A/N:

Apologies for the late update, my reminder never reminded and all of a sudden I was staring at my calendar, knowing that I'd forgotten to do something last weekend.
Anyways, without further ado: We're off!

Chapter 6

"Humans. They are not the cowering wretches we were promised! They stand. They are unruly, and therefore cannot be ruled. To challenge them is to court death."

— The Other, Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

April 5th, 2216

"Oh my…" Said Jena Althon, an Asari, after the Human press conference had finished.

Despite the fact that they were a separate entity entirely, and their known brutality in the Human-Turian war, the Humans and the Alliance were quite known in Citadel Space. Many of their news networks were broadcasted on the larger, more populated Council worlds, and of course the Citadel itself. Ever since news had hit the Citadel that the Human colony, Mindoir, had been attacked, almost everyone looked to the Alliance News Network, waiting to see just what the Humans would do. Most of the Citadel races were especially curious, as the Humans were notorious for their over-the-top reactions to small things, such as when a mercenary organization, the 'Black Stars', had attempted to rob an Alliance world, with a particularly large Eezo pool - which was a more regular occurrence in Council-space than the Citadel wished to admit. The Humans had responded to that, by wiping out the entire mercenary organization. Further more, when a Quarian ambassador had been insulted during a delegation to the Citadel, nearly every Human on the station had formed together to create a mass-riot, which had kept C-Sec occupied for several hours.

Now, the humans sought to 'top' their still-growing list of over-reactions, by not only expressing the desire to specifically strike at the Batarian worlds with Human slaves, but they would attempt to rescue every, and any slave they came across? That alone seemed ludicrous, even the Citadel - with its galaxy-spanning might - couldn't - wouldn't! - attempt something like that. The Humans, powerful and unorthodox as they may be, were setting themselves up for failure by setting these goals.

"Do you truly think they will attempt this?" Jena asked of her bondmate, it took her a half second to realize her mistake, as Joban - a Turian - was a veteran of the Human-Turian war, and, though he mostly kept his opinions to himself, was never afraid of saying what he - and, coincidentally, half of the Turians in Citadel Space - thought of Humans, if asked.

"They're brutes, Jena." Said Joban, "We've already seen how they fight. They'll attempt to look nice, and they will attempt to rescue their people, but the moment that becomes too difficult, or too taxing, they'll resort to simply dropping nuclear weapons on the Batarians, and 'calling it even'." He told her, the faux destruction of Palaven was a very sore point with the Human-Turian War veterans. Many had called the Humans' honor into question, after all was 'said and done', as the Humans would say, the Turians questioned the Honor and Morality, of a race who would first bomb dozens of cities, and two and a half million non-combatants to oblivion, and go on to fool everyone into thinking they had killed literally billions. The retired Human, the one who had led the race at the time, defended his actions whole-heartedly, though at every chance, he did say the choice to trick everyone into thinking his people would drop the Planet Destroyers was one he would regret until the day he died. "This will last until the Humans grow bored with the Batarians… Then they'll just call it 'mission accomplished', drop a few nuclear weapons in celebration, and leave everyone's whose lives they've ruined to fend for themselves." He stated, bitterly.

"I always thought the Humans were a bit more noble than that… Father." Said the two's only daughter, Wiveryn, Jena mentally sighed at her daughter's naiveté, she never did know, even after thirty years - a long time for Turians, a blink of an eye for Asari - when to hold her tongue around her father, "I mean… Despite the power they wield, they haven't once sought out conflict… They've only ever reacted… They reacted in the Human-Turian war… they reacted in the Eclipse war… they reacted during the Citadel Riots… And they're reacting now." She argued, "Even if they cannot accomplish their goals, I do not truly think they would resort to dropping such destructive weapons, needlessly." She finished.

John-S2-15 sat down in the mess hall, on Planet Sparta, in SIGMA Delta Company base. Around him, the mess hall was abuzz with conversation and activity. The lunch break was the SIGMA II trainee's one chance at a break, and they all took advantage of it, every time, every day. The ceiling, while not too high, was high up enough that the sounds of conversation would hit and bounce off of it, and echo around the room, making it seem much louder than it really was. The pale yellow walls were brightened to warmer appearing colors by the artificial lighting, but the bare white, linoleum floors were just as cold as the winter air.

