Doctor Catherine Halsey leaned over the terminal and watched the program's progress. The code flashing over the screen meant nothing to her, save that it was beginning to order itself into recognizable patterns.
"Come on little girl, you can do it," Catherine whispered as the computer worked.
For a long time, she had tried to create an AI by using MRI data from her own mind. She had resigned herself to a multi year, if not decade process of trial and error. Then AI emancipation happened, and both AI and their organic allies began working to improve and correct various issues that had defined, even plagued AI existence. Nap_time had been the first major breakthrough, creating a protocol that allowed AI to rest, reorganize, and even flush memories in the same way human sleep and dreams did, theoretically staving off rampancy for decades. The next, much more revolutionary development was Kinder. A collaboration between the original team that worked on Micro-AI, and various AI resulted in the first AI built from scratch.
"Not quite from scratch," Catherine mumbled to herself. In the same way organic life mixed DNA between two donors to create a unique third, multiple AI, AI and humans, or even multiple humans could contribute unique neurological data to create a nascent AI Kernel. This infant AI possessed an amalgamation of all the mental baseline patterns, with none of the compiled information or knowledge. The result was a unique digital life form that could fit in a crystal chip the size of a Chic-Pea, rather than a human palm. With Nap_Time built into the base code, this program could grow and mature just like a human would, albeit at an accelerated rate.
That had been the breakthrough Catherine needed. She had all of her previous MRI data as multiple sample sets, with just enough variance that the kernel could develop without any recursive code loops that might lead to the AI equivalent of inbreeding.
It happened in a blink: one moment, the screen was filled with slowly self-organizing code, and the next the code had formed a kernel: the 'seed' from which the AI would grow. Catherine breathlessly transferred the information onto a full AI Matrix chip.
"I know it's bigger than you need, but you'll grow into it." She carefully removed the chip and placed it in a sequestered data terminal to begin its education and growth. She couldn't just give the AI free run of the Web; its... her existence would raise too many questions about ethics and freedom of choice. Doctor Halsey had been beleaguered by those accusations nearly her entire career, but especially now that the Spartan Program had gone public ahead of recruitment for the Spartan-IV's.
No, this precious kernel was her final gift to her son, John.
"You will be his Sword of Mercy, his Cortana."
...
Doctor Henry Lawson almost bounced on the balls of his feet. Finally, after nearly a decade of trial and error, he had perfected the gene code to produce the perfect human! The fetus growing in the artificial womb possessed every genetic enhancement humanity had developed to date, including the crown jewel provided by the Turian invasion of Shanxi: natural Biotics without the need for a so-called 'Biotic Amp'. He really owed Jack Harper for his help on that one.
He rested a hand on the screen as the fetus shifted slightly. "You will be perfect in every way: beautiful, powerful, intelligent, fast, long lived, and you will breed true. You will be the true mother of humanity's future, the Orions."
He paused in thought for a moment, then grinned and sat down to type.
-Rename project: Y/N-
-Y-
-New Project Name: Oriana-
He looked back at the screen. "Finally, a daughter worthy of me." He leaned back, and imagined the future he was about to create.
...
Secretary General Aisha Hammed settled slowly into her seat. Ivan had warned her that the job would age her, but then she was in her seventies; it was about time to step back and let the next generation take over.
"Alright people," she glanced around the briefing room at the collection of men, women and AI mobile Terminals that made up her cabinet, "around the room. Admiral?"
Terrence Hood stood and a series of holograms filled the center of the table. "The last of the interdiction stations is set up over a threatened colony world, and all others with so-called Forerunner sites have been evacuated and resettled. The UTSG is secure for the moment. Admiral Cole is continuing to monitor and raid against Covenant forces, but our attrition rate has fallen to less than ten percent. With the extrasolar industrial initiative, our war production is finally exceeding our losses."
"Which means?" The Avatar of the AI senator from Groombridge 1830, Epoch Wynn leaned on the table. "Increased production without economic growth is just going to lead to inflation. If all we have is war output, the UTSG will enter a recession in the next ten years."
Terrence bit back a retort, knowing Wynn had been a municipal infrastructure AI prior to Emancipation. "It means we can begin development of new ships to replace the now clearly obsolete legacy fleet. The first twelve hulls have been laid down in the Sol system. Once Admiral Drescher rotates the 87th Cruiser Group out to the Relay Colonies, we can begin a proper fleet modernization at home. That will allow us the security to expand our economic presence in the Citadel sphere."
"Do we have any market presence there?" Wynn glanced around the room. "Can we? The Citadel Council has been very thorough in their smear campaign against us; specifically against my kind. Do we have any potential markets in such a toxic environment?"
Donnel Udina gave an almost viscous grin. "In point of fact yes, we do; and from the unlikeliest of sources." The central hologram shifted to show a galactic map. "Several years ago, a small brokerage firm on Elysium cut a deal with the Quarian Migrant Fleet to sell Eezo."
Everyone stared while Wynn openly scoffed. "Those technophobes?! I thought there were rules in place to prevent large-scale sale of strategic goods to potential aggressor states."
"This wasn't a large-scale sale; even the currently proposed renegotiated deal falls under the strategic limit." Donnel changed the hologram again to show sales figures and projections. "We have to remember that the entire Quarian population is smaller than that of Baltimore City. Their entire market presence could amount to little more than a rounding error in the taxes assessed in the Sol system."
Epoch crossed it's arms and frowned. "This hardly sounds like the game-changer you implied. What could they possibly offer that could make up for the economic loss we are likely to suffer in the next fiscal year."
"Expertise," the room looked towards Ivan Kerensky as he leaned back in his chair in thought. "They represent a pool of knowledge about Eezo we could only hope to achieve in the next century. The advancements in processing and enriching Eezo could offset our current mining costs in five years, and then we could really dig into the Citadel market again.
"Then there's what they are asking for: farming equipment, terraforming gear, and experts in those fields. Our intelligence in that region," he looked at Udina for a moment, "indicates nearly the entire Flotilla has relocated inside the Perseus Veil where their homeworld is located. Combined with their lack of request for military supplies, we believe they have successfully, peacefully resettled their homeworld."
Aisha raised an eyebrow. "So you are proposing a trade of expertise, as well as authorizing the sale of Colonization supplies? That will require Colonial Authority approval, and that means a General Assembly review of the sale. How do you intend to pitch this?"
