Well that was easy for Jerome. He got Fem Shepard so there's that for him.
Next up is our old boy Jorge. Poll should be up.
Anywho, thanks to all those who review and vote and all, BSX and I really appreciate it.
Lot's to do for the time being really, let's just get on with it.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Spirit Unto Dawn Chapter 8: Grand Debut.
David Anderson was going over the files, the reports, the stories, the rumors and he came up with the same conclusion as many Alliance Navy personnel agreed upon. They had absolutely no clue as to just who or what these armored beings were.
All he knew was what he had already read a thousand times over up to this point.
A few months back towards the latter part of the previous year, there was an incident with an Alliance Colony that was raided by Batarian Slavers. A few dozen humans were kidnapped yet more were unfortunately killed. And it wasn't the first bunch. This was a raiding party that had attacked several other settlements and even other Citadel Council colonies.
And yet, in less than two days after their recent raid, the Alliance suddenly receives a distress signal from a backwater world that was apparently used by mercenaries and of course the slavers as a respite. Rushing over to the planet, they discover all the captured people the Batarians had gathered all now armed with all their captors dead.
Upon arrival, they had quickly helped those captured before beginning to ask questions as to what had happened here.
All were the same.
A humanoid of some kind in black armor had come in with a Geth platform had come in and wiped out the Batarians that had taken them all from their homes.
Nothing they spoke of made sense to them. The Geth was one thing, and it was already shocking enough as is. But this armored being was something else.
With its jet black armor, blue visor and a towering height and presence, Anderson didn't know what to make of this being.
Now one would ask, how was it that Anderson knew of how this armored being looked like?
Simple.
When one encounters Asari, one should expect a meld that can help clarify answers one would seek. During the first "rescue" of one of these bases held by the Batarians, there were a number of Asari present with several having seen what it was that rescued them.
The upper commands of the Alliance had asked if they would be willing to perform a meld with them and show just what it was that had saved them, with the Asari acquiescing to the request.
Several high ranking officials from both the Navy and the main governing body of the Alliance had been melded with to show what it was they were dealing with, all having no clue just what it was that they were dealing with.
Though it took some time with many more slaving operations being taken out with captured and enslaved people all being freed, eventually they had been able to get an Asari who had a distinctly clear image of this armored person.
Having a few strings pulled, the Alliance working with several Citadel officials had managed to get a sketch of who it was that was conducting these actions against the Batarians.
Holding out said sketch, Anderson could only gaze upon it with a contradiction of expression. Analyzing something he didn't understand with little answers available.
What was this being?
It looked like it was human. The reports had stated that they had heard this being spoken and judging from the consistency of those that had spoken on this matter, it seemed this armored individual was a male with a slightly deep voice but nothing too unique.
What was unique and interesting was the name that they had managed to discover. There were those that had heard the Geth in particular at times refer to this armored being as "Spartan-Six".
Spartan…
That is a term very familiar to humanity, in particular the Navy and the Army. You'd be hard pressed to meet those at the very least unfamiliar with the concept with the Spartans of old.
The small group of warriors numbering in the 300 that alone held back an invading army has inspired much of humanity's soldiers for thousands of years. Special forces within the Systems Alliance such as the N7 marines have even been educated in some of the tactics utilized by the Spartans of old that had been modernized for today's standard.
So now there appeared to be an individual that has taken on the name of a Spartan.
On top of that matter, Rear-Admiral Hackett had pointed out that this individual had been referred to as Spartan-Six. Six being the key number here.
If this man or whatever he was had the moniker of Spartan-Six, Hackett stated that it would be safe to assume that there may be others beside him.
Maybe five preceding him or more so after. Hackett strongly believed that this "Spartan" was not the only one of his kind running around out there. They just hadn't seen or met them yet.
Lo and behold, several weeks ago, one of his pupils and what he basically considered to be his surrogate daughter comes from Akuze speaking of three gargantuan armored beings that had saved her from the thresher maw that destroyed the settlement.
And from what Jane had told the Alliance, this new trio of armored people stated that they referred to themselves as Spartan Red Team.
They were led by a Commander-092 and the other two were numbered 042 and 130. From the way they were described as well as the Asari on Michael's crew melding with Jane, the descriptions of these three new ones held a many great deal of similarities to Spartan-Six. And since they referred to themselves as Spartans to begin with, they really didn't leave much need for debate to lump them in with the one that had been seen across the galaxy the past few months.
This now brings up a litany of new questions. With one Spartan being identified as a Commander, that means that these Spartans are either working for or are a part of a military organization that uses military structure hierarchy.
Question was, what organization could they possibly work for?
One would assume perhaps the rogue splinter group of Cerberus yet that was thrown out of the argument. There had been various Cerberus bases that the Alliance had been found with dead personnel and data purged with no recordings or images that they could use to identify what had taken them out yet the connection was rather obvious to make.
The patterns were all there, the same as the Batarians had suffered. They too had means of security recording devices that had no footage be it video, images or even audio of this Spartan-Six and his Geth partner in action. Only the eyewitness accounts of it all.
As well as sightings of a jet shaped ship of some kind along with bullet cases and descriptions of guns that seemed archaic in design yet lethal in execution. In some of these areas that they had investigated, metal cylindrical cases were found strewn about.
They were bullets; naturally, however their design makeup and overall caliber was unlike anything they had ever seen. There were no manufactures that they know of that made bullets and weapons like these and they had made sure to ask discreetly.
But that wasn't the end of it. Some of the bodies found in other Batarian and Cerberus bases had severe burns that took a while to identify. And the identification was rather startling.
Plasma damage.
These armored individuals with their Geth platform had access to Plasma technology. Plasma weaponry. And judging from what they have, it's clear that this is far more advanced then what the Geth have.
Michael had spoken to the Quarian aboard his crew and she told him that the Geth have a prototype form of plasma that they are developing. Though it appears that they have some stiff competition now.
Plasma… a concept and idea that had been at one point studied extensively before it was halted upon the discovery of Mass Effect technology.
Body comparisons were made and the plasma readings they give off are drastically different. One body gives off Geth plasma while others give off a higher form that eclipses anything they have.
This was beyond startling, it was frightening.
They have technology that they did not understand at all. Every time Anderson, or Hackett or anyone with Alliance command thought on this topic, it just gave rise to a wave of jumbled and confused questions where there seemed to be no answer in sight.
All they could work with was what they had.
First off was the Geth and the Plasma.
A priority that has come about was to learn why a lone Geth is working with these "Spartans" and whether or not it is connected to the Geth that has been attacking multiple other planets across the galaxy.
Then there is the matter of taking what they can find on the Geth's plasma based capabilities and hoping to learn how to improve existing Geth plasma technology. The idea that this unknown military organization has access to refined Plasma weaponry is unsettling.
But now here comes another question. If this organization utilizes refined and advanced forms of plasma, why would they also utilize ballistic based weaponry?
Anderson groaned aloud, slouching back into his chair while feeling a headache coming along.
So many blasted questions with literally no means of answers as it currently stands.
The good thing that has come out from all this is if you look at it like it is, it shows the Alliance is slacking in doing their job of not taking Batarian pirates and Slavers seriously enough. The proof of capture of humans and citadel species being found in large numbers is staggering.
The fact that so many had been rescued by two individuals, an armored warrior with his Geth partner shows the level of incompetence and negligence the Alliance and the Citadel has been showing in dealing with the Batarians.
Either increase Alliance patrols or forward more budget into protecting newly established by installing ground cannons for the colonies to have a better chance of survival until help arrives. Maybe send Alliance military ambassadors to train up colony militias.
With all the evidence presented, more effort would be put into looking and keeping an eye out for more sightings of the "Spartans" and the lone Geth. For now Alliance and Citadel agree that the public and press would be told that tales of an armor individual and Geth are rumors.
