FIX: Feros, not Therum

"Hey…what's that thing poking around in the back? It looks like someone I've seen before, but he's all decrepit and scrawny looking and…"

GASP!

Zgamer lives again!

That's right. I'm back from my slog of tests, projects and grad school applications to bring another chapter for you patient readers. Thank you once again for all of the support you provide DinoJake and me. It means a lot to us and we hope to bring you high quality work in return.

Which may or may not be the case with this new chapter, as it has been a while, but hopefully this will continue to improve as my creative spark continues to return.

So now Kyle and the crew have joined ONI and are taking their first steps into this new and dangerous world. First, however, let's see what Kyle has in his inbox…

...

KYLE NOLAN, you have TWENTY-SIX new extranet messages. Which message would you like to read first?

...

Message TWENTY-SIX. Video message received MARCH 6th, 2683 at 8:32 PM CITADEL STANDARD TIME...

Hi Kyle. It's Kharisha...um, Khari. I'm sure you're busy, so I won't take long. Thanks again for letting me keep in touch. I've never had a human pen-pal before...not to presume you and I are just going to write back and forth mindlessly with no intention to...um...Oh Keelah, this isn't going well...

-JUMP CUT-

Hey Kyle, it's Khari. I hope everything's fine with you.

Life's ok back at the Citadel. My landlord's a real boshtet, but I can put up with it for a little longer. I met a buyer in the Lower Wards who'll give me a small discount on their apartment. It's the best I can manage with what I've scraped together. Sometimes I feel like going back to the Flotilla would solve everything, but I just…don't feel ready. There's so much more to learn out here. Quitting now would make it all pointless. Besides, my family barely has two credits to rub together as it is, so it wouldn't help much.

It seems like that Master Chief guy is everywhere lately. Half the stories on my social network feeds are about something he did, where he came from or his latest accomplishment. I guess it's a dull day if he hasn't crushed a Geth Juggernaut with his bare hands. At least those stories are better than the ones about all the women wanting to…well, I'll censor the grosser details, but let's just say that a woman from every race wants to piece of the Chief. Gah, what that Sangheilli woman said was the worst…

It must be nice to have a hero everyone looks up to. Quarians have heroes, but none that destroyed a Halo and prevented a genocidal massacre. We'd probably get a lot more respect if we did though.

Sorry. Here I am rambling about my 'exciting' life and you're off making the galaxy a better place. You wouldn't think socializing would be hard on the Citadel, but…well, it's either clingy Quarians who won't socialize outside their own race or everyone else who won't socialize with a Quarian. It's nice to have someone to talk to, even if it's a one-sided conversation like this.

I'm sure you've done a lot these last few weeks. I don't know how human soldiers handle things differently than Quarian soldiers, but I'd love to hear it all the same.

So…um, stay safe. The galaxy's a scary place, but I know you're tough enough to handle it. Let me know if I can do anything to help

...

End of message. Reply?

…

1025 Hours, March 7th, 2683

The Skies of Xawin

Strennus System, Horse Head Nebula

…

Kyle felt a pat on his shoulder as the Kodiak rumbled into its final descent. He turned to see Beckett, fully decked out in her armor, pointing to her helmet. Realizing, he put his own helmet on. It was probably best not to jump out onto a below freezing planet without full protection.

He must have been distracted again. To be fair, he had a lot on his mind. On top of being assigned to one of the most influential shadow organizations in the galaxy, there was also the nagging issue of a horde of genocidal robots on a galactic rampage. His team hadn't encountered them yet, but he was not going to be unprepared when they did. Tangilanu had been sharing extranet articles and other documents to the rest of the team to plan out effective combat strategies. Funny enough, the most helpful sources have been the glimpses of camera feeds seeing the Master Chief fighting them. Kyle doubted he could gut check a Geth Juggernaut the way the Chief could, but it couldn't hurt knowing that was a possibility.

The Kodiak rumbled again, prompting Kyle to check his gear and team. He unfolded his new M7SR-5 Submachine gun and did a quick maintenance check. The element zero chambers were functioning, the heat sink was optimal and everything else seemed to be in pristine condition. For all the hoopla about how mysterious ONI was, they had some pretty incredible hardware at their disposal. It made his usual Hurricane model seem very archaic in comparison.

He flipped the safety off, folded it up again and checked his team. Beckett, Tangilanu and La Rosa had followed his lead as they finished priming their gear. Everyone seemed comfortable at the moment. It was still weird to see his team wearing ONI insignias on their ODST armor though. He always figured the two branches to be apples and oranges, so this felt like a 'one of these things isn't like the other' situations. The change in color scheme didn't help either, as the blander ONI colors clashed against the flashier ODST logos. At least it was better than those bulky ONI marines outfits.

Which was made clearly aware as he glanced over at Falana and the other four marines across the way. Falana was busy consulting her omni-tool for intel, but the other marines just sat like deactivated LOKI droids. Kyle figured they had their own means of preparing for combat, but it was just odd. They'd be groundside soon enough, so they shouldn't wait too long.

