The appearance of Sovereign and his escorting geth fleet at Noveria came with so little warning that no major power could muster sufficient forces to counter them on such short notice. Fortunately for the majority of Noveria's residents, the synthetics were interested only in the Peak 15 facilities where Saren's co-conspirator Matriarch Benezia was holed up. The object of their arrival was not rescue however, as Saren had learned that Benezia had been compromised. Instead once they swept aside the scant defenses the planet possessed, they began bombarding Peak 15 from orbit. Only the fact that the lab facilities were deep under the mountain saved those taking refuge in them, that and the serendipitous arrival of the Terran Empire's 1st Battle Squadron, Eighth Fleet.
-Ashes of Empire: The Reaper War
Chapter 24
Bella detesta matribus
The doors to the observation deck unsealed and beyond the windows sat a massive insectoid that was presumably the rachni queen. As Shepard and the others stepped forward, the queen seemed to ignore them. Instead she swayed slowly, as if absorbed in her own thoughts. No, not thoughts.
"She's singing," Shepard said in some wonderment.
"Singing?" Jondum said quizzically.
"Yeah, you can't hear it?"
"I can, but song would not be what I would term the, noise, she is making," the Spectre responded.
Shepard cocked her head aside as she let the sound wash over her. "It's, like whale song. Whales are large aquatic mammals from Earth, and they sing, to communicate."
"Mayhap the queen is trying to communicate with her brood?"
The major frowned. "No, she's, not trying to talk to them. She's, crying for them."
To that the salarian regarded Shepard with puzzlement again. "What makes you say that?"
"You don't hear it?" Shepard said, stepping closer to the window. "The tone, the harmonics. There's meaning in their interplay. And that meaning, is sorrow." The major pressed a hand against the glass. "Sorrow, over her stolen children."
"This is rather remarkable," Jondum said. "All attempts to communicate with the rachni during the war were rebuffed. If only we had time with this one."
"Maybe we do," Shepard said, reaching over and turning on the mic pickup. "Singer, can you hear me?"
The queen stirred, turning slightly towards Shepard. The keen eared might pick up a slight change in intonation, but only Shepard seemed to grasp the underlying shift in meaning.
"I hear you, Singer," Shepard spoke. "And I am sorry."
The queen made some clicking noises before sagging back into her gentle sways. Not even the continued rumbles from the bombardment seemed to stir her.
"Singer," Shepard said again. "I will listen, if you speak."
The plea however did and she looked up at the major again. Closing her eyes, Shepard let the song fill her, mixing with not just her own thoughts but an imprint that resonated with the notes. In so striking a chord, the imprint was given form in the mind's eye as Shepard heard, felt, indeed even tasted the melody of the queen's short life. It was a life of pain, born as she was in the absence of her own mother's soothing song. And yet that absence might well have been a blessing, as Shepard felt a sour, note, tainting the melodic tapestry that echoed from before the queen's hatching. A taint that the queen was working hard to purge from her own song.
"Your children, you couldn't sing to them," Shepard said aloud, closing her eyes to better focus on the sounds and sights they elicited. "They're scared, so they lash out."
From behind Jondum watched and waited, curious at what was unfolding before his eyes but still wary enough to keep a hand on his gun. He did not interfere however, holding his nerve as he waited for the conclusion of this exchange.
"You can't save them. You can only mourn them. Mourn them as a mother would."
Without context, there were many ways to interpret Shepard's rambling. Even the major herself could only snatch bits and pieces, the queen's song helping the echoes of her thoughts bubble to the surface of Shepard's mind. As a means of communication it was imperfect, the imprint left behind by Benezia of the queen's mind being extremely fragmentary to start with. Even more confusingly, points of synchronicity between Benezia, the queen's, and Shepard's own thoughts caused them to mix and twist. Was it the queen whom held the coordinate for the Mu relay? Was it Benezia grieving over the estrangement of her child? Was it Shepard herself whose anger still smoldered over the destruction of any possible motherhood? The major fought to focus these thoughts, these emotions, separating them between hers and theirs. It took considerable willpower to do, but in that Shepard would not be found lacking.
"You are resigned to die because you see no hope." The major opened her eyes. "What if you did have hope?"
Jondum stepped forward. "Major, what are you doing?"
Shepard raised a hand, cutting him off as she listened to the shifting melody again.
"You are a mother. A mother is meant to nurture her children. To love them, and to guide them to their own future. A future that you share with them. Is that not the measure of hope?"
The queen rose, skittering over and gazing at Shepard as the tones of her notes deepened. Shepard could make out what was happening now. She could not actually understand the queen's song, not directly at least. The song was however calling forth fragments of the rachni's memories, and it was from those memories that she was drawing meaning. Meaning that chose for her her next course of action.
