Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Mass Effect to Bioware.
*Important note for those of you complaining about getting to the combat: I will update the first chapter of the story with a note like this telling you which chapter the fighting starts in when I get to that.
Read through everything I've written up to this point for this chapter. Corrected some syntax issues that inevitably slipped through along with taking note of everything I think I need to address. The coming chapters are devoted to tying everything together in a meaningful manner for the characters.
The vessel mentioned in a short bit is a Star Charter-class colony ship, such as the one seen on the UEG colony of Meridian in Halo 5.
Had a lot going on when I was writing the first part of this, so it ended up getting done about 100 to 250 words at a time. Hopefully quality didn't suffer. If you do see any issues with it, please feel free to let me know through PM or whatever other way you'd like. In fact, please let me know, it is really appreciated!
Also worthy of note, today is the one year anniversary for publishing this story. Here's to another year of chapters!
Now for Review Responses! If you don't care, skip to the breakpoint below. For responses, later reviews will be listed first, because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to reverse-order them. To those I do not explicitly mention, thank you for reviewing!
Since I have seen this mentioned several times: Master Chief is already written into upcoming chapters.
Me Myself and I: You know, I'd love to agree with you that Citadel ships also use visual cloaking, yet there's multiple points in the ME series where the Normandy, the "most advanced" stealth ship, is stealthed but not cloaked. I don't know why it was overlooked, but it was and it irritates me greatly.
Kaioo: Yep, there's a reason I devoted a chapter to them.
Machcia: Thank you, I try to keep it interesting but know that I go off into randomness sometimes.
Fernix13: Yep, FanFiction likes to slaughter formatting. It's why the Assembly symbols are so derped up. Interesting mathematics on the population thing, will have to look into it. Thank you on the pointer there.
Rook115: I have noticed that as well and plan to address it.
ConcreteCamel: would love to speed up releases, but as the late release today might indicate, there is an issue with that. Actually have considered pausing updates until I get more free time, but really want to avoid that.
Ramos: Another reason that a Genophage for Halo species would not work is our ability to mathematically model the spread of pathogens, see patterns in that, and counteract them. Based on recent progress in this area, along with advances in Qubits, we could model a biological attack like that within minutes of locating it.
Zenbeast38: Stop predicting my chapter! :)
theIrishWriter: I'd agree except that the Council didn't even seem to possess a sense of survival after nearly being killed in ME1.
Seems like I'm going to make a habit of almost missing updates. Such is life I guess, apologies for it.
10 Day of 4 Month, 2459/May 10, 2589/May 10, 2180
Systems Alliance Alert Perimeter
Uninhabited System
Gathering the delegation that would be travelling into old Human territory was a challenge in and of itself. Security needed to be maintained for every single representative while also allowing them to communicate with their fellows. That this was all happening on the outskirts of Systems Alliance space presented another issue with the small raiding groups that were starting to appear.
Shepard didn't begrudge the organizers their work, however, as she had done plenty of the same on several missions over the years. While it was certainly much simpler than this mess, it was the same general concept. Protect the important people, try not to alarm whoever they were seeing too much.
At the very least, the large presence of Citadel ships would help give a show of force to any two-bit idiot that might attempt to attack the gathered delegation. Part of the reason the Council had begun to recall their Exploration fleets was probably to try and show off their forces to the Wardens, but Shepard knew fully well that that was a hopeless effort.
There was simply nothing the Council had that could compare to the massive Covenant vessels. After seeing the CAS carriers at the Citadel, Jane had assumed that the leaders of the galactic community would know this. Instead, they were hoping to make up for that with numbers. To anyone with knowledge of the situation that had led to the creation of the Systems Alliance, it was obviously a lost cause.
Instead, most of the focus of the Alliance in choosing their delegation had been directed to personel that could evaluate the relation between the Wardens and Unified Earth Government. Considering the reports from the UNSC about the casualties during the war, the concept of creating a single body with the old Enemy had seemed ludicrous.
To Shepard, that seemed rather ironic considering that the Alliance had joined with the Citadel.
Of course, she wasn't paid for her opinion, nor did Shepard believe she understood the full situation. While the Citadel Council may have not been attempting to kill them, the ease which the Alliance had folded to its demands seemed preposterous after the conflict with the Covenant. After asking her mother about it, Shepard had only received the ever-frustrating response that the information was classified. As much as she wanted to press it, Jane knew from the tone of the reply that that idea was not prudent.
Thus, Shepard was left watching the preparations with little idea of how the Systems Alliance would be dealing with their counterparts in the Unified Earth Government. Of course, a mission briefing had been held for the Alliance party, but they had only discussed interactions with the UEG when other Citadel species were present. It was possible that the implication was for no one to discuss the respective situations of the two Human governments with each other, though Shepard wasn't confident in that particular assumption.
Her job on this mission was to protect the Alliance delegation and talk about the integration of Citadel species into the Alliance military. While she would love to assume that the task would require no political prowess, Shepard knew that the other species accompanying them would make that impossible. In that regard, the mission briefing had helped.
Any further discussions were to be held on the UNSC ship, which was expected in system at any point in the next few minutes. The entire Citadel delegation was already gathered in the room behind Shepard, mostly talking amongst themselves as they waited. Jane was tempted to turn around to watch Liara suffer the politicians beside Benezia, but the possibility of missing the arrival of the UNSC vessel was too high.
Many others in the delegation were also watching, though the politicians seemed to be more focused on preparing for an important meeting. Considering the attitude of the Citadel towards the UEG and Wardens in general, Shepard didn't believe it to be likely that any notable information would be exchanged once the diplomatic party boarded the human transport.