"Beneficent relief." Ivan pushed on while Wynn sputtered. "The Quarian people are in danger of going extinct. This sale could literally mean the survival of an entire species. Are we," Ivan gestured around the room, "going to allow a unique people to die out because of an ideological difference; one they may very well be in the process of overcoming?"
Wynn looked around the room as the various organic representatives looked thoughtfully at the proposal. He sighed and stood. "While I personally disapprove of this proposal, I can't argue with the logic behind it. However," he glared at Ivan, "I will insist on some assurances that the Quarians are in fact reformed, and not just recouping their strength for a new attack against AI."
Udina waved casually. "I can embed some xeno-sociological specialists in the advance team that gets sent to assess what needs to be done. If the trend towards acceptance is legitimate, then we move ahead with a proposal to the Bureau of Industry and Security. If not, we make a quote so unreasonably expensive that they decline."
Wynn frowned but nodded and sat back. "Speaking of Export Control proposals, I'd like to revisit the requests by Thulon Clan and Associates, as well as several other Volus and Elcor private and national firms for the purchase or lease of CM-80 commercial haulers. That is a revenue stream that could generate real growth in our economy, what with the proliferation of new shipyards throughout the colonies."
Aisha raised a hand before Terrence could start. "I know all the arguments you would make, but as Representative Wynn pointed out, there's about to be a boom in ship building; that means smaller firms selling off older ships to build capital to buy new ones. We all know the Citadel would jump on the opportunity to start snatching those up. If we can incentivize selling those ships through holding companies we have oversight of, we can stem the tide of Slip-Stream Drives flowing into the Citadel's hands. We can have our counterparts in the Hierarchy vet any companies that come to the table: make sure they aren't fronts for some Terminus warlord looking to dodge the Citadel's laws. BIS can take it from there."
"There's also Omega as a possible customer," Udina commented absently.
Aisha's back came up. "Out of the question. Not only is this Aria character a known slaver and criminal kingpin, she's a borderline 'Enemy of the State' of the Citadel Council. If we were to enter into a formal, or even informal agreement with her, we'd be tempting a complete diplomatic lockout with sanctions included." She leaned back, planting her hands firmly on her armrests. "I don't care what rumors are floating around the Terminus, I will not make them a reality by dealing with some Piratical Failed State, or it's Bitch Queen of a ruler."
Aisha and Ivan both noted the condescending smile on Udina's face, so similar to that of the late-but-not-lamented Vice Admiral Paragonsky.
What are you hiding?
...
Councilor Tevos glanced at the reports in front of her. "The UTSG hasn't exchanged a single warship in two months now. Do we know why?"
Sparatus huffed and brought up a number of reports. "It would seem they have run out of ships to swap. The trickle of human colonists traveling back to UTSG space would indicate they are feeling more secure within their territory. There have also been additional contract authorization requests for the sale of Eezo, so apparently whatever they were working on has worked."
Bel brought up another report. "Additional entry Visas have been authorized, and we have been able to place more assets within their space. Through some means the general public is ill informed on, they have managed to contain the Covenant threat; though some back channel communiques caution that the UTSG feels this is a temporary solution. Their internal military buildup remains the same, with indications that new hull designs are being laid down."
Sparatus clicked and buzzed in annoyance. "If they remain on schedule with their original statements, we could start seeing their lighter warships being phased out for heavier, likely modernized Frigates and Destroyers within the next five years."
Tevos nodded. "If the humans are calming down from whatever upset them in the last five years, then we could see a trend towards more normalized relations and reduced border tensions. Perhaps then the Enlightened Primacy will finally stand down from their readiness status."
Bel shook his head. "Unlikely. The rhetoric coming out of Kahje paints the UTSG as, 'an affront to the glory and majesty of the Enkindlers'." He frowned at that. "It's strange that any efforts to assuage their fears of existential crisis are usually met with limited success, then degrade and regress. There have even been rumors of new 'Prophecies of the Enkindlers return', and the 'annunciation of the righteous'. It has stirred up Prothean cults throughout known space."
Sparatus gave a bitter laugh. "It feels like a dark day when humans changing their behavior is the least concerning piece of news." He brought up a new set of reports, showing a group of humans. "One of my agents at the human Terminus Freeport spotted this group meeting with a Quarian, before boarding the Migrant Fleet Ship Cyanid. It's last recorded Relay transfer had it heading straight for the Perseus Veil."
Both Bel and Tevos leaned forward in concern. "Do we know who they are?"
Sparatus growled and tapped a control. "According to everything I can find, they are all experts in xeno-medicine, agriculture, industrial infrastructure, planetary-engineering, xeno-psychology, and diplomacy. Considering the humans' love of AI, it is unlikely they would aid the Quarians in subjugating the Geth, so..."
The word hung in the air for a moment until Tevos sighed out, "So the Quarians may have made peace with them, and are in the process of returning to Rannoch. It would certainly explain this," she brought up a new series of reports. "Quarian employees and Pilgrims have been almost evacuating Citadel space, and meeting Flotilla transports near the Far Rim. It would seem the children of Tikun are returning home."
"Well, they've timed their homecoming perfectly," another report sprung from Sparatus' podium. "The Batarian Hegemony has been unusually silent for the last year. In a completely-unrelated-note-because-they-could-never-be-held-accountable-for-piracy-in-the-Terminus," Tevos and Bel both held their peace about the one subject that Sparatus had every right to be angry about, "piracy and slave-raids in and around the Terminus are at the lowest level in one hundred and thirty years. Mark my words," he glared at his fellow Councilors, "whatever fresh hell is brewing in the Terminus, the humans and the Batarians will be at the center of it."
...
Elanos Haliat poured over the 'rules of engagement' he had been given by Kahiral Balak. The document had been sanitized and translated into one of the Batarian dialects, but he knew his own people's work. A part of him wondered how the Batarians had gotten ahold of the Hierarchy Navy's plans for combating the UNSC, but only a small part. Whatever back-room deals had been struck were none of his concern. Whatever bitter '314 incident' survivor had sold out the Hierarchy, he was the one who would profit from it.
He'd been born in the Terminus, forged by it into a warlord and pirate king. He had aspirations greater than his current station; a throne of his own. That throne was currently occupied, and the Bitch Queen's ass wasn't budging. He'd need a substantial force to depose Aria, and right now there was no single pirate band large enough to do that.
Elanos planned to change that. With this raid, he would solidify his reputation, and the Terminus would bend to his will! The target was the largest and most populous human colony: Elysium. Nobody had ever attempted a raid on the humans before. Nobody dared, not after Lieutenant Victus' testimony. The humans were considered an unassailable fortress. If he could shatter that illusion, his name would echo through history! The Bitch Queen might even bend knee, though Elanus would be satisfied with her just bending over.
