Onward!
That's all I've got to say about that.
September 13, 2184; Galactic Standard Time
The SSV Nelson didn't handle as well as the Normandy at all, and for all the room it had aboard, there was almost no way for anyone to find a private area for some quiet thought. While there were a few break-rooms and a mess-hall on board, there were no doors to speak of except for at the bulkhead leading into the bridge and the doorways leading into the officers' quarters. Even the sleeping-pod barracks on the port and starboard sides of the ship didn't have any doors.
Since the crew were often on board without any action for days at a time (especially considering that there were no conflicts to speak of aside from the occasional pirate scandal) and Shepard was waiting for sources from the Systems Alliance to contact him with information about possible help with the Reaper threat, all the crew of the Nelson could do was wait patiently and upgrade their gear whenever a new piece of equipment came out.
Commander Shepard himself was an action-loving man, and since he was a soldier by heart (with a few biotics capabilites, he may have noted), the silence and the waiting were killing his brain. It wasn't all terrible, however. It had been a year since he and Tali had decided to start a relationship, and as much as Garrus suffered from having no private time to think, at least Tali shared the captain's quarters with him, so she could have some time to collect her thoughts if she ever gave up the Quarian work attitude.
Shepard spotted Tali glaring at the core of the Nelson when she had a moment of respite from calibrations, obviously scorned that it wasn't the drive-core of the Normandy. As much as he missed the frigate, Tali most certainly missed it much more than he did. There was something to be said when a Quarian of Tali's caliber was impressed by a piece of hardware, and the Normandy drive-core was very impressive to her.
Joker swore at the controls of the destroyer often, and nearly had fits every time something didn't go as smoothly as it should have. Shepard had actually grown worried that the pilot would accidentally break his own fingers, the man was balling his fists so hard sometimes. Still, there were moments when Joker would pull a maneuver that reminded Shepard of their time nary a year ago, when the pilot was at the helm of the most advanced ship in history.
Sliding his thumb across the pirate-quelling report he was reading, Shepard sighed and tossed the poor bit of tech onto his desk, making the pad clatter around and slide to the edge, and stepped toward the elevator to make rounds around the destroyer and talk to his crew once again. It had been a long six months since he had taken command of the ship, and it was grating on his nerves that there was nothing happening.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something extremely big was going to happen soon, and the anxious waiting that he had to do while he anticipated what that event could be grated at his nerves. Shepard knew the first place he would visit would be Engineering. Even a short discussion about the many confusing bits of the ship with Tali always cheered him up.
The elevator doors closed in front of him and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the elevator, descending three floors to the Engineering & Cargo deck. Something strange tickled at the back of his head as he let himself wander through his thoughts on his way to see his girlfriend. He knew something was about to happen.
He just didn't know exactly what that something was.
Three days earlier: September 10, 2184; Galactic Standard Time
TIM sat in his chair, swirling it around absently as he scrolled through a report on Project Effigy. He had scrapped the plans for Project Lazarus following the discovery that Shepard hadn't died over Alchera, and thus his revival would not be necessary. The new project, Project Effigy, had more promise as a beneficial asset to his personal war against the Reapers. He had also decided to push back his plans for the Quarian Flotilla following the same report. Had he been able to recover Shepard's body on Alchera, he would not have to spend so many resources on his trump card, but as Shepard had survived, well... he had to use plenty of resources jump-starting Project Effigy.
The extra few months had allowed him to build more ships and stockpile more money and supplies. He had a formidable fleet building in the background, something of which he was proud. The way things were going for him, even without the real Lieutenant Commander Shepard, he would be able to launch his full plan in a much shorter amount of time than first calculated. The speed of his plans, however, would be slightly affected by his plans for the Migrant Fleet. Thus, he was pooling all of his resources into one go at the Fleet.
The attack on the Quarian Flotilla would be bigger and better with more resources.
