Aboard Citadel Station
2557 Military Calendar
Unknown Time
Another enemy Spartan fell on the floor at the base of the corridor. Up ahead, the Master Chief could see a clear blue curtain shield. The enemy had headed towards a hanger.
The Chief kept the stolen battle rifle up and did his best to ensure the room was clear. It was empty… Occupied only by bodies of UNSC marines and decimated defensive emplacements….
The marines stationed here were maybe a platoon force. The Master Chief absorbed the position of the bodies. They were all pointed towards a metal door. More than likely, this hanger was not Cerberus' main point of ingress into the Citadel.
The Chief scavenged ammo and other equipment. Among the unsecured weapons, he found a pack of grenades and overloaded on 7.62 ammunition for his battle rifle. He scavenged some more, and found a shotgun among the dead. Only a handful of shells however.
He wasn't sure where the rest of the enemy Spartans went. They must've played the smart move and split up.
Past the curtain shield, among the Citadel arms, a slipspace rupture appeared. A strange contingent of Covenant ships, mostly small support and logistical ships, appeared, surrounding two CCS-battleships.
And at first they slowly pushed towards the Presidium, but after maybe a minute, the Chief saw their engines grow brighter and brighter as their fronts remained on a direct collision course.
"Commander Shepard, can you receive?" Nothing but static still… That was worrying. With the amount of UNSC aboard, the problem should've been fixed by now.
He tried switching to the E-Band. And still, nothing. The enemy had somehow bypassed the heavily encrypted super channel and rendered it dead.
Textbook asymmetrical warfare.
If the Chief remembered correctly, the UNSC Citadel detachment was composed of four-thousand UNSC marines and two hundred Spartan-IVs, supported by eighty-thousand C-SEC officers, they would've been able to repel any conventional enemy force, even overwhelming force, until reinforcements arrive.
But without communication, unable to establish a MSR or insertion points, numbers and technological superiority didn't matter.
And he only realized now that the Citadel was under full attack…
Cortana is in danger.
...And those words… That's all that mattered. At that moment… Tracking down these Cerberus' Spartans, securing footholds, even Lord Hood…. All that didn't matter.
"Commander, are you receiving?" The Chief calmly spoke into the horn.
Still nothing.
The Chief tried to remember what the plan was here in case of attack. More than likely, Cortana would stick with Lord Hood. The UNSC had already routed clear egress lines to evacuation zones for Lord Hood and his command staff, but what happened if those routes were compromised?
If the enemy had routed into UNSC comms, the chances of them knowing the exact egress routes were very high. More than likely, all available Spartans would be deployed to protect those egress routes to reinforce any Marine positions along the routes and protect bare spots.
More than likely, they would let the UNSC progress on their egress routes, then place ambush points.
Crash and grab. Open assault to make sure the target moved, and catch him at the weakest point.
And the ships grew closer to the Citadel. UNSC ships turned to engage… A frigate was scalded in plasma, transformed into burning wreckage as the enemy ripped through. A Covenant corvette purposely crashed into one of the arms of the Citadel.
More than likely, that crash and grab team for the Council obviously wasn't expecting high resistance. But to bring in this amount of reinforcements most likely meant the other teams weren't doing well either.
The Chief could remember the layout of the egress routes.
But as the Master Chief thought about it more, Lord Hood wouldn't be the kind to exactly retreat either.
He moved along, heading in the general direction to the rest of the UNSC controlled hangers. From there, he'll work backwards along the egress routes.
...
Dozens of them.
Dozens of Covenant dropships.
All incoming…
Exospheric support was wiped out. The two Marine infantry companies securing hanger bravo-seven, a massive wide open commercial hanger that was maybe a klick in width and height, filled to the brim with dozens of landing platforms, was about to be overrun.
Gauss cannons and machine guns positions opened fired on the enemy dropships… They weren't sleek purple however. They were painted pristine white, and among them, Kodiak transports traveled with them.
The first dropships hit adjoining landing platforms, protected by lighter marine forces and C-SEC officers.
And from the distance, white painted Spartans were deploying.
This was the main LZ for UNSC forces, and without their fleet protection, they were gonna be overrunned.
The rocket AA turret opened up on incoming dropships trying to pass the defense group by completely.
They were overwhelming… Their makeshift AA network was overrun. Marines engaged with everything they had, shoring up their position.
