Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect.


Chapter 2: Arrival

September 1st, 2657 G.S.T

Unknown System

In orbit of the fifth planet from the local star

Palavan's Fist

Finally, thought Vice Admiral Viktor Cassius, with some relief and no small amount of petulance as he read the report provided by the Salarian Corvette, Silent Steps, which had been on a scouting mission. After twelve days parked in orbit over the newly discovered world, they have finally discovered the system where the newcomers are hiding themselves.

Viktor sighed in aggravation. Well did he remember the day when his fleet passed through the relay and into this new star system. The starship utilized by the unknowns had not a single ounce of Eezo; as such, Viktor felt perfectly justified in believing that the newcomers had no FTL capabilities and would thus be confined to their home system. Viktor fully expected to waltz right through the relay, destroy any space-borne defenses, and pacify the enemy homeworld in a devastating shock-and-awe campaign that would leave them speechless and helpless before the combined might of the Citadel Council, and then the Hierarchy would have had a new client race, ready and willing to serve their interests.

Instead, what did happen was they discovered this new star system, devoid of any kind of habitation; no homeworld, no space habitats, no colonies, and no outposts. Nothing whatsoever, except the feelings of extreme humiliation and mortification Viktor felt upon learning that all his (reasonable!) assumptions concerning the newcomers were wrong. Good thing he kept his assumptions to himself, otherwise he would have lost face to his subordinates.

So, with this system uninhabited, Viktor needed to send scouts to nearby star systems, and try and locate the newcomers' homesystem or colony; the fact that one of their ships had traveled to this system and jumped through the relay indicates that they must be close by. The problem with scouting, however, lies in the sheer number of prospective systems that needed to be canvassed, and fuel. When a starship is travelling at interplanetary distances, fuel consumption is quite manageable, almost negligible, but when travelling faster-than-light, fuel is rapidly burned away; so quickly, in fact, that a trip from one end of a star cluster to another can lead to a ship becoming dead in the void. Travelling throughout settled regions of the galaxy is simple, as there are refueling stations in every star system in Citadel Space; but when operating in deep space, resupply ships are of vital importance for a fleet.

But even the resupply ships themselves have only a finite amount of resources to sustain the fleet; expecting the newcomers to be confined to their homesystem, Viktor's superiors assigned only the required amount of resupply ships needed to sustain the fleet performing in-system interplanetary operations. So, the need to explore the surrounding star systems inevitably put a crimp into their plans for the operation. Canvassing the nearby systems with all of the ships at his disposal would ideally be faster, but doing so would most likely waste all of their fuel reserves, and the next convoy of resupply ships aren't due to arrive until nineteen to twenty days from now.

So, Viktor realized that he needed to use his fuel reserves wisely and economically.

Viktor had assigned the two Salarian corvettes to scout the nearby systems and locate any sign of the newcomers. Viktor knew that two starships exploring an entire star cluster would be a time-consuming process, but he felt that it was the best option; corvettes are two-and-a-half times faster than the average Citadel Council starship in FTL, and they consume less fuel. Not only that, but their stealth capabilities would prove useful in gathering Intel on the newcomers once they do find them. But while the corvettes were away on their mission, the Pacification Fleet had nothing to do but idle about in-system. To conserve fuel, Viktor ordered the fleet to enter geosynchronous orbit of the habitable world and shut down primary thrusters, leaving secondary thrusters online to adjust orbital trajectories as needed.

And for twelve days, the fleet waited.

Viktor was pulled out of his musings when the door to the briefing room was opened, and an Asari, Salarian, and Turian entered; the senior officers tasked with commanding the Pacification Fleet, and of ensuring the success of the operation.

Admiral Samus Tua'rann is an Asari matriarch six-hundred and thirty-two years old; she is the commander of the Asari forces in the pacification Fleet, and is a veteran of many anti-piracy campaigns and skirmishes against the Yahg Empire. Promoted to Admiral at the age of three-hundred and fifteen (the youngest Asari Admiral in Galactic history), she became famous for turning back a Yahg Invasion three-hundred and seventeen years ago, with minimal casualties to her battle-group. She is considered to be a tactical genius, never losing a battle.

