A/N: Merry Christmas all! This is the first time I've really gotten a proper collaboration down on one of my stories in a long time. This time, I've managed to work closely with Soleneus on this story.

This is pretty much inspired by the near-lack of Mass Effect/Destiny crossovers, and by the fic "From the Traveler's Light". However, a different route will be taken for Humanity's First Contact away from the usual 'Turians or Batarians started it' path.

How the reviews look for this pilot episode will determine if more chapters will happen in the future, so do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!

…

[Goldstein's Kosher Pub and Grill, Shanxi]

The greasy smell of food wafted through the air as patrons discussed current events over a well-cooked meal, classical music blasting from the jukebox, and kosher drinks of all types. In spite of the fact that all of Earth's religions had acknowledged the Traveler as a true god -even by atheists- many of the old religious customs were still observed as a cultural heritage. As such, Kosher and Halal foods were still served in Jewish and Muslim restaurants and markets.

While there were plenty of civilian customers in Goldstein's pub, most of the patrons were either members of the local garrison, or the recently-formed police precinct. One could tell the difference between the two groups by the fact that the military often just wore their BDU's when not at work. The police on the other hand, sometimes wore their flak armor even in the pub's well-secured premises when off-duty.

After the discovery of the large tuning fork-shaped object in Charon decades ago, things had begun to progress at an alarming rate. Scientists and researchers had eventually found that it would allow transport at longer distances and higher speeds than would be allowed by a Jump Drive. Still, they found that the difference between these 'point-to-point relays' and the Jump Drive was the same difference between a train and a car; while the former indeed moved faster, one could only go to wherever the relays went. Jump Drives were slower, but they weren't nearly as limited as the relays were.

As travel was made safer through the relays, a rapid expansion followed, which meant working overtime for every branch of the Systems Alliance military. New planets and planetoids discovered in such large numbers that the whole process had practically become routine: the Navy would use the point-to-point relays to travel long distances before exploring the systems they led to. After that, a Marine FORECON detachment would scout out worlds before calling in an Expeditionary Unit to terraform and fortify them. Once the planet was made habitable and defensible, necessities such as police precincts, hospitals, and Army garrisons would be established before bringing in civilians. After that, the Expeditionary Unit would serve as a first line of defense against pirates and rebels, on standby for another call to colonize another world.

"No way! Hand Cannons are the way to go!"

"And I say Sidearms are just as good!"

"Cannons!"

"Sidearms!"

This was the argument that one brown-skinned trooper with Pacific Islander tattoos listened to while savoring a whiskey, often between the military and the police. Those that supported the two classes of handgun constantly argued which was the better service pistol. And while he favored the raw power and versatile rounds of the Hand Cannon, he found that the .45 ACP and 9mm Sidearms had their own merits in terms of speed and firepower. The debate had gone to the point where one person armed with a Hand Cannon and the other with a Sidearm would do the old ten-paces dueling exercise with training rounds as a bar game.

"Dibs on the cop with the cannon," said his colleague in black fatigues. The red and white N7 badge on his shirt marked him as a member of the new joint special forces unit that brought in from every branch of the Alliance military. The N7 unit was made up of rising stars in the special forces, especially those that were exceptional at Light manipulation to perform extremely high-risk operations.

"I know I'll sound like a traitor, but I've got some glimmer says its the Army guy with the .45," countered the trooper, taking another swig of his whiskey.

"You sure about that, Indra?"

"C'mon, Saul! I mean, the guy looks like he's got a twitchy trigger finger."

Sipping at his whiskey, Indra ignored the eventual duel to contemplate his future after the military as he neared 155 years of age. He'd been offered a position as a member of the colony's first police precinct by the governor himself, and his history of active military duty meant that he was already a shoe-in for the local SWAT unit in the event things went south. Not a bad career choice to be sure, he thought, But am I really willing to give up what I have with the Expeditionary Unit to go civilian?

"Hey!" called a voice that Indra knew too well. The speaker was an Exo with a teal paint job and blue eyes. His unfurled hood was lined with netting, allowing him to blend in with the environment. Indra remembered him when he was a human FORECON operative, and seemed to enjoy every second of his job too much. That all changed when he gambled away all his money. "Mind if I join you there for a second?"

"Have a seat," Indra invited, allowing his colleague to sit across from him, "So how're things working on the new Clovis Bray branch?"

"Fine, just wish they'd give us more to do," answered the guest, a yellow light glowing from his throat, "I hear they've got openings for security personnel now…not that I think anybody's got a choice there."

Saul sighed in exasperation. "Cayde, you really have to find yourself a way out." He took a swallow of his drink. "I know some people, I can get you some work."

"I'd like to; problem is, the company owns me," answered Cayde, pulling out a flask from a satchel, "I tell ya, Clovis really likes to use polite words like 'indentured servitude' in public. I mean, why can't the guy just be honest about it, and call us slaves?"

"I heard Clovis himself doesn't seem to have his head screwed on right," Indra retorted, taking another sip of his kosher whiskey, "I mean, remember that nanotech he unveiled? The one that's supposed to take the Golden Age in a whole new direction?"

"Well what corporate guy isn't a little screwy in the head?" Cayde countered, "Besides if you wanna talk about screws loose, look at Zavala! Guy pulls off those kickass flight maneuvers, and makes them look easy. Seriously! How does he not get scared?"

Indra knew of whom Cayde spoke of. Zavala was a Navy pilot stationed aboard the supercarrier Asgard Almighty. Whenever he was not on gunship duty or sent on a mission, he was assigned to pilot the fast and powerful Kestrel-class Fighter. During the live training exercises, he was the type of pilot that stayed cool under pressure, always looking for openings to attack his target; once he found that opening, he would keep the pressure on his target until they went down. In short, he was the quintessential 'muscle' pilot.

It also just so happened that Zavala's unit was stationed on the planet in preparations for exploring the system. So it wasn't a surprise that he was a regular at this particular pub, whenever he wasn't doing more sophisticated things on his spare time. Once, Indra had spotted the Navy pilot sitting in a poetry club, reciting war poetry of all things.

"I dunno, maybe years of hard training?" Saul offered, "What about years of service against rebels and pirates? He is with NAVSOC after all."

Whatever else Cayde had to say had come to a grinding halt when the klaxons had sounded. "Attention, all Military Personnel! Report to your respective camps and prepare for combat! We've got an incoming unidentified object, right now!"

"Yep, time to work," drawled Cayde, chugging down the last of his green drink, "Be seein' ya Saul, Indra."

"Likewise, Cayde."

…

[Tau Base, Shanxi]

A variety of people could be seen running around, operating instrumentation devices; some civilian, others part of the military. While Warminds could work just fine on their own, a team of people didn't hurt in helping the A.I. with daily tasks. Besides, their own Warmind was just installed a few weeks ago; took quite a lot glimmer and good taxpayers' credits, but it was more than enough to get the defense system up and running. Not a surprise, considering Shanxi was a relatively new colony, and that the civilians had just moved in.

One man in particular however, sat calmly in his chair, observing everything that was happening as he'd just arrived. He wore a finely-tailored tuxedo, with a scowl on his face as he read the information on his datapad. The body under the suit was well-muscled, with scars that made it evident that he wasn't always a politician. "Any idea what I'm looking at, besides the obvious Vlad?"