Whether that prediction was correct would be found out quickly, however, as the Commander noticed the telltale signs of a slipspace portal forming out in the void of space. As usual, the aperture only stayed open long enough to eject a ship before closing once more, leaving an oddly aesthetic craft hanging on the outer edge of the perimeter established by the Citadel species.
From the database of UNSC ships that had been provided to Shepard for First Contact, she recognized it as some class of civilian colony ship, though she did not have the name memorized. The outer hull had a silvery sheen, making it obvious to anyone familiar with human ships that it was not the usual Titanium-A used in UNSC ships. Of course, this made sense considering that such material was used in warships, not simple transports.
The implications of that were clear to Shepard as she analyzed the situation with a military mindset. Instead of sending a combat vessel to impress or intimidate the Citadel delegation while transporting them, the UEG had elected to send an unarmed ship.
In a political sense, it would convey a desire for peace along with the capability for social interaction. Appeal to the civilian population as a species that preferred exploration over combat. As someone who had severed for years, however, Shepard also realized the precautionary measure that the UNSC was using with such a ship. It was an old colony vessel, nothing particularly noteworthy or valuable.
If the Citadel delegation turned hostile for whatever reason, such as taking control of the vessel, the UNSC would have no issue destroying it. There were no weapons on board to threaten other vessels, and while ramming other ships might do some damage, it simply wasn't a viable strategy to do anything significant. Any technology that might be seen would be useless since this particular class was designed in the early 2400's and was probably outdated even then.
As Shepard looked back at the beings that would be going on the trip, she dismissed the idea that any of them would try something so blatantly. Subtle tactics for the Salarians, perhaps, and maybe attempts to acquire concessions by the Asari, but nothing outright hostile. The only species that might try something like that would be the Turians, but they had only sent a small force of soldiers to represent them rather than any diplomatic team.
With the UEG ship quickly approaching through the cordon of vessels, there was little time for any other considerations as the group began organizing itself. Circles that had formed while the delegation waited broke up as each Citadel species made ready to board the human transport.
Since the airlock on the approaching vessel would be incompatible with that of the Citadel ship, an adapter had been rigged to specifications given by the UNSC. The quality of that construction was proven as the foreign transport pulled up alongside the Citadel ship and connected to the frame of the modified passage.
Everything from there went by in a flash for Shepard as the assembled party made their way onto the colony ship. There was little in the way of greetings with the crew, as the only person they had seen was a single human in civilian clothes who led them to their quarters. Apparently there were few restrictions on where they were allowed to explore, which made sense since most of the ship would be cryo chambers or cargo bays.
Shortly after they boarded, an announcement sounded out about entering slipspace. As far as Shepard could tell, nothing changed, though a slight shudder rumbled through the deck. While she had been told that slipspace was a featureless landscape to human eyes, Jane couldn't help but glance out a viewport to confirm that knowledge.
Aside from that, there was little of note onboard the ship. Shepard spent several shifts with the diplomats, though nothing interesting happened, unsurprisingly. Exploring quickly became boring as room after room of empty space greeted her. Liara met up with her several times over the voyage but spent most of her time playing diplomat with the other Asari due to her mother's position.
Luckily, it only took several days to reach their destination. While this was concerning due to the speed it implied, there was little anyone in the delegation could do about predicting just how fast the UEG's FTL was. Since they didn't know the location of Warden space, let alone their specific destination within it, calculating their velocity was impossible.
Due to the curiosity of everyone from the Citadel, Shepard wasn't surprised to find the Observation Deck quite crowded when she arrived. After hearing the announcement that they would be exiting Slipspace shortly, the obvious place to go would be here. While Jane had found it earlier, she had quickly left after gazing out into the featureless abyss of the Slipstream for a few minutes.
That sentiment seemed to be shared by the rest of the delegation as they dutifully turned away from the disturbingly blank view. This was noted by Shepard as she glanced around the room, though she didn't make to move any farther into the mass of diplomats. As with every other soldier there, the Commander stayed on the edge of the gathering as they waited, content to stay away from the political dealings.
Looking around, it was simple enough for her to spot Liara talking with several Salarian scientists in one corner, all of them obviously eagerly awaiting their exit. Several other Asari were gathered behind Ambassador Benezia as she and the other diplomats talked with a crew members that had gotten stuck with the post of tourist guide. From the way the guy moved it was easy to tell he was nervous, though Shepard found it suspicious that the UEG would send an untrained individual to treat with such an important political delegation.
If he was part of an intelligence branch or some such thing, there wasn't much Shepard could do about it. So far nothing had been remotely threatening to the safety of the VIPs, so worrying about it now would be rather pointless.
Any other thoughts were usurped as the window of the Observation Deck flashed, letting everyone know that something was happening. In what seemed to be a coordinated movement, every person turned to watch as light once again appeared outside the ship.
Even with her battle experience, Shepard had to admit relief at once again seeing stars instead of the blank canvas of slipspace. Of course, going into cryosleep would spare the citizens of the UEG from dealing with the view, but how ship crews dealt with it was beyond her. In FTL travel she could see the streaks of light being warped by the Mass Effect field, but this slipspace method most certainly disagreed with her sense of reality.
Once the Commander had sufficiently taken in the sight of four-dimensional space, she took a moment to realize what wasn't present outside. There were no ships, no stations, no fleet of defensive ships, and most notably, no planet.
Instead, they seemed to be drifting in the interplanetary medium, at least that's what Shepard assumed. If they were out in the interstellar medium then it would be several years before they even arrived in a solar system, let alone at Earth.
