Snippet #2526591

Commander Taylor watched from the side as Titus stood rigid with hands behind his back and feet spread shoulder-width apart atop his perch overlooking the front of the bridge. With several monitors surrounding him, he practically had a 360-degree view of the battlefield with the combination of every unit’s live HUD feed. She was impressed with his calm and collected posture given the situation and the gravity of facing an unknown and insanely powerful beast.

She heard a few of the operators back in the CIC commenting on the situation as they watched part of the fight below from their own monitors and relayed tactical data.

“Okay, so by Skyball standards, what would you rank their difficulty below? Bronze, silver, or gold?” one of the technicians asked his colleague.

“Hmm, I’d say gold.”

“Really?” a third technician asked aloud, jumping into the conversation. "‘Cause the barrier on that thing is over-powered! I was going to go with platinum.”

“Platinum?” the first asked.

“Yeah, they introduced it as a difficulty level last week.”

Taylor simply shrugged her shoulders and ignored them. It was probably their own way of coping with what was going on. Some people mask their anxiety with humor, others do it with bravado. And then some – she looked back at Titus, still quiet and steadfast – feed off of it. Was the Infinity’s captain such a person? There was an interesting aura to Captain Titus that intrigued her.




When the kodiaks returned, dozens of marines and staff personnel alike were in the hangar to cheer on their returning comrades for a job well-done given their first mission. As the Nightmares and Demons disembarked their shuttles, technicians and medical personnel dashed through from the crowd to start their routine check-ups and ensure everyone was alright. A team from the science division hurried over with a datapad to download any collected data as well as several cases to secure any physical collections.

“CAPTAIN ON DECK!” someone bellowed at the top of his lungs. His voiced echoed clearly over every other sound and each and every person in the hangar stopped what they were doing to snap to attention.

Titus was soon marching his way through a now-separated crowd, making a straight bee line towards the returned troops. Commander Taylor was just on the man’s heels. The two of them stopped directly before Commander Buchan. The Tac-Commander wasted no time with her salute, her face-visor retracting back to reveal her sweat-slicked brow and the light labour to her breath. Despite the evident fatigue, her topaz eyes remained sharp and focused on the Captain’s face, as if she had just done a bit of paperwork instead of an operation. “Captain Titus, sir.”

Titus returned the salute after a dramatic pause, and then lowered it with a welcoming smile. On cue, Syrena turned around and barked, “AT EASE! RETURN TO YOUR POSTS!” The crowd began to disperse with a lowered sense of cheery applause, but the hype and excitement was still there.

“Congratulations on your first successful mission, commander,” Titus said. Suddenly his features turned into a more serious expression and he quietly said, “Walk with me. I’ll debrief you on our way back to S-1.” He gave a nod to Taylor, quietly dismissing her, and then turned on heel and began to march toward the hangar’s elevator.

“Thank you, Captain.” Vala replied respectfully, sparing only a brief glance back to her forces and giving them slight gesture before following just a few steps behind her superior. It was difficult to be sure she was following; the commander’s steps unnaturally quiet even in her armor, but she stuck close like a shadow.

“That thing,” he began after the two of them stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, “that you encountered… You were the closest to it during the fight. What could you make of it? Was it Collector tech, or something else?”

She was quiet for a long moment, likely reviewing the encounter over, before the Commander released a light sigh. “...it’s difficult to say, Captain. While the construct clearly had some organic make up, other parts of it were without a doubt technological. What little information there is on the collectors themselves implies they use potent technology created primarily out of organic tissue.” Her hand brushed her arm, looking down at the slightly scorched weave. “The presence of Husks as well makes me question it’s origin. Before it disintegrated, I saw chunks of it’s insides and it was quite literally...made of them. They were almost indistinguishable from the Husks created during the Eden Prime War.”

“CIP made a very similar observation during your fight. He confirmed that the construct is of ‘organic and inorganic material’. This gives us good reason to believe that the Reapers may yet again have a presence in the galaxy. The data your team extracted should be under intense scrutiny at this very moment. I’ll have the science division forward your office any results they find.” Titus turned his head and glanced down at her wrists. “You… were in the Phoenix Initiative, right?”

She had a mild look of surprise for a moment, before nodding slightly. “Yes, I was. I graduated from the Initiative several years back, prior to my first command. It’s fairly well classified, I’m surprised you’re familiar with it, sir.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things since joining Cerberus, and met a lot of people from all over. One of them was a friend that went through the same program. He… didn’t turn out the way they wanted him to. A loose end when it was all over with.”

“Several of my fellow trainees met similar ends. It’s...an unforgiving regimen, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil.” She looked down to her hands, almost lost in thought. “It’s like the Director said. The Initiative is built to kill you...so you can rise from the ashes.” She laughed lightly. “I don’t think that ever gave anyone much peace of mind.” As quickly as it had come, her laughter vanished. “I hope I won’t bring up unpleasant memories for you, Captain. The last thing I want is to become a liability to your operation.”

“You’re not the liability, Miss Buchan,” Titus said suddenly. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open to reveal the rear of the CIC. Titus stepped out of the elevator and looked back at Commander Buchan through his peripheral. “Good work, again. Get some rest. I’ll begin my debriefing with the Illusive Man shortly and mention your efforts today.”

She studied him for a moment, but if she desired to question his final statement, she did not express it. “Thank you, Captain. I won’t delay you.” With the debrief concluded, she wasted little time exiting the lift and heading into the rear section of S-1, where the officer quarters and offices were housed.



