Chapter 14: Clean up Duty
The tower we cleared out of Geth was now filled with an overwhelming amount of whispers from the colonists. They were moving their dead out of the building, so they could be added with the rest of the deceased in the courtyard. Shepard was speaking to Fai Dan along with some of the ground team, the others went on to do god-knows-what. I, however, found myself watching the colonists in the courtyard. I already know what happens in the mission. All the details regarding the ExoGeni headquarters, where the Geth ship has perched itself upon was not lost on me. This was more...not enticing...but, eye-opening.
I wasn't the only one watching, though. Liara was here too, gazing at the bodies like I was before, until Ash dragged me away. I step over and stand in place next to her, noting the absent expression displayed on her face.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I ask.
"Sorry?"
"It's a human expression. A very old one, but..." I shook my head and tried my best to speak in a soft tone, "You okay?"
Her lost blue eyes met mine, "I am, fine." She said, rather unconvincing.
"Really?"
"...You do not need to worry about me."
"...Hell, I wish I was fine." I admitted loudly, "But, then again, you're a lot stronger than me."
She raised an eyebrow, "Do you mean...because I can use biotics?"
I tilt my head, chuckling lightly "Well, that's probably the most obvious reason..."
"I am hardly skilled on the battlefield," She says, "I believe I am more adequately categorized as a support role, providing long ranged attacks and distractions to throw the enemies off for the good of the team. Garrus, Tali, and Chief Williams, proved that biotics are not necessarily a required skill in order to be proficient in combat. However...they are not—"
"Please! I have to go back and get it. It'll make him feel better, I promise!" A small boy sobbed, begging.
He was a small little dude, can't be more than seven or eight years old, with black hair, wearing a tattered yellow striped collared shirt and what looked like khaki shorts. He was wailing his two hands on a security guard who wouldn't let him pass up the stairs.
"He works for you! Let me through! I can help him! I just need to get back home. Let me through!" The boy pleaded, sniveling.
The guard patted his back, "You can't, I'm sorry. It's too dangerous for you to go out there."
Liara and I continued to watch the scene play out, until eventually, the boy walked off out of sight. After that, we stood in silence for a few minutes, unsure of what to say, until Shepard called us over to regroup with the rest of the team. Everyone seemingly arrived at the same time.
"According to Fai Dan, the Geth's main base of operations is the ExoGeni headquarters located across the sky-way." Shepard informs us.
"Does he know why they're here?" Tali asked, "Garrus and I spoke to some of the colonists, but most of them are still in shock."
Garrus puts his two cents in, "One of them, a couple, was saying some odd things...Could be from the trauma, but it was still strange."
I wonder if he's talking about the old couple back in the infirmary building. That's what I've chosen to calling it anyway, since I'm not sure what it is exactly. But I do remember in the games, some old person, talking as if they were trying to warn us about the Thorian's mind control. Can't remember if it was a man or a woman, though...
"Well, I'm afraid Fai Dan doesn't know either. Whatever they're here for, I'm sure we'll find out once we reach their HQ." She gestures behind her with a pointed thumb, "They have a vehicle waiting for us in the garage. Kaidan, Wrex, Tali, we'll be heading out to the tower soon, so be ready to move."
Wait...We're splitting up? I didn't see this coming. I was kind of looking forward to rediscovering how corrupt ExoGeni was, and maybe seeing Shepard have a shoot out with Jeong: the selfish, self-centered, cliche'd, evil scientist. Was he even a scientist? Maybe he was just a greedy employee...Shit, this isn't good. I'm forgetting things! Little things, mind you, but what if goes beyond that?
"And where do you want us, Commander?" Ashley asks, voicing my original thought.
"Clean up duty. Help the Colonists get back on their feet," Our red-headed CO explained, "Fai Dan mentioned that there are still some Geth hiding inside the tunnels, that's why they colony keeps getting hit. I'm told they have other problems as well..."
"They're running out of food and water," Garrus shares.
"And they need a new power cell for the generators too," Tali added. Damn, those two really did some talking, huh?
"Exactly." Shepard says, "While the four of us go and infiltrate the tower, I'm counting on the rest of you to make sure the colonists are safe."
