AN: This one might seem a little rushed but that was what I felt while playing - I mean why wander about the Citadel when Palaven is burning and you really need a Primarch. Only slight banter this time, the team is still getting warmed up :-)
1.02 Canticle of Transfigurations
The Normandy had to cloak right after exiting the relay. The situation in the Apien Crest was untenable and provided for a horrifying picture. The newest ground team was deployed right away, their urgency more than warranted.
While Trev, Miranda, Vega and Liara were looking out of the window of the shuttle with great unease, Shepard was sitting down, looking at the helmet in her hands. She was once more wearing an N7 armor, after a six-month hiatus. She actually had to buy an armor set she liked at the Citadel and had the Alliance quartermaster to paint it since he didn't have a true N7 one in store. Vega in turn was making due with regular issue armor, his own new set was in the works – his eyes practically lit up when the commander said the Alliance would spring for it. Hackett had been really generous budget-wise.
Shepard offered to pay for equipment for both Trev and Miranda but they waved her off, happy with their own gear. The former Cerberus second in command traded her white get-up she sometimes wore even in the field for sensible armor, going for medium-light this time having learnt from their encounters with husks. Trev in comparison had bulkier and much heavier armor in dark green. The pale yellow accents it had were playing up the Lady Trevelyan angle which Shepard immediately grasped and with a smirk she introduced the blonde to Vega as such. The hulk of a man just arched his eyebrows. Those were threatening to leave his forehead when Shepard introduced Miranda as Lady Trevelyan's consort. Seeing the brunette roll her eyes but not protesting while Trev was grinning smugly, he also pouted - he had been definitely checking out the former XO.
"They are getting decimated" Vega commented bitterly, breaking the solemn silence of the shuttle.
"Strongest military in the Galaxy and the Reapers are having no trouble" Miranda nodded.
Liara looked at the still silent commander "Was it like this on Earth?"
Vega ground his teeth and punched the metal wall beside him. Shepard looked up from her helmet at the sound "Yes."
The asari bit her lip and looked down at her hands. The shuttle fell silent once more. Shepard stood abruptly and put her helmet on. Just in time as the pilot, Cortez, announced "We're close, but the LZ is swarmed."
"Husks" Trev sighed as she looked out.
Miranda almost smirked "We have practice with that."
"All too much" Shepard remarked grimly and took her shotgun from its resting place in the small of her back.
"Fucking zombies" Vega sneered and did the same.
The Spectre didn't even wait for long-range cleanup and charged right down as Cortez hovered over the bare ground of Menae.
"Hell yeah!" Vega grinned and jumped after her, softening his landing with a roll.
Miranda sighed "Morons." She looked to the side at Trev who was taking out the husks with her assault rifle and a pout. She sighed "You want to follow them?"
Trev looked at the brunette, eyes wide with hope. She nodded eagerly.
"Go ahead"
"Thanks. I love you!" the noble smiled, traded her rifle for her sword and jumped down, activating her shield.
"Morons, I'm surrounded by morons" Miranda declared.
Cortez chuckled from the pilot seat "They're not so bad."
"That's debatable" the sentinel smiled softly and jumped down as well.
Menae was a desolate moon – grey dry ground and nothing in sight but a few metal barricades and bunkers. And Reaper troops, a great many of them. The husks were an old favorite, but there were also some new models that vaguely resembled turians. The 'dragon teeth' or, as Joker had put it 'the huskifier', must've worked overtime.
"Damn Trev!" Shepard called, "Miranda was right, you really like cryo."
The former templar shattered the group of frozen husks with a mighty swing of her shield "It's perfect for husks!"
"No denying that!" Vega nodded, "Slows the suckers right down and bam! One bullet and they're shards."
"Works on unarmored thugs as well" Miranda remarked with a faint veil of disgust.
"Reminds me of home" Trev shrugged.
"Some home" Vega commented.
"Magical" Shepard winked at the former templar, deducing the Winter's Grasp spell.
"Ugh" Miranda rolled her eyes in a Cassandra-like fashion.
The team tore through the horde, aided by some of the turian sentries in their sniper nests and barricades. Finally they arrived to the camp they had marked as Command. They were let in without any trouble since they had sent word ahead, despite the spotty reception, and… well, let's be frank, they were alive, armed and obviously willing to help out as punctuated by the trail of dead reaper troops left in their wake. Right now the turians would let in anybody if it meant another pair of hands.
"Your commander?" Shepard asked the guard that let them in, his sharp eyes scanning behind them for any left-over enemies.
"Over there" the soldier pointed deeper into the camp.
Shepard nodded in thanks and left in the appropriate direction. Her team followed her, looking around the camp – the turians seemed disheartened but determined to fight to the very end. All in all the mood seemed as grey as the moon they were on.
