Interloper Rewrite: Chapter 26

Briefing


"You still hiding in here?" a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Com…commander!" I jerked around. I had been in the middle of a simulated run of the battle of Shanxi. The sudden opening of the hatch canceled the program.

"At ease, Liddle. I just came to check up on you. Tali tells me you've been here all day." The Commander stood propped up against the lip of the tank's hatch. "Besides, its 0100 hours Earth time, you should be safe around the barracks again."

"Oh, thank God." I slid out of the tank, relieved. "I guess this means you've dealt with whatever unpleasantness managed to crop up on Luna?"

"That's classified, Deputy," The Commander replied, slipping into business mode, "All you need to know is 'Mission Accomplished,' and that we've received new marching orders."

"Virmire?"

"Soon, we're making one stop along the way; we had a listening post go down in the Acheron sector. Hackett thinks it might have something to do with our wayward admiral."

"Kohoku? What's he got to do with silent listening posts?"

"A turian patrol spotted an unmarked cruiser moving through the Acheron Relay shortly before our garrison went quiet. An Alliance pattern cruiser."

"We're not going in alone?" I asked, "One recon frigate against an entire flotilla doesn't sound survivable."

"We'll just be dropping in a small ground team from stealth mode. The Normandy will stay on station to extract, but otherwise it'll stay back."

"Isn't this the kind of thing you want to save for the briefing?"

"I think you mean, 'isn't that something I should be saving for the briefing.' You're leading the ground team. I want a roster ready before we hit the next transition, remember, you'll all need to fit in the Mako."

"Will Alenko or the Chief be coming along to observe?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I need the command staff for an investigation on the incident on Luna. Look, it's just a little sweep. I'm confident you can handle this."

"I'm getting some Déjà vu, Commander."

"But unlike Armstrong, you don't have to worry about a pack of Marines blundering through your recon op. Remember, before the next transition." She walked into her office and left me standing alone in the mess hall.


I found the bottom of another coffee cup, the last of far too many. I lowered the cup haltingly and rubbed my eyes, as if I could rub the fatigue from them with my knuckles. Of all the things I was becoming used to in this topsy-turvy world, drinking coffee was the one I was taking to the slowest. I swallowed the last bitter mouthful with a shudder. What I wouldn't do for a good old-fashioned bottle of soda. I shuffled through the snowdrift piles of datapads, trying to make room for the empty cup.

"Hard at work?" Kaidan asked. I nearly threw the coffee cup across the room in surprise. The ship's lieutenant raised his hands in mock surrender. "Oh hey, didn't mean to startle you. Just heard from the Commander that you've been tapped to lead our next recon. You know, I've led more than a few recon missions myself. You need any advice?"

"I'd love some," I answered gratefully, "here, let me clear you some space." I carefully placed the coffee cup on top of a stack of datacards carrying the blueprints for the various Alliance pattern listening posts and weather reports from Altahe and shifted the whole pile to the floor. Kaidan graciously took the seat across from me and gave the table a once over.

"This is... a lot of intel," he said, cocking an eyebrow. "I don't think I've ever had to pull up records of possible mineral deposits when preparing for a snoop and scoot." He motioned to one of the datapads on the top of the stack.

"Never hurts to be prepared, right?" I asked, feeling a little sheepish.

"No, not as such. It can hurt you to overthink things though," he replied kindly. "Look, this is a lot of information. Probably a little too much. Let's cut it back a little. Get down to brass tacks, so to speak. Let's take a look at your prospective team roster."

I shuffled through the various lists and graphs until I found the short list I'd put together. I handed it over to Kaidan. The Lieutenant's eyebrows rose higher the longer he read through the list. "Let's see, you've got Dr. T'Soni... Lt. Isik, Wrex? That's pretty much our entire biotic complement. You expecting to fight an army down there?"

"Well, I thought that biotics would be more used to operating light," I said. It was a half-truth, the excuse I'd prepared for just this question. The unsaid half, that I was expecting to run across a hive of feral Rachni, would probably lead to some very awkward questions.

