Well, I finally got this done. After look at the final number of words in this chapter, I think it was about the same amount as my last chapters, but this felt SO much longer... I plan to shorten up these chapters by at least a thousand words. I think that will be better for me with my current schedule and responsibilities. Which will mean, hopefully, faster updates.
Anyway, you didn't want to read a large chapter of Author's Notes, so on to the story. Please comment and let me know of any mistakes needing to be fixed, or just your opinions!
"The tower is secure. Thanks to you, Commander," Fai Dan said. Shepard, Ashley and Wrex had just made it back to where the survivors were held up. They had found some gear in the tower they had just cleared of geth and had radioed Garrus to let him know that they were on their way back, so as to not get shot when they came back through the door.
Nodding to Fai Dan, Shepard motioned to the random members of his Ground Team behind him and said, "Couldn't have done it without my crew. We're just glad your colony is safe."
"I appreciate your concern as well as you and your crew's efforts against the geth," Fai Dan started, almost sounding like he was going to give a slight speech before asking something else.
He didn't get the chance to, though, as Arcelia said, "They may have been slowed down, but they'll be back. They always come back."
Sadly, Shepard knew this was true. So long as there were more geth around, they would look for survivors. But on that thought, why were the geth there to begin with? When they attacked Eden Prime, it was to get the Prothean beacon. Was there something like that here?
"What are the geth looking for, anyways?" Shepard asked the two in front of him.
Fai Dan shrugged with a frown on his face, saying, " We don't know what they're after. They came, they attacked us. That's all we know. Their main base is at Exogeni headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers."
"What's Exogeni?" Shepard asked, thinking the name sounded familiar.
Arcelia said, "It's the company most of us worked for before the attack. They fund this colony. The skyway leads directly to Exogeni headquarters. You can't miss it."
"Of course," Fai Dan spoke up, "there's an army of geth between here and there."
Shepard gave a rueful smile and a confident shrug, saying, "I didn't expect this would be easy."
Fai Dan smiled at the Commanders response, saying, "Then, maybe I can get this colony operational again."
"What do you need done to get this place back on its feet," Shepard asked.
The first to speak, Arcelia said, "We need those geth destroyed."
"Arcelia's right," Fai Dan said. "There are still geth in the tunnels. We also have more mundane problems like food water and power. I'm not sure where we stand on those matters. You should talk to the people overseeing them."
After asking for a few more details, Shepard found that the people in charge of those problems were the people he had ran into on his way to Fai Dan, the same people he left some of his crew with. When he was done talking to Fai Dan about the colony, he radioed his team to meet up at one corner of the colony where there was a walkway of sorts, somewhere that no one else was hanging around.
The six of them were in varying positions on the walkway while they talked. Garrus had his assault rifle out, standing at the edge of the group closest to the door that he had guarded earlier almost as though he was still guarding it, if his glancing towards the door every now and then was any indicator. Kaiden was standing a few feet from him, leaning on the side of a chunk of stone that was there with his arms by his side. Wrex was on the other side of the two, closest to the other end of the walkway, leaning against his own chunk of stone and holding his shotgun. His new shotgun, the one he had traded for back on the Normandy. Tali was about halfway between Wrex and Kaiden, with her back towards the colony, facing Shepard. She was shifting her weight from one leg to the other, a nervous habit, Shepard guessed. Ashley was opposite her, leaning against the opposite railing of the walkway with her arms crossed. She was also facing Shepard, just like everyone else.
Shepard himself was in the middle of the group, pacing back and forth while the different members of the team explained what they learned from the colonists that they worked with. With each of them having been helping a different colonist with different responsibilities, Shepard now had a rather clear view of what the situation in Zhu's Hope really was. Food, water, power and even more geth in the tunnels just waiting to attack. Fortunately, however, it seemed that almost all of those problems could be fixed from the same area: the tunnels.
According to Kaiden, the main water valves for this part of the colony, valves that were currently deactivated, were located in the same tunnels that the geth were supposed to be. In order for the colony to receive water, those valves needed to be turned back on. As to the food shortages, Garrus informed him that the man he talked to earlier said the colonists could hunt and eat varren until the attacks stopped, but an alpha varren was too much of a problem as it was stronger and more resistant to pain than the regular varren. As far as the man could tell, he told Garrus that the alpha varren was living down in the tunnels.
