Me: Hello readers and welcome to Mass Effect: UTF's rewrite.
Trin: Main changes are a new Shepard, SSE is now TLR-...
Ami: Space Nazi's that are an actual threat.
Trin: UTF Military branches are only Planetary Army and Starfleet...and...what else?
Sarah: Humanity isn't a bunch of jackasses to the Council races.
Me: Right. There are a few more things, but you'll find those out in the story. This is still a collaboration by the way.
TLR Soldier: What the? Where?
Old Shepard (Ria): +Shoots TLR soldier in head three times+ On with the story.
Rogue AIs
M78Y234; Federation Service Vessel (FSV) Normandy (Prototype Heavy Frigate class ship), In route to Colony World Eden Prime, Imperium/UTF/Cyveron controlled:
Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Shepard of the United Terra Federation Starfleet Advanced Combat Operators, or SACO Marines, stretched her arms before getting out of bed. She groggily looked around before spotting her teammates, both being passed out on their bunks still. Lizzy couldn't remember what exactly happened last night, the amount of alcohol her team had consumed as a victory celebration of their last mission made sure of that.
"Ow...headache. Stupid hangover." Lizzy said to herself. "Hey Raptor...you up?"
"Huh, what?" The Cyveron said.
He looked around before spotting Lizzy, who he instantly recognized as having a hangover. No longer being able to have them himself, Raptor was completely fine. He smiled before taking a deep breath.
"SUP LIZZY!?" He shouted.
"AHH!" The two woman, Lizzy and their other team member who had previously been asleep, in the room shouted from pain.
"Damnit Raptor! Ow!" Lizzy shouted before grabbing her head.
"Hey, i don't get them anymore. I wanna have a bit of fun." Raptor said as he stood up.
"Fuck you old man." Nyx Skulker, the other woman on the team and a Neron said.
"Old android. Man would mean i'm still organic, and that was...several hundred millennia ago."
"Whatever." Nyx said as she got up and got dressed.
"Anyone know what the next mission is though?" Raptor asked.
"I wouldn't remember right now anyways." Lizzy said before spotting a mess of black hair curled up next to her.
Lizzy smiled before grasping the shoulders below the hair and shaking the sleeping person. A soft groan told her that the small bundle under the blankets didn't want to get up. Lizzy laughed before reaching under the blankets and grabbing the sides of the bundle before tickling them.
"AH...HA HA HA!" The bundle, now clearly seen as a young girl of no more than 5, cried out in laughter. "MOMMY!"
Lizzy lifted up her adoptive daughter and hugged her closely. They pulled away so that the girl, Jaina 'Jay' Shepard, could look at her mother's dyed blue hair and electric blue eyes. Lizzy looked into her daughter's deep violet eyes. She laughed before grabbing Jay's hair where it turned silver at the ends. It was funny to Lizzy, whenever she'd cut it, half an hour later her daughter's hair would always have the ends, even though they had just been cut off, be silver again.
"So how did you sleep?" Lizzy asked her daughter.
"I slept great mommy. I had a dream that had you in it, but not Auntie Nyx or Uncle Raptor. Everything was different. But you still had me and were just like you always were." Jay said with a smile, revealing that one of her front teeth were missing.
Lizzy smiled at her daughter's energy. The young war orphan was found by Lizzy four years ago, when the girl had been 2. That's when it hit...today was Jay's birthday. She hoped the young Neron wasn't expecting a-...
"So...what'd you get me for my birthday?" Jay asked.
…-birthday present. While Lizzy kept up that smile the entire time, internally she was screaming and yelling at herself. She looked up at Nyx and Raptor, only to see that the two of them had already left, probably realizing what today was before herself.
"Uh...it's...a...surprise, yeah a surprise!" Lizzy said, please with her excuse.
This seemed to work as Jay switched from expectant to understanding, but still disappointed.
"But i want to know what it is at least, even if i can't get it now."
"Well, you'll see when i-..."
"[SACO Team Mockingjay, report to the mission briefing room.]" The intercom.
"...-get back from whatever mission this is.'
"Promise?" Jay asked.
Lizzy always felt uncomfortable with that part. As a SACO Marine, Lizzy knew that she could die at any moment, but her 8 year old daughter? Jay thought the 234 year old human SF soldier was invincible. Hell, Lizzy had heard Jay call her Supermom on several occasions.
"Yeah," Lizzy said with slight sadness. "I promise."
"And what happens when you break that promise?" Lizzy's doubts asked.
"That won't happen." Lizzy countered.
"How do you know?"
Lizzy kept the happy face up as her mind was filled with images of a crying Jay, having just been told that her mother wasn't coming home, that she had lost her family once more. This prompted Lizzy to hug her daughter once more before getting up, getting dressed, and leaving. She said goodbye to Jay as the door closed behind her. Lizzy then took a deep breath and cleared her head. She couldn't have any doubts going into any mission. She wouldn't break that promise.
"I'll always come back to her. Alive, even if i'm not whole." Lizzy thought to herself as she walked towards an elevator.
She stepped inside and saw another Starfleet soldier, a Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. Lizzy nodded her head at the man who nodded back. Kaiden was one of the ships Biotic Starfleet Marines. In a different time, he would have been seen as a freak, in a different place he would've been suffering from migraines and other mental problems from an implant. Instead, he was humming to himself and tossing a orb of silver energy back and forth in his glowing silver hands.
"Somethin' on your mind Marine?" Lizzy asked.
"Just...why are we bothering with escorting the Council's pick up boy for the beacon, ma'am? We could easily just let them send their own ship." Kaiden said.
"What? You feeling paranoid? And relax LT."
"Not paranoid, just confused as to why we're going through so much trouble with this."
"The Normandy's a prototype Alenko, the only Heavy Frigate class ship that acts like a Prowler class."
"And i know that ma'am. But if they're scoping out what it can do, why not just ask. Only how it all works is secret."
"Meh, half the time i think the Council are idiots. There's a reason why us, the Imperium, and the Cyverons don't join them."
The elevator opened to reveal a large hallway with people walking around everywhere. Alenko got out, giving Shepard one last ma'am before leaving. The doors closed and the elevator continued down one more level before opening again. Lizzy stepped out and walked to the briefing room. She waited as the door opened and she walked in Lizzy stopped when she spotted the Turian.