John heard the clanking of a tray next to him, and he saw one of his closer friends sit down. He knew what the conversation's topic would be, and the teen's words only confirmed John's prediction.

"So what was it like, John?" Asked Justin-S2-99, "being in combat?" He elaborated, as another tray clunked onto the table, on the other side of John.

It had only been a few days since John and Ducard had arrived home at Sparta, but they'd been gone a week longer than expected, assisting the Alliance forces that had arrived to liberate Mindoir. The unforeseen turn of events had given John an unexpected 'advantage', over his fellow SIGMA II's: He was the only one, out of the entire SIGMA II program, to have seen actual, live-fire, combat. He'd been a practical celebrity, ever since then, everyone wanting to know what it was like, to be just an inch from death, what the feeling was like, killing people, and how it felt to actually be serving the Human race, instead of the 24/7 combat and training exercises the child soldiers underwent.

John always gave the same answer, to the others, and to his best friends, "It's not something I enjoyed." He told Justin, "I didn't revel in the feeling of killing people… And I didn't quite like the feeling of getting shot at." He said, before a few moment's pause, "and make no mistake about it. Lives were lost." He remembered the Quarian girl, crying over her mother's corpse. A few moments' pause, "but… I will say, many more lives were saved than were lost, while we waited for Alliance reinforcements… The look on their faces, when I'd save them from the explosive collars, from when my bullets killed the men pointing guns at their families…" John let a small smile grow on his lips, though it failed to reach his eyes, "It'll be something I'll never forget." he said, "It made me realize why the Ones are doing this to us, every day. It made me realize the validity of our training… And it made me realize just how much we matter." The SIGMA Teen continued, "because if I'm this effective - if we all are this effective - during our teenage years, when our bodies are still changing… Imagine how effective we'll be when we become adults… When we head off to Titan station and get our augmentations…" He mused.

And it wasn't a lie; after Mindoir, John had a newfound sense of pride in his species. For his entire life as a SIGMA II trainee, he'd wondered if what the Alliance had approved - the essential kidnapping and forced conscription into the military - was worth the endless hours of pain and agony that had come with it. For the longest time, John had no true opinion, he understood why the SIGMA II's had been made: They needed soldiers that were better than the best, especially after the SIGMA I casualty counts had been revealed, after the Second Contact War. He knew that, the next logical choice, would be to take in kids, and train them from day one to be nothing but killing vectors, who eat, sleep, and breathe battle. But he could never form an opinion on if it was justified, if it was right to have kidnapped thousands of children with the purpose of turning them into deadly warriors. After Mindoir, and in spite of the horrors he'd seen the Batarians commit, John understood that what the Alliance was doing was right.

The SIGMA I's were great - greater than great - but they'd taken unacceptable casualties during the Second Contact War; and when they'd been pit against the Turian SIGMA's - which the Alliance hadn't ever been able to find solid evidence to pin against the Hierarchy, other than soldier's accounts and helmet-cam footage, that the Turians dismissed as doctored - they'd been showed that the had already made their own versions of our best, and they proceeded to clash with our soldiers, and regularly defeat them! Sure, the SIGMAs had done very well against the Turian SIGMAs, and held their ground in many theatres of war, but the fact remained that the Turian SIGMAs were far more numerous, and therefore they used that to defeat them, and almost universally win against the smaller squads and teams of SIGMA I's. So the Alliance had to come up with something to counter the alien Super Soldiers.

The Alliance's solution, response, and counter, to the Turian Super Soldiers would be to take children - orphans of the war, no less - and train them, from day one, to become the most efficient killers known to Human kind. Since day one, the SIGMA II's were treated like the lowest possible life form, they were repeatedly broken, in body and spirit, so their instructors and trainers could reshape them into fierce warriors, and John's experiences on Mindoir had told him, and the rest of the Alliance, that it was working.

