Aria T'Loak was scary.
She wasn't tall, or particularly large. She was, in fact, of a size with Liara; maybe a couple of inches taller. But she was old and knowing and clearly took absolutely no shit and she gave Samantha the willies more than anything or anyone else ever had.
Her raised brow in Samantha's direction made it clear Sam had been found wanting.
Aria said nothing, though. She just pointed Samantha to a batarian man she had called Bray and took Shepard away for a briefing.
"Come on," Bray said, gesturing that Sam should walk with him. "Need to get you into our systems."
"Ah, yes. Thank you." Sam took a few running steps after him. He was easily a foot taller than her.
"Your omnitool secure?" he asked her, stopping at a station just by the entrance to the deck – in the back. Unimportant. I'm not blind. I know what she's saying about my presence here.
She's right. You are insignificant in her grand scheme.
Except Shepard specifically wanted me here.
True. You show her, Sammy.
"Yes," Sam answered Bray, pulling up the interface. "You have programs for me?"
"You get them for yourself, and I'll trust your skill," he said, pulling up the holographic interface in front of him and then making room for her. "First test is the password."
Sam furrowed her brows, but she complied, pulling up a holographic keyboard so she could hack the password. It only took a few seconds before she was in.
Bray looked amused. "All right. Go ahead and take what you need. If you can get through that quickly, we trust your omnitool's security is tight." Then he frowned. "Gonna need to have a talk with my programmer about how quick you did that ..."
Sam tried very hard to keep a smirk from her face and knew she failed miserably. She connected to the fleet's comms, linking in her own omnitool as well as Shepard's. She did a quick scan for any program or VI that might be helpful, and then began to encrypt an audio channel for herself and Shepard so they could speak independently of the others.
Despite everything that was going on, Sam lost herself in the work for a few minutes, only surfacing when a hand landed on her shoulder.
"Hey," Shepard said. "We're about to get going. Everything set?"
Samantha blinked, shaking her head to get it out of her console. "Yes. I'm ready. I set up a channel just for us, and another just for you and Aria that I can monitor. Then there's the main communications. Everything is synced, I just need the two of you to confirm on your end."
Shepard nodded. "I'll tell her. Come on up here and work on your omnitool. You have an interface you can use both hands on?"
"Yes, Commander. Just installed it."
Shepard nodded again. "Good. Strap in. This might get bumpy."
"Oh?" Sam said, taking the indicated harness next to Bray, meant for someone to stand in.
"Yeah. You noticed this is a Cerberus cruiser? We're infiltrating and dealing a blow from the inside."
Sam blinked a few times in shock. "I- yes, ma'am." She hooked the harness into position. "I have a feeling you are dramatically understating things with 'bumpy.'"
Shepard just grinned.
Here we go, Sammy.
It had, indeed, been an understatement. Sam couldn't help but ruminate on this as she strapped herself into the escape pod some minutes later. They were using the cruiser to ram into the space station! Sam had thought she would stay safely on the ship until she and the other non-combatants could disembark in a civilized manner. But no. The plan had been to ram the station all along.
Now she was looking at organizing communications on the ground! With active gunfire going off! Sam considered asking if there were extra shield generators available somewhere in case hers failed, but held her tongue. Instead, she vowed to make herself as small as humanly possible while Shepard and Aria took care of the gunfire. The ground assault was why Shepard was here, wasn't it?
The ride in the escape pod was even bumpier than the cruiser had been. Sam was sure she would have whiplash by the time they landed on the station. Maybe that was one of the advantages behind that heavier armor Shepard, Ashley, and James wore? That and the helmet, of course. Sam had been issued a helmet, but had not been wearing it. She'd managed to grab it on her way to the escape pod, but it was impossible to affix while strapped into the seat.
Instead, she pulled on the toxin-filtering mask that popped out of the console between her and the next seat.
I desperately hope this is an overabundance of caution.
Well, if you'd just put the helmet on, Sammy.
I wasn't planning on being in the middle of combat! Especially not immediately! I didn't think the helmet was necessary!
The escape pod didn't land so much as crash. Sam watched it coming on the small GUI map on her omnitool, rightly convinced they were moving too fast for a smooth landing. She tried not to hold her breath, but it exploded from her lungs when they crashed nonetheless.
All was silent as the dust settled.
