Halo: Mass Effect CH 13

UNSC Date: 2553, on board the Normandy
Commander Shepard walked into the elevator to head back up to the CIC. He had just finished talking with Tali and Cortana.
"It feels so odd with half the crew gone. And it's so quiet. Cortana is making things a little more bearable for me though" Tali had said a few minutes earlier
Who knew that Tali and Cortana would get along? The two weren't exactly best friends or anything, but at least they weren't glaring at each other behind each other's backs. Shepard walked out of the elevator and headed towards the CIC.
"Joker, play the message from Admiral Hackett first"
"Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Hackett. I have an urgent assignment for you. Admiral Kahouku is unable to brief you, so I will do it myself. One of his patrols has disappeared in the Artemis Tau Cluster. We don't know if it's an accident, or worse. His survey team also had the SPARTAN II Gray Team. I want you to investigate this and find out what happened. When you do, let Admiral Kahouku know. I know the UNSC brass and the Council won't appreciate me asking a team of SPARTANs, and a spectre at that, to undertake such a simple assignment, but this could potentially lead to a disaster"
"What kind of disaster can come out of this sir?" Shepard asked
"The UNSC may find reason to act against the Alliance. The UNSC is already well aware of the high casualty rate of UNSC marines and ODSTs in operations led by the Alliance. They assume it is the way we do things, but it really is because our technology isn't as efficient at fighting the Covenant as the UNSC. If the UNSC learns of a team of SPARTANs dying in a standard Alliance patrol, the fallout could be catastrophic. You are a considered as a neutral party, since you report to the Council. I will send you the coordinates. Admiral Hackett out"
Shepard received the coordinates, and he forwarded them to Joker. Joker flew the Normandy over towards Edolus, where the missing patrol was last seen.
On the way there, Shepard decided to check on Cortana and Joker. Even though the Chief made regular visits, he wanted to make his presence known so Joker will take Cortana seriously. His efforts worked half the time.
"That is clearly against regulations Lieutenant Monreau!" Shepard heard Cortana exclaim loudly. He was at the rear of the CIC, but he could hear them quite clearly
"Well I will remind you that this is the Alliance, not the UNSC. The Alliance says nothing about watching pornography in the cockpit" Joker said matter of factly
"It's disgusting! And there are two of us in here, remember!? I see and hear everything you see and hear!"
"Blah blah blah, you just don't want to listen to all of that. I know I don't want to listen to you, and I can't be distracted from your whining because you deleted my porn! I don't know how the Chief managed with your whining. I bet he was more than happy to get rid of you"
Cortana gasped in shock. She found Joker to be annoying, disgusting, and unprofessional at times. She also found him to be an adept pilot, and his skills lived up to his reputation as the best pilot in the Alliance. All of that was forgotten in that moment.
"It was clearly against regulations" Cortana repeated, "And you don't ever say that about me and the Chief! He wanted to come after me, he wanted to save me! And my advice saved his life more than once!" Cortana finished angrily
"Alright. Two can play that game" Joker said. Cortana saw a mischevious glint in his eye, and realization dawned on her.
"Flight Lietenant Monreau, don't. I advise you to not take that course of action. Please. Do not take that course of action" Cortana begged. Joker was a little amused with how quickly she changed her emotions. He didn't normally do this to women, or to anyone, but he made an exception with Cortana. He didn't like AIs, and he really didn't like her. So some messing around was in order.
A loud scream of pain and anger was all that was needed for Shepard to run to the cockpit. He needed to intervene now.
"You are worse than Gravemind!" Cortana yelled at the top of her lungs
Cortana's avatar was bright red, and Joker had a big grin on his face. Joker was overjoyed at his victory, which was short lived by a very angry SPARTAN looming over him.
"Joker!" Shepard barked angrily, "What are you doing to Cortana?"
"Nothing bad. You don't need to worry"
"Nothing bad? What was that scream then?" Shepard asked
"He was listening to and watching porn while he was on duty!" Cortana cut in
"I wasn't on duty at the time! I sometimes need some time to relax, and I can't exactly move around the ship. Besides, we aren't doing any maneuvers right now"
"It's disgusting though!" Cortana protested
"Cortana is right Joker, you need to lay off the porn. This is the cockpit of a military starship! I expect nothing but professionalism. Clear?"
"Siding with the AI? Alright, fine, she wins. But don't come crying to me when she goes rampant!"
