The CNS Angre had become a snarling beast. Alarm klaxons sang vicious refrains of vengeance as the crew, both human and nazzadi, rushed to their action stations. The alarms and angry curses of the crew were supported by a thrumming, dark undercurrent of arcanotechnology and sorcery. Coalition sailors marines, mecha and Engel pilots were prepared to demonstrate to the attackers of Eden Prime the full fury of homo sapiens in a Total War.

"A-Pods are green," the rich, measured tones of the Angre's nazzadi XO announced. "Kinetic barriers at maximum. All hands prepare for atmospheric transition. Engel and Mecha crews, prepare for aerial insertion."

In the depths of the vessel, Captain Anderson and Nihlus were standing across from the most successful OIS Rapid Response Team of the past ten years. The Citadel SPECTRE carefully observed each member of the team. He was already familiar with both Commander Shepard, the Citadel's preferred choice for the next Coalition SPECTRE, and Kaiden Alenko. Shepard and Alenko were the only real candidates to succeed Darrell Sunseri. That was not to say that the rest of Shepard's squad weren't impressive soldiers. Jacob Taylor was incredibly skilled and was on an unofficial 'watch' list. The African-descended OIS soldier was also a very capable biotic. It was also impossible to overlook the physically imposing James Vega...if for no other reason that he was carrying around a man-portable Lightning Gun that wouldn't look out of place cradled in the arms of a MK-5 Crusader or Baraki Power Armor.

"Squad Sixteen," Captain Anderson's voice interrupted Nihlus's appraisal of the Coalition elites. "You have one objective. Secure that beacon! Nihlus will be operating independently to paint targets and locate the Prothean Beacon. Once you have secured the artifact, you are to enter Search and Destroy procedures. Kill anything and everything that isn't untainted and mortal."

"Sir, yes sir!" the OIS operatives acknowledged in one thunderous voice. Nihlus found himself once again impressed by the humans. The two nazzadi members of the squad, the stocky Karana Haati and the coiled spring that was Ezay Shaumburg, were almost turian in their predatory stances. Lee Riley, Dominic Osorio, Jung-rae Kyung, and Khaled al-Houayet were the model of professionalism.

There was suddenly a tremor that was not caused by the stresses of atmospheric transition.

"What the hell was that?" Jung-rae barked.

Determining features was nearly impossible due to the OIS battle armor, but the turian was certain he was holding eye-contact with Commander Shepard. The two veterans were acutely aware that the Angre had been struck by weapon's fire.

"This is XO Hill. We are taking enemy particle beam fire. All ground forces: deploy," Commander Hill declared. Truthfully, the nazzadi male was the true captain of the ship. The Angre was less of a naval vessel and more of an OIS deployment craft.

She still had teeth to match her standard-issue sister-ships. The Angre was a Triumphant-class Battlecruiser and carried a weapon that made them one of the most feared vessels in the known space. The Coalition's primary warship was armed with an absurdly large Charge Beam. The original Victory-class 'battle-cruisers' had been equipped with a massive plasma cannon. Plasma Cannons were very powerful, but it was revealed during the Q'lawki War that kinetic barriers could defend against Plasma Cannons to a limited degree. This discovery lead to a slight phasing out of the weapon for the primary weapon. Coalition Naval designers had determined that a Charge Beam would be far more effective as a primary weapon.

Charge Beams treated kinetic barriers like a militant atheist treated the concept of caring deities: with utter disdain.

"Get to your transport!" Anderson barked as the distant sounds of combat, the roaring the Angre's three Engels, and the clanging footfalls of two dozen Mecha filled the hanger.

The SPECTRE and the Rapid Response Team boarded the waiting UCH-76 Direwolf. As the craft exited the human vessel, three facts became abundantly clear.

First, the invasion was far larger than the standard batarian raid often faced by Coalition worlds. Explosions dotted the horizon as alien and unknown fighters streaked by.

"It's like a Q'lawki War vid-doc!" Vega observed.

"Be prepared for HEDLs then," Ezay's powerful yet unmistakably feminine voice added.

Shepard couldn't dispute James' observation. It was almost like the stories of the Q'lawki War his step-uncle had told John about over the years. A pair of enemy torch-bug shaped fighters turned to engage the newly arrived Coalition craft. Unfortunately, they captured the predatory attention of the Cherub Engel 'Rashnu'. Shepard caught sight of the Engel's barbed tail thrashing wildly in anticipation of the coming battle. The bio-mechanical engine of destruction extended its bulbous left arm. A metal sheath retracted exposing the barrel of the Engel's plasma cannon. In a blinding flash, the first fighter was pulverized by the plasma discharge. Shepard felt the Engel's rage after being hit by return fire, even if the fire did not do more than deplete the being's kinetic barriers. The fighter was soon erased by a missile launched from the massive pods on the Cherub's shoulders.

