The mark of the federation of independent species

by migos501

(TESTING PHASE)“A single event can shape our lives or change the course of history.” United under a single banner, the federation stands as a testament that any species can thrive in harmony, gifted with technology that can tip the scale of an entire galaxy, they now face with a entirely new government and it’s sets of challenges(focusing on the mass effect story)

3. Ramifications and Retribution

Before we begin; expect some updates, rewrites or changes of grammar or spelling. I think it's complete as far as words go, so I'll leave it be for now.

going to be rereading this tomorrow afternoon during my breaks to see what I need to fix, misspellings and such.

so here's hoping their isn't anything wrong and is complete.(complete I hope, but nothing wrong with any chapter is a wet dream.)

cough* *cough* anyways.

Alright, reviews as follows:

BurialFaun8: Thank you for the criticism. And while I intend to keep it non SI/OC until things start falling in place, I'm more focusing on the grand scheme of things.

Topics such as trading, political ramifications, intergalactic disputes, but more importantly,

reparations.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters.

mrwinterdk: thank you.

F35B: Not sure if you're referring to the guest who spoke about the lack of helpful advice, or me. Either way, I appreciate you enjoying the chapter.

UselessKhan69: thank you, I didn't want it to just revolve around one event. I wanted to make it more eventful.

Krieger Techpreist: Thank you; and I hope you can provide additional information that could prove beneficial in the long run. Regardless, don't be afraid to share any criticism: it's helpful.

Djangiti: Thank you, however this is just the first chapter. I hope I could do justice.

thmstrbtr96: a lot of ideas,

like A LOT.

I am tempted to confirm how many ideas I shall incorporate, but that would pretty much be spoilers, so I'll keep it a hush.

To everyone present or interested in the story, don't be afraid to pitch in any ideas that would fit better with the story.

Deafhood1998: normally that would be the case. But when you advance so much to the point you could possibly rival the forerunners themselves, along with allying species that offer humanity a seat to join them in a United galactic society, you tend to avoid the possibility of conflict with other species in hopes of being peaceful.

As for the ship, I thought I put down SDV, but no. Made that correction. For that I apologize.

and while I was tempted to do so, I figured trying to go a more passive route would prove more beneficial, at least for the time being.

Also expect some plot devices to keep the story going and more intriguing (for better or worse. Hoping for better.)

kalub092: tada.

Guest: thank you and please provide whatever suggestions that could prove beneficial.

V1lla32: I hope you enjoy this chapter on how I handled things.

atengawchok: much appreciated.

Guest: Thank you. In a way, I'm trying to make it seem a bit more complicated and a bit grounded than just shooting each other for no reason other than just existing.

I mean come on, the turians, knowing they themselves were involved with their expansions, had first contact with both the asari and the salarians due to them being prominent in the krogan rebellion and didn't even bother going full guns blazing.

but when its humanity, all of a sudden guns blazing.

ONE word: communication.

enough said.

Guest: I should commit suicide to even think of doing that.

(be right back to look at what you meant)

(imagine me reading over the section while elevator music plays)

Alright, I kinda see why you have that idea, but that's not the case. If I were to imply that Darth Revan was one of the prisoners, then I would have lumped him with Palpatine instead of Revan or Tarre Vizla.

Be right back.

(twenty minutes later)

Alright, the update should be done.

If anything, I only named him and Tarre due to how knowledgeable they could be. Leaving behind tons of force knowledge is a major treasure trove coming from both men who mastered both the light and the dark side of the force.

This is probably fanon for me, but I would like to believe that Tarre Vizla would also master both the light and dark sides of the force, just not on a bigger scale.

just my opinion.

but thank you for putting that out there, please point out any wordings that could possibly deviate from my original actual flow If possible.

Normally, I wouldn't share ideas about my fanfics, but since the guest suspects me of killing one of the most deadly and most beloved individuals in the Star Wars universe (I stand by that statement), I might as well get it over with.

Last thing to note, I'm not talking about just force-sensitive people who will be imprisoned in the star forge; I'm talking about diabolical, unethical, and inhumane individuals (and personally hate to the core) who are going to be held prisoner in the ship-building device.

start drawing names because I have a few people in my mind who are worthy of being imprisoned in the ship building station. (or review who you want to be stuck in the forge for all of eternity.)

The hellhound: yes. While I have been lacking on the last two stories lately, this one is something I'm definitely NOT going to abandon. Especially with all the other stories that I've read that have yet to be continued.

Regardless, I'm not abandoning any of my stories. I'm just trying to work around writing blocks and other issues that could get the story going.

ESPECIALLY kitsune of Tsushima.

edeath756: I'm glad that you've enjoyed the first two chapters. I hope you stick around for the ride.

Djangiti: you and me both. While I'm not rushing, I'll be sure to pick up the pace to an extent. Gotta build up one way or another.

and one major thing.

I'm essentially giving notable characters a second chance, if you will. Star Wars, titanfall, whatever franchise character deserved to be successful. Expect notable characters throughout the upcoming chapters.

guest: A few factors to answer your question.

one major factor is, regrettably...

plot.

In all seriousness, listing off a few.

1. Knowledge. Keep in mind (from ME3 citidel DLC) that the turians were not afraid to just outright shoot the security mechs who showed slight signs of self-awareness,

that scene gave me Matrix vibes.

To have a species that utilizes artificial intelligence is something they no doubt will never allow.

2. Possible ego: Let's face it, whether disciplined or not. I personally think the turian hierarchy is prideful due to their vast and effective military strength. And when a species tends to defend itself,

*cough* humanity *cough*.

They probably would like to get their payback in blood and prove they are the dominant military power in the known galaxy.

keyword: KNOWN.

OVERALL: I'm going to be nitpicking certain things from different franchises. Again, start drawing up names or suggestions of what you want to be included, however, don't go overboard, please and thank you.

Enough of that, let's begin.

---

Chapter 2: Ramifications and Retribution.

Eridani system, outer colony borders. November 12, 2559 (military calendar)

A Charon-class light frigate came out of slip space, heading towards its intended destination.

Catching a glimpse of the defense force, the ship's captain can confidently say that this fortress of a planet would give any force, familiar or not, a run for its money, ready to put the fear of whatever deity the invading forces believe in.

In addition to the defense fleet, countless ships, ranging from epoch carriers to cruise vessels, filled the role of civilian ships for cruises or other recreational activities, such as hotels or entertainment facilities, were making their way to the planet's surface.

Reach was one of the few planets that was able to sustain and thrive in a giant population. Due to upgrades of the star forge, Reach was given a major improvement for the planet.

Essentially, Reach was the first to upgrade the entire planet by increasing its size, allowing for numerous residential buildings and other civilian structures to be put in place.

The planet's size wasn't the only thing that was evident; having the ability to provide very fertile and efficient soil and quickly growing metal resources, it became the major flagship for all federation endeavors.

The UNSC had a field day when it came to utilizing more land to increase its industrialization efforts. Using its belt of nationalized corporations to begin outfitting new workers to fill suitable jobs such as architecture and manufacturing, establishing effective infrastructures all over the planet.

The frigate, however, was not interested in heading to the fortress of the stars. Instead, it headed towards one of the well-secured sectors.

Sector 7, an area of the system responsible for its shipbuilding efforts for UNSC vessels, allows a sizable amount of warships to stand by in a tight but stable formation.

What they defended was,

nothing.

A completely empty area of space, with no materials, no construction sites, no indicators of energy or traces of radiation, just an empty area.

"Captain, the blockade is hailing us, patching them through." One of the sailors said as the captain nodded and the com chatter began.

"Charon frigate number: 37925039AZ762, state your business and authorization code."

The captain replied.

"This is UNSC frigate Anthem's Demise (1.). We are here to evaluate and requisition a Spartan unit for my ship, authorization code: 92D636K," spoke the captain of his ship.

"Receiving authorization code, stand by," spoke the intercom operator, the silence being slightly evident until the operator responded.

"Clearance confirmed. Sending coordinates to docking platform S-63. You're clear to approach. Activating marker." A blue marker highlighted itself on the ship's navigation system along with a highlighted route on where to go.

"Nice and steady. We don't want to hit somewhere unexpected, now do we?" asked the ship's captain. His crew replied with a nod or shook their heads.

The frigate followed its intended route, passing by the blockade, noting the custom paint jobs or notable signs of unique character.

As they neared the end of their flight route, a door opened out of nowhere, revealing an open space big enough for any vessel. The frigate slowly entered the space until the ship was fully entered, the docking bay doors closing in the process.

A small beam of light hit the structure, slowly highlighting and illuminating the station, revealing it to be a larger and very much modified version of what once was.

a structure that had revolutionized the concept of shipbuilding to the point that planet reconstruction is possible, revolutionized industrial processes by leaps and bounds, and revolutionized the concept of 3D technology to replicate and evolve its ships to state-of-the-art behemoths.

A structure that shall be remembered and will continue to be replicated and improved upon by numerous factors of advanced technology.

The structure is known.

as the star forge.

---

(management office)

Like most scientists and engineers who are assigned to goldmine worlds or planets of interest, the shipbuilding station held the brightest minds in terms of scientific and technological developments.

Not only overseeing new developments from already existing blueprints, such as Star fighters or battle cruisers, but also acting as a training academy for spartan operatives to focus themselves on mastering and developing their force sensitivity.

Henry Glassman, a man wearing a typical scientist uniform comprised of a white lab coat, black glasses, a light blue button-up shirt, and dark slacks, was reading over a few suggestions regarding how to combine or modify properties of star fighters or other essential systems that could prove beneficial for UNSC or federation forces moving forward.

Being one of the few individuals involved with Project Infinity, noted for establishing the inner workings of humanity's first lifeboat, now turned flagship of battle group Dakota.

Using the success of humanity's first super cruiser, he elevated his position to study ways to build additional ships like the Ouroboros without waiting time.

All changed when the megastructure was discovered.

Examining and studying its properties, he reverse-engineered the ship-building method, able to harness the immortal prisoners to produce a powerful source.

Instead of immortal beings who were served eternal imprisonment as batteries, they utilized the manipulation of Midi-chlorian to increase the prisoners, along with needles stabbed into the body of said prisoners to generate and utilize thermal energy and electricity in the human body.

Creating a stable and efficient energy source to replicate and evolve ship replication to new heights.

While some argued that the successful replication of numerous high-quality and fully upgraded ships at the cost of human suffering would be considered very unethical and unnecessary, notably human rights activists who attempt to protest against this kind of treatment, being too narrow-minded to understand the full picture or just a few insurrectionist members attempting to cause chaos,

Every attempt was unfruitful.

Others were quite the opposite, preferring this approach as a fate worse than death for criminals who have caused death and misery to both inner and outer colonies.

Especially to those who enjoy murdering innocent lives to fill their sadistic ways of satisfaction, or to just do it as a means to maintain dominance over other colony worlds that house vital interests such as resources or vital trade routes.

That same thinking resulted in the extinction of the Tiburon Rojo cartel; its remaining members were used as human batteries.

Henry placed his data pad down and began walking towards the nearby door, stepping out of his office and making a surprise inspection of the power supply.

(area)

"Please, I beg of you." An alien with red eyes, bald head, and green skin, wearing only tattered rags, said in desperation to the security detail who remained stoic.

Henry addressed his people, passing by and looking over the integrity of the cells, seeing numerous faces and different species.

His constant expression of neutrality was all too apparent, aggravating the prisoners in question. Seeing a human walk freely without a care in the world, someone in their eyes is inferior in terms of status and dignity.

At least back in their own home dimensions.

As the star forge manager made it out of the cells, somewhat enjoying their screams of agony and despair, he typed out a few notes on his datapad, giving a small report to maintenance about the current system progress.

He read through the dossiers of the prisoners, one of them being Nute Gunray of the so-called trade federation, a mega corporation that was responsible for putting itself and profits over the salvation of many species.

He left the halls, ignoring their constant calls for help or acts of disrespect towards him. He heard names that he didn't understand and would probably forget about them with a cup of coffee and a side of cookies.

'A replication of our new prototype will do great.' Those were his thoughts before leaving the prison.

Training hall.

A clash of electric sabers was heard from Henry's path, with glimpses of color coming from his intended path.

Inside the training room, there was a clash between glowing swords, as one would describe it, seeing a case of two opponents.

One wore a full body suit comprised of liquid metal, covered in another layer of outer armor stacked with energy shields. The color scheme was a dark gray with some ODST shoulder pads, an EOD helmet with an orange visor for the eyes. Equipped with a blue lightsaber, clashing against his opponent.

The other wore a mix of metallic armor with some leather markings, showing signs of enduring many lifetimes of great battles. His helmet had a T-shaped black visor, with the top being visible and the lower T covered with metal. It was light red with battle scratches and other marks that indicate its usage.

However, the main distinction regarding the armored warrior is the color scheme.

Half of his clothing resembled that of a light side warrior, having what looked to be a crest of the Jedi of old, representing his upbringing.

The other half looked more closely at the walking a dark path. Having a crest of both halves, one being the Jedi insignia and the other being the Sith insignia.

The balanced warriors were engaging once more. The Spartan, being more stationary, continued to block each strike with the effort and speed needed to keep up with someone who was built for lightsaber combat.

Revan continued to strike at his opponent, seeing the Spartan strike with collected ferocity. The enhanced super soldier feinted a thrust motion, saw his feint being taken, switched his blade to the opposite side, and struck the arm of the user.

As both combatants seized any fighting, they holstered their lightsabers for a brief period.

"Came to watch the show, Mr. Glassman?" asked the light/dark user.

"Just examining the station's systems, Revan. But I do enjoy your sessions with the Spartans, no doubt. Isn't that right, Vannak?" asked Henry, seeing the Spartan nod his head.

Taking off his head, Vannak-134 (2.) maintained a somewhat stoic demeanor. His armor was a bit scorched but otherwise in perfect condition. Showing a black man with very short hair and black eyes. Wiping off scorched burns from his assigned number placed on his armor chest.

"Correct professor," stated Vannak, maintaining a stoic demeanor.

"Lay off the formalities, Spartan. Soon you'll get to experience the life of an individual." The double-sided force user spoke, earning a nod from Spartan.

Vannak looked through the window, feeling a force that sent a conflict out into the stars, feeling a slight sense of dread and anger for some reason.

"You sense it too, don't you?" Revan asked. Vannak nodded and turned his head.

"I sensed a battle taking place, lives lost and many spared. A small army was destroyed and defeated. Fear, anxiety, and shattered pride?" The stoic Spartan said, a bit curiously on the last part, wondering why a Spartan would recognize this sense of pride.

"Indeed," Regan stated, standing next to his pupil. "The perks of learning the Force, Spartan."

"It's important to be aware of your surroundings and all forms of life. Whenever there's peace, it's important to maintain it to ensure life goes by as smoothly as possible."

"And during times of war?" The stoic Spartan asked, bringing up a good point regarding his upbringing as a volunteer, being noted as one of the professional soldiers during the reorganization of the Spartan branch.

"We do what we can. For war brings the worst in all of us, but it's important to prepare for those times." Revan spoke, recalling the times he crossed the line many times, the risks he took to achieve victory, the lives he lost in his pursuit of power.

The choices he made in his own era.

Vannak nodded, continuing to look at the window, seeing the numerous vessels passing by their location as they went to the fortress of the stars. Slightly admiring the beauty of the planet as it was his home world.

Being one of the few willing volunteers at his young age who chose to become a Spartan.

The Spartan trainee felt a hand land on his shoulder, turning his head to see the battle-worn helmet of the balanced force user.

"I believe it's time to visit reach, it's been a while since I visited new Alexandria." Revan spoke, wanting to stretch his legs and see the latest new ships in service.

He sighed as he turned to the star forge overseer. "What about you, Mr. Glassman? You've been stuck in that office for quite some time now."

"Once I'm done with maintenance checks, I'll join you. I could use some actual food around here; I heard that the flea market has some whale fish in stock." Henry spoke, making slight haste since he wanted to make some fish dishes before it became out of stock.

The stoic Spartan raised an eyebrow, not really used to emotional expressions, but he will adapt over time.

Vannak didn't want to admit it due to his own personal upbringing.

But he could kill for some grilled steak.

---

(Eden Prime low orbit, ST7 Sayona, bridge)

"I can't believe it," the prothean commander said, looking over various logs and historic records regarding both humanity's history and this so-called 'Covenant'.

He heard cryptic references regarding this so-called covenant; however, his higher-ups at the time had no evidence to support such claims about this multi-species faction. Rather, it was located somewhere where the reapers couldn't find them due to unexplored space, or the reapers didn't know any knowledge of this faction, focusing all their efforts on his empire.

Possibly advancing without the need for mass relays, not requiring them due to other systems of mass technology, deviating from the path that the reapers intended for all species to follow.

aside from the baffling existence of the covenant, he saw major structures that were created, numerous worlds at their peak, and beautiful architecture that each planet showcased, setting an example that any planet is unique in its way.

Some even perfected the way the prothean culture failed to complete. And it wasn't by accident either; they focused everything on the war effort instead of making cultural history.

What peaked his interest due to his experience in warfare is the army.

Numerous species, which not only have their own militaries and doctrines but also their relationships, are more connected and closely connected than ever before.

Especially when it came to their diverse cultures.

The 'Sangheili' race is a fully imperialistic species that thrives in combat and war. Enduring major wars that resulted in the complete unification of their people. Now known as the finest warriors species in the federation of independent species.

The jiralhanae, noted as a once primitive species due to their barbaric nature during their clan-based society, reminded him of the krogan during their times of biological amplification, similar to that of the asari but in a much forced manner.

Looking at the latest events, they maintained a strong sense of self-confidence and controlled rage. Being able to express themselves in non-violent ways during times of peace, they were more calm and rational towards themselves and other species, such as the sangheili.

But when conflict arises, the jiralhanae are the first to unleash their strength through rage.

Lastly, humanity. The species that he once viewed as primitives, and to an extent he still does. However, he could not deny the fact that they advanced so much, despite the lack of any Prothean tech, to become a space-faring and military-based species from scratch.

It was thanks to the covenant that they began advancing at a rapid pace, rewarding species who aided them with truces, assistance in finding these so-called 'forerunner' artifacts to add to their growing empire, and massive trading opportunities throughout their galactic empire.

If the protheans had been in humanity's position, they would have utilized the forerunner tech to make themselves more powerful, so that no species could be greater than the prothean empire.

However, he realized that only humanity alone can use this technology, and for reasons he doesn't know.

A shame that his empire didn't add any genetic alterations to humanity, considering that he found no asari, he could only assume they failed in their intended purpose due to mediocrity, or they have yet to be discovered.

In a way, he was saddened since he had hoped the Asari would succeed from their mistakes, but his resolve told him to steel himself for the moment.

"And you say these'reapers' are indeed a threat, correct?" Asked a voice.

Before the Prothean's eyes examined the military knowledge, he turned his head to see a brown-skinned woman with a military bun; wearing a mixed suit of a commander's uniform and an engineering specialist's, her right arm being amputated, replaced with a black robotic arm.

"yes, human."

"It's commander," spoke the now named Samantha Foxwell, sitting down in her chair. Her robotic arm cupped her chin.

"Ramos, how's the excavation on those pods?" asked the Sabre team commander.

"Ma'am, I'm getting reports that stasis pods are out in the hundreds. I'm getting reports from Akeel that a transport might be needed," the archaeologist spoke.

"More of my people are alive?" asked Javik in slight relief.

"Correct. Fortunately, in time too. Their battery systems were already at low critical levels. Had we not begun excavation sooner, they would have probably died in the following years." Spoke Ramos, seeing the stasis pod schematics and concluded that the stasis pod that held the most power supply was dangerously close to 8 percent while the other pods were near a concerning 4.

"While I am grateful for your generosity in getting my people out of their stasis sleep, it's imperative that we should speak to these leaders of yours." Javik stated, wanting to prepare for the upcoming threat.

"Before I even think of setting a course to our destination, I want answers," demanded Ramos, seeing the curious looks from the security staff and the Sabre team 7 commander.

"Who were these enemies that you faced during your time? Were they some kind of species?" asked Victor, while Foxwell secretly pressed a record button to document any and all encounters moving forward.

"No, worse." Javik stood up.

"Believe me or not, human, but what you saw was proof that they exist." The prothean began the conversation.

"The reapers are an advanced race of A.I. Housed in the bodies of giant ships numbered in the thousands. They destroy everything in their wake, from indoctrinating the fallen, mutating them into mindless killing machines. Each battle we lose is a bolster for their forces. In space, it's no better as their ships are so advanced that they can tank a lot of firepower and deliver back tenfold." Spoke Javik, recalling the times he had a few close calls with reaper ships.

"Every tactic, every move, every action we attempt to take, they drive us back and put my empire, my people into extinction. Had we not secured the bunker, we would have been dead." Concluded the prothean, lucky that some of his men and people were alive now.

"you mention indoctrination as if it's forced. Isn't indoctrination used for bringing in the young, say like convincing a group to join the ranks?" asks the Sabre team commander, who receives weekly enlistment reports every month.

"No, it's more of a signal, a method of indoctrination that manipulates people to go against us, a tactic that was most effective as this bunker was supposed to be a secret. However, splinter groups found out, only to be indoctrinated by the reapers." Javik said.

"What is their main objective?" asked Commander Foxwell, not wanting to beat around the bush.

"Total extinction of all organic life, harvesting an entire species for what purpose, I don't know. But I do know that your ancestors were primitive enough to not be targeted by the reapers, so here's hoping this cycle will be the last time the reapers ever attack." Javik theorized, since the ships did look to surpass anything the empire could ever produce.

Before any more conversation could take place, the door opened to reveal an operative, approaching the Sabre team 7 commander, whispering information to her now serious face.

Samantha tapped her wrist pad, activating a screen to show what appears to be the theta system, which held the image of the Shanxi blockade.

"Friends of yours, prothean?" asked Commander Foxwell, thinking these might be remnants of his empire.

What Javik saw was a fleet of inoperable starships, with a vulture-like design, stranded and unable to move.

"No," Javik said, not recognizing those ships as belonging to any of his fleets.

Tapping more into the data given by her operative, displaying footage from a few points of view from a few droids that participated in the boarding efforts of the vessel.

Javik saw the bird-like heads of the once primitive species, now able to operate ships.

At least that's what he's going by when it comes to the debris of now dead corpses.

"But I do know the species. Those are turians, it's a bit surprising that they evolved." The prothean commander said, a bit incredulously.

"It seems to me that they have formed into a superpower. Right now, the UNSC will have their hands full. If you're dead set on ending this threat, then I'll have to inform a few colleagues." Said Samantha, knowing what might follow should be accepted.

"Indeed," his posture relaxes, not being bound by slight fear after the attack on the bunker. "If we are to prepare for the reapers' arrival, then we must count on every front and every planet." Spoke the prothean commander.

"winter contingency." The Sabre team commander whispered, a UNSC protocol she was well informed of due to her time in the military.

She stood up and addressed the Prothean in question.

"We'll inform the government about this, but I already have ways to prepare for this upcoming war." She turned to her close assistant.

"And you're not going to like it," Samantha said, already knowing one of those ideas.

"Absolutely not! Last time I checked, those bastards complained about-"

"This is not up for debate," the Sabre team commander stated matter-of-factly. "As Javik said, we are counting on every front should an extinction-level threat come to play." She sat back down and sipped on a cup of coffee.

"Return to the dig site, round up and secure every Prothean present. Have a base of operations set to house the refugees until further notice." Ordered Samantha. Victor reluctantly nodded, gesturing for Javik to follow him as they both left.

Samantha turned to the operative.

"Keep me updated on these developments, have a battle group ready should this escalate in the turians' favor," ordered Commander Foxwell. The operative nodded and dismissed himself, causing Samantha to acknowledge her security.

"Guards, take a break. Get some rest," Commander Foxwell said. They nodded and moved outside, hoping the next rotation would take place.

Commander Foxwell activated a communications relay, and the holographic individual appeared before her with a blank and professional expression.

"We need to talk."

---

(Shanxi space, theta system.)

(turian dreadnought Rufraka.)

A flare was activated, held by the captain of the now inactive dreadnought, trying to gather what remains of his men.

Calio Epidiraka, the unlucky captain whose ship fell victim to the bombing radius, was attempting to gather everyone up, prefering to stick together and be prepared for possible boarding parties.

"Everyone sound off," said the turian captain, still groggy from the aftermath of the bombing runs.

One after one, each turian called out. Grabbing whatever was nearby to act as a support to lift themselves up.

"Status?" asked the turian captain, speaking not only to his nearby crew but also through his omni-tool.

'Maintenance crew here: So far, the entire ship is dead in space. The only thing working is our life support systems, and making repairs for the ship as a whole will take time.' Spoke the com lines on the Omni tool.

"Understood; do what you can to get by, but start getting our auxiliary systems back up. We need to know our current situation." Calio said, and the turians nodded as they first went to get some gear.

The ships, which were in the same predicament, were also in a state of abandonment, attempting to figure out the next course of action.

(Guardian of the bridge)

Jon looked at what was once a space battle with reluctance. It didn't have to end with the destruction of a foreign fleet, nor did it have to end in a bloodbath.

An entire fleet of unknown aliens, shooting and destroying a few of his destroyers, advanced as if his blockade was defeated, and eliminated a few droid frigates as if victory was assured.

However, while he did respect the tenacity of the attacking forces, it was completely overshadowed by the fact that they chose to attack without warning.

And that alone angered him to an extent.

"Python." Jon asked. An holographic construct manifested in the table. The hologram was a man wearing an officer's uniform holding a python snake on his left arm.

"yes, admiral?" asked the A.I.

"Have carriers Barabosa and Patecatl move in the debris. Prepare boarding parties on the disabled ships." Ordered Jon, his crewmen already relaying orders and commands to the selected carriers.

"already relayed orders to the carriers, the tigress is assisting in the process." Stated python, dispelling into holographic dust.

"Patch into the comm channel, open frequency. I want to see if I can get through to them." The fleet admiral stated, choosing his words carefully for these invaders, all the while looking at the carriers approaching the debris.

"Stand by, patching into all public channels," the station's coms officer spoke.

(back with the rufraka)

"Captain, we are getting a strong signal from the giant structure. Shall I patch it through?" asked the ship's communications specialist.

