It was finally time. The Collectors. Servants of the Reapers, and the last remnant of the Prothean Empire. Said like that, it sounded simple, but there was a lot of weight behind that. It was their first real engagement with Reaper-led forces. They were technologically superior to even the best the Asari Republics had produced. Maybe. And the fact that they were the last of the Protheans. No, not the last of the Protheans. An abomination born of them. She had been given very specific orders, both her and Sokel. Leave no survivors. Wipe the abominations off the face of the galaxy. That was, of course, Javik. But Liara had asked the same, with almost the same fire in her eyes.
She no longer knew who was driving who. As Liara and Javik became closer, so did their thinking. If it was between asari, she'd be able to understand it. As it was, she had no idea what was happening between the two of them. And what worried her was how Liara might get swept by the tempest of Javik's rage. It had been months since Javik was freed, and he didn't seem to have changed one bit. She had hoped maybe Liara could mellow him out somehow, but it didn't seem to be happening.
Paragon of Vengeance, after all.
The ship shook, and she held onto her restraints tightly. There was an ugly rending sound as they shook, which she recognized. The Silaris armored hull compacting after a strong impact. As long as the sound continued, the hull would hold. The fact that kinetic barriers had failed already was worrisome, but not unexpected. She knew what they were up against.
Of course, she only knew based on the information given. She should have looked closer to the source, given the opportunity, but instead she had acted like a spurned maiden and walked away.
Whether she had a reason to act or feel that way or not was irrelevant. There was a job to be done, and she was coming in handicapped because of it.
The ship shook again. Some of the others stirred, murmuring in worried tones. She didn't. She knew what a failing ship sounded like. So far, they were in good shape.
"Shiala."
She opened her eyes and looked at the one calling her. Akalea.
"Yes?"
"You seem quiet," she said. "Something on your mind?"
"Besides the fact that we're about to-"
"Yes, yes, besides that," Akalea said, interrupting her. A fiendish grin appeared on her face. Oh great. "Heard you had a bit of a run-in aboard the Einstein."
"Not much to say about that," Shiala replied, her tone as casual as she could make it.
If one was to think about it, it was quite astonishing how they could have such a casual conversation in the middle of a combat operation like that. But Akalea had the experience for it. Some of the younger ones were chattering nervously. The more experienced ones could tell they were not in immediate danger. The pilot was good, the ship was holding together, there was little to worry about for now.
And the escape pods were within eyesight.
"Oh I wouldn't say that. Not even a word? That must have stung," Akalea said.
"Perhaps, but I'm not too worried about whether he felt stung or not," Shiala replied.
Akalea laughed at the response, giving her a nod. A simple riposte, really, she must have expected it. She ship shook again, and they felt themselves being pulled to the side slightly, past the limits of the inertial dampeners. More murmurs from the younger ones. Not a peep from the rest. It was a little unsettling not knowing what was happening outside, of course. Not being able to have a hand on their own fate was always distressing. But one got used to it. As long as those who they relied on were skilled, the mind could override those fears.
"But it's a little humiliating, you know. After all our efforts, it was one of Aethyta's who got the score. And we all such high hopes for you, too," Akalea said, her voice so cool ice wouldn't melt in her mouth.
Shiala took it in with barely a nod and an easy smile. Surely it wasn't important. Akalea was looking at her with an easy, relaxed smile, too. Waiting. No, it wasn't that important.
Was it?
"Who?" Shiala finally said. Dammit all, she couldn't help herself.
"That young newcomer," Akalea replied, not bothering to hide the satisfaction in her voice. Definitely came out on top with this exchange. "Wahea I believe she's called. Made quite a splash, too. It was supremely amusing."
Okay, that was a little odd. She was definitely not needling her anymore. Splash? She'd have to ask about it, but now wasn't the time. Light talk to distract themselves was one thing, but sharing in the middle of all that was something else. A call came through, and all pleasantries and doubt immediately disappeared. It was time.
