Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I deeply appreciate it.
I also appreciate your answers to my reviews and questions. They've helped give me ideas, and I really enjoy being able to respond to those reviews. Why I didn't start it sooner, I don't know, but I'm glad that I did.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War or Mass Effect franchises. 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.
SSV Normandy
Alliance Space
February 18th, 2183
Normally, the crew would've headed straight to Noveria, as was their original mandate. The Lambent outbreak on Feros, however, had sent shockwaves throughout the entire Systems Alliance, especially after Baird had delivered his report, and treatment options, when it came to dealing with a possible Lambent outbreak. While the public didn't know much yet, it was projected that soon the news would get out, and that there might be a scare.
As such, the Normandy had to report to an Alliance facility that had been prepared for the event of a biological weapon outbreak. The entire ship had been docked to a quarantined holding bay, and was now being swept up and down to ensure no Imulsion contamination was present. Shepard and his team, along with the crew, also had to submit to a similar process, through which they were rigorously checked from head to toe to make sure they were not contaminated.
That was an irritating time, Shpeard thought to himself. Already, the memories of that day were drifting through his mind. The necessary, but painfully tedious part of a military life.
. . .
One Day Earlier
It had been a couple days since they had to go through decontamination, which Shepard felt was an annoying, but necessary process. Now, he was sitting in a small interviewing room, talking with Admiral Hackett, who had decided to take up the case himself. Hackett was an older man, with gray hair that was starting to turn white in areas as well as skin that was wrinkled through time and the stresses of his lifestyle. His blue-gray eyes seemed to pierce through objects as though they were lasers, and could do the same to people. Contrasting this, however, was an aura of compassion, respect and dignity that many men would've killed to have.
It was also clear to Shepard that Hackett no more enjoyed doing this than he did, which was probably why he wasn't repeating any questions, nor bothering him about any minor details. "While you were at the colony," Hackett was asking, "You noticed odd behaviors from the rest of the colonists, along with Marcus Fenix and the others. Is this typical of Imulsion infection?"
"Not that I know of," Shepard shook his head. "According to Baird, infections from Imulsion are much more obvious than that. My guess is that the Thorian had them under control, and was filtering their thoughts and actions."
"My thoughts exactly," Hackett admitted. "The fact that this Thorian was able to achieve mutualistic symbiosis with the Imulsion is unsettling to me. Do you think there might be more of this Imulsion around the galaxy?"
"I hope not. If there is, then we're going to be dealing with a lot of Lambent outbreaks, and that'll distract us from the real threat."
"The Reapers.'
"Exactly."
Hackett sighed, before pausing the recording his omni-tool was taking. "Normally, I would be as skeptical as the others," he continued. "However, the fact that you have that psychological imprint making you remember that is evidence enough for me." Continuing the recording, he went through the last of the questions that he had to ask Shepard.
In another part of the station, Baird was undergoing a similar debrief, though it was clear that his annoyance with the interviewer was starting to reach a new peak. "Can we stop with the fucking bullshit?" he asked, clearly disgruntled. "Either you are not listening to me, or you're dumber than you look."
"None of us doubt the severity of the situation," the interviewer replied. "We're just making sure that we've got all the details down." After a moment, she asked, "What are the symptoms of Imulsion infection?"
"Didn't I just tel you that not five fucking minutes ago?! Ugh… I swear all of you are dumber than you look. OK, for the last fucking time, Imulsion infection causes a fever, intense muscle pains, delirium, as well as intense coughing with rust colored phlegm. OK? Got it now, dumbass?"
"Relax," the interrogator replied. "I got it now, thank you. One more question before we are finished for the day. Is it possible for Imulsion to infect any other species, such as Turians and Salarians?"
"If it can jump from Locust and other animals to Humans, then you can bet your fucking ass that it can!" Baird growled. "I've seen human beings turned into Formers many times over. You do not want to have an encounter with one if you can help it. If a Turian or, heaven forbid, a Krogan were to become infected…" He trailed off, shivering slightly at the implications.
. . .
