Bridging the Divide 3a
RRW Gallena
"Congratulations." V'lana grinned as she spoke to the group gathered in her ready room. "You're the lucky ones who are going to help take that Elachi ship."
"Who are we working with, Little Sister?" Tovan inquired.
"You've met several of them already." V'lana replied, inclining her head in the direction of Garrus, Liara, and Tali. "You already know Lieutenant Commander Williams…"
"Ashley…" Garrus interjected, "Although I still do not completely understand how she and that asari geneticist managed to escape from Virmire."
"Definitely a stroke of good fortune." Liara agreed, "But it is good to see Gunnery…I mean Lieutenant Commander…" the lovely asari blushed.
"I hear you." Garrus agreed, "But I'm still not that sure about that telepath—and the jury…as the humans say…is still out on Thanoptis."
"Ashley trusts them." Tali pointed out, "And they've been together for at least two years. I'd say that's points in their favor."
"True." Liara conceded with a nod of her head. "I asked Cilla whether she knew them."
"So…what did she say?" Vega asked.
"She told me that she only knew them by reputation." Liara replied with a frown, "That the Orion was a smuggler…prostitute…and a few other things that I won't mention."
"What about that telepath and Blue?" James asked.
"Their careers are equally…colorful."
"Can't say this is working in their favor." Garrus commented with a sneer. "I'm not sure I want to trust my life to a pack of outlaws."
"What do you say, Lola? Can they be trusted" Vega interjected, his curiosity aroused.
"Yes." The lovely Romulan asserted, "I know Nelia personally. She got a raw deal from both Starfleet and the Republic. The other two's stories are similar. I also spoke with Commodore Magnussen and Captain Hobson about them and they vouch for them." V'lana declared, "If Hobby and Magnussen say they're okay, then you can trust them. Those two know their stuff. Zsa-Zsa, Korath, and Kaval have also worked well with them and I trust those three with my life."
"Good enough for me, Lola." Vega replied, "Thanks for the advice. Anything else?"
"Yeah." A wicked grin appearing on her face, V'lana quipped, "Before you beam over there, you guys might want to swing by sickbay for anti-pheromone injections—unless you want to be seen standing at attention whenever you're close to her." Taking a deep breath, the Romulan commander, her laughter fading, requested, "Could you also pass on a message to Lieutenant Commander Williams for me."
"Sure, Commander." Garrus replied, "What is it?"
"Tell her that Kaidan never forgot her and that he missed her."
"Of course we will." Liara affirmed in a soft voice.
"Thank you." V'lana lips turned up in a warm smile, "Unless you have any further questions…I'll let you go. Good luck and good hunting." Giving her old friend and his young quarian companion a mischievous wink, she joked, "Look after my Big Brother, Tali. Don't let him do anything stupid."
The Spoiled Princess
"Now this is what I call a briefing room!" Vega exclaimed as he entered the Spoiled Princess's lounge, accompanied by his companions and their escorts, Shelana, the Andorian tactical who was wearing a red Starfleet minidress, and Lieutenant Candace, 'Candy', Johnson, sporting a blue minidress.
"We make do with what we have." Shelana quipped back as she gestured at the bar and couches and chairs. "Grab a seat. If you want something to eat or drink, just call out. Ship rule: Booze is synthol until after the op and no mind-altering chemicals before a mission."
"Mind altering chemicals?" Garrus, walking in with Liara and Ashley, exclaimed with a startled query and the turian equivalent of a raised eyebrow.
"It's what we call the Twesata Rule." Shelana joked, playfully teasing her Betazoid teammate who had just entered with her asari lover by her side.
"Fuck you, Shels." Twesata bantered back as she and her imzadi, Rana, took their usual positions on the couch. Looking up at Garrus, she remarked, "So…you're one of the people who knew Ash on that ship?"
"The Normandy?" Garrus nodded his head laconically responding, "Yes."
"Yeah…well…" Twesata sneered, "I don't trust you either."
"Stay out of my mind." Garrus growled threateningly as Liara placed a gentle, yet firm, hand on his forearm.
"I didn't have to bird-brain." Twesata bit back, "Your body language and emotions are screaming 'I'm a big asshole.' So…you can shove it up that cloaca of yours."
"Easy, Twes." Ashley interjected in an effort to ease tensions. "Garrus…" the former Alliance gunnery chief, now Starfleet officer, glared at her former comrade, "I thought we got all this ironed out on the Gallena. Twesata is a teammate and I trust her. She's saved my life on more than one occasion."
"That's good enough for us, Ashley." Liara responded in an equally calming voice. Speaking to the Betazoid telepath, she said in a conciliatory gesture, "I never got the opportunity to thank you and Dr. Thanoptis for your help with Kaidan and the Shepard clone."
