The Reclamation

by Fade Maybe

Through ONI's manipulation, the UNSC stumbles upon a Mass Relay and is dragged into a new war. They'll discover the battered races of the Citadel, the political intrigue of its factions, and a second group of humans governed by the Systems Alliance, divided by Cerberus, and lead by Commander Shepard. Yet no one can stop what is to come: the Reclamation, and the death of the galaxy.

16. Lord Hood

Aboard UNSC Infinity Bridge

Repositioning to receive UNSC Salvation

2557 Military Calendar, 14:14

Reclamation… Reclamation…

That… That was...had to be a coincidence. Not once did the Illusive Man mention the Forerunners. Requiem. The Ark. The Rings. Anything. Unless… ONI mentioned something. And he utilized it to throw Lasky off.

Captain Lasky wasn't sure. He saw the Illusive Man slowly become more manipulative as the discussion went on. Still, he wasn't wrong about the UNSC readying for an external threat. He claimed he learned it from analysis of their military assets, which Lasky could see to a certain extent. However, the Captain couldn't help but feel that the Illusive Man knew something a little bit deeper from a darker pool of information.

It could be possible that Captain Florence accidentally mentioned something, or even Captain Lasky himself. Though Lasky'd be sure if he did. Again, ONI might've said something to Kai Leng on whatever the hell they were doing aboard the Staff of Charon.

Lasky and Roland leaked nothing. Their transmissions were secured. Nothing on their end could've revealed anything.

The Captain was leaning over the holo-table, making sure ship positions were in order. He looked over to the Illusive Man as he stood there watching over a holographic screen, smoking his whateverth cigarette.

The fact of the matter was...Lasky needed to be subtle about this. For all he knew, it was just an extreme coincidence the Illusive Man uttered those words...

No actually. As Lasky thought about it, it wasn't. He emphasised those words. He wanted Captain Lasky to take notice.

...Right? The Captain wasn't sure if he was overreacting or emotion was getting the better of him, or both.

But Shepard and his crew mentioned nothing of strange hieroglyphs or deviations that suggested the designs of the Forerunners, so the same should be applied to the Illusive Man. He should know absolutely nothing. If he had the knowledge of the Forerunners, then something this important should be known by Commander Shepard and his crew as well. They are enemies after all, trying to get the better hand over one another.

Subtlety was the key word. Captain Florence had already done too much damage. He probably accidentally revealed the existence of the Forerunners. That alone was highly dangerous. Florence'll have to answer to Lord Hood about that. Captain Lasky couldn't make a mistake like that.

Lasky nodded to Roland. The AI made a holographic copy of himself that appeared on the table. He was staring intently at the holographic garden world as UNSC ships orbited around the poles.

"Well it wasn't exactly hard to miss, sir." He said, still staring at the planet. He knew exactly what the Captain was thinking.

"Do you think…?"

"I'm reanalyzing his little speech. Micro-analyzing every little psychological facial and audio detail that hints at lying or some deeper motive. But it's a little harder on a hologram where he can alter his appearance. So far, I can determine it's just merely the end of a dramatic speech. Nothing telling if he knows anything more, or blah, blah, blah."

The Illusive Man's hologram was still tapping away on that screen.

An extreme coincidence. Seems to happen a lot these days.

Even ignoring his words on the Reclamation, and Shepard and the crews'...comments to not trust the Illusive Man, there was something shady about him. His enigmatic presence shadowed and hid something far sinister, greater than the acts of...the genocides and atrocities he had committed. Acts he fully embraced.

It was just a feeling without evidence, without proof. The same sort of feeling with the Master Chief. However, Lasky was so sure about both of them he couldn't convince himself otherwise.

And the strange part was it had nothing to do with the horrific acts the Illusive Man had done. It's not as if the UNSC did any worse...unfortunately. Lasky had never partook in them, thank God. No matter how much those acts were justified and highly necessary for the greater good, Lasky would never be able to...forgive himself to say the very least.

Maybe it was the same for everyone Lasky guessed. For most people anyways...unlike those emotionless ONI spooks. He saw a lot of admirals, captains, and generals broken after the actions they committed. Removed from command afterwards on medical/psychological discharge to never serve the UNSC again. The only notable figures Lasky could think of that made it through that kind of self-induced torment was a decent portion of FLEETCOM and HIGHCOM, Lord Hood, and even Admiral Osman.

Guess the Illusive Man made that list too. So, Lasky wondered what it was that bugged him. The blue electronic eyes certainly didn't help with its creepy gaze. But Lasky could look past that part.

Maybe it simply was the fact the Illusive Man tried to remain as secretive as possible, forcing the Captain to dig for answers through layer upon layer of manipulative words and newspeak. Shepard and Liara were straight upfront and open.

It was the darkness, the similar kind that ONI thrived on.

Roland's copy opened up a screen. "Sir...the Salvation is within the Infinity's sphere of influence, five-hundred thousand klicks out. Lord Hood will be aboard in five minutes…"

Right. Another issue...

There was no forward on what HIGHCOM and Hood will do with Lasky after today's events…

That was...terrifying. But they had to understand.

…

"Sir… Lord Hood will arrive any minute. We have to get ready," Paul DeMarco, a Spartan-IV from Fireteam Majestic, said to him. They were the first greeting party for Lord Hood

The Master Chief nodded and stood up. Paul DeMarco took a step back, as if he were afraid. No. It was still this awe and wonderment. There, he stood before the first hero recognized by all Humanity.

The Chief put his helmet on, suited up. The pressurized seals locked in.

He looked up. It felt like he finally realized he was in a hanger. The SSV Normandy was parked only twenty meters away. Right… His current job was to watch over the xeno civilians as Army medical surgeons and Navy corpsmen helped them as best they could. Even though alien anatomy was beyond them, the medical teams were able to stabilize most with the help of a single xeno surgeon. But it'd be soon before they needed to be taken to one of the xenos' own hospital.

Most of the refugees glanced at the Chief and the other Spartans every once and awhile. Afraid, curious maybe. Other emotions he didn't recognized. One of the blue aliens, Captain Anaya, asked a Corpsmen who they were. He pointed specifically at the Chief, simply said that he was a legend.

The rest of his gear pressurized and he was off to another hanger. Fireteam Majestic followed. They learned quickly that the Master Chief didn't say much, so after a few comedic jabs from the team and ostracization by DeMarco that the aging Spartan can probably kill each and everyone of them single-handedly, they all remained silent.

The six Spartans entered a tram car. It was a silent, fast ride to the next hangar.

This wasn't Blue Team. No where near their skills, capabilities, talent, ingenuity...or comradery.

The bullet train stopped at the next hangar and the Master Chief exited the ramp to find a small Pelican receiving room. Two groups of about forty Marines, Sailors, and Spartans formed up, stood at attention on each side of a walkway. All motionless, ready to salute, waiting for his arrival.

In the same way they waited for the Chief only three days ago.

The Master Chief and Fireteam Majestic stood at the end of the walkway. He could see the Paris-class frigate UNSC Salvation past the blue curtain shield, about twenty klicks out.

But for whatever reason, waiting for Lord Hood didn't make the Chief remember the events three days ago, but five years ago.

During the end of the War in the Crow's Nest base near Voi in Kenya - the last UNSC stronghold nearest to the Covenant digsite. Humanity's final effort. The hundreds of dead and injured marines that piled in the base. Naval staff members trying their best to keep up with logistical supply lines and updates from the front. Those days where Commander Keyes, a relatively low ranking UNSC officer, was in command of an entire UNSC army as last ranking officer left. When Sergeant Major Johnson, a senior NCO, was given the command of entire UNSC strike battalions with the Master Chief at the tip of the spear.

The days of honorable intentions.

He didn't know why this reminded him of that. But the specific memory came rushing in. Those days when there was no future yet he seemed so...sure. He knew what the final fight was going to be. How everyone was dedicated to one all encompassing specific cause. There was no doubt in those days, not from anyone.

And...those days didn't require him to beat the living hell out of another Spartan.

A Pelican was coming in, slowly entered the curtain shield and repositioned itself so the cargo hold faced the walkway.

It touched down. The cargo doors opened and the groups of mixed servicemen saluted.

Lord Hood. Stern. Confident. And a face that even the Master Chief could tell was void of most emotion.

It was only this morning the Master Chief last saw Lord Hood, but it's been a long day. So much had happened within the span of barely eight hours.

Still wearing the traditional white naval uniform, he slowly walked out with his hands behind his back. Two Spartan-IIIs were at his side. The Chief didn't recognize who they were.

He walked down the line, paid no attention to the saluting servicemen. It was silent, painted by the echo of his footsteps and the metallic thud of the Spartans' armored boots.

He and his escort halted in front of the Spartan-II. The Chief loomed over the Fleet Admiral, yet he had no awe or fear or any other hint of the numerous emotions the average servicemen experienced when seeing Sierra-117.

Just the grim and serious gaze. He reached out his hand, and the Master Chief shook it.

"How're you doing, son?" He asked with his hardened and confident tone.

"Green, sir." The Chief replied. "These guys should take a page from the Covenant."

