Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Escape from Tarkov/Mass Effect crossover. Thank you all for your support. I greatly appreciate the feedback that I've been getting.
Don't forget to check out the poll on my profile. If you haven't voted yet, I highly recommend that you do so.
Either way, thanks for your support, and I hope to see you in future chapters.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Escape from Tarkov or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Electronic Arts, BioWare and Battlestate Games. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Geneburn - Faraway
SSV Normandy
Approaching Theseus System
2183
The Normandy continued to smoothly glide through space faster than the speed of light, thanks to the Tantalus Drive Core, which allowed the ship to thumb it's nose at Einstein's theories of General and Specific Relativility. So far, the entire cruise was going well, with the warship rapidly approaching it's destination: the Theseus System. In about fifteen minutes, they would arrive at Feros, the colony in question.
For O'Connor, it was a good time to make sure his gear was good to go. His armor had performed well on Therum, but he wanted to make sure it was in good condition if he was going on the mission. As such, he was checking the titanium armor plates that were mounted onto the body suit. So far, all was going well.
I hope this new camouflage works out well, he thought as he looked at the color he'd picked out for the armor a day earlier. This should make it harder for the Geth to spot me out there, though they could switch to thermal imaging if they can't see me visually. Oh, well, at least it's better than nothing.
As he checked his armor over, he heard someone coming over. Looking up, he watched as Tali came over. "Tali, need anything?" he asked.
"Shepard's bringing you, along with Wrex and myself," she replied. "You certain you're gear's good to go?"
"Sure," O'Connor nodded. "I'm just gonna grab my guns here and head for the airlock when he needs me." Getting up, he walked over to one of the cargo crates and opened it up.
Vorenus, being the neatness oriented man he was, had a number of magazines that were pre-loaded, with bullets already inside each magazine. True to form, they were an redesigned variant of the MAG-60 magazines that had come with the older gun. They should be more reliable than the older models, he thought. Maybe I can-
His train of thought was interrupted when he heard another crate being opened. Looking to his right, he spotted Tali opening one up. "Uh, O'Connor?" she asked. "What are these?" Moments later, she held up the item in question.
The moment he saw the black and white cylindrical body, combined with the matte black base, he knew what that was. "That's a shotgun shell," he told Tali. "Back where I'm from, that's the ammo that shotguns used. If that's the case though…" Walking over, he began to dig into the crate. A few moments later, he smiled and said, "Vorenus, you clever sonovabitch."
"What?" Tali asked.
"He made me shotguns too!" With some effort, O'Connor pulled out two weapons that Tali hadn't seen before. The first resembled a more traditional shotgun that she'd seen, only it had a stock without a pistol grip, as well as a tube that ran directly underneath the barrel, in addition to the ejection port on the side. The second was different in that it had a pistol grip and stock, only she saw what was clearly a magazine.
"What are those?" she asked.
"The one in my right hand is the M870 MCS, your good, old fashioned, 12 gauge, pump action shotgun. The other is the Russian designed Saiga-12. This particular one is the Saiga-12K, K meaning 'Kurz' which is German for short. It has the 16.8in barrel instead of the standard 22.4in barrel. Really good for navigating close quarters."
"I see," Tali remarked. "Can you feasibly carry that much weaponry and ammo?"
"The weapons, I can," O'Connor nodded. "As for the ammo, the armored backpack should have enough capacity for what I intend to bring along. I can carry three guns into battle, and have enough ammo for all of them without being encumbered. I'm definitely using the armor as intended now." After a moment, he said, "Tell Shepard I'll be along in a moment."
"Alright," Tali nodded.
. . .
A few minutes later, they were near the airlock, where Shepard would hold the briefing for the members of the ground team coming with him. As he stood there, he spotted O'Connor coming along, only he noticed something different. The main difference being that he now had a shotgun attached to the small of his back, with the stock folded to make it easier to transport. Another difference was what appeared to be armored ammo packs on his chest armor,. "New guns?" Shepard asked.
