Well it seems that most of you liked my take on Liara's rescue on Therum, including the problems the team was and still is facing. It makes sense that they'd not be a well oiled machine yet, as they've only fought together for one battle before this point, for most of the team.
Now, with all the members present, it is time for the team to start working towards becoming that impressive team of specialists we see take on all comers in Mass Effect 3.
Nothing much else to say, except let's get this show on the road!
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Naruto. They are the property of Bioware and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. This is a nonprofit fan made work of fiction. Please support the official releases.
Chapter 12
Into the Maw
Alicia watched as the trio of holographic images appeared in the communication room, as the communication from the Council members connected to the Normandy. It was almost a day since they had escaped from Therum, and currently the ship was idling in the Macedon system of the Artemius Tau cluster. Alicia had ordered them into this position while the ground team recovered and she prepared a report for both the Alliance and the Council on what she and her team encountered on Therum. The reports had varied slightly, as the one she had sent to the Alliance had focused more on the geth presence on the planet, while the report to the Council had focused on what they had learned concerning Liara T'Soni and Saren's apparent interest in her. Both reports however had detailed all the information they had gathered on the geth, their fighting capabilities and numbers, so that all could benefit from knowledge on this new enemy.
And now the Councilors wanted a more personal debriefing, leading to the present, as she nodded to the trio of holographic Councilors.
"Commander Shepard, we've finished reading over the report you sent us. I'll admit I'm concerned at the lack of detail regarding Dr. T'Soni," Tevos said, starting the debriefing.
"I'm afraid I have little else to report on that subject at the moment, Councilors. Dr. T'Soni is currently recovering from both sleep deprivation as well as dehydration. I do intend to question her further after she has a chance to recover, both physically and mentally. However, my preliminary questioning and the situation she was in both suggest that she is not allied with Saren or Matriarch Benezia. As my report stated, she was hiding from the geth and the krogan Battlemaster who was leading them, and the krogan seemed to not care whether she lived or died, just that he have her or her body. I will admit," she said, cutting off Sparatus as she saw him preparing to speak, "that it could all be an elaborate setup to put a double agent on my ship, which is why she currently is also under guard until I make a determination on where her allegiance lies."
Valern decided to speak up at this point. "A sound decision. If she is working for Saren, he might have sent those geth to end her life and prevent you from questioning her. Or to help sell her cover as a double agent for him."
"I doubt Benezia was party to such a plan, if the former was the case. I do not think she would sacrifice her daughter like that," Tevos said.
"Or maybe you are not as familiar with her as you believed you were. Her betrayal seems to have come as a great shock to you, Councilor Tevos," Sparatus said, causing Tevos to flinch slightly at the turian's accusation as said Councilor turned to Shepard. "I must say that I am disturbed at your recklessness regarding those Prothean ruins, Commander Shepard. You should have strived to preserve them for future study."
Alicia did her best not to scoff or roll her eyes, mentally restraining herself before she spoke. "I did not intend to destroy the ruins, but it was the only way to gain access to Dr. T'Soni and to exit said ruins. It was not like my team and I had a lot of options, especially with an enemy presence threatening to overwhelm us. Even if the ruins weren't destroyed, they would have ended up in the hands of the geth and Saren anyways, giving him invaluable information and potential technology."
"Indeed. While unintentional, your actions actually have benefitted your mission in preventing Saren an advantage. And as a Spectre, the mission must come first," Valern stated.
"We expect a follow up report after you've had a chance to question Dr. T'Soni. We will forward any other leads we might find as soon as we receive them. Good luck, Commander Shepard," Tevos said, ending the debriefing.
As the holograms disappeared, Alicia let out a tired sigh, feeling annoyance at Sparatus' words. The turian Councilor seemed intent on belittling her efforts, as if to find reason to disapprove of her actions or methods. It was easy for him to judge her from the safety of the Citadel, when he wasn't the one in the field, under pressure to make decisions. Shaking her head, she turned and left the comm room, intending on going to see how their new 'guest' was doing.
On the crew deck, she paused a moment as she saw Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus, and Wrex in the mess area. The first three were sitting around the mess table, though Garrus seemed to be awkwardly hanging at the 'edge' of their group, while Ashley seemed to barely being speaking or even acknowledging the turian, leaving Kaidan to do his best to create a conversation that included all three of them. Wrex simply was loading up on food, before glancing at the trio, then snorting and stomping off towards the elevator leading down to the hanger/engineering deck.
Alicia could only frown as she saw the continued division of her team. This wasn't going to do if they were going to be fighting together. While she didn't need them to be the best of friends, they should at least be able to work together and be amicable to each other in their downtime. Shaking her head she turned back to the medical area, deciding that the next thing she needed to focus on was getting the team to work together.
Entering the sickbay she nodded to the marine on guard duty before moving to the only occupied bed. Liara was actually awake, talking quietly with Dr. Chakwas while nibbling on some food. The asari glanced up as she approached, her blue eyes widening as she took in Alicia and causing the ship's doctor to look up as well.
"Ah, Commander Shepard. I was just busy checking up on our patient. She is recovering nicely, though I would like to keep her here for a few more hours, to make sure she is properly recovering," Chakwas said, smiling at her.
"I understand. Is it alright if I talk to her?" Alicia asked, glancing at Liara who now was looking down slightly.
"I don't think it would be a problem, but try not to aggravate her too much. She is still recovering." Turning to Liara, the aged doctor gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'll be right over there if you need anything."
Liara nodded as Chakwas headed off to work on some medical reports. She started to sit up straight, but Alicia stopped her. "Just relax please. Last thing I need is Doc getting on my case for causing you to relapse or something," she said with a disarming smile.
"Y-Yes, of course. How can I help you Commander?" Liara asked her nervously, trying to look her in the eyes, but not being able to. She felt nervous being in the presence of this person who had rescued her, but who had also put her under guard. And she was still shaken by her experience on Therum, seeing some of her colleagues die, and knowing others had as well. Not to mention that now that she got a good look at this person, she knew she was in the presence of a Spectre, the one whose acceptance into their ranks had recently been televised. And that made her even more worried, that this operative of the Council had come looking for her personally.
"Well first off, I want you to thank you for saving my life down there on Therum, when you blocked that rocket meant for me. I knew that couldn't have been easy, in your condition," Alicia told her.
"O-Oh, yes! Well you're welcome. It was the least I could do for you for saving me," Liara said, blushing ever so slightly, a light purple hue appearing on her cheeks. Alicia could only grin as she saw that, finding it adorable, especially with her light sprinkling of freckles, something she had never seen on an asari before. But then she schooled her features, reminding herself that this was still a potential enemy.
Focusing back on her purpose, she started her questions. "Now, I know we covered this back in the ruins, but I think it is important to cover this now that we have more time. Have you recently been contact with your mother, Matriarch Benezia?"
"As I said before, I received a few messages from her over the past month or so. But I refused to answer any of them," the asari said quietly. "My mother and I had a falling out because I chose to pursue my interests in archeology, specifically excavating and investigating Prothean ruins and artifacts. Before the messages she sent to me I had not spoken to her or heard from her in over a year."
Alicia nodded as she took that in, making notes on her omni-tool. "Alright, thank you. You mentioned you're an archeologist who studies Prothean ruins? Have you discovered anything that might be of interest to anyone specific? Anything that might cause, well…cause someone to come after you? Any information or technology?"
"No I…I don't think I've discovered anything that could cause someone to try and abduct me. To be honest, there are many others who are publically acknowledged as knowing more about Protheans then I do. Most of my theories and papers are not taken seriously, mostly due to my young age and inexperience," Liara said quietly. "I cannot think of any reason why anyone would come after me."
