Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Mass Effect to Bioware.
Free time? Hobbies? What are these things?
A few hundred words shorter than usual and another long delay in getting this out for which I apologize once more.
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!
To those asking for an update: Huzzah, here you are!
To those asking if the story is dead: Huzzah, nope!
To those complaining about story length: Simplicity does lend itself to crossovers in my opinion. Sorry :/
Guest: The Guardians against Reapers would be devastating, yes, but that is something that we as outsiders know. To the characters, the Reapers are still a largely theoretical threat since they know so very little about them.
The Master of Sin. Lucifer: I do want to have the UNSC experiment with Mass Effect, but considering their advancement with hardlight technology, it is unlikely that they will incorporate it in anything but experimental development projects. This chapter should answer your second question, and I do not plan on adding OC species to answer your third question.
TheRealMasonMac: Tying up loose ends that I don't want to have floating around further into the story. Did the same thing with the Flood, quite simply I don't want to have the Spirit of Fire be a big plot point so I removed it from interfering later.
Bakh: Not sure I understand your review. To "solve" the Warden's supposed superiority complex, they should have forced the Citadel Council to cede to their demands and adhere to their standards? I also disagree that a preeminent galactic power such as the Citadel would want to give up their positions of power in the face of an unknown, foreign alliance.
Barni: Thanks? I don't know what tune to use with those lyrics, though.
The Iron Waffle: Centuries-old humans are a legitimate possibility, yes. Not sure I want to tangent out into the implications of that, but a mention of the deaths during the Covenant War of those types of people might come about. At that point, however, mental degradation is a very real probability.
Oralecks44: The Council will have its reckoning. I will not say more than that. :)
ConcreteCamel: I plan to focus on the Normandy since the star characters are all gathered there, as is fitting for Mass Effect, but I will continue to touch on the broader macro as well. As focused as ME was on Shepard, there is a LOT more that goes on in a war effort than one ship can display.
BattleshipFusou: Chief is not a talkative fellow, especially not with non-Spartans.
Mr Weird Guy: That is something I don't know if I've ever seen a fanfiction address, that being the economic impact of technology from Halo or Mass Effect to the other verse. At the same time, a war machine is so dependent on economic efficiency that creating a dependency on foreign material would almost certainly win a war through lack of public support for a conflict alone. Quite literally bite the hand that feeds you.
Lord Jaraxxus: I haven't really told any views from standard UNSC soldiers/UEG civilians. Peace with the former Covenant does not ensure universal support for the Wardens, and peace with the Alliance doesn't guarantee forgiveness for their perceived betrayal. Good thing to address with the joint-fleets, eh?
Lanzador: Thank you for the lore recommendation. Dunno if you've read my one-shot redo of the Locke vs. Chief fight, but I will say with fair confidence that I understand the capabilities of a Spartan-II very well, and I agree that keeping their abilities in mind is important.
Mteran305: I want to hit the second anniversary of this fic with another chapter, but I do have some progress on the next chapter of TGP and will try to get that out if I finish the next chapter of this early.
. : Yes, Garrus saying that the SoF was 2.5km would be a typo. Good catch!
nikhilssindagi: Damn, I like that idea. Unfortunately I don't read the reviews cause I'm a nervous wreck if I try to write and read reviews at the same time, but I can certainly do that the next couple chapters until the delegation leaves Earth. Will credit you, thank you!
Thorthemighty321: Well, yes, mass effect rounds have a large amount of energy, but how much area do they have to transfer that energy to a target? Not much, thus they overpenetrate and retain much of their kinetic force. That article does mention tanks, but I can find no mention of specs for ME tanks so...the rest of your speculation is not really pertinent. They COULD be amazing tanks, or they could suck. I don't know because there's no canon details on Citadel tanks. Thus, lacking any actual information on their existence beyond a secondary codex source, I am classifying ME tanks as non-existent. I disagree with your assessment of their strength, but that's beside the point. If you'd like to talk more about it, feel free to shoot over a PM. Love lore and specs conversations like this. :)
heartfanglives: A mistake on my part to cover so much. Apologies.
AmethystPone: Pre-War UNSC Frigates fires a 600 tonne ferric tungsten slug at 30 km/s, not 30,000 km/s. Super-MACs fired a 3,000 tonne slug at 12,000 km/s. The Pillar of Autumn received refits before the Fall of Reach that allowed her MAC capacitors to recycle charge and thus allow for a faster fire rate at the cost of wearing out the capacitors at a faster rate.
June 6, 2589/17th Day of 5th Month, 2459/June 6, 2180
UNSC Anchor Sierra
High Earth Orbit
"Welcome to Anchor Sierra," Fred greeted the alien group as they took in the sight of Blue Team. While John technically led the team by rank, there was no way that he would have spoken up without being directly addressed.
"I assume you're the UNSC team that will be joining us on the SSV Normandy?" the human leading the party of various species asked rhetorically.
Fred replied, "Yes, sir. HIGHCOM has authorized Blue team to deploy under the assignment of assisting in operations undertaken by your vessel."
"Glad to have you on board. Captain David Anderson, I'll be your commanding officer on the Normandy." Anderson turned to the side and gestured to the human woman next to him as he continued, "This is Commander Shepard, she'll be your XO and lead the ground team on combat operations. I assume you want to keep the call sign of Blue team?"
"Yes, sir," Fred answered with a nod.
Anderson nodded back and asked, "What's your name?"
"Blue Three," the Spartan responded before pointing back to John, "Blue One," then on to Kelly, "Blue Two," and finally to Linda, "Blue Four."
The Captain stared at the Spartan for a short second before trying again, "That's great for call outs during combat, but you'll have down time while we're in FTL. What are you called off duty?"
"Sierra 104 is sufficient, sir," Fred stated, leaving his teammates out of the introduction this time.
Anderson didn't seem surprised by the non-answer as he replied, "So be it. Do you know if any other species of the Wardens will be joining the crew?"
"Yes, sir. Two Special Operations Sangheili and a Huragok. Other forces may be recruited if necessary for large assaults," the Spartan responded.
"That's unlikely but appreciated. Obviously they are not here now, do you know when they will join us?"
Fred lifted his shoulders ever so slightly as he answered, "No, sir."
The Captain of the Normandy frowned slightly at that and said, "Understood. Are they all combatants?"
