Opening Notes: Nomad-117: Heya, everyone. My apologies for taking so long. Things have been busy, very busy, and hectic. Eventually though I could help out a bit to kickstart Vergil's own writing fever and well… the chapter was done quickly after that happened.
Vergil1989: Aye, what my more mild mannered friend's already said, we're sorry for the delay everyone, been kinda having trouble in my RL as well thanks to my mom's soon to be ex-husband being an asshole. Long story, but it's been a lot of stupid drama that won't end well for him at all. At any rate, hope you all enjoy folks as we return to form.
Chapter 5
Counterstrike
In Shanxi's vicinity
Behind the alien fleet
Admiral Drescher POV…
The bridge was alive with the bustling movements of its crew, orders were delivered, if not calmly, than at least precisely despite what they were facing. Her eyes were fixed on the holographic displays analyzing the position and trajectory of her own fleet as well as the composition, tonnage, position and movements of the enemy fleet.
To her side stood Captain Alberich of the Oslo, or more precisely a hologram of his as he briefed her on the enemy. Tactics he had observed, shield strength, firepower, maneuverability. Everything he had been able to gleam from harassing this foe for days on end. His ship was damaged, short range communications only, shields fully functional, point defense system largely out of commission, but the main gun was still fully functional, and he insisted on coming.
He had made a promise, and he'd done his best to keep it.
Foolish in some sense perhaps, but she wouldn't say no to another ship, and certainly not one as experienced as this one. According to what he told her, these aliens were highly disciplined, responded fast to anything he had been able to throw at them, and clearly had ample experience with this type of combat. Furthermore, their strength of their shields exceeded their own by about thirty percent for ships of the estimated equivalent roles, their weapons were more potent, though the difference was less severe there while their engines were about the same.
All in all the aliens held some advantages over them, she however outnumbered them by far. She had brought a fleet capable of conquering an entire star system down upon a fleet that had tried to pacify a single world and had been bled in the process.
"If possible disable one of their ships, preferably their dreadnought." She ordered calmly as the deck beneath shuddered lightly as another shell was hurled towards their target. "However, if there's a risk of losing a ship in the process… kill them, we'll study the wreckage later." They needed every advantage they could get, but she'd be satisfied with puzzling it back together if need be. Too many lives had been lost as it was, needlessly risking more just to claim an intact dreadnought was foolishness in its own right. "Cruisers, synch fire with the Kabru, focus fire on the enemy dreadnought, knock it out of the fight quickly before focusing fire on its escorts."
Under other circumstances she would've opted to obliterate the smaller ships first so that she could order her fleet to swarm the large vessel with impunity. However the enemy fleet was in such bad shape, and the numbers of her own fleet so much greater, that she felt certain in her choice to knock out the enemy flagship first. Whatever had happened out here, the enemy fleet had suffered heavy losses, and that meant she'd have an easier time in handling this situation.
In turn the enemy dreadnought poured all its energies into destroying the Kabru before it was destroyed itself. A valiant, if doomed, attempt. She couldn't see it with her own eyes sadly, at this distance the enemy fleet were specks of light at best, but the holographic projections showed clearly the damage they were doing. She saw cruiser equivalents shatter beneath the volume of fire from multiple frigates, the wreckage getting reduced to mere splinters by the barrage.
Corvettes all but ceased to exist in their entirety, fighter wings were torn apart by the superior numbers of her own fighter screens as these smaller vessels met one another in the shadow of the larger ships. She saw all of this, as did the rest of the crew on deck. There were no cheers at the sight, but a sense of grimm satisfaction lingered in the air as they continued to close in. The Kabru shook as her shields weathered another attack, and she responded in kind. The holographic display of the enemy flagship shuddered, parts of its extended wing getting shredded apart.
"Enemy flagship is vulnerable, their barriers are overloaded." An officer reported, a note of eager anticipation in his voice.
"It's an utter shame," her lieutenant began, drawing Drescher's attention to the young woman at her side, "our first contact with alien life, and this is the result."
Drescher had to agree even if she had something to say about Shepard's comment, "We didn't ask for this fight, but we're certainly going to finish it. Even if we were able to communicate with these aliens, which we currently can't, they attacked our people first."
"I understand ma'am, I only wish our first contact wouldn't have ended like this, that's all." Shepard clarified, earning a quiet sigh and a grave nod from the Admiral.
"On that we can agree, Lieutenant." Kastanie Drescher said simply as she watched the rest of the ships adjust fire, no longer trying to go for the kill. Did it even matter? Or would these aliens destroy their ship before allowing it to be captured? Who knew? She had to try nonetheless. "Kill its engines first." She added as the gunnery officer made the necessary adjustments, fired and mere moments later the enemy engines were gone, leaving it almost completely immovable, its main gun no longer able to aim properly with the ship's ability to move all but entirely gone.
"Enemy point defenses largely out of commission." Another man reported softly. "Fighter wings request permission to try and destroy the reactor."
"Granted." She replied without any hesitation, turning to another man who had thus far remained silent, observing the proceedings without interfering in them. "Anderson, get your people ready."
"Yes ma'am. We won't let you down." Despite being one of the youngest marines aboard her ship, Drescher had seen David Anderson's service record. The boy, barely into his twenties, was already a distinguished name among recent military graduates. He was also the first N7 graduate, making him one of their best special forces operatives to ever come out of the academy. If anyone could bring that dreadnought down safely and largely intact, it'd be him and his teams.
"Anderson." She called out before he managed to turn around fully.
"Ma'am?"
