Vanguard of Vengeance: Chapter 11
Embarkation under fire wasn't one of Shepard's favourite ways to begin the day.
The open mouth of the SSV Normandy way waiting ahead of her; the thin, shark-like frigate hovered only meters off the ground on jets of blue mass effect. Shepard looked behind her as she ran. More Geth, and some of the big ones too. Shepard refocused her eyes forward as an errant rock almost sent her sprawling. The harsh rattle of gunfire reached her seconds after a hail of small needles scattered across a rock to her left. The commander dodged to the right and kept moving. Then something else reached her ears. The soft *tump-tump* sound of artillery that any infantryman worth his salt learned to hate.
"Everyody down!" Shepard yelled as she dropped and rolled. She tucked herself in the lee of another pillar of rock that stuck out of the dusty ball of stone that made rather ambitious claims to planethood. Already the mortar rounds were falling around her, each coming in with a sharp whistle before bursting in a raucous cloud of smoke and metal fragments. Shrapnel rattled off of her kinetic barriers as shot after shot slammed the ground around them.
"Shepard!" Garrus was yelling. Evangeline raised her head and saw the bird-like alien crouched low in a shallow streambed. Another shell went off, raising a choking cloud of dust between them. Even behind the billowing dust, Shepard knew that the Turian was right. If they stayed here, under fire, they'd either bite a mortar bomb or be overrun by the Geth as they approached under the walking barrage.
"Joker, any help you could render would be much appreciated. The team's pinned down here!"
"Alright, but you better keep your head down, I've only done this once," the signal became choppy as the floating frigate pitched forward and bounced upwards. Shepard swiped at the dust that suddenly clung to her armour as the static wash rushed over her. The mortar rounds continued to fall unabated.
"Joker!"
"Okay, okay, this kind of thing is tricky. Prepare for three rounds, danger close."
Shepard froze. Three rounds. She'd been expecting a GUARDIAN burst or perhaps one of the Normandy's precision missiles, but rounds? Mere seconds later, she heard the sound she had dreaded. With a shrill whistle that sounded like the shriek of an over pressured steam engine, the Normandy's main guns loosed their tungsten slugs. Fired at a velocity designed to hole other frigates, the slugs exited the barrel so fast that they ignited in the dusty atmosphere. They streaked, white hot, through the air with the sound of ripping canvas and dragged a burning gale behind them. Shepard squeezed her eyes closed tightly and yelled into the noise as the slugs hit the ground hard enough to shake her like a doll. Her ears rang and her vision blurred as one, two, three rounds ripped out and into the ground in front of her.
Dizzily, she knew this was her chance to make a run for it. She stumbled as she started running. Something collided with her and she instinctively drew her combat knife. Garrus raised a hand to block and yelled something that she couldn't make out. She shook her head and sheathed the knife.
"This way!" She yelled, tinny in her own ears. The two of them set off at an awkward run, not looking back. To the side, Javik and Nihlus ran in lockstep towards safety. Fire from the Geth had just begun to snap at their heels once more when the dust cloud parted to reveal the waiting mouth of the Normandy. Shepard took it at full tilt, pitching forward as boots scrabbled on dirty metal grating. More footfalls sound behind her and the ship pitched upwards. The howl of the wind cut off sharply as the outer hatch clanged shut. Shepard ripped off her helmet and let her forehead rest on the chill metal as she struggled to gain control of her breathing.
"Danger close? I'll show him some danger close. Joker, what the hell was that? Lasers not sporting enough for you?"
"Sorry about that, Commander," Joker's voice drifted down from the horn on the cargo bay wall. "GUARDIAN ports were locked down to prevent scratching from all the dust that was being kicked up. Honest, Commander, if there was any other way…"
Shepard grumbled but had to admit that it had at least gotten them out alive. She picked herself up and found Nihlus watching her mirthfully. "What are you smiling at?" she muttered darkly. The Turian chuckled.
"Do you often berate your men for saving your life?" he gave the equivalent of a smug grin. Shepard stared bullets at the SPECTRE and was about ready to slap him hard enough to knock a mandible or two askew until she saw the joking twinkle in his eyes. She let a dark chuckle of her own.
