Surface of garden world
2557 Military Calendar, 11:38
Fifty-six minutes after drop
No one even had to paint the target. This Normandy, whatever it was, was on a low sweeping route . The squid AA was still standing, barely. Holes covered the foundational legs, leaning, on the verge of falling.
The AA was still able to move, directing the weapon to the Normandy. The ship passed by, Dubbo and the other ODSTs got down as they got engine exhaust disrupted gunfire. It rose towards the sky, engines in full view. It made a wide arc, quickly turned around unlike the bulky UNSC frigates.
The Chief lost track of mind, lost count of how many squids he killed. No bodies to pile up, to use as cover. Just ash piles that quickly dissolved with the rain. It might've been five minutes, five days, five years. It didn't matter. Time just seemed to be as irrelevant as the raindrops.
It was completely subconscious. Decades of experience, guiding every step and round fired. Where to take position, and when to move when hostilities were too great. Whether to reload or simply throw the weapon away for another.
Didn't even bother to look at the full ship. He continued to dodge the enemy fire. Dozens of squids assaulted his position, barely able to hold them off. Shields were unable to recharge to full capacity, sequence constantly interrupted by a stray orb or nearby explosion. This forced him to hide within the craters, moving when there were too many enemies. Near the outlying craters held short-range weapons, shotguns SMGs, and so on, while the interior craters had long-range weapons. Even with craters fell one by one, the weapons were safe for the Chief to use when he pushed back. The squids didn't even bother to touch them, just trampled over the things as they charged on against a single individual.
Then there was the center crater, with the few wounded men left behind. Hoping that Dubbo and his men will come back for them. Those who were semi-abled held onto magnums just in case if the line was pushed too far back.
Most of the artillery bugs were taken out by the Spartan Lasers from Dubbo's squad. The majority of the confrontations were weaponless squids, idiotically charged in groups to only meet lead fire; big-mouths blindly fired in short bursts while the avian–like weapon-holding squids provided fire discipline. The avian squids seem to be squad commanders, giving what seemed like orders and tried to organize men.
The squids didn't show any surprise, any decay of resolve to use up so many lives and resources to defeat a single soldier. That was something unfamiliar. From the rebels years before it was fear, and from the Covenant it was either panic from the grunts, an odd respect from the elites, or anger from the brutes. Here, they said nothing and continued to die without any alteration to tactics.
Chatter began on the comms. "This is Captain Florence to Deacon actual, we can't get a clear shot with the AA right on our asses! Can you call in other support to take it out while we distract it?"
"I'm sorry, I thought the point of support was to support us! Not the other way around!" Mickey yelled.
"Copy that, stand by!" Dubbo called back to the captain. He was still on squad comms when he switched to Infinity comms. "Spartan Miller, I need immediate firemission, now! I don't bloody care how useless you want to be you wanker. The AA is distracted, so it's the only chance we got of taking it out!"
Dubbo… The Chief was able to hold off the squids. He handled worse. They had to get out of here. The Lieutenant was right in the fact that they had too many causalities. Dubbo didn't want to… But it was the correct choice. The Chief could work alone; he'd done it before. The ODSTs, the marines, while helpful at points, overall only slowed him down…
But you had something they didn't. Something no one saw… but me.
He could barely see the ODSTs in the distance as they held their position instead of retreating. Tried to support the Chief when he didn't need it.
The flow of the mind was interrupted when Spartan Miller came online. "Copy, Deacon… let me talk to Commander Palmer, uh…"
"We don't have time goddamn it!" Dubbo immediately responded.
Another wave of battles back and forth on the comms. The Chief tried to pay no attention. A big-mouth tried to get the jump on him, only to meet lead shells of a marksmen rifle.
Another face came online. The Chief saw that it was Commander Palmer's. "Spartan Miller, what the hell have you been doing all this time sitting on your ass on the Infinity?"
The Chief fired down on another group of weapon-less squids. The marksmen rifle was dry, threw it away and grabbed a battle rifle ready and waiting from another crater nearby. Three round bursts. One squid at a time, moved on to the next.
He's shields broke down when one of the avian-squids threw some type of grenade. He was fully exposed. A few orbs began to scrape off the metal armor, heating the metals.
"Commander, I have no available fighter support. If-"
"Get the hell off the line, Miller. If I knew the situation was this bad… I've got a few Wild Weasel units on station; I'm reallocating them to your command, Lieutenant. Be advised, once the AA is down, Captain Lasky will be moving in the Paris-class UNSC 13th Disciple to provide firebase and army deployment."
The Chief threw his weapon at a big-mouth when the clip was dry. It only stunned him for a moment, where the Chief tackled him to the ground, nearly tore his face apart. Stopped by the body beginning to turn to ashes.
"Chief! Cover the wounded! Short Swords are inbound with payload armed for bear! Get to cover!" Dubbo yelled on the comms.
Shields began to slowly regenerate, and then interrupted again by a stray orb. The Normandy made another pass, barely dodged an AA beam. It fired off some sort of missile, missing its target by a few dozen meters.
One weaponless squid tried to jump on him; the Chief turned around and grabbed his arm. The human-like squid seemed to almost bite him. It was thrown off, regained itself. Another squid jumped on him, forced the Chief to nearly rip off it's arm.
Can you guess? Luck.
"Jesus Christ, Chief! Get the fuck out!" Someone on the comms screamed. The Chief couldn't tell whose voice it was.
A few squids a bit farther out were taken out by UNSC yellow lights from the wounded. The Chief looked over to the wounded crater. It seemed the squids were passing them by, ignored them and focused on the Chief.
So that was their more… human response to a Spartan. Focus all efforts, ignore everything else.
The other squids couldn't provide covering fire. The big-mouths saw that, and either joined in with the pile or cut through their allies to reach the Chief. Another five weaponless squids tried to charge, all pounced on him, completely covered him. There were maybe eight or nine of them altogether. Shields were broken through, and they began to claw at the metal components. He could still stand, hard to move. He used one arm and smashed in the face of one squid.
He could mostly see. He was forced into a crouching position in the middle of a crater. He felt one claw grab the edge of his arm plate, used the grip to try and rip it off. He saw on the HUD that one of the squids unpinned a grenade on his belt. The Chief used his free arm, went through multiple squids. He took the grenade and threw it.
The squids took most of the explosion. However, the Chief felt the shock wave. He spit out a small amount of blood, splattered within the internal helmet.
"Deacon actual. This is fifth wing, Gin one-one, target in sight. Keep the thing occupied. We're coming in low and hot." A pilot said over the comms.
The Chief was forced to the ground. He grabbed the leg of a big-mouth, crushed its ankle within his grip and the body fell to the ground. He crawled to it, ripped the squid's face apart to only biomass. One of the squids who gripped his metal armor finally made progress; he felt the gear given way. Small gaps between the underlay connectors and the metal.
One of them grabbed his helmet, attempted to force it off. His chin and mouth pressed against the glass and metal. He felt claws around his neck, trying to pierce through the underlays but he could still breath normally. He forced his head back down, possessing a lot more strength than the squid ever hoped to achieve.
Another shock wave as the Normandy made a third pass. This time, what followed were the loud subsonic sounds of Short Sword bombers.
"Short Swords inbound!" The pilot yelled on the comms.
"EVERYONE HIT THE DECK!" Someone yelled.
Chief saw the atmospheric bomber drop a precision payload. He could hear the AA collapse, legs giving way. One last beam of light that only charred a nearby hill, cut a direct hole, vibrated the entire earth.
