SO FIRST PERSON FOR THIS STORY SUCKED. WE STICKING WITH THIRD PERSON. THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE EXPERIMENT. YOUR CHECK WILL BE SENT IN THE MAIL.

As u notice this chapter is a lot longer

And thank you for the criticisms. as for this story I am in a weird place. idk for this chapter I somehow found my motivation again but...idk I spend a lot of time and sometimes I think for what...I'm not sure. idk I like doing this but man, idk.

Anyway, I did take ur reviews into consideration and changed up the plot a little. So things will be different now...without the Prophet's lies.

Anyway, please still check out my star wars story STAR WAR: Knights of the New Republic. Please... I'll debase myself.

REVIEWS:

TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DONT LIKE THE FIRST PERSON, DON'T WORRY IT'S STAYING IN THIRD.

BUZ: Are you talking about that guy who called me retarded? I only curse out the ones who directly insult me, other than that I take in criticism. To a degree. AS for Lasky...no. But as for general repercussions just be patient.

Amadi238: Man, everyone jumps to conclusions. Just be patient. As for the covenant weapons, well...I may have worded wrong from my intent. My bad.

ZenithTempest: Don't feel bad, man. I appreciate it. Anyway, your point about Shepard... I both agree and disagree with it. Shepard and team can sometimes...take the spotlight, because in a way that's how they're...designed I guess (can't think of a better term.) I do seem to have trouble in past chapters trying to balance it out, and I am working on it. I mean I guess it's hard since like u said he is a PC, and, well...doesn't have a real, affirmative character. Though I try to form him more on a...paragon basis it is hard. I mean it's hard because he is a PC character based of the Player's choices. Idk can't really describe it. So anyway, give me more feedback on that and I'll see what I can do.

Chatus: In time my dude.

Guest (May 31): I feel like in terms of 'buffing' Mass Effect in terms of giving Cerberus tech is...well reasonable. I mean it will be explained how they acquired it and such, but I know that again Halo would overpower Mass Effect. Of course the playing field needs to be even. As long as it's reasonable if it makes sense. As for the mass effect soft numbers, well what you wrote I'll take into consideration.

TheDarkChronist: Fuck ya it's gonna have Qui-Gon and droids. But in any even thanks for the wishes.

zzzxxc1: You think so?

Chronus1326: Lmao I think everyone hated Florence at first. But thanks man I appreciate it.

Bisaster: Well, I think some people disagree with you that Shepard and his crew are silent antagonists... I mean there's some reviews like from Lord Razo and such saying that the UNSC and co are kinda the bad guys here, bulldozing their way in and not telling anyone what the fuck is going on. Idk, I mean both sides are kinda...antagonizing. But I get what you mean, just be patient my guy.

Unknown Location

Intercepted Communications. Dated August 23rd, 2557

- and where else would have they disappeared to?

/the implication is extraordinary. Impossible to decipher

-should our enemies gain wind of this… Our future shall be left uncertain.

/our home is already in shambles

-after this, there shall be no home

/orders, sir.

-mobilize our remaining fleet assets.

/and the humans?

-inform the shipmaster of shipmasters. They shall establish a basis of ignorance.

Aboard Citadel Station, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 21:09

September 5th

"-it's an ugly planet, a Reaper planet! -" the Asari reporter was interrupted as a UNSC Marine had to push by her carrying another wounded comrade on a liter. "UNSC Marine and Spartan forces of Marine Expeditionary Force One and Spartan Ninth Fleet Detachment aided by Geth infantry of the First Outersolar Assault Corps, and Turian forces of the forty-third marine division are making their way towards the Cypris Airfield, now under Reaper occupation for three months-"

Flashes of orange light in the background of the battlefield less than fifty-meters ahead blinded the camera for a moment as UNSC marines headed forward to reinforce the frontline.

"Thank you, Keri." The show host said as it cut back to the studio. A young female Human with Asiatic features sat behind a pristine white desk. A light red background sat behind her, filled with pictures of the ongoing battle, "Citadel News Network has just received a flash update. With the UNSC Infinity absent from the Palaven theater, a UNSC spokesmen, Lieutenant Alec Ryder, confirmed 'Battlegroup Cinder' of the UNSC Fifth Fleet will be reinforcing the Menae theater. Diana Allers will have the composition elements after the break. I'm Amy Wong with CNN."

Councilor Tevos wondered what would happen if they knew. If the billions of people in Citadel space knew that one of their own core worlds was destroyed in a fiery blast by their saviors.

Instinctively she took all the blame for what had happened. However, another part of her blamed her fellow peers, more so than usual. Briefly, for a moment, the Council all thought that the emergence of a second form of the Human species was merely an asset that could be controlled through Shepard. And in the end, Lord Hood was tired of reminding the Council the UNSC had their own will. Even after Lord Hood forced a...temporary suspension of the Council, Tevos really didn't get it through her head until Matriarch Gendina sided with the Fleet Admiral. Who could blame Gendina? The Council's life was on a timer. And - Tevos was disgusted she had to remind herself of this - the galaxy was at stake.

The Councilor tried to hold it all together, this form of unity among the Citadel… And in the end it had only led them, only led Tevos specifically to a state of apathetic impartiality. Like a judge, trying to reign in magistrate justices and a jury who refused to listen. It was only a matter of time before the power of the court was overthrown, and the definition of justice changed when the playing field was altered.

Admittedly she hadn't expected Lord Hood to fully suspend the Council, but it got the point across. Eventually, if not by tomorrow, the Council will be quasi-reinstated in some direct, obedient administrative, bureaucratic and logistical role under Lord Hood. Civilian fleets, logistical supply lines, and the general bureaucracy of government ensured infantry got to the fight and the fleets were positioned where they needed to be. But the Council would be out of the limelight.

So, in a way, nothing would change. At least from her perspective. She's sure Councilor Sparatcus and Udina would describe it as some sort of coup as their military leaders aligned with Lord Hood. But a coup implied they were in power in the first place.

She tried to...ensure that this wasn't a struggle for power. Well, in a way it was, but for different reasons then what is shown in conventional history. This was a struggle for power because each opposing force was trying to do what they thought was right. But she could never see herself destroying a planet, killing billions for…what seemed like to cover an ancient 'Forerunner' artifact.

And yet they claim they were protecting them against a greater threat, one they wouldn't understand.

