Snake in the Mud
Prologue
Light cascaded into the bedroom and fell over the Turian's face, the warm rays causing his eyes to shoot open in annoyance. The light from Illium's sun spilled into his eyes burning them. Exasperated, his hand rifled through his bedside table searching for something. He opened his beady eyes again and spotted the remote across the room. Enraged, he threw his achy body from the bed and stormed over to the counter, frantically picking up the remote and smashing a blue button. The panoramic window instantly polarized. His rapid breathing subsided as he closed his eyes trying to slow the throbbing pain behind his eyes. He calmly set the remote back down on the counter, breathing in massive volumes of air. It stinks in here. He beamed at the bed to look at his prize possession. A sneer crept across his face as he looked at the human woman who was strapped to the bed. Red marks we present around her wrists, her eyes were swollen, and dried blood was smeared across her face. Skave put his back to the pathetic girl as he searched the counter top for left over Red Sand. A small pile was all that was left. His heart raced with excitement as he viciously leaned over the granite top and snorted the pile. He tilted his head up in the air and gasped, his vision blurring red. He turned back around to look at his bed. The girl's head swiveled to look at her captor and let out a wimper.
"Shut up!" Skave's hand snaked through the bars cabinet. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and threw it at his hostage. The vial shattered on the girls face splashing her contorted body with the Turian alcohol. Skave snickered at his action and lumbered to the next room making sure to grab one of his fine cigars.
"On," he shouted as he entered his living room. The ex-spectre dropped into his favorite leather chair. He inhaled the rich smell that permeated from its fine pores. As he waited for his holographic television to power up, he grabbed his lighter and held the blue flame under his cigar. The paper and leaves burned releasing the fine Elcor made cigar's scent that Skave found so comforting. He peered up at the Vids on the holograph in front of him. The images that appeared on the screen insulted him, no, it enraged him. A stoic face stared back at Skave, the face of Commander Shepard. He spoke into the camera with stunning confidence that made Skave want to wretch. He looked away from the Vids repulsed to grab his ash tray. He held the human skull in his hand as he knocked the carbon off the tip of his cigar, the shriveled leaves glided to the bottom of the cranial cavity. Shepard won't be around to much longer. The idea of it made his stomach grumble with excitement. Skave had been developing a plan to break Shepard. Yes, I need to break him! Just thinking of his plan was exhilarating. He squeezed the human skull fracturing it with his excitement. Violence pumped into his veins as he stood up from his chair extinguishing the cigar in the brain cavity.
"Bring up my list," he ordered. Shepard's face disappeared and a wall of text cropped up. He smiled at all of the familiar names. Shikirta, an Asari commando was the first name that came up. She had over six-hundered years of combat experience. He looked at the one below it. A Turian called Kramos was next, an ex-Spectre who was kicked out by the council for taking advantage of his Spectre status as he murdered hundreds of humans. The list went on, all of them Spectres, STG, Asari commandoes, and a few Krogan Warlords. I am getting my old team together. Skave hasn't seen them in several years and the last he can remember of them was their last operation together. He remembers boarding an Alliance vessel, full of human Marines and civilians. They got tipped off about a huge shipment of credits aboard the SSV Mayflower, a small human transport vessel. They boarded the vessel killing everyone, women and children included. They scored big and his team went their separate ways after that. We are the best in the Galaxy. The Blue Suns, Blood Pack….all nothing compared to what I created.
He waved his finger down and the holographic page followed it. Another list came up along with pictures to match. Six names and faces appeared on screen. Skave read the name aloud, "Ashley Williams, Urdnot Wrex, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Garrus Vakarian, Liara T'Soni, Shepard." The last name made his heart beat quickly. "Off," he grumbled turning away from his console. Skave walked back to his chair, contemplating if he should sit back down. A smirk wrapped around his scarred mouth. He set down the skull and picked up a small object, playing with it in his hands as he walked back to his sleeping quarters. Skulking to the foot of his bed he hovered over the human eyeballing her form. The girl looked up at him, blood trickling down her forehead and around her swollen eye sockets. Her eyes widened when she saw the small object in Turian's three fingers. Skave clicked the lighter and a blue flame wiped to life. Feeling the human's fear sent a jolt of adrenaline shooting though his veins. He moved the flame back and forth taunting the girl; her eyes followed it like a hawk. Skave laughed and threw the lighter on the bed, the flame engulfing the girl's body. He turned around looked out the window at the beautiful city of Nos Astra as the girl's scream went through his head like a soft melody. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the music before setting off on his mission.
