Dec 11, 2168
Alchera, Amada System, Omega Nebula
Chapter 1: Stray
The Quarian and Geth pair continued their pursuit of the ground-to-orbit escape pod. The Geth continued to pilot the ship through the asteroids over Alchera's orbit while the Quarian continued to struggle with the gun controls. "There it is, I see it on the scanners," the Quarian informed.
His copilot simply let out a string of buzzes and clicks that only Quarians had learned to understand ever since the treaties ended three centuries prior. "I'll pilot, take the gun and shoot it down before it gets any further. We can stop it before another ship comes into the system."
The order pissed off the Geth, causing it to let out a sharp buzzing in response. "Fine! I'll take the gun!" He climbed into the gunner turret, flipped on the power and began firing at the escape pod.
Shot after shot, he continued to get near misses on the escape pod and its passenger. It was all down to them, and they could not afford to let it escape. The pod on the other hand was set to drift to the closest form of safety, being the nearby multi-racial research platform owned by ExoGeni. The Geth tapped the console to inform its organic companion. "Put all power into the thrusters and forward barriers to get us closer! We have to catch up to it!"
Station 31 had been rather quiet that morning. Most of the guys were still warming up, Bailey was at his post already looking over the security feed, looking over security feed, Lil' was pulling his plates out struggling to ascertain when the next resupply shipment was, Mordin was breathing down his neck for improvement, and Nihlus had cracked open a bottle of Turian brandy while playing a Human game at his terminal.
Nihlus, the station's shuttle pilot, was a maroon and white plated Turian not a decade out of basic training. He'd proven himself as exceedingly capable in the cockpit, but was too free-spirited to take orders from superiors. Looking for work elsewhere, he found the ExoGeni Corporation and their numerous tendrils into scientific and medical fields. While he lacked the major skills he would need to serve as chief medical or scientific personnel, the corporation had research facilities scattered far and wide throughout the galaxy to avoid revealing all their assets when it came time to pay their taxes. During a time when there was a shortage of pilots, he fit right in.
Needless to say, it was an interesting concept at play, yet ridiculous when the chances didn't line up with the actual performance. He took a swig and commanded the current squad mate to begin securing the objective. Naturally, as luck would have it, he got a "bad roll" and the mission failed, with the announcer chastising him for his failure. Taking his glass, he pried open the side of his monitor and dumped its contents inside, causing the company-provided terminal to sizzle and die. "Cheating bitch," he mumbled before rolling onto his feet and striding out of his personal office.
Meanwhile, Lil' was still reaching under his terminal, working with a mess of wires before crawling back out and testing the terminal again. Lil', short for Lilihierax Hilril for those who couldn't pronounce it, signed on as a mechanic and served as the station's unofficial telecommunications operator. During his entire time on the research station, no one had actually learned what he did prior to his arrival and why. Soon enough, speculation rose and died down that Lil' was actually a mercenary, spy, or thief who was on the run from some authority and was onboard to wait the hunt out. Naturally, such a shifty character was the least of the station's concerns and they just let it slide.
Bailey had him at the station for the last two standard weeks alone and it was more than he could handle. He also didn't need Solus checking in every other hour just to see if anything improved. Almost like just thinking about the Salarian doctor would conjure the man, Mordin suddenly materialized behind him. "No change?" Mordin was an elder ex-STG captain who acted as the station's main biologist. His service of maintaining and instigating the Genophage on Tuchanka finally crossed his moral boundaries to the end of his service and he handed in his resignation to find a better way to use his skills, at least in some less controversial manner.
"No," Lil' groaned. "It still needs some time. I've checked everything-"
"Check again. Carefully this time," Solus grumbled.
Tossing aside his visor in rage, Lil' barked, "It's the fucking debris, Solus! We can't get a signal until the debris completely passes us! At most, the company will send an investigation shuttle per regulations, but that's it! For all I know, it'll be another few weeks until they arrive."
The rest were still in the mess area warming up for the day. Huro Liet rolled in on a hoverboard seconds later, something the others jokingly referred to as the "dinner trolley" as a jab at the chef's unnatural waistline. The Drell had given up training as an assassin, not wanting to be a tool of a race of pink squids with a speech impediment. At seven years of age, he wandered into a kitchen looking for food, and that's where he wound up for the next several decades of his life. Jumping from job to job, he eventually landed at ExoGeni's feet. Every now and then, the crew would blame him for not washing his hands or putting on gloves when they would experience a light high after a meal. "Datatog, where are the potatoes?"
