Chapter 1: Strangers
Attican Beta, Theseus System, Feros approach.
Commander Shepard
Having rescued and recruited Liara, Matriarch Benezia's daughter from being trapped within some Prothean ruins, Shepard ordered Joker to head for Feros. Shepard took her time to speak with Liara at length, then checked in with her other crewmates, alliance and alien both before turning in for a sleep.
After working out and dealing with other matters, she found herself needing time to think before their arrival at Feros. She headed to her quarters, quarters that used to belong to Captain Anderson before he relinquished the Normandy to her command. He said he agreed that it was for the best, but she couldn't get it out of her mind that it was Udina who had pushed him to make the decision. It was a nice ship though, an experiment, but a brillant state of the art ship. She had barely sat down when the door to her quarters opened.
"Commander." The pair in alliance uniform both said. One with the insignia of a Master Sergeant, the other with that of a 2nd Lieutenant.
"I've told you two to drop that shit when I'm not giving orders," Shepard answered with a sigh, pushing her red hair from her face as she leaned back on both hands. "Come in and grab a seat."
The pair stepped in casually and took a seat at the table Anderson had installed for the room and looked around. Shepard still felt out of place making this room her own. It should still be Anderson's.
"So, do you think we can trust the Asari?" The male asked.
I knew this was coming. It wasn't the first time he'd questioned her decision to bring non-Alliance people aboard, people from other races too. "Yes, I've already talked to her. Her name is Liara, try to get along with our allies." It was more of an order from her this time, it was bad enough with one xenophobe onboard.
"Right, right. Because having a Turian on board really makes things much more relaxing. You know what they did in the First Contact war right?" His question wasn't serious, anyone in an Alliance uniform knew what happened, or at least what was reported from their first "war" with another race.
"Stow it Maulden," the female said. "If our cousin here thinks recruiting a Turian and the others is going to benefit the mission, then it's her call. We just have to shut up, follow orders, and get the job done."
"You dislike the other races too, Emelyne?" Shepard asked.
The purple-haired woman spun her chair to the side and kicked her feet up onto the table, casting her amber eyes over to Shepard. "Not all of them, though it's hard for me to find batarians as anything other than monsters."
"Then you'll play nice with the other races on board?" She was just looking for confirmation that the other races wouldn't be agitated. Friction before and on missions was rarely a good thing.
"Got no problem with them. They ain't slavers, they're just like us. Some are assholes, most are good… normal people." Emelyne's view put Shepard's mind at ease, at least one of her cousins wasn't a xenophobe.
"What about you Kaleb, going to get along with the aliens?"
There was a brief pause where Kaleb never took his bright blue eyes off Shepard before he managed to wipe the disgusted look off his face and answer. "Sure, I'll get along with them. So long as they can do their jobs and stay out of my way, I don't have a problem with them."
For fuck… Shepard's jaw clenched before she just fell back onto her bed, Anderson's bed.
"Commander. We're approaching Feros now. No response from our hails," came Joker's voice over the intercom.
"That's never a good sign," Kaleb said, pulling out a comb and tidying up his short, spiky brown hair.
"Joker, take us in and keep trying to contact the colony." Shepard ignored Kaleb's combing as she sat up and got to her feet. "Maulden, gear up. Ingersoll, gear up but remain on the Normandy."
"Ha! Picked over you again," Kaleb gloated as the two headed out.
"For now, just wait until Shepard needs my skills over your bullish ones," Emelyn countered as their family taunting faded as they made their way down to the cargo hold to suit up.
Once they were out of the room Shepard got into her N7 armour and grabbed her kit. An assault rifle and pistol was all she needed. With Kaleb coming along with her, she ordered Garrus and Liara to also suit up. She wanted to see Liara in action, to see if she was more than just a scientist. Asari were all said to be gifted with biotics and Shepard wanted to see how gifted Liara was.
Garrus had already proven his worth when they went to find Liara and was reliable, more than a good shot too. Wrex was something else, she hadn't had the chance to work with a Krogan before, but Wrex was effective. Even the suit confined Quarian was effective, having given the evidence to expose Saren, Shepard couldn't deny her request to join her crew.
