Chapter 11
Location: Milky Way, Artemis Tau , Knosses System – Moon Above Planet Armeni
6 Days Later
John felt more than heard the explosion. That wasn't all that surprising. Standard Alliance helmets were designed to protect the more sensative senses, hearing and sight, so an explosion loud enough to be felt would likely trigger the audio dampers in the armor .But normally explosions came with landing on the ground, and he hadn't. Where was he?
"No. It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibility that comes with joining the spectres," protested Councilor Sparatus, shaking his head.
"Councilor, we faced down against Saren's forces on Eden Prime. We survived to bring word back to the Council. We also found enough evidence to you have agreed to disbar him from the Spectres. What more proof do you want?" Rhia snapped, the holographic image flickering with the sudden move
The Turian Councilor flinched back, his talons clicking on the console in front of him as he started to respond. "We have been more than generous with-"
"No. Just no." Rhia shook her head and pointed at him. "With all. Due. Respect, Councilor. You have been condescending. You have been irritating. We did what you couldn't. Give us the authority, and we can take him take him down too."
+Commander! Pull your chute!+
The wind hurtling past him and even in the confines of the sealed helmet, the wind nearly ripped the words into unintelligible gibberish as he fell, the ground spinning as he did. He blinked his mind a tangle of confused thoughts and memories that spun nearly as fast as the ground did.
Commander Johnathan Michael Shepard, and Major Rhiannon Llewelyn-Shepard, for services above and beyond the scope of your duties as a member of the System's Alliance, it is the Decision of this Council that you both be granted the rights and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the Citadel," Intoned the Asari Councilor, Tevos.
"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fires of service of fire and battle; those whose actions lift them above the rank and file," continued the Salarian Councilor.
"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will," said Tevos, taking up the ceremony before she looked at the last member of the Council.
"Spectres bear a great burden; Both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold," Sparatus said in a clear strong voice, even as he looked down at John and Rhia…
John shook his head, trying to get his bearings, attempting to get some point of reference. What was he doing? For a second he could see lights flash below him flickering, and he made out a dull 'whump' that came along with the flash, thunder to the lightning.
"I can't just take your ship, Captain!" He protested.
Anderson shook his head. "No. This is your mission Commander, not mine. The Major was right when she said that 'We' had stopped Saren. The thing is, I wasn't in that. You need a fast, powerful ship to hunt him down. You need a good crew. The Normandy is both."
"This doesn't feel right sir. You should be going with us. It's your ship."
Anderson just shook his head, "Not anymore. A Spectre answers to no one but the Council. It's time for me to step down, and let you and the Major carry this torch."
Something slammed into him and sent him spinning even more, causing him to lose all reference points for sky and earth. Something clawed against him, sharp impacts on his armor as metal scraped on metal, then something caught, and he felt the straps snap tight. John shouted as the parachute deployed, arresting the freefall and finally giving him a chance to look down and around. He glanced down just in time to see a second chute open.
+John, god damn it, are you alright?+
"I'm fine….I'm fine. What the hell hit me?" He shook his head, things starting to clear.
+Concussion from the AA weapons. God, we thought you were dead when you didn't respond.+ Rhia said, the relief coloring her voice.
"No…No I think I'm okay." He looked down at the surface of the moon. "We're almost down. Stand-bye."
The mission should have been simple. Drop in, get the intel and out. The Geth base that they had been pointed at from Tali's intel hadn't indicated that the Geth had begun fortifying the location though. Including, apparently, a Surface-to-Air Cannon that could damage or destory the Normandy.
His boots hit the ground and any chance of reminiscence was cut off as the Geth infantry began to fire at them despite the range. John lurched as he slapped his hand at the release for the parachute, and yanked his rifle from his back. Kaidan, already in motion ahead of him, slid to a stop behind a boulder as he worked to assemble the missile launcher. John dropped into cover next to him.
"How many LC?"
John peaked over the rock and ducked back as several shots chewed holes in the stone. "At least ten, maybe more. How long do you need."
"Another minute, maybe more." Kaidan said, clicking another piece of the launcher into place. "Going to need you to buy some time."
