Vanguard of Vengeance: Chapter 8

The CIC of the Alliance frigate, SSV Normandy buzzed with the activity of a ship only minutes away from getting underway. But this buzz was different. Evangeline Shepard could feel it from where she stood just behind the command podium; the bridge crew was tenser than usual, tenser even than when they had begun their run on Eden Prime. Not that she could blame them; she herself was tense, and not just because of the weight of the discoveries made on the Citadel. Many changes had come to the Normandy and not all of them were welcome. Shepard looked out across the bridge. The new arrivals stood scattered, isolated.

Each brought their own unique skills to the mission. Each one had their own reasons for joining up. The Turian, Garrus, had been first to lend his aid and his rifle. The C-Sec sniper had almost jumped at the chance to sign on with the mission to take down Saren. Opposite him was the slightly more reluctant addition to the team, Tali'Zorah. The Quarian had been about ready to melt back into the small enclave her people had built on the Wards until she had heard that Garrus was leaving. The two seemed to have built quite the rivalry in the short time they had worked together. Anderson had said it was natural, given their race's history. Anderson.

Shepard looked up at the final and least welcome addition to the team. Nihlus stood tall on the podium, rigid with head held high. His position there had been a final concession to the Citadel powers on behalf of the Systems Alliance. They wanted a SPECTRE to hunt a SPECTRE, and since Shepard had been found wanting…


They were back in Udina's office. It was just her and Anderson now. They sat across from the tired looking ambassador as he hemmed and hawed over some diplomatic dispatch.

"We're in a tight spot, that's for sure," he had said. "The Council won't like the Alliance hunting down one of their own."

"Nihlus said that it would take a SPECTRE to open up a case on a rogue like Saren," Shepard had said. There had been silence in the room, no one speaking.

"I suppose they'll give it to him," Anderson had said, referring to Nihlus. "It's a shame we won't be coming along for the ride, I'd have liked to give that son of a bitch a good lesson in why you don't pick fights with the Alliance." Udina's ears had seemed to pick up, his eyes suddenly brightening. He tapped something out furiously on a datapad in front of him.

"You may just have something there, Captain," he had said, seemingly freezing half-way through a thought. He tapped more furious keystrokes against his desk.

"Ambassador?"

"The solution, Captain. I can't believe I didn't think of it before. If this… Nihlus is to be assigned to Saren's case, he will need a ship."

"You're suggesting we offer him a ride?"

"No, commander, I'm suggesting we give him a command."


"Commander Shepard, do you have anything to say to the crew?" Nihlus' low, flanged voice shook her from her reverie. Her eyes snapped up and her body tensed.

"Nothing comes to mind," Shepard said. She tried to keep the feeling of injustice from poisoning her tone, but she still heard a little bitterness seep in around the edges. If he heard it, Nihlus didn't acknowledge it. He instead gave a taut nod and flicked on the ship's general address system.

"Crew of the SSV Normandy, this is Citadel SPECTRE Nihlus." Shepard was glad he hadn't tried to use the title 'captain.' "As you now know, this ship has been put under my authority for the duration of this operation with you Alliance's blessing. I don't presume to believe that that will make me any more welcome. But hear this; our mission is too important to allow old grudges to raise their heads. Because of this, while officially I may head this mission, I would like you to consider Commander Shepard as your nominal leader. She will remain ship's XO, and now serve as commander of the Alliance contingent."

The turian nodded as if satisfied and straightened the silver accented black tunic he still wore. He looked down at Shepard. Shepard gave him a grudging sign of approval. Not a bad speech, for a Turian.

"You do not approve of this change in the command scheme." Shepard swiveled to face Javik. The ill-tempered survivor of the Reaper's last cycle stood tall at the entrance to the bridge.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I'm not a fan of Udina's little game. Captain Anderson was a fine commander; he didn't deserve to be pushed aside like he was." Shepard kept her voice down as she moved away from Nihlus. Javik followed closely.

"In the old empire, we did not make such substitutions for the sake of political expediency."

"Heh, if only." Shepard looked back at the tall Turian as he stood high above the crew at their stations.

"If I might speak plainly, Commander Shepard, it would appear you have the support of the crew. If you were to move quickly, before the Turian is able to build a report with the security personnel…"

"You're speaking about a mutiny!" Shepard said in hushed tones. Inwardly, she groaned. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation, and with an alien to boot. "No, I won't do it."

"Perhaps if that is how you choose to interpret it. In the old empire the punishment for mutiny was to be thrown from the nearest airlock. However, should a foreign force deign to take a hold of one of our ships; it would be every loyal officer's duty to resist. Then the intruder would then be thrown from the nearest airlock." The Prothean smiled, showing a disconcerting number of small, peg-like teeth.

