Relevant Notes Will Be At The End Of The Chapter

-000-

Mobile Suit/Mass Effect

Episode 16

Survivors and Sacrifices

-000-

Three days after the alien invasion of the Shanxi System began...

A single amber eye slowly opened while the other remained hidden behind an eyepatch. Its owner was greeted by an unfamiliar environment, somewhere she wasn't used to waking up in.

This wasn't her usual quarters.

Commodore Cinder Autumn attempted to crane her neck so that she could survey the rest of the room and found she had been strapped down on a chair. It wasn't so tight that it was uncomfortable, but enough that she was held secure to the seat.

Looking around revealed to her that she was in a small craft, one of Congressional Space Force use, if the rows of standardized high-g maneuver chairs and the other unconscious sailor clad in a CSF normal suit were anything to go by.

That was some good news, at any rate. She opened her mouth to call someone, but instead felt something alien had been shoved down her throat. Only now had she realized that a tube had been sticking out of her mouth this whole time, connected to an IV bag that's been taped to the wall beside her. She let out some gagging noise as she slowly pulled the tube out of her throat.

Evidently she wretched and gagged loud enough that someone heard her.

The sliding door to the room opened and a man wearing a CSF normal suit floated himself in. The bars on his shoulders indicated he was captain. Even without reading the nametag on his chest, a quick glance at the man's face, his dirty blonde hair told her exactly who this person was.

"Captain Wen-Li, give me a SITREP." The woman said, her voice hoarse and strained.

The Captain winced hearing his superior's voice in such a feeble condition. It didn't sit well with him.

"Oh hush now, Commodore. You're in no condition to be barking orders, you know that, right?" He said, planting his magnetic boots on the floor in front of his superior, before getting down and loosening the straps holding her down.

"I'll be the judge of that." She responded once she had been loosened enough. Autumn slowly got up from her seat and started stretching. Her body was sore from being unconscious for a long time, and the short stretches relieved some of it.

She turned once again to the other man in the room, giving him an expecting look. Captain Tai Wen-Li, now former CO of the Battlecruiser CSS Milo, reached into one of the shelves above the passenger seats and pulled out a bottle of water. He offered the water to Autumn, who accepted it and immediately started drinking from it.

"You've been out for three days since Milo went down. Enemy scored a bunch of good hits on her armored citadel, one of which knocked you out." He grimly recounted the last moments of the ship he commanded, for even if Commodore Autumn used it as her flagship it was still he who ran the Milo's day to day operations and commanded it in battle. "DC teams couldn't suppress the fire quick enough. The magazine cooked off a few minutes later. We barely got to the lifeboats in time."

Autumn finished the whole bottle quickly. Three days unconscious, only sustained by a tube feeder left her rather starving for some real food and water. She looked around the lifeboat they were in. It wasn't small by any means, able to hold maybe two dozen or so people comfortably. Seeing as there was only one other unconscious person in the seating compartment, Autumn asked again.

"Are we the only ones who made it on to this lifeboat?" She asked.

A standard CSF lifeboat should've been enough to hold three dozen sailors somewhat comfortably. That there seemed to be only three in this one was... concerning.

"Chief Crowe and Warrant Officer Callow are at the helm." Tai explained as he dug up something else from the ration box. "Ensign Schoener is outside trying to boost our comm range, and last I checked Ensign Schwarz was in the toilet."

"Who's that?" Autumn gestured to the other unconscious person, sitting on the far end of the room.

Tai looked at the person, then turned away with a dim expression.

"That's Lieutenant Commander Ralda." He said grimly. "She... didn't make it."

"Oh." Was all Autumn could say, her eyes looking down and away from the dead body.

Ralda was Tai's executive officer. She was strict but fair, always had a pulse on how the Milo's crew was doing. She was as good an XO as any. Autumn knew her well, though as a Commodore, she didn't work with the LC as much as she did with Captain Wen-Li.

"What happened to the rest of Milo's crew?" She now asked. "Did they make it out?"

