Foreword: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect. They belong to 343 Industries and BioWare, respectively.

A Spartan's Light

Chapter 2: Baby Steps

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Master Chief Petty Officer John-117

Omega Station — Terminus Systems

0750 hours — March 3, 2179

John was currently in one of the alleyways that littered the capital of the criminal underworld, observing the former asteroid city turned criminal stronghold. He could see in the further back, nestled between several large buildings was what he would assume to be 'Afterlife', the personal stomping grounds of the self-proclaimed Queen of Omega.

He watched skycars crisscrossing the dreary skyline as he waited for Cortana to finish her hacking and data-mining procedures while simultaneously remaining hidden from prying eyes after the ruckus he had caused in the lower levels — the bodies were ought to be discovered sooner or later. He wondered once more how they should proceed from here on out. It seemed to him that his legendary luck was still intact, for ending up on Omega as a literal nobody with no credentials, no identity, and no money was the best outcome John could've asked for.

"Well, that was interesting," It spoke of how used to her he was that he didn't even react when Cortana suddenly piped up in his neural interface. "So, apparently this universe is quite different than the one we left behind, that much was obvious. But it is fascinating to see a totally different technological path being utilized here! It's so amazing!"

"I take it you approve?" John asked with a raised eyebrow behind his visor.

Cortana chuckled. "John, I know you already know much about this universe, but humor me here!" she whined playfully. "I've downloaded the civilian version of 'the Codex' like you asked, and it literally explained the history of this universe for me in minute detail. Not even the UNSC back home had this kind of comprehensive history and technological database for civilians to review freely."

It was true. The only way to learn all about the history of either the UEG, UNSC or Covenant back home had been to hack into highly secured databanks that stored those kinds of information. And seeing as how the Covenant prized their own history from the prying eyes of the 'vermin', it explained why the UNSC had a hard time understanding why the Covenant had declared war on humanity so suddenly during the early years of the war due to the lack of information about their enemy and their history.

Having switched his armor's camouflage pattern to a dark-urban pattern, John scanned the streets below him from the vantage point he was on with the scope on his BR55HB. "Did you find anything else that is interesting besides the history, technology, and culture of this universe?"

"The way that the humanity of this universe advanced is fascinating to me, but also deeply concerning," Cortana mused idly, bringing up several articles of the Codex to John's HUD as she did. "I've identified the points of deviation here and here — in the years 2075 and 2148. In our universe, the United Nations confederated to form the United Earth Government in 2075, while humanity here was still separated by individual nations maintaining their sovereignty in that same time period. Even now, the nations of Earth are still maintaining their own national governments and autonomy."

Cortana's voice became more and more excited as she went on. "Unlike our universe where humanity developed the Slipspace Drive in 2291, here human explorers unearthed ancient technological ruins on Mars left behind by the race called 'the Protheans' in 2148 and what they found advanced their technology base by 200 years, which is staggering if you think about it," she elaborated. "Needless to say, they developed FTL drives from there based on this 'Mass Effect' technology. Aptly named, as it uses Element Zero or 'eezo' to create a dark energy field, colloquially named as a mass effect field to manipulate the mass of all objects within that field. Interesting enough, eezo is a byproduct in the production of UNSC titanium-A battle plating and considered useless in our universe but is actually a hot commodity here considering it's the very essence of their technology."

That tidbit of information caught the Spartan's attention. Eezo was a byproduct of titanium-A production? Huh, you learn something new every day he mused to himself. That brought up a thought that he was thinking from the moment he had accepted that he was in the Mass Effect Universe, but he decided to revisit it later with Cortana's input.

Cortana continued her happy babbling. "Then there was this big artificial construct humanity discovered orbiting Pluto. Where Charon is a moon in our universe, here it's an ice-coated Mass Relay — an FTL slingshot that can 'fling' a vessel from one end of the galaxy to another in several minutes flat to another Relay, kind of like a baseball game of pitcher and catcher. Not even the Forerunners had thought of using these types of Relays as FTL jumping points for their fleets, which is why I find this universe's FTL travelling method so fascinating yet so very restricting!"

"What do you mean?" John already knew the answer to that question, debated with fans of the Mass Effect series enough times to know the flaws of Mass Relay assisted FTL travel. But he wanted Cortana's assessment of the system. After all, who better to critique on technology than an AI?

The Metarch-level AI explained, thrilled that John allowed her to stretch her new processing power.

"Well, the Mass Relays — while certainly fast — are only accessible in the systems they were built in. Anywhere else they needed regular FTL drives to travel from system to system, and compared to slipspace, the method of regular FTL here is painfully slow. Not as slow as UNSC slipspace speeds during the early years of the war, but still slow." She pulled up several data charts and what John could recognize as a Mass Effect Drive Core alongside a Shaw-Fujikawa CODEN Series VI Translight Engine — the latest model incorporating both Covenant and Forerunner principles she had snagged from an ONI Database. "Compared with our latest Slipspace Drives, which can traverse up to 800 lightyears per day without pushing into the red zone, the FTL Drives of this universe can only travel up only 14 lightyears per day, and even that was pushing it into the red. As I said, the FTL speeds here leaves a lot to be desired, and it explains why only less than ten percent of the Milky Way is explored despite having instantaneous travel between Relays all throughout the galaxy."