"Yep," O'Connor replied. "Vorenus was a real sneaky bastard this time. He managed to stuff in two shotguns in addition to the guns I had him make. Don't worry, I've got enough ammo for any heavy engagements."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, Shepard. The handgun that I've got is primarily used as a backup in case I run out of ammo for the other weapons, or can't reload them in the amount of time that I have. As such, I only brought six spare mags for it. As for my M4A1, I have around fifteen spare mags, and around seven mags for the Saiga-12K, since shotgun shells are quite powerful and cumbersome. I am also frugal with my ammo. I don't waste ammo on shots I can't take."
"Being in Tarkov taught you that?"
"Yes. If you ended up there, Shepard, you'd learn very quickly to ration your ammunition. That and to pick your fights carefully. Do that, and you live longer."
There was a moment of silence as Shepard mulled those words over in his head. After a moment, he said, "Alright. You know those kinds of weapons better than I do. I trust your judgment in that regard."
"Thank you, sir," O'Connor replied. Putting on his helmet, he said, "Time to kill us some Geth and save some colonists. Then we can see if the Alliance has some favors for us to do." With that, he, Tali and Wrex entered the airlock.
Once the airlock's pressure was equalized with the exterior, they were able to move out. Walking outside, O'Connor took a moment to look at his surroundings. The interior of the docking bay was well lit, though the setting sun gave the concrete-like material the walls were made out of a dull gray color, with undertones of brown and red. The place was also old, with the only new construction being the docking clamps and passenger ramps.
The exterior, or what little he saw of it, wasn't much different. Much of the planet had a sepia-like tone, only with undertones of red and brown. The only things that had vibrant colors were the Normandy itself, as well as the armor and equipment everyone else was wearing. A dreary setting, he thought to himself. Even Tarkov was more vibrant and 'alive' in terms of color.
As they moved out, he spotted someone standing near the dock. The man was tall, with dark skin and hair, and was wearing a worker's uniform. A name tag identified him as David al-Talaqani. "We saw you coming in," he said to them. "Fai Dan wants to see you immediately."
The moment O'Connor heard David's speech, he noticed something off. He has unusually long pauses between words, almost as though he has trouble speaking. That's strange.
"Who's Fai Dan," Shepard asked, though he noticed the same thing as well.
"He's our leader," David explained. "He needs your help to prepare for the Geth. They're making another push. Please, up the stairs and past the freighter."
Just as he said this, O'Connor spotted a flicker of movement. "Down!" he shouted, tackling David al-Talaqani to the ground almost immediately. Within a moment, a bolus of red-white energy flew overhead, smacking into the walls of the docking bay.
Getting up, O'Connor looked around the cover he was behind to see some Geth Troopers, as well as some Saboteurs. Looks like it's about to get real. "Stay down," he ordered the civilian, before drawing his weapon. Taking aim with his handgun, since didn't have time for his rifle, he opened fire.
Almost immediately, he noticed the difference. The handgun's report was louder, indicating a more energetic propellant, though the muzzle flash was much dimmer than he remembered it being. In addition, he noticed slightly more muzzle flip, but nothing he couldn't compensate for. On top of that, he could see how much ammo he had in the mag thanks to a smart-link to his HUD.
The Geth, though, were not the lucky ones in this case. Three, .45 Super bullets tore into a Geth trooper, with the rounds penetrating the armor before mushrooming. Said Geth Trooper fell to the ground, a loud squeal coming from it's as it's vital systems were scrambled by 230 grains of tungsten, gilding metal and gold, as lead had long since gone out of favor in firearms.
O'Connor didn't noticed this initially, as he promptly switched targets and fired on the next Geth. The rest, though, had taken cover by this point, allowing him to get back into cover to reload and switch his weapons out. Once his handgun was reloaded, he pulled his M4A1 out and aimed down range. "Shepard?" he called out.
"Move up," Shepard ordered. "Wrex, Tali, give O'Connor suppressing fire!"
"On it," Wrex replied, firing his assault rifle at the Geth. Taking the opportunity, O'Connor moved up, reaching the next piece of cover that he could find. Once in cover, he leaned out and, spotting a Geth Trooper that also had leaned out, fired his rifle three times in a row.
