HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
A/N: I'm not dead just very very . . . very busy. Baby on the way. Working full time. You guys know the drill. Anyway here's the Next chapter. It's a little short but I'm getting back into the swing of things I hope to have another chapter out before the end of the holidays. BTW I never said this but I don't own Mass Effect. I kinda hoped that was a given at this point. I can't wait for Andromeda it's going to be awesome!
Chapter 6: Truth and Reconciliation
I woke up to an unfamiliar weight on my chest and something nudging my arm. Unlike all those months ago I reacted instantly this time. I grabbed the offending appendage and twisted it hard. Neeta squawked as I dislodged her. I grabbed my gun and pressed it into the person's armpit as hard as I could before I realized it was Jotheon.
"Jesus, Jotheon. Don't wake me up like that." I said before flopping back on the bed.
"Apologies human. I will make a note of that." Jotheon stood up and rubbed his shoulder. "We need to head out soon. I believe this will be a long day."
"Well that was interesting." Neeta chuckled as soon as the Salarian left.
I laughed. "Yeah it was. I never figured I'd get the drop on an STG agent."
"If it helps I think he was just as surprised as you were. I don't think he expected you to be able to move that fast." Neeta said.
"Yeah well I've had years of training in several very old martial arts. Training was emphasized in speed of body and mind. I might not be the thinnest guy in the fight, but I know how to move." I commented.
Neeta nodded, "Come on lets go get ready."
Hurk's shop had been tossed.
It was hard walking into a place that you called home and see it wreaked. I could tell Neeta was taking it pretty hard. Almost every tool, from the lathes to the power wrenches, was tossed about or in some cases shot to hell. To see our tools destroyed was like a physical blow to the young Quarian.
"You okay?" I put my hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"Yeah, it's just so wasteful." She said holding up a micro fuser that had been stomped on and bent at an odd angle.
"I know this must be difficult, but did Salorn have an office? If he believed that something like this could happen he would have left a message for me to find."
I nodded. "I'll show you. Neeta are you going to be alright?"
Neeta shuddered a bit then stood up. "I will be. Come on."
I'd never been in Hurk's office before. He only used it for confidential stuff. Most of the time he worked with us in the back or up front managing the store. It was small and the furnishings were very spartan. The chair had been thrown against the wall and a legs had been broken. The terminal on the desk was full of bullet holes and the small safe on the back wall had been blown open with a small explosive. Aside from that there was nothing else in the room.
"Unless Hurk had a secret stash in here that we can't see. I don't think their anything in here we can use." I said.
Jotheon didn't say. He stepped into the middle of the room and pulled up his omni-tool and started scanning the room.
"What are you looking for?" Neeta asked.
"Anything. Everything." Was all the response we got.
After a few minutes Jotheon stopped scanning. "Ah found it!" he walked over to one of the walls.
"I don't see anything." I said.
"There is an eighteen by thirty-two centimeter section of the wall here that is slightly raised and is completely uniform." I watched as Jotheon pressed his palm to the wall suddenly a small haptic interface lit up. I watched as Jotheon entered a password and suddenly a small section of the wall separated revealing a hidden safe.
I raised an eyebrow. "Man I know I joke about being paranoid but ya'll bring it to a whole new level, don't you?"
Jotheon didn't say anything. Inside the safe was a single data pad. "Let's go." He said.
We made our way back to our new safe house. The fact that I think of our new residence as a safe house boggles my mind. I can't believe how messed up my life has gotten, a few months and I'm playing the role of James Bond in some inter galactic spy ring. Maybe not James Bond, I'm cool but not that cool.
I keep silent as Jotheon reviews the data we recovered from Hurk's shop. Once inside, Neeta and I sit down on some of the couches and Listen as Jotheon fills us in on what Hurk was up to.
"The Eclipse have found a Krogan Dreadnought left over from the rebellions."
I feel my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline, "Whoa."
"Kheela."
