Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful support. I deeply appreciate it.
We're on the final sub-story arc for this crossover. After that, we're going back to the main plot, and things will ratchet up from there.
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, The Coalition, Epic Games, Microsoft Studios, 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
Leaving Utopia System
March 14th, 2183
The mood onboard the Normandy could be best described as a mixture of relief and satisfaction at having completed the recent mission. Marcus, in particular, seemed quite happy, especially at how Shepard had handled the situation at X57. Had Balak by the balls, and the four eyed bastard didn't even know it, he smirked. Now that is how it's done. I must admit, though, that if it weren't for Baird upgrading JACK… Well, there's no point wondering what might've been different.
He put the thought aside as he stood next to Garrus in the small firing room that was aboard the Normandy. Garrus, having mastered the Boltok, had wanted to move on to the Assault Lancer that Marcus and Baird used all the time. As such, they were inside of the firing range, though they were having a bit of an interesting time.
"Spirits damn it!" Garrus snarled as the weapon seemed to jam on him, the charging handle having gotten stuck half-way down the sliding track. "Why can't I get something as simple as this fucking reload right?!" He tore the mag out, frustrated and angered that he could screw up something as simple as a reload.
He was about to try again when Marcus laid a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. "Slow down," Marcus ordered him. "Take a few deep breaths." Garrus complied, the frustration and anger oozing out of his body as he did so. "Now, show me in slow motion what's going wrong."
Nodding, Garrus did so, and it wasn't long before Marcus spotted the problem. "Ah," he interrupted. "I see the problem. It's not you, Garrus. It's the magazine."
"Pardon?" Garrus asked. In response, Marcus pulled the mag out, and pointed towards the feed lips. It was then that Garrus spotted the problem that had been plaguing his practice sessions: one of the lips for the magazine was bent inward slightly. While not much, it was enough that the rifle wasn't able to cycle the bolt properly. "Damn," he growled. "And I thought I was screwing up. Now I know it's the mag that's causing the trouble. Could a new mag fix it?"
"Correct," Marcus nodded. Pulling out a fresh magazine, he had Garrus load it. This time, the charging handle went all the way to the rear without abnormal resistance, prompting a smile from Garrus.
"Thanks, Marcus," he beamed.
"You're welcome." With that, Garrus continued to practice using Marcus' Lancer.
The veteran Gear had to admit, both Garrus and Wrex were catching on to using the weaponry that Vorenus had made for himself and the other Gears quite quickly. Wrex, in particular, favored the Battle Lancer, mostly due to it's larger caliber, which was a trait that Marcus had noted about Krogan. They like really big guns, he recalled. Wrex even wanted to use the One-shot.
He wasn't the only one that had noted some of the changes going on. Shepard, in particular, had noted how everyone was doing much better than they usually were in-between missions. That one mission against Balak and his gang of terrorists really helped ease the tension around here, he observed. Either way, I'm glad that Balak is now heading for an Alliance SuperMax prison, and that Kate Bowman and the others are alive and well.
Heading to the elevator, Shepard was about to head to his quarters for some much needed rest when Joker ran in on the intercom. "Commander, got a priority message for you from the brass at Arcturus."
"I'll take it in the comm room," Shepard replied. While the others went about their business, he went to the cargo elevator and hit the up indicator. Once he'd arrived at the upper level, he quickly made his way to the comm/briefing room. Already, he could see a winking light that indicated that a call was coming in.
Hitting it, he was greeted with the color hologram of a man dressed in an Alliance Navy uniform, with arm patches indicating he was an Admiral. Two blue-gray eyes gazed at him, while the man's graying hair indicated his age. Both eyes, though, were filled with a vitality that belied his actual age.
For Shepard, it was immediately clear who this was. Saluting, he said, "Admiral Hackett. Is there anything you need."
"Yes," Hackett nodded, his expression becoming more serious as he spoke. "We've been getting reports warning of a marked increase in Geth activity in the Skyllian Traverse. Surveillance drones have identified Geth outposts on four different worlds in the Armstrong Cluster. We need someone to neutralize them."
"Do we have any idea as to what they're after?"
"Hard to say. They might be gathering intel on us. Or they might be setting up staging grounds for hit-and-run attacks on Human colonies."
"It could be the first wave of an invasion."