Normally, she would've just kept going, probably even given the alien a friendly hello, but this one had a certain air about him. As if he could get away with whatever he wanted, and he knew it. Shepard instantly realized what this specific alien was. A Council SPECTRE.
"The bagman's a SPECTRE?" Shepard asked in surprise and slight shock.
"Ah Commander Shepard i was hoping to run into you." The Turian said.
"You were?" Lizzy replied.
"Yes, i wanted to speak to you, I'm Nihlus Kryik by the way. Do you know where we're heading?"
"To pick up a Prothean Beacon, that's all i know. Also, Elizabeth Shepard, but you already knew that."
"It's one of your more recent colonies. Eden Prime, if i'm remembering the name correctly."
"I heard it's beautiful there."
"Yes, but how safe is it?" The Turian asked.
Lizzy contemplated the question for a bit, having sensed no ill intent form the alien.
"I want to say it's as safe as Terra...but really, it's one of our most risky colonies."
"Right on not only the edge of the Terminus Systems, but also the edge of you TLR controlled systems."
"Precisely. Constant raids by Republic Shock Troopers and also Terminus Pirates. They're held off by the Imperium Militarum stationed there and by the Colonial Militia, but the actual military units stationed there are rotational. And the TLR raids have only happened when we've had Federation Planetary Army or Imperium Astartes close by."
"No Cyverons? I'm a little surprised. I thought those AIs were your allies."
"They are, and they aren't AIs."
"Oh? Enlighten me."
"Cyverons were organics at one time. They were, and still are -even more so now, an extremely intelligent race. But even for all the knowledge they had, they couldn't protect against the simplest and basest of things."
"What happened?" Nihlus asked, curious about the race the Council was the most concerned about.
"Another ancient race went to war with them. Zeronians. Very smart, extremely violent and war like. They fought them to a bloody stalemate until the Zeronians made a species specific Chem-Bomb."
"What?" Nihlus asked in shock.
"Chemical Warfare. The Zeronians created a 'man' made disease that began to wipe out the Cyverons. The smartest among them saw this coming though and had already created a device that downloaded the consciousness of every soldier into the digital realm just before death."
"A small implant, impervious to everything. We all got them. And when the bombs started dropping, every civilian got them to." Raptor said as he walked in. "Young, old. Newborn, on their deathbed. Healthy, crippled. Everyone. The disease, which we called Dark Ember, killed everyone. There wasn't any immunes, because it constantly adapted to anything we threw at it. It looked like the embers from a fire, hence the name."
"How many did you save?"
"Our empire spanned the entire galaxy. As did the Zeronians. The difference was that they had been ready for war. It's what they were bred for. While we had finally reached true peace, they were always ready, and looking for, the next fight. But i'm not answering your question am i? To answer it, we saved as many as we could, 80% of our species actually. The remaining twenty were those who didn't get the implants in time or that didn't want it."
"Why wouldn't they accept it?"
"Because of the 'Undying Legions.'"
"The what?" Nihlus asked.
Raptor gestured to himself.
"The ones that had already become like me. Back then, it was looked down upon, even by those it happened to. Our species never wanted immortality, and the Undying were known for their brutality against the Zeronians. But if you knew you could never see your loved ones again, could never consider yourself organic again, wouldn't you allow yourself to become a machine?"
"Did they-..."
"Change? Yes. When Dark Ember hit, the Undying were able to see what it was doing to us. They no longer saw what had been done to them as a curse, but as the salvation of our species. They changed their bodies, the way they acted, their mission even. They became Immortal Guardians."
"A change in name as well." Nihlus noted.
"Yeah. They're still around now, but they're considered to be our species' best. Like The Federation's Onyx Guard, the Imperium's Saints, and SPECTREs like you."
"You want to be one of them?"
"All Cyveron soldiers do. They were the ones that were considered to be our saviors, to wear their colors and fight alongside them, there's no greater honor to us."
"I see. I thank you for explaining this...it might get rid of the Council's animosity towards you."
"I doubt it...but thanks anyways."
"Sup bitches!" Nyx shouted as she walked in.
Lizzy's eye twitched at the sight of the small figure tailing her friend. Nyx looked at her in confusion before turning around and jumping at the sight of Jay, who had followed her without the older Neron noticing at all.
"How the...what the...when did?" Nyx said quickly.
"When you left the bathroom. I got lonely and wanted to see mommy."
"Your daughter?" Nihlus asked Nyx, having noticed the young girl's light grey, almost white, angel wings.
"Empresses no. I doubt i'm mother material. She's Lizzy's kid."
Nihlus looked at the bluenette in shock. Lizzy's response was to smile, never being able to stay mad at Jay for long. Nyx on the other hand. As Jay flew into Lizzy's arms, the human glared at the older Neron. Nyx gulped at one of the few people that could instill fear in her. Nihlus shook his head.
The door opened once more, and Normandy's Captain, David Anderson, walked in. He saw Jay in Lizzy's arms, but noticed the young girl was already falling asleep. He sighed, knowing that when Shepard was in mother mode, you didn't do anything with her daughter that involved moving her away from the woman.
"Well, since Jay's asleep let's get to it." Anderson said quietly.
"So when will we be getting to Eden Prime?" Nihlus asked, also being quiet, sensing that if anyone disturbed the child's slumber, it would not end well for that person.
"In another few minutes. We aren't really in a hurry so why rush?" Shepard assumed as she softly stroked Jay's wings.
"[Captain. Incoming emergency transmission from...Eden...Prime...why do i feel like i just signed my death warrant?]" The Normandy's navigator, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, said over the intercom loudly, causing jay to wake up and cry in her mother's arms...and everyone near the woman to back up slowly in fear from the death aura she was now putting off, emphasized by the woman's biotic aura flaring to life. "[...I just woke up Jay...didn't I?]"
"I'll be sure to make a good joke at your funeral Jeff." Nyx said as she popped her head out from behind Raptor.
"...I'll kill you later." Lizzy said as she calmed down and began putting Jay back to sleep, succeeding shortly after.
