The Entorro

Even as Joker fired up the Normandy's thrusters and sent our sleek ship powering through the emptiness of space, the Entorro had already passed through the Mass Relay. While EDI confirmed that the cargo manifest for the Entorro had been faked, their destination had not. That did not mean that the ship could not deviate from their planned course, however.

Sol was two relay jumps away, and the Entorro had a head start. We could easily have them cut off and detained, however. I placed a call through the QEC to Vice Admiral David Steel, the man in charge of the Joint Citadel/Earth Defence Fleet (JCEDF). My call was answered by a middle-aged man with a hint of a Newcastle accent.

"This is Vice Admiral Steel. Who is this?"

"Admiral Steel, this is Spectre Scott Gardner. I'm calling to inform you of a Salarian Balasia-class freighter carrying suspicious cargo that may be heading to the Sol system. Its cargo is listed as food, construction materials and other mundane things. This isn't the case. Ship's name is the Entorro. If the ship appears, I need you to immobilise and detain it immediately so we can board and… investigate."

I sent my credentials through to the Admiral and got a nod of approval from him.

"Of course, Spectre Gardner. I'll get it done."

The call ended and I turned around to leave the QEC, only to be confronted once again by Wrex.

"Scott, you're playing with fire following protocol. I say, as soon as the Normandy gets in shooting range of that hunk of metal, blast it."

"I know, Wrex. I know. I'm torn between the two options right now. But remember that we don't know everything. And if we destroy that ship, and Site Zeta, then we lose any leads that might still be there. We need to find out how far up the political chain this goes, so we can stop this shite at the source."

Wrex paced for a while, growling and grumbling to himself. I felt for him. Any mention of "Genophage" was like a knife to the heart of any Krogan. But I had to do what I thought was best, as always. Eventually, Wrex sighed and gave me a sideways look.

"Fine. Have it your way, Scott. I've trusted you this long because your instincts are usually right. Just… don't let them hurt my people again. We're done facing extinction."

"Done," I nodded. "If it is the Krogan they're targeting, we'll go with your solution and blow them to pieces. Deal?"

Now the Krogan Warlord chuckled and clapped me hard on the shoulder in thanks.

"Deal."

Soon the Normandy arrived in the Sol system and we went zooming towards Earth. We had the stealth systems engaged so we would not alert the Entorro if they were present. Upon contacting Vice Admiral Steel, he informed me that no vessels matching my description had passed through the relay. However, there had been a small anomaly when a scheduled Volus transport had emerged from the relay. In the first moment that the ship had arrived, scanners picked up more energy than there should have been. Almost double what was normal.

We were all gathered in the War Room once again. It was obvious that Tolan, Zelan and their associates had outfitted the Entorro with a stealth suite of its own. Given Tolan's former employment in the STG, it was not as big a surprise as it could have been. So, the main topic of discussion was how to find our sneaky target.

"We can safely assume they turned on the stealth systems just before they entered the relay network. So it'll be hours before they need to vent their stored heat emissions," Tali stated. "The Normandy would give itself away if we fired weapons, but the Entorro isn't even armed, so that's not an option."

The rest of us remained quiet to let Tali and the other technically minded amongst us problem solve themselves. EDI and SAM were contributing as well, but I felt genuine excitement exuding from Tali as she tackled this new situation. We had never had to track down a stealth vessel before, and she revelled having something new to ponder. It made me smile to see her using her genius to help us, just like old times.

"If we knew roughly where to look," Tali continued thinking aloud, "we could perform a short-range, high-intensity LADAR scan in all directions. Think of it like spreading a net across the area. Any ship touching the net would cause a noticeable movement. If the Entorro is caught in the scan, it will still show up, even with stealth systems online."

"Nice, Tali," I grinned. "It's something. The ship is supposedly going to the Citadel, so we could position the Normandy nearby and keep scanning. But we have to keep in mind they won't necessarily be going where they said."

"Yeah, bad-guys aren't exactly trustworthy. Figures," James said. "So, if they do go for Earth, where they gonna hit?"

Ashley brought up a holographic image of Earth and spun the blue planet around. It came to a stop over North America and she pointed a finger,

"Vancouver, Canada, would be a good bet. It's the headquarters of the Systems Alliance Military. If it was me, that's where I'd go."

