Chapter 10
After the brief discussion with the chief, Joker hailed the commander, bracing himself for her reaction.
"I'm here Joker, what's up?" the spectre sounded tired. The Mako patrol was not easy as they continued to hit and disarm those meaningless traps. Shepard was tempted to abandon the original plan and just fall back to the camp. It seemed all they were doing was wasting ammo. But, the Alliance officer in her won out and she wanted to leave the planet safe for any that followed them.
Not expecting Joker's call, the spectre was immediately concerned when she heard the hesitation in his voice.
"Commander, Chief Williams just reported in. Seems like they were attacked by a Geth patrol at the pyramid," the pilot was all business.
"Hostiles were eliminated, there was one casualty," he added.
Shepard caught her breath at that, holding it for his next words.
"One of the marines was caught in the initial firefight, Ma'am," Joker reported.
Garrus needed no instruction and immediately turned the Mako.
"Give me quickest ETA, Joker," she ordered.
"I'm on my way, Commander," he responded quickly.
"I'll have you on board in 14 minutes, then to the pyramid in 12 more," the pilot said, transmitting a grid location to the Mako.
"Garrus?" the spectre barked.
"At least 45 for us direct, it's faster for the pickup and delivery," the turian noted the dangerous calm that had descended on the spectre.
"Joker, any other word from the camp?" she asked.
"They transmitted some vids to Shiala a while ago, but then nothing more," Joker answered.
"That kid better be safe," Wrex growled from the side of the Mako.
Shepard glanced over to where the krogan had a death grip on his weapon.
"Or we're going to need a lot more body bags," he grumbled.
Garrus wisely held his comments, concentrating on getting them to the rendezvous point.
"Joker, patch me in to the chief," the commander wanted a first hand report.
"Um, sorry, Commander, but I can't do that," the pilot apologized.
"Joker..." the spectre's voice was steel.
"She dropped off the grid, I can't get a signal from her."
At that, Shepard slowly extracted the comm link from her pocket, staring at its lifeless display. Remembering Liara's earlier experience, she disassembled the device and carefully reconnected the components. Hitting the power, she watched the boot sequence and groaned when it failed to find its mate.
A cold dread settled into the pit of her stomach as she felt the Mako slow its forward progress. Within minutes, they were driving into the Normandy's bay.
The spectre unbuckled her restraint and leapt from her seat. She was on her way to the bridge before the bay door had completely closed.
As Shepard came to stand next to Joker, they were joined by the asari who was geared up in battle armor.
"Commander, " Shiala nodded to her in greeting.
"I wish to join you if I may. My biotics may be useful," the asari petitioned.
Shepard noted the determined set of her jaw and forced a smile.
"Thank you, Shiala, your presence would be welcome."
Joker glanced between the two, trying to pick up any hidden signals. Damn, he thought, they were hiding it well. He again felt sorry for Liara, caught up with these powerful women. He knew which asari he was routing for.
"Anything else we can do while we're in transit?" the spectre broke the silence.
"I linked with the vid cam earlier to download some footage. I may be able to access it again," the asari speculated.
"Let's go, it's worth a try," the spectre said as she turned to make her way to the comm room.
"Joker, have Garrus and Wrex meet us there," she ordered.
"And you can patch into the screen there, authorized this time, of course," she teased.
The pilot winced at the comment. Did she know what he had witnessed?
"Yes, Ma'am," was the safest response he could make.
On the way past navigation, the commander paused before her grim faced XO, asking Pressly to join them. She needed her second in command to know what was going on.
In the comm room, Shepard watched as violet fingers swept over the main terminal, bringing the main viewer to life. The swish of the door announced the arrival of Garrus, followed almost immediately by the krogan battlemaster. Glancing over, the spectre noted the full assortment of weapons that the krogan now sported. He was ready for action.
"Well? I didn't know this trip came with a vid." the krogan was sarcastic as he unsuccessfully hid his concern.
"Shiala is trying to link to the cam at the site. Give us a little taste of what we'll find," the spectre told the pair.
The commander's attention was brought back to the asari as she paused at the terminal.
"I have access, commander," Shiala announced.
All eyes were on the screen as the room within the pyramid came into view. The unmoving focus was on a floor to roof column of pure white light cutting an otherwise darkened room.
"Where do you suppose that is?" Garrus was the first to voice the question on their minds.
"This is a live feed," the asari explained
"The cam is sound activated and we are not getting any audio, so the room is just as we see it," she added.
"Can you access its storage? See what happened?" the commander requested.
"Joker, you there?"
"Of course, Commander," he responded quickly.
"How long ago did the chief report in?"
"No more than 35 minutes ago, ma'am, I'll check the exact time," the pilot was happy to be adding to the discussion.
"No need, Joker," she said quickly.
"Shiala, see if you can go back to the earliest footage from today, we need to get the whole picture."
"Commander, 5 minutes ETA to the pyramid." Joker announced.
Wrex and Garrus jumped to their feet, ready to leave.
"Thanks, Joker, we need to see this, though. I want to know what we're walking into," the commander's words settled everyone back down although the krogan was not happy with the delay.
