2175 CE – May 10th – Armax Simulator – 13:13 PM
"Do you see them?" Shepard called over the comms. She was hunched down behind a stone formation, goal in sight, but not one opponent in view. That in itself was deeply suspicious.
"Not one," Garrus answered back. "Why don't you give them a target?"
"Hah, you want to use me as bait? Not sure I like that idea."
"Do you have a better one ?"
Shepard heard on his snide reply that he was smiling.
"Not really. They're well concealed, and we're only two."
"Make a run for it and don't get shot. I got your six."
"How reassuring."
"No backtalk from the bait, please."
"Oh, you'll pay for that later, Vakarian."
Shepard got up and prepared to make a mad dash for the next cover. While Garrus was undoubtedly the best shot on her team, Mevia was not far behind, and she was aided and abetted by the remaining Four except from Strabo, who was in the observer's booth. They had begged her to try this infiltrator scenario for a week, and she'd at last given in. Garrus had volunteered to be the second on her team and right now she was very grateful for that. The sniper had an excellent overview of the battlefield from his hiding spot, and he would spot any movement that weren't her if it was out there. Another couple of deep breaths and she was away. Running at full speed while hunkering down as best she could was awkward, but presenting the enemy with too much of a target was the other, and infinitely worse choice. Shepard heard one projectile pass closely over her head, and another cast dirt around her feet. The thought of getting shot made her speed up, practically diving for cover behind a small burned out vehicle. Her run came to a sudden stop when she smashed her shoulder into the iron.
"Aw, fuck. Did you see anything?"
Ten seconds of silence passed, then a shot rang out from her side.
"Did you get anyone?" Shepard called again, to more silence. She wriggled into a more comfortable position to wait out Garrus' self imposed radio silence.
A second shot echoed between the buildings, and Shepard hoped it meant that her partner was mopping up the opposition. If they were now worried about Garrus picking them off one by one, she could try for another approach on the target. Shepard broke from cover and made for the next building, legs moving like drumsticks. Scattered salvos of gunfire followed her, broken only by single shots from above. Garrus was taking his duty seriously, whenever she revealed the enemy position, he soon fired as many shots as possible before the rifle overheated. If only the little sneak would tell her how many he'd managed to get, if any. She was 15 meters from the target, and would rather not fight three or four people in close quarter combat through the building, not without her biotics.
"Garrus, are you there?"
Still no reply, and she wanted to kick his butt. The window was slightly ajar, but Shepard knew better than to force it open without checking first. She pulled out a flexible mirror rod and carefully inserted it in the small gap between the pane and the window. Sure enough, on the other side was a grenade, secured to the frame with a piece of wire. This being Mevia's doing, Shepard rolled the rod around and inspected the other side. A second grenade, this time on a proximity sensor. Clever girl.
She retracted the mirror and looked around for a second entry point. There was no obvious place, but there was a drain pipe leading up to the roof. It looked solid enough, Shepard thought and gave the pipe a few testing pulls. No creaks or hinges giving way. After re-positioning her rifle to not be in the way, she started the ascent. The area had gone unnaturally quiet, and no word yet from her sniper. Hopefully, he'd not been ambushed, but it was of little matter. If she could only reach their objective, the match was won, regardless of death toll.
Very quietly she moved across the tiles of the roof, until she came across a caved in area with three broken beams and cracked tiles. Afraid that the debris might give off sound, she got down on her stomach and crawled towards the hole. From her position, she could see Mevia below, scouring the horizon for either her or Garrus through the scope. Shepard could not see anyone else in the room, but decided to ambush Mevia silently, as to not tip off any other enemies in the area. With extreme care, she slid between the broken beams and landed with an almost inaudible thud right behind Mevia, knife out and jammed it in her neck. Mevia gave a small shriek at the cold blunt knife pressed against her sensitive hide, and pulled the trigger accidentally.
"Dammit, Shepard," she hissed and threw her arms in the air.
Shepard grinned silently, when a change in the air made her throw herself to the side as a rifle spat three bullets in rapid succession at the position where she'd stood mere seconds ago. She pulled her gun out of it's holster and fired blindly over the overturned table she'd hid behind, but knew the thin wood would not keep out the next bullets from her enemy. The need to throw a reave made her hand shake, but another single shot rang out from the outside.