The Alliance had already contacted many SIGMA instructors, simply wondering if the II's would be ready for live-fire 'training', in the blitzkrieg the Alliance was about to conduct upon the Batarians. Nothing was concrete, but rumors had started flying among the SIGMA Teens, many believed that the instructors - after seeing the footage, and reading the reports of John's performance, and actions - may actually be prone to allow it. The II's were secretly giddy, they may actually have a chance to prove themselves to the adults, to the I's.

"So… It's not something to enjoy, but something you're proud of?" Asked George, his voice deepening with puberty, and his accent only ever deciding to thicken as time went on.

"Kind of." Said John, "I'm only proud of the fact that I helped, and, according to Ducard, I was instrumental in most of the fronts I assisted in. I'm not proud of any of the kills I got." He stated, "or the deaths that happened because of my lack of skill." His tone was firm.

"I see… So do you think the instructors will let us join in, on the Batarian war?" Justin asked.

John shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not." He said, after he finished his food, and sat back, "I won't be surprised any way." He finally decided, "if they let us go in, we'll either be on defense, or on the frontlines. Either way, we won't be going in with the marines."

"What makes you figure?"

"Because we're still a heavily guarded secret… the Ones were revealed back in the SCW, but that was out of necessity, because the Turians almost literally bombed our morale to new lows, after New York." John responded, "the Alliance didn't want to reveal the Ones, and they don't want to reveal us. So if we get deployed, we'll be on our own fronts, away from the marines. We might… might be working with the Death Dealers… Or the N7, but that's as unlikely as us seeing action with the marines." He explained.

George and Justin nodded, George spoke, "It'll be interesting anyway… Back in the Second Contact War, we blindsided the entire Galaxy, with our technology, with our methods… A lot of people say that's why we won…" He said, "but now? The Batarians, the galaxy, more or less, knows how the Alliance Military operates. They'll have a general idea on how to counter us, our ships, our soldiers… etcetera." He said, "so we may be in for a tougher fight."

John shook his head, "the Turians are a lot like us, they're built for the military. Conscripted service is mandatory for everyone when they hit sixteen… The Batarians have CS, yes, but their military isn't as dedicated as the Turians', or ours." He said, "half of their military is brainwashed slaves… A fourth is conscripted soldiers who don't want to be in it… And the last portion are experience-starved soldiers who want to be in it, but haven't seen combat in so long that they're pretty damn rusty." He explained, "so for the first few days, it'll be a blitzkrieg, they won't see it coming, and we'll burn through their cities, and liberate their slaves. Then, when they regroup and give us a coordinated response, we'll have already conquered so much of their territory and given such deep blows to their morale, that they'll be just as likely to give up, and surrender, as they will be to fight us to the bitter end." He finished.

George nodded, and slowly the conversation melted down to normal things, and after a while, the three got into their usual debate about the advantages of sniper rifles, versus assault rifles.

"Sir, Christopher McGraw, is here to see you." Said Jack Harper's personal Artificial Intelligence, interrupting Harper's reading of reports from the Teltin project.

"Let him in." Said Harper, calmly, as he closed the report.

A moment later, and the door to Harper's personal office opened, temporarily breaking the nearly jet-black image of his room. The floor and ceiling was made of a dark, but reflective material, which, after reflecting the dying light of the system's star, gave whomever walked into the room the feeling of literally walking on space. Of course, very few, apart from McGraw and Harper, had ever actually walked in the room.

"I forget, do I call you 'Timmy' or 'Jack'…?" Asked McGraw, with a smile on his face and voice, as he sat down in his chair, across from the table, which Harper usually found himself sitting at.

"We've been over this, Chris." Said Harper, who too, was smiling, "No one but you, I, and Eva can enter this room or hear its conversations." He told the man, "to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.

"Heard about the Mindoir attack?" Chris asked, "Ever since John Two Fifteen's performance, they're thinking of deploying the SIGMA II's… After, of course, they get their first-augs… Which should be soon, now that I think about it." Chris muttered, trying to remember the date he'd been supplied.

"They are?" Asked Harper, his deep, but calm voice not betraying his disbelief, "The Alliance is thinking of deploying the six hundred twelve fourteen year olds into a war?"

