…
"War. War never changes."
(Fallout Series)
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MSV Explorer, February 10th, 11:39 AM, 2182
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"In other news, the Migrant Fleet has turned away Alliance investigators who requested assistance in their search for the ship involved the skirmish above Eden Prime several days ago. The rouge ship had attacked the Seventh Fleet during a patrol in the sector, damaging several fighters before escaping." The newscaster reported as I sat back in my chair, watching with minor, but pent-up anger. "Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema was quoted, saying "We do not have the resources to help the Alliance in their little Varren chase." Admiral Catharine Parangosky, Commander of the Seventh Fleet, was unavailable for comment regarding the incident."
"Well, I guess that's that then." I remarked, looking over at Dan and Richard who had decided to watch the broadcast with me.
"Let's just hope they gave us the proper instructions for changing our IFF." Richard replied, walking off with the new pout he had developed since coming here.
We watched him, waiting for the door to close before speaking.
"Asshole." Dan exclaimed bitterly, crossing his arms as he stared ahead at the screen.
"Just ignore him, he's worried about Powell and Lydia, that's all." I explained, switching the screen over to the ship's schematics. "Speaking of which… Powell, please secure the room."
The door locked as built-in soundproofing kicked in. We were safe from any possible outside signals too, as our omni-tool signals cut off.
For the last four days, we've all been hard at work trying to repair the major damage to the ship, mostly the holes on the starboard side of the ship. The Quarians even covered up the old Alliance emblems with Flotilla ones. While that was going to take a little longer, all the other minor damage to the ship had already been repaired. They were fast when it came to repairing hull damage, but the Admirals had thoroughly explained that they expected something soon to make up for the resources being used here.
Sira and I were planning on showing off the "Type III" exo to them at the end of the week. Adapting the design to Quarian physiology when building the new one wasn't too difficult, though we toned down some settings to accommodate their different leg shape. What we eventually planned to do was upgrade it into its own armor system with plating and kinetic barriers, but that was on hold for now. We would settle for giving the Quarians something that could help them move heavy objects or better handle combatants. Plus, there was the added benefit of it being relatively cheap to build.
What I really wanted to see what kinds of improvements they could make themselves.
So far, all we were missing was proper labs and logistical support food and medical-wise. The latter we could probably set up with military surplus, but the former… let's just say we'd have to get used to working on a budget again.
"Powell, how are the external repairs coming along?" I asked as Dan and I stood up to get a better look at the screen.
"About 76% of the starboard repairs are finished, though we won't be replacing the emergency thrusters anytime soon." Powell chimed, appearing on the nearby projector as the screen. "Same goes for the GARDIAN arrays, though Dr. Vsevolod is trying to find a workaround that'll make them operable again."
"OK... Lydia, how about the internals?" I inquired, rubbing the steadily forming goatee on my chin.
"Most primary systems have been restored, though most of the secondary systems remain damaged." She listed off as she appeared next to Powell. "Most of the disabled systems relate to lighting and power distribution, but they can be bypassed."
"Doesn't sound like too much of a problem." I mused, looking at Dan who nodded in approval. "Alright, now for the next order of business. Have you guys found anything interesting on the 'Net?"
"Not much. The only interesting thing outside of the Fleet is a noticeable shift in pirate activity near the Terminus-Attican border, likely in response to the Seventh Fleet's movements." Powell commented, shrugging slightly. "It's nowhere near us, so I don't think it really matters."
"What about inside the Fleet?" I questioned further, trying to make sure I didn't miss anything.
"You mean other than the complaints from several of the Captains over all the spare resources being pulled to further our repairs?" Lydia remarked with a smile, crossing her arms with a large smirk. "I think the Admirals are setting up an obstacle course one one of their cargo freighters, the Celchu I believe. More than likely it's for you and Sira."
"They're that eager to see what we have, huh?" I remarked with raised eyebrows, shaking my head as I looked back over to Dan. "So… what do you think about my agreement to supply them with military tech?"
"I think its sound, though i-if they move too fast with it they may inadvertently alert the Alliance to our pr-presence in the Fleet." Dan theorized, looking at the monitor on the wall as small status updates scrolled across it. "If these Cerberus bastards or the Alliance want us t-that badly… then I'm scared to imagine what they may do to get at us here."
