Ryder scrubbed her eyes and sat up. At least she tried to when her head met the ceiling with an alarming crack. Someone chuckled. "Another one bites the dust," the voice said. "Want to bet it's one of the newbies?"
"No bet. It is one of them."
Ryder ground her teeth and pulled the panel that separated her from the rest of the ship open. She stuck her head out and glowered at the pair standing there.
It was Taumata and Ulva. One of them was a giant of a woman, Taumata. She stood towering over the more petit Ulva. Both of them had shit eating grins on their faces. And both of them were N-school graduates and they both outranked her. Ryder swallowed the irritated growl in her throat and pulled herself out of the pod.
Taumata and Ulva fist bumped. "Morning, Corporal," Ulva said, ruddy cheeks pulled to turn her eyes into half moons as she smiled.
"Morning, Ulva." she replied as she hissed, feet coming into contact with the Normady's ice cold plated floor. "It's a little early for human interaction."
Ulva chuckled. The giant of a woman that was Taumata clapped a hand against her shoulder. Ryder staggered at the impact. "Don't worry, you'll get used to the new pods soon. It's way better than the old ones. To sleep standing up is awful."
"So you guys have been telling me. I had a proper bed at my last posting," she pointed as she hastily pulled on her boots.
"Yeah but I bet garrison life is boring?" Ulva pipped up.
Ryder stiffened as she pulled a fresh set of BDUs and towel from her locker. "You know, boring would have been good. Cause when it got exciting, people die."
The pair of them sobered up immediately. "Hey, it's just a joke, no offence meant, Ryder."
Ryder's jaw was tight as she slammed her locker shut a little harder than she meant to. "None taken. Sorry, I… It's just too early for chatting. I'm going to head off to the showers."
Her story was still too raw, too fresh. And it didn't feel right to share. She hadn't bother checking what happened to Melnik or Amir after their court martial. Whatever it was, she wished them well. They had survived something horrible, it had left a mark on all of them.
She stepped into the showers, unlaced boots clomping on plated grates. It was still early, way too early. The showers were mostly empty except for one shower head splattering water just out of her view. Most of Shift A should still be asleep. Ryder wondered who was up as early as her.
Last night's sleep had been bad. She had a chance to call Scott just after her shift. Retreating to as private a corner she could find on the Normandy, she munched on a ration bar as she listened.
"Can you believe it?" Scott asked, her view of his face jerked as he shook his hand angrily.
She pressed a hand against her mouth. This vid-call between them was going to give her motion sickness if he kept this up.
"Let me get this straight. You're being transferred?"
"Yes!" Scott snarled before sighing deeply. "I just got here like a few months ago. I get this promotion and they are saying they are sending me away. Not to get my training, mind you, done, so that the promotion can be finalised, not to an exciting new post like yours, but to the fucking Citadel."
His nostrils flared as he took deep breaths to calm himself. His eyes lifted to meet hers. Anger, frustration and most of all, she saw, jealousy. She inhaled sharply but bit down on her tongue, not wanting to read into the look too deeply.
"So the Citadel? Will you be assigned to Udina?" she asked eventually when it seemed like Scott had ran out of steam.
"Who knows? I doubt I'll even get to be his coffee boy. At least that sounds a little more exciting."
"But you can do a lot of good on the Citadel," Ryder pointed out. "You'll get to see the inner workings of the Council and the like."
"And do what exactly? Are they going to ask my opinions before they pass galactic laws?"
Ryder scratched her eyebrow before letting her hand fall. She had no answers for him. The reassignment smelled fishy and she had told him as much. The conversation she had overheard between her parents niggled at the back of her mind. There was no doubt her father was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Why would Pa do this? Something about keeping Scott safe? But why? He isn't in any danger. What the fuck is going on?
"I wish our places were reversed," Scott said, his voice quiet and resigned now.
The words dragged her from her thoughts. Her jaw tightened. "I can't believe you fucking said that."
Scott's chin jerked up. His brow creased in a frown. "You got the best posting. You have seen combat against mercs, against slavers while I am being trapped here, safe and fucking sound. Now you are on the fucking Normandy with the great Commander Shepard," he spat. "What's not to like about where you are now?"