Snake in the Mud
Chapter 1
Tali laid flat on her back staring up at the ceiling of the medical bay, the blue night lights painted the walls and ceiling with its particularly appealing hue. I like the color blue but purple is my favorite. Maybe the blue is meant to calm down the patients; at least I think blue is supposed to do that to humans. It calms me down at least. She rolled over, the bed creaking as she did so, and peered at the console screen checking for the time. 0514. Damn, I can't wait another sixteen minutes. But I will respect Dr. Chakwas and listen to her silly rules. This is my last day in here. Tali was bored out of her mind. Two days ago, she snuck out of the bay early in the morning just to stretch her legs as the Doc kept her cooped up too much.
"Tali, you need your rest." She can hear Dr. Chakwas's voice as clear as day. On her little adventure, she went up to the helm of the ship to look out the window. Staring at four walls for three days didn't suit her fancy. She pulled the blanket up under her chin that Shepard gave her with her three fingers. She closed her eyes and reminisced on her little adventure.
Tali remembers sneaking up the stairs to the map room making sure not to make too much noise. She was good at stealth, for when she lived on the Flotilla, she and her friends would sneak around the Rayya at night. It was one of her favorite things to do, imagining she was off on an adventure. The door opened as she approached it, the galaxy map spilling light blue light into the stairwell. Her head came out from the doorway glancing around the room. The only movement was the spinning map of the galaxy. She tiptoed though the door heading up to the helm of the ship. The orange holographic screens were lit up and she could spot Joker's arms moving across the screens. Damn, I hope he won't mind or tell the Doc in that case. She approached from behind not making a noise. Joker was humming a tune to himself, a human song apparently, as Tali didn't know the beat.
"Damn that coffee is hot," he hissed slurping the black liquid.
"It's beautiful out there," Tali revealed herself, staring out the window.
"Aw shit," Joker yelled spilling the hot liquid on his suit. He spun around with a wrinkled up face. "You know you didn't have to sneak up on me like a freaking ninja."
"Ninja," she asked cocking her head.
"Never mind, what are you doing? I thought the Doc was going to sneeze on you with your mask off or something if you left the bay," Joker asked wiping off the coffee with his hand.
"I need to stretch my legs. Being forced to stay in that room doesn't help with my health."
"Uhuh, I see," Joker said more concerned about the coffee staining his suit. "Well you are welcome to take a seat and chill up here if you want," he grumbled with a wave of his hand.
"I'm fine Joker," she giggled, "I'll just stand." Tali turned her head and gazed at the blue gas giant out the window.
"Sorry for startling you Joker."
"Aw nah, you're fine. If I break a bone getting out of this chair to change, then I will be pissed at you," he joked.
"How about," she was cut short by a familiar voice that harshly whispered from behind.
"Tali, what are you doing! You should be resting," the Doc buzzed her arms crossed.
"Looks like we woke up mom," Joker whispered to Tali.
"I may be old but I can hear you Jeff," she shot back. Joker put on a sarcastic smile and waved at Chakwas. "I thought I hid her hearing aids," Joker leaned towards Tali cautiously whispering.
"Are you taking Tali back to her cell?" The doctor ignored him.
"Talk to you later Joker," Tali said turning away.
"Don't sneeze on her!"
"What Jeff?"
"Nothing." A smile appeared Tali's face as she walked back to her "cell."
The medi-bay light turned on as the digital clock hit 0530. Tali shot up out of bed and walked towards the door.
"Well I guess you are free to go," Dr. Chakwas voice sounded from behind her. Tali's three fingered fist slammed against the holographic button opening the door.
