Hana Shepard reported to the dockyard and boarded the small, somewhat distinctively shaped Frigate, She wasn't entirely sure of her posting to the Normandy, usually a standard Alliance Marine complement would be enough for such a small vessel, however this ship was of a far more advanced design, supposedly being a 'stealth' vessel and carrying both a Mako troop transport and having two launch ports for Light weight framed Knightmares, which currently only included a minimum loadout Panzer-Biene, to accommodate the only devicer currently assigned to the ship.
From what intel had been made available Hana assumed the ship was designed for a multi-role support mission, deploying precision strike teams which could cripple more centralized command structures, collecting intel while in its supposed 'stealth' mode and of course providing fire support as a standard frigate. Though if anything the ship seemed most optimized for longer term deployments, if very uncomfortable ones, infact she would argue that she had been on ships meant for short term deployments with better crew ergonomics. That said the ship was still marvel and arguably the most complex and advanced she had ever laid eyes on.
Still as she took her post watching out of one of the few porthole windows showing earth as the ship sped away from the blue ball traveling at speeds that allowed them to reach Pluto within six hours. At that point a message was sent to Shepard's omnitool, she was summoned to the Bridge. For some reason she imagined some dramatic music as she walked the tight, almost claustrophobic halls of the ship until she reached the Bridge of the ship and saw, on top of the ship's designated pilot, and the Marine contingent's acting copilot, the looming form of the Spectre Nihlus.
Shepard didn't like that Nihlus was aboard, not because he was Turian, nor necessarily because he was a agent of the Citadel Council. But she would have rather that half the crew for this ships first run had been Turians themselves, seeing as how half the tech and design philosophy had been taken from the Turians, though if the Turians were behind the idea of sleeping in bunks standing up, without a head brace, she might have ended up punching one of them, there just was no way in hell a sleeper pod could possibly be comfortable to sleep in, and she would die on that hill.
If not for Turians, she then would have settled for any form of Council representation other than a Spectre, their reputation was already among the most wild and often shady in the galaxy. If a Spectre was here, something had to be going on.
"Good Morning, Lieutenant Commander, have you tried thise new sleep pods yet, those things Zero Gravity rest is really impressive." And just like that the imaginary lense flairs and music faded from Hana's mind as Susaku Kururugi, the ship's designated Devicer, approached with a cheerful smile.
"That's just because you're a exercise nut." Shepard immediately countered. "Besides I don't have time to talk."
"Relay is hot, acquiring approach vector. All stations, secure for transit. board is green. Approach run has begun. Hitting the relay in... three... two... one." As Flight Lieutenant Jeff "Joker" Moreau went through the prejump procedures Hana took her place near the helm with the Turian Spectre nearby watching everyone like a hawk.
"Thrusters, check. Navigations, check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift, just under fifteen-hundred K." The pilot stated finishing the ship's post relay transit check, Shepard honestly had very little to judge how good the jump was from what she understood with the distance they had jumped being over fifteen-hundred kilometers was actually the normal.
"Fifteen Hundred is good, your captain will be pleased." And with that stated, the Spectre Nihlus turned and walked away, whatever goal he had in watching the ships jump clearly completed.
"I hate that guy." Joker immediately stated.
"He just gave you a compliment. So you hate him." Kaiden, Joker's acting copilot and the only other Biotic on the ship Shepard was aware of questioned of the pilot.
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head, that's incredible. Besides, call ke paranoid but Spectres are nothing but trouble." Joker ranted at his college and Hana sensed Susaku was about yo jump in, but raised her hand to stop him. Joker didn't need the whole crew seemingly ganging up on him.
"You're paranoid. The council helped fund this project. they have a right to have someone observe their investment." Kaiden rattled back to Joker.
"Yeah thats the official story. But only a idiot believes the official story." Hana noticed Susaku tense up, likely about to lay into Joker.
"They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs." Hana hopefully interjected helpfully.
"See, something more has to be going..." Joker was then cut off as Captain Anderson's voice cut through the comm.
"Joker Status report." The ship Captain commanded, professional as always.
"Just cleared the Mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged, everything looks solid." Joker reported.