Apparently this thought was anticipated as a voice came through the intercom and announced, "We will be approaching Earth at sublight speeds. Due to the high volume of traffic in system, this process will take a significant amount of time. Expect several hours of delay before we are cleared to land."
"We are not above your homeworld to land. Problem in communications?" Shepard heard one of the Salarians ask the only crew member in the room. Seeing a chance to learn some valuable information, the Commander moved from her position and made her way around the edge of the room as she continued to listen in to the conversation.
"This is a civilian ship. As with all such arrivals, we exited the slipstream at an Interstellar Jump Point, in this case the Inferior Sol System IJP. There are very few ships that are granted permission to exit elsewhere in system," the guy explained.
This didn't seem to appease the Salarian's curiosity as he pressed, "Why these Jump Points?"
From the reaction of the crew member, it seemed to Shepard that this was something he was knowledgeable in as he quickly replied, "Think of it like the Mass Relays you guys use. Slipspace jumps aren't very precise, so there's drift when we exit the slipstream. Since gravity wells tend to worsen the effect, specific points are easier to get to than others. By having assigned jump points, traffic can be regulated and collisions with celestial bodies avoided."
"What's preventing hijackers from using a ship as a weapon?" a Turian soldier interjected, getting a few interested glances from those listening in at the suggestion.
"Uhm, safeguards on the navigation system mostly. If those are bypassed, then accuracy becomes a major issue. Exiting slipspace inside a planet wouldn't do them much good, nor would exiting above the ODP grid. There's a small chance they could get through to the surface, but without navigation it's so small that it's deemed an acceptable risk."
The Turian pointed out the obvious flaw in that, "You said that a few ships could exit near your homeworld, though. What if one of those was stolen?"
Shepard noted the wince that crossed the face of the crew member at that thought before he replied, "If they managed to take control of a ship capable of pin-point slips, then they could do a lot more damage with it intact."
"What's preventing that then?"
"Mostly the fact that whoever was suicidal enough to attack a UNSC ship full of marines, ODSTs, and Spartans would never be intelligent enough to succeed," the crewman answered.
This seemed to amuse the Turian as he commented, "Pretty confident in that defense. What if someone hacked the ship?"
A slight bit of confusion appeared in the expression and voice of the speaker as he countered, "You can't just 'hack' a ship. Create a security breach at a specific place, sure. Maybe infect a few systems, if you're lucky, but not outright break in. Even then, taking control away from the helm would be nearly impossible."
"Why?" Benezia interrupted, drawing the attention of the crew member back to herself.
"A ship is an isolated environment. All they need to do to stop an attack from the outside is cut off communications," the guide explained.
One of the Salarians spoke next as he mentioned, "Our vessels have similar capabilities, yet vulnerabilities still exist. Acknowledging the same for your own craft would be logical."
"Well, yeah, holes exist, but they aren't obvious nor easy to use. Problems in essential systems take years to find for those who know the setup. It'd be a lot simpler to attack from inside rather than trying to break through the defenses. We know that they are there as every system has vulnerabilities, that's just how it works."
This interested the Turian that had spoken before as he stated, "You seemed to know a lot about this subject for a sailor."
A shrug was the crewman's response as he explained, "We're all required to take a course on ship security. Part of that is learning how to be careful around the electronic equipment to prevent tampering. This is a colony ship, after all."
Shepard suppressed any outward reaction at the implications of that statement. She hadn't even considered the fact that the UEG would send a colony ship because it was specifically built to prevent tampering by upset colonists. Whether it was an insult or just a precaution to make sure that the curious didn't hurt themselves, she wasn't sure.
"You're willing to share that information with us?" Ambassador Benezia asked with a hint of surprise.
Another shrug precluded his response, "It's not particularly helpful or secret information. This stuff has been known for hundreds of years, and you knowing it doesn't present a threat to this ship or the crew. There's no special tool or program that allows access into any system at the touch of a button that you can have on your wrist or whatever. Or at all, really."
"If you know of issues, why not fix them?" a Volus asked, getting a few looks but otherwise going ignored by the Citadel species.
This was not the case for the crew member as he looked at the short creature and replied, "Predicting every possible attack, from every possible place, at every possible point, that could happen at any time is practically impossible. Even with experience and skill, we're still human. Mistakes are made, and creative individuals can get in. That's why we have computer forensics and breach remediation and all that stuff. What that entails I don't know, but if there's an issue that's who I'm supposed to contact."
"This is a UEG ship, correct?" the same Turian inquired.
"Yeah. Colonial Administration, technically, but whatever."
At that confirmation, the Turian continued, "What about private ships not owned by the government?"
"You mean what about their security?" the guide asked for clarification. When he got a nod of agreement, he continued, "It varies from company to company and among individuals, obviously, but it's not a large concern."
Benezia asked the obvious question, "Why not?"
"After the Interplanetary War, a lot of network infrastructure was destroyed. Cyber warfare had been a big thing back then since the alternative of sending a ship across the space between planets would take years. To combat that, sympathizers bombed server farms and communication stations. With the war over, though, the UEG saw how much of an issue it could be in the future," the guide began, obviously feeling comfortable with relating commonly known history.
No one interrupted as he continued, "Originally, the Internet was built without security in mind. This led to issues in the 21st century with breaches and all sorts of nasty stuff. When the UEG rebuilt from the Interplanetary War in the 22nd century, they created Waypoint, Extra Planetary Wide Web, and all those associated systems for ease of communication. This time, though, security features were built in, ending many of the massive issues that had plagued the Internet."
