Chapter 17
Combat Information Center - SSV Normandy SR1
Finally, the final preparations were made again. Shepard stood at the galaxy map as the independent gravitational emulators kicked on so that they wouldn't just float off the ground as they left the Citadel's atmosphere. She loved the feeling of escape velocity. The slight thump of the drive core going online, the FTL engine beginning to hum, the gentle pull on her body as the ship began to fly at faster than light speed towards the relay.
Perhaps it was growing up with spacer parents, but she had always loved space. The absolute silence, punctuated by the light of thousands of stars shining brightly as she stared back at them. The serenity of it almost put her to sleep. She also loved the same thing about diving in the sea. They almost shared the same qualities, except in the sea, the stars were replaced by colorful fish and thousands of different sea creatures. Thinking back, her father might have known this from the beginning. Her room on the ships and stations always had posters of stars and space, with model ships sitting on her desk, and a small fake fish tank that acted as both a night light and a soothing backdrop for her sleep. She sighed, remembering how her father would try his best to make her happy. He bought her things for her room, new game systems he thought she might like, and bought her her first omni-tool. He tried hard, but he didn't know the first thing about kids. He was Alliance for life and that was his true love.
That was before he and her mother went separate ways, however. To their credit, they did wait until she was on her own and no longer relied on them. But it still pissed her off that they said next to nothing to her before the day that they split.
"All flight crew to their stations. Taking off Commander," said Joker through the ship comm as the Normandy lifted off from its perch on the Citadel. Reaching out, she tapped the Artemis Tau cluster on the galaxy map, her brows furrowing as she did.
"Why the hell is this cluster so popular?" she asked in irritation as she realized they would be heading right back into the same cluster where she fought a thresher maw, and where she rescued Liara from an active volcano.
"Hey, Commander, I was wondering if I could have a word," said Williams as she stepped up to the dais in the CIC. Shepard selected the destination and set the map to display mode before turning to the gunnery chief.
"What can I do for you, Ash?" she asked in a cheerful manner as she stepped down from the elevated platform.
"Can we go somewhere less... public?" asked the chief, getting a curious eye from Shepard. But she nodded towards the elevator in response. A few minutes later and they were in her quarters with Shepard sitting at her desk and Ash standing nervously.
"What did you need Chief?" asked the commander curiously.
"You used to train Special Forces, right?" asked the woman, whose hands were behind her back at parade rest.
"I did. In fact, if the Alliance hadn't ordered me onto the Normandy that day, that's where I'd still be," she said as she leaned her head into her hand.
Ash was quiet for a long moment. Shepard could see she was struggling with something internally but didn't get the chance to ask before she finally spoke again. "I spoke with Udina while we were on the Citadel. He asked all about how things on the Normandy were, how you were leading, all that basic parental politician talk. But, after all that, he brought up that he thought I would make a good addition to the Special Forces when all this was over."
"Odd hearing a compliment come from his mouth that doesn't benefit him," said Shepard with a smirk.
Ash chuckled lightly, "Right? I thought he was about to ask me out to dinner," she said cheerfully before her face went back to its former seriousness. "Anyway, it got me thinking, you've trained Special Forces. You have the live experience and the training experience. So, I was hoping, maybe... if you had the time of course, if you could train me."
Shepard cocked an eyebrow curiously. "You want me to train you to be Special Forces?" asked the commander curiously, her posture rising at the development.
"I know I won't be certified until I'm officially trained. But I figured that maybe with your help, I could get a head start so that I'm really prepared if I do decide to go for it. And... if, for whatever reason, I don't. Then at least I'll have the benefit of being trained by someone of your caliber," she said solidly as she gazed at the commander with her dark brown eyes.
Shepard stared at her for a long moment, her finger tapping her chin as she stared at Ashley, who was still at parade rest, almost the perfect visual of what a soldier should be. Letting out a small sigh, the spectre sat up in her chair and eyed Ash sternly. "You realize that this isn't your normal training, right? This isn't just going to be pushup, sit-ups, and drinking juice. There's a reason why the dropout rate is around ninety percent."
Ash took in a deep breath and nodded. "Understood Commander. I'd still like to give it a try. Even if it turns out that I'm not up to it, well, at least I gave it a shot. Better than not knowing," she said firmly.