Where the hell was the Spartan QRF?
A Kodiak ship touched down on the main platform, and standard Cerberus infantry deployed. More dropships passed by, some taking damage, some taking direct firing and falling into the depths below, and some passing by the marine defenses completely.
…
"Let's go, goddamnit!" Sergeant Haron barked.
C-Sec SWAT and Emergency Response Teams had already been deployed throughout the station. Yet only a few minutes after the incoming Sangheili ships arrived, there were massive dark zones throughout the Citadel. Communication was spotty. All the heavy teams C-Sec had were deployed.
Fuck, man. Jordan Noles was an E-crimes investigator. Now she was in armor with an avenger rifle alongside a glorified parking value, Officer Eddie Lang, and a Turian customs officer, Sergeant Haron.
Commander Bailey ordered all hands, along with the assistance of military personnel aboard the station, to assist with the defense, including the UNSC… But so far, as far as she knew, no one heard from them. Word was they locked down their sector. Not only that, but a dark zone consumed half their zone.
They basically told the rest of the station they were on their own. They were only a few hundred meters from a UNSC checkpoint. Hundreds of civilians were crowded around the area when the Citadel came under attack.
And she guessed the UNSC just told them to fuck off.
Hopefully...hopefully, the first wave of evac transports will make it.
The other squad of C-Sec officers got into cover. They were in a small parking lot, behind two cars. Ahead was the perfect view of the Presidium as blue explosions began to ignite throughout the valley and upper levels and bridges.
Two squads. Three officers each. Only six officers… That wasn't anywhere near a full team. Were they that depleted?
"C-Sec dispatch, this is Sergeant Haron. We need more officers, hal copy?" Haron said over the C-Sec police comms.
No response but static.
"C-Sec dispatch, this is Sergeant Haron. Come in-" A blue missile hit the edge of the parking lot, throwing one of the cars into the air off the ledge of the parking lot.
Another missile hit a different car, shattering it into pieces.
Jordan braced into cover. She had no idea where the hell it came from. Based on the smoke trail, the other side of the Presidium!?
"Open fire!" Sergeant Haron ordered anyways. He and another Turian in the other team begin to fire sporadically. Eddie Lang quickly joined them.
More missiles came flying, barely missing. One hit the other team, knocking down two officers. The last one, the Turian was thrown to the ground. He wasn't moving.
Jordan saw a purple transport coming in. Sergeant Haron's fire had no effect on it. A blue beam of light ignited from the undercarriage of the ship. Something dropped out of it.
"Spirits…" Sergeant Haron looked at it. "Pull back! PULL BACK!"
...
Outside, in the dim blue starlight, a UNSC frigate was ripped apart in the surprise attack. Once the route was clear, dropships began to deploy and spread throughout the entire Citadel. In the distance, Kelly Chambers could see a smaller Sangheili cruiser crash into one of the arms. On purpose.
Had the Sangheili, the enigmatic and quiet allies of the UNSC betrayed them all? Was this all a ploy?
She had no idea, and she doubted anyone else did either. She saw the groggy and tired civilians around her, awakening from their sleep, begin to panic. An emergency alarm began to sound and the broadcast on the TVs above began to change to emergency channels.
One of the nearer Sangheili corvettes was hit by a yellow stream of light. Directly from above, the engines of a UNSC cruiser pushed its body forward. The cruiser followed with numerous missiles and streams of bullets. It said UNSC Scipio Africanus on its hull.
The cruiser fired another MAC round. It pierced right through the middle of the corvette. Pieces of the hull flew in all directions. One large piece traveled directly towards the refugee center…
It crashed somewhere on the decks below here. The station shook, and Kelly Chambers was knocked off her feet.
"EVERYONE! GET TO THE TRANSPORT DOCKS!" A C-SEC officer ordered.
Smoke began to dispense from vents. Air ventilation was probably damaged. Random circuit boards throughout the floor, walls, and ceilings began to burst into flames.
Someone grabbed Kelly's arm and helped her to her feet. It was that Batarian preacher… He guided her towards the back exit. They knew each other well, working closely together to help out as many injured refugees as they could...
Something launched from one of the Sangheili battle cruisers. It was a thin tube surrounded by four metal arms. It attached itself to the viewport glass, and the tube extended. It cut through the glass and inserted itself.
Kelly saw troops being deployed from it, behind a purple veil.
