Hey guys, loving the reviews as per usual. Really loving the participation. But I gotta say it, come on guys, you can only pick one of each in general. Can't just go Chief with Cortana/Miranda/Liara/Ashley/Fem Shep. You gotta pick one from every poll that we're putting up. After this chapter. Only one.
And speaking of which. Here is the official polling of the pairings. No more suggestions allowed now.
Six/Tali – 34
Six/Kasumi – 7
Six/Jack – 6
Chief/Miranda – 29
Chief/Cortana - 13
Chief/Liara -9
Jerome/Fem Shepard - 24
Jerome/Ashley - 3
Jerome/Kelly Chambers – 3
Douglas/Liara - 9
Douglas/Samara – 2
Douglas/Ashley - 4
Alice/Vega – 6
Alice/Samantha Traynor – 3
Alice/Jacob – 7
Jorge/Kelly Chambers – 6
Jorge/Ashley- 7
Jorge/Samara – 3
Garrus/Kasumi – 10
Garrus/Fem Shepard – 3
So, yeah, pretty long list, sorry bout that. Just bear with us for these next few chapters. Quick shoutout to a few reviewers like cooldude101011. Even though you don't like the idea of pairings, I still appreciate the honesty and am grateful that you're still willing to read this story, so thanks you verily. Irongiant9000, that description between having Garrus and Kasumi become a couple won my vote for the two.
Honestly, I just love the reviews that are respectful about their opinions and all, even those that disagree with the pairing idea but least they're not annoying about it. And a clarification for DarthFii, see the Spartan's didn't have their libido's removed just really repressed. It's still there, I mean Spartan-II Maria-062 retired and went on to have a family. So if a Spartan-II could choose the family life, who's to say that these Spartans and other characters don't deserve the chance.
Also Brother Bov and guest reviewer Hewhoseekswonder? The two of you have an immediate win.
Cutter and Chakwas. Sorry folks, those two are now off limits only for each other.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Spirit Unto Dawn Chapter 5: Mission to reunion
Noveria is said to be one of the business capitals in this sector of the traverse. Some of the biggest businesses have offices set up on the partially frozen planet, and with them a lot of powerful and influential people.
However to Cortana, it was a place full of stingy money-grubbing assholes who only looked out for themselves and no one else. Where white-collar crime is more common than pick pocketing. And of course, where the corrupt are able to run free without consequence.
She couldn't physically throw up in her mouth due to her being an AI. But even as a being made of coding and numbers, the literal stench of the corruption on this planet was palpable.
And then there was Cerberus. A human terrorist organization.
The more things change the more things stay the same. To think that Chief would be going on a mission to stomp out a terrorist organization. Closest thing that feels like home for him most likely.
The squad was ready more or less.
Six and Chief were armed and ready with the two distributing the armor enhancements between one another. Six kept the active camo with Chief utilizing the halo-decoy projection. Thankfully, they both were able to have bubble shields for themselves.
Legion had his usual pulse shotgun, sporting a specially changed DMR with a silencer installed.
"What is the size of the Cerberus Force at this Base?" Chief inquired.
Cortana brought up the gathered data Dot had transferred to her when they traded places for this mission.
"Well they're not playing around." Cortana stated. "A full two companies slated in the base. 200 soldiers."
"Only two hundred?
"That's more so than other bases"
Legion gazed at the base layout. "We believe that this increase in force is a response to our constant attacks on their other facilities."
"Makes sense considering all that you two have done." Cortana said wryly. "Given how important the base is housing experimental Cyberware tech, they wouldn't want to take any chances."
"So what's the plan?" Chief inquired, looking to Six.
Much as he has a greater deal of experience over the Spartan-III, Six has been conducting these raids with Legion for the past few months so he has the most experience in this regard.
"The base is situated on a mountain side." Six stated. "I'd usually suggest an airdrop right on top of the base but considering the conditions of the planet, it's better we go in the hard way. Scaling the mountainside so to speak."
The display of the base changed to the snowy under side that would lead to the facility itself.
"We can use the blizzard as cover to get in close, it'll scramble sensors and communications" Six said, gesturing to the pathway laid out. "This way here is the best from what Dot had gathered prior to finding the Spirit of Fire. Least amount of defenses and most blind spots. The rocks jutting out here and there will provide a solid cover."
Chief nodded with Legion doing the same.
"We'll be encountering Biotics this time around." Six said. "Mark those as priority targets."
Chief eyes narrowed at the mention of these biotics. Of all the things Six had given him to read up on, Biotics were a primary threat.
They were definitely off putting to say the least, their capabilities in manipulating dark matter. How would a Spartan exactly handle something like that?
Six has stated that they need to hit them hard and fast, neutralizing them as a threat due to them being able to cause the most damage to them.
Once Cortana is within range of Cerberus comms, she should be able to identify biotics users and tag them.
The landing upon the icy planet was a bit rough, then again, UNSC ships were often used to rough landing. Disembarking the ship, the three infiltrators gazed up at the Cerberus base perched up upon the mountain.
"Check your equipment over." Six said. "They may not be as equipped we are but those biotics of theirs will be a problem if not dealt with immediately."
Chief eyed the large facility.
He huffed within his helmet. Human terrorists. It's strange how to him, it is and isn't a surprise that he finds himself here again.
The Spartan-II's were made in response to the growing rebel and terrorist fronts across the colonies. That was their original intended purpose. The Covenant came and changed such notions.
Even still, there were times where the II's were called upon to take down insurrectionists here and there.
John never truly liked it. He hated killing humans necessary as it may have been at times.
And yet, here he was. Different universe, same scenario.
Only this time… he had a bit of a stronger incentive in taking out this particular band of terrorists. Though it was brief, Six and Dot filled him in on the cliff notes. They had been around for only a few decades yet what they have done is rather despicable. Human experimentation to a morbid degree. Children being bred into slaves. Biotic transplants and manipulation that led to horrendous results.
