Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War or Mass Effect frachises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Studios, Epic Games, The Coalition, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their 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.
Feros
Zhu's Hope
February 9th, 2183
Once the problems at the colony had been tended to, much to the colony's relief, Shepard and the others began heading out. "There's an elevator that we can take to get to the garage," Shepard told the others. "Fai Dan informed me of that when I talked to him. The ExoGeni Local HQ is located in a skyscraper on the other side."
"Got it," Marcus nodded. "How do you want to play this, Shepard?"
"You and the others will take point. Wrex, Tali and myself will act as fire support in case one of you three needs to recharge your barriers, or needs a moment to catch your breath. Understood?
"Perfectly.'
"Then let's move out. We'll use the Mako to navigate the skyways and aqueducts connecting the skyscrapers." With that, the team loaded up into the elevator and began to head down to the garage.
. . .
It didn't take long, as the elevator came to a stop around twenty seconds later. When it opened up, though, gunfire was the first thing that assailed their ears. Looking ahead, Marcus spotted a pair of colonists that were taking cover behind a barricade, which was stopping bullets. Leaning to the right, he spotted the source of the fire: two Geth Assault Drones that were flying about in the area.
"Watch out!" one of the colonists shouted.
"Scouts!" another one called out. "They'll be here any minute now!"
"Then take them out!" Marcus shouted. Firing his M-25 a couple of times, he downed the barriers on the Assault Drones, allowing the colonists to take them out.
"Thanks!" one of them shouted at him.
"You're welcome," Marcus nodded. Walking to the Mako, he quickly got inside, with all of the other members of the squad hopping inside of the vehicle. Once more, Marcus was in the back, with Baird and Tali making sure that the vehicle was in top condition, while Garrus, who'd come along to man the main gun, clambered into the vehicle.
"You sure you can handle this thing?" Cole asked him.
"Yeah," Garrus replied. "All Turians receive basic vehicular weapons training in boot camp. After that, we can specialize in whichever role we prove to be more capable at."
"Alright. That's good."
"Same back here," Baird nodded. "Thanks to Tali and Garrus, I can actually handle myself when it comes to this kind of tech." Using his omni-tool, he made a few tweaks to the vehicle that would help increase fuel efficiency.
"Let's go then," Shepard nodded. With that he drove forwards, with the automatic shutters for the garage opening and allowing them to drive outside. As soon as he looked at the video display, he could immediately see the landscape ahead.
According to research that he'd done as they traveled to Feros, the ground level region of Feros was practically uninhabitable, courtesy of a layer of debris, and thick dust that had accumulated down below. Fortunately, the skyscrapers, and the skyways that connected them, were relatively intact, providing a living space and a means of transit to those skyscrapers.
It was this sight that he was seeing right now. The concrete-like material was old, with pitting and gouges in the material, while parts of a skyway up above had collapsed onto the one they were on. The skyways were held up by reinforcing cables and support struts, and while they looked old, it was clear that ExoGeni had reinforced them as best as they could, to ensure they could last longer than they already had.
"You gotta hand it to them Protheans," Cole noted. "They build to last."
"Tell me about it," Marcus nodded. His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted movement on the feed. Moments later, a Geth ship flew over head, slowing down long enough to drop off what appeared to be Armatures onto the walkway, before flying off into the distance. "We've got trouble!" he warned Shepard.
"We see it," Shepard replied. "Tali?"
"Two Armatures and Geth Rocket Troopers," Tali reported. "They might have Geth Juggernauts as well! Be careful! Their missiles will down our barriers and tear through our armor quickly!"
"Mark them and the Armatures as priority targets," Shepard ordered. "Garrus?"
"I'm on it!" Garrus shouted. Moments later, the main gun on the Mako fired, rattling the interior somewhat. "Target hit. No effect!"
"Again!"
Another muted THUMP as the Mako's 150mm railgun fired again. "Barriers down!" Another muted THUMP, then, "Armature down! Incoming missiles!"
Shepard, spotting the missiles, drove hard to the right, causing them to move up the curved section of the skyway and onto what was assumed to be a large pedestrian walkway. The missiles, traveling fast, barely missed them, before exploding harmlessly against the skyway beyond.