"You here this, Chief?" she asked as Ashley descended on the cargo elevator.
"Bet you never expected a dressing down on harsh treatment of subordinates from a Turian," the Chief replied mirthfully. "Mission accomplished?"
Shepard looked back towards the closed hatch. "Just barely. The Geth dropped in right after we secured the target. I think we've moved far beyond coincidence."
"This is what, the third time they've landed on us? If I didn't know better I'd say they were still chasing us. I guess putting his pet Krogan under didn't do anything for Saren's love of humans." Ashley said snidely. "You've got a message waiting for you up in C&C, Council wants to talk about something, I guess."
"Thank you, Chief Williams," Nihlus answered. "I'll take that immediately. Shepard; secure the haul, we'll speak about the mission later." The Turian swept off, leaving Shepard flatfooted in the cargo hold.
"What was that all about?" Ashley asked, falling in beside Shepard and crossing her arms. Shepard looked over at her Gunnery Chief and sighed.
"I don't know, Williams, I don't think he's handling chasing after Saren well."
"You'd have thought this was his bread and butter, being a SPECTRE and all."
"Saren was his friend though," Shepard pointed out. She returned a salute to the pair of orderlies that rushed past to help Javik up to the infirmary. The surly Prothean had caught another cruel gash at the hands of a creeping Geth. He ignored the offered hand and pulled himself to his feet with a painful grunt.
"I guess there's that. So, what's 'the haul' we risked ourselves for this time?"
Shepard reached behind her back and withdrew a thick sided plastic case. She slapped it down on the upper surface of a nearby crate and cracked it open. Ashley leaned over and peeked inside. Her eyes shifted up to meet Shepard's, an "are you serious" expression sliding across her face. Shepard nodded and opened the case all the way. A dry, fragile looking scrap of fabric unrolled to reveal a faded blue glyph.
"This is what we sat around being shot at for?" the Chief asked. "What even is it?"
"Some symbol of a long lost Turian colony. If I remember correctly the Turians sent seventeen colony ships out once they found their first relay. That was before they realized how rare Dextro-worlds were. A good half of them put down and eventually unified under the Hierarchy, but I guess this one got pushed out further and tried to put down here regardless." Ashley seemed a little stunned at the sudden blurb.
"Did Nihlus tell you that?"
"Read it in a book, Chief. Now remember to save a seat for me at the table tonight, I don't want to have to pull rank like last time. I gotta go see what this Council brief is all about."
"Aye ma'am." Ashley saluted smartly.
"Nihlus." Shepard strode into the briefing room ready to wring the details of the next mission out of the Turian SPECTRE. She hadn't expected him to be sitting in a chair staring up at the blank screen.
"Commander," he said with a start. "I suppose you're here about the brief."
"If you'd be so kind." Shepard adopted a loose parade rest and scrutinized the man in front of her. He stood slowly, almost reluctantly. Shepard had seen it before, usually just before bad news.
"We have our lead," Nihlus said heavily. He laid a taloned hand on the holographic pedestal as Shepard stood beside him. At his words she had to suppress a double take. Surely this was good news. Nihlus punched up an image of blanched and craggy world that orbited a small and dim star. It spun slowly, it's frozen surface cloaked by wispy clouds and thick blizzards.
"This is Noveria," Nihlus said. "It's a corporate outpost on the fringe of Citadel space. Citadel Intelligence reports sightings of Geth in the northern hinterlands. For the most part they seem to be trying to keep themselves hidden, but recently a crawler convoy to a facility called 'Peak 15' was ambushed and destroyed."
"You think this Peak 15 has something to do with Saren?"
"We do," Nihlus brought up a new image, that of an older Asari. Much older by the look of her, Shepard knew the aliens aged slowly. "This is the Asari Matriarch, Benezia. Citadel Intelligence reported her missing almost a month ago, but all signs point to her fleeing here."
"Trying to get away from the Reaper?" Shepard murmured.
"What was that?"