"We have no choice. Put it through." Said the reluctant turian captain.

A hologram appeared on every known ship. The projection of Admiral Grissom appeared, and some turians muttered how alike they were to the asari, aside from distinct features such as patches of hair and different body structure.

They halted any comments as the human began to speak.

"Attention all vessels of unknown origin. You have attempted to trespass and attack our colony planet of Shanxi. Your invasion, along with your fleets, has been taken down and destroyed. Because of your actions, we are tempted to just eliminate your ships, along with the rest of your crew, for your crimes." Calio's eyes widen as the stranded ships could be destroyed.

"However, we shall instead commence boarding procedures. Under Article 27 of the UNSC regulation 74261, all hostile personnel will be put into custody. Cooperate, and you will be spared under our oversight until diplomatic relations between both parties can be established. Failure to cooperate will result in execution authority." The hologram disappeared, leaving the rest of the ships concerned and unable to process the information.

After the transmission concluded, two shadows came over what remained on the ships.

They appeared to be the two epoch carriers, each launching a few salvage ships with a few fighter escorts, some of which were the same fighters capable of destroying the diversionary dreadnought that attempted to buy the fleet some time.

"Captain, orders?" asked one of Calio's men.

"Losing more turian blood is out of the question. We'll cooperate." Calio pressed his omni-tool, sending a mass intercom signal.

"All personal, I want everyone to not engage boarding parties. I repeat, do not engage. Anyone who attempts to engage will be punished for insubordination." Calio said with a no tolerance tone. Not wanting any one of his crew to be involved with resisting forces.

"But sir, we could ambush them. Use this advantage and attempt to board their vessels," said one of the more prideful turians.

"And risk having the rest of our ships destroyed?" Calio asked, causing one of his prideful crew members to become silent.

"Exactly. If one of us attempts to resist, then we all will be punished. Regardless of one of us attempting to make a plan of action," Calio's face turned into one of anger. Not having time for stupid ideas from his crew of all people.

The last thing he needed was for a turian to risk the lives of many for the sake of small odds.

No one said anything as the two carriers released a couple of boarding ships.

(with the boarding vessel.)

Private Will Carmine, eager and composed, maintained a steady presence with his gear ready.

To an extent, this is what he was made for. His family, upholding and maintaining the traditions of what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves.

For some family members, it means shooting very big guns and getting into fights just for the sake of it, more of a thrill to get off on certain aspects such as adrenaline rush or relieving an itch in their lives.

Others do it because it's an obligation, an expectation that each generation goes through to bring honor and respect within and outside the community of Sera, their colony home.

For Will, it was to ensure his family was safe, unburdened by the circumstances of poverty or low-income housing, since living in Half Bay wasn't cheap.

Resulting in capitalizing on the benefits that every military service member would receive,

From medical care, house insurance, and the paychecks that come with it.

He served in many conflicts involving breach and clear operations. From capturing points of interest to raiding terrorist strongholds and keeping illegal arms for possible terror attacks against the UNSC or other neutral interests that provide additional wealth for the outer colonies.

He shook off those thoughts as a hand shoved his arm, returning to his spot.

He, like all of his brethren, was equipped with a pressurized oxygen mask configured with a durable protective helmet, should the idea of space combat become a thing, a grappling hook to attach themselves to any kind of surface to prevent gravity from taking them away.

Along with the mask, they wore pressurized body gloves outfitted with ballistic armor and an integrated exoskeleton to allow for fast movement and decreased reload time, armored padding for both arms and legs, and magnetic combat boots with added mobility in zero gravity environments.

However, unlike the rest of his marines, who were equipped with state-of-the-art weapons systems, he, along with a few, was equipped with some special weapons originally from their home planets.

For him, he was equipped with a MK 3 lancer rifle with a built-in all-purpose grenade launcher, capable of integrating with any grenade types, light blue dot sights, an extended barrel with a charm of a small combat knife, and for a sidearm, a Kendall 44 pistol.

"Cheer up, won't it? It can't get much better than this."

"you too, Eduardo?" (3) Ask the carmine soldier, causing the man now named Eduardo Santiago to nod with a stern but calm tone.

"Somebody's got to keep you safe, Carmine." The Santiago soldier's face grinned sheepishly. "We family men gotta stay together, you know."

Will broke into a smile, offering his hand to Eduardo, who took it with a good grip as they chuckled.

"Always," Will said, checking if his gear is placed correctly. "So how are your grandkids?"

"Very well, Rosa is always happy to take care of our grand babies. It's a shame I can't be there with them." Said Eduardo, missing his grand babies, Benedicto and Sylvia.

"Being a military person will do that to you. But that doesn't mean the vacation perks aren't worth it." Will said, having been told about two decades' worth of vacation.

Still not used to living more than 500 years due to genetic engineering.

"if there is one thing I know, amigo, it's difficult to stop once you know how to use a gun." Eduardo said, being involved with some mentoring of new recruits, including his two sons.

"I pray to god that my sons are doing well," said the Santiago grandfather, not wanting any bad omens to happen to his family.

"I'm sure Dom and Carlos are doing well. They are stationed in Wisconsin, right?" William asked, making Eduardo nod at the question.

"Then they'll be fine, I overheard some colleagues of mine that noble team is involved. I'm sure a couple Spartans could lend a few hands if things get dicey." William reassured his friend, not wanting one of his long-time companions to feel despair.

Before any more talking could be done, a loud boom could be heard, indicating contact with the downed ship. Everyone hurried to prep their gear.

"Eyes on your huds; be brief or be sorry!"

Not long after, two men were walking towards the door.

One appeared to be equipped with the MERC rig, featuring an assortment of heavy armor, most notably a helmet reminiscent of a CQB-class Spartan helmet but with a green visor.

He equipped a ballistic shield on his back, holding in his right arm was a F-SpAr Torch "steel dragon".

the other person wore a more formal but formidable armor set, comprised of a inner muscle suit with built in layer of Liquid Metal, stacked on top of said body suit was a sleek design of power armor but looked to be made of an ulterior armor than the high quality spartan armor, having a staff sargent emblem on his right arm(4).

the leader is equipped with a JT-12 assault rocket pack. for weapons, he is equipped with a MK4 Morita Assault Rifle along with a side arm of a magnum pistol.

"alright listen up!" Said the staff sargeant. "I'll keep things simple, we're going to breach and clear each and every ship and arrest, and if need be stun round any alien bastard that wants to try us." Said the armored ringleader, his morita rifle resting on his shoulder.

"Santiago!, what's the navy's official policy for a gunfight?!" Ask the armored sargent, knowing the answer already.

"send in the marines!" Exclaimed Eduardo.

"OORAH!" Yelled out the squad due to enjoying their jobs.

"damn right, that's what I like to hear." The armored warrior took off his helmet, revealing it to be a handsome black man with a mustache and short black puffy hair. slightly pushing down a small cigar slightly once this operation ends, pressing a button to show a blueprint of the ship viewing in their eye wares.

"we got multiple points of entry and a couple squads at the ready. Multiple designations are already prepped for entry. All we got to do is just knock the door, and secure and detain." The staff sargeant stated, detailing a blueprint of turian ship, scanned by the UNSC carriers.

"Remember, no bull-shitting around. Keep yours heads on a swivel and you'll be just fine. Check your corners and watch each other's backs. Clear?" Ask the staff sargeant.

"clear!" Yelled everyone present. The staff sargeant nodded, seeing everyone tapping into each other's arms, implying their own teammates.

putting on his helmet back on and opening coms to command.

"control, this is staff sargeant Johnson. We're ready to breach in enemy ship."

"Roger: you have execute authority." An actual operator said; the airlock doors began pressurizing.

"come on big boy, your up." The staff sargeant now known as Avery Johnson said. The juggernaut rig nodded, hosltering his weapon on his back, activating his ballistic exo shield, equipping a M7 sub-machine gun from his waist.

the doors opened, the merc operator moved in first, Johnson following suit as they see the ship abandoned for the moment.

"carmine, pop a threat gernade." Ordered Johnson.

"on it." Will nodded, pulling out a gernade, cycling through the settings of EMP and flash, eventually selecting threat.

Throwing it down to the ground, a surge of light absorbed a major part of the area, detecting turians within the walls without them knowing they were tagged.

luckily for the boarding party, they saw most of them with their hands up, standing their just waiting to be seen by them. However that didn't mean it was going to be easy.

"let's move in." Johnson said, his morita rifle ready and the MERC operator took point, resulting in the teams to form of small groups and move in as well.

the halls were silent as darkness loomed the once lovely routes, no doubt these turian'

seeing what looked to be unknown hostiles with raised hands, it was awfully quiet for a disabled ship.

"door up ahead." Said the merc operator, seeing a sealed door on the left side of the corridor, his voice modifier hiding his original voice.

"stack up. Carmine, check for traps." Johnson said, hugging the right side of the door, afew marines followed suit; their rifles at the ready.

"yes sir." Will said, looking at his left wrist and activating an electronic screen, seeing afew highlighted objects that indicate electrical purpose, some looked very similar to that of explosive traps.

"I'm detecting afew electrical signatures, some spikes of electrical activity, but nothing that would indicate any traps, highlighting them now." Will said, Avery nodded and looking at the points of where the signals of what would possibly be.

"Santiago, EMP." Ordered Johnson, not wanting to take any chance.

"yes sir." Eduardo rushed to the door; placing a 2 meter RC gadget on the ground, attached with a EMP charge.

after that; he began placing a device on the door console, activating it resulting in a bypass of basic systems.

(on the other side of the door.)

corporal Plalio Olymtion was one of the majority group of turians who chose to surrender, he was after all responsible for the safety of his team.

the last thing he thought to himself was how he hoped that his higher ups would follow suit, hoping no bloodshed will come to himself and his crew despite the orders that they had to follow.

they never had time to lament on their thoughts as the door opened. Seeing nobody coming in, causing them to tense as a small four wheeled object entered, stopping in the middle of the room.

next thing the turian knew was the sound of electricity ramping up, the car releasing a electrical discharge. Disabling and short circuiting any electrics, especially their Omni-tool communication systems.

"Breaching!" Yelled out the merk operator, his exo shield at the ready, Johnson followed as his morita rifle was pointed forward, his squad members moving in.

"hands hands, show me hands!" Yelled out the staff sargeant, lights flashing the turians' eyes but maintained their posture.

"Santiago, carmine, detain them." Ordered Johnson, his morita rifle still pointed at them.

both men slowly approached the turians, their weapons not lowering in the slightest.

both marines pulled out some handcuffs, slowly but surely placing the turians, detaining them in the process.

while they were doing that, what sounded like gunfire erupted from the lower hallways, Avery prompted a radio check.

"this is delta 1 to all UNSC channels, I'm hearing gunfire from the lower ship hallways, gimme a sitrep." Ordered Johnson.

'this is echo 2, we've got some short circuits going A.W.O.L. Someone lost an eye and a alien tried to kamikaze, looks like their equipment got fragged.' Went off the nearest coms. Relieving some who were still searching the ship.

'Lima 9 here: securing prisoners to the transports. Be advised; whatever systems they got trying to boot up are failing, expect some random fireworks down the halls.' Said one squad leader on coms.

"copy that, keep the prisoners in check and brought back safely, anyone tries to escape can eat a stun round." Spoke Avery, cutting off the feed and turning to his men.

"alright, we're gonna take this nice and easy, " Yelled out Johnson.

"yes sir." Both men finished securing the turians, being detained and handcuffed, ready to be escorted back to the boarding vessel, making their way towards their Sargeant.

"they'll be back."

The marines turned to the turian corporal, their eyebrows raised in confusion.

"explain 'turian'." Carmine demanded, his weapon at the ready.

"I said, they'll be back. Soon, our fleets will return to finish what they started, and soon you'll face the full might of the turian navy." Spoke one of the defiant turians in a matter of fact tone.

"maybe." The staff sargeant approach the turian in question. "But we'll make sure you'll have a hard time trying to make that happen." Johnson spoke, hearing afew com chatter about secured groups of prisoners.

"now move!" Exclaimed Avery, seeing the turians being pushed forward outside of the room, moving into a single file line. Their bindings tight to not allow movement.

"damn it private, what the hell are you doing?!" Demanded Plalio in agitation.

"dying with honor." The private said; lifting up a grenade from his pocket.

"GRENADE!" carmine said, shooting a stun round to the turian, dropping the grenade rolling down the side of the marines.

will without hesitation, threw his weapon aside and covered the grenade with his body, ready to risk his life for the team.

however what he didn't count for was the grenade not going off, taking way longer than the usual 3 to 5 second delay.

half a minute passed and carmine noticed he was still in one piece. Looking at his squad mates with confusion and slight relief.

"long story short:" the human team looked at the turian prisoners. "Even our grenades were affected by those strikes." Plalio said, trying to avoid any form of retaliation.

carmine immediately got up and kicked the grenade to the far side of the hall.

"thank god I'm alive." Will said abit thankful as he picked up his rifle.

"carmine, pay attention to the comms, otherwise you can feast on dry rations throughout the duration." Avery said, picking up and throwing the stunned turian to the other prisoners, being picked up by his team leader.

"yes staff sergeant." Will said as he returned to formation, keeping his senses open to prevent any more mistakes.

as much as it was essential, he hated that stuff.

(hours later, UNSC hades)

multiple prisoners were now seen walking towards the boarding vessel, each having gruntled or even angry faces of the turians in question.

some even attempted to use their Omni blades to stand a fighting chance. However methods as those against a combat ready squads were as successful as training new recruits,

crashing their hopes and dreams and to accept reality,

That or just forfeiting into unconscious.

like any species when taken prisoner, they attempted to fight back, use whatever weapons they had at their disposal, however the EMP bombing runs were so effective that even small arms weapons were out of use, making it easy for boarding parties to secure and detain any prisoners with little to no casualties.

"actual; be advised; prisoners are being secured in the hades prison blocks." Avery said, making sure every prison cell was checked out and locked up.

'copy: anything to note?' The admiral ask, wanting to know any useful information.

"be advised; I'm getting warnings from these 'turians' that a second invasion force in en route to hit again. Estimated timeframe: unknown. Recommend we make haste and call in backup asap." Sergeant Johnson put in a recommendation.

'understood sargeant.' Grissom said with seriousness, valuing the input of one of his trusted colleagues.

'this is admiral Grissom to all UNSC personnel , commence protocol: winter contingency. Mobilize all UNSC forces effective immediately.' The intercom of every USNC frequency went off, indicating a priority one hail.

'this is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill, divert and deploy all available assets.'

a red alarm began blaring all over the ship, Not a moment passed by and everyone made haste, preparing for all out war for planetary defense.

Troops and non-combat personnel began repairing surviving star fighters, restocking on ammunition, Tibana gas and high-yield ordnance.

'Johnson, load up every prisoner onto the hades so they could be taken to Arcturus, have all ground assets deploy and fortify ASAP.' Grissom ordered, relying orders to all ships to deploy troops ground side to prevent needless casualties.

"already packed up and ready to go. Once we get these bastards secured, I'll initiate the all clear." Johnson replied.

'copy, sending a security team to take up guard duty, we need you here leading ground ops.'

"crystal." Johnson said, seeing afew of his men give a thumbs up, along with afew security forces making their way to their positions.

"green light admiral, hades is secure. prisoners are secured, guards are set. My men are moving out now." Avery grabbed his weapon and his men, whistling to his men, his index finger up and gesturing them to regroup.

"marines, were going downstairs. Boys in the surface want every man, woman and ammo down there, gear up because it's gonna be lively." The staff sargeant stated.

"why is that staff sargeant?" Ask a random marine.

"because if you took off your damn head out of your ass, then you would've listened through the comms telling you to mobilize. That and if our prisoner friend told us is true, then we'll be having some ugly bird brain bastards who want to steal our dignity." Avery said, loading up his morita rifle.

"everyone let's go." Avery said, making their way to the nearby pelicans, entering in the dropships as the bay doors began to close.

Multiple pelicans and other space worthy dropships began exiting the hades.

'carriers barabosa, Patecatl, and Siberia. Land low orbit near the colony to provide air superiority."

"solid copy, UNSC patecatl prepping for low orbit. All fighters begining fighter and ammo check." Spoke the coms. Barabosa and Siberia already began descending into the planet's surface.

a volley of pelicans began flying downwards. Diving down the atmosphere like birds going in for their catch of the day. The Epoch carriers in question slowly descended down to the surface. Establishing air superiority should a possible invasion force break through.

Grissom knew that by having all carriers occupied in their tasks would result in lack of fighter support to divert many starships, but he didn't want to risk the Shanxi colony not having any form of aerial superiority.

he could already imagine the situation going down planet side. Using the colony ships to transport any and all civilians to a secure location.

---

(Azure. Turian embassy excutive building.)

ambassador Quentius was reading damage reports. How joint operations of mercenary groups operated United to target the newcomers. How they dealt major blows via placed explosions at their specific landing docks.

no doubt he'll have to pay a visit to omega to find out who orchestrated this attack. It's no coincidence that theirs plenty to gain from attacking foreigners.

ranging from testing ship strength, seeing how big of a threat a new species can be if left alone.

and in the batarians' case, their constant need for slave labor for 'religious' reasons.

The ladder sickens the ambassador to the core.

His constant review of the after action reports were halted with the doors of his office opened. Revealing to be the human escorts and the F.I.S. Ambassador and his jiralhanae honor guard.

all of which not having not-so nice expressions.

the turian guard had their weapons ready since the escorts held their weapons tightly.

"stand down." Quentius said worryingly to his men, seeing as they still held their guns at the ready.

it was the skull faced spartan who raised his hand backward, resulting in the turian weapons to fly towards their direction as they were caught by the brute honor guard.

"ambassador." Turb bak said; his gravity throne passing by the turian men, hovering infront of the turian ambassador.

"ambassador turb, what is the problem?" Ask Quentius, not understanding the situation.

the san'shyuum predecessor threw down a holographic display down the table,

while this was occurring. Two groups shortly arrived inside the building.

Jun and the turian representatives made it inside while the Santiago brothers and castis also entered.

"noble 3." Dom said, as he and Carlos saluted, the spartan sniper taking notice of the trio.

"what are you doing here? You're supposed to be stationed at your ship." The spartan rifleman said abit curiously.

"we got information that could prove beneficial with the infiltrators." It was castis who spoke up for the two humans.

"castis? You're also here on shore leave?" Ask saren, only knowing of him due to his past achievements in busting red sand contriband.

"it was supposed to be my vacation until these two humans asked questions, didn't hurt to answer until those explosions went off." The off duty officer said.

"good to see atleast another turian getting along with a new species." Desolas said with a smile.

"not to be rude turian, but your government is already on thin ice after the stunt your species pulled." Spoke the spartan commando, causing the C-sec officer to have a questionable look.

"pardon?" Ask castis, the arterius brothers were also confused.

"it's best you see, but if you really have information then come with us." Jun said, walking back to his squad along with the turian representatives.

as soon as both trios joined the dispute, the hologram finished loading.

the hologram showed a fleet of warships launching a devastating first strike to the defense fleet. Detailing the ships that were destroyed defending the planet. Fighters from different points of view engaging and attacking moving frigates, and finally the retreat of the attacking fleet.

only to be snuffed out and eliminated due to the combination of both laser beam damage and what looked to be EMP seismic charges, leaving only a total of four ships escaping.

the fact that they were turian ships wasn't helping the ambassador in any way.

"captain." Carter turned to see his rifleman holding afew foreign pieces of tech along with a trio of two marines and one turian.

"rifleman, I assume that's the tech they used to bypass our security system?" Ask kat, her intrigue being evident but concerned.

"yes ma'am." Jun said, placing the devices on the table.

"pardon to interrupt but I would also like to share some input." It was castis who spoke next, pressing afew buttons on his omni-tool; showing a detailed video replay of the remaining ships entering and leaving the system from their position with said eclipse frigate.

this alone confirmed that whoever organized the attack employed other organizations to aid in the attack, making the situation even worse for the citidel government.

"don't know who you are turian, but your cooperation is very noted." It was the spartan juggernaut who spoke this time, showing gratitude for the turian who confirmed their suspicions.

"explain yourself ambassador, because right now this is grounds for war." Turb bakk demanded answers to the now silent turian.

the arterius brothers and the C-sec officer were shocked that their own government was responsible for the first strike of what looked to be their homeworld.

"ambassador turb, i apologize for the situation that my government took in terms of actions but rest assured that I have no authority to initiate a military response to that scale to your homeworld. You may check my call logs if you wish but I promise on my life that I did not order any attacks." Quentius stated, offering his life to ensure he was telling the truth.

"homeworld?" Orenski said in a look of confusion, turb also took the same expression.

"is that not your homeworld? If I'm basing on the strength on the blockade, it's a homeworld is it not?" Ask captain fimrius, having an idea on who was the one who led the assault while also preparing a list of solutions to apologize for their actions.

"so you all weren't aware then?" Ask Emile, loading up acouple shells and pumping his M45 tac shotgun, his tone sounding unconvinced.

"pardon to interrupt ambassador, but why the confusion?" Ask castis, abit confused that the humans were having a difficult moment, especially the skull faced one with the gun in toe.

"I'll cut to the chase." It was April that began talking. "Shanxi isn't a homeworld, it's a colony planet," the fleet admiral stated, not wanting to be cryptic any longer.

this dawned on the turians who genuinely didn't know (being everyone present) that an invasion attempted occurred,

an invasion that could've led to civilian deaths.

"hold up, so your telling me the hierarchy initiated a military strike on a colony planet?" Ask saren, as he and desolas were abit conflicted.

"a newly developed colony planet." Carter corrected the future spectre. "We were supposed to monitor its progress shortly after we delivered the colony ships we were escorting, that was until your fleet showed up." Noble 1 said, gesturing to the turian captain who encountered the human ships.

"newly developed? How many colony planets do you have?" Ask Quentius, not believing that this was a colony planet.

the fleet admiral turned to the san'shyuum ambassador, to which he shook his head in denial.

"I believe that information is not to be disclosed, especially after your government's stunt ambassador Quentius." Spoke turb in a professional monotone.

"understandable." The turian ambassador said, especially with the news of his government launching an invasion force to a colony planet.

"back to the topic." The Federation's ambassador stated. "You do know that this motion will not go unpunished. So unless you have proof that someone else initiated that attack, then I'm afraid negotiations will end here." The san'shyuum ambassador spoke, abit of reluctance and contempt.

"I'll try to contact the primarth, see if I can get any information regarding the situation." Proposed captain fimrius.

"let us all be present. I want to know what the hell is going on." Turb bakk said, as both honor guards and the turian security detail also wanted to see the matter unfold.

"do it." Quentius ordered, decitis nodded as he pressed the call button on the hologram comm buoy.

a few moments have gone by, each passing second caused tensions with the parties present, the rage slowly begining to build up for the jiralhanae.

the silence was eliminated as a hologram appeared to be a turian.

"captain decitis, how is the situation on azure going?" Ask primarth fedorian with a professional tone.

"primarth, we got some new that are not so good." Stated the turian captain.

"explain." Demanded the primarth.

"3 hours ago, a joint operation of criminal groups attacked the docking platforms keeping the new species in. Casualties were expected but more on the criminals' case due to law enforcement and acouple military personnel intervening, including our turian representatives." Explained decitis.

"we managed to tend to the wounded, the humans even offering their medical technology to assist our wounded." Stated captain fimrius.

"that is good to hear ambassador. I'll be sure to send in emergency fleet to assist in relief efforts." Fedorian was about to conclude the meeting until Quentius halted him.

"primarth, their is more." The turian ambassador said.

"we have confirmed reports that a fleet of warships attempted to subjugate a newly developed colony planet had it not been for their blockade. Be advised; these were our ships." The turian ambassador stated in slight aggravation, he never wanted anything like this to happen to any civilization.

"I want to know who was responsible for leading the attack." Ask quintius, his request sounding almost like an order.

"colony planet? So his report from actuss was inaccurate?" Ask fedorian.

"actuss was the one who attacked their world!?" This time it was decitis who spoke up, his anger being evident due to the possible words he twisted.

"yes. And before you go on about accusations, he spoke the truth, he reported about new species in contact and the use of A.I., but what I'm more concerned about is the fact that they were able to activate a dormant mass relay." Primarth fedorian spoke, his tone becoming more prominent and clear by the moment.

"but sir; we were just about to continue negotiations with them and already he dared attacking them, how could you allow him to attack possible allies, let alone let him lead an entire battle group?!" Demanded fimrius, not seeing any reason to attack first.

"captain, you of all people should realize the possibility of the humans becoming a threat to not just themselves, but also to the citidel." Explained fedorian, begining his point of view.

"You cannot expect me to just allow them to roam free, activating relays without any regard for possible threats or consequences, invading and expanding in areas which are reserved for certain species who have petitioned their rights to expand for countless years? Allowing possible criminal activity to operate and undermine our ability to protect and defend our borders?" Ask the turian primarth, expecting an answer.

"I understand the need for these kinds of situations primarth; but there could've been a chance that peaceful resolutions would have been reached had the attacks not occurred." Refuted the ambassador.

the federation ambassador has had enough of the back and forth, deciding to press a button on the nearby communications' console, he pressed it, thinking that it would allow him to be apart in the conversation.

unknown to him, he allowed everyone in the surrounding area to also be visible.

"and furthermore..."fedorian slowly took in the new visitors, noting the presence of not only the humans, but also the new species that he was not aware or familiar with.

"look, as much as I would like to see you two going back and fourth, we have urgent matters to attend to." Turb bakk stated and allowed himself to continue his speech.

"it's clear that misconceptions and misunderstandings are evident with the way you handled yourselves, especially with the current situation of attacking our colony planet, here's what I propose." The San'shyuum ambassador stated.

"speak then." Said fedorian.

"you eliminate any thoughts of attacking one of our colonies; and we'll allow ourselves to resume negotiations. If we hear reports about another attack by your ships, then consider it a very clear sign that peace is out of the question." Offered turb bakk, giving these misunderstood creatures one chance not to screw anything up,

otherwise he'll personally send for a covenant super carrier and glass their home-world to the gods.

