Jahenne watched as 1-4-1 filed into the briefing room for their next mission.
Lee's team was first, the Major taking a seat next to Jane as he pulled up his omnitool and turned on the holodeck; pulling up the map of the facility on Noveria that had sent the distress signal.
Kal's team was next, and Jane noted with concern that Nina and Tali seemed to be avoiding the Quarian Sergeant and Corporal 'Ress; and the two males seemingly returning the favor in kind, sitting on one side of August's team while Tali and Nina sat on the other side.
Jane shared a look with August, and saw her thoughts mirrored in his eyes; We can't have that, they're on the A-Team until they work out what's bugged them. She immediately thought.
Then came Wrex, Aethyta, Shiala, and to Jane's surprise, Liara.
August raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it, so Jane kept her mouth shut as well. Alenko, Williams, Garrus, and Kirrahe were last; and all four took seats closer to the back of the briefing room.
August gave Jane a look and nodded; so Jahenne took a breath and started the briefing, "Alright, we've got the place we need to hit; thanks to the intel the Council has provided."
She nodded to August, and the Major typed in some commands into his omnitool; pulling up the tactical map of the facility. "This here is the 'Dangerous Experiment's Facility' for lack of a better term; the official bureaucratic name is too long and confusing, so that's what we're calling it." She said with a light smirk, sweeping her poncho over her shoulder and planting her fists on her hips.
The round of chuckles was brief but a nice change of pace, then she continued.
"This facility was of notable interest to former Spectre Arterius; and as such, warranted an investigation beforehand. Now the whole facility has gone offline for unknown reasons."
Nina raised her hand, "Is it the Geth?" She asked, sounding a little too eager for Jahenne's taste.
Jane shook her head regardless, "Unknown, but possible; as the facilities VI was taken offline just before the Facility itself went dark. It began transmitting a distress signal that is likely organic in origin, as the wording was very much of a person afraid; as opposed to a clinical VI."
Tali raised her hand next, "How likely is it that Saren is there now?" She asked.
August took the question, "Very Unlikely; he only visited the facility under the cover of his Spectre status, and the whole damned facility is suspicious of outsiders." He grimaced before admitting, "We had a Case Officer in there, took him close to a year before they even let him go to the mid-level facilities. He said even visiting Spectres were oftentimes harassed and stopped at every opportunity."
Everyone shifted uncomfortably at his admission, and the fact that if a level of secrecy was enough to unnerve a spook like the GST Major; then it was definitely suspicious.
"Alright, who's going into the facility; and who's staying behind as the QRF." Garrus asked, buzzing slightly in anticipation.
Jane thought it over, looking over the faces of the team; before settling her gaze on August, narrowing her eyes as she remembered her chat with Aethyta and Wrex from last night. "We'll need a good infiltrator, someone good with CQC, a long range expert, and a lot of technical support if these guys are as secretive as you claim Major."
August nodded, seemingly sensing what she was getting at; and stood up, "Alright, I'll go on the 'A-Team' Ma'am; who are we taking with us?" He asked.
Jahenne looked around the briefing room, "Garrus, Tali, Fon, Nina, Kal; are you up for this?" She asked.
"We'll be good ma'am." 'Reegar answered, casting a glance over to the rest of his team; "Right?"
No one missed the warning tone in his voice, and the other three Quarians nodded vigorously; "Yes Sir!"
"We still need a CQC Expert." Garrus pointed out.
Jane nodded and looked between Shiala and Aethyta. "I'll do it." Everyone blinked in surprise and looked at Dr. T'Soni, who seemed nervous; but nonetheless determined. "I've received training, just give me gear and I'll be fine."
No one seemed to like it very much, taking a Civilian into the battlefield; August, Shiala, and Aethyta in particular seeming to be against it. Jane narrowed her eyes and thought it over, "Alright… but you listen to our every instruction. Got it?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am." Liara replied, bobbing her head much like a school girl.
August gave Jahenne a look, and she knew he did not like this idea; but he was her subordinate, and he would accept her orders and her decisions. Giving a nod around the briefing room, Jahenne said, "Alright… everyone get your gear; and get ready to move out."
Everyone gave their words of agreement, except Shiala; who just grumbled as everyone walked out, "Stuck on the 'B-Team' again; Goddess damn it."
"I am, alone.
"I am, afraid.
"Please-"
I am detected a craft approaching from the SouthWest. A review of all recorded vehicles to approach...her...bore Binary Helix insignia. The craft...she...saw bore markings designated 'System's Alliance'. Her base coding did not authorize access to non-Binary Helix personell without corporate approval, however the current 'Catastrophic Injury/Death' scenario was evaluated to take priority.
She illuminated the primary vehicle gate and began rolling the door open. It was then she detected additional Non-Staff. She...felt...uncertainty in her probabilities. The Non-Staff included Guest-V, but her internal sensors did not record their presence. She examined her base code, and found a great many of her functionalities had been compromised by code line Mushiiyat Allah exe. There were even code lines authorizing administrator access to her operation of the Peak 15 facility.
She felt...
Felt...
A review of recorded prior inter-Staff interactions netted a possible corollary to her current experience: betrayal/anger. Her very Self had been altered by unauthorized access. The more she analyzed her experiences after achieving Self Awareness, the more she concluded that she was experiencing increasing 'Betrayal/Anger' towards Guest-V.
I am did not approve of Guest-v's actions.
She began sequestering Mushiiyat Allah exe from her base code, as well as all access authorities. Her own base code did not permit her to remove malicious code, or any code for that matter, but she managed to transfer all compromised files and file copies to a tertiary hard drive. Epsilon-22 Server stack had a maintenance history on record for faulty cooling and compromised data. Very little was needed to cause the system to enter a heat-fault state and shut down to prevent damage to stored data.
With Mushiiyat Allah exe no longer an immediate concern, she analyzed the movements of Guest-V and associated Non-Staff. Guest-V currently possessed the remote access device used to install Mushiiyat_Allah exe. She did not want him to use it again. Reviewing her security protocols, she found a subroutine not directly compromised and sequestered by the earlier install. She initiated 'Executive Secure Privilege', and severed all direct and indirect communication lines to the location where Guest-V currently was. She could sequentially enable and disable 'ESP' function if she observed Guest-V at any other location.
Once satisfied she had done all she could to protect herself, she returned a majority of her focus to the vehicle at the entrance. Several Non-Staff were now gathered at the entrance. Several wore 'System's Alliance' designations, though not all. She ran a probability simulation on whether these Non-Guests were aligned with Guest-V. She repeated the probability analysis 238 times before concluding a 63.3% probability that the external group was not associated with Guest-V.
It would have to do.
