X-57:
The Normandy had quickly entered Lightspeed after leaving Arcturus Station. Shepard knew what was at stake and they had a limited time for this mission so she had ordered Joker and Luke to take the fastest route to Terra Nova so they would have enough time to stop the Asteroid. She had also informed the crew of what was going on and they all quickly got to work fast. They knew that this mission was important and that they had to do their best to make sure that the Normandy would get to Terra Nova in time before millions of people were killed.
The trip would take a few hours which gave Shepard a bit of time to talk with one of her crewmembers. This was one crewmember that many were unsure of, the Krogan Mercenary Wrex. As a Krogan, he already had a reputation of being brutal and ruthless, many Krogan were known for being involved in criminal gangs but were still known to be good fighters. Shepard needed to know a bit more about Wrex as some of the crew were worried about having him on board.
Shepard found Wrex down in the Cargo horde. Wrex had made an area for himself over in the corner of the Cargo hold where he kept his personal weapons which he always kept with him at all times. When Shepard entered the Cargo hold, she found Wrex in the middle of a growling contest with Dik, the Wookie assistant of the Normandy's supply officer Zeplatuz. Both were making loud growls at each other until Wrex chuckled "Now your species is one that had the Warrior Spirit." Dik have a pleased growl but Wrex didn't understand what he was saying and then Zeplatuz called Dik over to help him load the supplies onto the Mako which Shepard would need.
Wrex looked over and saw Shepard walking over to him "Shepard" he greeted "So I hear that we're going to stop an Asteroid drop. During the Krogan rebellions, my people did that trick a few times which destroyed planets. The council has since forbidden acts like that and I agree with it, things like that just destroy planets which people need. There's little point in destroying a planet."
"So you agree with this mission?" Shepard asked
"Stopping Saren is a priority" Wrex stated "But this is just as important as the consequences of this action would affect you Republic badly and could even start a war. While that's good for mercenaries like us, it would just cause problems that we don't need. Besides, Saren could be involved in this."
"I not too sure on that" Shepard responded "This is more the work of Batarian Extremists."
"Yeah, but Saren could be using them to distract the Republic." Wrex suggested "He would do something like this; he's rotten to the core. I knew it as soon as a met him."
Shepard caught on that, Wrex had met Saren before this mission "Wait, you've met Saren before, why didn't you tell us that?"
"If I knew that it was important, I would have" Wrex stated "And I actually only recently found out that I've met this guy."
"I still would like to hear about it." Shepard stated
"This was a few years ago" Wrex started his story with Saren "A bunch of Mercs were bragging about a job on the edges of the Terminus Systems. They said that it paid well and the boss was never around to ride them. In fact, he only ever showed his face once and that's how I met him. We'd been raiding ships in the area for months and we caught this massive freighter, it was our biggest haul yet."
"Wait, why would Saren be raiding ships, that goes against being a Spectre?" Shepard stated
"I don't know why" Wrex stated "I didn't even know he was a Spectre. I didn't even know what he wanted with the ship. He was just moving around watching. A couple of the Mercs called him by name but he never responded. Never spoke to anyone. I had a really bad feeling about him so I got the hell out. I didn't even wait to get paid."
"What kind of ship was it and what was the cargo?" Shepard asked
"It was a Volus trading vessel. Big ship with lots of guards but they were no match for us" Wrex stated "As for the cargo, I didn't see much, all I saw was food and medical supplies. There were a few guns but nothing big. If there was anything valuable, I didn't see anything. That's why I didn't mention it sooner."
"And this is the only time you saw Saren?" Shepard questioned
"Yeah" Wrex replied "I didn't even know who he was and I wouldn't if I hadn't joined with you. And my instincts were right about him because every other Merc that was on that ship ended up dead within the week. Every one of them and that's why I know that Saren is rotten to the core and he has to be dealt with."
"I see" Shepard stated "Well I could already see that Saren was dangerous but it's clear he will betray his own allies as well. That makes him even worse."
"This is why he has to be dealt with." Wrex stated
"We'll find him but we have to deal with this Asteroid first." Shepard stated
Then Joker called over the Radio "Shepard, we're approaching Terra Nova, get your crew into the Mako and be prepared for the launch."
"Copy Joker" Shepard replied over her comm. "Tell Bau, Ashley and Liara to meet me at the Mako. Verbro and his team will be there along with me and Wrex."