The Warmind's avatar appeared in a holo-tank next to the man's console, taking the form of a man in a suit of medieval armor under a cape, and a red, conical hat with a black brim. He seemed to be old, but fit enough to lead from the front lines. "Governor Wolfgang, my Warsats are tracking the unidentified craft coming from the tuning fork as we speak," answered the Warmind in perfect Romanian, translated on the screen, "It is damaged and en route now. We are picking up multiple signals from it."

"Bring it up on screen," commanded Wolfgang, trained eyes taking in every detail.

The best way to describe the ship that was speeding away from the tuning fork was a wheel in motion; the other parts resembled the slipstream flowing past as it sped through the stars. A closer look at the craft showed that it looked like it was stripped down to its framework and components; as though it were being held together with nothing but duct tape and a prayer. There was smoke emanating from breaches in the hull, indicative of battle-damage.

"Any luck cleaning up the signal?" asked Wolfgang.

"None, sir!" answered a communications officer, "Wait a minute, I'm getting something…"

Within seconds, the entire war room was filled with alien chatter. While the voices that came from the communications officer's station sounded slightly synthesized, there was a certain amount of desperation in their tone. The aliens were obviously doing their best to keep their ship afloat, while trying to get a message out to their people for help.

"Governor Wolfgang, we are getting another contact from the tuning fork!" Vlad interrupted.

A portal opened outside the point-to-point relay, allowing a massive, chunky red vessel passage. The ship resembled a gigantic flying brick with stubby little wings; the ship was wide at the back, before slightly tapering to a snub nose at the front. It was slowly gaining on the wheel ship, firing at it nonstop, many of the shots slamming against some sort of shield. The wheel ship fought back with lasers, causing explosions to trail behind it.

"Vlad, get some Expeditionary Unit ships out there, have them coordinate with the N7 detachment to save that ship, prepare for every contingency!" shouted Wolfgang, taking control of the situation, "After that, have every unit on standby; get ready to evacuate civilians. In the meantime, send word to the Navy, I have a feeling we're gonna need the backup."

"Already working on it, Governor," answered Vlad, immediately going to work.

Wolfgang rose from his seat, getting undivided attention from the rest of the officers in the war room. "This is a First Contact scenario people, the sooner we save those aliens, the better it'll be for us later on. Now I don't know what's going on, but by the Traveler, we need to do something ASAP. We're on a tight schedule here, so let's get going!"

As everyone went back to work, Wolfgang turned to the communications officer. "Mercer, get General Williams on the line, tell him to prepare for combat."

"What about you sir?" asked Mercer, dialing the line for the general as the governor left the room.

"I'm getting suited up," answered Wolfgang, "If it comes down to a fight on the ground, I want to be ready. Anyone else that can fight, I'd recommend you do the same."

…

[Krogan Cruiser Pain-Bringer]

Balgor Shenk sat in the captain's chair, watching the fleeing Quarian patrol ship on his screen. The entire deck was manned by a few Krogan, each supervising about three Vorcha at a time. It had been too long since he had any sport, and chancing upon a prey such as this was a rare find indeed. That being said, as much as he enjoyed the thrill of the fight, particularly against cornered Quarians in a boarding action, this was still an opportunity. The average suit rat fetched a fairly high price on the slave market, even more so on a Batarian market. Easy money that he could use to ensure that the Pain-Bringer continued to fly for at least another century.

The ship itself was a relic from the Rebellions, having been inherited from his father near the end of the war. Still, it had never failed him before, and the endurance of Krogan engineering meant that he saw no reason for it to fail him now. Armor plating a meter thick, powerful kinetic barriers, and bristling with guns; the Pain wasn't a fast ship, but she could take whatever punishment was necessary to live up to her name.

"Shenk, we've got unidentified contacts," called one of the Krogan crewmen, "They're coming from within system heading our way. Looks like three destroyers, two cruisers, and one dreadnought."

"On screen," Shenk ordered.

As the viewscreen powered on, the image of the newcomers appeared before Shenk. The overall design of the new ships seemed to resemble giant gun barrels pointed at them. The destroyers had a raptorial look to them, like a large fighter with a streamlined design that tapered aggressively into a pair of prongs at the front. Each had what looked like a spine-mounted gun mounted in the middle of the ship between the prongs, broadside missile pods, and four turrets mounted at the top and bottom. Their forward-swept wings were mounted on the back, each with a massive turbine mounted; possibly to be used in-atmosphere.

The cruisers had a blockier appearance, apparently much more armored-up than their smaller cousins. Each had two of those spine-mounted guns arranged in a vertical pattern. Unlike the destroyers however, these ships were almost all gun; more point-defense turrets, as well as external missile pods on the wings. Whoever built these ships really means business, Shenk thought to himself, Good, I've been looking forward to some actual sport.

What truly interested Shenk however, was the appearance of the dreadnought that hung at the back of the small fleet. Barring a few point-defense turrets, and one smaller spine-mounted gun, it didn't carry any other weapon. Instead, it had two large, boxy appendages at the sides, a large bottom, and a whole lot of armor. Curiously enough however, the smaller ships seemed to be protecting the titan while keeping back a good distance as they closed in on them.

"Hmph! Cowards!" he declared, "These newcomers insult me by keeping their distance from us! Close in on them, let us punish them for interrupting our chase!"

"Shenk!" called the communications officer, "Something's happening with the dreadnought!"

Shenk watched as the boxes opened at the front of the dreadnought before a large number of smaller vehicles began issuing forth from them. Trained eyes made them all out to be no less than twenty fighters speeding towards the Pain-Bringer. "Get the GARDIANs up and running!" he shouted, "Man the mass driver! We're going in close!"

The fighter screen closed in, causing all sorts of havoc as explosions rocked the cruiser from the outside. Many shots had slammed into the Pain-Bringer's hull, full-auto weapons destroying several GARDIAN turrets in the process while heavier ordinances chipped away at the Pain's hull. Before many turrets could return fire, the fighters sped back to the dreadnought. Whatever turrets could fire back and managed to score lucky hits on the fighters, taking their pound of flesh for the initial attack as several fighters exploded in space.

The enemy fleet wasn't done yet, as the fleet managed to close in. The dreadnought still hung back, all the smaller ships prepared to fire their main guns.

"INCOMING!" shouted the sensors operator, "BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Taking the advice to heart, Shenk gripped the sides of his chair tightly just in time for seven explosions to rock the cruiser. As everything calmed down, he began to assess the situation on the viewscreen. The newcomers were closing in, with the strange dreadnought hanging back with its cruiser escort, undoubtedly reloading and refueling the fighters for another push on the Pain.

"Take out the cruisers!" he quickly ordered, "Get all broadsides ready!"

"We've got more incoming!" called the sensors operator, "They're coming from the dreadnought!"

Shenk turned his attention back on the viewscreen. The dreadnought had once again unleashed its fighter screen, only this time, it was sending in blockier vessels. "Looks like we've got troop carriers coming out way," he noted, "Target the destroyers, then try to take out the troop transports! All crew, prepare to repel boarders!"

