Alternate Past: Uncertain Future Mk II
A/N: 1: Beginning of a subplot here with an OC developed by a friend. Doing so at his request. You'll know what I mean when you read it. Another A/N at the bottom.
Sorry for the lateness and shortness of this chapter, RL got in the way and I haven't been able to work on the story until this month. Hopefully I can start pumping chapters out faster. This is quite the filler chapter and after which the pace will pick up. It's a bit rushed. Due to the fact that I no longer remember who, if at all, betaed these chapters for me, please remind me who you are. If they do not, I will post an alert chapter. That said, this will probably be edited later on and reposted. If you haven't already, chapters 1-4 have been edited and reposted.
As Always please Read and Review.
Chapter 8
Shanxi: Aftermath
"They told me to fight, and that's what I've done. Let historians sort through the wreckage, bodies, and broken lives to figure out the rest."
— Admiral Preston Cole, Circe 2525
**Bridge: UNSC Infinity-Class Warship: Era of Retaliation**
Rear Admiral Jesse De La Rosa watched from his ship, rotated so that the bridge was facing the planet, the war torn colony of Shanxi. The once colony that had been called a paradise, the colony that was supposed to mark the true beginning of a new age of peace and prosperity, burned. What was supposed to be the final chapter on the Human-Covenant War and the wars immediately thereafter was now the first chapter in of a new era, of another war.
Below him fires still burned across the planet as they routed the last few pockets of enemy resistance. They had taken multiple prisoners but the majority had chosen to die, most by battle, a scant few by suicides. Similar to Japanese soldiers during World War II. His attention was focused on the remains of Babel, or rather, the irradiated crater that was the base of Babel. It was just one of just over a dozen or so craters that now pocket-marked Shanxi's surface.
He sighed. It had come from the alien's final shot. When all the Type-1s had retreated back through the artifact, the Type-2s continued to fight, some with a greater ferocity than before. But without assistance from the Type-1s, they proved to be of little danger to the ships of the UNSC. There were no longer any tactics or strategy, just pure hard-headed battleplans. The remaining Type-2s simply opened fire with all they had but it was scattered, no concentrated fire or any maneuvers whatsoever. They quickly decimated the remaining Type-2s and the other unclassified warships.
At the last moment however, the Type-2 cruiser tonnage vessel, its hull punctured by a H-MAC shot from a Light-Cruiser the Dawn of David, clean through and through and most of its outer hull peeled off by the same cruiser's L-MAC shots, in a moment of rage or desperation, reoriented is bow to towards the planet.
At that moment, every ship captain knew what about to happen. What would happen and the futility in trying to stop it. Yet even so, every single captain ordered their ships and maximum velocity towards the Type-2 variant alien cruiser. Even the Rear Admiral himself had tried, by God Almighty they had tried, but it was all in vain.
With what was very well its last breath, the alien cruiser-weight craft fired at Shanxi. A light-frigate, Forward Unto Dawn, one of the few that had been tasked to planetside duty had attempted to intercept the shot. Its engines flaring a bright white, its hull creaking as it was pushed to its limits and beyond. Inside its reactors were pushed into the red zone, her engineers trying to push out more and more power out the ship while making sure they did not detonate in the process. Their effort had almost succeeded. The nose of the ship had entered the path of the shot a second after before. Sure the ship would be destroyed but it was a sacrifice the crew of the frigate had been all too ready to make. Yet it was not to be. What hit the ship was an empty shell, a carrier unit for the payload within. Moments before the Dawn had arrived, the alien round had shattered itself. Not by accident, but by design. Within had been a dozen nuclear warheads of equal payloads. The moment the casing had come apart, the warheads had separated themselves and gone off on their own our, separate paths.
A minute after the alien cruiser's shot, mushroom clouds doted the planet. Whatever pyrrhic victory the shooters had felt, did not last long enough for them to enjoy it. A split-second later, every single piece of ordinance from the Shanxi Liberation Fleet from autocannons to Archer Pod Missiles and Hades-Class Nuclear missiles and H-MACs from the Retaliation itself slammed into the alien warship. The UNSC Fleet did not stop until the magnetic coils had overheated, Archer pods had been emptied and autocannon reserves exhausted.
