Chapter Twenty Two
Suicide Mission
"I was caught In the middle of a railroad track
Thunder!
I looked round and I knew there was no turning back
Thunder!
My mind raced and I thought "what could I do?"
Thunder!
And I knew there was no help, no help from you.
Thunder!
Sound of the drums, beating in my heart
The thunder of guns, tore me apart
You've been thunderstruck"
AC/DC "Thunderstruck"
Angus Young / Malcolm Young
"Please confirm our destination, Captain," Jenny requested. "The Reaper IFF is online, but it is possible that the Normandy may not survive transit through the Omega Four relay. Once we are in transit, we are committed to our destination."
"The Collectors took our crew," Kate replied in confirmation. "Every minute we delay reduces their survival odds, so our mission is a go. Begin transit protocols."
"Aye, Captain," Ryan affirmed from his seat in the flying bridge., "Plotting relay jump. Engaging Omega Four relay."
"Initiating contact with Omega Four relay," Jenny stated, sounding slightly more machine-like than normal. "IFF engaged. Accessing mainframe. Handshake, handshake, second level clear. Enhanced transit protocols initiated. Additional element zero reactors online. Counting down, all functions nominal, all functions optimal, counting down. Infrastructure: Check, Wetware: check."
"Captain, the drive core indicators just lit up like a Christmas tree!" Miranda reported from the engineering station.
"Drive core electrical charge at critical levels," Jenny reported, her voice returned to normal, "rerouting overflow to non-critical systems."
Outside the Normandy, the Omega Four relay continued to power up, overclocked to a degree no one on board had ever seen before, just before the Normandy engaged her engines, entered its overcharged mass effect field and was flung through the relay system.
"Brace for deceleration,." Jenny reported as they neared the other side of the relay pair… directly into a massive debris field.
"Shit!" Ryan cursed into the comms, as collision alarms began to wail. "Evasive maneuvers! Altering course zero and plus eighty-five!"
"Nicely done, Mr. Ryan," Kate affirmed once Normandy cleared the upper reaches of the debris field.
"That was too close," Ryan replied, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, as everyone in the CIC stared in silent awe at the massive field of wrecked spacecraft. All but a few of the wrecks defied identification.
"These must be all the ships that tried to explore the Omega Four relay," Castle theorized, unable to look away.
"Some of them look… ancient," Kate whispered, wondering just how many countless civilizations had sent explorers through the relay, only for them to end up wrecked in the maelstrom on this side. She offered a silent prayer that their deaths were quick before returning her attention to the business at hand.
"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disk, Captain," Jenny reported, replacing the wireframe model of the Normandy with a holographic representation of the debris field, highlighting a space station of unknown origin.
"That must be the Collector base," Kate noted. "Engage IES, all hands rig for silent running. Take us in, slow and easy. See if you can find us a safe place to dock without drawing attention."
As the Normandy angled toward the collector base, staying just close enough to the debris field to mask their approach, the sensors didn't pick up the small probe in the debris that quietly noted their approach and relayed it.
"I think we've been made," Castle reported from the LIDAR station. "Contact undocking from the station and turning to intercept. LIDAR paints its silhouette as Collector zero-zero-one."
"Looks like they've sent an old friend to greet us," Kate noted. "Main battery, CIC, deploy the Thannix cannon and prepare fdual-barrelor dual barrel fire."
"Two thousand kilometers to optimal Thannix range and closing," Castle reported.
"Thannix cannon powered and deployed," Garrus reported over the comms. "Barrels one and two are ready to fire in all respects."
"Energy spike from the Collector ship!" Castle reported sharply. "Tthey're getting ready to fire."
The Collector ship completed its slow turn toward the Normandy and fired its main gun, the deadly blast of ferrous plasma lashed out through the black at them, but this time, Ryan was ready and the Normandy easily evaded the opening volley.