…

[Longboat-class Shuttle Magellan]

As the sounds of the ship-to-ship combat went on outside, Indra waited in his seat, mentally checking his gear while loading the magazine of his combat shotgun. It was shortened for the close confines of a ship, leaving it with only 6 shots, but the standard-issue M54 Rhino was a solid shotgun for an Expedition Unit Marine. Mods installed on it made the shotgun a viable close-quarters weapon; a fast trigger, flared magwell, smooth pump-action, and a rugged and reliable frame. The Marine model was modified to use exploding Arc shells to deal with robots, and had a bayonet lug, which was kept from its original design as a pig-hunting weapon. The bayonet itself was kept sheathed at the small of his back, and had a foot-long carbide-tipped blade.

For his workhorse, he opted for the M9 Viper PDW, which was designed to chew through armor in seconds. As with all weapons of its classification, it was designed to put the power of a rifle cartridge into an SMG-sized package. To that end, it was designed with features from the P90, complete with integrated reflex scope, and a top-loaded bullpup action. Quite possibly the best product Erwin Veist had ever designed; at least until he perfected his newest product line. Until then, Indra was perfectly fine with cutting down enemies at a reasonable range using 50 Solar incendiary rounds at about 1300 RPM.

When all else failed, he still had the Peacemaker on hand. Eight high-caliber SAPHEI rounds in the chamber, and with a rugged trigger to ensure reliable operation. The six o'clock position of its barrel made it a very stable weapon, and made for easier follow-up shots. In short, he had a pocket rocket launcher on hand—and one that he trusted above all other weapons.

Apart from his weapons, Indra was wearing the standard Marine powered exoskeleton designed specifically for Expeditionary Unit units. While he was capable of using the Light, his skill was actually very limited compared to Saul's. Still, the amplifiers built into the armor, particularly the gauntlets, would allow Light-users like him better access to limited abilities. For him, that meant making hard light barricades, and very devastating sucker-punches. In addition to helping him survive in hostile environments, the undersuit also allowed him access to grenades for different purposes.

Slung on his back was an experimental weapon; a tripod-mounted, heavy-caliber weapon designed specifically for area-denial. The techs had promised that the IFF systems were spot-on after twelve tries…then again, this was Clovis Bray technology. Still worth a shot though.

The endgame of the mission was to capture the enemy vessel as intact as possible, while another detachment of the Expeditionary Unit tried to rescue the damaged ship. The Expeditionary Unit's mission was simple enough: they were the sledgehammer to brute-force their way into the CIC. To that end, they were to board the ship and simply kill hostiles; at the same time, they were to serve as a distraction for the N7 squads to find the CIC, and kill the bridge crew. Either way, the Expeditionary Unit and the N7 squads were to rally at the CIC to organize a final cleanup of the entire ship.

Once they were done with the crew, they were to wait for further instructions from the governor himself. According to what he'd heard, the brass wanted the attacking ship to be studied for any potential use, and any prisoners and hostages they had freed. That, and there was that policy that pirates and terrorists of any kind were not welcome in Alliance territory; a sentiment that Indra agreed wholeheartedly with.

As he waited for the breach, the concept of dealing with aliens was at the forefront of Indra's mind. Many of his tours had been against pirates, and more than a few rebel cells that had taken their dislike of the Traveler too far━all of them either Human or Exo. The thought of dealing with actual aliens was enough to make him nervous. Taking a deep breath, he pushed those thoughts to the wayside; he had pirates to kill, which meant that now was not the time to be worrying about the future.

"Hang on to your rails, ladies and gents!" came the voice of the pilot from the intercom, "We're getting up to ramming speed!"

Confident that his shotgun was locked and loaded, he slung it to the side as he prepared his PDW in one hand while the other grabbed onto the rail above him. The Longboat-class shuttle was designed specifically for ramming larger ships, before allowing its cargo to enter. As such, it was heavily armored to withstand gunfire and the impact of the crash, and it had very powerful engines to make it easier to ram the target. To be extra careful, he activated the magnetic soles of his boots to avoid being tossed around in the crash.

Feeling the force of the shuttle entering ramming speed going through his body, Indra tightened his grip on the rail and his PDW, bracing himself for impact. What followed was a loud metallic crash as the shuttle jerked forward from the impact, knocking Marines around slightly. "All right everybody, we're here! Time to kick some alien ass!"

Indra released the magnetic locks on his boots before falling in with his fellow Marines by the door. As he waited for the doors to open, he slapped the bolt on his PDW before holding it at his hip. Adrenaline flooded his system as anticipation took hold, waiting behind cover.

{Play: "Bring Da Ruckus" by Wu-Tang Clan}

The door to the transport bay lowered, eliciting a wet 'splat' as something squawked in pain from being crushed. Within seconds, gunfire filled the entire bay, forcing the boarding party to take cover, while answering with suppressing fire. Indra immediately ducked, forming a low barricade in front of him while taking potshots at some of the enemy fighters in small bursts. Some of the rounds had slammed against the shields of his armor, taking them down to 75%.

As the fight dragged on, the boarding party was able to get a better look at the enemy they were fighting. They were short and scrawny, with yellow skin that glistened in the dim light. They had a digitigrade stance, allowing them to speed into cover when necessary. There were three holes spotted on top of their heads, and their faces were locked into a sharp-toothed rictus. Many of them wielded what looked like bulky pistols, while some of them hefted an assault rifle.

The firefight began to slow down in favor of the boarding party as Indra and the other Expedition Unit operatives began pouring out of the shuttle to take whatever cover they could. As they gained ground, the short aliens began taking cover. Indra was able to shoot several of them in the back before his PDW clicked empty. As he replaced the magazine, one of the aliens pounced on him, only to take a backhand in the face. The actuators in his gauntlet amplified the force of the punch, reducing the alien's head to a pulpy mess.

With the entire area secured, Indra picked up the magazine to his PDW, and reloaded his weapon. "Everyone sound off!" he ordered over the comms.

"We lost three in the firefight," answered an Exo Marine, the rough baritone marking it as a male model, "they overwhelmed Bjorn, Michael, and Sheila before they could get to cover."

Indra sighed in frustration. It was not too long after the boarding action, and his squad of twelve already suffered casualties. "How're the other squads looking?"

"I'm picking up chatter," answered the Exo, "Some of them are taking some casualties, but are otherwise holding strong."

"Then first priority is to regroup," Indra ordered, turning his attention to the rest of the squad, "Our job is to make some noise for the N7 teams to do their job. The sooner we get back together with the other squads, the louder we'll be." He then turned his attention back to the Exo. "Chen, try to hail the other squads, see if we can't get them to join us for a big push."

The Exo nodded in affirmation. "On it, Sarge."

Indra turned his attention to a dark-haired woman with bronze skin and light armor, brandishing a PDW. "Holly, you and I have got point," he continued, holstering the PDW in favor of his shotgun, "We need to find a good kill box to make as much noise as we want."

Holly cracked her neck casually and nodded. "Gotcha, Sarge."

Racking the pump of his shotgun, Indra regarded the largest Exo in the squad with the SAW. He was clad in heavy armor, and searching the hallway for any more hostiles. Standing near him were a man and woman duo with carbines, both wearing medium armor. However, the man had a grenade launcher slung on his side, while the woman carried a full-sized DMR with a scope. "Vladimir, you, Fred, and Frankie have got our six."

The giant Exo Vladimir lowered his SAW to beat his chest. "Understood, comrade," he answered with a thick Russian accent.

Fred and Frankie nodded at the same time. "Will do," replied the British twins.