"Most of them did." Tai answered, to the Commodore's relief. "I gave the order to abandon ship a few minutes after you got knocked out. Most of the crew were already offboard by the time Ralda and I brought you into this lifeboat."

Autumn's face slowly turned into a scowl. A lot of good sailors died because of her failures as an officer. There was no way to bring them back now, but she could still avenge them.

All she had to do, was win this war.

"We'll give her a proper send off later." Autumn declared, her resolve hardening. "We'll give them all a proper send off... but first, we have to get retribution."

A small smile formed on Tai's face when he turned to the Commodore after rummaging around in the ration box. He handed Autumn a vacuum packed sandwich.

"I couldn't agree more." He said, eyes burning with the same determination that Autumn had.

-000-

Despite the promises to bring retribution, the little lifeboat's immediate concern was simply to survive.

It was agreed by everyone that their best chances to make it out alive was to head to Cassafaronga Station, who's orbit puts it currently almost all the way on the other side of the system. Progress was slow, very slow. The lifeboat was only capable of sublight speeds, and to make things worse, the outer sphere of the star system was crawling with enemy patrols. Avoiding them meant keeping things cold and slow, so they had to stick to inertial flight with only the occasional burn to alter or correct their course. It's been almost two weeks since the Milo was lost, and they weren't even close to halfway towards their destination.

It was a slow and boring flight, and everyone involved would've loved for it to stay that way, because getting caught in a fast and tense situation in a lifeboat was going to be a major problem... which of course, eventually happened.

The lifeboat's current route took them through an abandoned debris field from a recent skirmish. The wrecks of both alien and CSF machines littered this little bit of space. Unfortunately, a small squadron of alien ships also came upon the debris field. Whether it was because they had detected the lifeboat, because it was simply in their patrol route, or because they were investigating the wrecks, nobody knew. The fact of the matter was that the enemy was here, and they had to deal with it somehow.

"Enemy MS coming up on our two-o'clock." Tai -who was monitoring the lifeboat's sensors- warned both Chief Crowe and Warrant Officer Callow, who were both in charge of piloting.

The lifeboat slowed down and hid behind a bit of loose debris. As they did, one of the enemy mobile suits slowly floated by, its head swiveling left and right as it scanned the area. It passed by quickly, not finding whatever it was looking for. Everyone inside let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you think they're looking for their own survivors?" WO Callow mused. "These wrecks are kinda new, maybe a few days old."

"Maybe, possibly." Autumn replied. "Where are the enemy now?"

"The mobile suits are moving away towards our 9 o'clock, their ships are still holding just outside the debris field." Tai answered.

"Good. Crowe, Callow, push us forward to that wreck ahead of us. Inertial flight only."

"Aye ma'am."

The lifeboat moved ahead slowly, drifting forward to the wrecked alien ship that Autumn had marked. It took a bit, but they reached the wreck without incident, slowing down so that they'd float close enough to the hunk of metal and blend in with its sensor signature.

It was right after that, that things got complicated.

"Shit!" Tai cursed, alerting all the others. "The two mobile suits are coming back our way! We're right in the middle of their path!"

"Shut down all non-essential systems! I want us cold, STAT!" Autumn quickly ordered.

Crowe and Callow quickly went to work, doing everything they could to make the lifeboat look just like all the other debris. Their efforts were working... but not without unintended consequences.

-000-

The trailing Turian biped followed close behind his leader, scanning the environment to his left while the leader scanned right. The patrol squadron was here to investigate what's left of a different patrol squadron, which had been ambushed and destroyed by an enemy force. It was grim stuff, survivors weren't expected to be found... but honor dictated a rescue attempt should be made regardless.

Warrant Officer Ardo Cestus couldn't help but let a scowl form in his face, even as he scanned the area.

What a disaster this whole expedition turned out to be! Tens of thousands dead already, and it's barely a month since it started. These were dark days for the Turian race indeed. Leadership had failed the Empire and led them down a path to ruin. If the national course wasn't corrected soon, things will not end well for the galaxy. Cestus was sure of it.