"Is that so?" He asked. He stepped passed the Master Chief and headed towards the tram. The group of eight Spartans total, all armed to the teeth with assault rifles, followed the Fleet Admiral to the train. "And the other group of unidentified aliens brought aboard this ship?"

"I wasn't ordered to shoot at them, sir. They're non-hostile according to Captain Lasky." The Chief replied. Lord Hood did specify the importance of maintaining First Contact. However, with Captain Florence planetside that made it impossible to enforce. It wasn't Captain Lasky's fault.

Lord Hood nodded and proceeded into the waiting train. The eight Spartans crowded in, and they were soon off.

"It puts us in an interesting position, something we've never faced before," Lord Hood said. "Captain Lasky initiated this. To put it briefly I need to ensure he's still fit to continue before we continue."

"Sir…" The Master Chief began. He didn't register what Lord Hood just said. "Any word on Cortana?"

Lord Hood sighed, looked to the Chief. He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Her repairs have been handed over to ONI Materials Group. One of the few sections we still trust. I assure you, progress is slow but it's being made."

He didn't say any more. He didn't mention anything else….

The Master Chief didn't press any further. Lord Hood had a lot to deal with, with the new contacts and the other branch of Humanity.

The Chief looked back to the Spartans. Wells of emotion hidden behind visors. The Spartan-IVs...never went through even a fraction of what the Chief, the other Spartan-IIs went through. They never will. He didn't even have to be told how the Spartan-IV program trained them. He could just tell.

"We're dividing a large chunk of our forces here, including high value assets." Hood said, staring out the tram window, arms crossed. "How's Captain Lasky treating you?"

The Chief took a moment to respond. "He's taking command well. He's concerned with me, sir. But I think I'm still ready to go."

A simple nod, and that was it.

The tram finally stopped in front of the bridge station. Around thirty more naval personnel holding battle rifles were on station. The doors opened and they all stood at attention, saluted as Lord Hood and his Spartan detachment made their way pass.

Four Spartans on each shoulder, with the Master Chief on his right. Hood speed walked to the bridge. Hands balled in fists. The Spartans easily followed behind. They found more sailors lined up against the hallway, saluting right before Hood passed by.

They reached the bridge. The Chief saw Shepard, Liara, Tali, and...Garrus sitting in the hall. They immediately stood up, all eyes were on Lord Hood.

Shepard took a step back to let them through. First Lieutenant Dubbo was with them. He holstered his rifle, stood at attention, and saluted.

Shepard must have recognized something. When he saw the four gold bars and single star he saluted. Lord Hood maintained his hands behind his back. He didn't even glance at Shepard and his crew. He continued to stare straight ahead towards the bridge doors.

"You will remain here," Lord Hood simply said in his commanding tone.

Nothing more. The bridge doors opened up to reveal Captain Lasky watching the holo-table intensely. The holo-display at the front of the bridge had a figure the Chief didn't recognize.

Lasky looked away from the table. He stood straight, saluted. "ADMIRAL ON DECK!"

The rest of the crew aboard the bridge stopped whatever they were doing and saluted. Someone dropped a file of paper all over the floor.

Lord Hood observed the room. His eyes caught the figure at the front holo-display. Another simple nod and the figure disappeared and the display deactivated. Roland reappeared on the table.

"Master Chief. Remain outside and watch our guests. I'd like to have a word with Captain Lasky in private," Lord Hood ordered.

Lasky moved to parade rest and took a deep breath in.

"Aye, aye, sir." The Chief responded. He and his team headed out the bridge, metal doors closed behind him.

Shepard walked up to him, slowly. "So...do we...meet with him?"

"We'll wait." The Chief said.

…

The Captain's mind moved from the Illusive Man mentioned to the most important thing of all, at least to him.

His life. And how he risked it violating numerous UNSC protocols in a single day.

Somehow he was able to compartmentalize it. At least beforehand, now he could feel his heartbeat increase. The slight shaking of his body every time it pumped blood….The beating of his heart was distracting and uncomfortable. It felt like a trash compactor was crushing him and he could only focus on Lord Hood. Everything else seemed to become distant.

Maybe he thought that somehow, having a special place next to Lord Hood exempted him from traditional punishment. That he could be forgiven due to the circumstances.

"Lord Hood, sir." Lasky quietly said. He focused on his breathing, didn't dare to say anything more.

"Captain. At ease" Hood replied. No accusation or anger in his voice. He eyed the other sailors and they hastily went back to work.

The Fleet Admiral stood right in front of Lasky. The white uniform was coated in dark orange and blue light from the holotable. The holographic models of combating UNSC ships danced around his grim and void face. Faded shadows traveled over the dozens of medals earned during the War. The black bars on his shoulders displaying the four gold bars and star seemed to blacken. The traditional symbol of the Navy with its two crossing anchors and a shield covering the middle section as the Falcon of the UNSC perched on top of it still remained strong, untouched morphing in and out as the shadows of holographic UNSC ships passed through.

Roland stepped into the corner of the holo-table, as far away from the two as...holographically possible. His face looked frightened.

"Sir...as ordered we've taken the planetary surface and have pushed the squids to the edge of the solar system." Lasky stopped.

Lord Hood didn't say anything. He looked to the holo-display. The hundreds of ship movements in coordination with the forces on the ground moved in perfect cohesion.

"So it seems." Lord Hood finally said. "Fleet Admiral Alvares sent your full report to HIGHCOM. Frankly, the admiralty is in disbelief and here is utter confusion on what to do."

Lasky (Roland) sent an utterly complete situational update on every bit of information they could scavenge. Every single byte of alien data, the conflicts between Shepard and Illusive Man, the prelude to a further intergalactic government, Forerunner theories… The second branch of Humanity, Lord Hood already knew.

Lasky was about to ask what Lord Hood thought, but the Fleet Admiral continued. "However, Captain, there is no confusion on your direct violation of First Contact Procedure, my direct orders, and a possible breach in Cole Protocol."

"Sir, under the circumstances I believed it was absolutely vital we intervened or else millions of innocent civilians would die. Human civilians. But in no way was Cole Protocol breached." Lasky reported with full military stoicism

"Not only that…" Roland chimned in, a little timid. "But contact with the other 'unidentified group' was inevitable. Cerberus and Commander Shepard pinned down Captain Florence, our ODSTs couldn't reach him in time..."

Lord Hood glared at Roland. The AI continued to remain silent.

"That may be the case," Hood continued. "But your inability to follow standard protocol that has saved Humanity for generations has now led us to an extremely delicate situation. The-"

"Sir-"

His voice remained leveled, rising to slight hints of anger. "The question here, Captain, is whether you should continue this operation. You risked some of the most highly valued assets the UNSC has to save unidentified species with capabilities that could outmatch us-"

"...Sir-"

"We have no idea what they can do. Captain, many within HIGHCOM doubted your commission. With good reason. We know your track record at Corbulo and your career in the UNSC. Effective, yes, but unorthodox. The only reason you were placed as executive officer in the first place was because we needed a personality to balance the 'strategic focus' of Captain Del Rio-"

"Sir! With all due respect if I were to follow the same steps as the Infinity's preceding CO I would've followed a similar fate as him," Lasky said, voice calm. Mostly. "Captain Del Rio efficiently followed protocol. First Contact Procedure specifically stated that there was no contact to be made and UNSC assets were to analyze and identify any alien military capabilities within a specific time frame and evacuate to UNSC strongholds to prepare and adapt military defenses. He also properly followed UNSC AI regulations after Cortana revealed to be past her seven year expiration date.

"Del Rio was one of the best officers the Navy had to offer, that's why he got the job. He made a judgement call that fell within UNSC doctrine but you, HIGHCOM, and I decided to place trust in the Master Chief's judgement and his nearly three decades of experience, but he was the one to break protocol and draw the Didact to Earth. I made a judgement call. I am not Captain Del Rio, sir. I believe I made the right decision and I stand by that decision. Sir, I ask for the same trust you place in the Chief. Besides the Reapers and this second branch of Humanity, there is something deeper going on here we can't even begin to understand. And I believe it presents a threat to Earth and Humanity. If Shepard and the Illusive Man are right, the Reapers won't stop with them. They will eventually come after the UNSC."

Lord Hood remained silent for a long time. He breathed out loudly and nodded… It was approving and almost understanding, as if Lasky gave the correct answer to a trivia question. The ship shadows began to fade from the Fleet Admiral's uniform. He turned to the holo-table and walked to the other side. He acted as if nothing happened.

"HIGHCOM doesn't even know how to respond." Lord Hood said, voice returning to normal, completely forgetting what Lasky did. "At first we were so baffled we believed it was a large Insurrectionist group, and we were prepared to begin op orders that haven't been seen since Operation TREBUCHET. When we finally came around to the situation, we were more concerned with ONI, and could care less with what you did."

Jesus Christ.

Lasky didn't realize it...but he could actually breath. Oh God, the trash compactor stopped. He finally noticed everything else in the room. The bridge crew doing their work and pretending not to look, and the illumination of computers.