"Play it Joker, but quietly." Anderson said as Nyx walked over to Shepard while Raptor did his usual corner lean thing.
The group turned to the video screen to see a small squad of Planetary Army soldiers firing at unknown assailants. Lizzy watched as one soldier, a Planetary Army Ranger, ran up to the camera man and tackled him out of the way of what looked like a sniper's bullet.
"[Get down!]" The woman yelled loudly, though with the lowered volume it sounded like normal speaking. "[This is Staff Sergeant Ashley Williams of 212 Dog Squad, we are under heavy fire from unknown enemies and require immediate assistance!]"
"[My shields are down.]" Someone in the background shouted.
"[Medic!]" Came another voice.
"[What the hell is that?!]" A more prominent background voice shouted.
The Staff Sergeant and the cameraman looked up to see what looked like the tentacles of a giant metal squid heading towards the ground before they returned to the firefight, where the transmission cut out.
"Diana, rewind and hold at 54 seconds." Anderson ordered.
The ship's AI did as ordered and held there before her hologram appeared on the table in the middle of the room. Diana had two forms, one she used when around Jay which was the image of an ancient Greek maiden goddess. Her second form looked like an ancient Greek huntress goddess.
"[Looks like some sort of ship.] Diana said as a knife imbedded in the wall where the 'ship' was.
"That looks like a Zeronian transport." Raptor growled as he pulled his arm back. "If whoever attacked our guys has access to Zeronian weaponry, we need to get to them now."
"[We're the closest ship in range right now. It'll be a few minutes before anyone else gets the signal, and Cyverons will take longer to get here from needing to use Warp Gates.]" Diana said.
"...Is that an AI?" Nihlus asked.
"[Yes i am. Though i was created by scanning the brain of a deceased human, so i'm basically another person.]" Diana explained.
"I'm...not sure how i should be reacting right now." Nihlus.
"[And you're boring me. Ahhh...Jay's so cute when she sleeping.]" Diana suddenly said.
"...And you're an AI?"
"[I said you're boring me. I've stopped listening, so why haven't you stopped talking?]"
"Diana, focus." Lizzy said.
"[Right, sorry.]"
"And this is why you scan adults for this style of making AIs." Raptor whispered to Nihlus.
"[Warping now.]" Joker said over the intercom. "[I suggest Shepard's team and the SPECTRE get down to the hanger bay.]"
"I want Canonesses Yukari and Elizabeth deployed with them." Anderson ordered.
"[They're already there.]"
"Remember, your original mission was to secure that beacon. Get those soldiers safe then get to the beacon."
"Yukari's gonna be pissed if she doesn't get to go in a tank."
Nyx whispered the Lizzy as the human handed her daughter to Anderson. The Captain nodded as Shepard's team left the area and went to the hanger. Once they got there, the team armed and armored up. First putting on the armor underlayer, which resembled a grey muscle system, then put on the actual armor pieces; the body armor, shoulder guards, shin/knee guards, thigh guards, and boots.. The helmet came last as Lizzy put her somewhat medium length hair in a bun before putting on her helmet. The t shaped visor, digital wave camo coloring of the armor, and the blue stripe on the shoulders told everyone who she was: a SACO Marine. She turned to her team to see them in the exact same armor, all of them indiscernible from each other, save for the emblems they put on their armor.
Lizzy had a white angel with wings spread, hands reaching down towards a Grim Reaper below. Raptor's was a wolf skull with flamethrower and MG behind it and Cazador above with Silencioso below. Nyx had a cloaked specter with drawing katanas from back and Gosli above with Rapax below as her emblem. Each of the emblems was on their upper backs and on both shoulders.
When the group got to the hanger, they found two women standing there talking. Both were wearing Imperium Canoness class armor, though one's was pitch black with red robes while the other's was silver armor with blue robes. The two looked over and waved at the SACO Marines. One had black hair and green eyes while the other had red hair and green eyes. Yukari smiled at her friends, while Seras only smirked. The two Imperium soldiers were a part of the five squads aboard Normandy. The two Astartes waited for their friends to get to them before saying anything.
"Sup?" Yukari said, making the p pop.
"Hey, Yukari! Seras!" Lizzy called out to the two. "How you been?"
"Good. So, Captain wants us going groundside with you guys?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah.I think it'll be a fun Op." Nyx said.
"So...do I get a tank?" Yukari asked.
"We're trying to move fast, not destroy everything in sight." Nihlus said as he got into the hanger.
"Boo...who are you?"
"I could ask you the same question." Nihlus said with a laugh. "I'm Nihlus Kryik."
"Iwasawa Gaunt. So...what vehicle are we taking?"
"We'll be using an Imperium Fire Raptor to get down there." Nyx said as she ran over to said vehicle, a Neron Canoness variant sitting near them. "Specifically this one!"
Seras smirked and shook her head at the Nerons antics, knowing that the only differences were the colors and symbols used. The silver and blue coloring of the ship didn't change the weaponry, armor, shielding, or operating range, just saying who made it. Any variant was used by any member of the Imperium's two species.
"She expect us to need air superiority?" Lizzy questioned Nihlus, who instantly shrugged.
"I don't know what to expect down there, and Raptor seems worried about them having the weaponry of a dead species." Nihlus replied.
"Good point, best to be ready for anything." Lizzy said as the six soldiers climbed in, Yukari and Seras putting on their helmets as they did, each of them taking a different gunner seat.
"[Attention, the Normandy is jumping. I repeat the Normandy is Warp jumping.]" Joker said over the coms before the Normandy almost teleported to Eden Prime.
"[Hangar bay five opening.]" Diana said over the coms.
"[Fire Raptor 5-5, you're cleared for launch.]"
"[Understood, launching now.]" Nyx said from the pilot seat.
Lizzy turned her bubble turret to look forward as the ship flew out of the Hanger. The vehicle turned and flew alongside the 7km long ship before breaking off and heading down towards the planet. Lizzy took this time to relax and think back to her other missions...mainly Elysium, Akuze, and Torfan. One gave her a smile, the other filled her with regret and sadness, the last brought her depression.
