The Commanders Shepard

Chapter 9

Author's Note: One thing to address before going forward. In this telling, the squad fields a fireteam of six instead of three.

Back on the Normandy, the entirety of Disasters Squad were together in the squad bay section of the M-35 Mako hanger. There, they would discuss their first course of action after inspecting and prepping all the new gear they were able to acquire from Spectre Requisitions on the Citadel.

John was decked out in a massive new set of intimidating heavy armor. It was made specifically to take punishment and reinforce a strong body with articulated hydraulic joints in the arms. The helmet included a heads up display that showed him a read out of all his team's vital signs. Perfect for the overprotective squad leader. For his primary implement with which he would apply his craft, he chose the HMWA assault rifle, an upgraded M-15 Vindicator derivative with a built-in grenade launcher for concussive shots. He loved some concussive shots. He also fielded a Spectre Gear shotgun for those "up close and personal" moments. Alongside those, all Spectres were issued a standard Spectre Gear Master IX Pistol with their armor. John chose to have the majority of his armor painted red, as within the N7 program, red was the color of the rank insignia and occupation identifier for the dedicated infantry Soldier. He also chose to have the N7 logo emblazoned proudly on the chest of his armor.

To piggyback off his brother's idea, James' armor was N7 Engineer white. He went with a set of lighter armor, but his was kitted with a suite of tech that Combat Engineers favored, with access to every scanning program and info database imaginable. Patched directly into his omni-tool, itself on a higher tier than those others used, his armor basically made him a walking computer. It had a voice activated search algorithm that could display search results on his helmet visor's HUD or show them to the team with a small holo projector. It could also create manipulable images. These constructs were perfect for them to plot courses on the ground when sensor data from the Normandy was not an option, or for planning their ops in the field. Also included in all the extra bells and whistles was an onboard target acquisition program that helped his already elite level marksmanship even further. While Combat Engineers in the Alliance weren't trained with long range weaponry, James was a self-taught sniper and qualified armory officer. His knowledge of and prowess with all forms of weaponry tended to be higher than that of most others. And as much as he loved his trusty M-92 Mantis, he had to respect the HMWSR they got from Spectre Requisitions. It had quite a bit more punch, and with his own skill plus the targeting program, he would be able to work miracles of graceful destruction.

Jane chose to wear sky blue, the main color all Alliance Biotics wore, as it was the primary color used in the Alliance's Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training (BAaT). Her armor, the lightest variant feasible for combat, was specifically designed for mobility. Like John's, it also featured hydraulic joints, but in the knees and ankles to further facilitate its emphasis on movement. The helmet also had an additional biotic amplifier. Many biotics couldn't handle that much juice added with their own amp, but Jane was far from average. Her Biotic ability by far trumped every other Biotic she had ever encountered. Plus, her level of concentration and control were on the level or better than Asari matriarchs with centuries of practice and training. Having another amplifier cranking her up even further made her the personification of telekinesis. Along with her standard issue sidearm, she chose to rock Spectre Gear's beefiest boy of a shotgun, the HMWSG-X. That monster had enough kick to worry even the hardest of Krogan Battlemasters. Jane didn't even give it a second thought. Her secondary amp made it easier for her to reinforce herself with her powers to handle it. With it, she not only planned on showcasing the master class in carnage on the battlefield, but she could also stop a tank round with her barrier. Also, being the group's intel officer, Jane's omni-tool had direct access to the highest levels of the Alliance's classified databases.

Tali, Wrex, Kaiden, Ashley, and Garrus also got their own new toys to play with. Strapped to the teeth and fully kitted out, the Disasters were ready to take on anything the Traverse or the Terminus Systems could throw at them.

Once his gear was in order, the mountain that was John went into field commander mode. "Alright, people. Bring it in." The squad all huddled around him. "Our first play is a personnel pick up. Calamity, this is your baby. Give us the rundown."

Jane stepped forward. "We got a lead from the Council on a relative to the Asari matriarch allied with Saren. Liara T'Soni. Matriarch Benezia's only daughter. This lead is a double whammy. Not only could we potentially gain insight on her mother, but Liara is also a scientist researching the Protheans. She may be able to tell us something about that beacon that blasted us."

A small smile hit Kaiden's lips. "Two birds. That's good stuff. Where are we headed?"

Jane continued. "Joker's got us headed on course already. Her last known whereabouts put her in the Knossos system in Artemis Tau. Deductive reasoning puts Liara on Therum, a geologically active world that old records say Prothean artifacts were once recovered from. Unfortunately, I've also received reports that an unknown team seems to be tailing her, popping up at all of her recent confirmed locations and taking off to the exact heading that she left in. My best guess, Saren has a shadow on her, probably to keep her from giving out any info on his partner."

Jane stepped back into the group when she finished her piece and John spoke again. "Okay folks. I see this going one of two ways. The easy way involves us touching down without a hitch and Dr. T'Soni offering up info on her mother willingly. Option B might involve these shiny new hardsuit boots that may or may not make contact with someone's ass." That last part drew a chuckle from the squad. "Jane, you've dealt with Asari before. You're on point when we make contact."

