Convergence (IC, OPEN|Sci-FI Fandom Crossover|Halo, ME, SW

[The Republic of Atria]

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Ark Hyperion, Heleus Cluster, Andromeda

A 600 year journey across dark space to what was going to be a new home. A slew of golden worlds for every race. Seemed like a great idea on paper. However, life had other idea in mind. What's the fun if everything went according to plan? The massive Ark screeched to a halt, slamming into what appeared to be a dark energy storm. And things would only get better from there. The human inhabitants were shocked awake to make sure the Ark didn't get completely destroyed. However, they had arrived in the orbit of their golden world. So there was a silver lining. Or so it would appear.

Jack

Jack Ramirez didn't so much wake up from cryostasis as much as he snapped awake like he was having a nightmare. "Hello? HELLO?!" He called and smacked the door to his pod, but it didn't budge. There were voices on the outside. "Can you hear me?!" He shouted and the voices got closer. It was difficult to make out everything that was said, but he got the gist of it.

"Pod... Jammed!" Came the female voice from the outside.

Jack waited for a minute while the people on the outside tried to pry open the door while he tried the lever on the inside, which immediately snapped. "God. Fucking. Dammit." He muttered to himself. "GET OUT OF THE WAY! I'M GOING TO BLOW IT OPEN!" He shouted, hoping that they would hear him. Last thing he needed to do was hurt someone that was trying to help him. After waiting a few seconds, he blasted the pod with a powerful biotic blast that blew the door right off and allowing him to escape. "I am so glad I went to the bathroom before the trip..." He muttered as he staggered to his feet where he was greet by the female doctor. "Biotics work fine. Stiff as hell. I feel like I need a nap." He said as she lit up her omnitool moving it right to left for his eyes to follow. "Eyes work fine."

"That's the good news. I've got good news, bad news, and horrible news." She started. "The good news is that we made it. The bad news is that we're stuck in some sort dark energy cloud that is playing havoc on our instruments and possibly our hull. The horrible news is that... Well. You're the Pathfinder until we can get the primary one out of stasis without causing him serious brain and bodily damage." She explained.

"Wait... WHAT?" He demanded. "I'M the Pathfinder? Me of all people? Are you serious?" He asked.

"That's what the computer says. You have 2 minutes to get over the crisis. You've got people to lead NOW. I've got people that need medical attention. You have no immediate medical problems. Go do your job." She said and walked off, while Jack regained his composure.

Jack wasn't the best leader, he was completely aware of that. He only ever had to take care of himself for the last half a decade. Now he was directly responsible for over twenty thousand people and had absolutely no prior training for his position? He wanted to scream and strangle someone, in that order. No. He couldn't do either of those things, it would only increase the panic. Jack thought about the course of action and ran to the bridge to see the strange tendrils on both sides of the ark, but could seen the big blue spot that was supposed to be Earth 2. "Holy shit..." He said, exasperated. "Pilot!" He commanded trying to sound like he knew what he was doing. "I can see a clearing. Steer this pregnant whale out of this storm as carefully as you possibly can." He command. "Get me a shuttle ready for dust off in no less than 30 minutes. At the very least we can make sure that this wasn't a complete shitshow." He said walking out of the bridge. "Listen up! Get this piece of junk working. Get everyone out of the pods that you can. I need two people who can shoot straight to meet me BY that shuttle within that same time period!" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" He screamed internally.

"I am now completely online-Oh." His AI interrupted his internal screaming. After going through his memory, it found out why. "I apologize. But you appear to be in distress. Shall I release dopamine to calm you?" Jack's AI said to him as he entered the, thankfully empty, equipment room.

"No SHIT! Also I'm mostly fine... It's just that I'm the Pathfinder because some genius thought I would be a good leader! We've been together for six years. We both know that I should not be involved in a leadership role of any kind. Ever. I don't even have any kind of training for this. And..." He sighed. "I don't wanna be responsible if some or all of these people get hurt or killed, but... I am. Fuuuuuuck me!"

"I see your fear and frustration. But I believe you were the one who told me this quote. 'Make the plan. Execute the plan. Have the plan go off the rails. Trash the plan." His AI told him. "The plan was for you to come to Andromeda and shoot anything that might be a threat to humanity. Obviously that plan is off the rails and I presume you have trashed it. So to speak. Now you will plan to go down to the planet, and it will go off the rails."

"I get it..." He sighed. "Alright. Well. I fully expect this simple land on the planet and start setting shit up to go completely up in flames..." He said and grabbed his sword and his legally obtained SMGs. "I don't know if there's anyone on that planet. I don't know if there's fucking plants that eat people. But I'm not going to get eaten by a plant. You know I don't trust lettuce."

"While I've yet to understand your distrust for an edible plant, your caution is understandable. You have approximately 7 minutes and 47 seconds until your 30 minute deadline for the shuttle departure. I recommend going to the hanger as soon as possible." His AI suggested.

"Oh shit, you're right. Well. If I pretend to know what I'm doing, it'll fool everyone else, right?" He asked as he ran down the halls of the station to the hanger.

"I believe it has worked for every leader in existence. Confidence is key. as long as you act like you know what you are doing, everyone else will believe that you really do."

"Can't argue with that." Jack replied as he boarded his shuttle. "Habitat 7, here we come."

[TriStates]

In Andromeda, the stillness of the vessels in the alien fleets across the new galaxy is almost calming; a stark contrast to the complete turmoil boiling within them!

Floating quietly in their own part of the void, the ships of the UNSC gather around the remains of the once-great Plutarch Station. It has been two hours since their unexpected fight and flight from their galaxy. Aboard the Punic-class Super carrier Endeavor Men and women of the New Horizon Expedition were working desperately to repair the damage done to their enterprise. As they painstakingly piece together their wounded vessels and comrades, they must probe their new surroundings cautiously, ever on-guard for a return of their old foes -- the Covenant -- or the discovery new threats.

In the midst of the everything that occurred, the forces of the Covenant Remnant that attacked the Expedition have been separated and scattered across the Helios star cluster. Communication must be established between them, if they are to remain and effective fighting force. Or will they remain isolated, reduced to squabbling bands of religious mercenaries of a once great empire -- shadows among the shadow of past glories. Curiously enough, there may be hope for them yet, in the form of other Covenant faction forces; caught in the wave of slip-stream energy unleashed by Plutarch Station.

More than supplies and morale, information is needed. Exactly, where are they? And whats out there?

* * *

Meanwhile, the forces of the Galactic Republic arrive in all their glory. The journey through hyper-space quiet, and uneventful, has left those aboard the Exploration Group Thracian with a itching to do just that -- explore.

Unbeknownst to them, the CIS battlegroup, Dooku's Chosen that pursued them through their jump has continued to trail them, just beyond range of scouts or sensors. What actions will these two opposing parties choose, now in a galaxy beyond either the Republic or Confederacy?

---

UNSC Go For Broke, New Frontier Expedition
Andromeda, Location Unknown
LTC. Ahlila de Rutyer

We've been fucked...