Another missile streaked past the Mako, with Shepard dodging the projectile through some clever use of the vehicle's jump jets. The machine gun fired off, with a Geth Rocket Trooper being turned into mulched scrap metal. Before long, all remaining enemy resistance had been neutralized. "All clear!" Garrus reported.
"Nice shooting," Shepard nodded. With that, they continued to move out, the wheels on the Mako rumbling as they advanced.
As they moved out, Tali said, "Shepard, I've picked some some radio chatter. I'm zeroing in, but there's a lot of interference."
Moment's later, the team heard a woman's voice over the vehicle intercom. "The last batch went south. What are they looking for?"
"Probably survivors," Shepard decided. "We'll keep moving forward in the meantime. Let us know if you pick up any more comm chatter."
"Got it," Tali nodded. Looking at Marcus, she asked, "Marcus, what do you think of Shepard's driving?"
"I think it's pretty good given what he's using," Marcus shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Garrus described it as being 'like a drunk nathack.' I was wondering if he was exaggerating or if he was joking. Personally, I think he's right. What about you?"
"This vehicle handles like a dream compared to one I drove. It was a Centaur: four wheeled vehicle with massive tires, a cannon that fired rocket assisted projectiles, and had a cramped interior. They were hard to use, broke down all the time…"
"Sounds like they were pretty terrible."
"Yeah, but they got the job done. As for this vehicle, I do agree in that it handles like a drunken Seeder. Maybe a few improvements could be made." Marcus noticed that, as he said this, Baird got a twinkle in his eyes, and a smile on his face.
Just then, the comm came to life once more. "Any sign of movement. Lizbeth could still be in there. It's only been a few days." As they drove along, the interior angled upwards, indicating they were driving up hill. Even more comm chatter came in. "She's my daughter. I'll wait as long as I have to." With that, they drove into the skyscraper ahead. The interior roadway was a mess, with little to no lighting, piles of debris, and a few fires here and there. Turning on the lights for the Mako, Shepard began to expertly drive the vehicle through the place. That was when the comm said, "We've got movement… some kind of vehicle. Not Geth, though."
"Whoa! Stop!" Tali shouted. Almost immediately, the vehicle came to a dead stop. "Shepard, whoever said that probably spotted us. I think it's safe to say that there are survivors!"
"Good call," Shepard replied. "I nearly didn't catch that. We'll head out and make contact." Hitting the hatch icon, Shepard got up, just as the door to the exterior opened. Getting out, he looked around. It wasn't long before he spotted a ramp leading down into a room that he'd driven past a few meters. Walking down the ramp, he nearly reached for his gun when he spotted a number of weapons pointed in his direction. They're getting paranoid, he realized, but not without reason. The Geth are relentless when they assault a target.
"Little jumpy, aren't they," Garrus frowned.
"Not really," Baird frowned. "When we dealt with the Locust, we were jumpier than this. They could come out anywhere, anytime."
"How?"
"They dug tunnels underneath the ground. That's how."
"I can see where you're coming from."
"Yep."
Marcus and Shepard, however, were looking around the interior of the room they were in. Looking around, they got a good idea of what was going on in here. From what the duo could tell, a number of armed guards, and ExoGeni personnel, had fled here when the fighting got bad. He could see crates of food and water, though they were nearly out of both. Guards in heavy armor patrolled the premises.
That left two people, both of whom were wearing science uniforms. One of them was a woman with graying black hair, age wrinkles on her face, as well as kind brown eyes. The other was a man of Asian descent, with suspicious dark brown eyes that swept the area cautiously. A handgun was in his hands, though it was shaking as he held it. As soon as he spotted Shepard and the others, he pointed his weapon and shouted, "That's close enough!"
"Relax, Jeong," the woman said to the man. "They're obviously not Geth!"
"Get back, Juliana!" the now identified Jeong snapped at the woman. "Who are you? What do you want?"
High strung, Shepard thought to himself. I'll need to be careful here. Clearing his throat, he said, "Commander Shepard. I'm here to remove your Geth problem."
"And to make sure they don't come back," Marcus added.
