27/4/2183
Mess hall, SSV Normandy.
On route to Feros.
"BULLSHIT!" Kaminski yelled as he tossed his cards upon the table and slammed his fist down.
"Calm the fuck down, Kaminski. It's just a bloody game." Mads replied as he took the chips to his side of the table.
"That's easy for you to say when you're on a win streak. And there is goddamn money involved!" Kaminski complained.
"You accepted the invitation to the fucking game, you lost all leverage!" Mads fired back.
"Come ON! Riesman, you gotta back me up here, man!" Kaminski pleaded.
"I have to admit, Romanov. The possibility of you getting so good cards several times in a row is rather low." Riesman said as he began to deal the next hand.
"But is there a chance?" Mads asked.
"I suppose so, but-" Riesman tried to reply
"Then shut the fuck up." Mads ordered as he took a sip of his beer. Somehow Daniel Kaminski had managed to smuggle some beer onto the vessel. Although it was a water down version, there was still the hint of alcohol in there. "Tell you what Kaminski, you deserve a promotion for bringing in some beer." Mads praised.
"I'll tell you what: It wasn't fucking easy." Daniel replied as he lit up a cigarette for himself. Mads passed along the ashtray to Daniel's seat.
"Well, at least this vessel doesn't strictly follow alliance protocols regarding that." Mads remarked as he leaned back and watched Martin Riesman deal the next hand.
"I suppose being a Spectre has it's perks." Daniel commented.
"Quite so." Mads agreed. "Say, Riesman. You sure you don't want a beer?" Mads asked as he looked at the cards just dealt by Martin.
"I'm afraid not, commander. I have never been much of a drinker. I don't really like the taste of alcohol." Martin replied.
"I'll bet." Kaminski announced as he threw in a couple of chips.
"What did you do during your teenage years then?" Mads asked out of curiosity. Mostly because he could only think back to his own teenage years, which had mostly been spent looking down at the bottom of a glass. "Call." Mads said as he threw in his own set of chips.
"Erh… Study, I guess?" Riesman was hesitant to answer the question. He gazed down at his cards, unsure, "Fold."
"Study… Really? No big parties? No smoking the devil's cabbage? Not even a great love affair?" Mads asked dumbfounded.
"I… I didn't really have that many friends growing up. My parents, my sister and I moved around a lot. Jumping from colony to colony. I found it rather hard to make friends… Much less keep them." Martin confessed.
"I see. Where were you born?" Mads asked as Martin turned the flop, showing three cards. Mads looked closely as he analyzed Daniel's face as best he could.
"I'll raise." Daniel boldly said as he threw in a few more chips.
"Call." Mads quickly replied with a smirk.
"Colony of Shanxi, 2160." Martin answered.
"No shit? Though I suppose that was after the whole attack." Mads remarked as he watched Riesman do the turn. Revealing another card. It was looking rather grim for Mads. He would only have king high at best.
"All fucking in." Daniel said as he pushed his entire stack into the pot and took a drag of his cigarette afterwards.
"Fold." Mads said in defeat as he threw his card on the table. Daniel just laughed as he collected all the chips. "Yeah, laugh it up while it lasts, bucko." Mads remarked.
"Oh, I will." Daniel said as he settled in his seat once again.
"So, where are you from Kaminski? Let me guess: Warsaw? Gdansk? Krakow?" Mads asked jokingly as he looked at the new cards dealt to him by Daniel.
"Fuck you." Daniel snarled. "It's actually Chicago." Daniel corrected in an uninterested tone. Mads looked at his cards for a moment.
"The windy city? Who would have known?" Mads remarked. "So, you're actually an American?" Mads then asked, and he tapped his fingers on the table, informing everyone he checked. He had been the victim of the blinds this time.
"Father's family hails from Poland, Mom's side is Irish. But yeah, I guess I'm American. Sorry to disappoint." Daniel said as he threw in a few chips to match Mads' blind.
"Not as sorry as you'll be once I have stolen all of your money." Mads laughed as he awaited the flop.
"And what about you, Romanov? Where were you born?" Daniel asked as he took another drag of his cigarette.
"St. Petersburg, Russia." Mads swiftly replied as he took another sip of his beer.
"Hey guys, what are you playing?" A voice asked. They all turned around to see Kaidan walking up to them.
"No limit Texas Holdem. Wanna buy in?" Mads asked back as he settled back into his seat. "It's 300 credits." Mads added.
"Sure, why not?" Kaidan said as he sat down. "What were you discussing?" Kaidan asked with curiosity.
"Where we were born. How about you weigh in?" Mads suggested.
"Vancouver." Kaidan replied as he checked his cards. Martin called with a few chips.
"Canadian? I thought there was a hint of proper English in your accent." Mads laughed as he took another sip of his beer. "But Alenko? I thought that was more of a Ukrainian surname." Mads theorized.
"I don't know my family tree well enough to comment on that, sir-" Kaiden started, but was quickly interrupted.
"Sir? I'm not on duty right now Kaidan, and I do believe you aren't either." Mads joked.
"Sorry, force of habit," Kaidan explained. "But as far as I know, Canada has a rather large Ukrainian population. So it is possible I suppose." Kaidan remarked as he took a long look at his cards again, and then quickly called with a few credits.
"Then I guess we are Slavic brothers, you and I." Mads laughed as he eagerly awaited the flop. After they had been dealt, Mads was quick to raise the bet again.
"What about me?" Daniel asked offended.
"You're Polish, that's like… The bad western version of a true Slav." Mads joked. He found that Kaminski was fun to mess around with, and he liked to poke fun at his Polish origin, and vice versa for Daniel regarding Mads' Russian background.
"Fuck you, let's see what you say to this." Daniel snarled as he went all in.
"Holy shit!" Kaidan and Martin said in union as they looked on in awe at the pile of chips in the middle of the table. They both folded at the same time.
"In for a penny-" Mads remarked as he moved all his chips into the pile. "-In for a fucking pound." Mads spoke as he took a cigarette from his pack and gave light to it. "Let's see what you got pal." Mads said as he took a drag of his cigarette.
Daniel smirked as he turned his cards, revealing a pair of queens. "Let's see you beat that." He laughed as he took a sip of his beer.
"Ace and three." Mads said, annoyed by Daniel's higher cards. "Wipe that fucking smirk off your face, Kaminski. We still have to see the turn and the river." Mads almost ordered.
The turn revealed a three. Which meant Mads had a pair of threes, which was nowhere good enough to beat Daniel's pair of Queens. Mads anxiously awaited the river, hoping and praying to God it would turn out to be an ace. He tapped his fingers on table as he took another drag of his cigarette.
On this fateful day, God looking out for Mads. Ace of hearts was in the river, instantly knocking Daniel out of the game. "NO FUCKING WAY!" Daniel screamed as he launched out of his chair and straight into a fit. He hanged his head in his hands as he took a lap around the table. He took a deep breath before saying: "Well played Romanov, well played." He sat down again.
Mads smiled as he collected the chips. "So, are you going to watch now? Or do you want to invest some more money?" Mads asked.
"I learned my lesson… For now." Daniel replied as he settled back into the seat.
"So… Romanov. Mind filling us in on the next mission?" Kaidan jumped in and asked as he checked.
Mads called with a few chips. "It's a colony called Feros-" Mads stopped to see Martin fold his cards again. "-They went dark some time ago. Alliance brass thinks Geth might be involved. But I'm not sure. I guess we'll see when we get there." Mads explained as he leaned back in his seat and took a drag of his cigarette.
"Who will you bring along?" Kaidan asked curiously as he laid out the flop.
"Same team as our last assignment, at least initially. If the colony really is under attack from Geth forces, we may need to bring out the entire marine squad. I'll make a decision once we have an overview of the situation at hand." Mads said, before tapping his fingers on the table to signal he was checking. Mads looked over at Kaidan, who was busy thinking about his next move.
"I bet you hope you get posted with Ashley." Daniel laughed from his observing position.
"Fuck you Kaminski." Kaidan snarled, clearly angry.
"What's that about?" Mads asked curiously with a smile. He clearly knew there was something brewing between Kaidan and Ashley. He knew the telltale signs.
"We're only friends." Kaidan defended his position like someone was threatening it.
"Clearly more than just friends." Daniel had the biggest smug look on his face. Kaidan was looking at Daniel like he was on the verge of choking him out.
"No we're not! Shut up!" Kaidan's voice was raising by the second.
