Author's Note: So, I had originally planned to split this up into two chapters, but then I wrote 11,000 words in two days. Enjoy this hefty chapter everyone.

Chapter Forty-Nine: The Battle of Nine Navies Pt. III

Say what you will about those arrogant flyboy sonuvabitches, but when you're ass-deep in the hottest firefight of your life, there ain't no sweeter sound than the holy hellfire of air-to-ground munitions.

- UNSC Marine Corp Unofficial Handbook

Sahara-Class Heavy Prowler UNSC Jericho

Rannoch, Perseus Veil

"You ever seen anything like this Captain?"

"No… this — this is a first."

Captain Nathan Drake had served with the Office of Naval Intelligence Prowler Corp for more than twenty years. He had spied on countless Covenant fleets, supported dozens of UNSC Fleet actions with covert intelligence and nuclear minefields, and had witnessed far too many Human planets reduced to naught but glass and fire.

Thus, it took quite a lot to surprise him, yet the current scene in front of him was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

Rannoch — the former homeworld of the Quarians and the current stronghold of the Geth — was swarming with war.

"Confirm the numbers, Lieutenant," Drake said to his Sensor Officer.

"Sir," she replied, reading from the data screen at her station. "The count is five-hundred and eighty-four Reapers — two-hundred and twelve Soverign-Class, three-hundred and sixteen Destroyers, and fifty-six large troop transport/carrier analogues."

It was over three times the size of the Reaper force the Allied Fleets had faced down over Despara weeks ago.

The Sensor Officer paused to take a deep breath before continuing with her report. "Scanners show roughly Thirty-three thousand Geth vessels in-system of varying size and estimated tonnage. The count excludes strike-craft."

It was undoubtedly the largest number of ships any of the crew of the UNSC Jericho had ever seen in one place.

"Five thousand of those Geth ships seem to be working alongside the Reapers," the Sensor Officer finished.

"A Geth civil war…" Captain Drake muttered. As he watched the data from the Heavy Prowler's state-of-the-art sensor suite from his command chair's attached datapad, he couldn't help but wonder just what the hell they had wandered into. The veteran crew of the Jericho spent several moments just watching the battle above the blue oceans and arid continents of Rannoch, doing their job as an ONI Prowler - observing and analyzing.

The vast majority of the Geth ships were gathered in several different fleets centered around one and a half kilometer long 'Dreadnoughts.' Dozens of skirmishes were ongoing between what Drake started thinking of as the "Blue Geth" and the "Red Geth" - as those were the colors used to differentiate the two factions on the Prowler's holodisplays.

Drake could immediately tell that neither side had committed to a full-scale engagement, instead content to let scouts and picket groups duke it out when they crossed each-others paths, probing and prodding for weaknesses and vulnerabilities in each-others lines. Most of the skirmishing was Geth-on-Geth combat between frigate wolfpacks and a few cruiser groups.

Occasionally a Reaper Destroyer or Sovereign-Class warship would push and probe the Blue Geth lines, only to be immediately set upon by overwhelming force of numbers. The Reapers would make a show of slicing through myriad Blue Geth ships with their main battery weaponry, but would eventually retreat under the intense fire of tens of dozens of Blue Geth vessels that would respond en masse to a Reaper advance.

The smoothness of action they saw was remarkable. Both Geth forces and the Reapers moved almost as single entities, demonstrating such navigation and tactical coordination that would make any organic naval commander blush from embarrassment. Drake had witnessed and participated in dozens of battles, so he had a great understanding and appreciation for the level of teamwork, discipline, and competence it took to successfully pull off fleet maneuvers.

Watching the three factions of artificial intelligences play their prodding games of cat-and-mouse he likened more to a wargame between algorithms than anything else. In a way, it was fascinating.

In another way, it was terrifying.

"Why do you think some of the Geth are fighting with the Reapers?" his Helmsman asked.

"Dunno…" Drake answered truthfully. "I know that some Geth attacked the Citadel under the command of a single Sovereign-Class Reaper several years ago. We know about Reaper indoctrination of organics, perhaps the same thing can happen to synthetics. Some kind of virus maybe."

His Sensor Officer perked up suddenly, swiping quickly at a flurry of notifications popping up on her holo-display. "Captain! New contact just came onto the scopes."

Drake pulled the information to his own display. His eyebrows furrowed - he recognized this ship. "That's the Quarian cruiser that escaped B-1274. Admiral Xen's ship!"

Xen's cruiser was alone. She had dropped out of FTL on the very outskirts of the system, far removed from the Geth fleets and the fighting around them. There were no Quarian vessels that followed her entrance into Rannoch' highly contested space. The Jericho continued to observe from the shadows, watching as the Quarian ship maneuvered and fired its engines to conduct a burn towards the planet.

"Nav, track her vector. Where is she going?" Drake asked.

"Looks like a geosync orbit track above the planet," the Nav Officer replied. He did a double take, rechecking his trajectory data. "But - but it shows her passing through the direct center of the Red Geth and Reaper formation on her way down."

"What the hell is she doing?" Drake wondered aloud. "Those Reapers are going to blow her to pieces."

"Movement from the Red Geth formation," Sensors called. "Several ships breaking off on an intercept course towards the Quarian cruiser."

Drake saw them, several Geth cruisers and frigates - and two Sovereign-class Reapers. Xen's cruiser, whether cognizant of the incoming ships or not, did not deviate its course. The crew of the Jericho sat with baited breath for several moments, waiting for the Reapers and Geth to enter into weapons range. It came as a great surprise to all of them when instead of blasting Xen's ship to pieces, the Geth/Reaper intercept force flipped around and moved to match the burn of the Quarian ship, surrounding the cruiser in a protective sphere.

It wasn't an intercept force, it was an escort!

"What in the actual fuck," Drake exclaimed.

"She's a turncoat," the Sensor's officer hissed. They watched as Xen's ship was escorted safely through the Red Geth/Reaper lines and down towards the planet, where the ship - surrounded by its new guardians - took up a geosync orbit above Rannoch itself. A few moments later several transports and small cargo vessels disembarked from the cruiser and made for the surface below.

Drake's Comms Officer flagged him down. "Sir, data packet flashed from the Normandy. Text only."

"Read it out." Drake's eyebrows furrowed in concern. Commander Shepard knew that the Jericho was in deep, sending a communique to them while they were on station above Rannoch along with so many Geth and Reapers was risky. It had to be of grave importance.

The Comms Officer read through it once with his eyes, then cleared his throat suddenly before speaking the words aloud. "Migrant Fleet attacked — Fifty Reapers. Substantial Quarian casualties. All Reapers destroyed. DOS-Class Supercruiser Juiblance… destroyed. Fleetmaster 'Vadum dead."

Captain Drake sucked in a breath involuntarily. Fleetmaster 'Vadum dead. The Jubilance destroyed. The news hit him like he had been punched in the gut. The rest of the Jericho's bridge crew were taking it similarly, looking between one another with varying looks of sadness, concern, and frustration.

Ten years ago it was the Jericho's mission to do everything in its power to spy, sabotage, and sometimes kill the Covenant. Now however, the Sangheili represented not only one of their most steadfast, capable allies during this most recent campaign in the Quarian theater, but Fleetmaster 'Vadum and the Jubilance had been the single, most powerful warship in this sector of the galaxy.

Drake read through the message again, willing that somehow more details would emerge from between the lines of the short message from the Normandy. Fifty Reapers, substantial Quarian casualties. All Reapers destroyed, along with the Jubilance. 'Vadum must have taken on fifty Reaper warships by himself in a ship that had already been heavily damaged in the earlier flight from B-1274. He bowed his head in a moment of silent respect, but his solemn thoughts soon gave way to an increasingly growing flame of anger.

No matter which way he looked at it, his mind kept going back to one thing. To one person. Admiral Xen. It was without question that she was now working either with - or more likely for - the Reapers, but for how long? Since B-1274? Before that? What was the true extent of her coordination with the enemy? Was she involved in the Reaper attack on the main Migrant Fleet? What was she doing now on the surface of Rannoch itself?

"Prepare a return packet," Drake ordered. "Show the Normandy everything we've seen here."

"Aye Captain," his bridge officers replied, diligently getting to work condensing the Jericho's sensor data into a comms package to send to the Systems Alliance frigate.

"Helm, bring us closer to the planet," Drake said next. "I want to see exactly what Admiral Xen is up to."

SSV Normandy

The operations to rescue and recover survivors from the Jubilance and the dozens of Migrant Fleet ships that had been destroyed during the Reaper attack had taken more than a day. The Normandy hadn't broadcast its presence until after it had picked up as many evacuees from the Sanghieili Supercruiser as it could carry, but the rest of the Quarians had their hands full with their own rescue ops to really give them much notice initially.

Tali had contacted Shepard shortly after abandoning the Jubilance with pleas for the Normandy to offer protection for her and her crew, as she still didn't know how they stood in the eyes of the rest of the Migrant Fleet. They may have been immediately taken as prisoners if they were picked up by anyone else.

Ultra 'Rael 'Harum had taken command of the Sangheili survivors, organizing his small fleet of Spirit and Phantom dropships, and Seraph fighters into a tight formation just behind the Normandy, using the Systems Alliance Frigate as a bulwark from the Migrant Fleet's unknown intentions.

Commander Shepard looked up from the holo-display within the Normandy's War Room, watching Tali pace back and forth on the opposite side of the table, head down, arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"One hundred and sixty-five Migrant Fleet vessels lost," Shepard said, reading the counts from the digital reconstruction of the recent battle EDI and Cortana had provided. "How many people, roughly?"

"Seventy, eighty thousand," Tali replied curtly, pausing her pacing only long enough to speak before resuming her repeated tracks back and forth. "Maybe less, maybe more."

Shepard frowned. He could feel the anger radiating off of his friend as if a heat lamp was pointed directly at him. He spoke softly, "It could have been much more."

"It shouldn't have been any at all!" Tali shot back. She stopped, turning to grip the edge of the holo-table with both hands, letting out a sigh of clear frustration and sadness.

The War Room was one of the few places aboard the Normandy that wasn't crammed with the rest of Tali's crew. Three-hundred and forty-nine of them had flooded the cargo and crew decks in a ship that was designed to have a crew of forty at maximum. Shepard and Tali weren't the only ones in the War Room - Blue Team and the rest of Shepard's combat squad had taken refuge from the sudden influx of Quarians in the dimly lit, circular briefing and operations planning room.

The Master Chief, Sierra-104, and Sierra-087 kept out of the way on the upper level. While Sierra-058 was still with Doctor Chakwas in the Normandy's medical bay, Garrus had been discharged several hours ago and was standing with Liara. James Vega stood next to Kal'Reegar, who represented the Quarian Marine contingent from Tali's former ship.

Ultra 'Harum was there too, leaning against one of the rooms support struts on the lower level, flexing his long fingers into and out of fists repeatedly, as if he were grasping an imaginary energy sword. He had requested to come aboard following getting the Jubilance survivors organized into their dropship flotilla, desiring to be involved in the decisions of what would come next.

