April 10th, 2183
[Warning in advance, I was drunk when I wrote this]
The spartan program taught Thomas much. Some he learned with his family of spartans, some he learned alone, but one that was taught to him by Sergeant Major Byrne was always to have an organized plan, and expect it to fall apart almost immediately, so have a second more open-ended plan ready to use. Firstly, the aliens onboard Eternity needed to be dropped off onto the citadel, then they needed to speak with the council about forming a loose alliance before finally seeing what this migrant fleet was and how they could leverage supplies for the ship in the meantime. Not exactly a perfect plan, but Thom wasn't in the mood for perfect, just results.
Setting off for the med bay, he knew already that the quarrians and salarians there would all likely want to study or acquire the equipment on the ship, and he couldn't let that happen. He could see the benefits of trade deals in exchange for technologies developed by the UNSC, but it was too much of a security risk, and he didn't technically have the authority to anyways. Maybe he could get some of the researchers from Serys station to come up with something they would want without jeopardizing the security of the ship or her crew. Speaking of, as he approached the door to the med bay, he radioed Hannah back on the bridge.
"Hannah, this is Tom. I want you to activate biometric locks on all the doors. I don't want anyone wandering where they don't belong."
"Aye-aye captain, the ship is at alert level Charlie, nice and quiet."
Entering the med bay, the first thing he heard was the doctor's raised voice
"FOR THE LAST TIME, I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE, BUT WE'LL TELL YOU WHEN HE'S READY TO LEAVE, SO SIT DOWN AND STOP ASKING ME ABOUT OUR AIR FILTRATION SYSTEMS!"
A look around showed the irate doctor wielding a clipboard and standing in front of the door to the ICU and screaming at a quarrian. The nurses behind the counter tried and failed to hide their giggles, and he was almost certain he heard one say they were thankful someone else got driven mad by the constant questioning. Walking forward as the guards snapped to attention and the nurses quickly went silent. They returned to their tasks while Thomas approached the quarrian in question and recognized her as the woman he helped unbury from the rubble back on the citadel, Tali. The other members of her team were behind her, the turian looked amused, and the man he recognized as Commander Shepard appeared concerned. Thomas called out to the man.
"Commander, I can see your team has been properly treated." he turned to the quarrian then and asked her,
"I hope you don't plan on driving all my medical staff insane now, Tali. They do still need to treat other patients."
Tali turned towards the spartan, just now having noticed his presence, and was startled at what she saw. Standing right before her was the man she recognized as having pulled her from the rubble of the citadel, and now she could properly take in just how huge he was. At 7 foot 8, he towered over her, and his green titanium armor and gold visor made him look like a machine. It was then she realized she never asked him what his name was, and embarrassed now asked him
"I'm sorry, I never did get your name before?" Thom replied in the usual fashion.
"Spartan Thomas 095, acting captain of the Eternity miss Z'orah"
Shepard, overhearing this, decided to ask.
"If you're the acting captain, then where is the commanding officer of this ship?"
"Likely back on our Earth, hopefully being asked some VERY uncomfortable questions."
Garrus then had a question of his own.
"your Earth? isn't that the same as the commanders?"
"Not quite." Was the short answer of the spartan, confusing all who heard him.
Tali, who was both confused and curious about his statement, was more focused on another topic, how she was able to be operated on without succumbing to a multitude of different bacteria and infections from her compromised immune system, and the staff had had it with other quarrians constantly asking about their sanitation and disinfectant equipment.
"Captain, my people have near constant issues with trying to keep foreign bacteria off of our ships, and yet here, my people and I were able to be treated with ease. We should have experienced severe bacterial and viral infections from the surgeries we had to undergo, but none of the other quarrians I've talked with have been able to figure it out. How exactly can your ship be this clean?"
"Information regarding sanitation, while not classified, is still considered to be sensitive to the security of the ship. That being said, I know your people have a unique relationship with the council, and I believe we would be able to figure out a way to help you with your situation if you can help us with ours."
As he finished his proposition, he extended his armored hand to her, but she gave a shocked look to him and stepped back with a very nervous look on her face and saying
"I'm sorry but, you see, it's not my decision to make. I'm still on my pilgrimage and..." whatever she was about to say was cut off by another voice behind her calling out and saying
"I think you should shake the man's hand, Tali. After all, I can think of one of the Admiralty board who would support such an alliance, and I'm sure he could convince the rest of the Admiralty board of the same."
Again surprised, Tali turned around with a gasp and said, "Father?" before running to him and embracing him.
"What are you doing here, I thought you were on a transport during the attack?"
"We got caught by some of their fighters as we were headed for the relay, but luckily the captain here was able to get them off us with a squadron of fighters. Afterward, we were allowed to dock as the citadel wasn't able to accommodate us. We owe the captain here a great debt, and I can see no better way to pay him and his crew back than this." he turned to the towering spartan and extends his hand to him.