Ryder growled. It was a sound made of suppressed fury and tightly contained rage. She looked away, feeling her pulse throbbed against her temples. Her breaths came deep and harsh as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to lock the memories away. Kovács's head exploded like a watermelon behind her eyelids again. Rough hands slammed her head against a wall making her see stars. She pressed the heel of her palm into her eye as she fought the shudder that ran down her spine.
"You do not get to say that," she spat. "Not you. You do not want this."
Scott's jaw was set. He was too angry to back down now. Ryder didn't want to end up screaming at him via vid-call. They were nearing Ondeste tomorrow. She was tapped for the mission. She really didn't need this today.
"I've got to go," she gritted out. "We'll talk again when you have your head fucking screwed on right."
Without waiting for a reply, she terminated the call.
Shepard was all business. Her face bore no sign of her signature smirk. Her manner brisk as she waited for them find a seat. Her almost luminous green eyes swept across the room and nodded tightly.
"We've entered the Ondeste system," she said.
Ryder tapped on her omni-tool to bring up the holo-map that was projected. She wracked her brain about Ondeste, but nothing came to mind. It was just another system in the Crescent Nebula. She glanced about the room. Not the all combat teams were here. It seemed that Shepard had only tapped Delta and Alpha for this, but she spotted the LT sitting in as well.
"So," Shepard said, her finger stabbed at the holo-map. The view shifted and zoomed into Zesmeni, the first planet orbiting Ondeste. Ryder shifted in her seat and concentrated. "There have been reports of geth activity in the system but in particular Zesmeni. Scans have shown a large facility near the equator on the northern hemisphere. We will be making landfall to check it out and destroy it."
Shepard's chin lifted as she looked at the LT. "Alenko, you will be staying on board. You're in charge of the reinforcements if we need any. Delta and Alpha will join me for this mission."
The LT nodded, his arms folded across his chest. The rest leaned forward as Shepard laid out the plans. Ryder's heart rate picked up despite not doing anything beyond sitting and taking notes. It was an odd mix of the anticipation of impending action and the familiar clenching of her guts that came with fear.
"You have three hours, see to your gear."
With that the group was dismissed. Ryder filed out with the rest. As she passed the LT she heard him called out. "Shepard, we need to talk."
Maybe she had imagined it but she swore Shepard grimaced. Before she could question it, Teo called out. Ryder turned to attend to his needs. Her squad came first. She had prep to see to. Shepard's reaction to the LT's words was none of her business.
"Looks asari," Solarin said. Her voice was slightly distorted coming through her helmet. The muscled and compact Private led the way with her rifle.
"Yeah, sure does," Díaz replied, his eyes scanning the darkened facility warily.
"It looks seriously eerie. It's like we're trespassing a tomb," Teo chimed in.
Ryder's jaw tightened. The place was reminding her of the Sinon minus the burning drive core and blood trails. "Let's move people. The Commander is counting on us to find the power. And get this place turned up and running."
"Aye, ma'am," the trio replied.
She winced, starting to realised how distasteful it was to be called ma'am. But the field wasn't the place to address this, she kept her mouth shut and walked on.
The facility was clearly asari in origin. Her helmet HUD was translating all the words she directed her eyes at.
"Corporal, check this out."
Ryder stepped forward and saw the elevator shaft. One hand gripping the edge as she peered down. It was a black hole, a solid mass so deep her suit's lights weren't able to penetrate the inky darkness. She looked upwards, the elevator was at least two level above them. Without power it wasn't going to move.
"Looks like we're going down, people," she declared.
Solarin groaned. "I was afraid you'll going to say that, Corporal."
Ryder snorted behind her helmet. "Come on, we're burning time."
Arashi flicked the safety on and off. The click-click sound echoed slightly in the cavernous facility. It was setting her teeth on edge but Shepard kept a firm grip on her irritation. Every soldier dealt with waiting differently. Ulva leaned against the wall, head lowered. Shepard's eyes narrowed as she wondered if she had caught a soft snore from the Specialist.