On Elysium, she had held out against an entire Batarian army nearly on her own. She had been helped by a small squad of recently graduated soldiers. They had all been hailed as heroes for that. They had been given leave before being redeployed, Shepard being given command of the team. They went on many Ops together before one fateful mission...Akuze.
It was horrible. The moment they had landed, Shepard knew something was wrong. She had tried to order them back, but the rest of her team talked her out of it, getting her to believe that together none of them could ever die. They were wrong. Before long, Shepard's team was cut off from any hope of being evac-ed...or getting off planet at all. Then it got worse from there. She lost to soldiers in an ambush by TLR forces, another three taking out their base...and the last three killed by the Thresher Maw that ambushed them. The only other survivor changed after that, becoming more ruthless. Leading to the massacre of Torfan.
The two had been deployed to Torfan shortly after losing their team. Lizzy, still not over them, wasn't fit to lead and put the other survivor in charge. He had led to everyone being killed during the mission, but he didn't care. He slaughtered the Batarians on Torfan, relishing in spilling their blood. Once again, only he and Shepard were the survivors. She had confronted him after that.
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?" Elizabeth yelled at the man drenched in alien blood before her. "BECAUSE OF YOU, ONLY WE SURVIVED AGAIN!"
"..." The man said nothing.
"YOU THINK YOU'VE AVENGED THEM!? YOU THINK YOU'VE MADE THEM PROUD!? YOU DEFILE THEIR MEMORY WITH THIS SHIT!"
The man still said nothing.
"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!? ANSWER ME!?" Lizzy yelled, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm a monster…" The man said softly, having realized what he did.
After that, the man had become a drunk. He was honorably discharged because of his actions on Elysium. Lizzy hadn't seen or heard from him since that day, but the scars were still fresh.
"[Landing in thirty seconds.]" Nyx said.
Lizzy cleared her head and went back to watching the ground as the Fire Raptor landed.
"Nihlus, stay close. I don't want anyone to be on their own." Lizzy said.
"[I move faster on my own.]" Nihlus replied.
"It'll make me feel less worried. I have a bad feeling, please just trust me."
"[...Alright...fine. I'll trust you Shepard.]" Nihlus replied with a slight hesitation and sigh.
"Thank you Nihlus."
"[Okay people, we are landing now.]" Nyx said over the coms.
Lizzy unclipped herself from her seat and began making her way to the door. She pulled out her MAR5 assault rifle -which resembled an HK416, her RCS3 shotgun -which looked like a Remington 870, and her sidearm an HCP4 -which looked like an HK45 pistol. She spun the pistol in her hand a few times before sliding it into her holster. She walked to the back as Nyx dropped the door, allowing the SACO Marine to jump out.
"[Guardian, you read?]" Nyx called over coms, using Lizzy's callsign.
"Guardian here, ready to defend my charges." Lizzy replied.
"[Droppin' sacred gear to you.]"
Lizzy went wide eyed beneath her helmet. 'Sacred Gear' was the code phrase for Lizzy's specific set of Exo-Armor. Nyx's was Ghost Shell and Raptor's was Dino Hunter. Lizzy turned to watch as a large crate fell from the ship and landed in front of her. Lizzy's smile widened as she opened the crate to reveal the fully encompassing set of armor that looked like a small, very small, humanoid mech.
She climbed into the armor and sealed it behind her, turning her into a nine foot tall Angel of Death, this being punctuated by the armor's wing-like flight stabilizers. Right behind those were two large jet boosters that allowed the armor to fly. The armor, which in another time would have looked like a Starcraft Terran Marine in camo colors, had a twin linked minigun on one arm, and a mech variant riot shield on the other. Both arms still had hands though, as the weapon and shield were connected to the arms like removable attachments. On the left shoulder sat a railgun, and on the right sat a missile launcher. The armor's T-Visor depolarized to reveal part of Lizzy's smiling face.
"You good Guardian?" Raptor asked as he and the others got out of the Fire Raptor.
"Oh hell yeah." Lizzy said as the team nodded and started moving forward.
"Alright...let's get moving." Nihlus said as he stared at the Exo-Armor.
"Oh come one! Lizzy gets her Exo, but i don't get a tank?" Yukari complained.
"Not now...honestly i doubt we were even supposed to have Sacred Gear anyways." Lizzy said. "We just got lucky."
Yukari grumbled under her breath as the group readied their weapons. Yukari pulled out a Repeater Carbine -the short, blocky weapon resembling a WWII SMG, Seras pulled out a Heavy Range Repeater -the giant rifle, while still blocky, resembled an anti-tank cannon more than a sniper rifle. Nyx and Raptor also had three weapons, though Nyx said her energy katana counted making her weapon count four, like every SACO Marine. The weapon Nyx currently held was a PCU3, a weapon that resembled an HK MP7, and shrouded the magnetically accelerated bullets in a shell of plasma as they left the barrel. Raptor's was a Micro-Gatlin 24, the weapon looked like a normal assault rifle, only slightly larger with four rotating barrels and a grenade launcher attachment as standard. Nihlus...had a standard Mass Effect tech based Avalanche shotgun. Compared to the UTF's standard ballistic weaponry, ME tech weapons were just as good. But when you compared them to the laser weapons the Imperium used, their Repeaters, the Gauss weapons Cyverons used, which tore you apart molecule by molecule, and the plasma weaponry humans used, they were extremely subpar. Almost laughably so.
"You sure you don't want a PPS4?" Lizzy asked the Turian. "Plasma works better."
"I'll be fine with this. It may not be as high tech as your plasma weapons, but it gets the job done." Nihlus replied simply, with a shrug.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Yukari agreed.
"Alright then...let's move." Lizzy said as the team began making their way towards where the last transmission from the Rangers had come from.
"How do we know they're still-..." Yukari asked, getting interrupted by the report of UTF weapons from the distance. "...-alive?"
"Double time." Lizzy shouted. "Seras, air superiority!"
"Right, cause i totally didn't know to do that." The seron replied sarcastically.
