It took them sixteen hours to reach the fleet from the moment they left the relay. From this distance, he could just barely see it.. the only sign of it being a vague cloud that partially hid the stars behind it. The scanners however showed a much better image of the positioning. But even then, it was hard to process the imagery of fifty thousand ships. But amidst all of the chaos, one anomaly could be seen. The image showed a wide circular gap in the swarm, almost resembling that of a huge school of fish getting out of the way of sharks darting through it. In this wide hole there appeared to be more than a dozen ships tumbling without any direction at all. Possibly the ships that have been attacked so far, Shepard thought grimly.
His gave a solemn nod to Tali, whom opened a link to the fleet to communicate with the fleet. Failure to do would have resulted in their ship getting shot down on approach.
"This is Tali'Zorah vas Neema requesting permission to dock with the Rayya."
Shepard watched the center of the thickest formations of ships on display, three massive craft. The majority of their length seemed to consist of the rotating orb on the front of the ships.
"Our system has your ship flagged as Cerberus, verify." the answer came, the voice straight to the point and partially cautious.
Tali paused for but a second before she answered.. "After time adrift among open stars, along tides and shoals of dust, I will return to where I began."
"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali'Zorah."
"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."
"Understood, approach exterior docking cradle 17."
"Take us in, Joker." Shepard told Joker before turning to face the others. "Make no mistakes, keep your suits sealed and tight."
"Fine, just give me something to shoot." Grunt shrugged.
Thane simply nodded.
It took a bit of waiting, but eventually the ship docked with the Rayya. They all went through extensive scanning procedures before they were finally allowed to go past the security and quarantine crews that makes sure that no contaminants get onto the Rayya. With their very weak immune system, none are willing to risk an outbreak. They met the Captain of the ship and quickly moved through a series of rooms and hallways, until they finally arrived at the courtyard where the Admiralty board appeared to be in the middle of an ongoing debate with a great number of Captains and civilian councilors present. All greatly vexed from the looks of it.
Only one of the Admirals noticed the newly arrived crew, and approached in short order. "I'm glad you could come, Tali'Zorah." Admiral Shala'Raan softly greeted.
"Auntie Raan." Tali greeted with no small hint of a smile behind her visor. "Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay."
Shepard gave a polite nod. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise. Tali spoke very highly of you, in your unfortunate absence." Shala'Raan remarked.
Shepard chuckled. But anything he wanted to say was interrupted rudely by one of the other Admirals.
"I am perfectly sure you're having a pleasant time, but right now we have a crisis to unravel if you don't mind." Han'Gerrel vas Neema growled.
"Right now I would like nothing more than to save this fleet, but I need to know what you have learned about the enemy so far." Shepard replied resolutely.
Han'Gerrel snorted.. "Nothing more than what you already know."
"Any clues about where they came from?"
"None, the only leads we got are a lone frigate that is currently within the system. But it have kept it's distance so it's not considered a threat."
"Did you scan it?"
"Yes, but we gained little information from it."
Shepard sighed, he and Tali walked through the crowd, now the present focus of attention for those already present. Thane and Grunt remained at the outer edge of the room, simply observing.
"Scan it again. We won't be getting anywhere unless we at least know the affiliation of that Frigate."
"Agreed." Zal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib noted with a degree of enthusiasm. "We should have used the whole scanning capacity of the fleet to begin with and be done with it."
The Admiral turned his attention to the Captains gathered within the same room, and appeared to be confident that every other Commanding Officer within the fleet also observed the meeting through the feeds. Upon getting no answer from Han'Gerrel, he was about to give the general order to focus all scanning effort to discern the origin of the ship, which only recently began to withdraw slowly from it's current location. But many ships had taken the initiative before the order even came. Eventually, several dozen ships, eventually turning into hundreds as they all focused on the retreating ship. It did not take much waiting before the results began to stream in.
"Cerberus." One Captain began, rising from his seat. Followed by another, then two more.. then ten. Many failed to get the readings, but it did not mar the end result.
Han'Gerrel placed a palm on his visor, firmly trying to avoid the smirk that the triumphant Zal'Koris sent him.
