Chapter 53
Ensign Mayes's normally upbeat tone dropped into somber. "Captain, sir... we've... found another one." He said, clarifying after he was worried the implication was vague, "Another beacon... on a planetary surface."
Not that Mayes needed that extrapolation. There were some things you only needed to see once to notice a pattern. Another of Shepard's crew had been laid to rest down below.
"What's the status of the surrounding area?"
Mayes assessed the sensor readings. "Nothing resembling civilization, though there is a fairly high degree of animal life, judging from heat signatures. The beacon itself is in an open area though, so even if any of it was aggressive, you'd no doubt have plenty of warning."
Dani turned from her station, and asked, "Captain, permission to be a part of the retrieval team. Especially if... it is who I think it is."
Marshall had thought the same thing, honestly. While the Iwo Jima was able to confirm that a dextro food supply could have potentially been found on the Normandy's path (the fact that it had indeed been one system away had not gone unnoticed), Doctor Coyle had presented the possibility that considering dwindling health supplies would have put several crew at risk, and thus next on the list of those to... pass away.
Like a quarian admiral with barely anything resembling an immune system and running out of ways to keep an aging suit functional.
"Permission granted. Seven, you'll join us." Marshall ordered, knowing the geth was no doubt monitoring the bridge. Not intentionally, of course. Geth don't intentionally infiltrate.
That had been an interesting explanation, as Seven had not been carefully choosing words, it turned out. The geth were in a perpetual state of data gathering. That wasn't terribly different than organic life (as organic brains did the exact same thing)... but the geth did not have the mental filters that strained out superfluous input, nor did organic brains have the instantaneous and accurate storage of the geth memory. Given a proper prompt, Seven could recall entire conversations that he had no intention or any desire to overhear.
On top of that, their means of gathering data weren't limited to the normal five senses. Anything transmitted wirelessly (like ship communications) was caught in the same net and stored away. It wasn't something Seven, or any geth for that matter, had any control over; and a source of frustration for the geth on the Iwo Jima, as it did not like eavesdropping, intentionally or not.
It was also something that the geth as a collective were working to fix. Newly discovered individuality had prompted a desire for privacy, which they could not get with the way geth platforms were designed. Several fixes had been proposed... but the one that would most likely work was the one that was the most unnerving for them.
Geth were a "software" based lifeform. Any fixes made to the platforms they operated on wouldn't help them if they transferred to another platform. And Seven likened software changes to changing an organic person's "soul." What would the end result of that be?
The rumination was interrupted by Seven's response, "Understood, Brasser-Spectre."
"Meet me in the bay in five. Smoke, you have the bridge."
This time, the beacon wasn't particularly hard to find. It was clear the location had been plotted out ahead of time, with the beacon standing again, straight up and buried in the firm clay just at the edge of a beach of bright blue water before it turned into untamed rainforest. It was a veritable tropical paradise, an eye catching panorama that caused Dani and Marshall to miss the headstone directly in front of the beacon. It was Seven's unfiltered sight that caught it and drew the pair's attention.
The headstone itself was wholly unremarkable. The two gleaming pieces of metal that were imbedded into the stone halfway along it's length; enough to keep them from going anywhere, but not enough that they could not be identified for what they were.
Alliance dog tags.
Marshall knelt down to get as close of a look as he can, to the side of the now obvious, if slight, bulge that was commonplace with a burial plot. "Well, I don't think I'll have to touch anything for identification purposes here. Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau."
"The Normandy's primary pilot, according to Systems Alliance records." Seven informed. "He was afflicted with Vrolik Syndrome, a genetic bone degenerative disease."
"And one of the high risk crew that Doctor Coyle identified. It was a cocktail of medical supplements and physical therapy that had kept him alive, supplies that the Normandy would have eventually run dry on." Marshall said, eyes transfixed on the tags. "When those ran out, all it would have taken was a trip or fall or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time... and a fatal injury would have resulted."
Dani exhaled sharply, fogging her contamination mask momentarily. "As cold as this may sound, I'm relieved that it wasn't who I thought it was." As Marshall turned in her direction, she amended, "It's because burial would be a very improper interment for a quarian of the Flotilla, especially an Admiral. It would be a mockery to bury her on soil that was not of the homeworld."
"Oh, really? And what should the Normandy do with a dead quarian body, may I ask?" Marshall asked.