Captain Titus stood firm in one of the darkest rooms of the Infinity. It was a fairly round chamber with only one object in the center, built into the paneling of the floor, a sort of smooth and circular gray pad with accenting blue LED lights bordering the circumference. The chamber itself was situated behind the war room, which was directly below the main bridge and CIC.

Titus took a deep breath and stepped onto the center of the pad and stood at a rigid parade rest while the device hummed and the blue lights flickered. Any other dim light in the chamber automatically turned off and an orange holographic grid rose up around him. A new environment faded into view, someplace that was not the Infinity. He could see the abysmal depth of space and millions of stars surrounding him. A black tiled floor stretched out several meters in each direction, and their polished surface reflected the brilliant radiance of a giant dying star directly in front of him. Between Titus and the gas giant was a lone figure seated in a chrome chair, and behind him were several haptic interfaces of various data feeds, news reports, and secured messages.

The Illusive Man was wearing his signature Giuli Vorn with an open collared shirt. A lit cigarette was braced in his right hand and his left was lightly braced around a glass of amber liquid sitting on the arm rest of his chair.

“Captain Titus,” the shadowed man greeted as he lifted the cigarette to his lips. After taking a short drag, he said, “Congratulations on Omni Cell’s first successful mission. I just finished reading your report… You should pass my thanks on to Commander Buchan for her excellent leadership in the field.”

“Thank you, sir, I will,” Titus replied with a nod of his head.

“My top advisers are already analyzing the data that Professor Sinclair has forwarded to us. Your team’s suspicions of the Collectors appear to be correct, but I won’t jump to conclusion until we have more concrete data. The Collectors are an enigmatic species that the galaxy knows very little about. They guard their secrets better than I do… at times.”

“What about the thing we encountered in the colony?” Titus inquired.

“Ah, yes… I believe one of my scientists has given it a codename for our research indexes: ‘praetorian’. That type of unit’s capability is best suited for guarding key locations and objectives. By what was described in the reports, that thing was definitely outfitted with Reaper technology. And because of that, that is why we have chosen to hold off on assuming the Collectors are solely responsible. If they are involved, they may simply be more pawns of the Reapers, as the Geth and the Spectre Saren Arterius were.” The Illusive Man paused to take a small sip of his drink.

“Where do we go from here, sir?”

Titus’ employer stood up from his seat, leaving his drink but holding his cigarette low and in front of him. A hologram appeared before the two men, the Milky Way, in all its brilliance and vastness, scaled down to a small map. “For now, Omni Cell is the strong arm of Cerberus. While you are to still to be discreet and quiet, you are to protect our existing assets, secure new ones, and repel any and all threats to this organization. I have given you an army, one versatile and capable of performing many feats, but an army alone is not enough to win this very unconventional war against an enemy we know next to nothing about. What are their goals, their purpose, what are they capable of? To solve these questions, you will need to continue enriching the Infinity’s resources. Recruit more bodies, the best and brightest, the most skilled and capable. Give your commanders all the tools they will need and more to accomplish this mission and every other that comes your way.”

As he spoke, Titus saw dozens of orange Cerberus symbols pop up on the small galaxy map, indicating opportunities, assets, and points of interest. He knew that the Illusive Man was providing an example, a sneak-peek into everything that the man has dug his fingers into across the span of known space.

“And one more thing, Captain…,” the Illusive Man paused and took another, longer drag of his cigarette. The orange tip lit up brightly, almost rivaling luminescence of his blue eyes. “Commander Syrena Taylor is more than just your executive officer for the Infinity. She’s also your second-in-command for a team that I want you to assemble. They will be your personal assets, soldiers that you will have direct command over, and – if need be – accompany on missions that aren’t suited for your other subordinates.”

Titus raised a brow. “What exactly will this team of mine specialize in?”

“They will often deploy as a single, solo unit to environments that need their expertise. On occasion, however, if you wish to go with them, so be it. Commander Taylor will take over command of the Infinity while you’re away. I’m giving this opportunity to you as an outlet to continue to prove yourself valuable to me. I need every asset to be versatile and capable of performing any task I assign to them. That includes you, Captain Titus.”

The Captain snapped to attention and gave the Illusive Man an impressive salute. “Yes, sir.”

“I’m glad you understand. I’ve forwarded to the details of a certain turian I think you’d be interested in recruiting for this team. He’s a pirate, but one with exceptional skill and a mindset that I like.”

Again, John raised an inquisitive brow and asked, “A… turian, sir?”

“I’m not against the idea of enlisting the aid of aliens in order to accomplish our objectives, Captain. So long as they know their place, you are free to diversify your crew as you see fit. Commander Taylor will have more details for you on the turian’s whereabouts.

“Also, for the Infinity’s next major assignment, speak with Commander Buchan. There’s an investor in the private arms market that has been causing my assets a bit of trouble lately. I’ve sent the details to her.”

“Yes, sir. Anything else, sir?”

The Illusive Man turned his back to Titus and eyed the many monitors now in front of him before casually walking around to the side of his chair and dabbing the spent cigarette into a tiny ash tray. “No, Captain. That will be all.” After dropping the crumbled stick from his fingers, he pressed a command on a haptic interface that sprang up near him and the environment that the QEC had generated began to grow dark and fade into oblivion.

Captain Titus remained standing where he was as the orange holographic grid slowly fell down around him. The faint hum of the QEC’s pad silenced itself shortly after, and the lights of the empty room flickered back on.