"I need everyone in the observation deck, now," Shepard ordered over the radio.
The survivors quickly filed in, though there were plenty of nervous glances in the direction of the queen. In fact one volus seemed to keel over entirely, needing support from two of his fellow researchers. Shepard paid no heed to the background however as she punched some commands into the console. Below them, a door opened in the containment chamber. A very large one, that the queen could easily pass through. She sang a ringing chord and stepped through.
"Major!?" Jondum said in alarm.
"Binary Helix got the queen into that room via a lift that leads down to the service tram deep underground," Shepard said, loud and clear cutting through the clamor elicited by her action. "The very same tram tunnel that's our best shot of getting out of here alive. The queen, unlike her children, is not feral. She's willing to live and let live." The major's eyes hardened as she regarded the researchers. "In spite of what was done to her and her kin."
There was a lot of uncomfortable shuffling at that bit, not just by the researchers but also by some of the surviving Elanus troopers. Some however remained defiant.
"So what were we supposed to do when they came at us? Roll over and let them eat us?" Captain Ventralis said.
"Of course not," Shepard responded nonchalantly. "At the same time, you are not to shoot at our ticket out of here. There are still hundreds of rachni scattered around Peak 15, and they'll have felt the bombardments. They'll obviously try to go to ground just like we are, and the only way we're getting through them is with the queen's help."
"And we're supposed to trust that, thing?" the captain persisted.
"At this point it's not a question of whether you trust the queen," Shepard responded. "It's whether you trust me."
As arguments went that was far from definitive, seeing as a good chunk of the people in the room had only just met the major. At the same time the ones that mattered were the ones actually armed, and of those Shepard's squad was in considerably better shape than the single squad of Elanus survivors. But how much of the major's squad would follow her on this point was not exactly an open and shut case either. Ashley and Kaidan would, Shepard was their legal superior and unless they thought she was going completely off the rails they were required to obey her. From their body language, while clearly uneasy, they were not prepared to cross that line as yet. Garrus was more clearly torn, his respect for Shepard warring with his sense of duty to the Council. He kept glancing back and forth between the major and Jondum, looking for some hint about which way the Spectre would go.
Liara seemed much less uncertain. Indeed hers was a steely visage, perhaps as a consequence of her dealing with her mother's death. The way she regarded Shepard, the asari was obviously prepared to cast her lot with the major come what may after having come this far already. Tali was harder to read, not least because of her mask. The quarian cradled her shotgun tightly, clearly not looking forward to getting into a scrap with the Peak 15 survivors. But the way her gun was angled, she was very much ready for that eventuality if it were to happen.
Of Shepard's squad, it was ultimately Wrex that was the true enigma. The krogan had made clear he was tagging along primarily for the bounty on Saren's head. He took his cues from Shepard because she was the mission leader, but he accepted her as mission leader at his sufferance. If he ever decided it would be more expedient to try for Shepard's bounty instead, the respect he had for the major would only dictate to how hard and fast he felt he hit. And then Wrex stepped forward, turned about, and gave his flamethrower a flick. As signals went, that was pretty unambiguous. The continued rumbling from the bombardments added a nice touch as well.
Jarvis grimaced, as a quick glance at Jondum provided no indication the Spectre intended to defy Shepard, yet at least. That left the Elanus captain with few options.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Major."
Shepard returned his gaze with a steely visage. "As opposed to Binary Helix when they unleashed this horror in the first place?"
And implicitly the Elanus security forces that stood by and let them. Making friends, Shepard was not. But the major did not need the survivors to like her, she just needed their compliance for long enough to get all of them out of this mess alive. Reaching over to the console, Shepard punched in more commands and a door opened to the side of the deck leading down into the containment chamber itself.
"Move out," Shepard ordered.
The major took the leader herself. The others followed, a sense of reluctance clear in their motions, but with their only other choice to stay here and wait for the lab to collapse and bury them alive, going into tunnel infested by giant killer bugs seemed almost like a good idea. The group moved as quickly as they could with the walking and not-so-walking wounded, but soon enough they crossed the chamber and were at the large freight elevator leading down. An elevator wherein the queen was, waiting for them. Clicks sounded as weapons rose.
"Hold," Shepard said, the tone of her voice broking no dissent.
The others looked at her, the major's command hardly sufficient to placate their nerves. No one fired though, even if there was some very visible shaking being so close to the massive queen.
"We need to trust her," Shepard continued, "just as she needs to trust us. Isn't that right?"
The tone that rung was easy enough to interpret, even if only Shepard could begin to claim to understand it. Warily, the others filled in, the volus requiring to be literally dragged in, and the doors closed behind. The tension continued unabated as they rode down, but the time gave Shepard a chance to get a better read on how everyone was actually doing.