Admiral Lorik Vazz is a Salarian forty-six years old; he is the commander of the Salarian forces in the Pacification Fleet and is well known to be a strategic genius, tempered by mediocre tactical skills. He has turned down the top position in the Salarian Navy several times due to unknown reasons. Tua'rann and Vazz should be able to complement each other well, with Viktor, who is adept, but not extraordinary at strategy and tactics, holding the reigns.

General Marius Longinus is a tall, powerfully built Turian of fifty-eight years of age and is a near forty year veteran of conflicts all throughout the galaxy. He is well respected by his superiors and subordinates, Turians and Krogan alike. He will be the one tasked with leading the ground engagement to pacify the colony.

"So, Vice Admiral Cassius, what's the deal?" asked Admiral Tua'rann in a civil, but strained voice. No doubt she was irritable from the long wait, but too disciplined to openly gripe about it; or maybe she is sore for being put under his command. As a veteran officer with centuries of experience, she would no doubt be annoyed at being subordinate to him. Unfortunately for her, the Citadel Council calls the shots, and they gave him command. "What's so important that you couldn't simply tell us on the comms channel?"

Viktor straightened, placing his hands behind his back, and dramatically declared: "We found the newcomers." The effect was immediate; Admiral Vazz became suddenly animated, excited that his short life wouldn't be wasted longer in this system, and Admiral Tua'rann stood ever more stiffly in expectation of some action, while General Longinus simply sighed in relief.

"That's good, sir," he stated earnestly. "The Krogan under my command have been getting pretty antsy the past couple of days, frustrated that there weren't any enemies to fight. While I don't think they would have broken discipline and rioted against their officers, it still could have gotten real ugly, real fast."

Viktor nodded. While the Krogan have made great strides, socially and culturally, over the last five-hundred years, they were still a naturally aggressive species, and that aggression required an outlet-mainly through violence, which has made them useful against the Yahg. "Well, they should be happy to know that there'll be action enough for all of us, soon enough."

Viktor then turned to a console in the center of the room, and activated its holographic display; a three-dimensional image of a star system appeared while Tua'rann, Vazz, and Longinus gathered around to get a good look. "This is the star system occupied by the newcomers," he began, getting straight to the heart of the matter. "It is composed of a main sequence star, with five orbiting planets, and a single asteroid belt. Two of the planets are brown dwarfs, while the fourth planet from the star is a habitable world approximately four-thousand and twelve kilometres in diameter."

"Is that their homeworld?" Vazz asked. "Or is it a colony?"

Viktor shook his head. "Unfortunately for us, it is but a colony; the corvette, Silent Steps, could only perform a cursory examination, but from what little they observed, the colony-world is lightly populated."

Vazz paused. "Why wouldn't the corvette perform a more thorough analysis of the target system and colony? Surely, the Captain knows how valuable Intel is to us."

Viktor grimaced. "Somehow, the corvette's stealth systems were penetrated, and the ship was exposed to the enemy's surveillance."

Silence greeted his statement, until Tua'rann spoke up: "Salarian corvettes have the most advanced stealth technology in the known Galaxy, even more efficient than the Yahg's. I can't see how it's possible for some newcomers to do what we-or the Yahg-can't do."

Vazz turned his beady eyes to Tua'rann. "Clearly, it's possible, because we are not in the known Galaxy." His statement causing her to blush, Tua'rann turned away, while Vazz continued on matter-of-factly, seemingly unconcerned at the negation of one of their most useful technologies. "Stealth systems only conceal heat emissions; a visual scan, while difficult to perform in the vastness of space, is possible, and can render stealth ineffective." He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "If these newcomers have detected the corvette, then there is a good chance that they'll be preparing for our arrival. They've probably already begun to evacuate their civilians to emergency bunkers, mobilizing their ground forces, and requesting reinforcements from their central governing authority." He sighed dejectedly. "In other words, we've lost the element of surprise."

Viktor then spoke up. "While the corvette didn't detect any space-borne defenses, such as warships and Orbital Defense Platforms, that could change by the time our fleet arrives in-system. Or, it could be days, or weeks, or even months before the newcomers send a fleet to protect the colony. We know that their ships don't use Eezo, and neither does any of their infrastructure in-system, so how these newcomers were able to establish extra-solar colonies is unknown. Most likely, they utilize some unknown method of FTL. How quickly their FTL propels their starships across the void will be a factor in their fleet's response time. So, our goal is to simply conquer the system and colony before reinforcements arrive.

