12
The data pulled from the gahn base network proved to be more valuable than anyone could have imagined. Between the two of them, Garrus and Tali had been able to rip a copy of the entire base network, which included information on nearly every gahn military movement within half a dozen clusters. Alliance intel processors were uncertain whether to congratulate them or smack them, since they'd been given a goldmine of information on the gahn military, but now they were up to their eyeballs in work processing it all. Everyone should have been elated at a haul like that, except for one minor problem. There was little to no information about who or what was calling for this war. Every tech-head on the Normandy had been combing through screen after screen of data for almost two days only to find everything but what they needed. After stopping off at an Alliance deep space outpost to resupply and drop off the LP Alpha troops, the Normandy's crew set out again in need of the next step of their plan.
Shepard sat down in the comm room next to Ashley as the rest of the team took a seat. Garrus had called everyone in for a briefing about what they'd pulled, hoping for some differing points of view to bring something to light. Once everyone was seated, the turian called up the holoscreen.
Garrus closed his omni-tool and looked to everyone, "First of all, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to help out with this. I know everyone is busy, but I'm pretty much at my wits end. We all know about the recent information raid on the gahn base on Nepmos. The raid was well worth it and turned out a wealth of information on the gahn military. Fleet deployments, reserve status, resources, tactics, a whole slough of info that we really needed. The problem is we have next to nothing regarding chain of command. If we could find the commanding officer's orders, we might be able to follow the chain from the bottom up and figure out if there's a broken link somewhere. Unfortunately, I think we snagged every part of the gahn network except that part. I was hoping someone else might notice something I might have missed."
Shepard sat back and crossed his leg over the other, "What do we have so far?"
Garrus referred to the holoscreen, pointing out what he referenced with his omni-tool's pointer, "We have only a small amount of data relating to force deployment. The base on Nepmos had simple orders: set up shop and await further instruction. As far as I can tell, that was the orders for all three bases in the three separate clusters. They were lying low until they received new orders from the high commander, the Shak'ro…What was he called again, Shaiak?"
The big alien nodded understandingly, "The Shak'Rah'Toh." He pensively stroked his mouthless chin with a clawed finger, "If I may interject, I speak from experience when I say that this strategy is rather unusual. Normally, our tactics involve a swift blitz across enemy territory. This however is quite different. It seems almost…passive."
Shepard nodded, "Which begs the question of why storm in with both guns blazing, then slow to a halt and bide your time." He looked at Garrus, "Who were the orders from?"
The turian glanced at his omni-tool, "The gahn high commander. If there was anyone else in the chain of command, I never found them."
Shaiak held up a finger, "Can you access the campaign history?"
Wrex looked at the gahn quizzically, "What good will a history lesson do? They came, they saw, they ran like spooked nathak."
The big alien shook his head, "If we can access the campaign history, we can find the reason the campaign was commenced in the first place. There should be an 'origins' section in the history. That will explain why we came here."
"Now I'm confused." Tali arched an eyebrow behind her faceplate, "Let me get this straight. You are a gahn soldier and you don't know why your people are attacking?"
Shaiak shrugged, "All I know is we came to make your races pay for your sacrilege against the First Gods. Now that I've seen data to prove that no such sacrilege exists, it means that there are other motives for the campaign; motives that are being kept secret from my people."
Garrus called up the section Shaiak referred to, displaying it on the holoscreen, "It looks legitimate enough. Obviously, it's wrong because all these information files say that these Prothean sites were destroyed, but it looks…" He trailed off briefly as he looked at his tool, "Hold on. I never saw this before."
Shepard sat up in his seat, "What did you find?"
The turian looked up at him, "Would you believe a typo?"
Ashley sat back and folded her arms, "Is it worth interrupting the briefing for a typo?"
"In this case, yes." Garrus called up the image on screen and zoomed in on the misspelled word in question. In the middle of the gahn word was a rune that appeared to be overlaying one beneath it.
Garrus looked back at everyone, "It's what C-Sec techs call a 'tagged' typo, a place where a code overlay didn't take root properly in the line. They're common in files that have been edited or altered. You see it all the time with smugglers and the like trying to get on the Citadel."
Shepard furrowed his brow, "So are you saying these files have been altered?"
The turian Spectre nodded, still looking at his omni-tool, "Now that I've taken another look at it, I'm noticing several very subtle signs that all of these files have been altered. Give me a second to filter out the changes." He punched in some things on his omni-tool and, after a moment, the image on screen was replaced with files stating the Prothean sites were intact and under observation, a stark contrast to the "dead on arrival" markings all over them previously.