Present Day
Thankfully, the interviewing and decontamination finished that day. According to the decon personnel brought aboard the Normandy, the ship was as clean as a whistle, while doctors confirmed the same for the crew. I'm glad we left when we were able to, Shepard thought to himself. Those REMF's were driving me nuts. Now, we can really get to work on what we need to do.
Down below, in the cargo hold, a similar sentiment was accompanying the Gears. Checking over his armor, Marcus frowned when he recalled the 'interview' that he had to undertake. I've seen interrogators better than that, he growled internally. What were those guys? Fucking pansies? If that's their idea of an interrogator, then I am not particularly amused.
His musings were interrupted when he heard someone coming over. Looking up, Marcus watched as Wrex walked over to him, an expression akin to quiet respect on the Krogan's face. "Need something?" Marcus asked.
"Just wanted to make some small talk," Wrex shrugged, "not that I'm good at it."
"That's alright," Marcus nodded. "I'm not the conversationalist type either." Moving a pair of crates over, he sat down on one, while Wrex sat on the other. "What you want to talk about?"
"Kept on thinking on that footage that you and your friends showed us at one point," Wrex replied. "I don't know who taught you Gears how to fight, but they must've been on a level similar to that of my kind. I meant what I said when mentioned that I'd make all four of you Gears honorary Krogan."
"That some kind of big honor among your people?"
"Yes. When someone is made an honorary Krogan, their opinions become just as important. You, Marcus, are probably one of the few people who could fight a whole Clan of Krogan, and probably live to tell the tale. Still, pissing off a Brumak while on foot in order to use it as a power line for a transformer? You've got a quad."
"Tell me about it. I take it you did something similar?"
"Yeah. During one of my rites, I forget which, I had to prove that I was worthy of being a member of Clan Urdnot. They threw everything they had at me. Varren, Killix, you name it, they had it. The Thresher Maw, however, was the biggest one of them all. It swallowed me whole."
"Just like what happened with me and the Riftworm."
"Yeah, but yours was far bigger, and much deadlier. That Thresher Maw was bait compared to that. I remember the slime and acid inside it's throat pushing into my armor as it swallowed me whole. I don't know how, but I managed to maneuver my shotgun, again I forget what it was called, to where I could blast a hole into the side of it's throat and just pulled the trigger."
"I take it that's what killed the thing, eh?"
"Yep. Used that hole as a door to get out. According to a few other Krogan there, I was burned from the acid, with bits of my armor melting off, and my shotgun completely useless. All I could think about was how I was not only alive, but how fucking strong and dumb I had to be to survive something like that. I even roared in celebration of my victory.
"Still, none of that compares to what you guys went through inside of the Riftworm. Many Krogan that I know of, that have had whole limbs blown off and kept going, would have died inside of that thing. How you Gears managed to survive, I do not know."
"Well, it was mostly dumb luck, and Baird being clever with the resources we had on hand. He's right when he's mentioned his intelligent use of free resources. Pulled our asses out of the fire more times than I can count."
"You're lucky to have him," Wrex nodded. "I've seen smart aliens, but never one that combined that intelligence with martial might." The two sat in silence for a few minutes, then he said, "Thanks for the chat, Marcus. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
"Sure," Marcus nodded. With that, Wrex went back to his usual spot in the cargo hold, while Marcus continued to perform some maintenance on his armor.
In another part of the cargo bay, Baird was still tweaking part of the Mako, with his boots sticking out from under it like a pair of roots from a riverbank. This whole suspension design is bullshit, he growled as he made an adjustment. When I get DB Industries going, I'm definitely going to be fixing this shitty design.
Pulling himself out from underneath the vehicle, he opened up his omni-tool and began doing some doodling with the drawing function. While Baird was primarily a Gear, he had gotten some schooling when it came to engineering designs, courtesy of the fact that he was born into a rich and wealthy family. As such, where most Gears would've been quite happy with even a simplistic illustration, Baird's designs were highly detailed, and could readily be turned into a design for a vehicle.
OK… he noted to himself. The barrel's going to be fifty two bore width's long, which should give it a considerable velocity advantage. Definitely will be a railgun for the main gun, but it won't be fucking weak like what the Mako has. Then we'll scrap the wheels for tracks… He went on like this for some time, until a tapping sound interrupted his train of thought.