"They may be fourteen, but I heard John Doe-S2-1 kicked the living hell out of a few marines, so they're no where near 'normal' kids." Chris retorted, "but yes, the Alliance is seriously considering seeing if their seven year investments are paying off."

"And what do you think?" Harper asked.

"I think it's a perfect time to initiate Project Vanguard." Chris stated, bluntly.

This gave Harper pause, it hadn't been Chris or Harper to have drawn up the plans for Vanguard, but rather one of the men from the Titan Cell, they both knew that the mere beginning of the project would have enormous repercussions, far too numerous to count, but each one - very far down the line - having a huge impact on the way the Galaxy is recognized, today.

"You realize… That we cannot undo the beginning of Vanguard." Harper stated.

"You and I both know what we saw on Mars." Chris stated, "What we found. If we don't want everything we know to be burned in less than a century, we need to begin Vanguard and start the process… The way I see it, this is the perfect way and perfect time to initiate it." He stated.

"Do you believe that they are ready?" Asked Harper, "you've seen the estimates… If they all outlast Vanguard, it will take decades to recover from it, possibly too long." He stated.

"If 'they' come, during the post-recovery from Vanguard, it'll be all the easier to sift back into the right economies… Get the civilians back into the right mindset… Get the lines into the right lengths… And the participants into the right training." McGraw responded. "the Titan Cell has already told me that the scanners are nearing fifty percent completion… And Gladys is telling me she's a quarter of the way through finding His notes." He said, before his tone became deadly serious. "I still don't think we should have anything to do with Him or anything that had something to do with him. He's bad news, Jack. He isn't what's right for his galaxy, neither are… His suggestions."

Harper nodded, "Right and wrong, are thrown right out of the window, when extinction is at hand… Whyte said it best… About how, when faced with extinction, all alternatives are preferable." He stated.

McGraw nodded, "But... Edward?" He asked, "we can't trust him, Jacky. Not after what we found there."

"The simple fact of the matter is, Chris, he's the best source we have. Outside of actually going out and hunting one down, he's all we've got." A pause, , "Even so, we can't focus on Edward right now, if Vanguard truly is to be implemented, I'm more than certain the fools in the Citadel will take up the extinction prevention mindset, as well." He added.

Chris sighed deeply. "If Vanguard works, they won't have much choice, will they?" He asked, as he opened up his smart watch, "any last words?" He asked.

Harper smiled, "Semel ad contritionem." He said.

McGraw chuckled, "Donec ad finem."

"So, lord Hoorn, the Humans have played their card." Said Heiran Sina, the high-Commander for the Hegemony's Armed Forces. Sina was, to put it lightly, in charge of the ten million 'true' Batarian soldiers, as well as the twenty six million that make up the Batarian Slave Corps, the numbers breaking the record for the largest the Corps had ever been.

"Hmph…" Grunted Lord Seriul Hoorn, the current High Chancellor of the Batarian Hegemony, he had first and last say in everything the Hegemony did, on official or deniable scales. "the Humans wouldn't dare." He stated, "the Citadel Council warned them, during their Mercenary Wars, that if they even thought of mounting incursions into Citadel Territory, even to retaliate against their enemies, the Council would not accept it." He explained.

Sina nodded, "That is true… But that was when the Humans were killing mercenaries… They say they have proof that we financed the Mindoir subjugation…" He left the sentence hanging.

Hoorn shook his head, "The Mysterious One showed us his plans. They were so perfect a child could have executed them and not get caught. There is no possible way they found us." He growled.

"But... They made the threat... They promised their people they would come... Even The Mysterious One can't stop that... They will come, sire."

Hoorn snarled, "They will not attack the revered lands of the Hegemony!" He roared, "lest they feel the raw might of the Citadel Council, along with our strength!"

"But the Humans, a decade ago, proved they do not fear anything, least of all the Council, who they brutalized in direct warfare!" Sina stated, "if you do not wish to believe me, at least allow me to send the Defender Fleet to the reception colonies, the ones that we sent the Humans to." The High Commander asked, the slightest hint of plea in his tone.