Lasky gathered his bearings, took a moment. "...Uh…"

"Your actions would've placed you in grave danger, Captain." Lord Hood said. "Because Human beings were present on that refugee ship, HIGHCOM and I have decided that your actions did have some merit, even if they were ergo propter hoc. The situation with Captain Florence did make first contact unavoidable."

Jesus Christ. Lasky tried to shake it off. To move on. Hood wanted to see the Captain's response. Why he did what he did.

"Major Reynolds…" Lord Hood began, not even letting Lasky speak. "He was a veteran in the War. Served with the Master Chief. He was a part of the Marine strike group that brought down the Covenant and the Flood by destroying the Ark. It's disappointing to see him change sides, but not surprising."

"We...We've only begun to interrogate him." Lasky finally got to say. He took a deep breath, trying to remind himself that he was fine. "I doubt we'll get any solid intel off him. He was a pawn. As for Captain Florence, he's out with a broken spine. Med geeks put him in a medically induced coma so they can fix him up."

Roland spoke, "Uh...we plan to interrogate Florence also. It's bound he knows something more about ONI than we do."

Lord Hood tapped on a holographic ship group, analyzed current echelon positions. "Good. This second branch of Humanity, despite having the situation explained perfectly clear, a few in HIGHCOM still believe that it's our duty for every Human individual to be under our authority, even if by force."

"Sir… How do we plan to operate without a full intelligence sector?" Lasky dared ask.

"The UNSC will reallocate vital ONI resources to meet the efficiency the Navy requires," Lord Hood said. "If you're wondering, Captain, yes, we have begun to strip resources from ONI sections."

He didn't talk about the situation back at home between the UNSC on ONI. No word on how HIGHCOM and the Navy planned to deal with the dozens of secretive and murky subsections and divisions. How the UNSC will continue to fully operate without the support of strategically important intelligence sections.

That's all Lord Hood would say about ONI, because in the end that's all Lasky really needed to know. For the time being. Without Florence, they were at a dead end unless Roland and the JAG investigators somehow got a ONI agent to break.

Well, ONI wouldn't act. Not now. Not with Lord Hood here. To do so would be outright suicide. The UNSC, all of HIGHCOM will rededicate all their resources to hunt down and wipe out any trace of ONI. For the time being, they would remain mostly quiet.

Maybe Lord Hood was suggesting to stay focused. Maybe the Captain should listen, pay attention to the main issue. His ship, his crew, and whatever the hell was going on on this side of the galaxy.

And HIGHCOM's stance towards what was going on? Lasky wasn't that surprised by it at all. A majority of the HIGHCOM's admirals and generals were young moto junior officers during the days of Operation TREBUCHET, when the rebels were painted by propaganda as a degradation that would destroy all of Humanity. So when a Human group was encountered that wasn't under UNSC jurisdiction, what was the main response? Violently conquer and assimilate.

"They're still thinking of them as rebels, though that isn't the case, sir." Lasky said.

Lord Hood grunted in agreement. "Whatever the case be, if the description in your reports and what you say is true, our efforts would be best focused on the Reaper threat."

"And that's your opinion?" Lasky asked.

"My opinion so far is that if it weren't for the presence of Humanity, this conflict would be something between the Reapers and the aliens."

"But this second branch of Humanity, whether they're with the UNSC or not, they are in this fight, sir."

The Fleet Admiral analyzed hundreds of UNSC ships stationed near the local...Relay. Older variant ships. Five years ago, these fleets would've been tremendous assets and wouldn't have been in the same place at the same time due to the fear of losing all of them to a Covenant armada. The UNSC certainly wouldn't send an entire fleet, not even a full battlegroup, to secure a solar system. Funny. These fleets were pocket change nowadays for the lack of a better term.

Not to say the UNSC wastes servicemen or ships like ammunition. It's just, to commit all these assets...all these people….

"Which is why others believe the UNSC should get involved," Lord Hood said, "not only to ensure the safety of Humanity, but to find out more on the Forerunners and ensure they aren't a threat. There are very few who want the UNSC to play a direct role. HIGHCOM is not as convinced as you, Captain, as your report suggests."

Lasky could see why. The UNSC already had around seven-thousand casualties total conquering this solar system alone. Out of approximately one-point-two billion servicemen that might not seem like a lot, but as said the UNSC didn't like to waste lives cheaply, without purpose.

But even if the UNSC provided indirect 'support', what would that even look like? They certainly wouldn't hand over any technology whatsoever. Supplies? Resources? Lasky believed Shepard already had that covered with the work he put in the last few months.

Without direct military intervention the Alliance and Citadel species wouldn't last long, maybe only a few more months.

"Sir...you and I both know without UNSC combat forces, these people won't survive."

"If this is a small Reaper force present in this solar system as you suggested, then it'll be a long and costly campaign to drive the enemy out. We're capable, but the costs seem to outweigh any benefits. But if Shepard, or even the Illusive Man, is correct about the Crucible then it'll provide a quick and decisive victory…"

Captain Lasky finished the sentence for him. "...But we really don't know anything about it."

"And I'd prefer we don't blindly fire what is most likely a fabricated Forerunner artifact." Lord Hood said. "We need more evidence to support that if we don't participate in this fight now, we most definitely will later."

"We haven't been able to study the Reapers ourselves so far." Roland said. He brought up a holo-screen of a two kilometer Reaper ship. "But we can confirm some things Shepard and the Illusive Man claimed. For example we haven't identified any lifeforms aboard Reaper ships, and the sharp maneuvers and trajectories at their speeds would've killed anyone aboard from sheer pressure. So we can safely assume they're controlled by some type of computer intelligence. We can confirm it's not remotely controlled, otherwise we'd see a massive gravitational signal transmitted in the zetabytes. Further distant analysis revealed a similar binary black hole found in the God's Key, Relays - whatever you want you want to call them -and the Citadel species' ships. As for age, well we need a solid sample to carbon date. So far we haven't acquired that sample."

"If the Reapers' age is accurate," Lord Hood said, "then that means they and this Crucible plan would be older than the Forerunners' themselves."

"Well, if they are AI then it'd make sense how they survived the Halo activation." Roland said. "But beyond that we have no idea of their role one-hundred-thousand years ago. They're goal is to destroy all spacefaring life but the Forerunners already did that for them."

Lord Hood remained silent, contemplating. Unlike Roland or Lasky, nothing seemed to throw him off. The Captain could imagine the admiralty going into a frenzied, angry panic at the report while Lord Hood stood there not saying a word, just processing it through his calculated strategic thinking.

Lord Hood spoke. "Currently, access to ONI's intel data and advanced science labs has proven difficult. We were able to peel off a few scientific divisions and placed them under Fleet Admiral Harper's command. We've already sent all your reports, analysis, and findings, and right now they're cross-examining them with all known Forerunner artifacts, archives, and hieroglyphs. They've made no progress. In essence, we're stuck."

That wasn't too surprising, unfortunately. ONI was the only one with access to the...heavy Forerunner stuff. If they had those archives, who knew what they would be able to figure out. But ONI most likely cut off the rest of the UNSC. Let's just hope they weren't burning everything they had.

If the Reapers were Forerunners, then they were something else entirely. The Didact ship punctured the Home Defense Fleet and Battle Group Dakota. Nearly six-hundred of the most advanced warships the Navy possessed couldn't take on a single Forerunner battleship. Yet here, against the Reapers, Battle Group Dakota - around fifty-six ships - could take on dozens of Reaper with...relatively minimal casualties. As far as Lasky could tell the Reapers were only designed to take on these Citadel ships. Against the UNSC, they had to get into extremely close knife fights to do any real damage. If they could get past UNSC MAC cannons.

"...So, sir, if there's no progress on both investigations, how should we make progress with Shepard and the Illusive Man then?" Lasky said.

Lord Hood slowly walked towards the end of the bridge to the viewing glass. He observed the black void, arms behind his back. In the distance, the UNSC Salvation was moving out in an inverse trajectory relative to the Infinity to link up back with the God's Key. The bright blue lights of the engines caused the viewing glass to darken. Small yellow dots lit up nearly millions of kilometers away as UNSC ships pushed the remaining squids out of the system. Two Longsword bombers flew by, traveling to engage their next assigned target.

"Captain, if it's any consolation, I trust your judgement. But what I was saying earlier still holds true. You're unorthodox, and at times irresponsible, and your decisions today have put you at a distance with the admiralty board at HIGHCOM. You're now asking us to engage in the unknown. At a whim I can command our forces to proceed without the support of FLEETCOM or even HIGHCOM. But that's highly inadvisable. I also trust HIGHCOM's judgement."

"I'm not asking for anything, sir. This was unavoidable." Lasky said. "Will HIGHCOM even hear them out?"

"That's not HIGHCOM's job, Captain." Hood said. "You were the one to take them on."

Lasky sighed. Right. This was his responsibility. Lasky wasn't sure if Lord Hood being here would make the situation better or worse. In any event, Shepard and the Illusive Man's questions would be answered.

"As you already know, we made contact with the Illusive Man, leader of the Cerberus group. The crew of the Normandy are just the messengers," Lasky reported. "The real leader is a Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett and a group of representatives called the Citadel Councilors. We could force contact with them, if that's how you want to proceed, sir."