Shepard stared at her briefly before finally nodding. "Alright then. I'll do you the favor of skipping over the usual demeaning bullshit they make us do as drill instructors. But I'm not going to go any less easy on you."
"Wouldn't have it any other way sir," said Williams with a grin on her face. "And... thanks again Shepard. I know this is a big favor to ask. I appreciate you helping me out."
"You may want to save your thanks until you've survived. But if you're good for the position Williams, then you'd be doing us both a favor. Honestly, I'd prefer if everyone was trained like this in case of the unfortunate event that Saren gets his hands on them. But I know that they're fairly safe on the Normandy," she said as she stood up and stretched. "We'll start what training we can after we get back from Artemis Tau. I need you with all your facilities when we hit the ground," said the woman as she planted her hands on her hips.
Ash's eyes widened slightly at the words. "I see, so the training is going to require a rest period?"
"You're going to be a different person coming out of it," said Shepard, her face a mask of no-nonsense. "You won't be resting as much as recovering."
"U-Understood," said Williams as she nodded. "Thanks again Shepard," she said then turned and left the room.
Mess Hall - SSV Normandy SR1
Kaidan was startled as he entered the mess hall and a high-pitched squeal hit his ears. He looked around to find Joker and Tali both eating at the mess tables, and Mess Sergeant Lowe standing at the counter, eyeing him curiously. He had just spent some time in the training hall with the turian fire team, learning more about their workout routines, then decided to get in a shower before he hit up the mess hall for food. Currently, he was in little more than a fresh set of his PT uniform.
Walking over to the counter, he ordered his food and grabbed the tray, then walked over to the table with the two. Immediately, as he sat down on Jeff's side across from Tali, he noticed the man with a sour look on his face. "What's the matter Joker? The food not to your liking?" asked the Lieutenant as he began to stir up his oatmeal.
"Always get left out. Who would want to see something no human in existence has seen? Certainly not me because I would rather go see a doctor every time we stop at the Citadel to keep my bones from shattering!" he muttered before angrily shoving food into his mouth.
Kaidan looked at him, stunned at his words before hearing Tali start sniffling. Looking over at the quarian, her head jerked back as she clenched onto a small tube of food with one hand, the squeal from earlier happening again as she sneezed loudly. "Ughh…" groaned Tali, her eyes clearly displaying her agitation through her face shield.
"Someone want to fill me in?" he asked curiously as he eyed the young engineer.
"Joker is upset that Shepard and Liara got to see my face," she said as she replaced the feeding tube back into the small vial of mashed turian rations.
The lieutenant's eyes widened, his collar burning lightly as he thought about the statement. "How did that happen?" he asked, immediately cramming oatmeal into his mouth to keep from showing his disappointment as well.
"Shepard pitched in so that I could get some new armor. She also wanted to install software upgrades to help against cyber combat, but to do that she needed me out of my suit," she said before sneezing again. This time, she laid her head on the table and sighed. "So, we found a place that has clean room facilities, and she installed the stuff into my suit…"
"Ah, I get it. But wait, if that's the case then why are you sick?" he asked curiously.
Sighing heavily as her speech betrayed that her sinuses were backed up as well, Tali gave up on the tube of food and set it aside. "I told Shepard and Liara to take their helmets off. It's part of the culture of the quarians to spend recreation time without our helmets on so we can get used to one another. After a couple weeks, the reactions go away, and we can work together without incident. I wanted the same for the crew of the Normandy, but there are no cleanroom facilities on the ship, so I had to do it on the Citadel. And now, I pay the price," she groaned as she laid with her head on the table.
"I see. Well, I wish I could have been there," said the lieutenant as he looked over and found Joker staring at him curiously. "What?"
"I wanted to see because I'm curious, any normal person would be too. But you sound like you were jealous for a second…" said Jeff as he spied the lieutenant.
Kaidan glared at Joker as he clenched his spoon. "Hey Jeff?"
"Yes Kaidan?" asked the pilot with a sly grin.
"If you don't want your walk back to the cockpit to be filled with the sound of rattling bones, I'd suggest you forgo this line of dialogue," said Alenko in a threatening manner.
"Ha!" shouted Joker as he clapped his hands. "I knew it!"
"What? What's happening?" asked Tali as she looked up from her pool of suffering inside her helmet.
"Oh, nothing at all," said the lieutenant with a smile as he stomped dangerous close to Joker's foot.