Sighing to himself, he nursed his forehead, glancing over to a portrait on his desk that brought a soft comforting smile to himself.
It was of him in the middle with Michael Shepard on the left and Jane Shepard on the right, the two both decked out in N7 armor. Both were sporting smug grins with Anderson holding one of pride. This was taken the day that Jane had become an N7 marine and joined her older brother as some of the elites of the Alliance.
While gazing at the picture, he thought of both of them and everything they had been through these past few months themselves.
For the past three weeks, Shepard and crew have been spending their time on the Citadel carrying out assignments and such or doing jobs to pass the time. For Michael Shepard, he and his squad mates went around the Citadel doing his job as a Spectre.
From clearing an Asari Consort of having a false reputation, to helping Doctor Michel, returning a loved one's dead body back, to dealing with a Volus scientist issue.
And it didn't stop there as he assisted in settling a dispute between C-Sec officers and a religious hanar, helping a reporter uncovering corruption on the Citadel, helping a family member concern for sibling, assisting a Salarian scientist scanning keepers, helping another Salarian developing gambling cheating detecting system, tracking a signal of money being transferred, and conducting interviews.
To say that Michael Shepard and company had been keeping themselves busy would be an understatement.
In between the jobs, he would check on his sister recovering from surgery of getting new L3 implants. Her previous implant was damaged in her fight against the Maw on Akuze, as a result she gets headaches and the only option of relieving the stress are remedies which can only work for so long or get surgery for a brand new one to alleviate the pain. The choice was obvious so Anderson arranged for Jane to get the best care while Michael conducts business on the Citadel.
Since being on the Citadel, Michael had also made time for helping out his comrades in doing favors for Garrus, Tali, and Wrex. Jane eventually joined up after she recovered soon enough and was ready to get back into the action.
Both Shepards were now heading to Anderson's office to follow up on Kaidan promise about looking more into the "Spartan's'' and Geth situation. And possibly a lead on Saren's whereabouts.
Ever since Noveria, Saren and the Geth have been unusually quiet which didn't honestly sit well with Anderson. Knowing Saren and his devious means of accomplishing his goals, he knew it would only be a matter of time before that blasted rogue Spectre makes himself known once again.
"Captain Anderson, Commanders Michael and Jane Shepard are here to see you."
Anderson perked up at the message.
"Send them in Sally." Anderson said with a small smile as he stood from his seat just as the door to his office opened.
"Anderson." Jane said happily, going up to the man who was a father figure.
"It's good to see you, sport." Anderson said, hugging the young N7 marine.
"Sport?" Jane chortled, pulling away from David. "You haven't called me that in years."
"Just glad to see you're alive and well, Jane." The Captain said.
Michael shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "It's wrong that we have to go here to see you Anderson."
Anderson only grinned though there was a bit of mirth to his eyes. He went over to his desk, leaning against it.
"I made my choice, Michael." Anderson stated. "Figure I could do some good and clear out some of the more annoying pencil pushers we got up here."
"Then you're doing God's work, Captain." Jane saluted jokingly.
"I'll try my damndest." Anderson said.
The trio went into a small conversation of catching up, exchanging stories, making sure Jane was fine after her L3 surgery.
"So what can you tell us about the response to these… Spartans, Captain?" Michael asked, getting to the reason why they came to see him aside from catching up.
Anderson frowned, crossing his arms as he leaned back onto his desk again.
"Officially the Alliance and Citadel recognizing the claims of the Armored beings and Geth are just rumors propagated by survivors to get attention in the media." Anderson stated, noticing the looks of outrage from the Shepard's. "Unofficially." He quickly prevented them from speaking up. "Both sides believe something is going on in Terminus space. Consistent reports of survivors encountering the first Armored being now identified as a Spartan being seen with a Geth. Not only that but your respective reporting sighting of a Jet like ship being seen on Noveria.."
"Investigations has pulled up Asari survivors testimonies that mind melded have revealed clearer picture of the identifies to the Spartan and Geth"
Jane and Michael shared a look with each other.
"What else has been found?" Michael asked.
"Investigators found bullet cases scattered across certain areas and plasma wounds higher than Geth can ever come close too." Anderson's visage was grim.
"Plasma?" Jane's tone was slightly tinged with concern. "How high are we talking?"
"Beyond anything we can comprehend or even begin to understand."
"Well that's certainly reassuring." Michael said dryly.
"Then Jane reports on three more that identify as Spartans and call themselves Red Team followed by their designation of Red with numbers. This means there are more of these Spartans out there." Anderson said, eyeing them both. "We've come to the conclusion that an unknown military organization has an agenda against Batarians and Cerberus. We've also come to speculate that this mysterious group could be field testing these types of new technology but for what purposes, we have no idea as to what that may be?'
"And Cerberus" Jane asked intently. "What's going on with them?"
Anderson gave her a slightly sympathetic glance. "For the past two weeks, the Alliance Task Force has been hitting Cerberus's bases one after the other thanks to Jane intel recover from Akuze." Anderson's expression darkened. "What we found from each base disgusts me."
That didn't sit all that well with the Shepard siblings, yet they remained silent as he went on.
"Each base that has been raided contains a plethora of data such as projects, locations, people of interest, and experiments they have been conducting." Anderson said with a growing edge in his voice. "Sick stuff with experimentation of the human body and mind as well as other alien races. It wasn't pretty." the Captain then slumped slightly. "But for the past week, we've been stumbling upon empty bases with little to no resistance. The only inhabitants of the bases were standard security mechs. All data have been wiped from their systems leaving nothing behind."
"Looks like they're going dark it seems." Michael pointed out getting a nod from Anderson.
"That does indeed seem to be the case." Anderson stated. "Alliance command believes we're gonna need to change tactics on tracking them down since these are the results we've been getting."
Jane mused to herself, gazing at her older Spectre brother. "What about Saren?" Michael blinked, looking down at his younger sister. "We were also hoping for a lead on him. Any luck?"
Anderson shook his head. "Nothing so far but…"
Both Jane and Michael leaned in with interest.
"Been receiving word of Geth sightings near the planet of Feros." Anderson said. "And if there is Geth…"
"Then Saren isn't too far off." Michael said determinedly.
"I know this doesn't mean much but be careful both of you." Anderson said with a tinge of concern. "I don't want either of you driving off cliffs or any-"
"Oh my GOD, that was one time." Michael said exasperatedly with Jane puffing out her cheeks in an affronted manner. "Once and now it's hung over our heads, forever."
Anderson chuckled at the two's reaction, shaking his head.
"Go on you two, I won't keep you both here any longer."
Both nodded, exchanging brief hugs before departing towards their next objective and destination with Anderson silently praying for their success and luck.
…
…
...
Senior Chief Petty Officer Douglas Zero-Four-Two Star Log: Entry number 11
Real glad Alice put me on to this.
Helps with all my thoughts.
So… another universe. That is certainly one that I wasn't expecting when I had been chosen in becoming a Spartan.
I understand we were trained and drilled with the necessity of adaptability but this may take a while.
Traversing through the stars, I'm glad we still have the familiarity of being with UNSC Spirit Of Fire. There are some things here from humanity that are also a bit of a comfort.
It gladdens me to know that the Valkyries of Valhalla and the Pantheon of the Norse Gods have a history here as well.
Randall, wherever you are, I pray that you and I will one day meet in the halls of Valhalla.
Until that time, there is work to be done until our destiny is fulfilled.
Heading towards our second mission right now with John and Jorge. I can't even begin to describe just how good it is to hear and see them both, alive and well, surviving the war.
Course they'd both see more action then we would. Those two, Jerome, Kurt, Sam, Alice. Always bull rushing right in without regard for their own lives.
Typical.
This new Spartan however. Spartan-B312.
There's something about him that… Well when I talk with him or train with him, he's different to a degree but I know this feeling cause I grew up with it when I was in basic.
He's a lot like John.