"It is due to that focus on security that allows us to be confident in keeping ships out of the wrong hands. Sure, some issues exist, but they are much less serious and much easier to cover with the framework we have now. The main avenue of attack in modern hijacking is taking direct physical control of a ship to use it. That was a large problem during the Insurrection, which is part of what allowed the Systems Alliance to use so many vessels," the crewman finished with a nod to Shepard.
The gathering that had formed as the UEG citizen spoke turned its attention to another Turian soldier that had joined them as he asked, "This is no longer a problem then?"
"No, not particularly," the guide responded. "Hijackings occur in the Outer Colonies every once in a while, but that's to steal supplies meant for the reconstruction. After the Colonies forced the UEG to accept proposals for fair representation there hasn't been any serious call to action from separatists, insurrectionists, or rebels. Here and there some dissent has popped up, but nothing that's gone anywhere."
Since Benezia was the primary diplomat of the delegation, it came as no surprise to anyone when she questioned, "What do the people of the UEG think of the Wardens of the Mantle?"
A small sigh escaped the guide before he answered, "That's a big source of contention amongst people right now. It has public support for the general idea, but there are those who believe that we should take a role as leaders of the alliance. If you want to hear more detail about that, your questions about security, or anything else you're curious about, I'm sure that the official chaperone will be able to help out."
"As for now, I must take off and attend to my regular post for the approach. It will be a bit of time still, but you should be able to start seeing some traffic as we get further in system. No planets, unluckily, but there will be cargo transports and other such craft heading to the IJP. You'll be met on the landing pad by some UEG personnel, though I don't know what the plans are from there. Good day, Ambassadors," the crew member said, nodding to the assembled group before making his way out of the room.
Most of those present seemed surprised at the abrupt exit but said nothing about it. With the warning that they would be landing soon, many of those in the room began making their way to their quarters to gather their belongings and prepare for the inevitable formal events on the surface. Shepard was fairly sure that they would return to the Observation Deck once ready to be able to see Earth themselves, along with the fleets and other defenses guarding it.
That was the Commander's plan as well, but since there were still several hours to kill, she headed back to her cabin. Due to the constant location reassignments throughout her career, Shepard had no problem in packing the few items she had brought along. After that, she took the opportunity for a quick nap in anticipation that there would be little opportunity for rest once they had landed. If the UEG was anything like the Citadel, then some political gathering of officials would be held at a formal dinner, which was oddly exhausting considering Shepard's role was usually relegated to standing off to the side.
Even at a great distance it was easy to tell that the planet in front of them was heavily populated. Part of that were the small specks, barely visible to the naked eye, that made their way across the void. How large the actual ships were was something that Shepard could only guess at, but judging by the fact that they were visible at all, they weren't small.
What really gave away the status of the world, however, was the dense latticework of lights that made their way across the surface. While the colony ship transporting the Citadel delegation was still too far away for Shepard's eyes to pick out the continents, it was possible for her to get a general sense of just how developed Earth really was.
Even though the Commander knew that it might be slightly unfair, she couldn't help but compare the sight to that of the Systems Alliance world. For all the attempts to make it seem like the Human homeworld, by both name and by the spread of human cities on the surface, it still didn't come close to the real thing.
From talking to the crew members as well as reading some colonization records, Shepard knew that Earth wasn't the only celestial body with a significant population either. Specifics were rather lacking from the information she had and could get out of people, but by the sound of it there were multiple colonies in the Sol System alone.
As the ship began to drop into high orbit of Earth, that information was confirmed by the presence of significant development on the surface of the nearby moon. Due to their position to the side of the celestial body, Shepard could see hints of light from what had to be habitats on the surface. Above the body were stations of some sort, though it was anyone's guess as to their purpose.
Turning her attention down to the approaching planet, Shepard began to get an idea of the orbital infrastructure that she had seen from further out. Unlike Terra for the Systems Alliance, the UEG had made absolutely no effort to limit the number of constructions above their homeworld.
Of course, the Systems Alliance had that policy in place so as to prevent Element Zero accidents from affecting the last stronghold of Humanity. Thus, construction facilities were built elsewhere in the system, giving them a bonus in security as well since an enemy would have to divide to hit both Terra as well as the shipyards.
Looking at the defenses present here, however, there was little doubt in Shepard's mind that the UNSC took a significantly different approach. Getting an idea of the size of the defense fleet was difficult due to the civilian vessel as well as the vast nature of space, but even from the single window of the Observation Deck multiple warships were visible. From what she knew, the Commander could identify a couple of old Paris-class frigates as well as a Halcyon cruiser, but that was it.
The vast majority of ships were of newer classes, ones that the Systems Alliance did not have information on. That made sense to Shepard, seeing as the destruction of the War against the Enemy would have necessitated new ships with the improvements derived during the course of the conflict.
What really grabbed her attention were the orbital defense platforms mounting what looked to be massive cannons. At least that's what Shepard assumed the towers protruding from each platform were, as she didn't have any ideas as to what else they would be. Only two of the defensive platforms could be seen as the colony ship descended, but it didn't take a genius to know that many more would be positioned around the rest of the planet.
Shepard watched out of the corner of her eye as the other members of the delegation took in the orbital platforms. Several private human colonies in the Citadel galaxy had orbital battle stations, but nothing on this scale.
A slight intake of breath brought the attention of several beings to Ambassador Benezia. Rather than speak out loud, the Asari Matriarch simply nodded towards the bottom of the window. Any adjustment by the group was halted as the ship began to rotate, leaving the delegation gazing straight towards the surface.
Or at least they would have been, had a massive construction facility not been blocking the view. A mess of cranes, walkways, and equipment covered the scaffolding, but it was what sat at the center that really drew attention.
