Mass Dragon Effect I: Shadows of the Past

by raw666

After humanity's discovery of dilithium crystals and later the darkspawn, technology began to change for the Mass Effect Universe drastically. From space exploration to alliance that rivals the Council, the galaxy has entered into a new golden era. Will it be enough for John and Jane Shepard to stop the cycle of extinction or will Saren succeed in bringing back the Reapers?

10. Chapter 10: Asari Archeologist Part 2

Mass Dragon Effect I: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 10: Asari Archeologist Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, that honor belongs to Bioware. And dishonorably EA, the company that kills companies and that treat their workers as disposable cogs that are forced to work overtime and are not paid for it. Readers, do not buy from EA if you can help it, especially their sports games.

Beta Reader: Albert

Last Update: 12/11/2018

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Shiagur's Wrath

Human Date: February 19, 2183

Deep within the mountain of the volcanic world of Therum lay a corvette that had deactivated all its vital systems, except life support; systems that jammed enemy sensors, and only sent minimal power to the ship's sensors. Everything that its single occupant needed to watch the space battle end in favor of what was in his mind, a human ship. For he could not will himself to think the Confederation as anything but a human-led organization with the other species, including his own, the mighty krogans, being nothing more than puppets of the humans. It always angered him that instead of rebuilding their once all-powerful Krogan Empire with the partial cure the humans provided, they became a member state of the Confederation.

That is why he took a deal for the promise of a full cure as he sent his report through a secure communication link to describe the situation to his benefactor. "As you can see Saren, the situation is very dire. The entire fleet that is meant to keep intruders away has been destroyed by the damn human warship. And I've lost a large number of my ground troops to the humans and their pet pyjaks."

"I see, and you were not able to get Lira T'Soni out before the Confederation arrived because of why, Tradrak?" Saren asked with a deep growl of frustration.

The green shelled krogan growled before he laid blame where it belonged, "It was the darkspawn's fault. They locked us out of the laser drill the archeologist brought with them to excavate the site as well as damaged the interface. Those beasts are barely more intelligent than the trained pyjaks we shot back at home. I am having the darkspawn dig their way through, but the old Prothean buggers sure built their shit to last. It will take at least four more days to get to her. And I doubt they will last more than a few hours against those two humans. If there is anything I should be blamed for, it is not taking into account how stupid the darkspawn were when I had them do the heavy lifting."

Saren grunted in acceptance before asking, "That is unfortunate, is there any way that you can salvage the situation?"

"If you send me a small fleet to send their ship running, and a few hundred reinforcements of those beasts to overrun them, yeah, I can do it easily," Tradrak stated with confidence. "If not, I will have to sacrifice some valuable assets to achieve your primary objective. After all, my ship can fit only a small number of people of a certain size, and I doubt anything else can escape the Normandy's guns, even without the Shepard siblings on the ground."

Saren was quiet for a moment before he sighed in agreement, "Do what must be done. I would rather you bring me Lira T'Soni back alive as she would be useful in keeping her mother inline if she ever gets second thoughts about helping me. Not to mention her expertise in Prothean technology would greatly aid in my plans. However, I cannot allow someone so knowledgeable to fall into the hands of the Confederation. Especially in either of the Shepards' hands as Lira T'Soni is one of the few that can speak the Protheans' language fluently, and fewer that have an inkling of their culture and the history before the Protheans. If that happens, she would greatly aid the two, especially Commander Jane Shepard. If you cannot bring her before me, kill her."

"Do not worry, I will either get you the girl or kill her if it is the last thing I do. So long as you keep your end of the bargain of curing my people of the Genophage, so we will build a mighty army of krogans to conquer our enemies," Tradrak spoke with conviction as he emphasized 'ours.'

Saren then smiled, "Don't worry, I am a turian of my world. And with your DNA, I will breed mighty krogan commanders that will conquer our enemies. I just hope you live to see those krogans command a legion of darkspawn to bring about a new order to the galaxy," Saren added as he gave a slight nod to hide the smile as he imagined those commanders blowing Tradrak's head off before ending transmission, leaving the krogan alone with his thoughts.

Tradrak did not mention he already had everything in position before the call he made to Saren. He did not say he left the Asari unarmed frigate nearby the dig site. Hopping it was enticing enough to cause the squads to split up to investigate the ship with its nasty surprise, while the other went into the mine. He did not mention he depended on the humans to use their pet quarians or the quarians' rebellious creations to fix the drill to get to the asari. As well as he had outside his ship a contingent of his strongest darkspawn foot soldiers to attack from behind once the asari had been freed.

No, it was all part of a plan that he doubted anyone would see coming as he saw the Frist Battalion make their move as the contingent of darkspawn began to fall due to explosions and streams of bullets. Things were proceeding according to his plan, as he readied his bulky but deadly Graal Spike Thrower shotgun for battle. The fun was about to begin.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site

Human Date: February 19, 2183

Meanwhile, among the darkspawn that were on the ground in front of the dig site and the asari ship, huge explosions transpired as the soldiers led by John and Jane Shepard made themselves known. The M-560 Hydra Missile Launcher both Shepards' were equipped with were used to great effect, as a large number of the dark little buggers were blown up in a gruesome fashion as their flaming chunks flew everywhere. It did not hurt that the explosions caused by eight missiles split between the two Hydra Missile Launchers were very devastating on their own. As each missile was designed to explode in a set of three charges to take out kinetic barriers, armor, and then finally the target(s) itself with great effect, usually, as seen with the ogre on Eden Prime.

However, the heavily armored ogre had something going for it unlike the one on Eden Prime, meat shields. As most of the darkspawn foot soldiers in front of the ogre were hit by the missiles, some of the explosive force from the missiles hit the ogre. The explosion that reached the ogre, he survived but with burnt skin, no shields, and destroyed armor and weapons. Allowing Raik, Trex to kill it when he pulled out his ML-77 Missile Launchers to fire one of his 15 missiles. Popping its head and its chest like a balloon, leaving only limbs in its place.

The other surviving darkspawn did not last much longer. Thanks in part to the combined attacks from snipers such as Garrus Vakarian, Velanna O'Connell, Legion VII, Leliana, and Ashely Williams. Who took down any of the more powerful darkspawn before they could rally their troops. While those with assault rifles such as Urdnot, Wrex and Kaiden Alenko, along with Varric with his mass effect crossbow were laying on the pressure to the surviving horde. Wrex was doing the most damage with his Striker with its explosive ammo enhance with warp ammo that shredded its targets.

By the time Jane and John Shepard were done reloading the M-560 Hydra Missile Launders, the battle was over. All of the darkspawn were dead, leaving a quiet rocky field with nothing but the bloody remains at the entrance of the campsite that was in front of the mining silo. A metal door on the silo covered a dig site. John gave a silent ordered to Jane to scout out the area as he put up the M-560 Hydra in favor of his M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle. Jane complied, taking soldiers with shotguns such as Trex, Tali, Kaiden, and Wrex as she put up her missile launcher for her Disciple shotgun.

The four shotgun wielders slowly approach the field, prepared to set off traps or force any hidden darkspawn to appear. Such as any roguish goblins, grunts, shrieks or vrogs that are known for sneaking up onto others and ambushing their prey. The group did not have to wait long when Jane noticed something shimmering behind some crates sparking her decision to take a preemptive strike. Jane pulled out one of her cryo grenades to yell, "Grenade!" before throwing it to the shimmering individuals.

