Disclaimer: I own no franchise mentioned in this work. Halo belongs to 343, Mass Effect to Bioware.
So. It's been a bit. Stuff and things happened.
Halo MCC for PC was announced, I graduated from college, moved, went on the job search, moved again, got a job, moved again, and now, finally, Halo: Reach for PC has been released.
I've been busy, obviously, but honestly, this chapter took so long because I lost interest in Halo. Not in the sense of my interest in the universe but rather the long drought of content from 343i. Fortunately, I can now play Halo on Steam. Unfortunately, I can now play Halo on Steam.
Since this chapter is so criminally late, I will skip review responses. If you have a comment or question that you would like answered, please PM me it or tell me that it is in a review and I will look at it. I may begin doing this for all chapters as the number of reviews is getting too large to respond to in chapter. I appreciate all your waiting, sorry that it took so long!
4th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 13, 2180/June 13, 2589
Citadel Embassy
Sydney, Earth
"Spectre Saren Arterius reporting to the Citadel Council from the human world of Earth, currently on assignment to investigate UNSC and Warden capabilities. Recording of our visit to Anchor Sierra is attached for visual display of combat abilities of these Spartan soldiers. They appear to be a special operations unit and thus not numerous, but they could prove devastating if applied correctly in combat," the Turian stated, jumping right into his analysis.
He continued, "The simulation we ran through, however, is far more interesting. This ability to create intricate and highly realistic scenarios is dangerous, both from the opportunity to find weaknesses in our strategies as well as the technological capabilities it represents. Out of curiosity, I began to explore human technology and scientific theory. The Salarians might understand the material to a higher degree, but I only needed to see the basics to determine that there is cause for legitimate concern."
"The humans have an incessant need to question everything, as has been observed by several members of our group. While they may not know much about Element Zero, their knowledge of most other subjects extends to an incredible depth, including fields that have been abandoned or not even considered. My concern, however, is not that humans want to be able to deduce how almost everything works, but rather that they go beyond."
"From my encounters with other members of the Wardens, this is unusual. Many have an extensive understanding of how the fundamental forces function, but their reliance on Forerunner technology has limited them to being less knowledgeable about their own technology than the humans. Unlike their peers, however, the UEG seems look past how it all works and ask why. They try to explain the very existence of everything, to find a reason for being here. They search for purpose, uncovering the foundations that underpin reality in doing so."
Saren frowned and concluded, "This may not be concerning initially, but what happens if they find answers? Why are they the only ones asking these questions? No other species in the Wardens seems to consider this, nor have I heard such questions from Council members, including the Systems Alliance. I may not be well acquainted with academic circles but I can still see the difference in education, in the focus and determination on progress. Once again, I ask that the Council consider my previous recommendation to develop relations with the Wardens before committing to a course of action."
Finished with the report, the Spectre flick off his omnitool and sighed as he considered his options. While he was no scientist or Prothean expert, Saren was still capable of holding a conversation with some of the human equivalents. His warning about their ability to ask questions was serious, but whether the Council would agree was out of his control. Much as with their push into this galaxy, the signs of possible trouble were being ignored in favor of political goals and there was little he could do from here to stop it.
June 14, 2589/5th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 14, 2180
Migrant Fleet
Terminus
There was no warning before the attack, which of course made sense considering that it was a Batarian slaver raid. Due to the position of the UNSC frigate deep inside the Quarian Migrant Fleet, nothing could be seen of the battle on the massive screens that gave the appearance of windows on the bridge. Some flashes were visible every once in a while through the mass of ships around them, but Wurd found it much more enlightening to watch the tactical map on the main holotable.
Updated in real time by the ship's AI, the vectors of every ship in sensor range was displayed, with predicted paths present as they moved in formation. Since showing tens of thousands of Quarian vessels would be rather counterproductive to observing a fight that only involved a very small portion of the Migrant Fleet, any non-combat vessels had been automatically filtered out. The only exception to this were those close enough to the fighting to be at risk of damage or boarding.
That number slowly decreased as the Fleet reacted to the threat and began a slightly disorderly retreat away from the unexpected visitors. It was evident that there was some strategy behind the attack, however, as several civilian ships had been corralled away from the Fleet and were already being swarmed by boarding craft. The disadvantage of managing such a large group without the assistance of Artificial Intelligence became clear as the Heavy Fleet struggled to maneuver amongst the civilian ships to get to the fight. Without a coordinated response, any fighting ships that did manage to engage were met by fire from multiple Batarian counterparts, though eventually the slavers would be overwhelmed by numbers.
From the analysis submitted by the ship's tactical officer, it was estimated that the raid would be complete within a matter of minutes. Several dozen Quarians would be taken hostage, that number only being held down by the lack of slave transports in the Batarian formation. As for why the Migrant Fleet was being attacked, there was no sound hypothesis considering the not insignificant danger in engaging such a large fleet.
As Quarian ships streamed away from the fight, the UNSC frigate was left on the outer edge of the Fleet as it held position. Several more minutes and they were alone, excluding the Heavy Fleet vessels finally forming into a coherent force to respond to the attack. Wurd looked at the Captain of the human ship, only getting a flick of the eyes in response as he focused on the map rather than staring down the Yonhet. It was obvious that there was some interest in the way the human observed the battle, but concern seemed to be distinctly lacking considering that the ship had not moved relative to the battle.
Turning his attention back to the table, Wurd was somewhat surprised to see Batarian boarding craft breaking off from their attack on the Quarian ships. The reason for that became clear a second later as several of the civilian ships jumped away. This did not seem to sit well with the approaching Heavy Fleet, though they couldn't do much as a couple more pieces of the Migrant Fleet were stolen by the slavers. Stuck between shooting their own ships and almost certainly killing their own people or let them be taken to slavery, a choice that Wurd did not envy.
