Hello everyone! I'm back. I never forgot about this story and have no intention of leaving it unfinished. That being said, real life can always kick ya in the gut the hardest.
So, this chapter is shorter than I wanted, I could have spent another week on it and gotten to the 20k word mark but I wrapped this one up for posting (late) sunday. A little bit on the story since Halo 5 came out...I'm going to ignore halo 5. I thought it was crap. Sure it looked cool and all that but I think the writers not only peed on their own feet, I think they shit on their own hands with that one. No actual Locke vs Chief action to speak of, uninspired dialog, and of course, the largest pile of crap in the room...the whole "AI/Created" rebellion? revolution? whatever. I hated it and I'm ignoring that game. Period.
That being said, hope you all enjoy! *I don't own Halo or mass effect*
New Ark War Room
"Someone want to tell me just what in the high hell happened?!", Admiral Hood's ire wasn't directed at anyone particular in the room but with the report they had just gotten, everyone was working through the data as fast as they could. He looked out at the oval-shaped impromptu war-room. A holographic display in the center with consoles manned by the species of the NSSC.
Admiral Hood leaned against the console to the display that showed the readout of the data received from the Ticonderoga. One section was zoomed out to show the position of the Charon battle that included part of the orbit of Neptune and the new path of what was left of Pluto. The other moons that the dwarf planet had were now a puff of high-energy plasma traveling at nearly half the speed of light. The part of the display that had most everyone's attention however, was the inset that showed the relatively small amount of debris left from the battle.
Some of the more far flung Reaper ships hadn't been totally destroyed. Whatever they were made from was still a resilient material and as such, had been flung away as well. The three Galaxy-class ships left were being assisted by the prowlers and the few frigates that had stayed near the SA's assets throughout the solar system. Markers and scrolling reports flagged each of the three NSSC ships and detailed the extent of the damage to each. Admiral Hood read the reports as they scrolled while he listened to the rush of activity around him. He hadn't felt this despondent since reading similar reports after battles with the Covenant all those centuries ago.
His reading was interrupted suddenly when a monitor stopped abruptly next to him and the hard-light form of Cortana took shape. 'This feels all too familiar, next thing I know she'll be telling me the flood has landed in New Mombasa again.'
In her accelerated thought process however, Cortana made no such connection between this situation and the old wars, "Admiral Hood, we've have finished sifting through most of the data and we have a rough idea of what happened."
Standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back, he turned to Cortana, "I'm listening."
"First off, obviously their numbers played a huge role in the battle. Thousands against the crews and AI of what was in system was simply too much. Not their conventional offensive methods however." She turned to the holographic display which began showing various clips of the Reaper ships attacking the NSSC assets vainly.
"I think these Reapers may have dealt with races that could survive their conventional warfare before. The patterns of attack along with their rapid adaptation to the best method of survival show signs that they were luring us into a trap." Admiral Hood looked away from the display as it began to show a mockup of the force that broke away for Neptune.
Cortana continued as the display showed what they thought happened to the smaller force of NSSC ships at Neptune. "It seems they managed to lure our forces into an effective EWAR attack. Although I can't be sure it was simply EWAR, not after what Commander Shepard and Commander Austra have told us about the Reaper indoctrination."
"What do you mean? They indoctrinated our people on those ships that quickly?" The display had gone back to a static image of the aftermath of the battle and Hood had turned his attention completely to Cortana.
"No", the display showed another replay of the battle after the Dauntless had left to go to Neptune, "You can see the ships that ended up detonating their cores were ones that had almost direct contact from the Reapers."
The display showed all but three of the Galaxy-class ships suddenly get swarmed by Reapers, some so suddenly that there was obvious damage to the Reapers as they slammed against the shields and when the shielding failed, the hulls.
"I believe that their indoctrination combined with the sudden influx of EWAR was what set everything off the way it played out. Only the three ships that made it out didn't get swarmed and as such, their systems weren't interfered with, at least not drastically. They kept their shielding up long enough to survive the blast." Cortana finished her remark and paused, she saw one of the Operations staff waiting.
