"Joker, set a course for Haestrom, on the double," Shepard ordered. The Far Rim was the centre of geth space and, as such, he didn't think a group of quarians could go unnoticed for very long.
"Aye commander," replied Joker. "Hold on, priority message from The Illusive Man, patching it through to the comm room."
"Thanks Joker," said Shepard as he walked back down the bridge. "What could he possibly want now…?"
Striding down the bridge, Shepard felt his stomach clench, but for what, he was unsure. Having Garrus back aboard was great, and having Tali with them would make it seem like the good old days. If only Liara were there too. The commander arrived in the briefing room and the Quantum Entanglement Communicator scanned his body.
"Shepard, I have another dossier for you, but by the time you read it through this man will be dead. You need to go to the satellite Caleston in the Caleston Rift immediately," The Illusive Man said, not a hint of anxiety in his voice. "From what we've seen, he is a brilliant soldier and his tactics are almost perfect, a real asset to your team."
"We were already heading for Haestrom but we'd have to pass through the Rift anyway, will do," Shepard replied. Although he didn't like being at The Illusive Man's beck and call, he couldn't just leave a man to die on some volcanic hellhole.
Shepard cut the link and left the briefing room. His omni-tool began beeping and a moment later a dossier on the latest recruit appeared in his message terminal.
The Freedom Fighter
-Brutally efficient tactician
-Master of close quarter combat
The man known as Ghost suddenly materialized in the galaxy five years previously. However in that short space of time, he has worked with almost every known species in the galaxy. It is rumoured that he is on Caleston undertaking an assignment that involves the mercenary group known as 'The Hand.'
Shepard lifted his omni-tool to his mouth, "Change of plans Joker, we're going to Caleston."
"Remember, all members of The Hand have a specialty," said Shepard, strapping on his chest armour. "Most members of the group are recruited from other merc gangs; Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, Black Dragons and independents. They make up the bulk of their combat section. But it's their other specialisations that are more worrying. From what we understand they have four other sections. People smuggling, drug running, weapons manufacturing and a medical sector."
Garrus and Mordin's faces were both complete mirrors of shock and anger. This was everything that Garrus stood against while he was a member of C-Sec and on Omega. Mordin had worked against these mercenary activities in the STG. However it was quite a shock to hear that one gang controlled so many sectors of the illegal market.
"How are we going to handle this then Shepard?" asked Garrus, seemingly sceptical of the mission already.
"The Illusive Man believes this guy to be a CQB expert so he's probably going for the stealthy approach. We'll storm the place and hopefully meet him on the way."
"Dangerous plan. Many variables. Could be dead. Worse for him, could be alive," said Mordin.
"Well whatever's happened to him, we won't find out until we're down there. EDI, have you located The Hand's operating base yet?"
"There's a considerable amount of interference from volcanic activity, however, there is a 3km radius on the moon that I cannot pierce with our LADAR sensors. Logic dictates that that would be their command centre," replied EDI.
"Thanks EDI," said Shepard. "Remember team, most of these guys are professionals, so pack your heavy gear, because if we don't fight our way in there, we're definitely fighting our way out."
The shuttle ride to Caleston was uneventful albeit unpleasant. The smoke from the moon's active volcanos reduced the visibility to zero; the Kodiak had to be flown using the sensors alone.
Shepard, Mordin and Garrus exited the vehicle onto the mining facilities' landing pad, however they were not alone. Aside from the white shuttles with orange hand symbols, there was also a black Kodiak with gold stripes running along its' flanks. The white walls of the facility were pristine aside from a single bloody handprint that dragged its way through the main doors. The three soldiers followed it inside.
"My God, what happened here!" exclaimed Shepard.
"I guess you were wrong about this guys method of operation," replied Garrus. Even the seasoned merc hunter from Omega was repulsed by the state of the entrance hall. Bodies littered the floor and although it seemed like many of them were unharmed; the floor, the walls and even the ceiling were covered in blood. "Shepard, are we sure that this Ghost is mentally stable? These don't look like the actions of a man that's completely sane…"
"The Illusive Man wouldn't have forwarded his dossier if he didn't think this guy could carry out the mission, I hope," Shepard answered, however he couldn't take his eyes off a steady drip of green blood.
The three soldiers passed through the horrific hall and entered the bases main corridor. The hallway, though, wasn't that much better. The only improvement from the entrance hall was that, oddly, there were no bodies on the ground, although it did appear as if the floor had been painted dark blue with turian blood. There were five doors branching off of the corridor; one appeared to be an empty elevator shaft, the second was a barracks that looked to contain the missing bodies.
"Shepard. Infirmary. Well stocked. Some bodies appear to be operated on," said Mordin, one hand cradling his head.
"And this side's the common room, that just leaves one door," added Garrus, the data streaming down his visor moving faster than ever and his crosshairs circling more rapidly.
Mordin and Shepard raised their weapons as Garrus bypassed the entry lock. As soon as the doors parted, screams and wails began to echo down the next hallway. The only door in this section was ajar and it would seem that this would be the source of the cries of pain. Shepard, Mordin and Garrus advanced down the passage, clearly disturbed by the noises, but even more so once the yelling suddenly stopped. They reached the next doorway and Shepard risked a glance around the corner before entering the commanding officer's office. Secured to a chair was a heavily scarred batarian, his face covered with blood. His two left eyes were so swollen that he was unable to open them. However what was most shocking was the state of his hands. On his left, only the thumb and ring finger remained and on the right, just the thumb. The incisions on the batarian's hands were all expertly healed, however the fingers were all laid out on the table before him, proving they were not old battle scars.
However, it was not just the batarian's appearance that left Shepard and his squad speechless. Across the table from the batarian sat one of the most heavily armed men any of Shepard's squad had ever seen. Clad in black power armour with gold highlights; his torso, upper arm and upper leg armour appeared to be Alliance standard issue, yet with some modifications. His headgear appeared to be a mix of a capacitor helmet and a quarian mask and his eyes glowed brightly from beneath it. Yet the strangest things regarding his appearance were his hands (he only had three fingers) and his feet (which had two toes). Indeed, Shepard was unsure if the man sitting at the table was a quarian or human. Before him, a set of blades was laid out. They ranged from serrated to nanometre blades and all looked vicious. Secured on his back were a sniper rifle, shotgun and a pistol.
As Shepard, Mordin and Garrus aimed their weapons at him, he raised his hand. "Please, I mean you no harm. I was just asking my friend Borak here a few questions about a friend of ours, but he refused to give me the answers I needed. My name is Ghost," he said, lazily saluting.
"I'm Commander Shepard, are you responsible for what's happened here?" asked Shepard.
"You're Shepard? Why yes I am. These days, some people just won't solve an argument peacefully, so I had to show Borak here how serious I am." Ghost span one of his throwing knives between his fingers while saying this.
"I'm putting together a team and I think your skills are exactly what we need. Are you willing to work with us to take down the Collectors?"
Ghost thought about this for some time. "I need to think about the information Borak has given me, but in the meantime, I'm going to need something to do." He held out his hand.
Shepard took it and they shook. "What do you want to do with your friend here?" asked Shepard.
"Oh, he's already dead," Ghost stated, quite matter-of-factly. "Don't worry about him. So should I grab my stuff and bring it with me or am I bringing my Kodiak too?"
I'll try to update this story whenever I can, but now that the first chapter is done, it's going to be easier to continue.
As usual, any and all feedback is appreciated.