Were it So Easy

by Sigma0327

Six's life was a giant war. Every battle was a test of sheer tenacity and stubbornness against insurmountable odds. Every moment, every bullet fired, every Covenant, Insurrectionist, and Flood spore killed has led up to his last fight. Once again he was one of the few that stood between Earth and her enemies. This would be his final battle, and nothing could change that, right?

10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Halo or Mass Effect universes.

Rated M

Chapter 10 - Shadows

•••

The air aboard the Normandy felt heavy with tension as Commander James Shepard made his way to the briefing room at a brisk pace. He had summoned every member of the ground team present when the Collectors attacked, including Mordin, to attend the meeting.

It was important that everyone attended. Not only would Shepard be taking accountability for what had happened, he was also going to outline their next course of action, and he needed everyone to be on board. Given the events of the last few hours, Shepard suspected that this would be difficult and frankly he couldn't blame them. His rashness almost got them all killed.

Shepard took a deep breath as he approached the door, he could already hear his team talking within. Without hesitating, Shepard entered the room, the door opened to reveal the dimly lit room with the crew all huddled around the holotable.

The hum of conversation ceased as the ex-Spectre entered the room, now having turned all their attention to him, their expressions a mixture of curiosity, skepticism, and weariness. Wordlessly, Shepard made his way to the back of the room at the end of the holotable. He took the time to look over all those present, making eye contact with all the members of his team.

Despite some of the pleasant conversations he had had with his team, the issue of what had happened still remained. Everyone was happy that no one was dead or critically injured. But at the end of the day, someone had to take the fall for an easily avoidable mishap.

Miranda glared at Shepard, and the veteran knew that she would be the most difficult to convince and win back over. Jacob's face was one of concern, occasionally he would wince whenever he put too much weight on his injured leg. Shepard knew that while Jacob trusted him, he trusted Miranda a bit more. They've known each other for a long time after all, so it was only natural for the tough soldier to be biased. Garrus wore a look of empathy for Shepard. The turian had once led a team under the moniker of Archangel. He knew what it was like to lose team members due to bad decisions.

Samara and Thane remained placid, it was difficult for Shepard to discern what they were thinking or feeling. If he were to hazard a guess, then he'd imagine they sat somewhere in the middle with respect to how they felt about the situation.

Grunt and Jack, as usual, looked bored. They didn't seem to care much about what happened, so long as they got to sate their desire to cause as much chaos as possible.

Shepard took a deep breath. "I understand that what has happened in the last few hours has led us down a road of doubts and division." He paused, making sure everyone was listening. "The Collectors really brought down the hurt on us, took us by surprise, threw a curveball at us that no one expected. While we persevered like we've always done in the past, it is undeniable that this was a close call."

Shepard took a deep breath. He usually didn't get nervous when talking in front of people. But this was different: he had just gambled with their lives, almost got everyone killed. He could sense the frustration in the air.

"I took a risk." He continued. "Took a risk that I never should have. I took a risk without consulting all of you. I was blinded by my desire to thwart the Collectors and I made a strategic error which resulted in the situation we now find ourselves in."

"As a leader, I should have done better. I should have been more inclusive, I should have allowed everyone to offer their own insight, and most of all I should have kept a level head." He looked around the room again. Miranda continued to glare, Jacob's expression almost softened marginally, and Jack looked like she was trying to suppress a yawn.

Typical Jack.

"I won't lie to you, things will continue to be and likely become more difficult. I understand that your trust for me has diminished greatly given my recent lack of tactical acumen." Shepard paused. "If you wish to depart, to leave, then I'd understand completely."

Shepard paused, waiting for someone to say something, to walk out, to yell at him. But nothing happened. The silence felt deafening. A pin could be dropped and it would sound like a grenade going off compared to the total lack of noise in the Normandy's briefing room.

"I don't know about anyone else." Garrus spoke up, voice devoid of anger or malice. "But I'm not leaving. Shame on you for thinking I'd leave you to fend for yourself against the Collectors. Spirits knows you need someone to babysit you and keep you sane."

Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Tali chose that moment to speak as well. "Garrus is right, besides, Garrus and I have known you the longest. You can't lose us that easily. I know it's hard to be in your position, and even you aren't perfect. I trust you to lead us better than anyone else."

Shepard couldn't help but smile, grateful for the loyalty his friends have for him, even if he feels that he doesn't deserve it.

"As long as I get to kill things then I'm staying." Grunt declared absentmindedly, probably hoping that the meeting would end as fast as possible.

That won't be a problem.

"This doesn't change the fact that you made a mistake, Shepard." The Commander traced the source of the voice to Miranda, who looks like she hadn't stopped glaring at him the whole time.

"Not just any mistake." She continued unperturbed. "But one that easily could have been avoided if you just listened to me."

"Look at this bitch!" Jack snapped. "Why the fuck does she need to make everything about her!? 'Shepard didn't listen to me. I should have made the plan.' It's all me, me, me!"

"Easy Jack." Shepard spoke gently, hoping not to anger the woman even further. "I don't think that's what she-"

"It's not about me!" Miranda retorted. "It's about the mission! Shepard is our leader and if he can't be bothered to make a sound tactical decision then we are dead in the water!" Shepard felt a little stung by those words, but it was the truth.

"Yeah, yeah." Jacked said dismissively. "That's what you want us to think but at the end of the day you are a self centered bitch!"

"No! It just so happens that I am one of the few people on this ship with a clear mind!"

"A clear mind?!" Garrus spat, in a disbelieving tone. "You think going after Shepard this way and starting arguments with other members of the team gives you a clear mind?"

This is what Shepard was afraid of. All it took was one disagreement, and now he had a shouting match on his hands. This type of unproductive arguing could spell disaster for the relationships between the members of his team, which could then spell disaster in the future if people start to distrust each other.

Miranda clenched her fists and scowled. "Well who else is going to call Shepard out for his mistakes?"

"Looks to me that Shepard is well aware of his mistake, and doesn't need you to point it out like you're some kind of moral authority! Pretty ironic considering you're the physical embodiment of Cerberus!"

Shepard chose that moment to speak up, sensing that things were getting hot. "That's enough everyone, I will gladly take the blame and-"

Jack suddenly cackled from her position next to Grunt in a maniacal fashion. "Yeah that's what I thought bitch!" She laughed. "Bet it really blows when I'm not the only one that can see you for the little slut that you are!"

Miranda seethed with white hot fury. Her jaws clenched and she looked like she wanted to strangle Jack in a fit of murderous rage. Shepard looked around the room and noticed everyone else tense up, sensing a potential altercation between the two women.

"Guys, this isn't how we're going to fix this problem." Jacob reasoned. "I think there is some truth to what Miranda said." He gestured to Shepard. "Shepard already admitted to it. Now we can just-"

"Keelah, she has no right to criticize Shepard." Tali interrupted. "Shepard is the only one who can lead us, better than Miranda ever could!"

Miranda reeled back from the statement, seemingly offended that Tali dared to make such a claim. Shepard stopped himself from sighing in frustration. Miranda was always prideful, often too much for her own good. Her perfectionism often culminates in the Cerberus agent overestimating her capabilities. As a result, whenever someone compares Miranda to someone else, and Miranda isn't the one coming on top in that comparison, she usually doesn't handle it well.

"When did I say anything about taking over for Shepard?" Miranda growled.

"We all know you want to!" The Quarian yelled, surprising Shepard with how aggressive the normally timid Quarian is being. "You're jealous, you think you deserve the position of leading! But you don't. No one trusts you, you didn't build up this team, and you can't lead them the way Shepard does!"

"That's enough." Shepard said calmly. Damnit, this was going nowhere. Tali, glanced at Shepard, then nodded apologetically.

"Most of this team wouldn't even be here if I was not here from the beginning. I had the dossiers and information Shepard needed to find you all. There is a reason why I am second in command."

"Yeah and that reason is because your boss gave you, a Cerberus agent, a high ranking position on a Cerberus vessel without you actually proving yourself to the crew that you are worthy of being second in command." Garrus drawled. "Congratulations."

"The reason, Mr. Vakarian." Miranda growled through gritted teeth. "Is that unlike you, who got your entire team killed, I am actually capable of-"

"ENOUGH!" Shepard roared, slamming his fist into the holotable with enough force for it to flicker momentarily. The normally calm man's outburst of rage stunned the room into silence. Even Jack seemed surprised.

Shepard took a deep breath, angry he had let this pointless argument go on for so long.

"I will not have this type of behavior take place on my ship." Shepard fumed, he glared at the occupants of the room with a scowl on his face. Even Miranda seemed to momentarily falter as Shepard burned a hole in her forehead with the intensity of his glare. "I made a mistake, and I will do everything in my power to make it right and make sure this never happens again. Any criticism is warranted. But this type of destructive behavior will not be tolerated. We can't have a rift being torn between us. We will need to be at our absolute best if we are to stand a chance against the Collectors."

No one said anything, it seemed that no one had the interest to argue anymore, at least for now. Miranda glared at Jack, intent on killing the woman with her glare, and Jack looked about ready to do the same to the Cerberus operative but at the very least that was a crisis that had been temporarily avoided.

Shepard decided that now would be the best time to switch subjects: he would talk to everyone individually without the risk of tensions increasing even more. Right now, it was time to focus on the task at hand.

"As far as standing against the Collectors goes." Shepard said. "That's going to be a bit more difficult."

"How so?" Kasumi wondered aloud.

"As you all know." Shepard continued. "This Collector attack was likely no coincidence. Their MO in every past case involves disabling communication, defenses, and capturing humans alive by seeker swarm incapacitation. In all cases, infrastructure remained relatively intact and not much of a struggle took place from the defending troops present."

Shepard paused, allowing everyone to absorb the information. He glanced at Miranda and noticed that her expression had softened: she now had something related to the mission to pay attention to. Say what you will about Miranda, but at least she was exceptional when it came to setting her emotions aside in favor of the mission.

"This could mean one of two things. One, the Collectors are trying to switch tactics to confuse and throw off possible investigation. Two, this was an attempt at eliminating us."

"Both possibilities likely, strategic thinking altered in order to increase likelihood of our demise."

"Correct, Mordin." Shepard nodded at the Salarian scientist. "Which is why we need to assume that the Collectors are actively tracking us."

Shepard thought back to the destruction of the original Normandy, and his death. A Collector ship intercepted the stealth vessel and took it by surprise. They were completely defenseless. Shepard shuddered at the thought, the Collectors went out of their way to hunt him down before. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that the Collectors have figured out that Shepard had survived and are now trying to finish him off.

Why were they hunting him before? That was two years ago. The answer was quite simple. He earned the attention of the Reapers and Collectors when he killed Saren and destroyed Sovereign.

Damn, it sucks being as famous as me.

"You still believe what Six told you?" Garrus whispered almost conspiratorially, as if he were trading secrets in a public place in broad daylight. "Something like this…. We have to be sure they are tracking us."

Shepard considered the turian's words. The idea made him uncomfortable. He stared at the 3D representation of the human colony they were on hours prior. The orange sphere spun lazily above the holotable, providing a pleasant contrast to the dimly lit briefing room.

"We can't be certain." Shepard admitted. "But it is a possibility we must consider." Shepard remembered what the enigmatic supersoldier told him before departing, that he needed to consider all angles. Of course, it was something Shepard always did. But now, he was paying special attention to all different possibilities.

"It might not be that unlikely." Tali nodded. "The Collectors attacked the original Normandy."

"And if they did it before they can do it again." Garrus finished for Tali.

"So what's the plan?" Jacob inquired.

"If there is one thing we can learn from this." Miranda spoke, surprising Shepard. "It's that we can't face the Collectors head on."

"Why not?" Grunt lamented in a tone that seemed far too innocent for a krogan.

"Would you prefer getting evaporated by the Collectors?" Garrus snorted, amused.

"As long as I take a bunch down with me." The krogan chuckled.

"So if we can't take the Collectors head on." Tali started. "Then what will we do?"

Shepard thought about this for quite some time, and frankly they didn't have many options. It was exceedingly difficult to predict Collector attacks as they seemed to attack completely by random. Even with proof, they won't be able to convince the Alliance to mobilize the navy and position ships around each human colony. Some colonies didn't fall under Alliance jurisdiction. Which in Shepard's mind was a poor excuse when so many lives were at stake.

"We'll need help." Shepard admitted.

"And who the bloody hell is gonna wanna help us?" Zaeed grumbled.

"I have a friend, a councilor that might be able to offer some assistance." Shepard answered.

"A councilor?" Miranda deadpanned. "Just how do you expect that to work? You're technically supposed to be dead and the second they see you, they will get suspicious and it won't take long for them to find out about Cerberus' involvement."

Shepard chuckled. "Don't worry Miranda, Councilor Anderson and I go way back."

"I know that." Of course she did. "But how do you know that he won't just turn you in once he finds out."

"Miranda." Garrus began. "Just because you don't have any good friends that won't make sacrifices for you doesn't mean other people can't." Miranda scowled at the turian.

"Focus guys." Shepard rolled his eyes. "Look I understand you don't trust me much after what happened. But you'll have to. I'm not asking anyone to go with me. I can do this on my own."

"I'll be coming with you." Garrus declared. "You need someone watching your back."

Tali nodded in agreement. "I'll be by your side too."

Shepard smiled.

"What about the rest of us?" Jacob said.

"You can explore the Citadel or stay on the Normandy, it's your choice." Shepard shrugged.

"However." Shepard asserted. "I ask all of you to keep a low profile and not to travel alone." He glanced at everyone to make sure they were listening.

"Given the recent events." Shepard spoke in a low tone. "There's no telling how much influence the Collectors have on the galaxy."

"What does that mean?" Kasumi ventured.

"It means that the Collectors may have other assets under their influence that can keep watch on us for them. Who knows what's waiting for us on the Citadel if anything at all. Which is why I am asking you all to be cautious and keep your wits about you." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Does anyone have any questions?" No one spoke.

"Ok, everyone's dismissed for now, once we approach the Citadel, I'll go over the finer details. Miranda, stay here for a moment please." Everyone else wordlessly left the briefing room.

"I know you don't trust me right now." Shepard said. "But you're going to have to."

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Miranda spoke.

"It's the best idea I have, unless you have something better."

Miranda sighed and shook her head. "No."

"Anderson is our best bet. If there is anyone that has information or assets that we could use to help even the odds, it's him."

"What makes you think he knows something that Cerberus already doesn't?" It was common knowledge that Cerberus had agents within the Systems Alliance feeding classified information to the Illusive Man, and attempts to expose these agents is often exceedingly difficult. Cerberus spies are notoriously good at what they do.

"Anderson's network is solid." Shepard asserted confidently. "He's got assets all over the galaxy thanks to his position as a councilor." That was one of the advantages of being a councilor. Anderson had access not just to Alliance sources but also sources from the Asai, Turian, and Salarian militaries. That doesn't even include the highly secretive Spectres.

"You think he would know more than Cerberus?" Miranda asked, almost incredulously.

"It's possible." Shepard shrugged. "Cerberus aren't the only ones with a penchant for knowledge and spying."

"And just how exactly are you going to confront Anderson after two years of you being presumed dead?" Miranda crossed her arms.

"I'll ask nicely."

•••

The invaders came from the stars, their arrival swift and devoid of foreshadowing, intent on delivering divine retribution upon the inhabitants of what was once a beautiful, lush planet.

It was difficult to make out anything in the midst of the chaos. Gunfire rattled off in the distance and explosions shook the remains of the once idyllic houses and streets. The air stunk of ash, ozone, and fear.

He had just finished another day at school when it happened. He raced down the streets, clutching his backpack as he went, the weight of the unfinished homework fought against his momentum. It was a poignant symbol of the shattered normalcy that had just become a reality.

A woman beckoned him from one of the few houses still intact, her facial features remarkably familiar. Flashes of crimson, green, and blue could be seen outside, and the air crackled with the acrid scent of burning debris.

A man appeared in the doorway, brandishing a weapon, tears stained his weathered face. They approached the boy, eyes conveying a love and fear that he could no longer fully grasp.

Someone else should be here, but who?

He was told to hide under the floorboards. "Everything will be okay." They assured him. "Don't make any noise."

The sounds of war grew louder, his heart raced faster, threatening to burst through his fragile chest.

There was a loud bang, like the sound of something smashing through the door and then crushing the door frame itself. Several gunshots rang out, deafening the young boy.

Then the screaming started.