"GO!" The preacher yelled. He threw her towards the door… Through the smoke and chaos, a blue bolt of light cut him down.
Kelly, along with dozens of other people pushed towards the door, barely protected by the few C-SEC officers stationed in the refugee center.
From the smoke, more people were gunned down… C-SEC officers, men and women and...children who were unfortunate enough to not be closest to the door.
The bolts left no trace of blood. Merely a burn mark that sinhged through their clothes and blackened bare flesh, eating it away until you could see muscle and sometimes bone.
All she could hear now was screaming, interlaced by those bolt rounds. She saw something move out of the smoke…
It wore white and orange armor.
...
"MEDIC!" One of the C-SEC officers screamed.
The blue bolt had gone through her kinetic barriers. It did its job, slowing down the momentum where the impact should've been harmless. Yet once it hit her armor it began to slowly burn away the metal until it reached blue skin.
And from there, it began to eat away at her skin until Kelly swore she saw bone.
Now she was on the ground as her leg was eaten away.
"I'm here!" One of the UNSC corpsmen responded. He slid right next to the Asari and got to work. "Plasma wound...Luckily you won't bleed out. The heat will cauterize it."
"Oh, so worried about that," the officer sarcastically replied.
He took something out of his backpack. It looked like a green fire extinguisher. He inserted it into her wound and pressed the trigger. A white foam began to fill the injury.
UNSC Marines held their position, firing their rifles at the incoming enemy. The sound nearly deafened Kelly.
Kelly was near enough to a gunny and a radio operator to overhear their conversation, even over the cries of the C-SEC officer as the corpsmen tended to her. It only seemed to grow louder. She gritted her teeth as he took out some sort of scalpel and began to peel away skin.
"This is Reaper two-three, we are cut off. Does anyone on this frequency copy, over?" A radio operator said on the line. "Negative, Gunny! Ain't no one responding!"
Somehow, Kelly and a group of people made it here to a makeshift defensive line of UNSC marines and C-SEC officers. They had moved cars into a barricade. Kelly could tell they were near the Afterlife nightclub.
Fires raged on the other side of the barricades. Other than that, it was absolutely dark.
"How far are we from the nearest spaceport?" The gunny asked.
"Five hundred meters...above, gunny." The operator responded.
Kelly's breathing was shaky. She looked to the group of civilians in the corner. The human girl and the salarian embraced each other. Another was a fourteen-year-old girl...The one that had lost both her parents and never even realized.
The fighting seemed to stop for a brief moment. The marines and C-SEC officers manning the barricade stopped firing… Maybe the enemy pulled back.
"Gunny, we can't make it with the dead weight." The operator nodded over to the civilians, "but we can't leave 'em behind."
"We got our orders, and now we have no comms. we don't even know if the command staff is alive." The gunny said. "What's the nearest rallying point?"
"R.V Gamma." The operator replied. "The R.V has a time window, then the forces move on. If we can't make it, secondary R.V is directly at the UNSC command center.
"Timeframe was to be determined over comms."
"Shit. Okay. We'll head to the spaceport, regroup with the rest of Reaper company," the gunny said. "We'll let the police take care of the civilians. We gotta move."
"Gunny...we...we can't just leave civilians without-"
"I don't give a flying fuck what you think, sergeant. Good ta go?" The gunny angerily whispered, "we got our fucking orders, devil. These civies are on their own. Fuckin' aye?"
"...Aye, gunny." The operator solemnly replied.
"...You're going to leave us?" Kelly said as she stood up. The other civilians, paying attention to their loved ones and themselves, exclaimed in a single exacerbated gasp and looked at the marines.
The gunny and the operator quickly looked at each other then to the crowd. "We have our orders…
"If you get to the UNSC area, you should be safe…"
And if they don't have comms, how do they even know the UNSC area was still in one piece?
And the logical side of Kelly knew they were trying to protect the higher ups. That in the end they were only...civilians…
She wondered what Commander Shepard would do. Probably figure out how to save both the civilians and get to the command center by leaving a squadmate to guide them, or...or something… Maybe even help lead them out then get to the center...
But they weren't Commander Shepard. They were just average grunts. And more than likely they were just as scared as they were. Maybe they cared, maybe they didn't…
"You…you can't just do this…" one of the people said.
Yeah, they can. Kelly thought before the gunney even said it. They had guns, they sure can. They can do whatever the hell they want….