"But back to humanity here," Cortana closed all the screens and brought back the history articles. "After discovering the Mass Relay, the governments of Earth's Nations decided to pool their collective resources and manpower to ratify the Systems Alliance charter, establishing a representative political body to expand and defend human territory while also establishing the Systems Alliance Military. Not unlike the UEG and UNSC from back home, but the Alliance also has its own government, led by a Prime Minister who oversees the governing of Earth's extrasolar colonies and foreign affairs."

Cortana then opened another article, which John realized it was about humanity's first contact with extraterrestrials.

"The First Contact War with the Turian Hierarchy in 2157 reminds me eerily of the Human-Covenant War, but at least it was resolved after the Citadel Council stepped in," John could hear the distaste in the AI's voice when she mentioned the Council, and he silently agreed with her as he knew they were sometimes idiots of the highest caliber. "Don't even get me started on those idiots. A lot of their actions for the 'Greater Good' of the galaxy are questionable at best, such as their handling of the Rachni Wars, the Krogan Rebellions, and the Quarian Exile. That last one is just wrong, John." John could understand that perfectly. After all, if anyone could relate with the Quarians and the Geth, it was Cortana. "Just because their people created what essentially amounts to a 'Dumb' AI networking to becoming 'Smart' AI doesn't mean their entire species are to be shunned and expelled from galactic society, and what's with the outlawing of Artificial Intelligences?! Ooooh, when I get my digital hands on those idiots!"

"Cortana," John's calm voice helped her temper her ire. "Be cool. We can't help them at the moment, but who knows — there could be opportunities in the future for us to try."

Cortana shook her head, sighing. "You're right, thanks Chief." She then resumed her history lesson. "Ever since then, humanity's been using the same common technology base as the rest of the galaxy at large, but here's where it really starts to unsettle me," She pulled up several history articles, technology reports and technical readouts, scientific journals and archaeological findings from various organizations and governments. "All of them found the technology lying around on or near their home systems. And they just as conveniently find a working intergalactic FTL transportation network and a central governing space station just waiting for them to be used? Not even the Forerunners were that generous to us, and we were the successors to the Forerunner's Mantle. Plus, there is evidence that several ancient civilizations have used to same technology but ultimately went extinct. The only logical conclusion that I could think of… is that these 'gifts' are actually traps laid by someone else."

John nodded, impressed by Cortana's deduction and reasoning. It was expected of her after all, for she was an AI of considerable power even before her upgrades. "You're right, as usual," he said, earning Cortana's attention as she beamed. "They are traps set up by a highly-advanced machine race of synthetic-organic starships. Back home, the game calls them 'Reapers', but their true name has been lost for countless millennia. They leave the Relays and the Citadel here for intelligent races to discover them and base their technology base upon them, and as soon as they deemed the races were sufficiently advanced enough, they 'harvest' them in a never-ending cycle of extinction that has been ongoing for millions of years where they used the extinct species' biomass to create more Reapers to add to their fleet."

There was a stunned silence, and John watched Cortana's face in his HUD contort in a truly disgusted expression at his explanation. Truthfully, he did as well. Even desensitized to the violence and brutally of far more technologically advanced adversaries, the thought of the Reapers made him positively ill at the thought, compounded by the fact that he was here in this universe, and they were real.

"That's…!" Cortana breathed, almost vomiting even when she couldn't — she wasn't biological after all. "That's absolutely disgusting and horrible, John! Why would anyone ever thought to even do this?!"

John sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I think that's why the Librarian sent us here, to help humanity and other innocents survive the coming apocalypse. Are you with me, Cortana?"

Cortana breathed for a few more minutes, calming down before a determined expression was on her face. "Of course, John — whatever you need, just like old times."

"Like old times," John agreed. "So, did you do find it?"

John's question reminded Cortana about his other request, the one she had almost forgotten. "Oh, right! I almost forgot — here,"

She pulled up a dossier she had hacked from Alliance Command, showing the image of a green-eyed woman with red hair that was tied into a practical ponytail. Her heart shaped face was only marred by a distinctive scar from the side of her right eye to her cheek. All in all, she was very beautiful, for she had the kind of beauty inherent in all highly skilled women.

"Lieutenant Commander Josephine Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy," Cortana recited, her eyebrow raising higher the longer she read, impressed. "Born and raised on Mindoir, a border colony in the Attican Traverse. Born on April 11, 2154 to a Marine father and a housewife mother. Only survivor of a batarian slaver raid on her home colony when she was 16 and was saved by a passing Alliance patrol." John can clearly hear the undisguised venom in Cortana's voice when she said 'slavers', and John heartily approved. "Joined the Alliance Navy at 18, excelled in training and finished top of her class. She fought against a coordinated slaver raid on Elysium which earned her the Star of Terra. Known to be quick on her feet and her unorthodox small unit tactics, she is also known to be a very compassionate individual, known for her contributions to orphanages throughout Alliance space."

John nodded, equally impressed by the woman. So, he was facing a War Hero-Colonist Paragon Shepard. He could work with that — in truth, those profiles were his favorite ones to play as. "Impressive for someone so young."

"Agreed," Cortana replied, her superpowered mind quickly analyzing all the data instantly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a Spartan with her exceptional combat record and achievements. And what's this?" She pulled up Shepard's medical record. "Ooooh, I always wanted to meet one of these people after reading about them — Shepard's a biotic, Chief."

