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 franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Studios, The Coalition, Epic Games, 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.
Noveria
Hanshen Port
February 27th, 2183
Well, that was a bust, Shepard thought to himself as he headed towards the door to the garage. Not only did Anoleis refuse to give me access to the garage, but I also suspect that he knows of our mission. All of it is stalled, all because of an obfuscating bureaucrat. His hands tightened in anger. I wouldn't be surprised if he was working with Benezia simply for the money. Well, I'll show him what happens when a Spectre has had enough of being pushed around: I will push back… hard.
Just as he reached the hallway that had the stairs to the garage further ahead, he spotted the doors to an office, Synthetic Insights according to the label, he thought he heard something. To him, it sounded like a series of loud thumping sounds. Much to his surprise, he also felt what he realized were vibrations in the ground. Something just blew up in there, he thought.
Marcus, who was standing nearby, came to a conclusion immediately. "Sounds like a firefight's going down in there."
"Any ideas?"
"Let's wait and see what happens." With that, they waited, though not before lining up along the wall.
When the elevator doors opened, they watched as Baird, Cole, Garrus and Wrex walked out of the elevator. Garrus was limping slightly, though it was clear that the injury causing it wasn't of major importance. Cole was idly inspecting his grenade launcher, while Wrex had a megawatt grin on his face. "Kicked their asses," he chuckled.
"Yep, we did," Baird nodded. Apparently, whatever had happened had a cathartic effect for Baird, as the Gear didn't seem to be in as poor of a mood as before. Spotting Shepard, he said, "Hello there, Shepard. I take it you didn't get what you wanted."
"Yeah," Shepard frowned. "Anoleis was less than cooperative. I assume that you succeeded."
"Yep. Got what we needed. I -" He stopped when he watched Parasini walk inside.
"Commander," Parasini asked. "There have been reports of noises coming from the Synthetic Insights offices. Would you know anything about it?"
"He doesn't," Baird replied. "But I do. It's probably Anoleis' thugs tearing up the place looking for evidence of his corruption. Assholes don't know the meaning of silence."
"Yeah, they kinda loud," Cole agreed.
"Hhmm," Gianna remarked, her voice taking on a different tone. "Smartass, hm? That's fine; I can work with that. Meet me at the nightclub bar for a drink, before you talk to Qui'in. I'll be waiting." With that, she walked off.
"Something tells me there's more to her than we think," Garrus noted.
"How so?" Baird asked.
"My father had a saying: takes a cop to know a cop. I look at Gianna Parasini and I see more than just a receptionist. Something tells me that she might be law enforcement, though I could be completely wrong."
"We'll find out shortly enough," Shepard decided. Looking at Baird, he said, "The show's all yours, Baird."
"Whoop-de-doop-dee," Baird muttered sarcastically. "Come on, boys. Let's got talk to the bitch-ass administrator's sidekick. Shepard, might wanna stay here for when we come back."
"Sounds like a plan."
. . .
Reaching the bar, they walked out of the elevator and looked around. It didn't take long for Baird to spot Parasini, as she was standing near the bar, a glass near her hand. From the looks of it, she hadn't taken a sip from it at all, as the drink inside hadn't been touched. Once he and the others walked over to her, she spoke, her voice was not nearly as formal as before. "Allow me to reintroduce myself," she said to him. "Gianna Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs."
"I knew that she was a cop," Garrus noted, raising a brow-plate as he said this. "Looks like my father's saying was correct."
"Definitely," Wrex noted.
"Damon Baird. So you're like, what, the police of Noveria?" Baird asked. "If so, then you're doing a pretty fucking lousy job."
"Not how I'd put it, but correct," Parasini nodded. "As for the latter statement, that is only half-true. The Executive Board's known of Anoleis' corruption for quite some time. I've been undercover for six months, looking for evidence of his guilt. Given that you likely have the evidence required to arrest Anoleis, this is what I need you to do. I want you to talk to Qui'in and convince him to testify before the Board against Anoleis. With his evidence, this planet can run profitably again."