"I can think of someone who has a reason," Alicia said softly, taking a breath before she asked her next question. "Have you recently had any contact with the turian Spectre Saren Arterius, or anyone who claims to be representing him?"
"I…no, I haven't heard of such a person before. But he was the one mentioned by the krogan, wasn't he? Is he the one who sent those geth after me?" Liara asked, her voice rising a bit as she started to sit up straighter, her blue eyes radiating pain and slight anger.
As Alicia saw those eyes, she couldn't help but feel that it was genuine, that Liara was a victim and not a suspect or double agent. Taking a deep breath, she closed down her omni-tool. "Yes, he was," she said. "I can't give you all the details, but I can tell you that I'm tracking Saren Arterius for crimes against the Alliance, humanity, and the Council. And I believe he sent those geth to collect you because of your knowledge regarding Prothean ruins, culture, and technology."
Liara could only tremble, looking down as she heard all that, her shoulders shuddering a bit. After several moments, she spoke again, her voice breaking slightly. "And what does any of this have to do with my mother?" She finally asked. "Is my mother involved in some way?"
Alicia bit her lip, before answering. "We are not sure how, but we do have evidence that she is connected to Saren."
Liara just nodded, not looking up. But Alicia could see some tears trailing down her cheeks. "I see…I'm sorry commander, but I am feeling tired. Do you mind if we finish this later?"
"Yes, I understand. We'll continue this later. Just rest right now," Alicia said, as she slowly stood up. "Thank you for answering my questions. And I am sorry for what you went through."
Liara just nodded again as she lowered herself into the bed, huddling a bit and turning away. Alicia watched her for a few moments before moving to Chakwas. "Please keep an eye on her."
"Of course Commander. I'll do my best to aid her through this stressful time," the doctor said, as Alicia turned and left the sickbay.
Back in the mess area, Alicia just rubbed her forehead quietly, feeling guilt over what Liara must be feeling due to her questioning. But she knew it was necessary, both to gather any information she could that might give them a lead or intel on Saren, and to try and find out if Liara was truthful or lying. Deciding to try and expedite that last part, she headed to the captain's cabin, her cabin, and sat down in front of her personal terminal. Opening up the e-mail service, she began typing out a secured message to send to the Spectre office on the Citadel, requesting all known information regarding communications to Doctor Liara T'Soni from Matriarch Benezia, Saren Arterius, or any persons connected to or contracted by those two persons. Sending the message, she closed it down and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed as she let herself relax for a few moments.
Elsewhere, relaxing was the last thing on Tali's mind, as the quarian left her quarters on the Normandy. Per her request, Alicia had convinced the chief engineer to give Tali a duty shift in engineering, and she was eager to get started. So eager in fact, that she was leaving a full half hour early, to make sure she arrived on time and made a good first impression. Entering the elevator, she shifted nervously as it slowly began its descent, hoping that she was able to learn everything necessary to help out on the ship. She had been reading some of the tech manuals on the general systems of the ship, and she could already tell this was the most advanced ship she was likely to see in some time.
As the elevator stopped at the hanger/engineering deck, she stepped out as the door opened, preparing to turn to head back to engineering, only to stop and pause, her silvery eyes widening as she realized what she was seeing in the hanger area.
The hanger bay was mostly open, save for the forward starboard side, which housed the six wheeled infantry fighting vehicle the Alliance called the M-35 Mako. Behind that, the requisition officer had set up shop, having several computer screens that displayed products he was able to order from various private companies, as well as official requisition forms for Alliance arms and supplies. Opposite that was the armory, where the marine complement and Alicia's ground team could store and maintain their armor and weapons. Both Wrex and Garrus had set up bunks in the hanger area, though quite a distance apart from each other, and currently the krogan was plopped on his bunk, tearing into food he had obviously brought down from the mess area. Though like her, his focus seemed to be on the other individual present in the hanger bay.
Naruto Uzumaki was grunting as he maneuvered around what appeared to be some type of mech covered in padded material over parts of its body, making it resemble a humanoid form. The vulzan was dodging punches and grab attempts by the mech, before responding with blows or grapple attempts of his own, tossing the mech around or locking his arms or legs around parts of the mech and restraining it. The whole thing was quite amazing to watch, as he seemed to dance around the mech with grace and agility, easily dodging its own considerably fast blows. But what drew Tali's attention was the fact that Naruto was currently shirtless, sweat glistening off his toned and defined muscles and the red maelstrom like tattoo on his right bicep. She could only stare, a blush forming on her face behind her mask, only to gasp as he turned with his back to her, and she saw a second tattoo.
This one was considerably larger, though it too was also in red ink. The center of the tattoo was the head of some type of animal, something that seemed canine-like in appearance, with red eyes that had black markings around them. Surrounding the head was nine waving protrusions, each red as well but ending in black tips. The whole thing looked quite intimidating to her.
Naruto grinned as he ducked under a punch from the mech, grabbing the extended arm and swinging around, wrapping his legs around the captured limb and neck and dragging the mech to the deck, securing his lock on the mech. The mech struggled to break the lock, but eventually surrendered, falling 'unconscious'.
Wrex snorted as he tore into a piece of varren jerky as he watched the training. "Not bad Maelstrom, but I'd like to see you try to do that to a krogan," he said.
Naruto just grunted as he released the mech. "Yeah, if I don't mind getting tossed around like a chew toy," he muttered, standing and stretching.
Wrex glanced over, to see Tali still standing there, and smirked. "Looks like your admirer is busy ogling you. Might want to either get dressed, or find somewhere more private," he said, causing Tali to yelp at that while Naruto glanced up in her direction.
Chuckling a bit, the vulzan grabbed a towel and started to wipe himself off. "Need something Tali?" He asked her, grabbing the upper half of his duty fatigues.
"N-No, n-nothing! I don't need anything," she quickly said. "I was just going to my duty shift! In engineering! That's why I'm here! Oh keelah, I am making this so much worse," she muttered, face palming the visor of her helmet.
Naruto blinked at her reactions, before shrugging and starting to pull on his shirt. Tali, seeing the tattoo on his back again, decided to speak up. "Uh, do you mind if I ask what that is?" She asked, pointing to his back.
Glancing over his shoulder and seeing her pointing at his back, he chuckled a bit. "Aah, kind of hard not to miss that, right?" He asked her, before pulling the shirt up enough for her to see it again. "This is Dado-Talado-Kuacj, or 'Nine-Divine-Tails'. It is the patron deity of my clan."
Somehow sensing her confusion from her stance, he elaborated. "It is part of my people's faith, at least from what I understand from my genetic memories of my parents and ancestors. The vulzan people had a pantheon of deities, which they all worshiped. However, each of the major clans had a certain deity or deities that they considered their patron, who they chiefly worshipped. My clan chiefly worshipped Dado-Talado-Kuacj, a red furred fox with nine tails. He was master of the forests, fire, and magic…what my people thought biotics were before the Protheans came."
Naruto pulled his shirt down, turning back to face Tali. "It was a tradition for the warriors of the vulzan to have the patron deity of their clan tattooed upon their backs or chest upon completion of their training and their ascension to a full warrior of the clan. I wanted to honor my people and ancestors, so after making sure I fit the requirements, at least from what I've seen in my ancestors' memories, I got this tattoo."
"I can understand honoring your ancestors and your people," Tali said, nodding gently. Seeing Naruto's interested look, she continued. "My people have long honored and revered our ancestors. Before we were forced off our home world by the geth, our ancestors' memories and personalities were imprinted onto VI programs so that their experience could be used to try and guide our race even after their death. We lost almost all those databanks during the geth uprising, but we still honor our ancestors for their efforts in keeping the quarian people and Migrant Fleet alive. It is…the closest thing we have to a religion, I suppose."