Fedorian had to maintain face, he knew actuss would attempt to try again but he also didn't want his government to not look incompetent to some degree.

they were the keepers of peace for a reason.

"I'll contact captain actuss to halt and stop any possible campaigns, but I can't guarantee it due to his stubbornness to uphold citidel law." Spoke the primarth, doing what he can to avoid a galactic war.

the federation's entourage were concerned with proclamation, but couldn't speak out due to not adding fuel to the fire in terms of negotiations.

"we shall accept the actions." Spoke turb bakk, moving his gravity throne toward his group, his expression still hardened.

"but I warn you; should we hear about any possible attacks, you're homeworld will be next, and I can assure you; we shall bring in a fleet that represents our true might as a galactic empire." Turb bakk pressed a console button; shutting off all communication with the parties.

the human fleet admiral and the federation ambassador looked at each other and their personal guards. Seeing some tension with eachother and for their own crewmen's safety.

"well shit." April covered her face with her hand in frustration, wondering if this was going to lead to a diplomatic crisis.

"no kidding ma'am." Carter replied slightly concerned for the ambassador and his choice of words.

"ambassador Quentius." The turian in question tensed up, thinking that hostile tensions will be imminent, the turian security detail not being able to do anything.

"let this me known. Azure will be flagged as a neutral grounds. Therefore no acts of aggression shall be made, consider this as gratitude and respect for following through the peaceful route." Stated turb bakk, shocking the turians present.

"however I advise you all to not squander this opportunity. and to ensure that this safe haven is protected, we shall contact one of our defense fleets to protect this planet." Elaborated the san'shyuum ambassador, causing slight concern and hesitation to the turians but nodded.

"contact us whenever you are ready to continue negotiations, until then, we shall remain in our ships." The san'shyuum ambassador concluded, his gravity chair hovering away towards the entrance, leaving behind the turians to their devices.

as the doors closed, leaving behind the turian party to collect their thoughts. Quentius was the first to let out a sigh of relief and gratefulness.

in a way it was thanks to his generosity that allowed the foreign party to restrain themselves from using full force.

"what are our orders ambassador?" Ask decitis, hoping that no hostiles shall arise from the statement spoken.

"we shall continue negotiations, have all topics noted and forwarded to my Omni-tool. Get the room refurbished and ready for the next meeting." Ordered the turian ambassador in slight haste with proper care for his own people and government.

"are you sure that we are still in a position to continue negotiations?" Ask decitis, his mind more along the lines of having a fleet garrison in azure.

"I'm confident that we are, we have been nothing but hospitable towards them and last time I checked, we didn't even initiate hostile action." The turian's present nodded and they were still in a position of restraint, showing the newcomers hospitality and respect.

"even if I have doubts on continuing these developments, we still got to pull forward, but I'm not an ambassador for nothing am I?" Decitis nodded since it was logical to open up communications with possible species that could be beneficial in the long run.

"so we shall do whatever it takes to smooth things over as much as possible. So unless tonn continues to provoke our possible allies, then we should be able to continue negotiating with possible terms of cooperation." Quentius said, relaxing in his chair, abit exhaused with the amount of tension the turian captain brought by attacking the newly discovered colony world.

"anything else ambassador?" Ask a turian assistant who stood in the back end of the conversation.

"turian scotch if possible, I need a drink." He asked, his assistant nodded and went off, tempted to ask for ryncal but decided against it.

too strong, especially in times like this where he needs to remain focused.

---

(UNSC Wisconsin prison block)

normally such areas would be empty due to the lack of action, it was still a necessary part of the ship due to hostile tensions in the outer colonies, capturing possible bounties with critical information.

noble team were walking to a desired cell, passing by afew cells with turians being beaten along with afew surviving vorcha. Getting some cases of electric rods and other blunt weapons that were available.

some interrogators were more personal, using brass knuckles to eliminate what turians won't break. Other interrogators just outright beat them to near death, having afew turian medics who were sympathetic to the humans on standby.

Carter was the first to enter their preferred cell, revealing to be the turian who was portraying the role of law enforcement, now keeping a silent tone throughout his imprisonment.

the juggernaut spartan stood beside the prisoner, Jun stood outside while Emile was standing in the corner, arms folded with his knife at the ready.

it was Carter who initiated a conversation.

"look, we'll give you two options. You could either come clean, provide us with any information we need. Or we could do this the hard way, make your choice right now or forever hold your peace." Carter said, attempting to reason the prisoner in question.

despite his lack of movement with words, he relented, his instincts telling him to come clean, nodding at the spartan.

Carter looked at Emile, the skull faced spartan nodded as he pressed a record button on his wrist pad, ensuring no manipulation or anything that involves twisted evidence becomes an issue.

"I was hired by an employer, operating as a covert security detail to help out with the operation. We were to extract the colleagues to ensure whatever data they had acquired were evacuated." Spoke the turian in an honest manner.

"what data did they escaped with?" Ask noble 1.

"don't know. I'm not a technician, let alone a hacker." Said the turian.

"no, your not. But we have found these." Jun threw some devices on the table, being linear with bits of metal rods. Indicating some forced integration.

"before you say anything, we found these attached to one of our computers where they breached at, turns out our technicians found out that they disrupted our A.I.'s observation." Jun said, already having confirmed the tech with the arterius brothers.

the turian prisoner looked at the tech in question, examining its contents carefully and picking them up.

"this is eclipse tech." The turian said, recognizing the sleek design. "It's meant to disable any firewalls regardless of any kind, they used this to bypass military hardware." Stated the turian prisoner, recalling afew events that resulting in captured military ships, resulting in afew turian dreadnoughts in the eclipse fleet.

the Spartans looked at the turian, their spiked anger rising since their A.I. wasn't able to locate or intercept its own functions.

"I'm assuming your wondering how these devices were able to bypass your security systems. well to keep it brief, these devices generate a layer of cloaking technology to not only hide their presence but also gives off a element zero discharge to eliminate any forms of security firewalls that may prove detrimental to their objectives." The turian false officer stated.

before more information could be divulged, Carter's comlink went off.

'noble 2 to noble 1; come in noble 1?'

Carter heard his satcom going off, replying immediately.

"go ahead noble 2."

'we found what they were copying, and your not going to like it.' Said kat.

"talk to me kat, what could they possibly get?" Ask Carter, expecting minor weapon blueprints at least.

"reach."

The entire atmosphere turned silent, the Spartans present heard that statement through their helmet coms, having each different expressions.

Carter was aggravated. Whatever this bypass tech was, these eclipse faction were going to be a major priority in the future.

Jorge was ready to head back to reach should a possible attack even occurs, but kept to himself due to how fortified it is due to its importance,

especially recalling its major flagships being well fortified for a reason.

for Emile, he didn't holstered his shotgun, having thoughts of blowing their prisoner's head clean off for allowing these petty Xenos to escape with important data.

"can I blow his head off now?" Ask Emile.

"no." Carter said, flipping the table aggressively, holding the turian and slamming him to the interrogation wall with brute force, shocking and frightening the turian.

"you are going to tell us where you guys were supposed to rendezvous at, otherwise I'll personally lead a execution squad on every turian locked up in this ship." Stated carter, knowing the importances of the military home-world for the UNSC.

"boss, you-"

"don't want to hear it Jorge." Said noble 1, his visor helmet covering the cold gaze toward the now shooked turian.

"Alright! alright!, I'll talk!" Exclaimed the turian, feeling his body falling to the ground, shaking abit due to the immense strength this human possessed.

(1 hour later, back in the medical bay.)

"alright." Spoke a marine medic, tapping on his datapad. "For the safety of everyone present, both UNSC and turian personnel are to remain in the ship until further notice. We already got approval from ambassador quintius about the current situation." Stated the UNSC medic.

"what about food?" Ask a tired but hungry turian, some looking at him with dumbfounded expressions.

"out of all the things you want to bring up, instead of medical compatibility or even the use of other solutions, you want to bring up food?" Ask a turian, the same one being tended to by dom with bio-foam.

the UNSC medic barely held in a smile, but coughed abit to retain his demeanor.

"we already have requests from others like you, we are to expect a convoy coming through our checkpoint. But we are also preparing food for our men." Spoke the medic, looking at his UNSC comrades, giving him a shrug.

"alright, we'll be back. We're getting some supplies ready for later on." Spoke one of the marines, leaving in the process.

the turians sighed; laying back on their stationary yet comfortable positions. for a newcomer race, they really know how to provide the necessary accommodations. Ensuring all aspects are met to high standards.

"spirits this 'bio foam' is really effective." Said the turian, still feeling the cold sensation of the medical device.

"of course you'd be amazed with the medical solutions." Spoke the hungry turian, slightly getting up to maybe ask for some refreshments.

"piss off would you?" Said the turian.

"how about you both shut your mandibles up and save it before I come over there and beat the spirits out of you?!" Said a now agitated officer, trying to get some rest no thanks to the loud mouths of the other guests.

"sorry about that." Both the turians quickly said.

"spirits, supposed to be patrolling the market streets and already got into a heated firefight, now I'm being tended to by new species. Talk about first day on the job." Spoke the turian officer in reluctance,

not how he wanted to start off his career.

(in the kitchen pantry.)

"alright, talk to me Nate. What's on the menu?" Ask one of the marines who were assigned to guarding the wounded, taking off his gloves on the counter, rubbing them in slight excitement.

"for our boys, it's kinda obvious." Spoke culinary specialist Nate, already prepping for today's food for the rest of the day.

beef stew with vegetables, with a side of shepard's pie.

"hand made or replicated?" Ask the same marine, his arms folded.

"hand made. Gotta make love to the food otherwise you're going to lose your way." Said the head chef, already peeling off afew carrots and equipping his kitchen knife to cut the meat up into pieces. "our guests on the other hand is a different story, anything to note?"

"according to biology analyzes and medical feedback, turians have dextro-amino acids." Stated the marine medic, looking over data regarding the his medical reports, cross referencing for medical records and other information to further identify and verify possible medical solutions.

"meaning..." ask the chef assistant, paused from slicing afew potatoes.

"meaning they can't eat human food. They can only eat almost meat products. If they do, well they'll not taste it, worst of all they would probably die. And thank god we got some turians coming our way with their own food." Said the medic in a relieved mood.

"saves me some trouble, sure as shit won't risk poisoning our men, let alone guests." Said the head culinary specialist with slight agitation but with relief, Turning to his assistants.

"Donny, Higgens, start cooking the pies. rest of you all, begin stirring the stew." Ordered Nate, his men already begining to do their set of tasks.

"hey!, make sure not to over stir it, we don't want to give our people crap now do you?" Ask Nate, making sure his beef stew doesn't go overboard in any way.

"no sir." Spoke one of the cooks.

(UNSC Wisconsin hanger bay)

scent, a gift made by genetic necessity. Smelling the world around them. Smelling whatever aroma is near rather be good or bad.

the smell of dextro meat rang through the air, a variety of different foods that species of the citadel government were very much aware of.

Graxen and varren meat were placed in large portion trays due to how many turians were involved in the crossfire.

turian chef Numter Palitumus was abit nervous. Being the few who were tasked by their field commander to oversee and provide rations and other services.

being escorted by a turian platoon mixed with some asari medics, ensuring the treatment of the wounded are treated well due to their concerns of compatible healing methods.

looking around, he saw many who were also assigned, afew caravans of food supplies were the main sources for the wounded to rest easy, rather it be dietary supplements, or recreational activities.

his train of thought was put aside as his group moved to a different part of the ship, walking abit further away from the docking bay entrance, looking up he could see afew dropships passing by with afew humans inside, acting as aerial surveillance.

he reached what looked to be a checkpoint, the path being abit metalic and very wide, guarded by UNSC marines, led by a large human, who looked to be the one in charge.

said person wore heavy power armor, holding a giant gun attached to the back side with a metal extension with a one looking like a small missile silo. (4)

the leader of the guard approached the turian food drop, his appearance looking abit more intimidating with the lack of movement or body language due to the armored outfit.

"you will be checked for any signs of contraband or any hidden weapons, please stand by and do not take any action." Spoke the armored corporal. His escorts begining to move near the supply group.

the ration caravan nodded, slightly concerned but shaking their heads in acknowledgment.

the marines, dawning the same equipment with the side of drone scans, examined the contents of the mobile carts.

luckily, numter was the caravan that was checked out, the marines inspecting the cart didn't leave no stone unturned as they lifted the trays up and checked for possible compartments while at the same time avoid anything that could get trays or other food products dirty.

"restrain him." Said one of the marine inspectors, his rifle aimed at the turian bringing a cart.

numter and his group felt abit targeted, seeing the humans ready themselves for combat, their MA5K carbines risen up but ready.

however the turian chef heard afew impacts around him. turning, he saw a turian put to his knees, two with their hands raised and the two marines finding a compartment for turian Phaeston assault rifles, shocking his group.

"those aren't weapons!" Yelled a turian, attempting to come up with an excuse regarding possible renovations.

the human marine twisted his head on irritation, picking up the turian rifle, examining it.

without warning, the marine shot the detained turian on the leg with the same weapon, causing him to scream in pain.

"it looks like a rifle, it handles like a rifle, and it feels like a rifle." He flipped the phaeston and held it by the barrel, and slammed it on the back of the turian's skull. Showing signs of aggression due to losing afew of his friends during the attacks.

the turian patrol stood to the side, not wanting to cause another confrontation, especially since afew of them took part in the firefights against the insurgents, they put their weapons on the ground to show they were not apart of any infiltration op.

even if they want to take action, they didn't want to cause any more unnecessary confrontation.

situations like that continued until it was only numter and afew caravans who genuinely didn't know them since they weren't seen during the briefings.

"their clean." Said numter's inspector, abit relieved . The squad leader nodded and turned to numter.

"your group along with those can come aboard, follow the two men standing far side of us. But remember, we'll be keeping eyes on you at all times, enjoy your time." Spoke the squad leader, moving aside for the caravans to enter.

the marine leader gestured them to move, both he and the caravan all felt the vehicle platform slowly rising, closing the frigate's doors up.

while this was going on, numter saw another set of dropships, UNSC pelicans slowling exiting the ship, their load out being a chaingun with afew missile silos, their bay doors opened up to see afew marines sitting inside.

the turian group were in awe of the dropships, hoping to be more innovative to create small ships such as those, while yes they did have support ships such as turian dropships, they were not used for air support aside from the gunships that fill the role of fire support.

as the platform fully risen up, numter was met with numerous unmanned vehicles, all guarded and locked down by metal barriers or locks. Seeing squads of troops patrolling in a neat formation, some chanting afew jingles to maintain or reinforce morale. Reminding the turian chef of his time during his tours on numerous planets.

"alright move it people." Said a line leader, once again gesturing them to follow him. The caravans did so with slight hesitation.

the asari nurses were looked at with curiosity by the human marines, having the body of a human female but with the exception of no hair, different skin tones of blue to light purple, and heads that held some sort of scales yet don't seem to use them, more possibly genetic alterations.

numter moved his caravan to the door guarded by two marines. One of them knocking on the door to let them know about any visitors.

"set your caravan to the side and set up whatever tables you got, I'll go let them know food has arrived." One of the guards said, the turians nodded and did so without hesitation.

some of the turians who recovered got up, went to the caravan that got them set up, being able to fully walk and seeing the fully set up stand, the smell of turian foods hitting the wounded like a tsunami.

it didn't take long for a line to form, turians grabbing a plate and beginning to pick up their selected food.

the asari nurses also helped by setting up afew tables near the stands, allowing turians to sit down and enjoy their food without any trouble.

some human marines also brung in tables and chairs to encourage comradery with the turians, so much so that the food specialists began setting up shop right away, using the same space in which the turians were at.

just in time too as the marines including the Santiago brothers' rotation ended, now being free for the duration to enjoy the meal of the day.

"you smell that?" Ask Carlos, grinning at the scent of cooked meat.

"beef stew and Shepard pies, here's hoping Nate made some chicken pot pies this time." Dom said abit excitedly.

the Santiago brothers along with the rest of the group began rotating shift with the new guards, already working on the wounded who still have yet to gain strength but alive nonetheless.

"bear meat Nate?" Ask Carlos, seeing a marine get his share of stew.

"fuck no, trichinellosis is a bitch." The cooking specialist said, having two bowls set and served in front of the Santiago brothers.

"white rice and other side dishes are on the table if your interested." Spoke the cooking specialist.

"and chicken pot pies?" Ask Dominique, making the culinary specialist give a look of dumbfounded curiosity.

"you know damn well I only make those on separate occasions, and right now it's not the time. Next!" Spoke Nate, gesturing for the next person to get his meal, the Santiago brothers walking off, not before gaining their trays and some other side items with it.

"should we invite our turian friend?" Ask dom, seeing the C-sec officer sitting alone with the turian brethren.

"I don't see the issue. As long as we don't feed him our food. They don't have our acids." Carlos said as the younger Santiago brother nodded, both sitting on a table nearby the turians.

"castis, over here." Dom waved at the turian getting his plate. Prompting the turian C-sec officer to hesitantly move and sit down with the two brothers.

seeing the action, some of the wounded marines also stepped up, joining the turian wounded as keeping them company despite the situation.

comradery was instant, some of the marines shared personal experiences, same could be said for the turians since they were honest with their public service, seeing it as a nice Change of pace due to their duty bound upbringings.

had it not been for the unfortunate situation, this felt like vacation for a brief period.

"it seems your doing alright." Carlos said, taking a spoonful of beef stew into his mouth.

"found out I had a bullet wound to the arm, didn't notice after a medic pointed it out. But I'm alright." The turian officer said, reassuring his human friends about his injury, slightly gesturing his left arm.

"don't want to get a rash or anything like that now do you?" Questioned dom, sprinkling a spoonful of the stew on the white rice.

"never." Castis chuckled slightly, quickly getting along with these humans.

"I know we probably bombarded you with question, but now it's your turn to ask. So go ahead and shoot." Carlos offered, eating a spoonful of beef and rice.

"I never did get to look at this 'high charity' as you speak of." Castis said, biting into a piece of varran meat.

"oh yeah your right." Dom said, immediately pulling up his wrist pad, scrolling through afew of the features present.

one of the marines noticed and immediately knew what was going on.

"aw shit, dom is about to show high charity!" Yelled out the marine, gaining the attention of most of the bystanders.

"really Rojas?" Carlos said, abit embarrassed now gaining attention.

"what's high charity?" Ask a turian in curiosity.

"high charity is the federation's moving capital." Dom explained, pressing his wrist pad and showed a holographic display of the planet sized city.

What showed was a giant screw-like planet sized city, its atmosphere was that of royal and humble upbringings, its atmosphere wasn't that of crime or anything dangerous rather it was that of a work of art, a glistening purple that adds to its already beautiful structure.

to the turians it looked similar to that of the station omega, being a once mining station meant to meld raw materials such as element zero, however now it's taken by criminal factions. However high charity looked to be much grander and more prestigious than anything the citidel has to offer,

possibly even surpassing the citidel itself.

before they could voice some opinions, a camera drone showed Santiago and his family, two small humans with different clothing, to the turians they took note of the different body structures. Being similar to the asari minus the smalltails on their heads but with patches of hair and with a dark but notical skin tone.

"come on papa, we're going to miss it!" Yelled the little girl who began running towards the open field where a portion of bystanders resided at, being quickly followed by her brother.

"I'll catch up to them hijo, vamos asperar por ustedes." Said the father of the two brothers.

"we still got time before the event starts, you wanna go to the VR arena?" Ask Carlos, wearing a casual attire of black cargo pants and a zip up coat.

"Carlos, right now I just want to spend time with my wife, we'll go to the arena after it's finished." Dom said, feeling abit more nervous.

"suit yourself hermano, i'll ask one of our tios if their down." The older brother said as he walked off. Taking the view of the city districts.

As the videos continue to play, the turians saw a splendor of beautiful landmarks, each of them being completely unfamiliar to them yet brings back memories and other ideas.

the mausoleum of the arbiters, a resting place for the sangheili vanguards, pivotal during the major events that built the foundations of the old covenant.

seeing afew sangheili historians giving information about the significance of their deeds.

The shopping districts, displaying all forms of clothing, food products, to numerous shops that sell firearms and other licensed items that are only permitted to people with high level permits.

VR arcades where the replication of battles can be fully replicated and made vibrant into a full scenery of real life,

minus the death part.

the turians continued to eat their food as they saw acouple of scenes of races of different varieties going on, they couldn't make out the type of vehicles they were but some were no doubt hover based while others were indeed 4 wheel vehicles.

that didn't take away the excitement as the brief show of speed was the tracks they were racing felt like the stages were of planets.

they continue to admire the footage, seeing the small moments of the Santiago brothers bonding with their children reminded the turians of their own families, one of the reasons they served the military, to protect the children of the next generation.

the last video that was played was a giant family looking over a beautiful skyline, displaying various amounts of top of the line ships, each carrying sleek and elegant designs, showing off their heritage of the creators that designed it or to just show off during high profile events.

( covenant corvette ardent prayer bridge.)

like all shipmasters, Eza 'Mohomai was ensuring his duties are taken very seriously. From maintaining discipline to his crew to his own duties as the captain of the ship.

however when it came to the recent attacks, he became enraged.

reviewing the footage from both his ship and many others, he saw how these attacks were carried out in a manner that was not intended to gain control over the bay.

the only saving grace was that these 'criminals' as these turians claim to be were met with their own security details. While the human ships dealt major casualties regarding their air power, Eza operated abit forceful due to his crew's diligence and combat readiness.

Resulting in using his corvette's starboard plasma cannons to send those criminals to an early grave, letting afew squads in the form of sangheili rangers to clean up any stragglers.

his contemplation was interrupted when the reflecting purple doors opened up to reveal the presence of the san'shyuum ambassador, his honor guard escorts closely following.

"you seem distressed Eza, I do hope the recent events haven't affected you in a negative manner." Spoke turb, wanting what's best for his shipmaster.

"naturally." His mandibles twitched in a slight agitated manner. "May I speak freely ambassador?"

"Granted." Said the ambassador, gesturing his guard to be dismissed to which they followed without words, waiting outside of the office.

as the reflecting purple doors closed, Eza sighed as he began to speak.

"with all due respect, but I say you shouldn't have given these turians a chance. It's no coincidence that these 'criminals' as they claimed them to be knew of our presence, let alone our ships." Spoke the sangheili shipmaster, expressing his displeasure for sparing these creatures.

"while I do acknowledge the fact that the decision of sparing them from a war; like I mentioned before, I shall give them one more chance to see the error of their ways. After all we didn't unify with humanity just because of circumstances did we?" Ask the ambassador, wanting to set an example that they won't just go and attack anyone without reason.

"no, we established communication by motion. They didn't want to fight and neither did we. And now we stand together." Spoke the sangheili commander with reluctance.

"indeed, we must not let our emotions cloud our judgment. Remember, there's a reason why I chose you to be my escort in security." Stated turb, Eza nodded slowly.

"I understand ambassador." Agreed the elite captain, nodding slightly.

"good." The federation ambassador said, his gravity throne moving slightly to the side, facing a blackened window of the office, his face morphed into that of seriousness.

"shipmaster, consider this an off the books operation. You know what I want and I trust your guard will make it happen." Turb bakk's voice became clear and apparent with authority.

"yes, your grace." Eza mohamai's posture changed as he knelt down, hand to his chest.

"if these 'criminals' managed to escape with high value information, then it's apparent we return the favor." Stated the federation ambassador.

"are you suggesting we should attack the nearest information banks?" Ask the sangheili shipmaster.

"no, I'm suggesting we show them how a true infiltration is done." Stated the ambassador, Eza nodded, turning to a wall that held nothing, turb bakk activated his gravity throne to show a hologram of a planet.

"while ranger teams salvaged the dead bodies of our foes, we received cryptic communications about a abandoned turian vessel, holding precious cargo from what they call 'terminus' systems. However we only found the location, a turian facility occupied by the government's military." Turb bakk stated, having afew methods of obtaining information, using a Huragok to hack into these so-called Omni-tools.

the holographic planet zoomed in to reveal a facility where the vessel was located at.

"we don't know the cargo of the ship, but it's imperative that we are to know the extent of the cargo." The san'shyuum ambassador stated, grabbing a small glass of wine.

"what if it's a weapon, or a possible artifact of the forerunners?" Ask Eza, not wanting these governments to hold onto technology given by the forerunner gods.

despite the fact that forerunners were now debunked to be an advanced civilization, they still held them to high regard, still maintaining the multitude of shrines such as the shrine of the librarian, keeper of the knowledge of old.

even humanity acknowledged this, some even participated in the religious practice, learning the lore and origins of the forerunner civilization, either wanting to integrate with galactic society to strengthen ties with other species, or to genuinely believe and understand the religion of forerunner culture.

unknown to them, the librarian actually appreciated the gestures, acting as a means to bless those who worship the divine spirit of knowledge.

"if it's an artifact of forerunner origin, then you are to take it. A single piece of forerunner technology could tip the scale in anybody's favour, you seen it yourself have you?" Spoke the ambassador.

"and if the artifacts have already been discovered?" Ask Eza.

turb bakk pulled out a data chip, one similar to that of human technology, hold what looked to be a smart A.I.

"Kira will delete any and all data archives from their computers while at the same time uploading every piece of information they have about what cargo they have in stored." The ship master nodded, throwing the data chip as it was caught mid air seeing the san'shyuum turned to the wall.

"you all know what to do." Said turb, seeing shiners of light disappear from the room, only briefly seeing pieces of armor with a dark red color.

turb bakk was one of many things to which he left nothing out when it came to contingents. Such as possible battle stations, long range reconnaissance, scouting operations and small garrison deployments.

the main reasons he opted to utilize a covenant corvette as his flagship despite its slight overwhelming presence, both in length compared to the turian ships and other small UNSC vessels.

something that he could afford greatly due to his time as ministry of architecture, aiding in the latest additions to colonial infrastructures through the Orion arm. Being one of many ministries that were still going after the covenant reformation.

the federation's ambassador was caught off guard as a communication's beacon went off on his gravity throne.

"go ahead."

"noble prophet." The person said, turb bakk still having a difficult time having to get used to being called a prophet very soon. "Ambassador quentius has requested your presence, saying that it's urgent."