Another shockwave, this time bringing a round of blood that dripped through his nose and poured down his mouth.
The shield warning still sounded off. His face was nearing the dirt. He felt his ankle plate ripped off. A hand pushed under the shoulder guards.
Sounds of cheering, quickly halted.
Another pair of hands tried to dig under his helmet. He felt metallic fingers cut up his chin.
Was I wrong?
The squid hands went limp. Faded away, and left only ash that mixed with the group of squids put on the ground by shotgun rounds, turned to ashes. Squids quickly removed. He saw one pulled off by Corpsmen Piper, thrown to the ground and finished off from the assault rifle Amos was holding.
The Chief looked up to the face of Dubbo through the visible ODST visor. His face was odd like before, just odd, unsure.
"Chriost, mate… Never thought I'd be the one saving you." Dubbo said quietly. His face slowly returned to normal, calm and laid back. "Bombers took out the 'lot of them. Barely any of the buggers left."
The Chief didn't say anything, stood up from the pile of ashes. He nodded, looked around to the fleeing squids. A few ODSTs turned on them while Piper tended to the wounded were left in the middle crater.
A few others gathered around, Mickey, Piper, Amos.
Overall, the fight was over.
The rain began to pour down even harder now. Puddles that dissolved and combined with the ashes. Fires battling against the water. However, a few small slices of light made it through.
"This is Captain Mark Florence, we'll let the Disciple take the reins from here. We'll be making contact with the Infinity, Florence out." Comms reported.
The Normandy made its final pass, turned its nose towards the sky and disappeared within the rain clouds.
Afterwards, another voice came on air. "This is Commander Andrew Wiggen of the UNSC 13th Disciple, stand by. We're making a pass by in upper troposphere, then heading back to exosphere. Deploying firebases near your coordinates."
More and more voices came online. Dozens of officers coordinated orders, organized a major ground force able to take control of this planet. Established UNSC footholds, created frequencies, and organized men.
The ground rumbled for what seemed like the millionth time today. The Paris-class flew by, RCS engines struggling to keep it afloat as it arced above the ground. Dozens of Droppods flew off, carried firebases in their cargo holds. They dropped down like rocks, activated engines at the last moment. Slowly descended to the surface to suitable base deployment zones. Unlatched the firebase, and flew back to exosphere. The doors of the base opened, released hundreds of army soldiers supported by Scorpion tanks and Cobras. All of the ground infantry in breather helmets to reduce possible biological risks.
"Army mongrels. Ain't Really Marines Yet." Dubbo said, laughed at his own joke. He looked to the Chief, as if expecting some response. He didn't say anything.
"Hey, at least most of them finished high school." Piper replied.
"Roight, you bloody squid. At least most of us aren't sitting on lawn chairs aboard a ship all day."
A few Falcons made their way over the hills with Spartan-IVs in one Falcon and ODSTs in another. They landed near their position, occupants spread about and secured the area from whatever squids were left. Commander Palmer and Lt. Colonel Buck stepped out of the nearest Falcon, ducked down to avoid rotating blades.
"Took you long enough." Palmer began. She took her helmet off, held it at her side. So much for biological contaminants. She looked into the sky, let the rain mat her hair and fall down her face. She turned back to the group "You were the last ones to destroy your target. I thought you Spartan-IIs were supposed to be superheroes? We were able to take theirs down even with those one-hundred sixty meter squids."
"We ran into some complications." The Chief said. He kicked whatever small piles of ashes were left.
Palmer nodded. "…Right. Enough complications where the flyboys had to save your ass. Wait until the marines hear that one."
"Hey, well," Dubbo began. He had his helmet off, revealed sandy blonde hair. "At least save the world once, then you can start talking shit."
"Right, ladies, if I can interrupt, the mission ain't over." Lt. Colonel Buck interjected. "We've secured our areas, and we're ready to advance on the city. I guess Captain Florence and his men already got out on whatever the hell that thing was, so we don't have to worry about evac. Marine Force Recon will be the first ones in, provide tac-analysis. Chip, you and the Chief are going back shipside along with a few other Spartans and ODSTs. Lasky needs more men for Infinity's security force. Whatever the hell is on that ship, is soon going to be on the Infinity, and he needs the best guys he has aboard."
"Aw, I'm flattered, Colonel." Dubbo replied.
Aboard SSV Normandy, seventy kilometers above Illium surface, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 11:41
In the span of around three hours, the certainty of scientific law and historical absolutes and themes was turned upside down.
But, thousands of new avenues were open that can only be continued with inquiry. The Elites and their accompany species, and this… new branch of humanity was equally no less than…
Frightening. From the moment that Admiral Hackett explained the little information they had on this first contact, Liara had only fear instilled into her. And it only grew, into anxiety, into this odd sense of… She didn't know.
Captain Florence… Diving under this mask of hostility to hide, what she saw was the same amount of fear and unsureness as Shepard's crew and her. Fear of what was behind her, what this "xeno" race could do to this beloved UNSC (as if she could do anything to truly hurt them). If anyone should fear, it should only be them. The Asari, the Turians, the Quarians… the Reapers. She saw what Mark was willing to do, use weapons of mass destruction without a single thought of consequence. Fifty-three ships within the solar system. More than the largest navies combined. And the Shadow of Intent and Infinity, the largest ships the galaxy has ever seen, able to withstand internal, normal gravitational atmosphere which would've torn apart most other ships. Certainly something like the one kilometer Dreadnaught-class.
And eight-hundred colonies. Far more than every known habitable planet (known to them) combined. That… has to be an over-exaggeration. In the thousands of years of space travel available to the Asari, they only settled a few dozen worlds, none of them exceeding a population of one-billion. It would be pure luck to find a solar system through astronomic observation and years to mathematically calculate a planet within said solar system, if not find it through observation already.
But from a practical standpoint, judging from the size of their fleets having this many planets does make sense. The vast amounts of materials and specialized resources couldn't be obtained from a single or handful of planets. Yet without the Relays, they traveled to hundred upon hundreds of solar system. Nevermind relativity, but with all those worlds, not only habitable, but uninhabitable resource depots, how many ships did it require to maintain it all? The systems of communication and travel they had to develop without Eezo is a marvel on its own.
Captain Florence turned to the Commander, hands on hips. "The squid AA is down. UNSC is moving in with full force. I… thank you, Commander, for helping our men.
"Well…" Florence said, before Shepard could speak. "Contradiction, get me a secure link. Contact Captain Lasky, send him everything. Threat assessments and reports. Tell him the situation, and for the Infinity not to open fire."
"I can provide communication, if you wish." EDI said.
"That won't be necessary. We have our own line, thanks." Florence responded.
"Also…" Leng added. "My transports are in route with your men. If you can tell them not to open fire."
From what Kai Leng was doing so far, those transports won't be loaded with Cerberus marines, but what he actually says. UNSC causalities. To have an ally like the UNSC would be a large boon to anyone who wields it.
If they can wield it. From what she saw, the UNSC wouldn't be the one to merely follow orders or be manipulated like the Krogans so long ago. But from their actions, and the small revelations into their true nature they might not condemn Cerberus' actions.
Cerberus might've justified it saying it was for the greater good, but the greater good is not dismissing the need of dozens of other species.