"Don't mention it." Twesata replied as she grasped her lover's hand.
"And Rana…" Liara declared, setting aside her own misgivings as she continued to try to play peacemaker, "I owe you an apology too. I was unfair to you when we first met."
"Don't mention it." The other asari remarked, "I'd have been suspicious too if I were in your shoes. Fresh start?"
Nodding her head, Liara responded, "Fresh start." Nudging her turian companion in the ribs, the asari information broker prompted, "Garrus?"
"We'll see. The proof…as the humans say…is in the pudding."
"Now that's what I like to see. Everyone working and playing well with each other." Nelia sarcastically quipped as she led the other team members into the lounge, "We've got work to do."
"So…what's the plan, Stacks?"
"Stacks?" Nelia responded with a raised eyebrow and crooked grin.
"Yeah…" Vega blushed, seemingly ignoring the daggers coming from Miranda's eyes, "You know cause you got…Ummm…"
"Go on. I want to see how deep you dig this hole." The roguish Orion woman prompted playfully.
Blushing an even deeper red, James stammered, "Because you've got….you've got…Shit! I'm not gonna win this—am I?"
"Nope." Ashley laughed.
"All right!" Vega threw up his arms, "All right! It's because…well…it's because they're big."
Laughing, Nelia joked back, "They're real too. All right…I'll let you off the hook for now…Stud."
"You think hers are big, Sugar." Dixie teased, "Wait'll you get a gander at what Treasure's packin' under the hood. Your poor eyes are gonna pop out, honey."
"All right, children." Nelia called out as she called the meeting to order, "Time to get serious. That supply ship is going to be here in a couple of hours, so, here's how we're going to take it down. Subcommander Kev? It's your plan…you get the honors." She motioned for the Romulan executive officer to take over the briefing.
"Thank you, Commander." Tovan responded. "We've laid out cloaked tractor mines and subspace jammers to impede our target's ability to escape or call for aid. But they'll only provide us a brief window within which to act. Our opening salvos must immediately take out their engines and shields…" Seeing a hand raised, the Romulan XO responded, "Yes…"
"Ashley." The raven-haired lieutenant commander responded before asking her question, "What if we fail to do that? You know what they say about no plan…"
"Surviving contact with the enemy?" Tovan nodded his head gravely, "Yes. I'm glad you brought that point up, Lieutenant Commander. The Gallena's fighters…along with the Peregrine that your ship has, will carry out a simultaneous attack to supplement ours and suppress any weapons fire."
"So…how many boarding parties?" Vega asked.
"Three." Tovan replied as he turned to the green Orion woman seated at the bar. "I'll let you and Commander Terre take over."
"Each team will consist of two tactical specialists, an engineer, a biotics specialist, and a science officer." Ashley announced, further explaining, "In some cases one individual can handle more than one of those roles. We're going to keep teams that have worked together intact as much as possible, while at the same time tailoring the teams to their given mission. Alpha Team will be responsible for securing command and control and will consist of Subcommander Kev, who will be leader, along with Edi, Liara, and Shelana."
"Why Shelana and Edi?" Garrus, still slightly suspicious and unsure about the capabilities of the two unexpected additions. "Why not Vega and Tali? Or myself?"
"Shels is an experienced helmsman as well as tactical officer." Nelia responded in defense of her teammate, "She'll be needed to take over helm and navigation once we secure the ship. And Edi's interface abilities will allow her to quickly download any information on their computers before they're deleted by any self-destruct protocols."
"Edi's also a top-notch engineer." Dixie declared, also supporting her android friend.
Continuing the briefing, Nelia announced the next team. "Beta Team will be responsible for securing engineering. "Miranda Lawson will be team leader, with the rest of her team being made up of the following members: Vega at tactical, Tali at engineering, and Twes at sciences. And before you say anything…" the roguish Orion glared at Garrus, "Her computer knowledge will prove helpful. She might even save your asses."
"Makes sense." Vega nodded his head as he gave the raven-haired Betazoid a welcoming grin. "Welcome to the team, Bad Girl."
"Team Gamma will secure the cargo hold and crew spaces." V'lana declared, "Ashley and Garrus will be our tactical people. Rana will handle sciences and biotics. Dixie will be the team engineer."
"Just like old times." Garrus, mollified on hearing that he would be serving with his Normandy companion, whispered to his former teammate.
"I'm going to turn the rest of the briefing over to Rana." Nelia declared, "She's our resident expert on all things Elachi."
"Not that there's a hell of a lot we know about them." Rana cautioned, "As the Elachi are a fungoid race, we'll be wearing air filtration gear going in. Don't take it off."