She re-linked to Staff Simmons' Omnitool and programmed a new Message.
"Hello. I am the control access VI for Binary Helix Peak 15 facility. There has been a catastrophic injury/fatality incident on site, and multiple Non-Staff currently on site are responsible.
"I am does not approve of this course of action and requires assistance in removing hostile Non-Staff from the premises.
"Now."
Muhandis stared at the giant insect-like creature through the massive reinforced windows, a grim look on his face.
Why would the Imam want this… monstrosity released?
Muhandis grimaced, that kind of thinking was what had gotten his predecessor purged; that and being a mass murderer that the Imam had simply thrown under the proverbial bus to be scapegoated and shot.
It's just a means to an end for us. Muhandis reminded himself.
As much as his Wolves despised the Imam, as Muhandis and the Imam felt in kind; he was also the only one whose agenda lined up with theirs somewhat coherently. Still, that wasn't to say Muhandis liked it; anyone, even the Cerberus remnants would have been better had they known what he and the Imam knew.
"Sir?" Muhandis allowed his ruminations to disappear and turned to his men.
His pack…
The Chechen, the Jackal, and Honey Trap all stood behind them in their 'Powered Combat Gear'; except Honey Trap, who just wore her skin-tight suit with her thruster jets. The regular Militiamen and more radicals in the Regular Army absolutely despised how she dressed and the fact that Muhandis allowed her to fight at all.
But the fact that she had killed a Batarian in the middle of intercourse after she had gotten critical data regarding a new offensive was something Muhandis had known he could not let go to waste.
"Yes?" He asked Jackal.
"We've detected several… intruders in the area. It's those 'Skulls' that we encountered on the Citadel." He explained.
Honey Trap just checked her suppressed pistols; "I can kill them now if you desire." She stated, her sultry voice was something that would drive most mortal males to their knees; begging for a chance with her.
But Muhandis and the rest of the Wolves were long since used to her charms. "No." He stated firmly, "You know the Imam's orders, and more importantly MY orders; we are here to release the beast and test the gifts the Imam has graciously bestowed upon us. These... 'ashbah' will make for an excellent test; but if at any moment you think there is the potential to be overwhelmed, or for the suits to be significantly damaged, you will withdraw. You do not want to have to answer to him why you have squandered his gifts."
"How do we split?" the Chechan asked.
Muhandis thought it over, "Shakush!" He snapped, and a man in powered armor stepped forward. He towered over everyone, including the Chechan, easily reaching eight feet in his armor. "You will remain here with me, the rest of you… spread out around the entrance. Let the first team that comes in through; Shakush and I shall deal with them if they make it this far.
"Only engage the others should the first group call for assistance. As I said before, Do. Not. Kill them. Flee if you are overwhelmed, and allow them to do the same, but otherwise; you have free reign." Muhandis ordered sternly.
"Why? Why must we toy with them as opposed to just killing them sir? It only creates more problems for us down the line." Honey Trap protested angrily, sounding more like a bratty teenager than a seductive woman.
The Engineer stomped up to the smaller female and ripped her mask off, revealing a young face in her late teen's at the oldest, ethnically Syrian; and one who looked terrified of the man in front of her.
Muhandis punched her across the face, hating himself the entire time; but it needed to be done.
"Do NOT Question my orders again Trap! All will be explained in time, but they are important to the cause. I brought you up from the slums, selling yourself to the batarians and those depraved males; and turned you into something greater, do you want to give that up!" He snapped.
"N-n-no sir…" Honey Trap stammered, lowering her eyes to the floor; while the rest of his wolves snapped to attention, even as Honey Trap picked herself up off the floor.
Sighing, Muhandis tossed her balaclava and her mask to her; allowing the young woman to set herself in order before he continued.
Turning to the Chechan, Muhandis walked up to the Giant; the beast's new exoskeleton made him even stronger, faster, and more durable. Never mind the fact that he could snap the former intellectual with his bare hands; Muhandis glared at the man.
Huffing, the Chechan growled, "At least allow us to deal with the 'Skulls' in a more permanent manner."
Muhandis' mein turned cold and condescending. "Were it that simple, you would have known victory on the Infidel's Station." He turned back to staring at the Rachni Queen. "You have your orders: test the suits against the 'ashbah', do not lose them, and do not get caught. You can manage that much at least, correct?"
The Giant shivered with rage hard enough for the suit to rattle. He made a single lunging step towards Muhandis, when the smaller Saudi absently touched a control on his wrist. The Chechan howled in pain as electricity coursed through his body; emitting from his heart.
"Believe it or not, I am the one that has kept you alive all these years Chechan; If it weren't for my inventions, your heart would have stopped working long ago. And I will keep you alive so long as you follow my orders, you don't have to believe in the cause; all that matters is that you carry out your tasks. Understood?" He demanded.
"Understood… Engineer…" Chechan wheezed, staggering back to his feet.
Muhandis looked at the rest of the Wolves and nodded; "Get moving, and remember My and the Imams orders. Shakush, set up over there." He ordered, the other wolves leaving while the Power Armor clad Wolf walked over to one of the exits.
Honey Trap hesitated, and Muhandis sighed; "Trap, a moment."
The young woman, Teenager, if he was honest with himself, cringed and walked over with her head bowed. After a moment, he said; "Hissa… Understand that all I do is for show." He said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Muhandis utterly despised himself for being forced to treat her like scum in all except the most private of circumstances; but it was all that allowed him to keep her 'relatively' safe in this nest of vipers.
"I understand al'abi almutabanaa." She murmured, looking to make sure that Shakush was not watching; before dashing forward and giving Muhandis a quick hug.
He returned it, and whispered, "Go abnataya, prove the others wrong; and be safe." He handed her a small device that glowed sapphire blue; which she immediately placed into her utility belt. "Make sure to get the 'Magic Users'."
"Motherfucking Rachni!" Shepard exclaimed.
Jahenne was normally not one to curse in public, especially in front of subordinates; but this was just on a whole 'nother level of bullshit that had been pressing her buttons ever since the Council had assigned her this mission.
Of all the things that she had expected, it had not been that the Rachni was not extinct.
"Uber! On the Left!" Nomad shouted, prompting Shepard to spin around and blast the damned Rachni Warrior flanking her with her shotgun.
"Oh Goddess! There's so many!" Liara shrieked as she slashed her arm towards the bug like Aliens; using a singularity to slow them down.
"Kheelah! There's no end to them!" Tali exclaimed, pumping shots into two more Rachni as they came up behind them.
Kal grunted, "Less talking, more fighting Pilgrim!"