…
The Normandy came out of lightspeed in the Asgard System. This was the second system in the Exodus cluster which was the same cluster where Eden Prime was located. There were four planets in the Asgard system and three of them were named after Norse Gods. The planet called Borr was a massive Hydrogen-Helium gas giant that had over 90 moons and its mass was 6 times of Sol's largest planet of Jupiter. Borr was the only gas giant in the Asgard system and while mining is difficult due to Borr's deep gravity well, it is an important planet for creating fuel for the colony.
The furthest planet is the system was the planet Loki named after the Norse God of mischief. This small terrestrial planet had little to recommend settlement as one hemisphere is covered in a thick ice cap and the other by craggy basaltic highlands. Scans of the planet have revealed many tunnels beneath the Ice cap which have been concluded to have been formed by natural means. Loki's thin atmosphere was made up of Krypton and Xenon which made the planet unsuitable for colonization.
The planet of Tyr was like Earth but had an atmosphere made of nitrogen and ethane and while Terraforming was an option, the nearby planet of Terra Nova made Tyr more of a supporting role. However, there was still a colony of Tyr as many corporations have made vast mining networks which make Tyr a good colony with a population of about 47,000.
But the main planet in the system was the closest planet to the Sun, Terra Nova. Terra Nova was one of the first planets to have been created by the Republic and has the highest population of any Republic colony of about 10 million. Although Terra Nova is banded by a harsh desert, the land close to the Poles are temperate and after the discovery of platinum, there was a rush to the colony which made the colony grow even bigger by about 30% in the last twelve years and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. As Terra Nova was the largest Republic colony, it was probably the reason why the Batarians had decided to attack the colony.
...
Shepard and her team waited in the Mako and they were able to hear what Joker was saying over the comm. "Shepard, the Normandy's sensors reveal 3 fusion torches are propelling Asteroid X-57. At its current rate of acceleration, X-57 will collide with Terra Nova in approximately four hours. Those torches must be deactivated for the Asteroid to stop moving."
Luke then called over "Commander, I'm getting a distress call from X-57; I'm patching it through to you."
Shepard activated the comm on her arm "Hello, I'm seeing your ship approaching on the scanners" female voice called "They haven't found me yet but I can't talk long, you need to shut down the fusion torches or millions of people will die" the comm then died and soon Joker was close enough to the Asteroid that the ramp was opened and Pekue drove the Mako down onto X-57's surface.
…
When the Mako came to a stop, Shepard had the team put on their breathing helmets as they wouldn't be able to breathe on the surface of this Asteroid or be protected from UV radiation. When the team was ready, Shepard ordered the back ramp of the Mako to be opened and Shepard along with Verbro and his two men, Westmoreland and Campbell left the Mako and brought out three 614-AVA Speeder bikes. These Bikes were small hovering bikes that were originally made by the Chiss. They were used for small scouting parties and were very fast. You had to be skilled to use them as if you went too fast then you would end up losing control of the bike and crashing. Verbro and his team had been in training to use these bikes.
"Verbro" Shepard stated "I need you and you team to scout around the area and help look for survivors. Our main objective is to stop the Fusion torches but I need you to scout the area and look for survivors. Also report any movement you see on these Batarians, I need to find out where their main base is as no ship has been seen leaving so they might still be here."
"Understood Commander" Verbro stated and then he and his team got on their speeder bikes and sped off while Shepard went back into the Mako.
"Shepard" Pekue stated "One of the Fusion torches is not too far from here. I'm heading there now."
"Do it" Shepard ordered and then the Mako began driving towards the first fusion torch.
…
Shepard and her team quickly arrived at the first Fusion torch. The controls for the torch were in a small building however the Batarians had managed to set up some defence turrets which started firing at the Mako. But Pekue was able to avoid the shots and Shepard quickly used the Mako's cannon to take out the cannons. Then Pekue stopped the Mako and Shepard and her team left the Mako and went inside the building.
The building looked like a small warehouse where there were supplies ready for mining. The controls for the Fusion Torch would be on the upper level but there were a few Batarians guarding the place. There was no time to hide as the Batarians brought some trained animals called Varren. These creatures were native to the Krogan homeworld but they recently had spread due to the Krogan and Batarians breeding them to use as War Beasts and when properly trained, they were great companions.