Lord Hood turned back to the holo-table, "if you think it'll work best, Captain, then so be it. But before we proceed, I want to talk to the Illusive Man, personally."

Lasky acknowledged. He placed hands behind his back and stepped away from the holo-table. Roland did the same, stepped into the corner. Lord Hood walked over, standing at the end of the table.

"Captain…" Lord Hood said. "It's no surprise your reports were more...analytic and calculated, filled with more theories than facts. What do you really think?"

Reclamation. Right. That was the primary thing that came to mind when Lasky thought about the Illusive Man.

"...It seems, sir, that Shepard and his crew were more directly open." Lask said. "Whatever I asked they answered to the best of their ability, even if there was some understandable hesitation of revealing their classified intel and projects. The Illusive Man on the other hand…"

"We had to pry," Roland continued off for the Captain. "He tried this diplomatic manipulation of fucking sweet nothings and ideals, and we pretty much had to use a crowbar to break through. We understand that he is focused on Humanity, and Humanity alone, and that his men were responsible for saving Captain Florence and sticking a knife in ONI's heart, but…"

"It's hard to trust him," Lasky finished. "As you've read, his agency is supposedly based around espionage and sabotage so it's reasonable why he's so secretive. However, sir, I fully understand the UNSC is in no position to afford reasonableness, and that's why I believe we need more easy accessible transparency from him in order to make this work. Not only that, sir...but he mentioned something about the Reclamation."

Lord Hood didn't seemed bothered. It's as if he knew the Illusive Man had knowledge of the Reclamation. He turned to the AI.

"Show me," he ordered. Roland nodded and activated the hologram recording of the Illusive Man and played his speech.

Lord Hood watched the enigmatic figure speak. The Fleet Admiral made no comment, no emotional response. Lasky's hologram asked the question, the Illusive Man responded, Shepard quickly interrupted, then the Illusive Man still continued. How there was something worse out there other than the Reapers, etc. Lord Hood let the speech finish, let him hear the words about the Reclamation.

The recording ended and disappeared, turned back into the holo-representation of the local solar system and ship deployments.

"Get him on the horn," Lord Hood said. Nothing beyond that.

Roland brought up a holo-screen and began typing in commands. The orange hologram of the solar system quickly morphed into the dark blue and black representation of the Illusive Man. Cigarette still in his hand. His hologram was fitted to size so he'll have to slightly look up to Fleet Admiral Lord Hood and Captain Lasky.

The Illusive Man took a long drag. Lasky spoke, "Illusive Man, this is Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy and current commanding officer of the United Nations Space Command."

Maybe it was Lord Hood's mere presence or an inherent respect to a higher authority; in a surprising notion, the Illusive Man lowered his cigarette and smothered it in a tray off screen. He placed hands behind his back. He didn't take a proper military parade rest position, just a show of his respect.

"Lord Hood," The Illusive Man began, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm sure Captain Lasky has already explained the situation in his report. Again, I apologize for the ridiculousness of my callsign but-"

"Enough." Lord Hood interrupted, the militaristic tone of strength, tactfulness, and a carelessness for the well-being of others. The Illusive Man didn't seem phased. He just went silent. "From this moment on, when we ask you a question you will answer directly and clearly. If we have to ask a clarifying question other than to make it clear what we are asking, then a 'alliance' will be pulled off the table. If we feel like you're lying, or hiding something with unclear and vague speeches, a 'alliance' will be off the table.

"Do you understand?"

Not even a quick pause. The Illusive Man took a calm glance around the room, just to make sure no one else was there. He spoke. "I completely understand, and I do apologize if I have been rather...ill-defined in the past. Cerberus has only survived because of intelligence and classified information and projects. To admit these clandestine works in front of one of the people who wants to see all our work destroyed would place our organization in jeopardy. If it were revealed, the Citadel species does have the power to eliminate us."

Lord Hood responded, "we'll be fair. If whatever we do ask of you is highly sensitive, we will discuss it in private."

Maybe it was Captain Lasky's imagination, but he swore he saw some sort of cryptic smirk form on the Illusive Man. He removed his hands, and somehow from somewhere off screen he took another cigarette and lit it.

So much for that respect.

"Fair enough," he finally said after he blew a puff of smoke. "I see Commander Shepard or his crew aren't currently present."

"They're waiting outside," Lord Hood said. "Before we let them in, we should discuss what you found on the Staff of Charon. We have reason to believe you were there not only to try and get on our good side, but for intelligence reconnaissance."

"I believe you misunderstand," the Illusive Man retorted. "My men were ordered only to rescue Captain Mark Florence, and his crew while causing as little injury or damage as possible. And they did and only did just that."

He didn't seem to be lying, fully confident and calm. He was always like that. Lord Hood had to be extremely careful in this situation. Lasky understood where the Fleet Admiral was going. To corner the Illusive Man slowly, and subtly bring up the Reclamation. Lord Hood couldn't outright call the Illusive Man a liar without risking nearly all of the top secret intelligence the UNSC swore to protect. The thing was, if Lasky knew the Illusive Man, he would be smart enough to also pick up on where this was going.

Lord Hood responded, "we were concerned at the speed your medical teams and grave recovery groups extracted casualties from the Staff of Charon. When our boarding teams entered we found every information terminal aboard the ship wiped clean. We can only assume it was either ONI or you."

"Why do you assume that? You're making quite the accusation without any evidence."

"We found the access logs. Multiple unidentified, unauthorized breaches." Lord Hood responded

...There wasn't anything like that. In fact the naval AIs weren't able to recover anything at all. Half the terminals were directly destroyed, while those that remained were completely spotless. Not even trace data was present. No logs. Nothing.

The Illusive Man seemed to frown. "I was asked to not lie. I would ask the same courtesy from you."

You son of a bitch. That was unexpected from him. To be so forward. To even dare speak to Lord Hood like that…

But Lord Hood made no fault. Simply nodded, as if he accepted defeat and congratulated him. It was a good move on the Illusive Man's part.

The Illusive Man was a lot better at this than Lasky, and possibly Lord Hood. The Captain wondered how much he himself, or even Roland gave away by the slightest movement of body or facial language.

"Reclamation? You used that word specifically. Why?" Lord Hood outright said.

"May I ask why does it particularly matter?"

"You may not."

The Illusive Man sighed, took a drag , "so it seems. Whatever you may be referring to, the situation seems purely coincidental. Unbeknownst to you, I was referencing plans from the Crucible diagram."

He brought up a holo-screen and typed in commands. Two images appeared in front of him…

Yeah...that's what Lasky thought. If Roland found something so important so quickly, it was bound they would too. The two images…. Symbol of the Reclamation, of a Reclaimer...and the symbol of the Forerunners. The Forerunner symbol had four bright blue lines within a perfect circle. Two of these lines traveled from the bottom end to the top, starting as one and splitting to form a rectangle with an upside down right triangle as a base. The other two lines traveled spatially, remaining on the bottom half of the circle. They formed pathways that looked like travel circuits on a microchip.

The UNSC had a reason to keep the Forerunners and the Reclamation a secret. The threat they represent not only endangered Humanity, but every living being in the galaxy, and possibly beyond. Only the UNSC had the power to secure these threats, and they weren't even that good at it. And here it was, the sum of all those threats right before them...discovered by someone else. By Cerberus. Possibly to be used by Cerberus.

"We've been studying Reaper, Collector, and Prothean technology for a long time." The Illusive Man said. "We've learned a multitude of things over the years. The Crucible plan provided something...new. When we analyzed it, we of course found a simplistic system somehow created from thousands of languages.

"The Prothean language was the newest one, obviously. The asari languages and some elements of the turian language are based on it, so it was merely... a long and tedious process of backtracking."

He widened both images. The symbols were surrounded by hundreds of floating hieroglyphs, syllabograms, and logograms smoothly flowing in dozens of directions, never touching each other.

If only Cerberus had an Engineer or modern UNSC AI. They would've figured out the Forerunner language in less than a day.

"A decent portion of the Prothean dialogue scripts in the data all lead to these two symbols. We're not completely sure what cycle they originated from or why they're so important. We and the Citadel have never discovered any hieroglyphs like these. While similar in some superficial aspects to the Prothean language, it vastly differs linguistically and phonologically.

"And what have you discovered about it?" Lord Hood ordered to reveal. His arms were crossed, but still no shock.

"We're still in the long process of translating based purely on the Prothean language since we have nothing else to decipher these symbols. But what we found…." He pointed at the symbol of the Reclamation. "...means the beginning of a tremendous galactic-scale event that would affect every single living being in the galaxy. The Protheans have decided to title it 'the Reclamation.' They would constantly repeat that it has begun, and there was no way to stop it. At first I thought they were referring to the Reaper invasion…"

"But?..." Lasky said.

"As we continued to analyze, we realized it also possessed another meaning the Protheans referred to. It was Humanity."

No surprise.

Ur-Didact. The Librarian….The UNSC already knew a good portion of the story, and with the addition of the Master Chief's report everything began to make sense. While the Forerunners were still shrouded in mystery, some of their intentions became clear. Their technology reacted only to them, constructs only talked to them because they wanted Humanity to inherit their tech, their culture. Lasky wasn't sure why out of all intelligent races the Forerunners picked Humanity, but in the end they did.