"Time to show them our teeth," Kate commanded. "Mr. Ryan, bow positive five degrees, Mr. Vakarian, you may open fire."
Two blue flashes of molten metdal lanced out from the Normandy's ventral mounted Thannix cannon. The portside shot skittered across the hull of the Collector vessel scoring deep gouges into its hull armor, but the starboard burst struck true, slamming dead center into the aperture of its main gun with deadly effect. The initial explosion detonated with four times the force of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, tearing apart the prongs of the forward hull and setting loose a cascade of secondary explosions across the length of the Collector ship.
"Snort that you son of a bitch!" Jack shouted.
"Direct hit!" Castle exclaimed. "Multiple secondaries! Collector ship is still moving to intercept."
"Mr. Ryan, reciprocal course, increase speed to flank," Kate commanded, "action stations torpedo, stand ready archer pods one through six."
Jack sat back down at the weapons station and complied, "Ready to fire."
"Firing solution locked," Jenny reported. "Archer missiles one through six in acquisition."
"Ripple fire all pods!" Kate commanded.
Within a heartbeat of her order, each of Normandy's forward external pods fired in sequence then dropped away. The full spread of heat-seeking Archer missiles slammed into the Collector ship's hull at near relativistic speed, setting off another chain reaction of explosions that cut the massive cruiser to pieces just before the Normandy passed by.
"Collector ship is breaking up," Castle reported, just before the Normandy was slammed by turbulence as the Collector ship's element zero core exploded, enveloping her in an EMP burst that knocked out main and secondary power, sending her on a collision course with the station.
"Mass effect fields are offline," Ryan reported over the alarm klaxons. "Jenny, give me something… Jenny?"
There was no response to his query. Jenny's terminal on both the flying bridge and the CIC had gone dark.
"Mass Effect generators unresponsive!" Miranda reported from the engineering console, "Tantalus drive core off-line, secondary power offline, internal comms down, multiple system outages. I think their eezo core set off an EMP when it detonated!"
"Thrusters out!" Ryan exclaimed. "helm is not answering, we're going to hit the station!"
"Sound collision!" Kate shouted.
"Blow the cargo bay!" Ryan shouted. "Only way to get the nose up before we hit."
"Do it!" Kate agreed.
Without stopping to confirm, Miranda pulled the cover off the floor, found the appropriate manual valve and pulled the lever, blowing the emergency bolts on the forward hold, sending a burst of atmosphere out and down, forcing Normandy's nose up relative to the station. Seconds later, the ship's ventral hull skipped off the pitted surface twice like a flat stone skimming a pond before skidding to a stop with a shriek of tortured metal.
Thirty minutes later
"Captain Beckett…" Jenny's voice called out, the only sound that could be heard in the eerily silent CIC, but for the whir of fans and the sparking of shorted out consoles. "Captain Beckett, can you hear me?"
Kate groaned as she slowly dragged herself from the corner of the CIC where she'd been thrown on impact, not far from where Castle lay as he also began to move.
"Yeah," she replied as she slowly rose to her feet, " damage report."
"Due to widespread system overloads caused by the crash, I have only partial internal sensors," Jenny responded, "main fusion plant and Tantalus drive core are offline. Main engines and maneuvering thrusters offline. Defense grid and external barriers offline. Structural integrity fields and life support are operating on emergency battery power…"
"We all knew this was likely a one-way trip." Miranda interrupted.
"Stow that shit, Miranda" Castle countered, but Kate waved him off.
"Our primary objective is still to destroy this station and stop the Collectors at any cost," Kate stated with conviction. "We're still alive so the mission still stands."
"How long until they find our crash site?" Castle asked, falling immediately back into line.
"External sensors are limited, but I do not detect an internal security network," Jenny reported. "It is possible that the Collectors did not anticipate outsiders being able to safely transit the Omega Four relay or gain the station. Their external sensors seem to primarily focus on monitoring the regional gravitational forces and the surrounding debris field."
