SSV Illusion, En Route to Anhur, January 16, 2193.
Jack sat down on his designated seat in the dreadnought Illusion's conference room. The Illusion was the ACI Foreign Operation's mobile HQ. Where Domestic Intelligence was based mostly in Arcturus Station with various field offices across the colonies, Foreign Operations moved wherever was necessary. Dealing with external threats means that the ACI-FO couldn't afford to centralize or entrench themselves like the ACI-DI.
Jack was there very early, a practice his father had passed down to him when he was a child. A few minutes passed by when the other Foreign Operations big boys trickled in. One by one they arrived until they are complete.
At the head of the table was Director-General Jeong. He was the leader of Foreign Operations and answered directly to the Secretary of Defense. The elder man cleared his throat and started the meeting.
"Ladies, gentlemen, thank you for arriving on time. Let's welcome the newest member of our circle, Colonel Jack Harper." Jeong said. Everyone acknowledge this with various nods and salutes. "Colonel Harper here transferred from Domestic Intelligence, his last posting was on Shanxi, aboard the Jerusalem. The man's experienced, knows how things work, and if he doesn't he learns them fast." Jeong said.
Jack nodded and looked around the table, measuring up his fellow agents. After a few more seconds of silence, Jeong continued.
"Alright, let's get to business; how are the Free Batarians faring?"
An officer sitting to Jack's right answered.
"They're holding on, for now. Anhur and Ba'kar are no longer under siege, Camala has fallen to the Hegemony, Torfan is expected to be liberated by Republican troops by the end of this month."
Jeong nodded, then asked again.
"How are the Turians?"
"Not good." the officer sitting across to Jack answered. "They're taking heavy losses on Thargora Tho...raga." she slipped trying to pronounce the alien planet's name. "The modified medigel we licensed to them is helping to lower death rates, but that doesn't stop them from being knocked out of combat. By estimations, they should have mobilized another 68 million soldiers by June, but that won't be enough to bring their numbers to two-thirds of the Council's forces.
"Worrying. Speaking of which, what do we know of the Council situation?"
Now the officer to Jack's left answered.
"From what we've been told by the Turians and Free Batarians, They've got the potential to stampede through the opposition, but ain't using it. Seems like they're stuck in some kinda Bureaucratic nightmare. The Asaro bigwigs..."
"Asari." someone corrected.
"...Asaro, Asari what have you, them bigwigs that're heading the peace movement are picking up more support. Sounds mighty similar to what my great-great-great granpap's great grandpappy had to deal with back during 'Nam." he continued.
"That's good." Jeong said now. "How are our efforts on contacting the bigwigs?"
The same officer replied again.
"Ain't much progress since last week, that's for sure. With the limited access we have to the council Extranet, it ain't exactly easy to be as active as we want to." He said. "Plus, we're using a Turian proxy program to talk to 'em. With the council's anti-espionage systems about, it's mighty tough to just keep chattin' to 'em for more than 10 minutes, let alone talk to 'em proper. Not sure if they're buying that we're Turian folks on the other side of the war interested in peace, So you'll have to take most of their responses with a grain of salt."
"Hmm, proceed at the current pace; we're in no rush to deal with them as of yet." Jeong told him.
The officer nodded and typed something into the datapad that was with him.
"How is that decapitation strike plan going?" Jeong now asked, going over the plans Jack had submitted earlier in the week.
"Still working out the finer details with our contacts in Kar'shan. The Chairmen meet together every quarter in their fortress capital. That's when we'll strike, but it's not easy. Security is tightest when all the Chairmen are present, so we have to figure out how to embed our agents in time for the meeting." Jack explained.
Jeong and the rest of the other officers nodded in acknowledgement.
"Alright then, keep on it. We'll reconvene again same time next week. Meeting adjourned."
-000-
Tykis Frontline Sector, Thargora Thoraga, January 22, 2193
It was almost dawn. The sun would rise from the southeast any minute now. The glares would blind anyone who would dare look directly on it. With the addition of the early morning fog, visibility was reduced to a mere few meters ahead.
