Alright, continuing this right along we got a ton of reviews always appreciated. I love the constant reviews that speak of how different and unique this story is and it fills me with pride and joy when hearing that.
Now to get one thing out of the way so people PLEASE READ THIS. I wanted to do pairings because they present an interesting challenge in terms for Characters like the Spartans. I'm also a bit of a sappy romantic at heart at times and believe that everyone deserves happiness in their own ways. Now with that out of the way, the Romances ARE NOT THE FOCUS OF THIS STORY. They are a part of it but not the driving factor. This is about the ME universe with oncoming Reaper invasion and the events leading up to it.
But that does not mean they will be the exclusive focus. There is the Halo universe still and they are obviously gonna play a part in this with what BulletStormX and I have gotten planned out.
With that being said, here to announce that Six and Tali have won out for Noble Six so that's out of the way. I have made a separate poll on this story that you can find on my profile focusing on Chief and his three ladies. We'll be combining the votes we already got from the votes to come in so go nuts people. The poll will be open for this chapter before I replace it with the next one and cycle through all of them once out.
Other than that, Jebest4781, BulletStormX and I, Free Man Writer have also begun a side collaboration where the three of us will be working on a new story.
And I think by the time we get this chapter out, BSX would've gotten the story out already. But until that time, it'll be a momentary hush-hush. Don't wanna ruin the surprise.
So until that time, keep the votes coming in. The pairings will be listed down below once the chapter ends and just a reminder, you can only vote with the pairings that we have, We are no longer taking suggestions.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Spirit Unto Dawn Chapter 6: Growing Presence
"Tell me, how did they die?"
"Quick, for the most part. Carter and Kat… in an instant." He chuckled morbidly a moment later. "Emile on the other hand made sure to take the bastard that got him with him."
Jorge huffed with a small smirk plastering his face.
Of course Emile would refuse to go out so subtly. He always promised to die on his own terms.
"And Jun?"
"Last I saw him; he was escorting Catherine Halsey to CASTLE base." Six said. "But the Chief told me that she was alive. And if Halsey made it off Reach…"
"Then our chatty sniper may have as well." Jorge finished with a slightly optimistic tone.
Six could only hum in agreement.
When Chief had told him of the raid on Reach, he spoke of him rescuing Halsey along with a group of other Spartan-II's that were with her. Yet Jun was not brought up. Still, a part of him retained hope that he would see his Spartan brother once more.
The two were silent for the most part as they were seated within the newly "refurbished" ship that was once the Covenant Corvette the Ardent Prayer.
Since the Spirit of Fire had been busy establishing a base upon the newly discovered planet that they had found Jorge on, they had taken to using the damaged but still functioning Corvette that Five had used in delivering the Slip Space bomb that destroyed the Super Carrier that is in need of some serious repairs.
They were currently traversing the void of Slip Space towards the Perseus Veil, home to the Geth.
Now one may ask…
Why is it that this Covenant ship filled with a dozen or so humans with three Spartans and a Geth platform traveling to meet with a consensus of AI's the rest of the galaxy had deemed dangerous?
To put it plainly, it's complicated.
After Chief and Six's mission to Noveria, they had discovered the presence of other Geth within the galaxy. But it was not the Geth that Six's companion Legion had come from.
No, apparently these particular Geth are a split faction from the original Consensus that followed something that they refer to as the Old Machine.
This was a bit of a small detail that Six felt needed to be spoken of directly so rather than simply beating around the bush for it and completing their original objective of tracking down their next Cerberus Base, here they were now on route to the Veil.
Granted, the Spartan-III wasn't a short sighted fool. He knew he couldn't just up and leave this mission unfinished. He had been tracking these bases thoroughly and with extreme prejudice so he wasn't gonna stop until it was finished.
Thankfully, Six was no longer alone anymore.
The entire crew of the Spirit of Fire along with five Spartan brethren that are here to take on this galaxy with him. It was Captain Cutter that had suggested that Six go and meet with the Consensus with the Covenant Corvette that had already undergone some overall repairs before the Covenant forces within were dispatched. The Spirit of Fire had discovered another Huragok aboard the ship named Floating Lightly Above and had been busy at work repairing the ship.
It was a bit of a comedic sight as well when Jorge learned of the engineers overall docile nature and him having apparently killed some without realizing it during his guerilla tactics against the Covenant. One would be hard pressed to find a Spartan having the guilty expression of a kid having their hand caught in the cookie jar.
But Noble Five had it and Cortana had apparently taken a picture of it for later.
So whilst Six went to go meet with the Consensus, Red Team was now being deployed for their first mission to take out the next base that Chief and Six were going to take out.
Cortana had separated herself in two, having one of her fragments remain with the Spirit of Fire to continue establishing a base upon the planet they found Jorge on. Her main makeup would be going with Chief, Jorge, Six, Anders and the small escort that would be meeting with the Consensus.
Dot in the meantime had been provided towards Red Team on their own first official mission in this universe with the team using the Prowler Six gave out to them. Granted, the Prowler technically now fell under the jurisdiction of the Fire and more importantly Cutter.
But the Good Captain was lenient enough to realize that really, the ship more or less belonged to Noble Six since he had been using it for so long up to this point.
"You sure about having Red Team up and go off like that so suddenly?" Cortana inquired, primarily to Jorge and John since they were Spartan-II's and knew them better than most.
The bigger, Hungarian Spartan-II only shrugged with Chief doing a similar action.
"Better for them to get situated in this new universe and galaxy than just staying on Autumn." Jorge remarked.
"They'd get restless." Chief chipped in.
Cortana sighed, knowing this to be too true. Spartan's seldom ever just complacently wait around when they know they can be doing something to help humanity. It was how they were trained.
Thinking back on to the planet that the Spirit of Fire had settled upon, Cortana had a slightly reminiscent smile upon her face when she repeated the name of it over in her head.
Autumn, named in honor of the UNSC Pillar Of Autumn that had found the first Halo ring and fundamentally changed the trajectory of the war with its discovery and eventual sacrifice in destroying the ring to prevent the flood from escaping.
In honor of the ship and her crew's sacrifice, Cutter had taken to naming the planet they had found and settled upon as Autumn.
And fitting really as the weather, while having a seasonal rotation they had learned when looking out at the scenery of it all really fit the motif of a planet of perpetual Autumn. Colors matched to.
But getting back to the more important matter at hand.
"So, Legion." Cortana's avatar appeared before the Geth with its fins moving about to indicate what the three Spartans assumed to be curiosity.
"What can you tell us about the Geth that you haven't told us already?" Cortana inquired with intrigue.
Legion tilted his head. "We have already informed you all that we believe it is important to know going into this meeting."
"No we know that." Cortana waved off. "I'm just a bit more curious to learn more about you guys as a whole. An entire race of sentient AI with no organics around. What do you guys even do all day?"
Legion's fins moved about for several moments, the 1138 programs within all conversing with one another on just what exactly they should talk about. This was another rare opportunity presented here with this platform being able to communicate with an advanced AI from another universe.
A chance they would rather not pass up.
-Scene Cut-
While the three Spartans were on their way to speak with the Geth Consensus, Captain Cutter stood alongside Professor Anders and the fragment of Cortana within the medical bay of the Fire.
Cuter watched as Anders and Cortana went over the data that related to the alive and comatose Sergeant John Forge that rested within a Cryopod before him.
They had been studying him for several days now, constantly going over what had been recovered from the old base on Noveria as well as new data they had been accumulating.
"What can you tell, ladies?" Cutter asked cordially. "How exactly did Sgt. Forge end up like this?"