John leaned out, of one side, and opened fire, spraying the oncoming geth troopers
+John, left flank is about to be turned. Three troopers circling.+
His HUD blinked, highlighting the three Geth, circling just behind a ridge on that side. Any second they would come over that rise. He palmed a grenade, judged the distance and in a single motion, armed and threw the explosive. He didn't wait to see the effect of his handwork, but turned and leaned out again, firing little erratic bursts that forced the Geth to either remain in cover or charge all at once.
+Nice throw. Hostiles are down.+
"I'm ready when you are L.C!" shouted Kaidan over the gunfire, as another piece of the rock cover tore away in a spray of gravel.
John popped the sink on his rifle, and rose, a raking the entrenched Geth positions. Kaidan lurched to his feet and fire, sending the rocket hurtling toward AA emplacement before throwing himself back down. John peaked over to see their handiwork.
The missile had struck the cannon's barrel, slagging a section nearly two meters across into useless scrap. "Normandy, cannon is disabled. Drop the Ma-"
The AA cannon fired, and the shell lodging in the barrel where the missile had damaged it, detonating in an explosion that threw both John and Kaidan from their feet.
+Commander, are you alright? The whole area just went up like a Christmas Tree.+
John blinked, his head still ringing. "We are still here Joker. Status on the Mako?"
+Dropping now. Heads up Commander.+
A barely audible rumble echoed overhead, and he looked up as the Normandy hurtled past. Something detached from the ship and started falling in an arch toward their position as John prayed that Ashley wouldn't land on them, having not driven a Mako in a drop like this since Basic. With Rhia off active duty until Chakwas cleared her, and himself and Kaidan dropping to the surface, that left Ashley as the only qualified to marine to bring the Mako down.
Kaidan muttered something about coming in awful close, but his words vanished in a roar as the Geth Troopers regained their footing, their shot hammering into their cover. John leaned out swearing under his breath and took a shot that drove through the troopers optical. Next to him, he heard Kaidan start to fire, ducking down behind the cover of the remains of the boulder as the Geth continued to advance.
The Mako landed on top of the synthetic troopers, every other sound drowned out by the roar of thrusters, sparking barriers, crunching rock and the discordant wails of the Geth. Gravel pelted John and Kaidan's cover, and Ashley, the only other soldier with the training to control the unwieldy vehicle, brought it to a screaming halt. The Mako's cannon reducing a whole swath terrain to powder, and the Geth along with it. The tank stopped moving, and a moment later the hatch popped, revealing Garrus, the C-Sec Operative.
"You gentlemen need a ride?"
"So nice of your to offer." Kaidan said, as he stood and took the offered hand up, ducking up inside. John followed suit, musing at his choice of a ground team.
Udina nearly had a seizure when John had request that not only Tali accompany them as the ship departed to hunt Saren down, but Wrex and Garrus as well. When Rhia had backed him up, Udina didn't have a lot of choices in the matter due to their newly minted Spectre status, but god the man had tried.
Anderson hadn't said a word during the entire exchange, but his face had been crooked in an amused smile for the entire conversation. John settled himself into one of the seats and looked back. Wrex stared at him, his glare that stated all too well his thoughts of this mission so far. And with a certain amount of good reason…the Krogan mercenary was wedged in an uncomfortable sitting position in what amounted to the Mako's trunk and cargo space.
Wrex growled. "I am not doing this every time we go to a planet. "
John looked away, focusing on the controls in front him before his face could betray his amusement. "If we have to get rid of cannons on every planet we visit, I think we will have bigger problems."
A vibration of movement from the seat next to Ashley draw his and Kaidan's attention. Kaidan frowned and looked him before leaning up and gently touching Tali's shoulder. The quarian girl flinched away for a moment before relaxing.
"Sorry…I….I am fine. I just need a moment."
Kaidan's frown deepened and he gave her shoulder a squeeze before said nothing as he took his own seat, occupying the space at the Mako's turret that Garrus had been operating as Ashley began to wheel the tank around toward what remained of the main base. She let out a whistle as she took in the level of destruction, and John felt himself wince.