While it was impossible to guess at the size of the vessel due to the lack of comparable objects nearby, there was little doubt that the ship had to be massive. Ten other vessels sat to the side of the larger one, each at varying stages of completion. Judging by the design, Shepard guessed that they were frigates, but the implications of that assumption were rather pressing.
If the small ships were frigates of a comparable size to the Paris-class, then the vessel beside them would be more than five kilometers long. While impressive, that also allowed the Commander to get an idea of the size of the platform itself since the current project didn't take up even half of the available space.
Shepard huffed slightly at that, recognizing the tactic as a form of shock and awe. Shipyards of that size were unheard of, even for the Systems Alliance. That the transport had just happened to fly above such a valuable asset meant that they had had clearance to do so.
Making a mental note to ask about the platform when she got the chance, Shepard turned her gaze to the planet below as it became visible one more. Even though they were on the daytime side, it was possible to pick out development, at least in a general sense. Currently they were above Europe and making their way South, relative to the axis of the planet.
Going by her knowledge of Earth, Shepard predicted that their flight path would take them over Africa, though their descent angle was far too shallow to land on that continent. If anything, they'd be in low orbit by then, perhaps in an attempt to drop through the atmosphere slowly and bring them in to land in Australia or South America. The Commander doubted that the UEG would land an important diplomatic party on the ice of Antarctica, though she could be wrong.
An answer to that question appeared as the transport sank lower towards the surface. At first, all that could be seen was a small line on the horizon, easily dismissed as glare or something like that. This was proved incorrect as the very thin line became significantly less thin as they approached, leaving Shepard unsure of what exactly was before them. As they drew closer, others began to notice the same strand and point it out, allowing the Commander to dismiss the notion that it was an illusion.
It was still a couple minutes before enough details became clear for the actual purpose of the object to be deduced, yet even then Shepard could believe that it was possible. In front of the Citadel delegation, stretched above the planet with deceptive ease, were the strands of an operational orbital elevator.
Shepard could tell it was operational due to the presence of a platform flying up into orbit. A glance down the strand leading to the surface was all the Commander needed to know that riding something like it would be sickening. Unlike looking down from orbit with nothing below, the presence of the elevator allowed Shepard a sense of scale as it faded into the atmosphere.
While she couldn't do the exact mental math, some rough predictions based on geostationary orbit put the length of something like this at several tens of thousands of kilometers. From their position, this specific tether would lead down to the top of Africa and likely into a city, though Shepard had no idea what one specifically.
Feeling rather numbed from the size of UEG constructions, Shepard looked past the elevator, out into the ocean beyond. Several clouds were present, but otherwise it was remarkably clear weather on the surface. A quick glance to the horizon revealed that it would not stay that way, a fact given away by the sheet of white slowly moving over the surface of the ocean below. The Commander blinked to get rid of the idle thoughts, recognizing them as an attempt to distract herself from what she was seeing.
Knowing that Alliance Command would be interest in her report on Humanity's true Homeworld when she returned, Shepard once again took to examining the surface below. With the transport coasting in low orbit, it was easy to see the geographical regions of the planet. Light tan of a desert gave way to the green of plains, with the dark green of forest and blue ocean creating easy outlines to each side.
After a short time, an anomaly on the horizon caught the Commander's eye. As she focused on it, Shepard noted that the grassland had turned back into desert, or at least sparsely vegetated area. Apparently terraforming Earth had been possible, at least assuming that the Arbiter had been telling the truth when he said that the Covenant reached the planet. That there was no sign of glassing so far was a significant indication of the UEG's capabilities with rehabilitating from an assault.
Filing that away for later, Shepard examined the surface in anticipation of getting a clear view of whatever had caught her eye. It didn't take long for the object to become visible, and as much as Shepard wanted to be surprised that it was something insane, she wasn't.
For all their blindness to the significance of what was in front of them, even the diplomats in the Citadel delegation could not ignore the massive piece of architecture below. Circular in shape and easily visible from orbit, the thing disrupted the landscape in an abrupt and disjointed way. There was no warning of its existence, the ground simply went from natural to metal instantly, leaving a perfectly circular hole for the object.
Caught staring at the circle of metal as she was, Shepard almost missed the orbital tether rising up into the void from the ground. It quickly became clear that that was their destination as the transport began to slow down.
Once they'd drawn closer, the Commander could see that there was a station positioned on the side of the tether. Obviously it wasn't the end of the strand, but it did allow the logical deduction that each tether could have multiple docking points rather than the single one out in High Orbit.
A simple examination showed that the docking station wasn't anything impressive, merely some cargo bays, hallways, and anchoring positions for smaller vessels. Whether that indicated that even the UEG's smaller vessels could not enter atmosphere or not, Shepard didn't know. At this point she knew that she desperately needed to shift her point of view away from what was regular in the Alliance and to a more open perspective.
There was almost complete silence as the Citadel delegation left their impromptu taxi. A single person greeted them on the station, though the woman merely guided them to an open elevator before leaving them. From her uniform as well as blatant stare, Shepard gathered that she was part of the station crew and unlikely to be trained to deal with diplomatic events.
Normally, the ride down the orbital tether would have been rather unpleasant for Shepard, even with Liara there beside her. At this point, however, all the Commander felt was numb as the platform began to descend. Much to the credit of the UEG, though, the fall was almost imperceptible. Even as Shepard saw the rings of the strand flash by with increasing frequency, there was no perceptible change in the feeling of the lift.
Considering that the were descending from however many hundreds of kilometers up, the lack of any change in gravity was impressive. Glancing outside, Shepard noticed that tongues of fire were flashing outside the windows of the platform.
