The Q Effect
Written by J.C. Vascardi
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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Star Trek are the property of CBS Studios, Inc. and/or Paramount Pictures, while all featured characters and places that that related to the game Star Trek Online are the property of Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment, and finally all featured characters and places that relate to Mass Effect are the property of Bioware/EA. I'm not profiting on this story and it is not my intent to infringe on anyone's copyright or trademark. The only things about this story that I own are the characters and storylines not featured in the shows, games, books, or other media.
Main Pairings: Rhys Shepard/Kaidan Alenko, Finn Shepard/Toran Ren
Secondary Pairings: Kyle Hawke-Derikson/Nathan Derikson, Logan Parker/Syrran Parker, Lucas Parker/Serron Parker, William Bristol-Drake/Bryan Drake, and the possibility of others in the future.
Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, Threesome, Foursome, Original Characters (others may get added as the story progresses)
Crossover: Mass Effect/Star Trek Online
Summary: Two vastly different universes collide when Q decides to send a pair of Federation vessels, along with a Klingon ship and a Romulan ship, into another reality, on a mission that could very well determine the fate of both universes.
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Chapter Three
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Over the next two or three days, the crews of the Anteros, Var'mang, and Incepteris were all working hard on installing the new systems on their ships that had already been installed on the Ganymede. The particularly challenging one was the ablative armor generators, since installing those required the crew to suit up in environmental suits in order to space walk on the hulls of their respective ships. Of course, figuring out a way for the Starfleet designed armor to be integrated into the Incepteris and powered by its artificial quantum singularity core had also been a challenge, but thankfully not an insurmountable one.
Meanwhile, a combined team from all four ships was working on studying the sensor readings that they'd thus far been able to take of the mass relays to see if they could not only adapt the technology but also see if it would be possible for the four ships to use a mass relay. Considering that none of them used an Eezo core they weren't entirely certain if they could use one of the mass relays. They still had the warp drives, of course, and all four ships were equipped with quantum slipstream drives. They were, however, unable to make use of the transwarp abilities of the ships since there was no transwarp network in this galaxy as there was in their own.
"Do we really need to use these relays?" asked Lt. Hosu, the Var'mang's female Orion Chief Science Officer. "We have the slipstream drives, so that should be good enough."
"Normally, I'd agree with you," Bryan said. "However, you have to remember that at the moment we don't have detailed star charts of this galaxy. Which makes using the slipstream dangerous since we'd run the risk of ramming into a planet or the center of a star that we didn't know was there."
Syrran nodded. "Additionally, the slipstream can only be maintained for about 30-40 seconds at a stretch and then can't be activated again for several minutes. Thus, while we can journey a good distance with it, it would be faster to use the relay network, especially if we're trying to get from one side of the galaxy to the other."
"It's really too bad that we don't have a transwarp network here," lamented Centurion Vanetra Arrai, the Incepteris's female Romulan Chief Science Officer. "That would be even faster than the slipstream. I'm not sure how it would compare to the relay network, although from what Admiral Janeway said about primary and secondary relays, if one were using secondary relays, it's entirely possible one would need to make several jumps which could end up taking longer than a transwarp jump."
"I wonder, would it be possible to modify the relays to act as a transwarp network?" Hosu asked. "I don't mean modify them so that they no longer perform as they currently do, just add a functionality to them that ships equipped with the right systems could use."
Everyone was silent for a moment as they considered this, before Bryan shook his head and said, "It's definitely an interesting thought, but it would have to wait until we understand the relays better. Plus, we can't just assume that it'd be okay for us to start adding functions to this galaxy's tech without permission."
"And just who should we ask for permission?" Vanetra asked. "The races currently using them don't own them and if Captain Bristol-Drake's theory is right, it was the Reapers who built them. I don't know about any of you, but I've already survived being assimilated by the Borg. I can do without being harvested by the Reapers, which from what Q shared is their likely response if we did contact them."
"You both have a point," Syrran said as he looked at Bryan and Vanetra. "For now, however, I think the most logical course of action would be to study the relays and find out as much as we can about them and that will probably require us to make ourselves known to the races of this galaxy. Because unless we can find an out of the way, rarely used relay to run scans on while not cloaked it'll be impossible to run deeper scans of the relays without revealing ourselves." At this point, he visibly shivered and said, "As for the Reapers, I agree that contacting them for any reason would be illogical."
"Did you just shiver in fear?" Hosu asked. "You are a Vulcan, right?"
Syrran smiled. "Yes, Lieutenant, I am a Vulcan. However, I was born on Earth at Starfleet Medical headquarters and grew up on a Starfleet ship among a mostly human crew. Despite the efforts of my father and late mother, my brother Serron and I, and our younger brother Sethan, haven't fully embraced the Vulcan emotional control to the level that they'd probably have preferred. I've also been married to a human for twenty-four years so I'd be lying if I said that also didn't have an effect on my personality."
"Wait you and your husband have been married for twenty-four years?" Vanetra asked, prompting Syrran to nod. "Wow. I know that Vulcans are longer lived than humans and age more slowly as a result, but I saw you briefly with whom I assume was your husband when I came aboard and he doesn't look anywhere near old enough to be married that long."
Syrran nodded, as he remembered that he and Logan were together when the crew of the Incepteris arrived onboard the Anteros a couple of hours ago. "Yes, my husband is Logan Parker, this ship's Chief Engineer. As for him not looking old enough to be married for twenty-four years, this will probably surprise you, but he's older than I am by a year and I'm 42. His twin brother Lucas, the Ganymede's Chief Engineer, sometimes jokes that they just have very good genes to have remained looking so young. Although in truth it's thanks to a serum that my brother Sethan invented, which dramatically slows down the aging process."
"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about this serum?" Hosu asked. "I realize that the Federation and the Empire have been at war for five years, but unless this serum also reverses the aging process, I'll assume that your husband has been taking it for longer than five years."
"He and his brother have been taking it for seven years," Syrran revealed. "And you haven't heard about it because it's not widely distributed. The reason being that it requires a mind-meld or similar telepathic connection and currently only works on couples where at least one member is telepathic. Sethan has been experimenting on expanding the serum to be useful to non-telepaths and those not coupled with telepaths, but so far he hasn't managed to do so."
Bryan grinned and said, "I'm well acquainted with Lucas and Serron Parker, since we serve together on the Ganymede, but also with their twin brothers, Logan and Syrran. And here's an interesting tidbit for you… all four of them were delivered by Dr. Jadzia Ren."
"Why is that interesting?" Vanetra asked.
