Planet: Thessia
Location: Aboard the Normandy
At present moment the entirety of the ground team was standing at the airlock to the Normandy and was giving their goodbyes to Benezia.
"Please try to write every so often, little wing" said Benezia with a small smile
"Of course mother, you just try to keep gramps out of trouble" replied Liara with the same smile
"Oi!" yelled Eric from his position in the back next to Marc
Everyone gave a chuckle as the rest began giving their goodbye, at least those that had spoken to Benezia during their trip to Thessia.
"Can you believe it… me? Trouble?" mumbled Eric
"To be completely fair…" began Marc
"I know…" mumbled Eric "Virmire is just about here isn't it?"
"*Nod* I'm expecting the call from the council at any given time now" said Marc
"What are you going to do?" began Eric as he turned and stared towards to specific people "When a certain choice comes rolling around and it is up to Shepard to choose?"
"*Shrug* I'll save whoever she decides to leave behind" replied Marc
"Even if it's Kaidan?"
"Even him… we might hate each other now but we still need to get through this with our lives intact"
"You're a better man then I am then" mused Eric "From what you have told me I would have killed his ass long ago"
"Well let's just say that at that point, I was a bit more concerned with other matters" replied Marc with a smile
"*Snort* Yeah like not messing up the timeline so much that we couldn't fix it… not quite sure we haven't already passed that point"
"Me neither… anyway it seems everyone is just about done saying their goodbyes, take care Eric"
The two shook hands before Eric gave a court nod and then joined his daughter as they departed the Normandy and headed towards Eric's private shuttle already docked at the station.
Slowly everyone filed out and away from the airlock and resumed their daily routines, though two particular members were agitated for different reasons. Shepard was getting antsy because there had been no new word on Saren or anything since Noveria and it was beginning to worry her. Marc was gradually getting annoyed at not receiving the call for Virmire yet and it was not really worrying as much as it was starting to make him think he fucked something up along the way.
"Up for some sparring?"
Shepard's voice pierced Marc's thoughts and a small headshake later saw him back in the real world.
"Yeah, I could use the workout"
The two didn't waste much time in getting down to the hangar, Marc picked up the blades while Shepard put on her training clothes and waited in their little "arena" behind Marc's ship.
It had become more instinct than anything for her to grab the sword out of the air as it was thrown towards her and today was no different as the sword sailed through the air and soon enough was firmly in her grip.
"Anything special you want to focus on today?" inquired Marc
"Light sparring with conversation to match?" offered Sarah
"Deal"
And the two were off like bullets out of a gun, swinging at one another while dodging and jumping to avoid what, to outsiders, would seem like lethal strikes. Thankfully the first thing Marc had thought her was just how to actually stop the blade mid motion, thus ensuring that there wouldn't be any accidental limp removal.
"So how did your talk with Eric go?" asked Sarah as she ducked under a swing
"A few questions answered, a few new posed but in the end Eric, Karick and I all came out with more knowledge than before which is only good" replied Marc as he attempted a feint
Sarah saw it coming and parried "So the whole dimensional traveler thing is getting resolved slowly?"