Captain Florence nodded to Contradiction. The face still remained creepily motionless. Liara didn't know what 'Contradiction' was; neither did the rest of the crew. It definitely wasn't an AI. Even EDI, a highly advanced AI, required a massive computer room. And the data transferred between her mobile platform and the computer room was in the zettabytes. It was impossible to compress so many files onto a single drive the size of Lucy.
Tactical advisor, some other squadmate speaking on the comms, a voice of their imaginations, an alternate personality of the soldier? So far, the rest of Mark's soldiers just followed his lead, barely interacting with Shepard or the rest of the crew. But Contradiction proves, useful at times coupled with this unavoidable, questionable irritation. Whatever, he, she, it was, was able to provide helpful information on a whim. Liara could only deduce that this is some sort of operator working in a safe location, where was unknown. Not on the Legend After that's for certain.
"This Captain Lasky, what role does he exactly play?" Liara said, moving from the subject.
"Captain Thomas J. Lasky is the commanding officer of the UNSC Infinity. And within the Navy, bigger ship means bigger power." Contradiction responded.
"And…" The Captain added. "He'll be the one you'll want to take about an alliance with, Shepard, Leng. Or at least, help lead you to the right guy without any 'bullshit'."
"Captain Lasky isn't your leader, nor is he a representative of some type." Liara said. "From what I've gathered, I thought this Lord Hood was your leader? At least of your military branch."
"Fleet Admiral Lord Hood. And yes, he is our leader.."
"Then why don't you take us to your leader?"
Contradiction snorted, tried to hold in laughter. Captain Florence only glared at him…her, turned immediately back to Liara. "Lord Hood is the supreme commander of the UNSC. As such, whether you meet him or not won't be up to me. But for security purposes, you probably won't be seeing him for a while. That's why you go to Lasky. You'll have an easier time with him than Hood, and he'll hopefully put in the good word.
"An easier time?" Shepard said. "I think we've seen the worst it so far."
A little joke. Shepard smiled, and so did Florence after a moment. "I'll admit I've been an asshole and I've asked a lot from your crew. But it's protocol, and whether you agree or not, it's understandable. From what I know of Lasky, he's more…open than me, or the rest of the UNSC in particular. He'll put in that good word."
So either make some sort of progress with Captain Lasky, or reach another concrete wall like what Florence has put up, where Shepard would again have to dig right through… again.
"That's… vague." Shepard said.
"And that's all I know about him. I'm sorry, Commander. Can't help you much." He shrugged.
Great. Perfect.
Another monotonous task, in some sort of odd retrospect. She suddenly felt exhausted. Already worn out from the events on the Qurian homeworld. Slapped in the face with a new contact, a eezo singularity thrown right at her with the crash landing. And then slapped in the face again when these new contacts were a new species. Thrown to the ground when the other contacts were the same species met before.
At least there's some connection for their existence. "Forerunners…", had to be Protheans. They span the galaxy; they could've transported species across planets. But no eezo influence as the Reapers have planned. And they called their planet Earth, there…
She wondered what had they gone through to build all this? All these advanced ships and still have primitive ground weaponry?
Tali would have an easier time at a technological evolution standpoint, but on a historical standpoint...
At some point, cultural domination through soft power occurs to every space-faring or about-to-space-fare species. Where one dominant culture become ever more present and begins to greatly influence other cultures, and eventually become one in the same. Earth had experienced this in the late twentieth century, where the "Western" culture became dominant through global power and increasing communications. And at some point after recombination, the species might pave into one government. But a single government was the optional part.
The Asari had experienced this without unification. The Turians with unification. The Krogans...without unification. The Salarians with unification. Humanity with semi-unification. And Asari are slowly becoming the cultural dominant within the galaxy, with all species adopting some form of their culture and acknowledging them as the most advanced race in the galaxy. Yet no one was looking to become a single government.
How to connect that with military might? She had less experience with military history and planning, but the Citadel fleets were smaller because it was only meant for guards and patrols, not a full-scale war like this one. They were at peace before, no need for such drastic ships like the Infinity. And Contradiction mentioned a war that nearly lasted thirty years. And this Sierra-117 who presumably somehow saved a lot of people during this war. The UNSC...
There she goes again. Only interrupted by a rolling headache. Exhaustion…right. She barely had time to get a bite to eat the more she thought about it.
Then again, Shepard probably took it worse. Liara was always able, at least in the past couple years, to…simplify losses, to a certain extent. Justify and rationalize them. Shepard, however… well…
"My crew?" Shepard said.
"I've already stated what the protocol was about a million times now. Thank God that decision will be up to Captain Lasky." Florence said.
Liara didn't like what she heard in that tone. Spitefulness, frustration. She felt only a sudden dismay of this Captain Lasky. She heard Lasky on the comms once, and from what little she could tell on her own he seemed a bit more enthusiastic and charismatic at the least.
Captain Florence's comms ranged. He opened up the channel, and the same charismatic voice played through.
…
Out of all the things that Humanity has experienced in the past approximate thirty-five years, this was the strangest to say the least.
When the Priority XXX-X Directive message came through, it in itself was already a shock… Well, at least Captain Lasky wasn't the only one breaking First Contact Protocol.
Humanity. Aboard their ships. Lasky had already consulted Roland, fed him the same reports he received both from Lieutenant Lucciano and Captain Florence. Constantly analyzing, reevaluating.
So far, the AI theorized it's Forerunner involvement, of course. And it wouldn't be a first true encounter with other Humans. On Requiem, according to the Master Chief's reports, the Prometheans were ancient Humans turned by the Composer.
So what was it this time? Another Shield World where they grew up? Possibly. It would be believable, but Captain Florence's reports stated something disturbing that put this into question.
Earth. They called their homeworld Earth. Their ship, the Normandy. Historical references to the homeworld. Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Leng, and their respective crews holding a culture and military structure extremely similar to the UNSC.
And the xenos knew the location. Knew where Earth was. Cole Protocol… technically broken.
And they wanted an audience, an alliance to fight these… Reapers. Captain Florence had to strike what essentially was a bargain to save the lives of UNSC soldiers for the proposition to negotiate a possible alliance. Lasky wasn't even sure how to maneuver through this. He already did far too much, far beyond his position.
But they had another problem already. A minor problem, for Christ's sake. They had about three-hundred xeno civilians, a decent amount wounded with various injuries. They didn't know their physiology. And with the injured men coming from the planet surface, they had to prioritize supplies. Of course, since regular medical treatment couldn't be use on xenos, the moral dilemma was easy to solve for the moment. Lasky ordered his security chief Major Jake Reynolds to try and make the civilians comfortable, help out the wounded to the extent of their abilities. Let's hope biofoam is universal to all species. The Captain of the Cairo was already dead when the marines and Spartans arrived. The highest ranking military official was this Captain Anaya, a xeno. Another one to talk to, waiting in line essentially.
Lasky turned to the holo-table. And another situation report. Hooyah. Admiral Alvares' Ninth Fleet finally arrived, one-hundred twenty-five ships in total. Marathon, Paris and Stalwart, a few Halcyon cruisers, and even a Phoenix-class carrier ship to provide fighter, medical, and ground support, all lead by a Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser.
Soon enough, he'll have to report to the Admiral what he's done. He'll have to talk to them too. It's just…
Alvares took control of the three-dimensional geometrical territories and elliptical orbital patterns Battle Group Dakota had already taken. The Infinity sat back with the Fleet with the Poseidon-class carriers to refit and refuel. The ship was in a passive, polar, elliptical orbit about two-million klicks away from the solar system's ringed gas giant that laid about forty-million klicks from the God's Key.