The grenade exploded to reveal the six hidden darkspawn with their shields weaken by the cryo-freeze that slowed their movements and broke their cloaks. Their shields collapsed from an electrical charge from Tali's omni-tool that overloaded the shields. The four opened fire on the small squad of darkspawn with Trex giving a satisfying explosion for each hit as they unloaded on the mutated freaks. It was not long before they were eliminated when Jane ordered a cease-fire. The group quickly complied much to Jane's satisfaction as she waited to see if that was the last of the darkspawn.

She waited for half a minute before she got on the communicator to state, "Clear."

It was not long for the rest of the ground forces to arrive with their appropriate weapons, anything that was not a sniper rifle, and they moved like a finely oiled machine, except for Leliana and Varric. The latter two were tailing with a less than stellar formation with their respective weapon ether too prepped for combat or not enough. That was expected for raw recruits that had little training in modern military tactics. Though it was something that Jane and John promised to themselves that they would fix soon. It was a relief that the turians trained their soldiers with enough discipline that Garrus could quickly comply with Confederation military discipline. As it meant one less trainee of what would soon be four cadets for the duo when the other two got out of sickbay. Though the brother and sister duo put it aside as Jane looked at the ship near the dig site, and the sealed entrance of mine turned to dig site.

"Hey bro, didn't the Normandy's life sensors state an asari life sign was found underground? I bet you that is where we can find our friendly archeologist," Jane commented as she looked at the dig site entrance.

"Assuming that she is still alive, that would be correct," John stated as he looked at the asari based scout ship. "Though even active sensors are having a hard time scanning what is happening inside the ship, so she could be in there. At the very least it would be something to explore to find out."

"So, let's split up with me looking at the dig site for an archeologist that is probably hiding among Prothean ruins. While you go through the ship to find the poor girl's diary and some dirt to appease your paranoia," Jane commented as a small smirk appears on her face as John's frown became hotter. It was entertaining to the crew, and those with a sense of humor chuckled. While others had a blank stare or those new like Tali had a face of horror if the others could see it.

John twitched in annoyance as he asked, "Must you phrase it that way Commander?"

"Oh Captain, my Captain, of course, I must when it's at your expense, and we need something to lighten the mood before going into a tough fight," Jane stated with a smile as John sighed in response.

John soon composed himself when he stated, "Commander Shepard, take the team you took in the bucket of bolts you call the Mako to see if you can find Doctor Liara T'Soni. While I take the team that I took from the Hammerhead to scout out the survey ship. Hopefully, we'll not have any difficulty finding the good daughter."

"Alright, let's go," Jane acknowledged before the two teams parted ways to their respective targets.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground

Human Date: February 19, 2183

From the surface to deep underground was a perfectly circular shaped tunnel made with lasers to be the most structurally safe structure it can be for miners. A thought process supported by the fused molten rock and metal circular support beams used in its structural integrity to make it safer to travel through. Something that Jane's team was thankful for as they slowly made their way down the slanted tunnel. Leading the descent was Jane Shepard with her M-15 Vindicator, and supported by Ashely Williams's M-99 Saber Rifle and Kaidan's N7 Valkyrie. The three were followed by Wrex and Tali with their shotguns and Garrus with his turian rapid fire Phaeston Assault Rifle instead of his usual long-range weapon best used in vast open areas.

Their weapons were hot as they were ready to fight the moment that they entered into a large cavern made by tools to extract minerals to be processed into useful materials for manufacturing. That was until the company came upon the top of a large grey oval-cylinder structure that was Prothean in nature, similar to those outside of the white towers on the Citadel. Like a lot of Prothean structures that survived, it was amazingly tough even when taking in account it was 50,000 years since it was last maintained. Tali was impressed with the structure as they walked across a catwalk towards the structures with burnt marks created by a mining laser.

"Amazing how it has been able to hold up. Most mining lasers are designed to vaporize even the densest rock in mere seconds. Until a few centuries ago, this level of material strength has been beyond replication in the galaxy. And even then, it was mainly used for military bunkers. Not cities on the Citadel like the Prothean were able to achieve," Tali commented as she rubbed her fingers over the burnt building as the little engineer in her bubbled over.

"It is impressive, considering the mining company seemed to have been trying to destroy evidence that it was here," Ashely pointed to the rocks before she pointed to the burnt marks across the sealed mechanical door and walls around it.

Apparent examples of a company's attempt to destroy it as burnt marks could be seen across the structure up to and above the catwalk. While below the catwalk, the structure was unblemished as the diggers carefully dug around the building to leave it undisturbed, "Yeah, I doubt a mining company excavating the site would let some old ruins get in the way of profits since it's against the law for a company to claim Prothean ruins. Too bad the building was too stubborn to let something like cooperate greed to bring it crashing down," Kaiden joked as he got a few chuckles from the group as Jane looked over the side of the catwalk.

She looked down at what appeared to be a 60m drop to the ground with the only safe way down was in two different elevators connected to a second floor 30m below. Jane hoped that the bottom cavern held the entrance into the building for it seemed like the only place for Lira to either hide or hold out for so long. Because, if the darkspawn had her, they would be heading to Saren's current location instead of staying on the planet. And if she was not captured, she had to be someplace the asari could hold out or hide from the darkspawn, aka the ruins. With that in mind, she was about to order everyone to the cavern below to hopefully find an accessible entrance to the ruins when she noticed the rock and dirt on the cavern's walls were moving.

It took her a moment for her brain to realize something was moving and digging through the dirt when she yelled, "Enemies!" before firing into the dirt and rocks.

It had no effect against the creatures as they continued burrowing through the dirt unimpeded as they moved quickly to their targets. The group heard a terrible screech as out popped what Jane swore was the ugliest creature she has ever seen, possibly of all time. The latest horror the darkspawn unleashed looked like snarling bleached tapeworms with milky white eyes that blended in with the color of their skin. A creepy beast, who's truly disgusting feature was its deafening screeching when it came out to attack. Along with its slimy three claw digit arms and legs that burst out of its body when it slid out of the ground. A disgusting beast that only got worst when one realized that organic guns popped out of their body like their limbs when they moved to attack.

A fact not lost on Jane, as she got a close and personal look at the darkspawn. As one of the ugly beasts jumped out in front of her before she used a telekinetic and wind-based attack to slam the darkspawn into the wall behind it. Its frail body burst on impact as the wall was covered in blood and fluids that smelled awful as she and her team reacted to the oncoming enemy combatants. Gunfire along with various other sounds of combat soon echoed in the cavern as the group started a fighting retreat.

Starting with Tali, who was away from the group, making a tactical retreat as she summoned a holographic attack drone and defense drone to cover her as she fired pot shots with her Arc Pistol and ran past Wrex. Who rushed into the fray with his biotic charge. Followed by a biotic nova blast that hit all the darkspawn with enough kinetic force to tear apart their fragile bodies. His initial attack killed many of them, but he too was forced to fall back as the surviving darskapwn was reinforced.

Wrex switched out his shotgun for his Striker Assault Rifle when he needed something with a more rapid-fire option as he blasted away at darkspawn reinforcements as he also slowly retreated. For even with a semi-automatic weapon, he would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of darkspawn if he did not have a backup. Mainly with Kaidan and Jane's power attacks useful for a large number of enemies within an area. Such as a detonated biotic lift and cryofreeze, and elemental attacks such as fireballs and burst of winds. Though Ashely and Garrus were helpful with their suppressive fire keeping them at bay long enough for Tali and Wrex to retreat. Along with a few precise shots to take down any darkspawn that tried to flank them as they fell back temporarily to the carved-out tunnel.

The narrow gap and metal support gave them a perfect way to bottleneck the darkspawn as they kept trying to rush the well-organized team. This made Jane smile because she could not ask for a better team. That despite the short time with a new team that included a former mercenary turned politician, a non-Confederation member, and a rookie that is a new recruit. Jane could not be prouder of her team that in a fight that lasted minutes ended with a few spent rounds of thermal clips on the ground and forty of those worms like darkspawn dead. Leaving a smelling catwalk covered in goo that was their bodies and two survivors that decided to run instead of fight.

