Chapter Forty-One: Double-Strike Pt. I
They grew with passion
Longing for the distant stars
Blind with desire
UNSC Infinity
Admiral's Private Quarters
"You… glassed - Noveria?"
"It was necessary."
Admiral Thomas Lasky stared blankly at the vidscreen in front of him, where Arbiter Thel 'Vadam's image seemed to be frozen on the screen, still as a rock as he was. The call from the Arbiter had been enough of a surprise on its own, given that the combined Allied battlefleets were within an hour of jumping off for their next offensives into Reaper-controlled Turian space, and no one had heard from the Sangheili since they had all escaped Earth weeks ago.
Lasky had run through a myriad of emotions when he had first seen the Arbiter's face materialize on his vidscreen - anger, confusion, relief, curiosity, anger again… mostly anger. Laden with the burdens of high command, combat fatigue, sleeplessness, and anxiety, his mind had immediately gone towards wanting to bombard the Arbiter with several very accusatory questions.
Why had the Sangheili abandoned the UNSC and the rest of the Allied forces right after the breakout from Earth? Where have they been all this time? What have they been doing? Did they know that the combined fleets of the UNSC, Systems Alliance, Turian Hierarchy, and Salarian Union had won a decisive defensive engagement against the Reapers in the Turian theatre, and were now in the process of conducting a massive, multi-pronged counteroffensive? Did they know that even a single one of the Sangheili's warships could be making an enormous difference in this fight? Why had the Arbiter not tried to get into contact with him all this time? Why now? And why the hell did he open the conversation by saying that he had glassed an entire planet!?
His head was so overloaded with questions that he only managed to get a single word out in response. "Why?"
The Arbiter bowed his head for a brief second before he looked Lasky in the eyes again.
"Admiral Lasky, I recommend that you brace yourself for what I am about to say."
Lasky did not like the sound of that. At all. It implied that he was about to hear something even worse from 'Vadam than 'We glassed an entire planet' already was. The Admiral just nodded for Thel to continue.
"I ordered the glassing of Noveria because I had no other choice," the Arbiter said, voice low and heavy. "We were ambushed by the Parasite. The Flood was there."
Lasky blinked. He blinked several times in fact. His stomach had tightened and his lungs filled with frigid air. "The Flood. Do you mean the Reapers?"
He knew that Thel wasn't talking about the Reapers, but he had to ask anyway. The Arbiter's long neck swayed as he shook his head in a negative. "No Admiral, not the Reapers. The Flood. The Parasite. The Hunger. The abominations that almost destroyed our galaxy… they are here as well."
It was a testament to his training, experience, and character that Lasky didn't starrt panicking at the Arbiter's news. He came very close, but a deep breath at just the right time saved him. Just the mention of the word 'Flood' was dire enough, but to put it into the context of the conflict they were already embroiled in with the Reapers made hearing it just that much worse. Lasky desperately needed more information, so he started grilling Thel for answers like he was one of the drill sergeants back at Corbulo Academy.
"Are you absolutely sure what you encountered was the Flood? You don't have a single shred of doubt?" the Admiral started.
"Not one shred," the Arbiter answered. "This is the Flood. I know the Parasite when I see it."
"How could it have been on Noveria? What were you doing on Noveria?"
"I do not know how the Parasite got there," 'Vadam answered. Off-screen he reached for something, then held up a plain-looking grey cylinder. "We were on Noveria looking for an artifact. Looking for these."
Lasky took a couple of seconds to examine the cylinder, but couldn't for the life of him discern what was important about it. "A grey baton?"
"Were it so simple. These are Keys. There are six of them, and it is our given mission to collect them. We have secured three so far, and have the locations of the next two."
More questions. "Who gave you this mission?"
"The Librarian did," Thel said, noting the flash of expression across Lasky's face. He tilted his head and asked a question of his own. "You have seen Her, haven't you Admiral?"
Lasky saw no point in keeping the secret to himself anymore. He nodded slowly, saying "I did. She appeared to me - or at least, some kind of copy did - right before the artifact we were investigating together sent us here."
"What did She say to you?" the Sangheili asked.
"That she was 'using the Gate to send Humanity on it's destined path'," he said, paraphrasing what he could remember from that strange encounter from what felt like a lifetime ago.
The Arbiter nodded as if Lasky's words were affirming something for him. "She appeared to us when the Gate sent the rest of our brethren through. She sent us on a path as well, but not one of destiny - one of redemption. Just like the Forerunners of Her own time persecuted Humanity, so did the Covenant follow in their bloody footsteps. So did I once follow in those same footsteps, determined as I was to be the one to deliver the final blow to the UNSC. How lost I was..."
'Vadam trailed off for just a moment before coming back to the present. "The Librarian's purity and righteousness has washed away the filth left on my people by the False Prophets, and now we finally have a true purpose."
Lasky massaged his temples with his index fingers. All this quasi-religious talk of paths and destinies and redemptions was giving him a headache. "What is this purpose? Does it have to do anything with these Keys?"
"The Keys will unlock the Mantle," the Arbiter said matter-of-factly, as if Lasky was expected to have known that already.
It took real effort from the Admiral to not roll his eyes out of pure exasperation. Here he was running on four hours of sleep within the last forty-eight, on the cusp of launching a fleets-wide offensive into fortified, Reaper-controlled space, when their estranged Sangheili allies show up out of the blue and start bombarding him with what sounded like old Bible jargon, on top of the bombshell that the goddamn FLOOD was here!
