Halo - Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Systems Alliance gets an upgrade ❯ New Alliances and Enemies ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: charly120 
Non Anime: Halo - Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 05.26.2015 | Pages: 18 | Words: 11.4K | Visits: 133 | Status: Work In Progress
Non Anime: Halo - Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 05.26.2015 | Pages: 18 | Words: 11.4K | Visits: 133 | Status: Work In Progress
SAMC- Systems Alliance Marine
Corps
SAN- Systems Alliance Navy
SA- Systems Alliance
SOI- School of Infantry
DI-&nbs p;Drill Instructor
IT- Incentive Training
Pvt- Private
Lcpl- Lance Corporal
Cpl- Corporal
Sgt- Sergeant
I wrote dates down for when important things happen in this universe I honestly didn't want to write story
for all of them but later&nb sp;on some of them will be mentioned.
Chapter 5 New Alliances and New Enemies.
2157.06.29
Serpents Nebula
Councilor Chambers
Councilor&nbs p;Tevos sat in her office with Athena waiting for Adm iral Hackett to return from Khar'Shan. She
still had no idea what to do with humanity. The power they wielded upset the balance of power and she
knew it. She was lost in thought until Athena called her a ttention.
"Do you know where suleem is?" Athena asked Tevos. She wanted to see if the asari would play hide and
seek with her again.
"I'm sorry but I&n bsp;don't little one", Tevos told her. She reached in to her desk and pulled out a data pad to
put a vid on for the little girl. "Do you like Blasto?" she asked turning it on,
Athena took the&nbs p;data pad from Tevos and started to watch the vid. She found it horribly cheesy but funny
in an annoying way. Just then she saw Sparatus enter the office h e looked at her then turned to Tevos.
"She should not be here", Sparatus spat at Tevos.
"That&nb sp;is not your decision to make Sparatus" she calmly told the turian.
Sparatus then felt a hard object hit the back of his head. He turned and saw that Athena had thrown her
data pad at him.
"I have every right to be here, war is no place for a child" Athena yelled&nb sp;at the alien in front of her. She
was starting to not like this guy. Ever sense Hackett had left this man had been an ass to her.
Sparatus' mandibles twitched in agitation he turned and stormed out of Tevos' office.
"Little one, you should not have thrown that at Sparatus" Tevos light ly chastised Athena.
Athena sat o n the couch looking down at her hands, "I know he just makes me so mad".
Tevos thought a moment before getting up from her desk and walked over to Athena. "If I threw things at
Sparatus every time he made me mad&nb sp;I'd have nothing left" she told Athena.
Athena looked at Tevos questioningly, "But you could just throw him around with you r Biotics".
Laughing at the thought&nbs p;of tossing Sparatus around Tevos told Athena that that wasn't the way to deal
with him.
Tevos Residence
Commando Quarters
Anderson had his Marines up and all gear staged at 0430 after he had received word that Hackett would
be back to begin proper negotiations with the council later in ;the day. He sent a squad of Marines with
Athena and Tevos when they left for the councilor's office.
"Lt. Anderson, the spy program we have been running is ready for retrieval" one of the Marines quietly
passed the information to the lieutenant.
Anderson looked around making sure that no one was around before having his ;intel Marine retrieve the
AI from its hidden location in the terminal by the door. "Make sure to keep it hidden, we don't need the
council to find out about this tech" was all he said before Emela entered the quarters.
"Is everything okay?" she asked looking at the Marines gearing up.
"Yes just prep ping for retrieval, the Alliance should be here in a few hours" Anderson told the Asari
commando.
Emela couldn't sha ke the feeling that the humans where hiding something from her. She continued to
stare at Anderson, before she could say another word she was hit from behind by one of the marines who
was in a rush.
"Shit I didn't mean to run your ass over Ma'am" the Marine said while helping the asari up then looking at Anderson. "The alliance is here, orders are to report&n bsp;to docks by C-Sec" he said to the Lt before going to
grab the rest of his gear.
Anderson didn't even need to tell the Marines to get moving. They had already started moving for the
door when the word had been passed. He snapped off a crisp salute to the asari commando before
following his Marines out the hatch.
Harsa System
Khar' Sha n
Hackett stood on the batarian home world surveying the waste land it had become. Walking around he
would see the occasional dead body still yet to be recovered.&nb sp;With a sigh he finally turned around and
made his way towards the pelican waiting to take him back to the SSV Missouri and ultimately the
citadel.
Samantha was waiting for Hackett by the time he had&nb sp;made it back to the bridge. "The politicians have
arrived" she said in an annoyed tone.
"Lovely, guess they couldn't wait to kiss my ass" Hackett&nb sp;deadpanned.
"Guess not" the AI responded dryly.
Hackett looked at the AI noting that she loathed politicians just as much as he did. "What is our eta on
returning to the citadel to begin proper negotiations?"
"Just say the word and were off to see the wizard" Samantha said turning around.
"Then let's get this goat rope started" Hackett quipped l ooking out in to the void before Samantha
activated the slip space drive.
Citadel tower
Council Chambers
"AI's are illegal in citadel space" both Sparatus and Valern said in unison once the Alliance revealed
Samantha's existence.
"She is just one o f many that we have" Hackett said before the politicians could bend over even farther.
Councilor Tevos watched the holographic image of the AI the humans referred to as Samantha.
"Samantha, do you have anything to say?" she finally asked.
"Yes I do councilor" the AI responded before being cut off by sparatus
"Yes let's hear what the AI has to say" the turian councilor spat.&nbs p;
Samantha ignored the turian's comment and continued. "AI's in the System Alliance are not like the geth
that the Quarians created. We are created to be sentient from the get go, believe it or not we have
emotions. I know right from wrong and would rather be destroyed then cause harm to my creators". Samantha stopped talking when it was obvious that two of the three councilors were ignoring her.
Turning t o Hackett she told him to retrieve her.
"Now that that abomination is gone we can continue" sparatus told the alliance representatives.
Valern waited for Sparatus to finish his outburst before mentioning the treaty of farix en. "According to
this treaty, the Alliance has violated the terms. No one race can have more than one dreadnought" he told
the humans.
"Well I guess it's a good thing we haven't signed that treaty, a lot of good it did you with the Batarians"
Cole spoke up. "Don't quote things if y'all can't follow them yourselves".&nbs p;
"YOU DO NOT GET TO SPEAK T O US LIKE THAT" Sparatus yelled at Cole. "Your species needs to
learn its place-"
Cole looked at the turian before calmly cutting him off,& nbsp;"The last time I heard that humanity was almost
drove to extinction"
The whole room went quite with everyone looking at Cole .
"Hackett get Samantha out here" Cole ordered before continuing, "I'm going to show you a recording
from the UNSC Everest, the ship the alliance discovered in orbit of Jupiter".
Samantha reappeared while Cole was explaining what the UNSC was and where he came from. She saw
the Turian scoff at the fleet admiral. She interrupted him before he could say anything "Fleet Admiral
Cole, you wanted me?"
"Yes Samantha, please bring up the covenant assault on Reach" Cole said looking at the AI.
Samantha paused for less than a second before finding the requested file. She hacked the terminals trough
out the chamber and began to play the recording.
Tevos stood watching the video as a species she had never seen indiscriminately gun down humans.
"What is the Covenant?" she asked.
"A race of aliens hell bent on the extinction of the human race, thankfully they do not exist in this galaxy"
Cole responded.
"Nice fabrication humans" Sparatus said not paying attention to the video. "I see no reason to keep talking
to these Aliens" he finished.
Cole ignored the councilors and turned to the negotiators in the group. "What are you planning" he asked.
The lead negotiator nervously looked at Cole before respond ing that they wanted to agree to the council's
demands. They just had to wait ;for confirmation from the Alliance senate.
The councilors finally asked if the Systems Alliance would agree to the councils demands.
Hackett and Cole didn't have to wait long before Samantha delivered the Alliances response. Both
admirals couldn't help but laugh at the mortified looks on the negotiator's faces.
"What is so funny" Sparatus growled at the two laughing military officers.
"Samantha could you please relay the Alliances response", Cole said before calling up the contingent of
Marines.
