Hey guys, long time no see!

I need some feedback. It can either be sent in either by Private Message or Review, but, I need some feedback. For one, I know that this story started out as a Mass Effect-Halo Crossover. That's why a lot of you jumped on board with this story. Though, in recent years, I've backed off because I don't think I can do Mass Effect justice.

The other thing is that I'm heavily involved in the Halo community as a storyteller. I've joined up with Halo Fanon recently and become invested in that community. Along those same lines, I decided to start a new account and write new stories. I want to try starting over with my content under a new user name and see where that goes. I've already posted a new story called Delta's Path written under the handle, Distant Tide.

I also need some heavy feedback as I said before, early traffic shows that I may have not hit it right with this new post. People might not be interested or happy with what I'm doing. I'd like to now why and how I might be able to remedy it with my current story and when I will begin rewriting Brawler Doctrine later down the road. So reviews, PMs, anything would help me try and figure out what my next course of action should be. I really want to start off strong with this new account though.

To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm doing right now since I haven't been working on Fanfiction in a while and its been quite some time since I pushed hard to write new stuff, especially not being a part of a larger community because back in the day, I didn't have the voices and the resources of others to give me as strong feedback and I lacked the maturity to handle strong criticism. I've grown up, being in college now, and my writing has grown more focused on improving the quality that I write at. In the past, I was more focused on quantity.

So, I've left you guys a treat of "Shadowcast" a short story I wrote on Halo Fanon that was inspired by Brawler Doctrine that may soon be turned into a full story. Hopefully, you guys want to stick with me or have an opinion on my change of implementation. I would really appreciate if you guys read Delta's Path and left reviews telling me how I can improve on it further. Do so here to, read and review! Give me any feedback I can improve on anything on my stories. I could really use it at this time as I get back into the groove.

...

["Shadowcast"]

[2555]

"UNSC ground elements will begin landing at Loarre Rise as soon as we make a pass over the Covenant's staging camp. The position is a large rock face overlooking New Ebro Pass, a wide ravine running along the river of the same name. The Brutes have parked most of their forces along this waterway."

The mission commander for the coming battle, Colonel Neville Howard was addressing the assorted high-ranking officer for a last-minute mission check. The man was pointing at a paper map laid out on a fold-out table that displayed geographic locations and topography. Among those sitting in, Captain Angelica Hurst listened to the man half-intently.

"In the meantime, TF Dominion will engage the Covenant's space assets. We'll have to be quick. We still have the element of surprise but once we are engaged and the Seraph fighter screens are up, we will have no breathing room to continue deploying dropships. Stick to the plan. Do as we practiced."

Captain Hurst drowned out the Colonel as she remembered her own part of the plan. She was a Wet Fleet captain in the UNSC Navy, her namesake was with the ships in space but her duty was to the ships on the waters below. Like ODSTs, dropping into hell of battle below. She tensed up as she remembered the dangers of her specific job, at the start of the battle - of all Navy personnel, her specific division had the highest casualty rates.

"Hurst?"

"Huh?" The Captain snapped out of her stupor at the sound of her name coming from Colonel Howard's lips.

"Are your forces ready? Do you remember the doctrine?"

Captain Hurst nodded, replacing her anxiety with exterior confidence. "We're ready. We'll stick to the shadows."

"Awesome. Everyone report to your stations. Let's make Operation: Round Table a success. Good luck everyone."

A chorus of "Aye sir" and "Yes sir" echoed off the small crowd as it dispersed. Captain Hurst made an attempt to get up but the Colonel stopped her, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Angie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Howard." The African-descended man had seen through her mask it seemed.

"Nervous I assume," The Colonel replied, ignoring her statement of indifference. "I know its been a while since you've employed this kind of tactic - it hasn't been done since..."

"Earth." Captain Hurst finished for the Colonel, it brought up bad memories.

"Right. Three years about since?"

"Yeah..." The two high-ranking officers shared a moment of silence as they avoided each other's eye contact. There was a moment of tension between them as they each remembered their own experiences and horrors of the Battle of Earth. Humanity's homeworld had been as much a bloodbath as the colonies that came before. The planet survived the war but many soldiers and civilians did not. It was something both didn't want to bring up again.

"You can do this. Get to sea. Marine Corps air assets will be busy protecting our landing craft onto the planet so I need your guys more than ever. You'll be the only air assets we'll have available on the ground once we touch."

"I know."

"Then don't think. Just do. You can get down there. I know you can." Colonel Howard said. He looked up at the rumbling engines of Pelican VTOL dropships starting to cook in the hangar bay around them. The temperature in the giant hold rose with the burning rocket fuel and the noise all around rose in intensity as engines came to life.

"I got a Pelican to catch, Colonel. As do you."

"Go then. I'll see you ground side."

"Same. Be safe."

The two high-ranking officers parted ways heading in opposite directions toward their transports.

Captain Hurst's transport Pelican was already beginning to cook on its raised platform. The last supplies, weapons, and Navy personnel were clambering into the back of the aircraft. Deck personnel in the hangar guided the dropships out into the vacuum of space. Activating her radio-linked ear piece and pulling on a vacuum-rated helmet to complete her uniform, Captain Hurst climbed into the back of her Pelican. The doors closed and all cargo bay lights were replaced with red night lights.

Captain Hurst took her seat next to the rest of the assembled individuals that made up the Wet Fleet's Navy personnel. They were latched into place by their chairs, same went for the Captain - they were ready for takeoff.

"Captain Hurst. Ready to choke out the Apes?" The pilot, Huggins called over the radio.

"Always Lieutenant. Take us in."

The zipping of the particle field separating space from atmosphere enveloped the aircraft and then all outside sounds were silent as space overtook them. On the BattleNet radio frequency, the voice of the UNSC Eternal Flame's AI, Draco-Five, reported the actions of the battle. Phase One of Operation:Round Table was beginning. "Pre-deployment locks unlatched, activating reentry vehicles - ODSTs away, RFEAs hardening."

Through the slit in the back of the Pelican, Captain Hurst could make out the distant form of the Phoenix-class vessel, the Eternal Flame launching a series of drop pods and a large metal cylinder. Referred to as a RFEA, or Reinforced Fluid Entry Apparatus, the giant container started to hurtle down toward the planet, Aragon, below.

"RFEA away. Repeat, RFEA away." Draco-Five reported before closing the link completely.

"Huggins. Stick to the shadows."

"Yes ma'am. Hiding in the shade of the colossus."

The Pelican engines roared within the cargo bay sending vibrations throughout the vehicle. Hurst saw her hair start to dance about in the space without gravity. They Pelican adjusted its course and the light, once pouring in from the cargo door window, was blocked out to reveal the stars and darkness of space beyond. They were now aligned with the giant beast overhead, the RFEA pod flying down toward the planet. At 460 meters in length, it was easily the size of a frigate.

"It's beautiful Captain." Huggins reported from the cockpit of the aircraft.

"I'm sure it is, Lieutenant." Hurst replied as she imagined the Apparatus burning bright as its heat shield dipped into the atmosphere of the planet below. As sections of the RFEA would break off in its multi-stage manner, the Captain could just imagine the warship within revealing its namesake from its titanium cocoon. The UNSC Nathaniel Lincoln.

The Captain was willing to wait for that reveal - the majesty of her own warship, but first, as apprehension stepped in, they needed to make it to the surface below. The shadow cast of the RFEA would protect them from Covenant firepower, as it did so long ago at Earth.