With Pride and Blood 8 (Patreon)

With Pride and Blood 8 - or ‘Time to make Humanity the Greatest Ever, at the Expense of some scum from outer space!’ (Mass Effect, Senator Armstrong!SI)

When Rael’Zorah had told him where he planned to take his Pilgrimage, Han’Gerrel had been nervous.

Truth be told, he was excited. Earth was the new ‘hot topic’ within the Migrant Fleet, and it got to his attention due to a fairly simple reason- weaponry. Albeit ‘inferior’ compared to what most of the Council-knowing space was able to muster, the sheer number and intensity of some of those slug-based equipment was enough to gain Han’Gerrel’s full attention.

As they went through the legal process of securing temporary passports into Earth, they took a ship to the planet. After landing at Melbourne Space Airport, they took a ‘float train’ to Chicago, in the core of the US. Albeit the past had been unkind to the city, the ensuing decades following Armstrong’s first term had seen the city’s revitalized and violent crimes dropped to zero.

The place in question was, however, also the hometown for Nanomachines and it was the source of the biggest companies producing those. While Han’Gerrel was not interested in those, Rael’Zorah was most intrigued by what they were to find there.

Not much in terms of physical prowess that could be mustered on an individual level as experimentation on nanomachines had been currently forbidden until Fleet-sanctioned experts had verified the possibilities of harnessing this technology, but the ‘external’ progress these could achieve.

It was still dangerous talk for Rael’Zorah, yet the boisterous Quarian wasn’t shy from bringing up his ideas- it was all theories after all. What if they were able to use the nanomachines to do what the Geth failed to accomplish? Such an idea was intriguing, but it was still a matter of AIs that kept many on the edge.

They failed to contain the Geth, what was going to stop the nanomachines to then overrule the humans?

“Oh, we have adopted several self-preservation programs to disable the nanomachines from being too active. The current programming doesn’t allow for thinking beyond what they are born to do.”

The guide was quick to say, and it left Han’Gerrel in a relatively odd mood. It had been a safe bet for a hundred years, far more than the Geth had served the Quarians, but while it wasn’t as impressive as the Geth… it was still safe from the looks of it.

He still didn’t like it. As a staunch proponent for aggressive retaliation against the Geth, the militaristic Quarian decided to just take note and ignore for now. The entirety of the tour was filled with the noise of Rael’Zorah tinkering with his Omnitool, happily taking notes as they explored the entirety of the ‘historical facility’.

A day went by, they rested at a sterilized hotel room, and then they were back to more ‘sight-seeing’. This time, it was Han’Gerrel’s turn to explore. And he had his eyes set to a specific event which he had wanted to see.

Each month, Chicago would host the ‘Intense Cyber Brawl’ and they had tickets for the event. Despite what the name suggested, it wasn’t a battle among living entities. Competitors would face combat robots, each competition raising the difficulty and yet rewarding even more on the scoreboard.

They took a seat, with Rael’Zorah huffing at the notion of seeing some senseless combat while his companion beamed at the display that was soon to unfold. The first rounds were simple- newcomers were tested through the ‘easy difficulty’. Nothing new to see, and most of the tactics were common with rookies in the Migrant Fleet.

Stuff that Han’Gerrel had been embarrassed about, especially when the Batarian Raid happened and he had to steel his aim multiple times to not allow any hesitation to cost their lives.

The second rounds, the intermediary levels, were actually more attuned to what he was familiar with. Instead of rushing around for the sake of glory, the troops were more vigilant and some of them even used some unique nanomachine-related abilities.

Nothing too flashy, but overall a refreshing sight.

It was the third round that stunned him. Much to their surprise, the announcer proclaimed a single individual had signed for the round for this month and… that this individual was a veteran from Shanxi.

Interest perked within both, having heard of the battle through what the Migrant Fleet could learn from Humans. The Turians had taken offense when an unarmed scout ship had crossed one of the relays and had sent a punitive expedition… that had been decimated by the colonial garrison dispatched in the area.

The humans boasted it as ‘proof that humanity is grand’, but while some were skeptical of the events themselves, there was no denying that the Turians had lost. Massively so. Which is why this was going to be a fun match alright.

Numerous robots of high calibers were dispatched, but the lone wolf that stood there was… graceful. And strong. Han’Gerrel was instantly aiming his gaze at the individual, studying what appeared to be a power-suit of sorts and the… lack of guns. Only a blade, sheathed and looking majestic.

In the art of war, awareness of your foe was essential. To carry a blade was to 1) be able to get within range without dying or 2) be reckless and suicidal.

Turns out this individual, ‘Crazy Jack’, was both.

The stats flashed briefly through their Omnitools, with the blade’s name and full appearance revealed. Red in color, flashy and yet… powerful. The velocity behind its deployment was confusing due to Han’Gerrel’s inexperience on swords.

But when the ‘party’ started, he realized that the humans were not lying as much as he had expected.

When Crazy Jack launched himself into the fray, it was… majestic. Everything appeared erratic to someone inexperienced to war, to combat. Yet, to Han’Gerrel, he was bestowed with the most beautiful dance he had seen up to this point. It was relentless, driven, and, while not driven by plan, it was pushed by determination and care for each step.

The entire event was somewhat brief despite the high hostile presence, the counter going up rapidly as the human wrecked all combat robots with ease, his blade cutting through the metal as if it wasn’t there.

To Rael’Zorah, the wonder of the HF Blade stunned him. To Han’Gerrel, which the blade should have been enticing too, it was the user that had his attention. The frame was muscular, yet not too much- trained and conditioned. He heard of nanomachines, but even then the work put into those to alter the body mass felt less unnatural and more pleasantly-developed.

He found himself unable to look away, too mesmerized by the perfection of a warrior defined by training and combat. He stood put as the fight was over, not even bothering to applaud the man and… easily gaining the attention of his companion.

Quietly so, the quirky researcher behind this trip had established ideas on what had driven his friend into that curious bout of silence.

“So… Do you like him?” Rael’Zorah’s voice had Han'Gerrel tense up and glare at the fellow Quarian.

“N-No.”

The sudden rebuttal stunned Rael’Zorah considering the rapidity behind the response and the intensity of the glare delivered by Han’Gerrel.

“...Okay.”

Then again, it wasn’t something worth dying for in his mind. Thus, he left Han’Gerrel to his thoughts as he stared the ‘champion’ leave with a glorious pace and strut. Worthy of it, both in confidence and results.

He wasn’t in love with the man. He loved the perfection he bestowed with his viciousness and dedication. Memorable and… somewhat intriguing his core even more.

He was definitely going to follow this curious ‘Cyber Brawler’ some more in the future.

—------d-d-d-d—-----

AN

How did this come to be? Well, I was thinking to myself- John, why don’t we do a fun pairing? And I thought, why not settle a militarist Quarian with a heart of gold and an averted xenophobe for the sake of shit and giggles? Can you blame me for then deciding to hash out something like this?

Actually no, I dig this one. Crack-fic for sure, but I am about to do some character’s development in the background~.