"The rest of you, check your fire, and protect Chen," added Indra, addressing the rest of the squad, "We already lost a medic and two riflemen, so be very careful."

"Yes sir!"

Indra and Holly moved to the front of the squad, their weapons aimed at the dark corridors of the ship. Their advance was slow and careful, especially given the loss of their medic. Vladimir and the Ashfield twins kept a close eye on their six, with Frankie in the middle in the event her DMR was needed at either side.

Meanwhile, Chen was busy keeping everybody appraised on the status of the other squads. Apparently, of the twelve shuttles that were assigned on the operation, two were shot down before they could even get to ramming speed. This meant that the enemy had already scored twenty-four kills before the casualties sustained during the welcoming party was taken into account. At that point, some of the squads had already suffered casualties due to unexpected run-ins with the enemy upon contact, while the others were lucky enough to board with no casualties. Still, as fortune would have it, there were quite a few medics that made it through.

As Holly was about to round the corner of a T-junction, she recoiled as rapid gunfire began to pepper the wall next to them. Some of the rounds seemed to explode, putting larger holes in the wall. As they waited for the onslaught to slow down, Indra took the opportunity to fix the bayonet on his shotgun. "I'm moving out of cover, then I'll set up a barricade," he said on the comms, "I don't know how much punishment it can take, so everybody take cover fast."

"I'll help provide covering fire," offered Vladimir, loading his SAW with another belt.

"I'm in too," added Holly, reloading her PDW.

The squad nodded in agreement as Indra knelt in preparation. "On my mark."

Everyone waited in anticipation for the plan to take effect, reloading their weapons before preparing themselves to add to the covering fire if necessary. Indra was ready to enact his plan.

"NOW!" he barked, running out into the hallway before leaping. Vladimir and Holly opened fire, forcing the aliens to duck under cover, before trying to blind-fire. As he landed in a roll, Indra created a larger barricade. The hard light wall covered the entire height of the room, allowing the rest of the squad to take cover behind various columns and walls in the room.

As Indra peeked out of cover from behind a column, he began to take exploding potshots at the yellow aliens when he noted something new showing its head. It was at least eight feet tall, and covered in what looked like heavy armor. The overall look of this new alien was reptilian, with a hump behind its head that gave the impression of a hood…in short, it looked like a tortoise that became sapient. It walked around on digitigrade legs that ended in three toes, and hefted around a rather large gun in its three-fingered hands. Its forehead was covered with a bony crest, while the rest was covered in dried scales. The tortoise-thing spotted Indra with yellow eyes, before turning its gun on his cover, shouting something in a booming, guttural language at the yellow goblins. He didn't have to wait long until the little creatures focused fire on his location, their commander firing the large gun at him slowly.

The gunfire began to slow to a halt, allowing Indra a chance to fire his remaining shotgun shells at the tortoise-alien. While the rounds depleted his shields down to 50%, the buckshot penetrated the creature's scaly head, before exploding in a brilliant shower of sparks. Without their apparent leader, the goblins began to fire their weapons wildly before they themselves were finished off by the rest of the squad. The last one leaped over cover, hard light claws over its knuckles ready to claw him to pieces. Indra's response was to impale the creature on the bayonet, flip it onto the floor, and stab it in the head. Checking the rest of his squad, Indra nodded in approval as he reloaded his shotgun. So far, nobody else on his side had died today.

As he took point with Holly, the rest of the squad had taken cover outside a gigantic room. As she and Indra inspected the room from cover, they noted that it sank into the floor in a radial pattern surrounding a large, octagonal tank filled with a green liquid. There were a number of computers around the tank, with some of the tortoises operating them. Others were walking around with large guns, each commanding about six or eight of the goblins, and at least six entrances. Plans were made in his head on how to fortify the place after taking it.

"Chen, where are we on the rest of the squads?" Indra asked, regarding the Exo comms officer.

"They're still wandering around the ship," answered Chen.

"Who can we communicate with immediately?"

"Uh…I've got a Gunny Descartes-3 on the IFF tracker right now," answered the Chinese Exo, "She's the only one closest to us."

"A Gunny?" asked Indra, "Damn it, get her on line."

"Yes sir."

Indra waited for a few seconds before he heard a click on his intercom.

"Who is this?" asked a voice on the line, the accent belonging to a Southern Belle.

"This is MSgt. Walker," Indra whispered on the line, "How're things looking on your side, Gunny?"

"Sir, we've taken some serious casualties here," answered Descartes-3, "We're down to six troops, and we've lost Sgt. Mishima a couple hours ago."

"Sorry about that, Gunny. Still, we've got a job to do; think you can help us out?"

"If it means payback against those turtle-things, then I'm in. What do you have on mind?"

"We're outside a room with a liquid tank, looks important if they're reinforcing it," answered Indra, "We're planning on rushing the room and fortifying it so that we can complete the mission."

"Where do we fit in?" asked Descartes-3.

"You're close to us, which means we have a good chance of taking the room; we might take casualties from this, but at least we get the mission done. After that, we hold the place for the other squads to reinforce us. When we've got the enemy's attention, the N7 boys can start to pull their weight. You got any of the new Clovis Bray turrets with you?"

"We lost it on the way here."

"Don't worry, we've got one. What's your ETA to our location?"

"Within five minutes."

"We'll commence the attack as soon as you get here."

"Roger that, over and out."

With the communication done, Indra turned to the rest of the squad. "Check your weapons, make sure you're fully-loaded. Make sure your rounds don't hit the tank in the middle of the room. Remember, we're hitting them hard and fast, and then we'll get some reinforcements. Once the room is clear, we're fortifying it so the rest of the squad will have an easier time when they get here. Hooah?"

The squad's response was a collected. "HOOAH!"

"Sarge, Descartes-3 and her team have arrived, and are waiting on your go," noted Chen, his carbine on hand.

"Then on my mark, we open with flashbangs."

"Gotcha covered, Master Sergeant," offered Fred, holstering his grenade launcher.

"Light 'em up, Fred."

Fred took aim with his grenade launcher, firing two shots into the wall at an angle. The grenades ricocheted off the surface, and in the middle of the security teams assigned to guard the tank. A loud 'pop' disturbed the silence, followed by the moaning of the goblins and tortoises in the room. "Now!"

Indra and his team began to storm the room, opening fire on the goblins and tortoises as another group of Marines began to pour in from the opposite side. Indra emptied his shotgun on two of the goblins and a tortoise before releasing his hold on it to draw Peacemaker from its holster. Every shot he fired from the revolver penetrated the tortoises' armor before exploding, cauterizing the wound with high-temperature flames.

As the firefight died down, Indra huffed as the adrenaline rush began to subside. He turned to regard all the Marines in the room. "Any casualties?" he asked.

"None, sir," answered a female Exo Marine with a fin on her forehead. The Southern American accent made it clear who she was.

"Gunnery Sergeant Descartes-3?" he asked.

"Yes, Sarge," she answered, saluting him.

"You got any medics with you?"

"Yeah," she answered, turning her attention to a human male with a larger rucksack, "You got wounded?"

"We're gonna need some first aid for now," answered Indra, "In the meantime, we need to fortify this place before we make noise." At this, he turned his attention to Chen. "Call the other squads, tell them to meet us here."

"Yes sir."