"Lt," she addressed Kaiden when she joined her allies. "I want you to be ready to back us up or defend the Normandy if anything goes bad. Have Tali and Williams with you. Wrex and Ingersoll, you two stay with the Normandy at all times. You're a good match with close and long range capabilities."
"Yeah, whatever Shepard," Wrex grumbled, setting his shotgun back and crossing his arms. She knew he wanted to fight, it was apparently what they were born to do.
There was a small thunk as the docking port connected to the Normandy and Shepard ordered her team out. Looking them over, she found herself thinking they'd be fine. Kaleb Maulden was harsh, but he was a fine soldier, deadly to his enemies.
These buildings are just ruins, intel points to them being Prothean though. What does Saren want with this place? They were barely off the docking port when she spotted the welcoming party, a lone, unarmed man.
"We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately," the man told them, his clothing dirty but in otherwise good condition
"Fai Dan the leader here?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, he's our leader. He needs your help to prepare for the Geth. They're making another push. Please, up the stairs past the freighter."
Shepard barely got to open her mouth to ask about the Geth when an explosion behind the stranger sent him soaring past them. Without shields or a biotic barrier, she knew he was dead.
"Contact! Take cover!" Garrus shouted as the ground team began to return fire.
"Take out the one with the rocket!" Shepard ordered.
"On it Shepard," Garrus said, and with one shot from his rifle came his confirmation. "Target eliminated."
With the main threat dealt with, Shepard nodded at Kaleb and both stepped from cover. The sound of their assault rifles filling the docking area with Garrus' harder hitting rifle shots scattered amongst them. Their bullets bit into and caused the Geth to crumble as they lost functionality, falling to the ground with a strange static screech.
They continued to press on, coming up against shields with the Geth taking cover behind them. Grenades and a couple of overloads took down the shields quickly and damaged some of the Geth. But it was when a biotic ability lifted some from behind the more solid cover that Shepard smirked. She had seen this before on vids and demos by human biotics and knew that the only one capable of that feat within the ground team was Liara. They gunned down those stuck floating in the air before they finished off the remaining Geth.
"Now that was smart thinking," Garrus voiced his approval, nodding at Liara.
"Thank you, it was nothing. You three did all the shooting."
"Support roles are just as important, Liara. Let Garrus and Maulden take the front, we'll cover their backs." Liara seemed to perk up at this encouragement.
"Right, let me take all the bullets for you, Commander." Maulden scoffed.
Their push towards the colony was again delayed as the stairs they were forced to climb were infested with more Geth, including the ones that clung to the walls and ceilings.
"I hate these ones!" Garrus growled as he fired away with an assault rifle this time.
"They were outside your dig site, Liara. They were a pain in the rear then too," Shepard confirmed.
"Ass, just say ass," Maulden yelled. "Pain in the fucking ass. Die!" His shotgun blast tore through one's center and the lights on its body dimmed before it even hit the ground.
Even with how much they jumped around and left gouges in the walls from where they settled to return fire, the Geth were all soon broken and strewn over the stairwell. Shepard again took the lead, giving Liara a pat on the shoulder as she pushed onwards, kicking the Geth debris out of the way.
The surface wasn't far beyond and what greeted them was pleasant, humans with barricades and rifles, all pointed their way.
"You're soldiers? Thank god, our numbers were starting to get thin," a weary looking man said as his rifle came to rest, muzzle towards the ground.
God huh, whatever makes you feel safe. "We're Alliance," Shepard said as she came to a halt. "Where's Fai Dan?"
"Oh ah, you can go through the container modules or around them. He's at the other staircase entrance. Geth have been coming from both sides."
"Alright, keep your guns pointed that way, I'll see if we can help Fai Dan," Shepard said, leading her team through the camp as some dust-like particles continuously fell.
"The atmosphere here is terrible." Garrus commented.
"I read the files on Feros, Commander Shepard. It seems that the atmosphere has been fouled with dust since this planet's discovery," Liara added, trying to give a little more information.