This was the perfect cover to sneak across No Man's Land.
Kuril and his men laid prone on the ground as a Council sentry scoped past their position. As the sentry turned away, he beckoned for his soldiers to move. The Turians crawled further until they were barely a stone's throw away. The Council forces rotated their sentries at sunrise; a fact understood by both sides.
With the blinding sun rising behind them, Kuril motioned for his pioneers to prepare the package: an artillery shell modified to be a throwable bomb.
The Turian officer counted down from 5 and when he finished, the pioneers threw the jury rigged bombs onto the Council trenchline. The large explosion rocked the fortifications, surprising the tired sentries, and the still groggy soldiers that would take the new shift.
The council forces sounded the alarm as they scrambled and rushed to defensive positions. Half asleep soldiers got up and picked up their weapons as fast as they possibly could, hastily moving to counter the Turians.
Kuril and his soldiers rushed into the trenches and began indiscriminately firing upon Council soldiers. The greater the confusion caused by the attack, the better.
"More bodies into the trenches, lets go!" Kuril called out.
More of his soldiers dived into the trenches, firing away as they went. The Turians continued to push in, throwing their explosives around as though there was no tomorrow. The greater the chaos started, the greater their success after all.
Kuril, with a Carnifex pistol in hand, took point in the trenches. The particular squad he led was moving towards a bunker. They didn't make it far before getting bogged down in increasingly heavier resistance.
"Smoke grenades, now!" the officer ordered.
The soldiers following him complied, three of them took a smoke grenade each and lobbed it ahead of the group, obscuring the enemy's vision.
"Activate thermals and get ready to advance!" Kuril now told them. Each one flicked on the thermal scopes on their visors and confirmed it to the captain. Once all those following him had activated it, he motioned for them to advance.
Most of the council forces had barely any time to prepare, plenty of them weren't even wearing armor. Without their sight, the Allied Races had their combat effectiveness effectively neutered. The various Asari, Krogan, and Salarian defenders had to pull back as the Turians advanced with haste.
The Turians with Kuril pushed the defenders back into one of the major bunkers. The Council forces hunkered down and fortified the bunker that they expected to come under siege. The Turians expected this, and was not eager to get bogged down in a prolonged fight.
"Remus, take a few pioneers and throw some IEDs through the gun slits." Kuril ordered.
As ordered, Remus and a pair of Turian pioneers sneaked towards the bunker's gun slits, and when the guns stopped firing due to overheating, they threw their IEDs through it and ran like hell. Seconds later, a blast of smoke and fire blew out of the bunker's various holes and hatches. Just as they were going to breach the bunker, beeping noises interrupted him and his soldiers.
"Sir!" Remus said as him and his pioneers ran back to the group. "Time's up, we've go to move now!"
Kuril looked back towards No Man's Land and saw that the fog was starting to roll back. The captain nodded and ordered his men back.
"Everyone pull back, cover our withdrawal with smoke grenades!" He ordered.
Once again his soldiers lobbed smoke grenades out into the open. Enough smoke had come up and plugged the holes in the fog. This allowed for the Turians to pull out without the enemy blasting them with pinpoint accuracy.
"Pull out from cover to cover! The smoke doesn't stop bullets!" Kuril barked.
All around the sector's frontline, the attacking Turians withdrew from the enemy trenches as the smoke obscured their movements. Council gunners shot their machine guns at No Man's Land in frustration to no avail. It wouldn't be until a dozen or so minutes before the last gunner stopped firing.
From a bombed out bunker, a Battlemaster Okeer rose from the light debris covering him. His subordinates rushed to help him, but he waved them off.
"It's nothing serious." He told them. "Go take care of the others, I'll be fine."
The attack had left the Council forces in a state of minor disarray. While the plumes of smoke from bombed out structures burned around him, reinforcements started pouring in from the rear trenches. The Turians had timed their assault perfectly.
