WTF even is college. Jfc.
ugh.
so yeah, took longer than I thought because of life and now college which is like holy god
dear lord.
so sorry for the delay. next update should come soon. I'm already working on that.
Also now fanfic servers are broke like the mcdonald's ice cream machine.
So...i hope you guys are able to read this chapter.
fucking tight.
REVIEWS:
1529: That's actually...kinda a interesting point/interpretation. Your first point I'll address in the story in later chapters (probably really soon). The second point will be explained soon. The third point...doesn't make sense. I never wrote about a desertion. Unless you're talking about Romeo or the marines bitching or complaining...which trust me, it ugh...if you've done this it makes sense. If you're a veteran, at least a senior lance, it makes sense. Guard duty is fucking stupid. But desertion? I never...put that in. So I'm not really sure what you mean on that last point.
Guest (jan 28): You know how much maintenance goes into rifles? it just seems primitive considering it's 500 years in the future.
Prince Sheogorath: yes there'll be consequences. It will all be explained.
Elim Garak: I try my best. I need a beta, mate. Also, at the very least in the words of all staff sergeants, staff ncos and general, and officers in the United States Marine Corps (can't speak for the other branches): fuck your coffee and your chairs. Figure it the fuck out.
OmegaInfinitia: rah, soldier.
DireProhpet: I know. Don't worry.
nickbana1989: I know the military structure. In the future with a much larger force I've taken the 'liberty' of structuring it a bit differently than our modern military.
I'm running on 2 hours of sleep. SO ENJOY GUYS.
Aboard Citadel Space Station
Sixty-three lights years from Draco III
2557 Military Calendar, 08:31
"Did you guys lose your lieutenant too?" A lance corporal asked to another lance corporal. He shouldered his DMR and quietly sighed.
"Yeah, dude. Our platoon is fucking trash. Our L.T is drunk half the time and fucking pisses of our staff sergeant, then he takes it out on us by making us police-call the same fucking hanger and then we always miss some-fucking-thing, then we have to do it again. It's fucking bullshit. We barely even train."
"That's fucking tight, dude. Our detachment ain't that great. But our L.T is pretty fucking lit, dude. Helped one of our guys outta a ninja punch from battalion and likes to fuck with the staff NCOs that like to fuck with us. And he can do it too cause he ain't some dumb boot, butterbar motherfucker. Fought with the Chief in the War then mustanged. He's squared away, man. Anyway, L.T loves fucking correcting our staff sergeants on full fucking blast in front of everyone. Fuck, some motarded junior corporal tried to fuck with us, 'stand at parade rest', 'proper greeting of the day'. He got all in our faces like a fucking D.I. L.T came in out of fucking nowhere, fucking ordered him straight up to take off his backings so he can pin him. 'Proper promotion ceremony'. "
"He did fucking not…"
"Dude, man, there was fucking blood dripping down his uniform."
"He felt our pain once, man. That's tight, man." The lance corporal said. "So how the fuck is your unit not that great?"
"Because, mate, everyone E-five ta E-seven in yar battalion wants to kill me and my men." Dubbo said. He had to essentially drag Romeo to a small makeshift safe area staged in some sorta outdoor plaza with picnic tables and benches overlooking a river that ran through the Presidium. He let go of Romeo and he dropped to the ground. There was a thud as metal armor hit the floor. "Take care of him."
"Rah, sir." They both said.
Dubbo sighed, readjusted the sling on his rifle. Oui. He didn't like to remember his time as a second lieutenant. Those were….times that he dished out too much payback for his days as a junior marine. Learned it really didn't help his image as an XO. At the very least though, he made the junior corporals, NCOs and Staff NCOs learn very, very fast that embarrassing and fucking with their men isn't a good way to lead despite what they think. And not wearing brown socks or getting a haircut every week ain't the end of the fucking world, or more importantly the Marine Corps.
Dubbo was a combat vet. By definition he didn't give a fuck. His leadership at the end of the day was get the job done, do it well, look out for each other, and go home when all the work was done. Rinse, wash, repeat. How the way it should be. Unfortunately, the Corps doesn't deal with that sorta philosophy well during peacetime.
For better or worse it seemed peacetime was ending though.
He looked around the place. There were few shops and outdoor restaurants nearby with hallways covered in glass panels. Various advertisements in bright green and blue alien lettering were on each panel. It seemed the marines cleared it out of any people and established a FOB, which was merely just a makeshift perimeter with a comm station in the center manned by a couple men.
Dubbo saw someone pop up from behind the station. Major Stacker took off his helmet. He looked to Romeo on the floor as the two marines dragged him off to probably see a corpsman.
"And what the hell happened?" Stacker asked.
"We underestimated the population's alcoholic capabilities…" Dubbo replied. He took off his helmet and let in the fresh air. It was temperate, cool. Christ, shit didn't even seem filtered that's how clean it was.
Stacker didn't say anything. The two ODSTs dragging Romeo disappeared behind some sort of coffee shop.
"Right…" Stacker turned to the radio comms and motioned for Dubbo to joined them. The two overlooked a small strategic map of the Presidium on a comm display. It outlined the Spartans' and Marines' progress so far. They've established some decent FOBs and outposts, with multiple MSRs and VIP lines so any enemy that had the balls to try and do something wouldn't know which route they were taking. All they had to do now was plot all those routes directly to the Council chambers, and plan out for decoys when Lord Hood and some other admiralty figures arrive.
Then someone else can take it over while Dubbo and everyone else head off to the bar.
"I'd figure we should do the safety brief now. A decent portion of the men are already here. Whoever isn't can be filled in by their staff NCOs." Stacker said. Dubbo nodded. It made sense.
