Chapter Eight: Escape
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a giant gun."
- UNSC Marine Corps Handbook (Unofficial)
UNSC Valiant-Class Super-Heavy Cruiser, Yorktown
"– finity's transponder signal, along with a ship …. profile matches the Shadow of Intent, …. relative six o' clock …. with twenty-five other unknown vessels. Be advised, Covenant shi …. ntry thousand kilometers off our bow …. beyond them are seven hundred and sixty-three more unknown vessels headed right …. orders Captain! Captain Skyheit!"
Captain Damien Skyheit's eyes fluttered as he gradually regained consciousness, then all of a sudden shot open in response to the calling of his name.
The first thing he saw was the Yorktown's white-robed AI, Venus looking urgently at him from her pedestal a few inches away from his Captain's chair, of which he was currently buckled into with crash-webbing. Streams of data flowed around her avatar like ribbons, and she was wringing her long blonde hair in her hands as she observed them.
Skyheit's head felt like it was going to burst, and he tried to rub the pain from his eyes. "Venus? What happened? Give me a ship-wide sitrep."
"I – I'm not sure Captain, but all systems are green," Skyheit blinked. He had never, ever in his two plus decades of service in the UNSC heard an AI pause when speaking. "Sir, your vitals are just now returning to normal. Did you hear what I said earlier?"
Skyheit shook his head yes. "Barely, though I did hear something about the Infinity. Repeat it."
"It would be easier to just show you Captain," she said, and the main view screen flickered to life.
Skyheit blinked when he saw the map Venus put up on the holoscreen. A few hundred thousand kilometers to their rear was a large terrestrial planet, in front of which was the Infinity and her Strident escort frigates, represented by light blue dots. The Sangheili Shadow of Intent was shown as a dark purple dot, and a couple of dozen unidentified vessels, yellow dots. Scattered all around were the broken black lines that represented only one thing: heavy, most likely ship-grade debris.
Inwardly, Skyheit blew a sigh of relief at the sight of the Infinity, at least they had found her. But then he thought about the five Covenant vessels much closer to him then they had been before, and the seven hundred plus other unidentified ships steadily advancing towards them.
But first thing was first; where in the living hell were they? "Venus, do you know what happened? How did we get here?" Skyheit asked.
"Unknown. All of my sensor data cut out right when that energy wave hit us, and I only started receiving again just recently," said the AI.
Skyheit scowled. With everything that was going on he had almost forgotten about the energy wave that had emanated from the Precursor artifact. Dammit, he should have listened to his gut when he got an uneasy feeling once the word "Precursor" was uttered by HIGHCOM. One didn't survive in the service as long as he had without learning to trust their instincts, but it wasn't up to him. Command had placed him in charge of an entire Battlegroup, and he was expected to follow their orders. And so he had, for all the good it had did them now that they were in the middle of this goddamn mess.
It was then when he looked around the bridge and noticed that the rest of the bridge crew was just stirring from their own bouts of unconsciousness.
"Captain, we're being hailed by the Infinity!" called Venus.
"Put it through!" quickly ordered Skyheit
The bridge speakers crackled with static as Venus patched through the comm line. "UNSC vessels, this is Admiral Thomas Lasky of the Infinity, identify yourselves!"
"This is Captain Damien Skyheit, commander of Battlegroup Yorktown!" Skyheit answered quickly.
"Battlegroup Yorktown?" There was a pause before Lasky continued. "What's your system status?"
From her pedestal Venus projected a block of text that said "All Battlegroup Ships Green and Awaiting Orders."
"Battlegroup Yorktown is green Admiral, no systems failures."
"And the slipspace drives?" asked Lasky urgently.
"Steady at one hundred percent charge."
"Thank God. Listen Captain, there's almost no time to explain, but those seven hundred plus unknown ships you're seeing on your sensors? Those are hostiles, and they've already attacked us. We managed to repel them the first time, but we won't be able to again." said Lasky.
On the holoscreen map, the giant mass of yellow dots Lasky was referring too all turned red. "Christ..." muttered Skyheit, not failing to see how the couple of dozen yellow dots around the Infinity turned blue as well, the color of allies.
"We're bugging out Captain, Roland has already sent your AI our jump sequence to our rally point. Get your ships the hell to the rendezvous and I'll explain in person what's going on, or at least what we understand so far. Do it now, that's an order. Lasky out."
"Captain, the Covenant vessels in front of us reorienting position and powering up slipspace drives," alerted Venus.
"Looks like they've got the same idea. Venus, send the order," said Skyheit.
"Aye Captain."
Within seconds ships from Yorktown started disappearing as they accelerated through their just-opened slipspace portals, and Skyheit couldn't help but notice how much closer the mass of red dots had gotten to them.
The Yorktown's Shaw-Fujikawa drive opened a black-purple slipspace portal in front of it, and the deck shuddered as it's engines propelled it into the rupture. From her chair a newly-awoken Lieutenant looked drowsily around the bridge until she spotted Skyheit, then asked "Captain, what's going on?"
Skyheit sighed as the nine dimension of slipspace enveloped the ship. "I wish I knew Lieutenant, I wish I knew..."
UNSC Infinity
Emergency Alliance Rally Point
Sol System
"Admiral, Dare and Skyheit are ready for you in the conference room."
"Very well Roland, I'll be there in a moment," replied Thomas Lasky. Sighing almost inaudibly, he took a last look outside the main viewports of the Infinity bridge, keen eyes noting the pinpricks of lights that represented ships in the vast blackness of space.
At Lasky's insistence, the Alliance/UNSC had retreated to the rendezvous point using a series of random jumps, taking a page out of Admiral Cole's book in order to insure that their trajectory couldn't be tracked by the Reapers. It had seemed to work, as no Reapers were waiting for them at the rally point or had appeared in the twenty or so minutes they had been here. Now the loose coalition of ships were regrouping and licking their wounds while their leaders would meet on-board the safest vessel present, the Infinity, in order to figure out their next move.
As Lasky pivoted on his heels and strode out of the bridge to the conference room, his mind raced back to the sudden, and momentarily terrifying, arrival of Battlegroup Yorktown and the other Sangheili ships. The Admiral had been on the verge of ordering the jump to slipspace when the other UNSC forces materialized onto their scanners, right in the path of the advancing Reaper armada.