The turian general spotted them first and waved them to him, snapping orders at the two soldiers that stood at attention in front of him. They saluted and left, making room for the humans and the lone asari.
"Spectre Shepard" the man greeted with a respectful nod, "I'm general Corinthus, I'm in charge of this camp. Heard you were coming but didn't believe it."
"I'm here representing the Alliance, not the Council, so perhaps commander would be more fitting" the red-head said with a small grimace.
Corinthus seemed to grasp what was meant and sighed "So the Council won't help us."
"I'm afraid not. But we will help ourselves" Shepard said in a hard voice, "For that I need to speak with your Primarch."
"That is going to be problematic, Primarch Fedorian died a few hours ago. His shuttle was shot down as it tried to leave the moon."
"I'm sorry, I heard he was a good man"
"And a friend. He would've been an outstanding diplomat"
"So what now?" the commander frowned.
Liara hummed "Since the rules of the Hierarchy are set, we should be able to know his successor."
Corinthus nodded "Normally it would be easy to say, but with the things as are right now… Palaven Command should know, we send all our casualties reports as soon as they come to us, but right now our comm tower is down. It got overrun by reaper troops."
"We could take it back" Vega eagerly volunteered, getting a glare from the turian for speaking out of turn.
Shepard nodded "Send us the location, I know your people are spread thin. We will take care of it."
Corinthus gave them a grateful smile "I will contact you as soon as I get the information you need. Restoring communications with Palaven would be a boon for us."
The red-head gave him a sharp nod ad unsheathed her shotgun again "Move out."
"Aye-aye" Vega grinned widely. Liara and the rest of the women didn't seem charmed at all by the thinly veiled bloodthirstiness.
The path to the comm tower was relatively clean at first – no doubt turian troops had tried to retake it more than once – but soon the Normandy group felt just why they failed. Still, as the squad didn't aspire to sweep the entire area and hold it, merely reach the tower and repair it for at least the time it would take to get the information about the succession in the Hierarchy, they had more success.
Husks were the norm on Menae – impossibly fast, disposable troops that counted on overwhelming the enemy rather than employ any discernible strategy. Key was to keep them at a distance without wasting too much ammunition, something that Shepard had to remind James.
"I'm a soldier, Shepard, I shoot" Vega murmured disgruntledly but shifted his focus to Trev's frozen targets so only the shortest of bursts of his rifle would be enough.
"That's the comm tower" Miranda announced after a particularly speedy wave of husks.
Liara nodded "We need to clear the area first."
"They'll never stop coming," Trev countered, "Better send one to do the repairs while we hold."
The former Cerberus operative seemed to agree and immediately approached the control panel "It's fried. I'll need to fix it from up there."
"Go for it" Shepard nodded, "We'll cover you."
Miranda sheathed her pistol and climbed the ladder. Once in front of the damage she hummed "Might take a little while."
"Lawson, you always boasted on being a genius, do not make us wait too long" Shepard said teasingly, reverting for a moment into her teasing and carefree self. The one before the Reapers came and ruined everybody's day.
"I am not adverse to a quickie every now and then, but I prefer to take my time"
Trev facepalmed while the commander erupted in laughter "That's the spirit! We can't have the Reapers dragging us down. Fuck certain doom!"
"And just like that apocalypse averted" Vega said dryly.
"This is the Shepard's Suicide Squad Banter™, you'll get the hang of it newbie" the red-head smirked and turned away from the bulky soldier to concentrate on the coming husks.
"It does actually help with the despair" Trev stage-whispered.
Liara shrouded herself in a blue fire, ready to fight "You get used to it."
Vega was supremely skeptical "Hey, husks! At least something makes sense."
His female companions paused their fights against the space-zombies to cast a dubious glance at him. Shepard arched an eyebrow "You're weird."
"I am wei… never mind. Let's just kill the freaks" James sighed in resignation.
The ladies shrugged and proceeded to do just that.
"Done" Miranda announced form up high. She turned to look down at her squad and whistled appreciatively at the pile of dead husks all around the tower.
"Was it as good for you as it was for me?" Shepard couldn't resist.
"Now what?" Vega interrupted as he kicked one of the coming husks in its chest and put a round into its skull.
"Now we wait for Corithus to contact us" the red-head shrugged and detonated Liara's singularity into a magnificent explosion that left a good sized crated filled with husk remains.
"We hold the line, huh?" the asari winked at Shepard, referencing captain Kirrhe on Virmire.
The red-head chuckled "Damn straight!"
Trev rolled her eyes "Garrus had too much fun with that already."
"More than with his calibrations?" Miranda arched an eyebrow as she joined the aforementioned 'line'.
"Blasphemy!" Shepard gasped theatrically, "Calibrations are practically holy!"
