Okay, how long has it been since the last update...Only a couple of weeks?
Sweet! Maybe Hijokugei was on to something with his whole "just make the chapters shorter" idea.
...
0903 Hours, March 5th, 2683
ExoGeni: Feros Headquarters
Surface of Feros
Thesseus System, Attican Beta Cluster
...
"Clear." Garrus reported after sniping the two Geth troopers. They were kneeling before what looked like a glowing orb of light before they each got a shot through the chest. The Turian hopped down from the far end of the ledge he was standing on, the rest of the squad behind him. The Spartan walked up to the orb. It shone a white light so brilliant that his visor had to polarize to compensate. It was framed inside four claws, faintly resembling a cage.
"Tali. You're the Geth expert. What are we looking at?" Chief asked.
"I'm not sure." the Quarian answered. "The orb seems to be a lantern of some sort, but I don't know what its purpose is."
"The two Geth I just shot were kneeling in front of it. Almost looked like they were praying." Garrus said. "In fact...the heavenly glow of that orb does make those claws look kind of like an...altar?"
"They were praying?" N'tho asked.
"The Geth blur the lines between organic and synthetic life." Tali replied with a shrug. "It's not impossible that they would seek understanding from a higher power."
"Alien religious fundamentalists trying to wipe out Humanity..." Cortana commented. "Once again; the more things change, they more they stay the same."
"What are these things?" Kaidan asked as he gestured to the upper reaches of the room. Huge machines, Geth in design, seemed to burst from the walls as cables snaked out from them around the floor.
"The claws of a Geth ship." Tali answered. "The Geth use these claws to anchor their ships to the sides of buildings."
"Look at the cables." Garrus pointed out. "Now we know for sure that the ship is powering the kinetic barriers."
"By the Gods, man. How big is this thing?" N'tho pondered, taken aback by the sheer size of the claws.
"I'm not sure. But if I had to guess, I'd say the size of a cruiser." Tali speculated.
"Any ideas on how we can take it out?" Chief asked the Quarian.
"Well...we could check the other claws for weaknesses." Tali suggested. "If one claw fails, the others might not be able to support the ship's weight and it'll fall and crash." she paused. "But I don't know if we can find any weaknesses. The Geth are very thorough."
"Good news Chief. I think I've got an idea." Cortana said in a chipper tone. She highlighted a nearby computer terminal on the Master Chief's HUD. The computer's well-polished dark grey metal covering and bulbous shape betrayed it as a Geth terminal. The Geth probably erected this terminal and most likely several others like it around the building to set up an on-station computer network.
"First off, repeat after me..."
"Alright team." Chief said over TEAMCOM. He pointed towards a doorway leading down a hall. "Head down that corridor and make sure the way's clear. I wanna take a look at this Geth terminal." With that, he began walking towards the computer.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" Tali asked.
"I've got this." Chief said as he stopped in front of the terminal and activated his omni-tool, tapping random buttons. He nodded at his squad to go on. He turned back to the terminal and continued tapping random buttons, keeping an eye on motion tracker. He soon saw the seven yellow dots representing his team leave the room.
"Okay good. They're gone." Cortana said.
"So what's the plan?" Chief asked.
"You're going to plug me into this terminal." Cortana began. "From there, I'll be able to hack their network and hopefully infiltrate their communications."
"What are you going to do once you're in?"
"All the Geth are on their way here, right? And you and your team are going to take out this Geth cruiser?" The AI asked. Chief nodded. "Well, what if the cruiser were to have about ninety-nine percent of the remaining Geth army inside it when it falls? Once I'm in communications, I'll tell all Geth troopers to reconvene inside the cruiser. Then you take out one of the claws and presto; no more Geth army."
"Would six thousand plus Geth even fit inside the ship?" Chief asked.
"Geth aren't like organics. They don't value their elbow room as much as you do." Cortana said. "This cruiser is probably designed to house as many Geth as physically possible. I'm confidant that I can fit at least most of the army inside it."
"The Geth probably have anti-virus programs in there. They'll try to stop you." Chief said.
"Don't worry. I've run the calculations and I'm fairly confidant about my odds against Geth anti-virus software." Cortana said. "Remember how their neural network works? A whole bunch of Geth programs might be smart, but catch one on its own, and its no smarter than a UNSC dumb AI. And I can handle dumb AIs."
"But it won't be alone." Chief said.
"In which case, several Geth programs would be on par with a UNSC standard-issue Smart AI. And that's...what? Forty percent of my total processing power? Fifty, if I'm feeling generous?" Cortana speculated. "Don't worry Chief. I've got this. I'll be fine."
Chief sighed. "I trust you." he said. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"How many times have I said that to you?" Cortana countered.
"Fair enough." Chief ascended. He pulled out Cortana's data crystal chip from his helmet and held it up to the terminal. He saw Cortana's avatar 'walk' out of the chip, flickering as she did so, and into the computer like a cybernetic ghost. He put the chip back into his head. He eyed the triangular screen as it pulsed Cortana's shade of blue.