The initial shock at the arrival of the 'reinforcements' quickly turned to panic as Lasky realized that they could be dead in the water just like the Infinity was when they had first arrived. That would have been disastrous, as they wouldn't have recovered in time to escape the Reaper forces and no doubt would have been carved to pieces. Much to the immense relief of all present on the bridge, once they had made contact with Captain Skyheit on theValiant Super-Heavy Cruiser Yorktown they had confirmed that all systems throughout the Battlegroup were undamaged.
Captain Damien Skyheit... that's a name I haven't heard in a long time, thought Lasky as he sharply turned a hallway corner, nodding at a passing pair of Lieutenants.
Skyheit was a well-known name amongst the UNSC Navy. Lasky's first memories of Skyheit stretched all the way back to his time at the Corbulo Academy of Military Science. Skyheit was two years ahead of Lasky, and was widely regarded as one of the top cadets in the Academy. Tall, dark, and muscular, Lasky had heard that he had scored high enough on his physical tests to qualify for ODST Officer Candidate School, higher even then Lasky's own brother, who had set the school records when he went through a year earlier. At the senior graduation night however, it was revealed that he was going to the UNSC Navy instead.
It wasn't until almost a dozen years after that and well into Lasky's own naval career when he had heard about Skyheit again through scuttlebutt heard on UNSC ships or at naval bases. Skyheit had advanced remarkably quickly, showing charisma and talent for leadership that is not often seen. Though his rough and chiseled appearance suggested otherwise, he possessed a fierce loyalty and compassion towards his crew, and had never taken a life under his command for granted. In this aspect Lasky saw a minor flaw in Skyheit's personality, as he was often a little too careful with the assets given to him. While it hadn't backfired on him yet, an impressive feat in itself given his twenty-plus years in command, Lasky knew that his reluctance to put the live's of his crews in danger could end badly.
Lasky cared deeply for the crew of the Infinity himself, but he knew that putting his men and women into dangerous positions in order to accomplish a higher goal was one of the most basic aspects of commanding. Great military leaders throughout history didn't become "great" without understanding that, whether it had been King Leonidas of Ancient Sparta, Napoleon Bonaparte of Old France, or even Admiral Preston Cole. He didn't like risking the lives of his crew of course, but when the situation called for it he wouldn't hesitate. It was undoubtedly one of the heaviest burdens of command, and one he felt everyday.
Even HighCom had known that Skyheit was lacking in this critical area, and had kept him at the rank of Captain for almost a decade now, never putting him in command of more than a few ships. Until now that is, with his apparent command of Battlegroup Yorktown.
Regardless, Lasky was more than relieved to have Skyheit's ships along with them, and was specifically meeting with him and Dare before the scheduled Alliance/UNSC/Separatist meeting in order to answer any questions they had and to make sure that the UNSC leadership position remains unified.
Once Lasky reached the conference room, he pressed the pad near the side of the door and the two halves slid smoothly open.
Captain Skyheit and Lieutenant Colonel Dare halted their quite conversation upon seeing Lasky enter, and both turned and saluted to which Lasky saluted back. Dare's all-black ONI uniform and pale white face contrasted sharply with the black and gray of Skyheit's UNSC battle dress uniform and dark black skin.
"Admiral," they simultaneously acknowledged.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Dare. Captain Skyheit. Please, take a seat."
Dare and Skyheit sat beside each other opposite Lasky, and the Admiral observed their facial expressions.
Dare looked fatigued. Crease-lines were showing at the corners of her eyes and mouth, and her brow was furrowed, both signs of a body that was coming off of a major adrenaline rush. Lasky had a hunch he didn't look much better. However, the ONI officer had done an amazing job coordinating her Strident Frigate force, plugging holes in the defense around the Infinity and offering critical fire support with incredibly speed and accuracy.
Skyheit on the other hand was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, face taut, dark brown eyes alert and body leaning forwards on his arms towards Lasky.
"Admiral Lasky. It's good to see you again, it's been a while since Corbulo Academy," said Skyheit, a slight smile on his lips.
"The feeling's mutual Captain, we're glad to have you here as well," returned Lasky.
Skyheit sighed. "Now, if you'll forgive the lack of formalities sir, where in the living hell is 'here' exactly?"
Lasky and Dare shared a look, and Lasky rubbed his eyes with his palms before looking back at Skyheit.
"Listen Captain, I'm going to be blunt because that's the only way we've been able to understand what's going on. It seems we've been transported to another galaxy," said Lasky.
Skyheit blinked a couple of times. "I'm sorry Admiral, did you say 'another galaxy?'"
"Yes. You heard correctly," affirmed Lasky.
"Christ..." muttered Skyheit, leaning back in his chair. "I knew that goddamned 'Precursor' son-of-a-bitch device was bad news."
Lasky's eyes widened. "Precursor? You mean a Precursor artifact?"
"Yeah. HIGHCOM ordered us to look for you at your last known location, and that's where we found it. We thought we were observing from a safe distance, but – "
"Let me guess, a pulsating energy wave emanated from the object, racing right towards your ships?" interrupted Lasky.
Skyheit nodded. "How did you know?"
"The same thing happened to us," said Dare. "Only it wasn't quite such a pleasant ride…"
Skyheit snorted, "Pleasant she says…" He shook his head of the thought. "ONI managed to firm up some of their intel before they sent us on a rescue mission. We know the Sangheili found the device first. One of their ships stumbled onto it and went dark, then the ship sent sent to rescue it was lost as well. When Infinity went missing...we feared the worst."
Lasky and dared shared a look. They remembered tracking the debris of a few Covenant ships when they arrived. "The Infinity and Shadow of Intent were virtually crippled when we first arrived. No major damage luckily, but our shipwide systems were scrambled to hell and back."
Lasky looked thoughtful and contemplated this new bit of information. What was of interest to Lasky was the curious progression of events. The first two Covenant ships had been completely destroyed when interacting with the artifact. The Infinity and Intent were virtually crippled, but Battlegroup Yorktown and the new Separatist ships had come through virtually unscathed.
"Well that energy wave knocked the whole Battlegroup unconscious, and when I came to it looked like we had been dumped in the middle of a hellstorm," Skyhiet said.
"That's a bit on an understatement Captain. Roland, bring up the sensor data from the battle, right when Battlegroup Yorktown arrived," ordered Lasky.
On the holoprojector at the end of the table a three-dimensional map of the period Lasky asked for materialized, showing the positions of 'Earth', the UNSC/Separatist forces defending Earth alongside the Alliance forces, Battlegroup Yorktown and the newly arrived Separatists ships, as well as the Reaper armada beyond them.