"Here's how I want it done: when the fleet arrives in-system, I want thirty frigates to assume an Orb-Net formation at these co-ordinates." At his prompt, the holographic display highlighted thirty points interspersed throughout the enemy system. With shipboard sensors and scanners limited to lightspeed, it is relatively easy for starships to slip into a star system undetected by patrols, as it would take six hours for an active scan to detect an approaching starship from six billion kilometers away. With these thirty frigates scattered across a star system, constantly scanning and transmitting data to the Palavan's Fist, via FTL Comms, starships can be detected in under twelve or twenty minutes, tops. The Orb-Net Formation, pioneered during the Rachni Wars, ensures efficient fleet operations across astronomical distances without unnecessary time-lag.

"Once that's done, I want the Troop Transports and resupply ships to make an FTL jump to the brown dwarf farthest from the star, and they are to remain there until orbital superiority has been acquired over the colony-world. I want two cruisers-one Asari and one Salarian-to protect those ships. While that is being done, I want the remaining ships to jump to orbit over the colony-world." Viktor began manipulating the controls of the console. "And that brings me to this."

The 3-D map of the system disappeared, and in its place was a new, more fascinating image: at first glance, it seemed to be a simple space station, a hulking mass of titanium floating serenely in the void above the planet. But what caught everyone's attention were the seven cylindrical objects running from the station down to the surface of the colony-world, and soon enough, one of them understood what they were.

"Those are orbital elevators!" exclaimed Vazz excitedly, his eyes wide with amazement, a feeling shared by the others present.

"Truly?" asked Tua'rann wonderingly. "The resources and manpower needed to build them….it would be a colossal undertaking! Why would they build such structures on a lightly populated colony-world? Wouldn't their economy become burdened by them?"

"It's possible that the construction of such structures is as economical for them as building fleets of ground-to-orbit transports is for us," speculated Vazz thoughtfully, hand on chin. "In the long term, it would certainly be cheaper to ferry supplies to orbit via an elevator; you wouldn't need to waste resources on building ships to ferry them to orbit, and can simply focus on building ships to transport them from star to star. It would save up on fuel and resources, which can be better used elsewhere. "

Viktor cleared his throat. "While I'd love to hear your thoughts on the economical merits of Space Elevators later on, right now, I need to discuss with you the strategic significance of the station, and the orbital elevators." When Tua'rann and Vazz straightened and apologized, he went on. "The station is located in equatorial geosynchronous orbit, just right above the colony-world's primary population centre. If we can capture the station, and gain control over its operations, we can then get troops and heavy armour behind enemy lines, and swiftly pacify the city.

"General Longinus," he addressed Marius, who straightened at attention. "I want you to send in your finest squads to capture that station." Marius nodded, while Viktor turned to Tua'ranna. "Admiral, I want you to send in a few squads of your Commandos to support them."

"Aye, aye," she replied, already knowing who would be best for the job. Then an idea struck her. "Sir, perhaps we should capture one of the aliens; I can then have one of my linguistics experts meld with it and attempt to decipher its language. It should make communicating with them easier when it's time to negotiate terms with the natives."

Viktor nodded. "Good idea. In fact, try to salvage whatever technology you can from them; they don't utilize Eezo, so it would be interesting to see what they have up their sleeves. Also, try to recover any bodies; we'll need to study their physiology, figure out their strengths and weaknesses." She nodded.

"With the station captured, and the orbit secured, I'll have my ships identify any and all planetary military bases and destroy them from orbit with tactical kinetic strikes." Viktor then turned to Marius. "After planetary bombardment is complete, I will have the Troop Transports called in and you can begin offloading troops, heavy armour and supplies. Complete deployment should take about two, or three days. You will then have your troops advance across the landscape, capturing settlements and civilian hostages, who will be detained in the safe camps. You will continue your advance until you reach the primary population center, which you will then assault en masse."

General Longinus nodded. "A text-book invasion and pacification campaign,"

"I want you to bear in mind, however," warned Viktor mildly, "that the goal of this operation is to gain leverage over this new race in negotiations, and to do that, we must pacify this colony-world without causing too much damage to the infrastructure, or to diminish its population through unnecessary bloodshed. After all, we wouldn't want this colony-world to lose its value to its owners, now would we?"