"Alternatively," I said, spinning the globe once more, "they could go for London. It's a symbol to the galaxy now. It's where we defeated the Reapers, and it's a direct link to the Citadel. London would be a significant target."

"If we're right about them spreading some sort of Human Genophage, makes sense they'll target a big population centre. Right?" Wrex stated. There were several hums of agreement and Ashley manipulated the globe once again and placed a marker in India.

"Delhi, India. The most populated city on Earth," she said.

"Correct," EDI agreed. "The current population of the city is just below forty-one million people."

"Just out of interest, what was the population pre-war?" I asked. We all looked at EDI expectantly.

"Seventy-two-point-six million," EDI said sadly.

Even years after the war was over, the death counts from the Reaper War were still staggering. Enough so that it still stunned me every time. Thirty-one million people had perished in Delhi. One city. One! There were still ongoing, official investigations to try and find out how many had really died in the war. The exact figure will never be found, but an estimate would be judged sufficient. I did not even try to imagine what the final figure would be. I did not want to know.

We had to decide how to catch the Entorro. And we needed to decide now.

"Time to really exploit that Spectre authority," I said with a wry grin.

"What you thinking, Skipper?" Ashley asked. I activated the comm and called Vice Admiral Steel again. When he answered, I asked,

"Admiral, what reconnaissance elements do you have attached to your fleets? And are any ships capable of high-intensity LADAR scans?"

"I have four scout flotillas under my command, each of them has two fast destroyers with advanced sensor suites. Why d'you ask?"

"I'm going to need to flex my Spectre authority and commandeer those destroyers, Admiral. In combination with the Normandy, we're going to position the ships near the Citadel and the near-side of Earth. Performing LADAR scans in tandem, we can create a net in which we're hoping to catch the Entorro. EDI, an AI, will give them their designated coordinates."

There was an uneasy silence on the other end of the comm. Admirals did not generally like others coming along and taking their ships from them.

"If it was anyone else, Gardner, I would be checking if a Spectre can really do such a thing. But seeing as it's you… I guess I'll make an exception. I'll inform the ships in question that they'll be following your orders for the time being. The SSV Exeter, Samoa, Fiji, Amiens, Bilbao, El-Alamein, Trondheim and Halifax will do as you ask. But I would like them back, Commander."

It was still strange to be addressed as "Commander" by active military personnel. But, since I had become a sort of celebrity, I supposed that the rank was just synonymous with my name.

"They'll be fine, Admiral. The Entorro has no weapons that we know of. Even if it does have some hidden firepower, it won't be anything beyond basic point-defence systems."

In truth, we had no idea what Tolan and his ilk may have outfitted their ship with. There could be a concealed, spinal-mounted Thannix cannon for all we knew. But I spoke with absolute certainty and reassured the Admiral.

And so, our cordon was set. With the Normandy and the eight Alliance vessels spread out, we could cover the approach to the Citadel and Earth. It was the only plan we had. It had to work, or we would not be able to stop them from carrying out whatever plan they had. Our reaction would come too late, and innocent people would no doubt suffer as a result.

Alec brought up the possibility that we were already too late. The Entorro had had a head-start on us, after all. If they were destined for Earth, they could already be groundside. I had to agree that there was a chance of that being the case, but there was nothing else we could do. Anyone who ever said that stealth vessels were a waste of time and money could shove their assertions where the sun does not shine.

I dismissed most of the team, for there was no sense in all of us hanging around waiting. Again with the waiting. It really wore on me as I felt I should be doing something. Tali obviously felt the same, her hands fidgeting and her eyes constantly watching the strategy table for any updates. As others went about their business, Tali and I were soon alone in the War Room. We sat together on the steps leading up to the QEC and I sighed,

"EDI and SAM will be first to detect anything. We should try not to stress ourselves out."

"I know," she hummed, "but it's difficult when we consider what could be at stake. If Tolan succeeds…"

"We carry on regardless, and we bring him down," I put my arm around my wife, hugging her closely. I placed a hand on her abdomen,

"How are you feeling? I've never actually asked what happens to a Quarian when she's pregnant. Human Women can have a pretty rough time as their hormones go crazy. Vomiting, drastic mood swings and all that. What about Quarians?"

