The Ship
The airlock opens, and I board the Normandy. Joker sits in his usual spot, hands a flurry of movement, probably getting the ship flight-ready. Hearing the door open, he glances over his shoulder.
"Glad you made it," he says. "Everyone else is in the meeting room, so I'd hurry if I were you."
"Thanks for the heads up," I say, already walking towards the CIC. Just like Joker, the rest of the crew work furiously to get everything ready on such short notice.
I reach the comm room in short order. Like Joker said, everyone else is already here, so I find an open space around the table—which is harder than it sounds, considering how many people there are—and let Jenny get started.
"Alright, everyone, big news," she says. "The Illusive Man intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol out in a remote sector. They ran into a Collector ship. The turians were wiped out, but they managed to disable the ship. This is our chance to get a jump on the Collectors for once. We're about to start a hard burn and should be there within two hours."
So I was right; this is the Collector ship mission. I really didn't like this mission in-game. Fingers fucking crossed that it's better in real life…. Who am I kidding, it'll probably be worse.
"What are our objectives, Commander?" Jacob asks, getting to the heart of the matter as usual.
"Intel gathering. We need to find a way through the Omega-4 Relay, and the Illusive Man believes we can find it there. I'm inclined to agree."
Jacob sighs. "And here I was hoping for a little payback."
"You and me both, Jacob," Jenny says. "But if all goes to plan, they'll never even know we were there. To that end, I'm taking an infiltration team: Ian, Kasumi, and Thane."
Oh shit, Thane. Even though we technically recruited him before I left for Omega, I never had a chance to meet him. He stands in a corner in the back of the room, by the door, observing. He looks… pretty damn awesome in person, not gonna lie. In addition to everything else about him, his green scales reflect the light in unusual ways, something the game never showed.
The rest of Jenny's words filter through my brain. Wait a minute, infiltration? This is absolutely a trap, and if they go in with a team like that, they'll get creamed in a full fight. Shit, I really want to bring that up, but I'm not sure if people would believe me. I glance over at Ian, and he looks back at me. He nods. Ok, he's got my back.
"Doesn't this whole situation strike you as odd?" I ask to the room at large. Fourteen sets of eyes turn their attention to me. Oh wow… hoo boy, that's actually a little unnerving. Some of the best of the best in the galaxy have their eyes on me. Talk about pressure.
"How do you mean?" Jenny asks. Thankfully she sounds genuinely curious.
"A turian patrol somehow manages to disable a Collector ship? If it's anything like the one on Horizon, that in itself seems fishy. The timing of it just seems off, too. Has a Collector ship ever been caught by a patrol like this before? But they know we're after them. This feels like a trap to me."
"I see what he's saying," Ian says, backing me up. "They know we need intel, so they use this 'disabled' ship to lure us in."
Jenny looks around the room. "Anyone else feel the same way?"
Garrus, Thane, Kasumi, and Mordin raise their hands almost immediately. After a few more seconds, Zaeed, Kaidan, Tali, and Jacob add their hands as well. Only Miranda, Grunt, Jack, and Samara keep their hands down. I bet Miranda trusts the Illusive Man, and the other three don't really care much either way.
"Alright. I'll admit, I had similar thoughts myself, but I pegged it as paranoia," Jenny says. "So we have reason to believe this is a trap. That doesn't change the fact that this might be our only opportunity to access Collector databases. Thoughts?"
"The thing about a trap," Zaeed says, "is that it only works if your prey doesn't see it. I say take a team armed to the guddamn teeth and give those bugs hell when they finally show up."
"What if we took it a step further?" Garrus says. "Send a team to spring the trap, but have another team ready to make the Collectors pay when they do."
"We've got a few explosives that could cause a nasty surprise if set in the right place," Jacob adds. "Send in an infiltration team to blow up an important subsystem?"
"I like the sound of that," Jenny says. "Main team gets the data and springs the trap, and the infiltration team detonates the explosives to pull pressure away from main team." Once again she looks around the room. "Objections?" No one makes a motion to speak. "Then let's talk teams.
"I'll lead main team, along with Grunt, Tali, Samara, and Kaidan. If the Collectors want a fight, we'll give them one." Grunt laughs. "Ian, you'll lead the infiltration team with Kasumi and Thane. I trust the three of you can get the job done without being noticed?"
"Leave it to us, Shepard," Ian says.