"Scoped and dropped," Garrus' cheerful voice announced over the comms. "You can stop hiding now, bait. I've done most of the work."
"Next time," Shepard said, pretending to be stern, "you can do the running and 'I'll show you how a biotics master clears a field."
"Master, is it?" he called back laughing.
"I'll prove it at my exam, and you'll all bow down before me." Shepard walked over to Mevia and gave her a hand. The scout had hid so as not to get shot by her accomplice, who turned out to be none other than Castor.
"Almost had you," he said and shrugged.
"That you did," she smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Next time, eh?"
"Next time for sure," he agreed smilingly.
"Next time Garrus can't be on your team," Mevia said. "It's not fair."
"Aw, sore looooser, are we?" Garrus announced over the comms.
"Vakarian, I warn you..."
"All right, all right. The program is over, and I've promised Celsus we'd run against his team on the obstacle course. Let's get the rest of our corpses and get over there."
The sniper-killed parts of Four protested the moniker, but they were all in high spirits when they left the simulator.
2175 CE – May 20th – Class Room – 15:03 PM
"So, the war games will consist of two parts. The first will be clearing an area of dangerous wildlife for settlement."
Nirea raised her hand.
"What kind of wildlife?"
"Some unknown idiots has released wild nathaks on Eden Prime, and we have been given permission to use their extermination as part of the final exam."
"Sounds harsh," Castor said.
Shepard gave him a small nod.
"Maybe, but they're not native to the planet, and since they're apex predators, they might ruin the entire Eco system. They belong on Noveria, but I doubt Conatix will pay for their repatriation."
"So what's the second part?" Aius asked.
"Depending on how well we dispose of the nathaks, we'll earn a position of defending or attacking in the real war games. The second part will naturally not have live rounds, unlike the first. We'll be returning to our starting point and getting refitted with sim-armor and exchanging weapons before deploying to the last exam."
"Too bad, would've been interesting," Aius quipped.
"It would not! How can you even think that? Shooting at our friends!" Nirea glowered at him.
"Hey, hey, I was only kidding!"
Aius backpedaled and tried to look contrite, but Nirea wasn't entirely convinced. She kept an eye on him and crossed her arms.
"Which is the better position, to attack or to defend?" Garrus said, looking at the datapad in front of him.
"It appears like the attackers will have to crawl through a kilometer long swamp while in full camouflage." Shepard grinned when she saw the collective wince of Four. "The squads will be divided into three large battlefields, one for every marshland available on that part of Eden Prime. The defenders will set up an entrenchment and keep it from being overrun. Lots of sniper activity on either side."
Garrus and Mevia grinned madly.
"And what's more, we'll have a special guest. The Hierarchy is sending a special envoy to observe the war games."
The turians on her team gasped.
"Yep. Now's your chance to stand out, maybe get a post of your choosing."
"Spirits, that's.. do they say who?" Castor said eagerly.
"Nope, not a word. Sadly, Commander Vyrnnus has offered to be his envoy, so I'll have to suffer his presence at the games as well, but for you guys at least, this could be good."
"Envoy of the Hierarchy," Argyle shrugged. "What's the big deal. Would've been better if Alliance brass sent somebody."
"What? You-.. It's the Hierarchy?" Mevia looked scandalized.
"So? I don't care about that."
Mevia looked ready to strangle Argyle, until he added;
"You're the only turian who's orders I'd obey."
"Oh.. I.." Mevia stuttered and her neck flushed blue.
"Please, I just ate a nutri-bar," Aius said and pretended to gag.
"The primarchess of my heart," Argyle continued to Mevia's mortification and Four's laughing.
"My little plated bundle of love," he went on, and Mevia regained some agency and smacked him over the head with her datapad.
"Stop it!"
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but my love is eternal," Argyle declared with a broad smile, and his girlfriend was torn between hitting him again and letting the shameless flattery win her over. To Four's surprise, the latter won out.
"Oh, stop it, I love you too."
"Gods, stop it, both of you. We need to make war, not love." Shepard turned to the holo-screen and continued her briefing, soundly ignoring the snickering and sounds of cowl slaps behind her.
"You've been given maps of all three areas. I want you to think about fortifications and points of attack for all three places. We won't be given the location of the nathak dens before we arrive, they're nomads, straying from area to area. We'll be flying by the seat of our pants for the first part, and do what we've trained for in the second part. Any questions?" She turned back and looked over Four.