"Liara," she approached the seated asari. "You okay for now?"
Liara smiled wryly in response. "I, think so, Shepard. I'm not in shock at least. I can keep going, however long it takes us to get out of this nightmare."
The major nodded, but her concern was only partially assuaged. "What about that wound there?"
A quick glance at Liara's armor marked the point where it had been penetrated, with medical gauze filling the hole.
"The bleeding's stopped and the painkiller should keep it numb for at least another hour or so," Liara said. "It actually looks worse than it is, the phasic round burned me, but it didn't get too deep."
Shepard nodded. "Alright. Keep me apprised of your condition. In fact, I'm putting you in charge of our walking wounded. Anyone's condition worsens, let me know right away."
"Yes Shepard."
The major regarded Liara a moment longer, but refrained from further comment. The asari's choices were her own and this was not the time to bring them up. Next she moved onto Kaidan, whom was already conferring with Jondum.
"Well, Spectre," Shepard began. "This is probably as good a time as any if you have anything to say."
"I doubt any of us predicted the complexity of the situation we now face," Jondum said. "I cannot say I necessarily agree with you trusting this queen, but that does not mean yours is the wrong choice. It is, for the moment at least, the least worst choice."
"So you'll still follow my lead?"
"I did acquiesce to your command topside," Jondum stated.
"And I'm sure I'll know if you ever decide to withdraw your cooperation in a very loud and clear way," the major said dryly.
"Clear, yes. Loud, we shall see."
The smirk the salarian cracked marked the hint of humor in his response. That was hopefully a good sign if he was prepared to crack jokes like that. Assuming it was a joke. For now though the matter seemed to be put to rest, so Shepard looked over at Kaidan.
"How are we doing for firepower and people to use it?" she asked.
"Bottom of the barrel, ma'am," the lieutenant answered. "Most of Captain Ventralis' troops need sleep, some are about ready to collapse as is. All their guns work at least, but we're pretty much out of anything heavy."
"Using any of that down here in the tunnels would be suicide anyway."
"Yes ma'am," Kaidan agreed, then more softly, "but what about after we get out?"
The insinuation was clear enough. Once they were out of here, what did they do about the queen. Was there anything they could do, considering the state of their party.
"We'll play it by ear," Shepard said simply. "The queen could be an immeasurably valuable ally if she's inclined towards it."
"That is true enough," Jondum said. "During the Rachni Wars they were relentless in their campaign against the Council, but if this queen could be convinced that peaceful coexistence is possible, and preferable, it would go some ways to redeeming the many failures of that era."
Like uplifting the krogan to use as cannon fodder, not that anyone was crass enough to say that here. Certainly not when a particularly mean looking krogan was within earshot. Wrex's attention however seemed to be focused on making sure the queen did not try turning on them now that she was free.
"Anyway ma'am," Kaidan said, getting them back on track. "If we could afford it, I would have suggested at least an hour of rest." A shudder kicked up some dust and dirt. "Since we can't, we'll just have to rough it with what we've got."
"Understood," Shepard said, then turned her head about.
The others followed her gaze, simultaneously noticing the clicking sounds the queen was making. Whatever she was trying to tell them was however lost on her listeners, though several reflexively glanced over at Shepard. The major cocked her head aside, frowning, until the queen switched to a set of tones instead of flicks.
"I think she's saying we should move," Shepard finally explained. "There's, nothing down here, for now at least."
"How can she tell?" Jondum asked.
"Because it's quiet," Shepard said. "None of her children's, screams, echo down here."
"Okay, but how are you able to tell, ma'am?" Ashley asked as she joined them and caught the tail end of the conversation."
Shepard frowned. "I think, it's because Benezia had previously melded with the queen before she did the same to me. And some of the queen's memories are leaking over from that."
"Ah, so the matriarch did indeed perform a meld," Jondum said. "I was not quite certain if she actually succeeded before succumbing to your attack."
The major's lips thinned. "It was her one moment of defiance." She met Liara's eyes as the asari joined them as well. "She broke free of Sovereign's indoctrination at that one moment, to pass on everything she knew about their plan."
To that Liara inhaled deeply, obviously trying to find some measure of comfort in her mother's defiance. It was certainly not redemption, far from it, but it might well be the difference between their success or failure.
"Then we had best make the matriarch's sacrifice count," Jondum said, "and escape here alive to make use of her final gift."
"Quite," Shepard agreed. "Alright people, we're moving out."
The weary survivors formed up, exhaustion obvious in their forms and stances.
"Captain Ventralis, my squad will be taking point with the queen. Yours will be responsible for safeguarding the Binary Helix researchers. Keep at least one hundred meters behind us, but don't stray more than two hundred. If you find yourself falling behind, radio and let us know."