Even though their facial structures were completely different the Arbiter was able to read Lasky's expressions well enough. "I know this is a lot to take in Admiral, and that you have your own problems already. I am not asking anything of you, I am simply trying to appraise you of our current situation."
"Well, thank you," Lasky replied with some amount of truth behind those words. This, as abrupt and unexpected as it was, was at least better than no communication at all from their Sangheili allies. He also now understood why the Arbiter wanted this call to be private between themselves, without any of the other Allied forces Admirals present. He wondered just how in the hell he was going to explain what he was hearing from the Arbiter to his fellow Admirals. One thing at a time…
"Roland is showing me that your signal location is originating from the Omega system," Lasky said, "What are you doing there right now? Was one of those Keys there?"
"Yes. We were sent this way after securing the Key on Noveria."
"From what I know about Omega, it's a large space station run by pirates, mercenaries, and criminals. I assume they wouldn't just let you take something that they probably considered theirs, even if you asked nicely?"
"We did not ask nicely," Thel said. "The station was controlled by criminals, but now it is controlled by us. Not even an entire Cerberus battlefleet, nor a minor Parasite infestation could stand in our way."
Lasky tilted his head and inhaled sharply, eyes widening. "A minor Flood infestation? On Omega!? One of the most densely populated stations in this galaxy?"
"Admiral Lasky, if I had even the slightest belief that there was still Flood on Omega, there would not be an Omega anymore," he said, trying to reassure Lasky of his very well-founded concerns. "We caught the infestation early. It was a dead-man's switch triggered by Cerberus when we burned the last of their ships out of the sky. Besides, there were tens of thousands of uninfected souls I would have been condemning if we had glassed the station, something I was not keen on doing if I did not absolutely need to."
"And what about the innocent people on Noveria? Did all of them deserve to die?"
The Arbiter took a long, deep breath. "It is… remorseful. Given our success on Omega, it was likely that not all of Noveria had to die. My team barely made it out. I lost one of my men. Four Mgalekgolo sacrificed themselves to allow our retreat. I knew that the Flood had escaped the facility, I did not know far the infestation might have travelled, and had no way of finding out. Unlike you, I have been face-to-face with the Parasite. I know it intimately - its ghastly persistence, its incessant howls, its stench of pure hunger. I acted drastically, but I had to act. Can you truly blame me?"
"No," Lasky said quietly, after some thought. He couldn't. "New questions. You mentioned Cerberus. They were involved with the Flood? How?"
The Arbiter nodded slowly. "The utter fools. There was a research base on Noveria where they were experimenting on them. My team had to go through there to get to the Key. We discovered that the Flood had escaped the facility to other parts of the planet. "
"Christ am I glad that they're gone now," Lasky muttered, taken aback that the organization could have been so stupid as to mess with the Flood. "How did Cerberus find the Flood? How was the Flood even on Noveria to begin with? How is the Flood even in this galaxy at all?"
"I do not know," the Arbiter replied truthfully. "I wish I did. I wish the last time I had to see the Parasite was back on the Ark, years ago. As it stands now though, our reality is much different."
Lasky's lips had tightened into a thin line. "So it would seem."
"You said that Cerberus is 'gone'?" asked Thel.
"Yes. Commander Shepard tracked and located Cerberus' main headquarters and Fleet Ops base. He asked for one of the Infinity's slipspace-capable nukes. I gave one to him."
"Was that base in Omega's part of space?"
Lasky nodded.
"Interesting. That would explain why Commander Shepard is here."
"The Normandy is with you?" asked Lasky, surprised. He hadn't exactly been keeping a close eye on the Normandy's whereabouts lately, as busy as he was coordinating large-scale fleet actions. "The Master Chief too?"
The Arbiter drew back his four jaws in a smile. "Indeed he is. The Master Chief was instrumental during the mission to eradicate the Parasite on Omega. He saved the life of one of my Special Operations soldiers as well."
"Yeah, sounds like him…" Lasky replied, allowing himself to relax the smallest amount. If there was anyone in the entire galaxy - galaxies now - who knew the ins and outs of the Flood, its dangers, and what it was capable of, then it was the Master Chief. The fact that the Spartan was boots-on-the-ground on Omega made the Admiral feel better about the situation unfolding on the other side of the galaxy from him. "What's your immediate plan going forwards?"
"Secure Omega, and get our crews and troops some rest. We have been moving and fighting without pause since Earth, much like you have I imagine."
Lasky breathed heavily through his nose, an affirmation. The moving and fighting hadn't stopped for him either, and it didn't look like it would anytime soon.
'Vadam continued. "While that is going on, we will be drawing up plans to secure the next two Keys and dispatch retrieval teams to each location - one to Rannoch, and one to Thessia."
Lasky whistled lowly. He recognized those names from prior intel briefings, those were the homeworlds of the Quarians and the Asari, respectively. "Rannoch is a Geth stronghold and Thessia is locked down tight by the Asari Navy. Those are some tall orders for a force of only six ships."
Only six ships was an understatement of course. The sight of four CCS-Battlecruisers would have given any UNSC Captain a chill down their spine, not to mention just how deadly capable that DOS-Supercruiser could be if one looked back on the battle over Reach. Then there was the Shadow of Intent herself, a scarred and dangerous CAS-Assault Carrier that would give even the UNSC Infinity a serious gut check.
"Do you need help?" Lasky asked.
The Arbiter was silent for several seconds at this request. In his mind the Sangheili was quickly and seriously going through his list of available strength, force projections, and operational hazards related to the upcoming missions.
"What can you spare?" 'Vadam asked, knowing that Lasky wouldn't have posed the question if he didn't have anything to offer.