"Look at this planet for a moment Captain. Tell me what you notice," said Lasky.
Skyheit studied the image thoroughly for a few seconds, before his eyes narrowed. "Large terrestrial planet, looks to be a larger amount of surface water than land... wait a second…that looks an awful lot like the southern tip of Africa."
"That's because it is," said Lasky.
"I'm not sure I follow sir..." said Skyhiet confusedly.
"Roland, pull up a side-by-side comparison of our Sol system and this one," said Lasky.
The comparison Laksy requested materialized besides the map already present, and Skyheit studied it before saying, "They're almost exactly the same."
Lasky just nodded, waiting to see if the UNSC Captain would come to his own conclusion, which sure enough, he did.
"Let me get this straight sir," he began, "You're telling me that the 'artifact' we stumbled upon sent us to a different galaxy, but this different galaxy somehow has a near exact replica of the Sol system?"
"Seems that way. But that's not all," said Lasky, pointing to the holomap. "This separate Earth was already inhabited when we arrived. By Humans."
Skyheit leaned back in his chair. "Humans?"
"They call themselves the System's Alliance. They're spacefaring, and have dozens of colonies."
"Jesus Christ..." muttered Skyheit in disbelief. "Humans. In an exact replica of the Sol system. In a different Galaxy. I'm sorry Admiral, but I hope you'll understand if I have a hard time wrapping my head around this."
Lasky nodded. "I know Captain, but stay with me, there's more."
Skyheit sighed. "Alright then, keep going."
"This entire galaxy is full of different species of aliens who have been here for thousands of years. There's not enough time to go into too much detail, but there are four main races who make up the 'governing body' of the galaxy. Asari, Turians, Salarians, and this galaxy's Humans. Those are the main ones you should focus on once you have time to read the information packet Cortana has created," said Lasky.
"Alright, I will. Other sentient races in this other galaxy. Not unexpected, it turned out that way with our own. But I still have questions. We sort of know how we got here, some artifact space-magic bullshit, and it's logical to believe that other species would have already evolved here on this planet too if the conditions were right. But forgetting this whole same-solar-system thing, how the hell is another Humanity here? There has to have been some kind of outside involvement."
"We don't know. Forerunner or Precursor involvement seems the most probable, but we have no way of proving anything." He wouldn't tell anyone about his encounter with the Librarian-ghost, and what she had said to him. Not yet.
"Maybe the replica solar system is exactly the reason why another Humanity is here. If the same conditions were present, it could make sense how they evolved the same way," chimed in Dare.
"Perhaps, but what are the odds of having every single different species, bacteria, plants, animals, that affected our human development present for theirs? Even if it is the same planet," said Skyheit.
"I'm not saying that they're the exact same as us. They look similar but they might have a completely different genetic makeup for all we know. Cytosines replaced with Thymines, that kind of thing," responded Dare.
Lasky raised his hands. "As interesting as discussing this is, we have larger issues to attend to."
"I agree," said Skyheit. "Namely, how the hell do we get home, and what in God's name are these squid-looking ships?"
Lasky sighed. Again. "As far as getting home is concerned, I have no idea. Asides from Sol, this galaxy's systems are completely different from ours, we have no reference point to locating our own galaxy. And even if we could find it, the distance would likely be so immense that... well, we most likely wouldn't see home again in our lifetime. Not to mention the device that brought us here seems to only work one way."
Dare's and Skyheit's disheartened looks caused Lasky to frown. "I know that's not exactly what we all want to hear, but I'm just trying to portray the facts."
"Well, we know the Precursor artifact sent us here, maybe there's one in this galaxy that can send us back," threw out Dare.
"Perhaps. But while finding a way home is my first concern, there is still the immediate pressure of the Reapers," said Lasky.
"Reapers? Are those what these things are?" asked Skyheit, pointing to the red mass of ships on the holomap.
Lasky nodded. "According to the Systems Alliance, the Reapers are a race of sentient machines with the singular goal of destroying every other advanced race in the galaxy."
Skyheit could do nothing but blink. "Oh. Well that's just great. Do they want to 'destroy' us too? We don't have anything to do with this galaxy, we got here by accident!"
"Our arrival seemed to do nothing but cause the briefest of hesitations. They were hostile on sight, and attacked us indiscriminately alongside the Alliance," Dare said
Skyheit grew silent, drumming his fingers on the table. After a moment he said, "We need to be extremely careful on how we handle this situation when it comes to the crews. Stranded in a different galaxy with no discernible way back, immediately thrown into a conflict against a massive force... at least against the Covenant we knew what we were fighting for. Our systems, our planets – "
"Our survival," finished Lasky. "It's the same case here. We were attacked unprovoked by a hostile force, and we will respond in kind. As for the crews... I'm still trying to decide how to handle that. The Infinity is on a six-year deployment, so we were prepared to be away from resupply for an extended period."
"Battlegroup Yorktown is not Admiral." said Skyheit bluntly. "We were initially supplied with only what we needed for a brief series of combat exercises. While we did pick up some extra supplies and supply ships when HIGHCOM official ordered us to investigate your last known location, we have about three, maybe four months tops before our stores will start to run out."
Lasky nodded in understanding. While basic military munitions were almost guaranteed to never run out, ammunition manufacturing plants in each UNSC ship insured that, food and medical supplies were pretty nonrenewable and relied on stockpiles from ship storage. While the Infinity did have an extensive hydroponics lab, food produced there was meant as a supplement than anything else.
"It's certainly a problem," acknowledged Lasky. While he could ask the Alliance for help, he didn't want to be indebted towards them if he could avoid it.
"Yes it is. Now, back to what you said earlier, but you're not saying that we should engage in full-scale war with these Reapers, are you? Because that sounds like an awful efficient way to lower our chance of survival," said Skyheit.
"No, of course not," quickly established Lasky. "Not with our limited numbers, without bases for resupply, or established fallback positions. We'll have to do the only thing we can do under these circumstances."
"Guerrilla warfare," guessed Skyheit.
"If needed, yes. Strategic ambushes, massive use of force against targets of opportunities, hit-and-run tactics, the like. Against this large of an enemy, we have to be smart how we use our forces. Much like some of the more successful aspects of the Human-Covenant war, except this time... we have the advantage militarily."
Skyheit raised an eyebrow, and Dare said "In our brief engagements with the Reaper forces above 'Earth,' we were able to determine that we possess both offensive and defensive superiority over the Reapers, and by extension, the Alliance."
