Chapter 6: Travel Time

It took three days for the Normandy to make it to the Arcturus system, which passed in relative peace for the crew and ground team. The rescued Chairman had taken up a place in one of the few spare cots aboard the ship without complaint, surprisingly, and had been hard at work drafting up a document which would entitle L2 biotics to a pension from the Alliance. He thanked Shepard at almost every turn, which caused the Commander to start avoiding the man after a day, even if to have some peace.

Said first day was spent by the different members of the ground in mostly similar ways: checking and cleaning their equipment, and resting after the short but quite stressful boarding action of the Kowloon freighter. Some busied themselves with more specific activities: Garrus was often found at the workbench in the hangar, hunched over his rifle and its calibrations. Tali was usually in Engineering, tuning and optimizing the few bits of power she could coax out of the drive core of the Normandy. Kaiden spent a lot of his time in the hangar, but unlike the blue-tattooed Turian, he practiced with his biotics, using an emptied storage crate as the target of his attacks. Liara spent a great deal of time with Doctor Chakwas, her decision of trying to become a dedicated first-aid specialist prompting her to learn what she could from the Alliance medical officer.

Wrex spent his time in the hangar, but unlike Garrus or Kaiden, he did a whole lot of nothing, having asked almost every member of the team for a 'friendly spar' and receiving negative answers from all. Ashley, not being a biotic, without a precious weapon to calibrate like Garrus or duties to attend to like Tali or Liara, was often seen reading an old, leather-bound book, its pages yellowed with age.

Seven spent hours at a time inside of his Titan, running simulation after simulation, drilling counters to everything that could be thrown at him into his mind. Hundreds of virtual troops and vehicles met their end at his hands, yet he continued. It was safer this way, so that he would not lash out like he had at Chora's Den on the Citadel. One could never be a hundred percent sure: the programs dictating his actions were known to none, after all.

Shepard, however…

Shepard was having a miserable time.

"God motherfucking damnit." the Commander leaned back in her chair, her head throbbing with a dull pain from the pure madness that were written reports. The redhead had spent a good hour or so already locked in her cabin, tapping away at her terminal, trying to write up a report to Alliance HIGHCOM that would not make her sound nonsensical. The lack of sleep was not helping either, what with the visions that kept haunting her mind. After a minute of staring at the ceiling, she gave up and closed the device on her desk, stood up and exited the room. The crew deck was quite lively, with the previous shift having ended mere minutes earlier a lot of the Alliance crewmen were eager to eat their meals and chat, enjoying the hour of free time they would have before most would go to sleep, leaving the ship for the new shift to take care of. Though, she noticed quite the number of the ship's crew was missing. Shepard gave those that were present a nod, many of them returning it with smiles, some snapping of quick salutes as they passed her. She responded with her own, giving the few that still looked on as she passed a smile as she entered the elevator, its doors closing her off from the middle deck of the Normandy.

With a sigh, Jane deflated the moment the cabin began moving, her exhaustion slowly creeping in. Coffee and stims could only do so much, after all, and with the amount she had taken in their effectiveness was reduced too. She was hoping some light conversation with the team would alleviate some of the worry that had been part of what kept her up late in the ship's day-night cycle, but really had no high hopes.

As she walked out into the hangar, she noticed some of the crew she had noticed were absent in the mess hall huddled together on storage crates, all with their omnitools out and looking to be playing a… videogame?

"Commander on deck!" one called out, having noticed her entering, and stood at attention. The rest followed suit, and among the humans she noticed Ashley and, surprisingly, Garrus, though the Turian was standing out of courtesy more than anything. He wasn't in the Alliance, so technically outside the chain of command.

"Easy, people. You're all off-duty, so am I." Shepard replied, coming closer to the group. "What is this gathering about, anyway?"

"We're-" one of the group began, only to be cut off by a characteristic 'game over' sound playing out from someone's omnitool, followed quickly by the rest. Accompanying it were groans of frustration and general displeasure.

Switching off her omnitool, Ashley began speaking instead. "Seven's still sitting in there-" she jerked a thumb at Cray, the Titan's crouched form still as a statue and looming over the group, save for his single, glowing eye, which now stared right at Williams and Shepard. The cylinder-shaped 'head' gave the N7 a nod, before the three metal plates around its eye closed, as if the giant machine was going to sleep.

