Human date: May 03, 2027
Colony Horizon
Training Grounds
"Wind speed has increased, adjust aim to compensate."
"Copy that." Maria aimed the scope a fraction of an inch to the left. In her visor, SECOND projected the trajectory of the shot, straight into the chest of the lone scout hiding in the underbrush ninety yards away.
"He hasn't moved as he?"
"No, he's just sitting there."
"Easier for us then. Take the shot."
Maria took a breath then squeezed the trigger and the Bolt Sniper shot out its round of crystallized ice. Through the scope she watched the shot fly down range and strike the scout dead center in his chest, knocking the alien back with the force of the shot.
"Good shot." Her partner, a young Charybdis by the name of Zen'Garben of clan Tarlaren, picked himself off the ground, scanning the area around them with his MOAC SMG while brushing off the twigs and leaves sticking to his chest plate. "How much ammo do you have left?"
Maria checked her HUD briefly. "One shot left in the canister and..." She reached down to an ammo pouch on her leg. Empty. "...I'm out. You?"
"I'm full on my SMG and got three more cans." He recoiled as a shard of ice imbedded itself in a tree by his head, freezing the trunk solid. "They found us, run!"
He rose up, spraying suppressing fire at the hostiles that appeared through the thick trees, forcing them to take cover as he and Maria fled into the jungle.
"How did they find us that fast?" Maria shouted, hurdling over a fallen tree trunk easily able to keep pace with Zen's long strides.
"No idea!" Zen shouted back ducking as another shot flew by his head. "But we're not far from the rendezvous point! We'll regroup with the others and press up the up the middle!"
Maria nodded as they broke through the tree line and sprinted out into a flat grassy plain. From the trees behind them tropical birds of multiple species cawed and screamed as the other team crashed through their territory. Ahead of them the jungle stretched on for miles below them until it met the ocean, a thin line on the horizon, and directly ahead of them the deep rumble of the waterfall grew louder.
Swallowing her fear, Maria pounded after Zen as the river beside them tumbled over the edge of the cliff. Until, with a final burst of speed, her foot planted on the edge of the cliff and she launched herself over the edge.
Time seemed to slow as the ground beneath her disappeared to be replaced by the deep lake a hundred feet down. Remembering her training she straightened her body, holding her sniper to her chest as she plummeted down until she splashed down into the water. The force of the impact knocked the gun from her hands as the cold water forced the air from her chest as she sank deeper in to the depths. She shook off the shock and began swimming to the surface, beside her, and a little deeper, Zen was doing the same.
She broke the surface, cycling air frantically and treading water as she looked back up to the top of the cliff. The enemy team was standing on the edge peering down upon them, and more importantly she noticed, taking aim.
She dove beneath the surface as half frozen shards rained down on her, missing by inches, and began following the marker that marked Zen everywhere in her visor.
"Nanovision enabled." The AI chimed and the glowing form of Zen appeared in the water just ahead, climbing up onto the shore.
After a few powerful breaststrokes she reached the pebbly shore and clambered up amidst a withering hail of incoming fire.
"Maximum armor." She cringed, feeling ice explode off her back as she rushed for a large boulder where Zen had just dropped into cover.
"You good?" Zen asked as she slid beside him, armor disengaging as her energy ran out.
"I lost my gun!" Maria replied, listening to the fire hitting their cover. Zen swore as he tried to peek out but ducked back as a shot breezed past his head.
"I have no shot!" He shouted, bunkering down as the rate of fire on them increased. "Think you can sneak out of this?"
"No the fire is too heavy!" She shouted back. She could have tried to cloak and go around the suppression, but apparently they had grown used to her trick and weren't taking any chances with her getting away. Then she suddenly realized something.
"Why are they suppressing us like this?"
"What?" Zen shouted, barely able to hear her over the shattering ice.
"They should have sent someone down to flank us!" She continued, shouting over the noise. "Instead they're all firing! Why?"
Her question was answered a moment later as two more enemies stepped out from the trees at their back, Pinch rifles raised.
"Maximum armor." Zen was cut down instantly, ice freezing to his harness and shutting it down. Maria stumbled as a shot shattered on her visor, temporally blinding her and she stumbled out into the fire raining from above. Within moments her energy was drained and the ice finally stuck to her, freezing into a solid block and bringing her down.
Then there was silence as everything stopped, the incoming fire, the approaching enemies, even the whole forest was quiet. Then a cheer broke the silence, echoing from the cliff top and through the forest. Then Maria became aware of footsteps coming towards her, and with a sharp crack the ice incasing her shattered and she rolled onto her back. Looming above her was Charybdis in a standard light harness, it glared at her for a moment before it holstered its Pinch rifle on its back and reached out a hand.