"I want the lot of you back alive, that's an order." She told him simply, pinning him in place for a long moment before she turned back to her tactical readouts. Already moving her fleet in such a fashion that even if the aliens were to self-destruct, her ships wouldn't be damaged, to allow them to detect and intercept possible reinforcements while simultaneously moving a multitude of ships closer to the planet to provide support to its beleaguered citizens. This battle might've been over, but that just meant that the next was about to start.
She just hoped this wouldn't become an interstellar war before this was all said and done.
On their way to the dreadnought
Special Forces Shuttle Callsign "Tydirium"
Lieutenant David Anderson POV…
"Wonder what they look like." Jill Dah muttered as she checked over her various guns. He was satisfied when the checkup showed them all to be in peak condition, and gave a quiet nod in response.
The towering woman was one of the few who didn't seem tense enough to break if you poked her. The rest of the people on board were silent, dead silent, no sound was coming from any of them except heavy breathing. Anderson couldn't really blame them, they all had grown up wondering what and who else was out there, now they had gotten their first taste, and none of them liked it.
Well, that wouldn't do. He had to get them to relax or they'd get screwed over before they even had a chance to kick the doors in. So with a deep breath he looked Jill square in the eye and shrugged. "Heard they look a lot like your mother, marines almost shot her, didn't they?"
Jill coughed heavily at that, unprepared for the sudden joke as she turned to glare at him. "Screw you, Anderson! Your old woman got us into this mess, those things saw a picture of her and nearly got a heart attack!"
Chuckles and smiles quickly spread across their respective faces as the tension popped like a balloon, a weight having been lifted in that moment. Not that that stopped the jokes as Kevin chimed in next. "Hell Anderson, I heard your momma's so ugly that these aliens nearly flew into the nearest sun just to get away from her!"
"You sure that wasn't your momma, Kevin?" Roman exclaimed next with a shitting grin on his face. More chuckles echoed through the small space as his fellow marines relaxed at that. Anderson huffed quietly, satisfied that they got their heads back on straight, just as they had to.
"Hope we don't run into some arachnids in there." Hendricks chuckled once the jokes had come to an end. "That'd be nightmare fuel. Remember that old Earth classic? What…Starship Troopers wasn't it?"
"Yeah, good movie, even if the directors completely missed the point of the book it was based off of." Jill said with a shrug before shivering slightly. "Those things used to scare the shit outta me though when I was a kid."
"You were a kid once, Jill? We just assumed you were grown in a vat." Kevin teased, earning a scowl from the woman for his trouble while most everyone chuckled again.
"Fuck you, shithead." She grumbled, but even Jill couldn't hide the amused twitch of her lips.
The shuttle shook softly as it slowed down its approach, coming to a stop. The smile faded, though the tenseness from before didn't return. "Seal up." Anderson ordered simply, putting on his own helmet and pressurizing it. He waited for everyone to do the same before he ordered the pilot to depressurize the troop compartment.
"Good luck, sir." The pilot returned as the air was pumped out of their section of the shuttle. Anderson didn't reply, too busy rehearsing everything they've planned thus far. The engines were busted as was the reactor, hence securing them was a low priority. They had to take control of the bridge ASAP, as well with any other key sections of the ship. Not that they knew where those were.
They'd figure it out though.
Enemy officers preferably alive, but not necessary. Prioritize their own safety and safety of the team. Simple rules of engagement really. And really, this was the kinda mission Anderson had excelled at during his N-Series training. It also helped that the shuttle they were in had a few tricks up its sleeve, although when he'd made his request known to the requisitions officer, the man had given him a strange look before shrugging his shoulders.
He slammed his fist against the door leading to the shuttle's cockpit twice, and the pilot responded by opening the troop compartment, exposing them to the cold vacuum of space. The dark shape of the enemy dreadnought drifted powerlessly beneath them, looking almost like a sleeping creature of some kind. Too bad for said beast, they were about to give it quite the stomach ache. Now they just had to find a good place to breach. Without a word, they activated their suits' maneuvering thruster packs, having been cleared for EVA long before they'd left Arcturus Station. The thruster packs could also be dropped in a safe location, which would help since they were heavy pieces of equipment outside of a vacuum.
Silently they drifted down towards the dreadnought, in the distance, visible only because their IFFs had been marked on their HUDs he could see other teams doing the same thing in various locations of the dreadnought.
Considering the enormous size of the ship, they would need the manpower. It would no doubt have its own sizable crew compartment aboard, and they'd most likely fight tooth and nail for every inch they took from them. He silently gestured to a part of a hull, unwilling to give the aliens a chance to pin down their location by using radios, not yet. Besides, they likely suspected that they'd been dropped off somewhere, although he had no intention of making it easy for the bastards to find his people by picking an obvious entry point like an airlock or the hangar. The former would likely be boobytrapped or be surrounded by dozens of armed guards, while the latter would just be a killbox in the enemy's favor.
That's why he'd had enough demo charges brought to level a city block.
Specifically designed to breach armored walls at that. Top of the line equipment, they probably wouldn't have gotten it if they weren't about to fight aliens right now. It looked harmless enough, like play doh they pressed down onto the hull in the large outline of a circle. Then they only had to put a detonator onto the whole thing and it would go off, blasting a hole into even the best armored of hulls and fortifications, at least if it actually lived up to the hype.
Regardless of that, he watched with pride as his team quickly set the charges before stacking up on either side of the new 'door' they were about to make. With a nod from him, Jill nodded back before activating the ten second timer with a few taps at her omni-tool. The moment the demo charge detonated, there was a burst of air as the ship's internal atmosphere was sucked out before pressure equalized, though not before a few of their enemies were also pulled into the void. David winced slightly since death by the cold vacuum of space was a bad way to go out, but they wasted no time in entering the ship at last.