"Let's hope not. We need someone to investigate this, Shepard. Finding Saren is still your top priority, but you've got experience fighting the Geth. You're the logical choice to take out these outposts. We're transmitting the location of all known Geth outposts in the Armstrong Cluster to the Normandy now."
"Understood, sir. We'll get the job done."
"I am confident that you will. Hackett out." With that, the FTL comm call ended.
"Joker, set a course to the Armstrong Cluster," Shepard ordered. "We've got Geth trying to cause a ruckus."
"Aye aye, Commander." Joker replied. With that, the FTL drive hummed as it bent space, ignored time, and thumbed it's metallic nose at Einstein, while Shepard headed for his quarters. It was time for that rest, as well as a briefing on what they were facing.
. . .
By the the time they reached the Gorgon system, everyone had settled into a routine, though some were wondering where they were heading to next. Baird, who was once more calibrating the Mako, was more irritated than ever at the Mako. Why the fuck did those political assholes design this piece of shit, he wondered as he lay underneath the vehicle. I swear, they're trying to get their soldiers killed! The fact that he was having to do work on said Mako only served to increase his irritation.
Fortunately, he wasn't the only one performing maintenance and calibration on the Mako. Looking to his right, he could see Garrus, who was lying on a roller board shaped to his physiology. The Turian was currently replacing some electrical components that had gotten busted on the mission at X57, as he'd spotted some discrepancies on a diagnostic check of the system.
That left their newest compatriot. Sliding out from underneath the Mako, Baird watched as JACK was welding on an armor plate that Wrex was holding up onto the vehicle, the Krogan barely breaking a sweat. Given what had happened at Feros, and what had happened at X57, Baird had come up with the idea of installing additional composite armor plates onto the hull of the Mako. While it would add extra weight, the increased protection would ensure that no lucky hits from an Armature or a turret could penetrate into the interior.
Shepard had approved, but had asked that Baird work with Tali to do some work on the Mako's Element Zero Core. That was what made Baird the most irritated, though that anger hadn't been directed at Tali or the others. Rather, it was towards the designers of the Element Zero Core, who he felt must've been high on illicit drugs when they designed the system.
What where those idiot assholes smoking, he wondered. Even I could make a better eezo core in my sleep and with nothing but a wrench, hacksaw and hammer. When I get my own company up and running, I'm definitely going to work on revolutionizing Element Zero Engineering. Maybe then we'll get somewhere. At least this piece of shit now has tougher kinetic barriers, and can maneuver worth a damn now.
Just then, JACK finished welding on the extra armor plating, beeping happily as it floated backwards. "Not bad," Wrex remarked as he examined the robot's handiwork. "You JACK units are really handy. This, combined with the extra nose armor we installed, should give us a fighting chance now." Looking down at Baird, he asked, "How's it going?"
"Oh it's bullshit," Baird frowned. "I had to recalibrate the Element Zero Core, some components were busted, and I had to modify part of the suspension. The list just goes on and on. Give me an hour, and I'll have a comprehensive list on why the Mako sucks, and why the people that designed it were blockheads."
Wrex chuckled, a rumbling sound that was more felt than heard. "You'd probably have some fun redesigning the Tomkah's that we use at Tuchanka. Personally speaking, it's a wonder that they've survived as long as they have."
"That bad?"
"Yep."
Baird whistled. "Damn… remind me to make a better version of the Tomkah when we've got time. Also…", he leaned in close as he said this and whispered, "remind me to have a genetic engineering team work on a cure for the Genophage."
Wrex beamed. "I would be more than happy to do so."
"Good." With that, they continued working on the Mako, installing extra armor where possible, while making modifications to the vehicle as they went along. Either way, in Baird's opinion, the Mako was very much a jalopy, though it was better than the Centaur.
They had just finished recalibrating the Element Zero Core to account for all the new armor plating when the intercom crackled to life. "Normandy ground team, report to briefing room immediately," a voice announced. "Repeat: Ground team, report to briefing room immediately."
"Well, shit," Baird frowned. "I guess it's another ground mission. Tali, did you finish up?"
"Yes," came her reply.
"Garrus?"
"All good here," Garrus confirmed. "This Mako's as ready as she'll ever be."
"Good," Baird nodded. "Now, let's see what the boss has to tell us." Hopefully, it's some good news, he thought as he and the others entered the elevator.
This time around, he was the last man to enter the briefing room, with everyone else having come inside already. "Everyone accounted for?" Shepard asked as Baird sat down. When Ashley nodded, he said, "Good. We've got marching orders straight from the Alliance Brass."