Samantha forwarded the Alliances response as well as a history of the Battle of the Buldge and Brigadier
General Anthony C. McAuliffe to each councilor.
To the Citadel council.
NUTS!
The Systems Alliance.
Sparatus stared at the m essage, confused at its meaning. He looked at Tevos and Valern who had gotten
the same message. "What is the meaning of this message?" he asked the Alliance.
Hackett calmly resp onded that it's a short way of saying go to hell.
Cole spoke as he turned to leave "the Alliance will maintain peace so long as the citadel shows no
aggression towards us".
Sparatus was furious with the humans and immediately contacted the Hier archy once he returned to his
office. He told them what he knew of the humans and their military.
2157.08. 01
Sol System
SSV Missouri
It had been a little over a month since the alliance had told the Citadel to practically fuck off. Since then
the SA had set up two mining colonies Euntanta, and Dobr ovlski. Recruitment had sky rocketed when
Cole returned. Hackett was pleased to see a new infinity class warship under construction above Mars.
"She's going to be stationed at Dobrovlski and her sister ship at Euntanata when they're completed", Cole
told Hackett as he was on his way down to the pelican bay.
Hacke tt figured that it would take another six or so months to finish building the ship and another two
years to start and finish her sister ship, since the mining colonies were producing the raw minerals needed
at an astonishing rate. He had already stationed four fleets totaling 70 vessels at Dorovlki a nd at Euntanta.
"What is the name of the new infinity class sir?" Hackett& nbsp;asked Cole.
"SSV Arizona and the S SV Midway" responded the fleet admiral, "we have plans to construct 100 more
vessels". He continued to tell Hackett as they both walked down the passage way.
"What's this I hear from the stick jockeys about new transports and attack craft?" Hackett continued to
question his friend.
Cole made a mental note to burn the rumor mill down before answering. "Yeah the UH-144 Falcon,
G79H-TC/MA Pelican, AV-22 SparrowHawk, AC-220 Gun ship, Skyhawk Fighter, and the B-65
Suborbital long rang bomber". He said to a shocked Hackett.
Hackett just whistled at what he heard. Granted he still had to see them but they sounded impressive.
"Well I better get going, fleet admira l business and all" Cole said regretfully. He hated that he was only
able to t alk to his friend while passing through the Missouri. "Next time you're on leave come by and visit
Steven".
Hackett stood and&n bsp;saluted Cole only dropping his salute after it was returned. "I'll definitely do that&nb sp;sir" he
replied accepting the invitation. Hackett knew that the next six months would be busy, with the Krogan
wanting to join the Syst em Alliance and the big wigs trying to broker a treaty with the queen of omega to
secure more materials.
Command Deck
SSV Missouri
Athena ran through the passage ways playing hide and seek with suleem. She was really excited that she
had chosen to stay with them. Giggling as she ran past a few confused officers on her way to her favorite
hiding spot in the armory.
Suleem knew that Athena would be headed for the armory so she decided to ambush the little girl. She
loved the little girl like her own, even teaching her asari ways of fighting. This game was one such lesson
to utilize her surroundings to her advantage. Hopefully her ambush today would teach the girl to become
unpredictable.
Sama ntha watched the two play their game of cat a nd mouse. Noting the underlining lesson that Suleem
was trying to teach Athena. Samantha was thankful for the lesson after she had found out that the alliance
was planning on augmenting Athena's generation on top of the genetic modifications if they enlisted. It
was only for the SAMC and the SAN. It still made Samantha happy since she had grown to like the little
girl, helping feed her curiosity of history. She knew more about tactics then all but the most seas oned
Marines aboard the Missouri.
Athena stopped&nbs p;at the end of the passage way that connected to the p-way leading&nb sp;to the armory. She
stuck her head out around the corner and saw Suleem preparin g an ambush for her by the armory. Athena
decided to double back and approach her from behind to surprise her. She was half way into her newest
plan when Suleem turned and floated her off the ground with her biotics.
"Nice try Athena but giggling will give you away every time", Suleem told the slightly disappointed
child.
"I'll& nbsp;get you next time" Athena said defiantly to Suleem.
Hearing this Suleem laughed releasing Athena from her biotics. "Let us go to clean up and get some
nourishment", Suleem said while offe ring her hand to the little girl.
Athena agreed and grabbed the hand offered to her. Athena then guided Suleem to the quarters that she
shared with her uncle Steven. "We can us the same shower one after the other", she said to Suleem.
Twenty minutes later th ey both headed down to the mess deck. Suleem grabbed an assortment of fruits
and nuts while Athena grabbed bread and some peanut butter and jelly packets. They bo th sat to eat with
Anderson and his squad with Suleem sitting next to Jackson and Athena choosing to sit next to Anderson.
"How come you don't eat at the officers mess sir?" Athena asked Anderson. The whole squad looked at
them.
Anderson looked down at the little girl with an amused expression on his face. "I choose to eat with my
Marines because I consider them my family. Unlike most officers I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm
bet ter than my Marines".
Athena looked up at him not saying a word. She had never heard another officer besides Uncle Steven
refer to other officers as arrogant. She decided quietly to herself that once she joined she would never
hold herself above those under her charge.
< br> 2159- Multiple element zero exposures, humanity will possess biotic individuals&nbs p;in around 16 years.
2160.10.21- Clan Urdnot joins the Alliance, Urdnot wrex returns and assumes control of clan urdnot.
2160.10 .22- The Alliance starts working on a cure for the Genophage, stations three fleets totaling 53
vessels in orbit of Tuchanka.
2161.01.05- Contact& nbsp;with Quarians established, ends in conflict due to the use of AI's.
2161.01.06- Aria T'Lo ak enters treaty with the SA. Alliance will move to protect Omega from council in
return for materials in& nbsp;the Omega Nebula.
2161.06.01- Contact&n bsp;with Geth established ends in peaceful parting of ways.
2161.08.29- Athena Chelse Shepard Attends the SAMC Academy. She is the oldest student in her class.
2 162.01.01- 12 new colonies are founded. Most notable is Eden Prime and Feros due to Prothean ruins.
2162.02.28- 8 new mining colonies begin mining raw material for ;production of ships and prefab units.
2162.03.01-2172.04.11- The systems alliance enjoys ten years of peace, Shepard Graduates SAMC
academy enlists in the SAMC.
2172.09.11
Paris Island S.C.
SAMC Boot Camp
"GET THE FUCK OFF MY BUS AND ON THOSE YELLOW FOOT ;STEPS" The Drill Instructor
bellowed at the new recruits.
Athena was the first off the bus and moving to get to the mentioned steps. She knew that the base
Commanding General&nbs p;was a friend of Fleet Admiral Hackett. So it was a very good bet that she was in for
a hellish three months.
The D.I. stood watching the new recruits arrange themselves on the yellow footsteps before getting their
attention.&n bsp;"You are standing in the very same spot as generations of Marines that came before you. From
now on the Corps owns your ass. On my order you will file in to the building to my left to receive your
issued gear and remove your civilian cloths".
Samantha almost missed the order she was eager to get this started. She was brought back to earth by the
D.I.'s voice telling her&nb sp;to move her ass into the building. She followed every order given to her as she
removed everything she owned and placed it in a mesh bag. She then moved to a ware house to have her
uniforms issued, it didn't bother her when she was told to strip down and get dressed by the numbers.
"From now on you will move as a unit, one of you fucks up everyone fucks up. This is your family for the
next&nbs p;three months so you better get used to one another." The D.I. looked straight at Athena as she said that.
The very next day Athena& nbsp;and the new recruits were marched to their training company to be introduced
to their actual Drill Instructors. She would always remember Black Friday with reverence. She didn't have
any trouble with the first phase of training, second phase involved genetic modifications as well as skin
and heavy bone weave augmentations. Some zero gravity training was given to the Marine recruits in this
phase, as well as the recruits l earning how to use their rifles. Even if they knew how they were going to
learn the Marine Corps way. Athena excelled at hand to hand combat d ue to Suleems training as she grew
up. It got to the point that only the instru ctors would spar with her. Third phase was the worst for Athena
since Fleet Admiral Hackett stopped by one day to say Hello.
"So recruit Shepard how is it you know the FLT&nb sp;Adm.?" The Kill Hat asked Athena.