"Heh, religion. Just a bunch of crap people do to try and give their lives meaning," Wrex snorted, tearing into his food. Tali glanced down at that, while Naruto looked over at Wrex, his face hardening a bit, before he moved next to Tali and touched her shoulder.
"If that's what you want to believe, fine then," Naruto told him. "But everyone deserves to have their own beliefs, and no one has the right to put down anyone's beliefs or faith. Not unless they put others in danger."
Wrex just shrugged, going back to his own food, while Tali turned away, gently pulling away from him and moving over to the doors to engineering. Naruto followed her, causing her stop after a few moments.
"You okay?" Naruto asked Tali quietly, as the young quarian girl just stood there, holding her arms over her chest, her helmeted head lowered.
"I'm just…not sure I really belong here," she said quietly. "I…I know I seem self conscious or petty, but it seems like nobody wants me here. Vakarian blames me for what my ancestors did, and Wrex there seems to just constantly not care or belittle everything I say. And all the Alliance crew members keep looking at me with suspicion. I just feel…alone here."
Naruto gently touched her shoulder again, forcing her to look at him, as he gave her a smile. "You're not alone, Tali. You've got me here, if you need someone to talk to and hang out with. And my sister's door is always open, because how else will she get her teasing material?"
She shook a bit, lowering her head and obviously trying to stifle a giggle, as Naruto's face grew more serious. "As for everyone else, if they can't be bothered to try and get to know you, then fuck them," he said, causing her to look up suddenly, her eyes widening in surprise at his sudden use of vulgar language. "Most of them are going to be a bit wary initially, because they don't know you, but they'll either learn to accept you, or they won't. And if they won't, then they aren't worth your time."
Tali kept looking at him, before nodding quietly. "I…I'll try to remember that. I can't guarantee anything, but…I'll try."
"That's all anyone can ask. Now you better get in there, and start proving to everyone just why you deserve to be here," he said with a confident grin.
"Right. Don't worry, I promise I won't cause an engine meltdown till my third shift," she said, feeling more confident thanks to his words. "And…thank you," she said told him, before turning and quickly heading into engineering.
Naruto watched her go, before taking a deep breath and turned, heading back into the hanger area. His eyes immediately locked on Wrex, who was finishing up his food. He frowned as he approached the krogan, who just barely even glanced up at him. Before he could speak, the reptilian merc just grunted. "I ain't going to coddle anyone, so don't bother asking. She can't handle a few harsh words, she shouldn't be out here," he said.
"I'm not asking you to coddle her, I'm asking you to not destroy what little teamwork we've got," Naruto stated, his arms crossed. "We need to rely on each other if we're going to make it out of this operation alive."
Wrex just grunted again, pulling his bulk up off his bunk. "Trust me kid, it ain't going to be working together that gets us through this. It's going to be a lot of guns and lots of killing. That's it," he said. "But like you said, feel free to think otherwise, if it'll make you feel better."\
Naruto however got right up in Wrex's face, not backing down. "Listen to me Wrex. If your actions get anyone here killed, you and I are going to have a long, hard, and painful conversation. And that's if my sister doesn't get to you first. And this is not a threat. It is a promise."
Wrex looked into the vulzan's eyes long and hard, before letting out a soft chuckle. "You've got guts kid. You and your sister. I can respect that. But out there on the battlefield? It's kill or be killed. And I don't plan on dying for anyone except myself." With that, the large krogan began to stomp off, leaving Naruto growling softly, his fists clenched as his eyes narrowed, the faintest hue of amethyst slipping into his pupils. He just growled and turned away, reactivating the sparring droid. The mech came online, only to quickly find itself the outlet for Naruto's frustrations.
Saren's flagship
Saren Arterius let out an annoyed growl, the flare of his biotics fading as the furniture in his quarters dropped to the ground at the news he had just received from his forces on Therum. Not only had they failed to retrieve Liara T'Soni for him, but a fair amount of them had been destroyed by Alicia Shepard, the human responsible for his Spectre status being revoked and his plans, to some degree, being revealed ahead of time. The remaining geth, attempting to secure what they could from the site, had reported the loss of the facility due to volcanic emissions, and then additional losses when an Alliance task group had engaged them before they could retreat.
And as such, he was no closer to understanding the vision he had received from the beacon on Eden Prime. Even when he supplemented it with a clearer vision from a second Prothean beacon he had located and utilized, he was no closer to understanding any of it. It was clear that simply seeing the vision wasn't enough; he needed more to understand it. He needed some way to decipher the Prothean's language and mentality, in order to understand the information from the beacon.
Hearing the door to his quarters open, he turned to the source of the disturbance. A geth unit entered and stood at attention, a series of clicks and electronic stutters and warbles emanating from it. Saren's eyes narrowed as he listened to the information. "What should I care about intercepted coded communications from some human corporation?" He snapped.
The geth unit continued to emit the strange noises, and the turian's eyes widened in understanding, before his mandibles flared slightly in the turian equivalent of a grin. "I see then. Very well. Set course for the planet Feros. It seems fate is smiling on our cause today," he said.
As the geth unit turned and left, Saren chuckled as another geth unit, assigned to oversee his needs, finished straightening his furniture. Settling back into his chair he could only smile, as it seemed things were taking a turn for the better now.
Normandy
Alicia could only let out an annoyed groan, having been rousted from her rest at the sound of her communication terminal beeping incessantly. Rolling over she slapped a hand to active her ship intercom. "This better be important Joker, or I swear I'm cutting off your speaking privileges for the next decade," she muttered.
"Sorry Commander, but we've got a communication from 5th Fleet command. Sounds important," Joker said over the comm, causing Alicia to become more alert.
"Right, route it down to my terminal," she said, getting up and grabbing her top, pulling it on so she didn't flash whoever the message was from. Sitting down at her terminal, she activated it, only to blink as the image of Admiral Steve Hackett appeared.
"Commander Shepard. Sorry to bother you, but we've got a bit of a dilemma and you're in the best position to handle it," the aged admiral said, cutting right to the chase. "I've received word from Commodore Kakoku of the 72nd Scout Flotilla that one of his recon corvettes, the SSV Centaur, recently disappeared while on a routine patrol near your position. I know you're busy with the Saren investigation, but since you are the closest ship on station, I'm assigning you to investigate the disappearance." (1)
"Understood sir. Where exactly am I heading?" She asked him.
"The Centaur's last reported position was the Sparta System in the Artemius Tau Cluster. They had reported picking up a strange transmission from the planet Edolus, and were on route to investigate. Your orders are to head to their last reported coordinates and investigate their disappearance. That is all Commander," Hackett said, ending the transmission.
Alicia took a deep breath, before getting up and reactivating the intercom, setting it for ship wide. "This is Commander Shepard to ground team. I need everyone in the briefing room in ten minutes. All hands, prepare to get underway," she ordered, shutting down the intercom.
Quickly getting herself presentable, she left the cabin, passing a couple of on-duty crewmembers moving to their stations as she headed up to the CIC deck. Quickly climbing up to the captain's perch above the holographic navigation map, she called up a map of the Artemius Tau cluster, selecting the Sparta System and then the planet Edolus in said system. "Joker, you've got the new coordinates. Take us out at best speed as soon as we are ready," she said, turning away and entering the communications and briefing room.
As the rest of the ground team, fully or almost entirely recovered from their injuries, entered the room and took their seats, Alicia brought up the latest imagery of Edolus on the holographic screen. "We're being directed to this planet, Edolus. It's an arid world located in the Sparta system here in this nebula cluster. A Manticore-class recon corvette, the SSV Centaur, disappeared while on routine patrol in the system. We've been tasked with finding it. I want the ground team on standby in case we need to make a landfall, or make a ship boarding, though hopefully this is just going to be a case of communications malfunction," she said.
"How big of a ship are we talking about?" Garrus asked, leaning forward in his seat.