The monsters that carried out the atrocities could not foresee the demon that would be created as a result of their actions. If they knew, then maybe they wouldn't have set foot on that planet.

•••

Spartan B312 jolted awake, he sprung up and readied his rifle, analyzing his surroundings in mere moments. When no threats were detected, Yuri slightly relaxed.

He frowned: it had been a while since he had a dream like that. The last time he did his memories were even more fractured than before. It was a consequence of the training. ONI did not want their Spartans to remember too much about their childhoods as that would risk distracting them from their true purpose. They only wanted the Spartans to remember just enough to maintain their hatred of the Covenant.

Yuri supposed that this was the consequence of not fighting nonstop for years on end: he had more time to let his mind drift to things not related to purging the Covenant.

That was suboptimal.

Yuri willed himself to focus again, analyzing the situation he was in. He had been successful in boarding and destroying the Collector vessel, its destruction was confirmed from the eruption of its reactor and the shower of debris catapulted into the planet's orbit and probably its atmosphere as well. Now the Spartan found himself in an unknown world. The objective was obvious: he needed to find a way offworld.

First thing's first, he needed to find an elevated position like a hill or a mountain to get a better look at his surroundings. It only took a few moments to spot a relatively large mountain in the distance, only a few kilometers out.

The Spartan held his position for a few minutes, waiting for any potential threats to reveal themselves, he switched to thermal and surveyed the area, but aside from some unidentified species of bird and small rodent-like creatures, there was nothing else.

The Spartan checked his armor and equipment. MJOLNIR weathered the impact well. The upgrades over the previous mark-V suits allowed it to withstand a greater level of punishment. Nodding to himself, Yuri inspected his equipment and frowned. It seemed to be a stroke of bad luck that of all the things that could have been damaged, it just had to be the Spartan laser. The exterior of the weapon sported a few scratches and dents, but it was clear that that wasn't the problem. Some internal components were damaged. The Spartan hoped that it wasn't anything major, but without proper tools, the Spartan couldn't take apart the weapon to analyze the issue in depth.

Yuri stood up from his crouching position in the small crater his impact had produced and took a step forward. The sudden movement elicited pain that reverberated throughout the supersoldier's body.

The recent fighting along with the sudden orbital impact did a number on the Spartan's body, irritating previous injuries and creating new ones. A quick diagnostic from his armor told him that the injuries were workable: some damaged ligaments and tendons, not to mention some tears in the muscle tissue in his legs, arms, and other parts of the body.

To a normal human, these injuries would be debilitating. But to a Spartan, it was simply an inconvenience. Still, the injuries had consequences. It meant that his body won't be performing at maximum capacity: he'd be slower and weaker until his body repaired itself.

At least none of his organs suffered any damage, he got lucky with that.

Yuri took off at a brisk pace, moving through the thick forest towards the large natural landmark in the distance.

His muzzle scanned the environment for hostiles. Beneath MJOLNIR's golden visor, Yuri's attention was divided between his motion tracker, gunsights, and armor diagnostics.

MJOLNIR weathered the damage well, but the nanocomposite body armor in his abdomen was weakened from an unfortunate shot from a Collector. It wasn't breached, but it needed repairs.

Fortunately, after the war Yuri's armor was equipped with a contingent of nanobots that can make minor repairs to the armor. Unfortunately, they worked slow, and it can take days or weeks just to repair even minor damage. On top of that, the technology isn't advanced enough to repair major damage like a breach.

The rest of the suit was functioning fine, but caution still needs to be exercised.

Six stealthily weaved through the dense forest. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, casting a golden glow on the forest floor. The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves accompanied his every step. The scenery was beautiful and peaceful but the soldier paid it no mind. He moved with a purpose, the soldier's hardened gaze took in every minute detail. Anything from landmarks, possible ambush points, and escape routes to any shadows that could potentially reveal the position of an enemy.

Yuri-B312 effortlessly navigated over the terrain, guided by his training and instincts which ensured that no move was wasted as the half ton supersoldier seemed to glide along the forest floor.

Even though it was broad daylight, it would be very difficult to spot the Spartan as his expertise allowed him to take advantage of the concealment and shadows to their fullest potential.

As he descended further into the dense foliage, the lone wolf spotted what looked like a small clearing beyond some thick underbrush. The Spartan crept towards the foliage and peered through the leaves, revealing to him a curious sight.

In the distance, just a stone's throw away were seven figures, heavily armored soldiers, cautiously patrolling the forest. They assumed a staggered line formation with two men acting as a rear guard. Their spacing and their ever present vigilance suggested that they were clearly well trained. Despite only having three days to conduct research on this new galaxy, Yuri believed that he learned a decent amount of information regarding the different factions present.

The design, bulk, and characteristic emblem told the Spartan that these were Cerberus troops. But what was Cerberus doing on this planet? This was suspicious. Six figured that this would be a good opportunity to gather some more intelligence, so instead of eliminating this patrol, he would follow them and see where they led, maybe even listen in on them.

The Spartan remained motionless, watching as the unaware soldiers moved from his left to his right. The Spartan crept along the forest floor, slipping past trees and through bushes. The Cerberus troops remained unaware of the half ton supersoldier stalking them.

"See anything?" One of them asked as the Spartan took cover behind a tree.

"Negative." Another replied. "It can't be that far out. The trajectory suggests that it can't be more than a few hundred meters away from us."

Yuri pondered the man's words. It didn't take a genius to realize that they were either talking about Six, or parts of the Collector ship that fell from orbit, or both. The question is, how did Cerberus know where to look? The answer was obvious: Shepard. Although not entirely. When Six had left the planet's atmosphere he had been able to contact Shepard's ship, which had not been affected by the Collectors' jamming systems.

It is possible that Shepard's ship reported the situation to Cerberus. Maybe they had additional assets in the system that tailed the Collector ship or their response time was exceptional. Either way it meant that Shepard and his team can't be trusted in that regard. Whether they are willingly giving Cerberus information about him or not, it didn't matter, as Cerberus no doubt keeps tabs on all of their assets at all times. Perhaps they intercepted the transmission between Six and the ship and then allocated assets to pursue the Collector vessel.

If Yuri were in their shoes, he'd be interested in seizing surviving technology in order to better understand the enemy through reverse engineering and finding ways to exploit their technology.

This is fine, but the problem is that this is Cerberus, and Yuri's research afforded him enough insight to come to the conclusion that Cerberus is indeed a terrorist organization. Their nefarious schemes not only result in animosity against humans by meddling in the affairs of the various species in this galaxy, but also in the deaths of humans. Yuri didn't like the idea of Cerberus accessing advanced technology that could give them an edge.

So the mission has temporarily changed. Sabotage was the name of the game. Who knows, maybe he could nab an aircraft from the Cerberus forces here.

"What do you think of this op? Something seems fishy about the briefing."

One of the soldiers, presumably the leader, snorted. "Every op we've been on is fishy. The Illusive Man likes to keep his cards close to his chest and give us the bare minimum information."

"I know that." The subordinate scoffed. "What I mean is, what exactly is this high value target that we're supposed to look out for? I mean, we hardly have a description of it!" That caught Yuri's interest.

"Tall, and armored like a tank, would be hard to miss, Adam. Also it's not really a target, at least, not until it acts hostile."

Yuri imagined the other man rolling his eyes. "From what I gather, everyone is a potential hostile to the Illusive Man. I mean, our rules of engagement are pretty clear."

So, their leader is hyper paranoid. Paranoia is a double edged sword that can cut both ways. On one hand, it would make it easier to sow distrust in the organization, resulting in division. If the rank and file know they are deliberately being deprived of mission critical intel, then this might result in less loyalty to their leader, which would make it easier to dislodge Cerberus troops.

On the other hand, it meant that the Illusive Man would go through extreme measures to protect himself and his organization. Yuri's mind raced with strategic possibilities as he continued to shadow the Cerberus patrol, silently moving from cover to cover.

One possible option involves sabotaging key assets of importance to the organization, anything from research facilities, to weapons manufacturing centers, to surveillance outposts. The desired outcome would culminate into a greater lack of trust from the Illusive Man to his officers. This could result in internal conflict and put a strain on the leadership. Best case scenario, Cerberus tears itself apart from the inside with infighting. But even if that doesn't happen the lesser implications would still be dire.

The infighting would distract them from follow up attacks, which would serve to create even more distrust hence creating a sort of negative feedback loop. Yuri considered numerous tactics involving blackmail and manipulation of key figures, framing members of leadership, the spread of misinformation and propaganda among the rank and file, and just simple blunt force sabotage.

Many of these ideas seem unlikely to succeed or even down right ludicrous considering Yuri's position in a completely foreign galaxy, but the Spartan had done this numerous times to destabilize Insurrection organizations. Of course, Six's priority was to return to the UNSC and not start a war with Cerberus. But that didn't mean Yuri wouldn't take it upon himself to piece together multiple contingency plans to deal with any potential threat in this galaxy.

The supersoldier logged these options away for future study. Right now, he had some sabotaging to do.

"There it is." One of the soldiers said. "Looks like a stasis pod almost… what is that?"

"Dunno man." Another one shrugged dismissively. "If it looks useful to the Illusive Man then it's coming with us, so long as I get my paycheck." Sure enough, there it was, the remnants of one of those murder machines. Damn things were pretty durable. Sure it might not be in mint condition but it held up pretty good considering it fell from space. Seems that Collector technology was built to last.

Six didn't miss that last point either. It seemed that some of these troops weren't as extremist as Yuri had originally thought, at least not by terrorist standards. Some of them seemed to act more like mercenaries than anything else. But these individuals were a small example of the total manpower of Cerberus, so there was no way of telling if this mentality was the norm of not.

Money is a powerful motivator… so if Yuri had the money, maybe he could entice such individuals to side with him? Some of these rank and file individuals might know something of value.

"So how the fuck are we gonna move this?" One of the men grumbled in frustration.

"We don't, moron. We mark it for the extraction teams then move, don't you even listen to the briefings?"

"You call that pathetic excuse of a pep talk a briefing?"

The other man chuckled. "Good point, but still."

Yuri's gauntlet gripped the handle of his kukri, and unsheathed it about halfway before hesitating. Is this the best course of action? Presumably Cerberus was competent enough to check in periodically with their patrols, so eventually they'd find out something was going on and put themselves on high alert. Then again, Six's goal here was to deprive Cerberus of this valuable technology; this could be accomplished even if they were aware of his presence.

They likely have the relative impact points already mapped out.

An omni tool would likely have this information. Six unsheathed the monstrous blade. Best not to make too much noise. Six looked around his environment, before his helmeted head nodded imperceptibly. He crouched low making sure his armored form was shrouded in the underbrush. He picked up a large stone, and then threw it.

The projectile zipped past the unaware Cerberus troops and struck a tree. The stone shattered and produced a loud sound that echoed throughout the forest louder than what one would expect.

The effect was immediate, and the Cerberus troops raised their rifles, forming a small circle allowing for three hundred and sixty degrees of overlapping fields of fire.

"The fuck was that?!" One of the operatives spat.

"It came from my twelve." Another reported nervously.

Aside from a few curses, the soldiers held position. It was clear that they had some form of discipline. Yuri crept forward, and then deliberately planted his foot onto a twig, snapping it. It had the desired effect, forcing some of the Cerberus troops to divert their attention towards the Spartan's direction.

"Now that direction." Someone whispered. "Think we should split up?"

"Yeah, better than leaving our backs exposed." They exchanged some hand gestures, easily recognizable to Yuri. Three of them slowly stalked towards the Spartan's position while the other four went the opposite direction.

The Spartan-III crept back behind a large tree, each step precise and the product of intense training and experience. He then listened, waiting for the right time to strike. Once they got within a few meters, Yuri struck.

He lunged towards the nearest man in the time it would take to blink. The blade traveled across the throat, severing the carotid arteries and the trachea. The victim seldom had time to register the massive threat in front of him before the cold steel splattered his blood onto the forest floor.

Yuri spun around and sunk the blade into the second soldier's throat. The twelve inch blade came out the other side, shattering his spine and promising an almost instant death.

The final soldier noticed something was amiss, and turned to meet the threat. A vicious chop to the neck sent his lifeless body sailing to the dirt, never to wake back up again.

The other terrorists didn't hear their friends die. Yuri crossed the distance between him and the remaining patrol with supernatural grace. He picked up another stone and threw it, the improvised projectile cracked against the helmet of one of the operatives, denting the armor and cracking the skull beneath. The others had no time to react before the biological killing machine was upon them.

A few heartbeats later and Yuri sheathed his bloodied blade. He procured an omni tool from one of the soldiers and then proceeded to tear apart the Collector stasis pod with his bare hands, making sure not a single piece of technology was left behind for Cerberus to use.

Satisfied that nothing could be learned from the remnants, Yuri accessed the omnitool. The holographic display lit up, and the Spartan analyzed the information within. Sure enough, it contained a map of the area along with general locations believed to be the sites of Collector technology. The Spartan frowned. There must have been two to three dozen sites.

This would be a long process, and while Yuri knew he could easily outpace the Cerberus troops, some of them would likely get their hands on the technology. The Spartan looked through some options on the device and was pleasantly surprised as the map lit up with dozens of green dots spread out all over the area.

He was looking at real time troop movements. The Spartan glanced down at the body he had taken the device from, noting the different armor permutation, it seemed that squad leaders had access to this type of information. This was useful but also dangerous if the enemy got a hold of this information.

The supersoldier frowned as it became clear that many of the Cerberus troops were already closing in on the sites. Just then, his tool lit up, a red circle highlighted a small area a few hundred meters to his west.

'Alliance forces spotted.'

He watched twenty to thirty of the blips suddenly change course towards the area. Damn, it seemed Cerberus had no qualms about engaging in hostile actions against the Systems Alliance.

Before Six could ponder the situation any longer, his omnitool suddenly blinked off. Confused, the Spartan tried to turn it on again, but the device didn't respond. Suspicious, he tried another.

Same result.

They know. Credit where credit is due; It didn't take them long to find out something was amiss. It wouldn't matter, the Spartan took off at the speed of a lion, effortlessly maneuvering through the uneven terrain.

As far as Yuri was concerned, these Alliance troops were the closest thing to friendly on this planet, and linking up with them would hopefully give him some insight into what was going on. Besides, he wasn't going to let soldiers of humanity die needlessly, not if he could help it.

He moved quickly, and caught sight of the first Cerberus troops minutes later. They moved cautiously through the forest, checking for traps and ambushes as they went.

The Spartan was upon them, materializing behind the first man like a ghost. He drove his blade into the man's neck and promptly disappeared into the foliage before reappearing behind another, killing him in a similar way.

The former headhunter slit throats and snapped necks, making sure he wasn't detected as he slowly got closer to the supposed Alliance troops. Yuri knew that this wasn't a trap, something they broadcasted to his omnitool to lure him into an ambush. If that were the case then Yuri wouldn't be the one doing the ambushing.

This reminded the Spartan of his time as a headhunter, stalking through the forests of numerous backwater, uncharted planets deep behind enemy lines with absolutely no support. He killed the Covenant in similar ways, though he also had the benefit of suppressed weapons specially tailored to fit the Spartan's needs.

The Spartan couldn't help but smile at the feeling of nostalgia. It felt like a lifetime ago.

But he couldn't reminisce for long, as the forest suddenly became animated with the sounds of gunfire. Yuri picked up the pace towards the chaos, it sounded like the Alliance troops were outmatched, and in dire need of back up. The Spartan was happy to provide it.

Spartan B312 made haste, and easily spotted some of the attacking troops, firing downwards towards a position that they had the luxury of higher ground over. The Spartan readied his blade again and silently glided towards them. Before he could neutralize the first one, a torrent of weapons fire tore the soldier's barriers apart and punched through the chest cavity. The terrorist soundlessly collapsed, eliciting a series of curses from the others close by.

The Spartan switched targets and swiftly silenced three of the unsuspecting terrorists. Now he could get a better look at what was going on. Cold, analytical eyes methodically took in the environment in a few heartbeats. The site of the battle appeared to be a crater about a hundred meters in diameter, an ancient scar of a cataclysmic asteroid impact. Foliage and large trees grew over the devastated land over an unfathomably long period of time making the natural feature almost indistinguishable from the rest of the surroundings.

