A Mako drop is surprisingly silent, you don't hear the sound of wind whistling past you and you feel almost weightless inside the vehicle. I gave a glance in Shepard's direction since we were closing in on the ground and she wasn't showing any sign of reaching for the stabilizers to slow us down… a loud sigh escapes me as I turn my head and look into the passenger compartment.
"Hold on" I say
Garrus looks at me a little confused I just nod my head in Shepard's direction and that seems enough for Garrus because he sat down in the seat and strapped in, Ashley and Wrex did the same since I suspect they didn't miss the gesture. When I moved my head back to look down at the navigation screen I could almost feel Shepard scowling
"You are no fun…" said Shepard
I just grinned below my helmet
"Let's just say that your driving skills are… infamous" I mocked
I heard Shepard give a low chuckle, I didn't need to look to see her shrug it was just one of those things she would do. When we were a good ten meters above the ground Shepard finally engaged the stabilizers and the entire Mako jerked as it slowed down in mid-air. A low bump announced our landing and once I had checked the direction and condition of the Mako I gave a nod to Shepard who wasted no time in hitting the gas.
It surprised me when we had been driving for roughly a minute and it had been one of the smoother rides I have ever had. I glanced over at Shepard who had this little smug look on her face and sure enough she turned and stared at me and I could easily see the statement in her eyes "Infamous driving huh?" I chose to ignore it and simply shook my head at her. It didn't take much longer before the first few geth appeared on the radar.
"Garrus your up!" I shouted back to Garrus
"On it" he replied
I turned towards Shepard "Now might be a good idea to use those infamous skills" I said
The grin on Shepard almost turned feral as she glanced out towards the first few visible geth, I let out another sigh and turned around and stared up at Garrus in the cannon.
"Sorry to say this Garrus, but it seems the good Commander intends to use the Mako as a makeshift ram" I said with a tired voice
I just heard Garrus give a small whimper as he seemed to now be very determined to blast every geth out the way before Shepard could scratch the paint on the Mako. Of course when I had turned my head back to look out the front once again, Shepard was scowling at me for ruining her fun. Once we started hitting armatures I noticed that Shepard stopped trying to have fun and became extremely serious as she avoided shots and did her utmost to ensure Garrus always had a clean shot without having to move the cannon too much. When the gates of the outpost came into view I scanned the map for the side route that was used in the game, I did find it but the entrance was covered with rocks so I knew we would be flying in a few seconds.
"Shepard there is a path to the right" I gestured with my hand "The entrance is covered by rocks so we need to use the thrusters to get above them. There isn't much space in the path so don't put too much power into the jump or we will overshoot" I ordered
Shepard just nodded and started making way towards the path. When we were a few meters from it I felt the entire Mako lift as the thrusters lifted us up and over the rocks, I also didn't miss the way our back wheels just grazed the rocks as we landed again. We didn't exactly get time to get our bearings as the cannon inside the little side path had begun shooting the moment we landed and a few shots had already struck the side of the Mako. Luckily Garrus managed to hit the damn thing in quick succession with a pair of cannon blasts blowing it apart
We rolled into the small outpost and were instantly set upon by the geth; Shepard didn't even bother to move the Mako and simply let Garrus use the cannon to deal with them all. When a few of the geth got too close to the Mako for Garrus to hit them we finally opened the hatch and let Wrex barrel out which caused two Geth to be knocked over and the rest began shooting at him. I jumped out after Ashley and surveyed the outpost while the others dealt with the geth in plain sight; I knew there was a squadron of geth inside each gate house and that both needed to be dealt with so we could move on.
A small impact caused me to spin around when a bullet struck my shielded shoulder, it was a Geth who had gotten a lucky shot in while I was busy looking around. I ignored its continued fire and simply stepped up to it and sliced it clean across the middle with my Nikana. I will admit it is a bit unnerving to not be able to feel the presence of my opponents anymore, but I comfort myself with the knowledge it is only against Geth for now.
"We need to lower those gates before we can continue" I heard Ashley say
I walked around the Mako where the other four were standing as I turned the last corner I heard Shepard speak "There are two gatehouse here, the one over there "Shepard pointed to the one closest to us "Probably leads out to the front turrets we avoided by going through the passage, so that means the other one over there" she then pointed across the outpost "Will let us continue on, I guess we know where we are going" she finished with a smile
As the team started going towards the gate house I turned around and headed off towards the other, this caught Shepard's attention pretty quickly since she yelled after me
"Echo that is the wrong one!" she yelled
I turned around "I know, but there is most likely geth in both so I would rather ensure we don't get a few geth coming up behind us" I replied
Shepard just gave a nod before she turned and headed off with the rest of the team. I turned around myself and took two steps before I loosened my body 'Engage Warframe: Excalibur' ordered in my mind. The Alpha-Frame began shifting and turning as it rearranged itself to accommodate the needs of the Excalibur frame, a rather nasty pain then shot out from seven points in my spine as I felt the stabilizers plant themselves to ensure the Alpha-Frame didn't hurt any vital areas. It hurts like hell but the nanites fixes it almost instantly so it's of no major concern to me.
When the frame settled down I took the short walk up to the gate house and upon opening the door came under immediate fire. I ducked outside and simply waited a few seconds for the sound of geth rifles to go away, when they finally did I pulled out my Soma and circled inside the gatehouse and took aim down the short room and fired upon the geth I got in my sights. With a Soma holding a hundred shots per clip I managed to take down the first geth with twenty shots, the second one took thirty due to its constant moving in and out of cover. For the final geth I sacrificed a few ribs as I pulled out my Nikana and allowed the geth to riddle me with shots until I came within range. The alpha-frame quickly repaired itself and the nanites then got to work on my ribs. While this was happening I looked outside at the three turrets that were still scanning for oncoming threats. When I felt the nanites had done enough for me to move without causing too much damage I made my way back out and joined the others.