The commander shook his head, "Now that looks like a normal information file, so…" His eyes darted around as he thought for a moment, "Shaiak, do you think someone altered these files and then used them as incentive to incite your people to war?"
Shaiak's brow scales were crunched together in a thoughtful manner, "I can't deny the evidence I see, but I don't understand why anyone would want to do this. The Tor'No'Kah forbids going to war unless for a good reason." He thought for a moment longer, the scales down the back of his neck bristling and flattening periodically, "Garrus, can you find out who made the alterations to these files?"
The turian agent shrugged, "That should be easy. Give me a second to run through a few lines of code." He did something on his omni-tool, which hummed for a moment before beeping and flashing at him. He pressed a button and called up an odd symbol, some kind of gahn rune, on the main screen.
He looked at Shaiak, "Does that symbol mean anything?"
"Curious." The gahn's brow scales crunched again, "That's the Shak'Rah'Toh's emblem. Are you saying the Shak'Rah'Toh altered these files?"
Garrus shrugged, "The code doesn't lie."
Shaiak's gaze fell to the floor as he muttered to himself, "Why would the Shak'Rah'Toh do this, unless he…" He thought for a moment before his luminescent eyes widened and every scale on his head bristled, "Why that stinking jaht'du'las!"
Shepard winced, recognizing that there was probably a good reason Shaiak's translator didn't filter that word, "What's wrong, Shaiak?"
The big alien stood and started pacing the room as he spoke, "About ten or twelve star cycles ago, there was a small resource crisis within the empire. Several much needed resources began to grow scarce at an alarming rate. It was nothing some new technology could not fix, and the crisis abated after it was implemented. It was at that time that Shak'Rah'Toh Rahkel'Vor petitioned the Kahn'Hai'Dar for permission to conduct an expansion campaign to increase our resources. Of course, the Kahn'Hai'Dar denied his request, saying the crisis had abated and that there was no need to expand the empire. He persisted though, and asked for permission three more times before finally leaving the issue alone." Shaiak stopped pacing and shook his head, "I fear that he may not have given up as we thought. Rahkel'Vor may have falsified this information to give backing to his imperialist campaign."
Liara furrowed her brow, "This sounds to be something that would have taken place within ranks much higher than your own, Shaiak. How do you know all of this?"
Shaiak's gaze fell to the floor, "My friend…the dead warrior in the medical bay…his father was a high general in the army. He learned many of the happenings of the high command from his father, which in turn he would often pass on to me. He told me of this about ten cycles ago, though I thought nothing of it at the time."
Shepard leaned forward and stroked his chin, "So, from what we have here, it looks like the Shak'Rah'Toh falsified these files, and then used them to incite the gahn people to war. With support from the population, the Kahn'Hai'Dar would have given him the go-ahead. Which leads to, special delivery: one each Gahn'Tro'Hai invasion."
Shaiak nodded, "It would appear that way. Shak'Rah'Toh Rahkel'Vor has long been regarded as overly aggressive, even warmongering at times. He would send full deployments of military forces where only a simple policing action was necessary. He may be the culprit we seek. He has both the motive and the means."
The commander nodded firmly as he stood, "Sounds like more than just coincidence to me. I'll pretty this up in a report and zap it to the Council. We'll figure out what to do next from there. Until then, everyone get some rest. You've earned it. Dismissed." On that note, he turned and headed out of the comms room, turning and descending the stairs to get to his quarters.
As Shepard walked through the door into the captain's quarters, he suddenly stopped. Something wasn't right. He could almost feel that something was wrong, almost like someone was watching him. He cautiously stepped further into the room. He heard a noise in the corner and whipped around to face it, pistol drawn and deployed. He frowned and furrowed his brow when he saw that it was only a PDA stylus that had fallen off a chair. Suddenly, there was a sharp sting at the back of his neck, and Shepard slapped his hand up to see what it was. He felt something protruding from his skin and pulled it out to find that it was some kind of dart. At that moment, Shepard's head started getting swimmy, and he felt his muscles go limp on him. He dropped his gun and fell in a heap on the deck, unable to move and slowly loosing consciousness. As his vision faded, he saw the familiar shape of a man in dark clothing walk up and stand over him just before everything went black.