"Hey! I got it! Sheesh!" complained the pilot as he got up from his seat and wobbled off towards the stairs that led up to the cockpit.
Tali watched him go before turning to Alenko. "Sorry if I'm not good company right now. Being sick kinda makes me delirious."
The man chuckled and shook his head. "No worries. I hope you get to feeling better soon though. Wouldn't want you to miss any action," he said as he finished off his food. "So, Tali, do you intend to keep trying to do this in the future?"
"Now probably isn't a good time to ask. I'm more likely to swear it off when I'm actually sick because if it," she said, trying to chuckle, but she only ended up sneezing again. "Urgoborhgishin…" she muttered incoherently as she laid her head flat again. "I do want to. It has been shown in our history that we can adapt to other species. But only to individuals. Without serious medical and cybernetic assistance, there's no way a quarian would ever be able to simply walk around without their helmet on. We can acclimate to small environments, and small groups of individuals. But too much exposure can still cause us severe harm. And walking around in that petri dish known as the Citadel without any kind of protection would almost certainly kill us," she said as she leaned her head up onto her hand.
"I see…" said Kaidan as he scratched his chin in thought. For the first time in a long time, he felt scruff against his finger. "By the way, when is your birthday?" he asked her curiously.
"My birth... day? Like, the day I was born? Why would you want to know that?" she asked curiously as she eyed him through her pale faceplate.
"Humans have a habit of celebrating the day of one's birth every year. Or most humans do anyway," he said with a genuine smile. "I heard you were recently studying human culture, so I thought we could throw you a party so you can see one of our holidays firsthand," he said as he folded his arms.
"I see. In that case, I'd love to participate," she said as she brought up the calendar on her omni-tool. "Let's see. My birthday...translated to Earth-time...it's the last day of Oc...Ocot...Octoooober?" she asked, looking up at him as the strange word was translated to Khelish for her eyes.
"Your birthday is on Halloween?" he asked incredulously.
"Hallow-what?" she asked in confusion as she put her omni-tool away.
"That makes things a lot more interesting…" he said as he scratched his chin again. "Anyway, I should go see if they need me on the bridge. I hope you get to feeling better soon," he said as he stood up and headed back to the crew quarters.
"Oh, alright! Thanks Kaiden'Alenko!" she said as she waved similarly to a human before slumping back onto the table.
Kaidan left the mess hall and frowned as he headed back to his room, a loud sigh accenting his steps. "I suppose this means I'll have to learn the others as well…"
Armory - SSV Normandy SR1
"Alright. Ash, Liara, and Wrex are coming with me this time to find the asari we're looking for. Garrus, Kaidan, you two stay primed in case you're needed. And Tali…" said Shepard, getting a miserable look from the quarian. "Get some rest."
"Acknowledged," said the quarian as she wandered off back to her quarters.
Reaching up onto the racks, Ash tossed them their weapons as Wrex flexed his neck. "About time. I was starting to get some rust on me from sitting down here in your cargo area."
Ash eyed him with a small smirk. "Starting to? Come on old man, I can hear you creaking from over here," she said as she tossed him his particularly lethal shotgun.
As he caught the weapon, his reptilian-like lips curled into a smile. "Heh, that creaking is a death knell for most," he said smartly as he cocked the shotgun, causing the heat sink to fly out before he caught it. Inspecting it, he slapped it back into the weapon and cocked it again to lock it into place.
"What's the matter big guy, don't trust me?" asked Ash as she stood in her regular ACU uniform behind the table with her hands flat on its surface, putting most of her weight onto them.
"Anyone who doesn't do his own check of his weapon before a potential battle deserves to have it explode in his face," said the krogan as he inspected the shotgun. "Though I do have to say, you know what you're doing when it comes to maintenance. I don't think this old girl has ever worked this well, even when she was new."
"A compliment from the skull crusher? I'll take it," said the chief as she turned and closed the racks that she had just pulled the weapons from.
"Don't get used to it," said Wrex with a chuckle as he walked out of the armory and headed for the Mako bay.
Liara stared at Ash curiously until the gunnery chief noticed her. "What?" asked Williams as she eyed the asari.
"Krogan rarely ever compliment anyone, even each other. You must have impressed him," she said with a small smile on her blue lips.