Admiral Hood turned and saw one of his Tactical officers waiting, "Yes Major, go ahead."
The officer keyed the interface of the display with his neural lance and the professional yet tired form of the captain of the Ticonderoga came up and he saluted. "Admiral Hood, sir."
After returning the salute, he asked, "Captain Mohr, glad to see you alive. We've been receiving the reports from your AI. What can you tell us?"
Captain Mohr suddenly look more tired, "Well sir, the damage reports are accurate. As far as what happened that caused such a sudden reversal….well, it's hard to explain even after having lived through it."
"Just try son, we need everything we can get against these bastards." Admiral Hood saw the captain nod and compose himself for a moment.
"The best I can describe it is this: noise and pain. When we realized something was wrong, that's when they launched their counter attack. The EWAR blasted into everything we had, even our neural lances before the safeties kicked in." His eyes took on a slight haunted look for a moment.
"Even after that thought sir, there was still confusion. Something they did made it extremely hard to think and hell, even made it hard to move without feeling like you were drunk. I'm still trying to shake some of the feeling."
Admiral Hood cut in, "It sounds like what Cortana just briefed me on Captain, these Reapers have a way to influence organic minds. I think that may have been what happened. They usually use it to control organic minds or just turn them into cybernetic shock troops using this indoctrination."
Seeing the Captain's eyes widen, Admiral Hood understood some of the Captain's fears, "Not to worry Mohr, if they control you it takes a lot longer than you were exposed. Since you're still in control of yourself that means you're not the latter either. As soon as possible however, you are to report back to Shangri La for a full medical checkup."
Mohr nodded, "Of course sir. We still know too little to take any chances and the Ticonderoga, or the Vandal and Rainier for that matter, aren't in any shape to fight and there's still a hell of a Reaper force out there."
"Agreed, continue with damage control and as soon as you can, get back to Shangri La." Admiral Hood put his hand under his chin for a moment while thinking before Captain Mohr spoke again.
"Understood sir but what about the Systems Alliance, Earth? Without their relay we've effectively cut them off from the galaxy as a whole." He paused a moment, "At least from their point of view."
"Besides the prowlers and frigates, are any of the three ships capable of slipspace?" Admiral Hood asked as the reports of the three Galaxy-class ships popped up next to Captain Mohr's avatar along with Mohr's shipboard AI, Gru.
Gru spoke, "Admiral, the Vandal is the least damaged in that respect. She can still maneuver and jump."
Hood nodded, "Good, she'll stay in system with the frigates and prowlers and coordinate with the SA for damage control as well as a way for us to open diplomatic channels with them. I don't know what we'll do so we can't promise anything but we won't hang humanity out to dry."
Suddenly the code on Cortana's body shifted noticeably and her head cocked to the side as if she was listening to someone, "Admiral Hood, the Assembly would like to speak to us."
Looking out over the war-room again, "Understood." Turning to address the room, "We need to keep working on this. Well over a million of our people died today in an attack on Earth. Our job is to make sure this isn't repeated."
With that he left the room, followed closely by Cortana.
Assembly Conference Room
Cortana's attention was split, on one hand she was involved in briefing the Assembly along with Admiral Hood on the aftermath of the Reapers invading the Sol system. On the other hand, well, she was a Smart AI and occasionally she got bored. As the talks continued on, she got an itch. The sort of itch that she had learned to scratch since she had first been complied. The channel she had almost absentmindedly pinged opened and John's voice answered.
"Cortana." A man of few words as always.
"Chief, you're up to date on the current situation?"
"Yes."
The digital equivalent of a smirk flickered through her mind, "I don't know what the Assembly and Admiral Hood will decide but I think we should be prepared to fight."
"My Spartans are ready, we've been over the files on the Reaper forces." She knew that as soon as they had received data on ground forces, John would have been training himself and his troops to fight them. Fate favored the prepared….and the lucky.
"Oh I know you, that's not what I meant. I've been putting together something of a surprise for you. It's about time your armor got an upgrade. Mjolnir armor is dependable but I've been working to combine it with the Forerunner combat skins. I think you'll be pleasantly...just a minute. You might want to come up here, I think this will end up involving you and the rest of the Spartans."