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Everything was dark and thick. Shepard slowly awoke to a prodding feeling in his hands and feet, but he still couldn't muster the strength to move, or even open his eyes. His head felt dense. Whatever was used to knock him out must have been quite a cocktail. He slowly started to pick up voices as his brain began to sweep through the cobwebs.
"That's not what you told me when you contacted me. You promised payment on delivery. I delivered, now where's my money?" The voice sounded vaguely familiar, and distinctly human.
The voice that responded was very alien, "You will be compensated in full when your contract has been fulfilled, not before."
"What part hasn't been fulfilled? You wanted Shepard. I delivered Shepard. Once word of this gets out, I'm going to have every law enforcement group in the galaxy looking for me. You'd better cough up something to make that worthwhile, and you'd better do it quick."
"We may have further need of your services. Until then, we consider your contract unfulfilled, and your payment will be withheld."
The human voice sounded angry, "I just made myself the most wanted man in Citadel space by handing you one of the best Spectres in service, and you're going to stiff me like this? You lying son of a…"
"Please, I have no time for this." The alien voice sounded rather unconcerned, "I have to attend to the prisoner before he wakes up."
There was a pause before the human voice responded, "Fine. Deal with your prisoner. You'll get yours. Count on that." There was a sound of a door opening and closing, presumably the person leaving the room.
The commander felt his arms and legs start to come alive again, and he assumed that the cocktail finally wore off. He forced his eyes open, blinking away the brightness of the light. As his eyes focused, he looked around at his surroundings. He was in a small room with walls colored in a dark purplish blue tone. In the room with him, he saw two aliens, gahn, standing in front of him to either side, and another gahn in fancy armor further back in the room. He looked around to find himself restrained to a wall, glowing clamps securing his wrists and ankles. He was still wearing his BDUs, but that was it. No weapons and no armor. As he awoke, the fancy armored gahn looked over and nodded before barking out some alien orders to the others in the room. One of the other gahn pressed a button on a control panel that sent a tingle down Shepard's spine, jarring him to full wakefulness. Now that he was awake, Shepard recognized the fancy armor the gahn was wearing. He was in the presence of the Shak'Rah'Toh himself. Now that he had a closer look at him, Shepard noticed that the scales on the big alien's face were larger and more pronounced than Shaiak's, with the brow scales beginning to grow out and back almost like horns. Shepard noted to himself that these enlarged scales may be an indication of age among the gahn. Since Shaiak was considered young and didn't have these growths, that would likely put the Shak'Rah'Toh at several hundred years older.
The Shak'Rah'Toh looked at one of his soldiers and said something in his native tongue. The soldier quickly responded by typing something into his console. The gahn script displayed on a screen above the console that Shepard could see. Once the sentence was finished, the script changed from gahn to Basic English.
You are the one called Shepard. Yes?
The commander nodded, "Gabriel Shepard."
The Shak'Rah'Toh said something else and the soldier typed it out.
What do you know of our forces?
With that question, Shepard immediately knew what was going on. He was being interrogated. In his position, his only choice was to fall back on interrogation training from Alliance marine boot camp.
"Gabriel Shepard. Commander. Service number 5923-AC-2826." He saw the Shak'Rah'Toh's brow scales furrow when he didn't get the desired answer to his question. The alien looked at the other soldier and snarled out an order in his own language. The soldier nodded and pressed a button on his panel, sending a potent shock through Shepard's body. The commander winced and clenched his teeth against the pain as the surge coursed through his limbs and tendrils of lightning played over his body. After a moment the shock subsided.
The Shak'Rah'Toh said something to the translator, who typed it up as he said it.
This does not have to be difficult, human. Simply answer my questions and I will allow you to go free. Shepard snickered when he saw the statement. He believed that last part about as much as he believed that Earth was flat and Luna was made of cheese.
The Shak'Rah'Toh continued.
What military forces have you deployed against us?
Shepard shook his head, "Gabriel Shepard. Commander. Service number 5923-AC-2826."
The Shak'Rah'Toh nodded to the other soldier again, who responded by shocking the commander again, this time stronger and for longer. Shepard thought he was going to bite through his own jaw if the pain got any worse before the current cut off. Several long minutes followed with more questions and their subsequent answers: name, rank, and service number. And each "failed" answer was again rewarded with another shock down the spine, often more painful the last.