"Good, find us a Comm buoy, I wamt our Mission reports sent to the Alliance Brass before we reach Eden Prime." The Captain then ordered, slowly dropping his formal tone for something more amiable.
"Aye aye sir. Better brace yourself Captain, I think Nihlus is on his way." Joker responded, and unnecessarily added.
"He's already here, Lieutenant. Tell Shepard meet me down in the Comms room for a debriefing." Anderson then stated before cutting the connection.
"You get that commander?" Joker then asked.
Hana for her part just sighed and Susaku unhelpfully then stated. "Great Joker you ticked him off. I'll be checking on the Knightmare."
"He always sounds angry." Joker muttered in retort.
"Maybe when he's talking to you." Kaiden then snarked back.
"Don't think anything of it Joker. Everyone is under plenty of stress and having a Spectre onboard is making it worse. Anyways, I should go." And thus Hana abruptly turned and walked away leaving Joker and Kaiden mid-conversation, a learned response she had from one two many encounters with dramatic chatter mouths.
Swiftly Shepard made her way through the ship, only taking a moment to check in with Presley and Dr. Chakwas also confirming that the ship's rookie Corporal Richard L. Jenkins was ready for deployment. Jenkins was talented, and both open minded and quick witted, but far from experienced, hopefully if there is a crisis, he'll prove to be exemplary.
Hana then put that aside and entered into the Comms meeting room. However instead of the typical visage of Captain Anderson, the Turian Spectre Nihlus with his red carapace and white face markings stood alone waiting in the dim room to with images of what she assumed to be Eden Prime on a display behind him.
"Ah Commander Shepard, I was hoping you would arrive first." The Turian stated while turning to face the Alliance Commander.
Hana felt a slight sense of unease. "I was told I'd be meeting Captain Anderson here."
At this Nihlus nodded his head. "Indeed, the Captain should be here shortly, he wanted to send those mission reports at his first opportunity.. But in the mean time this should give us a chance to talk. I hadn't had much opportunity to speak with you since you arrived onboard."
Shepard shrugged her shoulders. "Its a trial run of a new ship and I was just assigned to it. Needed to make sure everything in my department was prepared incase anything should go wrong."
Nihlus seemed to accept that answer cordially. "Thats some stalwart dedication. Though, and mind I have no intent on criticism, I think you may want to include socializing with everyone on the ship as part of those checks. After all I could have been here for sabotage reasons, and as it stands you have no way of knowing what is or is not out of character for me."
Shepard's nerves didn't tick, but her suspicions did raise somewhat. "I'm observant."
"Indeed. I'm curious about this world we're going to, Eden Prime, I hear its quite beautiful." Shepard didn't know what Nihlus was trying to get at here, She had never set foot on Eden Prime before, and if the Spectre was half as diligent as she suspected he certainly already knew that.
"Public calls it a Second Earth, and a fresh start without the burdens of war and history." Shepard just provided the planet's sales pitch to would be colonists, both the lies and truth of the statements became pretty clear on a simple inspection.
"Quite, compared to Earth it's serene, tranquil, safe... Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people. Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy but also protect them and keep them peaceful. But how safe, how peaceful is it really?" That sounded like a veiled threat, a pretty obvious one at that to Hana Shepard.
"Are you trying to say something?" The mixed blood Japanese woman demanded.
"Only that your people are newcomers to the galaxy, and it can be a very dangerous place. So then is the Alliance truly ready for this? After all the Britann..." Nihlus's speech was cut off as Captain Anderson stepped into the room, giving a tired glance between the Spectre and Shepard.
"I think it's time to tell the Commander what is really going on." The Captain states simply.
And almost automatically the Spectre admitted, "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run."
Hana almost wanted to scoff. "That much was obvious."
Anderson however disregarded the slight disrespect and continued on. "We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime, thats why we needed the Stealth systems operational."
Hana just looked to Anderson. "Is there a reason I wasn't informed of this?"
"This came straight down from the top, a complete need to know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during a excavation. It was a Prothean Beacon." Anderson stated soon taking his spot next to the Spectre in the room.