Marius stiffened at attention, and his voice was hoarse with determination. "On my honor, sir, I will conquer and pacify this colony-world and deliver it in pristine condition to the Citadel Council!"

"Very good," responded Viktor with an approving nod. He then turned to address all three officers. "We don't find ourselves in a particularly favorable position; this new race simply represents too many unknowns, and the Citadel Council has ordered us to leap before looking. We don't know where this race's homeworld is; we don't know where their colonies are. We don't know how long they've been travelling the stars, or how strong they are, in technology, and biology.

"What we do know, is that they are reckless, and pose a danger to us and to themselves. We are charged with defending trillions of lives in Citadel Space, and by the spirits, we will do so, with our blood, sweat and tears!" Viktor surveyed the officers before him, who straightened ever more at his speech, sure of the truth of his declarations. "Return to your ships and make preparations to head underway; in two hours, we leave for this system's Oort Cloud, where we'll make the jump to the newcomers' system. Transit time should be approximately nine hours and thirty-eight minutes.

"Dismissed!"


September 1st, 2597 (Military Calendar) 0045 Hours

Epsilon Indi, Harvest

Harvest Military Fortress, Armory

Private Kamille Soran stood in the locker area with the rest of his squad of Rangers, putting on his Ranger Battle Dress Uniform, clipping the heavy chest piece into place before picking up one of the arm bracers and sliding his right arm through it. With his bracer locked into place, Kamille slid his left arm into the other bracer, locking it into place and doing a quick test with his arms for mobility, rotating his torso to make sure everything was a proper fit. He then picked up his helmet, and placed it onto his head, and locking its clasp onto his neck piece; the Ranger BDU has a sealed breathing system, to protect its wearer from gas attacks. Kamille then began pre-op checks on the BDU's systems.

VSIR. Check.

HUD. Check.

Communications. Check.

IFF. Check.

Satisfied that his battle armor is fit, secured and its systems operational, Kamille began equipping himself with his weapons; first, he placed five MI3 Fragmentation grenades on his belt, within easy reach of his throwing arm. He then took an MR135 Shotgun and placed it onto a magnetic holster his left shoulder. The MR134 Shotgun can fire eight shells, and automatically reloads. And finally, his primary weapon, an MP1 Assault Rifle. It has forty-five rounds per clip, and has three firing modes; automatic, semi-automatic, and burst. Built during the 2560s, it was designed to replace the MA5 series Assault Rifles, the Battle Rifles, and the Designated Marksmen's Rifles, all of which were considered to be too "specialized." With the MP1 series, it has all the strengths of all three weapons, packed into one.

Satisfied with his loadout, Kamille surveyed the rest of his squad, all clothed from head-to-foot in Ranger Battle armor.

Private Halfrid Dieter had chosen the PB-3 Assault Rifle as her main weapon; it has two firing modes, semi-automatic and burst, and has an underslung grenade launcher. Her secondary weapon is the M9C Magnum, which has a scope and fires fifteen rounds per clip. She clipped it to the magnetic holster on her left hip, while her right hip became leaden with five Frag grenades.

Private Angus Collins had selected for himself an Auto-36, a select-fire machine pistol with a fifty-round magazine, and a laser sight. His secondary weapon is an M945 revolving grenade launcher, with twelve grenades in the chambers. He's also equipped with EMP-5 grenades, designed to short-out unprotected electronic equipment.

Private Brannagh Hickey has chosen the M812 Light Machine Gun, or SAW (squad automatic weapon) as her main tool. She was going through a series of motions with the weapon, impressing Kamille as she fluidly wielded the twenty-kilo weapon, perfectly comfortable with its weight. Her secondary weapon is the monstrous Hydra MLRS-5, which fires high-explosive micro-missiles which can lock onto targets; it has nine rockets stored in its revolving, cylindrical chambers. She also has two Frag grenades, and three Incendiary grenades.

Private Diego Bautista decided to capitalize on his extraordinary strength wielding an M754D6 Minigun, a three-barreled machine guns which fires armor piercing rounds at six-thousand rounds per minute. His secondary weapon, slung over his shoulder, is the M81 Shotgun, a pump-action weapon which fires twelve rounds before needing to reload. He's also equipped with five flash-bang grenades.