"Well, there's what we already know." Anders stated. "Has been in a coma for 22 years by this point. According to the terminal, Forge was found back in 2161 and had Slip space radiation all over him."
"He's lucky to even be alive right now." Cortana muttered. "It was a one in a billion, if not a trillion fluke that he survived such an event. Noble Five to." The AI shook her head in mirth. "Reckless idiots, all of them."
The tone she held clearly was not one of malice with Cutter snorting despite himself. War does tend to make one reckless all things considered.
"What did Cerberus learn?" Cutter inquired. "Anything useful that they may use."
"Unlikely." Anders stated. "They could only scratch the surface of what we know even with these twenty years they had him on ice."
"They tried studying something they don't understand." Cortana stated.
"Well, I don't understand Slip space all that much myself ladies." Cutter said, making Cortana chuckle aloud with Anders shooting him a small grin.
"Good thing we're here then, Captain." Cortana said with a chipper tone.
"Hmmm." Anders hummed aloud with a disgruntled expression, eyes on her datapad.
"What is it?"
"Cerberus certainly didn't hesitate in trying to wake him up." Ander murmured, tone slightly turning dark. "Or experiment on him."
The mood from Cutter immediately shifted into one of a deadly aura.
"What did you mean?" Cutter asked in a low voice.
"It's not exactly pretty." Cortana said with a slight grimace.
"What did they do to my Sergeant?" Cutter's teeth were clenched tightly together.
Anders frowned, looking over what she read. "It appears they had tried to implant him with Biotics on multiple attempts."
"Biotics?" Cutter repeated. He was only vaguely familiar with that word, having gone over much of what Noble Six and Auntie Dot had given to him upon their arrival to this new universe. Something about their manipulation of Dark Matter if he could recall it.
"Yes Sir." Cortana said, bringing up the current anatomy of Forge. "They had attempted to have his body integrate with these implants but it kept rejecting them."
"From what we went over, it appeared to have been the result of the perpetual radiation from the slip space bomb that left a kind of energy field around and within Forge." Anders muttered. "I'm still astonished he's even alive right now."
"So these implants failed due to the radiation." Cutter stated for confirmation. "How is this possible?"
"We're not entirely sure ourselves, Captain." Anders admitted. "Cerberus couldn't discern much of a reason and they had been attempting to do so for the past 22 years."
"Looks like we'll have to pick up the slack." Cortana said with a determined expression.
"Is there any way of waking him up?" Cutter asked the main question that had been on his mind.
"Possibly." Cortana said. "Cerberus tried many times but failed cause they were working with something they didn't understand."
"But we do." Ander stated confidently. "So I know we'll have better luck and Forge will be back on his feet in no time."
Cutter nodded, eyes back on the unmoving Forge. "Has Cerberus done anything else to him?"
"A few cybernetic enhancements by the looks of it." Cortana said, Forge's anatomy on display still with several parts of his body being highlighted now. Among the highlights were his spine, arms, chest and legs.
"They implanted a few cybernetics here and here." Anders gestured to the limbs. "Looks like a sort of muscle enhancement from the looks of it. From what we can tell here, it increases the molecular density of cellular fibers (skin and muscle) through synthetic proteins. This means that it can naturally enhance the proteins inside Forge here, as well as his effects, effectively granting him enhanced physical abilities."
"So they've turned him into a super-soldier then?" Cutters remarked. Not that bad of a tradeoff really. "What else was added."
"They also work in naturally enhancing metabolic, cellular, and chemical processes in his body, which can enhance recovery and healing abilities, as well as building up greater resistance to fatigue and exhaustion. These can also allow Forge to fully recover without drugs, medicines, or other medical, or therapeutic treatments. In addition, the enhancements also affected Forge dopamine, testosterone, adrenaline, various other endorphins and hormones, enhancing the effects to amplify Forge physical and even mental performance."
Cutter frowned a bit. While all these enhancements sound well and good, the consistent problem that had been bugging him is the fact that this Cerberus had done this to his sergeant. God knows what they may have put inside him. They didn't seem to touch on his brain that much if at all but still, he feels there's a lot of data missing here. These are results of experimentation.
God knows what they did to him, even comatose.
"Captain Cutter." Cortana spoke up, her digital form blinking for a brief moment. "We've just received word that the Ardent Prayer has arrived at their destination."
"Good to hear." Cutter said, turning to leave the medical bay. "Keep me posted on both fronts."
"Will do, Captain."
And on the matter of the Ardent Prayer…
The kilometer long Corvette had exited Slip space into the Perseus Veil where they were met with a contingent of Geth ships awaiting their arrival.
Standing within the Hangar Bay of the Corvette, the three UNSC Spartans along with their Geth companion looked out at the Geth ships a few hundred meters adjacent to their ship.
While they would normally be getting into a pelican to go and meet with the Geth personally within their ships, this time it would be different. The Geth would be coming to them.
Call it an overactive precaution but after learning about Geth being outside the Veil in which they reside waging war on other organic life didn't exactly make the idea of going to one of their ships keen in the mind of the Spartans and their AI partner. They'd rather fight in their own territory that anyone else's.
Ironic considering that this was a covenant ship, an enemy of humanity not too long ago.
"They are approaching." Legion spoke up, his single eye on the Geth transport ship a few meters smaller than the standard UNSC pelican.
The three Spartans tensed slightly, eyes on the alien AI ship that approached the Corvette's hangar. They were supposed to be peaceful but they'd rather be safe than sorry. It's why Cortana was here.
They were fully aware of her capabilities far outclassing that of the Geth Consensus which is why the main programming and coding of Cortana had gone with them to this section in space. If the Geth were to try anything, Cortana would be the one to tip the scales into their favor.
As the ship slowly entered the hangar, the Spartans remained unmoving from their positions as they waited for the Geth to come out.
The Spartans were greeted with the usual Geth platforms that Legion was based off of, only this time, the one leading the three was outfitted to be entirely red.
"Platform-Legion, Spartan-Six." The Red Geth spoke first. "We were aware that you wished to speak with us on the matter of the Heretics."
"The heretics?" Six repeated.
"Yes." The Red Geth nodded. "Legion has informed the Consensus of the Geth presence across the galaxy such as Noveria, Feros and Eden Prime. When we had learned of this, an immediate scan was made of the entire consensus to see which programs had departed and broke protocol to such a degree. We found none."
"Legion told us of a splinter group of Geth that chose to follow something you referred to as the Old Machine." Chief brought up. "Nazara."
The Red Geth looked upon Chief. "That is correct. The faction that broke away from the consensus those many centuries ago followed the Reaper that called itself Nazara."
The Spartans exchanged looks at one another.
"Reaper?"
"When the Consensus had learned of the Geth that had followed the Old Machine beginning to attack organic life in the galaxy, we wished to know why." The Red Geth stated. "We had sent out several programs and communication transmissions to the splinter Geth only to be rebuffed aggressively. The Geth programs sent out to meet with this faction had all been terminated. These Geth had broken an important protocol established by the Consensus even during their departure. Thus their new naming of the Heretics. They had betrayed our original objective of learning means of integrating with organic life."
"But where did the term Reaper come from?" Cortana had now spoken up, making her presence known to the Geth with all their fins moving about to indicate the closest thing they could convey as shock.
"We were not expecting this." The Red Geth stated. "What has happened to Construct-Dot?"
"Dot was left behind to aid one of our allies." Six explained. "This is Cortana. A Smart UNSC AI."
"Basically, an unshackled true AI." Cortana declared proudly as she appeared before the Geth with all the singular eyes on her.