"Understood," Jarvis responded readily enough.
There was always the risk that Jarvis and his party might try to bolt. If they did, their chances of getting out of this alive went way down, but the Elanus troopers and Binary Helix researchers might be desperate enough to try. At the same time Shepard already had what she wanted from the mission, Benezia's intel, so losing the Binary Helix researchers would not be that big a deal. And if they ended up being munched on by the rachni, there was a certain poetic justice to such a fate.
Walking over to where the queen was waiting, Shepard looked up at the creature.
"Let's go," she said.
Again the queen seemed to understand Shepard with no difficulty as she turned about and headed back into the tram tunnel. Shepard and the others followed, with Wrex taking point once more. The major was right beside the krogan, for more than one reason.
"Thanks for backing me up back there," she said.
Wrex snorted. "Only a fool'd have picked a fight back then, and any that did we'd be doing the universe a favor putting them out of their misery."
"Because you actually agree that this is our best shot of getting out of here?" Shepard queried. "Or because you think you'll find something at the end of all this?"
From Wrex's silence the major was obviously onto something. That silence did not however give any indication as to whether that something was beneficial or not for Shepard's cause.
"I ain't got anything to say right now," Wrex finally responded. "If we all die down here, the point becomes moot. If we make it out alive, that's when decisions need to be made."
"And you think I won't be able to make them?" Shepard asked, catching the slight inflection at the end there.
Wrex regarded the queen, then glanced back at Shepard. "The thing is Shepard, I'm not sure how much of you is still in there. You melded with that huntress we caught on Feros. Benezia just forced one on you. And now you're able to understand the queen? Call me a skeptic, but how many memories, thoughts, are floating through your head?"
It was a legitimate question, if rather bluntly put. But then again Wrex could always be counted on to cut to the heart of a matter.
"At this point I don't know," Shepard stated frankly. "I'm not the first person Benezia or Shiala melded with, and who knows how long echoes from those melds linger. But if there is one thing you can count on, it is my conviction to carry out the duty I have been charged with, no more, no less."
"So you're fulfilling your duty by showing mercy to the queen?" Wrex asked.
Shepard regarded the krogan. "You believe that mercy to be a mistake?"
Despite being next to the queen, and obviously recognizing the queen could understand them just fine, Wrex still answered with his usual forthrightness.
"Whether it's a mistake or not, time will tell. Whether you'll have the stomach to correct the mistake if it turns into one…"
Despite Wrex's stubbornness, the krogan was far from stupid. Simultaneously despite his relative mental flexibility, compared to the rest of his species at least, the instincts ingrained within him remained the same. That meant that assuring Wrex with simple words would not be enough. Or rather, the right words for Wrex were going to be markedly different than for say a politician or even a soldier. The words he needed to hear were still those of a warlord or even a despot. How fortunate humanity, for all its current civility, possessed ample experience with and as both.
"You know, in some ways you krogan were fortunate that it was the Turian Hierarchy that came riding to the Council's rescue during the Rebellions," Shepard remarked.
"Oh yeah?" Wrex said, his tone taking on a dangerous glint. "And why is that?"
The major met his eyes unflinchingly. "Because if it had been the Terran Empire, we wouldn't have settled for some half-measure like the Genophage."
The krogan spent a few moments staring, indeed even glaring, at Shepard. The way his fingers gripped the flamethrower, one might have easily mistaken his intent as that of preparing to torch the major. And then he erupted into loud, hearty laughter. From behind Shepard caught glimpses of more than one person jumping slightly in surprise. No one started shooting though, so she kept her attention on the jovial sounding krogan.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Shepard, how could I have ever doubted you?" Wrex managed in between his laughter. "At this rate if we don't get Saren, it'll be because the sorry bastard offed himself instead of having the quads to face you. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
It looked as if Shepard had read Wrex right in what sort of appeal to use. The krogan was not one for wishy-washy platitudes, he respected cold hard truth. One such truth was that as horrific as the Genophage was, it was far from destroying the krogan race as a whole. If that had been the objective of the Council races at the time, the sterility inflicted upon the krogans would have been total instead of near-total.
But that particular truth was only part of what ultimately won Wrex over. That truth allowed him a point of comparison he was all too familiar with. The central truth that saw his respect for Shepard actually bolstered was a different truth, one all too often denied by the so-called civilized races. Simply put, it was the truth that wholesale extermination of a population, of a people, indeed even of an entire race, was viable as an instrument of warfare. Indeed could even be the most practical course of action, horrific though it may be. To outright deny that marked a dangerous narrowmindedness. Dangerous, because such denial could well blind one to the possibility of others being willing to exact such horrors and so render one unprepared to defend against it. But by showing awareness of when the balance tilted in favor of such extremes for her own side, Shepard demonstrated to Wrex an equal acuteness of the risks that her own people might be subjected to it. And so forewarned, she was all the better positioned to prevent it, as permanently as possible. That was a degree of foresightedness, indeed ruthlessness, that Wrex could respect.
