Me: Hello again people.
Trin: Sup.
Me: I finally remembered to work on this. Also, I'm adding a couple codex entries to this part of the chapter. I know it's different from the norm, but who the fuck cares if it's normal or not?
May 1, 2566: SPARTAN Squad Majestic helps Turian forces defuse Krogan Rebellions era bomb on Tuchanka. The Op's only casualties were Turians from the initial crash..
May 5, 2566: Spectre John Shepard and UNSC Armor Division Bravo, along with Krogan ground forces, stop attempt by Reapers to poison Tuchanka's atmosphere.
May 20, 2566: UNSC Battle group Olympus goes MIA. Olympus consisted of 1 UNSC Cruiser (Zeus), 4 UNSC Frigates (Ares, Apollo, Hercules, Mars), and 2 UNSC Destroyers (Poseidon and Hades).
Me: Well, that's that. And yes, we're skipping straight to the Cerberus Assault on the Citadel mission. Though this time it's the Light of Sol.
Sarah: And Trey gets to show his feelings about traitors.
Me: Yep, now on-…
SPARTAN IV Scruggs: On with-…+Knife shoved through throat+
Trin: +Pulls out knife with a smile+
Me: Thanks sis. Now on with the story!
"Talking."
"Thinking."
"[Electronic communication.]"
{AI intercommunication}
Never Trust White and Gold
[Nova Galaxy, Draco System, UNSC Light of Sol:]-Shepard
"So…who are we meeting again?" Angel asked as she stretched her arms behind her head.
John smirked before lowering her hood further, making her not be able to see. Angel grumbled before fixing it and glaring at her older brother. He laughed in response as her eyes were still hidden by her hood.
"SPARTAN team Noble." Jane said as she glared at her twin.
"Oh, I heard about them. Didn't half of their team die on Reach?" Angel asked.
"Actually they thought all but one of the team died. SPARTAN Jorge was found here, SPARTAN Jun had survived period, and SPARTAN Samantha was found on what was left of Reach. Supposedly she has the actual armor pieces from her fallen teammates."
"Emile's shoulder pieces, Carter's chest armor, Cat's wrist guards, FJ Para knee guards, and the Pilot helmet." Someone behind them said.
The three of them turned to see a female SPARTAN III in black and silver armor with a red visor and a skull painted on the helmet.
"Course Cat only had a single data-pad so on the other wrist I have more shotgun shells."
"SPARTAN Samantha B312, right?" Jane asked.
"Sam Cole." The SPARTAN replied as she held out her hand.
Jane shook it as the S-III removed her helmet. Underneath was a woman that looked like Luna with shorter hair, slightly taller, and with red hair that had black highlights.
"Where's the rest of Nobel team?" John asked. "And would you happen to be related to the SPARTAN III Luna 'AWOL' Cole?"
"Yes, I'm her twin. And Nobel is-…"
"Sammy!" a familiar voice shouted.
The group turned to see Luna running up. The S-III had a smile on her face and Marissa and Lotus right behind her. She ran over and hugged Samantha.
"…Cat ears…and a cat tail…BABY SISTER, WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Sam yelled at the other SPARTAN.
The other SPARTAN cringed at that and Angel and John laughed, Marissa chuckled, Lotus remained emotionless, and Jane sighed. She had a similar experience with Angel during their assault on the Collectors. She had found out that Angel had gotten a Grim Reaper tattoo on her back and the N7 emblem tattooed on her stomach.
"I just had my DNA…augmented a little to have the cat parts." Luna said.
"…Well…can Kitten still handle her drinks?" Sam replied with a smirk.
"Oh I can…HEY!" Luna shouted.
"What? Does Kitten not like her nickname? How about Baby Cat then?"
"What…why…I hate you sometimes sis."
"Ah, you know you love me."
"Moving on now." John said as he walked up. "Again where's the rest of Noble?"
"Well, we're supposed to be getting three new guys. Two S-IVs and one S-II. Follow me."