Ash nods her head, "Consider it done, Commander."
"I know you won't let me down," She addresses us with a smile, "Kaidan, Wrex, Tali; let's get going."
"Good luck, guys! Be careful!" I shouted to them as they walked back into the tower. Tali stared back at me with glowing eyes, Kaidan gave me a thumbs up, Shepard waved a two-fingered peace sign, and Wrex completely ignored me. With them gone, I turned to my remaining squadmates, "So, what do we do first?"
"Securing the tunnels from any remaining Geth I believe should be our first priority," Liara answers.
"My thoughts exactly," The Gunnery Chief agrees, "Last thing we want is for them get assaulted while we're out fixing their problems."
Garrus nods and brings out his omni-tool, "Some of the colonists Tali and I spoke to gave us the locations on where we can find solutions to their maintenance issues. I'll send them to your omni-tools." Sure enough, I felt a little blip go off on my arm, "As far as I can tell from the map," The layout of the Colony projects itself out of his tool, allowing the rest of us to see for ourselves, "Save for these two, they all seem to be spread out from one another.
He wasn't kidding. The water valves that had to be turned on were located much deeper in the tunnels, but the battery and the Varren we're gonna have to kill were in relatively the same spot. There was big mark in the near center, tagged with a red strobe light, which I'm pretty sure is where the Geth probing beacon is.
"We'll work it out," Ash says, "We take care of our sweep for the last of the Geth first, and then we worry about the other issues." She puts a hand on her hip, "Make sure all you're weapons and utilities are in working order and that you're restocked on medi-gel," Isn't medi-gel and utilities the same thing? ...No, maybe she's talking about grenades, "We move out in five." Ash takes out her rifle and sits in the corner on top of some rubble, cleaning the gun with a white cloth she procured from a compartment in her armor.
"Who made her in charge?" He demanded, with a gesture of his hand, and a tone one would only think was sarcastic.
Liara put a hand under her chin, a reflective sparkle in her eyes, "I believe Shepard temporarily passed on command to Miss Williams, for the duration that she will not be with us."
"He was being sarcastic, Liara," I chuckled. Garrus smiled as well, both brow plates raised with amusement.
"Oh...Yes, I...I knew that." She mumbled with purple blush taking her cheeks.
"Actually, I'm not sure any of us are in charge here. I think Shepard just expected us to work together as a team," I glanced over at Ashley, "Then Ash took some initiative and assumed command."
Garrus laughed, flangingly, "Well, she seems to know what she's doing, so why not?" He took out his sniper and began picking at it with a talon.
I turned back to Liara, who was still blushing a little. She's one hundred and six years old, but I can actually see now why older Asari would see her as nothing more than a child. They're wrong, of course, but I can see it. I bump her shoulder lightly with a balled fist, "We should get ready too."
She replies, agreeing, "Yes, of course."
"Anyone else having a hard time seeing shit?" I asked over the semi-strong winds that cut through the air around us. My three comrades each give their own form of acknowledgement as we pressed on through the tunnels. There was a storm passing through the area, and because parts of the rooftop were collapsed, it kicked up a shit load of hazy dust into the main hall. It wasn't too bad at first, like batting two erasers together to get rid of the chalk, but now seeing past ten feet in front of us has become a strenuous task.
Ash glanced down at the map on her omni-tool, one eye shut away from the dust, while the other struggled to maintain focus. Good thing I'm wearing glasses right now, 'cause that would be a real bitch. Hard enough having to avoid breathing in this shit. She's gonna need to put on her helmet soon, they all do. That or this storm's gotta go away, but something tells me it's not gonna fade as quick as it began.
For a moment, the force of the wind came to a halt, prompting me to believe that perhaps I was wrong for being so fatalistic. But that quickly flushed out of my mind when I realized we were just behind a wide metal crevice, serving as our temporary safe haven from the storm.
"My radar's being distorted," Garrus called out. Mine was too, as were Liara's and Ashley's I'm guessing.