And that's only what he had managed to read up during their slip space jump to Noveria. There would be undoubtedly more dirtier secrets to uncover during their stay here.
"Looks like we're in for a climb." Cortana noted, seeing the steep angle of the mountainside. And by steep, it's basically a bumpy 90-degree wall for them to scale.
"We did not bring any means of scaling this mountain." Legion pointed out.
"We won't need it." Chief said, taking note of the rocky formations that went all the way up to the base.
"Query; do the two of you intend to scale the mountain with nothing but your hands?"
117 had opted instead to approach the mountainside, snow not slowing him down in the slightest. Grasping at a part of the mountain side that was easy to grab onto, he began climbing up the rocky wall with ease armor not hindering him in the slightest.
"Objection; Spartan-Six, while you and Spartan-Chief appear to be capable of climbing this mountain without the use of equipment we must inform you that this platform is likely unsuited for such a task."
"That's why you're gonna be holding onto my back, Legion." Six stated. "Pretty sure your platform is strong enough to keep a hold of me, right?"
Legions head fins flapped about for several moments until it nodded and quickly clamped itself tightly around Six's back.
With Legion secure, both Spartans began their climb up the mountain with the Cerberus base perched right atop it.
All the while...
"Jesus Shepard, can't you drive properly out here?!" Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko shouted, manning the gun of the Mako they drove in.
"We're in a snowy tundra, going up a hill while fighting Geth who want to kill us." Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre barked out irritably as he pivoted the Mako into a drift that smashed a Geth destroyer off a nearby cliff.
"Keelah Shepard." Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya was clutching her seat tightly. When she had joined up Shepard on his mission to track down the rogue Spectre Saren, she had not expected the constant feeling nausea to become so common in such a short amount of time. This pilgrimage would be one for the ages amongst the Quarian people if she could just make it out of Shepards Mako driving alive.
"Goddess, when Garrus mentioned your driving skills..." Liara T'soni, the Normandy's most recent crewmate said aloud while placing a hand over her beating heart.
"First of all, he exaggerates." Shepard stated, running over several Geth soldiers. "Secondly, we are usually on unstable terrain while also getting shot at."
"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, Commander." Kaidan quipped with a small grin on his face.
"You're on cooking duty when we're back on the Normandy, Kaidan." Shepard shot back.
The Lieutenant groaned slightly yet still let out a chuckle with Shepard doing the same.
Now, one may ask themselves this question. Just what was Shepard doing on Noveria of all places when he should be looking for the rogue Spectre Saren.
-Flashback-
"Noveria?" asked Shepard, as the Commander stood in the comm room speaking to the three Councilors.
"Yes, it appears that Matriarch Benezia had been spotted checking into the main port with an armed escort and several large crates." said Tevos. "STG has also been able to uncover several transactions between Saren and a company called Binary Helix that operates out of Noveria."
"Can we assume that the local authorities are aware of her partnership with Saren and the acts he has committed thus far?" asked Shepard.
"Unfortunately, no." said Valern. "Noveria is a highly business and corporate based world. Anything and everything they do is for the sake of earning credits quickly and efficiently. It is also where the most white-collar crimes can take place."
"Since Saren is a shareholder with Binary Helix he could have just as easily set it up so that Benezia would be considered someone speaking on his behalf. Thus giving her access to a number of secure locations and a small level of immunity." said Sparatus.
"Then it's safe to say that Noveria is our next stop. Maybe Benezia will have the answers we're looking for on Saren and what the Conduit could be." said Shepard.
"See to it, Commander," said Sparatus.
"My team will get it done, Councilors. But you may want to send our credentials ahead of time. If Noveria is all about regulations as you say, then an unexpected arrival could put the locals on high alert. Having mass panic in a place like that wouldn't bode well for a lot of people."
"Understandable, Commander." said Tevos nodding. "We'll make sure that everything is in place long before you arrive. Good luck, Commander."
The holograms faded soon after.
"Joker, set a course for Noveria. We got a new lead." said Shepard as the Commander headed out of the room.
-Flashback end-
Upon arrival they almost got into a shootout in the docking bay until their credentials came through and were allowed through.
After dealing with some small missions here and there to grant them access to Peak 15 where Matriarch Benezia was last known to be located, they had cleared a garage full of Geth and were now making their way up to the Peak.
Geth's presence made it harder to proceed but it's no different than what they had already been through. It was only a mere obstacle for them to push aside and press on.
However, the Geth had a greater number this time around proving to be more challenging than previous times.
Then again, the crew correlated this to Benezia's presence as she is essentially Saren's second in command from what they had gathered when they first investigated Saren's treachery. So they had their work cut out for them for this mission.
"Geth Armature inbound Shepard" Kaidan shouted
"I see him, I see him." Shepard said aloud, pressing his foot down upon the accelerator.
The Armature pivoted about, aiming at the Mako.
"Be sure to aim for Geth Rocket Troopers then focus on the Armature" Kaidan said
Looks like this will be a lot more difficult than Shepard would have thought this mission would go. Either way the Commander got a job to do.
And he would see it through to the end.
While the Normandy ground crew were engaged with the enemy, the Normandy remained docked back at Port Hanshan with the other crewmates of Shepard.
Ashley Williams, Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex had remained behind to make sure nobody had any funny ideas on attacking a Spectre owned ship.
Despite Williams' apprehensiveness about working with aliens on an Alliance vessel, she can admit that the Turian and Krogan were good teammates to work with.
Currently, Ash sat within the mess hall with a friend she had made since Eden Prime.
"URGH." Ashley groaned out. "We should have gone with them."
"Bored already?"
"I dunno Jenkins, what do you think?" Ashley said in a dry tone, making the private chuckle lightly.
"Okay I see what you're getting at but remember how I felt when I wanted to go on mission"
Ashley rolled her eyes but smiled a moment later. "Yeah, yeah."
"What are you all complaining about?" Urdnot Wrex trudged up upon them.
"Ash is whining that she didn't get to shoot anything today." Jenkins said plainly, making the Sergeant squawk with Wrex letting out a rumbling laugh.