"Admiral Rael 'Zorah, I can't thank you enough for helping us, captain. It would be my pleasure to introduce you to the rest of the admiralty board at your latest convenience."
The spartan grabbed his hand and shook it, cementing the beginnings of an alliance that would change the future of the galaxy at large and save the lives of billions, unknown to both of them.
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Elsewhere on the ship, on the restricted levels of the research department, an unfamiliar woman was striding down the hallways to a laboratory currently undergoing analysis on a sample obtained from the wreckage of a geth ship, an Eezo core to be exact. Just before she attempted to enter the lab, however, the ship's security level was changed to Charlie, activating biometric locks on all doors, and so when she attempted to put in her stolen code, they were rejected. Not realizing the issue yet, she spotted a security officer walking down the hall and got his attention. Making sure to accent her "assets," she leaned forward and, in her usual tone of voice, said "Can you help me here? I think the doors are on the fritz again, and I need to join my colleagues inside"
The young officer was named Boris and, at first, was easily charmed by her beauty, long blonde hair, green eyes, her hourglass figure, and definitely wasn't staring at her rear earlier. However, as he moved to unlock the door for the stunning woman before him, he noticed the problem she was having, and his mind began racing. He realized she wasn't really supposed to be there and immediately began broadcasting his conversation to the nearest security team, so they could intercept her. He needed to stall for time
"Oh really? Man, that's the third time this week that the doors entered lockdown. I've gotta get a repair team up here now. What a pain." The woman sensing something off with what he was saying, replied nervously.
"I suppose I'll go wait in the mess hall till it's fixed then, what a shame." she moved to leave, but Boris knew he had to keep her there till backup arrived to detain her.
"They should be here quickly, don't worry. Just sit tight, and we'll sort it out for you, Ma'am."
She then noticed he had been picking out specific words and likely had someone on the radio he was talking to. She needed him to shut up before he gave out a description. She was caught. she struck quickly, kneeing him in the balls and roundhouse kicking him in the head. Unfortunately for her, it didn't put him down but did stun him. He dropped his M7 caseless submachine gun, which she quickly snatched and beat him over the head with, and he finally dropped to the ground. She turned to run back to the hanger where her personal craft was stashed, only to crash into a green titanium chest plate with the number 210 on the left breastplate. Ferris had heard Boris over the general security channel and picked up what he was saying, had gathered the nearby personnel, and sped over to his location just in time to see a woman brutally beat him into unconsciousness.
"Look what we have here, Boris finally got a girlfriend, and she's already wearing the pants." Before the now-revealed spy could do anything, he had grabbed her by the throat, lifted her from the floor, and seized the stolen firearm.
"Dimitri's gonna love talking to you, especially since you decided to beat on one of his boys." she didn't like how he sounded excited at the prospect. Whoever Dimitri is, she was not looking forward to meeting him.
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In hangar bay four aboard the Eternity, a shuttle is prepped to return the quarrians to their migrant fleet through the relay. Escorting them was Thomas and a squad of marines. Next to the shuttle was another ship to return commander Shepard and all the alliance personnel to the Citadel. As the few stragglers board the ship to return to their respective homes, Captain Thomas presented two devices to Commander Shepard and Tali 'Zorah and explained their usage.
"These are superluminal communication devices. They are linked with the Eternity and should only be used in case of emergencies or for important communications. If you are in need of assistance, we will be there. I don't believe I need to instill in you the importance of these devices not falling into the wrong hands."
Shepard immediately understood the trust the captain was placing in them and showed that while he couldn't promise his allegiance to the governments of a foreign power, he could, to a select few, something Shepard understood very well. The spartan was asking for allies, but more than that, he was asking for trust, and John was willing to give him that.
"I'll keep it close by, Captain. Thank you."
The quarrian also saw the unasked question from the spartan and was shocked that he would trust her with something so valuable and sensitive to the ship's security. She looked down at the device in her hands, it looked like an unassuming wrist protector, but it could flip open to reveal a screen and a list of contacts for positions on the bridge and even the captain's personal comm channel. He had handed them one of the most advanced communication technologies in the UNSC arsenal and in return, only asked that they keep them safe. It was a huge show of trust, and she knew she wouldn't let him down.
"I'll let you know where you can find the migrant fleet when I return, Captain, and thank you again for everything."
Captain Thomas nodded, shook both of their hands, and turned to return to the bridge. A low-level alert had been sent to him before asking for his presence on the bridge, and he felt he'd either laugh or get another headache from what he would find. He entered the elevator and turned back to the hangar, seeing Tali board her shuttle and turn to him, raising her hand to say goodbye. He nodded again to her, and then the doors closed, leaving him to his thoughts again.