"Twenty seconds," the voice of the captain came through. "Prepare for boarding. Groups one and two. Groups three and four will follow after thirty seconds."
The lights inside the cabin dimmed, and the safety hatches closed. They were about to jump from their ship and board the enemy one, so it was important to make sure the opposite wouldn't happen. Once inside, they'd be on their own until extraction. Risky, but the fact that they were against a ship with superior firepower made it necessary. It was likely that a simple boarding pod would be knocked out before it reached its destination. If worse came to worse, they all had sealed hardsuits. They could eject and wait for a pickup. Eventually.
But she wasn't planning on it. Their mission was simple enough. Go in, distract them, and grab some of those bugs as samples. A dangerous endeavor, given how they could paralyze anyone they touched. But according to Morgan, they could be stopped by biotics.
And everyone in that cabin was a strong biotic.
The alarm warned them, and a moment later air was sucked out of the cabin. In the vacuum, the hatch opened, and they rushed out, jumping the distance between them and the enemy ship. It was strange. It almost looked like... rock. The magboots were keeping them in place, so there was enough metal in them to keep them anchored. The VI updated the HUD, and a navigation marker appeared. A hatch, maybe fifty yards ahead. She gestured at the others, and they all fell in formation. Six of them. She was at the front. The battle raged over their heads, almost impossible to follow from their position as ships moved at impossibly high speeds. None of that mattered. They had a target. She pushed ahead, and fired up her omni-tool. It didn't take her long to realize she wasn't going to be able to open it. Not like that.
Well, that's why the Goddess gifted us with explosives.
Hand gestures. The rest of the squad fell silently into place, forming a perimeter. She scanned the structure, looking for weak points and placing explosive foam on them. It was a very thick hull, and the scans were giving her readings she hadn't seen before. Unknown materials. She had enough demo foam to blow a hole on the side of the Destiny Ascension, so she hoped it'd be enough. They pulled back as soon as she was done, and she hit the trigger without delay. The ground shook under their feet, noiselessly in the vacuum, and to her satisfaction, the explosive decompression sent the hatch door flying out, so fast that all she caught was the blur of movement when it was first ripped off the hull. It was followed by a scattering of small items, which took her a moment to place.
Those had to be the bugs.
She didn't even think about it. They were just more debris being jettisoned into the vacuum of space. She was just waiting for the emergency response that'll surely put a kinetic barrier to stop the decompression. And that, she soon realized, was her mistake. Because despite being in a vacuum, and despite the explosive decompression... the bugs turned and flew straight towards them like they were flies in a sunny day by the Inkea Sea.
"Watch o-"
she yelled in the comms as she tried to summon a biotic bubble. They had practiced it. They knew what they were for. And still, by the time she had started to gather her biotic power, three bugs had landed on her. She felt herself go stiff, muscles locking up while her voice faltered. It felt familiar, like a biotic stasis, the receiving end of which she had been on several times. Her eyes darted around, desperately looking at the others. Left and right, the rest of her unit were as surprised as she was at the sudden turn of events. Nobody had put up a bubble in time. Nobody.
Goddess help us.
Having to wait while who knows what was happening outside was torture. But there was no choice. The marines were on call in case the asari assault groups needed assistance getting the samples from the Collectors. Things going well, they'd also be on the assault to the base. But me? I had to stay put with the N7 group, because they had the one mission that couldn't be replaced, moved, changed, or fiddled with. The one that would solve the whole mess should everything else prove fruitless.
I was pretty sure everything else would, in fact, prove fruitless. The whole thing about demanding their surrender and the rest had to be for show. But there's only so much I could insist on it. Thinking about it, from the point of view of someone who didn't know about the reapers and the rest of the kerfuffle, this was like jumping in and wiping some race off the face of the Galaxy. True, they weren't exactly saints, and the fact that they had taken the Chadwik was quite an excellent reason in my book.