"How so?" asked Skyheit.
Lasky looked to the ceiling. "Roland?"
One of the holoscreens on the wall flickered to life, then split into four different, simultaneously playing recordings of the battle above Earth.
"It would be easier to show you," said Dare. She pointed at the top-left screen. "Here you can see a Reaper capital ship, two kilometers in length, being destroyed in a single shot from one of the Infinity's heavy MAC's. And the one right next to it, even a glancing blow critically incapacitated it."
She now pointed to the top right. "And here, our forward mounted energy projectors are particularly effective, see how this Reaper Capital ship is easily carved in two. It's the same for the Sangheili energy projectors. Speaking of the Sangheili, their plasma torpedoes are particularly devastating, as you can see here how deep the plasma melts into Reaper armor plating."
"It seems that Reaper defenses are especially susceptible to energy-based weapons," said Lasky.
"What about our own defenses?" asked Skyheit, pointing to the bottom right screen, which showed the Infinity taking fire from the Reapers in the form of what looked like solid red energy beams. Energy shields were still a new tech when it came to UNSC warships, still in the first stages of fleet-wide deployment. Battlegroup Yorktown had gotten a lucky draw, and had been outfitted during their last refit rotation.
"They hold up well," said Lasky, a hint of pride showing through his voice. "At full strength our shields were able to absorb a Reaper Capital ship weapons impact with only dropping a couple of percent."
"However..." he continued, "the Reapers were focusing the majority of their firepower on us and the Shadow of Intent. Under that much massed fire, even our advanced shielding was hard-pressed. If we were forced to stay there much longer we would have had been combat-testing our armor plate."
"I understand. Seems like this the very definition of quality over quantity," said Skyheit.
"In basic terms," replied Lasky.
Skyheit looked at Dare. "What about the Sangheili?"
"The Separatists ships have always been dangerous, and Shipmaster 'Vadum is a brilliant commander. The Shadow of Intent fared even better than we did," said Dare. "As for our smaller ships, my Strident commanders reported that direct hits from Reaper Destroyers reduced shielding anywhere from 8-10 percent, while a hit from a Capital ranged from 16-28 percent. Thankfully we weren't heavily targeted, as the Reaper's average rate of fire is much quicker than ours."
"So our Frigates and Destroyers have first-salvo superiority, but wouldn't be able to hold their own against a larger force," said Skyheit, to which Dare nodded.
"Lieutenant-Colonel, you said something earlier about our military superiority over this Systems Alliance. Could you explain?" asked Skyheit to Dare.
Dare and Lasky shared a glance. "Roland, pull up some combat footage of the SSV Kilimanjaro." said Dare.
The four-way split of the holoscreen changed to a larger single video, showing the Kilimanjaro during the futile defense of Earth.
"This is the dreadnought SSV Kilimanjaro, the flagship of the Alliance forces in this area. It's just a tad over a kilometer long, 1010 to be precise. It's the largest in the Alliance fleet."
"That's barely cruiser-weight," snorted Skyheit.
"Precisely. Look now, see how an entire broadside salvo does no visible damage against a passing Reaper Capital ship," said Dare.
"Huh. Do we know exactly what kind of weapons these ships are sporting?" asked Skyheit.
"Surprisingly, from our observations during the battle their arsenal is comparable to ours in doctrine, just not in power," answered Dare. "Their main weapons appear to consist of mass accelerators, although much smaller than our MACs. More data and specifications are needed for an accurate comparison. They also use high-powered laser systems that resemble our own pulse lasers for anti-fighter and light anti-ship duties, and missiles, although theirs appear to operate more like torpedoes. Slow, launched in small numbers, but heavy hitting. Unlike our missiles, which we launch dozens at a time at high-velocity, and that only inflict moderate damage. Well, moderate damage against Covenant vessels."
"And against the Reapers?" asked Skyheit, an eyebrow raised.
"When our missile were able to hit, they hit hard," said Lasky. "Unfortunately for us however, the Reapers seem to possess an extensive anti-missile system in the form of their own point-defense lasers, and they even had their own fighter-analogue craft sacrificing themselves by intercepting missiles with alarming frequency."
"On the ground though, it appears that Reaper defensive capabilities against orbital munitions are significantly reduced," said Dare.
"On the ground?" asked Skyheit, confused.
"Yes. You'll have to read about the specifics later, but we sent a Spartan team down to the surface of the planet to extract some key Alliance personnel as a gesture of good faith. During their mission a Reaper Capital ship landed and blocked their extraction, and orbital fire support was requested. Reaper anti-missile defense was surprisingly absent, and our opening missile strike was able to weaken it enough to allow a follow up pair of MAC rounds to take it out," said Dare.
Skyheit nodded in approval. "Well, that's good to know at least."
"Indeed," agreed Lasky. "But now that you've been informed of the rough situation, I need to talk about our position during the upcoming meeting with the remaining Alliance heads and the Sangheili."
Dare and Skyheit both leaned in attentively, and Lasky continued. "Saying we're in a difficult position is an understatement. In a different galaxy, cut off from home, in the middle of a war, and with the revelation that there is not only another humanity here, but also a multitude of powerful, long established species we've never encountered."
"Now we might not know very much, but I do know this: If we're going to survive until we find a way home, we need to remain as independent as we can. The effectiveness of our ships against the Reapers was not lost on the Alliance, and Dare and I suspect that they will do whatever they can in order to recruit us in their struggle against the Reapers. I think right now our best bet is trying to remain as independent as possible. This isn't our fight, and I won't be throwing away UNSC lives and equipment if I can avoid it."
"But if we're in this galaxy for any extended period of time..." began Skyheit.
"I know what you're going to say Captain, we're going to need to find a way to replenish our supplies. Well I think the easiest way to do that is obvious: the Alliance." said Lasky.
"Didn't you just say something earlier about not wanting to be dependent on the Alliance?" asked Skyheit.
Lasky nodded. "I did. And I'm not saying we throw ourselves into the arms of the Alliance to use at their advantage, desperate for any kind of ally in this galaxy. In fact, I'm saying we do the exact opposite. Use the Alliance's desperation for an effective weapon against the Reapers to our advantage. We hold all the cards here. We have no obligation to help them, and even though they might be Human, they're not us. This is what I think we should do. Pledge limited support to the Alliance in exchange for supplies, help in searching for a way home, information about this galaxy, political representation, whatever we want. However, requests by the Alliance to participate in anti-Reaper actions will have to be authorized by me, and I have full right to deny. Those are the only terms for an alliance that I will accept."