"Yeah. Those spores are the one thing that Twes won't even snort." Shelana quipped as her Betazoid companion made an obscene gesture with her finger.
"Fuck you, Shels."
"What about skin contact?" Liara inquired.
"Your armor will protect you from that." Rana answered back. "But we want to do what we have to do as quickly as possible."
"That's where those teams assigned to take engineering and the bridge come in." Nelia clarified. "You're going to have to move quickly to secure your areas and then get the air circulation systems modified to filter out those spores asap. We can't take our Trojan Horse in until we're sure that the atmosphere has been properly scrubbed."
"Gallena to Spoiled Princess…"
"Spoiled Princess. What is it?" Nelia answered back in response to the helmsman's voice.
"Hope you're done with your meeting because that ship's gonna be here soon."
"How soon?
"You've got ten…maybe fifteen minutes—tops."
"You heard the man." Nelia announced, "Any questions?"
"We're ready to go." Ashley responded as the others all nodded their heads in agreement.
"Hey, Ashley!" Joker's voice once again called out from the comm
"What is it, Joker?" Ashley answered back with a chuckle.
"When are you coming up to say Hi?" The ex-Normandy helmsman complained, "I mean…after returning from the dead and all…I figure you owe me at least one drink."
Laughing, Ashley responded, "All right, Joker. When this is all over, we'll get together."
"It's a date." Joker quipped, "The Raptor's Nest after the shooting stops."
"All right." Nelia interjected with a crooked grin, "If we're all finished planning out our after action partying, let's get ourselves a ship."
Taking a Prize
"Here comes the spider." V'lana cooed as the Elachi ship drew near. "Closer…closer…Now! Trigger the mines and sensors. Decloak and fire all weapons…target engines. Fighters…concentrate on weapons systems. Spoiled Princess…you know what to do."
"You heard the lady, Joachim…Atris…" Nelia exclaimed, "Decloak and let 'er rip!"
The two raiders, decloaking simultaneously, fired full volleys at the Elachi ship, taking it completely by surprise as it flailed about in the tractor beam web created by the mines.
"They're trying to send out a distress, but the jammers are working." Samantha reported as the Gallena was rocked by a weapons volley fired from the Elachi ship.
"Get their Elements-damned weapons offline!" V'lana shouted into her comm, grasping the arms of her chair.
"Keep your panties on!" Nelia's voice answered back through the speaker as one of the Scorpions exploded from a direct impact fired from the Elachi ship.
"We lost T'Val." Cortes, piloting the other fighter, announced, his calm voice hiding his inner anguish at the loss of a fellow pilot. "Beginning second run."
"Joachim!" Nelia ordered, "Take those goddamned weapons out…Now!"
"Direct hit." The tactical officer declared, "Their weapons are down."
"Shields down." Atris announced as the Elachi ship was wracked by a combined phaser and plasma barrage.
"We got their engines." Cilla, filling in as the Gallena's executive officer, called out to the Romulan commander.
"You've got a green light, Spoiled Princess." V'lana declared, "Go get us a souvenir."
"You heard the lady." Ashley called out to the assault teams after first receiving a confirming nod from Tovan. "Drop your socks and grab your…"
"Grab my what?" Twesata teased with a wicked grin.
"You know what I'm talking about." Ashley joked back, Vega, Garrus, and Shelana joining in the laughter, "Transporter pads, people. Time to go to work."
"Hell yeah." Vega exclaimed as he charged his plasma assault gun. "Time to kick some ass. Ummm…do fungi have asses?"
Alpha Team
Materializing weapons at the ready in a seemingly empty corridor, its atmosphere a thick green haze, Liara immediately took out her tricorder and, scanning the immediate environment, cautioned her teammates. "Rana was right. There's a high concentration of spores in the atmosphere. Prolonged exposure is toxic."
"Edi, I am curious as to why you are wearing filtration gear and armor." Tovan queried, "You're an artificial intelligence. You should be immune to the effects of the spores."
"The spores are still capable of interfering with and degrading my processing and motor capabilities with increased exposure." The mobile AI responded, adding in a deadpan voice, "I don't want those things corroding my new microprocessors. Dixie just installed them."
"Works for me." Shelana bantered back before pointing to the other end of the corridor where it branched out into a T-section. "Shall we?"
"Let's." Tovan replied as he motioned for the group to advance.
As they progressed cautiously down the corridor, Liara heard a skittering sound. Startled, she exclaimed, "What the…" but before she could finish her statement, the asari archaeologist was screaming as a spider-like object grabbed and clung to her face, "Get that thing off me!"