"Knew there was a reason I liked you, Williams." Wrex said approvingly.
Ashley groaned, slouching in her seat. "It just feels wrong that we can't always get to go help out."
"Well who knows." Private Jenkins said with a chipper tone. "Maybe something will come round the corner."
"You sure about that?"
"Williams, priority message coming from Admiral Kahoku" Joker spoke over ship comms.
Jenkins shot her an amused grin. "See, what'd I tell ya?"
Giving him an appreciative smile, she got out from her seat and went to see what the System's Alliance Admiral wanted.
"I'll go see what this is about." Ashley said
Ashley entered the Normandy meeting room that serves as the comms room.
Standing in the center, a holo transmission of a middle-aged man with a standard Alliance Navy uniform
"Admiral Kahoku." Ashley snapped into a salute.
"At ease, Williams." Kahoku waved down.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
"There's something of grave importance I wished to discuss. Where's Commander Shepard, I was expecting him to answer." Kahoku admitted.
"He is currently on mission right now, tracking Matriarch Benezia." Ashley stated.
"Hmmm." Kahoku mused. "Tell me Sergeant Williams, is it possible for you to contact the Commander?"
"Blizzard is currently interfering with communication at the moment until it clears sir." Ashley stated.
Kahoku frowned. "This may prove more troublesome then it seemed."
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking but what is this about that you would mark a priority transmission for the Commander?" Williams inquired with respect.
Kahoku thought to himself for a brief moment, unsure of what to do here but nodded to himself a moment later.
"If you should know, Sergeant Williams, I had been assigned by the Systems Alliance to track and investigate the splinter group known as Cerberus." Kahoku stated with complete seriousness. "I have had a mixed bag of success for the past year until those bases have been struck by the two mysterious individuals that have been wreaking havoc upon the Batarians these past few months."
Ashley recalls the rumors that Tali and Wrex spoke beforehand about a lone Geth unit and an Armored being wreaking havoc in the Terminus space.
"Thanks to the Cerberus bases that had been raided and discovered by the Alliance, we've recently created a list of bases that Cerberus has across various systems from the data that had not been destroyed by their data purges." Kahoku informed the Sergeant. "One of which is here on Noveria."
Ashley's eyes sharpened upon the mention of a Cerberus base being on this planet.
"Are you serious, Admiral?"
"Very." Kahoku said without doubt. "We've gone over the data various times and have uncovered that this base is a site for testing on human subjects through illegal experiments."
Ashley inhaled greatly upon hearing this little tidbit, her emotions spiking in anger and fury.
"What would you have me do, Sir?" Ashley asked straight away.
"I need you to pass this on to the Commander, when he returns that is." Kahoku said
"Admiral, I'm not too sure that will happen anytime soon with who Shepard is pursuing." Ashley admitted.
Kahoku thought it over for a moment and made a decision.
"Do you have a squad or unit that is able to go with you towards this base?"
"Four, me being one of them." Ashley answered straight away.
Kahoku nodded. "That may be for the best. The base is situated upon a mountain and from what we have gathered there is only one viable entry way."
Kahoku brought a 3D image of the base layout and structures to highlight the entrance.
"The base is situated upon the mountainside specifically made that there is only one path, one entry way of entering the base." The pathway became highlighted for Ashley to see. "There has been rumors of Alliance personnel going missing though we have little to no confirmation that it was Cerberus. But my gut tells me otherwise for this case."
Kahoku locked eyes with Ashley and gave her an intense gaze.
"Your mission is to infiltrate the base. Rescue any prisoners and patients that Cerberus may have inside. Gather necessary data. This is an infiltration operation so discretion is necessary but if need be, reign hell. That's no less than what Cerberus deserves."
"Copy Admiral, we'll get it done." Ashley stated, back straightened while snapping to a salute.
"Good luck Sergeant." Admiral Kahoku saluted her in return before ending the transmission.
"Joker." Ashley said aloud, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yeah Ash?"
"Keep trying to contact the Commander." She said. "He's gonna wanna know about this."
"You got it, Sarge."
Ashley turns and heads out to inform the others that they're going to see action.
She knew the base was likely to be heavily fortified and guarded with what the human organization had been enduring these past few months. So she knew she had to go in strong.
Luckily, there was Turian Sharpshooter, Alliance marine and Krogan Biotic battle master aboard for just such a job.
However, unaware to them all, the base that was now their objective was already about to be attacked by a familiar pair of foes along with a new ally.
Six, Legion and Chief had scaled up the mountain side and had entered the base where Cortana had disabled the security and directed them to be the safest area of entry. The balcony perched on the cliffside was vacant which allowed them to enter the base undetected.
Both Spartans and Geth sweep the room to find it empty.
"Cortana." Chief spoke up.
"There's four corridors." She quickly informed. "We have two that will lead directly to the main control room of the base. But of course those are the ones filled with the most guards."
Six nodded at the information.
"We'll go down this corridor here where we'll reach the fork that splits off from this corridor." Six instructed. From there we will split off to complete our objectives. Legion and I will go secure a sample of this Celerium drive that they've been experimenting on before rigging this place to blow. Chief, Cortana, I need you two to hack into their mainframes and find out what they are up to along with any info on further Cerberus operations."
Chief nodded as the trio began to travel down the corridor with Cortana hacking into Cerberus's network to keep security unaware of their presences while hearing anything that may be of note.
"Boys, five Cerberus guards up ahead in the room on the right." Cortana said. "They're armed but it appears there are no biotics."
Both Spartans nodded, with Legion only getting ready as they neared the doorway to the room with five Cerberus soldiers.
Six and Chief held up silenced magnums and DMR's, same as Legion.
Both Spartans leaned against the side of the door with Legion right behind Six. Both Spartans shared a look with both nodding a moment later.
Six and Chief burst through the door, weapons raised with Legion right behind them.