"We… we don't really feel much different up until the final month. Then, we progressively become really lethargic. I mean, borderline comatose, and we really need our bond-mate to look after us."

"Well, I've got that covered," I said with a smile.

"I have no doubt," Tali nuzzled into my neck. "I'll only really be awake for a couple of hours a day in the last week or so."

"I'll make sure I know what to do." A cheeky grin made its way to my mouth, "will you have the energy to… you know?"

"Energy for what? Mister?" Tali playfully cocked her head.

"For diving into bed together and ripping each other's clothes off," I chuckled and picked her up, setting her on my lap. We touched foreheads as she joined me laughing. With a happy, breathy sigh, she whispered,

"Probably not, I'm afraid. But, if I'm feeling particularly good, it would be totally worth it."

It was a relief to bring a bit of levity back for a moment. Tali and I chatted and laughed, bonding properly like I loved doing. Evidently, Tali was greatly enjoying herself as well as we remained sitting on the stairs.

"Scott," Tali started, "when we first became intimate, was there anything you thought was weird about the Quarian body? I mean, compared to the Human women you had been with before."

"Weird?" I hummed in thought. "Obviously, the hands and double-jointed legs are different, but I didn't find them weird. Then again…"

I ran my hand down Tali's leg to her foot, where I briefly tickled the little toe on the outer side. Tali giggled as I explained,

"I'll admit that these wee toes took a… small adjustment period to get used to. But, at the end of the day, they're part of you. So I love them!"

"Ah, another classic line," Tali teased me for my sappiness, but I knew she loved it when I said things like that.

"What about you?" Anything weird about the Human body?" I asked Tali. She did not even have to think, she just blurted out her answer immediately,

"All the hair! I love it now, but you Human males have so much body hair. Compared to you, Quarian men have almost none. And yours is so dark, even though the hair on your head is blonde."

"Really?" I was surprised. "Well, body hair and… um… head-hair are different types. And not all Human men have loads of hair on their body. It's a pretty broad spectrum. I'm a bit above average, I guess."

From the shape of her eyes beneath her purple visor, I knew she had raised an eyebrow and was grinning as she said,

"Above average, huh? Are we still talking about hair?"

We both laughed at her juvenile joke, and continued to just live in the moment we were enjoying together. As a husband, and soon to be father, they were what was most important to me now.

Tali and I were allowed a blissful hour together before a loud chiming noise came from the strategy board. Both of our heads shot around to investigate and saw a red blip over Earth, above East Africa. It was over Ethiopia and continuing to move East, its altitude decreasing as it descended into Earth's atmosphere. The Entorro had been caught in a LADAR scan by the SSV Fiji, and I was contacted by the ship's captain immediately.

"Spectre Gardner, we detected the Entorro moving towards Somalia. Do you want us to engage?"

"Negative, Captain Ferinho. The Normandy is already setting an intercept course, we'll deal with it. We suspect they're heading for Delhi, so have the Fiji and the other fast destroyers deploy along the West coast of India between Delhi and the Entorro. If there's a risk that the ship will reach land, shoot it down immediately. But, hopefully, it'll not get that far."

"Roger that, Sir," the Portuguese captain replied, "We won't let them past. Good hunting."

The Normandy burned through Earth's atmosphere and bolted towards the East African coast. The Entorro had passed over Somalia just minutes before, and we were sure to catch up in our swift ship.

"You catch up to those bastards as fast as possible, Joker," I said as I stood beside him.

"Oh, I'm on their ass, don't worry. You want me to fire a disabling shot, Sir?"

It was a viable approach, but the risk of causing a critical hit and the ship exploding, thus releasing whatever was onboard, was too great.

"No, we'll let our cyber-warfare suite take over their systems and redirect the ship at a slower speed. That sound good to you, EDI?"

"Of course, Scott," EDI's platform said from her co-pilot seat. "I will also perform a data-mine on the Entorro to try and obtain more evidence against Dalatrass Linron and her associates."