Hana considered the Captain's words. "I might be missing something, the Protheans disappeared over fifty thousand years ago."
Now Nihlus spoke up. "Almost all out technology is based off of what they left behind, the Relays and the Citadel were their creation."
"This is huge Shepard, the last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped forward our technically by nearly two hundred years. And Eden Prime is simply incapable of handling something of this magnitude, thats why were going to transport the beacon to the Citadel for study." Anderson was probably being dramatic, but Hana certainly understood what he was implying.
Nihlus then spoke up. "Obviously this goes beyond human interests."
Hana now felt the urge to play devil's advocate, if just to antagonize the Spectre. "Why not just keep the beacon for ourselves, surely Earth has the facilities to properly study it."
Nilhus almost scoffed. "And what allow your susperstates to destroy it in their squabbles for power? You humans don't have rhe best reputation as it is. Some species view your entire race as too selfish, and too unpredictable."
Anderson caught the Spectre's tone and the subtle glare Hana was trying not to give. "Plus the Alliance needs to gain more good will with the council. This will go a long way towards achieving the Alliance's dream of overcoming the Superstares of old. And we will need the Council's scientific expertise to gain anything of meaning from this discovery in short enough time for the Alliance to use it. Besides, they know far more about the Protheans than we do."
"This isn't just about the Beacon, Shepard." Now that earned a confused look form Hana, and fortunely Anderson chose to elaborate.
"Nilhus wants to see you in action Shepard. He's here to evaluate you." Anderson stated, and Nihlus moved to stand seperately from Anderson and closer to Shepard herself.
"Why? Is the council scared the N7 program is getting to efficient, or am I some sort of threat?" While it was made in jest, Hana couldn't think of any other real reasoning for the attention.
"This has been coming for a long time Shepard. Humanity has long wanted a larger role in shaping international policy. We want more sway with the Citadel Council, and the Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. Getting a human into the Spectres would show both how far humanity has come, and grant the Alliance leverage independent of the the superstates, real authority and the ability to enforce our will rather than allowing them to try and use us for their own ends." Anderson's eyes became slightly glassy and distant, the years he must have spent working for this, the sleepless nights scheming to finally put the Alliance above the constantly infighting nation states of Earth.
"You were decisive throughout the Skyllian Blitz, you were willing to do whatever it took to win, but you never went too far, a lesser human would have either stuck to their morals and honor too tightly or would have sunk into barbarism. You even fought against multiple Squads of Knightmares and your units came out victorious. All of that takes incredible courage, skill and discipline to achieve. Thats why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres." Nilhus expalined, praising Shepard unexpectedly and his tone was incredibly warm and welcoming, like she had already become a Spectre.
"Why would a Turian want a human to join the Spectres?" Shepard could almost not hold back her shock from her tone, but almost effected a flat analytical tone to her question... almost.
"Not all Turians resent humanity. And I know of many of my Asari and Salarian colleagues who would say the same about their own species. We can see past those first conflicts and your rough beginning and can see the potential of what you can offer the galaxy. And more importantly for my colleagues and I, to the rest of the Spectres. We are a elite group, its already rare enough to find someone with the skills needed to join our ranks. None of us should care that you're human, or even if you're Japanese. We only care to learn if you can do the job." Nihlus stated and for some reason, it was like a weight was raised off of Shepard's heart, though she remained wary.
"C-captain Anderson. I assume this is what the Alliance wants?" Hana asked, her voice cracking slightly at the start.
"Humanity needs this Shepard. We're counting on you. We can't let Shinshirokuni, or the rest of the Continuation War define our relations. We want you to forge a new path with the Council." Anderson stated, encouraging the woman.
"I need to see your skills for myself, Shepard. Eden Prime will be the first of many missions you and I will be performing together." The Spectre then added.
Shepard felt the need to speak, to say anything. They were presenting her with what had once been a unthinkable opportunity, but neither Anderson nor Nihlus seemed to care and continued on.
"You will be in charge of the ground team, secure the Beacon and get it onto the Ship ASAP. You shouldn't need it but we will also be deploying the Panzer-Biene, its a lightweight skirmisher but with the expected terrain around the site we should be able to use it to hold off any armored assaults. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission." And with that Anderson made a show of deferring to Shepard.
