AN: So, uhhh… I got the news that the Halo show was canceled. Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed. I hope it gets picked up somewhere else, because you can't just cancel a good show after leaving it on a cliffhanger.
Anyway, as of June 8th, 2024, I am now graduated from high school. As a result, I can dedicate more time to this story.
That is, if I don't procrastinate on it like I usually do.
On a different note, I've got three dedicated side stories planned or in planning for the saga now. One is for the Spartan-IIIs, set between Book One and ME2, the second one takes place in the same time frame as Book One and sets up my version of Andromeda (might just make it a part of this story, let me know what you think), and the third actually is my Andromeda. You're gonna have to wait for those, though.
I totally wasn't using planning as an excuse to procrastinate.
…on another note, I've decided to link the Sangheili language. If you're on AO3, this should be an actual link if I've done this correctly, but Fanfiction users need to replace the indicated words with their symbols because the FF site is stupid. Also, if anyone is willing to assist me with Sangheili, PM me and I can forward the docs for translation. halopedia .org (forwardslash) Sangheili_(language) (forwardslash) Silver
Anyway, not much else in terms of news, so I'll get onto review responses.
FF:
Just a Crazy-Man: Nice
nthnightfury: Looks like you needn't wait any longer for 67% of those other three.
RandomReader: I appreciate your support for my solution. And the compliments for the dialogue are appreciated.
Also, note to reviewers, please note that RandomReader isn't particularly fond of being put on a pedestal. And if you're gonna fight, I have three rules: Be respectful to each other, do your own research, and take it to the forum.
GreeNPizza: A big reason for me making Chief the way he is in this story is because a Mass Effect story kinda doesn't work without extensive dialogue. Also, I mostly intend to have Chief's child-soldier-isms show through small tics and slips of the tongue.
giblo126: I don't subscribe to that idea anymore. If I haven't already, I should put that clarification by where I originally said that.
"Alright" is better than "meh" or "bad" in my book, so I'll take whatever wins I can get.
naotw: After double-checking, you are correct on the Ascension's size. Also, I'm soft-retconning Cole's presence in this chapter. Should save me the five minutes it would take to remove the Everest from the last chapter.
I edited some of Avina's dialogue to hopefully have her being a smart AI make more sense. I promised another reviewer that I'd do a codex entry on smart AI in that chapter, and I couldn't make the Normandy's AI make sense in the context of the chapter. I do intend on including the Normandy's AI, though.
A bit of thinking led me to the same conclusion as you concerning Chief's dialogue with the Council, mainly because I thought it was out of character. That should be edited to be better, now. Also, you expect me to have a soldier who hates politics be completely concerned with how he acts in front of politicians? I think the scoff is in character, actually.
Anderson is paranoid about Saren in the base game, so that isn't changing. Also, the reasoning conversation is coming later.
The timeline does need a bit of cleaning up, now that you mention it.
You don't think the Halo universe people tried to increase the data store size to fix rampancy? At best, it would delay it.
Sci-Fi Guy 22: Yep, this is a forum thing. I'll have this answered in a jiffy.
valkrus: That should hopefully be mostly corrected in this chapter.
Eb-8: This is science fiction on the Internet. You really think this is going to be 100% scientifically accurate?
Also, forum.
Guest: Same as Eb-8. Also, if you're on the mobile app, you should be able to find the forum in my profile. If you're on the website, I'm gonna be honest, I'm struggling to find it there. I've hopefully done something to help it be more findable (is that a word?) by categorizing it under Halo.
AO3:
GuestGuy: Thanks for the support! Also, not dead, just procrastinating.
Rocket: I'm glad to hold your interest. Also, glad to be doing something new.
Anyway, Halo and Mass Effect are still beyond my financial and legal reach, so here we go.
(—0—)
Arc I: The Drums of War
Chapter V: Sleuthing Around
(—0—)
Consciousness slowly returned to Tali. One blink, then two, then three. Then there was a realization.
Something was wrong.
Her body felt like it was on fire. Pain surged through her, and a lot of it seemed focused on her chest, shoulder, and left leg. On top of that, her vision was far more restricted than she was used to.
It took a great deal of effort, suffering, and a half-dozen tries, but she eventually managed to push herself into a somewhat upright sitting position on her elbows. Taking a look around, she saw that this wasn't the spaceport she remembered being in; instead, it was a rather firm bed she was on, and she was inside of what looked like a medical clinic, judging by the lined-up beds and the medigel dispenser on the wall. A helpful memory of a certain giant slab of metal then came to mind.
It was then that she took a look at what she was wearing. Instead of the black, gray, and purple suit she called home, it was a set of armor like the one she'd seen the Staff Lieutenant wear, with what looked like a brace around the left greave. However, it looked like it had been rather hastily modified to fit her physiology. Indeed, it seemed to chafe at most every joint, and felt slightly loose around the upper torso.