"Everything went okay?" asked Shepard
"Minor damage, I will be fine a few hours" I replied
Shepard simply nodded and gestured down to the now open gate, I gave a nod in return and we all climbed back into the Mako. When I had sat down in the navigator seat once more and Shepard had gotten us moving towards the dig site I realized just how… little… there is actually done aside from the gunner and driver, I mean sure I tell Shepard what is coming up and so forth but she does all the driving and Garrus does all the shooting. Looking back I even noticed Ashley and Wrex talking together in an extremely bored fashion, my view of that conversation was however cut off when a wall moved in and sealed the front compartment of the Mako
I turned my head towards Shepard with a questioning glance "Care to explain?" I asked
Shepard gave shrug "I'll explain when you do. I saw the way you were walking… minor damage huh?"
I just sat back in the chair with a matching shrug "So I broke two ribs and a third is chipped, happens all the time for me. I wasn't lying when I said I would be fine in a few hours" I said
"Be that as it may, next time you will tell me exactly what is wrong so I can correctly assess how it will impact the mission, am I clear?" she asked with stern tone
"Yes Ma'am" I replied though it sounded a little forced
"Good. Now what is your assessment of this mission so far?" she asked
"So far everything seems to be going more or less as expected, minor Geth resistance and so far nothing to indicate whatever those Geth are here to protect or collect Miss T'Soni" I replied
"I agree. Any thoughts on what we could potentially be facing?" she continued
"Besides more Geth? Nothing else really, the best would can do is just keep going and hope we don't get thrown a curve ball" I replied
"Maybe… something about this mission just seems off to me, I don't know why" she said
"Hmm… I will admit it seems a bit strange for someone to have come this far out just to do a dig and then not have any security. Also have you noticed the distinct lag of bodies wherever we go?" I asked
Shepard gave a nod as she engaged the thrusters so we could jump over a small gap in the road "Yeah I have, part of why I think something fishy is going on. You think the bodies have been moved?" she replied
"Could be, but I don't see a reason for the Geth to suddenly find an interest in corpses. Maybe Saren has a use for them but I highly doubt it" I said
Shepard just shook her head at the whole idea. Soon enough we came up on the last stretch of land before the road visibly narrowed into the small little gap that seems just big enough for the Mako, but really isn't. In true fashion with most first time players Shepard decides to at least do one attempt at making the Mako squeeze through the small opening. She did however after on try and a pleading word from Garrus, give up, after which we all climbed out of the Mako and started our way up towards the dig site. Halfway up the small hill I went over and tapped Garrus shoulder
"Hey Garrus, do you still have that special light dampening scope?" I asked
"Yeah I still use it, why? You planning to use that giant ass light again?" he asked in turn
"Potentially, if I yell 'down' I suggest you close one eye and put the other down the scope because when you are as close as we are going to be it is going to be very bright" I replied
He nodded and started messing with his scope, I smiled and nodded in turn and walked back up next to Shepard.
"What was that about?" Shepard asked
"Just needed to ask Garrus something. Oh and if I yell to get down I suggest you close your eyes because it is about get very bright when I yell that" I said
Shepard just looked at me weirdly and I could almost see that she was cursing herself for not bringing her helmet with her. When we finally came up to the dig site I quickly heard the first shot going off so I was already running to cover a few seconds before everyone else. As soon as I was behind decent cover I pressed a button on my arm and waited as the sound pulse shot out and returned moments later.
"Eva, enemy count?" I asked Eva
"Seven Geth registered with echo location. More might be hiding" was the reply
"Seven geth Shepard!" I yelled
"I know, two on the platform, three down here with us and two more up on the walkway!" she yelled back
I heard a loud bang that could only belong to a sniper and sure enough Garrus had just popped the head off one of the geth on the platform leading into the dig site. I popped back out a second later and fired at the second one, nailing it in the chest with three bullets after its shields went down. A load roar sounded through the air and I looked out and saw Wrex charging the three geth on the ground with a shotgun out and firing. I must admit watching a Krogan Battlemaster charge into combat with guns blazing is a sight to see, especially when said Krogan is also a biotic and enjoys using said biotics to enhance his punches so he latterly punch through the Geth.
I did manage to hear Ashley jokingly mutter something about crazy Krogan, I just chuckled at the sight before a few bullets struck my shield and brought me back on track. Another loud crack followed by a rather colourful word I didn't know, but I assumed it was a swearword because Garrus missed when the Geth he had aimed at decided to switch targets and turn around at the last second. My attention however was quickly on the two geth on the suspended walkway.
"Eva, how far up is that walkway?" I asked
"5.73 meters in the air" was her reply
"Charge up the Super Jump" I ordered
After a few seconds I heard the small ping inside my helmet that announced the ability was fully charged and grinned as I put away my Soma and withdrew my Nikana and went into a run towards the walkway. When I was a few meters away I released the jump and shot into the air and spun around causing me to go into a reverse somersault, when I was level with the Geth I swung my blade across and felt it connect and go straight through the first Geth. As I started going down on the other side of the walkway I had intended to grab the railing and climb up to finish the last Geth but it proved unnecessary as the head of the Geth exploded in a shower of sparks and whatever they use for oil in the bodies. I removed my hand so I wouldn't catch the railing and landed almost silently as my dampeners took care of the impact, I turned to look at who had taken the other Geth and found a smirking Shepard standing there with her own Sniper the she held across her shoulder.
"Didn't know you were a gymnast" came the snappy comment
"Didn't know you could aim" was my casual reply
Shepard snorted and Wrex let out a small laugh, while Garrus seemed a little miffed that someone had taken a kill from him… Ashley was shaking her head at us all. I was about to speak when my ears caught a low whistling sound coming from above, I didn't need to know what was coming
"Get to cover, Armature!" I yelled and sprinted for the nearest bit of cover
No one doubted my words as the whistling grew louder until the giant piece of machinery impacted with the ground sending out a shockwave that would have knocked us over had we not been in cover… well perhaps not Wrex. Four geth landed seconds later and unfolded so they could protect the Armature while it too got ready. The fight shouldn't have lasted as long as it did since we gave the armature time to unfold and begin charging its first shot at us. I ended up grinning below my helmet, I would have liked to avoid using any Angstrum ammo but here was a chance to unleash hell on something large enough to merit a full charge. I began charging the Blind so I knew it would get Armature long enough for what I had planned. I stared at Shepard and when she caught me looking in her direction she nodded and prepared herself, I tapped Garrus on the shoulder since he was right next to me and he knew what I was about to do.