And from what I was told by Cortana, he has gotten the same moniker as John has towards the end of the war.
Hyper-lethal Vector.
Interesting to say the least.
Will be really interesting on this first op with him.
Douglas-042 logging out.
He compartmentalized his latest journal log and looked up at the holo-deck that was alight with activity now.
Chief and Jerome were now on either end with Jorge, Alice, Nathan and Legion joining a moment later.
Cortana's small avatar stood next to John with Legion in between Nobles Five and Six.
"This is Tasu." Cortana began straight away. "The Batarians have just attacked it not a few minutes ago and we still won't be there for another 15 minutes until we get out of Slip-Space. So when we come out, we may have to come in swinging or… sticking with what Noble Six and Legion have been doing for the past few months."
"After discussing between ourselves, John and I agreed on a bit of both." Jerome-092 spoke up, the holo-deck revealing the six ships of the Batarians.
"We're dealing with a sizable force." John said. "But they are not as fortified as one would assume. The two cruisers, while armored should fall relatively quickly to the Ardent Prayers cannons and the NOBLE's missiles."
"Right now, our main objective is rescuing those that have already been taken while clearing out the Batarians in the city." Jerome went on, pointing to an outline of red that was within the holographic display of the settlement. "We're going to split up into three teams. One in the air, the other two down on the ground with one maybe intersecting with our air team."
"Five, Six, you're with me." Chief said, looking at the two surviving Spartans of Noble Team. "We're gonna be clearing out the Batarians in the settlement and alleviating the System Alliance forces down there."
"Red Team will concentrate on liberating those that have already been taken." Jerome said on behalf of his squad. "The freighters are groundside with strong defense but nothing we can't get past."
"Leaving me and Legion up in the skies." Cortana finished off. "Hope you picked up some flying lessons, Legion. Prowler is gonna be all yours for this one."
Legion's fins moved about, his programs going over the orders.
"Spartan-Six, do you agree with this formation?" Legion asked, turning to the Spartan he was most familiar with.
Six was rather surprised by the question with the other Spartans sharing his sentiment.
"Why do you ask, Legion?"
Legions eye moved about as did his fins. "We believe that if we are to function at peak capabilities, it is better that we operate with you rather than be entrusted with the responsibility of piloting NOBLE on our own."
"Ah you won't be alone, Legion." Cortana said with a grin. "I'll be up there with ya for every step of the way."
Legion did not respond to Cortana, instead keeping his lone optic on Six.
B312 only gazed back, thinking over Legion's request before shaking his head.
"I'm trusting you with this Legion." Six said confidently. "The Geth Consensus believed that you working directly with organics can help your kind integrate to the galaxy at large. This is your chance right here for the next step. We're placing our trust in you."
Legion's fins moved about once more before nodding a moment later.
"We shall not fail you." Legion ensured with an incline of his head.
"Then we have our mission." Cortana said with finality. "Our objectives, goals and tools are ready then."
The six Spartans and lone Geth all nodded in agreement.
All the while…
Tasu.
Garden world found and claimed by the System's Alliance. Quickly colonized and rapidly expanding, it was to be a shining example of humanities innovations and ingenuity in a brand new galactic stage.
And now… it was burning. And from the perspective of one Alliance marine, it was a damn nightmare.
This day is not how James Vega thought it would turn out. Woke up bright and early for drill and workout, then set out on routine patrol by the numbers kind of day, nothing too different from before. When he signed up to join the Alliance military and completed basic, he expected to see action but instead he's relegated to protecting a brand new settled colony.
He didn't see why the Alliance was so invested into this new colony. But from what he heard recently, the increase of Batarian raids have been more constant than previous years. They must've been really stepping up their game and being a lot bolder than usually. Which is why his unit was sent to Tasu to oversee the completion of the colonial ground defenses cannons.
Today is the day engineers just finished installing the ground cannons, all that was left to do is perform a test run and he'll be out of here in no time.
Suddenly, alarms started going off. Out of nowhere, Batarian pirates freighters cover the sky and shuttles heading for the city.
It just happened, no time to prepare whatsoever and he now finds himself fighting back.
"Son of a bitch!" Vega yelled out, ducking back behind his cover.
"You alright, Vega?" His CO called out to him.
"Still got my head on my shoulders, Captain." Vega shouted, patting his helmet.
"Captain, we're getting hammered out here." Another marine called out. "If we stay here any longURK."
"Fletcher!" A female marine rushed over to the fallen soldier who was clutching the side of his neck. She immediately began applying medi-gel around it to no avail. "Ah shit, Cap, he's hit hard."
"Alright, we're pulling back." The Alliance Captain ordered. "Vega, you're the strongest one here. Get Fletcher on your shoulders now. We gotta get to a more secure area."
"Yes sir." Vega rushed over to his fallen comrade who was barely conscious. "Hang in there hermano, we're gonna get you outta here."
"What about the guns, sir?" The female marine asked.
"We stay here, there will be no point to it." The Captain grimly admitted. "The Batarians have already begun to flood the city. Our priority has changed now. We gotta keep the civilians safe."
"But sir-"
"I know some have already been taken, Miller." the Captain said with a biting tone. "But right now, we gotta focus on who we can help in the here and now. So focus up, Marines."
While battle raged across the ground, high above in the atmosphere, two Batarian cruisers were floating above having already taken out the Alliance defenses that were stationed here.
The four freighters had already descended down and were beginning the process of raking in their next set of slaves.
There was a great deal of ground resistance apparently, however, they had the numbers advantage and the element of surprise on their side.
Their arrival was swift, precise and devastating.
The Alliance forces on the ground could only fight back for so long. They were dealing with some of the elites that the Batarian Hegemony had to offer. They were done playing around.
For the past few months, the raids have been thwarted one after another and the raiding parties were all but killed off.
Due to such events happening so frequently, slaves had been uprising against their matters in revolts leading to the slaughter of commodities and property. Such a waste of slaves.
It is why the Batarians had decided on this raiding party to be a small fleet, not just a single ship. They were done playing kindly to the galactic stage. If there was a singular individual who believed he alone could stop the great Batarian slaving empire, then this was his wake up call.
Captain Druv, proud Batarian, stood upon the bridge of his ship with a proud smile watching over the entire operation.
Of course humanity would be their primary target, the smug, arrogant-
*KRRRRVRRRRR*
One of the cruisers abruptly began to shake about violently, their engines catching fire after being hit from glowing projectiles.
"Captain Druv!" A Batarian pilot rushed over to the leader of the attacking fleet. "Our engines have been destroyed."
"What the hell happened?" He barked out. "Who's firing at us?!"
"Unknown sir! We-"
The Batarian who was speaking stopped at the sight of a ship of some kind flying past them, looking as though it had just become visible by uncloaking itself.
Captain Druv could only stare in bewilderment when his ship shook once more.
"WHO OR WHAT IS FIRING AT US?!" Druv roared now.
The Cruisers were on full alert, as bolts of energy began pummeling their ships and melting through their shields and metal.
From behind, a ship that was literally alien to this galaxy flew towards its two targets with its weapons being used to their full effect.
"Alright." Cortana breathed lightly. She is in complete control of the ship, a first for the Smart AI but she would not fail the Spartans nor the mission.
Ever since she had gained those significant upgrades from the last vestiges of the Forerunner AI Mendicant Bias, she had felt a swell of newer capabilities she had no idea she was capable of doing on her own. Like controlling a ship all on her own.
Whilst she had operated MAC cannons, engines, and life support systems along with a litany of other functions within a UNSC ship she had never had total control over a ship.
So she had a lot to live up to but Cortana wasn't one to back down from a challenge.
"Alright boys, you're up." Cortana said with a grin as Legion maneuvered the Prowler, flying down to the planet's surface.
