PHOENIX RESURGENT

A Mass Effect Story by Vyrexuviel

Disclaimer: The author of this story does not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).


When they entered the Zero-Eight Tali could hold it in anymore. Every since she had seen Shepard fight with that new speed, her guns a blur, she knew there was something that Shepard hadn't been telling her. Shepard promised to explain, but... Keelah, it was maddening.

She wasn't sure what to expect, Legion had not answered any of her questions, and she knew why. It troubled her and made her curious at the same time, a geth that knew, on an emotional level, that it wasn't his place to tell.

Then Mordin, with his strange way of talking, had summed up a few things that left Tali's mind reeling. Biochemical alterations? Skin tone? Anomaly? What exactly was it that happened to Shepard, and what had she shown Mordin to get such a reaction?

She cursed the fact that she had been standing behind Shepard, unable to see the woman's face when she and Mordin talked.

"Shepard..." she said, fumbling with her hands when the woman turned to her, a questioning look on her face.

Shepard frowned, she knew what this was about, and she didn't like putting Tali in this position. She motioned the quarian to follow her, and walked away from Mordin and Legion. The latter explaining the ship's layout to the salarian, who was looking around with interest on his face, rambling about everything he saw.

She went to the engine room, knowing that Tali would feel most comfortable there, then turned toward the nervous quarian.

"I don't know exactly what happened, Mordin is here for that, but-" she paused, hesitating, "just don't be scared."

Tali nodded in confirmation, fighting the butterflies in her stomach. Shepard then dropped the filtration layer of her faceplate, her skin tone paling as Tali's eyes grew.

"Keelah..." was all she could say, frozen in place when she saw Shepard's white hair, the blue skin. But the eyes hit her the most, they... glowed. And when she looked into them she could see... She wasn't sure what she saw, but it awed her and scared her at the same time.

She reached out, but stopped herself just before touching Shepard's face, who had those glowing orbs fixed intently on hers. She was sure that Shepard could see her face, and she blushed. But behind the changes, she could still see her old Commander, and she knew that this was Shepard, the walking, breathing, living Shepard.

"What happened?" she asked, hoping for an explanation and also hoping to know what exactly had changed about the woman in front of her. And she got one. Oh boy, did she ever get one...


Tali's mind reeled as Shepard related the numerous changes in her physiology. Fact and fact and fact and fact and no end in sight. If Tali wasn't sure this -was- her friend and that Shepard wouldn't joke about something this important, she would have been certain that someone was pulling her leg. I mean, come on, crystalline life forms? But Shepard had demonstrated her altered states to Tali, had actually had -lightning- arcing between her hands while Tali measured the amperage jumping across the half-meter space. Ideas had started roiling up in Tali's mind when Shepard had started with explaining how her suit worked, and the two of them spent about half an hour opening up inspection ports and examining the works, Shepard instructing and the young quarian soaking up the information like a sponge. That had been an hour ago, and now Tali was hesitant and shy as Shepard started gearing up again, clicking heat sink after heat sink into her armor's clip-magazines.

"Shepard?"

She turned, arching an eyebrow at the quarian. She hadn't seen Tali for about two hours, and hadn't seen her this hesitant since the time she'd come to ask Shepard what certain human phrases she'd overheard in the engine room meant. "Yes, Tali?"

After a bit more hesitation, the young quarian offered Shepard a rather robust-looking pistol. It had a chrome finish, it's highly polished, brushed surface gleaming in the lights of the Zero-Eight. "Um, could you test this for me?" She ducked her head in the way that Shepard had come to take as a quarian blush, "I'd like to test it's effectiveness."

She flipped the pistol over, showing a metallic contact where the pistol's trigger should have been, and another in the palm-side of the grip, "These here are the input and output contacts for an electric charge. I thought that with your abilities, well, it'd be a good idea if only you could fire your guns.."

Shepard smiled, "That's thoughtful of you, Tali. How much power should I put into this thing?"

"Mmmm, about ten thousand amps. You can do that, right?" she ducked her head again in that adorable 'blush' gesture again.

Shepard blinked, "That's a lot, but yes, I could. Continuous?"

"Oh! No, not continuous. When you want to fire it, just zap it with at least ten thousand amps, and it'll fire."

Shepard shrugged again, taking the pistol and hefting it. It was heavier than the Carnifex she had on her hip, maybe a quarter again it's weight. "Got a place to test it?"