The thought deepened the inlaid frown, which was a permanent fixture on the face of Lt. Colonel De Ruyter. Seated in a fire-scorched chair, her dark, soulful eyes coasted what remained of the Supercarrier's bridge, alone save for the burning of plasma-torches outside the rear bulkhead. Fried bunches electrical wires hung down from the ceiling, occasionally sparking when they mixed with the; cracked, shattered and generally useless. Helm, Navigation, Main Gun Targeting -- even the damn intercom -- almost all the stations equipment were well-done, cooked up during the unorthodox slipstream journey. But it wasn't just the Endeavor. The whole Expedition had taken a real reaming, between the Covenant fight and the faulty slip jump, they were still counting up the dead.

And the numbers kept coming, as the wounded kept on dying; not enough medics or medical supplies for everyone, so they started to prioritize. Quick, and efficient, the Bridge Crew and Expert Personnel were treated first. Afterward, light wounded. They would be the first to return to duty, therefore, the most valuable. Then came the moderate wounded. Anyone rated beyond that, were made comfortable. That was all that could be spared. Her boys -- the 343rd Marine Battalion -- had been skipped to the head of the enlisted line, regardless of their injuries. "Essential to continued operations" was slippery slope reasoning, but it went unquestioned. There wasn't anyone higher up enough left to say different. That just scratched the surface of it though. Picking at a pocket of melted glass with the toe of her boot, her foot suddenly slid out from under her; instant regret came as the Marine winced, sucking in a painful breath full of air.

I'm fucked...

Easing her right leg, carried in a hastily made splint wrapped in bandage and bio-foam, she carefully rested it on a nearby chair. Four separate fractures across the length of her outstretched limb radiated a dull, thumping pain. While the worst, she had an assortment of bruises that would keep her looking blue and yellow for weeks yet. Additional shrapnel pocket-marked the outside of her cheek, currently wrapped up beneath a slew of bandages, adding a new addition to her face's collection. Were you to believe, that she was the lucky one?

Turning her eyes, made more alert by the pain, she glared at the titanium sliders now shuttering the foremost part of the ships CIC -- metal now, where clear glass had once been. All of it now lost to the void of space -- along with the Endeavors entire bridge crew. It had only been a few hours since, and the scene was still fresh in her mind. A shutter ran through her, thinking of way the crew members had looked, as solar winds and ripped them out of the bridge. And how they had looked, at her. Surprised, angry, frightened. Closing her eyes, though it offered no respite from the images, she covered her face with bloodied hands, sobbing silently. The salt in her tears stung as it set in her face. But she didn't stop. Even though no amount of tears would fix any of this; it felt like the right thing to do.

Its all fucked. All of it!

[Ism]

UCS Guardian Ascendant, the Fleet of Righteous Pursuit
Andromeda, Location Unknown

Special Operations Commander Kyayad

Commander Kyayad and Fleetmaster Pinpin stared out into the vast expanse of space before them. All their technology could not tell them where they were, and this was ever frustrating Kyayad, who was after all, an intelligence operative. They still did not know what had happened, they had been on a scout mission, searching for potential colony worlds when there was a malfunction with their slipspace drive, and now they were lost. As if on cue, the Guardian's associated intelligence, Liminal, appeared in the command center.

"I h-h-h-have attempted to determ- our location, but I have had no success. I shall contin-nue my efforts, Shipmaster. How-er, I have-have determined the cause of our p-p-predicament. There was a dis-n in slipspace about a human military installation, named Plutarch Station. Additionally, fleetmaster, there are signs of sp-patial ruptures in a nearby system."

Kyayad always had issue with these programs, so damaged and fractured, they could hardly speak. But, they were vital to the unngoy fleet, without them he doubted there would even be a fleet. And, as Liminal showed, they were highly effective. He looked over to Pinpin, who seemed to have not hear Liminal, continued staring into space. Suddenly, Pinpin broke her silence. "Continue working Liminal, but we should prioritize finding a habitable world. Do you agree commander?" The fleetmaster turned to face Kyayad, having to look up to do so, but she maintained the same dignified and stern manner she always had. Kyayad always found it funny how the unggoy fleetmaster wore blue armor, the opposite of their old sangheili oppressors, and jiralhanae for that matter. Snapping back to the present, Kyayad quickly responded.

"Only two of our ships are accounted for, commander. We must find the rest of our fleet, if we are too have any hope of finding our way out of this mess. The Guardian will remain here, at least until our probes report back, but you will join Shipmaster Qadad on the Virtuous Endeavor. Take as many of your specialists as you like, but please leave Nadan's troops here, I'd like some on the ship." Having said that, Pinpin looked once more out into the unknown.

"As you say, fleetmaster." Kyayad left the bridge then, making his way through the ship. To any outside observer he appeared calm and collected, but he was deeply unsettled by what had occurred. The commander was flying blind into this star system, and while it might be one of their ships, it was human station that caused all of this, so he might be risking a confrontation there. Hopefully they weren't trigger happy, the Virtuous Endeavor was a corvette, weak and unshielded. It could hold its own against smaller earth ships, but that was a big risk to take. Nevertheless, he had his orders, and he would carry them out.

[Brusia]

Dr. Edwin von Braun
Ark Leusinia

As the Ark Leusinia approached its destination, the vessel's computer automatically awoke the physicians aboard so that they could begin waking the rest of the crew and examining them to ensure none were suffering from any unintended side effects from their time in stasis. Among those physicians was one Dr. Edwin von Braun, one of the few humans aboard the Leusinia, and the physician assigned to the Asari Pathfinder team. He stretched for abit after waking up from his six century nap, and after giving himself the all clear following a quick self-diagnosis, he proceeded to carry out his duties. Protocol dictated that the Ark's Captain, Helmsman, and other critical crew members were to be awoken first, followed by the Pathfinder and the rest of the Pathfinder team. As he and the other physicians started opening up the first set of pods, Edwin suddenly felt that something was...off somehow. He'd served on the Yorktown for long enough to get a feel for what things like the hum of a ship's engine core and the vibrations in its hull plating were like when a ship was traveling through normal space, and things definitely didn't feel right on the Leusinia. He gazed over at the Captain for a moment, and from the worried look on her face he got the feeling that she could sense it too.

Once the rest of the Ark's senior officers were awake they quickly made their way to the Bridge, and Edwin and the other doctors set about waking up the Pathfinder and her team. As the pods began to open, Edwin found himself standing over the Pathfinder's youngest daughter: Ceiah T'zeri. He didn't know her personally; having originally been assigned to the Hyperion and reassigned to the Leusinia only a few days before the Initiative made its way to Andromeda, he'd missed out on the various briefings and meet and greets that were held before launch, and so only knew his fellow Pathfinder team members by the brief dossiers and medical records he'd just barely had the time to read before getting put into cryo. As he recalled, Ceiah was among those on the team with Commando training, and as the Ark itself was unarmed, he was glad that there would at least be people with that kind of training and skill set up and about if something did turn out to be wrong. As she started coming to, Edwin performed a quick medical scan with his omni-tool, and once the scan was completed and everything read as normal he stated:

"Welcome to Andromeda, Ms. T'zeri. Are you feeling alright?"

[The Last Magic]

Aika
Dooku's Chosen

I swear I am going to die here...

