Rannoch

General School No. 13. Sector C

... Some years had passed since the Black League had fully welcomed both the Quarians and the Geth under their umbrella. Rannoch had become home for both human colonists from the Old Worlds, the original Colonies of the UNSC Refugee Flotilla, and the Quarian people. Clad in the standard pioneer uniforms of the school, black jackets, black pants, boots that fit the specific feet of the species and various other details including sashes for some of the Quarians of 'noble' descent, the youth of the Black League's Alien member and autonomous state, the New Rannoch Republic were being taught of the World as a whole. Namely, of items that had influenced their rise.

"... And amidst the cultural influences belonging to our human compatriots, none seems to have spoken more to our leaders, strangely enough, than an old animated series," The Teacher spoke softly, pointing with a stick at images drawn of bipedal mechanoids the size of small buildings fighting it out. She continued, "While 'Gundam' was influential in how we viewed ourselves, many criticized the idea that the Quarian and Geth People should see themselves through the lens of an animated product of its Era."

She turned to face the class of thirty-odd students, continuing, "They'd say that taking after the supposed 'antagonist' of the series was also a tad strange. What many have understood since is that we have not taken after them completely, merely adopted the ideals of our future being not one of binding to Rannoch. Our home was returned to us by our brothers and sisters in the UNSC's largely militaristic government, much like Zeon's was. Though there are no real 'ruling families' here and our processes are democratic in nature, much like theirs. Our futures are henceforth intertwined as guardians of the Stars and wider galaxy, rather than warlike threats to it."

A child, one with a purple sash around his black jacket, which marked him as the child of a family of engineers and scientists, raised his three-finger hand, requesting permission to speak. The teacher pointed at him and said, "Yes, Rael. Go ahead," as a UNSC Pelican flew past the window in the distance, a young, blonde Human girl staring at it with a modicum of awe...

"Ma'am, thank you..." Rael nodded, "Do our influences truly matter, seeing as we've managed to integrate with the Black League quite well? Yes, our people view the idea of Rannoch's... Desire... To represent ourselves through the same lens as the referenced Spacenoids, that of an independent yet closely-related group to the original nation and people they were born out of, shouldn't really affect how our people see us."

"Most of the human population agrees, Rael," The Teacher nodded, "It's why none have commented about our desire to elaborate a pseudo-caste system for our peoples. The Zorah family themselves have helped establish us as a basis for scientific and technological advancement for the Military and Civilian sectors, as an example, which has really helped improve relations with the rest of Black League space. Hence, they were given the sashes of the Science sector."

She then pointed at another student, sat beside Rael, and said, "The Xen family has established themselves as cunning tacticians, taught in Wargames to be soldiers and officers for the Black League. It's why Daro has a Red Sash, that of the Military. Of course," She shrugged, "Sashes can be changed if that family member so desires. Of course, it hasn't really occurred much, due to how young this new cultural revolution is."

Daro chuckled and spoke, "Ma'am, with all due respect, much as I like this change of style for us, I nominally understand some of our friends' reluctance to us adopting this lifestyle. I mean, even some of our own more conservative folk have really argued against it, haven't they?"

"Indeed, Daro," The woman nodded, "Much like many have argued about the genetic engineering done to assist us and our future generations to not rely on Sterile Field Generators or our enviro-suits anymore," and she pointed at the kids around them. That was a stark difference, in truth. In only a generation or two, the UNSC's highly-advanced medical technology, nominally built for Humans, was adapted to help modify the people of Rannoch to withstand the danger outside their formerly-protective shells.

Daro shrugged, giggling, "I quite like the look of our suits, ma'am, but I'd rather not rely on them."

"I'm with you on that one," The blonde in front of her and Rael spoke, smirking, "You all look much healthier without'em, too. Save for them scary shining eyes. I like those, too, though," And that got a few laughs out of the other students around, both human and Quarian. A little honesty never hurt anyone and the Graysons knew all about honesty, even as nerds, Rael thought as he smirked.