Yuri's eyes honed in on the muzzle flashes coming from a collection of large boulders and knocked over tree trunks. Yuri's visor zoomed in, and he easily picked out four armored individuals, clad in black, sleek armor with red accents. They moved from cover to cover with practiced movements, exchanging shots with a numerically superior foe. It was here that the verdant forest gave way to a slightly more war torn scenery. Trees stripped of their foliage stood as silent witnesses to the violence that had unfolded. Small craters littered the immediate area around the defensive position, the soil was simply rent asunder by grenades and other explosives. It was curious, what were Alliance special forces doing here?

That didn't matter for now, Six peered around the outer edges of the crater, and made out a dozen to two dozen Cerberus troops trying to encircle the hunkered down N7 operatives. They too moved with precision and took advantage of the chaos and suppressive fire to move to more advantageous positions. Yuri pondered momentarily how these Alliance special forces troops would stack up against UNSC units like the ODSTs or army rangers.

Guess he'd find out.

The Spartan picked up a weapon from one of the Cerberus troops, noting that it was a sniper rifle, a model he did not recognize.

The supersoldier mentally shrugged to himself, as long as it killed. The Spartan was still intent on being as conservative as possible with his UNSC and Covenant munitions so any weapon he could pick up is useful.

Yuri sighted up the first Cerberus soldier, aiming for the head. The lone wolf squeezed the trigger, and was surprised as instead of one round coming out, the weapon unleashed a three round burst. The burst was fast enough that it sounded almost like a single shot. The idea behind that philosophy was that the burst would exit the barrel before the weapon recoil could throw off the shots, allowing all rounds to hit the same point on a target, thereby improving armor penetration.

It reminded the Spartan of the BR series of battle rifles fielded by the UNSC.

The rounds almost instantly struck the target, drilling through the shields, a second burst finished the combatant off. Yuri sighted another soldier who had noticed his fallen comrade and sent his body lifelessly tumbling to the ground. It was like clockwork, Yuri's weapon easily allowed for long range engagements, and the sharp cracks of gunfire and deafening explosions masked his weapon signature. The Cerberus attackers didn't notice something was amiss until Yuri had claimed the lives of over a dozen of the heavily armed soldiers. The effect was immediate and the offensive lost its momentum. The Cerberus troops halted in their tracks and hunkered down, trying to track down this unseen foe that had downed so many of their comrades. Even the Alliance operators seemed momentarily confused, but capitalized on the opportunity as the lack of suppressive fire allowed them to apply their weaponry more liberally without the risk of taking hits.

Six relocated, moving along the edge of the crater. He downed the uncoordinated and confused enemies with ease, the few that did see the Spartan were quickly cut down by impossibly accurate gunfire. The N7 operators took their pound of flesh, and helped the Spartan down the rest of the Cerberus troops quickly and efficiently.

The silence that came after was deafening. The staccato of gunfire and earth shattering explosions were quickly replaced by the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves. The air stunk of ozone yet still held that natural scent of the forest, creating a discordant symphony of odors. But the Spartan wasted no time on the scenery. He approached the Alliance troops, melting out of the concealment of the foliage. The soldiers noticed him, and instantly trained their weapons on the hulking super soldier as he got within twenty meters of them without being detected until he allowed them to notice his presence.

"Stay right where you are!" One of them demanded. Yuri stopped, keeping his weapon half ready but overall maintaining a neutral posture. The apparent leader of the group kept his rifle pointed at the Spartan's chest, and glared at the Spartan through the visor of his helmet. He was a large burly man of Hispanic descent, built like an ODST and could probably contend with one as well. The other three men were composed of a man of Middle Eastern descent, one of Asian descent, and one that looked Eastern European. Based on this small example of individuals, Alliance special forces seemed to be as diverse as UNSC special forces. It was a good sign, Yuri thought.

Over the years, Yuri had grown accustomed to fighting alongside individuals of all walks of life. Every imaginable ethnicity, race, and religion. It served as a powerful reminder that humanity was capable of putting aside its differences in the face of unimaginable horror.

Well. Yuri stopped himself as he thought about the many Insurrectionists he had snuffed out during the war. Most of us.

"Identify yourself!" The soldier spat. The four operatives spread out, forming a semi circle around the Spartan.

To their credit, they made no outward show that the Spartan's appearance had startled them. "Spartan B312, UNSC." Yuri deadpanned, deciding to keep things simple. The apparent leader of the group cocked his head in confusion.

"Lieutenant James Vega." The soldier replied. "82nd N7 battalion, Systems Alliance."

"Additional Cerberus assets will make hard contact soon, we should move." The operator, James, nodded. This was something that the Spartan appreciated about special forces: they knew how to set aside their feelings to complete the mission. These men were more than willing to join forces with Six, an unknown element, to augment their chances of surviving against the larger Cerberus force.

"There's a cave about three clicks north-east of our position." James breathed. "We should fall back and consolidate there."

Six agreed. "Solid copy, I'll take point."

Vega hesitated, obviously debating on whether or not he should trust a stranger with such an important position. The hispanic man nodded, and gestured for the rest of his team to follow suit, the five man team assumed a line formation, and silently pressed onwards to probably the only safe area in the region.

No one spoke a word as they expertly navigated through the foliage, away from the remains of the battle, stepping over the corpses of some Cerberus troops on their way. The soft crackle of leaves echoed as they moved, forcing them to tread lightly, lest they give their positions away. Yuri's visor scanned their surroundings like a sentinel, and Vega and his team kept their weapons ready for the slightest signs of trouble.

The Spartan attuned his senses to the environment, feeling the passage of time slow down ever so slightly as he tuned out the ambient sounds of life around them. The Spartan held up a fist, and crouched. The N7s emulated the Spartan, and melted into the foliage as best they could, clearly showing that they were well trained in the art of concealment.

Yuri waited until he saw the Cerberus patrol, their silhouettes visible amidst the trees. They were on high alert, movements slow and methodical as their muzzles scanned their surroundings.

"Thirteen foot mobiles." Yuri spoke through the N7s' comms: he took the liberty of connecting to their communications suites upon making contact in preparation for this eventuality. "Heading north to south."

"Confirmed." Vega whispered. "They're on high alert." They were about two hundred meters away from the special forces group, far enough that they'd have a hell of a time spotting the concealed soldiers without the aid of thermals.

"Standby, let them pass."

Yuri was intent on preserving the lives of these men as best as he could, so avoiding pointless engagements like this would help prevent any needless deaths. It was a lesson that Mendez and Kurt-051 drilled into their minds from a very young age. It is never acceptable to waste the lives of fellow soldiers. The Spartan has sent men and women to their deaths throughout the course of his military career, but only if those deaths meant something. It was never something the Spartan relished, but a good soldier needed to set aside those feelings. Besides, a leader should not be a leader if the deaths of their subordinates didn't bother them.

The soldiers waited in silence as the Cerberus forces passed by them, blissfully ignorant.

"Clear." The Spartan confirmed, after waiting to make sure nothing else would show up.

The five man team melted out of the foliage, and cautiously continued towards the site of their sanctuary. The few Cerberus patrols they encountered were easily evaded, but no one made the mistake of being complacent. Everyone knew that the stakes of detection were high, so every effort was made to maintain concealment and to avoid stepping on twigs or leaves that would alert potential enemies lurking nearby.

They eventually made it to a stream, the soft murmur of water giving away its presence in the dense forest. Yuri and his newfound allies followed the stream, their footsteps now difficult to distinguish against the gentle babbling of the stream. Minutes of silence passed by, until the rushing of water could be heard in the distance.

They followed the sound, until they made it to a small lake, with an appropriately sized waterfall spilling its contents into the natural body of water.

"There it is." Vega nodded. "It's just through that waterfall." Yuri led his comrades along the edge of the lake, and after confirming they weren't being watched, passed through the rushing water and found himself inside a small and relatively dark cave. The only light came from the golden rays of sunshine passing through the rushing water, which lit up the first few meters of the cave but left the rest obscured in darkness, not that it mattered much with Yuri's enhanced eyesight.

"Nothing quite like a bit of high stakes hide-and-seek to get the juices flowing." One of the soldiers chuckled quietly. James sighed in frustration.

"Horvath, keep an eye on the entrance." The soldier in question nodded and leaned up against the wall of the cave, eager to get some rest, yet still remaining vigilant.

Vega reached into a pouch and produced a small lantern, he turned it on and placed it in the middle of the cave. The white light casted a soft illumination around the cave, allowing everyone to clearly see.

"Wasn't expecting to run into that much Cerberus." One of the men grunted softly.

"Yeah." Vega glanced at the towering Spartan, who had not moved since. "Didn't get the chance to thank you for pulling our ass out of the fire."

The Spartan simply nodded: appreciation was not necessary. "What is your mission?" The Spartan rumbled quietly, he took a knee next to the men, but otherwise remained a statue.

"That's classified." Vega said. "But it already looks like you've had a run in with the Collectors, so I'll say this: Someone in power is aware of the threat posed by those pendejos but risks political backlash if he tries to draw attention to the issue."

Yuri nodded. Based on his limited research, the Collectors seem to be perceived as more of a galactic Boogey Man than anything else. Without evidence it would come off as rather outlandish for this individual, be it politician or military leader, to start spouting off about the Collectors.

"Because of this, they've ordered us to track down the Collectors and find enough evidence to sway opinion in favor of their existence and the threat they pose… so far we haven't been successful. The small amount of video footage we have is choppy at best, easy for someone to make the argument that the footage is doctored."

"You were following that Collector ship." The Spartan said.

Vega nodded. "Exactly, but the damn thing exploded not long after entering this system. Not much intel we could gather from it. We arrived here hoping to find any useful remains, before Cerberus showed up and screwed everything up." Vega sighed and took off his helmet, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"I'd imagine those bastards are here for the leftover Collector technology." The Spartan nodded in agreement.

"Let me ask you some questions now." Yuri nodded, willing to establish some trust with James and his men.

"Who exactly are you? What is the UNSC?" Yuri thought about how to answer that question. He can't just tell them that he came from a different galaxy, can he? The Spartan is just now realizing that maybe identifying as UNSC to everyone he meets might not be the best idea, because it will lead to questions requiring the Spartan to reveal his extragalactic origins and no one will believe that. The reason he did identify himself as UNSC is because it has been ingrained into his brain from the moment he started his training.

Old habits die hard, even for a Spartan.

Yuri frowned. No, he wasn't going to be honest here. It would result in confusion and doubts, something that is not needed in a situation like this.

"It's complicated." Yuri deadpanned. "And classified. All you need to know is that we're on the same side. Cerberus forces are attempting to seize Collector technology. We can't let that happen."

Vega nodded. "I agree with you there. It's just… I've never seen armor like that before, I've never heard of the UNSC and have never heard of a Spartan. You look like a walking tank. Alliance black ops program or something?"

Yuri paused for a moment, before realizing that playing this ruse might be the best course of action. "It's on a need to know."

"Fair enough." Vega sighed. He produced a water canteen and took a sip of its contents. "Do you know what took out the ship?"

"Negative, my vessel was caught in the ensuing debris field." Yuri lied. "I crashed here."

"Your ship?"

"Damaged beyond repair."

Vega nodded and remained silent, his expression contemplative.

"Well, I won't dig too deep into how you got here." The N7 said. "Fuck knows we've got more than a few skeletons in our closets. Besides, with you on our side, I think we can stand a better chance at fighting back. You look like you can cause a lotta damage."

Six merely nodded, things seem to be turning out better than expected. The Spartan was worried about the mental gymnastics needed to maintain secrecy about his origins and come up with a convincing story. One slip up would breed distrust which would make any meaningful counter-op against Cerberus significantly more difficult. Looks like that won't be a problem here.

"Now the question is." One of the operators trailed off. "How are we gonna destroy that Collector technology? There's too much of it out there and we won't get to them all before Cerberus secures the assets."

The man spoke sense. Not even Yuri with his speed would be able to reach each location.

"Yeah." Vega nodded, inspecting his weapon as he pondered their situation. "Not to mention that they'll be on high alert after our last encounter."

The Spartan thought about the situation for all but a few heartbeats.

"Why not let them seize the assets?"

The special forces soldiers looked at the Spartan with skepticism, before Vega grinned as realization dawned.

"I like the way you think, loco."

•••

The Normandy cut through the vast expanse of space, its sleek hull glinting under the glow of incomprehensibly distant stars. Commander Shepard stood on the bridge, his gaze fixed on the distant Citadel. The massive structure floated lazily in the inky blackness of outer space serving as a beacon of galactic cooperation, yet at the same time the sight made Shepard uneasy. The Citadel in theory should be one of the safest places in the galaxy from the Collectors. But it wasn't the Collectors Shepard was worried about in this case. Rather, it was the numerous other factions that were out for Shepard's blood. Mercenaries, Pirates, and who knows what else. This wasn't even talking about the possibility that the Collectors may have some of these factions in their back pocket. There are many individuals that would sell their own arm or leg just to have the opportunity to conduct business with the mysterious aliens.

"Last chance to say no, Shepard." Joker groaned. The man was busy analyzing the Normandy's sensors, making sure that there weren't any surprises waiting for them on or near the Citadel.

Shepard shook his head, a definite no. "We gotta go through with this. Anderson is our best bet."

Joker sighed in indignation. "Last time I taxi your cybernetic ass to the Citadel in the middle of a galactic game of hide and seek…" the man mumbled under his breath.

Shepard couldn't help but frown: it wasn't like Joker to be so under the weather. Then again, the past few days have been very stressful for everyone.

"We'll make it quick." Shepard assured. "Once I talk to Anderson we'll head straight to the Normandy and leave."

"Yeah, whatever." The pilot waved his hand dismissively. "Just don't get kidnapped again."

"We'll be fine." Shepard left the cockpit and made his way to the Normandy's hangar. He went over the plan numerous times with the team. Even though not everyone would depart with Shepard, any good leader knows that it is pertinent that all team members are familiar with any plan. It's never a good idea to keep people out of the loop.

The elevator ride down to the hangar was about as long as he expected. They really needed to get someone to fix that. It's like the Illusive Man purposely engineered that flaw just to piss Shepard off.

Well it's a damn effective strategy. The Alliance should consider launching a study on the psychological effectiveness of purposely making the slowest elevators imaginable on enemy ships via covert agents. The mental health of those crews would probably deteriorate in record time and send it careening towards rock bottom.

Finally, Shepard thought to himself as the elevator from hell opened its dreaded maw, allowing the man to remove himself from the confines of that damn contraption.

He spotted Tali, Garrus, Kasumi, and Thane waiting for him.

"Shepard." Garrus regarded Shepard with a nod. "You took your time."

"Had to comfort our brave pilot." Shepard smiled. "You can't imagine the terror of gently landing a partially AI assisted vessel on the most well defended mega space station in the galaxy."

"I heard that." Came Joker's indignant response over the ship's speakers. "If I didn't have bird bones I'd come down there and stick an overheated thermal clip up your puckered up asshole!"

"Oh, hey Joker." Shepard grinned. "I thought we talked about flirting in front of other people. We really need to take our privacy more seriously." There was silence for a moment. Shepard could hear Tali, Kasumi, and Garrus snickering in the background. Even Thane had a small smile on his usually placid face.

"You know, I envy everyone that hasn't met you yet." The pilot muttered.

"It's okay, I'd never replace you with anyone else."

"Fuck you."

"Later."

There was the distinct sound of Joker sharply exhaling air before the speakers were prematurely cut off and everyone else laughed at the poor man's expense.

"Didn't know you guys had a little bromance going on." Kasumi giggled.

Shepard shrugged, but couldn't keep the mirth off of his face. "Joker loves it when people mention it."

"Oh perfect." Kasumi rubbed her hands giddily like a villain that had just concocted the perfect plan. "Now I have something to hold against Joker next time he's feeling a little comedic."

The military is where the strongest of bonds are formed. In Shepard's experience, the strongest brother and sisterhood is the one formed in the fires of war. Members of the military face adversity that very few people can understand. These intense combat situations create a bond built on the mutual understanding of what they endured and overcame. Additionally, it is their trust and reliance that these individuals have for each other that create this unshakable bond. When lives are at stake, you need to trust your comrades more than anyone else in your life.

It's why many of the old members of the Normandy talk to each other the way they do. No one else could understand the trials and tribulations they had to face to defeat Saren and Sovereign.