"I will be finding you in an hour to run a quick test," the door cut off her voice as it shut between the two. Chakwas stood in the middle of the room with a data pad in her hand shaking her head.
"I love that Quarian."
Tali rushed over towards Shepard's personal quarters waiting for the door to open. She crossed her hands over her lap and teetered on her two toes.
"Looking for someone," a voice came from behind. She spun on the ball of her heel to meet the commander face to face.
"Yeah, um… you," she said hesitantly getting caught off guard. "I wanted to thank you for the new suit." Shepard waved his hand dismissing her thanks.
"Your old one was pretty much disintegrated from the Armature that blasted you. I know you like purple, so yeah, there you go," he said pointing at the new suit with both hands. The door behind Tali opened and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams emerged from Shepard's quarters.
"I have got to, um, you know, go," Tali sputtered spinning on the sight walking towards the stairs. What perfect timing.
Nos Astra, 0600.
The morning sun was already heating up the city exponentially. Skave heaved his bag over his powerful shoulder sitting up from the bench as his taxi descended before him. He turned around to look at the high rise tower, pillows of black smoke scaled high into the air. The car door opened with a slight moan, the hydraulic fluid lifting the weight. The dark blue Asari driver looked at the tall Turian, her eyes scanning her customer.
"Mentok Apvochi," she questioned him staring into his red synthetic eye.
"Yeah," Skave grumbled as he tossed his heavy bag into the seat.
"What is going on," the Asari nodded towards the burning building.
"Bring me to the port," he aggressively ordered the driver.
"Okay, unfriendly one you are," she cockily replied to Skave's rude comment. Not today Skave, save you anger. He sat in the seat and placed the bag on his lap, caressing the folded rifle through the black fabric. The door shut as the taxi ascended. Hmm… she wants me out of here, I can feel it. His tong flicked out of his mouth attempting to taste her fear.
"Creep," the Asari said under her breath. Skave was pushed into his seat as the taxi accelerated.
"No talking! Wake me up when we arrive," he hissed from the back seat.
"Pusht," the taxi driver expelled air from between her lips. Skave closed his eyes and leaned his head back. She isn't worth your time. I have done my share of killing for the day. He recalled jammed his neighbor's door shut right after leaving his pent house. I always hated him and his whore of a wife. Human's have no right to live in Nos Astra. He slowly drifted off thinking of the sound of their fat snapping in the hot flames that was consuming the building he called home for two long years. He chuckled to himself and fell asleep in the back seat of his taxi.
Snake in the Mud
Chapter 2
Nos Astra, 0615
Skave could feel the taxi decelerating to a slow stop. Opening his eyes the space port filled the window, the massive structure buzzing with activity like a hive. He scanned the horizon looking for the ship.
"Do you have the number of the ship so I can drop you off," the Asari asked. Skave grunted, purposely ignoring her.
"Okay," she said lifting her hands off the wheel and shaking her head frustrated. Skave leaned forward to study the port. Where is it?
"There, the black and red one," he yelled pointing his finger straight ahead along with a cloud of saliva. The ship he saw brought back many old forgotten memories. Its lines were still contemporary as it was the best designed and highest quality craft ten years ago. The Turian design always made him excited to look at as Skave did have a respect for military vessels.
"What, the military looking one," the blue Asari curiously asked wiping Skave's spit off her face.
"That is the one."
"Okay, hold on," she quickly accelerated towards the one-hundred meter long aircraft. The ship filled up the window casing Skave's heart to beat faster and faster. Just like the good old days. The taxi landed on the small pad with a thump and the door opened releasing all of the cold conditioned air out the opening. Illium's sun was beginning to heat the planet up; Skave wasn't going to miss the heat. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and stared at the ship, his photographic memory poured over the good old day.
"You owe me ten credits," the Asari shouted leaning over the center console of the taxi with an outstretched arm. The Turian spun around glaring at the blue driver. He rummaged in his pocket and threw nine credits at the Asari and quickly walked away.
"Are you serious," he heard her mumble from behind. "On," she yelled. Her radio screamed to life and she closed the door taking off. Skave approached two sliding doors to enter the tunnel which lead to the ships air lock. The two doors slid open and a familiar face was standing on the other side.
