Sorry this took so long, but I had assignments and tests to do in college. Anyway, this took me twice as long as the last, purely because it's the longest chapter I've ever written. My thanks to all reviewers. Enjoy the new entry.
Allies of Convenience
What lies beyond the reaches of the galaxy? It has inspired many questions, most of which have no answer. Well, those questions had an answer now. As Shepard stared out across the wide, wide expanse of dark space he knew. People also asked, what does the galaxy look like from the outside? Again, much supposition has been established in relation to this question. Once again Shepard had that answer as well. The galaxy looks like a flat line of light, with a bubble of brighter light at the centre. What lies in dark space? Nothing. Nothing at all.
"There's nothing here." Garrus and Wrex said at almost the exact same time, in almost the exact flat tone of voice.
Shepard couldn't have agreed more. Where all the estimates said there should be a huge battle fleet of Reapers, was nothing more than a huge expanse of nothing. Pure and utter nothing.
"There should at least be a set of docks here." Admiral Anderson stated from the seat near the Galaxy map.
"Pressly," Shepard called back to the Navigator, "Run a series of long range scans. Let me know if you get anything larger than a cookie."
XO Pressly nodded wordlessly and began his work.
Admiral Anderson opened the long range communications. "SSV Virmire, this is Admiral Anderson onboard the Normandy, begin deploying long range fighters and set them to begin scouting as far ahead of the ship as possible. Also start long range scans. If you get anything at all, send a ship to investigate."
"Yes sir."
Shepard went up and tapped Joker on the shoulder lightly to get his attention from the vast expanse. "What is it Joker?"
Joker was silent for a moment. "This way-out space sir, it's not like anything anyone's seen before. We will probably never see it again. But that's not just it sir." Joker turned to look at him. "The Reapers could be out there anywhere. You could spend all your life searching and never find a thing. Then one day, you get back here and they're waiting for you."
"Point taken Joker. Let me know if you see anything." Shepard rose to leave.
"It's almost not worth becoming a pilot Commander, there's nothing out here to fly around, a child could do this easily."
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Before long the citadel station they had come through had receded somewhat, although it was still in range of the sensors. It was surreal, flying with nothing to measure the fact that you were flying. The Normandy was burning through the skies at a huge speed of nearly seventy thousand kilometres an hour, the Virmire nearly matching that speed despite its bulk. And yet, to Ashley Williams, there was no sensation of movement. Even in space there were little telltale signs that noted you were flying, the changing position of stars was the major one, but here. Here there was nothing, not even the light of stars to tell. She had often wondered what a wilderness felt like, since there were few left. Despite all her experiences, with some of the less populated planets of the galaxy, nothing could prepare a person for this. This was the great wilderness, the great barren expanse. It was frightening more than anything else. If anything else, this was probably similar to the worst torture that could ever be felt. Nothingness, in every direction, no signs of life, no signs of companionship completely alone. She was so caught up she never noticed the soft steps that walked up behind her. When the hand landed on her shoulder she almost jumped.
"It's just me Ash."
"You scared the life out of me Dan."
Since privacy was very restricted on the Normandy affection between the two was very limited. Most of the crew had figured out that their commander and their gunnery chief were an item, but regardless, public affection was restricted between the two. So all that Shepard could do was to put his arm briefly around her shoulders and give her a squeeze.
"It's so big." She muttered to herself.
"Joker had something similar to say. They could be anywhere out there and we'd never know until the last possible moment."
"If they're even here."
Dan looked at her, but here eyes remained fixed on the display screen. "Your meaning?" He prompted.
"If they were expecting an attack they would have been waiting in ambush around the Relay."
"So they aren't here at all then."
"It's just a guess."
"Pretty good guess. From a pretty girl."
That brought a smile to her grim face. "I'm more than just a pretty face you know."
"Oh I know. You pretty good looking below the neck too." Dan smirked to himself and waited for the inevitable sneaky remark back to him about the fact that he maybe he should watch himself if he planned to keep his pretty girl on his arm.
Ash opened her mouth to reply when the intercom chimed.
"Commander, we got a contact!"