Still, he had to make it out of this place alive first. There was no point in thinking about the future if there was no guarantee he was making out of this whole mess alive.

The pilots all looking for survivors were on guard as they returned to their respective ships. One could never be sure when the 314 aliens would strike, so Cestus kept the safety on his macrogun disengaged... and his finger on the trigger.

He wasn't too far away from the ship he sortied out of when he spotted something off. It was a small craft of sorts, maybe a lifepod. Its design language appeared similar to that of the ships the 314 aliens used. It wouldn't be the first one he had spotted either.

"Hey, Ensign Spirius." Cestus called to the other pilot. "There's an awful lot of alien lifepods out here, even though we haven't found any of their wrecks."

"You drinking on the job again?" The Ensign asked in return. "I haven't seen any of 'em"

"Nah, I haven't touched brandy in over a week!" Cestus defended. "And I'm serious here! There's one lifepod to our left, and another one over... there?"

As he pointed to where he thought the other one was, he was greeted only by empty space and wrecked ship parts.

Now, he might have had a bit of a... drinking problem, but Cestus' memory was as sharp as any knife worth it's weight when he was sober. He knew for certain, without a shadow of doubt, that he had passed by another one of these abandoned small crafts a while ago.

"Yup, just like I thought. You're losing it." Spirius laughed. "Come on buddy, let's RTB."

"Fine, fine..." He sighed, looking over the craft a grim expression. "You poor bastards... I hope it was quick."

Slowly dying out in the cold void wasn't a fate to be wished upon anyone. Cestus would've left the floating tomb then and there if a detail hadn't caught his eye.

The alien text on the side of the lifepod... The pilot didn't necessarily understand it, but he recognized it. The symbols, dashes, shapes, they... felt like an exact match! Could it be that he had only seen one craft and that it had somehow moved? He had to be sure, he had to get a closer look.

Cestus moved his MoWS unit closer and reached out to grab hold of the craft, but unexpectedly it came back to life. Its rear thrusters roared to life and like a missile it zoomed away.

"Oh shit, this one's alive!" He yelled into the battle network, where the entire patrol squadron could hear. "Spotted enemy light craft, it's trying to get away!"

Reflexively, the Warrant Officer raised his macrogun and targeted the lifepod, but before he could let off a burst that would've surely destroyed it, the Ensign shoved the weapon to the side.

"Wait, they're worth more to us alive than dead!" Spirius told the Warrant Officer. "They don't look armed. Let's try to capture them instead!"

"Right!"

With that, the two bipeds kicked off into high gear and made chase.

The alien craft was fast, which was unexpected for what appeared to be a lifepod. But, this strength was also the craft's weakness, for its high speed and acceleration did not give it much maneuverability. Both pilots could easily see that the craft's pilot had to take a relatively linear and predictable route. With that in mind, the Ensign quickly formulated a plan to cut the chase short.

"Cestus, keep on their tail!" Spirius ordered. "I'll try to flank around and intercept them from the side!"

The Ensign flew off to the side, leaving Cestus to continue the pursuit on his own. The chase was intense, for while the lifepod wasn't very agile, its pilot made was daring enough to fly as close as it could to floating debris, forcing the MoWS pilot to slow down and swerve around. As fast as the alien craft was -and it was very fast, much to the Turians' surprise- the Arma Gigas were simply faster. Cestus' unit slowly but surely closed the gap between him and his prey. Moreover, Spirius' machine was also getting into position to cut off the aliens' escape route. All it would take to end this little charade is to spring the trap.

"Cestus, I'm coming in!" Spirius called over comms. "Get ready to grab on to that craft!"

"Copy that!" He answered. "Let's do this!"

With that, the Ensign began his interdiction run, coming at the alien lifepod from the flank. Spirius' maneuver would force the craft to evade, which should slow it down just enough that Cestus could catch it with his machine's arms...

But before he even got the chance to do it, their plans were dashed in its entirety.