"So is the map," Our Gunnery Chief mentioned, "Last sign of the signal I got was just a little ways down and across the bridge. This dust isn't getting any easier to navigate through, so now would be a good time to put our masks on." She clips something off of her armor, a breather looking thing about the size of my palm and clicks the blue button protruding at the top. In one swift motion, the breather extended into a fully formed helmet, identically designed to the ones from the game. So that's how they hid their helmets! One of the many things I had always wondered about in the games...Those suits have more pockets than I thought!
Liara giggled watching me as I marveled at the simplicity of it. Ash assisted her in putting on her helmet and Garrus already donned his own while I wasn't looking. Sneaky bastard, I wanted to see if Turians brought their's out any differently. As they each finished suiting up, I shrugged noticing that I don't have a helmet of my own (despite trying to poke different spots on my jacket to see if anything pops out). My teacher seems to have already made note of it though, since the next thing she does is hand me a clean (as far as I can tell) black rag.
"Just use this to cover your mouth and nose. The glasses already take care of your eyes." She must have read my mind!
I gratefully took it from her hand and wrapped it around my face, the same way my cousins and I used to do it when we pretended to be cowboy's in my backyard. The rag had a funny smell to it, and for a second, I wondered if this was the same one she used to clean her rifles with; the thought doesn't stay for long though, as we rounded the metal obstacle and continued forth.
"Why would anyone want to start a colony, here?" I thought loudly, "Dust storms, no natural water source, buildings in almost complete ruin; I would have taken the first ship outta here."
"The planet can only sustain a certain amount of colonists," Ashley started, "Apparently, ExoGeni insisted on the colonization in the first place, hoping that they could find some technology that the Protheans might have left behind. Most of the ruins were picked clean by pirates and looters though."
"Jesus, it's like anything Prothean related stands as a bad omen for getting you into trouble. Why do people even bother with it, anymore?" Interestingly enough, this was my honest opinion.
"In case one of them is holding a message chronicling the end of their civilization," Garrus deadpans, "Tsk, but what are the chances of finding something like that?"
I snickered to myself as Liara spoke, "I believe you are overreacting. Not every planet relating to the Protheans are this...eventful."
"Uh-hmm," I mumbled, "Eden Prime, Feros; tell me Liara: what happened at the last Prothean dig site you encountered?"
"...Point taken."
"Man, this storm came out of nowhere." Ashley says, changing topics.
Garrus chimes in, "You think this is bad, imagine how Shepard and the others are doing outside in the open."
Hmm, Garrus brings up a good point, "They are in an air-conditioned, insulated vehicle; it does not seem so dreadful to me."
As does, Liara...However, "I'm with Garrus on that one. I think they drew the short straw. Yeah, they're in a vehicle, but they're also battling heavy geth forces in the middle of all this." I continued, "Meanwhile, all we've had to deal with so far is a little dust in our eye—"
A high pitched cry of whirling guns screeched in the air and I suddenly found my shields cut to zero, the impact throwing me off the ground and my back hit the floor with a thud that boomed in my head. Everything was muffled for a few seconds, the red icon of my shields blinking furiously, pleading me to get into cover. Bullets pierced the thin haze above me has my teammates returned fire as best they could. What are the chances that I would be the one to get hit by surprise?
A distant echo of a voice called my name, just barely making its presence noted. The second attempt sounded coarse, mixed with the rapid bursting of a rifle speaking its mind. By the time my name was spoken again, it was clear and thick with urgency. Eyes blinking a mile a minute, my senses finally came back to me, and I turned my head to the clear voice. The brunette shouted at me to get behind something, the hint of concern I thought I had heard was nonexistent with the expression she was wearing. I set my vision in front of me and crawled backwards, trying very hard to not think about the red light still flashing in the upper right corner of the lens.
Five hours of crawling later...I found myself next to a blue/black armored foot. A hand suddenly grabbed at my jacket and I was hastily lifted next to them. Garrus is much stronger than I thought if he could lift me up that easily! He pulled me to the side a little bit and asked, "You alright?"
The red blinking ended, thankfully, and became a reassuring green. I nodded with a gutsy grin and he handed me my Mattock, which I didn't realize I had dropped when I fell. I crouched next to Garrus where he stood and returned fire with my squadmates. It was difficult to pinpoint where the enemies were, like playing darts with a glow-in-the-dark darts board. Since their presence alone disrupts my radar and with the dust blocking a majority of our vision, the most I could do is fire at wherever I saw them shooting from.