The Illusive Man puffed the smoke of his cigarette away from his face, taking a sip of the whiskey in the glass next to him and finishing his reading of the report on Project Effigy. His scientists had been doing some very quick work for the past nine months, and he was pleasantly surprised at their progress. If this continued, he would have what he wanted in just over a year. He snuffed out his cigarette as he tapped a button on the side of his chair, waiting for the doors behind him to slide open and reveal the leader of Team Orion.
"You've done some very good work," The Illusive Man called to the man behind him, staring out at the blue and red star past the viewport on the side of his base. The glowing star shimmered blue for a moment before returning to its old mixture of colors, and The Illusive Man chuckled before turning his chair to look at his project lead.
"Thank you, sir. What do you need from me?" the man replied, holding out his omni-tool to type out his instructions.
"Project Effigy's result needs an overseer, someone who has researched Shepard enough to know his ins and outs without ever meeting him, someone who I trust beyond a doubt. Find Miss Lawson," he handed the man one of the datapads resting on the left arm of his chair, "and deliver these orders to her personally. I would normally relay these orders to her through comms, but you need to iron out a few details with her when you meet. She will oversee the final operations of Project Effigy, his... test-run. Her location is included on that datapad. Make sure it disappears once you're done with it," he finished, lighting another cigarette and giving it a small puff.
"Yes, sir. I'll find Miss Lawson right away," the man accepted, taking the datapad and briskly walking out of the room. As the door slid shut, The Illusive Man turned and looked into the star that he always watched for quiet thought. The star blazed a vibrant blue for a few moments, filling his chamber with a radiant array of violets and blues as the unique light of the sun meshed with the light of the consoles beside him. He chuckled.
"Shepard, I know you're out there," The Illusive Man smiled, watching as the sun occasionally pulsed or retracted its blue and red light, "and I'm going to find you. If this doesn't lure you out of hiding, nothing will."
His smile waned as his Quantum Entanglement Communicator lit up and the form of a stout admiral appeared before him, that of the Cerberus Assault Fleet, or CERAF for short. The admiral was also the captain of his capital ship, the CFS (Cerberus Flagship) Rising Sun. Without the do-it-all attitude of the original Commander Shepard, The Illusive Man had decided to form an assault fleet earlier than he had at first wished. While Cerberus was extremely low on manpower to begin with, that had easily been fixed with a few changes in policy and plenty of money.
"Admiral Yorrich, this meeting was unexpected," TIM said, seeming intrigued, "so why are you contacting me?"
"CERAF is ready to begin the assault, sir. With the informant's information, we can be at the Fleet's location in three days time, by your orders," Yorrich answered, licking his dry lips and running his gloved thumb over the armrest of his chair. He was a tall and burly man with a heavy Scandinavian accent, though whether it was Finnish or something else was unknown, something that was rare outside of the biosphere of Earth. Ever since the unification of the Baltic States and their subsequent annexation of Scandinavia, those accents had all but died off.
"Very good, Admiral. The result of Project Effigy will be at your location in less than a day. Once he arrives, launch the attack at your behest. The lives of their fleet and yours are in your hands," TIM replied, tapping the button on his chair to hang up the QEC. Things were about to get interesting.
September 13, 2184; Galactic Standard Time
The elevator slowed to a stop, making a metallic sound as the base of the platform latched into the floor- a safety mechanism not found on more advanced ships due to their more futuristic elevator designs. It was a small discomfort that set the Nelson apart from the types of ships Shepard was used to serving on. As the doors of the elevators slid open, the pulleys in the opening mechanism creaked, making Shepard close an eye in a silent cringe. The ship wasn't that old, but the Alliance could have at least given it a tune-up after it nearly got blasted to bits by Sovereign.
The doors opened fully to reveal a Quarian girl in her mid twenties tapping away on her omni-tool, oblivious to what she was doing as she stepped forward to get into the elevator and immediately bumped directly into his chest, shaking her head and looking up at him. He noted that her eyes lit up as soon as she saw him, and she nearly bounced on her heels as soon as she caught sight of the gentle smile growing on his face. So long as they weren't in battle, seeing Tali always managed to put a smile on his face, and sometimes she managed it even in the middle of a conflict. There was just something about her...