Athena didn't hesitate with her response, "Flt Adm. Hackett Adopted this recruit after this& nbsp;recruits family
was killed in the attack on Elysium in 2156".
"You think that makes you special recruit?" came the next question.
"No ma'am this recruit does not believe that" Athena responded while the whole platoon looked at her in
disbelief.
The plat oon breaking bearing did not go unnoticed by the D.I. "WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU CUNT
SNEEZES PERMISSION TO ;LOOK, CLOSE YOU FUCKING COCK HOSLTERS ITS NOT&nbs p;
RAINING DICKS" she yelled at the female recruits.
Athena saw the D.I. turn and leave from her peripherals. She did not dare move until ordered to. The last
few weeks of Boot Camp had her constantly being called to the quarter&nbs p;deck for I.T.
2172.12.15
Graduat ion
Hackett stood looking at the fresh new Marine Pvt. He returned her salute before wrapping her in a hug.
"So Pvt you going to go on leave or did you need a lift to SOI east?"
"Sir I'd like a ride to SOI east. I don't want to go negative on my leave account". Athena told her Uncle
before going to go retrieve her sea bag.
Before Athena could step away she heard a familiar voice call out ;to her.
"Athena you look wonderful, hopefully my training helped you", Suleem said to catch the red headed
Marines attention.
Athena turned around and had a huge shit eating grin on her face. "Only ones that would spar with me
were the instructors".
Suleem&n bsp;laughed at hearing that. She looked around before leaning in and telling Athena that she and
Jackson were expecting a child.
"That's wonderful news Suleem, have you told anyone else" Shepard asked her former trainer
"Only Steven and David know outside of Jackson and myself" the now blushing asari told Athena.
"I ;am happy for you Suleem, I have to go get my sea bag and meet up with Flt Adm. Hackett", Athena
said motioning for the asari to follow her.
Hackett beat& nbsp;a hasty retreat back to his shuttle. He was really getting tired of saluting every ot her second.
It wasn't long before Athena located her sea bag. She grabbed it and swung it over her shoulder&nbs p;with
practiced ease then returned to Flt Adm. Hackett's shuttle. She completely ignored the flabbergasted looks
of the other Marines and officers as she casually en tered the shuttle with an asari.
Now that she was in an informal setting she could talk to her uncle like she used to. "Hey Uncle Steven,
how have you been?"
Hackett sighed before looking at Athena, "things with the Citadel Council are not going good. The Turian
Hierarchy is causing problems around our borders with Citadel space".
"The Turians are still pissed about being told to fuck&nbs p;off", Suleem quipped. This caused both Hackett and
Shepard to laugh.
Athena knew that she cou ld not talk about this with anyone since it had not been mentioned in the news.
So she decided to change the subject. "How long until we make it to SOI?" she asked the pilot.
"About 20 minutes Marine" the pilot responded.
"Good luck ;Athena" Hackett said as she got out of& nbsp;the shuttle.
Athena turned around smiled she quipped "after Suleems training I think I can handle SOI". After that she
turned and walked in to the receiving barracks.
Unbeknown st to Athena, Hackett had called in a few favors on the way over from Paris Island to have her
put in the next training battalion which would pick up on the 20th of December. The Alliance had
cancelled all holiday breaks in the training schedule since it was looking mo re and more like war was on
the horizon.
2172.12.20
SOI East
Athena stood at attention with Bravo company which was a coed training company. Some of the girls she
had gone to Boot with were still in receiving but they&nb sp;made sure word got out who she was. She ignored
the taunts of some of the other Marines. Others she made a mental note to look for them in CQC training.
One such Marine was Lcpl Thomas. He could not stand Shepard being placed in to the company by
higher ups. Thomas made sure she heard him whenever he was talking about her and how she needed the& nbsp;
Flt Adm to get her in to SOI. He even made an effort to get her attention when he started to talk about
CQC or hand to hand, letting her know he was going to enjoy putting her in her place.& nbsp;
The Platoon Sgt had been standing behind the plt and heard everything Thomas had said. He had been
stationed on the Missouri and immediately recognized who Shepard was. He knew she had trained with
an asari commando and Anderson's former squad of Marines. He didn't say& nbsp;anything to the rest of the plt,
he'd let them figure it out on their own. He planned on sticking them in the pit tomorrow to see where
they stood in hand to hand combat.
2172.12.21
0230 Armory
Battalion Forced March
Athena was excited to be receiving her brand new never been issued BR85HB battle rifle. She would
carry this weapon with her throughout her career. She was&nbs p;also being issued a M6E Magnum service
pistol. She laughed internally when she heard Thomas bitch about getting issued a ;M739 SAW as well as
an out dated MA1 Assault rifle.
The March was easy compared to what Suleem put Shepard thro ugh whenever they went planet side. The
only thing that bothered her was that Thomas kept trying to trip her. So when they finally reached the pit
she was excited to find out that she had in fact been paired with Thomas for H2H.
Thomas found out that he was going to be fight ing against Shepard and was smiling maniacally. He was
going to fuck her up and teach her that not even an Flt Adm could save her. He ran to the pit when the plt
sgt called his and Shepards name.
Shepard ran to the other end of the pit only being stopped by the plt sgt to be briefed that anything&nb sp;goes
unless it involved deadly force. She acknowledged the order and entered the pit.
The pit was a ten foot by twenty foot hole dug into the dirt and surrounded by sand bags and wooden
walls. The deck was covered with wood chips and the occasional tooth. There were places for everyone to
stand around the perimeter of the ring, to look down on the fight. The sun was the only source of light in
the ring.
Thomas heard the whistle and charged at Shepard. When he got within kicking range he lashed out to
kick her in the ribs. He did not expect her to grab his leg and pin it with her left arm before striking him in
the& nbsp;face breaking his nose before he could break her hold. He backed off and started to circle her, he
lunged at her again this time tackling her around the waist and on to the ground. Before he could press his
advantage he was knocked off of her when she hit&n bsp;him in the ear left ear with an open palm.
Once Shepard had knocked Thomas off of her she quickly pressed her advantage by bringing her elbow
into his gut before rolling to her feet. As she turned to& nbsp;face her opponent she saw him rushing&nb sp;her with
open arms. She struck him with an open palm heel strike to the jaw knocking him back momentarily. She
then punched him in the throat. Jumping back to av oid a right hook, she leapt back into the fight gra bbing
the back of his head and driving her right knee in to his groin.
Thomas was not expec ting to get punched in the throat. He blindly tossed out a right hook only to&nb sp;be
rewarded with a knee to his nuts. He refused to lose to this Admirals pet. He reached up and grabbed a
handful of Shepard's hair. Pulling her down he started to place repeated punches to her face. He then felt
Shepard reach up and grab his nuts.
Once Shepard noticed she could still get out of the hold Thom as had her in she took it. She reached up
between his legs grabbing his nuts she pulled and twisted them down. She heard a yelp of pain and
Thomas let her g o. While she was still holding his nuts she struck him in the throat again before kicking
his knee. This caused him to fall to a kneeling position and Athena landed a kick to the side of his head
knocking him out.
;
The whistle sounded and corpsmen ran in to retrieve the unconscious Thomas. Shepard ran out of the pit
and returned to her gear.
The plt sgt looked down in the pit at the mess that once was Thomas. It took everything he had not to
laugh at the thrashing the arrogant little shit had received. He expected great things from Shepard in the
future. He made her a squad leader knowing she would excel at the position.
2173.02.16
Sol System
Earth Dry Docks
Shepard Graduated at the top of her class and was assigned to the SSV-Athens an autumn class heavy
cruiser. Athena had to emit that the ship had a certain beauty to it despite its unseemly appearan ce.
Her Co looked at her when she finally disembarked off&nbs p;the pelican. "Show her to her quarters" he barked
at the sgt to his left then turned around and left for the& nbsp;officer levels.
"I hate that dick head" the sgt told Shepard before showing her to a four man room. "This will be your
home, report to Cpl Wilson your squad leader. Then& nbsp;turn in your rifle to the armory, keep your pistol".