Reacting instinctively, Tovan grappled the drone and throwing it to the ground, disintegrated it with a shot from his plasma pistol.
"What the…" Liara gasped as she slowly recovered from her shock. "What the hell was that?"
"We call them 'grabbers'…" Tovan explained, "Because they…"
"I get the idea." Liara interjected with a wry grin. "What would have happened if you hadn't…"
"Yanked that thing off you?" Tovan replied with a grin of his own, "It would have self-destructed. The charge would have…"
"Blown my face off." Liara grimly concluded, "I get the idea. How many more of these little spiders are we likely to run into?"
"A lot." Shelana responded with a scowl as she fired her phaser at another one of the little drones skittering towards them, instantly turning it into a pile of scrap. "I hate those little fuckers."
"Yeah." Liara replied with a sigh as she brought down another spider with a biotic throw, "I'm not growing very fond of them either."
Motioning towards their destination, Tovan cautioned, "Be careful. There'll be more of them ahead."
"And you can bet they'll be bringing their friends with them." Shelana added, "We'll brief you on them as we move on."
Nodding her head, Liara responded, catching her breath, "Okay…I'm ready. Let's push on."
Beta Team
"I hate those fucking spiders!" Twesata swore as she tore loose a facehugger that was threatening to tear off Tali's visor. Throwing it to the floor, the Betazoid science officer fired her phaser at it, instantly disintegrating it.
"You all right, Sparks?" Vega asked as he fired his plasma assault rifle at three of the skittering Elachi drones, destroying two as the third evaded his fire.
"I'll be fine." Tali replied, firing off an incineration bolt from her recently adapted omnitool, dispatching the skitterer that had dodged her teammate's fire. "How are you doing, Miranda?"
"Okay." The Australian biotic replied as she biotically slammed a facehugger on the floor before it could grapple her. "How many more of these things are there?"
"The toadstools love their bots." Twesata answered back, firing her phaser at another one of the little drones. "The closer we get to engineering, the more of them we're going to see…and the meaner they're going to get."
"They can bring it on." Vega confidently declared as he fired off another burst of plasma. "Got plenty of charges for the little bastards."
"Looks like you're going to get your wish." Tali exclaimed, pointing to the strange aliens charging down the corridor at them.
"Come and get it, you pack of walking toadstools!" Vega shouted as he unloaded a burst of plasma bolts at the oncoming Elachi soldiers." Glancing at the Australian biotic crouched down next to him, he called out, "You're on, Miri!"
"Tali…" Miranda commanded as she hurled a biotic warp at the aliens "Now!"
"Take this, you boshtets!" The young quarian shouted as she fired an incendiary burst into the warp field, instantly setting off an explosion.
"Now, we're talking!" Vega whooped as he fired another burst from his rifle, "Hell yeah!"
Spotting a second group of soldiers, Twesata tapped a button on her belt, freezing the oncoming fungoids. "Don't just stand there." The lovely Betazoid quipped, glancing at Vega, "Shoot 'em before the field wears off."
"Yes, Ma'am." James replied as he fired another burst. In short order, the Alliance Marine's sustained fire, combined with the more pinpoint energy beams fired by the others, finally brought down the last of the Elachi. "That's it for this wave." Vega sighed as he recharged his weapon.
"We need to keep moving." Miranda commanded as she gestured towards engineering, "We don't have much time."
"Longer we take…" Twesata agreed as she carried out a biofilter sweep with her tricorder, "…the tougher it's gonna be."
Grinning, Vega jibed back, "Ya'll heard Miri and Bad Girl. What are we waiting for? Let's motor."
Gamma Team
"You ok, Garrus?" Ashley asked as she helped her old comrade to his feet.
"Yeah." The turian vigilante grimaced as he stared down at the pile of scrap at his feet, "Those little drones pack a punch."
"Tell me about it." The former Alliance marine replied as her eyes fell on the Elachi technician lying dead on the floor. "That little toadstool with his drones caused us more trouble than a whole company of their regular soldiers.
"Got another one!" Rana shouted out as she biotically threw an assault drone into a wall. "Watch out for those…their tentacles are coated with a toxin."
"Thanks for the heads up." Garrus replied as phaser bolts shredded more charging Elachi.
"The turrets will hold 'em up long enough for me and Rana to rig up our surprise." Doris declared as she and the asari scientist prepared their trap. "Now…all we gotta do is wait for 'em to come to us."
Spotting an Elachi beta, accompanied by several grunts and a technician, Ashley quipped half-jokingly, "This harebrained scheme the two of you cooked up had better work."
"It'll work." Dixie promised as the Elachi soldiers drew closer, firing their disruptors.