"We know where she is," Tali continued. "We know that she's working with the Reapers. She has to be responsible for the Reaper attack on the Fleet. I say we jump to Rannoch, pluck her from the surface, and bring her back to be hoisted in front of the Admiralty Board to answer for her crimes!"

They had received the information packet from the UNSC Jericho just a few minutes ago, detailing the situation above Rannoch with the Reaper-involved Geth civil war, as well as the knowledge that Admiral Xen was on-planet and had undoubtedly turned traitor.

Garrus gave words to the concerns that a few others undoubtedly had about Tali's proposed plan. "Rannoch is the hottest system in the galaxy right now. Tens of thousands of Geth ships, not to mention the most Reapers anyone has seen in one place. That's a high risk op."

Tali turned to face Shepard, looking for an ally. "Since when have we turned down a high-risk op?"

Shepard raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I agree. Xen needs to go down. But if we're going to walk right into the lion's den, we really need to consider our current situation. What about your crew?"

"They can help run the ship," Tali said.

Shepard cocked his head, unsure. "They're not trained on the Normandy's systems."

"Neither was I, but I picked things up pretty quick," Tali countered.

Kal'Reegar came to her defense as well, saying, "I've got fifty Marines who are eager for action and can fight as well as any."

"What about 'Harum's people?" Shepard said, looking towards the brooding Sangheili. "Do your dropships and fighters even have FTL capability?"

"No, they do not," 'Harum answered bluntly. "As much as I desire to run my energy sword through Xen's chest, if the Normandy were to leave my forces would be stranded, left to the Migrant Fleet's devices."

"The Jubilance prevented the destruction of the Quarian liveships, surely they would offer your men safe harbor?" Liara reasoned.

"The Jubilance also destroyed nine of their ships above B-1274, and I led the assault that killed hundreds on the planet," said 'Harum, sighing. "Even with the Fleetmaster's sacrifice, we do not know where we stand in their eyes."

"We have the proof, we have the evidence that Admiral Xen betrayed the Fleet, why not go and show them?" Shepard asked. "Exonerate you and your crew Tali, and explain how the Sangheili are allies, not enemies?"

EDI chimed in from the intercom above. "Commander, a message from the Migrant Fleet — from the Rayya."

Shepard raised an eyebrows in surprise. "Speak of the devil…"

"The Rayya, that's Admiral Shala'Raan's ship," Tali said, the smallest bit of hope entering her voice. "If there's anyone who we could make our case to, it would be her."

"What does the message say EDI?" Shepard asked, biding the AI to continue.

EDI read out the communication to the group assembled within the War Room. "The Migrant Fleet Admiralty Board requests an audience with Commander Shepard of the SSV Normandy to discuss recent circumstances."

They all thought about the message for a moment.

"Keelah," Tali said first, "I just realized, the Migrant Fleet doesn't even know that I'm here - or any of my crew for that matter. I'd been so busy with the rescue, and we evacuated the Jubilance on Sangheili escape pods and dropships."

"Should we tell them that you're with us in our response?" Shepard asked. "What could that change?"

Tali shrugged. "Depends on if they want to arrest me or welcome me. Depends on what Xen tried to convince them of."

"They request an audience," Garrus spoke next, drawing out the word. "That's good, better than demanding an explanation with mass accelerators and disruptor torpedoes pointed at our heads."

Commander Shepard struck a fist into an open palm. "This is our chance to set the record straight. We need to get to Rannoch, and the Allied Fleets are already on their way. Getting the Quarians firmly on our side will give us a better chance at figuring out what the hell is going on there between the Geth and the Reapers, and give us a better shot at finding the Key."

Shepard looked to 'Harum with his final sentence, the Sangheili standing tall with the promise of the continuation of his mission. "Fleetmaster 'Vadum didn't come here to protect the Migrant Fleet. He came to find the Key on Rannoch, but in their moment of great need - and with no hesitation - he sacrificed himself and his ship so that millions of Quarians could live. I'm going to make damn sure that the Admiralty board realizes that."

"EDI, send the Rayya a response," Shepard said with a renewed purpose. "Tell them to expect myself and a small party shortly. Don't tell them who I'm bringing, but make it clear that they are part of my crew, and will not be mistreated in any way. Have Cortez and Dalton warm the birds up, and either get any of Tali's crew in the shuttle bay out or have them prepare for the vacuum."

Everyone in the War Room had perked up. The Commander was giving orders - Shepard had a plan. He started pointing at specific individuals and calling them out in rapid succession, while at the same time moving towards the door that would lead back out into the Normandy. "Tali, Liara, Reegar, Ultra 'Harum, and Master Chief, you're with me on the away team on Cortez's shuttle. Bring light armaments. Garrus, Vega, Sierra-087, and Sierra-104, take the Pelican and follow behind under stealth. Take enough weapons and gear to facilitate a hot extract."

As Shepard led the procession out of the room, he added more quietly, "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that… we all have bigger enemies to fight than each other."

The Master Chief stood in the corner of the Rayya's airlock as the decontamination process went through its necessary cycles. Shepard was at the forefront of the group arms crossed against his chest, with Tali and Kal'Reegar flanking him on either side. Tali wrung her hands in nervous anticipation, while Reegar tapped his fingers on the butt of his Carnifex pistol affixed to his waist. Liara stood just behind them tapping one foot on the deck, with the Spartan and Ultra 'Harum at the rear of the group.

"Jeez, you could cut the tension in here with a knife…" a melodic voice said into the Chief's ear.

Cortana was right - everyone except for Commander Shepard was displaying body language suggestive of tense uncertainty. Beside him, the Spartan could almost feel how tightly coiled the muscles of Ultra 'Harum were, an apex predator just waiting for a signal to unleash his power.

The Master Chief didn't feel overly tense, but he did readily recognize the budding apprehension that had taken root in his gut during the shuttle ride over to the Rayya. They were here now to try and solidify an understanding of peace and cooperation with the Migrant Fleet, yet less than forty-eight hours ago he and his team of Spartan-IIs were putting hard-light rounds from their ACS rifles through the chests and faceplates of dozens of Quarian soldiers on the surface of B-1274.

"You know the drill?" he asked his AI companion.

"Yeah, stay quiet. The Quarians have a thing about AIs," Cortana said.

"And only infiltrate -"

"- Only infiltrate if I'm certain I won't get caught, I know, I know," she interrupted, sounding like a child being told the house rules for the tenth time. "Spy quietly, I got it."

The Master Chief let out a small sigh through his nostrils. He knew that Cortana wouldn't be able to help herself in trying to gain access to Migrant Fleet data and information systems, but the last thing they needed while trying to negotiate a cooperation deal was the Quarians discovering an artificial intelligence snooping around in their databases.

He mentally checked that his ACS was still attached to the magplates on his back, and that his M6 magnum was maglocked to his right hip. It was the only equipment that Commander Shepard had wanted them to bring, one rifle or shotgun each, and a sidearm. In addition to pistols, the Chief had noticed the spherical hilts of an energy sword attached to both 'Harum's - and Tali's - opposite hip.

He didn't know if things had a high enough chance to turn hostile, but if they did, the Chief wished he had more firepower immediately available to call on. Viper-Heavy - with Kelly, Fred, Vakarian, and Vega embarked - was holding under active camouflage a short distance away, ready to bring the noise if called, but that would take time.

The decontamination procedure chimed a final time to let those contained within the airlock award that the process had finished. Shepard turned his head to look at them all, saying calmly, "Follow my lead."

The Commander took a longer glance at 'Harum. "And please try not to seem too threatening. It looks like you want to kill something."

Ultra 'Harum huffed. He in fact did want to kill something, but he made a concerted effort to release some of the tension he was holding.

The haptic lock on the airlock switched from red to green, and the door slid open.

A squad of ten Quarian Marines was waiting for them on the other side, positioned several meters back from the airlock. They were all armed with rifles and shotguns in hand, but none were raised at Shepard's group.

Shepard stepped forwards, motioning for his squad to follow, and a trio of Quarians did the same to meet them while the rest of the Marines stayed back.

"Commander Shepard, I'm Lieutenant Jal'Jakkar," the Marine at the head of the trio said, nodding in respect. "Welcome to the Rayya, we're expecting you."

The Lieutenant made a show of giving each one of Shepard's away team a once-over, taking extra time to examine the Master Chief and Ultra 'Harum specifically. He finished his visual pat-down looking at Tali, before asking, "Tali'Zora vas Kael?"

She nodded slowly in response, "Yes, although the Kael is no more."

"As we understand..." Lieutenant Jakkar said in a way that suggested he already knew the fate of Tali's short-lived command. This would be the moment that would set the mood of this summons going forwards. The Lieutenant breathed in and let out a deep sigh of… relief, his shoulders relaxing. "Keelah se'lai, it's good to see you alive."

Shepard and Tali shared a quick glance. This was a much warmer welcome than they were expecting.

Jakkar's next words were directed at 'Harum. "And you? Do you represent the survivors from the vessel that engaged those Reapers yesterday?"

"I do," the Sangheili responded. "I am Ultra Rael 'Harum."

Jakkar and each one of his Marines bowed their heads deeply at this. "Ultra Rael 'Harum, the Migrant Fleet owes you and your people a great gratitude. The timely arrival of your ship and the courage of your Captain saved countless Quarian lives."

Jakkar motioned towards the interior of the Rayya. "If you would all follow me, the Admiralty Board is waiting."

The trio of Quarian Marines turned and started their way down the corridor, Jakkar beckoning Shepard's group to follow. "If you could also keep all weapons holstered for the duration of your stay, my men would much appreciate it."

Jakkar's Marines fell into an escort in front of and behind Shepard's group, leading them further into the belly of the Quarian ship. Conditions were cramped — the corridors were narrow and filled with storage crates, with bundles of wiring and piping taped or welded onto walls and ceilings. Jakkar's Quarians, Tali, and Reegar moved through the passageways with the ease of flowing water, having grown up navigating the internal mazes of Migrant Fleet vessels. Shepard and Liara managed well enough, but the Master Chief and Ultra 'Harum both had a few instances where the bulk of their bodies and armor made things a rather tight squeeze.

The Chief was glad that things didn't seem like they were going to devolve into a firefight. Fighting through the winding corridors and accessways leading through the Rayya would have been the definition of brutal close quarters battle.

"Almost there," Jakkar called back to them, turning down the final passage that would take them to the meeting place.

Cortana spoke into Chief's ear suddenly, with the recognizable tone of voice that she had found something out that was supposed to be hidden. "Chief, we may have a problem."

"What is it?" the Spartan asked back within the closed circuit of his private helmet comms.

"The Quarians - they've been busy."

"Busy how?"

"About to start a war with the Geth busy," Cortana said. The Master Chief's eyes widened, and the AI went on quickly as Lieutenant Jakkar led them through the final doorway into the designated meeting chamber.

"I was flipping through the Admiralty Board's top-secret reports and I found that for the past several weeks they've been planning to launch precision strikes across four major Geth systems," Cortana said, acting as if secretly worming her way past dozens of security systems and firewalls to access arguably the most sensitive information contained within the Migrant Fleet was a casual affair. "And, if all four raids are successful, mobilizing the entire Fleet to try and retake Rannoch."

