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The shuttle rattled as it broke through the atmosphere soaring across an open grass valley heading to its destination. Inside was Echo squad, a six man group of Alliance special forces marines led by a junior officer, 2nd Lieutenant David Anderson. Inside the cabin of the shuttle, silence drawled in with only the sound of the shuttle's hull tremoring by the violent shifts from the spacecraft as it soared at breakneck speed. A few marines gave their gear one final check while others just sat quietly possibly in prayer or in deep meditation. Anderson sat near the cockpit looking back at his squad, his mind in deep contemplation ignoring the knots in his guts from the anxiety onto what's to come. Just seven months ago he was on Earth a recent graduate of the Alliance's Interplanetary Combative Training (ICT) earning himself the vocational code of N7 and the responsibilities mounted with it. The Alliance saw him as a leader and on his shoulders he carried the duties expected from him, not just by those within the Alliance above his command but by the marines under his command as well. They expect him to see them to the other side, yet for the twenty year old lieutenant he had no idea what was to come.

Anderson remembered the somber words of Admiral Jon Grissom who spoke at his training's commemoration, the two spoke briefly but contritely.

"Space is a vast unknown, beautiful yet dangerous." Grissom said, Anderson remembered those words. "There are always monsters hiding in the dark, we don't know who they are but we know they exist. And it's up marines like you to fight those monsters and protect all that we create."

Grissom was on the nose when he said that, call it a prophecy. Anderson briefly wondered if the admiral already knew something before anyone on Earth or even Alliance command. For almost a month later after they had met, reports had come that an unknown enemy had attacked an Alliance survey team near a mass relay, a few days after that, aliens had occupied the nearby colony, Shanxi. And now Anderson was here in a tiny drop shuttle of anxious marines ready to charge out and gunned down at anything with scales.

The lieutenant took a deep breath, he could feel how heavy his heart was pounding but his face remained hard as stone. He was nervous, he was scared, but he was ready.

The shuttle's overhead fluorescent light went from light blue to deep red giving the marines the primary signal that were nearing their drop point. And in that split second, Anderson and the rest of Echo squad were on their feet, running down their checklist readying themselves. Check armor powercells for sheilds, omni-tools for in-suit radio communication, rifles primed and ready, all routine as trained.

The lieutenant then spoke for a quick re-brief for his team. "Alright, the mission's simple, we drop in, secure the landing zone and proceed to our objective. Rules of engagement, weapons free only if met with resistance."

A loud "YES SIR!" spoke the marines in unison.

"APPROACHING DROP POINT!" said the pilot over the intercom. And the shuttle's hatch slid open.

Anderson was the first man out with a short leap to the ground the rest of Echo soon after. The time was 0100 zulu, the dead of night yet Anderson's helmet visor could scan for any movement near the area.

"Clear" spoke a private of his squad, tech-specialist Delan. One of Echo's lead riflemen was service-chief Jill Dah who was already motioning towards their primary objective. Their destination was a two story fortified building once used by the Shanxi colonists as a storage house for their farming equipment, now repurposed by the turians as a communications base to coordinate attacks on one of the main settlements of the colony. Echo squad's mission was to break into the base, take out any known guards and gather any intel such as troop movements that could be useful in liberating Shanxi.

Simple as covert ops go. The building was small enough for a six man group to break in yet knowing how bellicose their enemy is, the turians were surely going to put up a serious defense. Echo consisted of two riflemen, Chief Dah, private Rick Giles, tech specialist private Walter Delan and sniper/scout corporal William Shepard. All special operations capable marines with Anderson as squad leader.

The base was but a short trek from where they dropped off and already they could see they had their work cut out from them. "Two birds near the entrance and one on the roof." spoke Shepard spotting the turian guards from the scope of his rifle.

"Orders sir?"

Anderson was aiming down range through his scope as well, lining up his target. "Get the door, I got the roof. On your mark."

In a quick pull of the trigger, the marksman hit one turian in the head before the other turian could react, the alien took a bullet to the head a split second later, with Anderson hitting the one standing guard one the rooftop also. All happened in the silent unison. "Move up" Anderson ordered his squad.

Echo team soon rushed to the warehouse entrance. "No external surveillance." spoke Delan as he read his omni, "But expect heavy resistance inside."

Anderson gave his specialist an affirmed nod as Echo ready themselves to charge through. "Breach the door."

As ordered, Delan primed an explosive charge on the side entrance onto which they were entering and in one quick boom, the door blew through and the marines poured in. Chief Dah taking the frontman position, she already picked off three turians as they charged in through the thick smoke.

More turians came with return fire and Echo squad were quick to get to cover. Turian speech was a harsh language to comprehend but Anderson was armed with an advanced enough translator that could decipher their linguistics enough to understand that this surprise attack had them a bit uncoordinated. "Push further inside!" Anderson commanded, "Concentrate fire at the center opposing force."

