Interloper 2: Chapter 33

Walls and Canyons


The troop compartment of the Mako was full of the harsh squawking of the fire alarm and the caustic pall of thick smoke and burning electronics. My eyes remained locked forward. Whatever was happening behind me, the marines would have to handle it. I jinked the Mako again, a second too slow to dodge the fire of the pursuing drones. There was a ringing sound like the crash of a gong as the drone's flechette caromed off of the armor plate over the rear troop hatch. The Mako filled with a rushing sound as the on-board fire extinguisher deployed. The alarm quieted and the air cleared a little. On the dashboard, the overheat warning lights winked out one by one. I grunted and slammed the automated repair system to life. Omni-gel streamed through channels in the hull to fill in the various holes, pitting, and deep furrows scored in our armor. The undifferentiated nano-machines clumped and specialized, replacing simple components and bridging severe connections. The worn-down rumble of the engine roared back to life.

Overhead, the Geth drones circled like a flock of predatory birds, waiting to swoop down to make a run at us. I kicked the Mako back into gear as a trio dropped from the pack to make a suicidal dive against our tires or a slash across the turret. Jenkins met them with a furious and dense web of fire that plucked them one by one from the sky as we jetted off again. The Corporal's defensive fire kept the Geth far enough away to give us some breathing room. I whipped the Mako around a corner, nursing the dangerously low field strength gauge on the kinetic barrier display. This new channel offered a brief reprieve, its relatively dry basin lending speed in the straight-aways, stability in the turns. We raced ahead of the pursuing drones and disappeared down a scalloped tunnel in the rock. We burst from the darkened passage into a lush river valley blissfully empty of the buzzing purple-grey disks. Our course took us skimming the bright, clear oxbow, the splash of our passage sending a sheet of colorful birds into the air. The creeping vegetation hung down from the sheer walls in long fronds that floated in the breeze. It would have been paradise, if it weren't for the threat of a renewed hunt. Ahead, something dull and metallic blossomed from the sand, out of place in the natural splendor of the tropical world.

"You see that?" I asked, thumbing on the link back to the gunner's seat.

"I see it," Jenkins responded, "Look, there's another one."

Sure enough, another of the bizarre metal blooms jutted from the beach. It was curved, dark, crusted with salt, but as we drew closer its identity was unmistakable. A geth infantry platform. There were more of them up ahead, all eerily inert. Some lay half buried, while others simply lay in singles or small piles. We passed close to one such pile, close enough to get a good scan. All of the geth showed signs of battle damage, from heavy weapon strikes to more subtle marks. At the head of the valley, one of the smaller armatures lay slump against the rocks. The cables that ran below its cracked head hung down in shredded ribbons, providing sport for the sharp toothed tropical birds.

"The work of our STG friends, do you think?" I asked as we passed a red-plated shock trooper platform that bore no obvious damage but remained as dead as any of the other scattered debris.

"I've seen the site of suspected STG hits," one of the marines in the bag replied. He cradled the wounded Truefitt, tending to the nasty wounds left by the Geth's plasma weaponry. "Nothing confirmed, they never are, but this fits the profile. Clean, that's how the Salarians do it. Just be glad they're on our side, this time." Before I could question his ominous final words further, Jenkins spoke up.

"We're coming up on the location of the second wall now, look sharp everyone."

A turn in the rapidly narrowing canyon revealed the next barricade across our path. The flat sheer face of wall and it's wide, rounded bulwarks stretched the entire width of the canyon except in one place. A gate, similar in size and shape to the one we had just blown through stood closed across the middle expanse. This wall had a little something extra though. On one side, atop a pillar of rock that jutted out of the ocean, stoop a tall tower. The tower opened at its apex, revealing an array of mass accelerators that pointed menacingly at the sky. "This must be where the Fire Control is housed." I noted. I quickly searched the top of the wall. I quickly found the opening in the rock I knew had to lead to our objective. I also found the rows of defenders. The parapet was lined with Geth platforms, each standing stock still. As we neared the wall, they sprang to life in unison and began to take aim at the tank barreling towards them. "So what's the plan?" I asked as the first shots began to fall around the Mako.

"We're down a man, and we need someone to keep those drones off the Mako." Jenkins thought out loud. "That leaves us with four… Pull into that culvert over there, I need time to think." I obeyed, backing in carefully. Out of sight, the Geth ceased fire. It was only a matter of time until they came in after us. "How are we going to pull this off, Mike?" the young corporal asked after letting one of the marines take the gunner's position.