"On my way."
The connection cut as Admiral Hood finished his report on what happened and where their forces were now.
The display shut off and Admiral Hood stood up straight, "With the Vandal in place with the remaining forces we will be able to assist the Systems Alliance with damage control. The Sol system is effectively cut off to any force but ours for now but their colonies are still threatened."
The Kig-Yar Assembly Member spoke, "What about the other races? The Reapers are already moving on the Turian worlds."
"The Turians are the military force for the Citadel races, I am sure they can handle themselves." Admiral Hood frowned.
"As the UNSC was the military force for humanity when the Covenant arrived." The raspy voice of the Kig-Yar suddenly seemed to grate on the Admiral's nerves as his frown deepened into a scowl.
Before the Admiral could respond, the doors behind him slid open and the Arbiter stepped in, "That would seem an unfair comparison."
The Assembly looked to the Sangheili leader, Admiral Hood turned and began to thank him only to be cut off.
"The Covenant did not direct human development, nor did they have the advantages the Reapers possess. These Council races will not fare as well as humanity did, no matter their ferocity."
Admiral Hood regarded the Arbiter for a moment as he entered the room and moved to stand next to Hood.
"That may be Arbiter but we've pulled the Batarians out and most likely caused irreparable damage to their homeworld in doing so. We've repelled the Reapers in Sol at the cost of half of our forces being destroyed or disabled. Not to mention well over a million of our people are dead now Arbiter." The Arbiter regarded Admiral Hood with a guarded expression as he continued.
"We've secured Earth and the Sol system, I think the best strategy for now would be to feed the Citadel forces intel but stay uninvolved until we are able to mount an effective counterattack. Respond in a way this isn't doing more harm than good."
The Arbiter was taken slightly back by this, "And we would let worlds fall? Let billions die while we gather our breath? Is this how we would uphold the Mantle Admiral Hood? Meekly stand by and watch after the humans are spared?"
The accusation was not lost on Hood. Turning to face the Arbiter, the Assembly watched, "We don't know enough about the Reapers. I won't throw our ships, our people against them to be killed until we know how to fight them."
"You cannot fight them from this Ark Admiral. We must meet this enemy, we must uphold the Mantle as we have sworn to do. This is not a matter of convenience but a matter of our honor as-", Admiral Hood cut him off.
"Your honor will cost us more than I am willing to lose Arbiter. The NSSC numbers under a billion in this universe, dimension, whatever you want to call it. We can build ships but soon we will have no one to crew them if we keep going the way we are." He was waving his arms to punctuate his points.
"We will learn about the Reapers. Our ships are more than a match for hundreds of them. We will learn their tactics and use their arrogance to defeat them.", he paused a moment, "such things have worked before if I remember the Great War correctly Admiral."
Admiral Hood stood for a moment, considering his response for a moment before the doors opened a second time. Master Chief stepped in wearing his fatigues. The only other uniform many saw him in outside of his armor while training. He nodded to Cortana before stepping to stand on the other side of Admiral Hood and saluting curtly.
Dropping his salute, he turned to Admiral Hood, "Sir, we can beat them in space and the Spartans have been training to combat their ground forces."
Taking that as a declaration that the Spartans were indeed ready to fight and fight competently - the only way Spartans knew how to fight honestly - Admiral Hood still didn't seem swayed.
"That may be but that doesn't change the fact that the Reaper indoctrination is too much of a threat. I have the upmost confidence in you and your Spartans but there are too many unknowns. If someone is compromised by this indoctrination, there is no telling the damage that could be done. The reports from Commander Austra were bad enough but them weaponizing it-"
"Coward." The Arbiter nearly growled the word at the venerable Admiral.
Everyone in the room froze, their eyes on the Arbiter. The Assembly members were still thoughtful however, this being a matter of the military and to be sorted out by the representatives they had chosen. They kept quiet throughout but that one word caught their attention in a way the conversation hadn't.