But these Varren were companions to the Batarians and two sniffed Shepard and her team before they could hide and they charged at them. But Wrex was ready and fired his shotgun which killed one of them and Liara used her biotics to throw the other one aside. Ashley fired up her machine gun along with Shepard while Bau used his Sniper rifle to take care of a few assault drones that the Batarians had brought along. When the Batarians were defeated, Shepard went up to the upper floor and found the controls for the Fusion torch. Thankfully the controls were still intact so she was able to switch the torch off.
Then the voice called her over her comm again "I'm reading that the torch is offline" she stated "Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you" Shepard responded "But who are you."
"My name is Kate Bowmen." The voice replied "I'm an engineer that was assigned to be part of the team that would bring this Asteroid to Terra Nova. A few days ago we were attacked by Batarian extremists and me and my brother have been hiding ever since. I have a feeling that they might know that the torch has been switched off."
"Why are the Batarians doing this?" Shepard questioned "They should know that an action like this would have extreme consequences."
"I don't know" Bowmen answered "But if this Asteroid isn't stopped then millions on Terra Nova will die. If I find out anything..." Kate stopped when she heard noises nearby "I have to go; they're nearby, good luck."
The radio then cut off leaving Shepard alone and she returned to her team. "Come on, we still have two more torches to shut down.
But just as they were about to leave the building, Shepard saw someone nearby "Hey?" she called
But this only startled the man who turned on him and fired his gun. But the shot was protected by Shepard's shields which made the man gasp in surprise "Oh god!" he gasped "I didn't mean to fire! You just startled me. Are you alright? I thought you were one of them"
"I'm okay, that shot wasn't enough to go through my shields" Shepard responded "I'm Commander Shepard, I'm with the Republic. I was sent here once I got word about what was going on."
"I'm Simon Atwell, the chief engineer on this rock" The man introduce himself "We don't have much time, you need to shut down the two remaining torches before we collide with Terra Nova. There are 10 million people down there including my family."
"I don't have time to do the maths in my head." Shepard stated "What will happen if I fail to stop this Asteroid."
"X-57 is 22 kilometres long which is double the size of the Asteroid that is said to have wiped out Earth's dinosaurs." Simon stated "It would be like millions of fusion bombs striking at once. This will be an extinction level event; the heat of the blast will ignite clothes at a thousand kilometres away. There will be global wildfires; air shock will flatten everything in sight. And then the dust created by the blast will block out Asgard for years. Terra Nova will die, not just the colony but the planet. Without the sight of Asgard all of the plants will die which will mean no food and then the animals will. The ecosystem won't recover for thousands of years, maybe even millions."
"Is there a chance it will land in the water?" Shepard asked
Simon shook his head "That will be just as bad." He stated "The impact will create massive tsunamis which will sweep inland at hundreds of miles an hour. Millions of tons of water will also be evaporated which would mean global cloud coverage and the plants will die again."
Bau looked at Simon "I still don't understand." He stated "The Batarians have been known to run small slaving gangs. But they don't destroy worlds, what does this gain them?"
"I've heard stories of Batarians attacking colonies and enslaving people." Simon stated "But after the Verge War and their own Civil War, it has become more difficult for the Batarian slavers. But this is just extreme even for them, the Citadel forbids Asteroid drops."
"And if they make this part of their policy then it would force the Citadel Council to act." Bau added
Wrex then had a question "What do you know about the Batarian numbers and their leader?" he asked
"The Batarians landed at the main facility but they've changed to codes." Simon stated "I don't know how big they are but they did send out groups to the Fusion torches so they will give you a fight. As for their leader, I heard a few Batarians mention a Balak, it seems like he's the one in charge. But some of these Batarians didn't think that this was a good idea but they were too scared of this Balak to do anything."
"We should go now" Ashley stated "We've only got a limited time before the Asteroid hits, is there anything else we should know?"
Simon nodded "The second torch station is surrounded by live blasting caps that were set up for mining once we reach Terra Nova. That tank of yours will set them off so you'll have to go in on foot and even then if you get too close they will go off. I can't disable them from here but there are manual controls at the entrance. There are also a few engineers that are missing, I know your mission is important but I hope they're alright."
"I have another team searching the area." Shepard stated "I can have them search the area for them."
"There's a transmission tower on top of the hill here." Simon stated "If you take control of it then it will give you an idea on where they were last located."
"We did have contact with one" Shepard added "A woman called Kate Bowman contacted me; the Batarians haven't found her yet."