"You see?" Juliana beamed. "You worry too much."
"And you trust too easily, Juliana," Jeong snapped back.
"I'm just glad to see a friendly face," Juliana continued. "I thought we were the only humans left on the planet."
"Fai Dan, and some of the members of Zhu's Hope are still alive," Shepard confirmed.
"I thought you said they were all dead," Juliana said to Jeong, an angry undertone in her voice.
"I said they were probably all dead," Jeong countered. "There's a difference."
"They're alive, but the Geth are really fucking them over," Baird confirmed. "We helped them out with a few things, but they've been acting odd. Any idea as to why?"
"Probably due to the stress of fighting," Juliana remarked. " I can sympathize with them, though, because we know what's that like. Those damn synthetics are relentless!"
"We'll do whatever we can to keep them away from you," Shepard nodded, "but we'll need information and details to do that."
"What kind of information?" Jeong asked.
"Ignore him," Juliana interrupted. "The Geth are up at the ExoGeni Local Headquarters just a bit further along the skyway."
"Those headquarters are private property, soldier. Remove the Geth and nothing else."
"I'm not interested in your company's secrets," Shepard reassured the frazzled corporate exec. I'm certain that Baird would be interested, though, he noted to himself. That man is quite curious, and he's seen enough to know when someone's bullshitting him. Behind him, Baird was already frowning at Jeong.
"Commander, before you go," Juliana asked pleadingly. "My daughter Lizbeth… she's missing."
"They shouldn't waste time poking around," Jeong said coldly. "We can do a proper accounting of our casualties after the Geth are gone."
Juliana, upon hearing this, was angry and close to tears. "That's my daughter you're talking about!" she shouted, tears in her eyes. "She's still alive! I know it!"
"Do you have any ideas as to where she is?" Shepard asked.
"She was working in the ExoGeni buildings when the Geth attacked," Juliana replied.
"Oh, yeah," Jeong remarked. "There are several places where she could hide. For a short time."
"I'll make sure I get her out of there," Shepard nodded.
"Thank you," Juliana breathed, relief on her face.
While Shepard and the others were talking, the Gears were taking a look around. Baird, who was curious as to the state of their supplies, was looking at what they had. Not much, he frowned. They've only got enough food and supplies to last for a few more days. If that's the case, then they're lucky that we came. Still, I don't like that fucking exec, Jeong. There's something slimy about him.
His train of thought was interrupted when he heard someone walking over. Turning to his left, he saw a man with blond hair walking over. "Excuse me, sir," the man asked. "Would you mind if you retrieved something for me?"
"What kind of something?" Baird asked. "Also, why are you asking?"
"I need you to retrieve some data. It's not a big job, but it pays well. As for why I'm asking you, it's a dangerous job. If I went back as I am, I would probably die a horrible death. You, however, have what looks like very strong armor plating, and a good weapon. You'd stand an infinitely better chance than I would."
Hhmm… practical, Baird noted. I can get with that. "Alright. Let's assume that I'll say yes, which I might. If I do, what do I do and what kind of remuneration am I looking at?"
All you need to do is find my console at ExoGeni's Local HQ and drop the data into this OSD. It's that simple."
"I see…," Baird mused. It looks like a very easy job, though like he said, the Geth are complicating it. Perhaps this might be the start of something bigger. "Alright. I'll get it for you, Mr…?"
"Gavin, Gavin Hossle."
"Very well then, Gavin. I'll get the info you need."
"Thank you. That data could be worth a lot of money. Of course, that depends on if we get out of here alive and well."
"True. You do work like this all the time?"
"Yes. I'm a freelancer."
"Interesting. I'll see what I can do." Hearing Shepard calling him, Baird said, "I've got to go now. See you when I get back."
As Gavin returned to his business, Shepard and the others left for the Mako. Once they were inside, they began to drive off. As they did so, Baird said, "I don't like Jeong. There's something fucking slimy about him."
"I agree," Marcus nodded. "Something tells me that he's up to no good." Looking at Shepard, he asked, "What about you?"
"Same," Shepard nodded. "I got the same feeling. We'll deal with that bridge when we come to it. Right now, we've got to deal with the Geth."
"Copy that."