Right as Spirius' machine was going to jump the craft from the side, a bright pink beam flashed into existance. The energy bolt blazed through the void and blasted apart its waist. The Turian Ensign and his machine was sent into an uncontrollable spin, missing the craft entirely as it veered to the side. Three enemy bipeds then emerged from one of the shipwrecks, clad in their white and green colors and bright blue visor face. They moved in formation, preparing to attack the remaining Arma Gigas with a pincer maneuver.

"The enemy are still here?!" Cestus gasped.

Was the lifepod simply bait for an ambush all along? It very well could be, though the Warrant Officer couldn't be sure. Regardless, he had a fight on his hands now.

"This is Charbal 2 to Valorus, can you read me?" He called to the cruiser he had sortied from, a hint of panic peaking in his voice. "I am currently under attack by enemy forces, current strength unknown! Charbal 1 has been shot down! I need reinforcements!"

"Copy that Charbal 2, we're... wait, what in Spirit's name is tha-"

The Valorus' XO was suddenly cut off, leaving Cestus to assume the worst.

"Shit, shit, shit! Not like this!" The pilot cussed out, raising his weapon and firing upon his enemies.

Simultaneously, he fired his forward thrusters and began fleeing in reverse. The particular detail of whether or not he even had a ship to go back to was a bridge to be crossed when arrived at. For now, Cestus' primary concern was to survive.

More energy bolts were fired at the lone Turian, which thankfully were easily evaded since Cestus was flying backwards. His eyes darted between the machines who had turned the situation against him, watching where they were firing, allowing him to dodge whatever shots he could. Still, there were a few shots that simply couldn't be evaded in time, and for this Cestus kept his unit's shield raised in front of him at all times and held at an angle - a technique meant to maximize the chances of deflecting the energy bolt that did hit him.

Unfortunately for him though, the chase wouldn't last very long. In the midst of all the stress and excitement, Cestus had lost track of the third biped. It had snuck off to the side and used Spirius' own plan against the Turians, though this time without any qualms to simply gunning down the target being flanked. The sensor warning came too late for the Turian pilot, for by the time he had turned to see the enemy coming in from the side, he could also see the pink flash coming out of its barrel.

The beam shot hit the fleeing Arma Gigas right in the head unit, blinding its pilot inside. Several more shots then landed on the biped's leg and arm, neutralizing it. Just as another shot was about to land, Cestus had pulled on the big blue eject lever above his seat, sending the cockpit unit flying backwards and away from the doomed MoWS unit.

Time seemed to stand still after ejecting from the Arma Gigas. Cestus waited with baited breath as one of the alien bipeds stared down his escape pod. He flinched and assumed the worst when he saw the enemy machine move, closing his eyes in anticipation of reuniting with the spirits... only that never came. The machine instead turned around and flew off, leaving Cestus where he was.

The last he saw of the enemy bipeds, they picked up the small lifepod and took it away... presumably to their own ship.

Now, with the Valorus not responding and nobody else in the battle network answering...

Cestus was on his own.

-000-

"Are they gone?"

"Stand by..." A sensors officer said from his station, though one wouldn't be able to tell he was an officer, given that he wasn't wearing any standardized uniform. Regardless, the man's eyes were glued at the aging monitor he was sitting behind.

Four pings... Three... Down to one... and then nothing.

"Scope is clear. All CSF vessels have vacated the AO." The sensors officer reported to his superior. "I wonder what happened out there? I've never seen them book it this quick, especially not after winning."

"Well, whatever happened to them hardly matters to us now." The superior said, taking a sip from his bottle of coffee and readjusting his old school glasses so that it'd sit higher on his nose. "Understanding the alien machines ahead of the Congressional Forces is what matters. Begin the salvage operations as planned."

"At once, Father Oswin."

-000-

The timely intervention of Squadron 44 had been such a stroke of good luck, Commodore Autumn almost believed it to be divine intervention.

Almost.

Having lived long enough on the battlefield, Autumn was of the opinion that one's fate in war was dependent on what one made of themselves. Relying on some ethereal being to decide one's fate was foolishness. Still, she could appreciate the impeccable timing that the prowling destroyer squadron had, who not only saved her and her crewmates lives, but also destroyed an enemy patrol group in the process.