Skyheit nodded approvingly, then said, "I think this is the only realistic course of action we could take. We need to establish a strong presence, we can't afford to get swallowed up into this conflict with no say. What about the Sangheili? What is their stance about all of this?"
Lasky inhaled through his teeth. "The Sangheili... are a wild card. The Arbiter and the Shadow of Intent stood alongside us well enough during the previous battle, but ever since we've gotten to the rendezvous point they've been distant. I was only able to contact the Arbiter once, and he refused to send a Sangheili delegate to the meeting with the Alliance we're about to hold."
"Did he give a reason why?" asked Skyheit.
"Barely. There was a brief apology, followed by something about getting their forces organized."
Skyheit clicked his toungue. "That's not bad, but it's not exactly good either. Those Sangheili ships represent a significant amount of firepower, especially with the addition of that Super-Cruiser. Speaking of, how the hell do they have a Super-Cruiser in the first place? The last I heard ONI had 'indirectly' crippled the Sangheili manufacturing economy by instigating that civil war. Or is that information still classified?"
Dare's icy look told Skyheit that it in fact, was very classified. "If the Sangheili possess the capacity to build such ships, then either they have been hiding something up their sleeve or ONI drastically miscalculated their post-civil war capabilities."
"Either way, it's unsettling. Especially so now that the Sangheili are excluding themselves from communications with us," said Lasky.
"In a way, I can understand. The Arbiter has all the reason to be extremely wary," said Dare. "Think about it, they're going through the shock of the sudden arrival in this new galaxy the same as we are, except now they're faced with another Humanity. Their relationship with us isn't exactly friendly, but at least they somewhat knew what they were dealing with in us. With the Alliance however, they know almost nothing. Imagine how threatened they must feel, wedged in between two Humanities. The Arbiter might have been more inclined to work with us when it was only the Shadow of Intent, but now that he has reinforcements he might be emboldened to make more independent-minded decisions."
"Like refusing to send a delagate to our joint-meeting?" asked Skyheit, to which Dare nodded.
Lasky rubbed his eyes. "You may be right, but I don't like it," he said grimly. "The Sangheili might very well be an unknown right now, and a substantially uneasy one at that, but right now we have to deal with what we have."
Just then, Roland's voice came over then intercom. "Admiral, the Alliance representatives have just arrived."
Lasky nodded. "Alright. Send them up."
With a slight rumble, the Kodiak shuttle's landing struts set down on the deck of one of the Infinity's main hangar bays.
Admiral Steven Hackett squinted his eyes as bright white light filtered in through the opening shuttle door. Without hesitation he stepped out of the shuttle, his dress shoes clicking against the metal deck. He took a quick glance around, and if his mind hadn't been in a thousand different places he would have been impressed.
The hangar was gigantic by Alliance terms, masses of blue and gray clad personnel hurrying to and fro attending to all kinds of vehicles, Hackett guessed mostly fighter craft just based on their proportions.
Hackett looked over his shoulder to see Admiral Ines Lindholm of the First Fleet stepping out of the shuttle next. She was followed by Commander Shepard, still clad in his N7 armor, and two of his human crew, Major Alenko and Lieutenant Vega.
He turned back again when he saw a pair of figures approaching from his front. They were two of the heavily armored soldiers that had been present aboard the first meeting aboard the Normandy. The one on the left took a step towards him, silver-white rifle held in black-gloved hands.
"Admiral, Welcome aboard the Infinity. If you will follow us to the conference room," he said in a deep, gruff voice.
The two soldiers sharply turned and began quickly walking away, and the Alliance personnel had to pick up their pace in order to keep up.
Shepard fell in line besides Hackett and nodded his head towards the two UNSC Spartan's leading the way.
"I recognize them. Those two fought with me at Earth and at Mars," he said quietly.
Hackett raised an eyebrow. "What's your take on them?"
"I'll be honest sir, I've never seen anything like them. They're incredibly fast, never seem to miss a shot, and extremely durable. I saw one of them advance on an entrenched Cerberus squad, shrugging off a hail of fire like it was nothing, each burst from his rifle killing a Cerberus trooper. To say that they're extremely effective would be an understatement," said Shepard, admiration in his voice.
"Hmmm..." was all that Hackett replied with. To be honest, Shepard's description of the hulking UNSC soldier's prowess in battle didn't surprise him. If anything it just added to the conclusions he'd already made about the UNSC: that they were deadly, durable, and leagues more technologically advanced that the Alliance. That was both a relief, and disturbing. The Alliance had always held itself as supreme in matters of Human affairs. The Alliance fleet in particular had been hyped as Humanity's unbeatable Sword and Shield, more than capable of protecting the worlds and interests of the Alliance. The brief First Contact War with the Turians along with later victories like stopping the Skyllian Blitz cold and destroying Sovereign at the Battle of the Citadel only fed into that image.
But Hackett knew the truth, as did most of the top brass that didn't buy into their own propaganda. The Alliance fleet was a small force compared to the Turians; hell even the Batarian fleet had outnumbered them until only recently. Sure, the Alliance fleet was an exceptionally well trained and high quality force, Hackett would never deny that. But it simply lacked the size and strength to take on its vastly larger and more powerful neighbors. Even the recent buildup in the past few years just simply wasn't enough to truly protect every inch of Alliance space. It was a sobering realization to come to. Hackett didn't even want to think about the Fleet's dismal performance against the Reapers.
And now this UNSC had had come out of nowhere and trampled many of the Alliance's long held beliefs of superiority, almost as if mocking them. And then, to top it off, one dreadnought - enormous, he granted - and its escorting cruisers accounted for over eighty-five percent of the kills against the Reaper fleet in the recent battle, while taking only token losses in it's fighter screen in return. He had no idea who these people were, what motivated them, or if they would even help them, but that didn't matter. He needed their power. The survival of the Human race – his Human race – depended on it.
Hackett noticed how the mass of people in the hangar seemed to part ways at their approach, and he couldn't help but see the confused, calculating, or curious glances that were directed their way. He could sympathize with them, as the varying expressions he could see on their faces mirrored some of his own he had had not a few hours ago.
The group shortly reached the far wall of the hangar and entered into a medium sized elevator. They smoothly ascended for a brief few seconds, and Hackett saw as the Hangar Deck 102-B text above the door changed to Command Deck 8.