As Chen went to work, Indra regarded Fred. "Did you happen to pack any plastic explosives with you?"

"I did, sir," answered the British demolitions expert.

"Then rig up a fake time bomb, with any luck, we'll flush them all out," began Indra, "Once we're done fortifying the perimeter, I want you to plant the bomb on the tank over there. Hooah?"

"Hooah, sir."

Fred walked to a different corner to set up his explosives, while Indra found Vladimir reloading his SAW before unfolding the bipod. "Vladimir, we're going to set up our defenses all around. While you provide heavy fire support here, I'll be on the other side with my turret."

"Acknowledged, comrade," answered the giant Exo, setting up the bipod of his SAW.

Indra walked to the opposite side of the tank before setting up the tripod for the weapon. The generators began to light up, stimulating the experimental glimmer forge mounted the top of the tripod. The first thing to come online was the heavy machine gun with the underslung laser sight and IFF tracker. After that, the ammo hopper was forged next to the gun, automatically loading the turret with .50 BMG rounds. He looked on at the sentry turret with barely-veiled suspicion while reloading his shotgun; he'd heard how the IFF system had been very spotty at best, often gunning down the user without even touching the target. But the engineer that handed him the turret had assured him that they worked out all the bugs this time. Well, at least it's not shooting us right now, he thought, with a bit of relief, Let's see if it's good enough for field use.

"Fred, how're we looking on those bombs?"

"We're good, sir!" answered Fred, an evil grin on his face, "Let's make some noise!"

…

[Krogan Cruiser Pain-Bringer, Bridge]

Over the past hour or so, Shenk watched as the new aliens had boarded his ship, killing many of the crew. They were small and weak; barely larger and stronger than the Vorcha. While they were all well-armored, they seemed to have the bodily proportions as Batarians and Asari. They had bipedal forms with plantigrade stances, and five-fingered hands. And from the kills they'd managed to score from the occasional gun fight, they bled red blood like Batarians; however, their heads were relatively smaller.

They were organized enough to kill many of his crewmen, all of whom were veteran mercenaries that had seen more than their fair share of bloodshed. What gave them the edge was that their tactics resembled those of Turians, only far more flexible. In addition, they wielded technology and powers that were different; the ability to create barriers, shotguns that caused people to explode, all sorts of exotic items he wanted to try out. Then there was the fact that they all had energy shields, allowing them to fight longer. Whoever these people were, they certainly knew what they were doing.

On the one hand, the old Krogan felt anger that these newcomers to the galactic stage had humiliated good Blood Pack warriors. And yet, he could feel his blood boiling in anticipation as they caused all sorts of mayhem around his ship. Every part of him ached for these beings to come on over to the bridge so that he could personally string their skulls together for his necklace.

Now however, he watched as the aliens began to rally at the Mass Effect core. Shenk saw them reloading their weapons, while establishing kill zones all around the coolant tank that surrounded the core. Trained eyes showed him that whoever these aliens were, they wielded outdated weaponry in an age when mass drivers were king. To defeat Krogan warriors with combustion guns adds insult to their injuries.

Whatever thoughts Shenk had on mind had come to a halt when one of the aliens planted something on the coolant tank. He pressed the substance on its surface, before pressing a button on a machine that was stuck to it. Red symbols appeared on a screen that he couldn't understand.

As the symbols began to change on the small screen, he began to realize exactly what he was seeing. His vision began to turn red more from bloodlust than rage; it took a really big quad to set a bomb on the mass effect core. And at the same time, he had a pretty good idea what was going on. Either way, I still have to deal with them. "SEND EVERYONE WE HAVE TO THE MASS EFFECT DRIVE!" he shouted, "KILL THESE ALIENS NOW, AND DEFUSE THAT BOMB!"

Once everyone went to work trying to coordinate the attack, Shenk turned his attention to some of the guards on deck. "Get me Riala! If we have survivors, I'm going to need her to translate."

…

[N7 Blackwing-class Stealth Shuttle Purple Haze, two hours since the boarding action]

It'd been a good couple of hours since the Expeditionary Unit had boarded the ship, and everyone on the Purple Haze was anxious. From what Saul understood, they'd taken casualties; not a surprise, given that it was the first time anyone's ever boarded an alien ship. Whoever these aliens were, they were pretty tough if they were able to give the MEU trouble.

Regardless, he had to wait until the green light was given to sneak in. However, the stealth element to the raid had been given access to the helmet cam footage of the entire boarding action. Delta and Fox Squads were taken out by lucky shots, while half of the surviving Longboats ran into trouble upon landing. At that point, there were about 90 Marines out of the original 144 sent to board the hostile ship holding the area with the octagonal tank.

Over the past six minutes, Saul watched as Indra and the other MEU operatives held their ground. Wave after wave of small, yellow aliens, as well as large turtle-frogs bearing down on them; they held their ground, but they were gradually getting whittled down. Whatever it was that he ordered his demolitions expert to plant a fake bomb on must have been important. The captain would not have sent in such a large force to retake the room otherwise.

"If you N7 boys wanna come on in, now's the time," came Indra's voice on the intercom, "I don't know how long we've got their attention for, but you'd better move in fast."

"Whaddya say, commander?" asked the pilot of the Purple Haze, "We good to go?"

"Take us in quietly, Jeffries," answered Saul, looking at the schematics of the ship. Technological advances in 3D-imaging had taken the helmet cam footage from all the MEU operatives, and used the paths they took to draw a map of their destination.

The rest of his squad gathered around the hologram. There were three other Blackwings in the area, no doubt looking for their own way in. "We're entering through the hangar bay that Charlie Squad came in from," explained Saul, "After that, we're going to find that CIC, and take out everyone before that final push. We're gonna do this nice and quiet, that means silencers on if your guns don't have them already people."

Saul didn't need to silence his own gear; his M4 Fang semi-automatic pistol and M9S Viper PDW both had integrated silencers, being whisper-quiet from the get-go. To make things even easier on logistics, they were both chambered for the same 6mm PDW round as the regular M9 Viper. The difference being that the Fang was purely a semi-auto weapon designed specifically for wetwork first and combat second. This particular handgun was given an experimental Void Light mod to see what would happen if beings were killed with it.

Still, even Saul saw the need for a weapon should stealth be thrown out the window, and so he packed Invictus. The weapon was equipped with mods that would make a .44 magnum tear open a .500 S&W-sized hole. In addition, it was also equipped with other mods that would turn the revolver into a miniature artillery piece. To ensure that nobody else used it however, it had an owner recognition system that was keyed to his DNA. Anyone that tried to use it would be in for a shocking surprise. In the event more firepower was needed, that's why he had a few heavies on his squad.

The armor assigned for his mission was not as durable as the standard powered exoskeleton, and it only had decent energy shields. What it did have were stealth systems that included a active camouflage, ECM, as well as an EMP generator for emergencies. To that end, his armor was hardened against EMP attacks, especially the multi-vision goggles that were installed on his helmet. That, and it had better servos for enhanced hand-to-hand combat engagements; something that would benefit his knife-fighting skills. For that reason, he kept a laser-sharpened KABAR knife holstered on his thigh.