"Cerberus it is then.." Shepard had said, more a statement than a question. "I hoped it wouldn't be them, but it simplifies matters at least."
"Agreed, I don't believe the implications to be particularly charming." Tali muttered. An understatement.
"There are two likely explanations for them being able to get around so fast without being noticed. They either possess a boarding craft with very advanced stealth technology. Or they have a method of teleportation."
"The latter I find extremely unlikely. It's merely fiction." Daro'Xen vas Moreh finally spoke up.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they have a Kalinin along with such capabilities." Shepard retorted with a soft sigh.
"And what exactly is a Kalinin?" Han'Gerrel irritably asked.
"A species that were recently attacked by the Geth. They were nearly exterminated by the synthetics." Shepard informed him promptly... "We managed to evacuate what remained of them just in time. Since then, Cerberus have been gathering corpses from their home world, and are currently working on reviving as many as possible. Possibly to create an army of Super Soldiers."
A few Quarians gazed solemnly at the floor at that. "A grave tragedy that." Zal'Koris told him slowly. "But how could just one 'Kalinin' pose such a threat to us?"
"They have great latent powers beyond that of Biotics, Admiral. Despite relatively primitive technology and total lack of firearms, they managed to resist the Geth for months. The few I have witnessed in combat thus far have proved themselves very formidable."
"But why would they attack the Migrant fleet? Is there anything you have that could have provoked Cerberus' attention of late?" Tali asked curiously.
"Like what?" Daro'Xen asked, paying rapt attention.
Shepard thought about that for a moment.. "Some time ago, a team from Cerberus alongside a Kalinin attacked a dig site and extracted an artifact. A tablet of some kind. Have you come across anything of the sort?"
The Admirals exchanged gazes as they processed the information.
"It might be the key to solving this situation."
One of the Captains present stood up and raised a hand.. "A tablet? Is it something... like this?" he activated his omni-tool and opened up an image of an artifact which resided in a crate. "My mining expedition came across this on a distant world."
"Yes... that's it. Except the signs in the middle, it looks almost identical to the other we saw on Klencory." Shepard stated. "We can use it to end the attack."
"How so?" Han'Gerrel asked, his gaze lingering on the presented image.
"They're possibly picking the fleet apart in order to find that artifact." Shepard explained.. "You can either give it to them, or we place it where we can build a strong defensive perimeter, reveal the location of the tablet, and wipe out those that try to take it."
"A sound plan, Commander." Zal'Koris nodded.
"Before we decide upon anything, we must confer upon which plan we should pursue." Shala'Raan spoke loud and clear.. "Captain, have the tablet transported here from the Vala."
"Yes, I will give the order immediately." the Captain complied.
"For now, this meeting is adjourned. We will continued in fifteen minutes." Shala'Raan continued before the Admirals began to gather while the other people present allowed themselves a moment to rest their minds.
Shepard paced back to the others while Tali remained behind amidst the crowd.. "We're getting somewhere at last. Recent times have been hard on us."
"As long as there's a good fight to be had at the end of it, I got no trouble." Grunt responded, not really hiding the fact that he's bored. "What are the odds of those guys choosing to fight?"
"That's for them to decide, Grunt." Thane told the Krogan.
"It would probably benefit us some more if we fight the invaders here and potentially discover something about the tablet that got them all so interested. I bet Mordin would love to study it." Shepard spoke his mind, receiving a chuckle from Grunt.
"Yeah, that would be great. Especially the fighting part."
Both the others rolled their eyes at that. It's nothing out of the ordinary, coming from a Krogan anyway. They were all distracted from their current thoughts by the time that someone hailed them over the com link.
"Hey, Shepard!" Joker exclaimed the moment Shepard opened the link.
"What's going on, Joker?"
"Don't know what you have been telling them in there, but the whole fleet are currently massing around the Live-ships. We're talking about real close quarters here. One ship fell off the grid as the fleet gathered."
"What purpose would such a formation serve?" Thane asked, intrigued.
Shepard gave it a thought... "Probably to tighten their defenses and reduce the distance in which potential reinforcements need to travel. Maybe putting pressure on the enemy. At least, that's my guess."