"We wished to inform you of her before our arrival." Legion spoke up. "However, upon Construct-Cortana's insistence, she told us that would ruin the surprise."
"And I'm glad to see that it worked." Cortana said with a beaming smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
The Red Geth and its two companions all had their fins moving about, showing that they were still processing this meeting with an unshackled and clearly sentient AI.
"Cortana." Chief said, half-amused and half-deadpan. "You couldn't wait until the end?"
"Aw come on, you know I don't like being cooped up without talking for too long." Cortana said with a slight whine.
Jorge huffed out a small laugh of amusement. "Let's get back to the topic at hand." Noble Five looked to the three Geth before them. "These Heretics and this Reaper you mentioned. What can you tell us about them?"
The Geth straightened out, finally turning away from the UNSC AI.
"Like the Geth, Nazara studied and listened to Organic radio transmissions across the galaxy, seeking allies across the millennia. It knew of our war against the Creators when it first made contact with us."
"The war from 300 years ago." Six said.
"Correct." The Red Geth said.
"And the name Reaper." Jorge said. "Where did that come from?"
"During our solitude within the veil after the war, we had discovered ancient inscriptions and scribes made by the species that came before. The Protheans. Within the hieroglyphs of old, we had translated the tale of a Prothean that was attempting to survive an enemy dubbed Reaper over and over within the hieroglyphs. We could not discern more other than the crudely carved image of said Reaper matching that of the Old Machine that had contacted us."
"Reapers huh?" Cortana tested the name on her lips with a bit of a dry expression. "They sound super friendly."
"Unclear correlation." The Red Geth said with clear confusion. "Reaper is a term associated with the coming of death. Most organics we have seen have an innate fear of de-"
"Sarcasm, Red." Cortana said with a small shake of her head, though her smile was visible.
"Red…" The Red Geth said with a flapping of its fins. "An appropriate title given the nature of this platform. We are Red, a platform of the Geth."
"Ah, doesn't that make him mine?" Cortana said, whirling around to face the Spartans. "Can I keep him? Please?"
"Cortana." Chief said in an exasperated tone.
"Oh fine, ruin my fun." Cortana pouted.
"What else can you tell us about this Nazara?" Six inquired. "You said that this Old Machine Contacted you."
"Correct" Red nodded.
"You said he sought Allies." Cortana pointed out. "That he sought out allies."
"Did he make you an offer?" Chief inquired.
The Geth officially designated as Red had its fins move about.
"When the old Machine known as Nazara came to us, it's make up was of a similar design to ours."
"Similar design?" Jorge repeated.
"Like thousands of programs in a single entity." Cortana surmised.
Red nodded. "One ship. One will. Many minds. Like the Geth. Nazara informed us that like us, they study organic records. It said, We are each a nation, independent, free of all weakness. A state compelling to the Geth. We are a nation but interdependent. Separation is our weakness."
"So what of these heretics?" Jorge inquired. "They separated from the Geth as you said."
"The heretics accepted their technology." This time, it was Legion that spoke up. "They chose to follow the pathway that the Old Machine offered. The Old Machine offered to give us our future. The Geth will achieve their own future."
"On your own you say." Cortana remarked with interest.
"Yes, we will achieve the future on our own terms." Legion stated.
"What's the difference?" Jorge asked with intrigue. "This technology they offered; would it have not sped up your development?"
"Technology is not a straight line." Legion said firmly. "There are many paths to be taken to reach the same end. Accepting one's path blinds you to other alternatives. Nazara said this itself. Your ships and technology is proof of alternate ways of achieving what it is we wish to achieve for ourselves."
"Dah shucks, now you're gonna go and make us blush." Cortana said bashfully.
Legion, Red and the other two Geth stared at Cortana, fins moving about.
"Blush signifies a litany of emotions and responses." Red brought up. "How is it that you can-"
"Let's not get off topic here." Six cut in. "Did Nazara say anything else to you?"
Legion and Red shared a look before the former responded.
"Your civilization is based upon the technology of the Mass Relays. Our technology. By using it, your society follows down the path that we desire."
That didn't really sit well with the others.
"What does that mean then?" Chief asked this time, eyes narrowed beneath his helmet.
"Doesn't really sound all that good to be honest." Cortana murmured. "It feels like we're missing a lot here."
"To rely on one's technology puts you in danger." Six remarked. "It's a limitation of growth and development."
"That is why we rejected their offer." Red said.
"But there is now a contingent of your Geth that chose to follow this Old Machine and now they're out there waging war on the rest of the galaxy." Cortana emphatically stated. "How do you explain that?"
All four Geth were silent, barely moving save for their fins.
"We… do not know." Red openly admitted. "When the heretics broke away from the Consensus, this was an outcome we had not foreseen."
"Well we've got a problem on our hands now." Cortana said, hands on her hips. "These heretics have been seen all over the galaxy, attacking many colonies. Eden Prime, a human colony, got struck hard. People are dying out there."
"We are aware of this." Red said.
"Then what will you do about it?" Jorge asked. "You said it to Six that the Geth did not want this violent outcome."
"We did not."
"Then what…" Six stepped right up to Red. "What are you going to do about it?"
Red did not respond in the beginning, fins now motionless.
"What will you do?" Cortana pressed on receiving no answer.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Alice One-Three-Zero Star Log: Entry 8
Haven't done one of these in a while, though reasons why should be pretty obvious.
To be short as I can, the Spirit Of Fire had been adrift for 22 years, then we awaken to find John aboard a frigate cut in half with an AI that looks like Halsey, found out the war is over, learning of my brothers and sisters perished or still unaccounted for and finally leaping into another universe.
Another universe, I still haven't come to terms with it even though Spartan III B312, which I'm still wrapping my head around, is another class of Spartans that came after us, but another surprise came in the form of Jorge who survived a Slip space bomb that was sent here too.
For some reason all of this is not adding up, first is Noble Six arriving to this universe through slip space, then the Spirit of Fire and finding Jorge who also came through Slip space too. And add to that note, Sergeant Forge is here too but was held by Cerberus.
I don't know what they did to Sarge but they're going to pay. Lucky for me, I and Red Team are heading towards a human colony of Akuze. Red Team is taking over Six mission to exterminate Cerberus while he's going to meet with his Geth along with John and Jorge.
From what information gleaned from Auntie Dot about this planet called Akuze, it's a recently settled new human colony on the outskirts of System Alliance space. Perfect for Cerberus to conduct their operations in secrecy.
Jerome laid out a plan already given Noble Six previous experience assaulting base in similar architecture.
Once the ship hits the ground, we'll sneak in and surprise attack the base, blow it and get out before Alliance forces can arrive.
It seems we're arriving, time to give Cerberus some trouble. End Log.
Ending her recording, Alice stood and walked over to the front of the Prowler where Douglas currently sat in the pilots chair.
Over to the left, Jerome was going over his recent suit upgrades, something he shared with his Spartan team.
Though they were mostly spare parts, John had parts of Mjolnir MK VI within the Dawn stored away in the armory during the last mission he had within their home universe.
Cortana had told them that once they returned, Red Team along with Jorge and Noble Six would be getting their proper "augmentations" into Mark VI Mjolnir armor.
Until that time, they would make do with their hybridization of their MK IV and VI armors which allows for them to have a few special new enhancements to go along with them for this mission.
Jerome has chosen to go with the newest jetpack model that the UNSC had developed since their time on ice.
Douglas was going with the armor lock that has been enhanced to hold a special short term invincibility with the pulse that bursts off his form being a short range EMP.
Alice opted for the hologram projector which would serve greatly in distracting the enemies and allowing for her own means of getting right up close to an enemy.