When the small ping sounded once more I ran forward until I was about halfway from the Armature and raised my hand to the sky and released the Blind. The entire area was covered in a great white flash but it didn't bother me as my mask filtered everything into a sort of black/white world which allowed me to move up towards the armature and through its legs. On my way there I did manage to catch one Geth's head explode from Garrus sniper shot and an explosion to my left alerted me to someone using a grenade to ridding themselves of one or perhaps two more geth. I had started charging a small Super Jump as soon as I had released the Blind, it took a lot out of my energy but I knew this was the last big thing to fight besides the bloody Krogan merc that Wrex is probably going to squash anyway.
Once I was behind the Armature I released the small Super Jump and managed to land on the flat back of the large machine. I drew the Angstrum and began charging it while I moved into position behind the Armature's neck. A large light emanating from the head of the Armature alerted me to the impending shot that was locked onto the team, luckily for all of us my Angstrum finished its charge a few seconds before. I pointed the Angstrum directly at the Armatures neck and released the trigger, I then turned my back as quick as I could to absorb as much of the blast as possible. One large bang later and I was flying through the air towards some rocks, I landed pretty roughly but I could stand up and turn to see if my plan had been a success. The blown of head of the Armature certainly seems to indicate it was a success, as was the slowly falling body of said Armature.
When I finally managed to stumble over to the others I had a lot of concerned and confused faces looking in my direction, well except for Wrex he was grinning like mad and giving me a stare that promised lots of drinking and more story telling… good, I like that.
"Are you okay? And no lying this time" spoke Shepard
"My entire body hurts but nothing beyond ribs are broken, add an extra hour to my recovery and it should all work out" I said
Shepard nodded in acceptance and Garrus was just staring at me like I was insane. Everyone soon got a move on as we headed towards the entrance to the dig site. Standing in front of that tunnel that let down into the excavation I just felt annoyed over the fact that we have to run up this on our way out and perhaps even have to carry Liara if she is too tired. Our descend was marred by silence as everyone had a weapon at the ready, well everyone except me since I didn't want to waste more Soma ammo and my Angstrum is empty and the Nikana is only good if the Drones come close enough. And sure enough we had barely stepped out into the site itself before…
"Drones!" shouted Ashley
Everyone except myself went for cover and began shooting at the two drones, the damn things didn't last ten seconds under the combined fire of four people hence why I hadn't moved an inch when we saw them.
"You don't seem to care about your life that much" commented Ashley
"It was two Drones Miss Williams, I knew you four were right here and it would have taken both of those drones more than ten seconds to take down my shields, so better I work as a bullet magnet while you four take them down" I replied
Wrex gave a snort but seemed to approve none the less, much the same with Garrus and Shepard was just giving me a look of questioning before shaking her head and then she began moving again. We had barely left the second elevator when two more Drones came flying, this time I did draw my Nikana and used it to parry a few bullets. I know the parry animation in the Warframe game looks completely insane, but trust me on this it is highly possible to do what they are doing just not with twenty Grineer firing upon you like in the game, but with only two or three it is highly possible this little trick saved my ass a lot. Once the Drones were down we took the last elevator down and as predicted the damn thing broke and we jumped down the last bit coming out right next to Liara's prison.
I heard Liara's timid voice calling out "Ehm… Hello? Is anyone there?"
We all moved to stand in front of the barrier that separated us from the captured Liara. I glanced over the barrier quickly before placing my hand on it and letting Eva scan it.
"How did you end up in there?" I heard Shepard ask
"Well… when the geth attacked I kind of panicked and ran in here, this is a Prothean barrier curtain one of their security devices, I must have hit the wrong button because suddenly I found myself captured and suspended in the air, the Geth have been trying to get through for a while now" replied Liara
"Okay, any idea on how to get you free?" asked Shepard
"There is a terminal in here that should release me" replied Liara
A small ping inside my helmet announced the scan was finished and I had the data run across my HUD. Nothing worthy of note, Prothean tech that Eva doesn't recognize, the barrier will break under sufficient fire but I have nowhere near enough with me to do that. I went over to the back of the walkway and quickly found the mining laser. I walked over and tapped Shepard on the back
"Hey Shepard I think I found a way through" I said
Shepard turned and looked at me as I gestured to the mining laser below, she gave a small nod.
"Go check if it still works" she said
I nodded and made my way down the rocks to the laser, I knew it was going to be functioning and if it really was broken I could probably fix it. When I reached the machine it booted right up and when the screen lit up I actually ended up snorting and leaning against the machine simply due to the stupidity of it all, the screen read;
Calibration Needed…
It just repeated that sentence over and over again… I swear something out there is taunting me with this.
"Shepard it works, I need Garrus down here though" I yelled up
I didn't get a response but heard the sound of footsteps coming down the rocks and soon enough Garrus stepped up to my side, I simply gestured to the screen and saw his face light up with glee as he began working in the machine. I then noticed that it was only Wrex and Shepard down here with Garrus
"Where is Miss Williams?" I asked
"I asked her to keep Liara company while we worked our way through" she replied
Ashley keeping Liara company? Good, it might speed up the process a little; I mean she seemed to be talking fine with Wrex in the Mako so that was a start. A rather loud humming noise let us know that the laser drill was charging up which also caused me to cast a glance towards Garrus who was still messing with the controls 'He is beyond help' was the only thing that passed through my mind. When the laser was done charging up I actually felt the entire dig site shake as the laser was going through the lower barrier.
"You think anyone is going to be pissed that we are drilling holes in an ancient ruin?" asked Shepard
'There isn't going to be a ruin when we leave…' I thought but kept it to myself.