"Yes Sgt"&nb sp;Shepard said stowing her gear. She then headed to the armory to turn in her battle rifl e. Athena
ran into Cpl Wilson on her way to the armory and reported that she was his newest squad member.
"So you're the new boot, keep your rifle and get your armor meet in me in the briefing room next to the
loading bay". Cpl Wilson ordered before heading to the S1 office.
15 minutes later Athena was standing amongst 2nd squad in the briefing room. Everyone eyed her while
she made sure her omni blade functioned properly.
"Everyone this is Pvt Shepard, our new boot" Wilson said as he walked to the front of the briefing r oom.
"We got orders to check out a mining colony that went dark ;2 days ago on Klendathu" he continued
before anyone could introduce themselves to Shepard or give her any shit. "Chances are likely that the&nb sp;
colony knocked out its communications array again". Wilson finish ed his briefing grabbed his helmet and
secured his weapon to his back leaving for the hanger bay.
&nb sp;
2173.02.16
Klendathu
Klendathu System
"Get the comm tower working and get a warning out" one of the last living&nbs p;miners yelled at their
manager.
"The fucking thing is gone. It has been two days since the Alliance has heard from us. They'll send a unit < br> out". The manager said trying to calm the last of the miners down.
The group heard screeching down the passageway from one of the strange creatures. It had forced the
final door separation the min er from the creatures was compromised.
The Colony AI made several log entries a bout this new species. They were vicious and it took a shit load
of rounds to take them down. They appeared to have no weaknesses save for one at the base of their
massive pincer like mouths. These creatures had yellow and black stripes. They walked on four legs and
had two sword like mandibles that were used to deadly effect. The AI watched in horror as the last of the
minors were mercilessly slaughtered.
2173.02.18
SSV -Athens
Orbit of Klendathu
"Pelica n SA-117MC you are cleared to launch", the flight officer on the bridge finally gave clearance to
Wilsons squad.
"Roger, flight control" The pilot who's call sign was ;Zeus responded. "Sir we'll be ground side in about 15
minutes".
"Show m e what you can make this G-79H dance". Cpl Wilson told the pilot before turning to head back
to his squad. He looked at each Marine who were checking their weapons and gauntlets over for
malfunctions.
"Cpl, the comm tower is missing, and it looks like a slaughter house down their", the pilot ;said over the
radio.
Wilson furrowed&nb sp;his brow in confusion. How did a 200 foot tower just go missing, who attacked the
mining colony? He thought to himself. "Acknowledged circle around the LZ look for survivors".
The pilot did as the Cpl asked and only found more red blood and body parts covering the deck. He
spotted some weird looking creatures slumped on the ground with green blood puddled around them.
Shepard examined her BR85HB-Battle Rifle one last time. She had brought extra blocks of titanium that
Hackett had sent her from the egg heads in R&D. He said that the blocks had been modified to burn off
enemy armor. She figured it would come in handy if shit went sideways which it sound ed like it would.
She loaded her rifle with the new ammo, as well as her MA5K carbine, M45E shotgun and M6E Magnum
pistol.
Wilson had seen to it that his entire squad had been given the new ammo blocks. Each member of his
squad carried four weapons, whether it be a rifle, SAW, pistol, sniper rifle. If they needed to they& nbsp;could
hold off an attack until either evac or reinforcem ents showed up.
"I'm putting down close to the command center then dusting off till you need me" the pilot informed
Wilson before he set the Pelican down.
Shepard was the first off the bird and saw the carnage that was once a mining colony. The stench of
copper and rotting flesh assaulted her senses even through the combat armor she wore. Athena saw a
bullet ridden corpse of some kind of animal she had never seen before. It had taken a huge amount of
damage before it fell. She placed her BR85 on her back and removed her M45E shotgun before calling
Wilson over to the corpse.
"Well ain't&nb sp;that just fucking lovely, let's get to the control room and find out wha t the fuck happened" he
ordered the squa d.
"Aye Cpl" was the only response he received.
Lcpl Johnson reached the hatch leading in to the building one deck below the command center. He saw
that it had been torn and ripped open by one of the bugs he guessed. He found a terminal and tried to see
if the AI was still active. Relief washed over him&n bsp;when a mining avatar appeared before him. "What
happened here?"
"We was attacked by some mighty big bugs, Hope y'all brought some really big boots to squash the
fella's" The AI answered.
Wilson heard what the AI said and snapped at it. "Cut the shit, you're a smart AI act like it."
"Very well, like I said we were attacked by an unknown species. I can give you all the footage and notes I
have on it" the AI told Wilson. "If you're planning on going to the command center I advise against it".
"Why?" asked the Cpl.
"It's destroyed, this happens to be one of two terminals that still work. All the miners are dead as well".
Wilson mentally cursed at the situation. He then heard movement coming down the passageway.
"Everyone check your sectors, we got what we came for fall back to the LZ now".
Johnson was the&nb sp;first to turn and fall back while the squad covered him. Before he could take two steps he
felt a horrible sheering pain go through his chest. He looked down and saw a bloody appendage sticking
out.
The ;whole squad saw the creature kill Johnson and opened fire on it. The new incendiary ammo seemed
to cause a lot of damage to it regardless of the combined assault of the ten remaining Marines.
Shepard had switched to her MA5K carbine to keep a steady stream of rounds heading down r ange
towards the hostile. She preferred to keep as much distance between her and it as possible. She pulled a
frag from her belt and primed it. "Frag out" she yelled as the other Marines beat a hasty ;retreat outside.
She followed just before the passage way became a green mess.
"Zeus, get your ass back here now. We need evac LZ is hot, I say again LZ is HOT" Wilson yelled into
the radio, while firing his weapon at another hostile that seemed to pop out of the ground.
"Roger I see you guys" the pilot responded as he gunned the engines of the pelican to recover the squad.
His gunner opened up on the hostile creatures to try and beat them back.
"Holy fucking shit, w-what are these&nb sp;things?" One of the Marines yelled putting shot after shot ;into the
pissed off creature.
Athena was in her element running from bug to bug. When one got to close to her she shot it repeatedly
then finished it off with her Omni blade.&nb sp;This caused her to get covered in green blood. She then got
stabbed in the left leg from behind and screamed in pain. Firing her carbine over her shoulder she&nbs p;killed
the bug before it could finish her off. Athena then cut the mandible from her would be killer and left the
appendage in.
Wilson saw Shepard get hit and was on his way to her aide when she killed the creature. She cut
something off and made her way to him. He noticed a black and yellow appendage sticking out of her left
leg. Grabbing her, he dragged her to the center of the LZ as t he pelican came in to a hover.
"I can still fight Cpl" Athena yelled at her squad leader. The other Marines were falling back to&nbs p;the
pelican under the rear gunners covering fire.
"Get i n the bird", Wilson yelled before turning to fire at another bug.
Athena finall y relented and boarded the pelican. She stayed on the ramp to provide covering fire for
Wilson so he could get on. Once he was on she heard him scream over the radio.
"FUCKING PUNCH IT" Wilson screamed in t he radio once he made it on to the pelican. The c rew chief
had already started to raise the ramp as he was practically jumping in.
The pelicans&nb sp;engines roared mightily burning a significant number of bugs as they sent the craft into the
sky.
Shepard sat on one of the canvas seats while the corpsman treated her wound.
"Nice souvenir you got there" the corpsman said pointing to the severed bug limb once he finished
"Hope I get to keep it" she responded as she looked at it. She leaned her head back on the bulkhead "I
fucked up" she sighed.
Once they were back on the ship Athena went to the med bay. They removed the alien limb, but not
before Athena insisted on being able to keep it. She had to wait four days while the med bay doc repaired
the damage to her leg. She left sporting a tender left leg and a severed souvenir.
Wilson was there to escort Shepard back to her quarters. He carried a plaque for her to mount her
souvenir on. The squad had bribed one of the engineers to make it, since she had proved herself to them.
Wilson handed the plaque to her once they reached her quarters.
Shepard took the plaque from Wilson and asked him to thank the squad for her. She read the inscription
and laughed at it.
To Athena "Exterminator" Shepard
We acknowledge your skill and appreciate you pulling our asses out of the&n bsp;fire, beers on us.
