Alternate Past Uncertain Future Mk II

Chapter 10

A Hero's Return, A people's Fury

A/N: Credit to the ProfFartBurger, yes that is his username, for writing the 'package' detonation scene. Go to his page on fanfiction and check out his stories, Hearing the Call, which is one hell of a SI/OC story, and I've read quite a few and possibly one of the best ME AU stories on this site, The First War. Trust me my readers, if you like this story, you will like his.

Unbetaed and unedited. Sorry about that, but I just finished this and wanted to get this out ASAP. Please alert me to any errors, plot holes, tech errors etc etc, and I will either correct you and tell why that is for my story or thank you and correct me.

Next stories to be updated: New Arrivals V2, Delayed Arrivals and Mass Effect: inFamous The Second Coming in that order.

UNSC Super-heavy Cruiser Kanchenjunga

Trebia System: Home solar system of the Turians

Trebia is considered by the Council and non-Council species as the most heavily fortified and defend system in the Galaxy after the Serpent Nebula.

Least it had been until four hours ago. Now it held a new title: the first Councilor-species homeworld to be held under siege. Four hours ago, slipspace ruptures had begun to tear themselves into existence all over the system. And ships had come bursting from these ruptures, the first were UNSC Hermes-class corvettes. The smallest capital-ship in the UNSC fleet. Within the first hour of the ambassador's message, over two dozen UNSC corvettes had entered the system, some in formation, the others in disarray. And more kept pouring in, all of them scattered throughout the system, some of them at its borders, others in the gravity wells of planets and a rare few appearing directly inside ship formations.

The moment the UNSC ships had entered the system they had opened fire on every target they could see, regardless of their own self-preservation. The day after Shanxi had been liberated by its invaders, the star charts that had been recovered from the alien warships had been distributed to all of UNSC Navy. The moment that every UNSC had heard the message, every ship spent a half minute relaying the message to all within their range before heading with all speed towards the Turian Homeworld of Palaven. Many had scoffed at the foolishness of this new species. Had they possessed something like the UNSC's Cole Protocol it would like have taken them months, if not years to find the Turian's origin system. Now thanks to the folly of the Turians, they were approaching within days after the 'war' began.

The first to arrive were the corvettes of the UNSC and CDF, blazing aside in slipspace past their larger cousins, thanks to their engines, both upgraded to incorporate the latest innovations in slipspace technology given by the Covenant. Within minutes of the corvettes arrival, dozens of turian frigates and cruisers were reduced to burning wrecks and dead hulks of metal as they were destroyed by volley after volley of Archer missiles. L-Type MAC shells were fired by the newer corvettes, slamming into the barriers of the Turian ships, shattering those of smaller warships and peeling away their armor in a blaze of tungsten-magnesium fire, and splattering across the barriers of the cruisers, creating a beautiful display of pyrotechnics. The Turian fleet quickly turned on these new arrivals, their focused fire quickly crippling and outright destroying the thinly armored corvettes, penetrating both shields and hulls, many of those closer to the turian warships self-detonating in an effort to take out as many as them can in martyrdom. At first it had been going well. The number of ships in the turian home fleet meant that their concentrated fire tore through the shields and armor of the corvettes with little issue.

Then it all went to hell.

Unnoticed by either side was a slight shimmer in the darkness of space: a tell-tale sign of an active camouflage system. Its source: the UNSC Apollo-class Prowler, Shattered Light. On board the ship, the entire system and the battles taking place were displayed in the bridge as a real-time 3D holographic projection. "This is madness." Navy Captain Dalia Artmova muttered as she analyzed the images. And indeed it was. The Turian fleet was in complete disarray. Though they were showing concentrated efforts against the UNSC corvettes, many floated dead in space, unsure of what to do. Others began to move in one direction only to shift to a random tangent the next and many more times thereafter.

Perfect.

"Status on our cloak?"

"Board shows all green. All emitters and heat sinks are engaged and in the green. We're cold as space ma'am."

"Status on our nukes? Are the engineers ready with the 'package' yet?"

"Engineer's report 'package' will be prepped in five minutes. Repeat five minutes."

The 'package' had been placed on her ships several days ago and identical 'packages' had been stored on several other Prowlers like hers. She had strict orders not to deploy the 'package' without specific and direct orders from the Alliance highcommand and confirmation codes. Most if not all aboard the Prowlers knew, at the very least, the nature of the 'packages' if not what they were outright.