"You're worried about alliance protocol?" Mads asked, and Kaidan fell silent. "Well, normally the alliance forbids relationships between crew members. This is normally settled by the commanding officer requesting said members to break it up, or at least put it on hold. If that fails, then the commanding officer might deploy actions to restore discipline. Should this fail, the members might be reassigned to separate postings." Kaidan clearly got more nervous as Mads listen the various ways the alliance would break it up. "-But." Mads said, and that instantly got Kaidan's attention. "You are serving aboard a vessel assigned to a Spectre, which means that I make the rules around here." Mads stated.
"I understand." Kaidan replied.
"Get on my good side, and who knows what will happen?" Mads remarked. Though Kaidan was in a hurry to return to the game, no doubt the whole ordeal was embarrassing, like he was some teenager and his parents asked him about his love life.
They played on for a bit more, with the usual banter in there. The game ended up taking another 30 minutes before Mads beat Martin with a straight and got the last of the chips. They were good sports about it. But Mads couldn't have cared less if he won or not, this was peanuts compared to what he made monthly from his investments. They planned to have another game in a few days' time, with the stakes being a little higher.
Mads stepped into the captain's quarters and let out a sigh. He slowly sat down in his chair by the desk and booted up his terminal. He was surprised that he hadn't heard anything from the company since he ordered them to scout the Exo-Geni stock. Slowly he poured himself a glass of vodka.
He downed the contents of his glass and poured another one. Then he opened up his communication app, and found the contact he was looking for. Mads waited patiently as the dial tone almost defeated his ears. He turned down for the volume. Finally, his contact picked up.
"Mr. Romanov. How are you doing?" Shaun Castillo asked. Mads was quick to pick up on the nervous nature of Shaun.
"I'm fine, Mr. Castillo. But I do remember giving an order for you to give me information last week. What happened?" Mads asked back, his tone a bit harsh.
"I'm afraid there was an… Incident last week with Mr. Hickey." Shaun answered. Mads always thought of their chief financial officer as… Untrustworthy. It had been Harold's idea to give the position to him. Despite Mads' protests, the fact remained that Mads had made Harold the CEO, and not himself. Mostly to avoid the press linking the company to him.
"What did he do?" Mads asked tired. He rubbed his temples as he took a sip of his vodka.
"An accountant was looking through our recent… Transactions, and discovered several red flags in the system. It seems Mr. Hickey tired to move nearly 50 million credits to an offshore account." Shaun replied.
"Bloody fucking hell." Mads cursed. "And how come I wasn't informed on this until now?" Mads asked with an angry tone.
"Well, Harold believed you already had enough to worry about. He told me not to update you." Shaun explained.
"Fucking Harold..." Mads mumbled under his breath. "Okay, tell me you have at least taken the appropriate measures to take down Mr. Hickey?" Mads asked as he downed the last vodka in his glass.
"Yes, he has been arrested and is currently awaiting trial." Shaun quickly answered.
"Good… Good..." Mads nodded as he leaned back into his seat. "Now, the information I requested?" Mads asked.
"Ah yes! I'll forward the information we gathered. Looks like Exo-Geni has had a string of bad luck recently. Their stocks are at an all-time low. We think this is due to the events on Eden Prime and Terra Nova, as well as other factors. Do you want us to buy a certain amount of their stock?" Shaun dutifully asked.
"No… Not yet. Feros is a colony founded by Exo-Geni… Right?" Mads then asked.
"Hold on… Let me check..." Mads could hear Shaun typing furiously on his keyboard on the other side. "Yes, it is. Though it has been unprofitable for quite some time." Shaun then added.
"Okay, await further instructions from me. Have a nice day." Mads said.
"You too, Mr. Romanov." Shaun said and then disconnected. Mads then slowly rubbed the underside of his chin, feeling the surface was no longer smooth, even though he shaved just a few hours ago. Some times he just wanted to let it grow, but that was against alliance protocol… And it was rather ineffective when you had to equip you helmet in a hurry.
Mads took a deep breath as his attention turned to the picture on his desk. He sighed as he looked deep into the eyes of the long dead.
As corrupt as they come. You really think you earned the right to be successful?
What about us? Have you forgotten who you were?
There they were again. Creeping up and slowly become louder and louder. Mads grabbed the bottle of Vodka and began to drink straight from it. He slowly felt the numbness that followed with the effects of the alcohol. They were gone now, but they would surely return in the morning.
Mads slowly started humming. "Ama-zing… Grace… How sweet... the sound." He took another sip of the bottle.
"That saved… A wretch… Like me..." He felt chocked up. This song had always been special to him… Even when he wasn't all that religious.
"I once… Was lost… But now… I'm found." He took another sip.
"Was blind… But now… I see."
28/4/2183
Captain's quarters, SSV Normandy.
On route to Feros.
He woke up the next day in his chair. His back screaming out in discomfort as he slowly stood up. While the hungover effects of last night were minimal, considering his Slavic blood, he still felt tired. Even when he managed to sleep, which was usually after drinking quite a bit, he still had night terrors. Like a video on a constant loop, the failures of the past playing on repeat.
Mads groaned as he made his way to the bathroom. He washed his face with cold water as he stared into the mirror. What looked back at him was a sorry excuse for a military Commander. Then followed the routine he would do every morning. 30-40 minutes of morning exercise. He did sit ups, push-ups and pull ups. He worked up quite the sweat, which was not unusual. At his very core, he was competitive with himself. He always tried to do more or do it faster.
Mads took the time to take a shower, once again with cold water. Despite everything else, doing this morning workout helped put his mind at ease, and also freshened him up. He then got dressed. He put on the alliance blues, alongside his jackboots. He snapped his belt on. It was unusual for alliance Commanders to carry their side arm with them at all times. But like in so many other areas, he was not like the norm.
He sat down at the desk and took the liberty to smoke another cigarette. He saw the notification on his terminal. The Officer meeting was in 30 minutes time. He had organized the meeting yesterday, but some time along the night he had forgotten about it. With 30 minutes to kill, he took the time to start on the reports he needed to file. He would finalize them after the meeting, when he been brought up to speed on the status of the vessel.
Before the meeting began, Mads took the time to prepare a cup of coffee for himself. Although coffee served on space faring vessels was nothing to speak highly off, he always needed that cup to get him started on the day, beside the work out. By the time he reached the comms room, the senior officers were already there, waiting patiently for their Commanding officer.
"Gentlemen." Mads greeted as he walked in. They all stood up from their chairs to salute him. "At ease." He ordered, and they all fell back into their chairs.
"As you guys know, today is going to be busy, so I'll try and keep the meeting short. We'll land on Feros in 4 hours' time. Intel is scarce on the colony. It went dark some time ago." Mads informed as he took a sip of his steaming hot coffee. "Lieutenant Alenko, I want you to prep all marines for fast deployment." Mads ordered.
"Yes Sir." Kaidan replied.
"I'm not sure whether or not we'll need them, but since we are walking into this mission almost blind, I want them on standby." Mads said. Kaidan nodded in acknowledgment of the order. "Now, is there anything to report on the ship?" Mads then asked as he leaned back into his chair.
Each senior officer reported on their section of the ship. It seemed that most things were in order, and there were seemingly no issues to report on the vessel, it was as space worthy as it ever has been. That was until Chief Engineer Adams came with an inquiry about a new process he wanted to try out.
"I have been comparing notes with Tali, and she and I think that with some minor tweaks to the maintenance system of the drive core, we should be able to make the Normandy silent for an additional 20-30 minutes." Adams explained.
"And you have confidence in this plan?" Mads asked as he took another sip of his coffee.
"Yes sir, I believe it will work." Adams replied.
"Then I'll grant it." Mads said, and Adams nodded to say thanks.
"Permission to speak, Commander-" Pressly interrupted.
"Granted." Mads quickly replied.
"I'm not sure if it is wise to allow the Quarian to make these tweaks to the drive core. There is no telling what she could do." Pressly argued. Mads had previously discussed the issue of Aliens aboard the Normandy with Pressly. Mads knew a little about Pressly's backstory, and he knew where he was coming from.
"Tali has shown nothing but loyalty so far. Considering that Adams agrees with her on this issue, I'll grant it." Mads remained firm. Pressly nodded to show he understood that this was a matter that wasn't up for discussion. "Was that all?" Mads asked, and they all nodded.