Though I couldn't tell who did the deed, two explosions sounded off, and the enemy assaults were slowed to a point. Ash took this as a chance to speak, "We're sitting ducks here, but the fact that we're getting attacked must mean we're close." She points down in front of us, "I think we're at the bridge! We just need to make it across and take cover inside."
"The moment we try to move across, they'll cut us all down." Garrus states morbidly.
"Not if we bound our way through, cover each other as we move. If we get shot at, that's what our shields are for!" She plans out.
The C-Sec officer shakes his head, "You saw how easily they took out Marcus' shields. We won't last two seconds there!"
She growls, "Well we can't just stay here!"
It was almost as if a light-bulb went off in my head, "Maybe we don't have to!" I turned to our Asari companion, "Liara, would you be able to create a biotic barrier long enough for us to make it across? Like...a protective bubble?" In Mass Effect 2 we were able to fend off seeker swarms with biotics, but maybe it would be strong enough to protect us from bullets if it was used in a smaller scale.
She considered the idea carefully, locking with my eyes and bowing her head slightly, "I believe so, but it would require a great deal of concentration."
"You've tried this before?" Ashley asked, voicing her concern.
"I have not," She admits, "But it should work, in theory. If I amplify my biotic barriers and expand it past its normal size, it should have a wide enough area to support all four of us."
"In theory?" Ash emphasizes.
"I think it sounds winning," Garrus mentions, as the gunfire intensifies again, "Get it started, we'll cover you!" Ashley and I followed Garrus' example and sprayed into the murk.
Liara stood up out of cover and in two seconds the air around her was blazed in a blue/purple aura and bullets deflected off of her unceremoniously. When I turned back to her, I could see her arms and legs trembling from the feat and her eyes were closed tightly, though her voice and expression betrayed all of that.
"Please step inside, and do not be alarmed," She instructed softly, "The more nervous I become, the higher the chances are that the barrier will shatter."
Oh, okay. So my terrible anxiety won't really help much here. We each take a turn stepping inside, the purple barrier emitting a radiated energy from its pores as we cornered spots around Liara. It was a little cramped, but I don't think any of us are complaining. Liara's eyes were still shut when she spoke again, "This may be a question I should have asked before, but...Do you trust me?"
I glanced at Garrus who nodded and then to Ashley who tilted her head, before I turned to face her directly, "Of course we do, Liara." She opened one eye with some difficulty and adopted a small smile on her lips, "Focus on keeping the barrier up," I told her, grabbing her hand and placing it on my shoulder, "I'll lead the way for you." As I rotated myself around, I failed to notice that her smile never faded until we stepped onto the bridge.
Bullets came at us in an alarming rate, each one being vaporized as it never reaches past the kinetic barrier. I allowed myself a discrete sigh of relief and walked slowly across, feeling like my feet were on auto-pilot. I craned my head back to see how the others were doing. Garrus was difficult to read, but other than his brow plates furrowing, he appeared to be the most calm of us all. Ash kept a tight grip on her rifle, keeping a close eye on where exactly we were getting shot at. The scowl she is wearing tells me how worried she is that this thing is going to collapse at any second...
...A heavy missile bursts through the smoke and hits our protective bubble. For a brief second of a moment, the barrier flickered and I felt a rising feeling in the pit of my stomach. Liara's face scrunched in pain and Garrus firmly stated for everyone to be calm, anything to avoid her from losing her balance even more. I instinctively grabbed something to hold on to, and since Liara's hand was already on my shoulder, it acted like a magnet. This must be more taxing on her than she's admitting. I need to find a way to relax her.
When I was younger, and I had just watched a horror movie, I could never sleep well the night of. So I always wound up sleeping with my mom, being foolishly afraid of the dark. So to get me to forget about that, she would hold me close and tell me to focus on my happiest memory. And that once I thought about that, as long as I was holding her hand, the fear would go away, and the happy memory would keep me safe. I don't know about too many of Liara's happy memories, which means I'd have to be a little more vague with that and more concrete in terms of physicality. Just enough to keep her mind occupied, so...
