mobile Battalion, Mox Company. I was told to report to you upon arrival, ma'am." He announced.
The quartermaster turned and saw Kuril's heavily scarred face. She just shook her head and beckoned him to follow her.
"Captain Kuril, welcome back. Ready for another turn in the slog?" she joked lightly.
"Nope, not that it'll make any difference though, would it?" He replied.
"None at all. Well, let's get you settled in with the rest of your regiment." She said as she led the captain. "Go ahead and take a nap, but don't doze off for too long, General Oraka starts his briefing session about two hours from now. Something about movement orders from Supreme Hierarchy Operational Command –or you know, SHOC."
"Apologies in advance if this is intrusive, but are you at all related to a Doctor Nyx?" Kuril asked as he followed her.
"Yes, she's my sister." Nyx answered. "She told me about you, even in bed you're eager to fight." She said.
"Err... what?" Kuril asked confused now.
"Bed rest, not bed." She corrected herself "Dammit, slip of tongue. No offense intended."
"None taken either way." He said as they reached his barrack.
"Thank you." She said. "Well considering you're a captain now, congrats on your promotion by the way, we're going to meet each other... a lot." She informed him. "So, yeah, get used to me messing up my sentences."
Kuril simply nodded as the Quartermaster excused herself. Following that, the captain entered the barrack and went over to his quarter. Being a captain also brings him some benefits, like a more comfortable bed, and a privacy screen that he can actually pull out if he needs to do things without prying eyes.
Setting his sling bag down, Kuril lay down on his bed and allowed himself to drift into sleep…
An hour later…
Kuril stepped into the field HQ where all the important officers had gathered. It was likely that around one hundred Turians were present, plus some officers from the Dominion forces present. He quickly found a seat close to the other captains of his Battalion, and as it happens, was also beside the quartermaster.
"Small camp huh?" Kuril joked as he sat down to her left.
"Unfortunately." She replied sarcastically "How was your rest?" She replied.
"Restless, my left arm's all numb and heavier that it's supposed to be." He said, raising his cybernetic arm and letting its hand twirl on its joints. "What're you doing here anyways? I thought only relevant officers get to join operation briefings."
"Yeah. This must be something big. For the usual planned skirmish or limited offensives, they just send me a list of what the grunts are going to need. Quartermasters are only put in the loop whenever lots of supplies are going to be moved in a short period of time." She informed the captain. "I wonder what General Oraka has planned?"
"Speaking of which, here he comes." Kuril pointed out.
The General stepped up onto a podium, and as he did a holographic projector screen lit up behind him.
"Soldiers, I'll try to make this brief. We've got orders from SHOC and a limited timeframe to pull it off. This is arguably the riskiest set of maneuvers we're doing in this campaign so far." He told them.
On the projector screen, a map of the Tykis Frontline Sector was highlighted, some 50 square kilometers of former grass fields and farmyards turned into a muddy hell hole and a slog scarred by artillery fire. Several lines of trenches then also materialized on screen, with the red lines being Council held trenches, and the yellow lines being Hierarchy held trenches. With all the trenches and projected troop counts now on screen, a series of arrows also materialized.
"People, this is Operation Dark Blue and it is a 3 phase maneuver." The General continued.
On the screen, a digital representation of the sun dipped below the horizon, and was replaced by a moon. Looping footage of several logistics vehicles moving back and forth between a set of thin trenches on the frontline, and a thick set of trenches far behind was projected.
"The first is Phase Lorkhil. In this Phase, the Logisticorps will mobilize and transport supplies and personnel to a much improved, much more defensible trench line. We're leaving only a token defense force to keep up appearances." He explained as he pointed at the images on screen. "Compared to our current trenches, Defense Line Thanix is like a luxury hotel."
The light joke elicited some laughter from the officers present.
"We can't let the Allied Races discover our movements, however. If they do, they'll be sure to attack us in our weakened state. This means night movement only, and when our Cyberwarfare teams are scrambling their sensors."
After that, Colonel Victus asked a question.
"Regardless of whether or not they know of our movements, what are we supposed to do if they attack us?"
"I was getting to that, Colonel." Oraka chastised.
A series of new arrows and images now materialized on screen. This time, they were boxes with the emblems of the units they represented.