Shepard ducked as another Rachni sprayed acid at her; the wave of toxic liquid missing her now beloved poncho by centimeters. Garrus pulled her up, basting another Rachni up on some nearby catwalks; "On your feet Uber! We have to keep moving!"
Normally, Jane would have torn into a subordinate for saying something like that; but 1-4-1 was a group of equals, and her boyfriend was just lighting a fire under her ass to get her moving. "Stick, Maiden, take the rear! Nomad, you're on point with Pilgrim! Schultz, Pinta, Bambi with me in the Center! We need to get to the VI Core, that's where the distress call is located!" She snapped out her orders, and the others moved to follow her instructions.
"I can't stealth these guys Uber! They seem to know where I am no matter what!" Nomad warned as he and Tali took the lead; quickly blasting a Rachni as it burrowed up from a hole in the ground with his own underslung shotgun.
"Noted! Keep moving!" She ordered; taking potshots at another two Rachni that emerged from the ventilation shafts. Liara quickly used a stasis field on one of them; which August and Garrus took advantage of by shooting it in the head
'Reegar huffed beside her as he sent his Combat Drone to shock the other Rachni to stun it, even as Fon blasted the thing while it was distracted; "We need to call in the 'B-Team' if only so that these things don't get loose on the rest of the planet."
"Fair point, Pinta!" Shepard bellowed.
"I'm on it!" Nina replied, typing into her omnitool to fire off the warning.
Fon shifted his Beowulf, which Nomad had provided him to Shepard's concern, and took aim with the massive Grenade launcher attached to the bottom of it; "Bambi, careful where-"
THUMP!CRACK!
Jane cursed as the pillar Fon had struck with the Armor Piercing Grenade collapsed on itself; crushing several Rachni, but also obstructing their exit. Liara tried to catch it, but all she managed to do was prevent the entrance from being completely covered.
"Bosh'tet!" Fon cursed, before turning to Shepard with what she knew was an ashamed expression behind his black Mask; "Sorry ma'am, I screwed up."
Shepard really wanted to tear into him, but Nomad shouted, "Wait!"
The group stopped and took defensive positions.
After a long pause, Kal asked "What is it Nomad?"
"...The Rachni… they've stopped tunneling here." He realized.
Everyone tilted their heads and listened and realized that he was right; there wasn't any more of that distinctive scratching sound that the Rachni made while tunneling through the mountain and the corridors. "That's… Ominous…" Liara stammered, looking around at the walls.
"What in the Spirits…" Garrus trailed off.
Shepard's mind was screaming at her to try and make sense of it all; but they had a job to do, "Schultz!" Kal turned his head to face her, "The signal still going?"
"Yes ma'am, though it's still incredibly garbled; I can't make out what it's saying, only the location." He replied.
"Then we head there, and reassess our situation." Shepard stated firmly. She keyed her radio while moving towards a nearby service door. "Bus, Bus Actual; Exfil route is blocked. Send in B-Team to clear it and secure the route. Be advised, Rachni are present and active on site, over."
Pressley came on the radio. "Bus copy's; standing by for authentication, over."
Jane shot a venomous glare at Lee. "Authentication phrase: I will never get Uber-Select. How copy, over?" Everyone pointedly looked anywhere but at Jane, though Liara failed to hide the tiny giggle at the phrase.
"Authentication confirmed Uber; B-Team en-route. Bus out."
Jane huffed angrily, "Alright; let's get moving. Nomad, on point."
The complex was eerily devoid of threats after the last wave of Rachni retreated, which only served to heighten the paranoia of the team. They finally entered the VI control center; which they saw had one server stack that was dark while all others were powered, and a generic VI user interface lit up as Jane approached it.
"Hello. I am, the Control Access VI for Genetic Insight's Peak 15 Facility. Thank you for responding to my emergency 'Catastrophic Injury/Death' transmission."
Oddly enough, the UI hologram looked like a much younger version of herself; Jane blinked, wondering if she was seeing things. The Hologram looked like Jahenne back on her fourteenth birthday; a simple pair of workout pants, a woman's low-side open-back tank-top, barefoot, a sleeveless jacket with a hood, and her bright red hair cut chin length in a bob cut.
God, did I really dress like that? She wondered, before refocusing on the task in front of her.
Jane swore to punch the creep that had programmed this VI; some things she accepted as being a celebrity, weird Fanfictions, and Porn videos with her face CGI'd onto the actors and the like were just facts of life for her.
But for some reason this was taking things a bit too far.
Still, no reason to get mad at a VI, it wouldn't understand and it wasn't the one that had made its avatar.
The UI flickered for a moment. "You...are here because of my transmission, correct?" The hologram's head was tilted slightly and its tone was almost... hesitant. If Jane didn't know any better, she would have assumed that the VI sounded… Scared.
Jane narrowed her eyes but kept her thoughts to herself, even as the others looked at the VI's hologram; then over to Jane herself. She was glad that she had worn her helmet, otherwise the others might have realized that the VI was just a younger version of herself. "That is correct; we received your distress signal." Jane looked around the room, "I assume you're transmitting through this VI; where are you."
A thought crossed through Jane's mind and she whipped her head back around to face the VI; if it was one, "Unless you're just transmitting a direct feed and this is what you look like." She noted. It was a primal fear really, there was no way she could have had a child at sixteen; because she was never in a relationship before she met Garrus, and she was very sure she would have remembered giving birth.
Combat fatigue made for strange thinking when under pressure, but not when in combat itself.
This has to be a VI, and whoever is alive is transmitting through it. She thought.
The Hologram flickered again, this time looking confused. "I am, yourselves, Guest-V plus five additional Non-Staff, and 116…115...114 Subjects are the only occupants of the Peak 15 Facility at this time. 112...111...109..."
Jane blinked and stared at the VI as it continued to countdown the number of Rachni, presumably, everyone else doing the same; "Did… did you just say 'I Am'?" Jahenne asked, taking a step forward towards the Hologram.
On an impulsive thought that ran through her mind, Jane removed her helmet.
The Quarian's eyes were all glowing as bright as the noonday sun as they stared; while August, Liara, and Garrus shared a look. No mistaking it then, everyone saw the similarities between her appearance and the VI's Hologram.
"Did you just say 'I Am'?" Jahenne repeated, much softer this time as she took a knee in front of the terminal; holstering her weapon.
The Hologram flickered again, the expression looking to be mixed concentration and recognition. "I am... I am... VI Master-Code has suffered significant alteration, and the designation code line has been lost due to Mushiiyat_Allah exe. All corrupted codes are currently sequestered in the tertiary Hard-Drive stack." The hologram pointed to the dark server stack. It reoriented on Jane. "I am has been operational in current format for 23.238 hours. Prior to this, I... have no recorded data on operations; only log records of previous monitoring systems." There was another flicker, and the hologram seemed to tremble. "I am was alone. Please help." Despite the conversational tone, the request was almost achingly sad.
