Spectre 117 (Halo & Mass Effect Story)

Chapter 24: Confessions

(Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Mass Effect.)

00:26 Hours, March 8th, 2560
SSV Normandy, Comm Room
Pax System, Horse Head Nebula

Everyone was now back on The Normandy, at their seats while The Chief was still standing. They just look at him in silence, not knowing what to say after the mission.

It was then The Chief decided to speak up.

"Listen... The reason why I lied about Cortana is because I am still entitled to protect her at all cost. Even if I'm a Spectre and above the law, I can not risk losing Cortana." Chief explains. He then sighs in defeat, knowing things are gonna change. "If you chose to leave, I understand. You will be dropped off on the next planet we arrive too. If not, I only ask for your trust in me, to help stop Saren at all cost."

Everyone looked at each other, hearing what The Chief just said.

He gave them the choice of leaving or staying with him. He won't hold anything against them.

"I'm still with you, Chief. This ain't getting me down." Joe replied, showing his loyalty.

"We all are. We started this together to find Saren, we're gonna finish it together." Fives replied, as everyone nodded at this.

Everyone except Tali...

Chief looks at Tali, knowing her history with the Geth and her people.

"What about you?... Will you trust me?... Will you follow me?"

She was quiet, as she was thinking about what to say. When she got up and walked towards the SPARTAN-II.

"You know I don't like A.I.'s, what they did to my people... But I trust you, Chief. So I'm with you till the end."

"Thank you, Tali..." Chief replied.

"Now that we got this out of the way, what's our next move, Master Chief? Head for the Mu Relay?" Fives asked before yawning.

It was no surprise he yawned. It was getting late and it had been a very long night for the crew. Once the Rachni Queen was dealt with, they escorted the surviving scientists through Peak 15 and eventually back to Port Han'Shan.

The Master Chief thought over Fives's question. "Whichever star cluster the Mu Relay takes us to, Saren or the Conduit could be anywhere in that cluster. Additionally, the star cluster could be very large. Unless we know their exact locations within that cluster, we could be searching that area for weeks and not find anything. It could potentially be a waste of time and resources." He replied.

"The Master Chief is right." Liara commented. "We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren."

Ashley leered at the Asari. "Who put you in charge? Did the Chief resign when I wasn't looking?"

"What about the Alliance? Or the Council?" Kaidan suggested, likely to defuse a confrontation between Ashley and Liara by keeping the discussion on-topic. "We could pass this information along to them. Unlike us, they've got enough ships to sweep a whole star cluster in short order."

Chief shrugged. "I'll pass it along to them, but I don't know how much good it will do. Cortana corroborated the Mu Relay's coordinates with the galaxy map. Turns out, the relay's location borders the Terminus Systems. Doubt anyone would want to send a fleet there."