"Life, like poker has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced." - Edward Norton
Chapter 6: UNC – Asari Diplomacy
… not what I expected, but whatever.
"Approaching drop zone. One Minute."
For being pictured as a likable, snarky idiot, Joker surely is professional when it counts.
I struggle a bit against the security harness, trying to get a bit more comfortable in my seat. I get that it's for my own safety, but does it really have to be that snug?
Maybe it's because he's not yet unleashed. Give him two years, a defection towards Cerberus and an annoying AI turning GF over the course of a year, then we'll see again.
Joker Unleashed. Now that's a nice title for a movie. Can't be worse than Blasto VI.
Focus!
"Copy that, Joker. Everyone, report in!" comes Shepard's voice over radio. As security protocol dictates, we're all wearing fully sealed armors. What means that I'm sweating under this damned balaclava. I briefly look at the temperature – thirty degree Celsius. No wonder, with six people and a lot of tech-stuff in here.
At least the breather mask allows me to breathe nice and cool air.
I double-check my console for the tenth time or so. That goddamned feeling when you just know that everything's working and you still feel like there could be something that you've missed...
"Gunner, ready." Garrus in the turret. Or, what counts as a tank turret these days.
Finishing my checks, I add a loud "Sensors, ready."
"Engineer, ready." Tali sits directly behind me on her consoles, facing the opposite wall of the tank – or rather, watching over the pointers and scales which indicate the tank's condition. It's quite obvious that she doesn't really trusts this vehicle all that much – while everyone of us has a certain amout of omnigel for emergency repairs, Tali has five times the amount with her. The image of Shpard's feigned hurt still makes me grin.
"Cargo, ready."
I turn my gaze from my console towards our resident krogan, giving him an approving nod. "Nice one, Wrex."
"Hmph." He kind of acknowledges. His face is hidden behind his intimidating helmet, though. With him and Ashley sitting opposite of each other (and immediately next to me, too), the APC feels kind of cramped. Well, doubtful that the engineers had krogan battlemaster in mind when they designed the interiors.
"All hands clear." Shepard answers, amusement evident before going serious again. "Twenty seconds to drop. Battle comms!"
Battle comms means: No trashtalking, mission-related communications only. And just like this, the anxiety is back.
We feel a slight shaking as the NORMANDY enters Sharilja's atmosphere.
"Ten seconds!"
A deep rumble from behind the tank.
"Cargo Bay open."
"Drop in five, four..."
I clench my fists one last time before resting them on my consoles.
"...one, GO!"
Shepard let go of the brakes, and the momentum carries us out of the bay.
The pull in my stomach is really unpleasant. The front camera's feed, showing the ground coming closer very fast, isn't helpful either.
Then a loud hissing- the upward thrusters kick in.
"Brace for impact!"
I clench my teeth to make sure I won't accidently bite on my tongue.
A second later, the whole tank shakes violently. Without the harness, my head would've met the console. It takes a few bounces before the tank is finally still.
"Everyone alright?"
No. But go on. I shake the confusion out of my head and focus on scanning the surrounding area. "Ready." Next time, I'll request a damned parachute and jump on my own. Then I see the 52 atmosphere pressure on my barometer. I'll stay with the tank.
"All clear." reports Ashley. A glance around confirms that everyone else is okay.
"Raven, what do you see?"
"Immediate surroundings clear. Multiple anomalies on the map." I press a few holo-buttons. "The facility Joker has found is marked out for you."
Unlike in the game, of course our scanning from orbit had revealed the slaver base almost immediately. Surprising enough, it was decently shielded against detection – but the pirate's counter-measurements were no match for the NORMANDY's state-of-the-art recon scanner systems.
The original plan was just to do another test-run with the Mako and to practice both some Mako-action and some EVA's (Extra Vehicular Activities) in a high-pressure environment. But Shepard being Shepard, of course she chooses Sharilja. And of course, Sharilja happens to have a base on it which was not on any map and powered up. The scans didn't show anything of what was going on, really, so our Commander decided to check it out.
"I detect no hostile scans whatsoever." I add, eyes darting between screens and listening for enemy radio. "Also a bit of radio chatter, not encrypted, sounds casual. Seems like they haven't noticed us." Joker did enter the atmosphere in stealth and we are roughly ten clicks away. Educated guess.
"Okay everyone", answered Shepard in her commander voice, "we'll check out the secondary objectives first, then approach primary target. Raven, plot a course to S-One. Try and keep us hidden."
"Copy, plotting course." With the high gravity, at least I don't have to worry about trails of dust in our path. "Course plotted."
The engine sounds in acknowledgement, and we're Oscar Mike.
I really would like to take in the surreal surroundings – Sharilja's dusty desert has a beautiful brown-orange color to it and the sun creates strange looking shadows – but I can't look at the external cams for more than a few seconds before one of the screens calls for my attention. Also, I can't let my guard down – or we're all vulnerable.