Naruto was the one to answer. "Not big. It's a scout ship, meant almost purely for recon work. Average crew complement is roughly around twenty, counting both her navy and marine personnel. Lots of engine and sensor power, but not much else."
"Their last report indicated they were investigating strange transmissions from Edolus, so we'll be starting the search there. It's an arid world, with strong winds, so I want everyone to make sure your armor's up to specs for the environment. If we don't detect them in the space, we'll be dropping in the Mako," Alicia said, which instantly drew a very subtle flinch from Naruto. "Williams, make sure she's ready for a drop, just in case."
"Will do skipper," the human marine said.
Alicia looked at her group. "I don't expect there will be a lot of combat, but I want everyone to be prepared. We may be encountering anything from pirates to geth down there. Edolus is largely uncharted, so it is the perfect place for those who don't want to be found to hide. Dismissed, except for Wrex and Vakarian."
Everyone got up to leave, save for the two who were asked to say. Wrex just grunted, slouching in his seat while looking disinterested, while Garrus looked a bit nervous. Alicia watched the two of them, waiting till the rest were gone, before speaking. "We need to discuss some problems we had on Therum, concerning the both of you," she said, leaning back against the railing in front of the now deactivated holographic display. "I'm not asking for strict obedience and blind loyalty, but while we're on the ground, in the middle of an operation, I need to know that I can rely on the people fighting alongside me. Currently, you two are the ones I can rely upon the least."
Wrex didn't seem fazed, but Garrus's eyes widened and his mandible's flared in surprise. "Commander, I promise you that you can-," he started to say, only to stop as Alicia raised her hand.
"Garrus, I don't want you trying to defend yourself, I want you to listen to why I said what I just did. When we're in the middle of enemy held territory with potential enemy reinforcements about to drop down on us, I need to know that the operators under my command are going to follow orders. I don't expect you to be obedient drones who don't think for yourself, but I don't need you questioning my decisions, especially in front of the others. It sets bad precedence and causes us to lose cohesion in the field. Worst of all, it can get someone seriously injured or killed. That goes for you as well Wrex," she said, looking at the krogan. "I'm not asking you, either of you, to just simply conform to Alliance regulations, but I need you to trust me and follow my orders in the field. Otherwise, we're not going to take Saren down, and we're likely going to die in the process. If you don't like it, you're free to leave the ship as soon as we dock at the Citadel or anywhere else. Am I clear?"
Garrus gulped slightly and nodded. "Understood Commander," he said. Wrex just grunted, not really giving an answer, that is until Alicia stood up, arms crossed as she looked at him.
"Fine, fine. I won't get the others killed. But I'm not going to follow you just because you say so. Respect is earned Shepard, not given," Wrex said, standing up and stomping off.
Alicia just let out a tired sigh, slouching a bit, before looking to Garrus. "That's all Garrus. Unless you need to talk to me?" She asked.
The turian shifted a bit, before standing up. "No commander. Sorry commander," he said, starting to move away.
"Wait Garrus," Alicia said, causing Garrus to pause. "I need you to understand, Garrus, that I'm not disappointed or angry with you. We've barely been working together, and there are going to be kinks in our ability to work together. Like I said, I don't want mindless obedient drones. I just want you to trust me and my decisions. But if you do have a concerns, or ideas, I want to hear them when it is right or appropriate, alright?"
The turian turned to her, and nodded quietly. "I understand Shepard. I'll do my best," he said, before leaving. Alicia just took a deep breath, eyes closed as she tilted her head towards the ceiling. After a few moments, she moved away to get herself ready for the mission as well.
The FTL flight from the Macedon system to the Sparta system took roughly two hours, during which the ground team quickly got their equipment ready for the mission, while the Mako was prepped and ready for the drop. Alicia, after ensuring her armor and equipment was ready, had returned to the CIC, and was waiting for their arrival in the Sparta System. Feeling the ship drop out of FTL speed, she grinned as she moved up towards the helm.
Arriving at the helm she nodded to the sensory office. "Start off with a passive sensor sweep of the system. If you don't detect anything we'll go to full active. Tactical, be ready to raise barriers and arm weapons if a hostile bogey appears. Joker, I want the stealth drive ready at a moment's notice," she ordered, standing behind her helmsman.
The sensor officer, a young ensign, stared intently on her holographic screen as she began running passive sensor sweeps, flipping through a few different streams of data coming in. "I'm not detecting any ships on passive," she said quietly. "There is fading trails from a ship's engines near Edolus, but otherwise nothing artificial. Switching to active," she said.
"Ready tactical," Alicia said, wanting to be ready in case raiders or something else appeared. She gripped the top of the headrest of Joker's seat, causing him to glance up at her.
"Hey, easy there. No need to tear up my chair just because some giant warship might pop out and try to vaporize us. It's uncomfortable as it is," he said. Alicia didn't seem to care, waiting for a response from the sensor officer.
After several tense moments, the ensign finally spoke up. "No contacts at all Commander. I'm not detecting any ships, powered or unpowered, friend or foe. System is clear."
Alicia nodded at that, leaning over to Joker. "Set course for Edolus and assume standard orbit. Sensor station, I want sweeps of the planet for any sign of a Manticore-class corvette ship or anything else unusual. I'll be in the hanger."
She just started to leave the helm when the ship comms signaled. "Conn, communications. Picking up a distress beacon."
Alicia activated the nearest intercom. "Communications, conn. What do you have exactly?"
"It's an automated distress beacon. Not Alliance military, it looks like a civilian frequency and beacon, from a merchant vessel. No ID though. We already tried standard distress responses, and received no reply at all."
Alicia frowned at that, before leaning back to the intercom. "Analyze the signal to try and determine its authenticity and origin," she ordered, cutting the intercom off and continuing on her way to the hanger deck.
The Normandy surged towards the planet Edolus, a brownish-yellow orb suspended in space. As the ship drew closer to the planet, the sensor officer began her work, scanning the planet for any sign of anomalies or the missing Alliance recon corvette. Joker deftly slipped the ship into orbit, bringing the ship into the ideal pattern for scanner sweeps. It didn't take long for them to find something.
In the hanger bay, the ground team was fitting the last of their armor in place, stocking up on thermal clips. Kaidan was making sure he had plenty of medi-gel, while Ashley was standing near the Mako's diagnostic station. Looking up at Alicia she gave a thumbs up. "Ready to go here!" She said.
Alicia grinned as she moved over to the Mako while typing a few commands into her omni-tool. "Alright, just need final word from the sensor team, and-."
"Hanger, conn. Sensors have detected metallic wreckage on the surface. Communications reports the distress beacon is located in the same area as the wreckage."
Alicia quickly activated her suits radio and connected to the conn. "Confirmed. Looks like we're making a ground drop. Navigation, find us a place to drop. Helm, set up for a fast drop."
"Helm? So Impersonal. I thought we were friends here Shepard?" Joker quipped, as Alicia rolled her eyes, ending the communications.
Turning to her ground crew, the Spectre grinned in expectation. "Alright team, looks like we're making a ground drop. Ashley, you're manning the gun. Naruto, you get shotgun," she said. "Everyone else, you're in the 'trunk'."
Tali glanced curiously at the human members of the ground crew. "Trunk?" She asked them.
Ashley grinned as she finished sealing up her armor with her helmet breather. "She's talking about the troop compartment. On Earth, old fossil fuel cars had a storage compartment in the rear of the vehicle called a trunk," she said. "Let's just hope Wrex can fit back there."
Wrex just grunted, as Alicia moved to the Mako, which had three entrance and exit hatches. One was located near the front, which the driver and co-driver/engineer could use to enter the vehicle. A second hatch was right next to the gunner's seat below the turret. A third hatch was in the rear, where the troops or other passengers could enter the vehicle.