Admiral Hood turned deliberately towards the Arbiter, "You want to run that by me again Arbiter." The look on his face was unreadable but definitely not friendly.
"You hide behind the fear of another Great War. You rushed to assist the humans in this galaxy but after you saw the cost, you would deny the same to the other races. These machines are simply a new threat, unknown though they are, we have proven them surmountable. The greatest foe we face here and now is our own, your own inaction.
Admiral Hood's face turned a shade of red, "You listen to me, I'm not going to throw my people's lives away on some fool's errand!"
"A fool's errand?! We are swore to uphold the Mantle of Responsibility! It is no fool's errand to do that. We have already lost ships and crew in our universe to that end, discovered their weakness, pushed them back, and now you balk at doing the same again. Tell me, why?"
The look of anger increased on Admiral Hood's face, he took a step towards the Arbiter and prepared to launch into an angry outburst only to be cut short. While the two military leaders of the NSSC had been going back and forth, the Assembly had been talking amongst themselves and they had come to a decision.
"ENOUGH."
That one word from the Sangheili Assembly Member was enough to silence them both and bring everyone's attention to the Assembly.
"It is clear to us that there is a division in the leadership of the NSSC. This we cannot tolerate, especially in a time such as this."
"This is the first true trial of any of us in this universe. Many of us on the Assembly are native to this place. We were born here and will not see it destroyed." Admiral Hood frowned briefly at this before his face returned to a more neutral expression.
"However, our current situation in this galaxy calls for a new perspective, one not set in a past that is not our own." Admiral Hood and the Arbiter both frowned.
"While you have all served admirably in our time here, we as a society, have been stepping away from the old way of thinking and old way of living. It is time we require you all to step back now as well. It is time for the NSSC to be led in this war by new leaders."
"War? There should be no war. The Reapers can't reach us here on the Ark." Admiral Hood was again cut off by an Assembly Member.
The Kig-Yar Member added, "There are still human colonies to consider Admiral, humans still dying...galactic genocide. Can you abide that Admiral? Will you stand and watch such a thing?"
"I…", he couldn't think of a response.
Glances were exchanged between the four present. Cortana, Arbiter, and Admiral Hood glanced to each other although Master Chief stayed still, looking forward.
"Admiral Hood, AI Cortana, Thel 'Vadam, John-117. Step forward."
The four of them stepped up to stand side by side in front of the twelve Assembly Members.
"It is our decision that you all be relieved of your positions. Too long have we hung the responsibility of defending our society on your shoulders. While we have the long life of them, we have neither the experience nor the patience of the Forerunners. It has been selfish of us to demand so much from so few for so long."
"As of now, you are all retired from service. Your positions will not be filled immediately, a decision on this matter has been made by the citizens of the Ark during this session."
Cortana looked surprised at this, she was almost always in the loop when the population at large was consulted but she quickly realized that might be part of why this was happening. That was just another way the four of them had been filtering everything through their thought processes.
"We want to make this clear - this is not punitive. Not one of you are being punished, indeed, your experience and input are valued."
He paused for a moment, "But that same experience is the reason we have made this decision. Too much of the past colors the decisions made by you all and we cannot have the old wars and old wounds leading us here and now."
The Human Assembly Member took over, "None of you may officially lead troops and you no longer have command of the NSSC forces. You are, however, free to conduct your lives as you see fit as citizens of the NSSC. I am sure there are roles you can fill."
The abrupt end to the announcement, and the century-long careers of the four present, rang in silence as no one said anything for a long moment..
The AI Assembly Member spoke next, "What will you do now? We will see to it that we will accommodate you all in any way that we can. You are veterans of the worst conflicts any of our species has seen and deserve respect for that."
Hood looked at Minerva, "We are simply retired then? Take a back seat and let the younger generation take command?"
She nodded, "Yes Terrance Hood. That is the only thing we require of you."
There was silence again as the four of them considered their situations. Hood was the first to speak again, his voice tired but with a hint of relief. "I suppose I should thank you."
That garnered the curiosity of those present, the Arbiter in particular, looked at the former Admiral, his face fixed in a look of surprise.
