Author's Note:
I just wanted to start off by saying a few things so…feel free to skip over my rambling if you want :)
Firstly, a huge thank you to all the wonderful reviews. I really enjoy reading them and seeing that people are actually liking what I'm putting down. I still find the overwhelmingly positive reception to be a little shocking but…hey, I'm not going to argue! So thank you, and thank you to everyone who has added this story to their alerts and who follow along faithfully.
Secondly, chances are my next chapter won't be up until Monday. Weekends are always up in the air and I don't necessarily have to time to concentrate or write, so don't expect too much in the way of updates on weekends…I gotta take a break sometime! :D
Thirdly, some notes about the story itself. These have come up from readers in email and PM (and a couple in reviews) so I just want to answer/address them all here.
1) Yes, I'm aware that some things are not strictly canon. I am trying to keep as close to canon as possible but let's just face it…there are some things in the game that are put in place specifically by the programmers to keep the game flowing in the wanted direction. Programming costs money, so they have to pick what goes in and how it unfolds. Honestly, some of it just isn't natural and while it works for a video game, doesn't necessarily translate or make sense when written.
Chances are, if you see some detail in this story that is not canon or something is fudged a bit…it is probably on purpose, to give Shepard's reactions actual logical meaning rather than just be 'this is how she reacts because this is the way we want the game to go.'
For a specific example…thermal clips. Game lore has it they were developed based on geth tech after the attack on the Citadel. About two months pass between the attack and Shepard's 'death'…yet when Shepard wakes up at the Lazarus Project, one of the first things she does is ask for a thermal clip. Now, I understand why the game developers chose to do it this way, and it works for the game, but from a more 'real life' perspective, I find it extremely difficult to believe that thermal clips were discovered, researched, developed, and mass-produced to the extent they were common-place…all in the two months dividing the Citadel attack and Shepard's demise. And that is what would've had to have happened to make Shepard immediately realize what was wrong with her weapon just after she woke up from her coma. So, easier for the flow of the story if I just make thermal clips common-place to begin with.
2) Shepard's middle name is Spruce. She hates it even more than she hates 'Delilah'.
3) Shepard is not Chinese, she is mostly Native American with some mix of random European. Shepard's occasional spouts of Chinese (such as nicknaming Liara 'Tianlán') is a personal idiosyncrasy. She learned some Chinese from some of the thugs running with the Reds. And it is my own personal nod to Firefly…as is Shepard once calling herself 'a space cowboy'
4) Yes, Yoh Etat will be back, in at least one very key moment in this first story and most likely in the two sequels as well.
5) No, I don't have this written already. I am writing 'live'. That is, when a chapter gets posted I have most likely literally just finished writing it and running the spell-check. I do a quick re-read to make sure there are no egregious errors. Yes, I write very quickly. Just to give you an idea, most of my writing takes place while I'm working…so I'm doing both my job and writing on DE at the same time. Quick typist for the win! And yes, believe it or not, I am making this up as I go. I have a vague idea for some future scenes and of course for my OCs but for the most part, I decide on the fly what's going to happen. I had no idea that Shepard was actually going to be poisoned until the thing puked on her. I learned a long time ago that my best writing tends to come out when I don't plan, and just go with my gut.
6) Yes, I am still planning on carrying this tale along all three games. I will write a separate story for each game, and I hope to Zeus that writing Dark Energy 2 will take long enough for ME3 to actually be released and me to do one play-through…otherwise there might be a very long pause between DE2 and DE3.
7) I have played ME through about twenty-seven times. I can recite dialogue verbatim with the characters and tell you without looking just how many mobs are about to round the corner and open fire at any given time. I have played ME2 about seventeen times, and am currently running through ME1 again (with Del, of course :D ) as well as inching a final three Shepards through ME2 to get them ready for ME3. My main 'canon' Shepard is a total Paragon, Soldier, romanced Liara and stayed faithful. She's seriously a huge girl scout. I made Del pretty much the exact opposite. And believe it or not, I do have a life. Kinda.
8) Yes. I am a girl.
9) Once the Dark Energy stories are done, I MIGHT consider doing a Dragon Age series as well. I haven't decided yet, and I have plenty of time to make up my mind so…we'll see.