After a short discussion with the commander in charge, it was decided that Squadron 44 would take the Commodore to Cassafaronga Station. Autumn argued that getting her to a place where she can make strategic decisions would do more against the invaders than merely raiding their supply lines, and the Flag Officer agreed. The trip took them a few days, which was far ahead of schedule had Autumn continued the trip in the lifeboat. The Commodore had a few ideas on what she'd see once she arrived at the deep space support station... but the true gravity of the situation was much more severe.

The berths and drydocks at Cassafaronga were beyond capacity, with damaged ships having to take a number and line up. The crew of these damaged ships were quickly transferred or shuffled about, all in the hopes of getting more hulls out there fighting the enemy. Formations leaving the station were a true patchwork, with older Schnee Class Destroyers and Gambol Class Cruisers filling in gaps where they appeared. It truly was an appalling state of affairs.

As soon as she arrived, Commodore Autumn took control of the situation. As the highest ranking officer in the area, it fell to her to turn this whole mess around. The first week alone was spent reprioritizing which ships got attention first. Lightly damaged vessels got priority, unclogging the pipeline and getting a stream of hulls out there in a much faster rate. Heavily damaged vessels that would've taken too long to repair were cannibalized, their parts distributed to ships that needed them more. Thanks to Autumn's efforts a sizeable force was starting to materialize around Cassafaronga, and yet it still wasn't enough to openly challenge the enemy in the Outer Sphere. To this end, the Commodore turned to intensify the Outer Sphere Fleet's convoy raiding efforts, now organized with a tangible strategy. It wasn't expected to liberate the Shanxi System on its own, but it was at least hoped to help lighten the load for Congressional Forces currently besieged in the Inner Sphere.

Good news would come shortly after the invasion crossed its first month, when badly needed reinforcements arrived from out of system. A force of several dozen vessels arrived from the neighboring Valhalla System - the first large batch of reinforcements to arrive since the invasion began. It was a powerful fleet, with two Nikos Class Battlecruisers forming its center of gravity and a half dozen Chariot Class Cruisers adding to the number of capital ships. It was -by all accounts- very good news... unfortunately, it had to be dampened by the presence of the man leading that fleet to begin with.

"Attention! Admiral on deck!" An officer announced as the man in question entered Cassafaronga Station's command center.

Everyone in the room got up from their station and stood at attention. Two Space Force Marines were already at the door, no doubt the Admiral's personal bodyguards. Autumn had to hold in a sneer when the marines opened the door and she saw the man in question come in. Vice Admiral Reinhard Lohengrinn stepped into the room, unbelievably enougu donning the full regalia of his ceremonial uniform. His appearance was pristine and manicured, looking every bit like the picture perfect admiral his staff and media team made him look like. That extra bit of smug aura surrounding him was merely the cherry on top.

This was completely at odds with the Commodore's, who hadn't the luxury to take time out of her day to tend to her appearance. While she didn't appear entirely disheveled, she was far from meeting the uniform dress regulations that she'd normally hold to.

"Welcome aboard, Admiral Lohengrinn." Autumn saluted her superior, repressing her distaste of the posh man. "I apologize for not greeting you with a more proper welcome, but as you can see we're in the middle of a situation."

"Of course, Commodore." Lohengrinn saluted in return, speaking in his posh old European accent. "I wouldn't want to impose! After all, the Odin Fleet came here to help, not to burden."

With the greetings over and done with, Autumn gestured at her subordinates to get back to work. The Commodore herself went back to the holographic map currently in display at the center of the room, from which she normally made plans and gave out orders. The Admiral joined her shortly, with his aides in tow.

"I must admit, I was quite surprised to hear that the famous Commodore Autumn of the Shanxi Fleet was bested by the invaders." Lohengrinn said, approaching the holotable and standing across from the Commodore. "The enemy must be very powerful, if it was able to defeat someone of your caliber."