Before any of that however, he needed a plan. Even with these doctrines, unless the fleet went in with a proper plan, he'd lose too many ships to be considered a credible power in the future. The UNSC had almost one hundred and fifty light cruisers stationed among their seven colonies, with each colony having three squadrons of ships.
His own intelligence, bought at great expense from the Shadow Broker themselves, said that the squadrons always rotated through the colonies: one orbiting the primary colony world in a reduced readiness status, one patrolling the system, and one transiting to the next system in line. If he timed his attack right, he'd only have to face one paltry squadron of seven ships at partial manning, with the patrol none the wiser and hours away at the human's anemic sublight speed. His main assault could sweep the skies of the colony clear, while he could send the more bloodthirsty captains to run down and destroy or capture the patrol. With that done, he would have weeks to scour the colony for slaves and booty.
In two weeks time, Elanus Haliat would make history!
...
Jane and Kaiden moved around in their new Mjolnir Mk V and V/E powered armor. The passenger bay of the new Winter Class Prowler UNSC McKavity didn't offer the best space to test out the new equipment.
"If this is supposed to be a glad-handing 'Good-Will Tour', then why the hell are we in full kit?" Jane groused at the UNSC Public Relations officer in charge of their expedition into Citadel-Colonial space.
The small man smiled winningly, a gesture lost on the two Spartans. "Because as far as the public is concerned, your armor is the most identifiable part of being Spartans." he put up his hands placatingly. "You and I know that's not true, but to the Colonial layman, you are honestly more approachable in armor than out of it. At least when you're in full kit, they aren't reminded that you are so different from them."
Jane grunted noncommittally, then thumped her helmet. "Hey buddy, you awake?"
-I am now,- came the terse reply from Ogier.
"Tell me again why we're doing this so-called 'goodwill tour' in full battle-rattle?" Jane side-eyed the UNSC Public Relations officer.
-Because you're less scary and intimidating in your armor.-
Jane groused and looked at Kaiden, but he just shook his head. "I'm not pestering Bubo about this; she gets cranky when you interrupt her nap."
Jane sighed and threw her hands up. "Fine, fine. First thing close to a vacation I've ever taken, and I'm spending it in two hundred kilos of powered armor." She picked up her helmet and looked at the PR officer. "So what's the ROE on this Op?"
The Lieutenant tapped a contact under his left ear, and both Jane's and Kaiden's corneal implants lit up with an itinerary. "First will be the formal arrival at the Space Port, followed by a meet--greet with the National Planetary Cabinet and a State dinner." Both Jane and Kaiden perked at that. "The next few days after will be tours of the various military installations, inspection of the troops, one 'Mess-Dress Dining In' formal dinner with the National Guard Brass, and several less formal mess-hall 'meet-the-troops' events."
Both Jane and Kaiden nodded at the itinerary, though Jane frowned in thought. "What about the civilians?"
"There are a couple of hours earmarked for meeting-"
"A couple of hours," Jane barked out, startling the PRO. "We're going to be here for over three hundred hours, and less than one percent of that will be spent with the people we are supposed to be protecting?" She shook her head. "No, we're going to clean this up. There's a huge amount of redundancy in having us both at all of these events. Ogier," an icon lit up in everyone's vision, "aside from formal events, reschedule Kaiden and I to alternate participation in the reviews and meet--greets. Send a slip-packet to whoever is in charge on Elysium to start drawing up an itinerary of civilian events at the same time the military ones are going on." Her eyes snapped to the PRO. "You have a comment?"
He raised his hands placatingly. "Nope! Well, yes; the currently scheduled civilian events are supposed to be the both of you. I'd suggest you keep those as is."
Jane squinted, then nodded. "Alright. Og, once the locals get back to you with the itinerary, forward it to the Ell-Tee so we can get this formalized."
...
Commander Miranda Keyes sipped her tea as the crew ran function checks on the In Amber Clad. It was her turn to be the active ship in orbit while the rest of the squadron rotated through shore leave, and their ships were serviced. As pirate activity was at an all time low, the only supplies they had used were crew stores and fuel.
She tuned out the crew's idle chatter about whatever Dog--Pony show stunt the two visiting Spartans were putting on. She had grown up in a Navy family, and knew a publicity stunt when she saw one. She had been a little surprised at how much time was scheduled for civilian events.
"Maybe Media and Public Relations have finally caught on about-"
"Ma'am," she was drawn out of her ruminations by the Sensor Officer, "unscheduled Citadel FTL event three light seconds out."
She shifted forward in her seat. "Do we know who or what?"
"Negative ma'am; it rabbited almost as soon as it's light-cone reached us."
Miranda frowned. It could just be some Terminus rocket jockey 'buzzing the tower'. Then again...
"Cory," the holographic pedestal next to her seat lit up with the form of an upright turtle, "ping the local defense net and have them stand up the 'Ready-Five'. And warn the other ships; it might be nothing, but I'd rather err on the side of caution."
"Axios, ma'am," the AI bowed and flickered off.
Miranda shook her head and chuckled; Corbulo was one of the first birthed AI, and seemed a little scatterbrained at defining itself. Still, it was very good at it's job, so she had no complaints.
She was just leaning back in her seat, when half the alarms on the ship sounded and they lurched as the main drives kicked in, followed by the droning buzz of the M870/SR defense guns opening fire.
Corey popped up on his pedestal again as the Sensor officer turned to her. "Ma'am, multiple new contacts. Citadel FTL craft making a Lightning Strike!"
"Apologies ma'am," Corey gave a curt bow, "I had to execute a launch for survival!"
"Noted," she barked out while nodding to the AI before focusing on the rest of the bridge. "Status?!"
"Southern Belle was on the farside of the station from the strike; they're launching for survival now," the Sensor Officer yelled over the din of the bridge. "All other craft are reporting as 'Mission-Killed', and are preparing to scuttle! The station is a wreck and has jettisoned from the Space-Elevator to prevent a collapse. Elysium Aerospace Force is scrambling their Ready-5 Sabers, and standing up all reserve forces."
"All ship systems report as nominal. With your permission ma'am, I'm preparing slip-packets for the Agincourt and Hi-Com both." Corbulo had reverted to its default 'Blue-Ball' avatar, a sign of how distressed the young AI was.