A quick glance told Tali that the doctor who owned the clinic was nowhere to be seen. Whether the doctor was on a break or something else, she didn't know. So, with perhaps less than stellar judgment and no one to tell her off, she delicately turned and placed her feet on the floor. However, a gasp of pain escaped her lips when she put her weight on her legs and almost collapsed. Catching herself on the bed she was trying to escape, she slowly pushed herself back into an upright position.
Note to self, don't put too much weight on the bad leg, the quarian girl thought.
Eventually, she managed to find a balance, and slowly but surely, she hobbled over to a nearby window. Outside was not the sparsely-developed landscape of Harvest, or a small colony, but a dense city with aircars and skyscrapers. However, what truly got her attention were the massive rectangles in the sky, each with signs of a bustling civilization.
It was then that she realized that she was on the Citadel. Two or so months ago, she'd gotten off the Flotilla shuttle to start her pilgrimage, only to suffer through the station's TSA and half a dozen hecklers to barely make her connection flight to Harvest.
If she was here, something was very wrong.
An idea suddenly came to her head. It was potentially stupid and hazardous to her already bad state of health, but it could change the galaxy if it worked. Pulling up her omnitool, she quickly checked for the video file she needed. Once she saw it, she let out a breath of relief. She then began to limp her way towards the exit. As she did so, however, the doctor, a red-haired human woman, barged out of an adjacent office.
"What do you think you're doing?!" the doctor shrieked as she grabbed Tali and attempted to force her back to the bed.
The quarian, however, wasn't deterred, and roughly swatted the doctor's arms away. "This is too important. I need to-"
"What you need is time to recover!" the doctor protested, standing in Tali's way. "A broken leg, dislocated shoulder, seven cracked ribs, a fever, and several lacerations! That's what you're dealing with!"
Tali was briefly stunned by the sheer severity of her injuries. However, the urgency of her task soon took over again. After a moment, she had an idea. Bringing up the video on her omnitool, she said "I have proof that a Spectre betrayed the Citadel."
Of course, she didn't really know if Saren was a Spectre. However, she'd overheard the Staff Lieutenant say that Nihlus was one, and Saren said that the Council sent him to help right before ordering Nihlus' death, so it didn't seem like a stretch.
Pressing play, she let the doctor watch the proof that Saren was no longer on the Citadel's side. The doctor's expression quickly changed to one of shock as she watched the plasma blade materialize from thin air and bury itself to the hilt in Nihlus' back.
"I need to get this to the Council," Tali pleaded as the video ended.
The doctor was silent for a long moment, and Tali was worried that she'd be forced back into the bed. However, the doctor eventually said, "I know a man."
(—0—)
Financial District, Presidium, Citadel
January 12th, 2583
Local time 1116 (Citadel Time)
As Chief disembarked from the aircar, he noticed that Barla Von's place of business wasn't anything special. No elaborate signs, no advertisements, nothing. Just the words "Barla Banking" over the doorway. If anything, the place was trying to not be special. Considering Barla Von was supposedly a Shadow Broker agent, then that was probably the point.
Entering the place, the inside wasn't much to speak of, either. The gray walls were barren save for typical Presidium architecture, and seated at the far end of the room at a desk was a volus in a black and white pressure suit.
"What's this?" the banker questioned as Chief, Williams, and Alenko approached the desk, a hiss escaping the volus' suit as he inhaled. "One of the Earth-clan. *hiss* Ah, a very famous one, yes? *hiss* You are the one called Master Chief Shepard. *hiss* It is a great honor to welcome the hero of the Blitz."
"You know who I am?" Chief asked. He could understand Avina knowing who he was, given the fact she was an AI, but the volus had no reason to suspect that a tall man in an olive-green hardsuit was actually the Mjolnir-clad hero of the propaganda posters.
Then again, there weren't many six-foot-ten N7s to begin with, much less N7s who wore his particular shade of green.
"Forgive me, Earth-clan," the volus apologized. "*hiss* My name is Barla Von. *hiss* My job makes it necessary for me to keep informed. I am a financial advisor to many important clients here on the Citadel. *hiss* When someone as important as yourself arrives on the station, *hiss* I take notice. Though I am in need of clarification as to why *hiss* you require my services."
Chief hummed. "I'm not here to make a bank account. I hear you're a Shadow Broker agent, and I need information on Saren Arterius."
"You're very blunt, Master Chief," Barla Von noted. "*hiss* But you're right. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker. *hiss* And I do know something about Saren."
"So what's the price?" Chief asked. "I doubt information on the Council's top Spectre is cheap."
"*hiss* Normally, this information would indeed cost a small fortune," Barla Von conceded. " *hiss* But these are exceptional circumstances, *hiss* so I am going to give it to you for free."