"I thought screwing each other over was standard fare for this place."
"The rule is 'don't rock the boat.' Self-interest is tolerated if it doesn't interfere with business. Anoleis is driving customers away."
"I see. You work for Anoleis, though, so you'd probably be able to get at his reports. Unless, of course, I am missing something here."
"You'd be right on the last part. He's a crook, not a moron. He doesn't keep logs on his computer saying, 'This month, I stole three million credits.' Qui'in's testimony and records are everything I need to prove Anoleis' guilt in one package."
"And asking Qui'in is likely out of the question, since you work with Anoleis as his secretary."
"Correct again, Baird. I had a feeling that you were a smart person."
"What can I say? I just use my brain more often than the assholes around here, present company excluded of course. Still, if I'm going to help Shepard accomplish his mission here, then we need Qui'in's garage pass… unless you've got that covered already."
"You help my investigation, I'll provide you with whatever you need. Favor for a favor."
"I scratch your back, you scratch mine."
"Exactly. Look, Baird. I don't like this anymore than you. Spectres play fast and loose with the law, though I can tell that you're more of a soldier than a Spectre. Still, that's bad for business."
Baird sighed. He knew that something like this was going to crop up sooner rather than later, but it wasn't something that could be helped. Besides, if I do this, not only do we get rid of a asshole corporate exec, we get the garage pass and continue our mission. Everyone wins, except for Anoleis of course. "Alright," he decided. "I'll talk with Qui'in about this."
"Thank you," Parasini smiled. "You know where I work. Come talk to me if Qui'in's willing to play ball." With that, she walked off.
"Not bad," Garrus reassured Baird. "You did pretty good, all things considered."
"Yeah," Baird frowned. "I just hope she doesn't backstab us. If she does, I'll cut her down."
"We'll be there for you if that happens. Still, I don't think she will. Now let's go talk to Qui'in and get this nasty business settled." With that, they walked over to Qui'in, who was still sitting at his table. It also appeared that he almost emptied his glass.
Hello again, Baird," Qui'in beamed. "Did you take care of that favor of mine?"
"I did," Baird nodded, "but there have been a few… complications."
"What kind?"
"While I was coming back to you, a Noveria Internal Affairs agent met with me. Apparently, she was undercover for six months, hunting for evidence of Anoleis' guilt. When we spoke, she expressed her desire to have me ask you to testify against Anoleis before the board."
Qui'in's eyes widened, but not from surprise, but from anger. "Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it?!" he snarled "I have no interest in a public spectacle!"
"No need to get grumpy. Besides, you're not the only one having problems with Anoleis in charge of the place. It turns out, he's been embezzling money from everyone in this place. If you testify, not only does everyone benefit from Anoleis being gone, you get to be a hero. Everyone's happy."
" My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here."
"That's the thing The Board was already looking into Anoleis. They know he's a corrupt asshole and they want him gone. The evidence you have will enable them to throw him out, and reinstate you as the manager for Synthetic Insights. They wouldn't be angry with you at all."
At that, Qui'in's eyes lost that glint of anger. "Alright," he sighed, resigned to his fate. "It is obvious that I cannot dissuade you. Very well, I will testify. Make whatever arrangements you need with your contact. I will wait here."
"Great."
. . .
It took a little while to find the place, but thanks to the maps present, Baird was able to locate Anoleis' office. Walking to Parasini's desk, he watched as her eyes looked up at him "Baird." she asked, "Have you taken any consideration towards my offer?"
"Yes," Baird replied. "I spoke to Qui'in. Took a little convincing, but he's fully agreed to testify against Anoleis in court. Just take it easy on him, he's worried that he'll receive some backlash from this spectacle."