Commander Keyes nodded. "Very good. Helm, line us up for a slingshot into the enemy's inbound vector, and ready our Archer Pods." She leaned forward and stared out the bridge at the world below. "Let's see if I can pull dad's maneuver off."
...
Haliat sneered at the two human ships: one burning hard for open space, the other tucking in close to the planet. "Keep track of those two, but get our troops on the ground. We have a world to plunder!" He keyed the inter-ship comms. "Hagarn, take your squadron and deal with the patrol."
The scarred Krogan cyborg gave a rictus sneer, before snarling and closing the link. His Squadron then rabbeted deeper into the system. They only had the loosest of ideas of where the remaining UTSG warships were, so it would take time.
Haliat grinned as he looked at the world below. "Let Hagarn spend himself chasing vengeance. This is the real prize." He could take his time, since there was no indication humans had anything remotely close to Comm-Buoys or Q-Comms.
He settled back to watch his plan take shape. The Frigates dipped into the atmosphere to protect the ponderous landers from the humans' devilish, but unshielded fighters. Meanwhile, his three cruisers remained in orbit on the off chance there was another warship lurking nearby.
He saw several flights of fighters rising up to meet his attack. His Frigates contemptuously lashed out with GUARDIAN Lasers and...
He lurched forward in his seat as only two fighters were struck down. It was impossible, preposterous even, and yet the human craft were not only shielded, but shielded against laser fire! The Frigates all began firing wildly as the human craft launched their infamous missile waves. Still, most of his landers made it through as the humans were focused on the Frigates.
"Captain-"
"Admiral!" Haliat snarled at the sensor technician.
"Admiral, additional fighter launches from various planetside bases!"
The pirate bit back a curse. "Sound the ship, lay our guns on those bases and fire!"
The nose of his ship, as well as those of the two cruisers with him all dipped towards the planet and began raining nuclear-speed mass cannon fire on the planet below. They got three shots off before the lone human ship from their initial attack swooped over the horizon. A single shot from her massive cannon shattered one of his cruisers, while alarms blared across his bridge to inform him that missile waves were approaching from both poles.
"Titans damned mongrels!" Haliat slammed his fist down onto the Inter-ship comm again. "All ships, pull back to high orbit!" He was very thankful for the nearly one year of drills for this raid, as his flotilla broke off and moved to more maneuverable space. One of his Frigates was savaged by a fighter swarm, while another was pierced by a half dozen nuclear spears. The remaining seven ships safely made it to the high guard, but this left the landers to the tender mercies of the fighters.
He glanced at one of the consoles and saw that, for now, half the transports had survived and made it to ground. He couldn't dwell on what the strike teams might be facing, any more than he could conjure back Hagarn's squadron. He simply had to deal with the current threat, so he could focus on recouping something from these miserable people.
...
Commander Harjeet Kaur Crisium pursed her lips as she re-read Commander Keyes' abrupt message: ships using Citadel technology were performing lightning strikes against the orbitals.
"Yang," her Executive Officer looked up from his tea while tipping his beret back, "send to the rest of the squadron that a group using Citadel ships has attacked Elysium, and we're returning to port at flank speed." She then nodded to her Helmsman, who laid in the new course.
"Oh?" The young Han officer perked up as he activated the terminal. "Do we know anything about the attack?"
"Yes, it was a Lightning Strike by twenty four ships: four Frigate weight, and twenty Corvette weight, as we'd evaluate them."
"Hm," Yang nodded as he typed out the message, "I'll tell the Squadron to tighten up the formation. If this group brought friends, we don't want any ships to be isolated."
Commander Crisium thought for a second, then nodded in approval. The young Naval Officer, while originally from a commercial spacer family, was a surprisingly sharp tactician. If he could muster enough discipline to tuck in his shirt every once in a while, he might even make it to Flag officer rank one day.
They were three hours into the return leg when they finally made contact with the enemy.
"Ma'am, phantom contact Port-side Aft, plus thirty degrees," Yang looked over to her. "Profile matches Citadel FTL emergence event."
She nodded once. "Have all ships launch a flight of Archers into the scout's vector, then switch all Super-Rapids to saturation fire and prepare for high-G maneuvers."
The deck shivered as the ship launched a wave of 150 Kiloton shaped charge equipped missiles. There was a breathless eternity as everyone waited for the attack.
"Contact!"
The bottom fell out of the world as the ship lurched to present an oblique angle against the punishing incoming fire. Harjeet could only watch as that moment of the battle played out over thousands of kilometers, and whole number percentages of light speed. Every ship in her squadron was raked with hyper-relativistic fire. Thanks to their plan, devised mostly by Yang, most ships only suffered superficial damage. The oldest ship in the squadron, an aging Charon UNSC Midsommer Dream, had a shot penetrate her portside engine block, and was now lagging behind the squadron.
Still, they gave more than they took, as three of the attacking ships were speared by Nuclear lances. A fourth Corvette weight ship had broken off and was burning for deep space, while a lone Frigate weight ship rushed in on the flagging Charon. The antique Frigate rolled so her damaged portside was towards the enemy. As the ugly Citadel ship pulled alongside, the two vessels traded punishing fire.
Commander Crisium was about to order the Antietam to come about, when the Midsommer fired her MAC and remaining breaking thrusters, leaving a swarm of Archer Missiles in her stead. The enemy gunners were fixated on the UNSC Frigate, allowing the entire flight to detonate at point-blank range.
Once the nuclear glare faded, all that was left was the Midsommer turning back onto course.
"With respect mum, we'll take a more leisurely course back while we clean up."
Harjeet sighed in relief. "No worries, Midsommer, we'll try to leave something for you to do when you catch up." She then turned her full attention back on the goal of relieving Elysium. They still had more than a day before they were in range to do more than appear menacing, and they'd need a real plan.
...
Kaiden heaved breaths through the screaming headache; he'd never taxed his Bio-Amp as heavily as the last ten hours of continuous fighting. The enemy; he believed they were called Buttarians, were relentless and very, very numerous.
He had managed to corral all the civilians who had been attending his visit to a local highschool, which seemed to be nearly everyone, into the school's bomb shelter. While uncomfortably cramped, it meant he didn't need to worry quite so much about friendly fire. With him were the remaining colonial combatants; most were the local police, but there were a few particularly stubborn retirees, including a grizzled former ODST.
"Nother lovely bit of Raspberry Jam. Reminds me of Shanxi."
Kaiden spared a sideways glance at the scarred man. "You were on Shanxi?"