Another uneventful day. They had made no advance on the ship they were following. The stars seemed to stretch endlessly around them, not a familiar landmark in sight, save for infinite blackness. The light flickered in and out as the ship pressed on for no apparent reason. Aika was just about ready to claw her eyes out.
She had seen no reason to come here. She was a much better assassin back where she wasn't cooped up in a ship all day. Now she was stuck with a bunch of other people whom she had no care to meet and was in an unfamiliar galaxy. The only person she enjoyed was Ziam, although she hadn't seen her Master anywhere for some time. Which probably meant he was standing directly behind her.
Aika sighed and leaned on the wall beside the window she was looking out of. She searched the sky for constellations but found none. It was nerve-racking to say the least. Not knowing where you are while in a ship with unknown people following another ship that basically wanted her dead. Oh, yeah, the perfect vacation spot. Quite possibly as bad as Tatooine.

Seriously... Where are we?

[Valkiir]

"well ain't this a fine how-do-ya-fricking-do," Jaeger grumbled as he extracted himself from a tangle of wreckage metal protesting as he bent and twisted panels to free himself. the girder across his chest was stout and forced himself to apply his full strength. the deck buckled slightly but the beam shifted allowing him to stand up.

The Hallway was shredded, metal was twisted and melted by a direct hit, the entire section was open to space." Well, that doesn't belong there."

Making his way along the hull toward a functioning airlock. "Jaeger 225 is anyone receiving, Proceeding to Bridge."

He paused while speaking to look up at the stars, not expecting to recognize any to begin with. Through the debris and the now crystallized atmosphere ejected from the ship, the stars looked totally alien.

"Where are we this time?"

[Nuxipal]

Ark Leusinia, Heleus Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy

A burst of light as the mass effect field releases itself allowing the Ark Leusinia to exit FTL in the new Galaxy. It had been 634 Years since they left their home behind and the first signs of activity began to appear in the ship. Lights activated and the Cryopod crews and bridge crew were thawed out automatically. The SAM node began thawing the Pathfinder as well. Her team would be thawed shortly afterwards. Matriarch Ishara looked around the bridge. The captain looked out the viewscreen and asked, "What is that?" Ishara looked out as well, "Its not good. Wake my team. We may need to get out there sooner rather than later."


Ceiah T'zeri

Cieah awoke in the Cryo Bay. Doctors checking out the rest of the Team nearby. "Welcome to Andromeda. Lets get you up to speed." She was helped into the recovery wing to be tested and released for duty. She saw a few members of her own Team also being moved around. Some seem to have already been released and were on their way towards the armory to get their gear sorted out. Dozens of science officers were also being woken up. Something must be going on. "Hey, do you know why the Science teams are also being woken up?"

One of the cryo doctors responded, "Captain said something about an energy cloud blocking our path. We can't even see Habitat 6, but we know it is within this system. The probes we sent ahead were destroyed by the cloud, so the Pathfinder has called for the Ark to stop and her teams prepared for excursion beyond the cloud to ensure we are in the right place."

Great, we don't even have the goal insight, Ceiah thought. "Makes sense. Lets get this over with." She takes a seat on one of the beds and waits her turn for a doctor to arrive. She notes that there are also Salarians and Humans working in the medical staff. It was odd, but it made sense to have a mixture of races based on each of their own specialties.

The Doctor approached and asked how she was feeling, "I am feeling well Dr. Braun. Just eager to figure out what is wrong. I hear rumors of an energy cloud? I hear Matriarch Ishara wants us to go on some kind of excursion out beyond the cloud."

[Lycanth]

T-251 Star Cruiser Star Hunter
Andromeda, Tracing Several Ship Trasmittions

Kaiya Sepaw has been hopping from system to system in her home galaxy for years. She was either wanted for murder or smuggling, or being hunted by the CIS for desertion. Not to mention the fact that she bailed on her first mission as a Sith Acolyte. Count Dooku was probably not very happy with that. Her home galaxy was getting too dry on credits and the mercenary work was the same: Fight some droids for us! Fight some clones for us! Take out a Hutt for us! It was time for something new.

On one of her smuggling runs into a Republic port on Coruscant, she overheard some of the clone troopers talking about a new Galaxy: Andromeda.

New galaxy, eh? She thought. Maybe it's time for a change in scenery.

Since then, she's been following the Republic Star Destroyer that set it's course for the new galaxy. Along the way, she picked up a few other frequencies. She couldn't tell where they were coming from. New life, perhaps? If the Republic had the idea of hopping galaxies, I'm sure the CIS and others probably have too. She thought. She looked over at her B1 Battle Droid companion. "Bolts, see if you can figure out what those other frequencies are. I wanna know if they're from this galaxy." The droid flipped a few switches and spun some dials. "Roger, roger." Kaiya sat back and watched the light show around her.

This is gonna be a long trip...

[The Republic of Atria]

Habitat 7

Jack sat down inside the shuttle, checking his guns and sheathing his sword, more than a little nervous about his situation. He was just supposed to be the Pathfinder's bodyguard, not the actual Pathfinder. The only reason he was next on the chain was probably because he had the AI in his head, which only made him wonder about how many people knew about it. Unshackled AIs inside a person was about as illegal as it got. Then again, it was illegal in the Milky Way, and this was Andromeda, well beyond the jurisdiction of whatever nonsense the Council could come up with. His train of thought was interrupted by something striking the shuttle and shaking. "Ah! What in the hell?!" He shouted as he gripped his seat. "What's going on?! Are we getting shot at?!" He shouted to the pilot.

"No!" The pilot replied. "I think it's lightning! It's fried the damn controls! I'm trying to regain control, but-" He was cut off when several larger bolts of the lightning struck the engines. The detonation tore a huge hole in the side of the shuttle, causing depressurization and sucking Jack out. The Pathfinder gripped the arm of a chair as the spinning shuttle hurtled towards the ground. While Jack's grip held firm, the shuttle's seat didn't, and tore away from the shuttle, flinging the human across the sky as the shuttled crashed hundreds of meters away.

Jack and his AI quickly reacted, flaring up his biotics to decrease the damage of him smacking into the floating rock that he hit, which hurt, but he slowly floated down to the ground, landing on his feet with a grunt. "Ow." He muttered, checking his body for damage. "Ugh. What's the damage? Also, what's going on? Reports didn't say anything about freaking lightning storms."

"Minor epidermal abrasions and bruising, but nothing else. I will have the damage undone in just a minute." His AI chipped in. "Warning. The air is highly toxic. I would not remove your helmet." Hie AI said. "How strange. Reports indicated that the atmosphere was ideal for human life."

"Yeah. God DAMMIT!" He hissed and kicked a small pile of rocks off of a cliff, only to have them float straight up and allow him to see the beauty that the planet had to offer by seeing several floating mountains off in the distance. "...Wow. You know, minus the poison air-" Jack was interrupted by a bolt of lightning striking the ground dangerously close to him. "-Ah! And freak lightning storms, this place really is kinda pretty. Alright. Attention paid to pretty landscape, can you locate the pilot?" Jack asked his AI.

"Affirmative. Approximately three hundred meters east of your location. I would recommend trying to stay close to the mountain for cover from the lightning." It replied and Jack set off. "I believe we are passed the 'execute the plan' stage and are now in the 'off the rails' stage. Have you trashed the plan?"