Roland was able to pinpoint this SSV Normandy, about seven million klicks and closing. A small ship. According to Roland, the ship was giving off no heat of any sorts, nearly impossible to pick up on the infrared and invisible in the coldness of space. But they could easily switch to radar. Unlike the UNSC's stealth ships where light-wave particles were unable to bounce off the atoms of the ship and return to the user since, well… it's invisible, the Normandy is still visible to the naked eye. A major design flaw at the least within the stealth system. If someone didn't have radar all they'd have to do is look out the window.
He looked at the Normandy's ship. Beautiful girl, Lasky will give them that. And of course, ever present was the binary black hole that surrounded all these ships.
"Roland, send a timeline report to the Admiral. Then respond to the horn from Captain Florence." Lasky said.
Roland only solemnly nodded, sent out the report and activated the comm link. A small holographic figure of Captain Florence appeared on the table. He stood at attention, saluted the Captain. Lasky returned it back.
"Mark, good to know we didn't have to spend hours searching in the shit to find you." Lasky said.
"Likewise, Tom." Florence said. He stood at ease. Another figure appeared, a A.I. avatar in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, curly hair matted under a hat with some logo of a sports team that no longer existed. "You understand the situation then?"
"For the most part. Protocol doesn't extend to this matter. This part would be left to a civilian government, which is currently…"
"Not present." The ship A.I., Contradiction said.
"Exactly. But, you sure are maneuvering like a politician, Mark. All of the sudden, I'm receiving a couple humans with obvious conflicting ideals and their xeno crew in exchange for transport and medical care?" Lasky said, a little accusative. But it was deserved. All of this was… a little stressful to say at the very least.
And Florence responded with defense. "I understand that this is waaay beyond protocol. Yet Shepard's crew saved countless ODSTs and marines on the ground. Full trust? Hell no. But they want to talk about further diplomatic relationships. All in all, they deserve to have a chance at least. And either way, I really don't want to be stuck on this ship any longer than I have to. The possible barbarians are only being held at the gate by a frickin nuke."
"Anything like this would be up to HIGHCOM, not me. You and I both know that. And, if HIGHCOM would want to talk to anyone, it would be with the Humans."
"Understood. But these are Humans, and the UNSC only exists for the defense of Humanity, Earth, and all her colonies. HIGHCOM will want a word. Denying protection to Human lives is unimaginable."
"Mark... you're in a dangerous position. I understand why you're doing this, but from HIGHCOM's point of view, this is aiding an "enemy". Having ONI as an enemy for whatever reason is bad enough, but HIGHCOM doesn't screw around."
Contradiction spoke. "Aye, aye, Skipper, but we had no choice. We were forced aboard their ship under circumstances. We may have this ship under control with the nukes but we have multiple wounded marines and sailors aboard who need medical attention and are running out of time. They're the only way to the Infinity."
After some thought, Lasky spoke. "Alright. I'll send the message up to Lord Hood. I'll speak with them, once they're aboard. I want to meet this Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Leng face to face. Either way, we might need their expertise."
"I'm sorry?" Florence said.
"We're pretty tight on space as it is. Dock in hangar fourteen. I'll have these Cerberus transports dock in hangar two. Let's see if we can come up with a solution to…all of this.
"Also, Mark, understand that we have to enforce Contact Protocol. Be prepared for that." Lasky said, a little distaste. He'll stop it as fast as possible. It's only to show goodwill to the marines that their safety matters.
Florence looked a little perplexed, then merely nodded. With that, the holograms disappeared. Lasky turned to Roland.
"Well, I guess I should be their welcoming party, shouldn't I?" Lasky said.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir? This is a relatively new species. Letting their ship dock with the Infinity is already risk enough. So far, the squids' cybernetic capabilities are only growing, we have an unknown amount of assailants within the Normandy that could be a security threat to this crew, and we have no idea of their true capabilities. Hell, we have no idea how to account for biological contaminants" Roland said, straight from the book.
"Captain Florence and his men are already in their possession. They seem friendly enough. At some point, we have to stop aiming a rifle directly in their face. Don't worry, I'll have a security team with me. And Captain Florence has two Spartan-IIIs under his command if the situation gets that bad.
"Speaking of which…" Lasky looked to Roland, who only nodded and pulled up crew manifests and limited access ONI databanks. "What did you find?"
Roland returned the gloomy tone. "ONI's locked up tight. Even to the damn Navy. But, these guys were definitely not on the crew manifest. I researched the rest of the crew, Lieutenant Banks sure has a lot of black ink. Strange a Great War vet is out here on a supposed mundane patrol."
The Captain nodded. In Contradiction's reports the AI personally asked the Captain to try and investigate. Two Spartans, stowaways on a friendly vessel. Somehow conveniently nearby the God's Key location to be pulled by ONI. And Lieutenant Banks. Served with the Chief on Earth. But, as Lasky looked more deeply into marine records, it became shadier, with some documents even sanitized.
As for the Legend After and their tour, the Navy set their own route. Osman didn't tell HIGHCOM about the artifact, which if she did Lord Hood would've provided a fleet. She pulled off a naval vessel without telling anyone. It wouldn't be a first ONI would slither under the Navy. But this time they've gone too far. They knew about the God's Key. Before the Elites, and before the Navy. Yet…did they know what was on the other side?
If they did, then they've risked Earth and Humanity by doing this... Admiral Osman, HIGHCOM only has one punishment for this sort of thing.
"And Captain Florence? It isn't a coincidence a guy on ONI's blacklist is in charge of this whole thing." Lasky said.
"Captain Mark Angelettie Florence." Roland started. "Graduated from United Nations Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in 2551. First tour on Reach as a Junior Lieutenant aboard the UNSC George Patton. Then ultimately tried to survive the clusterfuck of a military defensive. Ship was scuttled, force to ground. His CO died with the scuttle, and his XO died from injuries. Under wartime law, he was emergency promoted to Lieutenant Commander… Showed a lot of valiant effort as he helped organized evacuation efforts despite Code Omega-Three being given by Reach Command… blah, blah, blah. Partook in the defense of Earth… Under wartime and catastrophic emergency laws, he was jumped to Captain… Valiant effort bringing down a Covenant battle cruiser… blah, blah. Chose to stay with the Navy. Served as outer territory guard patrol, near Elite territory…Again, very strange for a vet of the War. Actual reason why he's blacklisted is… sanitized by ONI.
"Why wouldn't it?" Lasky said, quietly. "He sure works for those promotions doesn't he?"
The Captain smiled, but it was understandable. Within the first years of the war (the years where Lasky was part of), replacements, were of course, young, newly trained recruits or transfers from reserve units. It was mostly in the marines however. Chances are if you have to have a naval replacement, the entire crew was also dead along with them. In any event, as the war raged on, as the UNSC lost more and more, colonies fallen along with entire fleets, as the reserves dried up, the replacements were older. Honorably discharged veterans whether redrafted or volunteered, conscripted men who were poorly trained… and when it was at its worse, the dishonorable discharged, civilian militia members, police officers, teenagers and old men and women, or sometimes none at all.
"Well, he gets the job done… I guess." Roland said.
"Right. What about Lieutenant Dubbo's team? Have they made it shipside?" Lasky said.
"Aye, aye, sir. Along with the Master Chief."
"Good. Peel off Fireteam Majestic. Have the Chief and Palmer's Spartan team act as the security team for me. Just to ease your mind."