They weren't going to save them. It was like the Collector raid on the Normandy all over again.
Kelly felt herself panic. Felt her chest compress and her body shake. She...she had to sit down for a second...she felt dizzy.
She lowered herself onto the floor and tried to calm herself… Even a single mention of that raid still brought fear… Before, it would've been a slippery slope and she would either have passed out or be in full blown panic. But she got some help… Only every once and a while it got bad now.
"Sergeant, tell the marines we step off in five," the gunny said.
All the civilians and C-SEC officers could do was look in horror… If they tried to stop them, they had no idea what the UNSC marines would do. If they didn't…..
"Please...please wait…" Kelly began to beg.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." The gunny said. "Get to the nearest UNSC safe zone, maybe you'll…"
"No ...no, wait." Kelly's voice was on the verge of breaking apart. "Do you have a map…? Do you...do you know where you're going?"
Her hands were shaky and beginning to sweat.
"We know our way, thanks." The gunny said. Kelly noticed a small holo-disc in the sergeant's hand. He opened it to display a local map of the ward.
"Wait...I...we can…" She stepped forward. It was only afterward she noticed her hand was too close to the gunny's weapon.
"STEP THE FUCK BACK!" The gunny screamed as he aimed her rifle at Kelly. It triggered a few panic screams from some of the civilians. The C-SEC officers had no idea what to do.
Only then did Kelly see under a dark visor. She saw the fear in the gunny's eyes. However, they weren't directly focused on Kelly.
He was worried about his marines, and his marines only. He truly didn't seem to care what happened to the C-SEC officers or the civilians… Kelly couldn't figure out if it was only because he didn't know them, or most of the civilians and officers were aliens.
"...Gunny…" The sergeant quietly said as he looked between the two. "What the fuck?"
Kelly spoke. Her voice was raspy. "The ward…. Whoever gave you that map didn't give you the full picture ...I know a faster way. A way that'll get you passed the enemy…"
She saw the refugees and...seedier Citadel residents pass through it all the time. And she could never follow them because it was illegal…
Keeper tunnels.
"How do we know it's not compromised?" The sergeant said.
"It wouldn't be a priority target…" Kelly said… It wouldn't, right? "It'll lead to the command station safely… You just have to take these civilians…"
The gunny slowly lowered his rifle. "Fine, but we go at our pace. Any of you skaters fall behind, you're left behind. Rah?"
Kelly slowly nodded. "I think they understand."
...
Fucking Christ.
Mark had heard the stories of the IIs. Who the hell hasn't? But to seem them in action was…
Something he'll never forget… Something that justified nearly a decade of service.
And he did what no one else here could do: kick their fucking asses.
Captain Florence along with Commander Shepard secured the remaining area. The enemy had retreated, and in that the primary objective was completed: the Council was safe and they sure as shit knew enemies were on station.
At least, the Council was safe for a moment. For the moment.
The rumbling started, and across the entire Presidium, carried by cold winds, emergency klaxons began to sound off.
Commander Bailey tried getting on comms, "get me a status update!"
And there was nothing… Nothing but static.
"How long can the Councilors remain secure?" Mark asked.
"Cerberus already knows their position," Shepard replied. "If they're bringing reinforcements, I don't know how long we can hold them! We have to get them off station!"
And now Captain Florence suddenly remembered the two Spartans attached with him, probably leading the enemy Spartans on a chase across the Citadel, if they weren't already dead.
But now, this was getting dangerous. This was textbook asymmetrical warfare.
In all honesty, an enemy blitz such as this was never planned for. Sure, you can have the superior numbers and tech but if the enemy had control of the battle tempo, and you didn't, none of it mattered. Hit the logistical supply lines, don't permit them to establish an effective MSR, and disrupt communication and headquarter points, you could take a superior force down.
The UNSC security force aboard the Citadel was a total of four-thousand marines and two-hundred Spartan-IVs, along with the massive force of eighty-thousand C-SEC officers. They should've easily repelled any assault force contained in that Covenant battlegroup. This was highly surgical, with intense precision.
So far, no one answered Bailey's call. Just static. Mark tried his own comms. Still down. There was nothing on the E-Band either. A heavily encrypted frequency that could withstand nearly any form of catastrophe.
Someone had UNSC encryptions and were beginning to actively block channels.