"Dismissed then." Mads ordered. They all got up to leave the room. Mads took his paper with notes to go and finalize his report to the alliance. He finished his cup of coffee and put it down at the counter at the mess hall.
Four hours later.
Joker announced that they would arrive at the colony within a matter of minutes. Mads was finalizing his armor. He had received confirmation from Alenko that the Marine team was prepped, should he need them. He mentally prepared himself for the mission ahead. He hated walking into the unknown. Nothing worse than not knowing the what the future held in store.
This colony had a dock, so there would be no need to bring out the Mako, at least at first. The first strike team had assembled in the comms room, awaiting mission briefing. Although there wouldn't be much to say. Mads joined them shortly, it was the usual team. Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus, Wrex, Liara and Tali. Riesman and Kaminski would join them if necessary. They had all suited up, and stood at attention as Mads entered.
"Listen up jarheads. Today's mission may be more complicated than the other ones, or it may be an easy assignment. We can't be sure, since the Intel on the colony is next to nothing regarding the situation there. I want everyone to be ready for anything, is that understood?" Mads asked.
"Sir yes sir!" They all said in union.
"Good. Now, let's get ready to dock." Mads ordered. He watched as they left one by one and went up the CIC and towards the airlock. Mads was the last to leave the comms room. He sent out a small prayer before embarking on this mission.
Stepping out into the light was tough. It was brighter than on the ship, and Mads had to adjust his eyes to the sudden change in brightness. As he came fully out of the ship, he noticed how this colony seemed to be built around concrete. He had read that it used to be a Prothean planet, and that the ruins here were plentiful.
It didn't take long for Mads to notice the man at the end of the path. He stood there, like he had been waiting for someone to come for ages. Mads gestured for his team to take it slow, and have their guns drawn. He didn't want to take any chances, not when he knew nothing.
The man looked tired, like he hadn't slept in days. As soon as they were within range, he said: "Thank god you are here! We have waited so long!"
"Woah, calm down. What's the situation here?" Mads asked.
"We're under attack by Geth! They come like the hordes of hell, never ending." The man was losing his breath, working himself up.
"Take a deep breath son. What are the defenses like? How many people are in the colony?" Mads asked, pressing the man for answers.
"You should speak with Fai Dan! He is just this way!" The man gestured to the staircase behind him.
"Who is Fai Dan?" Mads tried to get as much out of the man as possible.
"He is our leader, you should speak with him." This man was determined to have to speak with their leader. It was probably for the best anyhow. The leader would know the most. But before Mads could ask anymore questions, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.
Ashley has nicknamed the Geth Flashlight heads, and it was clear as to why. Mads saw the light from the corner of his eye, and in that instant, he grabbed the man by his shoulder and forced him down into cover.
"Weapons free! Open fire!" Mads ordered as he quickly equipped his rifle. His sizable team leaped for cover and began to exchange fire with the Geth. "Clean kills! Mind the colonists!" Mads reminded them.
The Geth had showed up in force and were laying siege to the small colony. Mads had no idea how many people were posted here in the first place, but it seemed like it was a very small number, either that, or the Geth had already killed a lot of them. Mads reminded the poor colonist that he had to stay in cover.
Once the main catwalk was cleared, they slowly made their way forward. This place could easily seem like a maze if one got lost. The Geth were here in numbers, Saren seriously wanted something from this colony. Hopefully the prick was still here, but something told Mads that such a thing might as well be pie in the sky.
The stairway led to the colony, and Mads knew it was an ambush in the making. "Wrex, up front!" Mads ordered. It was best to have the meatloaf in front, let him soak up the bullets. "Mind your step, stay in formation!" Mads was barking out orders by the second. They had been dropped into a war zone, and there was no time for cheeky comments.
And true to Mads' theory, the Geth hoppers infested the walls like flies. They were fast bastards, but relatively easy to kill when they weren't jumping all around the place. But, when they stayed in formation, they were able to get through it. Although some colonists kicked the bucket during the fight. But, they pushed the Geth out of the stairs. Mads could only hope they would retreat and lick their wounds.
As they emerged from the gray corridors, it was seemingly calm inside the main part of the colony. "Alenko, get the rest of the marines out here. We'll need them." Mads ordered.
Kaiden saluted. "Yes sir!" He replied and ran back to get the marines from the Normandy. The people in the colony were distressed, it was almost certain that this silent was no common anymore. But, as they saw the cavalry arriving, tension released from their shoulders. God only knew if about 20 men, however experienced they may be, could turn the turn in this battle.
The colonists pointed the way to Fai Dan, their supposed leader. On the way there, Mads could see that the colony was in a bad way. He wanted to help, but the mission took priority. That's how it always was. The colonists were enjoying a well deserved break. There was no telling when the Geth decided to try their luck again. Mads spotted Fai Dan starting on the edge of the colony, he was speaking to a woman, who appeared to be a part of the colony's militia.
"Are you Fai Dan?" Mads asked as he came up to the aging man. Fai Dan quickly turned around.
"Oh thank god! We have been waiting for reinforcement for so long! And yes, I'm Fai Dan." Fai Dan did sound relieved, but there was something under the surface. Mads couldn't place it, but something was not quite right in this colony.
"We came as soon as we could-" Before Mads could finish his sentence, the woman interrupted him.
"A bit too late. We sent our distress signal over a week ago!" Her tone was harsh and angry. It was understandable.
"Arcelia, calm down!" Fai Dan ordered. She backed down immediately. "I'm sorry, but we are all a little on the edge… I just realized I don't even know your name."
"Commander Romanov, Alliance Navy." Mads replied. He didn't like using his spectre status unless he needed to. People tend to get paranoid when the citadel's finest showed their faces. "What's the situation?" Mads asked.
"Well, we-" Before Fai Dan could continue, a huge bang was heard. It even rocked the very ground they were standing on. "Protect the heart of the colony!" Fai Dan yelled. The Geth were back for seconds.
Mads quickly gestured for his team to move and quickly reassured Fai Dan that every would be fine and that he would take care of it. The Geth were relentless, and without mercy for the colonists. No doubt Saren had ordered them to silence the colony, like he tired on Eden Prime. It only begged the question, what was so important about this colony?
Well, that question was put on hold as Mads happened to be in a position to observe the Geth. He had ordered the others to stand their ground while he tried to flank the flashlight heads. He took aim at one of the Geth, but failed to pull the trigger when he saw something interesting. The Geth appeared to be… Reloading it's rifle? But that didn't make any sense. Most weapons nowadays were supposed to have a heating system. But… That might explain why the Geth had tactical superiority. Most alliance soldiers would fire their weapons until they overheated, and be stuck waiting for them to cool down. The Geth must have developed a method of surpassing that problem. Either way, this Geth Trooper's time was up.
As the battle died down, Mads went in for a closer look at the rifle. The other's were busy trying to clear out any remaining Geth in the area. There wasn't much left of the Geth trooper, between the damage it took, and the self destruction it did, there was hardly anything left to tell it once was a Geth. But it's weapon survived the ordeal.
Mads took a moment to inspect it closer. And sure enough, it's design was foreign, yet familiar. It used some sort of reload based system. Keep the gun from overheated. Drawback was of course the limited ammunition it could carry. Mads brought it with him, perhaps alliance eggheads could reverse engineer it.
"All clear?" Mads asked as his team mates came back from their sweep of the area.
"Sir yes Sir." Garrus cheekily replied. He stopped up when he saw what Mads was holding. "Is that a Geth Assault rifle?" Garrus took a closer look.
"Indeed it is, but there is a kicker. But let's discuss back at HQ." Mads suggested. Garrus agreed and off they went.
20 minutes later
Heart of the colony, Make shift HQ.
Mads was looking over a map of the surrounding area. By the table was Fai Dan, his assistant Arcelia, and most of Mads' ground team. Mads was smoking a cigarette as he thought of what to do next. Most of the marines had been garrisoned for now, keeping the peace.
"So, run through the situation at hand." Mads requested.
"Well, as far as we know, the Geth are holding out here-" Fai Dan said as he pointed to a circle on the map. "It's where Exo-Geni used to have their HQ for this colony. You can take the skyline there, if you use your armored vehicle, I suspect you'll be there in no time." Fai Dan said, once again showing Mads where on the map he was talking about.
"And what about the general issues here at Zhu's hope?" Mads asked as he took another drag of his cigarette.
"Well, that's not really what's important." Fai Dan replied a bit anxiously. Mads sighed.