With that, the group began following the S-III, who kept picking on Luna about the latter's cat parts. They stopped in front of a hanger and waited for it to open. Inside they found a small ship and several SPARTANs standing there. Two were taller than the others by at least a head. The five turned to face us and Sam walked up to them. She shook hands with three before introducing herself and the remaining members of the old Noble team.
"Maria Carter 062." The first, an S-II, said.
"Sergeant Jake Andrews." The second said.
"Corporal Michal Jones." The last said.
Jane glared at the Corporal.
"What?" He asked her as he crossed his arms.
"Armor color."
The S-IV looked down at his white and gold armor before shrugging. He then turned back to the rest of Noble team. Sam explained that they had some big shoes to fill when a little girl walked up behind Luna. Sam noticed but motioned for everyone to keep quiet. Luna yawned for a second before it morphed into a pained yell.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" She shouted as she turned and glared at the child that had just pulled her tail. "You better start running now kid cause when I get my hands on you I'll-…"
"OFFICER ON DECK!" Jorge shouted suddenly.
Everyone except Luna instantly shot to attention. Luna looked up to see a pale man with multiple scars glaring at her, and Admiral Keyes standing next to him.
"At ease." Keyes said before looking at Luna. "I think it would help your life expectancy not to threaten the Master Chief's daughter when he's standing right there."
Luna went wide eyed before looking back at the scarred man. She gulped and laughed nervously before patting the kid on the head.
"…-um…not kill you." Luna finished, not really sounding sure of herself. She then shook her head and questioned why she was acting like that.
"Not buying it." John said simply.
"Ah, leave the kid be John. She didn't mean anything." Maria replied. "Besides, she'd have to get past you anyways."
"I doubt anyone could do that." Jorge agreed.
Jane laughed before realizing something. They hadn't gone to attention for her. She was a Captain, an officer, yet they hadn't gone to attention. No one even acknowledged her.
"What the hell!? Do I have to be an Admiral to get any recognition!? Calm down Jane. Don't break your Paragon image." Jane thought to herself.
"You alright sis?" Angel and John asked.
"I'm fine." Jane said angrily in response.
"Well…most of the people in here are UNSC." Jane thought before sighing.
She was about to say something else when alarms sounded. Jane looked over at John and Angel before telling them to move out. She looked over at Sam to see the SPARTAN had put her helmet back on.
"Captain, escort duty!" Keyes shouted, before handing the kid to Jane.
"On it sir!" Jane shouted in reply before grabbing the kid and running with John and Angel.
She put the kid on her back as they sprinted straight to the Normandy. Once they got there, Jane set the kid down and waited as the airlocks opened. They ran in and looked around to see the entirety of the SR3 had already geared up and were waiting for orders.
"The fuck's going on Captain?" A UNSC ODST asked.
"Don't know. Where's GHOST?"
"They were already on Light of Sol. Armored up and everything." Ashley said.
"They got orders to go walk around with Halsey." Kaiden explained.
"Well…we can't really rely on them right now. Everyone, get yourselves combat ready. I don't know what's going on right now, but I'll be damned if the Normandy's crew is left out of it!" John shouted as he and Angel went to the elevator.
"Kaiden, Ash, keep an eye on the kid. John, Angel, and I are going over to the Council." Jane ordered.
"We're Spectres also Jane." Ash complained.
"JUST DO IT!" John shouted from the elevator.
Ashley grumbled under her breath, but followed her orders. Jane ran over to the elevator and waited as it brought them down to the armory. They ran out and got suited up. Jane put on the N7 Paladin armor, John put on the N7 Destroyer armor, and Angel put on the N7 Demolisher armor. Jane turned to see her clone standing there, wearing N7 Demolisher armor in standard Alliance Blue.
"I'm going too." Amber said as she placed the helmet on her head.
"No you're-…"
"Yes I am." Amber said as she grabbed a Valkyrie and an Eagle.