"Indeed. Krogan Dreadnaughts were considered the pinnacle of space combat. Despite what their species have become at one point they were once consummate engineers, particularly when it came to designing tools of war. A Krogan Dreadnought is capable of withstanding fire from no less than three Turian counterparts. It's a masterful weapon of war." I could tell how tense Jotheon was when we said this. Several months living with Hurk had taught me a lot about Salarian body language. Jotheon's posture was the equivalent of human pacing and cursing up a storm.
"But that thing's got be a thousand years old. Surely modern technology should be more than a match for it now?" I asked.
"Normally I'd agree with you; however, the Eclipse have been upgrading it. Tuchanka is very rich in minerals. It has very large deposits of a very rare isotope of Palladium that's incredibly dense and has a tensile strength nearly twice that of the common counterpart found throughout the galaxy. The Krogan's did not just armor their ships with it they also used it for everything from the superstructure to the airlock doors and deck plating. High quality Krogan armor is made from the same material. Hurk predicts that with modern kinetic barriers and weapons, this dreadnought could take on five Turian ships of similar weight and still come out on top."
I let out a low whistle, "Danm. Okay this just got serious."
I saw Neeta's eyes widen. No doubt she was thinking what a great Pilgrimage gift such a ship would be.
"It gets worse I'm afraid. The Eclipse are almost done with repairs once they're finished they intend to sell the ship off in a private auction. The groups invited are some of the worst slaver's and mercenaries in the galaxy. If this ship goes to the Batarians there won't be a single colony safe. They'll be able to raid any colony they see fit and there would be nothing the Citadel could do about it."
"Crap." I said. In the games, we knew about the Krogan rebellions but we never got any of the details except that the only way the Council could win was to infect the Krogan with the genophage. With the technical specs that Jotheon was telling me it was quite easy to see how easily they brought the Council to its knees. If this ship made it out on the open market . . . I could see it now. Attacks Like Elysium would become common place and this time the Batarians would succeed.
"So what do we do?" I ask.
Jotheon sighed and looked about ten years older. "Normally I would call my superiors and let them know of the situation but we're in a total communication blackout right now. This is Omega, we cannot let Aria know what we are doing here."
"We going to have to get this ship ourselves." Neeta said softly.
I wanted to call her crazy, but the Migrant Fleet had way more to lose if this ship got out. The Quarian's were already an endangered species. This ship could be their doom.
I sighed, "So what's the plan?" I ask.
"Eclipse have set up a small dockyard in the Urla Rast system out in the Shrike Abyssal." Jotheon said slowly, "The Eclipse have a few gunships and a Frigate in the area. They don't want to move to many ships into the area to avoid drawing attention. Getting into the system while difficult is not impossible but it's impossible to destroy the dreadnaught with shuttle fire. A small strike team would have to infiltrate the dock get onboard the ship and plant a significant number of explosives, or detonate the drive core."
I stood up and started grabbing my armor, "When are we leaving?" Neeta joins me and starts going over each piece of her equipment beside me.
"Why?" Jotheon asks.
"Why what?" I respond.
"Why are you volunteering for this? This is a mission very few Spectres would even consider. We'll be going in with no back-up, no extraction plan, and a very small chance of success."
My hand's stop. "There are some fights that it's not only okay to run from but encouraged. If the fight serves no purpose or if there's no reason to fight I have no problem running away, but then there are some fight's that you must fight. Where retreat is not an option. You can't call for backup. The STG can't get involved and we don't have time to call in the Spectres. You tell me Jotheon, which kind of fight is this?" I feel Neeta press against me and wrap and arm around her small shoulders.
Jotheon simply nods, "You make a valid point. If we're to have any chance, we need to leave immediately. The Eclipse probably know that Hurk learned of their plans, but it will take time for them to move additional assets into the system to protect the docks. If we can get there before them we might have a small chance for getting in before they lock the system down. This ship represents a vast investment. They will not take kindly to someone stealing their property."
"Then we better not get caught." I said.
A/N: Read, review, comment. Thank you!