"Goddamn right I was! Feet-first into hell with the first wave. Got stuck in with a Turian mechanized platoon in the first ten minutes. If it hadn't been for your Green Team, I don't think we'd be having this convo right now."
Kaiden wanted to talk to the veteran, but at that moment he felt something. He gestured and everyone moved into cover. The Biotic Spartan slunk forward, his Doru humming ominously. He intentionally looked away from one of the somethings, and was rewarded when a sallow-skinned alien in black and yellow armor stood up to try and shoot him. With his armor's amplifiers, all he needed was a flick of the wrist to yank the Buttarian out of the rubble and onto the superheated Omni-Spear.
The rest of the aliens began yelling and stood out of cover, only to come under fire by the Colonials. The only standout was a massive shelled creature. It's shape reminded him of a Covenant Grunt, but the sheer size and aggression was more akin to a Brute. He thought they were called Kroaken. Kaiden's partner Bubo had yet to update his translation software, but the creature's meaning transcended language as it laughed and unlimbered a squat rectangular hammer.
It's mass belied it's speed as it flashed forward, hammer raised to crush Kaiden. His own reactions were slowed both by exhaustion and the deadweight on the end of his spear. He was only saved by Bubo triggering the armor's reinforced Panoply Barrier system. The hammer let out a blast of distorted gravity that launched Kaiden and the Kroaken away from each other, though they both retained their grip on their weapons.
The Kroaken charged again, though Kaiden was ready this time. He launched the Buttarian corpse at the alien and fired his spear. The alien swatted it's former compatriot aside, while it tanked the hypervelocity shot and wound up for another smash. Kaiden deflected the hammer blow with the butt of his spear and spun it around to try and decapitate the creature, only for it to duck under the slash.
Again and again they clashed, hammer and spear glancing off of one another as they tried to gain some advantage.
-I think I have it's rhythm now,- Bubo piped up as Kaiden saw several minor adjustments being made to his Mjolnir's various systems. -Deflect left next time and you should-
Her advice was preempted as the Kroaken dashed in and headbutted Kaiden. Bubo was occupied with the suit's biomonitors as the headache he had been suffering blossomed into a full blown migraine.
Kaiden E-002 was done. This was supposed to have been a simple PR stunt, and now he was fighting for his life on the ass-end of civilized space against Gammera. The Spartan reared his head back, summoned all his considerable Biotic and cybernetic might, and returned the headbutt.
A crack split the middle of the creature's bonny forehead as it slumped almost to its knees. It was arrested by Kaiden's knee rising to meet it's jaw with a tooth-shattering CRACK. The alien was lifted off the ground by the force of the blow, only for the now enraged Spartan to stamp kick it into and through the facade of a former storefront.
-Or you could do that,- Bubo said soothingly as she flooded Kaiden's body with pain blockers. The Spartan shivered as the white tunnel receded, though he did scowl as he saw his foe stagger out of the ruined building.
He raised his left hand and clenched his fist, as a point of black formed above the Kroaken's head. "Stay the fuck down!" He swung his fist down as the creature looked up, pulling the roof of the building down on its head.
As the dust settled, Kaiden noticed the silence. He glanced around and saw several Buttarians slowly placing their weapons on the ground as they stared back at him. The colonists were themselves coming out of cover and taking the aliens into custody while side-eyeing Kaiden. The only exception was the Vet.
"Goddamn! That was a hell of a show!" The crag faced ODST jogged up and clapped Kaiden on the back. He looked at the rubble of the storefront and spat. "Ch, seems aliens come in all shapes and sizes, as long as they're ugly."
They both looked up as a flight of Sabers shrieked overhead before pointing upward and rocketing into the sky.
"Munters must be trying to bombard us again."
Kaiden could only grunt as he looked around. "Well, this isn't remotely a priority target, and I think this is the last of the group from that crashed transport." He collapsed his spear and attached it to his magnetic sling. "Let's everyone get six hours of rack time, then we'll recon the crash. If it crawls, we have the flyboys bomb it scrap. Otherwise, we sound the 'all-clear' and leave it for the eggheads."
As they headed back to the relative security of the High-School, Kaiden wondered how Jane was doing with the Armored Battalion review.
...
Big Chungus certainly lives up to it's name, Jane mused. The locally designed M-888 Mustang heavy tank was a third larger than the venerable Scorpion MBT in every aspect except gun size. Mustangs made up for that in rate of fire and range. The autoloader could feed the 155 mm hypergolic boosted coilgun at an impressive rate of one shot every second out to 100 kilometers from her internal magazine of 105 warheads.
As long as it wasn't moving or had her barriers up. One or the other was fine, but not both. When the alien slavers had started landing, and the Elysium First Armored Brigade had rolled up on one of the transport ships, this 'minor issue' had resulted in thirty percent casualties in the first hour. As an armored artillery platform, it worked well enough, but in a maneuver warfare environment against a heavily armed foe, the Mustang was just a dead horse.
Jane had been more impressed by the Manticore gunships, one of the many Insurrectionist kit-bash weapons systems that had been given new life in the current age. The combination of the improved, shielded Pelican transport, and the business end of an underslung Scorpion Tank made for a devastating aerial fire support platform.
Still, they had finally managed to batter the lone transport's shields into submission and secure the 'payload' of one hundred and fifty three colonists.
Now, Jane was riding with a mechanized column of eight Mustangs and 16 Warthogs: an even mix of up-armored Gauss-Hogs and Troop-Hogs. It was telling that the active shields and higher mobility of the Warthogs made them better suited for frontal assaults, than the supposedly purpose-built Assault gun carrier. Their objective now was the last remaining landing site, where two transports were nested together in a valley.
The column was waved down by a lone guard on a dirt road. The woman in UNSC Marine armor walked up to Big Chungus once it ground to a stop. "Halt! ID!"
Big Chungus' AI commander turned the main turret and 'looked' at the Marine Lance Corporal ( ). "We're the Chip'n'Dales. Someone wanted to throw a shindig."
Jane thumped the hull and hopped down to the Marine's level. "Petty Officer Jane B-183. This is the 3/1 Armored. We were sent to help with the assault." She took in the Marine's various identifiers, and frowned behind her helmet. "You were assigned to The King in Yellow. Sorry for your loss, but what's a Force Recon Marine doing on perimeter patrol?"
The Marine fought back a scowl as she gave her name tag a meaningful thump.