Second squad first platoon SAMC contingen t SSV-Athens
Athena placed the sev ered limb on the plaque grabbed a towel and hygiene gear then headed to the
community showers.
The&n bsp;last part of the chapter is supposed to be short. It was a recon mission.
SAN- Systems Alliance Navy
SA- Systems Alliance
SOI- School of Infantry
DI-&nbs p;Drill Instructor
IT- Incentive Training
Pvt- Private
Lcpl- Lance Corporal
Cpl- Corporal
Sgt- Sergeant
I wrote dates down for when important things happen in this universe I honestly didn't want to write story
for all of them but later&nb sp;on some of them will be mentioned.
Chapter 5 New Alliances and New Enemies.
2157.06.29
Serpents Nebula
Councilor Chambers
Councilor&nbs p;Tevos sat in her office with Athena waiting for Adm iral Hackett to return from Khar'Shan. She
still had no idea what to do with humanity. The power they wielded upset the balance of power and she
knew it. She was lost in thought until Athena called her a ttention.
"Do you know where suleem is?" Athena asked Tevos. She wanted to see if the asari would play hide and
seek with her again.
"I'm sorry but I&n bsp;don't little one", Tevos told her. She reached in to her desk and pulled out a data pad to
put a vid on for the little girl. "Do you like Blasto?" she asked turning it on,
Athena took the&nbs p;data pad from Tevos and started to watch the vid. She found it horribly cheesy but funny
in an annoying way. Just then she saw Sparatus enter the office h e looked at her then turned to Tevos.
"She should not be here", Sparatus spat at Tevos.
"That&nb sp;is not your decision to make Sparatus" she calmly told the turian.
Sparatus then felt a hard object hit the back of his head. He turned and saw that Athena had thrown her
data pad at him.
"I have every right to be here, war is no place for a child" Athena yelled&nb sp;at the alien in front of her. She
was starting to not like this guy. Ever sense Hackett had left this man had been an ass to her.
Sparatus' mandibles twitched in agitation he turned and stormed out of Tevos' office.
"Little one, you should not have thrown that at Sparatus" Tevos light ly chastised Athena.
Athena sat o n the couch looking down at her hands, "I know he just makes me so mad".
Tevos thought a moment before getting up from her desk and walked over to Athena. "If I threw things at
Sparatus every time he made me mad&nb sp;I'd have nothing left" she told Athena.
Athena looked at Tevos questioningly, "But you could just throw him around with you r Biotics".
Laughing at the thought&nbs p;of tossing Sparatus around Tevos told Athena that that wasn't the way to deal
with him.
Tevos Residence
Commando Quarters
Anderson had his Marines up and all gear staged at 0430 after he had received word that Hackett would
be back to begin proper negotiations with the council later in ;the day. He sent a squad of Marines with
Athena and Tevos when they left for the councilor's office.
"Lt. Anderson, the spy program we have been running is ready for retrieval" one of the Marines quietly
passed the information to the lieutenant.
Anderson looked around making sure that no one was around before having his ;intel Marine retrieve the
AI from its hidden location in the terminal by the door. "Make sure to keep it hidden, we don't need the
council to find out about this tech" was all he said before Emela entered the quarters.
"Is everything okay?" she asked looking at the Marines gearing up.
"Yes just prep ping for retrieval, the Alliance should be here in a few hours" Anderson told the Asari
commando.
Emela couldn't sha ke the feeling that the humans where hiding something from her. She continued to
stare at Anderson, before she could say another word she was hit from behind by one of the marines who
was in a rush.
"Shit I didn't mean to run your ass over Ma'am" the Marine said while helping the asari up then looking at Anderson. "The alliance is here, orders are to report&n bsp;to docks by C-Sec" he said to the Lt before going to
grab the rest of his gear.
Anderson didn't even need to tell the Marines to get moving. They had already started moving for the
door when the word had been passed. He snapped off a crisp salute to the asari commando before
following his Marines out the hatch.
Harsa System
Khar' Sha n
Hackett stood on the batarian home world surveying the waste land it had become. Walking around he
would see the occasional dead body still yet to be recovered.&nb sp;With a sigh he finally turned around and
made his way towards the pelican waiting to take him back to the SSV Missouri and ultimately the
citadel.
Samantha was waiting for Hackett by the time he had&nb sp;made it back to the bridge. "The politicians have
arrived" she said in an annoyed tone.
"Lovely, guess they couldn't wait to kiss my ass" Hackett&nb sp;deadpanned.
"Guess not" the AI responded dryly.
Hackett looked at the AI noting that she loathed politicians just as much as he did. "What is our eta on
returning to the citadel to begin proper negotiations?"
"Just say the word and were off to see the wizard" Samantha said turning around.
"Then let's get this goat rope started" Hackett quipped l ooking out in to the void before Samantha
activated the slip space drive.
Citadel tower
Council Chambers
"AI's are illegal in citadel space" both Sparatus and Valern said in unison once the Alliance revealed
Samantha's existence.
"She is just one o f many that we have" Hackett said before the politicians could bend over even farther.
Councilor Tevos watched the holographic image of the AI the humans referred to as Samantha.
"Samantha, do you have anything to say?" she finally asked.
"Yes I do councilor" the AI responded before being cut off by sparatus
"Yes let's hear what the AI has to say" the turian councilor spat.&nbs p;
Samantha ignored the turian's comment and continued. "AI's in the System Alliance are not like the geth
that the Quarians created. We are created to be sentient from the get go, believe it or not we have
emotions. I know right from wrong and would rather be destroyed then cause harm to my creators". Samantha stopped talking when it was obvious that two of the three councilors were ignoring her.
Turning t o Hackett she told him to retrieve her.
"Now that that abomination is gone we can continue" sparatus told the alliance representatives.
Valern waited for Sparatus to finish his outburst before mentioning the treaty of farix en. "According to
this treaty, the Alliance has violated the terms. No one race can have more than one dreadnought" he told
the humans.
"Well I guess it's a good thing we haven't signed that treaty, a lot of good it did you with the Batarians"
Cole spoke up. "Don't quote things if y'all can't follow them yourselves".&nbs p;
"YOU DO NOT GET TO SPEAK T O US LIKE THAT" Sparatus yelled at Cole. "Your species needs to
learn its place-"
Cole looked at the turian before calmly cutting him off,& nbsp;"The last time I heard that humanity was almost
drove to extinction"
The whole room went quite with everyone looking at Cole .
"Hackett get Samantha out here" Cole ordered before continuing, "I'm going to show you a recording
from the UNSC Everest, the ship the alliance discovered in orbit of Jupiter".
Samantha reappeared while Cole was explaining what the UNSC was and where he came from. She saw
the Turian scoff at the fleet admiral. She interrupted him before he could say anything "Fleet Admiral
Cole, you wanted me?"
"Yes Samantha, please bring up the covenant assault on Reach" Cole said looking at the AI.
Samantha paused for less than a second before finding the requested file. She hacked the terminals trough
out the chamber and began to play the recording.
Tevos stood watching the video as a species she had never seen indiscriminately gun down humans.
"What is the Covenant?" she asked.
"A race of aliens hell bent on the extinction of the human race, thankfully they do not exist in this galaxy"
Cole responded.
"Nice fabrication humans" Sparatus said not paying attention to the video. "I see no reason to keep talking
to these Aliens" he finished.
Cole ignored the councilors and turned to the negotiators in the group. "What are you planning" he asked.
The lead negotiator nervously looked at Cole before respond ing that they wanted to agree to the council's
demands. They just had to wait ;for confirmation from the Alliance senate.
The councilors finally asked if the Systems Alliance would agree to the councils demands.
Hackett and Cole didn't have to wait long before Samantha delivered the Alliances response. Both
admirals couldn't help but laugh at the mortified looks on the negotiator's faces.
"What is so funny" Sparatus growled at the two laughing military officers.
"Samantha could you please relay the Alliances response", Cole said before calling up the contingent of
Marines.
Samantha forwarded the Alliances response as well as a history of the Battle of the Buldge and Brigadier
General Anthony C. McAuliffe to each councilor.
To the Citadel council.
NUTS!
The Systems Alliance.
