Chapter 68: Touch Down

The Collector dreadnought wasted no time, immediately firing on the Normandy with the main gun they knew too well. Jack knew the only reason they had come out on top in their battle on Horizon was Zero's quick thinking so he was worried about their chances. However, Joker seemed to be in his element, spinning the Normandy at odd angles to give Garrus a shot with the Normandy's main cannon. Jack watched with growing fear and trepedation as each of Garrus' hits didn't seem to be effecting the rocky hull of the Collector ship at all like last time. Yes, Zero had been a huge part of their success but, he assumed the ship's gun would've done even a little damage without her. Was it possible that the Collectors could have upgraded their organic hull in the few weeks since their last encounter? He didn't want to believe it was feasible with a ship that size, Jack learned not to doubt the Reapers capabilities though.

Tarquin's voice came over the radio, "Should I even bother sending my fighters out there or just hit it with the rest of my kinetic rounds Shepard? Otherwise I'm going to bring them back to the ship in case they have more patrol craft in the air."

Jack knew more ships in the fight would help keep the heat off Joker but not much else, "Small ships aren't going to help us now. Hit it with the big guns as soon as you can!"

Joker was sending the ship towards the top inner edge of the debris field envelope, "No rush or anything, we're just playing the worst game of pin the Elcor I think I've ever seen. You know, the type that if the Elcor loses he'll get melted down and sent flying into space."

Tarquin sounded frustrated, "What the hell is your pilot going on about now Shepard...?"

Jack couldn't help but chuckle despite how dire the situation was, "He likes to make jokes, you'll get used to it."

Joker turned his head around again to look at them all, "Everyone hang on to something, this is going to get rough. Tarquin, Garrus, get ready to shoot when I say so."

He had a feeling Joker was planning something he wouldn't have approved and his suspicions were only confirmed when the Normandy turned around to face the Collector ship. At first, Jack just thought he was going to fly the ship as fast as he could in the other direction past the dreadnought, it soon became clear he was instead flying straight towards it's main gun. On the surface to someone like Adrien, it would probably appear as though Joker was suicidal, he trusted him more than that. As the Normandy made hard turns twisting around the main laser while it came at them, Jack realized Joker wanted to send all of their ammo down it's throat as it was firing. In theory, the ship would have a cascading failure across all systems so Tarquin could pick up the pieces. Then again, this was Reaper tech they were dealing with so, Joker's gamble might not pay off.

When the Normandy was almost to the point he was sure it wouldn't be able to pull away, Joker yelled, "Now boys!"

A rapid succession of blindingly bright lights from the explosions made Jack close his eyes sharply. The Collectors had taken the bait and had been consistently firing at them sending even their advanced drive cores to the limit, adding the heat from the Normandy's weapon system had to push it over the edge. There was a selfish part of Jack that wished Joker would've come up with this plan on Horizon but, then they would have never have found this place and Sovereign could complete whatever plan he had been doing this whole time. His relief that the dreadnought was finally destroyed quickly became replaced with the realization that the Normandy was currently right underneath the exploding ship. Surely, debris flying off of the ship would hit them right? They definitely weren't out of the woods yet.

Blaring alarm sounds filled the Normandy's cabin with Joker expressing just as much concern, "Mass Effect shield generators are offline! EDI, Tali...? Somebody, give me something here!"

A bang sending all of them in the air made Tali say, "We just lost engine four, ripped clean off from debris! I have to shut down the drive core now to prevent all of our eezo from leaking out."

Joker gritted his teeth, "Shit, that station's gravity is going to pull us into it... Hang on!"

EDI's orb flashed to all of them, "I think Jeff is trying to advise everyone to take a seat and strap in, this is going to be a hard landing."

On a regularly operating Normandy, finding a seat near the cockpit would've been a nightmare, with the entire support staff gone it was fairly easy. Kal was gripping his hand in the seat next to him just in case this was the last few minutes of their lives. Exchanging I love you's wasn't necessary in a room full of people and the hand holding was enough to communicate the emotion. Joker was desperately yanking at the controls in the hopes he could lift the ship to the point that they weren't going to get crushed on impact but, it was useless without the power coming from the drive core. He considered trying to organize all of the biotics on the ship to perform the action all at once, they just didn't have the time. Whatever was about to happen was going to be based on luck for how they landed.

It didn't take long for the bottom edges of the Normandy to make contact with the Collector satellite. The impact alone sent their chairs rocking against the hull but, it was immediately apparent they were going to make it. His ears were ringing with the screeching noise of metal grinding on metal as the ship struggled to stop sliding across the surface. The viewport from the cockpit started seeing the edge of the hull before they finally stopped. For just a brief moment, they were safe even though their situation was debatably worse now. There was no way this version of the Normandy was going to fly ever again. At least the Collectors hadn't armed the exteriors with defenses, otherwise they'd be dead right now. Jack was hopeful but not banking on that meaning there were going to be less defenses inside the ship as well.

Jack started unhooking himself from the seat first knowing they had stopped, "Everybody doing okay?"

Joker groaned breathing heavily like he had just ran a marathon, "Ungh... I think I may have broke a rib... On second thought, all of them."