As if Falana heard his thoughts, she switched off her omni-tool and turned to the group.

"Ten-hut!" She barked.

Like a synchronized maneuver, the ONI marines promptly stood up, unfolded their MA5G Assualt Rifles and stood at attention. Kyle motioned for his team to do the same.

"Longley," Falana said through a new TEAMCOM channel. "What's our ETA?"

"LZ's nearly clear, ma'am," Longley, the Mare Erythraeum's top pilot, replied with his tempered Southern drawl. "Buggers put up a good fight. Gonna make one more pass."

"Copy that," Falana said closing the channel and directing back to the team. "Alright. We've got a VIP trapped on this ice hole and ONI wants him back in one piece. There's a level one cold hazard between us and our objective, so I want us inside that base faster than a frog out of hot water. The longer we wait, the more time those merc bastards have to fight back."

It was weird for Kyle to be on this side of the chain of command again. Being promoted to 1st Lieutenant didn't outrank Captain Falana, so she was in command whenever she decided to join the mission. Which wouldn't be so bad if she hadn't refused to acknowledge Kyle's presence or give him an assignment. If this was her idea of payback for his little stint on Mavigon, he got the hint. At least Ackerson made it clear that he was automatically part of any mission that required ODST presence, which would pretty much be all of them from now on. He had to grin and bear it like Beckett told him to.

"All clear, ma'am," Longley called out on the TEAMCOM. "We'll keep an eye out for stragglers, but you're good to drop."

"Copy all," Falana replied before banging on the Kodiak's pilot door. "Henson, put us in front of the door."

"Roger, ma'am," the woman piloting the ship replied.

The Kodiak dipped a few more degrees as right hatch opened in front of Kyle. The snowstorm outside swirled like crazy and huge clumps of snow smacked against the shuttle's sides. It seemed like every planet Kyle had been on the last few missions was a snow planet. What he wouldn't give to be dropped into a nice, tropical environment next time…

The ONI marines lined up behind Kyle ready to jump off. He figured he should have his team do the same.

"Fall in," he ordered as Beckett, Tangilanu and La Rosa lined up on both sides of him.

"Freaking snow…" Beckett said over their private TEAMCOM channel.

"At least we won't reek of sweaty shit," La Rosa replied. "Last time I was on a hot planet, my suit smelled like my old sports locker."

"What, like it didn't already?" Tangilanu chimed as the Kodiak circled towards the door.

The ONI Broadsword fighters and Longsword bombers made quick work of the base's exterior defenses. Giant missile holes burned out of several turrets and there was no shortage of dead mercenaries littering the barricades by the door. It would have taken Kyle's team an extra half hour to muscle past all of that alone.

Snow blew away from the Kodiak as it hovered above the ground.

"Pile out! Go! Go!" Falana barked.

Kyle and his team jumped out of the Kodiak, landing with a staggered snow-cushioned thud. As they rushed to the door, he heard Falana and the marines follow suit in a more unified thud. At this rate, he wouldn't be surprised if they shit in unison too…

"Get to the door," Kyle ordered Tangilanu as the ONI marines created a defensive perimeter around the door looking for any other opposition.

"On it, boss," Tangilanu replied opening his omni-tool before coming to a stop and syncing with the door's security. At least Kyle could still feel directly in charge of his team.

"Circle back with Longley's squad and be ready for extraction," Falana said to Henson as the Kodiak ascended back into the sky.

After a few more seconds, the door's lock flashed green and slid open.

"We're in," Tanglianu called back.

Without missing a beat, the marines marched inside with Falana right behind them.

"You're welcome," Tangilanu muttered to himself as everyone else followed.

The door closed behind them as they waited for the base's airlock and temperature system to reset. Once the all clear was given, the marines moved to the main entrance to prepare for a breach. Two of them pushed some of the smaller boxes to create quick cover for their attack.

"Pavel," Falana called out to one of the marines. "Give me an estimate."

The two marines with the boxes finished what they were doing and moved to the wall next to the door. One of them unfolded a weird looking rectangular device from his back and they stretched it out against the wall. Pavel then opened his omni-tool, which Kyle was close enough to look over his shoulder and see the feed that opened up. The rectangular device was creating an infrared scan of the interior, tagging several blurred shapes moving about inside.

"Estimated ten tangos in the main area," Pavel replied with a faint Slovak accent. "Eight standard with two heavies, most likely Krogan with a possible Jiralhanae."

"Any sign of the VIP?" Falana asked.

"Negative, ma'am. I see a possible casualty on the ground, but I can't confirm."

"Alright. We're going to jump the bastards hard and fast once we breach the doors. Tangilanu, Sorkin and Farrell will start with flash bangs. I'll provide biotic cover upfront while Pavel brings up the rear to check for additional threats. La Rosa, focus on the heavies. Beckett, you're our scout. Find the VIP before any harm can come to them.