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It was a big one, huge. It was far, far bigger than the Citadel Station. But that is exactly what it was, a Space Station. Shepard could only gape at the sight of it. So could any on the bridge. The first to recover was Wrex who shut his maw with a crash and hmmphed about the slow reaction time of his friends. Joker was next, because he had to slow the ship down before they crashed into the structure. Shepard quickly recovered as soon as the ship moved and he instantly started issuing orders.
"All combat personnel report for duty! All hands to stations! Ground team, prepare for disembarkation."
Anderson added his own orders to the list, mostly to the Virmire which was on hand.
"Hold position and prepare to render assistance. Launch combat fighters, but remain out of reach of the station. Cover us if anything goes wrong."
He shut the comm. down and turned to look Shepard in the eye. "Let's pray this goes well."
Suddenly the ship began to swerve violently as red flashes shot past the window of the frigate.
"Punch it Joker!" Shepard ordered.
In response the pilot pushed the ship to its limit. In a matter of moments, the Normandy was skimming the surface looking for a spot to put down.
"There!" Liara pointed at an alcove that was waiting ahead. "That looks like a hanger."
"Thanks sister!" Joker said in a tight voice. He was having to dodge mad red flashes using his best tricks.
The ship rocked suddenly, almost throwing the frigate off course, before it righted and slid into the hanger safely.
"What the blazes was that?" Anderson asked.
"Impact from one of those lasers." Joker responded, unhappily, "Shields held, though they're down thirty percent."
"Right." Shepard turned and strode for his room. "I'm heading in. All of you are coming with me."
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The last of the robots collapsed onto the ground, smoked and died. Shepard hoisted the injured marine onto his feet.
"Get him back aboard the ship and into medical treatment immediately."
The second the team was on deck they had been rushed by these quadruped robots which had attempted to kill him and his landing group. The firefight had been short and sharp. Using armour piercing ammunition cubes, they had quickly cut through the casing. Any shields the robots carried were bypassed by the projectiles, obviously designed to stop energy beams.
"Anything?" Garrus asked Tali who was attempting to decipher one of the robots brains with her hand held computer.
"They're using a code I can't work out, and a language I can't understand." She shook her head as she rose.
"Vicious things." Liara was unusually vehement as she had an arm treated for minor burns, a result of a small flamethrower built into the robot chassis.
"These guys must be only the first line of defence, we'll have to keep moving inward." Shepard slid his rifle up and over his shoulder into its holster where it compacted automatically. "Wrex you got point."
"Hey Shepard." Wrex gestured slowly. "Look at this."
In front of him was a computer terminal, or at least what Shepard suspected was a terminal. It was roughly circular, with a high rising back that had to be activated by hand.
"Think it could be hacked?"
"Maybe."
"What do you think Tali."
"Give me a second."
It took even less. As soon as she touched it Tali was admitted and was confronted with a series of unfamiliar characters. After attempting to get into the machine using command entries, a panel opened and she linked her own computer into the breach.
"It's downloading." She said with a gasp.
The terminal hummed to life. A message appeared on its screen.
View security cameras, view system commands, view functions, log out.
Tali breathed out a breath she didn't realised she had been holding. "Commander, there are over fifty thousand security camera's on this level alone. Most of the show rooms that are guarded by security robots. This entire facility is automated!"
"Makes sense." Shepard drew his shotgun and slipped armour piercing material into the breach. "The Reapers are sentient machines, this place must be too."
"Let's go kill em all!" Wrex growled.
"Hold on Commander." Tali stared and then laughed quietly to herself. Within three clicks of the dials she stepped back and retrieved her computer.
Immediately all the doors slid open and the robot that had been waiting behind the door shut down. Everyone looked at Tali who shrugged. "System overrides. Shut down all security droids and open all security doors. I even downloaded a map to the main control chambers."
They all gaped. Finally Wrex chuckled. "Finally, the quarian is good for something."