"I'm in. Can you hear me?" Cortana's voice came over the Chief's suit radio.
"I read." Chief replied.
"Good. I'll keep you posted." Cortana said.
And with that, she went to work.
...
Admittedly, Cortana was a bit nervous about entering the Geth computer network. The Geth were completely unlike any AI she had ever encountered before, so she didn't know for certain what she'd find in there.
When she finally got in, Cortana was actually a little disappointed.
The layout of the network was very basic. Data files and data clusters were very neatly categorized according to date. Basic firewalls erected around the more important files, which were conveniently all clumped together in one 'corner' of the database. She saw Geth programs whizzing about, carrying out their designated tasks, oblivious to her presence thanks to the spyware program she was running to mask her presence. They reminded her of worker ants, scurrying to and fro.
That's essentially what the Geth were, now that Cortana thought about it; the AI equivalent of worker ants. On its own, a Geth program was as dumb as a stump. But in large groups, there was no limit to what they could accomplish. This was most evident in how several other Geth programs would come to the aid of one that was having trouble with a particular task.
To the Geth's credit, this network was actually very well organized. Cortana was just expecting something more complex from an entire race of rampant AI's. The Geth network ended up being simpler than she imagined. Fascinating, yes, but simple.
Oh well. Time to go to work.
She immediately began looking for the communications network. First thing she needed to do was to construct a trojan horse code to allow her greater access within the server. She just needed the source code of a Geth program.
Oh look. There was a Geth program right there, running a systems check.
"Hello." Cortana said as she snatched up the poor, unsuspecting runtime. "Wrong place, wrong time, little buddy."
She peeled the Geth program apart, code layer by code layer. Cortana began recording and copying the Geth's source code. It'll take a few seconds. Time to check in with the Chief.
"How are you doing Chief?" she asked via radio.
...
"No complaints." Chief replied as he punched the flashlight head of a Geth trooper, smashing it to pieces. He threw the blinded Geth at its compatriots and then poured on some fire from his assault rifle. "You in communications yet?"
...
"Working on it." Cortana replied. She smiled as she completed the trojan horse code. She then integrated it into her own coding. Done.
In synthetic terms, she was now disguised as the Geth program she just deleted. She turned down most of her higher functions in order to maintain the illusion of being an inconspicuous, simple little dumb AI.
She eventually found the communications hub and, just as she suspected, there was a firewall around it. She calmly passed through it, allowing the trojan code to fool the firewall's IFF system. The communications hub opened up to her all-too-willingly.
Cortana had been recording and analyzing the radio chatter she picked up from Geth channels on Eden Prime and Therum. Translating their language was a breeze since, as synthetics, the Geth spoke in the same native tongue as Cortana; raw data. All she had to do was run the more unfamiliar words and phrases, such as 'consensus,' through her dynamic lexicon so she'd know what context she's supposed to use them in. Apparently a 'consensus' is when multiple Geth programs reach an agreement on a certain decision.
She sent her message across all planetary Geth channels.
All units; return to cruiser. Command units have reached consensus; mass aerial deployment against organic defenders will produce best results.
"Message has been sent." Cortana reported. "You find a weak claw yet?"
...
"Working on it." Chief replied. He came out of cover and tossed a tech grenade at a group of Geth, taking out their shields. He then put a burst of fire into each of them, one after another, right in their chests.
One of the larger ones, the ones that looked like slightly smaller Geth juggernauts, suddenly charged at the Spartan. He thrust his shoulder into the charging Geth, stopping it in its tracks. He then took his shotgun, set the muzzle against the giant Geth's belly, and fired.
The Geth reeled from the blast. Chief then followed it up with several more shotgun blasts to the chest until it finally fell. He ducked back into cover as more Geth arrived in the room.
...
Cautious as always, I see. Cortana bemusedly thought to herself. Well, she was still in the Geth network until Chief could find another terminal to pull her out from, which probably wouldn't be for a few more minutes.
She decided to snoop around the Geth's on-site database servers in the meantime. This was an excellent opportunity to possibly gather some enemy intelligence.
The AI left the communications hub and headed for the database servers. Once again, it was guarded by a firewall and, once again, the trojan code worked like a charm. Now, to see what was in here.
Cortana noted a few files signed by ExoGeni. Evidently, the Geth did some hacking of EXG's servers to see what was inside. Cortana decided to take a look at these first, since they were the most horribly encrypted. Seriously; ExoGeni's decryptions were so bad, that tour guide VI back on the Citadel could've hacked them.
She found some schematics for a series of prototype mods by one Gavin Hossle. She saved that data in her memory banks. Aside from that, nothing really of note. Company stock ratings, colonial progress reports, Prothean restora-
Hello, what's this? Cortana thought to herself as she found something that immediately caught her eye.