Private Alkira Djinba has taken for herself an M60 sub-machine gun, which can be out-fitted with a wide array of attachments, such as a scope, an extended barrel, suppressor, laser targeter, and recoil stabilizers. She has chosen a suppressor. Slung over her shoulder is an M164 SPNKR rocket launcher; even though it is considered to be obsolete among UNSC Marines, it is highly popular among Army soldiers. She is also carrying five Incendiary grenades.

Kamille then turned to observe the experienced members of the squad, who are allowed, by tradition, to customize their armor; Kamille and the others will only receive that right after surviving their first tour of duty.

Corporal Anders is outfitted with the UA/Bullfrog Ranger BDU, which comes equipped with portable jump-jets. His primary weapon is the obsolete M528 DMR, which has a fifteen round clip, and a semi-automatic firing rate. His secondary weapon is the M78 Pilum rocket launcher, which fires a single missile but has a long range, and a high-explosive payload. He also has two smoke grenades, and three flash-bang grenades.

Corporal Chani Bari is equipped with the Sharpshooter BDU, issued for sniper experts. It's designed to give her more freedom in combat; the standard right pauldron is removed, allowing the sniper to aim better and move her arm more freely, while the standard left pauldron is replaced with a larger plate to protect her arm from counter attacks. She is also issued with an O/I (ocular/Integration) optics device attached to her helmet, granting her enhanced vision. Her primary weapon is the SRS99-8 AM Sniper Rifle, with twelve rounds per clip, and outfitted with a silencer. Her secondary weapon is the antique MA37 Assault Rifle, a staple of the UNSC Army for over a hundred and fifty years. She has five smoke grenades.

Sergeant Mulan Cheng is clad in the up-armored variant of the Ranger BDU, the AR/UA PPE, utilized by demolition experts. The left pauldron is replaced with a longer two-piece ballistic plate, which aids in protecting her upper body while in a firing stance, and to reduce injury from incendiary-based weapons. The helmet is also issued with an optics device that aids the user in relaying images and video to team mates or command. Her primary weapon is the M812 Saw, and her secondary weapon is the M8K Spartan Laser; a directed-energy weapon, it can fire fifteen shots before the battery needs to be replaced. She is also equipped with five R-2 Sticky grenades, which are coated with an adhesive substance which allows them to stick to surfaces.

Lieutenant Alfred Winchester is equipped with the S-1 recon BDU, originally used specifically by agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence; it has now become available for use by Army Rangers, and is highly favored by officers. The chest plate provides stealth capabilities with little or no loss of endurance, done by reducing its IR signature and reflective surfaces. There are no shoulder pauldrons, which allows more freedom of arm movements, and is also equipped with a Recon helmet, which is also utilized by Spartan-Vs. His primary weapon is the BR77 Battle rifle, which fires in three-round bursts. His secondary weapon is the ARC-184 Railgun, an electromagnetic linear accelerator weapon which uses a pair of conducting rails to accelerate projectiles at high velocities. He has also attached five Incendiary grenades to his belt.

Nine men and women, armoured from head-to-foot in dark-grey titanium-ceramic plate, and equipped with enough firepower to wipe out a small army. And the best part is, they won't be fighting alone; they've got the rest of Harvest's Defence Force to back them up in the coming attack.

It was at 2208 Hours last night, the 31st of August, when an unidentified vessel breached the space above Harvest and began scanning everything in sight before leaving just as abruptly as it arrived. Needless to say, it wasn't long before General Jenkins ordered a full mobilization of all military assets on Harvest, to prepare for an impending pirate raid. In a few hours' time, civilians from all over the colony will be rounded up and evacuated to Utgard's emergency shelters for the duration of the raid.

Honestly, why did the pirates have to choose last night to send their scout in? thought kamille bitterly. The timing was simply uncanny, as Kamille had the whole of yesterday off, and he had spent the night with a local woman, named Tandia. Or was it Nadia? Or Chandra? Kamille shook his head. Her name isn't important; what is important is that she was a thirty-eight year old cougar with a rockin' body, and was willing to look past his feminine charms and invite him over for a night of hot, wild sex. And then, in the middle of the night as they were cuddling together and sharing each other's warmth, the order for mobilization came in, and he had to leave. And he forgot to get her phone number and address, dammit! A woman like her only comes once every lifetime.