. . .
Getting to ExoGeni's Local HQ wasn't a picnic at all. The Geth were literally swarming over the skyway leading to the headquarters. As soon as they drove out of the skyscraper, the shutter door opened to reveal a Geth Armature, and a cluster of Geth forces, behind what appeared to be tank traps and barricades. "Watch it!" Tali shouted as the Geth fired rockets and plasma boli.
Spotting the danger, Shepard drove around the incoming fire, while Garrus fired off the main gun and machine gun. Geth Rocket Troopers were ripped apart by high velocity mass accelerator fire, while a slug smashed into the Armature's barriers, greatly weakening them. The vehicle was jolted as a bolus of plasma splashed against the armor, heating up a portion of it while weakening the barriers. "Baird!" Shepard shouted. "Keep the Mako working! I do not wish this thing to be my grave!"
"I'm trying! Get off my back!" Baird shouted. As he said this, Shepard drove to the right and up onto the walkway of the skyway, allowing him to get behind the Armature and the Geth. Another slug smashed into the Geth Armature, with this one having the desired effect.
This continued for the entire skyway, as the Geth had fortified it greatly. Eventually, though, they were able to get to ExoGeni's Local HQ. Once they moved through the shutter doors, they found that the Mako wouldn't be able to get through. The architecture of the entrance was only wide enough for two people moving side by side to get through. "Well, shit," Shepard growled. "Just like on Therum. We'll have to go in on foot."
"Fuck, this figures," Baird grumbled.
"Hey, hey!" Cole beamed. "It's just another opportunity to show these Geth how the Cole Train rolls!"
"Are you naturally this exuberant?" Wrex asked.
"Shit yeah, baby!" Cole nodded. "Besides, them Geth'll have to try harder than this to stop me! I'm a force of nature! WHOO!"
"Alright, everyone out," Shepard ordered. "Remember what I said last time at the tower. Move out."
With that, everyone got out of the APC, weapons primed and ready. Using a hand motion, Shepard ordered Marcus and the others to advance forwards, with the Gears quickly moving up, rifles aimed and ready. Taking a moment to look inside, they advanced through the opening and into the skyscraper.
As soon as they did, Marcus spotted a flash of movement, almost too fast for his eyes to catch. Reacting instinctively, he fired a burst of shots where he thought the flash had landed. One of the bullets must've hit it's mark, as he heard a loud, electronic squeal moments later. Seconds later, a flash of movement appeared, before resolving into a Geth Sapper. A large patch of it's chest looked like someone had used a circular cutter on the paint, indicating a successful hit and detonation.
"INCOMING!" Baird shouted. Firing the M-130 he had, he successfully blasted the Geth Sapper apart. "Gotcha, you sneaky fucker!"
"Bring it on, baby!" Cole shouted. With that, all three Gears quickly got into cover, with Shepard, Tali and Wrex doing the same. Popping out, Cole fired on a Geth Trooper that was moving towards their position, forcing it to take cover.
"FRAG OUT!" Shepard shouted, tossing a grenade over to where the Geth were at. One Platform, spotting the threat, tried to throw the grenade back, only for the grenade to detonate in it's hands. It, and another platform, were ripped apart by the ensuing explosion. "Damnit!" he shouted as his rifle overheated. "Tali! Get that fucking Sapper!"
"On it!" Tali nodded. Spotting the troublesome Geth, she fired off a sabotage attack, preventing the platform from firing it's main weapon. Wrex claimed that kill, shooting it's optics out with his own assault rifle.
Spotting the distraction, Cole leaned out and fired his M-15, blasting apart a few more Geth with high powered HESH rounds. At the same time, Tali lit a Geth on fire, just as Baird unleashed an overload attack. The resulting combination led to a massive detonation that ripped the Geth Saboteur apart. That ended the battle, as that was the last Geth to deal with.
"WHOA!" Tali shouted. "Did you see that?!"
"I did," Baird nodded. "Looks like, when we combined our tech attacks, they synergized, creating an even more powerful attack. If we do things right, we might be able to do that more often."
"Definitely," Tali beamed.