"I've trashed the plan." Jack replied as he crept along the side of cliff. "New plan is find the pilot, radio for a new shuttle and get the hell off this freaking electric rock. What the hell happened?!"

"Unknown." His AI replied. "Your plan seems to be quite simple. Are you expecting it to go off the rails?"

"Give my luck from the last hour, what do you think?"

[New Rob Halfordia]

UNSC Go For Broke
Andromeda Galaxy
Kodiak-142

"Damon, I swear if you die I'm going to kill you. Wake up already."

The words echoed through the Spartan's as he slowly came to. The cryostasis chamber he was placed in had clearly been not only deactivated, but heavily damaged. As he struggled to peer through the fogged and cracked glass, he saw sparks of electricity along with what appeared to be a series of corpses. Kodiak looked down at his hands, reaching for his gun only to find there wasn't one. That's one of those things they don't typically let you bring into cryosleep. As the Spartan unstrapped himself, he fell onto the glass cover of the pod, cracking it even further. He could only imagine what kind of position it was in. Still groggy from his prolonged nap, the Spartan attempted to slam on the glass several times before the hardened glass shattered and he fell to the floor below.

"Ah, good, you solved the puzzle.", the voice said again, "I was wondering if you ever would. Seems even though you're not frozen anymore your IQ still isn't far above room temperature. Give it some time, it'll thaw out."

"Not the time, Morrison.", Kodiak grunted to his AI, stumbling across the room to one of the dead soldiers. One of them had a magnum, an old model as well. Perfect. As Morrison wandered through the halls of the supercarrier, he kept his weapon at the ready, his armor's lights illuminating the darkened hallways before him. The occasional cough of an injured soldier could be heard through the hallways, as well as the dripping of various fluids leaking from pipelines throughout the ship. Wires hanging from the walls and ceiling occasionally sparked, briefly illuminating the incapacitated soldiers throughout the ships many hallways. Kodiak suddenly spoke in a hushed tone, "Morrison, what the hell happened while I was out?"

"A battle with the Covenant. Well, a remnant of the Covenant. The war was won while you were asleep, the Covenant defeated and the Flood exterminated. However, some Covenant, called the 'Remnant' by the UNSC, still perform minor attacks and ambushes. I believe this to be what occurred here.", the AI said, as Kodiak slowly continued down the halls, "Right now, we are outside of the Milky Way galaxy, somewhere in Andromeda."

"What?!", Kodiak asked stopping in the hallway for a moment, "We are in another galaxy? When? How? Why? You know what, never mind. Morrison, where's the bridge? I'm gonna kick it into overtime, see if I'm actually awake now."

"Mapping route to bridge."

As Morrison spoke, a line on the ground appeared on Kodiak's hud, leading to the bridge, and the Spartan broke out into a full sprint. Each step from the half ton giant rumbled through the corridors, as he turned tight corners in the hallways with relative ease. Jumping over crates and boxes, he left noticeable dent in the metal floor, before once more breaking out into a sprint. As he approached the bridge he slowed down to a walk, as more injured personnel became apparent. He would never get used to seeing plasma burned infantry. The effects of Covenant weapons had truly devastating effects on any biological life, not only leaving horrific scars and burns, but potentially poisoning any and all of it's victims.

As he walked by, he could hear the soldiers speaking in hushed tones about his presence. Seeing Spartan II's was a rare occurrence, and in many cases, even acted as a morale boost to even the most battered soldiers and personnel. Entering the bridge, he spotted what appeared to be a Lieutenant Colonel. Approaching, he saluted, before reporting, "Spartan II reporting for duty Ma'am, designation Kodiak-142. I just awoke from cryosleep and am ready to help in any way I can."

[Valkiir]

Jaeger finally found his way past the savaged section of the ship after a few minutes he managed to get the hatch open and his oversized frame though the small service hatch. Beyond it was a mess as well. the area looked as if there had been a firefight one that had ended before he showed up.

He picked up weapons to replace his own as he went, he didn't have time to do anything more than getting to the bridge. pausing at a checkpoint to wrench the heavy machine gun off its mount and sling it over his shoulder, Just in case.

He reached the bridge and spotted a second Spartan, although a smaller one Reporting in. Class reunions could wait he decided and faced the skipper.

"Jaeger 225 reporting in..."

[Parcia]

A certain Ship
Unknown Space.

His old apprentice would be right, in a sense. He wasn't right behind her, rather on the ship she was, simply masking his presence. Wasn't really easy, had to slip in to another of his trances, a state that brought chills to his metaphorical self. His reason for tailing his apprentice was simple: He needed to move on to the next stage of her training. He had loaned her to Dooku as a show of respect to the man, as he was the only Modern Sith who he held respect for.

Back to the present. The transition from Sith teaching to Jedi, to eventually the teachings in between had to take place only after one had experienced war, peace, and life in general. Hence why he had waited until now, though the place would have been chosen better, had Dooku not sent her here.

None the less, now was the time. He dropped the trance, slipping out of the meditative state and let his full presence be known. He slipped the DL-44 in to his holster and clipped his saber to his belt. Lastly, he slipped the laser bow around his back, the mag lock keeping it there.

He left the cargo hold he was staying in and set out to find his apprentice.

[The Knockout Gun Gals]

UNSC Endeavor, New Frontier Expedition
Andromeda, Location Unknown
Autumn - G017

Autumn lied her back on the wall as she slouched herself in a sitting position. As one of the half remaining Gammas, she had to took rest for now. After the Covenant decided to assaulted the station, Gamma Company was assigned to reinforced the front-line. Perhaps there was reason, because at that point Gamma Company was one of the remaining SPARTAN-III companies who had yet to revolutionized into SPARTAN-IV, and thus quite literally needed one. Unfortunately, they were supposed to do that after they went from the station. Gamma Company fought bravely, but the station was destroyed and half of them were killed in the battle, partially because of that.

She was called with the remaining Gammas to the bridge. In an attempt to consolidation, perhaps. She reported in, along with the rest. "Autumn - G017, reporting for duty!"

[The Templar High Council]

Ark Natanus, Heleus Cluster, Andromeda

The turian ark appeared in system, ready to do what it was built to do. Carrying countless numbers of the imperialistic avian race to the Andromeda galaxy, the essential crew was automatically awoken, following protocol. After that... nothing could be done until the Pathfinder herself was woken up...

Valea woke up in the same metal and glass pod she laid down in over 600 years ago. She could feel all of her limbs and had no "freezerburn-related effects."

And that was where the good news ended.

"Terius, status report!" The pathfinder yelled in agitation. There was a medical officer running checks on her even as Valea stormed onto the piloting deck of the Natanus. She had already dressed in her black combat suit, with a heartbeat monitor wrapped around one arm as a medical officer checked her steadily rising pulse.

"I don't know what this is! It's like a web of spiky pulsing... things in space!" The pilot of the enormous ark kept the ship from getting any closer to the strange substance, but as Valea looked down at the navigation charts and back to the viewport, she could see that something was even more wrong than it first seemed. "Where is the habitat..?" She mumbled, pointing out shards of rock amongst the terrifying expanse.