"How am I supposed to know? You're the guy in command, aren't you?" my reply came out far more sullen than it had any right being.

"Hey, don't bite my head off. I would have though the Commander would have asked you to lead this mission after Nepmos, but whatever reason she had for giving it to me; we both know you're the one with the mad plans. So, how do we get up that wall?" Jenkins' face was a sincere mix of desperation and admiration, but it was his tone that caused me to relent. He sounded like I had done many times during my life; out of my depth and in need of a hand. I nodded.

"Sorry, give me a second to think." I wracked my brains. The wall was too tall and heavily defended to simply climb, and Geth wouldn't be easily suppressed by covering fire. Something would have to take out all the defenders at once, or at least stop them from returning fire. Then it hit me. "We knock out the roof."

"I'm sorry, what?" One of the marines asked.

"No, I think I see what he's saying." Jenkins chimed in. "The roof looked like it was held on by just a few struts, if we can hit those…"

"We collapse the whole structure, trapping the Geth under their own armor plating."

"We'll still need to get up there, and those struts are pretty skinny." Jenkins said. "But I think we can blast the support structure for that retracted ramp on the way in, that should give us the leg up we need. And once we're up there, it's just a matter of getting through the roof and into the control center."

"Do we have any demo aboard?"

"No but we can rig up an improvised directed charge for that."

"An improv what?"

"That's marine speak for tying all of our grenade together, dropping something heavy on top of them and praying." Jenkins chuckled grimly.

"Okay, this is starting to sound like a plan. You, start rigging this charge. I'll drive us out and Rick, you take out the struts. Once the roof's down, we'll charge the ramp. Once we get there, you take over the gunning and the rest of the mobile fighters will drop the charge and switch off that gun. Got it?" The compartment was still. The marines looked at each other and then back to Jenkins. He merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright." one of them said.


The Mako shot from the cave mouth guns blazing. With the wounded stowed safely behind a hard-light screen, I was able to maneuver freely. I put my new found freedom to good use, turning as fast as I could and pulling tight circles. All around us the sand danced as red hot shards of metal lashed the ground. The cannon above me spat back with renewed ire. A rippling line of explosions tore at the upper portion of the wall. With all of the jinking going on, it was hard even for the Mako's stabilized gun to keep tracking correctly. Slowly but surely though, the struts fell one by one. The heavy armour of the roof began to sag in places as more and more supports were ripped out by concentrated fire. At long last the cover gave a groan that could be heard even in the cockpit of the Mako and slumped forward into the parapet. More explosions followed as the Geth's magazines were compressed under the weight of the silver-purple alloy.

"Now!" Jenkins almost roared. I kicked the Mako into one more turn, this time straight at the wall. The engine screamed as we tore towards the smoking barrier. Fire lanced up at the retracted ramp up to the top. The ramp wavered and crashed down, bridging the gap form floor to ceiling. I braked hard and skidded up against the ramp, making sure the hatch side faced the wall. "Switch." Jenkins was already out of his seat and shouldering the hatch open. I unbuckled and grabbed my converted rifle. I was out the door only seconds after Jenkins. The oily smell from earlier was even more prevalent here, mixed with a strong smell of salt and a tangy alien smell that carried across the battlefield on a faint breeze. I had to duck as more drones scythed in on us. What had been a rhythmic thumping in the driver's chair was now a sharp whine as the Mako began tracking and killing the opposing drones. Behind me the "Improvised Directed Charge" clinked as it was hauled out of the troop compartment. The foot of the ramp was buckled and torn from its impromptu descent, something I probably should have accounted for. It flexed as we crouch-ran up it in a way that left me not entirely comfortable. More drones buzzed overhead, but they seemed to be keeping their distance. The slight breeze picked up as we climbed until an almost gale force wind blew across the very top. I clapped Jenkins on the shoulder, the signal to move up, once he had given the all clear. Whether or not the trapped Geth were still mobile, they weren't giving us any trouble. The bulbous and cracked roof proved perilous in the cross wind, each of us almost falling at least once on the way over to the baser of the spur of rock that anchored the wall in place.