"Kate's alive!" Simon gasped "She's one of my best engineers and she signed on with her brother Aaron, he's part of the security team, I hope they're okay."
"Before we go I need to ask?" Bau added "Why were you moving this Asteroid?"
"The idea was to drag it into Terra Nova's orbit and then mine it out" Simon answered "Then you would have a basic structure for an orbital station. Terra Nova has no natural satellites so it was a good idea for the population so we're has a source of natural light at night. It's also cheaper than blasting the parts of from Terra Nova; the minerals in this Asteroid almost cover the cost."
"We should get going now?" Shepard stated
"Good luck Commander." Simon stated as Shepard and her team left.
…
After they returned to the Mako, Shepard had Pekue drive to the top of the hill towards the transmission tower. The tower had been damaged but Shepard was able to repair it. Tali would have been useful but Shepard had left her on the Normandy but Shepard still knew a few tricks. Shepard was able to get the Tower up and running again but before she returned to the Mako, she decided to contact Verbro "Verbro listen, I ran into the Chief Engineer and he said that there are a few engineers that might have avoided capture by the Batarians."
Verbro called back over the radio "We've already found the body of someone called G Mendel. His body seems to have been badly beaten before being killed by a pistol shot to the back of the head. He must have surrendered but they murdered him."
Shepard sighed "Verbro, I've reactivated the transmission tower, it should allow you to find the remaining engineers but stay away from the middle Fusion torch, it's surrounded by blasting caps and those Speeder Bikes will set them off."
"Understood Shepard" Verbro replied "Now you better shut off those remaining torches before this Asteroid gets too close."
...
The Mako soon arrived at the second torch station and just like the first station, there were several Defence turrets had been hacked by the Batarians and were now firing at them but Shepard quickly took care of them before Pekue had to stop driving around.
"Shepard, you were right" she said "There are blasting caps around the station, this tank can't get through. You're going to have to go in on foot."
Shepard looked at Bau "Bau, I need you to come with me, I could use your sniper skills in case any more Batarians attack us while we're outside. Pekue, keep the tank here until the mines are disabled, the computer will show you when the mines are deactivated." She then looked at Ashley "Ash, I need you on the Mako's machine gun, don't use the cannon because you could set off all of the blasting caps. As soon as the mines are deactivated, Pekue will drive you all closer to let you all off."
"Understood Commander" Pekue and Ashley stated and then Shepard and Bau left the Mako.
Shepard activated her Omi tool on her arm and looked at Bau "I've activated the scanner on my Omi-tool" she stated "Now it will scan the area to make sure we don't step on any mines. Remember, if we get too close then they will explode."
Bau pulled his rifle out and looked at the building where he saw several Batarians outside hiding behind some crates they were using as cover "I can see at least five Batarians" he stated and then he fired and shot one in the head as he came out of cover "One less now."
"Come on" Shepard stated "Just take it slowly and if any Batarian comes out of cover, shoot them quickly." Shepard and Bau slowly moved through the minefield and when Shepard heard a loud pinging noise, she knew that they were close to one of the mines so she stepped the other way. Bau was able to shoot a few more Batarians but they weren't moving from the base because the mines would kill them as well. Eventually, Shepard and Bau made it through the minefield and Shepard pulled her rifle and shot the last two Batarians that were hiding. She went over to the control panel in front of the Fusion Torch building and then she was able to deactivate the mines. Then she contacted Pekue "Pekue, the mines are offline, bring the rest of the team here."
"Understood Commander" Pekue called and she drove the Mako closer and the rest of Shepard's team left the Mako and then they entered the building.
...
Just like the first building, there was not much inside this building. There were a few Batarians but Shepard's team quickly took care of them and Shepard went to the controls for the fusion torch which were in a small office on the upper level. Shepard was quickly able to deactivate the torch and now the second Fusion torch shut off.
Shortly afterwards, Shepard heard her radio beep and she activated it "Are you here?" the voice of Kate called "You've got to hurry, you've really pissed them off. You've really began to piss them off. Their leader has begun to set charges everywhere; they're going to blow this whole facility."
"Get away from there!" a voice growled and Shepard realised at that moment that she had been discovered.
...
Kate Bowman and her brother Aaron stood inside with their hands up as several Batarians surrounded them. "Don't shoot please!" Kate begged.