A few minutes later we arrive at Secondary One – a tent with a few storage boxes scattered around. I report everything I see to Shepard, and she orders Wrex and Ash to get off the tank. Keeping my eyes on the screens, I only hear a slight hissing from the rear airlock. A second later the two of them, and Shepard – who exited through the secondary driver's lock – appeared on my cam. Then it blacked out.
I cursed slightly. "Garrrus, keep an eye out for hostiles. My cam's out – need to re-adjust it."
"Copy that." A soft mechanic hum tells me that Garrus is turning around the turret, sweeping the surrounding area while I hunted the error in the jungle of potential failures. It's not like we are in any real danger – enemies approaching will definitely show up as heat-signatures or something – but the cam was important for marking out priority targets. And the only way I can get a visual. Do not ask me why the turret's camera is not linked to my sensor systems. I'm content enough that I'm able to do anything useful at all – once again, I silently thank Ashley again for being so very throughout and patient with me.
I hope Horizon will never happen.
Shepard and her squad in the meantime are investigating said building – as good as they're able with the pressure hazard. I feel uneasy whenever Tali announces how much time they have left for the EVA; but fixing this problem takes much of my awareness and the rest is pretty much absorbed in keeping an eye on the sensors. At least I have a failsafe – the Mako's VI. But from my professional opinion, said VI is as intelligent as a toast.
After three minutes, I find the error – a cable slipped out of its port. So much for futuristic technology. The cam is just back online when the group returns, Ashley and Shepard carrying a metal box with them. "Cam's back, Commander – what's that? A present?"
"Pretty much, Yeah." It's only when she's back at her controls that she speaks again. "Don't ask me where that camp came from, or why, but my omnitool says that there's something pretty old inside it. A writing of some kind... and, what makes this interesting is that there's something written on the crate... translator says its Armali, can't read it though."
There are only two reasons why a translator can sometimes recognize, but not properly translate written things. First, the writing is too damaged. Or, second, it's an older dialect of sorts. In that case the translator may recognize certain words, but not all of them - and since these tools are programmed to provide an understandable instead of a literal translation, it may be unable to figure out what it means.
In this case, it's quite obvious what's inside. At least for me. Sharilja, campsite location, ancient storage box with asari writings on it... one of Matriarch Dilinga's writings. I can barely suppress a sigh. We're not really going to search for 'em all, are we?
They discuss if we should try and open the crate up immediately, but seeing just how ancient that thing is Shepard decides we shall either until we're back on the NORMANDY, or rather 'til we can drop the package for the asari. Whatever works for her. As long as she doesn't combs the whole Traverse for it, like me, we're good.
The next stop on our way is surprisingly easy to handle – the mineral ressourcen is close by. It takes about one minutes of me scanning it to declare it's a big one. Shepard plants a beacon next to it, done. Almost casual.
Then Shepard announces we'll take on Primary-One. The slaver base. And back into the fray. Let's just fucking hope you've learned your lesson, or else... no, don't think about it. Only makes things worse.
Ah, fuck. Too late.
A few minutes later, my voice broke the radio silence. "Contact! Multiple tangos ahead! Infantry!"
We weren't yet in sight, but the signatures on-screen were pretty obvious – red markers separated themselves from the building and spread out. Radio chatter went overdrive for a few seconds, then a single voice – human female or asari – gave a loud command and everything died down.
"They're on battle comms, Commander!" It may be superstitious, but if there's one thing I've learned from my gaming experience, especially from playing team-based games, it's how to give useful information even while being nervous. "They know we're coming, they don't seem to know where from, though. Repeat: They know we're here!"
"Copy that, Raven." It didn't take too much fantasy to imagine Shepard studying the map thoroughly as I did. "We'll try and get some cover and some high ground. Garrus, stay on your toes!"
The turian confirmed. Shepard drove up a hill, a hill I knew all too well – I called it 'sniper hill', since in-game, I really liked to hide the Mako there and snipe the hostiles from above. There was enough cover to recharge shields in-between attacks. And we would need it – the moment we peeked over the top, we got met by infantry-grade weapons.
"Snipers on those watchposts!" I marked a few of them out. "Rest is normal infantry, it seems, don't detect any heavy weaponry."
"Copy. Garrus: Snipers have priority. Fire at will!"
Shepard had barely finished her statement when she was drowned out by the powerful sound with which our main gun fired the slugs. The effect was devastating. An explosion rocked the watchpost I had in my sights. The turian sniper in it exploded in a mist of blue blood and gore. I quickly closed my eyes and breathed. Not again.
The battle was pretty one-sided. The mercs were uncoordinated and lacked any heavy weaponry. Only occasionally did Shepard hide the tank from enemy fire to recharge the shields and drove somewhere else to attack from another direction. Not once did Tali have to use her engineering skills to patch us up.
Once the last merc went down to our tank's 'turret machine gun' and succumbed to high pressure, Shepard drove the tank right to the base's door. I blinked as I saw the 'VI has taken control' sign on my screens.
"Everybody, we're going in!"
I was the last to leave the tank, briefly admiring the Alliance' engineers. Despite how cramped everything was, the whole six people squad left the Mako in less than twenty seconds - and that without much routine.