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The team of the Normandy walked through the huge station, for the most part awed by the huge expanse. Liara was silently contemplating coming back here after the war and starting her own school of archaeology here on this, since it was probably older than the Protheans. Imagine, the builders of Reapers had been here. How had they managed to create sentient creature within metal. There had to be a way. If she could perhaps harness the power, think of the building that they could do. Wrex realised that this was the place where he could regenerate the krogan race, safe here, out of reach of all possible enemies, where they could rebuild the krogan and then take revenge on the galaxy for all they had suffered. Garrus realised that he could have a series of sentient machines built, robots like those drones out there, and take them out with him. They could deal with the enemies that had begun to plague his home sector. He could be a hero. Ashley knew that out here she and Dan were far out of reach of the regulations of the military. She could also redeem her grandfathers name. Williams Station. What better way to save the family pride. Tali recognized that this place was free of all disease and detriment that had plagued her people. Imagine it, a place where engineering and freedom met. The quarian race would be able to settle here and they could be happy, finally able to take off these masks and live in freedom, safe from the Geth.
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Suddenly Dan stopped. "Joker?"
The rest realised that they had walked out of range of the communicators. The power of the station cut them off from the outside. Instantly they prepared for an ambush, both mentally and physically
"Blast it." Dan used a light curse as he felt the situation didn't really require a serious one. "Right let's get moving, stay sharp people!"
Dan spoke mostly to himself. While walking he has started thinking about how he could best the Reapers using this machine here, using the Station or whatever it was as a means of fighting the Reapers without succumbing to huge sentient casualties. Minimal losses and two machines fought it out. But it was a foolish notion and he knew it. If you started along that idea, it was quite possible you'd never stop. Time to get back to work.
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The control room doors opened. All six of them went in, guns covering every aspect of the room, trying to make sure that there were no enemies in the room. Nothing.
"Okay Tali, start slicing." Shepard walked over to the screens as the quarian Machinist started her operation on the computers. The others crowded around him, keeping their eyes peeled and making sure nothing would disturb them.
"On screen Commander." Tali pushed herself away from the console and looked up at the screen. Everyone else followed her example.
Images began to gather on the screen, all of them noting the singular words which had come up.
"English?"
"Yes Commander, after I put in my computer it must have learned the language through that."
"I see." Shepard watched as the display showed the entire area. It was, as many had thought, a shipyard of a sort, producing replacement parts for the Reaper Fleet. It was supposed to work off the "Force" of sentients captured from the galaxy, whatever that was.
"So that's why they needed slaves every fifty thousand years." Wrex rumbled in his odd tone.
Shepard answered with a mute nod. The next entry caught his eye.
"Last entry a failure." He read aloud, "Will return to Lehon to prepare for re-evaluation and reparation."
"Lehon?" Garrus raised an eyebrow.
"Never heard of it Commander." Ashley stated, "And I've been on all the backwater planet that there are out there."
"No mention in any Prothean artefacts either Commander." Liara was adamant about that.
"Tali, see if you can track their movement." Shepard asked of the quarian.
"Yes Commander. Coming up on screen now."
It showed the route to a new Citadel Relay.
"Dan that's less than twenty minutes in FTL." Ashley breathed.
A message flashed up on the screen as well. Slipspace wake detected.
"What in the world?" Garrus couldn't understand this.
Liara suddenly squeaked with excitement. "The fleet that came through the portal and disappeared into the Citadel, that's where they must have gone!"
"Oh no. They've followed the Reapers." Wrex put his claws over his face. "I almost feel sorry for them."
"Only almost Wrex?" Ashley grinned, her valkyrie mentality showing through.
"Not in the slightest. I just hope they kill enough of the Reapers to make our lives easier." Wrex retorted.
"We'd better get back to the ship and prepare to follow them." Shepard turned and walked out the door and down the corridor. As he turned the corner he suddenly found himself nose-to-barrel with an assault rifle. An assault rifle held by a green armoured giant with a golden visor.