"Greetings old friend, has been a while," a roughed up Turian said to Skave leaning against the fabric wall of the tunnel.
"Kramos! How are you doing," Skave yelled as he walked over to his friend extending his hand for a greeting.
"Good, good!"
"I see you are still flying the Dynamism," he motioned his head towards the intimidating ship.
"Yeah. Tried to settle down after hitting our gold mine, but didn't keep my attention." They both shared a laugh and headed down towards the air lock. "I have picked up all of our friends. They are waiting for your orders inside," Kramos stated, his voice cold as ice. They entered the airlock and were decontaminated. "Just like the good old days," Kramos stated elbowing Skave in the side.
"Indeed, but we are going after much bigger fish." They both laughed and entered the Turian war ship confidently.
Tali was down in the engine room staring at the holographic console, her three fingers soaring across the screen. She had spent two days stuck down there updating all the system and fixing all the mistakes her human engineers did.
"Hey Tali, we missed you down here," Engineer Adam's joked off to her right, "Did we really mess up that bad," he asked.
"Remember Adams, I am a Quarian, what you guys did wasn't wrong, it's just I can do it better," she remarked in a dead serious tone.
"Okay, you got Tali!" She smiled in her helmet as she had complete dominance over him, in a friendly manner of course. "We I bet I could beat you in a wrestling match Tali. You do know that I was number at my high school back on Earth." Tali spun around and stared at Adam's grinning face.
"I didn't know you knew how to wrestle," Tali's interest peaked.
"He doesn't," one of the engineers said, "He got his ass kicked by Chief Williams that one time!"
"She doesn't count! That isn't a woman, she is a fire breathing dragon," Adam's yelled back. He turned to Tali and rolled up his sleeves. "If you win, I will cal you the best engineer alive. If I win, then you have to call me King Adams the Great!" Tali crossed her arms and stared at him.
"But you already know that I am the best engineer," Tali responded in a playful tone.
"Ouuuhhh, are you gonna take that Adams!" His face turned beat red.
"Is there a fight about to go on in here," Garrus's head peered through the door.
"Tali is going to wrestle Adams!" Garrus's head disappeared from the door.
"Wrex, Ash come here! Tali is going to fight Adams," Garrus's distant voice said. In a matter of seconds Wrex lumbered through the door, shortly followed by Ashley who was wiping her hands on an oily cloth.
"Come on Tali, I won't rupture your suit, I promise to be careful," Adam's teased Tali as he lowered his stance.
"I am more worried about you Adams," Tali seriously remarked with a sloppy grin over her face.
"Oh my God Adam's, she is already kicking your ass," Ash boomed.
"I have two-hundred credits on Adams," Wrex stepped into the conversation, "I can't imagine Quarians are good at close combat."
"Three hundred on Tali," Ash threw a bet in next, "Adam's can't wrestle to save his life!"
"Shut your hole Williams!" Tali unwrapped her arms and shook her head.
"Well lets do it." The small crowd erupted with applause and whistles.
"Come on guys, let's give them some room," Garrus said pushing everyone back. They created a ring and left plenty of space for the two to have at each other. Tali noticed Adams hands shaking. Is he scared or just excited. "Whoever taps out first loses," Garrus announced, "Tali, you ready," she shook her head getting low to the ground and moving her legs back away from Adams reach. "Adams, you good to go?" He nodded.
"Kick his ass Tali," Ashley yelled.
"Fight!"
Adams charged at Tali, which caught her off guard. His arms wrapped around her waist and he slid them down towards her thighs obviously going for her legs. Damn, I didn't think he would be this aggressive. Her teeth clenched as she searched for an opening around his neck, but he had his shoulders crunched up. Her back crashed up against the railing and Adams lifted her up.
"You see what I told you," Wrex remarked clearly unimpressed. Okay, time to show him. She let go of Adams and clutched onto the railing. She slipped her powerful legs out from Adams grasp making him recoil back several inches. Taking advantage of this she pushed her body forward using the railing as a platform. She wrapped her leg around his and used her forearm to push his torso back, shifting his center of gravity. Adams crashed to the floor but Tali was right on top of him pressing her knees into his arms.