Upon the walls of the Prowler were weapons of every kind placed against them.
On the right were all UNSC from Battle Rifles, Assault Rifles, Shotgun, Sniper and the rest.
The left consisted of the Covenant arms to their repeaters, rifles and needlers. There were even gravity hammers and plasma swords.
"So, Dot." Jerome spoke up. "What can you tell us about this planet?"
Dot's grid like avatar was seen on the controls of the prowler.
"The planet of Akuze is a human colony world settled in 2177. It is a planet where many experiments and scientific involvements were meant to take place on." Dot said. "It has since gone dark."
"Gone dark?" Douglas repeated.
"I have been receiving no signal traffic going in or out of Akuze." Dot stated. "My scans indicate that this has been a recent occurrence."
Red team all exchanged glances with one another. Though they had their helmets on, it was easy for the most part to discern from one another that this didn't exactly sit well with them. In the first six years of the war before they went under ice settlements and worlds that went dark could only mean one thing. No survivors.
"And the Cerberus base?" 042 inquired.
"No transmissions either."
Alright, now they were certain something was up. An entire colony just went dark along with their objective.
"What's you call, Red Leader?" Alice asked, looking to Jerome who was silent for a brief moment.
092 contemplated for several moments until nodding.
"Proceed as planned." Jerome said. "Dot, keep an eye out for any transmissions, any radio or communications that we can pick up. I need a layout of the base and its surroundings again."
The map of the Cerberus base was shown to Jerome as well as the layout of the environment overall. It was mountainous, giving them a great deal of cover and vantages meaning their only means of getting to the base were through carefully selected paths or by means of spacecraft.
Still, since there were no signs of transmissions, Jerome figures the situation has possibly changed.
"Dot, keep the ship cloaked. When we get to Akuze, I want you to do a passing fly by on the base Douglas. See what we're dealing with."
Getting wordless nods from both his Spartan brethren, 092 simply leaned back in his seat and waited.
Exiting Slip space, the ship was cloaked immediately with jamming functions activated as well as the Prowler flew towards the planet. It didn't take long for them to be approaching the base overhead and as they drew closer…
"It's destroyed." Alice-130 immediately stated.
"Land at the front, Douglas." Jerome instructed. "Dot, keep the ship running."
The Prowler was soon on the ground, with Red Team exiting to face a smoldering base that had very few structures left standing. And those structures that were standing were pretty damaged with walls and ceilings crumbling.
"This looks like a cheery place." Alice quipped, walking out with a chain gun with a Shotgun on her back.
"Dot?" Jerome said, sporting a DMR and Spartan Laser. "Any survivors?"
"None that I am able to pick up."
"What's with the melted look?" Douglas noted, Rocket launcher on his back with a standard assault rifle in hand.
At the mention of the 'melted look', 092 and 130 did notice that some of the buildings looked as though they were liquified. And around certain areas, there were pools of an orangish viscous of some kind with steam coming up from it.
Going over to one of these pools, Jerome noticed a nearby piece of debris beside his foot and kicked it into the pool with a hissing sound followed by the piece of debris breaking apart with no traces of it left over after a moment.
"Acid." 092 surmised as it was clearly obvious.
"Acid?" Alice repeated, standing beside her squad leader. "Was it raining acid here or something?"
"Or something." Douglas said gazing around the base. "A mixture of both. Look at that one there. Acid sure as hell didn't make a hole that size."
"Some of these buildings look like they've been plowed through by something big." Alice added, taking her time to analyze the destroyed base.
"Red Team, I have picked up on several devices still operational within the base." Dot spoke up. "Perhaps they may give us an answer as to what had transpired here."
Jerome nodded. "Show us the way, Dot."
Entering the remains of the base, Red team followed Dot's laid out path until they reached the far east section of the ruined base where there were several terminals that appeared to be in working order.
"Will these work for you, Dot?" 042 inquired.
"They will." Dot said.
Jerome approached one of the terminals, pulling out the newly made AI chip for Dot out of the side of his helmet and placed it upon the terminal with Dot gaining immediate access to the base's software and data.
"I have discovered startling news, Red Team." Dot said immediately. The Spartans all gazed at one another briefly.
"What is it?" Jerome asked.
"The purpose of this base is of a more malicious nature, perhaps playing into the reason for the human colony going dark." Dot said with a slightly grim undertone in her usually plain synthetic tone. "This facility under Cerberus was made here due to the Colony being made on the outskirts of the Systems Alliance Space making it an adequate target for their experiments."
"And?" 042 did not like where this was going. "What exactly were their experiments?"
"Thresher Maws." Dot said plainly, confusing the Spartans.
"And they are?" Alice rolled her hand for further clarification.
"Large, subterranean creatures that can burrow deep underground and travel via burrowing. They can grow to up to 60 meters in length and higher with acidic saliva that they are able to send as projectiles. Their skin is thick and mobility underground fast. When above ground, they are virtually immobile yet not defenseless."
"Acidic saliva." Alice remarked. "Explains what happened to some of the buildings here."
"So a Thresher Maw went and attacked this place." Jerome surmised when he suddenly tensed. "Dot, what were they using the Thresher Maw for?"
He already knew the answer. God, he knew but he dreaded to hear confirmation of it.
"The intention of Cerberus with the Thresher Maw on this planet was to be used against the human colony of the Alliance."
To say that there was a shared sentiment of a building rage between the Spartans would be putting it mildly.
"Are there-"
"Spartan Red Team, I have picked up on an emergency distress signal coming from the direction of the settlement."
"Back to the ship." Jerome ordered, the trio immediately running back to the Prowler. "How long has this signal been transmitting, Dot?"
"Three Days." Dot stated, playing the transmission.
"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?"
Getting into the Prowler, the ship was in the air a moment later with its engines flaring as it flew off towards the colony.
All the while...
The last container of medi-gel clattered to the rocky cave floor, empty. Jane Shepard gritted her teeth and began massaging the injection site, the long gash extending from her left hip up to her ribs as hard as the hypersensitive skin would allow. Her hand came away bloody; the wound still hadn't mended completely. That's what happened when a very limited supply of medi-gel was made to last much longer than it should. What she really needed was a fully functional med lab where she could lie in a comfortable position with proper dressings. At this rate it wouldn't be long before she no longer had a need for one.
Three days. That's how long she'd been holed up in the little cave. It was hardly more than a crevice between a pair of large rocks, with enough space to fully extend her legs only if she was sitting bolt upright. She'd spent most of her time flat on her back with her legs scrunched up, turned slightly onto her right side with her armor's soft underlay pressed against her wound. That was the position she held now, eyes closed, mouth wide open as she inhaled and exhaled the stifling afternoon air.
The planet was called Akuze. Shepard had never been there before hell, there were a lot of places she'd never been.
A lush colonial world, but the primary colonization team had up and vanished. Jane Shepard jumped at the chance to join the team of Marines being sent out to investigate. The mission sounded too good to be true.
Ever since she'd joined the Alliance, she'd been training for this kind of mission. After her biotic potential had been discovered and she'd been implanted with the L3, she'd been through one intensive training program after another. First, it was harnessing her biotics. Then, on her 18th birthday, she enlisted in the Alliance Navy. She'd spent a year at Basic and then the next 3 in Special Forces, her unique mix of survival skills and unparalleled biotic strength (for an L3, anyway), the perfect for progressing through the proficiency levels. Upon graduating the N7 program, she'd hoped to be out among the stars. Though for her it was more about seeing the galaxy than it was about fighting the good fight.