But once they had heard of the discovery of the Everest being on the Hunter's homeworld,'the new ones to receive the label, and not the Mglekgolo' she reminded herself. Though after Shanxi, when they had sent fleeing to their mothers with their tails between their legs, some had started giving these new aliens, other, less fearsome names. One that made her, and indeed many others laugh was 'kittybird'. How someone came up with that name she would never know. But damn if it was catching on. Several others were also, but she couldn't remember them.

But that was unimportant, she thought. Remembering the real reason why they had come here. To bring back the greatest hero humanity has ever had and to bring him, and his crew, back home. Many disregarded the fact that he had faked his death at the battle of Psy Serpentis. What they remembered and cared about, was the time Cole had bought humanity with his victories, the lives he had saved, and the hope he had given.

And now it was time for him to come home. And every single human being in the Alliance would be damned if some idiotic second-hand primitives who thought they were the guardians of the galaxy tell them otherwise. "Aires, which one of these worlds is their homeworld?" She paused as another two corvettes, the new 'Pony Express' and the 'Hermes' began flashing red as their engines and various internal systems began to shut down before they disappeared entirely from the display. Outside, their real-world counterparts detonated in balls of nuclear fire as the crews initiated their self-destructs. The Turian ships had hoped to claim another of the UNSC ships, as the secret of the capture of the 'human' dreadnought, as the Everest was seen by the Turians was now public knowledge. The UNSC crews, in a last act of defiance, would deny the enemy their prize. But this worried the captain; the Hunters were getting coordinated, organized. She couldn't have that. "Mark which world has the greatest military infrastructure after their homeworld.

On the AI platform, an image of a late-era Greek commander wearing periodic armor, Aires, appeared. "It is done milady." On the display, the battle shrunk considerably as two planets were included in the display. "The first is their homeworld of Palaven. Alliance command has ordered that the planet is to remain unharmed at all costs until the arrival of the INFs."

"INFs? As in plural? They finished the sister ships?"

"Confirmed. INFs UNSC Dawn of Man and UNSC Ascendancy are en-route to Palaven." The bridge became deathly silence at the news. "ETA in three hours." Returning back to the display, one of the planets, the fourth in the system was highlighted in red. "This planet possesses the most military infrastructure after Palaven and from my readings, it is also sending out a majority of the broadcast signals to the Hunters' ships. It is most likely their primary planetary command center outside their homeworld."

A feral grin crept across Dalia's face. "Excellent." This gave her a target. If she took out these command centers, then the Hunter armada would be once again in disarray. The increase of subordinates on the homeworld command would ensure that it lasted for a while. Perhaps even long enough for the INFs or at the very least, the cruisers to arrive. "Aires, find us a drop site for the 'package' on that planet." She turned, looking at every single person on the bridge, including the AI. "I understand if anyone here has a quarrel with what I am about to do. What I will order all of you to. Should be tried, I will take the blame. However, do not try and stop me. If any of you truly have issue with what is about to occur, I ask you to leave the bridge and report to you quarters. You will be confined there until we return to an Alliance world." As she finished, she found herself being meet with surprise, fear, hesitation, outright anger and finally conviction. As she waited, one stood. A young woman who was in charge of communications. Followed by another, a young man, in charge of one of the sensor stations. Followed by three more men and women. When the five looked towards their fellow crew members, who barely shifted from their stations, they were meet with anger and fury. But when they meet the eyes of their captain, they found only acceptance. "I understand. This is not an easy decision and I will not hold it against you." The five snapped off perfect salutes before leaving the bridge. "As for the rest of you, I thank you all for standing by me. Now, let us bring peace to the departed."

On the Turian Dreadnought, the Triumphant Spirit, Admiral Canius Garnerin, was enraged. No, he was infuriated. "Damned by the spirits how is this happening! How the hell did these bastards get past our defenses!" His dreadnought shook as the main cannon fired again and again. Each shot striking the frigate-sized 'human' warships. "By the spirits these 'humans' are idiots. Attacking our home system with frigates. Crewmen, any orders from Impera?" Another 'frigate' cracked and was split in half, bringing the Spirit's kill count up to five.