As they made a jump towards the walls before absorbing their limbs back in the body. Garrus was having none of that as he got out his sniper rifle and fired into one of the retreating creatures for a kill while the other was digging its way into the wall. It did not go far as Garrus ran out on the catwalk took aim and fired like an expert marksman. His success evident when out of the burrowed tunnel an organic gush popped out from the darkspawn's last position. The others looked in awe at Garrus with an impressed stare.

Tali squeaked out, "Nice shot," while Wrex quietly mumbles in annoyance on the turian being a good shot.

"I hope so, as I aim to please my allies, and displease my enemies," Garrus quipped, getting a few laughs and groans as he looked around. "Too much?"

"Maybe a little," Jane stated before looking at the keypad and press the 'Up' button. Nothing happened as Jane feared was right that they must have shut-off or disconnected the power necessary for the elevator. "Tali, can you Gerry-rig something to get the elevators to work."

"Possibly if I use one of my arc grenades to release a steady plus of electricity rather than an electrical explosive, just give me a few minutes," Tali mumbled shyly as she began to fumble with the controls and her specialized grenade she planned to convert into a power source.

All the while Jane stood beside the young quarian to watch her back and offer her limited assistance if need be while she filed a report on a new species of darkspawn now known as diggers. She was able to establish contact with the Normandy after a coded request to ensure they could receive transmissions before she sent her analysis on the new darkspawn. She got a summary of what species the diggers were made from, and it made her grimace in response. The others were spread out in pairs to keep guard and talk to each other while they waited for Tali to finish her task. For Ashely Williams and Kaidan Alenko, it was a calming set of talks shared between two military officers that respected each other. The same could not be said for Urdnot, Wrex and Garrus Vakarian as the turians and krogans were not exactly friendly to each other.

Enemies most would say as Wrex threw the first verbal punch, "So, turian, how does it feel?"

"I beg your pardon?" Garrus asked.

"How does it feel that the good name of the turians is being dragged through the mud?" Wrex asked with a vicious grin despite Jane giving him a stare warning him not to push it.

One Wrex pretended not to see as Garrus gave the same turian indoctrinated answer, "Saren is a traitor and deserves what is going to happen to him, and I am all too happy to help in bringing him to justice."

"Ha, and here I was hoping that he would bring the turian name down," Wrex laughed. "But then again, your people unleashed a biological weapon on their previous savors and received no amount of punishment for it. You metallic birds can do no wrong in the Council's eyes, can you?"

Garrus growled in response, "Yeah, and the krogans are the epicenter of morality. Do I need to point out how the old Krogan Empire started the Krogan Rebellions by attacking and seizing worlds that did not belong to you despite being gifted worlds by the Council after the Rachni Wars? Or upon first contact, your people dropped meteors and nuclear weapons on our colonies to force us into submission despite not being part of the Council? Your people attacked us, and the Turians retaliated in the only way they saw would end the war quickly. Do I think we may have gone too far during and after the war in punishing your people and leaving them to rot on their dying and radioactive worlds… yea? But I also believe you didn't leave our people with many options outside of Genophage during the war. Unless you think exterminating the krogans was the right way to go as your Empire refused to even negotiate peace until it fractured into warring tribes?"

Wrex glared as Garrus stared back, never backing down as he continued as Jane readied her power to intervene if it gets ugly, "Do I think the turians are perfect, by the spirits no. We as a people made too many mistakes in the past as to how we treated the krogans after winning the war, leaving the quarians to die instead of taking refugees, and ignored our treaty with the Humans when the darkspawn first arrived. All under the name of turian pride, a guise to hide all those actions were done due to anger or greed. So yes, I acknowledge the fact we are not perfect. Just as I also acknowledge that the krogans had every chance to survive if they did not continue the fighting ninety years after being infected and refusing to unite for survival after the war. In fact, if it weren't for the Humans holding your hands while giving you the Genofertilization, your people would still be doomed to extinction."

The two stared at each other, not noticing the others nervously looked at the two with Tali actually shaking. The young quarian was so afraid she would be caught in a fight between the two that she worked at a faster rate to get the elevator working before they traded blows. Blows Jane hoped to avoid as the young human approached them. All in the efforts of gaining their attention when she got between them so she could talk the two down while Ashely and Kadan moved to back her up to subdue the two if necessary.

"Okay, that is enough. I suggest you two back down before you two cause an incident. Especially since Wrex seems to have forgotten that even though he is on hiatus as part of his test for the leadership, he is still the highest-ranking official of the Krogans and should act like it," Jane growled as she stared at Wrex while Ashely and Kaiden twitched as they readied to break up a fight.

A fight that could happen if Wrex did not respond with a chuckle as he backed down, "Don't worry Commander, I am not going to start anything. Not after that performance."

"What?" Jane asked as Wrex laughed at her and Garrus's bewilderment.

"The kid has balls, and if he ever gets that stick out of his ass, I think I may grow to like him," Wrex smirked before he got serious. "He not only admitted some of his people's actions were wrong, but he called out what my people did in the war. Combined with his conviction, I think I can work with the naïve bird."

"Thanks, I guess. But what do you mean by naïve?" Garrus asked with a frown. "I have dealt with murders, politics, and corruption. I am not naïve."

Wrex faced then morph into a serious expression, "Oh, but you are if you think that the only reason the krogans changed was because of the Genofertilization made by the Humans was one to rebuild our society. No, they just rekindled the fires of hope that are in every krogan. And with that fire, we rebuild our society with help. It certainly went better than the first time around, though I didn't have to deal with the more idiotic members of our race due to them dying out."

Wrex then stretched his neck in annoyance as Jane asked, "Wait, you've tried to help unify your people before? I only heard about when you rallied the krogans during the war from mom's stories about grandma. He said how it was a combination of krogans gaining hope for a future while we gained their respect."

"It's a long a story, and I don't think we have time to tell it all now," Wrex grumbled as he scratched his chin. "All I can say is that trying to convince a lot of idiots to breed for one generation was going nowhere when too many of the more powerful clans were advocating on continuing the war we did not have the numbers to fight."

Everyone sighed in relief, hoping for peace when Garrus asked with a raised scaly equivalent of an eyebrow, "So as the humans say it, are we cool?"

"So long as you prove your competence and do something the Council refused to do but the humans, quarian and geth did. Earn our respect," Wrex stated as he stretched his neck. "To fight with us and become allies instead of tools of war to fight enemies you could not beat on your own."

"Well then, let's hope for a better relationship overall," Garrus stated as Wrex laughed, just as a ding of the elevator arriving sounded.

Everyone turned to a flustered Tali that was mumbling about how of course that it would now arrive once the danger was over as Jane directed everyone in. Kaidan and Ashely Williams being the last in as Kaiden stating, "Hm, Trex is going to go ballistic when he hears about him missing a little bit of lore on Wrex, his role model and hero."

"Well as Grandpa Williams always says, 'you can't miss something if no one tells you, you missed it,'" Ashely quoted as she got in the elevator as Wrex turned in mild shock.

"Wait are you the granddaughter of General Alexander Williams?" Wrex asked as Ashely tensed to the question. Her tensed hum was all the answer he needed as Wrex chuckled, "Well what do you know, I get to work with all my superiors from the war's grandchildren and children. I am starting to feel old."