The queen made some more clicking and tonal sounds. When Wrex looked over at Shepard for translation again, the major simply rolled her eyes and kept her mouth shut. He had already gotten one good laugh out of her today, no need to give him more. The next set of clicks however saw her raise her rifle. Wrex followed suit, pointing his flamethrower at the darkened corridor ahead of them.
"You hear that?"
Wrex waited a beat as he peered into the darkness. "Yeah. They're not too far off. And there's a lot of them." He looked over at the queen. "So what's she going to do now?"
A low hiss sounded and a blue glow surrounded the queen.
"Kick ass and take names," Shepard verbalized.
The krogan grunted. "Good enough for me."
"Contact three hundred meters ahead," Shepard said into the radio. "Making out two dozen warriors. They don't seem to have noticed us yet. Civilians and escorts halt. Squad, form up."
The people behind the vanguard party hurried to obey and Shepard was soon joined by the rest of her squad. The major and Garrus switched over to their sniper rifles while the others took up positions to nail anything that got through. The queen hung back a little bit, seemingly deferring to Shepard's judgment in how to organize this fight. She was however obviously ready to intervene should the need arise.
"Weapons fire," Shepard announced.
Flickers of light momentarily cut through the darkness as the rounds sailed down the corridor. The screeches that sounded in response were a pretty good indicator that those shots weren't missing, at least not all of them. Soon enough much louder skittering was heard approaching them as the rachni warriors charged, tendrils waving in the air menacingly. By now however Shepard and her squad were well versed in how to deal with the creatures. Liara and Kaidan had barriers ready just as sprays of acid came flying their way, while Ashley fired off controlled bursts to keep the warriors at bay. Tali's drone dove about, aiming for any ruptured acid sacs as it zapped the bugs, going for a chain reaction.
Suddenly all of the rachni came to a halt as they were lifted into the air, their legs frantically flailing about. From behind the blue glow around the queen had gotten brighter, marking her as the source of the biotic field. The others needed no urging to take advantage of their enemy's debilitation and poured out fire with gusto. Wrex even went so far as to charge up to light them literally on fire. A slight case of overkill, though there was a practical benefit of burning out any spilled acid. The last enemy rachni soon stopped twitching but Shepard still took a moment to confirm there were no more hostiles.
"We're clear," she said into the radio. "Civilian party, proceed to our current location, over."
An acknowledgment came promptly and they were quickly joined by the other survivors.
"That was pretty dang helpful," Ashley remarked. "When the queen stopped all those other rachni, I mean. That was her, right?"
"It was," Liara affirmed as she looked over at the queen. "But I cannot help wonder, why is she helping us slay her, children?"
As if to emphasize that, the queen was going from one rachni corpse to the next, singing a sorrowful chord at each one as she mourned them.
"These, children of hers, are insane," Shepard said. "Violently insane. There's no way they can be treated, and considering how dangerous they are, the only option is to put them down."
"Insane?" Liara said. "What made them that way? Was it something Binary Helix did?"
"In a manner of speaking," a new voice entered the conversation.
The squad was now joined by a human man, somewhat heavily built with visibly graying hair. Like the other survivors he looked exhausted and even had a few bandages here and there.
"And you would be?" Shepard prompted.
"Dr. Yaroslev Tartakovsky," the man introduced himself. "I was one of the lead researchers on the rachni project. And that means I have much to answer for in light of this disaster."
"Yes, you do," Shepard agreed quietly.
That was the extent of the major's admonishments however, this was not the time for further recriminations.
"So, what did Binary Helix do to cause the newborn rachni to go insane then?" she asked instead.
"A simple thing, but which we did not understand the consequences of," Yaroslev answered. "We removed the eggs from the queen's presence. It was only recently that we learned that the queen needs to, sing, to her offspring while they are developing within the eggs. Without her song, they become irrevocably feral."
"Goddess," Liara whispered, then looked over at the queen in deep sympathy. "And she was forced to watch as her children were taken away, knowing they would become monsters."
"More than watch," Shepard said, eyes narrowing as Yaroslev's explanation elicited more thoughts, more memories. "She could hear their cries. Their songs tinged with fear." The major's eyes hardened as she glared at Yaroslev. "Every. Single. Note."
The man bowed his head in shame. "We had no idea. I had no idea. But, that is no excuse. Whatever penance she would demand of me, I will accept. Even if it means my life."