I set my foot on the dusty ground and, despite everything, crouched down and let the sand run through my fingers with a dreamlike expression on my face.
"Raven, what's up?"
I looked up and saw Ashley. I grinned at her, though she couldn't see it - which seemed to be a common occurrence these days. "Sorry, I couldn't help it." I stood back up and readied my rifle.
"It's the first time I'm on another planet" I explained, still smiling. A warm feeling washed over me - a dream came true. Not like I imagined it, but still. Huh. Sharilja may be a high-pressured, dangerous and dusty hellhole, but with the sun shining – and not even our Sun! - it still managed to feel felt kind of magical.
I tried so hard not to be overly fascinated with everything, but this was one battle I lost quickly.
The others stayed silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Garrus patted me on my back once in camaraderie, the others nodded in confirmation, most likely remembering the first time they set foot on a different world. Even Wrex.
"C'mon, let's move." The Commander finally broke the silence. I nodded once and got into a combat stance, training the rifle on the lock. Shepard went past me to take point.
As she went by, our faces briefly met. I didn't need to see her mouth.
Her eyes did the smiling for it.
The room immediately after the airlock was empty.
"Strange." said Garrus, keeping his rifle trained on the second lock in the room. We had unsealed our helmets to save the oxygen in our suits and were now talking to each other, without the help of radio.
"That can't be all of them." agreed Ash, not lowering her guard even for the split of a second.
"If I were them, I'd try to surprise any unwelcomed guests right at the door." Wrex' tactical assessment is unexpected, but fits quite well. If I didn't know better, I would have expected the same.
"Commander, I've got two possible reasons why they're not fighting us here."
"Shoot."
"First, we've killed 'em all or killed enough of 'em to make the rest run for the hills."
"Unlikely. The second?"
"This area is basically an open room. They've got no cover." I looked over to where Shepard watched me with interest. "We have neither, but they're mercs. They want to stay alive, not risk anything in a fair fight. If I were them, I'd set up an ambush in a room with plenty of cover, and maybe some sort of a high ground for the snipers. This looks like a warehouse, after all. And I don't think they're burned all of their snipers out there."
"Sounds smart." Shepard admitted. Anyone else would've been sarcastic. Not her. "What else?"
"Watch for booby-traps. When we did this back on Earth, we would place mines or something like that on the chokepoints."
"We're thinking alike, Raven." Shepard beamed at me. "What you're saying sounds just about right."
Thanks, Shep. I had plenty of time to think of this little speech.
"Okay, this is how we do it. We open this door, but stay away from it. Wrex and me take point. Ash, Garrus, you behind us. Tali and Raven, you stay away for a moment. When we advance, do it slowly and methodical. Raven, you cover our left, Tali, you our right flank. You know how to do this. Everyone ready?"
"Affirmative." We lined ourselves up at the door, me behind Ash and Shepard. For a second, I listened deep inside me. Are you really ready for this? You know how that ended the last time.
But this time was different.
A bit of myself wanted out, back to the tank or, even better, back to the safety of our ship. Another part wanted to make up for the last time, to prove myself that I was ready and willing to put myself into the fire. This part hated the other one for the panic – irrationally. There was no way I could ever be prepared for hostile fire, and logically, I knew it. But logic and personal pride do not always get along that well.
Once I had broken the tie in my brain, so to say, I analyzed what happened to me on the ONTARIO.
Long story short: I was naive. I assumed we would just go in and everything would work out. When things went south, I was not prepared for it, and suddenly responsible for much more than I anticipated. Result: Panic.
This time around, I had three tings working in my favour. First, I now knew better than to just asume things. We're just started; I can't positively know that everything would play out as in the game. Thinking of it, my very own presence in all of this makes this story AU.
I roughly know what the frame is, but to paint the picture in our favor, I need to add my own colour.
You're quite the poet there, dude.
That or maybe I had too much downtime in the last few days. And too few cigarettes. And alcohol.
Second, I finished the job. Barely, trembling, sloppy, but I did it. I can do this. I just have to believe it.
And the third was standing right in front of me – both of them. Instead of continuing like nothing ever happened, Ash spoke to me. She told me of her first time under fire. As a green recruit, she had experienced the same things I did and now told me about it, in a way that made both of us chuckle about her past mistakes – and, by proxy, about my own. Kaidan eventually joined in as we chatted in the officer's mess, and soon the three of us were laughing openly, annoying the ever living hell out of Lieutenant Pressley who sat down next to us and just wanted to eat his sandwich in peace.
Blinking my eyes, I refocused on what happened right now: Shepard and Wrex talked quickly about when and how to push past the door.
I leaned back into the wall, checking my sights one last time and adjusting them to a combat distance of twenty meters. I had a mod installed for a chance of bypassing shields; methodical headshots would be the key. Difficult, considering this was an assault rifle, but had had done wonders with the barrel. She effectively tripled the accuracy; at the cost of a lower heatsink capacity, but just what I needed.