And here the Rear Admiral stood. They had taken back Shanxi, with far less in-battle-casualties than had been expected. But still, this was a pyrrhic victory. This colony had been meant to mark the beginning of a new era. Of a true end to the era of warfare that had left a black mark on Humanity for decades. Now, it seemed, Shanxi would just be another beginning to a new war. Not to mention the lives already lost planetside. Those within Second Eden survived, as did all who managed to reach the city before things really went to hell. But so many had been stranded outside the city, or killed in the first day. What was worse was the number that had been killed during the time the fleet had been moving with all haste towards Shanxi. And then, there were the death damps. Least that was what those who had been assigned the duty of clearing out the enemy bases were calling it. The number of the colonists that survived accounted for less than twenty percent of the colony's total population.
Twenty.
Fucking.
Percent.
Of a colony of almost half a million. Most of those numbers were currently rated as missing. But they had found the death camps. Where only Christ knows how many people were executed in cold blood. The bodies had been piled as people climbed over the dead to reach, anything. Anything that could promise them a false hope. The clean-up effort had already begun. The bodies removed, tagged and the families notified. Of course ONI had gotten their people off the planet. It was only one man but still.
The Era had intercepted an old Blackcat-Class subprowler as it exited atmosphere. On it had been survivors from the planet, along with a single ONI Sec-III Special Operations, Reconnaissance, Tactics, Engineering and Deconstruction, or SORTED, trooper. Not the greatest of names but it defined their purpose. They were an all-purpose special operations division. For when you need skill beyond that of normal special operations but needed to operate under the radar, as Sec-III always did. Considering the Spartan Program was no longer under the domain of Sec-III. The other survivors had been from the local UNSC detachment on the planet, an odd group of young men and women and two Sangheilis. Their debriefing would be handled by others. Right now his efforts were focused on the planet, and making sure that no ship went off on some vendetta through the artifact.
But Rear Admiral Jesse De La Rosa couldn't help but shake the feeling that this would not end so easily as this battle had.
**Citadel: Presidium: Council's Private Chambers**
"You and Torsk did WHAT!" Tevos yelled. The usually prim and proper Asari Matriarch and Councilor yelled. Having lost her composure for the first time since her daughter had told her she was bonding with a Krogan, at what she and the other Councilors had just been told. "Are you telling me you encountered an unknown species and deliberately," stressing the word "attacked them? By the Goddess what were you thinking?"
The four Councilors and the remaining commanding officer from what is now being tentatively labeled as the Relay 314 Incident, were, for all intents and purposes, interrogating Desolas Arterius., currently stripped of all ranks and honors related to his command. News of his sudden and dishonorable discharge from the Turian Armed Forces was still unknown but the first people in the room knew it was only a matter of time.
"Yes I would like to know that as well." Urdnot Wrex, current Councilor for the Krogan Empire. "We Krogan, before we had inflicted ourselves with the genophage, were arguably the most conflict prone species in the galaxy. And I find myself shocked by what you have done." Turning towards his Turian counterpart he asked, "Teranus, what do you have to say about this?"
Teranus, a relatively young Turian who had been be given the right to Councilorship sighed. This was his first real issue that he had presented to his since her appointment no so long ago. Straightening himself he asked, "Arterius, tell me." He started, putting his talons together, "What possessed you to assault this new species? By your own statements, and that of your remaining crews along with flight recorder information, you attacked without provocation."
"They were in violation of Council Law." He answered. "They were the process of activating a Primary Mass Relay when we had discovered them. In accordance with Council Law I and Torsk moved to stop them." Choosing his words carefully he stated, "When they did respond to our hails, I ordered a warning shot to be fired at what I believed to be the alien's version of a dreadnought. Soon after, the alien warship attacked my fleet and destroyed two of my ships. Once they had activated the Relay, they traveled through it. Gathering our forces, we followed soon after."
"This is where I find things to be interesting Arterius." Teranus started. "You stated they came through the Mass Relay, but then stated that they were in the process of activating one. You know as well as I do that the power used to activate one relay is also used to activate its counterpart at the other end."
"I realize that Councilors but it is what I saw. I have no explanation for it."
"Perhaps," the Salarian Councilor interrupted, "this is what occurs when two primary relays exist in the same system? After all this is the one system where we have discovered two primary relays and a secondary relay."
"Perhaps." Teranus agreed. "For now, I still have questions." As the other councilors continued to question the former-General, Wrex looked out towards the Mass Relay, which was little more than a bright blue light at this distance. Wondering just what would be the consequences from this. His gut told him it would not be long until they found out. And that when they did, no one was walking away from this unscathed.