"That's what I like to hear," she says. "Like I mentioned earlier, we're a little under two hours out. Joker will give us a 30 minute warning. Those of you assigned to a team, meet in the hangar when it's time. The rest of you, be on standby. We have no idea what might come up on this ship. Unless there are any other questions, you're dismissed."
With that, people begin filing out of the room. I consider staying behind to wait for Jenny, but my stomach causally reminds me that I haven't eaten in entirely too long. And to be honest, I'm not even sure what time it's supposed to be. The past few days, I've gone from ship-time to Illium-time to Omega-time, and now back to ship-time. I check my omni-tool only to find out that it's super late at night ship-time. And it's almost been four days since I left for Omega. Shit, really? Fuck me, this whole situation absolutely wrecked my sense of time.
My stomach once again reminds me to stop thinking and start eating. I head down to the mess hall and grab a sandwich from Gardner.
So I guess I won't be on the mission after all. I mean, Daniel did say no combat for two days, and Jenny was around when he said that, so I shouldn't be surprised. Just like Thane's recruitment, it'll feel weird sitting this one out, but at least I can always take Joker up on his offer to watch the helmet cam feed.
I look up from my food just in time to see Ian sit down across from me. We share a nod, and I take the time to look around the rest of the mess hall. Seems like we're alone here. Makes sense with it being so "late."
"Looks like you got lucky not having to be on this mission," Ian says, pulling my attention back to him.
I shrug. "Pretty sure the only reason I'm not on this one is because my stupid ass got hurt on Omega," I say. "Thanks for the help with that, by the way."
Now it's his turn to shrug. "We were in the neighborhood, figured we'd drop in."
"Good thing you did. Things might have gone badly for me otherwise."
"So you thought that went well?"
"Yeah, well… shut up," I say, completely at a loss for any kind of good comeback.
Ian laughs, but the conversation lapses into silence. I continue eating, my mind wandering from thought to thought until it eventually settles back on the upcoming mission. I wonder what, if anything, will change by adding a second team. Or even just being aware this is a trap at all. I remember EDI getting hit with some kind of hacking attempt and the fact that that caused a majority of the problems. Maybe she'll be able to avoid it now with some forewarning. And hopefully having the infiltration team will make the situation for the main team less sucky. Because hoo boy, this mission sucked in the game. Actually, that reminds me of something.
I look back up at Ian. "Thanks for having my back in the briefing," I say.
"Course," he says. "Can't say I was too thrilled at the thought of walking into a trap as part of an infiltration focused team."
"I mean, you're still gonna be on an infiltration team."
"Yeah, but we're not the ones getting caught in the trap. We get to set our own. Much more fun, and at least marginally less dangerous."
"And hey, you actually get to lead this team," I say. "Congrats on that."
He looks off to the side, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, lucky me. No pressure or anything. And it's not like Thane and Kasumi aren't much better at being invisible than I am."
"Well, even if that's the case, could you see either one of them leading a team of people? Besides, from your stories about your Deadpool days, you're still better at infiltration than most."
"Archdemon. Much preferred that. And better than you, certainly," he says with a toothy grin. "Still doesn't mean Kasumi and Thane aren't on a whole other level." He sighs. "But, guess I just have to make do, huh?"
"Pretty much. And hey, maybe if you pay attention, you'll learn a thing or two." I wink at him.
"At least I'd be learning from the best."
The conversation drifts on to more general topics. Ian fills me in on some of the stuff that I missed while I was gone, namely Samara's recruitment. The next hour or so passes in pleasant, idle conversation. Eventually he heads off, saying he wants to talk to Kasumi and Thane about their end of the mission. I wish him the best of luck.
Not much later, Joker gives the thirty minute warning, and the atmosphere around the ship becomes even more frenetic. To be honest, though, I don't have much to do. I'm not on either team, and since I'm not technically combat-ready, I don't think I have to suit up. At the same time, I'd feel weird not doing something. Maybe I'll go see if Chakwas needs anything. I do have medical training, after all, and this seems like a mission where people will get hurt.
Chakwas looks up from her desk as I walk into the med bay.
"Dylan. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks. "I would certainly hope you don't need my services already."
I laugh. She got me there. "Not this time, doc. I'm not part of the ground team, so I figured I'd see if you needed anything."
"Not at the moment, no. But if something comes up that requires your assistance, I'll let you know."
"Guess that's all I can ask for," I say with a shrug.