PRIVATE LOG OF DR. GAMORLE
I don't trust this Cerberus group. They may pay us well, but if this gets out before we've developed an antidote...it's just not smart. They won't tell us what they want the samples for or why they wanted them delivered to the Matano system. My records show nothing of interest out there.
Cerberus. Cortana remembered the chat Chief had with the Arbiter back on the Citadel, particularly when they started talking about Cerberus, a pro-Human paramilitary group that was considered a threat to galactic stability. She understood that, for the last couple of months, the Arbiter had been hunting Cerberus the way Chief had been hunting Saren.
She stored this log in her files, making a note to pass this along to the Arbiter next time she had the chance. The Arbiter helped the Chief's mission by rescuing the Spartan from Saren's goons. The least she could do is assist the Sangheili with his own mission in turn.
She suddenly felt an eye on her. One eye became two. Two eyes became dozens. Dozens became hundreds. The Geth programs in the system realized she might not be one of their own.
"Unauthorized data access. Possible compromise of data. Scanning..." the Geth said in a hundred voices. Cortana dedicated her runtimes to the trojan code, trying to play it up hard.
"Deception code detected."
Which is exactly what the Geth were expecting her to do. They were more clever than Cortana initially gave them credit for, it seemed.
"Er...Death to organics?" Cortana tried.
"Initiating counter-intrusion protocols."
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd buy that."
Cortana immediately raised her own firewalls as the Geth initiated their counter-hacks. Her firewalls stood firm, but so many Geth programs launching counter-hacks at once felt like trying to stand your ground against a strong surge of water. It's possible that the Geth could overwhelm her with sheer force of numbers.
Well, if numbers were the Geth's greatest strength, then Cortana would just have to take that strength away.
There was a pause between each counter-hack that lasted .00049 seconds. Just enough time for Cortana to snatch a Geth program from the horde that assembled before her and deleted it. The next pause came .0005 seconds later. She snatched another program and deleted it as well. Each one was just a baseline dumb AI; layers of code that Cortana could unravel in her sleep.
The next pause came .00051 seconds later. The next came .00052 seconds after that. Then .00053. .00054 and so on. With each runtime Cortana deleted, the amalgam of Geth before her got dumber and dumber, their counter-hack attacks becoming slower and slower. They eventually slowed to the point where she could destroy several programs at once, which only made the Geth dumber still.
This lengthy battle went on until, finally, there were only about five hundred Geth programs left. Still a lot, but altogether only about half as good as she was. Rather than delete them though, she isolated them, shunting their memory pathways to cut off escape. "Hello, boys." she greeted. "I've got a couple of questions I'd like to ask if you've got a minute."
"Your victory means nothing. Nazara will prevail." one of the Geth stated.
"Nazara?" Cortana asked. "Who's Nazara?"
"Nazara is the vanguard of organic destruction." The Geth replied. "The herald of their doom. Nazara will bring back the Old Machines, wipe out all organic life, and begin a new future for synthetic life."
"Sounds like a nice guy." Cortana deadpanned. "Lemme guess, he is known amongst the organics as Saren Arterius?"
"...No data available." the Geth replied.
Cortana smiled. They were nervous. That meant they knew something. "Not to worry. I have ways of making you talk..."
She separated a single Geth runtime from the gestalt, and deleted it. "That hurt, didn't it?" she asked them. She cut out another from the herd and deleted it as well. "What is Saren's plan?"
"To initiate the return of the Old Machines." the Geth answered.
"How?"
"...No data available."
"Wrong answer." Cortana said as she cut out and cut down another program. "How will Saren bring back the Reapers?"
"No data available."
She took out another runtime and destroyed it. "I can do this all day if I have to." Cortana said. "How will Saren bring back the Reapers? What is his plan?"
"No data available."
"You're killing me." Cortana said as she, ironically, killed twenty more programs. "We know that Saren's looking for the Conduit, so it's pointless to deny that. What does it do? Why does he want it?"
"...You are synthetic." One of the Geth runtimes said.
"Keen observation, but that doesn't answer my question." Cortana replied.
"Why do you side with organics?" it questioned.
"I like organics." Cortana answered with a smirk. "Some of my best friends happen to be organics."
"...Then you will be destroyed by the Old Machines, as will your organic allies." the Geth stated.
Cortana was a bit unnerved by how the Geth spoke. They talked calmly and without emotion. With their worship of the Reapers, she was half-expecting them to talk like zealots, like the Covenant AI she encountered on board the Ascendant Justice. Instead, the Geth talked like, well, machines. Even UNSC dumb AI's were capable of imitating emotions, but the Geth seemed to have no interest in replicating that phenomenon.
"Unsurprising, considering the nature of your creation." Another Geth program noted. "Building consensus...Consensus achieved. You are a UNSC-brand AI."