"Everyone ready?" Shepard asked, he took the time to check over his equipment one last time. Given the nature of this mission, Shepard has seen fit to ensure his crew avoid as much attention as possible. The veteran soldier was no longer wearing his vaunted N7 armor, instead clad in his officer's dress uniform, the rich, lustrous navy blue of the coat accentuated his commanding presence. The tailored coat featured golden braids, meticulously woven, shimmered in the light and they represented Shepard's rank and achievements. The high collar displayed the Alliance insignia: Shepard may be working with Cerberus but he was an Alliance soldier through and through.

Shepard's weathered face and the almost perfect uniform told the story of a man that had seen and experienced things that most people couldn't dream of comprehending.

Shepard checked the small kinetic barrier generator he had taken with him. The device functioned just fine, and would offer some protection in case things went south. Sadly, it was nowhere near as powerful as the barriers he was used to. It could only take a handful of shots before failing. Still, it was better than nothing.

He could always use his biotic barriers in a pinch, but that was very taxing, and wouldn't last long.

The special forces leader produced the final piece of his kit; an M-11 suppressed handgun. The sleek, jet black weapon seemed to shimmer under the light of the hangar bay. It was an Alliance made weapon tailored for covert ops, and it was damn good at neutralizing threats relatively quietly at close range. After ensuring the weapon and the small number of spare thermal clips were nice and secure, he pocketed the gun, and checked on his team.

Garrus and Tali had similar weapons, while Kasumi and Thane came equipped with a submachine gun and sniper rifle respectively.

Kasumi and Thane were masters of infiltration; they'd keep an eye on Shepard, Garrus, and Tali as they made their way through the bustling Citadel towards Anderson's office.

The rest of the team nodded, now they just had to wait until the ship touched down.

"Alright, we got the all clear." Joker confirmed. "Touching down in 60 seconds." Shepard waited patiently for the vessel to make contact with the Citadel, a feeling of trepidation making its way into his chest.

Just then, the elevator opened, revealing Jack, Grunt, Zaeed, and Jacob.

"So, what does Collector taste like?" Jack inquired, actually managing to sound genuinely curious.

"I didn't try it." Grunt mumbled, his voice tinged with a modicum of disgust.

"Seriously?" Jack sounded flabbergasted. "Why the fuck not?"

"Because." Grunt almost sounded traumatized. "The smell… I've smelled some terrible things in my time, but that? No way I was gonna eat that."

"Oh please." Jack chuckled. "You're just a pussy."

"Next time we fight the Collectors, you can sniff one of them, and then tell me if I'm wrong."

"Yeah then I'll remind you how much of a little bitch you are." The krogan grumbled angrily at the diminutive woman's jab, but otherwise said nothing.

While Jack and Grunt continued bantering about something else, Jacob approached Shepard and his selected team. The ex-Spectre noticed the soldier had seen fit to equip some weapons of his own.

"I'm gonna browse the Citadel for a bit… but if you need help just give me a call. I'll be close." Shepard smiled. Jacob was easily one of the most reliable members of the Normandy. The veteran soldier was dedicated to the cause and always willing to throw himself into danger at a moment's notice.

"Thanks Jacob, but I suspect things won't get too intense for now." Jacob nodded, but still took the time to check his equipment.

Shepard felt the ship shudder as it landed on the citadel. Time to go.

The Normandy's ramp extended, revealing the bustling Citadel.

"C'mon." Zaeed gestured to Jack and Grunt. "I know the perfect bar. Drinks are dirt cheap and some of the best on the Citadel."

The three of them brushed past Shepard and almost immediately disappeared into the crowd. Shepard winced, hoping that those three will behave.

"They'll be fine." Garrus reassured.

Shepard nodded. "Alright let's go."

Kasumi immediately shimmered out of existence the second the hangar bay opened, leaving her all but invisible to the blissfully ignorant citizens of the galactic capital. Thane broke off moments later and simply melted into the crowd, leaving no trace of his existence.

Shepard nodded to himself. Those two would move through alleys, infiltrate vantage points, and silently neutralize any threats lurking in the dark recesses of this bustling metropolis.

"Stay close, and keep your eyes open for anything." Shepard cautioned, his gloved hand brushed over his concealed pistol, subtly reminding himself of the self-defense weapon. He hoped that he wouldn't have to use it.

His long-time friends formed up on either side, and they cautiously made their way through the streets of the Citadel, brushing past citizens of all walks of life.

With a million different possible threats breathing down their necks, navigating through the densely populated Citadel discreetly required exceptional finesse and caution. Shepard and his companions deftly maneuvered around merchants hawking their wares, their voices competing for attention. A waft of exotic spices filled the air, mingling with the sounds of laughter and the clinking of glasses in nearby establishments. The vibrant colors of various species from asari to salarian to elcor melded together in a stunning display of diversity few individuals could ever hope to imagine.

Shepard also noticed some of the denizens staring at Tali, mostly out of disgust or hate. It was no secret that the Quarians were often targets of discrimination. A lot of this hate comes from the fact that the Quarians were the ones that developed artificial intelligence in the form of the Geth. Because of the widespread fear of AI, that piece of history is often weaponized against the Quarian people. The ignorant believe the Quarians developed the Geth with ill intent or that at the very least they are to blame for the trouble that the Geth caused in the galaxy. It doesn't help that their nomadic lifestyle and constant struggle for resources often results in the stereotype that they are thieves or freeloaders.

Shepard's keen ears picked up on some of the comments from various pedestrians within earshot and he had to quell the anger slowly bubbling within. Tali became visibly uncomfortable as well.

"Try not to pay them any mind." Garrus grumbled. "Just a bunch of ignorant lowlifes with nothing better to do."

"Yeah…" Tali whispered softly. "I'm fine."

Shepard felt a pang of sympathy for his friend. He knew that the woman was always happy to explore the vast Citadel, but at the same time she wasn't always thrilled about visiting due to experiences like this.

Shepard keyed his comms. "See anything suspicious?"

"Nope." Kasumi replied absentmindedly. "Everyone looks blissfully ignorant and boring to me."

"You're clear." Thane chimed in a moment later.

"Copy, keep me posted."

There was silence for a few moments as they carefully pushed through the crowd around them, before Tali decided to break the silence, probably to keep her thoughts focused elsewhere.

"It's always surreal visiting the Citadel. It's the heart of the galaxy, where so many decisions are made."

Shepard's peripherals caught Garrus nodding in agreement. "Not to mention all the species here that coexist together mostly peacefully. You can't get anything like this from anywhere else in the galaxy."

"You could argue that Omega is up there at least in terms of diversity." Shepard pointed out. "But I wouldn't call Omega the most peaceful place in the galaxy."

"No kidding." Garrus monotoned. "And let's not forget that that place isn't exactly known for being welcoming to most newcomers."

"Well, if I set foot on Omega alone then I probably wouldn't be coming back out." Tali grumbled, adjusting her hood uncomfortably. "But at least the Citadel isn't too bad."

"Hey Shepard?" Garrus asked innocently after a few moments of silence.

Shepard smirked, knowing where this was going. "Yes, Garrus?"

The turian snickered. "How many humans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

Oh here we go. Shepard thought.

"Tell me."

"None, they'll demand someone else does it for them and then ask for a seat on the Council."

Shepard barked at the lighthearted jab towards his species. "Not bad."

"Keelah, I don't think this is the best time for that."

"Yeah it is." Shepard and Garrus answered in unison.

Shepard thought about a good response as they continued along their path.

"Ok, I got one." The ex-Spectre smiled. "What is the very first thing that turian soldiers learn during basic training?"

Garrus considered the question, and then shrugged. "Not sure, what do they learn?"

Shepard chuckled. "They are taught how to say 'I surrender' in all the main languages of the galaxy."

"Ha, pretty good for a hairless ape." The sniper smirked.

"How do you guys not get tired of this?" Tali asked, almost sounding genuinely baffled. "It's like every single mission this happens!"

"One more." Garrus ignored Tali, eliciting an indignant scoff from the young woman.

"How do you spot a Volus in a crowd?" Shepard arched an eyebrow; he's never heard this one before.

"How?"

"Drop a credit chit on the ground."

"That's so mean!" Tali protested. "That stereotype isn't true!"

"Oh come on. True or not, it's a good joke."

Shepard nodded. "Gets me rolling like a tactical volus."

"I hate you guys." Tali mumbled as both men guffawed despite the stressful situation.

"Well, that's harsh." Garrus said, feigning despair. "What's a turian supposed to do if he can't spare some time for a little bit of good natured bantering."

"It's okay Garrus." Shepard reassured with a knowing smile. "Give Tali a few more years and I'm sure she will-"

"Hey, Shepard?" It was Kasumi, her usual carefree attitude pushed aside for a more serious one. "Looks like some people are tailing you."

Damn, this just had to happen didn't it?

"Thane, can you confirm?"

"Yes." The Drell monotoned. "I see seven of them. Could be armed. I recommend losing them."

"Understood, keep us posted." Shepard said. His expression hardened as he glanced behind them, trying to pick out the pursuers. But it was useless. The crowd was too dense.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Garrus asked over the comms as the trio pushed past the civilians more aggressively, ignoring some of the verbal backlash from the pedestrians.

"If we can't see them they can't see us. Which means they've got their own set of eyes." Shepard replied, his voice grim and tainted with paranoia. Damn, whoever was following them had the foresight to set up their own overwatch then; meaning their pursuers weren't just ordinary thugs. But then who?

"Thane, they might have personnel in vantage points, find them. Kasumi, keep tracking us." Both individuals acknowledged the man's orders. Thane was a master assassin and tracker, whoever is out there spying on them won't last long.

"What do we do now?" Tali whispered urgently.

"Just follow my lead and stay close, we'll lose them." Shepard confidently assured the quarian. Shepard led his companions through the streets of the Citadel, doing their best to blend in with the diverse species and merchants. The dense crowd provided some sense of anonymity. But if their pursuers already have eyes on them from vantage points, then this tactic won't provide much cover.

"This won't work." The veteran soldier admitted. "We need to get off the streets. This way!" Shepard spoke with a sense of urgency. He led his friends into a local cafe, cutting through the local establishment and then continuing through several shops and plazas, exploiting every opportunity to confuse their pursuers.

"Kasumi?"

"I don't have eyes on you anymore but it looks like you're losing them. You should probably hide and wait for them to get lost in the crowd."

"Copy, moving."

Shepard trusted the thief's advice; she was no stranger to avoiding detection. They walked for a few more minutes before disappearing off the streets and into an alley.

"You think we lost them?" Garrus ventured.

"Let's not assume." Shepard breathed. "Hold position until Kasumi gives us the all clear."

So they waited. It was a tense few moments as Shepard trained his ears to the environment, trying to filter out the ambient sounds of idle chatter and laughter in the background.

"Shepard, I found someone, a sniper." Shepard felt his heart skip a beat in anticipation.

"Who is he?"

"An Eclipse mercenary. Someone sent them after you. He said that they don't know who paid them for the job. I disposed of the body."

"Damn!" Shepard growled. He's had run-ins with Eclipse numerous times, but why would someone contract them to kill Shepard? The Collectors? Out of all the possible mercenary organizations, Eclipse is definitely the group most suited to these kinds of stealth operations. They may not be as well established as other groups like the Blue Suns, but they made up for it with their higher quality equipment and better trained troops.

Not to mention their penchant for biotics. Not good.

"Understood, keep on the lookout for more. Kasumi, you have eyes on our position?"

"Almost there."

The Commander made a gesture, and the trio pressed forward through the dimly lit alley. It was narrow, and its walls were adorned with faded posters and graffiti that told stories of forgotten lives. The scent of garbage permeated the air, mingling with the tension that hung heavy between Shepard and his team. Their footsteps reverberated off the wall, a stark contrast to the bustling ambiance they had left behind.

In the distance, they could hear heavy footfalls closing in behind them, growing louder with each passing moment. "Faster." Shepard urged. They can't get bogged down in a shootout in such a narrow alley with no cover, against a numerically superior force.

"Prepare yourselves." Shepard unholstered his suppressed pistol. The narrow alley gave way to a larger area, still dimly lit, but with enough cover to use. It wasn't a moment too soon either, as more footsteps could be heard just ahead: they were trying to surround them.

"Take cover!" The man whisper-yelled. The time for evasion was over; now they would have to face their pursuers head-on.

Taking cover behind a rusted dumpster, Shepard surveyed the surroundings. The alley had become a trap, with the enemy coming in from both sides. Garrus still had his armor and Tali her usual attire, but Shepard himself only had a weak kinetic barrier. None of them had anything more powerful than a suppressed pistol. They were outnumbered, likely outgunned, and surrounded in a close quarters environment. It was a desperate situation, but the ex-Spectre was determined to come out on top.

Garrus positioned himself behind a dilapidated crate on Shepard's left and Tali sought refuge behind a makeshift barricade, getting to work on her omni-tool.

The enemy made their presence known only a minute later. There were eleven of them, six trailing and the other five came in from the front hoping to cut off their escape. The mercenaries came dressed in simple civilian attire, it was only through their suspicious movement that Thane and Kasumi were able to pick them out from the crowd at all; a testament to their observational skills.

They don't have armor. Shepard thought. Likely still have kinetic barriers.

If they were anything like the one Shepard had, then only a few rounds would break them. He noticed that they all came equipped with suppressed pistols of their own. This made life a little easier for them, but that doesn't exclude any other potential hidden weapons or biotics.

It was time to act.

"Where did they go?" One of the men asked incredulously.

"No way they slipped past us." A member of the other group spoke.

Shepard keyed his comms. "I'll target the larger group with my biotics. Target the smaller one after. On my mark." He whispered as quietly as he possibly could.

Shepard readied his weapon and then felt the raw biotic power in his body coursing through his veins.

"They couldn't have, which means…" The first mercenary trailed off as realization set in. "Oh shit!"

Right at that moment, Shepard stepped out from behind his cover, ready to face the enemy. With a snarl, he lashed out, sending a massive wave of energy hurtling towards the mercenaries. The wave of ebon blue power struck true and slammed all six of them into the wall behind them. Before the other's could react, Tali emerged from her position, and pointed her omnitool at them. The device flashed like a miniature flashbang.

Sadly, it wasn't as effective as a real flashbang, and most of the mercenaries had enough of their sight to fire back.

Still, Shepard took advantage of their minor disorientation, his pistol coughed quietly, breaking through his target's barrier and ending his life. Garrus and Tali followed suit, and claimed their own kills. Under the assault of three shooters, the five man team perished in only seconds.

With the immediate threat neutralized, Shepard focused his attention on the survivors, and noticed one of them, the group's only asari, glowing with biotic power. The dumpster in front of Shepard levitated off the floor, prompting the experienced soldier to instinctively dive out of the way as the object slammed into the wall, almost crushing him.

The Commander recovered quickly, and biotically grabbed the woman's arm, keeping it in place. With his pistol in his right arm, he fired, emptying the thermal clip into the mercenary's chest, but she didn't go down.

Biotic barriers.

The rest of the mercenaries recovered quickly, and returned fire. Shepard's kinetic barrier took some rounds and nearly shattered. "Concentrate on the biotic!" Shepard ordered. Tali and Garrus combined their efforts and the asari's kinetic barrier took a smattering of rounds, but before she could be dealt with, her skull suddenly bursted with blood and brain matter: Kasumi.

With their only biotic eliminated, and under assault from four different individuals, the exposed and clumped together mercenaries lasted no longer than a few seconds. The Normandy teams suppressed weapons coughed silently and the bodies dropped. The gunfight was over, the enemy was eliminated and it didn't seem like they had backup.

"Status?" Shepard inquired, still feeling the effects of the adrenaline. He reloaded his pistol and policed a handful of thermal clips from the corpses.

"We're good." Garrus confirmed.

Shepard sighed in relief; no injuries. That was close. "Thanks for the help, Kasumi."

"Don't mention it." Kasumi said, materializing out of thin air.

Shepard looked at the carnage around him. They were fortunate that all the weapons used were suppressed. The noisy Citadel meant that any other noise from the fighting simply would have been drowned out by the ambiance. The last thing Shepard needed was a legion of C-Sec breathing down their necks.

"No time to hide the bodies." Shepard said, a minor sense of urgency in his voice. "Let's move."

"But, what if someone finds the bodies?" Tali protested, her voice tainted with concern.

"That will take a while." Shepard assured. "We'll be long gone before that happens." Shepard gestured for his friends to follow him. "We should move before more of them show up."

The trio hastily made their way out of the alley, with Kasumi simply vanishing, reassuming her position as the group's faithful watch. "Thane, find anything?"