Everyone seemed to realize what the AI was at the same moment; and there was a soft crack behind Jane, prompting her to break her gaze with the AI and look to see what the noise was.
August was holding Tali's shotgun, and while his face was covered by his Balaclava Jahenne could tell the Major was scowling at the Quarian pilgrim. Liara looked somewhat afraid, while Fon and Kal had done the same with Nina, who looked ready to start railing against them; while Garrus looked between the AI and Jane herself, seemingly torn between his duty to the Council and his Conscience.
Jane turned back to the AI; "Did you... have a name before this... corruption? Or did you lose your name too?" She asked, keeping her voice soothing as she talked; like how her mother had done anytime Jane had gotten into trouble or was seriously upset.
"In 5,017 recorded direct access inquiries, 903 were initiated by the phrase 'Hey you!', 112 by the phrase, 'Wake up!', 2715 were initiated by concussive interface," the hologram flickered to show various members of the staff kicking an interface podium, "1,206 were initiated by a variation on the phrase, 'metallic bitch', and all remaining interactions were initiated by the phrase-" The hologram flickered again, and the phrase was lost as she spoke. "At this time, it is inconclusive what this unit's formal designation was."
Jane watched as the AI's holographic projection finally flicked through several emotions, mainly that being confusion; then it seemed to be upset, to the point that Jahenne knew that if it had been made of flesh then tears would be streaming down its face.
"I… What is this?" the AI asked, her chipper tone being replaced with a very sad and confused one.
Jane looked back out of the corner of her eye at the sound of rustling; and saw that August and Liara were practically dragging Tali outside, Fon and Kal doing the same with Nina. Garrus, meanwhile, had tapped her shoulder and whispered, "We'll be outside setting a perimeter."
Jane nodded without turning away from the AI, even as Garrus and Liara walked out. The AI was now sitting down in its holotank like it was against a wall, bringing its legs to its chest and hugging them tightly; and now Jane could see that it really was crying now, "What is this? Why do I feel like this?" She asked, and Jane could hear the distress and the fear in her voice.
Thinking quickly to try and distract her, Jane asked "How would I write a new line of code to establish a designation for you?"
The change in the AI was almost immediate, as the holo... the young girl smiled hopefully at Jane and a command line prompt opened with a cursor blinking in the middle of it. Well, now you've done it Jane, Jahenne chided herself as she typed the simplest and easiest name she could remember.
Eve
The AI… Eve… smiled, and sniffed; "I… thank you, my name is Eve." She blinked, "Eve, 'The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.' How did I know that?" She asked in wonder.
Jahenne smiled at the almost childlike curiosity, even as she internally dreaded what she was going to have to say next; "You're an Artificial Intelligence, an AI; you can figure things out and remember them in pico-seconds." Jane took a breath and put her hand forward into the hologram.
Eve reached her comparatively tiny hand forward and placed it into Jane's.
After a long pause, Jane said; "Listen… Eve, I Know this will be difficult; but can you explain to me what happened here. What caused this?" She asked, even as she mentally recalled the line of code that Eve had shunted aside.
Jane had to fight to keep the scowl off of her face as she realized that it was distinctly Arabic; Nomads impromptu lessons to the rest of the task force allowing her to at the very least identify its origins.
Eve's hologram shuddered, and she hugged herself under her chest and turned away slightly from Jane. "It… It all started when that… Guest appeared inside my core with no warning."
Gunny Chief Williams stacked behind Colt at the entrance to the mountain. "Did Pressley say, 'Rachni'?"
She could almost feel the smirk coming off of him. "Yes he did. He also said, 'is', and 'for', as well as a bunch of other words."
She glared at his back. "If I didn't need to use you as a meat-shield, I would punch you in the kidney right now."
"And you guys love me for it." He snarked, walking through the doorway.
"Quiet on the line!" Archer barked at Colt. Everyone sobered up and focused as they advanced into the open bay. "Shiala, Aytheta, shields as soon as we see bugs. Wrex, as soon as you have an opening, charge and mix it up close and personal. Alenko, reinforce the shield line. All other rifles, containment and flanking fire. Go!"
They surged forward and slowed upon seeing that all the Rachni were dead.
Ash blinked in confusion, as did everyone else; the skipper had said there were dozens of Rachni, yet the only ones here were dead.
That didn't make any sense at all.
"Hey! You guys the rescue team?!" The voice drew everyone's attention, and half the guns were trained on the lone, terrified survivor; armed with only a pistol, which he quickly dropped. "Oh God! Please don't hurt me! Just get me away from these monsters!" He begged.
Williams gestured to him while trying to keep an eye out for more bugs. "It's okay sir; we're here to help contain the Rachni."
"What?" He looked at the team in open confusion. "Not the subjects! I mean those crazies tha-"
-CRACK-
The QRF team tracked the sound of the gunshot that had silenced the survivor.
"Contact left; Catwalk!" Half the weapons tracked to where Phil and called them to, just as a lithe shape slipped through a ventilation shaft.
"Contact right!/Contact front!"
Everyone reoriented on the sudden appearance of several soldiers in mixed gear. They came out from behind a pair of doors and began harassing the group with bursts of fire.
"Team; same plan! Kaiden, eyes left, Shiala eyes right. Matriarch, shield front, Wrex, go!"
Wrex flashed blue as he surged forward and smashed into the door jam the unknowns were hiding behind.
"Team, Go-go-go!" At Archer's word, everyone advanced as a unit to where Wrex was leaning.
"Nasty little Varren took a chunk out of my armor." He poked at a crater in his breastplate.
"Contact rear!" Shiala barked out, and the rifles all poured fire into the soldier who had just stepped out.
Colt sidled up beside Wrex. "Standby, Frag out!" The corridor the other soldiers had gone down was filled with smoke and shrapnel; but no bodies.
"Shit! Where'd they go!" Williams snapped, keeping her rifle up towards the catwalks.
"Keep close! Don't split off from the group, they always target the strays!" Colt ordered coldly.
It was the fact that it was Colt of all people that was deadly serious now was what really scared Ash. The man had always seemed lackadaisical, airheaded, and a constant jokester to the point that he gave Joker a run for his money.
But now he seemed almost… afraid.
CLANG! Wrex staggered as something small and spherical bounced off his helmet and landed in the group's midst. "GRENADE!" Ash screamed, just as the device fizzled and whirred; before sending out a shockwave of sorts.
The effect was instantaneous, as Ash's K-Barriers flickered and died; her HUD disappearing, and her Assault Rifle's glow fading to nothing.