At least things were beginning to make sense. Where the hell does the Protheans, this Catalyst and Crucible, and supposed million year old AIs fit in all this? A secondary branch of Humanity? A second Earth? The Relays and the Forerunners?

"And the other symbol?" Hood ordered.

"So far, we haven't been able to determine its meaning."

"Why not?"

"Because we only took a small portion of the Crucible plans before Commander Shepard stopped us."

For all they knew he could be lying, and only revealed this much in order to ensure Lasky and Lord Hood was content. Yet it made Lasky realize something. If Cerberus truly knew what that symbol meant then they would've brought it up long beforehand when they mentioned the Forerunners, to quickly gain their trust. The Illusive Man was sucking up to them, what reason would he stop now? Why not inform the UNSC as quickly as possible as a boon to their negotiation?

Unless, like the UNSC, the Illusive Man realized the horrific, unending danger of the old Forerunners and would like to keep it a secret so no one would ever discover the horrific truth. Unknown to him the UNSC already knew it.

Well, it did provide another angle other than the sudden appearance of the Reapers for the Illusive Man's fear of the 'unknown greater threats.'

"If these symbols were so vital that all Prothean data was essentially built around it, then how come Shepard and the Citadel haven't discovered it?" Lord Hood said.

"It'd be impossible for them too. I could lie that they would have no access to Prothean research archives due to the war, or we were able to decipher it from the large amounts of data we recovered from the destroyed Collector Base. But simply, we extracted this information, and destroyed any trace of it."

From an unbiased perspective, Lasky had to give him props. He probably erased highly critical information to complete the Catalyst project for the Cruicble.

"And they haven't noticed?" Lord Hood said.

"They knew I destroyed some portion of the data. They've quickly reconstructed it from various Prothean archives and data structures Commander Shepard found in the field. If they haven't discovered the pathway that leads to these symbols, then I'm not fully sure why. Like I said, these symbols are...unique. It could be possible that other Prothean ruins didn't contain these specific entries, or they had to reconstruct the Crucible in a different, original way. Either way, I'm not sure how a prophecy-like hieroglyph could help in the construction of the Catalyst."

Those symbols were only there because they signified that only a Human could activate the artifact. That had to be the reason.

And it runs back to the question, why was there even a construction diagram for a Forerunner artifact? How the hell was the Citadel building it?

Maybe Lasky was thinking of the Forerunners as the end all. It made him think back to the Relays… Reports suggested the Forerunners added their own design to a pre-existing foundational structure. Was it the same way with the Catalyst? What reason would the Forerunners even consider something like that when they literally had the ability to terraform and create planets? To destroy everything within the galaxy? If the Catalyst was that old...did the Forerunners try it out to see if it will defeat the...nightmare?

Lord Hood uncrossed his arms. "And what do you think it means? Humanity?"

"From a subjective perspective I could go on how it proves Humanity's place in things. In reality, I can't even begin to draw a conclusion. Reclamation? Humanity? Those words have no correlation to a Reaper invasion. I only thought it'd be appropriate to add it onto my speech to merely...emphasize my point. I never meant to alarm you."

That explanation was unconvincing. Lasky still couldn't help but feel the Illusive Man knew a lot more than he was telling. Maybe this time it just stemmed from his enigmatic shadow. Lasky wasn't sure. So what other reason would the Illusive Man have for mentioning it?

"Then that leaves me with another question." Lord Hood said. "I know you've already been asked this, but I want to hear the answer for myself: What are you willing to sacrifice to ensure that Humanity is safe? That we survive? Even if our goals are similar, that doesn't necessarily mean the UNSC and Cerberus could work well together."

For once the Illusive Man's cool, frightening, and mysterious confidence was replaced with shock. Disgust to be more accurate.

"How many times do I have to repeat it? I am willing to lay down my life and the lives of the thousands of agents under my command. Humanity is everything," the Illusive Man responded, full conviction. "And to ensure we have a future is what I have dedicated my entire life to. For Humanity to live even for just another second, is worth sacrificing everything. To have something more, to need a deeper reason, is sickening. I will ensure that Humanity will survive at any and all costs. That is all I ever wanted."

Lasky had already emphasised that in his report. The Captain didn't feel like his loyalty needed to be questioned again. Maybe it was to reassure Lord Hood and HIGHCOM. The UNSC had been the sole guardian to Humanity for nearly three-hundred years. To have another hand of Humanity, with its own guardian…

"So do we," Lord Hood said, eyed the Illusive Man. "On numerous accounts the United Nations alone has saved Humanity from extinction time and time again. To have another group join us is different. If we ally it does not mean you have access to our technology, intelligence or classified projects."

"If you want to keep the nature of your technology a secret, then by all means have it that way." The Illusive Man said. It wouldn't stop him from observing and analyzing from a distance, learning slowly. "We don't want access to your assets, just the promise that you'll utilize them-"

"To help you find a way to control the Reapers. How can you guarantee you won't turn them on us after you take control?"

It was never a question of if he could, but what he would do. The circumstances between Commander Shepard and Cerberus certainly raised some concerns. Based on the information Lasky knew, the Illusive Man betraying the UNSC was a legitimate question. Yes, Shepard did have his reasons to destroy the Collector base, he was the one to technically turn his back on Cerberus… It was just Lasky's feeling again. He felt some sort of sincerness, "goodness" from Shepard and his crew. The Illusive Man?... Well, not so much.

It wasn't the Captain's call anymore. He was the observer now.

"The only reason I'll ever turn the Reapers on you is if you present yourself as a threat to Humanity. But if we exist for the same reason, then that should never happen," the Illusive Man responded.

"We're still concerned if you and you alone control the Reapers." Lord Hood said. "You might have good intentions, but good intentions have begot both great and horrific leaders so far in history."

"From what I can tell, your good intentions have also led you this far… If need be, I'll relinquish control once the threat has ended. I won't cling onto power out of fear and desperation. The Reapers belong to all of Humanity, the rightful masters of this technology to build and defend themselves in the future. To create a future"

That was a subtle jab at the UNSC. They still maintained a militaristic government with Lord Hood at the head because it was still necessary. Humanity was in a fragile place, and would be once the UNSC could confirm the Insurrection, Covenant Remnant, and Forerunner threat was over. Fear and desperation… was...admittedly, a major factor.

Any other officer will tell you that those kinds of feelings ended with the Great War when the UNSC began to build thousands of highly advanced warships, weapons, and armor never before seen. Yet they built those things out of fear. All of it was out of fear. They built more Spartans out of fear. Kept the Master Chief...out of fear. He was their last hope, and they wouldn't let that go. No matter how independent the UNSC grew, Lasky wondered if they'll ever let go of the reliance on a single individual.

According to the UNSC, Humanity still needed heroes.

The Illusive Man's promises might as well be as true as the UNSC's promise to the UEG.

"That's not something you can simply guarantee." Lord Hood said. "We won't base trust on goodwill."

"Fair enough… Yet I wouldn't be the one to judge from your position."

"We have our reasons to maintain power. Reasons that I don't have to justify.

The Illusive Man finished his cigarette, brought out another one. Took his millionth puff. "This hostility is petty, Lord Hood. I'm sure you can see that. You're right, there is no guarantee that I'll use these Reapers for the purposes I've described. But at the very least, you'll be there to stop me. I'm not suggesting a combined military force, but a joint relationship. One that'll benefit all Mankind."

"And that's where we differ," Lord Hood said. "We aren't here to advance Mankind, but to ensure we survive. That we'll have a future."

"Without advancement, there is no future. You should know that. Survival in itself is no future at all," the Illusive Man responded. "...Whatever we think, I intend for the Reapers to benefit all of Humanity. The UNSC fits into that equation too now. Maybe that's what the symbols on the Crucible diagram ment, for Humanity to...reclaim what rightfully belongs to them."

"But that's just speculation."

"Maybe. It proves to me that Humanity's importance in this conflict is greater than we realized."

"We'll see," Lord Hood said. He turned to Roland. The AI was displaying a small time table. "I apologize, but we have to move on to Commander Shepard, and be introduced to the Citadel Council, without your presence for the time being. Once we have established full contact, we'll bring you back and...discuss more intimately on an alliance.

The Illusive Man nodded. He finished his cigarette, took out another one. "I'll be on standby for the time being."

He didn't say anything more. Not even to smear Commander Shepard or this Citadel Council. At this point, it would be counterproductive.

The holographic figure disappeared, leaving Lord Hood, Roland, and Captain Lasky… and also about a dozen bridge crew members who tried to concentrate on work and give no attention to the fiasco going on in the middle of the room.

"Bring those four in," Lord Hood said. He didn't ask for Roland or Lasky's opinion. Not yet at least. It wasn't needed. "Roland, send an update to HIGHCOM. Tell them I've made contact."

"Uh, yes sir… The slipspace beacons have finally been established. I'll send them immediately."

The Fleet Admiral acknowledged. He motioned for the Captain to let the others in.

Lasky was getting the picture. First contact, negotiations, talking to one side, the other side, then both. The five step diplomatic proceedings. At least Captain Del Rio wasn't handling this. That would've been a nightmare in itself.