I owe you quite a lot, huh, Ash? I smiled at her, hidden behind my mask. At least an apology. But you won't even know what I'm apologizing for, and the explanation would be awkward.
She may be xenophobe to an extent, she may be Alliance to the core, but there was so much more beneath the surface. Even to me, who had seen her at her worst on Horizon and her best during her romance.
That's the problems with both videos and video games: They only show a splinter of who a person really is. And many people only see what's obvious – like Ashley's xenophobia, or the rejection on Horizon.
I feel ashamed to admit it, but I did the same. Only if you really live and fight with these guys you realize that they're not just flat video chars – however detailed they might be – but living, breathing persons. Not flawless, of course not, but there are other sides to them as well.
Too bad you're still my least favorite LI. I grinned now, luckily not noticed by anyone. But I think there might be someone else who's quite interested in you. The thought of Virmire hang like a black cloud above me, and I was hell-bound to change this part of Mass Effect.
That's the least you deserve.
"Everyone ready?"
I snapped back to attention, tightening the grip on my rifle and nodding my acknowledgement. The others radiated 'readiness'. I smiled again.
I started to feel fond of them all, not because they were a few of my favorite chars in video game history – but because they were genuinely nice people to have around. I began to understand and appreciate how Shepard managed to unite the whole know galaxy against the Reapers. She just has this 'aura of confidence' with her. Words cannot describe it; you have to experience how she inspires people.
"Let's roll!"
Shepard slapped the door controls, and said door is not even fully open when the first bullets impact before us, fired by some too eager riflemen.
Shepard waited a second, looked around the corner, fired a few bullets; one red indicator diappeared from the HUD projected on my glasses.
"Break! Go, Go, Go!"
Wrex roared, form a biotic barrier around him and charged in, Shepard hot on his tail.
Ash and Garrus waited for a whole five seconds, then they went in as well, Ashley already firing as she ran.
I went directly next to the door, grinning like a lunatic at the sound of bullets and at how the red dots on my HUD vanished. I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins and a mad confidence: We cannot fail!
Looking back, I'm still amazed at how different my attitude was compared to the hostage rescue. But at least, I now know partially where it came from.
I didn't feel like I was isolated, but with five of the best.
I didn't have enemies rushing my position – we were attacking.
I wasn't out of balance – I was focused.
And this time, I was ready.
I exchanged a look with Tali, nodded in silent understanding, and in the second the firing sounds died down for a millisecond I stormed in.
My only warning is a flickering shield.
Then I feel something impacting into my chest. No stinging pain, though – the armor does its work.
Then I'm sliding into cover and get my head down. Bullets whizz past me, a few impact into the wall before me.
The window-thingy in the center of the entrance zone is a decent cover, but I should try and move as soon as possible.
A glance to my left – our two femmes fatales crouched at the crates, firing around the corner. To my right – a massive red krogan battlemaster, shrouded in blue and shrugging the incoming bullets off as if it was nothing. Nobody paid any attention to Tali who slided next to me.
I face Shepard, and she nods, just once.
"Shock!"
We all emerged from our cover at the same time. I take someone in my sights – a lone salarian pirate, on the balcony – and fire a few rounds. His shields flicker and he vanishes back behind cover.
To my left and right, I see two blue lights. Shepard and Wrex are charging up their biotic abilities – and then they unleash two Pulls on our completely helpless enemies.
They may outnumber us. They may have an Asari-biotic in their ranks. But they lack skill, they lack discipline, and they lack firepower. The two pulls neutralize most of the enemies in the open – easy prey for Ashley and Tali. Soon, there are more floating corpses than yelling pirates.
I barely notice that, though – my focus is on uppressing the enemy snipers. Only for a second I regret that Kaidan's not with us – he is back on the NORMANDY, ready to drop with his team in case we need reinforcements.
A split-second later the salarian raises his head back from cover. Maybe he expects me to have to cool down, maybe he panics and wants to help his mates – it doesn't matter. I have him firmly in my sights and control my breathing. It's only a small angle between the balcony above us and his position that I can shoot through – but I have trained for this.
My weapon is at 20% heat. The second he appears, I coldly pull the trigger.
I need to overheat my rifle to compensate the rifle's relative inaccuracy with sheer rate of fire. But then, with the last burst I hear an ugly crunch. The salarian falls down – his visor cracked and blood on the inside. Headshot.
It is so much... easier than the first time.
Feeling a dangeous surge of adrenaline in my bloodstream, I unshoulder the rifle and try to take a look around. Only then do I notice that my shields are almost down.
And that there is a red dot in my eyes.
I react out of a reflex. I drop on my knees just in time.
A hard punch against my head, and the ringing sound of a ricochet.
"Scharfschütze!"
I yell without thinking. My brain went offline the moment I killed the salarian.
Tali reacts faster than anyone else, dragging me down, out of the sniper's line of sight while the others keep fighting. I touch my head – the steel helmet now has deep scratch. My head spins, but it's manageble.
"You alright, Raven?"