Within the prowler, all six Spartans stood at the ready with Red Team being closest to the exit ramp in the back of the ship. Jerome stood at the front, grasping a shotgun and two sub machine guns on his thighs. Douglas is on his right with a battle rifle and DMR and Alice to his left sporting an assault rifle and Rocket launcher.
"Approaching the first objective." Legion announced aloud.
Red Team simply stepped forward without a word and waited, with the ramp opened before them. Below them, the surface of the garden world blew past them with the faint sound of the conflict that they were here to stomp out not far off.
Jerome felt a hand on his shoulder yet he didn't need to look back to know who it was. With an incline of his head, John removed his hand from 092 as Red Leader stepped forward with his team and jumped out from the Prowler while engaging the Active Camo that was now built into their suit.
A lot could be done in three weeks when a smart AI has time to play and experiment with their armor.
Upon landing on the ground, three small craters were made with dirt being kicked up and bounced off the invisible forms of Red team. The team stood upon an elevated hill, overlooking a forest which had four large ship freighters in the middle.
Where all the Batarians were taking their captured prisoners too.
From their points of view, their HUDs provided them the ability to see one another even though they were invisible.
Alice and Douglas looked to their squad leader who simply gestured towards the four ships with the two nodding. A moment later, they broke off into a sprint right towards the Batarians with the four eyed aliens being completely unaware of the coming danger.
With the other three Spartans, they now stood at the edge as Legion piloted the Prowler towards the city settlement.
"Pretty sure the stealthy option is out of the question." Jorge commented.
"Good." Chief declared. "Makes it easier for us to go all out. Our priority is to take out the Batarians and drive them out of the city. But there will be civilians and other Alliance marines and soldiers. Assist them in any way you can."
Jorge and Nathan only nodded as Legion told them they were close to their destination.
Chief sported an assault rifle with a magnum on one thigh and plasma sword in the other with a battle rifle on his back.
Six had an assault rifle as well but had a specially redesigned gravity hammer on his back that was foldable with collapsible grip and better adjusted for his size.
Five merely went with his usual, custom made minigun that he named Etilka as well as the usual Mark IV/LBE-A Field Case on his back being adjusted and tinkered with to support jetpack capabilities.
"Approaching the city." Legion said from the pilot's chair with the Spartans tensing up.
As soon as they flew over the city, the trio jumped out and plummeted to the ground.
Chief and Six had their bodies pivoted face first towards the ground, accelerating their descent.
Noble Five opted for a feet first drop, holding his chaingun at the ready.
The ground grew closer with the sight of people fleeing from Batarians that chased after them.
"Six." Chief called out to the Spartan-III.
"I got it." B312 replaced his assault rifle with his gravity hammer that whirred with energy as a set of built in thrusters on his greaves propelled him ahead of Master Chief.
Soon as he was less than a few yards away from the ground, Nathan grasped the gravity hammer tightly and spun round once for added momentum.
Down on the ground, civilians were fleeing for their lives as the Batarians were here in force firing at anything and everything that moved. They were aware of the System's Alliance still having some fighting force here that remained within the city but currently, their sector was devoid of them as they had already killed most of them off.
They were now simply picking and choosing who to take as their next batch of slaves.
The Batarians firmly believed that this would at long last be their day after so many setbacks these past few months of loss and defeat.
Several Batarians were moving forward, firing at the fleeing humans with malicious glee when…
*VVVVVVVVDDMMMMM*
A large, black armored figure suddenly fell from the skies wielding some sort of extended hammer that was embedded into the ground. His sudden arrival on top of the impact of the hammer into the ground created some sort of gravitational impact distortion -if that's how it was to be described- that shattered the bones of the Batarians closest to it while killing the one unfortunate one that died beneath the hammer. The others were sent flying back, hitting the ground and nearby buildings in sickening crunches that were audibly heard.
The Batarians stopped in their tracks, eyes wide and gaping at this sudden arrival.
It was to be their undoing as they were suddenly assaulted by a literal rain of lead as two more armored figures fell from above to join their black armored teammate.
The green armored one landed hard though appearing to be unscathed as to how quickly it was already firing at the startled Batarians.
The larger one carrying the bigger gun descended more slowly down to the ground with thrusters on its pack slowing his descent. He held up his chain gun, firing at the four-eyed aliens with the bullets utterly tearing through the Batarians and their kinetic barriers.
The Batarians were caught completely off guard, having half their forces being completely killed off in a matter of seconds with the other half well on their way in joining them.
Those that remained ran for their lives.
"Six, pursue after them." Chief ordered with the Spartan running after them. "Five, secure those civilians and get them to a safe zone."
Jorge nodded backing away towards the civilians that had remained and stared in shock and awe at the sudden arrival of these armored saviors.
"Where's the safest place to be right now?" Jorge asked the silent crowd.
They didn't respond at first yet the Spartan-II figured this may happen. Holding his weapon to the side, with his free hand he grabbed the closest human, this one being a man and shook him out of his stupor.
"We're here to help you." Jorge said calmly. "Where is a place where you can be safe and secure until we finish dealing with the Batarians?"
They were still silent until one of them spoke up, pointing towards the direction the Master Chief ran off to though not in his exact direction. Noble Five nodded, directing in that direction while acting as their one-man escort.
With Six, the Spartan pursued after the fleeing Batarians shooting down those close enough with his assault rifle. Whichever were within arm's reach, Six would quickly snag them into his hand and snap their neck in an instant.
Master Chief had arrived on time to see Batarians carrying humans with what looked like transport ships that all appeared to be unconscious. There were also several lines of humans that had their hands cuffed together as they were forced to follow after the transport ship.
They were being transported by a small unit of the aliens, surrounding their captured loot as they were making their way out of the settlement and towards the freighters stationed just outside the city's vicinity.
Chief wordlessly unloaded on the Batarians, catching them off guard while killing half a dozen of them.
The rest were surprised yet quickly retaliated, firing at the Spartan-II though it proved useless as his shields absorbed the rounds with ease.
"Wait, is this that armored freak that's been attacking our raids?" One of the Batarians asked aloud.
"We need back up, now!" Another cried out, reaching for his comms.
Before he could get a response, their comms roared aloud with the pleas of the other Batarians that were now clearly under attack. Bewilderment turned into fear upon seeing the green armored giant begin to approach the captured caravan of humans, picking off their Batarian captors one-by-one at an alarming rate.
Several of the Batarians frantically attempted to hide behind humans as shields yet they were shot down by Chief who had now switched out to his Battle Rifle for more precise shots.
He began to slowly move forward, now choosing to immobilize several of the Batarians before killing them as he saw some were going for the captured humans as a means of using them as shields. The Batarians were killed off in a matter of seconds, his radar showing that the current vicinity had no more hostiles at the moment.
Reloading both weapons, John turned back to the humans that were now staring at him in complete and utter awe with hints of fear and trepidation. Wordlessly, Chief went over to one of the humans that were captured with the young woman tensing up nervously when her bindings were removed.
Blinking, the woman looked up at him in surprise as he went over to the prisoner beside her and freed him. This gigantic armored behemoth had just up and saved them and was now freeing them.
This… certainly was not how they had expected to be rescued. They knew of the presence of the Alliance marines on this planet and had held out hope that they would be saved by them.
This was different is all.
"W-who are you? 'The first woman he freed voiced the question all had on their mind.
John had checked over the small transport vehicle of the captured humans and saw that while they were injured, they were still alive and well for the most part. Turning back to those that were conscious, he was met with the wide eyed gazes that had yet to leave their expressions.
"Call me Master Chief." 117 answered. "Who here knows how to use a weapon?"
Ok, that wasn't the question they were expecting. And that voice of this being was certainly unique.
"Er…" One of the men raised his hand shakily with several more of them following suit.
Chief nodded, picking up one of the weapons from the dead Batarians and holding it out for the closest person with her hand raised to take it from him.