Gianna sighed, a relieved sound that showed just how much stress had been taken off her shoulders. "That's a world of stress off my back," she replied. "I'll take the evidence for safe transport. I didn't think you'd be willing to help, being a mercenary working for a Spectre and all. I guess some of you, and some of the Spectres, can be alright."
"Did you get us a garage pass?"
"While you were working with Qui'in, I got you a garage pass. Be careful out there. I've got an arrest to make. Wish I had time to change into something easier to move in. I hate skirts."
"Tell me about it," Baird agreed. With that, he watched as Parasini walked into Anoleis' office.
"Here comes the fun part," Garrus snickered.
"Joy," Baird deadpanned.
True enough, when Parasini came out, she had Anoleis in a headlock, both of his arms up in the air and held in a way that prevented him from using them in any way at all. He was also quite angry too, as his lips were quivering with rage as he spoke. "This is an outrage!" he roared, the Salarian's features a mask of rage. "I'll never see you work in this sector again!"
"Yeah, yeah," Parasini remarked, unfazed by the threats. "Get a move on."
Looking up, Anoleis spotted Baird, who was looking at him with a barely disguised frown of disgust. "You there!" he shouted. "Arrest this bi -" Before he could finish, Baird lashed out with a fist, clobbering the corrupt administrator in the face. The Salarian slumped to the ground like a sac of potatoes.
Parasini was relieved. "Finally," she smiled. "I was about to read him his rights. Good thing I don't have to now. Thank you Baird. I owe you a beer." Grunting as she bent down, she picked Anoleis up in a fireman's carry before walking out of the office, the badge marking her as a NIA agent as visible as day.
"Well, that was fun," Garrus smiled.
"Tell me about it," Baird shrugged. "Got to blow up that bitch Sterling and did some good in the progress."
"Yeah!" Cole beamed. "That there was a easy match! The Cole Train can do that all day! WHOOO! Now let's go and head outside, 'cause that's where the Cole Train plays best!"
"You know what, I fully agree," Baird nodded. With that, the four man team made their way to where Shepard was. "Good news, Shepard! I got us a garage pass, and took care of that fucker Anoleis."
"Good!" Shepard beamed. "Finally, we can get on with our mission. Let's head up to the garage and get the hell out of this corporate shithole." With that, they moved on to the garage doors. A single guard stood there, but it was clear she was keeping a vigilant watch, as her eyes snapped towards the group as they approached. "Access to the garage is restricted," she informed them.
"We've got a garage pass," Shepard replied, handing the pass over once Baird gave it to him. "Mind if we go inside?"
The guard took a moment to examine it, scanning it with an omni-tool before she handed it back. "Yes, that's genuine," she replied. 'Drive safely. The weather's supposed to be really bad out in the Aleutsk Valley."
"Thank you for the warning," Marcus nodded.
"You're welcome." With that, they walked inside.
The garage was a very spacious affair, with the room being large enough to hold around fifteen Centaur light tanks, along with the equipment and parts necessary to maintain them properly. On one side, he could see what looked like fuel stores and spare parts, while on the other side, he spotted what looked like cargo containers. Up ahead, he could see the entrance to the garage, as well as the Mako.
As soon as he walked inside, though, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. He stopped dead in his tracks, while looking around and at his motion tracker. The moment he saw the static on the motion tracker, he knew something was up. Shepard, having spotted Marcus' sudden stop, asked, "Company?"
"Yeah, bad company," Marcus nodded. "Cole, Baird, you two flank left and provide us with fire support. Shepard, I say we head right and get to the crates over there. Everyone else, provide fire and biotic support. Sound good?"
"Definitely what I'd do," Shepard nodded. "Marcus has the right idea, guys. Follow his suggestion."
"You got it," Wrex nodded. With that, they quickly began to move up. Along the left side, Cole and Baird used the crates there to shift from cover to cover, while Shepard and the others moved along the crates to the left of their position. At that exact moment, Shepard spotted a flicker of motion from above him. Garrus, who was using his assault rifle, had spotted it too, as he fired off a burst from his rifle, the sound echoing in the garage. Almost immediately, a Geth Stalker fell to the ground, white fluid seeping from holes in it's chassis.