"Now!" Rana shouted as the blonde engineer tapped a button, setting off a pair of cloaked mines in the middle of the charging Elachi.
"Your turn, Sugar." Dixie called back as Rana launched a biotic warp, following it up with a gravimetric pulse.
Shaking his head at the scattered remains of the Elachi troopers, Garrus wryly commented, "I'm glad you girls are on our side."
Pointing towards the door that the Elachi were defending, Ashley remarked, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm curious as to what's on the other side."
Flashing the turian equivalent of a smile, Garrus replied as he charged his phaser sniper rifle, "Why don't we find out."
"Knowing our luck." Rana sarcastically quipped, "It'll be one of their giant walkers."
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Ashley declared as she motioned to the door, "Only one way to find out."
Upon entering the cavernous dimly lit bay, Ashley and her team were very quickly set upon by desperate Elachi scientists and technicians. Quickly overcoming their opposition, Gamma Team at once noticed a row of tubes, each containing a single body.
"Tell me those aren't what I think they are." Garrus muttered as he eyed the tubes suspiciously.
"I got me a bad feeling about this." Dixie echoed as the group drew closer to one of the tubes. "Holy shit!" The Alabama-born engineer yelped as she gazed at what was once a Romulan woman, now consumed by the spores, resembling something more Elachi than Romulan.
Rana, with a grimace on her face, concluded, "The Elachi are parasitical fungi. They reproduce through spores and require a host."
"We got a live one!" Garrus called out, pointing to a tube containing a still apparently whole Romulan male.
"Dixie. Rana." Ashley called out, "Get that man out of there and check on those other tubes!"
"On it!" The pair responded in unison as they forced open the tube, the Romulan dropping to the deck.
Catching the man as he fell, Ashley guided him gently down to the floor as Rana took out her medical tricorder.
"He's got a high concentration of spores in his system, and I'm also picking up Thorian spores." The asari geneticist declared as she readied a hypo and injected him with it. "That should temporarily arrest the effect of the spores, but he needs to have his system flushed out completely."
"Right." Ashley acknowledged as she tapped her comm badge, "Gamma Team to Gallena. We have a medical emergency. Severe spore contamination. Request immediate beam up to sickbay."
"Understood." Samantha responded, "Any others?"
Heaving a sigh as she gazed at all the tubes, Ashley answered back, "Rana and Dixie are checking on that now." Hearing her name being called out, she requested, "Wait one." Now speaking to her teammates, the dark-haired Starfleet officer shouted, "What have you got?"
"Four bodies." Rana replied somberly, "All dead. I'd have to do an autopsy, but if you want me to take a guess, I'd say that there might be compatibility problems between the Elachi and Thorian spores."
"Did you catch that Gallena?" Ashley remarked, tapping her comm badge.
"We heard." V'lana responded, "Tag the tubes for transport. We'll beam them up to sickbay." Ashley could then hear the Romulan Commander issuing orders, "I want a level ten confinement field set up for anything we beam up from that ship and full decontamination protocols observed."
"Nelia?" Ashley called out, tapping her comm badge again, "You catch that?"
"Yeah." The commander of the Spoiled Princess responded, "When your teams beam back to the ship, I want all of you to undergo a complete decon. You'll remain in quarantine until you've been cleared. Copy?"
"Aye." Ashley acknowledged. "I'll relay that to the other teams."
"Thanks." Nelia answered back, adding, "And Ash…be careful…all of you."
"We will." Ashley responded as she closed the comm channel. Turning to her team, she commanded, "You heard the bosses. Let's get these tubes ready for transit and finish securing the area. We've done our job. Now…it's all on Alpha and Beta teams."
Alpha Team
"That should be the turbolift to the bridge." Tovan declared as he and his team reached a door at the end of the corridor.
"I'd say so judging by the increased opposition." Shelana agreed, further cautioning, "If we take this lift, it's a sure bet that they're going to have a warm reception waiting for us the moment those doors open up on to the bridge."
"I'm open to suggestions." Tovan replied.
"There must be an alternate means of getting to the bridge." Liara surmised before turning her attention to the mobile AI, "Edi? Can you access a layout of the ship?"
The android responded, "I might be able to access some ship systems through a local terminal." Several moments later, she announced. "I have found a second turbolift located fifty meters starboard. It is used for freight and…" after a brief pause, she continued in a cautionary tone, "…test subjects."
"Why don't I like the sound of that." Tovan grumbled before inquiring, "Can you call up a manifest of cargo and these test subjects?"
"One moment." Edi responded, answering moments later, "Cargo consists of what is labeled as 'experimental technology' and test subjects….three Romulan…one human…one…salarian. All but one of the Romulans reported as negatives…deceased. The one Romulan survivor…process successfully begun."