"I'm on my way, have my guard at the ready." Turb bakk pressed the end call button, moving slightly past his sangheili shipmaster.

"you are to remain here, I trust that any tasks will be accomplished with the highest of regard?"

"yes ambassador." Replied Eza.

"good." Turb bakk said, leaving out of the office.

---

(slipspace jump, 2 hours before destination)

work, was the natural order of all things regarding prosperity. A necessity for a civilization to function properly and for it to reach a point of progression.

Without work; no progress. without results, nothing happens. And without labor, nothing is built.

without accurate documents, nothing is set in stone.

this was the frustrations of one kig yar was dealing with. Wearing a Nearing his final preparations were the most frustrating due to the countless documents needed to double or triple check his work.

his focus on the subject was interrupted when an unggoy came through the door, holding what looks to be a tray of food and a liquid beverage.

"tea old friend?" Ask the grunt.

"spare me the beverage once I'm done . I'm currently busy." Spoke the grumpy kig yar, attempting to squeeze in what little time he had before he fully completed his diagram.

"I see you still have your attitude in place haven't you ?." Said the grunt, placing his tray down on the table. "Come on, it's time you take a breather. Nofta?" Said the

"yes Suwum?" A small hologram of a smart A.I. of a san'shyuum wearing a white robe with glasses appeared.

"have all current documents proof read and reviewed. I shall be borrowing Mr. Rub for a moment." Spoke mercy.

"certainly." The A.I. responded, disappearing and begun his work, the

Ned Rub, formerly a member of the covenant army, sighed briefly. Even after vacating the position as a sniper qualifier due to his species natural advantages, he grew slightly aggravated due to the constant affairs of managing his business.

the same one he opened up with is uggnoy partner.

"fine, I do need a break from all of this." Said ned, taking a breather for the last few weeks, pooring himself a small cup of tea.

"overworking yourself isn't the answer, that's why we have tools to help levitate the work load." Stated suwum enjoying the taste of the herbs mixed with the hot water, taking off his methane mask for a brief moment.

"trying to become the next ministry of tranquility?." Ask ned, enjoying the tea.

"hardly." Both kig yar and uggnoy chuckled slightly.

"it's been awhile since we've visited high charity, forgot the amount of profit we made when we first started up our business." Spoke ned, recalling memories of how officially operating the new business in import materials.

"indeed. Speaking of which, I've heard rumors of possible negotiations are taking place for blamite." Spoke the uggnoy, causing the kig-yar to stiffen a chuckle.

"don't tell me the humans want to try again with blamite. Or do I have to recall the last time they tried explaining their use with our ancestors resource?" Ned ask.

"I still have the recording." Suwum grinned, pulling up a screen and using his controls to select the file in question, pulling it up on the screen.

(within the file.)

like all public projects, many bystanders were abit excited to see the creation of new technological tools to see of they met their standards.

however when it came to humanity, they tended to think outside the box.

some of the projects were anything but simple.

Exoskeletons that can increase strength and stability for weapons usage. Jiralhanae scientists took note greatly due to the impressive results of lifting empty cargo containers that weight up to 5,000 pounds.

advanced scout monocles for increased efficiency with long ranged weapons. Integrated with any weapon to ensure its accuracy, detailing the many variables such as wind resistance for bullet-based weapons to projectile impact when it came to plasma based weapons and the damage output.

kig-yar scientists also took that blueprint and put it under consideration.

however all of these things, they had a fair share of obsurd projects that scientist from different species tend to shook their heads in disappointment or just pretend it didn't happen.

"I thank you all for appearing for our showcase on our latest prototype." Spoke the human scientist, having the insignia of AMG Transport Dynamics.

"today we are here to showcase our latest prototype, the M13 warthog.(5.)" The metal surface opened, revealing to be a new version of a warthog variant without the usual turret placement.

instead replaced with a longer length for its size for additional passengers, a roof with a wider diameter and the addition of afterburners with a small glow of light pink energy inside said engines.

"thanks to the numerous tests, we have been able to utilize the use of blamite to incorporate as a booster for possible vehicle usage. Using the vehicle to act as fast responders for police usage for the moment. However we chose to showcase its capabilities to the public. So please stand back." A road course was replicated in the unoccupied streets.

a driver step forward, one of the active volunteers ready to showcase the vehicle.

"now, it is time to-." He was cut off as the vehicle exploded out of nowhere, the source of it being the afterburners, releasing a beautiful yet powerful explosion of blamite crystals.

thankfully the explosion was contained due to the barriers containing it for possible damage. A constant failsafe in case of unexpected failures.

a brief silence filled the air, one that was deafening to some extent.

it broke when the announcer silently spoke through the mic.

"um, folks we'll take a quick recess. I apologize for the inconvenience caused today, and enjoy your day." He quickly turned off the microphone. Bystanders hearing something along the lines of 'get that shit cleared up.' And other profanities, causing some of the bystanders to laugh abit.

-end of recording-

both individuals laughed in a almost uncontrollable manner, still finding it funny that the humans attempted to utilize the concept of afterburners by using Blamite as a fuel source.

"don't get me wrong, the concept is their. But just the way that it exploded without warning though~." Ned said, continuing to chuckle uncontrollably.

"agreed old friend." Suwum responded, calming his voice for the brief moment, both breathing in a deep breath, both recollecting themselves.

"we should probably get that next trip set up before we forget." Ned rub stated, still abit concerned for his work.

"I know that look old friend, calm and relaxation won't kill you." The uggnoy business partner stated, putting on his methane mask back on.

"that much I agree. I heard that turb bakk is performing some kind of political stunt to make himself more popular in the political world." Ned said, sipping on his cup of tea.

"let him. The sooner he completes his political stunts, the sooner he charts up coordinates, and the sooner we start making profits." Replied suwum placing his tea cup down on the tray, activating his office window to see a purple black void in the form of a slipspace dimension.

'attention all passengers: we shall be exiting slipspace in T minus 30 seconds.' The ship's intercom stated r, alerting all personnel. Some staff were preparing to wake up those who were in cryogenic stasis.

Both business partners looked over through the window,

"exiting slipspace in 3. 2. 1..."

the ship began exiting through the manifested portal, entering its destination of the epsilon eridani system, seeing the beautiful vista of high charity. The sunlight glowing, showing a sign of the outer glass layer of the city.

"even after all this time; high charity will continue to catch my breath due to its beauty." Spoke the kig yar.

"that makes two of us." Spoke suwum, slowly walking towards the door.

"let us take a stroll. Surely it wouldn't hurt would it?" He offered, the jackal rolled his eyes but eventually smiled.

"why not old friend." Ned said, taking his mind off of his work schedule for one day. Both kig-yar and uggnoy began exploring the ship, awaiting to land in their preferred docking bay.

---

(turian dreadnought, viska's burns.)

turian captain tonn actuss had everything he needed, not only did he ordered retrofits from what's left of his fleet, but also received numerous reinforcements due to his connections in omega.

recalling a small conversation with the crime queen herself.

(flashback)

"so, you expect me to just lend you a sizable amount of ships all for one planet; and you expect me to just fork it over like a asari handing you a 'safe' contract from illium?" An asari said; wearing form fitting attire that shows of an asari's body.

the only exception was the personality of a standard asari, this one being more cold hearted, her eyes set on business.

She was glad that this turian captain had the spirit to make his way back to omega to report the situation.

"look, I know things look dire, but keep we have something that could prove beneficial." Actuss said, having the data needed to

"speak then, otherwise I'll feed you to my varren."

Actuss weakly smiled, activating his Omni-tool and to display the planet in question, peaking the pirate queen's interests.

"explain." Spoke aria, sitting down on her makeshift throne.

"according to what data suggest, this planet is the hub of military operations, if we somehow manage to take that planet; then we can deal a crippling blow to their entire military infrastructure, making this foreign government a weakened power." Spoke captain actuss, the

aria smirked, taking down a galactic power isn't exactly appealing to her when it comes to maintaining criminal relationships with multiple groups, the blue suns being a recent example of a rookie organization.

however the defenses of the world was something to be greatly concerned, the ships looked to be bigger than an average turian frigate. Especially what looked to be the capital ships, having a length of 6 times the amount of frigates.

"you think I'm a fool?" Aria spoke; "you expect my fleets, my entire criminal enterprise to be the vanguard of an invasion force against an unfamiliar enemy." She spoke,

"that's why we need a staging area, and the planet we attacked-"

"and failed." Aria interjected.

"yes...failed, happened to be the perfect beachhead for fleet mobilization." Stated the turian captain, pulling up data on the location, luckily they managed to secure chunk of data,

unfortunately, they only managed to gain the location, and luckily some of its mass relay network,

what he didn't tell her was that some of the data was purged, scrubbed off as some sort of failsafe to prevent sensitive information from getting out.

aria contemplated on the notion, it would be a staging ground for more profitable ventures.

the blue suns being a trading company for raw materials coming from omega to citidel space, and while yes they were a mercenary group, inexperienced comparing to the likes of eclipse and blood pack, they were much more organized, a means to bypass citidel laws that could provide some booms for omega, thus expanding her influence of both trade and supply chains.

"alright, you convinced me." Aria concluding,

tonn's eyes widen in shock, he never expected the proposal to be accepted by the queen of omega, to have the pirate queen's approval was certainly not an easy feat.

"I'll send you a sizable fleet, but let me make this clear. Don't make me regret my decision to help you with this little endeavor, and if you dare bring my name into any of this mess, then I'll personally hunt you down and make an example of you." She said calculatedly.

"thank you ma'am, I'll be sure to inform you of our success, I shall leave to our rally point at once." Spoke actuss, preparing to make haste.

(end of flashback.)

a planet full of riches he mentioned. One that was out of citidel jurisdiction. One not only operated by an inferior species(as he claimed them to be.) but also expecting new ways to possibly take control of the system.

while caution overtook the queen of omega, she ensured the turian captain that she will not be involved directly.

'indirectly' however will be a different story.

and she did, 'indirectly'.

many criminal fleets arrived to aid the turian captain in exchange for massive credit transfers due to his many locations of interests, even some planets in the terminus systems that provided element zero deposits and mining deposits of resources that could boost up ship production.

even some planets that housed natural fuels and other fossil fuels that are compatible for refueling factors.

after all, he was the one who leaked the information.

tonn actuss was pleased that aria kept her word, while debating to himself rather to attack the colony planet with this much ships at his command.

a total of 120 frigates, 78 cruisers and a size of 47 dreadnoughts.

and the ships continued to pour in.

the criminal groups were not made of ships, that much was certain for tonn since he knew the ins and outs of the criminal underworld, notably their ability to steal ships from citidel species. He could ignore that point due to most, if not all of them were looked the other way without being ousted as a traitor or an incompetent leader, secretly blaming others by falsifying evidence in key areas.

his train of thought was caught off as the communications beacon beeped, no doubt the primarth wanting a status report.

"I'll take the transmission in my room." Ordered actuss, entering his office, not seeing the nods of his staff.

he collected himself, took a long breath and prepared himself for what's to come.

the hologram formed into the primarth, his demeanor maintaining a stature of authority.

"report actuss." Fedorian said, wanting to be blunt with the status report, Tom saluted.

"sir, the planet conquest was less than successful." Said tonn, slightly lowering his head in slight shame.

"what do you mean 'less then successful'?" Ask the primarth, his eyes narrowed of what he's implying.

"we managed to destroy afew of their ships, however their weapons systems prove to be more than formidable. Managed to tear through our kinetic barriers with a single shot. Ended up destroying most of our fleet." Stated actuss.

"what about fighter support?" Ask the primarth, his armed folding slightly.

"their fighter support were more than formidable. One of their bombers by the looks of it, were able to utilize a beam laser of some kind. Whatever beam it was, it managed to not only penetrate one of our dreadnought's kinetic barriers, but destroy said dreadnought with a single shot." Elaborated actuss, shocking the primarth.

"are you certain of this information?" Ask fedorian, not wanting to believe that the information he received was true.

"sending all relevant footage." Tonn said, fedorian receiving files on how the battle transpired.

primarth fedorian took a good long look at the footage present. Seeing the carnage that a single foreign ship dealt to his ships.

The unprecedented amount of firepower needed to pierce not only through their barriers but their hull is something to take note of greatly.

seeing about of POV's from the fighters, the enemy fighters were not only quick, but very protected. Having shields that held major amounts of firepower. Even some fighter types that tank their fighter missiles and shrug it off as if they were nothing.

the most concerning thing was that the scene where a different fighter type shot their laser beam, taking out the dreadnought like a krogan slicing off a varren's hide. The charges that looked to take out most of the fleet.

to make matters worse on his end, this wasn't even the homeworld of the species,

just a simple colony planet.

"primarth, I already have a plan set in motion and an entire armada at the ready. Just say the wor-" he was cut off as the primarth raised his hand.

"theirs no need for that captain." Fedorian said, actuss was perplexed with the statement.

"what do you mean primarth? Surely we could take them down with the fleet on our side." Before more would be spoke, it was fedorian who began to speak.

"enough actuss." He demanded, actuss stood silent, allowing for the primarth to continue to speak.

"As far as I'm concerned, if you failed to conquer even a colony planet, then this campaign against a high value one will be even more of a waste of resources." The primarth stated, shocking the turian captain.

"colony world?" Ask tonn, not believing this nonsense of the world they had just attacks was actually a colony planet.

"indeed. Received knowledge from ambassador Quentius along with the alien ambassador. That was indeed a colony planet. Reason to have that much security is due to taking colony protection very seriously." Spoke the primarth, still impressed of how colony defense fleet stood tall and beat his hierarchy's fleet.

"if that information is true, then we should press on the attack. Imagine if we were to create a foothold of the planet. What technology we can acquire would be satisfactory for our armies!" Tonn insisted, not seeing these species care about a colony world, there are billions of worlds they could inhabit.

"what did I just say?" Ask fedorian, not wanting any ideas to come into fruition, silencing the turian captain, his mandibles outstretched to anger.

"stand down and do not engage the planet. The ambassador was kind enough to give us a second chance due to any misconceptions. I will not let this be squandered by your ignorance."

this time it was actuss's turn to speak up.

"with all due respect primarth, but I refuse to allow this motion to occur. We will take hold of that planet, and we will salvage what parts we can." Said the turian captain, not being deterred by his leader's actions.

"so you going through with this?" Fedorian's voice raised in anger.

"yes sir." Tonn stood firm in his proclamation, willing to accept code martial if it meant ensuring his species reaches the top.

fedorian looked at him with slight anger, while he wasn't going to stop him from getting into government justice, he does secretly hope that he does succeed to an extent. But that would ruin the possibility of future trade aggreements forming in his mind.

the turian primarth sighed in frustration.

"I can't help you when things come into light, captain. I expect you to be ready for the consequences that will follow." Fedorian said, not wanting to be implicated in this possible case of treason, having someone with similarities to actuss's values, sending a letter to have a retrieval squad at the ready.

"I understand primarth. Expect as much shipments from the planet as much as possible." Spoke the turian captain.

"prepare for the worse captain." Spoke the primarth, silently hoping for those shipments, tonn nodded in acknowledgment, cutting the feed.

the turian captain threw a small cup to the wall.

'going after this planet of interest is currently out for the time being.' The turian thought, if what the primarth said was indeed true, then they needed to take that system over by any means necessary, to not only research on any and all technology remainings, but to establish a beach head, to rally and build up forces to attack this planet of prominence.

reluctantly, he decided to go with the much more sound approach. better to double tap the colony, but this time, one with a more turian message.

clearing his head, he walked back to the bridge. Seeing the last of the pocket fleets to arrive in the rendezvous point.

a fleet comprised of asari warships with the eclipse insignia plastered on them. One of them being an asari dreadnought similar to that of the destiny ascension, Recalling that fortuitous moment.

"patch me into the comm channel, open all frequencies." Ordered the turian captain, seeing the frequency to all vessels.

"this is captain actuss to all nearby ships. To all proud members of the turian hierarchy: this is our chance to take this planet and bring it to turian control, to ensure that citidel reach knows no bounds to the lawless waters of the turians' might." He spoke, his turian men nodded, wanting to return the favor.

"and to all criminal scum in the fleet. I do not care about your little squabbles in the traverse, nor do I care about your own little petty vendettas against me or the turian hierarchy. All I care about is taking this planet and whatever the spirits kind of salvage you happen to come across." Cutting the feed to turian exclusive channels, he began speaking once more.

"commence planetary attack beck-7." The turians near him gave him shocked looks.

"but sir, we haven't used those tactics since-."

"I know lieutenant, but if we are to secure that planet of any valuable technology, then we will do it by any means necessary." Actuss said, seeing a total of 8 Ghakaraga-class Super Dreadnoughts exiting FTL jump.

a small message beeped in actuss's Omni tool, opening it and he mentally read it.

special regards to general Barmius,

from fedorian.

actuss smirked, taking a long glance at the dreadnoughts present.

one and a half kilometer vessels baring the similar to the design as a vulture-class dreadnought, however taking a more bulkier look, more armor and more ammunition for the modified main cannon, equipped with more than the standard armament of what would've been used for lengthy campaigns.

equipped with 10 meter long anti-material shells made from depleted element zero with some nuclear material for added damage output.

these ships were meant to be a test run for future production moving forward, a means to counteract and make up for ships such as the destiny ascension.

he smiled, being one of the few turians who have the new prototypes at their disposal.

the turians around him gulped internally, they all knew that tactic, one that could result in the destruction of the planet, but probably knew that the tactic would only be used against the fleet, ensuring that no aid would come to orbital support.

"begin preparations, we will commence once everything is finalized." Ordered the turian captain, allowing his men to begin weapons' check and other critical systems are operational.

even making quick retro fittings to counter act the kinetic energy produced by the enemy guns.

---

(Omega, personal quarters.)

aria smirked as the turian captain was abit too optimistic, clouded by glory and power that he forget to take his place in the game of power seriously.

"so, what really happened?" Ask aria, not turning to the person in question.

"managed to make a copy of the data, managed to escape while the chaos ensued. Aside from that, heard from some open frequencies that the invasion failed, but you already heard of that." Spoke the person.

"you done me a service today morinth, as a reward I'll keep your existence unknown. Unless you plan to betray me, are you?" Ask aria, narrowing her eyes to the ardat-yatshi named morinth.

"if I wore to betray you, I would've took this information to someone of the food chain, unless you want me to send this information to the shadow broker, do you?" Ask the asari killer, making aria smirk since that was true.

"fair points." Aria was unamused, gesturing her men to bring in drinks from her personal stash. "This is one the few instances that I actually have an edge against the shadow broker."

"and the plan with actuss?" Ask morinth, sitting on a chair.

"as far as I'm concerned, plausible deniability is my best friend, I'maaa am not risking my ensure empire to become a prime target for rival incursions, especially those of higher power." The pirate queen elaborated, implying that she'll only offer the bare minimum.

she knew actuss's motives, trying to weaken her empire by pulling her assists into this endeavor so he could sweep in and try to stage a coup, then get a shot to takeover omega to finally claim it for the turian hierarchy since it was a key port for free trading.

the bare minimum, from all three groups. Pulling together to create a sizable force to provide support for actuss's operations, aligning with his 'contacts' in both the hierarchy and criminal connections.

All under his name; not her's.

giving her plausible deniability that she didn't issue orders on a planet she wasn't aware of, let alone access to.

"I'd recommend you take the secret route from my cabinet, I got a meeting with the blue suns about expanding their mining operations." Aria said. The Ardat-Yakshi nodded and did so.

"let me remind you." Aria said, not turning to the asari's direction. "You cross me in any shape or form, shadow broker be damned, I'll have your head in a silver platter."

Morinth didn't respond as she exited out. Leaving the pirate queen to her devices

"I can't wait for that bastard's fallout." Aria said, sipping on a glass of ryncal, looking over the data she acquired.

While she was tempted to put some plans in motion, she first wanted to prepare for the fallout, have some steps taken should any eyes, fingers or tentacles are pointed at her direction.

she wasn't going to be caught unprepared, not by her enemy, not by her associates, and especially not by a power that happen to best the turian military,

albeit once.

---

(turian embassy)

"alright, since I still feel remorseful due to my government's actions, i believe it's best for you to lead the lines of the treaty ambassador turb." Spoke the saddened turian.

"I respect you enough to know you have no hand in this. But rest assure no backlash shall be brought to your direction, let alone this system." Turb smiled, sipping in a cup of tea brought by a kneeling honor guard.

"let's get started then." Quentius said, beginning the conversation. "How exactly will things go moving forward?" Ask the turian ambassador ask.

"let's start with military." Turb bakk said, begining the conversation.

"it's very clear that your species is a militaristic one, however due to the codex we have been given, I would like to ask how exactly does your species operate. Spartan Jun mentioned that your civilization is based on personal integrity and a honor bound society. If it makes you feel better, we have the sangheili who have the same mindset." Spoke the San'shyuum ambassador stated as the turians looked puzzled.

They turned to the elite honor guard to which they nodded, the sangheili leader began its conversation.

"we ensure that all sangheili who enters military service are to be at their best. Trained and educated in the field of combat, instilled with a sense of duty and diligence, ready to give their lives for the benefit of others, to sacrifice themselves for the safety of not only the people of our federation, but also to ensure the glory of our honor is stood upon the end of any conflict that arises." Spoke the sangheili honor guard.

"do you also take up the role as the federation's peacekeepers?" Ask decitis with slight intrigue, hoping to have more allies to pick up the slack of constant deployments.

"no, while we do focus on our own military strength, we allow other species to build up their militaries. The only exceptions are species who aren't suited to fight due to their physiology."

"wait; so your government's species doesn't follow some sort of specialization role?" Ask decitis, finding it very intriguing that no alien civilizations having a stable military presence.

"in some areas yes, but not all. If you were to place humanity for example, they would fill in the role of every specialization. They are able to adapt and evolve into whatever position they are assigned to, same could be said for other species who, while not fast enough can also adapt into their selective roles." turb bakk stated, having an all encompassing system for all species. Allowing all to have the opportunity to join what specialization works best for the individual and not just based on species background.

"abit bold. Allowing their species building up their own militaries. Don't they have rivalries that could stunt their effectiveness?" Decitis asked, recalling afew instances that he tried to propose a joint armada with the asari republic to expand both governments' military to lighten up criminal activity.

needless to say things didn't go well due to the asari not wanting to sully their hands with threats of conflict.

"not really. If anything we built all our principles to ensure all forces are working in tangent, regardless of species." Spoke turb bakk, seeing as a more important aspect to keep the military diverse and effective.

"due to our expansive nature, I believe it's fair for your leaders to visit us for a proper introduction, if need be, I'll send a emissary fleet to pick up and bring your leaders to our capital as a gesture of good faith." Spoke the federation ambassador with slight hope of showing proper courtesy.

"the idea is promising, however I won't stand by and allow you to go in empty handed on information." The federation party quirked an eyebrow to the statement.

"what do you mean by that Quentius?" Ask admiral orenski. Prompting the future spectre to speak up.

"due to the nature of the citadel being a peaceful government, therefore all species have to abide by the bylaws of the treaty of farixan." Ambassador Quentius stated, as both the arterius brothers and the security detail were abit skeptical in the share of that information.

"treaty of farixan?" Turb bakk asked.

"it's the bylaws of having a fixed time to limit the construction of dreadnoughts, a failsafe to ensure that times of war are avoidable." Captain decitis elaborated since everyone knows about the treaty.

"no doubt your government will have to limit the construction of all dreadnoughts, that 2 kilometer vessel for example." Saren elaborated, being familiar with the inner workings of citidel politics,

especially having a long waiting period for new species emissaries to have official recognition to be apart of the citidel council.

or atleast become a council race.

"while regulations such as limiting dreadnought construction is apparent for a peaceful government, the ardent prayer is not a dreadnought by any means." Turb bakk stated since he was familiar to tell the difference of all ship classes.

This statement caused the turians to be bewildered, that vessel wasn't a dreadnought?

"with all due respect ambassador, but you can't tell me that dark purple ship isn't a dreadnought." Decitis said, being present for afew turian vessel showings.

"it's not captain decitis, it's a corvette: an all purpose covenant vessel capable of taking on numerous roles." Turb bakk pulled out the hologram of the docking bay displaying the ships, highlighting the two strident frigates.

"these are frigates, having reasonable armaments for a frigate. And this," the san'shyuum ambassador highlighted the autumn class cruiser. "Is a cruiser, acting as a flagship for a human fleet." Spoke turb back once more, April nodding in agreement.

"I would like to ask how long are your dreadnoughts if you don't mind me asking?" Ask the UNSC fleet admiral with curiousty, seeing the passing ships they pass by.

this time it was desolas who spoke up, allowing himself to provide information.

"our frigates for example only reach a length of five-hundred meters. Our dreadnoughts are only able to reach one or one and a half kilometer in length." Spoke desolas in honesty, not being afraid to atleast state the might of the turian military.

"us turians for example are the only species able to produce more dreadnoughts due to our specialization as a peacekeeping race. We overlook and undertake the tasks of eliminate pirate activity and if needed, are the frontline forces." Spoke the turian general, being one of the few military officials who held great renown due to him leading in the front, not being afraid to die with his brothers head on.

"you speak of dreadnoughts as if that's the only limitation that your familiar with. what about other ship classes, like carriers for example?" Ask the fleet admiral, gaining looks of confusion from the turians.

"What are carriers?" Ask decitis, wanting to know more about this ship class.

before the fleet admiral would elaborate, the federation ambassador raised a hand, silencing April as he began to speak.

"hold on, how many ship classes do you all have?" Ask turb bakk, not believing that this species due to their military history were not able to move past through 3 ship classifications.

"we have a total of 4 ship classes. we got frigates, cruisers, corvettes and dreadnoughts." Replied the turian general, not wanting to confuse the emissary party with mixed up information.

not wanting to include the recent prototype of the super dreadnoughts, being informed of a length of more than 2 kilometers long , making it the biggest turian vessel up to date, not including the destiny ascension since that was all asari engineering.

even if he did, it was still a prototype as he didn't know how it would operate in practical use.

"so you don't have any more ship classifications?" Ask fleet admiral orenski in slight disbelief.