"Look, Fai Dan. I don't know how long it will take me to clear out those Geth at the Exo-Geni HQ. I'd rather I leave this colony in good hands and well cared for. My marines can tend to most practical problems." Mads explained.
"Well… Okay. The Geth are in the underground as well. Some of my colonists told me they appear to be guarding something. If you can clear them out, maybe we'll have a fighting chance… We also have problems with food, water and power. But I don't know the full details of it all. Ask the colonists around here if you want to help." Fai Dan informed.
"Riesman." Mads called out. Martin came running up to him.
"Yes sir?" He asked.
"Take 3 men with you, your pick, and check out what's happening with the power supply." Mads ordered. Martin saluted and ran off to get some people.
"Kaminski!" Mads then yelled. Daniel came up. "Tend to the wounded as best you can. Coordinate with Chakwas on the Normandy." Mads ordered. Daniel nodded and saluted.
"Alenko!" Kaidan qucikly came up to the table. "Solve the Geth problem in the underground. Take a handful of men with you." Mads ordered as he took another drag of his cigarette.
"But sir, where do we start?" Kaidan asked.
"Ask the locals for directions. Now, up on your bike and fuck off." Mads meant it light heartily. Kaidan knew his commanding officer well enough to know how it was meant.
"Williams!" Mads yelled, and she was there within a second. "Take a handful of marines with you, and solve the water and food shortage. Coordinate with Lt. Alenko if need be." Mads ordered.
"Yes sir!" She replied and off she went.
"Rest of you, come with me. We'll check in with the Geth problem up the hill." Mads ordered as he put out his cigarette in the ashtray.
30 minutes later.
Skyline.
"Commander, I'm getting a radio signal." Tali said. They weren't that far from the base. They had gotten the Mako out of the hold of the Normandy, and were currently cruising towards the former Exo-Geni HQ. The team being: Mads, Garrus, Tali, Liara and Wrex. They others were busy fixing issues back at the colony. Mads had ordered all of them to stay in radio contact.
"What is it?" Mads asked as he continued to drive up the skyline. It was heavily populated by Geth, but there were no problem when you were in a MAKO. God bless the eggheads that designed it.
"I'll try to clear it up." Tali remarked as she typed in a few commands on the console before her. In no time at all, she had cleared the broadcast into some audible.
"It's only been a couple of days, she could still be alive!" A woman argued.
"We don't know that. We simply can't risk any more people." A man replied coldly.
Then, whoever was speaking on the short wave radio, seemed to notice their presence. "Wait, our senors are picking up a vehicle coming our way… It's not Geth." It was the same woman as before.
"Sssshhh! They might be listening in!" The man ordered.
"They aren't wrong." Mads remarked with a smile. He came to a ramp, and noticed there was a small entrance to a place down under. He realized it must be the place the people were hiding. He stopped the MAKO and ordered his team mates out. He equipped his rifle, just in case, you never know.
Slowly but surely, they made their way down the ramp. Mads could see some boxes stacked on one another in an attempt to create a make shift barrier/Cover for whoever was on the other side. A guard was pointed their gun at them, and in an attempt to appear friendly, Mads put his rifle on his back and walked down with his hands raised.
"Woah, easy there cowboy." Mads remarked as he came closer. The guard seemed to ease up as he saw that it was humans.
"Wait, is it the alliance?" A woman asked. Mads instantly recognized the voice as the same one from the radio. Mads took a few steps forward.
"In all our glory, 'Mam." Mads replied with a cheeky smile. He saw the situation became a lot more calm with that announcement, and decided to lower his hands. "Tell, what's the situation? We were hoping to kick out the Geth from the HQ." Mads then asked.
The Asian man behind the woman looking nervously at the other Exo-Geni workers. Mads made a mental note of this. He was still very much in the dark. It seemed like a weird place to set up HQ for the Geth. "Well… The Geth have the place locked down. I think they are using their ship to power a field to keep everyone out, and the place is crawling with them. We barely made it out, and we have been under siege ever since." The woman replied.
"What's your name, 'mam?" Mads asked curiously.
"Juliana Baynham. We're all employed by Exo-Geni." She smiled, she turned around and said: "This is my co-worker, Simon Jeong. He is a bit on edge… Well, we all are."
"That's understandable. But it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Baynham. I'm Commander Romanov, with the alliance navy. If you have any information you have that is relevant to the mission, I'm all ears." Mads suggested.
"Well, I don't know why they set up camp there, or if they are looking for something. They are there in big numbers. The building is a ruin, re-purposed to serve Exo-Geni's needs. There is not much else I can tell you." She replied.
"And Exo-Geni needs are?" Mads then asked.
"Observation of the colony, at least as far as I can tell." She answered. Mads could not see any signs of lying on her part.
"Thanks for the information." Mads said and shook her hand.
"Also, while you are there, could you please keep an eye out for my daughter? She is unaccounted for." Juliana requested.
"There is no way she survived. We'll do a proper search for bodies once the situation has calmed down." Simon said.
"How can you say such a thing?" Juliana snapped. She was clearly concerned about her daughter, but then again, it would be weird if she wasn't.
"What is your daughter's name?" Mads asked. He could not promise anything, but he would keep an eye out.
"Lizbeth!… Her name is Lizbeth..." Juliana replied.
"Okay, I'll look for her when we get there. Okay?" Mads asked as he put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. It seemed to do it's magic.
"Thank you..." She said under her breath. It was bearly audible, but Mads was close enough to pick it up.
"Just remove the Geth, and nothing more. Don't go looking through our company's files!" Jeong demanded with a pointed finger.
"I'll do whatever is necessary to complete the mission at hand, Mr. Jeong. Do you have a problem with that?" Mads asked as he slowly stepped closer to Jeong. The man must have been scared by the size and look of Mads, because he took several steps backwards.
"Sure! I don't have any problems with that!" Jeong quickly affirmed.
"Good." Mads said. "Team, we move out in five mikes!" Mads ordered. They responded with an affirmative answer.
"Ground team 2, this is Big Duke 6. What's the status at Zhu Hope and mission assignment? Over." Mads asked into his ear piece as he gave fire to a cigarette he had fished out of his pack moments before.
"Good status. Alpha Varren is dealt with, as is the Geth presence in the tunnels. Kaidan and the team destroyed a transmitter. Water and power issues still stand. Over." It was Kaminski on the other side. That meant that 50% of the issues were solved.
"Anything else to report? Over." Mads asked.
"Nothing at the moment… Expect..." Kaminski was pondering over something.
"Spit it out. Over." Mads interrupted.
"The colonists are acting strange. They're… I don't know, like they aren't really feeling themselves? They seem to be in pain too… Over." Kaminski explained. Mads took a drag of his cigarette as he thought about what Kaminski said.
"Keep an eye on them. Report back anything strange. How copy, over?" Mads asked.
"Good copy. I'll get on it. Kilo 3 over and out."
"Good. Big Duke 6 out."
"I don't know Romanov… I don't see how we'll get out again." Garrus vented his thoughts as they looked for a way in. They had found what they desired, but getting out seemed to be another issue.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Mads replied.
"What bridge?" Garrus asked confused.
"It's a human expression. Meant to say that we'll deal with that problem once we are done." Mads explained. It was sometimes easy to forget that Garrus was, in fact, alien. Even with Translators, communication could be an issue. The same thing happened with Tali during their conversations in the engineer department.
But, they were on an important mission. Time was not on their side, so they had to get this done ASAP. Mads' earpiece sprang to life the moment he went down the hole that would lead them into the former headquarters of ExoGeni. "Big Duke 6, It's Kilo 3. Please copy. Over." It was Kaminski's voice on the other line.
"This is Big Duke 6. Good copy on our end. What's the situation? Over." Mads asked as he tried to focus both on what Kaminski had to say, as well as the situation at hand.
"All issues dealt with at base camp. What's the next order? Over." Kaminski asked on the other end.
"Regroup and garrison the camp until we return. I'll give further orders then. Kaidan is CO if I can't be raised. How copy? Over" Mads asked further, they reached what appeared to be a rather large opening.
"Good copy. Kilo 3 over and out." Kaminski replied.
Before Mads could respond with his own 'over and out', He noticed that he opening was filled with several Varren, currently trying their best to reach the high ground that Mads & Co was standing on. "Woah" Mads remarked as he looked down at the blood thirsty creatures, scraping the very concrete with their claws.