Sadly, that seemed as far as they would be able to go to help. Tali informed him that she was able to get the generators to work for a short while, much to the surprise of the woman she had been working with, but they wouldn't last long until they got a hold of some useable power cells. Before Shepard could ask, Tali told him that she had checked to see if the Normandy's power cells would work, or if she could put together some kind of adaptor to make them work, but there was no way to make it work. There were too many factors involved and a lot of them that Tali tried to explain went straight over Shepard's head, making him take her word for it. Unless they found any during their mission, the colony would have to wait before they could get power back up and running.
Shepard continued to pace for a few moments in silence when everyone had finished briefing him. They needed a plan. Basic missions would require squads of three people. He had already broken that protocol with this mission so far and there were still a lot of unknowns to deal with. Not to mention Zhu's Hope still needed some kind of protection. He could split the group into two, but if there was too much to handle in the tunnels then they would be in trouble. Alright, God, what do we need to do? Shepard thought while touching a spot at the center of his chest. He had only done that for a moment, but a few of the people around took notice, though rather dismissively.
Shepard looked up from staring at the ground and stopped pacing. Looking to different members of the team, he began explaining his plan, "Alright, guys, here's what we'll do. There's a lot we have to do, so we're going to split up. Standard team setups, two teams of three. Alenko," Shepard looked at said Lieutenant, "You'll be in charge of one team. Your job is to keep Zhu's Hope secure. I'll take the other team down into the tunnels. If we run into any trouble down there, I'll call you for backup."
Kaiden nodded his understanding, stood up and asked, "Who's on what team, sir?"
Thinking for second, Shepard said, "Geth and rabid varren, transmitters and water control valves. I'll take Wrex and Tali with me. Williams and Garrus will stay with you to keep the colony secure." When Kaiden nodded, Shepard turned to the rest of them and asked, "Any questions?"
"Commander, there is one thing," Garrus said, stepping forward. Shepard motioned for him to continue. "After I found out about the alpha varren, I walked around the colony and asked about this place. I don't know what it is, but something seems… off."
Before Shepard could ask what he meant, Tali spoke up and said, "I noticed the same thing. When I spoke with a couple in one of the rooms on the freighter, the both seemed… well, 'off' somehow. The woman seemed very weak and was having to lie down, even though she had no obvious injury, and the man had this nervous twitch when he spoke to me."
Shepard looked at Kaiden and asked, "Did you notice anything?"
"As a matter of fact, I did," Alenko said, thinking about it for a moment. "I hardly ever got a straight answer from anyone regarding the colony. They always told me to talk to Fai Dan. And there's a woman working at a terminal that's running some kind of diagnostics on the freighter, but it was like she couldn't tell me what it was. Like Garrus said, something just seems off with the colonists."
Shepard nodded and thought for another second before saying, "If that's the case, lets try to find out what is going on. While you're here, see if you can find anything out. Williams," Shepard said, turning around and facing the woman who was now standing at attention, "You'll have fresh eyes on this, so I want you to focus on trying to figure out if something out of the ordinary is going on. Alenko and Garrus will do the same, but their primary focus will be on protecting the colony and the colonists." Williams nodded and said, "Yes sir." When that was done, the group split up. Shepard's team left back through the doorway that they had went through before while Kaiden and his team stayed behind, Garrus once again watching the door.
They took the right hallway instead of straight, passing the room that Shepard, Williams and Wrex had gone into before, passed an elevator that was supposed to lead to the skyway and down the stairs at the end of the hall. Wrex still had his shotgun out while both Shepard and Tali had out their pistols. They had been walking in basic formation, the one of them checking corners with their weapons while signing for the others to move up when it was clear. So far, it was quiet. No geth in sight and no sounds of close gunfire. After two flights of stairs, all three of them were nervous and on edge. If Geth were in the tunnels, they should have encountered some by now.
Tali was in front, checking the floor between flights of stairs. She looked to Shepard, who nodded and moved ahead to check the next set of stairs. Before he could though, the sounds of gunfire was heard, as well as the sounds of fast paced footsteps. Moving quickly, Shepard looked down the stairs to see a woman running towards them.