Finally, the Heavy Fleet was within engagement range of the Batarians and they made it well known as rounds immediately began flying towards the slavers. As seemed to be the tactic of most Council species, the enemy responded in kind, resulting in a mass of metal sailing through the void. With the distances involved, almost none hit anything as ships moved out of the way, though several were incapable of doing so due to concentrated fire. Any remaining civilian ships that hadn't been captured were helpless against the onslaught as their weak kinetic barriers gave way and allowed them to be gutted.
Knowing that the fight was lost with only about a dozen slavers against the hundred ships of the Heavy Fleet formation, the Batarians wisely cut their losses and fled once their shuttles were back aboard. Since the Mass Relay for the system was not directly opposite the approaching Heavy fleet, the enemy was forced to try and outrun the Quarian fighting craft to obtain a passage for FTL.
It was at that point that the situation took an unexpected turn as the group of slavers suddenly swerved to face the UNSC frigate. As organized as the Heavy Fleet had been, it seemed that they were incapable of executing precise fleet maneuvers. No ships split off to intercept the Batarians nor did any deploy to enact rescue operations for what few Quarians could have survived the friendly fire. Instead, the entire fighting complement seemed determined to cut off any chance that the slavers had of escaping using the Relay, an admittedly valid concern if their rush at the Warden ship ended up being a ploy.
Slightly alarmed at the development, Wurd looked towards the ship's Captain. The human appeared to be quite concentrated, though he kept his wits as the order went out, "All personnel, assume battlestations. Envoy, might want to strap in, things may get a little bumpy."
Heeding that advice enthusiastically, the Yonhet quickly made his way over to take a seat that had been assigned to him in the event of combat. He recognized the information as something to do with system surveying, but since he was not a member of the ship's crew nor a UNSC officer, there wasn't anything for him to do but watch the battle unfold.
Seconds after the Captain's orders, several humans made their way onto the bridge to replace those already there, executing a swift change of shifts to bring the primary complement into action. Those replaced either took their places at other bridge stations or left through the bulkhead, heading to wherever they were needed elsewhere on the vessel.
As this was happening, the frigate turned to face the incoming hostile craft, minimizing its profile and bringing the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon to bear on whatever was targeted. Unlike the Quarian run on the slavers, there was no hesitation as the Captain gave the order to fire.
The round was completely invisible to the naked eye, moving too fast to spot and with no atmosphere to provide a trail to track it. Seconds later, the Batarian ships fired as well as several glowing masses approached the UNSC frigate. Why they were at all visible was something that Wurd wondered about before his mind was taken off of the thought as the view outside rotated and fell away.
With as much as a disadvantage numerically as they may have had, the lack of ships around them proved to help as the frigate simply moved out of the vectors of the incoming rounds. The slaver ships tried to do the same, but one was still clipped by the MAC round, spinning the relatively mass-less ship and almost certainly killing everything aboard from the centrifugal force regardless of whether its barriers were still active.
That still left the majority of the Batarians, who apparently took offense to the deaths of their fellows as they let loose another volley of mass accelerator rounds. With the speed that the human vessel was closing on the hostiles, it was inevitable that several shots would connect. They did so with little fanfare as the frigate's energy shields proved their worth, deflecting the rounds due to their velocity rather than absorbing the entire impact force.
In Citadel fighting tactics, it was standard operation for most ships below the class of dreadnought to close into knife-fighting range simply due to their ability to dodge enemy fire. Even with the ship's artificial intelligence controlling the MAC, only four enemy vessels had been eliminated due to the long recharge time. The Heavy Fleet was closing in on the Batarians from behind, but they could not provide assistance without risking hitting the UNSC ship in the process.
Rather than breaking off from the charge, the human ship continued forward, flying head-on into the enemy lines as it began to slow down. Unlike the massive Infinity-class vessels, human frigates were not built to ram other vessels. Neither their shields nor structure were designed for such actions, and as such, the UNSC ship slipped between the leading hostile ships to start harassing the backline.
As they did so, several slow-moving things that looked to be missiles of some sort impacted on the bow shielding, causing it to flare brilliantly as if entering Slipstream space. Whatever they were, there was no panic amongst the human crew, though Wurd did catch the Captain giving the spectacle a somewhat confused look.
Now at nearly point-blank range, the spinal weapons on both sides were virtually useless, leaving broadsides as the preferable option. Flashes appeared all along the bridge window as high-intensity lasers tried to penetrate the energy shields. The UNSC frigate responded in kind as its point-defense cannons began firing and the missiles that humans seemed to love so much poured out en masse. Three more ships fell as they were slowly ground down by the massed fire, though the reports that Wurd could hear seemed to indicate that the human ship was beginning to weaken badly as well.
Satisfied by the performance of the vessel and unwilling to risk destruction, the UNSC frigate once more accelerated. Rather than coming between the Quarian Heavy Fleet and the enemy, the humans decided to turn and almost directly face a Batarian cruiser. The hostile vessel did not move as they approached, apparently confident that their Kinetic Barriers would hold against a quick strafing run.
This was not the intention of the humans, however, as a Slipspace portal erupted into existence and almost bisected the enemy ship. With their hull breached, it was beyond certain that the radiation resulting from the UNSC frigate entering the portal would kill everything on board.
Whatever happened after would be forever unknown to the Yonhet as the ship entered the eleven dimensions of the Slipstream only to almost instantly pop out again significantly closer to the Migrant Fleet. As the call to battle stations was released and the crew began celebrating, Wurd made his way back beside the Captain to watch the Heavy Fleet eliminate the remaining slavers on the tactical map.
"Envoy, communication from the Migrant Fleet. They've given us directions to dock with their frigate again and have asked to talk with you," the AI told him. Wurd gave his thanks and turned to prepare for the meeting. While slightly guilty about it, the Yonhet couldn't help but feel vindicated with this turn of events. As unfortunate as it was, there was no avoiding the truth that the Quarians simply would not survive on their own while obsessed with their homeworld.