The Master Chief was taken aback. He had known that the Quarians were definite isolationists, but they had to have known about the Reapers rampaging throughout the galaxy, yet they still decided that now was the best time to reignite their age old conflict with the Geth? Right when the galaxy was at its point of largest turmoil?

"When are these attacks supposed to happen?" Chief asked.

"Tomorrow," Cortana said.

There was not even any time to relay this information to Shepard or any other of the squad either, as the group transitioned from the narrow corridors of the Rayya to a comparatively expanse auditorium-like gathering room. There was a long, rectangular table atop a raised stage with four seats - three of them occupied by the Quarian Admiralty board. Behind and to either side were several levels of stair-stepped seatings where dozens of Captains from throughout the Migrant Fleet sat as well.

The low din of voices quieted upon seeing Shepard and his squad escorted in by Lieutenant Jakkar's Quarians. Jakkar motioned the group towards a central podium facing towards the Migrant Fleet's most important members, then had his squad disperse into pre-planned positions throughout the chamber.

Tali wasted no time, striding straight up to the podium. Shepard tried to stop her by reaching for an elbow, but the Quarian shifted around him deftly.

"Where is Xen?" she called loudly.

From behind the long table, Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema cleared his throat and tried to formally begin proceedings. "Tali'Zorah vas Kael, refrain from speaking until this body has come to order - "

"Where. Is. Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh," Tali repeated again, her voice modulated ice.

Hans'Gerrel looked down the table to his fellow Admirals, Shala'Raan vas Tonbay and Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib. They seemed to have a moment of conversation inside of their enclosed helmets within a private comm channel before Admiral Shala'Raan spoke up to answer.

"Admiral Daro'Xen is not with the Migrant Fleet at the moment," she said, her words careful and moderated. "Her ship came back to us yesterday, returning early from her research mission with very… troubling news."

Shepard made it up to the podium and tried to get Tali's attention, but to no avail. She was laser focused on the Admiralty Board. "Troubling news? News that I was a traitor, and that me and my crew tried to stage a mutiny against her command? Or the news that Commander Shepard and an alien race worked together to slaughter hundreds of our brothers and sisters whose only crime was defending a moon-side research base?"

The entire chamber was silent, save for the gentle hum of the Rayya's mass effect core that vibrated gently through the deck.

Admiral Raan nodded slowly. "Yes… those were some of the accusations she levelled."

"Did she mention that the 'research mission' she embarked on was to study Reaper tech! Reaper tech that I meant to destroy, before Xen's task force showed up and took my crew into unlawful custody!"

"Tali'Zorah, you will have your chance to speak!" Admiral Shala'Raan tried to get the proceedings under control. Tali crossed her arms but relented, taking a step back from the podium.

"Thank you," Shala'Raan said, before raising her voice to address the entire room. "This gathering between the Admiralty Board, the Migrant Fleet's most senior Captains, and our guests has been assembled to address recent events involving the Fleet, the Geth, and the Reapers."

Admiral Koris spoke next. "Tali'Zorah, you ask the whereabouts of Admiral Daro'Xen. Her flagship jumped to the Migrant Fleet thirty hours ago, sent out a classified communication packet to the Admiralty Board, then left almost immediately after."

"Left where?" Tali asked.

"We do not know," Admiral Han'Gerrel replied. "But the Reapers arrived not even four hours after."

Tali took a deep breath before activating her omni-tool. "In fact, I do know where Xen is. I wanted to see if any of you knew just how bad this really is…"

She tapped quickly on her omni-tool, projecting a blown-up holo-image of the data that the UNSC Jericho had sent the Normandy from above Rannoch. "We have a stealth ship observing Rannoch," Tali said. "The Reapers are there in force already — we encountered the majority of this force above the moon B-1274 where Xen had established her Reaper tech research base."

Murmurs swept through the assembled Quarian Captains as they viewed the situation above Rannoch — the evolving civil war between the tens of thousands of Geth ships, and the staggering amount of Reapers in-system.

"On B-1274, after I had been rescued from captivity by Commander Shepard and his allies, I ran a bio-diagnostic program I created that detects changes in the nervous system consistent with Reaper indoctrination on two of Xen's Marines that had been guarding me," Tali continued. She paused before her next words, not necessarily for dramatic effect, but more to summon the courage for the accusations she was about to lay out. "They both tested positive for Reaper indoctrination."

The murmuring stopped suddenly, all this assembled realizing the gravity of Tali's statement.

Tali fast-forwarded the data-stream recording from the Jericho until it showed Xen's ship jumping into the local space. The Admiralty Board and the senior Captains watched — and many gasped — when Xen's vessel formed into a protective escort with Reaper and Geth warships.

"It is my suspicion that Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh has become indoctrinated, and is now working with the Reapers," Tali said gravely. "The evidence is clear."

There were shouts of anger from some of the Captains, while the Admirals lowered their heads briefly in serious reflection.

"Commander Shepard," Admiral Koris said, "You've always been a friend of the Migrant Fleet. Do you support this claim?"

Shepard stepped forwards to the podium besides Tali. "I do. It can't be a coincidence that a Reaper strike force showed up at the secret location of the Migrant Fleet just hours after Xen departed without a spoken word."

The Admirals shared a mutual look before Shala'Raan spoke again. "We agree. Xen's behavior these past several days has been… questionable. If she is truly responsible for leading the Reapers here, then the blood of tens of thousands of innocent Quarians stains her hands."

"And she is a traitor to the Migrant Fleet," Han'Gerrel started with emphasis. He pointed towards Ultra 'Harum. "You there, come forwards."

The Sangheili stepped up besides Shepard and Tali, drawing himself to his full height, where he dwarfed even the larger-than-life Alliance Commander by almost two feet.

"What is your name? Do you speak for the survivors of the warship who engaged the Reaper strike force and saved our Fleet?" Gerrel asked.

'Harum spent a moment looking around the chambers, as if sizing up the gathered Quarians. "I do speak for the survivors of the DOS-Class Supercruiser Jubilance. My name is Ultra Rael 'Harum, although the name that all of you should know is that of Fleetmaster R'tas 'Vadum."

'Harum stepped past the podium until he was nearly at the base of the raised platform holding the Admiral's table. He craned his long neck up towards the Migrant Fleet leadership, the difference in height between him and the Admiralty Board becoming seemingly nothing.

"Fleetmaster 'Vadum was the one who decided — against all odds, and with a ship already heavily damaged from a previous engagement — to put the Jubilance between the Reapers and your fleet. He paid the ultimate price for his selflessness, and all of us remaining will sing of his sacrifice for generations."

"We owe Fleetmaster 'Vadum a debt that can never be repaid," Admiral Koris said with true reverence. "His quick actions and tenacious fighting spirit saved our Liveships - the heart and soul of our people - from destruction. I wish I had the chance to thank him for that in person."

"He is with his Ancestors now." Harum bowed his head in sadness, retreating back behind the podium to his former position besides the Master Chief.

"Mmm," Admiral Han'Gerrel replied, "As we all will be unless we can defeat the Reapers, that much has been made abundantly clear to us now."

Gerrel looked down the table to Koris and Raan, and the latter two nodded, making a universal decision. "Tali'Zorah, in the wake of the evidence provided that reveals Admiral Daro'Xen's betrayal of the Migrant Fleet, you are exonerated from all charges and accusations levelled towards you by the former. Ultra Rael 'Harum, though our initial impressions of your people was uncertain, the lengths your Captain went to to ensure the survival of our Fleet against the Reapers cements your position as an eternal friend of the Quarian people."

Admiral Shala'Raan continued the official statement from the Admiralty Board. "Ultra 'Harum, the survivors from your vessel will be offered our unconditional offer of safety and hospitality amongst our Fleet for as long as necessary. Tali'Zorah, unfortunately we do not have another ship to reinstate your command, but the crew of the Kael will be given positions according to their training and specializations throughout the Migrant Fleet."

"I don't need another ship," Tali started, "I'm staying with Shepard. The Normandy is going to Rannoch, we're going to find Xen, and we're going to bring her back to stand trial for her sins."

Shepard had to stop himself from shooting Tali a surprised glare. They had only talked about going to Rannoch so far, they hadn't actually decided on it yet.

"Commander Shepard, is this true?" Zaal'Koris asked.

Well, he thought, time to decide. "It is. Admiral Xen needs to face justice for what she's done - but we also need to find out more about what's going on between the Geth and the Reapers." He left out any mention of the Key that was on Rannoch - he didn't have to reveal all of his cards.

"That would bring us to our point of discussion…" Shala'Raan said, motioning for Gerrel to continue.

"Yes. Commander Shepard, we should make it known that the Migrant Fleet has been planning to mount an offensive against the Geth with the end goal of retaking our homeworld of Rannoch," Gerrel revealed bluntly.

The sudden expressions and motions of surprise and disbelief from Shepard and Tali were halted by Gerrel holding up a finger towards them, the former with mouth agape about to shout, the latter already pointing towards the Admiralty Board.

"That was until we learned of the threat of the Reapers," Gerrel said. "News has travelled slowly to the Fleet here, especially since recalling the majority of our pilgrims several weeks ago from outside of the fold to prepare for our offensive. We only just recently received word of the Reaper assault through Systems Alliance and Turian Space, and the victory above Despara."

"Our hearts go out for the loss of Earth and Palaven," Shala'Raan said, knowing the kind of pain that came with losing one's homeworld.

Commander Shepard adopted a grim expression. "Thessia is gone now too."

This took the assembled Quarians by surprise, as more loud murmurs swept through the assembled Captains behind the Admirals.

"Thessia? It can't be…"

"The jewel of the Republics, gone?"

"I undertook my pilgrimage on Thessia."

Shepard decided not to go into further detail, at least not yet. He didn't have the time, or honestly, the mental willpower, to try and explain how Thessia had truly been lost - the Flood. "Rannoch is one of the few homeworlds we have left to fight for. In addition to explaining what has been going on surrounding Admiral Xen, I was also bid by Allied High Command to make the Admiralty Board aware that Rannoch is looking likely to be the next crucial battlefield of this war. The combined Fleets of the galactic races are already on their way to the Perseus Veil, and together, we are hoping to give the Reapers what they deserve."

"The combined fleets of the galactic races?" Gerrel parroted, "Coming here, to help us?"

"We're all in this fight together Admiral," Shepard insisted. "Fleetmaster 'Vadam's sacrifice should have shown you that already."

"How long until they arrive?" Shala'Raan pressed. There was a new urgency to her voice, the thought of a united front working to reclaim the Quarian homeworld lifting spirits that had been damaged with the loss of thousands during the Reaper strike hours before.

"Four, five days," Shepard said.

"Enough time to get our people organized for a fight," Han'Gerrel said, striking a fist into his palm. "Let it be known now, but the Quarians will be the ones leading the charge through Rannoch's Mass Relay! We will drive the Reapers from our ancestral land, and finally set foot again on the soil of our birthplace!"