Roland nodded. Fully understanding. The Master Cheif was the only one Lasky fully trusted besides Commander Palmer and a handful of others. The other Spartans...well... They had no clear chain of command, almost organized like the Soviet Russian army during World War II. No real structure except that the Commissar is in charge. And of course, a Captain of a ship would have to completely restructure it him/herself. Lasky didn't even understand why he didn't immediately ban Spartans calling each other "Spartan Whatever", and actually address by rank, or by sir/ma'am if a grunt to an officer. Build up these individual squads into actual platoons, then companies, then battalions and so on. Reinstall a naval culture into them instead of this idiotic ONI parade. Even with Spartan-IIs and IIIs being an ONI project mostly, at least they only had a single goal in those days. Unlike this murky vision of Spartan-IVs. Or this murky vision as the UNSC began dividing more and more.
But not all of these new Spartans were bad. Commander Palmer and men under her direct command were trusted. It was just the former ONI operatives.
"What's the status on those slip-space beacons?" Lasky said, moved away from the thoughts.
"Still inoperable at the moment. We're working on it." Roland reported.
"Have the Salvation make an immediate trip through the God's Key. Send a briefing to HIGHCOM on everything. Fleet status, these new contacts, ONI theories, everything. Try to get Lord Hood to come out here. ASAP. Our objectives are almost complete anyways."
"Aye, aye, sir."
…
Shepard was in the QEC comm room, about to file a report with Admiral Hackett. Liara and Shepard had to move to the CIC to… reflect essentially, and oversee reports. But, it was mostly to catch a breath themselves. Captain Florence's and Lieutenant Leng's crews were left alone with the rest of the "xenos", watched by the security teams and EDI, who'll report immediately if there's any trouble.
The Infinity was like the other UNSC ships. Bulky and tall. But it was more elegantly designed. No RCS engines within sight. Tanks spread across the side-hulls with an upper-hull metal coating that looked like a shield. Carvings of thousands of different systems interrupted by the white lights of hangars that shone like a beacon in the darkness. Hull lights displayed the name of the ship proudly in letters larger than the Normandy. The symbol of the black eagle painted near the front of the ship, near four large holes that served as the ship's main cannons. The grey hull engulfed nearly the entire view. Liara couldn't see the end of the ship.
Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Shepard and his crew finally made it to the UNSC Infinity. EDI sent mass-weight (within one atmosphere) and external ship structural reports to make docking accommodations aboard. They ship was slowed to about twenty kph, slowly guided by tug boats and fighter escort. Large ships that resemble triangles with engines near the back. They stayed still, retro-burn RCS-engines maintaining their position.
A glowing grey light that was separated by blue shield. Liara could see hundreds of workers bustling inside like ants. Dozens of transports loaded and unloaded, with ships, supplies, and troops moving up and down loading ramps. Cargo moving about. A large section reserved for the Normandy, occupied only with runway marshallers
"Infinity actual, stand by. Slowing cruising speed down to ten klicks. Pitch in perfection. Roll perfection. Yaw, readjusting by one point five-two meters." Joker reported.
"Roger that, Normandy. Uh…, clamps are ready and adjusted for external structure."
Liara noticed more figures near the marshallers. Dozens of armed personnel with similar weapons to Mark and his soldiers. Pure white and red armor.
Another negotiation. This time with about a few dozen weapons pointed right at their face onboard a ship with thousands of troops, with a single misspoken word rewarded with immediate death.
…Actually, just like anytime really, as Liara thought about it. But, she had hoped something a little bit different from Captain Lasky in contrast to Captain Florence. More accepting, she thought he said. Florence did constantly repeat that this is protocol. So, hopefully they won't force Shepard and his crew to get on their knees and surrender or what not.
More individuals appeared as the ship got closer. They were unmoving. Dozens of them, hands in surrender and on their knees. Surrounded by soldiers as if they were prisoners.
The ship passed through the blue shields and got a clear view of the prisoner area. They did not look well at all. Injured and horrendous wounds. Children frightened. Blood on the floor. They…
By the Goddess, they were Asari. Turian. Batarians. All of them, non-humans.
When she first witnessed Mark's degradation of Liara and Tali, she thought it only a minor thing. Maybe it was the circumstances of the situation, forced her away from investigating the matter more closely for what it truly was. This was absolute dehumanization of Citadel species. They weren't people, they were… animals.
But she didn't see this within Mark and his soldiers. Not to this great of depth at least. Maybe it had to do with Shepard's intervention, and the mere presence of Ashley and James and the rest of the human crew. As she thought about, Florence did have some… unsubtle facial expression when anyone else other than Shepard or Leng spoke. Disgust and anxiousness. It could be implantation clouding her memories, but the observation came more vivid as she thought on.
The Normandy settled down near the right end of the hangar, wings nearly clipping the wall. Magnetic clamps packed in tightly. About five of them overall, three on the hangar wall and two on an adjacent ramp portside.
"Jesus, if this place was more tightly packed we'd be sardines." Joker said. He finally looked over to where Liara was staring at, noticed the civilians within two rows. All of them on their knees, hands behind them in blue-holographic cuffs, heads looking to the floor with riflemen roaming the prison perimeter. His eyes widened "…Oh my God. Commander! You're going to want to see this!"
The Commander came running out of the comms. Liara finally just realized how hard he was pushing himself. A face on the verge of falling asleep with skin embedded with oil and reeked of dried sweat. He was limping, right leg taking short strides. Blast marks across the armor that needed to be clean, with slight deformities in the curtain metals that indicated bruises or other bodily injuries.
Shepard told her about the N7 program, the grueling training that was primarily adopted from the British Special Air Services. The mental games the instructors would play on them to instill the growth of self-doubt to break them with the constant physical training that breached their limits. The torture during advanced special operations SERE training.
According to him, he was trained to handle it. Trained exactly for long endurance situations like these.
He got to the cockpit, looked to the pilot.
"What's wrong?" He said.
"That." Joker simply said, pointing to the Illium people.
He turned to the prisoners and his face became that old glare that Liara and the rest of the crew knew all too well. He slowly looked to the prisoners one last time, saw one look up and in shock to find the Normandy here. The Turian's head was physically forced down by a guard. Shepard turned around and whatever sort of injuries he gained were all of the sudden gone.
Liara followed, trying to keep pace as he stormed to the elevator. "Shepard, I know what you're thinking. We have to think about our relationship with the UNSC right now. It's already fragile as it is, something like this would-"
"You saw their condition."
"Shepard… Those could be injuries from the Reapers. They wouldn't know how to treat the wounds."
"And leave them on the deck, doing nothing?" He grabbed on a weapon block, formed into a Mattock. He rushed by the galaxy map, with a frightened Specialist Traynor watching at her terminal. "They've gone too far this time. We're not going to sit by and watch, not this time-"
He was about to step into the elevator, brushed off Liara. She stepped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "You don't think I want to help them too? I know you can see the big picture, but I can control myself when it comes to it. If we screw this up, billions more will die."
"I've been told that at every turn. I've been forced to leave people behind when billions are already dying! We had to abandon friends and family, and half of Earth's population is gone! How many more times we'll use the "population of billions of people who need to be saved" excuse, who may or may not be alive, until we finally do something instead of running away for the long-term ohjective to a war we might not win!" Shepard yelled, pointing outwards to the CIC to no particular object.