"Not the Huragok."
"Alright, that can work. Do you have any concerns about orders during missions?" Anderson asked bluntly.
Fred stared silently at Anderson for a second before flatly replying, "So long as they are not hostile operations against the Wardens of the Mantle."
One of the turians in the group laughed at that and commented, "That shouldn't be an issue." As the attention of Blue Team turned towards the alien, he continued, "Spectre Vakarian. I, along with Spectre Arterius, will be the Council's representatives on the Normandy. We're here to make sure no issues arise from the Normandy's assignments."
"Noted," Fred replied, avoiding the silence that would have otherwise been his answer.
"We didn't come all this way to just chat for several minutes and leave. Why are we here and not on the surface?" Anderson asked. From the tone, Fred knew that it was merely a prompt for the reason that they were up in orbit.
Fred turned and nodded to the landscape displayed behind the Spartans. At the confused glance he got in return, the Spartan explained, "War Games simulation to evaluate team strength."
"In orbit? Why not on the surface?"
"Some combat conditions cannot be accurately created without catastrophic damage to the surface," Fred told them frankly.
Spectre Vakarian spoke up again, "The conditions you could simulate up here are even more limited I would think."
"Forerunner makes it possible. I don't know how it works," Fred said, intercepting the obvious follow up question.
"Well, we didn't come prepared for a fight. When were you planning on hosting this simulation?" Anderson inquired.
The Spartan turned slightly to the side for a second before replying, "Tomorrow. Those who wish to attend can report to the coordinator tonight. You may bring your weapons. A briefing will be held before the mission starts."
A second of silence passed before Anderson nodded slightly and responded, "Understood. You can expect everyone here to be present tomorrow as well. I assume I may observe without participating?"
"Yes, sir."
"Excellent. I look forward to seeing the entire team in action," Anderson stated before beginning to retreat from the room. As he left, Fred's enhanced hearing could picked out his words to the Spectre as he muttered, "Apparently we did come for several minutes to chat. Not a sociable sort, are they?"
The Turian took a second to answer, "That's fine, as long as they-"
Whatever else was said was cut off as the bulkhead closed, leaving Blue Team alone to watch as the hard light simulation began to morph into the scenario that had been selected for testing the Normandy's ground team.
18th Day of 5th Month, 2459/June 7, 2180/June 7, 2589
UNSC Anchor Sierra
High Earth Orbit
Come up to Anchor Sierra and try out the combat simulation, they said. It'll be a great exercise, they said. As far as Garrus was concerned at the moment, however, whoever 'they' was could go on a one-way trip into the Veil.
It had started out as such a nice day, too. Get up in the morning, gather combat gear, and head back up to the UNSC station for a day of learning about the mysterious Blue Team. Get into the 'War Games', start to synergize as a team and learn about the enemies that the UNSC had fought.
If that wasn't enough, the information that he had found on the UEG Waypoint seemed to indicate that the War Games simulations were far more than just mock battles with training ammunition. Fully realized augmented or even virtual reality was apparently common in UEG space, though large-scale use in military training had only come about after their war with the Covenant. Of course, that made sense since it was the only way that the humans could possibly consider orbit a better place for training facilities than the surface of a planet.
The possible applications of such a technology were staggering, especially the with enemies that might still lurk within the Warden's galaxy. Being able to accurately assess how a force would perform in engagements would be invaluable to Citadel military forces. Considering the wide range of uses in human civilian life, it would undoubtedly be hugely popular with Citadel civilians as well.
At the current moment, however, Garrus was far more focused on surviving against the aforementioned enemies than on how the humans had created such a novelty.
From the pre-mission briefing given to the Citadel team, they were conducting a planetary assault against a world controlled by Kig-Yar. Warden forces had already engaged and eliminated hostile vessels, giving them orbital supremacy. As a Spec Ops team assigned to a stealth vessel, it was the ground team's job to take out several pieces of critical defense infrastructure to allow for large-scale troop deployment. Once that was complete, they were to join with the primary assault group to provide support in breaking the enemy lines. None of that was particularly surprising as it presented a textbook case of combat on an enemy world.
Most of the team had assumed that this would be similar to Turian doctrine, with major population centers being targeted and leaving the majority of territory in enemy hands. Such a tactic was basically unavoidable for a planetary invasion as there were few fleets in history that would have the manpower necessary to do otherwise. While it was obvious that the UNSC was focusing on similar specific objectives, their execution of the tactic was far more aggressive than the Citadel's, at least in this specific instance.
Unlike Turian units, which relied on stealth to avoid engaging hostiles unrelated to accomplishing their mission, the Spartans simply annihilated everything in their path. As far as Garrus could tell, the UNSC had confused long-range penetration units with shock troopers. While it may have been easy to attribute this to the Spartans working alongside the Normandy crew, the presence of multiple other groups doing the same thing indicated that this was a planned and, more importantly, familiar strategy for UNSC forces.
Admittedly, Garrus could not deny the effectiveness of the tactic as enemy forces fell into disarray from casualty numbers alone.
Having accomplished their objectives, the Normandy team had been directed to fall back and prepare for the main assault. This led them to their current position of taking cover from the bombardment directed at the enemy lines ahead.
Garrus had been in battles before, taking part in several skirmishes with Terminus denizens along with the tailend of clashes with the Geth in Citadel space after the Morning War. He knew that the rest of the Normandy crew had similar experience, that each knew their job and how to perform it well. After fighting with Blue Team, he was also confident that nothing short of heavy weapons would present any appreciable threat against the heavily armored humans.
He was also completely and utterly certain that the Spartans were the only members of the group who had ever been in a conflict like the current simulation.
Vibrations shook the ground at their feet and the muffled impact of heavy weaponry sounded from across the battlefield as the humans turned everything in front of their forces into a chunky, red paste. The source of this bombardment sat high above their heads, drifting through the clouds of smoke that obscured the sun and cast the entire area in a pale grey pallor. From the few breaks that the Turian Spectre had managed to catch, he knew that the UNSC had positioned at least three of their frigates above the frontline.
It was unlike anything he had ever seen or ever heard about throughout his service. No Citadel forces fielded fire support of this caliber, and they certainly didn't do so on cruiser-weight vessels rated for atmosphere.