"It makes sense," Shepard said, ignoring him. She grasped at threads, tying each one into a web until a full-fledged theory unrolled in her mind. "Saren's trying to find some Prothean artifact, right? So he finds himself an expert, Dr. T'Soni. Only the doc's underground, literally at the time, so he starts searching, but on the side he starts looking for a way to assure T'Soni's cooperation."
"A hostage, yes…" Nihlus said. He looked up into the face of Benezia. "But he only found Liara within the last week and Benezia has been gone for almost six times that. The Reaper couldn't have been… I mean, I spoke with Saren before." He fell quiet.
"So what's our move?" Shepard asked, tactfully changing the subject. The SPECTRE may have usurped command of the Normandy, but Shepard knew a soldier didn't leave another warrior to wallow in their doubts. Nihlus perked up and stood a little straighter.
"Of course we'll have to move on this, if an Asari Matriarch is being targeted, the Council will want us to get involved. The problem is that Noveria is outside of Council jurisdiction. As a corporately run colony, SPECTREs are barred from the capital, Port Hanshin, without a pass from one of the dozen or so ruling stock-companies. Without one, it'll be a hard push to avoid the sentinel craft and ground to air Javelins."
"You think you can get us one?" Shepard watched the images of the capital space port fly by. Hanshin was an oddity, not quite beautiful, though not entirely ugly. It was a strange mix of utility and aesthetics that rung false in her mind.
"I think…"
Nihlus was interrupted as the doors to the circular room swept open with a hiss. Storming down the shallow ramp came the asari, Liara, clad once again in her white and dull green lab coat. Her face seemed caught between emotions, obviously distressed and flustered, but just short of being able to conjure up real anger. Shepard wondered idly if the relatively young Asari was even capable of it.
"That, that monster!" Liara stuttered as she almost landed on top of Nihlus. "SPECTRE, I…"
"What appears to be the problem, Dr. T'Soni?" Nihlus asked. "You haven't been arguing with our Prothean guest again, have you?"
"Arguing implies that there are two sides," Liara responded darkly. "I cannot believe that Javik is representative of his Empire. These are not the people I have spent my life studying." She took a deep and steadying breath before looking up. "Oh, Commander Shepard. I am sorry you had to hear that rant." Her blue skin darkened as if flushed.
"Dr. T'Soni," Nihlus said in a fluted voice, "while I understand that contact with the Prothean is likely a shock to you, I can't have your continued sparring disrupting operations here on the ship. Now, might I suggest you either come to accept that he is representative of the now fallen Prothean Empire, or take steps to avoid further conversations with him?"
"I… yes, of course," Liara said. She seemed to wilt before the Turian and Shepard couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her.
"I wouldn't get too worked up about it, Doctor. Odds are Javik isn't like most Protheans at the height of their civilization. He was born at the tail end of a genocidal war."
"Yes, yes, why didn't I think of that," Liara said. Her face brightened considerably, though it fell almost as quickly. "Oh, I've made a fool of myself again."
"We can worry about your academic pursuits later, Doctor. Right now the problem at hand is putting down on Noveria to res… You, know, perhaps you can help us after all. Have you ever been to Noveria, Doctor T'Soni?"
"Um… yes. I was part of a lecture circuit there once. I suppose most of my talking points have been rendered obsolete now."
"You wouldn't have happened to make any contacts who could secure us a landing pass, would you?" Nihlus asked. He was steadfast now, much more confident than the man Shepard had walked in on.
"I could make a few calls, I suppose. Why are we going to Noveria? Have the Reapers attacked?" Liara stood on tiptoe to see the screen. "Is that Benezia?"
"Yes," Shepard answered bluntly. "We have reason to believe that Saren wants her for leverage to use against you in his search for the Prothean Conduit. She's been seen on Noveria, as have the Geth."
"I'll have to make some calls, may I use the communications array for a time?"
"Of course," Nihlus answered. "Shepard; Inform your crew that we will be making all speed for Noveria. Start assembling a mission brief and pick a team to take groundside. I'll remain here with Doctor T'Soni."
"Aye," Shepard saluted and turned on her heel for the door.