As Okeer sat down on a chunk of debris nursing the cuts and bruises he picked up, Jarrod approached him with a bottle of Ryncol.
"Are we too late?" The Urdnot Battlemaster asked.
"Unfortunately." Okeer grunted out as he took the bottle from his comrade.
He downed the alcoholic drink quickly then tossed the bottle aside.
"They're playing us like Pyjaks!" Okeer shouted out. "They're up to something, I'm telling you Jarrod."
"I've got no doubts about that. The problem is that we don't know what they're planning. Your report was dismissed for lack of evidence. You know that Okeer.
"We need to do something, dammit." Okeer growled out.
"Not until we figure out what they're up to first. It's a bridge we'll cross when we get there." Jarrod said.
"If there's any bridge when we get there at all..." The dusty Battlemaster sullenly said.
-000-
JCF Dock No. 3, The Citadel, February 3 2193
Today was a great day for the JCF. Despite many Asari Republics withdrawing from the war effort, many others are standing strong with the rest of the Galaxy, or at least the Galaxy that was aligned with the Council.
"Today we launch not only a few new ships, but a new symbol of hope." Councilor Tevos said from the podium. She and the other Councilors were present to conclude the first real joint venture between the Council races' navies.
"*wheeze* These three new ships, the first of their kind, will be a stepping stone not only to victory but also for further integration and cooperation between the various races." Councilor Bola said, continuing the speech.
It was now Councilor Toraph's turn to speak.
"The Dreadnought JCF-D 1112 Aigaion, and the twin cruisers JCF-C 1113 Kottos and JCF-C 1114 Gyges are the pinnacle of naval warfare technology. The Aigaion carries with it the most powerful suite of advanced weapons and the most devastating missile systems ever seen in naval warfare history so far. The Krogan built spinal weapon is the largest and most powerful of its kind, spanning a whole one and a three quarters of a kilometer and has the damage yield equivalent to the most powerful WMDs in the Krogan arsenal. The Salarian built 'warphead' anti-ship missiles are also a part of the Aigaion's arsenal, capable of destroying dreadnoughts with a single strike and shattering flotillas in a single salvo."
Councilor Yorgal continued.
"Paired together with the most advanced electronic-warfare suites aboard the Kottos and Gyges, the newly formed Battlefleet Unity will be the most powerful and diverse collective of ships in the Galaxy. Rest assured that so long as the Aigaion lives, victory will become an impossible goal for our enemies."
As the Councilors finished speaking of the new ships, a squadron of fighters ran a flyby over the docks. These fighters were the most advanced and latest model of air/spacecrafts. The lead aircraft sported dark purple wingtips.
Councilor Tevos now spoke again.
"Accompanying the Aigaion will be Soul Squadron, a veteran Asari fighter squadron with history dating back all the way to the Rachni War. While Colonel Madella Mala, the legendary squadron's founder has died long ago, her successor, Matriarch Mihaia T'slagi will lead the squadron in the coming campaigns."
As Tevos finished her section, the squadron turned around and did another flyby. As they did this, the Aigaion, Kottos, and Gyges, uncoupled their docking locks and began moving away from the port to join the rest of Battlefleet Unity. The crowd cheered for the departing ships as the fighters lined up to land on the newly launched Dreadnought. The fighters lined up into the rear hangar door, where they entered and touched down in a perfectly organized and practiced form. As the fighters taxied to their respective slots in the hangars the commander of Battlefleet Unity, Matriarch Dilinaga the Younger, called the flight commander through the battle-network.
"So, Madame X finally joins us again in the frontlines." Dilinaga said, referencing Mihaia's previous tenure as the test pilot for various experimental fighters, and the template for the Salarian swarm drones. "On one hand, the Turians are royally screwed if the JCF are putting you and Soul Squadron back in the field. On the other hand, we must be being royally screwed by the Turians to be calling you back in the field."
"One Asari cannot win the war." She quietly answered.