As if on cue, Joker came in over the comm in the hanger. "We've entered the Knossos system, Commander. ETA to Therum, about 10 mike."

"Roger that Joker," John replied. "When we arrive, I want to air drop in the Mako."

"Will do, Commander," said Joker. "But heads up. We're picking up some crazy readings down there. Energy spikes, and jamming fields."

James and Tali looked at each other. They both knew what it meant. James was the first to say it aloud. "Telltale signs that the Geth are down there."

Tali racked a round in her shotgun and said, "Looks like we're dropping in hot."

Joker interjected. "Speaking of hot, we're also getting geothermal readings from open lava flows."

Jane chuckled a bit and floated her tiny frame up to perch on one the massive pauldrons of John's new armor. As she sat, she said to her baby brother teasingly, "Aww... You hear that? No wild joyriding in the Mako."

Half defeated, John huffed, "Quiet you." He then grabbed his tiny "big" sister off his shoulder and effortlessly tossed her into the air. On the way up, Jane burst into laughter. Just before hitting the deck, she glowed blue and placed herself into a seated position.

Garrus' mandibles twitched as he attempted to hold back the laughs. "Catastrophe tells me you can be... quite the driver," he quipped.

John huffed again. "Oh come on. My driving isn't THAT bad... Is it?"

Calamity and Catastrophe both exploded into full on hysterical belly laughter. Their outburst got the rest of the squad giggling right along with them. After wiping away a tear, James said, "Oh yes. Oh yes the hell it IS!"

Jane stood from her seat on the desk and floated in front of the squad. "Group vote! Who thinks James should drive instead of John?" Every single hand went up, save for one. "Then its settled. James is driving the Mako. No magma baths today, kiddies." Again, the whole squad burst into laughter.

Ashley, the only hand that didn't go up and the only person other than John not laughing, gave the big boy a reassuring slap on the back. "I believed in you, Commander," she said softly. He knew the whole thing was all in jest to poke a bit of fun at him, but her words still made John feel better.

Mercifully, Joker came in over the comm again. "Mount up, Commander. I've found a suitable drop zone for the Mako."

Upon hearing that, the Shepard Triplets instantly snapped back into soldier mode. They all loaded up their gear and got ready to drop the Mako.

After taking down wave after wave of Geth troopers, rocket soldiers, Destroyers, a unit even bigger than Destroyers they would call Juggernaut, weird frog-like Geth that shot at them while clinging to walls, and what the squad unanimously agreed would be called a Geth Colossus (since "its freakin' colossal" exploded out of Jane's mouth when they saw it), the Disasters found themselves at an archaeological dig site. As they began their sweep of the area, the squad encountered more trash that needed to be taken out. When they finishing that task, Jane caught sight of something. "Anyone else see a person over there floating?"

The team all looked and saw it too. There, floating helplessly behind a barrier curtain, was their objective. As she realized there were others in the mine, the trapped Asari called out. "Can you hear me out there? I'm trapped! I need help!"

Jane holstered her weapon and engaged her as the rest of the group stayed on the alert. "Liara T'Soni, I presume?"

Liara responded with, "Thank the goddess! I did not think anyone would come looking for me." Jane could easily make out the sense of relief Liara felt. It was written all over her face and could be heard plainly in her voice. Liara continued. "Listen. This thing I am in is a Prothean security device. I can not move, so I need you to get me out of it, all right?"

"How did you end up in there?" Jane asked.

"I was exploring the ruins when Geth showed up, so I hid in here." With a hint of shock and awe in her voice, Liara added, "Can you believe it? Geth! Beyond the Veil!" The squad all remembered their initial responses to their realization of it being the Geth being similar. Liara went on. "I activated the ruins' defenses. I knew the barrier curtain would keep them out. When I turned it on, I must have mistranslated something and hit a control I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please!" With relief in her voice again, Liara replied, "There is a control in here that will deactivate this thing. You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defenses can not be shut off from the outside."

With a slight hint of snark, Calamity quipped, "No one said this mission would be easy."

Shifting tones from relief to worry, Liara added, "Be careful. There is a Krogan with the Geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."

Case in point Jane thought to herself. As she reached for her pistol, John said to the squad, "Okay people. Play time. We have two tasks here. Let's find a way to get to Dr. T'Soni and greet her guests."

As the squad scoured the mines, Tali took notice of the mining equipment. "Look here, Commander," she said nudging Catastrophe with an elbow. "Maybe we can use this."

James caught sight of the mining laser she was referring to. "I like where your head's at." Upon hearing his approving words, Tali slung her weapon and accessed her omni-tool. She used it to worm her way into the laser's operating system. She powered it on and cranked its output up to its utmost.