"Looks like them Admirals are ready to speak again, why not ask them?" Grunt asked, gesturing towards the meeting as every Quarian began to quiet down to pay full attention. Everything indicated that the Admirals would be making an announcement, less than starting a debate. In the minds of many in the room... it's about time.
"The decision have been made to recognize the plan outlined before us by Human Captain John Shepard vas Normandy to be our current best course of action. It will without a doubt start a battle on board one of our precious Live-ships, which could potentially cost us much. This decision have only come to pass after our most recent report, the ship Alarei have dropped out of contact." Shala'Raan announced with a soft, but clear voice.
"N-no.." a very heartfelt whisper came from Tali as she sank to her knees.
"We have to assume the worst have befallen it's crew and Admiral Rael'Zorah, whom was on the ship at the time of the attack." Shala'Raan raised her voice.. "For the losses they have cost us, we will make them pay in blood. To all men and women under arms whom are about to participate in the battle that will most likely erupt on the Rayya soon, we all pray that victory shall be yours to claim. Keelah se'lai!"
"Keelah se'lai!" the words thundered across the room as everyone but Tali had gotten to their feet and shook their fists above their heads.
Two hours quickly went by. The amount of activity within the Rayya increased greatly as the Quarians prepared for the upcoming battle. Civilians continued to be ferried out. The artifact had been brought on board, and placed upon an improvised pedestal.. It's presence standing as an island surrounded by ocean of Quarian Marines. The aliens quickly fortifying the large courtyard and neighboring rooms. A lot materials were shipped in to function as improvised cover.
Tali had been staring coldly at the artifact since it had been placed into the courtyard, almost as if blaming it's existence for the possible death of her father. Shala'Raan offered her condolences, including Han'Gerrel and even Zal'Koris. Daro'Xen left the ship a moment ago.. and would soon be followed by the other Admirals.
Shepard looked over the defenses set in place. There weren't any heavy weaponry. And the cover which the Quarians erected into place circled around the artifact entirely, and organized into multiple tiers. He had no real fix on just how many Quarians about to participate in the fight, but there appeared to be at least a few hundred or more. They sent in as many as they could, within limits, anymore and they would have ended up clogging the area, making it difficult to move around.
Slowly, everyone got into position. The scheduled announcement as part of the plan would be starting any minute now, and this time it would be a fleet-wide broadcast, to make sure the enemy listen. Silence fell upon the ship as the broadcast began, Shepard recognized the one speaking to be that old Han'Gerrel.
"To the cowardly lot that are attacking our fleet, killing our people. Men, women, even children."
View screens across the fleet opened with an image of the artifact, it's very vague aura of energy making the it's surface shine slightly as the lights focused on the artifact. "Let us see how you fare when the targets of your murderous hands shoot back. If you want this artifact, come and claim it! That is, if you have the guts to face us in combat! So come, the Rayya awaits you!" Han'Gerrel shouted the challenge fiercely.
"He sure packed a lot of bravado into that speech of his." Thane remarked dryly.
Grunt chuckled.. "I liked it. I'm ready!"
The next few minutes paced by in complete silence as every Quarian across the courtyard and neighboring rooms and corridors kept their eyes on their surroundings. Armed and ready for anything. But no signs of the enemy, yet.
A few began to doubt that the enemy would come, until gunfire suddenly rang out in the adjacent rooms. First a lone one, then a dozen quickly joined the first. The enemy had arrived. But before a score of Marines could move in to assist, a black spot suddenly appeared in midair before them.
"If you desire a battle, I will give you one." a voice called out as the strange spot expanded to include a whirl marked orange mask with only one hole for one of his eyes. Otherwise the being sported sandals and a very familiar cloak.. the same type of clothes Shepard had seen worn by Nagato, Konan, Kisame and Hidan. Nearly everyone present reacted to his presence violently, letting loose a rain of bullets upon the stranger.
"Got him!" a nearby Quarian called out, but the voice died out with a horrified gasp. All the bullets passed through the enemy harmlessly, instead impacting the wall behind him.
"Kalinin!" Shepard cried out in the same manner as soldiers shouting out to warn their comrades about an incoming artillery strike.