"Weapons free." Mads ordered as they began to shoot the Varren like fish in a barrel. There was another expression that was human in nature… Didn't matter. The group of Varren didn't stand a chance against the combined firepower of the squad. They were put down in no time at all. "Check the area for anymore hostiles. We move out once sector is clear. Understood?" Mads asked as he looked at them.
"Yes sir!" They almost said in union. Wrex simply gave a nod, like the Krogan he is. Mads took the time to phone in his copy of what Kaminski had said a minute or so prior. It didn't take long before Wrex came back with another human in tow. Mads was confused at first, but decided to see who this female was.
Wrex almost threw her on the ground, alongside a cheap pistol. "Found her hiding behind a wall over there-" Wrex pointed to a place behind them. "- She was halfway to denting my armor with that thing." He laughed as it was a good joke.
Mads raised an eyebrow and went to pick up the pistol. "Mind telling me your name mrs?" He asked calmly as he inspected the firearm.
" Lizbeth… Lizbeth Baynham… I'm sorry, I was just scared one of the Geth would find me." Lizbeth explained, and it clicked with Mads that this must be the missing daughter from ExoGeni camp.
"And why are you not at the camp with all the others?" Mads then asked. Her eyes lit up.
"Th-They're alive?" She asked back.
"Sure they are, alongside your mother. But, you need to fill me in here." Mads demanded.
"I-I… I got lost, and couldn't get there… I thought they were dead!" She said. Mads could see right through her. His bullshit detector had grown and was probably one of the best in the galaxy.
"Wanna try again?" Mads asked coldly.
"What?" She asked back, confused.
"You're lying to me. Come on, come clean." Mads ordered.
"Well… I did-… I stayed back to secure some data. Here-" She handed Mads an ID card of some sort. Mads inspected it while she continued defending her case. Mads seemed happy with the answer.
"Okay, hold on." He stopped her. His hand pressed on his ear piece. "Kilo 3, come in. This is Big Duke 6. Over." Mads said.
A few seconds passed. "This is Kilo 3. What's the situation? Over." Kaminski asked.
"Can you do a pick up? We have someone who needs to be extracted to a safe place? Over." Mads asked.
"Negative Big Duke 6. Geth are attacking again, and the colonists are acting strange. They refuse to let me take a look at their wounded, and they aren't cooperating with us. Over." Mads took note of the expression on Lizbeth's face. It was shock, or something very similar.
"Copy that Kilo 3. Do some field observations, if anything else, ask Kaidan. Understood?" Mads asked.
"Yes sir. Over." Kaminski replied.
"Good. Big Duke 6 out."
"Kilo 3 over and out."
"Wrex." Mads turned his graze to the big Krogan. "You're on guard duty for the girl." Mads ordered. Wrex snarled.
"I have bigger things to do than guarding some damsel in distress." He replied, less than pleased.
"Is this going to be a problem, Wrex?" Mads asked as he stepped up to the Krogan. While Mads was 6'5 feet tall, the Krogan was still quite a bit larger than him, and sturdier build. Built like a fucking meatloaf… Mads thought.
"Maybe it will be." Wrex remarked as he looked down on Mads. That pissed off Mads more than he could describe.
"If I -"Mads pointed to himself "-order you to guard some girl, however insignificant she may seem, YOU FUCKING GUARD THAT GIRL! Understood?" Mads raised his voice to the point it echoed throughout the large room. Wrex seemed impressed that Mads was willing to step up to him.
"Understood." Wrex said in a low voice.
"Good, now we can proceed." Mads remarked, followed by a sigh.
They had just witnessed a Krogan trying to activate a VI, to no avail. The conversation would probably have been quite funny, if it wasn't for the Krogan trying to kill them once he realized they were there. Of course, they made short work of him. But, this opened up a new door for them. The VI required an ID badge in order to give any sort of information.
Mads used the ID card he had gotten from Lizbeth to access the information the Krogan was trying to access. What he learned shocked not just him, but also the others in his team. Of course ExoGeni was running test on the colonists. Some sort of plant was controlling their mind, scary stuff. There was a silver lining. Lizbeth had been in protest of the way ExoGeni did this experiment. That was enough to stop Mads from beating the shit out of her.
He didn't have time to take up the discussion with her right then and there. The Geth were still in the building, alongside several Krogan. Wrex had commented, that the Krogan smelled wrong, like they were without a clan. Mads had just assumed that Saren had hired several Krogan gun for hires, but maybe this rabbit hole ran deeper.
"Alright, let's not dwell on it. Better keep moving." Mads ordered after he finished inspecting the Krogan. The place was filled with enemies. They moved lightly, and checked every corner. They dealt with the Geth every time they encountered them. Mads was beginning to feel proud of them. They were growing in their combat skills, they could effectively move by themselves under stress, they didn't need his orders all the time. Some of them were better than others, sure. Liara still had a long way to go, and Tali had some self consciousness issues that needed to be worked over.
Mads stopped his line of thought as he saw something highly peculiar. They had gained some high ground, but Mads had ordered them to move silently. He hoped to get the drop any unsuspecting Geth. But, as they came into another room, they saw one of the claws of the Geth ship. But, what was interesting, was how it appeared they were worshiping it. Kneeling before it.
"I didn't know they had a God." Garrus remarked as he looked on.
"They shouldn't!" Tali replied. "They're machines!" She argued.
"Whatever the case may be, shall we interrupt Sunday mass?" Mads jokingly asked. They agreed. It was weird to be sure, and Mads made a mental note of it. But, they still had to defuse the situation at hand. No time to wonder about mysteries.
They had the drop on them for sure. The Geth had been to busying kneeling in front of their.. Makeshift altar to even be aware of possible hostiles in the area. That suited Mads just fine, but of course, a question was stuck in the back of his head. Was it not immoral to interrupt another worshiping? The thought could be dismissed with the simple argument that these… Things, did not have the ability to worship, but, there they were. Plain as day. Mads went to Church every now and then, mostly the Church of the Savior on Blood, located where his ancestor, Alexander the Second was killed. It was only a short walk from his apartment. How would he feel if someone came into the Church, guns blazing?
He stopped himself before he humanized the Geth more than his fragile morality could handle. He took a deep breath and went back into the mindset that was installed in him back in Spetsnaz boot camp. The mission takes priority.
"Any Mission, Any Time, Any Place"
And with that mindset in place, he descended upon the unsuspecting Geth. Tearing their robotic limbs from each other. Rolling over the bodies, he found no further evidence of Worship apart from what they saw before. That suited Mads just fine.
"Tali! Get to work on fixing this problem!" Mads ordered as he kept an entire horde of Geth at bay with the help of Garrus and Wrex. They were throwing every number they had at the job. Tali quickly got to work solving how they cut the power from the Geth ship. Her mind raced with possible solutions, but time was scarce.
"Ehhh…. Maybe use the shuttle door? I overheard some say that it was a bit glitchy… Maybe you could use that?" Lizbeth suggested. Tali mentally slapped herself, how come she didn't think of that? She quickly went to the console that controlled the shuttle doors. Sure enough, there was a notepad saying that too much power would make them snap shut way faster than normally.
Tali went to work on getting enough pressure. It took some seconds, but she finally got the combination right. The door snapped shot, taking the arms of the Geth ship with it. She could hear how the Geth ship lost it's strength and went hurdling down towards the ground many miles below.
Mads was too busy holding off the Geth in the corridor to really notice Tali's accomplishment. He barked a few orders to Garrus and Wrex, but they handled the situation just fine. Wrex had even begun to push the Geth back a bit. Mads yelled out to Wrex to watch out, as he pulled the pin out of a grenade. Wrex, being the Krogan he is, couldn't care less.
The grenade went off, and Wrex just soaked up a good chunk of shrapnel. "Blyat! Are you okay?" Mads asked with great worry as he ran up to inspect Wrex.
Wrex just chuckled as he looked over to Mads. "That was nothing. I have experienced much worse." Wrex replied with laughter.
"You're fucking crazy." Mads laughed back. But, the Geth had been cleared out. With that issue sorted out, Mads looked back to see if Tali succeed in her assignment. And she sure did. The shuttle doors had been shut, and there was no Geth ship in sight.
"Nice work!" Mads remarked as he went up to Tali, Liara and Lizbeth.
"Thanks." Tali said, though it was more of a whisper. Mads only picked it up because he was so close to her.