"You like that Adams," she said out of breath and crossing her arms over her chest taunting him.
"Oh damn," Ashley commented with her fist over her mouth.
"The view from down here is nice," he fired back smiling as blood rushed to his head. Tali gasped and quick as lightning was off of him and grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back. She forced her knee into his back.
"Tap out now or else," she leaned over and whispered into his ear.
"No, I want to be called King Adams the Great!"
"Okay," Tali pressed all of her body weight into his back popping his shoulder out of place.
"AW DAMN IT," Adams yelled.
"Get some Adams, get some," Ashley yelled. Adams slammed the floor with an open palm.
"Okay, okay, okay! You are the best engineer in the whole wide galaxy," she shouted with his face pressed against the floor. Tali let go of his arm and stood up. "Did you have to really do that!"
"I warned you Adams." She held out a hand to lift her defeated opponent from the ground.
"Someone owes me some credits," Ashley punched Wrex in the arm.
"Damn, that really hurts," Adams said trough teary eyes.
"It's my turn," a voice called from behind. Shepard came walking down the ramp. Everybody turned and stared at him. Tali's heart stopped at the three words. She turned around to meet Shepard's face, a smirk was wrapped around his lips.
"Wh-what," Tali stuttered at him.
"Wrex is unfair to fight, I am afraid to wrestle Garrus because I don't feel like losing an eye, Laira would crush me with her biotics, and Ash, well, you know." Shepard cracked his knuckles.
"Show me what you got. It's fine to let off a little steam," he reassured Tali.
"I have 1000 credits on Shepard," Adams blurted out. Everyone around them began to make bets. "There is no way out of this one Tali," Adams shouted through the buzz. Oh Keelah, what have I gotten myself into!
"Okay, everyone quiet down," Garrus was now standing on a crate. A few more faces appeared in the room as he explained the rules. Tali's heart was beating incredibly fast. The powerful man in front of her tucked his shoulders in and got really low. Ok, I imagine he will be fast out of the gate, come at me with persistence and speed. Oh what am I doing!
"Are you ready Shepard?"
"Yep!"
"Tali?"
"Not really," she said hesitantly as she dug her feet into the ground. The crowd all chuckled.
"Go!"
Shepard was sprinting at full speed towards Tali. Okay, now! She dropped down to the ground as low as she could extending out her shin attempting to trip the commander. She felt his foot catch but her caught himself from falling. She stood up as hastily as she could attempting to get on Shepard's back. He was already turned around tough. Damn he is fast, what now! He was already coming at her again. Run! She turned around and ran towards the wall, but was cut short by a powerful hand clenching her ankle. She slid to the floor and reached for the hand around her ankle, but it didn't come off. She turned on her back and began kicking. He let go and stood over her making sure not to get kicked in the head by her flailing legs. That's right Shepard! His hands were batting like a cat attempting to grab her foot. His lightning fast reflexes payed off as her grabbed her foot and he threw his body at the Quarian. No! She launched her leg into the middle of his chest, her foot sinking in deep. He stumbled back gasping for air. Now is my chance. Tali launched herself at the defenseless commander inserting his neck into the fold of her arm and she squeezed with all her might.
"I got you Shepard," she whispered into his ear. His leg got in between her though and he kicked sending them both hurdling towards the ground. Tali didn't let go of her sleeper though. She felt a hand slap against her thigh. The crowd erupted with a round of applause as Tali let go of Shepard's neck. He turned around and stared at Tali, his face purple and his eyes red.
"Oh my God Tali," he said through a gasp of air. He patted her on the shoulder respectively.
"Commander, did I just see what I think I saw," Joker came in over the speaker. He nodded his head as his hand grabbed his neck. "You know I called you a ninja for a reason Tali," Joker came through again.
"Joker, I still don't know what a ninja is," she yelled up playfully to the ceiling and over the angry betters voices almost out of breath.
"I will explain it to you later Tali," Joker concluded. Shepard stood up and reached his shaky hand out for Tali to grab and hoisted her of the ground.