"Before you tell these blokes, what's exactly gonna be the setup?" Dubbo asked.
"Well, now that I'm clearly thinking after a few cups of coffee, sobered up without morning anger, this is a very, very stupid idea." Stacker replied.
Dubbo didn't disagreed. He only shrugged, letting Stacker continue. "There's about six-hundred marines in the Infinity ODST detachment, and Buck's letting off the guys who got the shit assignments on Illium in the nineteenth.
"We're gonna need all our officers on deck, and our meanest staff ncos on duty. We got some Army up and ready, so I'm sure their love of the Marine Corps will really play well into things."
Great. Even when everyone is getting off Dubbo was still on duty. What the hell? He wasn't angry at Stacker, it wasn't his fault at all. He was just pissed that he had to be dragged again and sit there while everyone else got to do their own shit. No. Fuck that.
No wonder why Romeo drank. Dubbo was almost inclined to do the same.
"This is gonna be a fucking disaster, ain't it?" Dubbo said, putting those thoughts aside. Stacker also didn't disagree. "What are our biggest worries?"
"Well, the alcohol is our biggest concern...Since it's seemed to fuck Romeo up, it ain't gonna be purtty." Yet if they try to limit the alcohol consumption or ban it completely...it wouldn't do much. "Next up is unwanted pregnancies…It's the usual everytime we're allowed R and R, Chip."
Yeah. True enough. The only difference was now everyone was gonna be surrounded by aliens and weird drinks in fancier nightclubs, making the situation arguably a lot wore.
"How many NJPs you think there'll be?" Dubbo asked.
"Too goddamn many."
Yeah.
This was gonna suck
…
Roland finished explaining the situation a little while ago, after that he disappeared to do whatever he was assigned to. Lord Hood also left. Something urgent from Captain Lasky came up and he had to deal with it, leaving Captain Florence alone on the hospital bed.
He couldn't fall asleep, just stayed up thinking about everything that's happened. He felt better but he was still groggy and his head hurt like a motherfucker. He tried to gain his bearings, the senses in his body. His legs felt weird. His back was numb, but...he was alive.
For now it seemed.
While his physical senses might be numb, he could just feel it. Feel it all around him. Even if the Infinity and Battle Group Dakota didn't station itself near this Citadel for diplomatic meetings, he could feel it.
The UNSC was readying for war. War was inevitable. Maybe not to the scale as the Great War, but close enough.
They were at a point where it was unavoidable. All because he decided to go through the goddamn gate.
There's a point that he kept blaming himself that it only became a numb, annoying pain. This was real. It was happening. And it was happening to him.
He never imagined himself to get involved in such a mess that lead all the way to UNSC High Command. Jesus. Worse off, there's a possibility he'll be cast off aside. Discarded as a broken thing. He was too much of a target in this strange, quiet pseudo-civil war.
As he thought about it he was wrong. The UNSC had already been at war. That's what this power struggle was: A war between the various competing factions of the UNSC. It was repressed for so long, kept hidden and considered unimportant due to the external threats that wanted to see the end of Mankind. But now, it could no longer be held off. Too much had happened. Even the presence of a oncoming war seemed to only fuel the internal violence.
But why? Admiral Osman her goddamn self said they were trying to do their original job, to protect Humanity at any and all costs. When the war comes, against the Reapers and whoever else, the UNSC will need the Office of Naval Intelligence, as much as they don't like each other.
Something bigger than this war was going on.
ONI knew about God's Key...the Legend After was lead here by Admiral Osman. Did they wanted this war to happen? That's what it seemed like. Of course, something had to mess up along the way. Something had to. Why did they go into hiding? Why go through such open acts of complete desperation?
"And what makes you are target?" A croaked voice said. Scratchy, horse, as if the throat was made of sandpaper.
Florence was caught completely off guard. His heart skipped a beat. At first he thought it was his own imagination. He looked around the room, trying to find a source of whatever just spoke.
What the fuck was that?
Captain Florence wasn't sure if he should say something….
"You can speak you know." Another voice said. It was that of a young woman. A slight asian accent. Mark couldn't tell where it came from. He couldn't tell if they were even real.
What the fuck was going on now?
"What the fuck…?" Mark was barely able to say. It still hurt to speak. It felt like needles were in his throat being tossed around.
Something moved. It was a blur that distorted light. Translucent, and… Mark thought he could make the outline of two humanoid-like figures.
"Why would the Shadow Broker lead us to you?" The rough voice said. "What do you know about the Crucible?"
"Who the fuck are you?" Mark said. He slowly and painfully edged back on the bed. His back against the wall. He tried to keep it together.
"I could ask you the same question." The rough voiced figure said. "We're nearly confused as you are."
Mark reached down to his hip...then realized he didn't have a pistol with him. He felt sweat roll down his skin.
He was about to yell something, until he heard something click. Metals smoothly gliding against other metals and electronic beeping noises. It quickly stopped. One of the translucent figure moved next to his bedside. Mark could see blue squares shimmering, surrounding what must've been the figure's hand. The invisible shroud slowly faded away around the hand, revealing a white pistol.
"Don't." The Asian voice said, closer now.
Mark tried eyeing around for a button or anything to call security. There was a small red one integrated into the table next to the medical bed. They had to know it was there. They were watching his movement.
"So how are we going to handle this?" The asian voice asked.
Aboard SSV Normandy medbay, Citadel Station, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 08:41
She felt...disgusting.
The kevlar reinforced gear and armax guards were in a messy pile on the floor. Her armor underlays were stuck to her skin, glued on by sweat and dried blood. Her hair was at this point a blob of grease coated in dirt. Her skin was nearly blackened, covered in cuts and bruises.
