Chapter XIII: Station of Memories
Citadel Calendar 2685/UNSC Military calendar 2560
Normandy SR-2, Normandy-class Stealth Frigate
Felix-B313
The bunks the commander had been set up in the corner of the shuttle bay to allow them some privacy when desired on their journey. They preferred this rather than bunking with the crew. While they, of course, heard the crew working here they were left alone for the most part. Most of the time only two people worked down here, Lieutenant Cortez and Sergeant Naezel, the armory chief and xeno – a Salarian. After the first day, onboard poor Chiyo could have briefed them on much of the talkative chief's service history.
"You guys ever take that armor off?" He'd asked when they first spoke.
"Yes," Felix had responded.
"But not now," he assumed in his polite and positive tone of voice.
"No."
He had nodded his head understandingly. "Sergeant Zehon Naezel at your service. Armory Chief Extraordinaire." He chuckled at himself. "See me over there whenever you need anything before a mission concerning weapons."
"We will, sergeant. We appreciate the work table."
"Of course. Of course." His bright smile widened. He had unpacked an additional work table for their use alone. "I understand a soldier wanting to handle his weapon. Vakarian's like that too with that sniper rifle of his. Commander's much the same way. Likes tinkering with her equipment. Anywho, you know where to find me if you need anything weapons-wise." He had strolled off after that to converse with Lieutenant Cortez and a young female pilot. A good number of crates had been stored aboard, all full of ammo, grenades, maintenance tools and a variant of weapons they might require. The weapons had been unpacked into lockers in the armory portion of the shuttle bay.
People awing over their size – in and out of armor – was something they were all used to and this crew was no exception. Hell, he remembered the first time he ever saw a Spartan up close. He'd been a helpless kid and his home was destroyed and his family killed. It had been one of the Spartan IIs. Though he never knew the designation of him. Far back on the planet Zaerim he had asked Leonidas, "Do you ever think people would be disappointed that we're just ordinary soldiers under the armor?"
Leonidas had shrugged, "Probably. I'm sure most people expect us to be larger than life sorts."
The five of them ate in the mess when it had fewer people in it. The chef was a pleasant sort that didn't press for conversation unnecessarily. That did not seem to be something Professor Solus shared. He approached them as they ate at the table.
"Professor Solus," Felix greeted flatly.
"Hello. How are you?"
"We're fine."
The large-eyed professor glanced at the food on his plate. "I trust the chance of being poisoned today is minimal?"
Felix hesitated and he and Leonidas glanced at each other. "I'm sorry?"
The chef interjected himself into the conversation at that point with a smirk on his face. "I dare you to find someone that makes navy rations taste this good."
Oh, he thought. Only then did he realize he'd made a jape about the quality of the food.
"I assure you it was simply stated in jest." He assured the chef and picked up a plate of food and headed back to them. "My apology for not joining you. Will eat while working. Far more efficient."
"It is that. It's no problem."
After a moment Ares said, "I actually thought all this would be stranger." He spoke in a low voice and eyed an Asari conversing with a human. Felix noticed how wildly she moved her arms as she gestured along as she spoke.
"This isn't strange?" He asked Ares.
"Well it isn't though, is it? You got to appreciate the fact that they haven't tried to wipe us out," Ares argued. "It makes them grow a bit on me I think."
He noticed Dominic nodded at that from the other side of the table. "Aye," he said. "I still feel sick at the sight of the fucking Elites. I'll take these xenos over them any day."
"It's only been seven years since the war officially ended," Felix said. "It is unsettling to work with the people who butchered so many. Elites, brutes, grunts, hunters." The government may have forgotten that their allies were their butchers not long ago, but he knew that the soldiers who fought that war hadn't and wouldn't. He assumed most politicians hadn't forgotten, but apparently it was politically appropriate to embrace the Conclave of Independent Governments and the elites especially and leave the war and those who fell behind.
"These new xenos are more peaceful, almost human in a way," Ares said. "They aren't out to kill humanity or threaten it. With the exception of the Batarians from the data packages. Maybe we won't need the CIG in a few years."
"If the Citadel ends up trustworthy," Dominic noted cautiously.