The air seemed to warp around the man's exposed eye region, warping as if reality itself was distorted. But instead of an attack. the strange blur extended across a wide area around the stranger, eventually fading only for a score of Cerberus Commandos and Blue Suns appearing out of thin air besides him, all jumping for cover and began shooting at the Quarian defenders, whom all swiftly leaped into cover and responded. The thunder of gunfire, and the screams of the wounded and the dying now filling the once tranquil courtyard.
Shepard leaned out of cover for a few seconds, taking aim with his assault rifle, gently squeezing the trigger, firing in short bursts to maximize accuracy, dropping a pair of Blue Suns shielding quickly and placed in the killing blows with the next hails of bullets before the mercenaries could get back in cover. Thane stayed much further back, putting his sniper rifle to good use, planting each round on opponents who's kinetic barriers were depleted as the fight dragged on. Otherwise he helped wounded Quarians behind the defensive lines, many of which lacked kinetic barriers. Grunt however kept himself occupied with just killing the enemy, unceremoniously shoving away allies whom got too close just to make sure he's got a clear shot, thunderclaps splitting the air with each slug launched.
Tali also chose to use her shotgun... but targeted the Kalinin whom still remained standing, almost as if bemused.. all bullets and slugs directed towards him only ended up passing through him, leaving the alien untouched. She could not believe her eyes, even after all that she have been through. He eventually seemed to tilt his head towards her, staring at her with that lone visible eye. And for the faintest second, she could see her dead father on the deck. The Quarian reared back as she tried to clear the image from her mind, shooting at him as anger overcame her.
George dropped to his knees as he popped another thermal clips and put in a new one. There's no time at all for letting the thermal clips cool down at all in this situation. But he felt a slight sense of relief as a large number of footsteps approached from behind their formation, joined by the rest whom Madara had dropped off further away to take care of the outer defenses. Even with several dozen reinforcements however, fact remained that they remained vastly outnumbered, if only reduced to one Commando for every five Quarians.
He stood up from cover and let loose a salvo at the most readily available target in his sight, watching as the visor of this enemy shattered from the hits and saw it fall out of view while once again dropping himself behind cover as bullets directed towards him passed overhead. The balancing factor in this fight being that the Quarians lack of resources makes their forces lightly equipped. Many did not have any kinetic barriers for protection. In contrast to the Commandos surrounding him and the Blue Suns, whom all were well equipped for the job.
He looked up from the cover, at the artifact. It remained the only reason for their attack on the fleet. They needed to get to it before the numbers of natives becomes a deciding factor.
"Focus fire on the group before me, clear the path of any Quarian filth." Madara commanded as he began to move forward, not acknowledging the abundance of cover and objects across the courtyard, simply passing through every obstacle he encountered along the way.
Once upon a time, George would have laughed at the notion of super powers, but he wasn't laughing anymore. If the Kalinin still existed as a civilization, became interstellar and possessed even the slightest thread of ambition, they could have conquered the galaxy by themselves. It's as though if a god had shaped these beings into living weapons, exactly for that purpose.
"Roger that, all squads blow a hole through the middle of the enemy fortification!" George called out to the rest before turning to take another pot shot as another comrade of his fell next to him, a bullet hole blown clean through his head. George gazed at whomever took that shot and discovered a Drell among the Quarians, hefting a sniper rifle, acquiring another target before once again opening fire. He could faintly hear, even in the midst of this chaos, yet another mercenary crumble to the deck.
George let loose a brief burst of fire, forcing the opposing Drell to cease fire and drop into cover. "What's a Drell doing here, anyway? Is he one of Shepard's crew?" he murmured. A Blue Sun close enough to overhear him gave a shrug before he leaned out of cover and resumed firing.
Predictably, Madara became a bullet magnet as he approach the opposing lines.. at several points during the advance, as many as three dozen Quarians opened fire on him, from simple pistols to shotguns and assault rifles tore into Madara's form, but always with the same result. The soldiers and mercenaries behind him opening fire on those whom turned their attention towards Madara. Eventually opening a hole in their lines. Only a few stubborn ones refused to be driven off. Two of them jumped out of cover as Madara moved past them, trying to see if they could bring him down their bare hands, only to suddenly vanished as they tried to connect their punches with the almost calmly marching figure, their forms simply warped away into that lone visible eye of his. Without even breaking his stride towards the artifact.