Syrran rolled his eyes at Bryan for bringing that up, but answered, "Because it means that Logan and I technically serve under the person who delivered us." At Vanetra's confused look, he added, "Dr. Jadzia Ren died in 2400, but all of her memories, including those of delivering Logan, his brother Lucas, Serron, and myself live on in Captain Toran Ren, since Jadzia was the former host and Toran is the current host of the Ren symbiont."
Vanetra shook her head. "I've never understood Trill or why being a host to a symbiont is so coveted by them. Maybe it was all the Borg implants that were forced on me while I was a drone and a dislike of the collective hive mind, but I would never wish to share my body with another consciousness, especially when that consciousness comes from what is essentially a giant worm implanted in their abdomens."
"I was a bit put off by it originally myself," Hosu said. "However, serving under Captain Dex has altered my opinion a bit. When I first met Captain Dex, he didn't strike me as an appropriate commanding officer for a Klingon ship, but I quickly saw the error in my thinking. While it's true that Captain Dex himself is an engineer, he does have a myriad of other skills, including an extensive knowledge of hand to hand combat. In fact one of the Dex symbiont's former hosts placed first in the Bat'leth Tournament on Forcas III several times, which Captain Dex has done once now himself. Having attended the Klingon Academy, he would have been trained to use a bat'leth, but I'm sure having the memories of a past champion helped him."
Syrran nodded and said, "Indeed, Captain Ren is also an engineer, but has a very varied skill set, including medicine, diplomacy, art, music, and even gourmet cooking. As for the appeal, if you really stop to think about it, it's almost a form of immortality as your memories will go on for far longer than most other species could ever hope that their memories live on. Of course, symbionts aren't immortal, but it's not at all uncommon for them to live for centuries. Captain Ren, despite being only 32 has over 400 years' worth of memories and experiences."
"I suppose that's true enough," Vanetra said. There was a pause in the conversation for a minute or so at this point, before the group got back to work on what they were supposed to be doing.
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"You're both in perfect health," Dr. Karin Chakwas said, as she finished examining Rhys and Finn a few days later. They hadn't had any particular medical complaints which had led them to the sickbay on the Normandy, but Dr. Chakwas had still wanted to examine them so that she could add her own notes to the medical records that had been forwarded to her when they'd been assigned to the crew.
"Thanks, Doc," Finn said with a smile.
Rhys, meanwhile, scowled and asked, "How much of this examination was actually necessary? Or were you just entertaining your curiosity about the conjoined twins?"
"I assure you, Commander, my curiosity had nothing to do with it," Chakwas responded. "While I will admit a certain amount of curiosity as I've never treated conjoined twins before, that is not the reason that I asked to examine you. Just ask any other member of the crew that you like. I've examined each and every one of them, including Captain Anderson and the Spectre that the Council assigned to the ship. For as long as you're aboard this ship, I'm responsible for your medical care, so I wanted to familiarize myself with the two of you, just as I have with everyone else."
Rhys sighed and said, "Don't even say it, Finn. I'll deposit the fifty credits in your account later today."
"Fifty credits?" Chakwas asked, with a raised eyebrow.
Finn grinned. "Rhys and I had a bet. I said that you were just doing your job and being a good doctor by wanting to examine us. Rhys, however, figured that you were just like the numerous other doctors that we've seen over the years who simply wanted to poke and prod us, just so that could say that they've treated a pair of conjoined twins."
"Well, I'm happy to have proven you wrong, Commander," Chakwas said with a smile to Rhys.
After a moment, during which another person entered the room, although he was unseen by the others already in the room, Rhys asked, "Am I the only one who finds it odd that the Council assigned a Spectre to a ship for a simple shakedown run?"
"There's clearly more going on than just a shakedown run," the unseen person said, prompting Rhys, Finn, and Chakwas to turn in the direction of the voice and see Alliance Marine Corporal Richard Jenkins standing there. "I grew up on Eden Prime and it's really not the kind of place that Spectres visit, so there's something that Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."
"That's crazy talk, Jenkins," Chakwas said. "Captain Anderson is in charge on this ship and he doesn't take orders from a Spectre."
"Not his choice, Doc," Jenkins said. "Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can go anywhere and do anything they want, including killing anyone who gets in their way."
Chakwas shook her head. "You watch far too many spy vids, young man."
Turning to Rhys and Finn, Jenkins asked, "What do you think, Commander? Er… Commanders? We won't be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? Because I'm itching for some real action and growing up there I know I'm not going to get it on Eden Prime."
"I sincerely hope you're kidding, Jenkins," Chakwas admonished. "The kind of action that you're talking about usually ends up with me patching you up here in the infirmary."
"First off, Commander is fine, Corporal," Finn said. "Rhys and I a long time ago agreed to share the singular title of Commander Shepard, as if there was only one of us, even though that's technically not true. It makes things easier, especially in a combat situation."
"And you need to calm down, Jenkins," Rhys added. "This is just another mission and a good soldier keeps his cool when he's on a mission."
"Sorry, Commander, but this waiting is killing me," Jenkins said. "I've never been on a mission like this, not one with a real Spectre aboard."
"As I said, just calm down," Rhys said. "Keeping a cool head is key to a successful mission. So, just keep your head down, follow our orders, and you'll do fine."
"That's easy for you to say. You two proved yourselves during the Blitz so everyone knows what you can do, but this is my chance to really prove myself to the Alliance brass."
Shaking his head, Finn said, "You're young, Corporal, and you've got a long career ahead of you so don't do something stupid to mess it up."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to screw this up," Jenkins assured Finn. Then after a moment, he said, "Anyway, I'm reporting for my examination as requested, Doctor."
"Thank you, Jenkins," Chakwas said. "Just have a seat while I finish up with Commander Shepard here."
"You did make a few good points though, Jenkins," Rhys said. "What do you know about the Spectres, anyway?"
"Only what I've heard," Chakwas answered before Jenkins could, although Rhys hadn't directed the question at anyone specific. "They work directly for the Citadel Council, usually working alone or in small groups. They don't have any official power, however, as they're basically a shadow organization mandated with protecting and preserving galactic stability."
"Protect at any cost, Doctor," Jenkins added. "Spectres operate above the law."
"Above the law?" Finn asked, as Jenkins nodded. Since he knew there were no human Spectres, Finn hadn't really paid much attention to the organization at all, being far too concerned with his own life and career to really care too much. But now that he was actually in the position of being on the same ship as one, a lot of questions were coming to his mind. "How do you control an agent that has unlimited power?"