Ash shrugged and leaned on the counter again. "Not hard to do if you're skilled," she said with a small smirk. But her smile vanished when Liara's expression changed as well.
"Oh... I see," said the asari woman as she took her helmet and exited the room too.
Shepard gave Ash a stern look and the chief raised her arms defensively. "That didn't mean to sound as condescending as it did," she said with a sigh.
"I hope not," said the commander as she secured her weapons to their magnetic slots on her back before leaving the armory shortly after.
Ashley smacked her forehead gently with a sigh. "Always with the mouth Williams. Good job…"
M5 Mako Cabin - Surface of Sharjila
"Alright, guys. Keep your pressure stabilizers active until we're in an environment where the pressure evens out. If you let it off too soon, you'll be crushed like a soda can," said the commander as she grabbed the wheel. Then she looked over and glared at Wrex. "Including you, tough guy," she snapped.
The krogan grunted in annoyance. "Why are you singling me out?"
"Because I know you, Wrex. Surviving as long as you have can sometimes give you a feeling of invincibility. And while krogan may be able to survive the burning surface of a poisonous planet, atmospheric pressure does not discriminate. Gravity is the ultimate creator and the ultimate destroyer, so do not screw around," she said firmly.
"Alright dabba, I got it," he said with a growl as he pressurized his suit. The atmosphere inside the Mako was already pressurized, but Shepard didn't want any risks.
"Be a good boy and I might get you a toy on the way back to the Citadel," said Shepard smartly as she began to drive the vehicle towards the location of the downed vessel.
"Ha ha. Real funny Shepard," he growled as he watched the computer-generated scans of the landscape. "I don't think you could handle a krogan baby."
"Maybe we'll find out one day," she said as she began the drive. "Pressly, send the coordinates of the ship down to the Mako."
"Uhh... Commander, according to Gladstone, there's a trail of ship parts leading all the way to the structure we mentioned," came Pressly's voice over the comm.
"Affirmative. There likely won't be anything salvageable in the pieces, so we're going to head straight to the landing zone," said the commander as she drove the mako over the hill. The entire planet was a rich, earthy brown color that was plagued by harsh winds. The power of the mako cut through the wind however and led them directly to a small outpost with the ship they had tracked down sitting outside of it. True to Pressly's words, it was barely holding together. Whoever attacked it cared little for the wellbeing of those on board. "Pirates."
"Good. I was hoping I'd be able to shoot something this time around," said the krogan as he flexed his neck.
"Take it slow Wrex. We're here to find a potential hostage. Save the shooting for when it's strictly needed," she said as she sighed to herself and opened her comms. "Pressly, do you have comms coming from the base?"
"Affirmative Commander. They know you're out there. Apparently, a sniper outside the base spotted you a ways off," came the XO's report.
"Good. Contact the base, get ahold of their leader, and send them this message: By order of Spectre Jane Shepard, you are to stand down. We have an M5 Mako with its cannons aimed directly at you, and we also have an Alliance and Hierarchy class frigate orbiting above with its Excalibur Canon focused directly on your base. The ground party is going to enter the base shortly and you are to cooperate. If you refuse, your entire outpost will be turned into a crater. Clear?" asked the commander.
"Understood Commander, sending transmission now and aiming the big guns just in case," responded Pressly.
"Try not to get too trigger happy this time Pressley. Shepard out," she said with a grin.
In a matter of minutes, a party of three of the pirates exited the compound and waved towards the mako. Shepard drove up to the three and unsealed the hatch, telling everyone to wait as it equalized the pressure. When everything was good, she popped the hatch and climbed out herself. Following came Liara, then Ash, then finally Wrex, who jumped off the tank and slammed into dirt hard enough to send up a cloud of dust.
Immediately the three men stopped in their tracks nervously as they noticed the massive creature who was now flexing his limbs. Shepard stepped towards the three and nodded. "Not to sound cliche but take me to your leader. I have something to discuss with them," she ordered, getting a nod from the leader of the trio. "And tell your boys not to touch the Mako. If they do, an electrical pulse will stop their heart."
He looked at her through the visor of his helmet before nodding again. "She said to bring you right to her. This way," said the man as he turned back towards the outpost.