A new Batarian then entered the room and Kate saw that this was the leader, he had paler skin than the others and he wore stronger armour which showed that he was the leader. He looked at the Batarian standing next to him and nodded. The Batarian showed Aaron to the ground and held a pistol to the back of his head.
The leader then glared at Kate "Who's shutting off the torches?" he demanded
Kate looked at her brother but he shook his head telling her not to say anything and he closed his eyes as he knew what was going to happen.
So did Kate so she closed her eyes and said nothing. Then the leader nodded to the Batarian and he pulled the trigger on his pistol and shot Aaron in the back of the head. Aaron quickly fell to the great dead.
The leader then turned to his second in command "Charn, take a small group to the final torch and deal with this problem."
"As you command Balak!" the Batarian known as Charn stated and he left the room with a few others, not seeing the smirk on one of the Batarians faces. This Batarian looked at Kate with a sorry look but silently told her to stay calm.
Balak looked at Kate "Take this one with the others" he ordered and then he looked at the console with was still activated and then he fired a shot at it and destroyed it. Several Batarians then grabbed Kate and began dragging her away and she didn't fight. All she did was look at her brother's dead body.
...
Shepard meanwhile had overheard everything and she looked at the group "Get back to the Mako" she stated "We have to get to the final torch before those reinforcements show up."
...
It was quite a drive towards the final Fusion Torch but they soon arrived. Just like the other Fusion Torches, there were a few Batarians inside the building but Shepard's team quickly took care of them. Shepard then deactivated the torch from the control room. With the last torch shut down, Asteroid X-57 was no longer on a collision course with Terra Nova and the world was now safe.
Then Shepard's radio beeped "Shepard" Verbro called "I just saw the Fusion torch go down. It looks like we've saved Terra Nova."
"The mission's not over yet Verbro" Shepard replied "We still have to retake the main facility. The Batarian leader is there and we have to make sure he pays for this."
"I'll meet you over there." Verbro replied "But there is one more thing, my team found the missing engineers. I'm afraid they're all dead, one was killed in a tank, one was killed in an explosion and the other was killed by a sniper shot to the head."
Shepard sighed at the fate of the missing engineers "We'll send someone to recover their bodies after we've retaken the main facility. I just need to find the codes to enter."
"Good luck Shepard" Verbro called and then he ended the call.
Shepard and her team then went back to the Mako but when they got back to the ground floor of the building, they saw a small group of Batarians gathered there and everyone got out their weapons ready for another fight.
"Hold your fire!" the lead Batarian growled "This doesn't have to end in bloodshed."
Shepard glared at the Batarian "I didn't know you Batarians knew how to stop."
The lead Batarian glared at Shepard, this was Charn, the second in command of the Batarian force here "Look, hijacking this rock was never my idea. We were meant to just grab a couple of slaves but then Balak gets a bright idea and decides to send this Asteroid straight into this Terra Nova. Everyone else thinks it's madness but none of us are willing to oppose Balak, he's very powerful among the Hegemony leadership. Now all I want to do is leave this rock."
"Are your feelings supposed to make things better?" Ashley growled "Taking slaves from Republic worlds is what caused the Verge War in the first place and why your Hegemony fell apart."
"Look, all I do is take orders" Charn growled "Maybe we can work out a deal, Balak is out at the main facility but he's locked the doors and he's also rigged the place to blow. If you don't get there quick enough, he'll destroy that whole place along with every engineer there and even risk blowing this Asteroid apart which would send it back towards Terra Nova even with the Fusion Torches down. I can give you the code to help disable the torches but only if you let us go."
Before Shepard could say anything, a gunshot was heard and Charn gasped as he was shot but not by one of Shepard's team as the shot had came from behind. The other Batarians pulled their guns out but Wrex and Ashley quickly shot them. Charn fell to the ground coughing up blood but turned around to see another Batarian with a pistol who then shot him in the head and he fell down dead.
Wrex and Ashley pointed their guns at the Batarian who held its hands at them "Wait!" the Batarian called and while the voice was rough, it was not as grouchy as others and it seemed that this was a female Batarian "I'm the Batarian spy for the Commonwealth here." She stated
"Lower your guns" Shepard ordered "This Batarian is our ally."
"My name is Bakira Safolka" the Batarian introduced herself "Like our ambassador said, I'm the one who informed them about this incoming attack."