"Yeah, I got one," Aius said. "When's your biotic exam, and can we come watch?"
"Ah, now that's not really standard," Shepard began, but Aius was quickly joined by other voices.
"That would be so cool."
"Yeah, come on!"
"Don't be a wimp, Shepard!"
"Yeah, we've seen you fuck up before."
Shepard grinned and shook her head.
"Okay, okay, bunch of mutineers, I'll ask, all right? Can't say fairer than that."
"This is going to be great," Argyle exclaimed and jumped up from his seat. "The other squads are going to be green with envy."
"I can't guarantee you'll be allowed," Shepard tried to warn them, to no avail. Four were dead set upon coming to see her exam, and she could see how that might be fair. After all, she'd been a part of all their exams, the least she could do was to ask if they could be present at hers. Even if that meant asking a favor from the dreaded commander.
2175 CE – May 29th – Early Biotic Exam for Shepard – 09:02 AM
The little camera was at last set up, but Commander Vyrnnus was far from happy. The promised envoy the councilor had not manifested, and he feared his plans were going up in smoke. On the observer's balcony beside him those annoying brats from Shepard's squad were laughing and smiling, and he wondered what had possessed him to allow their presence. Perhaps it was the hope that his little protegee would double her effort to do a good showing. And now the whole thing was ruined. Vyrnnus slammed his fist into the rail, and the people in the neighbor balconies startled. From behind, a familiar and most unwelcome voice laughed.
"Despan Vyrnnus. I see you've managed to crawl out from under the rock you've been hiding these last years."
The hard sounds of the speech were accompanied by small clicks from the prosthetic grafted into the speaker's face. Vyrnnus would've recognized the voice even with out the clicking. He clamped his mandibles to his face and swung around.
"Saren Arterius. Such a pleasure to see you here." The commander could not keep the acid from his voice.
"I see you are overflowing with joy," the other barefaced turian replied and hitched up his mangled mandibles in a cruel grin. "But you did send for me."
"Not you, any observer would do," Vyrnnus snapped.
"And now I'm here, to observe," Saren said with amused scorn. "Nothing wrong with my eyes, even if I'm not as handsome as I used to be."
"Asari were never fastidious in their choosing of a mate," Vyrnnus scoffed. "Still with the old hag?"
"My lady Benezia is in excellent health, thank you," Saren replied. "I will tell her you asked about her."
"Please do," Vyrnnus said sourly.
"Come now, let bygones be bygones. It's been, what? Almost twenty years?"
Vyrnnus stared at Saren with a deadly hatred.
"You got me expelled."
"You were selling Hierarchy heatsinks to a pack of thugs."
"I was cultivating connections."
"You were exploiting the system." Saren's voice was as cold as Noveria. "Do not think me ignorant of what you did after getting booted out of Spectre-training. Imagine my surprise to find you here, an illegal biotic working for the humans."
Vyrnnus reigned in his intense resentment. He could work with this. And if Saren was this vengeful after twenty years, he could redirect his anger to another.
"The councilor and I will work something out on that front," he said smoothly. "How about I introduce you to the one you've come to observe?"
"Some arbitrary human with a smidgen of talent, no doubt," Saren sighed and turned to face the field. Vyrnnus noted that the balcony with Shepard's squad had gone completely silent, and merely stared at the Spectre. Hero-worshiping little morons.
"You should be familiar with the family. Ah, there she comes." He pointed at a figure coming onto the field. Saren flicked a mandible, staring at the girl like he was remembering somebody.
"One human is much like another, but this one looks familiar," he said. "Anyone I should know?"
"Yes," Vyrnnus smiled and saw Shepard get ready on the field. "Jane Shepard, daughter of the infamous Hannah Shepard, rear admiral, stationed on the Orizaba. I believe you've met?"
He heard Saren exhale heavily, then the other turian turned to stare at him.
"Are you trying to anger me, Despan?"
"As I said, I never invited you, Saren," Vyrnnus replied, still smiling, "but the humans are a growing problem. They produce biotics at an alarming rate, and their power levels are steadily increasing, as you will see."
"Shepard," Saren said under his breath and subconsciously stroked a metallic mandible. He leaned forward on the railing, eyes fixed on the human on the field.