It only took several minutes to breach the upper layers of the atmosphere, though any view that they might of had of the city was obscured by the growing darkness of night combined with cloud cover moving in above the city. Of course, most of the attention was instead directed towards the anomaly sitting to the West of them as everyone tried to figure out its purpose.
Shepard knew that guessing was useless, however, as there was nothing in Citadel space that compared to the structure. Instead, she simply watched the city below. Small dots became clear as they approached, allowing Shepard to deduce that they were the tops of buildings breaking through the clouds.
At a hunch, the Commander began to analyze the city layout with a tactical mind as best she could from what was visible. Almost instantly the compartmentalization became apparent, with each section grouping of towers clearly divided. From that as well as the presence of the orbital elevator, it was easy to deduce that cities with the massive tethers were natural hubs of activity, both for trade as well as transit.
More than that, however, Shepard recognized the design as an attempt to minimize damage. It didn't take long for her to figure out that it wasn't to prevent an enemy attack or crowd control but rather defend against structural failing of the tether itself. Each area was divided on a radial axis out from the base of the tether, meaning that no two areas could both be destroyed if there was a critical failure somehow.
Of course, if the elevator did fall, then its length would allow it to wrap itself around the entire planet, but Jane recognized that there was little that could be done to prevent that.
Taking her attention away from the tether, the Commander began to examine the edge of the city. Since they were closer to the ground, it was slightly difficult to see the edge of the circular hole through the thickening mists, but it was still possible for Shepard to get an idea of how the city dealt with whatever the thing was. From what she saw, it looked like the object interrupted the edge of the city, with buildings simply ceasing along its outer edge.
That implied that the structure hadn't originally been planned, which wasn't exactly hard to guess since such perfectly shaped objects didn't tend to stay so well defined in a city. Apparently the UEG had been unwilling to build over it as well, which meant that it had some sort of purpose. Shepard only hoped that it wasn't a landing pad, as any ship that needed that much space would be death to morale in a fight.
Any concern Shepard had about that would be for later, however, as the platform began to slow. This was noticed by the rest of the Citadel delegation, leading them to begin organizing to meet their counterparts on the ground.
Taking her own position at the side of the Systems Alliance Ambassador, the Commander had an easy view of the outside as the massive door to the lift opened. Instead of a large diplomatic party or group of dignitaries as seemed to be expected, they were met by a single serviceman.
Unlike the crew of the ship or tether station, however, this was an actual soldier. Shepard immediately noticed the rifle slung across his back as well as a pistol on his hip. Various pieces of armor were present, along with various pouches and other miscellaneous items. After a second of searching, the Commander picked out the handle of a knife hidden on the guy's waist.
Before any questions could be asked, the soldier turned and began walking away, obviously expecting the diplomats to follow. That expectation was met, though several curious mutters were passed around.
The reason for the odd arrival quickly became apparent as the wide hallway suddenly dropped them onto the floor of a large concourse. While not nearly as large as the Citadel Presidium, the amount of activity compressed into the space easily made up for that. Hundreds of people were present in a seething crowd that seemed to flow in a chaotic sea, but even with each person trying to reach their destination there seemed to be no issues with collisions or other such interruptions.
Luckily, the Citadel delegation wouldn't have to wander into the crowd as the soldier leading them turned to the side. Multiple guards were standing out from the wall, keeping the area clear of any wandering citizens. Their postures were alert, but there weren't there for show as they actively scanned the crowd rather than making any attempt to appear formal for the Citadel's party.
Shepard noted this behavior, as was her job. Since the soldiers still had their weapons holstered, it was obvious that they didn't expect an immediate threat, but that contradicted their actions. If the UEG was so concerned about xenophobia in their own population that they felt the need to post armed guards for a diplomatic party, then the delegation's own security would have quite the time with that.
Of course, it had been known before they came that security would be an issue, but it had been possible that members of the delegation would have the chance to interact with the populace. Getting information out of civilians with no training on what was valuable or not was much easier, especially considering the limitations the Wardens had put in place to control that information on their end. If there was a threat to delegates, however, then it was the Commander's job to make sure that they couldn't get at their targets.
A job which would be much easier if the diplomats kept out of public situations as much as possible.
Discussion about that would have to wait until their accommodations were determined. For the moment, Shepard and the rest of the Citadel delegation guards kept to the same routine they had maintained for the trip here, which basically consisted of dealing with whatever happened as it came. Predicting anything about an entity as unknown as the UEG, and really all the Wardens, was a hopeless task.
This was proved true once again as the delegation was led through the hallway to yet another open space. From the stores and other such commercial venues, it was obviously some sort of shopping center for people waiting for or coming from the tether. Unlike the previous area, where they had been mostly ignored due to distance as well as the slightly panicked nature of people trying to get on their flights, the Citadel delegation received a great number of stares.
At first it was only a few, but others joined as foot traffic began to slow. The soldiers of each Citadel species noticed this, though none took action as they continued without interruption. After they had left, the Commander could hear activity starting up once again.
From there the delegation emerged into the open air. For the first time, they had the opportunity to see the land around them from the ground. The differences between Earth and the Systems Alliance homeworld could not have been more clear to Shepard as she took in her surroundings.
For all that could be seen from the trip down the orbital tether behind them, it did not give a particularly good scale of the size of the city below. With their position on the ground, it was possible for the delegation to see buildings that stretched up into the sky before fading into the clouds above.
Although impressive, it was also obvious that many of the structures were engulfed by mist before their height could be gauged. The encroaching darkness prevented any of those in the delegation from being able to tell how far out the city extended, be it towards the circle of metal or up into the air.