"Well, we're about to find out," Felix reminded them. Chiyo sat quietly and focused on her dinner instead of partaking in the conversation, as did Leonidas. "We'll reach Omega in a few days." Dominic and Ares nodded in agreement. You didn't truly know someone until you fought beside them. It was a point they all understood and agreed on. He didn't recall a Spartan he'd served with that didn't agree.
"Well said." Ares stood up. "I'm heading down to the shuttle bay. Gonna do some maintenance on my rifle."
"Sure." Shortly thereafter they left the mess and he saw the commander turn the corner from the elevator and walk by the table with Lieutenant Commander Williams. "I'll meet you in the bay," he told the team. "Commander," he called. She shifted her emerald eyes and offered a smile – albeit a small one. It gave him the sense that she'd had bad news. It could be about the mission, but equally possible was something personal or simply an Alliance matter. He turned his head to Williams. "Lieutenant Commander."
"Spartan," Williams greeted.
"Felix. How are your team adjusting to life on the Normandy?" Shepard asked him. She wore a more casual set than her navy uniform. A pair of dark cargo pants with a black hoodie with a red trim.
"They're doing well, sir. Spartans adapt quickly."
"I suppose you wouldn't be very super otherwise," she supposed.
"No. I wanted to ask if there has been a change in the mission parameters." By the time they had finished their second relay jump from the Citadel word came in that there was a battle raging on Omega. The station's de facto leader saw her powerbase attacked by the Coalition of Eayn. The attack had come out of nowhere for the Citadel, but he couldn't see that sneaking by ONI so it seemed to him that the UNSC hadn't informed them.
"The missions still on," she confirmed.
"Is it over then?" It was risky going into a war zone so she'd told him that the mission might get scrubbed by the Citadel and UNSC.
"It is. Aria's dethroned. Omega belongs to the Kig-yar now."
"I'm not sure that's really going to change much in Terminus," Williams remarked. She crossed her arms over her chest lightly. "I mean the Coalition is made up of criminals anyway, right? Does it really matter which pirate or warlord controls it?"
"The jackals have a lot more firepower. It's not just a conglomerate of criminals. It's got the backing of the military and economy that being a state entails," he answered.
Williams appeared to chew on that for a moment.
"And it could potentially throw the whole Terminus Systems into chaos," the commander added thoughtfully. The idea of the Kig-yar growing in power was not a welcome one for him. The UNSC would never stand for it. "Thankfully we've gotten some good news on that."
"Such as sir?"
"Looks like they're opening up for megacorporation and regular travel in the system pretty quick."
"Already? Why?"
"They probably want to stabilize the situation and make a buck."
"Hmm. Hard to make a buck if nobody can go there or wants to work with you," he acknowledged. "If they start trading tech it's going to throw the region into complete chaos and war."
"Yeah, well, we'll have to take one problem at the time. Hopefully, we won't have to mess with them at Omega. We'll simply go in, grab the beacon and go home." She didn't look or sound as optimistic as her best-case scenario.
"Here's for hoping, commander."
"Tell your team the briefing's in one hour."
"Yes, commander."
The commander put her hands together and weighed on her heels. "Now if you both excuse me I have to see a Turian about some, calibrations." It sounded like there was an underlying meaning to it, but if it was he didn't get it. She did seem rather happy about whatever needed to be calibrated either way.
He took the elevator back down to the shuttle bay, but before he stepped in he took a moment at what clearly was a memorial for the fallen. It hadn't been explained in the tour for there was no need to. It was some twenty names of crewmen that had lost their lives. He thought it was a good place for it. Outside the elevator left in central where everyone had to pass between decks. He mused on what missions these men and women had been killed on. Three of them stood out, Samara, Jack, and Legion. The only ones without a surname. Jack was clearly human and Samara could be. He didn't know enough about the Alliance to determine that and different colonies could have different naming traditions. Legion, however, had to be xeno. It didn't fit in with those he'd heard from the Citadel's various species. Mayhaps just an alias. When he stepped into the elevator he made his way down and upon stepping out the first thing he heard was Dominic declare, "It's a brick," and gesture to the Kodiak shuttle. Lieutenant Cortez stood beside him, his arms folded.
"That's just efficiency over style. This baby can go up to eight hundred and four kilometers per hour," the lieutenant defended the shuttle. Their tones showed it was a friendly argument.
"Okay, it's a damn fast brick, I'll give you that much," Dominic conceded.