"Tali, take us down," Jane groaned as the group descended deep into the cavern below.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: SSV Seeker of Knowledge

Human Date: February 19, 2183

At the entrance of the survey ship, identified as the Seeker of Knowledge, John Shepard's team approached the vessel equipped with weapons suited for close quarters combat (CQC). John forgoes his M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle in favor of his N7 Eagle and M-12 Lotus, while Velanna used an N7 Eagle. All three equipped with power amplifier modes as part of their loadouts to give the users' powers and abilities an added boost. The two took point as they opened the door into the large hanger bay that was once meant to carry off Prothean artifacts. Now it was a dark room covered in tribal shrines, flesh, and blood.

Leliana gasped in shock as she kept a firm hand on her C-5 Carnifex, "By the Maker, what happened in here?"

"Preliminary visual scans indicate the area was converted into a shrine for the darkspawn, Cadet-Leliana," Legion-VII answered as it scanned with his Geth Assault rifle. "A few military programs within this unit noted previous encounters suggest the shrines are similar to one's set up around darkspawn nests."

"Nests? You mean the darkspawn has a broodmother on this ship?" John asked in anger at another mission complication as he scanned the bay with his guns while Legion-VII gave John its answer.

"Probability of at least one brood mother, eighty percent," Legion-VII reported before its sensor picked up movement as it inferred sensors detected multiple small objects. "Correction, the probability of broodmother is ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-seven-five present. Young darkspawn-units closing in."

If anyone every though young darkspawn would look cute, they were sadly mistaken. In many ways, they were like mini versions of their adult forms, except more grub-like as they were in the process of growing. They were cuter than adults, but still ugly beasts that made the ground team want to shot them up, and they did without hesitation. Dozens were beginning to litter the floor as they moved in mass against John's team, without caring how many would die to accomplish their goals. In part, due to the aggressive nature of the darkspawn, but it is also because of their implants. Making it so they would follow orders regardless of cost, and they were given one order in this case, defend the ship and their nest. The intruders were currently trapped as the hanger bay door closed on them from behind, locking them in with a small horde.

John realized they would be overwhelmed if they stayed as he saw darkspawn reinforcements coming from the backend of the ship. Mostly darkspawn that have not matured, but he also spotted a few adult darkspawn. Ones considered elite in the horde as they had shields and were able to respond with various tech, mage, and biotic-based abilities. Legion-VII and Trex found that out the hard way when they were both hit by the sabotage ability of the horde. Causing their weapon to prematurely overheat and temporarily become inoperable. Forcing Legion-VII to use its Geth SMG to repay the darkspawn with a few bullets and incineration from its tech-based omni-tool attack. While Trex, their usual point man, was forced back after he spent two inferno grenades to clear out a portion of the darkspawn. Though he was still dangerous as he used his one shot, one kill per clip bulky Punisher Pistol to take out targets.

John was happy he studied the large room before the battle as it allowed him to think of a way to complete the two objectives of escape and gathering information about Liara without looking away from the horde. For the first objective, he saw a way to complete it by going up two decks through the two ladders and lifting the ladders behind them. If the ship was like most common designs, it should be the location of the ship's bridge, officer and VIP crew quarters, medical bay, docking door, and other facilities not seen in on the lower decks. It should also provide a way to achieve the first objective of escape through a pressurized door used when the ship needed to dock with a space station or another vessel, as well as serve as another emergency exit for crashed ships. As well as a way to complete the second objective of researching Liara's whereabouts as it was one of the best places to access data and records from the ship's computer core, along with a high probability that one of the rooms would be assigned to Dr. Liara T'Soni.

Seeing what needed to be done, he barked out his orders, "O'Connell, Legion-VII, Leliana, and Varric, fall back to the lift and give covering fire for Trex and me as your lift moves to the upper deck. Trex move to the ladder on the left, I'll take the one on the right. Once the lift is going up, we are going to race up the ladder, and all of us are going to escape to the bridge. Clear?"

The experience soldiers sent an acknowledging click through the comms while Leliana and Varric copied when they realized he did not want them to yell their acknowledgment. Another thing John planned to add to their training, assuming they survived, as the team moved into position. Trex and Shepard were the last two to make it to their destinations as they provided cover while the others rushed to the lift used to lift heavy cargo up to the ship's labs. Once they were settled, the lift raised up as they turned to unleash suppressive fire, or in the case of Velanna, area base spells that made their targets sleep or choke on toxic fumes. A temporary measure to allow time to escape without worrying about horde attack.

The overall plan made by John worked out well until a new surprise appeared. Tentacles with cybernetic implants popped out of Jefferies Tubes connected to engineering like an old sci-fi villain out to assimilate them. John ignored the comment of Legion-VII stating how they now had confirmed information of the presence of broodmothers as he ran up the ladder while two of the cybernetic tentacles began to slither up the ladders toward them. John knew the tentacles would catch them before they could reach the top so he came up with a desperate plan that he hoped would prove beneficial in the long run.

John yelled out, "Trex! Toxic grenades on my command!" as he pulled out a polonium grenade. A grenade that was perfect for a renegade like him and Trex.

The krogan complied as his mask barely hid his excitement as he pulled out his polonium grenade even if part of him wondered why John asked him to wait. He soon got his answer when the tentacles began to crawl all over the two and John grabbed it with his free hand. He then yelled, "Now!" as the arm holding the rails went across to drop a grenade before activating his omni-blade to cut off the top of the tentacle.

John was holding firmly as the tentacles retracted from them when he heard a loud screech of pain as the radioactive grenades detonated. The effects caused the darkspawn to fall back for a moment as the micro-fusion explosion negatively affected the organic and inorganic material of the darkspawn mother. They used it to their advantage and rushed up the ladder towards their companions and made a mad dash for the door that led to the rest of the ship.

They escaped in time as the broodmother rapidly regrew her tentacles before it made a dash to catch John's team. And it would have ensnared them if the door was not closed and sealed by the team. The group collectively sighed in relief as John ordered Trex to boobytrap the door while Velanna helped him secure any small access tunnels with her vines. The two gladly complied with his orders as the team moved to what appeared to be the common room and command center for the ship. They had work to do as they searched for clues.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground

Human Date: February 19, 2183

Deep underground, Liara was trapped and had been that way for what seemed like an eternity to the young woman. As a forcefield of some kind was not only keeping her safe from those outside the old Prothean ruins, but it also had her entrapped and floating off the ground. She could not even check the time as she floated in a crucified pose for what felt like days, if not weeks for all she knew. Though how much time had passed did not matter as much as the fact she was hungry, tried, and very much afraid.

For outside the forcefield was a small gathering of darkspawn, making her grateful that what was keeping her held was keeping them out. She remembered when the Human System Alliance made their first appearance to the galaxy community, and their discoveries both old and new. She was so excited at the idea of studying a working Prothean data cache found on one of their worlds called Mars that she could not look away on the event that closed such dreams to her in the foreseeable future. For she knew everything changed galactically and personally when the news about the darkspawn invading Terra circulated through the galaxy. As she felt anger at the Council, she remembered the images of the untold horror of an endless horde of monsters that was shown in the news reports. And those images did not do them justice as she had even more of a reason to be afraid as she watched the monsters eat the others in front of her while giving her a hungry expression as they stared.

She could only hope she would die of starvation before they reached her as she felt a rescue was only going to happen in her fantasies. Though this one seemed more real when a bluish grenade landed in-between the group of darkspawn. She quickly realized it might be real when the biotic lift grenade exploded with a loud bang and the darkspawn were lifted off the ground and hung there. Until the Prothean barrier rippled when a frag grenade went off and denotated the dark energy. The combined force amplified the explosive potential enough to kill even shielded darkspawn. The few gunshots out from above followed by the dying screams of darkspawn was enough to tell her this may be real.

