AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just want it out for the record without giving much away, that the last few chapters, including this and the next, involving so many Prothean relics being found and recovered is going to be more important to the story than giving Garrus a self-confidence boost. Everyone knows that Firewalker is, like all the other N7 missions in ME2 completely meaningless in that they have 0 effect on anything in 3. But there was another Prothean Beacon found, and the first one Humanity found taught us how to use eezo for space travel on top of having a vault of working prothean transportation tech to work with on Mars. Then we later learn of the Crucible through it. The Alliance won't be able to immediately have these relics and information and just magically be able to produce whatever prothean tech is related to the beacon. They need to decrypt, decipher, translate and then apply technical terms and equations to the knowledge they already have. And then of course re-develop it with the technology they have. There will be benefits to the pointlessness of Firewalker in my story. They just can't feasibly be achieved in ME2. Hope you enjoy!
Tali'Zorah vas Neema
We all made our way into the elevator and exited on the same floor, deck three, but Miranda turned to the right and Garrus and I to the left. Her to her office, us to the Med-bay. As we entered, Chakwas was working at her desk with a cup of coffee, and Shepard was sitting up in his bed, a tray pulled up to rest his plate. It appeared to just be some levo bread with two green plants and some cooked strips of meat. He was in the middle of a bite, seeing us enter, his eyes lit up and he swallowed, setting his meal down, revealing a grin.
"Good to see you both," John spoke, more silent than usual. Unsurprising, considering the circumstances. And his breath faster. "I guess the mission went well, then."
"Well enough," Garrus answered first. "Got the Hammerhead, got data on the research team. Two sites, Geth on their tails. Neither far from each other, and both along the same route. Geth already digging on one Prothean site, the scientists to another."
"What's your plan?"
"You're… not making one?"
"You were on the ground," he had to stop early and breathe. "You have a better impression," another breath to finish the sentence. "Than I."
"Well, I had a few thoughts. I don't want to just let the Geth keep digging, but I don't want to just leave the dig site for Geth to potentially hit. I thought maybe we could get an Alliance force to stop the digging while we get to the scientists."
"Where are the Geth digging?"
"In the Hawking Eta cluster. I know the Alliance lays claim there. The system is Verr, the planet, Corang"
"And where's the main site?"
"Hades Nexus, Hoplos system, Kopis."
"I'll send a message to Hackett. Maybe he can send a scout there ahead of us before anything beyond is committed. But I know having Geth in our borders will certainly elicit some response." Like before, he had to breathe often, interrupting his sentences. "So, how's the hammerhead?"
"Well it's certainly agile. We haven't been in combat with it, but considering Tali's analysis of the schematics? I'm not eager to be the ones testing that."
"The Hammerhead can undoubtedly get us to far more places than the Mako could and do so far faster. But I'd hesitate to call it anything more than a scouting vehicle. There's no room to transport troops and the shields are the only meaningful defense. Especially against Geth. Naturally if I were to take a pistol to the Hammerhead it would be fine, but even armor piercing rounds may pose a threat. And of course, plasma would not have an issue melting through," I explained. John furrowed his brow.
"Well I can't say that I don't see the value in it, but unless the environment demands it, I'd sooner take the Mako in the field. At least unless the environment demands it. Alright, let me send the message now before I pass out and forget.
"Then I'll leave you two be. Just let me know once you have a response."
"Will do," John responded without looking up, simply having his Omni-tool activated and typing away. Garrus took his leave after a quick farewell to Chakwas and it returned to silence as John put together the message. I may be here to get ideas on things I could leave for him if he's asleep when I go on a mission or need to work, but that can wait until he's finished with this. Fortunately, it didn't take long before he pressed one last key on his Omni-tool then set it down to lay back. Not closing his eyes yet, but lying back, nonetheless.
"So, what's up with you, beautiful?" Even still it caught my breath and brought out an immediate blush as Chakwas scoffed.