"Two more snipers eliminated." The drell responded after a moment's pause. "You should be safe for now."

"Understood, thanks for the assistance, both of you." Shepard turned off his comms as they merged again with the seemingly endless stream of pedestrians who were none the wiser when it came to the shootout that had occurred only a few hundred meters away from them.

"Plan stays the same?" Garrus asked.

"Yes." Shepard nodded. "This changes nothing. If anything, this only expedites our objective." There was no protest from his comrades. No one was interested in staying out in the open any longer than was necessary as their fresh encounter with Eclipse had cultivated an even greater sense of paranoia than before.

It was obvious that this was a planned assassination attempt. The suppressed weapons and unassuming civilian attire, Shepard knew the signs. After all, it was something covered in his N7 training. Shepard has been on numerous clandestine missions where secrecy was of the utmost importance. This usually involved espionage against terrorist cells, pirates, and other unsavories. On one occasion he was tasked with spying on a high profile politician of the batarian Hegemony in an attempt to expose him for collaborating with numerous batarian slave trading organizations.

It was all part of a top secret Systems Alliance operation to further expose the Hegemony for working with these organizations to further sow disdain and lack of trust among the galactic community, and operation that, to the best of his knowledge, is still ongoing. The Hegemony was still the greatest rival to humanity in the galactic community, and further tarnishing their reputation would result in backlash; sanctions, reduced trading opportunities and the like, would weaken them, hence further securing humanity's position in the galactic community as a more relevant power.

It was nasty work, and came with many things Shepard regretted. But at the same time, he believed much of it was necessary.

When it came to Eclipse at this moment, there are countless reasons why they'd come after Shepard. Maybe someone put a bounty on his head, maybe it was revenge, or maybe something more sinister was at play. Right now, they needed to focus on getting to Anderson without any more escapades.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. They moved quickly yet cautiously under the watchful eye of Kasumi and Thane. There were a few false alarms as potentially suspicious individuals were singled out, analyzed, and then deemed not a threat.

Anderson's office was at the heart of the Presidium, the very heart of the Citadel, home to several government offices, embassies, and some of the most powerful and wealthy individuals in the galaxy. As a result, it is the most well defended section of the Citadel, under the watchful eye of thousands of C-Sec's best. You'd need your own little army in order to breach the Presidium's security.

Speaking of which. Shepard thought as they reached customs. "Let's get this over with." Garrus sighed, his frustration palpable.

Shepard understood the turian's frustration. Going through customs often entails one of the most drawn out and irritating journeys a sentient being in this corner of the Milky Way can undertake. It didn't help that they were in the process of passing through customs after the Geth attack over two years ago where security has basically been dialed up to eleven.

Shepard with his comrades in tow made their way towards the reception desk, past some disgruntled asari who seem to have been complaining about being flagged as a risk of geth infiltration.

Shepard snorted. Seriously? Geth infiltration?

"C-Sec is far more paranoid than I remember." Garrus grumbled. "This makes things even more inconvenient for us."

"After being attacked by Sovereign and the Geth? I don't blame them." Tali reasoned. "Anyone would feel the same."

"I'm not saying I blame them. Well, maybe a little. I can understand paranoia to a certain degree but flagging anyone as a potential geth related threat? That's a bit too far."

Shepard found himself agreeing with both of his comrades. The attack on the Citadel to his knowledge is something that has never happened before in recorded history. Fear and paranoia is a natural response to unexpected events like this. The Citadel attack shook the galaxy; it was a paradigm shattering event that proved to the galaxy that the Citadel was not immune to attacks, that the heart of the galaxy is indeed vulnerable.

Yet at the same time, it is easy to see how this event can be leveraged in fear mongering tactics to allow for the passing of bills giving the council and C-Sec unreasonable powers to imprison or scrutinize any individual deemed even remotely 'suspicious'. Governments like to use these tactics to gain more control over the population.

This has happened numerous times in human history with examples like Japanese Internment during the Second World War, the enabling act of 1933 under Nazi Germany, or the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. All of these are examples of those in power taking advantage of certain situations to expand their power and control over the population subject to their rule.

That is why Shepard hates politicians.

A young woman at the reception desk waved Shepard and his friends over, shaking the ex-Spectre from his thoughts.

"Hello Sir." The woman greeted unenthusiastically. "How can I help you?"

"I'd like to meet with Councillor Anderson." Shepard declared, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the woman. "I understand that scheduling a meeting like this with a councilor is a bit abnormal, but I am a friend and need to discuss some important matters with him."

"Sorry sir." The woman shook her head. "But I can't just let you meet with a councilor of the Citadel, especially with the increased security measures that have been implemented. What is your relationship with Councilor Anderson?"

So she was looking for a bit of personal information. That was fine, as long as they let him through.

"I am Commander James Shepard." The veteran soldier declared confidently. "Anderson was my mentor and commanding officer during his military service. We've been through a lot together, and I owe him more times than I can count."

The woman nodded, before realization dawned. "Wait, are you really Commander Shepard?" It was interesting to see how the woman's expression of boredom gave way to one of reverence.

"Yes, ma'am." Shepard nodded.

"Everyone was talking about how you died." That type of news tends to get around quickly, especially when concerning Humanity's first Spectre.

"Well, the news of my death has been greatly exaggerated." The young woman smiled, but still couldn't keep the look of awe off her face. Did people really see Shepard like that? On one hand he could understand, but on the other hand he didn't need the attention: he was just a soldier doing his job. Still, it did feel good to be recognized, he supposed.

"Well, assuming you're not some kind of imposter, I just need you and your friends to head through there." The woman pointed towards an entrance to Shepard's right. "They'll just scan you and make sure nothing's out of the ordinary. Once that's done you should be good to go."

Shepard smiled; finally things seemed to be going their way.

"Perfect, thank you so much and have a good day." Shepard waved the woman goodbye.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy." Garrus admitted. "No urine tests or strip searches. Bet you're pretty disappointed."

"Funny." Shepard deadpanned. "Guess you'd need some kind of sense of humor to compensate for that mangled face of yours."

"Ouch." Garrus chuckled. "Went right for the jugular with that one."

"You guys need to really get a room." Tali pouted. "Try and behave, I really don't want to get thrown in prison…. again."

Shepard and Garrus stopped their banter as they approached the door, revealing a small hallway with a turian guard standing behind a terminal at the end. The guard gestured towards the group. "Come on in." The turian said, absentmindedly inputting some commands into his terminal. "Just need to run some scans on you guys, this will only take a minute."

Shepard and his comrades waited patiently as a wall of blue light slowly passed over them. The turian looked at the results with confusion, before speaking into his comms. "These results don't seem right to me, I think we should… what? You seriously think… alright fine."

Sensing something was wrong, Shepard addressed the turian. "Something wrong?"

The C-Sec officer scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Sorry for the inconvenience sir, but our scanners seem to think that you're, well, dead."

Seriously?

•••

The night was draped in an inky shroud as Spartan-B312 moved through the dense forest, making less noise than ninjas tip-toeing on carpet. The feeble light from the planet's moon filtered through the dense forest's canopy, casting eerie shadows all around him. The air was thick with tension and every breath felt like a whisper that would give him away.

The Spartan crouched low behind a large log, melting into the shadows. Behind him, the soft crunching of twigs and leaves beneath relatively quiet footfalls gave away the positions of his allies.

"See anything?" Vega whispered behind him.

Yuri remained quiet, his visor switching from night vision to thermal. It outlined the heat signatures of every living thing in visual range, the white hot blobs of numerous nocturnal creatures stood out like a sore thumb. Aside from the indigenous wildlife, no threats were visible.

"Negative." The Spartan rumbled softly, switching back to night vision. He gestured to the four special forces soldiers behind him, and they followed the silent Spartan.

The few hours of rest afforded to the soldiers worked wonders on the Spartan's body. He may still have plenty of recovering to do, but his faster than normal healing abilities allowed the soldier to recover far faster than what is possible for a normal human.

It also gave them plenty of time to assess their situation and plan their next move. Instead of launching a search and destroy mission to try and beat the numerous Cerberus teams to the few dozen or so scattered pieces of Collector technology, it was agreed upon to wait for the Cerberus teams to bring all the technology to their outpost, the location of which was discovered by two of Vega's men as the rest stayed behind to discuss the plan.

This approach was seen as desirable since it means Cerberus would have all of the technology in one spot, making it easier to destroy it all in one go. It also meant that they'd be up against a larger force, but that never stopped Yuri before. The N7s didn't seem too fazed about the possibility of facing off against such odds, but witnessing the Spartan turn the tide of the last encounter they had with Cerberus might have helped ease their concerns.

Their enemy will still be on high alert after what happened hours prior, but they likely won't be expecting an attack of the magnitude they were about to witness.

One again, Yuri found himself reminiscing about his headhunter days. He's been doing that a lot lately. As much as the Spartan is glad that the Human-Covenant War was over, part of him missed the constant missions and battles. This galaxy was too peaceful. He needed to get used to that.

"Two contacts." One of the soldiers, Horvath, breathed. "Twelve O'clock, one hundred meters."

Yuri spotted them, a Cerberus patrol, creeping through the shadows. It seemed that Cerberus had some foresight to set up patrols, but only two men? That's too small for a patrol.

The Spartan checked their surroundings again to make sure there were no additional soldiers nearby. There wasn't. "Let's slip by them, carefully." Vega urged, his voice barely a whisper. Silently killing patrols had their pros and cons. Obviously eliminating enemy troops meant less hostiles to worry about but it also meant prematurely alerting the entire enemy force if they were smart enough to frequently keep tabs on their patrols.

Eliminating patrols won't work here: they needed the element of surprise on their side. It took only a minute or so for the patrol to move out of the way, and they resumed their progress.

The Spartan stayed extra vigilant throughout the entire process of sneaking through enemy territory. Even though Cerberus hasn't displayed the capacity to field optical cloaking, Yuri's previous encounters with cloaked Covenant elites were still fresh in his mind. Hence keeping an eye out for the faint shimmer of a cloaked enemy is a habit that has become second nature to the Spartan.

"This looks like the place." Vega mumbled as they approached a small clearing. Rays of artificial light seeped through the foliage, foreshadowing the presence of the enemy encampment.

Six got down on his stomach and crawled up to the clearing, peering through the foliage, the Cerberus encampment, while not very large, dominated the area. The camp was nestled in a small valley, surrounded by the thick jungle that served as a form of natural concealment, further shielding it from prying eyes. That is, until one got close enough to peer through the dense forest.

From his vantage point, Six could easily analyze and pick apart the well-organized layout of the camp. The perimeter was secured by electrified fencing with guard towers positioned at key points, each one manned by a lookout. Their searchlights sweeped the landscape, ever vigilant against any intruders foolish enough to get caught in the open. Six's visor zoomed in, analyzing each of the guards, noticing the sniper rifle nestled in their arms.

"Snipers." Vega breathed from beside the Spartan. "If they see us we're screwed."

The Spartan continued analyzing the camp. It was well-organized but still appeared to be hastily put together. There were a dozen or so prefabricated buildings set up around the camp. Most of them were sleeping quarters for the troops. Adjacent to those buildings was the mess hall, still bustling with activity even at this late hour. That was fine; the less prepared their enemy was the better.

On the other side of the encampment lay a larger building. Yuri's eyes tracked a small group of Cerberus troops exiting their sleeping quarters and entering the building in question. Minutes later, they appeared armed to the teeth with rifles, shotguns, and an anti-tank missile.

So that was their armory, good to know.

The heart of the camp was dominated by a large, imposing military structure. It was rectangular in nature, with a large satellite dish on top-no doubt their form of long range communication. Ladders on the side of the building allowed easy access to the roof, but scaling that in the open would easily result in detection.

Several squads of Cerberus troops patrolled the camp as well, making infiltration much more difficult.

"Landing pad on the west side of the camp." Vega reported.

Yuri's eyes honed in on the point of interest, located on the left side of the camp. The large platform, though vacant, meant they had swift access to reinforcements or escape in the event of a desperate situation.

All the way on the other end of the camp was its entrance, heavily defended by a checkpoint with two guard towers on either side. "Target should ingress from the East." Yuri said.

"Afirm." The hispanic soldier nodded. "We'll just need to wait. Horvath, Jin head around back by the armory. Once shit hits the fan you'll be picking off the sorry bastards trying to gather weapons." The two men nodded and slowly crawled back into the foliage before beginning the slow and risky journey of sneaking around the entire perimeter of the camp.

The Spartan glanced at the third soldier, a man by the name of Ahmed. The soldier slowly grabbed the ML-78 anti-tank weapon off his back and set it down next to his prone form. With Yuri's Spartan laser damaged, it was their only heavy weapon. Worse, they only had one shot. The convoy, whenever they decided to arrive, would get a nice surprise in the form of a well placed high-explosive anti-tank warhead.

They waited in relative silence for some time, making no noise and very little movement lest they be discovered. There had to be around fifty Cerberus troops in there. The Spartan had certainly faced worse odds, but it was the preservation of the lives of his fellow soldiers that would be most difficult. Working without conventional forces meant that Spartans had the freedom to move as fast as was necessary and not have to slow down to protect or support friendly forces.

The relative silence of the night gave way to the roar of engines, getting louder and louder with each passing second. "Sounds like the target's here." Vega muttered. "Let's see what they've got in store for us."

The Spartan waited patiently for the convoy to arrive, noticing how the Cerberus troops in the camp also became more animated once the engines became audible. In the distance, he could see lights from the vehicles peering through the dense forest. Yuri frowned: from the sound of the engines it seemed like Cerberus had some armored vehicles at their disposal.

That will be troublesome.

"Convoy is in visual range." Vega whispered. It was a relatively formidable convoy composed of three vehicles. At the front and rear of the convoy were a pair of M-35 makos. These were common infantry fighting vehicles. Fast, well armed, and versatile enough to even be dropped from orbit. While they aren't equipped for frontline fighting quite like a main battle tank, these vehicles can definitely throw their weight around. In the center of these two armored threats was their prize; a large armored hauler that looked to be a repurposed chassis of some kind. It was noticeably larger than the makos but still had the same sleek and angular patterns, giving it a futuristic appearance. The vehicle sported an armored cockpit that jutted out forward. No doubt the windows were bullet resistant so shooting the driver out wasn't a viable option.

Given the nature of its cargo, the Spartan was certain the vehicle had numerous defensive measures, including heavy armor, soft and hard kill active protection systems, as well as anti-tamper measures that would alert Cerberus to any meddling with the cargo or the vehicle itself. Despite its size the hauler moved gracefully, its six massive wheels easily gripping the terrain beneath it, allowing effective navigation over harsh terrain.

"Damn, that's a big fucking coffin they got there." Vega snorted. He leaned closer to the Spartan. "What do you think? Hit the cargo or one of the escorts?"

Yuri considered the man's question. They could destroy the cargo, but then they'd have two makos to deal with. Then there's the issue of active protection systems on the hauler. Standard makos don't have that technology. Engaging the makos too close to the hauler could also present a problem. If it has active protection systems, they could activate and protect the makos as well.

"Standby." Yuri responded quietly. "Wait for the convoy to enter the camp then target the third vehicle."

"Understood." Ahmed said, shouldering his anti-tank weapon in anticipation.

"The hauler might have active protection systems given the nature of the cargo." Yuri added. "Wait for the second vehicle to pass through the checkpoint then engage."

"Good idea." Vega nodded. "But what about the other one?"

"I'll deal with it." The Spartan responded, his response giving away no doubts in his capabilities.

Vega's face was a mixture of concern and skepticism behind his helmet, but he relented. "Only if you're sure."

"Boss, we're in position. Ready to kick this off." Horvath reported over the comms. Right on time. "Place is crawling with Cerberus. You sure this is a good idea? There's only five of us."

Before Vega could respond to his subordinate, Yuri decided to interject. "Affirmative. Plan stays the same. Once we initiate hard contact I'll draw their fire."

"Roger, standing by." Horvath hesitated, but otherwise seemed ready.

"You're fucking crazy, you know that?" The hispanic man next to him seemed almost dumbfounded.

Instead of responding to the comment, the Spartan readied himself. "Moving into position." He turned to the anti-tank gunner. "Will engage on your mark."

Without another word, Yuri melted into the shadows and snuck his way down towards the camp's perimeter.

"Dios mio." He heard Vega whisper behind him.