After a while, one of the soldiers looked at the Shak'Rah'Toh and said something in their own tongue. The Shak'Rah'Toh huffed and shook his head before pointing to the door. The soldiers protested briefly before a harshly snarled order made them leave the room. As the door shut behind them, the Shak'Rah'Toh pressed a button on the control next to the door and the blue light above it turned red, likely indicating he'd locked the door. Shepard suppressed a cringe. What did this guy have in mind for him that he needed privacy?
"I was hoping for a chance to speak with you privately, commander." The Shak'Rah'Toh looked over at him and chuckled, "I have to say that I am impressed with human physiology. You're body has withstood an electrical current that would have killed any of my people." The Shak'Rah'Toh's voice was deeper, more resonating, and more gravelly than Shaiak's, with the same thick inflection.
Shepard's head snapped up at hearing the gahn speak, "Wait a minute. You know my language?"
The Shak'Rah'Toh turned and started slowly pacing, his big hands folded behind his back beneath his cape, "I know a great many things about you and your races. I have been watching your kind for quite some time now. I must say that I find the experience to be rather…underwhelming. The more I learn of your races, the more I believe we should have wiped you from the face of the galaxy long ago."
So, face to face with his adversary, and communicating on the same plain. Maybe now Shepard could turn the tables and get some answers.
The commander took a staggered breath as the pain from his last shock began to ebb, "You…You're the Shak'Rah'Toh, aren't you."
The alien stopped pacing and nodded, "So you've heard of me. It is good that my reputation spreads amongst your people."
Shepard smirked, "Not as fast as you would hope."
The gahn leader huffed, a short growling sound, "I will see to it that your armies cower at the very mention of my name." He turned to face the commander, "I am called Valen'Sar Ven Rahkel'Vor, Shak'Rah'Toh of the mighty Gahn'Tro'Hai Empirium. I will have you know that you have been a most bothersome thorn in my side. You capture and kill my soldiers, then you are so bold as to mount a single-handed attack on one of my bases, forcing me to relocate my forces again. You have proven quite troublesome for a single human."
Shepard nodded, "I have a knack for that. We killed your men only out of defense."
"As well as twisting the minds of those you capture, I see." The Shak'Rah'Toh nodded slowly and turned away to resume his pacing, "I am well aware of Shaiak'Row's treachery, and he will be duly rewarded in a manner befitting those who betray the Empire. He, like you, will not go unpunished for long." He stopped and looked at the wall, shaking his head, "A shame really. He had such potential. He would have fit well into the new order."
Shepard furrowed his brow. This was a new twist, "New order? What new order?"
The Shak'Rah'Toh looked at him briefly before turning around and resuming his pacing, "Considering that you will never again see any others of your kind, I see no harm in telling you. Kahn'Hai'Dar Dohsar'Bah is old, and so are his ideals. I feel the time has come for someone younger, with newer, bolder plans for the Empirium, to take his place."
Shepard's face hardened. He didn't like where this was going, "And that newer, younger someone just happens to be you. Am I right?"
The Shak'Rah'Toh's brow scales rose in appreciation, "For a creature that is not Gahn'Tro'Hai, you are quite astute, human." He continued his pacing, "At first I thought it sufficient to expand the borders of the Empire, increase our resources and assert ourselves as a dominant race of the galaxy. And I would have done so quite effectively, given that my changes to the information files I have been using have instilled a deep hatred for your kind within my people. But now I see that plan to be rather lacking in…ambition. Why settle for simply expanding the Empirium when I can rule the Empirium? Under my leadership, our people will prosper, and we will rise to take our rightful place as rulers of this galaxy."
Shepard frowned, "What makes you think it's your rightful place? The galaxy belongs to all races, not just one."
The Shak'Rah'Toh whipped around toward Shepard, throwing his cape around behind him, "Such is the mind of any unenlightened creature that is not Gahn'Tro'Hai. You will soon see that we deserve to rule this galaxy. We are the Gahn'Tro'Hai, First Born of the First Gods. We will rule this galaxy in their stead until such time as they call us to the plains of godhood with them."
The commander shook his head, "Your First Gods aren't gods at all. They were a race of beings just like you or me, called Protheans. And they didn't ascend, by the way. They were exterminated, by a race of machines called Reapers."
"Silence your blasphemies, Desecrator!" The Shak'Rah'Toh stepped forward and backhanded Shepard across the face, "I will not be so easily swayed as Shaiak'Row by your lies. Whereas his faith wavered and failed, mine remains strong." He turned and headed for the door, "I am finished with this exchange. My soldiers will be along shortly to transfer you to my ship." With that, the big alien's cloak trailed him out the door and it closed behind him, leaving Shepard alone.