They made sure to guard each other's backs, while also trying to keep enough space between themselves that a single grenade couldn't take them out either. Weapons up, they glared down the corridors of the alien vessel. "Locate Bridge, secure location." Anderson ordered, taking point, Jill using her greater height to aim past him despite that fact while the others guarded their rear.
Nothing, just empty corridors, for now at least. Carefully moving down the claustrophobic tunnels was nerve wracking, almost bad enough that he wished for any sign of the enemy. Almost. It was granted nonetheless as the narrow corridor gave way to a larger one, and this one was occupied. Behind hastily piled boxes, multiple hardsuit wearing aliens cowered. Rifles in hand, their three fingered hands clutching them tightly, but not in a way that David would've linked with panic in a human.
Which wasn't saying much, but it certainly didn't hinder their movements or their aim as they took aim and fired, his shields flaring briefly before he ducked back into the corridor. Grenades were all well and good, but really, he doubted they'd manage to take them out with just one, at which point they'd probably return the favor. They were lucky that they hadn't already, how to get past thi-
David snapped his head up as an idea dawned on him. "Hendricks, you got anymore of those explosives?"
"Yeah… why?" The man asked warily as David motioned for him to give them to him.
"Everyone back up in case this goes wrong." He simply ordered, taking the ordnance from his explosives expert, ripping open the box only long enough to shove a detonator into the whole block of it before slamming it shut again.
"Uh… Anderson? That might be-"
He didn't let Kevin finish, he simply moved around the corner, one hand clutching his rifle as he blindly around the corner just long enough for them to duck their heads down just for the tiniest bit before he rounded the corner in full and tossed the whole box filled with highly explosive play doh into their midst. He jumped back, projectiles smashing his shields and puncturing his suit in multiple places. He could see the air escaping, and could feel it.
His heart hammered inside his chest even as he pressed down on the detonator. The large hallway in front of them wasn't filled with flames like in the movies, there was no oxygen for that, but the force of the explosion could be felt, could be seen as it tossed everything about, hell, it could even be heard as it shook their bodies, the bone conductivity allowing them to hear the furious roar in some fashion at least even as the suit's deposit of omni-gel hastily sealed his suit, and applied medi-gel to his wounds at the same time his system was flooded with painkillers.
"You're insane." Jill told him bluntly as she hauled him up to his feet.
"It worked didn't it?" David groaned, a little winded, but the pain was already fading. Not that there'd been much to deal with as the holes in his suit were also quickly sealed up a few moments later.
"Leave it to the N7 to be the insane one." Kevin grumbled even as he flashed David an approving grin. Anderson didn't know how to reply to that so instead he just walked back towards the corner and poked his head around the corner.
The defensive line was gone.
There wasn't even a trace of the bodies left at this point while the boxes that had provided cover had been tossed in all directions and smashed apart. The floor beneath had been torn apart, leaving a hole in the deck, and from the look of things, maybe even the deck after. Only a thin line of floor close to the walls remained on either side.
"I could have sworn Command told us to capture the ship largely intact." Hendricks drawled as he took in the mess David's admittedly harebrained idea had created.
"If possible." David shot back without missing a beat. "Come on, we're wasting valuable time."
General Desolas Arterius POV…
Watching the boarding parties make a mockery of his troops on the various, still functioning, internal monitors was humiliating in a way few things had been up until now. His troops fought hard, and they fought well, but there was clearly a great deal of difference in skill between the alien troops on the planet they fought, albeit briefly, and the ones that now were storming his ship.
He didn't know anything about these beings outside the fact that they looked startlingly similar to Asari for the most part. However, the movements of those that fought through his marines in a precise and utterly lethal fashion left no doubt as to what they were. He'd seen his brother move much the same after all.
Special Forces.
He supposed he should feel honored in a sense. He didn't though, instead he prepared to give his life in the best manner left to him. Fighting, upholding his duty and honor as a proud soldier of the Turian Hierarchy. The internal cameras showed how the aliens gathered in front of the bulkhead leading up to the bridge, preparing to breach them. Every single Turian present aimed at the door, their hardsuits prepared to deal with any attempts to blind or confuse them in some fashion.
One of the aliens however held up a hand, stopping the others as he approached the door slowly.
"What are they doing?!" Captain Vakarian hissed from his right as ever.
The alien looked around, until it seemed to have found what it was looking for. The camera that was looking at it. It nodded at the camera and waved its hand before pointing at the door.
"Is it mocking us?" One of the soldiers hissed out angrily at the sight.
"Hold position." Desolas snapped back, not bothering to say anything else. His eyes fixed on the holographic projection as the alien lifted its hand and slammed it against the bulkhead. In the still pressurized bridge, the impacts were heard, if only barely as the alien turned back to look at the camera in question. Desolas simply aimed at the door, catching how the figure shrugged before moving sideways. Still, he was also wondering just what these aliens were up to. Why wave at the camera? He didn't think it was to mock them, not entirely at any rate.
His heart nearly stopped when the ceiling in the middle of the bridge was blown inward right before a dozen troops fell upon them, rifles firing as they executed a perfect thruster controlled fall to the ground. He would've admired such a tactic if not for the fact it was being used against his people, and worse yet, it was about then that the blast doors to the bridge were blown out.
He ducked down to avoid a salvo that saw the blood of a marine splatter all across the workstation behind the man. The radio was filled with shouts, disciplined shouts, calling out dangers and warning, but they were far too often interrupted by shouts of pain or cut short entirely. The walls sparked as shots slammed into them, more often than not after punching through a Turian soldier first. He stood up, aiming his rifle, or tried to.