"Good plan," I agreed. "Perhaps you could even have the Entorro perform a controlled landing on the ocean. Really make sure they won't go anywhere quickly. Either way, we'll have a team board and secure it. Ideally, we'll take Tolan and Zelan alive for interrogation and find out as much as possible. However, if we have no other choice, we eliminate them."

It was not long before we were bearing down on the Entorro, like a cheetah chasing down a maimed wildebeest. I saw Joker line up a shot on the Entorro, just for fun. It was not often he got to use Normandy's weaponry these days, so I was sure he was just taking the opportunity to remind himself how his beloved ship's guns worked.

"Joker… don't…" I said in a low tone as I saw his thumb close over the fire button.

"Aw, party-killer," he grinned. EDI began her cyber attack on the Entorro, but warned that its cyber-defences had obviously been substantially upgraded. Not surprising given Tolan's previous occupation. It would not be enough to keep EDI out, it would only slow her down briefly. Fortunately, EDI was not the only AI on board.

SAM launched a simultaneous cyber-attack, and between the two of them, the Entorro's cyber warfare suite was completely overwhelmed and collapsed in seconds.

"Commander, I have gained full access to the ship's systems. Orders?" EDI asked.

"Keep it slow and stable, we'll launch the Kodiak and land on top of the hull and blast our way in," I said. I was already dressed in my armour and had my Harrier, Paladin and Black Widow attached to their respective magnetic holsters. The assault team was the four Spartans, James, Wrex, Grunt and I. I deemed eight, split into two teams of four, to be enough. We knew from before that Tolan had another six crew on board, including Zelan Tenz. We would easily over-power them.

"Let's put an end to these cunts so we can all go home and get our feet up with a beer," I grinned when I entered the shuttle. James, Wrex and Grunt whooped as the Kodiak launched forward from the hanger and cruised down to the labouring Entorro. Ashley was flying, still pouting that I had not selected her for the assault. My team was built around carrying serious firepower and using sheer muscle to take out Tolan and his buddies quickly.

I was full of anticipation. I wanted this rubbish over with so Tali and I could go back to Rannoch and prepare for the next major chapter of our lives. We would get our home fixed up, and then wait for our child to arrive. It had now been over two weeks since Tali became pregnant, and we had spent most of that time hunting down the Blades of Retribution and now Tolan. It made me furious that this scum had interfered with our lives this way. I so desperately wanted to show Tolan real retribution.

Ashley brought the shuttle down to the Entorro and matched its speed. The side door opened and we all leapt out two-by-two. There were access hatches at various points across the top of the ship's hull, and we had selected two near the front of the ship. However, EDI's voice soon burst through my comm in alarm,

"Commander! They have manually disconnected the power from the engines. I cannot maintain the ship's speed and altitude. Brace for impact."

"Everybody, grab onto something!" I called out. I could already feel the Entorro dropping and veering off to the right. This thing was going to hit the ocean hard.

The bow of the Entorro slammed into the rough water like a shell fired from the main gun of a battleship. I had managed to grab a hold of one of the handles on an access hatch, but only with one hand. As the ship impacted into the Indian Ocean, I was thrown to the side and my shoulder was almost yanked out of its socket. I cried out in pain and gritted my teeth hard as I contacted everybody else.

"Head count. Everyone still here?"

"This is Axel, I'm in the water," the Spartan replied with complete calm. "Be back on board in a second."

"Ok, let's blow these hatches in and get stuck in!" I ordered. The demo charges were placed and as soon as Axel was in place, Grunt pressed the detonator with a toothy grin on his face. With deep, rumbling thuds, the explosives went off and the hatch doors were blasted into scrap metal. The eight of us were inside a mere second later and secured our entrances, guns covering all approaches.

In very anti-climactic fashion, we were met with no resistance and immediately began moving forward towards the bridge. The Entorro was of a standard Salarian freighter design, and we had studied the layout so we had a general idea of where we were. A deluge of sea-water would occasionally pour in through the blown-out hatches as the ship rocked and rolled in the tumultuous ocean. I led Wrex, Grunt and James through some crew quarters, checking the side-rooms as we went. There was no one to be seen. The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise as I felt something was not quite right.