"I see you didn't have the time to read though the Chant of Light I sent you during your confinement" the former templar sighed with equal drama.
"Nope! I was bored but not that bored"
"Charming" Trev said dryly.
Vega arched his eyebrows "I thought you couldn't be in communication with anyone during the lock-down. You were monitored real tight. In case of Cerberus, you know."
"Eh" Shepard waved him off while practically obliterating one of the coming turian-husks. Huh, we really need a better name for them. "Between EDI and Miranda, we managed. Although Alliance Intelligence might have gotten the idea I'm particularly fond battle reenactment of ancient human wars performed by that famous turian group. We used their chat room."
The bulky soldier laughed "Those turians like run around in Yankees uniforms and speak with an accent?"
He didn't get a prompt answer because the next wave proved to be rather challenging.
"Commander, this is Corinthus, do you read?" came the deep turian voice form the comm.
"Yes, we got a name?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, come back to command. I'll try to hail him in the meantime"
"Roger that"
The Normandy ground team didn't need any further encouragement and started moving back to the barricade. They were met approximately in the middle by a patrol of turian soldiers that were sent to try to manage the area around the tower, now that it was operational once again.
Fortunately for everybody involved they were still small enough so they didn't attract the attention of the squid-like Reaper ship that used its beam to ravage the moon's defenders not so far away.
General Corinthus greeted them with a thoughtful expression "The new Primarch is Adrien Victus. He's right here on Menae, we're trying to ping him but so far no luck."
"Victus?" Shepard prompted, seeing the conflicted emotion on the turian's face.
"A damn good man, excellent strategist, but unconventional for a turian" came a familiar voice from beside the command structure.
The general snapped at attention "Vakarian, sir!"
"At ease general" Garrus nodded and refocused on his friends, "Shepard, I am ever so glad to see you. And of course the lovely, Liara, Lawson, and Trev."
"Wouldn't miss it" the red-headed vanguard smirked, "And we have an addition to our little marry band of resistance – Lieutenant James Vega. He was my warden during my incarceration and his orders were never rescinded so he follows me around."
"I'll have you know I'm prime bodyguard material" Vega winked and thumped his chest.
"Nice to meet you Vega" Garrus nodded at the soldier.
"You too"
"So, Victus" Trev asked with curiosity.
Garrus smirked "Fought with him this morning before our squads got separated. Hell of a general. He's got what it takes to lead us against the Reapers."
"Good" Shepard nodded resolutely.
"You said you were with him this morning? It might be better to go to him in person rather than talk on the radio" Miranda proposed, "Considering what we're here to ask."
Vega sneered while Shepard nodded "Was thinking that too."
Garrus turned to the general who was hunched again over the holographic representation of Menae terrain "Do we have a location of the Primarch?"
"Can't get a lock. There is a lot of interference. But I have given this a priority" Corinthus frowned.
"Brutes at the main barricade!" came a near-panicked shout form nearby, causing everybody who wasn't given a posting to rush in that direction.
James looked hopefully at his commander. Trev nodded "We could help while the general searches for the Primarch."
"He was in that direction anyway last I knew" Garrus shrugged and took his trusty sniper rifle off his back.
Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose "We really make a fine diplomatic group."
Shepard smirked "I think it would make for good relations if we helped clean up a little."
Despite their discussion/bickering the team was already in motion, climbing up the main barricade to reinforce the position. Turns out it was direly needed – several heavily armored Reaper troops were intermixed with regular husks, making it had to concentrate on one or the other, thus leaving the defenders vulnerable to the one they weren't focused on. Both units needed different approaches and enough men to pull it off.
While the biotics concentrated mainly on the brutes, the rest mopped up the regulars. The turians also had several turrets mounted up, helping to cull the horde.
"Shepard, we've got trouble up here" Joker patched himself though to their radios without any preamble.
"The Reapers found you?" Shepard immediately jumped to the obvious conclusion.
"Couldn't be" Miranda murmured with a frown.
"No, stealth is holding and the IFF helps a lot" the pilot reassured, "But something's wrong with EDI. Or the ship. Either way she isn't responding, the lights are flickering, the comms keep turning on and off. All the systems are going haywire!"
"Shit" Shepard summed it up, "What does Adams say?"
"He knows nothing"
"I could take a look" Miranda offered, "It could be some Cerberus booby-trap that got triggered."
"What did you install there" Vega frowned, having been told about the brunette's previous affiliation.
The sentinel arched an eyebrow "Me personally nothing. But knowing Cerberus systems might come in handy with dealing with this."
Shepard nodded "Cortez? Can you do a pick-up?"
"I can't land in the middle of the camp, Commander"
"We'll coordinate" Miranda replied and started climbing back into camp.
"Be careful" the red-head called after her, "If something happened Trev would skin me and make a new pair of moccasins."