It was Marc's turn to dodge as he saw the blade at the edge of his vision "More or less, I mean now I at the least know why there are here and can begin helping them if I see the chance"
Giving a slight pout over her strike missing Sarah quickly recovered and ducked and rolled away from a combined leg sweep and strike
"Is it going to interfere with our mission in any way?" Sarah asked while trying to hit Marc at the back of his knees
"It shouldn't" replied Marc as she jumped over the strike and landed behind Sarah and placing his blade at her throat
"Leg strikes are a good idea, but not when your opponent is superior to you in the jumping department" stated Marc as he removed the blade and helped Sarah back to a standing position
"I know, I know… just thought I might catch you off guard" muttered Sarah as she took a ready stance and waited for Marc to come at her again
"So what about your own conversation with Liara and Benezia?" inquired Marc as he began their second round with an overhead slash
"We talked about this and that…" Sarah spun to avoid the strike and used the momentum to try and strike Marc in the stomach
"Three women in the same room and that is all? Liar" taunted Marc as he rolled backwards to avoid the strike and put some distance between them
"Well… it would seem you and I aren't as quiet as we could be" stated Sarah as she lunged forward and tried to get Marc by surprise
Seeing it coming Marc deflected the blade and tapped Sarah at the back of her head "We are hardly ever quiet but I think I know what you mean, the walls are thick not soundproof"
With a small chuckle Sarah spun around and tried an overhead strike of her own "Word for word what Liara said, but I guess it's true"
"Any other interesting topics of discussion?" tried Marc as he dodged the overhead strike and moved behind Sarah and slapped her butt with the flat end of his sword
"Auch! Hey!" yelled Sarah as she swung her blade behind her blindly hoping to get him "We entered a slightly sore topic if you must know"
Marc ducked with a mock *Gulp* to avoid the blind swing "Sore topic? What could possibly be considered a sore topic for you?"
Using the momentum of her swing Sarah turned around until she was facing Marc and changed the direction of the blade from a spinning strike to an overhead slash "Children if you must know"
Sarah barely caught it in Marc's eyes and stopped her blade just a few centimeters short of taking off his arm "Why the hell didn't you dodge?"
Marc stood slowly and pushed the blade away from his shoulder before grapping onto Sarah's shoulders and looking her deeply in the eyes
"Sarah… you aren't pregnant are you?" asked Marc with clear worry
"What?! No of course not!" yelled Sarah in response
"Thank god" mumbled Marc as he dropped to his knees "Don't scare me like that…"
Placing her sword on a nearby crate Sarah returned and sat down across from Marc on the floor
"Would it be such a bad thing if I was?" she tried with a dejected look
"*Chuckle* No just the contrary in fact… I would probably jump around in joy" replied Marc with a large smile
"Then why…?"
"In truth it would be an unnecessary distraction for both of us, if we were to worry about our child each time we went out on a mission knowing that there is a chance we weren't going to be coming back"
"But isn't that always going to be the case? I mean I am not planning on stepping down until my sixties, and I am not waiting that long to have children"
"And I am not asking you too… I am asking you to wait until this Reaper business is over with, and thus ensure I won't have to worry each god damn day if this is the day I see you killed by one of them"
"So you do want children with me?" teased Sarah with a devious grin
"I told you Sarah, you are the last woman I will ever love. And don't even try to make me believe you can find someone like me again" replied Marc with a cocky grin
"Dimensional travelling human with a super suit… no, no, I'm quite sure I could find one more somewhere" replied Sarah
"And on that day I will be flying across the universe in a sled, wearing a bright red suit and a long white beard" stated Marc
"Hmm… a beard would definently suit you" she said while carefully looking over Marc with a mock critical eye
"Been there done that, never again" replied Marc
"Shame. So after all this is said and done with you would want a family?" Sarah led the conversation back on track
"Definently. But I suppose it all comes down to if you want one"
"Once this entire reaper business is over… yeah I could see myself settling down and having a few kids"
"How about we start with just one…"
"How about we get back to training?"
"Good idea"
The two resumed their training but Marc's thoughts were definently not in it that much anymore, excellently displayed by him suddenly avoiding every strike Sarah made and not even bothering to answer with his own strikes besides the occasional educational tap to the behind or head.
'Children huh… it's worth thinking about I guess… whoops dodge below… perhaps I should prepare for the potential that she could get pregnant before all of this is over… backflip… damn if that happens what the hell am I going to do? I mean… shit duck!... I refuse to lose another child… I guess that means that, come the Collectors and she is pregnant… slide to avoid shoulder strike… in that case fuck the timeline'
That train of thought continued for the rest of the work out, until he finally called a stop to it and the two began packing their gear and then headed up to Sarah's quarters for a shower… lord knows they needed one by now.