"It's got state of the art stealth, well for us as least. Don't know what your stealth tech is at. It sports two 20mm guns to boot. Enough to handle any hostile before they even lay eyes on it."
Ares had picked out his SRS99 and had started to take it apart and then put it back together again and Chiyo was reading a datapad. It was what she had done before and he sat down to do the same. The subject was biotics. This extraordinary ability, there was nothing like it in their – no – in galactic north. They had to know how to counter it, how to fight it on the battlefield. A lot of their data was from codex they'd been given but the Council had also provided more detailed information for his team. What was further impressive was how the entire Asari species was biotics. All of them, on different levels obviously, but every last one of them a biotic from birth. It was a clear military advantage in war that everyone had this ability. In combat, he could see how Asari ground forces could devastate their UNSC counterparts if they got too close. If there ever was a war – which he saw as less and less likely by the day – the UNSC would have to win in space for a ground campaign looked bloodier and bloodier if they went up against armies of trained biotics.
By the time the briefing began his team was already in full gear as they soon jump through the last relay to Omega. They met in Normandy's war room around the circular holo table. Shepard activated it and displayed their target, Omega. It was a rather ugly thing in his mind, built on the mined-out husk of an asteroid of a sort. Beside Zaerim Shepard's people had assembled, Garrus Vakarian, Williams and Professor Solus.
"Alright listen up," Shepard said to begin the briefing. "The moment we come out the relay we're going into stealth to avoid detecting. We're docking to the station and sending in a team. Our target once aboard is Bharek Dhof'forok, a Batarian dealer in arms and tech. Only half of them stolen goods." She looked to his team. "The UNSC tells us their Intel shows him possessing this beacon. Where it was originally located is unknown but we know some Kig-yar smuggler sold it to him at least a month ago. He's been sitting on it since."
"Likely looking for a buyer," Professor Solus said.
"Probably. We're getting our hands on it before he can sell it to someone else though." She paused and he took the opportunity to ask a question.
"How are we acquiring it? Are there any orders on that?"
"No. It's in our hands. We're going to approach him to buy it. I've secured the necessary funds for it." He guessed it was with her Spectre status she had done that. The Spectres worked outside the law and with a great deal of autonomy under the Council.
"So that's it?" Vakarian asked. "We're just going to stroll up to him and offer to buy it? That has to be one of the simplest plans we've had yet." He spoke with approval. "What's plan B? Assuming he refuses." Nobody expected this to be that easy.
"If we throw enough credits in his face I can't imagine he'll refuse," Shepard answered. Then she hesitated. "But, if he does our orders are to secure the beacon. A criminal sitting with whatever it is won't go well with the Council or UNSC so we're leaving with it either way."
"Do we know anything about the Kig-yar occupation, commander?" Williams inquired.
"Again, thanks to the UNSC we know a decent amount." He hadn't been sure how much Intel ONI was willing to share with the Citadel but he was glad to see that they shared enough to ensure missing success. There was no doubt that ONI would be watching them the moment they entered the system. A prowler no doubt sat and watched everything under stealth. "There are still pockets of resistance of Omega. Mercenaries left behind and civilians taking up arms. Some mercenaries like the Blue Suns are happily jumped on the Coalition payroll. These still fighting presumably refuse." He remembered the Blue Suns from the codex, one of the galactic south's largest mercenary organizations. "The Blue Suns switched sides in the battle and caused chaos early on."
"The Coalition would most likely have extended employment offers to them," Felix said. "If they don't have to spill their own blood, they won't."
Shepard nodded at that. "The Blue Suns are shipping in troops from elsewhere in Terminus to support the Coalition. Intel says that the Coalition doesn't have the manpower to patrol the station or fight the remaining pockets. Too high casualties."
"That's why the Blue Sun is moving in," assumed Vakarian. "Wonder how much they're getting paid."
"To betray T'Loak must be a lot of credits," Professor Solus answered him.
"Yeah. If they hadn't sided with the technologically and militarily superior faction I'd call it suicidal," Vakarian added.
"Commander," Chiyo said. "Do we know where Mr. Dhof'forok is located?"
"We do. He's got his place set up not far from where we're docking." She zoomed in on the area on the station they planned to dock at and then she showed how far away his location was.