Spotting a nearby door, Baird walked up to it, noting the keypad indicated that the door was locked. Using his omni-tool, he hacked into the controls, before opening up the door. Just as he walked inside, he looked to his left, and spotted a pod-like shape on the ground. "Aw, shit!" he groaned.
Just as he did, the shape unfolded, revealing an Armature that had gotten stuffed into the room. Deciding that running was better than fighting, Baird let out a shout as he stumbled backwards, before throwing himself behind the doorway's frame, avoiding a plasma bolus as he did so. "Cole!" he shouted.
"I got it!" Cole shouted. Pulling out the Boomshot, he fired the four remaining grenades at the Armature. All four grenades detonated on impact, downing the Armature's barriers and blasting through it's armor. It fell down a moment later, a mournful moan coming from it as it did so. "You just got flattened by the Cole Train! WHOOOO!"
Shepard, having seen Cole fire the Boomshot, came over to Baird and extended a hand. Baird, looking up, grabbed it, with Shepard hefting the Gear to his feet. "You OK?" he asked.
"Yeah," Baird nodded. "Just got scared by a fucking jack-in-the-box. Cole took care of it, though."
"Good," Shepard nodded. "If you see any locked doors like that next time, have Cole or Wrex with you. Deal?"
"Deal. Now let's get to the rest of the fucking place." With that, they proceeded towards the stairwell that would take them further into the building.
Unfortunately, the Geth had been busy here as well, as when Shepard approached, he noticed a blue glowing barrier that prevented access. "Well, shit," he growled. "Looks like they've got some kind of barrier here. Any ideas?"
"I've got one," Marcus informed the others. Coming over to where he was at, they could see a tunnel that was accessible via a short drop. "One way drop," he informed them, "but it'll get us to where we need to go."
"Good enough for me."
Dropping down, the team moved forwards. Entering a large, water filled chamber, they found a dead Varren lying on the ground. Shepard was about to have the others remain vigilant when a shot ran out, a bullet zipping past the members of the group. "Damnit!" a woman shouted. Weapon aimed, Shepard watched as a woman with dark brown hair and brown eyes walked out, a pistol in her hand. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I thought you were Varren, or one of those Geth."
"Man, people really like shooting at us nowadays," Baird frowned.
"Yeah," Marcus nodded. "Dipshits."
"It's safe now," Shepard reassured her, "but why are you out here in the first place?"
"It's my fault," the woman, obviously Lizbeth, replied. "Everyone else was running, and I stayed to back up some data. Next thing I knew, the Geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked."
"The Geth can latch onto buildings?" Shepard asked Tali.
"Yes," Tali replied. "I've seen it happen in footage on the Geth Rebellions. They use large claws to anchor their ships to the sides of buildings. You'd need heavy ordinance to destroy them."
"Hah!" Cole beamed, hefting his Boomshot. "Ain't nothin' a Boomshot won't fix!"
"Not in this case," Tali frowned. "You'd need bigger explosives for that."
"Damn."
"I know. You'll get your chance at some point."
"We'll get you out as soon as we find out what the Geth are after," Shepard reassured Lizbeth.
"It's not the Geth," Lizbeth explained. "It's the energy barrier they put up. They don't want anyone getting access to -" A moment later, she stopped, as though someone had told her not to say anything.
Shepard, though, was insistent. "I'm here to stop the Geth. That also means I have to find out what they're after."
"I don't know for certain, but I think they're after the Thorian."
"What's the Thorian?" Wrex asked.
"It's an indigenous life form. ExoGeni was studying it."
"What else can you tell me? Do you know where to find this Thorian?" Shepard asked.
"I might be able to, but not with those Geth crawling around everywhere," Lizbeth replied. "Look, we need to get out of here, past that field."
"Fair enough," Shepard nodded. "Do you know how we can shut it down?"
"No, not exactly. But I think the Geth ship is powering it. I've noticed the Geth laying power cables everywhere. You could follow those cables, but the Geth are everywhere."
"Tell me about it," Shepard shrugged. Looking at Marcus and the others, he said, "Marcus, Cole, Baird, take point. We'll keep moving and providing support like -" He was promptly interrupted when Marcus fired at something. Looking behind the group, Shepard watched as a large pack of Varren charged at them. At that, everyone fired their weapons rapidly, killing as many of the Varren as they could.