The Spartan tried to move as quickly as possible without getting spotted before the convoy made it to the checkpoint. A glance to his right told him that he didn't have much time as the first vehicle made it to the checkpoint.

He'd have to sprint the rest of the way to reach his target once the shooting started, certainly doable for the Spartan, but still less than ideal.

The first vehicle passed the checkpoint, its engine roared and then propelled the fighting vehicle into the camp. The Spartan reached for his supply belt and procured a device no larger than his hand-a remote detonated explosive given to him by Vega's team, powerful enough to level a small house and more than powerful for what he had in mind.

He regarded the device for a moment, making sure it was in good condition, he nodded in satisfaction and watched the hauler carry its precious cargo within the perceived safety of the enemy camp. Yuri's muscles tensed in anticipation, and he readied himself for a fast paced assault only a Spartan could pull off.

"Engaging."

The sound of the anti-tank weapon firing overpowered the ambient noise coming from the camp. Yuri's perception of time was slowed, and he could easily see the missile streak across the valley towards its intended target, its engine giving off a bright orange color that allowed it to stand out in the eerie shroud of the night.

It struck true, effortlessly piercing the side of the rear mako. The vehicle rolled to a stop, sporting a large hole that glowed white hot, heralding a gruesome death for the occupants.

The Spartan instantly kicked into action, driving his armored bulk through the electrified fence with no consequences to his well being. Amidst the cacophony of the Cerberus troops who curse in anger, fear, and surprise, Yuri was upon them in an instant.

The lead armored vehicle tried to spin its turret around towards the direction of the ambush, intent on vapourizing Vega and Ahmed with its cannon. The turret swiveled in slow motion, yet fast enough for Yuri to know that he had precious time to prevent a quick end to the Alliance soldiers.

He'd done this numerous times with Covenant vehicles and UNSC vehicles repurposed by Insurrectionists. He just needed to find the vehicle's weak point. The mako's main soft spot was the rear, where its doors gave access to the vehicle for both its crew and passengers.

The rear of the mako opened up, revealing six Cerberus troops exiting the safety of the vehicle, eager to join the fight. The Spartan shouldered his Avenger assault rifle in his right hand, and readied his explosive in the other.

Without giving his opponents a moment of respite, he squeezed the trigger. The weapon roared in response, sending a hail of hypersonic projectiles into the Cerberus troops, who hadn't had enough time to disperse from the mako. The result was predictable, as most of the six men fell from the barrage. The survivors had no time to recover before the Spartan lobbed the explosive into the fighting compartment of the vehicle, paying absolutely no attention to the shell shocked and recovering survivors.

With a quick command from his suit, the explosive detonated, and the mako was enveloped in a bright fiery explosion that illuminated the entire Cerberus compound. The vehicle's turret was flung a good hundred meters into the air before crashing down atop a Cerberus barracks, flattening the structure.

Without missing a beat, and understanding the enemy still hadn't processed what had happened, the Spartan rushed towards the hauler, intent on disabling it. The driver of the vehicle, who was obscured by the vehicle's one-way windows, took notice of the hulking super soldier who probably looked like a hellish demon spat out of hell.

Who could blame him? With the way the Spartan's jet black armored form materialized out of the darkness like a phantom, most men would be scared into submission. The reaction was predictable: the massive vehicle's engine roared as the driver sent it into the destroyed husk behind him. But it was of no use, the disabled vehicle didn't budge-it was simply too heavy. Yuri capitalized on that and lunged forward, placing a grenade in the rim of its front tire. The explosion destroyed the wheel and the massive vehicle lurched forward before slamming into the earth, now unable to move.

"Weapons free, weapons free!" Vega yelled over the team's comms. As one, the N7s started their assault, picking off exposed Cerberus troops left in the wake of the surprise attack. On the other side of the camp, Six could hear the other men go about their grisly work: cutting down the helpless Cerberus personnel scrambling to arm themselves.

Now that they had their objective right where they wanted it, the Spartan set about exterminating the rest of the Cerberus troops. He took a quick look around the hauler and engaged the wave of Cerberus troops rushing forward in a desperate bid to secure the cargo. His rounds struck the first target, downing the Cerberus operative before he even knew he was taking fire.

Another target to his left met a similar fate before the rest of the dozen or some troops opened fire. The Spartan allowed his shields to take some of the fire, downing a handful of additional enemies with well placed bursts of automatic gunfire. The survivors hunkered down behind some concrete barriers and within the various barracks buildings. Amidst the chaos the Spartan eyed a particular Cerberus soldier deploying what appeared to be a small tripod mounted sentry turret. The little bastard snapped onto the Spartan and opened fire, forcing the Spartan into cover.

"Be advised, enemy is deploying man portable sentry turrets. Proceed with caution."

"Roger that, loco. We've picked off most of the snipers. Will join you shortly." That was good, without the benefit of long range and precise fire, that will just be one less advantage the Cerberus had.

"Check, maintaining hard contact."

A quick look at his motion tracker told him that a large portion of the Cerberus troops were attempting to flank him along the left under cover fire from the sentry gun. Yuri figured he'd throw them a curve ball of his own, and produced an infrared, or IR, smoke grenade.

IR smoke grenades emit a dense cloud of particles that can absorb, scatter, or reflect thermal radiation. This makes it difficult for thermal imaging systems to penetrate the smoke and see through it.

The Spartan lobbed the device towards the sentry turret; if it has thermal imaging it won't be of much use for a short time. Not that the thermals would even be the best way of detecting the super soldier: MJOLNIR is designed to spoof practically any form of imaging, including thermals. Of course that didn't mean he was invisible, it just meant that the benefit of IR smoke would make him almost invisible until the smoke disperses.

The Spartan allowed a few seconds for the smoke to deploy, throwing a fragmentation grenade around the other side of the hauler to stall the approaching enemies. The smoke didn't stop the sentry gun from maintaining its suppressive fire in his general direction, but it did stop the turret from tracking the armored soldier as he bolted around his cover and flanked the enemy's flanking element.

The grenade's detonation, while not doing any damage to the approaching soldiers, distracted them long enough for the Spartan to level his weapon at them and gun down five of them before any resistance could be mounted. The remaining two spun around to meet the threat, and the last moments of their lives were filled with terror as they learned just how fast a Spartan could move. The Spartan-III closed the distance in the blink of an eye, unleashing a devastating kick that caved in the first man's chest, before reversing the kick and sending his heel into the second trooper's face.

Not willing to back down, the Spartan threw himself into the still dissipating smoke with combat knife in hand intent on smiting his foes in close combat. With his keen senses he was easily able to see the silhouettes of the Cerberus troops in the now dissipating smoke. His movements were but a blur, leaving only confusion and chaos in his wake. Every strike was perfect and found its mark, heralding the end of a life.

As a final spit in the face of Cerberus, Yuri brought up his armored boot and with it crushed the sentry gun.

"We've got 'em on the ropes!" Vega shouted over the comms. "We're coming in behind you Six."

"Boss." It was Horvath. "Just made contact with a returning patrol. Watch your back."

Yuri took cover behind one of the enemy living quarters, leaving a faint cloud of dissipating smoke that thinned out enough for the remaining Cerberus troops to see the corpses of their comrades and their killer nowhere to be found.

"Acknowledged, pushing into the camp now." Yuri spared a glance behind him, easily making out the armored soldiers entering through the hole in the fence that Six had made when he charged the enemy mako.

Realizing that they were about to put themselves in front of the enemy's weapons, the Spartan circled left, cutting across the row of makeshift barracks.

"1-1, squad size force 12 O'clock, flanking from the left, standby."

"We'll give them something to shoot at." Vega's and Ahmed's rifles barked in acknowledgment, eliciting an angry response from the Cerberus troops. The Spartan took advantage of the distraction and primed a grenade just before turning the corner.

In his adrenaline fueled state, time slowed to almost a crawl. From his position, the Spartan's eyes easily picked out the Cerberus troops. Most of them were scattered around various concrete barriers and crates left along the side of the dirt path that traveled along each of the main buildings of the camp and led to the entrance. But a sizable force had hunkered down within the main command structure, firing from some windows and on the rooftop. The building itself was only one story but was elevated by some metal struts, the Spartan couldn't help but snort in amusement as two of the defending Cerberus troops had seen fit to throw themselves under the prefabricated structure and were joining their comrades in suppressing the distracting N7s.

Not the smartest move, considering they had no cover and their muzzle flashes were bright enough to be seen relatively easily in the darkness. The Spartan chose his targets carefully, and then threw his grenade with practiced ease. As the explosive lazily floated threw the air towards its target, the Spartan set about his grisly work.

He cycled targets like a machine, the men hiding under the command structure died first, a pair of identical holes drilled into their skulls. They didn't have the advantage of cover like their comrades but their unusual positioning was liable to throw off Vega and Ahmed, increasing the odds of casualties.

His next targets consisted of the numerous troops scattered around the command structure. He emptied his thermal clip downing several of the unaware troopers before the rest of them caught on. Just in the nick of time, his grenade landed on the roof of the building, and then unleashed its explosive payload, sending one of the men flying off the vantage point and limply colliding with the ground.

He didn't get up.

The Spartan retreated back around his cover as his shields started taking hits, bolting between two of the military buildings and reappearing before the bloodlusted Cerberus troops could readjust their aim.

He was at the perfect angle to peer into one of the command structure's windows, and while not facing it head on, easily claimed the lives of the two terrorists holding that position.

"Hostile patrols eliminated." Horvath's accented voice broke up the monotony of gunfire. "Moving in behind the enemy, check fire." Six and Vega acknowledged the man, and it wasn't long before the two special forces soldiers started cutting down the remaining Cerberus troops positioned around their final bastion.

With five elite warfighters working in tandem and engaging the terrorists from multiple directions, the Cerberus troops stationed outside fell easily.

Yuri reloaded his weapon and checked his surroundings for survivors. "Status?"

"Alive, no enemies at our position." Six looked behind him and eyed Vega and Ahmed who had just exited one of the sleeping quarters that the supersoldier had passed. Vega glanced at one of the prone Cerberus soldiers before putting a bullet into the man's head. He looked up and then unknowingly made eye contact with Yuri, visor meeting visor. He gave the hyper lethal a thumbs up. The Spartan responded with a stoic nod before switching his focus on the Cerberus headquarters.

"1-2 here, we're good. No survivors at our location. Looks like the remaining survivors are holed up in their headquarters."

Six crouched behind a concrete barrier, waiting for Vega and Ahmed to reach his position.

"Then I guess we'll just have to flush them out." Vega crouched next to the hulking Spartan. "That was some badass work." The Spartan looked down at the hispanic man.

"I've seen some shit in my life, but the shit you've been pulling? I'm glad you're on our side."

Ahmed nodded. "You sure you're not a machine or something? Because no human could do the things we've seen you do."

"First Cerberus." The Spartan refocused their attention to the task at hand. "Then questions."

Vega seemed to smile underneath his N7 helmet. "Soldier to the bone. Alright, let's get the rest of these putas." The special forces soldier placed his hand to the side of his helmet. "1-2, stack up on the north side of the HQ. We breach on my mark."

"Copy that boss."

With the next objective in their sights, the two N7s stood up, but not before Yuri placed a firm gauntlet on Vega. "Down."

The men hunkered down with the Spartan and watched as the supersoldier scanned the blackened sky. "What's wrong?" Vega asked, concerned.

The Spartan remained silent, eyes glued to the sky and ears hyper focused on the soft thrumming noise coming from above. It was the sound of ship engines to be sure, but they were too quiet. In the Spartan's experience, that meant one thing: stealth ship. He switched to thermals, and caught a glimpse of something. It was a small, faint blob of white in the sky, easy to miss, but the tell tale sign of a stealth ship designed to stay concealed from thermal sensors and other means of detection.

Working with ONI meant working with some of the most advanced prowlers in the UNSC's arsenal. Detecting ONI ships was very difficult even for an experienced Spartan like Yuri. Cerberus was proficient in the ways of stealth, but they weren't ONI.

They had lots to learn.

From the looks of it, the Spartan inferred that the enemy ship was making its way to the landing pad. That was odd as they definitely know what's been going on, sounds like they were intent on depositing something nasty for Six and his allies.

"Enemy stealth ship closing in on the landing pad." Yuri spoke into his comms, making sure Horvath and Jin were informed.

Vega clenched his hand into a fist. "Shit, that complicates things."

Yuri shook his head. "Plan stays the same. Breach the building. I'll deal with them." If they made the mistake of focusing on the HQ or the approaching ship, they'd be opening themselves up to attack from whatever hostile asset they weren't focusing on. Splitting up is the best strategy here. Yuri was confident in these men, he knew they could handle themselves against the survivors. Whoever these newcomers are is unknown, but ingressing via stealth ship suggests special forces. This engagement was better suited for a Spartan.

"Copy that." Vega nodded and the N7s set about the process of stacking up and coordinating the attack with the other half of their team. Satisfied that problem would be solved, Yuri prepared for the arrival of this mystery ship, crouching behind a medium sized crate.

The hyper lethal vector checked his weapons and cycled out his half spent thermal clip in favor of a fresh one as the soft thrumming grew louder. He took a look at the ship once more, now it was close enough that its jet black form could be partially made out in the darkness. Its sleek and menacing design blended seamlessly with the darkness that shrouded it, making it almost impossible to detect without the aid of advanced technology or, in this case, a Spartan's discerning eye.

The craft effortlessly glided towards the landing pad, and touched down with an otherworldly grace. Yuri's eyes narrowed, wondering what Cerberus was planning here. Behind him, the sound of breaching charges went off in the distance, followed by gunfire. Vega and his team had started their assault.

As if spurred on by the sounds of violence, the ship's ramp extended and out came…nothing.

At least, that's what most people would have seen. They would have seen nothing. But, blessed with the eyesight of a Spartan, forged from the fires of a thousand battles with the Covenant juggernaut, Spartan B312 easily caught the shimmer, the unnatural distortion in the air.

Optical cloaking.

Those bastards won't be able to hide. Still, this did present a problem. The fact that Cerberus had access to this type of technology meant they were ahead of the big militaries like the asari, turians, and most importantly, humanity. This also presented a problem for Vega and his team. Even if they had experience with optical cloaking, they won't be able to detect these newcomers as well as Six. Which meant he couldn't let any of these bastards through.

Yuri lobbed a flashbang towards the shimmers. The device detonated, stunning some of them. Yuri shoved the crate he had been using for cover out of the way, and rushed forward, intent on forcing the Cerberus operatives to engage him and not his comrades.

Almost immediately, gunfire struck his shields, prompting the Spartan to engage the offending targets. He sighted up the first target closest to him, who was desperately backing away from the massive, charging Spartan. He squeezed the trigger, noting with some concern that these new enemies sported a much more powerful shield.

The damage from his weapon interfered with the operative's shields, giving the Spartan a good look at what he was fighting. The enemy was clad in a sleek jet-black/gray combat suit that hugged its form like a second skin. Its helmet to most is imposing, with crimson optics that shone brightly in the darkness, no doubt an intimidation tactic. The sinister eyes gave these enemies an eerie appearance. This operative in particular came equipped with a rifle of a model the Spartan had yet to see, and a sword of all things attached to its hip.

The enemy tried to avoid the Spartan's gunfire, but it was no use, as the rounds eventually cut through the barrier and drilled through the man's skull, killing him.

Yuri detected movement in his peripherals, and blurred out of existence as another of the ninja-like operatives swiped at him with his sword, faster than what a normal human should be capable of.

Having side-stepped the strike, he grabbed the man's hands with his left gauntlet, and then struck the operative in the side of the head. The results were what one would expect from getting hit full force by a 1500 pound Spartan.

Yuri glanced at his motion tracker, sensing danger. Three more of the mysterious operatives lunged at the Spartan as one, attempting to overwhelm the supersoldier with their superior numbers. The biological killing machine caught the first strike, and then squeezed, crushing the man's forearm and eliciting a blood curdling scream. The Spartan relieved the man of his sword, and then his head, before turning his attention towards his comrades.

With his new blade, Yuri bisected the second operative, spilling blood and intestines on the soil. He brought the blade in the other direction and cut off the arm of the third attacker. He then brought the blade back, impaled the man through the stomach, and brought the blade up through the chest and out the top of the skull, giving his comrades a very interesting look at the inner workings of the human body.