As the Soldiers started making their turn, one soldier was gunned down. The other four startled by this quickly raise their weapons. Just before any of them can raise their comms, another soldier is quickly put down then followed by the rest shortly with the combined fire from all three.
"Wow, well that was quite a display from you three." Cortana said.
The trio only checked over their ammo and continued back onto their pathway down the corridor.
As they traveled down their path, Cortana glided through the digital stream of the Cerberus database when she stumbled upon a recent file. And by recent, it was relatively an hour or two that it had been reported.
"Six. Chief." Cortana spoke up suddenly. "There's something you need to know."
The three individuals halted in their trek down the hallway with Nathan looking to John with the older Spartan-II frowning beneath his helmet. She singled out the two of them, as if choosing to rule out Legion. However, their Geth partner still heard her as well.
"The personnel in Cerberus picked up on several ships that had
"Geth." Six said in a sharp tone, looking to Legion who stood still and unmoving. "The Geth are on Noveria. Why are the Geth here, Legion?"
"What's going on?" Cortana spoke up. "Aren't the Geth your ally?"
"No." Legion said in a slow tone. "These Geth… they are not a part of our Consensus. They are those who followed a different path."
"A different path?" Cortana repeated. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"Before Spartan Six and Construct Dot arrival, the Geth were contacted by an Old Machine known as Nazara. It offered the Geth technology to achieve our goal but an exchange to assist the Old Machines in capturing the Citadel. We realized this offer would not help our cause and further distrust between organics and Geth. We refused, the Geth rather wanting to accomplish our own future through our own technology than the Old Machines. A small percentage however accepted the offer and peacefully broke away from the main network."
"Peacefully broke away, huh?" Cortana muttered. "Well looks like they ended up here of all places."
"The Consensus must know about this." Legion stated. "We must meet with them and see why this has transpired."
"So these Geth…" Cortana said warily. "They're not allies?"
"They're violent aggressive actions made against the Galaxy show them to be hostile." Legion stated. "They must be eliminated. Their presence ruins our intentions of integrating with organics."
Six regarded Legion for a moment, unsure of what to say exactly towards the Geth that has been his literal partner for the past few months.
"Focus on the mission at hand." Six said, gazing at Legion. "We'll talk about this later."
Legion only nodded. "We shall."
They resumed their walk until they reached the diverging paths.
"Looks like we split up here." Six said. "As soon as we complete our respective objectives, I need Cortana to put the base on lockdown and call in the Prowler to the hangar bay to make our exit."
"Understood" Chief acknowledged
The two teams separated, going about their own objectives.
Chief walked down the corridor, Cortana making sure that there were no means of her Spartan getting detected by the Cerberus personnel within the base lest they literally see him with their own two eyes.
"This place sure is a lot more colorful than our UNSC bases." Cortana idly commented with Chief remaining silent.
"I mean seriously, looking at it, kinda makes us look a bit drab in comparison. Then again, they do have the creepy evil scientist vibe going down here perfectly. And they've got their symbol painted all over the walls." Cortana said with a mirthful eye roll. "Talk about conceited."
Chief snorted to himself, finding his friends constant chatter to be a bit of a welcomed side distraction.
In all honesty, he was grateful that both Cortana and Noble Six were here. He had been in this new universe for only a few days, which he still can't get over for the time being and was glad that he had familiarity around him and nothing jarring that forces him to adapt and almost shut down.
Chief was brought out of his thoughts when his HUD picked up targets, quickly he ducks for cover as a patrol group approaches and turns around to another corridor out of his sight. With Cortana directions, he was guided to the location of the mainframe. Two guards are standing in front of the entrance leading to the room where his objective lies.
"My scans are not picking up either to be biotics, so they're easy picking Chief." Chief nodded.
He rushed the two guards and deployed his hologram to trick them into firing at the projection. This gave Chief the moment to quickly took out the guards before they even realized their shooting at a hologram. Chief quickly swept the room for any more hostiles before going back to retrieve the two dead bodies.
"Clear"
"Alright Chief, get me nearby to the terminals and let's see what their hiding" Cortana said
He went over to the terminal and placed his hand over it. Data bits started streaming from Chief hands into the system.
Over on Six and Legions end, they had dispatched two dozen Cerberus guards with the duo standing before the doorway where the Celerium was being held.
"This is it." Six said, gazing at the door.
"Our scanners indicate a dozen more guards within the room, two of which are biotics from what Construct-Cortana had detected." Legion informed the Super Soldier with the Spartan only nodding.
Suddenly, without warning, alarms began to blare across the base with Six and Legion looking up in alarm themselves with their weapons up.
"The hell just happened?" Six questioned.
"Unclear, this is not of our doing." Legion announced.
The door suddenly burst open with Six and Legion jumping aside and leaning against the wall as a dozen Cerberus soldiers ran out at full speed towards a corridor on the right-hand side.
"Chief, Cortana, come in, do you copy?" Six went for the comms.
"We copy, Six." Chief's gravelly voice responded.
"What's going on Cortana, I thought we were safe." Six stated.
"It's not us." Cortana answered, voice tinged with surprise.
"What?" Chief and Six said in unison.
"It's not us." Cortana repeated. "Someone else has triggered the alarms."
"Who?"
BOOM
"Dammit." Ashley grunted, hiding behind a set of crates within the garage of the Cerberus base that they had attacked. Beside her was Private Jenkins, Assault Rifle in hand as he fired at the Cerberus forces that fired back at them. They currently fought within what was the garage of the Cerberus base with the structure in view thanks to a built-in glass dome around atop the garage.
Further back, Garrus Vakarian was moving from cover to cover while sniping Cerberus soldiers that got within his scope. Wrex on the other hand armed with his shotgun fired back taking out two soldiers.
"Jesus fucking Christ." Jenkins bellowed aloud, ducking as a series of bullets nearly tore through him. "What the hell is with this base?! Why are they so well equipped?"
"Don't know." Wrex grunted, headbutting a Cerberus guard before grabbing him by the neck and flinging him at a group of other guards. The cluster gave Garrus ample opportunity in taking them out in rapid succession.