LINE
"So in a real fight I shouldn't be trying to do all those crazy evasions I see you doing?" asked Sarah
"No definently not, Karick and I might do it all the time but we are also trained. Pass the Shampoo" said Marc as she reached his hand out
"So what, you two started doing that because you were bored?" Sarah asked with a confused expression as she handed over the bottle of shampoo
"Mostly I guess. Don't be mistaken, the really flashy evasion techniques can certainly be used for a surprise but beyond that? Not much use, better to sidestep" replied Marc as he took the bottle with a nod of thanks
Sarah leaned against the cold wall and scratched her head slightly "So what, on all the missions up until now whenever I have seen you do these massive jumps to get out of the way it was just for show?"
"*Shrug* More or less, grow to be my age and do nothing but fighting and eventually you have to find ways to entertain yourself that doesn't involve killing to stay sane… trying to imitate cartoon heroes seemed the way" said Marc as he finished scrubbing the shampoo into his hair
"You are bat shit crazy, you know that?" teased Sarah as she took the shampoo bottle and began applying it to her own hair
"*Snort* I came out better than most Tenno did, we have a group of them that have literally fought to the point where they can't live outside their Warframes anymore" mused Marc as he began washing off
"How does that happen?" questioned Sarah as she finished with the shampoo and placed the bottle back on the rack
"Lose a few limbs, go slightly insane, became addicted to death… that sort of thing" replied Marc as he opened the shower door and stepped out to begin drying off
"Good thing you didn't end up there hah?" teased Sarah
"I probably just needed a few more years and I would have ended there anyway" mumbled Marc in response
"By the way do you think we will get a new lead soon? It has been a little too long…" said Sarah
As if by magic three chimes rang through the bathroom to signal that someone was at the door to Shepard's quarters, three chimes also meant it was important.
"Happy now?" said Marc with a smile as he quickly threw on some clothes and went to open the door
When Marc did open the door he came face to face with a private who gave him a quick salute before relaying that there was an emergency transmission from the council and Commander Shepard was to report to the briefing room.
Marc nodded his thanks, and the private went on his way. Marc then quickly returned to the bathroom and informed Sarah of the news, leading to said woman speeding up her shower time and getting dressed.
"Let's hope they have something concrete for us to go on" said Sarah as the two were heading towards the briefing room
"Emergency transmissions are rarely just for polite conversation" replied Marc
"If we are lucky they might have gotten something on Saren, I would love to put a bullet through his head" grumbled Sarah
"Let's see what happens" mumbled Marc as they entered the briefing room to three awaiting council members
"Commander, Echo, nice of you two to join us" grumbled Sparatus
"Some luck might finally have come our way Commander, we received an urgent message from one of our infiltration teams in the traverse" said Valern
"Infiltration teams in the traverse? Isn't that dangerously close to the Terminus to be placing potential reasons for war?" questioned Echo
"We are aware of the danger but Saren poses and even bigger threat" replied Tevos
"And in this case it paid off. One of the team assigned to gather Intel on Saren sent us a message from Virmire. Sadly the message was nothing more but static, we fear that they might be in a situation that prevents them from setting up proper interstellar communication" supplied Valern
"How do we know this Intel is good, if all you got was static?" interrupted Shepard
"The message was sent on a high-alert mission-critical only frequency, so whatever they were trying to tell us, it was important" replied Valern
"We have a policy not to interfere with Spectres and their way of functioning, we simply want you to have all options presented too you. We wish you the best of luck Commander" said Tevos before the link was cut
Shepard sent a glance towards Echo "Seems we have our lead, let's hope it gets us somewhere"
"How far are we from Virmire?" asked Echo
"At the shortest we are only a day away, at worst it could be a week before we arrive" said Shepard as the two began heading towards the Galaxy map
"So there is time to prepare, good. I'll head down to the Shadow and begin my preparations" said Echo as he turned a corner and headed downwards toward the elevator
"I'll see you in a moment" said Shepard as she headed straight towards the map
Once she arrived she quickly began scanning through the systems and found Virmire, then went over the available data on the planet.
