Mass Effect/Predator

Chapter 1

Distress Call

The large vessel silently moved through space as part of the massive convoy of ships that made up the Migrant Fleet. Aboard the Neema, the crew was busy as an ant colony, each doing what the needed to maintain the ship, whether that meant weapons training, engine repair or simply inventory checks on current supplies. On the bridge of the ship stood Admiral Han'Gerrel, he paused as he looked over the information on his omni-tool and nodded to himself knowing everything was in order.

"Everything ok sir," a voice asked from behind.

Han'Gerrel turned to see a young male quarian enter the bridge his suit a bright red color that seemed to clash with his purple visor. Kal'Reegar, squad leader for the team that accompanied Tali on Haestrom, but now promoted to lieutenant-commander after his heroism.

"Ah Kal, yes everything seems to be going according to plan…about time things started going good for once," Han' Gerrel replied.

"Hell, ever since the situation on the Alarei, I'm happy to hear any good news," Kal'Reegar said.

"Yes…the Alarei. What a terrible mess that turned out to be," Han'Gerrel said as he closed down his omni-tool then replied," How about the young marines down below?"

Kal'Reegar chuckled and shook his head," They've got potential that's for sure, but they're all a little green if you ask me. Each one claims they're ready to take back the homeworld, single-handed if need be, but I'm guessing the second they see a Colossus, they'll be crappin' pellets. "

"Crappin' pellets," Han'Gerrel asked.

"Uh, something I picked up from Tali'Zorah…evidently she learned it from Shepard," Kal'Reegar explained.

"Ah yes, Commander Shepard," Han'Gerrel remarked then chuckled lightly before saying," I wonder what other bad habits she's teaching young Tali. Say what you will, but I'd be more than happy to have that crazy bitch in my corner any day."

"No question about that," Kal'Reegar replied," I doubt either Tali or I would have made it off Haestrom if she and her squad hadn't' arrived."

"We really do owe her much," Han'Gerrel said with a nod.

"With that said sir…does the fleet have any plans should the Reapers arrive," Kal'Reegar asked.

Han'Gerrel was silent for a moment as he mulled the idea over then said," To be honest, I don't know what we are going to do. Part of me wants it to be false; I don't doubt Shepard's ability or judgment, but I and many others would breathe a sigh of relief if there was no threat. Then again, the admiralty board heard from Tali the details behind the battle with Sovereign. So many ships…so many lives all lost in the effort to take down that beast."

"And that was just one ship, or Reaper, if an army was to attack…I doubt even our fleet would put up much of a fight," Kal'Reegar replied with a heavy sigh.

"We may end up dying, but should the Reaper menace come, we will not back down…the quarians will take as many of those bastards with us before the end comes," Han'Gerrel said placing a firm hand on Kal'Reegar's shoulder.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Kal'Reegar said with a chuckle.

"Admiral…we've received a transmission. Seems to be broadcasting on all open channels," one of the crew members excitedly responded.

"Where from," Han'Gerrel asked.

"Coordinates show it's coming from Zorya," the crew members replied.

"Zorya? If I remember correctly, Tali informed us that was the "homeworld" for the Blue Suns," Han'Gerrel said.

"Not like the Blue Suns to send messages over an open channel," Kal'Reegar said as he folded his arms.

"Doesn't sounds like the Blue Suns," the crew man said," Sounds like it might be a human colony."

"Sounds about right, with the death of Vido Santiago, the Blue Suns have split into smaller cells, each in charge of their own men, though they may still be charging the colonists rent as it were," Han'Gerrel replied," My guess is a human colony must have been started on the planet."

"If they're asking to borrow a cup of eezo, they're out of luck," Kal'Reegar said with a chuckle.

"Put it on loud speaker," Han said," Let's see what they need and if we can help."

"Yes sir…seems to be getting some kind of interference as well," the crew man responded as he put the transmission on loud speaker so all could hear.

"…Repeat, this is G. Jones of the mining crew…equesting any assistance to Zorya…catstro…ituation…dozens dead need…"

Within the background they heard another frantic voice cry out," Fucker…show yourself…"

"Shut the fuck up…send a message here…"

A third voice cried out," Vanished…some giant…bigger than a kroga…ripped him in half…tore out spinal col…"

The initial responder Jones shouted," Seal the door…watch for the blue fire…"

"Blue Fire," Han'Gerrel said to himself then thought," I know I've heard that phrase used before."