"There's got to be a catch," Williams sharply said, perfectly echoing Chief's own thoughts.
"*hiss* There is no catch. The Shadow Broker is quite upset with Saren right now," Barla Von revealed. "*hiss* They used to do a lot of business, up until Saren turned on him."
Chief scoffed. "Figures."
"*hiss* No matter what you think of Saren, he's not stupid," Barla Von retorted. "He knows the Shadow Broker is a valuable ally. *hiss* Turning on him doesn't make sense, *hiss* not unless something huge was at stake. I don't know the details, *hiss* but the Shadow Broker hired a freelancer to deal with it. *hiss* A krogan mercenary."
Chief nodded. "How do I find him?"
"*hiss* I heard he was paying Citadel Security a visit. *hiss* If you hurry, you can probably catch him before he leaves the C-Sec Academy."
"Thanks for the tip," Chief said. He then turned to his team. "Let's move."
(—0—)
Republics Intelligence Agency Office, Citadel
January 12th, 2583
Local time 1137 (Citadel Standard Time)
Major Dari V'nala sat at her office, filling out whatever paperwork came to her desk, making calls to other offices, and otherwise biding her time until the work day ended. Truthfully, while working in intelligence sounded good on paper, she couldn't help but feel bored with her current position. She missed the days when she worked in the field, before her left leg got sliced off from the knee down by a batarian pirate captain, who had intercepted a report she'd tried to send back to command. Logically, she should have been left traumatized by the experience, but she couldn't honestly say that it affected her all that much. Whether that was just her, or the fact that her father was a krogan, she didn't know. What she did know was that explaining the prosthetic would make a good story for the grandkids when they came along.
Moving on, today was an especially trying day, with handling Saren's hearing and all the paper-pushing that came with it. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't entirely believe that Saren wasn't involved with the events at Harvest. During the hearing, he'd made a point to have his distaste of humans known, even saying that they as a species needed to "learn its place". Whether he was hoping that having it so open would make him less suspicious, or simply letting his hatred get the better of him, Dari didn't know. However, there wasn't any solid evidence that could connect him to the attack, and he was a Spectre, so she could do nothing to overrule the Council's decision. With a sigh, she raised her elbow onto her desk and cradled her head, glancing at the clock as it ticked. Only twenty minutes until she could clock out and hit the break room for lunch.
Eventually, her eyes landed on a small holo-still on the desk, of herself with a turian and two beautiful baby girls. Xiaphus Brekkan had been her love almost two and a half centuries ago. While he had long since passed, Dari still maintained regular contact with the twin daughters that came of their brief union. Nila and Jenere had both gone into the commandos when they reached maturity, a decision Dari wholly agreed with. A small smile came to her face at the memories the photo brought, only to turn into a frown as the thought of the Covenant returned. She sincerely hoped that the attack was just another Relay 314 incident, and not a second Rachni War.
Just then, her omnitool rang. On pure muscle memory, she straightened and brought her wrist up. "Major V'nala here."
"Major, Lieutenant Colonel G'Syre is here," the voice on the other end said. "She says she has something that concerns you."
Dari let out a sigh. This had better be worth her time. "Send her in."
A minute later, a purple-skinned asari in a black uniform walked in, wearing the bars that denoted her rank. "Major V'nala."
"Colonel G'Syre," Dari acknowledged, gesturing to the empty seat in front of her desk. "I apologize, but make this quick. I've only got fifteen minutes until I clock out for lunch."
"Of course, Major," G'Syre acceded as she sat down. "Two days ago, a listening post in the Ismar Frontier picked up a distress call. It had bounced between at least five relays, so it came in broken and unreadable, with no way to trace its location beyond somewhere in the Attican Traverse. However, the post's crew were able to clean it up enough to get some valuable information."
"A distress call?" Dari questioned in disbelief. "Why does a distress call need my personal attention?"
G'Syre sucked in a breath. "It's… easier if I just play it back." Raising her omnitool, G'Syre brought up the file and hit play.
"Mayday, mayd~~~his is the Hylia~~~eed assista~~~unknown alie~~~VIP aboard, Matriarch Benezia T'Soni. Repeat, need~~~"
"It cuts out after that," G'Syre said apologetically.
Dari had questions. "Did they say Benezia?"
"Affirmative, ma'am," G'Syre confirmed.
Dari let out a sigh. "Forward me the file. Benezia's important enough that this needs the Council's attention. Dismissed, Colonel."
As G'Syre took her leave, Dari took a wistful glance at her lunchbox, under her desk. Satisfying her hunger would have to wait.
For now, she had a very important phone call to make.
(—0—)
C-Sec Academy, Citadel
January 12th, 2583
Local time 1154 (Citadel Standard Time)
The final elevator ride to C-Sec wasn't too noteworthy, save for the mid-day news.