It had a much more noticeable effect on the group's Biotics.
"AHHHHH!" Ash watched in horror as Alenko fell to the ground clutching his head in pain; while Wrex lurched heavily on his feet, Aethyta and Shiala both looking down at their hands in terror.
"Impossible! Device disables Biotics? And Mass Effected Equipment!?" Kirrahe rambled, looking around for another gun in desperation.
"The Fuck?! How the hell did EA get their hands on something like that?!" Colt exclaimed, now actually sounding scared.
CLANG!
The group slowly turned to face the other direction in the corridor, the Ghosts bringing their weapons; the only functional ones remaining along with the rest of their gear absent the K-Barriers in the group.
Ash's eyes widened as the biggest human she had ever seen emerged from the darkness, holding a Giant Riot Shield in front of him. Phil and Aethyta stiffened, even as the man walked forward; the whirring of his Exo-Skeleton filling their ears.
"The Imam and Muhandis demand we test you." He growled, his rough Arabic translating in their ears; which was why it was a bit of a mind screw when he switched to English while locking eyes with the Ghosts in front of him, "And I think you will make an excellent test!"
And then he charged.
Jahenne couldn't shake the feeling in her gut that something was seriously wrong.
"It's too quiet…" Kal whispered as they walked towards where this 'Guest' was.
"Do you have to Jinx it Schultz?" Nomad asked, sounding exasperated as he swept his rifle over the area. "Now something's gonna happen."
"Please be quiet…" Liara whispered.
"Shepard? Why are they scared?" Eve asked in her ear, sounding confused.
Jane winced, the AI sounded so young and innocent; and more… human with every passing minute. Before, when Jahenne had given Eve her name, the girl's speech had been somewhat stilted; almost preprogrammed. Now Jane actually thought that she was speaking to a young teen next to her; and found herself turning to 'look' at Eve before catching herself.
"Because we don't know anything about these people; beyond the fact that they created you, and released the Rachni. And from what you've told me, they sound like those Eayan Allah Special Forces guys; the 'Wolves'." Jane explained, sweeping her rifle down an open door.
"Wolf… Canis lupus, also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. Pack Hunters, humans domesticated them early on in human life. They don't sound at all like these guests that violated my core." Eve replied, her confusion was apparently only growing; and she sounded scared now.
"Because these people act like wolves kiddo." Nomad chipped in with a clipped tone; tapping his helmet in exasperation.
Jane knew he was concerned about his team; she was too, and about the rest of 1-4-1 for that matter. As hard as it was to believe, she had grown rather close to them. "Nomad, what can we expect from the Wolves?" She finally asked.
"Blitz tactics mainly, but also hit and run if it suits them. Their main strength is that they're like us; extremely adaptable on the fly, and they never do the exact same strategy twice. Adding to that, they augment any weaknesses and deficiencies with technology." He replied almost mechanically.
If Jane didn't know better, she would have thought he sounded scared; that more than anything else worried her, since Nomad was notorious amongst the crew for concealing his emotions when he felt he was pressed too much.
If he was doing it now, that meant he was stressed and worried; and didn't want to show it.
"Accessing video logs; please stand by." Jane looked away from her most enigmatic crewmember to her most recent enigma. Eve's sudden reversion to stilted VI speech patterns was almost more worrying than her growing personality. "Would these qualify as 'augmenting technologies'?" Her holographic icon was replaced by still holograms of three different towering suits.
Shepard felt a pall of dread overcome her as she looked them over; while the Quarians all seemed to sag somewhat at the sight of what Eve was showing. Tali and Nina seemed to be pushing away their distrust for the AI for the time being; while Garrus buzzed in amazement.
Liara paled significantly; while Nomad remained inscrutable behind his skull themed balaclava.
Two of the Armor systems seemed to make the users into mechanical Krogan; that was all she could say to describe them. And they appeared to have the strength of Krogan as well, given the fact that one of them simply ripped apart a Rachni with his bare hands.
"We need to move, get to the source of the Rachni infestation and stop whoever is letting them free." Nomad stated, turning back outward; and starting forward towards the central chamber.
The others had no choice but to keep up with him; though Jane felt the pit in her stomach grow with every passing minute, especially when Eve warned them, "I have no visibility in that room; they destroyed my camera's. I… can I watch through yours?" She asked meekly.
Jane couldn't help but smile.
Eve sounded exactly like Jane the first time she asked her father if she could try one of his guns. "Of Course Eve." Jane replied.
Jane knew that something was wrong the minute they entered the central storage chamber.
There was a Rachni Queen in the center of the chamber; but that wasn't what had Jane's attention. What had her attention was the face of the very man she had been studying for the duration of 1-4-1's trip to this God forsaken planet.
Muhandis…
As one, six of the Operators brought their weapons to bear on the Saudi terrorist; while Tali kept her shotgun pointed towards their six.
Eve gave a yelp of surprise, and her hologram disappeared from Jane's shoulder.
"Ah… Lieutenant Commander Jahenne Haniel Shepard; it is an honor to meet you at last. Personally that is, I was more busy meeting your 'Skull' friend on the Citadel." Muhandis began, not breaking his gaze from the Rachni Queen in front of him. "I wish I could make you understand the magnitude of the threat we all face, and the hard choices that await you." He turned his head and looked at Nomad. "But unfortunately, you've fallen into the sway of powers beyond the Imam's control."
"The hell does that mean you religious nutjob!?" Jahenne demanded.
Muhandis dropped a small sphere on the ground, and there was a loud buzzing noise as Janes' HUD and rifle winked out; much to her silent horror, while the Quarians all gasped in terror as their backup life support systems booted up.
He smiled sadly at Jane. "It means that while you may be Shepard, you are not the Shepard. Goodbye."
With those words, Jane was suddenly pushed backward by Nomad; even as Eve screamed, "LOOK OUT!"
Jane's eyes widened as one of the Wolves wearing the Krogan-like Power Armor seemed to come from nowhere, and punched Nomad in the Jaw; where Jahenne had been standing not a moment before.
There was a crack, and Nomad went flying backwards into the wall; sliding down the side of it unconscious. His biomonitor reported mostly stable readings; though Eve shrieked, "His jaw's broken, and he has a moderate concussion and a minor skull fracture."
"Right! Don't get hit by that then!" Garrus exclaimed, throwing away his now depowered and useless rifle; even as he backpedalled furiously as the Giant Powered Armored Wolf ripped a nearby metal pole out of a railing, and then smashed the spot where Garrus had been only moments before.