"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. We've shaken the Alliance from the looks of it, so Cerberus are the major threat now." I finished off, giving him a quick pat on his shoulder as I disabled the room lock down. "Talk to you guys later, I'm gonna check on things in person."
"See you." Dan replied with a small nod as I walked out of the room.
Outside, I was greeted by the plethora of Quarian volunteers, about eight or nine of them, repairing the minor damage around the ship. It had been extremely easy to find volunteers for the repair, considering this was a top-of-the-line Alliance light cruiser. There had actually been so many volunteers that they had to hold a little drawing to thin out the numbers.
It didn't take a genius to understand why, of course. They wanted to see and study a mostly pristine, top-of-the-line Alliance frigate in-person, get their chance to look around and figure out how it works. I couldn't blame them, to be honest. Hell, I was still enamored by the fact that I was actually flying around in a starship, one of my childhood and adulthood dreams I once considered unobtainable.
"Captain Michaels!" The lead of the volunteer project, Hendor'Evvri vas Bordans, greeted enthusiastically, holding his hand up to better gain my attention. "We've repaired the main power conduits on all three decks and the secondary ones are nearly finished."
"That's great, Hendor." I replied with a smile, nodding in the same motion. "Tell the volunteers that once those are fixed they can head back to their ships."
"Yes'sir, Captain." He saluted, walking back off to assist in the repairs.
I was still pondering the fact that I could be approached by Quarians returning from Pilgrimage with gifts. I honestly found the need for such a dangerous rite of passage to be extremely benign, but I could understand why they considered it so important. They didn't want anyone dragging their knuckles around here, they didn't have the time or resources for it. In a way, it made me better appreciate all the Admirals had done to help fix our ship.
I walked down to the vacant bridge, putting on some Johnny Cash's "Ghost Riders in the Sky" which I had deliberately edited to give it reverb. The effect helped make me feel like I was in a much larger space, which I had read helped relax those often confined to space vessels. Nature sounds such as rain or ocean were also great for helping relieve stress, though I preferred to stick with Bob Ross videos when it came to stress.
Taking a seat and watching the ships around me, I admired the sheer determination and will it took to keep this ancient fleet going. I stared up at it all for about seven minutes, nearly falling asleep before I got a ping from Powell.
"Yeah, what's up?" I asked, sitting up straight and looking over at the projector.
"Uh… there's a Quarian here who claims he knows you, just got back from his Pilgrimage." He informed me, sending my eyebrows up into the air. "Should I send him away?"
"Hold on… give me a visual." I halted as Powell threw up the camera view of the Quarian, facing the CIC as he stood in the hallway next to the cockpit door. I almost couldn't believe it.
I immediately jumped out of the seat and opened the door to the cockpit, causing the green and black suited Quarian to flip around and face me.
"Lenlo!" I said out loud, holding my arms out in the air. "Man, how's it going?"
"Its b-been going very well, Captain. I'm certainly better off than I was back on Earth." He replied, giving me a light handshake. "With that money you gave me, I was able to get out of that city and find come really nice tech to bring back for my Pilgrimage."
"That sounds really good, certainly sounds a lot less hazardous than what me and... my crew have been through lately." I remarked, looking off to the side as I trailed off a bit. I still wasn't used to the idea that I was now the de-facto leader of our group. "Anyways, did you need something, or did you just come by to say hi?"
"I... uh, came here because I would like to join your crew, Captain." He said, as his posture got much stiffer and nervous. "I don't really know any of the other ship captains, and even though I've been-"
"Don't say another word." I stopped, smiling as I put both hands on his shoulders. "Welcome to the crew, Lenlo."
"B-But don't you want to see what I brought back first?" He replied sheepishly, being equal parts confused and surprised.
"Sure, you can show it to me after you bring your stuff over and move in, Lenlo'Ferna vas Explorer." I shot back, a cheeky expression plastered on my face.
"Oh, OK Captain!" He quickly nodded, running back into the airlock to gather his stuff. I couldn't be happier, and I'm sure he felt the same way.
The galaxy really was a small place after all.
…
MFV Celchu, February 13th, 4:51 PM, 2182
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Sira and I walked onto the repurposed freighter, the two of us pulling a cargo truck with two crates on it. Two Migrant Fleet marines stood at attention as we walked past, not even moving their heads as we walked into the main hallway.
"So, you ready for this?" I asked, looking over at Sira who looked clearly conflicted.