"The body is prepared with flammable materials, then incinerated, usually in the heat of the ships drive core, then expelled into space, where it can join the cosmic dust and be free to one day be a part of another planet that would be a home to someone else." Dani informed. "It is a very sacred ritual, and my people would have been very disappointed to learn that one of our most revered admirals had been buried in a hole in the dirt-"
She stopped sharply when she realized Marshall was no longer paying attention to her. The captain's hand had settled on the headstone, fingers resting over the dog tags, his eyes closed. "Hey!" Dani shouted, "I was talking to you!"
"I suspect Brasser-Spectre is engaged in a state of contact memory." Seven explained, "His behavior is consistent with that on Aestha 335, both from landing team reports and video recording of the discovery of Garrus Vakarian's remains."
Dani huffed and crossed her arms. "Still awfully rude. Why is he even doing that touch thing anyway? We already know who it is."
Marshall couldn't have explained why at the time he felt the beckon of said contact memory. It wasn't something he had learned to question. There was something of great significance lingering in the memories of this place. Once he found out, however...
Marshall head whipped upward to the forest line, as he could now hear the approaching chittering of what he had seen in the memories of the past. "Rachni!" He bellowed, drawing his rifle, and firing a single shot that stirred a flock of avians as well as the telltale dying screech of the arachnid species.
"Rachni?" Dani yelped before her jaw set in angered determination as she picked up on the sounds as well. "Spiders. Of course. The first away mission I'm on in forever, and it has to be spiders."
Seven fired the next shot, another bullseye delivered with mechanical precision from a secondary Recluse that Marshall had in the armory. Rather ironic that a weapon named after a spider was being used to hole spiders.
The advancing flank burst out of the forest line, five in number, mere workers from Marshall's estimation. It was peculiar to see such a crude attack... the briefing he had received on the rachni as part of his preparations to leave Reticuli Prime noted that rachni tactics were more often than not very elaborate and demonstrated genius level strategy and intellect.
Even if that still had been accurate, it paled in the face of an enraged quarian specialist with a very mean-spirited intent and a matter round shotgun.
"Hate! Hate! Hate spiders!" Dani screeched, filling one rachni with a load of matter shot before it could even raise its mandibles or sharpened front legs. She then jumped onto the back of another one and fired another round that ripped through its exoskeleton and caused it to drop lifelessly.
Two others turned to face what was now appearing to be the greater threat, to learn the error of their ways for the rest of their lives, all two seconds of them, as they were expertly sniped down by a pair of nigh simultaneous shots from Marshall and Seven.
The fifth was the one that decided that wherever it had come from was infinitely better than where it was attempting to go. Not that Dani was going to let the creature turn tail. With a surprisingly nimble pounce, Dani tackled the fleeing rachni, jumping to her feet, and unloading several rounds into its thorax.
The quarian only stopped when Marshall dropped a hand on her shoulder, and said soothingly, "Dani... Dani... I think you got it."
"Hate spiders." She chanted, but at least refrained from firing again.
Seven offered in explanation, "While Rannoch has no insect life, it does have 4,816 documented species of arachnid; of which 3,996 are documented to have some degree of aggressive behavior. In addition, 3,629 are documented as poisonous; 184 capable of delivering lethal doses with a single bite."
"Hate... spiders." Dani summarized.
Marshall was then surprised that there was more activity in the forest, only because he had no clue of such until it spoke in a graveled whine.
"Aww, you didn't leave any for me."
Marshall certainly was not expecting a male krogan to emerge from the dense forest, much less one in battered off-white combat armor and carrying a thick tree branch marred with dried blood as a club. The krogan ignored the weapons trained on him, lumbering towards an overturned root and dropping heavily into a seated position.
"Gotta admit, wasn't expecting to be seeing signs of civilization anytime soon. Your little arrival spooked the pack of rachni I was hunting." The krogan said conversationally, either ignoring the threatening weapons trained on him, or not caring. "Figured I'd try and kill two birds with one stone. Don't worry, that should be the last of 'em. Without their queen, they can't breed, so it was simply a matter of letting time and age and me thin their numbers."
He then gestured to Joker's grave, and said, "Although, I am a bit interested about what you think you're gonna be doing with Joker there. He was a friend and crew mate of mine, so I'd be careful just how you answer that."
Marshall lowered his sidearm. "I'm Spectre Marshall Brasser, this is Commander Dani'Arah, and Infiltrator Platform 709. We're following the path of Commander Shepard on business from the Citadel."
"A quarian and a geth." The krogan nodded, "Gotta say, I'm surprised to see that." He hastily corrected, "Not the two of them together. Had a geth and quarian friend myself. More that the geth are supposed to be bye-bye after the Crucible went kablooey."
"Some limited numbers survived the discharge." Seven said.
Marshall spoke again, "Now you know who we are. Who are you?"