"Better not take too long," the battlemaster grumbled.
The screen flickered to life showing the pyramid in the bright sunlight. The cam panned the scene; bring a parade of characters into view as they made their way to the pyramid. Rayn was in the lead, her excitement evident on her face and in the bounce of her step. They watched as the scientists and marines entered the pyramid and shared in their amazement as the details of the interior were brought into view.
The crew of the Normandy watched the mad scurry of activity to the background sounds of gunfire and the ensuing quiet. Shepard inhaled sharply as an unconscious Liara was brought in and gently laid next to the terrified child.
They stepped closer to the screen, seething in outrage as the salarian grabbed Rayn and joined in the frustration as the events unfolded. They watched helplessly as the girl was pulled into the light and the others followed. Shepard saw the steel look in Ashley's eyes as she spoke to the turian before grabbing supplies and following. She marveled at the marine's clear thinking and mouthed a prayer for her to keep the group safe.
The scene returned to the dark room split only by the column of light.
As Shiala cut the feed, the group in the comm room stood silently, each lost in their own thoughts. As if on cue, they felt the Normandy softly touch down on the planet's surface.
Shepard was the first to move, anger and resolve fighting for dominance across her features. Wrex was behind her in an instant and the others joined her as they headed thorough the door. The spectre paused only briefly to give quiet commands to her navigator. Her plans had formed in an instant. She knew there were no options other than to go in after the scientists. The commander trusted in her chief's decision and knew she would have only gone in if she had thought she would find them. Grabbing the emergency kit had told the spectre everything she needed to know.
"But Commander," Pressly said hesitantly, "what if they won't come?"
"Don't worry, they'll come," she responded without a hint of doubt.
She swept past her XO and headed down to the Mako bay, stopping only at her locker to refresh her weapons and ammo.
As she rejoined the group, she noticed that everyone was fully armed, including the asari. Looking out the bay door, she mentally thanked her pilot who had put them down within feet of its entrance. She nodded to them and trotted out.
A shout caught her attention as a turian emerged from behind the remains of a Geth armature.
"Thanks the gods, you're here," Teagan exclaimed.
He was joined by a relieved group of marines as they met at the pyramid's entrance.
"Commander, our comm gear was destroyed, sorry we could not get word to you," a young corporal spoke for the group.
"They're all gone!" Shepard ignored Teagan's outburst as she addressed the marine.
"Report please, Corporal," she ordered.
The young marine outlined the events as he had witnessed them adding details of the interior struggle from Teagan's account. Throughout the narrative, the turian just stood and nodded. The corporal continued to describe the current defenses and ended with a status of the team. All in all, very well done, the commander thought, taking note of the young man's name.
"Good work, Corporal," the marine stood taller at the commander's words.
"Stay alert, we're going inside."
The spectre returned his crisp salute as she entered the pyramid.
The enormity of the space struck her as she passed the threshold. The vid did not give a true perspective. The sheer size of the column was astounding. As they had viewed, the center was dominated by the column of light, but the entire interior was covered with engravings which softly glowed.
They cautiously approached the column and stopped as soon as they felt its pull.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" the krogan barked, starting to head closer.
"Wait," the spectre snapped.
"Garrus, think we can fit the Mako into that light?" she asked.
"I guess so, Commander, if we can get it through the door," the turian answered thoughtfully.
"I'm not sure what we'll find on the other side, I'd rather have its armor around us."
"We can also bring extra supplies," Shiala suggested.
"I'm on my way, Commander," Garrus called out as he left the pyramid.
Shepard relayed their plan to the Normandy, giving Joker a list supplies that she wanted loaded.
"How long you planning on taking?" the pilot asked, surprised at the amount of gear.
"Packing just like a woman," he muttered under his breath.
While they were waiting, Shepard followed the Prothean expert around the interior as she excitedly translated the runes.
"From what I can piece together, it is some kind of gateway," Shiala exclaimed.
"Any indication of where we to?" the spectre asked hopefully.
"I am not sure we would recognize the location anyway, but there are no locations that I can find," the asari answered.
Their conversation was interrupted as the Mako rolled slowly through the entrance.
"Well, I guess it does fit," Wrex commented.
"So let's go already," he added, balking at the delay.
As they moved toward the Mako door, the asari hesitated.
"Commander," she called.
"Maybe one of us should enter first," Shiala began.
"What if they are at the gateway's egress? We do not want to run them over with the Mako," she continued.
The spectre nodded, cringing at her oversight. Some rescue party they would make if they trampled the scientists.
"I'll go, give me a few minutes to clear out, then come on in," Wrex said, already in motion.
He stepped into the light before anyone could question his decision.
Shepard and Shiala glanced quickly at each other and then boarded the Mako.
"Make sure you go in exactly where he went through," the commander instructed.
"We don't exactly know how this gateway works."
"Think that's enough lead time?" Garrus asked, sensing the impatience in the spectre.
"If he's not clear by now, he'll never be," Shepard answered.
"Hold on then," Garrus warned them as he sent the Mako into the light.