"I'll be fine, don't worry about me." She reassured, her expression softening a bit. "I just hope these Admirals don't do anything shortsighted with our designs."
"I hope so too." I agreed as we ran into two more marines guarding the door to the main hold.
"Halt." One of the marines commanded, holding out his hand before moving it to the side of his head. "Admiral, they're here."
"Good, send them in." A faint voice could be heard, as both marines stepped out of the way. The door opened, revealing a large, open space filled with a multitude of different obstacles. It was a full-fledged course, like Lydia had predicted.
"Captain, over here." Admiral Mirna'Zadie urged, who was standing with Han'Gerrel and Rael'Zorah. We left the crates there and walked up the stairs to their platform, which overlooked the entire course from the center.
"Captain Michaels, I've been looking forward to this presentation." Gerrel mused as he gave me a firm handshake.
"So have I." Rael remarked, turning around to face me. "If these specifications you have given me are to be believed, then this will make a great new addition to our arsenal."
"Well, we certainly aim to please." I smiled, crossing my hands behind my back. "Who will be running the course with me today?"
"That'd be me, sir." A new voice announced from below us. I turned around to see a Migrant Fleet Marine walking up the stairs. He had a red, black and white accented suit along with a black visor. "Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines."
"Nice to meet you, Reegar." I greeted with a firm handshake, briefly noticing the large knife strapped to his chest. "Ready to help test our new toy?"
"Absolutely, sir." He agreed, as the three of us walked back down the stairs.
We began the relatively short process of unpacking the exoskeleton, which only really needed to be unfolded and placed upright. First, Reegar's went on, matching his physique to the letter with just a few minor adjustments. Mine went on second, fitting perfectly. The newer straps Sira and I had applied before the attack were much more comfortable to non-armor wearers this time around, and left me with an even better range of movement.
This would be fun.
"This feels pretty good." Reegar commented, doing a quick series of punches and jabs in the empty air in front of him. "I've got a little proposition for you if you're interested, doc."
"I'm all ears, Reegar." I replied, looking over at him as I rolled my shoulders with several satisfying pops.
"How bout' a race?" He suggested, piquing my competitive side. "First one to beat the challenges and reach the end wins."
"Sounds interesting. How about we throw in some stakes?" I challenged, jogging in place to get the leg actuators warmed up. "If I win, you give me that knife. If you win, I let you keep that exo."
He pondered my terms for a few seconds, looking between the knife and his exo in deliberation.
"Deal." He agreed as Sira walked back up to the observation platform. I slipped a basic combat helmet on, not wanting to damage my cranium.
"Alright, there are three portions to this test." Rael began, looking down at the two of us with his hands crossed behind his back. "There is the obstacle course, CQC course, and speed course. These three must be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible to better test the suit capabilities. Good luck."
With that, Gerrel sounded an artificial bell. The two of us bolted forward determined to beat each other.
The first obstacle was a short wall, which could easily be jumped over with the in-built piston system. Reegar knew this too from going over the design specifications, flying over the wall as well. The second was the tall wall, which was just high enough that we couldn't completely jump over it. I climbed over the top after jumping most of the height, dropping straight back down to the ground without any fear of breaking my legs.
I quickly did the balance beams, my center of gravity pretty well suited for them. The Burma Bridge was pretty easy as well, I didn't have to worry about the rope snapping from weight due to the lightweight materials. The fifth and last part was an extended rope swing, which led to a quick set of monkey bars. It was easy enough. I looked over to my right to see Reegar was very close on my tail, just now finishing the first part of the course.
I picked up speed, running into a mock series of ship corridors. I had to "knock out" each target in my section of the course before moving on. It was relatively easy, a single punch or kick while wearing the exo made the tasks much easier that it would have been for any standard Human, Quarian, or possibly even Turians. I could hear Reegar on the other side, grunting as he worked as quickly as he could. I knocked out each of the ten targets in about 48 seconds, running through the door at the end of the course.
Reegar popped out just a mere second later as we both bolted down the speed course. It ran down the whole length of the massive cargo hold, and had "walls" and other obstacles to avoid as we ran. I smashed through the smaller obstacles with my sheer mass, while avoiding the walls and swinging weights in my path.
There was nothing left but a single stretch left in front of us now, and both of us strained ourselves to move as fast as the suits. We were neck in neck as we crossed the end of the course, both of us panting as we leaned on our knees. I had no idea who won.