7th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 16, 2589/June 16, 2180
Council Chambers
Citadel
Tevos had to resist the urge to strangle the Batarian Ambassador on principle alone, and from Valern's comments, he wasn't too far off the same.
It wasn't that the Batarians had attacked the Migrant Fleet, though that was certainly annoying. Slave raids were common out in the Terminus, and while they didn't usually hit the Quarians, it wasn't completely unheard of. Even the blatant targeting of the Warden vessel could have been excused as the popular demand for human slaves.
Rather, the reason that Tevos was so irritated stemmed from the absolute irrefutability of proof that the Wardens had presented to the Council that the Hegemony itself had perpetuated the attack. The information presented by the Wardens could indicate aptitude in dealing with computer systems, but given that it was recovered from Batarian ships following the raid, it could also just have been sitting on an open omnitool. Aside from breaking the treaty created with the Quarians following the Morning War that prevented them from attacking the Geth, it also provided a basis for the Wardens to escalate tensions if they wished.
Essentially, the Hegemony was complicit in an attack on not only a foreign state but a diplomatic envoy of that state, and now it was the Council's mess to clean up.
Of course, it was also the Batarians, and thus things were proving difficult as their Ambassador refused to cooperate in reasonable discussions. It seemed like the Wardens weren't really all that irritated about being attacked as they weren't demanding much of anything, which made sense since their ship hadn't been damaged. The foreign power had expressed its despise at the slave trade that the Batarians so heartily supported and pushed little else, letting the Citadel member do their work for them as they reacted in a predictable manner.
After dealing with the nonsense spouted by Ambassador Jath'Amon for the last several hours, Tevos spent little time in ending the meeting once she was given the chance. Some slight amusement hinted at Ambassador Mousset's opinion of that move, but she didn't argue and instead gave a polite goodbye before leaving the Council Chambers. The Batarian was significantly less pleasant about the situation and made it well known before storming out in a huff.
Sighing into the sudden silence that hung over the three Councillors, Tevos let herself relax slightly from her formal posture. Glancing to the side at Sparatus, the Asari asked, "You were unusually silent. Thoughts?"
"Fools," Sparatus replied, obviously frustrated with this turn of events. "Spirits damn the Wardens for goading them and the Batarians for attacking in response. We don't have the fleets to police the Terminus if they decide to go at it, and the Batarians will almost certainly try to get us involved somehow. Trying to get the Hegemony to shut up and leave well enough alone is the best option for preserving our position."
"They're still livid about the events on Logasiri. Regardless of who is at fault, the destruction of ships in a slaver raid isn't going to help matters," Tevos commented.
The Turian didn't argue as he responded, "They'll just have to deal with it. We know that the Wardens are responsible for that particular altercation, a display of force to show their dislike of the slave trade."
"They were sending a message," Valern agreed. "The views of their Mantle of Responsibility clash too heavily with Batarian culture. Rather than attempting to maintain peace, would recommend distancing the Council from the Hegemony."
Tevos scoffed at that and stated, "If we push them away, they will not hesitate to withdraw their embassy on the Citadel. As it stands, the Batarians are the only species with solid influence in the Terminus, an advantage we cannot afford to lose with the Wardens skulking on the edges of the Relay network. If possible, have the STG track their fleets so we may intervene if necessary."
"Wanted to gather more information before sharing this, but it is pertinent to this conversation," the Salarian replied. At the concerned looks from his fellow Councillors, he inquired, "The Chambers are sealed?"
Tevos glanced at her omnitool and responded, "Of course, you were saying?"
"Large numbers of Terminus vessels have been seen in formation with Batarian groups. Intercepted communications from the Hegemony indicate that they are planning an attack on a large target. Their raid on the Migrant Fleet was supposed to gain them ships to use for transporting slaves to the battlefield, though their attack on the human ship and the resulting casualties hindered the success of that plan," Valern explained.
"What?" Tevos exclaimed. "Large target? Do you know where that target is?"
The Salarian frowned and replied, "No, but neither does the Hegemony. They believe that the Wardens have set up operations in our galaxy on a world deep in the Terminus, a world unknown to most and used by criminal elements for staging raids. Preliminary scouting has revealed no evidence of this in known systems unsurprisingly, but shadows are lurking near the rim. STG vessels were unable to follow whatever was triggering their sensors due to a lack of support elements in the area."
"This cannot be allowed to continue," Sparatus declared, annoyed as ever.
"Will once again reiterate recommendations to distance Council from the Batarians. If they do find something out there, very real possibility that they will cease being a respectable force in the Terminus systems," Valern stated.
After taking a second to think, the Asari responded, "We still face the issue of how to police the Terminus systems without the Batarians. Losing the Quarians was a blow, but acceptable after they created the Geth threat. Considering the number of species in the Wardens of the Mantle, we cannot have the Batarians doing the same in this situation."
"If we can't prevent the attack then we might not have a choice," Sparatus argued. "There isn't much we can do if they are ensconced that deeply in the Terminus. We can't maintain supply lines through the area to support fleet actions and we don't have a claim to the area in any case. Initiating a confrontation on the rim won't end well for us."
"Confronting the Batarians is not an option. Once called out, their belligerence would require that they proceed no matter the cost," Tevos considered. At the motions of agreement from her fellow Councillors, the Asari concluded, "I agree with Valern, then. There seems to be no other choice at the moment."
"I concur," Sparatus stated. "If we are to fight them, it will be on our terms and not over some worthless planet out in the depths of the Terminus Systems." The Turian addressed Valern directly as he finished, "Do what you can to minimize the damage. If you need heavy firepower, I can call in some Turian fleets to assist."
Tevos displayed no shame as she said, "There is not much that the Asari can contribute to containing the Batarian's military actions. As for reducing their attacking force, we could negotiate with Omega to keep their resources out of the fight, but that would result in a stronger Terminus."