"If we're lucky," Miranda noted, "their external sensors were fried just like ours were."
"Continue your scans of the station, Jenny," Kate stated, "mission briefing in one hour."
Normandy Communications Room
One hour later
"This isn't how we planned this mission, but this is where we are," Kate stated for all present. "Ryan and Jenny will conduct emergency repairs on the Normandy, but we can't assume they will succeed in time for us to get out. We came to stop the Collectors, which means we have to find a way to destroy this station whether we're still on it or not. Jenny, bring up the results of your scans."
A wireframe diagram of the station appeared at the center of the table, replacing the image of the Normandy.
"The Collector base's internal structure bears striking similarities to the central tower in the citadel. Critical systems can be overloaded from the primary control center in the location indicated."
A route from the Normandy crash site to the control center became highlighted on the wireframe model.
"There is a massive power signature along the optimal route to the control center along with a large chamber similar to the cargo area in the collector ship. If the crew and any of the colonists are still alive, it is statistically likely that the collectors are holding them there."
"What about this other route here?" Castle noted using his Oomni-tool to highlight a parallel route through the station. "Might be a good idea to split our forces to keep the Collectors off balance if we're discovered. That way we won't all be bottled up in one location."
"No good, both routes are blocked," Miranda noted, highlighting a section of the wireframe map. "See these sealed pressure doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side."
"This station isn't a fortress, there ,has to be something," Kate grumbled, staring at the section of the map Miranda had indicated until she noticed a third, nearly unobstructed path and magnified it. "What about this? Looks like a maintenance shaft. It isn't big enough for all of us, but maybe one person can slip through undetected."
"Practically a suicide mission within a suicide mission," Thane noted, from his position leaning against the wall. "I volunteer."
"I appreciate the thought, Thane," Miranda replied, "You have the intrusion skills to get through undetected, but whomever goes in there will need advanced engineering skills to shut down the security systems along the route as well as protection from any environmental hazards inside the shaft. An environment suit would make you too bulky."
"We need somebody small enough to fit into the shaft with the necessary tech skills," Kate noted, "Tali, you're up."
"I'll make the necessary suit modifications," Tali noted, "I won't let you down.,"
"Castle, Grunt, Miranda, with me," Kate ordered, "Garrus you have the second team. We converge on the doors making enough noise to draw Collector attention away from Tali in the pipe."
Kate locked eyes briefly with each person present before continuing.
"I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I doubt it will be pretty. I doubt we will ever know exactly how many people the Collectors have taken, but we're here today to tell them Not. One. More. They want to know what we're made of? Then I say we show them, on our terms. Let's bring our people home! Gear up, we move in twenty. Dismissed."
Castle slipped out of the comm room, before Kate could get his attention, though she could tell he was distracted by something.
Castle took the main lift down to the crew deck and slipped into the small room that would have been shared by the second officer and chief of the boat on an Alliance ship which he had scrubbed clean of Jenny's listening devices. He slid a data flimsy out of his pocket and dropped it on the workbench:
From: Alliance Medical, Biotics division.
To: Castle, Commander Richard E.
Subject: Biotic Implant diagnostics
Classification: Urgent.
L-3 biotic implant model number 02135.25 has received overload damage in excess of design parameters. CASCADE FAILURE RISK: IMMINENT. Subsequent feedback from cascade failure may result in the following side effects: Aphasia, permanent brain damage, stroke and/or death.
Discontinue use of biotics, IMMEDIATELY, remove any amps and return to Alliance Medical for implant replacement as soon as current deployment allows.
He'd meant to give it to Dr. Parirish when they returned to the ship, but there hadn't been time. If he told Kate now, she'd confine him to the ship. Walking wounded or not, she needed every gun-hand to get this done. He changed into his body armor, ran the diagnostics on his weapons, grabbed his helmet and slipped out of the room to get on the ready line.
**Author's Note:** Sorry about the cliffy, but I wanted to at least post something.