Suddenly, a calm voice sounded across the team's communications as the order came for them to advance. Glancing to the sides and making sure that everyone was ready, Garrus followed Shepard as they charged out of cover alongside other UNSC forces. Within seconds, the rest of the Normandy's crew followed, falling into formation with the Spartans taking point as they had learned to do when fighting earlier. Garrus had to give credit to Shepard for her quick learning on that one, the massive soldiers were perfect for leading the team into heavy fire.
As the humans pushed the front forward, the streaks of shells falling in front of them also shifted, moving across the battlefield like a literal rolling thunder. Left behind was what Garrus could only describe as a barren wasteland comparable to the surface of a dead world. Craters pocketed the land and the only living organisms were the human forces advancing across the hellscape. Since any semblance of cover had been obliterated by the bombardment, the infantry kept behind the large wheeled vehicles that the humans called 'pigs' for some odd reason.
Much to the surprise of Garrus, it wasn't long before the team was ordered to assault a fortified enemy position that had survived the devastation. According to the human intelligence services, an important database of local Kig-Yar ship locations was present along with several high-priority targets that had been marked for elimination. The primary objective was the retrieval of the data with any assassinations coming secondary to that goal.
They had just reached the perimeter established by simulated UNSC forces when an alert came in over the team comms, "Be advised, all ground units in sector 13. Frigate 338-Heavy has been authorized for an orbital MAC strike at 29.553 mark 85.283. Impact in t-minus 93 seconds."
Garrus was not the only one who turned to Blue Team at that, either in surprise or with the expectation that the Spartans would understand the communication better than themselves. They were not disappointed as the one with a 087 on her chest piece pulled up a map of the surrounding area for all to see. The position of the team was clearly marked on the very edge of a massive red zone that went off the holographic interface. A marker designating their current target gave the team some perspective as to the scale of the map, with ground zero easily being several dozen kilometers away.
"Hold position, we'll move after impact," Shepard ordered after considering the situation for a short bit. She received no argument as the team moved to the defensive positions established before their arrival.
While waiting for the round to land, Garrus considered the regular UNSC troops around him. Even though he knew that this was a simulation, it was truly impressive how easy it was to forget that. The tension of battle was real as the human soldiers moved to brace for impact, with the obvious faces of recruits mixed among the hardened veterans of the Covenant War.
For Garrus, it was that realism that hammered home how foolish a war with the Wardens would be. He had known it would be a bad idea, anyone with any experience in combat analysis would know that, but it was clear just how bad of an idea it was. These humans, along with every other species in the Wardens, had fought a war of such scale and devastation that orbital strikes were seen as standard operation. From the description of glassing, it was a tactic utilized by both sides to leave no opposition standing, regardless of the damage caused.
Total War was a concept well known by the Turians. They were the only Citadel species to ever approach the realization of the idea in the war against the Krogan, who themselves were the only known people to actively engage in such a tactic. To commit every facet of a civilization to the pursuit of victory in a conflict was a foreign concept to every other known race, at least until now.
It could be seen when the Spectre had visited the Museum of Humanity and accounts of the horrific wars humans had fought before. It could be seen by their view on the Covenant War and the accounts of the battles that were fought in that conflict. It could be seen by the common philosophy throughout their history. For humans, when fighting for the survival of their society, every option was preferable to defeat.
Rather than sending troops to take a heavily fortified enemy position, the humans would simply obliterate it with orbital weaponry. If a valuable resource could be denied to the enemy, it would. These were not the battles that Turian fleets fought against pirates. This was war, something not seen in Citadel space since the Krogan rebellions, and the humans were absolute masters at its execution.
A sudden silence spread throughout the humans, causing Garrus to look towards the horizon. Contrasted by the dark clouds obscuring the sky above was a bright line connecting the heavens to the ground below, caused by the friction between the orbital shot and the gases it ignited. There was no sound beside the shifting of bodies as everyone present hunkered down to weather the coming storm.
Less than a second later the scream of the round splitting the air reached them, followed almost immediately by the whump of impact. Garrus was thankful that he didn't try and peek out as a massive cloud of dust swept over the area and the ground shook beneath them, disorienting the Spectre. Due to the kinetic nature of the human weapons, the actual blast itself was fairly focused, with the crust of the planet dispersing most of the energy rather than the pressure wave that was the result of explosives.
Garrus took a second to glance over to the targeted area once the shaking stopped, though quickly lost interest when he saw that the dust kicked up obscured any visual of the crater. Turning back to the team, he followed as they continued towards their mission objective.
Within several minutes they had obtained a visual of their target, courtesy of Blue Two as Blue Team's designated scout. Their target was a den of Kig-Yar that had hunkered down in a crashed Covenant vessel with enough armor to make bombardment a hopeless prospect at best if the UNSC wanted to execute a data retrieval mission. Obviously the combat would be close quarters, unsurprisingly, leaving Garrus at the back of the formation.
Shepard had already decided on an infiltration route and recalled the Spartan to bring the group up to full strength. As helpful as it'd be to have advance intelligence on the layout of the base, the risk wasn't something that the Commander wanted to take. In much the same way, she'd denied Garrus the chance to split off to find a good position for sniping in earlier combat.
When everyone had been assigned their roles and the team was in formation, they advanced into the fallen ship. Even a cursory glance at the outside made it clear that this thing wasn't going to be flying again, something emphasized by the fact that their infiltration route was provided by a massive rend in the hull of the vessel. It was into this dark maw that Blue Team led them, with the Spartans flashing bright lights from their helmets around the interior to make sure it was clear of hostiles. After working with the massive humans earlier in the simulation, Garrus knew that the visual examination was nothing more than habit. In several previous fights the Spartans had known where the enemy was approaching from before making visual contact, meaning that they had some method of motion tracking or something similar.
From that point the operation moved forward without many hitches. Even with such a large group, they were able to infiltrate the enemy position without a problem. After bypassing several groups of enemies that were en route to reinforce positions against the human assault they were expecting, the team made it to their primary objective. Since it was a War Games simulation and not an actual vessel with critical information, the team was required to hold position and wait while they took the area in a very simple but functional mechanic had they been under fire.
As they waited, Shepard turned to Blue Team and asked, "Is there anywhere in the ship that we can hold and draw them to us?"