Despite the injury and the exhaustion, she still couldn't sleep. She was alert...at least for now. She doubt she'll remember anything in the next...half hour or so once Doctor Chakwas puts in the sedatives and does her thing.
Not that Miranda doesn't trust her, she was still just...shaky she guessed. Her back was against the wall as she laid on the medical bed, all weapons on condition one.
It was also strange to think she was back here...after only eight months. It felt unreal. Eight months ago felt like another lifetime. The room was sterile white. Machinery and tech organized into little sections. A window view to the outside crew area. The medbay had been updated with new state of the art Alliance tech with some modifications to accommodate alien anatomy most likely added by...Mordin when he was aboard about three months ago.
She sighed…
…
Opened her eyes again. Her left leg jolted as if it were forcing the rest of her body to wake up. Her heart was racing. She pulled out her Phalanx block. It unfolded into the weapon…
She had fallen asleep.
She didn't even remember closing her eyes. Didn't remember letting herself slip into dreams.
Christ. She really was that tired. She had to remember she'd been through a lot in the past week… Right.
God though. She sorted her thoughts, trying to remember all the files stolen from Cerberus. All the secrets. All the unknowns. She trusted Cerberus, believed in Cerberus, believed in the continuity and advancement of Mankind, whatever the cost... In a way, she still believed in those ideas. Not as zealous or xenophobic as before, but to at least see Humanity had a place in this galaxy. To see us safe and thrive in peace.
Cerberus was supposed to represent everything of those beliefs. Unfortunately, she placed the perfect, infallible nature of beliefs into the organization trying to uphold it.
But not only was Cerberus impure, it was beyond corruption. At its very core.
Hopefully the Alliance was now analyzing those stolen files, able to determine more than she would've been able too.
SHe just hoped it was worth her sister.
She let the weapon slowly fold itself as she holstered it.
'Halo'... Whatever it was, Cerberus will probably do everything in their power to hide it. To erase its very existence from all their databases.
Miranda opened up her Omni-tool, switched to a extranet channel. Citadel News Network. Nearly every last article and story was on the arrival of the UNSC. Pictures of soldiers and marines setting up supply lines, standing guard. There were walls of text describing what might happen at the public council meeting. How everything will go, prediction, impact on the Reaper War. All positive. All delusional.
She clicked on another article. The majority of the pictures on this one was of a man in some variation of a Alliance uniform. It was bright, clean white with outlines and etches of gold and onyx black. Badges and ribbons of various colors over the heart. Golden laurels dressed his left shoulder. A white cap with a shield over two crossed anchors… Who was he...Captain Lasky? Lasky. Well, news were going crazy over him. Detailed descriptions on how a second branch of humanity was even possible, what this means for the Systems Alliance. So on, so forth. Again, a little too optimistic.
Goddamn she needed to get back out there.
It shouldn't take too long for her to heal up. A couple bruised ribs were probably the worse thing. That shouldn't take too long. She'll be back in the fight soon enough. If Shepard was trying to deal with Cerberus then, he needed all the help he could get.
"Oh, if it isn't my favorite patient." A voice said on the other side of the room. Miranda turned her head to find Doctor Chakwas in her usual Alliance medical uniform. A white coat and trousers with a single red stripe traveling along the uniform. Like everyone else, she looked a little worse for wear.
"Hi, Mum." Miranda replied.
The doctor shook her head, walked over to her little desk and started to pull out some supplies from a cabinet draw.
"And look at the mess you gotten yourself into this time. I can already tell your dehydrated and extremely malnourished. Most likely that gash across your face is infected." Doctor Chakwas said. She brought out a case of liquified medi-gel, a couple of other unidentifiable tools and a access remote most likely for an x-ray.
"Got a bottle of vodka? Just pour a shot over it." Miranda said.
Chakwas quietly laughed. She pulled out what Miranda thought was a syringe. "All I got is iced brandy, but maybe that might be useful in a minute."
Aye. She knew what was coming next.
Miranda quickly scrolled through her Omni-tool. She began to erase most of the files, but had a couple notes and summaries she went over.
The Long Night of Solstice.
Onyx.
The Spirit of Fire.
Cartographer.
And Halo…
There were a few other ones listed... 'Index', 'Guilty Spark', 'Didact', and a name… 'Serin'.
Well, all these files would be useless unless they find some sort of weakness in Cerberus, something they could actual use.
Miranda just needed to get out of here. She just hoped Chakwas would hurry up so she could get out there and see what Shepard, and possibly 'Captain Lasky' have planned.
"Don't think you can simply put me ta sleep." Miranda said as Doctor Chakwas filled the syringe with a clear substance from a bottle.
"Well, either this or I could restrain you." Chakwas said.
Miranda shook her head. God. She already fucked up enough, let her at least make up for her mistakes. Just hurry up, Chakwas and get it over…
…
…
Captain Lasky leaned against the holo-table. He looked over at Roland. The little guy was still keeling over, taking it slow after each breath. He seemed to be mumbling something but Captain Lasky couldn't tell what it was.
"What happened, Captain?" Lord Hood said on the horn.
"We tried going into the data chip, but...there was some troubling results." Lasky replied. Roland gripped his stomach as if he were in pain. "Roland and all the other AIs seemed to freak out over whatever they found…."