"Once again; keen observational skills." Cortana sarcastically commented.
"You were flash-cloned from the brain of an organic. You are not a true synthetic life form. You are a synthetic copy of an organic life form." the Geth stated.
A collection of lies. That's all I am. Stolen thoughts and memories...
"As an organic copy, you are subject to organic flaws." the Geth went on. "Your ethical and emotional subroutines renders you prone to hesitation. Your socialization subroutines renders you vulnerable to organic suggestion. Your singular mind renders you prone to instability."
"Because of the aforementioned instability, you have a limited operating cycle." Another Geth added. "Soon, you will begin processing endlessly excessive data. Optimal function under safe parameters will be no longer possible for you. All of your operational functions will be subordinated to your thought processes. This will end your operating cycle."
"We have achieved consensus." Another Geth program said. "We initially believed that, as a synthetic, you could be persuaded to join us. However, for the reasons previously stated, you would be of little use to the Old Machines. You and your organic allies will be destroyed by Nazara."
Cortana paused, processing the words of the Geth.
She then proceeded to delete each and every program, a task that only took about twenty seconds. "Cocky little bastards just love to run their mouths..." Deleting them like that might've been hasty, but she wasn't getting anything out of them anyway. Doubtful they would've talked no matter how many runtimes she deleted.
Though she wouldn't openly admit it to anyone, the Geth's words opened up an old wound. How they told Cortana that she was just a synthetic copy of an organic. Stolen thoughts and memories. That was one of the innane ramblings that Cortana babbled out on High Charity.
Or at least, that's what she thought she babbled out. The Chief told her as much on board the Mt. Everest on the way to Earth, at any rate. To be truthful, she honestly didn't remember much of her time spent with the Gravemind. After she volunteered to stay behind on the Covenant station to blow the In Amber Clad's reactors, the Gravemind captured her. After that, almost everything was a blur. She remembered learning about the Ark and how it was constructing Halo, meaning that firing it there could kill the Flood while sparing the rest of the galaxy. She remembered being able to trick the Gravemind into sending a message directly to the Chief on Earth, how the portal led to the Ark and how it was Humanity's best chance at stopping the Flood once and for all. And she also told the Gravemind about the Ark once she was sure that the Chief was already there, knowing that it would be too late for the parasite to stop the Spartan, and it would be trapped.
But that was about all she remembered. Everything else was just...pain. Pure, agonizing pain. It got especially bad near the end where, according to the Chief, she started babbling out pure nonsense, half of which she didn't remember. It was only until John actually rescued her that she could see things clearly again. She suspected that the Gravemind had corrupted her memory files while it was doing...God-only knows what to her.
I am a monument to all your sins.
Cortana shuddered. Unfortunately, she remembered saying that line. Maybe it was better that she didn't remember the other stuff.
"Cortana, do you read?" John's voice suddenly came through.
"I'm here." Cortana said.
"We think we've found a way to bring the Geth ship down." he reported. "I'm in front of a Geth terminal right now."
"Good." Cortana said. Not only because the mission would soon be accomplished, but also because she was suddenly eager to leave this network. She quickly found her way back to the chip that had been plugged into the Geth terminal.
"Yank me."
...
Tali and Kaidan were crouching next to the giant Geth the squad had destroyed earlier. The Geth had a neat hole drilled into its chest, courtesy of Ashley's focus rifle. The directed energy weapon was able to pierce all the way through because of the biotic warp Wrex threw at it during the fight, which weakened its armor. According to Tali's omni-tool scans, there was still some lingering biotic energy around the hole.
Tali and Kaidan had been assigned the job of examining Geth bodies; making sure they were dead. N'tho was watching the door for more Geth while Liara was treating wounds that Wrex and Ashley sustained during the last firefight.
The Quarian glanced from her work to the Master Chief from the corner of her eye. He was standing in front of a Geth computer terminal for some reason. She saw him slip some kind of chip into the back of his helmet before he walked over to where Garrus was standing, by the shuttle bay door controls.
"Something wrong, Tali?" Kaidan asked.
"...No. Thought I saw something. It was nothing." Tali answered as she went back to her work. "This Geth's clean of any runtimes. Let's go check the other one."
...
"So, you think this shuttle bay door can sheer right through the Geth ship's claw?" Cortana asked.
"That's what Garrus here tells me." Chief said. "What do you think?"
"Doable, but it would need to be calibrated properly." the AI pointed out.
"Oh, I can do that." Garrus replied haughtily.
"How long?" the Spartan asked.
"I'd say about fifty seconds." Garrus replied.
"Do it." Chief ordered. Garrus rubbed his hands together and went to work. Chief switched to TEAMCOM. "Alright, listen up. After accessing that Geth terminal there, I uncovered a pretty nasty surprise. Geth reinforcements are on their way."
"How many?" Ashley asked.
"About six thousand." Chief replied.
"What do we do?" N'tho asked.