"For the last time, I'm on a growth spurt. I need it," the young Krogan huffed. Datatog Charr was a Krogan teen who joined the station just months after he completed his rite of passage. Like Huro, he wanted a life away from combat, believing it would only perpetuate the negative stigma surrounding Krogan ever since the end of the Rebellions. While it was only a step above, he found his place on the station maintaining the Varren needed to sniff out any salvage they did encounter.
Resbanak took a long draw off his blunt before returning, "Let the kid grow. If you can live with a little pudge, so can he." Kano Resbanak mechanic left the Hegemony during his mid-teen years and works as an assistant to Anderson, despite the clashing between their respective races. He's an otherwise laid-back individual, often indulging in the more legal forms of recreational drugs.
The Drell answered with a sharp glare. "You are part of the problem too. The greenroom is meant for growing additional food, not your crops. I'll consider serving you some skin shavings in today's soup as an alternative."
"Guys, we just got up. I know cabin fever is rampant by now but can we at least can it until something does happen or the next supply shipment gets through?!" Kai Leng was a disgraced Alliance soldier. He was dishonorably discharged for political misconduct when he physically assaulted a Krogan ambassador. His parents subsequently disowned him and he picked up mining prospecting on the outer Alliance colonies. He handed in his resume with ExoGeni as a geographer from his time mapping out cavities of ores sewed into a planet's crust.
Meanwhile from the security station, Bailey was just sitting down with a cup of coffee, looking over the various security camera feeds from all over the station. Owen Bailey was officially the commander of the station and directly reported to ExoGeni on most station activity and the need of its crew. When the corporation did send back orders, he more often treated them as a blue-sky suggestion than something more akin to the word of God. He carried with him at all times a heavily modified version of the standard side-arm provided by the company, reverting it from a standard twenty-round peashooter to a six-round hand-cannon easily capable of piercing the thickest armor and depressurizing the station if he's not careful.
He then diverted his attention outward of the station. For two weeks, they'd been floating through a field of debris. Whatever the cause, it was blocking communications and making shuttle rides out increasingly dangerous. Despite Kryik's skills with the ship, one of the engines had been damaged and it had been under repairs for the last few days. That was when he noticed a few other objects moving towards the station. A Quarian shuttle and an escape pod. He reached for the station intercom.
Anderson on the other hand was away in the hanger area, making repairs. He had previously served as a combat engineer and squad leader in the Alliance and resigned a few years after the First Contact War concluded. He'd worked for a few other major names before becoming the main mechanic and shuttle copilot on Station 31. He also noticed the approaching foreign vessel when the external sensors indicated approaching vessels were arriving shortly. Getting up, he watched as the speck that was a single pod grew from the distance. It was a Quarian escape pod followed closely by a shuttle of similar design. He ran to the intercom on the wall and thumbed the controls. "Captain Bailey, you seeing this?"
"Yeah yeah, don't worry. I've sent everyone down and I'll be there shortly." The voice cut out shortly after.
As the others ran in to investigate the commotion, entering from the balcony above as the escape pod door opened to reveal a single Varren. It lept out of the way as the shuttle fire riddled the Quarian vessel. Landing, the Geth jumped hastily jumped out, taking a few extra shots at the running Varren with a rifle. In a rush to get at the Varren, the synthetic had landed the ship right on one of the fuel lines, causing the pipe to ignite with the help of one of the thrusters. The Quarian never got a chance to jump out before the entire ship exploded in a ball of fire.
Datatog was the first to get close, taking a knee as the Varren approached, followed closely by Veapae Zoedriz. Everyone was surprised when the Vorcha initially came onto the station. He acted with a much more civilized tone, even with the occasional stutter that was accustomed to his species. Whatever he did before, he was accustomed to picking apart space salvage for the station. Veapae looked at the animal with a confused look before turning back to the Geth. The synthetic let out a harsh buzz, brandishing its weapon in a fashion to suggest them to stand down. "Uh, guys? Do any of you understand what this thing is saying?"
Anderson shrugged, putting up his hands in defeat. "Don't look at me, I know as much as you do."
The Krogan teen was struggling with the wild Varren, trying to avoid its playful licks. "Down boy! Sit!" More often then not, undomesticated Varren usually carried scale itch, and they would never hear the end of it from Solus.
A middle-aged Asari was the last to rush in. "What the hell is going on?" Rana demanded. Rana Thanopsis had greater hopes for her life than what she ended up with. When she signed onto ExoGeni, she believed with a degree like hers, she had secured her rise to fame and prominence. While she did receive a healthy income, working on Station 31 as the medical officer was far from glory she had imagined. She still had no problem painting a smile on her face, even if the others knew it was a blatant facade.