UNSC contingency in the face of something like this was to establish any form of communications as quickly as possible. Old AM/FM frequencies, smoke signals, fucking cup and a string. But with Lord Hood here, he was the sole priority.
Everyone else was on their own.
"Oh my God," someone said. The group turned to the windows, and across the entire Presidium, small arms fire erupted across the river.
They were already deploying.
Right now, more than likely, the enemy had already hit C-SEC headquarters, and possibly taken out the Citadel's comm buoys. From there, if Mark was the enemy, he would try to isolate large groups and outposts and pick them off one by one.
With the presence of Spartans (even if they were IVs), they were at least trained to face this kind of contingency and be fully combat operational without communicational or logistical support. Hopefully, they were trying to coordinate how to get comms back online.
"Cerberus is fast but…" Shepard trailed off.
"This is ridiculous," Mark tried to finish.
"Alright, we have our priorities," Shepard said. "We have to move the Council. Get them to the space ports, and get them out of here!"
"Roger the fuck that, Commander," Mark began. "But the UNSC's priority is Lord Hood. Everyone will be redirected to defend his possible egress routes."
"Kill two birds with one stone," Shepard said. "We can escort the Council, link up with UNSC forces. Find Lord Hood and get him and the Council off station."
"I'll send some of my men with you," Bailey said. "Me and the others will secure the civilians here."
Mark was about to argue with the Captain, but as Shepard nodded in agreement it was a little too late.
"And reinforcements?" Captain Florence asked. He was referring to the UNSC entire. If communication blackouts were only limited station-side, then no doubt UNSC ships would've already sent the distress.
"There might not be time…" Shepard said, pointing out into the Presidium. From entrance points that lead large shuttles to enter and exit the ring from hanger stations, ships began to enter…
"What the hell…" Captain Florence trailed off. "Are those Covenant Phantoms?"
Still, what didn't make sense to him was how the fighting started before the Phantoms entered.
"Cerberus…" Shepard said.
"Yeah, Lord Hood said the same thing which I still don't get…" Captain Florence replied.
"It's them. Reaper augmentations. Who would give them the tech?"
"I mean, it makes-" something brushed right by Captain Florence. He felt the wind current slap him across the check. Then he heard the echo of a weapons' fire… Finally, he saw the muzzle flash all the way across the Presidium.
"CONTACT!" Florence yelled as he hit the deck. Another round of screams ignited from the civilians as C-SEC officers pulled them into defilade.
...
It was hard, harder to keep up then Kelly would've thought. Some of the young and elder were falling behind. Those who were able-bodied stayed in the rear, making sure no one was left behind. The UNSC marines however kept pushing forward. Yet some of the underlings didn't seem as heartless as their superiors. Every once and a while their canteens are passed around among the civilians. The corpsmen stayed back with the weak, making sure everyone was alright.
The maintenance tunnels were dark, and there was a rotting smell that filled her nose. Every once and a while the group of thirty would pass by a Keeper. But other than that, nothing.
Kelly was at the forefront with the Gunnery Sergeant, guiding him and his team along the maintenance tunnels. In truth...she wasn't as knowledgeable compared to others.
But she knew a general way. She thought.
The gunny grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to kneel. She looked back. Everyone else was doing the same. She saw one of the babies in an Asari's arms begin to cry. The corpsmen covered its mouth with his hand. In any other situation it would've been abhorrent, but…
Then she heard it. Gunfire.
Lots of gunfire.
"Definitely sounds like an SMG, gunny. UNSC." The radio operator.
The gunny breathed a sigh of relief, "thank fuck. Let's meet up."
They proceeded down one of the thousands of maintenance corridors aboard the Citadel.
The one time anyone would welcome gunfire.
Kelly looked back. The corpsmen had to help carry one of the elderly who couldn't walk. The gunfire stopped.
The gunny stopped her again. All the marines raised their weapons. The gunny spoke, "UN MARINES! COMING THROUGH! Nickel or we will open fire!"
"BACK!" Someone screamed. The marines lowered their weapons.
The gunny turned the corner, along with a few of his marines. Kelly cautiously followed. On the other side were dozens of…
Spartans.
…
Kelly took a deep breath. She didn't realize how exhausted she was… She had no idea how people like Commander Shepard and the rest of his crew got through a single mission.
Still, she positioned herself close enough to the important people. The Spartan team surrounded someone rather important looking, dressed in all white.