"Joker set a course for Virmire, top speed" ordered Shepard
"Aye, Aye Commander" affirmed Joker
"Finally some action Commander?" asked Ashley as she passed by
"Let's hope so Ash" replied Shepard as she caught up with the Gunnery chief
"Any idea what we are going to find on Virmire?" asked Ashley
"It could be anything so better be ready for just that in any case. How is Liara doing?" asked Shepard in return
"She seems to be doing just fine everything taken into consideration, she is much stronger than anyone gives her credit for" replied Ashley
"I never doubted her resolution, if I did I wouldn't have brought her with me down on Noveria" commented Shepard
"I guess not but it was a bit easy to tell with some of the others aboard the ship that they doubted her abilities… not that many saying anything after the Noveria mission video…" mumbled Ashley
"Good. Any word on the Commandos' condition?"
"Negative Ma'am, the Asari government is keeping them in tight lock-up until Echo agrees to cure them like he did with Benezia…"
"Got something to add to that Williams?"
"Why didn't he just cure them when they were aboard Ma'am?"
"Believe it or not he didn't trust them enough. He was unsure if they were actually indoctrinated, or whatever they actually believed Saren's bullshit and didn't need the brainwashing. So rather keep them locked up and controlled until we have dealt with Saren"
"I guess that makes sense, I just wish Echo was a little more willing to share his reasons with others but you"
"He has heavy trust issues, but I wouldn't think anything of it Ash. He has on plenty of occasions spoken his opinion of you, and it has only risen in the past few weeks. But there are just some things that he still feels are only for the ears of the one in command, me in this case"
"Of course Ma'am"
The two had arrived down in the armory so they split up, Ash had to go check her weaponry and Shepard had to find Echo.
Of course finding him wasn't really much of a problem when the door to the ship was wide open, meaning that he was inside doing something slightly less important since he apparently didn't mind anyone coming in to disturb him.
Shepard found him sitting at his desk overlooking some files on his omni-tool, she couldn't read what they contained from here but she suspected it had something to do with the mission.
"Anything important Sarah?" he questioned
"We are on our way to Virmire, I suspect we will be there within two days. I came down here to see if you had any extra information about Virmire that could potentially help us" she replied
"Aside from it being a lush forest world, that would make for a decent colony if it wasn't for the surround pirates and raiders? No I have nothing of importance, if the Salarian agents actually found something I can only assume Saren has a facility on the planet of some kind" stated Marc
"Facility? You mean like a factory?" mused Sarah
"Factory, Science Facility, Training Ground or something entirely different, could be anything in truth" muttered Marc
"So basically prepare for anything?"
"That would be my best suggestion"
"Got anything fancy planned with that armor of yours?"
Echo looked up from his omni-tool for barely a moment and even then it was simply to throw Shepard "Really?" glance and then look back down
"I am planning on keeping it in its natural form until we potentially come across something that requires me to be more specific. Until then it will serve excellently as a regular piece of armor with a heavy shield"
"I thought you had a version of it for every occasion?"
"I do, but I don't know what "occasion" there is down on Virmire"
"A few good beaches from what I have seen…"
"… beaches… really Sarah?"
The two shared a laugh as the conversation continued; mostly inconsequential blabber about anything, but every so often it would actually pertain to something important. They both knew that the stakes had never been higher than they were going to be planet-side, so of course there had to be joking now… wasn't time for it when you are getting shot at.
Tali was actually quite happy today, sure they were heading towards a new planet and mission which could potentially mean the death of one of her friends… but today was still a good day. She had gotten news from the flotilla via a few good friends and learned that things were looking up back home.
Though that wasn't the reason today was such a good day either. No today was a good day because she had been pestering Echo to show her some of that "Rubedo" that he constantly mumbled about when he was down in engineering… and he had finally given in! He was coming down here later today to show her what little of it he had left, of course under the promise that she wouldn't do anything to id aside from look.