"It looks like the Captain finished the course a hair before Kal'Reegar did." Gerrel announced as he, Sira, and the rest of the Admirals walked back down to see us. "Congratulations, doctor."
"That was a good race, Michaels." He panted out, walking over and handing me the knife. "I'll take off the suit in a few minutes."
"That won't be necessary, Reegar." I said, taking the knife from his hands as I looked over at the Admirals. "I'll take the knife, but you can keep the suit. You've proven you know how to use it."
"Thank you, sir." He nodded, his eyes widening in surprise.
I smiled at his mild excitement as the Admirals and Sira finally made it over, their body language suggesting that they were very much impressed with the exos.
"That performance surpassed all of my expectations!" Mirna'Zadie remarked, looking remarkably giddy as she struggled to stay still. "We should start manufacturing these exoskeletons as soon as possible, they can give us a significant edge in countless civilian and military fields."
"I agree, the parts are cheap enough that we can make most of them ourselves." Han'Gerrel supported, looking at Reegar up and down before looking back at me and Sira. "And you two don't mind us making our own modifications?"
"Not at all, as long as you tell us about the upgrades so we may double check your work." Sira answered, looking back at me with a neutral expression on her face. "Right?"
"Yep. We just want to be in the know. Quality control, if you will." I agreed, folding my hands behind my sweat-soaked back.
"That won't be a problem." Rael reassured, looking back over at me. "Thank you for presenting this to us, Captain."
"Admiral." I nodded in acknowledgement as Sira and I walked out of the cargo hold and back to our shuttle.
"So, I think that went very well." I smiled, hoping to get Sira to lighten up. "Starting to feel better about this?"
"I suppose, but I'll need more convincing than that before I just roll over for them like a dog." She remarked, sounding more annoyed than anything else as she rubbed her temples. "I need a drink."
"I'll see what I can pull together." I said with some sympathy as our shuttle departed from the Celchu.
…
MFV Alarei, April 5th, 11:21 AM, 2183
…
The last year had been relatively calm compared to when we used to work on Aldrin Station. Since our ship had been repaired, we've helped solve a whole slew of problems around the Fleet. The most shining example so far would have to be when the ship known as the Artemis, a really old Turian cruiser, had a drive core malfunction, shutting down all primary power on the ship. We flew up to it, supplied it with surplus power from our ship, and helped repair the old core in under an hour. The crew of that ship was still thanking us for our help six months later.
In that time, the exos me and Sira had developed had become fairly common on most ships here. The Quarians had made a multitude of improvement in that time, including but not limited to the addition of kinetic barriers for military applications and large, built-in tools for civilian repair applications.
Our "Reach System" had been slowly replicated across several ships in the fleet, starting with their Liveships and tapering off into about a dozen of their most strategic cruisers. I did manage to successfully push for a few volunteer frigates to receive the upgrades as part of my new "Haven Plan." The plan was simple, and had the support of most of the Conclave and Admiralty.
We get a small group of exploration ships outfitted with Gravity Drive technology, send them to systems out of the reach of Mass Relays, and either find a new planet for the Quarians to colonize, or locate moons and asteroids containing valuable minerals that could be harvested. Any uncontested resources could help further bolster the Fleet's vitality and assist in other matters.
Zaal'Koris was a big fan of the Haven Plan, mostly because he despised the idea of going back to war with the Geth. Raan and Zadie were supportive as well, though Gerrel and Rael were a bit… reluctant towards the idea. They believed that all these resources would be better suited for hardening their attack ships. Still, we had two exploration frigates out on expeditions right now and I was getting some good results back from their Captains.
As for our ship, things had been calm, despite all the visits from the Admirals and science personnel.
Up to this point, we've only accepted three new crewmembers. The first was the young Quarian who I had met in Baltimore City back on Earth, Lenlo'Ferna. As it turned out, he's extremely talented when it comes to engines and other maintenance tasks, and thoroughly earned his place on my ship when he fixed several of our maneuvering thrusters. He resided down in the hangar, inside one of the large storage containers that had been emptied of its contents. This was despite my offer to live in the crew quarters. I think he preferred to be alone.
