Chapter 9: Rescue and revenge
"Sir, there's a message coming in on Alliance Gold Channel, top priority," said Captain Vega's com officer. "Sir, I think it's … Shepard?"
"Put it through, amigo," replied Vega.
"Patching it through now, sir."
"This is Captain James Vega of the SSV London," said Vega formally. "Please identify yourself."
"Vega, it's Shepard."
"Buenas dias, Loco! Miss Lawson too hot for you to handle on that honeymoon, Sir?"
"The hotter the better," replied Shepard with a laugh.
"James, I heard that," chimed in Miranda. "And I'm not Miss Lawson anymore. I'm Mrs. John Shepard."
"Sorry there, Mrs. Shepard," said Vega, not a hint of sorrow in his voice. "So Loco, what's goin' on?"
"Pirates have hijacked the Solar Queen. I think they're the same bunch that we chased off of Callisto. They're trying to get the passengers off of the ship, so any ransom demands are probably bogus. They'll end up in the Batarian slave trade. We're securing an airlock so that we can get passengers off loaded. Bring a couple of cruisers."
"Damn, Loco," exclaimed Vega, "You can't even have a honeymoon in peace! It's just like shore leave before the final push, eh, Loco?"
"Yeah, I suppose it is."
"Kick some ass, Loco! You too, Miranda."
"They're practically lining up," replied Shepard with a hearty laugh. "Shepard out."
#
"What now, Shepard?" asked Miranda.
"You know, earlier on the trip, I seem to recall you saying that you're Shepard too," John chided her.
"Guilty as charged," she demurred. "But it's going to be a hard habit to break. Oh well; when we're alone, it won't matter. So, what now?"
"According to our friend wrapped in duct tape over there," said Shepard pointing at Cray's second in command, "their ship, the Arabesque, is secured to the fore port airlock via a docking tube. The better to bring passengers over, I suppose." He shook his head, disgusted by the very thought of people being enslaved.
"Hey Shepard," said Miranda mischievously, "let's give them what they want. Passengers. Well, two at any rate."
"I like your thinking, Miranda! We get over there, disable them, and clear access for the London!"
"Yes, but we won't have much time."
"No, the London will be here in a few minutes. So let's get started."
The newlyweds walked hand in hand to the docking tube, their weapons hidden. Miranda had her arm around Shepard and her head on his shoulder. They walked with a stagger, as though they were revelers who had somehow been missed. The mercs guarding the tube quickly trained their weapons on them, but Shepard disarmingly distracted them.
"Hey, we can't find the bar," he said with a slight slur. "My lady needs to keep her buzz going. Can you help us out?"
The two mercs looked at each other, then one got a very smug look on his face.
"Oh, right down this hallway here," he said, as his partner motioned for them to step into the docking tube. Once they thought that Shepard and Miranda were well on their way, they radioed to the mercs at the other end.
"Pair of drunk newlyweds heading your way. The chick is hot! I mean, dat ass! Eckers and me told 'em the bar was at the other end. We can have a lot of fun with her."
"Roger that, hehe," replied his counterpart at the other end.
Miranda and Shepard put bullets into the backs of their heads, and then continued on to give the mercs on the other side their surprise.
"Hey boys," Miranda said seductively when the opened the door.
The two mercs moved in to grab her, only to be impaled by Shepard's omni blade.
"Oh my, Shepard!" she exclaimed, "You impaled them both in one strike. And through the heads, no less. Nice and efficient, just the way I rebuilt you."
"Very funny," he said sarcastically as he took the merc's rifle.
"A girl's allowed to admire her own handiwork, is she not?"
Shepard laughed, appreciating Miranda's levity. "Alright, let's do it," He said, cocking the gun as the two of them stepped into the pirate vessel. Thankfully, the air lock led them in with an immediate left turn, so nobody could come up behind them. The next pair of mercs they encountered, the newlyweds shot before they had a chance to ready their weapons. They were not expecting any real resistance, and were expecting no resistance on their own ship.
The next group of mercs they encountered were more prepared, but Miranda dispatched them with a shockwave. "You've still got it, Miranda," said Shepard admiringly. "And not just the biotics."
Miranda blushed at the compliment, knowing full well that it was the curve of her buttocks that he was admiring as she blasted the pirates. "All for you, Shepard. Now, let's finish the bastards. I know the design of these ships; that intersection up there; turn right and it will take us to the main hold. Left takes us to the bridge."
"Let's hit the bridge first," suggested Shepard. "That will disable the ship's defenses and make it easier for the London."
"After you, my husband."