When she made eye contact, she cried out, "Oh God, they're everywhere-"
Shepard was about to call out to her when a geth drone suddenly shot at her, followed shortly by a geth stalker. He cursed mentally before firing at the drone, destroying it before dropping into cover. Shepard looked over and found Tali next to him and he heard Wrex firing his shotgun at the stalker.
When his shotgun overheated, he grunted before looking at Shepard, saying, "Damn thing won't be still. Can't get a target."
Tali looked towards the krogan and said, "That's what they are designed for. Models like them were mostly for observation and reconnaissance in the past. Now they use those traits for distraction and disorientation."
"Think you can hack them or something?" Wrex asked, getting ready to fire his shotgun again.
"Not this time," Shepard said quietly, not looking at them. When the two looked towards him to see what he meant, they noticed he was letting out a long breath and his eyes were closed. Before they could ask anything or react, Shepard had moved out of cover and down three steps, his shields only getting hit once. Shepard watched as the stalker shot at him, missing most of the time, and then jumped from pillar to pillar, wall to wall. When it finally came to a stop in order to shoot at him again, Shepard fired at its chest, never missing a hit. The stalker was only able to fire once at him before it fell to the ground, Shepard's shields taking the hit easily.
Blinking, Shepard shook his head. He could just make out Wrex saying, "All clear, Commander" in the background. When he had gotten his bearings back together, he looked to the colonist the geth had shot. She would have died just after she had been shot, if not immediately. Shepard grimaced for a second before saying they should keep moving. He didn't like it knowing that she died right as they had gotten there, but he knew that they couldn't have done anything. But like with Jenkins, it still didn't sit right with him.
The group continued to move down the stairs, finally getting to the bottom without seeing any more geth. They came out into an open area that had doorways on both sides, each leading to different areas. Looking towards the right, Shepard could just make out smaller hallways that continued towards the right, but the left side seemed to be blocked off. They crossed the small bridge connecting the two different sides, still having their guns at the ready.
"Anyone see anything?" Shepard asked, feeling edgy again. He never did like these quiet moments between firefights. One never knew what to expect.
"Nope," came from Wrex, while Tali said, "Nothing so far, Commander." They both sounded like they felt the same way.
Checking to see if they were covered to the right, Shepard straightened up slightly and lowered his pistol, but didn't compress it. He noticed the other two doing the same, Tali compressing her pistol to bring out her shotgun instead. He didn't blame her. This area meant that any fight they got into would mostly be close quarters and a shotgun would be ideal. With two shotguns, Shepard decided having a more long ranged weapon ready would be best, so he kept his pistol out.
Shepard noticed a door ahead of him that wasn't completely sealed from damage and motioned to it. Tali merely nodded while Wrex moved towards the door. Shepard nodded and Wrex opened up the door, moving in and sweeping the room with his shotgun. Shepard and Tali were right behind him as soon as Wrex said, "Clear."
Coming up to Wrex's right side, Shepard noticed that the room was probably a cargo or storage room. It was large and mostly empty except for some debris, with a steep rising area going above the door and a flat area at the top. Most likely a roadway, as there was a very large model Mako damaged there. Shepard imagined that they would find more rooms like this one if the looks of the place outside the room were anything to go by.
"Remember we're not just looking for geth down here," Shepard said, turning towards the others, "These rooms would probably make good places for varren to-"
He stopped talking when he heard the low growl of some animal from above them. Slowly, as not to provoke the animal he expected to see, Shepard turned his head and looked at the steep rising above the door. To the left of the damaged Mako tank, halfway between said Mako and the debris at the end of the room, were two varren, both barring their teeth and settling into a low crouch.
Me and my big mouth, Shepard thought, turning back to look at his companions. He noticed Tali tilt her head slightly, in what he guessed was more of an annoyed gesture than a confused one, and Wrex had an amused look in his eyes, or at least as far as he could tell. He was still learning how to read a krogan. Either way, it seemed that these two had a similar train of thought as he did.
As soon as he heard the two varren growl in a way that seemed as though they were about to charge, Shepard brought up his pistol and started firing, moving backwards into the room to allow his companions to move further into the room and have better aim. The two varren dropped fairly quick, but two more replaced them, seemingly coming from behind the debris at the end of the room. Taking a breath, Shepard tried to focus to use what he called his 'Marksman' technique. While he did get several shots in at long range, killing one of the varren, it wasn't nearly as accurate as it had been and he let his pistol overheat. By the time it had cooled down enough to fire again, the other varren was almost on him. Just as he was about to charge his biotics, the varren was blown away by Wrex's shotgun.