Turning to the others, Shepard gestured towards the base and followed the man. They were led inside a pressurizing chamber, before the doors opened up to a bay floor with cargo strewn about, previously being unpacked. It was no doubt the cargo that was being transported by the ship outside, now sitting in a pirate warehouse being unloaded. Or it was being unloaded until they arrived. Now, every single pirate on the base stood, staring at the party of four with weapons in hand as they marched across the warehouse-like structure and into a small room in the back.
Once the door to the office was opened, the escort just waved them into the room and stood next to the door like sentinels. Shepard stepped inside to find an asari in armor, minus a helmet, glaring at her. "If you were Alliance, you wouldn't be talking to me right now. You'd be charging in guns blazing. So how about you tell me why the fuck you decided to threaten me, and then think it's a good idea to stroll on into my base!" snapped the woman as she slammed her hands onto the desk.
"Calm down," ordered the commander as she squared off with the woman. "My coming inside is a courtesy to you. I very well could have driven my tank straight up your ass and found the information I was looking for afterward. So, if you don't want that to become your near future, I suggest you quit running your mouth!"
The asari exhaled deeply before putting on a mock smile. "Alright then, welcome and thank you for not blowing me and my men to shreds! Now, what can I do for you?" she asked in a scathing tone that made Shepard want to chuckle.
"The ship you have outside had an important crew member on it. I'm here to find out if they survived or were killed. That's it," said the commander.
"Shepard, that ship was just recently taken down. Didn't Nassana say that it was taken down a week ago?" asked Liara over their private line.
"I noticed that. Something here isn't adding up, and I'm about to find out what," replied Shepard before activating her external speaker again.
"Fair enough. If you want the manifest, it should be in the ship's logs. I can tell you right now that there were no survivors when it landed," said the asari in annoyance. "Just out of curiosity, who was it you were looking for? I'd like to know so I can kick my men's ass for killing someone worth enough to send a Spectre after us," she said with a slight smirk.
"Sorry tiger, but I'm not giving you a target for revenge. Once I'm out of here, you can do all the investigating you want," said Shepard as she took the manifests and read through them, looking for a familiar name. "Just out of curiosity, how long has that ship been out there?"
"We just took it a few days ago. The boys dragged it back today and we got what cargo didn't fall out during reentry," she said, giving Shepard somewhat of a curious smile. "So, Spectre Jane Shepard. I saw you get inducted, and ever since I've heard a lot about you. My sister says that ever since you became a Spectre, you got C-Sec shaking in their boots," she said with a small smile. "I like a woman with that kind of power…"
Shepard snorted inside her helmet, but simply shook her head. "Your sister is mistaken. Unless she works for C-Sec or relatively high up on the Citadel, then she likely wouldn't even know when I'm on the Citadel, let alone my interactions with C-Sec."
As Shepard read through the logs and spoke with the head of the small pirate gang, Liara focused on her. She had hoped to start a conversation with one of the other two but didn't want to interrupt Ash's stern attentiveness as she stood sentry next to Shepard. And Wrex just looked bored, leading her to believe that a conversation wasn't what he was looking for. So instead, she decided to keep her attention on the commander.
It made her flush lightly to think it, but she had grown to admire Shepard. No matter what the situation, Shepard always seemed to have a clear head. Her sharp eyes were always focused on what was in front of her as if she had a VI hidden deep within her mind that allowed her to scan everything she saw. And despite everything, the Council's lack of cooperation, her own ambassador's hidden agenda, or even apparently someone hunting her down and trying to kill her, she always kept a cool head. She was as immovable as a planet, standing strong despite nearby stars blasting it with radiation and heat.
But even that wasn't her most admirable quality. Liara had only been aboard the Normandy for a short time, but even in that small window, she could see what made Shepard amazing. Most leaders, even the calm, diplomatic asari expect orders to be followed, and to never question one's superiors. The asari military, simply known as the Thessian Armed Legion was a juggernaut of rigid militaristic standards, where your rank mattered more than your character. Yet, despite holding one of the highest positions in the entirety of galactic civilization, Shepard didn't look down on any of her crew or consider them beneath her.
She worked the make them as good as her at everything they did. From upgrading Tali's suit and teaching her infiltration techniques, to training with the turian fire team in the gym, to even helping Liara herself improve her combat skills. She smiled in admiration as the woman she had chosen to follow had indeed shown herself to be a wonderful leader. Finally, the asari's eyes turned towards the pirate in the room, and her expression froze in shock.