Autumn barely spared the Admiral a glance as she replied to what she felt was a very well disguised backhanded compliment.

"The enemy were smart." She said matter of factly. "They knew their strengths and knew how to leverage it to their fullest extent. You'd be wise to not underestimate them."

"Of course, Commodore. I've made battle with them already. They are capable enemies, no doubt, but nothing I find to be insurmountable."

The eyepatched Commodore raised an eyebrow at the Admiral's remarks.

"You've faced against them already?"

"Indeed! Though it was but a skirmish with a small patrol force, my sailors and I have learned plenty from the encounter." Lohengrinn explained. "With the might of the Valhalla Sector here, you can rest assured that victory is well within our grasp."

"A bold proclamation, Admiral." Autumn very nearly scoffed, but was able to hold herself back. "I assume you wouldn't have as such, if you have a plan in mind?"

"Your assumption is correct, Commodore." He answered, smugly.

The Admiral gestured to the holotable, asking permission to use it so that he may show the Commodore his plan. After Autumn gave her approval, the man immediately went to work.

Lohengrinn took control of the holotable, drawing lines from the Shanxi-Fumitan Relay towards Yunnan, Shanxi, and several other Colony Clusters around the star system.

"We know for a fact that these aliens run convoys to supply their forces in the Inner Sphere." The Admiral began. "What we currently don't know, is how effective the current convoy raiding strategy is. Until we know for certain how much damage attacking their supply lines does, we must assume that at some point we're going to have to challenge the enemy conventionally once more."

Manipulating the holotable, Lohengrinn focused on the Inner Sphere of the star system, highlighting the forces currently engaged around Shanxi be they allied or enemy.

"Our comrades in the Inner Sphere are holding the line, and our efforts out here should ease some of the pressure from them." He continued. "However, as capable as Fleet Admiral Meslam may be, I have my doubts that the forces under his command would be able to eject the invaders on their own. The enemy, despite our best efforts, are still receiving reinforcements, while the Shanxi Inner Sphere Fleet can only rely on the numbers they have."

Now looking back at Cassafaronga Station, Lohengrinn highlighted the forces gathered there.

"Once the Shanxi Outer Sphere Fleet has been successfully reinforced with ships from the Mothball Fleet, we shall begin the next phase of our operation, which is to launch a full scale attack at Chenxing's Pass and relieve our comrades in the Inner Sphere." The Admiral explained as he drew a line from Cassafaronga towards one of the smaller gaps in the Sanggan Asteroid Belt separating the Inner Sphere from the Outer. "To maximize our chances at succeeding, we shall attack them on both sides. The Outer Sphere Fleet will cross the Sanggan Belt through one of the smaller passes and then assist the Shanxi Fleet. Meanwhile, the Odin Fleet will engage with the enemy force guarding the mouth of Chenxing's Pass to stop them from attacking your rear. Once the enemy in the Inner Sphere has been broken, both the Combined Shanxi Fleet will attack the enemy forces at Chenxing's Pass from behind."

Autumn looked over the plans that the Admiral had drawn up and found them... promising, though the Commodore could immediately see a few unsaid issues. Notably, her Outer Sphere Fleet would be facing the most amount of danger while Lohengrinn's Odin Fleet had the luxury of pulling out if he felt like it. There was also that little bit of detail of getting her entire fleet through one of the narrower crossings.

"Going through Kazuki or Mai's Crossing with the entire Outer Sphere Fleet is going to be a challenge." She commented. "Getting all our capital ships through there undetected and in a timely manner is going to be difficult."

"That is to be expected." Lohengrinn said with a knowing expression, seeming like he knew what Autumn's response to his plan would've been beforehand. "I believe it would be prudent for the largest ships in the Outer Fleet's roster to be transferred to my command for the duration. The Nikos Class Battlecruiser Akuo and the Dragon Class Battleship Amber Celica would be too much of a hindrance in the tight and winding narrows of a small crossing. They'd be put to much better use in an open field engagement with my fleet."