Tentatively, the others began arming themselves as the green giant checked around the area before looking back to them.
"Who here knows their way back to a secure zone in the city?" He asked.
The civilians looked at one another.
"C-can you not escort us there?" Someone in the group asked.
Chief shook his head. "Much as I usually would, my team and I are currently rooting out the other Batarians here. We also need to focus on saving those that have already been captured and taken to the freighters just outside the city."
"Others? There are more of you?"
Chief nodded. "We're here to help."
"What are you?"
The Super-soldier gazed at the one who asked with a silent look that greatly unsettled him for a brief moment.
"I'm a Spartan." He answered with a vague tone.
Knowing he had other pressing matters to attend to, Chief turned to leave and resume his campaign against the Batarians when he was stopped by a middle-aged man who ran up to him. He gazed up at the tall human with a worried expression in his eyes.
"I know you had just come and rescued us and this may be sudden, but please, I beg of you." The man pulled out a small picture from his pocket and held it up for John to see. "If you see this girl, please, make sure she's alright. I haven't seen my daughter since the Batarians attacked."
Master Chief didn't have time to waste as he heard the sound of a firefight not too far off so all he could do was nod as he turned and ran in the direction of his next battle.
Meanwhile elsewhere in the city…..
"Where is she?" Miranda asks as she pushed her heel into the neck of the poor Batarian on the ground with a gun pointed at his face. "I'm not going to ask a second time"
It wasn't too long when she arrived after the Batarians started their attack on Tasu. Fighting her way through the city, Miranda went to the last known location her sisters family could have gone to. Only to find the safe house empty and ransacked.
Panic started to kick in as Miranda had no lead on Oriana's whereabouts nor her family either. The only option is to find a Batarian and force them to tell her where she was.
She managed to ambush a Batarian squad and killed them with exceptional ruthlessness. All except for one.
Batarians usually send hunting squads to round out any other humans that are in hiding and bring them to camp.
They were always assigned to a certain area for thorough search.
Miranda's best bet is to find the specific Batarian squad that was in the area Oriana and her family were found.
It didn't take too long for one to show up.
"I don't who you're talking about" the Batarian said, groaning in pain.
"Bullshit, your emblem on your pauldron displays proudly of the fact that you're with the Human Hunting Squad"
"I will ask this for the last time, where is she?!"
The Batarian beneath her heel only grunted, grasping the heel on his neck in a vain attempt of trying to remove it.
In response, Miranda stepped back as her form glowed a dark blue aura and used her biotics to slam the poor Batarian against the wall. The Four-eyed alien gasped at the impact yet Miranda was not finished. She started to compress her biotics on the Batarian who was now thrashing in pain.
"Tell me where she is." Lawson's eyes were blazing with barely restrained fury.
Miranda kept this up until he finally relent.
"Okay, Okay, Okay, I'll talk just stop" The Batarians pleading screams echoed around the area.
She released him from her hold but still had the gun pointed at him.
Miranda brought up an image of a girl right to the man's face.
"Recognize her?" She snarled, the Batarian taking a moment to get a good look at her until he nodded. He felt the wind get knocked out of him when he felt a biotic enhanced punch to his gut.
"Good, then start talking."
The Batarian explained any human found hiding out were taken to the shuttles where they will personally be enslaved to hegemony if they were deemed valuable in the eyes of their commanding officer.
If she was too much trouble in trying to capture her fate was easy to assume.
Snarling, Miranda shot the alien in the head before moving on to find her sister. Through hell or high water, she will make sure Oriana is safe and sound.
As madness reigned within the city, the Batarians were experiencing even more losses back at the freighters that had held the already captured humans.
All was silent and well when they were suddenly attacked by three giant individuals that began to systematically take out any and all that stood in their way.
"Douglas, secure that platform." Jerome ordered, gesturing towards one of the freighters with its ramp down.
On it were two dozen Batarians all coming out to fight off the Spartans that were currently decimating their ranks with complete and utter ease.
042 only nodded, dashing to meet them head on.
He was met with a barrage of fire, having to sidestep some of the oncoming bullets. Much as he had enhanced armor and even shielding now, Douglas would rather not test their limitations just yet.
As soon as he got close to one of the Batarians, Douglas shot his hand out like a whip. Grabbing the Batarian by the throat, he clenched hard to crush the aliens windpipe. The body was basically a ragdoll he flung into the assembled group.
He pulled out two plasma grenades and tossed them into the jumbled pile and jumped back. The colorful explosion did little to muffle out the cries of complete and utter agony that the surviving Batarians let out.
All were silenced in a matter of seconds with precise bullets to their heads. Normally, 042 would storm the ship but right now he still needed to take out all the Batarians. Anyone that was left alive may be a threat to the people that were held prisoner.
He momentarily looked over to see Alice holding up a dead Batarian as a makeshift shield while firing back at the group of four-eyed aliens she was engaging by herself.
She had used up the current magazine loaded in her cartridge, so rather than reloading, she threw aside the corpse of the Batarian and reached for her rocket launcher in the blink of an eye. Firing off both loaded missiles, Alice cleared the contingent of Batarians that held her back from storming the freighter she was currently targeting.
Jerome all the while was carving his own path through the Batarians. He was walking at a methodical pace with measured steps with brief instances of quick movement whenever one of them got to close. His shotgun shells held so much force that everyone he shot either had a piece of their body blown off or were simply sent sailing through the air for a brief moment before dropping dead on the ground.
These Batarians appeared to be in serious need of training and discipline.
Or maybe it was just the fact that they were fighting three well-coordinated, well-trained enhanced super-soldiers who saw their movements and tactics as sluggish to say the least.
"Dammit." One of the Batarians yelled out, at a loss for words at the amount of his kin dying before him. "Unleash the FENRIS mechs now!"
Red Team were continuing their own individual motions of going through the Batarians when they heard metal pattering of some kind. The three turned to the freighters to see what appeared to be robotic canines of some kind come running out with all converging on them specifically.
"They're certainly new." Alice commented, stepping back as two drew near. As soon as they were within range, 130 performed an emphatic spinning kick with her armored heel digging into the head of the first mech within her legs path. She slammed the first mech into the other with the force coupled with the speed being enough to send both FENRIS mechs flying away.
Several ran at Jerome with the Spartan only cocking his shotgun. The first one that leapt at him received shotgun shells to its face. The next one that ran at him was stopped in its tracks by a hand that gripped it tightly before smashing it into the ground. The crumpled head served to be a better means of grasping the head.
With a spinning throw, the FENRIS mech crashed into another that had attempted to run at the Spartan from behind.
Douglas was utilizing a more hands on method, punching, elbowing, kicking and kneeing any and all Mechs and Batarians that were near him. He grabbed one FENRIS by its legs and tossed it up lightly before grabbing it on both ends and breaking it over his knee.
The remains were flung into the head of a Batarian and other mech.
To say that the Batarians were getting overwhelmed by these three Spartan-II's would be a gross understatement.
Tasu Command Post
Everyone is running around trying to mount a coordinated defensive while Alliance Marines were ushering civilians to safety. However, due to the circumstance on hand, civilians were assisting in any way they could such as patching up wounded, moving supplies, and directing more people to fallout bunkers. For those who can fire a gun, they were put to use as the last line of defense if the Alliance Marines fell.
"Captain, we lost another Avenue, at this rate it will be overrun if we don't take the guns" Vega shouted out.
The Alliance Marines only chance of repelling the Batarian invasion is to get the Ground Defense Cannons online. The only issue is the Batarian has seized control of it when the initial attacks began. If they can get control of the guns again, the Batarian Fleet would have no choice but to retreat. The problem that their facing is a sizable force is protecting the gun emplacements.
"I'm not risking anymore soldiers Sergeant." Captain said to Vega
"It will only be a matter of time the Batarians overtake us if we keep this up Captain. Then we lose the people were supposed to protect"
The Captain won't admit but Lieutenant Vega is correct. They can only hold out for so long before the Batarians eventually overwhelm the defending forces and the civilians either be slaughtered or enslaved.