"This is Benjamin Giraud of Citadel News Net. In light of the recent attack on Harvest, many colonial investors are pulling their support for future projects. Proponents of expanded human colonization insist that Harvest was an isolated case. Nevertheless, an official Alliance bulletin has warned the Outer Colonies to shore up their defenses in preparation for more Covenant attacks. In other news, Vice Admiral Preston Cole has been called away from joint human-asari training operations by Alliance High Command, with Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich taking his place."
The door then rolled open, and true to Barla Von's word, a krogan was speaking with a C-Sec officer near the stairway to the requisitions office. The krogan wore ancient-looking blood-red armor, had a bright red crest on his head, and had long scars running down the right side of his face.
"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar," the officer said irately. "Stay away from him."
"I don't take orders from you," the krogan leered.
"This is your only warning, Wrex," the officer said.
'Wrex' leaned forward, putting his face right up close to the officer. "You should warn Fist. I will kill him."
"You want me to arrest you?" the officer questioned disbelievingly.
"I want you to try," Wrex chuckled.
Wrex then spotted Chief and his compatriots observing the conversation. Brushing past the officer, who barked at him to get lost, the krogan said, "Yes, human?"
"Wrex, I'm Master Chief Shepard. I'm trying to take down Saren Arterius," Chief said, getting straight to the point.
His name elicited a raised brow from the krogan. "Why's a human as famous as you walking around in that tinfoil? Or do they not let you out in public in the tank?"
"The armor's… a work-in-progress," Chief half-explained. "Anyway, Barla Von said to talk to you."
"Barla Von is a wise man," Wrex acknowledged. "We may share a common goal, Chief."
Chief crossed his arms. "Which is?"
"I've been hired to track down Saren, and my job led me to the owner of Chora's Den," Wrex revealed. "A Shadow Broker agent named Fist. He did something very foolish."
"Let me guess: he betrayed the Broker," Chief sardonically said.
"You're right on the credits. My latest lead says a quarian escaped from a hospital here on the Citadel in the last hour or so," Wrex elaborated. "Apparently, she's in an Alliance suit and has evidence that Saren's working with the Covenant."
At Wrex's explanation, alarm bells went off in Chief's head. "...crap."
"You know her?" a surprised Wrex asked.
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, she was with us on Harvest when the Covenant invaded," Chief said. "Wrex, where did she go?"
"My intel says she went to Fist," the merc said. "He supposedly set up a meeting to trade the evidence. Problem is, he's working for Saren and not the Broker…"
"...so they're going to make sure there aren't any loose threads," Chief realized. Things just got a lot more urgent. "Where was the quarian last?"
"Last I heard, Fist still had her," Wrex said. "Probably somewhere inside his club. You help me kill Fist, she's all yours."
"It's a deal," Chief agreed. He didn't have time to hash out the details. Zorah needed saving… again.
"What about Garrus?" Williams asked. "Weren't we trying to find him?"
"He was here, just before you lot showed up," Wrex answered. "He was tracking down our mutual friend. Said he was starting his investigation at the med clinic she escaped from."
Chief nodded as he slid his hardsuit's helmet on, his visor polarizing to a reflective gold. "Alenko, Williams, head to the hospital and get Garrus on board, ASAP. Wrex, on me. We have a nightclub to raid."
(—0—)
Kaidan and Williams were sprinting so fast that they almost missed the clinic altogether. As they rushed inside, Kaidan took notice of two things.
One was the doctor - Chloe Michel - being held at gunpoint. Five thugs all had pistols pointed at her. She was profusely telling them that she didn't tell anyone. Whatever she didn't tell, Kaidan didn't know, but it probably related to Fist and Saren.
The other thing was the turian currently crouched behind the countertop. The Sentinel recognized the armor and markings - this was undoubtedly Garrus. He had a pistol in his hand, ready for a fight.
As Kaidan raised his magnum in his good hand, and Williams pulled out her shotgun, the thugs took notice. One of them yanked Michel in front of him and pointed his pistol at the Marines. "Who are you?!"
"Drop the gun!" Kaidan barked in response.
It was then that Garrus made his move. In one swift move, he spun around the corner, snapped his pistol up, and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet flying into the head of the thug holding Michel hostage with a spray of blood. As the thug dropped dead, Kaidan and Williams opened fire, swiftly ending the lives of the other four.
"Perfect timing," Garrus complimented as the three stowed their weapons. "Gave me a clear shot at that idiot."
"Clean shot? You could have hit Dr. Michel!" Kaidan exclaimed.
"Uh- there wasn't time to think. I just reacted! I didn't mean to-" Garrus hastily defended, before turning to the doctor, seemingly in an effort to get off the topic. "Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"
"No, I'm okay," Michel assured, dusting herself off. "Thanks to you, all of you."
"Who were those men, anyway?" Williams asked.
"They work for Fist," Michel said. "They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus where the quarian went."
"Chief and Wrex are headed to Chora's Den to keep Tali out of Saren's hands," Kaidan explained. "We're just waiting on-" It was then that his omnitool pinged. "Oh, there's the signal."
Raising his tool, Kaidan said, "Alenko he-"
"Meet me at these coordinates, now!" Chief barked from the other side, cutting off the Staff Lieutenant.
As the location came in, Garrus said, "This is Shepard's show. But I want to bring down Saren as much as you do. I'm coming with you."
"Then let's get moving," Kaidan ordered. "You heard the Chief!"
(—0—)
As Chief and Wrex approached Chora's Den, the Spartan took note of two things.
One was the massive hologram of an asari silhouette in a seductive pose. Chief personally never had much taste for clubs or bars. He didn't see the appeal of dancing or strippers, and could get by just fine without alcohol, but even he had to admit that a stiff drink came in handy whenever he'd just gotten off a particularly stressful mission and was on leave. The hangovers that came afterwards, however, were less than appealing.
Two was the distinct lack of flashing lights and thumping music coming from the door. If he was correct-
"Fist knows we're coming," Wrex said with a predatory grin as he drew his shotgun, his words perfectly echoing Chief's own thoughts.
"Let's make this quick," Chief responded, pulling his assault rifle from his back.
Putting their backs to the door frame, the Spartan and the merc prepared to breach. Three of Chief's fingers went up, doing a silent countdown before closing into a fist. The two then spun into the room, Chief sweeping left and Wrex sweeping right.
Immediately, two normal-sized humans popped up from behind an overturned table, taking aim with their pistols. However, Chief was faster, and a half-dozen rounds each took down their cheap kinetic barriers before filling their chests with lead. His own N7-grade barriers easily absorbed whatever pistol fire came at him. A quick glance to his right told him that Wrex was doing just fine. Another goon stood from behind the bar, but met the same fate as his compatriots.
It was then that a bestial roar took his attention. A krogan bouncer was charging towards him, wildly firing its shotgun as he ran. Chief backpedaled as he let loose with his rifle, but the krogan just kept coming.
SMACK!
The bouncer slammed into the Spartan, before ramming him into a wall. This was by no means an advantageous position for the human, no matter how augmented he was. One-hundred-ninety kilograms of Spartan and ceramic was sandwiched between an unmoving slab of metal and a quarter-ton lizard with redundant organs.
But prey is most dangerous when cornered, and Chief had an idea of how to deal with this rampaging krogan.
A swift and forceful knee to the gut forced the bouncer off Chief enough to extend his left arm. His grappleshot struck the krogan square in the right shoulder, but instead of reeling the cable in, Chief leapt over the bouncer and planted his feet on its back, using his momentum to loop the cable tight around the krogan's neck. Like a raging bull, the krogan went wild through the bar, barreling through a half-dozen of its comrades as it struggled to dislodge the Spartan. But Chief stayed firm, and after about fifteen seconds of his makeshift rodeo, he released his cable's hold on the krogan and kicked off with enough force to send the bouncer stumbling into a nearby table. While Chief gracefully landed on his feet, the krogan fell flat on its face, and before it could get up, its gut was met with a full heat sink of thirty-six rounds from the Spartan's assault rifle.
There are some injuries that even a krogan can't walk away from.
It didn't take too long to deal with the rest of the goons after that. Chief and Wrex then regrouped on the other side of the room from the entrance, before the Spartan palmed open the door there, revealing…
…two dockworkers.
"Ha-halt!" Dockworker One stammered, feebly raising a pistol.
Chief didn't even bother raising his rifle. "A Spartan and a krogan against two barely-armed dockworkers. Think this through."
"Whoa, a Spartan?!" Dockworker Two said in astonishment and fear. "I thought those guys were just propaganda!"
"Screw this, I'm outta here!" Dockworker One exclaimed, dropping his pistol to the ground and running past the two larger beings.
"W-wait for me!" Dockworker Two shouted, sprinting to follow his compatriot.
Wrex hummed disappointedly. "Would've been faster to just kill 'em."
Chief didn't bother responding. He then palmed the door on the other side of the corridor, before snapping his rifle up and sweeping the room ahead. It was a small office, with a desk at the far left side from the door. Seated there was a man with a high fade haircut - this must have been Fist. There was also a distinct lack of hardsuited female quarians.
Where was Chief's famed luck when he needed it most?
As Fist rose from his seat, however, a gunshot to the shoulder forced him to the floor and caused him to let out a cry of pain. The krogan-Spartan duo then advanced, guns pointed at the outnumbered and vastly outmassed man.