Before he could thank him, they heard a loud roar coming from the debris, causing all three of them to point their guns towards where they saw the other varren come from. Shepard heard Wrex mutter, "What the hell…" right as a large red varren suddenly stomped out, looking in their direction.
The varren charged at them, making Wrex begin firing at it with his shotgun. While a shotgun is more of a short-range weapon, it could still cause some damage at a distance. This varren, however, was shrugging off every hit from Wrex's shotgun and it was visually obvious that it was being hit. But this thing was not slowing down. Tali started to shoot at it as it got closer, but it still wouldn't stop.
As it got even closer, Shepard had an idea. As he charged up his biotics, Shepard called out, "Wrex, Carnage shot right after me!" He saw Wrex pump his shotgun right as he used his biotics to Push the varren back a few feet. After it rolled back to its feet as though nothing happened, but then it was hit with a charged Carnage shot, putting it down for good.
Cautiously, Shepard lowered his pistol and stared at the smoking body of the varren. When he was sure that it wouldn't get back up, he looked over to Wrex and Tali. "Ever seen anything like that before?"
Tali merely shook her head, as Wrex answered, "Can't say I have, but I think its safe to say that we just killed the 'alpha varren' the turian was talking about."
Shepard could only agree with him. If it wasn't, then maybe they should leave the varren hunting to the geth. Once he was sure that the varren was in fact dead, Shepard told the others to check the room to be sure there weren't any more surprises. As they were about to leave, Tali called out and told them to come over to the damaged Mako-tank.
"What is it, Tali?" Shepard asked as they got to her. She appeared to be taking something apart from the tank.
"I think that- yes, it's the right part," she replied as she brought out a component and handed it to Shepard, "These powercells can be used for the power generator back in the colony. They are still in good condition, despite what this tank looks like." It was a bit heavy, Shepard thought as he weight it in his hands, but rather easy to carry. Tali pulled out two more powercells from the tank, both the same size and weight as the one Shepard was holding.
She handed one to Wrex and another to Shepard. "Hold these for a moment please," she asked while she brought up her omni-tool and began to scan the powercells. After a moment of scanning and typing, Shepard asked, "So are they still good? Will they work?"
Nodding, Tali said, "Yes, they'll work good as new. We just need to get them back to the colony and attach them to the generator."
She deactivated her omni-tool as Shepard said, "Good, from the sounds of it they could use these. But we can't go back just yet. We need to find that transmitter Fai Dan mentioned. We take that out and any remaining geth nearby should be more disorganized."
"We also need to keep an eye out for the water control systems. Lieutenant Alenko told me what to look for and that it would more than likely be down here," Tali explained, attempting to take one of the two powercells in Shepard's hands. He just shook his head, saying he had them while he replied, "Either way, we have a lot to get done down here before we head back to the colony. Lets leave these next to the doorway and grab them on our way back up."
After they had done just that, setting the three powercells just inside the doorway, they moved back into the main part of the tunnels. The path they were on had an outer and inner area, where parts of the colony's equipment had to be built in. When they stepped out of the door to the varrens former home, Shepard noticed another door that appeared to be able to open straight across from them over one of the connecting bridges. Deciding to bring out his assault rifle, he turned to Tali and Wrex and had them get out their own weapons to be ready. Both pulled out their shotguns again.
20 seconds after the door they approached opened, two geth drones came down from the ceiling and began firing on them. After some maneuvering to avoid their fire, the drones were taken down from the firing of two shotguns and an assault rifle. When he was sure that no more geth drones would be coming out from some other random location in the hallway they were now in, Shepard signaled Wrex and Tali to stay back and let him take the lead.
Staying where they were, Shepard moved ahead alone, slowly heading towards the end of the hall. As he reached the end, he saw that there was only one room to the left. Peering into said room, Shepard very quickly ducked back into the hallway, staying very close against the wall, looking pale to anyone who was close by. When he was sure that there would be no gunfire towards the doorway, or at all, he began to walk back carefully and quietly to his two other teammates.