"Can anyo…ear me," Jones shouted over the radio.

"This is the Neema of the Quarian fleet, we read you over," the crew man replied.

All they heard was static then Jones cried out," This G. Jones of the…requesting assistance…Zorya…"

"They must not be able to receive us, only transmit," Kal'Reegar replied.

From the console they suddenly heard the loud roar of gunfire before the blood curdling scream of a man.

"Got Crosby…invisible…monster like…ghost…flash of eyes…let's get the fuck out…here Jones…"

"Shut it Fitzgerald…need help…please respond…plea…AHHHHHHH…"

The transmission suddenly cut out after Jones' death scream; all was silent on the bridge of the Neema. The crew looked at one another before turning to Han'Gerrel who was slightly trembling.

"Admiral," Kal'Reegar asked not sure what would make Han'Gerrel so scared.

"Keelah," Han'Gerrel said as placed both hands on the console to steady himself," If what they described is what I believe it is, then this situation is far worse than expected."

"What do you mean sir," Kal'Reegar asked, his body now too trembling.

"The blue fire…invisible, almost like a ghost…the eyes flashing before disappearing," Han'Gerrel said," From what they said, I'm almost tempted to believe it is a Phantom."

The crew on the bridge, beneath their masks, eyes went wide with shock. Even Kal found himself not wanting to believe what he had heard. As kids they had all heard the stories from the parents, they themselves told it to each other when they were younger, and as soldiers were cautioned about it by their superiors, but few had ever seen them. Nearly all that had seen these ghosts, never returned to tell their tales. Those that did survive were haunted by what they saw, a creature that even krogan knew to cautious of.

"Oh Keelah," Kal'Reegar finally said," If there is one on that planet, those men are not long for this world."

"We assume that there is only one…you remember what happened to Nikol's squad," Han' Gerrel replied.

"How can I forget, my first mission, look for the missing squad and bring them home," Kal Reegar said," Just never expected to find them in such a state."

Small squads of quarian soldiers, deep within geth space as it came to be called, were sent to investigate a sighting of geth troopers, their motives unknown but would soon be discovered. One such squad had initially reported that the geth they had been following were evidently wiped out. Possibly done by krogan based on the extremity of the attack, even more surprising was the discovery that some of the head units of the fallen geth were removed. The squad leader reported they would continue to investigate the area and contact their captain within one solar day. After one day however, there had been no response.

Kal'Reegar and other soldiers were sent down to ascertain the whereabouts of the missing crew, hopefully this was still a rescue mission, but they had all prepared themselves to discover their fallen brothers at the hands of the geth of quite possibly the ones who killed them. After rendezvousing at the site where they had discovered the, the squad split up in teams of two to fan out and find any clues as to what had happened. Kal and his squad mate were the first to find their missing comrades, in a small clearing not more than a mile away they discovered signs of a major fire fight. Spent thermal clips and drained power cells were scattered all around the area as well as several blood stains. Not more than five meters away were the remains of the squad, each one hanging by their feet from the trees. Some of them had been skinned like a varren, other had horrible burn marks across their body, but the one common factor they all shared was their skulls had all been taken, it was clear that it had been done as a trophy or memento of the attack.

Examination of the omni tools showed that whatever attacked the group, caused them to fire in all directions, believing it was some sort of geth ambush. Whatever data was recovered indicated that it was the work of only one individual, with cloaking abilities that appeared to be to far advanced. Even the most advanced cloaking could be detected on radar, this creature was somehow able to avoid detection on radar, it would only be seen when it wanted to be seen.

"How should we handle this sir," Kal asked the admiral," I mean…should we just abandon these people?"

"No…no we can't afford to be that heartless," Han'Gerrel replied then looked at Kal and said," Kal…I want you to take a small squad, 12 men, with you to the planet, make a sweep for survivors then get your asses back here as fast as possible."

"Understood sir," Kal said with a nod then paused and asked," Sir, should my squad encounter resistance, and are unable to return of our own, how long before the fleet sends in reinforcements?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, I don't have an answer for you but I will talk to the rest of the board," Han said," Raan is like me, she won't leave our people behind, Koris I'm still not sure of but Xen is a completely different story. If you encounter anything, you report in a soon as you can, assuming we don't hear from you, it will be a full solar day before any reinforcements come in."