"Hangar," Blue Three answered instantly.
"How many attack vectors?" Shepard inquired.
Sierra 104 hesitated for a second before replying, "Ten."
The Commander frowned at that and replied, "Lot of positions to defend."
"Open area. Recommend against corridors, unable to utilize all members and grenades will be major threat," the Spartan explained.
"Will it still be intact?"
Blue Two cut in as she answered, "No external damage to indicate collapse."
Shepard took a short time to think and ordered, "You have permission to break off and recon the area. I don't want to trap us in a dead end if the passage is blocked. Avoid engaging hostiles."
The Spartan nodded and set off, her footsteps nearly inaudible with the ambient noise. Within seconds her massive form vanished into the twisting halls of the Covenant vessel, hidden from Garrus' view by a turn in the passage.
Even after they had waited long enough for the simulation to mark data extraction as complete, the team held their position and waited for a report from 087. By the alert but unconcerned postures of the other Spartans, it was clear that they were confident in the abilities of their teammate. After having seen them in action, Garrus was fairly certain that that confidence was not misplaced.
Several minutes later, the call came over the team comms, "Partial interior collapse on port docking bay. Found alternate route, hostiles present in hangar."
"Understood. Give us a path, we're moving to your position. Permission to engage granted," Shepard responded. Shortly after this, a marker appeared on Garrus' HUD, courtesy of the Spartan scout. Falling back into formation, the Normandy's team moved out with Blue Team once more taking point. As they moved, the Commander ordered, "Weapons hot, engage at your discretion. Immediate threats take priority over VIP targets. Let's make some noise."
With that, the team moved out, covering ground at a fast pace. Unlike their previous objectives, where stealth had still been an asset to be conserved, there was no reason to maintain strict fire control here. They were already in the middle of a warzone and had human reinforcements surrounding the mission area anyways. Either the targets would die to Shepard's team, die to the UNSC soldiers outside, or get shot down by the ships above if they tried to flee in aircraft.
As such, any semblance of hesitation regarding engaging hostiles disappeared almost instantly. Several small groups of Kig-Yar were simply run over as the Spartans gunned them down without slowing their stride. With the newfound level of killing efficiency being displayed by Blue Team, the hallways in front of the Normandy team remained clear of hostiles as they made their way towards Blue Two. Since he and the rest of those from Citadel space were apparently not needed with their vanguard mowing down everything that moved, Garrus took a second to observe the humans in unhindered combat.
From the speed with which they drew beads on and thusly eliminated targets, it was clear that Blue Team was just as adept at killing enemies as they were at avoiding them, not that that was surprising to the Turian. What was truly impressive was the coordination that the three Spartans utilized to clear out hostiles. It wasn't even designating targets but legititmately coordinating fire to maximize their effectiveness, with each Spartan contributing interchangeably.
Any distant targets were taken out by Blue Four with pinpoint accuracy, often before Garrus himself could even register their presence. When not busy with that, 058 would assist by picking at any Kig-Yar that bore their circular shields, causing the undisciplined beings to stagger and expose themselves to bursts from Blue One and Three. Anything that did not have the advantage of range or mobile cover was annihilated with extreme prejudice, often before they could even return fire at the team. Had the last member of Blue Team been present to flank, it was likely that most hostiles would die before realizing there was a threat in the first place.
It was a combat strategy that was ill-advised for all except the most desperate situations. Any mistake could mean disaster and it was almost impossible to maintain such a pace for any length of time. Without downtime to recharge shields, reload, and recuperate, most any group would die from attrition before accomplishing anything except exfiltration. That Blue Team was capable of maintaining a run-and-gun tactic made their possible application on the battlefield that much broader.
Garrus was certain that he was not the only one contemplating such thoughts, something that was confirmed when a ping came across the private channel between Saren and himself. A quick flick of his hand to the side of his helmet accepted the call without muting the general team comms.
"They're holding back," Saren began, cutting straight to the point.
"Obviously," Garrus replied. "We wouldn't be able to keep up."
Saren grunted at that and stated, "Better to send them on their own to distract the enemy and allow a small strike team to accomplish objectives."
A second passed as Garrus watched the Normandy's Commander before responding, "Shepard might not know that, she wanted to know how they worked with a team."
"Not well," the elder Spectre criticized.
"Their war against the Covenant changes things," Garrus said. When Saren stayed silent, he continued, "Any regular soldier that worked with them would almost certainly die. We've only succeeded with stealth and concentrated fire, anything with a real personal shield would present a major threat. They're used to working alone because that's how they finished their missions, as sole survivors."
Saren looked over at Garrus for a brief second before turning back to continue their run to the hangar. Eventually, the Turian asked, "How do we use that?"
"According to what I was reading on the human's Waypoint, the UNSC used them for operations behind enemy lines and for suicide missions of critical importance. We aren't fighting a desperate war for survival, at least not yet. Deploy them to break enemy positions and allow the rest of the team to advance," Vakarian answered.
"Perhaps," Saren granted.
There was a pause in their conversation as the group finally reached the hangar of the crashed ship. As they emerged, the Turian Spectre took a second to scan the area for advantageous positions. Before him was an appreciable drop, at the bottom of which was the crumpled remnant of a ramp that had been destroyed when the vessel crashed. Several other such ramps coated much of the area in debris, though the collapsed port side also contributed to the chaos. Several dead Kig-Yar were already present, courtesy of the Spartan standing amidst the wreckage waiting for the team to gather.
A grunt came from Garrus as he dropped to the floor, the last to do so as the Normandy's experienced fighters secured any entrances to the area. With their sprint through the ship to get here, every hostile would be heading for their position after taking some time to organize into an actual group. Since that was the point of going loud, however, the only concern that Garrus had was how much time they had to prepare for the onslaught.
As he made his way over to an elevated position provided by the damage to the port bay, Garrus listened as Saren resumed, "They don't consider the possibility of prisoners, at least not from what we've seen. Hard to interrogate a corpse. Either way, will need to be careful where we deploy them. Keep the team grouped up and make sure there are plenty of other targets."
"You think they'd try to take down the Normandy?" Garrus pressed.
Saren huffed and replied, "With how the Council's pushing, that might be what it comes to. Would prefer to face them with the full team than split apart."
Vakarian considered that for a short time before inquiring, "You think that'll help?"