"Their power is granted by the Citadel Council," Chakwas answered, "so I'm sure the Council can take it away if given a reason to do so. At which point I assume that Citadel Security Services would take over."
Jenkins made a dismissive noise at this, as he said, "As if. The grunts at C-Sec wouldn't stand a chance against a Spectre—one of them is worth ten ordinary soldiers. A Spectre goes rogue they don't send C-Sec after them, Doctor, they send another Spectre to take them down. That's Spectre justice."
Chakwas shook her head, as she continued to update Rhys's and Finn's medical records. She would have dismissed them already, but she knew from experience that sometimes while she was in the process of updating records she'd find something that she'd want to examine further and then getting the person back in could be a hassle, so she made a point of not dismissing them until she was finished. "You're confusing romantic legends with reality, Corporal."
Before anyone could say anything else, Captain Anderson's voice came over the comm system. "Doctor, if you're finished with Commander Shepard, I need to debrief them in the comm room."
"I'm almost finished, Captain," Chakwas answered. "They'll be with you in a few minutes."
"Thank you, Doctor," Anderson said, before the comm cut off.
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A few minutes later, following a brief chat with Pressly in the Combat Information Center or CIC, the twins entered the comm room to find no sign of Captain Anderson, although they did find the Spectre, a Turian named Nihlus Kryik.
"I thought Captain Anderson was supposed to be here?" Rhys asked, confused. "He said he needed to debrief us."
Turning towards the twins, Nihlus said, "He had to step out for a moment, but will return shortly. I was hoping you two would arrive first, as this will give us a few minutes to talk."
"What would you like to talk about?" Finn asked. After the conversations with Chakwas, Jenkins and Pressly, Finn was feeling a little wary of Spectres in general and thus wasn't sure how to react around Nihlus.
"I'm interested in this world we're going to," Nihlus said. "Eden Prime. I've heard that it's quite beautiful."
Rhys nodded. "I've heard that too, although Finn and I have never been there personally."
Finn added, "Yes, they say it's a paradise. If you really want to know more about it you should ask Corporal Jenkins, since he was apparently born and raised there."
Ignoring the suggestion about Jenkins, Nihlus said, "Yes, a paradise: serene, tranquil, and safe. Eden Prime has become a symbol for your people hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But just how safe is it really?"
Rhys and Finn shared a look, before Rhys asked, "Do you know something we don't?"
"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard," Nihlus answered. "The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. I'm merely wondering if the Alliance is truly ready for this."
Before Rhys or Finn could comment, there was a slight hiss as the doors to the room opened and Captain Anderson entered the room. "I think it's about time we told the commanders what's really going on."
Nihlus nodded. "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run."
Rhys and Finn couldn't say they were surprised by that, as Finn nodded and said, "We figured there was something you weren't telling us."
"Yes, most of the crew suspects something else is happening," Rhys added, "although they can only speculate about what."
Anderson nodded. "Yes, I've heard some of the chatter. Anyway, our orders come from the very top of the Alliance brass that information be shared on a strictly need to know basis." Waiting for both Rhys and Finn to nod in understanding, Anderson then continued with, "We're making a covert pickup on Eden Prime, which is why we needed the stealth systems operational."
The twins nodded, as Finn asked, "Who or what are we picking up, sir?"
"A few days ago, excavators on Eden Prime were working on expanding the colony's monorail system," Anderson answered. "A team of researchers was then sent in when they uncovered a beacon of some sort. It was Prothean."
"I thought the Protheans vanished 50,000 years ago," Rhys commented.
"That's true, they did," Nihlus said. "However, their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives—basically all of our most advanced technologies—it's all based on Prothean technology."
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you how big this is, Shepard," Anderson said. "The last time humanity made a discovery like this it jumped our technology ahead two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this so we've been sent to get the beacon and bring it back to the Citadel for proper study."
Nihlus nodded. "Obviously a discovery like this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander, as it could affect every species in Council space."
"Why didn't we keep the beacon for ourselves?" Rhys asked. He always did have a slightly more pro-human attitude then Finn did, which had caused a few arguments over the years. Rhys wasn't against aliens, although he tended to be a lot more cautious around them and not be as quick to trust them as Finn generally was.
Nihlus shook his head. "Its comments like that which show why you humans don't have the best reputation. Some species see you as being selfish, as well as being too unpredictable and independent. Some would even say that you're dangerous."
"Sharing that beacon will improve our relations with the Council," Anderson said. "Plus, we need their scientific expertise as they know more about the Protheans than we do, since they've had over a thousand years to study them."
"Of course, the beacon is not the only reason I'm here, Shepard," Nihlus added.
Rhys and Finn both raised an eyebrow at that, but remained silent as Anderson said, "Nihlus wants to see you two in action. He's here to evaluate you."
"Evaluate us?" Rhys asked, as Finn asked, "For what?"
"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time, Commander," Anderson explained. "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy and to do that we need more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority, so if they were to accept a human into their ranks, it would show just how far humanity has come."
"Are you suggesting that we're Spectre candidates?" Finn asked, as both he and Rhys got a wide-eyed look on their faces, as neither one of them had ever suspected something like this when they accepted the posting on the Normandy.
Nihlus nodded. "You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single-handed. You showed not only courage, but also incredible skill. I'll admit, I was a bit leery at first due to your condition, but I also have to admit you do have a very impressive record, which is why I put your names forward as candidates for the Spectres."
"Why would a Turian want a human in the Spectres?" Rhys asked, prompting Finn to sigh and shake his head, because he could recognize his brother's suspicious tone.
"Not all Turians resent humanity, Commander," Nihlus answered. "Some of us—myself included—see great potential in your species and think that you have quite a bit to offer to the rest of the galaxy… and to the Spectres. We are an elite group, Commander, and it's rare to find one individual with the skills that we seek, let alone two at the same time. I honestly don't care that you're human Shepard. I only care that you can do the job."
"I assume this is good for the Alliance?" Finn asked.
"Earth needs this, Shepard," Anderson answered. "We're counting on you."
"I need to see your skills myself," Nihlus said. "Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together. While I've submitted your names to the Council for their consideration, they won't make a final decision until I've made my final report on you and before I can do that I need more than just your records, no matter how impressive they might be."
"We understand and we look forward to working with you," Finn said. Rhys stayed quiet, thankfully, although Finn did catch the slight look on his brother's face that said he wasn't sure he agreed with Finn's statement. To anyone else the look probably wasn't even decipherable, but it was clear enough to Finn, because you couldn't spend every moment with someone for twenty-nine years and not know what pretty much every facial expression meant.