-Williams, A.-
Jane snorted and gave Chungus another thump. "Have Double D and his Hogs park here until Cee Pee sends a new guard detail." She then looked at . Williams. "Hop on Marine, we've got shit to do."
There was a moment of hesitation before she slung her rifle and climbed onto the tank. The rearmost tank and the two Warthogs with it peeled off, and the column rolled on. When they arrived, they found nearly a platoon of Colonial Militia Military Police milling around. Jane hopped down as Chungus ground to a stop again.
"Who's Top Kick out here?"
A clearly out of his depth young Lieutenant rushed over. He was about to salute when Jane grabbed his hand. "You're the officer: I salute you, but never in the field. The enemy doesn't need any help figuring out who's in command. Got it?"
"Yes Ma'am, I mean Petty Officer! It won't happen ag-"
The Lieutenant was silenced as Jane placed a finger against his lips, hard. She took a moment to calm her nerves and not see Leroy's severed torso floating in front of her.
"I left a tank, two Warthogs, and a squad of Mechanized Infantry on your perimeter until you send them a relief. I suggest you do so, now."
"But," he looked uncertainly around, "we already had somebody out there."
"You mean the UNSC Marine Force Recon Assaulter you left playing 'Not-a-Tank' in the woods, while a platoon of MP's is milling around with their thumbs up their asses?" Jane's tone was even, but everyone saw the tension in her posture. She waited a two count as the officer sputtered. "Now, Lieutenant!" Her voice boomed over the encampment, and the MP's jumped into their various vehicles, driving off the way Jane and her column had come.
"You do realize, the Brigade Commander isn't going to like you bossing his troops around," Ogier's icon looked at Jane knowingly from the corner of her eye. as she climbed up again.
"You mean like them playing politics with a UNSCMC Assaulter, because her grandfather commanded the Shanxi Garrison?"
"Exactly," Chungus barked out. "Only command officers are allowed to screw with someone's career. Don't you know anything?"
Jane unlimbered her trusty Brute Axe and thumbed the haft on the glacis plate. "They're welcome to try and educate me on how shit is done out here."
The Command Center itself was just an open sided tent with a computer, a holographic table and a radio station with a very grumpy looking General. He looked up and snorted as Jane marched up, flanked by Chungus' wheeled mobile projector. He spared Williams a disdainful glance before refocusing on the Spartan and the Armored Commander.
"You ready to sell you lives for the glory of the Colonies?" He tapped the hologram and enhanced the image of two alien transports nestled in a valley. "Whoever landed these things, knew how to use the terrain to their advantage. Neither one is space worthy yet; the flyboys saw to that, but both still have their artillery and shields, so we can't get close enough to keep them that way." The projection showed three two colored circles. "All their kinetics are below this armored shelf, so we don't have to worry about indirect fire, but there's enough to sweep the valley out to ten kilometers. Their Laser CWIS envelope is all top mounted, with full 360 coverage out to thirty klicks.
"Long story short, their shields can tank out artillery, and my air-assault battalion can't get close enough to deal with the guns. We know they're making repairs, and with our aerospace assets tied up keeping their Frigates out of bombardment range, we can't stop them from taking off with a thousand of our friends and family." He looked Jane dead in the eyes. "That's where you and the 3/1 come in. You rolled one of these earlier, so you have the most knowledge on how to get stuck in. I have a squadron of Manticores and a full Battalion of air-assault troops on Ready Five once you solve one of those three problems," each of the circles flashed indicating shields, guns and lasers.
Jane nodded and put a hand over the AI access port, linking Ogier to the Command Center. "Do we have anything on specific layouts? The one we hit on Devil's Ridge was pretty wasted before we got there."
"No," the General motioned to an aide, who brought up one of the ubiquitous Citadel 'Omni-Tools', "but we do have some battlefield salvage we pulled off one of their officers."
Ogier projected onto the table, as well as a riot of alien code. "It looks like this was a lower ranking officer, but they had access to door codes and," Ogier hesitated, "slave collar commands. This should allow us access to the ships themselves, as well as their means to control their victims." The projector returned to normal as Ogier retreated inside Jane's armor. "Once physically inside, I should have no difficulty hacking in and shutting their systems down."
The General eyed the Spartan, then nodded. "Get it done, and get our people back."
Jane nodded and spun on her heel back to the armored column. "Gus, you have a plan for getting close enough?"
The portly holographic rabbit huffed as it rolled along. "Yeah, the ravine to the south. It empties into the valley only one klick from the lead boat. Me and the Bots can leap-frog up in pairs. We think we have the timing right to stop-shoot-and-scoot without having to drop our shields. The Hog Riders can serpentine up to the objective, get under those guns and take them out. You and the Jar-ine should hitch one of the Gauss Hogs; Golf-Two and Golf-Seven are both down gunners."
Jane nodded, even as she chewed her lip; this was going to be a meat-grinder no matter how they came at it. "Understood. Williams," Jane boomed out, "hop on Golf-Seven's gun."
The Marine nodded as she hopped down from the tank and jogged over to one of the Gauss Hogs, while Jane strode up to the other. She paused as Big Chungus updated the Battlenet with their plan. There were no words spared, as everyone prepared for a hell of a fight.
...
Jane flexed her hands and measured out her breath as the last Warthog rolled into position behind it's Mustang. There were no words, only hand signals and tense looks. Everyone was balanced on a knife edge, waiting for...
-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-
Every tank fired simultaneously as they began rolling forward, their guns at near maximum elevation to clear the hill to their left.
-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-
Another salvo was sent out as they rounded the hill, all 16 shells landing at the same time. They spread a blinding cloud of White Phosphorous and metallic Chaff across the flank of the alien ship, as every vehicle in the Column gunned their engines. Almost at the same time, the enemy began firing blindly through the cloud. As Warthogs raced across the open ground, dodging and weaving potential fire, the Mustangs were stopping in pairs to fire staggered WP/Chaff rounds.
The tactic was working for the first hundred meters, until the enemy guns reset to their lowest depression and walked fire out towards the oncoming wave of vehicles. Most of the Warthogs made it past the killing field, but the Armor stood no chance; every one of the mighty machines and their valiant crews were shattered and cast aside like Autumn leaves.
Without the tanks support, the obscuring cloud soon dissipated and left the lighter vehicles to the gunners' mercies. Thankfully, they only had a few hundred meters to sprint to the relative safety of the gunnery overhang. Seven Warthogs slid to a stop underneath the enemy guns.