John was even more impressed. Biotics were some of the most destructive classes one can become in this universe. This earned Shepard bonus points in the super-soldier's eyes as he filed that information away for later. "Really? Even more impressive," he said. "What class is she under?"

"According to her dossier, she's classed as a Vanguard — known for their high-risk, high-reward combat styles," If anything, Cortana became even more amused at that. "Exceedingly deadly at close-range combat, combining overwhelming firepower and brute strength provided by her biotics to tear her enemies apart. You sure know how to pick them, cowboy! Reminds me of someone I know."

Seeing the laughter in her eyes, John rolled his eyes as he chuckled along. What she had described was exactly what John did on a regular basis, his combat style having evolved into a fluid mix of short, mid and long-range combat. But where the Chief excelled the most was in close-to-short-range combat, where the Spartan was known to get in close with the enemy and literally tear them apart with his weapons and augmented abilities.

There was a reason he was nicknamed the Demon after all.

Cortana suddenly stopped, and John tensed on instinct honed from years of brutal combat. "Heads up, Chief — I'm detecting movement on the proximity sensors. We have company."

"How many?" John asked as he activated his cloak, disappearing from sight.

"There's six in total," Cortana reported promptly. The Chief took position behind a ventilator near the roof entrance for an ambush. "One krogan, two batarians, two humans and a turian if I'm reading their biometrics right. John, check your back-waist maglock."

He did just that and was surprised to feel a cylinder that was not one of his grenades. Pulling it out, John felt his eyes widen at what he held in his hands. Carefully holding it in the appropriate position, he pressed the activation button and a shimmering blue Sangheili plasma sword sprung to life.

John smiled as he prepared to greet his 'guests'. "You always do get me the nicest gifts,"

"I know." Cortana's reply was a smug as an AI can be.

The rooftop door swooshed open, and in rushed the six mercenaries that Cortana had mentioned with the turian having his omni-tool out to scan his surroundings. "Damn it!" Cortana made final adjustments to the universal translator in his armor as John listened. "I thought I've tracked him here! His energy readings are off the charts, but now it's gone! It's like he vanished!"

A sensible assumption, John thought to himself.

"Heh, never should've let you do the tracking, Grizz," the krogan mocked, cocking his shotgun as he did. "Only you could've lost a target as large as a Mass Relay."

"Shut it!" one of the batarians shouted, obviously the ringleader. "Grizz, are you sure you can't track him anymore?"

The turian, Grizz growled in frustration. "My sensors don't lie, Anto — I know he's here! You can't hide an energy reading as big as that without some kind of shielding."

"So, where is he? Think he jumped?" one of the humans asked as he walked to the edge of the roof and peered down onto the streets below. "It's a 20-story drop, but I figured it barely even phased him. He took out four Blood Pack mercs after all with no problem."

He was about to continue before something struck him from behind, knocking the man out cold. His body hitting the floor drew his buddy's attention, and the other batarian made his way over to him, checking his pulse.

"Shit, he's out cold," the batarian reported. "Blow to the back of the head. He'll be out for a while."

"What happened?" the other human asked before something yanked him into the darkness, his terrified screams cut off mid-scream by a soft 'crack' and his body thudding to the floor.

"Tim!" Grizz shouted, bringing his rifle to bear as the remaining four mercs swept their weapons left and right. "What happened?! Anyone see who attacked us?"

Anto shook his head, as well as the other batarian. "We didn't see anything, must be cloaked."

"Heh, coward," the krogan spat. "Only a weakling fights from the shadows."

Suddenly, the krogan saw a flash of blue light when his shotgun barrel was melted off before someone grabbed him by his armor and threw him towards the wall with a loud crack. When he landed, he then felt a strong kick in his midsection, enough to send him crashing back into the wall again with another loud crack.

The remaining mercs were shellshocked at seeing their heaviest hitter being manhandled by something. Anything that could manhandle a krogan was one to be feared. They brought their rifles up just as the other batarian let out a scream before being dragged into the darkness before being silenced — no one had even saw him disappear, only his screams indicating that he was even attacked.

There was a shimmer in the air as Anto and Grizz looked up to see a mechanical giant of a man materialized out of thin air, holding a massive pistol in his right hand aimed right at them. The armor was urban camouflaged with darker accents, but they could clearly see their own reflections on the golden visor which unnerved them greatly.

"Why are you looking for me?" John intoned calmly, watching the two mercs glance warily at him. The Spartan was keeping an eye on the recovering krogan who was struggling to get up. "How did you even keep track of me anyway?"

"We're bodyguards working for Aria T'Loak," Grizz replied, slightly unnerved by the sheer size of the man before him. Spirits, he was almost taller than the krogan! "I've been keeping track of you ever since you 'appeared' on Omega — your energy signature is very big, as big as an engine drive core. And when we arrived at your energy signature, we saw you kill four Blood Pack mercs in less than 5 seconds before disappearing."

"Still sloppy, John," Cortana quipped in his helmet.

John muted his helmet speakers. "Not the time, Cortana."

"And anyone who suddenly 'appears' on this station without Aria knowing about it warrants her immediate attention," Anto finished, looking unruffled at having a gun being pointed at his face. "And anyone who can kill that effectively and so quickly garners her caution as well."