Looking up, Baird jumped a couple inches when he saw Garrus staring down at him, a curious expression on his face. "Fuck me!" he snarled. "Can you stop doing that, Garrus? You're nearly causing me to shit my pants!"
"Sorry," Garrus replied. "I wasn't attempting to scare you." Looking at the drawing Baird was making, he said, "That's pretty detailed for a simple drawing. Where'd you learn how to do that?"
"One of my uncles taught me," Baird explained. "He wasn't an asshole like my mom and dad were. He actually understood why I wanted to become an engineer; taught me how to do art and how to draw. Imagine his disappointment when my father blackmailed me to join the COG Army."
"I can," Garrus nodded, remembering his previous conversation with the genius Gear. After a moment of awkward silence, he asked, "You want to chat?"
"Yeah," Baird nodded. "Better than working on this piece of shit vehicle. I'll bet you've got plenty of stories. Any good ones?"
"Well… I remember this Salarian geneticist that I was sent to investigate. That case was a bit… disturbing. Not as disturbing as what you went through, but disturbing on another level to me."
"Do tell. Why were you investigating him?"
"I was tasked with tracking black market trade on the Citadel," Garrus explained. "Most of it's harmless. Nothing I needed to pursue, but during the course of my investigation, I noticed an increase in the trade of body parts; organs mostly. We usually get a few of those, but not the numbers that I was seeing. We weren't sure if there was a new black market lab, or if some freak was harvesting organs from citizens."
"Does this happen often, or is this a once in a while kind of thing?"
"Every so often, some lab sells unwanted parts through the black market. But they're not as bad as the psychos."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I remember this one Elcor diplomat we caught in my first year on the job. He was hacking people up and selling their organs. Had the station in a bit of a panic. This case, though, wasn't clear cut. Turns out, there was more going on than we thought."
"Definitely sounds like it," Baird nodded. "What happened?"
"Well, first we got DNA samples and ran tests on them. The weird thing was that they led us to a Turian who was still alive and very much convinced that he'd never lost his liver. After a bit of digging, I discovered this Turian very briefly worked for Dr. Saleon, the geneticist I mentioned earlier."
"Uh oh," Baird frowned. "I think I can see where this is going."
"That's not all," Garrus continued. "So, as you can guess, I went to his lab, hoping to find evidence of cloned organ development, but there was nothing. No Salarian hearts, no Turian livers, not even Krogan testicles."
"What?" Baird asked, disbelief in his eyes. "I've heard of spleen transplants, but that is ridiculous. Krogan testicles? Who in their fucking right mind would want one of those?!"
"Well," Garrus explained, an understanding glint in his eyes, "some Krogan believe that testicle transplants can increase their fertility. Counteract the effects of the Genophage. It doesn't work, but that doesn't stop them from buying. They'll pay up to 10,000 credits for each one, that's 40,000 for a full set." After a moment of silence, he remarked, "Someone's making a killing out there."
"No shit," Baird grunted. "I'll bet whoever sells Krogan testicles is swimming in money right now. Fucking morons. What about the doctor?"
"I brought in some of his employees to interview them. To see if I could get them talk. While I was interviewing one of them, I came across something suspicious."
"You were threatening them," Baird remarked. "Not the best choice for an interrogation method."
"Maybe, maybe not," Garrus admitted. "Either way, it paid off. One of the detainees started bleeding profusely during the interview. We offered to patch him up, but that was when he panicked. Completely broke down and freaked out. It took four of us to hold him down and render him unconscious.
"I ordered an immediate medical examination to find out what was wrong. When the medics examined him, they found incisions and cuts all over his body, and quite a few of them were fresh. That was our big break… and the most disturbing part of the case. These people weren't just employees. They were test tubes. Living, walking test tubes."
While Baird had seen disturbing things, he could clearly see why Garrus thought that case was disturbing. "What?! Dr. Saleon was growing organs inside of those people? That's fucking sick! How'd he even get to do that kind of shit willy nilly?!"
"I felt the exact same way," Garrus nodded in agreement. "I still do, as a matter of fact. That's exactly what he was doing, though. He cloned their organs inside of their own bodies, then he harvested them and sold them right off.