"That's big news," Kaidan noted. "They usually don't issue direct orders unless something's up."
"True, and this is one such case," Shepard added. Pulling up an image of the galaxy, he said, "According to Admiral Hackett, the Alliance has been getting reports warning of markedly increased Geth activity in the Armstrong Cluster. Surveillance drones detected Geth activity on four worlds in the Armstrong Cluster."
"Aw, shit," Baird frowned.
"That's not good," Garrus noted.
"Why could they be there?" Tali asked, curious.
"No one knows," Shepard replied. "The Geth might be gathering intelligence on us, setting up staging grounds for hit-and-run attacks on Alliance colonies, or at the worst, this could be the first wave of an invasion." That had everyone silent.
"An invasion?" Marcus remarked. "Pretty low key one if that's the case."
"That isn't good," Tali frowned. "If the Geth are planning an invasion…"
"Yeah," Baird frowned. "This could be just wave one of the invasion. My best advice: we've gotta nip it in the bud if we're going to have a chance of success. That means a preemptive strike: knock the Geth out of the fight before they can do so. The Locust did that with us, and we nearly lost the war."
"My thoughts exactly," Shepard agreed. "This is the plan so far." Zooming in on the Armstrong Cluster, he said, "We'll begin by hitting the outposts at Tereshkova, Hong and Vamshi. Once that's done, we'll assault the outpost at Gagarin. Once that is complete, we'll report in to Admiral Hackett and await further instructions. Any questions?"
"What are we looking at for enemy forces?" Garrus asked.
"Hard to say," Shepard replied. "Tali, any advice here?"
"Most Geth outposts will be fairly small," Tali replied. "However, whenever there are outposts, it's certain that the Geth will have a main base in the cluster. We'll have to find the main base as we attack the outposts.
"As for ground forces, it'll likely be similar to what we've already encountered. I would expect anti-tank squads, along with basic infantry. Armatures and Colossus' will likely be stationed there as well. The worst case scenario is that one of their ships comes in to provide fire support."
"That's pretty rough stuff," Shepard admitted. "Good thing we've got the Mako." Looking at Marcus and the other Gears, he asked, "Anything you want to add?"
"I'll take the One-Shot along," Cole beamed. "That beauty really showed those turrets how the Cole Train rolls. Besides, I've been kinda curious as to how dangerous it can be against an Armature."
"Same here," Marcus added. "I'd much rather be comfortable knowing that some of our gear is going to be effective against Geth."
"Alright," Shepard agreed. "I can get behind that. Baird, how's the Mako?"
"As ready as she'll ever be," Baird replied. "I won't lie to you, Shepard. That thing is a piece of hot shit, but we've up-armored the thing as much as we can, and we've made adjustments to the main gun. It'll hit harder and take a hit; I also took the liberty of modifying the suspension as best as I could. Should handle better now."
"Good," Shepard smiled. "Any other questions?" When none presented themselves, Shepard said, "Alright. We're moving out. Get some rest and make sure your gear's ready to go. We've got an invasion to stop."
. . .
For much of the missions that the team did, Marcus and the other Gears had remained on the Normandy. Part of this was because Shepard wanted to make sure the others had their skills sharpened and ready should the Council learn more about Saren's activities. "Besides, I think you four earned a bit of a break," Shepard had informed him. "We've been going at it with you, and the others need to sharpen their skills."
Marcus understood the sentiment. The others need a chance to stretch their legs and show their worth, he thought to himself when Shepard had said this. After all, a Lancer is not much use if it's just left to gather dust.
Still, that meant finding something to do to pass the time, and Cole had the perfect idea. They had converted part of the Normandy's cargo hold into a makeshift Thrashball court, leaving the entry area for the Mako alone so that they could get on and off the Normandy with little trouble. So far, the sport was turning out to be quite popular among the crew, who saw it as a good way to blow off steam.
Wrex, though, was having the most fun, and the current game of Thrashball was no exception. The Krogan roared as he charged forwards, holding a ball that Baird had made using an airtight bladder and some synthetic cloth. He bowled over a line of crew members that had tried to block him, only to be bowled over onto the ground when Cole, leaning low, swept Wrex's legs out from under him and grabbed the ball. Charging forwards, he leaped into the end zone and threw the ball onto the ground, causing it to bounce.