"I have my orders, Javik, and I intend to follow them. That's what you do when you have orders." She looked away and back up the narrow neck of the Normandy. It seemed emptier without Anderson. But he had handed her her orders personally. She wouldn't let him down, even if obeying him felt like a betrayal.

"Admirable. If you choose to change your interpretation, I will be in the sleeping quarter's arranged for me. You human's seem to have little regards for efficient use of space…"

Shepard ignored the alien's continued rant. She had more important things to dwell on. The Normandy was shipping out.

"Flight Lieutenant Moureau, kindly take us out," Nihlus ordered smartly. The pilot put his well-practiced hands to the controls and backed the ship slowly away from its berth. The nebula that surrounded the Citadel filled the screens once more, filling the interior of the small ship with pastels. Joker hit the thrusters and sent the Normandy screaming into space.


The SSV Normandy thrummed along, riding the bright tail of light characteristic of a ship in FTL. Commander Shepard found herself looking over half of an MRE at one of the mess' small fold-out tables. Standard Alliance fare was nothing to write home about, but it beat staring at an empty wall.

"Got a minute, Commander?" A woman's voice asked. Shepard looked up to see Ashley Williams standing at rest across from her.

"Take a seat, Chief." Shepard offered the other woman a friendly smile. The colonial Marine had kicked ass down on Eden Prime before Kaidan had bought it. Ashley returned the smile and scooted out a chair. She sat heavily and tossed down her own rumpled packet of rations.

"I'm afraid the menu's probably a bit more limited than what you were used to down at the garrison," Shepard said as she watched the younger NCO tug at the foil wrappings.

"Are you kidding? Locals on Eden couldn't boil an egg without help. Besides, I used to live on these things. I basically grew up on starships, Ma'am, this things always used to remind me of home."

"To each her own, I guess," Shepard replied, thinking back to the stale ration cubes that had formed much of her childhood diet. Suddenly, Alliance rations seemed even less appealing. She resealed the package and leaned back in the folding chair. "So, you said you wanted to talk about something?"

The question hung in the air while Williams forced herself to swallow. "Yes, Ma'am. I….um, figured you might want to have someone to talk to. You know, after what happened on Eden." The younger woman took another bite of her MRE while Shepard mulled over what she had said.

"You jonesing for ship's councilor or something, Chief?" Shepard asked in a not unfriendly tone. Ashley shook her head.

"Look, Commander, I'm not one to get chummy with my officers, and I'm not bucking for a commendation or anything. It's just, you and that Lieutenant seemed close is all. I've been there, Commander."

"I appreciate the offer, Chief, but this isn't the first time I've lost friends," Shepard said. Too many, she thought inwardly.

"I didn't mean to imply, Ma'am. I've read your file front to back. You know what they say about old scars." She took another bite of what looked like bread. "I left a few white crosses of my own behind to take this posting. You never quite get used to it, you know." Shepard knew all too well.

"Thanks, Chief. I guess I could use a friendly face on the crew. I'm not sure our new friends will be open to hear an old warhorse's groans and moans."

"Not a fan of our new Captain, Commander?" Ashley asked with slightly raised eyebrow.

"SPECTRE," Shepard corrected insistently. William's eyebrow quirked a little higher. Shepard grumbled as she knew her reaction had betrayed her. "I guess I'm a little ticked about how Anderson got the shaft here. I know you didn't really know him, but he put his heart and soul into this ship every single day he was on duty."

"I got the impression," Ashley said. "It does feel a little off here since the switch. Turian commander, Quarians, Protheans. All we need to do is invite a Krogan along and we'll have completed the set."

"Ah, but you're forgetting the Asari," Shepard said. Absent mindedly, she reached for the neatly folded meal packet, her misgivings for the starchy food wafers momentarily forgotten.

"Pff," Ashley made a dismissive noise, "You want my, opinion, the Asari can keep their mitts of this mission. I mean, a Turian can at least fight."

"You not a fan of the Asari, Chief?"

"I won't be lining up to give one a hug, if that's what you mean." Ashley replied, 'I mean, the Turians at least had the decency to declare war on us to our faces back in the First Contact War, but it was the Asari that let them ride over us for a while before stepping…." Ashley's voice dropped off as her eyes fell on something over Shepard's shoulder. Shepard turned to follow her gaze and found Nihlus wandering slowly along the side bulkhead. He stopped every now and again to get a closer look at a panel or question a crewman.

"Ah, Commander, Chief Williams," the SPECTRE said as he passed their table.

"Admiring the ship, Nihlus?" Shepard asked. The Turian nodded.

"In fact I was. A sound design, if I don't say so myself." He raised a taloned hand and reached out to scrape softly against the white metal. "As sharp as a saber, yet swift, and stealthy like a dagger. Normally the Hierarchy wouldn't fund such a ship, but you Humans somehow convinced them."