"It'll give us a chance at the least," Spectre Arterius said softly.
There wasn't much to argue with there, so Garrus didn't even bother trying. Instead, he turned his full attention to the room before him, his perch granting him an unobstructed view of the entire team. Of the original ten entrances that had led to their position, three had been sealed off by the damage done to the ship, with two others basically useless due to the lack of a platform at their height.
By Shepard's orders, the Normandy's team had split off to hold each door as best they could. If one team was overwhelmed, they could fall back under covering fire from Garrus and Blue Four. Being overrun by hostiles was a possibility, but the Spectre was fairly confident that their fighting capabilities were good enough to prevent that. Failing all else, Shepard could simply set loose the Spartans, though Garrus was of the opinion that it'd be better to see the team fail and improve rather than be carried by individual team members.
With their position set and reinforced best they could, the only thing left to do was wait for the enemy to group up and engage. Usually letting hostiles regroup would be near-suicidal, but Garrus was fairly confident that Shepard chose the tactic to test the team's ability to hold a position against such an onslaught. Why use a simulation if risks weren't taken, after all.
That onslaught arrived shortly after as multiple groups of Kig-Yar emerged from the hallways leading to the hangar, each shielded from any immediate fire by the glowing circles that they utilized. Several green balls flew at the Normandy team, though all were poorly aimed and only ended up leaving small melted areas on the shipgrade hull that lined the room.
Garrus wasted no time in returning fire as he sent a shot over the top of a shield to take out the alien holding it up. Even with that relatively quick first kill for the Turian, his shot was drowned out by the Spartan's thunderous weapon as it let loose three massive slugs, each finding their mark in the hostile lines. As helpful as that was, the real damage caused by the eliminations became clear as the rest of the team opened fire.
With the holes opened by the two snipers, the others could send rounds into the sides of the Kig-Yar to further thin out the shields and allow the bulk of the enemy to be targeted. Several more intelligent hostiles attempted to reorganize their makeshift units into something that might be able to at least beat an ordered retreat, but their efforts were only met with bullets from the two snipers hidden behind the team's lines.
Over the course of the fight, Garrus noticed several mission objectives disappear from his HUD as marked hostiles were taken down, though he hesitated to use the term 'assassinated'. Taking a quick break from firing, the Turian Spectre thought that slaughtered might fit the description of their target's fate much more accurately.
Without a reliable shield to hide behind and their lack of kinetic barriers, the Kig-Yar stood no chance against the Normandy team. By the volume of targets, it was clear that the simulation was attempting to overwhelm the team by numbers. It appeared that the concerns about being overrun by these enemies were unfounded, however, Garrus could see many problems with the team that would need to be fixed if they were to face more difficult foes.
Individually, there were no outstanding mistakes as far as the Spectre could see. Everyone seemed to be competent at hitting their target and knowing when to take cover, all that was expected of soldiers. It was a lack of teamwork that caught the attention of the Spectre. Even with this one moment of observation, it was obvious that each member was acting independently with minimal direction from Shepard. The only exception to this was Blue Team, though that didn't surprise Garrus after their earlier display.
While the Turian would be greatly concerned about this in normal circumstances, the Commander's performance earlier made it unlikely that her silence was spawned from incompetency or insecurity.
As he went back to picking at the Kig-Yar, Garrus made sure to keep an eye on Shepard's behavior as the fight progressed. Within minutes it became clear that the Commander was calmly analyzing the team in action, just as Garrus was doing. There were several times when the human stopped firing to focus on another member in action and take note of how they could improve.
At this point, the Kig-Yar had begun to realize that they had lost and tried to retreat back into the twisting hallways of the crashed vessel. Unfortunately for them, there were still two targets remaining for the team to eliminate. With another shot, Garrus dropped that to one as the target tried to make a break from the safety of cover to the exit.
Now that they had a chance to breathe, Shepard quickly made sure that everyone on the team was green before giving the order to pursue. In a break from previous tactics, the Commander kept the Spartans back and put the Asari Justicar on point.
Unlike the UNSC soldiers, Samara had a notably more defensive fighting style. Rather than killing hostiles before they could react, the Asari used her biotics to shield herself from enemy fire and let other team members eliminate the attackers. While at first concerned that the glowing bolts the enemy used as projectiles might penetrate the biotic barrier, Garrus quickly gained confidence in the tactic as the Asari showed no sign of strain form the impacts.
With the team now organized in an acceptable fashion, they began clearing out the twisting halls as they moved towards the exit. Since most of the hostiles onboard had died in the hangar, there were no large groups to slow them down as they backtracked.
Thus, it was only a short time later that the ground team was once more approaching the line set up by humans around the area. Several dead Kig-Yar near the ship made it clear that the UNSC forces had shown no mercy and gunned down anything that tried to escape.
Once they had reached a safe distance from the crashed ship, Jane called in command for their next mission objective. Instead, the team received orders to fall back and prepare for extraction. While surprised with the order, Garrus had no complaints as the team began to make their way further away from the front.
As they walked, the Spectre pulled up a tactical map of the battle on his omni-tool. Even though it only covered their assigned sector, it wasn't hard for Garrus to see that the UNSC had already won the battle. The lack of any force of respectable size meant that the front had advanced to another region, leaving behind only destruction and the corpses of any enemy that opposed them.
Several minutes later, the Normandy team reached their pickup location. Apparently the UNSC had fairly stringent protocols regulating how close vessels could come to an active battle, probably due to the devastating anti-air units that the Covenant had employed during the War. In this case, however, there was no actual ship coming down to pick them up as the UNSC did not have any idea what the Normandy would look like nor how it would maneuver.
Instead, the team ended the War Game in a rather unspectacular fashion by watching the world around them dissolve into small hexagonal tiles, revealing the massive room that they had wandered around for the last several hours. Garrus felt that the stares of the Normandy team were rather warranted considering the level of realism the simulation had achieved, though he supposed that Blue Team was probably already accustomed to the feeling as the Spartans turned towards the exit. In short order the rest of the soldiers had adjusted to the sudden change in scenery and followed the armored giants through the open door and into the room beyond.