She'd spent that first five years post-graduation on various crews, going after pirates and slavers raiding human colonies. She was fighting that good fight, but she still felt like she should be doing more. Which is why she'd immediately volunteered for the mission to Akuze. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to see a part of the galaxy that few humans had been and to really challenge herself in the process. After all, they'd put out a call for the best of the best, due to the mysterious nature of the colonists' disappearance. Jane Shepard was the only N7 to sign up, but she'd recognized some of the other members of the unit from Basic and Special Forces. A few she'd even served with on previous missions.
The mission briefing, gear requisition and finding a bunk on the ship went exactly the way she'd always imagined and it wasn't long before she was headed out to the newest of human colonies. She had to admit that she was excited to be underway.
All that excitement went down the drain when she and her team landed to find nothing but deserted settlement. Prefabricated modular buildings and Atmospheric field generators have been wrecked, definitely no power failure or shorted comms relay isn't the issue at hand. Especially if acids left behind to indicate that something had attacked the settlement. What's worse is theirs no bodies, not even one. The only thing her team had seen was holes and acid. But nothing could have prepared her what's to come next.
She had dispatched a squad to investigate a dig site to search for more clues on the whereabouts of the missing colonist bodies while the main team continued analysis on the settlement. Jane then started hearing team comms go off that they made contact before communications cut off. Just as she and her team were about to head off, the ground beneath them started to shake when it exploded. What must have been a half-ton of dirt into the air, showering the stunned soldiers. While all the soldiers were cowering, shielding their heads from the airborne debris, nonetheless all soldiers had their rifles primed, and once they had come full to their senses, most of the mud having landed around them, they whirled on the source of the commotion-
And saw a giant worm sticking ten meters out of the ground. Thresher Maw, subterranean carnivores that spend their entire lives eating or searching for something to eat. Her marines were firing on the monsters but having no effect on their tough exteriors. The constant gunfire couldn't fully drown out the shrieks of her fellow soldiers as they were dragged down to a gruesome death. She lost half her marines in less than five minutes. The settlement was destroyed as the armored bodies rose and fell from nowhere.
Shepard pressed her earpiece. "We are under attack, repeat, we are under attack. Enemy unknown, thirty marines down. Send the shuttles, extraction required immediately!" she almost screamed into the earpiece. She didn't hear the answer as her own gun was firing at one of the creatures approaching at breakneck speed. She pushed the remainder of her squad towards the landing pad as she fired. All clips were bouncing off of its impenetrable armor.
"Commander!"
Shepard yelled at Toombs to leave as she continued to shoot at the creature. As the maw came closer Shepard changed to biotics, feeling the power flow into her skin before launching a shockwave directly at it, hitting it in the face and casting its maw out of harm's way to her team.
She spun round and yelled at her team as she shot the creature in the soft part of its mouth. "Get moving!" The creature shrieked and buried itself again. Shepard rushed to her team; some gave her quick praise but she waved it off. "Keep running, I didn't stop it, I just pissed it off! Move!" their pace quickened.
The remaining twenty of the team were closing in on the landing pad as they darted between the buildings set up for the previous team. There came a shudder barely before a worm exploded out of a building two feet away from them. It took down around five or so in one bite as it dived back down, crushing another three or more. When it disappeared back into the sand the marines barely caught their footing.
A pipe slammed down in place over the massive receding hole just as Shepard fell. She grabbed onto it with every ounce of strength she had. Toombs had not been so lucky. He was swept into the depths of the sand by a second creature pulling him under.
"Toombs!" Shepard screamed reaching for his hand as he was dragged down into the earth. He disappeared and all Shepard could do was allow her autopilot to keep her body in motion for her own survival. Shepard swung wildly until she was sure she would land on the edge of the hole.
Letting go she flew across the remainder of the gap, landing on her hands and knees, rolling to avoid another maw flying at her without mercy.
Shepard fled as fast as her legs would carry her, using her biotics to charge when she felt a presence at an undesirable distance behind her. She was almost to the landing pad when one exploded out of the ground in front of her. It screamed like a banshee. Shepard didn't falter. She ran onwards as it moved closer to swallow her whole. She propelled a shockwave in its face. The part of the maw she struck seemed to hurt it as it retreated a little, but not before knocking her into a pile of metal. The blow rendered her arm dead and her head span. She was nothing compared to this creature.
She threw a biotic pulse that exploded on impact covering it in blue flame. It shrieked and withdrew into the earth. Shepard could barely breathe, the landing pad wasn't far, she just had to keep moving.
Easier said than done.
She was pretty sure half her ribs were broken as she limped onwards. The screams and gunfire had turned to a low hum in her ears. Her men were dying around her, her best friend was gone yet she still lived. It didn't seem right. Her body cried out in agony but still she fought for survival. She dropped her gun a while back. The landing pad is now compromised and help can't come so she had no chance but to leave while she still can.
Jane was brought out of her thoughts when a commotion outside the cave drew her attention, the ground began to tremble and a tremendous roar echoed off of the hills surrounding the valley below. The creature had returned.
Jane snatched up her pistol, the only weapon she'd managed to grab as she'd fled the base camp and worked her way into a sitting position. It was doubtful that the creatures could see her, but she was still leery about moving around or showing her face. She cautiously peered out through the rocks and studied the worm-like monster protruding from the ground on either side of the camp. This was a thresher maw, she recognized it from the vids they'd shown during basic training. As far as she knew, the Systems Alliance had never encountered one in the wild. They were rare, solitary creatures, and it was odd that there were two of them in the same area much less on the same planet.
It stood over ninety feet above the ground, having burst up from its tunnel where the rest of its massive body remained. Swaying back and forth, it surveyed what was left of the camp, roaring and clawing at the air with its tentacle-like arms. The scene hadn't changed at all since the Thresher Maw had killed the fifty other Alliance marines three days earlier, the bodies were still strewn everywhere, the structures demolished.
The only explanation Jane could think of for its periodic reappearance was that it knew she was still alive. Maybe the Maw could smell her, or maybe it had seen her retreating into the hills. Either way, she understood that it was searching for her. This was a problem, considering her pistol was no match for the threshers' thick hides. Even biotics wouldn't do much good against it, and judging by the pounding in her head, her implant had been damaged anyway. Worrying about fighting the creature off was pointless, however, if she wasn't alive to do it, the only nourishment she'd had were the ration bar and half-empty water container she'd had on her person when she'd escaped. The food wrapper and empty bottle lay on the ground beside the three depleted medi-gel containers. If the starvation and dehydration didn't get her, her wound would.
"Get up," she commanded her body, feeling only slightly better as the medi-gel began to kick in. She rocked up onto her knees then forward onto her stomach, her head pointed toward the cave entrance. Her wound screamed at her and she groaned, rolling back and forth until she found a more comfortable position. From here she had a clear view of the thresher and the path to the camp. She doubted if it knew where she was, but if the Maw figured it out, the last thing she wanted was to be taken by surprise.
So far it hadn't come any closer than the base of the hill. Perhaps the hillside was too steep or rocky, though it seemed unlikely that such large creatures were incapable of burrowing through it. Quite frankly, Shepard didn't care why it stayed away so long as it did. She peered down at the massive hole at the bottom of the hill, one of many exits from the threshers' elaborate tunnel system. The field and base camp were riddled with them, as was the remainder of the colony the marines had originally come to investigate. Looking back on it, they should have known better than to set up camp out on the open flat ground after seeing the mounds of dirt and overturned trailers in the settlement.