Jane sighed before grabbing her Lancer, Crusader, and Valiant. John grabbed a Typhoon, Piranha, and Paladin. Angel Grabbed her Black Widow, Hurricane, and Valkyrie. The four of them nodded to each other before putting on their helmets and heading out, only to run into Orion squad.
"Captain." Johnson said with a salute. "What's going on?"
His question was answered when a blaring sound was heard over the coms. It stopped after a second and multiple voices started shouting before someone brought them to order.
"[Coms are back up. This is the radar room of Light of Sol. UNSC Battle Group Olympus showed up, with a Cerberus paint job. Right after that we came under attack by SPARTANs.]"
Johnson coughed twice, nearly chocking on the cigar he had. "SAY WHAT!?" He shouted.
"[An entire battalion of S-IVs in Cerberus colors started attacking us. They were being led by Miranda Lawson, Kia Lang, and an unknown.]"
"This is Council Spectre Captain Jane Shepard, I need who that unknown is ASAP." Jane told the person.
"[Working on it ma'am…hold on. S-IV fire team Majestic and Commander Palmer have eyes on the unknown. Patching you through to them now.]"
Throughout this conversation, the group had left the Normandy and began making their way through the ship. Johnson had left them and went to find his team. Jane had stopped the four soldier team at an intersection.
"Commander Palmer, do you have eyes on the unknown Cerberus leader?" Jane asked.
"[Yeah, it's…I don't believe this shit. I spaced that bitch!]" Palmer shouted over the coms.
"Commander, who the hell is it?"
"[Ilsa Zane, the original SPARTAN IV.]"
"Should that concern me?"
"[Everything that a SPARTAN needs the armor to do, she can do without it. Indestructible bones; hyper-enhanced vision, muscle density, and reflexes; and a ton of other shit that I don't know about.]"
Jane cursed under her breath. She had seen S-IVs in action thanks to some of her more recent missions. An S-IV that could do all of that without the armor was something she didn't want to meet.
"Anyway to kill her?" John asked as he saw something heading their way.
"[Well apparently spacing the bitch doesn't work, so I don't know. SHIT! Majestic, pull back! Palmer out Captain!]" The S-IV Commander said as gunfire could be heard over the radio.
"…That cannot be good." Amber said as the team started moving again.
They turned the corner only to see Noble 6, her helmet now on, continuously stabbing her Cerberus colored teammate.
"YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!" The S-III shouted as Luna ran up and pulled her back.
"Ok, he's dead. Even I think you're over doing it." The other S-III told her.
"…Alright…fine…how's Andrews?" Sam asked.
"…Well…he's better…but only because he's dead." Luna replied.
Sam groaned. Jane patted the SPARTAN on the back. Barely half an hour after gaining command of those two, and one turned out to be a traitor and the other was dead.
"What exactly happened?" Amber asked.
"The Corporal stabbed the Sergeant in the heart. Bio-Foam couldn't help that."
Angel was about to ask about it when Ashley called them over the coms.
"[Williams to Shepard. We need help ma'am!]" Ashley shouted.
"What's going on Ash?" John asked.
"[Under heavy fire from Cerberus forces. Kaiden got the kid out, but I'm on my own now. Had some ODSTs, but they died taking down the S-IVs.]"
"I'm on my way!" John shouted as he ran off.
"John wait! …Fuck." Jane turned to Angel. "Help your brother."
"You got it sis." Angel said before running off to catch up to John.
"So, just us now?" Amber asked as the remaining Spectre checked her weaponry.
She looked back up at Noble team and Luna's team. She then smiled under her helmet.
"No. We have our own back-up."
"What? You're the back-up Captain. We're SPARTANs." Sam and Luna replied at the exact same time.
"Doesn't matter, we need to move. Fastest way to get Cerberus off this ship is to kill them." Maria replied.
"Time to kick ass and chew gum." Luna and Sam said again before the later checked her pockets.
"Wait…I'm out of gum." Sam said.