The commander turned his head and cracked his neck to loosen it up. He was probably going to have a bruise on his cheekbone from that hit, but it could have been a whole lot worse given how strong the gahn are. Trapped and alone on an enemy alien ship, and having just learned the true plot that lies beneath the surface. Shepard shook his head and took a breath. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this one. He looked up at his wrist restraints and pulled against them, seeing if there was any way to slip free. The more he pulled, the brighter they glowed, indicating it was an active restraint system. The more resistance, the tighter it held. He tested each of the four restraints, trying to find some kind of weakness he could exploit. After nearly pulling a tendon on the leg restraints, he relaxed, resigning himself to finding another means of escape.
At that moment the door opened, but rather than gahn soldiers, a human came through. That was odd enough, but what was worse, the human was none other than Jack DeWolfe, the bounty hunter from Noveria.
Shepard's eyes widened, "You! What are you doing here?"
DeWolfe walked to the terminal and started pushing buttons, "To sum it up in one phrase: getting screwed out of a paycheck. I'm getting you out of here. Just sit tight." He pressed a button that unlocked the restraints. No sooner was he free did Shepard charge DeWolfe and pin him against the wall with his hand on his throat.
The bounty hunter's voice came slightly strangled, "Is this how you thank everybody?"
The commander held his other hand back in a balled fist, "I'm no slouch, DeWolfe. I don't know how you did it, but I know you're the reason I'm here in the first place."
"You're right. I am." DeWolfe's face showed that he wasn't all that concerned given the situation, "I snuck onto your ship in a supply crate, tranqed you, and brought you here. What're you going to do about it?"
"Whatever happened to not being stupid enough to mess with a Spectre?"
DeWolfe shrugged as best he could with a hand around his neck, "Yeah, well, money has a rather idiofying effect on people. Wouldn't you agree?"
The commander's face hardened, "Give me one good reason not to kill you right here."
"Because I'm the only way you're going to get past security alive, and you know it. Look, my deal with the gahn went sour. They stiffed me out of the money, and now I'm going to show them that that no one screws over Jack DeWolfe without a mark to show for it."
Shepard held DeWolfe up against the wall for a moment longer before letting him go. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was probably right. DeWolfe had a foot in the door with the gahn already, meaning he could get things done. Shepard, on the other hand, was the fugitive in this case, and would likely be shot on sight if they found him wandering the halls unescorted.
Shepard looked around the small interrogation room, "Where are we?"
DeWolfe stretched his neck and straightened his jumpsuit, "You're on a gahn ship. Don't ask me to pronounce the name. These aliens' language is a real tongue-twister."
The commander nodded, "I assume you have a plan for getting out?"
DeWolfe stopped straightening his suit and looked at Shepard with wide eyes, "What? You think I do this everyday? I'm making it up as I go." He looked at some security monitors over one of the consoles, "I do have something in mind, but it's a little risky. I've already contacted your ship and they'll be here in a few minutes to spring you. But that still leaves it up to me to get you out and away from the detention area and somewhere near the hanger before they arrive. Once that's done, just rendezvous with your team and you should be able to get clear."
Shepard frowned, "What's the catch?"
"The catch is that there's a heavily guarded checkpoint at every access to the detention area. They're not just going to let us meander on by without a few questions."
The commander nodded again, "So I'm guessing it's going to be the good old 'fake prisoner' ploy, huh?"
DeWolfe chuckled with a sarcastic tone in his voice, "Wow, you're quick. No wonder they made you a Spectre." The bounty hunter attached a device to the side of the consoles, causing the monitors to flicker, "Unless you've got a more original plan up that special forces butt of yours, that's what it's going to be. I've looped the cameras, so we've got about ten minutes to pull this little stunt." He pulled his shotgun from his back and primed it, "Just keep your hands behind your back and stay quiet."
Shepard huffed, "You think I'm going to trust you with a loaded weapon at my back?"
"Do you have much choice?" Shepard didn't back down and Dewolfe rolled his eyes, "Fine. I'll reset the safety if it means you'll cooperate."
Shepard nodded, "Better than nothing. Let's do this." He crossed his arms behind his back and felt DeWolfe's shotgun barrel in the small of his back as the door opened and they ventured into the halls. They maneuvered through the corridors of the alien ship, Shepard making turns whenever DeWolfe told him to. After several minutes, the unlikely pair finally came upon the checkpoint DeWolfe was so concerned about.