"Wait, don't kill me! I surrender!" Fist begged, trying to scramble backwards, but ultimately ending up backing into the wall.
"Where's the quarian?" Chief questioned, keeping his rifle raised.
"What quari-"
BANG!
"AGH! MY OTHER SHOULDER!"
"Wrong answer," Chief said. "Where's the quarian? I will not ask again."
"Okay, okay! I'll tell you where she is!" Fist relented. "Just don't shoot me again!"
"Start talking," Wrex growled.
"She isn't here, said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself," Fist blabbed.
"Impossible," Wrex said disbelievingly. "The Broker doesn't do things personally. Even I was hired through an agent."
"But she didn't know that," Fist said. "I told her I'd set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."
BANG!
A sand grain-sized piece of lead whizzed half an inch away from Fist's ear.
"Location, now!" Chief demanded.
"Here on the wards, the back alley by the markets!" Fist blabbered. "She's supposed to meet them soon. You can make it if you hurry!"
As soon as Fist was done talking, Chief gave Wrex a nod. "We had a deal."
"Wait, ple-"
BANG!
This time, instead of just missing or wounding to get the point across, Wrex's shot was deadly, causing Fist's head to vanish in a splash of brain and bone.
As the mobster's corpse dropped, Wrex grinned. "Finally."
"Revel in it later," Chief admonished. He then brought up his omnitool, pulling up the location Fist gave them, before contacting his second-in-command.
"Alenko he-"
"Meet me at these coordinates, now!" Chief interrupted, before sending the location to the Staff Lieutenant.
(—0—)
Tali was limping her way to the location Fist had given her. The man had been able to organize a meeting with the Shadow Broker for her, for which she was very grateful. All the same, he didn't strike her as a person who was particularly trustworthy, so she'd gotten a… countermeasure, so to speak, in case something went wrong. What she was doing was already not one of her smartest ideas, she was coherent enough to know that now, but she couldn't turn back now. This was too important.
The alleyway was just up ahead, and she could already see a half-dozen people of various species waiting in the alleyway. None of them looked particularly leader-like, however.
As she approached, one of the aliens, a turian, walked up to her. "Did you bring it?"
"Where's the Shadow Broker?" Tali sharply questioned. The deal was that the Broker would meet with her, not some thug. "And where's Fist?"
"They'll be here," the turian said as he caressed her helmet. "Where's the evidence?"
SMACK!
"OW!"
Creep.
"If the Broker's not here, the deal is off," Tali firmly said, retracting her arm as the turian gripped his wrist in pain. The turian gave her a glare, before nodding at his associates, who began to raise their guns.
Uh-oh.
The quarian girl pulled out her "countermeasure" and tossed it at the group, before quickly hobbling behind a nearby crate. Three of them recognized the grenade for what it was and dove out of the blast radius, but the other two didn't notice it in time and were caught in the explosion.
That just left four extremely angry thugs.
Uh-o-
THOOM!
THOOM!
The side of the turian's head suddenly exploded in a spray of blue blood, alongside one of the other thugs. A hail of gunfire tore through the other two in short order, and three armored humans, a C-Sec turian, and a red-armored krogan walked into the area.
"Fist set me up!" Tali angrily exclaimed as she pushed herself up. "I knew I couldn't trust him!"
"Are you hurt?" a rather tall human asked in a husky voice as he walked up to her. He wore a set of olive-green armor with white and red stripes going down the right arm, as well as "N7" and "117" on his che-
Oh.
"Shepard?" Tali said in disbelief. She almost didn't recognize him in the hardsuit. "Oh, I-I'm fi- whoa!"
It was at that moment that her left leg finally gave out. Shepard deftly yet gently caught her arm by the wrist before wrapping his arm around her back, surprising her with his speed and stopping her from falling. Were larger humans that much faster than the others, or was she missing something important about him?
Eh, not important right now.
Shepard then activated his omnitool. "Sierra-117 to Joker."
"Hey, Chief. What's shakin'?" a scratchy voice on the other end replied casually.
Shepard let out a sigh. "We're gonna need to borrow your crutches. Send Esparza out with them."
"...uhhh… okaaay… Do I get an explanation?"
"Later."
(—0—)
Alliance Embassy, Presidium, Citadel
January 12th, 2583
Local time 1522 (Citadel Standard Time)
With the borrowed crutches delivered and under Tali's arms, the six plus Esparza found their way into Udina's office. The ambassador in question had his back turned to them, but it wasn't hard to guess his mood. Captain Anderson stood next to him.
"You're not making my life easy, Shepard," Udina said in a forced calm, beginning to turn to them. "Firefights in the Wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den, do you know how many-" It was then that he noticed the assortment of non-Alliance in the group. "Shepard, what is this?"