Just then, one jumped at Marcus, only for a white-black blur to tackle it out of the air. Looking to his left, Marcus watched as the Varren that had followed him earlier fought and struggled against the last survivor of the failed attack. The two creatures clawed and bit at each other, but the one following Marcus was successful in the end. Grabbing onto the attacking Varren's mouth, the one following Marcus ripped it's throat out, causing blood to gush everywhere onto the ground, and into the stagnant water in the structure.
"Damn," Cole whistled, eyebrows rising. "Your new friend really did a number on 'em!"
"Where'd that Varren come from?" Wrex asked. "They don't usually do that without a good reason."
"Back at Zhu's hope, I put a Varren down due to a really bad case of worms it had," Marcus explained. "This guy came along as a result." As he said this, the Varren in question came over, chortling as Marcus scratched it's head.
"That explains," Wrex remarked. "Varren are like the furred animals from your species homeoword, dogs if I recall correctly. They can tell if someone can be followed, or if they're not trustworthy. My guess is that the Varren following you does so because it trusts you. Plus, you did put a member of it's pack that was suffering out of it's misery. That enough can cause a Varren, if not a whole pack, to follow you."
Looking at the Varren in question, Marcus nodded, gaining a new respect for the creature that was following him. Bending down, he said, "Alright. You need a name… How about… Tai? That name belonged to a warrior I had the privilege of working with. Sound good?"Apparently, the Varren approved, as it barked happily. "Good." With that, Marcus stood up, while the now named Tai stayed by his side, chortling happily as it rubbed his left leg.
With the Varren pack dealt with, they began to ascend some stairs. They stopped for a moment when an angry Krogan voice shouted. "Stupid machine! Access restricted files! No, I don't want to review protocol!"
Reaching the top of the stairs, Shepard and Marcus leaned out to see what the commotion was about. Up ahead, through a small corridor, was a small room that had a server bank, as well as a holographic projector that displayed an image of a male human being. Nearby was a Krogan wearing heavy armor, and was showing that he was clearly irritated.
"I am unable to comply," the VI, as that was what it clearly was, replied. "Please contact your supervisor."
"Damnit!" the Krogan snarled. "Tell me what I want, or I'll blast your virtual ass into actual dust!"
The VI, in reply, calmly said, "Please contact your supervisor for a Level 4 security exemption, or make an appointment with -"
"STUPID MACHINE!"
"If there is nothing else, please step aside. There is a queue forming behind you for the use of this console."
"Shit!" Shepard grunted.
"Oh, good," the Krogan snarled. "I really need to kill someo -" Just as the Krogan said this, his head exploded as a bolt tore into it, before detonating.
"Shut up," Baird grunted. With that, the team moved inside, with Baird stepping on and over the corpse as a show of his contempt for the alien.
The VI nonchalantly remarked, "ExoGeni Corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden." Noticing Shepard, it said in a pleasant voice. "Welcome back, Research Assistant Elizabeth Baynham. What can I do for you?"
"What information was the Krogan attempting to access?" Shepard asked.
"The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of Species 37, also known as the Thorian."
"Tell me everything you told the Krogan."
"I was unable to provide the previous user with relevant data. Aside from lacking proper access, there has been no new data on Species 37. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been inactive for several maintenance cycles."
"What?" Baird asked, surprised. "What the hell does that mean? They were spying on Zhu's Hope?"
"Let's find out," Shepard remarked. Turning to the VI, he asked, "What does Zhu's Hope have to do with the Thorian?"
"Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu's Hope outpost," the VI replied.
"That explains the Geth attack on the colony," Baird noted, then an epiphany came to him. "But… wait… wait a minute. What if those spores that Tali's omni-tool detected, and the biohazard Marcus' armor detected, are from the Thorian? If that's the case…"
Everyone was silent as they processed this information. It was Marcus, however, that voiced his opinion first, and he was not happy. "SONS OF FUCKING BITCHES!" he snarled, kicked at a wall hard enough that it cracked under the blow. Calming down, he snarled, "It's just like New Hope all over again!"