Still, nothing beat the power of Light. Many N7's were chosen for being the best of the best in their fields; Saul's field was in the area of Light Manipulation. To that end, he was sent over to Rio on Earth from the for the Interplanetary Combatives Training before being given the training necessary to enhance his powers as a Warlock-class N7. From what he'd understood, Indra was almost picked for the Titan program; while he was a fine Marine to be sure, his leadership skills were still developing.

"Alright everybody, we're nearing the hangar now," announced Jeffries, "I'm gonna park us outside, then you're gonna have to go in quietly."

"Everybody, get ready for EVA," ordered Saul, his helmet assembling over his head. The multi-vision visor consisted of a pair of night-vision lenses, and a sensory laser mounted on the forehead. The helmets of the other N7 operatives did the same, before sealing shut.

"Depressurizing now."

The air began to empty out of the hull with a loud hiss before the door to the Blackwing opened, revealing the mess that MEU Charlie Squad had made. Their Longboat had rushed the hangar, smashed open the door at ramming speed, and destroyed the fighter before unloading the crew from the starboard and portside entrances. At the moment, Charlie Squad was with Indra's Bravo, which meant that it was already clear of hostiles.

N7 Delta Squad activated their thrusters, before running out the doorway. As they streaked through the dead of space, the entire squad began to gun their thrusters. Their target was the opening created by the shuttle's crash-landing. "Tight formation everyone, I don't wanna see anyone splattered."

As they passed through the gaping hole, Delta Squad slowed down their thrusters before activating their mag boots. A cursory glance at their surroundings showed many of the yellow aliens floating around, along with a few of the turtle-creatures. All of them had been taken out by Charlie Squad, but the defenders taken their pound of flesh. Two of the Charlie's members were floating among the corpses in the hangar.

Following the route Charlie took, the N7 squad hit the switch to the airlock, and entered. The air was filled with a heavy, metallic hiss as the pressure began to normalize. "Active camouflage on, people," commanded Saul, as the machinery worked to fill the chamber with air, "We're here to find the bridge before moving in for a pincer. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can go Goldstein's and have a drink for everyone that's been lost today."

The rest of Delta Squad vocalized their agreement, as the active camouflage units bent the light around them. As the airlock opened, the N7 squad was treated to the carnage of Charlie Squad's entry into the ship. From what Saul could tell, immediately after they left the hangar, Charlie was ambushed by about ten yellow goblins commanded by a pair of turtles. Judging by how the area seemed to have been melted away, the situation was quickly resolved with a fusion grenade and a lot of covering fire. "Check your corners," commanded Saul, following the map with his handgun at the ready, "We don't know who survived the assault. But while we're at it, why don't we do the Marines and ourselves a favor, and kill anyone we run into?"

Stalking down the halls of the alien ship, Delta Squad moved silently. Several times, they'd run into a patrol of the yellow goblins, apparently running towards the Marines' position. As they passed by, the Squad opened fire on the aliens, before continuing on. The more of those little bastards we kill, the easier it is for us later, Saul thought wryly.

As they continued walking down the halls, Saul noted movement to the side. He raised his hand, silently ordering his team to take cover. They watched as two of the turtles lumbered past them, with something new in tow. This new alien resembled a half-naked, middle-aged human female. Five fingers and toes, protruding nose, plantigrade stance, even a generous bust that suggested she was a mother; however, that was where the resemblance ended. The woman had smooth, blue skin, no ears, and what looked like tentacles that swept back from her face in place of hair. Her clothes were tattered, and she wore what looked like a high-tech collar around her neck.

Whoever she was, the turtles were taking care not to injure her even as they argued with each other.

"We're not going to follow them are we?" whispered a member of the squad. Saul turned his attention to the speaker. He knew that East-Indian twang anywhere, even with the helmet on; and he'd been on enough missions with the Exo woman to recognize it.

"Why not, Lakshmi?" asked Saul, "They might lead us to the captain. Besides, we've got confirmed prisoners on this ship; may as well start with rescuing this one."

The Exo woman scoffed, her mouth emulating an amused smile. "Just make sure you're not thinking with your pants, Saul."

"Of course not," he scoffed, before allowing a smirk to cross his lips. "Although now that you mention it, there are some obvious feminine characteristics…"

Lakshmi lolled her head, undoubtedly rolling her eyes under the helmet. "Lead the way."

Delta Squad followed the trio carefully, keeping a far enough distance to avoid having their footsteps heard, while still having their targets within spotting distance. Throughout the pursuit, they watched as the turtles slowed down from time to time, arguing with each other in that booming language they spoke in. Once in a while, the larger one would headbutt the smaller one, shutting the latter up whenever an argument was fermented.

It took all the patience in Saul's body to resist shooting the turtles in the head with Invictus. He constantly reminded himself that they were the most convenient way of finding the bridge, and Delta Squad didn't have time to waste getting lost in the ship. Still, it was bothersome listening to them argue over Traveler knows what. Barring that, he knew how much more annoying it was for Lakshmi; the woman practically lived to drink the blood of her enemies.

After almost twenty minutes of arguments, the turtles came upon a pair of double-doors that parted to allow them passage. From what Saul saw, there were a lot of the yellow goblins running around in that room, being coordinated by the few turtles that were in there. In addition, he noted that one particular turtle was sitting on a seat high above the rest of the action going on in the room.

A triumphant smirk found its way on his features. "Looks like we found the right place," he said on the intercom, "One way in, one way out. We're gonna have to do this fast and hard if we're gonna take the bridge."

"How are we going to in?" asked Lakshmi, the eagerness in her voice apparent.

Saul wore a wicked smile on his face as he contemplated the best way to breach the CIC. "Everyone, stack up by the door, we're turning off the lights. Get some thermite spray ready, and some flashbangs for maximum effect."

Thermite spray was a substance that included active thermite particles to create a paint-like substance contained in an aerosol can. The substance behaved like painting primer while wet, allowing the surface that it coated to mount the small computer that would ignite the thermite. Overall, a favored breaching tool for special forces and SWAT units everywhere when a loud approach was needed, or the only option.

…

[Krogan Cruiser Pain-Bringer, Bridge]

Shenk watched the battle unfold before his eyes as the attackers held their ground. It had been about an hour since they had started the siege, and the aliens were still not budging from the mass effect core. As much as he admired their determination, something just didn't add up about their strategy. Instead of planting a bomb on the core and holding position, all it would've taken for them to finish this fight was to storm the bridge. Something's wrong with this picture, he mused to himself, What am I missing…?

The sound of the door opening behind him distracted Shenk from that train of thought. "Captain, we've brought her."

The old Warlord turned to regard the newcomers on the bridge. Flanked on both sides was the very person he wanted on hand. Riala was an Asari that had seen more than her fair share of ill fortune; from what Shenk understood, she was a survivor from the Lorek Incident. When the conflict started, she came out of retirement as a Huntress to defend the former Asari world. Apparently, she and her fireteam had given the Batarians about a month's worth of trouble before they were finally caught and auctioned off. For that reason, Riala and her team were known by the Batarians as the "Lorek She-devils."

"What do you want now, Shenk?" asked the Huntress. In spite of all that had happened to her, Riala had remained defiant. It was as though whatever hopelessness she had was consumed with something else he couldn't identify.

"I want you to come and watch this," he said, turning his attention back to the viewscreen.

"And why should I?" She scoffed, narrowing her eyes into a glare.