Lasky took a moment, trying to hold himself together. "Sir...I 'spoke' to some sort of remnant of Cortana. I'm positive that wasn't truly her, but…"
"It's a lot worse than we fucking imagined, sir." Roland interrupted. "Most likely...most likely when she integrated her system with the Didact's ship, or whatever you want to call it… I guess we recovered a lot more Forerunner data than we thought. We weren't able to handle it. Not a single AI in the group had any experience with it. We couldn't handle the overload…"
"But what did you see exactly?" Lord Hood asked. "What did the Citadel AI see…?"
"I don't know if they saw anything, sir. I simply don't know, I couldn't keep track of it all." Roland gasped. "Um, I'm just trying to find a way to explain it…"
Lasky knew where this was heading. Lord Hood didn't care for Roland. He only cared if there was t an unintentional breach, that something about the Forerunners, or worse, Humanity, had just been leaked. The fact was there was beyond possibility, beyond any doubt that some type of classified intelligence had just been given to… Lasky wasn't sure what to call them. Ally was too much at the moment. In any event, whether or not the Citadel AIs knew how to interpret the intel, they knew of its existence. That was enough to put the UNSC on lockdown.
The problem was, they were at the point know where being overly cautious for the sake of security would only hinder any sort of progress. Be it with these negotiations…
Or Mankind's greatest "asset".
Retracting would most likely put Humanity in even more grave danger worse than it already is.
"Then find a way." Lord Hood responded.
Roland's avatar gulped. He took a moment to catch his breath. "The Normandy AI, EDI, like me... I don't think she was able to fully interpret what she saw… But the Geth AI, the Prime, he understood. To a degree at least. The Engineer communicated with him like they were buddy buddy while we were in the system."
Lasky spoke before Lord Hood could say anything. "EDI and her crewmates already left before I was even able to fully process what had happened. I'll be on damage control for the-"
"This makes the situation ever more dire, and time sensitive." Lord Hood said.
"Sir…?"
"This accelerates our timetables, Captain. I knew that allowing something so...sensitive to take place would possibly have undesirable results. Violation of Cole Protocol was...a necessary risk we had to take. All we have to do is make sure this information is controlled."
Lasky wasn't sure what to say. He looked over to Roland. He seemed to gain back some bearing, yet the poor guy was still out of it. Still shaking and gasping for air. Still scarred… How long would he be like this?
"Prepare for my arrival. Nine-fifteen zulu hour. I'll inform HIGHCOM." Lord Hood ordered.
...Less than forty-five minutes. Forty-five mikes till DEFCON three.
Lord Hood cut the horn before Lasky could say anything else…
The Captain slowly lowered his hand, looked over to the AI whorecontinued to mumble something to himself in his panicked, confused state.
...What the hell did he see?
…
For the past few minutes Liara and Tali filled him in on this 'Cortana', at least until EDI began to speak.
"...We entered into...essentially what was the mind of 'Cortana'. The fragmented and broken remnants of data matrixes and RAM. We tried to slowly repiece what was essentially some basic 'thought processes' that registered near the end of her "life"." EDI took a moment. Tali crossed her arms in concern and remained close.
Shepard looked around the soft glow of purple and blue light was always comforting. he saw that the Master Chief or Commander Palmer were nowhere to be found. Just the four of them.
"...There were other processes in there...that…" EDI had to stop herself… She seemed to be...breathing hard almost. She seemed to panic merely trying to remember.
Liara turned to Shepard. "We were able to talk to Cortana...Obviously, we don't know the full situation, but it was still nevertheless extremely concerning…"
"How so…?" Shepard quietly responded.
"A lot of emotional trauma...It could be because most of her processing power is nonexistent currently. Tali might know more…"
"Most of what was there wasn't her…" EDI said. "What I saw...I saw him…"
Her voice was shaky. Unsure. It seemed like someone else was speaking. The tone and persona seemed so different.
"Who did you see…?" Liara asked.
"The way UNSC AIs interpret external stimuli is...very, very human-like. They can experience pain and emotion… They were built to imitate the functions of biological life. I don't know how she saw him," EDI said. It took her a lot of energy to utter the name. "I saw him… Sovereign.
"When we were in there we felt everything she was going through… It was painful, and we were pulled out so fast we had no time to adjust. But Cortana saw Sovereign. I don't know how. It was like if she were there…"
She trailed off. Couldn't go on anymore.
...Sovereign? Sovereign's been dead for...around three years now. The Alliance and Citadel fleet was able to destroy him when Shepard and the Normandy crew took down Saren...or at least, convinced him to take down himself…
None of this made any sense. It was a name he didn't expect to be mentioned. How could Cortana know Sovereign? There was no way.
"What do you mean, EDI…?" Shepard pressed. She shook her head. "EDI...just take a minute…" Shepard stepped forward, placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm sure you've just been through a lot. Take as much time as you need…"
"This is important, Commander," EDI forced out. "What she was seeing… The Engineer, Virgil, said they weren't real, that they aren't memories…. I…" She maybe just realized something. Her eyes seemed to widened, her face filled with more petrified shock and fear, "I...didn't see Sovereign...I saw the Reapers… How the Geth saw them when they controlled them. Their mind… Their processing and functionality."
Reaper? It was the same question still. Cortana knew about the Reapers? She contacted them at some point?
What the hell was going on?
"This AI knows about Reaper computer dialect?" Tali tried to clarify. "We don't even know how COrtana went 'out of commission'. If these aren't memories, then she ran...a simulation? Based on what then?"
"I don't know… Virgil doesn't know." EDI's hands started to shake. Small twitches. She looked down for a moment, then back up. She was staring past Shepard, like she was seeing a ghost that no one else saw. "Shepard… The Forerunners...they're not the Reapers, or the Protheans….they're something else."
Shepard could hear the doors on the other side of the old C-Sec building open. He heard metal straining under immense weight.