So once the fighting was over, Liara could not help but develop hope as she pleaded for help, "Hello!? Is anyone out there!? If you are real, can you help me!? Please!?"

Liara, half expected to wake up from a fevered dream, but she felt her heartbeat when she heard a powerful and distinct military voice, "Hang on, we are coming down."

The young archeologist then heard the pitter-patter of boots that she assumed were a military squad made their way down to her level. They were soon down, and she got to look at the squad leader. The leader was a human, a fact that made Liara's heart skip a beat as she saw the beautiful athletic woman with sun-kissed hair and a freckle face similar to hers.

"Are you real? Please, by the Goddess, tell me you are real and not my hunger making images again? I am trapped, and I need help," Liara pleaded as she stared into the human's brilliant green eyes with hope.

Commander Jane Shepard could not immediately help but guaranteed her they would get her free. "It's okay we will get you out of there. I promise," Jane reassured the young woman that looked to have just entered into adulthood. "Are you Doctor Liara T'Soni. And if you don't mind me asking, how did you get trapped here?"

"Um, yes, I am Doctor Liara T'Soni, I guess you heard of me," the young woman nervously answered as a bright purple blush formed on her face. "And, as for how I got trapped it was a bit embarrassing. I was part of an expedition in these Prothean ruins when the darkspawn appeared. Can you believe it? The darkspawn haven't been seen in nearly thirty years, and now they reappear here of all places."

"Yeah, sadly they are not just here. We believe a rogue turian SPECTRE named Saren is controlling them and used them to attack one of our colonies. They are now considered to be a galactic threat," Kaidan stated in a matter of fact manner that caused Liara to pale considerably.

"By the Goddess," Liara mumbled as her mind was going through the various apocalyptic scenarios before shaking it off. "Anyway, we all tried to run and fight back, but they overwhelmed my colleagues and killed them before they had a chance. I was faring better, but I knew we were going to be overrun if I stayed out in the open. Luckily, this facility still had power, and I activated the defensive systems since I knew the barriers would keep them out. Old military facilities, prisons, and other such facilities have capital ship grade barriers. Unfortunately, in my haste, I accidentally activated the old Prothean security functions in what I now find myself trapped in," Liara explained with a blush as she mentally berated herself for a self-proclaimed Prothean Expert misreading the warning text on the screen.

Though that did not matter to Jane all that much as she looked over the young maiden and around the area, hoping to see an opening, "Okay that explains that, but how are we going to get you out of there? Even with the missile launcher attached to my back, I don't think we have enough firepower to blast our way in?"

"You could use the mining laser at the campsite behind you," Liara explained. "We used it to excavate the dig site, and scans showed there was a chamber under our feet. We only went as far as the first opening to keep the ruins intact as much as possible. The laser should still be there, just inoperable with a code that locks out the user. If you can get it working again, you can get in here and access the console behind me to deactivate the security measures and barriers."

"Tali, do what repairs you can and override the system, we're going to use it to bust our way in," Jane ordered Tali, who nodded esthetically in response.

"Will do ma'am," the young quarian saluted before she jumped down to the campsite behind them to get to work on the laser as Jane turned to Kaidan and Ashely.

"Ash, Kaidan, you two go with her and guard her in case we missed any straggling darkspawn."

The two saluted with Ashely stating, "Aye, aye, Skipper."

The two were heading out when Liara cautioned them, "Be careful, there was a krogan here a while ago. I think he was leading the darkspawn."

"A krogan leading them? Are you sure?" Jane asked as Wrex mumbled about traitors.

"Yeah, he was barking orders, and the darkspawn were following his every order. Though I think he was just a hired gun. His armor and weapons were customized in ways that looked like he was an experienced mercenary instead of someone in special forces," Liara explained in a way that made the group raise some eyebrows.

"You seem to know a bit about mercenaries and such," Garrus stated with an accusing look that Liara responded too.

"I am an archeologist that excavate Prothean technology and art that is quite valuable on both the open and black market. That means I have to deal with all manner of people in a professional sense. And in some cases, I have to dispatch them for they hope to claim what I dig up after they have killed me."

Jane realized the good doctor may not be as innocent as she looked as she saw in Liara's eyes that she had killed before. And not just a one and done a deal, but possibly groups of people. This meant she could approach the girl without a few layers of the kid gloves she planned to handle her with. "Okay, we will try to get you out soon, but before I go, I have one question. Have you been in recent contact with Benezia or any associates of hers?"

"My mother? No, I haven't even talked to her for years and usually avoid her followers if I can. Why are you asking that… by the Goddess, did something happen to my mother? Did this Saren kill her?" Liara asked with wide eyes, fearing she would hear that her mother was dead.

In reality, the asari should have wished it was a report of death when Jane explained the situation, "No, but we have evidence she is collaborating with Saren, and we wanted to question you about Benezia among other things?"

"What?! Mother helping Saren in his attack? But she condemns violence. The fact she participated in an attack does not sound like her. Is that why…?" Liara mumbled in shock before she trailed off as she formed her own conclusion why members of the Confederation wanted to meet her. "Is that why you were looking for me? You think I know something? Well, I am sorry to tell you this, but the last time I spoke to my mother face to face was half a century ago. So please believe me when I say this, I know nothing about my mother's whereabouts or actions, and that I am nothing like her."

Jane stared into the woman's eyes before stating, "I believe you," before giving the woman apparently older than her a smile as the woman sighed in relief. "Now I should go. Stay tight, and we'll get you out of there."

"Okay… thank you," Liara replied with a bewildered look as the three soldiers moved to Tali's location as Garrus made conversation that was familiar.

"So, how does it feel to have one of your own betray you?"

Wrex grunted before delivering his response, "That it will be fixed soon. For anyone, that fights against us is either stupid or just interested in money. Killing the later is just business. Killing the former is a favor to the galaxy."

Garrus chuckled a bit before pointing out this basic fact, "That still doesn't answer my question,"

"Shut it," Wrex grumbled as the three made their way to the laser drill.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: SSV Seeker of Knowledge

Human Date: February 19, 2183

As Jane's team was arming the mining laser, John's team was busy in the survey ship starting with the command center that was more like a common room. It was designed as a social center for the crew before the darkspawn tore through it. The crew had made a valiant last stand if the blood stains and dents from gunfire were any indications. No one questioned what happened to the bodies as they moved through the control center as Trex and Velanna finished their jobs. With Trex's doing most of the work by converting his grenades into proximity mines that placed above the door and four inert stick grenades strategically along the hallway. Enough explosive power to cause the corridor to collapse and kill anyone that dared to break through the door that Velanna ensured was the only possible entrance with her vines.

Meanwhile, Legion-VII was busy hacking into the computer system to gain full access and lock out the darkspawn from the system as well as locate the crew quarters. John considered it fortunate that Liara decided to live in one of the labs located on this deck as Varric retrieved Lira's stuff. The dwarf returned with the few things she brought outside of the artifacts she was studying. Mostly a bag filled with rations and clothing washed and unwashed, as well a personal datapad the dwarf handed over to John.

John wasted no time getting into the datapad to read through the notes, expecting some kind of information on Saren's faction or self-incriminating evidence that points to a conspiracy. However, he was disappointed as Lira did not seem to have much of a life outside of her archaeological field. As it seemed all she talked about was archeological pieces she discovered and theorizing what they meant or if the pieces changed their understanding of Protheans' culture. John almost twitched at her more optimistic and whimsical nature to point it hurt his mind before he uploaded a VI program to quickly search through the audios and notes to look for key phrases like Benezia, Saren, Reapers, and EST.

