Mass Effect is the property of Bioware. 20th Century Fox owns the Alien/Predator franchise.

!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!

Geneva, Earth

"So, we have ourselves another victory." Harper smiled briefly. "That's very good news. I was worried that we had started our political reform campaign too soon. A military defeat at this stage would have been awkward."

"I know," Spears said. "But we couldn't afford to wait any longer. We only have a small window of opportunity, before our 'political masters' regroup and entrench themselves. Besides, the outcome of the ground war was decided the moment we chased out their fleet. The only variable was how long it would take. In any case, it's all water under the bridge now. We've created the correct political climate, we've won our victories. Now it's up to d'Orsinio to deliver and from the looks of it, he plans to do just that. "

"D'Orsinio came around pretty easily didn't he?" Harper mused. "He's certainly thrown himself into his work. His speeches are... quite persuasive."

Spears nodded. "Yes. I'm a bit surprised, though. I hadn't expected D'Orsinio to give in that quickly. It's not as though he is powerless. He could have caused us a world of trouble."

Harper smiled. "It fits his character. D'Orsinio didn't build his power base by fighting battles he couldn't win. Right now, we are in charge and we're simply too strong for him to challenge; not without building a support platform of his own, which would take time. So, for the moment he goes along with us. Besides, I think he's getting a taste for public acclaim. After being obscure for so long, the limelight seems to be addictive. If he goes along with our plans and we succeed in reshaping the United Systems, well, his place in history would be secured."

"So, as long as we maintain strong public support, he'll publicly support us too, both to preserve his position and for the opportunity to shine that we have given him."

"Exactly. Meanwhile, I'm keeping tabs on him to make sure his ambitions don't grow out of control. I don't expect too many problems, at least not in the short term. In the long term, well, that's impossible to predict, but I suspect that as long as the military keeps delivering victories, d'Orsinio will be happy to ride our coattails. And if not, well, then we'll deal with him."

Spears couldn't resist. "Another hedge-fund scandal?"

"Please, general. Give me some credit for originality. Don't worry, I have measures in place."

"Good. What else do we need to deal with."

"There is one other thing, and it ties in directly with D'Orsinio. We need to decide what to do with general Williams."

Spears raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"General Williams has become the center of considerable controversy, general. It seems half the population considers him a martyred hero, while the other half wants his head. It doesn't help that the latter group is divided between those who think he should have fought to the death and those who believe he should have surrendered at once to prevent loss of life."

"So?" Spears shrugged. "That is nothing new. In any case, because he surrendered his command he'll be subject to a board of inquiry, possibly a court-martial. Let them decide whether he did the right thing. We can spin it either way."

"That is exactly the problem, general. We cannot afford a public trial, and it would have to be public to avoid looking like a cover-up. Williams best defense would be that he did not receive the support he needed to continue the fight. If he does that, he'll be pointing the finger straight at the General Assembly. How do you think D'Orsinio and his friends would react to that?"

"Damn!" There was a moment of silence. Then Spears said slowly, "What do you suggest?"

"There are several options, general. Perhaps we can persuade general Williams to see things our way. I would think that he, too, might prefer to avoid a public trial, which, depending on the judges, might turn out very unpleasant."

"And if he wants his day in court?"

"That is certainly possible," Harper conceded. "But then again, general Williams must be under a great deal of stress. It would not be inconceivable if he committed so desperate act. After all, ms. Hammerstein did the same, didn't she?

Before Spears could answer Harper stood up. "In any case, it's time I went back to work, general. Politicians don't keep themselves honest, you know."

He left the room, leaving Spears to wonder, not for the first time, whether it wouldn't be better if he got rid of Harper, before Harper felt the need to deal with him.

Shanxi

The STG operatives were exhausted. For more than a week they had been working around the clock as they observed the human fleet maneuvers a well as the ground offensive. It had been a wonderful time in any respects: so much to see, so much to study. Already the databanks of their small ship held a wealth of information, enough to keep several research divisions bus for generations. Still, it was with a sense of relieve that the crew noted that their working days were coming to an end. Over the past days, the human fleet strength had increased steadily. Some ships were new arrivals that had come through the relay within days of the human victory. Others were already known: ships that had limped away through the relay only to return several days later, their hulls patched up. Even the ships that had stayed in the system had need repairs, which had been carried out by special ships that had followed them into the system. It had been an impressive show of engineering skill and confirmed the salarians' suspicions that the humans had to have considerable industrial power within a short distance of the connecting relay.

Now the larger part of the fleet was moving, forming up in some sort of pattern that must have made sense to the humans. It was an impressive spectacle: Five of the massive fighter carriers, twenty-six cruiser-sized vessels of various different designs and eighteen frigates. A small group of four more cruisers and three frigates was moving parallel to the main body. As the salarians watched in fascination, the formation moved ponderously away from the inner system, picking up speed. The STG vessel followed at a respectful distance, still hidden behind the best stealth systems salarian technology could produce. As soon as the human fleet left the system they would move around them and race ahead. The humans were moving and it wasn't difficult to guess where. By the time they arrived at their destination, the STG would have made sure that there was a welcoming committee for them.

Even further away, the Yautja ship kept an eye on the human fleet movement as well. Unlike the STG they would follow the humans at a leisurely pace. They were in no hurry. All they cared about was that they would be present when the human war fleet reached Citadel Space. That kind of event promised to be most entertaining.

-o-o-o-

USM Yamato

"All ships ready for FTL speed, ma'am."

Admiral Drescher nodded. "Have them stand by for my order."

"Yes, ma'am."