I think that covers it all. Please, feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or concerns that need addressing. I'm more than happy to talk :) Now…I'll let Shepard take over from here. She's looking at me and seems to be a little grumpy, so I'd better get out of her way.
Enjoy!
"I can't land anywhere near those guns, Commander," Joker warned as he pointed out the anti-crafts on the surface map. "Even with stealth engaged, they'll swat the Normandy out of the air like she was a fly."
"I'll drop with a team in the MAKO," she nodded. "Go in low and take them out on foot. As soon as I get them disabled I want you to bring the Normandy in right there, just south of the facility. Have you been able to establish any contact yet with the STG unit?"
"No ma'am. The system blocking communications is coming from inside the facility walls, and is pretty damn effective."
"All right. Take us in low out of reach of those guns. I'm going to prep the MAKO."
Turning away from the helm she strode toward the CIC, pointing first at Ashley, then at Liara as she did so. "You and you, hard-suits. We're going down in the MAKO to take out some anti-craft guns."
"Aye, ma'am," Ashley replied without hesitation. Liara, however, fell into step beside Shepard as she headed down to get her own hard-suit.
"If I may have a word with you, Commander…I do not think I should go with you in the MAKO."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing is…wrong, I just think someone else might be a better choice."
Shepard stopped in the stairwell, halting her. "Someone else?" she asked. "Liara, I need a biotic."
"Wrex, then, or Kaidan-"
"Ok, cut the crap. What's this really about?" Shepard asked, folding her arms as she scrutinized the young asari.
Liara looked downward, composing her thoughts before she took a deep breath and met the human woman's eyes. "I know that we discussed…us," she said carefully. "This…mutual attraction. However, I am afraid we are taking things too quickly, that it is becoming a distraction to the mission."
"Li-" she started, then broke off as Liara interrupted.
"Shepard, you have been injured on every mission I have accompanied. On Noveria, Benezia could have killed you when you were distracted by Tali's and my predicament. Under Zhu's Hope, when I was thrown into that wall that biotic-"
"Hey, stop…look, I'll admit, I had a bit of a stupid moment on Noveria, but that was my own damn fault, not yours. Injuries happen. It's part of being a marine, throwing yourself in the fire. C'mon, Tianlán, you didn't exactly escape those missions unscathed either, you know. Two concussions, a separated shoulder-"
"You were not injured when you went to that slaver base," Liara said hotly. "A mission where I was not present!"
Shepard straightened a little, blinking. "Are you kidding me? Shit, we were fighting idiotic slavers that were lucky they knew which way to point their guns! Not gigantic bugs, not putrescent spewing mushroom-men. Even the greenest private could've taken down the whole lot in his sleep!"
"Shepard, this mission is too important. If we don't stop Saren in time who knows what will happen as a result? It may be that the fate that befell the Protheans and untold races before them will descend up on us. Billions, even trillions, may die. We cannot jeopardize this over…personal feelings."
Shepard leaned back on the wall, then nodded grimly. "All right. You're right. Mission comes first. But when this is all over…"
Liara smiled faintly, and nodded. "Try and keep me away, Commander."
Shepard grinned, then scrubbed a hand over her face. "All right. Just more motivation to get Saren trussed as fast as possible. In the mean time…put on your hard-suit. You are coming with us to disable those guns."
She turned and continued on down the stairs as Liara blinked. "Commander-"
"That's an order T'Soni!" Shepard called back, before disappearing from view.
The ocean.
Spreading vast and azure, it glimmered with shards of reflected sunlight. Even in the cab of the MAKO, Shepard imagined she could smell the cool sea air, hear the crying of sea-birds, feel the sand beneath her feet.
She had never seen an ocean before Nancy had taken her and Paul down to the Bahamas. Part of her therapy, Nancy said. All Shepard had ever seen of the world was 'ugly'. Ugly people, ugly streets, pollution and grime and dirt ground into the landscape and into the souls of those around her. Nancy wanted her to know there was beauty, as well…things that made life worth living, fights worth fighting.
She could remember stepping off the small shuttle-transport and onto the beach. The sun had seemed so blinding that at first she could do nothing but stand, hands over her face, almost terrified of it.
Then Paul had giggled and taken her arm, tugging her toward the surf with joyful cries of discovery, and Shepard had finally dared to look…and had been swept away.