"Incoming!" Tali shouted as she pointed further up ahead. "Geth Destroyers inbound!"
"I got it!" Baird shouted. Reaching for his back, he pulled off the Torque Bow that Carmine had lent him for the mission. Charging it up, he leaned out and let loose with a bolt. Years of combat allowed him to fire the bolt with extreme accuracy. There was a loud CLANK as the bolt impacted something, before an explosion rang out.
"Got 'im! HAHA!" Cole shouted, seeing the Geth Destroyer that Baird had blasted apart. "Come on, assholes! Don't keep me waitin'!" Firing his Boomshot, he blasted apart a Geth Destroyer, before switching to his M-15.
Nearby, Shepard and Marcus were flanking the other Geth in the garage. Firing his Lancer, Marcus watched as a Geth Ghost attempted to use a sabotage attack on the weapon, only for nothing to happen. Blasting it's barriers, he tore the robot from the ceiling, before firing a single shot at it's head, 'killing' it instantly. "Dodge that, you fuck!" he shouted.
It wasn't long before all of the Geth inside of the garage were dead. Shepard and the others had killed roughly half of them, while Marcus and the others had gotten the other half. "All clear!" Baird shouted.
Shepard was about to acknowledge him when he heard someone to his left shout, "What the -?! What are these things?! Fan out and secure the area! No one gets in or out!" Turning around, Shepard spotted Captain Matsuo coming inside. Spotting him, she asked, in an accusatory tone, "What did you do here, Commander?"
"Me?" Shepard asked, surprised and angered by the accusation. "I'm the victim here! The Geth attacked us!"
"Geth?" Matsuo asked, dubious. "You expect me to -" She was promptly interrupted when Marcus tossed the Geth Stalker he'd been examining earlier at her feet.
"You trying to call bullshit on us now," he asked, "or do I have to spell out to you what happened?"
"N-no," Matsuo replied hesitantly. "Where did they come from?"
"If I had to guess," Garrus added as he looked inside of a crate. "I'd say that they were stuffed inside of these crates."
"I don't believe that," Matsuo said disbelievingly. "We did thorough scans of those. There were no power sources, no element zero masses -"
"The Geth are machines," Baird cut in, interrupting Matsuo. "It stands to reason that they'd be shut down to avoid detection by those scans. What I'm wondering is how many of these fuckers are out there. Any ideas, Captain Matsuo?"
"Dozens at least," Matsuo replied. "They're machines. You could pack them in tightly. Given how many there are… I'd say around three to four dozen, maybe even five."
"Ah shit," Marcus frowned.
"Oh that don't sound too good," Cole frowned.
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "Did she arrive with anyone else?"
"I'm not sure. She did have some Krogan with her, along with a few Asari Commandos."
"Then it's gonna be a long day," Marcus decided.
"I must report to the Executive Board," Matsuo informed them. "If word gets out about loose Geth, there may be an investor panic."
"Go ahead and do that," Shepard agreed. "We'll handle the Geth." Turning to the others, he said, "This mission just got a lot harder. Asari Commandos are reputed to the best of the best, bar none. Have you guys handled a threat like that?"
"Yep," Baird nodded. "Theron Guards. They faster, tougher and smarter than regular Drones, and they use Torque Bows all the time. You wouldn't believe how accurate and scary they were with those things."
"I know. I saw the footage you guys showed off. Let's get going now."
"Good idea." With that, they proceeded towards the Mako.
Once everyone was inside of the Mako, Shepard began driving out of the garage. As soon as he drove outside of the garage, he had to switch to thermal vision. Leaning forwards, Marcus, who spotted the change, saw why: visibility was zero. Calling that bad is an understatement, he decided. That's a whiteout there. The poor visibility reminded him of when they had been driving up to Mount Kashur, in order to get to where the Locust were located at.