"Most of the victims were poor, so he'd pay them a percentage of the sales, but only if the organs were good. Sometimes, an organ wouldn't grow properly, so he would just leave it inside of them. Most of them were a mess, but only on the inside – hidden were most people couldn't see it."
"That fucking bastard," Baird snarled. "Did you catch him?"
"That's the worst part," Garrus frowned. "He got away."
"What the hell happened?"
"He ran. Blew his lab, grabbed some of his employees, and headed for the nearest space dock. By the time I found out, his ship was already leaving. He threatened to kill his hostages if we tried to stop him.
"I ordered Citadel defense to shoot him down, but C-SEC Headquarters countermanded my orders. They were worried about the hostages, worried about civilian casualties if the ship was destroyed that close to the Citadel. I told them those hostages were dead anyways, that he would make more organs out of them, but they wouldn't listen."
"Damn, that's a shitty situation," Baird remarked. "Still, I can see why they'd try to save those people. Still, don't blow up the ship unless you can get them out. Did they send the military after him?"
"They sent the military after him, but he got away all the same," Garrus frowned. "Yes, they did. I went and told Pallin what I thought of his policies. He said that if I didn't like it, I could quit. I almost did. I though then that all they had to do was disable the ship, stop him from running. Maybe the hostages die, maybe they don't, but at least they stop the bastard responsible for it all.
"The thing is, I started to think about it the way you suggested I think, Baird. Now that I've thought about it, I realized that my earlier orders then would make me as bad as Dr. Saleon himself, or Chairman Prescott from your world. I'd just be a terrorist with a badge, and that's not what the galaxy needs. The galaxy needs someone like Shepard, someone that can get the job done, without risking civilian lives."
Baird nodded silently, though deep down he was applauding Garrus for showing some growth. Hey, looks like there's hope after all, he beamed. If Garrus, an alien that has a strong sense of justice, can see that the direct route isn't always the best one, then that means us dumb Humans can learn the same. "That's good to hear," he simply said a moment later. "Did you find the bastard?"
"I sent out feelers from time to time, hoping to find something," Garrus nodded. "I thought I found him a while back. He'd changed ships and his name to Dr. Heart, something of a joke to him, I guess. I told the military, but they weren't convinced that it was him. I got the transponder frequency for his new ship, but I haven't been able to get anyone to go after him."
"If they think it's not him, then their being stupid bastards," Baird frowned. "I'll ask Shepard if we can pursue him at some point. We'll find the sick bastard and bring him to justice."
"Thank you, Baird. That would mean a lot to me." As he walked away, he said, "You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I'm a good Turian."
"Why do you say that?"
"A good Turian follows orders, including bad ones. He might complain about it, but he carries it out anyways. Me, I wouldn't follow orders like that."
"That doesn't mean your a bad Turian, Garrus. What that means is that you have a conscience, and that you're willing to act on it, even when people tell you not to. Sometimes the right decision isn't the popular one."
"I see…" Garrus' mandibles moved as he contemplated those words. "Thanks, Baird."
"My pleasure," Baird nodded. Huh, that actually helped with my mood, he noted as he went back to work on the Mako. I'm not as grumpy as I was before.
Unfortunately for Baird, it wouldn't be long before his good mood was soured. He was about to head up when Shepard walked over to him. "Hey, Baird?" he asked. "I was wondering if you could come on a mission that Marcus, Carmine and I will be doing."
"Sure," Baird nodded. "What's it about?"
"Apparently, an Alliance probe fell onto the planet of Elatania, in a cluster near Feros' system, when it was shot down by the Geth. Hackett was wondering if we could go pick up it's data module and keep it out of Geth hands. If it falls into their possession…"
"I can see why he'd be worried," Baird frowned. "That could cause a lot of damage if the Geth got their grimy actuators on it. I'll come along."
"Good," Shepard nodded.
. . .
The star system in question turned out to be a two day trip from Feros' star system. When they entered the system Feros was in, they found that there were numerous Alliance WarShips in orbit, and that part of the planet seemed shrouded in dust. From what Shepard could recall, this was because the Council, which rarely bent the rules, decided that areas that were infected with Imulsion were exempt from protection by the Citadel Conventions. As such, the Alliance had done a nuclear bombardment of the area to prevent the Imulsion from spreading to the rest of the planet.