"Good, now that we've covered that," Anderson said, "Shepard, you will be in charge of the ground team. We need you to go down, secure the beacon, and bring it back up to the ship as soon as possible. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission."
Rhys nodded. "We're ready then," as Finn nodded and added, "Just give the word, Captain."
"We should be getting close to Eden…" Anderson began but was cut off.
"Captain! We've got a problem," Joker's voice said over the intercom.
"What's wrong Joker?" Anderson asked.
"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir," Joker answered. "You'd better see this."
"Bring it up on screen," Anderson said, as he, Nihlus and the twins moved to get a better look at the vidscreen.
After a slight pause, the screen came to life with a large ground battle on the surface of Eden Prime. As they watched a female marine ran towards the camera and say, "Get down!" to one of her comrades before she began firing her rifle into the air at some unseen enemy. A moment later, a male's face appeared on screen and said, "We are under attack and are taking heavy casualties. I repeat: heavy casualties. We can't… argh! ... –eed evac! They came out of nowhere. We need…" Whatever he was going to say was cut off as an artillery round exploded near his position, sending dirt flying up in every direction and the man himself fell backwards, presumably dead.
Not long after this the screen briefly showed an image of a large ship with what looked like tentacles descending from the sky, followed by a few more explosions, and then nothing as the whole screen was covered with interference for a moment before it went black and Joker said, "That's where it cuts out, sir. No comm traffic at all, everything just goes dark."
"Reverse and hold at 38.5," Anderson said, as the image of the strange ship came back up on the screen. Shaking his head, Anderson said, "I've never seen anything like that. Nihlus?"
The Turian shook his head, "Neither have I."
"Joker, status report," Anderson said.
"Seventeen minutes out, Captain," Joker reported. "No other Alliance ships in the area, sir."
"Take us in, Joker, fast and quiet," Anderson said as he turned his head slightly and looked at Nihlus. "This mission just got a lot more complicated."
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Over on the Anteros, the engineering team had just finished their final calibrations of the newly installed systems when they picked up the distress call from Eden Prime. Looking over at his first officer, Toran said, "Well, I guess it's time to meet the locals."
"So it would seem," Melissa answered, as Kathryn nodded her head in agreement.
As the Anteros was the larger ship and tactically superior to the Ganymede, the admiral had now transferred over to it. While she was perfectly comfortable on the Intrepid-class, having captained the Voyager for several years, she was an admiral now and before she'd left Earth Spacedock, Admiral Quinn requested that she take up residence on the Anteros after arriving in the Mass Effect Universe and she wasn't one to disobey a request from a superior officer. At least not without very good reason and she couldn't think of one in this case.
Kathryn had assured Toran, however, that she would not try to usurp his authority. The Anteros was still his ship and she had no desire to try and overrule him. While she was in charge of the overall mission in this alternate reality, she saw no reason why she had to actually take command of a starship in order to carry it out. Thus, Captain Bristol-Drake and Captain Ren retained their positions on their respective ships. Obviously the same held true for Captain Dex and Commander Lareth, mainly because they weren't technically under Federation jurisdiction, even if their respective governments had requested that they cooperate with the Federation in this universe.
"Engage the cloak and set course for Eden Prime," Toran said.
"And send a message to the other three ships to cloak and set course for Eden Prime, as well," Kathryn added. "However, ask that they remain cloaked when we arrive, pending further communication from me. We'll likely be meeting the locals soon and I don't want to scare them by having too large of a force appearing all at once."
Toran nodded. "Yes, probably better to prepare them first."
As it would turn out, there was only one ship in the area near Eden Prime when the Anteros and the others arrived. Well, only one ship that had any life signs, that is, as there were a total of eight ships in the area, but only the Normandy SR-1 of the human Systems Alliance had any life signs aboard. The other six ships in orbit of the planet weren't moving to attack the Normandy, but the working hypothesis on that was because they were empty. Another ship could also be detected on the planet surface.
"The ship on the surface is massive, Captain," Kyle said. "And I hate to say this, but from these readings, it matches the configuration that Q gave us for a Reaper."
Toran and Kathryn shared a look at this, as Kathryn asked, "Are you sure, Commander Hawke?"
Kyle nodded. "Yes, Admiral. The design is similar to that of the aquatic species known as a reaper cuttlefish, only this vessel is much larger and as near as I can tell not organic."
Kathryn sighed. "Well, Q did tell me that we might run into what he called the Reaper vanguard, although I'd hoped it wouldn't be this soon." Shaking her head, she said, "Never mind, I think our goal is clear. A distress call has been sent and we must render whatever assistance we can."
"Yes," Toran said. "Logan would it be possible to remain cloaked and contact the Normandy?"
"Yes, Captain," Logan answered. "The Systems Alliance doesn't use subspace, so we'll have to use a more rudimentary method of communication, but we can remain cloaked while talking to them. The longer the conversation goes on, however, the greater the chance of detection."
"Surely they wouldn't be able to detect us," Melissa said.
Shaking his head, Logan said, "I doubt the races of this galaxy yet possess the ability or knowledge to get through Romulan cloaking tech. However, they may be able to detect the Normandy."
Syrran nodded. "Indeed. Scans indicate that they're using an internal heat sinking stealth system. Basically all of their heat emissions are being diverted to heat sinks deep inside their hull. Thanks to our visual sensors and the fact that we rely on more than heat emissions, we can detect them easily, but it appears that the same can't be said for the other ships in the area."
"So can they detect the other ships in the area?"
"I have no way of knowing that for sure without asking them," Kyle answered. "However, my scans indicate that the other ships are not using any form of stealth system so I'd guess that the Normandy can see them. They are, however, keeping their distance from the other six ships due to being greatly outnumbered and outgunned."
"We'll have to be careful how we word our opening hail to the Normandy," Kathryn said. "Make sure they know we're not whoever the enemy attacking the planet is, although I understand the reasoning that I'm assuming is behind your request about remaining cloaked while contacting the Normandy, as I assume you wish to learn more about the situation without the risk of being drawn into an immediate fire fight."
"Indeed those were my thoughts on the issue," Toran agreed. "There's nothing in the database that Q gave us about these ships, so I'm hoping the Normandy can tell us who they are." After a moment, he said, "Lt. Savali, open the appropriate hailing frequencies."
"Aye, sir," Felicity Savali said as she began running through the various signals that Starfleet didn't usually use. It took some time to find the right one, but after a few minutes she said, "Channel open, sir."