"They can complain as much as they want" I heard Wrex answer
When Shepard looked at me for my answer I just shrugged and looked back to the mining laser as it finished up and there was now a clear hole leading into the lower cell and lo and behold the elevator is already at the bottom level, what luck…
"Echo go grab Ashley" ordered Shepard
I just gave a nod and started climbing back up to where I could see Ashley stand facing Liara, it seemed like the two were having a conversation. As I came closer I just managed to hear the last bit of something Liara said
"…what purpose does it serve for you to be throwing small pointy object at a multiple colour board?" asked Liara
I just managed to see Ashley sigh and rub her eyes, when she was about to speak again she noticed Liara looking at me so she turned towards me.
"We are through Miss Williams" I said
"Yeah okay" she then turned towards Liara "We will be there in a moment" she said to Liara
I turned and began climbing back down and waited for Ashley at the bottom when she came down we joined the team and walked into the cell and onto the elevator. Shepard quickly got it moving and soon enough we were all looking at the backside of Liara.
"How… How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier" said Liara
"It's not important we have to get you out of here before more geth arrive" replied Ashley
"Yes of course, I have seen enough of them to last a life time. The button over there should release my containment field" said Liara
Shepard stepped over to the terminal that would allow us to release her, but before she managed to press the button Wrex spoke up
"Hold on a moment Shepard. You sure she is on our side? Her mother is working with Saren" he said
"I am not my mother! I don't even know why she joined Saren. I don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!" she half yelled
"I like her already" I heard Garrus mutter from behind us
"And if she was with Saren I doubt the geth would be trying to kill her" I put in
Shepard gave a nod before she released the containment field, causing Liara to land with a small grunt. Once she had dusted herself off and turned to face us, Garrus spoke up
"You wouldn't happen to know a quick way out of here? Our way in is kind of broken" he said
"There is an elevator back in the centre of the tower. At least I think it is an elevator. It should take us out of here" said Liara
We all gave a nod and stepped into the centre platform and Liara turned and looked at us all with a confused face
"I still don't understand this. Why would the Geth come after me? Do you think my mother is involved?" she asked us all
"Saren is looking for something called the conduit, you're a Prothean expert. Obviously he wants you to help him find it" replied Garrus with a shrug
"The Conduit? But I don't know…" Liara began but was cut off when a loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the entire ruin.
"What the hell was that?" asked Wrex
"These ruins are not stable, the mining laser you used must have triggered a seismic event" replied Liara as she stepped up to the panel and pressed a few buttons to send the elevator moving "The entire place is going to cave in, we need to leave" she said
I saw Shepard's face turn dead serious as she opened a com channel "Joker get the Normandy into the air and lock onto my signal!" she almost yelled into the com
"Aye, Aye Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes" was jokers reply
The elevator began moving almost directly after Joker had confirmed his orders. I already knew what was coming up there so I turned off the outgoing sound from my helmet before speaking
"Eva, if everything matches up then we will be facing five adversaries once we reach the top level, do I have enough Energy left for a Radial Javelin of that size?" I inquired
"You only have energy left for a four pronged Radial Javelin, Marc. Anything more will empty the energy compartments completely leaving you with neither shield nor movement assistance. I suggest using the four pronged Javelin and then redirecting all remaining Energy to your shields" was Eva's reply
"Understood, begin charging it up and prepare for targeting" I ordered
"Understood" was the reply
I enabled the outgoing sound and listened to Garrus and Wrex making small talk about the mission in general, Shepard was looking at something on her omni-tool but her hands were twitching in her weapons direction all the time. Ashley however surprised me by actually seeming be continuing her conversation from earlier, attempting to inform Liara about throwing pointy objects at a multiple colour board?
When the elevator stopped I looked around the large circular room and quickly identified every piece of cover we had available to us. Then we all noticed the Krogan walking into the room with his four Geth and I began marking the four Geth as targets, sure enough they were all soon marked by a red crosshair on my HUD telling me that they were the primary targets for my next Radial Javelin.
"Thank you for getting through the barrier for us, now kindly hand over the good doctor" growled the Krogan
I didn't bother waiting for anyone else to reply and levelled my arm across my chest and gave the mental command 'Radial Javelin: Fire' a small plate moved from my arm to reveal a small array of ten holes in a line, four miniature darts made of compressed energy shot out and sought their targets. One javelin managed to land in the thigh of one Geth making it buckle and making it kneel, two Javelins planted themselves in the arms of two other Geth seemingly doing nothing, while the last Javelin hit home and drove itself into the flashlight head of the final Geth causing the thing to topple over. Then all hell broke loose.
I ran for one of the pillar's to our sides and readied my Soma, when I looked over at Garrus I barely managed to catch him ducking behind cover with a bit of smoke rising from his shoulder where a shot had grazed him. Shepard was standing behind another pillar and was actually shooting from behind cover without looking, how the hell she managed to hit something I will never know. Ashley was popping in and out of cover for a few well-placed shots and Liara was staying in the background as to not get in the way. Now Wrex had simply thrown up a biotic barrier and gone into full berserk mode as he rushed the other Krogan and knocked him on his ass, the two were currently engaged in a rather fascinating fist fight that I would happily have followed to the end had it not been for the shots constantly hitting the pillar I was behind.
I finally popped out myself and released the remainder of my magazine into the geth that was firing from its kneeling position effectively removing its shields and doing a decent amount of damage, at least until Garrus planted a sniper shot right into the flashlight in its head sending it crumbling to the ground. With the loss of one more platform the two remaining Geth slowed for a fraction of a second which allowed Ashley to take down one while Shepard had snuck around the edge of the room and was now charging the remaining Geth with a shotgun. When she was close enough I saw her go into a slide and level the Shotgun perfectly with the chest of the Geth and soon enough a loud boom sounded as the Geth got a hole blasted through its chest from point blank range. We all came out of cover and looked over at Wrex who was still fighting with the other Krogan, when I noticed some of the others levelling guns in that direction I had to speak up
"Stop! Don't interfere with that fight, Wrex can handle it!" I yelled
Everyone stopped and Shepard shot me a look that almost screamed "are you stupid?" but I just glared from under my helmet which luckily seemed to get the point across. I looked back up just in time to see Wrex pick up the other Krogan and throw him against the wall stunning him for long enough so Wrex could bioticly charge his fist and send it flying forward. I will admit that the sound a Krogan makes when his face is removed by a bioticly powered punch is quite sickening and not something I am keen to hear again in the future.