The hard-charging Admiral's words provoked a chorus of cheers from the assembled Captains, and Gerrel sat in his chair just a little bit straighter.

"Commander Shepard, Tali'Zorah, go to Rannoch, bring back Admiral Xen to face the Fleet's Justice, and try and find out more about the situation between the Geth and the Reapers. By the time you return, we'll have a fleet large and united enough to drive the Reapers back to the dark pits where they belong," said Admiral Zaal'Koris, raising his voice and echoing the tone of his comrade Gerrel.

"Ultra 'Harum," Admiral Shala'Raan said next, "I will transmit a list of ships to the Normandy that will be able to offer your people welcome shelter. Good luck, to all of you. Keelah Se'Lai."

Shepard nodded respectfully at the Admiralty Board, turning sharply on his heel and striding quickly towards the entrance of the meeting chamber from where they had come, the rest of his group falling in besides and behind him. Lieutenant Jakkar and his Marines once again provided an escort, leading the group silently back to the airlock and Cortez's waiting shuttle.

"Tali," Shepard started, "Pick most capable of your crew and see if they would fill the empty slots we have on the Normandy. Captain Reegar, you and your Marines are staying with us. Ultra 'Harum, so are you - pick forty of your best. Master Chief? Is Blue Team up for another high-risk op behind enemy lines?"

The stoic Spartan replied without hesitation. "Always, Commander."

"Good," Shepard said. "Let's get back to the Normandy. We have a raid to plan."

SSV Normandy

Rannoch, Perseus Veil

"A HALO jump?"

"Yes. High Altitude, Low Opening."

"I know what it means," Shepard said, eyebrows raised towards Ultra 'Harum. "But are you sure?"

"My Rangers have done dozens," the Sangheili said, nodding emphatically. "You just said that we do not have enough dropships to transport everyone dirtside in one go. If we are going to pull this off, we have to be fast enough in getting all of our strike elements into place."

Commander Shepard put a hand to his chin in thought, doing another circuit around the expanded holo-images that showed Admiral Xen's compound on the surface of Rannoch, projected onto the deck of the Normandy's shuttle bay. The central image was a top-down view of the compound from the Sahara-Class Heavy Prowler UNSC Jericho, who had braved navigating the battle in orbit to get close enough to stage in Rannoch's upper atmosphere. Live-feeds and select recordings from the Spartan-IV teams Crimson and Majestic - deployed from the Jericho - populated the spaces surrounding the central view of the base.

"Defensive fortifications… anti-air emplacements… ground cannons…" Shepard muttered aloud, "And indoctrinated Quarians, Geth, and Reapers all over the place."

"We knew that this wouldn't be easy." The voice came from Kal'Reegar, the Marine Captain crouched to the side of the holo-images, running an experienced eye throughout the displayed intel. They outnumber us at least four-to-one, and that's just from what we can see outside."

Shepard's Strike Team - as Garrus had so labelled it - were all assembled in the Normandy's Shuttle Bay for the pre-mission planning and briefing session. Fifty of Reegar's Quarian Marines. Four ten-strong Lances of Sangheili Rangers, with eight embedded Asari for biotic support. Two pairs of hulking Mglekgolo in a far corner, giving everyone else a wide-berth. Three Spartan-II Supersoldiers, and of course, Shepard's own squad of Garrus, Liara, Tali, and James.

It had taken over a day to transit to Rannoch from the Migrant Fleet. The Normandy was holding at the edge of the sprawling space battle still ongoing between the Geth and the Geth/Reaper coalition, engines quiet, stealth systems activated.

Shepard took a look around the Bay, feeling for the first time in quite a while like an actual Commander, instead of the leader of a small yet effective commando force. More than a hundred dedicated, capable, and deadly men and women were ready to leap into battle on his orders.

"Blue Team will jump with them."

Shepard turned, recognizing the voice of the Spartan, but was slightly confused since it did not come from the Mjolnir-armored soldiers in his field of vision.

Sierra-058 stepped out of the service stairs by the central elevator, making her way to join her Spartan-II companions on the outskirts of the strike team. She wasn't in Mjolnir - with her set having been destroyed on B-1274 - instead wearing a set of sleek, form-fitting jet black armor adorned with ammunition and gear compartments. A spotting scope was affixed to her chestplate, and the barrel of Nornfang peeked over her shoulder. Her entrance turned the heads of nearly everyone within the Bay, but she didn't seem to care.

"I thought you were still supposed to be resting?" Shepard asked.

Her reply was short, simple. "I've rested."

"Did Doctor Chakwas discharge you?"

"No." The graceful fluidity of her movements wasn't quite there compared to before the mission to rescue Tali and her crew, where she had very nearly almost died. Even Shepard could tell she was trying to hide it, but she seemed stiff, and limped slightly on her left leg.

"Are you mission capable?" Shepard asked bluntly. He knew that Spartans were as tough as they came, but it hadn't even been five days since the battle on B-1274.

"Yes sir," she replied. "Every mission needs overwatch."

Shepard looked to the Master Chief for guidance. He nodded his head almost imperceptibly. "Alright. Welcome to the op 058."

"Thank you Commander," she said. Her next words took him - and Garrus - by surprise. "Permission to requisition Operative Vakarian for the overwatch team?"

Shepard looked to Garrus, who gave a slight shrug that indicated 'sure.' "Granted."

While the Commander pondered the holo-images for a few more moments, getting quiet words of tactical suggestions from Reegar and 'Harum, Garrus made his way over to the group of Spartan-IIs. He noticed Fred, Kelly, and the Master Chief nod at him, and he took a position to the side of Linda. Even without her Mjolnir, Garrus saw that she was still several inches taller than him.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Good enough to fight," she responded curtly.

As a fellow soldier, he understood, but he couldn't help but be both impressed and a little concerned. He knew better than most the true extent of the injuries she had sustained on B-1274. He put a little bit of lightness in his next words, to try and shift the mood upwards. "You know, I'm not an operative. They technically made me a Brigadier General in the Turian Army right before the war."

Linda took a moment to respond to that. "My apologies. Sir."

Garrus thought that he might have detected the slightest bit of… sarcasm from the Spartan, which by itself he considered a miracle. His interactions with the Master Chief had led him to believe that all Spartans had the capacity of emotional expression akin to giant rocks. Hyper-lethal rocks, mind you. "You don't have to call me 'sir'," he said.

The Spartan sniper kept quiet for another minute. "Have you ever done a HALO jump before General?"

Garrus rolled his eyes. She definitely was being sarcastic. "Yes. Quite a few, though it's been a while since jump school."

"Sure you don't need to jump tandem with me?" she asked nonchalantly. "Sir?"

"Knock it off," Garrus shot back, but he couldn't help his side mandibles flaring in amusement. "Just try not and break any more of your bones when you pull your chute."

Linda elbowed him in the side and Garrus winced sharply. Even without the Mjolnir, the movement had been as quick as lightning, and had hurt. "Apologies, General."

Garrus couldn't tell behind their enclosed helmets, but Fred and Kelly were lightly snickering at the exchange, and even the Master Chief had a corner of his mouth upturned in amusement. The beleaguered Turian regretted ever mentioning his Hierarchy rank - more honorary than anything else - and was about to retort with something about a potential court-martial for striking a superior officer when Shepard called the room to attention.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" the Commander called, raising his voice to carry easily throughout the Shuttle Bay. The assembled soldiers, who up until that point had been quietly milling about and engaging in light conversation, perked up at the words, crowding into the spaces around the holo-images in the center of the Bay.

"Welcome to Operation Sparrow," Shepard started. "We have only one main objective today: to find, capture, and repatriate Admiral Daro'Xen back to the Migrant Fleet to face justice for her crimes. Our secondary objective: gather as much information as we can to help the Migrant Fleet and Allied High Command understand the current situation between the Geth and the Reapers prior to the main invasion."

He motioned towards the floor, where the layout of Xen's compound was displayed. "Real-time intelligence from assets already in orbit and on the ground have given us a good look at the compound. Not as spread out at the base on B-1274, a number of connected prefabricated buildings - both Quarian and Geth - crowd the center of a gentle valley, with hills rising on the East and West sides. The compound is heavily guarded with air and land heavy weapon emplacements dotted all around, defensive fortifications, and a network of trenches breaking up the northern and southern approaches into the valley."

As Shepard spoke about the characteristics of the base, Cortana highlighted or emphasized the things he was talking about on the holo-images from behind the scene to make it clear to each person watching.

"We're heavily outnumbered," Shepard said, not mincing his words. "We estimate anywhere between four to six hundred enemy combatants, ranging from Quarian crew from Xen's ships, Geth infantry platforms, and various Reaper husks. Our Spartan-IV teams already on the ground have identified six Geth Armatures patrolling the premises, as well as up to a dozen Reaper Brutes. Meanwhile, without access to any kind of vehicular support, hand-held heavy weaponry will have to suffice for us. It is not yet known the number of enemy combatants within the compound - although there's only one that matters to our operation - Admiral Xen."

"This op will have to be the definition of a lightning strike," Shepard emphasized next. "We're as behind enemy lines as we could possibly get, outnumbered, and outgunned. We have only as long as it takes before the enemy Geth and Reapers in orbit realize we're attacking and send down reinforcements. Once that happens, we either pull out - objectives accomplished or not - or we die. Is that understood?"

A chorus of "Yes Commanders," and "Yessirs," answered his question.

Shepard nodded, satisfied that they all knew the risks of what they were about to attempt. "We'll attack under the cover of nightfall. Ultra 'Harum and his Rangers, as well as Blue team, will insert via a HALO jump when the Normandy passes into the upper levels of Rannoch's atmosphere. Two of 'Harums Lances will stage on the East valley slopes, and two on the West slopes. Blue Team will have the job of infiltrating the base and combing the inside to try and find Xen's location, but will not attempt to subdue and extract the target unless she is only lightly guarded. Fireteams Crimson and Majestic already on the surface have placed as many explosives as they could on heavy gun emplacements as they could, and are holding on the South side of the compound."

The Commander looked to Reegar next. "Captain Reegar, my squad is with your Marines. So are the Mgalekgolo. We will be leading the assault. The Normandy is going to come in hot, initiating the strike with guns blazing, touching down just outside the northern perimeter of the base. We'll charge right down these bay doors, and once were all boots-on-the-ground, the Normandy and Viper Heavy will circle above to provide fire support, while Cortez in the Kodiak will be on standby for medevacs."

"We'll attack them hard from every direction, with maximum intensity, and maximum speed. We cut down the defenders outside, breach our way inside, fight our way to and apprehend our target, and bug the hell out. It's going to be a tough fight, and I'm not expecting us to come away unscathed, but I want to make one thing perfectly clear —" Shepard did a circuit of the bay with his eyes, trying to meet the gaze of as many as he could. "We leave no one behind. Anyone who falls… they're coming back with us. No one is being left behind to become a husk."

"That's the plan," Shepard ended, clapping his gloved hands together in finality. "Any follow up tactical questions are to be directed to Captain Reegar or Ultra 'Harum — I have to get topside and help see us through the Reapers and Geth in orbit. Get geared up, and get ready. If all goes well we'll be planet-side within the hour."