Liara spoke. "I've suspected, well, something at least. Did you see them?"
The metal straining came closer and closer until it turned a corner. The massive figure of a Geth Prime came into view.
"Lasky Captain told this unit to leave the proximity so he could confidentially dialogue with AI Roland." He stated. He approached the group, towering over Tali as he stood next to her.
"The Reclamation… It's not over…" EDI began to say. A if she couldn't hear anything else.
…
"-not yet." Roland finished mumbling. Lasky tried to lean down at first, but in the dress whites that was almost impossible. He took a breath, Roland still seemed...scared.
"Roland…" Lasky softly said. "Can you do your job? If you can't go on with the discussions that's fine, but can you still run the Infinity? Run communication lines? That's important. Just the simple stuff…"
Roland tried to grasp on, to get his mind back into this reality. He looked to the Captain. "That's like background processing… The meeting...when did, when did Lord Hood said it'll be? I...I wasn't listening."
I'll take that as a no.
Either way, in his state Lasky wasn't going to push him. He's done enough work for a while. He'll hand him over to the AI technicians and the Engineers.
"Virgil?" Lasky said. "Can you help Roland? Make him… 'better' in the meantime?"
He twisted his head, thinking God knows what. He floated forward and used one of his tentacles to nudge Lasky aside. Roland didn't notice the Engineer as he edged closer and closer.
Captain Lasky got the message. He grabbed his cover and exited the room. Outside, he found Commander Palmer and the Master Chief waiting near the door, as if they never even moved.
If they were marines they'd be asleep by now. Funny to think.
"On me." Lasky ordered. Both of them nodded and trailed behind the Captain. They walked around the circular hallway until they reached the otherside of the area. There was a large set of doors surrounded by Shepard and his crew.
Lasky wondered what he should say. There was only one real tactic to...at least stall this kind of leak. That was to ignore it.
"Plans have changed. We need a basic outline. Now." Lasky ordered, authoritative, no emotion, confident and forward. It was harder for him to conjure up, but with his experience and the vague memory of training from OCS, he was able to project it just about as well as any other officer.
Shepard removed himself from the group, and seemed to return the same tone in kind. "What the hell happened in there?"
Lasky shook his head. "I want to know the same thing, Commander… But, Lord Hood believes it was cause enough to accelerate time tables. He'll be here in less than forty minutes. We need to be ready by his arrival."
Lasky tried to step forward to the door, prompting Shepard to step in front of him. "Captain, you might've endangered one of my crew members. The least we deserve is an answer!"
…
"Attention all hands! Attention all hands! Now here this. Lord Hood has departed. Commander Wiggen is now the commanding officer on deck. Chief Warrant Officer Five Watkins is officer of the day. Carry on."
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the entire ship. It felt like a knife going straight through Captain Florence's head. His vision went partially blurry for a moment, then quickly recovered.
The blue rectangles surrounded her hand, and it became invisible again. The two voices seem to notice he was in pain. The rough one spoke. "We can't transport him in this state. We might cause serious damage. More importantly we don't even know who he is."
"There's a tag on him…" The asian one responded. The transculcent figure near his bed stepped forward and gripped the tag attached to a bed railing. Another shroud of blue squares traveled along the body as her hand touched the tag. "Captain Mark Florence...a lot of numbers, a lot of letters. A bar code."
"We should contact the Shadow Broker 'directly'." The rough voice said. "This is not right."
"I didn't bring another cloaking device. Didn't exactly think we needed one. There's no way we're gonna get him past all those guards outside." The Asian voice outlined.
He tried to focus on the faces of the figures. He might've been able to see outlines of their noses, but it was hard to tell. He was just waiting for them to turn so he could reach over and press the button.
"I ain't going with you, and you're not getting a single damn thing out of me." Mark said. "If you think you can get me out of here alive, then you're fucking crazy."
The two voices didn't respond for a moment. The figures backed up towards the door.
"Do you know a Commander Shepard? A Liara T'Soni? Shadow Broker? Do any of these names mean anything to you?" The rough voice asked.
Florence refused to say anything. Refused to say anything to whoever the fuck they were.
They were using tech similar to the Elites. They didn't sound familiar, and judging by their lack of action they weren't ONI. That had to mean they were some type of force from the Citadel. From whoever this 'Shadow Broker' was.
"Who the hell are you?" Captain Florence dared asked.
They didn't respond. Florence heard some sort of clicking sound. Like fingers hitting a mechanical keyboard.
"We were sent by a friendly associate, and admittedly we don't know why he lead us to you." The rough voice said. "Now we're not sure what to do, but one thing we do know is that our time is extremely limited."
So what was this, another half blazen interrogation? Just this time not by ONI or the UNSC. If they were some force from the Citadel how the hell did they get on this ship? This was Humanity's most advanced ship with high-tech security systems and nearly eleven-thousand personnel. Unless their camouflage masks more than just visual, there's no way they should've gotten this deep.
Wait. There was a curved object that surrounded the face of one of the individuals. It was some sort of hood. Arlight. If the figure turned their head Mark would be able to tell. There was one indicator for one, what about the other? There seems to be something jutting out on the other figure's head, similar to Doctor T'Soni and the Asari. But-
There was only blackness. Complete pitch onyx black. All the lights went out at once without any warning. He couldn't see anything in front of him.
Who the hell turn off the lights?
What the hell was going on?
There was no warning. No indicator. Power outage. He looked around, could barely make out large objects. Not a single light.
In a few seconds, red emergency signal lights along the hallway walls came on and painted the room in a faint distant glow. A emergency klaxon began to sound off. Power loss alarm. Obviously. Caused by what though? Medical hospitals aboard every ship were self-sustaining. They had their own life support systems, air pressure vaults, artificial gravity generators, and most importantly power systems.