"What do you have in mind, Lieutenant?" asked the Captain.
Vega explains a route his squad can take to reach the gun emplacements. Once they're close enough, they'll hijack a Batarian Grizzly and force a Batarian to drive them closer. As soon as they are within range of the cannons, they'll attack and hopefully retreat giving his squad enough time to activate the ground cannons.
Though there were clear reservations on the matter, the Captain approved of the plan and Vega selected his squad for the mission that he would personally lead.
At the same time, two Spartans were successful in escorting a group of civilians to safety. Six and Five had repelled several squads of Batarians while picking up other civilians on the way. Once escorting the group they had amassed to a secure location, the Spartan duo continued their efforts to clean out Batarian forces from the city.
"Master Chief, this is Noble Six." B312 said through the comms, moving through the ravaged streets of the settlement. "We've just finished delivering civilians to a secure bunker and are moving out once more. What's your position, over?"
On Chiefs end, the Spartan-II was engaged in another firefight with one Batarian getting a bit too bold for his stature. His charge and life came to an end with a powerful punch right to his cranium.
"Northeast sector." Chief responded after that punch, holding up his Assault rifle to riddle several more Batarians with lead. "Currently engaged with a squadron of Batarians. How far are you?"
"We're on the Northwest end." Noble Five answered. "It shouldn't take too long to get to your end."
Chief heard the sign of gunfire off to the right, the Spartan going behind a crumbling wall for cover as he turned in the direction of the fire. He wasn't sure what was going on, but it sounded as though the Batarians were fighting off Alliance Marines.
"Negative on linking up, Noble Five." Chief said, using his helmet features to mark the area that held his attention and sent the location towards the two. "There appears to be Alliance marines that are engaged with Batarian forces. Re-route and assist."
"Copy that, Chief."
Chief returned his attention to the Batarians that he had been fighting and saw that they were beginning to pull back. Narrowing his eyes, Chief moved to pursue after them when he heard the cry of a woman not too far from his position.
She sounded as though she was in distress and needed immediate aid.
Much as he wanted to pursue after those Batarians, they were headed back towards the direction of the freighters outside the city. The same freighters that Red team was currently attacking.
He had faith in his brothers and sister that they would be able to take care of these stragglers that got away from him.
Chief turned in the direction of where he heard the scream and ran towards it at full speed.
All the while...
Miranda continues her trail for her sister after being directed by recently freed enslaved captives she rescued from only to cut their questions short when she brought up an image of a girl.
She asked if they had seen her with them immediately replying that she escaped when the guards were distracted and the freed captives pointed at the direction she fled.
Without further questioning Miranda left the freed captives to defend from themselves. As much she wants to help them, her sister comes first.
"Hold on Oriana, I'm coming." Miranda said to herself, running down the streets of this city. As she rounded about a corner, the Cerberus operative halted in her tracks upon the sounds of a young woman's scream.
The Biotics eyes widened as her heart rate spiked with adrenaline beginning to take over.
"Oriana." She whispered to herself, breaking into a sprint now. Her Biotics were flaring around her while she readied her primary weapon.
Over with the Chief, the Spartan had spotted the sight of a young girl being bear hugged from behind by a Batarian with her legs thrashing about as she attempted to escape from her captors grasp. She was surrounded by about a half dozen Batarians, plus the one holding her making it seven to take care of.
Running through several scenarios in his head while taking note of the position of each alien, Chief nodded to himself before utilizing one of his armors newest built in features.
Over with the human girl, Oriana struggled with all her might to free herself of this predicament.
"Let me go, you bastards, let me go!" Oriana cried out, kicking her legs up constantly as the Batarians drew closer.
"You little bitch." one of the Batarians said with a hateful snarl. "You've given our day more trouble than you're worth."
"Well excuse me for not wanting to be a slave." Oriana said venomously, managing to land a kick right to the one that had made that comment at her.
The Batarian let out a grunt of pain, clutching his mouth while his four eyes glared at her hatefully. He went straight up to her, managing to avoid her kicks and open hand struck her with such force, the one holding her let go and she collapsed onto her knees.
The young woman was dazed with tears coming out from the corner of her eyes from the pain. She raised a hand to her bruised cheek as the Batarians around her laughed at her plight.
"Now." The one who struck her sneered in victory. "Let that be a taste as toGACK."
The Batarians all jolted back in absolute shock at the sight of some two pronged energy projection that went through the back of their leaders head and out through his mouth.
In one fell swoop, the projection was pulled out from the Batarians head and before they could even properly register what they had just seen, several of them found it… hard to breathe. Or even move for that matter.
Four heads suddenly fell to the ground with the bodies following shortly after.
The remaining two Batarians could barely let out any proper reaction as one was stabbed through his chest with the other being shot in the head several times by an unseen force.
Though her vision was dazed slightly from the force of the strike she had gotten a few seconds ago, Oriana was still conscious and aware enough to notice what was happening around her. Her eyes scrutinized what appeared to be two large footprints of some kind, imprinted into the ground in front of her.
Slowly looking up, Oriana's eyes widened as a giant, green armored humanoid materialized before her.
It looked completely menacing, towering over her even if she were to stand at full height. The golden reflective visor of its helmet gazed down at her. She flinched as it abruptly crouched down slightly with its hand reaching out to her. She closed her eyes and expected the worst.
"Are you alright?" a soft, male gravelly voice asked.
Opening her eyes again, she looked up to see the armored man had his hand out for her to take.
Oriana was certainly surprised by this motion. It was clear to her that less than a few moments ago, this armored giant killed all seven of these Batarians with ruthless efficiency. She was shocked upon realizing just how fast this being killed them all.
And now it was kneeling before her with his arm offered as a sign of aid. Realizing she had been staring too long, Oriana cautiously placed her hand into his and was certainly surprised by the gentle way in which he held her hand as he helped her up to her feet.
Wobbling slightly, Oriana froze when she felt the other free hand being placed on her neck with the one that she held going up to her cheek.
"Does this hurt?" he asked, carefully brushing his fingers over her cheek with Oriana wincing slightly.
"Not as much." Oriana admitted. "Though I do figure it might bruise."
The armored giant only nodded, placing a silver handle of some kind on one thigh and an unfamiliar gun on the other. He reached for one of his other weapons on his back and grabbed it.
"Come on, I'll take you to safety." he said. "There's a bunker that shouldn't be too far from here."
Oriana's mouth slightly fell open before she shook her head at the sight of the armored man turning to walk away. Quickly scrambling to keep up with him, she gazes up at the giant in slight wonder.
"Who are you?" Oriana found herself asking.
The armored giant momentarily looked around to make sure there were no hostiles.
"Master Chief." he answered in his gravelly voice.
She tilted her head at the name.
"Wh-why are you here?" Oriana found herself asking.
The Master Chief regarded her silently for a moment making her believe that she had asked the wrong question.
"To fulfill our duty." Chief responded, going forward again.
Oriana was unclear of what he meant by that. Duty? What duty? And he just said, 'Our duty'. Did that mean there were others here?
"Miss, please keep up." Chief cut through her thought process. "I need to escort you to safety quickly. There are others that still require aid."
She felt herself blush slightly in embarrassment and shame. Of course there were other people that needed help. The damn Batarians were attacking this colony. Nodding, she quickened her pace to keep up with the Chief who was now jogging slightly.
This entire exchange and set of events were witnessed by one Miranda Lawson.
The Cerberus operative could only stare in wide eyed disbelief coupled with relief at the sight of her sister alive and… well, those Batarians were honestly lucky at how quickly they had died.
That armored being however.
What had he called himself?
She knows she heard something like Master Chief.