And, of course, there were no orders for Kyle.

"Nolan, cover Beckett." Beckett said through their private channel mocking Falana's voice.

"You don't need anyone covering you," he said to her.

"It would give your neglected ass something productive to do."

Kyle smirked at that.

"Gah, you guys make me sick," La Rosa groaned overhearing them.

"Ma'am!" Pavel then said to Falana with some concern.

"What?"

"They're bringing out something big in there."

Falana checked his feed as Kyle got a funny feeling about something. He noticed that the lock had now shifted from red to green and was preparing to open. Sorkin and Farrell hadn't noticed and—

"Get away from the door!" Kyle shouted too late.

The door slid open and a hail of plasma erupted from the other side. Large burning holes riddled Sorkin's body as Farrell narrowly dove out of the way.

"Defensive positions!" Falana barked opening a biotic barrier as Farrell moved back to the squad. As she did, a small circular object was flung from the door onto a crate near them.

"Flash bang!" Farrell shouted.

"Get down!" Kyle barked shielding his visor. The marines and ODST scattered as the flash bang went off. A flurry of white, blinding light filled the room as Kyle unfolded his pistol.

The grenade must have had some sort of chaff attached to it, as his electronics went fuzzy for a few seconds. Falana's garbled profanities buzzed in his ear as he reset his equipment and checked for his team's tags. All of them registered green as he peeked from the crate he hid behind.

"Move in!" A human called out from the doorway as something big hovered into the corridor.

As he suspected, the plasma fire came from a mobile defensive auto turret. From behind the device, several mercenaries ducked behind the barricades the ONI marines had made and open fired. Farrell and Pavel attempted to return fire, but the whirring of the turret forced them to duck quickly and avoid the barrage of plasma.

"ONI scum!" A Krogan mercenary shouted firing a rocket against Falana's crate.

"Take down the heavies!" Falana shouted as she shot back with her BR150HB SR Battle Rifle. A human merc next to the Krogan took a round to the head, but that frog wouldn't go down so easy. Falana threw a biotic blast at Krogan, knocking him back slightly, as she ducked back down to avoid the plasma fire.

Kyle watched as his team and the other soldiers tried their best to shoot back, but were continually suppressed by the turret and merc weapons. They couldn't wait hear trying to play whack-a-mole with these bastards. Soon they would start walking towards-

Then Kyle got an idea.

He stood up quickly and sniped a Turian merc to his left with his submachine gun before ducking back down to avoid the turret fire.

"Tangilanu!" He shouted motioning him to imitate his action.

Getting the hint, Tangilanu unfolded his M45M Double Barreled Tactical Shotgun and shot at the lead Krogan. The frog took a step back as he shields collapsed and Tangilanu ducked to avoid the turret fire.

Beckett then followed this and took out another merc next to that Krogan. Then La Rosa took a potshot before ducking. Then Farrell. Then Pavel.

Kyle smirked to himself. Maybe they could play whack-a-mole after all!

"RRAAGGHHHHH!"

…or not.

The Krogan, now shimmering with a bitoically charged barrier, charged shoulder first towards Tangilanu and Farrell. The two of them dove out of the way as the frog slammed their crate backwards. This, however, caused them to be exposed to the plasma turret's line of fire.

"Go!" Beckett shouted to Kyle firing directly at the turret, drawing its fire momentarily.

Kyle wasn't exactly sure what Beckett expected him to do, but he decided to roll with it. He rushed from his crate as the Krogan turned its attention to Tangilanu and Farrell. This was stupid, but sometimes stupid paid off better than expected. As he reached the Krogan, Kyle used his synthetic hand to throw a running punch directly into the frog's face. It connected with a fleshy thud, knocking the guy back a few steps and allowing the other two soldiers a chance to escape.

Kyle aimed his gun at the Krogan's gut, but felt something powerful stop all of his limbs at the last moment. A shimmer of biotic energy constricted around his body and lifted him into the air. Kyle glanced to the side to see that a human merc was the source of the problem here. Of course! It would be too easy if he could just do his job quickly.

With a flick of their wrist, the merc positioned Kyle right in front of the turret's line of sight. The turret whirred as it prepared to tear Kyle to shreds…

…until the biotic merc's head exploded into chunky bits. Kyle was able to see Tangilanu's shotgun was the cause of his rescue, but not before he landed onto the ground with a loud thud. After taking a second to recover, he attempted to scramble back to his feet.

Unfortunately, it still wouldn't be that simple. A large hand grabbed his leg and flung him into a nearby wall. Kyle gasped as the wind was knocked out of him again, but he had little time to react as that goddamn Krogan aimed its shotgun at his head. Kyle lifted his submachine gun hoping to shoot first.

Just then, the explosion from a biotic charge struck the Krogan from behind, knocking him onto the ground. It groaned for a moment with a low murmur before collapsing dead. So maybe Kyle wasn't completely unlucky. He looked up to see that his savior this time was…Captain Falana? Well, not exactly what he expected.