"New Hope?" Shepard asked.
"New Hope Research Facility," Baird explained. "Marcus told me a bit about it. The COG was experimenting with ways to cure a disease that miners were suffering from: Rustlung. It comes about when Imulsion infects a persons body via the lungs. When they cough, the mucus that comes out looks exactly like rust, hence the name. The scientists, though, were turning kids into fucking monsters there."
"Son of a bitch," Shepard frowned. "No wonder the colonists were acting so odd: they were likely under the spores influence." Deciding to check with the VI, he he said, "Tell me everything you know about the Thorian."
"The Thorian is a simple plant lifeform that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon to other flora," the VI explained. "Through dispersion, and eventual inhalation of of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including Humans. The Zhu's Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85% of all test subjects were infected."
Fucking hell, Shepard frowned. I was right.
"Keelah," Tali whispered. "And to think that we never realized it."
"Damn bastards!" Wrex growled, surprising the others. "This is the kind of shit that the Salarians pulled with the Genophage! Looks like some humans are too dumb to learn from what happened to my kind."
"Apparently," Baird agreed, disgruntled by what he'd learned as well. "Looks like stupidity is in as much abundance here as it was back at Sera. Is the Universe intentionally trying to fuck us over like that?"
"Sounds like it," Marcus shrugged.
"Someone's gonna pay!" Cole shouted, his anger nearly matching that when he heard that Dom had died. "Someone's gonna fucking pay!"
"We'll make them pay soon enough," Shepard nodded. Looking at the file for Lizbeth, he said, "Look at this. Lizbeth is currently on administrative probation. From what I can tell, she objected to using the Thorian's spores on the colonists. Just before the power cut, she began preparing a message to send to Colonial Affairs back at Earth."
"Sounds like she's the only sensible person they've got," Baird noted.
"We need to contact Joker," Marcus decided.
"Good idea," Shepard nodded. Keying his comm, he said, "Joker! Come in, Joker! Damnit! That field's blocking the signal!"
"We need to get rid of that field and back to Zhu's Hope," Tali deduced.
"VI," Shepard asked, "what can you tell me about the field that the Geth ship is generating?"
"I have limited data on the Geth," the VI replied. "They have effectively blocked all sensors within the facility. I have detected some unusual power fluctuations, but I am unable to detect the source."
"I'm done for now," Shepard replied. Turning to the others, he said, "It's time that we destroy that Geth ship. Anyone have ideas?"
"We'll need to sever it's anchor claws," Tali remarked. "But I'm not sure we can find anything that can do that."
That was when Baird's memory jogged. "Wait a minute," he beamed, snapping his fingers. "I've got an idea!"
"Do tell," Shepard encouraged him.
"While we were moving inside, I looked up at that odd thing on the building we're in, which I now know is the Geth ship. I thought I saw something inside of what appeared to be a small hangar bay. My guess is that, if it's a claw, we can use the hangar shutters to snip the claw cleanly off." Looking at Tali, he asked, "How many claws do we need to sever to get the ship to fall off?"
"Just one," Tali explained.
"Bingo! We just need to find that claw. Cut, drop, splat, bang, end of story."
"It's a good idea, and I think it's worth trying," Shepard decided. "Come on, guys. Let's go destroy us a Geth ship."
(Author's Q&A)
tymaxion: Thank you. Plus, the Gears have good reason to not take things at face value. Doing that on Sera during the war was liable to get oneself killed.
edboy4926: Thank you.
Guest: Don't know if it's Lambent yet. We'll find out soon as to what it is.
Guest: Wow indeed. Thank you.
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you for your kind words.
RandomReader: All of those are excellent points. That's why, instead of building things in space, you build things on the ground. BattleTech got that right with the use of the Space Defense System, which were primarily ground based naval defense systems. However, the Hammer of Dawn isn't a GARDIAN Laser, it's actually a high powered particle beam, like a PPC or the Ion Cannon from Command & Conquer. Also, I agree that the existing mechs would be modified based on the experiences that the Gears had during the Locust War.
Chronus1326: Thank you.
MarauderPrime12: That you will. I don't plan on excluding the trinket anytime soon.