"And now humans are settling here? Fuck that, there's got to better worlds than this dust ball," Kaleb had a point, many worlds were more livable.
Shepard took in her surroundings as they walked around the colony, or what small part of it that seemed to be left. She swore the mission brief had said there was a larger population than what she was seeing, but with the Geth attacking she figured they would surely have lost some of their numbers.
Men and women were working or complaining, those that Shepard or Kaleb did reach out to were focused on various things. Water, food, power, things that needed to be fixed or gained in order to help stabilise the colony. Their offers to fetch things from the Normandy were shot down, too advanced, not enough water. Sure that might have been true, but Shepard had figured they'd have jumped at the chance to take some of their consumable supplies, enough for the time being she had enough of.
Eventually they came across an older looking man and an armoured woman having a conversation. When they'd been noticed it was the man that called and motioned to the group. "Oh, Commander. I'm glad they finally sent somebody to help us."
Yes, we were sent to save you. It was surprising to learn that they were the first crew from the Alliance to respond, but Joker had mentioned that there hadn't been any return communication when he was trying to raise them on their approach.
"You're a bit late, aren't you?" the woman answered with a detestable tone as she looked over the ground team with distrusting and wounded eyes.
"Arcelia! Enough. Sorry Commander, everyone's on edge since-"
A noise that Shepard's team had heard on Therum and before seemed to echo from their right.
"Watch out!" Arcelia yelled, "We've got Geth in the tower!"
She and Shepard's team, along with Fai Dan and whoever else was nearby took up defensive positions and readied to fire. Fallen stone pillars, barricades, or the container unit itself all provided excellent cover.
"Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan ordered just as the first shots were fired.
The Geth were in a funnel and now with the aid of military and likewise skilled allies, they were destroyed in mere seconds. Shepard and Garrus were almost made to combat the Geth, with overloads wreaking havoc with their shields and systems.
"Arcelia, keep that staircase covered while I speak with the commander," Fai Dan spoke again once Shepard was with him. "You're not the first one to come and help. There was this young girl, don't know where she came from, but…"
The pause worried Shepard who probed. "But? Come on Fai Dan, I need to know if I'm going to help."
"Yeah, sorry. She went out alone, through the staircase that the Geth just came from."
"She what?! How long ago? Armed?" Shepard demanded to know.
"An hour… a little more than that? And I didn't even see a pistol on her." His answer and the knowledge that this girl was likely unarmed made Shepard move quickly.
"Ground team, we've got a young woman who went out ahead. We're moving out now, stop the Geth from getting reinforcements so close to the colony and if possible, find this girl."
"She's probably dead, I'm not rushing ahead and putting myself in danger," Kaleb said as he slowly checked his equipment over.
"That's an order, Maulden." Her cousin grumbled and rolled his eyes. He was lucky they were related or Shepard would have ordered him back to the Normandy. "Alright, let's move!" She knew the likelihood of finding a living person was low, but they could at least find the body, let her family know where she was so they could fetch her later.
Fighting their way through Geth who were making their way down the old stone staircase again, was tricky. High corners gave the Geth the advantage, but thanks to Liara's biotics they couldn't stay hidden behind cover for long as she drew them out with her singularity. Finishing those ones off was like shooting fish in a barrel.
"Why would you put fish in a barrel?" Garrus asked. "Wait, you were transferring the dead ones in ice."
"Then why were they shooting ice and fish filled barrels?" Liara asked. Shepard and Maulden looked at each other.
"Only a human expression then," Maulden mumbled in response.
As their final enemy fell to the ground with a metallic crunch Shepard was assuming quiet would follow, but instead heard shots further along. She didn't even need to speak as she heard the team's footsteps running along the stonework behind her. Passing two dead varren with a Geth broken and slumped beside the stone archway, she heard the heavy sounds of shotguns not far in the distance. Shepard was fearing the worst for this young woman, but how had she managed to slip past the Geth, and why was the shooting consistent.