"The second phase, Phase Menae. In this phase, small and limited assaults are to distract the enemy and keep them on the defense while the Logisticorps mobilize. This means trench raids, and night attacks only. Don't bother capturing enemy positions, as those positions will be totally irrelevant once the operation is complete."
Victus and many other officers nodded along.
"The final phase, Phase Glatisant, is when all remaining forces in the forward trenches are pulled back to Defense Line Thanix. The Allied races will be allowed to advance and capture our forward trenches, which would be rigged with explosives by our Pioneers. Once enough of their forces have occupied the trench, we will trigger the trap. Destruction of the trench lines are secondary, but would be highly preferable to the enemy having defensible positions within artillery range."
The head of the Engineers Regiment, replied to that out loud.
"We'll leave nothing but scorched earth." He said.
"That's what I like to hear." The general nodded. "Quartermasters, organize with the Logisticorps and the Pioneers, we need this done as efficiently as possible within the next few weeks. Everyone clear on what's needed to be done?"
Around the room, everyone was nodding in agreement.
"Good, let's get to work."
-000-
The Silver House, Arcturus Station, November 9, 2192
After a relatively polarizing media campaign, President Harper's proposed plan to the Alliance parliament to take in the former slaves has finally been passed, though not without opposition. As he had expected, a sizable portion of Krotoshinsky's All Nationalists Union Party was skeptical, if not entirely opposed, to it.
Inside his room, Harper had three separate screens on, each on different news channels covering the passing of the 'Xeno Assimilation and Refugee Program'. The polls, while the President didn't put much faith in them, showed a 56.4% approval rating. A small lead, but a lead nonetheless.
As he sat on his couch and took another bite from his dinner, a small tune and vibrations on his pocket told him that someone was calling him. Pulling out his phone, he saw his son's face and phone number on the screen.
Quickly swallowing the food that he was chewing, Harper answered the call.
"Hey, Dad, is this a bad time?" his son told him.
"Not at all Jack, I was just finishing my dinner." He replied. "What's going on, any problems?"
"Oh, no. No problems, I was just calling to congratulate you on that... ah... bill being passed." The younger Harper told his father.
"Ah, yes… Thank you for that. Anything else?" the elder Harper thanked his son somewhat awkwardly.
Jack was only silent, unsure what to say. After a rather lengthy awkward silence, Jack finally spoke up again.
"Well, that's all then, I guess. We'll talk again later…"
The elder Harper cut his son off.
"Hey Jack, come on. I know we're not on the best of terms ever since… ever since…" Donnie trailed off.
"Ever since Mom was murdered, yeah." Jack now cut off his father.
"Yes, ever since Karen died. I know you blame yourself for what happened, Jack, but it's got to stop." He said.
"Dammit Dad, I don't have time for this." Jack replied rather angrily.
"No son. It's about damn time we talked." The elder Harper said sternly. "We're the only ones left of the Harper family, and as much as I enjoy working with my cabinet members, they're not my family; you are."
Jack was silent, he didn't exactly know what to reply.
"And God dammit son, I know you're pissed that I shafted your career from Field Operator to Information Control, but I can't lose you too." He continued.
"Then let me loose, Dad." He finally replied. "The sooner this war ends, the sooner we can sort out this family issue."
The elder Harper still didn't like having his working behind enemy lines.
"I have the means and the resources to end this war quick. To avenge Mom." Jack explained further.
"I'll... think about it." the President replied.
"It's all I ask." Jack replied.
-000-
A/N:
Hey guys, Dovahcheese here, back from the dead. I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, I know I did. Anyways, yeah I'm back, and hopefully I should be able to keep writing this, though I might not be able to hit monthly updates. Honestly, writing I'm kinda burned out on writing Mass Effect and Sci-Fi in general. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoy writing the story, just need a little more variety is all.
Also, i saw a recent review which pointed my flaw in the Battle over Shanxi part with the 'meatshields' and yeah, it's a bit out of place I admit, and I never was good at physics so that's a double whammy. I might go back and try to fix some of it, but that'll have to in the far future when I get my shit together.
As always, thanks for reading, review what you think, or PM me. Have a nice day