"Let's head back to-"
"Calling Big Duke 6! This is Kilo 3. Calling Big Duke 6!" Mads' radio buzzed. Mads quickly pressed his earpiece to reply.
"This is Big Duke 6. What's the situation? Over" Mads asked concerned.
"The colonists have gone berserk! They began attacking us! Riesman is wounded in the leg. We have sought shelter in the Normandy" Kaminski answered. He was almost out of breath.
"Fuck! Alright…. Stay in the Normandy. Keep the doors closed. They can't do any damage with their small arms. We'll sort out the situation. How copy? Over." Mads asked. It must be that Thorian creature at work.
"Good copy. We'll stay put and await further orders. Kilo 3 over and out." Kaminski replied.
"Big Duke 6 out." Mads said into his ear piece. He took a deep breath. At least his crew was safe in the Normandy. His attention then locked on Lizbeth. Mads was boiling with anger in that moment.
"You better tell me everything you know of the Thorian!" He demanded. Lizbeth looked shocked… But not confused.
"Well… Ehhhh..." She was hesitant. Probably trying to cover her own ass.
"My men are being attacking by colonists under the fucking spell of a goddamn plant. I want bloody answers, and I want them NOW!" Mads yelled in her face and shook her a bit.
"The Thorian is an old creature. It uses it's vast massive sensory network and releases pores into the air, which in turn start to bend the colonists to it's will. It's at least 50.000 years old, and it spends it's time creating puppets for itself! Is that good enough?!" She yelled back. Mads looked at her, she was breathing heavily.
"Yeah… That's good enough." Mads replied calmly. "Let's get out of here, and let's have a little chat with the ExoGeni employees." Mads ordered to the rest of them. "We'll even get you reunited with your mother." Mads promised her.
They pulled up outside the place the ExoGeni employees were hold up. Mads turned off the engine of the mighty MAKO, and looked back at the others. "Alright, we're here. Let's not turn this into a bloodbath. But, I want everyone to be ready in a jiffy. Got it?" Mads asked. They all nodded. "Then let's do this." Mads said as he climbed out of the Mako. He unholstered his 44. Magnum and kept it tight in his hands. Wrex was escorting Lizbeth, keeping his eye trained on her at all time.
Garrus was just behind Mads, alongside Tali and Liara. When they came down the ramp, they saw that the situation in the ExoGeni camp was tense. Simon was pointing a gun at Juliana, accusing her of everything that had gone wrong.
"Put the gun down, Jeong!" Mads ordered as he joined the standoff. Kepeing his magnum firmly pointed at Jeong.
"You! You ruined everything!" Jeong yelled. Clearly, he was trying to cover his own ass in that situation.
"Don't do anything stupid Jeong!" Mads suggested, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"The Thorian will ruin us! ExoGeni will tie up loose ends and bury us! Unless I stop all of you from talking!" Jeong seemed like the Cartoon villian who would explain in great details his master plan. Mads sighed.
"You want to take the fight to dozens of colonists fucked up on Thorian spores, a squad of marines and a god damn warship? With that fucking peashooter?" Mads asked. "Look Jeong, we can work this out, like proper business men." Mads had to try something, but he had an idea in mind.
"What?" Jeong asked, as he turned his attention to Mads.
"Look, you and I can discuss how we fix this situation. Just the two of us, alright? All you have to do, is lower that gun. I promise you, my solution is a thousand times better than what you intent to do right now." Mads promised. Jeong seemed hesitant at first, but he could see that Jeong was loosing his grip on the gun. "Look, we'll go over to that corner-" Mads took one hand of his magnum and pointed to the other side of the room. "- And we'll talk, okay? No funny business, just two people having a fucking conversation, alright?" Mads asked.
Jeong finally yielded. He lowered his gun. "Okay, we can talk." Jeong said. Mads made a sigh of relief. They went off into the other corner, to discuss Mads' potential business plan.
Tali eagerly watched Mads and Jeong talking over in the corner of the room. Mads' arms were flying around to illustrate each point he made to Jeong. If Tali had more knowledge regarding human body language, she could probably get a good idea of what they were talking about. Quarians almost had to depend entirely on understanding body language. It was a big part of their culture, in her opinion, humans kind of took it for granted.
She looked on. She noticed a few things that carried over, like Mads illustrating a gun pointed to his head, and him slicing his throat with his finger. The conversation seemed to get quite heated at point, but then it calmed right down.
"What do you think they are talking about?" Garrus asked as he poked her in the side. She slapped his on his arm, and Garrus made a joke gesture pretending to be hurt.
"I don't know. Human body language seems very foreign." She replied as she turned his attention back to Mads and Jeong.
"You're trying to read their body language?" Garrus asked again.
"You don't?" She asked back.
"Not really. I'd figure that Romanov is threatening that little prick." Garrus theorized.
"No..." Tali replied. "The language is way too calm for that. I think he is pitching Jeong a deal." Tali said.
"A deal? Really?" Garrus then asked with a confused voice.
"Yeah. Look at Jeong-" She pointed at Jeong. "-He seems to ponder on each and every point that Romanov puts across. But I don't know what kind of deal." Tali explained.
"Probably a pardon of some kind, but why would Romanov offer that to him? He doesn't really have a good track record of being kind to people he doesn't like." Garrus argued.
"I don't know." Tali remarked.
"Let me get it straight-" Jeong requested. Mads stopped talking and let Jeong go ahead. "You want us to not only keep our post here, but you want us to increase spending?" Jeong asked.
"Yes." Mads replied in a straight forward voice.
"I still don't know see how that would work." Jeong admitted.
Mads sighed. "Look, through Economy insights, I'll invest a huge sum of money. I'll even enter dialog with the CEO of ExoGeni to clear up any… Misunderstandings. However, if you increase the profit of this colony, and show off how it not only survived a Geth Attack, but thrived afterwards, you have yourself some damn good PR and marketing. People think settling with ExoGeni is a better choice, and they'll chose you over competitors. More customers means more revenue, more revenue means more investors, more investors means the stock price will increase, the stock price increase, and I'll make a nice profit, and you'll not get your ass sacrificed at the alter of cutting corners." Mads explained.
"That could work… But the colonists will probably ruin the whole thing! T-They could talk!" Jeong argued.
"I'm not going to kill the bloody colonists. I'll put them to sleep with some tear gas I have in the MAKO. We can probably convince them that this had nothing to do with ExoGeni, but rather the Geth awakening the Thorian. Sound good?" Mads asked. Jeong took a moment to chew on it.
"Yes. That sounds good." They shook hands on it.
Mads had followed through on his promise to deliver Lizbeth back to her mother. Watching them hug hit home perhaps a bit too much. Mads excused himself as he went back up to the MAKO. He was quietly smoking a cigarette as he waited for the others to join him. It didn't take long before the others joined him at the MAKO.
"Alright fellers. We now have a rather dangerous situation at hand. We have over a dozen colonists brainwashed by a fucking plant. And they are currently laying siege to the Normandy. Our current objective is to neutralize the threat… Any questions?" Mads asked after explaining the situation to them.
"How are we going to deal with the colonists? Do we shoot to kill?" Garrus asked from the sideline.
"Nope-" Mads said as he turned around and took something from the MAKO. "-We'll use this!" Mads proudly showed off the gas canister thrower. "This beauty throws tear gas. We'll use this to neutralize the colonists. But I don't want any of you to kill them unless absolutely necessary. Do I make myself clear?" Mads asked. They were silent, and Mads took that as they understood the mission at hand. "Remember to wear your helmets and have it suck off your personal oxygen supply. You inhale this shit, and you'll have a bad day." Mads reminded them.
20 minutes later
Zhu's hope.
Mads watched as they mopped up the last colonists. His plan of utilizing tear gas had paid off. They hadn't killed a single person, though the colonists will probably feel like they are in pure agony for the next 20 minutes or so. Still, they had killed plenty of creepers, as Garrus had nicknamed them, They seemed to be the spawn of the Thorian. Which reminded Mads, they had an appointment with it.
Mads looked around, and remembered that the Thorian was supposed to be located underneath Zhu's hope. Which meant that the crane stationed near them, had to have some sort of part in it. Mads quickly walked over there to take a look at it.
Mads cursed his own lack of understanding of the modern technology. Ever since he woke up, he felt like the oldest person in the universe. He used to think he was pretty alright when it came to IT, but now? Now he felt like that Grandpa across the street who couldn't grasp the nature of a touch device.