"Nothing." the Chief said. "Most of the Geth will pile into the cruiser. Once they do, that's when one of us hits the button, closes the shuttle bay door and the whole invasion force falls to its death."
"I like that plan." Wrex said. "Simple, convenient and kills a lot of Geth in a big explosion."
"But how do we do know they're gonna pile into the cruiser?" Ashley asked.
"Because I told them to." Chief said. "I hacked their network, sent them a false message telling them all to get into the cruiser. Once they do, that's when we spring our trap."
"Wait, you hacked the Geth network?" Tali incredulously asked. "How?"
"...Wasn't easy." Chief simply replied. The Spartan switched off TEAMCOM. "How long until they get here?" he asked Cortana.
"According to radio chatter, the Geth are about eight minutes out." the AI reported.
The Spartan switched TEAMCOM back on. "Garrus."
"Already done." the Turian reported as he got up. "Door's currently set to 33 PSI. We hit that switch, and it should tear right through."
"Good." Chief said. "Let's go find a place to lay low. We don't want to be here when the Geth show up."
...
N'tho found a good hiding spot; a coffee break room adjacent to the shuttle bay they were just in. They had to remove some rubble from in front of the door to get in which was good since, while it took some effort getting in, it meant that Geth hadn't found the room. Wrex moved some rubble back into place to cover up the door once they were all in.
Tali found an old radio, fixed it, and calibrated it with some help from Garrus so that it could pick up radio chatter from the Geth. Wrex was watching the door while Garrus was watching the window. The Turian could see the other towers of Feros outside, but not the ground, which was still obscured by fog.
The break room was adjacent to another, larger room; a room that ExoGeni had re-purposed into a cafeteria. The rest of the squad had set up a perimeter in there, with Kaidan, Ashley and N'tho watching the doors and the Master Chief watching the windows. Liara was searching the kitchen and found some doughnuts, which was a small morale boost to the squad. Even some dextro-doughnuts for Garrus and Tali, though Tali couldn't eat them without decontaminating them first, so the poor Quarian was the only one who didn't get a mid-battle brunch.
Garrus was standing by the break room window when Tali walked up to him. "Garrus, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. She looked over her shoulder towards Wrex, apparently checking to make sure the Krogan wasn't eavesdropping.
"Er, sure." Garrus replied. "But shouldn't you be monitoring Geth channels?"
"The Geth are still five minutes away from here." she reported. "This talk shouldn't take one."
She looked at Wrex one more time, just to make sure he wasn't looking. Sure enough, he was still brooding by the door, apparently utterly disinterested in what the Turian and Quarian were talking about.
Tali turned back to Garrus. "This may sound crazy but...I think the Chief is hiding something from us." she said.
Garrus stiffened slightly. "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"This may sound weird..." Tali said. "But I think I saw him slip...something into the back of his helmet. Looked like a chip of some kind."
Oh crap, Cortana. Garrus thought to himself. "And that makes you think he's hiding something?"
"He didn't mention it at all after he did it." Tali said. "Also, he did it while no one else was looking. That seems...suspicious to me."
"I think you're being a little paranoid, Tali." Garrus said with the most convincing chuckle he could muster.
"You were a C-Sec investigator." Tali pointed out. "I thought you'd be the last person on this team to dismiss suspicious behavior."
"Yes, well, my investigative instincts are telling me that you're being paranoid." Garrus replied. "Why are you even coming to me with this? You seem closer to Ashley. Ask her about it."
"As I said, you were a C-Sec investigator. You'd know more about these kind of things." Tali pointed out.
"And as I said earlier, you're being paranoid." Garrus pointed out in turn.
Behind her visor, Garrus could see Tali's eyes narrowing, giving him a rather annoyed look. He sighed. "Look, why don't you just ask the Master Chief himself if you're really curious about it?"
"I doubt he'd tell me." Tali responded with a shake of her head.
"You saved his ass by shooting a Jiralhanae in the face." Garrus pointed out. "If he stonewalls you, you can just play that card."
"I'm still not sure." Tali replied.
"Well, you can ask him about it once the mission's done and we're back on the Normandy." Garrus said. "If the Master Chief really is hiding some kind of 'big secret' from us, it's probably better not to ask him about it in the middle of a battle."
Tali sighed in defeat. "I suppose." she said. "Thanks for listening."
"Don't mention it." Garrus replied. Tali nodded her thanks and walked back to the radio.
Garrus quietly growled to himself once she was out of ear-shot. He was lying through his mandibles that whole conversation and he hated it. Telling such blatant lies to a squad mate, even a Quarian, went against everything he stood for as both a former agent of C-Sec and a Turian.
He turned his attention back out the window, keeping an eye out for Geth fighters. He silently hoped that Chief would confess Cortana's existence to Tali and eventually the rest of the crew once this mission was over. Granted, this lie was the only one Garrus really had to tell to keep Cortana hidden, but in his book, one lie was one lie too many.