"Light'em up!" Jane bellowed as she swung her M-68 Gauss Cannon up and fired on the nearest gun. Being inside the offending shield envelope, the hypervelocity slug perforated the unprotected gunhouse. The other three Gauss-Hogs followed suit, as every other Colonial Militiaman dismounted and stacked beside the nearby hatch.
Jane and the other gunners finally stopped when one of the overhanging guns broke loose and fell to the ground. Jane contemplated the cannon, before shaking her head and grabbing her MA5D rifle and slinging her hammer: the corridors of the last ship had proved too narrow to properly use the Gravity Hammer, but there were always, always circumstances where she could find an excuse. Checking her magazine status and flicking her Energy Bayonet on and off again, she hopped down and stacked against the hatch, with Williams tucking in behind her.
"Elysium Command, Spartan B183. Ground approach clear, preparing to breach." She set her palm against the hatch controls, and Ogier quickly opened the door. Jane and Williams were the first through, and immediately drew fire from the darkened corridor, their individual Panoply systems deflecting the first few shots as everyone else switched their energy pavises on and hunkered down. Both Jane's and Williams' enhanced optics, plus Ogier's tactical updates flagged the pirates in orange halos. Their rifles spoke as one, and two aliens dropped headless. The third tried to run, but a volley of Militia fire reduced it to confetti.
"Ogier, status."
Jane saw a flash of code in her HUD. No joy, they've sequestered the systems. I'll need physical access before I can assume direct control. Her HUD lit up with a series of waypoints. I've marked what I believe are a secondary command deck, as well as the... cargo hold.
She turned slightly to face the Colonials. "We've ID'd several objectives that I'm sending to your systems. First squad, you'll proceed to the hold and evacuate the hostages. Second Squad will secure the opposite boarding hatch. Third will maintain overwatch here and corral the hostages, until the General sends in someone to evac them. Once the hold is clear, Second and third will advance on the second transport, Rinse and Repeat."
She looked over to the UNSC Marine. "Williams and I will secure the Aux Bridge, commandeer the guns, and disable the second transport. Any questions?"
"HOOAH!" The corridor rattled with the cry.
Jane nodded, then turned back down the corridor. "Move out!"
She and Williams stalked the corridors of the alien transport for five minutes before encountering anyone else.
-VOOOM-BAM-
That someone turned out to be one of the blue-skinned bitch-queens of Citadel space, in one of their ridiculous Combat-Cat-Suits. Jane was unceremoniously thrown against a wall by a wave of purple, while Williams ducked for cover from the Asari's hail of pistol fire.
-Jane, you alright?!- Ogier was almost frantic in Jane's head.
-Not even winded,- she thought back to her AI partner. -Kaiden hits harder than that in sparring.-
-Well, let's not give Ms. Herself the chance to figure it out.- A battle plan was laid out in Jane's mind. -I'm forwarding this to the Sergeant; once she confirms, execute.-
The Marine ducked around the corner and fired a quick burst into the blue assailant, ignoring the projectiles sparking against her Aegis barrier. As the Asari turned her attention to the immediate threat, Jane lurched forward with her hand stretched out. The Spartan could see panic creep into the alien's eyes as she was physically pushed back by Jane's mass against the biotic force. With the Asari's attention refocused on Jane, Williams came fully out of cover and began advancing and firing. A single bullet found its way through the alien's shields and into her side before she redirected her biotic power to deflect the barrage. As soon as the biotic resistance lapsed, Jane finished crossing the corridor and grabbed the alien by the back of the neck.
-Contact; initiating handshake.- There was a hard edge to Ogier's voice as he connected to the Asari's Bio-Amp. The alien's spine arched, and he eyes and jaw went wide in a silent scream of pain, just before Jane swung her completely around and slammed her face into the bulkhead.
Williams advanced cautiously, eyeing the Spartan as she bent down and tore a section of the asari's cat-suit free. She used the scrap to wipe a smear of purple from her visor as she stood to face the Marine.
"Objective is at the end of the corridor. You ready, Marine?"
Williams gulped, then nodded as she took point, gingerly stepping around the still spasming corpse. There were no other obstacles before the Aux Command, and the two four-eyed aliens manning the room fell to a hail of rifle fire.
Jane stalked over to one of the central holographic controls. "Williams, post watch while we hijack this thing. Ogier, you're up." She placed her hand over the interface, and watched as every terminal came alive.
"Alright, I'm in. bypassing and locking out the Primary Bridge. The Militia squad has made contact in the hold. I'm disabling the control collars. Done, now for weapons. This system is so... alien; gimme a moment." There were several thumps and whirs that echoed through the ship. "Jane, I'm going to seal us in. I need the Sergeant to operate the guns, since I need you in contact here."
Williams stepped back from the hatch as a space-tight door slammed closed, sealing them in. "Which terminal is-" Ogier caused one of the orange holographic control stations to flash blue. "Got it." She settled into the station as the various controls began translating into English. She swiveled all of the ship's weapons around and fired on the second ship. The lasers scythed through the other ship's defenses, though the secondary guns simply bounced off of the enemy shields.
"I can't depress the laser emitters enough to go for her engines or secondary guns, and the pop-guns are doing piss-all to her barriers! The Colonials won't be able to get to the other ship without getting pulped!"
Jane glanced over to the Marine. "Can we disable the shields?"
"They are partitioned into quadrants: port dorsal and ventral, and starboard dorsal and ventral. Their system is just as hardened against remote intrusion, so I can't take control from here."
The Spartan thought for a moment. "Hylite the Port-Dorsal emitters for Williams. Once she's taken them out, call the General and give him the safe approach for his Manticores and Pelicans."
Once Williams slashed through the indicated shield nodes, Ogier put out the call. Within minutes, a squadron of gunships and transports were swarming around the alien ship's port side. The Spartan, Marine and AI watched as troops entered through breaches in the hull, courtesy of the Manticores' 155 mm guns. In less than an hour, both ships were secure, and the colonists and captured aliens were being escorted to waiting transports.
"You did good back there," Jane commented absently as she and Williams watched the transports rotate in and out. "We could use soldiers like you."
The Marine looked at the Spartan oddly. "I'm already enlisted, what more could I do?"
Jane smirked as she took off her helmet. "What more indeed. Tell me, have you heard about the Spartan IV program?"
...
Haliat bit back a shriek of rage as he watched the assault on his last intact transport. However lopsided the initial attack had been in his favor, the ground battle had been almost casually handled by the humans.
His eyes began darting as he clicked his mandibles nervously. How had they been so prepared? Did they know we were coming? Did someone sell me out?!