"Please smack him for me, would you, dear?"
"Oh, come on, doc, really?" John chuckled.
"You know how much that line makes you sound like an utter jackass. To your girlfriend or not."
"Anyways," I redirected the conversation. "I thought we could talk more. Hobbies and… other things you like."
"Oh, sure, I can do that. Go back and forth?"
"Like before, yes. Do you want to go first? Or should I?" John seemed to gather his breath but gestured at me instead of speaking.
"I'm only filing reports, so I'll move myself to crew quarters and leave you two with some privacy. But I still have a heartbeat monitor on John. So, if I get the idea that he's being… stimulated, I am throwing flashbangs into my med-bay," Chakwas interrupted as she stood from her desk.
"Stimu-? Oh, Keelah, no!" I shuddered.
"She's just teasing, Tali. Though… she absolutely would."
"Damn right I would." The door closed behind her. I sighed and collected myself again. "Well, what's a favorite past-time?"
"Oh, damn. Past time huh? I mean I love shooting the shit with buddies, but I get the sense you mean something to do on my own, right?" I nodded. "Well, that's not really something I've had for myself in a long time. I don't remember if I mentioned to you or not that I liked to use the simulator pods as I was growing up on Arcturus, but those were up there. Specifically, I enjoyed the more casual flight combat sims, and while I actually did a good job, the true sims for flight were less fun and more stressful. Second, as archaic as it sounds, I loved ones for medieval combat. Getting myself suited up in full steel plate, a shield on my left arm and a longsword in my right. To this day I believe it to be one of my favorite art forms."
"Art form?"
"Yeah, I remember you telling me that Quarian history is more peaceful than Human history, but I figure there must be hundreds of manuscripts compiled from various sword masters since they were first created. From different civilizations with different styles of sword to combatting different defenses developed over time. Fencing, which is a human sport of two individuals in protective padding dueling with long but very thin Rapier-like swords, and they're a little floppy isn't my kind of thing, however. My favorite thing that I've ever heard of is when you unscrew the pommel of the sword, which for us was typically a metal ball at the bottom of the grip, and just fucking throwing it at your opponent's head. 'End them rightly,' it was called." John began a wheezing laughter as he slowly worked his way through his answer. "So, same question to you."
"Well, I haven't really had downtime to myself since I was last on the Neema, but, and you probably guessed this, but I like to tinker. It's how I made Chattika."
"Follow up question then, do, or, did Quarians have a pet species back on Rannoch?"
"We did, actually. Several kinds, like humans. None have existed on the fleet in over a century, but their genomes are still stored for when we have a planet again someday. While Rannoch has plenty of predators and prey, there are still many symbiotic relationships, even between flora and fauna. More so than other home worlds. Possibly because life on Rannoch evolved without insects."
"No insects? That alone makes it sound like paradise," John struggled to chuckle.
"I'm happy enough that it doesn't have arachnids."
"Even better."
"Anyways, our favored pet race, and the ones we've had for the longest, are most like Earth's felines. The Var'San. My turn again. What about… your favorite kind of literature?"
"Favorite genre? Alright, well, Humanity is currently living what was most of our science fiction. I still like the genre, as most of what's out there isn't really like what things were like, but with non-fiction being my absolute least favorite, that's dragged it down aa little. Probably fantasy then."
"And why's nonfiction your least favorite?"
"We live non-fiction every day of our lives," he shrugged. More often than not it just seems mundane and boring. Especially compared to lives like ours. I'd rather read about something fantastical and different and unique."
"I understand that. Outside of our schooling, however, we didn't have much opportunity for reading. And most of what we would read were textbooks."
"Yeah, those weren't really ever fun. So, when you did have time to read, what was your favorite genre?" I began to blush out of embarrassment.
"Oh… um…" I began wringing my hands together. "Romance novels… Teenage or young adult romance novels. I'd find them on the extranet…" John smiled.