The crewmen slowly turned from their station. Specialist Traynor turned around, awkwardly. "Uh…"
Not a single sound. The computers and the constant white-noise of the engine hum seem to completely stop. Traynor's face was shocked, mortified possibly. She stepped back, accidentally bumped into her terminal.
Her reaction reflected the rest of the crew. Everyone turned from their stations, stared at the Commander.
"Oh, good, first argument. That's an important step in a relationship." Joker quickly said on the ship comms. "Infinity control is scanning our ship for weapons and "biological contaminants". ET: two minutes."
She didn't know what hit the crew so hard. The outburst or what he said. Or, worst, their leader breaking. Billions were dying while they ran around playing diplomat. It was already hard enough for the human crew to leave Earth, seemingly abandoning billions of fates in the hands of the Reapers. Garrus left Palaven behind while under orbital siege. Tali's home world was at least safe. And the rest of the crew out there with Legion and Mordin dead, Miranda Goddess knows where in the black hunting down Cerberus, Jack and Samara barely being pulled out of the fire by Shepard, and so on.
She heard the crew talk about their family. If they're alive or not, if they made it out. She knew if they were. She didn't say anything. And no one came up to her. No one asked. It was better to think they're alive for the moment, for their own sanity.
For the mission.
Everyone felt the war. Everyone had lost someone. And Shepard had to be immortal for their sakes. But not the rest of them. They can break down and expected to be picked up.
Liara glared at Traynor, and with that she and the rest of the crew turned back to their stations. The elevator doors opened. Liara quickly guided him inside, doors closed right behind him. The panel automatically set to the hangar. At least the elevator ride will take forever.
Shepard leaned back against the wall, Mattock in one hand. The other had fingers pinching his nose while the rest of the palm blocked his face. The same silence in the CIC. The elevator hum giving at least some comfort.
"…Yeah… I can… I can talk to them." Shepard finally said. "To Captain Lasky, see if they can stop this. But these are men under his command. If they did this on his orders…"
"I know… I know. If we have to leave them behind, can you do it?" She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"And you still want to go through with some sort of alliance agreement?"
"We have to do what we must to win this war…" Even when she as she said it, disgust came over her. She sounded too much like Cerberus
He stood silent. As if he wanted to say something, but decide against. He only laughed, a strange, tired laugh. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think these are the perfect people you were hoping for."
It took her a moment to even register what he said. She didn't even remember what she said.
Only a sigh. "Well, you were the one who said "individualistic cultures will have problems."
He shrugged. "History wasn't my strong suit."
"Yeah...about three years ago I didn't expect I was going to be part of an elite special ops team tasked with saving the galaxy. I didn't expect we'd meet even more humans either."
She smiled. Then actually thought about what the Commander was doing. No… he couldn't get away with it that easy. Try to hide it and keep moving forward. "…Shepard, we need you. I'm so sorry, but we need you."
"I'll be fine." He quickly said. Even as he said it, she just saw tired eyes and dark circles.
She was about to say something. Yet for once in a lifetime, the elevator took less than five hours. The doors opened up to find Mark's men packing up and readying to move out. Injured being stabilized for transport. Garrus, Ashley, James, along with the rest of the security crew brought out weapon blocks, unfolding and readying themselves at the door.
"That isn't wise." Mark said. "You better be ready to put those down, or be ready to get your faces blown off by a mini-MAC."
"And what's a mini-mac?" Garrus asked, un-worrying.
"Think about it like the white light at the end of the tunnel. Sorta like that but with more explosiveness." Contradiction replied.
The hangar door was already opening, slowly revealed a bright white light. EDI turned towards the door, bewildered.
"I didn't do that…" She said, arms slowly dropping to her sides.
"Yeah, honey, no offense, but we kinda want to get away from you filthy, barbaric savages and back into the arms of glorious civilization." Contradiction reported. He was starting to get on Liara's nerves.
"But how did you…"
"Probably some electronic connection when the clamps came on the Normandy." He said.
EDI looked slightly violated. A confused and disgusted face formed as she turned away from him to Shepard and Liara.
The crew looked to Shepard, waited for orders. They still saw their leader. The Commander took a calming breath, slightly shaky, turned to Garrus. Only a nod and Garrus momentarily held a disapproving look. He placed back his weapon, and soon enough the rest of the crew followed.
"You know, the next step is just unconditional surrender." Garrus said. Versus Contradiction, Garrus' smug and overly sarcastic tone was always welcomed with open arms.
"Seeing how the situation is, we might have to." Shepard said The door revealed more and more of the hangar.
"Wait…EDI." Liara said, looking to the AI. "You didn't open the doors?"
"…My systems were compromised.
Liara's eyes widened. She was about to yell, get their attention. By the Goddess, they were waiting on…
The white lights were blinding. Ambient almost. They seemed to blur together, constantly moving. Nothing could be made out. The hangar wasn't there. Hearing became distant, muffled sounds overlapped by a ringing noise. A noise that grew. There were thuds from somewhere. She could feel herself tripping over something, stumbled to the floor on hands and knees, as if she were desperately trying to look for something. Her head began to hurt worse than before, disoriented. She felt something push her to the ground. Her body hit the floor, face shoved into the ground, barely able to breath.
A knee placed on her back, hands grabbed and placed behind her. A metal object surrounding them. She couldn't move, the knees kept her still as she vainly struggled.
The blinding light began to fade, slowly replaced by an image of the grey metals of the hangar floor and ghostly visions of the moment right before the white light. The ringing faded, and the muffled sounds were becoming clearer.
"…Get on the floor now!... Get fucking down, now, motherfucker!"
"…First Sergeant, have your squad check behind those crates…"
"Aye, aye, sir!"
"…I said drop your fucking weapon, now! Drop it or I'll fucking drop you!"
She looked up to find a soldier with a shotgun barrel aimed Garrus who held out a Vindicator rifle. Combat stance ready. One of the soldiers came up behind him, tackled him to the floor with the rifle skidding across the deck. His hands were forcefully placed behind his back. Both the soldiers awkwardly maneuvering around his strange physical appearance and shoved him to the floor.
Great. If the Citadel First Contact Procedure was aggressive, than their First Contact Protocol was a declaration of war.
"I got him. He's secured!"
"Bosh'et! You're going to crack the damn glass." Tali yelled out, downed next to Liara. Her mask was the only thing separating her face from cold metal.
"Shut it or I'll gouge out your eyeballs and skull fuck you!" A soldier yelled out.
"What does that even mean!?" She yelled back.
The only response she got was a boot in the back, shoved her body completely into the metal. A sudden grunt, and afterwards only silence.
One of the soldiers walked towards what looked like a commanding officer with a major ranking. "Sir, hangar is clear! Xenos are secured!"
"Good work, First Sergeant. Muhammed, Cutler, move your squads through the elevator and secure the rest of the ship!"
Confirmation from both squad leaders as soldiers moved past the restrained crew. Liara felt something pull on her cuffs, forced her body off the ground. She felt her skin cut under the constraints, blood fall to her hands. Someone grabbed her legs, and soon enough she was hauled off the Normandy.
"UN personnel secured. All UNSC objects secured." A soldier announced.
"Get them off the ship! Get them to the hogs now! Use deadly force only if fired upon!" The Major ordered.
She passed by Shepard, treated less harshly than the rest of the crew. He was left standing with a rifle aimed directly at his back, guided down the Normandy ramp towards the rest of the humans. The human security crew was forced on their knees, weapons gone, organized row. Ashley and James right at the front of it. One of the soldiers forced her head back down.