Now the ground team clambered into the vehicle, the alien members and Kaidan moving to the back hatch and entering the troop compartment, which had room for about six to eight soldiers. The four of them still had a little bit of a tight fit, because Wrex's bulk meant he basically took up the majority of one side of the seating, while the rest of them had to sit in the opposite seats. Ashley clambered into the gunner's seat, while first Naruto and then Alicia slipped into the two front seats in the cockpit.
Alicia, securing herself into the driver's seat, began powering up the vehicle as the rest of the crew members in the hanger bay began clearing out, moving to the engineering or crew deck. "Everyone strap yourselves in," she ordered, looking over her shoulder. "And you all better be good kids and not argue, or so help me I swear I'll turn this Mako around."
The alien crew members looked quizzically at him, while the human members snickered. Then the comm crackled to life. "Joker to Mako, we are two minutes from drop point. Prepare for hanger opening," the helmsman reported.
Alicia leaned forward, activated her comm. "Normandy 1 to Normandy Actual, copy that. Mako is powered and ready to drop," she said, grinning as she tapped out some commands on the console.
The Normandy, finishing its atmospheric entry, continued a now more leveled descent, approaching the general area of the distress beacon and the metallic wreckage. Dropping to roughly two thousand feet, the ship leveled out, as the hanger bay began to open. The air began to blast into the hanger bay like a hurricane, starting to catch anything not secured and toss it around. Alicia grinned as she gripped the controls of the Mako, while Naruto glanced over at her.
"Hey umm…sis? You're not going to trash this Mako like you did the last one, right?" He asked a bit nervously, causing everyone to start and their eyes to lock on Alicia, who looked over at her brother, a pout evident in her eyes.
"That's not fair. I had to roll that Mako to avoid the rockets being fired at us," she said, causing almost everyone else's eyes to bug out a bit. Only Wrex seemed unfazed, beyond a soft grumbling chuckle.
"Thirty seconds to drop!" Joker reported over the comm, as Alicia grinned, typing one final command on the Mako's console. She grinned and started to gun the engine, as loud music began to play over interior speakers.
Garrus looked up in surprise at the speakers, then forward to Alicia. "What is that?!"
"Thunderstruck, by ACDC! Take it in!" Alicia laughed out loud, before a buzzer sounded through the hanger. With a whoop she gunned the engine. The Mako shot forward, flying right out of the hanger and instantly began dropping nose first towards the ground as the Normandy pulled away.
Tali immediately began screaming in surprise and fear, as Garrus let out a yell of surprise. Kaidan had closed his eyes and gripped the harness securing him, while both Ashley and Wrex were letting out whoops of enjoyment. Naruto meanwhile had his eyes closed, mumbling rapidly under his breath in his native language the whole time, as the rock music washed over them. Alicia just grinned as she ignited the thrusters under the nose to level it out, before firing bursts from the thrusters underneath the entire vehicle's chassis. At the same time, the onboard computer detected the drop in altitude and quickly activated the mass effect field generator onboard the vehicle, lightening the mass of the vehicle. Combined with the thrusters, it allowed for a controlled descent, with one long burst at the end from the thrusters allowing the suspension to absorb the shock of the six wheels landing on the ground. The vehicle bounced a couple times, before Alicia braked, and the vehicle rolled to a stop.
The human Spectre grinned as she turned in her seat, looking back at the others. "Whoo, is that fun or what?!" She said, pumped from the thrill of the drop.
Garrus was just staring at her, his helmet hiding the gaping look of shock. Tali was huddled over, hugging her head and groaning. Wrex just grunted in approval, smirking behind his own helmet. Kaidan just sat there as quietly as he could, eyes still closed as he slowly released the grip he had on his harness.
Ashley just grinned, looking at Alicia. "Heck yeah commander!" She said enthusiastically, giving her a thumbs up. A sentiment not shared by Naruto.
"Let's just get going," Naruto groaned softly, hoping that was the worst part of their adventure here.
Alicia just grinned at her brother. "Still got that weak stomach?" She teased, typing in a couple commands and bringing up the vehicle's radar with a nav-point to the distress beacon and wreckage. Nodding as she saw the blip indicating their destination, she looked to Naruto. "Call it in brother," she said, gunning the engine and surging the Mako forward.
Naruto just grunted as he leaned forward, activating the comm.. "This is Normandy 2-1 to Normandy Actual, you copy?"
"Reading you loud and clear Normandy 2-1. Safe landing?" Navigator Pressly asked over the comm.
"Confirmed Normandy Actual. We are on approach to the target area. Will report in once we've arrived. Normandy 2-1 out," Naruto reported before closing the communication line.
The Mako continued forward, the suspension mostly absorbing the uneven terrain, except for the occasional large bump of dirt or rock. Then the Mako would jostle and bounce off those inclines, knocking the occupants around a bit, especially at the speeds Alicia was driving. This caused more than a few yelps and groans from the less enthusiastic riders.
Tali groaned softly, trying to lower the power of her auditory receptors of her helmet. "Commander, what is with this music? It's a bit loud," she said.
"Commanding officer's prerogative. Plus its rock music, you have to listen to it loudly," Alicia said with a grin. "Really helps you get the true feel of it!"
Garrus shook his helmeted head a bit at that. "I heard some Alliance soldiers were eccentric. Guess I needed to see it to believe it," he dryly said, only to yelp as one particularly nasty bump had the vehicle almost flying for a moment, and his head almost hitting the ceiling.
Naruto watched out the forward window as the terrain went past them, with occasional clouds of sand or small rocks whipping past or hitting the kinetic barriers around the vehicle. Glancing at the radar, he saw they were drawing closer to the nav-point as they approached a gentle incline. "We're almost there. Two hundred meters and closing," he said.
Alicia nodded as she began driving up the incline, turning off the music. "Get ready everyone. Williams, get ready on the cannon there," she ordered.
The ground crew grew more tense, hands to weapons as they prepared for whatever was on the other side of the incline. Soon enough they reached the top, and leveled off, only for Alicia to brake suddenly. She frowned as she surveyed the area ahead of them.
In front of them was a gentle decline, leading to a large open depression in the ground surrounded on two other sides by somewhat steeper slopes, with a small rocky mountain rearing up roughly where one of those steeper slopes met the decline they were at the top of. The depression seemed largely flat, though there were small bumps and mounds of earth, as well as dips and holes here and there. What drew Alicia and Naruto's attention though was the metal apparatus almost in the middle of the depression. Or more specifically, the burning wreckage and still forms strewn around the apparatus.
Alicia frowned as she slowly opened the driver hatch and half emerged from it, using her helmet's optical zoom to survey the wreckage. "…looks like we found the Centaur," she said grimly. "Everyone out of the Mako."
The ground crew began to pile out, with Alicia moving closer to the edge to get a slightly better look. Naruto joined her, bringing out his Viper sniper rifle and beginning to look over the wreckage.
"Definitely an Alliance ship, or what's left of one," he remarked quietly. "Looks like she put down close to the beacon, and the marines went to investigate the beacon. Then something hit them hard and fast enough to take out the ship. Though I've never seen weapons fire do that to a ship before," he muttered, as he looked over the wreckage from their position.
Wrex grunted as he stomped up next to them. "We aren't going to figure it out from here, are we?" He asked.
Alicia looked at the whole scene again, before contacting the Normandy. "Normandy 1 to Normandy Actual, you copy?"
After a few moments, Pressly spoke up. "Normandy Actual copies, Normandy 1."
"I need confirmation that there aren't any other ships or energy signatures down here with us," Alicia ordered, glancing at the scene before her as her mind analyzed the details.
A minute later, the comm buzzed again. "Confirmed Normandy 1. Nothing down there except some organic life, and barely any of that as it is."