Terius looked down, then back up; his mandibles very shortly after falling in shock as the bridge fell silent. There was no Habitat 5, just the pulsating orange substance and planetary rubble. It didn't take an astronomer to realize that something had ruined their "golden world." Valea waited for a moment in silence, listening to the recently awakened AI in her head to offer its endless well of knowledge and nodding in compliance to the voice in her head. "I haven't got a clue what's going on here, but we haven't got anywhere to land at the moment. We're not going to accomplish anything sitting here and staring at space; take us to the Nexus so we can report in with the rest of the Arks." Valea finally let herself get dragged away, once two more of the medical staff came and pulled her back into the elevator. Terius nodded and began turning the ship around, as the turian Pathfinder grit her teeth in defiance of their new galaxy attempting to deter them...

[Athrax]

Aboard Exploration Group Thracian's flagship

Kiron Zevva dropped into a fighting stance, his face set with concentration. His opponant, a clone trooper with a shaved head, stood in a similar stance across from him in the middle of a circle of near-identical faces, all of them cheering on their brother. The two fighters circled slightly before the clone made his move, leaping close to Kiron with a blow aim straight for the Echani's chin. The yound Padawan feinted to deflect the blow, then took a step in, grabbing the man's outstretched arm, then grabbing him beneath the other arm and bodily tossing him to the ground and pinning him, to a groan from their spectators. With a grin, the young Padawan released the man and got to his feet, offering the other man a hand up.

"Not bad, Forr," Kiron said, pulling the other man to his feet. "You're definetly getting the right mindset, but you're still leading with the right shoulder. Gives you away every time you're going for a hit like that."
"I still say you're just using Jedi intution on me, sir," the clone returned ruefully.
With a shrug, Kiron chuckled. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, trooper." This eliceted a laugh from the crowd. "You've all picked these skills up quickly, but with our arrival soon I doubt we'll have that many chances to continue in person, so keep practicing amongst yourselves." Glancing at a chrono on the wall of the hanger bay they stood in, Kiron added "Looks like we'd better break this up. We're dropping out of hyperspace soon, and I'd rather avoid the wrath of your seargants and my Master. Carry on, gentlemen."

Gathering up his discarded robes, Kiron made his way through the corridor to his quarters, where he placed the old robes in a hamper, set aside his belt and lightsaber, and stepped into the shower to rinse off the sweat. The trip between galaxies had placed relatively few demands on the young Padawan, and only so much meditation was possible before it just became sitting around. To pass the time, he had started up a small, impromptu class amongst some of the clone troopers in their off-duty hours to teach them Echani fighting styles. They had picked up his lessons fairly quickly, as one would expect of men bred to be fighters, but Kiron still had the advantage of experience so he won most bouts. Still, it was a good way to stay in shape, pass the time, and build up comraderie with some of the men on the ship.
Stepping out of the shower, Kiron dried himself off before donning fresh robes. Settling his belt with it's attached lightsaber into place, he was preparing to set off for the bridge when his comm chimed. Checking it, he saw a message from his master, summoning him .

[Brusia]

Dr. Edwin von Braun
Ark Leusinia

Once Ceiah replied that she was feeling well, Edwin began the routine examination required for everyone waking up out of cryo. When Ceiah stated she was eager to figure out what was wrong, Edwin replied "You and me both, I haven't heard so much as a whisper over the comms since I got out of cryo" while checking Ceiah's pulse. After confirming her pulse was normal, Edwin continued "Though we haven't had time to perform equipment diagnostics yet, maybe there's a problem with my comm device..." Edwin quickly brought up his omni-tool and ran a diagnostic on his comms. The diagnostic didn't find anything faulty with the equipment, but it did reveal the source of the problem. "Ah" Edwin stated "Looks like my comms are still tuned in to the Hyperion's communications frequency. Give me just a second." After quickly adjusting the device to patch it into the Leusinia's comm frequency, Edwin proceeded to perform a quick examination of Ceiah's SAM implant while listening to the info finally coming in on his comm device.

Once his examination was complete, he stated: "Sounds like you were right, we've apparently encountered an unknown spatial phenomenon appearing to be some sort of 'energy cloud,' and the Pathfinder wants us prepped for an excursion past whatever's out there to get our bearings. I guess things aren't exactly going as planned, but the good news is you're still in good health, so I'm officially clearing you for duty. Now then, I guess we'd best make our way to the armory and grab our gear; hopefully we'll get a more detailed briefing before we leave."

[Nuxipal]

Ceiah T'zeri, Ark Lusinia

The doctor finished up his examination and graded her clear for active duty. She was excited for that and as he suggested they move to the Armory to prepare for whatever mission the Pathfinder was prepping for them, Ceiah smiled. "Finally, we have been lying around for centuries doing nothing. Its about time we actually got this show on the road."

The pair walked down several corridors and onto the Tram. They sped towards the armory where she knew the Pathfinder and her teams would be assembling. "So doctor, what do you think the energy cloud is made of?" She asked as the tram was coming to a halt. They turned the corner minutes later into the Armory where the rest of the team was preparing for an excursion. She noticed her mother, the pathfinder, Matriarch Ishara, already fully prepared along with her second, Sarissa Theris. They would form the head of the two teams. Ceiah already knew she was assigned to Sarissa's team to keep her and her mother separated so they do not try and assist one another too much during combat. She sat and listened to the briefing.

[Turmenista]

UNSC Go for Broke
Spartan Harrison Thatcher, Andromeda Galaxy
May 27, ????

Eighty two... Eighty three... eighty four.. - Shit. God damn it. Eighty five.

SPARTAN-IV Commander Harrison Thatcher stepped over the bisected body of an ODST leaned up on the wall, his chest essentially burst open like some sort of grotesque pinata by the plasma weaponry. The medics by him had tried all they could to save him, but by the time Thatcher came over, it was too late. The ODSTs vital signs were flat as his head was rolled slightly to the side, his face invisible underneath his helmet's polarized visor as Thatcher let out a sigh, lowering his DMR into a patrol stance. It was a good thing that the late Helljumper's visor was polarized, too; Thatcher had seen too many dead faces and people today - he was almost desensitized to the sight of one of his fallen comrades scattered across the hangar, where the fiercest of the fighting took place on the Punic-class supercarrier.

He turned away from the body and sighed, returning to the two medics from earlier. "That's.. eighty five of our marines, KIA." he managed to get out, the tight grip around his weapon nearly snapping the DMR as he lowered his head. "How's this one?" He inquired, looking down at a marine who had taken a needler to the stomach. The projectile weapon that exploded after impact had turned his insides to meat, but the biofoam was doing its work, at least, until proper medical care could be available. The marine whined and moaned as he cradled his gut with blood-smeared hands, looking weakly up at Thatcher as he gave a thumbs up with a blood-covered hand. To his side lay a M6D Magnum - the same one which he had used to end the life of a brute lying a few yards away from him, blood slowly pooling from an open hole in the Jiralhanae's forehead. "Bravo Kilo tried to rush us.. but I... I stopped his ass from hitting O'Neil with that needler of his... it hit me instead.."

"That's great, marine. But we're gonna get you out of here." Thatcher said, nodding to the medics as they carried him off on the stretcher. Before they had exited, however, the marine's hand reached out to the Spartan, who motioned for the medics to stop as he approached the marine.