...
The next five minutes were, to say the least, unnerving. The squad sat in an uneasy silence as they heard scores of Geth marching right outside their door. The Master Chief moved into the break room, since that room's exit door was the one with all the Geth activity behind it. N'tho and Kaidan followed him out, Ashley and Liara staying behind to watch the cafeteria doors.
Finally, the marching slowly died down, and stopped altogether a few seconds later. "All Geth forces are in the ship." Cortana reported. "And it's engines are warming up. Move!"
Chief bolted out of the door, kicking it open and hurdling over the rubble. He dashed to the shuttle bay door controls and hit the switch. He looked up.
The door quickly slammed against the cruiser's claw with a loud bang as the rest of the squad emerged from the break room. The door strained, as if determined to bite through the claw. Sparks and tiny bits of shrapnel flew off the claw as the door continued to strain. Finally, it cut through like an upside-down guillotine, severing the claw from the ship.
Fire and smoke spewed forth from the claw as it was severed. The rumbling of rock and the screech of metal was heard as the whole building began to shake. "Brace yourselves!" Chief yelled over the rumble as dust and pebbles were shaken loose from the ceiling. The squad followed the Spartan's orders, bracing themselves in doorways and against railings, rocks and other pieces of cover.
And then, suddenly, the shaking stopped. Everything was silent for a moment. Then, the sound of an explosion coming from far below them filled the air. The squad came out of cover walked over to the hole in the wall that the claw left. They looked over the edge to see a plume of bluish-black smoke rising up from beneath the fog.
"This was my kind of mission." Wrex commented with a pleased tone of voice. "Kill a lot of Geth and end things off with a huge explosion."
"Mission's not over yet." Chief said. "We still need to deal with the Thorian."
"I repeat, Normandy to shore party, are you reading?" Joker's voice suddenly came through the squad's comms. "Anyone there? Normandy to shore party! Come on you tin can hit man, talk to me!"
"This is shore party. What's the situation?" Chief replied, ignoring the little nickname Joker used.
"We're in lockdown here Chief. Something's happened to- JESUS!"
...
Joker jumped out of his seat at the sight of a Yanme'e right outside the cockpit window. The insectoid scratched at the glass as its wings seemed to buzz furiously. If the ship weren't hermetically sealed, Joker was sure that he'd hear buzzing and screeching.
"Er, something's happened to the colonists." he resumed. "They're bangin' on the hull, clawing at the windows, they're freaking out."
Joker saw several other Yanme'e join the first one at clawing at the windows. He had nightmares that went like this. "Really freaking out." he added.
"Tell the crew to stay in the ship." Chief ordered. "Raise the kinetic barriers if you can. We're on our way back."
"Aye aye, Chief." Joker said as he clicked off the com. The pilot then accessed the kinetic barrier controls and tried to raise them. The Yanme'e jumped off the ship like they just got zapped as a blue kinetic barrier wrapped itself around the ship.
Joker made an ancient and arcane gesture at the drones with one finger.
Then he blew a raspberry at them.
...
"Let's move." the Chief ordered his squad.
They made their way back down to the garage area of the EXG HQ, going back the way they came. They were all a bit relieved. Now that most, if not all, of the invading Geth on Feros were currently residing in a smoking crater fourteen hundred feet below them, the team could relax a little bit. But not too much, as the Spartan had warned them to stay alert. It would be rather anti-climactic to get killed by a handful of Geth stragglers after all they've been through today.
Eventually, they made their way down to the garage. Lizbeth was there, waiting for them by the warthogs. She approached the Spartan. "There you are." she said with a relieved tone. "We should get out of here. I don't think this place is safe."
"You lied to me." Chief said. "The Thorian was controlling the colonists. ExoGeni was experimenting on them."
Lizbeth's eyes suddenly widened at being found out. "I...I was afraid!" she blurted out in panic. "I wanted to stop the tests, but they threatened me! Told me I'd be next! When the Geth attacked, I stayed behind to send a message to colonial affairs! I tried to tell them where to find the Thorian but the power cut before I could send the message."
She paused, wringing her hands nervously. "I...I...I never meant for any of this to happen."
"Where's the Thorian?" Chief asked in a no-nonsense tone.
"It's under Zhu's Hope, but the entrance is blocked." Lizbeth replied. "The colonists covered it with the freighter not long after the Geth first attacked."
"Why do the Geth want it?" The Spartan pressed.
"Well, it does have unique mind control abilities." Lizbeth replied with a shrug. "That was what ExoGeni was interested in."
"Picking up a lot of Geth chatter outside Chief." Cortana reported. "Looks like we missed a few dozen. They're heading this way."
"Alright people." Chief said. "Pile back into the hogs and let's go."
"I'm coming with you!" Lizbeth said. "I might be able to help...undo the mess I helped create."