"Understood," Kal'Reegar said with a nod before making his way towards the armory.

Han'Gerrel and the rest of the crew watched as the small transport vessel made its way toward the planet. He hoped that all would be well for them, praying that he was wrong in his assumption and all could be solved within a few short hours. All they could do now wait and see how events would play out.

Repairs aboard the Normandy were finally complete; with the Collector base now destroyed and her alliance with Cerberus terminated, a great weight had been lifted from Shepard's shoulders, but at the same time a secondary thought went through her mind. The Reaper's were still out there, she had bought the galaxy sometime by destroying the "alpha relay" with Dr. Kenson's project, all be it at the cost of roughly 300,000 batarians.

"Harbinger is coming…God knows how many other Reapers there are or how we will be able to stop such a force," Shepard thought with a sigh then paused for a moment and smiled as she said," If you keep starring like that Mr. Vakarian and you'll bear a hole through this jacket."

Shepard turned to see Garrus standing there, nervously looking over her room to which he replied," Just, uh, seeing if anything needed uh…"

"If anything I had needed calibrating," Shepard seductively replied.

"You won't quit until I do blush will you," Garrus replied slightly shaking his head," And please let's not twist my favorite word around, otherwise I have to resort to saying "adjustments" rather than calibrating."

"You know, I pretty sure we can make just as much noise as the forward battery, if we try," Shepard replied.

Garrus paused for a moment then let out a small chuckle and said," I'm going to have to borrow some more vids from Joker, that one completely caught me off guard."

Shepard smiled, also slightly blushing, then replied," So what brings you up to my quarters?"

"Honestly, just checking to see how you are doing," Garrus replied as he moved toward her and took her hands in his and added," I didn't like you going down to get Kenson by yourself."

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to make you worry," Shepard replied as she looked into his blue eyes," but had I taken the whole team or even a squad things might have taken a turn for the worse. But I will tell you I am really bothered by all of this."

Shepard slowly slipped her hands out of Garrus' and turned to look toward the various model ships she had collected and their journey and closed her eyes with a sigh before saying," I wanted to save those colonists so badly…but time was against me…always seems to be against me."

"Shepard," Garrus said was he placed his left hand on her right shoulder to turn her back toward him," You did the best you could, what any one person could. That damn Reaper artifact had the whole science team indoctrinated, it was their fault not yours. And although we lost some people, we bought ourselves some precious time against the Reapers."

"Is it enough Garrus," Shepard replied," I mean…am I only delaying the inevitable?"

"No, you given us time to prepare so when the Reapers do finally hit we can tell them to go to hell, with a few bullets and rockets to emphasize the point," Garrus said then smiled as he added," Plus, you've also given us some time to figure out if we can work. "

Shepard smiled as she leaned up to kiss Garrus and said," You always know how to cheer me up."

"With Wrex back on Tuchunka, someone has to be the optimist," Garrus said.

"This coming from the guy who always expects the worst," Shepard replied.

"And I have yet to be disappointed with that, so I must be doing something right," Garrus said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Shepard chuckled then said," Thanks Garrus, you've really helped take my mind off my troubles."

"Any time," Garrus said then turned and began walking toward the door while saying," Now I have to get back to adjust…I mean calibrating the weapons and maybe doing some more "research" for when I'm needed again."

"Talk to you later Garrus," Shepard said as she smiled while shaking her head.

Minutes after Garrus' departure message came over the intercom system in Shepard's quarters.

"Shepard," Tali spoke in a frantic matter.

"Go ahead Tali, is everything ok, you sound worried," Shepard asked.

"I just received an urgent message from the migrant fleet," Tali replied," One of our teams has failed to report back in and we're the closest ship in the sector."

"Alright Tali, I'm on my way down, meet me on the bridge," Shepard replied.

"Okay," Tali replied before ending her message.

"EDI," Shepard said.

"Yes Shepard, how can I be of assistance," EDI replied.

"Get a hailing frequency to the Migrant Fleet, I want to know what is exactly going on," Shepard stated as she exited her cabin to move toward the elevator.

"At once Shepard," Edi replied.

To Be Continued