So that was the catch. Autumn had to admit, she was rather impressed. The points that Lohengrinn brought up all made sense and was well thought out, even if she didn't like that last bit.

Transferring two of the Shanxi Outer Sphere Fleet's most important assets to the Odin Fleet was an idea that insulted Autumn's sensibilities. She may not have been a Shanxi Native, but she has grown to understand and appreciate its history over the years. Handing over two of Shanxi's prized warships to a neighbor that's something of a regional rival, was simply inconceivable. Taking command of one of the few Battleships left in the CSF's fleet, even one as old as a Dragon Class would be a profound boost to Lohengrinn's prestige... and all that would be done at the expense of Shanxi.

Thankfully, nothing of the sort would have to happen... because the Admiral had forgotten to take into account one important detail.

"Your assessment is spot on, Admiral. I certainly wouldn't object to that plan." Autumn said, lying about her lack of objections and hiding the smug feeling he had bubbling deep inside. "Except for one problem."

"And what would that be, Commodore?"

"Well, it's quite simple... really." Autumn shrugged, a twinkle in her eye. "I can't retask Amber Celica to the Odin Fleet... you see, she never left Risima Station. Cassafaronga Station couldn't finish work on Old Amber's new Mass Effect core in time, so it wasn't delivered. She's stuck over in the Inner Sphere until further notice."

A slight twitch in the Admiral's left eye confirmed that Autumn's words had dashed Lohengrinn's little ploy for clout in the among the admiralty. The man quickly regained his wits as he followed up.

"Ah, if that's the case then it can't be helped. Still, a single battlecruis-"

"Oh, the Akuo won't be available to you as well." Autumn cut the man off.

A clenched jaw and a sharp inhale from the Admiral. The Commodore hid the smirk growing on her face by resting her elbows on the holotable, then resting chin on her hands.

"And why is that?"

"The Akuo managed to escape battle relatively undamaged." She calmly explained. "She was far too important for convoy raiding duties, but too powerful to be wasted sitting around looking pretty here. So I sent her out to escort the repair barge that's delivering Old Amber's Core. After all, the best time to have her reactivated was before the invasion began. The next best time is as soon as possible."

A pregnant pause filled the void for a few moments as Lohengrinn stared down Autumn with a deadpan look.

Autumn mentally patted herself in the back. Political ploy successfully torpedoed.

-000-

Commodore Magarius stood up ramrod straight at the Ashtareus' command podium, facing a large holographic display which was connecting to a large conference call. Admiral Arterius had called for a meeting with all the flag officers involved in the expedition, be they Turian, Asari, Salarian, or a part of the mercenary detachments. It was meant to recap the campaign's progress so far, and to outline revisions to the grand plan, if any were to be made.

To be entirely truthful, the Commodore was not at all looking forward to listening to the Admiral's yapping. Arterius' overall strategy had been nothing short of disastrous for this whole campaign, and it fell to local commanders to pick up the pieces and make the best of the situation. Magarius was one of those officers, who ever since dropping off the 2nd SNLF group had been doing his damndest to help wrestle orbital superiority from the aliens. 6th Force under his command, as well as 9th and 14th had been battling almost non-stop over the same few station clusters, trading blows with an enemy that could punch well above its own weight. A non-insignificant amount of ships have been lost in the fight, and Magarius could only be thankful that he had suffered the least amount of losses so far.

After waiting for a while, the conference finally started, with navy flag officers, army field officers, logisticians, intelligence personnel, and so much more being present. Hundreds, if not thousands of names were appearing on the call, Turian, Asari, Salarian, a few Batarian Mercenary officers, a handful of Quarians in auxiliary support roles, and even a single Volus officer.

Arterius started the conference quickly.

"We all have better things to do with our time, so I'll be brief." He began. "Our progress so far has been... less than satisfactory."

Magarius held back a scoff. Looking at the various faces in the call, he could tell he wasn't alone in feeling that way.