"With the Batarians weakened and likely leaving the Council when we refuse their inevitable demands to interfere with the fight they're picking, a strong Omega will present issues. We do not have the fleets to enforce the Relays into the Terminus and continue our explorations in the Warden galaxy," Sparatus warned.
The Salarian Councillor countered, "It would be better to have a coherent body to negotiate with rather than independent groups."
"Ultimately the issue is what happens to the Batarian force. At this point, we can assume that they will proceed and there is little we can do to stop that. Whether they succeed is the question, and if they fail, what will be the fallout from that. With the STG tracking the movements of the attack group, we will know quickly which result occurs. Do we know how many independent groups have been hired for the operation?"
Valern replied, "Significant number of slavers that expect the attack to net them a cargo haul along with Terminus mercenary groups that have been cropping up recently. No evidence of direct involvement of Omega yet, but certainly possible. Given that they actually discover the location of a Warden planet, their destruction is almost certain. STG finds it unlikely that such an establishment would not be military in nature and thus well guarded. Likelihood of finding their target much, much lower."
"Unless if the Wardens are specifically baiting out an attack," Tevos pointed out. "Split the Council and its members."
"To what end, though?" Sparatus inquired. "They could never hope to mount an assault on the entirety of Citadel territory. Even if they are interfering in the Terminus, they will have to contend with the scum that even we cannot dislodge. Separating the Batarians just creates a rogue state that can attack them at will, as the slavers will never join them."
The Asari Councillor agreed, "Their cultural values on life and freedom will create chaos in the Terminus if they try to enforce it on worlds. If the Terminus is focused on the Wardens, we can move in and begin cleaning up the area as we please."
Valern frowned and dissented, "Their plans will not be nearly so simple, not with the species that lead them. We have seen human capabilities from the System Alliance, but the focus on combat that Jiralhanae and Sangheili have shown might be a ruse as well."
"Then we will wait until the information becomes available. We can learn from the Batarian attack and discuss this further once the results have been analyzed," Tevos determined. At the agreement from the other two, the Asari left, followed shortly afterwards by her counterparts.
10th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 119, 2589/June 19, 2180
Migrant Fleet
Terminus
Once the Quarians had agreed to the proposal from the Wardens of the Mantle, it was fairly simple to get things moving. Due to their position out in the Terminus rather than along any major Mass Relay routes, transfering the Migrant Fleet between systems didn't bring up any major problems. Some individual ships were certainly inconvenienced, but none had the desire nor capability to threaten the Fleet.
While the Quarians were slowly making their way towards the Intergalactic Relay, Ambassador Mousset had met with the Council to discuss the situation. Currently, the biggest challenge was transporting the entire Migrant Fleet through one of the most heavily utilized Relays in Citadel space to reach the Warden' galaxy. Once they were through that, the Fleet could follow the Mass Relay chain to Alliance space fairly easily, albeit slowly due to the large number of jumps necessary.
At some point along the line, they would meet up with a Warden fleet assigned to escort the Quarians to their new homeworld. Since they were already with the Fleet, the UNSC frigate that Wurd was travelling on would follow along, providing updates to other forces that could assist if necessary. Unexpected the Batarian attack may have been, but it did highlight the danger of preserving an entire species in a spaceborne fleet to the Quarians.
At least, to most of them. Some of the more devoted had broken away from the decision of the Admiralty and Conclave, preferring to continue their scheming against the Geth. Sorting out those that left and those that stayed and how to divide supplies between them had taken some time.
Those logistical issues were now confronting the Wardens as the Migrant Fleet moved closer to their territory. A large part of the escort fleet that would be meeting them was devoted solely to supporting the group as they crossed the vast gap between Warden and Alliance space. Unlike usual resupply fleets, however, the cargo of this one would be Eezo for the ships rather than food or water for the people.
As for how the Wardens had accumulated enough Element Zero to confidently supply the Quarians, Wurd was not completely sure. As with most production lines in human space, the process of gathering raw materials was highly automated. Several times in his trips to UEG planets, the Yonhet had seen the massive vessels that humans used to transport material across interstellar distances, some larger than even the biggest of carriers.
If it was anything like standard procedure, then the Humans had simply pointed their corporations at the potential profit before stepping back to watch. As with Covenant technology following the conclusion of the War, distribution in human society seemed to be tied to their unmatched capability to reverse-engineer and mass produce products. With the lack of protections on the methodology and technology required to mine Element Zero, it would be simple to engage in wide-spread corporate espionage.
Regardless of the how, it was now the Envoy's responsibility to ensure that the Quarians did not turn back to Citadel space. Fortunately the Conclave that directed the Fleet supported colonization over staying in the Terminus or assaulting the Veil thanks to the raid. As it stood, the largest threat to that decision was the Admiralty Board and their focus on Rannoch.
Wurd was on the bridge of the frigate considering how to confront that particular dilemma should it occur when activity around the comms station caught his attention. This in and of itself wasn't that concerning as the frigate had been in constant contact with forces throughout their journey. Rather, what really caused alarm was the Captain's order to send an alert to all crew to ready for possible combat.
It was as they were making their final approach to the Intergalactic Relay that the reason for this action became clear. Even being several hundred light-years away and thus isolated from the chaos above Bastion, it was clear to all that the game had changed as everyone silently listened to the broadcast. Due to the defenses already present, the ship wasn't being diverted to reinforce the planet, but the reality that a Citadel member had mounted an assault against a Warden world had disturbing implications depending on how the situation developed.
Being stuck in the middle of Citadel space with the largest fleet in the galaxy giving away their position wasn't the best spot to be in should the Council actually have hostile intentions, though from the communications it seemed like an isolated altercation being perpetuated by the Batarians. That certainly seemed to be the case considering that none of the Citadel ships guarding the Relay moved to intercept them, leaving the crew free to listen in as combat reports flew over the Warden battlenet.