Given how little Citadel Intelligence had actually scratched up on the inner workings of Noveria, the mission brief didn't take long to hash out. From the XO's desk tucked away in the back corner of the bridge, she thumbed through several conflicting reports on the place, plucking out anything that seemed to be reported in more than one place. Noveria was shaping up to be less like a colony and more like a thick corporate forest. One couldn't wander too far from the officially designated path before getting lost or hauled away for corporate espionage. Shepard made a special note to avoid running afoul of the Port's chief of security, who on paper looked formidably and in person was likely to be deadly.
Giving up further preparation as a bad job, Shepard hauled herself down to the crew deck to sit in on the traditional pre-mission round of Skylian Five poker. While Alliance regulations expressly forbade gambling with one's combat bonus', Captain Anderson had turned a blind eye to much of the off-regulation stress relief that went on below decks, as long as it left you fit to serve the following day. There were some new faces at the table that night, or more accurately, a new face and a mask. Tali had spent the intervening times since being picked up on the Citadel to study every hand played by the Marines. Now she was cleaning up.
Shepard bowed out before she ended up owing the bubbly Quarian a small moon or two and collapsed into her bunk. The game continued until it was interrupted by some sharp and condescending remarks from Javik. Apparently gambling amongst "the Old Empire" would get you thrown out of the nearest airlock. Apparently what the Prothean's lacked in creativity they make up for in consistency. With quiet descending once again on the berths, Shepard fell into a fitful sleep.
The Hunter watched as Avatar Javik ran on ahead. This new world was not like the last one they had landed on. This world fought. Here the local Omrahs had been more lenient than most in regards to the prescriptions against arming the slave races, for what little good it did against the Great Enemy. The Hunter could not blame them, at least they were trying.
Another blast rocked the bunker they had sheltered in. Avatar Javik stood tall amongst the falling rubble.
"Unacceptable," he bellowed in the common tongue. The administrator before him quailed. "The Empire demands Vengeance, Sadar Prewik. Blood for blood. Why do you hold your men back while your slaves spend their lives?"
"Please, Avatar," the man fell to his knees as the bunker rattled again. "We thought to preserve ourselves, ride out the storm in suspension until the glorious return of the Empire. Even now the slaves draw the Reapers away from us. We have prepared a place for you!" A glint of madness filled the Sadar's eyes, as if he truly believed to tempt the Avatar of Vengeance from His true path with the prospect of a restful sleep. As if he would ever accept such a fate.
"You are not worthy!" The Hunter was surprised to hear arise from within. Avatar Javik looked on approvingly regardless.
"The Hunter is correct. The Empire does not need those who would snivel in a hole. I am taking your men into the field, where they will wreak a terrible price upon the heads of the Reapers."
"You can't… You can't do that!" the Sadar cried. "You don't have the Authority!"
"I can, and I will. Hunter, show the Sadar here our Authority." The Hunter stepped forward with relish. Drawing the heavy particle pistol that hung low in a thigh holster, the Hunter moved behind the quivering official. The thick barrel pressed harshly against exposed neck meat, setting the disgraced officer mewling.
"Make peace with your ancestors, for your body will have no such luxury." The green light pulsed, and the Sadar's brains painted the ground around him.
Shepard catapulted awake from her surreal dream and found her world masked in shades of green. She shook her head, slowly clearing her vision. She ground the heels of her palms against closed eyes and took a deep breath. Every one of the bizarre visions seemed more real than the one before. Every time she brought a little more of the dream back with her. Something clattered to the ground beside her bunk. She rolled over to see her watch ticking quietly on the metal grating. She snatched it up quickly and checked for damage. A snapped pin, simple to fix. None the less, a frown creased her brow. She could have sworn she'd fallen asleep with it strapped to her wrist. She flipped it over and gazed at its face, her eyes following the analogue hands traversing the seconds. She rubbed her thumb over the raised letters on the back. K A
She broke from thoughts of the lost and slapped the watch back on, pausing to run her Omni-tool over the broken pin. It melted back together as mass effect fields flash heated the flexible metal. An alert popped up on the orange lit computer.