"Sorry sis, last stick." Luna replied.
Before either of them could take it, another SPARTAN took it from them and stuck it in her mouth before reattaching her helmet.
"HEY!" Both twins shouted as they turned to see an S-IV in Warrior class armor.
"To slow." The S-IV said.
"GABBY! What have I told you about that?" Maria asked.
"…Sorry mom." The SPARTAN said quietly while rubbing the back of her head.
"Ha! She's scared of her mom…stop doing that!" Luna and Sam shouted at each other.
"FOCUS!" Jane shouted. "Fell like I'm babysitting a bunch of two year olds."
"Now you know how Jorge and I feel." Maria stated when a grate nearby was kicked open.
The group spun, weapons raised, and watched as an Alliance soldier jumped down, a child quickly following him.
"Kaiden. You being followed?" Amber asked.
She was answered when a Cerberus S-IV knocked him and grabbed the girl. Emily Andrews yelled and started hitting the armored soldier, resulting in a laugh from her captor.
"In all honesty, that's kinda cute. Now drop the hardware or I'm snapping her neck." The S-IV said as he grabbed Emily's neck.
"…You have no idea who's kid that is, do you?" Maria asked as someone in the same armor she was wearing silently dropped from behind the S-IV.
"He's dead," Luna whispered to Sam as the other S-III nodded her head in agreement.
"Nor do I care. Now drop the –AH!"
The IV cried out in pain as the S-II pulled his blade back.
"That is my daughter." John told the IV as he grabbed the SPARTAN's head and stabbed his knife through the visor.
"Dad!" Emily shouted happily before trying to run to him, only to stop mid-way and shout a warning.
Jane did a biotic pull on Emily and brought her to safety as John turned to have Palmer thrown into him. Both SPARTAN's rolled for a bit before stopping. Unable to get up, both of them could only watch as Ilsa Zane, now wearing SPARTAN IV armor, walked up to them, a smile plastered on her face.
"You know, I would have been fine only killing the bitch that threw me off the Infinity, but now I get to kill the Master Chief. The hero of the UNSC. I'm hoping Cerberus pays me extra for this." Zane said as she looked over at the others. "Oh, and we have an audience. Let me show you all what a real SPARTAN is."
"I'LL SHOW YOU A REAL SPARTAN BITCH!" Gabby shouted as she activated her energy sword and charged Zane.
"I was gonna say that." Luna and Sam complained before looking at each other. "I SAID STOP DOING THAT!"
Jane sighed again.
"Is this some sort of comedy hour or do these two actually act like this?" Jane thought to herself before pulling out her Lancer and firing at Zane.
Zane took the round, her shield blocking all of them, and sidestepped Gabby before grabbing the other IV's outstretched wrist. Zane pulled Crimson team's leader forward before sending a knee into her gut. The Energy sword fell from Gabby's hand, deactivating itself as it did, as the S-IV coughed wetly. Zane continued to smile as she picked Gabby back up and punched her in the head twice. Gabby's helmet went flying. Its visor, and some of the actual metal cracked. Zane through Gabby towards Maria who instantly caught her daughter.
"Holy shit." Amber said as she saw the multiple cracks running through Gabby's chest plate.
Maria growled before charging Zane, Luna and Sam quickly doing the same. The twins pulled out their blades and started sending quick slices and stabs at the 'fake' SPARTAN. Zane grabbed the twins heads and smashed them together, completely destroying their helmet's visors and knocking them out, before tossing them away and grabbing Maria by the neck. The S-II struggled in the insane woman's grip as John and Palmer finally managed to get up.
"You and all the other S-IIs are obsolete. I'm what a real SPARTAN is. I am what the SPARTANs were meant to be!" Ilsa shouted as Maria.
"No…you're…not." Maria stated as John stabbed Zane in her leg.
She shouted before dropping Maria and spinning around to see a knife stab her in the eye. She yelled again and stumbled backwards. She pulled the knife out and blood started pouring from the wound. She turned to see both Amber and Jane surrounded in a biotic aura.