"correct, do you not have any dreadnoughts?" Ask the turian captain in much more confusion, not knowing their ship classes.

the covenant and UNSC parties were silent for a brief moment, not believing the information that was given to them, some of the guard looked at each other if this was indeed the case.

the turian hierarchy, only having a total of 4 ship classifications, they would account for stealth ships but no doubt that's meant to keep a secret for a reason. Should possible war ever occur between both parties then they could already see themselves on the winning side.

The silence was broken by barely contained chuckles from Emile, his helmet shakes indicating amusement and immense hilarious laughter.

he broke down, laughing maniacally as he fully collapsed to the ground, almost wanting to take off his helmet to wise off the tears but decided against it.

He wasn't alone as some of the sangheili and jiralhanae ranks were also laughing at the question. even Jorge and Jun were laughing barely, finding the predicament to be very amusing and hilarious on every front.

Carter and kat were still but inside their helmets they were grinning.

"alright I'll be the first to ask; why are you all laughing!?" Quentius ask in irritation, not wanting to be taken lightly.

turb bakk recollected himself, wiping away tears from his face as he coughed slightly. Before he would speak, he received a transmission that caught everyone's attention.

it didn't take long for Quentius to answer the transmission, revealing to be the primarth once more.

"primarth fedorian, any news regarding captain actuss?" Ask the ambassador, wanting the little fiasco to be moved past quickly.

"indeed, however not the news you'd like." He turned to the ambassador with a serious expression. "I ordered captain actuss to halt and seize any and all advances in attacking your system, however he was adamant in to continuing his campaign. I'm sorry to say this but I believe he's begining another invasion attempt once more." Stated fedorian with reluctance.

"so your basically saying is that you fail to convince one of your captain that a possible war will brew up unless he deviates from his endeavors?" Ask the san'shyuum ambassador with a quirked eyebrow, not liking the news of the head of government.

"he's too Stubborn to listen to reason, when I attempted to reason with him, he cut the feed. I tried contacting him again but he wouldn't respond." Fedorian said, adding a slight lie to

"in that case; let this be known. A defense fleet will arrive in azure to provide additional information for the inhabitants." Spoke turb bakk, his tone sounding serious.

"what gives you the right to claim azure as your own?" demanded the primarth.

"I'm not claiming this planet as ours; I'm establishing azure as a neutral grounds for our parties to ensure cooperation isn't lost." Replied the federation ambassador, seeing this as an olive branch to build up ties between both governments.

fedorian was about agitated, this could look to only two ways.

One was needing help from other species. Showing that other species have a similar military background, another turian hierarchy to help out with securing its own borders.

however his militaristic side is telling him that this could be a means to establish a staging ground for retaliation operations against his government planets, masking it under a sense of diplomatic intentions.

he didn't want them to have a staging ground for future incursions.

"i apologize but I deny your attempts, and to ensure our planet is kept safe, I am sending a battle group to defend it." Spoke fedorian, not wanting to take anything lightly.

"are you implying war primarth?" Turb bakk ask with a hint of venom.

"if you continue your actions, then it's guaranteed." Fedorian stated bluntly.

"primarth, i urge you to reconsider. Surely this compromise is more than reasonable, we could still continue negotiations with-."

"enough Quentius." Fedorian spoke in a much more harsh tone, silencing the turian ambassador. "your orders are to detain them until further notice."

"primarth, with all due respect. But I advise against this notion. It would be wise to think through this situation." Desolas said, seeing this as an opportunity to learn from each government and establish long term relationships in the future.

"are you questioning my orders general?" Ask fedorian, knowing one person who held sentiments such as desolas, and reluctantly he's one of the best generals in the turian hierarchy, guarding the home fleet of palevan.

"no primarth, but we can't just wage war with a species that so far has been most cooperative thus far." Desolas affirmed abit. Not only these visitors been very cooperative but can handle their own problems if the criminal attacks were evident.

even pointing out the fact that they aided the wounded, both human and turian.

"then you will follow orders; we are to mobilize forces as soon as possible." Primarth fedorian said, wanting to put these up starters in their place in galactic society.

"that's preposterous!, admiral orenski cooperated with your fleet, we accept responsibility to negotiate with terms of possible unity, we even help your wounded that were caught in the crossfire. And yet here you are, wanting to wage war the moment we defend ourselves?" Turb bakk ask in a moment of rage, gritting his teeth in frustration, he wasn't alone as his honor guard growled in anger, even the Spartans looked at April with concern, especially Emile who were ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"then I advise you halt any attempt to takeover our planet, otherwise we'll gladly send you back to the abyss where you came." Fedorian said as he cut the feed before any more could be spoken, seemingly kickstarting a new upcoming war.

turb bakk thought that this was unacceptable. Having to cooperate for peaceful negotiations and yet this fool of a leader decided to initiate and escalate a galactic conflict.

"it seems to me that a galactic war is unavoidable." The san'shyuum ambassador spoke, rubbing his temples due to layer of stress he felt over the last few minutes. "Isn't there anyone who we could speak to?"

Quentius's eyes immediately widen in realization.

"we could contact the council, convince councilor sparatus to halt any wartime progressions to avoid the escalation of innocent lives!" Quentius immediately did so, activating a comm bouy and activated the desired frequency.

within afew moments, another hologram appeared, a turian with blue markings and brownish skin, wearing what looks to be a formal uniform resembling security.

"this is executor plain, to whom am I speaking?" Ask the executor.

"palin, it's ambassador Quentius. I need to speak to councilor sparatus immediately." Spoke Quentias.

"I'm sorry ambassador but sparatus is currently in an important meeting regarding disputes in regard to mining operations with the Elcor." Spoke the security manager.

"apologies for intruding executor, but we are in need of sparatus immediately." Spoke Quentius, his tone leaking a sense of slight desperation and urgency.

"no disrespect ambassador but what could possibly be more important than these current issues at hand?" Ask the executor, knowing that the operations of mining resources essential for the turian war machine.

Quentius didn't answer as he brought the federation's ambassador into the call, shocking the executor further as a new species was discovered.

"executor, I'll be quick with introductions, my name is turb bakk, ambassador of the federation of the independent species. Currently the turians are at a state of attacking one of our colony worlds. this is now the second time that they have attempt to attack the world, so unless you want to escalate an intergalactic war between our governments, I recommend you inform of this citadel council of the current situation immediately otherwise we shall meet each other as enemies." Spoke the San'shyuum ambassador, shocking the turian executor.

palin knew what this could mean, he knows his history regarding meeting new species, especially the reason why they were tasked with making sure nothing like the rachni wars will bring.

"I'll inform the councilor immediately, I shall be right back." The executor, activating the call to be on hold, integrating the transmission to his Omni tool to prevent any cut offs.

Within a few moments, another hologram appeared, a turian with blue markings and brownish skin, wearing what looked to be a formal uniform resembling security.

turb received a notification of the upcoming reports, now pulling up a stream of data files from Grissom.

albeit barely.

he kept the logs at the ready once this executor patches all of us to their council, he wanted to keep this professional.

(with the executor.)

palin didn't have time for small tasks at the moment, so he had to double time it to the meeting room, the possible war that would possibly arrive at the citidel's front door is imminent if he doesn't find councilor sparatus.

entering through the entrance, the door opened to reveal the three councilors discussing with afew elcor and hanat diplomats.

"concern: I don't fully understand all of our mining operations being diverted towards the turian hierarchy." Spoke a quadrupedal behemoth with gray skin and a slight deform of their face structures.

"I can assure you ambassador is that our intentions are for the benefit of all of us, you divert a total of 60 percent of raw materials towards turian conglomerates and the turians shall provide full protection of all elcor transports of all kinds." Spoke a salarian councilor, being new on his first few days of being the one representing the salarian union.

"shame with slight frustration: even if we do agree, we can't guarantee our safety, even in our own trading routes. We've been getting harassed by acouple pirate parties for the past few months." Spoke the elcor.

while the conversation picked up, executor palin immediately went toward the councilor, the turian security saluted at the security officer since he took his job seriously, following standard protocol and all that.

councilor sparatus turn his attention towards his trusted executor, gesturing for him to come towards the table.

palin wasted no time, whispering the information regarding the meeting between the himself and the two ambassadors of the turian hierarchy and the so-called 'federation'.

sparatus's eyes widen in shock, he didn't expect this kind of outcome considering that the latest unknown species tended to be hostile.

"excuse me fellow members, but I believe we shall postpone negotiations for the time being." Sparatus said out of the blue; earning stares of curiosity.

"this one wishes to know what is the reason for such an out of nowhere decision." Spoke a jellyfish looking life form, seemingly floating without any assistance.

councilor sparatus nodded at the executor, palin hooking his Omni tool to the communication's terminal, revealing both the turian and federation ambassador, silencing the individuals present.

"attention citadel council, my name is turb bakk, I stand here as an ambassador of the federation of independent species, I am here to inform you all of the notion of the shadow sea cluster is going to be established as a neutral grounds for future peace talks, however currently an engagement of our colony planet is currently underway by your subordinates." The san'shyuum ambassador stated bluntly, not wanting to poke around the issue of political formalities since there was no time to talk about politics status.

the citadel council knew this despite being hit with the sudden news, they understood that in some times their were exceptions to skip lengthy meetings and press on the issue at hand.

"what species is under the accusation ambassador turb?" Ask the asari councilor, a beautiful asari woman spoke.

turb didn't even need to respond as he pulled up footage of the attack, not just the first space battle, but also the devastating power the blockade had at their disposal, sending shivers down the spin of the salarian councilor since they had weapons that bypassed kinetic barriers.

"sparatus, please explain." The asari councilor asked with a bit of hostility.

"their is more, keep in mind this is the first attempt of the battle of Shanxi, their is currently a second happening right now." As on Que, it displayed the current footage of the battle taking place.

the citadel species all looked at the feed with great concern, seeing not only the turian ships breaking through the blockade but also see human soldiers going toe to toe with more than just the turians, afew human soldiers making their last stands and fighting to the death, the strong aerial defenses that continue to shoot down frigates.

what concerned to even grew distasteful is the fact that even humans who have no experience in fighting were also caught in the crossfire, the humans doing their best to protect the civilians but ended in vein, seeing the brutal execution of the children in the hands of not just the turians but also other species,

atleast that's what they could assume by looking at aftermath recordings.

"criminals." Salarian Councilor Valern said, recognizing the armor color schemes shown in the feed. While also covering his tail for possibly being involved in any way.

"I'm looking at blood pack, eclipse, and a minority of blue suns?" Valern questioned, hearing the establishment of the new criminal group.

"and turian military." The asari councilor named tevos said, looking at sparatus with a glare. "Explain yourself sparatus, are you attempting to hide something from us?" Tevos asked, looking at the footage of clear indication of the council races United in the form of criminal gangs, abit shocked that they opted to become one group.

sparatus stood silent, more so shocked.

"executor palin." Sparatus ask, having a major frown on his face.

"yes councilor?"

"get me direct contact with fedorian, immediately."

Without speaking, the executor did so as he activated the terminal once more, without delay the call was answered.

"councilor sparatus." The primarth greeted.

"explain." Sparatus said out of the blue, fedorian seeing the footage present, while taking glances of the two ambassadors.

"councilor sparatus, I ordered the captain responsible to halt and stop any attacks but he is dead set on taking over the planet in question."

"and you allowed him to continue? You didn't even bother sending an emergency call to all ships? Or do I have to remind you that we are peacekeepers, not conquerors." Sparatus stated in a tone that deviates professionalism,

this was major disgust.

"I understand councilor." fedorian said, silently ready to take accountability for his actions, sparatus knew this, but decided to throw fedorian a bone.

"primarth, if actuss continues his attacks, then he is considered relieved of duty."

"would that mean anything?" Ask turb bakk.

"if any turian is taken away their rank; then it means they have failed not only as a military officer, but as a turian. And since turians pride themselves in their own merit and achievements, they decided to take matters into their own hands." Sparatus clarifying the situation.

"fedorian, you are to prepare the negotiation table, send a fleet to escort the newcomers to the citadel effective immediately,." Sparatus ordered, not wanting to play around the issue any more than it needs to be.

"yes councilor"

"Quentius, you once again will be the voice of the turian species, discuss on what would be appropriate for possible reparations in the following days." Ordered the councilor, wanting this issue over with yesterday.

"naturally councilor."

Before fedorian could begin preparations, he was again halted.

"before you leave primarth, I believe you owe somebody an apology." Quentius spoke out, narrowing his eyes on the primarth for bringing up the notion of a possible conflict.

fedorian sighed as he felt ashamed for his past actions but remained stoic, straightening his back and staring at the federation party.

"I apologize for my actions that have caused you all to have a difficult impression on all of us. And I'll be sure to do better than the disgraceful act that I was beforehand." Fedorian spoke up, not wanting to break possible opportunities of cooperation moving forward.

turb bakk nodded in gratitude but maintained his stoic demeanor, he didn't like this turian and had ideas to punish them for their inability to see reason.

"is this planet still under attack?" Ask the salarian councilor, curious if the conflict is still ongoing.

"correct, however since this rogue captain is leading another attack, and the fact that he is leading a mixed fleet of military and pirate ships, I cannot guarantee the safety of those who have already been attacked in the upcoming battles." Spoke turb bakk, orenski nodded since they weren't just going to surrender until they stop firing.

"do what you have to ambassador. I do not blame you for what's to come." Sparatus spoke, knowing that fedorian was going to pay the price for providing actuss with the manpower and resources to continue the war effort.

"but sparatus, those are your people that are-" tevos was trying to reason with her poltical partner.

"and continue to have innocent lives die by our own hands? No Tevos, if anything we should all apologize by the fact our own species is even apart of this, affiliated or not those are our people, and now we have to take the brunt of the tragedy!" Sparatus exclaimed, silencing both the asari and salarian councilor, knowing that he was right.

rather they were affiliated with their respective governments or just some pirate or criminal organizations, those were still their own people, the same ones that they were trying to represent.

"so it's decided." Tevos spoke, now being the voice of the citadel.

"we shall halt and prevent any more of our forces to intervene to stop any further aggression. Any and all forces that remain are up to your government on how you want to deal with." Spoke the asari councilor in a very calm tone.

"we shall hold you to it." Turb bakk said, his stress subsiding for a moment. "Until the battle of Shanxi has concluded, we shall remain in azure setting up negotiations, I shall contact my government and relay the situation." Turb bakk spoke as he cut the feed.

(back with azure)

"when did you recieve these log?" April asked hastily, not knowing that the colony planet was under attack,

"a minute ago April, I was as shocked as you are." Spoke the ambassador, not knowing how to comprehend the situation despite his calm demeanor,

"spirits." Everyone turned to see Quentius with his hands covering his face in frustration.

"are you alright ambassador?" Ask captain fimrius.

"am I alright? We have a turian captain running a mock on our reputation by attacking a colony twice, we now have confirmed reports that our own men are fighting and killing unarmed combatants, leading a joint armada of not only our military, but with criminal gangs that seem to have more destructive weapons aside from the blue suns?" Ask the ambassador with a rhetorical question.

"I'm doing very fine, thank you for asking captain." The turian ambassador answered in a rhetorical manner, not wanting to know what can be worse than this.

"ambassador Quentius." The turians turned to the san'shyuum. "I said it before and I'll say it again, rest assured that no backlash or anything negative will be tolerated in your direction." Turb assured his ambassador.

"while I appreciate your reassurance, his fleet will no doubt arrive in the coming hours, you should be concerned." Spoke decitis, thinking that the fleet might be used to detain and possibly send the ships back to palaven for further study.

" I'm not worried ambassador." He said, gesturing his group to relax, confusing the turian guard, Quentius along with fimrius made chase, making their way outside the entrance.

"why aren't you concerned ambassador?" Ask the turian captain.

"because our fleet is already here."

as on Que, multiple bubbles appeared in the sky. Out came a fleet of unprecedented waves, placing everybody in a standstill.

quentius was expecting a fleet of small ships that would be reminiscent of the turian fleets, small but numerous to display a sense of dominance with intentions of peace,

not a low number of giant behemoths.

"while I was on my way, i managed to buy a bottle of turian wine." The federations ambassador poured a glass with the alcohol.

Placing the bottle down; he pressed a switch on his gravity throne, a bottle popped in the storage units, a dark green bottle of grape wine, pouring himself a glass.

"to a new era Quentius." Turb raised his glass infront of the turian.

the turian ambassador was nervous due to the fact that a fleet of ships of this scale were hovering over the planet as a show of strength, however he was focused on maintaining relations, so while they did look as if they're ready for retaliation strikes, he was eased up by the assurances that the planet will be unharmed.

so with hesitation, he grabbed his glass, the blue liquid he grew accustomed to.

"to a new era." Both ambassadors gave a toast, hitting their glasses against eachother, enjoying their respective drinks. (6.)

---

(12 hours before the meeting)

(Shanxi blockade. Guardian 12.)

"admiral Cole." Spoke the general of the Shanxi fleet blockade.

"I take it this is important to contact me general?" Ask Vice Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole, Cole for short. Wanting to hear the report due to grissom's situation.

"sir. We recently had one of our escort ships detained and hold up by a foreign Government that goes by the turian hierarchy." Stated Jon, seeing the admiral place a hand on his chin,

"and I assume that 'turian' would be the species?" Ask the vice admiral, the guardian 12 general nodded.

"confirmed; 3 of our ships, an autumn-class and two strident-class were detained by a scout fleet, currently detained and hold up in a ambassador planet for negotiations. The covenant corvette ardent prayer is also present for said negotiations." Stated the first men to explore the frontiers.

"sounds reasonable. Can't just go on and shoot down possible neighbors now can't we?" The vice admiral stated, not wanting to be branded as the aggressors.

"correct, however during my conversation with general Williams, we got attacked by a turian fleet, lost a total of 6 ships. 3 of our destroyers and 3 droid frigates. Request a full battle group and a full deployment should additional attacks occur." Requested the blockade general, seeing the admiral contemplate on the request.

"I'm assume you followed contengent instructions should possible confusion arise?" Ask the vice admiral of the UNSC.

"confirmed. Some of their ships weren't so lucky as they took out our vessels. Their invasion force was big but lacked superior capabilities compared to our vessels." The former explorer stated while continuing his report.

"be advised. We also have prisoners, having them all rounded up on the UNSC hades for prisoner transfer to Arcturus." admiral grissom with slight hope to relieve the tensions of possible invasions in the future.

"I'll need visual evidence of the attack to report it to high charity, I can assume that you already have them?" Ask Cole.

"already sending film to you vice admiral." Spoke Jon, seeing notifications of the sent video logs present.

vice admiral Cole examined the footage from the encounter. While the enemy ships were many compared to the Shanxi blockade, the blockade was outfitted with many advanced equipment, same could be said for the UNSC ships present.

long term blockades were needed to not only maintain a system defense but also to maintain and establish checkpoints for possible use of expeditionary efforts.

"sending a battle group to provide reinforcements."

"may I ask if is it battle group Dakota?" Ask grissom.

"negative. Battle group Dakota is currently on a deep space expedition with droid forces. Same could said for other notable groups. I'm sending in battle group hardship to assist, along with an additional supply ships should things get worse." Concluded the vice admiral, no doubt guessing that afew shots from enemy fire could make their ways toward the planet's surface.

"thank you for your assistance vice admiral." Said Grissom in a gratitude tone.

"don't worry about it. I still owe you after the mass relay incident." Spoke a now soft spoken Cole.

before any more conversations could be formed about past events, alarms began blaring up, multiple men and women began moving with quick pace.

"general. We got multiple radar pings coming out of FTL." Spoke one of the navigational personnel.

"how many in total?"

"253 ships general." The radar officer said abit fearful.

Preston cole, hearing the total amount coming towards Shanxi, immediately began contact with hardship.

"I'll try to hasten hardship's arrival. I need your blockade to hold out as long as you can general." Spoke the vice admiral.

"already have ground forces setting up defense reinforced by every frontline personnel, including our ODPs." Stated general Grissom.

before the blockade admiral could speak, afew figures that came out of FTL, seeing giant rocks fast approaching the ships.

"asteroids?" Ask Grissom, wondering how did debris just come out of nowhere.

"sir, detecting enemy signatures detaching from the asteroids!" One of the radar specialists yelled out, Grissom seeing afew ships and thrusters leaving the debris.

"brace for impact!" Yelled out the entire fleet through open communications.

tremor-like motions were expected, almost reminiscent of a major earthquake with the exception of floating asteroids flying past the station and some of the ships on station.

luckily some of the dreadnoughts managed to take down afew of the major ones, crushed by the impact of the tungsten shells of the magnetic accelerator cannons.

some of the asteroids managed to pass by, managing to Gain more momentum and aiming right towards the planet. Catching fire and ready to leave behind craters of destruction in its wake.

not long after, the admiral saw a majority of ships fast moving towards the Shanxi atmosphere, seeing this as a full scale invasion force.

"Inform general Williams that an invasion force is heading ground side. All ships engage the ships!" Ordered Grissom, seeing every gun from his station open fire.

---

(The city of Taiyuan, shanxi ground side.)

Thankfully for the first city of Shanxi, the civilian population was evacuated in advanced, now occupied by the garrison forces reinforced by the 3 e-poch carriers hovering in low orbit far off the city.

while their were still civilian convoys making their way to their destinations, it was quick work due to the severity of the situation.

however the situation grew serious as debris made of rock and other objects were crashing down to the city districts, destroying many of the newly built structures such as financial and social services that were supposed to be established.

not too long after, a group of turian frigates slowly descended, begining the barrage of artillery fire from above, their element zero powered cannons laying waste to any tall buildings that remained unscathed, ensuring that no possibilities of sniper vantages were a thing.

before the frigates could continue their destruction, they were hit by the newly formed and ready ATTIS guns that formed in key positions, dealing major damage to any cruisers.

despite the ships' kinetic barriers taking most of the hits, it didn't help that each shot caused serious damage, the rapid firing didn't help as the concentrated shots right through the ships' armor, causing great amounts of piercing damage.

however that came with a downside as the ships were being destroyed, crash landing on the city buildings, adding to the already mass explosions on those populated areas that were still in the process of evacuation.

"all stations be advised: we got enemy ships hovering over the city, all ground assets expect contact but protecting civilians is priority one!" Spoke the intercom of every frequency.

"copy/crystal/roger that." Spoke many voices from the commlink.

"command, we got what looks to be frigates coming in for troop mobilization, request close air." Spoke a marine lieutenant getting some people out of the debris.

'copy; Epoch carriers have already engaged enemy ships, alpha base is scrambling sparrow-hawks to provide close air. ETA, Five minutes.'

'all stations be advised: ATTIS guns are keeping those ships busy, advise speed up evacuation orders and prepare for ground side defense, command out.'

we go to a marine wearing a warfighter rig with a built in exoskeleton(or exo suit with additional body armor)along with the rest of his unit; equipped with fully improved NV4 assault rifles, taking the design choice of the once prominent M4A1 but with heavy modifications.

a rechargeable magazine, a canted hybrid sights for close to long range engagements,

and everybody's favorite: state of the art cooling systems for long firing durations.

along with his equipment is a modified MDL heavy grenade launcher, outfitted with smart grenades with built in targeting systems, the heavy weapon resembling that of a old MGL launcher but more metallic, more updated in terms of accuracy and effectiveness.

downside was weight due to its now bulky frame, the explosive ammo wasn't helping either.

he knelt down to the downed civilian, stabbing a combat stim on a fresh wound, adding a blue liquid inside said wound. Seeing the slow regeneration of said gash.

feeling a pat on his right shoulder, he looked to see Avery with a solemn but firm expression.

"come on frost, we gotta move, we got combat surgeons on their way in 20 seconds." Spoke staff sargeant Johnson.

"yes staff sargeant." Spoke the warfighter, wrapping a final bandage on the wound to prevent infections, jugging with his squad. "hard to believe someone is confident enough to invade sir." Spoke the warfighter. "Think we might go into a war with these guys?"

"don't know frost, but I do know that they're in for a world of hurt." Spoke the sergeant.

Derek Westbrook, nicknamed 'frost' nodded at his sargeant's statement. He had family members moving here, grateful that they made it to the extraction centers before the debris hit.

"Johnson do you read?' Spoke the intercom.

"go ahead." Spoke sergeant Johnson as he opened his ear piece.

'evac teams have evacuated checkpoints 2-1 through 2-8 to the airstrips but our gunnery squads are left vulnerable, we need you to reinforce ATTIS 1 and maintain solid defense, command out.'

"understood, we'll get on it." Spoke Avery Johnson as he cut the feed. "Marines; saddle up. We're heading to ATTIS to buy them some time, oorah?" Sergeant Johnson spoke in a no tolerance tone.

"OORAH!" Was what the marines said in response as they all ran to the site, seeing the destroyed parts of the city streets as countless medics were removing the rubble.

"Jesus christ sarge." Said Eduardo as he was horrified at the site of wounded civilians being pulled out by the wreckage.

"nothing we can do now son, all we can do is prevent more lives to be lost." Avery said as they begin running, passing by nearby search and rescue teams clearing debris from the buildings, the smell of granite was evident.

'this is ATTIS 1 to delta squad: do you copy?'

"go ahead ATTIS 1."

'be advised, we got reports of unidentified signatures moving into the city streets, we got troops moving in to intercept but they haven't reported anything yet, advise you double time it .'

"understood, we'll keep an eye out. Over." Johnson said, seeing carmine helping out afew civilians out of the rubble.

"carmine, let's go. We already got teams tasked with search and rescue." Spoke the staff sargeant.

"yes sir." will said, gently putting down a injured civilian in a secluded area.

"help is on their way, just keep it together." Spoke the family man, equipping his weapon and rejoining his squad, entering their designated route.

(In the city streets.)

a lieutenant along with his squad comprised of 30 soldiers were pulling civilians out of the rubble, afew medics were treating the wounded who had some large gashes due to the destruction caused by the debris.

one of the marines, a black man in his youth with a advanced commlink received distant pings on his mini-map, causing him to check his wrist pad to check on the sourse.

"something wrong anderson?" Ask the lieutenant.

"sir, we got unidentified pings heading our way, no doubt they came from the downed ships." Spoke the marine corporal known as David anderson.

"marines, eyes on your HUDs, we got compan-" was what the lieutenant said before a shot pierced the head of a civilian along with a occupied marine, earning a quick death.