"WHOOO!" he cheered. "The Cole Train wins again, baby! Lemme see the score… Aw, yeah! The Cole Train eight, baby! Wrex, just two, HAH!"
Wrex laughed long and heartily as he got up, not at all upset by the fact that Cole had beat him yet again. "That was fun!" he laughed as he sat down, wiping some sweat off of his face with a nearby towel. "I can see why they call you the 'Cole Train', Cole: once you grab the ball, you mow everyone over."
"Yeah," Carmine agreed, having watched the game from the other side of the cargo hold. "That was fun, but I didn't know you'd see it as fun, Wrex."
"Why not? It's got lots of violence, but at the end of the day, everyone's all happy and tired. I like that."
From another part of the cargo hold, Marcus merely shook his head, though a smile was present on his face. Carmine tried to block Cole at one point, only to get knocked onto his ass, he thought, chuckling at the memory. I remember Dom owing me twenty bucks when he bet against Cole and lost the bet.
Just as he remember that, Shepard came down the elevator and into the cargo bay. Spotting the tired, but happy, contestants, he smiled. "Good thing you guys finished up, because we've got a mission. Cole, Baird, Tali, Wrex, you four are up."
"Alright," Cole replied. "You heard the man, Wrex. Time to talk to the nice Geth."
"Yeah," Wrex smirked, knowing what Cole meant by 'talk.' "Can't wait."
. . .
The drop onto the planet was, again, textbook, with the Mako coming to a stop within a hundred meters of the initial landing point. While the team began to drive, Baird decided to look up information on the planet in question. Might as well keep myself occupied, he thought.
It turned out to be quite interesting. The planet, Rayingri, was a lonely, inhospitable planet that had some rich resources, though no one wanted to stake a claim. Part of this was because Rayingri had snagged a rogue planetoid called Vahtz around ten thousand years ago. The planetoid was predicted to smash into Rayingri within a couple centuries, with some Asari charter companies planning cruises to observe the event.
Beyond that, the planet was not too spectacular, though Baird knew that he could use mining robots to extract most of the resources from the planet before the impact happened. Besides, by that point, either we'll have stopped the Reapers, or we'll all be well and truly dead, he noted. Maybe even both.
For much of the trip, it was quite sedate and calm, though eventually, they encountered something in the dusty brown landscape of Rayingri. "Found something," Shepard informed the team. "Looks like a research outpost, overrun from the looks of it." He motioned to the spikes that were scattered around the entrance to the research outpost.
"Damn," Baird frowned. "Looks like the Geth got the research team here. Those spikes are all too familiar."
"Dragon's Teeth," Tali added. "That's what the crew's been calling them. Given what they are for, it's an appropriate name."
"Either way, we'll have to be careful." Looking at Wrex, he asked, "You ready?"
"Always," Wrex replied, hefting his shotgun.
"Good to hear."
Coming to a stop, the team entered the small airlock for the Mako. Once it cycled, they quickly got out and spread out, checking the area for any hostiles. "Clear out here," Shepard reported, "though I wouldn't expect that to stay the same for long. We hit those Geth hard at the other outposts. I'm expecting an ambush when we get out." With that, everyone proceeded inside, weapons at the ready.
After descending down a steep stairwell, the team passed through a short hallway and into the first room ahead of them. The room was spacious, though parts of it were occupied by server banks, cargo crates, and storage lockers. Weapon at the ready, Cole and Wrex moved through the hallway and into a much larger room. This room was filled with cargo crates, planters, and Cole could see thick support columns that kept the ground above from collapsing into the room. He also thought he spotted some servers and computer equipment in here.
What had his attention the most, though, were the numerous red contacts on his armor's motion tracker. Uh oh, he thought. We've got trouble. "We've got company," he told Wrex. "You ready?"
"Yep," Wrex nodded. "You?" Cole merely made sure his Boomshot was ready, causing Wrex to smirk. Rounding a corner, they looked out into the rest of the room.
True enough, there were Husks everywhere. The moment they peered around the corner, the Husks, spotting them, let out long, chilling moans, before charging at the duo. Spotting a cluster of them, Cole fired off the Boomshot. The detonation blasted apart the entire group, while the blast wave staggered some of the Husks closer to their position. "Game on!" Cole shouted as he exchanged the Boomshot for his Battle Lancer, firing the weapon at a group of Husks.