After taking some time to recuperate after the simulation, Shepard stood from her spot at the and addressed the rest of them, "I'm heading to the debrief with Anderson. There'll be no team debrief for this mission, but if anyone wants to talk individually, let me know. We should be able to get footage of everyone so we know what we need to work on. Good work."
Several cheers followed her exit as Garrus watched the Commander disappear into the hallways of Anchor Sierra.
June 7, 2180/18th Day of 5th Month, 2459/June 7, 2589
UNSC Anchor Sierra
High Earth Orbit
As Jane stepped into the conference room, those present turned their attention to her, causing the Commander to hesitate for a second. At a gesture from Captain Anderson, however, she continued forward, glancing between the four other people in the room besides herself and the Captain.
Sitting across from the Normandy's leader were four figures, only two of which Shepard recognized. Closest to Shepard was the Chief, still clad in his formidable armor as he sat in a chair clearly designed to handle his weight. Somehow, it didn't surprise the Commander in the least that the Spartan wore his armor even outside of combat. Probably got the hint from how little the four humans communicated in the simulation. Beside the soldier was a frail-looking woman dressed in civilian clothes, making her the odd one out in the room. Admiral Lasky Was next, a face that Shepard recognized from some of the discussions she'd attended down on Earth between Benezia and the UEG. Last was some sort of intelligence officer that the commander also recognized but could not put a name to, unsurprisingly.
Her quick observation complete, Shepard took the seat next to Anderson, putting her directly across from the civilian woman. It was only then that Jane realized that the woman was missing her left arm from the shoulder down, with a prosthetic taking up the space instead. Whether it was a result of self-experimentation, combat, or an accident was impossible to tell.
"Only us two," Anderson told the assembled humans. At that, Admiral Lasky looked over to the intelligence officer and got a nod in return after the man fiddled with something on the holotable for several seconds.
"Everything said here is classified to the highest levels," Lasky began. "Anyone outside this room who needs to know the details of your mission has already been informed. By the authorization of the Systems Alliance High Command, the SSV Normandy is being assigned to provide operational intelligence against the threat known as the Reapers."
Shepard narrowed her eyes slightly at that. The Wardens had certainly taken the Reaper threat far more seriously than the Council, but to be actively gathering intelligence seemed like they had already confirmed their existence in the first place.
Before she could speak, however, the previously silent intelligence officer picked up from where Lasky had left off, "Initial investigations have corroborated the claims made by the Systems Alliance to a sufficient degree to merit concern. While we have access to some more remote locations that the Council does not actively monitor, ONI has identified several critical areas of interest within your galaxy that require a more personal touch."
"Meaning you can't get to them alone," the woman stated with some amusement in her voice. Admiral Lasky sent her a disapproving look that was easily ignored.
"Yes, well, we were instructed to avoid a war with the Citadel."
Lasky interjected, "And we will continue to avoid it unless they push for one or if it proves necessary, Admiral Fewkes. HIGHCOM has made it clear, CENTCOM for operations in Citadel space will continue their current assignments until we have data on the Reapers."
"Which is where the Normandy comes in," Anderson said.
The ONI Admiral turned his attention to the Captain and confirmed, "So it is. Your mission is to deploy to locations within Citadel territory that are otherwise inaccessible to the Wardens. Mission objectives will mostly be data retrieval and threat assessment, though that may change depending on how this investigation progresses."
"All data you collect will be sent back to the Systems Alliance, who will pass it on to us," the woman stated imperiously.
"Admiral Hackett will be your primary contact for information and acquiring cover missions to take you to the designated areas. Keeping the Citadel Spectres ignorant of this operation is critical to prevent the Council from interfering," Lasky finished.
Once Anderson had taken a second to process those operational directives, he inquired, "Permission to speak?"
"Granted, we understand this is an unusual situation," Lasky responded.
"I suppose the most obvious question is about your intentions for conflict with the Citadel," the Normandy Captain started with a bit of hesitation.
Admiral Fewkes replied, "Military Intelligence suggests that the Citadel Council is completely incapable of responding to a galactic threat. Preliminary reports on their ability to react to such a crisis on a social and economic basis are also discouraging. War might improve their chances of survival, or at least slow the advance of an enemy."
"What if the Reapers attack in the middle of that war?" Shepard asked. "If the Council is focused on you, their fleets could be cut off in our galaxy and unable to assist. Even with the Normandy finding information on the Reapers, we won't have good intel on how dangerous they are. Wiping out previous species could have been simple for them if they had some way to control the Mass Relay network."
"There's no way around that if the Reapers can control the Relays, though we can at least plan for it. Ultimately, it's a risk we're willing to take. If the UNSC had not faced the Insurrection, we would have been in the same situation when the Covenant attacked," Admiral Lasky stated.
The ONI officer agreed, "Halsey's correct, as irritating as that is. The Citadel Council is susceptible to a critical failure in their primary form of intersystem travel. Their military vessels and shipbuilding yards are worthless if they can't go anywhere or communicate with anyone."
"Assuming that the Relays can be remotely shut down by the Reapers," Anderson interjected.
Halsey, as the woman was apparently named, snapped, "Assume the worst when talking about threats to an interstellar civilization. Humanity has faced galactic extinction before, the Council has not."
Jane frowned and replied, "I hardly think the Covenant could wipe out an entire-"
"I was not speaking of the Covenant," Halsey interrupted. "There are far worse things than some religious zealots with a superiority complex. Far worse than the Reapers ever could be, for that matter."
"And how do you know that?" Shepard questioned.
"Because we'd all already be dead if that were the case," Lasky answered.
The Commander was silent as she stared across the table before responding, "You are taking the Reapers seriously then. Good. Any independent investigations presented to the Citadel Council have been dismissed."
There was a small smirk on Halsey's face as she replied, "That's unfortunate, but we know that they exist, and we know that they have destroyed an interstellar civilization in the past. We must take the potential threat they represent seriously as we know so little about them otherwise. Their nature, their tactics, their beliefs, none of that."
"If the UNSC has faced things like this before, it would had to have been after the Alliance was formed. I expect that you're sending someone who has experience with that situation?" Anderson inquired.
Lasky nodded and gestured to the silent giant as he answered, "The Master Chief is the most experienced and most qualified individual for dealing with this situation. For missions assigned by Hackett, we recommend deploying Blue Team either with the main group or separately. Try to limit their deployment on assignments with the team otherwise, as Spartans were designed to work separately from regular troops, as you saw in the War Games. He also has an unfortunate knack for finding the nastiest things in the galaxy, things that I doubt many of your team could survive contact with."