Master Chief… that was certainly an unusual name to say the least. But it wasn't the name that held her attention by this point. No, it wasn't the name of this armored behemoth but the armor itself.
Everything about him was… too familiar. From the helmet to his shoulder plating, armor coloring, gold visor, height and mass coupled with weapons that were unable to be properly deduced. This person, this thing.
They all matched the descriptions of the three armored giants that one Jane Shepard had spoken of that she had encountered on Akuze. Not only that, this Chief held vague similarities with that other black armored soldier that fought with a Geth platform. The same one that had been attacking both Cerberus and Batarian bases.
The same one that had now just rescued the sister she had sacrificed so much for in order to give her the life she was never able to personally have.
Conflicted emotions could not begin to describe Miranda right now.
The Illusive Man had gotten many reports on these armored beings, the first of which was the black armored one with the Geth and the other three being that of those reported on Akuze by Jane Shepard. He had made it clear how important it was that they find these beings and capture or kill them.
They had been a growing thorn in their side to the point that now, thanks to them, the Systems Alliance was cracking down on all Cerberus bases and operations. Cerberus had now gone into hiding so to speak, being much more secretive and discrete with their operations and making sure not to do anything drastic lest they attract unwanted attention.
This of course raised the ire of Miranda Lawson personally as she had enjoyed a sense of freedom, so to speak, under the employ of Cerberus. She didn't naturally agree with everything about the human supremacy group but she still supported their cause. Establishing humanity as a strong faction that nobody would dare challenge.
That cause was now being threatened by these mysterious variables who had done some serious damage in a short amount of time.
And now…
One of them had just saved her sister from certain death and enslavement and was escorting her to safety.
That certainly complicated things to a great degree to someone like Miranda.
Sighing, Miranda opted to stick to the wreckage of the city as cover to trail after this Master Chief and her sister in order to make sure this behemoth followed through with his intentions of taking her sister to safety.
Unbeknownst to her, said man of interest had her pinned the moment she entered his radar with the Spartan keeping a lookout for the woman. Every time he paused to look around for any Batarians, his visor kept his eyes hidden which allowed him to spot the brunette haired woman that was following after him and this young lady.
It took a few times but Chief eventually gauged that this woman held a few distinct similarities to the one next to him. Their eyes and facial structure were identical and even their body and proportions.
Sisters maybe? Seemed to be the case. There was a lot of evidence pointing to that conclusion.
Which then begs the question.
If they are sisters, why the distance? Why the spying and intent to stay out of sight and hidden?
The one brief, good look John got on this woman's face was enough for him to see that there appeared to be conflicted emotions present. Something personal to this pursuer was preventing her from coming out in the open.
Was it him? Possibly. She did probably witness the quick and effective way he killed those Batarians that held this girl hostage for a moment.
Regardless, she didn't appear to be hostile at this exact moment. So for now, he would leave her be. The more pressing matters right now was getting this civilian to safety and returning his attention to wiping out the Batarians here.
Elsewhere…
"Shit!" Vega fired back at a contingent of Batarians that had surrounded him and his unit next to one of the ground cannons of Tasu.
The control panel was right there, but it was too above cover to be activated properly. Two of his guys had already popped out twice to try and get it started only for them to get mercilessly gunned down.
"Vega, what are we gonna do?" Asked one of his men, clutching his arm.
"Stay low, Riley." Vega ordered. "I'm gonna get us outta here."
"How in the hell are you gonna do that?" Asked another Marine, firing back at the Batarians.
Vega desperately looked around, his mind going at a million thoughts a second as he gauged at any weak points that he could exploit. The Batarian Grizzly tank they had commandeered was all but useless at this point only serving as cover if they needed it.
"Marko, how many grenades you got?"
"Five."
"Incendiary?"
"Yeah."
"Good, then get them ready." Vega said, priming a set of Incendiary grenades of his own.
Taking a moment to check his surroundings, he spotted one area within the Batarians perimeter that had the least amount of four-eyed bastards shooting at them.
"Alright, we're gonna punch through right there." Vega pointed to said area with the Grenades being primed and ready. "On my mark. 3… 2…"
*VVVVVVTHRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
Suddenly, from out of left field, a storm of bullets began tearing through the Batarians like no tomorrow with them being quite literally shred to pieces via the bullets.
*VVVTHUUMMM*
An unusual warble sound followed by what sounded like something impacting the air itself was heard in between the sound of raining lead. With that sound came the sight of several Batarians flying through the air with their bodies appearing to be shattered.
The unit blinked at what was happening, trying to make sense as to what was happening right about now. Turning to where the source of all this flying metal was coming from and his eyes were treated to quite the sight.
What Vega could only describe to be a mech or walking tank, he saw a gargantuan individual of a humanoid holding what seemed to be an archaic sort of minigun. An archaic gun that was killing every single Batarian that had its barrel pointed at.
And this tank wasn't alone.
With that big son of a bitch was a slightly smaller but equally large and just as lethal black armored humanoid that was swinging around some sort of… was that some kind of club or hammer?
Whatever it was, the black armored one was swinging it around with deadly grace and ease taking out any and all Batarian that got near it. The air seemed to ripple out, as if hitting the air itself with a thumming sound with every impact.
"Who the hell are they?" Marko asked aloud.
"Don't think now's the time to ask questions like that." Vega said, grabbing his weapon while throwing out his grenades to the remaining Batarians. "Right now, they're helping us out so we'll take what we can get."
That didn't get any further arguments from his unit as they all began rising out from their cover to take out the Batarians that were clearly having their attention on the two newcomers.
It was a brutally efficient sight to see.
These two giants seemingly appeared out of nowhere and quite literally took out the large battalion of these slave trading bastards that were causing them so much trouble in a matter of seconds.
Soon enough, the Batarians that had been a pain in their ass just a short moment ago were all dead.
"Riley, get those cannons online, stat." Vega instructed with the marine nodding and going over to the controls while the First Sergeant looked over to the two armored soldiers.
They appeared to be conversing with one another though it was slightly hard to tell at first with how he couldn't hear anything. The only way he could gauge at them perhaps having a conversation was their body movement.
The black armored one had pointed to a specific direction, one Vega recognized as the direction that the main operating base was. The giant nodded, using one hand to gesture in another direction though Vega didn't know what could possibly be there. Rather than staring at them, Vega inhaled to steel himself slightly as he approached them both.
They appeared to have either heard or seen him walking towards them as they both paused and turned their helmets in his direction. Feeling a slight shiver run down his spine at the sight of these two behemoths having their attention focused on him, Vega shook his head and gave the two a personable smile.
"Well, you two came in and saved our ass's back there." Vega said as friendly as he could. "My squad and I owe you big time."
The two were silent for a brief moment when the bigger of the two spoke first.
"Don't thank us yet, we need to secure the city." he said in a deep, steady voice. "What's the situation in regard to those at your main bunker?"
Vega was surprised by the question. "Er… it's secure. For the time being."
The black one nodded. "Get those cannons up and ready. We'll take care of any remaining stragglers within the settlement. Red Team is rescuing those that have already been captured and will bring them back here."
Vega found himself slightly stumbling internally. This was rather a lot to take in but these two appeared to be extremely confident in themselves.
And he just mentioned that there was another team that was apparently rescuing people who were already captured by the Batarians. There were too many questions to be asked right now, but at this moment, Vega and his unit were needed elsewhere.
Vega nodded at the larger two and quickly ordered his squad back to the main command bunker.
As the Alliance marines ran off, both Jorge and Nathan received transmissions from Jerome.
"This is Red Team. Freighters have been secured. All civilians have been released and accounted for."
Jorge smirked beneath his helmet. "Leave it to Jerome to get the job done."
Chief responded to Jerome over on his end.
"Copy Red Leader. Hold tight until we root out any remaining hostiles within the city. Cortana do you read?"
"Loud and clear, Chief." The Smart AI responded.