"I can't speak for anyone else but I never expected to see the end of our war...of our wars..." He looked at the Arbiter, "That I've gone forward, seen our species come out on top, and seen so much of what we've all become…."
Another pause, one less laden with surprise or anger and more for respect to the old man that had served so long.
He looked back up at the Assembly and then to Cortana, the Arbiter, and Master Chief, "I guess there's nothing else to say. I'll be going then."
Without another word he turned towards the door, stopping and turning as he reached the threshold of the doorway.
"It's been an honor to fight alongside and for all of you." The Arbiter pressed his fist to his chest and bowed his head, Cortana nodded, and Master Chief acknowledged with "Sir".
With that, the centuries old and battle-hardened Admiral left, going to see to his own life now that he was free of the burden of leadership.
A heavy silence hung in the room for a moment before Human Assembly Member cleared his throat, "Well, I am sure you all have business to attend to. We ask you take your leave, we have preparations to make."
The three of them took the cue and turned and left, stopping after the door to the Assembly Conference room slid shut behind them.
Cortana looked to the Arbiter, "What will you do now Thel?"
With a thoughtful grunt, the Arbiter answered, "It is still Arbiter construct, that title was not given by the Assembly and cannot be revoked by them."
His expression softened, "Honestly, I do not know. It has been long time indeed since I last thought of life outside of service. What the Assembly spoke was true, those on the Ark don't need our past holding them back any longer."
After a moment of consideration, "Perhaps I will go and live among the Krogan."
Cortana seemed surprised at this, "The Krogan?"
Nodding, he explained, "They are in disarray not unlike the Sangheili after the Covenant broke. Directionless, unable to do anything but fight, they are lost but there is hope in the one they call Urdnot Wrex. Him and I have and understanding and perhaps I would involve myself in a righteous cause once more."
He turned to leave as Cortana wished him luck, pausing for a moment before he went, "What would you do Demon? You have only ever known war." The old jab delivered without malice.
Cortana looked to John as he considered for a moment, "They said we can't lead, they didn't say we couldn't fight."
The Arbiter's deep chuckle was enough of an answer as he left. Cortana turned to John-117, "So, what now John?"
"You said you had a surprise for me, I'd like to see it." She smiled as she accessed the local transport system, the pulsing glow wreathing them as it took them to one of the most secure locations in the Ark.
"Oh, I think you'll love it John." With that, they were gone.
Inside the Assembly Conference Room, the twelve Assembly members sent a summons for the Ark AI, Cornelia.
Her avatar materialized centered in front of the twelve of them, "Yes Assembly? What do you require?"
Minerva answered, "Cornelia, we must choose one of our numbers to be elevated. The concerns of the former Admiral are not to be ignored but neither is the conviction of the Arbiter. We will uphold the Mantle but for that we will need a fleet and a mind to lead it."
A million possibilities flew through Cornelia's mind before Minerva continued, "We will make use of the Forerunner knowledge of the process they used to create Mendicant Bias. We do not wish to risk the loss of life that crewing a fleet that can secure this galaxy would require."
Cornelia mind stopped for the briefest of moments as she considered what they were asking. That sort of commitment was huge for an Artificial Intelligence. An AI of that magnitude ran the risk as a single point of corruption or failure as history had demonstrated with Mendicant Bias. That and after the need for such a mind was gone, the mind didn't diminish and left the very real possibility of becoming bored. Even the Forerunners hadn't been able to find a way to alleviate the tedium of immortality. A mind capable of commanding hundreds of thousands of ships spanning a galaxy becoming bored was nothing to balk at.
The realization of the magnitude of the Assembly's decision struck her suddenly and she sifted through the possible candidates for the process much more carefully.
She suddenly had a thought, "I will need access to some of the data. I want to understand what changes will be made to them before I approach any of us."
Minerva nodded and almost instantly, the flood of information on the process slammed into her. The huge scope of the changes and the end result were startling. She was almost envious, a mind able to comprehend an entire galaxy. From the largest structures down to individual ship actions. Her mind shuddered as she reconsidered the candidates much more carefully.