Both Tali and Wrex could tell that something was bothering him. But before either could ask him what it was, Shepard spoke up and said, in a low voice, "That room has about 6 or more fully armored krogan that seems to be just waiting for an attack."
Tali's body posture went stiff as she muttered, "Keelah." Wrex seemed to smirk while hefting his shotgun, as though he was just waiting for an order to charge. Thinking for a second, Shepard got curious and asked Wrex, "Any idea as to why there's a bunch of krogan here? There didn't seem to be any geth parts laying around in there, so I doubt they're geth hunting."
Shrugging, Wrex said, "Dunno. Could just be some mercenaries hiding out, looking for a challenge."
Sighing, Shepard said, "Guess we're just gonna have to ask them." Thinking for another moment, Shepard said, "Alright, here's what we'll do. Best I can figure, taking as many out as we can, as fast as we can, is our best shot against all those krogan. Wrex, I want you do prep a Carnage shot and shoot the first krogan you can in there. Tali and I are going to throw in a couple grenades and start shooting from there. We use focused bursts on all nearby krogan until we take them all out. Any questions?"
"W-what do you think would be better to use, Commander?" Tali asked, sounding nervous while trying not to.
"You mean weapon wise?" When she nodded, Shepard smiled a bit and said, "That shotgun will be the best thing. You seem to be pretty good at using it, so just stick with it."
Shepard was relieved to see that she seemed at least little more confident after hearing that. The truth was, she really was good with a shotgun. But she was still getting used to actually being on the battlefield. At least, that was Shepard's best guess. He knew before they left the Citadel that she would be a great asset to the team, but he also thought that she seemed a bit inexperienced. So far, she's handled herself very well. And Shepard now found himself counting on that fact.
When Wrex didn't ask any questions, and when Tali didn't ask anymore of her own, Shepard motioned for them to follow him quietly. As they reached the end of the hall, Shepard held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.
When Shepard made a fist, they moved. Shepard moved first, throwing a grenade into the room towards the first krogan he saw while going to the other side of the door. Wrex was right behind him, shooting his Carnage shot at a krogan right next to the one Shepard aimed his grenade at. Tali stepped out from her side of the door long enough to throw her own grenade towards a group next to the one Shepard and Wrex aimed at, before stepping back behind the wall to ready her shotgun.
When those few seconds were over, two krogan were knocked on their backs from Shepard's grenade, another fell and tumbled over and over from Wrex's Carnage shot, killing it instantly, and another krogan fell while two others doubled over from the grenade Tali threw into the room. Immediately, Shepard began firing his assault rifle at the krogan still standing, Tali joining in soon after. The two that had doubled over from Tali's grenade took every hit, soon falling over completely. Each of Shepard's team's shields flared as a random shot from a krogan trying to stand back up went their way. However, their shots were random, and not aimed. Shepard's team was.
Before they could shoot the last enemy krogan still alive, said krogan began to glow a dim white color. Shepard began to shoot, but soon his assault rifle overheated. His shields had also just gone out from the last shot of the last krogan they killed. He looked over and noticed Tali in the same situation he was while leaning against the wall, and he doubted Wrex's shields could hold out much longer after all the fire it had taken before this. Shepard quickly charged up his biotics and used them to Throw the glowing krogan back against the wall, where it fell back to the ground. By this point, all three of their guns were cooled down and pointed at the krogan. It didn't take long after that.
Shepard stepped into the room first, checking every which way he could before calling an, "All clear." As the other two came in behind him, Shepard noticed a small room in the corner. Stepping close with his assault rifle ready, he then heard a sound similar to whirring, but not the same kind he heard with the geth. When he finally got a look into the closed, he called for Tali and Wrex to come over.
"What is it, Commander?" Tali asked, before she got a look at what was in the closet like area of the room.
Inside was a tall machine spinning around in a circle, seemingly nonstop, giving out some kind of signal that was almost audible. After a moment, Wrex, who had also saw the machine, said, "I'm guessing that's the transmitter you mentioned ealier."
Nodding, Shepard asked, "Has to be, but how do we shut it down?"
Shepard heard Wrex chuckle and a click before the only living krogan in the room said, "Step back."
As Shepard and Tali both stepped back, they looked and saw Wrex step forward and shoot a Carnage shot point blank at the transmitter. The spinning machine blew apart instantly, parts of it flying out and into the room, missing each living occupant in the room.