"This is Captain Toran Ren of the Federation starship Anteros to the Captain of the Normandy," Toran said. "We are not the force attacking the planet and would like to render whatever assistance that we can, but first we need some more information about the situation. Please respond."
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Meanwhile, over on the Normandy, they had just returned to a standard orbit around Eden Prime after making two covert drops. The first one to drop off Turian Spectre Nihlus Kryik, who was going to scout ahead and feed information to Commander Shepard's team, consisting of Rhys, Finn, Kaidan Alenko, and Richard Jenkins, who were dropped at the second drop point. When they arrived they found that they weren't alone, but thankfully with the stealth system engaged the enemy hadn't detected them yet. Of course if anyone on the ground had seen the Normandy at the drop points, they all knew the stealth system could be rendered useless if enemy ground forces contacted their ships and told them about the Normandy.
"How many ships?" Anderson asked.
"Six, sir," an ensign said. "According to our records, they're Geth."
"Geth?" Pressly asked, clearly surprised. "They haven't been seen beyond the Perseus Veil in over two hundred years."
"Well, apparently they decided to change that," Joker commented.
Pressly nodded and said, "Can't say I like those odds. We're only a frigate and would have a hard enough time against the lone dreadnaught, but add in the five dropships and it doesn't look good."
"Captain, I'm picking up another ship on the surface of the planet," the ensign said. "It's massive—dreadnaught sized—doesn't match any known configuration."
"Must be the ship from the distress call," Anderson said as he remembered the strange ship that both he and Nihlus had agreed they'd never seen the like of before. On their way to the cargo hold to get geared up for the mission, Rhys and Finn had commented that they'd also never seen anything like it, although Finn had a vague recollection of thinking he'd seen something similar looking—and much smaller—in an aquarium when he was a teenager.
"If any of them detect us," Pressly said, "we are so screwed."
"Indeed," Anderson agreed.
After a few moments, the same ensign who'd informed him of the ship on the planet surface said, "Captain, we're receiving a transmission."
"Impossible!" Pressly said. "Stealth system is engaged. There's no way the Geth could detect us and send a message."
"It's not from the Geth," the ensign said.
"Let's hear it then," Anderson ordered.
"This is Captain Toran Ren of the Federation starship Anteros to the Captain of the Normandy. We are not the force attacking the planet and would like to render whatever assistance that we can, but first we need some more information about the situation. Please respond."
David Anderson was quiet for a moment after the message finished playing. He'd never heard of any organization known as the Federation and he was naturally cautious about this unknown entity. On the one hand, he worried that this might be a trap by the Geth to lure him into a false sense of security, but he had his doubts about that, if only because the voice of this Toran Ren didn't sound computer-generated, which suggested it wasn't the Geth. On the other hand, Anderson also realized that he and his crew were greatly outgunned at the moment and he welcomed any and all offers of assistance that he could get.
Finally, with a shake of his head, Anderson said, "This is Captain David Anderson of the Systems Alliance vessel Normandy. I've never heard of this Federation that you speak of, Captain Ren. I must also admit some confusion as to how exactly you detected our ship with our stealth systems engaged."
"I'd be tremendously surprised if you had heard of the Federation," Toran said. "Without going into too much detail over an unsecured channel it technically doesn't exist in this reality. As for how we detected your ship, suffice it to say that we have advanced sensor tech that goes beyond simple thermal readings. In fact I'm looking at the outside of your ship on my main viewscreen as we speak."
Anderson shared a look with Pressly at this, but neither man said anything. After a moment, he said, "Okay. I'm not going to pretend to understand what you mean by the Federation doesn't exist in this reality, but such explanations can wait for the time being. Since the Geth aren't moving in to attack, I assume you must be employing some type of stealth system as well?"
"Yes, Captain, we do have a stealth system," Toran said. "And actually, I'm not alone, as I have three companion vessels with me, however as the tactically superior vessel we've been designated the lead ship of our little group. Now you mentioned the Geth. Who are they?"
Filing away that piece of information to revisit at a later time, Anderson said, "The Geth are a race of synthetic machines created centuries ago by the Quarians as a cheap menial labor source. Unfortunately, in time they became self-aware, leading the Quarians to panic and attempt to exterminate them. The Geth defended themselves and eventually drove the Quarians off their homeworld of Rannoch, but instead of following the Geth retreated back to Rannoch and the other formerly Quarian worlds, which are beyond the Perseus Veil on the far outer rim of the galaxy on the other side of the galactic core. This is the first time the Geth have been seen beyond the Veil in over 200 years, so I have no idea why they've suddenly decided to attack a human colony."
-o-0-o-
"Hmm, that's interesting," Toran said, as his eyes couldn't help but linger for a moment on Kyle, since as an android he was a completely self-aware synthetic. He was about to ask Kyle if perhaps he could try to contact the Geth ships and speak to them as one synthetic to another to see if they would stand down, but he never got the chance.
"Captain, the Geth ships in orbit are powering up their weapons," Felicity said. "And moving on an intercept course. It doesn't appear they've detected us, but I think they've picked up on the Normandy's transmissions and are moving to intercept."
"Well, diplomacy appears to be out of the question then," Toran said. "Red Alert! Target the lead Geth ship and prepare to drop the cloak on my order."
"Aye, aye, sir," Felicity said.
"Drop the cloak and fire."
Seconds after the Anteros had decloaked, the forward phaser array fired at the lead Geth ship, prompting Felicity to say, "Sir, their barriers are offline, but they don't seem to care. No attempt at communication and now all the ships are turning to fire on us."
"Tactical analysis?" Toran asked.
Scanning the ship, Kyle said, "The lead ship has ten railguns mounted on the bottom of the hull, five on each side, with what appears to be only a twenty-degree firing angle. There's also four mass accelerator cannons, three forward and one aft, which appear to be their version of a torpedo launcher. Finally there's two dozen ultraviolet anti-fighter lasers."
At this the first shot from the Geth hit the Anteros's shields, prompting Felicity to say, "Barely a scratch, sir. Shields are holding at 99.4%."
"Target their kinetic barriers only," Toran said. "If that doesn't dissuade them then target their weapons. I'd prefer not to kill them, so avoid hitting any critical systems if you can." Felicity nodded and began choosing the targets as ordered. Looking over at Kyle, Toran asked, "Can you contact them?"
"I've been trying, sir, but no response," Kyle answered. "It doesn't appear they're interested in talking."
A few minutes later, as the Anteros was hit again, this time by all six Geth ships in a concentrated pattern, Felicity said, "Shields down to 90%. Still no attempts from the Geth to communicate."