The two women, one encased in armor, instantly shot into the air. Both flew high enough to see that the rest of the group would be passing through a small group of trees before reaching a clearing, where three Rangers, one heavily wounded, were firing at unknown drones...with several robots quickly moving to them to provide back up to the drones. Both flyers took aim with their weapons and began firing at the bots. Unfortunately, one of the managed to get a headshot on one of the uninjured Rangers. The man's shields seemed to break before he took the impact of the round. The man collapsed backwards dead as the wounded Ranger's arm fell limp. Quickly activating Gear's status tracker, she saw that the wounded man no longer had a heartbeat, and had joined his brother in death.
"Spectre, Cazador, get moving." Lizzy ordered to her team.
"[On it Guardian.]" The two replied simultaneously.
Sending off a few more bursts from her twin linked minigun before activating the suit's railgun. The weapon charged up as the TLM folded back, letting the armor's hand grab the grip in the middle of the anti-armor weapon's barrel. It charged up before firing a round so fast that the impact sounded before the sound of it firing went off...and leaving a streak that made it look like she was firing a beam weapon.
The explosion caused by the weapon's kinetic force killed the bots instantly. Several green flashes from behind a large boulder went off and the drones dropped out of the air. Seras and Lizzy flew down and landed in front of the Ranger, Lizzy making a soft thump as she landed.
"You alright soldier?" Lizzy asked, her armor showing that physically she was fine...but it didn't say how she was mentally.
"I...i just lost all of my squad." The Ranger, a woman from the sound of it said.
Lizzy saw that the armor's multitude of decals matched the Staff Sergeant from the video. Instantly Lizzy made the connection.
"Staff Sergeant Williams, correct?" Lizzy said as her team got to them.
"Yeah...that's me…" The NCO said as she slowly walked over to her fallen brothers.
She checked them for ammo and weapons before getting up...there would be time for a proper burial after, but that didn't concern the woman. She began digging small graves before a hand, and an extremely large one at that, stopped her.
"I know they deserve better, but we don't have the time right now...we'll come back for them...i promise." Lizzy said as the Staff Sergeant nodded, noticing the sadness in Lizzy's voice.
Instead of burying the bodies now, she marked where they would be buried by shoving their rifles into the dirt before placing their helmets on top. Ashley had also placed their dogtags there.
"We have time to bury them ma'am." Someone said from behind them.
Ashley turned to see the officer that had been in the armor now out of it, and talking to a Cyveron in UTF armor. Ashley blinked Cyverons were not something surprising, but a Cyveron wearing armor was. Afterall, their bodies were themselves armor...armor that shielded their immortal souls, in Ashley's opinion anyway.
When humanity had met the Serons and Nerons, and the Cyverons shortly after that, many religious beliefs had changed. Most religions with God, or his various forms, had disappeared, mostly because of the mass suicides. Luckily for everyone, the most devout of their faiths realized that if their lord had made humanity and Earth and the rest of the galaxy, would he not have created beings to help his chosen species? Or...that was one of the things that were created anyways. A new extremist group appeared from all of this, believing that the Fallen Angel Satan had created these other species as a way to mock God and to destroy his precious children. These groups created the TLR. That wasn't the only thing created though. Another religion appeared as well. Men and women had realized something, so many religions of old Earth had multiple gods and goddesses, and also had similar myths and legends. Their beliefs and discoveries led them to believe that all gods and goddesses were real, and that xenos were the creations of other divine beings.
This group led to the UTF's peaceful meetings with the Imperium and Cyverons. In fact, in Ashley's opinion anyways, had the Patronists not become a religion it was most likely the Cyverons, Imperium, and humanity wouldn't be buddy-buddy like they were.
"I wish we did, but if we wait any longer things could get worse here." Lizzy said.
"The squad we came here to rescue is all but lost, and the only survivor is with us. We go back to the original objective now." Nihlus said. "And that means we need to get their now, before the Geth."
"That's what those things are? So...who's commanding them?" Raptor asked.
"No one, they're rouge AIs. They drove the Quarians off Rannoch, and are one reason why the Council...distrusts AIs...especially your species."
"Not our fault we got stuck like this."
"Why are we arguing about this?" Yukari asked.
As Ashley watched, Nyx and Seras walked over to her, took the two grave markers and moved them to two noticeably, and recently, refilled holes.
"They deserve better, but we can come back for true burials later." Seras said.
"Agreed." Nyx said, her mood far more somber than usual.
"I...well...thank you." Ashley said.
"Well, that solves that." Nihlus said in an uncaring attitude, which resulted in Lizzy punching him in the gut.
The woman was nice to people, but hated those that didn't care about the fallen. And she felt no regret for doing that...until she realized that Turian culture might be different about that.
"Crap...I'm sorry Nihlus...it's just that-..." Lizzy tried to say.
"No, i deserved that. You humans do this in mid mission usually, but Turians always push that aside until the mission is over, then we mourn and bury." Nihlus explained.
"Still...i didn't have to punch you for it...could've just yelled."
"You're almost too nice." Nihlus said.
"I think it has to do with her being a mother." Nyx said. "Makes you so-OOF!"
Nyx's last comment was from Lizzy punching her.
"That one...I'm not sorry for." Lizzy said.
"...Never mind."
"We need to get moving...let's go. Make it quick Sergeant." Lizzy called as she climbed back into Sacred Gear.
Ashley said a quick goodbye to her dead team before running to catch up to the others.
"Nyx, fall back to the Raptor, provide air support." Lizzy ordered.
"Copy that." The Neron said before flying off.
"Alright...we separate into two teams...team one -Red- will be Cazador, Yukari, and Seras, you'll search for survivors...team two -Blue- will be me, Nihlus, and Williams, we're heading for the beacon." Lizzy said.
"Gotcha boss." Raptor said.
"Good, move out."
With that, the two teams went their separate ways. Lizzy had Ashley lead the way as the woman knew her way around, while she and Nihlus hung back, weapons at the ready. They rounded the corner of rocks nearby, only to instantly be fired upon.
"Holy shit, those are almost Repeater grade in damage!" Ashley shouted as she dove for cover.
"It's not almost, the just are!" Lizzy replied as she placed her shield in front of her, TLM on the side of the shield sending an uncountable amount of rounds towards the Geth.
"I don't really know about comparisons, i just know most Geth weaponry is stronger than other Mass Effect based weaponry since they use a small amount of plasma in their weapons." Nihlus explained.