"Thanks," he said giving her a thumbs up.

She didn't reply as she put up a barrier and returned fire at the now retreating mercs.

"Get that turret down," Falana said to Tangilanu and Pavel, who were now running to reach the turret's controls. Everyone else kept the turret occupied now that they had less mercs to fight back.

Kyle hid behind a nearby crate to catch his breath and checked his teammate tags. Everyone seemed to be in good condition, with Sorkin being the only casualty so far. Poor guy didn't even get to fire a shot.

"Anytime you feel like it, lieutenant," La Rosa said as he and the other marines fired against the mercs. A human and some Kig-Yar used a pair of energy shields Roman style to help the other mercs retreat back into the main hall. Before Kyle could join in the fight, the mercs sealed the door.

"Shit!" Beckett cursed.

It wasn't all a loss though. Right as the doors closed, the turret's head tilted downward and the whirring of its gears came to a loud screech before slowly descending into silence.

"Hot damn!" Tangilanu cheered as he high fived Pavel.

"Form up!" Falana shouted to the rest of the team.

Anyone still hiding behind the crates rushed out to meet the team at the door.

"We barely made it through that," Falana continued. "But we're not done until we find the VIP. I-" She looked over to Tangilanu and Pavel. "Feel like decrypting the door lock, boys?"

"Sorry, ma'am," Pavel said as the two of them opened their omni-tools and got to work. Kyle rolled his eyes. Now she expected everyone to read her mind. At least Kyle would give his guys a hint to guess what he was thinking.

"We thinned out most of the resistance," Falana said. "But they're likely to have reinforcements waiting inside. I don't want any more surprises, so we will proceed cautiously until—"

"Shit!"

Falana turned to Pavel and Tangilanu as their omni-tools flashed red.

"What now?" She asked exasperated.

"The decryption's mutating," Tangilanu muttered. "It's going to take a few minutes to break."

"We don't have a few minutes! Do it faster."

"Well unless you want to punch your way through the door, this is the best we-."

"Oh for God's sake," Kyle muttered as he moved Pavel and Tangilanu away from the door lock. It wasn't a terribly sophisticated model of lock, with a thin layer of plastic separating the main mechanism from the circuits inside.

"Kyle, stop!" Falana said too late as he punched through the plastic with his synthetic fist and pulled out a handful of wires.

To his surprise, the doors actually started to open. Turns out he did remember a few useful tricks from those Sangheili on Shanxi.

"Hey, what do you know?" He joked as he tossed the wires aside and walked into the main room. "Sometimes you can brute force your—"

His sentence was cut off as a plasma shot whizzed past his ear, shattering his kinetic barrier.

"Get down!" Falana barked as the other marines scattered behind the door's sides.

Kyle rolled to a nearby wall and pressed his back against it. Shit! They still had a sniper at their disposal. He peeked his head out slightly to see a Kig-Yar with a Type 60 Particle Beam Rifle on the second floor of the base. He managed to duck his head back to avoid another shot aimed for his head.

"Stop it, Nolan!" Falana shouted at him.

"The bastard's on the second—"

"I see him!" She interrupted him as she looked to some people out of Kyle's line of sight. "Put out some suppressing fire for him."

Kyle thought she was referring to him before he saw two pairs of feet poke out from the side of the door. It looked like he was going to wait for whatever they had planned to happen.

"Cover!" She shouted to the TEAMCOM as she laid down a barrier and Farrell poked out to fire at the sniper. Kyle joined in with some blind fire from his Submachine gun while La Rosa sprinted towards his position. He managed to duck past two sniper shots before slamming against the wall.

"Miss me?" La Rosa teased between breaths.

"Hell no," Kyle joked as he prepped his submachine gun. "You get a good look at his position?"

"Not yet. Help me get over there."

La Rosa pointed to another wall across the room, which concerned Kyle as he noticed there was little to no cover between the two points.

"Think you're that fast?" Nolan said.

"Sure. I've done it in a couple of matches before. Should be a piece of cake."

That didn't reassure Kyle, but it would have to do.

"Alright," he said lifting his gun. "I'll give you some covering fire. Try to zigzag to stagger the bastard's line of sight-"

"Yeah yeah. I got it," La Rosa said preparing another sprint.

"Ok. One…two-"

"Grenades!" Beckett shouted through the TEAMCOM.

Before they could finish their count, three primed grenades landed by Kyle and La Ross'a feet.

"Shit!" La Rosa shouted as they ran out from their position. The grenades exploded in a flurry of fire and plasma behind them, leaving the two open for any incoming fire. Which came almost instantly as a sniper round struck La Rosa's shields near the chest.

"Gah!" La Rosa shouted following Kyle through the gunfire. They were sitting ducks out in the open.

"Move in!" Falana shouted as she put up a barrier to help the marines cover fire.