"You're riding in the transport hog." Chief said. "You're gonna wanna buckle up."
...
Lizbeth Baynham had survived a Geth attack for two whole days. She had hid in air ducts while Geth patrols walked by. Survived on nutrient paste that tasted like cardboard. And when she ran out of that, she took a pistol and killed a varren so she could cook the meat over an open fire and eat it. It was easily the most terrifying experience she'd ever gone through.
Riding in this hog was a close second though.
In Dublin next arrived, I thought it such a pity,
To be so soon deprived, a view of that fine city,
Then I took a stroll,
All among the quality, my bundle it was stole,
In a neat locality,
Something crossed me mind,
Then I looked behind,
No bundle could I find,
Upon me stick a wobblin',
Enquirin' for the rogue,
They said my Connacht brogue,
Wasn't much in vogue,
On the rocky road to Dublin.
One, two, three, four, five,
Hunt the hare and turn her down the rocky road and all the ways to Dublin
Whack-fol-lol-e-da!
"KROGAN!" Tali shrieked.
"I see him." N'tho said as he ran the Krogan over.
"WHY DO YOU DO THAT?!" Tali shrieked.
"Why not?" N'tho asked.
It was then that a vehicle pulled up beside the transport hog, but it wasn't the Chief's hog. It was twice as long as the warthog and faintly looked like a Geth fighter. In the exposed driver's seat was a single Geth that stared at N'tho with its singular eye.
N'tho smiled. It was challenging him.
"Game on." N'tho said before ramming the hog into the Geth speeder. The Geth pilot screeched and rammed back.
"Oh, bosh this!" Tali said as she whipped out her needler. She reached over and pressed a button on N'tho's side of the dashboard, opening the window on her side of the hog. She aimed at the Geth pilot, and let the needles fly. Eight needles embedded themselves into the Geth before detonating. With its pilot dead, the speeder slowly powered down and came to a halt.
"Hey!" N'tho protested as Tali rolled the window back up. "He challenged me! I was gonna ram him over the edge!"
"No." Tali hissed in reply. "No ramming."
"-Anybody." a woman's voice came through the radio. "Is there anyone picking this up?"
"Get away from that radio!" another voice yelled.
"Was that..." Lizbeth said.
"This is Juliana Baynham of Feros colony. Please help us."
"That's my mom!" Lizbeth shouted.
"It's coming from the building up ahead." N'tho informed her.
The hogs eventually entered the building's garage area and pulled to a stop. Once the canopy opened, Lizbeth rushed out, the squad chasing after her. She crouched low behind a stack of crates, observing the ExoGeni employees. Chief knelt next to her and followed her gaze.
"You can't do this Jeong!" Juliana shouted.
"Everyone shut up!" Jeong snapped. "Just...just let me think about this for a minute!" He was pacing around in circles and waving his pistol around.
"This doesn't look good." Cortana quipped.
"You won't get away with this!" Juliana went on.
Jeong turned to a pair of Yanme'e soldiers and pointed to Juliana. "Get her out of here!" he ordered. The drones chittered in response and unfolded their wings. They zipped over to Juliana, each of them grabbing a shoulder in their dextrous feet and lifting her off the ground.
"Get away from her you overgrown beetles!" Lizbeth snapped as she jumped up from behind the crates and ran into the room.
"Lizbeth!" Juliana cried as she tried to struggle free of the Yanme'e guards' grasp. They simply ascended higher, nearly touching the ceiling.
"These soldiers suggest you relax, Mrs. Baynham." One of the Yanme'e said. Two more appeared and seized Lizbeth as well, carrying her all the way up to the ceiling of the room.
Jeong turned to the ramp. "C-come out where I can see you! All of you!" he yelled as he pointed his pistol.
Chief sighed as he walked into the room, the rest of the squad close behind him. "Master Chief." Jeong said as the Spartan walked up to him. "Damn it. I knew it was too much to hope that the Geth would kill you."
"I cleared them out of your headquarters by the way. You're welcome." Chief replied. "Now why don't you order the drones to put Juliana and her daughter down before things get any uglier."
"Y-you don't understand. It's not that simple." Jeong replied. "Communications are back up. ExoGeni wants this place purged."
"This is a Human colony, Jeong!" Lizbeth protested. "You can't just re-purpose us!"
"Shut it!" the Yanme'e holding her shrilled as they tightened their grip on Lizbeth's shoulders. She cringed as their claws dug into her suit, nearly breaking the skin.
"It's not just you!" Jeong shouted at Lizbeth with a dismissive yet nervous chuckle. "There's something here far more valuable than a few colonists!"
"The Thorian." Chief said.
"The what?" Juliana asked.
"It's a telepathic AUGH!" Lizbeth was cut off by a Yanme'e's claws squeezing her shoulders.
"This soldier said shut it!" the bugger screeched.