"It'll only take a few minutes to get there," Felix noted. "If we aren't detected we should be in and out before the jackals realize anything."
"Yeah, I'd rather not fight my way through an entire army of pirate bird," Vakarian said. He leaned on the holo table as he spoke and clicked his mandibles.
"It would be nice if something was easy for once," Shepard agreed. She then turned to address them all. "Is everyone clear on what we're doing?" A round of confirmations followed. "Good." She activated her Omni-tool. "Joker takes us through the relay."
"Copy that, commander. You think Omega looks different after the fighting? I mean it was kind of a dump before so it might not be noticeable."
"We're about to find us." She looked at them again. "Already team one will consist of me, Mordin, Spartans Felix and Dominic. We're going to seek out the dealer. Team two is Garrus, Ashley and Spartans Chiyo, Leonidas and Ares. You're holding the docking bay and will move in reinforce us if we run into complications. Leonidas, you're in command."
Leonidas nodded, "Copy, sir."
As Zaerim's close combat expert Dominic had been the best choice for team one. It pleased him to know that she kept in mind what little she'd been told about them in her own briefing. He couldn't say he knew what Omega looked like before, but he assumed there weren't dozens of shipwrecks then. The AI, EDI, identified the wrecks of twenty-seven ships. All common models found in Terminus. Commonly used by mercenaries and the dozens and dozens of warlords throughout the region. There were no wrecks of Kig-yar ships. Apparently it had been a terrible one-sided battle. He agreed with Vakarian's assessment of it. "The mercenaries and whatever else Aria amassed probably scattered when the Kig-yar carved through their hulls with plasma weaponry." It was the most likely explanation. When a hundred larger ships with plasma weapons attacked mercenaries, slavers and pirates would have panicked and scattered.
"How many Kig-yar ships?" Leonidas asked.
"Ninety-seven," came the answer from the AI.
"But there are no wrecks from the Coalition?" Leonidas asked to confirm.
"Correct."
"Could have been badly damaged," Williams offered. "Sent home for repairs. No repair yards here capable of holding one of these giants."
"It's possible they went away to scout or to take dignitaries to nearby warlords to talk. No point in guessing," Shepard said. Normandy maneuvered in to dock. "Nobody's reacting to us EDI?"
"They are not, commander."
"Cloaks working. Always nice to know," the professor affirmed positively. "Good start."
The small docking bay the airlock opened into wasn't larger than fifteen meters from side to side and with an exception for a console and some metal crates there was nothing of worth mentioning present. Leonidas quickly arranged Team Two into defensive positions, expecting the worst. By use of the crates, they had covere to use the door as a chokepoint in case of hostiles. The corridor outside was empty. Not a soul in sight. Everyone probably stayed inside when they didn't have to do something specific. Professor Solus theorized there be a curfew while the Coalition cleaned up what was left to oppose them. There battle scars all over, debris, blood splatter in various colors and broken doors and walls. The four of them made good time down a few corridors and all of them as empty of the docking area. They soon reached the area where the dealer was set up. It was a modest place without any signs. Costumers had to know where to go – which made sense because he probably only saw clients after a deal had been agreed upon. The building was connected to a storage unit.
Shepard walked up to the door and moved her Omni-tool over it to open it, and as it did she remarked. "It's not locked. That's odd. Stay alert."
She walked inside with Dominic and the professor behind her. Felix took up the rear.
"Shit," he heard her say before he entered proper. The room appeared to be very Spartans with a small amount of furniture and two doors that left further in. both were open and the place looked like it had been torn apart and worst of it there were two bodies. One of them a Vorcha and the other a Turian. "Mordin, Felix check out the Storage unit."
"Copy."
He jogged out and kept a lookout as the Salarian opened the large storage door. He confirmed that it too was unlocked. Bad news for them. It was rather clear that someone had always been there. Damn it. It had been to straight forward to be true.
"We got the dealer," Shepard said over the comms. He assumed on her voice that he was dead. "He's dead." Yes, there it was.
As the door slid open he suddenly felt unable to move, as if grabbed by energy and Professor Solus was hit by a wave of that same energy and thrown back hard enough to hit the wall across the corridor. He realized it was biotics that immobilized him. "Contact!" He warned over the comms in his helmet. He recognized the blue frames of Asari in the dark storage unit. Four of them.