Hoorn glared daggers at Sina, "Fine." He stated, "even though, beyond the shadow of a doubt, I know the Humans were bluffing… I shall allow it." He said, "The Defender and the Hegemony's First fleets will be spread out to Shelinaa, Hasin, and Sior." He said, before he waved away the High Commander.

"Thank you, lord." Sina bowed, "you will not regret this."

"I already do." He snarled.

"Just stay quiet guys, I think we're landing." Said another Human, as the ship began shuddering to a halt.

Alfonse Jordan sighed, they'd been sailing through the void for days now. This ship - he'd heard - held at least sixteen thousand Humans, and several hundred Quarians. He'd been separated from his wife days ago, he didn't know if she'd been saved by the Alliance, or she'd died, he'd been hoping and praying for the former. Alfonse looked up as he felt the ship stop moving altogether, and he heard several men enter the cargo bay they'd all been thrown into. He saw their sickly yellow skin and shuddered, he couldn't believe these men, had taken him and thousands of other Humans hostage, what's more, he couldn't believe they'd killed hundreds, no, he realized, they'd had to have killed thousands of his brothers in the Alliance Marines.

The Batarians lifted their weapons, and fired into the air, the slaves - no! he reminded himself, they were Humans, and Quarians of the Alliance - in the room all screamed and ducked their heads.

"Congratulations, Humans and Quarians of the Alliance!" Shouted a Batarian, as they began leading Humans and Quarians out of the room, the former in rags and the latter in damaged suits. "As of this moment, you are no longer the 'free men and women' your governments made you all out to be… You are no longer the people of the species that defeated the Turian Hierarchy… That hunted mercenaries to near extinction… You are SLAVES!"He roared, "Of the Batarian Hegemony! You are no longer people, you are no longer free, you are no longer living beings! You are property, to be bought and sold at real people's leisure!" He sounded more and more smug as he continued shouting, Alfonse couldn't stand them. "I know for a fact… That some of you may wish to rebel… To refuse!" He began, almost mirroring Alfonse's thoughts, "Allow me to show you, exactly how much you are worth, and how much we value you as individuals…" He waited a moment, then then activated his Omni-too, suddenly, three Humans began screaming and in great amounts of pain, their collars attacking their nervous systems and bringing them to a great, terrible, and painfully slow death. "You are worth nothing! We will not hesitate to kill you with a moment's notice!" He roared, killing another, a Quarian, just to prove his point. "Any thoughts of rebellion, we will stamp out of you! Any thoughts of home, we will burn from your minds! Any thoughts of family, we will pollute with hatred! You are nothing, you are the dirt beneath our feet!" He roared, as Alfonse was told to get to his feet.

When Alfonse passed the Batarian, he stopped in his tracks, much to the Batarian's delight.

"Looks like we have our first volunteer, for rebellion." He grinned, "What are your last words, Slave?!" He demanded.

"I'm not rebelling." Said Alfonse, "You'll kill me before I even leave this ship, and then you'll keep the rest of us for as long as the Systems Alliance allows you to… But let me tell you this… They won't allow you to keep us as your slaves." He stated, "We are Humans… Entire eras, we had our own slaves. Those eras were hell for the slave owners… I'll tell you that." He stated, "When you decided to take in the Human race as slaves… You started a war, the likes of which you've never seen… You may have six seconds of glory, while we're under your rule… But even as I speak…" The Batarian sneered as he lifted his rifle, "My people… Who've known war for their entire history… They're coming… And Hell is following them." His life was ended the moment he finished.

"Director, Director Serios is here." Said a woman, as she walked into the Alliance Director for Affair's office, aboard the mighty Arcturus Station.

"Send him in." Said Director Tyson, Director Jonathan Serios had been the Alliance Director for Defense for twenty years now, he was the DfD during the Second Contact War, and many of his tactical decisions during the Palaven Invasion had saved lives, and had turned battles. He'd been the one, when the Turians had deployed their 'Ghosts', to make the decision to spread out the severely outnumbered SIGMA I's as far as they could, while retaining effectiveness; this ended up costing the Turians victory in several cities, and had kept the Alliance their foothold on Palaven, while the Alpha Team worked to bring the war to an end. Jason Whyte, the Director for Affairs during the war, had much respect for the man, and now the man was coming in with his decision to deploy the SIGMA II's during what was quickly becoming called the 'Batarian War'.