The quarian nodded and gestured to the solid block of metal that had been a piece of bulkhead. "Give it a shot!" As Shepard turned and aimed, she slid back around behind the Spectre, watching intently.

-BOOM!-

Shepard's head snapped back in surprise as the pistol snapped up sharply. She hadn't been expecting -that- much recoil, nor the thunderclap of an -extremely- high velocity round. "What the hell -is- this thing, Tali?"

The quarian was almost giddy with delight. "It's a railgun, Shepard! I based it off the old designs still floating around the extranet. It uses electrical propulsion to accelerate a conductive slug down the length of two rails. The acceleration is more linear than that of the standard coilgun setup, and you get higher acceleration boost for a given barrel length extension with a railgun than a coilgun, and it's more energy efficient! More, the more energy you put into it, the faster the slug is going when it passes the muzzle!"

Shepard blinked at Tali's enthusiasm, then back to the rather large hole in the metal plate. Thinking, she unlimbered the Carnifex on her other hip, and shot the piece of bulkhead with her standard pistol.

-CRACK!-

Tali jumped slightly, but was grinning visibly within her helmet as Shepard knelt to examine the two holes. The first one was blown entirely through the plate, though the ragged edges at the exit hole showed that the slug's momentum was almost entirely spent by that point. The Carnifex's shot had only made a crater in the plate, however. "Tali."

The quarian stilled, trying to keep from wriggling in her delight, "Yes, Shepard?"

The Spectre turned, grinning fit to split, "Make me another one." She stood and swept the smaller quarian into a tight hug, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Tali froze for an instant, her luminescent eyes growing wide before narrowing again as she smiled beneath her faceplate, hugging Shepard back. "I'll get right on it!"


The batarian outside the door in the Blue Suns uniform pretty much highlighted where she needed to go. Shepard stepped up to him, Legion walking stiffly behind her with Tali beside it. They'd had a few problems with Legion, but fewer than Shepard would expect to have on a more civilized world. On Omega, people kept mostly to themselves, and if they saw a heavily armed and armored woman walking around with a geth on a leash, they knew to keep their distance. The guard stood more erect as Shepard approached, eying her with all four of -those- eyes.

Shepard ground her teeth slightly. She hated batarians for what they did to her family on Mindoir, but she had had self-discipline pounded into her in boot camp, and again for spec-ops training, so she knew how to handle her hatred. "I hear you're recruiting."

The batarian nodded slightly, "Just inside." The door slid open, revealing another man in armor talking with the Blue Suns recruiter inside. Shepard nodded and slipped inside, Legion clanking after her with Tali close behind.

The armored human nodded at the recruiter's last words, "You'll get paid when the job's done, just like everyone else." The recruiter looked up as the man exited, giving Legion a wide berth. "Who's next?"

Shepard presented herself with a swift gesture to Tali and Legion. "Me and my crew."

She found her left hand tightening into a fist as the batarian eyed her form-hugging armor. "Well, aren't you sweet. You're in the wrong place, honey. Stripper's quarters are that way." He gestured back out the door.

That was it. Her hand dropped to her new gun, drawing it with fluid grace, "Show me yours, tough guy. I bet mine's bigger."

One of his brow ridges rose slightly, "Impressive. So you're here to fight, then?"

"Yup."

He bent to his console, "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job's done. If you die, your friends don't get to collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armor, looks like you got that covered," he glanced at Shepard's matte-black with silver trim cryoplate armor, Shepard's lips slightly twitching up at the corner, "And no, this does not make you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period. Any questions?"

"Yeah, a few. Where's the show?" 'And how do we get there?' Shepard thought.

"Archangel's base of operations. Turian bastard's been hiding out right under our noses. I can't tell you exactly where it is, but our cab will get you there."

Shepard nodded, "What do we do once we get there? How do we get to Archangel?"

"The mercs will tell you when you get there. Last I heard, they were putting the freelancers into scouting groups; they attack in waves to distract Archangel while we try to get past his defenses."

Now that didn't sound ominous. No, not at all. "So we're just fodder for his bullets?"

The batarian shrugged, "If you don't like it, don't sign up. But if you do your job right, it's easy credits. Besides, what are the odds he can kill -all- of you?"

Shepard nodded, glancing at Tali. "Where do we go?"

The batarian gestured back through the door, "Just head over to the transport depot outside the club and identify yourself to the Blue Suns merc there. He'll get you squared away." He bent to his console again, "Send in the next one."