"Lovely," Jane commented, glancing over at the silent giant. "If necessary, I will bring him with the ground team, though. I can't limit my selection because someone is too good, even if their teamwork is not up to par. We kept up with Blue Team in your simulation, we'll be able to do the same in the field."
Halsey looked about ready to argue with the Commander before Admiral Lasky responded, "On a standard mission, perhaps, but if the situation calls for it, they will not hold back. The Wardens will have forces near you at all times in case things get really out of control without warning, but you'll need to know when to fall back from a fight."
"The Council had not informed us that they were permitting forces to accompany us. That makes our strategy as a stealth ship somewhat difficult to maintain. How many ships will be with us and what are they authorized to do?" Anderson asked.
"Just one, and it will not interfere with your vessel's stealth capabilities," Fewkes replied. "As for authorization, that will be up to the discretion of the vessels commander and the Chief. If necessary as a last resort, the UNSC Security Council has given permission for the destruction of systems to delay the enemy if they come in force."
Jane stared at the four people across the table for a time before sitting back and sighing as she said, "You're serious."
"When faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable," Halsey said calmly. Neither of the two Systems Alliance soldiers could argue with that.
"What the hell kind of ship are you fielding?" Anderson finally inquired.
The silent Spartan finally spoke as he stated, "Classified."
It was clear that the Chief wasn't going to say anything else, allowing Anderson to ask, "If we encounter the Reapers in force, how far out would support be? One ship cannot fight a war, no matter how powerful."
"Deployment numbers and locations of Warden assets are generally classified, especially when it comes to our operations in the Citadel's galaxy. If Blue Team cannot accomplish their objective due to enemy numbers, then you will receive coordinates to fall back to for support. It is unlikely that our joint-fleets with the Citadel will be able to assist, but those groups can be called in as well. If the threat is truly that serious, then more extreme measures may be implemented," Fewkes answered.
"And what is their objective?" Jane questioned. "I can't have soldiers going AWOL."
"In the event that you discover a Reaper vessel, Blue Team is to infiltrate and disable the ship for study by a team of Alliance and Warden scientists. Other members of your team from the Wardens may also participate in that operation if necessary, but no other part of the ground team is to do so," Lasky replied.
Shepard glanced at the Chief and responded, "While they were certainly apt in the War Games, I don't think that assaulting an unknown enemy ship alone seems like the best idea. If they don't succeed, does someone else have the authority to command your support ship for assistance?"
"How much do you know about the Spartan branch?" Lasky asked after a short time, redirecting Shepard's question.
"What I've been able to read when on Earth. Most elite units in the UNSC, separated into their own branch after the end of the Covenant War. Almost everything about them is classified, but the Master Chief is seen as a hero. I'm not trying to insult him," Jane defended.
Admiral Lasky nodded and said, "Not saying you are, but do not underestimate Blue Team. That War Games simulation was not difficult, it was a display of the type of enemies we currently fight against. It was only a hint, however, of the capabilities of a Spartan. Since you are their commanding officer during this operation, it will help you to know where and how to deploy them. First thing, what are your thoughts on their performance?"
Jane was somewhat surprised to be asked that, however, she quickly gathered her thoughts and answered, "Blue Team works together almost flawlessly, though they also tend to engage enemies individually rather than focus on one target. Their coordination with the rest of the Normandy ground team was the most problematic issue I saw. A lack of shields will also be a problem against Eezo weaponry while their weapons may be weak against enemies with kinetic barriers."
"As for deploying, their most effective role would be in breach-and-clear ops where hostiles need to go down fast. I didn't notice any issues with trigger discipline or unnecessary engagements when we were keeping silent, but four metal giants clomping around doesn't seem to lend to stealth. They would make an excellent distraction to draw enemy forces away from an infiltration group. I would like to work on integrating them into the team if we need to move as a group, however, I understand the issues with that considering their abilities. Those are my initial impressions, at least without knowing them personally."
Halsey appeared irritated, though Shepard wasn't sure if it was directed at her since the woman was looking off towards the ONI officer. Lasky ignored the interaction in favor of replying, "Glad I asked, then. Considering what you observed in the War Games, that's a fair assessment. Blue Team was not particularly challenged, though neither was the rest of your team. I think it's fair to say that some of the aliens from your crew were not performing at their best either. For the most elite soldiers of the Citadel, I was not impressed by the Spectres. They might not be deployed with regular troops often, but I still suspect that they were limiting themselves."
At Anderson's nod of agreement with that, the UNSC Admiral resumed, "The same is true of Spartans, both about holding back as well as working with non-Spartans. They operate behind enemy lines, fighting on the front only in desperate situations. The Spartan Branch was created after the War to give the UNSC a force capable of what essentially amounted to suicide missions. Intelligence gathering, infiltration, target elimination, sabotage, they do it all. We asked you to limit the deployment of Blue Team because neither the UNSC nor Systems Alliance believes the Council is ready to understand human warfare."
"Currently, the Council does not know about energy shielding, or so our intel reports at least. The reason you did not see the shields of Blue Team is because they were not being hit by enemy fire. Any Waypoint search results relating to the widespread use of energy shielding by the Wardens have been blocked by ONI AIs. It is possible that they might learn of it through their interactions here on Earth, but it is unlikely. The same is true of many other pieces of military hardware that are considered critical to any respectable fighting force. Introducing the Council to the concept of something like a main battle tank might help them prepare, but it will also terrify them considering the heaviest vehicle they deploy is little more than an APC for human forces."
"There was a lot to see, but a lot more that we didn't," Jane concluded.
"Precisely," Fewkes affirmed. "We don't know some things, such as the interaction between plasma and biotic barriers, but that will require experimentation by Alliance biotics. As for the Council Spectres, ONI has observed them in action and received information from the Systems Alliance as well. Two of them being assigned to the Normandy means that the Council will be keeping a very close eye on your vessel."
Lasky took over once more, "Blue Team will limit themselves and their weaponry. If necessary, however, they can escalate the situation. You will need to know what the Spartan team assigned to the Normandy is capable of and command them in a manner befitting of those abilities. As such, you have been given clearance to view the dossiers of Blue Team, though many sections will remain partially or fully redacted." With that, the UNSC officer slid a datapad over to Jane.