Shepard's shout makes me pull myself together. She is pressed into her cover, blue elmsfire dancing around her head, and looking at me with a shocked look. The adrenaline blurs everthing else.
"Yeah... yeah, I'm fine!" Then I remember. "Shepard, sniper, ten o'clock, high up!" It must be ten o'clock. Another angle, and he couldn't shoot me from high-ground.
"Copy!"
Gesturing to Tali that I'm fine, I drop my overheated rifle and pull the pistol. I am where I suspect the sencond sniper to seek cover – when I hear an angry yell ahead.
"I will destroy you!"
The younger Dantius looks very pissed, her biotics are charged and she fires upon Shepard with her pistol.
But she foolishly stands in the dead center of the room. And while her barriers are strong – she too goes down to our focussed fire in a matter of seconds. Her death cry is a scream of agony and anger.
Too bad I know you're slaver scum, Dahlia. I snarl. Don't worry, your sister will follow you soon enough.
I don't allow my thoughts to linger there much longer. Instead, I raise my pistol back to the sniper's cover. I keep firing, effectively pinning him behind the box. The turian then resorts to firing blindly.
"Everyone, push, push!"
Shep's order is what we need to charge out of our cover and take the room. She takes point, Ash follows, and the two of them circle around the big crates to effectively wrap things up. Wrex and Tali pushed the right flank, killing any remaining pirates trying to ambush them behind the second window thingy.
I jump over my cover, run behind a crate and aim up to where the enemy sniper is, all the while suppressing him with my pistol for as good as possible.
I notice gunfire from my right and see that Wrex and Tali have cleared up the right flank, Wrex blasting off a human's face with his shotgun.
It makes me queasy and I quickly look back to the box. I see the turian peeking for a second. I keep firing, and he crouches again.
I can't continue like this. I need to take him out; or Shepard and Ash might be shot in the back.
But I can't use an incendiary, I need at least three seconds - plenty of time for him to shoot me when I can't shoot back.
Wait.
"Wrex! I need help!"
He turns around, looking me dead in the eyes.
I fire a few more bullets in the sniper's direction, always keeping an eye on the pistol's heat. "Sniper, behind that box! Pull him out!"
He glances at me for a second, then nods curtly and focuses.
A wave of blue lifts the turian from behind his cover. He desperately claws after his gun, or anything he could grab to keep himself covered. I aim downsights, and for a second our eyes meet.
He doesn't plead for mercy. He radiates such hate that I shiver.
A few bullets from my pistols, and Talis and Wrex assault rifles finish him off. He drops back on the balcony, dead.
Suddenly, it is very quiet in the warehouse. I see Ash and Shepard move over to our position, their rifles drawn, but not fcused on any target.
There was no red marker left on my HUD. The whole battle didn't even take three minutes.
"Squad, report in!"
"All hostiles eliminated. Facility secured."
"Everyone okay? Raven, your head is alright?"
"Yeah. Going to have a hell of a headache later, I'm afraid." I knock on said helmet once, but then I flinch. It's already hurting.
"Get yourself some painkiller's from Chakwas. Or don't; you kinda deserve that. I thought I'd get a heart attack when your shields went out." Ash says, sighing in a way as if she wants to rid herself of everything. "Especially when you yelled. What the hell was that?"
"Ehm. It was 'Sniper!'. On German."
"Uh-huh."
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Forget it."
"C'mon, people." Shepard interrupted. "We're not done yet. Raven, where's your rifle?"
"Back there; I dropped it when it overheated."
"Grab it and get ready, just in case." She pointed on the door of which I knew that it would lead to the office with the computer and the data inside. Let's see what's inside."
As I walk back to grab my rifle, I feel the Adrenaline leave my body. Tiredly I grab at my tigh – to notice that I'm wearing an armor. I then remember that the package of cigarettes is still aboard the NORMANDY – safely stored in my locker. Next to my wristwatch. Not to mention that I'm still on doctor's orders anyway.
I curse loudly, causing Tali and Garrus to cast me curious glances.
At least this time, everything worked out just like in the game. Shepard and Tali searched the terminal for useful information – and found lots of evidence about the slaver's identity. Someone, I think Garrus, remembered that Nassana Dantius was a diplomat on the Citadel. Shepard then decided that we confront the older Dantius sister the next time we where at the galaxy's capital.
We left the building with a lot of loot – weapon mod, a few new armors, a few new weapons. Luckily, the Mako had some kind of a storage deck.
Now that the fighting died down I showed the same symptoms like on the ONTARIO – mild nausea, tiredness, everything really.
'Combat sickness', I called it with a hint of cynism. But this time, the effects were – less bad than before. Was it because I got used to killing people? Was it because the situation was much different?
I decided that it was better for my mental health not to think about all of this. With any luck, we'll only be fighting Geth for the next weeks. And Geth don't splatter.
Great. And then we're on Feros.
I took off the helmet and put my head in my hand, groaning lightly. My headaches were getting stronger, despite me administering medigel to my head. Additionally, the punch in my chest had left a bruise I couldn't treat planetside – I needed to get on the ship to rid myself of that armor. Ashley had taken over at the sensors.