"Captain we have a problem." Jokers voice came over fhe speakers.
"What is it Joker?" Anderson asked.
"Transmission for Eden Prime. You're going to want to see this." Joker responded
"Put it on my screen." As he spoke the Captain moved to have a better view of the screen just as the Transmissions began to pull up.
The screen opened showing what looked to be s helmet feed from on the battlefield. Whomever was transmitting was trying to stand while blue streaks were flying through the air, and soon they could roughly see three figures, one a green haired woman in some sort of stylish black civilian clothing and a pistol who took three rounds to the chest dropping dead even as she ran. Next to her a Soldier wearing Britannian wargear and using one of their rifles was firing at some off screen targets before several rounds struck them in the head.
Lastly a woman in white and pink wargear that Shepard at first assumed was a Britannian until she recognized the Alliance iconography on her chest and shoulders. 'Either standards have dropped significantly, or she earned the right to customize her wargear, but what the hell is someone that talented doing on garrison duty?' Shepard analyzed the woman as she pushed the head of the filming camera down firing at more off screen targets.
Then the transmission cut, and soon a new feed picked up and showed a view from in the midst of a mixed Alliance and Europia United squad. The Green garrison force hardsuits and helmets for the Alliance troops, while the E.U. troops wore their standard blue, grey and red body armor, in the background one confirmed and probably up to three Panzer-hummels were constantly firing as one of the garrison soldiers was trying to give a report.
"We are under attack, heavy casualties. They just came out of nowhere." The squad leader then stopped as if listening to a response that they couldn't hear from their side of the transmission. "No, they aren't with the Britannians, however whoever was at the excavation site has the Britannians whipped into a frenzy, they're throwing everything they have at the site and can't seem to decide on whose friend or foe."
The man grunted as several explosions sounded and a few moments where it was clear he was firing his weapon passed before he came back onto the screen. "We need evac! I repeat we need evac, mass casualties, we're being overrun!"
The man then took a round to the chest that sent him flying away from the camera which then dropped showing a view up to the faces of several horrified soldiers the wreck of a Panzer-Hummel behind them. The camera view then jerked around as whoever was carrying it moved to stand, the view jerkily showing that all the Panzer-Hummel's were destroyed, only the lighter Panzer-Biene seemed to have survived thus far and the frame was near useless, its two main guns were both damaged, only one of the two hip mounted machien guns still was firing and the chest mounted slack harken was entirely destroyed.
And then a rumble swept over the battlefield and the camera snapped to a sight that seemed almost straight from some cosmic horror film from over a century ago. A massive... well Shepard wasn't sure how to describe it to her self, a squid-like or shrimp-like vessel loomed over the battlefield. It's sheer size making even the atmospheric combat ships of the Britannians flying about it look absolutely miniscule even as some form of beam came from the vessel carving the first of the Britannian ships in half. And then the feed cut leaving only static.
"Everything cuts after that no comm traffic at all, like the whole planet has gone dark. It's just gone dead, there's nothing at all." Joker stated while Anderson glared at the static.
Then the Captain spoke, voice still clear and analytical. "Reverse and hold at 42.6." The footage rolled back to the massive vessel as it's beam carved the Britannian ship in half. Beside them Nihlus remained silent, though his mandibles seemed to flair somewhat in outrage, recognition, or simple challenge to this new foe, Shepard didn't know. But the Alien had said there were threats out there that Humanity wasn't ready for, maybe this is what he meant.
"Status Report!" Anderson then demanded.
"Seventeen Minutes out at top speed. No other Alliance ships in the area, four Britannian frigates seem to be on route. Twenty-four minutes until their ETA." Joker reported
"Take us in Joker, fast and quiet. This shakedown run just turned into a full operation. And this mission got a whole lot more complicated." Anderson stated, the man's flair for the dramatic seeming to not have been impacted by the severity of what they were seeing.
Now Nihlus spoke up. "A small strike team can move in fast without being detected. It's out best chance to secure the beacon." And with that the Turian turned and began to walk away.