The gunfire focused towards him began to be directed at the other enemies, several Blue Suns and Commandos fell within seconds as additional reinforcements began to arrive from the opposite side of the room. Some which are moving through the corridors of the Rayya to ambush the invaders.
Madara placed his left palm against the surface of the table to take it. But that movement coincided with an approaching fist and caught him in the act. He managed just barely to grit his teeth before the fist connected, cracking his mask while the force of impact sent him flying. "Wha... ?" he managed to utter as he landed onto the deck and skidded a few feet across it.
He immediately turned to look up at the one whom struck him... discovering it to be the one whom Kabuto described.. "Shepard, I presume!"
"It seems like you aren't invincible after all!" the triumphant Human stated seriously.
Madara stood up, half his face visible as parts of his mask fell off. "Good hit, but you won't get another chance."
"Good job Shepard!" a voice shouted from behind Madara, a familiar Quarian approached the Kalinin, about to strike him with the butt of his rifle.
Shepard blinked, watching Madara as he calmly turned to regard the attacking Quarian. That did not look promising. "No, Kal'Reegar. No!" he paced himself into a full on charge, through the now once again intangible Kalinin and rammed against the charging Quarian, both of them dropping away, out of Madara's range.
"You catch on pretty fast, Shepard." Madara complimented the Human before his attention turned towards a sudden source of Chakra within the courtyard that didn't come from the artifact. Finding a lone card by his feet. With some measure of curiosity, he knelt down and examined the item as he picked it up. "A Chakra encoded card, how amusing to find you with one of these."
Shepard cursed under his breath. He retrieved it from Mordin as his investigations turned up with no results. "Nagato gave it to me."
Madara smiled.. "I see, how considerate of him." he hummed, gazing at the surface of the card, ignoring the battle as it continued around them. "Fire, water, wind, earth. So the trigger is the five elements?"
"What's it to you?" Shepard shouted.
The Kalinin tilted his head to the side. "Everything in fact. You have the key to find the others whom remain free. The tablets may carry a great destiny for us. One that might shake this galaxy to it's very core." he looked up at Shepard, his visible eye narrowing in a menacing manner.
Shepard did not know what to think of the tablets. But the fact that there might have been a species in the distant past who shaped the Kalinin.. He could not help but feel intrigued.
Madara looked down at the card again before he tossed it over to Shepard and turned back towards the artifact. "Lightning. The final element is lightning in case you don't know. Find these friends of yours." he placidly stated before he warped the tablet away.
Shepard caught it, and only looked up quickly enough to see the tablet gone. "Damn it!" the Human struck the deck with his fist. The Quarian behind him finally managing to get himself up and tried to shoot at Madara, with predictable results.
"We are done here." Madara announced before he moved back to the others. Less than a third remained now of the Blue Suns and the Commandos, all the other mercenaries had been taken down. The losses heavy on both sides.
"Don't let them get away!" Kal'Reegar howled as he wrestled himself free from Shepard's restraining grip to prevent another attempt at bravado. The Quarian opened fire, watching Madara still unfazed.. though unknowing that a Blue Sun stood up on the other side and got hit by the enraged Kal'Reegar's barrage of bullets and fell over, dead before he hit the floor.
The surviving invaders rushed to surround the Kalinin.. only about nine remaining now, firing back at the now overwhelming resistance and steadily faltering. Madara used his space time technique, causing both himself and those around him to vanish... One Commando fell away and died even as the technique warped him away. The escape signaling the end of the table.
In space, beyond the hull of the Rayya, a great number of the Migrant fleet's Gunships began to converge on the Cerberus frigate, which had been moving back towards the fleet during the time of the battle. Only for the nimble ship to turn tail again upon the arrival of the battle's survivors, and jumped, vanishing into the darkness of space.
The battle had been won, but it proved to be a costly win. The tablet was lost and a hundred Quarians on the Rayya lay dead, not counting the crews lost on the previously attacked ships. During all of this, Shepard and his squad provided assistance in checking the drifting ships, to confirm if the enemy truly did leave.