The new weapon proved to be extremely deadly. The Geth Trooper's armored chassis was insufficient to handle the APHP bullets, with the bullets tearing through it's armored chassis. A loud squeal came from the platform as it fell to the ground, with small holes in it's chest, while three large holes were present in it's back.
Spotting this new assault, the Geth began to change their tactics accordingly. As they didn't have time to recalibrate their kinetic barriers, they instead took cover and spent less time out of cover. Spotting this, Shepard flung a grenade towards the Geth before detonating it.
A loud explosion tore through the area, with two more Geth being shredded by the explosion. Now that they were sufficiently weakened, he and the others advanced forwards, firing their weapons at the remaining Geth. Under the combined onslaught, the Geth stood little chance. "Move up," he ordered.
As they did so, Tali said, "Shepard, something's jamming my scanners. I think the Geth have Stalker-type units up ahead."
"Those annoying things," Wrex frowned. "They jump around too damn often."
"I agree," O'Connor nodded. "This gives me another chance to look at a surprise that Vorenus gave me. I swear, the guy likes his surprises a little too much."
"What kind?" Shepard asked. In response, O'Connor pointed towards the foreend of his M4. Shepard noticed a tube-like protrusion underneath, as well as a grip and a trigger. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yep," O'Connor replied. "I don't know where Vorenus gets his surprises from, but that is a redesigned M320 Underbarrel Grenade Launcher. Fires 40mm grenades at an enemy target. I can use this guy to really fuck up any enemy infantry we run into."
"How many do you have?"
"Only eight, so I have to use them sparingly."
"Understood. Can you take out the Stalkers up ahead?"
"Certainly." With that, O'Connor loaded an Frag grenade into the launcher. Moving up, he stopped just short of the entry way, crouched and took aim. Aiming randomly ahead, he fired at one of the support beams.
There was a loud BLOOP as the grenade launcher fired, with an explosion ringing out moments later. Suddenly, two Geth Sappers fell to the ground, the explosion having been wide enough that it caught both Geth in the lethal radius. Wow, O'Connor thought, looking at his rifle with a happy expression. I need to ask Vorenus to make me more guns. This is some awesome shit.
"I like that gun," Wrex beamed, impressed by the explosion. "Such a tiny thing, and it can cause all of that to happen. Why don't we have a grenade launcher?"
"Good question," Shepard shrugged. "I'll have to requisition one when we have the time. Still, O'Connor has one, though don't expect him to use it all the time. We've only got seven of his grenades now."
"Sure thing, Shepard," Wrex nodded. "I wasn't asking him to use it all the time."
"Smart thinking," O'Connor remarked. "Time to head out now instead of flapping our lips." Nodding in agreement, Shepard and the others advanced forwards.
The colony, or what looked like the colony, was up some stairs, with the team emerging out of the stairwell. Almost immediately, a number of rifles, shotguns and handguns were aimed directly at them. "Check fire!" O'Connor shouted. "Blue! Blue!"
There was a moment of hesitation, before one of the soldiers said, "Stand down, people!" Looking at them, she said, "Sorry, sir. We're all on edge, what with the constant Geth attacks. Speak to Fai Dan, he'll fill you in on what's happening."
"Got it," O'Connor remarked. As they walked along, he noticed even more anomalies in the area. For one, the colonists were on edge, though they acted as though someone, or something, was calming them down. This place gets stranger by the fucking second, he thought as they walked along. It's like someone has them on drugs that keep them calm, yet enable them to fight.
That was when something odd happened. Just as he was about to enter the freighter, his hardsuit's life support systems engaged automatically. "Warning: Biohazard Detected," the suit's VI informed him. "Life Support Systems Engaged. Air Filter Quality: Excellent. Time to Replacement: 2 Hours."
"Uh, Shepard?" he asked.
"What?" Shepard replied.
"My hardsuit's life support systems engaged automatically," O'Connor replied. "According to the suit's VI, there's a biohazard in the air that triggered the automatic activation. I've got plenty of time before the air filter needs changing out, though."
"Are you sure?" Shepard asked, concern flashing onto his face. "Tali?"