By the time he had taken aim, a figure that looked like an overgrown Asari had marched up to him and forced the muzzle of his gun upwards before her closed hand smashed into his helmet hand, the force sending him staggering back, tearing the weapon loose from his grip at the same time. The alien regarded the rifle for a moment before it changed its grip and slammed the butt of it into his helmet hard enough for the back of his helmeted head to smash into the deck below, darkness closing in as he lost his consciousness to the sensation of his arms being twisted and tied up. The last thing he heard was what he assumed was an 'All clear' being given before Desolas succumbed to unconsciousness.
Saren was going to kill him for this disgrace when he found out…
Lieutenant David Anderson POV…
"Not bad Schoffield, you and your team got here just in time."
"Hey, when you said you wanted a distraction sir, we figured we'd pull from the xenomorphs' playbook." Commander Gregory Schoffield replied as he and the rest of his own team finished helping David's people secure the aliens and the bridge. "Aliens was a good movie too, better than Starship Troopers."
"Fuck off Scrotum." Jill grumbled back.
"Haven't heard that nickname since I was in highschool. Can't say I missed it." Gregory grunted before shaking his head, his gaze settling on the nearest Turian's face. "Kinda reminds me of a Predator since we're talking about old Earth classics."
"Ugly bastards, whatever they are." Hendricks agreed.
"Eh, expected worse. Eight eyes, shark teeth, too many limbs, the usual you know?" Kevin threw in idly as he looked at the aliens. "These are pretty tame in all honesty."
"Glad we didn't have to fight whatever you were expecting." Jill harrumphed with an eyeroll. "Anyway, let's tell Command the good news. Maybe then we can take a look at their computers and start to actually talk to them and figure out what the hell we ever did to them."
"Right, let's get this done people." David stated before issuing their orders. He just hoped whatever they found out would end up opening a path to peace because fighting these guys would likely never be this easy again. They'd gotten lucky between rumors of a strange alien woman on Shanxi, and the fact the alien fleet had already been weakened. Worse yet, with what he knew of the initial attack, these aliens were no pushovers, even without their superior technology. A fresh, fully armed force would be a much harder fight for all of them.
And that was a potential massacre David didn't want to think about.
Shanxi, New Taiyan
Secure bunker beneath New Taiyan
May 6th, 2157, 5:27 PM…
General Williams POV…
He could hardly hear Admiral Drescher over the sound of cheering that rose up at her report. The enemy fleet scoured from the skies, total orbital supremacy achieved, large elements of the Second Fleet in system. Fresh troops and air support was underway. "For now I'd like to make sure they don't attack again, keep them contained while we crack their language so that we can offer them a chance to surrender." The Admiral told him, he noted that it wasn't an order, she left the decision on how to proceed planetside to him.
"And if they resist?" Williams already knew the answer, but it had to be asked.
"Then they'll be labeled as hostile and will be dealt with accordingly." She returned simply, making it apparent that the woman clearly had no patience for unnecessary continued resistance. Either they'd take her up on her offer, or they didn't and would suffer the consequences even if he wasn't blind to the fact she didn't relish the idea. Anyone with any sense never wanted war, but sometimes it was the only option available to them, so he chose to silently pray that cooler heads would prevail over those who would seek vengeance for their own people's substantial losses.
Then again, humanity had also lost thousands no thanks to the bombardment, as well as the assault that had followed once their orbital installations and vessels had been decimated. As such, Williams could already hear the baying from the warmongers within Parliament, let alone within the Alliance brass. And to be honest he wasn't immune to the desire to nuke whatever world these bastards came from back into the Stone Age. But he glanced towards one of the few family portraits he had on his desk, and shook his head to dispel those darker impulses before they could get him into trouble. Besides, he was far from the only one with a family to protect.
"Now then, General, I'd like you to tell me precisely what Ishtar has been doing since this began." The good Admiral continued simply. "I've heard some reports from Captain Alberich, but those reports were fractured at best by what he'd been able to gleam in passing, and seem rather… outlandish."
"She took a shipgrade mass driver, direct hit, and walked it off before flying up and destroying several of their ships in less than two minutes." Williams told her flatly, a part of him enjoying the way her eyes bulged in disbelief at his words.
Clearly Ishtar was a bad influence on him.
Before she could try and question him further, Williams sent the vid footage he'd been able to prepare, having had it gathered from multiple sources, and watched as Drescher's face went through several emotions over the course of the next ten minutes. If he hadn't seen Ishtar's power for himself, he wouldn't have believed it either, and still didn't to a degree, but Drescher hadn't had to deal with her over the last several days either. It was amazing what one could grow used to when faced with no other choice outside of going insane, and that wasn't an option for a man in his position.
"And…where is she now?" Drescher asked once she found the ability to speak once more.
"Resting in the infirmary. It would seem even a self-proclaimed goddess gets tired, but that just proves that she's not what she says she is." At least that's what he'd say when questions are inevitably asked by Parliament or anyone else with enough clearance to dig into all this, but in private, Williams wasn't sure just what Ishtar was since nothing about her made sense.
What the Admiral said next though left Williams a little flatfooted, "Even your God rested on the seventh day after creating all that we know, General."
Shit, she was right. That and while he still firmly believed her power came from some form of hyper advanced technology, walking off a mass driver shot still boggled every logical bone in his body since his limited understanding of what was physically possible just didn't add up to explain how she'd pulled that particular feat off. The energy requirements alone to produce a personal kinetic shield system like hers were astronomical, to put it lightly. Regardless of his own beliefs to the contrary, he'd already spotted a few of his people carrying around 3D printed Ishtar figurines and other, more prayer appropriate items making the rounds.