"What? That's plasma?" Lizzy said in utter shock.
UTF plasma weapons fired rounds that burned as hot as the sun that would dissipate after hitting, and killing, the target, intended or otherwise, or after reaching a certain distance. They instantly overloaded shields and obliterated armor. Bright side, if you had a shield, that saved you from the first shot, but there was no stopping the second as the shield generator for armor usually became overloaded from a plasma round. The weapons were also semi-auto since the heat, if fired too quickly, would instantly start melting the gun. Of course, the emergency cooldown prevented that, but this left you open to enemy fire for 30 seconds, more than enough time for you to be gunned down.
"That is not plasma." Ashley said, Lizzy could almost see the smirk on the woman's face as she pulled out a Plasma Gun. "This is plasma."
Ashley lifted the bulky weapon, which resembled a larger and longer XM25 Grenade Launcher, to her shoulder and fired. A ball of green energy shot out of the end of the barrel towards the Geth. It impacted the boulder one Geth was hiding behind and exploded. When the flash of light disappeared, everything within the blast radius had been disintegrated by the heat, while small fires covered everything around the blast radius, showing why you never used a plasma gun at close range unless it was a Plasma Pulse Shotgun.
"BOOM! I LOVE THIS THING!" The Ranger shouted happily.
Lizzy drew fire away from the soldier by keeping the Geth occupied with her minigun when Ash allowed the plasma gun to cool. The multitude of bullets impacting around the Geth caused them to choose the keep their heads down...and be unable to see the plasma blasts that killed them. A few more shots from Ashley and the Geth in the area were destroyed...along with a fair amount of the ground and rocks around them.
"We...may have overdone it…" Nihlus said as he stared at the damage in shock.
Ash and Lizzy looked at each other for a second before turning back to Nihlus and saying the same thing. "Nah."
Nihlus just went slack jawed at the two, now laughing, human women. He couldn't believe the reaction they just had to the damage they created. He didn't understand them at all. So...he decided to ignore it and just follow them.
"I...forget it...never mind." Nihlus said with a sigh as the three went to where Ashley had said the beacon was.
They got to the small ruins only to find them empty. Ashley looked around, seeing a few dead militia here and there, but realized something.
"There were more people here...where are they?" Ashley asked.
"Numbers not match the bodies Sergeant?" Lizzy asked.
"No...there should be more if they died. And they wouldn't have gone anywhere with the beacon."
"Something doesn't add up." Nihlus said as Lizzy contacted Red team to see if they had seen anything similar.
Yukari held a hand to her mouth, or the part of her helmet over her mouth, as she looked at the impaled civilians that were slowly being turned into strange cybernetic/organic husks. When they had separated from Lizzy's group, Cazador had seen a group of Geth dragging prisoners, living prisoners, to somewhere. He ordered the team to follow and what they saw was the Geth forcing the prisoners onto some sort of tripod mounted pod thing. He wasn't sure what for until a giant spike shot out of it, stabbing straight through whoever was on it...but not killing them. Instead, they were forced to live through the entire conversion. The screams of agony told the group how painful the process was.
"What...the...fuck?" Seras said as she gripped her Heavy Range Repeater more tightly.
"Kill...every...last one OF THOSE DAMN THINGS!" Cazador shouted as he jumped down, pulling a Gauss Rifle off his back and firing several blasts towards the Geth.
"On it." Yukari said as she started firing her Repeater, the red beams soaring towards the Geth below them.
The robots only had time to look towards where the beams were coming from before they began dropping like flies. Seras' Range Repeater completely tore the Geth apart with each shot, while only a few well-placed shots from Yukari's Repeater Carbine were needed to bring them down. Cazador's Gauss Rifle on the other hand...left nothing of what it hit, as if erasing it from existence.
The weapon resembled a crossbow without the prongs...that fired beams of blue energy. Of course his was a standard Gauss Rifle, not modified for long or close range. The close range variant looked like a large revolver, the long range version looked like a sniper rifle, for obvious reasons. Each Gauss weapon also had a specific piece that spun.
Cazador ran forward and tackled a larger Geth. The android head-butted the robot before firing his Gauss Rifle into its chest. The bot instantly disintegrated from the blast, its molecules being tore apart by the weapon.
"Don't let a single one of the fething pieces of gak live!" Cazador shouted before charging another Geth.
Hearing the muffled report of a Gauss weapon in the distance told Lizzy something was wrong. Cazador tended to avoid using that unless necessary…or if someone really pissed him off. Lizzy didn't like the thought as they got to the space port…to find a Turian with a robotic arm standing there. Lizzy rubbed the top of her helmet, as she had decided to leave Sacred Gear in the Raptor since they didn't need it, in slight confusion at that.
"Who's that?" Lizzy asked, confused on why a Turian was on a Trinity Alliance; as the Council referred to the Imperium, UTF, and Cyverons; controlled planet.
"Saren Arterius…another SPECTRE." Nihlus said as they walked up to the Turian.
"What's he doing here?" Ashley asked.
"Not sure, I'm the only SPECTRE the Council sent…as far as I know."
"Well let's ask." Lizzy said as she walked onto the platform. "Hey, Saren Arterius?"
The Turian turned to see two human women and his fellow SPECTRE Nihlus walking up to him. He growled under his breath.
"What are you doing here?" Nihlus asked.
"The Council thought you could use some help with this one." Saren said, stalling as his Geth got into position.
"Motion trackers got a lot of enemy movement heading our way." Ashley said.
"Defensive positions!" Shepard shouted as the two UTF soldiers took cover behind a crate to the groups left, while the two SPECTREs went to the one on the right.
They waited a few more seconds before the Geth started firing at them. Ashley, having switched back to her SMG, began firing bursts at the Geth. Lizzy joined her by firing bursts from her MAR5. The two continued shooting until the sound of a Carnifex firing was heard…quickly followed by a body hitting a metal platform. Both women ducked behind their cover and turned to see Saren running off and Nihlus on the ground, a gunshot wound in his head.
"SHIT!" Both shouted.
"Spectre this is Guardian, we need CASEVAC, my position. One Kyrik, Nihlus KIA from possible traitor. Moving to pursue." Lizzy said to Nyx.