I made sure my radio was on, before speaking in a soothing voice, "Liara, don't be afraid. Don't think about how we're getting shot at, or don't even think about us! Right now, focus on the sound of my voice." I gripped her hand softly, "The texture and warmth of my hand..." A few long seconds pass and the barrier strengthens once more, a clear expression of glee overtakes my face. My other two companions noticed this and urged me to keep going, "Okay...um..." I cleared my throat and commenced walking again, "Now picture your happiest memory, the same one that never ceases to put a smile on your face. The one that fills you with a never ending joy..."
The bubble radiates and evolves into a brighter blue shade, which I can only assume means it's become stronger. My assumption is confirmed when a rocket comes to threaten us again, and it has the same effect as the other conventional bullets did. I can hardly believe this is actually working! Like, holy shit! I continued the cycle of comfortable tones until we finally came across a door. I eagerly pushed the green panel and it hissed open. Once we were all inside, Ash hit the button behind us, providing us with a momentary sanctuary from the drones I believe we were fighting.
As it closed, the barrier immediately flickered off, and Liara keeled over, each of us catching her with an arm before she could hit the ground. We gently sat her down against the wall, Ash already preparing to administer medi-gel. Fun fact, components used in medi-gel allow it to address a wide variety of health issues. Which means they don't only just heal battle wounds, but also: headache's, fevers, common colds, and even eczema (thank modern medicine for that). In fact, Kaidan actually takes a concentrated dose of medi-gel (or something involved with it, not too clear about the specifics) to take care of his migraines back on the Normandy.
Liara was breathing heavily, and once the medi-gel was passed on, she sighed, blissfully with relief.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Ashley asked, worriedly. I guess she may actually be starting to come around the whole xenophobia thing, or maybe she's just acknowledging Liara as an actual member of the team. Last time I spoke to her, she mentioned the thought of Liara being a potential mole. After what she just did, I'd day Liara has definitely done more than simply proven herself.
Our Asari friend nods, breathing still labored, but returning back to normal slowly, "I will...be fine...The strain of keeping the barrier up has caused a rather nasty headache to accompany it. It should subside soon enough."
"Take whatever time you need to recuperate," Ashley told her, "You did a damn good job protecting us out there. And now, we'll return the favor and do the same for you." She looks at me and bows her head before joining Garrus, who was checking the perimeter of the building we had just entered.
I looked at Liara who stared back at me with a sweet smile, "Please go, I will rejoin you soon." I couldn't help but frown. Part of me refused to leave her alone here, for the fear that she'd get ambushed or something while we were away. But, if she says so...then...
"Okay. Catch up as quick as you can."
With a forced grin and a thumbs up, I left her to her independent recovery, meeting up with Garrus and Ashley as they inched further down a haze free corridor, to a small branch-like room that split up into two different paths. Ashley was removing the breather part of her helmet while Garrus, who had already removed his own helmet, was inspecting something protruding off the wall. She and I joined him once she pocketed the thing, and I felt a strange sense of alleviation that I knew just what it was that we were staring at. Nothing abnormal from canon like the damn dust storm outside, just a Geth circuit unit to provide their spawning beacon with a bit of power.
Garrus ran his three fingers down the piece of tech, tracing the cord that elongated at the bottom and snaked its way down corridor number two.
"That must be where the signal is coming from," Garrus concluded, "They could have some serious defenses protecting it. We should be on our guard."
"Always," Ashley's rifle powers up as she voluntarily takes point.
I reciprocate the action and follow close behind her with Garrus. As we neared the end of the corridor, the wires became more frequent and eventually we came across yet another door. All of them led to here, behind this door. No words had to be exchanged, we three were simply on the same page. Garrus punched the panel and we stormed the room...
...And entered into a spacious but somehow still constricted area. If I had to take one guess, the room might have been being built for meeting-type purposes, only without the big table in the center and no small bald man at the end to reiterate the amount of power they have. ...Not even sure where I was going with that...But anyway, the room was smaller than you'd think it is at first glance, with chest high obstacles planted around the room, and the beacon that was generating the signal was stationed in the corner on a slightly elevated platform, with wires trailing away from it. That, like Garrus said, wasn't the only thing here though.