Life just isn't fair!

Kamille shook his head again. As frustrating as it is, he is also quite excited for what's to come: his first taste of battle. Kamille shuddered involuntarily. When he thinks of combat, he pictures himself hurling himself through a hail of gun-fire, shells falling and exploding all around him, the sight of bloodied, mangled bodies dotting the landscape. And then the picture always ends with his arm getting blown off, and getting his eyes gouged out by grinning pirates.

It gives him the shakes.

But the shakes quickly passes by, when he reminds himself that he is heavily Armored and is armed with the deadliest weapons ever forged by Man, and is surrounded by his squad, who'll back him up every step of the way.

All right, Kamille, buddy, he thought to himself, steeling himself up for the war to come. Time to fake it 'till you can make it!


September 1st, 2597 (Military Calendar) 1720 Hours

Epsilon Indi system, Harvest

Command Bunker

When people look at General Wallace A. Jenkins, they would be very surprised to learn that he is ninety-two years old; that's because he looks half that age, in his mid-forties. General Jenkins was one of hundreds of marines to volunteer for the Spartan-IV Project, and the genetic augmentations he received doubled his natural lifespan. His mind is a vast wealth of experience, accumulated through decades of combat against pirates and Insurrectionists. Ten years ago, when the Insurrection came to a climactic, galaxy-shaking end, Jenkins was offered the opportunity to return to his home colony of Harvest, which he hadn't seen for sixty years, and defend it from the dregs of the Galaxy. It was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

General Jenkins can easily remember his feelings upon steeping upon his home soil for the first time in six decades; it felt like he was soaring towards the heavens on the wings of angels. Overcome with emotion, he had cried upon returning home. Cried.

The General shook himself out of his reminiscence; this wasn't the time to go down memory lane, not with another fleet of barbarians bearing down on his world, ready to loot and pillage. He studied the displays, providing him with real-time images of the pirate fleet orbiting Harvest; it was, undoubtedly, the largest pirate fleet he had ever seen in his ten years of commanding Harvest's Defense Forces. There seems to be one cruiser, fifteen frigates, and thirty-two corvettes, as well as two scout ships (matching the one spotted last night).

Their design is….unusual, to say the least. They were curved, graceful, and smooth. Some appeared to be hawkish, shaped like birds-of-prey. Others appeared to be bulbous, metallic jelly-fish, floating about the void, completely at ease. Why these pirates chose such bizarre aesthetic designs for their craft, he had no idea, and neither did he care; it isn't his job to critique their artistic tastes, but to defend Harvest until the pirates withdraw, or they are forced to retreat by UNSC reinforcements.

Around the General was the constant pitter-patter of frantic activity, with officers working to organize troops and heavy armor for the impending attack. General Jenkins snorted in amusement. Such a task shouldn't be too difficult; they all know the drill, they've gone through it dozens of times over the last ten years. They always implement the same plan to defend Harvest: evacuate the civilians to the emergency shelters, mobilize the troops and disperse them across the landscape and the settlements, supported by heavy armor, reinforce the garrison posted inside the Tiara, and contact UNSC HIGHCOMM and request reinforcements.

And after all that's done, the defenders of this world will fight until their very last.


Author's Note

Well, I hope I didn't bore anyone with all my talk about the weapons and equipment and whatnot. Seriously, there were times when i wanted to hit myself in the head every time I wrote "Also, he/she has this many grenades," or when I said " His/Her primary or secondary weapon is this," Ugh!

Also, I hope people weren't too bored with Viktor's internal monologue about fleet logistics and whatnot. It's something I've noticed is usually glossed over in sci-fi, and I felt like I needed to address it.

And I've brought jenkins into the story, the wet-behind-the-ears kid who got his body hijacked in Halo:The Flood. Basically, in my story, Spartan augmentations increase life spans, so expect to see the Chief and his buddies.

For those who wanted an action-packed chapter, I'm so sorry; but, If you're willing to stick with me, then you'll get non-stop action starting from the next chapter.

Read and review, please!

So, long and thanks for all the fish!