The door opens behind me, and Kaidan walks in. He looks fully loaded for the mission, but he's clutching his head in both hands, face a mask of pain. Chakwas immediately gets to her feet and rummages through the medicine cabinet as Kaidan sits on one of the beds. I just step out of the way. By the looks of it, he's got another one of his migraines, and Chakwas seems to have the situation in hand.
Jenny walks in a moment later. She looks at Kaidan sitting on the bed then looks over at me.
"I don't like this, but suit up," she says in full commander mode. Shit, really? Even with my ribs? "With Kaidan out, I need a field medic. Especially for a mission like this."
"What about Mordin?" I ask, wanting to make sure.
"Not suited to spring an ambush. I need punch for this." I mean… I can't exactly fault that. Mordin is pretty squishy. Both literally and figuratively.
"I'll get ready, then."
I go to leave the med bay, but she stops me. I give her a curious look, but she ignores it and pulls me close.
"Don't. Do. Anything. Stupid," she says, emphasizing each word.
"If someone gets injured mid-fight, I can't promise that," I say. "But I'll do my best."
"You better." She lets me go. "Meet us in the hangar when you're ready." She walks out of the med bay.
Wow, ok, I haven't been on the receiving end of Jenny's full "commander mode" in a long while, and I had almost forgotten how frightening it could be. Especially considering I've mostly seen her… nicer side the past few days. Though I guess it's good to see that I'm not "distracting" her too much, as Mordin put it.
I glance back at Chakwas, and she gives me a nod, probably telling me she has this under control. She must be used to it after the old Normandy. I feel bad for Kaidan. This is the first time I can remember his migraines causing him to miss a mission.
It doesn't take me long to get ready. At this point, the motions are second nature. Soon enough, I enter the hangar. Everyone else has gathered in the shuttle.
"The Collectors can't know we have two teams onboard," Jenny says to Ian as I walk up. "I want biometric scramblers on before we leave the hangar and tac. cloaks before the shuttle door opens."
"This isn't my first op, Shepard," Ian says, lightheartedly. "Nor is it Kasumi's or Thane's. If anyone in this galaxy knows how to stay hidden, it's us."
"Right, sorry." She takes a deep breath.
"Commander, I've got visual on the Collector ship," Joker says over the PA.
"Temperature and emission scans suggest that most systems, including its engines, are offline," EDI adds. "Additionally, I detect no mass effect fields, indicating the drive core is offline as well."
"We've found you a landing site. You're 30 seconds out."
"Thanks, Joker," Jenny says. "Keep the engine running for us while we're gone." She closes the shuttle door. You know, it's a little cramped in here with eight people, especially when one of them is Grunt. Still, it's worth it to have him along.
Jenny nods towards the shuttle pilot, Hadley, and I feel us lift off the hanger floor. At the same time, Ian, Kasumi, and Thane all fiddle with their omni-tools. Probably preparing for the infiltration.
"Infiltration team, I want full radio silence the moment the mission starts. Once you hear that the Collectors have sprung their trap, that's your signal. Once the explosives go off, get back to the shuttle."
"Understood," Ian says.
Jeez, so we'll have no way of knowing how they fare. But, like Ian said earlier, if anyone can get it done, they can.
It takes less than thirty seconds for the shuttle to land once again. Before Jenny opens the door, the infiltration team activate their cloaks and blink out of sight.
The shuttle door opens, greeting me with my first sight of the Collector ship. It looks natural in a very unnatural way—more carved out rock than shaped metal. The walls and ceiling have a disgusting organic quality to them, like the ship itself could be a partially living thing.
"This looks like a rachni hive from Okeer's imprinting," Grunt says. "I don't like it."
"It does have a very insectoid feel about it, doesn't it?" I say.
"Commander, penetrating scans have identified mission objective locations," EDI says. "Updating your HUD."
A waypoint appears, and we head out. Jenny and Grunt take point while Samara, Tali, and I fall in behind them. This is a very interesting team composition to be part of, but it makes sense. Grunt, Samara, and Tali are all heavy hitters in their respective specialities, as well as in general. If we have to walk headfirst into a trap, I can think of few people I would rather have around me.
As we traverse deeper into the ship, I feel the tension grow. Even if we know this is a trap, we have no way to know when it might be sprung. As such, we leave no nook or cranny unturned. And lemme tell ya, with the way this ship is "constructed," there are lots of nooks and crannies. After a few minutes, EDI pipes up again.
"Commander, I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the same ship you encountered on Horizon."