Eventually, he got an audio recording and notes that gave him a picture that fits with Jane's view of the woman. Namely, Liara had nothing to do with Saren or Benezia for Liara had not talked to her mother in the last fifty years. Apparently, Benezia was hoping her daughter would follow her mother into politics or become an Asari Commando due to her unusually high skill and power in biotics at such a 'young' age. Benezia felt archaeology was beneath Liara's talents, and the two fought about it until they became so estranged that they no longer spoke. The only contact the two had was mostly Liara sending messages to her employers and others on her contact list to tell them where her excavation sites were, expected return dates to her home, and what she planned to do when she returned. So, they could report her missing if she disappeared out in the Traverse.

He spoke the last parts out loud as Trex returned from securing the hallway to state, "At least we now know how Saren was able to find her. Her mother must have relayed the information to retrieve her wayward child."

"Or maybe he was spying on her," Leliana suggested. "I mean we don't know why Benezia would work with Saren. It could be forced compliance, and Liara is just one more piece to use against her."

"Yeah, I can see that. I have a brother named Bartrand that is a total ass. But I still love him and would do anything to keep him safe," Varric stated while Velanna nodded enthusiastically in the background.

"Eh, I have siblings I would rather bash their brains in for stupider things than this, but I guess that is the krogan in me, so to each his own," Trex shrugged as John turned his attention to Legion-VII.

"What about the ship logs. Anything to indicate they were in contact with Saren or Benezia? The ship was out in this cluster during the attack on Eden Prime," John pointed out as Legion-VII gave an affirmative no.

"No Shepard-Captain. The ship transmission has not been erased or altered since its been in civilian service, and the ship logs reveal no conspiracy. The only mention of darkspawn was when they broke into the ship and began slaughtering the crew. With the finale entry stating that the captain hoped the archeologist at the dig site deep managed to escape."

"Damn, Commander Shepard was right. I am never going to hear the end of it especially if that is not Liara," John muttered as he looked at the tentacle as Velanna tentatively stepped up.

"Legion-VII, can you get us a visual of the broodmother? To see how many, a-an-and… and to see if Saren did anything to them different from those monsters that took me and my sister," Velanna asked with a shudder remembering the nightmares of what would have happened if the First Battalion during the Darkspawn War had not saved her and her sister.

Legion-VII complied as it pulled up functional cameras and ship sensors to get a visual image and scan for the darkspawn and the broodmother, confirming they were in engineering. It was not long before a holographic screen popped up, and the group was shown the nightmare that would last for years in the team's memories. Near the Element Zero core, dilithium crystals and exposed reactor flopped one massive, grotesque beast seen only in Lovecraft's dreams. A slug-like creature with a top portion that looked somewhat like a humanoid woman with multiple breasts but with little resemblance to their previous form. For she was a broodmother, and the Confederation had a standing policy to kill any encountered-on sight, for they were able to give birth to hundreds if not thousands of darkspawn per year.

It was equal parts disgusting and horrifying made worst when Leliana pulled up her omni-tool to provide an unaltered picture of a broodmother that outlined its codex. Specifically, due to the close resemblance to the asari with their characteristic tentacled crown head but with her disconfigured head so ugly no one except the darkspawn would love it. Killing and raping women to turn them into broodmothers seemed to be the only goals of darkspawn. That tidbit made Varric glad he lived above ground before he had been transported to the magical world known as space. While Leliana could still feel the chill down her spine whenever she remembered her study on the darkspawn as a Confederation cadet and wondered why the Maker created such vile creatures.

It was debatable what was worse of what Saren's faction has done, converting people into broodmothers or the altercations of broodmothers themselves. For in addition to the darkspawn transforming the poor women they capture into something else, the broodmother went through another transformation. For one, the asari broodmother looked healthier and less pudgy then the darkspawn image, most likely to make her even more productive in birthing an army. The second, she was converted into a full-on cyborg with various inorganic and organic implants.

"The cybernetic implants of the broodmother units seemed to be designed to make it more docile, tougher, stronger and to possibly increase production of other darkspawn units. This was supported by the fact the organic unit appeared to have a ten percent greater size and mass compared to samples of other broodmother units euthanize on the human homeworld, and it appeared to have a significantly greater reproductive capacity as well. In addition, the unit did not appear to need to be eating consuming anything. Suggesting that Saren had circumvented the need for broodmothers to feed extensively for more efficient production."

"Explain," John ordered Legion-VII.

"As observed from samples before they were euthanized, broodmothers produced a specific subtype of darkspawn unit based on the converted species' DNA. For example, infected humans initially produced grunt units and goblin units, while infected krogans produced snapper-units. To be able to produce new units, darkspawn would kill all organics, including other darkspawn tribes to bring them back to the nest for the broodmother to consume. And if the broodmother consumed a unit it had never previously consumed or produced, the broodmother would assimilate the new DNA so she could begin production of the new type of unit. It is why the broodmother eats everything in sight for all darkspawn-units are run more by instinct than logic and would not selectively target units to ensure specific results.

"Saren-Enemy unit's collective found a way around the need for the mothers to constantly eat by using implants to make it less hungry and to inject the necessary DNA into the broodmother to produce new darkspawn units. Combined with engineering the broodmother to be exposed to element zero, dilithium crystals and high radiation without showing any signs of harm suggests two conclusions. One is that almost immediately after a broodmother unit is born, she can produce every kind of darkspawn or at least produce a high number of specific types if made into specialized production units based on the available amount of DNA. Second, assuming that Saren-Enemy has gone that far in changing broodmother units, then this unit can extrapolate that every darkspawn created will live to adulthood instead of the observed twenty to thirty percent mortality described from the human homeworld."

"Didn't the horde unleash on Terra-Earth… ugh, whatever you call your homeworld, overwhelm a continent and threaten the entire planet? So, you are saying this Saren will be able to create an army at least four times larger in the same amount of time?" Varric asked, a little scared for the planet he was born on while the others grimaced.

John's analytical mind was going through a dozen scenarios about the horde's growth, none of them good, as he studied the broodmother on the screen for a few more seconds before he activated his comm to send out a coded transmission requesting contact with the Normandy. He got a response quickly when he heard Pressly, "Captain, its good to hear from you."

"Good to hear from you too Lieutenant Commander Charles Pressly, I take it you have taken care of the darkspawn fleet in orbit."

"Yes sir, but we suffered some casualties doing so. Five injured, one death," Pressly reported with a dropped voice through the comm.

"I see," John stated coldly before switching subjects. "At least you destroyed the enemy fleet. Is the ship intact enough to pick up our ground vehicles?"

"Yes sir, it is fully functional," Pressly reported with renewed enthusiasm.

"Though we may need a new paint job and repair work the next time we reach a friendly port of call. The darkspawn were not exactly willing to float there as we sent the little bastards to hell to dance with the devil," Joker commented, revealing others were listening in to John.

"As long as the ship can pick us up, I don't care if it is painted pink with flaming unicorns on the side," John stated as he then went to a control panel to upload every scrap of data from the ship. "Cortana, I am sending you all the data we've collected on the survey ship. I am also sending you images and sensor data on a broodmother the darkspawn put on the ship, along with Legion-VII's observations. It looks like the darkspawn threat is worse then what we initially feared."

"Data is uploaded, and I do agree with Legion-VII's assessment. Whoever is controlling the darkspawn has engineered the broodmothers to be able to mass produce the darkspawn at even higher rates than they do naturally. I think worst case scenarios did not account for this," Cortana stated before switching subjects. "Oh, by the way, Jane gave us a call earlier, she has encountered a new species of darkspawn dubbed digger. DNA samples suggest they were made from vorcha."

"Those walking tapeworms with teeth found in the Terminus System? Oh, this is just getting better and better, can we exterminate these vermin and go home now?" Trex asked.