"I hope the computer cores are intact…"
John nodded his agreement. "I didn't expect them to fire again. I thought the Geth had some kind hive awareness."
"Sort of…the more of them that are networked, the more intelligent they are." Said Tali, her voice still shaking slightly. "The number of Geth here might not have been sufficient to accurately calculate the odds of the cannon being disabled by your attack, or they had prioritized the chance of destroying the Normandy as greater than the chance of a malfunction." Tali took a deep breath, and finally opened her eyes.
She looked back over the seat at John, glowing white orbs inside her helmet. "That's part of the problem. They don't think like us, and it makes it hard to predict them. They function on cold logic, all math and numbers, but sometimes that logic just doesn't match up."
John nodded. "Just because we don't expect them to do it, doesn't mean they won't…" He looked out the viewport. "Secondary explosions from the firing took out what amounted to their armory I think….Rhia do have a better view of this?"
+Standby. + A moment passed before she came back on the comm. +Core looks like is still okay. I'm showing no resistance. All the mobile geth are down, but keep an eye out for. You should be set for the core. Sending the coordinates now.+
John watched the data come up. "Got it. We can be there in a few minutes."
Ashley drove the Mako through the wreckage that used to be the Geth Outpost. The cannon's destruction had flattened almost everything but the center-most structure, a solidly built square construction too dense to go down quietly. The marine guided the tank around to the front of the building and they piled out of the passenger compartment, Wrex leading.
John looked up. The sky seemed to be swallowed by the view of the planet above them, green and dark looking from where he stood. This kind of view always unnerved him for some reason.
Maybe it is just the perspective of being on solid ground, and seeing something so much larger.
He turned back as Wrex and Kaidan pried the door open and Garrus and Ashley lead the way in. Calling the geth outpost spartan would win understatement of the year: The only thing of note, a series of protrusions that came up to his waist that hummed. Tali though, apparently knew exactly what to look for.
"There. I need to access the control console on that panel in the back." Tali pointed as she explained. "It wont take me long to get an uplink running, but the Geth will detect the intrusion as soon as I do, and begin to delete the data. What exactly should I set the uplink to grab first?"
"Anything referencing Matriarch Benezia T'soni, Saren, Nazara or the Arrival. After that, navigational data, ship numbers, any other outposts or bases the geth have." John replied. "Any other security we need to worry about?"
Tali shook her head as she walked across the room. "If the cannon had not detonated, there would have been geth fighting us all the way to here. If we made it this far with no shooting, I doubt there will be any." She started connecting the panel in front of her to a small kit she had brought, keying in the settings John had specificified.
"So, I was stuffed in that thing like preserved pyjack for nothing?" Groused Wrex.
Tali looked over her shoulder and shrugged. "Could have been very different."
Wrex continued to mutter under his breath a moment more as Tali started the download. Immediately the machines nearest job his and spun to a stop. The quarian girl glanced back and worked, keying commands on both her OMNI-tool and the small device she had set up. Several moments pass as Tali works. After a moment, the only thing left in the room is silence.
"What did we get?"
Tali shook her head. "Not as much as I would like, but look at this." She turned so he could see her OMNI-Tool.
T'Soni, Liara. Priority Objective. Obtain and Secure. Dispatching Cruisier 01004010501 to Planet Designation 60932090432432. Local Cluster Name: Therum.
"Rhia, bring the Normandy down to pick us up. We have our next objective."
Author Note: I am not dead! I promise! Not a zombie!
Sorry this took so long to put up, it's been...real life is a thing apparently.
First off, huge thank you to Lady Amiee Krios for helping beta this chapter. Huge help in making this readable and make sense.
Second, I'm going to be slowing down how often I post chapters. I simply can't keep up the pace, and it's stressful even attempting to do one in a week with the way everything has been lately. I'm going to aim for two weeks, still posting on either on Saturday or Sunday.
Third, I'm going to take a minor "break" and try and get a little of a head start on the next chapter and see if I can't make a buffer again. So it might be a little longer for the next chapter. Still working, I swear though. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