A familiar voice suddenly crackled through their comms. "Ashley?! Ashley come in! Garrus, Wrex. Anyone!"
"Shepard." Ashley said in a relieved tone. "Boy am I glad to hear your voice, Skipper."
"What the hell happened, Williams?" Shepards voice was both relieved and exasperated at the same time. "I leave you all alone for a few minutes and then I find out from Joker you all up and left on your own mission."
"That's a bit of a long but short story, Shepard." Garrus wryly stated behind a wall while Cerberus guards shot at him.
"Then tell us the short version." Kaidan's voice chimed in this time.
"One of your admirals called." Wrex answered. "Said he needed Shepard to go take out a base of human idiots. Shepard wasn't there so he asked Williams and us to do it instead."
"Ok, first of all, a lot of details missed there." Ashley spoke up. "But yeah, that's about it, Skipper. Has Joker been contacting you the whole time?"
"Least that part lines up." Shepard said in bemusement. "How are you all holding up?"
"Not gonna lie Shepard, these bastards are armed to fight an army not the four of us." Jenkins gritted out, tossing a grenade out.
"What the hell kind of base is this?"
"Cerberus, sir."
"I know that, Ash, but why the exorbitant defenses?"
"Shepard, not to sound disrespectful or anything but we're in a bit of a god damn pickle right about now." Ashley grunted, her kinetic barriers going out with her ducking to cover once more.
"Hold position everyone." Shepard said grimly. "We're on our way."
Back with the UNSC squad, Cortana had shown them security footage of the firefight.
"Who are they?" Chief inquired.
"From what I have been able to discern, the two humans are Sergeant Ashley Williams and Private Richard L. Jenkins of the Systems Alliance. The Turian is… Garrus Vakarian of C-sec from the citadel and that Krogan… Urdnot Wrex. A motley crew if ever there was one."
"Why are they here, Cortana?"
"Well from what I have been able to gather…" Cortana took a moment to bring up multiple files and documents across the extra-net. "These four have last been seen across several worlds accompanying the crew of the SSV Normandy that belongs to the Human Spectre Michael Shepard. And from what I've been able to gather, their target is an Asari known as Benezia."
"But why are they here specifically?" Six asked.
"Trying to figure that out right now."
"They need help." Chief spoke up, watching the security feed. "They're fighting soldiers that are meant for us."
"These Cerberus personnel are far more equipped than our previous engagements." Legion stated.
"Wonder why." Six muttered. "Legion set the charges to destroy the shipments, while I retrieve the Celerium sample then we'll link up with Chief and Cortana. The explosion should distract the Cerberus guards to help out that squad."
Legion nodded, going about his instructions whilst Six went to retrieve the Celerium.
All the while, Chief stood within the main control room where all the data was stored within the base and Cortana was browsing around for useful data. He had maintained open contact with Six and Legion as he knew that with Cortana their comm transmissions were virtually undetectable.
"Interesting, the base seems to be a research facility to test experimental augmentation to further utilize for Cerberus forces performances on the field." Cortana stated.
"Augmentation?" Chief and Six questioned.
Cortana hummed. "Yeah, they have a litany of successful and failed experiments and…"
John tilted his head at his friend's sudden silence. "Cortana?"
"This… is interesting." Cortana muttered slowly.
"What is it?"
Cortana brought up a graph that displayed energy signatures that Chief didn't recognize.
"This is energy readings of Slip-Space." Cortana quickly elaborated before the Chief had the chance to ask. Suddenly a second graph popped up with the bar and line lower yet matching.
"And this is Slip Space radiation that's left over from a slip space jump after a prolonged period of time." Cortana stated. "Radiation readings that are 22 years old and have been in possession of Cerberus."
Chiefs eyes narrowed while his body tensed. On his end, Six was having a similar reaction.
"Do they…"
"They're no closer to replicating anything we own then we have in making a portal home." Cortana wryly stated. "And these readings are not from a Slip-Space jump but… it's coming from a person!"
"What?" Six said.
"They have someone here stored away in Cryo who has Slip space energy emanating from and around the person." Cortana said. "And he's in the next room over to me and the Chief."
The door to said room opened and Chief immediately walked inside to find himself in a circular room with a single cryo pod. It was completely closed off, cylindrical and about an inch shorter than Six if it were to be stood up right.
"This him?"
"Yup."
Chief regarded the cryo pod.
"There's Slip Space radiation coming from this person?" Chief asked just to be sure.
"Yes, he's… he's wearing UNSC armor!" Cortana exclaimed in shock. "He's a marine!"
"Who is he?" Chief asked calmly.
"I… I don't believe it." Cortana muttered out tone easily identifiable to shock. "It can't be."
"Cortana?"
"This is Sergeant John Forge of the UNSC Spirit Of Fire." Cortana stated in awe. "Someone who's supposed to be dead."
"How is he here? How is he even alive?"
"I don't know." Cortana said in a grim tone. "But we can't leave him here."
Chief could only nod in silent agreement.
"Six." Chief held two fingers up to the side of his helmet. "We have a priority one asset that needs immediate recovery."
"Who is it?"
"A UNSC Marine."
He was met with momentary silence. "Copy that, Master Chief."
117 nodded. "Get yourself over here, we're gonna carry him out. Cortana, can you bring the prowler around?"
"Sure can, there's a landing pad just on top of this facility big enough to support it."
Chief nodded, gazing down at the cryo pod for a moment before beginning to unhook the many wires that were connected to the pod. Cortana had given him a detailed description of what to pull out in order to keep the Sergeant from having any sudden defrosting that would harm him. There was an emergency energy source strapped into the bottom of the pod and from Cortana's readings it will sustain him long enough from their trip here until they link back up with the Spirit Of Fire.
A few minutes later, Noble Six arrived with Legion by his side. The Spartan-III strode right over to the pod and gazed down upon it.
"John Forge." B312 muttered to himself.