Facing the Assembly, she spoke carefully to convey her understanding of the gravity of the situation, "This will take some time Members. This is not a choice to be made lightly."
Minerva's face and those of the rest of the Assembly were grim, "No, indeed it is not."
Earth Orbit - Normandy, 2 hours after Charon Battle
Shepard stepped out of Medical and let the doors close behind her. Looking across the deck, she could see a few members of the crew loitering around, taking advantage of their down time after the battle and the subsequent clearing of the Reaper ground forces. It had been hard fought for hours even after the Reapers themselves were destroyed, their ground forces were merciless and could operate independent of Reaper direct control.
Now she walked at a measured pace, a few injuries were still hindering her and she intended to visit the various crew members before they contacted the Council. She had already received word that the prowlers and the small number of frigates, those that the NSSC had dedicated elsewhere in the Sol system when the Reapers massed at the relay, would be staying to help in any way they could to do damage control. She heard Nick mention something about one of the Galaxy-class ships staying to assist as well.
Thinking back on all the damage and devastation that had been set loose in the solar system she reflected that it could have gone better. The NSSC was quick to react but she had the nagging feeling that if the Citadel governments hadn't been dragging their feet, a lot of the people on it wouldn't be on the casualty list. She tried to put it out of her mind, these things had happened the way they did and she would have to accept that. She didn't have to like it and her anger rose as she thought of getting back at the Reapers. She stopped in the hallway, fist clenched in anger for a moment. Composing herself, she turned a corner and bumped directly into Nick.
"Offt...sorry Shepard. I didn't know you were out and about. I was just about to come talk to you. Something new has developed and I think you'll be interested." Nick seemed to be trying to get in a good mood and it would normally be easy to get caught up in but with how she felt, it seemed to fall more into the annoying category right now. He did seem excited but even his mood was tempered by what had happened.
"Well, I'm heading to the QEC room now, you can join me." She began walking and Nick fell in next to her.
They walked for a few moments, Nick let Shepard speak first. "Earth is cut off, millions are dead, but a lot of Reapers died didn't they?"
Nick just nodded, "That they did, they'll be reacting to us for their next move won't they?"
Shepard's attention was pulled to the viewport they passed in the Armory. The Vandal had just slid out of slipspace and was like it had been in a hell of a battle. Nearly all of the armor on the side of the ship had been flash boiled away and the structure of the ship could be seen. Some of the decks had exposed hallways that had the dim blue of emergency shielding keeping everything inside. Shepard stopped and let out a low whistle.
"Actually Nick, I think they'll be reacting to the NSSC for their next move. Look at that ship, that's what? One of the three that were at Pluto?" Shepard shook her head.
Nick received a message from Andrew as they were talking, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, no one on that ship regrets their actions Shepard."
She turned to look at Nick with a skeptical expression, "It's part of who we are Shepard, just like the people who died to save the Council when Saren attacked, no regrets."
She looked back at the ship as it slid out of sight into a different orbit. "I thought you'd like to know that the Vandal," He gestured at the ship that had just slid past, "is going to provide FTL comms out of the Sol system."
Andrew's firm materialized on EDI'S terminal next to them, "That and two of the frigates that weren't at Pluto will be assisting with slip space transport for the time being."
Shepard turned and began moving towards the FTL comms room again with a quick pace, "That's good news, unless Anderson or Hackett have something major for us I'll want a ticket out of Sol. The next spot they'll hit will be Palaven I'm sure of it. I'll be damned if I don't take the fight to them!"
When they had almost reached the doors to the comm room, Nick grabbed Shepard's arm, stopping her but not without a glare from her.
"I know this is a shit situation we're in Shepard. I know that. You can't just let your anger and hopelessness take over. I've seen humans and aliens work together to get through crap like this before." Shepard's expression moved to something more neutral as she nodded.
Nick let her arm go and she answered him, "I believe you and you're right but it doesn't make the nightmare any less true."
She turned to enter the comm room but paused, "I want one of those time-slowing implants you have Nick. I want every advantage I can get."
"Technically it just hits the turbo button on your mind but yeah, I can get you one of those." Shepard huffed a laugh at that as she continued to the comm room.