"Thank you for the compliment, miss Grayson," The Teacher quipped, smiling, "Well, with that noted, let's switch to proper historical substance now, namely something I know many of you have waited for. The reason Humanity was in the Terminus in the first place:The Human-Covenant War..." and that caused everyone to perk up. The Teacher smiled happily, glad to see so many kids were up to learn about their friends' history. She continued, "Rather obviously, it is a long war. Almost three entire decades of continuous pushback against the Covenant, a theocratic hegemony of alien species..."

The talk of the War continued for another fifteen minutes before it was cut short by the bell. The Teacher told them, "Very well, kids! Dismissed for Lunch Break! I will see you all back here when I and Burning-Bright start teaching mathematics today!" only to hear a loud groan from the entire class. She chuckled and said, "Trust me, kids! It'll be fun! You know how Burning-Bright is!"

Indeed, everyone knew the Geth AI that would be teaching them the common mathematics. They'd had classes with her last year as well. Rael'Zorah vas Rannoch sighed deeply as he pushed a tray down the Dextro buffet line, receiving various items that were digestible to him and his people. One little thing humanity hadn't managed to solve yet was the Dextro-Aminoacid Genetic Difference, as they called it. Basically the thing that kept them from eating the same type of food, meaning they had to keep growing two separate types of crops.

He heard Carla Grayson call out to him, "Hey, Rael! Wait up!" only to turn around and see her approaching him with a smile. She said, "Mind if we eat together?"

"Sure," He nodded. The girl beamed, showing the missing tooth she'd gotten from a scuffle against one of the kids belonging to descendants of the HPP's leadership. The HPP still existed as a party, due to the investigations still being underway about their involvement with that Biotic Terrorist Cult that the UNSC's and ONI's military assets had managed to bring down.

As they sat themselves down, the girl spoke, "So... What're ya up to later today?"

"Mostly just homework, I guess. Mom's at home today, though..." He shrugged, seemingly sad.

She frowned, "Your dad still away on that secret job for the Military?"

He nodded and started eating some mashed dextro-friendly potato of some kind, before swallowing and saying, "We keep in touch every day, but he and Daro's dad are up to their necks in work... From what little he was able to tell me without risking State Secrets or something, it's some new mechanized armor suit. Probably some Component Testbed for upgrades for the Hauler Mechs and Cyclopses."

"Boring," She sighed, "You sure they'd keep it this hush-hush if it was just that? Maybe it's an upgrade on the HACS. They finally getting that old tech off the ground...?" Then she grinned. Rael raised a brow up at that, scratched his cheek and bit down on some sort of reconstituted meat type. He shrugged again, unsure, to which the girl rolled her eyes and told him, "C'mon, at least speculate a lil'!"

He shook his head, "I'd rather see it for myself, honestly..."

She pinched the bow of her nose and shook her head, "Swear to God, dude, you gotta learn to play along every once in a while," before looking to see him smile at her. A faint flush found its way onto her cheeks. She sighed and said, "Anyways... I heard there's this new action flick they're playing at the local cinema and I was wondering if you... Maybe..." She seemed to grow more shy, her voice dropping to a low whisper, "Wanted to go after class...?"

Rael blinked, taking a second to think. He replied, "I'd like that, honestly," with an even wider smile. The girl beamed at that, then gave him a joyful nod. Both then looked toward the clock and immediately shoveled the food in their mouths as they saw thirty minutes had passed surprisingly quickly. After finishing their trays and depositing them, they booked it for class.

... Some hours later, when Rael had gotten back home, he greeted, "Hey, mom! I'm home!"

"Welcome home, hon! Thanks for the text! How was the date with Carly?" The woman asked slyly, causing the boy to blush. She poked her head out from the kitchen, grinning and waiting for him to deny it was a date, before stating, "Hey, I'm not judging. She's a nice girl. Plus, you two have known each-other for, what, twelve years now? I'd've been worried if you didn't like her at least a little."