We were out of the way, not far from the shuttle, just in case we had to get going. Even without the countermeasure. That'd make in necessary to get some extra biotic help, which was not exactly ideal, but we had to work with what we had. More important were the two rather conspicuous devices we had with us, each about the size of an old school briefcase. I had a pretty good inkling as to what they were.
Pocket nukes.
Or something close to that at least.
"You seem restless," the drell, Sokel, said.
I looked at him. He was sitting down with the rest of us, and had been calmly sharpening his knife as we waited.
"Do I? I thought I was keeping it together pretty well," I said.
"For the most part. Your eyes betray a different story." He blew on his knife, and angled it to look down the edge. "I would have thought you would be the most calm in this group. Fear of the unknown is the common reason for unrest."
Huh. Guess he knew. How much I knew, I mean.
"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I know how things will play out," I replied. I looked around, seeing many of the marines in a similar situation as us, just waiting for orders and trying their best to be prepared. "And it's not just me."
"This is but the first of many such times," Sokel said, and sheathed his knife. "It is a little early to lose heart."
I realized that the Justicar, Pathize, was looking at us and listening to the conversation. And either she didn't have a clue what we were on about, or she knew absolutely everything about it. Either way she wasn't even blinking. Reminded me of Samara, simulation-wise. I wondered, though. If a Justicar knows about the Reapers, what does the Code have to say about that? Is she obligated to divulge the information? Or keep out of it? Or what?
While I mused, I noticed a bunch of the marines and their attached asari heading for the gunships. That immediately put me on edge. More so when I realized Shepard's unit was with them. As if she could hear me - and, in a way, she probably did - she turned to look at me and gave me a thumbs up before securing her helmet. Dammit. I knew this was going to be happening, but they were taking off before the rest of us.
"Concentrate on the task at hand," Pathize said, getting my attention. "And trust your comrades."
Trust. Well, it wasn't a matter of trust, really. It was a matter of people I cared about going into danger. And that all I could do was sit on my ass and wait.
"All right ladies!" Kim called over the comms. "Looks like we're here to clean up another mess! The asari teams boarding the Collector ship have found unexpected resistance. Our job is to go in big and nasty, and provide support for extraction. They've got vital intel on the swarms that we're going to need if we want to come out on top."
"How hard can it be to grab a few of those bugs and book it?" someone she couldn't identify asked, one of the asari commandos. Sounded flat and nonplussed, but the song was tinged in orange. Definitely worried.
"They might have figured out that's what we're after, and they might have more dirty tricks up their sleeves," Kim replied. "Updates will come as we get them, internal structure of the ship and location of the asari teams. Let's get moving!"
Everyone acknowledged the orders, and prepared for boarding. The Collector ship had already sustained considerable damage, so the gunship was going in and dropping them right inside the structure. It was always a bit unpredictable, damage could mean artificial gravity not working or being erratic. They had to be ready for a zero-gee landing and hope for the best. As soon as the lights turned green, two biotic bubbles popped up, and they rushed out to the ungodly buzzing of a swarm of biomechanical bugs. They had practiced this, and outwardy ti looked a lot like what they had practiced, but it was a shock to her system to find the real thing.
Practice sessions had been nothing but drones and holograms. This, this was different. The song. It was dark, a colour she had never felt. Almost sour. And there was a terrifying cadence to it, a perfectly regular, almost soulless beat that drilled into her brain. She had to focus hard on her own team, their song. She could get lost in the darkness if she let it.
Dammit, Roy never warned me about this!
"Push!"
She knew they couldn't let themselves get bogged down, they needed good cover for their biotic and to keep moving. As they fanned out, she found a spot behind a bent beam and pushed Fulle behind it.
"How are we looking!" Fulle yelled over the chaos of battle.
"We're in good shape, but they're coming!" Shepard replied, her assault rifle lively in her hands. "They're flying in!"
"How many?"
"I don't know!" Shepard replied. Dark, sour notes rose in the distance, approaching fast. "Goldie! Ten o'clock, aim high!"