Shepard moved first, apparently unfazed by the crash. Aria was right behind her, followed by the three other people who had inhabited the pod with them. They were outside the pod before Sam had even unbuckled herself.
I have to get going, she thought to herself. I'm out of my depth, but I'm here and I have to keep up.
She grabbed the helmet she couldn't manage while strapped so tightly in and rammed it into place, silently thanking Ashley for helping her with the military bun.
{I hope the other escape pods made it.} she heard Aria through her earpiece.
{The target?} came Shepard's voice.
Samantha jumped down out of the escape pod and hunkered behind it, pulling up her omnitool's holographic interface. This was why she was here: to monitor the map, plot their course, and coordinate communications. She hadn't been planning on doing it from the ground - the very ground she had a view of on her map - but in principal the job had not changed.
Just don't get sucked in, Sammy.
Right. Aware of my surroundings. I can do this.
"Shepard, Ms. T'Loak," she said.
{If you call me that again, I don't care how good you are, I am putting you down like a rabid varren.}
Sam blinked a moment. "Right. Aria. Apologies. Thanks to the scans you provided, I have the location of the defense controls and am plotting several contingency courses."
{Are you safe- motherfucker!} Sam could only assume Shepard took down someone who'd snuck up on her. She didn't have the capability to watch through Shepard's camera with her omnitool. Not enough workspace.
She did watch as two friendly tags went dark, though. Thankfully, not Shepard or Aria.
"Um. Yes, Commander. I'll trail you, keep an eye on your rear."
{I bet you will,} Aria quipped, and Sam could swear she could hear the smirk on the asari's face.
{Focus,} Shepard said. {Tango on your six. Put him down. Then we can move. Make sure no one gets around us, Traynor. And don't forget you have a sidearm and a combat knife. Don't be afraid to use them, but staying hidden is the best course.}
"Right you are, Commander." Sam paused, examining the map in front of her as she turned it for a 3-D view. "Tango right behind your cover. Probably close enough to reach out and grab."
Shepard grunted, and then the lit-up red tag turned dark.
{Just like that,} Shepard said. {Now let's go.}
It was a brutal fight to the defense control station. They lost the last of the soldiers who had been in their escape pod, but Shepard, Aria, and Sam all made it unscathed. As Shepard and Aria shut down the defense canons so the other ships could approach the station, Samantha set to plotting their best course to the bunker Aria had indicated as the rendezvous point. She then began plotting contingencies wherever she could.
This wasn't typically the job of a communications specialist. Normally, Sam would just stick to actual communications between the ground and the ship as well as monitoring anything outside of that, like official Alliance channels.
But Sam had learned very quickly that she was also to keep an eye on the map of the battlefield, communicating any big-picture intel to Shepard that the commander could not see while busy directing a firefight. It was mostly due to the particular layout of the Normandy itself that this became the job of the communications specialist – she had the best view and accessibility to the galaxy map. But Sam didn't mind. It was a challenge that she actually enjoyed.
Well. She normally enjoyed it. Being on the ground for the actual fighting was a very different experience. But at the same time, it was less intense than the view she typically received through Shepard's camera. Instead of watching Shepard's view, she was hunkered down somewhere hidden and monitoring the various communications between Shepard, Aria, and the team at large, while also studying the map of the station in relation to their current position, plotting routes and grabbing enemy tags for the map.
Aria and Shepard were now speaking as Samantha worked her omnitool, interfacing with a console nearby to get a better feel for the layout of the station and current defenses and troop deployment.
Suddenly a gunshot rang out, and Samantha jumped.
"There's a good chance the general knows where we're headed," Shepard said as she stowed her pistol. "Camera was moving around."
"Motherfucker," said Aria, moving to examine the smoking, twisted metal. "No time for sightseeing, then."
Sam took a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down. She closed out her connection to the console and began typing on her omnitool's interface.
"I have a route and several contingencies," she said, sending the information to both Shepard and Aria.
"Good work, Traynor," Shepard said, buffing her hand over the top of Samantha's helmet. "Good going with the flow on this mission."
"I try to be adaptable," Sam said, smiling to herself at the praise from her commander.