"Not much," Lasky said, making sure proper expectations were set right at the start. "The Sahara-Class Heavy Prowler Jericho, with a full combat load and some of our best Spartan fireteams embarked. All of our vessels Frigate-weight and above are needed here on the Turian front to supplement the strength of the rest of the Allied fleets."
The Arbiter bowed his head in deep gratitude. "A stealth vessel with nuclear ordinance will always have its uses, and I will gladly take as many Spartans as you wish to give."
"There's terms for this gesture Thel," Lasky said, and the 'Vadam looked up to hear them. "Whenever you are done with your mission, finding all these Keys, going through this grand 'Plan' that I still don't really understand, come back into the fold. Lots of good men and women over here would have a better chance at staying on this side of life with your help."
"You have my word," 'Vadam promised, putting an arm to his chest for emphasis.
"And from now on, don't fucking go silent right at the start of a goddamned galactic war."
"Noted," said Thel, knowing he deserved the rebuke. "I'll have detailed reports sent to you regarding our activities these past weeks, along with regular updates going forwards."
"Good enough," Lasky said. "We will do the same, and we'll top it off with all the intel we have on both Rannoch and Thessia. I'll also see what I can do about getting the Normandy to stick around your new AO. That little ship can certainly throw its weight around."
"I would appreciate it, Admiral."
"Good luck Arbiter. I'll have that Prowler headed your way within the hour. I'll be awaiting your action reports. Lasky out."
The vidscreen flashed to black as he ended the call, and after two seconds of silence Lasky let out a deep sigh, one heavy enough to almost shake his entire body. That single ten-minute conversation with Thel 'Vadam had nearly tripled the amount of things that he needed to think about now, first and foremost among them being the Flood. He rubbed his temples to try and assuage his budding headache, but had doubts it would serve any real relief. How in the world was he going to bring this up to the rest of the Allied High Command? How was he going to come to terms with it himself? How would this change things going forwards?
So many questions, not enough answers, and for sure as hell not enough sleep. One thing at a time. One thing at a time…
"Roland, did you hear all that?" Lasky asked the ceiling, knowing that the Infinity's resident AI definitely had.
"Yes sir."
"And what do you think?"
"It's not good sir. The Flood already trashed our galaxy once, and nearly finished the job for good the second time around if it wasn't for the Master Chief. Imagine the Reapers, infected and controlled by the Flood."
"I'd rather not. Let's just hope it doesn't get to that point, and that the Arbiter has already dealt with whatever Flood managed to get to this galaxy." Lasky closed his eyes. His gut feeling told him that he would be wrong. "Roland, notify Captain Drake and the Jericho of their new assignment."
"Already done sir. They had already finished reloading ordnance from the Infinity's munitions store two hours ago, so they're just awaiting your word on which Spartan teams they'll be hosting."
Lasky already had his answers in mind. He trusted only his top-performing fireteams with this assignment. "Page Crimson and Majestic. Tell them to load for bear."
"Will do sir," replied Roland, "But that's only two teams. Who else?"
Lasky just looked at the ceiling, implying that the AI should already be aware.
"Right," Roland said after a tenth-second of thought. "I'll let Blue Team know."
Light Freighter ARS Alscion
En Route to Thessia, Parnitha System
"I just hope that this utter hunk of junk makes it to Thessia."
"As you keep telling me Levas… You just don't like flying."
"No D'avi. I like flying just fine."
"Okay then. You just don't like me flying."
Silence.
"You're never going to let it go, are you?"
"Let what go?"
"Don't act like you don't know. The fact that myself, a quiet and humble Captain scored two whole percentage points better across all spectrums of the Commando Pilot Aptitude Test than our own intrepid Colonel."
"Quiet? Humble? Interesting choice of words there D'avi. You're being ridiculous. You really believe that I would still be holding a grudge over some inconsequential test from over a forty years ago back in training?"
"I'm not being ridiculous. That's exactly what you would do. That's exactly what you are doing."
"Stow it."
"Yes Colonel."
"And quit calling me that. We're on assignment," chided Levas.
D'avi was quick to retort. "C'mon Erissa, relax a little. What, think that this decrepit old freighter is filled with listening bugs?"
"We've seen stranger things over the years."
"Yeah, which is why I already did an exhaustive bug search before we got underway. Not like I thought that this bucket of rust could have surprised us anyways…"
Levas sighed, allowing some of the tension out of her shoulders and neck. "Fine. You're right. There probably aren't listening devices on this old freighter. My point still stands about the ship making it through the Relay jumps in one piece though…"
From her seat in the pilot's chair D'avi reached forwards to the instruments console and gave it a loving pat. "She'll pull through for us."
"She better," said Levas, "I've got another good four hundred years left in me at least, and I don't want to spend it as space dust."
In the navigator's seat just besides the pilot's chair, Levas took another look around the cramped cockpit of the cargo freighter ARS Alscion and found herself longing for the high ceilings, gently curved walls, and graceful aesthetic of the Shadow of Intent. She intended to be back there soon.
The ARS Alscion was not this cargo freighter's given name. Formerly known as the Kanit, the Eclipse gang used it to run drugs throughout the Terminus systems before the Eclipse — and all the other gangs— had been driven off the station by the forces of Thel 'Vadam's. Sitting in dock, abandoned, Levas and D'avi had found the vessel would be perfectly suited to their needs.