Drescher studied the plot. It was an awe-inspiring sight. Second fleet was back in action, even stronger than when she had led them through the mass relay. At least in numbers. She thought sourly. Too many of these ships are only partially operational. The repair crews have performed a small miracle as it is, but still... It was the reason she hadn't transferred her flag back to Ark Royal. The engineers had repaired the carrier's flight decks, but Ark Royal's flag bridge had not had the same priority and remained out of operation.

"Did the science team find everything they need?"

"Yes ma'am, they did. Ma'am about that-"

"The decision had been taken." Drescher glared at her unfortunate chief-of-staff. That was another problem. With commander Hackett in the hospital, she'd had to settle for a new deputy. Commander Singh was not a bad officer, but there had been very little time for him to settle into his new responsibilities and he had an unfortunate habit of wanting to revisit items that had already been decided. Admiral Drescher forced herself to remain calm, the start of a major campaign was not the right moment to reshuffle her staff, so for the moment, she was stuck with the man. "I understand your concerns commander, but I will not have an unexplored mass relay behind me when the fleet advances. We have to pass through the system anyway to discharge our drive cores, so we may as well open the relay. We should count ourselves fortunate that Drs. Xui and Fasse, and their team were still at Arcturus. Even without Auriga's facilities, they should be able to open that dormant relay and send a scouting party through.

Singh nodded. "I understand, ma'am. It's just, we'll be leaving seven ships behind with them."

"AN unfortunate necessity, but without Auriga, several ships would be needed in any case to transport the equipment. Four Rapid Deployment Vessels will not make that much of a difference in firepower. As for the frigates, someone has to do the scouting and, if they run into trouble, the frigates will be fast enough to escape and carry word to us. In any case, it is my decision to make, and I've made it. Now, will there be anything else?"

"No, ma'am." At least Singh was smart enough to know when to stop.

"Excellent. Then take us out of the system."

Relay 288

"Well, here we are."

Matriarch Lidanya studied the map of the star system. Not that is was particularly interesting. The system containing Relay 288 was uninhabited and for good reason. There just wasn't anything of interest. The same was true for the surrounding systems. No wonder that people stopped exploring this region of space. Too bad that it's come back to haunt us. Goddess, what a mess.

Despite all the reports that she had studied, Lidanya had not been quite as prepared as she had thought for the reality that had been waiting for her. Neither had her crews. It had simply been too long since anyone had fought a major war in space, even by asari reckoning. The sight of the surviving turian ships, less than a third of the fleet that had set out only a few months earlier had been a shock, made worse by the fact that many of them were little more than wrecks. A good thing that we arrived in time. If the humans had followed them here, they would have smashed through the turians as though they weren't there.
If seeing the turian ships had been bad, the meeting with general Oraka had, if anything, been even worse. She had met the turian general before and liked him. This time, instead of the well-mannered, smooth talking officer of the past, she had found him bitter, defeated. Warfare had been a task for which Oraka had practiced all his life, and when he had finally been put to the ultimate test, he had failed. It didn't matter, that he'd fought well, or that it was unlikely that anyone could have done better under the circumstances. His ships had been destroyed, too many of his people killed, and, worst of all, he had been forced to leave thousands of turian soldiers stranded on an alien planet. By now, they were either dead or captives and Oraka would have to live with the knowledge of that failure.

Still, awkward as the meeting had been, it had at least been useful. A consummate professional, even in defeat, Oraka had studied the recordings of the battle carefully and had been able to collect a comprehensive picture of the human military capabilities. Unfortunately, the news had not been good. Having left the turian contingent of the Citadel Defense Fleet behind Lidanya's force had been reduced to only three dreadnoughts and fourteen cruisers. Of course, one of these dreadnoughts was the Destiny Ascension, the most powerful warship ever built, but even the Destiny Ascension needed to come within effective firing distance of the enemy.
The humans didn't have that kind of trouble. Even if they left the damaged fighter carrier behind and only deployed the three remaining vessels, they would have about three times Lidanya's fighter strength. That would leave her ships very vulnerable and, unlike in the previous engagement, there was absolutely no reason for the human carriers to go anywhere near her fleet. They could stand off at the outer edge of the system and send in their strike waves without going anywhere near the Destiny Ascension. Whether those strikes would be enough to destroy her dreadnoughts was an open question, but not one she was particularly eager to explore. Together they had discussed various possible counter moves, but there had been so satisfactory solution to the tactical problem and not enough time to debate it either. Oraka and his ships had to be out of the system before the humans arrived to improve the chances of opening negotiations. So, they had left for the Arphus shipyards. There they would take up a defensive position on top of the mass relay; largely for show, but necessary to show that the Hierarchy was still defending Citadel Space.

If only I could defend the relay from the other side. That would certainly solve a lot of problems. She could have kept dreadnoughts within firing range of the relay and destroy any ship that came through, the moment it appeared. Unfortunately, Relay 288 linked to no less than three other relays in Citadel Space and she didn't have the strength to guard them all.
Besides, then there would be no time to talk. Lidanya grimaced. It had seemed such a reasonable plan when they came up with it back on the Citadel. It was quite a bit different when you were far from home, waiting for the arrival of a powerful, and most likely enraged, enemy. At least Oraka had been able to supply her with the latest version of the translation software. They would be able to understand the humans, at least. Always assuming that the humans had anything to say.

She sighed. One way or another, she would find out soon enough.

!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!

A short filler chapter, but I needed to move the various forces to their locations.

When I used the number 501, I was actually thinking of Strike Witches. I didn't even remember that it was also a Star Wars reference. Ah well, I guess it works either way.

A reviewer wondered why the HQ wasn't damaged from the original capture. General Williams surrendered before they reached it, so the turians captured it intact. If he hadn't, they wouldn't have bothered storming it, but just smashed it from orbit.