"Sir, three of the ships have broken off their assault on us and are heading towards the Normandy," Syrran announced a second later.
Toran sighed. "Well, I guess they don't leave us much choice. Target the ships heading for the Normandy: full spread of photon torpedoes."
"Aye, sir," Felicity said, as she worked in concert with Nevin to maneuver the Anteros into position so that the forward launchers were facing the right way. Once they were in position, Felicity fired and everyone on the bridge watched as the glowing orange torpedoes flew through the blackness of space at the Geth ships. Moments later, there were three massive explosions as all three ships exploded.
"Looks like Valdren was right about his one-shot kill hypothesis," Toran commented, as several other people on the bridge nodded in agreement.
"Sir, the remaining Geth ships are breaking off," Felicity said. "They're retreating."
"Yes, but the Reaper vessel is ascending from the surface of the planet," Syrran revealed.
"Signal the Normandy," Toran said, knowing that they had fired on a couple of the Geth ships during the recent fighting. "Tell them to back off and leave this new contact to us."
"They've acknowledged the signal and are moving away," Felicity said, a few moments later, as the top of the Reaper vessel came up through the atmosphere of Eden Prime.
"Tactical analysis?" Toran asked.
"The Reaper vessel is over 900 kilometers longer than us, sir," Kyle answered. "And its kinetic barriers are about a hundred times stronger than the ones on the Geth ships."
"Its main gun is a spinal mounted cannon that the computer calculates can fire with the power of up to 450 kilotons of TNT. There's a further cannon at the end of each of its five tendril like appendages which the computer calculates to be roughly half as powerful as the main cannon."
"Good call telling the Normandy to move away, Captain Ren," Kathryn said. "This vessel would have crushed them like a bug."
Toran nodded. "Thank you, Admiral. Considering what we know about the Reapers and their methods I figured that would be the case."
"They're charging weapons, sir," Kyle said, as a red glow appeared at the tip of one of the new ship's tendrils. "It looks like they're targeting the Normandy."
"Helm, move us between the Normandy and the enemy," Toren said.
"Aye, aye, sir," Nevin acknowledged, as the ship moved between the Normandy and the massive enemy ship, and took the full brunt of its weapon a moment later.
"Shields at 80%, sir," Felicity said.
"Return fire," Toren said.
A few moments later, Kyle said, "Sir, at first glance it looks like they're using energy weapons like we are, but my scans indicate that it's actually firing highly concentrated streams of molten metal at a fraction of the speed of light."
"Hmm, well that's different," Toren said, as he'd never encountered anyone who used that type of weaponry before.
"I suggest deploying the armor," Kathryn said.
Toran nodded. "Yes, deploy armor."
Felicity nodded as she pushed the new button on her console that activated the ablative armor generators, causing the ship to be encased in a thick layer of additional armor plating. Not long after this, the Ganymede decloaked about twenty kilometers starboard of the Anteros, their weapons charged, as they joined in firing at the Reaper. Seconds later, the shimmer of a cloak dropping could be seen as the Var'mang and the Incepteris materialized about fifty kilometers behind the Reaper and began firing their cannons.
Cassandra, who was leaning against a nearby railing since Admiral Janeway was seated in the chair she normally sat in while on the bridge, suddenly grabbed her head and winced. Noticing the movement, Toran asked, "Commander Elbrey are you okay?"
"I'm picking up the Reaper's consciousness," Cassandra answered. "It's not as strong as Q's, but it's definitely stronger than anything I've previously felt from anyone other than Q himself."
"Can you sense anything from it?"
"Yes, Captain," Cassandra replied. "Malice and hatred. Extreme hatred."
The ship was rocked at this point, as one of the Reaper's weapons hit it. Felicity said, "Shields at 65%. Armor is holding at 95%."
Cassandra winced again, prompting Toran to say, "Close your mind, Cassandra. I can tell from your expression that it's causing you pain."
"Easier said than done," Cassandra replied.
As the four ships continued firing on the Reaper the battle began to turn in favor against it, made very clear when one the Ganymede's phaser beams cut through one of the Reaper's tendrils, severing it from the rest of its hull. Not long after this, everyone on the bridges of the Anteros, Ganymede, Incepteris and Var'mang winced in pain as a high-pitched sound that many of the humans compared to nails on a chalkboard sounded inside their own skulls, along with the words, "We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it."
"Not today," Toran said. "Lt. Savali, full spread of quantum torpedoes."
"Aye, aye, sir," Felicity said, as she fired. Seconds later, the Ganymede also fired off its own quantums, as the Var'mang and Incepteris, which both only had aft torpedo launchers, sent their own volleys of photon torpedoes and Romulan plasma torpedoes at the Reaper.
As the torpedo volleys impacted with the massive ship, Kyle said, "I'm detecting a large amount of damage to its hull, sir, and its kinetic barriers have completely collapsed."
"Continue firing phasers," Toran said and Felicity did just that, as moments later one of the Anteros's phaser beams cut through two of the ship's tendrils—completely severing them from the rest of the ship.
"You will not win," the Reaper said again. "We are only the vanguard of your salvation through destruction. You cannot stop us. Nobody can stop us."
It was at this point that the ship stopped firing and engaging what was clearly an FTL-drive, moved away at high speed. Toran said, "Can we trace where it's going?"
Kyle shook his head. "Negative, sir. Since it doesn't use a warp-drive, there is no warp trail to trace. And we don't have enough experience with this universe's FTL-drives to even begin to find a way to track them."
"Incoming transmission from the Normandy, sir," Felicity said. "They report that they have teams on the ground that have run into heavy Geth resistance and are requesting assistance."
"Helm, take us closer to the planet," Toran said. "Kyle, when we're in range, scan the planet and see if you can find the locations of the Normandy's teams. Felicity, tell the Normandy we're moving in to assist their teams."
All three officers acknowledged the orders, as the other three ships moved closer to the planet as well, obviously planning on sending their own reinforcements planet side.
-o-0-o-
Several minutes later on the surface of Eden Prime, several streams of shimmering blue, red, and green light appeared as the away teams sent by the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ships beamed down. The Anteros's team consisted of Melissa Flores, Kyle Hawke-Derikson, Logan Parker, Syrran Parker, and Kira Nevin, while the Ganymede's team consisted of Bryan Drake, Lucas Parker, Serron Parker, Barin Troi, and Lt. Commander Karrina Jarok, the Ganymede's Romulan Second Officer and Chief of Operations.