Levas' original plan was to find a small ship in Omega's now-abandoned mercenary dockyards, and take D'avi and herself to Thessia for recon. She had just gotten off the Phantom that transported her from the Intent to Omega when she thought of a better one. While she contacted the Arbiter Levas also paged the other two members of their four-Asari squad to meet them at the dockyards.
She explained her ideas and her reasonings to the Arbiter quickly but in vivid detail.
He approved.
After creating fake identification, a bogus crew manifest, a false flight plan, and 'modifying' the transponder, they loaded cargo and set off for the Omega Relay. Course: Thessia.
Levas heard the door to their cockpit slid open. Teva Janissa entered and took her seat at the sensors station, facing a wall-mounted console behind the pilot's chair. "Cargo is secure Colonel."
Levas sighed. "We're on assignment Jani."
Jani and D'avi shared a knowing look. "She been like this the whole time?"
"Since we lifted off from Omega Sarge," D'avi said.
"Sounds familiar," Jani said, reaching over and punching Levas in the shoulder. "Loosen up. It's not like we're going on a dangerous, covert mission into the most heavily-guarded Asari territory in the entire galaxy."
"That's exactly what we're doing," Levas replied as she rubbed her shoulder, unamused. Jani's punches always hurt.
"Ah. Right," Jani said deadpan, "Well, in that case… grow a pair."
"Stow it."
"Yes ma'am. D'avi, check on Vaya will you? Dunno what's taking her so long out there."
D'avi reached to the console in front of her and cycled through her comms channels until she found the one she wanted. "Rascha, update?"
"Almost done. Just making sure everything's good here. We'll only get one chance to pull this off," Vaya reported, voice crackling through the cockpit's intercomm speakers.
"Well hurry up and get back inside, we're hitting the Mass Relay in less than five," D'avi said. "And stow the rank talk, Levas says we're on assignment."
"Yeah LT, stow the rank talk," Jani quipped. "You know Levas is by-the-books."
"She's just got the pre-mission jitters Master Guns? It's alright Colonel, happens to the best of us, even butter-bar Lieutenants like me."
Levas cut herself into the comms network for some choice words. "Vaya - by the goddess - you get your teal-blue ass back in the ship before I lock you out of the airlocks and make you ride the Relay jumps from the outer hull. And I'm serious everyone, we're on assignment. Stick to your given identities."
"Yes ma'am."
"Got it."
"Aye aye. Returning inside now."
Levas shook her head ever so slightly in irritation. After more than four decades together her squad knew how to push her buttons like nothing else.
Levas and her squad weren't just part of some run-of-the-mill security force that happened to be assigned to guard a backwater Asari mining colony.
Security guards wouldn't have been able to survive what the Reapers had sent down to attack their small colony.
Security guards wouldn't have been able to keep up with the Arbiter's Special Operations Lances — elite Sangheili warriors at the very top of their game.
Security guards wouldn't have been able to hotwire a ship's transponder codes — one of the most difficult and delicate shipboard-systems to manipulate — and get an unfamiliar freighter warmed up and out the bay doors in record time.
Security guards didn't plan and execute raids.
Commandos did.
Colonel Erissa Levas, Captain Leigh D'Avi, Second Lieutenant Rascha Vaya, and Master Gunnery Sergeant Teva Janissa comprised one of four different commando squads under the direction of the Naval Special Orders Command.
NAV-SOC itself was under the direct control of the Asari 1st Republic Defense Fleet, the largest fleet the Asari maintained and the guardian of the inner Asari systems, namely Thessia. The flagship of the 1st Fleet was the Destiny Ascension herself, helmed by the famed naval matriarch Admiral Teysa Lidanya.
Colonel Levas' last orders had been to take her squad to the mining colony of Tarrisa, and to investigate and secure an underground anomaly deemed essential by command. They weren't told what said anomaly was or even could have been, but that wasn't surprising. It wasn't the first time they had operated off of limited intel, and certainly wouldn't be the last. They had been given aliases to integrate into the established colonial security forces, and had set off in a nondescript military transport.
They hadn't even been on-planet for more than half a day when the Reapers showed up. Levas and her squad tried their best to mount a defense, but the security forces were just too few in number and too inexperienced to stand up against the onslaught brought by the Reapers. The commando squad could only fight for their own survival as they watched hundreds of fellow Asari die all around them, along with the destruction of all of the colony's space capable vessels.
It was looking grim for them, hunkered deep inside the colony's administrative building along with what few civilians they could rescue along the way, knowing that any ways to get off-world were gone.
They steeled themselves as best they could, awaiting the eventual, all-ending counterattack that the Reapers would surely mount after a brief, unusual pause in the fighting, but the attack never came.
The next thing to walk into their crosshairs weren't more Reapers, but Arbiter Thel 'Vadam — their salvation.
The cockpit door chimed as it slid open once more for Lieutenant Vaya, who took the only remaining seat in the cockpit, the jump seat. She activated the blank console in front of her and keyed into the ship's life support and hull integrity readouts. "All set on the outside. Who wants launch command of the deployable?"
"I do," said D'avi. "Since I'm flying."
"Got it. Codes sent."
"Alright everyone, one minute till we hit the Relay. Strap in. Everybody green?" Levas asked the group.
"Green," reported Vaya.
"Golden," said D'avi.
"Green as a maiden on her first day as a stripper," joked Jani.
Vaya and D'avi snickered, and even Levas allowed herself a small smirk. "Heard Gunny."
Outside the forward viewport of the Alscion Omega's Mass Relay loomed large. It wouldn't be long now.