"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold!" Anderson shouted after the Turian, before then turning to Hana. "Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, your going in. If he hasn't already make sure Susaku is suited up, fueled his Knightmare and ready to deploy. He's running armored interference for you."
With that command Hana gave one last hard look to the strange vessel on the screen. Whoever this was, they needed to pay, and there was no way they this attack was a coincidence. She then turned on her heel, saluted the Caption and made her way for the cargo bay. "Alenko, Jenkins, you're both with me, suit up and be ready for planet drop. Susaku prep the Panzer-Biene, you're deploying too."
Shepard, Alenko, Jenkins and Susaku took just under fifteen minutes to secure all their wargear, fully suit up, and be ready for deployment. Overhead, as they began the time honored tradition of 'hurrying up and waiting', Joker added some honestly helpful commentary. "On approach now, someone was doing some heavy duty digging here Captain, terrain is pretty rough."
"Shepard, your team is the muscle for this operation. Move in loud and heavy and go straight for the dig site." A simple statement but of course the lack of context drew questions from the others.
"What about the survivors Captain?" Kaiden asked, his concern evident.
Anderson fixed his gaze on Shepherd, and Hana could feel him looking into her. "Helping survivors is a secondary objective, the Beacon is your top priority."
As the Captain spoke the bay doors opened allowing the wind to sweep in, the sound almost deafening, and Jokers amplified voice was almost lost as he announced. "Approaching drop point one."
Shepard turned to Alenko and gave him some quick reassurance. "I'll breif you when were in the field and on route."
As this happened Nihlus was walking forward giving his gear a last once over. But this prompted Jenkins to shout a extremely excited question of, "Nihlus! You coming with us?"
As the Turian spoke, his voice carried over the team's comms, probably given to him by Anderson. "I move faster on my own. Besides we will need to keep our Eezo signature down." And then the Spectre ran forward before jumping out of the cargo bay.
Then Anderson shouted some more explanation. "Nihlus will be scouting ahead. He'll be feeding you status reports throughout the mission."
Shepard looked over to her mentor and Captain. "He can count on us Captain. We have his back!"
Anderson began to walk to the side. "Mission is yours now Shepard! Good Luck!"
"Approaching drop site two, opening Knightmare launch tube." As the Normandy moved in the Panzer-Biene suddenly dropped disappearing from the Cargo Bay and then the Normandy was low enough that the squad could deploy and Shepard and the two marines at her side rushed forward and jumped the small meter high gap from the ship to the ground.
"Great piloting Joker." Hana congratulated the pilot.
"Please I could park this thing in Pendragon palace, pin old Charles to his throne and nit even hurt the guy... if I wanted to, probably give him a few broken bones just for the hell of it." Joker boasted just as the ship lifted off and began to speed back up into orbit.
"Susaku, status report." Hana Shepard next commanded.
"All systems optimal. Terrain looks unstable though, I think its best I go around, probably safer if my signature doesn't overlap with yours anyway. I'll try to stay close so I can jump in the moment you need me." Susaku reported and then suggested.
Technically as a Devicer, Susaku was currently independent of Shepard's command. Allowing Knightmares to operate independently was one of the things that made the highly flexible and mobile machines actually combat effective. Otherwise most other heavy duty equipment could be argued to outperform the Knightmares as the machines weren't made for headlong slug fests vs tanks and artillery.
Still as Susaku's CO, and the person this mission was actually entrusted to Hana felt reassured that Susaku wasn't some cocky mech-junkie and was putting genuine concern for the team first. "We read Armor-one. Good hunting." And then they could hear the sounds of the Panzer-Biene speeding ahead coming from the cliff beneath them.
"Ok listen up everyone. We're here for a Prothean Beacon a Alliance science team dug up just recently. Whoever is invading is almost certainly here for it, and it looks like the Britannians and E.U. are already shooting at each other in the chaos. If we get the Beacon off planet were a lot more likely to get the fighting to come to a early end." Shepard explained as she already began pushing forward. The silent truth, that also by doing this they were effectively forcefully cutting Britannia and the E.U. out of this science deal likely only passing through her head, something that became obvious as Kaiden practically shouted in surprise.