"Well, don't you look the heel. As it turns out, my sister works in the embassy," said the woman with a smug smile as if she had just trumped Shepard. But her smile vanished when everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at her in shock. "What?"
"Shepard…" started Liara through their private channel again. "Her birthmarks match Nassana's!" said the asari privately, her senses on high alert.
"What? What happened?" asked the pirate as she looked between them. "You all lost your jolly demeanors as soon as I brought up…" started the woman before a look of shock covered her face. "Nassana!" she snapped angrily. Immediately, she reached behind her and pulled out a shotgun before aiming directly at Shepard.
But blue energy exploded in the room as Liara threw a hand forward, her lumiline triggering as she saw Shepard in danger. Immediately, her unstable biotics locked both Shepard and the woman into a biotic stasis that prevented either of them from moving. Ash stumbled backward as the woman then charged forward and slammed her hand into the shotgun-wielding asari's chest. The explosion of her biotic power sent the pirate's form slamming into the far wall hard enough to shatter nearly every bone in her body. In one last gasp, the woman reached for her weapon, but Liara aimed a warp that crushed any remaining life out of the asari.
"Haha, yeah! Now we're talking!" shouted Wrex from the door as gunfire began to ping off his shield. Picking up his own shotgun, he let out a battle cry before charging into the room and slamming into the sentinels that guarded the door to the back room.
"Is she gonna be alright?" came Ashley's voice as she took a moment to check on Shepard, who was still locked in Liara's biotic attack. But Liara immediately spun around and burst through the door after Wrex with both hands ablaze with dark energy. The krogan had already laid waste to a half dozen of the pirates and was currently across the room slamming one of their heads between an open crate and its lid. Turning her gaze, she saw two men taking cover behind a plasteel crate while popping out to fire shots towards Wrex. Reaching out, she lifted the crate with her biotics before using it as a battering ram and slamming the two men between it and a wall, causing a resounding groan of pain to echo through the room.
"Now you're gettin' it girl!" came Wrex's shout as he approached her. "There's a few on the balcony. Wanna help me get up there?" he asked almost jovially as he pointed up on a second-floor mezzanine. Using her biotics again, she lifted the krogan up gently, then tossed him towards the location of two hiding men that had been taking potshots from above. The krogan's landing was met with a resounding crunch, as well as a cheer from the mercenary. "Haha! Yeah! Score!"
Finally, gunfire erupted from behind her as Shepard and Williams both emerged with their own guns. Shepard's pistol splattered the head of one attacker that Liara had missed, who popped his head up to get a shot off. "Where'd Wrex go?" asked Shepard as she looked at the asari woman whose fire was now dying down.
"I... I-I threw him…" said Liara as she felt her heartbeat rapidly in her chest.
"Threw him where?" asked Shepard in annoyance. Suddenly, a screaming man was sent over the rail of the mezzanine where he crashed onto the ground with a sickening crunch.
"Hey, Shepard! I hear humans like to play catch! Wanna play?" yelled the krogan as he tossed another one over.
Shepard shook her head in amusement, her pistol up and blasting a hole through the flier's head before he even hit the ground. "Playtime's over Wrex! Time to go home!"
"Wait! I got two more! Williams! Catch!" he shouted as he threw the man. Ash aimed with her assault rifle and silenced the man's screams before he too hit the ground in the pile.
Finally, Wrex held up the last of the men, a human with a receding hairline and a terrified look on his face. "P-Please! Krogan! Sir! Please let me go! I surrender!"
Wrex looked at him through his helmet before letting out a deep chuckle. "Heh, poor choice of words." Suddenly, the man started to scream as Wrex let him go, causing him to fall down to the next floor and land hard enough to snap his shin. The man screamed louder before Wrex jumped the railing on the mezzanine and landed with both feet directly on the man, making both Liara and Ash turn away at the sickening crunch. "Sorry about that. Was doing a little upstairs cleaning…"
"By dirtying the downstairs…" said Ash as she eyed the krogan.
"You don't have that sour look on your face like you just smelled varren droppings anymore. You must be warming up to me," said Wrex with a chuckle.
"I've learned to tolerate your... methods," said the soldier as she turned to Shepard. "Soooo... does this mean we failed since Barbie the Blue Barbarian here just eighty-sixed the sister?"
"I... I apologize. I just reacted! I didn't mean to…!" started Liara, her speech stuttering as she looked at her hands.