Still, it was a sobering reminder of what had happened down there. I hope we don't ever have to deal with that kind of shit again, he thought as he clambered into the Mako with the others. Things became as serious as they were on Sera down there.
After the Mako had been dropped off on Elatania, Shepard took a moment to look around at the surroundings they were in. From what he could tell, he had ended up in a valley, as to the left and right, he could see towering mountains that loomed over the landscape. Up ahead was what appeared to be a small hill, and he could see smoke coming from up ahead.
"We'll need to be careful here," Baird informed the others. "According to the information I found on this planet, there's a whole ecosystem of microorganisms in the air. If anyone breaths those little shitbags in, they'll begin suffering from anaphylactic shock."
"Good thing we're wearing helmets then," Carmine noted.
"Yeah," Marcus nodded. "Hey, Shepard? Any idea where that probe's at?"
"I found it," Shepard replied. "Looks like it left a large impact crater. Hang on." A moment later, he gunned the throttle, with the Mako quickly moving towards the smoke in question.
When they arrived at the source of the smoke, Shepard found that his guess was right. A large impact trail and crater was present, with the grass around the impact site charred and burnt. The ground was ripped up, with rocks and debris present. Nestled inside of the crater was the probe, with it's front section completely ripped apart, exposing a number of components to the air of an alien world.
"Well, this is it alright," Barid noted, walking over to the probe.
"Where's the data module?" Shepard asked, noticing the lack of the bulky component. "I thought it would've stayed with the probe. I hope the Geth didn't get their hands on it already."
"Wait one," Baird replied. There were a few seconds of silence, then, "Well that is bullshit."
"What?"
"Look at this," Baird grunted, before motioning to the area around them, as well as the socket for the data module. Looking around, Shepard didn't notice a thing at first, then his eyes picked out silhouettes that he didn't recognize. From what he could tell, they appeared to be primates that had evolved to live with the microorganisms. Taking a look at the socket for the module, he frowned when he saw fur inside of the socket.
Marcus, spotting the same, growled, "Well, shit."
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Carmine groaned. "Do we have to check every fucking monkey in the area?"
"Yeah, unfortunately," Baird frowned. "This is not what I signed on to do for sure."
. . .
Eventually, after two hours of fruitless search, they eventually came to what appeared to be a mine-shaft that had been dug by the original surveyors of the planet. The doors were in poor condition, with one of them having frozen in the open position. "Looks like this is the last place we have to search," Shepard noted.
"Good," Baird frowned. "I'm already fucking sick of checking every damn monkey in the area."
"You're not the only one," Marcus frowned. His own nerves were frayed from checking the monkeys, who were mischievous and ran away whenever they tried to check them. Even Carmine was irritated, with the veteran Gear looking at the monkeys with a disgruntled glare.
Much of the mine was spit into numerous chambers, with a small chamber at the end of the main tunnel leading down. Moving down another one, they entered a much larger chamber, which had likely been used for storing ores and the like. It was already completely empty, with two doors in the back being the only other things there. "We'll split up," Shepard decided. "Marcus, you and Baird go that way. Carmine, you're with me."
"Got it," Marcus nodded. Moving to the door on the right, he forced it open, before traveling into the room beyond. It was pitch black inside, with only the lights on their helmets and weapons illuminating the room.
Just as they entered, there was a terrific shriek, with a monkey rushing past them. Lashing out, Marcus grabbed the creature, before spotting something in it's hands. Dropping his M-15 Lancer, he snatched it from the creature and examined it. "Baird, I think this is it!" he shouted.
Examining it, Baird said, "Thank the Allfathers! It's the data module, and intact too. Maybe we can -"
"Uh, guys, I got news," Carmine frowned as he saw contacts on his HUD. "That's not search and recover!"
Leaning out, Marcus spotted the tell-tale glow of Geth sensors. "Aw, shit!"
"Open fire!" Shepard shouted.
Bullets tore through the air, with the pitch black cave being illuminated by each muzzle flash. Much like a strobe light, the flashes of light caught the movements of each one of the combatants as though it was a still shot. Still, the firefight was intense, with multiple combatants engaging at once.