Shepard read it, her eyes almost popping as she noted the time. Well after the beginning of the morning watch. Shepard leapt from her bunk and rushed through her morning routine. The marines still loitering knew well to stay out of her way, and so it was barely twenty minutes after waking that she stood on the bridge, still pink from the sonic shower's scrubbing. Pulling on her itching collar, she swore that she'd one day serve on a ship with running water.
"XO Shepard, reporting for duty," She rushed out. A particularly disheveled looking Deck Officer Pressley looked up from where he had apparently been propped up after standing the night watch.
"I stand relieved," he muttered mutinously as he crawled off to get some much needed shut eye. Nihlus clucked his tongue from his post up on the pulpit. Shepard ignored him, instead accepting a cup of strong ship's coffee from a nearby ensign. The rough drink brought back a sense of alertness to her still tired frame, enough to concentrate on what hung suspended above the holographic galaxy map projector.
"At Noveria already?" She asked, noting the slight fuzz of the close range sensors.
"Just about," Nihlus said. "I was about to send a search party."
"Had a little trouble sleeping," Shepard admitted.
"I could have sworn the trouble was with getting up," Ashley said cheerfully from where she stood conversing with the blond Chief of the guard. "You're not too tired to take a walk groundside, are you Commander." Her voice was just a little too cheerful for someone who would be spending her next week's pay buying gourmet Quarian suit rations, but Shepard let her have her gentle ribbing.
"I don't know, Chief, I think I'm going to need you to carry me on this one."
"I'll have my marines rig up a wheelbarrow duty," Ashley shot back.
"We're getting wheelbarrows now?" Garrus said as he emerged from the lower decks. Behind him trailed Tali and further back Liara stepped up awkwardly. All of them were already arrayed in a rather eclectic looking collection of armour. While Tali's deep purple envirosuit was already exotic looking, she had apparently spent the night stuffing it with as many cold weather layers as she could lay her hands on. Garrus had gone the opposite route. He now wore a stripped down version of his C-Sec uniform that looked almost civilian. Liara took the cake though. Apparently not happy with the protection offered by a thin rubber labcoat, the Asari doctor had wrapped herself in what looked like an armoured tuxedo, complete with tails. It was all Shepard could do to keep a straight face.
"I see you're all ready to go," She said blandly. She motioned for them to join her at the rail in front of the projection. "You read the brief papers?"
"We did," Tali said. "So this Benzine…"
"Benezia," Liara corrected.
"Right, Benezia, she's down there somewhere?"
"We're currently working on locating her. Things will likely get easier once we hit the pavement."
"I wouldn't count on it," Garrus said, pointing at the projection with a sharp gesture. Shepard followed his arm and saw what is was he was pointing at. Two ships had risen from the planet. From here they looked like small patrol boats, but as they drew closer the sensors filled in the blanks, revealing two ships of almost frigate tonnage. Suddenly the radio squawked.
Unknown vessel, this is Noveria patrol flight Longbow. You are on an unregistered flight path, turn back now or you will be fired upon.
Nihlus nodded to Liara, who stepped forward nervously.
"Um, hello," she started. Behind her, Ashley shook her head. Shepard shot her a harsh look and a whispered reprimand. "This is Doctor Liara T'Soni. I have a pass for landing." The Asari almost squeaked. The pilot of the patrol flight seemed to mull that over.
Doctor T'Soni, we do not have you on the books. I suggest you turn your ship around and wait for an official Company envoy.
"No! No, I mean, I definitely have a pass. Professor Celebrian said…"
Doctor T'Soni, divert to this flight path, you are cleared to land. The voice on the radio suddenly said, speaking over the young Asari. The bridge crew exchanged looks, but Nihlus spoke up simply stating, "Do it." In the cockpit, Joker shrugged and pulled into a shallow dive. Behind him, the two patrol boats followed.
Author's Note:
It's Noveria time! Before the question pops up, yes, this chapter does include a minor retcon. In the continuity of VoV, Tali's evidence is short the lines that would otherwise implicate Benezia of working with Saren and the Reapers. This is for a few thematic reasons, and i hope you'll forgive the conceit. Otherwise, enjoy the show and I hope to see you all next week for another installment, probably of Interloper, though it really depends what kind of mood I'm in.
