The Outsiders
Chapter 4
The sun rose on the other side of the planet Eta Rho III. A formation of smooth, tan vehicles skimmed several meters above the ground of the savannah, cruising at a high speed. Native animals scattered as they approached, leaving waves in the grass they passed over.
Sentry drones tracked their approach as they neared the Rha'Yen Command Installation. They slowed down, passing between two automated ion cannon turrets and into the massive installation. They glided past rows of stationary Broadside, Crisis, and Hazard Battlesuits. Maintenance drones hovered around the mechanical suits, overseen by Earth Caste technicians. The formation continued, gliding past rows of drilling Fire Warriors.
A Crisis Battlesuit, flanked by a pair of shield drones, strode onto the field. A white-helmed fire warrior approached as the main hatch of the battlesuit opened. The pilot emerged, a large, broad shouldered alien. The white-helmeted soldier saluted, placing a close fist over his chest plate. "Shas'o Lynu'elan, we have completed our sudden strike on the synthetic foe. They were assaulting the gue'la outpost our pathfinder teams discovered in the jungles. We apprehended several personnel from the base."
"Good work, Shas'ui. Your cadre commander is to be commended. I assume the Water Caste wishes to conduct the interrogation?" the disembarking commander said.
"Indeed. Preparations are already under way. There is more though," the fire warrior hesitated. "Aun'el Cea'Cha is en route. There was some concern as to the safety of the facility, but the Commander Bork'Can is confident that the synthetics will pose no threat to the Ethereal."
The shas'o's countenance grew resolute. "We must prepare for the Ethereal's arrival. I want all deployments to give a full readiness report." He turned from the staging grounds, heading towards the base's command and communications center. "Withdraw our hunting cadres from any non-essential engagement zones and redeploy them to patrol the vicinity of the base as long as the Aun'el is present." He continued issuing orders as they went, while behind them, the skimmers landed.
The ride was smooth and uneventful. Miranda could almost relax, except for the alien weapons that had been just short of trained on her for the entire trip. She was clearly a prisoner, though she had no idea why the aliens were so antagonistic; as far as she knew, it was the geth, not humans, who had been the aggressors on this planet.
She had said nothing during the trip. The aliens had divided the crew of the Normandy amongst their vehicles. The only familiar faces in the craft were Thane and Jacob. Whether out of xenophobia or for some other reason, their captors didn't remove their helmets throughout the trip.
They began to slow down; Miranda could feel the slight change in velocity. The craft had no windows in the crew compartment, so the only frame of reference she had was the tugging of momentum as they turned corners. Eventually, they came to a complete stop. There was a faint hiss as the airtight round hatch of the vehicle opened up and Miranda got her first view outside.
They were in a large base, larger than the outpost the Alliance had held on this world. The architecture was round and smooth, all the color of sand. Alien soldiers drilled in an open area, lined with stationary military mechs. Large, visible weapon emplacements guarded the perimeter of the base, and Miranda wondered what other, hidden defenses this base might have.
The soldiers with them inside the vehicle prodded them out with their weapons. The Normandy team was lined up in front of an imposing alien figure. For the first time, Miranda got a good look at these people, since this one had no helmet. His skin was grey-blue, his face flat with a vertical "I"-shaped slit where his nose would be. He had small, amber eyes which peered out sharply from beneath a solid brow. The only hair he had was a topknot which hung down over his shoulder.
"Gue'la, your presence on this world is interfering with the Greater Good. We Tau will take any action necessary to ensure the Greater Good is served. You will be interrogated, and educated in the benefits of servitude to the Tau'va. When you have seen reason, you may earn your proper place within the ranks of the Tau Empire." The Tau commander made signal with his four-fingered hand, and the Tau soldiers began to herd the Normandy team to one of the alien structures.
Shas'el Bork'Cal, the Tau commander of the Rha'Yen base garrison, observed that the shas'o was most fervent in ensuring that all Tau forces on the planet were prepared for the Ethereal's eminent arrival. Bork'Cal did not blame him; all Tau served the Ethereals in the name of the Greater Good, for it was the Ethereals who led the Tau out of the dark time of Mont'au.
Bork'Cal addressed Lynu'Elan. "The gue'la prisoners have been interred. Interrogation by the Water Caste is under way. Base defenses are at full strength, and the shas'vre bodyguard has been prepared to receive the noble Ethereal." After the shas'o signaled his approval, she continued, "These prisoners are different from the gue'la I am familiar with. They did not resist capture. Their technology was unfamiliar. Most unusual, however, is that they fought openly with aliens of species I am unfamiliar with. This seems to break from their usual xenophobic dogma."
"We will discover the truth," Lynu'Elan said. "The gue'la build their empire on selfishness and arrogance. They hide the truth from their people, but they cannot hide it from us. Come, there is much yet to be done." They both turned to one of the screens inside the communications center.
In another part of the Rha'Yen Command Installation, two figures sat in a sterile, white room. Flanking the only door stood two fire warriors. The first figure sat behind a desk located by the edge of the round room, directly beside the door. She was a thin Tau in a blue robe and wearing a wide-brimmed hat. A holographic display projected alien symbols at her, while a round camera drone hovered over her shoulder.
"What is your name and rank?" she asked the other figure, seated in an elevated chair positioned in the center of the room.
"Commander John Shepard, of the Normandy."
The Tau interrogator pressed a few buttons on her console. "Within what battle group are you assigned, and under what admiral do you serve?"
Shepard hesitated a moment before saying, "I am currently operating independently, outside of the command of the Alliance."
"Alliance?" the interrogator turned her head to the side. "I am not aware of any such organization operating within the Ultima Segmentum." She remained silent a moment while looking something up on her readout. "No, our intelligence makes no mention of any alliance as an official organization. What is its relation to the Imperium?"
Now it was Shepard's turn to be confused. "I am not familiar with any Imperium within Citadel space. The Systems Alliance is a member of the Citadel; we have a seat on the Council."
The interrogator blinked. She remained silent for a few moments, tapping buttons on her console. The fire warriors continued to glare ominously with their lensed, faceless helmets. Finally, the interrogator looked at Shepard. "You have been most forthcoming for a member of your race. This is good. We have only one more question at this time. You have several members of your team who do not belong to your species within your team. Is this standard procedure for your vessels?"
"The Alliance does not have aliens serving onboard its vessels, however we do endeavor to establish peaceful relations with the other races in this galaxy," Shepard said, "We only want to establish peaceful contact with you. We are not responsible for the geth attack."
"Yes, we know." The interrogator said something in her language, and the fire warrior forcefully escorted Commander Shepard from the room.