"The baby is going to come through?" Arashi asked.
"Maybe we should have brought the Chief along to babysit her huh Commander?" Ulva suggested.
"Are you questioning my decisions on the field?" Shepard asked them, glowering at them through her helmet.
"Ugh, no. Just…" Arashi hastily waved his hands. "She's new."
"And so is her team. They might be too green," Ulva continued.
"And you're still doing it," Shepard pointed out. "She's young but not new. And neither is she green. Both of you see the gold she managed to pull off from the shit show on Janus."
Both of them nodded. Before Shepard could continue, the lights snapped on and the facilities' life support systems kicked on. The large double doors' holo lock flickered to life.
"What did I tell you?" she said with a grin.
"Never doubt the Commander," Ulva said, smacking a hand against Arashi's arm.
"What! You were doing it too!" Arashi cried indignantly.
"Ulva, get to work. I want to be behind those doors ASAP," Shepard cut in.
If she had kept her mouth shut, the pair could go on all day. She shook her head and wondered where had the standards of N-School had plummeted to.
Her omni-tool out, Ulva got to work.
"Contact! Contact!" Teo screamed.
His voice was drowned out by the explosion from Díaz's grenade. Ryder winced. The high pitched whine, as the speakers struggled to clip the overly loud frequencies, sent a screech straight to her ears.
"Alpha, this is Delta, we have encountered…" Ryder's voice trailed off as she hastily Pushed against the LOKI mechs that were flanking Solarin's position. "hostiles. Engaging now."
"Deploy drones, Solarin!" she barked as she jerked her hand in a series of signals.
Solarin nodded and Ryder watched a series of Advanced Assault (AA) drones zoomed forward. She watched with grim satisfaction as the drones opened fire, cutting them down in quick order. Where the heck did they come from?
After descending into the underground levels, they realised the facility wasn't as unused as they thought. The surface levels' apparent disuse was merely a ruse. Though they hadn't encountered anyone, there were signs of people vacating the premises hastily.
"What the fuck have we walked into Corporal?" Díaz hissed, his eyes scanning the scattered datapads and still smoking terminals.
Ryder shook her head. She had no answers. "Move out, the Commander is counting on us to get power back online."
Things only took a sharp corner after the generators were turned on. Though saying that they turned it on was putting it mildly especially considering Solarin spent a good 15 minutes cursing as she worked her magic.
Then all hell broke loose. LOKI mechs were all honing in on their position as they defended the power generator room.
"Commander, orders?" she shouted.
"—yder," Shepard's voice crackled, cutting in and out.
"What's disrupting our comms?" she shouted.
"The mechs are generating a disruption field!" Solarin yelled back.
Ryder gritted her teeth and shifted forward. "Cover me!"
Díaz and Teo concentrated fire on the mechs as she darted from cover to cover, trying to get to the blast doors. Bullets plinked against her barrier but it held.
With the mechs bunching together, they had set up an effective killing zone but there was just too many of them. They would get overrun eventually. "Singularity!" she shouted as she pushed her arms out.
Her amp buzzed as the dark energy uncoiled from her core. Blue licked up her arms as the Singularity slammed into the mechs. Gravity was suddenly inverted as the mechs was yanked into the air.
They wasted no time. Rifle bucked in her arms as Ryder's fired. The more mechs they destroyed, the clearer Shepard's voice got.
"Ryder!" Shepard bellowed. "Come in!"
"Commander," she replied. "The comms are being disrupted by the LOKI mechs. Clearing them out now."
For a while, Shepard was spitting out orders as fast as the rat-tat-tat of a rifle. "Hold down the fort there," she barked. "Charlie is incoming."
"Roger," she acknowledged. "You heard the Commander!"
"Ryder," The Chief called. "We need some help over here!"
"Teo, Díaz," she barked. "Concentrate fire down that corridor. We'll going to wipe those fucking mechs out."