"Tali, I was just coming down to see my favorite Quarian. Have you got time to share a word or two?" Shepard asked in an upbeat voice. He could already feel all of the pressures of the past few days floating out of his mind.
"Of course, Mathias. I always have time for you. Hit the button for Command; I was heading up to check on some of the connections between there and Engineering," she replied, her smile noticeable in her tone. Shepard complied, tapping the button on the side of the doorway.
"I was just coming down to check up on you after working through a few reports, Tali, and I was wondering if you could make time today to meet up in the mess and have a talk. Since we've started accepting requests from Hackett and the Alliance, it feels like we haven't had time to talk at all," Shepard finished his explanation for why he was searching for her, watching as the words above the doorway shifted to say "Crew Quarters."
"That sounds great, Shepard. As soon as I finish checking up on the power throughout the ship, I'll come down to the mess and we'll catch up," the Quarian responded, tapping at her omni-tool again as statistics on the ship fluttered through the data in front of her face. She looked entrenched in what she was doing, so Shepard stood back, a small smile tilting the edges of his lips. He started to think about the upcoming year, and what it would mean for him and Tali to finally be aboard a new Normandy.
A small electronic sound, that of a messaging system on Tali's omni-tool, interrupted his thoughts and he looked over to see the eyes beneath Tali's visor widen in something akin to horror. As she read on, she let her other hand rise to the voice-projector on her visor, covering it much like a human would when shocked. Shepard, concerned, stepped forward and put a hand on Tali's shoulder as she moved her omni-tool for him to read, too stunned to read it out loud.
From: Admiralty Board, Migrant Fleet
To: Tali'Zorah vas Neema and twenty thousand others
This is a message to all Quarians on pilgrimage whose registries to their service-ships on the Migrant Fleet are not currently in contemplation, or whose pilgrimages are not temporarily on hold due to extenuating circumstances, as well as those not on pilgrimage but otherwise separated from the Fleet.
Under no circumstances should any Quarian who is currently on pilgrimage or separated from the Fleet return to the Migrant Fleet until another message is sent relieving them of this order. Today, on September 13, 2184; Galactic Standard Time, at precisely 0800, what seems to be a massive fleet of ships of unknown origin were detected less than a day of travel from the Migrant Fleet. They were tracked for an hour before it was determined that their course was set directly toward the Migrant Fleet.
Upon entering a range previously thought to be too far for weapons engagement, the flagship of this fleet opened fire with its main-gun, firing a projectile of unknown type that tore through six Fleet ships and continued into space behind the Flotilla. Those six ships were not live-ships, but the losses were still devastating. The first shot claimed a figure of an estimated three thousand six hundred Quarian lives.
The Fleet was able to escape any further damage by immediately initiating evasive maneuvers, but the enemy ships are still in pursuit.
Below is the list of ships destroyed by the first shot aimed at the Migrant Fleet and their designations, including their method of acquisition and number of casualties:
VTV (Volus Trade Vessel) Kuiton, , purchased as a part of a number of ships sold by the Volus per trade treaty and converted into a civilian vessel, 1,678
PAV (Primarchy Assault Vessel) Limar, decomissioned frigate, recovered from ship graveyard, 600+
SSV (Systems Alliance Space Vessel) Blue Ridge, destroyer, gifted by the Systems Alliance, 467
SSV (Systems Alliance Space Vessel) Ilimar, frigate, gifted by the Systems Alliance, 250+
Pali'tor, Quarian civilian research vessel, Quarian original vessel, 300+
Pali'tir, sister ship to Pali'tor, Quarian original vessel, 300+
May our Ancestors be with those who have lost their lives on this day. We must remind, again, that no pilgrim or otherwise relocated Quarian is to return to the Migrant Fleet under any circumstances unless another message is sent belaying this message. If no message is sent by three months in the future, the worst is to be assumed.