"Joker" Shepard growled
"Alright, alright" Joker sighed, "Yes sir, I will stop watching porn sir"
Satisfied, Shepard turned around and walked to the back of the CIC. Joker watched Shepard leave, and when he was a safe distance away, he turned back to his console.
"Geez, the guy has a stick up his ass. Are all SPARTANs like that?" Joker muttered under his breath
When they arrived at Edolus, Shepard decided to take Tali, Ashley, and Six with him. Tali will help with any mechanical issues the patrol has encountered and she can help repair the mako. She will come in handy if the geth are in the area as well. Ashley was on the mission because Shepard figured that an Alliance soldier would discourage any hostility from Alliance survivors. Six was there because a second SPARTAN on a mission is useful. She is also there to help Shepard carry the members of Gray Team if necessary.
As soon as the mako landed, Shepard received a troubling distress call.
"This is SPARTAN Gray Team! We are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! Half of the Alliance unit is down. We need evac ASAP!" the message said
Shepard frowned grimly when the message ended. A SPARTAN calling for help is never a good thing. Especially in that tone of voice. It sounded like he was overwhelmed, like he was up against something massive.
"Cortana, highlight all anomalies and distress signals on my radar" Shepard ordered
"All of them are highlighted now. I don't think there are any survivors, but I could be wrong. After all, when the Chief and I arrived on Reach, I didn't see any survivors. There may be survivors here"
"Thanks Cortana"
To everyone's surprise, Shepard turned the mako away from the distress signal, and he headed towards a nearby mineral deposit.
"Sir, the distress signal is the other way" Six advised
"I know, but the other survivors may be here. For all we know, they left the distress beacon because of a hostile presence" Shepard explained
"Yes sir. I can't help but have a bad feeling about this though"
"I agree. I didn't hear any incoming gunfire in the message" Tali pointed out, "It seemed like they were shooting at something that couldn't shoot back"
"It was probably able to fight back though. Whatever it is, it must have been huge" Shepard observed
When Shepard started up the mako and went straight for the mineral deposit, Ashley saw Six fidget slightly in her seat. It was very subtle, but no amount of SPARTAN training was able to keep Six from fidgeting a little bit.
"Is there something wrong Lieutenant?" Ashley asked
Six looked towards Ashley, and saw a little concern on her face. Inside, she was nervous. The lack of returning gunfire meant that they were up against some kind of animal. There were very few animals that would make a SPARTAN request for backup. One of those giants on Reach she encountered with Jun was one of them, a thresher maw was another. Since she didn't want to knock down morale, she decided to tell a half truth.
"Something is off. I suspect we may be up against a very powerful opponent" Six replied
"Do you think the geth could have created something strong enough to take on a team of SPARTANs?" Ashley asked half skeptically
"It's possible. A scarab is fully able to take on a team of SPARTANs. That is, until one or more boards it"
"Keelah, I hope the geth didn't create something that could defeat a SPARTAN. Not only would it make our hunt for Saren more difficult, but our chances of retaking the Homeworld would be nearly impossible" Tali spoke up
"To be honest, I kind of want something strong enough to take on a SPARTAN. I could use the challenge" Shepard said
"That attitude is going to get you killed you know" Tali said matter of factly
"Come on Tali, this is me you are talking about. I'm one of only three SPARTANs with a hyper lethal classification. Blue Six and the Master Chief also have that designation"
"Don't worry Tali, we will be fine. The Commander knows what he's doing" Ashley said reassuringly while Shepard got out of the mako
"If you say so" Tali said uncertainly, "I have been prepared for everything by the time I started my Pilgrimage. Fighting alongside SPARTANs wasn't covered though"
"We got your back. Alien or not, I serve to protect everyone. That's every SPARTAN's duty. We are trained to defend humanity and the galaxy. We are also trained to adapt to any situation. We got your back" Six said
Shepard got back in the mako and drove towards the anomaly on his radar. It turned out to be a salarian corpse, and he picked up the medallion on it. He decided to take the opportunity to broadcast his presence to any survivors.
"This is Lieutenant Commander Sierra 007, serving in the Council's Special Tactics and Recon. If there are any Alliance or UNSC survivors, please radio to this frequency" Shepard radioed
Shepard then whistled the Oly Oly Oxen Free signal several times. He waited for a response, and didn't get it. To test it out, he tried to broadcast it to the Normandy.