"Maybe that means the colonists are aboard," Tali says.
"If they're still alive," Grunt adds.
"Not helping, Grunt," Jenny says, giving him a warning look. To his credit, he seems suitably admonished. "But just like Horizon, colonists are secondary. Our main objective is to secure the data we need."
And just like Horizon, I hate hearing that. I know it's necessary, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
The further in we get, the more unsettling the atmosphere. At some point, we see stasis pods left around seemingly at random. All of them have been empty. Even so, the pods themselves carry a sense of revulsion around them. Like everything else around here, they're sickeningly organic, but in the most unnatural way possible.
We round a corner, and I have to fight not to throw up in my mask. On the floor, off to the side, is a pile of bodies. Even worse, a large portion of the pile looks more like congealed organic matter than actual bodies. Only a few torsos and random limbs identify what this pile used to be.
"Why would the Collectors just leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Tali asks, revulsion evident in her voice.
"Could have been test subjects that didn't pass?" I say.
"As if we needed another reason to put a stop to the Collectors," Jenny says. We share a short moment of silence. "Let's keep going."
In the next room, we find our first real evidence of technology on this ship. A few pods sit on platforms underneath some sort of large devices. Each device has an terminal attached to it. Jenny looks at Tali.
"See what you can get," she says. Tali nods and walks up to one of the terminals, her omni-tool already running.
The rest of us go examine the pods. Strangely, a Collector drone lies inside it.
"Why would they experiment on one of their own?" Samara asks.
"Hopefully the terminal can shed some light," Jenny says. "Get anything, Tali?"
"Yes and no," Tali says. "I've got plenty of data, but there's actually too much for me to make heads or tails of it. EDI, I'm uploading the data to you. Maybe you can figure it out."
Wow, Tali is willingly utilizing an AI? That's unexpected. But hey, it's certainly progress for her.
"Data received. Analyzing," EDI says. After a brief pause, she continues. "The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."
"That doesn't make sense," Jenny says, almost to herself. "What motivation could they possibly have for that?"
"I have no hypothesis, only their preliminary results. They reveal something… remarkable." EDI pauses for a fraction of a second—almost an eternity for an AI. "A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces found in ancient ruins. Prothean ruins."
A stunned silence follows EDI's revelation. Even though I knew this already, hearing and seeing it firsthand still has an impact. This was one of the biggest reveals in ME2, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
"My god…," Jenny finally says, her voice filled with quiet awe. "The Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now."
"These are no longer Protheans, Shepard. There is clear evidence of massive genetic rewrites. I am forwarding the data to Dr. Solus. It will take time for us to fully analyze the changes made, but initial results already show three fewer chromosomes and reduced heterochromatin structure."
"For now, it's enough to know that this same fate probably awaits us if we fail. So let's find what we need and get out of here."
As we get ready to head further into the ship, something in the corner of my vision catches my attention. The single largest gun I have ever seen leans against the wall. Well hello there… fancy seeing you here. I walk over to the weapon, the infamous M-98 Widow. While not being particularly interesting in an aesthetic sense—it's basically just a giant metal tube with a grip, scope, and bipod—I know what kind of devastation this weapon can bring.
"Hey Jenny!" I call out. "I think I found something you might like." I try to pick up the weapon to give to her, but it won't budge. I try again, putting my legs into it this time, and even then I barely manage to lift it.
I turn around to show her the weapon, and her eyes widen. She hurries over to me, covering the distance with a few quick strides. She reaches one hand out slowly then quickly pulls it back, almost as if she's afraid to touch it.
"Please take it," I say, trying not to let the strain show. "This looks more your style than mine."
She takes the weapon. I let out a breath now that the weight is almost literally off my shoulders. Jenny cradles the Widow in her arms for a moment, clearly inspecting it. In a fluid motion, she shoulders it, sighting down the scope. Holy hell, how can she even lift that damn thing? I know she's an N7 and all, but there must be some extra Cerberus modifications that allow her to easily handle that behemoth.
"I've only ever heard stories of the M-98," she says, voice filled with just as much awe as it was earlier. "I never thought I'd have a chance to use one."
"Happy birthday."
She snorts. "A few months too early, but thanks all the same. Alright, we need to keep moving. Still a ways to go."
Pods line the walls of the proceeding hallway. In the next room, they cover the ceiling as well. Jesus, there are hundreds of them, just in this room. And this is barely a fraction. No one decides to comment, but a few glances linger here and there. We continue on.