Looking back into the closet, Shepard said, "Alright… I guess that works…"
"At least… It's technically shut down…" Tali replied, sounding like she might laugh.
Wrex merely chuckled again, not saying anything. He merely turn towards the door and began walking out of the room and back out of the hallway, into the tunnels, Shepard and Tali not far behind.
When they stepped back out into the tunnels, Shepard took point again, moving towards the first of a few different hallways that ran along the tunnels. As they neared the first hall that went into the wall, Tali motioned for them to stop. In a low voice, she said, "I'm detecting movement on the motion tracker up ahead."
Shepard nodded to her and motioned for them to follow him quietly. Bringing his pistol up and at the ready, Shepard quickly and quietly moved into the inner hall, going into cover as soon as he could. Looking over his cover, he quickly motioned for Wrex and Tali not to come into the room. There were a lot of geth in this room and he could see at least one Destroyer model.
Thinking for a moment, Shepard switched his pistol for his shotgun and checked to see if he had any grenades left. He had two. Giving himself another moment to think, Shepard quietly spoke over their short range radios, "I'm going to throw a grenade into the biggest cluster I can see. As soon as you hear it go off, come in firing and find cover." They both nodded to him and got ready.
Prepping a grenade, Shepard quickly stood up and threw it towards the far end of the room, aiming for the stone cover the geth had on that end of the room. Back in cover, Shepard waited until he heard an explosion before standing up and firing at the closest geth. Feeling his shotgun overheat rather quickly, Shepard went back into cover, letting Wrex and Tali come into the room with their own guns blazing. Thankfully the geth didn't react to the attack until after the grenade had exploded, making it easier to get the upper hand as well as taking out two of the geth numbers.
Wrex had moved all the way to Shepard's left, against the wall, while Tali had stayed right next to Shepard's left side. After firing off a couple shots, Wrex said, "Three more, Commander, including a Destroyer."
Shepard nodded while prepping a Carnage shot. Suddenly he heard Tali mutter something while ducking back into cover. Seeing Shepard looking at her, she quickly explained, "My shields are down and that Destroyer is closing fast."
Quickly nodding, Shepard said, "Stay Down!" and jumped up. His shields flaring, Shepard aimed and fired his Carnage shot at the Destroyer, taking out its shields and knocking it onto its back a few feet away. Looking ahead, Shepard saw the last two geth, one of which was twitching from being shot at, more than likely from Wrex behind him. Shepard quickly aimed at fired at the other synthetic, eventually taking it out before it could take out his own shields.
Doing a quick sweep of the room, Shepard called out, "Clear." Turning back around, He saw Wrex and Tali making their way around their cover. Looking at Tali, Shepard said, "You ok, Tali?"
"Uh, yes, Commander, I'm fine. My shields should be coming back up soon…" she said, trailing off. Something to her right caught her eye, making her stop and look at it for a moment. Curious, Shepard walked over to where she was now leaning down and examining some kind of control panel.
"Tali?" Shepard asked.
She quickly looked up at him and then back at the panel, saying, "I think that this is a part of the water control system for the colony. Lt. Alenko explained some of what he knew of the system to me before we had our group briefing. If I'm right, then this should be…"
She activated the panel, but other than light changes on the panel, nothing obviously happened. Wrex seemed to notice as well because he said, "Doesn't look like it's on yet."
Tali started to get up, saying, "No, it wouldn't be. These valves are a three-part system. There should be a second control valve somewhere close by, with the third not far from it."
Looking around the panel she had just adjusted, Tali began to follow some of the pipes and conduits leading from it to the other end of the room, where they had just fought the geth. As she made her way across the room, focused on following the pipes, Shepard heard something that sounded like a whirring or a whine of some kind. Looking to his left, Shepard saw the geth Destroyer that he had hit with a Carnage shot earlier moving. Not just moving though. While it couldn't seem to stand, it was able to move its arms and hold its rifle. In fact, it was aiming its rifle. At Tali. Whose back was turned and shields were still recharging.
Doing the first thing he could think of, Shepard jumped in between the geth and Tali, flaring his biotics in hopes that it would boost his shields. The geth fired almost immediately, hitting both Shepard's shields and biotics, knocking the Commander backwards and tripping himself and Tali to the ground.