"You led us on a merry chase, Nano." It said as she took its hand and was hauled to her feet. "Better luck next time though."
"Yeah, and I take it you are responsible to for the rest of our team's disappearance?" She replied, walking over and helping Zen to his feet.
"Yes. But I thought they would have known better then to walk into an obvious ambush."
"Not too sure about the obvious part, but the ambush is more believable then last time."
"Oh. And what did I said last time?"
"You said that you took on the whole of fourth squad without taking a single scratch, when in reality you walked into a minefield and they blew themselves up trying to flank you." Zen replied, much to everyone's amusement. "From the after action report I seem to recall you spent most of the time cowering in a hollow log."
The alien in question only glared at him before replying. "True that may be, but it doesn't change anything." They all looked up as a single dropship appeared over the trees and flew up the cliff face to pick up the soldiers up top. "Have a good walk." He gloated, taking a flare from his waist and waving it in the air.
They both watched wistfully as the other team loaded up and the dropship flew off towards the colony.
"Come on." Zen said as the ship disappeared above the trees. "Let's try to be back before dark."
She nodded and together the set out into the jungle, heading in general direction of Horizon
"How do you think they found us?" Maria asked once they had walked for a ways.
"Either they got lucky or it was a trap from the start, they were dropped off first anyway." Replied Zen as he stepped around a pile of dung left from an animal.
Maria nodded at his reasoning, it was a proven fact the first team to be deployed usually won the training simulation, on account of being able to fortify positions and sniping posts.
After a few days rest since their arrival, Xar had been constantly arguing with his brother to let him properly train the young security force that had been guarding Horizon. However Vorlen would say that they were too young and anyway most were civilians who had possibly never handled a real weapon in their life. But Xar was persistent and won over his brother's arguments.
Training had started the next month after Xar had assembled a proper training regime, and after Maria was installed with replacement arm courtesy of Nar'Kallus. The new regime was, as Xar said, was the standard basic in boot camp. But from Vorlen's opinion it was equivalent to Special Forces training and that it would be too difficult for them. But his concerns were unwarranted, for they all progressed through the exercises with flying colors, even Maria, though she was less of a volunteer and more of a conscript under the Marshal's orders. But she enjoyed it none the less.
At first it had been difficult, for a human who had never used a real weapon before, using the alien weaponry was a strange experience, training with aliens even more so. She had originally thought that the colonists here would be reluctant, even hostile to her even being here. But fortunately of all the things the Charybdis were they weren't a xenophobic race, they probably hated their own race more than any other.
She had at first been terrified when Xar gave them all weapons and told them to fight each other in an arena under the colony, in fact everyone was, but the weapons that he had given them were modified versions of the real things. Instead of firing normal ice shards like the standard MOAC weapons, these only partially frozen ice with a small EMP pulse. The result was a half frozen ball of slush that froze solid instantly upon hitting the target while the EMP pulse would shut down any small device in the shot's path. If it was a recruit's harness then it would shut down, simulating death and making the drills more realistic. Also, unlike normal MOAC weapons with a vent system, these gun operated off of a clip system. Canisters filled with pressurized moisture gave them limited ammo which taught them to aim carefully and to conserve.
After a few months in the arena they had begun to do full out battles in the forests on the main continent of Horizon. The lush garden world provided many terrains to fight in, from beautiful beach heads and tropical rain forests to the dark cave systems which they would, literally, stumble upon and more often than not fall in to. With this new terrain came a new regime as well. Squads would be regularly put up against each other in deathmatches with a verity of objectives to complete. The winning team wouldn't get anything special, other than bragging rights and a higher spot on the leaderboard, but they would get a pickup in the dropship back to the colony, while the losers had to walk back, and if the skirmish was taking place far inland from the coast everyone would fight hard to avoid a long hike and swim back home.
"Zen, I'm checking up with the Sargent." She said, establishing a secure comm line with the squad leader.
"Be my guest."
Maria nodded before opening the channel. "Sargent, this is codename; Nano. We are acknowledged KIA. The enemy team was headed back in the air. Should we regroup?"
"Affirmative, Nano." Came the reply over her comm. "I'm sending you our coordinates, regroup here as fast as possible, we've got some missing limbs here."
"Landmines?" She asked casually, not really worrying about it. Losing a limb was actually quite common in the skirmishes, ether getting shot off, torn off in close quarters combat or blown off by training mines.
"Yeah," came the reluctant reply. "Though I have to give them credit for a perfectly orchestrated trap like that."
"Like what?"
There was a long pause.
