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Chapter 4

"What the hell!" The force of the impact knocked Shepard back against the opposite wall. She punched the familiar pattern into her omni-tool and felt the warmth of medigel seep into her veins. The burning had subsided, but she was going to have a painful bruise. She heard Kaiden yell something intelligible as he raced to her side and saw Wrex taking cover behind a huge chunk of debris. Shepard motioned to Kaiden and saw him take position as she returned to hers. The landing above the Geth had not been easy to get to, but she was sure as hell going to make it work to her advantage.

The familiar cadence of Wrex's continuous shotgun blasts reassured her and she fell once more into the rhythm of battle. Hurriedly, she set up her scope and took aim at the Geth Prime that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Its shields had been overloaded and she was bound and determined to get even. "I'll show you what happens when you shoot glowing blobs at me," she muttered under her breath.

The kick of the rifle slammed against her shoulder and she quickly loaded another round. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kaiden take out a Geth attempting to flank their position. Another crumpled under a shotgun blast from Wrex. That only left the Prime, its attention focused on Wrex, and it was all hers.

Shepard sighted through her scope and fingered the trigger almost lovingly. Delicately, she dialed down the focus and took aim. The Prime was in her cross-hairs and she felt the familiar pressure of the rifle as she fired. The Prime shook violently, and then fell into a mess of fried wires and hardware. Wrex looked up at Shepard in her perch and nodded slightly. The three gathered underneath the landing and took stock of their wounds. Nobody had been seriously injured as of yet. Shepard didn't expect that to be a problem, at least not this early in the mission.

Wrex rolled his head and popped his neck. "You let that thing get any closer, Shepard, and I could've kissed it."

"Nah, Wrex. You know you're too ugly to kiss," she retorted while tossing Kaiden another ammo clip. "And besides, I don't think it's your type."

Wrex grunted in response and reloaded his shotgun. "Let's move. There're more of these things that need killing."

O o O o O o O

The Mako had a peculiar scent to it, something akin to engine oil mixed with sweat. Shepard doubted that the muck they were driving through now would improve upon that smell in the least. Of course, it was all made better as she slammed on the gas and crushed the Geth Hunter in front of her. Very little slowed her down when she was at the wheel, that is, very little but a Colossus.

All three passengers were thrown against their restraints as Shepard slammed on the brakes avoiding a near collision with the large piece of armament. She heard Kaiden swear under his breath as she quickly threw the Mako in reverse, narrowly avoiding a siege pulse. As it turned out, the race through the sewers wasn't going to be as easy as she hoped.

"Damn it all!" Shepard violently shifted gears again and the transmission whined pitifully in response. She glanced at the motion sensor and saw more Geth closing in from behind. The only way was forward.

"The path behind us is blocked!" Wrex noted as he righted himself in his seat.

"Your grasp of the obvious is inspiring," she said through clenched teeth.

Kaiden adjusted his restraints and eyed the sensor as well. He looked over at Shepard and could feel her irritation. She met his gaze and a wild smile spread across her face. Quickly she threw the Mako into gear and jammed her foot on the gas. The massive vehicle lurched violently into the air as Shepard activated the propulsion jets, narrowly avoiding the Colossus' pulse.

"Get on the main gun!" Shepard ordered as she jerked her arm again, putting the Mako into a higher gear. The hum of the engine increased as they picked up speed. Kaiden found himself hoping that Garrus was as good of a mechanic as he claimed to be.

Again the Mako lurched as the propulsion jets flared, and then shuddered violently as a pulse clipped them. Kaiden scanned the control panel as Wrex continued to fire at the surrounding Geth. Their kinetic barriers had been knocked down to twenty percent and there was some damage to the right forward wheel. Apparently, that pulse had done more than just clip them.

Shepard continued to jam her foot into the accelerator even though the Mako could go no faster. She felt her muscles strain and her jaw ache as she gritted her teeth. Just a bit farther, she thought. The commander punched the propulsion button yet again, sending them airborne. Propelled forward by the force of its momentum, the Mako landed unceremoniously on the Colossus, disabling its main gun in the process. Shepard struggled to control the direction of the Mako upon landing, straining against her restraints as she did so. It was a highly unorthodox maneuver, but luckily it had worked, for the most part.

They raced quickly through the tunnels when Kaiden swore under his breath again. "Multiple Geth Armaments up ahead blocking our route to the Conduit."

Shepard glanced at the motion sensor again and noticed it had been jammed. "How can you tell?"

"Visual scanning, ma'am."

Shepard grumbled slightly, but otherwise ignored the jibe. Well, if there was Geth in her way, then she would plow through them. Again.