"Whatever 'process' means…it doesn't sound good." Liara commented worriedly
"The Romulan survivor must be the one Gamma Team pulled from the tube." Tovan surmised, grimly concluding, "Liara is correct. We have to find out what the Elachi are doing."
"We might find some answers before reaching the bridge." Edi suggested, "The alternate route from the second turbolift will take us close to the science labs."
"Detour then." Tovan immediately decided, "Science labs first, and then the bridge." Tapping his comm badge, the Romulan subcommander hailed, "Gamma Team."
"This is Gamma Team. Go." Ashley promptly responded
"What's your status?"
"Area secured." Ashley answered back, "Do you need assistance?"
"We do." Tovan affirmed, a plan taking shape in his mind as he spoke, "The bridge is going to be heavily fortified. One team alone won't be able to take it without heavy casualties. But two teams…"
"Just might be able to pull it off." Ashley finished, "What do you need us to do?"
"Here's the plan." Tovan replied, detailing his scheme. "Can you do it?"
"We can do it." Ashley affirmed.
"Excellent." The Romulan subcommander acknowledged, "Alpha Team will go through the back door and then once the Elachi have committed themselves…"
"We barge in through the front." Ashley finished, further declaring, "We'll be ready when you give the word. Gamma Team out."
Again tapping his comm badge, Tovan called out, "Beta Team…status?"
"Just cleared up the last of the opposition before engineering." Miranda reported, "Hard fighting, but nothing we couldn't manage."
"Very good." Tovan replied, "We need engineering secured as soon as possible. We can't risk the Elachi overloading their warp core. Gamma Team has secured its objective and we're preparing to take the bridge. "
"Understood." Miranda acknowledged, "We're on our way. Beta Team out."
Turning to his team, the Romulan subcommander motioned in the direction of the alternate turbolift, "Everyone ready?"
Responding for her teammates, Shelana replied, "Let's get this done."
Beta Team
"Go get them Chatika!" Tali shouted as she activated her combat drone, now upgraded where its holographic image as an apparently cuddly rodent with sharp teeth, sending it towards several Elachi soldiers led by a beta.
Smiling as his quarian friend's drone flushed the beta out of his position, Vega pressed the firing button of his plasma rifle, smiling in satisfaction as the Elachi's head exploded in a green mist. "Got ya' you son of a bitch."
"Take that, you walking fungi!" Twesata sneered as she activated a cryonic pulse, freezing a pair of Elachi soldiers, making them prime targets for Miranda as she biotically slammed them to the floor, instantly shattering them into small pieces.
"Watch out for those drones!" Vega shouted, firing his plasma assault rifle at a pair of toxic gas spewing bots, his energy bolts stopping both of them in their tracks.
"Good shooting, Beef Boy." Twesata smirked, referring to the Alliance marine by his new nickname.
"Not so bad yourself, Bad Girl." Vega bantered back as the team advanced into engineering. Hearing the clamor of alarm klaxons, the Alliance marine commented, "I don't like the sound of that."
"Tali? Twesata?" Miranda called out to the engineer and science officer. "What's going on here?"
"Self-destruct protocol!" Twesata shouted back. "They've initiated a cascade effect on the warp core. If we don't stop it now…"
"Boom?" Vega yelped.
"Boom." The leggy Betazoid responded as she and her quarian teammate at once dashed to the engineering console. "I'll try to hack into their systems…" Twesata declared, Tali nodding her head as she also sprang into action.
"Good. While you're doing that, I'm going to reinforce the magnetic containment fields."
"Gonna have to go into the warp pod to do that." Twesata advised, further cautioning, "If I can't get into that computer…"
"The pod will be jettisoned with me in it." Tali finished with a somber tone to her voice, "That's the risk we're going to have to take. If I don't get those fields stabilized…"
"Boom?" Vega interjected in a mournful tone.
"Boom.' Tali affirmed. Taking a deep breath, she announced, "I better get to work. Miri?" The young quarian pleaded, "If something happens…"
Lowering her head, the Australian biotic vowed, "I'll tell Tovan."
"Thanks." Squaring her shoulders, the young quarian approached the pod, "Time to go to work. Ready, Twes?"
Nodding her head, Twesata responded, "Ready when you are."
"Let's do this." Tali exclaimed as she entered the pod, quickly going to work as her companion began her struggle with the computer.
"Damn." Twesata swore under her breath as she worked vigorously to break through the Elachi computer's defenses.
"What's wrong?" Vega asked with a worried frown.
"Fucking firewalls and ICE programs." Twesata bit back, "I've never seen anything like them before."
"Can you break through?" Miranda asked as the noise from the klaxons grew louder.