Since the Klingons didn't believe in the Federation policy of forbidding the Captain from going on away missions, nobody was really surprised to see that Joran Dex was leading his team, which consisted of K'Gan, T'Proth, Hosu, and the Var'mang's Gorn Chief Medical Officer, Commander Thraak. The Romulan team was also led by Valdren Lareth, who had brought Tovan Khev, T'varen Mendak, Vanetra Arrai, and his Second Officer and Chief of Operations Subcommander Koal Lareth, who was also his younger brother.
"There's a small spaceport ahead," Karrina said as she looked at her tricorder readings. "I am also detecting a few human life signs in the vicinity and two unidentified life signs."
"Well, I guess that's our next stop then," Bryan said. "Shall we go?"
The leaders of the other three away teams agreed and they all headed off in that direction. It was as they got closer to the spaceport that they overheard a conversation.
"Saren?" a male voice asked. None of the away team members could see the person's face but from what they could see of the back of the person's head, they were clearly not human.
Another humanoid creature, who appeared to be of the same race turned and said, "Nihlus."
"What are you doing here, Saren? This isn't your mission," Nihlus said.
The other man, Saren, came closer to Nihlus and patted him on the shoulder, as he said, "The Council thought you could use some help on this one."
"I wasn't expecting to find the Geth here," Nihlus said. He was clearly at ease with Saren, suggesting that they knew each other.
"Don't worry," Saren—who was now standing behind Nihlus—said as he raised a pistol to the back of Nihlus's head and said, "I've got it under control."
"Nihlus, behind you!" Bryan shouted, prompting Nihlus to spin around, clearly in shock when he realized that Saren was about to shoot him.
"Spirits, Saren, what the hell? You were seriously about to shoot me in the back of the head? Why?!"
Saren didn't answer, however, as he spied the approaching away teams and realizing that he was now greatly outnumbered, he said, "I don't have time for this," and took off running towards the monorail that led to the spaceport's other platform, throwing a grenade behind him which exploded near a few crates, the force of which knocked Nihlus off his feet and prevented any of the away team members from chasing after Saren.
Moving over to Nihlus, Bryan held out his hand to him to help him up. After a moment of hesitation, Nihlus accepted it and looking around at the large group of people, several of whom were alien races he'd never encountered before, he asked, "Who are you?"
"Commander Bryan Drake, First Officer of the Federation starship Ganymede," Bryan said, as he proceeded to introduce the rest of his team. Melissa, Joran, and Valdren followed suit, introducing both themselves and their teams.
Nihlus looked a bit overwhelmed by all the names and positions he'd just heard in a relatively short span of time, so turning back to Bryan, who was clearly the person who had warned him about what Saren was about to do, as he recognized the voice, he asked, "Aren't you way too young to be the First Officer of a starship?"
Bryan smiled. "I get that often, but then I am only sixteen. It's not common for people my age to rise to the level of First Officer so young, but I started at Starfleet Academy much younger than most. And until recently, the Federation was at war with the Klingon Empire for five years, which caused something of a vacuum in the officer ranks, as many young, junior officers found themselves moving up the ranks a lot quicker than they normally would due to the deaths of older and more experienced officers who then obviously needed to be replaced."
Turning to Joran, he asked, "Wait, didn't you say you were with the Klingon Empire?"
Joran nodded. "I did, yes. Our war with the Federation ended with an armistice a week ago. Normally, I probably wouldn't be teaming up with them this soon, but I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. And Commander Flores's captain is my twin brother, so, that did help smooth things over between us."
Before anyone else could say anything, Nevin called out, "There's a hurt man over here. It looks like he got caught in that grenade explosion."
Joran motioned his head in Nevin's direction, wordlessly telling Commander Thraak to lend a hand. Thraak nodded and moved over to the prone human, who was badly burned. A few moments later, Thraak hissed, "I've stabilized him for the moment, but he will need medical attention soon or he will die."
"Since he's human, I suggest he be beamed up to the Anteros or the Ganymede," Valdren said.
Melissa nodded and tapping her commbadge, she said, "Flores to Anteros. Lock on to the human life sign next to Lieutenant Kira and beam him directly to Sickbay."
Moments later, the injured human disappeared in a shimmering blue light that had Nihlus looking shocked as he asked, "What the hell just happened to him?"
"He was transported up to the Anteros," Koal answered. "We have what's called transporter technology. It basically breaks objects or people down to subatomic particles known as a matter stream. This matter stream is then reassembled at the destination, nearly instantaneously."
"There are limitations, of course," Vanetra added. "As they're limited to transporting objects or people from one ship to another within a limited range or to and from the planet surface to an orbiting ship. Transport between planets or larger distances isn't possible."
Before Nihlus could say anything, Anderson contacted him from the Normandy about their new friends who'd agreed to send people to the surface to help with the survivors. With a nod of his head, Nihlus said, "Yes, Anderson, I've already met them and some of them aren't human. In fact, some of them are races I've never even heard of."
"Interesting," Anderson said.
"If you think that's interesting," Nihlus said, "they also seem to have some pretty advanced technology. Such as what they call a transporter which is some kind of instant transportation device that allows them to get to and from their ship in a column of light."
"Well, that answers that question," Anderson commented. "They'd said they were going to send down teams, but then I didn't see any of their ships move into the atmosphere or launch shuttles, so I was rather confused about how they were sending the teams down. Of course, some of their ships are probably too large to land on a planet as the Normandy can."
"The Ganymede is capable of planetary landing," Bryan said, as Melissa nodded and added, "The Anteros, however, isn't."
Joran and Valdren revealed that neither of their ships were capable of planetary landing either, before Nihlus said, "Anderson, you should know that there's another Spectre down here."
"Another Spectre?" Anderson asked. "The Council didn't say anything about sending another Spectre here did they? Who is it? Do you know them?"
"No, they didn't," Nihlus answered. "And I most certainly do know them, considering that it's my old mentor without whom I wouldn't have been recruited for the Spectres. It's Saren Arterius. He's not the Saren I know, however, as it seems like he was planning to shoot me in the back of the head, but our new friends showed up at the right time and stopped him."
"Have you found the beacon?" Anderson asked, his tone taking on a definite edge which hadn't been present mere moments ago.
"Negative," Nihlus said. "It wasn't at the dig site, but I don't know where it might be."
At this, Joran's communicator beeped and he said, "Dex here, what is it?"
"Captain, we've stopped a group of four armed and armored humans," T'Proth said over the comm, who along with the other security officers among the four teams had established a perimeter while the others talked to Nihlus. "They say they're from the Normandy."