Of course that wasn't going to stop her from pestering to let her test it through, so she could learn everything she could about it that Echo wasn't going to tell her.
"What has you running around in circles?" came the voice of Greg Adams
Finally stopping her own musings enough to realize that she had actually been walking around in a circle for the past thirty minutes Tali gave a small laugh
"Sorry… I'm just excited for something"
"Well how about you get out of my engine before you hit something in that excitement"
Greg Adams was the head engineer aboard the Normandy, and Tali had butted heads with him a few times in the beginning when she had looked over the specs for the ship. They had slowly moved to something that was akin to a mutual understanding, Tali didn't interrupt him without due cause and he allowed her to look around without complaining unless she tried to access a restricted area.
"Of course, sorry Greg"
"Hrmpf… just don't let it happen again"
With a nod Tali moved out of the engine room and into the hall way where she leaned against the wall, and waited for Echo to appear out of the elevator with the sample.
Thankfully she had managed to keep her excitement down for most of the day, so she didn't have to wait so terribly long for the doors to open and reveal Echo's form with a container held in his hands.
"Tali… how long have you waited here?" he asked with an amused glint in his eyes
"30 minutes?" she replied in a slight mumble
"Hahaha… you are too easily excited, come on and let's see if we can quench that curiosity of yours… for the day at least" he joked as he began leading them towards one of the side rooms of engineering, a repair room to be more specific.
He placed the surprisingly small container on one of the tables, and released the myriad of locks he had placed on it himself. The case gave a low hiss as it opened, allowing a small red light to escape as it opened to reveal the small lump of red glowing material.
Reaching into the case, Echo pulled out the clump and held it in front of Tali
"This is Rubedo, one of the key components in the building of Warframes, the armor I wear, as well as a few other particular forms of crafting. It is also used in the engine of some of our ships; my Shadow is a good example as it has a Rubedo focused Engine that used to run on the stuff, before I switched to solar power"
Tali hung on every word as she took in the look and shape of the small square block of Rubedo, she tried so horribly to glean anything from simply looking but she had never seen a material quite like this before.
"What about density, pressure limits, melting temperature, conducting ability…"
Tali ranted off a million and one questions, leaving Echo with a large grin on his face… how long had it been since he had fully enjoyed a conversation about engineering. Well a few days if one counted the last time he went down here and spoke to Tali but that doesn't count, those times weren't about this about something he knew, about something that was from home.
"So how could this have helped make our engines better?"
Tali eventually asked an actual question which left Echo smiling, of course he couldn't tell her exactly how the Rubedo would help make the Normandy better, mostly because he wasn't exactly a ship engineer like some of the other Tenno had been back home.
"Truthfully I can't tell you the exact reason it would improve the engines, I just know it would… Put it under the microscope over there and look what happens when you pass a current through it"
Behind her visor Tali had a slightly confused expression on her face, but she went with it and walked over and placed the sample of Rubedo under the scope and looked at it. What she saw almost made her fall out of her chair.
"It's alive…"
"No not completely… but it's close, very, very close"
Under the microscope the biggest secret behind Rubedo was visible, endless numbers of small organisms that lived within the Rubedo and were somehow connected to the material. The Tenno had tried, without success mind you, to find out just what the small organisms added to the Rubedo, but gave up after so many failed trials and soon enough the man-hours just couldn't be justified.
"Now look when I sent a current through it…"
Tali looked back down and her eyes widened once more as she saw the small current pass into some of the organisms… but that was where the incredible began, the first organism let the charge jump to the next but still retained a charge… it then passed it to another, and again and again.
"Impossible…"
"It replicates the original charge"
"An engine built around this would be able to run off the smallest of charges for… I can't even begin to phantom the calculations. You say your engine ran on this in the past? Why did you stop?"
Picking up the piece of Rubedo Echo threw it in the air and caught it a few times before staring at it intently.