Leng practically jumped out of his seat as though nothing had just happened, "Your still alive aren't you? EDI, can you begin to assess the damage to the Normandy?"

EDI answered seemingly unphased by Leng being the one to ask, "Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time and manpower we don't have without making concessions."

Jack raised an eyebrow at the ceiling, "Meaning what EDI?"

EDI's orb pivoted back in his direction, "With all due respect to Tali's abilities, I need Legion's speed and processing power to complete necessary repairs effectively. The Normandy will be lost without him."

Tarquin was apparently very eager to jump into the conversation, "Don't worry Shepard, we have enough Kodiak shuttles to get you and your crew out of there."

Jack was extremely torn about what to do here, he had locked Legion up for a reason. What if the Geth just decided to stop repairing the ship because it went against some arbitrary percent it came up with? That could really be the death of any chance he had at freedom, Tarquin wasn't going to just pick him up and drop him back off where he wanted. The only thing taking Tarquin's help guaranteed was that he, Kal, and Zero would end up in a jail cell on Earth. However, The Illusive Man had made it clear this version of the Normandy was his. Did he really want to repair a stealth ship Cerberus would use against the Alliance just for the chance of freedom? It came down to whether or not Jack believed the Reapers would be defeated at the end of this mission. Was it possible that the galaxy needed Rael's solution to kill the Reapers?

Miranda interrupted his train of thought with a defeated shrug, "We all knew this was likely a one-way trip, Turians or not."

Adrien cleared his throat, "My son isn't going to leave any of us behind Ms. Lawson. The Normandy is just a ship, a valuable ship I'll give you that but, just a ship. Your lives are more important."

Miranda just gave him a cool smile, "I appreciate your ability to give good speeches General but, I have no delusions that the ninth platoon wouldn't take the opportunity to leave anyone from Cerberus behind if they have the chance."

Jack took a deep breath knowing he could be making a big mistake, "I'll do whatever it takes to stop the Collectors, but I plan to live to tell about it. EDI unlock the crew quarters and direct Legion to do whatever you need him to."

As EDI responded he could feel Kal get a little stiff, he was going against their last conversation but Kal knew he had to. "Acknowledged Shepard, we will be ready as soon as possible."

Joker smiled back to them not seeing the tensions between them, "I'm glad your the one in charge instead of Debbie Downer over there. What's next?"

Jack was trying to come up with that answer himself while trying not to show it, "How long can we estimate until the Collectors find this landing zone?"

EDI stayed quiet for a few seconds making a few calculations, "I do not detect an internal security network like the one on the dreadnought. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to ever reach the base."

Jack looked to each of them trying to reassure himself as well as them, "This isn't how we planned this mission, but this is where we're at. We can't spend our time worrying about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. Let's get everyone in the briefing room."

He was a little surprised Leng didn't come up with any kind of sarcastic objection but, he stayed silent and so they made their way to the briefing room to regroup with the others. Every second was going to count now that the Collectors inside the satellite at least knew the dreadnought was destroyed and a Turian one was on the way. Would they try and rush whatever the purpose of this place was now that they were here? Did Zero have less time now that they were going to be hammering on the door? It was a few minutes until Mordin, Kasumi, Garrus, Tali, Feron, and Thane came to the room with them. Presumably, Legion was already too busy with the repairs to attend the meeting. It didn't matter anyways, he wasn't needed in this meeting to come up with the plan.

Now that everyone was here, Jack spoke up, "EDI, bring up your scans you received from Sovereign. Let's see what we're dealing with here."

The center of the table lit up revealing a orange glowing blueprints of the satellite. It was a mess of tunnels and seemingly pointless rooms that appeared to lead nowhere. For something like an insect he was sure it made all the sense in the world, for him though it was just confusing. After just a minute though Jack started to see all of the paths went straight to the center of the satellite. That must've been where the transmitter for the satellite had to be, it didn't matter whether or not the device was sending or receiving data. They had to destroy it to make sure Sovereign wasn't able to restart the cycle. To him, nothing else mattered that was why they were here.

EDI highlighted the center core room with a large red target symbol confirming his hunch, "You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control center here."

Kasumi tapped her chin scanning the building like it was a vault she had something to steal inside, "That means going right to the heart of the station." She frowned pointing to the room that was a side entrance that looked easier to get to admittedly, "Past this massive energy signature..."

Adrien looked between all of them, "Taking out the station is all well and good but, how are we going to get there? Even if the Collectors don't have a state of the art security system, I have no doubt they have a few million Collector soldiers guarding this place, especially if it's important to the Reaper cycle."

Jack had to admit that was an extremely good question without any good solutions. Up until this point, Jack had been hoping they would've been able to sneak inside and do what they had to without raising an alarm. That wasn't an option now that they had literally crashed into the hull after destroying their only exterior protection. His next answer was to tell him they'd use the Turians of the ninth platoon to punch a hole to the core. Even if Tarquin was willing to empty the entire Turian ship, he doubted all of them would be able to put a real dent in the Collector soldiers numbers. Granted, they might have served a decent distraction but, he wasn't willing to ask him to make that kind of sacrifice. The Turians might also be the only way they were getting out of here so he needed them to be alive.