"Hahaha! Now that is how a battle is done! Fists against fists! Krogan against Krogan!" roared Wrex
Oddly enough he had chosen to stare at me while yelling all of this, so I half expected him to issue a challenge right there for us to go at it. Honestly the prospect intrigues me as I would like to learn how Krogan actually fight in close combat given their extreme body frames, not counting the slaughter I just witnessed.
"Yes, yes very interesting. Now could we get moving before we get buried alive?!" yelled Garrus
Everyone quickly began running towards the tunnel leading out of the ruin as the entire place began rumbling and stones soon began falling from the roof of the cave. I ensured everyone was inside the tunnel before I started making my own way up. We had made it about halfway when Liara suddenly fell with a pained yell, I could already see from here that her ankle was either broken or strained, neither was any good right now. Imagine my surprise when Ashley showed just how much she had thought about our conversation when she, without stopping to think about it, lifted up Liara and helped her into position on her back before she carried her the rest of the way out of the tunnel.
Third person point of view
The entire ground team came barrelling out of the tunnel where the Normandy was at the ready for pickup. Shepard, Garrus and Wrex quickly made their way aboard but as Ashley with Liara on her back and Echo came out of the tunnel the walkway that the Normandy was hovering in front of collapsed. Seeing this Echo knew that he could make the jump but he wasn't sure about Ashley, not with Liara on her back anyway.
"Ashley, give me Miss T'Soni" ordered Echo
Ashley could hear the seriousness in his tone and didn't argue so she quickly handed over Liara before she nodded to them both and sprinted towards the other end of the broken walkway, when she was just at the edge she jumped and both Wrex and Garrus was standing there ready to catch her hands as she just barely managed to reach the hangar bay door.
"Echo, hurry!" yelled Shepard
Echo began running while giving one order "Eva relay every last scrap of energy into a jump!" yelled Echo while he continued to run, Eva didn't disobey and the budding AI realized the situation called for it so when Echo reached the end of the broken walkway he released the Super Jump and added his own leg strength and propelled forward towards the ramp of the hangar, with the extra weight Echo only barely managed to hit the ramp and get caught by Garrus and Wrex and hauled inside.
"Joker Go, Go, Go!" yelled Shepard to her com
The Normandy sped away from the collapsing ruin that was now flowing with Lava and molten sulphur. Echo wasted no time in speeding towards the med-bay; in truth they all needed to get a one over but Liara was the one in most need since they didn't know how long she had been captured. Garrus, Ashley and Wrex stayed in the hangar to put away their weapons and get out of their armour, Shepard however followed Echo into the elevator and rode it up with him. Liara did look a little uncomfortable in his arms despite being carried bridal style.
"Ehm… could you perhaps put me down now?" asked Liara
"I will put you down as soon as we are inside the med-bay Miss T'Soni no need to strain your ankle further" replied Echo
Liara just sighed which caused Shepard to smirk as the elevator arrived at the crew deck. Once they stepped out into the mess hall there were a lot of stares aimed in their direction or more specifically at the Asari that Echo was currently holding. Both Echo and Shepard ignored the looks and headed directly for the med-bay where Chakwas was standing ready, suspecting that someone had gotten wounded on the planet. Echo moved over and placed Liara on one of the beds before turning to Chakwas
"Her ankle is either sprained or broken. Everyone else made it out without any major damage, I was probably the one to get the worst of it with a few broken ribs but I will be fine in a few hours" said Echo
Chakwas just nodded at his explanation and went over to look over Liara and tend to her ankle. Echo decided to go down and put away his Warframe, he gave a court nod to Shepard on the way out who returned it and also giving him a message to take down into the hangar
"Tell the rest of the ground team down there to meet for De-briefing in 30" said Shepard
Echo nodded and made his way down to his ship to remove his frame and get a better look at just how much damage was actually done to his body, at least on the outside. Stepping out of the elevator Echo noticed Ashley sitting by one of the tables trying to disassemble her assault rifle with shaky hands, with a shake of his head Echo stepped over and planted a hand on her shoulder
"Miss Williams may I suggest you attempt cleaning your weapon when you aren't shaking from the adrenalin leaving your body?" inquired Echo
Ashley just turned her head and stared at Echo for a few seconds before nodding "Yeah I guess you are right" she replied
"Also Shepard asked us to be up for De-brief in 30" said Echo as he walked over towards Wrex
Ashley just nodded and began putting her weapon away again. Echo passed by Wrex and gave the message to which he only grunted but nodded anyway. Garrus got the same as Echo passed him and from there Echo finally ducked into his ship. Once inside Echo dropped the armour and placed it inside its charging station so it would be ready at the next mission. He then dropped into some comfortable clothes and headed out again towards the de-briefing room.
Echo had been sitting in blissful silence since he arrived at the briefing room but that came to a halt when Shepard stepped down into the room with him.
"You are awfully early" commented Shepard
"I am simply enjoying the silence" replied Echo
"Yeah silence, if only I could get some of that every once in a while" continued Shepard
"Lock down your quarters and ask your XO to hold the deck for an hour?" suggested Echo with a shrug
"That could work. So what is your opinion on the mission?" asked Shepard
"It could have gone worse. We rescued Miss T'Soni and only lost a Mako and a Prothean ruin in return. Were you thinking more along the lines of team performance?" asked Echo In return
"Hah… The Council will be hounding my ass over that ruin I just know it, as for the Mako we will just requisition a new one. Also I didn't mean team performance but let me hear your thoughts anyway" said Shepard
"Let's begin with Wrex; the old Battlemaster did as was expected of a Krogan of his age and skill, he took everything head on and came out on top without a scratch. Garrus; He held his cool under most of the mission and only took decisive shots that he knew would kill his target, ensuring no downtime for him. Ashley; Miss Williams surprised me greatly today, both by her tremendous skill but also by her willingness to work alongside aliens and trust them to have her back, she has shown Xenophobic tendencies in the past, also her helping of Miss T'Soni surprised me as well. I prefer not to speak of my own performance on the mission and I don't comment on my superior's performance" said Echo
Shepard had been nodding during his little speech and agreed with everything he said; overall she was very happy with her team's performance.