The OIS RTT did not pity the enemy for what the two fighters had unleashed. An Engel was a terrifyingly powerful opponent when it was simply amused by the prospect of combat.

An enraged Engel would have been worshiped as an incarnation of Kali on primitive Earth.

The second fact soon revealed itself. The Angre was outclassed by the eldritch dreadnought leading the enemy's assault. Shepard was stunned that the enemy's hull managed to tank the Charge Beam with only moderate damage. The return fire turned that stunned observation into a cold pit of worry and primal terror. The particle beam effortlessly penetrated the Angre's kinetic barrier and carved a red, angry gash in the vessel's hull.

"Oh...fuck," Khaled breathed. Explosions tore through the Coalition cruiser. The vessel's hull integrity was completely gone. By a minor miracle, escape pods and other landing craft managed to escape before the Angre simply broke apart.

"Get us on the ground!" Shepard roared. The Commander's point was artfully accentuated by a trio of nazzadi Oryladi mecha were simply erased by the massive particle beam.

A war horn filled the air. The sound was alien, ancient, and pervasive. It filtered through all aspects of a person's being. Shepard could feel the sound entwining with his para-psychic abilities. In the distance, Rashnu howled in rage and pain. Violence would be the massive creature's only solace now.

As the 'Direwolf' touched down, Shepard felt the shiver of deadly premonition work its way through his nerves. Memories of his Burn while battling the Spawn in Aden flowed from the recesses of his mind like tar.

This was the opening salvo in a new and horrible front of the Second Aeon War.


"I fucking hate this kind of OP," the heavily tattooed woman spat angrily. "I don't care what Harper's Scrying said. We're wasting our time chasing down anything that isn't going to put an end to the Dhohanoids."

"Come now, Jaq," the unearthly voice of the Whisper Tager echoed. "This is connected to the Rightness."

Jaq growled and proved her unearthly willpower. The Tager was an ally, but it was still a symbiotic entity from beyond this plane of reality...bound to her best friend. The Reconnaissance team was tracking a lead Jack Harper had uncovered through his sorcery. Jaq hated the man with a passion, but his sorcery was incredibly potent. Eventually, Jaq relented and tore her gaze from 'Kaze'.

"Where the shit is Kiri?"

There was an amused flicker of the Kaze's wings that the biotic recognized. "Kiri is toying with the mortals again. He's got them running in circles as he finishes the job."

Jaq's Personal Central Processing Unit provided an alert. "Time for our job to start."

"Make me a door, bestie," Kaze's said in a lilting voice.

"Congrats on being about two hundred years out of date," Jaq complained as she called upon her biotic gifts. A blue nimbus of power surrounded Jaq. The Eldtrich Society agent reveled in the experience of using her biotics. She may have had to register with the Coalition, but it was a hell of a lot better than being one of those poor para-psychic bastards. Jaq didn't have to worry about Burning...or being used as a beacon for Things Beyond.

Above all, Jaq loved the fact that she was probably the strongest human biotic in existence. The massive shock wave that obliterated the wall she was aiming at was proof.

'Fucking batarians,' Jaq growled. Ever since leaving the Citadel, the batarians had gone one-hundred-percent shit-for-brains by dabbling in unrestrained sorcery. It was as if they were begging for the Old Ones to send the spoor of their unfathomable corruption into every square millimeter of their species. It wouldn't surprise Jaq that the Dhohanoids and their masters had taken control of the Hegemony. So, as far as the human biotic was concerned, each broken corpse her attack left behind was a service to the galaxy.

There were a few survivors of the azure juggernaut of Jaq's assault were shredded by Kaze's Razor Wing Limit Weapon. The walls were now a dusty red color. Kaze paused as if she were admiring her wanton slaughter of a dozen batarians. Truthfully, she was watching her partner, the Mirage Tager known as Kiri, approach from his objective. Jaq saw her ally's writhing tentacles slither around the corner before Kiri full form appeared. Kiri was stockier than Kiri's Whisper form. In the place of Kaze's wings, the Mirage boasted the previously mentioned tentacles.

The tentacles were also the source of one of Jaq's favorite jokes. "What took you so long? Stop to fuck an all-girls school?"

A Tager really didn't have eyes, but Jaq was sure the lava-lamp-ish features of Kiri's head basically just rolled at her. "I believe in monogamy, Jaq."