He turned sharply, making for the elevator while speaking into his mic, "Joker, EDI, fire up the engines. Get us down to the planet."

Garrus and Blue Team watched him go, Tali and Liara following on his heels. Almost immediately Reegar and 'Harum gathered their troops for more discussion on the finer tactical points of the coming assault — assault strategies, positioning, comms designations, weapons assignments, the like.

The Master Chief, Fred, and Kelly started discussing in a private comms channel how they would infiltrate the compound. Linda nudged Garrus, gently this time, and said, "I've got two spots for overwatch picked out, one on the East slope, one on the West. Take a look."

Vakarian brought up the positions on his omni-tool, going over each with an experienced eye. After a short moment of observation he said, "West slope. Looks to have better sightlines, and better cover. Plus good secondary positions further down the slope if we need to relocate."

Linda nodded in agreement. "My thinking as well."

"What's our callsign for this op?" Garrus asked next.

The Spartan sniper answered quickly, as if it was obvious. "Archangel."

Commander Shepard could feel the power of the Normandy's four antiproton engine nacelles pushing the stealth frigate through the vacuum towards the planet now. With his helmet off and attached to his belt, the small beads of sweat emerging on his forehead signalled the increasing internal temperature as the Normandy's energy output was dumped into its internal lithium heatsinks.

He stepped off the elevator and into the CIC, Tali still by his side. Liara had stepped off on the crew deck, retreating to her personal quarters to gear up for the upcoming mission. "You'll have to help me with all of their names."

"Of course," Tali replied.

Shepard still wasn't used to seeing his CIC actually crewed to its full capacity. They had been forced to lift off of Earth when the Reapers attacked with a bare-bones skeleton crew, which had served well enough, especially with EDI available, integrated into the ship as she was. He had gotten used to the quiet of the command deck, only seeing a few of the crew stations and terminals manned by the Alliance personnel who had happened to already be on-board when they had to bug out from Earth.

Now though, the deck was anything but quiet. Every empty crew terminal had been filled by one of Tali's chosen crewmembers from her former ship, the Kael, and each of the Quarians was working diligently at their haptic interfaces, calling back and forth to one another with diagnostic readouts, systems status reports, sensor data, and stealth system updates.

Shepard saw Specialist Traynor flitting about between stations in rapid succession, answering questions, giving direction and correcting mistakes. He took a moment just watching her work, impressed by the firm, yet gentle and confident hand she had in giving their new Quarian crew members their crash course on the Normandy's operation.

She straightened quickly when she saw Shepard out of the corner of her vision, snapping a crisp salute to the tip of her forehead. "Commander on deck!" she shouted. The Alliance/Quarian crewmembers throughout the CIC turned or stood from their chairs facing him, coming to attention and mirroring the salute.

Shepard returned the salute. "As you were." He motioned for Traynor to meet him by the Galaxy Map, which had been replaced by a strategic overview of Rannoch Space. "How are they coming along?"

Traynor looked slightly harried, but there was a certain energy about her, a glow to her eyes, that Shepard hadn't seen before. "They're quick learners. This obviously isn't their first time working a CIC or a bridge."

"I picked each one myself," Tali said. "They're a good crew."

Traynor nodded in agreement. "It's really just a matter of getting them up to speed on the Normandy's - uh - eccentricities. EDI, myself, and the few Alliance hands who have been here from the start are doing our best."

"Nothing quite like throwing them right into the fire," Shepard said, referencing the high-stakes strike that was already underway. "Keep up the good work, Lieutenant Traynor."

Traynor blinked at him, processing what he had just said. "Uh, Commander?"

"Congratulations on your well-deserved field promotion, Lieutenant," Shepard said, giving her a clap on the shoulder. "Can't have a Specialist running the CIC now, can we?"

"Thank - thank you sir," Traynor said, standing up a little bit straighter. Shepard gave her a reassuring smile before starting to make his way forwards to the cockpit. As he passed the new Quarian crew members, each one who wasn't deeply engaged in their station gave him a nod and acknowledged him as "Captain."

Shepard knew the term was a title of respect, and not a mistake of his actual naval rank. All Quarians referred to the leader of their ship as 'Captain.'

Joker was deep in concentration as he navigated the Normandy, hands flying across his haptic controls. The pilot intercepted his Commander's question, saying, "I'm trying to skirt around the outskirts of the battle as much as I can. Going to try to come in from the northern pole... but this space is hot Shepard."

"I know," he replied, resting a hand on the edge of Joker's pilot chair. Tali, meanwhile, settled in down in the co-pilot seat besides Joker, pulling up the energy readouts from the Tantalus drive core down in engineering. "This is the most ships I've ever seen in one place."

"Yeah, and the most Reapers too," Joker added. "There's almost three times as many as there were at the Battle of Despara."

Shepard pursed his lips. The Blue Geth were holding back the Red Geth/Reaper force through sheer weight of numbers alone - and that wouldn't last forever. The Blue Geth were losing up to three hundred ships a day to destruction or whatever it was that was causing the Geth to go over to the Reaper's side. Even with the reinforcements from the combined Allies and the Migrant Fleet, would it be enough to defeat the Reapers?

"Can you get us there?" Shepard asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Can I get us there? Yes," Joker said with confidence. "Can I guarantee we won't get shot out of the sky if this attack takes too long? No."

"Understood. We'll try not to dally."

"Oh please, do keep your dallying to a minimum," Joker quipped. "I'm your only ride outta here, just remember that."

"Did EDI tell you the plan of attack?"

"Yup. Hold in high atmo to let off the jumpers, then deliver you and the Quarian Marines right to their front door like we're storming the beaches of Normandy. Top-cover after that." Joker took a second to crack his knuckles. "Should be fun."

"You got it," Shepard said. "I'm going to get geared up in my cabin. Tali?"

"I'll stay here for a little while, monitor how the drive is responding to our approach. Will probably go down to engineering and check it out for myself." She lovingly ran her hands over the smooth metal surrounding her chair, patting it gently. "I've missed this ship. It's good to be back."

Shepard was in his cabin moments later, picking out his weapons and gear for the raid from his personal cabin. He had much more of a choice than just his standard Alliance offerings, now that Liara had delivered with her promise of heavier weaponry procured through her Shadow Broker contacts

. An M-77 Paladin replaced his venerable M-6 Carnifex, and an illegally modified fully-automatic version M-96 Mattock - branded with the name 'Harrier' on the side - replaced his M-8 Avenger. He attached an M-11 Wraith shotgun to the magplates on the small of his back, and finished his loadout with a heavy M-100 Grenade Launcher. He loaded the launcher with a mix of fragmentation, incendiary, and disruptor grenades, and slung a bandolier around his shoulder and chest with two reloads. Then, he stuffed every available compartment and ammunition pouch he had left with as many thermal clips as he could fit. Satisfied with his gear choices, he made sure he had a few bottles of his ultra-dense calorie replacement combat drinks, as he had the sense he would be heavily using his biotics.

Shepard was mid-stride back to the cabin doors when he caught sight of his reflection in the shattered glass of the aquarium on the wall that still hadn't been replaced. He paused, examining what he saw in the pieces of jagged glass.

He saw a tired, beleaguered soldier looking back at him, chin covered with the shadow of dark stubble, circles and creases from lack of rest underneath his eyes, mouth and lips tight. He hadn't been sleeping well lately - every time he dreamed he would hear the voices of the dead, or see their faces on shadowy almost-bodies. Thane. Ashley. Miranda. Mordin. Anderson. Sparatus. Fleetmaster 'Vadum last night. Dozens of rank-and-file Human, Turian, Salarian, and Krogan soldiers he'd seen gunned down or beaten to a pulp by the Reapers.

How many would die on this raid? Five? Twenty? Fifty? Shepard had no doubt there would be losses. The intensity and pace they would have to maintain almost guaranteed it. Hell, there was a chance they could all die if they took too long and were caught by Reaper reinforcements.

The stakes felt higher now than they ever had, but not because of the mission itself. It was the command, the fact that he was responsible not just for a small group of a few, but for a force the size of two entire platoons. What did they think when they looked at him? Did Reegar's Quarians, or 'Harums Rangers, or Blue Team see the marks of fatigue on his face during the briefing? Were there any questions in their minds that they were following the right man for the job?

Shepard shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind and into a pocket of isolation that he mentally squeezed down to the size of a tiny marble. Now was not the time for self-doubting. He slid his helmet over his head, activating the setting that turned his visor an opaque silver.

It was time to lead.

The wind whipped through the Normandy's shuttle bay with intensity, gusting and waning in cyclical patterns. It was pitch-dark, soldiers relying on their visor's low light modes to see, the only illumination coming from tiny lights on armor and weapons systems.

Shepard looked down from the very edge of the lowered bay door, feeling a momentary wave of vertigo wash over him. Something about knowing you were twelve-thousand meters above sea-level, and seeing nothing but inky darkness below. He turned back towards the inside of the bay, where 'Harum had assembled his Ranger Lances in four single-file lines. None of the Sangheili actually had parachutes, they would instead be utilizing the thruster packs built into their armor to slow their descent when they were about to touch down. The eight Asari miners-turned-soldiers that were supporting 'Harum's forces were each strapped to the front of a Sangheili in order to jump in tandem.

He got a notification in his HUD from Joker - it was time. He got Ultra 'Harum's attention, the tall Sangheili at the rear of the formation so he could direct his troops on the fall downwards. Shepard raised his hand to his temple in a salute. 'Harum returned it with his own, crossing an arm against his chest plate. All of the rest of the Rangers assembled did the same, save for the eight that had an Asari strapped to their front.

"Good luck!" Shepard shouted over external speakers, battling against the wind and the whine of the Normandy's engines.

"See you on the ground!" 'Harum bellowed back. "Rangers! Move it out!"

With the practiced grace of experienced troops the Lances strode over to the edge of the bay door, where four at a time jumped into the darkness without hesitation. 'Harum was the last to go, slapping Shepard's shoulder pauldron as he passed the Commander before joining the rest of his troops.

The Master Chief, Sierra-104, and Sierra-087 were at the edge next, delivering a synchronized salute to Shepard before activating their active camouflage systems, disappearing into the void behind the Rangers. Garrus and Sierra-058 were the last to jump, and as Vakarian bumped Shepard's fist he yelled, "Don't keep us waiting too long!"

Garrus had always thought free-falling was serene in its special way. The wind rushing past as you reached terminal velocity had a certain calming effect on his mind, and he cherished it when he could. Granted, the introduction of things like flak could murr that feeling, but overall he spent the first thirty seconds of the jump in relative peace. His HUD showed the IR strobes of 'Harum's Lances several hundred meters below them, and he watched as they split up into two groups to fall to the East and West slopes of the valley nestling Admiral Xen's compound.

Linda had jumped two seconds before he did, so Garrus followed her lead as they angled towards the Western slope behind the Sangheili Rangers. They would land higher up on the slope to take their overwatch position, where they could monitor almost the entirety of the base down below.