"Put it right here." I said raggedly into the mike. I indicated a rough patch where the metal roof butted against crumbling rock. The Marines carrying the thing did so, making sure to point the grenade flat side down and hauling a heavy bit of wreckage over the whole assembly. Only at the last second did they rig the improvised detonator.

"All set, deputy. I suggest we evacuate sharp like. These quick jobs have a habit of getting twitchy when people start shooting at 'em." The demoman advised. As if called down by his words, another wing of drones made a slashing attack against us. We scattered to avoid the hail of fire, but not all of us were lucky enough to avoid injury. "Arghh, me eye! Me God damned eye!" the demolitions expert howled. He clapped a hand to his bloody socket. The hand that held the detonator. The detonator that began sliding down the roof.

"We need to detonate the charge now, before the drones pick us off!" Jenkins yelled. He made to dive for the falling detonator.

"Wait, I've got this!" I readied up an overload program on my Omni-tool. I scrambled to my feet as blasts fell across the roof. I raised my arm and pointed at the cluster of grenades. I let go of the overload once it had charged up. The arc of electricity leapt from my hand to the debris covering the charge. Blue wires wreathed the cover metal, sparking and lighting up the space about it. The charge erupted in a flower of fire that shattered the rock above the collapsed roof. A hole had opened in the wall, jagged and narrow, but a way in. "Move in, we have to get out of this crap!" I half ran, half crouched toward the new opening. Behind me, Jenkins helped the wounded man up, applying medigel to his ruined eye. They were able to follow pretty closely until we reached our entrance. I stooped and peeked into the hole. Nothing fired out of it, which was a good sign.

"You wanna go first?" Jenkins asked with a grin. "Unless you're scared…"

"Give me a second; I don't want to run into a 'minor inconvenience' down there." I said as I slipped into the opening. It was a short drop to the floor below. The lights down below flickered disconcertedly, just enough to distort any sense of movement, but not enough to require a torch. A swept the hallway with my rifle. "Clear!" Behind me, four thumps signaled the descent of the rest of the team.

"Creepy." Jenkins noted. "So, forward?"

"Yeah, take it slow though, I've got another feeling." We moved forward under the low ceiling. Outside, the Mako continued firing up at the drones. The sound was deadened by rock and metal, becoming quieter and quieter as we continued deeper into the complex.

"You hear somet'?" the wounded marine said from the back of the party. We all halted, holding our breath. After a few seconds a sound started reaching us clearly from up the hall. First a scrabbling, then a wet slap, then a whine.

"Get down!" I dropped to the deck as a red beam of light split the hallway. "Open fire!" I aimed down the hallway at the Geth I knew had to be hiding in the shadows. The hall lit up in a staccato lightshow of weapons fire. I did my best to pick out the hopping Geth snipers in the gloom, but their fluid shapes almost dissolved into the cracks in the walls. "Try and pin them down, I'm moving up!" I yelled back. Trying to keep myself pressed against the floor, a shuffled up on my elbows. The flurry of shots filled the air above me with stone chips and hot metal, some whizzing only inches from my helmet. There was a wet slap and a shudder right next to me, just out of vision. Looking back I found myself side by side with one of the Geth hoppers. It rippled, getting ready to leap again. My rifle was still pinned underneath me, pointed further down the hall. Not wanting the thing to get a better vantage point on me, I did the first thing that popped into my head. I threw myself sideways, on top of the writhing construct. I felt the powerful flexing of synthetic muscles move under my arms as the hopper prepared to jump, but the extra weight threw it off. Its ill aimed leap ended up propelling both of us sideways, slamming my back into the wall of the hallway. All the air rushed from my lungs, but I held on until I saw stars. I landed roughly on top of it as it fell back to the floor. The Geth bucked in an attempt to fling me off. It was able to throw off one of my arms. Now holding on with just one arm, I reached behind me for my faithful pistol. I jammed the short barrel into the base of its 'neck' and squeezed the trigger. The light from the shot burned my eyes, which still left me better off than the struggling Geth. The tungsten round tore into its circuitry, frying its robotic brain. The Geth went limp. I rolled off the dead synthetic and scanned the hallway for further threats. The area looked clear.

"I think they retreated," Jenkins said, "I got one,, then you got into a wrestling match with that other one, then the rest just off and disappeared."

I placed the pistol back on its magnetic clip and rose to my knees. Jenkins offered me a hand up which I took.