"-in a simulation. We're connected to it with our omnis and sort of 'playing' against him." the Gunnery Chief shrugged. "It was one of the AIs' ideas. It's a bit creepy how similar they are to a human." she finished, lowering her voice.

"So… You're all playing a game?" Shepard questioned, raising a brow.

"Yes, basically." moving her omnitool so that Jane could see what was on it. "Next match starts in a minute, team deathmatch, one life each. It's all of us against Seven. Care to join, Commander?"

After a moment of thought, the redhead shook her head. "Nah, maybe I'll try next round. I'll watch for now."

Ashley replied with a shrug. "As you wish, Commander."

Making their way to an empty storage crate, the two sat down as the rest of the group all sat and prepared for the game.

Jane watched as on Williams' screen the inside of what looked like a dropship appeared. The first person view shook and swayed as the craft maneuvered, showing two rows of armored figures, all armed and wearing helmets with glowing blue visors. They clutched all manners of armaments: assault rifles, DMRs, precision rifles, and what looked to be shotguns. All had that weird thruster pack in the small of their back that Seven wore. Suddenly, another individual appeared, this one with their head uncovered. A man with graying hair and stubble on his face, wearing a jumpsuit similar to those of the numerous people in the dropship. He strolled through the gap between the two rows of people occupying the dropship, and turned to face them once he was at the rear of the compartment.

He pulled a lever on the ceiling above him, and spoke with a gruff voice as the ramp behind him lowered.

"Alright, you lot. Get moving!"

The helmeted figures sprinted off the ramp, and the view on Ashley's screen followed. Dropping to the ground below, Williams' character pulled out their weapon, an assault rifle, and ran forward.

"The mission's simple: eliminate the target, and we win. Let's get this done, people!" the voice of the man from before rung out on what was probably some kind of radio.

Moments after the man said his line, one of the silhouettes running next to Ashley's own avatar had their head taken clean off as the booming report of a sniper rifle echoed through the area.

The match had now begun.

[]

\One minute before start of match

Running along the rooftops of Angel City was quite a soothing experience for Seven. When it was not being used as a battleground for Pilots and Titans alike, the quiet ambience of the simulation was a pleasant change of pace from the near constant warfare of the Human-Covenant war or the war for the Frontier. The desperate fight for survival on Hoxxes had been draining on the Spartan's mind as well, and now he enjoyed ever last bit of respite he could get, though what little he did get was often cut short by the ever-decaying remains of code that was meant to control him.

He could already hear the faint rumble of engines as the dropships that would spawn his enemies approached. A sound this faint to him meant that the craft were still a few clicks out, and he had time to prepare. Of course, prepare for him meant bringing appropriate ordnance and weapons out from 'storage' as Avei called it, and take up a position. For the match to even have the faintest resemblance of fairness he would be restricted to what a normal human could carry and use, which meant he wouldn't be able to use the Leadstorm minigun for example. But, everything else was fair game.

Which meant his pickaxe would do just fine, along with the Frankenstein of a rifle that was his combination of a Kraber AP rifle and a UNSC-standard SRS99-AM sniper. A M6G Magnum on his right thigh completed the arsenal, joined by all manner of grenades and throwables on his person.

As he listened again, the rumble of engines grew louder, meaning the dropships were fast approaching. He knew they'd offload their 'payload' onto the dock at the edge of the cluster of buildings that made up Angel City. That's were one of the teams deployed from in all the simulated matches he had ever participated in. A short run and a couple of jumps saw him coming to a stop at the roof of the large building in the center of Angel City, the tall tower that sprung form it just beside him. With both his sharp gaze and his helmet's sensor suite, he was now able to see as the craft began to slow, closing in on their dropoff point.

Nodding slightly to himself, Seven aimed his grapple upwards at the tower beside him. The anchor embedded itself in the sheet-metal structure, and the Spartan was yanked upwards, nestling himself on the tower's top and readying his sniper, connecting its optics with those of his helm. The bulbous shape of the two Goblin dropships was now clear as they turned and came to a stop above the concrete quay, allowing sixteen pilots to jump out. As they fell to the ground, Seven's eyes quickly flicked from one to the other, memorizing their weapons and what abilities they had. It was one of the limitations of the simulation that he would take full advantage of: while the 'players' that went up against him were only allowed one ability such as Cloak or an A-Wall, he had no such problems, and was able to utilize both all the Pilot abilities as well as the multitude of functions of his Mjolnir.