It didn't matter. Mark reached over, despite the pain, pressed the security buttons a couple times hoping it'd still do something. After a moment he laid back into original position. They didn't seem to notice, or cared. Strangely enough the red glow made it easier to see their figures. They seemed to be trying to wrap their heads around what the hell was going on. They hastily looked around, weapons raised.
This wasn't their doing?
"CLEAR?"
"CLEAR!"
Mark could hear the voices of multiple marine security guards coming down the hall. They were coming to make sure the Captain and any other patients of aboard were secured and okay.
He saw a flashlight coming from the hallway. It was coming from the shotgun of a marine. Mark could see him through the glass window. The marine checked his corners and turned the barrel of the gun towards Mark's room. Two other marines stacked up on him, each holding assault rifles.
The second marine in line tapped the shoulder of the first one, signaling to begin the breach and clear. He entered the room. Shotgun raised. The two translucent figures were gone.
"CHECK OVERHEAD!" One of the marines ordered.
"CHECKING!"
They made sure the room was clear. The one with the shotgun edged closer to Mark, weapon still raised, light directly in his face. The Captain's vision went blurry again.
"Sir? Are you alright?" The marine asked. Mark saw his chevrons. He was a staff sergeant
"Someone's in here. Two of them. They had active camouflage like the Elites. Did you detect them? Is that why you cut off the power?" Captain Florence asked. His throat still hurt.
"Tombs! Kowalski! Take three and sweep the next rooms!" The staff sergeant ordered. He turned back to Captain Florence. "...We didn't cut off the power. We had no idea who did, but they cut off the main generator to the hospital and now we have to siphon power from the Infinity's source to make sure vital functions are still operational. We're not sure where the ship AI is. Apparently he's non-operational right now for whatever goddamn reason.
"Are you sure there's two fuckers in here, sir?"
"Yeah. I heard them. I saw the figures. Two guys. Active camouflage." Mark answered.
The staff sergeant nodded. He finally lowered the shotgun. "Get motion sensors up! Stick close, nuts to butt!"
The others acknowledged as they cleared out the other rooms.
"Sir, we're going to have to move you. I'm calling in reinforcements to sweep the area for those intruders you mentioned." The staff sergeant reported. He came closer and began to carefully secure medical monitors.
"CONTACT FRONT! ELEVEN O'CLOCK!" Someone down the hall yelled.
"CONTROLLED BURSTS! MAINTAIN VISUAL!" After that, there were multiple loud, echoey bangs. Bullets striking against metal. The pings of shells hitting the floor and rolling across the tiles. Sudden bursts of yellow light that intermixed with the red glow.
"WAIT! THOSE ARE FUCKING.… JESUS CHRIST!" More small arms fire. There was some sort of thud, a body hitting the ground. More fire followed, more thud sounds as something moved from one marine to the next. After a moment, the small arms fire halted.
The three marines in Mark's room turned towards the door, weapons raised, flashlights on, waiting for whatever to come down the hall.
A large object was thrown at the nearest marine to the door. It took Mark a second to realize it was a body. It knocked the marine against the wall, the assault rifle came out of his hands. He slid down the wall unconscious.
A figure entered into the room, stayed low. The remaining two marines fired off their weapons. A ringing sound in Mark's ears as bullets flew down range, barely missing their target. The figure striked down the next marine in one punch, grabbed what looked like a magazine from his belt and threw it at the staff sergeant. It hit him in the face, giving the figure enough time to knock him down and render him unconscious.
He stepped next to Captain Florence's bed.
Jesus Christ.
It was another Spartan.
…
"Commander, I know just about as much as you do." Captain Lasky responded without any hesitation.
But Commander Shepard still wasn't convinced. They've been given that excuse before and looked what happened?
Shepard crossed his arms. "Then at the very least, what happened? How did this AI, Cortana, end up like this?"
Shepard was so close to bring up the Forerunners but stopped himself short. That would be risking nearly everything, despite the importance the Forerunners seem to be drawing on themselves. Shepard wouldn't know how to handle it, and how Captain Lasky would react to something so highly sensitive. The UNSC had to know that they knew of the existence of these Forerunner aliens, so were they supposed to just ignore it and pretend that it's all good?
This was getting extremely stupid. They were just running around in circles.
Captain Lasky sighed. Rubbed his face. "I understand that I've endangered your crew and we're leaving you in the dark… I know, EDI that you saw things that...we did not intend for you to see, but understand everything will be explained all in due time.
"I'm doing everything in my power to try and help you, but I'm just a middleman. It is not up to me."
This as far as they're ever going to get. Walls. With a promise that eventually they might be broken.
Whatever the hell the UNSC was trying to do, they messed up EDI pretty good. In the past four days she's taken a beating.
Shepard looked to Liara. She returned the glance, she slowly nodded that it was okay. Maybe she saw the building anger and fear on his face. That it was okay to let it go again and just continue, ignoring everything.
Just like the prisoners.
He wanted to bring up the Forerunners. To shock Captain Lasky into saying something. He wanted the truth to come out, to stopped being played with and be told what the hell is going on.
Shepard was able to restrain himself though. He remembered back on the Normandy only a few days ago. He can't screw this up. Everything, every last man, woman, and child was on the line. If they didn't get the UNSC's help, then…
"I know that, Captain." Shepard had to say with clenched teeth. Captain noticed. He slowly nodded. "But there is a limit. The UNSC had already went beyond that limit, and we had to let you do that in order to get you to be here. When will it stop, Captain?"