The bridge was guarded by six pirates, but Shepard took the grenades from the fallen mercs and tossed them into the passageway. "Shit! Grenades!" was followed by a loud explosion.
#
The door to the bridge was blown apart. Kor'shak fired into the smoking doorway, but hit nothing. He was about to disengage from the Solar Queen when he heard a voice from the passageway.
"Kor'shak, you escaped me on Callisto." A silhouette appeared in the smoke, that of a powerful human with a pistol. Kor'shak fired, but the bullet was absorbed by the man's shields. "You should have scurried back to Batarian space in a cryo chamber," the man continued. Kor'shak knew somehow that it was Commander Shepard. His hands shook as fear overtook him. He went to fire again, but Shepard shot the gun out of his hand. As Shepard stepped onto the bridge, Kor'shak tried to rush him, hoping to grapple the gun away from him, but Shepard slugged him with a left hook that seemed to come out of nowhere. The blow struck Kor'shak in the ribs, making a sickening snap. So strong, he thought. As he doubled over, Shepard struck him in the face with a powerful knee kick. The last thing he heard before blackness engulfed him was, "Never hijack a ship when Shepard's aboard."
Shepard secured Kor'shak with a roll of duct tape. He then set the autopilot to disengage from the Solar Queen in five minutes. His omni tool crackled to life and Vega's voice filled the bridge.
"Hey, Loco! I'm here with the London and two cruisers; just like you asked."
"Thanks, James."
"Yeah, well there's someone else here too," replied Vega.
"How's the honeymoon, hero-man?"
"Ash? Is that you?"
"You bet, Skipper. How's Miranda?"
"She's alright. We've set this heap to disengage in five. Should give us time to sweep for prisoners and get them out."
"Good," replied Vega. "As soon as she's cleared us a parking space, we'll pull in. Good hunting, Shepard."
"See you on the flip side, James."
Miranda and Shepard quickly went down the hall to the cargo hold and were very glad that they had. Inside were roughly a hundred prisoners destined for the slave market. They looked fearful until he spoke to them.
"I'm Admiral John Shepard, Alliance Navy, and I'm here to rescue you."
His words were greeted with cries of 'At last!' and 'Thank God!'
"Let's get them out of here," said Shepard. "Miranda, set up a biotic field and I'll take down the bad guys."
"Got it; just like the Collector base," she said with a smile, enjoying working in the field with him again. They quickly moved them out of the hold, only to encounter a force of about twenty mercs. Shepard took the assault rifle he had taken from the mercs and began firing, zig-zagging and rolling to avoid the full impact of their bullets. Merc after merc fell. When the clip finally overheated, he produced his pistol and one of the merc's pistols and began firing both simultaneously as he advanced. The mercs were soon dead and the newlyweds and got the hostages onto the Solar Queen, just in time for the Arabesque to disengage.
As soon as they had the air lock secured, they went further into the ship. Vega had the rescued prisoners taken aboard the London as Shepard and Miranda cleaned up the remaining mercs. Amazingly, no passengers died. Only the Solar Queen's captain, bridge crew, and some of the ship's security had been killed.
Shepard and Miranda rendezvoused with Vega and Ashley at the bridge of the Queen. Vega spared some of his crew to pilot the Solar Queen to her Hawaiian destination with Shepard and Miranda serving as captain and XO.
"Damn, you two," exclaimed Vega. "All you left us was bodies."
"That's what they do, James," laughed Ashley. "Come on, you remember what Shepard was like. It hasn't been that long. And after the Reapers, what are a few lousy pirates?"
"Come on James," said Shepard with a laugh, "You know I was the first in line for the new Armax Arsenal Arena, right? If I'm not in the field, I'm there everyday."
"Yeah, and still holding the high score," said James. "Because of you, they added two more digits to the scoreboard, so now everyone gets to see just how badly you beat them."
"Yeah, and he plays solo," Ashley added.
"Don't remind me!" James shook his head.
"And wait till I join him," said Miranda, circling her arm around Shepard's waist. "We'll break the scoreboard again."
Vega gave Shepard a pleading look, but then smiled. "By the way Loco, I really owe you; the London's a fine ship. Thank you for putting my name out there."
"No problem, James," replied Shepard proudly. "You're a great soldier, and a good friend. I was happy to do it. Just remember, though; next Reaper invasion, it's your turn to unite the galaxy."
"Deal, Loco. Ash and I will …"
"Oh, no you don't," countered Ashley with a smile. "I'm done with Reapers!"
The four friends laughed together, taking a few minutes for friendly ribbing and joking before finishing the cleanup and getting the Solar Queen on her way. Shepard and Miranda still had a honeymoon ahead of them.