Keelah Se'lai, and Ancestors help us.
To: Tali'Zorah vas Neema and twenty thousand others
From: Admiralty Board, Migrant Fleet
"Shepard..." Tali was speechless, her eyes welting up with unshed tears as the horror of what she had just read flew through her mind. That was thirty six hundred Quarian lives, put out like a light. It was the Quarian equivalent to humanity losing four hundred twenty four million lives in less than a second, with their population.
"We're going there. We're going there right now, and I'm going to slaughter whoever is behind this," Mathias growled out, shooting out of the elevator as soon as the door opened and coming up behind Joker at his seat.
"Shepard, there's no way that we can stand up to a full fleet of ships with just the Nelson. The way that technology sounds, there's no way that the Migrant Fleet can either. My species may be... The Quarians might be finished," Tali tearfully argued, looking as defeated as she sounded.
"No, no... I won't accept that. I will NOT fucking accept that. No one is committing a mass-genocide today. Tali, I know you think we can't do anything about this, but I am goddamned Mathias Shepard, and if there is one thing I will not tolerate, it's the senseless deaths of millions of innocent people. Where is the Migrant Fleet?" Shepard slammed his fist down on the console beside the pilot's chair, getting a small cry of protest from Joker.
"Mathias, there's no-" she was cut off.
"WHERE IS THE MIGRANT FLEET!?" Shepard shouted, his voice loud and gruff, his fist slamming down on the console again, making Tali take a step back and everyone on the bridge look over at the cockpit, stunned to hear Shepard yelling. He was rarely angry, but when he asked this time, he looked absolutely incensed. Tali hesitated before thumbing open her omni-tool and tapping around until she found what she was looking for.
"J-just outside of the Hades Cluster," she replied shakily, obviously offset by Shepard's shouting.
"Thank you, Tali, and I'm sorry. Upload those coordinates to the control console. We'll talk on our way there. Joker, how far are we from the coordinates Tali gave you?" he asked, turning toward the pilot in question. Joker waited until those coordinates appeared before him and then did the math.
"Approximately three hours from the nearest relay, Commander. After that, it'll be another hour and a half to catch up to them if we're lucky," Joker read out his calculations, nervously tapping on the armrest of his chair. He didn't like the idea of taking what he saw as a bucket of bolts into new-age space combat.
"Plot a course. I want us there yesterday. Tali, those power connections can wait until we're done. For now, come with me; we need to talk about this," Mathias didn't wait for a reply, his neck still straining as he attempted to prevent his face from curling into an angry snarl. It didn't matter anyway, as Tali wordlessly followed behind him, staring down at the ground and toying with her fingers like she always did when she was nervous. She was still crying behind her mask, but no one could hear. She had turned her vocalizer off.
"If you get a shot on one of their live-ships, Lieutenant, you take the chance," Admiral Yorrich said, grinning with his gnarled lips, forming a vicious grimace beyond the nightmares of even the most hardy of Alliance soldiers. His head was terribly scarred as a result of his history of getting into large and unyielding battles. As a result, every expression that appeared on his face looked like a mauled version of the same snarl. Yorrich's hair was shaven away so that his admiral's cap would better conform to his head, and he had no facial hair of which to speak.
There was something in his stature that easily frightened those around him, and he immediately backed up the impressions he gave by executing the first executive officer he had had on the ship. The man had dared to question something he had ordered, and he had immediately found a round from a Carnifex hand-cannon passing through what used to be his skull. The admiral took nothing more seriously than his word, and he expected every order to be carried out perfectly and without question. Still, every man serving under him was afraid of him. They had a good reason to be aside from his ruthlessness- he stood a head taller than most men, and he was massive. He commanded through brute-force, though he was still an effective strategist.