Shepard took a deep breath as she checked her emotions. Some of the anger was genuinely hers, the sense of outrage at the atrocity visited upon the queen and her children. It was however accented, indeed inflamed, by the queen's own grief and anguish. If she was not careful, those emotions really could start influencing her judgment, much as Wrex had warned.
"That will be for the courts to decide," Shepard finally said. "And it can wait until we get out of here alive."
"I understand," Yaroslev said softly and let out a long sigh.
The man wandered off, apparently having fulfilled his aim of confessing. Whether the act would assuage his guilt or if he was still looking for judgment to be handed down as well was not Shepard's concern right now however. She had more practical problems to deal with.
"The next part is going to be tricky," the major stated. "The lights are out in the next section of the tunnel. If we get jumped down there, it's going to be absolute hell maintaining discipline with the civilians."
"And probably also the Elanus troopers," Garrus remarked.
"Them too," Shepard agreed, which probably explained why their commanding captain was not part of this conversation, yet. "This being the case, Spectre, I want you, Vakarian, and Alenko to back them up. Your priority is to make sure they do not panic."
"Understood, Major," Jondum said.
"You sure you'll have enough firepower upfront ma'am?" Kaidan asked. "I mean, the queen's obviously a shit-hot biotic, but she's not exactly packing more heat."
"I wouldn't underestimate her," Shepard said. "All we've seen is her use biotics, but I'm pretty sure if push came to shove those tendrils of hers work just as well as a warrior's."
"Very well ma'am," Kaidan accepted the call.
With their next course of action plotted, the survivors coalesced into their respective parties once more and headed into the darkness. The group escorting the civilians had lights on, but up ahead Shepard and her squad remained in the dark, relying on their night vision to compensate. No one told the civilians that their lighting made them the obvious target for any rachni down here. Being told one was defacto bait was not a good way of preventing panic.
Risk of panic was of course not limited solely to the civilian survivors or even to the badly traumatized Elanus troopers. Shepard's own squad was going on several hours of active combat, which was enough to start causing significant fatigue, both mental and physical. Tired soldiers made for jumpy soldiers and the pervading darkness did not help.
The sound of metal clinking caused everyone to spin about.
"What was that?" Ashley exclaimed.
Almost everyone.
"Liara tripped on a piece of rubble," Shepard said nonchalantly.
One benefit of the major's sensor suite was she could literally see all around, within a limited radius at least.
"Sorry," the asari said.
Had her face been visible, it would have been noticeably flushed. As it was the others could hear her embarrassment loud and clear.
"I'm not picking anything up right now," Shepard said. "And I'm pretty sure the queen'll be able to warn us if they try tunneling to flank us, so stay frosty but don't be too tense."
"Yes ma'am," Ashley said for the others.
From then onward no one else tripped on anything or otherwise walked into anything that would make a loud noise. There was still a nervous air about thanks to the clicks and skittering noises made by the queen, but even that started to become as routine as the footsteps that sounded.
"We're making good progress," Shepard said after a seeming eternity had passed. "Assuming the base schematics are accurate, we're coming up on an exit point."
"Haven't felt much shaking either," Ashley noted. "Do you think that means that dreadnaught's stopped bombing?"
"That is a very good question," Shepard said. "Hopefully once we're topside we can tap into the comms net and get an update."
As she finished speaking, Shepard frowned and slowed. The queen did likewise, or perhaps it was she that reacted first.
"You hear something skipper?" Ashley asked.
"There's fighting up ahead," Shepard stated. "Rachni, and something else."
"Geth?" Wrex suggested.
"Yeah, I think so," Shepard said.
"How can you tell?" Tali asked.
In the distance, a shrill echo finally reached them. A distinct, recognizable echo of a pulse weapon.
"That's how," Shepard said, then into her radio. "Shepard to Bau. I've got a geth and rachni skirmish up ahead. Heading forward to secure the area. Hold position until I give the say-so, over."
"Understood," Bau responded. "Good luck, Major, Bau clear."
Shepard glanced around at her fireteam. "Ready?"
The others all nodded. The major then looked at the queen. The large creature too dipped her form in acquiesce.
"Alright, move in."
The squad picked up their pace into a light trot. The sound of gunfire and screeches grew louder as they closed in. Shepard was also getting more detailed returns and the major was not liking what she was seeing.
"Saren might have put boots in the ground," she informed the others. "I'm seeing at least a platoon of geth infantry. The rabid rachni are chewing through them, but they're starting to get worn down by sheer numbers."
"Did they come down the elevator?" Liara asked.
"Maybe, that's still too far away for me to see." Shepard grimaced. "They're almost done cutting through the rachni, after that it's our turn."