"Calm down Liara, it's fine," said Shepard, getting a surprised look from the others as she opened her omni-tool. "Dalia has been in contact with her sister for a while. In fact, Nassana told Dalia about this specific shipment that was being moved."
"Wait, then why would she…" started Ash, who then stopped and glared through her visor. "That conniving bitch!"
"That's what you get for doing favors, Shepard. You open yourself to people using you," said Wrex as he walked past them and headed towards one of the crates and began to pick through it.
"Nassana used you to kill her sister? Why?" asked Liara as she continued to shake off the numbing feeling that the aminafia had on her.
"I'm gonna find out soon enough…" said the commander as she began heading for the door.
"Hey Shepard!" came Wrex's call, getting the woman's attention. "This is some pretty good stuff. Sells well even on the clean markets. You might consider cataloging it and selling it since they're not using it."
Shepard eyed the krogan briefly before walking over and looking in the box. "All of the original owners are dead, we have no leads as to where they were going since the ship's computer was destroyed with it. I guess there's no point in letting these sit here and rot," she said as she closed the lid on the set. "I'll have Tyson come down and catalog everything, then we'll see if C-Sec wants a piece of it."
Cargo Bay - SSV Normandy SR1
"And that's the last of it. Estimates with my sources range on the high side of a couple hundred thousand credits. And that's on a bad day," said the supply officer as he looked over his list. "You've got weapons, mods, tactical gear, ship parts. Hell, most of this stuff is illegal in Council Space. Whoever those pirates stole this stuff from was already into some shady stuff if they were out here with all of this military grade equipment."
"Grand. So, we may have just ended a smuggling ring," said Shepard as she scratched her fiery red hair.
"To be honest, it did look like she was trying to keep you in the office. The guides led you straight to her and she kept looking at the door. She was probably hoping to get you out of there before you could see what was in the boxes," said Ash from nearby as she scanned the equipment as well.
"There's a good chance she thought we were there because of the equipment. Well, regardless, this should more than cover the costs of the armor purchased recently. So that's good," she said as she opened her omni-tool. "Joker, set a course for the Citadel. I have an asari to strangle," she said with a growl.
"Uhhh... Commander, we just got a burst from Alliance Command. You might want to hear this," said the pilot.
Shepard raised an eyebrow curiously at the statement but nodded. "Understood. I'll be up in a moment," she said as she turned to the others. "Ash, lock down all of these crates in the armory. I don't want anyone even looking at the boxes without getting clearance through me first. Wrex…" said the woman as she turned to the krogan.
"Shepard," responded the mercenary.
"Normally I don't feel the need to post door guards in the armory at night, but I want a night shift just in case," she said sternly.
Wrex looked like he was going to say something but just nodded. "Williams can come to get me when she's off shift and I'll take over from there."
"Thanks. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to take this," she said as she briskly stepped towards the elevator. As the agonizingly slow lift took her up to the CIC, she began to wonder why Alliance Command would be contacting her directly rather than going through Udina.
"We're next to a comm buoy, so you can get a live feed," responded the pilot.
"Appreciate it. In that case, I'll take the call in my quarters," she said as she hit the button for the next floor rather than the CIC. When it opened, she immediately stepped off the lift and headed for her room, where she opened her terminal and activated its security measures. Almost immediately, a familiar face popped up on the screen. His visage was worn down and scarred, things he attributed to the First Contact War when he was a fresh lieutenant. His face was wrinkled, especially at the corners of his eyes, and his onyx black hair was now heavily streaked with grey.
"Been a while Admiral," said Shepard, her eyebrow raising in curiosity. She hadn't talked to him since the year prior to her induction, back when she was first stationed on Luna.
"Indeed it has Spectre. I regret that I wasn't able to be there for your induction into Spectrehood," said the man, his steely eyes as stern as they had always been.
"It's alright Admiral. It was kind of an on-the-spot thing. No preparation at all given the circumstances," she replied before eyeing his holographic face. "So, Admiral, what can I do for you?"
She couldn't hear it, but she could visibly see the sigh of frustration on his face. "I find myself in the unfortunate position of asking for your assistance, Spectre," said the man before clearing his throat. "You remember Project Valkyrie in the Virgo Wing of Armstrong Station?"