"Copy Normandy Actual, over and out," Alicia said, cutting off the comm. Turning to her ground team, she looked them over, before speaking. "Captain, I want you to take Garrus and Tali up onto the mountain there. You'll be providing over watch for us, while Tali watches your back," she ordered, pointing to the trio, then rounding to Kaidan. " Lieutenant, you're shotgun now. Sergeant, stay on the gun. Wrex, you're our backup when we get out," she said. "Move out."
Naruto nodded as he turned to Garrus and Tali, his Viper still drawn. "Vakarian, bring up the rear. Tali, you're between us," he said, turning and starting to double time it towards the mountain, with the two aliens behind him. The rest of the team got back into the Mako, waiting for their over watch team to get into position.
Naruto grunted as he maneuvered around a somewhat jagged rock surface, before nodding as they arrived in a sort of half cave depression on the mountain. They would be fairly well hidden here, but still have fairly good line of sight over the whole area. "Garrus, take position over there, watch the right flank. I'll watch the left flank. Tali, you stay between us and keep an eye out for anything that might try to sneak up on us," he ordered, while using his omni-tool to send a signal to Alicia. Settling himself into position and bringing up his sniper rifle, he began scanning for any movement while the Mako began to roll forward.
Alicia carefully controlled their descent down the decline, switching her gaze between the radar and the actual view out the window. As they reached the bottom, she sped up a bit, rolling forward towards the wreckage as Ashley rotated the turret slowly, looking in all directions for any sudden emergence of enemies. But all was silent as they approached the wreckage. As they drew nearer, Alicia grew more somber and grimmer as she identified a couple of the bodies strewn about as Alliance soldiers, due to their armor. The apparatus also became more apparent as some type of beacon, though it was not a standard distress beacon.
She stopped the vehicle near the wreckage and the beacon, before checking the radar. There was still no sign of anything on it, so she gave a quiet nod. "Disembark. We're going to investigate. Williams, stay on the gun," she ordered, unbuckling and getting out of the vehicle. Wrex and Kaidan both followed her out, while Ashley remained on the cannon.
Outside, Alicia moved to one of the corpses and slowly rolled it over, only to gag horribly at the sight of half melted armor and flesh underneath. "Well there goes my desire to eat or sleep for the next decade," she muttered, as Kaidan came over and began analyzing the body.
"This wasn't done by weapons," he said. "Not any fire I've seen either. Looks like some type of organic acid."
Alicia frowned at that, looking over to where another body was laid out, little more than an upper torso with a missing arm. "Acid didn't do that," she said, pointing to the second body.
"And it certainly didn't do that," Wrex grunted, pointing to the wreckage of the ship. "Something big and nasty flipped the ship over, and then tore right through its belly. Ripped it in half. Probably caused an overload in the engine core that blew up the rear half," he said, indicating the scattered wreckage that semi resembled the engine nacelles and rear hull of an Alliance ship. The krogan stomped over to a piece of ship wreckage and picked it up, looking it over. "Looks like more acid strikes as well against the hull here…pretty sure you're not going to like the answer to what killed the ship and her crew."
Before Alicia could answer, the comm buzzed before Ashley's voiced echoed loudly in their receivers. "Radar has contact! Two hundred yards from the southeast and closing fast! It's a big contact!"
Alicia whirled, Lancer drawn and ready to fire as she looked in the direction of the contact, only to see nothing at first. But as her optics zoomed in, she saw shifting, billowing sand being thrown up into the air. It took her a few moments, before she groaned. "Oh you have to be fucking kidding me!"
"Eeyup. Thresher maw," Wrex grumbled, sounding excited. "Hope you're ready for the fight of your life Shepard!"
Alicia just turned back to the Mako. "We are not engaging that thing on foot! Back in the Mako!" She shouted, rushing to the vehicle.
"There's no way I'm riding inside that tin can while there's a maw out here to kill!" Wrex roared out, pulling out his Revenant light machine gun. Alicia growled angrily as she turned back to the krogan.
"Fine, then use your mag boots to stick to the roof of the Mako and shoot that thing. But hurry up!" She ordered, quickly climbing into the Mako after Kaidan. Wrex hesitated for one moment, then shrugged and quickly climbed up on top of the vehicle, activating the magnetic clamps in the boots of his armor and sticking to the roof of the Mako.
Naruto and Garrus, both hearing the whole commotion on their own radios, quickly trained their sniper rifles on the approaching thresher maw. "Commander, we're watching the bogey. We'll provide support fire from here," Naruto reported, as Tali nervously shifted. He quickly glanced in her direction. "Tali, I need you to keep look out for anything else. This could be the perfect distraction for someone or something to sneak up on us. Keep an eye out," he ordered. Tali nodded, and shifted, trying not to focus on what was unfolding below.
On the ground, Alicia quickly gunned the engine, rolling out and away from the wreckage, right as a massive column of sand shot up, momentarily shielding the creature that caused it. But soon enough the sand settled and they saw the thresher maw in all its horrifying glory. It was a massive creature, extending some thirty or forty above the ground. It was a massive snake like creature, with two scythe like arms connected to its body below its head. It let out a massive roar, its beak like mouth opening as it shrieked at them, as acid dripped down from its open aperture.
Immediately both Wrex and Ashley opened up, Ashley using the co-axial machine gun while Wrex fired his Revenant at the maw. Two loud cracks erupted through the air, as Garrus and Naruto, from their position, began to fire with their sniper rifles as well.
The rounds peppered the thresher maw's scaly hide, but were little more than pinpricks on the massive creature. It simply roared angrily, glaring down at the Mako, before diving forward towards it. Alicia turned quickly, avoiding the maw as it smashed into the ground, and quickly began burrowing.
"Ashley, use the cannon! That's the best bet for doing serious damage to that son of a bitch!" Alicia shouted back to the gunner's position.
Wrex, now crouching and steadying himself with one hand, growled as he saw the maw's movements. "Right side, coming in fast Shepard!" He shouted.
Alicia spun the wheel, the Mako almost rolling as it turned to the right, the right wheels coming up off the ground. The maw popped out of the ground, roaring as it did so, only to receive a magnetically accelerated, mass enhanced 155mm shell right in the side of the head. The shell actually managed to affect it, staggering the maw as spurt of blood shot out of the wound. Screeching in anger and agony, the maw turned and reared back, spitting a glob of acid towards the Mako. Alicia barely turned out of the way, the acid striking the ground and leaving a smoking puddle.
Naruto grunted as he fired again, the recoil hitting against his shoulder, before he adjusted his aim. "Garrus, go for the eyes. If we blind it, we can maybe drive it off," Naruto said, trying to hit the eyes of the maw. The turian marksman nodded, adjusting his aim with his Mantis. Tali just shifted nervously, frustrated that she couldn't do anything, but also glad they weren't down there.
Wrex let out a loud roar as he unleashed another spray of rounds at the thresher maw, aiming for the wounded portion. "I'm right here you giant maggot! I am Urdnot Wrex, and I'll feast on your flesh when this is over!" He kept shouting over the roar of his gun, the Mako's machine gun, and the maw itself.
Alicia grimaced as she hit a bump, the Mako flying and her losing temporary control over it. Kaidan next to her grimaced as he checked the readouts. "Suspension took slight damage on that last one! Be careful on the bumps!"
"Yeah, I'll be sure to worry about that when a giant worm isn't trying to eat us!" She shouted back, spinning the wheel to bring them around again. The maw had turned in its hole to face them, and fired another blast of acid at them. Alicia turned to one side, barely dodging it. Her eyes widened though as she realized she had driven closer to the Maw in the process. It let out a roar, swinging one of its scythe like arms down at the vehicle.