**UNSC: Era of Retaliation: Secondary Medical Bay**
Squid hissed and rose as the doctor applied the disinfectant to his wounds. "Oi! Keep still Squiddy! Or do I have to get your girlfriend in her again?" The doctor demanded, referring to, not Serana but Katy. The young woman proved to be one hell of a spitfire. Especially considering how she had slapped Squid hard enough to forcible turn his head. Giving him one hell of a dressing down when he tried to be a "Strong Sangheili" warrior and refuse medical treatment. The threat of bringing her back was enough to calm him down and sat back down. "Good. Now if you'll keep still for a little longer maybe we can get done this century."
It was a similar scene all around him, the rest of his friends along with the other few survivors that joined them and survived the slaughter at the internment camp were receiving medical treatment for any injuries they suffered.
'Hood' was getting his arm re-broken and reset. When they had put his arm in the sling, they had accidentally misaligned the bone. Now they were taking steps to make sure it healed properly. Katy had already left, having only slight bruising. She was the luckiest of those injured. Alexei was being treated for severe bruising and his cracked ribs. He was currently being placed in a large body-cast like wrapping to help facilitate the healing. His hands were already wrapped in a similar manner, by luck or fate he had managed to avoid any sort of head trauma when he was forced to brawl with the Shellheads. Maho was being treated for a busted jaw and a concussion. He had gotten into a brawl with some of the other prisoners who didn't like his efforts to try and keep everyone's morale up with his jokes. Cris was more or less uninjured. He had suffered only a few deep cuts from close shots and shrapnel. But Serana had been the worst off.
She had suffered more than a few gunshot wounds, glancing shots from when they had made their initial escape. She had refused to say anything of it and had kept quiet until she had passed out from blood loss on the Blackcat-Class Subprowler. No one had noticed her bleeding due to the darkness of the night as they traveled and her own dark clothes. The slightly darker color the clothes had gained from the moisture was barely noticeable. Right now they had just finished working on her on one of the designated surgical beds inside the Medbay. What was interesting was how, aside from the medical staff, someone had shown a keen interest in Serana. In fact, before she had collapsed from the blood loss, the man that helped saved them, Alan Denton, had stolen more than a few covert looks at her, and had turned away when she tried to face him. Now he was keeping a permanent vigil over her.
The friends shared a look between each other, least those that could. If this Alan attempted anything, court martial be damned they would show him the other end of the closest airlock.
What the group of friends didn't know though, was that Alex had no intentions of letting the female Sangheili before him come to any harm. It was not as though he had been disenfranchised, that he preferred to company of other species other than his own or no company at all to that of his fellow man. Rather that due to his experiences, he was perhaps the most open-minded and accepting human being in all of known space. For that reason he stood a personal vigil over the young Sangheili woman. When he saw her, he felt an emotion he had not felt for the longest time. Desire, infatuation. His work left little time for such things. Yet, when he saw her, it was, different. What caught his attention strangely enough were her eyes. They drew his attention and he found himself looking more and more.
Now here he was, despite her being unconscious, he felt more along the lines of a sort of honor guard. Least until she woke up, then perhaps he could- "Ohhh."
Speak of the devil and he, or rather she, shall appear. Pressing a hand down on her shoulder he said, "Easy there, you just came out of surgery. Doctors say you're lucky to still be standing, even for one of your kind." Serana didn't recognize the voice but felt the honesty in the stranger's words and felt comfortable enough to relax. "You were lucky you know. These new generation of doctors knowing how to treat not just humans but other species as well."
Her eyes still shut she asked. "Where am I?"
"INF-101 class vessel UNSC Era of Retaliation. Would you like me to run off the serial number for you too?"
"Who are you? Where are my friends?" Serana asked. She started fidgeting as she tried to get up, but Alex's hand pressing down on her and her own weariness kept here from rising."
A voice from behind Alex answered her. "We're here Serana." 'Hood' answered. "All of us. Maho has his jaw taped shut but frankly that's an improvement." Muffled cries sounded out in protest at his statement. "But otherwise we're all going to be. You gave us quite a scare." Turning his attention to Alex he asked, "The rest of us are curious too. Just who are you? Not anyone ranks a SORTED trooper extraction."
Letting go of Serana, he pulled back and leaned into his chair. "Professor Alex Morgan Denton. Office of Naval Intelligence: Section III. And very pissed off his vacation has just been ruined." 'and infatuated with the woman in the bed right now.' He added in his mind.