"That actually fits you. So, how do we compare to your favorites?"
"Better. We're not just another story."
Garrus Vakarian
Shepard had gotten a response from Hackett an hour after sending his message, informing the Commander that he was sending a scouting force to both systems in question. It was reaching the evening of the following day now. Shepard had gone to sleep again, and Joker had just informed me that we were receiving a call from Admiral Hackett. And as I'm the XO in his medical leave, it falls to me to answer. I only ever met the Admiral once, during Shepard's funeral, and there had not exactly been any real introductions. But I know Shepard holds the Admiral in high regard, and what parts of his file are public that I've been able to see don't leave many questions as to why. Hopefully he's already aware that it may be a Turian and not a Human responding to him. For privacy, I took the call in the comm room. Instead of the whole "show" for calling the Illusive Man, the lights dimmed, and a screen appeared above the table so that I could see the aged Admiral. There was a slight brow raise, hinting at least mild surprise.
"Garrus Vakarian? I assume the Commander is unable to take the call then."
"That's correct, sir. I've been acting as his XO since he was injured."
"The Commander informed me that I may end up speaking with you rather than him. But both he and Councilor Anderson reassured me that he trusts you explicitly. If Shepard has vouched for you, let's begin."
"Of course, Admiral."
"Three hours ago, a pair of UT-47A Kodiak shuttles, experimental models using a variant of the Normandy stealth technology simultaneously infiltrated both the Verr and Hoplos systems. We detected no Geth presence in Hoplos, but in Verr, the Geth have a sizeable naval task force present to hold the system. The population centers present, as minor as they are, appear untouched at least for now. Though the comm buoys connecting them to the rest of the galaxy are destroyed. The flagship is a heavy cruiser, two additional cruisers. Five frigates, three of which patrolling together, the other two spread out. Eight destroyers, and fifteen corvettes. It's around twice the size of the fleet that had invaded the Armstrong Nebula. Whatever is down there the Geth must think is valuable. Vice Admiral Bradford, you may remember her as a Rear Admiral, is en-route in her Carrier with her detachment of the 5th fleet. Three dreadnaughts, five cruisers, two of which are heavy cruisers, eight frigates, fourteen destroyers, and twenty corvettes."
"That is certainly… significant, Admiral."
"It's how Humans are. The Geth are learning the same lesson as the Batarians. When you attack not just humanity, but our civilians, we retaliate hard. If the Turians had done so at Shanxi, well, for better or worse the Alliance may not have been as open as we were to a truce. The Geth have a foothold in our territory. We're not going to remove their foot from the foothold, we're going to cut off the entire leg. And if they return to Geth space with the artifacts present, there's no telling how many lives, human and otherwise might be the price. This may be a little over a third of the 5th fleet, but most of these ships are veterans of the Citadel. The only true complication is that we don't want to risk destroying whatever artifacts are already aboard their Heavy cruiser. Because of this, the Hawking is being outfitted with an additional wing of boarding craft and all ships are under strict orders that the heavy cruiser is a shoot to disable only. Engines and weapons, avoiding to fire at the center compartment of the ship. Wreckage studied from the Citadel as well as the schematics from the Migrant Fleet indicate that if anywhere will store the artifacts, it's in there."
"And the Normandy's role?"
"By the time the fleet arrives, the Normandy will have arrived in Hoplos and likely finished your objective. The fleet will gather in Chandrasekhar. The Normandy will regroup with the fleet there and be given its assignment.
"Understood."