"We'd understand if you'd explain," Tevos said to herself. What other ancient horrors could await the rest of the galaxy?

In the public eye, the UNSC had inexhaustible resources. The UNSC had come to save them all.

Their very last point of leverage was, has always been Commander Shepard. But before she did anything she continued to watch CNN, Westerlund News, various other forums, watching every newscaster focus on the UNSC as they charged headfirst into battle. UNSC Marines and soldiers taking heavy casualties for what they had no stake in, at least no stake in for now.

She was sure that if Commander Shepard was in the same position he would've also stripped power away from the Council, handed it over to Admiral Hacket and any sensible military leader a long time ago. Commander Shepard… Well, he's always been a controversial figure. Both the right and left wing had acknowledged his heroics and unquestionable military record, but it was not made for politics.

How many times have they brought up his breach of the UCMJ and Citadel Regulations for Spectres, and he's the aggravation of a lot of dissidents on the extranet and…

Frankly, a mere political thorn.

But maybe there was another route. The Systems Alliance, along with the Turian Hierarchy (though less so) were the last organization left to have any sort of maneuverability. In terms of the hierarchical command structure, the Turian Hierarchy and Systems Alliance were integrating well. At least, that's what she heard. It didn't take long for Tevos to notice the classified briefings and reports had stopped coming her way.

As for the rest of the Citadel, Matriarch Gendina was still referring to Tevos and the civilian government in all her briefs. The problem was with suddenly declaring martial law was translating these civilian structures into a militarized status. Asari militaries relied heavily on the logistics of the micro-republics on Thessia. It'll take some weeks at a minimum for the UNSC to even begin to figure out how to utilize these small commando teams and fluid assault teams, if there was any need for them at all. These Spartans acted as a substitute for the commandos, and ODSTs were another substitute for the small, maneuverable Asari armies.

But it looked like the UNSC was in need of an espionage arm, if not...cannon fodder for areas they didn't want to risk their own troops.

"Councilor…" one of her aides said as she knocked and stepped right outside the door, "Councilor Udina would like to see you."

Tevos nodded. It's not like there was anything on the agenda today.

This was going to be good.

Without warning, Councilor Udina in his usual fashion stormed in without greeting or interruption. He stopped short of Tevos' desk, arms crossed, a very heated expression on his face.

"This is an outrage!" Udina shouted. "They can't do this! The political audacity to completely remove an institution and replace it for their own."

Tevos didn't say anything for a moment. She rubbed her forehead, and tiredly spoke, "an outrage to who? To you? Or your people?"

"To the Citadel! To a civilian government-" Tevos pretended to listen as Udina continued, because at this point he was grasping at straws. For him there was no true moral reason.

"There is no more civilian government, at least for the Systems Alliance," Tevos interrupted. "That died with Earth. What happened there, Councilor, was a coup. A rather peaceful one."

"A coup our military commanders had no choice but to join," Udina replied. "I've just spoken to Admiral Hackett and Anderson…"

"And they'd tell you what you wanted to hear, Councilor…" Tevos said as she rubbed away a dull headache that began to form. "They just don't want to be on the sidelines. They don't want the UNSC to sweep away any evidence. They don't care about you."

Udina shook his head, "you're taking this rather lightly."

"I'm being realistic." Tevos changed the channel to a Turian propaganda channel. Though they weren't as...transparent as the other news channels, they still were giving credit to the UNSC. "Once the strategic situation changes, and they muster their forces to retake Earth, think how many human lives will be saved.…"

Tevos thought to herself for a moment, leaned back in her office chair as she observed the career bureaucrat, "in fact, the UNSC could've made the situation a lot worse for us. Why didn't they go public with this? Why didn't they oust the Council? Why not announce their take over, that they're the good guys, make a speech that the Reapers will be defeated."

"Removing the Council? It would be too far in the eyes of the people," Udina replied.

"Have you not been paying attention to our approval numbers?" Tevos asked, "even before the war they were dropping like a rock as more Systems Alliance separatists supported and joined Cerberus. The UNSC is the last driving force on our side of the galaxy. If they play it right, they could make every Citadel citizen hang on their every word."

"More than likely not enough true political players in their organization to make that happen," Udina said as he grabbed a seat, placed it in front of Tevos' desk, and sat down. "This is how fascism rises."

Around three-hundred years ago the word 'fascism' had lost all meaning to Tevos when every opposing force used it to describe their enemy. "No, this is how a stratocracy rises. This is how a hero saves the day," Councilor Tevos corrected.

"Heroes who are trying to kill us!" Udina rejected, "They try to blow up your own world, and yet you defend them?" Udina went silent for a moment, glancing at the propaganda channel as they neglected to show the overall casualties.

"Have you heard what Shepard has done?" Udina suddenly said. "The UNSC is in arms… The Commander and his crew have run off with that Spartan group to Sanctuary to save that AI…"

She already knew the play. Shepard was out of the picture.

"Councilor," Tevos began, "at this point, we should do what's necessary to preserve our species, not our political clout-"

"I've spoken to Councilors Sparatcus and Valern," Udina said… And Tevos guessed she'll experience another coup today, and there's nothing she could do now but…

She debated informing the UNSC. The consequences would be absolutely unknown. She couldn't believe that Udina believed he was pushed to desperation. If he thought this was desperate…

"The UNSC's presence in the past month has freed up dozens upon dozens of Spectre squads…" Udina said, "if we deploy them to Sanctuary we can scope up whatever intel we can before the UNSC sanitizes it. But according to Avitus Rix, who's been placed in charge of the operation, a mission this scale requires infantry support-"

"That would come in the form of Asari commandos?" Tevos finished. "And if they come into contact with UNSC troops, which they most likely will, what is the plan?"

"Shepard seems to have it figured out," Udina said, as if anything the Commander did right now affected this newly hatched mission. "This will help us get back on our feet…"

"And save billions of lives," Tevos again, finished, "from the UNSC."

"At the very least make us understand why they nearly destroyed Thessia…"

"And who's to say they're done?" Tevos turned back to the television and used her Omni-tool to flip through every news channel she could think of. Each one was only discussing the various war fronts involving the UNSC. "Notice anything?"

Udina picked up on it, "no one is discussing Thessia…"

"Information blackout," Tevos said. "More than likely approved and enforced by Asari High Command. Shepard stopped them only once."

"Which could mean-"

"Thessia is the process of being destroyed," Tevos said, "once it is, no informational blackout will keep it hidden…And that's possibly why the UNSC hasn't ousted us. At least one possibility. They either need someone to sooth it over, or, more likely, someone to blame."

"How would they blame us?" Udina asked.

"Well…" Tevos said as she thought for a moment, "One way would be to blame the artifact. The UNSC was trying to stop, the Council intervenes in a misunderstanding…"

"That could never work…" Udina said. "We could provide direct counter-evidence, testimony from Commander Shepard."

"Commander Shepard isn't a UNSC asset," Tevos replied. "He's not indispensable."

"For a moment, let's say we have the higher hand…" Udina moved on, not even wanting to think about that. "Do you think whatever the UNSC is trying to hide...is worth losing all of their public support?"

"That implies two things," Tevos answered. "Losing public support will also dissipate their military support. In the future when a group of Asari soldiers kills a group of UNSC marines in some form of vengeance, it'll be the least of the UNSC's worries. Theoretics is one thing, but once Thessia is actually destroyed..."

"Which in essence answers my question…"

"This thing is far more dangerous and powerful than we could ever possibly know," Tevos said. "That's what you're not looking at. The UNSC would not just blow up a planet for no reason. This isn't about sanitization."

"So you are trying to justify the death of billions of your own people?"

"I'm trying to understand the reasoning, Councilor," Tevos calmly said. It's not as if these billions of people were dying right now in this war. "If we want to facilitate true communications this will certainly not help."

"Do you truly believe the UNSC will ever see us as equals?" Udina asked.

No. But sometimes playing the game is the best way to achieve some sort of progress, be it even against the will of the UNSC. Shepard was already en route to try to work something out. He wouldn't work against the Council, despite the passively hostile history. Still, who knows why they took those Spartans.

Udina was impatient, yes, but this simply seems like a ploy to regain control of (first at least) their own military. And even if Matriarch Gendina and Asari High Command was now in official control of the military and the remnants of the Republic, Tevos would have no trouble finding some disgruntled Matriarch to hand over a commando battalion.

This was a drastic step. She wasn't even sure what Udina and the other councilors were planning to do. Subvert the UNSC, learn what they could, and then what? Confront them? Intel on how to maneuver?

But Udina had to know Tevos would be the...reasonable one. The one with the most doubts. The one who might go to the UNSC out of pure principle. Udina wouldn't approach her without one-hundred percent confidence that she'll say yes.

"What have you done, Councilor?" Tevos whispered.

"What we had to do, Councilor, to ensure our people are safe…" Udina replied

Aboard UNSC Infinity

Slipspace jump to Horizon, en route

2557 Military Calendar, 02:47

September 8th

Roland had to fill Captain Florence in on the fly as Captain Lasky had to balance knocking out the kinks in this op while maintaining order among fifty-three ships. A lot of it had to do with logistics and personnel. Battered from known, fifth echelon, the logistics ship, barely had enough supplies to maintain themselves, much less the Battlegroup. Without the logistics group, Dakota could barely maintain a continuous long-range firefight for maybe a day at most.

As for personnel, everyone was just going to have to deal with the exhaustion. The problem was Infinity's marine detachment had sustained heavy casualties. Marines had to be peeled off from Citadel security. To say it's fucked was an understatement.

"ALL HANDS! NOW HERE THIS! GENERAL QUARTERS! GENERAL QUARTERS! ALL MARINE AND NAVAL AVIATORS MAN YOUR PLANES! MAN YOUR PLANES!" Captain Florence yelled on the ship horn.

Precision slipspace jump, one-hundred kilometers above thermosphere. Infinity will punch through and dive just below the ozone layer while the rest of Battle Group Dakota would create a geometric defensive perimeter in high exosphere in a geosynchronous orbit. Fifth echelon, the logistics group plus the medical cruiser, will act as a tether between the Infinity and the rest of the Battle Group.

"Two minutes till we enter the AO!" Roland announced.

Captain Lasky looked one last time at the topographic survey. Cerberus blacked out the site, not only by unconventional means but by traditional ways also. Most likely with the help of ONI, Cerberus was able to knockout quite a few Citadel recon satellites.

But based on the information they had, the outskirts of the city were mostly made of refugee camps. Most of the Cerberus facilities, including the 'official' refugee holds, were in the center, guarded by AA armaments. The outer camps and inner facilities were separated by a wall. Sanctuary itself was placed along a river, right on the mouth of a bay.

With civilians possibly mixed in, things would be dicey.

Inner cordon would have to be established right outside the Cerberus facilities. Outer cordon…

Mammoths. Deployed across the river to establish the outer cordon about a few hundred meters away from the inner cordon will send the message for civilians to stay away.

"And HIGHCOM didn't want us to recon this place," Lasky said.

"There's a good reason, Captain. We just gotta make do," Captain Florence pulled up a holo-graphic display of Commander Palmer. "Commander, how're the Spartans doin'?"

"We're green and good to go. On your word, XO." Palmer reported.

"Good-ta-fuckin go," Captain Florence had proven himself to be a capable XO. He followed orders to the letter and cleared the sludge when Captain Lasky gave orders. If Lasky had any grips (so far) it was that, well, Florence sounded more like a marine then a professional sailor. "You know the drill. Retrieve any intel and artifacts. Anything that can't be moved, burn to the fucking ground.

"Skipper, order of deployment?" The XO asked Lasky.

"Spartan IIIs and IIs as near to the main facilities as humanly possible. Spartan-IVs to establish the inner cordon. ODSTs and mammoths on the outer cordon."

"Copy," Florence said as he inputted orders.

"Entering the AO NOW!" Roland said.

Immediately the ship rumbled and Captain Florence felt gravity shoot forward as the Infinity reentered realspace. A standard Earth-like surface of a habitable planet appeared on screen. Dark green and tan cutted continents and pools of dark blue lakes and oceans. The glass screen of the atmosphere gently covered the planet, housing groups of clouds and hurricanes.

Still, every planet was different in its own unique beauty.

"SKIPPER! PROWLERS REPORTING ENEMY CONTACT! HUNDRED-MILLION KLICKS OFF THE PORT BOW!" Roland reported. "Multiple Covenant corvette-classes. All within striking distance. They're also reading a massive tropical depression in the Sanctuary Area. Tropic storm approaching the AO, estimated time forty minutes."

Lasky got on the blue-shift scope. About a dozen heavy SDV-corvettes near the planet's moon. That's it. The remains of the Cerberus Covenant fleet.

"Take Infinity to ground. Battle Group Dakota will mop them up," Lasky ordered.

"Captain, we're receiving a horn," Roland reported. "Cerberus. Priority."

Lasky eyed Florence, questioning whether to put it through.

"Maybe their putting up the white flag," Florence said, half-jokingly.

"Put it through," Lasky said.

On the holo-table, a familiar face appeared. He immediately took a drag of his cigarette and looked to Skipper.

"It's been a while," Captain Lasky said.

"Illusive Man," Captain Florence added, "you're at the top of the UNSC's shitlist."

"Captain Florence, Lasky," the Illusive Man said, "I would say, Captain Florence, that you're also at the top of ours."

"Fuckin' tight," Florence responded.

"I suggest all UNSC forces leave this place," the Illusive Man continued. "You're dealing with something you don't fully understand, and we are currently trying to contain it."

"What are you doing down there?" Lasky asked.

"Doing our best to save Humanity, Captain. You believe HIGHCOM are the trustworthy ones, but in reality they are just as evil as you believe we are."

"You go against HIGHCOM, you go against the UNSC," Captain Florence retorted. "You go against the UNSC, you're fucking over Humanity."

"Surrender now. Even with ONI's help, you can't win this," Captain Lasky said. "Where's the Master Chief and his team? Where's Commander Shepard.

"ONI? That's the biggest fable you've been led to believe. As for your friends..." The Illusive Man tossed his cigarette off screen and walked away, deactivating his hologram.

...

"THIS IS THE XO! NOW HERE THIS! ALL MARINE AND SPARTAN REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAMS PREPARE FOR DROP! WE ARE ENTERING THE AO!"

The XO's voice continued to blast orders on the ship's horn as marine ground teams sprinted to their designated Mammoths. Task Force Assassins, now redesigned to support the Spartan Teams, boarded dozens of Mammoths by the hundreds. Half of the boots, the new guys in the unit, hadn't even been to drop/recon school. Mere grunts cross-designated as 'ODSTs' wearing drop gear and armor. The other half were mere boot PFCs and Lance Criminals straight outta drop school without a single real combat drop on their belt. And the third half were salty lances and junior-ranked NCOs peeled off from various ODST, recon, and Special Forces battalions from all corners of the Marine Corps. With their high priority mission, the Corps was giving the 19th Battalion and Infinity detachment everything it had. The Marine Corps would make do with what they had.

A sea of black armor, now painted a dull urban grey to match the environment, divided into groups and sprinted into the cargo holds of the mammoths organized in a single row. Combat service crews yelled orders and drop sequences, ordering marines into their drop sequences.

"COME ON YOU FILTHY APES! YOU WANNA LIVE FOREVER!?" Lieutenant… No, Captain Dubbo yelled out.

"All teams, standby!" A mammoth crewmember announced as Marines strapped into their seats while cargo crews loaded up a Scorpion. Once the clamps in the interior cargo hold strapped down on the treads of the tank, the mammoth began to roll into their designated Albatrosses.

Captain Dubbo entered last, slowly looked around the cargo hold at the marines of Battle Company, ODST Infinity detachment.

"We are going in with the first wave. Means more baddies for us to kill. You smash that entire area, you kill everything that ain't human. You put it into the fuckin' ground, rah?"

"RAH, SIR!" The company screamed back.

"ALL YOU BOOTS WHO WANTED TO SEE ALIENS UP CLOSE," Dubbo said, remembering his first tour of combat, "THIS IS YOUR LUCKY DAY!"

Dubbo took his seat, next to Lance Corporal Amos, Lieutenant Lucciano (he's new XO), Doc Özlem, and Staff Sergeant O'Brien, the newly designated battalion gunny. He clipped on his helmet.

The vic shook as the hanger doors of the ship opened and Albatrosses exited towards the planet surface. Instead of the gravitational shift of the usual downwards drop, his weight shifted towards the backend of the mammoth. It made him sick.

"Riogt, mates," Dubbo announced to the other ODSTs. "Listen to your NCOs! Keep your head down and you will make it back alive!"

He's expecting the usual. Heavily fortified murder holes supported by well placed arty. Mini-MAC should knock 'em out.

"Standby, Marines, entering the atmosphere. Once we hit the ozone layer, sixty seconds to reestablish communications." The same crewmember announced.

"All teams, standby. Picking up heavy turbulence," radio chatter announced. "Incoming AA fire, recalculate trajectory!"

Dropping in the middle of the river. Part of Dubbo wanted to see those Spartan-IIs and IIIs in action, but well…

He's just worried about the Master Chief.

Aboard SSV Normandy, inbound to Horizon, 2186 Citadel Calendar, 06:42

September 6th

Time is a mere number in the military. Shepard was slowly feeling it, but he had to pull through. Liara quickly drank her second cup of coffee while simultaneously rubbing the tiredness away from her face. The hum of the ship was deafening as Shepard strapped on his armor to his undersuit. Liara stood next to him, clipping on Armax arsenal reinforced kevlar pads. Unusual for her. Unusual for us all as the team strapped on nearly fifty pounds of extra gear, mostly in the form of Kevlar and SAPI plates. All of it was coated in exterior alloy metal patterned with eezo dispensers to increase the strength of their kinetic barriers.. The team determined that if they were to get hit by plasma, or if a large amount of residue splashed on them, the thick armor would buy them time to strip it off. It would buy them time and vastly reduce the chance of injury.

Still, it felt unnatural to strap on the large amount of kevlar drago skin. Shepard strapped on a plate carrier. Liara secured her SAPI plates. Their loadout was a lot heavier than usual to say the least.

But in the end all of this was….theoretical. Across the cargo hold, Blue Team and the Arbiter readied up. They cautiously approached the team, waiting for the brief.

"We only have one working transport. Once we hit the ground, we'll have limited firesupport." Shepard announced.

"Topographic scans are only preliminary," EDI began, "the outskirts of the city are mostly made of refugee camps. In the center is the Cerberus facility, guarded by AA armaments. It all lays in the center of a tropical forest."

"This is one of the last strongholds for Cerberus," Shepard added. "We're here to scavenge whatever information we can to add to Miranda's files. Long Night. Halo. Anything on ONI and Cerberus."

"Your inexperience shall be your downfall," the Arbiter said, articulating Shepard's thoughts. "Is now the time for division?"

"And we're supposed to trust you guys?" Wrex asked.

"To be fair, ya'll put one of us in the hospital." Fred replied.

"And you'll just slow us down," the Chief added. He wasn't hostile, more so grounded and realistic. "We can recon the area and provide tactical information, but we're going in."

With that the Spartans headed back to their side of the cargo hold without another word. The Arbiter slowly followed behind.

The Commander sighed, and finished getting on his armor, clipped on the straps. With the increased weight it'll be hard to keep up with a long engagement. He clipped on his Black Widow and Carnifex weapons block, along with a Lotus submachine gun. Close quarters were expected, but inspired by the UNSC weapons drop, Tali had developed something close to it. Hot boxes she had called them. They can be fit into Normandy's probes and outfitted with whatever gear and supplies they need, launched as low as troposphere.

Hopefully they won't be down there for that long.

"Shore party, standby," Joker announced. "Communications are blacked out. AA guns look offline."

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Wrex said as he cocked his claymore. "How do you wanna play this, Commander?"

"We stick together, stay stacked and clear out this facility room by room," Shepard ordered. "We're taking no chances. Grunt, you, Kasumi and Samara are running our casevac procedures. We're relying on you to get our casualties and any others we find in there out. James, you and your team are on rear security. Ashley will be with Cortez and provide overwatch.

"Everyone knows their role. We can do this. Watch out for each other, and if we get separated stick to your team leaders!"

The frigate rumbled as the cargo hold door opened and revealed clusters of makeshift buildings and facilities...burning. Fires spread about, reenacting scenes upon the surface of Thessia and Illium. In the clear blue sky, sunlight pierced through the tropical storm clouds.

"Don't tell me ONI torched and burned everything already," Grunt said.

"With a limited amount of time, you wouldn't pull off a demolition op like this," Miranda said. "Especially not one so sloppy."

It looked more like a warzone than a demolition op. Crushed vehicles and rows of burning buildings dressed the refugee city. The river was clogged with debris and pools of leaked oil and liquid eezo. Upturned Cerberus Grizzlies and Hammerheads dotted the makeshift, shanty streets.

"You're the Cerberus expert here. You wanna be the pathfinder?" Shepard asked.

"If you insist," Miranda said as she adjusted her armor. "I assume I'm being volunteered?"

"Oh, you assume," Grunt stepped forward, "just make sure you don't lead us to a death trap."

The Normandy lowered onto an open plaza once dotted with grass gardens, trees, and an artificial pond. Three-storied buildings created the walls laced with walkways and bridges. Now, neon-orange fire bursted out of tech panels and astray pipes. The empty spaces were filled with debris, an overturned Cerberus shuttles, and...bodies. Dozens of bodies. Civilians. Cerberus soldiers. And a Spartan….

"Let's move!" The Master Chief said without hesitation. Following behind Blue Team, shore party disembarked onto the deck. Weapons raised and checking all corners, the team moved dead slow. Up ahead was a high-rise building. Alliance styled architecture.

The deceased Spartan laid in the center. Shepard could already tell it wasn't Cerberus. UNSC ones were a lot less bulkier than Cerberus' without any exoskeletal attachments or mechanical-based augmentations. This Spartan had urban grey armor.

"ONI's?" Liara asked.

"More than likely…" Fred said as he kneeled down next to him. "Spartan-III. Slash marks across his chest…"

"From those Prometheans on Thessia?" Garrus asked.

"No. If it were it would be precise from a thin-edged blade. It looked like he was sloppy hacked through by sharp metal…" Fred peeled off a armor plate on the deceased Spartan's shoulder. "He's identity isn't in the UNSC database."

"Secret Spartan… UNSC or ONI?" Shepard asked. "Did the UNSC do all this?"

"If it's an unknown III, then more than likely it's ONI," Fred replied. "I'm not sure about your other question."

"I don't think this is UNSC," Garrus said as he kneeled over one of the Cerberus bodies. "Small puncture wounds, smaller exit wounds made by even smaller caliber rounds designed for penetration. Definitely from an eezo-based weapon." Garrus looked over to the rest of the debris. "And look. Neat little piles of ashes."

Reaper weapons or incendiary based weapons and abilities. More than likely it had to be incendiary weapons. A heavy Reaper presence without any Dragon's Teeth or air support of any kind? Not likely.

"Blamite puncture wounds," Linda said as she kneeled over another Cerberus soldier, "more than likely from a needle rifle. Micro-crystalline shards are still stuck in the wounds. Needle rifle is an older covie model."

So more than likely a Reaper presence, along with ONI. Still, in a way Shepard and his team partially assumed that ONI had sided with Cerberus. Both organizations don't seem like the kind to have allies, more like variables to be manipulated and utilized until they're no longer useful.

And it's certain that both sides knew what they were doing to one another. Shepard wondered who had the upper hand in the end. What advantage would ONI receive by giving Cerberus weapons?

"I thought the point of Sanctuary was that it's safe from the Reapers," the Chief said.

"By the looks of it, it was," Garrus replied.

"Why don't we find some Cerberus and ask them," Wrex added.

Without word, Shepard's team moved up. Each member kept a few meters apart, forming a fluid column and keeping a sector of fire that was specified in the brief yesterday. Shepard had the front. Miranda was on his right shoulder, barrel of the weapon right next to his ear as she covered the immediate flank. Blue Team stayed on their outer right flank, holding their own sectors of fire.

More scenes of silent destruction laid before them. The Arbiter halted for a moment, staring at a group of dead Cerberus engineers.

"Elite blood?" Fred said as he peered down from his sector, rifle still raised.

Bright blue dried liquid with low viscosity had splattered against the debris and surrounding the various dead engineers. No Sangheili bodies. No modified Spartans, or UNSC or Covenant tech among the dead.

"If Long Night of Solstice was a ship, does that mean there were surviving crew members?" Miranda asked.

"The ship was separated from its center," the Arbiter replied. "Such a feat astounded the High Council at the time. If anyone survived aboard, such a feat would also be astounding…"

The Long Night was a type of Covenant carrier, nearly twenty-eight kilometers long (which Shepard could not even imagine…). Tens of thousands of people were...consumed in subspace, along with a seemingly infinite supply of Covenant weapons and vehicles. At the very least, maybe Cerberus didn't have to re-engineer anything. It was already all set.

The path of destruction grew narrower, seemingly leading them to the front entrance of what looked like a reception center for refugees. Rubble and various bodies lined the side of the path.

Shepard guessed that while unspoken, it was decided that both teams would stick together for now. At the very least, until Blue Team found some lead on Cortana.

Shepard raised his hand, halting for the team to stop. The Master Chief did the same. Directly up ahead is a distinct body lying on top of a large mound of rubble. Regular Cerberus trooper. Bright red blood was splattered on his armor, but it didn't look like it was from any wound.

"I assume it marks their first line of fire," the Chief quietly said.

"The path has been getting narrower for a while," Shepard replied.

"Dead body for a marker?" Wrex said, "not even the Krogan would do that."

"Really? Not even the Krogan?" Liara repeated.

"Ya, it's too obvious," Wrex said as he maintained the outer right flank. "It'd be easier to use a small pile of rocks or some natural marker."

"Thus this is a warning…" the Arbiter said with certainty.

Not like all the bodies and debris were a warning in the first place.

"Well," Grunt began, "this mission just got a lot-"

"Shut it," Tali groaned.

"Please God, don't say it," James added.

"Just, no." Garrus finished.

"Ashley, what're you seeing in the air?" Shepard said on comms.

"More empty streets up ahead. It looks all clear up to the reception building," Ashley said as the transport shuttle flew overhead. The noise of the thrusters was comforting. "Infrared's coming up negative. This isn't an ambush."

"Ladies first," the Chief quipped.

...

No one said anything to Shepard or his team, but the elongated, black scorch marks along the walls (which could be mistaken for anything) suggested Forerunner beam weapons. The marks themselves were concentrated, with no distorted ash remains or streaks. However, a shot from a Forerunner sentinel would be steady. These ones were all over the place. Erratic. They were fired by people.

Watching Shepard's crew was like watching a Marine team. Stripped of their shields and armor certainly leaves them at a disadvantage, and it looked like they were being overly cautious as Blue Team pushed and cleared at a faster rate.

Once both teams passed the body marker they were left in another plaza. A very open plaza with no cover or defilade for fifty yards. From the cover of the enclosed area before the plaza, they sent one person at a time while everyone else provided cover in synchronous sectors of fire. Fred went first. He made it to the walls of the reception center in less than a couple seconds.

"SET!" He screamed over to the two teams.

One by one they moved forward while everyone provided cover in synchronous sectors of fire. Overall it took about twenty minutes to get everyone across. The entire time the Arbiter looked impatient.

The Chief forgot the usual Elite tactics were to simply charge and overwhelm.

"We'll coordinate with the Normandy to get you sonar scans of the interior, Commander," Ashley said as the shuttle passed by. "We'll circle around back."

"EDI, scan what you can for now," Shepard ordered.

"Roger that, Commander," EDI said as she covered the team's back left flank.

Shepard opened up his Omni-tool and began to slowly hack the entrance door. The Master Chief stepped forward. With one kick he shattered the low-grade bullet proof glass.

"I guess stealth isn't an option," Shepard said.

"I think your shuttle gave it away," the Chief said as he pushed forward, "sir."

"Ehhh… He's got a point, Commander," Garrus said.

Inside was a massive plaza dozens of blocks in length and width and a few stories in height. The plaza was separated into sections by bridges, reception rooms and stations, small artificial lakes and flower beds and control rooms. Glass ceilings allowed light to pour into the room. The moment the Master Chief entered he could tell that not only was this area designed to house large numbers of people, but also to serve as a defensive stronghold. Directly in front of them was a massive killzone where teams of troops stationed on the nearby bridges and on top of the reception centers would rain down machine gun fire along with various types of fire discipline. Each flower bed, placed around one-hundred yards away from the entrance doors, not only served as distance markers but also direct cover for ground teams.

Still, the enemy didn't seem to plan for the plethora of crashed repurposed Phantoms and destroyed… Hammerhead tanks the Chief believed they were called. Again though, like the debris outside it cut off the plaza into sections, purposely leading them into a chokepoint.

And again it's almost…

Too obvious.

"AMBUSH!" Shepard yelled, coming to the same conclusion.

To their credit, Shepard's team reacted instantly, scrambling for cover. But they couldn't move as fast as the Spartans or the Elite before the first needler round came down.

The Chief didn't see who it hit, only that she started to scream and one of Shepard's teammates had to drag her out of the line of fire.

"Single sniper! Two-hundred yards, elevated position. Needler rifle!" Linda reported as she checked the chamber of her sniper rifle to make sure the round properly cycled through. "Probably not the only one."

And if there's only one shooter...

The Chief's not sure why… Maybe it was instinct or training that compelled him to do it. He yelled out "COMMANDER! THEY WANT US HERE! THEY"RE BOXING US IN!"

Commander Shepard had been more focused on the causality. The Chief still couldn't see who it was.

And the Chief knew the first thing to do was break the box. Blue Team had taken cover behind a downed Cerberus Phantom. The Chief began to climb, digging his hands into the metal and pushed towards the top of the phantom. Just as Linda said, more snipers began to open fire. Needles hit the shields, nearly knocking it down to zero. The Spartan jumped down and sprinted to defilade, being a nearby reception center. Linda, Fred and the Arbiter stayed close behind.

Finally, the Chief caught a glimpse of the enemy. Cerberus engineers inside the nearby reception center. They already established a machine gun position, and it looked like they were about to fire rockets.

UNSC rockets.

The Chief unsheathed his battle rifle and fired at the nearest engineer. His shields went down instantly. Aiming at his head, he immediately fell to the floor. Another engineer got on the gun, firing too late as the team got into defilade. The Arbiter activated his energy sword, immediately charging in and slicing off the barrel of the weapons emplacement. Only three engineers left. They were cut down. The Arbiter impaled the last one, lifted him into the air and tossed him away.

"Surprised we haven't seen Cerberus Spartans yet," Fred said.

"I don't have enfilade. We need another position to set up shop to take out those snipers," Linda said.

Behind the Phantom, Shepard's team was pinned down as more needler rounds began to hit their position.

The other engineer team placed at the other reception center opposite of this one began to bombard the position with rockets. One rocket flew off towards the sniper's direction, misdirected by biotics.

Fred was right. No Cerberus Spartans, and overall this was an extremely ragtag ambush.

Blue Team broke through the opposite glass of the reception center, entering into another section of the plaza. More artificial lakes and garden beds. He only noticed all the civilian casualties when he accidentally stepped on a body.

"Jesus…" Linda said.

Bodies. All were burned. To cinders and ash. The small amounts of wind had pushed blackened ash that had once been their skin to cover the entire floor.

And there had to be thousands of people here, as the plaza stretched farther and farther until it was engulfed by distant sunlight.

"Spartan…" the Arbiter said, "there are few reasons why bodies would be burned as so."

"Focus up, we need to knock out those snipers," the Chief nodded to Linda. She pushed forward, kicking through dozens of bodies as she tried to find the perfect position.

A flower bed, at a thirty-degree angle from where the needle rounds were coming from. The snipers were positioned on a bridge, using shards of metal as cover.

Linda quickly placed the mount of the rifle on the edge of the bed. She tied the sling around her hand as she gripped the lower rail and tightened the sling. She fired one round, let the recoil settle on the rifle and fired another.

The needler rounds instantly stopped.

"That's it?" Fred asked.

"Just the two of them. They made themselves seem like they had larger numbers," Linda said.

"Well, they should have larger numbers…" Fred added.

Shepard's team immediately joined up with the Chief once it was all clear. The causality was Miranda. She had been hit directly in the femoral artery. Medi-gel had plugged up the wound and she was wearing a tourniquet wrapped around her upper thigh for good measure. The remaining kevlar gear around her leg was stained dark red.

"So much for the fuckin' armor…" She said as she limped forward, "the round pierced right...through…"

The team halted when they saw all the bodies. Saw the ash mix in with smoke from a distant crashed Cerberus shuttle…

"...What the hell happened?" Wrex asked.

"Oh, my God.." Shepard was abrely able to say. Shore party didn't move. They were frozen.

The plaza began to shake as a screeching sound ignited up above. A large electronic boom traveled across the area.

"We heard that sound before, on Illium," Tali said.

Above, a CCS-battlecruiser traveled half-a-kilometer off the deck and blocked out the sunlight. From the nearby tower, Cerberus shuttles took off, traveling towards the cruiser.

"A lot more survivors than we thought," Liara said. "With the Covenant ship's capabilities…"

"They're going to wipe this place out," the Chief said. "Sanitation."

"And they couldn't just take a black highlighter and write over all the important parts," Garrus said. "Whatever's here even Cerberus is trying to run away from."

There was a contradicting loud screaming sound, a magnetic screech that the Chief was all too familiar with.

The sound of a MAC cannon firing.

A MAC round pierced exactly at the weak point of the cruiser, right at the neck. At this distance, the shields took most of the impact. Still, the round made a solid impact, piercing purple metal, engulfed in plasma fire.

"I think the topographic scans would've picked up on that UNSC MAC gun," Shepard said.

"I think my question is why are they firing on their own," Wrex said. "Reapers don't know how to operate enemy tech, would they?"

"Who else would?" Shepard asked.

"These bodies tell a story of their own," the Arbiter said. "They were trying to prevent the spread of something…"

"This place, Sanctuary…" Miranda said as she cautiously took off the tourniquet. "Cerberus recruited refugees into soldiers. It's how they were able to raise their numbers."

"And when you say recruit…?" Fred said.

"Take a guess," Miranda looked around. "Whatever happened, I guess Cerberus wanted to tie up lose ends.

One of the Cerberus transports was hit by something. Reaper Harvester round. The shuttle crashed down and the subsequent Harvester flew above only a couple of feet away from the glass ceiling.

"I guess we just reignited the fire," Garrus commented. "What do you think they're trying to stop spreading?"

The Chief didn't think about what the Arbiter said. Frankly, he didn't want to because it's impossible.

More than likely, based on the Forerunner weapon scorches, maybe there's another answer to why all these bodies were burned.

...

The CSS-cruiser activated one of its two cleansing beams, firing on the MAC gun position so far away. Still, an evacuation like this, even if only ten thousand survivors made it, would take hours utilizing shuttles this small.

"Ashley! What's the situation out there!" Shepard yelled on comms.

"We had to push back to the Normandy!" Ashley reported, "we've gone dark, but we're seeing a lot of Reaper small arms fire on the surface. Looks like you kicked the hornet's nest, Commander!"

Confirmed Reaper presence. So why are there no Reaper ships?

Both teams, covering every possible sector of fire and checking every possible place of defilade moved forward. A slow trout as they made their way to what looked like the plaza control tower that overlooked the refugee processing area.

And they still encountered hundreds of burned bodies…. Shepard had never seen anything like this. Maybe in the Collector harvesting sector, and most definitely...in that dream. This though...

The longer this war goes on, the more horror he sees. The more memories he'll have for the rest of his life.

He saw two still bodies that were sitting against the wall of a flower bed. A mother...trying to shield her child…

"White phosphorus by the looks of it," Fred commented, seemingly unaffected. "Judging by the decay, I'd say this happened a couple days ago."

No one said anything. No one needed to as their helmets filtered out the ashes of the deceased. Shepard didn't even want to think about the smell.

It was a quiet breach into the control room. More ashes. Ashes without a source. Reaper remains along with the bodies of a few rank-and-file Cerberus assault troopers.

They traveled up multiple flights of steps, Shepard's rifle raised as he held it above, checking the high sector of fire. As they reached the main control room, Shepard heard a faint voice. A recorded voice. It was deep, gargled, and speaking in an unknown language.

The control room itself looked similar to a flight control tower, filled to the brim with computers and a view of the processing plaza. Three dead Cerberus officers lied on the floor. Off to the side was a terminal, screaming with static and that gargled voice.

"Tali, can you clear it up?" Shepard asked.

"On it," she opened up her Omni-tool to try and repair the damaged terminal.

"These panels are access controls," Kasumi said as she scoured the holo-panels along with Garrus and James. "Wall controls, gun emplacement controls… All at zero percent….

"Lake entrance access…" James said, "handprint secured access only."

"Well, here's your handprint," Grunt said as he lifted up one of the bodies.

"There's something here…" the terminal said in a heavy Australian accent as Tali cleared it up. The screen was still static. "The experiments, even I am not allowed access to some of them."

"It's him…" Miranda said.

"Who's him?"

The Spartans weren't paying attention, viewing the various controls to try and find some clue to Cortana's whereabouts.

"My father…" Miranda quietly said as she tapped on the terminal in an attempt to clear up the static.

"The work we're doing however, shall help the Human race…" her father said. "The sacrifices made here will pave the way-"

"This is dated back three weeks ago, before the Menae invasion," Miranda said. "My father worked up here… The historical record shows...phosphorus cleansing procedures authorized…"

White phosphorus was banned by the Systems Alliance long before humanity had ever come into contact with the Turians. A sticky, scorching hot residue that melts right through skin and nearly all forms of solid metal. It's crude and atrocious, and more importantly, it's outdated.

"Have you seen anything like this?" Shepard had to say aloud as he looked out to the floors filled with bodies of ash… It was like…

The forest.

"Kinda…" Fred replied, "Covenant glassing would have a similar effect…"

"Go back two days ago," the Chief interrupted as he pointed to the records log.

"It's been sanitized. Nearest record is...Christ, one from a week ago and one from two months ago… Both are heavily encrypted," she said. Shepard looked over Miranda's shoulder. The first record was the day the mass radio signal went out through the entire galaxy. "Standby," she opened up her Omni-tool, accessing a particular Cerberus file.

"There's another reason why the UNSC is building so many ships," a female's voice said on the terminal. "It's an empty shell."

"That's Admiral Osman's voice, isn't it?" Liara asked. She looked to the Spartans. The Chief slowly nodded.

It confirms what they already know. ONI had known about Cerberus long before the UNSC ever knew this side of the galaxy even existed.

"You've seen the power surges in the tech then?" Miranda's father responded.

"Yes, and I'm not sure why I'm talking to you about them," Osman replied.

"My boss is a busy man," he said.

"I'm sure," there was a brief pause. Shepard could hear shuffling sounds as stacks of papers were moved. "Things are soon coming to ahead. Next time I want to speak to your boss."

"Don't flatter yourself, Admiral," he said. "You're not our only ally in the galaxy."

The first recording ended. Miranda immediately switched to the second log.

"Something has happened!" Her father shouted. There were more shuffling sounds. Something was screaming in the background, "Miranda, I know your listening, I know you hacked our systems. If you receive this, I am sorry. I know it doesn't-"

There was a loud crashing sound. Miranda's father came back on the line, out of breath, "Orinda's safe. That I promise. If you find this message, leave immediately. This place is far more dangerous than-"

Miranda didn't say anything. For once she looked...baffled. Lost for words. It was only for a moment, maybe even less than that before she began to clench her fist and grit her teeth. The wound seemed to cauterize, leaving bloodstains on her grey Armax kevlar.

"Bastard! Fucking bastard has Oriana!" She said aloud. She brought out her Lotus and armed up, "she's here. I know it! We gotta-" one step forward, too forcefully and angled, and she grimaced as she bent down and pressed her inner thigh, "fuckin' bollocks."

"Why would they bring Cortana here, knowing the facility has been compromised?" The Chief asked, ignoring her outburst.

"Lord Hood said the UNSC deployed special ops teams to investigate Cerberus facilities. Have they made Cerberus this desperate?" Liara said.

Fred slowly turned to the Chief. The Lieutenant shrugged, "We never received any word on any intel teams. Al we now is that HIGHCOM had deployed them."

That was...strange. So far it seemed as if the UNSC were...cohesive with their Spartans compared to the rest of their naval branch.

"And Captain Lasky?" Shepard asked.

"I don't think he was told either," Fred answered. "He told us Infinity were deploying Prowlers in a force recon composition."

...That means the UNSC had no intel on this place.

Shepard glanced at Liara. Lasky had to have enemy composition and recon reports of any kind immediately, sooner than possible, because without that he wouldn't be able to form a plan at all. They were going in blind when supposedly Cerberus had been pushed this far? This was one of their largest facilities and the UNSC had never touched it?

"Was there any reason Lasky told you to wait to deploy with the main force?" Liara asked. "Wouldn't it be more successful to deploy maneuverable teams similar to us?"

"Well, again HIGHCOM assumed the worse, so they prepared for the worse. A lot of Spartans gathered," Fred answered confidentially.

"Then...wouldn't they deploy teams, again similar to you or us, to at the very least scout the area?" Liara asked, "it isn't as if we are lacking in any stealth ships."

Fred wasn't sure what to say at first. He stumbled over words as he slowly chose them very carefully, "Captain Lasky reported that HIGHCOM didn't want anyone touching the site before the invasion. HIGHCOM had something planned."

Liara tapped Shepard's shoulder, tip-toeing to whisper into his ear, "that means the UNSC wasn't here at all… But the waiting? The show of force?"

"They never touched this site," Shepard said. "Sounds like this whole place has been pre-sited."

Fred only shrugged. It seemed Shepard and Liara already got everything he knew about the situation.

The UNSC had never been here despite this place being one of the top Cerberus facilities. Yet it almost seemed like they knew what was going on here.

"Commander, we don't have all the answers for you," Fred said. "You wanna find out more, we gotta keep moving through this facility before Cerberus begins to glass the entire place."

They weren't wrong. Shore Party had secured the building. Shepard looked to Miranda. She's gripping her leg, doing her best to show she could still keep going, that she wasn't going to slow anyone down.

Shepard knew who she worked, and he knew how much self-animosity he'll cause by sitting her out, but there's no other choice.

They're barely into the facility, already one causality.

She was beginning to see his decision as she observed his face, "I gotta be there for Oriana. I'm fine, Commander."

"Grunt…" Shepard said to the Krogan, near the entrance providing security. " Things will get dicey. Another team will hold this area in case we need a quick escape."

Miranda cursed under her breath. Wrex grabbed the hand of one of the officers, lifted up to the terminal handprint, "I swear if this shit works."

As he placed the hand on the terminal, the center of the holding area began to slowly divide into a ravine. The water from the local pond fountains began to slowly drain. Illuminated metallic grey walls covered in systems of pipes were revealed. The ravine grew to maybe around three-hundred meters and twenty meters in depth. Rows of pods connected to the wall systems emerged from the lake bonds. The carcasses and ashy remains began to disperse or fall over into the ravine.

"Almost looks like cryo-chamber," Fred commented.

"We need to move," the Chief said.