"If we're going to be fighting those things again…" I fired up my Omni-tool and scrolled through the list of programs. I found the one I wanted and readied it up. I aimed down the hallway and covered my eyes. Even past the shielding of my arm, the bright white light that filled the hallway was near blinding. At once the flickering hallway became as bright in the light of a shimmering orb that floated a few feet of us. The flare drone would burn through my on board phosphorus, but its ability to banish the shadows was well worth it.

"Wish you could have warned us about that." Jenkins said, blinking.

"Yeah, sorry about that."


We moved slowly down the rest of the hallway. Ahead I could see the open antechamber that housed the Geth Fire Control. The bobbing flare drone lazily floated up into the chamber until it drove out the shadows. It also drove out the Geth Hoppers. Three of them came at us, all at once. Their eye beams played over the party, scattering us to the scant cover offered by the sides of the hall. A shot caught me in the gut with the force of a krogan punch. Had it not been for my kinetic barriers, I would have been core sampled.

"Focus fire left!" Jenkins yelled. The marines behind me shifted their aim and filled a thin sliver of hallway with metal fragments. One of the Geth went down, followed by another one. The last one fell to the demolitions expert.

"What? Just becuz' I'm a Cyclops, doesn't mean a cannae shoot straight anymore!"

When no further Geth leapt from the room, we charged in. The room was sparse. Only a pair of terminals on the walls marked the room as anything special at all.

"Alright, how do we shut this stuff off?" I asked. The terminals scrolled with indecipherable Geth characters, revealing no convenient off switch.

"Well this on looks like the one on the first gate. We just kind of hit the big red button here." Jenkins said, showing me on one of the terminals. There was a grating of tortured metal behind and below us. 'This other one though, I'm just not sure."

"We could blow it up."

I dismissed that idea out of hand. "This is just the access terminal; the actual computer will be buried much deeper." I guessed. I stood staring at the terminal for a second before keying my comm.

"Tali, how much do you know about the Geth alphabet?"

"Liddle?" The reply came back fuzzy and distorted, "What's going on down there? You've been gone for almost an hour."

"Something about minor inconveniences, and two wounded, it's not important," I said with a wince. "Anyway, what do you know…"

"They still use the Quarian alphabet, at least an older version of it. Why?"

"Could you read it?"

"I suppose."

"Good, I'm going to show you the terminal for the Geth Fire Control station; I need to know how to switch it off. Please."

"Alright, I'll take a look, but there's no promises I'll be able to get you in just through visual analysis. Ready to uplink." I panned my Omni-tool across the terminal surface. The device sent the recorded display up through the Mako to the Normandy, and from there to our resident Geth expert.

"Hmm…" Tali puzzled over the data. "No, this can't be right."

"What's going on Tali, I'm about to have Geth beating down the door down here."

"It looks like… It looks like the Geth have done nothing to secure their terminals. Their data networks are near impossible to even break the first layer of security, but this terminal's an open book. It's as if the Geth just assumed no Geth would ever have access here. To switch it off, you need to swipe that left-most stream all the way to the right and hit the symbol that looks kind of like a 'raan.'"

"I'm sorry, a what?"

"You know, 'raan,' comes after 'shal.' Oh wait, you can't read Quarian, can you?" she said, sounding a little sheepish. "The… umm… squiggly one with a line through it."

"Thank you Tali." I followed the directions. The terminal squawked an acknowledgment. "Ground team to Normandy, the FC should be down. Can you confirm?"

"Confirmed, Ground team. Bringing the fire, might want to shuffle on out of there in a hurry." Joker's voice replied.

"You heard the man, let's get out of here." Jenkins ordered. The hallway remained empty all the way to the entry hole. "Ascender's and ropes, on the double."

I was able to see how the marines had climbed the first wall close up this time. Using wrist mounted mass effect catapults, the soldiers launched anchors into the roof above. Miniaturized motors in their belts hauled them up and out. I had to grab Jenkins' arm on his way up. Up on the ruined roof things were much calmer than when we had dove into the tunnel. Above, the sky was smoky but clear of Geth. Scattered across the ground was the wreckage of the aerial drones.

"Normandy's not too far out. I recommend we take the quick way down." Jenkins said. I was about to ask exactly what that the 'quick way' meant, the other marines filled me in. They jumped feet first and slid down the battered wall, allowing the soft sand below and their kinetic barriers take the force of their landing, I wasn't a second too soon as the air filled with the scream of frigate engines. The Normandy roared overhead, the thunder of its guns blotting out all other sound. The peals, almost like a lightning storm, that accompanied the twin blasts almost deafened me. The gun tower was gutted, then flattened under repeated attack. When the Normandy was done, it waggled its wings and jetted off towards the stranded Salarians.