"Making your day, Ambassador," John said, helmet tucked under his arm. "Zorah is the quarian who was with us on Harvest. There were a few… complications, but we have our evidence."
"Tali, please," the quarian said. "You saved my life twice. I think you can use my first name."
"'Complications', you say?" Udina sardonically said. "It seems, Miss Zorah, that we should start at the beginning. Why were you on Harvest, and not in the Flotilla?"
"I was on my pilgrimage," Zor- Tali explained. "My rite of passage into adulthood."
"Pilgrimage?" Esparza questioned, speaking up for the first time since they reached the embassy. "I'm sorry, but what is that exactly?"
"It's a quarian tradition," Tali said. "When we reach maturity, we leave the Fleet and look for something of value to bring back. It could be fuel, food, or some kind of technology. Something that will make life easier on the Flotilla."
Esparza nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, now that I'm thinking about it."
And it did. It made sense for a species that lived on ships to have some way of getting new stuff, while simultaneously exposing their citizens to life outside the Fleet.
"This is all very interesting," Udina interjected, "but I believe we were about to discuss the evidence Miss Zorah has that proves Saren is a traitor."
"Oh, ri-right," Tali stuttered. "During the Covenant's attack on Harvest, I was hidden behind some crates in the docks. I managed to record Saren, Nihlus, and the Arbiter on my omnitool." Lifting her arm up from her borrowed crutch, she pulled up a video file and hit play.
"-isn't your mission, Saren," the recording of Nihlus said, lowering his weapon in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"The Council thought you could use some help on this one," Saren replied as he briefly put a hand on Nihlus' shoulder.
"I wasn't expecting another hostile first contact," Nihlus said, turning his back to Saren. "The situation's bad."
"Don't worry. I've got it under control. Arbiter?"
"What?"
SNAP-HISS!
"AAAAAAGH!"
Twin prongs of plasma suddenly sprouted from Nihlus' chest. Just as suddenly, a massive elite faded into visibility behind the tattooed turian. The elite had segmented, ornamental silver armor rimmed in gold, with a hawk beak-shaped helmet and a large right pauldron that rose up to protect the side of his long neck. The elite had one other defining feature: his left eye was a milky white with no pupil, unlike the snakelike gold eye on the right. He carried no other weapons save for his sword, not even a sidearm.
When the Arbiter deactivated his sword, Nihlus dropped limp, barely offering another twitch as the life faded from his body. Saren gave what appeared to be a disappointed glance at the corpse. "Sorry, old friend. But my cause is more important than old bonds. And the information in the keystone will bring us one step closer to the return of the Reapers."
The Arbiter looked at Saren with confusion, seeming to ask a question in a deep, guttural voice. The language wasn't translated by Tali's omnitool.
"It's better to keep up appearances for now," Saren responded. "Rest assured, the time will come when I can commit fully to the Covenant."
The Arbiter said something else, seeming somewhat irritated.
"Don't worry, the heretics of the Citadel will pay for their sins in due time. They will burn as our fleets scour their planets. Their destruction is the will of the gods, after all. Then when the Reapers come and harvest the unworthy, they will show us the way to Halo. There, you will find your redemption."
As the recording ended, the room sat in silence. Saren hadn't just betrayed the Council; he had declared total war on the Citadel as a whole, and the Covenant were eagerly following his lead.
Eventually, Anderson found it in himself to speak up. "This is what we were looking for. Proof that Saren is a traitor."
"Seems we got a little more than that," Garrus said in forced mirth.
"Saren said that the information in the… keystone would bring them one step closer to the return of the Reapers, and that the Reapers would help the Covenant find something called Halo," John noted. Suddenly, something became clear to him. "Hang on. Reapers… keystone… Halo… I remember those things from my vision. I don't know what it all means yet, but things are starting to make sense."
"Halo might be some kind of technology from whatever race made the keystone," Alenko postulated.
"Knowing Saren, he probably wants to use it as a superweapon against the Citadel," Anderson added.
"Whatever it is, if the Covenant wants it, it's bad," Williams agreed.
"We need to present this to the Council right away," Udina said.
"What about the quarian?" Wrex rumbled.
"My name is Tali!" the quarian girl said indignantly.
"She's coming with us," John said before anyone else could speak up. "Odds are that Saren still considers her a target. Plus, it's her evidence, and she has a right to present it herself."
Udina nodded as he started typing on his omnitool. "Very well. I'll make sure the Council is notified that we have new evidence to present. They should be- oh. They want to see it as soon as possible. Shepard, you and your team can meet us at Citadel Tower."
As Udina took his leave, everyone else followed him out of the room…
…well, everyone except a distraught Esparza.
"Anyone else feel like they're in over their head? No? Just me?"