"What the hell are you doing!? We're friendlies!" Ashley exclaimed.
"Sorry, ma'am. This is First Contact. We cannot allow you to be a possible threat with sensitive systems aboard." The soldier said.
If Liara really wanted too, she could've used a singularity and sent a decent portion of these soldiers flying. Use stasis on whoever was so roughly handling her, knock him down, and… well, do something from there. Tali could easily access her Omni-tool, send out Chikita to cause some sort of havoc. EDI… might not be able to do anything. Her control of the ship was sliced through. How long it took them to do it was unknown. Most likely the entire time they were aboard. Even with completely different systems, they were able to break through. Past one of the most advance cybernetic suites in the galaxy without being detected.
Why couldn't they at least tell them about whatever protocol it was this time, and they could follow it? They could restrain themselves if they really wanted. Then again, Captain Florence wasn't exactly sure what they'd do.
Only to a point would they follow through with this. Then they'd have to go to the last resort. They would have to quickly get the nukes off their ship. But it was possible. They weren't crazy enough to set off a bomb within their own ship.
"Shepard! Goddess, Shepard!" One of the Asari prisoners yelled out. She was dressed in a Illium Security uniform. Liara recognized her. A thorn in her side when she was tracking down the Shadow Broker. Detective Anaya. An honest cop. The only reason she didn't die a long time ago was because Liara's conscious wouldn't let her. Whatever conscious was left at the time "They aren't telling us anything. They took the human crew-"
A guard used the butt of a rifle and smacked her in the face. She fell forward, a small trail of purple liquid from a large gash in her face.
Liara was forced back onto the ground. Face hit the metal floor. Blood ran through her nose, spilled onto the floor. Pooled and entered her mouth.
The soldier searched her down. Hands moved across her body. Her Carnifex and Lotus submachine gun blocks removed. It wasn't until she felt them reach more… private areas where she jerked her foot. Someone's face met the end of her boot.
"It has a damn kick. Mudda fucker…" A soldier said, voice muffled by hands as he grabbed onto a bloodied face.
It.
Someone else kneed down on her shoulders. Harder and harder to breath. She felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun press against her central nervous scalp. The ring of a deactivated safety.
Shepard struggled in the cuffs with the guard only pushing him forward. "What the hell are you doing to my crew?"
"We aren't going to hurt them, Commander. We have to make sure they aren't a threat."
"You just did hurt them! And the civilians!? You're treating them like damn animals." The Commander stopped in his tracks, the guard nearly bumped into him. She looked confused, unknown what she should do. "Let them go!"
She just quickly looked for anyone else to help, panicked.
There was another voice within the hangar. "Sir, these elevators ain't budging.
"Get explosives on the door, breach and clear."
It looks like EDI still maintained some of her control over the ship.
Before Shepard's guard could do anything, he activated his tech shields. Orange particle lights that surrounded his armor. Fortunately, the cuffs were electronic. And the particle overload rendered them useless. He easily shook them off, turned around to find a frightened soldier shakingly fire off a shot. The Commander grabbed her weapon beforehand, pushed her rifle away. He punched her in the face, an unconscious body fell to the floor, grabbed the silver rifle, aimed it at the Major.
Before they could respond, Tali activated Chikita. The V.I shocked whoever was on top of her. He was rendered unconscious for a moment, falling off onto the floor. Chikita deactivated her cuffs, Tali scrambled off the floor and grabbed the rifle of the unconscious soldier. The same rifle Captain Florence had, black with orange lines across the base. A soldier holding down Garrus didn't see it coming. A smack in the face from Tali's rifle, on the floor, and the V.I came around to take off his cuffs. Garrus snatched his guard's rifle, and soon enough the V.I came around to the Normandy security crew, guarded by only two marines.
In the span of about three seconds, the Commander had inspired his crew to get back up. The security crew was struggling now. Before the V.I even reached them, James used his shoulders, knocked down one of the marines right on top of him. Ashley maneuvered her body, cuffs going under her legs and appearing in front. The other marine aimed his rifle at James, distracted as Ashley placed her cuffs around him. Choked the marine, put him on the ground.
James was on top of the other marine. A two-hundred twenty-five pound Alliance marine versus about a one-hundred sixty pound UNSC marine. It wasn't exactly a struggle, even with handcuffs.
"I knew wrestling in high school would pay off." James said.
The soldiers on Liara got off, more worried about the uprising. She was finally able to breath and get a decent view of the area. The hangar door of the Normandy opened into a small area that housed the prisoners. The left far wall was where the prisoners were stationed. And a few meters behind them was a lifted area. Metal walls, and on top were more of those ugly, tan transports. In front of the Normandy laid a large ramp that lead up perpendicularly to, what seemed like a train tunnel. The outstretching nose of the Normandy roofed and shadowed it all. She was near the left wall, right in front of the prisoners while Shepard and the rest of the crew were near the right wall.
Her two guards aimed their rifles at the crew. So far, whatever little diplomatic relationships they had was broken.
She had to join in to save whatever was left. A passive eezo field formed around the two of them, using her biotitcs to push them down. Nonlethal, only to leave them unconscious. Might hurt them with the eezo biting at their skin. Chikita came around after it freed the security crew. The little guy deactivated her cuffs. She got up and stepped over one of the unconscious marines, didn't have time to look over the entire body. Just grabbed one of their weapons. The silver rifle looked ridiculous in her arms.
Goddess, it was heavy.
The Major and the rest of his crew were within the Normandy hangar. They ran out, saw the mess Shepard and his crew left. The security crew in the middle of scavenging for either UNSC weapons or weapon blocks.
And as Liara looked…where's Captain Florence and his crew? The critically injured were still aboard, but the rest were gone…
Where was Leng?
Goddess, where was EDI?
"Ah, Jesus H. Christ." The Major said. About fifteen other marines stood next to him. "Fire at will! Fire at will!"
Before Shepard or Liara, or any one of their respective crews could say anything, it was someone else's voice who came through. "Stand down, Major, now!"
She turned to the ramp to find a train car parked there. No one noticed it move in. And packed in it were five soldiers dressed like Lucy and Tom (wherever they were now). But their armor didn't share the battle scars like the other two. Grey armor with orange markings at various places, stood at around six foot four to foot seven. Dark blue visors of different shapes. Each one held shotguns, all aimed at Shepard and the crew.
But they weren't anything special. It was the soldier leading them. If the others weren't tall enough, his height was inhuman. About seven foot four, maybe six. Extremely muscular, towered over the rest of them yet still shorter than the Elites. Thick, black underlays with embedded hexagonal patterns, divided by muscle types. Olive green armor. And if anyone's armor has seen war, it was his. Scratches all over. Older than Lucy and Tom's. He was altered far beyond normal soldier reconditioning. Genetic alteration. But if this was all natural, then there was finally evidence of enough genetic variation to declare these humans a different species. No, this…human was a specialized soldier. A front line close-quarter soldier, judging by the size of him. And if he wanted to, he could've just picked up Shepard and toss him out the airlock.
A dark orange visor stared through the scope of the rifle. A covering head piece with a bottom facial guard, lead to a single rectangular mask with the visor taking up the center of it all.
A large chest piece with the black underlays connected and intertwining within the gear. Massive shoulder connectors with raised neck guards. The armor looked bulky, hard to move in. A deep scar that began at the top left of his armor and ran down the left metal chest guard of the plate. Humerus protectors that looked more like shoulder guards. Large protectors that encompassed the entire forearm, leading to metallic back hand gloves. Heavy hip and central guards. Thick thigh armor. Knee cap protectors, with an encompassing ankle guards, lead to large metal boots that were part of the armor.