Shepard tried to comfort Tali as she eventually found corpse of her father on the Alarei. The engineer broke down completely, releasing a flood of tears she held back since first finding out about his death.
Eventually, they prepared to leave. Shepard found a circuit that was damaged during the battle and remembered Madara's words. The circuit shot sparks of electricity in every direction. It seemed dangerous, but Shepard brought the card forward and placed it upon a crate and pushed it close to the circuit, watching as the sparks eventually touched the card. Concern momentarily taking hold at that moment, worried that the electrical surge power might be too much for the card to bear. But it sucked up the power without any harm at all.. and finally, the fifth symbol appeared on it's surface. The card's surface beginning to shift.
"Hm?"
"What is it, Shepard?" Thane inquired as he stepped over to Shepard as he went to retrieve the card. "You managed to find it out, about the card?"
"Yes." Shepard replied softly as he in anticipation stared at the card, watching as the symbols vanished and soon replaced by an image that came to hover five inches off the card's surface. Showing an image of the galaxy. "Is that...?" the Human asked as he saw a dot appear, shaping quickly into a cross marking an area of the galaxy, and a small text formed above it; Caleston rift. And an even smaller text next to it that designated a specific system.
Shepard activated his com link immediately. "Everyone, we need to go, now."
He received a small protest from Tali, but she caught herself quickly enough and bid her farewell to Shala'Raan before she started moving back to the ship.
Half an hour later, Normandy detached from the Rayya and departed from the Migrant fleet. Joker engaging the FTL, their initial destination being the closest Mass Relay. It could take them a while to reach that system. So Shepard would during that time keep checking the card for updates about what could be Nagato and his crew's location.
The time went by so fast that Shepard was quite pleasantly surprised when EDI announced that they are nearly at the Mass relay that would sent them into the Caleston rift. "Just a matter of time now. A day or so." he whispered to himself while gazing down at the card, sitting down by his desk and began to read over the most recent reports.. twitching the moment a voice reached his ears.
"Greetings, Shepard."
A voice too familiar. Shepard whirled around as he rose from his chair, pulling a gun out of the drawer as he came face to face with the familiar being that somehow had gotten onto the ship. "You!"
"Yes, it's me." the man spoke. Madara. "Do not be alarmed. Why would I come to harm the precious messenger who are searching for the wayward of my people?"
"What do you want from me?" Shepard growled, keeping his finger on the trigger. Although knowing that it wouldn't make much of a difference.
"I come as an enlightened man. I and my associates have discovered a great truth. A great destiny! And I want you to spread it to the others."
"Why?"
"Why? To give them the chance to join us in the coming time of glory." Madara said as he summoned three tablets that had been recently gathered together before Shepard's eyes. "And this, will convince them."
"The artifacts, but why are you giving them over now?"
"We have already uncovered the message and learned everything we need from it. Now we want the others to know the same truth."
"And if I don't hand them over?"
"I believe you are also curious about what information these tablets contains. Information that you would gladly covet in your struggle. However, the only way to access that information... is through the use of Tailed beasts. And as I recall, the others still got most of them, except two which remain in our possession. If you want to know of what these tablets contain, you got no choice but to deliver them. If you still won't. I can't guarantee your safety." Madara spoke at length, the last part containing no small a threat.
Shepard cursed under his breath. If that's the truth, then he did not have any other options but to deliver them..
"Now if you excuse me, I will now take my leave. I am so looking forward to what the others will make of the message." Madara chuckled darkly as he vanished from sight, leaving the tablets on the floor... glowing with a faint light that pulsed at the same tact. The elevator opened to allow entrance to Jacob and a trio of other crew members, all armed.
"You alright?" Jacob whispered to Shepard before his gaze drifted to the artifacts.
Shepard rubbed his temples.. "The Kalinin we encountered on the Migrant fleet dropped these things and left."
Jacob did not seem to know what to think of that.. "What are we going to do about those things?"
"Take the artifacts down to Mordin and have him try to decipher them. And hope the things aren't as hard to access as that man described them to be."