"Yes sir. Orders are being sent to form attack squads and destroy the 'human' vessels as they appear. Sir I-wait one sir." After an extended pause, before Canius could demand what was being said, the crewman shouted. "SIR! Impera command reports they've detected a stealth ship leaving the planet, radiological emissions being detected from the planet and the ship!"

Back on the Prowler, Dalia cursed as one of the officers in charge of the stealth systems reported they had been compromised. Apparently one of the Hornet-class nuclear mines had a cracked casing, causing radiation to leak out. They had dumped it along with the 'package' but the damage was done. Their stealth was rendered moot as the radiation on the hull made them a clear target on anyone's sensors. "Helmsman! Full speed! Get us away from the planet ASAP! Aires, tell me once we reach minimum safe distance for detonation. Drop the damn cloak if you have to! Nav, get a slipspace coordinate set prepped, Cole Protocol! Someone tell engineering to get ready to jump-heat the slipspace drive! "

Back on the Triumphant Spirit, they and many other Turians watched, their mouths agape as they saw a ship, angular and shaped like nothing they had seen before appear in a shattering of hexagonal pattern. "Spirits, active camouflage. Just who are these people?" Canius whispered before he remembered where he was. "Plot an intercept course! I want that ship crippled and in our possession before we even reach it!" With those orders the Triumphant's engines flared a bright white as it was pushed to its limits in an effort to pursue and capture the 'human' stealth ship. In the Admiral's mind, he had become focused solely on the 'human' ship and its capabilities. And it's potential in the Hierarchy's possession. 'If we capture that ship, Turian military dominance will be secured for decades if not centuries.' It would be his last act as captain of the Turian dreadnought, Triumphant Spirit.

In the blink of an eye, the surface of Impera was changed forever. A micro-star was birthed for an instant, and with it nuclear fire bathed the planet. With an ear-shattering roar, the Shattered Light's NOVA Bomb detonated.

The NOVA Bomb was, in essence, the single strongest explosive known to mankind. It contained nine fusion warheads, contained within lithium triteride armor. Upon detonation, the shell focused the blast, in upon itself, thus multiplying its explosive magnitude and raw power, a hundredfold. The UNSC had only ever once purposely deployed the NOVA Bomb, and the resultant explosion had resulted in the end of the second insurrection before it began. The first true detonation of the NOVAs was in orbit of the planet Joyous Exultation, incinerated a Covenant fleet, shattered a nearby moon, burned half of a planet, and bathed the rest of the planet in so much radiation, that it was forever rendered inert, and unable to sustain Human or Covenant life; the only other equivalent to the Nova's Power, was the Covenant's process of Planet Glassing, which, unlike the NOVA, had been used on hundreds of human worlds during the course of the Human-Covenant war.

The NOVA's power had become the stuff of legend, in the UNSC, and it had quickly gained the nickname 'The Planet Killer'. When the Shattered Light's NOVA had detonated, it truly lived up to its nickname.

The shockwave could be seen through the vacuum of space, as it almost literally parted Impera's atmosphere, as it raced towards its surface. The Planet itself could be seen shaking, not even a moment after the shockwave slammed into it. Enormous fissures and cracks in the ground began forming as the planet literally started to shake itself apart. But the damage being wreaked by the NOVA didn't end there; the heat wave - traveling only slightly slower than the shockwave - quickly expanded, and one could literally see the progress it made, as it traveled across the planet. The heat wave literally turned the surface of the planet black as it traveled across. The planet continued shaking and burning, and as the fireball from the nuclear explosion reached the planet's gaseous atmosphere, was when the real 'beautiful' part occurred.

In future generations, many would comment on the horrifying beauty, of a planet's atmosphere being set ablaze, but to those who were in the battle, as the Human bomb detonated, it was the single most horrifying thing they could witness. The atmosphere was literally being lit ablaze, the blue-white flames leading the white-orange inferno as the atmosphere cooked the planet it was encircling. For an entire sixty three seconds, the planet's atmosphere cooked and burned, as the planet within it shook and fractured. After a final two minutes passed, the planet couldn't take it anymore.

The planet finally shook itself apart, breaking into dozens of enormous pieces, and soaring away, through the void of space. The burning atmosphere almost immediately fizzled out of existence as the continent-sized chunks of planet flew away from its old position. The molten materials from the planet's core seemed to be its last vestige of existence, but that too ended up being defeated by the NOVA, as they flew away from their original position and began cooling in the vacuum of space.

Even the ship near the NOVA, the Triumphant Spirit, couldn't escape the bomb's wrath, the heat wave incinerated the crew inside, and the metal of the ship was literally rendered bright red as the heat wave passed over it. The engine overheated almost as soon as the wave passed over it, and just a moment later it exploded, tearing the ship apart.

The Shattered Light escaped with a whisper into the protective void of slipspace, forward into the realms of immortality and history.

Back on the Citadel, Galactic Society had already once been upheaved by the arrival of humanity and what they had done at Aepheus and Mantun. But this, this was unprecedented in the entirety of their history.

The four Councilors, who were some of, if not arguably the most powerful people in Galactic Society, had just been taken hostage. Spartan Squad Sapphire, ODST squad Hades and Ambassador Udina had since escorted the four from the Council chambers and were on-route back to the Kanchenjunga.

Least that had been the plan.

Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-II Isaac-039 ducked as his shields were drained to a quarter as it took damage from at least three dozen automatic weapons. "God damn it! Where the hell did all these bastards come from!" Reloading his MA6-C series Assault rifle before popping off and letting off several bursts, each taking down another of the airborne 'cars'.

Ensign Spartan-III Mark-G258 fired off a triple tap from his M400 Designated Marksmen Rifle, the depleted uranium, armor-piercing, linear-accelerated rounds literally cutting off the heads of three aliens with each shot. "This is their 'Citadel' dummkopf. I think we can expect a massive police force here." He shot off another triple tap, earning three more kills. "Sir." He added an afterthought.

"Either way, we need to get out of here." Commander Spartan-III A259 looked from the pair and at his commanding officer. "Our orders sir?"

Captain Spartan-II John-117 examined what became a battlefield moments after they had left the elevator to the Council chambers. Evidently, these 'Councilors' had something tied to their bio-signs and someone recognized when the four had been knocked unconscious and raised the alarm. Leading to what was called the 'Presidium' into a warzone. Literally hundreds of what they assumed to be law enforcement had swooped into the area.

They were of little issue. Their weapons could not penetrate the Spartan's shields without massed fire and even then, they still had a difficult time penetrating the armor itself. The ODSTs own shield generators and BDUs meant the same for them however it took considerably less than it took take down a Spartan's shields than an ODST's. They had rightfully assumed their armor and shields could easily stand up to whatever these 'Council races' small arms they possessed. Something they had all noticed was that, of all of those who had come to stop them, they had yet to see any of those that had attacked Shanxi.

But they had gotten careless, forgetting about the one human member of their party who was without armor. Udina. The Citadel forces had opened fire on the group while they had been out in the open, traversing the area. A the massed fire had drained the shields of several of the Spartans before they could take down several of the airborne vehicles several of the aliens were firing from. Isaac now had a cracked visor from a high-power rifle shot and Udina had been struck by a round that had ricocheted off a Spartan's armor. They had patched him up with bio-foam and synth-flesh patch but if they didn't get back to the Kanchenjunga, the ambassador was going to die. The round itself, if not being acting similar to a hollow-point wasn't bad enough: flattening on impact and tearing through ambassador's insides, the bullet itself was slowly poisoning him. A nanite-inject had slowed the poisoning but it hadn't stopped it. To make matters worse was that three of his Spartans and all of the ODSTs were out-of-action because they were forced to carry the unconscious Councilors. It had been agreed that having several of their party out of action being forced to carry them was a far better option than constantly worrying that the hostages, each who had at least a quarter of their lifetime if not more in combat and special-operations would take them down from behind and thus constantly forced to watch them.

"We need to move now. The Councilor is bleeding out and the Kanchenjunga had to call in the contingency." The contingency had been the UNSC Era of Retaliation, six Halcyon(Grade-II) Heavy-Cruisers and three UNSC operated CAS-Class Covenant Assault Carriers; the ships were just a few of the ships that had been gifted to them by the Covenant in the early months after the Heretic Wars as reparations for the war and as thanks. "The fleet doesn't have a problem but they want us there before they have to start shooting civilians. Kalimya, what's the fastest way out of here?"

"I've hacked into their systems and plotted the several paths back to the Kanchenjunga." Kalimya was the 'Smart' AI that had been tasked to John after the Heretic Wars, her younger 'sister' Cortana having been assigned temporarily to the Era for the Op. "Several require us to traverse enemy-held territory. I suspect we'll expend more than eighty percent of our munitions fight through. Others will take longer but we will encounter less enemy resistance."

"And the best route?" He asked. Kalimya had a little quirk she shared with Cortana. When asked to provide a solution, they usually provided several, the first few being ridiculous or difficult. While holding back the simplest and often best, solution.

"We request a pelican flight to our position. Provided they have an escort and are cleared a path, the Era can have a Pelican en route with an ETA of ten minutes from departure from the Era. Total estimated time to extraction as thirty minutes."

"Do it. For the rest of you," turning towards the others, "let's move to that area. We're going to hold on here until evac arrives. Make your shots count."

A chorus "Sir!" answered back.

"Captain!" He recognized the voice, Commander Spartan-II Fred-104. His 2IC. "We got incoming!" Looking towards where Fred was pointing, he was Hunter, or rather Turian dropships.

"Get the ambassador and the HVTs inside that structure now! Spartans, take them down!"

Soon the air was filled with the sound of weapons fire. The bullets themselves didn't do much against the dropships themselves, but forced them away to find a safer landing zone lest their passengers be slaughtered the moment the doors open. Ensuring that the humans and their 'cargo' were safe as they transferred.

The doors themselves offered no resistance as they piled in. "Kalimya, jam the door behind us."

The doors closed and with a series of clanks, the doors locked. "Done. Only heavy-duty gear could cut through that now."

"Good, now we-

"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?" Faster than anyone expected, almost a dozen rifles were aimed at the single figure who greeted the Spartans, an asari, who surprisingly showed no fear at so many weapons being aimed at her. "I'm sorry for startling you. But can you please lower your weapons. As long as you are here, no one inside will harm you."

John stepped forward, lowering his rifle and signaling the others to do the same, but kept their rifles pointed in the asari's general direction. "Who are you? And what is this place?"

"My name is Neliana, and these are the chambers of the Consort."

"Consort?" One of the ODSTs yelled. "You saying we're in some sort of whorehouse? Damn I-OFH!" The ODST found himself flying backwards into his fellow ODSTs, causing them to pile up in mess of limbs and bodies. By the time the rifles were reraised on Neliana, the biotic glow was already fading and she was bowing at the hip.

"My apologies, I, nor anyone else here will offer any resistance but please refrain from speaking ill of the Consort. We-One moment please." She pressed a hand against the side of her head. "Yes Milady. Very well milady." Turning her attention back to the humans who were still aiming their rifles at her, she focused on John specifically. "The Consort wishes to meet with you sir. I promise that for as long as you and your friends stay here, you will not be harmed."

Switching off his external speakers, John asked, "Kaliyma, tell me what you know of this 'Consort'. Can we trust her?"

"Searching. I think we can. The Consort has quite the reputation here, as many things. As both a 'comforter' and as an advisor. She's gained quite the reputation as a person of her word and of great wisdom and insight. We can trust her Sir."

"Understood." Turning on the team comm. including the ODSTs and Udina, "Listen up. I'm going to see this 'Consort'. The rest of you stay here, keep an eye on the VIP and HVTs." Before any of them could protest he added, "That's an order." Turning back on his external speakers, he turned back to Neliana. "Take me to her."

Bowing again she said, "Follow me please." The rest of the team, though uneasy, stayed as they watched their commander walk towards what may very well be a trap.

Passing by what was obviously a waiting room, aside from other asari dressed similarly to Neliana, the place was empty. Soon John found himself in a more opulently designed room and a single asari waiting inside, her back to him. "Thank you Neliana, you may leave now."

Neliana bowed. "You're welcome milady." Leaving soon after.

"Who are you?" John asked. He had since replaced his rifle on his back but his hands still rested on the two M9 caseless munitions firing SMGs on his hips. "Why give us amnesty? Why did you ask for my presence?"

"In order, my dear soldier." Turning to face John who, despite what his augmentations had done to his sex drive, pelt a tang of desire upon seeing her. "My name is Shai'ra, the Consort as many of come to call me. The reason I offered protection for you and your fellows is for you alone. As for why I asked for your presence, there is something about you that compelled me to meet with you."

"For what purpose? If this is a delaying tactic it will not work. Make no mistake, my team and I will be leaving with the targets."

"You misunderstand me. I have no intention of attempting to stop any of you. I have no desire to see myself or any of my girls dead." Stepping towards the Spartan Captain she attempted to place a hand on him, being stopped just shy of his armor by shields. "There is something about you soldier. The path that you have taken, it is one far different than that fate had ordained. A destiny forgotten, a legacy gone. And yet, fate has not yet finished playing its hand. Be wary soldier. For the trials you have faced, will pale in comparison of what is to come. The Legacy that you carry within, the culmination of your people, will be your key to victory."

"What are you-"His radio crackled, the signature telling him it was Fred. "Go Fred."

"Sir, extraction has arrived."

"Understood, on my way." Turning his attention back to the Consort, she had already stepped away.

"Go soldier. I have a feeling this meeting will not be our last."

With that she turned around, and the Spartan hesitated a split second before doing the same.

The moment they boarded the Pelicans, they had made a beeline to the cruiser, surrounded by the imposing masses of the UNSC warships, the UNSC operated Assault-carriers been long since repainted gunmetal grey to differentiate it from New Covenant ships. The moment the pelicans had boarded the Era, slipspace ruptures emerged and the UNSC vessels were soon engulfed in chaotic energies as they left the Citadel and moved with all haste towards Palaven.

Back in Turian's origin system, the tide had begun to turn as the UNSC's and CDF's frigates and destroyers began to arrive and began to tear into the Turian Home Fleet's ranks with the MAC cannons and Archer missiles. Turian frigates and cruisers numbers dropped under the barrage, even as disorganized as the human warships were, appearing randomly much like the corvettes that had arrived before them, humanity's experience in the theater of war began to shine. For every one ship the humans lost with the arrival of the frigates and destroyers, the Turians lost ten.

Alongside the UNSC and CDF ships other vessels of obvious human design began to appear: private vessels, civilians, both private military and any civilian ship ranging from private craft to cargo haulers began to appear in the Turian's system. The PMC(Private Military Corporation) ships began to open fire alongside their state counterparts. The MAC shots of the private warships aimed at the bow, unlike the solider tungsten-carbide rounds or even tungsten-magnesium rounds of the UNSC and CDF ships, penetrated the barriers and hulls of the turian ships, tunneling through decks, armor and turians before internal sensors detected the reactor of the ships and detonated. The Archer missiles of the PMCs doing the same as the MAC shots: keying into the strongest energy source and locking on before boring their way to the targets and detonating in such a way to cause a wildcat destabilization of the ships' reactors, destroying them and any others caught in the ball of nuclear fire.

The other unarmed civilian ships, those that could, began to try and recover as many human escape pods they could and return to the safety of the warships whilst many others began to ram their own ships into the turians'. Their relatively slow speed allowing the ships to directly bypass the kinetic barriers and slam directly into the turian ships; a tactic not since seen since the Great War and the Russian battlefields of World War II, where Russian tank drivers would drive their T-34s directly into the German Panzer Vs and VIs, utterly crippling them. Here many of the turian ships buckled under the impacts, some of them bending into a 'V' shape, others violently detonating as both ships reactors destabilized and detonated, and a scarce few human ships simply tunneled through and through the comparatively lightly armored turian warships.

Many of the turians balked at the face of such an attack. Especially High Admiral Casern Victurs. They had prepared for the worst: an invasion of their homesystem. But not by an enemy that could appear wherever they wished, or the constant stream now quickly turning into a flood of enemy reinforcements, but what shocked them the most was what were obviously civilian ships. Yes the Admiral realized, most if not all turian civilians were trained in the art of combat and were expected to defend their homes should the worst come to pass but not like this. Not what the humans were doing. Actively risking their own lives to rescue who they could from the field of battle, many civilian craft had been and were currently being destroyed as they attempted to save their fellow man but not even to direct attacks but errant strikes. "Spirits just what is this ship to these people?" He had to wonder just what or rather who aboard the human ship they had discovered was to these people that even the civilians would willfully crash their ships in an effort to save them. "Damn it Arterius just what sorts of beast have you awaken? And damn you Teranus, what have you done to enrage them?" Turning to one of his orders he ordered, "Get on the horn, tell as many ships as you can reach to consolidate around Palaven! Tell them this is an order from the High Admiral! Have every ship relay the message however far they can, we need to reach outside the system! Helmsman get us moving!" Despite appearances, Victus couldn't help the feeling of guilt beginning to pool inside him. His orders essentially abandoned the rest of the turian people on the other worlds inside their origin system to the humans. That guilt would follow him and likely his family for a long, long time. "May the spirits, my ancestors and my descendants forgive me."