And at least Captain Lasky didn't end up like Del Rio. Maybe it was only because of the extraordinariness of the situation that HIGHCOM, or Lord Hood, or whoever, decided to dismiss Lasky on court charges. Del Rio should've been given the same. But the circumstances didn't give him the chance. Of course, Lasky didn't blame the Master Chief. Christ.

And Lasky would probably have to convince the same admiralty board that decided Del Rio had to go, to provide the bulk of UNSC forces. He'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

He also noticed Lord Hood mentioned nothing on Cortana, how much progress Materials Group had made. Lasky'll ask that when Lord Hood had the time.

The Captain walked over to the bridge doors. His thoughts wandered on to what the Citadel Council and Admiral Hackett would be like. If they were anything like the Illusive Man they'd be calm and reserved, knowing exactly what to say.

It looked like it was time to find out.

Aboard the UNSC Infinity, 50,000 kilometers from local Relay, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 15:27

It had nearly been an hour as the four of them sat in complete silence. Eight of these 'Spartans' including the famed Master Chief surrounded them, watching their every move.

They were as still as statues. They might've been communicating with one another through the helmet. Shepard wasn't sure. It was hard to tell.

The Commander wondered what Lord Hood and Captain Lasky were doing in there. The Illusive Man's hologram was there for only a moment, then it was deactivated. Afterwards, once the bridge doors closed, the Commander thought he heard yelling, even behind the metal doors. It quickly stopped.

Lord Hood didn't even bother to look at them, as if they were beneath him. He wore the traditional, old school styled white naval dress uniform trimmed with shining gold and added futuristic upgrades, such as the shoulder guards and deltoid covers that displayed rank. He had a white naval cap with the long gone ancient seal of the original United States Navy, altered to fit the UNSC.

Not only that, but it was weird to see these strange super soldiers, the Spartans follow his direct command. Followed him.

After the possible yelling, it was nothing but a quiet silence. Sailors still stood further down the hall, at rest. The faint echoed sounds of their conversations masked the hum of the ship.

As for the crew, Tali had learned how to sleep while standing up. A skill Shepard mastered long ago to maintain his sanity through basic. Garrus kept his eyes on her. Didn't even bother to watch out for the Spartans. It was no use paying attention to them. By their size alone they could crush them. The capabilities they had that Shepard witnessed...not even Liara could stop them.

Maybe tech attack was the way to go.

Either way, they were stuck here. Shepard and Liara tried to stay awake and maintain full alert in the event something would...happen. But as every second passed it proved harder and harder. Sleep, rest, food, a warm shower was so close. But it wasn't here yet.

Liara made use of her time. Under a…indirect permission from the Spartans, she was able to access her Omni-tool and communicate with Specialist Traynor to send a summary report to Fleet Admiral Hackett.

She explained it would be the better choice to send it to him first. It was his original op order anyways. Sending it directly to the Citadel Council, subtly telling them that Admiral Hackett went over their heads, was...troublesome. Hackett will decide if it was worth sending to the Council or blind jumping them in public to forcefully quell their...egotism.

Whichever was the best decision that'll ease the Council's mind, Shepard will support it. He could imagine them in a panic right now. The public asking questions, trying to see what's happening and the Citadel not having the answers. He wondered how many times they tried to contact him.

Liara sent the report nearly forty-five minutes ago. Since then it was just silence and boredom, with the crew left with nothing but their thoughts...unfortunately. About their loved ones, the war... How it's still raging on and they were sitting here.

That's what the Commander always thought about at least. Shepard successfully ignored his own mind this time by studying the Spartans' armor. The scratches, dents, dirt and grim, personal decorations be it tiny white marks of the number of kills or a green gillie mesh that surrounded one of the Spartans' neck plating. Each armor design was unique, specialized as if to the individual's personal design and taste. Different plating styles, helmets, and color scheme.

A bit similar to N7 soldiers or Citadel Spectres. A large degree to decorate and alter armor to fit their needs, be to achieve a mission objective or satisfy personal taste. But no genetic modifications beyond some of the standard muscle and nervous system restructuring to make them more suited to techno or biotic combat.

It's interesting to think how the UNSC and their special forces, and Citadel Spectres and N7 Marines differed from Spartan special forces. Direct front combat, very different from standard procedures and objectives. Shepard was sure they weren't adept to recon and infiltration.

Some occupying thoughts.

It was in the middle of those distracting thoughts that the bridge doors finally opened up behind the Master Chief. He stepped out of the way, and Captain Lasky stepped out.

"Lord Hood wants to see you." The Captain said. A small nod, hopefully a gesture that things were alright.

It seemed like the Infinity was Lord Hood's ship now. The Captain guided them in his own bridge to his own holo-table. Lord Hood was standing at the end. A dark, menacing orange light from the holographic ships covered his uniform. Lasky took his place on his right side.

"Well…" Liara whispered to him as she walked forward. "It's better than dealing with the Krogans."

"So far," Shepard replied.

Shepard stopped at the door and did what he had done when he first saw the five white stars and the four gold bars and single star above it. He saluted him. His crew surrounded him. The only protection from the outer world.

The doors closed behind them, leaving all the Spartans outside. Lord Hood nodded at ease and the Commander walked forward to the holo-table.

"Sir…" Commander Shepard began. The militaristic respect indoctrinated during basic training reintroduced itself after nearly months. "Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy, commanding officer of the SSV Normandy-"

"N7 special forces and member of the Citadel Spectre special forces," Lord Hood finished for him, arms crossed. He turned to the crew. "Doctor Liara T'Soni, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya vas Normandy, and Garrus Vakarian. I already read your manifests in the report Captain Lasky sent to me.

"You already know who I am," Lord Hood continued. He turned to Liara. Looks like Lasky listed who was the political one. "The current question is this proposed alliance, and your current relationship with the Illusive Man and Cerberus. We discussed this with him, now it's your turn."

"...You were talking to the Illusive Man?" Shepard said. It didn't even bother him that Lord Hood gave an improper, hasty introduction, it was just mentioning him. Shepard couldn't help himself. He could feel Liara's hand again, and also her hardened glare aimed right at Shepard that could burn a hole through a Reaper.

Now wasn't the time. Hold it together.

"Frankly, Commander, we did and the details of that negotiation do not concern you. What does however, is you trying to convince the United Nations Space Command to pick your side, if we should even pick a side at all," Lord Hood responded. Shepard could sense the hints of rising anger and impatience

The Commander felt like he was an enlisted sailor again, being chewed out by a senior NCO merely because he forgot a small, unneeded protocol in formation or the folded covers of his bed were slightly off.

Oh God. That was bringing back some rather suppressed memories. Shepard felt like he had to give a report now and stuttering at nearly every other word.

He learned a little from Liara over the years, if anything. This was an act. Maybe a test? Shepard had his rank displayed on his collar, inferior to the highest title in the Navy. If Lord Hood knew Shepard and his crew, then he must know the surface of personalities Lasky had observed. Including, unfortunately, some of Shepard's outbursts. Lord Hood was testing him… Under pressure, to see if it was just the Illusive Man causing all these problems.

He wasn't fully sure.

"Then we won't focus on Cerberus." Liara said before the Commander could say something. "I'll be honest, in this solar system alone our analysts believed it would've fallen in less than two months were it not for the arrival of the UNSC fleets. That's how this war is. It isn't a question of whether we can hold a solar system, it's when we'll lose it."

Lord Hood nodded, "I won't pretend we don't understand the position you're in. But the UNSC are concerned with our own."

"And do you mean all of Humanity or just the people under your jurisdiction?"

"Maybe we should establish what is defined as our jurisdiction. If I understand, this has presented itself as a problem in the past."

Liara nodded. "That would be wise. If-"

"That would be something best discussed with your superiors," Lord Hood interrupted.

Liara was dumbstruck for a moment. "Uh...Okay. Admiral Hackett originally ordered our being here. He's head of current military operations within the galactic theater."

Lord Hood motioned for her to continue. She activated her Omni-tool and started typing in commands.

Moment of truth. Shepard wondered how Admiral Hackett would respond. It would be nearly impossible to believe there was another arm of humanity out there in the galaxy. It was something you'd have to see with your own eyes in a similar fashion as the Reapers.

Well, it wasn't the Council. God only knows how he'll have to smooth it over with them.

It was his job to find a way.

"I'll link your comms. Just press the button whenever you're ready," Roland said, standing on the far corner of the holo-table next to Lord Hood.

She nodded, and hesitated before pressing the link button.

The display of ships and planets disappeared, replaced with a small bright blue circle glowing in intervals to a beeping rhythm.

It was broadcasted from the Normandy QEC. Little shards of dark blue and black materialized and formed into a person who walked into view.

Fleet Admiral Hackett appeared with the same golden bars over his shoulder guards as Lord Hood along with an outlining fifth gold bar. A golden seal of the Systems Alliance was at the front of his cap and upper right chest. A dark blue uniform trimmed with a darker shining gold.