The Mako pulled up to a fascinating, if familiar sight. A wide and open beach dotted with small prefab buildings lay next to a shallow yet wide cove. The pale blue water wouldn't have been out of place in a Caribbean cruise destination were it not for the occasional bobbing of destroyed Geth. Behind the small camp, the Normandy rose skyward with its ramp open. Up and down the ramp ran teams of men, women, and Salarians as they bustled to prepare something for lifting. Sentries on the beach spotted us as we turned the corner and motioned for us to head in and park alongside one of the bigger shelters. I popped the hatch as soon as we came to a complete stop. The wounded men were brought out first by a detachment of Salarians led by Doctor Chakwas. The rest of Jenkins' small squad bailed out as I finished the shutdown sequence. By the time I dropped out onto the hard packed sand of the STG base, the camp had fallen back into its usual uneasy vigilance. I turned to and fro, looking for direction until my eyes fell on the largest shelter. In the shade of the prefab, Commander Shepard stood at a table alongside Garrus and Wrex. Across from them stood the salarian captain, Kirrahe, and his lieutenants. The whole group was talking animatedly.

I made for the group at a slow jog. The air was oppressive outside the climate controlled interior of the tank to the point that I had to take a breather just out of view of the planning meeting before going in. Walking in the door, I was just able to catch the end of a sentence before the group was interrupted by one of the guards.

"Can I help you, human?" the group turned almost as one.

"Ah, Captain Kirrahe, this is my deputy, Michael Liddle. Liddle, I just got Jenkins' report," Shepard said coolly.

"Liddle? Yes, STG has files on you, unusually small for someone in your position, plan to rectify," The salarian captain said in one breath, "Your exploits, interesting to us."

"Yes, very interesting," Shepard broke in, "Liddle, I need you to run a diagnostic on the Mako. Most likely we'll be needing it in our plans. You are dismissed." And with that she turned back to the planning table.


Tucked under the torn nose of the Mako, I barely registered the approach of a pair of feet.

"You okay?" I almost dropped the crowbar I had been using to lever bits of Geth out of the rent in the armored nosecone. I shaded my eyes and looked up at an armor clad and mildly sunburnt Corporal Steiner. "You know I've never heard anyone call a Mako any of those names. Pretty inventive."

"I'm fine, Corporal." I managed after catching the crowbar.

"Oh, it's 'Corporal' now is it?" The soldier leaned back against the Mako. "Well, 'Deputy,' I just thought I'd let you know, you stay frustrated like that you're liable to get yourself shot, or get me shot, which won't make me happy at all." I shuffled out from under the nosecone and swiveled to face her.

"I'm not frus… How would I get you shot?"

"You haven't heard? We're in the van my friend. We're going to help the Salarians draw off the Geth so the Commander can blow the place."

"But won't they need the Mako wherever they're going?"

"Oh ho, Mako's are for officers. You're really one of us now." Steiner said. She gave me a look of mock sadness. "I don't know what you did to earn the honor, but…"

"What!" a gravelly voice that could only belong to one person bellowed from somewhere further down the beach. "These are my people, Shepard!" Wrex strode away from the command shelter looking absolutely livid with rage. Shepard followed him closely, not looking much happier.

"These aren't you're people, Wrex. They're copies, bred for Saren!"

"Any copy is better than none at all. You don't understand, Shepard!"

"What do you think this is all about?" Steiner stood up straighter.

"I'm guessing is has something to do with this strike." I said, trying not to let on I knew exactly what had the ancient krogan warrior riled up. "And something to do with the krogan from what he's yelling." I watched the confrontation closely. In the game, Wrex would calm down pretty quickly if you found his armor for him, but this galaxy didn't follow such some hardcoded set of responses, and was wandering further from my ability to guess the outcome of events. I searched the beach for Ashley. She was quite a bit further down the beach, sharing a close conversation with Jenkins, and not in any position to take out a rampaging krogan should Wrex not listen to reason. I checked my own pistol, desperately hoping I wouldn't have to put it to use. The entire camp froze; all eyes on the mercenary and the SPECTRE.