The second was a young woman, Kirva'Noviss. She was a specialist, skilled in combat and weapon maintenance. She returned from her Pilgrimage with an abundance of Element Zero she had salvaged from a derelict Asari mining vessel in the Attican Traverse. That alone would have given her a place on my ship, but she also managed this while fending off a small gang of pirates, eventually neutralizing them and using their ship to bring the Eezo back to the Fleet. She was somewhat friendly, if rather cold and frightening at times. She stayed in the armory, naturally.
The third and newest was an odd one. His name was Biss'Relven. He was strange because of his fascination with mathmatics, physics, and theoretical concepts such as quantum mechanics. He talked about it constantly, and had plenty of papers clipped to the wall next to his bunk relating to it. He completed his Pilgrimage when he brought back an old Quarian computer he had found during his travels. He never did tell anyone how he came across it, but it did contain a personal diary recording a young man's experiences during the beginning and end of the Geth War.
Such things were given much cultural value here in the Fleet, and could have given him passage on any ship. Yet, he chose to join mine.
As far as I was concerned, he needed to do more than recite how quantum physics related to the creation of dark matter. As interesting as his theories were, they didn't help my ship run smoothly. He was starting to lag as badly as Richard when it came to contributions.
Richard. Unlike everyone else on the ship, he had actually begun contributing less and less as the months went by. This was mostly due to his views on A.I. and the Quarians themselves.
He saw all A.I. in the world, regardless of what they are or what they did in the past, as living beings in their own right, equal to all the other sentient "organic" races in the galaxy. All he saw around him were enemies to their existence, and he was terrified that they would find Powell and Lydia and have them destroyed. All he ever wanted to do was work on the creation of A.I., but that was stolen from him after the attack. They were all he had left now.
To say the least, he's been reluctant to contribute anything at all to our projects, due to the inevitable war that would likely take place in the near future to retake Rannoch. I honestly couldn't blame him, but we didn't really have the comfort and flexibility we used to have here. He needed to get with the program soon, because I beginning to believe it was taking a toll on his health.
"Sean?" Mara said out loud, snapping her fingers to bring me back to the world around me. "You all there? I need the frequency for the plasma projectors."
"Right, sorry." I apologized quickly, looking up said frequencies on my omni-tool. "Both are around 50.0 Hz."
"Thanks." She replied, looking back to the gun on the table in front of us.
Progression had recently been ramped up by Rael on the Plasma Gun, giving me more to work with as of late. I was here with Mara and Dimitri on Rael's research ship, the Alarei. It was stocked up well enough with facilities, and even featured its own little firing range.
We had a whole team of Rael's best techs here, trying to help us consolidate and better miniaturize the weapon. We were close to being rid of our old backpack system, though we've still had trouble fixing the "start-up burst" problem. One of the techs had even suggested using the plasma for a new type of grenade. There were lots of good ideas floating around, and I was finally back in my happy place.
That happy place only lasted a few more minutes before I got another call on my omni-tool. I looked over, seeing that Dimitri and Mara were being contacted too.
"Yes Lenlo?" I asked, turning away from the cell I was working on.
"You guys might want to check the Alliance News Network." He suggested in his usual, worried tone. "There's something big going on."
"Thanks for the heads up." I replied before shutting off the call, using my omni-tool to turn on the nearest viewing screen and project the ANN onto it.
Everyone who had been working in the room paused to watch the live report as images of burned fields and flattened settlements flashed across the screen.
"We have confirmed reports of a massive attack on Eden Prime." The reporter said as images and video flashed behind her. "Eyewitness statements are varied, though most believe the attackers were the Geth. As of right now, the motive for the attack is unknown, though casualty counts continue to climb. We will be reporting on the situation as it develops, and urge you to stay with us here on the Alliance News Network."
Small pockets of conversation began to form in the room as the three of us looked at one another with the same dumbfounded look.
The Geth were apparently back, and they were attacking Alliance colonies.
I knew nothing good would come of this.
…
A/N: Things are moving right along in the story department. Everyone's more or less settled in, we're getting some new crewmembers, and the Geth are back. How will this affect the goings on in the Fleet? How are Sean and his compadres going to respond? Wait and see.
I have to admit, I was reluctant to do another time skip, though it seemed necessary to further the story at a reasonable rate. I liked what I did, and for anyone who might be worried, I will be fleshing out our new crewmembers very soon.
I'd love to read any reviews, I'm always up for suggestions or constructive criticism. Stay tuned!