A hundred decks in just a few seconds... the Kilimanjaro doesn't even have thirty decks, thought Hackett dryly.
The elevator doors opened and the group stepped out, continuing down the hallway in front of them. Hackett could see more UNSC personnel walking briskly back and forth, these dressed in more ornate blue-and-golds that the gray-and-black dressed men and women he had seen in the hangar.
After rounding a couple of corners they reached a door where the two Spartans stopped in front of, then flanked. One of them gestured towards it, saying in a more feminine voice. "Right in here Admirals, Commander."
The door slid open, revealing a medium-sized room dominated by a large ovular table surrounded by chairs.
There were three humans standing to one side of the table conversing amongst each other, two of which Hackett recognized from the Normandy meeting: Admiral Lasky and Lieutenant-Colonel Dare. The new human was tall, dark skinned, and dressed in the same style of dull gray-black battledress as Admiral Lasky, but with a lesser amount of gold trim.
Admiral Lasky turned upon noticing Hackett and his companions enter, and said, "Admiral Hackett. Welcome to the Infinity."
"Thank you," Hackett simply replied.
Lasky must have noticed Hackett's grim expression, as his slight smile became more neutral and he gestured to the opposite side of the table. "Please, sit."
All present quickly took seats, the Alliance figures sitting on one side of the table, the UNSC leaders sitting on the other. Hackett and Lasky sat so that they were directly across from each other, Dare and Skyheit to either side of him. Just like during the Normandy meeting, Major Alenko and Lieutenant Vega took places on the edge of the room opposite of the two UNSC Spartans that had quietly entered behind the Alliance entourage.
"Admiral Lasky, this is Admiral Ines Lindholm, head of the Alliance First Fleet. Since she wasn't present for the meeting aboard the Normandy, I would greatly appreciate if we could go over introductions one more time."
"Of course," said Lasky, nodding in understanding. "I'm Admiral Thomas Lasky, commander of all UNSC forces in this area. To my right are my subcommanders, Captain Skyheit and Lieutenant-Colonel Dare."
"Right. Well to my right is Admiral Ines Lindholm, commander of the Alliance First Fleet. To my left is Commander John Shepard, Captain of the SSV Normandy, the vessel we had met on before. And I'm Admiral Steven Hackett, commander of the Alliance Fifth Fleet, and head of all Alliance military forces. What's left of them at least." said Hackett bluntly.
Lasky's neutral expression turned sympathetic. "I'm sorry."
"Mmm," grunted Hackett. The graying Alliance Admiral raised his gaze from the smooth oaken table and looked Lasky right in the eyes, piercing ice-blue against Lasky's own hard brown.
"Admiral, I'm not a negotiator. I'm not a politician. I'm a soldier, and I serve the Alliance. It is my duty to ensure not only the survival of the Alliance military, but also of Humanity in general. And right now, survival is foremost on my mind. I asked for this meeting to be held for only two reasons. The first is to discuss how to get out of the Sol system, and where to go from there. The second – " Hackett paused. This was the real reason why he wanted to hold this meeting. " – to do whatever the hell it takes to get you and your ships supporting us in this war."
Lasky blinked. He was not expecting Hackett to be this... direct. "Ah, I'm sure we can figure out a plan for getting out of the Sol system, but as far as entering the war goes I'm afraid – "
Hackett cut him off. "I know what you're going to say. That this isn't your fight, and this isn't your problem. That you don't want to risk your already limited ships and crew in a conflict you didn't ask to be involved in. That you aren't even supposed to be here, that this isn't even your galaxy."
The room was dead-silent. Hackett made it a point to look into the eyes of everyone on the opposite side of the table. "Well you're here now!" he said a little louder than he intended. "And we need help!"
Hackett's gaze returned to the table and the emotions on his face – anger, solemn sadness, desperation – were laid before all to see. "I just presided over the most disastrous military defeat in human history. Fifty-seven percent losses in space alone. Sixty-three ships destroyed in one battle. Eight-thousand and fifty-four dead. And that's just in space. How many dead on the ground? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions even? How many did we leave behind when I gave the order to retreat, the order to abandon our homeworld?"
"The Reaper's ran right over us. There was absolutely no way we could have stood a chance conventionally. At least, not until you showed up. Ships whose weapons can shatter Reapers with a single volley, while being able to withstand blows that cleave our own ships in half."
Hackett looked back to Lasky, who was staring at him intently. "Admiral Lasky. I don't know how or why your UNSC is here, but I do know this. You're Human, and I'm Human. And this Humanity needs your support. Because without it we're looking at extinction. I'll do whatever it takes. Whatever you want, supplies, intelligence, any condition you can think of, you name it. As long as we can get your help against the Reapers."
Lasky's mind was racing a thousand miles a minute. Almost every condition that he was going to try to get met Hackett had just offered him on a silver platter. He and Dare had theorized that the Alliance would be desperate, but not this desperate. Although, based on the thrashing the Alliance had taken at the hands of the Reapers, Lasky probably shouldn't have been surprised. In truth though, it wasn't like the UNSC was unfamiliar with the rather hopeless situation the Alliance now found itself in. Even so, Lasky was hesitant to rush headlong into what could be another long, bloody and very desperate war.
The UNSC Admiral cleared his throat before speaking. If he was going to enact his plan, he would have to do it now. "I'll admit Admiral, before your arrival we talked about our situation and how... reluctant we were to think of drawing ourselves into this conflict. I need to establish that the first and foremost concern in my mind is finding a way to get me people home."
"Which is extremely understandable," acknowledged Hackett.
"I am glad you agree. But as far as your other offers go, if we're going to be stuck in a galaxy at war, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have allies," said Lasky.
The change in Hackett's facial expression was almost palpable. "Are you saying that you'll accept a military alliance between us?"
Lasky responded quickly. He had debated on this enough. "Yes. But only if our specific terms are met."
"Like I said, you name it." said Hackett.
"As far as munitions go, we're okay for now. But if we're here for an extended amount of time, we might need help concerning food and medical supplies. Also, we want help looking for a way back to our own galaxy. Lastly, any military action you want our ships to take against the Reapers will have to be authorized by me."
"Of course," agreed Hackett.
"Alright. We can work out the finer details of our arrangement later. Now what is this you said earlier about a plan to escape the system?" asked Lasky.