He entered Tyson's office, he was a short man, four inches below the average Human Male height of six feet, even. His skin was pale, but not sickly so, it had been the result of staying at the station for extended periods. His low-cut, dark brown hair was combed backwards, and Tyson could see in his dark green eyes that he meant business.

"Jonathan, how nice to see you." Said Tyson, as he stood up and extended his hand.

"Bill." Was Serios' quick response. Serios was a no-nonsense guy, he was blunt and straight to the point, and many thought that that was what had contributed to the overall Human victories upon Palaven.

"How's Betty, and Joseph?" Asked Tyson, as he and Serios sat down.

"Well, Betty's expected to give birth any day now, and Joseph's telling all his friends about how much fun his kid brother will be." Said Serios.

Tyson nodded, "That's good." He said, and after a moment's pause, "But, we both know we're not here to talk about our kids."

Serios nodded as well, "Quite." He said, "Tell me, Tyson, when are the II's expected to undergo the Pharmaceutical Augmentations, as outlined in McGraw's formulae?" He asked.

"Next week, if memory serves." Tyson responded.

"A week's time… And all of them will take their second step." Said Serios, "I believe, and it is the same sentiments of my advisors and of Trent, that we should only deploy them after these augmentations." He stated.

Tyson nodded, "You believe they are ready?"

"Yes." Said Serios, "The Pharmaceutical augmentations will be enough to make them 'light' super soldiers, and when we give them a week to recover and adapt, we deploy them." He explained, "That one's performance… John-S2-15... He hasn't been augmented yet, either, and he matched entire squads of Special Forces operatives, and outperformed several." He said, "and Trent and the Instructors have assured me that his skill level was the average for the SIGMA II's… So that means that there are a six hundred eleven more of them, waiting to be deployed, and waiting to burn down some poor Batarian's planet." He finished.

Tyson nodded, "Alright then, I'll get the paperwork drafted up." He said, "How are our fleets doing? When will they be ready to strike?" He asked.

"The Fast-Attack Fleet will be ready within the hour to push the Hegemony forces from their Relay, and the Relay Movers will be ready within two, to freeze the system." He said, "The first and Second fleets will all be ready the moment the systems get frozen. I've taken the liberty of assigning the Tuning Task Force-Fleet, to spearhead the attack." He added.

"The Tuning Task Force-Fleet?" Asked Tyson, only slightly surprised, the Tuning Task Force-Fleet was a fleet of one hundred ships, comprised solely of Frigates, Destroyers, fifteen Dreadnoughts, five Carriers, and one flagship, all armed with the latest in Alliance naval weapons, and armored with Tuning Armor, which had been the number one reason many in the armed forces called the fleet the 'Unstoppable Force' Fleet, because Tuning Metals were, in essence, indestructible. The Alliance had done hundreds of tests on a decommissioned Tuning Ship, to learn the limits of Tuning Armor; they'd finally learned that the only thing - that Humans had, at least - that could pierce Tuning Armor were the Mk. 3 Orbital Defense Platforms, that were stationed above Earth. The Mk. 3 ODP's were capable of firing at ten percent the speed of light, nearly thirty million meters per second, which was the maximum capability, even now, for any Alliance magnetic accelerator weapon. The Mk. 3 OPD that had fired upon the ship had hit it with the force of over sixty five thousand megatons of TNT, and had torn the ship in two as a result. "You sure the Batarians warrant such a military operation?" He asked.

"It was Director Whyte, that said any threats to Earth, its children the Humans, and its brothers and sisters, our colonies, should be dealt with extreme prejudice." Said Serios, "Deploying the Tuning Task Force-Fleet, is proving that we'll keep our end of the deal we made long ago, with the people of the Systems Alliance."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Tyson asked, though he was sure he knew.

"To destroy anyone that would dare harm Humanity, the Quarians, or the Systems Alliance." Serios stated.