"Everything is clear, and your radio works. I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this too. If you need help, give us the word" Fred said on the other end
"I will"
Shepard drove the mako over to where the distress beacon was. Six grew a little more nervous as they got closer. The emotional, primal part of her brain screamed at her to stop Shepard, to get him to abort the mission. The rational side pointed out that not every single ring in the ground means a thresher maw will appear. She let out a sigh of relief after they have arrived at the distress beacon.
Shepard, Ashley, Six, and Tali climbed out of the mako and approached the dead bodies. Three of them were SPARTAN IIs, the remains of Grey Team. Shepard opened up the roster of SPARTANs in his HUD and marked the three Grey Team SPARTANs MIA. He paused for a second, then he decided to mark them and the other fallen SPARTAN IIs as KIA. The War is over, so UNSC morale isn't on the verge of breaking anymore. It was about time he paid them some respect.
"That's the Alliance patrol. What killed them?" Ashley asked
"No gunshot wounds, their ammo clips are spent. It seems a few were killed while fleeing" Six murmured while examining the bodies
"It may have been varren. They are very lethal" Tali suggested
"No, I don't see any bite marks. All I see is acid"
"Strange. SPARTANs are supposed to be nearly unstoppable. Their armor is supposed to be extremely resistant. What could possibly kill three of them, let alone one?" Ashley asked, and she spoke Tali's thoughts. Six and Shepard already knew what could kill a SPARTAN, but their minds were churning as well. The Covenant left plasma scarring on the wounded and dead.
Six didn't pay much attention to what the rest of the squad was saying. She was busy debating with herself about whether they are in a thresher nest. As the evidence mounted, she became more and more convinced it was the case, but she didn't want to say it. The ground shook a little underneath them, which served to support the thresher maw argument.
"Whoa, did anyone feel that?" Ashley's voice cut into Shepard's thoughts
"I didn't feel anything" Tali said before the ground shook a little harder again. "Wait, I felt it that time" Tali amended
"It's probably an earthquake" Shepard dismissed
It was at that time that they saw Six run towards the mako. They didn't need to ask why because the ground shook violently once again. A massive thresher maw appeared out of the sand. Shepard heard someone swear loudly, but he wasn't sure if it was Ashley, Tali, Six, or even himself. The Flood and thresher maws are the only things outside of anything in the Covenant that can scare a SPARTAN. Fortunately, no one in Shepard's squad was prone to hysteria and paralyzing panic.
Shepard darted straight for the mako, and Ashley and Tali were right behind him. They climbed into the mako, and Six was already shooting at the thresher maw with the turret. The thresher maw roared and turned towards the mako. Fortunately, Shepard was already in the driver seat. He moved the mako forward a couple of feet then he quickly swerved to the right. Thresher maw acid landed right where the mako was only a few seconds ago. Shepard started circling the thresher maw so the acid won't hit it. Six looked outside, and she could see the thresher maw very clearly. That meant they were too close.
"Commander, you need to move away! The thresher will use it's claws, and they are very deadly!" Six warned
Shepard obliged and turned the mako away from the thresher maw. He accelerated and put some distance between him and the thresher. Once Six was satisfied, Shepard started circling it again. Six swerved the turret towards the thresher maw and got off a few shots. The thresher maw bellowed, then it went underground.
"Keep moving Commander, it isn't dead yet" Six advised
Right after Six said that, the thresher maw reappeared to their right. Shepard made a sharp turn to the left and got some distance between them and the thresher maw. Six aimed towards the thresher maw and fired a few shots. Half of them missed, but she was satisfied that a few of them did hit. The thresher maw spit acid at the mako, and it barely missed the rear.
"Too close Commander, move faster!" Ashley shouted. There was a hint of panic in her voice.
Shepard pressed the accelerator pedal a little more to gain a little more distance. In the meantime, Six continued her barrage of fire. She was very happy to be in a vehicle this time. She didn't have that luxury on Akuze.
The thresher maw roared after it received too many hits, and it went underground. When they thought it was dead, it came back. To their horror, it showed up right next to the mako. It flipped over the mako onto its back, leaving them helpless. Fortunately, they were out of the thresher maw's reach. The thresher maw didn't know that, so it decided to slam its claws right into the ground. It landed too close for comfort.