"CONTACT!" Yelled out anderson as they engaged in a firefight. A medic was able to pull the wounded to cover.

bullets and blaster bolts were now flying over the scene, the enemy forces advancing towards points of cover. Popping afew smoke grenades to mask their assault.

"anyone got eyes on those bastards!?" Yelled out the lieutenant, wanting to know what threat is facing Shanxi.

one of the marine looked from cover, seeing what looks to be bird like creatures with dog-like legs, wearing a exoskeleton of different variations. Some wore different helmets.

he narrowly avoided a shot as he maintained cover.

"lieutenant, confirm visual on turians attacking sir!" Yelled out one of the marines.

"Mackenzie, Perez, provide overwatch from above. Rest of you return fire!" The lieutenant yelled out, getting out of cover to return fire, their blaster rifles taking out afew daring turians, his marines following suit.

"yes sir!" Both Mackenzie and Perez used their jet packs, flying to the nearby rooftops to provide sniper cover for their men.

both Mackenzie and Perez were equipped with A-300 blaster carbines, dealing precise shots or even injuries that could cause damage.

"taking out snipers from the roof." Perez said, hitting afew of his shots with accuracy, catching the turians' attention and focusing on taking down said sniper duo, retaining the high ground, narrowly avoiding multiple shots of kinetic rounds.

"anderson, grenade launcher!" Yelled out the lieutenant.

Anderson didn't respond as he did as what he's told, switching his assault rifle for his under barrel grenade launcher.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" yelled out David as he shot the projectile in the air, said projectile was a shell that formed into multiple micro-missiles that laid waste to the ground targets, dealing devastating damage.

that didn't stop the opposing force as it took the time to advance, hitting 5 of the marines with kinetic force powered assault rifles.

3 of them were killed, trying to move remaining downed civilians away from the battlefield, 2 of which were hit in the limbs, rendering them immobile but maintained their combat strength, continuing to shoot back to prevent any advances.

before the opposing force could continue, two aerial aircrafts hovered over the UNSC marines, causing abit of shock with the turians since they didn't expect enemy air support.

'this is odin 9, providing close air.' spoke the radio on anderson's radio, Anderson immediately responded.

"odin 9: give them hell!" He spoke, returning fire with the advancing force.

'firing' the two sparrow hawks began shooting their 20mm machine gun along with their automatic rotating cannons, raining multiple blaster rounds, easily piercing whatever armor the turian force were wearing.

despite the death toll it put; the remaining forces continued to fight, focusing all fire on the maneuverable aircrafts, the turians trying to shoot the aircraft's but to no avail, even when rockets made impact it didn't seem to have the effect,

their energy shields helped with that.

'their persistent i'll give them that.' Odin 9 heard his partner as they maneuvered to a more suitable location.

'missiles out.' Odin 6 said as they launched two silver missiles to the enemy forces, causing short to medium range explosions, leaving only a skeleton crew of what remained of the attacking force.

some of the hostiles attempted to retreat, using the buildings for a easy escape route, other turians who were stubborn continued to fight until they were dead.

the marines took the time to advance, surrounding and firing warning shots to the enemy survivors, some with level headed thoughts surrendered, immediately being forced to the ground by marines.

other turians attempted to attack while the marines were securing the injured, only to be snuffed out and executed by the two marine snipers who maintained full coverage.

the remaining turians placed their weapons down, now allowed to tend to the wounded, using what medical supplies they were equipped with under the careful supervision of the UNSC platoon.

"area secured, thanks for the assist." Anderson spoke on the radio.

"roger that, be advised we are departing to assist in evac ops, odin 6 out." The VTOL hawks began departing to their designated areas.

"copy that, fair winds." The lieutenant turned to his remaining force.

"marines, confirm alien presence to all nearby radio frequencies. Zulu team: stay here and tend to the remaining wounded. Bravo and I will be asking some questions." Spoke the lieutenant as he along with Anderson went to one of the un-armed turians.

said turian wore a white armored skeleton, it's skin having dark white color with clear white facial markings, indicating affiliation to a tribe of some kind, having a insignia that indicated a combat medic to an extent.

"do you understand us?" Ask the leader with some anger being held back.

"yes." A turian in question spoke, trying to patch a wounded man with a shot through the stomach.

"why are you here? And what do you want?" Ask the leader.

"I would like to ask the same to you, but introductions are in need, so who are you?" Ask the turian medic, using a Omni tool to check his inventory, angering the 4th platoon slightly but remained collected.

"lieutenant Steven hackett(7.), UNSC marine corps, 4th platoon. Now your next." Spoke the now revealed lieutenant Steven Hackett to the medic.

"Abrudas Maunian, combat medic, acting commander of numso squad." Spoke the now revealed victus, seeing as his leader retreat along with the rest of the turians.

"turian correct?" Ask Anderson.

"correct you are. And the turian hierarchy is our species government." Abrudas concluded.

"now that introductions are out of the way, explain to us why the hell are you invading our colony world?" Demanded David with a tone of vengeance, earning a raised eyebrow from the turian lieutenant.

"colony world? This is your homeworld is it not? That blockade proves that." Spoke Abrudas as some of the turians listened to the conversation.

"that's because we take colony protection very seriously. Now I'll ask you again, why are you invading our colony world?" Steven said in a more forceful manner, abit startled by the news that they think this is a home-world.

"wait, if this is a colony world, then all these people are..." both the turian and the remains of his men now realized the extent of their actions.

"not. Soldiers." Anderson stated as the turians dropped their weapons in realization, the shock and distraught they had.

"spirits." Spoke abrudas, not believing in such a revelation. "This can't get any worse." Spoke the turian as some unarmed turians began trying to reach out to any squads but were jammed.

"what do you mean 'can't get any worse'? What the hell did you do?!" Yelled out David, looking around and informing the men to secure the area, restraining himself to not put a blaster bolt on this turian's skull.

"LIEUTENANT YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!" Yelled out one of the marines staring at one of the main crossroads.

as both Anderson and Steven went running, ordering some men to keep an eye on the enemy, they went to the marine who now dropped his weapon in shock and slight depression.

both men saw what he saw and were shocked in disbelief.

what they saw were piles of bodies, some were unfortunate victims of dismemberment, their arms and limbs sliced all over the city streets, the bullet holes tells them everything they needed to know. Leaving behind a stench of blood and slight burns of flesh and other putrid smells that came out of the piles of corpses presented before them.

However that wasn't the worse part,

dead bodies of children being hugged by their parents were the worse part.

some of the marines ran towards the bodies, indicating they were indeed loved ones, families that wanted to experience the construction of their first colony.

others stood still, shocked at the sight of the massacre that they have witnessed since they didn't expect conflicts to this extent, let alone casualties.

others who held more experience just looked away in silence and mourned in their own ways, allowing the rookies to have their time with the dead,some just prayed that they found rest in what torment they had in their last moments of suffering.

"Lieutenant..." Anderson said.

"I know corporal." Lieutenant Hackett said, seeing this as a guaranteed war crime. "Secure the fallen, report back with any info, find out what happened."

"on it." Anderson said, running towards the bloodbath.

"all call signs this is lieutenant Steven Hackett, confirm contact to be identified as turian. I say again, we got enemy turians. Be advised, they are armed and dangerous, sending visual of previous encounters." Hackett began going over his body cam footage, sending the video to command.

'confirm visual, receiving data.' Command took a moment to review the footage present, files of the turians in action, theirs guns, even signs of other species types such as the reptilian behemoths.

David walked toward one of the corpses, seeing one of the few bodies of marines killed, his body laid slump onto a nearby vehicle, his assault rifle held tightly indicating his last stand with afew turian kills were seen near his body, his combat knife on the other arm, lounged into a turian's skull.

"your in a better place son." corporal Anderson spoke abit emotionally, closing the fallen's eyes in honor. taking his dog tags, seeing what rank and occupation he was in.

"lieutenant, its onyx team." Anderson said, pulling afew tags from the fallen soldiers, giving them to Lieutenant Hackett.

"command, found civilian convey onyx. be advised; they didn't make it." Steven said, gripping the dog tags present due to his close relations with onyx team, having afew friends who he trained with during boot camp.

"rally up all prisoners to fire base alpha. Move!" Ordered Hackett, his marines resolved hardening, pushing the prisoners towards their destination. Stun blasting those who were not cooperating, now being dragged by the now turian prisoners in defeat.

(Shanxi command center)

"starting to look at the video now lieutenant and- oh god." Williams said, caught off guard by the show of the deceased.

"general, additional video footage incoming." Said one of the operators, pulling additional combat footage of recent encounters with other platoon leaders.

general Allston Williams was one of many things, being one of many veterans who served during the flood wars, surviving the battles of the discovered halo arrays. Seeing first hand as how the parasite infected his brothers in arms, even participated in the battles against the prometheans, and even then it was tame compared to the previous battles.

however seeing the needless deaths of civilian casualties was something he tended to avoid greatly.

some of the command staff stood up, shocked to see the last remnant of the evac convoys eliminated, not even children weren't spared in the crossfire.

"general, battle group hardship is entering guardian 12 proximity, ETA 2 minutes." Spoke the radar operator.

"copy." Allston said, gripping his fist in a small show of anger.

"all stations, objectives regarding eliminating enemy personnel are now priority one. Detaining P.O.W's are secondary. I repeat, kill these sons of bitches and send them packing on body bags." He said; gaining confirmations from all across the com lines.

(back with Johnson)

"take them down!" Johnson yelled out, using the missile silo attached to his back, launching a barrage of cluster missiles, eliminating the advancing turian force.

once they arrived to the AATIS control center, they were met with fierce resistance and a strong defense from the ATTIS site, dealing with the calls of close quarters combat when it came to Omni blades.

however Johnson and his squad were more than prepared, none more than Johnson due to his graduation in the Orion project, using his knowledge of combat and his armor to his advantage.

and with the additions of the newly dubbed 'triple S(super soldier serum)' formula.

he used his boosters to blitz towards his enemies, grabbing one turian by the neck and using him at a weapon, slamming his body into another turian with great force, throwing the now dead corpse to the enemy soldiers, hitting afew in the process.

one turian soldier was about to raise his weapon up, ready to take aim.

however Johnson was quicker.

punching said turian's weapon away, he did a palm strike, disorienting the enemy solider. The turian didn't have time to process anything as he was holstered up by the neck by Johnson and used as a shield against his brethren's fire, using his morita rifle to provide suppression fire.

avery's squad also got some action. Eduardo and will were providing accurate shots, taking down and eliminating any threats towards their staff sargeant, throwing the occasional stun grenades to disorient the advancing force, taking down their kinetic barriers with ease.

staff sargeant Avery Johnson heard multiple projectiles in the form of smart grenades, flying past by him, blowing up what scores of enemy combatants to pieces.

the smart grenades came from frost, reloading his MDL grenade launcher and continued to unload a Mayham of numerous rounds of explosive. Seeing the tenacious fighters charge in to take out the station.

switching to heat sink, frost shot his explosives, now acting as mini homing rockets as they left begin a stream of red smoke, seeing one unlucky turian being hit point directly by a smart grenade was dismembered almost immediately, causing some of the turians to retreat and regroup to a more secure position.

all the while the warfighter accidentally caught a falling hand in the process.

"gross." Derek threw the hand away, regrouping from the assault that now halted completely, seeing turians regrouping away from the kill zone, sprinting away from the ATTIS control center.

"where's sarge?" Ask carmine, removing some gunk from his boot, No doubt some blood from the turians in question.

they didn't answer as the hulking behemoth in the form of Avery Johnson rose from the flames caused by the smart grenades, reloading his morita rifle and his under barrel.

Johnson seeing a turian attempting to crawl out of a destroyed patch of cover, reaching for a separated phaeston rifle.

Avery didn't waste ammo as he equipped his combat knife, stabbing it through the neck of the downed turian, tempted to take another stab but decided against it.

removing the blood from his blade, he sheathed it back to his holster. Turning his attention to his squad.

"alright men, let's greet our guests." Spoke Avery, he and his squad ran towards the remaining soldiers defending the entrance.

"what's your unit?" Ask a soldier reloading his NV4 rifle.

"delta squad, 729th, providing additional defense for ATTIS one." Avery said, reloading his weapon. Seeing the low relaxed tone from the troops present.

"its a good thing your here, bastards have been hitting us hard but we made them pay for it, we've been trying to get our coms back up but they just kept coming." Both squads heard an explosion coming from the far east side of the center.

"private Westbrook, check it out." Avery said, frost not needing to respond as he made haste to the coms array.

"we managed to tap into their coms systems, sounds like their going to attack us again." Said the leader of the defense team.

"don't worry, we aren't going anywhere." Avery turned to Eduardo. "Santiago , set up sentries around the perimeter. Set rounds to lethal. Carmine; get the wounded inside and provide first aid." Ordered Avery, understanding that they utilized kinetic barriers as a way for additional protection.

"on it sarge!" Eduardo exclaimed, using the nearby replicator inside the control center.

using his wrist pad, Santiago began activating its capabilities. Replicating and setting up afew MK-58 sentry guns (8.) all over the control station along with a mobile anti-personnel sentry laser.

"I don't like this sarge, they quickly figured out where the control center is at yet don't bother bombarding the station. Either they're willing to take control of the station, or they're very resilient." Carmine said, not liking the fact that they are focused on every front.

"they likely want to use our guns against us, but that won't happen today I'll tell you that." Avery said, seeing afew of the turian frigates going down with holes in their hulls as a result the anti material cannons.

"sergeant, radio's hot." Avery turned to see frost listening to com chatter through his com-link.

"sir, I'm getting reports of civilian convoys as K.I.A. General Williams is ordering a full fortification on the eastern side of Taiyuan." Frost said, still listening to other communications chatter.

"understood." Avery said, attempting to contact high command. "Command; we're at the ATTIS command center, we're setting up defensive perimeter around the site for possible counterattacks." Spoke

'understood, sending in an armored convey to reinforce. ETA 7 mikes."

"solid copy." Johnson gave the com back to frost. "we're going to maintain the defense on ATTIS command center. We got 7 minutes until reinforcements arrive." Avery said, seeing his men nod and hunker down their positions.

not even a moment passed and a armored tank hovered towards the open plaza, crashing into what debris were in its way.

said tank was hovered, having 5 inches of armor, a space big enough to fit 2 platoons, including the armor crew. a turret placement of a 9 inch guns with two missile silos behind said turret to prevent being targeted.

the doors from the backend of the enemy APC opened, turian soldiers came out and begin firing at the defensive line. Begining to push up against the control center.

"Santiago, get on those sentries!"

"yes sir!" exclaimed Eduardo, taking cover from the incoming fire from the APC mini gun, kinetic rounds deteriorating cover stone and metal cover, slabs of dust covering the air, causing some of the defenders to cough of a storm.

that didn't stop their momentum as the sentries began firing storms of tibana blaster bolts, shredder rounds, and the occasional hail of rocket propelled grenades, taking our squads of already advancing turians.

they hunkered down as the ACP fired three five-inch shells from its main cannon, punching a hole through the ATTIS command center, all the while continuing its barrage of kinetic rounds.

(with Frost)

ringing: was all Derek could hear. One minute he was repairing communications to report command about the situation, connecting his commlink to make the process much quicker.

then the next thing he felt was a sudden explosion that destroyed the wall next to him.

now he was stuck, covered in small and big pieces of rubble, his arms were the only thing that were free as a sidearm was conveniently next towards him.

"attack!" Was what Derek heard, seeing acouple turians slowly moving inside the makeshift hole, taking afew shots from the sentries.

Frost immediately took action, grabbing his NV4 and began firing at the attackers, making sure every blaster bolt was used with pression and accuracy as he took out every turian to the ground with holes between their heads.

seeing that he was clear for now, he removed some of the debris from his body.

however what he didn't realize was that he didn't account for one turian who was hiding behind the wall, waiting until the time was right.

the turian immediately tackled the warfighter to the ground once more, his Omni tool aiming at frost's head.

only for him to move his head out of the way, punching the turian in the face, using his feet to push the turian off himself, quickly recovering and unholstering his Kendall .44 pistol, unloading a 12-round clip of 50 caliber material rounds.

the turian immediately ran towards his prey, ignoring the shots as afew hit his kinetic barriers. While they were effective, was still kinetic energy,

and his barriers can take it.

frost emptied his clip, trying to reload quickly until the turian closed the distance. Unsheathing a vibro-knife from his right shoulder, slightly parrying the Omni blade away, stabbing his blade on the turian's left side of his stomach, managing to shoot off a piece of armor with one of his bullets.

the turian snarled in agony, quickly recovering to deliver a headbutt to his helmet to the point his helmet glass cracked.

before the turian was retracting his thrust, a bullet pierced through his head, his body becoming limp as it fell on the warfighter.

the shot came from one of the ATTIS operators who regained conscious, seeing the downed soldier about to be stabbed by an unknown, he quickly fired his shot, resulting in the dead turian.

holstering his weapon, he paid attention to the downed man.

"come on!" The operator ran towards the downed warfighter; grabbing his arm and lifting him up from the ground. "Somebody get that wall patched up-" he was again cut off as another hole was made from an explosion.

instead of turians pouring out, it just showed the slow rise of momentum of the enemy, slowly making ground in the form of cover. Sentries overheating and falling one by one.

However the human troops weren't going down easily, using everything in their arsenal. Ranging from smart fire features to explosive weapons, each halting the force with ease.

however it was a downside as the enemy vehicle now had backup in the form of more vehicles, using their armaments to provide fire support, taking down acouple of marines in the process.

Derek went through the hole, using a nano-tool to remake the destroyed material, seemingly regenerate the damage caused, seemingly unharmed and working new.

"Frost!, get on that sentry and provide suppressing fire!" Derek heard Avery giving him orders from the intercom.

he didn't respond as he went to one of the sentries, one outfitted with a 20 inch chaingun with repeating tibana ammo pack.

he unattached it, using his willpower to equipped to e now mobile chaingun, raining down blaster bolts at enemy targets.

"Sargeant, friendlies are inbound. 20 seconds!" Frost yelled out, his chaingun slowly overheating.

"hold them off alittle longer!" Avery exclaimed, seeing the second APC open its passenger doors another platoon of enemy turians firing their weapons.

another explosive shell hit the ground, destroying marine cover

'this is Rhino battalion, we are on station and ready to provide artillery fire, awaiting orders.'

"rhino, request a Chem strike infront of the ATTIS control center, enemy is crawling with infantry and heavy armor. Danger close, i say again, danger close." Johnson said, knowing the effects.

"copy, you might want to back up, firing Chen strike; standby."

"solid copy." Avery said through his com, lifting his head addressing his men. "Everyone inside, Chem strike inbound, get inside the center!" The staff sargeant ordered things were about to blow over.

some of the marines nodded as the first half provided cover fire, the other half grabbed the wounded, some missing afew limbs, slightly being dragged away, blood scraping the floors from bullet wounds.

"their falling back, push up!" Yelled a turian soldier, eager to take over the control center, using their armor as mobile cover.

orders were simple, takeover the control center to either capture or destroy the center. Hopefully capture since it could tip the scale of the battle, taking over anti air guns to give an opening for their turian frigates.

acouple of projectiles managed to fly towards their position, some having metal tips sticking out at the pointed edges.

"everyone get down!" Yelled a turian leader, some getting inside their Alvia armor.

the canisters made impact, sticking at the spots that they hit. Releasing a massive amount of green gas (9.) covering the area.

the turians got out of their vehicles, all of which equipped with hazardous proof gear, preparing to continue the fight.

that was until they felt the after effects, the compound agents causing them to build up heat inside their bodies,

not in a good way.

coughing could be heard as one turian after another began collapsing to the ground, coughing uncontrollably.

the turians with their hazard proof helmets were concerned considering that they all had natural exoskeletons that could resist low radiation, rather it be nuclear or biological warfare.

however their thoughts were cut off as they too experienced uncontrollable effects of coughing and skin burning, causing incapacitation for the turians who were fresh for combat or didn't had any signs of exhaustion or battle wounds.

those who had wounds however were not so lucky as major burns were evident, their wounds becoming worse as the constant pain made it hard to move or even breathe.

one of the turians who was lucky was dozing off. Seeing countless events going on as he knows it.

the vehicle crew coming out, coughing uncontrollably before collapsing to the ground, seemingly dying in the process.

the control center doors opening to see marines exiting out, securing the hostile forces.

The turian turned to see the direction of debris falling off. A display of tanks coming in with a detachment of infantry running forward. The design being blurry due to the unknown chemical agents being present.

the one thing he didn't know was why weren't these humans affected by the chemical weapons? were they immune to it or were they genetically modified to resist lethal chemicals.

"command, this is delta-1. Control center secured, awaiting for new orders." The turian heard a human speak through his com.

the last thing he saw was a human grabbing him and being put in a large transport, no doubt being placed under arrest until this war ends.

he should've died with his men, instead of be captured like shameful varren.

---

(back with guardian 12)

the ships along with the station were delivering devastating damage to the nearby turian ships, delivering MAC rounds to plasma beams, from archer missiles to Skelter beams.

however it was clear that the turian vessels adapted to their dire conditions. Seeing that they no doubt put more effort into their defenses. Seeing the MAC rounds slightly being 'slapped' away with much needed effort, their kinetic barriers barely maintaining by a mere thread or two.

guardian lasers worked overtime, anti-air defenses such as goblin starboard guns were firing barrage after barrage of orbital artillery. Taking down and eliminating any fighter squadrons.

with guardian 12, damage was evident as their armor held scratches or marks of impact but was durable enough to sustain itself for long duration while in combat. A failsafe to ensure any and all stations are set to last during possible conflicts,

one of the lessons they learned during the outer colony civil war.

admiral Grissom was sweating bullets as numerous hull breaches were reported, crews with mobile space suits were dispatched to assist with quick repairs should more hull breaches become evident.

Jon was sweating not because of fear of dying, not because of anger, but of silent rage to these turians. Attempting to takeover and capture this system as if it would be a victory in their own terms.

'this is UNSC apollo, turbo lasers are reaching critical levels of overheat, deactivating for cooling procedures.'

"negative Apollo, we need to buy ground forces some time, evacuate gunner crews if necessary but do not stop firing, we need to buy them more time." Jon said in haste, not wanting to give them a second of momentuon than they already have.

'understood, having energy weapons set to automatic, but be advised, diverting primary power and personel away from the MAC cannon, Apollo out.' The coms cut out as the orbital defense platform began showing signs of progress, its defenses beginning to fire storms of blaster bolts against any and all passing turian frigates, attempting to slow down their momentum.

Grissom while content with the damage caused by the ODP, knew that it wouldn't last unless hardship would arrive.

the tremors intensified, indicating major damage to the space station from the asteroids making contact with the fortified station.

"admiral, were getting multiple slipspace ruptures detected ." Spoke the coms operator.

as on Que, a giant dark purple bubble of intensified electricity showed up near the far side of the station radius.

out from the slipspace bubble came a group of ships.

8 able-class heavy destroyers with 360 gunnery turrets and retrofitted laser based weapon systems were implemented and equipped for use. 3 retrofitted Phoenix-class carrier ships, two of which were designed to support ground ops while the other carrier ship was designed for orbital operations. 7 Paris-class heavy frigates with distruptor based cannons.

one infinity-class super cruiser taking up a different design, having two hulls connected to a single body with a sizable space that resembled that of a springhill-class mining vessel but in a much bigger scale, an armament of starboard guns that could make any fleet nervous.

The notable addition to the super carrier was the main gun, instead of the barrel of a magnetic accelerator cannon, it was replaced with an energy based beam cannon, it's heat already building up for potential targets.

"this is captain Salen Kotch of the UNSC Olympus (10.) mons, what's the status of the situation?" Ask the captain.

"this is admiral Jon Grissom, I'll explain the details to you later but for now, all unknowns are considered hostile. You are clear to engage over!"

'copy that, accelerating to attack position, all frigates fire ion cannons.' Captain salen spoke, already ordering his fleet to ram nearby stragglers.

the newly arrived frigates began launching a volley of ion batteries, their rounds sending a major effect on turian vessels.

the shots made impact, the turians' kinetic barriers were broken down and dispersed with ease, shocking the captains of the turian ships at how effective these weapons were.

however it also disabled their ships, rendering any and all ships what were hit with the ion blasts reduced to ghost ships, no longer being operational.

the results were instinctanionus as the Olympus mons rammed through a total of 7 frigates like a toy trunk crashing into a Lego wall, it's volley of guns and missile silos began firing and hitting any targets that have no UNSC logo.

"fire main gun." Salen said, gaining a salute from his gunnery crew, activating afew buttons.

the infinity-class super cruiser began producing radiation at the main barrel of the gun. The light from the barrel Turning brighter and brighter.

eventually it fired, resulting a volley of beams made of radiation and bits of plasma heat shooting out of its barrel, destroying the advancing cruisers that moved passed their fallen, only to be destroyed before they could move into attack formation.

the only saving graces were the fact that the dreadnoughts and the remains of the fleet were keeping their distance, picking off the smaller vessels one at a time, using debris from their fallen as cover.

moving into an erratic formation, they decided to move from one angle to another, narrowly avoiding the constant tungsten shells that were heading right towards them with extreme difficulty.

what should been only afew minutes felt like entire lifetimes, the turians were putting their ships to their absolute limits, making even the simplest of mistakes become a death sentence.

(with captain actuss.)

"captain, enemy battle group had entered the A.O., Orders?" Ask the ship's overseer.

actuss was overseeing the space battle, while the primarth was right that this was indeed a colony planet, he was going to put this fleet to the test.

he didn't want to let his fleet know that this was a colony planet, if anything he wanted to test this theory, and it solidified that their defenses were anything but colony defense,

this was military grade in his opinion.

and his armada believed it all the way.

"begin phase 2: have the rest of our fleet jump, get the asteroids prepared and ready to launch." Actuss spoke, the turian lieutenant giving the signal to engage.

(back with the Olympus mons)

salen was abit underwhelmed, seeing the fleets attempting to retreat back or initiate FTL jumps but the damage was already done for both their shields and their engines.

"this is captain kotch to admiral Grissom, something is off. Enemy forces are retreating yet I'm getting nothing from ground side, any chance that this could be something bigger?"