"Have they convinced you?" Shepard asked.

"Hmm," Nihlus looked away from the panel. "Trust me, Commander, I needed no convincing. The ship itself did that job for you. Quite a thing of beauty, like the claw-craft of the Turians, but elegant…" He dropped his arms and struck a more formal pose.

"Aesthetics aside, it is exactly the kind of ship a SPECTRE needs, especially on a mission this important. Had I the funds I'd commission a fleet of them." And with that the Turian departed to look at other areas of the ship. The two women watched him leave. Once he was out of earshot, Ashley cracked a small smile and a hastily muffled snort.

"He'd better not try to pull that on the bridge. He and Lieutenant Moreau might get in a bit of a dust up if he saw anyone else looking at his ship that way."


The Normandy lit up like a candle as it dumped static build-up into the swirling gasses of the baleful gas giant that filled the monitors. Shepard tore her eyes away from the sight to focus on the gathering around her. Nihlus had called the first team-wide briefing. Senior crew and department heads Shepard had expected, but Garrus and Tali had also been summoned, as had the Prothean. It made for a packed briefing room, with most members of the crew left standing. Nihlus began the briefing with a request for a status report from all departments. Men and women stated their department's readiness and were dismissed one by one until only the new additions from Eden Prime and the Citadel were left. Nihlus took a seat at the fore of the room and invited the five of them to take seats around him.

"Now that that little bit of protocol is out of the way, I'm sure you are all wondering why you've been called down here." He addressed the assembled team. "We have found our first lead in this case. Salarian intelligence reports have found several Geth incursions into Citadel space." He brought up a flattened galaxy map on the room's central holoprojector. Red line indicated movements of the Geth's insectoid cruisers. "As you can see, it's mostly the usual feeler tendrils and sensor echoes, but here…" he drew a talon through the space next to a minute label. The area of space blew up to viewable size, revealing the label to read "Therum." "It's a volcanic world, valuable for very little except for being the site of some small Prothean ruins."

"And you think the halls of my dead will aid us in the mission to stop the Reapers?" Javik asked haughtily.

"Not so much the ruins, as who has taken up residence in them." Nihlus tapped a key in his chair armrest. A profile shot and a scrolling textbox replaced the slowly spinning map of Therum's home system. "Doctor Liara T'Soni, lead researcher on the Prothean digs on Therum, daughter of the Asari Matriarch, Benezia." Nihlus intoned. The blue skinned face hung in place against a background of black rock. Shepard studied the soft features and drawn back hair-tentacles the Asari were known for.

"An archaeologist?" Garrus asked. "Why would we need a Prothean expert on staff, we have an actual Prothean aboard."

"While Dr. T'Soni's background is an added bonus, it is not why we are after her, or at least, not directly." He tapped more keys and the image dissolved into a number of still pictures. They looked like high altitude surveillance photographs of the fiery planet. In stark contrast to the red and brown below, three long, thin, and purple craft hung hazily above the landscape, their contorted forms reminiscent of large metallic hornets.

"These images clearly show a surprising Geth presence. If the synthetics have truly thrown in with this Reaper, I think it should be obvious that anything that they are this interested in acquiring is something we simply cannot let them have."

"Do we know why they would want this… T'Soni?" Ashley asked.

"If I could hazard a guess, it has something to do with this Conduit that they are searching for. If it is truly a Prothean construct, it would make sense to try and acquire an expert." Nihlus replied. "As it is, the Geth already have a significant lead on us, I'm putting us on full alert as of now. I want the team to be prepared to strike as soon as we reach the Knossos System."

"SPECTRE Nihlus," Javik spoke up. The Prothean stood and paced around the restored galaxy map. "I am not familiar with your system names, but I know this planet." He raised a thin finger to highlight the fourth planet of the system.

"Armeni? It's a dead world, nothing but tombs. The Council's put a hold on any kind of archaeological digs there."

"Perhaps in your cycle it was dead, but in my cycle it belonged to the Zieoph. Our two species came into conflict early in the Empire's history. We buried them here, in the Battle of a Thousand Torches. I would visit this world."

"Javik, I respect that you are effectively a head of state, but this mission has a time element." Nihlus protested.

"Does it?" Javik asked. "The synthetics already hang over the fire world. If this doctor could be easily captured, she would have been by now. If not, she is likely somewhere they cannot reach her. I think a rotation of the planet will not set us back irreparably so." The room fell quiet as the grey-green ball of Armeni gave backlight to the stoic Prothean.

"I'll allow it, but we can only afford half of a rotation, twenty seven hours at most. I will remain on the ship in case the Geth take an objection to our presence. You may take a small squad down to the surface. Shepard will command."


The Normandy skimmed the thin atmosphere of Knossos Four, or Armeni as it had been named by human explorers. The ion thrusters threw ripples through the wispy xenon clouds that clung to the planet with tenuous fingers, the first ship to disturb the restless slumber of the tomb world in millennia.