The two Krogan handled her gently enough so as to avoid breaking any bones, bringing her closer to the screen. "Hey! Watch it you…" Whatever imprecations Riala had on her mind had come to a halt as she watched the entire fight play out. Her trained and experienced eyes processing the events as they unfolded, as her curiosity overrode whatever hate she had for her captors.

"Who are they?" she finally asked resentfully.

"A race of attackers that came to the defense of a Quarian patrol ship we've been chasing," answered Shenk, watching as one of the soldiers was gunned down with a Graal spike, "They have slain many of the crew, and wield combustion guns with about the same strength as mass accelerators. For some reason, they've chosen to hole up in the mass effect core, and planted a bomb on it."

Both the captain and the prisoner continued to silently analyze the fight for a minute before Riala hitched a breath. "What?"

"Shenk, how long has that siege been going on?"

"Just over an hour," he answered, "Why?"

Shenk watched as Riala began to process the time frame she'd been given. He could see the gears turning in her head as she seemed to contemplate the siege, a knowing smirk growing on her lips. "Answer me, bitch! Why are you asking?!" he suddenly shouted.

Before anything else could be said, the lights in the bridge had gone out. Shenk soon found himself in a pitch black CIC with only the stars outside the window.

"Computers are down!" shouted a Krogan crewmember.

"Captain, we're blind!" barked another.

The sound of hissing and the scent of burning metal filled the air as everyone turned their attention to the door, watching as it started glowing orange. Most of the bridge immediately went for their sidearms, while the guards readied shotguns and assault rifles at the door. As the door finally melted down, everyone held their fire. There was only one entrance into the bridge, a design that would serve to bottleneck the enemy infiltrators.

Before anyone could pull the trigger, a slender arm quickly swung out into the open, prompting the entire bridge to open fire. The arm threw something into the room before retracting back into cover; the item bounced several times before landing.

"Grenade!" shouted Shenk.

As everyone near the grenade jumped for cover, the last thing they would witness their world was a blinding flash filling their vision, and a deafening 'bang.'

…

[Outside the Bridge]

Saul and Delta Squad heard the sound of the aliens groaning as the flashbang filled the room. They'd switched their visors to Night Vision mode, and turned on their laser sights before pouring in through the door. The entire bridge was filled with goblins and turtles shambling around the bridge from disorientation.

However, as they stepped through the portal to begin cleaning up the rest of the bridge crew, they watched the blue alien steal a large handgun to put a few rounds in the turtles' heads. She then killed the largest one with his own pistol as everyone began to pepper the rest of the bridge crew with silenced armor-piercing ammunition.

As the lights turned back on, Delta Squad found themselves turning their weapons to the prisoner, who seemed to have taken the opportunity to free herself in the ensuing chaos. The large pistol she'd used to execute the captain was still smoking at the muzzle.

There was a tense silence between the woman, and the rest of the N7 unit as they stared each other down. She decided to break the tensions by dropping the pistol and gently raising her hands in a placating gesture. Saul could tell from the way she carried herself that this alien woman was a fighter. He sent a mental command to his armor to dismantle his helmet, allowing the pieces to unseal and store in the neckline. As they studied each other face-to-face, he could see her shock as her mouth almost hung open.

The entire Delta squad began to dismantle their helmets, revealing their faces to her. It was only when they got to Lakshmi and the other Exos in his squad that the alien woman began to freak out.

"Geth!" she shouted, reaching down for the pistol near her feet. In one quick movement, she aimed the pistol at Lakshmi's face. Saul's response was to bat the arm away before grabbing and twisting her wrist. In the same movement, he drew Invictus with his free hand, gently pressing the muzzle of his hand cannon under her chin. With a silent shake of the head for 'no', the woman slowly, but reluctantly surrendered to him.

"Amir," Saul answered, kicking the pistol away from her, "You and Wilson are gonna make sure the blue woman doesn't pull anything."

The two operatives nodded in assent before training their weapons on the blue woman.

"Saburo, contact the other squads, tell them the ship is ours," Saul continued, "And get the MEU commanders on the line; tell everybody we're getting ready for the final push."

"You got it," answered the N7.

As Saburo went to work on the communications suite, Saul turned his attention back to the alien woman that had just surrendered. She looked back at him with a curious look in her eyes; watching him carefully as he studied her in return.

…

[Marine Expeditionary Unit's Kill Box]

Indra panted as he walked over the bodies, the bayonet of his shotgun being used to finish off targets that were still alive. His next victim was a tortoise that had been shredded by the new sentry gun he'd been asked to try out. For good measure, the tortoises needed a lot of stabs to finish off.

"Sarge!" called Chen, "We've got a message on all channels: N7 cleared out the bridge, the ship's ours!"

Every marine cheered as the news was received. The ones who were still injured after the last wave of hostiles only managed to raise their arms in celebration.

"Don't celebrate, we're not done yet!" Indra barked, getting everyone's attention, "We still have to take care of the survivors."

"What are our orders?" asked Vladimir, loading another belt into his SAW.

"Whoever we have that's still good to fight are coming with me," Indra answered, "We're gonna move from here, then the N7 are gonna come from the opposite direction. After we mop up all the survivors, then we'll be done. ONI will send in their spooks to get this ship, we go back to Goldstein's for a drink, and then we can say hi to the other aliens later."

…

[Quarian Patrol Ship Merida, several hours ago]

Fate had not been kind to Captain Tala vas Merida for the past few days or so. After being sent to investigate a lead on a cache of new technology, Patrol Ship Merida arrived at a planet bordering on Batarian territory. Because of how much money a female Quarian or an Asari commanded on their auctions, she made sure that the crew was ready to fight back.

Their lead took them to an abandoned Batarian laboratory. Everything in the building was burned, but one of her crew had found a secret trap door containing a box filled with papers. Tala's chief engineer had used a translator app on his omni-tool to scan, then read them. What he found was that they contained the blueprints for a fusion reactor, something worth three Pilgrimages alone.

As they got back to the ship, hoping to return to the Migrant Fleet for a celebration, the Merida found herself under attack by a pair of Batarian patrol ships. At first, she was able to fight off the first two ships; within the span of an hour, two ships became ten, reinforced with a Frigate. From there, Tala ordered for a total retreat before more and larger ships came into the picture.

The Batarians had given up the chase after about a day; however, the Merida took some damage from that last scuffle. Still, she managed to whittle down the patrol ships down to about half their number before their crews decided it was not worth it anymore. The problem however, was that the chase had taken them so far out that it was hard to pinpoint the Fleet's current position.

Things got even worse after they were found by a Blood Pack cruiser. The captain of the ship was far more persistent in trying to capture them alive, chasing them down for about two or three days after that. The only good thing she found in that situation was that it was only one cruiser, and not an entire fleet.

Eventually, they had no choice but to jump into an inactive Mass Relay, hoping to lose their pursuers. It was technically a crime, but Tala couldn't care less for the Council's rules, not when her people and her ship was on the line. Not that it helped, as the Blood Pack cruiser followed them through, apparently determined for a quick payday or a good fight.

However, her luck began to change when an alien fleet approached from the nearby planet, and engaged the Blood Pack cruiser. It was composed of what looked like three destroyers, two cruisers, and a strange-looking dreadnought. Whoever these people were, they meant business; and from Tala's perspective, had just saved their lives.