"I do…" she said, glaring suspiciously at him. Project Valkyrie was a training simulator for Special Forces back on Luna. It was the first real experience that trainees ever got. They walked in with real weapons, armor, and equipment, and had to fight off a VI powered simulation that fired back extremely powerful, but non-lethal rounds. She and a few others had been the first to test the facility, after its inception a year prior. Her first time through ended with her waking up the next day with a concussion. It took her two months of weekly tries to finally complete the course, and when she did, she became the first to earn the Valkyrie Certification that soon after became mandatory for Special Forces.
"It's had... some complications…" said the Admiral unsurely.
"Don't mince words with me, Admiral. You know my policy on information," snapped Shepard impatiently as she saw him using vague terminology.
"Sorry Shepard, it's just hard to know exactly where things went wrong," he said as he stared her dead in the eyes.
"Start with the current situation," said the Spectre sternly.
"The entire Valkyrie Wing as we know it has been locked down, and all communications in or out of the facility have been severed to keep any... leaks from getting out. And we have a team of soldiers, six to be exact, inside under unknown conditions. Four from the fireteam that went in and two recovery agents that haven't returned as well," replied the Admiral with a weary sigh.
Shepard immediately latched onto the mention of leaks. "What kind of leaks?"
"I was told that shortly before the Valkyrie System went haywire, the team that programs the VI algorithms said that they planned on trying to make the VI smarter and more tactical," he started, getting a glare from the spectre.
"They wanted to make a simulator with a five percent passing rate even smarter!?" she asked as she clenched her fist. "Admiral, do you have any idea what it means when a VI goes off its rails like this? It either means a critical error was made on the part of the designers, or that the VI has…"
"I want to be one hundred percent clear about something, Commander. What these men did is well within the legal limits of the law. We are not dealing with an artificial intelligence here!" he snapped firmly.
"Then explain to me why you can't turn it off!" she retaliated, practically fuming at the carelessness of the men responsible.
"Because we can't get back inside the facility," said the admiral with a sigh. "Ever since this morning, it took over the turrets on the outside of the Skuld, Göndul, and Hildr buildings as well. Anything that approaches gets shot down, anyone approaching on foot would get shredded before they could even reach the doors. We could bring in support from Earth or Arcturus, but even if we did find some way to bring down the turrets, we'll still be sending men in after the others."
"And you can't destroy the facility because of the soldiers inside…" she groaned as she rubbed her head. "Armstrong Station is a Special Forces base, Admiral. Why did you call me specifically?"
"Because Shepard, you and Commander Paine have fought this thing before all the kinks were smoothed out in the programming. You've been in there, you've trained in there, you know every corner of every hall. And…" he said as his brows furrowed. "I have immense faith that you would be able to pull off what we could not."
"I appreciate the confidence, Admiral. But you know that someone's hands are going to be painted red for this. You can't just 'minor error in programming' this away. As Fifth Fleet Commander, you know that someone has to take responsibility," she said as she eyed him.
"I'm aware Shepard. But we'll deal with that when we get to it. Right now, I just want my men out of there alive," he said firmly.
"Alright Admiral, I'll set a course there. We are only a single jump away, so it shouldn't be more than a few hours at most," she said as she stood up from the computer.
"Thank you, Spectre. I'll get the paperwork ready for your arrival," he said before cutting the call off.
The commander sighed to herself and rubbed her face. "Looks like the Citadel will have to wait for a bit longer," she said as she opened her omni-tool again. "Joker, set a course for Armstrong Station on Luna asap. Get us there as soon as you can," she ordered before standing up again and heading back down to the armory. "There goes my afternoon…" she complained, wondering if Wrex's words about doing favors were correct.
CODEX ENTRIES
Dabba | Culture | Krogan
Given the rarity of motherhood among modern krogan, it is even rarer for a krogan mother to raise her child by herself. Instead, children born are raised by the community, including other krogan women who are not the birth mother. These nurse mothers are simply called "dabba," a krogan word that means "cranky one."
Lumiline | Biology | Asari
Unlike other species who have adrenaline-based survival responses, asari instead have what's known as lumiline. When the fight or flight response in an asari is triggered, lumiline is pumped into their system which enhances the strength of biotics while also making them less stable. Unlike with adrenaline, where the effects are much more hidden, an asari experiencing fight or flight will sometimes be unable to contain the biotic aura around them, making them look threatening to potential attackers.