Chapter 9
"You're supposed to be resting." Neo stated as she saw Ruby staggering into the room.
"I'm fine." Ruby replied, but fell against the wall as she took another step.
Neo moved over to help Ruby over to the bed in the room, laying her down on it gently. "Of course you're fine. Rest, I'll wake you when we reach the Citadel." Neo promised and Ruby was too weak to argue.
Three hours later.
They docked at the Citadel, immediately they were getting the equipment transfers while some of the crew were given some shore leave.
Ruby was down in the cargo bay overseeing the equipment transfers, noting down the weaponry being added to their ship but also the equipment that came with her Spectre rank.
"Spectre, I have a shipment marked for Spectre Rose and Commander Gelato. I need you to sign for it." One of the officers dealing with loading the supplies onto the ship said as they approached Ruby.
"Right. Where's this come from exactly?" Ruby asked as she wanted to make sure.
"Councillor Tevos office Ma'am." The officer replied.
"Right." Ruby said, signing for the delivery.
"What's that Skipper?" Chief Williams asked as she approached the woman.
"Skipper?" Ruby asked in confusion.
"Well you're the captain, and Skipper normally refers to the Captain of a ship. So, you're Skipper." Williams explained.
"Right. As to what this is, hopefully it's what I asked Tevos to get for me. It's something I've been working on for Neo and I." Ruby explained as she went about opening up the cases.
Ruby reached into the box and pulled out two intricately designed scabbards that were inside the box.
"Swords?" Williams asked in confusion.
"Yep. Some N7 specialists still use them to augment their abilities with them. But these two were made by the last sword-maker on Earth but we haven't been able to get them for a while." Ruby answered as she pulled out two more devices. "Don't worry, you'll see how deadly these are." Ruby said as she left the cargo bay and went to put the swords in her room before heading to find Neo in the briefing room.
Though as she got to the door she could hear arguing from inside so Ruby went straight in and asked, "What's going on?" Ruby asked.
"The Admiral doesn't want a protection detail. He just told us about a Black ops unit called Cerberus and he's discovered a research facility, I've got Joker taking us there once all the crew is on board but he doesn't want protection." Neo explained.
"Admiral?" Ruby asked.
"I don't need a protection detail. I'll be returning to my ship to head back to Earth. I need to speak to the families of my dead marines so I'll be safe." Admiral Kahoku said.
"We can't force anything without any evidence but we ask you to reconsider a protective detail." Ruby said as she acted as a mediator.
"I don't believe there is any threat so I won't waste time and resources." The Admiral replied.
"We understand, we'll head to this system and inform you of what we find." Ruby said.
"Thank you, Spectre. Good luck." The Admiral replied before cutting the transmission.
Ruby turned to Neo, seeing her rather annoyed look on her face. "Come on, Tevos pulled through for us. We've got new toys to play with." Ruby said as she attempted to cheer Neo up as she didn't like losing an argument.
Several hours later. Attican Traverse, in orbit of Binthu.
"Lock and load. Williams man the sensors, Liara man the comms." Ruby ordered as she climbed into her seat at the gunnery position.
"Commander, I've got some strange readings on the planet. Sending them through to you now." Joker asked.
"Copy and received. Ready for drop." Neo replied as her display showed the anomalies.
"Copy. Tipping in now. Drop in thirty seconds." Joker informed them all and they all felt the Mako roll forward slightly.
Then thirty seconds later there was the weightlessness that came with the drop before the solid thump as they hit the ground.
"Anything on sensors?" Ruby asked as she scanned the horizon.
"All clear." Williams reported.
"Right. Neo, let's move." Ruby ordered and the trip was uneventful until they got close to a facility with several towers around it but the main building was buried underground.
"Turrets! Powering up now!" Williams warned and they saw two turrets on top of the building start to turn towards them.
Without the need for words Neo started to move the Mako out of the line of fire while Ruby opened fire with the main gun and within seconds both turrets were wrecked.
"Well they know we're here. Bring us in close and we'll breach the building." Ruby ordered as Neo pulled up close to the door.
"Masks on!" Neo ordered as she climbed over to the exit of the vehicle.
They all moved outside to the door, standing by it as they decided on what to do. "I've got point." Ruby said, "Neo come in last, Williams come in after me and break left. Liara come in and break right, follow me in." Ruby ordered.
"Stand by." Ruby said as Neo moved her hand to the door controls to open it up when Ruby said. "Go." Ruby ordered and immediately upon the door opening she burst into the room.
They came under fire immediately as they spread out and sought cover. "So, hostile?" Neo said as she slid into cover next to Williams.
"You think?" Ruby replied, "Cease fire or die!" Ruby yelled out but they just carried on firing. "Fuck you then, take them out." Ruby said and she covered herself in red biotic energy as she stood up and charged the nearest soldier.