The only sizable advantage the sixteen of his opponents had was their sheer number and that they could call in their Titans. He himself wouldn't be allowed to, as Cray would simply shred any and all enemies in moments, even without his help.

It was that advantage of numbers that the Spartan would make sure they did not utilize.

Shifting to a kneeling position, he gripped his rifle tighter and brought it to bear on the singular entrance point to the plaza that stretched out below and in front of him and the building he was on. This time, they would at least utilize the jump kit each of them had: during the first few matches, they kept themselves on the ground, forgetting that there was no such limit.

But, the first one to emerge was on street-level, sprinting along a sidewalk. Seven shifted his aim, the reticle in front of his eye centering on his target's head, only slightly upwards and to the right to account for bullet drop and travel time. He exhaled, and his body went still in preparation for the shot. The finger that was curled around the trigger squeezed slowly, until the Spartan heard the faint click of the firing pin hitting the cartridge's primer, and the quiet bang of the small charge inside the primer exploding, before the propellant went off.

BOOM

The loud report would've destroyed the eardrums of his augmented ears, but thankfully the helmet of his MJOLNIR reduced the intensity of such sounds to a bearable level. His target wouldn't have any such problems, as his head was simply blown off, leaving behind a red mist and the scraps that were the remains of his helmet. The shot sent the rest of the sixteen-man team, now reduced by one, scurrying into cover. Before they all hid themselves, however, Seven managed to get another shot off, blowing a large hole straight through another's ribcage.

Suffice to say, he was dead as well.

But, his position was compromised, so he stood up, letting the heavy precision weapon latch onto his armor's back and jumped off the tower, aiming for where the group of 'players' were.

It was time to get up close and personal.

[]

"Did anyone see where those shots came from?"

"Nah, happened too fast."

"I didn't see shit, I was behind the corner still!"

"I think they came from the tower! The one on top of the building up ahead!"

It was the last shout that got Ashley's attention. With the sniper's position known, she could try and chase him out into a more vulnerable or exposed one. But, every second wasted was one that Seven could use to relocate. Deciding that waiting would only make it harder to get a read on the man's position again, she moved her character out of the building she had initially run into when the first shots were fired, jumping up onto a wall and running down its length.

It was ultimately what saved her as the Spartan landed right where she had been moments before, throwing up a cloud of dust and shattered pavement.

"Shit! He's here!" someone shouted, and bullets began whizzing through the air, sparking against the golden veil of MJOLNIR's shields or hitting the ground or walls around Seven. He was moving before the first shot was even fired, however, and it only grazed him as the projectile was thrown aside by his shields. In a second he was upon the first Pilot, piercing their armored chestplate with his pickaxe and throwing them against the wall in one motion. The next got a 12,7mm SAP-HE round to the head, the bullet blowing straight through the front of his helmet and exploding shortly afterward, the force ripping apart what would've been a human's skull had it not been a simulation. By now, those that had any semblance of reason scattered, running along walls and on rooftops, some stopping for moments at a time and taking potshots at him. Seven jumped up onto the façade of the closest building and quickly scaled it, coming visor-to-visor with one of the enemies' avatars. They froze for a moment, which he utilized by sending a punch straight to their head, the force resulting in a snapped neck and pulverized skull, turning the brain inside it to minced meat.

Another shot rung out, and the Spartan ducked, the bullet flying over his head as he pulled his own sniper out and cloaked. Peering through the scope, he placed the reticle square in the middle of another's head and pulled the trigger.

[]

"Oh come on!" someone shouted, shutting off their omnitool. "I had him right in my sight, and the moment I pull the trigger, he just dodges a fucking bullet?!"

"Quit it Brian, he always dodges your shots." another person replied, they too having been eliminated by Seven already.

Those that were still alive were utterly focused on the game, though their numbers were still dropping, as the lone Spartan turned Pilot took them out one by one.