"In a minute, Cortana, I am sending another DNA sample that I took from the broodmother, can you confirm if the woman was Liara T'Soni or not?" John asked as he sent a scanned data of a tentacle that he had cut off earlier.

It did not take long for Cortana to analyze the data as she answered John's question, "It is not T'Soni, just some poor asari that probably wished she had been killed."

"Alright, Jane is probably going to retrieve Liara for it looks like she is alive," John stated as he stretched his neck in annoyance carried in his tone. "Have a shuttle on standby, ready to pick up Jane and her team at the dig site with a small number of troops to take Liara into protective custody."

"You don't think she is connected to Saren in anyway outside of being related to one of his lieutenants?" the noisy observer, Jordan, asked over the comm.

"Correct, it looks like a dead end. Though the asari could be useful to us by providing insight into one of Saren's closest allies mind," John mused as a small smile formed on his face. "Jordan, you may prove very useful yet. Can you develop a profile on the young asari, just to relieve any paranoid fears I have and have something to use if required?"

"That I can do, easily," Jordan answered as he began to type away at his omni-tool. "With the data provided and my own files, I should have a profile for you by the time you return."

"Good," John stated before he and his team turned their guns to the door from the cargo bay. It sounded as though the darkspawn were moving to break the door down, so John felt he needed to make this quick. "Okay, it is time to go. Normandy, prepare for an orbital bombardment of this ship and destroy it once we are far enough away. Once done, extract us at the coordinates I am supplying. Our ground vehicles are there and need to be picked up. Once onboard, we'll be on standby if required to support Commander Shepard.

"Captain John Shepard out," John signed-off before ending transmission and turning to the others, telling them that it was time to go. They quickly made it to the ship's pressurize door that Legion-VII unlocked with its hacking skills. The group made it out just as Trex's mines and grenades went off, killing a number of darkspawn and sealing the room. It would be hours before the darkspawn could dig through, but they would not even get a fraction of that time. As John's team was far enough away for the Normandy to safely destroy the ship.

The crew was treated to spectacular fireworks before they made the long way back to the M-44B Hammerhead and M-35B Mako, not noticing a small squad of darkspawn sneaking into the dig site.

Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground

Human Date: February 19, 2183

Getting into the chamber, was easy for the First Battalion soldiers, once Tali worked her magic. It did take a while to jerry-rig the controls to allow omni-tool access and to hack the system. But once she accomplished her task, everything worked out perfectly, as the drill drilled into the lower chamber with the forcefield taken down through brute force. From there, it was a simple process of moving through the molten rock into the Prothean ruins, summoning an elevator, and then heading to the floor above. This led to Jane walking up to young asari from behind, followed by her team.

Liara turned her head, "Thank the goddess you came. Did you use the laser? I heard the rumble, so I assume you did."

"Yeah we used the laser, it was a brilliant light show," Wrex laughed at the flustered asari as Jane looked at the console.

"Which button should I press, Doctor T'Soni," Jane asked as Liara took a glance at the control, quickly memorizing the buttons.

"Press the red button on the bottom right that looks sort of like a four-legged animal with an extra line going up in the middle. That is Prothean for deactivation."

"You can read Prothean fluently Doctor T'Soni?" Jane asked in amazement as she looked at the young woman.

"I studied Protheans since I was a child. I can speak many different dialects fluently. And you can call me Liara, I think that you saved me made it so that we are at least on a first name basis," Liara stated with a small blush as she realized what she said and she was unintentionally flirting with the young military officer.

Liara never felt so embarrassed as Tali's visor hid an even brighter blush, while the others gave Jane a grin or a raised eyebrow when Commander Shepard gave an owlish look. Before her face morphed into a soft smile as she told Liara, "Only if you call me Jane, or Shepard," before she pressed the button Liara instructed her to push.

Almost immediately, the security barrier turned off, and Liara fell to the ground on her feet like a cat. It did not take a military genius to see that she must have been trained in some form of martial arts as she stretched her muscles while trying her best to clean her dirty scientific jumpsuit with a biotic pulse. She wanted to make herself somewhat presentable to her rescuers. She quickly turned like one of those nervous school girls from those old anime shows with a twiddle of her fingers to show her appreciation.

"I still can't believe the darkspawn went after me. Do you think Benezia is involved or is it something else?" Liara explained as Ashely threw out her ideas.

"Saren is after something called the Conduit, maybe he is hoping miss Prothean Expert can help him find it."

"The Conduit? But I don't know…" Liara started to explain she was unfamiliar with such a turn when she heard a rumble as the ground began to shake.

"What the hell was that?" both Ashely Williams and Kaiden Alenko asked at the same time.

"These ruins are no longer on stable grounds if they ever were. I think the activation of the laser drill may have triggered a seismic event that could destroy this whole place. We have to hurry, this whole place is probably caving in," Liara stated as she directed everyone to the elevator pad as she worked the console to lift them to the first floor.

Jane wasted no time to get on the comm. "To anyone on this transmission, this is Commander Jane Shepard, and we need an extraction!"

She soon got a reply with Joker's voice stating, "Aye, aye, Commander. Shuttle in route. ETA one minute."

"We need to go faster," Tali said with a bit of a frantic tone as the elevator rose up to the top floor.

The ground team with Liara was prepared to make a run out the door when it opened to reveal two pairs of alpha arachnoids, avians, goblins, grunts, and war dogs. Powerful darkspawn armed to the teeth and with powerful shields and armor led by a krogan that bounty alert indicated to be the krogan Tradrak. An extreme radical wanted for a list of crimes such as murder, extortion, and theft.

Tradrak smiled as he looked at the group to state, "Surrender or don't. This could be a fun," the krogan stated before his grin widened as he looked at the older krogan on the other side. "Really, really fun since I get to put down the pathetic old man that made our people soft."

Wrex made an intense growl as Jane's face turned into a scowl, "In case you haven't noticed, this place is about to fall apart!"

"Exhilarating isn't it," Tradrak smiled as he stepped forward. "So nice that you freed the doctor for us. Now hand her over to us."

"Whatever you want with me, I would rather not go with you," Liara stated as she scooted closer to Jane's side.

"She'll be coming with us, thanks," Jane stated as pulled out her shotgun, her crew taking it an indication to arm themselves as well while the krogan shook his head in response.

"Not an option, Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants." Tradrak then turned to the darkspawn behind him to bark his order. "Kill them, spare the asari if you can. If not, it doesn't matter."

"Just as your life doesn't!" Wrex yelled before he used a biotic charge to slam into Tradrak. Causing the younger krogan to stumble back as Wrex opened fire at point blank with his Graal Spike Throw shotgun to spread his shields.

Before he switched to a melee weapon that he rarely got to use, a biotic field mace that unfolds from a small cylinder shape strapped to his hip. Wrex began to pound away on the merch, knocking away his shotgun, before Tradrak finally regained enough of his sense to enter a berserk mode. Allowing him to ignore all wounds as he used the omni-blade to go on the offensive with Wrex while ranting out his motivation like an old villain. Wrex would have found the krogan's reasons and logic hilarious if it did not make him angry these idiots want to tear down progress for the nostalgia of an era that they have no idea what they were talking about.

The two krogans began to duke it out while the rest of the Confederation forces dealt with the darkspawn after Jane ordered Liara to get to cover. Garrus and Ashely stayed back to provide cover fire and attack from a distance as Kaidan and Tali provided support. Tali used her ever-reliable combat drones to keep enemy units distracted while using her tech powers to weaken them. While Kaidan used mostly biotic and gun combat to keep enemy units off balance, especially the two avians in the air and the two shrieks from cloaking. That left Jane to go on the offensive as she ensured Liara got to proper cover. At least the best cover she could find in a mostly open room that occasionally rumbled to remind them that they were on a time limit.