"Seal up," Levas said, as she grabbed her helmet from the floor besides her and slid it over her head. She and all her other Asari were wearing their advanced Special Operations armor suits that had been custom-fit to them by Huragok. She reached over and tapped her armor's wrist-mounted Tac-pad until and cycled through her comms channels till she got to a specific one. "Cargo bay, comms check."
A deep, masculine voice answered back. "We read you."
"All settled in back there? We're hitting the Relay shortly."
"Affirmative."
"Good. We'll be jumping directly to Thessia and there's a high chance we'll be intercepted immediately, so maintain comms silence from this point out until told otherwise." Levas let some lightness into her voice then added, "Enjoy your first jump you maidens. Out."
The Relay towered ahead of them in their viewport, swirling rings of blue element zero just waiting to reach out and grab the Alscion - any second now.
Jumping through a Mass Relay was unlike anything else. A sense of pure electric warmth flowed through your body like a soothing wave, followed by a sudden ice-pick to the back of the neck as your body and ship were jolted back to real-time-and-space after exiting the Mass Relay transit corridors. A very short wave of nausea often followed, especially amongst the less-travelled. Something about being shot like a bullet out of a rifle clearways across the galaxy in an instant tended to disorient the mind and body.
The ARS Alscion crossed into the Relay's range.
The Relay identified the incoming freighter and queried it.
|: ONE VESSEL IDENTIFIED :|******|: MASS? :|
The Alscion's ship computer responded. 213,554 tons.
|: CONVERTING :|******|: CONFIRM ONE VESSEL - 213.554 TONS :|******|: SENDING :|
A tendril of sapphire Element Zero reached from the swirling rings of the Relay towards the Alscion like a lightning bolt. Levas closed her eyes, she always did during a Relay jump.
The electric warmth came, then the ice pick, then the nausea, which Levas quickly and expertly clamped down on. She definitely was not an infrequent traveller.
She opened her eyes and instead of Omega's Mass Relay in the Alscion's viewport, she was greeted by gentle green landmasses and dark blue oceans of the Asari's homeworld - Thessia. Despite the current circumstances on their visit, Levas couldn't help but smile at the familiar comfort emanating from the jewel of the Asari Republics. Levas hadn't been born on Thessia, but all Asari considered the planet a home of their own in some way or another.
"Status check," Levas said, talking to her cockpit squad.
"Flight systems, engines, maneuvering thrusters green," reported D'avi.
"Life support, hull integrity green," said Vaya.
"Sensors arrays online... performing system scan now," relayed Jani.
Leva turned her attention to her own console. She was in the Alscion's Captain's chair, so she had access to whatever ship systems readouts she pleased. To start, she brought up the feed from the freighter's sensors as their initial scan of the system finished up. The space above Thessia was absolutely packed with Asari military vessels, transports, and cargo freighters just like the Alscion. The Destiny Ascension was the easiest to single out from the crowd, given its crowned status as the pride of the Asari Navy and the largest ship in the galaxy.
Well, the former largest ship in the galaxy. Levas now knew that in that regard, the Shadow of Intent blew the Ascension right out of the water.
At the very start of the Reaper War Councilor Tevos and the rest of the Asari political leadership had made the decision to let the rest of the galaxy fend for itself, pulling all naval vessels, ground forces, and willing civilians back into Asari Republic space. The top politician's decree to place individual Asari safety above the well-being of the galaxy as a whole was - predictably - immensely unpopular and condemned by the Systems Alliance, the Salarian Union, the Turian Hierarchy, and the UNSC.
Public opinion towards the Asari, who had for hundreds and hundreds of years been looked upon as the model of what civilizations should strive for, turned starkly against them overnight. Passionate denouncements, wide-ranging economic sanctions, military and civilian contract annulments, and disolvements of trade and research agreements hammered the Asari Republics in the days following their withdrawal from the galactic defense effort. It was only due to their merits as the largest galactic faction with the largest economic capital that the Republics managed to stay afloat on their new island of self-inflicted isolation.
As the sensor suite returned ship profiles to Levas' console she estimated that at least three separate fleets were stationed around Thessia, with a separate large task force guarded the Relay.
A cruiser and two frigates from said task force broke off of the main formation and started maneuvering towards them. Their comms started beeping soon after.
"Lead cruiser is hailing us," D'avi said. She was keeping the Alscion on a straight and slow course, mostly driven by momentum leftover from exiting the Relay corridor.
"Put them through," Levas said quickly. They didn't want to act suspiciously.
The voice of a stern-sounding Asari crackled through the cockpit intercomm. "ARS Alscion, this is the captain of the ARS Juliet. Maintain current course and heading. Transmit all flight and manifest details immediately."
"This is the Captain Reyka of the Alscion," Levas said. A simple lie, but one that was backed up by masterclass false IDs. "We read you loud and clear. Initiating data stream, just waiting on you."
"Data transfer accepted. Standby on your course while we review and confirm. Be advised, ARS Frigates Falin and Satra will fall in to shadow you on both sides."
"Confirmed. Appreciate the escort, makes us feel important," Levas said. They four waited in silence as the cruiser Juliet reviewed their information, no doubt in-depth. That was alright though, they had prepared for that. The two Frigates fired their maneuvering thrusters to flip themselves around and orient themselves in the same direction the Alscion was travelling, forming up off of each wing.
The Juliet got back to them quickly. "Flight plan originating from Bekenstein, then a refueling stop at the helium-3 mine Colis above Braxis Nine, and ending on Thessia at the Councilor Hall Space Docks, private berth 2-1. Cargo listed as 'various luxury goods and sundries. Internal scans of your vessel show only four crew in the forwards cockpit, which matches with your information.'"