"Did I... did I do good, sir..?" The marine asked feebily. Thatcher could see tears forming on the young soldier's eyes as he nodded slowly. "You did great, Marine. Now, we're gonna make those split-jawed sons of bitches pay." The marine gave one last smile as he slipped into a coma. The medics ferried him off shortly after. "He'll be fine," they said to him - the'd taped him up and used up all their biofoam - but Thatcher knew that if he didn't get to proper care anytime soon, he'd be a goner.

They'd all almost been goners, too.

The Covenant was relentless in their last great attempt of revenge on the UNSC. The most severe damage of all the battlegroup had been dealt to the supercarrier, of course, but in Thatcher's mind, most of this damage was on the carrier's expansive interior. The large hangars, such as one where he stood, were the first to be boarded by the Covenant boarding craft, so there was no doubt that they'd be receiving the brunt of the combat when Plutarch station was attacked. Thatcher had seen everything the Covenant Remnant could throw at them: Brutes, Grunts, Elites, Jackals, it didn't matter now. What mattered now was - first and foremost - figuring out where they were, and - second - kicking the Covenant's ass out of this system once and for all. Humanity was no longer playing the defensive game, now that the war had ended, but everyone knew that when the 'Covies all got themselves organized and struck as a single unit, the results were devastating.

Thatcher had never seen this many dead since the Fall of Reach.

He turned away from the slaughter in front of him as he crossed over into Hangar bay two, which had been temporarily converted into a makeshift hospital by the ship medical crew and marine corpsmen. He was approached by a SPARTAN-IV in his GEN2 Mjolnir armor, designated as the "Recruit" variant by its instantly-recognizable helmet. The Spartan saluted Thatcher as the Spartan commander placed his DMR on his back, taking off his helmet. "What's happened, Lieutenant?"

"We're mopping up all the dead left over from the battle, Commander. According to the crew, we're outside of the Milky Way galaxy and appear... to be in the Andromeda Galaxy.."

"What?!" Thatcher squinted his eyes in disbelief as he rushed over to one of the few windows still intact. He'd seen the sight before from looking up to the night sky of the Ark - the Milky way galaxy, seemingly within reach of his hand, lay far beyond the ship towards the stars millions of lightyears away from where they stood. If they wanted to even try to get back over there... they'd have to be in cryo for.. quite some time. "Well, shit. Looks like you're right, el-tee."

"What do we do now?"

Thatcher stowed his helmet as he faced the Spartan, almost making out his reflection from his visor. "We'll do what we do every time, Spartan Sound off - gather up all my Spartans and tell them to meet me at the bridge. The Lieutenant Commander would most likely want us to show up with this new setting in mind."

"And you, sir?" The SPARTAN-IV paused.

Spartan Thatcher turned around and stepped down the ramp leading to the lower levels of the hangar, a straight look on his face as the SPARTAN-IV from earlier followed close behind. "This is what I like to call a little morale boostin' session," Thatcher explained, stopping to address at the Marines standing around the deck. "Alright, Marines, gather around! Move it - especially you greenhorn! Move like you've got a purpose!"

The men and women of the UNSC Marine Corps all rushed over to meet Thatcher, standing in formation as the Spartan paced in front of the back and forth repeatedly. With each step, the metallic clink-clank of his feet hitting the grated floor below grew louder, and louder, until finally he stopped his march, folding his hands behind his back as he faced the group before him.

"Men, when I used to be a Helljumper, I did not join the corps just so I could get my ass kicked by a bunch of ugly, split-chinned alien sons of bitches! I joined the corps to, number ONE - defend humanity, number TWO - kick some ass, and, most importantly, NUMBER THREE - LOOK GOOD WHILST DOING SO! With that being said, it is now our duty, Marines, once more, to defend humanity, kick some Covenant ass, and look mighty damn good while doing it! We may have stumbled onto something new - some new alien galaxy we're in, and we may be lost, but do not fear! For I do not give a singlular goddamn fuck regardless! This is our turf now - we may be scared, outgunned, and outnumbered, but we've got something that those religious xeno bastards don't got - family! I have fought alongside many of you for years, and I ain't just gonna let you go down easy like this! Those 'Covie bastards lost one war to us, and I'll sure as hell see to it that they'll lose another one! We are going to blow the hell outta those bug bitches until there's nothing left to blow up, and then, we're going to tear Bravo Kilo seven hundred new ass holes - one for me, one for the Lieutenant Commander, and hundreds for all of you all!"

He turned around, pausing his speech for dramatic effect as he executed an about face, facing the marines all lined up to hear his speech, "Am I right, Marines?!"

"SIR, YES SIR!" The marines shouted in unison as Thatcher nodded, attaching his helmet. "Damn straight, marines. Any pilots, see if you can do some scouting with any Pelicans. We need to know where we are and if its not just the Covenant that we're up against here. In the meantime, I'll be at the bridge..."

---

As he entered the bridge, Thatcher could make out the figure of a few more Spartans - SPARTAN-IIs and a SPARTAN-III, to be more precise. Saluting the Lieutenant Commander at the bridge, Thatcher reported in. "Spartan Harrison Thatcher, reporting for duty." He said, before taking a look at his team. "Let's cut to the chase - we took a massive hit out there, but we're all here to make the Covenant pay. I suppose these are the Spartans I'll be working with today, ma'am?"

If these Spartans had an issue with a SPARTAN-IV leading them, Thatcher thought, then getting along well with his team would be out of the question.

[Brusia]

Dr. Edwin von Braun
Ark Leusinia

Edwin smiled abit at Ceiah's enthusiasm in learning about the mission; after spending the last couple years looking at the bored expressions of a crew stuck on patrol duty it was quite refreshing to see someone actually excited about a mission for a change. He followed alongside her as they made their way onto the tram, and when she asked what he thought the energy cloud was made of, he stroked his beard in thought before replying:

"Well, I imagine it has to be something that poses a pretty serious risk to the ship if they're bringing the Ark to a full stop and sending us out to investigate. Maybe a protomatter nebula of some sort? I know they're just theoretical, but in Andromeda who knows what's possible? And just think, whatever is out there, we'll be among the first Humans and Asari to get a look at it!" As the tram doors opened, now with an excited look of his own, Edwin followed Ceiah the rest of the way to the armory, and once inside, made his way over to his locker where he quickly donned his armor and equipped his weapons. Once he was finished, he checked to see which team he was assigned to, and after learning he'd been put on Sarissa's team, walked to the briefing area and took a seat next to Ceiah just before the briefing began.

[Valkiir]

Jaeger stood impassively. His hulking form unmoving as the "IV" entered the bridge and took charge. His helmet turned slightly as he focused on Thatcher. Behind his mask eyes narrowed as he sized the newcomer up. His posture shifted as he turned slightly toward the smaller Spartan and gave him his full attention. Once again he became unmoving feet solidly planted balance centered, and body relaxed ever so slightly.

When Thatcher had said his piece Jaeger reached up popped his helmet and removed it. Running a blunt-fingered hand through the reddish stubble on his scalp. He regarded the others for a moment as his hand mechanically dug into a pouch and extracted a metal cylinder popping the cap off with a thumb and shaking out a long thick cigar.He wadded up the metal tube as if it were a piece of tinfoil and negligently tossed it onto a pile of debris. Expertly snipping the tip off the cigar before jamming it into his mouth and smiling slightly. His face a mess of scars, old injuries, and the less than outstanding looks Nature had gifted him with. He took a long relaxing drag off the cigar.