"not sure captain, but for now I'm having maintenance teams check and fix any damage throughout the station, we need you to standby should possible counter attacks come into play, please confirm?"

"confirm guardian 12, Olympus mons will provide carrier support, over and out." Salen said, moving his super cruiser infront of guardian 12, acting as a first line of defense.

"give me a sit-rep on the ship."

"energy shields are at 64 percent, main gun is cooling down in two mikes, all defenses are ready for use." Spoke the ship's diagnostics expert.

"recycle our shields and main gun back to full power,have all fighter squadrons on standby until further orders, if another attack occurs, we shall be ready." Ordered kotch, seeing the status of his ship begining the cooling process.

"captain!, multiple FTL pings at sector 2."

as one Que, an additional armada of the vulture like ships came out of FTL jumps,

"damnit, it's too soon." he cursed under his breath, taking note of the much larger ships, taking a command role than an offensive one, seeing what looked to be pieces of rock onto each ship.

without warning, the ships launched the asteroids, some much bigger than others, gaining momentum and speed; they begin catching fire and were heading straight to the battle group.

his eyes widen that they were willing to use asteroids as acting weapons.

"the first attack was a diversion." He whispered under his breath as he began giving orders.

"intensify shield strength and set turbo guns to automatic, brace for impact!" Salen yelled out through the entire ship, seeing some of the debris passing by both the super-cruiser and the station along with its fleet.

what followed was a series of impacts, rocks and debris hitting a series of hexagons appearing to block any projectiles.

captain selan was relieved but concerned that these asteriods would break through however he continued forward. Knowing that his shields were strong enough to withstand a total of three shiva-class nuclear warheads to withstanding a plasma beam from a covenant super carrier for a good amount of time.

and that's only if the shields are at their very best.

dealing with the constant amount of tremors and other damage from the asteriods, he paid attention to the armada of ships.

seeing the enemy armada break off into two groups,

one was preparing to engage in orbit, planning to takedown every UNSC vessel in the area.

the other was making their way into low atmosphere, to gain control over the planet's surface no doubt, he couldn't have that.

he would rather die that to let these creatures takeover a human colony.

"UNSC carriers Heir to Atlas and student of endurance, begin mobilization of all ground forces. Establish any and all base of operations. I say again, we are not leaving Shanxi under hostile control!." Yelled out the UNSC

Both phoenix-class carrier ships began descending towards the planet's surface, not before dropping my support ships for orbital combat.

"all remaining ships, engage all hostiles, weapons free." Ordered Salen, seeing his men running towards their posts, seeing afew of the destroyers fire their ordinances without warning. the Olympus mons opened up its bay doors to deploy another detachment of strident-class frigates.

---

(heir to atlas pod station)

"alright ladies, listen up!" A female voice exclaimed, seeing her men and women running to either drop pods or for high rank soldiers, afew of the more specialist or elite men selected titans for their desired drop or load out.

a female trooper was walking towards the corridor, seeing her men getting into their respective pods, checking their equipment package and other supplies they usually carry.

said female wore a black jumpsuit with some white graffiti of militaristic illustrations, parts of light but durable armor sets, a satchel for bio-foam or medical supplies, afew ammo packs along with having a jump pack to gain momentum through parkour movements, hanging beside her waist is her favorite thing,

a mark V ODST helmet with a built in heads up display, a laser beam attached to the side of said helmet along with a built-in respirator system should chemical warfare be an issue.

she equipped a R-301 assault rifle with a red dot sights, a slight long barrel and fore grip. her pistol being a B3 wingman elite revolver with high caliber rounds.

"you see while men and women are going to take their sweet time heading to ground side, we however are going to beat their comfortable positions with some rough edges along the way." The ring leader spoke, motivating her brothers and sisters for what's to come.

"answer me this boys and girls, how will we leave?"

"WE LEAVE FEET FIRST!" Everyone yelled out.

"and we like to keep it that." The ring leader stated in a fury tone. "bridge, this is lieutenant commander Melissa McCay, prepping for drop."

'copy that, all units; this is spaceman, commencing drop in two Mikes.'

without delay, many of the men began making last minute calls to their equipment load outs, some switching from the M7-silenced SMGS to more loud and lethal weapons.

'this is spaceman actual, orders are to aid in the defense of Shanxi by any means necessary. You all have execute on all cylinders, boarding parties, defense ops, counter attacks, whatever gets the job done."

"all pods prepped and loaded." Spoke com chatter of a battle commander.

'all drops: coordinates as follow: grid 7 6 8 niner, I repeat 7 6 8 niner, cross checked and verified. Be advised expect enemy contact from 30,000 feet.

we go to a POV of a young man, wearing the standard black gear, only difference was the addition of a specialist-class exo suit with wrist pad components and an dark green color, his body suit being more pressurized and abit lightweight, being a prototype for the usage of element zero.

entering in the newly released squad pods, he was nervous. Being labeled as one of the few young men who passed Interplanetary Combatives Training (or ICT), he had a lot riding in this operation.

Emotions of pride, wanting to test himself that he's able to survive and endure the challenges that an orbital drop shock trooper would faced, to setting an example that anyone could accomplish anything if they are willing to step into the fires of ambition.

strapping into his harness, he saw others who entering the squad pod, each having their own distinctive qualities both personal and aesthetic looks in terms of armor.

"you boys ready?" Ask the squad leader.

"yes sir; ready to get to it." Spoke another trooper, his Impact Commando assault rifle ready, turning to the young man.

"You new?" Ask the trooper.

"yes. Abit nervous but I'm ready." Spoke the individual.

"don't worry, your with the vets, just stick with us and you'll be fine." Spoke the squad leader, begining short introductions.

"sargeant Russell cormack. Welcome to badger one. Yours?" Ask the squad leader known named Russell cormack.

"private Alec Ryder (11.). Recently transferred into the helljumpers." Spoke the rookie of the group.

"Now why the hell you with us? Trying to get your hands dirty?" Ask one of squad mates in slight curiously.

"I was told that ODST's were the meanest men and women in the UNSC. I want to test that statement." The young trooper now named Alec Ryder answered truthfully, not believing these 'helljumpers' could compete with the villa.

"don't say that near the marines, they were bred for wars at this point." Cormack said, slightly smiling at the young men and women joining the ranks on the daily.

"back to introductions." Spoke one squad mate, having a heavy load of armor padding and pieces made of thick metal. "Frank aiello, combat engineer. Good to see new faces around here." Spoke the combat engineer.

"demo specialist treem, strong arm in the group. You won't find anyone who can chuck a grenade farther than me." Spoke the other operator, having a tint of red with his attire.

"a pleasure." Alec said, relieving the nervous building up.

"hey don't worry, your going to fit right in!" Aiello said, smiling at his new teammate.

"just make sure you don't drag us down. I already have to carry ordinance, don't want to carry you too." Treem said jokingly.

"alright, enough introductions." Cormack said, gaining his men's attention. "we're going to link up with the commander center nearby the V.D. Building near guan-do boulevard. Troops are using it as a F.O.B. Some staff managed to activate the spectre bots for combat missions. Get ready." Cormack concluded, seeing his men nod in readiness.

(PLAYING T.N.T. By AC/DC)

'deploy, deploy, deploy.'

green light was lit; as multiple drops and titans were detected from their silos, dropping into orbit like missiles ready to hit their targets.

oi, oi, oi, oi,

oi, oi, oi, oi,

oi, oi, oi, oi,

oi, oi, oi,

pods and titans can be seen passing by the clouds of the atmosphere, leaving behind a trail of white smoke and slight fire.

See me ride out of the sunset

On your color TV screen

Out for all that I can get

If you know what I mean

"don't throw up now Alec, you wanted this!" Aiello said, laughing at Alec who now has a tint of green. All the while treem was shooting his head in amusement.

'Women to the left of me

And women to the right

Ain't got no gun, Ain't got no knife

But don't you start no fight'

"entering atmosphere." Cormack said, activating the ceiling view loop to show the outside of the pod, seeing other troop or drop pods falling near him.

(turian super-dreadnought palaven's bane.)

having his fleet stationed in low orbit over the city wasn't exactly a good idea due to the massive amount of firepower the ground to air defenses provided, but it did allow the showing of air superiority.

captain Pedvea Belliso wanted to make a statement, that the might of the turian hierarchy was not to be challenged by any species, rather known or unknown. They will die for the cause as the turian anthem declares and will fight to the last turian.

having a diversionary fleet take on and soften up their defenses and exhaust their munitions, making the invasion move more easier.

"captain, we're getting objects dropping from orbit." Spoke the radar technician.

"orbital strikes?" Ask captain belliso, mentally preparing to relay orders to his men.

"negative sir, I'm detecting life forms from the objects, along with additional electrical equipment." The same turian said, detecting additional pods inbound.

"pull it up on screen." Without delay, the holomap displayed said pods, calculating its distance and speed towards surface.

while they did resemble that of artillery shells, he shot that theory down immediately when he notice lifeforms inside said pods. Placing them into reinforcement category.

"reinforcements no doubt." Pedvea said, seeing the holomap, taking the helm of the bridge.

"all ships, have guardian lasers focused on those pods. Once they reach the kill zone, open fire. I want fighter squadrons 1-2 through 3-8 to engage the pods, we cannot allow our forces to lose momentum by any means." Pedvea ordered, reading reports of grounds forces taking time due to heavy resistance, he didn't want enemy forces to reinforce already established fortifications.

palaven's bane along with the other turian frigates had their anti aircraft batteries to aim upwards, pointed at the direction of the incoming pods.

(back with Alec.)

"receiving visual on drop point." Cormack said, the ceiling shifted into multiple green triangles, loading up the outside view of their pod.

it showed an display of the turian fleet, fighting off UNSC fighters squadrons to the two recognizable epoch carriers using their defensive

one of the pods exploded as now artillery fire in the form of turian shells exploded around the pods.

some of the pods were melted in an instant, now reduced to a metal slab of steel thanks to concentrated lasers.

"spaceman, were getting enemy fire at our drop point." Cormack said; abit agitated.

'copy that badger 1, adjusting coordinates.' While that was said, multiple missiles flew pass the pods.

"this is KE-6839, engaging flight core, we'll cover your entry." Cormack and his squad saw acouple North Star-class titans disengaging drop mode, seemingly activating its flight cores, engaging in dogfights.

cormack seeing afew pods pierced the enemy ships, beginning boarding procedures as squads began a full boarding process.

others decided to go out in style, activating their pods' boosters, piercing through the frigates despite the turian's kinetic barriers.

No doubt thanks to the friendly fighters using ion torpedoes to down their barriers or other electrical systems that were affected.

(back with palaven's bane.)

"brace for impact!" Yelled the turian captain. Seeing the analyzes of afew squad-pods with downward pointed exteriors pierced the hulls of any unlucky frigates that came into contact with.

results varied as some of the pods went through the frigates from some of the hell jumpers that either had a death wish to go out with a bang, or to set a statement that they were not going to go down easily.

palaven's bane was the lucky one as he dealt with boarding parties of human hell jumpers.

"we are being boarded, all hands this is not a drill we are being boarded!" Yelled out Pedvea as he grabbed his Kessler pistol and begin shooting at the boarding parties. Taking a blaster bolt to the chest, his crew slowly joined him as the ODSTs began their assault.

---

(With Alec)

luckily Alec was one of the pods that were assigned to ground ops, passing by the destroyed frigates and other support ships that were trying and failing to keep the hell jumpers from getting into their tracks, however it was also unluckily that they still had to deal with artillery fire.

An artillery shell hit the pod, causing one of the makeshift doors to loosen up and eventually break open, causing the demolition specialist to be pulled in.

"shit!" Treem yelled out, holding onto cormack's arm with a death grip.

"alec!, close the door!" Cormack ordered, gesturing towards the emergency door while using both arms to hold onto treem.

Alec nodded quickly and reached for the emergency handle, being held down by his harness as he attempted to reach it.

"What are you waiting for!?" Treem yelled out, feeling his body being pulled out slightly, keeping the grip tight.

"Ryder NOW!" Cormack yelled, only having afew moments left before he loses his grip.

Alex managed to pull the switch, closing the emergency door, allowing pressurized gravity to hit, causing the demolition specialist to fall to the ground, quickly regaining his control and strapped his harness back in place.

"thanks rookie." Treem said, letting out an exhale.

"hang on, rebooting our flight path." Cormack said, tampering with the visual display screen, seeing a multitude of small green triangles moving in a straight motion.

eventually the reboot was completed. Now showing the pod dropping down on a small skyscraper.

"shit!" Aiello said, holding onto the harness tight.

"brace yourselves!" Cormack yelled out, closing his eyes.

the pod eventually made impact, hitting the skyscraper made of glass and other materials such as plastoid, causing the pod to become more damaged as the materials were meant to absorb kinetic energy to a major degree.

sustaining injury and major damage, the pod having more than scratches and broken exteriors as it landed on one of the more durable floors of the building, crash landing with enough force to knock a spartan unconscious.

(12.)

---

(Azure, unknown facility.)

"so, what do you think about the developments with the new species?" Ask a turian guard, finding guard duty to be abit boring.

"I don't know, however their ships look nice though, especially the two kilometer vessel with that royal purple color, very nice design." Spoke his partner, his paeston holstered due to the secrecy of the facility.

"possible contact with the geth?"

"can't be, it looks too good to be geth. And last time I check, geth haven't left the veil. We haven't recieved reports ever since the war with the quarians." Spoke the security guard, coming up with theories to explain the research.

"indeed. Let's hope negotiations pan out good. Between you and I, I feel like the turians are doing all the work." Spoke the other person.

"what do you mean by that? We have the strongest military in the galaxy thanks to the salarians." Replied the guard with abit of passion.

"that's the point. While I am grateful for the salarians, we can't ignore the fact that it's always our fleets. Our ships that are always on the line. What about the asari or the salarians? Hell even the batarians have their own military building up for self defense, and they atleast respect us by giving us reports about how criminal activity is going." Spoke the other guard.

"I understand, but what's your point in all of this?" Ask the security guard, sitting down as his interests were peeked.

"all I'm saying is maybe we should consider asking aid from races from time to time. Especially from the council races since they seem to cozy up in mediocrity." The security guard said, not liking that the two council races were lacking in military doctrines despite being the founding council races.

"in some ways I can relate. Especially how the asari like to boast about having the destiny ascension. Maybe I should put in a word for something similar." Spoke the turian, seeing the valid points of his security partner.

sometimes he was curious if the destiny ascension was all that it turned out to be, proclaiming that it has enough firepower than all of the asari fleets combined.

yet it's a means for the council to evacuate should galactic conflicts should ever arise.

"here's hoping negotiations will pan out great results, would like to get to know them real soon." The turian said abit nonchalantly, giving a glass bottle of what looked to be an alcoholic beverage, maybe hoping to finally have a partner species to help manage the terminus systems from pirate activity.

the other security grabbed the drink, thankful to have a buddy like him.

"to peace." As both turians drank their beverages, abit unbothered since nobody knew of the location of the facility.

while they were having their conversations, they didn't notice shimmers of wind passing by, making their way towards the roof of the facility.

landing on the white metal roof, settling a light impact to, sangheili spec ops were slightly more difficult to be seen, their camouflage systems were state of the art after all.

seeing an opening, one of the spec op operatives separated from the group, using his wrist blade to slice a piece of what looked the be a ventilation shaft, his wrist blade cutting the part like a hot knife through butter.

doing his job, he grabbed the metal piece off, slightly laying on the floor to avoid loud noise. The spec ops squad mantled inside the shaft as they moved without any more noise or scratches.

while silently entering the ventilation shafts, they slowed down their pace, hearing conversations going on.

"heard about the recent developments?" Ask a flanging voice.

"no, still waiting on results from the head scientist, whatever's on that container it's keeping everyone awake. Abit agitated since I gotta pull double duty." Spoke another, no doubt a security guard.

"can't just pass it on to a salarian can't they?" Ask the voice.

"oh I am, they just want me to make sure they got everything they need. Requisitions, personal items, comfortable . I'm a security guard, not a spirit forsaken butler." Spoke the now agitated

"well it's going to be worth it soon, told us this is something big, possibly prothean tech." Spoke the guard in slight disbelief.

"heard it stretches back more than 50,000 years, possibly something more advanced than prothean." Spoke the other person.

"whatever that is, it better be worth the effort, it's someone else's turn to take up my shift anyway, good luck." Spoke the guard, beginning to walk off to the barracks.

the sangheili began moving forward, finding what looks to be a office of some kind. Opening the ventilation shaft, they silently entered, scanning the area for any signs of life. Luckily for them there wasn't.

dropping down and securing the area of traps and other security systems, they examined the computer, seeing the screen appear and pop up its holographic keyboard.

pulling out the chip, Kira seemingly jumped out of the chip onto the computer, quickly surveying and accessing the facility's security systems.

"I'm in." Spoke the artificial intelligence. Pulling up and moving away afew screens. "I'm getting afew references of latest reports from a research station afew blocks from here. Maintain usage of the ventilation systems to ensure stealth percentage is maintained." Spoke Kira, disappearing into the security systems.

the sangheili nodded, jumping back into the ventilation shaft, they began crawling towards a highlighted route to their objective, all the while avoiding certain points of contact with other people.

"I'm activating emergency protocols to reduce risk of detection, also releasing a semi-lethal chemical pathogen to increase chances of infiltration, here's hoping it sends everyone out." As the artificial intelligence said that, alarms began going off indicating a state of emergency.

"activate hazard mode." Spoke the spec ops leader; taping into his harness features to activate toxin mode.

the sangheili along with his brothers felt their suits tighten, their helmets sealing up to provide no toxic fumes to enter their bodies.

without warning, red lights began glowing violently, the facility's P.A system going off.

'system alert: unidentified chemical pathogen reaching critical levels, all staff evacuate immediately to contain, lockdown procedures commencing in ten minutes. All staff please evacuate until further investigation is carried.' The intercom stated loudly to every person in the facility.

"not again." a salarian said, having dealt with more than his fair share of quarantine procedures. "And I just got my samples done!" The salarian in question slammed his datapad to the table of his office,

he didn't finish his rant as a knock on the door boomed the halls.

"alright let's go everyone, you all know protocol, all of you, move!" yelled out a turian security chief, fast walking to everyone floor to evacuate as many people as possible.

Not long after, a small cloud of dirty green smoke came out of the small air vents, shocking everyone who was now walking out of their workstations.

"MOVE!" The security chief yelled out, putting on a respirator mask to get any salarians or any other personnel out of their rooms, grabbing afew who were too stubborn to not finish their work or had sound proof rooms to avoid distractions.

meanwhile the sangheili made their way to their main objective, using a small insect-like drone to scan the room for any potential threats.

as they kicked the shaft open, they jumped down to the floor.

The sangheili leader turned on his recording equipment, inspecting the room. Seeing the numerous data logs and their designs on labtops, along with pads containing loads of research.

infront of them stood a large container, one that looked similar to the standard containers holding raw materials, frozen and left to waste, closely by said container was a downed vessel, judging by the vulture-like design, it was definitely a turian ship.

"Kira, got anything?" Ask the sangheili leader, looking at their A.I. rummaging through data streams.

"playing audio logs now." Spoke the sangheili A.I.

"research report, audio log 1."

"due to thawing out a small portion of the artifact, what looked to be a slot for data retrieval, we have been able to deduce that this is anything but prothean. It's not anything that can indicate a beacon but rather much more technological. Once we get a full cross reference on all known prothean technology, then our next steps will be known."

"pulling up additional files." Spoke Kira, as the spec ops began analyzing the forerunner relic.

"research assessment; audio log 2.

we have confirmed that the artifact is indeed not of prothean origin. We have decided that this is now under full jurisdiction of the turian hierarchy.

Operation: building star is currently underway.

so far; we have a full detachment of salarians who are solely loyal to the hierarchy. Once operations are approved by the higher ups, we shall begin data collection. Hopes are we can get some major caches of data that could advance the development of new technology. Expect approval in the coming day. So far, we are preparing for any kind of complications that could arise from this endeavor.'

"they were prepared I'll give them that." Spoke the spec ops team leader, finding out that they were prepared to deal with niney-six percent of notable issues.

'research assessment; audio log 3'

"we found genetic material infested in small parts of the artifact, until we can identify the substance, we have it quarantined until we can find out what this organic material is. So far it's green in color, looks very similar to rachni tissue however deviating In possible genetic changes, possible mutation from environmental conditions, some aspects looked forced as it showed deviations of bone structures and tissue forcefully ripped and reconfigured.

Currently under lockdown, using liquid nitrogen to maintain its frozen state."

"Kira, analyze the tissue. If it's what I think it is, then we need to know now." Spoke the sangheili. His tone from professionalism into that of seriousness.

"analyzing genetic material:" the A.I. did so, a small ray of blue light scanning the artifact of any remaining tissue, examining its contents.

"cross referencing from existing reports, stand by."

seeing afew files match with said tissue were slightly expected. Even with the complete extinction of the flood, there were small traces of said parasite that could prove deadly if left unchecked.

"confirm, traces of the parasite are found, however only a small amount." Spoke Kira, seeing the slowly frightened state of the spec ops.

"how small are the traces?"

"1.2 percent." Spoke the A.I. noting the slightly relieved atmosphere from the group.

"we're not taking any chances, Prep the artifact for transport." Without delay, the spec ops members attached afew devices around each side of the artifact, a small round attachable device with button layout,

"heads up, we got heat signatures heading towards our direction."

the leader of the sangheili team set up the device, activating a dark purple portal manifesting above the artifact, slowly lifting the artifact up.

"leave no evidence that we were here." Spoke the team leader, one of the operatives nodded, leaving a small device along with a piece of armor to show plausible deniability.

the first device activated, letting out a show of light, seemingly eliminating any residue from the group.

the same operative grabbed Kira from the nearby consoles, attaching the data chip on his helmet.

"all files have been recovered and all possible signs of our involvement have been removed and deleted. We are invisible to them." Spoke the A.I. with an enthusiastic response.

the last sangheili nodded as he jumped into the portal, now being dispersed.

the security doors open to reveal a turian squad with hazmats on, using flashlights to look at the room due to it's unusual dark conditions.

"clear!" Yelled out one squad mate.

"wait; clear?" Ask the squad leader, looking at the point of interest, the once frozen artifact being missing.

realizing the situation; the turians began searching the room, hoping to find any traces of where it could've moved to.

"boss, got something." A turian grabbed a small device along with a shoulder pad.

the squad leader took the items, a throwaway omni tool with a purple shoulder pad with the eclipse insignia.

"contact major victus." Spoke the turian team leader, the squad saluted. His face now of anger of being deceived,

by eclipse mercenaries of all groups.

---

(ardent prayer; research station)

a detachment of sangheili rangers awaited for the arrival of the spec ops team, some having quarantine equipment at the ready, ranging from disinfectant washes to pyromaniac solutions such as flamethrowers curtesy of the UNSC.

it didn't take long as small portal opened from above, seeing a portal cough up a sizable box with metal linings with a light blue tint on it. Along with said group of spec ops, seeing everyone accounted for, the rangers began protocol.

the sangheili rangers quickly moved up, sealing the team in an energy field to prevent escaping flood particles. The spec ops team being bombarded with decontamination solutions along with some doses of fire; hitting and cleaning the spec ops armor to prevent lingering spores from escaping.

the sangheili team stood still, especially during the pyro clean ups, they have dealt with worse due to their torturous training, This was considered a breeze.

the ship master approached the team, now seeing the spec ops team being given the green light that they were clean, the rangers focusing on sealing up the artifact.

"Jul 'Mdama, I can assume the mission was a success?" Ask Eza, seeing the four spec op members to kneel down, their fists on their chest in a formal salute.

"yes shipmaster." The leader removed his helmet, revealing the face of the elite, a mark of a sangheili hand imprinted on the left side of his neck.

Eza noticed that the rangers sealed the box in an energy barrier, beginning the decontamination process of all spores that could prove detrimental in the long run.

"did you manage to hide your presence?" Ask the ship master with a professional tone. Seeing Jul 'Mdama open his other hand in front of the sangheili shipmaster.

the holographic figure of a sangheili woman with a imperial battle dress, a small boar acting as a companion next to Kira.

"and secured all notable files regarding their research." Spoke Kira with a confident tone.

"excellent." Eza 'Mohomai gave a brief smile of gratitude. Showing these aliens that they have the edge of espionage.

"you are dismissed, i'll be sure to have a shuttle ready for high charity once the situation has been resolved." The ship master said walking off towards the bridge, shocking the spec ops team with wide eyes and open jaws.

the spec ops looked at each other and got excited, their roars of adrenaline racing through their veins as they were rewarded beyond their expectations.

"first round's on me!" Spoke one of the members, his mandibles in a cheerful manner, all the while jul decided to return to his quarters.

"would you join us brother?" Ask one the teammates, wanting his squad leader to loosen up once in awhile.

"I just want some rest kuta, but I appreciate the invitation." Jul said, grateful for their consideration for him.

they nodded with an understanding, letting him know that he can always join them anytime, walking off.

as Jul made his way out of the teleportation room, walking through the corridors to seen alien personel on high alert, seeing afew of his fellow men lifting up crates, acouple of yanme'e entering the ship's electrical systems to perform routine maintenance.

looking through one of the open blast doors, he saw acouple of unggoy being accompanied by some jiralhanae carrying huge crates to sell some materials they had in reserves.

no doubt trying to set up a trading station for future endeavors.

He ignore those thoughts and entered the elevator, being accompanied by a duo of kig-yar scouts.

the elevator closed and the kig-yar began the conversation.

"did you hear? We might get some assistance soon." Spoke one of the kig yar.

"in what shape or form?" Spoke his partner.

"heard from an honor guard we might get a defense fleet stationed here, heard this system will be a 'neutral grounds' for the time being until things die down." Answered the scout.

"abit odd but I understand the decision, especially with the attack of Shanxi, I don't blame them for sending in reinforcements." Spoke the partner, turning to the sangheili with a curious expression.

"what do you think sangheili? Think this could be a good start for open communication?" Ask the kig-yar scoutmaster.

while Jul did keep up to date when it came to the political climate atleast when it comes to military matters, he was and still is a proud warrior of the sangheili race, however utilizing a passive route of combat other than military training.