Shepard nodded, rammed her helmet back into place, then grabbed her assault rifle. {Let's move.}
{What in the fuck is this?! It fried that vorcha!}
Sam risked a glance over her cover, seeing a smoking corpse lying at the base of the orange energy barrier they couldn't seem to find a way around. Shepard, Aria, and that vorcha mercenary they'd run into on their way had taken out the upgraded mechs that had come for them, so now they just needed to figure out this barrier.
The vorcha, unfortunately, had figured out that it really should not be touched.
Sam heard an alarm go off in her helmet's audio system. She dropped back down and looked at her omnitool.
"Oh bloody hell! Commander! More coming! At least half a dozen!"
Shepard swore. {I can't hack this thing and fight mechs!}
{Can't the girl hack it?} Aria's voice sounded over the radio. A moment later, she grunted, and Sam saw the light of the corresponding biotics she unleashed.
"I've been trying," Sam said. "It's impenetrable."
{Find us another way, Traynor. Now.}
"Yes, Commander." Sam began frantically turning her map this way and that, looking for some way past or through the intersection of streets they appeared to be in. It was hopeless, however. There was nothing ...
Wait! What is that?
Sam zoomed in on what appeared to be a sewer entrance. Only, there was no sewer recorded in the schematics provided by Aria.
"There seem to be some sewers!" she shouted, forgetting for a moment she had a radio in her helmet and there was no need to shout. "An entrance, at least! It looks far too small for those mechs."
{There are tunnels under us. Not sewers.} Aria said, sounding far too calm for the situation as she let off several shots from her shotgun. {I forgot about that little entrance. Those will take us to the hangar.}
{Where?! We're kind busy here, Traynor!} Shepard shot back, grunting as she tried to take out a mech advancing on her.
Samantha was frantically trying to load the nav point, but the system wouldn't let her. It was convinced that the sewers did not exist, so the entrance was nothing more than part of the floor and therefore not something it could pinpoint.
"Oh, sod it," she breathed to herself. She pulled her firearm, mere decoration up to this point, and checked around her cover. The mechs apparently didn't know she was here, as they only seemed to be advancing on Shepard and Aria's cover.
Looking past them, Sam spied the spot she was trying to direct her companions toward. With one more look for danger, Sam did possibly the stupidest thing she'd ever done: she ran from her safe, hidden cover, out into the open toward the metal opening on the ground.
I am a communications specialist, what on earth am I doing?!
{Sam what are you doing?!} Shepard shouted. Sam noted in the back of her mind that it was the first time this whole trip Shepard's professionalism in using Sam's last name had melted away.
"I can't send you the nav point!" Sam shouted back, then she put on a burst of speed, thanking Christ for all the jogging she'd been doing since meeting Ashley. She hadn't since leaving Earth, of course, and her light armor was still heavier than her sports bra and shorts, so she felt like she was running through molasses. But she still made it, and that was definitely something she wouldn't have been able to do a year or so before without preparing for it.
The adrenaline probably also helped.
She fell to her knees immediately, trying and failing to get her fingers under the cover's edge. It wouldn't budge, and that was when Samantha truly started to panic.
"It won't move! It's stuck! I can't-"
A shot sparked off the metal covering, sending her shields dancing. Samantha shrieked and fell back, looking up to see what had happened.
A mech was advancing on her, quickly, its gun aimed right at her. She was out in the open, flat on her arse, no cover in sight. How was she going to get out of this?
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Sam.
She watched as if in slow motion as the rifle began to fire, the light on the end of the muzzle getting bright.
Then blue light engulfed Sam. She shrieked and winced, but the bullets merely bounced off the bubble of blue now surrounding her. She felt a presence behind her, so she turned to see a hooded figure with a hand wreathed in biotic flame. The figure gestured violently and the metal covering was wrenched free of its stubborn hold on the ground.
"Go!" the figure shouted. The voice was feminine, dual-toned like Garrus's, only higher. A turian, Sam thought to herself, even as the figure grabbed her and shoved her toward the hole in the ground.
Sam fit, but with only a little wiggle-room. Aria would be fine, but Shepard and the turian would both have to squeeze through. The mechs wouldn't be able to fit, however, and that was the most important thing.
It was a long drop, and Sam hadn't managed to grab a ladder. Fitting a little too well inside the tunnel, she fell to the floor, landing odd on her ankle and rolling to relieve the pressure. She felt her suit respond to the injury, the ankle of the armor locking up and tiny needles injecting medigel before retracting.