"What's your status?"
"The two Batarian cruisers have been destroyed." Cortana said proudly. "Legion and I just finished cleaning up the stragglers. Good flying Legion."
"Acknowledged."
"Noble Five, Noble Six."
"We're here Chief." Six responded.
"Rendezvous with me. Let's finish this."
"Copy that."
Six turned to his larger comrade, Jorge nodding with Nathan returning the gesture while lightly tapping the side of 052's shoulder with the bottom of his fist.
-Scene Cut-
Vega sat upon a crate, exhaling tiredly.
Today… was a long day.
He was beyond tired. Having to run around the entire settlement like a mad dog had taken its toll on him and quite frankly, shore leave would be a godsend right about now.
Even though the civilians who were captured had gotten saved, the same could not be said for those who perished.
A lot of innocent lives were lost, people who just wanted to live in peace. Only for it to be taken away. It may be like a victory in a way but not for the families that have lost their loved ones.
Things could have been a helluva lot worse had it not been for… them.
Vega looked over to six heavily armored individuals who were standing together at the entrance to the base, standing together and forming a kind of impregnable wall.
They were certainly an impressive sight to say the least.
"Are you alright?"
Vega looked up to see a woman with piercing blue eyes, dark brown hair, light complexion which was countered by a dark bruise on her cheek. Even with that, the woman was very pretty.
"I'm fine, miss." Vega said pleasantly. "I think I should be asking you that."
"Oh this?" She pointed to her bruise with a small smirk. "It's what I get for kicking a Batarian right in the face."
Vega whistled. "Geez Lola, you are one brave lady. You got away from the Batarians?"
"At first." She admitted, surprising the marine by taking a seat next to him. "I managed to run off but they soon found me again and caught me. Nearly had me too."
"What happened?"
The woman was silent, eyes slowly drifting over to the main topic of discussion that had been circulating between all the civilians here.
Vega got the hint quite easily. "They saved you, didn't they?"
"That one in particular." the woman discreetly pointed to one of the two in the center of the six, the one that was entirely green with no additional accents. The only thing that stood out was the number 117 on the chest piece of the armor.
Vega gazed at them with slight awe. "Any idea who or what they are?"
She only shook her head. "I got only two things out of the one that saved me. Said his name was Master Chief and that he was a Spartan."
"A Spartan?" Vega repeated. "Like the ones from Greece?"
"They use the name… apologies, I never asked your name."
"James Vega." The marine introduced himself.
"Oriana Lawson. A pleasure."
Vega gave her a small smile, looking back to the now identified 'Spartans'.
"Who do you think they are?" Oriana asked in a low voice.
"I got no idea, Oriana." Vega said with a shrug. "All I know is they came in kicked ass and saved a lot of lives today."
Oriana only hummed in agreement.
"Sergeant Vega."
Hearing the familiar sound of his Captain, Vega stood up and at attention as the grizzled veteran approached him.
"Sir." Vega said, saluting the man.
"At ease son." The Captain waved down, taking a momentary glance at Oriana before facing his sergeant. "James, I'd like to personally commend you for your valor and bravery on the battlefield today. Even when things went hectic and off the rails, you managed to devise plans and maneuvers that saved lives today."
"I still got men killed sir." Vega said. "And lead my unit into a death trap."
"It was unforeseen circumstances son." The Captain said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just know to learn from this day so you'll be better tomorrow. And try to keep that gung-ho shit to a minimum. We need Marines like you alive and well in future battles and to show up and coming rookies how things are done."
Vega's lips twitched upwards yet he managed to control his expression.
"Yes sir." Vega promised with a satisfied nod from his Captain.
"I'll leave you to it, Sergeant."
The Captain walked away leaving Vega with his newly acquainted friend sitting on the crate with a small smile on her face.
"Well, well, honor and bravery on the battlefield today, eh Sergeant Vega?" She lightly teased.
He gave her a small smirk before it fell, with him looking back to the Spartans. They were given a wide berth with next to no one approaching them other than some extremely curious children and adults that gazed upon them from afar.
Frowning, Vega turned and walked straight towards them.
The one in black and the one with the red shoulder pauldron saw him as they were facing in his direction.
The six of them all turned to regard the Alliance Marine who was now slightly nervous at facing these giants cause from what everyone had been talking about, these six individuals alone were responsible for driving off the Batarians.
"Can we help you First Sergeant?" The one with the chaingun asked politely.
"Uh, no, no, you guys helped enough." Vega said light heartedly. "A lot actually. You saved a lot of lives today."
"Just doing our job." Was the synchronized answer between half of them. It was a bit… robotic if he were being honest.
"Your job is to come in, kick all sorts of ass then leave?" Vega remarked with a slightly amused tone.
"In a manner of speaking." The Black armored one replied.
"Well… all I could say is thank you. On behalf of myself, my squad and the people of this settlement." Vega said sincerely. "We owe you more than you realize."
They didn't respond at first, their visors all on Vega with the marine growing a bit nervous at the emotionless and unreadable gazes.
He couldn't help but jolt slightly at the sound of some sort of engines roaring from up above. Many looked to the skies to see some sort of ship descend down from the air towards the Spartans.
The ship had an unrecognizable model though some would correlate to a kind of jet looking design. It slowly came down to the ground, hovering slightly above with a ramp extending out from the back towards the six Spartans.
"Rides here." The one with the red stripe on his helmet said aloud.
The Spartans began to walk towards the ship with Vega simply standing there, staring at them just leaving. He was taken out of his momentary stupor when he felt a large hand upon his shoulder.
Blinking, he looked up to see the largest of the Spartans gazing down at him before lightly patting his shoulder.
"Take care of yourself." He said, hefting his minigun and going over to join his teammates.
James Vega only stood on the spot, watching as the Spartans piled into the unknown ship with the ramp behind them closing. Not a moment later did the engines flare, the jet-like ship propelling itself up into the air and disappearing from view once far enough.
He heard many people speaking around in hushed whispers and loud proclamations.
Feeling a presence beside him, Vega looked to his side to see Oriana was standing next to him.
"Did you ask about who they were?" She inquired.
Vega didn't reply for a moment. "Nada, I didn't."
Oriana gave him a thoughtful frown. "Got any ideas?"
At that question, Vega scoffed in amusement. "You heard them being called Spartans. But really, I got no fucking clue. God knows who or what they are."
At that, Oriana could only nod in agreement, looking up with Vega at the skies above with the two sharing a calm silence between each other.
In the distance away from the battered city, Miranda Lawson lowered a set of scopes where she held a satisfied expression.
Oriana was safe. That was all that mattered to her in the end.
She momentarily gazed up to the sky, thinking of the ship she had just seen and those six armored giants that had single handedly repelled a Batarian invasion.
One in particular stood out though for obvious reasons. The one who saved her sister.
Conflicting emotions welled up within her that she quickly stamped out. Yet something lingered from within that for the time being, all she could was to ignore it.
Now she had to explain to her boss why she abandoned her post so suddenly when the orders were to go dark.
This was not gonna be fun.
Right then, this one took a little while longer but BSX and I believed this one needed time to be written and told.
Rather than multiple perspectives we focused on two specific settings as a whole. Sure we wanted to go into greater detail of the carnage that the Spartans were inflicting but that would have added the addition of another ten pages cause I tend to get very detailed as to how things are beaten up and killed.
I'm detailed like that in a bloody way.
But yeah, if you read the title of the chapter, this is the Grand Debut of the Spartans. They're not hiding all that much anymore.
BSX: That's right, the next chapter is a big one. Virmire. So I hope you'll be ready.
FMW: Yeah time for the Spartans to have a more direct part in the story of ME1. Lots of crazy shit going down.
BSX: Once again thank you for everyone who participated in the polls or comments of who should be paired with.
Yes indeed, your votes and reviews are greatly appreciated.
So until next time, comrades.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.