Alicia barely managed to turn away in time, the massive limb smashing into the ground where they would have been, actually grazing against the vehicles kinetic barrier. Alicia gunned the engine and drove away as quickly as possible, as another sniper round smashed into the head of the maw near its eye. It turned in the direction of the shot, causing a second shot aimed at it to miss its eye and hit its mouth.
Ashley, lining up the sights, put a second cannon shell into the maw's head, blowing part of its mouth off this time and causing it to roar in even more agony as Wrex let out a bloodthirsty cheer. The maw dove down again, burrowing into the sand. Alicia turned her attention to her radar, which was still picking the thresher maw up. It was moving away, but began circling, now more wary of the prey that had injured it. But it wasn't ready to retreat either, intent on still destroying them.
It suddenly charged towards them, remaining underground but still throwing up sand as it shot towards them. Alicia threw the Mako into another turn to avoid it, but this time it followed, erupting almost underneath the vehicle. The Mako was thrown in the air; sparks erupting from circuitry as the trio inside were tossed about, only held in their seats by their harnesses. Wrex however was not as lucky, forced to ditch before he was smashed into the ground as the Mako hit the ground and rolled. Thankfully, Alicia was able to hit the thrusters, stopping the roll and landing the Mako back on its wheels.
"Damage report!" Alicia shouted, quickly bringing the radar back up to find the thresher maw circling around them.
Kaidan, barely back in his seat, quickly began to run diagnostics. "Kinetic barrier shield is down to forty-three percent! Wheels one, four, and five have suffered significant damage. Turret rotation malfunction, down by twenty-two percent on rotation power!" He reported.
Ashley grunted as she was trying to rotate the turret, but it was slowed. "He's right commander, the turret isn't moving as fast. I won't be able to track this thing through any fancy maneuvers until we can repair it!" She shouted.
"We won't be able to do that with this thing still on us," Alicia said, doing her best to drive away with the Mako in its damaged state. That is until a comm call stopped her.
"Commander, Wrex is on foot now! The maw is homing in on him!" Naruto reported from his spot. Alicia cursed as she did her best to look out the window of the Mako.
"I can't see him! Williams?!" She yelled out.
Ashley, who had managed to turn the turret around, gaped at what she was seeing. Wrex, back on his feet, was roaring out his challenge as he stormed towards the thresher maw, his LMG rapidly barking out rounds into the scaly hide of the creature. It roared back, firing acid at him, but Wrex threw himself to the side, somehow rolling despite his bulk and coming up, firing again until the thermal clip overheated. Throwing the weapon aside, he roared as he drew his shotgun, shrouding himself in his biotics as he rushed towards the maw.
The maw prepared to lunge forward, only for another pair of cracks to rip through the air. One of the sniper rounds hit the face near the eye, but the second one hit dead on, causing a spurt of blood and organic fluid to shoot out of the now ruined eye socket. The thresher maw screamed again in pain, rearing back, as Wrex let out a roar, using a biotic charge to shoot into the air, smashing onto the head of the reared back creature. Grabbing onto the creature, he placed his shotgun right against its head and began pumping rounds into the things head, the point blank shots ripping away scales and muscle tissue.
The thresher maw threw its head side to side, roaring still as it tried to dislodge the source of pain on its head, only for another large spurt of blood to shoot out of the thresher maw, this time right around where its 'neck' would be. A cannon round from the Mako went right through, shooting out the other side.
The thresher maw fell over, a wet sucking noise emanating from the hole through its body as it let out more pitiful screeches and roars. Wrex, having jumped off as it fell, growled as he grabbed a piece of wreckage from the ruined Alliance ship. Shrouding it and his arms in biotics, he let out a massive roar and threw it right at the thresher maw. Thrown with both the force of the krogan's strength and the enhanced biotic power, the shard of metal turned into a five foot long spear, which pierced right through the thresher maw's skull. The creature let out one final death cry and then slumped over, dead.
Wrex panted heavily as he stood there, before throwing his head back and letting out a long victory roar, arms spread. Rushing to the deceased monster, he climbed on top of it and let out another victory roar, standing on top of the 'trophy'. Alicia, having wheeled the damaged Mako over, slowly climbed out with Kaidan and Ashley, as Garrus, Naruto, and Tali began to make their way over to them. Wrex let out satisfied, hearty laughs as he dropped back to the ground. "That was a fight, Shepard! A battle worthy of the greatest warriors and a trophy of the greatest hunters!" He shouted, slapping the hide of the monster.
Alicia just let out a sigh, shaking slightly as the adrenaline in her system started to wear off slightly. "I'll take your word for it," she said, leaning over slightly. After a few moments, she stood up straight, watching as the over watch trio double timed over. The whole ground crew now gathered together, staring at the corpse in fear and awe.
"I-I can't believe you killed it," Tali said. "I didn't think anything less than a starship could bring something this big down."
"You just need to know how to hit the weak spot," Wrex bragged, his smirk hidden by his helmet as he patted near the head of the maw. "Put enough force behind a pointy piece of metal, it'll go through anything."
"Course you couldn't have gotten on his head to weaken it if not for that lucky eye shot," Ashley said, smirking herself behind her helmet. "Who made that shot by the way?"
Naruto nodded to Garrus. "He got the lucky hit. Damn thing was throwing its head around too much, hard to track," he said.
Garrus just nodded, still holding his sniper rifle. "Just need to get a feel for its speed and reaction time," he said.
Alicia decided to get things back on track before anything else happened. "Alright, we can congratulate each other after the job's done. Williams, I want you, Garrus, and Kaidan to start working on repairing the Mako. Captain, you and Tali come with me to check the beacon. Wrex, you…keep admiring that thresher maw," she ordered, turning towards the beacon that had dragged them into all this.
Tali and Naruto quickly followed her, the quarian moving forward as they reached it. "What do you need Commander?" She asked, doing her best to be professional.
"I want to know who put this damn thing here, and I want it disabled if you can. If not, we'll blow the fucking thing to hell," Alicia said, feeling angry as she realized these sailors and marines had been lured here to be killed by the creature they had just nearly been killed by, and had barely killed. She fully intended to find who had done this, and leave them to die at the hands of a maw if she could swing it.
Tali quickly moved to an access panel, scanning it before popping it open and connecting to the systems inside. She frowned as she looked over her omni-tool as data began to scroll along it. "I'm not sure I can get anything from this, Commander. It is human made, but it is not a distress beacon. It's a transmission beacon, used to transmit various signals or frequencies. Someone modified it with a masking frequency that makes it appear like a distress beacon, while it transmits a distress frequency for human merchant ships. Otherwise, I have no idea who put this here, and why, except to lure ships to their doom."
"Doom is right. They landed right in the middle of a thresher maw nest," Naruto said, looking at the wreckage of the Centaur. "They landed, and the recon marines came out to check out the beacon. The maw was drawn in by the ship's energy emissions, attacked it first, and then finished off the marines around it."
Alicia just nodded, staring at the wreckage. "Well at least we avenged them," she said, glancing at the maw carcass. "Karmic justice, that part of their ship was what killed it."
Tali finished her analysis, before typing in a few commands. The beacon let out a whine as it powered down, as Tali turned to Alicia. "All done here Commander. I got what data I could, but it wasn't much," she said. "Sorry I couldn't do more."
"Don't be sorry Tali," Alicia said, turning to her. "You did everything that could be done right now. I'll call this in and they'll send a ship to clear up the mess," she said. "Captain, why don't you get Wrex over there to help you start getting the crew's remains, and we'll at least line them up for pick up. Tali, help out the others on the Mako."
"Yes ma'am," Naruto said, turning and going to get Wrex. Tali headed off towards the Mako, while Alicia sighed and brought up her comm, calling the Normandy.