It was now or never, Kyle realized. He led La Rosa to the position they pointed out earlier as rounds impacted his newly recovered kinetic barrier. After a few more heightened seconds, the two of them dove behind the cover, narrowly dodging a missile that exploded right behind them.

"Kill that son of a bitch!" Kyle shouted as La Rosa leapt to his feet and adjusted his scope.

"Vete al diablo," La Rosa muttered in Spanish as he quickly aimed and fired.

A shriek from across the way marked a confirmed kill.

"He's down!" La Rosa said to the TEAMCOM as he got back to cover.

"Good work," Falana replied. "Get up there and—"

"Stop!" A screechy Unggoy voice from across the way shouted. "We surrender!"

Everyone was caught a little off guard as the shooting immediately stopped.

"…come again?" Falana shouted to the merc.

"No more! Please. Take the man. We don't want to die!"

"Um…ok, where's Willem?"

"He in that room. Between big crates!"

Kyle glanced ahead to see the room in question. Of course it wasbe the only door with a red lock on it. Subtlety wasn't a merc's best trait.

"Why are we doing this?" Another merc grumbled.

"Shut it, dick head! You wanna die too?"

Falana glanced over to Kyle and La Rosa before looking back to the merc again. "Throw your weapons over the ledge and come down with your hands over your head. If we see even a hint off-"

Before she could finish, two plasma rifles, a particle beam rifle and an Avenger rifle were unceremoniously chucked off the second story railing.

"We come down! No shoot."

Kyle heard Falana sigh in relief as she pointed to the stairway. "Get over there and secure them. Tangilanu and Pavel, open that door and get Willem out of here."

Kyle folded his weapon and followed La Rosa to help out.

"Nolan!" Falana said. Kyle turned and saw Falana point back towards the entrance they came from. "Go secure Sorkin for extraction."

Oh, now she gives him something to do.

"Let someone else do it," He replied. "I'm heading this mission too, you know?"

"Not while I'm around, first lieutenant," she said emphasizing that title.

Kyle walked past without acknowledging her while mercs were apprehended. Now he had to babysit the casualties. He figured he was past this point.

He entered the entranceway and found Sorkin where they left him. The plasma holes in his body had cooled down, creating a distinct brunt skin odor his helmet's filters picked up on. Thankfully, the plasma had missed Sorkin's dogtags. Not that anyone would know exactly how Sorkin died. Part of the NDA every ONI member signed classified almost every major detail of your service, from your accomplishments to your death. Granted, the plasma holes might give people a clue in Sorkin's case.

As he prepped for extraction, he heard chatter on the TEAMCOM that concerned him.

"Captain Falana..." Tangilanu's voice trailed.

"What?"

"I uh...it's Willem."

The Captain's footsteps sped walk to Tangilanu's position. The pause it caused was felt throughout the building as everyone waited for what would happen.

"Captain, wait!" Tangilanu said as her footsteps angrily walked back to where the mercs were detained.

"Care to explain?" Falana accused someone as her pistol unfolded.

"It...it was an accident?" that Unggoy merc squeaked.

A single pistol shot silenced that Unggoy immediately. Kyle stood up to stop Falana, but saw Beckett in the distance lift a hand stop him. It's not like he could make things get worse.

"Anyone want to give me a better answer?"

...

"Willem's...dead?"

The holographic image of the human politician Garoth sorrowfully asked. Major Ackerson nodded as they communicated through the Mare Erythraeum's QEC.

It had been half an hour since the ship left Xawin. Kyle and Falana waited outside of the QEC's field of vision as Ackerson relayed the bad news. Turns out that the VIP was dead before they even got to the base. The Unggoy who surrendered got overzealous and shot him in cold blood when Willem talked back at them. He had attempted to surrender hoping to explain himself, but Falana wasn't having it. The other mercs got to live, but were now pinned with an additional accessory to murder charges on top of kidnapping. Kyle figured that was only slightly better than death in retrospect, but it wouldn't help Garoth much.

"I'm sorry," Ackerson replied. "The mercs were contracted by Privateers to hold your brother for ransom. From what I was told, he was brave and defiant to the very end."

Garoth choked back his sorrow as he thought of a way to respond. Kyle knew she made up that part, but he kept quiet.

"I should have expected this," he finally said. "When we lost contact with the Majesty, I just knew he was dead. I kept hoping he was alive, but I just knew...I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"Don't be," Ackerson replied. "I would do no less for my own family. Just be sure that his killers have either been killed or will be punished with the full power of the law. I know that won't bring him back to you, but it's the best justice we can offer."

"Thank you and thank you for finding him. I guess it's better to know one way or another."

"I wholeheartedly agree. It'll take a few days to transfer him, but I give you my word he will be be returned in one piece."

"Thank you, Major. If there is any way to repay you for this, I would be more than happy to oblige."

"We'll keep that in consideration, but tend to your family first. You have our thoughts and prayers. Ackerson out."

The lights slowly shined back on as the QEC reset. Ackerson followed suit, as her 'tender face' disappeared into her usually stoic demeanor.

"What's Willem's status, Samuel?" She immediately asked the ship's VI.

"Captain Willem is currently in cryo preservation until further notice, ma'am," a synthesized voice spoke from the room's speaker.

"Make sure he's prepped for transfer when we get the chance. Sorkin too."

She exited the room without saying a word. Kyle took the hint as he and Falana followed the Major.

"I want both of you to run the men through breach simulations until they can do it with their eyes closed," Ackerson spoke to no one in particular as they kept walking.

"Yes, ma'am," Kyle replied automatically before Falana could answer. "Don't want this shit to happen again."

Ackerson lifted a hand that stopped everyone. Kyle raised an eyebrow as he watched Ackerson slowly turn to face him. After a few quiet seconds, she crossed her arms and stared him down with that icy glare of hers.

"So you admit that everything you did down there was shit?" She asked him.

Kyle looked to Falana confused, but she didn't offer any help.

"Well?"

"No," Kyle replied. "I just…we put all that work into this and we couldn't even save the VIP. And Sorkin died because of it."

The Major nodded hearing his response and smacked her lips as Kyle could see her form a reply.

"Does the ODST teach about the value of strategic political maneuvering, lieutenant?" She asked.

"Hm?"

"Thought so," Ackerson sighed as she uncrossed her arms. "I had a feeling Willem was dead before we even planned the rescue. So the 'immediate' objective was going to be a failure no matter what. However, this allowed me to consider more opportune benefits for our involvement. Garoth is an important petitioner for human interests on the Citadel. Without his direct contributions, the Council wouldn't have granted humanity so many policy concessions. So imagine how much our progress would be delayed if Garoth was overly preoccupied with a missing relative."

She silenced an incoming call and continued. "Optimistically, the best scenario would have been to bring Willem alive. Since that wouldn't be the case, we instead put extra effort into bringing closure. Those who committed the murder were punished and those associated will rot in an Alliance prison. We not only bring ease to poor Garoth's worried mind, but we now have an obligation from him to match our efforts. Losing a man in the process only increases his commitment."

"So Sorkin was just a pawn in a political maneuver," Kyle replied.

"Sorkin gave his life to protect our interests. I expect no less from you, given your division's reputation for heroic sacrifices. Now that Garoth knows what we're willing to do, he's more than willing to return an extra favor for us. It could be a deciding vote to influence Alliance Citadel politics or a simple bill to bring extra funding to human housing in the Lower Wards. Whatever the case, we can use him to benefit both ONI and general human interest."

Ackerson seemed to have another thought on that topic, but stopped herself with an abrupt pause. "Before I sound completely inconsiderate to the situation though, I do have to ask the both of you something. Why were Sorkin and Farrell standing in the way of plasma fire when the mercs fought back?

Kyle and Falana didn't reply.

"You got nothing for me?" Ackerosn replied with condescension glancing back and forth at them.

"It was an accident," Kyle answered.

"Accidents don't happen on my missions, lieutenant!" Ackerson snapped. "I can account for an act of God or whoever the hell controls inexplicable situations, but this was a simple breach mission. I brought you onto this ship to make sure accidents didn't happen. You know, that myth about the ODST boosting moral and combat quality. Far as I'm concerned, I haven't seen any of that rubbing off on my men yet."

Kyle could see Falana smirk out of the corner of his vision, but, unfortunately for Falana, Ackerson saw it too.

"Oh is that funny, Kya?" Ackerson said glaring at her, wiping that smirk clean off. "At least the lieutenant can be accounted for new guy stupidity. How long have you been training Sorkin?"

"Three months," Falana replied quickly. "I ordered him to assemble a barricade to-"

"So in those three months, Sorkin never learned how to assemble an impromptu barricade and then quickly move away from an obvious attack point? Or somehow Pavel was unable to register a plasma turret when using an infrared scanner?"

"We didn't expect—"

"You ALWAYS expect the unexpected when doing these goddamn missions!" Ackerson snapped at her raising her voice in a way Kyle had never heard before. "In case I need to remind the two of you, neither of you are in charge of these soldiers! I am! If one of them dies on a mission, you both are responsible for killing one of MY soldiers! If they do well, you're both responsible for helping one of MY soldiers do well! I'm lending them to you because I can only be in one goddamn place at a time and I expect you to be responsible for bringing everyone back from a no brainer mission!"

Kyle and Falana stood their awkwardly staring towards the ground as Ackerson stopped her rant and lowered her voice.

"From now on, first thing every morning, you will cooperatively teach every soldier how to breach from the moment they leave a shuttle until the objective is complete. And if it still doesn't help, I may have to reconsider whom I choose to lead MY troops. Because no self-respecting ONI leader would make such an amateurish mistake, whether they're a goddamn FNG or a professional. We're all going to be on the same page. Am I clear on that?"