Mordin just began to speak unprompted, "Cybernetic augmentation of Protheans widespread after the last cycle. As Protheans failed, Reapers added tech to compensate. Mental capacity almost gone, replaced by overworked sensory input, transfers. Transmitting data to masters."

Garrus raised a browplate, "So, what your saying is they've been enhanced by tech? Like Saren? How does that help us?"

Mordin shook his head quickly, "No! Not exactly! No glands, replaced by tech. No digestive system, replaced by tech. No soul. Replaced by tech. Whatever they were, gone forever. Think of Rachni. Drones unintelligent. Process information, transfer sensory data to queen. Individuals just smart enough to follow orders. Understand now?"

Jack lifted an eyebrow, "A queen? So you think they operate like a hive mind? We kill the queen and then the rest of them would just die? I trust you Mordin but, that feels awfully convenient."

Mordin nodded folding his arms over his chest, "Yes. Positive from scientific observation. No self-preservation instinct. Old injuries not healed. No reproduction, just cloning. Technology overriding biology, not augmenting. They are only driven from the technology provided by the Reapers, Sovereign. Once he is defeated the Collectors will follow."

Saren was staring at him closely, "Defeat Sovereign? We don't even know if the remnants of Sovereign are here or in another galaxy. That doesn't help us."

Kasumi tapped at the side entrance, "Who wants to bet that this power signature is what's keeping Sovereign alive? Maybe we could just turn him off? Sounds too easy I know but, you never know."

EDI filled the small moment of silence, "Kal, this side path to the central chamber also appears to have pods linking to the energy signature. If our crew or any of the colonists are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there."

Kal bowed his head focusing on the path to the side chamber, "Thank you EDI, I'll go to the pods first and try to get the crew."

Adrien glanced at him and then Kal, "I'll go with you, your going to need back up if your getting the whole crew to safety."

Leng smirked seemingly knowing something he didn't, "If the representation of Sovereign is in there your going to need more than two people. I'll come too.. If the Commander allows it...?"

A chill ran straight down Jack's spine having a bad feeling about this was why Leng was here. He couldn't have predicted all of the different situations that brought them here but, his confidence just seemed to be suggesting he wanted this as an end goal. Kal was going to go to that chamber whether he said yes or no. And, even though he didn't like this Leng was unfortunately speaking from a logically sound place. Adrien and Kal weren't going to be able to defeat a version of Sovereign on their own. He was going to have to give the ok despite not wanting to, for Kal's sake here. Hopefully all of the beating on the punching bag was going to pay off.

Saren spoke before he could come up with an answer, "I'll go too, I have a beef with Sovereign that I would like to finish."

The sense of relief flooding through Jack would've stunned him two years ago. Saren used to be an enemy, not someone he would've ever trusted to protect the love of his life. Now, after they had shared several missions together and he had seen Saren mourn Nihlus, Jack felt like they had a connection. The fact that Saren had also removed the control chip without Leng knowing making him a perfect mole. If Leng trusted him to follow an order and he betrayed him, it might be enough to kill the assassin once and for all. He couldn't help but give him a shy smile and a tiny nod in thanks while trying to avoid Leng's optical sensor. Saren didn't have to throw him a life saver like that, he jumped in because they did have a complicated relationship, if not a friendship.

Jack was keeping his gaze on the immediate area around the chamber, "Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split up to keep the Collectors off balance, then regroup in the central chamber."

Miranda shook her head using her finger to point to the two routes, "No good, both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way past is to get someone to open them from the other side."

Kasumi's eyebrows furrowed determined to find an answer, "It's not a fortress; there's got to be something. Here, maybe we can send someone in through this ventilation shaft. Practically a suicide mission. I volunteer."

Jack bit his lower lip accepting the fact she was the best answer, "The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors' attention away from what your doing."

Kal was rubbing his fingers together lost in thought, "We'll be with the second team so we can split from the rest of you to get the crew."

Miranda puffed up to get some courage, "I'll lead the second fire team, Shepard. We'll meet up with you on the other side of the doors."

Tarquin came over the radio on Adrien's armor, "It sounds like you have everything planned out. What do you need from the ninth platoon? We aren't going to sit around while you do all of the fighting."

Jack glanced from Adrien to the central chamber, "The biggest bomb you have on the ship, we're going to need it in the core." He stepped away from the rest of the table to address the room in case this was the last time he was going to see any of them again, "I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy. We've lost good people. We may lose more. We don't know how many the Collectors have stolen, thousands, hundreds of thousands. It's not important. What matters is this: Not one more. That's what we can do, here, today. It ends with us. They want to know what we're made of? I say we show them, on our terms. Let's bring our people home."

Kal kissed him on the side of the cheek whispering, "Don't worry about me, I'll see you on the other side."

Leng turned to go but tilted his head back to him, "I guess the Victus' aren't the only ones that can give good speeches.."

The room started to disperse leaving him alone with Tali, Garrus and Mordin. He forced a smile, "Looks like we're helping Kasumi..."