They were interrupted by the krogan's loud roar of rage, who had gotten up and was charging full-speed at the Spartan. Holstering his sidearm, John merely sidestepped the charging krogan, reaching out his hand to grab onto the krogan's armor before using his momentum to swing him around in a complete circle and throwing him into another section of the wall with another crack.

Quickly recovering, the krogan roared again only to be met by John's fist to his face, staggering the large reptilian biped who shook his head of the cobwebs in his brain and glared into the visor of the hulking giant who stared calmly right back. "You've got quads, pyjak, I'll give you that much," the krogan rumbled. "Let's see just how strong you really are!"

With that the krogan charged once more, with John making no attempt to dodge as he received the krogan's charge head-on, sliding a few feet backwards before his augmented strength adapted to match the krogan's. With his MJOLNIR effortlessly augmenting his already incredible strength, John slowly began pushing the struggling krogan back step-by-step with the krogan trying desperately to stop sliding backwards. But the Spartan was unrelenting in his advance. Unyielding, unwavering — a biological machine.

All of this wasn't missed by the two remaining mercs, who could only gape in shock, having never seen anyone out strength a krogan before in their life. It was unreal and oh so terrifying!

Having had enough, John reared his head back and smashed it into the krogan's head plate, making him roar out in pain before John effortlessly hoisted the krogan over his head and slammed the reptilian biped on his back in an improvised Judo slam. As the dazed krogan grunted in pain, John rolled him onto his back, putting a boot on his hump and pulled his right arm, and twisted until it popped with a loud 'crack'!

"ARGHHHH!" the krogan roared in agony.

John merely tilted his head at the krogan underneath his boot. "Was that good enough for you?" he asked casually. "I didn't come here to start a fight, but you idiots are doing a great job of doing just that." He looked over his shoulder just as he heard mass accelerated weapons priming.

"Look pal, I don't know who or what you are," Grizz began, managing to hide his fear well. "But you have to come with us."

The Spartan only looked at the two, managing to unnerve them by his stoic stare before John released his captive and started to walk towards Grizz and Anto scaring the crap out of the two.

Brining his rifle to bear, Anto shouted. "Don't come any closer!"

"Or you won't like the consequences!" Grizz said in false bravado.

John just kept on walking, completely ignoring their threats.

Cortana had to admit, over the years John had perfected the art of intimidation, where a single stare into his polarized visor can unnerve and paralyze any man with fear. But, in her opinion, his most effective show of intimidation was in the way he acted. Seeing a 7-foot tall behemoth bearing down at you with no fear or hesitation was a horrifying sight, the sight which the two mercs were witnessing at the moment.

The two mercs opened fire, their mass accelerated munitions bouncing off the gold-silver energy shield that flared around the Spartan before he moved, dashing forward so quickly that Grizz and Anto have no time to react when their rifles were cut in the same manner as the krogan's shotgun before they found themselves lifted by their throats in each of John's hands.

"Now then, what does Aria T'Loak want with me?" John questioned as the two mercs struggled in his grasp. "Does she want me dead, or alive?"

Grizz gasped, his hand clawing at John's on his throat. "A-Alive! S-She wants to meet with y-you!"

"S-She's waiting for you in A-Afterlife Club," Anto gasped at John's tightening grip. "A-Anything out of the ordinary on Omega, she needs t-to know about it! We swear!"

John looked at the struggling pair before muting his outward speakers. "What do you think, Cortana?"

"Well, I don't see any harm in meeting with this woman," Cortana replied, smirking lightly. "And even if it's a trap, there's always the option of shooting your way out."

John rolled his eyes good-naturedly at that, earning giggles from the AI as he released the two mercs, allowing them to catch some much-needed fresh air. As they struggled to their feet, John holstered his plasma sword. "Okay, you have my attention — let's see what Her Highness wants with me, shall we? Lead the way."

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It was an odd group that made their way to the Afterlife Club, where Aria would no doubt be waiting. As they made their way through the station, many onlookers couldn't help but notice the one they were escorting in the middle of the group. A hulking 7-foot tall walking behemoth of a man was hard to miss after all, even with the urbanized camouflage in place.

If John thought he stood out back in the Halo Universe as a Spartan, he was much more noticeable in the Mass Effect Universe where biological and genetic modifications were outlawed, in which he was a product of both. Quite the quandary.

The two humans with the group and the one other batarian were glancing warily at the giant armored man, while the krogan was nursing a dislocated right arm while holding a pistol with his left aimed at giant while glaring holes into the back of the man's head. Grizz was still nursing his bruised neck and mandibles while taking the opportunity to do further scans on John with his omni-tool, while Anto acted as if nothing had happened as he led the group to the front door of the club, which was located at the center of the station — the heart of Aria's empire.

There, the Elcor bouncer allowed them through and the group made their way through the small corridor filled with patrons before entering the club proper. Loud, upbeat music pounded around them, the atmosphere reeking of sweat, blood, smoke, and alcohol as patrons and asari dancers alike partied along with the music. John was glad that his armor could filter out most of the smells and the loud music, which Cortana happily obliged saying that the music wasn't to her tastes anyway.

When he first entered, Cortana had done a quick scan of the room and tagged a few dozen mercenaries who were partying or drinking. She helped mark them in orange with similar colored inverted triangle markers that were tagged as 'Potential Hostiles'. Through his HUD, Cortana had listed multiple Blue Suns and Eclipse mercs that were scattered throughout the club.