"Yeah," Jaq replied with a mocking smile. "That makes you two boring. Once we get back with whatever info you got..."

Kaze flitted her wings. "Flattered, but we aren't having a threesome."

"Your loss," Jaq took comfort in the usual exchange. "What did you find?"

"2181. We're halfway there," Kiri revealed.

Jaq still had trouble buying into the importance of numerology, but still Harper said the numbers at this location were important. If that pompous asshole believed the numbers were a means of locating the Intelligence and understanding the Cycle, then they were worth looking into.

She would still rather focus on getting revenge on Dhohanoids. After a moment she relented thinking, 'Can't exactly murder the fucks who murdered my parents if the whole universe goes tits-up when the Stars Are Right or the Cycle Converges...'


Ashley Williams was having the shittiest day of her life. The xenomix mecha-jock wasn't sure anything would have replaced the infamous "Flux Fuck-up" that concluded with her in C-Sec lockup for a series of events that ended up with a volus being punted into an angry group of salarians. The geth assaulting her unit was definitely officially the new king of shittiness.

"Kilo-4, this is Williams. Do you have eyes on that geth Aramature?"

"Eyes on," the MV-18 Saber mech replied from somewhere. The recon mecha was doing an admirable job hiding from the geth while feeding the defenders intel. "Target painted."

"Acquired..." Ashley blinked her lavender eyes, a product of her 'almati' heritage, as her Claymore mecha prepared to put an end to the heavy-hitter of the latest geth push. There was a shudder that, thanks to the D-Engine Operator Effect, was felt deep in her shoulders. The arcanotech that powered her war-machine made her feel as if the eleven and a half meter tall mecha was a second skin. The xenomix smirked as the rocket punched through the insectoid geth construct.

'I wonder if this is how my ancestors felt when they killed a Creator or a Race Traitor?'

"Fighters incoming!" the Saber pilot shouted over the comm.

Ashley's silvery skin made it impossible to pale, but she was certainly on the edge of panic.

The Claymore was one of the most powerful conventional mecha in the galaxy, but it was still vulnerable to air attacks. She would need a savior, a bolt from the heavens, to survive this situation.

And as if her prayers had been answered, the Chashmal Engel 'Atar' descended in fury.

Atar was heralded by the fire of a dozen missiles detonating in the massive Chaff cloud that erupted from the bio-mechanical predator's shoulders. Lasers flashed from the two projectors at the apex of the proud Engel's back. The Coalition were masters of energy weapons, and even the Geth's impressive Kinetic Barriers were like paper mache before such an onslaught.

"Kilo-9," the Engel jock growled across the connection. "The geth are preparing a major offensive to the northeast at position Alpha-Seven-November. Reinforce. Atar and I will purify this place."

Williams could only acknowledge Atar and his Communion Partner with a nod over a visual feed. She had never heard an Engel jock and the Engel speak in a quasi-stereo voice. It was the single most terrifying sound Ashley Williams had ever heard in her life. The Eldtrich Dreadnought leading the geth assault had an unnatural war-horn that chilled the amlati to her bones.

The merging of a Engel Jock and his Engel was far more terrifying. The Dreadnought could be killed. The Merging was putting the very mortality of the human race in question.

She didn't want to think about it. Eliminating geth was far simpler...but the niggling terror would not leave her.


"Clear," Jacob Taylor's rich voice reported after the shrill vocalization of the geth ended. "No survivors."

"Clear," Karana added. "No survivors."

Commander Shepard knew that the coping mechanisms he had developed for his Aeon War Syndrome had kicked in. The words 'no survivors' held no shock for him. It took something truly horrific for the deaths of civilians to shock the OIS officer anymore. The sad truth was that a geth mass accelerator round was a luxurious mercy next to the terrors the Dagonites or Rapine Storm would have unleashed.

"ETA to the Beacon?" Shepard responded finally.

"Unknown. Enemy has a large elite force near rail junction nine," Kaiden supplied.

Vega snorted over the line. "I fucking hate unknowns. And they ain't elite. Tin cans can't be elite."

"Stow it," Shepard ordered. He could agree with James' sentiment, but now was not the time to voice that sentiment. The para-psychic quickly switched channels. "Nihlus. What is your situation?"

The turian's distinctive voice slid effortlessly into the communication channel. "No confirmed survivors. I have a potential lead on the Beacon. Proceeding to location. Pinging you now."

"Ping received," Shepard said as soon as the blip appeared on his HUD's map. "We are about half a klick east of your position. Moving to secure the beacon. Is your Dessie working through all this geth ECM?"