He was facing the crew. His voice echoed throughout the bridge, "Commander Shepard? Doctor T'Soni? I just received your report a half hour ago. What the hell is going on? We've received thousands of confused, garble assessments from Alliance troops and Illium Defense Force soldiers. We've been trying to reach you all morning. What happened?"

Maybe it was instinctive. Shepard wasn't sure. But Captain Lasky saw the gold bars and…

"ADMIRAL ON DECK!" The Captain yelled. Lasky and Roland both stood at attention and saluted. The rest of the bridge crew, who at this point only pretended to be working, stopped whatever they were doing and saluted. Lord Hood still remained with his arms crossed.

Admiral Hackett turned around, caught off guard.

Lasky stood at ease. He spoke, "Captain Thomas J. Lasky. Commanding Officer of the United Nations Space Command Infinity. The ship's Artificial Intelligence, Roland." He motioned to the AI. The AI waved at him.

Hackett must've been...immensely shocked. Only for a moment did he let emotions overcome him. He gathered himself after a second, remaining calm and collective. The grim face resided.

"And you must be this Lord Hood I've read about in the report." Admiral Hackett said.

"Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett." Lord Hood did the respectful thing. He saluted him. Didn't stand at attention. Just the casual salute for the same rank.

Hackett did the same thing. A profound respect for rank alone that's prevalent throughout nearly every military.

Captain Lasky led Shepard and his crew off to the side, away from the holo-table. The crew slowly and subtly followed, keeping their eyes on the fleet admirals.

...

It was strange. Lord hood made the sudden change of tactics seem so easy, switching from one personality to another.

Maybe it was an easy thing to do with Shepard and his crew. Inherently, they were subordinates. They would pretty much do whatever the UNSC asked. So they'd lay over and take this abuse.

However with one of their actual superiors present Lasky wondered how Lord Hood would handle this. Just by looking at him, Hackett didn't seem like he'd dodge and slithering his way through like the Illusive Man. No. The decades of military experience and command wouldn't allow that.

"I understand you're originally the one to send this team to make contact with the United Nations," Lord Hood said. "Exploration and Contact seems to be beyond the military's capacity."

"With the Reapers, we've ran out of options." Hackett responded. "Ever since the collapse of Systems Alliance Military Command, I've assumed command of whatever remains of our military forces. As Commander Shepard gathered more allies, they've also been placed under my command."

"I think for this one we're off to the sidelines." Lasky whispered, still paying attention to the two. Roland had his hands behind his back and looked a little bored

"Mere observers." Liara said.

"You place a lot of trust in Commander Shepard," Hood said to Admiral Hackett, he looked to the Commander for a second. "I can see why. He seems competent."

"Well, he led us this far. And continues to do so," Hackett said. "Without him, our armies would be fragmented and divided trying to fight the Reapers on their own."

"And I guess that makes us his latest catch?"

"If that's how you see it," Hackett replied. He opened up a holo-screen and looked through the reports. "If I'm reading this correctly, you're considering an alliance with Cerberus. That would be a grave mistake."

"So we've been told. I am more of a particular mind if this situation has any concern at all with the United Nations Space Command than an alliance with the Citadel Council and Systems Alliance, or Cerberus."

"If Commander Shepard or Doctor T'Soni haven't mentioned it before, the Reapers won't stop at us. Eventually, once they finish with us they will turn on you," Hackett said.

Lasky was correct. Admiral Hackett wasn't going to try to appease the UNSC like Shepard and his crew or use subtlety and hidden double meanings to relay messages like the Illusive Man. He was direct.

"If necessary," Lord Hood said, "we'll be able to deal with that threat when the time comes."

"Don't think so highly of yourself yet. The UNSC has only pushed back a small Reaper detachment sent to secure a strategically minor solar system. While you certainly possess plenty of firepower it's only when we combine our forces, we have a chance of beating back the Reapers."

"Actually, sir…." Roland began.

Captain Lasky stepped forward and cleared his throat. The two Fleet Admirals turned his attention to him. He stopped in his tracks for a second. It was kind of startling.

Lasky knew what Roland was going to say. He'd probably just received the report a few seconds ago. "...We've taken control of the planetary surface of the garden world. And it's confirmed we've pushed out the last Reaper strongholds in the solar system.

"This system is secured."

Roland nodded. Spot on. Admiral Hackett crossed his arms. He stroked his small grey beard. "This...is the first time in this war, in these six months, that the Reapers have been pushed back. This is the first victory against the Reapers…."

It didn't show on his face, but the Admiral was astonished. Mezmorized. Jesus, it wasn't a major victory strategically, but morale would sky rocket. Lasky could see it now. They'll turn this victory into a propagandic change of the tide in the war. A rallying cry.

Not anything the UNSC or any other losing nation had done before. The only problem was, it was a UNSC led victory. Anyone else, even Commander Shepard, barely had anything to do with it.

"Our victory," Lord Hood added. "If anything, this only proves we can handle the Reaper threat."

Hackett was removed from hopeful thoughts. "I'll admit you're better able to take them on than we are, however I still stand that the Reapers will push you back to the brink if you try to stand alone."

"And we've learned to survive on the brink. How would an alliance make it any different?"

Admiral Hackett sighed, as if he was already tired of the political discussions. "Because you would be helping us! We would ask you to provide front line combat troops and ships, logistical supply lines and rear echelon units, materials, and possibly economic support-"

"You want us to provide everything… You want us to fully commit," Lord Hood finished. "This would be a drastic undertaking by the UNSC. It may not seem like it but we have other threats to deal with. You're asking us to proceed with a full campaign, to-"

"Go to war." Hackett interrupted. "I've been honest. When we want an alliance, we don't want a part time ally. We would want your full commitment. Your ships are the only thing that can withstand the Reapers while they tear through most of our battleships and Dreadnaughts like paper."

"So we would be the bulk of your combat force. The meat?"

"That doesn't mean we would send you without support. Our forces have been cut off from one another, and the Reapers have bogged them down. Our solar theaters have become mostly localized."

"We would be a relief force?" Lord Hood said.

"If you join us, your forces would be pivotal. If I'm reading this correctly…" Hackett moved some figures on the holo-screen. "Securing this system has already freed up eight Alliance frigates, plus a full subfleet of remodified civilian and merchant ships, numerous ground troops and Asari commando platoons and possibly a refugee world if we can keep it secured."

It was interesting to think. Lasky and Shepard and his crew pretty much spent the first hour gawking over each other and the whole miraculous, unbelievable situation. Admiral Hackett and Lord Hood just went straight into it. The best thing these two know: military strategy. Not even political discussion or theory.

And watching this… Lord Hood and the Illusive Man was like watching two masterful chess players trying to get the slightest advantage over each other. Moving their pieces into the precise position in a pattern of attack then defend. Here, it was two three-hundred pound linemen going at it one on one. Two walls, and the winner would be whichever one was strongest.

Lasky glanced back to Shepard and the crew… The white lights in Tali's visor, which Lasky assumed were eyes, were completely gone. He noticed her body was swaying slightly back and forth. Garrus looked bored out of his mind and tried to preoccupy himself with the little details of his own armor, comparing it with the naval uniforms.

Liara and Shepard were watching intently. Liara whispered something into Shepard's ear. The Commander nodded adamantly while still keeping his eyes on the two admirals. He whispered something back and Liara did the same thing.

"That's a big if, Admiral. This strategy is to keep pushing to secure more solar systems, relieve more forces to continue their fight," Lord Hood said. "A strategy that overtime would prove to be extremely costly, which I assume we would continue until you finish the Crucible and find this Catalyst?"

"As I said, you won't fight without support. I'll provide anything and anyone with a gun willing to fight. We've already faced tremendous losses, and are willing to sacrifice more to ensure the Reapers are defeated. I understand since the Reapers have not directly attacked you you do not share this sentiment-"

"I'd be more willing if it weren't for two things," Lord Hood said. His respect for the rank seemed to be wavering. "If we decide to join you in this fight, to go to war, the UNSC will not be subjected to your command. Our fleets, our ground troops, will remain autonomous and under the direct authority of UNSC High Command and I."

"If that's how the arrangement is going to be, you and I both know that won't last five minutes," Hackett said.

"And how does it work then, with the external forces you control?" Lord Hood ordered.

"The same as during the Second World War. I've essentially been elected as Supreme Allied Commander. While alien commanders remain in charge of their chalks, they answer to me. I direct the overall strategy and movement."

Lord Hood didn't say anything. He looked to Captain Lasky.

The UNSC wasn't going to relinquish control to anyone outside the UNSC, not even to an overarching government. The UNSC only trusted ourselves (mostly) and ourselves only.

What Admiral Hackett was talking about was a combined military alliance, unlike the Illusive Man. Maybe Lasky didn't want to admit it, but he did envision the UNSC to be leading this and no one else. This was unexpected.

Having two equals, two managers, two people calling the shots, simply doesn't work from a military standpoint. Yes, HIGHCOM was an odd follower to this rule with one-hundred-seventeen of Humanity's best officers placed in control of strategically vital positions. (That's why it contained some lower ranking officers, such as Admiral Osman or Captain Lasky.) These people are usually in charge of highly important departments, be it logistical planning (NavLogCom), strategic decision making (UNICOM), civilian-military relationships (PERSCOM), and so on. Admittedly, it got complex and redundant with all the acronyms. It didn't help there were dozens of subordinate subgroups such as for naval fleet strategic decisions (FLEETCOM), or naval special warfare (NAVSPECWAR) and...the commandments of the other branches such as the Chief of Staff for the Army, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Air Force Commanding Chief.