"Yes well you might not be willing to comment on your performance but I am. That damn Warframe or whatever you call it is damn useful and proved to be an invaluable asset to the team, your own skills are way above that of any soldier I have ever met so I have no doubt in the legitimacy of your statement that you are of the highest rank in your Order. You however have a tendency to downplay your own wounds and that can prove fatal, if not to you then to one of the team that is counting on you having their back but you are unable to because of an injury. Beyond that you show amazing decision making skills and tactical thought, two traits I am only happy to have on my crew" stated Shepard
Echo's reply was cut off when the rest of the ground team began filing into the briefing room with a slightly limping Liara behind them assisted by Ashley whom she was leaning on for support. Once everyone was seated Shepard would have begun speaking had it not been for joker needing to remind everyone of his name
"Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would've been swimming in molten sulphur; the Normandy isn't equipped to land in exploding volcanos. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference"
Echo gave a small chuckle at Joker's antics as did most of the crew that had met their crippled pilot.
"We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?" asked Liara a little confused
"Joker pulled our asses out of there. I think he's earned the right to a few bad jokes" replied Shepard
"I see. It must be a human thing. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. And not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me, or dragged me off to Saren" commented Liara
"What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?" asked Kaidan
"Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them" answered Liara
"How old are you, exactly?" asked Ashley with a hint of curiosity in her voice
"I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six" replied Liara a little sheepishly
Echo was just starting at Liara like she truly was as young as she made it seem, to him she was still a youngster like himself and had a long way to go to prove herself, but he also knew that events to come would turn her into a little bit of a harder person which is only good.
"Damn I hope I look that good when I'm your age" said Ashley in surprise
"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans" commented Liara
"I have got my own theory on why the Protheans disappeared" said Shepard
"With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there the problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It's like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part. According to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This circle began long before them" replied Liara
"If the Protheans weren't the first, then who was" asked Ashley
"I don't know. There is barely any evidence on the Protheans, even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory. But I know I am Right! The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down, and only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before them. Their greatest achievements, the mass relays and the Citadel, are based on the technology of those who came before them and then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why" answered Liara
"They were wiped out by an ancient race of sentient machines, the Reapers" Shepard put in
"The, the Reapers? But I have never heard of… How do you know this? What evidence do you have" blabbered Liara
"There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain, I'm still trying to sort out what it all means" said Shepard
"Visions? Yes… that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any risk. But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology, whatever information you received would have been confused, unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong willed, Commander" said Liara
"Okay, this is interesting and all but it isn't helping us find Saren. Or the conduit" said Ashley in an apologizing tone
Echo just nodded his consent, he was also surprised that Ashley didn't seem angry like she usually does in the games but he just chalked it up to the conversation and subsequent events following it.
"Of course, you are right I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit, or Saren" said Liara in apology
"I don't know why Saren wanted you out of the picture, but I think we'll be a lot better off if we bring you along" commented Shepard
"Thank you Commander, Saren might come after me again, I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship, and my knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on" thanked Liara
"And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts" rumbled Wrex
"Welcome on the team Liara" said Shepard with a smile
"Thank you Commander, I am very gratef… whoa I am afraid I am feeling a bit light headed" mumbled Liara
"When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" asked Kaidan
"It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Protheans' true fate. I need some time to process all of this. Still it could not hurt to eat something and then rest for a few hours. It will give me the chance to think things over, are we finished here Commander?" asked Liara
"We can talk again after you have eaten something and gotten some rest. The rest of you… dismissed" ordered Shepard
Everyone began filing out of the briefing room but Shepard stayed behind to give her report to the council. Echo knew how that conversation was going to go so he decided to leave along with the rest of the crew; he really wasn't in the mood to answer some of the council's questions. Ashley was helping Liara to the med-bay and Kaidan was going off to who knows where and ensure his arms wasn't damaged. Wrex and Garrus were accompanying Echo back down to the hangar.
"So I guess we are heading back to the Citadel now?" asked Garrus
"That would be my guess. We need a new Mako and Shepard needs to report what you guys found on Edolus" answered Echo
Everyone stepped out of the elevator and went their separate ways. Echo decided he would go back to sleep, damn the consequences if he woke too early.
When Echo finally stirred from his sleep he was happy to not be feeling a headache and he was somewhat rested. When he stepped out of the ship it was quite clear that they were currently in the night cycle so Echo decided now was a good time to grab a bite to eat. The mess hall was as quiet as one would assume at this time of night, there was of course light inside the med-bay but even Chakwas seemed to be getting a few hours of sleep at the moment. A few footsteps alerted Echo to someone's approach and when he turned to look he saw Ashley come walking into the mess with a tired look on her face. When Ashley saw Echo she didn't react immediately, she was too focused on getting some coffee before anything else. When she finally had a cup in her hands she stepped over and sat down across from him.