"Wait, Professor Denton?" Cris asked, stepping closer towards the professor. "As in the man second only to Halsey regarding Forerunner Technologies? As in the man who helped fast produce a navy after the attack on Earth?" By this time the rest of the group had left their own beds and approached their friends. Though now all of their attention was focused on the older man before them.
"Yes that man." Alex answered. Getting up, he said, "I'm going to have a word with the captain of the ship. I'd suggest all of you recover quickly. I have a feeling this war has only just begun." Sparing one last glance at Serana, he turned and headed for the exit.
After the doors had closed behind, Serana had risen to sitting position and asked, "Is it normal for humans to stand guard over a total stranger while they are asleep?"
**Epsilon Eridanus System: Planet Reach: UNSC HighCom Facility**
The holodisplay shut down as the digital three-dimensional reproduction of the Battle over Shanxi concluded. The footage had been sent by the Prowler, Evening's Light, covertly attached to the battle group sent to liberate Shanxi. The people who had just watched the battle, no not even a battle, it was a slaughter. They may have lost a few of their own ships, but by comparison to the losses suffered over the course of the Human-Covenant war, it was a paltry number.
The people meeting together were the same people who had sent the Rear Admiral to retake Shanxi. Lord Hood was the first to speak. "So, what course do we assume?" He asked. They all knew the reason why he asked the question. This was another First Contact scenario and war seemed to be just around the corner. Every single person in the room realized, if they went to war, this would be another Human-Covenant War, but technologically, Humanity would be this species' Covenant. "By what we have seen ourselves, we would have little issues against this new species with the exception of numbers. From what we have gathered, they are most likely capable of fielding far more vessels than we currently are."
"There is not to mention the fact that their version of FTL travel allows them to change the battlefield scenario from a firefight to a bloody boxing match." Whitcomb added. "Damn suicidial bastards just charge head-in where we can't even use our MACs against them."
"Even so, if we were to engage them in any sort of serious war capacity, there is very little doubt it would be a hard conflict." Hood paused as he looked into the eyes of every human officer in the room. "And I refuse to become like the Covenant of old."
"Yet you, no we, can not allow this." Thel Vadam said. Though he was not a human, he had started to see humanity and the New Covenant as separate entities as time passed. "If we allow this, these upstarts may presume to attack us yet again."
"If I may offer a suggestion." All the attention in the room turned to Colonel Ackerson. He stood and began to walk around the room where the meeting was taking place. "From the information we have been sent, these 'upstarts' as you call them," nodding to the Arbiter, "are part of a larger alien coalition. As a compromise, I suggest that we send a strike force to several planets of the aggressor species. Show that we will not take this, war crime, sitting down. However, we send an envoy to this," he paused to refer to his tac-pad mounted on his forearm. "Citadel, 'discovering' it as we 'searched' for additional planets, and sue for peace." He said focusing on Lord Hood and Jeromi, Stanforth and Sesa' Refumee. "If the aggressor species is unresponsive to our demands, but the others are not, we simply grant a formal declaration against only the aggressor species." This time focusing on Paragonsky, Thel and Rtas'. "If that is agreeable?"
The others began to discuss amongst themselves Ackerson smirked internally. There was little to no chance his suggestion would not be accepted. It appealed to all of those in attendance in some way or form. His Special Programs would also draw more funding as they moved to war footing, even if only temporarily. He and Paragonsky and her protégé, Osman, had already discussed this at length aboard the Vice Admiral's personal prowler, The Shadow's Day. Prowler names had, in recent vessels, had always been some form of oxymoron, reflecting the shadowy nature of the ONI itself.
As the discussions ended, Ackerson turned his attention back to the meeting. "Very well than Colonel, as you have suggested; we will begin plans for retaliatory action and if necessary, total conflict. Until then, dismissed."
As the highest ranking officers of the Alliance left the room, Lord Hood stayed behind. Despite it having been many years since the fall of the Old Covenant, he still appeared as he did during the first invasion of Earth. After so many years of conflict, and now after they had just finished one era of war, and a short one of peace, Humanity would march forward to into the arms of war again. "May God have mercy upon our souls."
Preview
"To all Alliance ships in Relic Space, move in on Palaven. 'The Great Mountain' has been found, I repeat, 'The Great Mountain' has been found."