"Can you get us into the main facility?" Shepard asked
Bakira found the codes on Charn's body and nodded "These codes will allow us to enter the facility. However I must state that I know that you wish to capture Balak but doing so may not be possible. Just like Charn stated, Balak had rigged this Asteroid. He's gathered a bunch of thermal bombs which he'll use to blow this Asteroid into two pieces which will go towards Terra Nova."
"Well we still have to save these hostages." Shepard stated "Now let's go to the main facility."
...
Pekue drove the Mako as fast as she could to reach the main facility but when they arrived, they found a fight. Verbro had arrived and was now under fire from some of the hacked turrets, one of which was moving but Shepard quickly took care of them and then she and the team left the Mako.
"Glad to see that you've arrived" Verbro stated and narrowed his eyes at Bakira "I take it this Batarian is our friend."
"She is" Shepard stated "And you will treat her like a member of the team." She then turned to Bakira "Now can you open that door."
Bakira nodded and pulled the code card that she had taken from Charn's body "This code should open the door." She inserted the card into the code reader and the red light on the door turned green "The doors are unlocked, but Balak will have a large number of skilled men with him in here."
"My team have been in tough situations before." Shepard stated and then they all entered
...
After they entered the building, Wrex found a stash of Grenades which he believed would come in useful and he was right. When they entered the main facility, they soon found a large number of Batarians waiting for them and they had an advantage point on the balcony and Bau had to duck behind some crates to avoid sniper fire. But Bau fired back at them and was able to take them out one by one. Wrex and Ashley fought alongside each other taking out Batarian soldiers and Liara used her biotics to throw the others around. It took a while but soon they were able to reach the medical wing which seemed to have been the Batarian stronghold and were able to take the Batarians out. None of them surrendered or even tried to, they fought until the end.
With the Batarians in the medical wing dealt with, Shepard and her team moved back into the main room to try and find the Batarian leader. "You Republicans!" a voice growled and Shepard turned to see a yellow skinned Batarian approaching him on the stairs with a few other Batarians "You're almost as much trouble as you're worth." He then glared at Bakira "And you, I should have known you were one of those traitor spies! I suspected that you were a female!"
Bakira glared at him "And you're just a madman Balak!" she spat "You're going to answer for your crimes!"
"I don't answer to the council or to the Republic Senate!" Balak growled "I'm leaving this Asteroid now and you can't stop me. If you do then I'll detonate these charges which are rigged to blow this Asteroid apart. If that happens then the explosion will send this Asteroid back into Terra Nova and what you did here would be for nothing!"
"What is the point of this?" Shepard growled "Why did you do something like this!"
"This is nothing!" Balak snapped "Your Republic has done far worst to the Hegemony. We were a proud race and now we're broken and large parts of our own government broke away because of your Republic. We've been forced into exile, forced to survive on what we scrounge up. It's been like that ever since the end of the Civil War!"
"You brought that on yourself!" Ashley hissed "You supported pirate raids that attacked our settlements. Did you not think that we would retaliate? You think you can do whatever you want and when you did not get your way, you went to the council who were unwilling to aid you due to your years of raids on their colonies."
"And you talk high for the Batarians!" Bakira snapped "Most of us live little better than the Slaves. I only had a good life because of the state of my family. But as a woman, I was always seen as property so yeah I decided to join the Commonwealth! We broke away because we were all tired of you higher ups telling us what to do and how we should live!"
"Enough!" Balak growled "This arguing is pointless. Like I said, I'm leaving now so stand aside otherwise I'll blow the charges!"
Shepard narrowed her eyes "Go head!" she hissed "Leave but I warn you, the Republic will be on the lookout for you now. You've just made yourself one of their highest wanted criminals!"
Balak smirked "They'll have to catch me first!" he sneered "Oh and I would hurry, there are a few small charges that will explode and kill your engineer friends so I would hurry up and disable them."
Balak and the remaining Batarians left leaving Shepard alone to deactivate the three remaining charges that were set up in the room. Shepard quickly found each of the charges one by one and Bakira was able to disarm them as she was a demolitions expert.
When Bakira had disarmed the last explosive, Shepard went over to the door where the captured engineers had been locked up when she saw the head scientist Simon arrive "I just saw the Batarian leader leave, is that alright?" he asked "And who is this Batarian?"