**APUFMKII**

Onboard the UNSC Era of Retaliation, the four Councilors were beginning to wake up. Wrex, despite having taken triple the force of what his other Councilors had taken, was the first to rise. "Damn, what in the name of Kalros were those things? Sure wasn't some pyjaks." Looking around, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, the design of it was apparently some sort of holding area as, far as he could see, there was no obvious means of opening the door or a door to open and one wall was a large window showing the great void. Wrex nearly jumped into a combat stance when he heard a moan, but recognized it as the others regaining consciousness. He himself was already healed but Tevos had a monster of a bruise on her face, and the same with Valdn. Teranus himself would have more internal bruises than external thanks to his carapace. He kneeled by Tevos, helping her to her feet. "You three going to be alright?"

Even with Wrex's aid, Tevo rose unsteadily to her feet. "Yes, I-" She slipped, just barely bracing herself against a nearby wall, "Yes, I think I will be. Teranus, Valdn?"

"I will be fine. Valdn?" Teranus rose, stumbling for a second before standing.

"The same." Valdn attempted to rise but fell against a wall, bracing his body against it to keep himself up. "Where are we?"

"I think, we are on one of their ships," Tevos looked around the room, searching for a means of escape. "For now, it is probably best to remain put."

"Stay put! Are you mad! We must try and leave before-AGH!" Teranus found himself pressed a full head above the floor as Wrex grabbed the Turian by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

"And do what! DIE in a blaze of glory! Take this ship for our own? I may be Krogan, but I know my limits, and I will not die for your goals." Letting him go, Wrex stepped back, "We do as Tevos says, and wait."

The would not have to wait long as soon, as a door revealed itself when it opened and inside stepped in one of the behemoths that had knocked them out. "Lord Hood wants to see you on the bridge." It said, moving its rifle to direct them out the door. The four did as they were ordered and were surprised when they were not restrained in any way. Outside was a total of twenty-four of the giant warriors, each with different armor configurations and weapons. The same one that had entered the room first spoke. "We have been told to treat you as diplomats but should you try to fight or escape, we have granted permission to use anything up to lethal force to stop you. Now please follow me." With the number of weapons aimed at them, none of the Councilors had any notions of resisting.

Standing proud as they walked, Valdn asked his fellow councilors, "'Lord' Hood? Do you possibly believe they are some sort of monarchy?"

"Possibly," Tevos answered. "But I do not think so. If that was the case the ships would be more ornate I would think, and we have yet to see anything like the sort."

"Agreed." Wrex stared analytically at one of the troopers, a female most likely if the narrower hips were anything to go by, more especially it's armor. "If anything I'm reminded of my own people. Everything here is designed for war and survival. See the random plates on the floor? The ones with a yellow outline?"

"Yes, what about them?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if those things were meant to pop up and create cover if a boarding party came onboard."

Teranus, despite the situation they were currently in, couldn't help but admire these humans, especially after what Wrex said. "I agree with him. Used properly, cover in those locations would serve as a great aid in repelling boarding parties."

"I hope that this is only a sign of their capabilities, and not their species' demeanor." Tevos prayed. The others agreed, if this turned into another Rachini war, the galaxy as they know it would be shattered.

Soon enough they found themselves on what was obviously the bridge of the vessel they were on if the number of stations, officers, tactical display table and the massive window, showing streaks of light and energy in front of them was any indicator. Despite everything going on around them, the councilors' attention was fixed on the man standing at the front of the bridge, standing at parade rest with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Greetings Councilors. I am Rear Admiral Jesse De La Rosa, and you are onboard the UNSC INF-101-series class dreadnought. And the reason I brought you up here Councilors is for one reason and one reason only, so that you know that from this point on, everything that happens, and every one that dies will be on your heads."

Teranus stepped forward, "What do you mean by that?"

"Simply look." In front of the window, the realms of slipspace faded away and the UNSC Era of Retaliation entered, to Teranus, a familiar system. "Welcome home Councilor."