"Yep, that's us," Levas said, hoping they bought their bogus flight plan and manifests. If they decided to board for an in-person inspection, events would get a lot more interesting. "Just on the home stretch now."
Several long, tense seconds passed as they waited to hear the all-clear from the Juliet.
"ARS Alscion, you are cleared through to proceed to your docking berth on-planet. Frigates Falin and Satra will guide you in through the airspace."
All four of them in the Alscion's cockpit let out signs of quiet relief. They would continue as planned. Levas keyed to answer their friendly Cruiser, "We read you five-by-five Juliet, thanks."
"Of course," the Cruiser replied. Levas would have expected them to close the comms link, but it turned out the Juliet still had more to say. "Alscion, what was it like on Colis? My sister is a forewoman there, but with comms restrictions from the Council I can't get a message out to her…"
Shit. Personal questions about a fake flight plan. It was a good thing Levas knew how to lie well enough. "Seemed pretty normal out there, but I got a feeling from the few Asari I met that everyone was on edge. The Asari Council has enacted comms restrictions?"
"Yes. Any communications addressed outside of the inner Asari worlds are being subject to review by the intelligence services. My past three attempts have been denied for being non-critical. I even heard from another Captain that they reassigned the mine's guard ships to inner-planet patrol too."
"I had thought it was strange that there was no military vessels at the mine…" Levas mused, following the thread that the Juliet was unraveling. If the Cruiser's Captain wanted to continue to give Levas free intel about what was happening in and around Asari space, she'd be more than happy to keep lying and to let her keep talking. D'avi had set the Alscion to autopilot while it followed the flight plan given by the Juliet through the busy space around Thessia down to the surface.
Levas wanted to keep the conversation going, so she lied some more. "I had a friend who had to pass up a lieutenant's promotion with Citadel Security because she got recalled back to active duty."
"Shame. Although who knows much longer C-Sec will be useful given how this war is going…"
"How much do you know?"
"Not a lot. Comms restrictions applies to information too, it seems. There's always rumors, but the last solid intel we had was that after torching Earth the Reapers took Palven and over half of Turian space."
"I've fought alongside Turians several times," Levas said. That one was true, actually. Asari Commandos and Turian Special Forces crossed paths fairly often in their lines of work. "Tough s.o.b.'s"
"My first partner was a Turian. I would have to agree."
"I've got another rumor for you Juliet," said Levas.
"Oh yeah? I'm all ears. If you couldn't have guessed, it's been pretty boring up here."
"We stopped the Reaper's advance in Turian space."
"What?! We did? When? Where? How?"
"You know the Turian shipyards above Despara? The Allied fleets mounted a defense there and won. Broke their momentum, forced a retreat, and now we're counterattacking back through Hierarchy territory," said Levas. The rank-and-file Asari here might be under comms restrictions, but when Levas had been on Omega she certainly had not. She had a datapad full of the latest news articles and intelligence from various sources about how the war outside Asari space was going.
"No kidding…" At this point the Alscion had travelled nearly half the distance between the Relay and their destination port on Thessia's surface. It wouldn't be too much longer until the Juliet had to break comms with them. "And here command has us doing nothing but drills and useless boarding inspections on our own Republic ships like yours."
"How come you didn't board us then?" Levas asked. If they had somehow lucked out of the standard procedures, she wanted to know why.
"Your manifest said you were carrying luxury goods. If I sent my marines in there to confirm that our Council is getting fresh fruits and chocolates while they're being forced to eat MREs because of the rationing rules, they would have mutineed."
"Yeah, it's been hard enough to not eat them ourselves…" Levas said lightly. The Juliet chuckled at the joke.
"Well if you do end up having some 'spoiled' cargo by the time you get unloading, maybe save some for us. I'm a fan of peaches myself."
"Will do Juliet." Damn, comms restrictions, rationing... the situation within the now-isolated Asari Republics was a lot different than she was expecting. They were just a few thousand kilometers away from Thessia's upper exosphere now, so Juliet would have to cut the comms any second now.
"Tell me Juliet," Levas started, "Do you wish you could be out there? Fighting alongside the rest of the galaxy? Because I sure as hell do."
The Juliet waited a few seconds before responding to that question. "I'm a good Captain. I do what they tell me to do. But… I haven't spent sixty-five years in the Navy to pull Relay guard duty while the rest of the Council races duke it out against what everyone is saying is the largest threat our races have ever faced."
Levas pursed her lips. "Maybe you won't have to sit around for much longer. Maybe Tevos and the rest of her friends could pull their heads out of their asses and realize what's really at stake here."
Juliet snorted. "We can dream. You know how Asari politicians are… they just try and wait everything out. I'm not so sure that's going to work this time. Alscion, you're about to pass into atmosphere. Gonna have to cut this call short. Try not to sprain any muscles unloading that chocolate."
"That's what the automated unloaders are for," Levas said. "Hey, what's your name captain? If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't mind. We're on the same team after all," Juliet replied. "Captain Sarrahe K'tavi."
"Well then Sarrahe, stay safe up there."
"We'll do our best. Alscion, we're pulling our Frigates back to our main formation. Thanks for the chat, you've got it from here. Juliet, out."
The link closed down and the cockpit of the Alscion was silent once again. A minute passed by as the freighter continued along its automated flight path, until Vaya broke the silence. "Comms blackouts? Rationing? Does that sound like us?"