"I've spoken to the Primarch and Matriarch Dillinaga, and they've told me that unless we have something to show for it, it'll be much more difficult for them to secure the material and political support we need." Arterius continued. "To these ends, through my authority as the commander-in-chief of the Relay 314 Expedition, I'm loosening our rules of engagement and ordinance deployment restrictions. The list of targets eligible for orbital bombardment has been expanded."

The explosion of reactions, be they for or against the change, was almost immediate.

The cacophony of responses that came after the bombshell was deafening.

"That's ridiculous!"

"Wait, he can do that?!"

"Is this some kind of joke?!"

"Hah! Maybe we can start getting things done, now!"

"Athame preserve us..."

Magarius clenched his fringes and kept his mouth shut. He knew better than to openly say anything against his superiors, regardless if he was right or not.

"Alright everyone, settle down!" Arterius then said, getting the throng of voices to quiet down. "Remember, I did not make this decision lightly! The 314 aliens are a danger that MUST be brought to heel! You've seen with your own eyes that they are a galactic level threat. Our ability to neutralize them now will be the stepping stone for the Primarch to kick off a larger effort to curb their destructive capabilities. You all understand what is at stake, so I expect you all to use these new freedoms to its fullest extent. Arterius, out."

With those words, the Admiral logged off the call, leaving the officers in a varying state of mind. They all started to log off one by one, each going back to their assigned duties. Magarius had to make his move now while he still could.

"All officers part of the Turian 6th Force, transfer to battle net channel 4-4-9." He quickly announced, before hopping to the channel himself.

Magarius waited a few minutes as everyone under his command gathered, waiting to listen to what he was about say.

After steeling himself, Magarius started.

"You've all heard the Admiral's orders, now you'll hear mine." The Commodore spoke. "If I catch anyone of you answering a request for orbital bombardment, I will personally strip you of your rank and vent you into space."

A few shocked reactions filled the conference screen, more appeared incensed, though a lot more were approving.

"We are sailors of the Turian Navy, the finest class of soldiery the galaxy has ever seen!" Magarius continued. "We are defenders of galactic civilization, not barbarians! Do not lower yourself to becoming honorless thugs like the Krogans and Batarians."

He let his words sink in for a moment, watching the various officers under his command and gauging their reactions. It would seem that his reasoning had placated most of those who were offended by his original declaration. He made a mental note to keep an eye on those who might still dissent.

"That will be all. You are all dismissed."

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A/N: This chapter is one of those weird ones where I kinda want to write more but I don't know what to write, or if what I wrote would even fit in the chapter.

At any rate, we're getting close to the end of the current arc. The story arc finale will be another two parter, featuring a reveal I've been very excited to write since I started working on this fic. It's a plot point that I'm dead set on making happen. A lot of stuff so far has been written for the sole fact of getting us to this point. I hope I can put it into words properly.

EDIT: The part about the orbital bombardment was written under the assumption that the Mass Effect wiki (which I admit is my first stop for research) isn't lying/mistaken about Turians dropping debris on Alliance Military strongpoints during the First Contact War.

That being said, I don't intend for the Turians to bomb the planet using their main guns. Missiles exist, after all, and I do believe it's very likely that a well funded faction would develop a missile and/or entry vehicle capable of delivering a powerful non-nuclear explosive payload.

My reasoning is that the Citadel Conventions bans Weapons of Mass Destruction, specifically those that fall under the categories of Kinetic Impactors, non/biological self replicating weapons, or nuclear/radiological bombs. Nowhere does it mention about the use of a precision, non-WMD reentry vehicle, armed with an explosive or submunition deploying warhead... putting this kind of weapon in a bit of a legal gray zone... which if you look at our own history on Earth, you'll find militaries messing with legal gray zones to field weapons they probably shouldn't, happens reasonably often.

2nd EDIT: Okay idk why Lohengrinn's introduction got duplicated (I certainly didn't type it twice). Might be an FFNet mobile app issue since I do work on chapters on the go often and the mobile editor's been on the fritz lately.

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THIS WORK IS CROSSPOSTED IN FFNET AND AO3