The Mako continued forwards, the wheels churning up snow and small rocks as it continued forwards. Fortunately, the people that had engineered the road to Peak 15 had taken this possibility into account, as small, heated pylons showed up on the thermal imaging in white, which contrasted nicely with the dark blue road and black environment. Thanks to these road markers, Shepard was able to follow the road and prevent them from falling over it's edge towards imminent destruction.
As they drove along, he spotted faint specks of yellow and red on the thermal imaging. "Company," he frowned. "Garrus?"
"I'm on the main gun," Garrus informed him. "Shell is loaded and ready."
"Good. Baird, Tali, keep this thing in good condition."
"We're on it." With that, they continued on, the vehicle's wheels churning as it proceeded forwards. Soon enough, the Geth were in firing range, both for them and the Mako. Gunfire peppered the vehicle's barriers as Garrus fired the MG, shredding any Geth that were in range, while using the cannon to blast small groups to pieces. Driving forwards, the vehicle entered a long tunnel before continuing out the other side.
"Hostile Armature sighted!" Garrus shouted.
"Take it out!" Shepard ordered. Moments later, the main cannon fired one, then twice, a third time, then, "Armature down. We're moving forwards."
t continued on like this, with Shepard soon discovering the Geth had set up Turrets in key locations on the rocky terrain. Eventually, after blasting through more Geth, and passing by vehicles that had been shot to pieces, they reached the entrance to Peak 15. Marcus couldn't see much of it, other than what appeared to be a garage door. "Damn," he remarked. "Vehicle blocking the entrance."
"No shit," Baird remarked. "Looks like they blew the vehicle up before it could get out. Fucking assholes!"
"There should be a pedestrian access door nearby," Liara suggested. "These facilities have to have one."
"Found it," Shepard replied, spotting a door that was right next to the garage door. "Everyone out! We're moving inside! Marcus, you, me, Baird and Cole have point! Garrus, Tali, Wrex, Liara, you four provide fire support for the rest of us! Neutralize any hostile targets you can find!"
"Got it," Garrus nodded. A moment later, they stepped outside. While their body gloves kept them nice and warm, the thermal sensors on their armor showed that the temperature was rapidly plummeting.
"Damn," Baird noted. "Temperature's dropped down to minus forty degrees. That's fucking cold!" Recalling his cold weather training, he continued to move forwards, entering the structure moments later. Moving through a small lobby door, they entered the garage segment that was just before the actual garage. "Get ready," he told the others. "I'm expecting a can of clusterfuck to be opened on us." Once Shepard and the others indicated they were ready, Baird hammered the door control with a fist.
As soon as the door opened, gunfire ripped through the air, with bullets flying this way and that as the Geth inside opened fire. "Move up!" Marcus shouted, with himself, Cole, Baird and Shepard moving forwards into the garage, while the others quickly followed behind.
Looking forwards, he could see that the garage was split into two nearly symmetrical halves. Both halves had walkways, with one leading towards a door on the left-hand side. The right had cargo crates, as well as the necessary equipment needed to ensure that any vehicles inside had the proper maintenance needed to keep running optimally. Scattered here and there among the cargo crates in the middle were Geth, as well as a few Krogan here and there.
Diving into cover, Marcus popped out and fired off a few rounds from his M-25, forcing a Geth Trooper into cover. Ducking into cover as his barriers rippled, he reloaded his rifle before popping out and firing again. This time, he downed a Geth Saboteur's barriers, before the HESH rounds tore it's internal chassis apart. "LET'S GO! WHO'S NEXT?!" he shouted.
A Krogan, hearing this, got out of cover and charged towards Marcus' position. Cole, however, intercepted him perfectly, as he fired his M-15, forcing the Krogan to take cover. "No one messes with the Cole Train's friends!" he shouted. "Come on, suckers! I got enough for all of ya!"