As they approached Aria's balcony, the throng of patrons parted hurriedly from Anto and Grizz whom they knew were Aria's men. They were trying to get a better look at the hulking giant with the golden visor being led up the stairs to meet the crime lord herself. Many of Aria's bodyguards tensed at the massive figure following their head of security up the stairs, eyes widening when John's weight caused groans and creaks from the steps. Just how heavy was this giant!?

The guard posted in front of the balcony waved them through, and moments later they stood in the VIP section of the Afterlife Club where the most powerful asari in the Terminus Systems stood with her back facing them, looking out towards the dance floor. There was a pause as they waited for her to acknowledge them.

With Cortana's snide comment about the asari's Queen Bitch tendencies, John was having her download terabytes of data from the extranet and other sources when Aria finally spoke.

"You know, it's not often something surprises me," she began. "Throughout my 300 years I have met and experienced many dangerous and exotic things, yet finding out that someone simply 'appeared' accompanied by a massive energy surge on my station without being detected leaves me thinking the worst," Aria then turned to glare into the Chief's visor, unflinching even at seeing her own reflection staring back. "Something many of my enemies agree to be extremely hazardous to their wellbeing."

John heard Cortana chime in his helmet. "You have to admit, it's no wonder she leads this whole station with charisma like that going for her."

"There had to be something going for her to keep her goons in line, and I think it's not just her charisma," John replied, earning Cortana's agreeing hum before unmuting his speakers.

"I have no quarrel with you, or the little slice of paradise you've managed to build for yourself here," He looked over his shoulder at the battered six-man merc team that came to 'apprehend' him. "But your men's 'shoot first, ask questions later' approach when meeting with me didn't sit right with me, so I defended myself accordingly."

Aria scanned over her bodyguards, noting their battered states and the krogan's obviously broken arm surrounding the armored man. She also noted Grizz and Anto's bruised necks. "One man beat all six of you?" she asked, scoffing as she did. "Pathetic. Stranger, please tell me they at least put up a fight."

John shrugged. "Didn't even break a sweat."

"Whelp got lucky," the krogan grumbled. His eyes narrowed at the super-soldier's visor turning in his direction. "You got something to say, pyjak?"

John tilted his head questioningly. "I'm wondering if I should've just broken your other arm," he remarked flatly, causing the krogan to growl. "At least you're too occupied with your broken arms to speak."

The krogan raised his pistol to aim at him, only for John to slap it out of his hands before literally Spartan kicking the krogan down the stairs before hitting the floor with a loud crash. John calmly turned his attention back towards Aria, ignoring her bodyguards as they powered up their weapons and aimed right at him. Aria merely stared back, a spark of interest flashing in her calculating eyes when she noted that the armored giant wasn't even bothered by the weapons being aimed at him, almost as if they were nothing more than a nuisance to him. She didn't know whether to be annoyed or extremely wary about his nonchalance — she was leaning heavily on the latter.

After all, if a room full of weapons aimed at him couldn't even phase him, what could?

"You could've killed my men at any time," Aria decided to begin with that. Best to keep her options open, for she could smell new opportunities opening up to her with this man's presence. "As you've shown just now, you can even overpower a krogan — no one overpowers a krogan. Why not kill them?"

"And have you coming after me for the rest of my time here in Omega? No, thank you," John immediately retorted, earning a smirk from the asari. At least she knew he was blunt and honest about his intentions. "Besides, I wouldn't want to break the only rule worth following on Omega."

Aria raised an eye-ridge. "That rule being?"

John looked her square in the eye, almost causing the hardened asari criminal to flinch at her own reflection but she held onto his gaze admirably. Even Cortana had to give her points for being ballsy enough to stand up to John's intimidation stares.

"Don't fuck with Aria."

Aria chuckled loudly at that, motioning her guards to stand down and lower their weapons which they did with reluctance, still wary of the armored giant. "At least we know that you're well informed and polite enough to spare my men. Less of a hassle that way," She said as she gestured towards the couch next to her, taking a seat on her own couch as she did. John stepped up to the offered couch and carefully sat on it while using his legs to prevent his full weight from crushing it. It was easier than he thought, as he needed to do this kind of thing many times due to flimsy chairs.

He saw Aria leaning back in her seat. "So, why are you here?" she asked. "It's not everyday I have an armored giant visiting my station."

"It's a long story, and I won't bore you with the details," John replied crisply with military precision, something that was picked up by the asari across from him. "Suffice to say, I'm currently geographically displaced after my travelling accommodations ran into trouble on my way to the Citadel. My stop on Omega wasn't voluntary."

"I've heard variations of that story once or twice, give or take few decades," Aria replied, taking a sip from her drink her bodyguard had gotten for her earlier. She looked over at him over the rim of the shot glass she held. "You have a name, Stranger?"

John tilted his head in thought, seemingly consulting with someone.

To the outside viewer, he was doing exactly that, but the reality was far harder to stomach as this galaxy had banned artificial intelligences. "So, what do you think John?" the AI in question asked with her own tilt of the head. "I know John is a common human name, but without even an identity, it could be suspicious."

"You're right," John said, already muting his speakers. "So how about this my codename?"