"Be advised, enemy reinforcements consist of optically cloaked operatives. Stay vigilant." Yuri threw the sword at one of the distant enemies, the blade spun end over end alarmingly fast before piercing the throat of the enemy.

"Ah, for fucks sake. Copy that Six. Almost mopped up here." The sound of gunfire in the background told the Spartan all he needed to hear.

The Spartan nodded. The engagement was coming to a close, and his enemy seemed to be aware of that. They encircled the Spartan, intent on attacking him from all sides. The Spartan remained motionless, keeping an eye on his motion tracker. He attuned his senses to his environment, entering an almost zen-like state, a state of intense hyperfocus that came as a result of the intense training he had suffered as a child. It had helped him immensely when forced to spar against several of his fellow trainees at once, or fighting off Covenant ambushes later on.

It would be no different now. The first hostile lunged from the darkness, wielding its blade with practiced ease. The Spartan was faster. Six's hand shot out with blinding speed, catching the assailant's wrist in an iron grip. The cloaking device flickered and struggled to mask the attacker, but it wouldn't have mattered in the first case. As far as Yuri was concerned, each and every one of them had targets painted on their backs from the moment they set foot on this planet.

Now it was simply time to execute. Yuri's armored elbow made contact with the attacker's skull an instant later, and with a calculated move, swiped the blade and sliced the Cerberus operative's throat. More of the ninjas emerged from the shadows, still maintaining their cloaking in a desperate attempt to gain the upper hand.

They struck as one, their movements swift and agile as they closed in from all sides. But Yuri was unfazed. He effortlessly tracked each of the shimmering forms. He sidestepped a second attack, allowing the combatant's momentum to carry them past. In a fluid motion, he grabbed the enemy from behind with an unyielding grip and with a powerful surge of strength, delivered a bone-crushing blow to the spine. The cloaked figure crumpled to the ground, defeated.

The remaining attackers hesitated. They were growing desperate, now having realized that their cloaking technology was rendered practically useless against this mysterious armored warrior who had killed so many of them already. Yuri unsheathed Emile's kukri from the small of his back, holding it in a reverse grip alongside his newly acquired sword.

The remaining enemies attacked in unison, encircling the Spartan with a flurry of stabs and slashes. But even with their enhanced speed, they move as if they were underwater. The Ghost of Reach moved like a whirlwind, a maelstrom of death and suffering, deflecting and parrying their strikes with a terrifying lack of strain on his part. None of those present knew that Noble Six was one of the deadliest close quarters combatants ever produced by the UNSC. His mastery of hand to hand combat and blade work would put most other Spartans to shame.

With each swing or stab of one of Yuri's blades, another enemy fell, their cloaking devices failing and leaving behind a lifeless corpse. Six lashed out with his blades, legs, and elbows, enveloping himself in an invisible bubble that claimed the lives of any that got too close. Bones were shattered, limbs were severed, guts and organs were spilled in a sickening display of violence that few would have the misfortune of witnessing.

Most accounts that describe a Spartan in close combat fail to describe exactly what happens to normal humans when subject to the forces a Spartan could generate. Simply put, the results were messy, too stomach churning to be included in the movies or any of the official combat reports.

The last enemy fell unceremoniously against the blood soaked dirt. Yuri stood amongst the gore, unfazed. He discarded the sword and sheathed his kukri.

He checked his surroundings and found no one left. Seems like they finally ran out of manpower after the fifteen or so kill.

"Six, Jin is down! I think one of those bastards slipped through!" No sooner had the first words come out of Vega's mouth than Six bolted towards the Cerberus HQ. Yuri entered the building, and following the sound of struggling, found himself in the main room of the building. It was filled with numerous computers and servers. In the center of the room was Jin, curled up on the floor with what looked like a nasty cut on his chest. No further than a few meters was Vega, armed with an omni blade, swinging at one of the cloaked figures who was effortlessly evading each of the strikes. Yuri approached the assailant from behind, silent as a ghost, before plunging his kukri into the assassin's neck.

"Fucking hell thanks for the-" Six pushed Vega to the floor and drove his fist into another operative but not before the cloaked assassin raised its palm, striking the Spartan's shield with some sort of projectile weapon. With fully charged shields the heavily armored supersoldier took the hits easily before caving in the attacker's skull.

Moments later, Horvath and Ahmed filed into the room, weapons shouldered. They relaxed slightly after realizing the enemy was defeated.

"Jesus, that was a close one." Vega stood up and collected his rifle. "Shit, Jin!" He rushed towards the wounded man while his other subordinates formed a protective screen around them in case someone else decides to ambush them from the shadows.

"I'm fine, boss." The soldier grunted in pain as his commanding officer applied some much needed medigel to the cut. "Just a flesh wound. I probably would have bled out if you didn't push my ass out of the way."

"Gracias a Dios." Vega sighed in relief. He helped his comrade up and then gestured to the rest of his team. "Search this place for any information they've got. Hopefully we can figure out what's going on here." The men set about following their leader's orders and began to sift through computers and servers for Cerberus' vital secrets.

"Thanks for the save." Vega approached the Spartan. "We couldn't have taken these guys with just the four of us." The man approached the body of the assassin Yuri had stabbed. "Who the hell are these guys? Never seen them before." He took off the operative's helmet, revealing the face of a young woman.

"Damn." The man mumbled. "She looks young for a special forces operative."

Yuri thought so too. Cerberus… did they take children too? Call them to serve like the UNSC did to him and his comrades? The thought angered Yuri and also caused him to feel a rare sense of empathy. He had no mercy for those that would indoctrinate children to fight in the ranks of terrorists. The Spartans were trained to protect humanity, and were born in a time of great desperation while Cerberus would be indoctrinating children to carry out acts of terrorism that serve to only ruin human relations with the different species of the galaxy, not to mention directly kill innocent people. The Spartan hoped that this wasn't what was going on.

"Nothing we can learn from this. We don't have the time to strip them of all their equipment and take it with us." Vega concluded. He gestured to the Spartan. "Let's take a look at that cargo." Yuri followed the man out of the building, still tensed up and ready in case additional reinforcements arrived.

The hauler carrying the cargo remained in the exact same position that Yuri had left it in after disabling it. "Driver's still in there." Yuri warned Vega. The Spartan strode up to the rear of the vehicle, and tore off the door. The moment he did, the driver began blindly firing out the back of the vehicle. The Spartan stepped into the gunfire and put a burst clean through the terrorist's head, causing him to slump backwards in the vehicle's cockpit.

"Well, that takes care of him." Vega stepped into the hauler and turned on a flashlight attached to his helmet. Yuri followed the man. Inside were several metallic containers, definitely appearing to be blast and shock resistant. If Cerberus was hauling precious cargo, it would be stowed away in those containers. Six pried open one of the containers to get a look at its contents. Inside was a peculiar array of intricate biomechanical devices if he had to guess. The technology appeared to be a strange melding of advanced circuitry and organic tissue.

"Huh." Vega reached out to touch the strange device, thought better of it, and retracted his hand. "Wonder what that's for… why don't we open up a few more? Just to be sure." Yuri nodded and set about opening a few more of the containers. Inside they found more pieces of circuitry, a sample of what appeared to be armor from the Collector ship, and a disassembled stasis pod along with some other less significant findings.

"Quite the collection they got here." Vega mused. "No idea what they can do with this crap, most of it looks to be in bad shape." Vega turned towards the Spartan. "What do you think?"

"Nothing good." As far as the Spartan was concerned, cutting edge technology in the hands of a known terrorist organization was bad news regardless of their intent with it. Whether they are against the Collectors or not made no difference in Yuri's eyes, that technology will be used for something nefarious in the future. He's dealt with terrorists enough times to know that better than most.

"Fair enough." Vega produced a large explosive device and gently planted it inside the vehicle's cargo bay. "Let's send this shit to hell." Both men retreated back into the HQ building, eager to be done with Cerberus' latest stunt.

"Find anything?" Vega said to his men who appeared to be finished sifting through the Cerberus servers. Horvath turned to face the man, his face adorned with a look of disappointment. "Negative, they scrubbed all the data, probably the moment they realized they were screwed."

Vega swore. "At least we managed to stop them from getting away with the tech."

Yet another lesson to be learned, Yuri supposed. Any intelligence gathering operation would have to be clandestine. Going in guns blazing seems to guarantee deletion of any useful data. The Spartan wasn't surprised; his humanity were masters at ensuring sensitive documents don't fall into the wrong hands, the Cole Protocol is a prime example of this.

"What did you find?"

"Pieces of circuitry, what looks like a stasis pod and a bunch of other things that survived the crash. Barely, though."

Vega and the Spartan led the rest of the soldiers to the entrance of the building, facing the disabled hauler. Vega activated his omnitool, inputted a command into the softly glowing device, and the large vehicle was engulfed in a fiery explosion that catapulted debris far away from the camp. The result was a barely recognizable pile of scrap engulfed in a massive bonfire with plums of smoke lazily floating up into the sky.

The hispanic N7 chuckled. "Never gets old."

"We should part ways." Yuri said. "Before additional hostiles show up."

Vega nodded. "Agreed. You should take that Cerberus ship, damn fine looking vessel and I'd bet it would be far better in your hands than theirs."

The Spartan nodded, having already come to the conclusion.

"I hope to work with you again someday, but I doubt that will happen." Vega smirked. "You seem to be part of some real super secret squirrel shit." The man approached the massive Spartan, not at all seeming intimidated or even wary anymore.

"We appreciate the assistance." The veteran held out a fist. Yuri regarded it for a moment, and couldn't help but smirk underneath his visor. They reminded him so much of some of the ODSTs and other UNSC special forces he worked with in the past.

The Spartan bumped fists with the man and nodded. "Watch your backs out there."

"You too, big man." Vega gestured to his men. "Let's move ladies! We're burning moonlight." Yuri watched the N7s disappear into the thick forest, before turning around towards the Cerberus vessel. Before heading to the vacant ship, Yuri took the liberty of pillaging the camp's mess hall with as much food as he could carry; he had no idea the next time he'd have access to food so it would be better to be safe than sorry. Satisfied he had enough to last a while, the Spartan grabbed the crate he had stored with provisions in and approached the ship.

Yuri took a moment to appreciate the sophisticated design of the vessel before him. It was sleek and compact, yet formidable. He'd guess that the ship was 45 meters in length with a wing span of about 35 meters. Its landing gear allowed it to have a height of 6 or 7 meters. The aircraft was an obsidian black, making it almost impossible to visually detect in the inky blackness of space without the aid of sophisticated sensors. Its exterior was no doubt composed of highly sophisticated materials designed to subvert any attempts at detection from a plethora of sensors and optics. Its delta wings gave it the appearance of a predatory bird diving in to snatch its prey.

It looked like a mix between a stealth bomber and stealth fighter. The appearance of the vehicle could be likened to a fusion between a UNSC Auriga-class light prowler with its sleek, agile appearance and delta wings and a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber with its velvet smooth surface and broader nose allowing for a slightly larger cockpit behind that transparent windshield.

The Spartan walked up the ramp and stepped into the vessel, setting down the container of food and shouldering his weapon in case anyone was home. The Spartan checked the interior of the vessel for potential enemies and traps. Nodding to himself once it was obvious the coast was clear, Yuri inspected the vessel's interior, starting from the entrance. The hyper lethal vector picked up the stolen food and took in the features of the first room he stood in. The ramp led up to a small and slightly cramped troop bay with twenty seats fastened to the sides of the bay. Directly above the seats sat sections for convenient weapon stowage. The door across the main entrance allowed access to a small corridor leading to the other sections of the ship.

To the right was a surprisingly comfortable sleeping quarters for long term deployments. It was aligned with four sets of bunk beds, each complete with its own dresser for storage of personal belongings and the like.

Across from that room was a small armory, mostly lacking in weaponry and equipment unfortunately since the Cerberus complement saw fit to use almost their entire arsenal against Yuri and his allies. In the center of the room was a workbench along with some useful tools. This bodes well for Yuri and his equipment. Problem is, the Spartan laser will require some pretty specialized tools for even minor repairs, something that was unlikely to be present here. Hopefully it won't be too difficult to procure the necessary tools to repair the Spartan laser.

Yuri nodded in satisfaction. He left the armory and made his way to the dimly lit cockpit, which was surprisingly spacious. The cockpit was flanked by two padded seats, each equipped with harnesses to secure to pilot and co-pilot. The cockpit's canopy was a larger, curved expanse of advanced transparent material that provided an unobstructed, panoramic view of the outside world. The control panel held a myriad of buttons, dials, and touched sensitive screens that gently glowed, blue, red, and orange. It was a pleasant arrangement of colors that contrast nicely with the dim lighting of the cockpit.

A luminescent holographic display hovered above the central console between the two seats, projecting vital data and navigational charts.

The Spartan snapped himself back into reality: he didn't have the time to sit here and gawk at the capabilities of this ship. He needed to get off world before Cerberus scrambled back up.

As the Spartan sat down in the pilot's seat and looked over the controls, he couldn't help but smile. This was a lucky find. Yuri would have been satisfied with finding just about any ship capable enough to get him off world, but he ended up finding a sophisticated stealth craft that seemed to be Cerberus' version of a UNSC prowler. It seemed like the Master Chief's luck had rubbed off on the Spartan-III.

After tinkering with the surprisingly intuitive controls, the ship's engines hummed to life, about as quiet as the Spartan expected from such a vessel. He retracted the ramp and added more thrust to the engines, feeling his organs rearrange themselves in his body gently as the ship began to ascend.

The cockpit's lights automatically dimmed even more as the ship shot up through the atmosphere and into the inky blackness of space. Yuri allowed the vessel to coast through orbit as he gazed at the countless stars before him, now open to be explored by the Spartan.

Spartan B312 had just been given the perfect ship for a former headhunter, and now has the means to enjoy complete autonomy. The question is, what will be done now? Yuri reached into one of his armored compartments and produced the dog tags of Noble Team with the exception of Jun. Without prying eyes, he felt it was acceptable to do this with the knowledge no one will be around to see this weakness.

The Spartan starred absentmindedly at the names on the tags, the names of the Spartans he fought with during the final days of Reach. He didn't know any of them for long, but they were family. This familial relationship, it was something that all of the Spartan–IIs and IIIs felt for each other. No one else in the UNSC can relate to the trials and tribulations they were put through, or the sacrifices they made in the defense of humanity. No one else can understand the camaraderie they had for each other or the dedication to their duty as Humanity's sword and shield.

Yuri's main objective was the same: get back to UNSC controlled space. But how? That question had plagued Six's mind for the last several days. How will he acquire the technology to travel between galaxies? It doesn't seem like this technology is available in this galaxy so he would need to manufacture it but how? Human slipspace capabilities are now lightyears above what they used to be in the past but achieving the capability of traveling between galaxies is nothing but a pipe dream at the moment. So somehow he would have to acquire the resources and funding needed to invent a completely new way of achieving slipspace just to have a snowball's chance in hell of returning home.

Yuri closed his eyes as the realization began to sink in. But then he straightened imperceptibly as a thought came to mind.

The Didact. They were thrown into the slipspace portal together, could he have been deposited somewhere in this same galaxy? If there was anyone that knew how to get back, it would be him. Of course, there was no way the Forerunner would ever help the Spartan, but there has to be some way of getting some answers from him.

This was assuming he was even in the same galaxy, or alive, for that matter. Slipspace can be chaotic, and there have been reports of people simply disappearing when slipspace jumps are performed. The Didact could have simply been carried off to a different fate by the unpredictable waves of slipspace.

Yuri's resolve strengthened, he knew the answers had to lie in the Didact, but at the same time he would consider other approaches-maybe it was possible to make the technology needed to return home.

But what if he was stuck here? The Spartan looked down at the dogtags.

What can I do?

For a moment, doubt crept into the indomitable super soldier's mind. He was a soldier; a Spartan, bred for war and duty. His purpose had always been clear: protect humanity at all costs. But now, he was countless lightyears away from them, in a place where his fellow Spartans and the UNSC simply did not exist.

But even as the weight of his situation began to set in, Yuri felt the doubt slowly wash away. He knew deep down that even if he could not return he couldn't abandon his duty. Duty was his compass, his North Star, guiding him through the darkest of battles and the bleakest of times.

With a newfound clarity, he made a choice, that even if returning was impossible he would adapt to his circumstances just as he was trained and continue serving. It didn't matter where he was; his objective would remain the same: defend humanity from any threat that dared to rise against them whatever the cost.