Suddenly the idea of her gathering a following didn't seem so outlandish.
Drescher for her part seemed to contemplate something before she sighed. "Notify me when she is up and about… I'd like to meet her in person and make my own judgments." She huffed softly as she shook her head. "Besides, my attendant is supposed to stick close to her at any rate."
"Are you sure that's wise?" WIlliams couldn't help but ask. "She's already proven to be able to… influence people."
"It is a risk." Drescher confirmed instantly. "And I cannot stay long at any rate, I must be present in the fleet so my visit will only be brief, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt here. If she were hostile, she could've killed all of you by now or just leaned back and watched the aliens do it themselves. Me extending an olive branch is only decent, nothing more." What was left unsaid was that her attendant was going to be a spy, monitoring Ishtar's movements until Lieutenant Shepard was assigned elsewhere, if all went according to plan of course.
Still, Ishtar had been open to the idea when it'd first been proposed to her, not that there'd been much choice given at the time, but something about her agreement left Williams' wondering if she knew something they didn't. He couldn't even begin to guess what that might actually be, only that Ishtar had agreed just a little too easily for his liking since she must've realized what Shepard would be doing. For all of her flightiness and carefree antics, she'd already proven quite clever. She'd slipped out from under Williams' thumb after all, not that he'd made it that difficult for her at the time due to his own arrogance in thinking he had held the advantage. He might have to assign someone to watch Drescher's assigned watcher, to see if his suspicions were right. But that could wait for now since he had dozens of other things to worry about, and Drescher was still on the comms in any event.
"Alright ma'am, but I just want to go on record and say I don't think it's a good idea, leaving anyone alone with Ishtar for long periods of time. Something about her doesn't sit right with me, call it an old ground pounder's intuition." He said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It doesn't help that she's…prone to fraternization, or at least she's made the attempt with my CMO."
"Our usual operational procedures will likely need to be bent if not broken if we're to keep this Ishtar from turning her ire upon the Alliance and its allies, at least until we understand exactly what we're dealing with and how to hopefully beat her should it become necessary." Drescher raised a valid point, but Williams still didn't like it. As if reading his mind, she frowned, and added, "Set your beliefs aside for a moment, and look at the bigger picture, General."
"My faith isn't the problem, I just think we're giving her too much leeway. She's already proven perfectly willing to exploit loopholes despite giving her word to stay put when she made her escape." He reminded Drescher, who frowned, but nodded in understanding. "I also know how that sounds, my complaining about her taking advantage as she did, but that was over something relatively harmless. What happens if someone truly angers her after securing her assistance?"
"That's what we're also hoping to understand soon enough." Drescher replied. "So far she's little more than a complete unknown, by having Shepard near her we hope to understand her more." She shook her head with a sigh. "It's hardly comparable, but I'm certain you're familiar with the type of soldiers that you give just a bit more leeway to to perform their duties because they'll perform better if you don't stifle them? Try to think of it like that." He understood the counterpoint she was trying to make, and he even agreed with the sentiment.
But it wasn't quite enough to dispel that niggling doubt in the back of Williams' head. "Alright…but like I said, I don't like it."
"If it makes you feel better, I don't either, but this decision comes down from the top, so do nothing to interfere with Lieutenant Hannah Shepard's assignment. Do we understand each other, General Williams?"
"Yes ma'am." She nodded, satisfied, although she never said he couldn't still take his own precautionary steps either. That was fine though, he had the perfect man for the job. Now he just had to hope his contact hadn't already left Shanxi in all the confusion, unlikely as that was.
The bunker's infirmary
6:01 PM…
Ishtar POV…
"Ugh…" She groaned, feeling like her limbs had been filled with lead. That's what she got for not blessing only half the planet's population instead of all of them as she had. She was still gathering her strength after all, that she'd had just enough to pull it off was a small miracle all its own. Now though she was too tired to even lift her head more than a few inches, although she was happy to note her strength was coming back fairly quickly.
Why she wasn't sure, but she wasn't about to complain either. It was about then though that her stomach gave an impressive growl. It seemed using her divine might had imparted an equally strong hunger, go figure. And all she had was a tray of hospital food to tide her over, blegh. It was better than nothing of course. So she sat up slowly, still feeling her strength returning more and more, like water filling a vessel.
"Ah, you're awake." Karin said from the side, a relieved smile on her face. "You were moving so little that I was starting to get worried."
Well, this certainly had potential.
"Yes… but I'm still weak." Ishtar told her, eyes wide and vulnerable. "Perhaps it would be best if you help me eat?"
"If you're strong enough to joke, you're strong enough to feed yourself." Karin retorted with an amused huff.
"Hmph…you could've at least pretended to think it over." Ishtar pouted right back before sighing heavily when she had trouble simply raising her arm so she could use the bedrail to pull herself into a sitting position. Pulling herself up was quickly proven to be beyond her at the moment however when she lost her grip, and ended up falling onto her back once more. "Damn it!"
"Hmmm…perhaps I was a bit premature in my assessment." Karin admitted before moving to her side. "While I've no idea exactly what you did, that it seems to have exhausted you this badly is cause for concern, Ishtar."
"It was a risk I'd take again if it meant this senseless fighting ended that much quicker." She paused then, and gave Karin a concerned look. "The…fight did end in our favor, right?"