A few minutes later, we reach a high-vaulted room that gradually slopes upward. An ephemeral glow waits at the top.
"Commander, you gotta hear this," Joker says, hopping on the radio. "On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."
"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years ago," EDI says. As before, she pauses for a fraction of a second. "They are an exact match."
Jenny stops dead in her tracks. Because I'm behind her, I can't see her expression, but I catch her fist clenching at her side. I take a step forward with the intent to comfort her, but she starts walking again.
"Someday soon, these fuckers will burn," Jenny says into the radio, almost too quiet to hear. Holy shit… I don't think I've ever heard her drop an f-bomb before.
The rest of us hurry after her. After a moment, EDI speaks up again.
"Updating mission waypoint."
Nothing on my HUD changes. I'm guessing the same is true for Jenny because she stops again.
"EDI?"
"I am hesitant to discuss this on an open channel."
"Then call me on an encrypted one," Jenny says, her tone icy. "You don't have the authority to unilaterally alter mission objectives."
Everything goes silent for a while, but whatever they're talking about must have Jenny fired up. Despite being on the radio, she gestures very emphatically at a few points. After a minute or so, she goes still. She re-enters our frequency.
"Mission objectives updated," Jenny says. Any emotion is absent from her voice. "Let's keep moving." She starts walking up the ramp once again.
Hold on, what is going on here? "Can I ask—"
"No," she cuts me off. "Just… trust me on this."
I follow her up the ramp, the others close behind.
At the top, the path curves to the right, ending in a door. This is the first closed door we've come across in here, so we stack up and prepare to breach. On Jenny's signal, Grunt opens the door.
"Keelah…."
"By the Goddess."
"Jesus…."
A chamber, large enough to fit the Normandy multiple times over. The ceiling arches hundreds of feet above us and extends farther than the eye can see. Every single surface covered in stasis pods.
"They could take every human in the Terminus Systems and still have more pods," Tali says quietly.
"Earth…," I whisper. "They're going to target Earth."
"No they won't," Jenny says, her voice even icier than before.
She continues on. We follow. More pods line the path, though they seem insignificant compared to the enormity of the chamber around us.
This mission feels wrong. With the exception of the infiltration team, it's going pretty much how I remember from the game, but then again, the addition of a second team is a pretty glaring exception. Beyond that, though, being here has a sense of wrongness to it. It almost feels like Noveria did. The entire environment feels… hostile. Like even the ship itself doesn't want us here. Add in the paranoia of waiting for an ambush to spring, and it all culminates in a very… tense atmosphere.
I also don't like not knowing what Jenny and EDI talked about. What mission waypoints was she updating? It certainly didn't seem like ones for us. So the infiltration team? They're radio silent, but they can still listen, so maybe that was for them? And if so, that opens up a whole different can of questions, one I probably don't have time to consider.
We've reached the control panel.
"EDI, I'm setting up a connection," Jenny says, her omni-tool already out and working. "See what you can get, but be careful."
"Of course, Shepard," EDI says. "Connection established. Collecting data."
A shadow of movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention, but when I turn to look, I see nothing but the same rocky walls.
Around us, tubes imbedded into the walls activate. The platform we stand on rumbles, but not enough for anyone to lose footing.
"Welp, can't say that was unexpected," Joker says.
"What's the sitrep, Joker?" Jenny asks.
"Looks like someone tried to stick their fingers in our systems and play with them."
"I had countermeasures prepared for such an eventuality," EDI says. "Currently tasked to near-capacity to maintain connection with Collector systems."
"Sounds like the trap is sprung," Jenny says. She pauses a brief moment. "Go."
The rumble of a distant explosion resonates through the ship.
"Alright everyone, back to the shuttle! Move it!"
Jenny runs back the way we came, the rest of us close behind her. We're officially off-canon now, folks. Let's see what these bugs have in store for us. It looks like I won't even have to wait long; a small group of half a dozen Collectors fly in and land in front of us.
I immediately get behind one of the pods for cover, making sure to stay back from the front line. Jenny takes cover behind the pod next to mine, while Tali and Samara move up closer. And Grunt—
"I! Am! Krogan!"
Grunt does what he does best. I mostly take a suppressive fire role, trying to keep enemy heads down long enough for Grunt to reach them. At one point, Samara lifts a drone out of cover, so I shift fire to finish it off. I also catch a glimpse here and there of Tali's combat drone floating around the battlefield, trying to force the Collectors out of cover and into the line of fire.