"I just did a scan," Tali replied. "His hardsuit's working normally. I'm detecting some kind of spore in the air. If his life support systems activated, then it's cause for concern."
"Rebreathers on, people," Shepard ordered immediately, fitting his own helmet's rebreather unit on. Wrex simply put his helmet on. With that, they proceeded forwards.
The freighter hallway had a few rooms, but the door was straight ahead, as they quickly exited. To the right, there were two people that were talking with each other. One was a middle aged man of Asian descent, while the other was a dark skinned woman that was wearing combat armor. "Commander," the man gasped, a relieved expression on his face. "I'm glad they finally sent someone to help us!"
"You're a bit late, aren't you," the woman remarked.
"Arcelia!" the man, identified by his name tag as Fai Dan, barked out. "I'm sorry, Commander," he said apologetically. "Everyone's been on edge since -"
He was promptly interrupted when Arcelia shouted, "Watch out! We've got Geth in the tower!"
"Defend the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan ordered.
"We'll handle 'em," Shepard replied. "O'Connor, you've got point! Wrex, Tali, provide fire support!"
"On it," Tali replied.
O'Connor, spotting the Geth, decided to get his shotgun out this time around. Weapon ready, he took aim down the corridor and fired his new Saiga. There was a loud report as the firearm discharged, sending a cloud of buckshot directly at the Geth. Two Geth, a Trooper and Saboteur, were caught in the cloud of shot, with armor plates being severely damaged by the blast. Another blast tore the armor off, with the shot scrambling vital components.
Both Geth fell to the ground, shutting down immediately due to the extensive damage. The Geth Sniper in the back, realizing that it needed help, began to backpedal, only to be caught in another blast. It too fell to the ground, shredded by the shot.
This thing is a beast, O'Connor thought. It didn't kick as much as I thought it would, and the shot pattern was tighter than normal. I'll have Shepard remind me to thank Vorenus for this favor.
Moving forwards, he quickly found more Geth in a hallway to his right, prompting him to send more buckshot down range. Moving forwards over the shredded platforms, he found himself in another room, with the roof having been partially blasted upwards, making a hole that the Geth could get in through. More Geth were in the area, including a Geth Destroyer that was dropped off by a Geth ship that was now leaving the area.
Working together, the team advanced forwards, weapons firing. Firing off a blast, O'Connor pulled the trigger again, only to hear a beeping tone in his HUD. Empty, he realized. "Reloading! Cover me!" he shouted. In response, Tali, Wrex and Shepard intensified their fire, while O'Connor dumped the old mag out and put a new mag in. Racking the charging handle, he leaned out of cover just in time to see the Geth Destroyer, which charged at him.
It was one of the few times that O'Connor had fired a shotgun rapidly, with the other being when he was cornered by Killa's brother in the Factory. Four loud BANG's rang out in rapid fashion, with the Geth Destroyer running into a veritable storm of buckshot. The desperate assault paid off, with the platform falling to the ground immediately. "SHIT!" O'Connor shouted as more Geth rounded the corner.
Without any time, he pulled his handgun out and fired rapidly, focusing on the Geth that were closest to him. Despite the adrenaline in his veins, and hammering heart, he was able to pull of a few kills, forcing the Geth to take cover once more. Ducking down, he noticed that his armor had been hit, though the rounds had failed to penetrate.
Damn, he thought as he waited for his barriers to recharge. That was too fucking close! That fucking Destroyer nearly had my ass splattered on the ground. I've definitely got to thank Vorenus for getting me this equipment.
He was about to lean out when the others stopped firing. Leaning out, he found that all of the Geth had been neutralized, though most of them had been taken out by him. "All clear," he announced.
"Good work, people," Shepard nodded. "O'Connor, that was some stellar marksmanship on your part. Good show of courage."
"It was more like boundless terror," O'Connor countered.
"Didn't look like terror to me," Wrex remarked. "Plus, you got the most kills out of everyone here. You know how to kick ass, O'Connor."
"Those Geth didn't see you coming at all," Tali beamed.