No wonder soldiers can do all they do, even after tremendous injury, she mused, staring with wide eyes at her immobilized ankle.
Aria landed much more gracefully next to her. She eyed Sam. {You're all right,} she said. It wasn't a question.
Sam stared up from the floor with wide eyes, nodding, not trusting herself to speak face to face with her.
Aria frowned. {Stupid move back there. Gutsy, though. I can admire that, especially from someone with a desk job.}
"I- thanks?"
Shepard landed just as Sam answered, saving her from having to talk alone with the asari any further.
{Shepard,} Aria said with a nod.
{Aria.} Shepard moved to Sam's side, kneeling in front of her. {That was dumb. You all right?}
"Yes, I'm fine. Landed on my ankle funny. The suit's locked up. I'll have a limp, but I'll be fine."
{Given you were almost shot by one of those mechs, that's not a bad injury.}
"I've had worse from Joker's flying," Sam quipped.
Shepard chuckled. She stood and held out a hand for Sam. Lifting her to her feet, Shepard said, {Walk it off. The more movement, the less swollen it'll get. Benefit of the medigel immediately after injury.}
Sam nodded, then took a few cautious steps.
The hooded figure finally came down the ladder none of the rest of them had managed to grab.
"We should move," the figure said. "I sealed it behind me but we still shouldn't stick around."
{Bold of you to order us around, Nyreen.}
The turian stood to her full height, taking the hood off to reveal a smaller crest than Garrus's and a red design painted over her face. Samantha halted, sensing something between the two as the turian's – Nyreen's? – face was revealed.
"Aria. It's good to see you back on the station."
{What are you doing here?}
"Playing cat and mouse, mostly. Just trying to stay alive. If it hadn't been for these tunnels ..."
{My tunnels.} Aria's tone was more than strained, though quiet and measured. Far deadlier than an outburst of anger. {I'm sure glad I showed them to you.}
Sam looked to Shepard. The commander wasn't moving, and Sam couldn't see her face, but still she could see the tension in her stance.
{Shepard, this is Nyreen Kandros, ex-turian military. We ... go way back. I've got a lot of questions, Nyreen.} Aria turned, walking away. {But they'll have to wait.}
Shepard shook her head, looked to Sam to check on her, then hurried after Aria.
Nyreen followed, but halted next to Sam. Samantha blinked up at the turian through her helmet. She was so tall.
"You all right?" Nyreen asked.
"Um. Yes, I'm all right. The suit has medigel." Sam cringed internally. She had responded to people more awkwardly in her life, but not by much.
Nyreen's expression could have been a smirk, though Sam really wouldn't know. "Good. Let's get you moving." She put a hand on Sam's elbow, gently but firmly applying pressure until Sam, whose brain was still rebooting, was moving gingerly on her ankle once more.
"Gutsy move back there," Nyreen said after a moment. "You don't seem like you usually see combat."
"Um. No. I don't. Except from the inside of the ship." Sam limped a little, but her ankle was feeling better and the locked joint of the suit was beginning to move. "I know it was stupid of me, but-"
"It got your team to safety. Sometimes bold moves are required to solve problems."
Sam sighed. "Yes. Perhaps. I'm just glad my fiancee's not watching."
"Oh?"
"Yes. She's a soldier. I work at a console. She might kill me if she knew how close that was. Or maybe she would kill Shepard."
"You never know," said Nyreen. "Maybe she'll be impressed."
Sam blew out a chuckle, shaking her head. She glanced up at Nyreen, quiet for a moment before saying what was on her mind. "You are being incredibly kind. Thank you. And, um, thanks for saving us – me – as well."
"You're welcome. But. I didn't get your name?"
"Oh! Sam – uh, that is. Samantha. Traynor."
Nyreen seemed amused. "All right. Samantha Traynor. You're welcome for saving your ass. But maybe no more bold, heroic moves, all right? Can't be spraining your other ankle."
Sam felt her face flush. She was saved further embarrassment, however, by Aria and Shepard coming to a halt ahead.
"What's wrong?" Nyreen asked.
{It's been a while,} Aria huffed, hands on her hips as she looked at three different tunnel openings ahead of her. {I don't remember the way to the bunker.}
Nyreen moved up next to her, also examining the ways ahead. "You know, I haven't been to that bunker in years."
{So you don't remember either?}
Nyreen shook her head in the negative.