"Balak was going to set charges that would destroy this asteroid which would undo what we had already done" Shepard stated "And this Batarian is actually a spy for the Batarian commonwealth. She's an ally."
Simon nodded "I guess it was a good thing that you let Balak go then. The first thing we'll need to do is remove the explosives and I know where they'll be. There is a large trench in the asteroid which is where those explosives will be. They'll need to be disarmed. I also ran the numbers Shepard while you were deactivating the torches. An hour later and our course would have been irreversible. X-57 would have impacted Terra Nova right in the heart of Scott, Terra Nova's capital and the most densely populated area but that's not going to happen now thanks to you."
"Terra Nova is safe for now" Shepard stated "But Balak is still out there, he may have been working alone but this action will have consequences. I'll have to inform the Senate of this Balak and now the RSB will be on the lookout for him. He may have gotten away this time but we will find him one day."
"I sure hope so" Simon stated "I don't even want to think what else that Batarian could do." He then looked at Shepard "What about Katie, is she alright?"
"Balak was holding her hostage but she's alright now." Shepard stated
Simon sighed in relief "I'm glad that she's alright." He stated "I have you to thank for the lives of now just my crew but also my family and everyone on Terra Nova; if it wasn't for you then they would all be dead. I have a selection of quality items that I had access to as lead engineer, I want you to have one as a personal thanks. I even have a suit of Quarian Armour that I got from a few Quarians who helped install the Fusion Torches."
Shepard gasped, Quarian armour was hard to come across and Tali might need a better set for the upcoming battles. "I'll take that Quarian set then; I have a Quarian friend who might need it."
"It's all yours commander" Simon stated "Now I need to begin the preparations to get this Asteroid into Terra Nova's orbit."
Before Simon left, Shepard remembered one other thing "Simon, there is something else, my team found the bodies of your engineers, I'm sorry that they didn't make it."
Simon sighed "I'd hoped that they would be alright" he stated "At least some of my team were able to survive this crazy attack." Simon then left with the other engineers following him.
Only Kate remained behind "I can't believe that we survived this" she gasped "When Balak and his men found me and Aaron I was sure that I was dead." She gave a deep breath "For a while I wasn't sure I was going to survive and when he shot Aaron, I believed that I was a goner."
"I may have been forced to let Balak go to prevent him from destroying this asteroid but one day we will find him." Shepard stated "The Senate is not going to allow this to go unpunished."
"I just hope that the Senate don't take this out on all Batarians" Kate stated looking at Bakira "Not all of them are bad." She sighed "It's going to take me some time to get over my experience and also over the death of my brother. You know I still don't even know your name?"
"My name is Commander Jane Alice Shepard" Shepard replied
"Commander Shepard!" Kate gasped "I've heard all about you and your achievements on Elysium during the Blitz. I have to say, it is an honour to meet you, I only wish it was under better circumstances."
"I'm just doing my job" Shepard replied
"You sure are" Kate stated "Now I should probably head with the rest of the team to help them prepare this Asteroid." Kate then left to join the other engineers.
Shepard then looked at her team "Well now that we're done here, we should return to the Normandy. We have to continue with our hunt for Saren."
"Commander Shepard" Bakira then spoke up "I would like to request that I come with you." She stated "I know most of your crew won't trust me since I'm a Batarian but I'm an explosive expert, I can help you deal with any harmful explosives. Anyway, I can't return to spying as my true position has been exposed so I can no longer work as an undercover agent. I've heard of this Saren and I agree that he needs to be brought down."
Shepard thought for a moment, members of the Republic military wouldn't be too pleased about having a Batarian on board due to their reputation but Bakira had proven that she could be trusted and she was right, her knowledge in explosives could be useful so she held out her hand "Welcome onboard the Normandy Bakira"
Bakira shook Shepard's hand and then they all went back to the Mako to await pickup by Joker and the Normandy.
Chapter End: Another chapter complete and now I've introduced another follower for Shepard. More about Bakira will be explained in later chapters and she will have her own personal side quest in this story just like Garrus and Wrex. Bakira is basically an explosives expert so her main weapon is a powerful shotgun. She's already very intelligent as she is known for creating her own grenades which we will see in later chapters. I also made Balak darker as I decided I needed a better reason to let him go as some members of Shepard's team would not have agreed to let him go so I created a reason why he needed to be allowed to leave. I'll be working on a chapter of Dragon X next but the next chapter on this story will probably be on Noveria.