By my count there were 7 different types of Geth units and—this is what really frightened me—three Krogan mercenaries spread out in the room. I planted myself behind one of the chest high obstacles, Garrus and Ashley doing the same as I equipped my assault rifle. The disruptor ammo mod was still good for another ten minutes, so there was nothing to worry about in regards to weapon failure or anything like that.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Garrus making his way around toward the signal, sticking to the shadows so he wouldn't get spotted. Ashley whispered my name, pivoting my head towards her, and she gives me a sign that says we're going to take their attention away from Garrus. I bowed my head to let her know I understood and she began a backwards countdown with three fingers.
Once she hit the last finger, I snapped up from cover with her and took aim at the nearest Geth trooper I saw. Three shots to its chest and another in both the torso and head causes it to go down, smoke sizzling from the frying of its memory core. Ash fired a sniper shot that ripped through any defenses a rocket trooper had, making it headless and rendering it useless. I managed to take down the shields of one more just as they all started firing back at us. I tried taking it out before it had reached cover, but I missed it by just a smidge.
I ducked my head down after I felt a few shots make contact with my shields, figuring it'd be best to wait for the right opportunity and peek them again. Scanning the other side over my shoulder, I could see Garrus toss a disk right underneath where the injured AI had taken refuge, and after failing to notice it for five seconds, blows it up along with two others that were stationed with it. The Geth numbers were dwindling down, but the Krogans were still very much a threat. Three Krogan to me is a lot scarier than thirty Geth! That's because I know I can kill Geth…Krogan on the other hand…
One of them lets out a battle cry and starts raining down fire on Garrus, cracking through his shields. To make matters worse, the other Krogan joins in and unloads his shotgun from afar, which unfortunately nicks the Detective on his bottom torso. The Turian practically leaps behind cover, blind firing as best he can to throw them off. Ash grabbed my arm, "Remember what I told you back on the Citadel?"
Couldn't tell why, but the words came to me abnormally quick, "I take out their shields, you'll handle the rest."
She nods with a callous look in her eyes, "Garrus is injured. I'm gonna try to get closer. Keep their defenses down for me."
I gripped my Mattock resolutely and peered out of cover while Ashley leaped over. She made a good distance in seconds, even with all of the attention she gathered. Time to rectify that! I took aim at the last rocket trooper left and took it down with ease; the final Geth unit burst into sparks from an overload I didn't catch, and so I focused my aim on the Krogan. Four shots from my Mattock took out their shield, making him stumble back as it sparked away. This, however, is when my rifle decided it wanted to overheat (with all of the fighting, I had blanked out on that little detail). Luckily, The Krogan goes down after a combination of blind-fire from Garrus and well placed shots by Ashley. Now to focus on the next one—
Ash's eyes bulge out of their sockets, "Marcus! On your left!"
I felt the impact before I could even see the Krogan that charged at me. The feeling was like getting hit by a moving vehicle, but the jacket I was wearing somewhat cushioned the blow as he pinned me up against the wall. He held me up with one arm, glaring deathly threats as I tried to claw and kick my way loose. To no avail, he was clad in full body armor and it's not like I have a melee weapon to use, or even if I did, I don't think I'd be able to reach it. I was powerless to do anything and that was one of the scariest feelings ever. With one swipe, he used his other arm and punched me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me and making my vision darken slightly from the pain. I was seeing spots and for a moment, I swore I could taste blood. Wait a minute...There's a desperate idea...but in the situation that I'm in, what else can I do?
I gathered whatever mucous I could scrounge up in my throat and spat it all in the Krogan's eye. Not the sanest way to break free from a hold I guess, but apparently effective. He stumbled backwards and dropped me, caught off guard by the abrupt action as he rubbed it out. My rifle was too far away, so I unhooked my pistol from its holster and took aim. Without the disruptor mod being attached, it took more than five point-blank hits to take down his barriers, but once it did, my finger froze, unable to finish the job.
Ashley and Garrus were busy fighting the other Krogan, there's no way they can help here. If I don't do this...He's gonna fucking kill me! The Krogan stared at me with slanted purple eyes, the black pupils giving off the impression of imminent death. The barbarous grin he wore was only the icing on the terrifying cake. My hands began to shake as he came closer and closer, finger twitching on the trigger.