"But one Asari can make a difference." Dilinaga replied. Matriarch Madella thought us that much."
The Matriarch pilot only grunted in response.
"Hey, I get that you don't particularly care about anything except flying and leading Soul Squadron, but you have to remember why we're here."
"I remember clearly, Dilinaga." She somberly replied. "I'll never forget her sacrifice."
"Well... that's enough moping and brooding for one day. Come join me and the others in the officer's quarters, and bring your squaddies with you. We're having a private celebration there."
"Copy that." Mihaia answered, closing the channel.
-000-
Archive Update: Final recorded conversation between Soul 1 (Madella Mala) and Soul 15 (Mihaia T'slagi) circa 1409 AD.
Playback Start.
Soul 1: *heavy breathing* [flight systems error] Dammit, dammit, dammit!
Soul 15: Soul 1, are you alright?
S1: [flight systems error] That hit did a number on my controls *heavy breathing* mag-servos are shot... hydraulics are failing...
S15: Soul 1, we need to pull out now!
S1: Negative, Soul 15. [Flight systems error] We can't... *heavy breathing* I can't...
S15: What are you saying?
S1: Some shrapnel punched through... *heavy breathing* hit me in the... [Pilot blacking out... Administering adrenaline shot] AH! Damn VI...
S15: Soul 1, can you make it back to the fleet?
S1: *heavy breathing* Doesn't even... doesn't even look like I'll make it off planet. [Flight system error]
S15: Dammit, what do we do now?
S1: Not we, Mihaia... *heavy breathing* Just myself. [Craft in trajectory to impact... Pull up... Pull up.]
S15: Matriarch, what are you doing!?
S1: *heavy breathing* Still enough munition... to take down the next... *heavy breathing* and the Queen... [Over G... Over G... Pull Up]
S15: No! You can't do this!
S1: Can't change course even if i wanted to... *heavy breathing* [Craft in trajectory to impact... Pull up... Pull up.]
Prolonged silence
S1: Mihaia... *heavy breathing* you're the only one left... [Craft in trajectory to impact... Pull up... Pull up.] My kingdom... the skies... watch over it... [Craft in trajectory to impact... Pull up... Pull u...] *feed is cut off*
S15: Matriarch... No!
Dilinaga: *electronic buzzing* ...oul squadron, we're not reading you on sensors... Can you hear me?
S15: ...
D: Soul 15, is that you? Where is the rest of Soul Squadron?
S15: This is Soul 15... I'm the only one left...
D: I... I see... *sniffles* We're no longer detecting any activity from the nest... One of you must've destroyed it... Soul 15, return to the fleet. We've lost enough today.
S15: ...
D: Soul 15, can you hear me?
S15: Copy that.
Playback end.
-000-
A/N:
An update! This calls for a celebration! Time for me to crack open that box of traditional Korean acorn snacks a girl I am totally not into gave me last week.
So, the Turians are moving on with Operation Dark Blue, and the Council forces are scrambling to figure out what they're doing. Will they catch on before it's too late, or will the Turians succeed in pulling a sneaky on them? Guess we'll have to wait and find out. Also, now I'm introducing two new Asari kind-of antagonists. Dilinaga the Younger and Mihaia T'slagi. 10 points to whoever can figure out which niche game characters Mihaia is based on. I'm dropping references left and right, and adapting almost entire concepts, it almost feels like ripping off to be honest.
Also, the Human/Council will be happening in the next two chapters, I promise.
Side note to the guy who was asking what the Power Armor looked like, I'd imagine it as a cross between Space Marine power armor and the T-51b suit from Fallout. Like, imagine most of the torso and helmet like the T-51, and imagine the shoulder pauldrons and leg armor like the Space Marine armor. Ability wise, it's nowhere near Space Marine armor and more like the Fallout Power Armor.
Also, I just realized that the three views from Indonesia are probably just myself.
As always, thanks for reading. Review or PM me your thoughts, all feedback is appreciated.
Again, thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your day.