Zoedriz reached to pet the Varren's head when the Geth finally shot around at his leg, causing him to fall over. The others bolted for cover around the hanger area, either for crates, tools, or the shuttle while the Geth continued hounding the Varren. It was only stopped when a single round crackled through the air, nearly taking its flashlight head clean off. Up above, Bailey still watched from above, pistol drawn and barrel still smoking. "Playtime's over. Anderson, Resebanak, get on that Geth and find out what the hell it was doing. Leng, help Thanopsis get Zoedriz to the medbay and patch him up. Lil' and Kryil will clean up. Everyone else back to your posts."
Datatog hauled the Varren away as everyone got to work. Lil' and Kryik looked grimly at the destroyed fuel pump. "Man, what a mess. Someone's going to lose their head over this," Nihlus sighed.
"Yeah, tell me about it. On the other hand, maybe Bailey will try and paint this in away that's positive, seeing he's the one who domed the Geth."
"Still seems pretty excessive just for a single pup."
Most of the crew's attention shifted to the medlab as they lugged the Geth soldier inside. Close behind, the new Varren from the escape pod followed them in faithfully. Rana was slowly working with Zoedriz's leg injury, slathering on medigel. Every now and then, the Vorcha would flinch from the stinging effects of the antiseptic. Under his breath, Veapae would let out a string of curses under his breath. Giving a light smile, Rana looked up, asking, "Come on, it's not even a hectogram of the stuff. Stop complaining."
Kano took a long draw off his stick. "I'm surprised the captain finally used that thing. I thought the first thing I would hear after was the decompression alarm." The mechanic helped to lug the dead Geth unit into the medbay, followed shortly by Maelon Heplorn. At around the same time Mordin left the STG, Maelon had been medically discharged after some shrapnel got lodged into his knee. Faithful to his old friend and mentor, Maelon followed in Mordin's footsteps to Station 31.
"Based upon how this poor thing acted, I'm sure it was definitely not rampant. I had worked with downed Geth before, and I know when one of those things goes berserk," the younger Salarian acknowledged, looking at the unit's destroyed head.
"Well the Geth and Quarians had been down there for how long? Two standard months, right?" Anderson asked.
Kai interrupted, "Bullshit, the Quarians and Flashlight-Heads are natural-born isolationists. They wouldn't crack like this."
Huro rolled his eyes and thumbed Kano. "And he cracked under just a week. How do you explain that boss?"
"Alright, gentlemen! Enough with the squabbling!" Owen huffed, eyeing the Geth remains. "How many others were with this Geth?"
Nihlus had joined the others after picking through the scrapped Quarian ship. "Can't tell, sir. Whatever else was in the ship was burned to a crisp. If this thing really did malfunction, maybe it killed everything else down below first before it came up here. A Geth wouldn't just land on a fuel line like that, not with the precision and calculation I've seen those things have."
Rana finally spoke up. "Well if this thing turned on its companions, I'd at least like to see what in the Goddess' name is left down there. Leng, you think the weather down there is safe enough to get there and back?"
"The weather down there isn't even remotely close to the danger that debris field provides," the former Alliance soldier replied. "Still, you're looking at a few hours there, and a few hours back."
"Right then. David, I assume that shuttle is operational again?"
"I was putting on finishing touches when the synth came onboard."
"Good. Nihlus, let's head down there and see what's amiss."
"You sure, doc? The debris will tear us apart. The barriers on that thing won't last against chunks that large," Nihlus asked cautiously.
Rana rolled her neck and put a hand behind her head. "Well, it boils down to your word. Either we fly or we don't fly. Your call."
Half an hour later, Nihlus and Rana were fully suited and were starting up the Kodiak shuttle to head for Alchera's surface. Back inside the station, a few of the crew watched as the shuttle departed. "I surprised Nihlus went through," Charr hummed.
"I'm not," Kano said. While the two generally got along, Kano didn't enjoy the same stunts Nihlus did. At some point, Nihlus went so far as to perform a consistent spiral to "better deflect space debris" by expanding the field of the barrier. He continued his way back to his bunk, eyeing the new Varren from the escape pod as he exited the room. The Varren had been looking on, guiltily looking up at the few other crew members who passed from under a table in the rec room.
What was left of the Quarian facility was an absolute mess. Already from a kilometer out, a pillar of smoke pierced through the white haze of the frozen weather. Coming in for a closer look, the entire campus was destroyed and deserted. Chunks of the prefabs had either been blown off via explosives, immolated through the use of ion-based weaponry, plasma burns, and every last vehicle present destroyed. Overhead, Nihlus could see the tube from which the escape pod was launched, with locking flaps still in their opened position. Coming in for landing and fully encapsulated in sub-zero gear, the Rana and Nihlus hopped out and began their hunt through the remains of the facility.