"Yeah." The Betazoid hacker responded. Her lips turning up in a wicked grin, she purred at the computer, "Got you now."
"How're you doing, Sparks?" Vega asked, tapping his comm badge.
"Getting hot in here." The young quarian replied, her voice tone beginning to take on a note of urgency. I almost have the containment fields stabilized, but I'm being blocked from finishing the sequence. I need those holds removed."
"Got you—you son of a bitch!" Twesata cried out triumphantly. "Your turn, Tali."
"Magnetic and containment fields stabilized." Tali responded, catching her breath. "Thanks, Twes."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Vega praised the two women, "Good work Bad Girl…Sparks."
"Job's only half done." Twesata remarked, working furiously at the computer as Tali exited the pod. "Now we've got to flush all these fucking spores out of the atmosphere."
"I'll get started on the atmosphere scrubbers while you take care of the O2 levels." Tali instructed as the young quarian took her place behind an engineering console.
"On it." The Betazoid science officer responded, reporting moments later, "I've finished over here. How're you progressing?"
"Done." Tali announced, "Activate the scrubbers."
"Good work, you two." Miranda praised as she tapped her comm badge, "Team Beta to Alpha and Gamma Teams…mission accomplished. Flushing the atmosphere now."
"Good work, Beta Team." Tovan responded, "We're near the science labs. Position Gamma Team?"
"Approaching the main turbolift." Ashley reported, "We'll wait for your signal before proceeding. Good luck!"
"Good luck to you too. Alpha Team out."
Alpha Team
After overcoming the resistance of a few surprised Elachi scientists, Tovan's team surveyed the science lab, their attention at once drawn to a computer terminal monitoring three tubes, each of which was occupied. "This reminds me of what we saw in the Coronado System." Shelana declared in an ominous tone of voice.
"I read your reports." Liara replied, shaking her head, "But to actually see what they've done to these poor people."
"Yeah." Shelana responded with a sigh, "Being assimilated by the Borg is bad enough. But when you throw in that Reaper garbage and now the Elachi and Thorian shit." The Andorian security officer shook her head, "I don't know. I can't figure out their end game. What are they hoping to accomplish?"
"I wish I knew as well." Liara commiserated. "From what I know of the Illusive Man and from what I have read of the different Terran Empires, with the possible exception of the Terran Empire the Belladonna comes from, they're all human supremacists. Why would they align themselves with the Reapers and the Borg? It doesn't make sense."
"Cerberus protocols stressed 'human interests'. Edi declared, joining the discussion. "It is a logical assumption that the Illusive Man with one or more of the Terran Empires would align with the Reapers, Borg, and Elachi, thinking them as tools to be later discarded."
"That's a dangerous assumption to make." Liara replied, conceding, "But…it's also fully in keeping with the Illusive Man's ego."
"It also fits in with the mentality of the Terran Empires." Shelana concurred, "They would view the Elachi and Reapers as being nothing more than a means to an end."
"A grave mistake." Edi concluded, "The Reapers have been in existence for at least a million years."
"And the Borg are relentless and highly adaptable because of their hive mind." Shelana further pointed out. "And as for the Elachi…they're definitely working for someone else. The question is…who?"
"A discussion for another time." Tovan interjected, ending the conversation. "For now, we have a ship to take. Are you ready?"
"About time we got this show on the road." Shelana replied as she charged her phaser rifle. "Just give the word."
Nodding his head, the Romulan subcommander tapped his comm badge. "Beta and Gamma Teams. We are beginning our attack."
"Ready when you are." Ashley responded. "We're at the bridge turbolift now."
"Let us know when you need us." Miranda replied, "Tali and Twesata have come up with a couple of surprises that might help you."
"I can flood their bridge with a fungicide." Tali announced. "Probably not strong enough to kill them, but it should weaken them."
"And I've got access to their computers." Twesata prompted, "Just say the word and I'll turn their defense turrets against them."
"Good work!" Tovan praised as he and his team reached the bridge entrance. "Gamma Team. We're going in. Tali…Twesata…"
"Yeah…yeah…we know what to do." Twesata responded before the young quarian could speak, "Fucking up their computers now. Good luck. Shels…don't forget, you owe me for that thing I got for you."
"Remember, Tovan…" Tali's voice came through the comm, "You're taking me out for a moonslit cruise on the Tryvan River tonight."
"The Tryvan River…huh?" Shelana smirked as she opened the access panel to the door.
Blushing green, Tovan replied, "Yes…I thought she'd enjoy the twin moons."