"Well shit." Zane said as multiple warps destroyed her shield, armor, and her.
Jane breathed in deeply once and looked at Amber, who was exhausted from using so much biotic energy at once without the same training. Jane laughed.
"Alright, catch your breath Amber." Jane said to her clone. "I hope John and Angel had the same luck."
"FUCK!" John Shepard shouted as he ducked under another sniper shot.
Angel and Ashley popped and fired their snipers in response. They were rewarded by the death scream of a Cerberus Nemesis. The Cerberus soldier fell next to someone John hated, Miranda Lawson. Lawson threw another warp at him and he ducked again, choosing to keep his barrier up longer.
"Somebody shoot her!" John ordered.
"There are only two of us!" Ash shouted back.
Angel chose to ignore the arguing couple, choosing instead to focus on sniping as many Cerberus soldiers as she could. She was about to fire again when she heard someone behind her pull out a blade. She instantly spun around, unsheathing her blade as she did. This in turn saved her from being sliced in half by Kia Leng.
"The hell!? Headhunter Team killed you!" Ash shouted at the Cerberus assassin.
Angel didn't say anything as she pushed Leng backwards with her sword. The assassin growled before charging at the N7 soldier. Angel got up and charged in response blade met again as the two clashed.
"Angel be-…" John was interrupted by a warp destroying his barrier. "THAT'S IT!"
John jumped up, grabbed his Piranha before Biotic Charging into the Cerberus Operative. Lawson went flying backwards from the energy as John continued to attack her, firing his shotgun as he did. Lawson was able to block every blast with a barrier of her own. She smirked before looking John in the eye.
"You lose John-…"
The only male of the Shepard siblings interrupted her by putting the barely of his Paladin in her mouth.
"Trump this." He said before pulling the trigger.
While the result was not as messy as a Magnum doing the same, the outcome was the same. Lawson's lifless corpse fell to the floor as John got up to see that the only Cerberus soldier left alive was Kia Leng, and he was retreating. John looked back at Miranda's corse.
"Why are the hot ones always evil?" He asked aloud.
"JONATHAN ANDREW SHEPARD! YOU DID NOT JUST SAY WHAT I THINK YOU SAID!" Ashley shouted at her boyfriend, who cringed in response.
"He forgot that she's partially Latina…though you can't really tell anymore…how the hell did she change her skin tone anyways?" Angel asked herself as she watched Ash yell at her older brother. "Still kinda wondering how Cerberus got here."
Across the ship, Reclaimer Alliance Councilor Donnel Udina was slammed into the wall…for the fifth time. ONI GHOST Helix Dawson pulled him back before looking at the other Councilors and Halsey, who was trying to repair her prosthetic limb.
"…Either cuff him or finish him, I'm a little busy right now Colonel. " Halsey said as she tried to activate the limb once more.
"Yes ma'am." Helix replied before throwing Udina to the ground and pulling out one of her Guardians.
Udina looked up just in time to see the barrel of the pistol get pressed against his head before it flashed, sending a bullet through his skull and splattering his brains on the floor and wall behind him.
The three Shepard siblings suddenly felt a lot more relaxed then usual.
"Did a huge annoyance to us just get removed from this universe?" All three of them thought to themselves as they helped Sol's Defense Forces finish the rest of the Cerberus attack group.
Me: Well, that's the end of that.
Trin: Wow, double execution.
Sam: Technically triple.
Sarah: Only double. John's killing of Lawson doesn't count.
John: +Runs into room+ You gotta help me hide from Ash.
Trin: Dude, you pissed off someone who's at least partially Latina. Just be glad she's not full Latina like me.
Me: Well before Williams shows up and kills her boyfriend, I'm gonna end it.
Williams: +Walks in and sends death glare at John+
John: +Gulps+
Me: VR Commando ATA out. Don't get any blood on the carpet, I just clea-…too late.