10th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 119, 2589/June 19, 2180
High Orbit
Bastion
Unlike most of the planets within several thousand light years, the space above Bastion was almost always busy with some form of traffic. As the primary Warden world within the Citadel galaxy, it was the nexus for both military and civilian traffic in the area. Hidden by the Rosetta Nebula around them as well as the lack of Eezo ships passing through, the most exciting thing to happen was the return of the battlegroup that had raided Logasiri several months prior.
As the most secure Warden world within several thousand lightyears, Bastion was the only heavily colonized world that had been established. Several other more desolate worlds hosted listening posts and other military and corporate infrastructure, but the Wardens had been careful to not spread too thin as they explored. With the looming threat that the Reapers presented as well as the tensions with the Council, ships without stealth kept away from the Relay network. While larger than Citadel dreadnoughts by a significant margin, cargo ships and tankers simply did not have the defensive capabilities to stand up to an actual warship.
Being the staging point for any fleet actions within the galaxy, the forces orbiting the world were constanting shifting as ships came and went. There was not a designated defensive force of ships, leaving that duty to the Orbital Defense Platforms and monitoring stations. Any traffic that passed through the nearby Mass Relay was noted and promptly ignored in all but a few cases. Those few exceptions were for Council vessels, mostly STG in origin, as they carried out whatever business they had before leaving once more.
That was most certainly not the case in the current situation as the program that handled Bastion's carrier hub received and processed the latest report from the Relay watchpoint. Unlike most vessels of interest that entered the area, which would be tailed by a stealth craft until they left, this group would require a significantly more direct approach. Fortunately, that response would not involve the deployment of the numerous forces above Bastion as the approaching fleet was helpfully on the way to the planet already.
With a few quick commands, the report continued on its way, leaving the communications relay to continue about its business uninterrupted.
High above the planet, amongst the hundreds of ships that shifted about under the direction of orbital flight control, the message arrived at its destination. Having been expecting its arrival, the AI of the receiving vessel merely directed it to the Captain's neural lace before continuing on, far more concerned with preparing for the coming battle.
It was there, after being handled by numerous systems, traversing the vast expanse of space, and tumbling through the higher dimensions of slipspace, that a human finally laid eyes on the contents of this message.
"Hostiles inbound."
Rear Admiral Cutter dismissed the notification with a tinge of annoyance at the Office of Naval Intelligence. As helpful as their information was, it would have been nice if this was one of the few times that they had been incorrect. Of course, considering that they were likely the ones to have revealed Bastion's location to the Hegemony, that was a false hope.
Resigning himself to the inevitable, Cutter focused on the holotable as the estimated time to engage appeared. Annoying they may have been, but at least ONI had the decency to forewarn fleet command that the Batarians would come knocking.
"Bring us up to combat alert alpha. Serina, clear the skies," Cutter ordered.
"Sir," the AI replied.
The mass of ships outside almost immediately began to shift as smaller civilian ships rushed to get out of the combat zone. Comm chatter was audible from one of the bridge stations as orbital flight control tried to bring order to such a large number of vessels. After several minutes, they were met with success as ships either jumped elsewhere in the system or landed on the world below.
Left behind were the many immobile objects that couldn't easily leave orbit, mostly shipyards or platforms that had been built over the years for various purposes. Defending these assets would be the primary duty of the ships in orbit while forces on the ground dealt with any enemies that made it that far. Orbital bombardment was a slight concern, but considering the small rounds used by the enemy's mass accelerators, it was a significantly lower priority.
As the highest ranking officer within the area, Cutter would be coordinating the defense with the amalgamation of Warden military vessels present. Since ONI had already forewarned him of this attack, all forces were already in position and prepared to engage the enemy. Any further orders would have to wait until the battle began, leaving the Rear Admiral in his current position of examining the soon-to-be battlefield.
It was not a long wait as Serina announced, "Hostiles exiting FTL 500,000 kilometers out and closing. Vessel count consistent with reports from Relay exit."
As the enemy began to approach, images of each vessel appeared on the holotable to allow Cutter a chance to examine their formation. After taking a second to observe, Cutter said, "Serina, analysis?"
"There appears to be a large number of non-combat vessels present. Records show that the slavers use these on raids to transport captured civilians. Several Quarian vessels fitting the description of those stolen in the recent raid are participating. Composition of enemy forces makes it unlikely that they will attempt to engage directly," Serina responded.
It wasn't hard for Cutter to deduce the enemy plan as he stated, "They will slip by us and head directly for the surface. How many ships are capable of landing?"
"Most of their fleet," the AI replied dryly. "Highlighting now." At that, the colors on the holotable lit up as the backend of the attacking group changed to a green tint.
As he studied the result, the Rear Admiral ordered, "Have our frigates break off to support operations groundside. They're to suppress any enemy air units, force the enemy to land outside of heavily populated areas, and make sure that they don't take off again. As for the rest of the fleet, ensure that the Guardians maintain a communications blackout in atmosphere, every other ship is to move to engage. If they want to avoid a heavyweight fight, they have to work for it."
"Yes, sir," Serina said before disappearing from her corner of the holotable.
Cutter turned towards the massive screen that gave the illusion of a window on the bridge as he ordered, "Weapons ready, bring the battlegroup into standard formation. Prepare for a slipspace jump to the right flank of the enemy. Comms, inform our extras to engage at their discretion. Catch them in a crossfire and make this quick."
Several responses sounded out as the bridge officers carried out his orders with typical efficiency. It was a short time before the fleet began to move as most of the ships accelerated forward, leaving the UNSC battlegroup led by the Serenity behind. As one of the combined fleets formed for use by the Wardens, this group had vessels from Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Humans, all led by a Sangheili fleetmaster. Even after getting used to the new status quo following their rescue from the Spirit of Fire, it was still strange to Cutter to see human ships alongside the former enemy.