Cortana nodded her head enthusiastically after hearing that. "It's perfect! It provides you a cover name while still honoring your heritage!"

John looked back at the waiting asari. "Spartan-117."

"Interesting name," Aria mused, raising an eye-ridge at the numbering. "Why the numbering though? Codename?"

John nodded. "Correct."

"Military?"

"Something like that."

Aria glared now. "Alliance?"

John stared back calmly. "No," he replied. "What was done to me would have broken every single treaty the Alliance had agreed upon with the Citadel Council. So, no — I'm not with the Alliance, not even close."

Now it was Aria's turn to be curious. What could've been done to this… Spartan that would break every single treaty the Alliance had agreed upon with the Citadel Council? Feeling that this information was too good to pass up, she decided to risk asking. "Could you elaborate?"

John thought about that, discussing multiple possibilities with Cortana before coming up with the perfect answer. It would still provide him a cover, while simultaneously discrediting the chosen organization he was aiming for.

"It's complicated, and I'm uncomfortable sharing it with you. But!" he held up a hand to stop her angry outburst. "I'll give you a hint. One word: Cerberus."

Aria felt both her eye-ridges rise up in surprise. "The pro-human extremist group?" she asked, earning a nod from the man. "What did they do to you?"

"I doubt what's been done to me was sanctioned, the files on their computers said so," the Spartan fibbed. It was easy as his normal, nearly-flat voice hid any tells and signs of him lying through his teeth. "Not even the Illusive Man knows. But I do know genetic and biological modifications were involved, as well as some AI research on the side before I escaped and obliterated their laboratory."

There was a long, tense silence as the asari crime lord absorbed his words.

"I can see how that would've broken a few laws with that uppity Council," Aria finally said, leaning back in her seat to look at John. "Congratulations on getting out from under their thumbs, alive and well. And acquiring yourself an interesting arsenal — their projects?" John only nodded. "If you were anyone else, people would start to wonder why someone like you would come here to my station with that much firepower unless they intend to start something?"

John shook his head. "As I said, it wasn't my intention ending up here," His tone calm, controlled as usual. "My skills and weapons would only be used when my person is threatened, and I will react accordingly. But I do find myself in a tight spot here," He leaned forward and stared into Aria's eyes through his polarized visor. "What would it take for me to book passage to the Citadel from here?"

"Book passage on the next shuttle," the asari replied simply, reaching for her drink.

"Undetected and uncatalogued?" John shot back, making her pause.

Aria looked back at the Spartan, sitting motionlessly on the couch while looking back at her with his golden visor. Truth be told, his gaze had unnerved her, the first time in more than a century, and she couldn't help the grudging respect blooming in her at the armored giant. For him to even unnerve her of all people spoke volumes of his sheer, almost primal presence. She idly prayed that he wouldn't turn his skills against her. That was one fight she didn't want to find out who the victor was, for even Aria was uncertain of the outcome. His armor and visor also hid his body language and facial expressions, making it very hard for her to get a read on him.

She hated that, not being able to read the people around her.

"That would be a challenge, but not unreasonable," she finally replied. "However, such a favor will require… compensation from your end."

John tilted his head to the side, already expecting that. "What would that be?"

"Grizz," she called, and turian from before handed her a datapad for her to peruse. "There is an illegal weapons shipment being brought in three hours from now. It hasn't gone through my approval, and the smugglers are arming the local merc bands with their cheaper prices as compared to our local vendors. If you deal with these smugglers, I will get you what you need."

Staring back at her, and with Cortana agreeing that they didn't have much alternatives at the moment, John silently accepted the datapad and had Cortana download it into her mind. The datapad flashed for a moment before he handed it back to Aria, who raised an eye-ridge at his 'refusal'.

After handing it back, he stood from the couch.

"I'll get it done. Keep the datapad," he said, turning to leave the balcony via the stairs. "But," he looked back at her over his shoulder. "Don't expect this to be a regular thing from me."

John then activated his cloak and vanished from sight, shocking or surprising everyone in Aria's employ as he silently made his way out of the club via the lower entrances instead of the front door. It kept Aria guessing at where he could be, and whenever he could be as well. Sometimes wars are not just fought on the battlefields, but in the hearts and minds as well.

"You did what you could, John," Cortana chimed in from his neural interface. "From what you told me of her, and from what I could hack from the extranet, Aria T'Loak is not a woman you want as an enemy, Spartan or not."

John nodded. "That's why I told her to not expect this to be regular from me."

"Good idea. Better keep your distance from her," Cortana agreed. "Something tells me that should she know what you could do, she'll never let you go."

As cold as Cortana was sounding, John readily agreed. He knew how manipulative and cunning the asari crime lord was. She was the leader of Omega for a reason, and her cunning and ruthlessness kept her underlings in-line. Her reputation was one to be feared and respected, and to be kept only at arm's length lest she burns you. Aria was using John as a means to an end, and he also made sure to do just that to get what he wanted in the end. After all, to win a war, there had to be compromises along the way.

John refocused his attention on the task at hand. "Cortana."

"Marking the location on your HUD," the AI replied without missing a beat. They have worked together long enough to know what the other wanted in such occasions. "Your fastest route is through the market district, after that is roof-jumping with your jet pack and we'll be there."