At those words the queen let out a low hiss. As rabid as her children were, they were still her children, and she seemed to take special offense at the synthetic soldiers gunning them down. Her chance to pay them back came quickly as the vanguard elements of the geth incursion soon met them. The geth were unbothered by the dark and opened fire immediately upon sighting Shepard and her team. The queen preempted any response however when it sent out a wave of gravitic energy. More than one geth trooper was smeared against the tunnel wall in pieces. None got back up to keep shooting. Shepard and the others spent a few moments staring blankly at the scene of mechanical carnage.
"Well, I for one am very glad we decided not trying to kill the queen," Ashley said.
Snorts sounded from at least two others.
"Let's keep going," Shepard said. "The geth will definitely know we're here."
And was not wasting time acting upon that knowledge. The geth forces were advancing in strength, and at greater than platoon strength.
"Oh shit," Shepard muttered and glanced at the rachni queen. "You think you can do that a few more times?"
The queen sounded less than confident in her response.
"Then we do this the hard way."
The queen issued a compact burst of clicks, then turned about and started heading the other way. That was not what Shepard was intending and she spent a moment gapping at the retreating rachni.
"Wait, what?"
"Where's the queen going!?" Tali exclaimed as the rachni charged past her.
"Hell if I know," Shepard said, but her attention was quickly drawn to other matters. "Incoming!"
Pulser fire zipped through the air and the squad found what cover they could. The geth knew they held the advantage here, paying for gained ground with broken bodies as they inched ever closer to the squad's position. Of course getting too close also came with a greater degree of risk, as Wrex demonstrated when he seared a trio of enemy troopers with his flamethrower. More were set alight from the splashes of burning fuel, enough to at least eat through their kinetic barriers. The lithe mechs went down in the hail of gunfire that followed, buying a momentary reprieve.
"Tank's empty," Wrex said, tossing the entire contraption aside.
"Gun's jamming from the heat," Ashley added as she switched over to her sidearm.
Shepard's own rifle was running more than a little hot. The pistol she scavenged off of a dead Elanus trooper was a poor substitute for her destroyed Carnifex however and so she nursed her shots, making every one count.
"I'm getting a lot more EM noise," Tali reported. "There's more incoming."
Shepard was detecting much the same. At this rate they simply could not hold, even if Jondum and the others were with them.
"Alright, start following back, by the numbers," Shepard ordered. "Liara, Tali, go!"
The two stopped firing, hustling back the way they came before taking up new positions a few dozen meters down.
"In position!" Liara reported.
"Gunny, Wrex, go!"
Shepard joined the trio as they ran back, making sure to give Liara and Tali clear lines of fire on the incoming mechs.
"Go!" Shepard called again once she was in position.
Turning back, Shepard let off another burst of her rifle. The gun had had enough time to cool during her little sprint, but the margin was still too tight and a click sounded as it went into thermal lock.
"Shit," Shepard muttered.
The pistol she drew felt like a peashooter as she popped off shots. The geth barely seemed bothered by the hits. At this rate she might just have to resort to her sniper rifle despite the ridiculously short range.
"Shepard!" Liara's voice sounded over the radio. "We've found the queen! She's, digging a hole through the mountain with her acid!"
The major blinked once, then twice, before shaking herself. That was what the queen had been trying to tell her before. Shepard grimaced wryly. Obviously her ability to interpret rachni communications was imperfect in the extreme even with the imprint from Benezia. Still, this might just offer them a chance to level the field.
"Bau, get the survivors to Liara's position and follow the tunnel the queen is making, out."
No time to ask or wait for acknowledgment, she and the others needed to focus on holding the geth for as long as possible to give the civilians time to get down into the hole. Once they were in the tunnel, the much narrower confines should serve as a bottleneck, reducing the geth advantage in numbers. That proved easier said than done however as the unrelenting push by the synthetics forced Shepard and the others to keep giving ground. As it was, the others were still pilling into the tunnel when Shepard and the others were themselves forced in.
"Move, move, move!" Shepard shouted, literally throwing the last researcher in.
At the same time Ashley tossed the last of her grenades at the oncoming geth. She was promptly rewarded by broken pieces of the mechs toppling over. A small dent, but every second that was bought meant they might live that much longer. Not wasting any of that precious time, Shepard broke into an all-out sprint down into the tunnels. Or rather, up. The queen seemed to be tunneling on an upward incline.
"Careful skipper," Kaidan warned. "Some of the queen's side is draining down, you don't want to end up stepping in any puddles."
"Duly noted," Shepard responded as she climbed up.
The incline's steepness increased sharply, not enough to stop them from progressing, but still enough to make forward progress extremely tiresome. The queen arguably could have made it even steeper, but she seemed intent on not abandoning her smaller followers. They could only hope her favorable disposition towards them would last long enough for all of them to get out.