"Sending waypoint." The transmission cutout suddenly, Maria looked over to Zen who only shrugged.
They adjusted their course to towards the position indicted by the sent marker. Within ten minutes they arrived and beheld their battered and defeated teammates scattered around a small clearing in the forest. Three of them were sitting with their backs against trees, one or both legs removed at the thighs, ice still melting off their frames. Their Sargent and another recruit were in the center of the clearing, hovering above another alien lying on the ground.
"Can you make it?" Their Sargent, codename Gamma, asked the downed recruit taking his shoulder and helping him up.
"I think so." The alien replied shakily, allowing Gamma to pull him to his feet. As he got up Maria saw what had happened. The entire left side of his harness was blown off and his body underneath was scorched and covered with bits of dirt and rock, but thankfully no punctures or anything life threatening. He probably fell sideways over a mine.
"Ah, Scout one you're here." Gamma sighed, handing off the wounded alien to his comrade and walking over to them. Both Maria and Zen saluted as he approached.
"Scout party one reporting as request- by the Father!" Zen exclaimed as Spector drew near, covering his olfactory receptors with one hand and fanning the air with the other. "With respect sir, you sink."
There was chuckling around the clearing and Gamma growled. "There was an unfortunate incident with a claymore covered with dung. Now if you want to do yourself a favor go assist with the wounded. Now."
Zen took the angry hint and moved towards one of the legless recruit, Maria was about to follow when Gamma stopped her.
"How many did they send after you?" He asked quietly.
"Five," she answered, remembering their flight through the forest. "I downed one before we ran, the rest chased us down to the falls."
"Did you try cloaking?"
"Tried. They were on to us from the start."
He swore quietly. "Then they must have hacked our communications. Can your AI detect enemy interception?"
"I don't think so."
He nodded, before turning back to the wounded.
"Scout two should be here any minute, grab a sack and load up." He shouted over his shoulder.
Grabbing a sack meant helping to move the sorry sack of flesh that got its legs removed. Though, Maria thought while helping a one legged alien to its feet, it wasn't really their fault. Their harnesses were nowhere near as strong as Xars tempered CCGH MK. 6, or Vorlens Terminator class MK.9. Their harnesses were weak, the Light Civilian MK. 2s barely able to take more than a few hits before breaking.
"Thanks." Gasped the alien, draping an arm over her shoulders and rising on its remaining foot. She buckled slightly from its weight as it leaned on her.
"No problem."
A snapping twig announced the arrival of Scout two as the two aliens emerged from the trees, water dripping off their frames. As Gamma went to greet them Maria began to notice a sound, a low hum that it seemed to vibrate the ground beneath them.
"Do you hear that?" Apparently she wasn't the only one, the recruit she held was tilting his head, trying to pinpoint where it came from.
"Yeah, what do you…?" She trailed off as the clearing became overcast with shadows. With growing trepidation, she looked up.
Up in the sky, half eclipsing the noonday sun, a lone Charybdis frigate was slowly drifting down towards the ground, the humming of its engines becoming ever more prominent. But it was different then Maria had expected. Instead of the large blocky rectangle of the Black Depths this vessel was smaller, less than a kilometer long and more closely resembled a flying squid even better than the Reapers. Its six long tentacles, twice as long as its main body, twisted and weaved in the air as it drifted down towards the ocean.
"It's headed for the colony." She heard Gamma mutter then opening an emergency channel. "Horizon, this is codename Gamma. Unknown vessel, classification; Heavy Frigate, is inbound to your location. How copy?"
oOoOoOoOoOo
"Solid copy, Gamma. Dropship inbound to your location, regroup and get back here ASAP." Xar shut off his commlink, not slowing in his full-out sprint to the colony command center.
He turned a sharp corner, nearly knocking over a patrolling recruit before he skidded to a stop inside the elevator.
For a few seconds it sped upwards before the doors open onto the topmost level of the administration tower. The sun shone through the water and glass domed ceiling upon dozens of technicians and analysts scurried around terminals and the gigantic holotable in the center, projecting the image of the planet into the air. Across the room he saw Vorlen along with his SIC, Ori, hovering over the operator at the communication station. He quickly shouldered his way through the crowd as he made his way towards them.
"Ah good, you're here brother." Vorlen greeted him when he had finally made it three while Ori simply nodded politely. "We just identified the vessel. The Heavy Frigate; Empathy. We've sent out dozens of hails but they're not responding. Can we trust it?"
"I believe so." Murmured Xar as he thought back to those final hours. "Yes, the Empathy part of the fleet, Eternal Lasting. From what I remember it retreated even before we did."