"Covenant easy, Pont and click," Jaeger replied as the lighter came up to his cigar looking ridiculously small in his hands. His mind running a checklist of other issues that were slightly more pressing than a few renegades that might still be on the ship. "That early jump, on a ship shot to hell, with the nearest refit yard two point five-three-seven million, with an M, light years away. That's gonna be tricky."

He examined the cigar thoughtfully for a moment then looked around the bridge eyes tracking each point of damage as if drawn to them on a string as he waited for someone to reply or add their own bit to the discussion." Jaeger,225, .... You call the shots and I'll do my bit."

[Zepplien]

SDV-class heavy corvette Sinner's Judgment
"STATUS!" The shipmaster demanded of the crew who could still stand, those who could rushing from one control station to the other. Dead bodies were removed by the Unggoy who waddled back and forth between the bridge and the lower levels. "Main reactor damaged, engines and weapons both offline, slipstream drive offline." a crewman reported, another muttering "Gods help us." as they at least managed to bring the sensors online. With a pop the screens displaying space around the Corvette came back online. "Where are we?" The Shipmaster asked, his AI voicing "Sadness and despair... We are without worthy speaking to one of such honor... Ignorance is the answer." It was almost painful to hear the AI communicate, the nigh useless machines kept out of purest necessity. "Shipmaster!" the distinct voice cried, the human girl who had been allowed onto the ship by direct recommendation of the Minister of Conversion. "Nishum..." a jealous Major muttered as he stood to attention, the shipmaster moving past him and looking to where the human pointed. He almost wished he hadn't, seeing the UNSC Endeavor above them, its massive hull couldn't have been more than a couple hundred meters away.

Sarah Gustav'ee was not one of little experience in the art of combat, but even for her the battle had been brutal. A team of ODST had attempted to board the Sinner's Judgement. Sarah being one of those who stood firm against the heathens who dared to spread their filthy footsteps aboard a ship under her precious protection. She had cut them down, sure as if the Gods themselves were at her side, only serving to renew her faith in the Ancients. How could her fellow humans be so blind, as if their eyes had been plucked at birth from their skulls, as to not see the inherit Godhood of the Forerunners? The weight of their heresy would not stay her feet, she alone among humans would walk the journey side by side with those who had accepted her into their ranks.

"Ultra Gustav'ee, I have an idea." the shipmaster offered, the young woman before him bowing deeply "When I was young, I saw the humans above Reach use a slipstream drive as a bomb, use it to teleport away part of our supercarrier." he placed upon her shoulder a leathery hand "I command that you take our ship's drive, use our captured pelican, and take it aboard that UNSC ship and bring us victory!" "I shall continue my march to glorious salvation! I shall walk the Journey with head held high for my actions against the heathens!" She adopted a bow once more as she continued "Thank you forever Shipmaster! The honor and trust you have placed upon me is without equal, without measure! Until my dying breath I shall serve the Covenant!"

"Allow me the honor instead shipmaster!" demanded the Major of the deck, stepping forward toward the human with a hand griped tight "I shall lead us all to glorious victory!" The shipmaster and Gustav'ee both stared at the insolent Major for a moment. "Shipmaster if you would allow me the honor?" Sarah had to ask, and the Shipmaster walking to the Major and offering his sword to him "Take her head and you may have her command." The Major was no aristocrat but he was convinced that he could at least best this small human woman that stood against him, with her sword hilt in her hand. The Major ignited the sword and all on the bridge knew that blood was now demanded, honor would suffer nothing else. He ran forward, confident that his advantage in height and strength would carry the day for him, swinging his sword in a long arc with his strength behind it. Sarah had learned the art of the duel, and dropped under the blade, igniting her own and cutting through the Major with a single slash. She did not use strength, she merely let the blade do the work for her, and cut away the flesh. She deactivated her sword as she stood up once more, bowing to the Shipmaster and informing "I will speak to our Huragok." as the body dropped behind her.

[Brusia]

Martius Shan
Endeavour

Jedi General Martius Shan stood on the nearly deserted flight deck of the Venator-class cruiser Endeavour surrounded by fighters, transports, and a variety of other vessels each in their various bays. Next to him stood one Commander Maverick, the former XO of the 53rd Attack Battalion, who had fought and bled with the man beside him on battlefields from the deserts of Geonosis, to the skyscrapers of Christophsis, to the jungles of Felucia. Maverick wasn't about to let a little thing like a new galaxy keep him apart from his long time friend and CO, and though Martius never found out exactly how he managed to do it, the Clone Commander somehow got himself reassigned from the 53rd to Exploration Group Thracian just before they launched, and Martius was certainly glad that he did.

In addition to being a sorely needed friend, Maverick had been instrumental in helping to train the new batch of clone troopers, who had been assigned to the Exploration Group fresh out of their basic training on Kamino. Though the basic training the clones were given was quite rigorous in itself, Martius was determined to see that the troops in this expedition would be as well prepared as possible to face whatever unknown threats might lay in wait in this unexplored galaxy, and to that end drilled them night and day to prepare them for battle. The nightmares of Tinnel IV that plagued him every time he closed his eyes had left Martius largely unable to sleep, which also meant that he was awake often enough to launch surprise drills at just about any time. Like right now.

"You may begin." Martius informed Commander Maverick, who activated a stopwatch just as klaxons began to sound throughout the ship. Martius took a deep breath, enjoying the last few moments of quiet before the deserted flight deck would find itself bristling with activity. Right on cue, he could hear the patter of footsteps rushing into the nearby armory, followed by the clanging of locker doors, and the sudden dash of hundreds of pilots onto the flight deck and into the nearby vessels. Once the last pilot was in his ship, Maverick deactivate his stopwatch and showed it to Martius.

"5 minutes and 23 seconds" Martius loudly stated to the group of clones on the flight deck "Excellent work men! That's 12 seconds faster than the last drill, and nearly five minutes faster than the first drill we conducted after leaving our galaxy."

"But still 48 seconds slower than the 53rd!" Maverick interjected "If you ever want to get a decent night's sleep again, than you'd best start moving faster than that! Dismissed!"

The clone troopers grumbled abit as they slowly made their way back towards the armory. Though they didn't much appreciate it now, Martius and Maverick knew they'd see the value of this training the first time they found themselves in actual combat. Or at least they hoped they'd see the value, since those who didn't see the importance of always being prepared would probably wind up dead instead of having that epiphany.

Martius had also heard that some of the other Jedi in their little fleet had been helping to train the troops, though he never confirmed it. He'd made a habit of avoiding the fellow members of his Order during the trip, as he didn't particularly desire hearing any of the lectures about how he was a "disgrace to the Order" and a "terrible Jedi" that they would almost certainly have waiting for him; not least of all because he'd probably think they were right. Part of him still wondered why he made the call to bomb that port on Tinnel IV. He tried to convince himself that it was out of strategic necessity; to save the Republic, and the lives of countless others in the long run, but part of him didn't believe it. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe it was just out of simple ego; out of wanting to be a great hero of the Republic, much like his distant ancestor had been in the Mandalorian Wars... After a few moments of drifting off into this guilt plagued self-examination, Martius was shaken back into reality by his second-in-command, just like he had been countless times before over the course of their journey.