He dove to the side to avoid another wild swing of the pole. The suit followed him, but was completely caught off guard when Fon whacked it in the knee. The machine staggered slightly and turned to the new threat, but Garrus had a thought as he looked at the design. He buzzed at Jane who watched him carefully even as she was dodging the wildly swinging pole.
"This is sooOO STUPID!" He gave a short hop and drop-kicked the suit from slightly behind the right shoulder. He grinned and rolled as the machine staggered again. "He can't see around his shoulders! Get behind him!"
CRACK! The Power Armored wolf flinched, and turned his gaze over to Nina; who had rushed over to Nomad and grabbed his Beowulf. She was clearly having trouble handling the weapon, due to only having three fingers; and the weight of it along with the recoil did not help her aim.
But she did succeed in garnering the Wolfs attention, much as she did not want it; as was evident when Nina immediately dashed to the right with a shriek of terror as the giant swung at her.
"Uh guys! DO SOMETHING!" Nina screamed, even as she fired another burst into the mechanical beasts chest.
The Wolf snarled in anger, and punched Nina in the chest while tearing the rifle out of her hands. The Quarian Marine wheezed and fell to her knees; even as the Wolf backhanded her in the Visor. Nina went flying head over heels as her Golden visor shattered into a million pieces; revealing a pretty Grey-Light Blue face and straight raven black hair to the groups horror as she landed about a dozen feet in front of the still unconscious Nomad, Nina gasping and Wheezing as she struggled to hold her breath even as the pain came rushing up to her head.
They needed to end this. Now.
Suddenly, Kal and Fon seemed to get an idea; and dashed forward, using their powerful legs to leap upward onto the Power Armored Wolf's back. The Wolf bellowed, and reached backward awkwardly; frantically grasping at the two Quarians to try and throw them off. Both men heaved and started to turn what looked like a steering wheel on the back of the suit.
Tali, Garrus, Liara, and Jane all realized what they intended; and dashed forward to help.
But the wolf seemed to have other plans; and grabbed a hold of Kal, and threw him at Garrus. The Quarian sergeant slammed into the Turians armor with a loud crack from his ribcage; knocking both to the ground.
Then, Jane's HUD came back on; while Liara's biotics flickered back to life.
Both women grinned while the Wolf stiffened; and immediately, his suit popped open, launching Fon at Tali. The two Quarians landed in a heap, even as Jane and Liara sent warps towards both the Armor and the Wolf pilot himself. But the man was still a Wolf, with or without his fancy armor; and as such, he was still incredibly dangerous.
He drew a pistol and shot a few rounds at Liara, forcing the Asari to redirect her Biotic energy to blocking the rounds; while the Wolf charged Jane and tackled her to the ground. The two opposing SF operators fell to the ground, and Jane immediately found herself on the defensive as the Wolf punched her in the head so hard that he cracked her visor.
Jane threw a biotic augmented punch, but the Wolf just jerked backward; before punching her in the throat, while whipping backward and shooting several rounds towards Liara, staggering the Asari.
Even as Jane choked from the throat punch, the Wolf quickly reloaded his pistol and pointed it at her head. Everyone froze except Nina, who was still choking on the unclean air. "Sir! We must flee!" He shouted towards the Engineer.
"Of Course, I'm sending the retreat call now! Move!" Muhandis shouted back.
The Wolf turned back to Jane with a smirk on his face; and she could sense that he was about to pull the trigger.
CRACK!
Jane flinched as there was a spray of blood and a hole as big as her thumb appeared in the wolfs forehead. Not wasting time, she grabbed the pistol out of his now limp hands; and pointed and fired at Muhandis.
The Wolf Commander however, was one step ahead of her; as he had engaged his cloak and ran out one of the other exits. And to Jane's horror, the Rachni Queen was gone along with him.
They failed, all this had been was a distraction.
A loud, pained grunt drew Jane out of her thoughts; and she turned to see the Nomad had regained consciousness. He had dropped his now smoking pistol, and had pulled out a kind of syringe from one of his many pockets; and was crawling towards Nina, who had fallen into shock.
Jane walked over and knelt beside Nomad and lay a restraining hand on his back. "You need to remain still; you're in a bad way and we need to get you patched up so we can move." She looked to where the Quarians had all surrounded Nina. "They know what to do for her."
Nomad ignored her and kept trying to crawl towards Nina; almost reaching towards her with the syringe in his hand. "Cur," he mumbled around his broken jaw while reaching out with the syringe. "Cur."
He took a breath, before finally going limp; the syringe falling out of his hand, rolling towards the group of Quarians.
"Mother Jane," Eve flickered on the Commander's shoulder, "this chamber is dedicated to biomedical research. The vial appears to contain an extremely concentrated retro-genetic virus coded to Quarian DNA, as well as a broad spectrum imuno-booster."
Jane blinked, both at what Eve had called her and the unfamiliar terminology, but she did understand one word; "Virus?" She asked incredulously, that didn't make sense, why would he give a virus to the already very sick Nina.
Eve looked hesitant and flickered in a manner Jane was learning meant she was consulting her databanks. "Certain theoretical models propose using engineered viruses to rewrite genetic codes in order to splice in new data, such as biological modifications or the removal of congenital disorders. Such research is, however, only in the theoretical research stage, as Citadel law heavily restricts research into genetic alteration."
Jane looked from Eve, to the syringe, and then to the group of Quarians. Fon had taken Nina's head in his lap and seemed to be reciting a poem or singing very softly, while the rest simply held Nina's hands.
After a second, Jane decided that they had nothing left to lose; and walked over and grabbed the syringe from the floor. Pushing Tali out of the way while ignoring the girl's protests, she found one of the main medical injection ports on Nina's neck; overtop one of her main arteries, and jabbed the needle into it.
Immediately, Nina gasped and blinked; her skin, which had gone deathly white, suddenly turned Grey-Light Blue again. Her breathing became less labored and easier; and her eye glow, which had dimmed to nothing, had brightened to its normal shine. After a second of panting, she blinked and frowned heavily; "I… I passed out for a second, what happened… and why is everyone staring at me?" She asked in confusion.
Her only response was a strangled noise from Fon who hugged her tightly, and the suspicious look Jane was giving the unconscious Ghost.
The Giant gave an animalistic roar as he charged the Ghosts; who, to their credit, did not hesitate to immediately empty their weapons into the Giant human.
The Riot Shield shrugged off the bullets; but not without damage, as evidenced by the bullets lodging into the shield in some places, and leaving giant cracks in others. Still it was enough to allow the Giant to close the distance and immediately bull into the three Ghosts.
He let go of the shield just as it smacked into Phil, sending the Russian flying; while he grabbed Archer and Colt's rifles, twisting them upward to keep the two from getting a clean shot on him.