"It can retain a current for an incredible amount of time, but after a while the current burns out the organisms inside the Rubedo and it breaks apart. I switched to Solar Power when I left the Tenno to ensure that I didn't need to restock on Rubedo when I ran out. Turned out to be the right choice, since I can't get anymore"
"Oh… is it really impossible for you to acquire anymore?"
"Well… in truth I don't know, there might be a system in the galaxy with a Rubedo deposit but I haven't exactly been looking for it… perhaps… hmm… would you like to take a sample and adjust our scanners to see if it can find a Rubedo deposit?"
Echo knew it was a fruitless search, the odds of a Rubedo deposit being somewhere in this dimension was close to zero but perhaps, just perhaps they might get lucky.
"That would be fantastic! I'll get right on it"
Echo chuckled slightly at Tali's eagerness "Take the sample and do what you need, you can return it to my ship when you are done"
"Of course Echo, see you around and thank you so much"
"No problem Tali"
With that Echo left the room and went searching for the next person he wanted to see, thought he really didn't wish to see this person he had to get a few things straight with Kaidan about Virmire… he wasn't risking potential deaths because Kaidan still had a stick up his ass because of certain subjects.
Locating the Lieutenant proved a bit more difficult than first anticipated because apparently he missed him three times as he tried the Armory, canteen and sleeping quarters in that order… he was heading over to the med-bay since that was apparently where the lieutenant was heading next.
Looking through the open door Echo gave a sigh of relief as he saw Kaidan standing and talking to Chakwas while gesturing to his now healed arm. Echo suspected that they were talking about his further use of it and if it was safe to go down on Virmire and enter combat.
"… I see no larger problem Kaidan if you just ensure not to take too many blows to the shoulder"
"Thanks doc, just what I wanted to hear"
"Kaidan I need to speak with you" Echo interrupted as he stepped inside the med-bay
"Yeah? I have nothing to talk to you about" replied Kaidan with a scowl
"I don't give a shit, whatever you actually speak with me or just listen. Once we hit landside on Virmire there is a chance the entire ground team is going into action, and I am not risking anyone's ass because of our disagreements" growled Echo
"And you somehow think that I will let someone die because I hate you?" rebuffed Kaidan
Echo took two steps forward until he was right in front of Kaidan, and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled his face right in front of his own.
"No you little shit; I am concerned I am going to kill you. So I propose a deal, I will cover the left flank and you cover the right… I might not like you Kaidan but you are a capable solider, so I know I can trust you to hold our flank"
A hint of surprise appeared on Kaidan's face at the proclamation, as he was quite sure that Echo hated his guts and thought he was completely useless… perhaps not.
"I think we can do that… anything else?" asked Kaidan
Echo released his hold on Kaidan and sighed in relief, and took a step to the side to lean against Chakwas desk
"No that should be it. You might wish to go prepare… we don't know what we are facing planet side" replied Echo
Kaidan nodded and left the med-bay, leaving Echo and Chakwas alone.
"I take it you wish to speak with me, Marc, since you are staying?"
A small chuckle escaped the half-breed, as he sat down across from Chakwas and nodded his acceptance to a glass of the offered brandy.
"So what are we talking about today?" Chakwas began the conversation
"Well… maybe I should leave that up to you?" tested Marc with a careful tone
"*Chuckle* How about something I can see have done you a world of good?" said Chakwas in a teasing tone
"You mean Sarah don't you?" replied Marc in a cheeky tone
"That I do. You have been so much happier and just seem more… alive, then before you two got together. It has helped our dear Commander just as much if you ask me" continued Chakwas with a smile
"I really don't know what to tell you Karin, I never thought I would fall in love again but Sarah… she grows on you whatever you want it or not, I guess I just got a bigger dose than most" said Marc with a grin
"*Snort* Yes I will admit that Sarah has a certain… appeal. Hit any problems yet?"