"It sounds like the Asari Council bit off more than they could chew when they withdrew into isolation," Jani mused. "Do you know how much food we import from the Human breadbasket worlds? Wheats, grains, basic fruits, vegetables, and proteins, we don't cultivate much of that stuff ourselves ever since the Systems Alliance trade agreements got established decades ago. Makes sense that there would be shortages."
"Not for the Thessian Council…" muttered D'avi.
"Well sure," Jani replied. "They need the nutrition to make those important decisions behind their giant desks in their comfortable chairs. All we have to do is pull triggers. Three muscles, right? Easy."
"I just wonder if the sentiment of the Juliet's captain is shared elsewhere," Levas pondered.
"You mean wanting to jump from stationary planetary guard duty to an actually useful, active combat role in the Reaper War? That sentiment?" asked D'avi. "I'd bet so."
They didn't speak again until they were past the halfway mark on their descent through Thessia's atmosphere.
"Alright D'avi, we'll be passing over the Council building soon. Release is on your call."
"Affirmative," replied D'avi. All traces of levity were gone now from her demeanor - she was laser focused. The other three commandos monitored their consoles quietly, giving their pilot all the silence she would need. Their release point was ten kilometers above the direct center of what was formerly known as 'Councilor's Hall', a sprawling governmental and residential complex that was home to the top political, diplomatic, and economic leaders of the Asari Republics.
"Release in five," D'avi said. She didn't continue the countdown out loud herself, but everyone had one going in their heads. "Release."
A faint metallic thump was the only thing that could be heard inside the cockpit. "Telemetry confirms, slipspace beacon is green. Anti-grav and stealth systems are online " reported Vaya, reading off of her armor's tacpad.
"Good work Lieutenant," Levas said. The rest of her team all glanced quizzically at her.
"I thought we were on assignment?" Vaya quipped.
"We are," said Levas. "But you've all earned those ranks. Captain D'avi, bring us in. Nice and easy, we're a cargo freighter after all."
"Aye aye Colonel," their pilot replied.
Jani looked at Levas with a question of her own. "Same procedure once we touchdown in port?"
"Yes Gunny. Non-lethal subduals only. The dock workers didn't ask to be a part of this."
"Copy."
It was only a matter of time before they touched down in their berth. D'avi had taken manual control of the Alscion, had cut back on the drives, and was now using maneuvering thrusters alongside of their atmospheric drift and glide momentum to gently guide them towards their landing zone. The Councilor Hall Space Docks were all completely enclosed, singularly private affairs, and as they got closer the large overhead door of their berth - labelled 2-1 - slid open from the middle. D'avi deftly dropped the Alscion through the opening and gently onto the ground, where extended landing gears hissed as the hydraulics worked to support the freighter now on the ground.
"Touchdown," D'avi announced, unsnapping her seat's restraint harness. Everyone else did the same save for Master Gunnery Sergeant Janissa, who was squinting at data readouts on her sensors terminal.
"Colonel," Jani said, "Sensors are showing only one person here."
Now out of her chair, Levas hovered over Jani's shoulders to look at the screen herself. "Just one? You sure?"
"Well, the sensor suite is sure."
"Hmm. Lucky break?" Levas said. They had planned for ten or more dockworkers, not one. Jani had switched to exterior cameras, which showed the singular dockworker Asari standing off of the Alscion's nose, datapad in her hand and arms crossed. She was obviously waiting for someone from the crew to come out to talk to her.
D'avi was still going through post-flight checks, but Vaya walked up behind Jani's other shoulder, looking at the camera feeds of their dockworker. "Ooh! She's cute!"
Levas looked sideways at the Lieutenant, one eyebrow ridge raised. "You think so?"
"Colonel, you know I have a thing for dark, navy blue skin."
"I know. I have dark, navy blue skin."
"And I keep telling you, it would be the best night of your life…"
"Inappropriate. I'm your CO."
"Hard to get. That just make you more alluring."
Jani and D'avi snickered, but Levas just rolled her eyes. "Why don't you get back on mission and redirect that attention. Think you can handle our dockworker?"
"I'm on it," Vaya said, cracking her knuckles. She immediately stepped back and started shedding her SpecOps armor, leaving her with a very form fitting undersuit. Levas picked up Vaya's tacpad from the ground and after a few key presses, the hexagonal black of the undersuit surface morphed into what looked like a more standard naval jumpsuit.
Their SpecOps suits weren't just photoreactive, but photoactive, meaning that the user could directly choose what the outer layer of the suit looked like. Practical, useful tech that made Lieutenant Vaya look a lot less like a special forces commando, and a lot more like a run-of-the-mill freighter pilot, grease and oil stains and all. Goddess damned was she stunning though. The commando squad had long since come to the conclusion that Vaya was by far the most attractive amongst them, which had proven useful on quite a number of occasions, this one not included.
"I'll link up with you ladies later," Vaya said. "But right now… it's been a while since our last port-call."
She made for the cockpit door to get to the access ramp that would take her off the Alscion and down into the dock. Levas, D'avi, and Jani all watched her progress through the freighter's exterior cameras. Vaya's earpiece comm was still in, so they had an audio feed as well.
The lone Asari dockworker perked up when she saw the access ramp lowering, but she really perked up when she saw who was walking down it. Vaya was doing what the rest of the three called her 'seduction walk,' where the young Lieutenant emphasized her hourglass figure and the sway of her curvaceous hips.
"Hey there hun," Vaya said as she closed the distance, "I'm Lexi, XO of the Alscion. With whom do I have the pleasure?"
"I'm, uh - I'm Farin, the dockmaster," the Asari stammered out.