The Turian watched the countdown in his HUD with rapt attention, tensing up in the anticipation of the the deployment of his chute when he was close enough to the ground. He saw the pinpoints of light flashing as 'Harum's Rangers activated their jump jets, then his body was yanked hard against his straps as his parachute shot open, slowing him significantly.

The ground was fast approaching, and Garrus acted on instinct and past training, flaring his chute and bending his legs to absorb the shock of the impact. He touched down heavily, letting himself fall to one side as his chut collapsed beside him. As quickly as he could he hit the release straps on his harness, shrugging out of them and getting his Mantis-X out into his hands. He ran to their pre-determined overwatch position in low crouch, a quick physical check ensuring that nothing had broken during the drop.

Linda-058 was waiting for him there, resting prone with Nornfang extended outwards, spotting scope set up besides her. "Have a good fall General?"

Garrus settled in besides her on the other side of the spotting scope, getting his long rifle up on its bipod. "I did."

The Spartan sniper's tone shifted to that icy-cold calmness that he had been first introduced to on B-1274. It was time for business. "The eastern Ranger's drop was good. I can see Crimson and Majestic holding on the South side of the base."

Vakarian settled in behind the spotting scope, sweeping over the soon-to-be field of battle. He saw the Ranger's IR strobes on the eastern slope, as well as the Spartan-IV fireteams to the south. He then spent a moment doing a circuit of the compound, noting the strength and concentration of enemies surrounding it. His mandibles shook in momentary discomfort - seeing Quarians, Geth, and Reapers all working together didn't sit well with him at all. "There's a lot of them."

"Good thing I brought plenty of ammo," Linda replied.

"Same here," Garrus said. He shifted behind his rifle, adjusting his scope for the distance. One thousand and three hundred meters to the center of the base. The hostile combatants hadn't changed their patrol patterns or alertness levels, which was a good sign. "Don't think we've been noticed."

Linda keyed the operation's secure comms channel. "This is Archangel - overwatch established. All strike elements, report in."

"All strike elements, report in."

Ultra 'Harum keyed his mic, replying, "Sword-One, reporting green."

He listened as the other three of his Lances reported green statuses, and tapped the side of his Plasma Repeater in anticipation.

"Sword-Two, reporting green."

"Sword-Three, green."

"Sword-Four, green."

He was with First Lance, and had directed a picture-perfect HALO drop that had put them five-hundred meters away from the enemies' outer patrols. They had quickly and quietly descended the slope, using the myriad of rocky outcroppings and natural divots in the dry, dusty land to conceal their movement.

"Majestic, green here."

"Crimson, green."

"Viper Heavy, on station."

"Viper-Actual, green."

'Harum spoke into his mic, addressing his Rangers and Asari. "When Archangel gives the signal, show no fear. Show no mercy. Banish these heathens back to the pit they crawled out of, for the Fleetmaster."

"For the Fleetmaster!" his soldiers replied back.

The Sangheili Ultra's hand fell to his left hip, where he grasped the familiar form on an energy sword hilt. It was the 'Vadum ancestral blade, given to him by Tali'Zorah just before they had jumped. You would know how to use it better than I do, she had said. His last request was that it be delivered to someone called 'The Arbiter.'

'Harum gripped the handle strongly, eyes closed. R'tas 'Vadum had been a living legend in the eyes of the Sangheili, the brilliant commander and ferocious warrior that had helped see their people through the chaos of the Great Schism, and the war that they found themselves enveloped in in this new galaxy.

He would make sure that the blade would be decorated in the blood of his enemies before he lay it in front of the Arbiter. Tonight, the spirit of the Fleetmaster would sing once more.

"You good Roran?"

"I'm good Sam."

"Targets picked out?"

"All of my ANVILS are locked on the Geth Armatures and heavy weapon emplacements."

"And after we dump the missiles?"

"We rake the infantry with cannon rounds and gauss fire."

Flight Sergeant Samuel Dolton nodded in approval. He knew that his gunner, Senior Airman Roran Cehack, knew how to play the deadly instruments of Viper-Heavy's weapons systems just right, but as the pilot it was his job to check and make sure.

The Stealth Pelican Gunship was holding several hundred meters above the compound, hidden by its active camouflage and sensor-defeating hull.

"What if they send fighter support?" Roran asked.

"We leave that to the Normandy," Dalton answered. "Our job is to support the ground assault — equalize our ground pounder's numbers disadvantage."

"Roger."

"Hey Roran?"

"Yeah Sam?"

"How many you think you'll get today?"

"Counting infantry?"

"Counting infantry."

Viper-Heavy's gunner paused, ruminating on the question. "At least two two hundred."

"Make it two hundred and fifty and I'll buy you a bottle of scotch."

"You're on."

"Blue Actual, reporting. Target found. Repeat, target found."

The Master Chief stayed crouch close to the wall he was hunkered against, not moving a muscle. He had infiltrated deep into the compound under active camouflage, sneaking past dozens of enemy guards, and had taken a hunch when he found a staircase leading down into the ground inside one of the more central pre-fab structures.

He had skulked downwards, coming out into a rather extensive underground laboratory filled with dozens of offices and lab rooms. It had became immediately clear just what the laboratories test subjects were — the Geth. The Master Chief had passed several Geth platforms in varying states of dismemberment, laying on operating tables, suspended upright by cables, missing arms, legs, chunks of chest, or entire heads. It was a different kind of gore than what he usually saw on the battlefield, but it was still unnerving all the same. Some of the test subjects were still 'alive', appendages twitching, those with heads bobbing them back and forth aimlessly, central head lights flickering on and off as if they were calling for help.

The Master Chief watched Admiral Xen from beyond a pane of hardened glass, where she was working within the largest of the laboratory rooms he had found yet. Several disassembled Geth were strewn haphazardly around her, some on the floor, some on tables. She was currently elbows deep within the chest cavity of another unforunate Geth subject, the patient's limbs restrained by four other Geth who looked along impassively at their comrades surgical torture.

Chief didn't know if these Geth were on the same side of the ongoing civil war or not. Was the one being experimented on by Xen part of the Blue Geth? Were those platforms holding it down with the Reapers? They had to be, as he saw Xen give orders, motioning with her blue hydraulic fluid hands and arms.

While Xen was working on one side of the large room, the other side was dominated by some kind of Reaper structure. It was roughly cylindrical, the solid latticed metal the characteristic Reaper make, marked with ribbed cables and sparks of red electricity flashing over its surface. He had no idea what it did, if anything, but it wasn't his objective.

He keyed his mic with his chin again, "Be advised, the target is heavily guarded. It will take significant effort to extract."

The four Geth holding down the poor subject Xen had gone back to poking around in were not the only others in the room. An entire platoon of fifty Geth stood in tight ranks against one of the walls, unmoving statues, Geth Pulse Rifles clutched in their hands. A towering Geth Prime was at their head, much more heavily armored than the other Geth, and carrying a much bigger gun. There were Reapers too, two lanky Banshees doing circuits of the room, and four squads of five Marauders stationed throughout.

Chief found it odd that there were no Quarians here, only Reapers and Geth. Xen's arms flashed, and she ripped out a hefty chunk of wires and what he guessed was some kind of processing core from the Geth on the table's opened chest. It twitched, appendaged spasming as it died, its light slowly fading away to nothing. Xen threw the bundle of vital Geth 'organs' on the floor in a gesture of frustration, grabbing one of the four Geth who had been helping restrain the dead patient. She had it remove the body of her expired test subject, then ordered it to lay down on the table in its stead.

The Geth didn't offer any form of protest or struggle, laying there as still as a rock even when Xen started slicing into its elongated head with a small handheld circular saw.

He had seen enough. They would have to come back with more of their strike team to deal with Xen's guards. "Blue Team, extract to the South." Kelly and Fred's status lights winked green.

The Master Chief made his way back up the stairs, creeping back through the base the way he had come. Cortana hadn't made a sound since they had descended into the underground laboratory levels.

"You alright?" he asked his AI companion.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cortana replied. There was a definite undertone of sadness to her words. She hadn't dared to try and interface or interact with anything within the base for the sake of keeping their presence inside a secret. "It's just… barbaric, in its own way."

The Master Chief had an involuntary flash of sudden memory, from back when he was undergoing his Spartan-II augmentations. Then, it was him who had been laying on a table much like the ones he saw in Xen's laboratories, waiting dutifully to be sliced into and altered like the obedient soldier he was.

He took a deep breath, banishing the memory - and the pangs of physical pain that came with it - back to the depths of his mind. He didn't like thinking about that particular part of his past.

Soon, he was out of the base, moving quickly to rejoin the rest of Blue Team and the Spartan-IV Fireteams holding at the south side of the base. Now, it was time to wait for Shepard to bring the noise.

"They're all out," Linda said, watching Blue Team exfiltrate the compound and link up with Crimson and Majestic.

"Good," Garrus said in turn. He could feel the adrenaline slowly releasing into his bloodstream, magnifying his senses and accelerating his heart rate. He started to feel the slightest bit of a rumble in the earth underneath him, loose sands and pebbles shaking.

Garrus swiveled to look through his rifle scope to the North. More than five kilometers away, he could just barely make out the familiar shape of the Normandy racing down the valley fast and low, hugging the ground as close as she dared. It reminded him of a bird of prey streaking across the surface of a lake, sharp talons just barely scraping the top of the water. "Here they come…"

Linda keyed the ops-wide channel again. "All elements, go on my mark."

Garrus could hear her now, the scream of the Normandy's engines bouncing off of the valley slopes, and he wasn't the only one. Down in the compound, Reapers, Quarians, and Geth perked up, coming to sudden attention. Anti-air cannons started swiveling towards the North, but some would never finish their rotations.

"Mark!" Linda barked into the comms.

Four of the six anti-air cannons erupted into clouds of flame as the charges placed by Crimson and Majestic detonated.

Dozens of lines of shining sapphire plasma shot away from the East and West slopes as 'Harum's Rangers engaged, while the staccato barks of gunfire and lightning whines of ACS fire could be heard from the Spartans in the South. Four cracks of thunder range besides Garrus - Linda already emptying her first magazine and going for a second.

Garrus sighted in on a Quarian officer rallying a squad of troops in the sudden eruption of chaos.

Find the target. Feather the trigger. Cycle the bolt.

"Barriers on the way out," Shepard told Liara, "And on my signal switch to crowd control. Vega, coat the area with grenades. Tali, disrupt the Geth as best you can."

In front of them stood the four Mgalekgolo, who would lead the charge out of the Normandy's bay door with their starship-grade protective shields and armor. They were humming loudly in sync, the vibration from their unique language competing with even the rattle throughout the deck from the Normandy's drive core and engines.

"What are they saying?" Shepard asked into his mic, and Cortana answered.

"Not saying," the AI said, "Singing. It's the ancestral battle-hymn of Clan 'Vadum."

"Rise, brave warrior, rise to meet your foes. Press hard, and let your blades sing true. Blood will spill, armor will crack, and lives will end. Rise, noble fighter, rise to strike them down. The spirits of your ancestors will guide the swiftness of your flowing water. Honor to you, honor to your commander, honor to your clan. Rise, blessed champion, rise, and hold your swords high."