Ignoring the obvious differences from similar items in the Systems Alliance, Shepard picked up the tablet and began poking through its contents. Unlike the omni-tools that she was used to, this thing had a physical screen, but there were no security measures that she could see. After taking a second to examine the device, she glanced at Lasky and asked, "How do I lock this?"
"You can't, at least not for yourself. If you aren't the one using it, then no one is. No information is actually stored on that, it's merely a connection to the data," Fewkes explained.
A quick glance was all Jane needed to see that she would need to pry information from the Spartans themselves if she wanted to interact with them. Almost everything in the file was marked as classified, with the largest visible section devoted to the Chief's capabilities. After flipping through the files of the other three members of Blue Team, Shepard paused as she noticed the rank listed beside the Spartan's service designation.
While Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy was a rank within the Systems Alliance, it seemed that the UNSC had decided to retire the position after the Covenant War. Jane had figured that the Chief was a war hero after her investigations on Waypoint, but the idea that the rank itself would need to be changed in honor of one individual was new. The Waypoint had never mentioned that Master Chief of the Phalanx was essentially equivalent to a Fleet Admiral for the Spartan Branch. Impressive as an individual and amazing with his team, it would seem that the Chief held far more pull than Shepard realized if he was in command of an entire military branch.
If there was any notable number of Spartans in service in the UNSC, then the soldier across from her could command enough manpower for planetary invasions with but a word.
Yet, the UNSC seemed to have no issue with sending the commanding officer of a special operations force far behind possible enemy lines based on the vague possibility that he could find information on a threat to all life in the galaxy. As confident as she was in her abilities as a soldier and commander, Jane knew when she was outclassed. One look at the vast list of operations the Chief had participated in validated Shepard's decision, especially considering the number of black ops that were still marked as classified.
Taking a second to process everything in front of her, Shepard set down the datapad and turned her attention back to Admiral Fewkes as she inquired, "What about your information on the Reapers?"
"If you have clearance to see what the Alliance knows about them, then look there. Otherwise, that will be something to contact Admiral Hackett about. We don't have any tactical knowledge on them, as stated before, so what we do have is both limited and almost certainly irrelevant. Mostly archeological and geological data with only a few useless Prothean records, seeing as how the Council has swarmed every location they've found," the ONI Admiral replied.
"Fair enough," Jane replied before pointing out, "Not a lot of personal information here."
"Spartan profiles are complicated. Be glad that you have access to any of that data," Halsey responded.
Before Shepard could speak, Anderson replied, "We appreciate the access, regardless of how much has been withheld. We will be deploying once we return home, is there a strict timetable on the investigation? The Council will doubtlessly be assigning us to other objectives as well, making it difficult to comply with deadlines."
"That is up to your discretion. Losing the Normandy as an asset would hinder our operation sfar too much at this time, so do what you need to keep under the Council's radar. If the Wardens decide to engage in conflict, you will be given as much warning as possible to distance yourselves from the conflict," Lasky answered.
"What about the soldiers you will have on the Normandy? The Council will be suspicious if the Wardens suddenly withdraw your forces unless tensions grow, and losing Blue Team makes our mission of finding the Reapers much more dangerous if we assume the worst," Anderson pointed out.
Admiral Lasky responded, "It is extremely doubtful that Spartans will be deployed in a conflict against the Citadel Council due to their distance from our borders. Based on current deployments, the Wardens would be seeking to wage a war of attrition to encourage force buildup from the Council species. So long as that plan doesn't change, there is no reason to recall Blue Team from their operations on the Normandy. Obviously the Council would not allow them to remain on the ship, however, so separating your vessel from the official command of the Systems Alliance would be required. How many members of the ground team would still be willing to serve on board a ship not allied with the Council, however, is something I cannot know."
Thinly veiled irritation tinged Anderson's voice as he questioned, "You would suggest mutiny?"
"If necessary, but preferably something more forgivable. Communications blackout, something of that nature. How that is dealt with will largely depend on the situation," Lasky said.
Anderson didn't seem pleased but accepted the notion with a tilt of his head as he stated, "Then we shall wait for that day and hope it never comes, I suppose. Would the other Warden members of the team be joining on an independent mission if that comes to pass?"
"Unlikely at this time, but not impossible. The Swords of Sanghelios have decided that they would prefer to consolidate their forces in the event of war with the Council, and the Huragok will probably retreat to the UNSC vessel that is accompanying your ship. Our ships in the proposed joint fleets would withdraw to strongholds within the Citadel galaxy for further orders. As deadly as Elite Spec Ops are, we are looking to galvanize the Citadel species into action, not behead their leadership," Admiral Lasky responded dryly.
"We'll have to evaluate where they fit in the team," Shepard commented.
Lasky shrugged slightly and replied, "Part of why they are not here is because their roles are well defined. Spec Ops excel at stealth missions, though unlike regular Stealth Ops Elites they can also hold their own in a direct firefight. Huragok are exclusively backline support. They hate combat but are unmatched when it comes to anything technology-related."
Jane thought about that for a second before stating, "I can work with that. Same rules are Blue Team?"
"Try if you can, but it's less stringent since Spec Ops usually work on their own anyways and the Huragok are rather infatuated with the Reclaimers," Fewkes said.
"Good to hear," the Commander responded. "Since you mention your status as Reclaimers, will you be deploying us to any Forerunner sites?"
Halsey kept up her slightly hostile stare as she answered, "Absolutely not. Forerunner ruins are far too dangerous to allow the Council to bumble around them."
"Systems Alliance Command forbade the Normandy from leading the Council to any known Forerunner sites," Anderson explained.
"Good to hear," Fewkes stated. "We have nothing else to inform you of at this time, unless if you have more questions?"
Shepard shook her head in the negative, allowing Anderson to respond, "Not at the moment. I will direct any inquiries to Admiral Hackett if necessary."
"That will work. You are dismissed," Lasky said.
With that, both Jane and Captain Anderson stood to make their way out of the room and back down to the surface of Earth.
I have nothing to say, really. Next chapter should be out on the anniversary of the story. It should be chapter 24 but is not. Rargh.
-evevee