"it all depends on how we as a power handle it. Remember these newcomers have traditions that we are currently unknown to us. As long as we keep a delicate touch, then we should be alright to continue forward." Spoke Jul, wanting to ensure this endeavor is not going in the wrong direction.

"I respect your opinion, my only concern is rather or not this other government will do the same." Spoke the kig-yar, his urges of wealth and fortune already kicking in.

"true, best to keep the optimism alive. Otherwise fortune won't be achieved, unless we have to use force that is." Spoke the partner, using force as a last result should a hostile response become common.

Jul nodded, however the elevator stopped as it reached to its destination, the doors opened as the jackel duo began walking. the sangheili spec ops went to his destination without any trouble.

placing a hand on the identification screen, his room door opened, revealing an assortment of personal items on a certain section of the room along with the standard bed.

the other side having military equipment ranging from the sangheili armor to a workbench mean to modify and repair equipment along with a personal weapon locker.

stepping into his armor stand, a body sized circular display, he stepped into it. The display glowed, gravitational waves began automatically disassembling parts of his armor set, slowly taking off said armor without issue. Similar to what the Spartans use to either put on or take off their mjolner armor.

the process finally complete, he stepped out of the stand, seeing his armor now placed in its intended place.

Sitting on his makeshift chair, he took notice of his holographic frame.

said photo had him along with a beautiful sangheili woman, her slight blend of a warrior and elegant attire that made her stand out like a color of an energy sword, their hands intertwined as they looked at eachother with love and affection, symbolizing their union as husband and wife. (13.)

standing beside them, two smaller sangheili, one on each side.

his eldest son, Dural, standing beside his father with his arms folded, his expression is as stoic as his father. Embodying the same warrior's customs Jul had during his youth. Carrying the same stubborn spirit as his father along with a strong sense of ambition.

Tempered by his mother's love and discipline of being chivalrous on and off of combat no matter which side.

his youngest son, Asum, standing next to his mother with a black body suit with afew blue neo lights around his suit, The youthful yet shy sangheili out of the siblings.

Being passive and more open minded than his steadfast brother, being the more diplomatic person to focus on working around issues rather than trying to fight situations with conventional means.

His career life shows it, becoming an agricultural expert to improve his people's livelihood. Wanting to be the first to establish a farming community to ensure the sangheili are more than just warriors.

Jul' mdama's expression softened, his eyes slightly turned moist as he looked down, wanting to make up for lost time with his sons. he could care less rather they were warriors, fisherman, farmers or even corporate executives.

those were his sons, and he'll gladly give his life for them.

he decided to halt any minimal tasks. deciding to take a moment to go over his photo album, laying on his bed and scrolling through the pages of memories taken during the flood wars then later the forerunner conflicts.

taking afew photos of many warriors, his sangheili brothers who were naturally skilled in the energy sword, some uggnoy who were ready to throw barrages of plasma grenades, some kig-yar who were perfect marksmen, some jiralhanae who were the first to charge in the field of battle, and some human soilders who held the warrior spirits, sacrificing themselves for the sake of others.

he made it a point to participate every funeral of the fallen, placing down an offering that showed immense respect and gratitude. Even his sangheili brothers acknowledged their sacrifices, performing their own funeral service to honor the dead.

acknowledging that they too have the spirit of the sangheili race.

even the imperial admiral placed a banner, representing the highest traditions of sangheili customs due to their feats of courage against the promethean forces, fighting as much determination as a sangheili ranger who thrive in suicidal times.

he closed the album, deciding to take a nap. Wanting to get some rest before his next assignment, grabbing any chance to get some shut eye as much as possible.

soon he shall spend time with his sons, soon he shall hear all about their endeavors, soon he shall hold his wife, and recite a poem that will symbolize his undying love for her,

soon he shall ensure their days will be the best they had as a family.

---

(ST7 sayona, bridge)

Javik stood in the bridge, looking at the beautiful vista of the eridani system with fascination. The countless amounts of ships being used to guard the systems with diligence and integrity. The designs differ from species to species, modified due to possible joint commissions no doubt.

in a sense; he recalled his cycle, before the reapers came out and begun their extinction cycle. When his empire roamed the stars, the beautiful landscapes of their now ancestral home planets. The numerous architectural features his urban colonies produced.

His thoughts shifted slightly to his once crew, his comrades that he served with, the sacrifices he made to draw the war as much as possible, to buy his empire time to prepare for the possibility of inevitable extinction.

he only hoped his crew would be here now.

"you seem quiet."

Javik turned to see Samantha, holding two mugs of coffee.

"coffee, made from Peruvian coffee beans. Keeps you from not getting tired." The Sabre team commander said, offering the other mug to the prothean.

"gratitude." Javik said, hesitating grabbing the mug, blowing it slightly to take a small sip to not burn his tongue, slightly enjoying the moment of silence.

"I'm just amused, to see that the once primitive species now rule the galaxy. human, turian, maybe even more others that I'm unfamiliar with in my cycle." Answered Javik, recalling afew species that were not yet seen.

"they probably did advance, just haven't seen them yet." Samantha said, understanding that humanity will either discover new species or they will come to us.

"perhaps. Maybe I'll get to see how far they have come this little conflict ends." Javik said, wondering how advanced humanity along with many other species at the time have evolved into.

sipping on his cup of coffee, he contemplated on his journey. Being able to live as long as the asari he wondered how will his people would adapt to this new cycle.

Perhaps joining this federation. Since it did provide much needed advancements, and by the history of producing weapons that would deviate from the intended path placed by the reapers, it's only fair to assume that the federation of independent species would be the winning force regarding the possible destruction of all life.

however he wasn't going assume right away, wanting to see if these turians resided in the citadel. He wanted to see if these species are prepared, if they built up a military that could possibly rival this federation.

he wanted to examine it, see if there is hope for both super powers to coexist.

"so, I wish to know what to expect when it comes to meeting this council, if it's not too much to ask." The prothean vanguard ask in curiosity.

"expect a lot of opinions, and since we recieved news about the attack; it's no secret that they probably do too, so it might take time before things die down." Spoke Samantha, looking at the endless bound of space.

"I'll be looking forward to it then." Javik stood, sipping his coffee with slight satisfaction, slowly getting used to the taste and aftereffects that brought with it.

---

(high charity senate chambers.)

politicians, bureaucrats, aristocrats, and high ranking government officials were expected when it comes to any form of political activity.

News quickly spread from the theta system, the word of vice admiral Cole ensured that the political parties such as the ministry of colonial affairs were aware of the issue and situation of a new species,

one that was aligned with another galactic super power.

inside the planet city are multiple sections of vast metropolitan regions, each having their unique characteristics and unique qualities.

the trading region, known for its numerous trading ports of countless resources that every species have their needs and interests of raw and refined materials.

however their were pressing matters regarding the future of the federation of independent species.

the military region, filled with on and non combat personnel were buzzing with excitement, platoons and regiments began mobilizing everything, ships and ground armor were being moved inside carrier vessels.

sangheili troops and other species volunteers began moving heavy crates.

mostly jiralhanae and other heavy lifters who didn't mind showing off their strength.

it's no secret that the federation's military was at an all time peek, countless training drills and virtual exercises solidifying its position as a capable force ready to act in a moment's notice.

we go to the new refurbished council chambers, having been renovated into mass space meant to support countless individuals of power. The senators that help govern each planet and bring up issues that could affect their way of life.

not just senators from human worlds, but from all worlds of all species. Each having a voice for either their planets or respected sectors that they managed to govern. All United under the banner of one galactic superpower keeping a transparent system in place to prevent no form of corruption or any kind of political interference that could hinder the growth of any planet or system.

something that the political parties from all over the federation's borders Learn due to the historical events taken from the star forge, learning the history of the republic and all of its events, both good and bad,

especially with all the corruption.

so additional reforms were necessary, to ensure services towards worlds that be beneficial such as supplies and relief aid.

currently an emergency session is in place, detailing the events that have taken place for the past few days.

seeing the aftermath of the battle of Shanxi was abit concerning, the situation of prisoners being taken to Arcturus station. All the while the fighters began pulling survivors from their downed star fighters.

"and that's the situation." Spoke a human wearing a standard political attire, concluding his explanation of initiating protocal:Columbus

"councilor McDonnell, we understand that Shanxi endured an awful attack. But we just can't escalate a hostile response unless they attempted an additional attack against your forces, let alone your colony." Spoke a tempered jiralhanae, having white fur with dark grey skin, having afew bandoleers of no equipment. A giant hammer leaning next to the chair.

"we are still waiting on additional reports councilor Tartarus, and if they have begun additional campaign?" Ask councilor Douglas McDonnell, councilor for humanity, representative for UEG interests.

"then we shall conduct a joint statement, show these aggressors that we are not some wounded animal that is to be slaughtered easily." Spoke a sangheili proudly, interrupting the jiralhanae councilor while siding with humanity on this matter since their is no honor in fighting an unprovoked opponent, his imperial cape dangling on the left side of his shoulder dawning the insigna of an elite skull with two cross energy swords.

"steadfast as always councilor Xytan, but we cannot guarantee a possible victory, we don't even know their technology." A kig-yar said, wearing a royal purple dress with a crown indicating a royal but just upbringing.

xytan 'Jar Wattinree narrowed his eyes at the kig-yar councilor.

"don't insult me councilor nath. As for their technology, we shouldn't even be concerned about it. If humanity's guns were able to fend off these hethens, then having an armada of our own would be a death sentence to those who oppose us." Spoke the councilor now known as Xytan'jar wattinree (14.), former imperial admiral of the covenant navy. Now sangheili councilor of the sangheili collective.

"but that still brings the concern of the ships that were caught off-guard, especially our own vessels." A synthetic voice pointed out, being the droid model HK-47. "I calculate a 67.5 chance that these turians would deliver a counter offensive. If not for the political reasons but now personal ones. As we have prisoners of war on our side as stated by general Grissom's reports." The droid councilor pointed out. Using the fact that they would place a hefty price for notable people.

"I agree, we could use that to our advantage. Surely this species value their men to an extent do they?" Ask a uggnoy, siding with the jiralhanae for possible peace negotiations.

"that's why a defense fleet to this so-called 'shadow sea'. To establish neutral grounds to ensure viable territory is mapped out and charted for future deployment." Spoke councilor McDonnell, the motion being supported by some to the councilors who see this as a possible way to ensure a proper first impression to the wider galaxy.

"while I do agree with the statement, a joint armada of human and covenant ships will cause some serious repercussions if contact is not achieved, however arguing about personal opinions won't solve the issues at hand." A yanme'e queen spoke, deciding to be neutral in the debate. Opting to see what outcomes shall arise due to the circumstances.

one hand; humanity was well within its rights to defend itself. Even if they activated a dormant relay deep in the Orion frontiers, they cooperated with this species instead of engaging in aggressive action.

however on the other hand, it should've been handled more carefully. Leaving the relay alone until the human colony world could be fully complete. Then set up a space station to ensure full security and a checkpoint for relay usage and activity,

then and only then will they decide to activate the mass relay.

"I agree, we must see what transpires from these developments, remain passive unless additional action has been carried forward." spoke one of the senators from the outer colony worlds, an Asian man with tan skin and black hair, wearing an attire that represents his traditions and upbringings from his homeworld.

"keep your neutral opinions to yourself senator Ha, madrigal isn't prospering as much as other planets compared to those having UEG and UNSC backing, your status as a neutral party shouldn't even be considered." Spoke another senator. Having slight grey hair with some bald sections on his head, his posture showing that he was former military.

"don't think you can bully me into believing otherwise senator del rio, or do we have to remind you how 'convincing' you were towards the protests back on Biko?" Ask the now senator of madrigal jin ha, representative of the neutral systems' coalition (NSC). responsible for the support of worlds or small systems that wish to seek independence from oppressive regimes that attempted to be established.

"those 'protestors' were actual terrorists that attempted to undermine and destroy the democratic institutions that uphold our constitution in place. If words don't make you see the error of your ways, then you're as short sighted as the worlds that follow you." Spoke the now named Andrew del rio, current senator of lo, one of the jovian moons, using its volcanic magmas and hot climate to produce raw materials,

a technique that the covenant shared to maintain humanity's constant speed of mass production.

"bullshit and you know it." Spoke another senator, being a blonde woman with an elegant blue dress. "You have a distain towards neutral worlds yet the Jovian moons heavily relies on raw materials from the neutral systems, and even then you do a poor job protecting your 'investments', the failure of protecting europa from pirate syndicates of all types says a lot on how you handle security." Spoke another UEG senator, being more supportive of the NSC due to their cooperation in the galactic Economy, allowing for cheap trade in exchange for quality goods to the neutral systems, few established monopolistic institutions to ensure the NSC will maintain a strong position in galactic affairs.

"my failures are irrelevant to the current situation here and now. Sitting idly while unknowns are slaughtering our own people has nothing to do with past mistakes, taking a neutral stance won't change the fact that Shanxi is in jeopardy." Spoke Andrew, not wanting his mistakes to be brought up again by someone who doesn't see the issue at hand.

"cease all activity."

the rest of the councilors silenced, allowing for the high prophet of truth, or to others, the supreme chancellor of the Federation of independent species.

resting on his gravity throne, dawning a elegant attire comprised of a royal violet robe; his aura bringing order and control to the room in chambers.

"I did not initiate an emergency session just to hear the arguements and grudges you all have against each other." The prophet of truth stated in a no nonsense tone, the senators remaining silent as he held the power to restrict and regulate all aspects of the law,

especially the power to dismiss the senators and councilors from their positions.

"senator ha, despite neutrality of both you and other senators present, the neutral system's coalition will not be abandoned , not just your importance in the economic regions, but to ensure your voices are heard and represented, and services such as relief aid and infrastructure will be provided regardless of the neutral political views." Spoke the high prophet, offering aid to show that even during his final days as a ruler of The once named covenant empire, he still showed compassion towards planets that need it while preparing for the possibility of a hostile response.

offering one hand while arming the other.

"gratitude Noble prophet." The Korean senator bowed his head in respect. The high prophet nodded, addressing his attention to Andrew.

"senator del rio, you may not like the NSC having a place in the senate, but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect them in the senate chambers, especially against benefactors that are vital for your rebuilding efforts." Spoke the san'shyuum prophet, pointing out the fact that the Jovian moons could be in jeopardy. Shutting up the lo ambassador since it was true. Even in being in close proximity of SAPC facilities, they were more so focused on maintaining new infrastructure and already existing trading routes rather than create new but risky routes that could jeopardize their future economic prospects.

"back to the issue at hand." Turning back to the UEG councilor.

"councilor McDonnell: while it is apparent that humanity has been dealt a critical blow to the human colony of Shanxi, it should've been handled with more care." Before councilor McDonnell could protest, a hand was risen by the prophet of truth.

"however reports indicated that the UNSC fleet handled the situation well. And the fact that this new species attempted to attack, possibly takeover Shanxi WHILE the federation had a total of four vessels participating in negotiations for peaceful resolutions gives me reason to believe that humanity is in the right in this situation. In short; I don't blame you nor do I hold anything against you other than the activation of the mass relay." Truth said, nodding towards his human councilor to which he returned the gesture.

turning to the rest of the councilors, he began his slight monologue.

"and even then; have we not activated mass relays without any form of preparations? Or do I have to list them off? Matter of fact, should I list off the amount of incidents that additional species attempted to tamper with the shield worlds, or better yet, do I have to remind everyone about a certain councilor's poor choice of words regarding a special forces branch?" Spoke the high prophet, his eyes piercing into each councilor that he laid eyes on.

referring to the incident between a kid-yar fleet and a unidentified ship exploring the ring in orbit.

all the while ignoring the uncontrollable state of senators like del rio.

(event in question (or flashback))

"can we try hailing them?" Ask the captain of the kig-yar defense fleet, wanting to know if the ship was a friendly or unknown vessel.

The kig-yar, wearing a ceremonial uniform of what should represent a captain stood facing the ship, being marked as an unknown vessel of origin however it did appear to follow a similar style to that of the newly constructed starships outfitted with hyperdrive capabilities.

gaining a sense of control, he ordered his com operator to hail them.

"patching it through." The com operator said, getting a full screen of what the individuals were.

the kig-yar captain was confused, he studied about human life regarding stereotypes, them being more vocal about their culture than previous generations, skin tones indicating their heritage or their current well being. Being pale could mean being exposed or sick as an example.

they didn't know humans could take different skins colors from green to slight rose,

did humanity experience some kind of genetic change?

"this is captain nath zhix, to whom am I speaking to?" Ask the kig-yar in a cautious tone, hoping this isn't some kind of joke.

"can you hear me? This is lieutenant Juliarm Yargric of the Mirialan expeditionary unit." Spoke the male near human, having short blackish blue hair with red eyes. Wearing a semi-combat uniform.

"mirialan? Is that another sexuality for you humans?" Ask the kig-yar captain in curiosity.

"human?" Ask the green skinned human in confusion. "Our species is Mirialan. As for our current situation, we accidentally jumped into hyperspace to this area of space, do you know where we are?" Ask juliarm, his tone slightly begging for help and guidance.

captain nath, not wanting to allow this 'species' to cause any unnecessary risks..

"you are currently in a situation where you are not allowed to be in, we are currently securing this installation by order of the federation, please have all ships stay away of the ring and maintain distance." Nath ordered, seeing the now reassuring looks from these 'mirialans'.

"acknowledged." The explorer answered, ending the transmission, seeing their vessel move away from the forerunner world.

nath shook his head, begining the array process as he might want to contact humanity with the discovery.

maybe this could be some kind of joke.

"captain: coordinates are marked and sent to high command. What should we do about the ships?" Ask the ship's commander, monitoring the ship's progress.

"we're escort them with toward us in high charity, if they require directions; then we shall assist them, at worst we could escort them back to whatever homeworld they originated from." Said nath, wanting to visit this so called 'homeworld' of theirs for peace talks.

"captain, they are contacting us once again." Spoke the com operator.

"patch them through once again."

(end of encounter)

it was then revealed that these were indeed humans by the UEG president, later brought up by the UEG and UNSC governments; launching a major investigation.

according to the department of colonial affairs, they had early space expeditions during the 21st century and have yet to report back about any success as of that point, presumed to be dead or hit with possible solar flares.

another reason to begin major expeditions currently known as the unknown regions.

to see what new 'civilizations' arise.

"an encounter that we are grateful your excellency." A woman with green skin and diamond tattoos on her face spoke; wearing a formal robe. Representing the Mirialan government (15.)

"Major points Noble prophet; however this isn't simple as offering a cease fire." Councilor McDonnell said, the debates flaring up on rather or not to maintain a passive approach towards the aggressors.

council Douglas noticed that the communication's panel began going off.

"incoming transmission from Arcturus, patching it through." Spoke the UEG councilor , activating the relay to reveal vice admiral Cole.

"vice admiral Cole, what is the situation on Shanxi?" Ask McDonnell.

"councilor, be advised; an additional attack is currently underway by the turians, sending live feed." The vice admiral said, downloading a current feed from one of the Shanxi satellites.

the hologram projection revealed the current state of Shanxi, how the turian vessels are utilizing what they could describe to be unorthodox tactics, being able to use asteroids as weapons is concerning when it came to using them on worlds during future campaigns.

on the surface displayed multiple fronts, ranging from damaged buildings to firefights between UNSC forces and what looked to be a coalition of new species, all of which having different distinctions.

judging by their looks of different types of coloring and how they carried themselves, they could point out that some are military, and others hold themselves like scoundrels. Pirates or mercenaries employed by the military no doubt to prevent the depletion of military resources.

the chambers stood silent, some having feelings of sadness that this was taking place to begin with. Others remained stoic to maintain their postures, keeping their emotions in check.

others were furious. While these foreigners were still new, to have been offered peaceful resolutions should be a greater gesture to ensure not just a formal and peaceful introduction to their government, but to also establish a trading port for numerous opportunities.

the chambers soon erupted into a major uproar, leaving no room for the supreme chancellor to speak on his final verdict.

a good portion of the senate demanded war, at the very least send an entire force dedicated to flex the United armies, to introduce themselves as a nation of species dedicated to defending and protecting their own planets regardless of close or far,

and attack if necessary.

others sat silent in their gravity podiums, deciding to be neutral and to ensure their own positions are left unharmed or threatened by the possibility of dismissal. Not just so they can remain in power as senators or councilors for their respective planets or sectors, but to ensure they could continue their aid for other systems that are either primitive or in need of major economic development.

a good portion opted to resolve the issue by sending a joint force to maintain the defense of Shanxi, wanting to show restraint, thinking that if they are able to defend a colony planet with fleet large enough to maintain long campaigns.

a few slams of staffs from the countless sangheili and jiralhanae honor guards was heard from all over the chambers, silencing the countless arguments and debates that could have transpired.

"order!, we shall have order!" The last slam came from the person next to the high prophet, the head of the federation nodded at the giant figure known as atriox, the jiralhanae chieftain who protected the would be high prophet of truth during the great schism.

now personal advisor of the federation's chancellor.

"it is clear that this civilization at first had intentions of peace, atleast that was the reports of the both admiral orenski and ambassador turb bakk." The supreme chancellor began, his words echoing throughout the room for everyone to hear.

"however, it's also clear that this civilization isn't perfect, if they aren't willing to control their military subordinates and keep them in line for the sake of minimizing the risk of hostilely between both parties." His tone was slightly laced with frustration and anger, seeing the holo recordings of the current battle taking place at this moment.

the san'shyuum's seat rose up, addressing to everyone and making his word heard.

"then we shall follow their example. as an act of defense and retaliation, a joint armada of warships will be dispatched to Shanxi and deal with these turians. we shall give them no quarter, nor shall we give them sympathy. and if necessary, we shall give them no hope of any mercy." Spoke the high prophet of truth, his tone being that of an angered father being told of a tragic event regarding his children.

"however, thanks to the knowledge of the packages and Star charts that were given to us by the turian ambassador, we shall drive the point by officially introducing ourselves to the unknown reaches of their territories. Know this and know this well, senators, representatives-,"

(holo screens)

"and proud citizens of the federation, we shall not allow any form of military incursions no matter how big or small come to any of our boarders, let alone our colonies!" The supreme chancellor concluded, the entire discussion in the senate chambers being broadcasted so all citizens rather outer and inner worlds can see what major developments are occurring.

citizens from across the galaxy took arms, many military worlds already began mobilizing supply conveys to the theta system. More important worlds such as reach have already mobilized and deployed battle groups at the ready, awaiting for the call for reinforcements.

speaking of the fortress of the stars, reach had postponed fleet week, hotels were ordered by UNSC officials to extend the stays of possibly billions of visitors for a month or two as insurance.

In return, all hotels or residential districts will be compensated with additional supplies such as food, paid time off and other essentials until the contact crisis is adverted.

super carriers from covenant to occasional human began departing from the federation's capital, now moving in a majestic yet powerful formation, a sight to behold to the bystanders who were outside of the shuttle ports.

for humanity; this felt a reminiscent of a history lesson in the 1940's, the day that the imperial Japanese navy attack the port of Pearl Harbor, destroying the United state fleet, destroying a total 19 U.S. Navy ships, and a total of less than 3,000 casualties.

the end result was the resurgence of the American war machine skyrocketing to an unprecedented level, bolstering and strengthening its military strength enough to support and sustain two theaters, the pacific theater against the Japanese Empire, and the campaign against the third reich.

end result was the drop of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in the complete surrender of imperial Japan, and the final chapter of what would be known as world war 2.

to the Japanese; they learned a very important lesson when it comes to waging war against anyone.

don't wage war with the United States, as shown by how hard and fast their war machine was, the mass mobilization of their armies ready to retaliate against their attackers.

essentially don't awaken the sleeping giant.

and they paid for it dearly.

but now, as the turians continue to attack and began the ransacking of Shanxi at this point, it was clear that a mass fleet was needed to engage these forces,

for more than 30 years, there had been nothing but peace aside from taking down promethean groups and rising and dying criminal organizations that attempted to consolidate their power, resulting in a mass crackdown against these organizations regardless of what they had to offer in exchange for political gain.

like imperial Japan, the turians awoken something that they have no information of, but unlike them, they awakened more than just one giant.

they have awoken the sleeping titans,

and they were coming.

---

1.) abit ironic about the game anthem, was supposed to the BioWare's response to games like the division and destiny; but ended up being a major disappointment.

2.) yes, I will be including the halo TV show characters only because they need some form of justice.

3.) gears of war characters. Eduardo being self explanatory, as for will, for those who read rise of ralm, he was one of the first humans to be killed during the begining of emergence day.

4.) power armor from starship troopers, figure it would be fair to establish that.

5.) need no explanation, since that was the case. The project in canon was thrown to the side due to being an indeed ideas.

6.) while I do feel like more could've been done with the whole encounter(subject to change or add additional details) I'll stand on it until I reread it for errors.

7.) you already know I got to bring up sun zhu himself,

8.) the made up name for the COD:AW sentry guns

9.) following the concept of utilizing incapacitating gas, concept is from COD advanced warfare but without the kill.

manticore for those who are familiar with the campaign.

10.)COD infinite warfare. Both the captain and the ship itself, imagine the ship being as the same size as the infinity.

11.) yes, I shall be introducing or utilizing characters from andromeda, however only this guy since I have yet(or probably never will) play andromeda.

12.) whole sequence is basically the first mission of COD: AW but with more ODSTs and titans.

13.) im giving this sangheili a bone since let's face it, I was looking forward to season 2 of spartan ops(halo 4 at the time)

only to see him getting killed off on the first mission of guardians...

talk about wasted opportunities.

14.) yes, I'm placing him in a political position, trying to make the story more engaging or interesting (please be honest on the choices I'm making.)

15.) Star Wars race, Bariss offee and Luminara Unduli for example.

any other coincidences or things that you are familiar with are up to you all.

alright, I still got a long way to go, so I'll let you all decide on this one,

Shepard.

which one(or both?) and what will the pairings be?

I am in no rush to even think about this notion since I'm going to world build the shit out of this story, so PM me about who and what and I'll tally the votes in future chapters.

thank you for the criticism and I'll continue to improve my grammar, spelling and any other issues that need fixing.