Behind Shepard, Kal'Reegar was striding back and forth animatedly speaking to his Marines on the precipice of the battle.

"Three hundred years!" he started, "Three hundred years have our people been barred from their homeland! All of us here - all of us at the Fleet - we have never known the feeling of Rannoch earth beneath our feet, Rannoch wind in our lungs, Rannoch sun on our faces! That changes today - with us! Keelah Se'lai! By the homeworld I will see today!"

The reply of the Quarian Marines boomed throughout the bay. "KEELAH SE'LAI!"

The Normandy rocked as its cyclonic barriers absorbed direct fire from anti-air batteries, but the shields held firm. EDI's voice came over the intercomms, loud enough to cut through. "Fifteen seconds. Good luck."

"Tech armor!" Reegar shouted. Each of the Quarian Marines pressed their omni-tools, then were enveloped by shimmering yellow shielding that added another layer of protection over their suit's kinetic barriers.

The four Mgalekgolo at the front had finished their song, and were now beating their heavy shields against their armored chests in rhythm, once every second.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"Drones!" Reegar called out next. Fifty spherical combat drones materialized to life, gathering into a formation a few feet above the Marines. Tali summoned her own combat drone, saying "Give them hell Chiktikka."

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Shepard could feel the sharp vibrations of weapons discharges as the Normandy fired Javelin torpedoes and pulsed its GARDIAN batteries at targets on the ground. The pitch of the engines decreased suddenly as Joker flared the ship for a hot landing.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Shepard and Liara worked as one to erect a layer of biotic barriers in front of, on top of, and to the sides of their assaulting formation just as the bay door began to drop.

"Hit 'em Roran!" Dalton yelled, watching the ground elements engage as the Normandy flared out to a quick landing.

"Fox Three! Fox Three!"

Jets of fire and exhaust enveloped the front of the Pelican gunship as all eight of its ANVIL-II missiles shot away from their tubes. They each angled towards individual targets - two rocketing towards the remaining two anti-air gun batteries, and one for each of the six Geth Armatures.

Cehack was already nailing heavy ground cannons with lances of 25x130mm Gauss projectiles when the ANVILs struck, turning each one of the eight targets into flaming hulks of shattered, twisted metal.

"Shepard's coming out!" Dalton said next, flicking his flight stick to spin the Pelican to face the northern section of the base's defenses. He saw through their cameras as the Normandy team rushed out of the shuttle bay in a tight formation, covered almost completely by shimmering blue barriers.

Cehack's thumb flicked the GUNS switch, and using his eye-tracking targeting system he raked the enemy positions in front of Shepard's group with dozens of 30mm high-explosive cannon rounds.

Shepard was gritting his teeth against the volume of incoming fire impacting the biotic barriers he and Liara were maintaining. The Normandy team got down the ramp in tight formation following an opening volley from the Mgalekgolo's fuel rod cannons, and were now slowly advancing like an ancient Roman testudo. The Quarian drones had shot out in front of them like a swarm of angry hornets, wreaking havoc on the first lines of enemy defenders with Overload shocks and Incinerate projectiles.

The Mgalekgolo in front set the pace, lumbering forwards with heavy steps and providing a weight to their advance. High above and to the right, Shepard saw a series of flashes in the night sky. A second later the deafening sound of cannon-fire filled the air as high-explosive rounds inundated the enemy positions, sending up clumps of flesh, bone, metal, and sod up several meters.

The amount of incoming fire dropped off significantly following the strike from Viper-Heavy, and Shepard knew this was the moment. He turned back towards the Quarian Marines behind him, holding his Harrier in the air. "Take forward!"

Reegar, the Marines, and Tali shouted a battlecry. "FOR RANNOCH!"

With alarming speed the Mgalekgolo split off into two pairs, rushing forwards thirty meters towards the enemy before planting themselves in the ground, hunched low in protective stances, shields raised, cannons flaring for another round of fire. Shepard and Liara released their biotic barriers and the Quarian Marines ran forwards, taking ground and sending fire downrange while the enemy focused on the towering Mgalekgolo.

Shepard advanced at a run to the first line of defensive trenches, sweeping through a group of Cannibals with his Harrier, immediately impressed at the fully-automatic rounds tore through the bulbous flesh of the turned Batarians with ease. He jumped in, looking down either side to see Reegar's Marines doing the same. Vega jumped in besides him, bracing his SAW on the chest high lip of the trench and firing a long burst down towards a squad of Geth trying to get an angle on the Mgalekgolo pairs.

Shepard took in the battlefield with a veterans eye. Reegar had taken three squads with him up the middle, clearing trenches and advancing rapidly, with one squad each flanking towards the left and right. Liara had split off, following the Quarians flanking right, throwing out biotic singularities and erecting protective barriers. Tali had gone with the other squad flanking left, wreaking havoc among enemy kinetic barrier with Chain Overloads.

At least two hundred Reaper, Geth, and indoctrinated Quarian infantry were standing between them and the base. The initial shock of the assault and Viper-Heavy's first pass had cut their numbers, but they were still outgunned. Tracers filled the air as both sides exchanged fire, but Shepard knew that they couldn't afford to get bogged down in an extended firefight. They needed to break through, and to do it now.

"Vega!" he shouted over the cacophony of the combat around them. "Get your launcher out! Saturate a path going forwards!"

"On it!" The Alliance Marine took his hands off his SAW, leaving it on the lip of the trench. He and Shepard withdrew the M-100 Heavy Grenade Launchers from their back, shouldering them at the same time.

"Fire!" The launchers thumped as grenades left the tubes, arcing above the Mgalekgolo and through the air towards the enemy lines, impacting with heavy thuds that Shepard could feel through the ground. Fire, fragmentations, and disruptive electricity flooded a corridor down the center of the enemy lines, a second wave added on top when Shepard and Vega blew threw their launcher reloads.

He returned the spent launcher to his back, vaulting over the lip of the trench as he got his Harrier back into his hands. Shepard sprinted forwards, firing his rifle at targets with one hand, slinging biotics with the other. Vega was close on his heels, firing his SAW from the hip.

Kal'Reegar saw Shepard running forwards, and he too leapt out of the trench he had been in to follow, urging his Marines forwards. "To the Commander!"

Ultra 'Harum let the wave of dirt flecks wash over him as he hunkered behind his rock cover. Viper-Heavy had just completed a danger-close strafing run, lancing through two three Reaper Brutes, and more importantly, two Geth heavy cannons that had blown apart three of his Rangers already.

He jumped back up, sending a stream of plasma globs towards a pair of Quarians moving along a trench. The superheated projectiles splashed against their upper chests and visors, burning through their kinetic barriers, armor plate and deep into their skin and faces.

As they fell 'Harum saw the splayed bodies and dismembered limbs resulting from the Pelican Gunships fire support strewn all over his section of the battlefield, mentally thanking the crew for removing the biggest threats he had to deal with.

Without need for orders from him, his battle-hardened Rangers took the initiative provided by the air strike, bounding forwards on their jump jets and knifing into the hostile defenders with lines of plasma, carbine fire, and heavy fuel rod shot.

'Harum rolled out from behind his cover, bounding forwards down the valley slope on long, powerful legs towards a trio of Reaper Marauders. Before he could depress the trigger on his Plasma Repeater, the three Marauder's heads disappeared in showers of blood and skull in rapid succession, the way their bodies fell indiciationg to his trained eyes that they had been shot from behind him.

The overwatch team higher up on the valley slopes had had their back since the beginning of the assault, taking down Quarian officers, Reaper Marauders, and even heavier targets like Geth Primes and Reaper Brutes. A high-powered rifle shot from their position seemed to ring out every second, striking death to their targets down below.

'Harum could see that enemy resistance was weakening on the outside of his area. Next would be making their way inside the base and eliminating opposition there.

He keyed the mic for his two Lances, "Rangers, ascend, breach, and clear!"

The Sanghieli Ultra led the way, activating his jump jets and rocketing through the air towards the roofs of the compound structures. He impacted the metal roof with practiced lightness, watching the rest of his Lances follow him in, some clutching Asari to their chests who meanwhile were projecting biotics barriers downwards to protect from fire coming from below.

His Rangers set breaching charges on the roofs, and shifted their main weapons to one hand, drawing energy swords in the other. 'Harum gripped Fleetmaster 'Vadum's sword tightly, the ancestral blade snapping to life.

He was the first one through the breach, landing on bent knees in a hallway — in the middle of a squad of Geth infantry platforms. He struck forwards like a viper, burying 'Vadum's sword into the chest of the closest Geth, ignoring the pangs of fire on his energy shielding. He lifted the Geth into the air, roaring, and tossed the machine down the hallway.

The Fleetmaster's blade had gorged on its first kill of the battle. It would not be the last.

"Reegar, hold this position! We need to keep our exit open!"

Shepard gunned down an indoctrinated Quarian that popped up two trenches down, a grenade primed in his hand. She never threw it, the grenade falling with her back into the trench and blowing apart her dead body.

"Yes Commander!" The Captain replied. "Form up Marines! Hold the line!"

They had made it all the way through the enemy lines to the doors of the northern compound structures, having made a mad dash through the middle with Shepard at its helm.

Reegar's Marines were fighting like soldiers possessed, maintaining a level of pure ferocity of action that Shepard has rarely seen. They took up positions in trenches close by that they had just cleared in brutal CQB, supporting the several wounded who could still fight, and setting those who had fallen in a position of relative safety.

The four Mgalekgolo — their shields and armor pockmarked by bullet impacts and burned by Geth plasma fire — formed the core of the quickly established defensive positions, vaporizing entire squads of enemies at a time with continued blasts from their arm cannons.

Shepard gathered his own squad to him, Liara, Tali, and James. Half of Liara's armor was covered in Quarian blood, Tali wipes Geth internal fluids off of her faceplate, and Vega slapped another magazine into his SAW. "Time to breach. Let's go get Xen."

"Follow us Commander."

Blue Team, along with Fireteams Crimson and Majestic, had just finished sweeping the southern base structures clear of hostiles. The Master Chief had been impressed with the lethality the Spartan-IVs had displayed while they were going room-to-room, taking out Geth, Quarians, and Reaper infantry with well-aimed bursts of fire. They hadn't been able to keep up with Blue Team as they tore through their prefab structures led by searing lines of blue hard light from their ACS rifles, but they were not far behind.

The stark advantage in armor systems, weaponry, and training had made itself clear as the Spartan teams mercilessly executed every bit of opposition they came across, leaving nothing but dead Reapers, indoctrinated Quarians, and hostile Geth bodies bleeding their respective bodily fluids onto the floors.

They had linked up with Shepard within the compound, the Commander's squad having made their own rapid progress throughout the facility. There hadn't been as many enemies within the base as they had expected, most having made their way outside only to fall under the weight of the Normandy's direct-fire GARDIAN batteries, Viper-Heavy's bristling arsenal, and Archangel's deadly overwatch. The Master Chief had sent Crimson and Majestic back outside, to help support Ultra 'Harum's Rangers and Kal'Reegar's Marines who were still fighting.