Nearby, Garrus was scoping out the hostiles in the area. Reaching towards his back, he pulled out a weapon that the Gears typically used: the M-99 Longshot Sniper Rifle. Having practiced with it on the Normandy, he had decided to try it out on this mission. I wonder how it's going to do, he thought as he lined up the crosshairs onto a Krogan taking cover behind a crate. As soon as it's barriers winked out, he squeezed the trigger.
The rifle kicked into his shoulder, forcing him back an inch or two. It was only thanks to the pose he was in, as well as some training from Marcus, that he hadn't been knocked over onto his ass. The Krogan, however, had no chance, with Garrus watching as the HEIAP round from the rifle tore into the Krogan's head, causing to literally explode. Whoa, he thought. That rifle killed that Krogan's ass. Looking at the Longshot, he smiled. I already love this thing.
Another Krogan charged, only for Liara to use a biotic singularity. Rather than being lifted into the air, the Krogan was literally spagetified. It screamed as it's legs and torso were stretched before being crushed by the high mass field; before long, it was completely consumed by the biotic singularity, before said singularity exploded, splattering the remains of the alien everywhere. Even the floor had buckled, while Shepard noted that the crates that were just ahead of their position had shifted, with the crates now being much closer to where the unfortunate Krogan had been.
"Fuck me!" he shouted. "Was that you, Liara?!"
"Yes," Liara replied. "I've been practicing with my biotic skills since I came aboard. Didn't know that would happen, though."
"Oh yeah!" Cole shouted, though inwardly he was slightly disturbed by the sight. "We got some new-ass moves to try out! WHOO!"
It wasn't long afterward that all hostiles had been neutralized. As Marcus gunned down the last Geth Trooper, he heard a synthesized voice over the building's PA. "User alert: All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage. Biohazard materials present through the facility. Virtual Intelligence user interface offline."
"Sounds like the station VI," Wrex remarked.
"It's not saying good news," Baird observed.
"We can do something about that once we're inside," Shepard informed them. "We need to keep going." With that, they proceeded inside.
Eventually, they came to what appeared to be a security checkpoint, only there was something off. "Uh, why are the turrets the wrong way?" Cole asked. He pointed at the turrets as he said this.
"I don't know," Marcus frowned. "Whatever the reason, it's not a good one."
"Same here," Shepard nodded.
As they continued, they eventually came into what appeared to be a cafeteria of some kind. No Geth were present, and one of the windows had been shattered, allowing snow and wind to blow inside. As they moved inside, Marcus thought he heard something; it sounded akin to a screech, like metal being torn or scrapped along. "You hear that?" he asked Shepard.
"I did," Shepard replied. "Animals, wind? This place is in bad shape."
A moment later, Marcus thought he spotted something out of the corner of his left eye. Turning in that direction, he aimed his rifle, before hitting the flashlight, since the room was in near-total darkness. What he saw was something out of a horror film.
It was large, about as large as a small horse, with four legs that ended in single points. These legs supported a rectangular body that supported a long, trunk-like torso. Two arms grew from it's back, along with a pair of tentacles that ended in flaps that had sharp spikes on the end. Two arms grew from underneath it's chin, while it's head had a series of flap-like mandibles in lieu of a mouth. A few antennae were on it's head, as well as two eyes that gazed at them with a primal hunger. "NOT THIS SHIT AGAIN!" he roared, remembering the time when he had to deal with a Serapede.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Baird, who had looked in that direction, shouted.
"OH, HELL NO!" Cole yelped. "I DON'T DO BUGS!"
Wrex, who had seen those things before, shouted one word. "RACHNI!"
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you. There might be.
MarauderPrime12: Thank you.
Mark The Gamer Of Grima: I don't know. I guess we'll find out.
THATs1I3ntGUY: Yep. From Sera with love.
nliochristou: Possibly. We'll find out as the story develops.
Fick Suggestion: Possibly.
StarBorn Michael: Oh definitely, if the hints in each chapter are anything to judge by.