"Romanov!" Garrus called out. Mads' eyes snapped to Garrus, who was pointing his rifle at the very leader of the colony, Fai Dan. Fai Dan had a pistol in his hand, and was probably intending to use it. Mads quickly pulled out his Magnum and pointed it at the leader.
"Drop the fucking gun!" Mads ordered. He kept a steady aim. Fai Dan was still slowly moving towards them, but he hadn't raised his gun yet. "You got a clear shot?" Mads asked to Garrus.
"I can take him down right now." Garrus affirmed.
"Non lethal! Aim for the right shoulder!" Mads reminded him.
"Copy." Garrus replied calmly.
"It… It wants me to-" Fai Dan was fighting the influence it had over him, but it was painful, Mads could see that. Mads felt sympathetic to the man. "-to kill you. It wants me to obey." Fai Dan was grinding his teeth as he said this. Clearly the Thorian was trying it's damnest to kill them.
"But I won't!" Fai Dan proclaimed as he raised the gun, but instead of aiming it at them, he began to raise it to his own head.
"NOW GARRUS!" Mads yelled. Garrus took the shot and landed a bullet in Fai Dan's shoulder. Fai Dan dropped the gun and fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Mads quickly ran over to Fai Dan and kicked the gun away. Then, he could tend to Fai Dan's wound.
"Liara!" Mads summoned her over to them. He was busy trying to get some Medi-gel on Fai Dan's wound.
"Yes?" Liara asked as she came running up to them.
"Hail the Normandy and tell them the situation has calmed down and that we need some people out here to fully secure the colony." Mads ordered. Liara quickly acknowledged the order and went on carrying it out.
"Tali! You get that crane working and clear us a path to the Thorian!" Mads ordered as he pointed to the crane in question. Tali too acknowledged what he said and went to work.
"So… What are we going to do when we find it?" Garrus asked as they descended down the stairs.
"Well, hopefully we can-" Mads stopped himself when he saw what was in front of them. The Thorian, in all it's glory. Mads could hardly believe that it was supposed to be a plant. It looked disgusting.
"черт возьми…." Mads muttered to himself as he saw the thing.
"The fuck is that supposed to be?" Garrus asked in disbelief as he watched it.
"Looks like a fucking tumor." Mads remarked as he stepped closer.
"I really don't like this." Tali commented as Mads stepped closer. She felt danger right around the corner. There was almost a small pathway right up to the Thorian. When Mads was just a few feet away from the creature… Or plant, he waved his hand wildly in front of it.
"Hello? Anyone home?" He asked as he slowly pulled his magnum out of his holster. Then, the most disgusting sound came from the creature. Like slime being rubbed on organic material. Then, something seemed to come out of the Thorian mouth… Or whatever that hole was used for.
It was a green skinned Asari, which Mads had never seen before. She fell on her knees, but slowly stood up straight. Mads kept his gun in his hand, but not directly pointed at her. "Erh… Hello?" Mads asked again.
"Invaders! Your every step is a transgression. A thousand feelers appraise you as meat, good only to dig or decompose. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands that you be in awe!" The Asari demanded..
"In awe of a fucking plant? Ohhh that's rich. Look little lady, I came for the same thing you gave to Saren. Now, I'd suggest you hand it over and save us the trouble." Mads replied.
"Saren sought knowledge of those who are long gone. The old growth listened to flesh for the first time in the long cycle. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing the flesh that would tend the next cycle. Flesh fairly given! The old growth sees the air you push as lies! It will listen no more!" The Asari explained
"Listen here Asari, Thorian or whatever the fuck you are, you better release those colonists and give me the damn information or bad things are going to happened. Understood?" Mads asked.
"No more will the Thorian listen to those that scurry. Your lives are short, but have gone on for too long" The Asari preached.
"Fuck this." Mads said as he pointed the magnum at her head, and pulled the trigger. The hole was probably the size of a tennis ball, but that wasn't the interesting part, the interesting part was the fact that it wasn't red blood that came from the wound, like Asari had, but rather some sort of green slime.
The Thorian didn't like that. It let out something akin to a screech. Probably summoning it's loyal subjects to come fight for their master. Mads thought quick, and realized that this… Plant, probably needed more than bullets to die.
"Tali, Liara!" Mads summoned them, and they quickly went over to him." You two take out the support!" Mads pointed to the Thorian's… Arms? Tentacles? Whatever they were, Tali and Liara understood what he meant. "Wrex, Garrus! You guys help me protect them!" Mads ordered.
It worked like clockwork. The combined firepower of Tali's shotgun and Liara's rifle made short work of the arms, and Mads, Wrex and Garrus assured them breathing room to do the work. The Thorian mostly used it's creepers to protect itself, but every now and then, it would spawn another one of those Asari clones.
They went up the levels, taking out all hostiles and making sure that the Thorian was having a harder and harder time keeping it's weight hanging up. It would only be a matter of time before it would collapse and fall down to the dark void below.
Mads watched in pure satisfaction as the Thorian did just that, fall. It let out a final cry before it fell. Mads chuckled a bit. Finally, it was over. It was done. Mads wasted no time gifting himself a cigarette for the trouble. He was just about to give fire to it, when he heard something from the wall behind him. There was another… Thing on the wall. It looked like a tumor as well, but suddenly it popped like a pimple, and out came an Asari. Flowing with the green fluid. She was the same Asari they had battled just before… Only her skin appeared purple this time around.
Of course, Mads didn't want to take any chances, so he aimed his gun at her. She seemed to slowly regain conscious. Mads made sure her eye sight was trained completely on the barrel of his gun, nothing else.
"I have killed 10 of you today, don't make it 11." Mads demanded. Looking her in the eye. She slowly nodded her head, acknowledging what he said, and showing her own desire to… well, not die. "Alright. So, I assume you won't kill me?" Mads asked.
"You assume correctly… Mister?" The Asari replied. Mads scanned her face for any detection of a lie, but found nothing. He slowly lowered his gun.
"Commander Romanov. Alliance Navy. And you are?" Mads asked.
"I'm Shiala, I'm with…. I was with Matriarch Benezia." Shiala explained herself.
Interesting choice of words. Mads thought. "And therefore also under Saren?" Mads asked.
"I was, when Saren got what he wanted, he left me here and tried to erase all evidence with his Geth troops. I served under Matriarch Benezia. She joined Saren to guide him on a gentler path" Shiala answered.
"I suppose that did not work out then, huh?" Mads asked with a smile.
"Well Saren has a way of controlling you when you get in too deep with him. It has something to do with his flagship, a giant vessel named Sovereign." Shiala explained.
"That's troubling, I have seen this warship, but if it really has such powers?" Mads spoke to himself. That line of thought got him deeply concerned. "That brings me to my next question. What did Saren want with the Thorian?" Mads asked.
"The cipher. It is what it means to be Prothean, it is their history, language, culture and so on. When you gain the cipher, you are more likely to make sense of the visions in the beacons. I was offered as a sacrifice to the Thorian, Saren needed my biotics to communicate with it and gain the cipher. I gave Saren the cipher afterwards" Shiala explained.
"I know this must sound weird, but I need that cipher, so is it possible for you to give it to me as well?" Mads asked.
"Yes Commander" Shiala replied with a smile.
Shiala took a few steps forward to Mads and spoke some verse about how we are all connected and other bullshit the Asari liked to preach about.
"Embrace eternity!" Shiala said with her eyes pitch black.
Several vision flooded Mads' brain, they made more sense that the previous ones, but still hard to explain and understand. It all happened… So fast. Time had stood still, but the information gained was… Almost unbearable. Mads came back into the physical world and quickly got his bearings again. Though he did earn a headache for his troubles.
Shiala looked at him as with confusion. Mads wondered for a second what she was thinking.
"I have given you the cipher, just as it was given to Saren. The ancestral memories of the Protheans are a part of you now" Shiala explained.
"Commander, are you alright?" Tali asked from the sideline, also deeply concerned about Mads' well being..
"I'm fine, I suppose I just need time to comprehend it" Mads replied.
"Indeed commander, it is a large bit of information." Shiala added.
"That leaves only you, Shiala. What are you going to do now?" Mads asked.
"If you will allow it, I would like to help the colony get back on its feet" Shiala requested. It struck Mads as weird at first, but he realized that she was no longer under Saren's spell. And she was an Asari after all, they liked to help and all that.
"A noble course, I'll allow it" Mads said.