"Commander," EDI's voice rang in my ear, "they have by-passed safety protocols and are opening the loading bay doors. They plan to sink the ship."

"Taking us down with them. Fuck!" I could feel the ship beginning to tilt backwards as the stern of the ship filled to the brim with water. If the safeties had been over-ridden, then emergency hatches would not close down to stem the torrent of water that was racing in.

"We're going to have to pull out immediately," I scowled. The prospect of not getting my hands on Tolan to exact my revenge tasted bitter on my tongue.

"If I may make a suggestion, Commander?" SAM said.

"What've you got?"

"If you manually reconnect the power to the engines, you can close emergency bulkheads, resurface and keep the ship in place above sea level."

"We can secure both engine rooms, Sir," Mace said. "You carry on to the bridge."

"Do it. Fast as you can Spartans!" I said and doubled my pace towards our destination.

We reached the door to the bridge. It was sealed shut and we planted charges, ready to breach and clear. It was hard to tell through the thick metal door, but I could have sworn I heard high-pitched, Salarian voices shouting hysterically.

"Remember, we want them alive," I told my team.

"Where's the fun in that?" Grunt mumbled. I ignored his comment and backed away from the doors, signalling Grunt to hit the detonator. The solid door was blown off its hinges and my forward-most foot was over the partition in a blink.

With the ship tilting backwards, it was a forty-five degree climb into the bridge. The sight that met my eyes threw me off as I struggled to comprehend what was happening. Doctor Zelan Tenz was clinging to life on the deck, bleeding out from two bullet wounds. Tolan stood a short distance away with a pistol in hand, clutching his side where he had also been shot.

"Drop the gun, Tolan!" I bellowed at my target, my Harrier levelled squarely at his head. "You've got a lot to answer for."

The Entorro continued to tilt and finally came to rest standing on end. We were all now standing on the bulkheads, with Doctor Tenz rolling his way across the deck and slamming into the bulkhead.

"I don't think so, Commander," Tolan hissed. He backed away slowly, his gun never lowered. "You Humans have done nothing but bully the rest of the galaxy to bow down to your lead. Once the Reapers were destroyed, it should have gone back to the way things were. The Asari, Salarians and Turians kept everything in balance. Your kind aren't ready for the power you wield. Neither are all the lesser species who you empowered."

"The Asari? Who kept the greatest trove of Prothean tech for themselves?" Wrex scowled. "The Turians and Salarians? Who happily condemn other species to slow genocide for fun? The Humans rising to their position is the best thing that's happened to this galaxy in centuries!"

Wrex's words surprised me a little. Unfortunately, we did not have time to argue further. The sections behind us were filling with more and more sea water, and soon we were going to have to swim. Looking through the viewport of the bridge, I could see the surface of the water above us, getting further and further away as the Entorro took us down. The hull of the ship began to creak and groan as the pressure on its structure mounted with every metre we sank beneath the waves. The ship was designed to enter the atmospheres of varying gravities, so we had time. But not much.

James was also aware of the increasingly dire situation we were in.

"Commander, hate to rush you, but we gotta get the fuck outta here. Let's just finish these guys and go!"

I grimaced at his words. I wanted these Salarians alive, to get every shred of evidence I could out of them. I wanted all of their accomplices, I wanted every supplier and sympathiser. I needed to know the nature of the weapon they were planning to deploy. I wanted to take everything from them. But Tolan had forced my hand as we delved deeper and deeper into the watery depths.

"Please…" Zelan wheezed, "they have two of my sons priso…"

A shot rang out and Doctor Tenz's head exploded. But now Tolan's gun was coming up to me, and I reacted instantly. My Harrier spewed a burst of heavy hitting bullets into the Salarian and tore several large holes in his skinny frame. So, Doctor Tenz was a prisoner all this time. Just another victim.

Pulling myself free from my ruminations, I contacted the Spartans.

"Sabre Squad, report."

"Four hostiles engaged and eliminated," Mace replied. "Engine room is completely flooded and everything's inoperable. We're fully submerged. Armour's sealed and we've got an hour of air, but escaping should be our priority, Sir."