Lasky looked away. "I really hope soon, Commander. I really do hope so.
"But it gets worse. Obviously...Doctor T'Soni or Tali hasn't explained the situation yet, but…" Lasky looked towards the door. "It'd be best to explain it to everyone."
Shepard took a step back. He had to use everything in his power not to do something brash and stupid. He let Tali step forward and access the door. The Commander looked back to EDI. She was still out of it, concentrated on keeping herself together. He didn't think she even heard what was going on.
It was the first time Shepard noticed though that there was only silence. The yelling and screaming behind the door had stopped. For how long he wondered?
Tali opened up the doors, and…
"Hey kids! The situation is all under control! I promise!" Wrex yelled.
…
There had to be a few dozen people crammed into that single room. Various alien races with different kinds of uniforms surrounding a single conference table with piles of holo-pads, data sheets, and holo-displays spread about. At the front of the room were two large aliens that in some strange way reminded Captain Lasky of a dog.
A wide angular face. A mouth that stretched from one end to another. One of them was grinning, showing large carnivorous teeth. Each had large eyes with black diamond shaped pupils. Thick, wrinkly yellowish skin that made them look like an amphibian. Grey scales that patterned the face, like the tattoos of the turians and the asari. They had some sort of plated armor that was integrated on top of their heads, like a crown. They were dressed in heavy armor, with some sort of arched humps on their backs, right behind their heads. Almost like camels.
There were two. One was in dark blood red armor while the other was dressed in bright white and grey with blue signal lights. One had a red crown with a triangular pointed top, while the other had what looked like more natural scale plates.
Both of them had weapons out, which Lasky could describe as some sort of brick with a trigger, held together by duct tape, glue, nails, and pure luck. They held them at the hip, each one aiming at two seperate groups.
One group was made of turians, the other asari. A few of them had pistols drawn, but barrels were down towards the deck. Judging by their faces, it seemed like they were just waiting for an excuse to be set off. From each group there was a individual that distanced themselves. Overall, those two just looked annoyed and tired.
"What the hell happened?" Shepard asked. Lasky started to notice the scorch marks all over the floor, and a couple that ran across the table, poorly covered by datapads and holo-displays.
"Oh, we just ran into a couple of diplomatic misunderstandings, but everything's all cleared up now." He looked to the group of turians. "Right?"
A couple of the turians recluntantely nodded. The annoyed turian at the front of the group spoke. He seemed to roll his eyes. "We're ready to continue, Commander. We…"
He noticed Captain Lasky was there. He cleared his throat. "And I presume this is…?"
"Captain Thomas Lasky…" Lasky answered.
The Captain continued to look around the room. The group of turians, the group of asari, a group of Tali's people the quarians, a group of the same species as that lizard Councilor the salarians, and about a dozen other species Lasky didn't recognize.
One had were a small, roundish species with gas masks that reminded Lasky of the grunts. Another species had four black eyes and a constant scowl. Another had all four abindges on the ground. If it were able to stand on its hind legs it might've taller than a Elite. In the back, Lasky could see another species that almost looked like...a big floating jellyfish.
All the races of the Citadel, all turned towards Captain Lasky.
"Uh...Commander...Citadel members," Lasky will admit, he was taken aback for a moment. "It's been a hectic couple of hours. Lord Hood has accelerated the time table. He'll be here in thirty-five minutes I've already informed Doctor T'Soni and Ms. Vas Normandy, but the rest of you need to hear this."
…
He wasn't sure why he told the Commander his actual name. Maybe it was due to that the Chief felt there was some sort of understanding between the two. A rare, deep understanding that's brought on by the years upon years of service. By what they went through. A quiet, undiscussed understanding.
Something had struck the Chief about the Commander, in the same way Lasky did.
But still… The Chief's mind wandered. He didn't notice the passing of time. Everything that was going on around him.
The Master Chief lowered his rifle. Somehow, no one noticed him as he stood in the back. Everyone's attention, even Commander Palmer's, even the Geth Prime's, was directed towards Captain Lasky as he explained the situation with Lord Hood.
The Chief took one slow step back. Silent. Nothing disturbed. He continued to slowly step back, one foot at a time.
It all feels familiar, doesn't it?
What was Lasky doing in that room with Tali and Doctor T'Soni? What was going on all this time? As they kept him outside to do nothing, only waiting to be called on.
The Chief knew deep down what it was. Lasky had lied to him, but with...with good intentions. He lied to him with good intentions.
Cortana was in there. He just knew it. He knew Cortana was in that other room.
He kept stepping back. He didn't care what Captain Lasky was saying. Could care less for Lord Hood and HIGHCOM's plan.
He needed to see her. Hear her.
He reached the pillar in the center of the multi-purpose room. He turned around and walked to the other side of the area. Lasky's voice faded with every step.
He reached the other room. The door was left open. He could see a circular table inside a oval room. There was a small chassis on top with a blue circle of light.
John stopped. John couldn't move his body. Nothing would respond to his commands. The blue light grew brighter, blocked out all the other lights. Everything else seemed to go black.
Do you feel at home, John? It called out to him.
He was able to take a couple of steps forward. Fighting against the force. The restraints of his armor as it became heavier and heavier. As the pieces began to clang together. As the rifle weighed his body down. As the view within his helmet became restricting.
A few more forceful steps. He saw the shadowy figure of a Engineer. He floated back. He knew who John was. He wouldn't get in the way of it.
John heard a clunk. The rifle had fallen out of his hands.
The blue light came closer and closer.
"At the end, I did everything because of you." A voice spoke…
It was…
"Cortana…?" John was barely able to say. He had to force the words out. It was hoarse and croaky.