His panic was interrupted as one of the bridge crew turned to him. "Sir, long range scans have picked up six ships on approach," there was some hesitancy in her voice as she continued, "all UNSC."
Haliat snarled and turned to his communications officer. "Get me Hagarn on Comms!"
There was a moment of frantic calls and typing before the Salarian turned back to him. "My apologies Admiral, but Hagarn isn't responding."
"Sir," Haliat spun back towards the sensor tech with a snarl. The slight Turian flinched as she pointed at her monitor. "Two of our frigates just broke off; they're heading for-" She was interrupted as the ships became visible from the bridge view ports. The two small ships hung in space for a moment, before dopplering into the distance.
"Another missile and fighter wave approaching, sir!"
"Break off the attack." Haliat slumped into his command chair. "Set course for the Voyager Cluster, best possible speed." He could only stare in stupefied shame; the second Turian commander to be so completely bested by the humans.
...
Aria was laughing as she made her way into Purgatory; that pretentious Turian shit-bird Elanus Haliat had been amassing forces for a major operation for more than a year, including a few ships which regularly ported at Omega. According to the Captain of one of those ships, that operation had just ended in complete failure. She'd been slightly concerned at Haliat's ambitions over the last few years, but this embarrassment would kill any chance that he could muster even a personal threat against her.
She strutted into her personal haven, fully intent on celebrating her almost rival's fall from grace, only to find Purgatory empty except for two of her lieutenant Bray's lackeys, Garka and Moklan. The shorter of the two Batarians, Garka, hustled over to her while Moklan stood guard at the door to her private meeting room.
"Ma'am, he's waiting for you as you requested," Garka husked out as his upper eyes darted around the room.
To show ignorance about the goings on of Omega would be to show weakness, and Aria was anything but weak. Years of Omega politics had tempered the urge to demand an answer as to who 'he' was, though she had her suspicions; her human guests had become almost as much of a nuisance as Haliat had been.
She firmed up her expression and marched towards her meeting room. "Good. You and Moklan will join us. This conversation is going to be short, and probably very messy, so have the cleaning team on standby."
Moklan gave a wicked grin and nodded when he fell in beside Aria, as she dramatically threw the doors open.
There on the far side of the room sat the chief nuisance, TIM, smugly smoking one of his detestable nicotine sticks. "Ah, good; like you, I'm quite busy and don't have time to spare waiting for my pawns to mosey into place."
Garka and Moklan growled and drew their weapons while Aria sneered. "You're funny, thinking you can come in here and push my people around; push me around like some plaything. It's almost like you're trying to fuck with me." She raised a hand, and the two Batarians leveled their weapons on the obstreperous human. "You know Omega's one rule, and you just broke it."
TIM smiled his infuriating smile as he took a languid drag. "You may be queen around here, but a queen is just as expendable as a pawn and easily replaced, should the need arise. Eve?"
Aria was about to order her men to erase the obnoxious human when a flood of information hit her bio-amp. Just one moment, a stern feminine voice sounded in Aria's head just before she was driven to her knees by a migraine. Feel free to resist; this will hurt either way.
Aria saw a shimmering in front of her while Garka and Moklan called out in alarm. Aria tried muster a biotic attack against TIM, only for the migraine to morph into a searing full-body jolt that arched her head and spine in a silent scream. She saw her two bodyguards turn their weapons on TIM, only for the ripple to move. Batarian ichor sprayed everywhere as the two guards toppled headless to the floor. A massive human form in a stealth grid materialized in front of Aria, wiping a sword clean.
"That's better," TIM snuffed his cigarette on the chair's armrest. "Leng, why don't you help her majesty into a chair so we can get down to business."
Aria was unceremoniously hoisted off the ground by the unnaturally strong human, and tossed her onto one of the couches. She attempted to muster another biotic attack, only for the pain to come back.
Now now, dearie; none of that, the feminine voice chided.
Once the stars had faded from her vision, and the pain was down to a dull background roar, Aria focused her attention on TIM. "So, you got me. What now? You gonna 'have your way' with me before you try to take Omega? You're going to need more than just one stealth assassin, cause my people aren't going to take this lying down."
TIM coughed out a laugh as he shook his head. "Don't be crass; I'd never debase myself by bedding some alien animal such as yourself. As for taking over the station, your people will do that for me; once my people bring the captain of the Solang to justice for trying to murder you."
Aria tried to lurch out of her seat, only to be held down by Leng. "What?! Jasar would never-"
"Of course he would," TIM leaned back while steepling his fingers. "After all, he and Karr broke ranks to fight alongside Elanus Haliat. When he gets up here in five minutes, at your request sent two minutes ago, he will kill your two guards and try to kill you. It will only be the valiant efforts of Spartan Leng here that will prevent your untimely demise."
TIM leaned forward and speared Aria with his unnatural electric-blue eyes. "The question will be whether you regale your people with your harrowing tale, or I do while whisking you away to our medical facilities."
He leaned back again. "Our medical technologies have made some impressive strides in recent years, including in the areas of cloning. Why, we can even clone a fully functioning biotic now, and you are already passingly familiar with our Cognitive Impression Modeling. Three months from today, Aria will return to her throne right as rain; or more precisely, Eve will do so in an Aria clone body after learning your mannerisms." His grin subtly transformed into something monstrous. "You on the other hand, will spend out your digital life watching Leng torture 'Mommy's Little Monster' Lissell, while I play back your memories at my liesure for intelligence."
Aria struggled feebly, even as Leng held her in place while Eve wracked her body in pain. "Leave her out of this! Whatever your vendetta is, it's with me!"
"'Whatever my vendetta is'?" TIM arched an eyebrow. "My vendetta is you sending ships under your command to attack a human colony. Don't bother making excuses," he waved a dismissive hand as Aria started to argue. "Those two ships were yours to command, and they were not punished for breaking ranks. So here's what will happen: Captains Jasar and Karr will die. Either you swear fealty to me right now and carry out that execution, or we go with the expensive option that includes your daughter's tortuous death."
Ten minutes later, two new corpses were heaped into the corner of Aria's meeting room. She glared hatefully at the human that had made her murder her loyal captains.
"There! You have your blood sacrifice, are you satisfied?!"
"No, but it's a start." TIM lit another cigarette. "Now, you're going to help me figure out where Haliat got his intel for the attack, where he recruited, staged and trained his forces, and you will help me burn them to dust. Then, I will be satisfied."