"... Mom, please," The boy finally managed to let out, "I get I'm still seventeen, but..."

She nodded, then chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's alright... Go and get changed. Dinner's almost ready and your dad's set to call pretty soon," then she walked back into the kitchen. Indeed, the boy could smell the scent of his mother's home-cooking. Quickly, he went upstairs, fully expecting the call to hit right in the middle of him changing. Now, one truth had to be said, one that he knew since he was young.

The man that he called 'dad' was not his biological father. Kyri'Zorah vas Alarei, now vas Rannoch, his mother, had remarried when the boy was about four to a Quarian with a bit of a higher statute in the changing system. It was why the house they lived in was in a well-off part of Rannoch. It was why they were able to move back to Rannoch among the first Colonists after they and the Geth made peace, hostilities from fringe elements be damned. They had, however, kept the Zorah name. They'd kept it for both to remember and because a hint of prestige was attached to it. The Zorahs had been one of the foremost families to work on the Alarei as Scientists.

Something his current father, one Raf'Zorah, maintained with impunity. His mother had requested as such and he agreed. The man had proven countless times since he'd become Rael's stepfather that he loved them. Rael had never had a reason to doubt Raf. His pet projects had, however, gotten between family time and him as of late. Raf was also a man of War. A soldier and former protector of the Flotilla before he became a Zorah and a Scientist. Military contracts came naturally, then.

As he descended to eat dinner and wait for that call, Rael could only wonder what had been important enough to drag Raf away from home for six bloody months...

Blacksite 'Charlie', Beta Viperidae III, Beta Viperidae System

Situated in the very system the Sekhmet had first found the presence of the Batarians in, Blacksite Charlie was right at the precipice between the Veil and Terminus Systems. Protected by a picket of around three UNSC retrofit Frigates and with lots of Early Warning Systems in place, the planet it was one was what was called an 'oasis' world. A desert planet with lots of spots where water from below emerged on the surface, creating inhabitable areas around.

The Blacksite was situated near one such Oasis. Built within the steep rock face of a mountain and shielded from orbital scanners by both layers of rock and insulating materiel built into it, the structure housed a substantial garrison of UNSC Marines of both Quarian and Human descent, as well as several hangars, test chambers and quarters for the scientists.

Within one of the test chambers, Raf'Zorah found himself cooperating with the Xen patriarch and several UNSC AIs to research a new weapons system, meant to provide an edge to any area of deployment. A jack of all trades, both in space and on the ground. He asked Zen'Xen(Funny name. Rael had made plenty of jokes about it), "Status on the Microfusion Reactor..."

"Engaged activation sequence. ETA to full power, thirty seconds, pending no damage to main systems," The man replied as he checked the data on a holographic display. He peered past the consoles, through the half-meter thick reinforced glass and concrete at the test chamber. Inside, a prototype bipedal warmachine resided, surrounded by prototype weapons made specifically for it in a central cradle. Sixteen meters tall and layered with blocky Titanium-A Battle Plate, the suit was matted black. Only the test chamber's lights lit it.

The countdown flashed on Rael's screen as well. He said, "Tracking," as his hand passed over another holographic control, "Secondary systems coming online. Thrust vectoring check online. Weapons System diagnostics online. Tracker system diagnostic online. Sensor suite online. Reactor power reaching nominal in three, two, one..." He paused, waiting with bated breath to see one or more lines spew past their safety metrics.

He waited and waited. Small spikes surpassed the line he'd set as a safety parameter by an inch, then went back down. Another moment later, Zen called out, "Reactor... Stable...!" grinning, "We got a stable microfusion reaction...! Holy shit, you crazy bosh'tet, you actually did it...!" before both of them high... High-three'd, not high-five'd. Quarians only had three fingers.