The krogan picked his teeth with one fingernail before answering, "The name is Urdnot Grunt. I've been watching and keeping Joker's grave. So again, whattya want with him?"
Marshall then realized Grunt was the krogan in the memories he had witnessed, holding off the rachni attack during the memorial the crew had held for Lieutenant Moreau. "As I mentioned, we're following the path Commander Shepard left on his mission. Nothing more. We have no particular interest in upsetting Lieutenant Moreau's remains, although I suspect the Citadel would be interested in returning them home."
"Shepard's mission?" Grunt said. "The Leviathan things?"
"Yes." Marshall replied. Grunt would have as good of an idea as anyone they had met, and also confirmed that the Leviathan was what Shepard had been concerned about. "How much had Shepard discovered before you parted ways?"
"Not much that I understood." Grunt admitted. "I knew the background stuff that Shepard had told me, but he must have told the Council about them too. Beyond that, I didn't particularly care to know. I figured anything that was terribly technical would go over my head."
"What about the rachni queen? You said she was dead?"
"Yeah." Grunt nodded. "Found her remains about oh... fifty years ago. Couldn't tell you how she died. Didn't look like she had been attacked. As far as I can tell, she just plopped down dead. Didn't make much sense even to me, because as you've seen, a rachni can live for at least a century, maybe more."
That was quite peculiar, and not something that Marshall was keen to leave unanswered. Rachni queen eggs could survive vacuum conditions, and the fully grown queens were known to thrive on some of the most hostile conditions in the galaxy. They didn't just drop dead for no reason. Marshall was getting that tingle in the back of his head that he usually got when he had a gut feeling.
"Can you show me the queen's body? Or what's left of it?"
Grunt grinned, "Sure. Can't say there's much to see at this point, though."
Grunt hadn't been joking when they came upon the site of the dead queen three hours later, in a patch of forest so dense that Chipper had absolutely no ability to ferry them there faster.
All that was left of the rachni queen was the exoskeleton and soil consistent with compost. Fortunately, a century had blown away the smell.
Marshall approached the head of the carapace, it was brittle to the touch at that point, crumbling under his fingers, and prompting him to be more careful with further contact. As he had expected, strong memories lingered here. He could almost taste the energy in the air.
"What's he doing?" Grunt asked, the krogan's voice sounding like it was a hundred meters away, although he couldn't have been more than ten. It was a sign that the memories were taking hold, and soon Marshall's vision shifted with it.
Marshall was the rachni queen, holding a spherical object between her front legs, a stone of what looked like onyx rippling with energy. The queen dropped said stone the moment a large burst of sound from the sky interrupted her thoughts.
A titanic, Reaper-like creature had entered the atmosphere in a slow descent, its eyes boring down on the queen. A telepathic voice rung through her ears.
We allowed your species to live, even after you failed us. Now you attempt to meddle with powers beyond your understanding. You are no longer useful. Die.
The vision ended abruptly, jolting Marshall back to himself. Recalling the memory he had seen, he followed with his eyes where he recalled the object had rolled after the queen had dropped it. Realizing that such an attempt would likely be futile, he asked Grunt, "Do you recall seeing a black, perfectly round stone around here?"
Grunt thought about this, then nodded, "Yeah! Over here!"
Grunt moved towards the north, in the general direction that Marshall had looked. After a minute rummaging around, the krogan said, "Here!"
When the others followed, it was indeed what Marshall had seen the rachni queen holding, although it had suffered a large crack on the surface, most likely from the fall.
Grunt said, "Funny thing. I remembered it because it looked just like the stone Shepard had. His wasn't all beat up, though."
That caused Marshall to turn his head towards Grunt in a wide-eyed glare of astonishment. "Commander Shepard had one of these things?"
Grunt nodded, "Yeah. Although he kept it behind heavy shielding. Guess it could be dangerous if left out in the open. He'd occasionally poke and prod at it during the mission, then come back with our next destination."
It quickly fell into place from there. That's what Shepard had been doing. That's how he had known where to go. Marshall had no doubt that these 'stones' were the orbs that had been spoken of in the resource material on the Leviathan that Marshall had received. Shepard had been using their own technology to track and follow them.
That revelation didn't answer everything, of course; for example, what exactly did Shepard think his little frigate could do to a highly advanced creature potentially billions of years old? But the picture was a lot clearer than it had been before.
The captain's thoughts were interrupted by Grunt. The krogan was rubbing the back of his head nervously, and his voice was uncertain as he asked, "Hey, I just met you... and I know it sounds crazy... but... can I have ride home?"