(—0—)
Carrier Insatiable Faith Brig
177th daily cycle, 4,107th solar cycle, 9th Age of Reclamation
Local time 77th cental of the 130th unit
Var was on his way to check in on the prisoners taken from the freighter. Normally, this was something that would have been delegated to a minor, but Saren wanted his information directly from someone he trusted. To be honest, Var agreed, if perhaps not for the same reasons. The half-blind elite didn't trust the jiralhanae warden to leave the prisoners intact - for that matter, he didn't trust many jiralhanae at all, the dishonorable savages. Though, to be fair, he knew of some sangheili who could match or even exceed the jiralhanae in their sadism. However, those sangheili were few and far between compared to the jiralhanae.
Waving to the two obedentiaries assigned to stand guard by their cell, he palmed the door controls and watched as the energy barrier vanished. Sitting at the far side of the room was an asari in a deep black dress, with a black hood and headdress adorning her head and what Saren called a "biotic suppression collar" around her neck. This was the one who was important - Benezia T'Soni. A highly respected matriarch in her culture, apparently. For whatever reason, of which Var had yet to learn, Saren had wanted her in particular.
If Var was being honest with himself, he rather pitied her current situation, but that pity was tempered by the knowledge of his mission. Attacked by unknown aliens, kidnapped, and put in a cell with no real comforts, who wouldn't pity her?
The jiralhanae, that's who.
It was then that an idea came to his head. Perhaps he could try to bridge the gap and make her more amenable to helping the Covenant. It would take time, of course, but in the end, it might just be worth it.
He then closed the cell back up again. Perhaps it was time to use his title for something other than leading warriors into battle and finding an honorable death.
(—0—)
The Record of Punished Deeds, Second Volume: The Origins of the Arbiters
The Covenant has a long and storied history, dating back thousands of years. There have been great trials and tribulations, which have oft been the cause of equally great change. And yet, one title, a title that predates even our most holy empire, pervades nearly every event and shapes our destiny as we continue the search for the Sacred Rings. Certainly, the Record of Punished Deeds would not be sufficient without a word on the Arbiters. These warrior-rulers were part king and part judge, unlike any who would follow, and especially unlike the disgraced sangheili warriors of the current age.
Sanghelios, the homeworld of the sangheili, carries a magnificent and honorable history. The sangheili long ruled their world with pride and vigilance, braving every peril that would come. However, the feudal structure of their society carried inherent disunity, a disunity which one kaidon would take advantage of. Centuries before the sangheili would take their first steps off their world, Irsu 'Labat, one of the earliest Arbiters, conquered the entirety of the continent of Qivro for Keep Labat. However, a collection of other keeps under the banner of the Swords of Sanghelios would unite to depose the Tyrant of Qivro, taking the title of Arbiter for themselves and restoring it to honor.
One day, over three millennia ago, we would come into contact with the sangheili on their frontier world of Ulgethon, and emissaries were sent to negotiate with the natives. However, the sangheili of the time believed that Forerunner artifacts were not to be disturbed, only worshiped, and Arbiter Vema 'Togad, the Prophets' Bane, sent the severed heads of the emissaries back to us, thus starting the War of Beginnings. The sangheili had great military prowess, often pushing us back, yet we had the mighty dreadnought that now fuels the holy city of High Charity. In time, the sangheili began to utilize their own Forerunner artifacts to counteract our advantage, and many on their side began to question why the war had to be fought at all. Eventually, peace would be forged between our species and the sangheili, the Writ of Union authored, and the Covenant born.
As this peace flourished, we would come to realize the importance of the Arbiters, as well as their usefulness. In time, the Arbiters, like all things, would be bent to our purposes. They would come to serve as the right hand of the Hierarchs, instruments of their will. In times of great crisis, such as the Taming of the Lekgolo, the Unggoy Rebellions, and most recently the War of Annihilation, new Arbiters have been called to lead the Covenant to victory. Undoubtedly, without the Arbiters, our holy empire would have broken long ago.
(—0—)
Next chapter: Spectre
(—0—)
AN: And that is a wrap on Chapter 5. Again, sorry for procrastinating.
Also, just for the record, I'm not shipping Benezia and Var. That is not and was never the plan.
So yeah. This saga is pretty much all planned out. Not that I'm unwilling to borrow ideas from reviews.
Anyway, Halo has finally been namedropped, not that John has any clue what it really means. And the Covenant are at war with the Citadel as a whole, for reasons that will be explained in another chapter. To be honest, I think it's a rather half-baked reason, but it remains to be seen what you all will think.
Though, if I were a betting man, I'd say you would agree.
Just a disclaimer if you've read this far, there will be major canon divergences aside from the Covenant replacing the geth. No spoilers, but I can tell you that this isn't a typical ME fanfic.
Anyway, please follow, fave, and review. The last one helps me become a better writer.
This is Believer218, signing off.