I wasnt the only one, though. Shepard being a Vanguard had taken quite some fire as well; and while her armor was better than mine, the blood she spilled was... worrisome. Shepard treated it as if it was nothing, and while I didn't feel too comfortable seeing her walk around like that, I knew better than to try and treat her without her order. I merely passed her some medigel when nobody watched.
The other one was Wrex. I didn't worry about him at all, though. He can take a pistol round to his headplate without any problems. He's a krogan, after all.
I worried more about myself. I sat directly opposite of him. He had already taken off his helmet, but is intense stare in my direction was just as unnerving.
Under different circumstances, I probably would have been scared or something. The mix of painkillers, headaches and nausea made everything else irrelevant, though.
"What's up, Wrex? You look like I am a salarian scientist."
His eyes narrowed. Now I started to worry.
"You have nerves to call me like that." he growled. "I only follow Shepard. You, I tolerate. Don't think you can give me orders."
I stared at him in disbelief. My tongue slipped.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? I asked for your help, man!"
He grinned at me – an emotionless, cold krogan grin. Before he could say something, tough, I continued in a more heated tone.
"Wrex, we had a sniper behind a cover. I wasn't able to get him out of there. You are a biotic. Logical conclusion: You pull him out f cover so we can finish him off. There's no time to say 'please' in a battle!"
I leaned back against the Mako's cool armor platings and closed my eyes. All fear was gone – I had no power left to be afraid. "Shep said, we're a team. If we can't work as one, we're done. So, do whatever you want."
I noticed a few of the others carefully looking in our direction. Ashley carefully fumbled at her hip and closed her hand around the pistol.
But Wrex just laughed. "Hah! Looks like you've got some nuts after all, kid."
With that, he even gave me a respectful nod before leaning back.
I nodded, tiredly. I didn't even try to understand what was going on anymore.
Only later did I realize that this was the moment where Wrex started to respect me.
For now, I was content enough to know that we were now driving to a pick-up zone and that the Alliance would send someone else to secure the base and bag the corpses.
We would be back on the NORMANDY in less than ten minutes,
Back home.
"C'mon', lads. Let's show what yer got."
I took a look at the cards in my hand, then back to Corporal Miller who put a three-of-a-kind, three Sevens, on the table with a triumphant grin.
Privates First Class Gordon and Katsavidis, a tall man of roughly thirty years with a distinct eastern-European accent, both groaned almost simultaneously, only widening Miller's impertinent grin. Corporal Mason, on the other hand, just put his cards face-down on the table and closed his eyes with a resigned sigh.
"He's cheating, I tell y'all."
"He ain't." A female voice spoke up from behind Miller. Private First Class Danners steps from the microwave oven to the mess table, a hot tray in her hands. "I would see that, y'know."
Serviceman Third Class Artozeck, a young man of barely my age, scoffed at that while putting his own hand down – a Pair of Queens. "And how do we know you're not secretly on his side?"
"Thank's for confirmin' that I've got a pull with the ladies, man."
"That's what you think, Miller." She rolled her eyes, but in amusement. It was well-known that while having a bit of a loose tongue, Miller wasn't quite an a-hole type of marine – he just liked to make fun out of everything and everyone. He wasn't bad-looking,too; but everyone knew that he had a loving wife and two young children and was fiercely loyal to them.
If he wasn't married however, I wouldn't have judged him if he tried to make a move on Danners. She was the oldest of the bunch with thirty-five years, but looked not a single day older than twenty-seven. Shoulder-length light blonde hair, most of the time tied to a bun like Ashley's. Scandinavian type of eyes, but in an almost-yellow light brown that did not quite fit in. It looked good anyway.
She did look like the soft type of woman, but everyone who had witnessed her in combat was asking themselves why she was at that age and just a Private. The answer was simple – she had enlisted in her late-twenties. Rumors were she did so to escape from a rather colorful past, but she never spoke about it and no one wanted to get on her bad side – for various reasons.
"Alright Raven, it's only you left. What do ya have?"
I usually am no one who's easily angered, except for when I'm in the mood for it. (Others say that I'm constantly angry, but don't believe them.) In this case however, Miller's grin (for the lack of an appropriate word) did ignite the desire in me to test my newly-learned CQC-skills.
But while his banter was rage-inducing, I couldn't help but smile anyway. After all, it was Miller who gave me the chance to get to know my fellow marines in the first place.
It had been a few days since our assault on the Sharilja slaver base. According to schedule (read: Ash's orders), I was supposed to spend six hours in the medbay where Dr. Chakwas taught me the basics of using medigel and combat drugs. We made good progress – the good doc was a remarkeably good teacher and somehow able to hammer a lot of stuff in my mind in a very short amunt of time.
After three hours, I knew enough to keep wounded people alive; at least for long enough 'til they could be brought to the medbay and at least in a way so I wouldn't cause additional harm. Medigel is a great substance; it can heal almost everything, given enough time. No wonder it was one of the Alliance' most important trading goods.