"Let's get him out of here." Chief stated, Six nodding in turn.
"The pathway to the landing pad is clear." Legion informed.
"Detonate the charges, Legion." Six ordered.
Legion wordlessly held up a detonator and pressed down on the switch.
Ashley had been fighting ferociously to remain standing tall. Shepard and the rest of the squad was none too far off, only minutes away.
But damned if those seconds ticked by at a snail's pace.
"Ash." she looked over to Jenkins. "Shepards two minutes out."
"Can he make it one?" Ashley grunted out in a wry tone.
Wrex was by her side by this point with Garrus over next to Jenkins. They were barely holding out but dammit they weren't about to just go down like this.
The Krogan battle master momentarily popped up from cover to send several Cerberus guards that drew near and sent them back with a Biotic push. He laughed aloud with glee.
"Aw man, I haven't had this much fun in decades." Wrex declared aloud. "Why didn't you humans show up sooner?"
"Just keep killing those bastards, Wrex." Jenkins shouted.
"Can do."
Garrus had been going up and down in cover, taking shots at any Cerberus soldier he was able to see within his scope before going back down for safety.
"Not that I don't mind all this madness, but can Shepard kindly hurry the hell-"
*KRABRRRMMMM*
The entire building shook from the shockwave that everyone felt.
The fighting abruptly stopped with all heads turning towards the Cerberus Base. There was a conveniently built in glass ceilings
"What the he-"
*BLAM*
The Cerberus soldier that spoke up was blasted in the head and dropped dead.
"Idiot." Wrex berated.
No sooner had Wrex finished that statement did the Cerberus Guards get a barrage of fire from a newly arrived squadron of Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Kaidan, Tali'Zorah and Liara T'soni.
"Move, move." Shepard ordered, rushing in with the others as Liara and Kaidan unleashed a dual Biotic wave at the distracted Cerberus guards.
Tali, with her omni-tool, sent out a discharge to overload the enemy shields which made another set of soldiers fall to the ground.
"Took you long enough, Skipper." Ashley commented, though relief was present in her voice.
"Yeah, you all looked so helpless without us."
"Helpless?" Garrus drawled. "I'll have you know; Jenkins and I were simply using this defensive tactic as a ploy."
"Yeah, we had them on the ropes Commander." Jenkins added chipperly. "Wrex was getting ready to plow right through them."
Wrex only rumbled out a chuckle.
"We heard the base shaking when we got in." Kaidan brought up. "Something blow up?"
"Yeah, something in the base." Jenkins answered.
"But we got no idea who or what caused it." Wrex stated.
The eight-man squad now stood together as they began to press forward against the disoriented Cerberus guards.
"Keelah, look!" Tali abruptly shouted, pointing up at the base with the Normandy crew and even most of the remaining Cerberus personnel to stop their shooting and look up in time to see a ship of unknown origin and design lifting up from the base.
The ship angled itself up towards the sky with the sight of engines blaring until it quite literally vanished before their eyes. The only known sign that it was there was the distinct sound of thrusters echoing across the mountainside and base until it grew faint and far.
"And we have lift off." Cortana declared happily with all hands-on deck plus their newest acquisition situated as comfortably as he can be within his Cryo-pod.
Six and Chief sat side by side as the Prowler exited Noveria's atmosphere and once having a far enough distance from the planet, Cortana initiated a slip space jump with the tear in space opening for the Prowler to enter and leave virtually undetected. Save for the slip space radiation but they would focus on that for another time.
With the team now in Slip Space, both Spartans whirled about within their seats to gaze upon the cryo pod.
"So Cerberus has had Sergeant John Forge for 22 years and we only found out about this now?" Six muttered in a low tone.
"To be fair, most of this apparently was kept off the books or contained to this one facility." Cortana elaborated. "They found him those decades ago and have been keeping him alive but have no means of waking him up."
"Do we have a way of waking him up?" Chief inquired.
"We are detecting a steady flow of the same radiation that comes from the ship when utilizing your means of Faster Than Light travel." Legion spoke up.
"That's because Forge here sacrificed himself using the Slip-Space drive of the Spirit of Fire to stop the Covenant from obtaining a fleet that would have been used against us." Cortana said with admiration.
"Same thing Jorge did back on Reach." Nathan murmured to himself.
"What have they been doing to him?" John asked in a low voice.
"A lot." Cortana said in a dark tone. "They couldn't properly approach him unless they wanted to risk exposure to the radiation which they did of course. Most apparently died from exposure after a number of times they had direct contact with him."
"They experimented on him, you say?" Six pointed out. "What exactly did they do?"
"I think the more important thing you should know is what they have recently discovered." Cortana said gravely.
She brought up energy readings and made sure to list dates above the graphs she displayed before them. The one on the left was highlighted first.
"This graph here represents the constant output from Sergeant Forge over the duration of these past 22 years." Cortana explained. The graph on the right was then highlighted. "This energy reading was captured just a few days ago. Within the system of Saltu Prime."
Six immediately tensed.
"While they didn't discover it straight away, Cerberus soon found out that this energy reading was the same one that was labeled patient alpha." Cortana stated. "Radiation that was left over from your Slip space jump."
Chief and Six shared a look as Cortana went on.
"And with this little discovery they are starting to create algorithms to track the supposed radiation that Six and Legion are leaving behind from every jump that they had done since arriving here." Cortana finished her explanation.
Chief and Six leaned back within their chairs, both thinking of the ramifications if Cerberus is developing a method to track Slip space, especially Six. He should have realized that Slip space would leave behind enormous amounts of radiation and could have been a lot more discreet with using Slip space. It didn't matter now; the Spirit of Fire can use this info to be a lot more careful about how they're going about using Slip space.
Still, he couldn't deny a level of guilt now. They may have purged the data within the Cerberus base on Noveria but who knows what else they may have. Cortana pointed out that there were experiments done to Forge off the books so they could have the radiation readings through other means.