"Are you alright sir?" Maverick asked, same as he always did.

"I'm fine" Martius replied with a small, labored smile "Just a little distracted is all." They both knew it was a lie. They'd fought together long enough that Maverick and Martius could read each other like they were family, and in some sense maybe they were. With the former having been born in a tube and the latter ripped away from his parents at an age so young he couldn't even remember their faces, they had each become the closest thing the other had ever had to family; made brothers not by blood, but by the scathing forge of war.

"I'd best start heading to the Bridge for my meeting with the Admiral" Martius stated "Our next drill is scheduled to be aboard the Stalwart in a few hours, correct?"

"That's correct sir."

"Than I'll meet you there before the drill begins. In the meantime, you should go get some rest, and just to be clear, that's an order not a suggestion Commander."

"Understood General." Maverick then gave a crisp salute which Martius promptly returned, and the two went their separate ways.

Martius made his way towards the Endeavour's Command Bridge, where his weekly meeting with Admiral Deos reviewing the readiness status of the various ships in the fleet was about to begin. Though the two were technically of equal rank, it had been made abundantly clear to Martius that the Admiral was the one in command of the mission before they'd departed from their galaxy. As if to drive home this point, Martius hadn't even been given command of a Star Destroyer, and was instead relegated to perform whatever tasks the Admiral assigned to him. He didn't hold it against her however, as he knew well that it was his own fault that he was in this situation, and that things could've turned out far worse for him. In fact, he actually quite respected the Admiral, having witnessed her tactical prowess firsthand in a number of battles they'd both fought in during the War. Plus, Deos had mentioned a few times during their journey that if Martius could prove that he was worthy of her trust, she might one day see fit to granting him his own command again.

Martius entered the Bridge a few minutes early, as always, and informed one of the officers that he was ready to begin his meeting with the Admiral at her earliest convenience...

[Nuxipal]

Ceiah T'zeri, Ark Leusinia, Near Habitat 6

Pathfinder Ishara began her briefing. "Alright, I am sure everyone is ready to get on our way. Fortunately, we prepared ourselves for this eventuality. We brought a Frigate with us, the Periophona. It will let us get out there quickly and find where we need to go. According to SAM we have nearly hit a Dark Energy Cloud. Hopefully we will be able to find a way to bypass it and continue to our designated world. Gear up and lets get onboard the frigate. Team 1 and Team 2 will stay in the Hangar Areas of the Frigate so we can deploy you onto the planet when we get there."

The teams make their way to the frigate. It was of Asari Design and was designed to be the Pathfinder's ship in Andromeda. As they pulled out of the Ark's hangar the crews could see the energy cloud. Shortly after they turn around the edge of the cloud they catch sight of Habitat 6. From the Hangar, Ceiah looks out towards the planet , "By the goddess, that is not the world we were promised. It looks far too frozen to be our world." Sarissa, who was nearby responded, "I agree, however, perhaps it is still habitable." As they approach Sarissa point out something strange. "Look there, is that a starship?"

The comm in the hangar comes to life. "Everyone, look alive, unknown contacts coming in. Prepare for first contact protocol."

They await for the ship to near them so that first contact can be established. However, instead they open fire on the frigate. "Goddess! We need to do something about them." Ceiah said as she put on her helmet. Sarissa agreed, " Teams to the Dropships, we are going to board that ship and put an end to this fight quickly." The two dropships exited the hangar and sped towards the oncoming vessel. They were firing on the Periophona and seemingly ignored the two dropships as they approached. Within a few minutes the two dropships were in position to board the unknown ship.

Ceiah looked to Dr. Braun, "You ready for this? I don't think that these guys will be pushovers. They seem confident enough to outright attack us after all."

[Parcia]

Andromeda

Under Construction, disregard.

[Shadowwell]

Aboard Exploration Group Thracian's flagship

Kiron Zevva dropped into a fighting stance, his face set with concentration. His opponant, a clone trooper with a shaved head, stood in a similar stance across from him in the middle of a circle of near-identical faces, all of them cheering on their brother. The two fighters circled slightly before the clone made his move, leaping close to Kiron with a blow aim straight for the Echani's chin. The yound Padawan feinted to deflect the blow, then took a step in, grabbing the man's outstretched arm, then grabbing him beneath the other arm and bodily tossing him to the ground and pinning him, to a groan from their spectators. With a grin, the young Padawan released the man and got to his feet, offering the other man a hand up.

"Not bad, Forr," Kiron said, pulling the other man to his feet. "You're definetly getting the right mindset, but you're still leading with the right shoulder. Gives you away every time you're going for a hit like that."
"I still say you're just using Jedi intution on me, sir," the clone returned ruefully.
With a shrug, Kiron chuckled. "Whatever you need to tell yourself, trooper." This eliceted a laugh from the crowd. "You've all picked these skills up quickly, but with our arrival soon I doubt we'll have that many chances to continue in person, so keep practicing amongst yourselves." Glancing at a chrono on the wall of the hanger bay they stood in, Kiron added "Looks like we'd better break this up. We're dropping out of hyperspace soon, and I'd rather avoid the wrath of your seargants and my Master. Carry on, gentlemen."

Gathering up his discarded robes, Kiron made his way through the corridor to his quarters, where he placed the old robes in a hamper, set aside his belt and lightsaber, and stepped into the shower to rinse off the sweat. The trip between galaxies had placed relatively few demands on the young Padawan, and only so much meditation was possible before it just became sitting around. To pass the time, he had started up a small, impromptu class amongst some of the clone troopers in their off-duty hours to teach them Echani fighting styles. They had picked up his lessons fairly quickly, as one would expect of men bred to be fighters, but Kiron still had the advantage of experience so he won most bouts. Still, it was a good way to stay in shape, pass the time, and build up comraderie with some of the men on the ship.
Stepping out of the shower, Kiron dried himself off before donning fresh robes. Settling his belt with it's attached lightsaber into place, he was preparing to set off for the bridge when his comm chimed. Checking it, he saw a message from his master, summoning him .

Dib'hur, Jedi Knight and Weapons Master was standing in a conference room of sorts, waiting for his Padawan. The Noghri stood scarcely taller than the chairs situated around the Table. He turned as his much taller apprentice entered the room, he gestured silently for Kiron to sit as he did the same. as he sat down he did not fully cover the chair he sat in, making it a somewhat comical sight."I am worried about this, journey we are on. Since we left the Republic, whenever i attempt Meditation, i have been feeling unsettled. I do not exactly know what this mean, as the force works in mysterious ways, even more so for those that harness it. We need to be careful keep an eye out for anything strange or concerning."

The Noghri paused for a moment before he continued speaking. "I have felt the Dark side of the Force, though such a thing is not strange, even the Masters have been sensing it. i have a feeling that our mission here may not go smoothly for us. I only hope that we and our other brethren with the Fleet will be enough. Hopefully the Clones you have been training will be of some use. Do you have any concerns my Padawan?"