"I'm sure." The lovely Andorian smirked while Edi quickly opened the door. As the door slid open, the Andorian security officer, readying a photon grenade at the same time as the Romulan team leader hefted a plasma grenade and the android one an EMP called out to the asari biotic. "Liara…can you throw up a biotic shield for us?"
"Ask me to do something difficult." The asari information broker responded as she gathered her strength.
"Everyone set?" Tovan asked, taking a deep breath as the others nodded in assent, the subcommander announced, "On three. One…two…Now!"
Hearing the explosions, Ashley shouted out to her engineer, "How much longer, Dix?"
"Done!" The ex-Cerberus engineer called back as the door slid open. "Tossin' in a couple of drones. That should keep their critters busy."
"Rana?"
"One biotic shield coming up."
"Scoped and dropped." Garrus grimly declared as fired his sniper rifle, bringing down an Elachi beta.
"Good shooting!" Tovan called back as he and the others in his assault group, taking advantage of the distraction, rushed to cover just before Liara's shield collapsed.
"Yes, Garrus." Liara shouted as she fired her phaser, "You came just in time."
"Like always." Ashley jokingly interjected as she fired her rifle. "Rescues are Us."
"Edi, sugar…remember that combo we were working on?" Dixie asked as the android dispatched one of the Elachi drones with an EMP burst.
"The one we were working on before entering the portal?" The AI responded, "Yes. Do you want to try it?"
Gritting her teeth as one of the tentacled drones, leading a team of Elachi soldiers, approached their position, Dixie replied, "Ah think we better before that thing and its pals get here."
"I am ready when you are." Edi answered back.
Taking a spherical device from her kit, Dixie tossed it in front of the drone. "Now, Edi! Hit 'em!"
Shielding her eyes from the resulting explosion, Ashley cried out, "What the hell was that? And…did it get that thing."
"It got it." Liara replied, shaking her head as she witnessed the havoc her teammates had wrought. Hearing a low moan coming from behind a console, the asari archaeologist called out in alarm as she rushed to the wounded Romulan, "It's Tovan! He's been hit."
"I'll be all right." The subcommander declared as green blood flowed from his leg. "The Elachi captain tagged me with a disruptor as I got him with my rifle. Secure the helm."
"Shelana and Ashley are already doing that." Liara declared as she moved immediately to the Romulan's side and quickly began to work on her patient. "Tali would never forgive me if something were to happen to you." She remarked as she took out a hypo. "It's just a mild sedative and also an antibiotic to kill any spores that might have entered through your wound." Taking out her medical tricorder, she scanned her patient as Rana joined her. Turning to her fellow asari, she asked, "Have you dealt with spore contamination before?"
"Yes." Rana replied as she took out her medkit. "First thing is a biofilter sweep to determine the extent of contamination." Nodding her head, she muttered, "As I thought, some spores got through the armor. Good move giving him that anti-fungal treatment. It killed many of them and slowed up reproduction on the others. That'll give the nanites enough time to take care of the rest of the contamination. He'll need a day in sickbay to completely recover." She said as she applied a dermal regenerator to the wound, "But he should be okay."
"Thanks." Liara acknowledged with a slight smile.
"I've got control of the helm." Shelana announced as she sat down at the controls. "How's Tovan?"
"He'll be all right!" Rana shouted back, "But we need to get him to sickbay as soon as we can."
"On it!" Ashley responded, tapping her comm badge, "Williams to Gallena. Objective secured, but we have one injury that needs immediate transport to sickbay—spore contamination."
"Who's the injured?" A worried voice responded.
At once recognizing the voice, Liara joined the conversation, speaking in a soothing tone, "It's Tovan, Commander, but his condition is stable. We just need to be sure that we've gotten all the spores. He should be back on duty in a day—maybe less."
"Thank you." V'lana replied, her voice tinged with relief on hearing that her executive officer would be okay. "Big Brother…we're beaming you straight up to sickbay and you're going to do what the doctors tell you. Acknowledge?"
"Aye, Little Sister." Tovan responded as Tali spoke.
"I told you not to get injured you bosh'tet! I'll be by to see you as soon as I can and if I hear that you're giving Doctors Aven and Chakwas trouble…"
"Message received, e-lev." Tovan answered back with a slight chuckle.
"Good." Tali replied, "I'll see you as soon as I'm able."
"Ready to transport, Big Brother. See you soon. Avesti out."
Watching as the subcommander dematerialized in a green light, Ashley, taking command, addressed her Andorian friend, "Take us back to the fleet, Shels. Time to show off our prize."
A/N: This chapter was growing so long that I had to split it up into multiple parts. I'm hoping to have the second part of this chapter up by the Holidays. Hope everyone enjoys this and if I forget to say this later, have a happy and safe holiday season and a happy and safe New Year.