"You shouldn't let that get you down, Noble Six." Cortana said sympathetically, picking up on the Spartan's guilt. "This was a one in a billionth chance of happening and it was completely outside your control. You have no one to blame, yourself or anyone else. 'Cept maybe for Cerberus cause you know… obvious reasons and all."
Chief had a smirk beneath his helmet with Six snorting at Cortana's attempt at cheering him up with Legion looking on with open curiosity.
"Hey, but here's real good news." Cortana said cheerfully. "Captain Cutter will sure be happy to see his old Sergeant alive and…. Well he's in a coma but hey, he's alive."
"You need to work on your means of cheering people up."
"Douglas could do that." Chief said straight away.
"I'll have you know that I have a very cheerful personality." Cortana said in an affronted manner.
"We've studied that usage of wording is important in the event where lifting one's spirits is needed." Legion pointed out in his usual synthetic tone.
"Oh, cyclops here is getting a sense of humor now." Cortana drawled.
"Cyclops?" Legion repeated, fins moving about. "Mythological creature from human culture of old Greece. A bipedal humanoid beast with one optic. Apt description. However, we feel that Legion to be a more-"
"It was a joke, Legion." Cortana said, pretending to be exasperated.
-Scene Cut-
Captain Cutter stood within a makeshift laboratory that had been setup upon the planet that the Fire had touched down upon, gazing intently upon the cryo pod that had long since been opened up.
Beside him was Professor Anders who stared in complete and utter disbelief but joy and regret at the same time.
Sergeant John Forge lay within the opened cryo pod, a glass case over him with several IV's and breathing apparatus hooked up to him.
When Noble Six and Master Chief returned from their mission, the last thing he had expected to see was them bringing out a cryo pod and opening it to reveal the heroic Sergeant who had gallantly sacrificed his life to save the crew of the Spirit of Fire and humanity 22 years ago.
Red Team had gathered around him as well, silently shocked but truly grateful at seeing the Sergeant who let himself bite the bullet as he once said to them. Humanity would need every last Spartan possible for the war.
This wasn't the only reunion that had gone on since the return of the Prowler.
As soon as he had stepped out of the ship, Six froze when he saw one large and very much alive Noble Five standing there with an expectant posture.
Very few words were exchanged. Though few words ever were for the most part with Spartans.
All Jorge did was place his hand against Nathan's shoulder with a small shake and a nod.
"Guess things are gonna be as hectic as it was last time." Professor Anders' voice cut through his momentary trip down his recent memories.
He gazed over at the professor who had her eyes upon the unmoving form of Forge.
"With Six Spartans, I figured things would get hairy." Anders said with a fond tone. "But with Sergeant Forge here," She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eyes. "Soon as he wakes up, I bet you something is gonna blow up."
Cutter couldn't help himself and chortle aloud at the mention of it.
"Would call it making up for lost time." Cutter remarked.
Anders let out a soft chuckle.
The Captain of the UNSC stared at his Sergeant for a few moments longer until he glanced back up to Red team that stood on the other side.
"Red team." Cutter said calmly, the Spartan-II fireteam straightening up upon Cutter addressing them. "Chief and Noble Six will remain behind with us as we are too meet with this consensus that Legion comes from and speak with them on the matter of other Geth being present in the galaxy. You three will be taking their place in going to Akuze. There's another Cerberus base there which means other data to be retrieved and purged."
"Sir." Red Team said, ready for the mission.
"Dot will be accompanying you for this mission." Cutter informed. "She has prior experience and knowledge of Cerberus facilities and bases."
"How will we be getting there, sir?" Jerome inquired.
"Pretty sure Noble Six wouldn't mind you borrowing his Prowler." Cutter stated. "Get your gear and equipment checked up and arm yourselves accordingly. You will depart when we do so."
The three Spartan-II's snapped into attention and saluted.
"Dismissed."
Noveria
Commander Shepard sat atop the crate with a slightly tired face.
This was a long one, that was for sure.
From all those "favors" to gain access to Peak 15, facing the return of the Rachni, confronting Matriarch Benezia all the way to storming a Cerberus base.
Honestly, soon as he gets back to the Normandy he's telling Joker to hold calls for a day just so he and his crew could get some rest. Shepard knows they have earned it.
Glancing over to the others, he smirked slightly at the sight of Ashley conversing animatedly with Garrus, Wrex and Jenkins. They seemed very proud of themselves all things considered for holding out for so long against Cerberus.
Rightfully so if he may add.
Letting out a tired sigh, Shepard brought up his omni-tool when he blinked upon seeing that there was a message there.
He smiled brightly after seeing who it was from, wondering how this person was doing right about now.
Last he recalled; she was supposed to be on the System's Alliance planet Akuze.
And speaking of said planet...
Akuze is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere composed mainly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, with enough heavy metal deposits in the crust to have made colonization by the Alliance a worthwhile endeavor. The colonists had been in place for just under a year when contact with the settlement had been lost. A Marine platoon had been dispatched aboard the SSV Bastogne, with the full expectation that they would discover that a damaged comm link was the reason for the silence.
Many had heard that Akuze was a perfect planet for colonization, that it only needed the barest of terraforming in order to support long-term human settlement, that the only nagging problem was a slight overabundance of rainstorms over the main continent.
Somehow, 'slight' translated into constant sheets of rains, unending since touchdown with no sign of letting up within the month. Even with her armor covering everything but her face, she still felt drenched. The fact that they were camped out on a bit of featureless, barren terrain with no sort of protection from the elements wasn't helping matters, either.
"What the fuck happened here?"
Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard glanced up from her contemplation of the wreckage to meet the gaze of her senior NCO. Operations Chief Wyatt 'Buck' Hightower was a veteran of the First Contact War and more than twenty years of space exploration as a Systems Alliance Marine. If he didn't know what to make of what they were seeing, Shepard wasn't going to make any wild guesses just to save face.
"Damned if I know, Chief," she murmured, nudging a corroded scrap of metal with a booted foot, crouching to examine it more closely.