"Good game," he called to her.
"That was fun, we should do this again," she joked. Shepard coughed and shook his head.
"I need to work out more until we can do round two." They both laughed.
"Shepard, sorry to break up the fun but I need you up here for a moment. It's important," Joker's voice came through the ceiling.
Snake in the Mud
Chapter 3
SSV Dynamism, 1300 hours
Skave scanned the room, all of the familiar faces staring at the blue print rolled across the table. Around the briefing room were his four fire team leaders. A powerful Asari Commando named Shikirta was one of his best. She is approaching 700 years old with close to 600 years of combat under her belt. Her icy blue eyes were darting across the table learning all of the exits, entrances, and escape routes. Standing off to her left was a Turian ex-Specter named Ferogi, he scratched his chin with his synthetic arm looking at the paper sprawled out in front of him. Leaning against the table was a Salarian, former STG and is closing in on forty years of age. Skave was really glad to have the Salarian named Linder on his team; he was the best medical doctor he has ever met. The last team leader was the biggest Krogan Skave has ever seen. He never knew his actual name through all of the years working together, so everyone called him Tank.
"Okay, so is there anything I need to go over, or is everyone clear about what we are doing," Skave questioned his old friends while slamming his fist into the blue print.
"How do we know he will come," Shikirta asked looking into Skave's red synthetic eye.
"This station is a hub for human travelers, Shepard will come," Skave hissed. He glanced around the room, all of his team leaders we nodding their heads to the excellent plane Skave had come up with.
"Skave," Kramos came in over the speaker, "I have some excellent news for you!" The tall Turian continued to stare at the paper sprawled across the table.
"Lay it on me!"
"Shepard is actually in this system." Skave couldn't believe those words, his artificial heart pounded. His team all looked at each other, their eyes wide. "ETA, fifteen minutes from the station."
"Every one, go grab your team and equipment. Kramos will be dropping you all off at you specified destinations around the station," he yelled throwing his hands around giving orders. "You all know what to do, go brief you teams and get ready!" Finally the time has come!
Station 12, 1320 hours
Skave walked into the front door of the elaborate human station, his bag slung across his shoulder. Glass windows were everywhere as natural light pierced them from the systems star. Holographic advertisements were floating across the walls and the insulting smell of human seeped into his nostrils.
"Mentok Apvochi, are tired all the time? Do you have trouble sleeping," a holographic human face appeared on the wall to his right interrogating him, "Why don't you try Tenacious Dream, a new medical sleep pill!" The holograph followed him down the hallway advertising the product. Skave's bold pressure rose, but he finally spotted the sign he was looking for as his photographic memory brought up the layout of the station. Food Court, walk fifty feet then turn left. He worked his way through the bustling crowd of human tourists who were eating their lunch before catching their ship. Skave dropped small canvas bags every ten feet he went. Your dead, your dead, your dead… He looked at the smiling faces of the men, women, and children as he walked by them. Hmmm… this day is going to be a good day. He blocked the buzz of noise out from his head: the scraping of chairs, the families laughter, the metallic clanking of their utensils, and the sound of the human's eating their food. Bathroom! Mens. Ahh… a Turian armed guard at the end of the hallway. Everything is lining up as planned.
He looked around one last time before entering the restrooms.
"Skave, we are all lined up, ready to go on your signal, over," Ferogi came through Skave's clear ear piece.
"Understood." A sneer crept across his mouth as he entered the men's room. He observed the sterile white room, scanning it for positions. He looked under the stalls checking for legs, but the only thing that moved was a man dressed up in an Alliance uniform who was washing his hands. Time to warm up. Skave dropped his bag in behind the door and approached the human from behind. Skave's heart began to beat as he stared at the back of the man's head. The Marine looked up and locked eyes with Skave in the mirror.
"Can I help you?" Skave's powerful hands locked onto the back of his head slamming the human's cranium onto the metallic sinks corner. The cracking sound sent a rush of joy through his veins. He looked down at the ground to stare at his victim. He was motionless as dark blood pooled around his head. Skave's hands shook from the excitement when he heard a moan from the Marine.