The match continued, and, with punctuation in the form of shouts such as 'Damnit!' or 'Fuck!', more and more of the players were eliminated. In minutes, Garrus was the last one standing, having somehow escaped Seven amidst the chaotic fighting. His character was now backed into a shadowy corner of some building, waiting in absolute silence. There was really only one way for him to maybe win this: call in a Titan and with its help try to take down Seven. Since the rules prohibited the one-man-army from calling down one of his own, the plan had merit, and now Vakarian was waiting as the last few percent ticked up until his Titan was ready.

At last, the counter turned yellow, and a voice called out.

"Your Titan is ready, Pilot! Call it down when ready!"

With a claw, he immediately pressed down the button to do so, and moved his character to where the mech would land. Five seconds was how long it took for the sonic boom to announce the Titan breaking atmosphere as it landed. Pressing another button, the ex-detective watched as his Pilot clambered aboard, and closed the cockpit. His screen soon returned back to first person, only this time it was from the viewpoint of an 8-meter, 40 ton killing machine.

It also changed just in time to show a sparking, blue ball of energy adhere itself to the Titan's front. Some panel let out a shrill alarm, before the ball seemed to detonate, sending bolt of electricity arcing across the Atlas chassis and scrambling its viewports.

As those viewports slowly cleared, Garrus saw one last message before he was eliminated.

RODEO ALERT! EJECT!

[]

The Normandy's hold was a lot less populated after the crushing defeat at Seven's hands that the group which had played against him experienced, the Alliance crew members having retired to their quarters for rest.

Some individuals remained, however.

Garrus, Ashley and Shepard were all seated on the storage crates the gathering from minutes before had used as seating, holding a quiet conversation amongst themselves, which Cray and Avei took part in, even if only by a call. The pair each had distinctive avatars, Avei using her usual human-looking form, while Cray was visualized as a group of geometric shapes, one that was a basic interpretation of his chassis' main 'eye', its flaps moving in a rough imitation of a face and its emotiveness.

"So, really our only option to get Tali onboard and try and get this sorted?"

"Well, if any of you are good enough with electronics we don't really need to get her involved."

Both Shepard's and Ashley's eyes went to Garrus. The Turian looked at both and blinked, clinking his mandibles in thought.

"I could try, but I'm no expert." he said, his voice resonating with slight worry. "And with what I'd be working with being inside someone's head, it's better if we convince our Quarian to help."

"It doesn't matter, really, all that's needed is for someone to give me access to the section of Seven's system the remaining control algorithms are in." Avei replied.

"Well, I'll talk to her." Shepard spoke, rubbing her face tiredly, the dark rings underneath her eyes having gotten more pronounced over the last hour. "Though, if we do this, Chakwas will want Seven in her medbay should something happen."

"She might, but it probably isn't the best idea. If something snaps, and somehow makes Seven attack us, it will be very difficult to contain him. And if he's on the Crew deck, then it will be a massacre."

"We have biotics, if you recall. I think it'd be possible for me, or Kaiden, or Liara to put him in a Stasis field and keep him still." the N7 said, before yawning. "Though I should probably get some sleep before then. Can't seem to catch even a minute of proper shut-eye after Eden Prime. Guess that Beacon really did something." she stood up, bidding farewell to the rest as she went back up to the middle deck of the Normandy, her body slowly succumbing to fatigue as the metal box climbed the distance between the ship's two 'floors'.

Exiting it, the redhead made a beeline to the medbay, the door parting before her to reveal Liara and Dr. Chakwas locked in a conversation, pictures and medical diagrams arranged on a haptic interface in front of them.

"Ah, Shepard. How are you?" the Doctor said almost the moment the Commander entered, a small and almost motherly smile appearing on her face.

"Been better, doc." Jane replied, a yawn interrupting her. "I can't get any sleep since Eden Prime, that Beacon put something in my head I think. Keep getting' dreams each night."

A shudder ran down the Commander's spine.

"And they ain't pretty."

Humming in thought, Chakwas excused herself, standing up and going to the small storage room that was located in the back of the medbay, which also served as a small quarters for Liara. The Asari stood silent for but a moment, staring at Shepard with a curious expression on her face, before rushing up to the human woman.

"You have interfaced with a working Prothean Beacon?!" the archeologist asked, her voice nearly buzzing with excitement.