As he moved quickly and quietly through the lower levels of the station, weapon up and adrenaline pumping through his veins, he eyed Cortana's avatar on his HUD. Seeing his look, she looked back strangely making him smile.

"Just like old times," the Master Chief said.

Cortana grinned back, winking. "Like old times," she agreed. "Let's get to work, Chief."

\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/

They arrived at a docking bay that was well out of place of the usual foot traffic, a perfect spot for a smuggling operation to set up shop undetected exactly three hours later. As John observed the docking bay with his optics, with Cortana already highlighting the armed and unarmed smugglers on his HUD, he went through his options in his mind. As this was an out-of-the-way docking bay, it was smaller than the norm and it had tight, enclosed spaces that limited combat ranges to about mid-to-close range.

"Heads up John, I'm detecting movement on radar," Cortana reported. "A corvette-sized ship is coming into dock. It will arrive in 30 seconds."

"Keep me posted."

Having stowed his rifle, John pulled out his Magnum and his plasma sword, cloaking as he stalked towards the smuggler milling about the docking area. Some were sleeping, others were standing guard or just lazing around. All in all, it was sloppy security, even by smuggler standards. He had raided Insurrectionist hideouts that were much more defended than this.

He shook his head of the thoughts and readied himself as the small ship Cortana had mentioned came into view. The ship extended its landing struts before touching down in the designated landing area, its lower ramp opening with a loud hiss as the air pressure of the ship equalized with the station's and out came three more smugglers who were either armed with pistols or rifles. No heavy weapons in sight.

Cortana piped up. "I think that's all of them, Chief," She highlighted all of the hostiles. "I counted 7 smugglers. 2 humans, 2 turians, 1 batarian, and 2 salarians. All lightly armed with no heavy weapons whatsoever. How do you want to play this?"

John paused in thought, already stalking towards the open ramp of the ship. "Did you find the shipment?"

"Loaded up inside the ship, most likely in the cargo bay," Cortana pulled up her scans alongside the ship's schematics she had pulled from the extranet. "Yup, bingo — it's inside the ship. No guards, and the human pilot is snoozing at the helm. Do your thing, John. I'll keep an eye out with my sensors."

John only nodded as his cloaked form made its way past the guards at the bottom of the ramp, his unusually silent footsteps honed from years of experience. Making his way into the ship, he found what he was looking for — two unmarked crates in the cargo area. When scanned, Cortana noted that one of the crates housed weapon mods from the Alliance, and the other was filled with the latest model omni-tools also from the Alliance. Both items were currently in testing phase in the Alliance and hadn't been released into the market yet.

"Chief, these things are very dangerous," Cortana voiced his own thoughts. "We can't let them fall into the wrong hands. I recommend we destroy them before they become a problem in the future."

"Agreed," John said, pulling out two C-7 foaming explosive canisters. "And I've got just the thing."

Cortana laughed at that. "You Spartans and your explosions."

"Hey, we had to leave our mark somehow," John quipped dryly, earning more laughter from her as he attached the adhesive foam onto the crates, linking their detonators to Cortana before moving towards the cockpit.

Putting away his pistol and plasma sword, John pulled out his combat knife before he clamped the sleeping pilot's mouth shut with his hand and stabbed him in the throat. The pilot's screams were muffled by the Chief's hand before his body went slack, dead in his seat as John wiped the blood off his knife with the man's clothes before stowing it. When John made his way back to the cargo hold, he stopped at the crate holding the prototype omni-tools. Making up his mind, he effortlessly pried it open with his hands and pilfered two of the omni-tools within.

"Stealing, Chief?" Cortana asked playfully.

John snorted. "It's called strategic acquisition, Cortana."

Cortana only laughed at that.

Storing the omni-tools away in his belt, John caught sight of another crate stacked on top of another. Getting an idea, he deactivated his cloak and moved towards it before he started pushing the crate. The thing was heavy, but not for a Spartan like himself as he pushed it towards the edge of the crate it was on.

His partner spoke up. "I think I know what you're thinking, and it's brilliant."

"Glad you approve," John said before shoving the crate onto the floor with a loud crash, getting the other smuggler's attention.

"What the fuck was that?!" one of the human smugglers yelled. "Did one of our crates fall? I knew we should've secured it!"

One of the turians swore. "No time for that — everyone, back on the ship! Let's see to the damage, we're behind schedule as it is."

John cloaked as the rest of the smugglers ran back onto the ship. They were still arguing with one another when John quietly slipped past them and moved to a safe distance. The Spartan ducked behind a pillar with a perfect view of the ship as his enhanced hearing picked up their voices as Cortana primed the explosives.

"How did the crate fall off? It was secured!" one of the salarians said.

The batarian spoke next. "Hey, what's this sticky stuff near the crates? And what're those canisters doing here?"

"Fuck that!" the other turian shouted. "Greer's dead! Stabbed in the throat — we're not alone here!"

As the smugglers began to react, they had no idea it was already too late.

John only looked at the ship, before saying simply. "Cortana."

Cortana's image merely smirked on his HUD before she held up a hand and snapped her 'fingers'. Moments later, a massive explosion rocked the docking bay as the C-7 explosives blew the corvette apart along with its passengers. John only watched his handiwork before nodding. No hassle no fuss, just like he was trained to do.