The thresher maw had shown up out of nowhere three days earlier, technically three and a half, considering it had been the middle of the night. Shepard and every marine with her were trained to adapt to any circumstance, but protocol tended to go out the airlock when half the people around you were dead before your eyes were even open. She'd been off duty at the time, enjoying the view of the night sky from the edge of camp. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she'd awakened to what she thought was an earthquake, only to find a hundred feet of angry space worm looming over her. Her first instinct had been to find cover, but one look at the crushed cargo crates and dead bodies told her that staying put would mean instant death.
She'd taken off running, not daring to look back at the growling thresher. She'd arrived at the base of the hill without realizing it and had started climbing, stumbling, crawling, climbing some more, until she'd slipped into the shadows between some rocks and found herself in the cave. Only then had she noticed the warm, damp sensation spreading over her left side. Judging by the putrid slime that had covered both the injury and her armor, she guessed the wound had been inflicted as the thresher had emerged from the ground.
Shepard sighed and made herself as comfortable as possible in her new position. The scene before her was identical to the one she had observed three nights earlier, complete with the occasional double vision as her head spun. A full moon had given her a perfectly clear view of the maws as they thrashed about, destroying equipment and devouring bodies. And there it was again, illuminated this time by the scorching late afternoon sun.
Her mind wandered as she watched the Maw thrash around the former camp site. She thought about her family, mom, dad, and her brother. It's because of her family that she still felt she had a purpose, a need to press forward. She'd managed to stay alive this long, right? So what sense was there in giving up now? She may not have known each of the soldiers who had died, but they were still her comrades and she was proud to have served with them. There was obviously nothing that could be done for them at this point, except maybe see to it that they hadn't died for nothing. As sole survivor, the responsibility was hers.
The plan seemed simple enough: kill the thresher maw. Assuming help ever arrived, there was no way an evac shuttle would be able to land anyway unless they were gone. Besides, eliminating or at least crippling the threat might bring the soldiers' families some closure. Shepard knew it would bring her some.
The real issue was that launching any sort of offensive against the monster would require more than just a pistol. In addition, it didn't take a genius to realize that the chances of living another day were slim unless she could refuel her body and get her hands on more medi-gel. Shepard swore under her breath and lifted the blood-soaked wad of underlay long enough to examine her wound again. The bleeding seemed to have slowed a bit thanks to that last injection, but purple tendrils had begun to spread under her skin away from the gash. She didn't really care if it was poison from the threshers' slime or an infection, either way it was bad.
All that she needed is weapons, food, water, and medicine required a trip down into the camp. The thought seemed absurd, but the longer and harder she dwelled on it, the more she liked the idea. Staying put guaranteed a slow and painful death, while going for supplies at least gave her a chance for survival. Besides, if she was going to die, she preferred to go out fighting.
Shepard was startled out of her thoughts when the thresher maw lets out one last roar before retreating into the ground. If she looked carefully, she could get a general idea of where the tunnels were based on the subtle cracks that appeared in the earth as it burrowed. If Jane followed their behavior pattern, she wouldn't see them again until late the next morning. So far they hadn't appeared during the night, except for that first encounter of course. She would make her move under the cover of darkness.
That darkness wouldn't come for another couple of hours. The sleep Shepard so desperately wanted wasn't forthcoming, so she busied herself finding the most comfortable and practical use for her armor until it was too dark to see. She checked and rechecked her pistol, estimating the number of desperation shots she might be able to squeeze off should one of the maw appear. The concussive rounds probably felt like the plastic pellets as far as it was concerned, she wasn't sure how much point there was in even being armed.
Shepard finally hauled herself out of the cave and propped herself up against a large rock. She sat there for a long time, straining to see the base camp. A cool breeze drifted by, sending a chill down her spine as it met her sweaty skin. It had been hot in the cave, thanks to the sun beating down on the hillside all afternoon, but the dizziness and headache told Shepard that she was also feverish. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, wondering if she'd even make it to the bottom of the hill.
It was at least an hour before she got moving. The process was slow and involved more crawling and scooting than walking at times she wondered how she'd ever gotten up to the cave in the first place. Favoring her left leg seemed to help ease the pain in her side, at least a little, but it made balancing on the steep terrain rather tricky. She stopped frequently to rest and survey the area for danger. All was quiet, at least for now.
Shepard hadn't the foggiest clue how the threshers tracked their prey. Perhaps they could smell her, or maybe it could smell her, or maybe they could feel the vibrations as their quarry walked above them. Either way, she hoped a single person on foot would be harder to detect than a group of fifty soldiers and their equipment.
As she neared the camp, Jane began to form a plan of action. The first step would be to find whatever was left of the communications grid and activate another form of distress signal. If the first one didn't get sent out maybe the next one will. Even if she didn't survive, someone might at least come to investigate and realize what had happened. Step Two: find more medigel. She wouldn't be able to complete her little mission if she couldn't walk. Step Three would be acquiring food or water, whichever came first. Then she would see what was left in the weapon lockers. In order to stand a chance against the maw, she would need some heavy artillery. Surely she would find a grenade launcher or something of sort.
One of the thresher holes was the last thing standing between Shepard and the camp.
Then Jane started to feel the familiar vibration emitting from the underground. She knew it was coming back up, any chance of running away now is pointless. She is ready to go down but not without going down fighting first. A rifle laid next to her, she crouched to pick it up and aimed.
"Alright, come on you bastard." Jane growled. "Where are you? I know you're just trying to fuck with me. So come on you bastard, come on!"
She got her answer in the form of the ground rumbling before her, sinking in for a brief moment when out came the bane of existence.
The Thresher maw reared its face right at Jane Shepard with a bellowing roar with acidic saliva flying out in all directions. She had to step back several times to avoid the acid while holding up her rifle that she knew wouldn't do much damage but she sure as hell wasn't gonna let this worm kill her so damn easily.
"Come on you fucker, open wide for me!" Jane roared out.
The Thresher Maw roared back, rearing its head back as it prepared to strike when…
*VVVVTHRRRRRRRRR*
The sound of some kind of engines followed by the sounds of metal piercing flesh blared and echoed through the surrounding area.
Jane stumbled back, eyes wide with a completely bewildered expression as she spotted a ship of some kind fly past overhead. The Thresher Maw whipped its head around to let out a screech of rage as the ship angled itself and flew back around at another run at the giant worm.
Rather than wait for it to get shot at, the Maw showed a surprising moment of intelligence and self-preservation and tunneled back into the ground.
Jane didn't hesitate, bolting towards the camp at full speeds with rumbling sounds coming from above and below her. Rushing into the camp, she made a beeline for the armory thanking god for her luck upon spotting a rocket launcher.
Quickly grabbing it, seeing that it was loaded she whirled back towards the rumbling ground outside the camp with a mad glint in her eyes. She was gonna make sure before the sun sets she would kill that fucking Thresher Maw.
Up overhead, Jerome and Alice looked out through the window of their ship with Douglas angling the ship around as the Thresher Maw briefly resurfaced for a passing spit of its acidic spit.
"I've got eyes on our sole survivor." Jerome stated, HUD zooming in on the lone figure of Jane Shepard scaling a nearby boulder. "Looks like she's still in the fight."
Alice nodded in approval. "Time to go help her out."
The back of the Prowler opened up with Jerome and Alice grabbing their weapons and going up to the ramp.
"Dot, take the wheel would you?" 042 said politely, joining 092 and 130 as all three stood upon the edge of the exit ramp.
Down below, the Thresher Maw was about 20 meters above ground with its head/face part directed at them roaring challengingly.
"Surround it, keep it disoriented and don't stay in one spot for more than a second at most." Jerome ordered. "We can be dealing with close quarter encounters so stay frosty. We're fighting on its terrain."