"Aye aye Sheppy!" the blonde replied. A moment later, the sound of the Mamba filled the air. And if she wasn't mistaken, that sounded suspiciously like Roy's Black Mamba. She had heard both guns enough to know the difference. When did she steal one?
"Shepard! Can't you feel them?" Fulle insisted.
"I can! But..."
She saw the asari hit the comms, and they crackled loudly in her ear. Dammit they were trying to jam them, they'd be deaf to each other if they moved too far.
"Foxtrot, Golf, we need cover!" she called, while pulling Shepard into cover with her. "Concentrate and do it!"
For a moment she contemplated the fact that she was in charge of the unit, but after the weeks and weeks training together, Fulle and her had kind of gotten to the point where they could... Well, do exactly what she was doing. Getting a feel of what was coming after them was important. Shepard didn't disagree. And Fulle knew Shepard would agree. But it was a frightening prospect. That song. That dark, sour song. She closed her eyes and concentrated. There it was, the almost lifeless, regular cadence. The lack of life, which didn't make any sense from the song of living beings. She could feel them, approaching. They were numerous, coming towards them but splitting as more of the marines boarded. More. She felt her own song getting lost in the darkness, no, she couldn't do it, she couldn't!
She didn't realize she was screaming until Fulle shook her out of it.
"Shepard!" she yelled. "Alenko, give us a bubble!"
"What?" the biotic said.
"I just need a few seconds, do it!" She grabbed Shepard by the helmet and turned her head to look her in the eye. "Shepard, I'll help you. Let's do it together."
"But..."
"There's no time!" Fulle insisted.
The asari took off her glove, biting back the pain that hit her as soon as decompression hit. Atmosphere was thin. She pulled at Shepard's glove, and she complied. And as she grabbed her hand, she started a meld. It wasn't rough, but it was fast, and as they went deeper, Shepard realized Fulle didn't know how deep she had to go.
I'll try again.
It was strange. Not that she had had many chances to meld with asari before, but she was perfectly aware of everything around them. She got a quick flash from Fulle, she'd explain later to as much detail as she wanted, but this wasn't the time.
Ain't that the truth, sister.
The dark song. The sour notes. The cold, deathly cadence. It was all there. She gripped Fulle's hand tighter, but the asari just took it all in. She was an anchor. Or maybe a beacon. Whatever she wanted to call it. Something she could hold on to not to get lost. Whatever Fulle thought feeling the color and song of the Collectors, she seemed unfazed by it. So Shepard reached out further. More of them. coming for them. A second ontingent going- ah of course, the second gunship. They didn't have much time. Even more of them had gathered at a central spot inside the ship, but would be coming for them if they overran the defensive positions the other Collectors had established. They moved very fast, unimpeded by gravity or lack of thereof.
But even through all that, she didn't sense anything other than the dark, sour, regular song. Not a note of worry, excitement, pain, nothing. Not even the ones she could feel fall in battle. Nothing. It chilled her down to the bone.
That's enough, Fulle called.
The meld broke, and Shepard quickly put her armor on. Her hand hurt, but she had felt the bite of cold vacuum on her skin before. It'd heal.
"I've got it," she said, and hit the comms. "Foxtrot, we need to push. Golf, Hotel, we've got incoming eight o-clock, they're trying to be sneaky. Wait for the last second."
She looked at Fulle. The asari didn't quite smile, but got close before giving her a nod.
"Sheppy?"
"Let's go! We need to cut them in half before more show up, we've got the numbers for now."