Knocking him onto the ground with her rifle she fired two rounds into his head before moving on. The problem was there was a forcefield surrounding the middle of the room that they had to work around to take out the shooters.
As Ruby moved around to take out the sniper sitting at the back of the room, Neo and the others had eliminated two biotic technicians that attacked them.
"Clear!" Williams yelled out as they had finished.
"Clear!" Ruby yelled as well, "Check this room, we need to find out what the hell they were doing." Ruby ordered and the team split up to discover what they were researching.
"Commander, I can disable the forcefield in the room. Do you want it done?" Liara asked them all.
"Please do." Neo replied as Ruby had gone into another room.
"Understood." Liara said as she dropped the barrier but as she done it, whatever inside came running towards Neo.
"Oh shit." Neo exclaimed as she raised her gun and opened fire on the small bugs. "What the fuck were they?" Neo asked but she only received a shake of heads.
"They have two more facilities on this planet. We need to eliminate them all." Ruby said as she came back into the room.
"Copy. Let's move out." Neo ordered as they all left the building but marked it for the Normandy to target and destroy.
The next facility was much the same as the fire though it had some large bug inside, which once the forcefield was down it attacked them. But it was the last facility that issues appeared.
Well it wasn't issues but rather anger that leads to brutal fighting and sometimes problems. "Breaching." Ruby said as they burst through the door, entering cover as all three facilities were laid out identical to each other so they all ducked into cover.
But looking into the forcefield Ruby saw a body in Admiral blues. Looking up Ruby could just see the face and she recognised it. "I've got a body. It's Kahoku. End this fight. Now!" Ruby ordered harshly as she let her anger take her but as she was about to attack, Neo beat her to it.
With a scream of rage Neo stood up, body wrapped in biotic energy as she dropped her gun and drew her new sword from her back, charging straight to the closest enemy.
As the man stumbled back from the charge, Neo thrusted her blade straight through his chest and before the others could react to her she flipped over the man as she withdrew her blade and charged towards the next one.
Neo brought her blade across the man's neck and killed him outright and in a brief flash of biotics she launched her blade into the next man as it ignored his kinetic shields and just destroyed his heart.
But before Neo could go after the last man his head exploded from a high-powered shot from Ruby's rifle. "Neo, check the Mako." Ruby ordered, leaving no room for argument.
Neo grabbed her sword from the dead body but as she left she biotically punched the wall before leaving.
"What's wrong with her?" Williams asked.
"She told the Admiral to get protection in fear of this happening. He didn't listen and I allowed him to go without, instead of fighting him on it and supporting Neo. She'll calm down shortly. Come on, let's check on him and get Normandy here." Ruby explained as she went to check on the Admiral, noticing that he was killed by pin-point needle marks.
"Ruby, I've found something here. It seems a main base of operations." Liara called out, getting Ruby's attention and over to Liara.
"Direct communications with it, got the system and planet. Send them up to the Normandy and ask for a pickup." Ruby replied as she went back to the Admiral's body to transport it back to the ship.
It didn't take them long to get everything onto the ship and transport the Admirals body either where he was attended by several soldiers on the ship.
Ruby however followed Neo who went straight to their room so Ruby followed and made sure she wasn't alone.
"We couldn't dissuade him." Ruby said softly.
"We should have tried harder!" Neo yelled.
"He outranks us. We could only push the issue so far before he would have pulled rank." Ruby replied gently.
"You're a Spectre. You outrank him now!" Neo yelled once more.
"Regardless he wouldn't have accepted it." Ruby said.
"They'll pay. I don't care what it takes we'll make them pay!" Neo screamed at Ruby as she got right into her face.
"They will. We have their main base of operation. We'll get them for this." Ruby replied softly.
"Good. You and me, we'll end them." Neo promised.
"Of course, come on, we need to eat and shower." Ruby said as she started to help Neo out of her armour.
"Spectre, I have the council on the line. They have some new intel for us." Joker's voice cut through the room.
"Right. I'll be up in a minute." Ruby said and once she checked with Neo to make sure she was alright she left to go to the briefing room.
"Spectre. We've received reports of Geth on Feros, a human colony. We want you to investigate the Geth, find out why they're there and if Saren is there." Tevos said once their images appeared.
"Understood Councillor, once I've completed my current mission I will make for all speed towards Feros." Ruby replied.
"You should make there now. They're under attack as we speak, what if the Geth pull out before you get there?" The Turian councillor stated.
"I understand that, but my current mission is time sensitive so I must go there first. But if the Geth are attacking, I'm sure the humans there can hold out long enough." Ruby said as she cut the transmission as she didn't want to argue her case anymore.
"Um Spectre, they're trying to get through to us again." Joker said.
"Joker, EMCON status. I want us running silent before we even enter the system. Inform the council they will receive a report afterwards but for now we are running silent. Inform the crew and be prepared for drop orders." Ruby ordered as she left the room.