The bounty hunter leaned closer to Shepard, "Just stay quiet and follow my lead. Remember: you're the prisoner. Act like you don't want to be here." Shepard nodded subtly to show he'd understood. The checkpoint was guarded by three soldiers, the two on either side of the door carrying long, spear-like weapons. The door guards crossed their spears over the door and the third stepped forward, talking to DeWolfe in the gahn language and gesturing to Shepard.
DeWolfe looked at the gahn and nodded toward Shepard, "The Spectre is out here because your Shak'Rah'Toh wants him moved to his ship. I ain't been paid yet, so I'm just ensuring the safety of my investment." The gahn said something else and DeWolfe shook his head, "No, I'm not putting him back in his cell. I don't care who's supposed to do the transfer. I want to be sure those bodyguards of his don't truss up my investment before I have money in hand." The gahn continued, sounding rather agitated, and DeWolfe pointed at him accusingly, "Look, if you want Rahkel'Vor jumping down your throat because he couldn't leave on time, that's fine by me, but I'm not going to walk away from a payday." He motioned to the doors and the guards, "Now, if you don't mind?"
The gahn scrutinized the pair for a moment longer before barking an order to the door guards and pressing a button to open the door. The guards stepped aside and DeWolfe nodded his appreciation to them as he pushed Shepard through. They continued on and rounded a corner to break line of sight with the checkpoint.
Shepard looked back at DeWolfe, "Not bad. It sounded like he believed you."
DeWolfe shook his head as he checked every hallway they passed, "Actually, that went a whole lot worse than I expected. He's going to double-check the transfer records and find out that I lied through my teeth to him." He looked around behind them before continuing, "We're going to have to cut this party short. When I say 'now', turn around and hit me, then run like wildfire. It'll look like you escaped."
Shepard nodded, "You won't need to tell me twice." They continued on for another minute until DeWolfe stopped them in a four way crossing of halls.
He tapped Shepard's shoulder, "Now! Turn and hit me!" Like clockwork, the Spectre turned and belted DeWolfe across the face hard enough to put him on the deck.
The bounty hunter worked his jaw around a moment before looking up at Shepard, "I didn't mean that hard!"
Shepard pointed down at him, "I owed you that." Without further ado, he turned and bolted down the first hallway he saw. He ran until he came to an intersection, where he stopped to get his bearings. He didn't have the faintest idea of where he was going or how to get out of here, reducing his navigational abilities to guessing. He picked the right hall and started running again.
His choice turned out to be the wrong one when a gahn soldier stepped out of a door in front of him and saw him. Not wasting time with breaking his momentum, Shepard bent low and tackled the guard at the waist, taking him off his feet and down to the deck with him. He stood and tried to keep running, but not before falling to the deck again, the guard having grabbed his foot to trip him. Shepard rolled over in time to see the guard pull his dagger and swing, staking it straight down into the floor where he'd just been. He pulled it out and attacked again, but not before Shepard kicked the blade out of his hand. Now disarmed, the guard lunged forward and grabbed Shepard by the neck, picking him up off the deck and starting to squeeze. Shepard's face turned red as he grabbed the gahn's arm and tried to pry his iron grip free, but it was no good. He might as well have tried to close a jaws-of-life with his bare hands. The guard looked up at Shepard as his feet left the floor and he tightened his grip further.
Gunfire sounded from down the hallway and the gahn looked to the source as some of it splashed across his armor shields. Shepard used the distraction to curl himself up and kick the gahn in the head, causing him to drop him. The gahn fell back against the bulkhead behind him while Shepard landed unsteadily on his feet, greedily sucking in air to fill his lungs. The guard recovered quickly only to be thrown on his back again by a close-range shotgun blast, his armor having taken the brunt of it. Garrus advanced on the alien and stepped on his chest, firing a short burst into his exposed neck to kill him. Ashley moved forward with a pair of marines flanking her and she primed her shotgun again.
"Gabe, I was so worried about you." She removed her helmet and wrapped Shepard in a hug, "You just disappeared. I went looking for you on the ship, but you were nowhere to be seen. Then we got a transmission from that creep, Jack DeWolfe, that said you were here. What happened?"
"I'll explain later." Shepard shook his head as the two separated again, "Right now, we've got to get out of here. Where's Shaiak?"