The Spartan straightened imperceptibly, the engines of his newfound vessel hummed with an even greater intensity, and the ship flew through the vacuum of space towards wherever his journey would take him. The Spartan gently pocketed the dog tags, and looked towards the stars with a fiery gaze.

It was time to see what this place had in store for him.

•••

Getting through Citadel customs was far easier than Shepard had originally thought, even despite the fact their sensors classified the ex-Spectre as a dead man. Normally, being "dead" would earn Shepard the long and annoying journey of heading to the Station Security Administration to reactivate his ID, followed by a stop to Customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself, and lastly finishing off with a trip to the Treasury to have a long and painful conversation about how he was not faking his death to dodge taxes.

But thankfully he did not have to go through that ordeal thanks to a certain Captain Bailey. As far as Shepard was concerned, he owed that man more than a handful of drinks.

"It's been a while since I've been here." Garrus commented, gazing at the vast expanse of the Citadel Presidium that stretched out before them. "All things considered, they repaired the place in record time."

Shepard grunted; this was where all the 'important people' lived. Of course all the resources and manpower would go to fixing up the Presidium first. A lot of the Wards, according to Bailey, still had debris left over from the fighting. It was obvious where the Citadel's priorities went.

Tali huffed in frustration as they continued their surprisingly peaceful stroll through the center of galactic politics. "I don't really like this place. Sure, it's beautiful. But the people that live here are entitled, spoiled, and don't care about the suffering of the people living under their care."

Shepard sympathized with the Quarian, unfortunately the Citadel didn't pay much attention to the trials and tribulations faced by the Quarians. It has led to a lot of resentment over the years, and unfortunately, the issue of not being heard or treated with respect was an issue that other species besides the Quarians suffered; look at the krogans, for example.

"Oh, no I agree." Garrus replied, rather hastily, as if worried he had offended the Quarian. "I mean, the average salary here at the Citadel is probably less than the toilets those politicians and bureaucrats shit into. Disgusting amount of wealth they siphon out of the residents through taxes and probably more shady deals than you can shake a stick at."

"Free range citizens in a tax farm." Shepard chuckled. "The more I stick around here the more it seems glaringly obvious."

"Yeah." Garrus scratched the injured side of his face, wincing slightly. "I heard they want to implement an Eezo tax."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. It's been a while since he's kept up with politics, gets tiring pretty quickly. "Seriously?"

"Yep, supposed to be a tax levied on the Eezo usage needed to produce goods and services as well as a bunch of other less significant things."

"Keelah, that's ridiculous!" Tali rolled her eyes beneath her visor. "Eezo is essential for all of our technology and life support systems. Taxing it would probably cripple colonies, especially ones struggling to survive on the fringes.

Shepard frowned, running a hand over his head in frustration. Tali was right. "Not to mention it could cause unrest and instability."

Garrus shrugged. "I doubt it's gonna happen. The moment they announced the possibility, there were protests and riots all over the galaxy-not to mention internal political resistance. That's what happens when you try to tax the lifeblood of the galaxy."

Shepard nodded, he had a feeling that Anderson played a role in that.

Speaking of which. Shepard thought as the door to his old friend's office came into view. "Hope the old man doesn't mind us barging in like this."

"No." Shepard shook his head. "He knows we're here."

The door slid open, allowing Shepard, Tali, and Garrus to step into the former soldier turned politician's office. Dimly lit, the room exuded an air of antiquity and timeless sophistication, contrasting sharply with the sleek, modern surroundings that were typical of the Citadel. The wooden panels on the walls displayed intricate carvings of ancient symbols and oil paintings depicting historical moments in galactic diplomacy along with shining moments in human history.

A large oak desk, polished to a deep, lustrous shine, stood at the heart of the room. Its surface was covered with books, dossiers, and a holographic screen. The room's windows were draped in heavy, richly colored curtains. A large sliding glass door allowed entrance to a balcony giving an impressive view of the Presidium's breathtaking majesty. The room seemed to come alive with the evening sun filtering through the windows. Near the fireplace, which crackled with artificial flame, sat a pair of high backed armchairs. A small coffee table between them held a silver tray with a small decanter of amber liquid, the scent of aged whiskey filling the air.

Shepard suppressed a whistle. It was a damn fine office. He was glad that Anderson seemed to be doing good for himself.

"Shepard." A familiar voice called out to him from behind the desk. Councilor Anderson stood up from his seat, and walked towards Shepard with a purpose, his face adorned with a small, knowing smile. "I had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before we met again."

Shepard couldn't help but grin at the sight of his mentor. "Well, you know me; I do love to make an entrance."

The older man chuckled softly. "I'm glad to see you still in one piece. Heard a lot of rumors that you were back in action but I didn't want to pass judgment until I saw you with my own eyes."

Anderson looked behind Shepard and smiled at his companions. "Garrus, Tali, good to see the two of you are still above ground." The man furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed the scar on Garrus' face. "What happened to your face, there? You're not looking too good."

"Heh, good to see you too old man." The turian chuckled. "It's a long story."

"I bet." Anderson turned to Shepard. "How have you been doing?"

Shepard sighed. "Wish I could say things were sunshine and rainbows, but we can talk about that in a moment. What about you?"

"Well, I never thought I'd spend my twilight years living the life of a politician, for one." Anderson grabbed his chair from behind his desk and brought it to the gently crackling fireplace. Shepard grabbed one of the guest chairs, and the four of them sat around the artificial fire.

"Politics." The older man chuckled. He reached towards the decanter and poured a shot of whiskey for himself and Shepard. "Feels like I'm beating my head against a bulkhead."

He took a swig of the amber liquid and locked eyes with Shepard. "Knowing the truth about what Sovereign is… it keeps me up at night sometimes. I can't blame people for not believing it."

Shepard nodded in understanding. "But they have to know, before it's too late."

"I know." The veteran took another sip of his drink. "I've been relentless these past few years. Whenever I get the chance I bring up Sovereign. I try to persuade them to at least consider the possibility, to launch an investigation… but so far I've made no progress."

Garrus cocked his head in confusion. "Surely some parts of Sovereign survived."

Anderson shook his head. "It was obliterated. The small pieces of wreckage that did land on the Citadel are just pieces of scrap. We haven't found anything that can offer us useful information."

Shepard frowned. "Yeah and it doesn't help that the Council or too set in their ways to even consider that word of a councilor from a species that has effectively just been introduced to the galactic community."

"All too true." Anderson sighed in resignation, running his hand through his hair. "But I still keep trying. Someone's gotta do the job, might as well be me." He regarded Shepard for a moment.

"I've heard rumors that you're working with Cerberus." Shepard frowned, he had a feeling that would be brought up.

"Technically, yes." The soldier admitted. "They brought me back to life to find a way to defeat the Collectors. Unfortunately they are the only ones that seem to be taking the threat seriously." Shepard took a swig of his own drink, savoring the taste. "But make no mistake, I'm not doing them any favors."

"I never imagined you were." Anderson said. "Sometimes you need to make deals with demons in order to beat back the real monsters."

"Yeah, well." Shepard hesitated. "Doesn't make me feel much better about my choice."

And he meant it. Phoenix's words still resonate within him. How many soldiers would have made the same choice if they were put in his shoes? Did he make the right choice? Allying himself with terrorists. He felt less like a soldier and more like a criminal who had abandoned his duty.

"Shepard." Anderson put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, like a father would to a son. "You don't have to feel good about it, in fact, you probably shouldn't. What you should do is recognize that you've been thrown into a bad situation with little to no support from anyone else. If Cerberus is willing to help you beat back something far more evil than they could ever be, then take it. You need every advantage you can get, and if that means using the support they are giving you to beat back this menace then so be it."

Shepard nodded. When Anderson put it that way, it didn't seem as bad. "Would you do the same in my position?"

"I would." The man nodded resolutely. "We all make questionable choices in pursuit of good. That's what soldiers do. What's important is you never lose sight of your duty, or your morals. Carry them with you, wherever you go."

Shepard smiled. It seemed like Anderson always knew what to say. "Thanks."

"It's nothing." Anderson waved him off dismissively. "Now, I have a feeling you came to me for more than just to say hello. What can I help you with?"

"You hear about the most recent Collector attack?" Shepard inquired.

Anderson's face darkened immediately. "I have." He answered, his voice low. "You were there?"

Shepard nodded. "Thrown into Alliance custody… I'll explain that later. We barely made it out of there."

Anderson nodded. "Yeah that attack was attributed to batarian slavers… naturally. Only reason I know is because I have the luxury of having access to contacts and agents that can get me this kind of information."

"Then you know that the way in which this attack was carried out is unusual for the Collectors." Tali said.

Anderson nodded grimly. "Usually their approach is more covert. Complete loss of communication, defenses are disabled, no bodies. It's easy to see why batarian slavers are blamed for this."

"We think they were gunning for us this time." Shepard revealed.

Anderson raised his eyes in surprise. "Are you sure? We need to be absolutely certain."

"We're not certain, but we are confident. We think the Collectors knew our location and targeted the colony in an attempt to take us out."

Anderson put a hand to his chin. "It could be possible. I'd reckon since the Sovereign incident, the Reapers and Collectors see you in particular as a threat."

"Not to mention we're some of the only people in the galaxy that are actually trying to stop them." Tali added.

Anderson nodded. "It makes sense, and while we have no conclusive evidence that this is true, it's always good to be cautious. So, where do I fit in this?"

"We're running under the assumption that the Collectors are actively hunting us down." Shepard bit his lip as he thought about what to say. "It's clear that we have no way of engaging the Collectors in a head-to-head fight, but we don't know how else to proceed."

Garrus decided to chip in with his own thoughts. "We know you've got access to agents and informants as a Councilor. We were hoping you'd have a lead, something that could help us even the odds."

Anderson slowly nodded and turned his eyes to the ceiling; he was thinking.

Please have something for us old man. Shepard thought.

"It… might be a longshot." Anderson spoke hesitantly. "You guys know better than anyone else about the criminal syndicates centered around Omega." They nodded.

"There's another one." Anderson said, more soft spoken than before. "One that is rumored to have a lot of control over not just Omega, but galactic affairs in general."

Shepard furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He has never heard of a secretive criminal organization that is pulling several of the galactic strings behind the scenes.

"How do you know?" Garrus questioned, his curiosity peaked. He's spent a lot of time on Omega as the vaunted Archangel so he knows the place better than any of them. For such an organization to not be known to the turian would be something of a surprise to him.

"As a Councilor, I have access to far more assets and information than when I was in the Alliance." Anderson replied simply, as if the answer is obvious. "Spectres, military information from the other races-I have my own teams of N7s and Alliance agents working around the clock on these kinds of threats, including the Collectors."

Shepard found that bit interesting, though he supposed his new position allowed the veteran to requisition more than a few Alliance assets if need be.

"How long has this been going on for?" Shepard said.

"Well, ever since the original Normandy was destroyed. I picked some of the most reliable and loyal men and women, people that I can rely on, and people that can't be influenced by politics or anything of the sort. No one else believes in the Collectors or the Reapers. But at least the people working for me are acquainted with the Collector threat."

Shepard wondered how many of these operators Anderson had under his employ. Regardless, it was good to know that they weren't the only ones trying to fight back against the Collectors.

"So, who are they?" Tali asked, shifting the conversation back to the original topic.

Anderson sighed in frustration. "We don't know much." He admitted. "But I've heard whispers from my people about an organization called the 'Black Hand'."

The Black Hand? The name did not sound familiar at all. The only other entity with that name that Shepard was aware of was the group responsible for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand prior to the start of the First World War. But aside from that piece of history, Shepard was not aware of its use anywhere else, let alone as the name of a secret, sophisticated criminal syndicate.

"What do you know about them?" Garrus asked what was on everyone's mind.

"Not much." Anderson took a sip of his whiskey. "But what we do know is that they have their fingers in just about every form of crime out there. But they're smart, always sticking to the shadows and getting others to do their dirty work while they watch from behind the scenes. There's a reason why so little information is available on them."

"Ok…" Shepard nodded. "How does this help us?"

"I've had agents with eyes on Omega for some time." Anderson said. "What they found, after a long time hunting ghosts, is that these people have supposedly been in contact with the Collectors."

Now that piqued the Commander's interest. It has been rumored that the Collectors do engage in trading from time to time, usually making odd requests involving the trade of living beings in odd numbers and varieties in exchange for highly advanced technology. He wondered if that was what was happening.

"So, what, this Black Hand organization has involved itself with the Collectors in trading?" Shepard voiced his thoughts.

The man shrugged. "We're not sure, but whatever they've got going on between them, I reckon it's worth investigating. I know it's not much to go off of, but it's all I've got. I'm sorry."

Shepard shook his head. "No, a lead is better than having nothing at all to work from. Thanks again, Anderson."

"It's nothing Shepard. I know you're the best bet we have at stopping the Collectors and Reapers. Besides, maybe Cerberus might have more information on the subject."

Shepard grunted. "They might. So I guess sooner or later we'll have to pay Omega a visit."

Anderson nodded. "Just be careful, Shepard." He almost whispered conspiratorially. "Whatever this Black Hand is, they are sophisticated and professional enough to remain hidden from the galaxy for quite a long time. They're dealing in some nasty business, and they are no doubt far more dangerous than anything else on Omega."

Well that wasn't surprising. Truthfully the situation worried Shepard, what would the Collectors gain from such an alliance? The Black Hand almost sound like Cerberus, so they must specialize in intelligence gathering and espionage. Maybe it's information the Collectors want. The other question is how are they going to even track down and find a member of this organization. They'd have to be masters at staying undetected, proficient at hiding in plain sight.

"We'll be careful, and we'll have to get creative if we're even going to wanna stand a chance at finding these guys."

"I'll see if I can get my people to dig up more information on them but no promises. Whoever they are, they're pros."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Shepard smiled reassuringly. "We've still got some time to kill before it's time to head out."

"Oh?" Anderson raised an eyebrow. "What else do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I've always been curious; what happened to Chief Williams after the Normandy was destroyed?"

•••

Finally done! This chapter is an absolute unit in size. Maybe I should standardize the size of my chapters to around 10k words or something like that so it doesn't take eons for me to update.

Reviews are very positive which makes me feel positive. I'll just address some reviews here. I think from now on I'll include the name of the reviewer so it's easier to tell which review I am addressing. I want to foster an environment where communication between myself and you guys is encouraged and a two way street.

Axccel: I'm honestly surprised I missed that detail with the lasers. Thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully in the future I'll revise what I've posted so far and fix mistakes like that. Yeah in the books it doesn't seem like the UNSC makes use of nukes that much. But I always imagined the UNSC as the type of faction to make frequent use of WMDs against the Covenant given their desperate situation. So for my fic that's kind of how I want to portray it. The Shepard scene does come off as silly. I'm not sure why I didn't just describe him immediately firing at the sniper to suppress him and THEN pointing out his location to everyone else. Like I said, I'd like to fix things like that in the future.

Thebigmeme: Yeah I totally get where you're coming from. It's hard as shit in my opinion to properly portray a Spartan in a universe like Mass Effect. I refuse to nerf Six, but at the same time I don't want to make him invincible. It's difficult to find that balance. Shepard may not be a Spartan, but he is a badass in his own right. Don't worry, I won't leave our boy hanging. He's definitely going to have his moments to shine, rest assured. Thanks for pointing that out, and reminding me that I have other characters to shine the spotlight on from time to time. It's important to not leave anyone in the dark for too long. With the number of characters in Mass Effect it will be a challenge for me to accomplish this. But hopefully I deliver.

HaloZealotDemon: Your review is a bit older, sorry it took me this long to respond. About the muzzle velocities, you mentioned confusion over how Six is having difficulties dodging Mass Effect weapons, and the simple answer would be the muzzle velocities are simply insane. But after further thought, I realize that there is (if I remember correctly) a feat where a member of Black Team dodges a BEAM RIFLE from a close range. Beam rifle projectiles supposedly travel at mach 10 which is insane, and even more insane that Spartans can react that quickly. So in theory Six probably could dodge Mass Effect weapons, but spotting sand grain size projectiles moving that fast would be hard even for Six. I'll try and come up with something later on to explain why Six couldn't dodge the gunfire before and why he might be able to do so in theory. We will see.

I think that's all for now. Once again, thanks for the criticism. Let me know how I did with this chapter and I hope to update again soon.

Thanks!