"Miss Williams. Trouble sleeping?" asked Echo
Ashley just looked up at him with squinted eyes "Call me Ashley for god's sake. Miss Williams make me feel old"
"Ashley then. Trouble sleeping I ask again?" continued Echo
"Not really, my shift is coming up and I couldn't sleep any longer. What about you?" she asked in reply
"Irregular sleep cycle, I am awake at strange times. Why do you have a shift directly after a mission? I would think you would be given the day to rest or something of equal measure" replied Echo
"Sadly not, since you busted Kaidan's arm we have one man less to stand on rotation so I took his shift" said Ashley
"I see. My apologies for inadvertently causing you to have an extra shift" replied Echo with a nod
"It's okay I can handle it" Ashley then turned her head and looked towards the med-bay "What do you think of our newest member?" she asked
"If you are referring to Miss T'Soni then I suspect she will be an asset once her ankle is healed. Asari Biotics are useful and unlike the rest of the Biotics on our team she seems dedicated only to her Biotics and nothing else, meaning she can potentially become a pure biotic fighter, a useful individual to have on the battlefield" replied Echo
Ashley gave a nod "I have fought with some of those, mad bastards caused everyone to fly around everywhere making them easy targets"
Echo just nodded in consent "Also Ashley I must say I am surprised that your took our conversation to heart so quickly, I mean it has barely been a day"
Ashley just got a small smile on her face "Yeah… when I talked to Wrex in the Mako I realized that he was just another soldier like me, didn't matter that he was Krogan at that moment we were just two soldiers looking out for each other's back. When I then spoke with Liara I realized that she knows nothing about humanity and was extremely curious and that is when it sort of hit me…" Echo raised his eyebrow and gestured for her to continue "Well… to them, we are the aliens. It was sort of an eye opener to realize that to any other species we might be the odd ones or even the disgusting race. So I figured I might as well do what you said and try talking to them before judging" she finished
Echo gave a low chuckle as he glanced at the tired Ashley; she really had come far in a short time span. Echo finished his own meal and gave a court nod and goodbye to Ashley before moving back down to his ship. Once Echo was back down at the Shadow he went in and pulled out his Nikana and once more cleared the boxes behind the Shadow to make his little arena, he then began working through his regular program while he waited for the rest of the crew to rise.
As the day cycle came around most the crew began to stir and make their way towards breakfast. Echo however hadn't really kept an eye on the time so when the first person entered the Armory thus turning on the lights Echo realized that he had been training for a little too long, something that was emphasized by the rather abhorrent smell of his sweat covered body. So Echo quickly went inside his ship and stepped into the shower on his ship and rinsed off. When he was finished he quickly put on some clothes and began making his way up towards the mess hall, intending on grabbing a small bite to eat. When the elevator opened Echo was however faced with Shepard who seemed surprised to see him and gestured for him to enter the elevator.
"I was just coming down to see you" said Shepard
"What for?" asked Echo
"We will be arriving at the Citadel today and then I will be giving the crew the day off. I will go see an Admiral Kohaku about his marines on Edolus and get some other business done, I figured you would like to know and I would also like to know what you will be doing in that time" she replied
"I will probably be walking around the Citadel for a while, I have some people to see and some business of my own to conduct. After that you can probably find me walking around the Presidium" said Echo
Shepard nodded and both of them stepped out into the mess hall, Shepard headed off towards her office and Echo made his way over to grab a bite to eat. Once he had acquired some suitable breakfast Echo sat down across from Garrus and Tali at one of the tables and gave a small nod to both that was returned before he began eating. After a good ten minutes they were joined by a healthier looking Liara
"Good morning Miss T'Soni, I trust you are feeling better?" asked Echo
"Good morning and yes I feel much better thank you" she replied
Everyone then returned to their breakfast and allowed time to pass. Soon enough everyone split to get on with their day, though Garrus and Echo stuck around each other for most of the time and talked about a variety of stuff ranging from Guns to history and even on occasion the odd movie, Garrus was very insistent that Echo get to watch some Turian Epic at some point. Ashley spend most of the morning and mid-day on cleaning her weapons, Wrex was just standing by his boxes while constantly checking things on his omni-tool. Shepard was engrossed in paperwork most of the morning but went to speak with Liara after a few hours. Kaidan spent most of the morning nursing his arm and talking with the crew. Tali had eaten a quick breakfast then mentioned something about the engineering compartment doing some big adjustment while they were docked and then sped back down to engineering, no one saw her until after shore leave was over.
When they finally docked at the Citadel most of the ground team was standing by the exit and waiting for the docking to finish allowing them to leave, Shepard had showed up in armor together with Wrex whom she was bringing with her to see Kohaku. As the docking finished everyone stepped into the venting compartment and waited for the outer doors to open, and when they did they were duly presented with Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Ashley gave a salute to her superior; as he approached Shepard did the same.
"Admiral, if I had known you were coming we would have prepared a welcoming committee" said Shepard
"Spare me the pleasantries Commander" grunted the Rear Admiral
The Rear Admiral and Shepard the exchanged a few words about the Normandy and how he was here to do an inspection of the entire thing. Echo already knew there was going to be some flak for his ship so he sent an order to Eva to cloak his ship. When the Rear Admiral stepped into the Normandy and begin his inspection, Echo moved over next to Shepard
"I ordered Eva to cloak my ship, he won't be seeing it and hopefully that will spare us some trouble" said Echo
Shepard nodded and gave a small nod. That was a welcome idea since she really didn't want to bother with the Rear Admiral complaining over an unregistered ship belonging to a freelancer working for the council on the mission.
"Thank you for that, the less he has to complain about the better" replied Shepard with a nod
Everyone waited for a little while until the Rear Admiral made his way back outside to them, he then began listing off his problems with the ship and especially the modified turian style that the overlook was using. Echo was grumbling to himself since he really didn't care for what was said here, it was insignificant.
"Anything else Rear Admiral?" asked Shepard when he had finished his rant
"Nothing Commander, I will be submitting my Report soon, Good Day" he replied and turned to walk away
Once he was out of sight Garrus spoke up "Well he was a rude one wasn't he?"
Shepard just snorted "He has a stick up his ass the size of New York. Come on everyone let's get our jobs done so we can enjoy the shore leave"
Everyone agreed and everyone fit into the elevator that took us down to C-Sec, from there they all split up. Shepard and Wrex went off to find Kohaku, Garrus had told Ashley about a special gun shop down in the wards that he wanted to go check out and she wanted to come with, Liara wanted to know more about humans so she asked them if she could accompany them. They both agreed and even talked about finding Liara a firearm. Kaidan had stayed aboard the ship along with Tali so that just left Echo to go look for the people he needed to see, like Barla Von.