As she watched the naval battle unfold, Tala witnessed the dreadnought open up the doors to large, boxy attachments at the sides, allowing twenty fighters to streak towards the cruiser. She was stunned to silence as the pilots of said fighters were dodging GARDIAN laser bolts, while making short work the cruiser's defenses. After doing enough damage to the Krogan ship, the fighters would then return to the dreadnought before promptly returning to continue fighting.

Most ships that Tala knew of carried a fighter or two at most, as the standard combat doctrine revolved around the dreadnought providing the heavy firepower. The very thought of a dreadnought dedicated specifically for transporting and unleashing many fighters upon the enemy was unthinkable to her. Not to mention wasteful, she thought to herself, in order to pull that off, these aliens would need a lot of resources that would be better-spent making proper dreadnoughts!

After leaving the fighters to harass the cruiser for more than a minute, the alien ships had moved close enough to fire their main guns. The rounds they fired smashed into the cruiser's armor, as well as taking out a few defenses. As they moved close enough, the smallest ships broke away from the fleet before moving to surround the cruiser.

While the Blood Pack was preoccupied, the dreadnought launched twelve larger and blockier craft than the fighters that caused a lot of trouble to the cruiser. From what Tala could tell, these 'shuttles' had a reinforced front end, as well as large and powerful engines. They all closed in on the cruiser while the destroyers surrounded and engaged the cruiser, firing their broadside weapons at the larger ship.

In response to the onslaught by the enemy ships, the Krogan cruiser opened fire with all its remaining armaments. Tala watched as some of the rounds from the cruiser managed to hit the destroyers with its heavy mass accelerators, the metal shards splashing against a bright blue energy field. The hull of the destroyers remained unscathed even as the Krogans put more rounds into it. Energy shields?! she thought, Just how advanced are these aliens?!

Eventually, one of the destroyers was hit by a mass driver round, dissipating the shield. As though capitalizing on the opportunity, the cruiser fired everything it had on the destroyer; even torpedoes. However, even as the point defenses managed to hit all of the torpedoes, many mass accelerator rounds slammed into the hull before it was finished off with a round from the mass driver. This did not stop the other two destroyers from firing at the cruiser however, as many of their rounds looked as though they were trying to totally disarm it.

"Lan, magnify by factor seven on that destroyer," ordered Tala, worried for the crew of the shipwreck. The sensor operator opened a new window on the viewscreen, allowing her a glimpse at what was going on with the ship that attempted to fight against the Krogan cruiser. She could see a number of escape pods dropping from the ship before activating their thrusters.

"Grikka, plot the trajectory of those escape pods," she ordered her navigator, "I want to know if there's anything we can do to save them."

Grikka rapidly keyed the data into his station. "They're trying to head for the larger ships; I think they can make it."

"Keep an eye on them, if any of them can't escape, we shall mount a rescue mission," answered Tala, sending the image of the escape pods to Grikka's station, "In the meantime, I need a view on the shuttles; I want to see what they're doing."

"I've got them now," answered Lan, "Sending you the video now."

As the new window appeared on her screen, Tala watched the shuttles as they closed in on the cruiser. As soon as they got close enough to the cruiser, their thrusters suddenly began to fire with greater intensity. It was as though they were going to… "Of course," she realized out loud, "The destroyers are a distraction for the shuttles to close in, and deploy troops into the cruiser!"

"But why?" asked one of the crewmembers.

"If I had to guess, these aliens probably want the cruiser intact for study," Tala surmised.

Tala watched in curiosity as the twelve shuttles streaked towards the cruiser; two of them were destroyed before they could get up to speed. She could only grip her seat tightly, watching helplessly as the debris floated in the dead of space. There's nothing we can do for them, she thought to herself, but I know what we can do.

"Is anything happening with the destroyer?" Tala finally asked.

"None, they're still dead in the water," answered Grikka, "And some of the escape pods have failed to activate their thrusters."

"The Krogan cruiser's fire is beginning to slow down," Lan announced, "So have the remaining alien destroyers!"

"Those bosh'tets must be too busy repelling the boarding parties to man the guns properly," Tala realized, as the destroyers moved out of the cruiser's range, "This is our opportunity to help. Take us to the destroyer, but move in slowly; we don't want the aliens to get the wrong idea. This is a First Contact scenario; if we can become friendly with these new aliens…" She didn't have to finish the thought; it was already in the crews' mind. The chance to make a new friend for the Migrant Fleet was in front of them, and it would be remiss of them to pass up such an opportunity.

[Alien Wreck, 45 minutes later]

As the Merida neared the shipwreck, she came to a slow halt between the remaining escape pods and the destroyer. The lights that had turned on was indication that there was still some power on the ship—likely from auxiliary generators. It was fortunate then, that

Lan had reported that the ship was not transmitting anything resembling an emergency signal; likely from having their communications systems being cut off in the destruction.

Standing at the ops table, flanked by two other Quarians, Tala looked at the map of the entire area. Their current position was situated between the cluster of escape pods, and the destroyer. If that's the case, then we need to move fast. Tala thought to herself.

"Sharla, take a team with you and a shuttle to save the escape pods," Tala began, "When you're done collecting them all, contact me and we'll all meet back at the Merida."

"Yes, Captain," answered a female Quarian with wave-patterns on her beige hood.

"Vigo and I will take a different shuttle," Tala continued, "We'll be boarding the destroyer, looking for more survivors." At this, she turned to the larger quarian with an armored suit. "If you must go in there armed, sidearms only. Other than that, make sure you have room for cutting tools and perhaps a surgical kit."

"Aye, aye Captain," Vigo answered.

"Time is not on our side," Tala continued, "There's no telling how much air those aliens have left, especially the escape pods. We must hurry, and show these aliens that we mean no harm. Our objective is to get all survivors we can find onto the ship, and bring them to their fleet. At the end of the day, I hope to earn the Flotilla a much-needed friend. Keelah se'lai."

Sharla and Vigo nodded, responding with a resounding 'keelah se'lai.'

…

A/N: And that's a wrap. A potential record for most words in a chapter I've done in a while…and on a pilot episode too.

Sol: Someone's been laazy~!

Kuro: What's so wrong about wanting to submit faster? Anyway, I give credit to Sol for keeping me straight on my facts…and for being a good shouting board for ideas. Go give his works a read, would you kindly?

Sol: Not going to acknowledge the elephant in the room, eh?

Kuro: I'm sure NorthSouthGorem has his reasons…

Sol: I mean Saul. Jackwagon.

Kuro: Ah yes, Saul is Soleneus's work, but much of the rest of the story is mine.

Sol: This Saul Dewitt is one of the many incarnations of one of my more well-known characters, who I've used in six stories, now. I have, very graciously, allowed my fine compatriot the use of my character…as long as I get to edit. Also, cake.

Kuro: And perhaps a double-espresso. Kurogane7 Out.

Sol: Stay Awesome. ~Soleneus

…

Cameos/References

Saul—Soleneus's character Saul DeWitt. As per usual, he rocks the revolver known as "Invictus."

The Warmind Vlad—his avatar is based on Vlad Tepes III, better-known as "Kazikli Voivode," (Impaler Lord) or "Dracula."

Peacemaker—Indra's hand cannon is named after the Colt Single Action Army revolver.

Erwin Veist—an OC I mentioned who will eventually found VEIST in this story.