Vyrnnus gave a satisfied hum and sent a message to the operator below to start the exam. A bell chimed from a loudspeaker, and Shepard broke into a run. Her squad gave up their attempt to swallow the Spectre with their eyes and turned their attention to their leader.
Shepard was running through a barrage of biotic attacks, deflecting them easily and taking out the attackers one by one. Vyrnnus' face twisted in a vicious grin when the opponent shrieked in terror as they were lifted of pulled into the air. This was child's play for Shepard, he'd made sure of that. Nothing but a direct reave or several consecutive direct biotic hits could break her shield now. Saren cocked his head and looked on with furrowed brow plates. The commander suspected he was unhappy to see a member of the Shepards excel in any field, but her squad was cheering loudly. Vyrnnus was tempted to throw them out, but decided against it.
The next part of the exam was offensive, but Vyrnnus didn't worry about Shepard. Instead he scrutinized the Spectre, trying to detect any ulterior motive for his presence. If Saren somehow was here on his account, that news would not be favorably received by his boss, but this could also be an unfortunate coincidence, and he would not be so foolish as to ruin everything by acting strange. Saren, however, seemed utterly disinterested in the commander, but kept his eyes on the human female on the field. Shepard was now tearing her way through a maze, not dissimilar to the ones Vyrnnus had made her run through again and again, regardless of injuries and often hobbled by biotic inhibitors. Today she was unleashed in full force, and she ripped the contraptions apart, progressing through the maze like a purple spirit of fury. Vyrnnus enjoyed Saren's discomfort at seeing the human's show of power, and he noted that the Spectre made notes on his omni-tool. On their balcony, squad Four was pointing and cheering, and Vyrnnus saw Saren's surprise at this. All those shouting turians and a single human, encouraging a member of a known turian hating family? The Spectre made more notes.
Shepard emerged on the last third of the exam, stepping out on a field littered with debris, facing a dozen flying drones. Saren straightened up and looked satisfied . This was one of the most difficult test a biotic had to face, to defend themselves via object manipulation. Shepard's squad started to whoop and shout even more loudly, and one of squad members were clearly filming the exam on his visor. Saren turned to Vyrnnus and nodded towards the other balcony.
"Are they aware of what will happen?"
"Oh, I think they are," Vyrnnus smiled, recalling a certain ball theft in Shepard's first year.
Sure enough, Shepard stretched out her arms and embroiled herself in a biotic eddy of debris, traversing the field with apparent ease. When the attacking drones dived into the hailstorm, they were instantly crushed by the swerving junk that surrounded her. Saren stared in amazement, and Vyrnnus leaned on the wall, looking smug.
When only one drone remained, Shepard dropped the debris save for one plank, and used a biotic throw to smash the lonely drone on its attack vector, before running in to a record time. She turned to wave at her squad, but Vyrnnus saw her discretely wiped blood from her nose before doing so. No matter how strong she was, that display would come with a price, a thundering headache that would probably last an entire day. Tomorrow was a day for transport anyway, the exam would not start until the first of June, and he dismissed the thought and turned to Saren.
"Well?"
"That was.. impressive," the Spectre said quietly. "But I seem to remember some of those contraptions from my own training. And yours." He gave the commander a penetrating stare. "Seems like you're training the very enemies of the Hierarchy you're so concerned about up to our standard."
Vyrnnus laid his mandibles in neutral position. That had always been the problem with Saren, too cunning for his own good.
"Part of Conatix curriculum. I'm sure someone," he emphasized the word, "can discover where they get much of their information from, if an agreement can be reached."
"Indeed," Saren said. "I'm sure someone has thought of almost everything."
Twenty years ago, Vyrnnus might've been intimidated by Saren's reputation. Now, he knew others of equal vitriol and cruelty.
"We understand each other perfectly then. Care for a guided tour of the station? The transport ships won't leave until tomorrow."
"How can I refuse such heartfelt hospitality," Saren replied with utmost civility.
Vyrnnus smiled and tried to usher the Spectre outside, but Saren refused to walk in front of him, stating it would be impolite, and since the commander was the guide, he should surely lead the way. Vyrnnus had the distinct feeling the Spectre was worried he might get shot in the back, and smiled to himself. Not today, but some day, maybe.