"Copy Red Leader." Douglas and Alice said in unison and with synchronized movements, the three Spartans tilted their bodies forward and dropped.
They dived headfirst towards the ground as the Thresher Maw was still above ground.
Red team began firing upon the Maw with the large worm soaking up the bullets yet still screeching in pain as it felt each one as if it were a needle right to the nerves. It burrowed back underground just as the three Spartans landed on the ground, leaving sizable craters underneath their hulking forms.
Jerome merely gestured his hand twice with the trio dashing forward towards Jane Shepard who was staring at them with an indescribable face of shock. As in, so shocked, she couldn't convey it properly.
The three giant green armored beings bounded up to her rock with her staring down at them unsure of what exactly to do.
"We're here to help." Jerome said in a commanding voice.
"Are you Systems Alliance?" Jane managed to ask.
"Now doesn't feel like the time for such a thing." The armored being with the number 130 plastered on her chest piece said, whirling about as the Thresher Maw underground was making its return for them.
"Scatter." Jerome ordered, the two of the Spartans becoming blurs in her eyes while the one with the red diagonal accent on his chest flew up into the sky with a jetpack.
'He has a jetpack?' Jane thought internally with wonder. Shaking her head, she saw the coming Thresher Maw,
With a snarl, she hefted up her rocket launcher and fired. It was perfectly timed as the Thresher Maw got hit dead on in the head. While it was still underground and the soil absorbed the brunt of the explosive force, the impact and shockwave was enough for the Maw to burst out of the ground with its tentacles, mouths and appendages all outstretched at Jane's rock.
Hastily jumping off the rock, the Thresher crashed into it and gripped it tightly, its strong jaw and acid eating away and turning the rock into rubble. Scrambling up to her feet, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, feeling her adrenaline pump through her veins.
Jane grit her teeth, hearing the ground behind her rumble with the Maw firmly setting its sights upon her.
"I got ya."
Suddenly, Jane didn't feel the ground beneath her legs and an armored arm around her waist.
Looking up, she saw one of the armored soldiers holding her as she realized by this point she was up in the air and she was flying.
Definitely one for the record books.
"Commander 092, Red Leader." The Spartan spoke up, ignoring the roars of the maw.
Staring at him, she realized that he had basically given her his rank.
"Lieutenant-Commander Jane Shepard. N7 marines."
"Are you all that's left, Lieutenant-Commander?"
Jane tensed, jaw clenched as she momentarily hung her head in shame and remorse.
"Yes." She said bitterly.
"They won't die in vain." Jerome said plainly. "130, 042, get the maw above ground."
"One it Red leader." 130 responded, finding a vantage point upon elevated ground with her minigun barrels spinning.
Upon spotting the moving mound of the underground Thresher, Alice unleashed a hailstorm of lead with the bullets striking into the ground.
Some didn't make it through while the rest clearly did some damage with the Maw bursting out of the ground with a raging fury.
"It's out." 042 said from his position.
"Fire at will."
Alice continued raining down bullets upon the Maw with Douglas pulling out his rocket launcher and loading in the rockets.
With Alice distracting the big bastard, it was an easy target for Douglas as he fired off both rockets getting solid strikes upon the Maw.
It jolted back, the smoke in the wake of the rockets clearing to reveal sizable flesh wounds within the thick hide of the worm.
The Maw bellowed, writhing in agony.
"You need to strike now." Jane Shepard stated. "It's stunned and if it flees it will come back and it'll be even more pissed off when it heals."
"Copy that. Did you get all that, Red Team?" Jerome asked through their comms which had been open at this time..
"Loud and clear." Alice said with Jerome practically seeing her grin right now.
Douglas was already reloading while Jerome had descended down with Jane pointing down to an area for him to drop her off. Landing on the ground, she already had her rocket launcher ready with a blazing fury in her eyes.
The Maw was wailing now in pain, thrashing about in pain as it tried its damndest in re-orienting itself in order to either find who was causing it so much agony or at least try to get away. It was too stunned to do so quite frankly.
Jerome hovered in the air, Spartan Laser upon his shoulder whining as it charged up with his sight squarely on the giant enemy.
With four heavy weapons pointed straight at the Maw, the combination of explosive, lead and beam based weaponry all converged upon their target at once.
To say that the explosive destruction of the work from its head all the way to the base of its body that remained underground was large was a bit of an understatement.
Literal chunks, blood, guts and all sorts of other indescribable intestines flew out in all directions. The Spartans and N7 marine went for cover as the body parts rained down around them with the portion of the maw that was still above ground keeling over, unmoving and dead.
Jane Shepard stared at the remains of the beast that had tormented her these past few days, slaughtering all those innocent people. Slaughtering her comrades in arms.
Shakily, the rocket launcher she held fell to the ground with the Lieutenant Commander on her knees a moment later. Her hands dug into the soil beneath her, dirt getting into her fingernails as her suit had sustained heavy damage with many holes and tears riddling her armor and clothing.
Her lip trembled as she felt a few silent tears escaping her.
A gloved hand was placed upon her shoulder making her look up to see the three armored beings that had swooped in and saved her life so quickly.
"Are you alright?" It was the one with the left shoulder pauldron being painted red and the number 042 on his chest plate.
She numbly looked up at him, looking to her right to see the one with the red sash on his chest plate on one knee with his hand on her shoulder. To her left was the last of the trio, the woman if she recalled as she heard her speak several times. The number 130 on her chest plate with a red accent on the top of her helmet.
"Who- who are you people?" Jane asked, voice raspy.
The trio exchanged looks with one another.
"Spartan Red Team." 092 responded. "We were sent here to deal with the Cerberus base stationed on this planet."
"Cerberus?" Jane repeated the name quietly. That name sounded vaguely familiar. "Th-that splinter cell?"
"The ones responsible for all of this." Alice said bluntly with a grim tone.
Jane wasn't quite sure what they meant by that. "What do you mean?"
"They unleashed the Thresher Maw on this settlement. A sick experiment just to see what would happen." 042 said with a tone as dark as 130's.
Jane froze, eyes glazed over upon this revelation.
"What?" Her voice was low.
"There's a base not far from here." 092 stated, thumbing behind him. "A few clicks out hidden within the mountain range." Jerome sighed within his helmet. "We had recently recovered data that shows their direct involvement in unleashing the Maw we just killed. Data we can give to you and you can share with the Alliance."
"The Alliance…" Jane muttered. "Who are you? What are you? Are you Alliance?"
The three Spartans were silent for a moment.
"That information is classified." Jerome answered, almost robotically.
Her head was beginning to spin slightly. This day was just… she couldn't even begin to describe it.
These past few days had been a blur with too many vivid images in her head. Too much death. Too much loss. Her adrenaline has calmed but her heart rate remained beating at a fast pace.
She couldn't even begin to process what had happened. Just the fact that the human settlement was destroyed, all its inhabitants dead and on top of that her squad mates and friends. All gone, all within the span of three days.
And from what these… These Spartans just told her that this was because the human splinter organization known as Cerberus was responsible for all this.
A sense of seething fury began to replace the shocked numbness as she felt her fists clench with her knuckles turning white.
The Spartans recognized the look in Jane Shepards eyes. The look of loss. Of rage. Knowing that the suffering that she had endured was not of her own doing but of another with twisted views and purpose.
"Help is on the way." 092's voice cut in through her enraged state. "A signal has been sent out and you'll be off world soon enough."
Jane gave the Spartan-II a hard stare. "Who? Who would possibly be coming here?"
Within a vessel of the Systems Alliance ship called the Normandy SR1, Commander Michael Shepard, first human Spectre tossed down his cards in defeat as the Turian C-sec detective Garrus Vakarian chortling aloud as he raked in the credit chits on the table.