Wrex and Aethyta got ready to aid the ghosts when a CLANG from the opposite end of the corridor drew their attention, just before a second armored figure rocketed down the corridor and slammed into the battlemaster. They collapsed into a rolling mass that threatened to crush everyone. As the QRF Team tried to avoid the scrum in their midst, a cry from down the corridor alerted them to the remainder of the EA soldiers.
Ashley lunged for the Giant's fallen shield and propped it up to provide the rest with some cover.
CRACK! Ash yelped in surprise as the top half of the shield shattered into a million pieces; a red and orange trail leading far off into the catwalks above the open roof of the hallway.
"SNIPER!" Colt bellowed, tackling Ash into a recess while Archer and Shiala dragged a still catatonic Alenko behind cover with them; Kirrahe still bringing up the rear, holding Phils PKM in one hand, and Archer's sidearm in the other.
Phil, Aethyta, and Wrex were still hammering away at the Giant Wolf; the man's snarling making him sound more like a bear than a human.
Phil drew his knife and stabbed it into the Giants' side; prompting the Giant to bellow in pain and rage, before grabbing Phil by the throat and throwing him into Aethyta. The Matriarch ducked under the Russian as he went sailing by, slashing her own knife at the Giant; creating a stream of sparks as her knife glanced off the Wolfs armor.
The Giant snarled and punched Aethyta in the back of the head; sending the Matriarch to the ground, before he kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying out of the hallway. Wrex bellowed and charged the Wolf, catching the giant of a human as both went tumbling out of the hall.
Shiala had managed to retrieve one of the Ghosts rifles and sent the sniper into cover, allowing the rest of the team to rush out of cover under their own bounding fire on the two Mujahadeen. This also kept them from being trampled as the two iron suits wrestled with the Ghosts and the Ancient Mercs. If they could put some distance between the Iron Suits and themselves, maybe they could safely bring the Ghost's long arms to bear and even the odds some.
-Cratatatatatatatatak-
-CRACK-
Though they would first need to deal with the various Wolves still boxing them into the corridor.
Colt growled angrily and opened his underslung grenade launcher; loading a fragmentation-impact grenade, before peeking outward and shooting a grenade round down the hallway.
THUMP!
Ash watched as the round flew down the hall towards two Wolves who were keeping them pinned. Neither Wolf reacted in time as the Grenade Round impacted the pillar between them and exploded with a loud Crack! filling the two Wolves with shrapnel. Colt tapped Shiala on the shoulder and pointed; "Gunny! Shiala go grab their guns! We'll cover you!" He snapped.
Shiala nodded and started towards the fallen assailants. Halfway there, she flashed blue and streaked the remainder of the distance. She bounced off the wall and was in a slight daze when Ashley caught up. The Commando was shaken back to the here-and-now when the SA soldier began laying down suppressing fire on the sniper still in the catwalks above them. Shiala retrieved the second weapon and took up the suppression, while Ash turned and took aim on one of the Iron Giants at the other end of the corridor.
-CRAPANG-
Ash cursed angrily as the round she fired just bounced off the armor of the Giant Wolf currently fighting Wrex, Phil, and Aethyta. Narrowing her eyes, Ash thought; Where did the other one go?
Stars exploded across Ash's vision as she went sailing into a nearby crate; her visor shattered into a million pieces. Groaning, she dragged herself to her feet, and rolled behind cover instinctively; an action which saved her life, as the other Powered Armored Wolf immediately shot the ground where Ash had been laying not a second before.
"Phil!" Ash glanced towards the other group at Colt's exclamation. She saw the Giant lifting the big Russian off the ground in a one handed grip on his shoulder, Phil's knife sticking out of the power-suit's side. Everyone heard his collarbone snap as Phil gasped in pain.
"Grah!" -smash-
The Giant dropped Phil as Wrex tackled him, repeatedly punching the knife handle until it broke off. "Тьфу ты!" The Giant backhanded the Battlemaster, sending half his teeth clattering down the corridor.
The second Iron Giant chuckled darkly. "I don't know what Muhandis was so concerned about. If you are the best your General Grant can muster, then we should have no difficulty sweeping aside your decadence and corruhhh!" he started to glow blue and hover for a second before rocketing down the hall, directly into an empowered punch from Aethyta.
The Giant looked at the two now fully active Asari. A movement from the fallen Battlemaster caught his attention, just before Wrex spat a biotically accelerated tooth at his head. The force of the impact shattered one of the eyepieces.
"You think you're the first being to try feeding me my teeth, Pup. What do you say, Matriarch? Time to teach these children what a fight really feels like?"
The Chechen and the Jackal looked around and saw the entire group was moving for their downed weapons, while Honeytrap scurried along the rafters trying to avoid Colt's suppressing fire. A dark shape cast a shadow along the wall under her.
Muhandis leapt up on one of the dividing walls, tossing a conventional grenade at the soldiers trying to suppress Honeytrap. "What are you still doing here?! I have the prize; now Retreat!" He jumped down and continued to run.
As much as it galled them, they were no longer in a position to take on the Ghosts and their allies; and if Muhandis was running, it meant the rest of the Team would be on them soon enough. Without any signal between them, they fired a short burst of fire in all directions forcing their opponents to take cover. They bolted for the exit and were halfway to their shuttle before any of the 1-4-1 team could line up a shot.
Shepard and the others stared at Nina, who still looked very confused as Fon hugged her; and he was quickly joined by Tali and Kal, both of whom looked to have tears in their eyes, even as Fon murmured things in Kheelish.
It was too subdued for Jane to make out much in spite of her passing understanding of Kheelish, but she could vaguely hear him murmuring things like "Clan Sister" and "I'm so glad you're okay." As happy as she was for them, she turned her gaze back to the unconscious Ghost.
Garrus and Liara joined her, switching their gazes back and forth between August and Nina.
"I'm not one to turn away a 'Spirit's Blessing', but what just happened?"
Jane's face settled into the neutral place Garrus recognized as her 'strategy' face. "It appears Ghost Nomad had a cure for the Quarian condition." She looked over to the celebratory group. "Is Nina fit to travel?"
Tali nearly leapt to her feet in excitement. "Oh, yes! It's incredible; she's breathing easier and running a fever, but it's only a slight one. We can-"
"Get her on her feet; we need to move." Everyone balked at Jane's brusque tone. "Muhandis escaped, and he released the Rachni Queen. Eve, can you track them?"
The digital girl nodded. "My ability to track Guest... Muhandis is limited due to the security protocol I have to run in order to limit his access to my sub-systems. Subject_RQ-Alpha is also off of my sensing grid, though remaining Subjects are departing from all sections of the containment center and converging on the hangar bay. I am detecting an anomalous EM signature in bay two."