Though Barla Von could wait so Echo decided to take a few walks around the Citadel to see if he could find something to do and perhaps a place to go eat lunch in a few hours. His thoughts however were interrupted when a little gray bolt of lightning smashed into his legs with a loud "oomf" When Echo looked down he saw a small Turian child, female from the looks of it, that had hit him and was now sitting rubbing the front of face, the part Echo assumed to be her nose, after the impact. The little girl did look up and gave him a sly grin
"Sorry for that Mister, I wasn't seeing where I was going" she said
Echo put forward his hand for the little girl to take, she did and he helped her stand back up while giving her a one over. She didn't look that old but he guessed between 9-11 years old, she had black clan markings that Echo recognized due to his good memory and sure enough not a few seconds later a yell came from the crowd
"Liaan come back here!" yelled a familiar turian voice
As soon as the girl looked like she was about to bolt Echo grabbed her by her shoulder and stopped her dead in her tracks, he then turned her around and waited for her parents to arrive. When they did echo quickly recognized both Mettik and Aralak from the councilor's rescue some months ago.
"Mettik, Aralak. So this is the little girl you adopted? Quite the energetic one isn't she?" Echo asked
Mettik and Aralak looked a little confused at first, at least until Mettik recognized the voice and the demeanor of the person holding their daughter by her shoulder.
"Echo… I haven't seen you since you brought in that crazy batarian cannibal, it's been what? 4 months?" asked Mettik
Echo gave a nod "That would fit"
Echo then walked over and handed the little girl now known as Liaan to her parents.
"I would love to catch up Echo but we have to get going, Aralak's parents are arriving in ten minutes and I am not in the mood to listen to his mother nag about us being late, especially not since it would mean less time with her grandchild" said Mettik in a defeated tone
"Come on my mother is not that bad" tried Aralak
"She almost blew a fringe when we arranged Liaan's last birthday on a date that she couldn't attend" was his reply
Aralak just shut up and gave Echo a friendly nod that he returned before they all began heading down towards the docks. Echo just kept walking forward with a smile on his face, he loved seeing families together it always calmed him down.
After another ten minutes of aimless wandering, and locating a small restaurant that served a lunch special that Echo would return for, he had stopped and was looking out over the Presidium as a whole while enjoying watching the busy crowds moving around talking and dragging their shopping bags around with them. As Echo turned to leave an odd sight caught his attention, a tall woman with dark red hair that seemed to be almost gliding along the walkway. When she finally came walking by Echo there was one particular thing that sent Echo's alarm bells ringing, her footsteps weren't making any sound. He quickly spun around and grabbed her by her shoulder
"My apologies miss, but could you explain to me how it is your footsteps are completely silent?" asked Echo with a mock sweetness to his tone
The woman didn't seem particularly happy, either to be grabbed or questioned on that particular subject so she answered with something that she believed would let her move on, she swung her closed fist towards the strangers face with speed and accuracy that didn't befall any human. Luckily for Echo he had seen that particular punch too many times in his life, he knew the perfect counter to it as well. So his body's reflexes simply took over as he slapped away the punch making it fly by his head while he himself brought his fist up and punched the young woman in the throat with the intent of crushing her windpipe. It surprised Echo when the punch connected as his body was used to that particular punch being blocked and then countered, so it was with fascination that Echo watched as the woman staggered backwards and began grabbing her throat in an attempt to allow her to breathe again.
Echo didn't move a muscle to help her despite knowing how to reopen her windpipe, in his mind she had attacked him with a potentially lethal punch and he retaliated with equal force. So imagine his surprise when a tall man suddenly put a hand on the woman's shoulder instantly calming her down, the surprise grew even bigger as the man placed a hand on the woman's throat and give it a squeeze that released the windpipe allowing the woman to begin drawing in large breaths.
What really freaked out Echo was that he hadn't felt this man approach at all, even now his presence seemed nonexistent, but that couldn't be right! He looked over the man, he was wearing a black t-shirt with a black leather jacket with dark red stripes down the arms, a pair of black denim jeans with equal dark red stripes running down the left leg and he was wearing what looked like black sneakers. When Echo looked at the man's head he saw the jet black short messy hair on his head, Echo then looked into the man's eyes and almost recoiled, his irises were golden… Suddenly a presence entered Echo's mind and he began shaking wildly
"Now Marie I thought I told you never to use that punch on someone you weren't intending on killing" said the man
"I know… I am sorry Master it was a foolish thing to do, but the man questioned me about the silent step and I panicked" replied the woman apparently named Marie
"Indeed?" the man raised an eyebrow "Go join the others and return to the base. I will be back later" said the man
The woman looked about to protest but a glare from the man sent her running towards her friends. The man then turned and stared into the other man's eyes, he recognized that man's eyes he had seen them many times in the past. When a fist came flying through the air it was visible to the man that the punch wasn't meant to connect, it was the start of a tantrum so the man simply caught the fist and held it in place
"Now before you begin on your little temper tantrum, should we take this somewhere more private old friend? and perhaps this time we can simply talk without fighting?" asked the man
Echo growled deeply as he got confirmation on who the man in front of him was. The man's voice was teasing and yet friendly, indeed this man in front of him could be no one else but his old friend the raw strength that was keeping his fist captured only cemented it further.
"You were supposed to be dead, Karick… you have been missing for 36 years!" yelled Echo with anger in his voice, how could he not? This man was one of his oldest friends, his oldest sparring partner and the one who had helped him the most in coming to terms with Sivra's death but he had disappeared almost 37 years ago leaving Echo without one of his closest confidants… he was going to get some answers, Right. Now.
A/N: And we stand done once more. Here is a slight cliffy, you are all welcome to guess who Echo just ran into and if you do figure it out I welcome you to let others know in a review or some other way. You see here is how I end up using that one particular character a lot differently from everyone else. Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will join me next time when these two talk and we progress closer to Feros and closer to where I stopped the Original story!
Have a good one
-Bundlejumper