"Mako drop party, you are cleared to drop," Joker said through the radio.

"Copy, Normandy, dropping." Shepard pushed forwards on the control column and set the Mako APC rumbling slowly forwards on its six, studded wheels. It crawled towards the wide opening of the cargo bay ramp. Shepard gunned the engine, tossing the vehicle out into open space. They fell in freefall as the Normandy swooped up and out of sight. The thin atmosphere offered little resistance as the small craft plummeted.

"Commander, you gonna hit the jets any time soon?" Garrus asked nervously as the altimeter on the dash dropped rapidly. He and Ashley shared the rear crew space somewhat uncomfortably. Ahead of them, Javik sat absolutely skill, his eyes closed. Shepard could swear she could hear him muttering something just out of hearing. A dozen or so unbraked meters went by before she activated the Mako's jump jets. The APC shuddered as it slowed until it bounced lightly on a buffeted bubble of air. The jets cut out, dropping them to the ground.

"Post drop checks, all systems look good," Shepard said, "Gravity coming up as point eight Earth normal, atmosphere; unbreathable, temperature; damn cold. Anywhere in particular you want to go?" She asked the Prothean, turning around in her seat.

"You will take us fifty kilometers planetary west, and then a further ten kilometers into the tomb city you will find there."

"We couldn't have landed over there, that's almost a two hour haul in this terrain," Ashley spoke up.

"This planet is not as dead as your Council might think. We will drive."

The drive was long and arduous. The silicate surface of the grim world was cracked and loose and gave the Mako very little purchase. The lightest of slopes slowed them to a crawl as the knobbly tires kicked up great drifts of the flaky sand that fell ethereally in the low gravity. The open plains they had landed on gave way in time to deep canyons, bare and smooth at first, but later scarred by deep impacts.

"So Javik, if this is the graveyard of some race you knocked over fifty thousand years ago, what are we doing down here now? What did these Zeeoffs have that we need now?" Garrus asked as they crested another dune. The Prothean regarded him as the Mako bounced lightly.

"It is not what they had, but what we had. The Zieoph made contact with the Protheans at the beginning of our mass effect age. We were small then, only a cluster of colony worlds on the edge of space. They were our first enemy, before even the Metacon Wars. They inhabited the worlds clustered around this system, preferring to inhabit the deep spaces.

They fought us bitterly amongst the stars, neither fleet able to gain ground on the other. Their raiders would show up in the skies of our colonies and in turn we would strike at their heartlands with fire and steel. After many conflicts, we drove them back to here and entombed them."

"You built all of these tombs for your enemies?" Garrus asked. The Mako had entered the deeper reaches of the canyon. On every wall, piled higher and higher atop harshly jutting terraces, were rows upon rows of tombs. They were carved from the sickly ash grey stone of the surrounding peaks and arranged in bizarre and yet strangely beautiful forms. The crew counted hundreds of the high domed structures. The terraces ran together in twisting shapes that almost seemed to writhe as the eyes past over them. Some of the larger ones showed signs of battle millennia past, ragged holes blown smooth by the wind of ages.

"We did not build these monuments to evil. The Zieoph were obsessed with death, fanatical to the point of madness and led by their abominable Nightlords. They slaughtered our people for their mad worship, not for our land, nor our resources, not even to take us for slaves. No, we buried them in their homes, it was only appropriate. You will turn here, we are near our destination."

Shepard pulled a tight turn and rocketed of down another ravine. The structures ran thicker here and more eldritch. The domes and twisting columns were joined by wilted spires. Here the ashen stone was covered in a spiny and luminous green crystal that clung like a carpet of moss to the empty mouths of the mausoleums. Here and there an ugly scar was torn into the canyon, bigger and wider than before. They cast shadows in the faint twinkling of the system's far away star and went deep into the crust of the planet. At the mouth of the widest scar, Javik placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder.

"This is where we must go." He pointed to the split open side of the nearest mausoleum-palace. "It shall descend to what remains of the Narsuvaan."

"Down there?" Shepard threw the Mako into neutral and hit the brakes. She whistled as she looked down the deep cleft in the rock. In ran deep with steep walls blackened by some cataclysm. "You heard the relic, team, helmets on." She pulled her own helmet from the bucket beside her seat and placed it roughly on her head. When the rest of the squad had done likewise, the hatch hissed open.


Author's Note:

Woo, two chapters, one week. I'm not going to call it now, but this might be a return to form. I hope you enjoyed this little segment. Let me know how you feel about Javik's history lessons, I'm hoping to pepper them around from time to time to give him an arc past "kill all reapers." Next Chapter we will see what lies under Armeni and walk on Therum, so stay tuned.

-Liddle Out