"*Cough* *Cough* Yes well… hmm… there have been a few arguments over some delicate matters that I am not really in a position to talk about"
"I take it this is not her obsession with panda underwear?"
Marc leaned forward with an interested stare "You know about the Panda panties?"
Chakwas finished her glass, and poured another before grinning like a shark
"Oh I know a whole lot more…"
"Karin, I think you just became my new favorite person… let's talk"
Entering Virmire Atmosphere
"Everyone ready?"
Shepard's question rang out through the Mako but no one answered, their silence was more than enough as everyone was keeping their focus.
They were almost at the drop point, they had determined that there was indeed some sort of facility down on Virmire, there was just one problem… they had Anti-Air artillery that needed to be dealt with before the Normandy could even think of making land-fall.
Shepard gave a small sigh as she jumped into the driver's seat and waited in silence. Echo was sitting in the navigator's seat with a passive mien under his helmet. He had been oddly quiet, ever since he had finished his rather long talk with Chakwas.
"Approaching drop-point, Commander. ETA 1 minute" came Joker's voice over the com
"Roger that Joker" replied Shepard
The atmosphere inside the filled Mako was thick enough to slice in, most the team was too aware that some of them might not be coming back from this trip. It was even more present on the faces of Ashley and Liara, due to their recent circumstances.
"Drop!" the voice of Joker sounded just as the floor opened, and the Mako lurched forward as it began hurling towards the ground.
*Slam*
They struck the ground with a loud slam, and Shepard wasted no time in hitting the gas sending them blasting forward.
They had barely driven for a minute before the first canon shot rang throughout the mountains of Virmire. The geth returned fire with equal intensity, there was no definently no mistaking that his place was of importance to Saren… too many Geth for anything else to make sense.
"Shepard this is too much for the gun, we need to find some cover!" yelled Garrus from the canon
"Coming right up Garrus!" yelled Shepard in reply
They were soon in cover of some of the rocks, and Garrus made full use of it to let the canon cool down, damn thing was near the exploding point.
"Saren must really want this place protected…" grumbled Ashley
"What do you think he is doing here?" asked Kaidan
"Hah who the hell cares, we are blowing it sky high anyway" grunted Wrex
"I'm more concerned with what the Salarian team is going to tell us" supplied Tali
"Let us hope for the best" finished Liara
The team fell back into silence as the Mako roared forward, with the canon firing at the nearest target. The further they drove the more endless the geth seemed. They quickly found out why, when they were faced with a massive gate baring their way.
"We need those gates down!" yelled Garrus
"Stop the Mako" ordered Echo
Shepard did as asked on pure reaction, and thus didn't have time to react when Echo jumped out of the passenger window and began walking towards the Geth.
"Garrus give me some covering fire; focus on the units in front of the gate"
"Sure but what the hell are you planning?" asked Garrus over the com
"Let out some anger… Wrex get out here, I need your help" continued Echo
"On my way" responded Wrex
"I'm coming out too" said Ashley over the com
"No, remain inside… you would only be in the way" ordered Echo as he stopped and waited for Wrex to catch up with him
Once Wrex was at his side Echo padded him on the shoulder, and disengaged his helmet to reveal his face which was currently holding a rather pissed off look.
"What has you so pissed off?" asked Wrex
"None of your concern… you see the two corridors up on the gate?" said Echo
"Yeah, what of them?"
"You take the left, I'll take the right. Meet in the middle and we will clear the end chamber together"
"Sounds good enough for me"
Echo nodded, as his helmet moved up over his head once more. Withdrawing his Tigris from his back, Echo took one deep breath before taking off with Wrex hot on his heels.
Back in the Mako, Garrus was having a difficult time not hitting too close to Echo or Wrex as they ran.
"What the hell is he thinking, Shepard?!" yelled Ashley as she stuck her head into the front of the Mako
"I don't know" replied Shepard
"Was it just me, or did he seem quite… distressed?" asked Liara
"… He has been quiet ever since talking to Chakwas" replied Shepard
"Could she have told him something?" tried Ashley
"I don't know what could have done this…" stated Shepard
Back outside with Echo and Wrex, they had made it atop the gate and were currently in the process of blasting their way along the boardwalk.