Shepard took a minute to remove his helmet, downing a bottle of ultra-dense calorie replacement fluid. The Commander grimaced at the artificial berry taste which did little to hide the bitterness of the drink, but quickly put his helmet back on. "Lead the way Chief."

The Spartan-II's formed into a tight triangle, advancing through the base following the route to Admiral Xen's underground laboratories that the Chief had scouted earlier. They slowed their pace by almost a third in order to make sure that Shepard's squad could keep up with the Mjolnir-clad supersoldiers, but they made quick time. What few enemies showed themselves were quickly dispatched without issue.

The Master Chief called a halt when he saw yellow dots flashing on his motion tracker, and within seconds Ultra 'Harum burst into the corridor they were travelling down, several Sangheili Rangers in tow.

"The Admiral?" he asked quickly, closing the distance between the two groups.

"Yes," Chief replied. 'Harum ordered the rest of his Lance save for two Rangers to reinforce Reegar holding their exfil point, then fell in at the rear of the formation.

They paused briefly at the entrance to the stairway leading down into the labs. Chief reminded the group about what they were to expect down below. "Fifty Geth infantry, one Geth Prime. Twenty Marauders, two Banshees."

Tali pushed a trio of arc grenades into Vega's free hand, then rolled a pair of arc grenades through her fingers. "These should play haywire with the Geth, and take down the Marauder's shields."

"We'll take the Banshees," 'Harum stated, flexing his hand around Fleetmaster 'Vadum's sword.

"I've got the Prime," Fred said. No one objected to the idea of leaving the Spartan-II to take on a heavy Geth combat unit by himself.

Shepard looked to Chief. "Liara and I will immobilize the Marauders - and Xen."

"087 and I will clean up things up," The Chief said. The plan set, they proceeded down the stairway.

"Drop pods!" Linda called out, pointing up towards the streaks of incoming Reaper troop pods rocketing down through the darkness towards the base.

"Shit," Garrus cursed, taking his eye off the scope of his Mantis-X. "Capital ships won't be far behind."

Linda was already calling it out over the comms. "All elements, be advised, Reaper drop pods inbound on our positions."

EDI's voice followed hers with even more dire news. "Ten Reaper and forty Geth capital ships are breaking from orbit and maneuvering this way."

"Commander, time to wrap things up," Linda spoke into a direct channel to Shepard.

"Acknowledged. Moving on the target now."

As she circled above the compound the Normandy blasted as many drop pods as she could out of the sky, blue GARDIAN lasers striking like so many strands of lightning through Rannoch's darkness. More than two dozen still got through, with what looked like the vast majority to come down all around the West slope. Linda exchanged Nornfang for a BR55 Battle Rifle, and Garrus brought out his M-7 Lancer.

The ground shook with the impacts of the Reaper drop pods, three crashing down within a hundred meters of their position. Husks, Cannibals, and Marauders flooding from the pods, and Archangel opened fire with their rifles, cutting through the soft flesh and battering down kinetic barriers. The two snipers worked through the targets like buzzsaws, but Garrus could tell as more infantry started crawling over the West slope that they were at a high risk of getting overwhelmed.

"We need to get outta here!" Garrus shouted, return fire from the Reaper infantry sending him and Linda back down into cover.

Linda agreed, calling up Viper-Heavy on the comms. "Viper-Heavy! We need a hot evac!"

"Roger, at you pos in fifteen."

As one, Linda and Garrus re-emerged from cover, putting more Reaper infantry into the ground. This time they were forced back into the relative safety of their rocky outcropping much more quickly as a torrent of small-arms fire threatened to take down their shields.

BRRRRRTTTTTTT.

Fire and earth exploded all around them. Coming out of stealth, Viper-Heavy screamed down towards the two snipers, 30mm cannon and wing-mounted machine guns singing their deadly songs. Linda hopped in the open troop bay first, reaching back to extend a hand to Vakarian. "Get in General!"

Garrus would have been more amused if he wasn't actively getting shot at, but he took the offered arm and braced himself as the Pelican crawled back to altitude.

'Harum's movements were akin to a river. He ducked under a horizontal strike from the first Banshee, feeling the impacts to the shields from the horror's sharp talons as they scraped his helmet. Fleetmaster 'Vadum's sword flashed out, taking the arm off at the shoulder.

The air shimmered behind him - the second Banshee trying to catch him from behind after biotically teleporting. Still crouched low, he swept a leg behind him, taking the second Banshee's legs out from under her. 'Harum pivoted, extending the molten plasma blade and letting the Banshee fall on top of it, bisecting her in two.

He dove to one side, anticipating the attack from the first Banshee he had turned his back on, coming up in a roll before leaping on coiled legs back into the fray. The first Banshee tried to intercept him with a drilling arm attack, but 'Harum just set the face of his blade flat and let the attacking arm disintegrate itself on the superheated contained energy.

The Sangheili Ultra stepped inwards, swiping his sword arm in a quick X motion, and the Banshee fell apart into four instantly cauterized pieces. He retreated, snapping his head up and taking in the scene in the laboratory. It was suddenly very quiet - save for the sound of a headless Geth Prime toppling down to the floor, biotic singularities collapsing in on themselves, and Shepard's team reloading their weapons.

Geth infantry and Reaper Marauders lay throughout the room, the violent intensity of the group's coordinated assault leaving them no chance. 'Harum saw Admiral Xen, standing rigidly upright, trapped within a biotic stasis field projected by Shepard. His jaws flared in anger - this was who was responsible for the death of his Fleetmaster. If he had his choice he would stride right up to her and shove 'Vadum's sword deep into her chest.

They all had heard Archangel and EDI's report that the Reapers and more Geth were coming for them, and that they had to extract soon. "Everyone, get back topside. Joker is coming down to load everyone up, then we're getting the hell out of here." Shepard tossed Tali a pair of cuffs, releasing Xen's stasis field upon seeing that she was unarmed, and had no weapons in easy access.

'Harum nodded for his two Rangers to follow Blue Team and Vega back out to the Normandy, and was about to go himself when the large Reaper device on the other end of the room caught his eye. He didn't know why, but he found himself walking towards it, some inexplicable hunch telling him that it was important.

Behind him, he could hear Admiral Xen start speaking. "Tali'Zorah, you are making a grave mistake. I am close - I am so close."

"Close to what? To killing even more of our people?"

"Of course. Of course you wouldn't understand. I am the only one who can see - I am the only one who can save our people!"

"By becoming a slave to the Reapers?"

"You are the slaves! I am an asset! I will deliver them the Geth, and after I do they have promised to return our world to its rightful owners!"

"Xen… you're indoctrinated… The Reapers are lying. They're just using you!"

The conversation played in the background of 'Harum's mind. He was more focused on this Reaper device, cylindrical, more than ten meters wide and twenty tall. There were no access terminals in sight, no easily visible way to determine what the thing actually was, but he suddenly had an overwhelming desire to thrust his sword into it - so he did.

The cylindrical structure seemed to groan, sparking even more with tendrils of red electricity. Suddenly, the top half of the cylinder shot open, revealing that there was a hollow interior - and something was inside.

It was a Geth, a platform similar to the dozens he had been killing during this battle, except this one was strung up by several restraining cables and wires. The Geth was missing a large chunk of its chest, and very curiously to 'Harum, its right shoulder was adorned with the same red-striped armor pauldron that Commander Shepard wore…

The Geth's head flicked towards 'Harum, examined him momentarily, then looked past him further into the room. "Shepard-Commander! Help us!"

Shepard was by 'Harum's side in an instant. "Legion?!"

"You know this Geth?" 'Harum questioned, eyes narrowed towards it.

"Yes!" Shepard replied, looking around to try and figure out how to get the Geth out. "It's fought on my team before… it's on our side."

"Shepard-Commander," Legion pressed, "Reapers and Heretic Geth are converging on this location. We must evacuate."

Shepard found something that 'Harum hadn't seen, and when he shot it with his Harrier the wires and cables disconnected violently from Legion's body. The Geth fell forwards out from the cylinder, and would have crashed to the floor if Shepard hadn't arrested his fall with biotics. "C'mon, we gotta leave. Questions can wait 'Harum, lets go."

He passed Legion over to 'Harum, who accepted the job of supporting the still stumbling Geth with one arm.

"Tali? What are you doing?"

Tali had tossed the cuffs to the side.

"Tali? What are you doing?" Shepard questioned from the other side of the room.

She didn't answer, staring down the sights of her Carnifex pistol, affixed firmly on Admiral Xen's chest. There was nothing more she wanted to do than to exert the tiny amount of pressure it would take to pull the trigger of her Carnifex, taking her revenge for how Xen had betrayed her, and bringing justice to the thousands who had died because of her actions.

"I demand a trial," Xen said, staring down the barrel of Tali's gun. "The Fleet needs to hear of the knowledge I have acquired, the advantages I could give us."

"You don't deserve to ever set foot back on a Quarian ship again!" Tali hissed at her.

"Tali, put the gun down," Shepard said again, making his way quickly over. "We have to leave."

"I surrender. You would shoot a defenseless, unarmed prisoner, Tali'Zorah?" Xen took a step backwards, slowly raising her hands up. "Listen to your Commander."

"Shut up!" Tali's vision had tunneled in on Xen, darkness clouding the edges of her sight. She could hear only the sound of her own rapid breaths, the battle raging above and Xen's poison words reduced to distant whispers. Her hand was shaking ferociously — her entire body was trembling with hurt and sadness and rage.

"You're not that person." Shepard placed his gloved hand on the top of Tali's Carnifex, slowly pushing the pistol downwards.

"She's too far gone Shepard," Tali said, her voice cracking from the pressure of the situation. "She's too far gone."

"You're not that person," Shepard repeated softly. "Get back to the Normandy. Go."

Tali was turned towards the exit of the room by Shepard's firm yet gentle arms, and soon found her feet moving robotically - her mind advancing her body out of the room without thought. She passed by 'Harum supporting Legion without any reaction, as if she didn't even see the only Geth that she had ever fought besides having unexpectedly appeared.

Shepard met the eyes of 'Harum. There were no words exchanged, no body motions made - but the two came to an immediate understanding. The Sangheili Ranger followed Tali out of the room with Legion, the Geth still acting weak from whatever ordeal he had been going through within that Reaper device.

Shepard let several seconds pass before turning back to Xen.

"Commander Shepard," Xen started, lowering her hands. "You've always been reasonable. Surely you, of all people, can understand my course of actions. I surrender to your custody."

He stared down at Xen, unflinching, ignoring everything that she said. There was iron to his next words, an unforgiving steel resolve to a decision that had just been made. "I am that person."

With a quick, smooth draw, he snapped his M-66 Paladin Heavy Pistol from his hip, leveled it, and put a bullet through Xen's visor. She collapsed in a heap, surrounded by the destroyed corpses of the Geth she had experimented on, blood flowing freely from the entrance and exit wounds in her skull.

"Fleetmaster 'Vadum sends his regards," Shepard said, turning to follow his team back out to the Normandy, and off Rannoch.