"Farin, that's cute, I like it. Sounds like a flower," Vaya said, flashing a smile. She exuded grace, confidence, and sexuality, and the dockmaster was clearly receptive. Even through the Alscion's cameras the three other commandos could see Farin blushing.
"Damn, she's got her already," D'avi said, watching the whole scene unfold with Levas and Jani back on the Alscion. Her expression was equal parts jealous envy and begrudging respect. "How does she do it so fast?"
"Step one: Be attractive," Jani explained. "Step two: Don't be unattractive."
"Not helpful Master Guns…" D'avi said, sighing.
"Where's your captain?" Farin asked. "Usually they're the one I'd be talking to."
"Captain's with the other two crew getting the cargo ready to offload. She hates the paperwork, so she has me handle the admin stuff," Vaya explained, pointing a thumb back towards the freighter. She then made a show of looking around the deserted bay, even though she already knew it was empty. "Say, are you the only one here?"
Farin pursed her lips in clear annoyance. "My other three workers haven't been in for two days. Said that if there aren't any wages, then they won't do any work."
Vaya cocked her head, crossing her arms under her chest in a tactical move to temporarily draw Farin's gaze to her breasts. It worked. "No wages? We heard about some of what's been going on lately on the way in, comms restrictions, food rationing, but no pay? Are they paying you at least?"
"I've been cut down to a third of what I usually make. Thankfully the unloading drones don't need any pay, just electricity."
Vaya laughed warmly at that, and even if Farin didn't really mean it to be a joke her face lit up anyways. Even though she was half-a-head taller than the dockmaster, she stepped even closer towards Farin, close enough that she could easily reach an arm out and put her hand on the worker's shoulder. Farin froze on the spot, likely wishing she could drown in the alluring pools of Vaya's deep purple eyes as she looked up at her.
On the Alscion, D'avi just shook her head. "Goddess, it's like watching a predator hunt."
"An apex predator," Jani corrected.
"Well, hey, why don't you hear me out on this," said Vaya, expertly smoothing her voice to a quiet smolder. "I can't in good conscious let such a flower like you unload our entire freighter all by yourself. Why don't we let my crew handle it?"
"O-Okay. Well, that would just leave the admin stuff."
Vaya slowly drew her hand back from Farin's shoulder, brushing the skin of the dockmaster's exposed neck with the tips of one of her fingers. Vaya felt the goosebumps almost instantly. She had her. "I looove admin stuff. Do you have a private office? Somewhere we wouldn't be interrupted so we could… really get into it?"
Farin gulped. Then she nodded. Then, she turned around and quickly started towards her office. Vaya waited two deliberate seconds then started after her. She quickly turned her head to glance back at the Alscion and the exterior cameras, blowing a kiss to her squad with one hand and switching her earpiece comm off with the second.
"That poor, naive girl," Levas said. "She'll only be left wanting more."
"And Vaya never goes back for seconds," Jani finished. She picked up and shouldered the bag where she'd packed Lieutenant Vaya's armor. "C'mon ma'am's, we've got a job to do."
"Yes, let's get down to cargo, Levas said.
"Who are you calling 'ma'am'? I'm younger than you," D'avi said.
"I'm enlisted, you're an officer," Jani reasoned. "I don't make the rules Captain."
"You're a piece of work Master Guns."
"Good. Means I'm doing my job right."
It was just a short trip through the decks and hallways of the Alscion before the three commandos got to the cargo bay. Before entering the door code Levas clicked her comms back on briefly. "It's Levas. We're coming in."
She keyed the door and the three Asari gained access to the freighter's expansive cargo bay. There was no luxury goods of any kind on board, that had been a lie from the start. There were goods aboard, sure, but only what the freighter had onboard when it landed on Omega, a cargo hold three-quarters full with crates of new air filters, replacement water lines, and bulkhead repair metals.
That wasn't the cargo Levas was interested in though. A few meters in front of her a single Sangheili apparated into the air. Levas' HUD IFF tagged him as Uzse 'Taham, commander of the First Lance of the Arbiter's personal bodyguard and Special Operations team. He was donned with a full combat load of equipment, plus a large pack on his back. A Plasma Repeater hung lazily from one hand.
"How was your first Relay jump?" Levas asked him.
"Fine. It is no slipspace, that is for sure," 'Taham responded.
"Anyone get sick?"
'Taham snorted. "Every one of us individually has over twenty high velocity orbital drop insertions. It will take more than that."
"Tough guys," teased D'avi.
Seventeen other Special Operations Sangheili de-cloaked behind 'Taham. It was the rest of the Arbiter's SpecOps soldiers. One stepped forwards, N'tho 'Sraom, leader of Second Lance. "We are on a timescale."
"'Sraom's right, you all need to get moving," Levas said. She looked at 'Taham, "We're clear on the command structure?"
'Taham nodded. "Your planet, your lead. We will follow the directions of your team, Colonel." This time he was the one who was teasing.
Levas shot daggers into 'Tahams eyes, but couldn't help but smirk. Now this was raid. "Master Guns, get 'em moving out."
"Aye aye Colonel," said Jani, getting her sergeant's voice ready. "All right cupcakes, time to get your rears in gear! Grab you kit and follow me, double time! We've only got twenty-four hours until the Arbiter gets here! Lots of sights to see! Lots of charges to set! Hehehe."
The Sangheili immediately burst into practised motion. A sergeant's unique methods of troop rousal translated species boundaries. Captain D'avi gave Levas a quick salute then turned after to follow the rest.
Levas watched them go. Like Vaya, she would link up with them later. Right now, she had to go change. There was a club she had to go to, and an Admiral she had to meet.