"[Understood Guardian. Moving to your position now.]" Nyx replied.
"Go, I got you covered. Just cover me when I move." Ashley said as she continued firing.
"Got it." Lizzy replied as she sprinted towards the transport platform.
Once she was at the stairs leading to them, she turned to provide Ashley with cover, only to go wide eyed and duck as Nyx flew the Fire Raptor to them and began firing every weapon the ship had. Ash, luckily, had also ducked as the Neron destroyed everything the Geth were using as cover, along with the robots themselves, with multiple extended bursts. When the firing finally stopped, Lizzy poked her head out to see a destroyed area in front of her…which soon became even more destroyed as several missiles impacted it.
"GODS DAMNIT NYX!" Lizzy shouted as the Neron laughed.
"What the hell is wrong with her!?" Ashley also shouted.
"Doesn't matter, right now we need to catch up to Saren." Lizzy said.
"With just two of us?" Ashley asked.
"No time to wait for backup, and Nyx is dealing with Nihlus' body."
"…Guess I can't argue with that. Still don't like it though."
"We'll be fine…I think."
"That sounds promising."
Lizzy shrugged as the two ran to the platform. They got to it just in time to see Saren speed off on the furthest one. Lizzy cursed her luck before jumping onto a platform…and nearly being punched off of it by the Geth Destroyer that was there. Lizzy barely caught herself before pulling herself slightly up to see the Geth Destroyer standing above her. It was about to stomp on her head when a shotgun blast sent it flying over her and crashing to the ground below. Lizzy thanked Ash as the Ranger helped her up. The two nodded before ducking under a sniper shot. They turned and began firing their weapons at the other Geth on the platforms.
The two ducked into cover and continued to fire at the Geth forces. Lizzy took out the snipers as Ash killed any that got to close. The two continued this until they were able to move forward without getting shot. After a few more instances of combat, the pair reached the front tram. Ash watched their back as Lizzy activated the tram.
"Now what ma'am?" Ashley asked.
"We get to Seran. Find out why he's here and why he killed Nihlus." Lizzy said.
"I think that's a little obvious."
"Still doesn't hurt to make sure. There might be something we're missing."
"…Alright, you make a good point ma'am."
The Marine nodded before turning to see the tram slowing at a new platform…and several Geth that decided not to wait to start shooting at them. Lizzy's shields held under the combined fire only long enough to get to cover. She looked over at Ashley to see what looked like green lightning flickering around her armor, showing Lizzy that the Ranger was in the same boat as her. The two fired their weapons at the Geth blindly for several moments before Lizzy growled in annoyance.
The Marine then got up, surrounded by silver energy, and raised her hand towards the Geth. Suddenly, what looked like a ball of silver energy shot towards the machines before detonating. The Geth went flying, most falling to the ground far below, and a few were destroyed by the blast. Those that escaped both fates slowly got back up to see that they were no longer somewhere they could shoot the two humans from.
"Umm…ma'am…is that a bomb?" Ash asked as she looked at a large grey object.
"Nope…"
"Oh, goo-…"
"It's a nuke."
"…THAT'S STILL A BOMB!"
"Let's just shut 'em down and move on."
"HOW!"
"It's still a Mass Effect technology based weapon. Just hack the damn thing. It's easy, Jay even did…never mind."
"Who's Jay?"
Lizzy ignored the question as she hacked into the bomb's controls and disconnected it from its detonator. She then scanned the area and found three more nuclear signatures. She cursed under her breath as she and Ashley moved to the remaining bombs. They climbed the stairs to see a Geth Destroyer waiting for them. The two women looked at each other before pulling out their shotguns and firing. The Geth fell backwards and started to get back up when a red bolt hit it. Nyx then landed on top of it, energy blade stabbing into the machine's chest as she fired her Micro Repeater into its face several times.
"Thought you could use some backup." The Neron said as she sheathed her blade and pulled out a second Micro Repeater.
"Appreciated, but not needed." Lizzy said. "You can stay though. We got three nukes that need deactivating."
"I'll get one, Ranger gets another, and you get the last?"
"Right."
"On it, mark my target." Nyx said as a small marker appeared on her HUD.
"Marked. Ash, head to yours." Lizzy said.
"On it." The Ranger replied.
The three then went to their specific bombs and began working on deactivating them…or at least they did after clearing out the Geth. Luckily, for Ash and Nyx anyways, the Geth seemed focused on Lizzy and not them. Of course they still shot at those two, but the majority was firing at Lizzy. The Human Biotic used her abilities to create a shield around herself blocking the shots. Even if that broke, her shields still blocked any rounds that would otherwise hit her armor. Using this, she deactivated the nuke before engaging the Geth. She pulled out her shotgun and fired several times before ducking back behind cover. The rebounding shots took out most of the Geth instantly. The others were taken down when she fired a few more shots.
"[Done.]" Nyx and Ashley said over coms.
"Good. Get to my position." Lizzy ordered.
"[On it./Moving now.]" Nyx and Ashley replied.
Lizzy waited a couple more seconds before the two soldiers got to her. They nodded their heads and began moving towards the large cargo platforms near them. The Three got down there to see several cybernetic 'zombies' standing around. After a couple seconds the zombies noticed them and began the group. They fired back, killing each of the zombies before moving down and spotting the Beacon. They walked over to it and Ashley gave it a confused look beneath her helmet.
"It wasn't lighting up like that before." She said as Lizzy and Nyx began discussing what they would tell the Council since a SPECTRE died on their Op.
Ash moved closer to the Beacon before it emitted a blast of energy and an invisible force began dragging Ash towards it. Lizzy saw this and shoved Nyx out of the way to get to the Ranger. Lizzy grabbed her and started to pull back, but was unable to move the woman. Against her better judgement, Lizzy decided to instead of pulling both of them back she would ensure the Ranger's safety only. Lizzy managed to turn and throw Ashley out of the pull's range before it pulled her completely towards it.
"SHEPARD/LIZZY!" The other two cried as the Marine blacked out.
Death
"What is this?"
Destruction
"Where am I?"
Unending cycle
"Who are you?"