Before the ship could jump, however, Serina called out, "Enemy frigates are breaking off." Unsurprised by the action, Cutter watched as attacking force split in two, with all the smaller ships diving beneath their heavier combat counterparts. Even with the split focus, however, the enemy still outnumbered the defenders in the coming space battle.
Pushing aside the automatic desire to intercept the enemy, the Read Admiral stayed silent and braced himself against a railing as the slipspace jump was announced over the shipwide comms. Seconds later, the Serenity and her battlegroup disappeared from realspace and into the eleven dimensions of the slipstream.
Considering the distance, it was no surprise that their journey ended almost as soon it began as the battlegroup appeared on the right flank of the enemy. The reaction time of the hostile fleet was not impressive as they attempted to deal with the change. From the variety of ships as well as their lack of precise maneuvering, it was clear that many of the vessels were not military craft in any sense. Faced with a military force that fielded vessels far, far larger than anything they had ever seen, the sloppiness was not only understandable but expected.
Since they would be catching the enemy in a crossfire, the UNSC battlegroup did not charge into close range and risk getting hit by friendly forces. Instead, they began a long-range bombardment with the intention of disrupting enemy forces more than actually doing any significant damage.
With the apparent chaos in their ranks, however, there was little that the enemy did as multiple rounds impacted the fleet. Slugs with more mass than some Element Zero ships made contact with a vessel and simply kept going, almost completely ignoring the wreckage left in its wake. The obvious disadvantages of the corrupt Batarian command structure became even more clear as what little return fire there was came in sporadic bursts, uncoordinated and poorly aimed.
As the largest target in the immediate vicinity, the Serenity took several rounds on her shields with little concern. Several other shots found their mark on smaller craft, but the enemy lacked the concentrated fire necessary to threaten the much larger UNSC warships.
Faltering in their charge slightly as they tried to deal with the battlegroup, the Batarian fleet had no chance to mount any defense against the group approaching them headon. The fleetmaster took full advantage of that oversight as his ships engaged as one, throwing plasma and MAC rounds in equal measure as they engaged.
Unprepared as they had been for the slipspace jump, the Batarians had no way to deal with such an assault. Within seconds, dozens of ships had fallen to the barrage, shattered and melted by weapons of a far higher caliber than they were used to. Already disorganized from their attempts to respond to the flanking maneuver, any remaining order was broken as the Batarians failed to maintain their command structure. Considering that their caste system prevented a meritocracy and allowed rampant corruption, incompetent commanders were somewhat expected.
Seeing that the space battle was rather much of a wash, Cutter manipulated the holotable to focus on the landing forces that had broken away and passed by the orbital defenses. Although they hadn't yet landed, there was no way for the Rear Admiral to intercept the hostiles at this point as they entered the atmosphere, at least not without doing a slipspace jump that would probably do just as much damage to the surface as the attacking forces.
With that in mind, James addressed Serina once more as he asked, "Do we have contact with the surface?"
"Traditional communications and sensors are cut off, as expected, but slipspace comm signal is strong and clear," the AI replied, bringing up a window on the side of the holotable. It didn't take long for the request to go through as the Sangheili commanding the defense on the ground appeared. An old veteran of the War, the elite had extensive experience fighting both with and against humans, brutes, and kig-yar.
As with most warriors of such caliber, he seemed to already expect Cutter's words as the Rear Admiral stated, "Forces in orbit have been neutralized but landing craft are still inbound. Do you need heavy support?"
"Orbital strikes, perhaps," the Sangheili granted. "All critical areas are secure currently. If any of them try to flee, intercept and force them down if possible."
"Understood, we'll be standing by," Cutter replied. After glancing at the front viewscreen once more to confirm that the Batarians were well in hand, he said, "Serina, bring us back into orbit, wide spread over probable enemy AOs."
Tempting as it was to shoot down the vessels landing on Bastion, all anti-aircraft emplacements held their fire as ordered. Several of the slaver ships had drifted a bit closer than desired to the orbital tether, but the presence of UNSC frigates prevented them from inflicting any damage. At this point, the attackers were landing well away from the defenses, probably trying to coordinate with their communications and sensors cut off. Several of the ships had broken off slightly from the main group at first, as if to try and escape back into orbit, but had quickly diverted away as one of the Forerunner Guardians descended from above.
While slightly amused at the oppressive aura that the massive Construct exuded, there was still a battle to plan for as Re'gish Wamik turned away from the sight and back to the command center. As the general of all ground forces currently stationed on Bastion, he had the unenviable task of preventing the slavers from accessing any population centers. Fortunately, the comms blackout seemed to have intimidated the Batarians into staying together rather than spreading out all across the planet.
Part of that also had to be attributed to the experience that the attackers had in raiding colonies in small groups rather than large fleets. The high number of unmarked vessels in the landing force indicated that the Batarians had recruited mercenaries, slavers, and pirates to assist in the attack, which was in line with their tactics. From the extensive observation and intelligence gathering conducted by the humans, it was also known that the Batarians utilized their slaves as fodder for the frontline, much as the Unggoy had been for the Covenant.
This was all important for Re'gish to know as it directly affected how he would be playing the defense of the world, even just the small part that the Batarians could attack from their landing spot. Given his knowledge of how the enemy operated as well as the reports of civilian transports interspersed with the military vessels, the General was expecting this to be a rather unconventional fight.
As it stood, the Wardens had the advantage of numbers as well as fighting from entrenched positions, but the Batarians did have the ability to attack multiple locations at their discretion. Since the attackers lacked any path of retreat, however, they would either be extremely cautious in their assault or try to throw everything forward at one location to break through the line and force some kind of discussion. If their strategy of staying together when landing was any indication, then it would be the second option, which is what the Sangheili had planned for anyways since shifting tactics to deal with the first was fairly simple.
The question then became how to fight off a large assault composed of poorly trained pirates, possibly unarmed slaves, and a military force crippled by its societal requirements.