"You could say so, yeah." Jane replied. "Though I got only a bit of whatever information was on it. Seven was grabbed by it the longest." then the N7's face went grim.

"I think Saren most likely has most of what was on it."

The Asari hummed in agreement, before resuming her excited monologue. "But it is incredible! It's not unheard of for wrecked or otherwise damaged Beacons to be found throughout Citadel space, but a working one…? Exceedingly rare!" Liara paused.

"It would also take immense mental fortitude for one to not go insane after such a contact with a Prothean device. Protheans used a peculiar method of interfacing with their technology, which is difficult for us to work with, and dangerous to attempt direct contact with their technology."

While she spoke, the Asari had started pacing, her hands gesturing animatedly. Now, she stopped, looking back at the Commander.

"If you would allow me, I could initiate a meld and try to ease the strain that such information puts on your mind."

"…That could work, actually."

Both Shepard and Liara's heads snapped to the side, looking at Chakwas as she came out of the small storage room of the medbay, seemingly having caught the last part of the conversation.

"I obviously can't just dig around your mind and pluck things out of it, but a meld might just work."

Shepard frowned slightly. "Isn't that how Asari reproduce? It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want to be a dad yet."

"That's understandable Shepard, but melding isn't just that. There are, let's say, 'levels' to how deep or intimate a meld is. A meld that results in a child is an incredibly deep and close joining of minds. What I would have to do to help you isn't nearly as intimate as that. And, any memories I see must be shared willingly by you. If you don't I will simply not see anything."

Silence reigned for a moment as the Commander mulled over the possibilities. In the end, the thought of having a good night's sleep was so enticing, that she decided to give the idea a chance.

"Alright." the redhead said as she straightened, looking Liara in the eye. "Let's do it."

With a shallow nod, the Asari stepped up to the woman, laying her hands on the N7's temples.

"Embrace Eternity."

[]

The rather large (for the Normandy's standards, that is) room that was Engineering was filled with the hum of both the Element Zero core that shined in a brilliant blue at the stern-facing end of the space and of the fusion power plant that kept the ship supplied with power. It was also where Tali spent a rather large portion of her time aboard.

Currently, however, she was finishing up her work on the drive core and getting ready to leave. They were less then a day out from the primary Relay that would send them to the Arcturus system, where they'd be able to drop off the Alliance chairman and pursue what few leads they had to find Saren with. A few deft clicks on the console to lock it from unauthorized access, and Tali was off, quickly making it to and stepping into the ship's elevator. The cabin rose, giving the Quarian a moment to gather her thoughts.

Shepard had asked to meet at her quarters, saying that 'her experience with technology would be needed'. It was the most cryptic thing Tali had heard the Commander say, but with what the N7 had so far done for the young woman on a Pilgrimage, the purple-suited Quarian would give her the benefit of the doubt. In a galaxy where many called Quarians 'suit rats' and treated them as worth less than the dirt beneath their feet, the kind treatment of Tali by the Normandy's crew had been a very nice surprise and a welcome change of pace.

The elevator doors opened with a quiet hiss, allowing her onto the middle deck of the ship, Tali stepped out, making a bee-line to the captain's quarters, giving those she passed nods in greeting. Soon, she was standing in front of the Commander's door, knocking on the metal. They slid open, admitting Tali into the room, with Shepard standing up from her desk with a small smile on her face.

"Good day Tali. Thanks for coming so quickly." she said as the door closed with a whoosh of air behind the Quarian.

"No problem, Shepard." the younger of the room's occupants replied, both curious as to the reason of the meeting and nervous at the same time.

"What do you want to discuss?"

Going back to her desk, Shepard pressed a couple buttons on the terminal that was on it.

"It's about Seven." Tali perked up at the mention of the man, but kept quiet, letting Jane talk. "He has alot , and I really mean a lot of implants. Some of which are connected directly with his brain, and can control what he does." at Tali's slight wince, she paused.

"I know, it's not a happy thought. Good news is, those can be switched off, I think. But, there is one thing you should know before we get around to doing that."

Shepard reached over to the side of her desk, where a small, disc-shaped device lay. She grabbed it, pressing a button on its side, before throwing it onto the floor, where it landed with a clatter. Before Tali could question what it was, a quiet beeping sound emanated from it, followed by a life-sized hologram of a human woman springing to life over it, slightly translucent and violet in color.