Until suddenly, he was immobilized by a blue aura. At the door, I saw Liara breathing heavily with an active biotic palm raised in front of her. Best timing ever, Liara! Thanks-a-million! Despite his struggling to break free, the Krogan let out a battle cry that made my skin crawl, just before his head exploded and became nothing but a red mushy stump.
Turning to my right, I saw the smoking barrel from Garrus' sniper rifle, a cheeky smile spread with each mandible. I grinned back at him, with the realization dawning on me that we finished them all off. Ashley took a look at all of us before walking to the console and turning off the beacon with a direct shotgun blast. Sure beats doing it the proper way I suppose, longer lasting too. So, mission complete, I guess...
The four of us regrouped in the center to plan out our next move.
"Glad that's taken cared of," I said, "So what's next then? Grocery shopping?"
Ash was contemplating, both arms crossed when she spoke, "That all depends...First things first: Garrus, are you feeling okay? You got hurt during the fight."
Oh shit, yeah, I can't believe I forgot about that. Scanning his armor though, I couldn't see any blood or anything. Whatever damage the round may have been able to cause didn't happen, because it never made it past his armor.
"I'm alright, Chief, ready to move out," He caresses the scaring on the armor with a finger, "Besides, it builds character."
Ashley turned to our Asari next, "And you Liara? Can you keep going?"
"Yes." She replied staunchly.
"Marcus?"
Garrus started before I could, "I'm sure he's full of energy after having been hugged by a Krogan. A rare feat indeed."
I glared daggers at him, " Hey! If I wanted to hug a Krogan, I would have just asked Wrex!" Hugging a Krogan...What kind of idiot would try to do that? "...But to answer your question, Ash, I'm fine."
"Okay then," She seems to have come to a decision, "Now that we have the remaining Geth forces done and out of the way, we can focus on helping the colony rebuild. There are three things they need desperately at the moment: Food, water, and power. The food and power are relatively close to each other, but the pumps they use for water are located in the opposite direction." She dropped her hands to her sides, "If we double-time it, we can make it back to the colony before anything else goes wrong, god forbid."
"We could cover more ground if we split up, two and two," Garrus suggests.
"Out of the question," She answered firmly, "We're already winded after the last couple of fights, I don't want to risk us being separated and running into a problem that only the four of us can solve together."
"Ash, we literally just took care of our biggest problem," I argued, "If we split up, we can get what we need faster and make it back to Zhu's Hope in no time. After all, the longer we're gone, the more exposed they are to any threat that decides to pay its dues."
The Gunnery Chief took a deep breath and sighed, "...Has anyone here ever hunted before?"
"Yeah, it's one of the special skills they teach you in the Turian military," Garrus explained, and I made a mental note to ask him about that later, "Though I admit, I haven't honed it in a really long time."
"Better than nothing," Ash turns to me and Liara, "Think you two can handle the water pumps?"
I gave her a thumbs up and grinned, "You can count on us."
"Good," Once they reached the door she turned back at us, "Be sure to keep in Radio contact. The Geth ship that Shepard is dealing with may be blocking long range communications, but we won't be too far away from each other that we can't keep in touch."
"Yes mam. Good luck on your end, guys."
"You too."
And with that, we parted ways. It was only about five minutes after we were walking in different directions that I realized, a crucial error I had made...How I convinced Ash that we were safe to split up because we dealt with the remaining Geth in the tunnels. But I foolishly didn't take into account...
The Thorian creepers that would soon be lurking in every corner...
A/N: Thank you all so much for the feedback in the last chapter, guys! Believe it or not, it actually motivated the hell out of me to write :P I really wanted to post this as soon as possible, but I got busy and it turned out longer than I thought it would be, and honestly, it would have been even longer if I hadn't cut it off there lol.
By the way, the dust storm I figured was a cool way to mix some things up, since Feros to me was a pretty boring looking planet. The codex for Feros also says the air is fouled by dust so it seemed like a fun and logical thing to do.
Anyway, now I'm just rambling, I won't take any more of your time. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter :)