Chapter 3
Location: Aboard the Quarian Starship Neema
As Kal'Reeger walked down the hallway, taking care to avoid anyone who would pass by, his thoughts wandered to his recent mission. Three more soldiers, gone, all because he screwed up. He knew that the brass would have no problem with it, but he couldn't take it. The mission always came first, but getting all his marines back alive was a very close second in his eyes. He tormented himself, going over the mission in his head.
Their target had been a geth data cache. They had gotten to it with relative ease, and thought they had made it undetected. That's when everything went to hell. As the squad covered Tali as she extracted the data, the geth triggered an ambush. Reeger was pissed, he should have known better. He knew that the ease in which they made it to the data site was too good to be true. Right away, they tore through two squad members shields, and took them out. As the team continued to bunker down and provide cover fire, the geth were moving in to flank them.
Reeger ordered a shift in position to prevent them from being massacred. It worked until a squad member noticed that one of the two downed soldiers was still alive. Without warning, she tried to make her way to the downed quarian. Her shields were beaten down by geth fire, but she had almost made it. That wass when a rocket ended any hope of her saving her friend. Tali finished the data transfer, and the squad made their way back to their ship, and left the battle.
He finally reached the door to the bridge. He set down the equipment he had been carrying in a nearby locker, and made his way inside. As the door swished open, a great wave of noise overwhelmed Reeger. The bridge was always full of people, and full of noise on any quarian vessel, but the Neema wasn't just any quarian vessel.
"Kal'Reeger vas Neema reporting admiral, ready to deliver my report from the last mission, sir." Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema made his way over to Reeger. He had anxiously been waiting for this meeting all morning.
"At ease, soldier. Follow me; we will talk about this in private." Gerrel turned and the two made their way off the bridge and into a small office just outside. This was where the Admiral spent most of his time when he wasn't on the bridge, and where his sleeping quarters were located. As the door closed behind them, Gerrel made his way to a small desk in the corner, and sat down. Reeger continued to stand just inside the door.
"Well, how did it go? Were you able to secure the data?" Gerrel leaned forward in his chair.
"Mission to acquire geth data was successful, Tali was able to hack the geth data port and get us more info about Haestrom. Her expertise proved invaluable again, sir." Reeger looked down, he knew he wouldn't care, but he had to tell him anyway. "And we lost 3 more marines in the fighting."
"Excellent work, we need to find out what is going on with that star. The scientists are worried. A little more data about the system, and I think we will be near ready to send you in." Although he didn't show it to Reeger, Han was overjoyed. They needed to find out why this star was dying. Haestrom's sun was just a regular star when the quarians were force out of the system by the geth. By now, only 300 years later, the star was beginning it's decent into death. It wasn't possible, or it shouldn't have been. That worried the scientists on board the fleet immensely, but that was the least of the admiral's worries. He wanted the info on the geth.
Han'Gerrel had always been in favor of retaking the home world, but these missions were bringing him closer. Each successful return brought more data to be studied, more thoughts into geth processes, more info on their defenses and capabilities. 2 years ago, he never would of thought that an attack on the geth would be possible in his life time, but now, he could almost smell it.
"Here is the data, so the board can decide what our next more will be, sir." Reeger walked up to the admiral's desk, and set down the OSD. Gerrel stared at it in anticipation; he couldn't wait to see what this would unlock. What secrets it would bring. He had to get Reeger out of here so he could open it up as soon as possible.
"Good job soldier, I'm going to bring this before the board. We will discuss your findings, and decide on our next course of action." Reeger by now had returned to his place just inside the door and was carefully listening for orders.
"I want you to go rest now, once we decide what we are going to do next, I want you and your squad ready to move at a moment's notice. It will probably be a few days, but be ready. Is there anything else?" Reeger noticed the haste in the admiral's voice. Each time he dropped off more data, these conversations had gotten shorter.
"One last thing admiral, we need to inform family members of the deaths of the three members of my squad. We also need to start looking for their replacements." A little anger had seethed inside Reeger. There were always losses in their missions, but this was the first time the admiral had completely dismissed them.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot. Go inform my assistant of your members lost, and he will see to it that their families are informed." Gerrel was getting impatient, but he knew he couldn't just pass this by. After all, he was doing all this for his people. They couldn't be forgotten. "Proper ceremonies will be conducted soon to mourn their deaths. As for your new squad members, do not worry about that right now. We must first decide our course, and then we will provide the proper replacements for you." Reeger didn't like his casualness when it came to losing soldiers. His people should be more important to him than that, especially to an admiral.
"Aye aye sir, I will take my leave now and let you get back to work." As Reeger turned around, he heard something he didn't expect.
"I'm sorry for the loss of more men Reeger, but you're doing a good job out there. In time, you will see how important your actions are for the fleet." Reeger turned slightly back toward the admiral.
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."
As Kal'Reeger walked out of the office, he could hear the admiral open up his omni-tool, and start making preparations for the next meeting of the board. He made his way back onto the bridge, and informed Han'Gerrel's assistant of the losses during the mission. The assistant promised he'd take care of it right away, and took his leave. Reeger made his way back into the hallway, and started making the long journey back to his home. He was tired and upset. He needed to get some sleep.
He made his way back through the ship, and started thinking about his squad. The ones he'd lost, and the ones that always managed to make it through. Tali'Zorah was always the first to come up when he thought about them. She always managed to work herself into a tight situation, and always managed to get out. Her time on pilgrimage must have really showed her how to be tough, he envied whatever she did to make her that strong.
His thoughts about his squad continued, until he finally made it to his room. He pulled back the curtain, and went inside. His room was emptier than most, and he liked it that way. His makeshift bed in the corner, a few manuals on battle tactics, and some small bits and pieces for repairs were all he kept inside. Reeger lay down on his bed, and started to fall asleep. His last thoughts before he finally fell asleep were of his return, seeing Nala and Tali talking just outside the ship, and then Nala running up to help with his equipment.
"Silly girl." He thought to himself as his thoughts faded, and he drifted off to sleep.