This beach was rockier but no less beautiful. Huge eroded crags of rock dripped with emerald moss and clinging trees, the vibrant colors of smoothly polished stone visible just beneath the closest of the waves. Part of her wanted to tear off her boots, to go running through the surf barefoot, arms outspread as she had done all those years ago.
{Retreating to a safe distance,} Joker's voice broke her out of her thoughts, returning her to here and now.
"Ten-four. We'll let you know as soon as we have those guns down," Shepard replied, and turned the wheel, gunning the engine and guiding the rover into the maze of rocky crags and tide pools.
Liara was riding navigation, Ash up in the turret, and it came as no surprise when the asari announced there were synthetics ahead, just as they neared the small power station for the first AC gun.
"Ash, you got a sighting?" Shepard called up, maintaining her heading.
"Yeah, ten-four commander. I can see a couple of foot troopers and one of those damn big bastards."
"Hit 'em as soon as we're in range."
The boom of the MAKO's turret shattered the idyllic beachfront peace. A great flock of seabirds rose like a cloud from a nearby crag, filling the air with cries and shimmers of violet and green. The larger geth flew off its feet as the blast struck perfectly, the smaller troopers opening fire, only to quickly be cut down.
"All clear, Commander," Ashley grinned. Shepard smirked as she brought the MAKO in next to the power station.
"Good work. I should put you in charge of the Normandy's guns, Chief."
"Joker might have a word or two to say about that," Williams replied.
"Since when does Joker not have a word to say about anything? All right, weapons ready ladies. The AC gun controls are likely on the top floor of the power station. Keep your eyes peeled and let's do this by the book."
As they climbed out of the MAKO, Shepard paused a moment to take a deep breath, feeling the sea air stir her hair, the sun warm on her cheeks. Lifting her helmet, she reluctantly pulled it on and secured it down, before drawing her rifle.
Two troopers lurked in the tiny bottom level of the power station, guns aimed at the door. When the door suddenly slammed open, they opened fire, shot shredding out through the portal and into the warm afternoon air.
They paused, trying to process the empty doorway, when a hand appeared, a ball of blue fire sailing in and slamming them to the side…followed quickly by the two trained marines. A swift rattle of gunfire, and the troopers collapsed with weak mechanical whines.
"Clear," Shepard said, stepping aside as Ashley moved to the little stairwell, aiming her rifle upward. She fired a neat spate, and one of those irritating little sniper-monkies crashed against the steps, then tumbled brokenly to the floor.
"Clear," she reported.
Shepard jerked her chin, and Liara moved past both marines, up to the first landing before dropping into a crouch, covering the steps with her own rifle as Shepard then headed up.
Just as Shepard crouched and aimed carefully upward, something sailed out of the dark and bounced off the wall, dropping almost exactly at her feet.
She didn't even have time to call out 'grenade!' Reflexively she snatched the small metal orb off the ground and flung it with all her strength back upward, into the room from which it had sailed.
Barely had it vanished from sight than the whole building seemed to lift and then drop, a flash of fire belching out of the doorway, carrying with it a tumble of debris both metal and masonry. Not waiting for things to settle Shepard rushed forward and through the smoke.
One trooper was completely wasted. Another seemed stunned, half-collapsed and disoriented. Her shot ripped through what passed as its neck, and it fell. She gave it another shot to the head just to be sure, then did a quick 360 of the room.
"Clear," she barked.
Ashley moved in quickly, shipping her rifle as she went directly to the equipment bank powering the AC gun. She shed her helmet before popping off the access panel. She could simply have used the console to power down the gun but that left it open to simply be powered up again, should the geth return to this station after they'd left. She wanted to make sure it was rendered completely useless.
Reaching in, she found the main board and with a less than delicate yank, ripped it free of its bed, casting it aside. Stepping back, she unshipped her rifle, and unloaded half a dozen rounds into the guts of the machine, making sure it wouldn't be repaired any time soon.
"AC is off-line," Liara verified, looking down at her omni-tool display.
"Good work. Only one more to go," Shepard replied, then gestured. "Ash, point."
They cleared the way back to the MAKO, making sure no geth units had snuck up on them while they were in the station, then re-entered the rover. Shepard pulled her helmet off and glanced at the MAKO's time display.
"Four minutes, not bad girls. Let's see if we can get the second one down in less."
"Sir, readings indicate the AC guns are now off-line, and we have an Alliance terrain vehicle and an Alliance frigate closing in on our position."