"That was too close Commander! Get us the frak out of here!" Ashley screamed
Fortunately, the impact rocked the mako back onto its four wheels. Six resumed her fire while Shepard tried to get away from the thresher maw again. Satisfied he was at a safe distance, Shepard then continued circling the thresher maw. Six fired off a few more shots, and the thresher maw was finally dead.
"That was…wow that was close" Ashley said while she tried to catch her breath
"Keelah, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes" Tali said to no one in particular
"Well, that was fun" Six remarked sarcastically, "We ought to do that again"
Shepard and his squad got out of the mako and approached the bodies. Ashley recognized the Alliance marines after she got a closer look. She reached down to one of the marines' bodies and got out the marine's ID card.
"Find anything Williams?" Shepard asked
"Yes sir. These are Admiral Kahouku's men, like Admiral Hackett said. He will want to know this"
"Good job. Joker, get the Normandy to us for pick up. And tell Garrus that he has some repair work to do on the mako"
A few minutes later, Shepard was in the briefing room. He saw the holograms of Admirals Hackett, Kahouku, and Hood in front of him. Admiral Hackett decided to start off the debriefing.
"Commander, your helmsman forwarded your report. The thresher maw attack was unexpected. The loss of a squad of SPARTANs was unexpected, to say the least. What were you able to see when you arrived?"
"Sir, the Grizzly they were in seemed to have deployed right into the nest. Everyone, including the SPARTANs were caught by surprise"
"That's impossible. SPARTANs are trained for anything! They can't get killed by a thresher maw" Admiral Kahouku protested, "Commander Shepard is evidence of that"
"SPARTANs can't handle everything. Need I remind you of how many SPARTANs died in the War? Also, we didn't know much about thresher maws when we trained the SPARTANs. I assume they attempted to strafe, but they were too close" Admiral Hood said, "Does that sound right Commander?" Admiral Hood asked
"Sir, yes sir. They had no knowledge of the thresher maw's claws. If it wasn't for Blue Six's advice, we would have shared their fate"
"I see. How close was the distress beacon to the nest? My men would know better than to land in it" Admiral Kahouku inquired
"The beacon was right in the thresher maw nest. Whoever planted it there wanted them to run into the thresher maw sir"
"Damn it. An Alliance unit used as bait, and a few SPARTANs died with them. Thank you Commander, you have done your part. I will now do mine and tell the families of the dead marines. Admiral Hood, you know what to do with KIA SPARTANs than anyone" Admiral Kahouku said before signing off
"Thank you for taking care of this Commander. It was unfortunate that the UNSC found out about this" Admiral Hackett glanced at Admiral Hood, who looked like he was recently betrayed, then he finished with "However, Admiral Hood will manage damage control. So far, only the UNSC top brass knows about this. Everyone else in the UNSC will think it was a squad of Brutes. Admiral Hackett out"
"Commander, I have received some troubling news that was attached to this. When I learned about the death of Grey Team, I also learned who may have done it" Admiral Hood said when Admiral Hackett left. Shepard heard a bit of anger in Admiral Hood's voice, "I don't know who exactly, but evidence points towards Cerberus. I don't know any details yet, so I will let you know if I learn anything about this"
"Understood sir"
"While we are still here, did you get my message I sent earlier?"
"No sir"
"Well, I will tell you now then. Terraforming efforts have been going smoothly on Reach. It still has a long way to go before it is habitable again though. Recently a team has uncovered the remains of the SPARTAN training facility. I don't know how but it has emerged relatively intact, considering the state it was in. It was heavily damaged though, but we managed to restore some of it to its original state. I have since prohibited anyone from entering the facility. The reason is because of what I am about to ask of you. I invite you and Blue Team to go see Reach without any Covenant forces on it. To see that the fallen SPARTANs' efforts aren't in vain. I also want Blue Team's help erecting a statue of the Master Chief. It was made before we knew he was alive, so we had to make a last minute change to the plaque. He will still like it though. I hope to see you there, Admiral Hood out"
Shepard turned around and walked towards the galaxy map. Cortana had overheard Shepard's conversation and plotted their course. They entered the mass relay in the system they were in, and ended up in the Utopia system. Reach was another rmass relay jump away. When they entered the system, they received a distress call from an asteroid.
UNSC Date: 2553, UNSC station Alpha, UNSC HQ
Admiral Hood left his office and walked straight to the communications room. He was going to call the head of Cerberus. The two may be allies, but they aren't necessarily friends. They are allies out of necessity. When ONI shut down, Cerberus was left in its place. Admiral Hood had no choice but to keep Cerberus running. Cerberus more than made up for the loss of ONI. If Cerberus was shut down, the UNSC's position in the galaxy would be greatly weakened.