Garrus shrugged as he handed Shepard a rifle and KB projector, "He said he was going to disable the ship and took off toward the engineering section. He should be done with whatever he was doing by now." As Shepard secured the projector to his belt, a purple light started flashing along the ceiling of the hallways accompanied by a horn-like klaxon, and a computerized voice spoke up in the gahn language. Garrus quickly called up his omni-tool and pressed several buttons that filtered the words into something understandable.
"All-crew alert! Reactor core systems damaged. Core meltdown in fifteen minutes. All crew evacuate immediately. Repeat: All-crew alert! Reactor…"
Shepard's eyes widened and he looked at Garrus, "He's got a funny definition of 'disable'."
One of the other marines piped up, "I'm guessing that means we need to run, doesn't it."
"You're darn right, soldier. Let's move!" The group turned and started back the way they came. Resistance was light as the gahn crew moved to either repair the damaged ship or evacuate as quickly as possible, and few resisted them as they moved. Those few who did were dealt with quickly. They were most of the way back to the ship when they met back up with their gahn ally.
The group was moving through the corridor just as a door along the side ahead of them opened and a gahn soldier was flung through it, stopping the team in their tracks. The soldier hit the far wall upside down hard enough to dent it and slid down to land on his head, where he collapsed in a heap. Shaiak stepped through the door after him, growling out heavy breaths. He was covered in a number of new cuts and scrapes as well as a few larger wounds that were all in the process of healing up, and he was missing the right shoulder plate of his armor. His claws on both his hands and feet were fully extended. He snarled out several deep breaths and let his claws retract before reaching down to his feet and picking up his rifle and missing piece of armor. Shepard looked through the door he'd come through and his jaw dropped. The hallway behind Shaiak was strewn with nearly a dozen dead or unconscious gahn soldiers.
Shepard looked at Shaiak in awe, "You're some kind of super-gahn, aren't you."
The big alien shook his head as he reattached his shoulder plate, "We Gahn'Tro'Hai pride ourselves on our discipline, but unbridled rage is also an accepted tactic in desperate times."
"Which means don't ever piss you off." Shepard waved the team on and they started moving again, "Why did you hit the reactor?"
Shaiak shook his head again, "I didn't intentionally. I was trying to disable the engines so they couldn't pursue us, but stray gunfire hit the reactor cooling tanks. I suppose it accomplishes the same effect, though."
Shepard snorted, "Yeah, except for the whole 'running for our lives before the ship explodes' part." A soldier appeared out of a side corridor and Shaiak stopped only briefly enough to judo-throw him into the wall before continuing. Several others came into the hallway further down, but were sent back or put down under a barrage of heavy gunfire. Shepard's crew made their way through the ship until they finally came to where the Normandy was docked. The airlock door had been blown clean off by a breach charge and a fireteam of marines was holding the area, presently exchanging fire with a team of gahn soldiers down one of the hallways. Everyone retreated into the ship and Shepard and Shaiak headed to the bridge.
Joker glanced back briefly before his hands started working over his console, "Good to see you in one piece, commander. Disengaging from the enemy ship now."
"Put some distance between us and them, Joker. That ship is about to go up in flames." Shepard looked at the math on the screen and noted that they wouldn't get far before they ship's reactor detonated, "Shaiak, I hope only six or seven clicks is enough to be clear of the fireworks."
"Six or seven?" Shaiak's luminescent eyes widened noticeably and his ridge scales flattened, "Commander, that is a dark matter reactor! An explosive blast radius is easily fifteen kilometers, if not more!"
Shepard nodded, "Then get us moving, Joker. We don't have time to be pretty about it." There was a pronounced shudder through the deck as the docking umbilical retracted and the stars began to turn in the forward windows as Joker angled the ship away from the gahn vessel. Shepard felt the deck start rumbling as the engines geared up for acceleration, and the sensation made his empty stomach churn. He went to a nearby station and keyed the monitor to the reverse exterior cameras, getting a good view of the ship they were rapidly flying away from. The bone white ships lights flared once before the ship exploded brilliantly from the inside, blossoming in a rapidly expanding ball of brilliant blue flame. The sensor system automatically scanned the incoming shockwave and the screen started flashing warnings as it closed on them.