Kirrahe lifted the high-power binocs to his eyes, adjusting the resolution slightly as they fixed on the distant vehicle that appeared from around one of the crags. "Looks like the Council finally decided to send that recovery fleet," he replied.
"Interesting they'd send Alliance instead of a full turian or asari compliment…"
"The Spectre investigating Saren is Alliance, Corporal," Kirrahe reminded the younger salarian as he lowered the binocs. "Logic dictates they'd send her at the head of the rescue."
Both turned their heads as the Alliance frigate appeared from over the ocean, drawing in to a landing. Gesturing at his corporal, Kirrahe said, "Go and see to the ship with Touvan and Isik. I'll deal with the rover."
As the vehicle slowly trundled to a halt a few yards away, the salarian captain approached it, shading his eyes slightly as the doors opened, discharging two human females and an asari. Easily recognizing which woman was the leader by the insignia on her armor and making a simple conclusion he nodded.
"You must be Commander Shepard. I'm Captain Kirrahe, STG. To be honest, I was wondering if the Council had received our message."
"They got static," she replied acerbically. "That's why I'm here."
"Wait…they did not understand our transmission? They didn't send a fleet?" Kirrahe demanded, his exhaustion and frustration more than evident. "Half my men have died so far, commander…no offense, I know you are a Spectre and a trained Alliance marine, however just you and your crew are not going to be enough."
"We may surprise you, Captain," the human woman said with a lopsided grin. "Why don't you fill me in on specifics, and we'll see what we can do."
As they followed the Salarian captain back toward what looked like a rudimentary camp, Shepard saw that several of the crew had disembarked the Normandy. She could see Pressley speaking with a pair of the salarians, and it looked like Tali, Kaidan and Wrex were heading their way.
"This is Saren's facility, there is no doubting that," Kirrahe informed her as they walked, gesturing at the distant looming walls. "Several of my men had been killed or simply disappeared in the process of gathering intel, but here is what we know so far. They have a device within the facility that is jamming all communications for this entire island and a good hundred kilometers out to sea. We thought we had boosted our signal enough to reach beyond its influence and notify the Council but apparently we failed in that."
"What's the purpose of the facility?" Shepard asked as they reached the camp, the three from the Normandy catching up to them. Kirrahe turned to look at her.
"It is a breeding facility," he informed her. "He is creating an army of krogan."
Wrex was just close enough to overhear, and blinked. "What?" he rumbled. "He can't breed an army of krogan, the genophage makes that impossible."
"Apparently they've found a way around that," Kirrahe said dryly.
"What?"
Kirrahe sighed and glowered at Shepard. "Is that going to be a problem, Commander?"
"That is Urdnot Wrex, a krogan battlemaster and a member of my crew, and I'll thank you to speak of him with some respect," Shepard said tersely.
"Yes, well. Your crew seems rather eclectic," Kirrahe sniffed disapprovingly. "As far as the facility goes, there also seems to be some…questionable research separate from the breeding project. We weren't able to gain much information on this side-research but as far as we can deduce it is related to some kind of mind control."
"Of course it is," Liara murmured, shaking her head.
"Commander, before you arrived we were mapping out possible strategies for eradicating this threat…despite our slim number, even with the addition of your crew, that necessity hasn't changed. We must destroy this facility before Saren's krogan army has matured."
"Destroy it?" Wrex growled dangerously. Shepard held up her hand toward the krogan, never looking away from Kirrahe, but of course the angry battlemaster ignored it. "Oh, we're not going to destroy it!"
"Commander, I need you to control your…pet," Kirrahe huffed. "Unleashing the krogan on the galaxy is a mistake we cannot afford to-"
"We are not a mistake!" Wrex barked, jabbing a finger in Kirrahe's face before Shepard moved between them, pushing Wrex back with a hand on his chest. With a spit of disgust, the angry krogan turned and stalked away in a cloud of fury.
"Point proven," Kirrahe noted. "You can't trust a krogan to do anything but hit-"
Turning toward him, Shepard lashed out with a perfect jab, cracking her knuckles into the captain's face and sending him, startled, to the ground.
"You ever talk about another member of my crew like that again…" she warned, eyes sparking. "You figure out your little plan, Captain. I'll take care of my people."