Shepard turned to Sam. {Traynor?}
Sam was already opening her omnitool, quickly grabbing Nyreens comm tag while she saw it before opening a different program. "It might be a little while," she said, settling to sit on a nameless crate nearby. "Unless one of you has scans of the tunnels mapped out?" she added, hopefully looking up to Aria and Nyreen.
{What's the use of secret tunnels if you have a scan sitting around?} Aria said, arms crossed.
Sam sighed. "All right. Shepard, I'm going to need to commandeer your drone."
Shepard nodded, lifting her own omnitool to deploy it. {Here you go. Do your thing, Traynor.}
Sam took a deep breath as she interfaced with the drone. "I have to say, Commander. I don't think I'll ever complain about my cushy spot on the ship again."
Shepard laughed, slapping her shoulder pad lightly. {We'll make a marine out of you, yet, Traynor.}
Sam sighed. "Please don't?"
They all chuckled – smirked in Aria's case – and Sam felt a little better. Then she took control of the drone, and was zooming silently down the halls to find the way ahead, Aria looking over her shoulder for anything familiar.
Samantha huddled behind her cover, terrified. Behind her, Aria and Nyreen covered Shepard with a biotic barrier while the commander squatted in the open, attempting to get the autoturret defense system up and running.
{There it is!} Shepard shouted over the comms.
The next moment, Sam's three companions were next to her, hauling her to her feet. Sam turned to watch as the turrets engaged, dealing death and destruction to the forces that had the upper hand moments before.
Shepard grabbed her shoulder. {Let's get inside.}
Sam just nodded, following as close to Shepard as she dared.
Inside, there were suddenly so many people. Samantha took off her helmet when she saw Shepard doing so, and her first thought was how rusty and metallic the space smelled. It hit her like a wall.
"Nyreen, you left Omega fairly angry with me," Aria said. Somehow a clearing had formed around her, like her people inherently knew to keep out of her business. "I wasn't aware you'd come back. Explain yourself." Sam froze next to Shepard, and they watched together as the two faced off.
"The truth is I never left," Nyreen answered with a shrug. "A fact which I went to great lengths to keep from you."
Sam's heart fell into her stomach. Holy shit, I'm watching lesbian drama! She wasn't sure if she should run or get popcorn. She definitely knew she should stay absolutely still, though.
"I'm not easily duped," Aria replied, her voice that same, even tone it always was. It made her so much more terrifying than if she shouted. Imagine if boot camp were like this? Bloody terrifying. "Well done. But why?"
"I just ... couldn't leave." Nyreen shrugged. "Considering all this, I wish I had."
"Well. You always said I'd be the death of you."
Nyreen was quiet in response. Shepard looked like she might want to say something, but Sam grabbed her arm lightly to get her to stop. This surely couldn't be helped by her involvement?
Shepard looked at her for a moment, nodded, and settled back in to keep an eye on Aria and Nyreen.
Aria addressed Shepard next. "Shepard, I know from personal experience that there isn't a corruptible bone in Nyreen's body." She looked to Nyreen. "Your combat skills seem a little rusty, but you're still a good shot. Will you join us?
"We need to sweep Cerberus off this station," Nyreen said.
"I'll take that as a yes. See my duty officer."
Nyreen nodded once and walked past Aria.
"Bray," Aria said, and the batarian Sam hadn't even noticed was hanging nearby appeared out of nowhere. "Keep an eye on her."
"Will do," he said, and disappeared in the same direction as Nyreen.
Aria's eyes snapped to Shepard and Sam. "Well, now that we're done with that little show, let's take stock. You get the girl set up – she can work here from now on – and then check how my people are doing getting set up as an operating base. I'm going to check on my troops, see what our numbers are and what kind of havoc we've wreaked so far."
She turned and left.
Sam let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding.
"You know, when she said they went way back, I hadn't quite connected the dots," Shepard mused.
"Yes that was prime lesbian drama. Deadly lesbian drama." Sam tried to keep the excitement out of her voice but she knew she failed miserably.
Shepard just chuckled. "Come on. Let's get you a station you can set up like on the ship. No more duck and cover for you."
"Oh, thank Christ," Sam said, and followed Shepard to a nearby bank of consoles. She would much rather ride the rest of this one out viewing things through Shepard's helmet camera.