Sparatus stared at the m essage, confused at its meaning. He looked at Tevos and Valern who had gotten
the same message. "What is the meaning of this message?" he asked the Alliance.
Hackett calmly resp onded that it's a short way of saying go to hell.
Cole spoke as he turned to leave "the Alliance will maintain peace so long as the citadel shows no
aggression towards us".
Sparatus was furious with the humans and immediately contacted the Hier archy once he returned to his
office. He told them what he knew of the humans and their military.
2157.08. 01
Sol System
SSV Missouri
It had been a little over a month since the alliance had told the Citadel to practically fuck off. Since then
the SA had set up two mining colonies Euntanta, and Dobr ovlski. Recruitment had sky rocketed when
Cole returned. Hackett was pleased to see a new infinity class warship under construction above Mars.
"She's going to be stationed at Dobrovlski and her sister ship at Euntanata when they're completed", Cole
told Hackett as he was on his way down to the pelican bay.
Hacke tt figured that it would take another six or so months to finish building the ship and another two
years to start and finish her sister ship, since the mining colonies were producing the raw minerals needed
at an astonishing rate. He had already stationed four fleets totaling 70 vessels at Dorovlki a nd at Euntanta.
"What is the name of the new infinity class sir?" Hackett& nbsp;asked Cole.
"SSV Arizona and the S SV Midway" responded the fleet admiral, "we have plans to construct 100 more
vessels". He continued to tell Hackett as they both walked down the passage way.
"What's this I hear from the stick jockeys about new transports and attack craft?" Hackett continued to
question his friend.
Cole made a mental note to burn the rumor mill down before answering. "Yeah the UH-144 Falcon,
G79H-TC/MA Pelican, AV-22 SparrowHawk, AC-220 Gun ship, Skyhawk Fighter, and the B-65
Suborbital long rang bomber". He said to a shocked Hackett.
Hackett just whistled at what he heard. Granted he still had to see them but they sounded impressive.
"Well I better get going, fleet admira l business and all" Cole said regretfully. He hated that he was only
able to t alk to his friend while passing through the Missouri. "Next time you're on leave come by and visit
Steven".
Hackett stood and&n bsp;saluted Cole only dropping his salute after it was returned. "I'll definitely do that&nb sp;sir" he
replied accepting the invitation. Hackett knew that the next six months would be busy, with the Krogan
wanting to join the Syst em Alliance and the big wigs trying to broker a treaty with the queen of omega to
secure more materials.
Command Deck
SSV Missouri
Athena ran through the passage ways playing hide and seek with suleem. She was really excited that she
had chosen to stay with them. Giggling as she ran past a few confused officers on her way to her favorite
hiding spot in the armory.
Suleem knew that Athena would be headed for the armory so she decided to ambush the little girl. She
loved the little girl like her own, even teaching her asari ways of fighting. This game was one such lesson
to utilize her surroundings to her advantage. Hopefully her ambush today would teach the girl to become
unpredictable.
Sama ntha watched the two play their game of cat a nd mouse. Noting the underlining lesson that Suleem
was trying to teach Athena. Samantha was thankful for the lesson after she had found out that the alliance
was planning on augmenting Athena's generation on top of the genetic modifications if they enlisted. It
was only for the SAMC and the SAN. It still made Samantha happy since she had grown to like the little
girl, helping feed her curiosity of history. She knew more about tactics then all but the most seas oned
Marines aboard the Missouri.
Athena stopped&nbs p;at the end of the passage way that connected to the p-way leading&nb sp;to the armory. She
stuck her head out around the corner and saw Suleem preparin g an ambush for her by the armory. Athena
decided to double back and approach her from behind to surprise her. She was half way into her newest
plan when Suleem turned and floated her off the ground with her biotics.
"Nice try Athena but giggling will give you away every time", Suleem told the slightly disappointed
child.
"I'll& nbsp;get you next time" Athena said defiantly to Suleem.
Hearing this Suleem laughed releasing Athena from her biotics. "Let us go to clean up and get some
nourishment", Suleem said while offe ring her hand to the little girl.
Athena agreed and grabbed the hand offered to her. Athena then guided Suleem to the quarters that she
shared with her uncle Steven. "We can us the same shower one after the other", she said to Suleem.
Twenty minutes later th ey both headed down to the mess deck. Suleem grabbed an assortment of fruits
and nuts while Athena grabbed bread and some peanut butter and jelly packets. They bo th sat to eat with
Anderson and his squad with Suleem sitting next to Jackson and Athena choosing to sit next to Anderson.
"How come you don't eat at the officers mess sir?" Athena asked Anderson. The whole squad looked at
them.
Anderson looked down at the little girl with an amused expression on his face. "I choose to eat with my
Marines because I consider them my family. Unlike most officers I'm not arrogant enough to think I'm
bet ter than my Marines".
Athena looked up at him not saying a word. She had never heard another officer besides Uncle Steven
refer to other officers as arrogant. She decided quietly to herself that once she joined she would never
hold herself above those under her charge.
< br> 2159- Multiple element zero exposures, humanity will possess biotic individuals&nbs p;in around 16 years.
2160.10.21- Clan Urdnot joins the Alliance, Urdnot wrex returns and assumes control of clan urdnot.
2160.10 .22- The Alliance starts working on a cure for the Genophage, stations three fleets totaling 53
vessels in orbit of Tuchanka.
2161.01.05- Contact& nbsp;with Quarians established, ends in conflict due to the use of AI's.
2161.01.06- Aria T'Lo ak enters treaty with the SA. Alliance will move to protect Omega from council in
return for materials in& nbsp;the Omega Nebula.
2161.06.01- Contact&n bsp;with Geth established ends in peaceful parting of ways.
2161.08.29- Athena Chelse Shepard Attends the SAMC Academy. She is the oldest student in her class.
2 162.01.01- 12 new colonies are founded. Most notable is Eden Prime and Feros due to Prothean ruins.
2162.02.28- 8 new mining colonies begin mining raw material for ;production of ships and prefab units.
2162.03.01-2172.04.11- The systems alliance enjoys ten years of peace, Shepard Graduates SAMC
academy enlists in the SAMC.
2172.09.11
Paris Island S.C.
SAMC Boot Camp
"GET THE FUCK OFF MY BUS AND ON THOSE YELLOW FOOT ;STEPS" The Drill Instructor
bellowed at the new recruits.
Athena was the first off the bus and moving to get to the mentioned steps. She knew that the base
Commanding General&nbs p;was a friend of Fleet Admiral Hackett. So it was a very good bet that she was in for
a hellish three months.
The D.I. stood watching the new recruits arrange themselves on the yellow footsteps before getting their
attention.&n bsp;"You are standing in the very same spot as generations of Marines that came before you. From
now on the Corps owns your ass. On my order you will file in to the building to my left to receive your
issued gear and remove your civilian cloths".
Samantha almost missed the order she was eager to get this started. She was brought back to earth by the
D.I.'s voice telling her&nb sp;to move her ass into the building. She followed every order given to her as she
removed everything she owned and placed it in a mesh bag. She then moved to a ware house to have her
uniforms issued, it didn't bother her when she was told to strip down and get dressed by the numbers.
"From now on you will move as a unit, one of you fucks up everyone fucks up. This is your family for the
next&nbs p;three months so you better get used to one another." The D.I. looked straight at Athena as she said that.
The very next day Athena& nbsp;and the new recruits were marched to their training company to be introduced
to their actual Drill Instructors. She would always remember Black Friday with reverence. She didn't have
any trouble with the first phase of training, second phase involved genetic modifications as well as skin
and heavy bone weave augmentations. Some zero gravity training was given to the Marine recruits in this
phase, as well as the recruits l earning how to use their rifles. Even if they knew how they were going to
learn the Marine Corps way. Athena excelled at hand to hand combat d ue to Suleems training as she grew
up. It got to the point that only the instru ctors would spar with her. Third phase was the worst for Athena
since Fleet Admiral Hackett stopped by one day to say Hello.
"So recruit Shepard how is it you know the FLT&nb sp;Adm.?" The Kill Hat asked Athena.
Athena didn't hesitate with her response, "Flt Adm. Hackett Adopted this recruit after this& nbsp;recruits family
was killed in the attack on Elysium in 2156".