Wrex's bellow startled another nest of those green and violet birds, sending them calling away from nearby trees. Their calls almost masked the rustle of Shepard's boots in the sand as she strode up to him.
"This is wrong, all wrong," he growled, before looking at her. Though tiny in comparison to him, Wrex had known from the first moment he saw her that she was a predator, a fighter, just like he was. He respected her as such, which was the only reason he was even talking.
"My people were strong once," he told her. "True warriors. Heroes of the galaxy. Did you know there's a goddamn statue to the krogan on the Citadel?"
"I saw it," Shepard replied evenly. "It's not too far from that little one that looks like a mass relay. You ask me, this galaxy owes a fuck of a lot to your people."
"Damn right they do, but how did they thank us for eliminating the rachni? Their goddamn clever little genophage. Thousands of babies, dead without even a chance, our entire race hobbled and neutered like trained varren. And now that slug-spit wants to destroy something that could mean everything to my people?"
"Wrex, this may not be easy to hear," Shepard replied. "It's shit what they did to your people, and Kirrahe's attitude needs some serious goddamn adjusting but…I happen to agree with him on taking out this facility?"
"WHAT?" he scowled down at her, a mountain of angry at least five times her mass. That she held her ground and merely looked up at him would have impressed him at any other time…but now it just made him more angry. "This is a cure, Shepard! The krogan may finally have a chance to regain their former glory. What right have you-"
"This isn't a cure, this is-"
Suddenly his rifle was in his hand, pointed at her face. Reflexively she had hers out in almost the same heartbeat, eyes narrowing as she drew a bead between his eyes. "Wrex," she warned.
"I won't let you do this. I won't let you kill my people!"
"Would you fucking listen to yourself? Fuck, Wrex! Take a deep breath and just hear me out a goddamn second!"
"Shepard…" he rumbled dangerously.
"Wrex, I swear to fuck, I don't want to do this but I will air out your goddamn skull! With all we've been through you at least owe me the courtesy of listening!"
He sneered, but she could see some of the tension in his arms loosening a little. "Fine," he snorted at last. "Talk fast."
"Wrex, I know this seems like a cure, but think about it! These krogan will not belong to your people, to Tuchanka. These krogan will be nothing more than Saren's trained bull-dogs, worse than mercs. Do you think he's going to let them think for themselves? Do you think he's going to take the risk that they might question him or even turn on him someday? No. These are going to be pudding-headed meat-shields that he can control and direct without question. Is that really what you want for the future of the krogan? Idiotic puppets bent to Saren's machinations?"
Wrex's eyes shifted a little, before his rifle slowly lowered. As it did she lowered her own weapon, straightening.
"Wrex, you're my friend," she said. "It's a shit thing what the salarians did to the krogan, and an even worse thing that Saren's trying to do with this…facility. But if there's even a handful of krogan out there as determined as you, the krogan will survive and grow stronger."
"Fuck, Shepard," he sighed, then scowled and turned, lifting his rifle toward the sea and sending off a furious barrage of gunfire at the uncaring waves. "FUUUUUCK!"
As he lowered his gun and his head, she nodded, slapping him lightly on the arm. He smirked and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Just so you know, if I get to Saren first, I'm ripping off his goddamn head."
"I'll hold him down for you," Shepard promised.
"You know, I think I could build a house here," Kaidan murmured as he sat on the outcrop of rock near the edge of the waves, looking out over the sea. The afternoon had long since died, the sun casting like blood and fire over the waves as it slowly melted toward the horizon.
"It is beautiful," Liara agreed, also watching from nearby as day slowly surrendered to night.
"Your people…they have a tie to the ocean, don't they?" he asked, looking over at her.
"Yes. The asari once lived in the seas," she answered softly. "We still feel a very strong bond to the shifting tides, the feel of salt water. The sea is alive, ever-changing and yet…eternal. Commander Shepard loves the sea as well. She often chooses such a location as her place of peace during the knowledge bonds."
Kaidan smirked a little, letting out a faint chuckle. Blinking, Liara glanced over at him.
"What?"
"Nothing," he replied. "I just find it amusing you still can't have a conversation without eventually bringing Shepard into it."