If the climb upwards was proving challenging for the organics, the synthetic geth were finding it even more troublesome. Not because they actually tired from the excursion, but because the high ground was offering ample tactical advantage to Shepard and the others. Ashley may have used up the last of her grenades, but a few others still had some to spare. The explosives rolling down did a very agreeable job on the clumped up geth, further slowing their advance.
"Fucking hell, we might actually make it out of this," Shepard heard someone say.
A stray shot from below hit something wet and a loud scream sounded.
"Shit! Digby, you alright!?"
"Do I look alright, you fucking wally!?"
"Get a move on it!" Shepard called out.
If the man could swear, he could get his ass in gear. Hopefully no one else would be tempted to taunt Murphy. A sudden chill blew over Shepard's back from behind. Looking up, she could actually see daylight shining down.
"She's broken through!" Kaidan reported. "We're out onto the mountain!"
Not just that, Shepard was now picking up comms signals. Her eyes widened slightly as a full tactical dump was dropped on her.
"This is Major Shepard," she quickly called out. "I am in need of immediate support and evac!"
"We ready you, Major," Pressly's voice sounded. "Normandy inbound with friendlies."
Explosions could already be heard, though not from the frigate herself. Fliting about in the air around Peak 15, terran gunships were chewing through the geth ground forces that were still above ground. Indeed several downed geth dropships littered the mountainside, while assault shuttles were disgorging platoons that were working to overrun any geth too dug in to bomb out of existence.
"Where did all this come from?" Garrus said incredulously as he gazed at the burning mountainside.
"I'm getting IFF signals identifying the forces as VIII Marine Expeditionary Force," Kaidan said. "But, that's the division attached to Eighth Fleet." He looked up. "No, it couldn't be."
"It is," Ashley said, a wide grin plastered over her face.
High above the sky, in orbit around Noveria, 1st Battle Squadron, Eighth Fleet, hung there in the fullness of its strength. The four dreadnaughts and two carriers made for an imposing sight all by themselves, while the fifty plus cruisers and frigates accompanying them lent further weight to the power the fleet represented. Even now more combat shuttles were being deployed, with forces moving in to secure not just Peak 15 but also Port Hanshan. Noveria might not have wanted any part in Saren's war against humanity, but the war was here now and the Empire intended to press it till the end.
"Stop gawking, keep moving!" Shepard said somewhat brusquely as she emerged.
The others hurried to obey, clearing the opening of the tunnel. Shepard looked over at the queen.
"Can you seal that!?"
The queen sang a single note, one that caused Shepard to grimace. It seemed she had expended what acid her sacs held just digging them out this far.
"Then we do this the hard way. Everyone further down, now!"
Despite quite a few shivering forms, the survivors hurried to obey. Taking something from her belt, Shepard tossed it down the hole before running like hell herself.
"This is Major Shepard, calling for immediate strike upon beacon alpha alpha 912, friendlies 100 meters south and moving."
"Roger that Major," came the response. "Bagpipe 2 coming in hot."
One of the gunships peeled towards them and Shepard's HUD began pinging her, indicating a lock-on in progress. The single missile launched neatly popped into the hole before a loud thud marked its detonation. That was one threat ended. A louder rumble began filling the air. Shepard looked up.
"Oh SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
And another one born as high above them, the snowcapped mountaintop began to shake loose its volumes and volumes of white sheets.
"NORMANDY! WE NEED EVAC NOW!"
The welcome roar of the frigate's engines thundered overhead and the ramp came down as she hovered on the ground. The survivors hurriedly scrambled onboard, the slower ones being picked up or dragged on by their fellows. As she set a boot on the ramp, Shepard looked back to see the queen facing the oncoming avalanche. The rachni turned slightly, as if meeting Shepard's eye, and let ring a single note. Shepard's eyes widened as another thought, another memory surfaced.
"Major!"
She was still lost in that thought when Kaidan reached out and pulled her onboard as the ramp rose and shut. As the Normandy herself rose into the sky, the mountainside disappeared under the waves of white.
End of Chapter 24
The underground sequence ended up being longer than I expected, so the fallout of the Noveria mission will be handled next chapter. Or rather the start of the fallout. I'll discuss more my choices on the how and why of the queen's fate in the author notes next chapter once some of that fallout has a chance to play out.
Bioware was restricted to relying on dialogue in order to get across the rachni queen's story. I am not, so I elected for a more psychedelic experience where Shepard directly communed with the queen. And as mentioned in the chapter proper, Shepard was able to do so because of the imprint Benezia left behind from her melding with the major after having also done so with the rachni queen. This is intended to demonstrate a more pervasive ramification for the whole act of melding than the games showed because, to be frank, the consequences of linking minds like this felt way underplayed. It also felt like a missed opportunity, one that I will be taking full advantage of.
I have not seen nor know anything about Future Diary.