Nihlus quickly recalled that a 'Dessie' was Coalition slang for a target designator. "Affirmative. We can coordinate our efforts."

"Suggest you take the high ground at the next Ping," Shepard instructed.

The coordinates were quickly confirmed by Nihlus's Omnitool. "Coordinates confirmed. The VI Network is in disarray, but I have a confirmed Mecha Unit in the area. Will call for support."

"Good call. Large hostile force between my team and the Beacon," Shepard said before cutting the connection.

The Rapid Response Team was living up to their title. Scattered resistance from small units of geth troopers or scout drones was smashed aside. It took less than thirty minutes to reach the location where the geth had massed.

"Confirmed sixty-two geth." Nihlus contacted Shepard. "Nine can be classified as mecha."

Riley let a particularly impressive onslaught of profanity escape his lips. Had his language been weaponized, the entire mission would have ended in a Coalition Victory then and there.

"We've got support from Kilo Squad. Kilo-6 is a Claymore. Paint her some targets and we can clear a path through the enemy." Shepard responded while directing his team into the best positions to launch their own ambush.

"Commander, I've got eyes on something," Jacob Taylor's smooth, measured voice joined the link. "Geth have impaled civilians on spikes."

"Confirmed," Kaarani piped in. "It looks like there is some kind of cybernetic conversion going on..."

"Commander, there's no intel from the quarians about shit like this," Specialist Osorio pointed out.

Shepard was silent as he surveyed the geth position. "That Dreadnought is from Beyond. I'm definitely feeling that White Noise. Just save the questions about how machines can use rauch and defile our dead for the debriefings."

"What are we going to do now?" Vega didn't quite snap.

"Simple, we're going to kill them all."

Shepard's order was easily accepted by his squad. The Council Spectre quickly rejoined the channel.

"I see a path to the a monorail station near the Space Port. I believe I can reach it undetected and secure it for our push to the Beacon."

"Acknowledged," Shepard said quickly. The Beacon had evidently been moved to a secure bunker near the Space Port, but the geth assault had thrown communications into a chaotic mess.

The shriek of rockets heralded the beginning of the mecha push. Geth drones moved to intercept the projectiles, but this weakened the outer defenses of the geth position. Vega's Man-portable Lightning Cannon struck the geth Prime 'commanding' the position. Shepard's team was adding evidence that Lightning Cannons were the most effective anti-geth weapon so far. The geth had incredible kinetic barriers. When the Coalition relief force arrived, which by Shepard's estimation would be within eight hours, the Ashcroft Foundation and the various Chrysalis Corporation subsidiaries would be eager to get their hands on the geth's barriers.

For now, the only commentary on the geth's barriers was Vega's explicative filled insults that flowed like water between English, Spanish, and nazzadi.

"Cover fire," Shepard ordered sharply. The mecha striding into visual range made subtle tactics unnecessary. Expediency was more desirable then cleverness at the moment. Kaiden Alenko and Ezay Shaumburg advanced quickly. Kaiden's biotic barrier formed a natural bulwark that allowed for a far more aggressive advance than a squad lacking a biotic would be capable of. It was an advantage Shepard pressed violently. Jacob Taylor and Lee Riley followed in the first pair's wake. All the while, Vega's Lightning Gun and the cascade of heavy fire form the Mecha squad allowed the Rapid Response Team to embody their name.

The assault lasted less than eight minutes. The only time the squad had come under risk was when Dominic's barriers were depleted by a fire from a trio of geth troopers.

"Told you," Vega crowed. "Ain't no way essas perras can be elite!"

"Commander, this is Sergeant Williams," the pilot of the Claymore contacted the RTT. "I've received some...fragmented orders that I'm to stay on station as support."

"Appreciated, Williams," Shepard responded. "You've got the best comm gear in our area. Keep trying to uplink with some form of command."

"Yes sir!" the almati responded sharply over the audio line.

Conversation lapsed as the RRT stormed forward. They were tracking Nihlus as the SPECTRE had the best idea of where the objective was currently located. The team vaguely noted the open warfare raging across the continent. In the distance, there were hundreds of fires ignited either by the Angre's crash or the dozens and dozens of firefights raging between the Coalition and geth forces.

Eden Prime was the cradle of open war between the Citadel and the geth.

"Shepard...we have a problem..."

The deliberate pace of the SPECTRE's words put the para-psychic on edge. "Elaborate."

"The geth have...assistance..." the turian growled. "Saren Arterius is a traitor."


Author's note: Guess what? Not dead! Granted, what is not dead my never die and in strange aeons even Death may Die!