While she was doing that, James has gotten into his armor's suite of goodies and activated a geological surveying program he used for fun while spelunking. With it, he was able to identify weaknesses in the structure of the rock inside the mine. He traced those weaknesses in the strata and found a convergence point underneath where Liara was trapped. He made it so the visuals his scans brought up were projected on the rocks. "You see that there? The way these weakness converge seems to show a hollow space behind it."

"And the way its shaped looks like it could be a shaft," Tali said. "Like for a ladder well or elevator."

"Exactly," James replied. "Aim the laser here," he said, pointing at a rather inconspicuous area of the rock.

Tali did so and blasted a decent sized hole in the rock strata. "Why not aim for the weakest point in the convergence?"

Shutting down his geological scanner and reaching for his weapon, James said, "Because if we hit the weakest spot, we could have brought the whole mine down on top of us. By hitting it there, we'll have more time before the integrity of the rock gives way."

The logic and basic sense of his response gut punched Tali. In hindsight, it was so obvious. Having normally prided herself on working smarter rather than harder, she was somewhat ashamed of herself for thinking to use the brute force solution first rather than waiting to find the smarter one. Inwardly, she hoped that little gaffe didn't spark a negative thought of her in James.

As the dust and rubble cleared, they found exactly what Tali and James predicted. There was indeed a hollowed out space that was indeed an elevator shaft. Taking the elevator up, they arrived to the area just behind where the Prothean barrier field held Liara.

Hearing the group come up behind her, Liara turned her head as far as she could and said, "How? How did you get in here?"

With the urgency of a soldier on a mission, Jane responded, "Not important. We have to get you out of here before more Geth arrive."

"Yes, you're right," Liara conceded. "I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime. That console should shut down this containment field."

As Jane made a step toward the panel Liara pointed out, Ashley spoke up. "Hold up a sec Commander. You sure she's on our side? Her mother IS working with Saren."

Liara felt insulted. With venom in her voice, she angrily retorted at Ashley's accusation. "I am NOT my mother!" she spat. "I don't know why Benezia joined with Saren. I don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!"

Without a second thought Calamity continued toward the console. In a very matter-of-fact kind of tone, she responded to Ashley with "If she was with Saren, the Geth wouldn't be trying to kill her." Jane proceeded to activate the console and release Liara from containment. Once the field dissipated, Liara landed with a thud. She took a moment to collect herself then stepped toward the team. "Mission accomplished, now let's make ourselves scarce."

With Liara in tow, the Disasters made their way toward the ruins' exit shaft. When they made it to the elevator out, Liara, still in disbelief said, "I.. I still can not believe all this. Why would the Geth come after me?"

Having been silent the whole mission, Kaiden interjected his piece. "Saren's looking for something called the Conduit. You're a Prothean expert. He probably wanted you to help him find it but decided to have you eliminated after realizing you likely wouldn't assist him."

"The Conduit?" Liara's brow furrowed, confused. "But I don't know..." Suddenly, Liara's statement was cut off by the elevator jostling. Understanding right away what it was, Liara said, "These ruins aren't stable. That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event. This whole place is caving in."

Tali was glad the squad couldn't see her face. She felt another twinge of embarrassment and blushed hot when she realized the cave in would have happened a lot sooner had she hit the strata at the weakest point like she wanted to.

With clear urgency in her voice, Calamity got on the comm. "Joker! Lock on my signal and get the Normandy airborne. On the double!"

"Aye, Commander," he replied. "Secured and aweigh. ETA eight mike."

Kaiden nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Not much margin for error..."

As the elevator continued up the shaft, Ashley couldn't help but feel anxious. She turned to John and said, "You know, I can't shake the feeling we're forgetting something."

John felt it too. Something in his soldier's instincts was bugging him, but he couldn't figure out what it was. As soon as the elevator reached its destination, they both got their answer. The Krogan Battlemaster hired by Saren that Liara mentioned stepped onto the lift, flanked by a contingent of Geth foot soldiers.

Eager to taste battle, the Krogan mercenary said with a sneer, "Surrender. Or don't. That would be more fun."

Feeling the weight of their predicament, Calamity grabbed two of the Geth troopers with her powers and yelled, "We don't have time to deal with this idiot. CHARGE!"

With a satisfied look on his face, the Battlemaster raised his weapon and said, "I like your attitude."

Jane slammed the two Geth she lifted into the wall and the rest of the squad proceeded to apply their trade. With calculated efficiency, they demolished the crew of Geth in short order, then teamed up to unceremoniously take down the Battlemaster.

They didn't even have a moment to bask in victory though. The mine around them was coming down, and they had to get out. Fast. They beat feet in a harrowing escape, and made it out with only a few minors bumps on the way. Joker and the Normandy were waiting for them as they exited. As they all piled in the ship, the ruins below collapsed, trapping any worthy scientific findings below untold tons of rock. The Disasters squad had rescue Dr. Liara T'Soni and escaped the very grip of death. And they were all thankful to have made it out.