Rather than levelling the area with artillery fire and slaughtering the entire force, as tempting as that was, General Wamik had instead looked to the tactics that the humans had used against Covenant ground forces to such great effect during the War. As with most forces built without regard for the quality of individuals, eliminating the leaders of the attacking force would shatter morale and spread chaos in the ranks. Re'gish had seen it happen time and time again as the humans targeted the Sangheili on the ground, leaving their troops without direction or coordination.
It was similar Batarian officers that were now primary targets for stealth ops units moving in on cloaked phantoms. Along with them were multiple squads of Lesser Demons provided by the humans. Even with their inferiority to the Spartans that served in the Covenant War, they were still an effective fighting force.
While those units moved in to do what damage they could, combat personnel were being deployed to positions around the Batarian landing site. Since Bastion was a staging area for all members of the Wardens, the military force present on the world was not insignificant. As formidable as those numbers were, it was impossible to know where to deploy them before the attackers had chosen a landing strategy.
Now that they had, General Wamik finally had the chance to direct his forces with tactical information rather than general assumptions. Landing as close as they had to the city, there was little concern that the slavers would try to raid the more remote population centers, the only exception being the small ground that had been diverted by the Guardian. Several military installations were close enough to the foreign force to merit some attention, but the commanders for those bases had not requested assistance and thus Re'gish assumed that they were sufficiently defended.
Due to the weak force that was expected, the Sangheili General had already assigned the Jiralhanae in his command to deal with any advanced fighting element that was sent against them. Competent as the Brutes may have been at soaking up damage, their battle lust would be ill suited to minimizing unnecessary casualties. Of course, that was not to say that the forces that would be engaging in the holding action were unarmed. All heavily armored elements of Wamik's command were being deployed to meet the enemy head on, forcing the Batarians to either retreat or whittle down the defenses, giving the Stealth Ops more time for their mission.
It took a surprising amount of time for the Batarians to finally decide on an attack, probably due to the inevitable arguments in their leadership about how they would get off the planet. When the aerial reports finally indicated troop movement from their landing zone, however, General Wamik knew that battle was inevitable.
Orbital reconnaissance granted the General almost instant updates on the situation. Much of the information that had been given to him by both humans and the Warlord Atriox proved to be correct.
Making up the frontline of the attack was a mob of slaves, disorganized yet unable to disobey the implanted slave chips and thus little more than a meat shield. As far as analysts could tell, these troops weren't even equipped with kinetic barriers and carried few weapons, let alone any that presented a true threat to heavily armored tanks and troops. Supporting, or perhaps more accurately, commanding them, were various groups of slavers. Some had been successfully identified by drawing identification data from a multitude of sources, but many others were local to the Terminus and completely unknown.
It didn't take long for field reports to start flowing in as the battle truly began. Sympathetic as they might have been to the plight of those enslaved by the Batarians, it was inevitable that some had to be killed as they were forced into combat against the formidable forces of Prometheans and Geth units. Several platforms were lost due to numbers, but that was merely a loss of physical assets as the controlling AI simply fled into the planet's vast distributed network.
Distracted with the main battle, it took some time for the General to address several reports of a Batarian force closing on the city of former slaves. Fortunately it was not a particularly alarming development as multiple units had already been stationed in the area to protect against xenophobes in the local populace, but it still merited some form of response. Without the more advanced infrastructure such as an orbital tether or spaceport that could host air defense, the city would be vulnerable even to the lightly armed batarian transports. Much overkill as it may have been, it was far easier for Wamik to simply call in support from the fleet in orbit and leave the issue there, so that was exactly what he did.
10th Day of 6th Month, 2459/June 119, 2589/June 19, 2180
Eleutheria
Bastion
The first hint of something different about the day was less of a hint and more along the lines of an ear splitting roar as several massive ships passed over the city early in the morning. There had always been some air traffic that could be heard in the distance once in a while, but any vessels that had passed over their fledgling settlement had been small and alone. These were different, lacking the pleasing curves and colorful logos that decorated civilian transports. This was clearly a group of warships, causing a murmur amongst the populace as they tried to figure out what was going on.
At about midday, heavily armed soldiers began to arrive and set up defensive positions around the area, reinforcing the small contingent that had been helping. With such blatant preparations for conflict, the community leaders were finally able to get some information about the incoming attack. Considering the suffering that everyone present had suffered at the hands of the Batarians, it was a struggle to avoid a panic as directions were given in case a force targeted the small city.
Once it was confirmed that the slaver fleet had entered the system, everyone was evacuated to a large prefabricated shelter that had been set up and covered with material to camouflage it from easy detection. While certainly spacious enough for everyone to spread out, it was also obvious that the structure was not made to withstand any serious assault.
That was where Talitha currently found herself along with the rest of the community, waiting anxiously with no information on how the battle was progressing. A single squad of humans was present to keep order, but any communications they received were muffled by their helmets.
The relatively calm atmosphere changed very quickly when the soldiers suddenly went on alert, instructing everyone to get away from the barricades at the front door of the shelter. Several shudders caused cries of alarm to ring out, but the structure held while the marines manned the defenses at the front. A short burst of shouting from the humans after a while seemed to indicate the worst as they shouldered their weapons.
It wasn't long before a resounding thump echoed from outside, probably the enemy attempting to blow the door open with explosives. Whatever the humans had used to construct their defenses proved superior to the attempt, however, as the door buckled but did not give.
After several minutes of silence as the Batarians presumably tried to hack into the door, the sound of a cutting tool reverberated around the bunker entrance. This finally garnered a reaction as the defenders went through the last combat checks and prepared to open fire.
With her position near the entrance, Talitha watched as the humans prepared two massive guns with multiple barrels. It was unlike anything that she had seen them use before, much too large to move quickly.