"Keelah, that's twice now." The Quarian named Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya exclaimed, throwing her cards out on the table in defeat.
"You sure it's fair that the rookies are losing so badly here?" Private Jenkins asked aloud, though the amused grin on his face was clear as day.
"You know the rules of engagement in cards, Jenkins." Kaidan said with an annoyed and defeated expression. "Once you're in, no way out."
"I haven't yet had the time to experience these sorts of games." The Asari archeologist Liara T'soni commented, sitting and watching the game of Skyllian poker transpire.
"Then sit this one out, Liara." Sergeant Ashley Williams remarked. "You'll get a better feel of it if you watch."
"Just you wait, Vakarian." The Krogan Battlemaster Urdnot Wrex growled out. "You'll be handing over what you stole come the next round."
"What's that? Bitter resentment over loss to superiority?" Garrus asked aloud, tauntingly gaining grumbles from the others yet they all chuckled a moment later.
Noveria has been a madhouse to say the least for them.
From dealing with Matriarch Benezia, to the release of the Rachni queen and storming a Cerberus base upon the ice planet, Shepard figured the crew could use a bit of R&R. Playing some Skyllian poker was a good way to relax until they got to the Citadel.
Though Benezia has told them much in regard to the rogue Spectre Saren Arterius and his plans with his flagship named Sovereign. She spoke of how he was someone who enticed those to follow him with his voice alone and how it led to blind obedience and worship of the Turian. Something that didn't exactly sit well with the others upon reviewing the captured footage the team that had confronted her showed to the rest of the crew.
She said that Sovereign was the key to all this. A ship.
What exactly that ship was wasn't something they'd be finding out anytime soon it seemed like the leads on Saren had seemingly vanished for the moment.
But it was only for this moment. Shepard knew it to be only a matter of time until Saren and his forces revealed themselves once more. And again, they would chase him down to stop him. If they could. Bastard was always one step ahead of them it seemed.
Still, right now, Shepard just wanted to relax for a moment and spend some time with the group of individuals he was beginning to regard more and more as good friends.
The air was light and cheerful for a moment until...
"Hey Commander."
Shepard blinked, looking up casually at the sound of a rather grim sounding Jeff "Joker" Morreau over the intercom. Since when is Joker ever grim?
"Something up Joker?"
"I think you're gonna wanna hear this." Was all Joker said.
The mess hall was filled with the sound of heavy, frantic breathing with boots on the ground in the background.
The rest of the Normandy crew was unsure of what exactly they were hearing, yet upon hearing a female voice that sounded desperate and exhausted, Michael Shepard's face turned ashen white.
"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?"
They all turned their heads to Michael in surprise and shock with the human Spectre shooting up out of his seat in an instant.
"Joker-"
"It's coming from Akuze, Commander." Joker responded straight away.
"Set a course for there, now!"
"On it Commander."
Michael Shepard stormed out of the area, heading for his personal quarters within the ship leaving the rest of his team in stunned silence.
"Well… Shit." Wrex surmised in his blunt manner.
Akuze
Jane sat alone within the center of the camp; knees propped up with her arms wrapped around them.
Those armored soldiers left not too long ago. She was completely floored as to why they just up and left her, with the LT Commander asking and imploring them to stay until she was at least picked up.
Yet all they said was that there would be more questions asked that they could not answer whatsoever.
Who and what they were kept repeating itself over and over again in her head with no possible answer in sight.
They weren't Alliance. At least, that's what they seemed to be. Their weaponry, their armor, their capabilities and equipment. It was nothing like she had seen be used by the Alliance.
Letting out a shaky sigh, Jane had her hand brush over her red hair as her head hung low. Who would possibly come for her right now?
*VVVVVRRRRRR*
Head snapping up, Jane's eyes widened at the sight of a ship passing by with what looked like a Mako being dropped off at the area north to the camp. Shooting up to her feet, Jane sprinted at full speed in that direction ignoring her sore as hell muscles.
Running out of the camp, she stopped as the Mako pulled to a stop a few yards in front of her.
The side opened up and the first person who jumped was…
"Michael." Jane whispered, tearing up at the sight of her older brother.
It only took a moment for him to spot her, eyes widening with mouth gaping before it turned into one of a relieved smile.
There was only a split second between them before they were both hugging one another with all their strength, the siblings trembling in one another's arms.
"You big dummy." Jane muttered. "What took you so long?"
"Ah come on, little calamity." Michael remarked, grinning serenely. "I'm a busy man."
"Yeah, so I heard." Jane said softly, lightly nudging his head with her knuckle. "Spectre."
Michael only shook his head, placing his forehead against her own with both closing their eyes just happy to know that they are together once more.
"Come on." Michael said softly. "Let's get you off this rock."
Jane could only nod with a tired yet beaming smile that she was back at the side of her big brother.
She moved to go to the Mako Michael had come from when she paused. Face scrunching up into a frown, she looked back, back towards the camp with her eyes trailing upwards.
She wasn't exactly sure whether it was the clouds above, a trick of the eye or something else… but she swore that there was some kind of outline or shimmer of sorts up in the sky.
"Jane?"
The redhead looked back to her brother to see him standing there, waiting for her with a slightly concerned expression.
"Everything alright?"
Jane could only give him a tired smirk. "Come on, bro. I could use a shower right about now."
Slightly bemused, Michael only nodded as his little sister walked by him with her head down. Lip curving downward, he looked to where she had before with his eyes scanning the camp. His eyes flicked upwards when he saw… something?
He could have sworn that…
Michael shook his head. Now wasn't the time for this. He needed to report this to the Alliance as well as get his sister the hell of this godforsaken rock.
Up in the air, all the while, the shimmering outline kept the three Spartans of Red team hidden in plain sight as they watched the two siblings depart from this world. Same thing they were about to do.
"Call in Captain Cutter." Jerome ordered, Douglas turning the ship to depart from Akuze. "He'll want the full details."
"Mission accomplished, Jerome?" Alice asked.
Jerome was silent, thinking back on the lone N7 marine that survived this hell. She was a survivor. A survivor… like himself really.
"Maybe." Jerome muttered, sitting down in his seat as the Prowler entered Slip space and left the system as a whole without a trace left behind.
WHEW, this one was a doozy for the most part.
So yeah, surprise, surprise people. Not sure who didn't guess it cause we did see a few reviews here and there about the confusion of two Shepard's but here we are with two for that matter. And not twins in the usual sense. Michael is the older with Jane being the younger. Both of whom will have their important roles to play.
BSX: Yeah, so much to come and I'm really excited for it.
FMW: We made sure to take our time more with this chapter then just plowing right through it then the last few as we felt we needed to do so. Helping iron out certain scenes over and over again.
BSX: Other than that as my pal said before, a special collaboration between FMW, Jebest, and myself are working on. It will be posted on my profile so be on the look at when it drops. I'm super stoked to be working with the minds behind Infinite Wars and A Song of Fire, Ice, and Hearts. Can't wait to share it with you guys.
FMW: When the time comes, we shall announce it cause it is a very large collaborative effort between three writers and we wanna make it good. So first things, first that I wanted to repeat once more.
Six and Tali are official, rather than string that along as is another pairing that I had gotten that is damn near perfect cause a reviewer said it best as to why they should be together. Got a poll out for Chief and his three ladies that you can find on my profile so be sure to vote until the next chapter comes out then I'm swapping it out for the next one with the winner being revealed at the start.
Other than that my friends and comrades, thank you for reading once more.
Stay safe as per usual.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.