"Let them through," Joran ordered.
Moments later, the group arrived and from the look of them, it was three men and a woman. Several eyebrows among the Federation, Romulan, and Klingon teams went up upon seeing that two of the men were connected with only three legs between them. Recognizing them, Nihlus said, "Ah, Commander Shepard, good to see you. As you can see, we've made some new friends."
"Indeed," Rhys said, his tone somewhat weary.
"I'd try to sound a bit more grateful if I were you," Koal said. "If it wasn't for us, it's entirely possible that the Normandy would be a debris field right now. Not to mention the fact that Nihlus here would be dead."
"I apologize for my brother," Finn said. "He's always been rather slow to trust aliens. Especially new aliens. You're not human are you?"
Koal shook his head. "No, I'm Romulan."
Nihlus was about to say something, when Rhys suddenly asked, "What the hell?"
Finn turned to his brother at this, and asked, "What now, Rhys?"
Raising the hand that wasn't on his assault rifle, Rhys pointed at Logan and Lucas Parker and said, "Look at them, Finn."
Turning to look where Rhys was pointing Finn said, "Bloody hell."
Logan and Lucas looked at each other for a moment, confused, before Logan asked, "Is there a problem?"
Putting away their weapons, Rhys and Finn both reached up and removed their helmets, as Finn said, "You could say that, yes."
There were several gasps as everyone looked at Rhys and Finn and then at Logan and Lucas, who all looked nearly identical to each other. Shaking his head, Rhys said, "It's like I'm looking in a mirror, except that the reflection is different from normal, since you two aren't conjoined like Finn and I are."
"Well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events," Syrran said, as he looked between his husband and brother-in-law and the pair of conjoined brothers who shared their face.
"Indeed it is, but we've got more pressing issues to deal with," Nihlus said. "Commander Shepard, have you uncovered any information on the beacon?"
Rhys nodded. "We found and talked to a Dr. Warren, the lead researcher," before Finn added, "According to her, the beacon was moved to the spaceport this morning."
"Hmm," Nihlus said. "Well, it isn't here, which means it must be on the other platform, which is where Saren was headed. Damn it. Seeing as how he nearly shot me, something tells me we need to keep him away from that beacon."
"I'm guessing this beacon is important?" Bryan asked at the same time that Valdren asked, "What exactly is this beacon you people keep talking about?"
"That's classified," Nihlus answered.
"Nihlus, with all due respect," Finn said, "they've already helped us and if they're going to help us get to the beacon, which will no doubt mean fighting through more Geth, I think they have a right to know what they're risking their lives for."
Nihlus was silent for a moment, before he nodded and said, "Fair enough. The beacon is a piece of ancient Prothean technology. The Protheans ruled the galaxy 50,000 years ago until they suddenly disappeared although nobody ever figured out how or why. All of our technology from ship drives to weapons are based on Prothean technology, which was obtained from similar beacons over the years."
"So the beacon may contain additional technology that will help your people," Bryan summarized, prompting nods from the natives. In his head, Bryan couldn't help but think back to his childhood when he'd gone through a phase of being extremely interested in ancient Earth, especially 20th century movies and books, including Star Wars. He remembered thinking at the time just how ridiculous it was that some of the books in the so-called Extended Universe were set more than a thousand years before the movies and yet both the movies and the books used all of the same technology, with no apparent improvement over the course of a millennium.
The people of this universe, however, seemed to be even worse if they were basing all of their technology on stuff that had been invented over 50,000 years ago. Bryan had to admit that some of it, like the mass relay network, was quite impressive, but he found it almost impossible to believe that an entire universe would focus solely on reverse-engineering ancient technology and not develop any new technology of their own. Then again, with what he knew of the Reapers, perhaps it wasn't such an impossible thing to believe, as they clearly did everything they could to make sure that the races of this galaxy always fell into their trap of using the technology that could be turned against them at a moment's notice.
Obviously he didn't say this aloud, however, keeping his thoughts entirely to himself, as Nihlus nodded, "Indeed. I'd also like to find out why the person who trained me as a Spectre was about to kill me."
"And I'd very much like to find out why my entire squad is dead," Ashley added.
Finn must have noticed the confused looks on some of the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan officers' faces, as he said, "Ashley is one of the marines who was stationed here on the planet. She was the only one of her squad left when Rhys, Kaidan, and I came upon her." And realizing that they'd never introduced themselves, he added, "I'm Lt. Commander Finn Shepard, the Co-XO of the Normandy, along with my brother, Lt. Commander Rhys Shepard." Pointing at Kaidan and Ashley, he added, "This is Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Marine Ashley Williams."
Nihlus's mandibles clacked slightly, as he asked, "Where's Jenkins?"
"He didn't make it," Rhys answered. "Some of those flying Geth drones ripped right through his shields and killed him."
"Ah, I see," Nihlus said. "You have my condolences. Now, let's get moving."
"Since there's so many of us," Finn said, "might I suggest that a few should perhaps double back the way we came and get Dr. Warren and her assistant to safety? There seemed to be something wrong with Manuel, although I couldn't put my finger on it."
"Dr. Warren said it herself, Finn," Rhys said. "Genius often leads to madness."
Shaking his head, Finn said, "I get the feeling it was more than simple madness."
"My team and I can see to Dr. Warren and her assistant," Bryan volunteered. "Where are they?"
"Ashley can you show them?" Rhys asked. "You can catch up to us when the civilians are safe."
Ashley nodded, as she led Bryan and his team away, along with Valdren and his team, who decided to accompany them. This left the teams from the Anteros and the Var'mang to assist the Normandy crew. "My team and I are at your disposal," Melissa said, as Joran nodded.
"Are you sure it's safe for you to be going into a combat situation?" Kaidan asked. "You're not exactly dressed for it."
"Don't let our lack of body armor fool you," Serron said, as he brandished the phase rifle in his hands. "We can defend ourselves."
"If you say so," Rhys said, as he and Finn put their helmets back on and got their weapons back out.
-o-0-o-
To be continued.
And there's Chapter Three of The Q Effect. So, Spectre Nihlus Kryik is still alive. There may be others that I save who unavoidably died in the trilogy, although some will still have to die, because it is a war and it wouldn't be realistic to say that everyone survives. So, any thoughts on how the search for the beacon will differ now that Nihlus and the teams from the Anteros and Var'mang will be with Commander Shepard's team when it's found? Will it still be destroyed? Stay tuned to the next chapter to find out.