"I…did not realize I was doing so. I'm sorry if I am being boorish-"
"No, no…you're not boorish," Kaidan smiled. "On the contrary, it's good to hear. It's kind of like the sunset, you know? It reminds me that no matter how ugly things are, or how bad things seem to get…there's still beauty around us, you know? Joy. That's how you sound when you talk about Shepard…joyful. Even when you're sad, if that makes sense."
Liara was silent, only lowering her head with a faint darkening of her cheeks. After a long moment she said, "We are…we have decided, the mission comes first."
Kaidan nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, mission's important," he agreed. "But so is life, right? Keep your head in the game now but…doesn't mean that you can't think about the future, you know? Way I see it, everything is going to come around again. Life, wars, evolution…even the Reapers will, I suppose. What's never going to happen again is us. Me, and Chakwas, and Ash and Wrex and Tali…and you and Shepard. I mean, we gotta do all we can but we also have to remember…we're what's important right now. Universe gets an infinity of chances but we only get one, right? We gotta make it count."
"Yes…I suppose we do," Liara murmured. After a moment she looked at him again. "And what does your future hold?" she wondered.
"Me? Oh…more of the same for a while, I guess. I'm an Alliance man, always will be. Once this is over then it's another mission, another port. But someday I'll be retired and then…well, someplace like this maybe. Quiet seas, soft sands, sunsets so colorful they'll take your breath away. Maybe I'll even come back here, who knows? Help set up a colony, maybe. I think I could be happy spending the rest of my life in a place like this. I think I could find peace here."
Liara looked toward the remains of the sunset, now just smears of golds, pinks and red slowly darkening as the stars appeared. "I think that is a very good dream, Kaidan," she said. "I pray that you are able to find that peace."
"Well, thanks," he replied, then rubbed the back of his neck. "But that's all a very long way away, isn't it?"
Turning he looked over his shoulder. The camp was a-light, and within one the tents the salarians had set up, he could see Shepard and Garrus half bent over a table, speaking with Kirrahe and some of his men as they discussed strategy. Ashley lingered at the edge of the tent, arms folded as she listened in.
"I wonder if they're getting any closer to a plan of attack," he mused.
"I do not know," Liara replied. "I am just happy that Wrex has calmed down."
"Yeah, that could have been really ugly," he agreed. "They…oh, here comes Ash. They must have decided something."
He got to his feet as Williams strode over, nodding at the pair. "They're calling everyone to the tent. Looks like we got a plan."
As the crew gathered in the pool of light cast around the tent, the full dark of night closed the last of its wrappings around the island, making everything beyond fade into almost complete black.
Shepard nodded to Kirrahe, then turned toward them. "All right, listen up. This is the plan," she stated. "Kirrahe and his men are going to rig the drive core of their ship to go thermonuclear. Tali, I want you with them to help with that. We're going to use it to blow this place sky high."
She folded her arms. "Now defenses on this place are tough. I won't lie…we're grossly outnumbered, and this isn't going to be fun for anyone. The bulk of our forces are going to join the salarians in a full frontal assault on the facility. In the mean time a small shadow team is going to slip in the back, disable the defenses from the inside and clear out any resistance. Once the defenses are down, the Normandy can deliver the device to the center of the facility and then evacuate our people to a safe distance."
"Why can't we just drop the bomb from orbit?" Ashley wanted to know.
"Rigging a drive core to go nuclear is a very touchy process," Tali replied. "Once the final adjustments are made the bomb cannot be moved…even the slightest jar could cause it to go off. If we tried to rig it and then drop it from orbit it would take out the Normandy if it was so much as breathed on wrong, or simply detonate from the buffeting of dropping through atmosphere."
"Tali's correct. The bomb must be placed before the last adjustments can be made, and then it cannot be moved, so we absolutely must clear a landing zone to safely deliver it," Shepard agreed. "Now, there are going to be two teams hitting the front of the facility; our crew, and the salarians. Kaidan, I need you to go with the salarians to coordinate communications between the two efforts. Wrex, you will be in charge of the Alliance team. I will head up the shadow team with Ashley and Liara."
"When do we move out?" Garrus asked.
"Thirty minutes, just as soon as it's full dark and we can get into position. Everyone understand their orders?"
Her dark eyes searched the crowd, but saw only determination reflected back at her. She nodded once. "Good. Then let's do this thing people. Come back alive. That's an order."