Chakwas also taught me how to properly give myself adrenaline shots in the field. I carefully hid my smile from her when I weighed the syringe in my hand. Assault Training confirmed. I thought back to BioShock for a second, too, but that's another point entirely.
However, at half-time, our lesson was cut short – by an incoming patient, Navigator Pressley. I saluted briefly, thanked Chakwas and got the hell out; I had a feeling I knew what kind of sickness Pressley had and had no intention of getting it myself.
So, for the first time in the last weeks I was truly without orders or work to do. The relief only lasted a few seconds. I entered the elevator down to the cargo bay thinking about either talking to Tali or restoring my heavy metal collection, only to meet Miller who recognized me with a broad grin.
Long story short: I ended up in the crew's mess, sitting at a table with four other grunts, got taught Skyllian-V in like five minutes and had lost roughly hundred credits in five more. But over the course of two hours, I reduced my losses to fifty. It helped that Skyllian-V is basically the same thing as Street Poker.
"Sure you wanna see? It may surprise you." I said and carefully measured the amount of chips on the table. We were playing with real cards and chips; it was gentlemen's agreement that we would pay out each other at the end of the game. The chips in this pot were roughly sixhundred cred worth.
"Ya tried that before, ya know?" Miller grinned even broader. "It didn't work."
"Maybe you shouldn't underestimate him, Mils" said Katsavidis, having looked into my cards but managing to keep a straight face. I smiled in his direction and nodded.
It was a pleasant surprise that the grunts seemed to accept me, too; I assumed that with my background and being the newbie and everything... well, whatever I feared, it wasn't the case.
I guess, it's that simple: I am human, I wear Alliance colors, I shoot bad guys, I'm no arrogant a-hole. I'm one of their own – a powerful feeling you can only understand if you've ever been part of it.
Still, I tried to keep a certain distance between me and my fellow enlisted guys. Afer all, I know that the NORMANDY is going to be wreck before the year even ends... but it wasn't easy. At all. Not for the first time I condemned my knowledge.
Miller was about to answer when someone else spoke up from behind me.
"Ah, should've known I would find you here."
The fimiliar voice made me turn around and everyone else snap to attention.
"Sir!"
"At ease, everyone; I'm off-duty."
With a sigh, Kaidan stood next to and looked down to me, with the same look he usually reserved for Joker.
Only then did I notice that I hadn't greeted him and still the cards in my hand. My brain shorted and made me say the first thing that came to mind.
"Don't gimme that look."
Kaidan merely snorted with a grin.
"I knew Miller would find a way to get you here."
"Sir, it's just a friendly game." said Corporal spoke up, his voice betraying respect and... nervousness.
"Of course it is, Corporal." Kaidan's grin stayed the same. "Of course it is."
I gave him a curious glance, but the Lieutenant shook his head ever so slightly. I tell you later.
Okay, Boss.
"Something important, Sir?"
"Indeed, Private." Is that your way of mocking me, Kaidan? "The Commander sent me to find you. You weren't with the doc, like Williams told her."
I had a response on my tongue. Something about me being lucky to actually have three hours of downtime and not having Ash breathing down my neck. Then I realized that I probably shouldn't drop such a comment in front of the grunts. If I wanted to continue breathing, that is.
"Dr. Chakwas had some emergency she had to attend to. What's up, Sir?"
Kaidan opened his mouth, but Shepard's voice from the intercom interrupted him.
"This is Commander Shepard speaking. All members of my squad, please report to the comm-center immediately."
Four weeks aboard the NORMANDY, and it still filled me with pride, knowing that Shepard also called for me when she called for her squad.
Kaidan looked to the ceiling with furrowed brows, then at me. "Already? There must be something really important going on."
"We've finally found that Asari scientist?" I stretched my arms in the air, but purposefully kept m cards away from Miller. My shoulders crack slightly in protest from sitting for hours without moving.
"Probably. Let's not make Shepard wait. C'mon, Raven. Everyone else, carry on."
"Saved by the Commander, Raven", said Miller, his grin broad and challenging.
I sighed and stood up. "Danners, could I ask you to keep an eye on my chips?", I addressed the blonde woman. "I always seem to get an important call whenever I'm winning." She nodded in response, flashing me a smile.
"Wait, what?" Miller frowned. He was basically the only one who didn't knew what was going on.
I finally revealed my own cards.
Straight Flush.
"See ya later, guys."
I managed to keep a straight face and purposefully didn't look at Kaidan's. When the lift door's closed however, I saw him in the eyes and found him grinning. That caused me to chuckle, and soon after we're laughing out loud.
Miller's flabbergasted face was a sight to behold.
"There you are." Shepard said when the comm-center lock closed behind the two of us. "We were only waiting for you."
Both Kaidan and I stepped into the middle of our little circuit of seats, saluted the Commander and sat down. I bowed forward, put my elbows on my knees, folded my hands and supported my head on it. This is my usual posture for being attentive. My eyes briefly focused on Shepard... I had never seen her so tense before. A telling sign.