We dispatch the small group in short order with nary a scratch on anyone. Fingers crossed all of our firefights go this way. And of course now that I've thought that, something's gonna go wrong. Where's some wood to knock on when you need it?
Another explosion echoes through the ship as we reach the ramped hallway. This time, though, enemies wait for us. Unfortunately for them, we have the high ground. Jenny rains hell down on the drones with her new Widow. I won't lie, the first time she fired it, I thought it was another explosion somewhere in the ship. It's a miracle the recoil doesn't break her arm.
One of the drones near the back levitates into the air, an orange glow emanating from cracks in its chitin.
Fuck.
"Samara, focus attention to the glowing one!" Jenny says. "Use anything that will chip away at its barrier."
A moment later, a rapidly shifting mass effect field covers Harbinger as he falls to the ground, but he gets up like nothing happened. He shoots off one of his biotic super attacks towards Tali, who has her attention focused elsewhere.
"Tali, get down!" I yell. Thankfully, she listens without hesitation, dropping down to the ground behind a rock outcropping. The attack passes over her.
"Your actions here change nothing," Harbinger calls out across the battlefield. "No matter what happens, your doom fast approaches. We are the harbingers of your destruction."
His barrier breaks, so I switch to incendiary ammo to burn away the armor underneath. The dull thud of Jenny's Widow rings out, and a crater appears in Harbinger's chest. I focus my fire on the new weakness, but it turns out to be pointless; Jenny's shot killed it. Holy fuck, that's terrifying.
The remaining drones go down easily enough, leaving the path before us clear once again.
The rest of the mission progresses in a similar manner: We reach a room where the Collectors wait for us, a Harbinger shows up, we kill it, we kill the rest. Samara and Jenny make a great team taking out Harbinger, and Tali and Grunt actually work well together on the drones. Truth be told, I have blissfully little to do, which is fortunate because even that much has left a dull ache in my torso.
We reach the shuttle without much trouble. As we approach, the door opens, and Hadley of all people pokes his head out.
"Glad to have you back, Commander," he says.
"What's the situation, Hadley?" Jenny asks.
"You're the first ones back. And thankfully, the Collectors haven't given me any trouble, though I get the feeling that might change soon."
"And I get the feeling you're right. You stay in the shuttle and have it ready to take off at a moment's notice. We'll take care of things out here."
He rips off a salute. "Aye aye, Commander," he says before going back into the cockpit.
Jenny turns back to look at us. "Alright, looks like we need to defend this position until the infiltration team returns." She pauses and surveys the area. "While we've got the time, let's fortify this position."
Said position actually looks quite defensible already. One way in, one way out. Easy to setup a choke point, but at the same time, nowhere to run if we get overwhelmed. I guess we better not get overwhelmed, then.
Barely a minute after our arrival, the first enemies appear. Luckily, we had enough time to set up at least some bare-bones defenses. Grunt is, as always, on the front line, and Tali is surprisingly up there with him. Samara and I occupy the second line while Jenny found a slightly elevated position near the back.
A wave of husks arrive first, preceded by their dead, hollow moans. The first one to enter our line of sight quickly gets cut in half by the thunderous impact of Jenny's Widow. Half a dozen take its place, and a dozen more behind them. Let's go.
With so many enemies in front of me, I barely have to aim. Only a few husks in the initial wave get within 30 feet of Grunt and Tali, and none of them get closer than that. A second wave follows with similar results. Jenny picks off enemies near the back while Samara and I focus towards the front. Then, once enemies get within range, Grunt and Tali let loose with their shotguns. Y'know, I'm actually surprised that Grunt is sticking to his cover instead of just charging into a mass of husks.
A shrill screech pierces the air, a noise that sends an involuntary shiver down my spine.
A Praetorian.
"Everyone fall back!" Jenny yells. She doesn't have to tell me twice. I want to be as far away from the entrance as possible before that thing actually shows up.
Fuck, this is not the place to run into a Praetorian. That thing is large enough that it'll most likely take up the entire hallway, meaning we are literally bottled in here. We barely managed to survive against one of those things on Horizon, but now survival won't be enough. We have to kill it, and I honestly don't know if we can.
Jenny bangs on the shuttle door. "Hadley! Get the shuttle out of here! We'll call you when it's safe for a pick up." The shuttle's engines rumble to life, and it quickly takes off, leaving us here. Trapped with a Praetorian.