As commanded Echo squad went further inside the warehouse, a hurl of bullets raising into cross fire as they proceeded. Keeping to cover, Anderson was able to pick one, to two, then three turians at a time. The turians let out smoke grenades to mask their movement but Echo's squad helmet visors were able enough to track thermal readings. Still the gunfight was difficult enough, the turians were putting up a difficult resistance. It took at least ten to fifteen minutes before the gunfight to cease but to Anderson it felt like ages but the thundering sounds of assault rifles going off quickly died down with chief Dah saying "Clear!" Private Delan seconding that and the others of Echo sounding off.

"Anyone wounded?" Anderson said moving from his cover.

"None's dead sir" said Chief Dah. "Except for the birds." She motioned her rifle at the turian bodies that littered the floor as the smoke cleared.

"Right good work Echo." said Anderson, "Delan, Shepard with me. We'll clear the second floor and search for any intel. Dah you and Giles stand guard."

On the second floor corporal Shepard took lead as the point man and all three marines swept room to room with no enemy combatants. All three marines went from room to room separately.

Anderson with his side pistol at the ready being if he had to fight close quarters went to a medium sized office area which he figured where the turians kept their main comm relay. It all seemed that no one was inside and Anderson let his guard slightly down, that was his mistake as though he checked his corners slightly but thoroughly in came from the darkness a towering turian who tackled him quick. Anderson losing his pistol in the scuffle.

The turian's heavy fist went at Anderson's jaw and though he was wearing a combat helmet, he still felt the shock from the blow and loss grasp of his weapon which slid just inches from his fingers. The less armored area of his body was his neck and that was what the turian had grabbed with its sharp talons, almost tearing at the inner lining of Anderson's suit. "Filthy human!" the turian growled. Anderson could feel himself growing weak from the decreased flow of oxygen. The alien had him pinned that he could barely move his right arm and his left arm almost imobile only for that his hand was still free as he tried to reach for his pistol. His vision began to blur but he kept his eyes to his weapon, his fingers stretching to grab. Two shots were heard and Anderson watched as the turian then let go and slid off him to the floor.

"You alright sir!?" said corporal Shepard standing at the doorway, lowering his rifle as he spoke.

Anderson was slow to get to his feet, he coughed a bit as he gasped for air but he gathered his composure and gave the corporal an assuring nod. "Thanks, I owe you."

"Part of the job sir." said Shepard, collapsing his rifle onto the holster on his back.

Delan then soon rushed in and all three marines began to search the large area room. Consoles of radio and satalette transmission showed that this was main communications hub. Specialist Delan had already linked his omni-tool to one of the computers, gathering useful data. "We've got orbital traffic coming from the Shanxi-Theta Relay." the specialist said, "Looks like the birds are a massing larger fleet presence."

"Take that data and wipe the console clean, we can't afford any leaks that we've disrupted their communications." Lieutenant Anderson commanded.

It seemed like the mission was complete and the marines were ready for extraction. Anderson radioed chief Dah in the lower level to ready for exfil when he did not notice the shot up turian, though bleeding and near death was still conscious and pulled a grenade from a concealed part of it's armor, priming it as the alien took its last breath.

"Look out grenade!" Shepard yelled.

Anderson and Delan were not quick to find suitable cover but they dove for the nearest thing they found.

BOOM!

The room tremored and smoke began to clear, "Lieutenant Anderson! What was that? Are you alright!?" the sound of Dah on the radio woke Anderson from his brief sleep. He opens his eyes to see Delan coughing but getting to his feet. He then looked to where Shepard was last seen to find him still there, laying over the turian motionless.

ONE YEAR LATER

Staff-Lieutenant Anderson sat with the other Alliance officers in his dress blues, decorated with almost every combat commendation and medals he had received during combat tours on Shanxi. Today was the first anniversary of the First Contact War and so it was a day of ceremony and speeches. He loathed it all but he had his duty, playing the part of the Alliance hero for the press and recruiting. He kept his silence as he watched Admiral Grissom give another one of his avert speeches to a massive auditorium filled audience. On the floor level to the left were an enlisted Alliance personnel all in dress uniform, to the right were veterans and families of veterans. But something caught the young lieutenant's eyes at the front row. There was a young woman with sandy brown hair and a small black dress with gold ribbon pinned over her heart and sign that she lost a loved one in the war, on her lap was a young child, a boy who looked no older than four years old. Anderson knew who's widow and son that was but he show no emotion at the sight of her as did the widow, she only kept her attention to the boisterous Admiral speaking. The child on her lap looked restless and toying the small toy ship in silence his mother gave him to keep him from causing a disturbance. The sight of that made Anderson smile a little at the child, the widow seemed to catched that for she then looked over into Anderson's direction and he then quickly went back into a blank state turning his head back towards the Admiral.

"Sacrifice is expected in every marine who swears the oath of service." Grissom spoke. "Yet we honor those who are not with us for it is in their sacrifice we are granted peace."