"Gunny, Commander...our priority is Lord Hood. We need to mount all the able bodies we have and seize control of the nearby space port," One of the UNSC personnel said. He was wearing a grey armored uniform, and Kelly believed his rank was captain. He was briefing the gunnery sergeant on the situation. "Not only do we get Lord Hood out of here, but we also secure an entrance for arriving reinforcements."
Kelly held up their omni-tool, displayed the layout of the Citadel beautifully. The three were kneeling with the important official and the Spartan commander while the corpsman and a couple C-SEC medics tended to the wounded.
"I agree…" the official, Lord Hood, said, "we can't turn back now.."
"We'll leave the Spartan and a small contingent here to defend Lord Hood and the civilians...The rest of us will head to the port," the Spartan commander said. "Hopefully we can get everyone out of here."
At least this one seemed more thoughtful, more reasonable. Kelly was relieved.
Soon enough, the team of marines and C-SEC officers led by the Spartan commander began to prep. Weapons and grenades were readied, people checked each other's gear and armaments.
"Watch each others' backs. We'll send a small team to recon the area, and from there come up with a plan," the Commander said. "I know most of you aren't frontline soldiers, but the Citadel is counting on us. It's up to us. We take control of a spaceport, then we have access."
The C-SEC officers solemnly nodded, and the UNSC Marines said their 'rahs and eerahs. They proceeded to head out through the dark Keeper tunnels.
Only a couple C-SEC officers, civilians, a Spartan, Lord Hood, and Kelly stayed behind. It became quiet, too quiet. Kelly did her best to attend to the thirty-ish civilians, but she was no medic. The best she could do was apply medi-gel and hope that it'll stabilize the injured for now.
Other than that, there was nothing else to do. One of the C-SEC officers, Maya Kelly believed, shakily handed her a pistol. She looked just unsure herself as much as Kelly did.
As for the Spartan, his only concern was that UNSC admiral. His entire body language was defensive, protecting the admiral even from the civilians and C-SEC officers.
After she attended most of the civilians, Kelly sat down, back leaning against the wall. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks. She covered her face so no one would see.
There was no place safe anymore. No place left. She would never get away from the Reapers, never get away from Cerberus.
In the past year, there were only a few moments of respite. And the most recent was with the arrival of the UNSC. But now, it seems, they weren't truly the heroes.
…
She must've fallen asleep. She wasn't sure for how long. She felt groggy and tired. She looked around. Some of the civilians were asleep also. Some were crying silently.
Kelly buried her head in her lap. No, it all wasn't a horrific nightmare. It was real. It was a long time since she even used a gun, she-
…
She was on the ground. Her bare skin was burning. She had cottonmouth and it was hard to swallow. Vision blurry and a deep ringing sound in her ears.
She saw figures… White figures move down the corridor. There was muffled weapons' fire. Blue bolts of light ignited in her vision.
Her vision partially cleared up… Soldiers… Cerberus soldiers were moving down the line. Heavily armored, they moved over down C-SEC officers and fired off multiple rounds.
There was still incoming fire. Bullets hit their kinetic barriers. They took cover and returned fire. Yet instead of dark blue curtains of light, there were bright energetic yellow shields that surrounded their entire body.
She felt something cool pour down her check. She slowly and deliberately placed a hand to her face… A lot of blood was pouring out from somewhere.
Another figure came into view. That Spartan commander guarding the admiral. He didn't have a weapon. He simply grabbed the enemy's armor and proceeded to rip it off chunk by chunk. He aimed a fist at his helmet, and immediately the enemy went down.
Another Cerberus soldier shot him from behind. His shields lit up. He proceeded to turn around and do the same. More Cerberus soldiers surrounded him, shooting him until his shields burst. Rounds began to penetrate his armor, and blood seeped down his chest.
He fell to the floor.
"Move in. Let's go!" One of them yelled.
She could barely turn her head. When she did, she saw the admiral calmly stand up and place his hands behind his back. He looked at each soldier, as if he were unimpressed.
One of the soldiers reached for something in his pocket and brought out a small blue ball. It floated in front of the admiral and transformed into…
The Illusive Man.
He took a drag of his cigarette. "I apologize, Fleet Admiral, but the nature of the deal has changed."
"So it may seem," the Admiral responded. "Son, if I were you, I would consider my next step very carefully."
He made it sound like a threat.