"It did, I promise. Whatever that light was, your efforts bought us enough time to hold out until Admiral Drescher's fleet arrived with reinforcements and much needed supplies. You've only been out for a few hours, but a lot's happened in that time."
"Seems like it." Ishtar agreed with a soft sigh, relieved that it was over, at least for now. "I sleep for a few hours and the whole world changes… well better than my last record I guess of sleeping for a couple millennia."
"Hmm, you might have to tell me about how that happened some time." Karin mused as she shook her head, pulled up a small chair to sit beside Ishtar's bed and took the spoon in her hand, though not before raising the head of the bed so she was sitting upright. "For now at least try to be a good patient."
"Fine…" Ishtar pouted playfully, resigned to her fate, even if she'd only been kidding earlier. The fact that she couldn't even feed herself was sticking in her craw though, but she sighed out her building frustration since she only had herself to blame for her current predicament. Taking it out on Karin wouldn't help anything, and she was already feeling better. A few hours, a day at the most, and she'd be flying again in no time. So she got comfortable, and opened her mouth for Karin without a word of complaint. Swallowing her current mouthful though made Ishtar grimace. "Blegh…are you sure this stuff is suitable for consumption?"
"Yes…although I do understand the distaste. I've been a patient myself a few times throughout my life, and hospital food is as bad then as it is now. Open." She ordered once more, and despite making a face, Ishtar obeyed. This really wasn't what she had envisioned when she imagined herself getting pampered. She would just have to make sure that next time the food was better although the bed was surprisingly comfortable, so there was at least that to be grateful for she supposed. Still, she had to know one thing, but her thoughts must've been visible because Karin nodded gravely before saying, "A complete list of our losses is being finalized. It would've been done sooner, but there were more casualties from the Admiral's fleet, along with one troublesome fighter squadron that eluded our air forces for some time even after the alien fleet was largely dealt with."
"Th-thank you…" And she meant it, something she was glad to see wasn't lost on Karin.
"Ishtar…I might not know what you are, how you're able to do the things you've proven capable of, but there's no question that you've made it possible for us to even have this conversation. Our priorities might be different at the end of the day, but that you've given so much of yourself to aid our defense isn't lost on anyone here."
"I-" She floundered for a moment before she tried to regain her image as the powerful and aloof goddess, well as much as that was possible while sitting in a hospital bed while being fed. "I merely did what was just and right. Anyone in my position would have done the same." Well, not really, she knew that, plenty of folks wouldn't have but what else was she supposed to say? 'You're welcome?' That just felt wrong.
"We both know that isn't true." Karin said simply but didn't push the issue, for which Ishtar was grateful. Still, she really needed a distraction.
"You know Karin this bed is pretty comfy, and I am sure I could scoot over so that you-" Ishtar gagged gracelessly when Karin shoved another spoonful of food down into her mouth mid sentence.
"I told you to behave." Karin admonished with a reprimanding frown, not that there was any heat in it.
"But you like it when I'm naughty." Ishtar couldn't help put point out, a mischievous grin on her full lips.
Chakwas whimpered softly under her breath as she rubbed her thighs together instantly and involuntarily. "K-keep th-that up and you'll have to feed yourself." Ishtar pouted but relented, not about to ruin what little comfort she still had.
"Alright but… could you please give me the datapad with the list of casualties later? I… I want to see whom we've lost." A shadow flitted over Karin's face as well, but she nodded nonetheless.
The silence that followed was less than comfortable, but it wasn't stifling. Both of their thoughts were heavy with the fact aliens had just tried to subjugate everyone on Shanxi over what would amount to a giant misunderstanding on both of their parts, yet that wouldn't help those who had perished in the attempt. Even knowing that, it still made Ishtar's blood boil, but the turians wouldn't get off with a slap on the wrist if she had any say in the matter, which she would get for herself if she had to.
That being said, she'd already changed things a great deal thanks to the fact humanity had come out ahead in a big way already thanks in no small part due to her efforts. While she didn't know if the turians would be sending more of their people, for now at least, things would settle down until and if the next wave appeared. But everything had changed already, and she didn't doubt many people were scrambling to find loved ones, or were simply trying to make sense of things after having the big question answered a second time. And this time, these were living, breathing aliens, not just the ruins of their civilization to shift through as was the case with the Prothean Archives on Mars.
The fact that Ishtar knew that it was just a misunderstanding somehow made it worse. She knew that the Turians weren't bloodthirsty savages, everyone else though didn't. To them the Turians just appeared and began killing humans for no reason. Which, to be fair, was almost exactly what they had done, regardless of the actual reasons involved. Worse still, some of the arguments that would come outta this entire mess would hold some valid points against allying with the Turians, if not demanding some serious reparations for the damage they'd caused, although humanity's loudest voices would be people she'd rather never open their mouths in the first place given they'd be racist assholes. Speciest assholes? Meh, the exact name didn't matter right now.
How'd that Terra Nova asshole put it? "Yeah, you'd take the gun away from a kid, but you then wouldn't shoot that kid." Something along those lines at least, but considering the group's less than understanding history when it comes to Turians and the other races, or future she supposed since they hadn't had a chance to grow into such a well known anti-alien organization even if they were largely regulated to the background lore of the series, anything they had to say should be taken with a serious grain of salt. But another mouthful of food pulled her attention back to the present, and Ishtar sighed again with a shake of her head.
"You looked distracted." Karin pointed out.
"Was just wondering how to handle what's to come." She admitted without going into details before accepting another mouthful from the good doctor. Karin didn't have a good answer either, not that she had expected her to. This… uncertainty was no doubt gnawing at everyone present to one degree or another. They had managed to fight off this invasion, but what would come next? That was the question on everyone's mind.