Raising her rifle as she rounded the stone column, she was ready to fire. Ready to light up anything that looked remotely Geth or had glowing eyes. Yet the shotgun blasts slowed to a stop. Movement above gave her pause and she readied to fire, only from a hole in the ceiling she saw a large ship move away and small arms fire wouldn't do anything to that thing.
"That was a Geth ship," Garrus commented.
"The ones that attacked us, it dropped them off," Kaleb added.
"Yeah, but…" Shepard's voice trailed off as she looked around them. Stone debris recently cracked and crumbled. Geth with crushed heads, shattered and pierced torsos were laid around the room with some still sparking and smoking.
"You're kidding, that's a fucking Geth Destroyer. I've only ever read about them," Kaleb said in amazement as he knelt down to take a closer look.
"Hang on, you read?" Shepard asked with a smile. She received a middle finger from her cousin.
"Ill discipline. Turian commanders would have him punished for that," Garrus commented.
It was the noise ahead of them and up a small ramp that drew all their attention and refocused the ground team. Remaining Geth, varren perhaps? She hadn't seen the girl so that was outside the possibilities, until Shepard found herself easing her finger off the trigger as she realised that it was a human before them. What the fuck? She found herself thinking as the attire on this young woman was entirely unexpected. Khaki overalls with zippers, one slightly unzipped in the front with another part completely unzipped on one leg, yet the legging was still held up by a buckled strap.
The ground team regarded her with strange looks, even glancing at one another as if making sure they were all seeing the same thing.
"The people in that small town send you?" the girl asked. Her stance was relaxed with her hands on her hips. It was like she didn't even consider them a threat. That or she was overly trusting of fellow humans and their alien friends.
"Negative," Shepard stated, lowering her weapon to point at the ground, her team following her lead. "Fai Dan said there was a young girl who went off on her own. That girl you?"
The girl with long, wild, golden locks nodded. Her clothing reminded Shepard of an engineer crossed with a pilot from historical pictures.
"And this uh," Garrus gestured to the destroyed geth around them, "your doing?"
"Sure was. Packed more of a punch than I thought, but in the end they're just like the robots from Atlas." She examined the group, her hands coming off her hips as she spotted the turian and asari. "Wow, what are you guys? I've never seen… whatever you are before."
"I am Liara, are you injured, did you hit your head?" she asked, showing concern for the human girl.
"Forget getting hit in the head, you did not take out all these Geth alone. And without a weapon? Pff!" Kaleb waved it off and searched around. "Where are the other humans that fell? Where's your squad, or whatever you colonists call yourselves."
"That would be a militia," Garrus answered.
Shepard saw the girl's face twitch at that word. "Maulden, hold your tongue for a while. That goes for you too, Garrus." She put her rifle on her back and stepped towards the stranger. Getting up close she could make out lilac coloured eyes. Strange, impossible for humans unless modified. "Commander Shepard of the Alliance. Are you hurt?"
The girl smiled and shook her head. "Na, I'm fine. I was bringing back some food for a… I forgot his name. Said he hunts varren, whatever they are, for meat. I think I killed a bunch and was bringing a couple back when I heard gunfire. Started running, found some more of the machines so I cut off where they were coming from."
Shepard just nodded, watching the girl as her eyes again turned past her and to her alien allies. She couldn't understand how this apparently lone girl managed to take down so many Geth, and a destroyer too. "You've never seen them before, their races?" Another shake of the head. "Asari," she gestured to Liara. "Turian," she gestured to Garrus while looking at the girl for weapons. No armour or firearms, though her bracelets are a bit much. She observed.
"Look… this is all a bit much. I need to know where I am, the people at Zhu's hope kept calling it Feros." The girl did look confused, worried, and lost.
"You're on a planet called Feros, a human colony world. Were you born on a colony or back on Earth?" Shepard asked
"Earth?" was the response that the girl gave Shepard, one that drew even Kaleb's attention.
"What's your name?" Liara asked.
"Yang Xiao Long." With that she extended her hand to shake Shepard's hand, which is when Shepard noticed that it wasn't an organic hand but a mechanical one.