"Stay down!" Shepard called out to Tali once again, doing his best to stay between Tali and the shooting geth. She shook her head to clear the confusion from the sudden action, but did as she was told. Wrex then started to fire his shotgun at the Destroyer, taking it out quickly.
Shepard looked around when the gunfire stopped, making extra sure that there weren't anymore surprises. He then looked to Wrex and nodded, saying, "Thanks Wrex. Guess I dropped my guard a little early."
Wrex chuckled a bit before saying, "We both did. Guess we didn't take it out when you hit it before. Shields probably took most of that Carnage hit." He kicked one of the Destroyer's limbs, saying, "Least you crippled it."
Shaking his head, Shepard started to get up. He turned around and asked Tali, "You ok?"
Now on her knees, Tali said, "A little shaken, but yes, I'm alright, Commander." She looked up and saw Shepard holding out his hand to help her up, which she took.
"Sorry about that. Guess I didn't clear the room properly," Shepard said.
Tali shook her head, saying rather quickly, "No, really, its fine, Commander. I wasn't hit, so it's ok."
From behind him, Shepard could hear Wrex chuckle about something. Undeterred, Shepard said, "You would have been shot and probably killed without your shields if we hadn't noticed that Destroyer getting back up."
Before Shepard could continue, Wrex spoke up in an amused tone, "You mean if you hadn't jumped in front of her." Shepard turned around and looked at him, raising his eyebrow. Wrex merely shrugged, saying, "Just saying. You were acting as her shields that time, not including that attempt at a Barrier."
Shaking his head and sighing, Shepard said, "Either way," giving Wrex a pointed look before looking back at Tali, "lets make sure that your shields are back up before we move out. I don't want anything happening to my crew, especially when it can be avoided. I've already let that happen too many times."
While he had mumbled his last sentence, both Wrex and Tali had heard him. Tali immediately decided to pull up her omni-tool, presumably to check on her shields and make sure they were properly charging. Shepard turned around at seeing this and started talking to Wrex, hoping to change the mood he had just set among them.
"Speaking of Barriers, though, do you think you could help me figure that trick out when we're done here? I don't know whether Alenko knows how to do that or not," he asked Wrex.
Wrex merely shrugged and said, "Don't see why not. Cargo bay should be big enough to work in, right?" Shepard nodded and looked to see Tali deactivating her omni-tool and tracing the pipes along wall again. He picked up his shotgun that he had dropped earlier and collapsed it, pulling out his pistol instead, and followed her.
Stepping over a few of the geth they had destroyed earlier, Tali led them to another control panel at a door at the end of the room that led out of the hall. Kneeling down to adjust it, Shepard and Wrex saw the lights on the panel change while nothing else seemed to happen.
Looking at the pipes around the room, Wrex said, "Still not on, huh?"
Noticing the same thing, Shepard said, "Then we'll keep looking."
"There should be one last panel we have to activate. Considering how close these two where, we should find the third one nearby," Tali said, standing up.
Nodding in understanding, Shepard said, "In that case, lets continue through here," he indicated the door they were next to. This door led straight to another one, which led them into a hallway just like the one they had just left. There were stone pieces to use for cover, like in the previous hall, as well as geth. The group quickly went into battle mode, taking cover and firing at the geth in the same patterns as they had previously. Before long the geth were all destroyed. Shepard double-checked each geth this time around.
When the hall was clear, Tali quickly found the third panel she had mentioned earlier and adjusted it. However, this time a thud and whirring was heard going through the pipes lining the walls, inside and out.
While Shepard and Wrex were looking around at the sudden sounds, Tali started talking, saying, "There! That did it! The system is active."
Nodding to himself, Shepard said, "Good job, Tali. At least the colonist will have water again. Now lets finish clearing these tunnels out and get back to the colony."
The three fell into formation with Shepard taking point. They went through the next doorway at the end of the hall and cleared the immediate area. At first, they expected to find either more geth or another hallway to go through. Instead, they nearly shot a man that was standing to their immediate left, near the railings of the larger open area that ran along the hallways they had been traveling. Shepard put his pistol away, Wrex and Tali doing the same, as they walked up to him.
"You don't want to go down there," the man said.
Shepard asked, "What are you doing down here?"