"Agreed. We've finished our business. Get the hell out of there and get to the Bridge. Once the room's flooded, we'll shoot out the front windows and swim our way up."

I turned to the two Krogan, who had come without helmets.

"How long can you two hold your breath?" I asked quickly. I saw a flicker of concern flash across Wrex's face,

"If I still had all three of my lungs, half an hour at most. I'll manage about twenty minutes on the two I've got. Grunt's pink and squeaky lungs will be fine."

"Comes with being younger and stronger," the junior Krogan laughed. Nothing ever fazed Grunt. I was jealous of him, as I started to feel the fright building inside my gut. Still, Wrex should still have plenty of time to reach the surface once we blasted our way free of the Entorro.

The water surged into the Bridge and we were already treading water when the Spartans arrived. Soon, there was only the tiniest air pocket left and the Krogan took in deep breaths.

"Weapons ready," I spoke over the comm, "On my go, give the window everything you've got."

A round of confirmations followed and we pointed our guns at the forward-most viewport above us. I kept checking the Krogan to see if they were alright. I dreaded one, or both, of them drowning. After all the battles they had survived, to die in such an undignified and terrible fashion.

I heard a fuzzy voice over my comm. I could not hear what they were saying, but I recognised the synthesised overlay of Tali's helmet. Her tone sounded scared, desperately calling for me as the team on the Normandy watched the Entorro sink on sensors. I had to get back to her, to my wife. To my love.

The moment came where the Bridge was completely flooded and our weapons barked out a volley of rounds, shattering the viewport after a few impacts. In the moment, I could not help but be mesmerised by the trails the bullets left as they zipped through the water. The way it swirled around in the bullet's wake, like a whirlpool flashing into existence for a second before dissipating again. Never-the-less, they did the job and created our exit.

Only the window did not break cleanly.

Jagged edges remained around the frame, and it was now too late to shoot them out. We were already out, almost. As I rushed out through the gap, my leg suddenly snagged on a wickedly sharp piece of glass that saw fit to embed itself right in the small space between armoured plates. It punched through the under-suit and buried itself into my leg, tearing through muscle without mercy. Fighting the dire urge to panic and lose control, I tried to figure out a plan. Fortunately, the Spartans, hyper-aware as they always were, had noticed that I was not with them.

"Commander! I'm coming back for you," Mace told me.

"I'll try cut the glass with my omni-blade," I replied, but it was a fool's errand as my arms were dragged up above my head as I descended at a frightening pace. All I achieved was to light up the water immediately around my flailing arm.

It was amazing as I looked up and saw Mace racing through the water towards me. Like a heavily armoured fish, he found his way to me and grabbed my arm. Pulling himself to my side where the glass had punctured my suit, he drew his pistol and bashed the jagged glass away with the handgrip, freeing me from the Entorro. I could feel my suit filling up with water, but hope grew in my heart as the water's surface came closer and closer. Even though it was not necessary, I still instinctively sucked in a lungful of air when my head breached the surface. I looked up at the sky and smiled. For a brief second, I had feared I would not see it again. But as Mace dragged my sorry arse back to the surface, that fear had abated and I could think only of Tali, and the child growing inside her.

"Scott? Scott!" a Quarian voice called across the comm, "are you there? Are you all ok?"

"I'm here Tali," I told my wife, "We're all accounted for, but we couldn't capture Tolan."

"I don't give a Varren's ass about that Salarian slimeball, I'm just glad you're back safely."

At the mention of "safety", I was quickly reminded of the deep gash that had been sliced into my leg.

"Well… I might have a little scratch," I chuckled as I saw Ashley swing the Kodiak towards us. She had obviously done more advanced training courses in flying the shuttle, as she skilfully brought it to a hover near us, barely half a metre above the water when taking the waves into account. One by one, we had to reach up and grab the lip of the shuttle's deck and haul ourselves aboard.

I never thought I would be trapped in a space ship sinking in the ocean, but I was incredibly happy to be heading back to the Normandy. Unfortunately, we had failed to take Tolan prisoner, thus losing a vital source of Intel we could have used to put this fiasco to rest. However, this was overshadowed by our success at stopping them unleashing their weapon upon Delhi and possibly killing millions of people.