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As the six Spartans escorted the ground team of the Normandy back towards the docking bay John wondered about this new development. They had arrived in this area and the first thing their sensors had told them was that they were at least four million lightyears from the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. The second thing their sensors told them was that there was a large structure seven million kilometres at their twelve o clock. Lastly the sensors told them that they were not the only vessels in that sector. All three hundred ships had made the relay in one piece and they were all ready for another crack at their enemies. So, with this ship suddenly on the radar they began their approach. The first Longsword and Seraph reconnaissance of the ship had revealed that it was a ship of unknown design and of unknown make. It was not one of the Old Covenant. A closer scan of the ship had revealed its design to be that of an old carrier from the first age of space exploration. Nearly four hundred years old. Unfortunately at that time the Covenant had only just begun expansion out of the Orion Arm and were unaware of any such ships. Acting quickly Admiral Hood had opened communications with the vessel, surprised to find that it was the SSV Virmire, under the command of Lord Admiral Anderson. Hood was more than just surprised. Confidential enquiry with Dr. Halsey did reveal that a Slipspace engine could theoretically cause someone to arrive in the wrong timeline, but it was unheard of for someone to arrive in a random part of space four hundred years into their past. Anderson had been a favourite figure of Hoods, a pioneer in terms of officers speaking their mind to the politicians, a great officer and a skilled tactician. He had been one of the "Greats," as they were called. The fact that D. John Shepard was also here, along with the famous Normandy was a greater shock. They had boarded the Virmire, and taken control of the ship after the captain had gotten suspicious of them. Boarding the Normandy was something more of a trial, but the quick and easiest way had been to find another docking bay and make you way over. Men in Navy blues had infiltrated the ship and within moments they had taken it completely.
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Now John 117 was escorting one of the greatest, and more importantly long dead, heroes of his race. The irony struck him quite sharply. Here he was, a hero of his time, escorting the hero of a past time to a rendezvous with the commanders of both their times. Master Chief turned his head and noticed that the other Spartan IIIs were staring at the group with amazement. Then he quickly noticed that Shepard was looking at him. It had only been Shepards quietly spoken command for his forces to stand down back in the corridor that stopped the krogan battlemaster with him from ripping the lot of them apart with his powers. Those powers which had been available to them in the past were long since gone, one of the major losses from that era. Shepard spoke suddenly, breaking the silence and ripping the Master Chief out of his reverie.
"Name and rank soldier!"
Automatically and without thinking he replied, "Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra 117." Immediately he felt the weight of his sentence weigh down on him with all the fury of the stares that the others were giving him.
"Nice going Chief."
"I'm sorry K. But I have to ask if you can wring all that training we did out of your system."
"So I take it that you guys are members of the human race. I don't know of any other species that uses those kind of monikers and uses initials when talking to each other in code."
John winced. Shepard was as good as they said he was. A ruthless investigator who could easily pick the facts out of a simple sentence and construe a whole line of information out of it. Fortunately the Arbiter saved them all.
"I see your mission was successful Spartans."
"Better than successful Arbiter, we managed to get them all without having to fire a single shot." John replied.
"Better and better. Come, Lord Hood awaits their arrival along with the Admiral Anderson. He is anxious to see you and to discuss the situation with all of you." The Arbiter turned and walked back into the Normandy.
"When did we start working with aliens like that?" Ash asked of him.
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It was only when they reached the Normandy that they started to get any answers. The tight lipped Spartans said no more than was required. The imposing Elites elicited fewer questions, especially from the turian Garrus. The entire ground team was seated in their normal seats and joining them were Dr Halsey, Lord Hood, Admiral Anderson, Rtas Vadum and the Predator Elder, Hunter, who had insisted on being present. The only guards present were UNSC Marines, all of whom were carrying their weapons on their shoulders, the Master Chief and the Arbiter.
"I assume," began Dr. Halsey, "That you have many questions you would like answered…"
"Namely, who are you people?" Ashley broke in.
"Do you usually allow your subordinates to speak out of hand human?" The Ship Master was half amused and half irritated.
"These are my command team, their questions are my questions and I respect their counsel." Shepards response was cool and quiet, a voice that was totally under the control of the user.
"I see." The Elite was impressed by the man's speech.
"But the question still stands." Anderson added for emphasis, "Who and what are you?"
Lord Hood laughed quietly to himself. "Never thought I'd be introducing myself as a member of the Covenant, be it New or Old."