As Shepard turned away, Legion and Tali exited, a young kid entered, barely missing running into them. Shepard had to suppress a grin, the kid was almost painfully young. No armor to speak of, just heavy street clothes, and an antiquated pistol, probably predating the upgrade to ejectable heatsinks. "Hey, is this where I sign up?" the kid asked.

A slight frown touched Shepard's lips. A kid that young shouldn't be going into a meat grinder like this. "You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc."

The kid was indignant, "I'm old enough! I grew up on Omega, I know how to use a gun."

Tali chirped up, "So does Archangel."

The kid was nearly shouting now, "I can handle myself!" He drew his old pistol. "Besides, I just spent fifty credits on this pistol, and I wanna use it!"

Enough was enough. Shepard's hand shot out, knocking the kid back a step. She grabbed the gun, twisted sharply, and tore it from his grasp. He cried out, mostly of indignation, but Shepard just gave him a quelling look. "Get your money back."

She checked the setting, made sure the safety was on, and tapped the side to check the heatsink. 'Yup. Piece of crap.' Old, worn out, definitely needing replacement. She slid one of her own high-density heatsinks into the slot for the old one, thankful the old gun could still accept the new heatsink. "Trust me kid, you'll thank me later."

She spun the gun around and offered it to him, butt first. She turned away without another backward look as the kid took it, and missed his solemn, doubtful look.


The aircar settled to the ground with a soft sigh, the doors cracking open and the turian stepping out, letting Shepard slide out of the passenger's seat as Tali and Legion slid from the back. Shepard rolled her head a little, thankful the tense and too-quiet ride was over, glancing about and nodding to the turian as he gestured her up the short flight of stairs towards a Batarian in Blue Suns armor trotting down to meet them.

"It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight. They tell you what we're up against?"

Shepard glanced over the Batarian and nodded, "Archangel's holed up in a building, you need us to distract him while you take him out."

The merc nodded, "The building's at the end of the boulevard over there." He gestured back up the stairs he came down. "He's got superior position, and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge." He sighs, "It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."

Shepard gritted her teeth slightly, but nodded. "What's the plan?"

The batarian nodded slightly, "You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him."

Legion spoke up, "Probability of survival for distraction team members low."

The batarian glanced at the geth, "Pretty much, but you look like you can handle it." He turned back to Shepard, "Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in."

Shepard nodded, "I'd better go find this Sergeant Cathka."

The batarian nodded, raising a hand warningly, "Watch yourself on the boulevard. Archangel's killed dozens out there already." He moved away to talk to another group getting out of another aircar.

Tali touched Shepard s elbow, murmuring quietly as her commander turned, "Getting in sounds easy enough. I'm more worried about the return trip."

Shepard smiled at the quarian, "Let's find him first. We'll figure out how to get back later."

Tali nodded, and as Shepard moved up the stairs, both she and the geth followed.


Crossing the open boulevard was like being a duck in a shooting gallery. She didn't know who this Archangel was, but he was obviously damn good to have managed to piss off all three of the major Terminus System merc groups. Every so often, up the open length of the boulevard, there was a barricade of sorts, with various kinds of mercs stationed there, taking potshots and being pot-shotted in turn. Shepard slipped past and opened a door leading along the length of the boulevard. At Legion's slightly raised brow plate and tilted flashlight-head, she murmured to him, "Better to take a route that puts us in the line of fire least often, no?" The geth platform nodded instantly, understanding the tactical situation.

Inside this room was a group of Eclipse mercs, a salaran captain sounding rather peeved with something talking to his lieutenants, to judge by the way the other mercs were listening to him. He was saying something about who the infiltration team will try to take Archangel by surprise as the first wave of freelancers rushes over the bridge. Shepard shook her head, moving past the salarian without comment, but noticing a pad by the far door.

Glancing at it, she was glad her back was turned. It was a message from Jaroth, presumably the salarian here, to someone called Tarak. Apparently, they got Garm on board, and all three of their groups are going after Aria after they take out Archangel. Shepard frowned slightly. As much as she detested the Queen of Omega, she -did- tend to stabilize the place. She quickly scanned the message into her omnitool and moved on.

There was a short corridor past the door, with two doors leading off it. Out of curiosity, Tali opened the one to the side, and jerked back in surprise as she got a good look at the heavy mech hulking silently in there. As Shepard strode forward, she quickly sent Chittikka to tinker with it's IF/F code, turning to follow Shepard, confident that her drone would catch up.