Fear
"…What are you?"
Pain
"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME!?"
"We are the harbingers of-…"
"OF WHAT!?"
"You cannot stop us."
"AHH!"
"AHH!" Lizzy cried out in pain as she shot upright.
The Marine looked around to see that she was in the Normandy's medical bay. The head medical officer looking at her in shock, and a groggy Jay yawning as she got up to see her mother.
"What was that?" Lizzy thought to herself.
Me: Well that's all for chapter one.
Sarah: Now for the Bios.
Ami: Which are slightly altered of course.
Trin: Or majorly altered in other cases.
Mine:
Name: Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Shepard
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Race: Human (Female Biotic)
Class: Sentinel (Relies on Biotics and all classes of fire arms)
Look: Lightly tanned skin tone, electric blue eyes, dyed blue hair, tattoo of an Angel with light grey almost white wings and blue hair on back, and a large crescent scar on the left side of her face.
Weapons: All (loadout changes depending on mission)
Designation (codename) and affiliation: Guardian and UTF SACO Marines (eventually UTF Onyx Guard)
Armor: UTF Standard (ME3 Hahne-Kedar armor with Crysis NANO suit looking underlayer, and Rebreather helmet that has black T visor for Starfleet, black Y visor for Planetary Army, and blue slit visor for Onyx Guard) in digital wave camo with blue shoulder pads (SACO) or onyx black with dark blue secondary color.
DBD Turdukken X:
Name: Nyx Skulker
Codename: Spectre
Species: Neron
Gender: N/A (Nerons and Serons are all female)
Appearance: Heavily tanned Caucasian, black wings, long black hair, amber eyes. Outfit is black tights, black thigh high boots, black fingerless gloves that reach to mid bicep area, black skin-tight tank top and lower face mask.
Height: 5' 11"
Role: Stealth/Reconnaissance and CQC.
Rank: UTF, Space Marines Orbital Assault Insertion Commandos (OAIC), Captain
Weapons:
Primary-Dual UTF Spec Ops Plasma Charge Infiltration Uzis mark 3, PCIU3, (look like HK MP7s) with laser sights, recoil dampeners, energized bayonets, extended mags, and scopes.
Secondary-Dual Spec Ops Plasma Charge Combat Shotguns mark 3, PCCS3, (look like HK CAWS) with laser sights, scope, extended mag, recoil dampeners, and scanners.
Sidearm-N/A. Uses UTF Spec Ops Plasma Charge Sniper Rifle mark 3, PCSR3, (looks like HK SL8) with range scope, ballistics CPU, recoil dampener, extended mag, laser sight, and extended barrel.
Equipment: Cloaking and lock down energy shielding.
Personality: Prone to joking on missions and everywhere else. Prefers to scare her targets when hidden and flatten them when discovered. Very whimsical in nature but also protective of friends and allies.
Background: Grew up rich and pampered and threw it all away to become a soldier.
Name: Raptor
Codename: Cazador
Species: Cyverons
Gender: Male
Appearance: Black with Desert tan covering chest back and sides, white on shoulders and armpits, desert camo on legs and feet. Flat top like structure on head. Black reflective visors over eyes. Looks similar to a body builder wearing a heavy tactical vest cargo pants combat boots and a muscle room.
Height: 8' 6"
Role: Stealth/Assassination and Area suppression.
Rank: UTF, Space Marines Orbital Assault Insertion Commandos (OAIC), Major
Weapons:
Primary-UTF Spec Ops Plasma Charge Mobile Turret mark 3, PCMT3, (looks like an HK 21) with scope, grenade launcher, extended mag, laser sight, and recoil dampener.
Secondary-UTF Spec Ops Plasma Charge Battle Rifle mark 3, PCBR3, (looks like HK G36) with scope, energized chainsaw bayonet, laser sight, recoil dampener, and extended mag.
Sidearm-UTF Spec Ops Plasma Charge Assault Pistol mark 3, PCAP3, (looks like a smaller HK 416 Pistol) with scope, energized bayonet, laser sight, recoil dampener, and extended mag.
Equipment: Flame thrower, and cloaking system
Personality: Prone to stand in a shadowy corner with arms crossed standing tall looking down upon the room. When hunting or tracking down an enemy or target he will howl towards the sky.
Background: Was on the security detail for Cyveron vessel during the Human/Imperium-Cyveron contact.
FPSLiverpool
Name: Iwasawa Gaunt
Codename: Yukari
Job: Special Operations, armoured warfare
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Armor and affiliation: Imperium Neron Canoness Standard (Warhammer 40k Order of the Blue Robe Sororitas armor) and Imperium Astartes Canoness.
Appearance: 6' 3, Think Black Widow, Marvel Comics version (not movieverse) wears light armour.
Weapons: Range Repeater and Repeater Carbine
Bio: Extremely Hyper active when given the prospect of new Tanks or ships to play with, giving her the codename Yukari. Otherwise is generally shy, when not on a mission, leading to concerns' that she is not mentally sable. Is in a relationship with a Seron. Uses Long Range precision weaponry when not commanding a tank. Has a photographic memory for armour weakness' and strengths.
Name: Seras Elizabeth
Weapons: Heavy Range Repeater and Micro Gatlin Repeater
Race: Seron
Armor and affiliation: Imperium Seron Canoness Standard (Warhammer 40k Order of Our Martyred Lady Sororitas armor) Imperium Astartes Canoness.
Appearance: Black hair, black combat gear, green eyes, (Games Workshop Citadel paint scheme) Russ Grey demon wings and tail.
Bio: Rarely talks, and if something is said, it's mostly sarcastic.
Name: Davidian (Otherwise known as Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Chapter)
Race: Cyveron
Affiliation: Cyveron Government (If you have an idea for the government's name let me hear it) Cyveron Immortal Guardian.
Active role: Ambassador
Appearance: Human Shaped, with false skin, and false hair in a crew cut because, you don't want your ambassador scaring the hell out to the people you are trying to approach peacefully. Wears standard human body armor, for the 'authentic' look.
Me: Well that's all for now.
Trin: This is still a colab by the way.
Ami: You now Trey put that in the summary, right?
Me: Nope. VR Commando ATA out.