"Don't be disgusting" both Trev and Miranda replied in unison.
Garrus arched and eyebrow, looking funny over the scope of his rifle "You and Lawson, huh?"
"Indeed" the noble nodded.
"About time"
"Yes, the end of the world. Best timing ever" Shepard winked, trying hard not to look at Liara as she said it. Trev noticed and resolved to ask her friend about that relationship. As far as she knew, that was over and had been for a while.
Several new brutes joined the fight, keeping the defenders quite busy. Now, without Miranda looking in, Trev decided to replay her adventures with the yagh and jumped on one of the armored opponents, stabbing him repeatedly in the neck until he collapsed. She got several approving hums from the turians, while Shepard mouthed "I'm so going to tell."
That didn't stop Trevelyan from repeating the feat, relying on ranged support to keep the regular husk busy, or better yet, dead.
Finally, Shepard's and Garrus' omnitools pinged. The Spectre recalled her team "We've got a location!"
The rest of the team jumped down, joining Trev and Shepard on the other side of the barricade and took off in a slight jog. Since it was the barricade that attracted most of the attention their run was pretty smooth. But that gave them time to look around and to see all the destruction the Reapers have wrought. The worst view was of Palaven itself – big splotches of yellow and red signalizing fire and mayhem.
"You got any family down there?" Vega asked Garrus.
"A sister. And my father. Right there, in the middle of that big splotch. That was is our capital city. But they were still alive when I looked last"
Liara looked at the sniper "I'm sure they are alright."
"Yeah"
They ran in silence after that, only once breaking it to warn of a small dart-like aircraft came crashing down near them, sending pieces of metal flying in all directions. Nobody was hurt though.
Several times they encountered turian squads, holding various positions, but most often they just laid there dying, unable to move. Shepard gave out some of their medigel, but only scarcely, when recuperation was guaranteed. But it was heartbreaking to just leave the injured behind even if there wasn't much they could do. Especially since their mission was so vital.
Finally Garrus announced "That's the camp. Victus should be there."
"And we'll be asking him to leave" Vega said bitterly.
"Yes, we are" Shepard nodded, "Because if we don't, all the races will die off alone in their own corner of the galaxy. Our only hope is to unite. And for that we need a voice. Victus can save far more lives by coming with us and 'play diplomat' than he ever could here."
"I still don't like it"
"Your reluctance has been noted"
"And not appreciated" Trev spoke up, "I'm sure you had to make hard calls too. I'm sure you didn't feel the need having them thrown in your face every time something similar came up."
Vega just grunted but looked down at his boots in silence.
"Thanks" Shepard murmured. The noble shrugged.
This camp was in much worse shape than the once they came from. It has been visibly breached several times and most of the defenders looked ready to drop from fatigue. Still, they were fighting on. The Normandy group joined the fight right away, Shepard even managed to score a rocket launcher from somewhere which she immediately used to clear the space of several brutes. Once the ammo gauge was empty, she handed the gun to a nearby turian with a busted leg.
"Reinstituting you policy of always carrying a heavy with you?" Garrus asked with a grateful chuckle.
Shepard winked "Mister Vega, make a note. I want a big honking gun."
"Esteban's the quartermaster, he'll find you the finest there is"
"Esteban?" Trev arched an eyebrow.
"Cortez"
"I thought his name was Steve"
"It's a nickname, caballera" Vega shrugged.
Trev was lost now "Caballera?"
"Marauders!" another distressed shout interrupted their conversation, causing them to move further to the right to help out.
"Garrus, say when you spot Victus" Shepard ordered.
"Of course"
Slowly they made way into further into the camp, battling Reaper troops along the way. When the turians finally managed to repel the invaders, Garrus sighed in relief "I see him. Over there, black armor, red highlights. Speaking with a sergeant."
"I'll coordinate with Cortez for our pick-up" Trev volunteered as they made way to the turian in question.
Liara nodded "I'll help patch up some of the soldiers before the next wave hits."
Shepard sighed "Leaving me alone to persuade a general to leave his men. Thanks a lot."
"You have Garrus. And charming mister Vega" the noble smiled feebly.
"Awesome" was the dry reply.
"And I'm not charming?" Garrus pouted.
Trev smiled much more genuinely "No, you're devilishly handsome."
"It's the scar" the turian said sagely to James who seemed taken aback by the abrupt shift in mood.
"You people are loco"
Ad 'Caballera' – I know no Spanish whatsoever, only Italian, but I know one of my favorite shows when I was little was called Caballeros del Zodiaco in the Spanish version. So… I was shooting for female knight. If any Spanish-speaking audience would correct me, or propose an alternative, I'd welcome it very much. But I won't be using it much. Vega will stick with his Lola and Esteban in my version.