"Well, we might have problem there. According to our last scans, there were about thirty Reaper ships guarding the Mass Relay, the structure we use for rapid intergalactic travel. Those would need to be taken out before we can move through and escape the system. From there, we can make the jump one of our adjacent systems."
"Thirty Reapers shouldn't be a problem given our combined strength right now," said Lasky. "As long as they don't get any reinforcements from in-system, we should be able to punch a hole in order to allow your ships to get through. But this raises the question, why take the risk and use these Mass Relay's at all? Don't you have some ship borne method of faster than light travel?"
"Yes we do, we use it to make short jumps to systems adjacent to the main Relay system. But the distance between Relays is too large to use conventional FTL in a timely manner." said Hackett.
"Well, how fare is the distance between this systems's Relay and the one you wish to travel to?" asked Dare
"A little under fifteen-hundred light years." answered Hackett.
Lasky and Dare shared a confused look. "Only fifteen-hundred? That's just a day-and-a-half's travel." said Dare.
Every jaw on the Alliance side of the table dropped. "A day-and-a-half!?" sputtered Admiral Lindholm.
"Yes, by our current specs we can get about a thousand light years per day out of our drives. Why the surprise? How fast is your conventional FTL?" asked Lasky.
"Our fastest ship, Commander Shepard's Normandy, can only travel twenty light years per day using conventional FTL. Standard FTL speeds among most of the Council races is anywhere from fifteen to eighteen. Our scientist's estimates put the Reaper's capability at around twice that." said Hackett.
"Well. That's a goddamn tactical advantage if I've ever seen one." stated Captain Skyheit.
"In more ways than one." said Hackett. "The Reapers may be more advanced than us, but they still operate off of our basic technological principles, just at a much higher level. Even they are bound to the Relays for rapid travel throughout the galaxy. But you... you won't be. You can bypass the chokepoints that the Relays create and appear and disappear in any system anywhere you like. With your help we could establish forward bases off the grid that are relatively safe from Reaper reprisal."
"It seems like the perfect complement to the guerilla style warfare we are going to have to wage against the numbers the Reaper's possess," said Lasky.
"You have no idea," agreed Hackett.
"I think it will certainly open up a bevy of new opportunities. But for right now, we should focus on escaping the system," suggested Lasky.
"Agreed. The Alliance forces can be ready to move out within the hour."
"The same for us."
"Excellent. But before that, there's one more matter we should address."
"What's that?"
"It concerns the Council. The governing body of our galaxy, composed of representatives from each of the four dominant galactic races."
"What about it?"
"Well, once the Relay is clear I'm sending Commander Shepard straight to the Citadel, the space station that serves as the Council's seat of power and the heart of our galaxy. Shepard will be serving as a representative of the Systems Alliance, and he's going to try to get support from the Council races in our fight against the Reapers. What we need to know is this: Do you want Shepard to mention your, uh, 'existence' to the Council?"
"No," answered Lasky. Turning back to Hackett, he continued, "No. I think it's best if our presence goes unannounced for now. I have a strong feeling it would only serve to cause unneeded confusion."
Hackett nodded in understanding. "Did you hear that Commander?"
"Yes sir. Not a word about our new allies," said Shepard. His brow then furrowed in obvious worry. "But I don't think their presence will remain unknown for long. Especially if the Salarian STG gets wind."
Hackett sighed. "We'll deal with that bridge if we end up needing to cross it. For now keep a lid on the UNSC as best you can."
"Aye Sir," Shepard acknowledged dutifully
Just then, Lasky got an idea. "Admiral Hackett, if Shepard is the Systems Alliance acting representative, does that make the Normandy into a sort of quasi-diplomatic vessel?"
Hackett scratched his stubble. "Hmm. I suppose it does."
"Well in that case, I'd like to make a request to place a token number of UNSC personnel on the Normandy," said Lasky.
Hackett's brows furrowed. "Could I ask why?"
"If the Normandy will serve diplomatic purposes as well, and based on the fact that eventually our presence will become more…well known, I think it would make sense to have UNSC representatives on board when that time comes." Representation wasn't the only reason Lasky had to making the request. Having UNSC eyes in one of the Alliance's most important vessels certainly wouldn't hurt, as it would allow him to keep up to date with Alliance actions.
Hackett looked to Shepard. "It's your ship Commander, what do you think?"
"I'm not sure. I'd say it depends on who would be accompanying us. The Normandy's a military vessel. I don't want to have to take care of civilians," said the Commander.
"I think I have the perfect person in mind," mused Lasky. He then looked towards the taller of the two UNSC Spartans on the opposite wall. "Master Chief?"
Looking stoic as ever in his fully-sealed armor suit, the Master Chief took a short step forwards, the gaze of his helmet turning between Admiral Lasky and Commander Shepard. "Sir?"
"I want you on the Normandy with Commander Shepard." said Lasky. "To act as the UNSC's liason."
"But sir, what about my team?" asked the Spartan.
"I think Spartan-104 is more than capable of assuming the duties of Blue Team, don't you?"
"Yes sir," answered the Master Chief, although Lasky thought he detected the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice.
"Good. Commander Shepard?"
Shepard nodded his head almost enthusiastically. "I'm sure as hell not going to turn down gaining as effective a soldier as the Master Chief. I'd be happy to have him aboard."
Shepard turned to Hackett. "There is one more thing though sir. The Normandy is missing its second shuttle and pilot, she was on shore leave when the Reapers first arrived."
Hackett frowned. "I don't know Commander, stealth Kodiak's like the one's Normandy is issued, along with pilots trained to use them, are hard to come by regularly. And with the losses we just took..."
"I believe we could help there as well," said Lasky. "The Infinity has a squadron of stealth-capable gunship-troop transports. I'd be happy to loan the Normandy one, along with the two pilots needed to fly and maintain it. Consider it a gesture of trust."
"That's very generous of you Admiral," said Hackett.
Lasky just nodded. "Now if there's nothing else we need to take care of right now, there's a Relay to assault. Let's get to it."
A wisp of light gray smoke rose lazily into the large room's air, but was soon lost amidst the brilliant red and blue light originating from the pulsating star that seemed to rest just outside the vast, curving viewport.
With an almost inaudible sigh, the Illusive Man brought his small cigarette down to his mouth and inhaled once again. He savored the smoky sensation in his mouth for just a brief moment, then exhaled the buildup in a perfectly controlled, even wave of smoke.
His piercing blue eyes surveyed the still, seemingly floating image in front of him, darting back and forth with almost mechanical precision.
"Play it again."