"Heh! I told you...!" Raf smirked, "The day the Admiralty is set to arrive, man... Now we just need to test the weapons, kinetic barriers and other defenses once to give them a proper showoff and we'll be golden for the day. Tell the Infantry to prep the Scorpion Drones for it. I'm gonna do this the old way and test the damn thing myself," as he took off his labcoat and started donning a pilot's suit.

"You sure?" Zen asked, raising a brow. Raf nodded, to which the guy sighed, "I know I'm not stopping you even if I try. Godspeed... Keelah se'lai."

In truth, Raf wasn't sure at all. His heart was racing and his mind was drawing blanks over how smart of an idea this was. Still, as he walked the deck, clad in a black pilot's suit, helmet on and everything, he knew better than to question it. They'd nearly missed the damn deadline and had barely gotten the reactor working in the most optimal of conditions. He had to make sure the suit prototype was working and worth it.

Marching out onto the catwalk of Hangar-02, where the New Generation Hazardous Armored Combat Suit Model 01, NGHACS M1, or simply the 'Highlander' as it was nicknamed by some of the UNSC Marines operating within the place, the man stared with a hint of awe at the fully assembled machine they'd managed to spawn in six months from the old HACS program. An agile, highly-capable and highly-modular prototype suit that was plated in some of the UNSC's newest Titanium Alloy. It resembled a human to a degree, but the boxy, angular armor and the energy shield emitters gave it a more bulky look.

The weapons by its side were a supersized plasma rifle, built out of a similar weapons system to the one employed by the Frigates above, a single-tube Archer Missile Launcher resembling a bazooka with an attached optical sensor booster and twin Machine Guns that would attach to the magnetic systems on the machine's thighs. It almost resembled a MJOLNIR armor set in reality. One of the reasons why they were considering calling it an offshoot of the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL line of vehicles.

Boarding the vehicle through the forward-mounted door, the man sat himself down in the padded crash seat and put his seatbelt on, radioing, "Zen, I'm in. Activating..." before powering on the Suit. His helmet activated a HUD that connected to the suit as the forward hatch closed around the cockpit, layers of armor now protecting the man. He began re-engaging all mainline systems, power generator and the likes included.

As the view-screens around him activated, he spoke, "System activation running nominal. Hope you boys out there prepared those Drones for me," before grabbing the weapons and attaching them to his armored suit. The Marines replied affirmatively before alarms began to blare around them. He paused and whispered, "Those don't sound like the door opening alarms..."

The base AI yelled aloud, "RED ALERT. RED ALERT. ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL, TO BATTLE STATIONS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT, RED ALERT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. BATARIAN WARSHIPS HAVE ENGAGED THE ORBITAL PICKET AND ARE DEPLOYING ASSAULT FORCES ON THE PLANET. REPEAT, BATARIAN FORCES HAVE ENGAGED..."

"Raf! Get outta that thing and let's get moving!" Zen called out, worried, "The shelters are... Oh, Keelah..."

Explosions rumbled outside as the door ahead opened. He caught glimpses of the ongoing firefight between the Marine garrison and the enemy on the wide desert fields ahead. Grey and blue, Batarian drop-ships deployed troops of slavers onto the field while the Marines themselves engaged. It became clear pretty soon, however, that their enemy outnumbered them, with their Drop-Ships also providing aerial support while all they had were a few Hornets.

No, Raf thought. This wasn't the time to fall back. He'd been a soldier first and foremost. His training told him to fight and fight he would, dammit. What better than a live-fire test for this suit, he soon realized. What better than a live-fire test against a bunch of rat bastard slavers that had threatened the Migrant Flotilla many times in the past simply for approaching systems they 'owned'?

He prepared to utilize the weapons he had on hand. The plasma rifle, machine guns and missile launcher. If the Admiralty was watching, he prayed they'd enjoy the little show of force...

And that the suit wouldn't fail him in the middle of the battle. Damn it all...!