Previously, the Quarian and Geth research facility had been designated towards the development the improvement of life for both races, whether it was the improvement upon the Geth platform or the improvement of Quarian biology. Whatever end they were attempting to reach had brought them to a crashing halt and the apparent death of everyone present. Armed with a shotgun, Nihlus took point as they approached what was left of the front airlock and peered inside. Much of the building interior had also been ripped up by ionization, with frozen rivulets of metal pouring down the walls like drips of wax from a candle. Electronics had long since died, whether due to generator failure or exposure of electronics to the elements.
The first room they entered was the remains of an office, with the windows having long since been broken open followed by the chilling touch of ice on everything exposed. Nihlus got to work setting up a lamp to work with. From the other side of the room, Rana hissed, "Nihlus! Over here!" Turning sharply, he walked over to discover the cause of the doctor's commotion. At the back of the room, now frozen to his seat, the corpse of Quarian male lay. On the floor was a pistol and a single, expended thermal clip, no doubt automatically ejected when the user turned the weapon on himself when he ran down to his last shot. Trails of blood had previously leaked out of his helmet from the chin where the round had initially entered before leaving a gaping exit hole at the top of the head. The expression was left frozen in a half-scream as the victim was no doubt committing the act stuck at a dead end.
Rana in the meantime got to work plugging in the terminal at the Quarian's desk to a portable power source and Nihlus continued to explore the rest of the facility. She struggled with the interface as it barely responded to her keystrokes. A few video and geographical files remained, with everything else completely corrupted, including personal notes, journal entries, security footage, or anything that could at least directly indicate what could've happened. Nihlus pinged her omnitool, his voice barely cracking through. "Doc, you better take a look at this. Come straight back down the hallway from the office door, you can't miss it."
She rolled her eyes at his request. "How am I supposed to know what you've found if you won't even tell me until I get there?"
"Fine, it's a giant ice cube with its middle portion completely blown out. Can't make anything of it. Just finish up in there and get over here."
Rana finished the data extraction and pulled the mobile power source from the monitor and tucked it back into her suit pouch. Taking the lamp, she followed the Turian's tracks in the snow, following the line to an ajar door at the far side of the corridor. Walking through, she found herself in a garage with a practically non-existent ceiling. The ground vehicles they had were probably parked outside of the facility to give way to an ice block roughly a meter and a half deep, a meters wide, and just over two meters long. At the edge, Nihlus stood with shotgun at the ready. Using the flashlight attached to the barrel, he looked inside the clawed out ice tub in a fit of pure rage. "What the hell happened here?" she gasped, trembling more from a tingling sense of panic than her under-maintained suit heating system.
"I think we've got a pretty good picture, if not enough to start putting together the pieces. C'mon, there's not much else here." The two walked through the destroyed garage door out into the frozen wastes back to the shuttle. Just fifteen meters away, they found another smoldering remain having broken its way out of a prefab with great force, leaving the metal behind it contorted and bent from ionization and its blunt force. The two slowly approached for a better look.
"The hell is that? Is that a Quarian in there?" The torso roughly resembled a broken animatronic than anything else. Its chest looked like the fused combination of a Geth's carapace and a Quarian's torso, with legs looking like a mangled mix of tinker toys and plastic doll limbs taped together and poorly cauterized. The kicker was the fused mix of heads with a screaming Quarian face partially gelling into the side of a Geth's flashlight, facial panels sputtering in some last bought of pain and agony.
"Well doc? What's the way forward?"
"Get the sample tub and tarp from the shuttle. This is the best we've got."
A few hours had passed since the two had left the station. In the medbay, Veapae rolled painfully from side to side as music boomed from down the hallway. Getting up and limping to the intercom on the wall, he pressed his fist against the intercom button, unintentionally letting an angry hiss escape his lips. "Could you turn it the fuck down in there? I'm trying to sleep! I've been shot today!" He didn't bother to see if Huro would follow through with the request.
The Drell cook walked over to the holo-player sitting on the kitchen counter, blasting away pop music. He was about to reach for the pause button, but hesitated just short as he looked at the grime coating his gloves. Shrugging, he simply went back to work, walking to the fridge to grab something for dinner that evening.
The Varren was rather happy with its current disposition. Happy it was away from the cold, but food was another problem. Away from the attention of the station inhabitants, it sniffed around, looking for something forgotten and ignored. Its nostrils perked and its eyes bolted back and forth. A smell drew it to one of the bunks, still hovering down the hallway. Quietly, it slinked inside in search of the source.
The bunk's current inhabitant looked over his shoulder to see who was at the door.