On that thought, Shepard turned around and looked up into the sky, following the tether as it ascended. Other members of the delegation noticed that and turned away from the city as well, though some of them merely glanced back. Shepard understood the action as she quickly lost sight of the elevator as it went up into the night sky. The thought of relying on such a connection to hoist them back up into space was less than calming.
There was little time to consider that, however, as a convoy of vehicles came rolling to a stop before the delegation. To Shepard and the others who had been in Alliance cities, this was no surprise. Personal flying transports had been introduced but were banned in heavily populated areas due to safety concerns, thus the used of wheeled vehicles on streets.
Most present had not had that experience, however, leaving them quite confused. So far, the UEG had demonstrated impressive capabilities in the structural engineering of their ships and buildings. To see such a primitive mode of transport was offsetting as even the most remote Citadel planets had skycars.
Either way, there wasn't much of a choice at the current moment, leading the delegation to split into groups. As they did this, Shepard noted that each little cliche was formed from individual species rather than split along the lines of diplomats or soldiers. Alongside each group was at least one Turian soldier, though there were a couple in the smaller groups such as the Volus and Hanar.
Shepard dutifully followed the Systems Alliance representative to their own vehicle. After opening the door and quickly scanning the inside, the Commander stepped aside and let the diplomat go first before following herself. Some nice decorations were placed on the inside, but nothing particularly notable or important to Shepard.
The trip to the city was fairly quick from there as the convoy pulled out onto the massive road leading away from the orbital tether. While it was slightly odd to not be able to see the driver of the vehicle, it was hardly an issue as far as security was concerned. If there was an issue on that front, then there was nothing that could be done at the moment.
Luckily, the convoy arrived at their destination promptly, allowing Shepard and the rest of the Citadel delegation a view of the massive building they had stopped at. From the line of soldiers keeping any civilians back, it was clear that this would be the place they would stay for the night at least.
This proved correct as they were led inside by a woman dressed in a formal suit. Shepard noted to herself that this was the first person they had seen who actually looked like they were qualified to discuss something with the Citadel delegation. As to what that would be, however, was still up in the air.
Apparently the answers to some of their questions were coming immediately as the group was led into a large room with a lectern at the front. Once all of them had arrived, the woman that had been leading them took her place up front. This gained everyone's attention quickly, allowing silence to fall in the group as she began to speak.
"On behalf of the Wardens of the Mantle I welcome you to the Milky Way, and on behalf of the United Earth Government I welcome you to Earth. It seems like your trip went well, but we understand that such travel can be rather exhausting. Due to this, any diplomatic events have been put off until you have had the chance to rest," the woman began.
No one spoke up as she continued, "I will be coordinating travel plans as well as events for you while you are here on Earth. If there is anywhere specific you wish to go, you need merely ask. As for plans, guides will be available to show those interested around the city tomorrow. The day after that, we will be heading to Sydney to meet with officials from the UEG. Nothing more is planned from there as we will try our best to help you connect with what interests you rather than some preset tour. If you have any outstanding questions, I will answer them as best I can."
Ambassador Benezia spoke up first as she asked, "Why did we not land there to begin with? We could rest there just as well as here."
"Well, yes, but the arrival time of your ship made it easier for you to get off at the New Mombasa Tether. If you'd landed at Sydney, it would've been early in the morning. It is a lot easier to adjust your sleeping cycle if you go to bed when it becomes night rather than sleeping through the morning," the woman replied.
Silence was all that greeted that explanation. That such a detail had been addressed was odd to the Citadel delegation. For them, it had always been a matter of catering to the timetables of the Council, regardless of when they arrived. To be given some time to adjust was different.
Benezia eventually responded, "Understood. Thank you."
"Of course. Any other questions?"
"What is the structure outside the city?" At that question, the attention of the room turned to Liara. From the expressions she could see, Shepard could tell that the diplomats thought the question too forward while the soldiers such as herself appreciated the blunt curiosity.
Apparently the UEG speaker had no issues with it either as she answered, "It's formal name is the Excession, though most people simply call it the Portal at Voi or the Artifact. Covenant ships uncovered it during the attack on Earth at the end of the War. If you want to see it active, there's a scheduled opening tomorrow. We would've warned you about it in the morning, as it can be somewhat startling if you don't expect it."
Liara easily caught onto the important tidbit of information there as she asked, "The Covenant uncovered it? So it wasn't built by humans?"
"No, it was not. The Forerunners built it here as a way to get to the Ark. Why they did so here on Earth is either unknown or classified. Not sure which."
"The Ark?" Liara pressed.
A quick glance around the room assured the woman that she wasn't boring anyone as she responded, "A Forerunner station out in space. The only way to get to it is the Portal, as its exact location is unknown, or at least not practically reachable."
"Considering the information shared with the Citadel before we came here, I'm surprised you can talk about it at all," one of the Turian soldiers said.
Shepard stared at him as she tried to figure out why he seemed familiar, but couldn't solve the mystery before the speaker answered, "I don't know anything more than what the rest of the public knows. Nothing I'm telling you is secret. It's not like we could hide the Portal anyways. As for the lack of information, that's protocol. Access to UEG networks has always been limited."
"Why?" a salarian asked quickly.
The sudden question seemed to surprise the speaker, but she quickly found the curious delegation member and explained, "Partly information overload, but mostly compatibility. We haven't encountered any species that had networks that could process our data. Data crystal chips allow proximity transfers but not anywhere close to the scale needed for interstellar communications."
"Interesting. Possible to learn more on subject?" the Salarian inquired.