"But how can we be sure the Machines haven't infected everyone aboard?" Ori questioned, eying the data flowing across the screen of the terminal. "This could even be a suicide run like the Rebels used to do."
"Please don't remind of that." Said Xar, cringing as he remembered the men he had lost to that maneuver. "It brings up bad memories." He answered Ori's questioning looked.
The SIC didn't comment and instead turned back to watch the operator who was typing more frantically than before. "It's about to break the surface, sir."
They all looked up. Through the glass ceiling the surface of the water rippled from the wind above before it seemed to explode inward as the frigate splashed down on top of them. Its tendrils proceeded its main hull as it began it sink deeper past the command center.
As it passed by they all saw the numerous dents and holes in the armor as well as water being sucked into a hole clean through the hull, hopefully only into a seal-able storage bay.
"Where is it going?" Xar asked as the ship descended below the window's view.
"Docking bay A-4." The tech replied.
"Order Squads 2 and 4 to arm themselves and meet us outside the docking pork. Tell the Empathy to stand by outside the port following Docking Order Beta 23. If they acknowledge that then we're in the clear, temporally at least." Xar muttered the last part to the other two as they made their way to the elevator.
After a short ride and walk down they found themselves at the assigned docking port. The windows to either side of the extension tube displayed the vessel in all its damaged glory and its airlock in position. Lined up on either side of the door was Squad 2 in standard boarding formation, live weapons primed and ready as they waited for orders.
"Has it moved?" Xar asked, moving to stand in front of the airlock.
"Negative sir." The squad leader replied. "It's following D.O. Beta 23 to the letter."
"All right." Xar breathed out as he griped his plasma blade and held it loosely in his hand, then to the squad leader. "Extend the tube."
He nodded and typed upon a small console on the airlock door. Then with the grinding of machinery the tube reached out to the ship, clamping on with a dull thud. After a few moment of equalizing pressure the airlock doors opened reviling the tube's dark interior, the squad held their ground, weapons peaking around the door frame as they watched the ships outer airlock. Xar remained standing in the open doorway, hand clenching his deactivated blade as he waited.
They all tensed as the ships airlock cycled then slid open. In its place stood a lone Charybdis, its BOMH MK. 5 was scorched and dented with one side of its face plate burned to crisp.
Stumbling, the lone alien walked slowly towards them, stopping in front of Xar to give a shaky salute.
"First officer Braf'Olenn of clan Balcona, reporting Captain." It gasped out, swaying on its feet.
"At ease." Said Xar, watching the officer sway with concern. "What is your status?"
"The crew." Braf continued, ignoring Xar's question. "Almost dead… medical stasis… losing power… help them…"
Xar barely managed to catch him as the officer fell forward, his injuries finally catching up to him. He whirled to the crowd standing in the door way. "Get medical teams up here, now!" Ori turned and sprinted for the elevator as Xar slowly dragged the unconscious alien from the tube and laid him gently on the floor, and waited for help.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Two days later
Xar looked over the report with an invisible frown on his face. After a frenzied rush to get the Empathy's crew out of stasis before the power failed they were now being treated and were on their way to recovering. The ship however was a mess, it was a wonder how it even got here. Life support had failed hours before it had made planet fall and the engines were close to melting as well as hundreds of other problems. But what troubled him most was the number of dead that they hadn't been able to save. They found the captains body, or rather what was left of him, slouched over a ruptured plasma conduit and dozens of others in the cold embrace of death.
He tossed the datapad on the desk with a sigh, sinking down deeper in the soft padding of his chair while his brother picked up the pad. They were both sitting in Vorlen's office, waiting for Officer Olenn to arrive and make his official report.
"I suppose that's a little better." Muttered Vorlen, after reading the pad for moment. "Forty seven percent casualties and the rest in critical condition."
"Better than the Black Depths at least." Xar replied dryly. "Ninety nine point whatever percent, it's a large number that's all I know."
"Oh don't be so sullen, brother. This is the most survivors we've recovered in years, besides you three anyway." He corrected himself, watching the door intensely.
Almost as if the universe had granted his wish the door opened and Officer Olenn stepped in. He had cleaned himself up well after a few days sleep and a good meal, his harness was sparkly clean, though most of the dents were still there. He had even found someone to make a quick repair on his faceplate and his two blue eyes shone brightly.
"Officer, perfect timing." Said Vorlen and gestured to an empty chair. "Have a seat."
"Thank you, sir." He said, sitting ram-rod straight and eying his superiors nervously.
"And please relax." Continued Vorlen, noticing his nervousness. "This isn't a tribunal, just a small question and answer game."
"First of all how did you get away," Xar asked.