"Well, thanks, but I was just trying to survive," O'Connor remarked. "Nothing badass about it. I was just trying to live."
"Either way, you did good," Shepard nodded. "Let's head back to the colony. I'll bet Fai Dan needs some help getting the place back onto it's feet."
. . .
Sure enough, Fai Dan explained to the group that there were a number of problems. The first was that they needed to find out how the Geth were able to target their colony so accurately. In addition, they were running short on power, food and water. This left Shepard with the unenviable task of determining who did what.
It ended up turning out like this: O'Connor would handle getting the food and water supplies, while Shepard and the others would handle finding out how the Geth were coordinating their efforts to attack the colony. Once they got to a part of the tunnel, they would split up.
"You sure you'll be OK?" Tali asked O'Connor.
"I've worked solo before," O'Connor reassured her. "Tarkov was where I worked alone most of the time. I'll be able to handle myself, Tali. You just stay safe, you hear?"
"I will," Tali replied. With that, once they reached a certain area, they split up, with O'Connor going by himself.
Once more, I'm working solo, he thought as he looked to his left, spotting a door that was still operational. Time to see if I can still handle a threat on my own. With that in mind, he advanced towards the door, stopping as it opened.
As soon as it opened, he heard a deep, guttural growl coming above and behind him. Wild animals, he determined, and predators at that. I'll have to be careful. With that in mind, he pulled his shotgun out. Fifty five shells left in the mag, and around twenty for reloading. Good thing I kept some loose ammo on my person.
On a mental count, he advanced, backing up towards the door as opposed to away from it, his weapon aimed upwards. This turned out to be a wise choice, as he soon spotted the predators in question.
To him, they were reminiscent of canines, only their canine teeth extended out into tusks, like those on a wild boar. Their underbellies were white, while their backs were a black color. Flexible spines extended from their backs, and their goggle-like eyes were opaque. The way they moved with fluid grace only indicated how dangerous they truly were.
Weapon aimed, O'Connor watched as the two beasts charged at him, roaring loudly as they did so. In response, he quickly fired his shotgun twice. The concussive blasts echoed in the chamber, while the heads of each of the creatures, Varren if he recalled Reynold's words correctly, exploded in a shower of blood, bone and brain matter.
That caught the attention of the Varren pack, as they came over to see what was going on. Upon seeing two of their brethren dead, and O'Connor with his weapon drawn, they did something he didn't expect: instead of attacking, they stopped where they were at. This isn't normal behavior, he thought to himself, especially for pack predators.
That was when the Alpha Varren came around. It was a majestic creature, with a dark red hide on it's back, and a blood red underbelly. The moment O'Connor saw it, though, he could tell that it was in pain. It snapped angrily at the other Varren, while it made a whining sound similar to that of a dog in pain. Eventually, it dragged itself over to O'Connor.
That was when he saw the cause of it's pain. Oh, the poor motherfucker, he thought as he saw something writhing under it's skin. The poor bastard's infested with worms. No wonder he was attacking the colonists: he was trying to get them to end his own suffering. Now, he's too tired to do anything but ask for a mercy killing.
While he killed, he never liked having to do so; the worst ones where when the victim asked to be put down mercifully. "I'm sorry," he whispered, drawing his handgun a moment later. Aiming, he fired a single shot into the Varren's head.
The Alpha Varren slumped to the ground. Just before it died, O'Connor though he saw relief on it's tired and pained face, before it finally went still. Frowning, he watched as the Varren walked away, with the Alpha Varren's mate nudging the corpse of it's mate one last time. Turning around, he began to walk away.
Just as he did, he thought he felt something nudge his leg. Looking down, he noticed that one of the younger Varren had followed him, a curious growling sound coming from it. "You following me?" he asked it.
Apparently, that was the case, as it nudged his leg in an attempt to move him forwards. Kneeling down, he rubbed it's neck, with the Varren happily licking licking his armored arm. "Alright," he decided. "You want to come with me? Then you can do so. Just don't get killed is all, OK?"