"I want you to meet Avei."

Tali gave the hologram a courteous wave and a smile, even if the latter could not be seen by anyone.

"She's Seven's companion, and an AI."

"Hello, Tali. I hope we can work together."

That bombshell left Tali speechless for at the very least 10 seconds, before she scrambled back, her omnitool out with a quickhack primed to fry the device on the floor in front of her.

"KEELAH, SHEPARD, WHY DO YOU HAVE AN AI ON THE SHIP?!" she screamed, and for the first out of many times, Shepard thanked whoever it was that made the soundproofing of the captain's quarters so good.

"She came onboard with Seven, and has been vouched for by him. I trust her as well after Eden Prime, even though I didn't at first." the last part Jane said quieter, splaying her hands out in a placating gesture and hoping to God that Tali would listen long enough for her to explain.

"But it's a synthetic! You should now that they are dangerous!" the Quarian hissed back, all of the three centuries' worth of fears and worries of the people of the Migrant Fleet coming through in those two short sentences.

"Not really, no. I was made by scanning the neural pathways of a cloned brain and modifying them a bit so I function better. So really, I'm simply a copy of a human, just living in a computer." Avei countered, her avatar placing its hands on its hips in a 'its kind of obvious' gesture.

"B-but… Shepard! It's an AI!" Tali sputtered, looking at the Commander with an almost pleading look while pointing at the hologram.

"I know." the N7 replied. "She has saved my, Kaiden's and Ashley's life on Eden Prime by finding the nukes the Geth left behind, and now, she needs your help to get Seven out of the shackles that he's been under for God knows how long."

Giving Tali a moment to think the situation over, Jane continued.

"So? Will you help, Tali?"

The two shining eyes looked at the redhead for a few seconds that seemed to stretch for far longer than they had any right to.

"Yes, I will."

[]

After a few hours of work, Avei, with Tali's help and under Chakwas' supervision (the good Doctor would not allow for them to do their work without her being right beside them to provide immediate medical assistance if needed) had at last removed any and all corrupted and scrambled remains of the shackles that had bound Seven for literal years. The Spartan had thanked the Quarian, and although it was still a simple 'Thank you.' it was said with such sincerity and weight behind it that it left the small, purple-wearing girl stunned. The man had left the medbay with his head uncovered for all to see, with an ever-so-slight smile on his face, and free from the bindings of his past.

The same day, the Normandy made it to the Arcturus system, left the Alliance chairman onboard the aptly-named Arcturus Station, refilled its stock of supplies, and after a few hours of the crew ashore, made back for the Relay, heading to the Attican Beta cluster, and the Theseus system, where the next lead provided to Shepard by the Council was.

Feros.

As the frigate pulled away from the station, a pair of eyes watched it closely, even as it disappeared on the inky backdrop of the interplanetary void. Along with this pair of eyes, one more looked on, through many channels, proxy servers and firewalls. The shining blue eyes peered through small clouds of cigar smoke as the Normandy left Arcturus station, flying over the contents of the short report attached to one of many recordings sent through by the agent.

Frowning slightly, the man to whom the glowing blue eyes belonged to took a sip of his whiskey and spoke to the only other person beside himself in the room. Not bothering to either turn to the one he was speaking to or stand up to face them, he twirled the orange-brown liquid in his glass.

"It would appear our asset is still on the SR-1." he paused. "I trust that retrieval will not be an issue, correct, Operative Leng?"

"Of course."

"Good."

Without another word, the standing man turned and briskly walked out of the room.

He had a target to find and capture.

[]

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are ladies and gents. I really am only good at writing action scenes or fights (though, of course, my writing skill is still barely above zero), but I think I'm happy with how this turned out.

Emotions ain't a thing I understand. I understand shooting things and beating people with a stick. So yeah.

That being said, I have a question for all of you reading: with how much Halo I have inserted into this story, should I change it from a Mass Effect X Titanfall crossover to a Mass Effect X Halo crossover?

I would kindly ask that you voice your opinion in a review, if you have one, that is.

Also, THERE'S A NEW DRG UPDATE!

ROCK AND STONE EVERYONE!