"Alright, I'll give you that," Kaidan said, chuckling, "But then you've got Wrex. Not exactly a... stealthy character." He furrowed his brow, probably trying to imagine the krogan Battlemaster attempting to sneak around.

"I wanted someone ready to dish out some damage if we ended up running into trouble. You know, avoid another Antibaar." The two of us shared a grimace at the joint recollection. It was clear that Kaidan wasn't going to let me get away without further explanation, though. And since he did come in to offer advice... I reached for the stack of crew dossiers. "Who would you suggest for this mission?"

"Well, if you're dead set on this team, I would at least add a pointman. This is a lot of firepower, but you really want an experienced scout pointing them in the right direction. Forrest's as good a sniper as you're going to find on the Normandy. It's going to be a tight fit on the Mako, but I really think you should consider taking him along. Plus, you've worked with him before. Have you thought of who you'll be nominating as your second in command?"

The question brought me up short. I hadn't even thought of that, buried up to my elbows in star charts and local shipping manifests. In truth, I'd kind of assumed that it would just be me giving orders.

"I'm... weighing some options," I managed.

"If you want my advice, I'd tap Forrest for this one too," Kaidan suggested. He either hadn't noticed my floundering, or was too kind to point it out to my face, instead gently leading me to the answer like a teacher would a dull pupil. "Forrest's a senior NCO with a couple of ops under his belt. He knows his stuff back to front. If there's one thing I've learned, it's to always listen to your senior enlisted."

"Alright." I dragged the marine onto the short list. "I still don't know how I'm going to brief all these guys. Except for Liara, all of them have a lot more experience than I do."

"You want my two cents; listen to what they have to say. You might be in charge, but between them, this crew has at least a century of experience under their belts. Hell, Wrex has a couple all to himself. You've got the intel, but your men have the skills. Your job is to bring those two things together. A good briefing is short on lecture and long on conversation. The troops will let you know where their strengths lie, you decide where those strengths are needed. Makes sense?"

"Yeah," I said, puffing out my cheeks, "Okay, I think I've got this. At least the planet's atmosphere will be working with us. All that thick smog's going to provide some concealment."

"A double-edged sword, of course. You'll have to get right up close to get any useable data."

"And if we run up along this ridge, we'll have some hard cover all the way up until we hit the post."

"You'll need to drop pretty far back then, maybe over here."

"Nah, there's nothing but magma vents along this side, maybe here…" Kaidan and I fired ideas back and forth until a call came across the intercom that we'd be transitioning in ten minutes. As I walked over to the Commander's office to deliver the report, I felt much more confident that I would at least get everyone out alive. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." the Commander sat with her head down on her desk. She looked up and locked onto me with tired blue eyes. "You have the roster?"

"Right here." I handed the pad over.

"That's a lot of biotics." Shepard's eyes flicked across the screen. "But I think we can spare them. You'll brief them before we hit Acheron."

"Commander, I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"I don't hold any kind of rank over anyone…"

"And you want to know why they'd listen to you. Listen, Liddle, you're a Spectre's deputy and an honorary marine, they'll listen. Wrex I'm not too sure about, but he'll do what he thinks best, and with nearly a millennium of experience I think we can assume he knows his stuff. Are you ready to give a briefing?"

"I think so… yes. I worked out a plan with Lieutenant Alenko. I studied up on the local area too."

"Good, I'll have Pressley page the people on this list. Set up in the conference room and be ready to go once you finish the briefing." The office shook with the rumble of a transition. "Hop to it, Deputy."


I paced the round conference room restlessly in my newly purchased armor. While it retained the darkened green color, it was substantially heavier than the set I had worn down to Noveria. The plates were thicker and the shield generator larger. Most importantly to me, it came with a combat harness that allowed me to store additional omnigel reserves to power my Omni-tool, as well as an array of pouches on the front which carried a number of different ammo blocks. I flexed my shoulders under the new weight. When I had arrived on the Normandy, the whole getup would have had me wheezing just walking from my locker to the briefing room; now it was just outside my comfort zone. The change felt good. I ran quickly through the mission in my head again for good measure. Behind me, the door to the conference room swished open quietly. I turned.