It wasn't hidden that the Navy held all the power. But in the end, most reigning commanders have authority over their own departments, working in accordance with one another. And in turn they advise Lord Hood for the lack of a better term. Anything major ended up in his lap for him to give the go ahead or not. And HIGHCOM vocally gives their approval or disapproval, and determines how efficiently their departments would run for a campaign they support or didn't support

Lord Hood spoke. "Admiral, I am sure your abilities are substantial, but you will not have command over UNSC assets."

"Sir…" Lasky finally got to say. "If you still work for a civilian government, Admiral Hackett, maybe they'll help us decide this matter."

Yes. Lasky was trying to maneuver to the Citadel Council. If Lasky could imagine, this form of...republic or democracy, or whatever, would undoubtedly have some level of incompetence. If a civilian government still somehow managed to stay alive in these trying times that meant they were some sort of symbol of hope for the populace, or they were capable of handling a type of situation like this.

"The Citadel Council," Liara interjected. "It's the last remaining, fully operational civilian government. The Citadel, a massive space station, is one of the few last secure refuges in the galaxy. That's where we've been sending most refugee evacuations and also pooled non-essential military assets at that location."

"All that on a space station?" Roland asked.

"Well, it's forty-five kilometers in width, thirteen kilometers in diameter." Liara said, on point. "As you know, like the Relays...they were built by the Reapers. They were supposedly designed to enact as a massive Relay so the Reapers would ambush us before Shepard stopped it. Now, it's one of our major strongholds."

Diameter? What was this, a ring? If it were five years ago that would be the largest non-natural object the UNSC had ever encountered. Shock and surprise. But with everything Humanity had gone through, the Citadel seemed...trivial, Lasky guessed. Certainly not pathetic, but certainly not impressive.

Still, it must've been more than a little cramped trying to fit hundreds of thousands of refugees on a single space station. He wondered how'd they survived for so long. Logistics must've been a nightmare.

"So you answer to the Citadel Council, Fleet Admiral?" Lord Hood said, before Liara could say anything more.

"I originally answered to the Alliance Admiralty, and in turn they answered to the Systems Alliance government. As you probably already know they've all been wiped out. The last highest military ranking officers are me, and Admiral David Anderson who's stuck on Earth leading the resistance movement against the Reaper occupation."

"It sounds like to me you're in the position of loyalist France during the Second World War." Hood said.

"Except all of humanity is leading this initiative," Admiral Hackett said. "We do have one remaining government member left. Councilor Udina, one of the members of the Citadel Council. While technically he has absolute authority over the Alliance military, he has given me a large degree of independence while he continues to run our colonies and try to maintain whatever economic stability we have left."

"So there was no warning the Reapers would strike at Earth? Nothing to prepare yourselves?" Lord Hood said.

Shepard stepped forward and spoke. "I think we said it before to Captain Lasky… No one would believe us, and I at least couldn't blame them. Within less than three hours, the Reapers cut off the Mars and Luna colonies and were right on top of us. No one was prepared."

The Reapers struck at the heart. Strategically, it was smart. An unprepared, uncaring enemy carrying on as if life were normal…. That problem wouldn't even exist if they kept the location of their Earth a secret…

Lord Hood shook his head. He probably read up on the bulk of the story. No one had believed the Commander in an era of galactic instability.

"Is it the same on every homeworld?" Lord Hood ordered.

"We were the first largest targets hit by the Reapers. That, and the Batarian homeworlds." Hackett said. "The rest of the galaxy finally woke up and realized what was going on. Shepard's crew was already spread across the galaxy trying to prepare as best as possible… When the invasion finally came, the galactic governments did everything they could to get ready in a few weeks while Earth was burning, while we bought them time. But….whether that actually the majority of alien militaries are bogged down."

"And you've been leading the forefront," Lord Hood said.

"As best we can." Hackett responded. "...We still haven't figured out how to solve this question power. Nor have you told me the second problem of this alliance."

"If one of us isn't willing to let go of their positions, I don't think we'll be able to figure it out now," Lord Hood said. Hackett reluctantly nodded in agreement. "The second problem I wanted to talk about is that Shepard reported that you're not really sure what the Crucible does. Is that true?"

"It is."

"While you're willing to sacrifice your lives as such, the UNSC is not. By firing that weapon, you are putting Humanity at risk. We need to find out what this Crucible does, and acquire backup plan if need be in case we find out it's something we don't like."

"How do you propose that? We're going to hold out to finish the Crucible" Hackett asked, a little hostile. "There is no backup plan. This is all we got. We will destroy the Reapers, and if that means taking all of us with them then so be it."

"We won't allow that!" Lord Hood said.

That sparked a wave of silence. Even during the worst of the Great War, Humanity's objective was to survive by any means necessary. They weren't going to haphazardly fire the Rings like the Forerunners one-hundred-thousand years ago.

Lasky noticed something in the corner of his eye. Liara seemed to tap Shepard's hand, as if to wake him up. Shepard gulped, turned to Lord Hood, still in parade rest, "then that's why we need your help, sir. With your support we can fight a conventional war as best we can. At least hold the Reapers off until we find more information about the Crucible, discover the Catalyst, or discover a better solution. We can still find a way to destroy the Reapers."

"If destroying them is even the better option," Lord Hood said. He still looked to Admiral Hackett. "But the UNSC cannot make a clear choice if you don't have more evidence. And we certainly won't make a decision based on emotion.

"Both of your reasons are the same to us: simple ideas. Even the majority of Cerberus' actions were understandable. Justified. We've been in their position before -and I'll be the first to admit it- we have committed far worse acts."

Captain Lasky looked to the floor. If only Shepard knew the truth...about the Spartans. The measures the UNSC took to build this ship and kept it a secret for so long. The atrocities they had to commit against their own populations in line to starve off the rebels. Sacrificing entire colonies in order to trick the Covenant and buy Humanity more time. The planets they abandoned and left behind, or...completely destroyed with nuclear and nova bombs, and heavy MAC bombardments.

The UNSC was no stranger to horror. It made it hard to see a silver lining. But unlike the Illusive Man, they shouldn't embrace it. They should just know what they've done. That sometimes, they were no better than the enemy. But at least they survived.

Maybe because of that, the Captain could connect to Commander Shepard and his crew better. He could give the proper respect to Admiral Hackett than with the Illusive Man. And…

It wasn't something to hide, Lasky's been told up front. During his time at New Harmony Naval Training Academy, he originally wanted an intelligence job. Apparently his psych profile destroyed any dream of that. It turned out to be a good thing. Lasky wasn't fond of the idea of an extreme moral grey area. At least one where the right decision and the wrong decision became equals. It was a biased hindsight, but he preferred the direct, clear military action of the UNSC Navy. Where everything was clear. Where intentions were clear.

That's where the UNSC needed to differentiate themselves. Don't try to justify actions, just... admit they're wrong.

...Could that be the underlying reason Lasky didn't see eye to eye with the Illusive Man?

"We've lost...hundreds of thousands of lives," Hackett said, "to build the Crucible. The hope of the survival of our galaxy resides in it. It is the combined effort of the entire galaxy. To stall it, to..find better options is to kill it."

"Is it because the public knows about it?" Roland asked.

"We leaked that we're designing a super weapon to eliminate the Reapers." Liara answered… Lasky for the first time noticed she was also at parade rest. On accident more so than on purpose. "And purposely left to the public to speculate. Beyond that, it's airtight. It's received the reaction you might expect. A sliver of light in the darkness. Skepticism that it's a lie to maintain that sliver so the galaxy won't go into a panic."

"So the Citadel Council is the one maintaining it?" Lord Hood said.

"Without them this project would've died long ago," Admiral Hackett replied. "They run the funds, provide the materials, and supplies… I merely control the project."

"What you're saying is we have to go directly to the Council to discuss this?" Lord Hood ordered.

Admiral Hackett sighed, then nodded grimly. Lasky noticed that Liara looked a tad bit nervous, contrary to her calm and level-headed demeanor. The slight uncomfortableness on her face, slightly chewing her lip.

Very...Human reactions. Lasky had to get used to that. He wondered why she was reacting like this. Was it something about the Council?

"If it's the Citadel Council," Liara said, "it's a lengthy, calculated procedure filled with diplomatic and decontamination protocols. We could schedule a meeting on the Citadel-"

"We'll talk to them here. Now." Lord Hood interrupted.

"Uh…" She was looking a bit scared. "Well, I'm not sure if the Council will just-"

"We're the only faction that has any capabilities of stopping the squids," Lord Hood said. "They will talk to us."

Liara hesitated. She brought up her little orange glowing comm thing. She only stared at Lord Hood, as if he was making a tragic mistake.

She slowly typed in commands. Carefully. She linked their secondary QEC to the Infinity's holo-table.