"Normandy Actual, this is Normandy 1. Situation resolved. Bring the ship down at my coordinates, as the Mako took damage," she ordered. "And send an initial report to 72nd Scout Flotilla. SSV Centaur lost with all hands. I'll submit a full report after we're back on board."
Cutting her comm, she let out a sigh as she moved to help Naruto and Wrex with the remains that they could find.
Within twenty minutes, the Normandy was landed near the thresher maw nest, with one of the ships' marines now driving the Mako up back up into the hanger deck as the ground team was onboard, removing weapons and armor and storing them away.
Alicia, as she finished storing her weapons, nodded to the ground team. "Good work everyone. Team meeting in five hours, so take it easy until then," she said, as she started to remove her armor, only to look up as the ship intercom went off.
"Commander Shepard, Commodore Kahoku wants you to report to him immediately," Pressly reported over the intercom.
She went over to the intercom, activating it. "Understood," she said, turning it off and getting onto the elevator. A few minutes later she was entering her quarters, sitting at her personal terminal and connecting to the headquarters of the 72nd Scout Flotilla, attached to the Alliance Fifth Fleet.
"Commander Shepard, I understand that you found the Centaur, but reported her lost," Commodore Kahoku started, getting straight to the point.
"Yes sir. We discovered the remains of the Centaur on Edolus. The ship was investigating a distress beacon, but it turned out to be a false beacon. It looks like someone set it up there to lure ships to its location. Said location however was a maw nest, and the ship and all hands onboard were wiped out by a thresher maw. We killed the maw and deactivated the beacon though," she reported.
"Is there any information on who placed the beacon?" Kahoku asked, an edge of sadness and anger in his voice as he did his best to maintain his composure.
"No sir. The beacon is intact though, so there might be a chance to track down the ones who did this," Alicia stated.
"Very well then. I'll have a recovery ship sent to retrieve the ship and her crew, as well as the beacon. I want you to forward all data you managed to recover to me immediately. We'll begin an immediate investigation into who might be responsible," he ordered.
Alicia gave a quiet nod, even if Kahoku couldn't see it. "Understood sir. We'll keep an ear out here for any information as well, and forward anything we discover to you immediately."
"Thank you commander. That's all, 72nd Scout Flotilla out."
As the communication ended, Alicia sat back in her chair, feeling weariness wash over her. It wasn't easy, seeing a whole ship and her crew go down. Especially when the reason they died was because someone set a trap for them, and knowing those people were still out there. She closed her eyes, slouching in the chair and leaning her head back, relaxing for a few moments before she went and finished removing her armor.
Her relaxation was interrupted though by a chime from her door, signaling someone wanted to enter. Shaking her head, she slowly sat up. "Come in," she said, as she reached back to pull her hair out of the bun she had to put it in to wear her helmet.
The doors opened, and she glanced up, her eyes widening as Liara entered, her outfit now cleaned and patched up. The asari archeologist looked well, the exhaustion and the pain she had previously displayed no longer visible on her face. Though Alicia thought there was a still a glint of that pain in her eyes. But Liara carried herself well, as she approached.
"Commander, thank you for letting me speak with you," she said, her voice now more calm as well. "I wanted to apologize for my reaction when you questioned me, I was-," she started, only to be stopped by Alicia raising a hand.
"Don't apologize for that. You reacted how anyone would in your situation. So don't go feeling sorry for reacting how a normal person should," Alicia said, before standing and rotating the seat so it faced the bed in the room. "Please, sit," she said, moving to the bed and slowly dropping onto it.
Liara slowly sat down, watching the human commander slowly removing pieces of armor plating from the mesh under-armor. "Even still, I am sorry I was not able to give you more information. If there is anything you need to ask me, please do so. I will be happy to offer any help or information I can," she said.
Alicia studied her for a few moments, before pulling off her gauntlets. "Thank you for that offer. If I may ask…you seem rather calm and collected after our last talk," she said.
"It was difficult for me to handle the emotions I was feeling at the time. I had gone through a rather trying experience, and was operating on little sleep or energy. Once I had time to rest, I was able to confront what happened and…'deal with it', as you humans might say," Liara said, shifting in her seat. "I am still dealing with what happened, but I have come to terms with it enough that I am not overwhelmed by it all. Asari often are forced to face trying events and emotions through their lives. So it is important for my race to learn how to handle emotions quickly, or else we will spend centuries wallowing in dark emotions and painful memories."
Alicia blinked at that. "Huh…well you learn new things every day," she said, before pulling off the boots of her armor. "Well at the moment I don't think I have any questions. I actually covered most of what I needed to know immediately. And to be honest, I'm kind of exhausted from killing a thresher maw."
Liara's eyes widened. "A-A thresher maw? Oh my, that is…you killed a thresher maw?"
"Actually, my krogan team member did, but the whole team contributed for the most part," Alicia said. "However, if you wouldn't mind waiting till after I've cleaned up and rested a bit, we can talk some more."
"Of course commander. I will be happy to wait," Liara said, starting to stand up. "I actually would like to make a request though, if you don't mind?" When Alicia nodded for her to continue, Liara took a deep breath. "If I am being pursued by a former Spectre operative with geth and…my own mother serving him, I would request sanctuary on your ship. I feel this may be the only safe place for me, and I wish to offer any and all of my services to pay you back for saving me and allowing me to stay here."
Alicia blinked in surprise at that. "…well…I would need to check some information first, before I could consider that request. But let me get that info, and then we can talk about it," she said.
Liara nodded in understanding. "Of course. Thank you for considering my request commander. I eagerly await our future discussion," she said, before her eyes lit up a bit. "If you don't mind me asking though…your brother…wouldn't happen to be Naruto Uzumaki, would he?" She asked, a hint of eagerness creeping into her voice.
The human commander tilted her head a bit to the side, watching her. "He is, yes," she said a bit slowly.
"I-if you don't mind, I would really like to talk to him when he has a few free moments," she said, an excited light in her eyes and her voice sounding more vibrant.
Alicia decided at that moment that she liked this side of the young asari archeologist the most so far. Chuckling a bit, she nodded at that. "I'll see if he feels up to a discussion," she said.
"Thank you," Liara said, bowing her head. "I'll talk to you later then, Commander Shepard."
"Please, just call me Shepard, or Alicia. The commander bit is better suited for more 'official' times," Alicia said with a smile. Liara just smiled back and nodded, before leaving the cabin. Alicia just let out a sigh as she pulled off her last piece of armor, and slumped back onto her bed, laying splayed on it. She closed her eyes, a small smile on her face, feeling slightly better after seeing that Liara was recovering from her ordeal. Letting out a sigh, she just lay there, letting her exhaustion fully sweep over her.
And there we go. New chapter done. I hope you all enjoyed this, especially the thresher maw fight.
I know some people might go 'well why did they work together so well against the thresher maw', after I mentioned how the team is not a well oiled machine yet. The truth is that the battle against the thresher maw didn't entirely require a lot of coordination between the team members, thanks to the Mako. Rest assured, the problem of their teamwork/coordination will still be there, with Alicia starting to overcome it next chapter.
So, again I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And I'll see you next time!
Thanks go out again to a7xfanatic11, for his work in betaing and advising me on all matters Mass Effect related.
Till next chapter!
1. I know that both the game and the wikia have Kahoku being an admiral. When speaking to my dad, who has knowledge of military ranks and command hierarchy, about the general information on this particular mission, he told me that most likely Kahoku would be a commander of a scout flotilla and that his rank would be a Rear Admiral Lower Half, which is also known more commonly as a Commodore in the Navy to help distinguish the rank from the Rear Admiral Upper Half, more commonly referred to as simply a Rear Admiral. As I've mentioned before, I am attempting to portray the military of the Alliance in a more realistic manner to honor our service personnel, past and present, for their service and sacrifice.