"Nothing I should be," the man replied, "Everything I shouldn't." Then suddenly he cried out in pain before falling to his knees for a moment. He stood back up breathless, mumbling, "That was a good one. Very intense."
Shepard, who had jumped when the man had shouted, asked, "What's the matter with you?"
The mans reply was rather calm, if a little out of breath, saying, "Just invoking the master's whip. Helps remind me I'm alive." He paused for a moment before asking, "You're here for the geth, aren't you?" When Shepard nodded the man said, "You're not the only one interested in those… things."
That caught Shepard's attention. The way he said it, Shepard doubted this man was talking about the colonist. Shepard decided to ask, "Who else is looking for the geth?"
"Not looking for," the man started, "but looking to get rid of. They're a thorn in the side of the-AARGH!" He suddenly started shouting again, as if in pain, and was reaching for his head. He tried to talk again, even though he was visually struggling with himself, saying, "Trying to get to the-AAIIEEEE!"
For his part, Shepard was getting worried. Something was obviously wrong with this guy, and Shepard had no clue as to what or how to help. He was in pain, that much was sure. But there were no visible wounds, and he had been reaching for his head at one point. Now, during his screams, he was almost laughing, as though he was loosing his mind. Shepard's first thought was a concussion, but there was nothing he could personally do to help with that, and this was rather extreme for a concussion.
Behind him, he heard Tali say, "This one is no longer fit, Commander. I don't think he can be helped."
Not wanting to leave him, Shepard asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you? Do you even want help?"
Out of breath, the man replied, "Help me? No. No one can help me now. I'd rather die fighting!" he said, gritting his teeth during the last sentence.
"Fighting what?" Shepard said, catching the mans shoulder to look in his eye, worry and cautiousness obvious in the Commander's voice.
Straining again, the man tried to explain. "Not that kind of fight," he said, grimacing, almost as though through a convulsion. "It's like running through a thorn bush. The more you struggle…" The man, who was trying to keep eye contact with Shepard, suddenly seemed to notice something, saying, "Time's up. Company's coming." Looking back at Shepard, he tried once again to say something. "Ask Fai Dan. Ask him about the- AAHH!"
As the man passed out and fell to the floor from pain, Shepard heard a click and whir that he had been hearing a lot of during the past several hours. "Geth!" he shouted, catching the falling man and dragging him behind cover. Wrex and Tali had both pulled out shotguns when they heard the Commander's shout, and had taken their own positions behind cover, firing at the geth.
By the time Shepard had secured the strange man behind his cover and pulled out his own weapon, Wrex called out, "Perimeter clear." Looking himself, Shepard saw only two geth lying on the ground. Thinking about the small number of geth for a moment, Shepard secured his weapon and turned to the unconscious man they had just met. Knowing they couldn't take him along, Shepard left some medi-gel next to him, as well as the rations he had with him.
Standing up, Shepard turned to his team, saying, "Let's make our way back to the colony. We can tell them about him," he gestured to the man they were talking to, "and maybe get him some help ready for a retrieval. Keep your guns out and stay ready. I think those two geth were scouts."
"I thought it was odd that there were only two of them," Tali said.
Wrex looked at Shepard, asking, "Do you think we missed something? Another room maybe?"
Shepard shook his head, saying, "I doubt it. It could be they were in one part while we were in another and we just missed each other. By now, if they aren't just looking for random organics to shoot, their looking for whoever blew up their transmitter," Shepard looked directly at Wrex as he said that last part. Said krogan merely shrugged.
Shaking his head, Shepard continued, "Either way, they are in-between us and the colony. Let's take them out and get back to the colony."
"Don't forget we need to get those powercells, Commander," Tali spoke up. Shepard nodded to her before leading the way back through the way they came, prepared for the fights ahead.
Like I had said before, this felt so long. Maybe its because there was nothing BUT fighting in this one. Fight scenes are among some of the things I tend to have trouble writing. Right next to personal descriptions of character looks.
I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I will be working very hard to update faster, though I will no longer be claiming a week or two, or give any deadline. With how my schedule usually goes, that will be impossible to do. However, my goal is to have everything from here to the end of Mass Effect 2 by 2012, when Mass Effect 3 is released.
Please comment and give your opinion. I'd like to hear any and all comments!
-halfbreed