"You're early," I said warmly. I smiled as Liara entered the room. She was wearing a much lighter suit of armor patterned in pale blue and silver. Her own pistol was slung high on her hip. She smiled back nervously and fiddled with something.

"Michael, I wanted to… I know humans mark the passing of their years with the giving of gifts. I couldn't find you yesterday, so, here." She extended her arm out and dropped something into my open hand. The object was surprisingly heavy for its small size; it barely filled my palm. I raised it up for a closer look. It appeared to be made from twisted wire, four strands of thicker wire wrapped around each other in a complex pattern. The surface was a shiny golden color, though parts of it were pitted with spots of corrosion. At one time it may have hung on a metal chain, but now it was tied to a simple black string.

"Liara, this is beautiful, where did you get this?" I held the medallion up to the light, were it glinted softly.

"I found it on the first Prothean dig I participated in, back when I was a lowly student. I've been wearing it for luck ever since. I figured you need it more than me if you're going to be leading us into battle." She laughed shyly. "And besides, in the time of the Protheans, these were often given to symbolize the friendship of two warriors, it only seems appropriate…" Her voice drifted off. I rolled the complex pattern of wires beneath my thumb. Curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly dialed back the opacity of the neural shroud embedded in my skull. A rush of images filled my head, each one alien, yet somehow comprehensible. I saw the unmistakable crests of two Protheans, one handing the other I similar band of twisted metal. The image held the traces of muted emotion, thin but strong enough to give me a good picture of what the band signified. I withdrew from the images and brought up the shroud again. They quieted, leaving a dull ache.

"Liara, this gift, it means something stronger than friendship, doesn't it?" Liara's face flushed a darker blue.

"I… I didn't mean to imply… I'm sorry; I'm not very good at this." She turned as if to flee. I caught her lightly by the shoulder and turned her back to face me.

"This is new ground for me too, Liara." I took her hand and turned it palm facing upwards. My heart was suddenly beating incredibly fast and my words stuck in my throat. The soft curve of Liara's waiting face inspired me to bravery. I placed my hand in hers, the pendant held between us, and clasped it tightly. "I accept your gift." It was the Prothean phrase, austere, considering the emotion behind it. Liara's eyes grew wider and she smiled. She understood. I leaned forward ever so slightly.

"Is this a briefing, or a wedding ceremony?" A gruff voice came from the open door. The walking mountain that was Urdnot Wrex lumbered in. "Well?" Liara and I snapped apart, her looking like she wanted to sink into the floor, me quickly tucking the pendant into a secure pouch in my armor.

"Wrex, nice of you to join us." I tried to sound confident and commanding. The Krogan didn't look impressed, choosing instead to wander over to the back of the room, chuckling to himself. Behind him, the two marines had now arrived, taking seats to the side of the room. Liara joined them. She still looked a little embarrassed.

"So, you're the one leading this mission," Rahna said from her seat, "what's the situation?"

I cleared my throat. "Here's what's going on. Listening Post Alpha, along with its garrison of 90 Alliance Marines, has stopped transmitting. The Normandy has been ordered to investigate. This team will drop in behind this ridge using the Mako. Once we're down, we'll follow it all the way up to the Post." I motioned towards the satellite imagery that had been provided in the information Shepard had given me. "Our primary objective is to find out why the Alpha has stopped transmitting and if possible, provide necessary assistance. We run into anything we can't handle; we call for pickup and the Normandy dusts it from orbit."

"Deputy, what are we expecting down there?" Forrest asked.

"The planet itself is a pile of slag. We'll need to be on the lookout for lava falls. As to possible resistance, this close to the Terminus systems, it could be anything. A platoon of Marines doesn't just forget to call."

"So that's it? We just drive in, look around, and take off?" Wrex grumbled. "Couldn't the Alliance have sent another ship in to do this?"

"We have our orders." I said simply. I didn't have anything better to give him. "You don't like it; take it up with the Commander." Wrex bristled, but didn't say anything further. "Any more questions? No? Alright then, grab your weapons and get to the Cargo Bay, we drop soon."