Another corridor lead to another door, and behind this one was a large group of vorcha and krogan. The krogan seem to be watching the vorcha squabble over something, seeming amused by the scrawny creatures' antics. Giving a respectful nod to the battle-scarred, hulking beast that seems in charge, she stepped through the other door and into the boulevard again. This time, just as she crossed the open space, a vorcha toppled backward with half it's head blown apart. She paused, waiting for the vorcha's corpse to stop spasming, then stepped over it to the other side of the boulevard. She walked up the side, hidden from the sniper's view by an overhang and building wall.

The small space over here was almost swarming with freelancers, since it was out of the fire-zone. She spotted one leaning against a pillar that seemed to have actual armor and not just a 'bad-ass suit'. She stepped over, keeping out of the sniper's view as the idiot vorcha exchanged assault rifle fire with Archangel's deadly-accurate sniper fire. "I'm looking for Sergeant Cathka."

The merc, human and plainly nervous, nodded across the boulevard. "You and me both, lady. He's over there, working on the gunship," he turns back to her, "We go over the bridge when he gives the word. Go talk to him if you want, I'm in no hurry."

Shepard nodded, glancing over her shoulder at Tali, who nodded back. Waiting for a break in the gunfire, she slipped over to where the gunship was parked on the far side of the boulevard, a group of blue suns mercs baring her way. "Cathka?" she asked, and was motioned around behind the gunship as the 'honor guard' stepped out of the way.

Cathka turned out to be another damned batarian, and it was all Shepard could do to rein in her impulse to flatten the bastard against the gunship and fry them both. He set aside his hand held arc-welder and reset his helmet's visor's visibility before turning to her. "Ah, you must be the group Salkie mentioned. You're just in time."

Shepard quirked an eyebrow, "Salkie?"

He gestured back the way she came, "You met him when you were dropped off. He radioed to say you were coming. You three kinda stand out from most of the other freelancers. Anyway. The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him." As he spoke, he turned towards a command post set up next to the gunship. "Got any questions? This may be your last chance." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. Shepard was so very very glad she didn't need to breathe anymore, not that her suit's air scrubbers wouldn't have filtered out the second-hand smoke.

She tilted her head up, "You gonna give us cover with the gunship?"

Cathka snorted, "Tarak is the only one who flies her. Besides, she's not quite ready. That bastard Archangel gave her a beating last time she was out there. A few more tweaks and she'll be as good as new."

Shepard nodded, ignoring the cloud of smoke the batarian bastard was generating, "Are you leading the assault?"

He laughs again, "Tarak doesn't pay me to fight. He pays me to plan the attacks and fix the gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of -"

He was cut off by a squawk from his command console, "Target is in sight. We're a go."

He crouched over his console, speaking into the pickup, "Check. Bravo team - go, go, go."

Several freelancers moved towards the barricade separating the enclosed portion of the boulevard from the bridge, getting ready to rush the target. Cathka pushed back from the console, chuckling, "Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him."

He tapped his helmet, re-polarizing his visor, picking up his arc-welder, and turning back to the gunship. "But that means no more waiting for me. Gotta get her back to a hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs her again."

After only a brief hesitation, Shepard moved forward, stepping beside Cathka. "You're working too hard." She gripped his shoulder, "Let me take care of it."

Cathka didn't have a chance to cry out before enough electricity to power the gunship for a few hours spiked through his armor, his meat, his heart, and down through his blood and out his armored boot. What hit the deck when Shepard let go a few seconds later was nothing but a charred corpse. Tali winced beneath her helmet and followed Shepard over to the barricade, where most of the freelancers had already hopped over the wall and were firing a very mixed assortment of firearms at the mostly-hidden sniper.

Dropping down behind most of the freelancers, Legion commented, "Archangel's odds seem poor."

Tali dropped just behind him. "Then we'd better make sure this group doesn't make it in."

Shepard just smiled. "C'mon, let's give these guys a surprise of our own."


Author's Note:

My most profound apologies for not getting this chapter out sooner. First my Muse apparently went into witless protection, then my betas seemed to go AWOL too. This chapter is only partially beta'd, so if you spot something screwy, it's my fault, not theirs.

I hope to have the next chapter up -much- sooner, and finish off this particular mission, but after that, I'm thinking I'll head into uncharted territory, and see where the story wants to go.

Once again, my most humble apologies, and I hope like hell it doesn't take another few months to get the next chapter out.