She waited for the varying acknowledgements from her squad as she poked her head up from cover and sent a Warp at the nearest enemy. A quick burst of three shots took down its armour and the next burst shattered its ballistic panels. With a grin on her face, she Pushed it. Tiny arcs of electricity erupted from its exposed wiring. As it sailed through the air, it slammed into its fellow mechs that were getting cut down by Teo's and Díaz's fire. On impact, the entire group exploded.
"Nice one," Williams laughed, before turning to her own squad. "Ramírez, up front and give me a barrier! Rai, Kaiser, link up with Delta."
It didn't take long before they mopped up everything in the level. Ryder tapped against her comms. "Solarin, all good back at the generators?"
"Easy, peasy, boss," she replied, a light tapping came as she rapped an armoured knuckle against one of her drones. "Me and my boys are holding down fort."
"Commander," Williams was already on the comms with Shepard, reporting their success.
Ryder listened with half an ear. She was more concerned with Teo. Taking a quick jog over to him, she found him staggering a little. "Shit," she muttered under her breath as she caught him in her arms. "Are you ok?"
He groaned a little as she lowered him to the ground. "One of the mechs caught me in the thigh."
Quickly she keyed her omni-tool to his suit and checked. She sighed. "You'll be fine. Just a little burn. Once we get back, go see the doctor. She will sort you out. Meanwhile," she said as withdraw a pack of medi-gel from her suit and inserted into his, "this should help."
Teo closed his eyes as the medi-gel hit his system. She glanced at Díaz. The shotgun wielding soldier nodded at her. "I'll make sure he stays in one piece."
"Ryder!" Williams barked, a frown visible through the clear slit of a visor on her helmet. "The Commander wants you on the surface. Rai, Kaiser, go with the Corporal."
Ryder nodded. "Solarin, sit tight at the generators, Charlie is coming to you."
"Got it."
She took off at a jog as Charlie's Rai and Kaiser were hot on her heels. This time though the elevator was working, she opted to take the stairs. With LOKI mechs crawling around, she didn't want to take the chance and get trapped in an elevator with them.
"Commander," she reported in. "What is it?"
Shepard had her helmet off, her red hair plastered against her forehead from sweat, her braid curled over one shoulder. Her armour was blackened in spots from explosions she had been too near to. Ryder couldn't help admire the hard matte black surfaces of the armour. But most of all it was the N7 designation emblazoned on her chest, the trademark white and red stripes that ran down her right arm.
Ryder couldn't help but wonder if she would get to go to N-School one day. She couldn't see herself being able to use her biotics and not be judged for it outside the Alliance. So if she was going to be a lifer, why not be the best? After all, Shepard had proven that even biotics were welcomed if not desired in N-School.
Shepard scrubbed her face with one hand, heedless of the soot she was smearing across her face. "Ryder, come take a look at this."
The Commander led her towards one of the shuttles docked in the bay. Ryder looked at it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She glanced at Shepard who jerked her chin at the shuttle again. One eyebrow rose in response, Ryder turned her attention back to the shuttle and walked around it, looking and observing. For what, she had no clue. It looked a little familiar but then again shuttles all looked rather similar form one to another.
She stiffened, her circuit around the shuttle coming to a halt. "No."
Shepard sighed, pressing her hand against her temples. "Yes," she said. "If you recognise it, then there is no doubt."
"It's the same one?" Ryder asked, realisation was like a biotic blast slamming into her chest.
"I've taken a scan. I'm waiting on the VI's confirmation. We got a good look as the Normandy was approaching Janus. But, yes, I think this is the Cerberus shuttle that took off with the Prothean artifact."
"Fuck," Ryder hissed, starring at the shuttle with something akin to hatred.
The hard edges of her gauntlet ground together as she clenched her fist. Shepard stepped close and put a hand on her shoulder. Through the armour, Ryder felt nothing but the weight. "Pull yourself together, soldier. Use that anger," she said. "We got a crime scene here now. This is no geth facility that's for sure. Go see if you can get any intel off the shuttle. We just might be able to track that artifact down."
Ryder took a deep breath, meeting Shepard's eyes. She nodded and got to work.
"The dead will not die in vain," Shepard said. "As long as the survivors make sure of that."