There was a faint rumble of 'aye's and a rash of salutes. Shepard straightened and saluted them back, before turning to Kirrahe. "Get your men ready. We'll be in position in half an hour."
"Of course, Commander. And good luck to us all."
Ashley huddled against the rough, broken rock as she cautiously peered around and downward. Carefully scrutinizing the area below her, every detail lit up as if it were daylight thanks to her helmet's night-vision infrared display, then crept back along the rock to where Shepard and Liara were waiting.
"It's clear," she told them. "We can drop directly down without being spotted."
The commander nodded, then accessed her ear-bud. "Kaidan, we are in position," she said. "Ready to drop into the facility on your mark."
{Ten-four}, Kaidan replied {Thirty seconds, we're nearly in position.}
Gesturing to the two women beside her, Shepard led the way carefully over the ridge. They huddled like three silent gargoyles under the starlight, barely daring to breathe.
{Five seconds, Commander}, Kaidan nearly whispered. What seemed like a breath later, the dark of night was suddenly lit up by gunfire and the flash of small mortars in the distance, across the bulk of the sleepy buildings. Almost simultaneously Kaidan shouted {Mark!}
Shepard dropped down, falling eight feet before landing just inside the wall. Liara and Ashley thumped down beside her, each drawing a weapon almost instantly, and moving forward to clear the small yard. Shepard, her own infrared HUD on, had drawn her sniper and gestured along the first walkway.
As quiet as ghosts, the three women slipped along the walls. Spotting a single guard Shepard scoped and dropped him, the shot silenced to be no louder than a sneeze…lost in the sounds of war erupting in the distance. Crouching and holding the entrance to the yard, she could see a small staircase leading up the side of the first building, and a doorway. Gesturing at Liara, she indicated the door, then signaled Ash to take the stairway. Both drifted forward, Shepard covering them. Liara crouched at the doorway, peering inside, then shaking her head and making a cutting motion. No hostiles.
Ashley edged up the stairs, half-glancing over a low railing, before ducking back down. Looking at Shepard she pointed toward her eyes then gestured upward with two fingers. Shepard nodded, and moved her way.
As she reached Ash's side, the chief pointed one finger to the left at about eight o'clock, then pointed it to the right, indicating 2 o'clock. Shepard gestured to the right, and both women eased their guns up just over the stairwell, silently acquiring their targets.
Pop!
The silenced shots sounded simultaneously, both guards dropping without a sound.
"Shepard," Liara whispered as she reached their side, her omni-tool glowing. "Those were the last of the organic heat signatures within a thirty yard radius. Most of the guard have done as we had hoped, and gone for our distraction. I'm showing two geth signatures on this small tower here…it looks like it is a security checkpoint before you access the communications hub. It is slightly out of the way of our intended path."
"If we can knock out their communications it'll throw them into chaos," Ashley murmured. "It'll give our people a better chance, not to mention give us half a shot at getting a signal off this sorry planet if we need to."
"Roger. We're going for that hub," Shepard agreed. "Ash, point. Liara, I want you to cover this area here…let us know if anyone flanks us."
"Yes, Commander."
Liara took cover at a vantage that gave her the best view, as Shepard and Ashley headed toward the hub. The geth would be slightly harder to take out than the two organic guards had been, but any advantage they could gain for their badly outnumbered people was worth the risk.
As they caught sight of the synthetics, movement in the distance caught their attention. Between the security checkpoint and the communications hub, a trio of small hovering turrets were idly patrolling. Any gunfire on their part, even silenced, would instantly draw the attention of the turrets.
Turning away and putting her back to the wall, Shepard swiftly filed through her options, before grinning. Shipping her gun, she crouched and picked up a small piece of broken stone from beside her feet. As she straightened she drew her boot-knife and signaled to Ash to do the same, and what her plan was. The chief shipped her own weapon and drew out her knife, nodding.
Crouching carefully near the door, Shepard tossed the broken bit of stone against the far wall. At the faint tink, the two geth troopers looked around, Ash and Shepard coming out of the shadows the instant their backs were turned. Almost simultaneously both marines jammed their knife-blades into the back of the troopers' necks, right at the soft junction. Without a sound, both synthetics went limp, the two women carefully catching hold of their dead-weight, lowering them silently to the ground and leaving the turrets none the wiser.
Reaching out, the two women lightly tapped the handles of their knives together in a field hi-five, grinning.