"You think that makes you special recruit?" came the next question.
"No ma'am this recruit does not believe that" Athena responded while the whole platoon looked at her in
disbelief.
The plat oon breaking bearing did not go unnoticed by the D.I. "WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU CUNT
SNEEZES PERMISSION TO ;LOOK, CLOSE YOU FUCKING COCK HOSLTERS ITS NOT&nbs p;
RAINING DICKS" she yelled at the female recruits.
Athena saw the D.I. turn and leave from her peripherals. She did not dare move until ordered to. The last
few weeks of Boot Camp had her constantly being called to the quarter&nbs p;deck for I.T.
2172.12.15
Graduat ion
Hackett stood looking at the fresh new Marine Pvt. He returned her salute before wrapping her in a hug.
"So Pvt you going to go on leave or did you need a lift to SOI east?"
"Sir I'd like a ride to SOI east. I don't want to go negative on my leave account". Athena told her Uncle
before going to go retrieve her sea bag.
Before Athena could step away she heard a familiar voice call out ;to her.
"Athena you look wonderful, hopefully my training helped you", Suleem said to catch the red headed
Marines attention.
Athena turned around and had a huge shit eating grin on her face. "Only ones that would spar with me
were the instructors".
Suleem&n bsp;laughed at hearing that. She looked around before leaning in and telling Athena that she and
Jackson were expecting a child.
"That's wonderful news Suleem, have you told anyone else" Shepard asked her former trainer
"Only Steven and David know outside of Jackson and myself" the now blushing asari told Athena.
"I ;am happy for you Suleem, I have to go get my sea bag and meet up with Flt Adm. Hackett", Athena
said motioning for the asari to follow her.
Hackett beat& nbsp;a hasty retreat back to his shuttle. He was really getting tired of saluting every ot her second.
It wasn't long before Athena located her sea bag. She grabbed it and swung it over her shoulder&nbs p;with
practiced ease then returned to Flt Adm. Hackett's shuttle. She completely ignored the flabbergasted looks
of the other Marines and officers as she casually en tered the shuttle with an asari.
Now that she was in an informal setting she could talk to her uncle like she used to. "Hey Uncle Steven,
how have you been?"
Hackett sighed before looking at Athena, "things with the Citadel Council are not going good. The Turian
Hierarchy is causing problems around our borders with Citadel space".
"The Turians are still pissed about being told to fuck&nbs p;off", Suleem quipped. This caused both Hackett and
Shepard to laugh.
Athena knew that she cou ld not talk about this with anyone since it had not been mentioned in the news.
So she decided to change the subject. "How long until we make it to SOI?" she asked the pilot.
"About 20 minutes Marine" the pilot responded.
"Good luck ;Athena" Hackett said as she got out of& nbsp;the shuttle.
Athena turned around smiled she quipped "after Suleems training I think I can handle SOI". After that she
turned and walked in to the receiving barracks.
Unbeknown st to Athena, Hackett had called in a few favors on the way over from Paris Island to have her
put in the next training battalion which would pick up on the 20th of December. The Alliance had
cancelled all holiday breaks in the training schedule since it was looking mo re and more like war was on
the horizon.
2172.12.20
SOI East
Athena stood at attention with Bravo company which was a coed training company. Some of the girls she
had gone to Boot with were still in receiving but they&nb sp;made sure word got out who she was. She ignored
the taunts of some of the other Marines. Others she made a mental note to look for them in CQC training.
One such Marine was Lcpl Thomas. He could not stand Shepard being placed in to the company by
higher ups. Thomas made sure she heard him whenever he was talking about her and how she needed the& nbsp;
Flt Adm to get her in to SOI. He even made an effort to get her attention when he started to talk about
CQC or hand to hand, letting her know he was going to enjoy putting her in her place.& nbsp;
The Platoon Sgt had been standing behind the plt and heard everything Thomas had said. He had been
stationed on the Missouri and immediately recognized who Shepard was. He knew she had trained with
an asari commando and Anderson's former squad of Marines. He didn't say& nbsp;anything to the rest of the plt,
he'd let them figure it out on their own. He planned on sticking them in the pit tomorrow to see where
they stood in hand to hand combat.
2172.12.21
0230 Armory
Battalion Forced March
Athena was excited to be receiving her brand new never been issued BR85HB battle rifle. She would
carry this weapon with her throughout her career. She was&nbs p;also being issued a M6E Magnum service
pistol. She laughed internally when she heard Thomas bitch about getting issued a ;M739 SAW as well as
an out dated MA1 Assault rifle.
The March was easy compared to what Suleem put Shepard thro ugh whenever they went planet side. The
only thing that bothered her was that Thomas kept trying to trip her. So when they finally reached the pit
she was excited to find out that she had in fact been paired with Thomas for H2H.
Thomas found out that he was going to be fight ing against Shepard and was smiling maniacally. He was
going to fuck her up and teach her that not even an Flt Adm could save her. He ran to the pit when the plt
sgt called his and Shepards name.
Shepard ran to the other end of the pit only being stopped by the plt sgt to be briefed that anything&nb sp;goes
unless it involved deadly force. She acknowledged the order and entered the pit.
The pit was a ten foot by twenty foot hole dug into the dirt and surrounded by sand bags and wooden
walls. The deck was covered with wood chips and the occasional tooth. There were places for everyone to
stand around the perimeter of the ring, to look down on the fight. The sun was the only source of light in
the ring.
Thomas heard the whistle and charged at Shepard. When he got within kicking range he lashed out to
kick her in the ribs. He did not expect her to grab his leg and pin it with her left arm before striking him in
the& nbsp;face breaking his nose before he could break her hold. He backed off and started to circle her, he
lunged at her again this time tackling her around the waist and on to the ground. Before he could press his
advantage he was knocked off of her when she hit&n bsp;him in the ear left ear with an open palm.
Once Shepard had knocked Thomas off of her she quickly pressed her advantage by bringing her elbow
into his gut before rolling to her feet. As she turned to& nbsp;face her opponent she saw him rushing&nb sp;her with
open arms. She struck him with an open palm heel strike to the jaw knocking him back momentarily. She
then punched him in the throat. Jumping back to av oid a right hook, she leapt back into the fight gra bbing
the back of his head and driving her right knee in to his groin.
Thomas was not expec ting to get punched in the throat. He blindly tossed out a right hook only to&nb sp;be
rewarded with a knee to his nuts. He refused to lose to this Admirals pet. He reached up and grabbed a
handful of Shepard's hair. Pulling her down he started to place repeated punches to her face. He then felt
Shepard reach up and grab his nuts.
Once Shepard noticed she could still get out of the hold Thom as had her in she took it. She reached up
between his legs grabbing his nuts she pulled and twisted them down. She heard a yelp of pain and
Thomas let her g o. While she was still holding his nuts she struck him in the throat again before kicking
his knee. This caused him to fall to a kneeling position and Athena landed a kick to the side of his head
knocking him out.
;
The whistle sounded and corpsmen ran in to retrieve the unconscious Thomas. Shepard ran out of the pit
and returned to her gear.
The plt sgt looked down in the pit at the mess that once was Thomas. It took everything he had not to
laugh at the thrashing the arrogant little shit had received. He expected great things from Shepard in the
future. He made her a squad leader knowing she would excel at the position.
2173.02.16
Sol System
Earth Dry Docks
Shepard Graduated at the top of her class and was assigned to the SSV-Athens an autumn class heavy
cruiser. Athena had to emit that the ship had a certain beauty to it despite its unseemly appearan ce.
Her Co looked at her when she finally disembarked off&nbs p;the pelican. "Show her to her quarters" he barked
at the sgt to his left then turned around and left for the& nbsp;officer levels.
"I hate that dick head" the sgt told Shepard before showing her to a four man room. "This will be your
home, report to Cpl Wilson your squad leader. Then& nbsp;turn in your rifle to the armory, keep your pistol".
"Yes Sgt"&nb sp;Shepard said stowing her gear. She then headed to the armory to turn in her battle rifl e. Athena
ran into Cpl Wilson on her way to the armory and reported that she was his newest squad member.
"So you're the new boot, keep your rifle and get your armor meet in me in the briefing room next to the
loading bay". Cpl Wilson ordered before heading to the S1 office.
15 minutes later Athena was standing amongst 2nd squad in the briefing room. Everyone eyed her while
she made sure her omni blade functioned properly.
"Everyone this is Pvt Shepard, our new boot" Wilson said as he walked to the front of the briefing r oom.
"We got orders to check out a mining colony that went dark ;2 days ago on Klendathu" he continued
before anyone could introduce themselves to Shepard or give her any shit. "Chances are likely that the&nb sp;
colony knocked out its communications array again". Wilson finish ed his briefing grabbed his helmet and
secured his weapon to his back leaving for the hanger bay.
&nb sp;
2173.02.16
Klendathu
Klendathu System
"Get the comm tower working and get a warning out" one of the last living&nbs p;miners yelled at their
manager.
"The fucking thing is gone. It has been two days since the Alliance has heard from us. They'll send a unit < br> out". The manager said trying to calm the last of the miners down.
The group heard screeching down the passageway from one of the strange creatures. It had forced the
final door separation the min er from the creatures was compromised.
The Colony AI made several log entries a bout this new species. They were vicious and it took a shit load
of rounds to take them down. They appeared to have no weaknesses save for one at the base of their
massive pincer like mouths. These creatures had yellow and black stripes. They walked on four legs and
had two sword like mandibles that were used to deadly effect. The AI watched in horror as the last of the
minors were mercilessly slaughtered.
2173.02.18
SSV -Athens
Orbit of Klendathu
"Pelica n SA-117MC you are cleared to launch", the flight officer on the bridge finally gave clearance to
Wilsons squad.
"Roger, flight control" The pilot who's call sign was ;Zeus responded. "Sir we'll be ground side in about 15
minutes".
"Show m e what you can make this G-79H dance". Cpl Wilson told the pilot before turning to head back
to his squad. He looked at each Marine who were checking their weapons and gauntlets over for
malfunctions.
"Cpl, the comm tower is missing, and it looks like a slaughter house down their", the pilot ;said over the
radio.
Wilson furrowed&nb sp;his brow in confusion. How did a 200 foot tower just go missing, who attacked the
mining colony? He thought to himself. "Acknowledged circle around the LZ look for survivors".
The pilot did as the Cpl asked and only found more red blood and body parts covering the deck. He
spotted some weird looking creatures slumped on the ground with green blood puddled around them.
Shepard examined her BR85HB-Battle Rifle one last time. She had brought extra blocks of titanium that
Hackett had sent her from the egg heads in R&D. He said that the blocks had been modified to burn off
enemy armor. She figured it would come in handy if shit went sideways which it sound ed like it would.
She loaded her rifle with the new ammo, as well as her MA5K carbine, M45E shotgun and M6E Magnum
pistol.
Wilson had seen to it that his entire squad had been given the new ammo blocks. Each member of his
squad carried four weapons, whether it be a rifle, SAW, pistol, sniper rifle. If they needed to they& nbsp;could
hold off an attack until either evac or reinforcem ents showed up.
"I'm putting down close to the command center then dusting off till you need me" the pilot informed
Wilson before he set the Pelican down.
Shepard was the first off the bird and saw the carnage that was once a mining colony. The stench of
copper and rotting flesh assaulted her senses even through the combat armor she wore. Athena saw a
bullet ridden corpse of some kind of animal she had never seen before. It had taken a huge amount of
damage before it fell. She placed her BR85 on her back and removed her M45E shotgun before calling
Wilson over to the corpse.
"Well ain't&nb sp;that just fucking lovely, let's get to the control room and find out wha t the fuck happened" he
ordered the squa d.
"Aye Cpl" was the only response he received.
Lcpl Johnson reached the hatch leading in to the building one deck below the command center. He saw
that it had been torn and ripped open by one of the bugs he guessed. He found a terminal and tried to see
if the AI was still active. Relief washed over him&n bsp;when a mining avatar appeared before him. "What
happened here?"
"We was attacked by some mighty big bugs, Hope y'all brought some really big boots to squash the
fella's" The AI answered.
Wilson heard what the AI said and snapped at it. "Cut the shit, you're a smart AI act like it."
"Very well, like I said we were attacked by an unknown species. I can give you all the footage and notes I
have on it" the AI told Wilson. "If you're planning on going to the command center I advise against it".
"Why?" asked the Cpl.
"It's destroyed, this happens to be one of two terminals that still work. All the miners are dead as well".
Wilson mentally cursed at the situation. He then heard movement coming down the passageway.
"Everyone check your sectors, we got what we came for fall back to the LZ now".
Johnson was the&nb sp;first to turn and fall back while the squad covered him. Before he could take two steps he
felt a horrible sheering pain go through his chest. He looked down and saw a bloody appendage sticking
out.
The ;whole squad saw the creature kill Johnson and opened fire on it. The new incendiary ammo seemed
to cause a lot of damage to it regardless of the combined assault of the ten remaining Marines.
Shepard had switched to her MA5K carbine to keep a steady stream of rounds heading down r ange
towards the hostile. She preferred to keep as much distance between her and it as possible. She pulled a
frag from her belt and primed it. "Frag out" she yelled as the other Marines beat a hasty ;retreat outside.
She followed just before the passage way became a green mess.
"Zeus, get your ass back here now. We need evac LZ is hot, I say again LZ is HOT" Wilson yelled into
the radio, while firing his weapon at another hostile that seemed to pop out of the ground.
"Roger I see you guys" the pilot responded as he gunned the engines of the pelican to recover the squad.
His gunner opened up on the hostile creatures to try and beat them back.
"Holy fucking shit, w-what are these&nb sp;things?" One of the Marines yelled putting shot after shot ;into the
pissed off creature.
Athena was in her element running from bug to bug. When one got to close to her she shot it repeatedly
then finished it off with her Omni blade.&nb sp;This caused her to get covered in green blood. She then got
stabbed in the left leg from behind and screamed in pain. Firing her carbine over her shoulder she&nbs p;killed
the bug before it could finish her off. Athena then cut the mandible from her would be killer and left the
appendage in.
Wilson saw Shepard get hit and was on his way to her aide when she killed the creature. She cut
something off and made her way to him. He noticed a black and yellow appendage sticking out of her left
leg. Grabbing her, he dragged her to the center of the LZ as t he pelican came in to a hover.
"I can still fight Cpl" Athena yelled at her squad leader. The other Marines were falling back to&nbs p;the
pelican under the rear gunners covering fire.
"Get i n the bird", Wilson yelled before turning to fire at another bug.
Athena finall y relented and boarded the pelican. She stayed on the ramp to provide covering fire for
Wilson so he could get on. Once he was on she heard him scream over the radio.
"FUCKING PUNCH IT" Wilson screamed in t he radio once he made it on to the pelican. The c rew chief
had already started to raise the ramp as he was practically jumping in.
The pelicans&nb sp;engines roared mightily burning a significant number of bugs as they sent the craft into the
sky.
Shepard sat on one of the canvas seats while the corpsman treated her wound.
"Nice souvenir you got there" the corpsman said pointing to the severed bug limb once he finished
"Hope I get to keep it" she responded as she looked at it. She leaned her head back on the bulkhead "I
fucked up" she sighed.
Once they were back on the ship Athena went to the med bay. They removed the alien limb, but not
before Athena insisted on being able to keep it. She had to wait four days while the med bay doc repaired
the damage to her leg. She left sporting a tender left leg and a severed souvenir.
Wilson was there to escort Shepard back to her quarters. He carried a plaque for her to mount her
souvenir on. The squad had bribed one of the engineers to make it, since she had proved herself to them.
Wilson handed the plaque to her once they reached her quarters.
Shepard took the plaque from Wilson and asked him to thank the squad for her. She read the inscription
and laughed at it.
To Athena "Exterminator" Shepard
We acknowledge your skill and appreciate you pulling our asses out of the&n bsp;fire, beers on us.
Second squad first platoon SAMC contingen t SSV-Athens
Athena placed the sev ered limb on the plaque grabbed a towel and hygiene gear then headed to the
community showers.
The&n bsp;last part of the chapter is supposed to be short. It was a recon mission.