"We fled with the rest of Eternal Lasting, sir." Replied Braf, stuttering a little. "But they must have sent us the wrong coordinates for we ended up in a system a full light-year from the rendezvous point. We would have tried again but the ship engines overheated, we were stuck, floating in space for the next three million years. When Horizons message reached I was the only one who could be safely awoken from stasis. We would have set out straight to you but we took a detour to find the fate of Eternal Lasting. We found their remains drifting in an asteroid belt, the machines had found them after they went into stasis. We immediately set out for you after that and… here we are."
"What do you mean, we?" Vorlen asked, leaning heavily on his desk. "If you were the only one who could be awoken, who could have possibly been with you?"
In response, Braf reached down and pulled a small chip from his waist, the glowing data crystal imbedded in it pulsed with life.
"Is that…" Incredulous, Vorlen reached a hand and took the chip then slowly inserted it in a slot in his desk. Its surface lite up with blue light as a hologram was projected above its surface, a simple blue ball.
"Hello, Colony Marshal Karoth." The ball said, pulsing as it spoke. "I am Brightness, the Empathy's artificial intelligence."
"Well that makes sense." Vorlen muttered, studying the glowing ball in front of him. "Brightness, what is your status?"
"I am one hundred percent operational and awaiting orders, sir." The AI replied.
"Have you been listening to this?"
"Affirmative."
"Then do you have anything more to add?"
"Yes sir." The AIs form shifted to create a strange fork like object, he recognized it as one of the mass relays Maria had told them of. "We encountered this construct in the system with Eternal Lasting's remains, no doubt it is what the machines used to find them in the first place."
"And what does this have to do with anything?" Xar spoke up, depressed over the lost fleet.
"I received a transmission from the construct, from Breaking Justice, believe it or not."
"It makes no difference." Xar muttered, leaning forward towards the AI. "They doomed themselves ages ago by sending it."
"I doubt that, Captain. Considering that the transmission was sent no more than a week ago." This caused everyone to perk up.
"You didn't tell me of this when you got it, why?" Braf sharply asked the AI as it shifted back into its ball.
"Forgive me, but you had more pressing matters on your hands at the time." He nodded but continued to glare at the AI.
"What was the message?" Vorlen asked, impatiently.
"Coordinates, as well as information of the planet from a galactic perceptive." Brightness shifted again this time into large garden world, a small waypoint appeared floating above a sea showing where Breaking Justice was located. Just beside one of the largest cities on the planet, Xar noticed.
"To rest of the galaxy and its native populace, the Asari, the planet is named; Thessia." The AI announced.
"Shouldn't they have received our message as well? If so why didn't they come?" Vorlen mused as he studied the planet.
"I can only speculate sir, but it is possible that the Asari intercepted your transmission."
"Well then, we'll just have to get them manually." Said Xar, rising to his feet. "Brightness, how long before the Empathy and her crew can be space worthy again?"
"With what you have here… a month, maybe."
"Well then," Xar turned to his brother. "We better get to work."
oOoOoOoOoOo
Humans were fascinating life forms, Sovereign thought to himself.
Ever since had been contacted by the human called the Illusive Man, he had chosen to remain awake and observe. Keeping his processing and reactor power to a minimum to hide himself, he began to grow evermore fascinated by them, the way how they adapted and overcame any obstacle in their path was astounding to him.
He vaguely thought he should be more worried about them, seeing them building real laser weaponry before his very scanners, capable of destroying him in a single blow. But that wouldn't happen, once the cycle ended perfection would be…
"Vanguard." His processors ground to a halt as he realized who it was. The orchestrator of the cycle, their creator and master, the Catalyst. "It is not time for the harvest. Explain yourself."
Wondering what he had done he checked his chronometer and realized he had been online for a full organic year. The longest he had ever stayed awake was for week every five thousand years to check on the galaxy's evolution, obviously this longer than normal observation had drawn the Catalyst's attention, hence the call.
"I have found them. What we have been searching for." He sent back, along with everything had gathered on the humans.
The Catalyst was silent as it processed the data Sovereign had sent it before it spoke. "They are a threat and must be terminated."
Sovereign almost shutdown at what he had heard. "But, they are…"
"An abomination," his master interrupted. "They have evolved outside of our influence and for the first time in our history we are threatened."
"But they are perfection."
"Not our perfection." Said the Catalyst, ending his argument. "Your brothers shall join you soon, to purge this threat before it spreads. The cycle will continue as planned."
With that it left him to slowly power down back into stasis. Before he went offline completely he felt something strange, a vague sense of disappointment and... something else.
A/N: a little shorter chapter but don't worry, first contact is coming up shortly.
Read and review plz.