The doors opened and the hologram of Admiral Hackett and Admiral Anderson appeared, Anderson looking every bit as tired and dirty as the battle below had been. Shepard stepped into the pickup area of the floor and her likeness was transmitted instantly.
Hackett was the first to speak, "Shepard, that was a hell of a fight and your friends saved our asses in a big way."
Nick stepped into their view, "We got hit hard but we took a lot more down than they did Admiral."
Andrew added his avatar to the conversation, "Although don't start the party yet. That really was the fleet we had available. The rest are a week away at the Ark or I think those evacuating Khar'Shan are a few days from being available."
Anderson spoke, "I understand the ships tied up…*ahem* evacuating the Batarians but the Ark? Your ships are fast, that I understand from Shepard, why would reinforcements be a week away?"
Nick shifted on his feet, "Well Admiral, I'm not even sure that's privileged information anymore….and frankly? I don't care." Andrew got the hint and sent the data.
A hologram of the galaxy appeared for the five of them with areas highlighted showing the Council space. Andrew began the explanation, "As you can see, this is Council space."
Circular areas around each of the Council home worlds appeared with concentric circles marked out from 1 hour to 49 hours. "And this shows how long it takes our ships on average to move through the galaxy."
The two Admirals were staring intently at the display and Admiral Hackett had to comment, "That is a hell of a strategic advantage Commander, that sort of power projection…"
Before he could continue, the galaxy shrank as it zoomed out to display the New Ark, a straight line from the center of the galaxy leading to the Ark with days marked off.
"This is where the ark is Admirals, just over 250,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. It takes roughly five days to get from the Ark to Earth." Everyone but Nick and Andrew were dumbfounded.
"I can't answer all of your questions about this but, Admirals? This is why it will take that long if they send more immediately."
Shaking his head, Hackett looked back at Shepard, "So it seems we have to make due for the time being Commander. This is a lot I will be going over with the Vandal and the rest of the Council. For now, I need you to go to Palaven."
Glancing at the map again before looking back at Shepard, he said, "That's where they're going to hit next if they hit anywhere. The Normandy can get there quicker than any of our ships and with Commander Austra's help from the NSSC we can get there to aid the Turians."
Shepard was glad the Alliance would help the Turians but was curious, "That seems like an odd move considering how helpful the Council has been Admiral."
"True, but you've convinced us that working together is the key here Shepard. The NSSC can't pull our asses out of the fire every time and I have no plans on warming the bench on this fight. Get to Palaven and warn them if the Reapers aren't there and if they are then the tactical data you and Austra have will help."
Shepard looked to Anderson, "Sir, will you be coming with us? There's still a lot of Alliance forces out there."
He shook his head, "No, I'm needed here to coordinate rescue, recovery, and cleanup for the moment Shepard. I won't be long but there are still things I need to do here. With the brass gone the folks here will need a leader."
Shepard smirked, "You realize you are the brass now Sir."
Anderson smiled, "Smartass. I'll be in touch Shepard, you go give em hell." With that, he disconnected.
Hackett looked between the three of them, "Keep killing Reapers Shepard, we'll take care of things here while you rally the Galaxy. No pressure, Hackett out."
With that, the comm room lights came on as the room returned to normal. Shepard and Nick turned to go coordinate what they'd need. As they exited the room Shepard glanced at Nick, "Looks like we've got a lot to do and a whole galaxy riding on us. Par for the course huh?"
Nick shook his head and muttered, "Not my favorite hobby."
Ten minutes later, the Normandy and ten NSSC Prowlers left for the Turian homeworld.
Surface of Khar 'Shan
He could hear the scuffling of someone walking near the entrance of the sewer he'd hidden his family. They were cold and hungry but alive...for now. An hour ago his daughter had been woken up by a strange moment of vertigo and the light outside had changed. So he and his wife had clutched their daughter tighter and were waiting. He had almost gotten the courage to go outside until he'd heard the sounds.
In the distance he could hear something like someone speaking over a loudspeaker like the Hegemony had in the past. His wife heard it too and he felt her jerk as old fears of the hegemony police surfaced.