The holographic display activated when Admiral Hood entered it. The projector in front of him showed the head of Cerberus himself. The Illusive Man. As usual, he was smoking his cigarette while sitting in his chair. Admiral Hood had to admit he admired the massive star that was behind the Illusive Man's chair.
"Admiral Hood. I trust things are going well on your end?" the Illusive Man asked casually. Even though the Illusive Man seemed like he didn't know what was going on, he knew what had happened.
"Cut the act Jack" Admiral Hood cut in angrily, "I heard that you were possibly involved in the death of a squad of marines and a squad of SPARTAN IIs. Care to explain yourself?"
The Illusive Man tapped the tip of his cigarette into the ashtray. Even though he did it the same way he does when he's in any other mood, Admiral Hood knew that the Illusive Man was insulted.
"First, don't ever call me Jack or Mr. Harper or Jack Harper. That man is dead as far as I am concerned" the Illusive Man corrected him, "Second, I am not stupid enough to get a squad of SPARTANs killed. They are a valuable asset, and they shouldn't be wasted like they just were"
"Of course. But you would do things no matter what the cost"
"Yes. At any cost. But the deaths on Edolus are a waste. Nothing valuable came out of it. We are no closer to our grand goal than we were before their deaths. I suspect one of my cells has gone rogue"
"Gone rogue? What makes you say that?" Admiral Hood asked, "I thought Cerberus cells were better than that"
"They are. Every operative knows the penalty of crossing me. Unfortunately, the cell that went rogue forgot about that penalty. I have recently lost communication with one of my cells. I assumed it was because they had technical difficulties, or they were attacked. Now that I know that beacon was the same one that cell used, the cell is most likely rogue"
"A rogue Cerberus cell? What was the cell originally supposed to do?"
"The testing and design of the MJOLNIR Mark VII armor system. That beacon was to be used in a testing exercise" the Illusive Man paused to take a puff of his cigarette, "Unfortunately it wasn't. Before I lost communication, my AI has detected some unusual requests from the base. The base has acquired some items they weren't supposed to"
"What are those items?" Admiral Hood asked warily
"That I do not know. If I find out what they are, I will let you know"
"I can't help but feel like you may be hiding something, but I will take your word for it. What else can you tell me?"
"A bug that I have planted in the base has recorded a message before they all left. It appears they want at least one SPARTAN. Preferably unconscious, unarmed, and out of their armor" the Illusive Man said grimly
"This is bad. This is really bad" Admiral Hood muttered as he shook his head, "We need to infiltrate that base and take them down"
"Yes, we should. However, we shouldn't send in marines or a squad of ODSTs. Chances are they may have created their super soldier. The last thing we need is for them to get killed by an unstoppable force"
"What are you suggesting? We send in SPARTANs? Isn't that exactly what they want?"
"Yes. We send in Commander Shepard, his squad, and Red Team. The rogue base does want a SPARTAN, but I imagine they want a SPARTAN who is unarmed, out of his or her armor, and unconscious. I doubt they will expect two squads of fully armored and heavily armed SPARTANs knocking down their door. I know the rogue base has moved from their assigned bases, but I have people searching for their new base. When I know where it is, I will tell you where it is, and you will send it to Commander Shepard"
"Why can't you send him the information yourself?"
The Illusive Man chuckled softly. It was the sort of chuckle a parent makes when their small child makes a small, funny, innocent mistake.
"Do you honestly think he will trust me? Do you honestly think the Council would approve of him receiving intel from me? The last thing we need is a SPARTAN to be wrapped up in a political scandal. You will tell what I learn to Commander Shepard. I would prefer if he didn't work with me. Not unless it is absolutely necessary"
The Illusive Man cut the connection, and Admiral Hood left the communication room. Just like the people in charge of ONI, the Illusive Man was vague. He had hoped he would get some answers, but all they know is a base went rogue, and they are going to attempt an experiment on a SPARTAN. The thought sickened him, but he was confident that all of them will be safe. After all, it is next to impossible to capture a SPARTAN and keep him or her as a prisoner. There has been a few attempts in the past by Insurrectionists and the occasional Covenant squad, but all of them ended up in failure.