With that, she came out of cover, sending updates to the rest of the teams to plant virtual targets for their VIs to follow. The nearest group of Collectors turned their attention to her, and for the first time she had a good, close look at what the enemy looked like. Almost insectoid in appearance, or some sort of ugly hybrid of arthropod and humanoid. They were covered in organic-looking armor, which looked more like a tumorous growth than a purposely built or grown structure, and several pairs of glowing eyes per head tracked all her movements. But the bullets pinging her shields didn't feel any different than the ones assorted pirates, mercs, and scum of the galaxy fired at them. She pushed as far as Fulle's bubble would go, steadily firing bursts of her assault rifle, and fell into cover the instant she heard the second wave from the other marines. Don't leave a gap, start firing a moment before the other stops. They didn't even have to call it anymore, it was almost automatic for them.
In her mind, the songs of the Collectors were silenced. One by one. No change to cadence, color, or taste. Just... gone. No disturbance to the others. Not even when they ran, or got into cover, or pulled back, all of which they did as they continued to push. She came out of cover and kept firing, wanting to silence that deathly song, that... lack of life.
Just kill them all!
As more marines landed across the damaged ship, the pressure started to dwindle, and soon they were making their way down a corridor that appeared to have been carved inside the rock that comprised a good half of the Collector ship. Behind them, the ambush she had warned Golf and Hotel about were being shredded by the crossfire the two teams had set up. She concentrated again. Almost wished Fulle was melding with her again to share that load, but just the thought was enough. Her song was loud, crystal clear in the sea of darkness. She was... making herself more visible to her mind's eye, somehow. Learned that with but a single meld. Amazing.
More dark songs. The ones in the center of the ship had started to move, too. Maybe fifty meters and the corridor would open. Good ambush spot. They'd have to find another route or call for a second to split the enemy attack. She concentrated, going deeper as they slowly walked, Goldie taking point without even having to be prompted. There was something else. Something at the bottom of that darkness. She steeled herself. It was frightening to think there could be something worse. But it wasn't. Songs. No, not songs. Barely a few stray notes, a pale dash of color only noticeable because of the stark contrast with the darkness around them. Those were not Collectors. Someone else was there, deep inside the ship. Their melodies almost gone.
Someone was alive at the bottom of that darkness.
Admiral Kishi watched the console as the latest update hit. The second Collector vessel hadn't been a complete surprise, even though it had tried to be one. Instead of coming from the base, it had basically disguised itself in the debris field as just another piece of refuse. But she had had her team constantly scanning for them. Intel had been quite clear that a second vessel was possible. The biggest issue had been that they didn't have enough of those asari ships to handle both of them. The beam weapons the Collectors possessed had swatted two of her frigates out of the sky already, and could definitely take a beating. She had maneuvered the Einstein between the two Collector ships, bow first towards the newcomer and stern towards the more damaged one. The large barrier they had used to plow through the debris field hadn't quite lasted as long as she'd have wanted, but it had taken several hits from the Collectors and given her enough time to maneuver the rest of her flotilla and engage the enemy.
"Sir!" Luca called. "Pickup complete! Asari team is currently en route, eta 40 seconds."
"Good. Move everyone out, it's time we start giving these two a proper pounding. Give me an estimate for evacuation."
"Nine minutes for bogey-two, seven for bogey-one."
An eternity, but they'd have to do. She watched the projection flicker for a moment as Ramirez made another maneuver to interpose more debris between them and the enemy. She was no longer impressed every time their pilot made the huge ship move like a cruiser a third of its size, but she should be. They had still taken a hit, but their cyclonic shields had done an admirable job of deflecting most of it. The only thing the quarians had contributed to this little escapade. Not much considering how they'd profit if it went well, but-
Not the time for politics.
"Status?"
"Damage to hangars eight and nine. Damage control teams are already there. Structural integrity still holding," Marco called.
Just keep on ticking, dear. We're coming up to the good part soon.
"Sir, incoming from bogey-one," Luca said. "You better hear this."
She hit the comms. "Kishi."
"Sir, this is Echo! Requesting permission to stay. We might have found prisoners aboard!"
What?!
" Are you sure? Are they in sight?" Kishi replied.
"No sir, but I'm pretty sure!"