"The Covenant hmm?" The turian Executor was aware of the name. "I was unaware that the Covenant contained your species Commander."
Shepard frowned. "It doesn't."
The Arbiter spoke quickly to move the conversation on. He was aware of the outbreaking hostilities between the Turian Hierarchy and the Covenant that were happening in this time and he had no wish for immediate hostilities with the newcomers, who used special powers. "We are the First Combined Fleet of the New Covenant. We are on the trail of the Old Covenant Remnant battle fleet which was last seen heading this way."
Shepard spoke quickly to forestall more questions. "Do they create a Slipspace wake?"
Hood was surprised. "Yeah they do, that's the type of engines we use."
"We know where they went."
"Where?" Dr Halsey asked
Shepard raised a hand to gain their attention "I want the answer to my first question first if you don't mind."
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"As the Arbiter said, we are the First Combined Fleet of the New Covenant. In the Covenant are Sangheili, Humans, Unggoy and Mgalekgolo. Or as the Humans call them, Elites, men Grunts and Hunters. That is the what. The why we have just told you and the only other piece of information that you need to know is that we are on the trail of the Old Covenant Remnant. They seek the destruction of mankind and will stop at nothing to achieve it."
All eyes swivelled to look at Hunter who had just stepped into the room.
Shepard gestured slightly. "Who is this?"
"My name, in your tongue human, is Hunter. I am the Elder of the Hunt of the 3rd Clan of the Yautja."
Wrex looked more than a little nonplussed by the long titles. "You got a shorter version of that name?"
Hunter growled to himself slightly before he answered, "The Humans gave us the very apt name of Predators." He said a little disdainfully.
"Really?" asked Wrex in his sarcastic voice, "Well they gave my kind the very apt name of "very hard to kill", you might want to keep that in mind if you want animosity."
"Wrex." Shepard said, a note of warning in his voice.
Hunter ignored him, or rather he took note but decided not to do anything about it. Yet. "We are here because a rogue clan, what we call Bad Bloods, joined with the Old Covenant, bringing with them a biological weapon called in the human language, the Xenomorphs!"
"What?" Rtas was on his feet in a moment. "You never said the Xenomorphs were involved, we thought they disappeared from the galaxy almost a hundred years ago."
"That is because we made them disappear!" Hunter said with a grim satisfaction. "We use them for training our New Bloods, so we confined them to a single planet."
"If that is the case, we must proceed with all haste." Anderson stated. "There is an old saying, "We are all going the same way, so why not travel together" it worked well all throughout our history."
Hood nodded. All through life on his world Humans had always done better in goups. Besides more allies, especially someone like Shepard and his team, wouldn't hurt.
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Now with both fleets in agreement the united front moved off. The Normandy lifted out of the hanger and moved with an incredible speed towards the rest of the fleet. The Arbiter and the Spartans had elected to remain on the ship for a while to familiarise themselves with the people they were going to be working with. Already Ashley, Linda and Kelly seemed to be working well as a team. The Gunnery Chief was happily showing them the guns she had available to her. Dan would have laughed if he had seen her, talking excitedly about sniper and assault rifles like other women talked about shoes. But at that point he was with the Master Chief and the Arbiter discussing tactics. The Predator Hunter was also present, but he was listening and not speaking. Wrex was down in the hanger mercilessly drilling the marines under his command in the upcoming battle. The fact that he had several newbies to play with was wonderful for him. Garrus was as usual tinkering with the mako, although he was working with both Tali and Fred who was interested in the heavy firepower of the era and wanted to know how it would fare against a wraith. The Spartan III's were busying themselves with Liara, who didn't quite realise she had attracted the interest of the three boys in the group, none of whom had ever seen an asari before. As a new battle group the Systems Alliance, the Yautja clan and the New Covenant all passed through the designated Home Route Citadel Relay. Within seconds, they were gone.
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On the other end of the relay the Galactic Empire began its invasion of the Rebel base on Hoth.
It's official. Star Wars is in the next chapter. Anyway, I made several references in that chapter, kudos to anyone who can tell what they were. Please Read and review.