"Well, that was a thing," Cortana quipped, earning an amused huff from her Spartan. "I hope you don't mind but I've taken the liberty of hacking all the smugglers' omni-tools and cleaned out their bank accounts before they got blown up. We are now 250,000 credits richer, and we also have their navigation data I pulled from their ship's computers."

John nodded, impressed. "Good work Cortana," His praise earned a playful wink from the AI. "Make it standard procedure from now on. Strip anything and everything you can from our foe's omni-tools or computers if you can. How did you open a bank account for me anyway?"

Cortana rolled her eyes good-naturedly as John started to make his way back to Afterlife Club. "Uh, hello; UNSC AI here. Multitasking is in our job description, Chief," she said laughingly. "I've already created a temporary identity for you to use in this universe. I only need you to do a few tweaks here and there and we're set! Oh, and don't worry about the bank account — it's offshore, completely untraceable not to mention several firewalls I've put up to deter even the most skilled hackers."

"You really thought of everything," John replied as he moved silently through the marker streets, keeping himself cloaked and stuck to the shadows. His 7-foot form was highly noticeable, best to keep a low profile. "Thank you, Cortana."

"What would you ever do without me?" Cortana asked.

John hummed. "Probably dead or bothered by the peace and quiet — you are quite talkative, even by UNSC 'Smart' AI standards."

"And proud of it!"

And that was how they spent the rest of the early afternoon, with Cortana having a whale of a time first integrating one of the appropriated omni-tools into the MJOLNIR, then spending the rest of the journey back to Aria optimizing and upgrading it until it was well beyond the latest omni-tools on and off the market. "I was bored," Was Cortana's excuse when asked, accompanied by a cheeky grin.

It was an hour later when John returned to Afterlife Club, silently decloaking in an alleyway before walking into view of the elcor bouncer, who waved him in amidst the stares from the line of patrons waiting outside. When he reached the VIP balcony and stood at attention, he already saw the asari crime lord looking over a datapad on her men's report of John's exploits with the smugglers.

Aria looked up at the Spartan's visor when she finally registered the abnormally soft footsteps of the giant, frowning slightly as she waved the datapad in her hands. "Did you have to destroy both the shipment, and the smugglers at the same time?"

"You never specified how I got the job done," John answered coolly. It was the voice he used when dealing with ONI Operatives. "I figured destroying both the men and the shipment in fell swoop would fully accomplish my task, and so I did."

Although displeased at not getting the chance to look into what the smugglers had brought to her station, Aria couldn't deny the ruthless efficiency of the Spartan's methods. If this giant of a man can be this stealthy and silent, what else could he do besides that?

Regardless of how he had completed his job, a deal was a deal. "Methods aside, you have fulfilled your obligations to me," She tapped a few keys on her omni-tool before John's chimed with a message a moment after. "And I will fulfill mine. There is a cargo freighter leaving Omega in two hours heading for the Citadel. The crew has been advised to not mention your presence while you are onboard. The ship is named the Solar Winds and is located at Docking Bay B-31."

John only nodded his thanks before pivoting on his heels and headed on his way. Before he reached the top of the VIP section's stairs, Aria's voice spoke once more, garnering his attention. "And Spartan, 117… or whatever you call yourself," she called. "Drinks are on the house if you need it. I'll see you around."

Saying nothing, John moved through the club, pausing by the bar before changing directions at Cortana's urging. When the bartender looked up and noticed the walking behemoth, he paused in shock for a moment before returning to normal.

"What can I get you?" he asked. "Aria's already waived your tab."

At Cortana's suggestion, he ordered a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy — the most expensive of the selections. Cortana sure knew how to pick them — on the go. Nodding his thanks at the bartender, and with the bottle in hand John exited the Afterlife Club without a single glance backwards, his mind already whirling with multiple plans, backup plans, backup plans for backup plans, the works.

He already had a rough idea where to start once he arrived at the Citadel, and with Cortana's invaluable help, he hoped to begin laying the foundations for what's to come preferably before the shit really hits the fan.

And he had four years to do it before it all begins.

\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/\\/

And done!

Whew, another chapter finished. I'll be taking a break on this story to focus on my other projects, namely the Black Lagoon crossover fic I've been doing. And Destiny Rebirth, with its revising of chapters having been delayed for years. I have a lot of stuff on my plate, but plenty of time to do them what with the Covid-19 quarantine and all. This might actually jog my memory juices and creativity for my stories. I can't wait!

If you notice that some parts of the plot are similar to DemonFireX's 'Crysis Effect', you're right — it is, but it will start diverting very, very soon, probably in the next couple of chapters. So, expect more Spartan goodness and Cortana's wit and snark on full display as the most powerful AI in the Mass Effect Universe, with only Harbinger coming in a close second (like comparing the sky to the ocean depths).

I'm also glad to see that John's character has many people intrigued and interested in this story, that's good! And regarding that one review that said that Cortana gaining a hard-light holographic form like the Prometheans? That one I'm still unsure of, but I will make it as I go along as I still want EDI to be included in this story. How can you not? EDI was such a sweetheart and an overall awesome synthetic character.

Also, in response to some reviews asking who John would be paired up with. If you guys are long time followers of mine, you should already know where I am going with this story by reading between the lines in John's thoughts and mannerisms. And about the harem route that a reviewer asked: no, absolutely not. I only reserve the harem route in anime, nothing more.

This is HEIROFROHAN signing off,

PEACE!