Apparently, the Varren understood the general meaning of what he'd said, as it made a single barking sound. Getting up, O'Connor began loading spare shells into his mags while the Varren followed him. Of all the things to happen to me, getting a Varren as a pet wasn't something I'd planned on happening, he thought. I'll ask Wrex why it's following me later.
That left getting the water taken care off, as before he left, he'd found power cells in a wrecked rover nearby. Thankfully, there were only a few Geth Troopers, nothing he couldn't handle. Noticing some valves, he had begun to turn them on. Reaching the final valve a minute later, he smiled when he heard the sound of something flowing through the pipes. They've got water, he thought.
Suddenly, he thought he spotted movement nearby. Immediately, he drew his weapon and aimed, expecting a Geth he'd missed. To his relief, it was another Human being, likely another colonist. The man's uniform identified him as Ian Newstead. "Don't shoot!" Ian shouted, his brown eyes filled with alarm.
"You nearly got your ass killed by sneaking up on me," O'Connor growled. "If you see another human, let them know you're there."
"OK," Ian replied, relaxing now that he knew he wasn't going to die. "Still, word of advice: you don't want to go down there!"
"I see," O'Connor remarked. "So, what are you doing down here?"
"Nothing I should be, and anything I shouldn't," was Ian's cryptic reply. Before O'Connor could ask more, the man let out a loud cry, before recovering himself. "Aagh! That was a good one. Very intense."
Immediately, O'Connor was reminded of the strangeness of this place. "Are you OK?" he asked.
"Just invoking the masters whip," Ian replied. "Reminds me that I'm still alive. You're here for the Geth, aren't you? You're not the only one interested in those things?"
"Who else is?" O'Connor asked. "Are they looking for them, or to get rid of them?"
"Get rid of them," Ian replied. "They're a thorn in the side of -" Moments later, Ian let out a shrill screech of what sounded like pain.
At this point, O'Connor knew that something was up. Something's causing this man pain, but I don't see anything wrong at this point. That led him to try something. Pulling out a small epipen, he promptly grabbed Ian by the head and jabbed the needle into his neck, injecting some morphine into the man's body.
"What the -!" Ian shouted.
"Relax," O'Connor replied. "It's just pain killers. What is looking to get rid of the Geth?"
"If I tell you, I might -" Just like that, Ian fell over, like a puppet who's strings had been cut. Worried, O'Connor felt for a pulse, sighing with relief when he found a pulse.
What the hell is going on here, he thought, confused. It's like something's trying not to be found out. I've got a nagging suspicion that there's more here than the colonists are letting on. This smells of a cover up to me.
Getting up, he was about to leave when he spotted two Geth moving towards him. Just as he drew his weapon, there was gunfire, with both Geth falling down. Moments later, Shepard and the others came into view. "Shepard, I was just about to get back to you."
"We were worried about you," Shepard explained.
"Why?"
Wrex pipped in moments later. "Just after we destroyed a Geth transmitter we found, this Varren came up to us and started tugging at Shepard's gun. We didn't know what was going on, so we followed it to you." As he said this, the young Varren came into view, barking triumphantly as it did so. "Care to explain?"
"I found the Alpha Varren that Reynolds warned us about," O'Connor explained. "The poor bastard was infested with worms. The reason why he was attacking was he was trying to get the colonists to end his misery, so I did the favor for him. Then this little guy started following me around. Mind if someone clues me in as to why?"
"You did those Varren a favor," Wrex explained. "From what I can tell, this little fella recognized that and decided to come with you. Varren can tell if someone's trustworthy or not, so you should feel privileged."
"I see. Well then, I'll keep the little guy with me."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Tali asked. "This Varren's probably never been house broken before."
"I can teach him," O'Connor replied.
"It's your call then," Shepard decided. "Also, why's there an unconscious colonist behind you?"
"That's what I was going to ask you about. Ian Newstead, the colonist in question, was telling me that something was trying to drive the Geth out. Before I could get any solid information, he fell over unconscious. Something's going on here, Shepard. This stinks of a cover up if I ever found one."
"Agreed. We'll probably find more answers in the ExoGeni HQ in the other skyscraper. You done here?"
"Yep."
"Then let's go."