As the attackers finished their cutting, another blast finally broke through, leaving dangerous shards of twisted metal around the edges of the impromptu entrance. Before the smoke had even cleared, thunderous booms began to echo as one of the guns fired away. Faster and faster the barrel span until a continuous stream of death was being poured into whatever tried to enter.
Talitha turned her attention to the other mounted weapon, wondering why it was sitting silent while the rest of the small group of soldiers fired away. The reason became clear seconds later as the first gun began to glow a bright cherry red and ceased fire, its role being taken over as the stream of bullets continued from the other position. By the time the second weapon had overheated, the first was reloaded and ready to fire once again.
This continued without pause as the humans pulled ammo from crates that had been brought in before the doors were closed. The shocking sound of heavy weapons fire quickly sunk into a dull roar as Talitha adjusted to the noise and turned her gaze to the empty hole that had yet to allow anything entrance. Due to the dark interior of the shelter and the bright sunlight, she was unable to see outside. Any screams would have been covered by the weapons fire and the Batarians didn't have the equipment necessary to push the entrenched defenses of the humans.
Apparently the soldiers had more information about the situation, however, as they began to move to the sides of the breach while staying well clear of the line of fire. Soon, the only things left firing were the heavy guns, still exchanging turns to put rounds downrange.
In the next second, the entire dynamic of the situation changed as a massive sword cleaved into the side of the structure, shearing through metal plating and beams with ease before slamming into the ground. Talitha could hear screaming behind her as the former slaves tried to back away from the rift, but she did not follow as her gaze was locked onto the crumpled form of the Batarian that had been the victim of the strike.
Horrifying as the sight was, her fascination was not with the gore but rather the flakes of what looked like skin coming off of the corpse. Within seconds, entire sections of the body disintegrated, burned away by what looked like some form of fire.
A sudden boom sounded from the front entrance, quickly followed by several smaller blasts. This seemed to be the cue for the counterattack as the soldiers rushed out into the fray, the sound of their weapons quickly dying as they moved further away.
That was not what Talitha concentrated on, however, as a large section of the wall itself began to disintegrate much like the body, exposing the inside of the shelter to daylight. With the influx of light, it took a second for her eyes to adjust to see outside, and the sight that greeted Talitha only brought up more questions.
Standing just outside the breached structure was a massive thing, easily five meters tall and held together with what seemed to be light itself. Beneath one of its feet lay a Batarian, helplessly shooting up at the creature but doing no visible damage. A glowing blade was held idly by its side, as if it were nothing more than a toy, yet that same blade was obviously the cause of the disintegrated slaver.
Aside from the towering master of the battlefield, various other metal beings were present. Small beasts stalked the fleeing Bataraians, like the packs of Varren that were used by the Hegemony to hunt escaped slaves. Following them were a large number of tall, humanoid figures firing unfamiliar weapons that spat out motes of orange light. These two groups seemed to be taking commands from massive, bulky things that seemed like they'd be too topheavy to fight.
Even as the slavers fled, the human soldiers rushed forward with the alien creatures to regain control of the area. Seeing them side by side, Talitha registered the distinctly artificial nature of the rescuers. Limbs of metal, lined with light and held in place by technology that she had never even heard of. The former slaves hadn't been rescued by a species allied with the humans but rather machines, acting intelligently and independently.
Talitha turned her gaze up as shadow began to envelop the area, the cause obvious as a huge structure spread what looked like wings. The label of ship was insufficient to describe the thing as it did not appear to be designed for anyone to actually board it. Much like the forces on the ground, various pieces of silver metal were held in place by an invisible force.
As she watched, one of the Batarian ships that had landed nearby rose above the horizon and began to orient itself towards the alien craft. Apparently the slavers were forgoing all hope for those in the settlement as the distant vessel fired its mass accelerator.
Talitha ducked as she prepared for the floating pieces to fall.
After several seconds, she looked up and stared in disbelief at the distinct streak leading up to the thing. There was no sign of a kinetic shield or any other protective barrier, yet there was also no visible damage either.
The floating block of metal finally revealed its true nature as the wings suddenly spread to the sides, the calm blue light flashing to dull orange as what Talitha could only think of as a growl resounded from the machine. While obviously electronic, the modulations in the sound sounded oddly haunting, as if something ancient was finally taking an interest in the battle.
A swirl seemed to envelop the enormous alien construct as it folded into itself, disappearing from the sky and leaving nothing to show that it had ever been there. Almost instantly a similar rupture in the sky appeared in the distance, right next to the Batarian ship.
The pieces of the alien seemed to take up positions with a mind of their own, each separate and yet obviously part of the whole. Now that the thing was not directly above her, Talitha could see its form far more clearly, her mind instantly likening it to the symbol that the UNSC seemed to put on everything they used. A bird of prey, hanging in the sky and watching everything that occurred.
Even beside the Batarian ship, it was hard for Talitha to get a sense of the scale of the construct. Floating pieces of metal arced around the slaver ship, almost as if the alien was taunting its attacker.
This ended suddenly as the tail of the thing formed from the portal, annihilating the Batarian ship effortlessly and with no damage to show.
A voice drew Talitha's attention as it addressed her, "Impressive, yes? Built by the Creators to keep peace across the galaxy, the perfect Guardians to eliminate these primitives."
Talitha could only stare into the slightly horrifying visage of the alien commander as she tried to avoid cowering before his unrelenting stare. Fortunately, one of the soldiers relieved her of its gaze as he called out, "Command already has prisoners from the main force. We don't need that one Warden."
Warden turned to the trooper and complained, "Yet you humans make such a fuss about keeping them alive. It is one or the other."
The soldier merely shrugged and drew his sidearm, ignored the Batarians cries for mercy, and fired. As he holstered his weapon once more, the humans stated bluntly, "And once we get the information needed from them, we have no fuss with killing the fuckers either."
Can't say when the next chapter will be. Hope you enjoyed as the pieces finally start to solidify. For now, I am off to play Halo:Reach once more.
-evevee