As his voice echoed off of the far off dark walls of the chamber, the image went to static, then a second later reappeared playing as a video.
It was footage from Dr. Eva, this particular segment starting with her local transfer of data from the Mars Prothean Beacon. The video was so clear that the Illusive Man could read every piece of information on the terminal Eva was working at, which he had actually, seven times now. That was the number of times he had replayed the segment.
The video continued to where Eva was stumbled upon by one of Shepard's men, Major Kaidan Alenko his sharp mind recalled, and the Illusive Man watched again as the Major was incapacitated by Eva's kick to his midriff. But that wasn't the part of the recording he was interested in.
The recording played on, with Dr. Eva now following her order to attempt to evade Shepard and escape to a waiting Cerberus shuttle. She should have succeeded too, as her transport platform was built to be tougher, faster and more mobile than any species in the galaxy.
Or at least, was the fastest. For the seventh time in the span of a few minutes, the Illusive Man watched as Dr. Eva turned her head, only to see a towering humanoid figure in bulky green armor sprinting towards her, and easily closing the distance.
The footage rattled and shook as Eva was tackled to the ground, then stabilized, the hexagonal orange reflective visor of the armored being's helmet reflecting Eva's artificial facial features just a few inches away.
Not seconds after Shepard and his squadmates, along with another of those armored beings surrounded the restrained Dr. Eva, weapons drawn. The recording then promptly ended in static, highly suggesting that Eva had been disabled.
After a moment of looking at the static, the Illusive Man closed away the video with a swipe of his hand. On the left armrest of his chair he reached for his glass of scotch, the pair of ice cubes clinking as he brought it to his thin lips. As he savored the drink his mind went back to the questions that he had been asking himself ever since he saw the video.
Who were those armored figures? Considering their size, and bulk, the Illusive Man assumed that they were soldiers. But since when did the Alliance have soldiers capable of running up to fifty kilometers per hour? Gene modification or cybernetic enhancement? The Alliance had been using these techniques to make more physically able personnel for decades now, Cerberus, even more heavily. But enhancements that would allow someone to reach such speeds, were unheard of. Cerberus scientists haven't even come close to that sort of achievement, and his operatives in Alliance R&D departments have reported the same.
Maybe the Alliance had developed these new enhancements away from his network, or –
The Illusive Man abruptly stopped. He was limiting himself to this certain train of thought and not considering different possibilities. Just because they were with Shepard didn't mean anything, the two soldiers might not even be Alliance at all.
In fact, they probably weren't. Just the design of their armor suggested that, as the sharp angles and heavy plate was far different from the rounded edges and relatively thin plate of standard Alliance armor. Their weapons were intriguingly different as well, the sleek silver elongated rifles not in the slightest mimicking any designs common in human weapons; they resembled the Asari style more than anything else.
As one part of his mind continued to ponder that issue, another concerned itself with the loss of Dr. Eva and the Mars Prothean Archive date.
While Dr. Eva itself wasn't a substantial loss, he had been counting on getting to that data and securing it for Cerberus before the Alliance did. Despite how advanced Dr. Eva was, her 'body' didn't have the technological infrastructure to transfer that large of an amount of raw data over intergalactic distances. Now that it was in Shepard's hands, he would be much more hard-pressed to figure what information it contained. That meant that the Alliance could have a potential advantage over Cerberus, which he couldn't allow.
Then of course, there was the Reaper situation. According to his last reports, after the Reaper armada had blasted through Batarian space they made a beeline towards Earth. He didn't know much after that, though he had a couple of operatives embedded into the Alliance fleet. If they're still alive, they should be reporting soon...
His thoughts were interrupted by the distinctly quick double-click of high-heels some distance behind him. The Illusive Man didn't bother to turn around, he already knew who was approaching.
"Sir, a report from our Alliance operative has just arrived," said a feminine, distinctly Australian voice.
The Illusive Man frowned. He had three operatives embedded into the Alliance Fifth fleet, and one in the Second, which he knew were both stationed in the Sol system. "Only one?"
"Yes sir. All the other three have missed their scheduled report times."
"Hmm. That is unfortunate. Which one reported?" he asked
"Operative Leng," replied the woman.
"Ah. Perhaps not as unfortunate as I had first thought," said the Illusive Man.
Operative Kai Leng was a young Alliance Marine Lieutenant who Cerberus had recruited a couple of years ago after Sovereign and the Geth's attack on the Citadel. Just a Corporal then, Leng had shown remarkable potential, rising quickly within the Alliance ranks and providing Cerberus with vast amounts of intelligence on Alliance inner workings along the way. Currently he was stationed on the SSV Kilimanjaro, and seeing how the ship was the flagship of the leading Alliance leader Admiral Steven Hackett, he was by far in the most valuable position in the fleet for Cerberus' purposes.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw a datapad obtruding over his shoulder, and he gently set down his whiskey on the arm of his chair before taking it. He took a brief glimpse of the datapad's contents, and was pleased to see that like the majority of Leng's reports they were quite... extensive. Knowing that it would take some time to thoroughly examine the data, his eyes flicked to his whiskey, frowning when he found it was less than half full.
"Flag all intelligence reports regarding Alliance military operations, Commander Shepard, and Reaper activities as priority one. All sleeper agents on the Citadel are now to begin active intelligence gathering and recruiting operations. Quadruple the budgets for weapons and armor research and manufacturing, genetic and cybernetic enhancements, combat training, and shipbuilding. Also, have someone bring me another drink. A scotch this time, from my 2046 Irish Reserve."
"Right away sir. Is there anything else you require?"
"Yes. You are to depart immediate for the Citadel as well, prepare for an extended stay. Commander Shepard is most likely going to try to go to the Council to discuss the Reaper threat. Get into contact with him, see if you can't find out anything we don't already know. He should be quick to trust you given your past history together against the Collectors, and will not know about your... 'reinstatement'."
"I could approach him under the guise that I'm being pursued by Cerberus assassins. Not only would it trigger his natural protective instinct, but it would also add a sense of urgency to our meetings. Both would make him more susceptible to revealing information."
"Excellent. That will be all Miranda, you are dismissed," said the Illusive Man.
There was a slight rush of air as Operative Lawson pivoted and walked away, the sharp clicks of her heels echoing throughout the room. When they faded completely, the Illusive Man settled back into his chair and brought the datapad up to his eyes, hued in the vibrant light of the now blue star.
He had a lot of work to do.
Special thanks to my beta JonHarper