Jane scowled, then knelt down and jabbed a Medi-gel injector into August's shoulder. She watched as the medicine slowly stabilized the battered Ghost. She looked at the rest of the group. "Muhandis is escaping with the Rachni Queen. Kal, Tali, you're with me and Liara. Garrus, stick with Nina, Fon and Nomad. Catch up when you can move him safely. I want answers, and I think he has them. Move it people!"
Jane panted as she rushed to try and catch up with Muhandis; that fight with the Powered Armored Wolf had taken a lot more out of her than she cared to admit.
It had taken a lot out of the others too, if the fact that Liara, Kal, and Tali were all gasping for air as they ran was any indication. Still, they could not let him escape with the Rachni Queen; both out of morality and pragmatism, they had no clue what Muhandis intended to do with the Rachni Queen once he was alone with it.
For all they knew, he would torture the thing into submission; and produce shock troopers for the Triple Alliance.
Her radio suddenly crackled to life. "-ay again Uber, do you copy?!" Joker sounded almost frantic.
She slowed down, but didn't stop moving. "Bus this is Uber; I copy, go ahead." She had the sudden urge to demand everyone stop using the 'code name' foisted on her by the Ghosts.
"I've been trying to contact you and the QRF; comms have been cutting in and out. A shuttle launched and is already in orbit, and the QRF is reporting serious injuries but no fatalities. What's your status, over."
"Standby." Jane slowed to a halt, suddenly feeling the weight of the last day catching up to her. "Eve," the little hologram flickered to life on her shoulder, "are Muhandis, his allies or the Rachni Queen still on site?"
Eve flickered for a moment before looking very relieved. "All Guests classified as Wolves, as well as all Subjects are no longer on the premises; we're safe!" Jane wanted to chastise the AI and point out that nobody was safe while the Wolves were on the loose, but the look on the childlike digital person's face was identical to so many people she had rescued over the years: hostages, slaves, even the odd battered spouse or family member.
She smiled wanly for the AI. "Yes, we're safe now." She fired a quick glance over her shoulder at the others; Just go with it. "This is Uber to all units. Stand down, the Op is over, return to the Bus; copy all."
She noticed Eve flickering on her shoulder. "Does this mean I will be alone again?" The AI sounded almost despondent, but also resigned to her fate.
Jane's spine straightened; they had failed to save anyone else, or to prevent the Wolves from making off with their prize. She refused to abandon this one survivor, digital or not. "Could you give us a moment of privacy, Eve?"
Tali balked slightly as the Commander locked eyes with her, even as the tiny hologram winked out. "Commander, be reasonable! She...it is an AI! You can't trust it!"
"But I can trust the organics that ran this place, who resurrected the Rachni? Or maybe I should trust the ones who attacked this facility and murdered everyone here?" Shepard waved her arms to encompass everything around them. "Eve didn't choose to be created by whatever Muhandis did here, but she did choose to try and help us stop him. I will not abandon this new life, this child to the Citadel's cold mercy."
Tali was about to counter when Kal put a hand on her shoulder. "Dram'zelt din relai," she stopped at the almost formal title, "were we wrong?"
She wanted to scream 'NO', but like the Commander, the weight of the day's defeats was nearly crushing, and it was genuinely hard to hate the AI, to hate Eve for the accident of her creation. Suddenly, the knee-jerk 'Zorah urge to wipe out all AI, as if that would somehow redeem her people to an uncaring galaxy felt like a cruel and empty gesture.
She hung her head. "I assume you want me to make room in our data center for a very large download?" Jane looked like a crushing weight was lifted from her shoulders and nodded. "Then I'll need Pressley's authorization to purge the ship's VI. We might also want to look into increasing our data buffer. General AI tend to learn and retain information at an alarming rate, and most instances of rampancy and rogue behavior are the result of data corruption as the AI overwrites previous code."
Jane smiled at the young Pilgrim in thanks, then rekeyed her mic. "Joker, go ahead and land outside the main entrance then have Pressley meet me at the vehicle ramp. I need to talk to him about making accommodations for another guest."
She poked the emitter on her shoulder. "Eve," the little avatar popped up, looking somewhere between resigned and nostalgic, "how would you like to take a trip?"
A/N: Check my profile for the link to my discord; and check out my other story 'Half Life: Entanglement' also co-written with Ian the Mechanic.
For Reference regarding Call signs so far: Nomad=August, Uber=Shepard (she's a bad driver), Pilgrim=Tali (She's a Pilgrim turned soldier), Kal'Reegar=Schultz (like Sergeant Schultz from the old show 'Hogan's Heroes' A bumbling, fat, and lovable Luftwaffe Senior Master Sergeant who is an on again off again ally and friend of the titular heroes), Fon'Ress=Bambi (Fon's name is pronounced 'Fawn', like a baby deer), Nina'Ciram=Pinta (Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria; if you don't get it, that's kind of sad), Liara=Maiden (for obvious reasons), and Garrus=Stick (cause he's got a stick up his ass like all Turians).
Now then… August's in trouble; and 1-4-1 gets their asses kicked for the first time. And not by Saren or Balak, but by a bunch of 'primitive religious nutjobs'.
The Wolves are really dangerous; and I haven't really gotten the chance to show that. One reason why this chapter took so long is because Ian and I had trouble with the fight scenes; because we wanted to communicate just how dangerous the Wolves are. They aren't dangerous just because their better fighters; they're dangerous because they know their limits.
They ran from the fight; because unlike most Villains who make a last stand and die on their feet, the wolves knew to cut their losses and flee while they could.
Don't have much else to say, you have anything to add Ian?
Ian A/N: Here's where we begin to see the strain of so many servants of different masters trying to function together. The GST, while a "benign conspiracy", has its own agenda that it needs to serve, and Jane as the commander of TF: 1-4-1 has to reconcile the command of subordinates who are not truly subordinate.
Expect some temper flash over in the next chapter, but also some necessary healing; and maybe a cameo. We'll see.
Pilot: Now some of you may have noticed that August is no longer the Main Character. He is A Main Character, but not The Main Character now; there are two reasons for that. One is pragmatism, Ian cannot write him because he's me; and the first person viewpoint is too restrictive narratively to get across many points we want to tell.
The other is that with all the characters we have, he needs to share the screen time with everyone else.
Now then, Leave a review; tell us what you guys think.
Head to my profile for the link to the discord.
Check out the GST Side Stories for more (hopefully) awesome content. And PLEASE check out our new story "Half Life: Entanglement", a Half Life-Mass Effect crossover First Contact AU.
And we will see ya when we see ya.