In theory Ishtar knew how things were supposed to go, but a part of her couldn't help but wonder as well. Her presence had changed things, would those changes ripple out in a butterfly effect and screw things over how they were supposed to go? It was a possibility, but what was she supposed to do? Just watch while orbital bombardment reduced cities to craters of ash and glass? She wouldn't have been able to. Even now the list of casualties was far too long, and that was without including those lost in the latest engagement between fleets far above the planet's surface.
Hundreds alone had died when the small flotilla and orbital defense platforms had been obliterated by the Turian onslaught. Her tired mind at once trying to memorize all of them even as she felt sick as she made her way through the list. Hundreds dead before the battle reached the surface. Thousands more followed in the following days as orbital bombardment had struck the surface, either obliterating those who had been too slow or unwilling to leave.
She had intercepted most of the bombardment, true, but not all of it. More casualties had followed once the Turians managed to make landfall and engage militia, regular military, or even just regular civilians. It could have been so much worse, would have been much worse if not for her own presence, that she could say with absolute certainty and without a hint of pride or arrogance.
It didn't mean though that this outcome was what she had wanted. If anything she would've loved nothing more than for the two species to meet without needing to butcher each other. Instead thousands of Turian soldiers had died, and more than ten thousand alliance soldiers and human civilians had perished.. That and given how early reinforcements had shown up, she was willing to bet that things had changed a lot more than she was aware of. What those changes would end up being, she could only speculate at the moment, but it would only further complicate matters moving forward, of that much she was certain. Some of it would (hopefully) be for the better, some of it not so much, but she'd done the best she could, that was what mattered.
The day passed in a blur of names, service numbers, dates of birth, and other personal data as she made her way through the list of casualties that was constantly being updated even as she read through it. She was tired, still damn tired, but she couldn't sleep either, and this… this meant something. This she could do even while she was tired.
Here in the safety of the command bunker daylight was a distant thing, but she guessed by how people came and went that it was nightfall, maybe even later, already when the sound of multiple pairs of boots echoed through the corridor leading up to the infirmary. Not to mention the voice, she couldn't quite make out what Williams was saying, but the fact that he was coming at all… well, that was saying something. So she set down the datapad on a nearby bedside table, folded her hands in her lap, and waited patiently for her guests to arrive.
Ishtar raised a single perfect eyebrow in surprise when Admiral Kastanie Drescher, accompanied by her aide, and multiple guards moved into the infirmary, going straight for her bed. The Admiral showed the first signs of age, a few wrinkles here and there, grey strands of hair intersecting with her brown hair that was precisely the maximum length regulation allowed. Her light green eyes though betrayed no sort of wariness and shone with intelligence and vigilance.
Her aide was significantly younger, though her hair, though in her case it was black, was cut in a similar fashion to that of her superior. Her bright blue eyes looked at Ishtar with less wariness than her superiors, and more open curiosity, and no small amount of desire.
"Ah, Admiral, it's good to see you in person." She greeted the other woman with a small nod. "I don't doubt that you must be very busy indeed with overseeing the defense of this world and the movements of your fleet, so I think both of us would appreciate it if we could cut straight to the point."
Drescher didn't so much as blink at her words, but the gleam in her eyes suggested approval at least. "You are indeed correct… Ishtar." The Admiral confirmed. "So in the interest of brevity, this is Lieutenant Shepard, she will accompany you from now on." She told the resting goddess indicating her aide. "Now, I'd like to know a few things. What did you do to end up here? Reports indicated that you didn't need rest even after you dealt severe damage to the enemy fleet. Second, what do you intend to do now?"
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." Ishtar all but purred in the direction of her assigned watcher and guide. "Now to answer your questions, I cast my blessing onto all the defenders of this world. It took quite a bit of my still nascent power to cover such a wide area, although as a result you no doubt heard about how your people suddenly fought with increased skill, among other things." She waited for the Admiral to nod before she continued. "As for what I intend to do now… recover my powers after my long slumber is one thing, another thing is to return to Earth and see it with my own eyes, though I'm sure your Parliament will wish to speak with me before allowing me anything of the sort, and my last goal is rather personal."
"What is it then?" Williams grumbled out as he narrowed his eyes at her. "You wouldn't have mentioned it if you didn't want us to ask."
"True, though I'm not sure how you'll react to my wish." Ishtar hummed out as she mustered him for a moment. "Though I think you'll understand my desire, General, as a family man yourself. I wish to free my sister Ereshkigal from the trappings of the Underworld. She's been there ever since her birth, it's her duty, and it binds her far more tightly than any mortal could ever dare imagine. I wish to loosen those chains and allow her to walk the Earth alongside me, so that she may know more than death."
General Williams didn't say anything, but he did offer her a nod in understanding.
"When will you be fully recovered?" Drescher asked next once she had taken the time to fully absorb what Ishtar had said, and everything that implied.
"Soon." Ishtar replied impishly. "Karin has been taking good care of me, and I plan to reward her for that. I am a generous goddess, Admiral." Karin palmed her face with a groan while Williams rolled his eyes at the same time Hannah 'coughed' off to the side, an amused twinkle easy to see in her own eyes.
The Admiral however sighed, glanced towards her second, but seemed to decide better than to reprimand her at that exact moment, instead returning her gaze to Ishtar herself. "I see General Williams' warning about you being rather prone to romantic advances was understated."
"I'm not a part of your military or even a human being, your rules don't apply to me. But…if it truly is a problem, I'd rather we be allied than at each other's throats, Admiral Drescher."