Garrus Vakarian
Even by the time it took for us to finally arrive at Kopis, no Geth presence had arrived. Hopefully we had cut their trail off cold and wouldn't be seeing them at all here. Thanks in part to the map we had recovered, we had located the dig site almost immediately. There wasn't much, considering the two Doctors had been using a survey ship as it had already neared the end of its mission. There was an excavation drill and a landing pad. All of this was within a crater on the planet's surface, and the dig site itself was at the center, making an additional smaller "crater" so to speak. Inside appeared to be an airlock. To what, exactly, I'm not sure. Possibly whatever ruin may have been left behind for the relic. Might as well just take the shuttle down. Myself, Tali, Samara, Grunt, and… Kasumi. That should do just fine. We didn't have time to waste. If we wanted to regroup with the fleet by the time, they arrived at the Rendezvous we needed to be done here by the end of the hour. I gathered the team at the shuttle, everyone geared up, and took the shuttle down to the dig site. It was nighttime on this moon, but it was hardly dark. The moon had enough atmosphere and was currently at a point in its orbit where the planet reflected light to Kopis and dimly lit the night sky. But the light hardly matters, as we're going underground regardless.
We exited the shuttle onto the rocky terrain. We could hear our footsteps and the faint sound of wind. Nothing more. While the airlock was, well, locked, it didn't stay that way long with Tali ready to make her little work around and we gained entry. While we did have to wait for the airlock to cycle, I wasn't exactly concerned. No signs of Geth and all that were here should be a pair of scared Cerberus scientists. We opened the airlock and proceeded down, and surprisingly; we quickly came to the corpse of a Blue Sun merc. Now I'm concerned.
"Probably contacts. Kasumi, cloak and scout ahead. We'll be moving up, but I want to know if we're about to step in front of Geth," I ordered. Kasumi nodded, her cloak activating, and she faded from sight. "Move out, on me." I took point and we continued our way down the dig site. I'm not sure how old these ruins were, but they were crumbling.
"Got a group of merc bodies up ahead. Looks like they died when a portion of the ruins collapsed on them," Kasumi spoke through comms.
"Understood." Just a moment later we came by the bodies. Three of them, blue suns. Clearly crushed by rubble.
"Got a terminal here. And bodies. Two, neither are suns. Both with bullets through the head. One of them looks like it was from behind. The other is holding the pistol. Checking the terminal to see if I can find anything about this." Kasumi paused a moment as we continued. She didn't speak up until we arrived at the chamber she was likely already in. Considering a terminal at the far end was skimming through files without anyone at it.
"Dr. Cayce seems to have caught O'Loy transmitting copies of their data to a Geth ship. Indoctrinated, he assumed. He offed O'Loy, and a few hours later he left another log. Hearing whispers in his head, stealing his knowledge. He can't keep them out. He decided to destroy the relic and himself. But…" Kasumi paused another moment and then to the right, a set, or circle, rather of stone pillars began rumbling. They lowered, allowing passage and revealing the relic in question. Unharmed, so it seems. My eyes widened and my mandibles flickered out in surprise.
"Keelah," I heard Tali mutter.
"EDI," I began. "Get me a scan on this relic. Does it appear to have any indentations? Any flaws in the sphere?" The AI took a moment to respond.
"Negative. The entire surface is entirely smooth. However, this artifact is… confusing. It's measurements and weight are fluctuating, rapidly. It seems to fluctuate between traits of a solid and traits of a liquid. I believe it requires the touch of an organic. Literally. Be prepared to receive data."
"Well, Shepard was fine after the last one we found. Stand by. Everyone, activate Omni-tools and prepare them to download and store data." I prepared my own and approached the large silvery sphere, almost seeming as if it had waves on its surface, moving like the ocean. Slowly I extended a talon out to touch it. As it tapped the edge a ripple of green energy pulsed around the sphere, then again, and three more times in rapid succession as there was a burst of green energy almost blinding across the entire sphere. Before it slammed against the ground, small enough to hold in the palm of my hand.
"Massive outburst of encrypted data. I believe we have at least most of the information. Recommend an immediate return to the ship with the relic. It is possible that the ship that retrieved this information is among the Geth fleet in the Hawking Eta." I picked up the now smaller sphere, surprised by how light it felt.
"On our way. Double time, people!"