The mood among the younger Marines had been a mix of high-spirited bravado, lecherous talk about lonely colonist women and grumbling about wanting 'real' action. The more experienced members of the platoon had kept quiet, knowing what the rigors of colonial life particularly in the mining colonies did to the good looks of those who endured them, knowing also that when action did come, it would likely bring death in its wake. Instead of a shorted out comm buoy, scans from orbit had revealed no activity, either at the settlement or the dig site, and when the Marines had landed, they had found...this.
"Damned if I know," she repeated, standing and surveying the scene that stretched before her. The settlement itself had encompassed little more than a hundred square yards of precisely placed prefabricated modular buildings where the colonists slept, ate and worked when they weren't at the mine site. Atmospheric field generators had held a zone of breathable air over the settlement, enabling the colonists to conduct their daily activities without environmental suits, but they were expensive to operate, particularly since each square foot of the settlement was covered by at least two of the five generators, to provide a measure of redundancy in the event of mechanical or electronic failure. Settlement area was kept to the bare minimum required.
No degree of redundancy planning could have anticipated the current situation, however. The prefabs had been tumbled about like a child's blocks, their sides crushed and shredded, contents strewn across the ground. Three of the five generators had either been destroyed or knocked completely offline; the other two were operating on emergency power. The quadrant that Shepard's squad was searching showed some breathable atmosphere remaining, but none of them cared to test their luck by removing their helmets.
"No life readings, Lieutenant," Corporal Charlie Briggs reported, looking anxiously from the readout on his scanner to the surrounding wreckage. Shepard acknowledged his words with a nod and a sigh. It was confirmation of what the orbital readings had told them, but there had been at least a slim hope of locating survivors in the areas where some air remained.
"Where the hell are the damn bodies, then?" Hightower growled. He wasn't expecting an answer, which was fortunate, because Shepard had none to offer. The colony had held nearly a hundred members, including five families with children. All of the colonists had been equipped with personal transmitters, but not a single body had been found, nor a single transmitter signal picked up within a mile of the settlement.
"Batarians, maybe?" Private Jeff Drake suggested darkly, and an angry murmur rose up from the rest of the squad. Clashes with Batarian slavers were a regular occurrence on ships moving through the Skyllian Verge, where the Batarians disputed Alliance territorial claims, and there had even been raids on colonies recently, but Akuze was nowhere near the Verge.
"Batarians don't use acid," Shepard replied, shaking her head as she stepped up to a battered prefab unit that lay on its side with a massive hole melted through one wall and part of the ceiling. Similar damage could be found on virtually every surface in the wreckage, and spectrographic analysis of residues from the edges of the holes identified the cause: sulfuric acid, and a lot of it. Transporting it would have been a logistical nightmare, to say nothing of delivering it in the quantities that had to have been used here. And perhaps most telling, acid was an indiscriminate weapon that would damage the merchandise that the Batarians most sought: slaves.
"They don't travel underground, either," Briggs observed, kicking a clod of earth toward the hole it had likely been thrown out of. The pits were scattered throughout the area: thirty feet deep or more, and seemingly connected by tunnels diving deep beneath the ground. Where they opened, the dirt was thrown back to a distance of twenty yards and more, indicating an eruption of great force from below the ground.
"All right, Hightower, take Charlie One and search the north half of our quad. Charlie Two, on me." The platoon had been divided into five ten-man squads, each consisting of two four-man fireteams, a senior NCO and a junior officer in command. Four of the squads were searching the settlement; the fifth, accompanied by Captain Thomas Manning, was searching the mine site, one kilometer to the west. "Look for survivors, bodies and anything that could tell us what did this."
The instructions were obvious, but Shepard knew they were expected of her. Her first command, small though it was, had gone from routine to anything but, and she was determined to do things right. When you were the offspring of not one but two Alliance military heroes, the only ones watching you more closely than the people expecting you to do things right were the ones just waiting for you to screw up.
"What the hell?" Jane could feel it now: a vibration in the earth beneath her feet, growing stronger every second. Moments later, the shrill tones of proximity alarms sounded from within the camp, and the voice of one of the sentries blared over the comm.
"Got a contact, half klick out northeast and it's closing fast!"
"What is it?"
"Can't tell...signal's distorted, but it's big -"
…
…
…
…
…
…
"This is Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard requesting EVAC. Everyone else is dead. We were attacked by Thresher Maw; it killed my entire unit. I lost Toombs when it burst from the ground behind us. He turned to fire and it got him, it dragged him screaming into the ground. I fired my rifle and it did not do anything. Damn fucker didn't even flinch. Toombs... I'm so sorry. Can anyone hear me? Please… anyone… can anyone hear this… bro, where are you?"
Alrighty then folks, betcha didn't see that one coming? Did ya? No I most certainly do not think so. That's right, Jane Shepard here is Michael Shepards sister. We've got ourselves the Shepard siblings but not the twins. That's right, Jane here is two years younger than Michael.
BSX: As for concerns about pairings you guys are bringing up. I understand where you're coming from. The purpose of the pairing poll was to get you guys involved with the story. I wanted to hear your thoughts and opinions which you'll clearly express. We did take the feedback into consideration and we'll see what we can do.
FMW: Also, just to clarify, this wasn't a last-minute idea of bringing in Jane Shepard. BSX figured it would be a great way of further differentiating us from other stories and we intend to continue to do so.
BSX: Our focus is to deliver a fun and enjoyable story you'll be part of. As we said before you guys are welcome to give ideas and will take a look at.
FMW: So yeah, Jane Shepard is here along with one John Forge. We're gonna have so much fun with the coming chapters. Hope you're all ready for it.
BSX: I'm still new to this writing so I appreciate the feedback and critique you give which will help me along the way to be a better writer and I couldn't have asked for a better mentor than FMW. Any mistakes I make is on me so if any of you have problems then put the blame on me.
Well shucks.
So other than that, hope you guys enjoyed, you all better have seen Clone Wars Finale cause my god, that was spectacular.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.