The two leaders waited for a few seconds before nodding.

"Good…" Ackerson said softening her tone further. "Isn't it great when we're all agreeable?"

The Major's omni-tool then flashed and chimed again.

"Ackerson," she responded.

"Ma'am," Samuel's voice spoke through the tool. "You have a priority distress call that requires your immediate attention."

"Understood," she said closing her tool and looking to the other two. "I think we've said enough today. Get some rest."

The Major walked off by herself, leaving the other two to awkwardly stand in silence. Somehow, being chewed out like that was more embarrassing than any other before and he wasn't exactly sure why. He had to suck it up though. They were playing by the Major's crazy rules now.

Kyle glanced over to the Captain, who sighed through her nostrils as she looked back to him.

"So…can we start working together?" He asked.

"I don't know," Falana said crossing her arms. "Can we?"

...

"Can you what?" Patricia Henson asked retracting her welding visor.

Kyle and Beckett stood a short distance away as Henson, the other pilots and the maintenance crew worked on patching up the vehicles in the ship's vehicle bay. It was fairly bigger than the Tokyo's, but without the friendly Alliance colors to make it feel less oppressive. At least these guys were more approachable than the marines.

"We need to use a Kodiak for a regular breach exercise," Kyle replied. "Major's orders."

"The Major said you needed MY Kodiak specifically?" Henson replied waving across the bay. "We got a bunch more you can use."

"What?" A maintenance crewman quipped joining in. "Scared they're going to steal your dashboard toys, Henson?"

"No!" She shouted back before turning to Kyle. "Look, it's not my decision. Talk to Longley first. He's in charge of stuff like that. Otherwise, I got to get this prepped for the next mission. So do you mind?"

"Alright. Where is he?"

"Back there," Henson said pointing to a Broadsword nearby as she put her visor back down. "Just give the hull a tap if he doesn't answer."

"Sounds good," Kyle said following Beckett past Henson towards the Broadsword.

"Dashboard toys?" Beckett said once they were out Henson's hearing range.

"Beats me," Kyle shrugged. "Maybe she has one of those Asari dancer bobble heads like a taxi driver."

"Well she is a glorified taxi driver. Why isn't Falana here with you, again?"

"It's part of the 'cooperation' thing. I get the practice site set up and she runs the drills. Plus, you're better company than her."

"Hm, sounds like you got the better end of the deal."

Kyle nodded as they ducked under the Broadsword's wing and looked up to the cockpit. From the window, Kyle saw what looked like a cowboy hat hovering over the dashboard.

"Hello?" He called out.

No reply.

"Excuse me?" Kyle asked knocking on the hull.

The cowboy hat stirred as they heard someone stand up and the person wearing the hat looked over the cockpit.

"Sorry, sir," the man replied with that familiar tempered drawl Kyle had heard before. "Get carried away when I'm takin' a break. One sec."

The man hopped over the other side of the cockpit to a ladder and climbed down. He was a rather tall person, maybe a few inches more than Kyle. His hair was grown out enough to slick into a blowback style. A healed over cut on his lip poked through his maintained stubble as he looked up and switched off his earpiece's music function.

"It's all good," Kyle said as the man exited the ship and walked past them. "Longley, right?"

"Correct-a-mundo," Longley replied picking up a jacket decorated with badges draped over the wing's tip. "Devon Longley. How can I help ya?"

"You in charge of coordinating drills here?"

"No. Who said I was?"

"They did," Kyle said pointing back to Henson and the others.

"Did they?" Longley said rolling his eyes and tilting his head up to shout out. "Henson, you sonna bitch!"

"Can't hear you!" Henson called back.

"You gonna hear me when I wedge my pointy boot up your asshole!"

"That's sounds like gender discrimination to me!"

"This here's an equal opportunity hangar! I kick my boot up anyone's ass if they give me lip and I got the protected right to do it! Where the hell's Carter?"
"Staff meeting with the mobile armor crew! You're in charge when he's gone!"

"Well that's all I needed to know! Thank you very much!"

"Eat a dick and you're welcome!"

Longley finished as he directed back to Kyle and Beckett, who were definitely amused by the interaction. "That's what friends are for, am I right?" Longley joked. "Alright look, technically Carter approves stuff in the hangar, but I'll relay to him whatever you need. So what can I do?"

"We just need to borrow a Kodiak and partition part of the hangar for morning breach drills," Beckett said.

"Breach drills? Ah, guess the Major chewed ya out about the mission."

Kyle grumbled quietly in reply.

"Yup, thought so. One of them anal types, she is. 'Ya lose a pilot, yer loosin' one of MY pilots,'" Longley said imitating Ackerson in his drawl as he picked up some tools.

"You got that same speech, too?" Kyle said recognizing that phrase.