"Of course, but that will have to wait as I am no expert on the subject. We can certainly look into scheduling those interested for a visit to a university or industrial facility that deals with that field. The same can be done for anything else anyone would like to know more about," the speaker said.
It took a few seconds before someone else asked, "Will we be allowed to explore your city ourselves?"
Shepard was slightly amused by the blunt inquiry but couldn't deny curiosity as to the answer.
"You are guests of the UEG and Wardens of the Mantle. As much as I wish that you could wander freely and without concern, there are those who are less than welcoming to your presence. If you do decide to explore without a guide or protection, that is your decision, but we recommend against it," came the reply.
That didn't seem to sit well with the delegation, though no one argued against it outright. They all knew of Humanity's war with the Covenant, and from that it wasn't hard to deduce that some members of society would simply not cooperate with other sentient beings. After all, the same was true with the Citadel and Terminus Systems.
When no one else said anything for a short bit, the woman ended the meeting, "Rooms have been reserved for all individuals. If there is anything that you need, instructions for using the various features have been provided in your native languages. Good night, and I will see you all tomorrow before we set off for Sydney."
With that, the woman made her way out of the room as the beings that made up the delegation began to socialize. Now that everyone was safely inside the building, Shepard's own shift was finished as well. While not exhausted from the travel, Shepard had no issues with catching some extra sleep, especially when the alternative was engaging in political discussion. Her decision made, the Commander quietly slipped out of the room.
A few questions later and she had directions to her room. Apparently every person in the delegation had designated rooms, as Shepard's bags were already sitting just inside the doorway.
After doing her nightly routine, Shepard took a moment to look out at the view presented by the window in the room. Late as it was, there was still traffic on the streets. Looking out at the buildings, the Commander finally allowed herself to compare the city with those of the Systems Alliance.
It wasn't a good result.
For all the buildup on Alliance planets, they simply didn't have the population to justify massive cities. With the threat of the Covenant at their back, people had spread out as much as possible on the surface of Terra to maximize their chances of escape, as centralizing into a city would make a better target for attack. Easier to defend as well, but defense wasn't really seen as a viable option for the Alliance's orbital assets.
Here, that wasn't a concern due to the defenses above and, if Shepard wasn't mistaken, on the ground as well.
That brought Jane's mind to the subjects that had been marked as imperative for the Alliance to discuss with the UEG. While meetings with all members of the Citadel delegation were certainly scheduled, Shepard had also been assigned to accompany the Alliance diplomats to more private gatherings on the journey to Earth. As a soldier of the Alliance, she had been authorized to discuss how joint forces would be utilized and managed, though Shepard was also familiar with the other important topics.
Most prominently among those was how the Alliance and UEG would hand immigration and emigration from their respective states. Considering the fact that Humanity had been united for more than two hundred years before the Covenant War, no one was really sure how to handle the situation since every planet in the UEG had had open borders. Fear of a coming war as well as the status of the Alliance on the Citadel Council prevented an easy decision. The reputation of the SA had been damaged by the revelations from First Contact, meaning that the Council could pressure them into being a stepping stone for other Citadel species to make their way into UEG and Warden space.
Obviously, the Wardens were not too keen on that.
Aside from that controversy, Jane knew that the name of the Systems Alliance homeworld was being reviewed as well. When established, the planet was thought to have been the last bastion of Humanity. Every human could still say that the homeworld of the species was Terra, even if the context was slightly skewed. Now that they knew that Earth hadn't been destroyed, the politicians wanted to play their games with renaming the world.
Shepard personally considered it to be rather obvious that the UEG would win any argument over the rights to the name of Terra. However much she was used to calling her home planet such, the Commander knew when to acquiesce. Of course, the debate over what to rename the Alliance homeworld would certainly be interesting when they returned, but in all likelihood Shepard would be dealing with the joint force project rather than getting involved in political games like that.
Any further considerations on the topics of discussion for the upcoming meetings were pushed from Jane's mind as she heard the door to the room open. From the obvious clumsy shuffling, Shepard knew that it was merely Liara fumbling around in the dark.
Giving one last examination of the view outside, Jane turned away from the view and made her way back to the entrance to try and help out. Behind her, the massive circle of metal that made up the Portal sat, oddly lacking in any form of illumination underneath the clouds.
Encountered a little issue in this chapter. See, the UEG can build Orbital Tethers (also known as Orbital Elevators). Now, that's all well and good, except that an Orbital Tether on Earth would have to be about 70,000 kilometers long.
And Earth had six of them in 2552, before the Covenant attack. Harvest had one. Mineral-rich colony worlds commonly have them. Circinius IV had one. Arcadia had three. Cascade had one. Luna had multiple. Mars has some. Harvest had seven. Reach had nine. Meridian had one.
MERIDIAN. Literally a ball of glass, with a private corporation chipping away in a terraforming effort.
That means that private companies can build Orbital Tethers on minor worlds.
Not all of them are 70,000 kilometers long, admittedly, but still. There are at least 29 known Orbital tethers in Halo. The Covenant destroyed most, but the fact that Meridian had one indicates that they could be rebuilt very quickly.
It is also possible that Halo humans have technology that allows them to NOT be so long. If you care one way or the other, give a shout with a PM or what have you.
Also, I know that Hood in Halo 3 said that Rtas glassed half of Africa. Considering the fact that the ending speech was given on a hillside next to the Portal at Voi, I think that's a huge exaggeration. You can also see the portal and surrounding area when the forward half of the Dawn is crashing, and it looks like there's still greenery around the area as well.
That construction is 117 kilometers across, by the way. It is most certainly visible from low Earth orbit.
Sorry once again for the lateness of this update.
-evevee