"...No, you're right in that I've no authority over you, no matter how much certain people will no doubt insist in trying to rein you in. I however will not make that mistake." While she didn't look at General Williams or even address him directly, Ishtar could see the way the man grimaced at the slight backhanded remark Drescher had hit him with anyway.
"So then, will you try to use me against the aliens? Or will you try to give me what I want, return me to Earth or your Parliament, and thus make sure they won't be able to capture me?" Ishtar was nobody's fool either, and she wanted Drescher to know that in no uncertain terms. The Alliance that she remembered weren't stupid, they didn't buy their ranks as they often did in the Imperial Navy outta Star Wars, but rather earned their positions. Drescher was an Admiral, and one didn't earn such a high rank by being stupid, so she wouldn't insult the woman's intelligence by playing dumb.
Thankfully Drescher took the hint, and folded her hands neatly behind her back before replying, "You've admitted to being unable to leave the planet without aid of a ship, but trying to get you to go anywhere you didn't want to go seems like the height of stupidity. There's also the fact you repelled a significantly, more technologically advanced race of alien invaders. Whatever our differences, you've stood with humanity, hence why I'm only here to talk. Your actions, as unexplainable as they might be at the moment, has earned you a great deal of good will. My only advice is that you don't waste or squander it."
"I have no intention of doing so, and if it's any consolation I do want to meet with your Parliament, and I think it will be necessary soon. Word of my actions here will spread, people will want answers, and I can give them." Ishtar told her gently. "I think we both know that the Parliament will ask you to bring me to them, and soon."
"You're likely correct on that, Ishtar." Drescher agreed before turning to her second. "She's all yours, Lieutenant." What went unsaid was that she was here to do a job, and failure wasn't an option. Still, Ishtar didn't mind, especially since she knew exactly what to expect with the Shepard woman.
Ishtar didn't even wait until Drescher or the General were out of earshot. "Oh, a Lieutenant, just for me~." She smiled at the woman. "Whatever should we do?" Karin had a good answer when she shoved another mouthful of food past her lips, shutting up Ishtar on the spot, although she was happy to note Hannah chuckling in response.
"Careful Ishtar, my husband might get jealous if you keep talking like that." Hannah retorted with a playful smirk.
"Don't encourage her, Lieutenant." Karin didn't quite beg, but she wasn't fooling anyone either.
Smirking towards Shepard, Ishtar crossed her arms with a smug look on her face as she said, "I'm not about to deny myself a chance to see your love as well, Lieutenant Shepard. I mean I am a goddess of love as well as sex after all. It would be most unusual if I played favorites." She all but purred, earning another amused chuckle from Hannah and another eye roll from Karin for her trouble.
"I can see you have your hands full with that one." The Lieutenant told Chakwas.
"More than her hands, I assure you." Ishtar said, giggling slightly at how easily she riled up both women without even trying. Despite everything still weighing on her heart and mind alike, this at least brought her no small amount of joy. Even so, she genuinely wanted to become friends with Hannah and her family, so her next words were surprisingly solemn, at least for her. "I jest, but it truly is an honor to meet you in person like this, Hannah was it? Despite your being here to spy and report on my movements, I hope we can at least become friends."
"Drescher assumed you'd be aware of my real reason for being here, but it's strangely refreshing to have it confirmed. It means I won't have to tiptoe around you, but it's good to meet you too, Ishtar." She assured her, a warm smile quick to spread over the human's admittedly pretty face.
"Now then Hannah, I suggest we find this husband of yours, and then with the help of Karin, and you two we can make sure that Admiral Drescher receives an explicitly detailed report."
"Of course." Hannah chuckles back, while Karin again sighs and shakes her head at the two of them.
"You two are going to get along like a house on fire, aren't you?" The good doctor grumbles, but there's no hiding her own amusement from either of them.
"There's no need to be jealous, Karin. I did promise I'd reward you, didn't I?" Ishtar reminded her instantly with a small smile on her face. The worries for the future, at least temporarily, forgotten.
Vergil1989's Build
Liberator: Your efforts brought about the liberation of Shanxi much faster than it was supposed to go, both directly and indirectly… even though you slept through the main battle. 50/2 Points
Come Into My Parlor. Said The Goddess To The Spy: Your watcher gives you easy access to the legendary Commander Shepard's mother. Everything is proceeding as you have foreseen it. 10/2 Points
A Guard Dog at the Gates: Cerberus is still on track to be formed, although the reasons behind it will be a fair bit different since Jack Harper has, so far, avoided being indoctrinated and partially cyberized by the Reaper temple artifact that's still undiscovered at the present time. 2/2 Points
Fate Defied: Your actions prevented the ostracization and shunning of the Williams family. Nice going. 2/2 Points
100 25 5 1 1 = 132 Points
-31 25 5 1 1 = 0 Debt Cleared!
End Notes: Nomad-117: Tada, hope you liked that little bout of madness. Currently trying to improve on descriptions of combat and void combat in particular. Hopefully that will continue to improve as things continue, but that aside, it was fun to write David Anderson again, this time as a fresh-faced N7 graduate. But his resourcefulness, his skill, and his respect and trust in his men hopefully shined through.
Vergil1989: And we've successfully cleared off our debt, haha! We also ensured the Williams family won't be shunned for giving up Shanxi to the Turian fleet, although if you ask me General Williams made the right call rather than forcing yet more people to die for a lost cause given all the advantages the enemy had at the time despite a valiant effort on his part at the time. That said, sorry for the delay as we said at the top, and that you all still enjoy the story despite how long it's been. At any rate, see ya!