"First mission in charge after the Spooks conscripted me," Longley replied picking up a tool kit. "Assumin' that's how y'all joined up too, right? Anyway, lost a pilot fightin' a squad of Batarian fighters in some armpit of space. There weren't anythin' I could do to stop it, but I got the talk anyway. And believe me, it ain't just bark when she says that stuff. You should've seen what she did to the guy I got the job from."

Kyle nodded as they followed Longley back to the Longsword. He still remembered executing those crime ring bosses at her order. She wasn't afraid to shed blood, even if not by her own hands. He doubted she would actually kill crewmembers though.

"Beauty, ain't she?" Longley said setting his tools by the ship door and admiring the frame.

"Guess so," Beckett replied looking at the ship. "You don't see many Longswords on other Alliance ships."

"Yeah. Most everyone switched to those new lighter crafts cause they're 'cost efficient.' You want a real ship to get you through a mission though, you use a Broadsword or Longsword."

"Why's that?"

"Ya know. More durable, better weaponry, stronger anti-GARDIAN capabilities..."

"Easier to shoot down," Kyle added noticing the size.

"Not with the right pilot, they ain't. Give it to a cowboy like me and I'll waltz circles around any MAC cannon or 'standard' fighter craft you can throw at me."

"Yeah about that," Kyle said pointing to Longley's hat. "Does Ackerson let you wear that on missions?"

"Only when she can't see me," Longley said tipping the hat up as he scraped some plasma burns. "Makes me feel closer to home."

"Where's that?"

"Austin Prime, New Republic of Texas. Or was the accent a giveaway?"

"I was going to guess that or Dallas," Beckett added.

Longley chuckled and smirked glancing towards her. "The lady knows her Texas."

"I've met a few guys from Austin on a previous ship. Not my type, but-"

"Anyway," Kyle said hoping to bring the conversation back to the main point. "Think we can run the drills here?"

Longley finished his cleaning and thought it over. "Well, I'll have to speak to Carter but I think we can manage it. You just got to keep out of our way when we do our maintenance routines."

Kyle sighed in relief. "Good."

"Y'all got a pilot in mind for the drill?"

"Guess it depends on whose Kodiak we can use."

"That doesn't matter," Longley scoffed hearing that. "Ackerson lends them to Carter, Carter lends them to me and I lend them to whom I choose. So if I were to specifically say that I needed to pilot 'Henson's Kodiak' for yer drill, I could do it in a heartbeat."

"Are you volunteering?"

"Eh, I dunno," Longley shrugged before pausing. "...ah what the hell, sure. Just gimme the time and I'll be there."

"Will do-" Kyle said as his omni-tool beeped and he replied. "Nolan here."

"We need you in the briefing room," Falana's voice replied. "A priority assignment just came in."

Kyle motioned for Beckett to follow him to the elevator. He gave a thumbs up to Longley as they walked, who returned it with his own as he adjusted his hat to get back to work.

"Well the break was nice while it lasted," Beckett said as she walked beside Kyle.

Kyle nodded as he returned to the comm. call. "Alright, where do they want us?"

"Well…" Falana paused as he heard her check a file. "…ever been to Feros?"

...

Codex Entry (Alliance): Military – 'Sword' Fighters

The 'Sword' division of fighter craft, manufactured by the Martian based company Misriah Armory, has been the dominant starfighter for human naval combat for many year. An evolution from the YSS-1000 'Sabre' starfighters, they served as the backbone for aerial and interstellar combat during the Human-Covenant War.

The primary model for space combat is currently the F-47 Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter, designated the 'Broadsword.' Built to withstand the most extreme zero gravity conditions, these fighters are equipped with two mass accelerator ASW guns and missile launchers that can combat both starfighters and large scale cruisers. With its powerful engines and strong frame to boost, the Longsword rivals the Sangheilli Seraph fighter as the strongest individually piloted spacecraft in Citadel space.

The secondary model is the GA-TL7 Interceptor, designated as the 'Longsword-class.' A standard Longsword fighter can house up to four crewmembers to maintain the variety of weapons onboard, including two Rotary mass accelerator cannons, an ASW gun, ASGM-20 missiles, a Hyper Ventral Gun and other customizable armaments. Because of this increase in arsenal, and the ship's notable size compared to the Broadsword, Longswords are often used for support in their respective missions. Often Longswords will be seen as bombers to soften defenses for ground forces or for other Broadswords. Nonetheless, a Broadsword is perfectly capable of withstanding full attacks on its own.

Following the Human-Covenant War, however, other companies worked overtime to produce newer and more affordable craft that implemented mass effect technology in different ways. Because of this, the 'Sword' models have fallen out of grace from mainstay Alliance use. However, special operation forces, such as the Office of Naval Intelligence, continue to use these models for high stakes operations and 'Swords' are often brought in for large scale battles when the demand is needed.

...

And with that, this chapter is concluded. Now we're off to catch up with the Chief's trail and hopefully meet back up with TLS for some good fun. Stay tuned. I promise the next chapter will come sooner than before.