Turning on his own flashlight, Marcus gunned down a Geth Trooper, before he used his chainsaw to cut through another one in his way. Knocking it to the ground, he fired his rifle again, just as something whizzed past him. A moment later, there was a loud explosion, with a Geth Juggernaut being blasted in half. Thankfully, that was the last one, as Marcus could see no more Geth.
"That was close," Shepard frowned.
"Not really," Marcus nodded. "Let's get out of here. I'm already sick of this fucking place."
"Deal."
. . .
There was one last thing they did just before they left. Just as they were leaving, Joker came in over the comm. "Commander, I'm getting an odd signal from an area near where you landed. Sending the coordinates now." A moment later, Shepard watched as a small question mark appeared on the map.
"We've got time," he decided. "We'll check it out." With that, he drove over the rocky terrain and towards the anomaly in question. It was when they arrived that he found the source of whatever was going on.
It looked like a Prothean device, but unlike most, which had nothing noteworthy, this one did. In the center of a circular platform, surrounded by three pillars, was a sphere, about half as tall as a human being, and roughly as wide as a Varren's body length. What had his attention, however, was that it had a mirror-like finish, with time, apparently, having been unable to scratch or otherwise damage this object. "Baird, you see this?" he asked.
"I do," Baird nodded. "That's gotta be Prothean technology, or I'm spewing shit out of my ass."
"Looks like it," Marcus nodded. "Carmine?"
"Definitely," Carmine nodded. "Any ideas?"
"How about we investigate it?" Shepard suggested.
"Good idea," Baird nodded. "Just be ready in case something really strange happens." With that, they drove closer, before disembarking from the vehicle.
Walking towards the vehicle, Shepard noticed that there was a small slot underneath the globe, which began to hover once they were close enough to it. Marcus, spotting it, remembered the trinket that Sha'ira gave him. "Try using this," he suggested, handing said trinket to Shepard. When Shepard walked over, he found that it was a perfect match. There was a loud noise, all of a sudden, with the sphere giving off a green energy once he pit it into the slot. At that moment, Shepard fell unconscious. "SHEPARD!" Marcus shouted.
"Hang on," Baird grunted, scanning Shepard with his omni-tool. "He'll be OK. From what I can tell, it's stimulating his hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. It's not as severe as that Prothean Beacon. He'll be no worse for wear."
"I hope so," Marcus grunted.
True enough, Shepard came out of it none the worse for wear. Waking up, he asked, "How long was I out?"
"About fifteen minutes," Baird noted. In addition to that, he found that the device had uploaded something to his omni-tool. "What did you find out?"
"A few things," Shepard noted. "For one, the Protheans were experimenting on Cro-Magnons, ancient Humans. My guess, they were studying our species for some unknown reason. It would explain why there was a Prothean outpost on Mars."
"It would," Baird nodded. As they got back into the Mako, Baird began to have a sneaking suspicion. Could it be... he wondered to himself. I'll have to investigate this file further. Prothean tech doesn't usually interface with omni-tools. Why would it do so now?
(Author's Q&A)
tymaxion: I know what you mean. it strung a few heart strings for me as well. I can't wait to see what you think of each new chapter as well.
OmegaDelta: We'll find out soon, as in the next few chapters soon.
Guest: I won't spoil any details, but that is a possible idea. I'll definitely give it some consideration.
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.
NightFuryRider1998: You're going to find out soon.
edboy4926: Well, that was because, during the footage, Baird explained a few things.
RandomReader: Last I recall, the population of human beings that survived the Locust War and Lambent Pandemic was in the hundreds of thousands. A species can recover with that many individuals. From what I recall, the minimum number of people needed to survive an extinction event is roughly 500 people.
Chronus1326: Thank you. I'm glad I was able to help provide a little context for you to work with.
dmandog056: Thank you. As for your first question, the answer is yes. Gunpowder, especially smokeless powder, comes with it's own oxidizer (a source of oxygen), so it will work in the vacuum of space. We'll also be seeing some more executions, and we'll also see some new vehicles in the Mass Effect 2 story arc.