It finally comes into view, looking every bit as horrible as the ones on Horizon. Without waiting for orders, I start shooting. Samara unleashes her biotics, trying to rip through the Praetorian's barrier. Behind me, Jenny fires the Widow faster than I thought possible. In some kind of miracle, I think we actually manage to break its barrier before it gets in range to attack us back. Unfortunately, it still has some of the toughest armor I've seen on any enemy.
The Praetorian looks at me, and I have a split second to realize that we're in range now. I drop to the ground behind the rock I'm using for cover just in time. A terrifying heat passes right over my head, slowly moving down until it hits the rock. I can actually start to feel the rock itself heat up, and a point a few inches in front of my face begin to glow.
Holy fuck, it's melting through the rock. I inch backwards as fast and as far as I can, but there's nowhere to really go.
The heat stops. I cautiously poke my head above cover to see the Praetorian has switched targets to Samara. Shit, she's our best bet of keeping its barrier down. We need to draw the fire away from her. I get up and resume shooting.
"Fuck this," Jenny mutters, just loud enough to hear. Twice in one mission? Wow. "Everyone get down!"
My body obeys before my brain finishes comprehending what she just said. For the second time in less than a minute, I lie on my stomach behind a rock. A high-pitched coil whine starts up, quickly growing in intensity. I hear a thunk that sounds almost like a rocket launcher being—
The world flashes white. The most deafeningly silent noise I have ever heard surrounds me. A wave of heat flies by me.
And then it ends.
The world resolves itself, the colors splitting off from that perfect white one by one until the drabness of what's around me rears its ugly head. My ears ring, and I wouldn't be surprised if I lost some hearing after that.
When everything around me finally calms down. I get up. I have to force my body to listen to me; it seems content to stay on the ground. In front of me, where the Praetorian used to be, I see a crater. The walls and floor all around it are stained black. The Praetorian is gone.
Grunt, Tali, and Samara seem to be in similar shape to me. All three of them have a dazed, listless expression as they look around, trying to figure out what just happened. I look behind me to find Jenny crouched behind cover, holding a weapon to rival the Widow in terms of size. Is that…?
"What the fuck just happened?" I ask, deciding speculation will get me nowhere.
"Field-testing a new weapon," Jenny says, staring off into the distance. "After Horizon, I asked Mordin if he could come up with something to deal with Praetorians." She looks down at the weapon in her hand. "And he made this. Called it the Cain, which… I'd say is pretty fitting, wouldn't you?"
I open my mouth to respond, but someone beats me to it.
"Hell of an explosion, Shepard," Ian says from somewhere behind me.
Wait, Ian? I whip around to find the infiltration team approach us from the other end of the hallway. All of them look to be in one piece. No real injuries I can see at first glance.
"Perfect timing, Ian," Jenny says. "Now what do you say we get off this ship and make an even bigger one?"
"Too right."
Jenny calls Hadley back, and the shuttle lands not too long after. As we all climb in, Ian hands Jenny some sort of device.
"Range won't be an issue, so why don't we wait till we have a good view?" he says. She just nods as the door closes and we take off. I still have no idea what they've got planned, though… I might have an idea….
Once back aboard the Normandy, Jenny, Ian, and I hurry up to the cockpit. Joker works furiously at his station, prepping for our escape.
"Joker, I want a vid feed on the Collector ship as we fly away," Jenny says. "And don't hit FTL until I give the word, ok? We need to make sure this works."
"I'll get us out of range, then you can do your thing," Joker says.
The Normandy flies away. In the rear-view feed, we see the Collector ship begin to power up. A few lights come online, and a few secondary thrusters begin to fire. After about 30 seconds, Joker looks over his shoulder and nods. Jenny looks at the vid feed, then down at the device in her hand.
She presses a button.
For a long moment, everyone present holds their breath as nothing happens.
A plume of fire erupts from the hull of the Collector ship. Then another. Then another. Then two. Then five. A piece of hull breaks off. A massive explosion engulfs the entire ship, obfuscating it with fire. When the view clears, the ship floats in pieces, debris expanding outward from the force of the blast. Smaller explosions continue to rack the fractured pieces of hull.
Jenny pats Joker's shoulder, and we slip away into FTL.
A/N: Wow, this chapter really felt like old times. I had a blast writing this, and I hope y'all enjoyed reading it.
Anywho, that's it for now. Till next time, folks, ta ta!