Shepard. Dammit all. Her crew knew she trusted them, but both her and Morgan really took it too much to heart. She looked at the projection. Rescues or not, she was the deepest in the enemy ship. Was she trying to pull some sort of solo heroics again? Not that she was good with the idea of leaving anyone behind, but...
"We're pretty sure it's asari, sir!" Shepard insisted.
Yeah, she would know.
"You're deep in enemy territory Shepard, there's a good chance you'll get cut off."
"Sir, we're here too," a different voice called. "Foxtrot and Golf, we have full numbers. We can do it!"
Despite herself, a small smile spread across her face. Those kids always made her proud.
"I want constant updates, and you pull out if we give the order no matter what, understood?"
"Aye sir!" they all replied.
"Luca, I want you to follow their progress, constant updates. Give me Lieutenant Chu."
"Right away sir!" the Lieutenant replied. The comms came to live but a moment later.
"Chu here!" a harried Lieutenant Chu called.
"Status," Kishi called.
"We're closing on to the extraction point, sir!"
"How long can you hold it?"
"Not very long, sir, but we can try! What's going on?"
"Echo found possible prisoners to extract. They might need some extra time. Can you give it to them or should I recall them?"
It was her decision, but she always wanted to hear from the people on the ground. Chu had a good head on her shoulders.
"We'll hold them off, sir, but tell Shepard to hurry her ass!" Chu replied.
"Good. Kishi out."
She had barely closed the comms before Marco was already calling her. "Sir! Update from the Science team!"
"Have they gotten the samples? How-"
"They're done!" Marco said, the words momentarily summoning complete silence through the crowded bridge. "They're applying the upgrades to the N7 team, they'll be done in two minutes!"
Done. The salarian had figured out the puzzle faster than she was processing the fact that he had. Although the more unexpected thing was the fact that it was good news. She realized she had gotten used to the exact opposite of that. Without any more hesitation, she hit the comms.
"Baker," she called.
"Sir," the N7 replied. "We'll be ready in two minutes."
"I heard. I still have my marines bogged down in the ships, they've found prisoners and are trying to get them out."
"That's fine. We trained for this with or without reinforcements. We can go right now. How long you think you can wait?"
That was a question. Right now they had to be careful not to blow up the Collector vessels while they got their people out, so the engagement was dragging. There were still a few marines aboard, but there was a reason why she hadn't sent everyone off to begin with. They, too, could be boarded. And if the N7s took off right now, they could have a substantial element of surprise, which they might lose if they wait until the Collector ships were all destroyed.
"Too long," she finally said.
"Thought so too. We'll get it done."
"All right. Good luck Commander."
The die were cast. It was time for the N7s to make good on their reputation.
Author's Notes: Nothing ever goes as planned, not even when you come to a fictional universe from a videogame and are re-doing the very same mission you knew the ins and outs of in-game for doing it over and over. But that's fine, because when shit seems to hit the fan, you know there's always someone you can count on to get things done as fast as you need them to get done. Be in develop a countermeasure to Collector swarms, re-write the genetic code of the genophage as the shroud facilities explode around him, or sing you the song of the Salarian Scientist to the tune of the General's Song from Gilbert and Sullivan.
Good ol' Mordin Solus. You can just hear him go: "Oh. Expected a Challenge. Somewhat disappointed. More time to study curious samples."
Next? Well, Shepard managed to destroy the collector base with a dozen people at best, so we shall see. There is a Justicar and an Assassin in the group, so those bases are covered. It's a matter of whether the rest of the N7 (and lone non-N7) are up to the task.
They might not.
Muahaha!
Anyway! With that said, if you feel like supporting a humble fanfic writer, it can be done at this link:
tinyurl (period) com (slash) y2q9cop6
Thanks for all the reviews! Q&A will be on the next chapter since most of you probably don't even remember what you wrote given the gap haha! But thanks, really!
Next time, on Mass Effect: Divergence: Resolution, one way or another, and a very important decision I made about the direction of this fic which will be revealed then. Until then, thanks for reading!