"Arahh," Skave screamed as he stomped the head into a pulp. "Help, someone fell, help," Skave yelped, his voice transforming into an innocent tone. He slid behind the door and waited for the Turian to bust through. The door swung open and Skave launched at his victim. His hand wrapped around the guards face and he twisted the head with all his might, his neck popping violently. He hissed the Turian's dead face as his beady eyes rolled back. This feels good! He dropped the body and began undressing it, snapping the armor off the guard and applying it onto his tall form. He spun around and zipped open his black bag and unfolded his assault rifle. Show time! He powered up his omni-tool and hit a button.
"THAM!"
The station shook violently as his anti-personnel charges detonated in the populated food court. Skave busted through the door and aimed his rifle into the screaming crowd that was sprayed red firing the mass accelerated pellets into the mass.
SR1 Normandy, 1325 hours
Shepard entered the elevator and smashed the holographic arrow pointing up. He rubbed his neck with his hand as the slight sense of vertigo set in. Damn Tali. His mind was completely focused on the match. It felt like getting kicked by a horse. Damn my chest hurts! He rubbed his chest trying to meddle with the pain. His body kicked up a bit as the elevator came to an abrupt stop and the hatch slid ascended into the ceiling.
"Pressly, how are you," Shepard asked a little shocked when he saw him standing on the other side of the hatch. The commander studied the navigators face. "What is wrong," Shepard switched over to a serious tone.
"Joker needs you up at the helm immediately!" Shepard ran towards the stairs climbing them three at a time. He entered the map room and all of his crew stared at him, their faces painted with fear and anger.
"Damn….what's going on Joker!" Shepard was running towards the head of the ship.
"Commander, a Sergeant Kale needs to talk with you," Joker almost was yelling at Shepard as he approached the helm. A voice came over the intercom.
"Commander, this is Sergeant Kale. You are the only ship in the vicinity and we need your immediate assistance! We are under attack from raiders, uh no, terrorists maybe, but they are more professional. They are killing everyone in here! I have sent the coordinates to your pilot," he was yelling over what sounded like gunfire.
"Joker..."
"I'm already on it, ETA five minutes."
"Kale, we will be there in four minutes!"
"Thank you commander, haul ass though, I only have forty armed guards here and I am down to half that! These guys are good," Kale was suddenly cut off by an explosion.
"Joker, radio down to the lower decks and tell them I want everybody ready five minutes ago," Shepard yelled over his shoulder as he was running down the fuselage.
Doctor Chakwas came down to engineering to fix Adams shoulder and everyone else was shouting at each other trying to get the credits straightened out.
"Hold still now Adams if you want this shoulder back in place," the Doc said aggravated.
"Tali, good job! Shepard needed an ass beating," Wrex came up behind Tali.
"Thanks Wrex." Tali felt invincible at the moment.
"Shepard miss calculated your chicken feet Tali," Ashley appeared from behind the Krogan with a grin on her face as she counted her credits.
"My what kind of feet," she asked Ash. Ashley looked up from her cash and laughed.
"Never mind," she turned away chuckling to herself as she stuffed the credits into her pockets.
"Attention, Shepard needs all of his ground team geared up…now," Joker's voice came from over the intercom.
"He needs all of us," Garrus asked jumping off his crate.
"Let's go, come on, hustle up," Ash ordered waving her arm. What is going on? Tali ran up the ramp and sprinted towards her locker amidst the stampede of the ground team.
"What in the hell is going on? Wrex grumbled grabbing his armor.
"Hell if I know." Garrus answered not helping any of them out. Tali briskly attached her plates and grabbed her shotgun. She looked around as Garrus brought out his sniper.
"At least I get to try out my new toy," he said staring up at the unfolded sniper. There he is. Tali spotted Shepard and Liara hastily walking towards them.
"Shepard, what is going on," Tali shouted. The team turned at looked towards their commander. Liara's face was full of rage as she viciously punched open her locker and geared up. Oh Keelah, this can't be good! The rest of the team noticed Liara's face and everyone got quiet.
"Listen up everybody; I have some bad news to tell you." Shepard announced.