I let my eyes dart around the room. Everyone else was already present and looked just as curious and worried as I felt. Except for, of course, Wrex – but even he looked more interested than usual. I exchanged a few smiles and nods as a greeting.
It didn't freak me out anymore – a month is a long time to get used to things. Even to being in a videogame universe. Then again, it was really difficult to grasp that four and half a freakin' week had already passed since the day I woke up on the Presidium.
And 'til now, we've done nearly nothing. Yeah, we did accomplish a couple of side missions, but so far, not a single damned main mission. On the other hand, it was hardly fair to compare the game to real life. To see what those weeks made of us, I only have to take a look around, at how the squad interacts with each other.
It's difficult to pinpoint it. But if someone woulds ask me about what had changed the most, I'd say: The attitude. When even Wrex somewhat politely asks me questions about my opinion on ammo mods (with him being a fighter with at least seven hundred years of experience), then you know that Shepard's magic is really working. Not that it actually mattered what I said – but Wrex pretended to listen, so I kept talking. I felt honored anyway. Wrex is noone to do small-talk.
With some longing, I thought about who was missing in this picture. While the four others around me (plus Liara) are 'nice' people... Mass Effect doesn't feel complete without the colorful bunch of heroes from part two.
Shepards words snapped me out of my thoughts.
"We've got her."
Every noise in the room died down.
"Admiral Hackett contacted me ten minutes ago. Intel says, the finally got a hold of Liara T'Soni."
The Commander was well aware that everyone was hanging on her every word.
She activated her omni-tool, typed something, then a holographic picture appeared in the middle of the room.
A rusty-red planet, with a trace of silver where I suspected clouds.
"Therum is one of the mineral-richest planets the Alliance has under it's control." Shepard said in her Commander-voice. "The heavy metals we're getting from there are fueling most of humanity's shipyards. Simply put: Without Therum, the Eighth Fleet wouldn't exist."
She zoomed in to a close-up picture of the surface. I recognized the picture you get when selecting Therum in Mass Effect 1.
"Nowadays, it's volcanic planet. But it must have been more hospitable a few ten thousand year ago." She briefly paused to look at each of us. "At least it's filled with Prothean ruins."
I thought it a good idead to groan. "We've got an Asari scientist, we know that she's interested in Protheans, and Intel needs four weeks! to find out that she's on our most important planet around here?"
"Intelligence is gambling, Raven." Ashley grinned. "One can tell you're new."
"No matter the species... " added Garrus. The irony in his voice was palpable.
"Attention, please." Serious voice, but the short twitch of Shep's lips didn't fit.
"Yes, Liara T'Soni is on Therum. We do even have an exact location – a mining facility, owned by Heavy Metals ExoMining of China. Big player in the Alliance. But in accordance with Council laws, they allowed a corps of scientists to study the Prothean ruins they found."
"Have we been able to contact Dr. T'Soni?" Kaidan asked.
Shepard shook her head. "No. Long-range communications from and to Therum are jammed."
Silence.
"The last thing we heard was that the scientist camp was under attack, but the 303rd and 305th Frontier Units were able to hold them off for the time being. Geth... and krogan."
Wrex was unfazed by the eyes moving to his direction. "Hmph. What these idiots are doing, is not my business."
"Aaalright."
The death glance of death is pretty effective in shutting me up. Especially if you're a krogan battlemaster.
"Anyway," Shepard continue as if nothing happened, "the marines were able to defend the facility so far, but before they went black, they also reported that T'Soni wasn't with them. The last report they received suggested that she went to a smaller outpost, a few clicks away. And this is where we'll start searching."
She shut off her tool and pressed her hands in her hips. Just by standing there, she commanded respect and radiated a feeling of… strength.
"We're twelve hours from Therum. Everyone, get some shut-eye. I await you here in ten hours for mission briefing. Dismissed."
With that we rose, nodded to the Commander and left the room.
Wrex and I were the last ones.
"Looks like it's on, now, huh?" I said quietly.
"Pah." he rumbled, staring at me with those red eyes. "They've got no chance against us."
"You bet, big one." I answered, flashing him a grin.
We exchanged a nod and then moved into opposite directions. Wrex grabbed something to eat.
I headed straight to the cargo bay, thinking about my rifle.. and then about what would await us there.
Hold on, Liara. We're coming.
A/N: I hope everyone here had a nice Christmas! Yeah, it did took a whole month, but the chapter has a reasonable length and everything.
For those wondering: I intentionally decided against using "Lift" from Mass Effect 1 and going straight to the Mass Effect 2 and 3 abilities. I'm mostly okay with using thermal clips and basically changing the whole galaxy's arsenal in merely two years. But it does not make any sense to change the biotics, really.
Yeah, and I've got nothing else to say. Except that I wish everyone a happy new year 2016! And that I hope you'll drop me a christmas present in form of a fav, follow and/or review :) If you don't like parts of this chapter, that's fine - just drop me a PM or something o I can think about changing it.
See ya next year!
P.S.: Last edit 27.12.2015 - accidently uploaded an outdated version, fixed that