Nothing like their combat mold or Tom and Lucy's armor. This thing's armor made him into an unnatural tank.
The Major and the rest of the marines slowly stopped what they were doing. They stared not at the Captain, but at the thing holding a silver rifle. Tactical stance, slowly walking down the ramp. Completely calm despite the overwhelming numbers.
The other one standing at the end of the ramp wore the grey uniform similar to Captain Florence's men (wherever he was also). Except only a grey bullet-proof vest and a raised shoulder guard. Neatly trimmed black hair. A roundish face with almond eyes and brown irises. A five o'clock shadow, and facial features covered in markings that make it hard to tell if he was twenty-five, thirty-six, or forty-seven. Dark circles and uneven skin. Tired and almost sad it seemed. Yet despite this, there was some undeniable kind charm to it all.
But his surprisingly young and enthusiastic tone was covered in anger, denying whatever charm he possessed. It seemed... forced. "Major, I ordered you to confiscate their weapons, peacefully. Without force! I also ordered you to care for these civilians to the best of your abilities! Not treat them like damn hostages!"
He stormed down the ramp. His guard moved with the green armored soldier following up front. Captain Lasky only had a holstered pistol, hand nowhere near it.
"Master Chief." The Major said, as if he didn't hear the Captain. Soldiers' rifles were still raised despite the Captain's orders. "It's me. Jake Reynolds? You saved my life back on Earth."
"Major!" Lasky said, stepped in front of the soldier.
So that was the Master Chief? The one who according to Captain Florence, 'single handedly saved humanity', whom the Normandy saved. Liara hadn't given him much thought. Only some prodigy like Commander Shepard had become throughout the galaxy. But she never witnessed anyone gawk over him like the major and his men are. In shock almost.
"He doesn't sign autographs." Lasky said, calmly. He walked up directly to the major, face to face. The gun directly pointed at his chest. "Stand down, immediately."
Whatever daze the Major had gotten himself into was broken when the Master Chief didn't say anything. The Chief was down the ramp, in the middle of Shepard and the crew, and Liara and the Illium prisoners. His helmet turned towards Liara for a moment. Only an orange visor that displayed no emotion. He turned back to the situation at hand.
"Sir, I'm following Contact protocol." The Major said in his defense.
"You follow my orders, Major. I understand that this goes against protocol, but I made my orders and my reasons absolutely clear. Do these civilians look like a threat!?" Lasky said, moved aside to let the Major look upon the bloodied civilians.
The Major stood silent for a moment, angry. "Sir. With all due respect, we don't know what capabilities they have. Because of this, we have to treat them like a threat! You aren't down here, these are my men-!"
"Really, Major? You and your men are the only threat here, treating them like they were Covies! And using violent force against these people, whom we guaranteed safe entry!"
"Sir! They attacked my men. I had to use the last resort-"
Captain Lasky quickly turned from him, walked towards one of the unconscious soldiers. The one Shepard knocked out. "Do you see any bullet wounds, Major? No. She's unconscious. They responded with appropriate force. Unlike you."
He placed his hands on his hips. "Who ordered you to breach and board the Normandy?"
"I was following protocol-"
"No. I explained the situation perfectly clear to you. You took it with doubt, but not enough to defy my direct orders.
"And where's Captain Florence? And the Spartan-IIIs, and Lieutenant Banks and his men?"
"Sir-"
He looked at his men. "Major, you were given exactly twenty-five men. But I only see nineteen. And if the description reports of Lieutenant Leng and his men are accurate, they're missing too. Along with… Edi, if I got the name right."
Only a silenced voice from the major. Lasky sighed, and suddenly whatever false anger he had was removed to a sullenness. He placed his hand on a comm. "Roland, lock down all hangars. Lock down all transports and fighters. Arrest all ONI personnel aboard. See they aren't anywhere near a starship. I want the Infinity searched for Captain Florence and his crew, and for a Lieutenant Leng and his men, and a woman xeno named Edi. DeMarco, see Major Reynolds to the brig for incompetence of command. Relieve him of any and all commands immediately."
"And you aren't? You've already broken protocol!" Reynolds yelled out. DeMarco, one of the advanced soldiers, had another pair of cuffs, placed it around the major. "You should be the one in the damn brig!"
Lasky was about to say something, but he stopped himself. Whatever it was he decided against it. "Major, humans were aboard that ship. Civilians, women, children. Our duty as soldiers of the UNSC is to protect Humanity at any and all costs. Humanity is at risk from these squids, these Reapers. I invited the Normandy crew to help save the humans out here from the squids. And if I have to break protocol in order to uphold the basic foundations of the UNSC, that all of you swore to follow, then so be it."
A commander justifying himself to his men. Different from other commanding officers and too similar to Shepard.
"What about the xenos?! What about them?!" The Major struggled in his cuffs.
"They're allies of the humans out here, and because of that they are allies of the UNSC. We help them...we help Humanity." Lasky said. No anger or rising voice in the entire justification. Just clam with authority. He took a deep breath. "Get him out of here."
A couple Spartans lead by DeMarco hesitantly took a higher ranking officer up towards the ramp. He stopped struggling. Passed by Shepard and the crew and these super soldiers. The other half of the marines stayed with the Captain.
Lasky stood on the Normandy ramp for a moment. Rubbed his face with both palms. Another deep breath, and looked to the next situation.
So, internal strife wasn't beneath them. And again, it was from something Captain Florence mentioned in panic. Between this ONI, or Naval Intelligence, and the UNSC. Captain Florence yelling at them that "they knew what was on the other side", ONI had something to do with the Legend After going through the Relay. Why was unknown. But it had seemed ONI had attacked the Normandy and taken repossession of the Captain and his crew and taken EDI as a prisoner while the rest of the Normandy crew was occupied.
And Leng. He was gone too.
Lasky walked up to Shepard who dropped the rifle on the floor. Lasky looked to the prisoners first. "Get them biofoam, now. See if it's compatible with their anatomy." Turned to Shepard. "If you have any information on these species, we need it. Roland, the ship AI, will watch over them, make sure they get proper medical treatment."
He then saluted the Commander. "Captain Thomas J. Lasky, United Nations Space Command Infinity." He let go of the salute, reached out his hand to Shepard.
The Commander relaxed. His entire body almost dropped. He looked to the Captain, saluted him, then reached out and shook his hand. "Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Space Vehicle Normandy."
Lasky nodded. "Shepard, I've been wanting to meet you and your crew. I apologize… for all of this. If I would've known what was going on down here, this wouldn't have happened. It's my fault, Commander. This was negligence and incompetence on my part. I should've known how men under my command would respond, and I should've paid better attention."
"...Just thank God you got here before the situation could get any worse." Shepard said, actual relief on his face.
"I've received an advance report that you were sent to talk to us. Something about an agreement to help fight these Reapers?"
Shepard nodded. "We were sent by Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett, commanding officer of the Alliance Navy, to rescue any and all survivors and try to establish a peaceful relationship."
He nodded, looked to the Normandy crew as they dropped their weapons and took a moment to recover. Liara joined up with Shepard, almost in the same exhausted shape.
Lasky could clearly see it. The overworked crew, the dark circles and the panicked breathing slowly calming down. He smiled. "Do all of your missions go this "well"?"