"What the hell are those?" The Biotic man stated, his gun trained on some floating fleshy creatures.
Jenkins tried to sound reassuring, but the slight chuckle, and mild exasperation in the man's voice revealed his amusement at the others reaction. "Gas-bags, don't worry their harmless."
Hana turned back to the Eden Prime native. "They're not going to turn out to be a battlefield hazard are they? No explosive reaction to being shot?"
Jenkins shrugged his shoulders. "That more depends on their diet, but I don't think even Prince Clovis is dumb enough, nor his administration corrupt enough to let that happen."
"Who?" Kaiden asked, before Hana could.
"He's the Viceroy of the Britannian colony here on Eden Prime." Jenkins added as the team made careful progress.
"Apparently the Britannians went nuts over someone of theirs being at the excavation site when the attack began. Could it be this Clovis guy?" Shepard asked, noting that they were nearing a clearing with too little cover for her comfort.
"I doubt it. It's a pain to pull that guy away from his opulence and parties. A dirty dig site isn't his style " Jenkins answered, and then Shepard raised her hand, first signing for them to cut chatter, and then with a few quick gestures pointed Jenkins to some cover ahead.
Obediently the Eden Prime native began making his way ahead, scouting for signs of enemy combatants and making ready to cover the rest of the squad on advance. Then just as the man was darting between cover three drones of a make Shepard had never seen before flew into the field, catching the man in the open and unleashing a constant stream if blue tinted gunfire into Jenkins. The rounds tore through his shields, shredded his armor, and nearly carved the man's head off with the sheer volume of rounds fired into him.
At the same moment Susaku's voice came through Hana's headset. "Contact. Unknown machine, heavy shielding!" Susaku was short and efficient, but already she could hear the strain in his voice, and the background beeping suggesting that Susaku's own shield was down. Knightmares were a pain to sheild at the best of times, but it said something that Susaku's shields were already down.
Still all those thoughts, and her acknowledgement of the report were mere background processes. Hana's real focus now was the three drones that had just killed someone under her command. Immediately she opened by unleashing a biotic warp into one of the drones while she and Kaiden let loose a constant stream of rounds into the three machines. All three machines clumsily tried to move to avoid the fire, but the two outer machines couldn't avoid the pair's fire and quickly dropped, while the center drone caught in Hana's warp began to smoke and with just a few spare round it joined its two companions as junk on the ground.
Shepard then walked to Jenkins. "Damn it!"
"They ripped right through his shields, he never had a chance." Kaiden stated while closing the dead man's eyes.
"We can't honor him by staying here. We fucking kill these bastards in his memory, and give him the credit. I want him to have a massive body count by this missions end, you got me?" Hana stated her voice a low growl as she pressed forward, sadly too used to the stench and sight of death.
"After you commander." And Kaiden fell into line behind Shepard.
Codex Entry:
Shinshirokuni Massacres:
Also refered singularly as the Shinshirokuni Massacre. Under orders of Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi Japanese Teishin Shudan troops raided several surrounding colonies including the colonies of Council races. The Lightning raids caught Citadel forces off guard particularly as these raids deliberately avoided direct military confrontations. Each Raid was targeted on the calture of captives, either large groups of civilians or groups or individuals of talent. Most were put to work as slave laborers for the Japanese military at Shinshirokuni colony, and a unrecorded number of individuals died under the harsh work conditions.
However as the Continuation War dragged on and the conflict did not escalate as the Japanese-Britannian Alliance forces had expected, and the rest of humanity was slowly beginning to turn on the two states, Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi declared that the captives were of no use to the war effort alive. Following the Prime Minister's directives, lieutenant Colonel Josui Kusakabe ordered every remaining captive to be executed via beheading. One thousand two hundred and four Asari, one hundred and two Turian youths, and four hundred eighty Salarians were then publicly executed.
Shortly afterwards 'Justice for Shinshirokuni' became a rallying cry for Council forces as well as E.U. and Alliance Forces as they began to battle in earnest against the Britannian-Japan Allies forces. The Slogan remains popular among anti-human factions and political movements seeking to place restrictions on humanity at large or Japan and Beitannia in particular.