Jane rushed the two goblins, already weaken by Tali's attack, and sent a wave of lightning to short-out their shields. She then shoved the nozzle of her Disciple shotgun and pulled the trigger, causing the exposed head of one to explode like a firecracker. While Jane used her telekinetic powers to throw the other goblin into a grunt across the room. Both of which were taken down by the omni-tool run program that turned Ashely's precise M-99 Saber into a precise rapid-fire machine where every bullet hit its targets until she used up her gun's thermal clip. Ashely did a good job, as she moved to assist Garrus in taking down an arachnoid he slowed to a crawl with his cryo blast omni-tool attack as a second arachnoid rushed Jane.

This arachnoid equipped with dual shotguns had tech abilities as it hit Jane with the sabotage ability to cause her shotgun to overheat and jam. Jane cursed as she put up her shotgun to pull out her war axe and sword as she fired off an energy blast shape like an arrow at the approaching darkspawn. The blast of energy washed over the darkspawn's barriers before Jane performed a side roll to avoid the point-blank shotgun blasts. Her shields briefly flared from the mostly avoided point-blank attack as the arachnoid turned towards Jane to fire another shot when Tali proved while she was the best support for the squad.

Tali used the sabotage ability to jam and overheat the two shotguns in the arachnoid's hands with an added bonus. As a technical expert, she knew how to time it just right and cause feedback of one of its shotguns so it would explode in its hands. The resulting blast took out the darkspawn's barriers, and it stumbled allowing Jane to retaliate with a cone of cold that caused frost to slow the darkspawn to a crawl and weaken its armor. Jane wasted no time slamming her war axe down into the darkspawn's chest to break the armor while her sword pierced its heart for an instant kill.

Jane sighed in relief as she kicked the body off her sword and surveyed the battle, seeing the darkspawn mostly eliminated, thanks to excellent support and firepower. Especially in biotic attacks with the residual dark matter that the various omni-tool sensors picked up before it quickly dissipated. Jane assumed Kaidan went all out as she zeroed in on the two of the remaining targets. Only the single arachnoid remained visible before Garrus, in a fit of fatigue and frustration, he took care of it with a homing grenade that locked on the fast target. It exploded making it seem the rogue krogan Tradrak no longer had allies, as the group moved towards their main target that was getting a beating from Wrex's mace and biotic power punches.

One power punch backed with a powerful biotic throw was enough to lay the krogan out on the ground as Wrex was over the younger krogan in disgust. His hands gripping the mace tightly as he started a speech. "You know I got this weapon from a human friend during the darkspawn wars as he was afraid. The first time I used it on a fellow krogan was to kill my traitorous brother who murdered my friend. All because he justified an era of self-destruction that led to us nuking our planet, destroying our new given homes, a senseless war, and the Genophage. He would have liked you for thinking that we krogans are just muscle-bound chumps instead of the innovators that rebuilt our world with what've earned.

"I think it is only appropriate that you receive the same treatment I gave my brother in our last encounter. A skull crush to the head," Wrex stated as he raised his mace up as Tradrak stared defiantly before Wrex brought it down with enough force to shatter a human skull. Wrex then brought his mace up and down again, and again until all that left was the bloody caved-in face of Tradrak. Wrex gave a stratified smirk as he pressed a button that compressed the mace into pipe-like shape before he put it back up.

Jane smiled as she looked around, seeing the remains of the darkspawn until she noticed an addition one behind Wrex that he must have taken out after it attempted to sneak attack during his fight. It was a shriek, a long thin body darkspawn with cloaking ability that allowed it to quietly attack using terrible blades located at each wrist. Jane realized that the krogan must have brought in one cloaked before her mind posed a question. Was there only one shriek, or two to go with Tradrak disposition of using a pair of types like the other darkspawn?

She prepared for a surprise attack while looking for the clear flicker of cloak technology when she heard Garrus yell, "Commander! Behind you!"

Jane turned around to see a shriek behind her, ready to strike as Jane moved weapons to try and defend herself when something unexpected happened. A biotic pulse that took out the darkspawn's shield followed by a biotic throw that flung the lightly armored darkspawn away. Jane starred wide-eyed as she realized the biotic attack did not come from Kaidan or Wrex, but from Liara, who was out of cover. Jane did not know that during the fight, as she was focused, Liara got out of cover for she did not want to feel like a helpless damsel in distress. Therefore, she used her training to try to help in any way she could from cover as the battle progressed. Probably shaving a few vital minutes by helping the team break through the darkspawn's defenses quicker.

And now Liara was fully committed to helping as she lifted the shriek with her biotic powers to slam it down on the ground three times, killing it with blunt force brutality similar to that used by the krogan and with a look of determination. Definitely not a damsel that the team thought Liara was the young asari looked at the others nervously, expecting to be scolded for getting involved. She was pleasantly surprised when Jane gave her a thumbs up and stated, "Good job, and thank you."

Liara gave a shy appreciative smile that soon left as the rumbling began to get louder and the earth started to shake. The group realized that the place was beginning to collapse when Jane ordered everyone to move. The group rushed out of the Prothean ruins and onto the platform that was the first floor. With Jane in front until they reached the tunnel where she directed them all to ensure her team and Liara made it through before following behind them, yelling them to go faster. The group made it the entrance of the mining silo and out in the open to see the shuttle with a small squad of troops waiting.

They all jumped on board with Jane the last in before she ordered the pilot, the white and purple geth Avion-1971 to get them out of here after the door was sealed. The geth complied as the shuttle moved up and climbed off the ground as the dirt continued to shake. They were three minutes away when the whole place exploded and collapsed under the dormant volcano. Jane saw it in all its glory from a screen on the shuttle before she turned to a nervous Liara, giving her a small smile of reassurance as they approached the Normandy. Not realizing that Jane and her brother had found their finale recruit for their ground team's roster, as well as something more for the galaxy and Jane personally.

Finally, I am done. I hope you enjoyed this action pack chapter and sorry for the month-long delay. The holidays caught up to me in a bad way, and I was stuck with a lot of busy work from my job that made time set for writing this out difficult. Especially with the dialogue between Wrex and Garrus being challenging to write without revealing too much too soon in the story. Hope you enjoy the chapter and feel somewhat fearful about what else the darkspawn horde will bring to the Mass Effect Universe. Also, I want to give a shout out to Leaf Ranger for being a constant reviewer and keeping me going, as well a goddragonking, Gianfransco Cembran, and Pteaset. Thank you for your support.

Author Note

A) Story Recommendations:

1) The Horizons Beyond from JJ2161is a story where you combined two of the best of Science Fiction, Babylon 5, and Mass Effect with the technology and humans of Star Trek and the Ancients from Stargate and you create a unique new world that is enjoyable to read. Especially as the author put a lot of thought about crafting a solid story and lore that creates a universe that feels more real than some of the source material it is based on. Just check it out, and you will see what I mean.

2) Next is UH-60 NIGHTSTALKER, who by no means is a brilliant author, but if you are looking for good time stories based on either Halo, Star Wars, Stargate, or Sailor Moon, then this is an author to look up. Especially enjoy his Star Wars vs. Halo stories for the author considers the chain of events and technology development when writing the story and giving both moments to shine.

B) Modified a few Codexs under Government and Galactic Polices the Confederation Alliance of Worlds including Military Classification

C) Also, with the anonymous reviewer pointing out mistakes in older chapters, I am going through fixes with my beta reader, again. Why can't I leave this alone? Chapter progression or fixes will be mentioned on the portfolio page until completed.