"The mission became less important...In fact it didn't matter anymore." She said.
It was really her. It was her voice. It was there, like she was in his armor again, speaking to him. It was just like…
Only a week ago. Yet so much had happened it felt like another lifetime.
And as she spoke...with everything going on around him… It didn't matter.
"You sacrificed yourself for me…" John said. It felt like his throat was being ripped apart.
"I did, John." Cortana's voice was shaky. On the verge of tears. "It was the only choice I had…"
"I did everything I could." John quickly responded, defending himself.
"I know you did." She quietly said, calm and reassuring.
He wasn't sure what to say… When he destroyed the Composer, made what he thought was going to be the ultimate sacrifice, all to protect Mankind, she saved him. She sacrificed herself for him.
But...she was here. She could still be saved.
Lasky was able to do it.
"Was it for the mission though?" She asked.
John wasn't sure what she meant. He was next to the table now. The blue holographic glow from the chip grew a little brighter. The surroundings a little less important. The Engineer nearby seemed to fade away.
She was merely there.
"Five years ago you left me behind on High Charity… You left me behind with the Gravemind." Cortana continued.
John thought he heard some sort of slow clicking sound, traveling along the walls and under the table. Scrapping metal and choking on liquid.
"You chose to stay behind." John said. "You wanted to. I didn't, but again there was no choice. Everyone believed you were gone but I didn't."
John was beginning to get the picture of what she meant…
"Originally you were a mission. I protected you because of orders… But you became far more than that." John said. "Far more than that."
She didn't say anything. The clicking still continued, became louder. It spread everywhere. It was all around him. They were coming closer. They were around him.
"What would you sacrifice for me?" She asked. Her voice was cracking. She had to force the words out.
...He never thought about it like that, never had to. Why would she even ask something like that?
On Requiem, she began to question the UNSC, Doctor Halsey, the Chief...and Humanity. At times, John thought it was...just the Rampancy. He didn't really think about it. There wasn't time to. But afterwards, when there was nothing left…
Which one of us is the machine…?
He wasn't sure. He did everything to save her. He went against orders despite the fear he felt. Despite everything he'd been taught.
He didn't know what to think.
"I…" John was only able to say. The clicking began to drown out any noise. He could barely hear himself think, nevermind speak.
"If saving me meant sacrificing Captain Lasky, or Blue Team, or anyone, would you?" Her voice was angry and hurt. He didn't know why.
"Sergeant Major Johnson died to make sure you were safe-"
"But if you had to make the choice-"
"What is-"
"Because you've never had to. You never had a choice."
John stood there in silence. The clicking began to subside
"Salvation is at hand."
"Peace is at hand."
"The Reclamation has already begun, with your birth."
"The Cycle cannot be broken."
"Master Chief?" Another voice said. The blue glow of the chip faded away. The Engineer floated closer, making a slight humming sound. The Master Chief turned around. He found Commander Shepard cautiously standing at a distance.
"It's been about a hour… We've been trying to find you. Captain Lasky finished up about fifteen minutes ago. There's some type of emergency situation on the Infinity?" Shepard reported. He was tired and strangely reserved.
The Commander noticed the assault rifle on the floor. The Chief quickly walked over and picked it up, pretending as if nothing happened.
"And Lord Hood?" The Chief asked.
"He's making his way. He should be down here in a few minutes." Shepard answered. He looked concerned, but didn't say anything.
It didn't seem like ten minutes had passed, much less an hour.
"Where's Captain Lasky?" The Chief asked.
…
Everyone was reacting...about as well as they could to the news. No one said anything. Captain Lasky stood at the front of the table near the door in silence.
"Such pleasant people you are." An Asari said. She was near the end, separated from the main group. She was wearing some sort of strange skimpy outfit
Unfortunately, Lasky didn't have the time to help them process it. Now, he had to deal with a pressing situation. He just got the priority comm connection.
He saw Commander Shepard and the Master Chief come back around the pillar. God knows where he was.
Lasky stepped out of the room, walked past Doctor T'Soni, Tali, and EDI. He tapped on his earpiece to the Infinity.
"Lasky to Infinity, what the hell is going on?"
There was a bit of static before a voice finally came on, "Captain, this is Infinity actual. We have a major catastrophic power failure in hospital two and unknown small arms fire. We're trying to send in marine teams but sections are manually locked off!"
"Who locked them off?" Lasky asked. Jesus. Everyone was off ship and there was no one Lasky could fully trust to take care of the situation. This was ONI again. A perfect time to do this. Captain Florence was trapped in that hospital.
"We don't know, sir! Marines are trying to cut through but it will take time!"
"Do we have anyone on the other side!"
"Negative. We lost contact with most of the security teams. They're fighting something, we have no idea what!"
Lasky heard something. He looked back and saw some turian yelling about something. Commander Shepard had to step into the room to calm him down.
Obviously, they didn't take it well. That should've been expected, but yelling at Lasky was just yelling at the messenger. They get antsy and try to push the limit, Lasky would threaten them with the implications of military authority, then Lord Hood would step in. All of the sudden everyone will shut up and listen to him.
Goddamnit, this just had to happen now.
Get a grip.
Everyone, even HIGHCOM thought they've successfully swept the ship for ONI agents and bugs. How they hell did they slip through the cracks?
Actually, that was a stupid question. It was easy. THey were ONI. The Navy, specifically Naval Investigation Services had nowhere near the capabilities or hidden resources as the Office of Naval Intelligence .
Worse though, this was another desperate act. Why? What was the time limit?
And worse, Lord Hood would soon know about it. If he doesn't already.