Hearing this, Baird, Tali and Shepard, having stayed behind to do some salvaging, came rushing into the main room. Baird fired off his Assault Lancer, downing a pair of Husks, before using his chainsaw bayonet on a pair that had gotten too close. Tali, doing her part, fired off a pair of overload attacks, while Shepard gunned down the Husks she had exposed.
One Husk that was too close to Cole lashed out with a fist, though Cole took the blow in stride. His punch devastated the Husk, his armored fist punching through what was left of it's skull, killing it instantly. "Seriously?" he asked. "My mother hit harder than you, and she was much older than I was!"
Before, long, all of the Husks in the main room had been neutralized. Some had been blasted apart by Wrex, while others had been gunned down by Cole and the others. "Ha!" Cole beamed. "Now that is my kind of game."
"Yep," Wrex beamed. "Tried out that new biotic amp that Shepard found. Those Savant biotic amps are really top notch. We need to get one for Liara. I wonder how strong she is compared to me there."
"She could probably lay you out on your ass, man."
"Yeah, can we clear the base now?" Baird asked. "Preferably without the free Geth bonus package."
"Agreed," Shepard replied. Looking at a schematic, he said, "We've got two more rooms to work with, then the base is clear. Got a plan?"
"We'll take the room on the right," Cole told Shepard as they approached another hallway. "You'll take the one on the left." With that planned, they stacked up on the door before moving through. Turning to the right, Cole and Wrex proceeded forwards.
More Husks were inside of the rooms, all of them hungry for blood. Firing the grenade launcher again, Cole blasted apart most of the Husks in that room with a single, well placed grenade, allowing Wrex to clean up the scraps. Shepard and Tali had a similarly easy time with their group.
"That was way too easy," Baird frowned as he cleaned off a bit of gunk from a Husk he killed.. "I think you're right, Shepard. The Geth are banking on us coming out unawares of an ambush. It's what I'd do."
"My thoughts exactly," Shepard nodded. "Let's get out and handle the ambush." Heading back, the team prepared themselves to face off against an ambush by Geth forces on the outside of the base. Reaching the door, Shepard wanted until everyone was ready before opening the enough, his guess proved to be correct, as the moment they stepped outside, they heard a Geth dropship offloading enemy forces.
"INCOMING!" Baird shouted as a Geth Prime hit the ground, before getting up and firing on the team. "Take cover!"
"Use the Mako for cover!" Shepard ordered. "It can take small arms fire without a problem!" Rushing, the team got behind the Mako, before engaging the Geth.
This fight was quite intense, with everyone firing their weapons as quickly as they could. Spotting the incoming Prime, Baird shouted, "Shoot the Prime!" to Cole, who quickly turned his Battle Lancer onto the massive Geth. While effective, it was going to take too long, so Baird tossed a grenade.
The detonation didn't destroy the Prime, but it was enough that it was staggered. Falling onto one of it's legs, the Prime let out an electronic screech, while Cole lined up his Boomshot and fired. Much to his surprise, the grenade detonated inside of the Prime's head, blasting it apart and rendering it headless. A moment later, that surprise turned to glee, as Cole laughed. "HAHA! This shit never gets old!"
It wasn't long before all hostile contacts were down. Curb-stomping a Geth that was trying to get up, Wrex couldn't help but notice that something was off. "I'm a little confused," he frowned. "One of these bases should've been a main base. We're missing something."
"I think I know what that something is," Baird remarked, just as JACK came out of the Mako. "What is it, little buddy?" he asked. After a few beeps from JACK, Baird said, "Alright. Thanks, little guy. You're a lifesaver."
"What is it?" Shepard asked.
"While we were fighting out here, JACK found something," Baird explained. "Apparently, he picked up an FTL transmission while we were dicking around inside of the base. Judging by the signal strength, I'd say it's coming from inside the Armstrong Cluster."
"It must be the Geth base," Wrex decided. "If we home in on the signal, we can take them out for good."
"Aha! Let's go!" Cole beamed. "We got ourselves some Geth to kill!"
"Agreed," Shepard nodded as they loaded up into the Mako.
(Author's Q&A)
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.
edboy4926: Thank you.
THATs13IntGUY: Thank you. Also, very interesting idea, though that's a separate ability in Gears 5, known as Stim.
Blaze501st: Eventually, we'll be seeing more Gears characters coming over, especially in the sequel.