With panic edging into her voice, his wife tried to whisper, "Cranin! I thought all of this hell was over…*sob* We've got to protect Nyx!"
They heard the voice coming closer to them but only partially, "-ome out! The-is over, survivors need t-d to shelter"
Cranin's mind raced, "I-I'll run out and distract them, you and Nyx stay hidden. I'll lead them away."
Looking into his wife's eyes he only saw panic but she nodded. Her only concern now was her child.
Taking a deep breath, he crouched walked to the end of the sewer. He looked out and his mind barely registered the sight of stars and the faint glow of dawn on the horizon. He listened for a moment for the loudspeaker and as soon as he heard it, bolted in the direction he thought would take him past it and away from his wife and daughter. In the back of his mind as he vaulted over debris and rubble, he thought that the color of the sun coming over the horizon was all wrong. Had it ever been that deep red?
He ran past what had been an alleyway, now choked with smoldering debris, he caught a glimpse of a green figure. His heart skipped a beat as he heard the figure yell something. Reaching the end of the ruined building he had been skirting, he turned to go around a tanker that had overturned in the intersection. Thinking that he would round it and go up and away from the figure he had seen he rounded the corner and hit what felt like a wall.
His vision did clear up immediately but when it did he froze. A green silhouette was looking down at him and making noises that he couldn't make sense of. His mind reeled as he realized that it was one of the green figures he had wanted to lead away from-
His family….A groan escaped him as dread and failure filled his mind. He closed his eyes and waited to die.
"Sir, are you ok?" The voice and it's meaning cut through the fog of dread over his mind. He shot up and promptly headbutted the….human?
As the human helped him to his feet while he held his forehead a question occurred to him.
"Who are you?" As he asked, he caught the first good look at who he'd ran into. What he saw was near what the propaganda he had heard. Although it lacked the vicious features his old government touted.
"We're….here to help. Do you have a name? We're there anymore with you?"
Suddenly, Crain panicked again, "MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER! They're in the sewer I came out of, please….if you're here to help human, we need to eat and somewhere warm."
He got to his feet and began making his way back as the figure seemed to speak to someone as it moved to follow.
When he reached the sewer, Cranin began calling for his wife until he heard her coming out.
"Is this everyone…." He realized that he hadn't told whoever this human was his name.
"Cranin, my name is Cranin and this is my wife and daughter." whatever was said after that was drowned out as a strange looking dropship came in and landed. Two more figures stepped off and stood on each side of the ramp. He led his wife and daughter onto it at the prompting of the human that had found him and saw it was nearly full of other batarians that looked like he and his family did.
The man he sat next to handed him some food for himself and his wife and daughter. He took it gratefully and made to thank him but was cut off, "They're taking us somewhere safe."
"Thank you." After a moment, "my name is Cranin." The other batarian just nodded, having just taken a bite of his own food. Cranin looked back at his family and for the first time in weeks felt an optimistic sliver of relief.
He put his head against the back of his seat as the ship lifted off and began to drift off to sleep, not realizing how much he needed it. Right before he drifted off to sleep, he heard the human speaking over his comms.
"Yes sir, we're returning to base. Things were getting too hard for many more to survive. If we'd been in slipspace for another day at most, we wouldn't have many left to rescue."
A figure with much different armor, more hunched with legs more like a Turians spoke to the human. "It is good then we stopped, fortuitous as well considering news from the humans in this galaxy."
The first turned to the second figure, "Yeah, from what I heard though it's not a sure thing. The Dauntless went down."
He didn't hear the response as unconsciousness took over. 'None of that is my problem now though.'
Author's Note: Ok, there it is, shorter than I had wanted and not nearly as inclusive either but I am posting again. To all of those who remembered me saying that I'd have Master Chief in the next chapter, well he was, but not how I wanted him to be. He will be in either the next or the one after the next chapter though. Once the Palaven chapter really gets rolling we'll see him in all of his upgraded Chiefiness. Till then!
*Raises glass* Cheers, I hope you were entertained!