He got the job done when it was needed, and killed anyone who said it wasn't.
"Yes sir, targeting the live-ships with the main cannon. We are slowly catching up to them, sir," the ordinance officer replied, occasionally tapping buttons or flipping switches, monitoring firing solutions.
"Sir, I estimate that at our current rate of closure, we will be in range in approximately five hours," the navigations officer added.
"Good, good. Tell the men on the gunnery deck to be prepared with the primary cannon as well as cannons two through six. I want them to load them with... hmm... let's try the armor piercing, timed detonation ammunition, shall we? I want to be able to count down to detonation," Yorrich finalized, grinning even wider at the thought of thousands of Quarians scrambling to perform repairs on damage caused by an armor-piercing shell, only to be baptized in the flames of its timed explosion.
"Wilco, sir. Gunnery sergeants will relay orders to personnel to load APTD ammunition. Do you want those fired all at once, or in salvos, sir?" the ordinance officer questioned in return, getting a thoughtful sigh out of the admiral.
"I wonder... Perhaps we should have guns two through six fire a volley first, and then when they detonate, we'll fire the main cannon. How does that sound, Lieutenant?" Yorrich responded, polishing one of the buttons on his uniform as if he were talking about a pleasant stroll through the town library.
"Excellent, sir. We will be prepared to fire in thirty seconds. Gunnery personnel will stand by for fire orders when we catch up to the enemy ships," the lieutenant replied, just as easily and as casually as the admiral.
"I understand that our chances are slim, Tali, but any chance we have of helping your people is worth taking. I thought you would agree!" Shepard said with a slightly raised voice. He was in the middle of a philosophical argument about the survival of the Nelson and the Quarian people, and his opponent was his Quarian girlfriend, who he was surprised to note had taken an odd position on the entire thing.
"If I were alone, Shepard, I would agree, but I'm dragging you and your ship into this! They're my people! You don't have to die for them!" Tali nearly shouted back, throwing her hands up in the air at the end to display her frustration and anxiety.
"Dragging? Tali, you're not dragging anyone into this but yourself! I'm the one dragging the crew into a battle they probably can't win! You're not the one who gave the order to head to the Hades Cluster, I am! Just listen to me for a minute!" Shepard tried, but Tali cut him off.
"It doesn't matter whether I listen or not because either way, my people are about to die, and you're about to send us in after them! We can't fight an entire combat fleet of that magnitude and advancement! Mathias, the Migrant Fleet doesn't have that many combat-ready ships, but the ones we do have are good at what they do. Their weapons have the longest range we can manage. If the admirals thought they were out of range and they still managed to hit and destroy six Fleet vessels, we don't stand a chance!" she ranted, poking Shepard on the chest harshly with the last sentence to drive the point home.
"The only reason we don't stand a chance is because we're not there, and I'm fixing that by getting us there as fast as possible," Shepard started, shouting, "We're going to do this, and we're going to do it right. I love you, Tali, and I don't want any of my crew to die, much less all of it..." his voice softened, "... but I also don't want to see you go on without a people, without a hope for your species. You aren't as emotionally hardened as a Krogan, Tali; you can't take not having a future for your people. That sadness... I don't want to watch you wither away like I did after Akuze" as he finished, his voice was tender, and Tali couldn't help but let her will break as she thought about what he'd said.
"I know, Shepard, I know, and I won't. Thank you for saying that. I understand how much you care, but please make sure that you tell Joker to be extra careful with the ship. She's not like the Normandy. And... I love you too. Let's get the marines ready to possibly board an enemy ship," she softly replied, her denial crumbling as her voice lowered to just above a whisper. When Mathias talked like he did with as much conviction and confidence as he always had, it always convinced her. She just knew that he would get her people through this, and Ancestors help whoever was behind this if any more of her people died.
Because Shepard would have no mercy.
If anyone can find out what I did with the Cerberus Assault Fleet name (CERAF), you get cookie-points, and a mention in the next chapter!