Another memory flashed in his mind to a member of the old team he had not seen in years. The hangar bay was replaced with a landing pad on reach, and a female spartan boarding a pelican, waved back at him the same way before she disappeared to a battle. He remembered them losing and her being labeled as MIA. Carris S-137. She had killed a trainer once in basic, it haunted her for years, and she always said she didn't mean to do it. She just hadn't gotten used to her augments yet and couldn't quite handle her own strength yet. She was more in touch with her emotions and had helped much of his team cope with their own training. She had been in the first class, and yet she had been put in with his team of younger, almost lesser spartans.
He always thought that had to have been intentional, but it didn't sting any less when she didn't come back. She had been a mentor, even though he had been squad leader. She taught them all and, in a way, lead them whenever they needed guidance that wasn't about how to kill or survive but how to live. She was the reason he gave Shepard and Tali those devices, not because he trusted them but because his gut told him to. She had told him once that your gut will tell you who to trust, and when it does, to stick to them like glue. He was taking a risk, but something told him he had to take a chance, and he wasn't about to forget the lessons she gave him.
He needed to allow people in, to trust them, and this would be how he would start. He would make friends in a new galaxy and help them protect the people in it. For now, he would talk to the council and seek out a place to make port. Hopefully, somewhere more permanent.
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2 hours after meeting with the Council
The doors to the bridge opened, and he was surprised by what he saw, a spartan sitting on a bound and gagged woman with blonde hair and green eyes as the captain of the Vladivostok, Dimitri, sat in a chair laughing uncontrollably next to a young man with a black eye and glass of liquor in his hands.
Between his racks of laughter, the Russian Managed to get out a few words in a thick Russian accent.
"Boris...(GASP)...you never told me...(WHEEZE)... you were so good with women...(DEEP BREATH)...HAAAHAAAHAAA" Boris looked at the man and replied
"She kneed me in the balls. What was I supposed to do? I didn't even see it coming!"
Dimitri responded by howling even louder than before, his face turning red as he lost more and more air. Thomas shook his head as a chuckle escaped him, and he walked over to Dimitri and placed a hand on his shoulder, and asking him a question.
"I assume you'll be able to handle our guest here then, Captain Dimitri?"
The man looked between the Spartan and the woman on the floor with a mischievous glint in his eye "DAH. We will have much to talk about, I think."
The spartan walked past him, and Zayn popped up on the table, arms folded and a smirk on her face as usual.
"So where to captain?"
The spartan thought for a moment, observing the map in front of him before asking, "Are we sure the slipspace drive is even functional as of this moment?"
"Very. We've been running tests with the Element Zero we recovered from the geth ships, and we believe we can use it to create new slipspace lanes using the forerunner engines. Just pick a system, and we'll start building the bridges. Be aware that it won't be as fast as before. We have to create the lanes as we are riding them, so we can only go so far beyond lightspeed." Zayn replied.
"How were we able to figure this solution out so quickly, I would've assumed the drives to be non-functional here?" The spartan expressed his confusion
"All dumb AI related to the slipspace systems were breaking down due to the failures of the drives and the damaged caused by the anomalies, so I may or may not have recompiled them all into one hybrid AI to sort out the problem."
She said this with the expression of a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, as she knew very well how many violations she technically committed against the AI regulation rulebook. She may as well have just thrown it out an airlock, but the spartan more or less understood why she did it. They couldn't very well be an effective fighting force without FTL. He'd allow it, but only because it was genius and most likely the only way to have usable Slipspace capabilities.
"The Terminus Sytems have some colony worlds. I want to offer some defense contracts in order to secure a foothold and a steady source of supplies."
Thomas moved on, deciding not to reprimand or remind the AI he knew very well was aware of the rules she broke, instead focusing on the next moves of Eternity. Secure the frontier, protect the outer rim, and ensure what happened back home doesn't happen again here. The outer colonies won't be abandoned or ignored. If the alliance and the council wouldn't protect the colonists, then the UNSC would.
"Aye-aye, captain. Any specific colonies in mind?"
"Horizon. I like the sound of it, so we'll start there." Thomas had made up his mind
"Setting course, all hands prepare for slipspace jump in T- 60 seconds"
The bridge was suddenly a very nervous and tense place as everyone remembered the last time the ship entered slipspace and sent them to another universe entirely, and now they were setting out to explore it in earnest. That familiar portal opened up, tinged a bright blue now, and Eternity's engines Flared to life, and she soared forward before vanishing into the swirling pool of energy and collapsing it behind her. On board the Deck, breaths were let out that many did not realize were held in, and collectively everyone prepared for the slipspace exit that would come in some time.
Until then, they could only wait for what was to come.
[update fixes a continuity error I noticed after drunkenly posting chapter 7. booze and autism are a bitch]
[Update 2: The word of the day is formatting, because i a now (slightly) better at it]