Shepard looked back at his pilot, "Step on it, Joker!" He felt the rumble through the deck intensify and even a slight backward lurch as the Normandy's acceleration threatened to even overpower her own artificial gravity. The bright blue shockwave continued to pursue them for several long moments before it began to fade and lose energy. The blast died down and Joker eased off the throttle to go back to more normal speeds.
Shepard leaned forward on the chair in front of him and took a deep breath, "That was close. Good job, Joker."
Joker confidently sat back in his chair, comfortably folding his hands behind his head, "No sweat, boss. Oh, and you can skip the medal this time. I'll let you off easy."
The commander scoffed, "Your generosity knows no bounds." He turned to find his wife, Ashley, waiting for him, still in her combat armor and having not even geared down yet. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her husband, holding him tightly.
She rested her head on his shoulder, "I was so worried about you, Gabe."
Shepard caressed her neck affectionately, "I'm fine, Ash." He shrugged as she pulled away from him, "Well…fine except for a few dozen volts of electricity. They tried to get some info out of me and apparently weren't satisfied with my name, rank, and service number."
Ashley nodded as they started back toward the CIC, "Then your next stop is going to be the med bay. You've been through a lot, Gabe. Get yourself fixed up."
The commander nodded, "I will. Don't worry, Ash." Ashley continued on as Pressley flagged Shepard's attention.
"Sir? We have an incoming transmission from what looks like a gahn fighter craft."
Shepard furrowed his brow and nodded, "Put it through."
The CIC speakers burst with static for a moment before a familiar voice came over, "Hey, Normandy. Good to see you again, Shepard. Say, you wouldn't happen to have room for one more, would you? This fighter doesn't have an FTL drive like I was hoping."
"DeWolfe." Shepard breathed a sigh through his nose, "Yes, we do have room for one more. You can dock at our ventral port."
"Wow. Here I thought I'd never be able to appeal to your good graces considering our…relationship."
Shepard shook his head, "It's not good graces, DeWolfe. That fighter's onboard computer is a lot more useful than you ever will be."
"Well, I can hope, at least."
The commander made a "kill" motion across his neck to Pressely to cut the transmission, "I'm going to have Dr. Chakwas look me over, and then deal with our…guest. You've got the deck, Pressley."
Shepard went first to the med bay, where Dr. Chakwas gave him a shot for the residual pain he felt from the interrogation. He then went down to the hold where he assumed DeWolfe would be by now. He turned out to be correct when the lift door opened and Shepard found the bounty hunter in the flesh. His situation, however, was a bit of a surprise. DeWolfe had his back to the wall staring down the barrel of Ashley's pistol, and Garrus and Wrex stood by with weapons in hand.
The human Spectre approached the scene and folded his hands behind his back, "DeWolfe. To what do we owe the displeasure of your company?"
Jack's eyes darted to the commander briefly, "Hi, Shepard. Just in case you didn't notice for yourself, I'm sensing a lot of hostility from your crew."
Ashley's fingers worked once on the grip of her pistol, "What gave you that idea?"
Shepard shook his head, "Put the gun down, Ash. I don't want to have to scrape his brains off the bulkhead."
She collapsed the pistol and holstered it, "I could just break every bone in his body. That's bloodless. No clean up."
DeWolfe shook his head as he stepped forward from the wall, "So hostile, this one."
"You have no idea." Shepard turned to face him, "Whereas I'm not pleased to have you on my ship, Jack, I'm not displeased either. Your presence will be merely tolerated long enough to dump your mercenary butt at the next spaceport we come to. Is that clear?"
The bounty hunter nodded quickly, "Transparently."
"Good." Shepard nodded to the krogan behind him, "Wrex, keep an eye on him. If he tries anything fishy…be imaginative." Without another word, he, Ashley, and Garrus all turned to the lift to leave.
Wrex walked up to DeWolfe with a smug smile, "So, forty two and two now, is it Jack?"
DeWolfe shook his head, "Forty three and one, Wrex. I did still catch him, after all. The fact that I busted him out right after I caught him doesn't mean anything."
Shepard looked at Garrus as they stepped off the lift, "Gather everyone in the comms room for a briefing in ten minutes. We've got a lot to go over." He made his way back to the CIC as the turian hurried off to carry out his order. He'd learned some things during his stay on the gahn vessel, and none of them were good. He cracked his neck as he took the command platform in the CIC. It wasn't just war that was at stake, but possibly even the fate of the entire gahn empire. Shepard shook his head. If this plot got any thicker, you could cut it with a knife. It really was true that there was no rest for the wicked.