"Thank you Commander. I promise I won't let you down." Shiala replied.
12 hours later.
Normandy medbay.
Mads knocked on the door to the medbay. He waited a few seconds for a response from Doctor Chakwas. She was quick to open the door for him. It was after main shift hours. During the night, or as close as it came to night on a space faring vessel, the Normandy operated on a skeleton crew.
"Good evening, Commander." Chakwas greeted in her usual British accent. Mads smiled.
"Good evening, Doctor. May I see Sergeant Riesman?" Mads requested.
"Of course. Kaminski is sitting with him right now." Chakwas gestured with her arm to the place they were. Mads nodded his head as a thank you to the doctor. Chakwas went back to the paperwork she had to do on the Terminal. Mads walked down to the bed Riesman was in.
Riesman had suffered a wound to his left leg. He would need rest for the next week or so. Which was understandable. "You alright kid?" Mads asked as he sat down next to Kaminski.
"I'm quite alright, Commander. Thank you for asking." Riesman replied.
"So, he is going to be alright?" Mads turned his attention to Kaminski, who was sitting beside him.
"I applied Medi-Gel just after he was shot. There is no real lasting damage to the nerves or the bone. But he did suffer some rather nasty tissue damage. Me and Chakwas managed to fix it right up. Give him a week rest and he should be back to speed." Kaminski summed up.
"Good work." Mads padded Kaminski on the shoulder. "We can't lose our main intelligence officer now, could we?" Mads chuckled.
"That's what I thought." Kaminski laughed back.
"Alright. If you are comfortable, then I'll be going again. Just wanted to check in. If you need anything, just ask." Mads promised.
"Thank you Commander." Riesman replied with a smile. "I would really like some alone time." Riesman requested.
"You heard him, Kaminski." Mads relayed the order.
"Sure thing pal. Just call Chakwas if there is anything." Kaminski said as he arose from his seat.
3 hours later.
Main mass hall.
Tali had known that it would become an issue in the long run. She had trouble sleeping. Not because the pods weren't comfortable, she could sleep just about anywhere, but it was mostly due to the lack of noise. Adams had just laughed at her when she mentioned it to her. She knew he wasn't trying to be rude. Humans thought differently than Quarians. The Migrant fleet was old, the oldest ships within it were from the pre-morning war period. Most of them were loud, but if they were loud, it meant they were working. For humans, it was the other way around. Their ships were new, and they were silent.
Tali was still pondering over what she should do. The lack of sleep was bad news in the end. She decided to spend her down time in the mass hall. No one would be there anyway. At this hour, about 70% of the crew was asleep.
But, her thoughts were interrupted by something she had not expected. Music. It was coming from the Mass Hall, and it wasn't just some radio playing. She could hear the person that sang along the tune he played on his instrument. She stood there, and listened for a while.
"In einem Bächlein helle,
Da schoss in froher Eil'
Die launische Forelle
Vorueber wie ein Pfeil.
Ich stand an dem Gestade
Und sah in süsser Ruh'
Des muntern Fishleins Bade
Im klaren Bächlein zu." Mads sang slowly. He stopped suddenly, and began fiddling with his device, or instrument. but Tali was wondering why her translator wasn't picking up any of the song's lyrics. Mads sighed as he continued to try his luck with the instrument.
"Ehhhh… Commander?" Tali raised his attention. Mads' head snapped to her direction.
"Oh, hey Tali. What's up?" Mads asked as he slowly put the instrument down and leaned back into his seat.
"What were you singing?" She asked as she went to sit in the seat in front of him. Mads laughed a bit.
"Die Forelle. It's an old German song. I quite like it, though traditionally it is playing on a piano. But I picked up this guitar back on the colony for a low price, and figured I'd give it a try." Mads replied as he took a sip of the drink he was having.
"A piano?" Tali asked confused. Mads chuckled as he put his glass back down.
"Yes, what I just used was a guitar. It's an instrument which you use these-" Mads pointed to the strings. "Six Strings to make musical notes.. Or so to say. I'm playing with tightness of them." Mads smiled as he explained it. "A piano on the other hand, that's an entirely different instrument. You use a type of… Keyboard to play notes." Mads explained. Tali nodded to signal that she understood. "Normally, you play the song on a piano, but since I don't have here, I figured this was the second best thing." Mads remarked.
"What's the song about?" She asked.
"It didn't translate?" Mads asked back.
"No. I didn't." She replied.
"I guess you don't have the expanded translation software. English is the unifying language of humans, but it's far from the only one." Mads said.
Tali looked confused at him, and despite the mask, Mads could see she was confused. "When I speak to you, Tali, I speak in English. A language that hails from the British isles back on Earth. Over the years, English grew to be the unifying language of Earth, but humans are probably the least unified race there is. We have so many languages, that it's hard to keep track of." Mads explained as he took another sip of his drink.
"So, I have to speak English, because most aliens don't have the expanded human language pack for their translators. English is not my native language, far from it in fact." Mads laughed. "So, when I speak to you in English, your translator translates it into Khelish, right?" Mads asked. She nodded. "If I were to speak to you in… Let's say Russian, which is my native language, you wouldn't understand it. Same with German." Mads said.
"Is German also your native language?" Tali asked.
"Well, my mother was German… Or rather Prussian, but German speaking, so… Yes I guess." Mads replied. Tali was dumbfounded. They had spoken so much during their short while together. He would often come down to engineering to talk to her, but they always talking about her, or her people. He never spoke of his own family. This was the first thing she had ever heard. She also noticed the other part of that statement… Was.
"So, what is the song about?" Tali asked again. Mads laughed.
"It's about a fisherman, who grows tired of trying to catch an illusive fish. The fish keeps outsmarting the fisherman, and stays in clear water. The Fisherman muddies the water, so the fish can't see. It doesn't realize until it is too late that it has swum into a trap. So, the Fisherman finally catches it." Mads explained.
"Is it supposed to be symbolic?" Tali asked.
"Maybe… How do you interpret the story, Tali?" Mads asked back. She thought about it for a while.
"It's between you and Saren. You are trying to catch him, but he always stays one step ahead. You are getting frustrated." She theorized. Mads leaned over the table.
"Who is the fisherman? And who is the fish? Who will outsmart who in the end?" Mads asked with a low voice.
"You. I believe you will." Tali said. Mads smiled.
"Maybe. Or maybe not. We'll see in the end." Mads said as he leaned back into his seat. "By the way, why are you up at this hour?" Mads asked as he took the liberty of granting himself a cigarette.
"Well… I can't sleep. You?" Tali asked back.
"Same situation here. Sleep is hard to come by." Mads replied.
"I find the ship is too quiet to allow me to sleep." She said.
"Too quiet? That's a weird reason for not being able to sleep." Mads remarked as he took a drag of his cigarette.
"That's the worst thing that can happen in the Migrant fleet. If things are quiet, that means something is broken. Most of our ships are old, and make a lot of noise. That's how we tell if something is wrong." Tali explained. Mads took another drag of his cigarette as he chewed on what Tali just said.
"Hmmm, I suppose that makes sense. Too bad that's not the situation here. I would say that you would probably get used to the quiet, but that would ruin your senses when you return to the Migrant Fleet." Mads said.
"That was what I was thinking as well!" Tali exclaimed.
"Great minds think alike." Mads laughed. "Anyway, my proposal is… That you download an audio file of an old engine running. Maybe that would fool you into sleeping?" Mads suggested. Tali thought about it for a moment, then snapped her fingers.
"That's a great idea!" She proclaimed in happiness.
"I have my moments." Mads replied.
"But… Why are you up? Because of the quiet too?" She asked.
"No, I just have trouble sleeping, that's all." Mads answered. "Nothing for you to worry about… How about I play another song? There is one I know very well." Mads suggested as he pulled back the guitar into his arms. Tali realized he dodged the question. He didn't want to talk about it.
But, Tali didn't want to press the issue. Instead, she leaned back and eagerly awaited for Mads to finished tuning his guitar the right way. It took a few minutes, but finally he got it.
"Someone told me long ago
There's a calm before the storm
I know it's been comin' for some time
When it's over so they say It'll rain a sunny day
I know shinin' down like water
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain?
I want to know
Have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?"" Mads sang on into the night. Tali eagerly listened to each song he picked. He certainly had a lovely voice, didn't he?
Translation time!
"черт возьми"= "Holy shit!"
The German song is named "Die Forelle" or "The Trout" in English.