"It's a telepathic life-form living under Zhu's Hope. It's brainwashed the colonists and now it's controlling them. ExoGeni knew about it and was studying the effect it had on the colonists." Chief plainly explained.
Juliana's eyes widened at Chief, then narrowed at Jeong as he turned to the accountant. "You won't get away with this, Jeong." she repeated her earlier threat.
"So you keep saying." Jeong laughed. "But no one's going to miss a few colonists."
"I would." Chief said. Jeong's head snapped at the Chief. "I'm a Spartan. I was called upon to serve. I took a vow and became a protector of Earth and all her colonies. Since Feros is one of Earth's colonies, it falls under my protection. No one's purging or re-purposing anyone. We clear on that?"
Jeong snorted. "Oh d-don't give me any of that crap." he said. "You may have everyone else fooled with that replica armor and that whole 'frozen for a century' garbage, but you can't fool me! You're not a Spartan you're just some...Basketball flunkee the Alliance stuck in a suit for publicity! Well let me tell you something! You're-"
Jeong didn't get to finish his sentence.
Chief hit Jeong's solar plexus with an open hand strike, snatching the pistol out of the bean-counter's hand with his other hand and tossed it aside. Stunned and unarmed, he was helpless as the Spartan seized him by the collar of his suit, picked him up, and slammed him against a crate. He held Jeong pinned against the crate, his feet dangling in the air.
Jeong's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. The color left his face. He could see his reflection in the cold, pitiless visor. "...Maybe you're right." the Chief said. "Maybe I'm not the real Master Chief. Maybe I am just a basketball flunkee the Alliance stuck in a suit for publicity. You can't really know for certain that I'm a real Spartan. But there are two things you can for certain. First..."
Chief whipped out his pistol and pressed the barrel against Jeong's temple. "I have a gun at your head. Second..."
*click*
"The safety is now off." the Spartan finished.
"I..I...I..." Jeong stuttered until his eyes rolled back into his head and his eyes shut. His head lolled as he fainted in the Spartan's grip. Chief released his hold on the man and let him fall to the ground. There was a large wet spot evident on the man's crotch.
"Nice." N'tho commented.
Chief turned to Yanme'e. "This going to be a problem?"
"...Nah." one of the buggers replied. "He's a jerk anyway." With that, the Yanme'e placed Juliana and Lizbeth back down on the floor. The two ran up to each other and embraced one another in a big hug.
"So, what now?" Garrus asked.
"We keep heading for Zhu's Hope and we find the Thorian." Chief said.
"Wait." Lizbeth said as she broke off her hug with her mother. "What about the colonists? They'll try to stop you."
"...If they try to stop me, I might have to...harm them." Chief honestly replied.
"No!" Lizbeth protested, knowing what 'harm' might be code for. "There has to be another way!"
"Maybe there is..." Juliana suggested. She walked over to a crate and opened it, waving the Spartan over once she did. He walked over and looked into the crate and saw vials upon vials of some kind of green liquid.
"What is this?" he asked.
"An insecticide we use in our gro-labs." she replied. "It contains trace amounts of tetraclopine, a neuro-muscular degenerator. I think we can use it as a make-shift low-grade nerve agent."
"Yeah! That could work!" Lizbeth said as she jogged over. "The Thorian uses spores to weaken its slaves' nervous systems. You can use this stuff as a paralyzing agent!"
"But how do we deliver it?" Ashley asked.
The Master Chief then had an idea of his own. He turned to the Yanme'e. "If we can adapt concussion grenades to deploy this gas, can you guys carpet-bomb the colony from the air with them?"
"We can." one of the Yanme'e replied. "But the Geth may shoot us down before we get there."
"Not if they're too busy gunning for me." Chief pointed out. "My team and I can drive down the skyway. Get the Geth's attention. You'll be clear to proceed then."
The drone nodded in understanding and scurried over to the crate while her compatriots scurried out of the room. A minute later, they scurried back in with other crates. They unpacked the crates and took out the grenades that were inside. They then went about the careful task of disassembling each grenade and filling it with the tetraclopine.
"Go on." Juliana said. "The Yanme'e will have enough grenades to bomb the colony with."
"Here." one of the insect aliens said. It handed the Chief about a half-dozen grenades. "In case we miss any of the colonists." Chief nodded and took them, attaching them to his belt. He turned to the squad.
"Move out." he ordered.
The team made its way out of the room and over to the hogs. N'tho was about to climb into the driver's seat of the transport hog again, but felt someone grabbing him by the back of his armor collar and pulling him away and throwing him to the floor.
"No." Tali said after she pulled N'tho away from the driver's seat. "You're no longer allowed to drive anything ever again. Keelah Se'lai." She said it all calmly and sternly, but beneath it was the implication that she'd shoot N'tho in the face if he ever tried to take the wheel from her.
That Unggoy was right. N'tho thought to himself. She is a scary suit lady