Echo slid to avoid a shotgun blast before leveling his Tigris on the same Geth that fired the shot, moments later that geth was blown to pieces.
As he tried to stand back up, Echo found himself staring into the barrel of a Geth shotgun.
'You have got to be shitting me…' Echo just managed to pass that thought through his head before…
*Bang*
Echo hit the ground with a loud crash; his shields had taken the impact and were almost gone now.
Using his leg, Echo kicked the legs out from under the Geth and quickly got to his feet. He wasted no time in crushing the head of the geth under his foot, and then continued his run down the corridor.
There was only one more Geth visible down the path, drawing his Nikana in preparation Echo sucked in a breath and waited. Sliding once more to avoid the gunfire, he cut the legs out from under the Geth and swung around to impale the machine through the flashlight eye.
"Getting slow in your old age" joked Wrex from behind him
"No… not slow… careless" replied Echo as he stood up
"There isn't any geth down in the main chamber, let's get the gate down and be on our way" said Wrex
"Stay here and keep guard, I'll be right back" replied Echo as he began walking towards the main chamber
Echo used the short amount of time to chastise himself, for losing focus right in a critical moment… if his shield hadn't been so strong in Neutral mode he would be a head shorter…
The console was thankfully easy enough to figure out, so the bridge was lowered quickly and Echo began heading back.
"Gate going down" reported Echo in his com
"We see it" responded Shepard
Sighing to himself Echo waved for Wrex to go ahead, right now Echo felt like jumping off something high and the gate was the closest thing.
Once he reached the open area he took a quick look down and saw Wrex going towards the Mako, with a single nod he vaulted over the railing and enjoyed the momentary feeling of falling. Rolling as he landed Echo quickly sprinted to the Mako and jumped back inside.
"Felt like showing off?" asked Shepard
"No, I felt like falling" replied Echo
That ended all attempts at a conversation, so Shepard just hit the gas and sent them on further along their way.
The same pattern repeated itself as before, drive and shoot, take cover to let shields recharge, drive and shoot, jump out of Mako to deal with another gate, drive and shoot. It was becoming quite meaningless until they finally saw the Anti-Air gun.
"Finally…" breathed Shepard "Okay people let's deal with this quickly so the Normandy can land" she ordered
Everyone but Garrus departed the Mako; he remained behind so he could bombard the first line of Geth. With the combined strength of the entire ground team it didn't take them long to clear the tower and switch off the anti-air gun.
"Clear passage, Joker" said Shepard
"Heading to the rendezvous point Commander, see you there" replied Joker
The team headed back to the Mako and they once more found themselves on the road. There was a remarkable lag of Geth on the final stretch to the Salarian camp, not that any of the team were complaining. Whatever made their job easier.
A silent cheer ran through the vehicle, as they saw the Normandy fly overhead and land near the Salarian base. It wasn't much later that the Mako's breaks grinded; the team had finally arrived at the Salarian base.
No one wasted any time in getting out of the Mako, some of the team headed towards the Normandy for a status update, the rest of the team moved towards the Salarians.
"You there, do you have any idea what the hell you have done?!" yelled a Salarian that came out to meet Shepard
"Hey cool it!" yelled Ashley in response
"I will most certainly not, you have just landed in a hot-zone. Every AA gun within ten miles have been alerted to your presence, now there is no chance for any of the reinforcements we called to make land-fall safely!" retorted the Salarian angrily
"We are the reinforcements you sent for" growled Echo as he approached
"What?! We asked the council to send a fleet" yelled the Salarian
"Your message was nothing but static, we were sent to investigate… so what is the situation?" demanded Shepard
"*Sigh* We found Saren's base of operations here… he set up some sort of research facility, the place is heavily guarded and geth are pouring out of every pore of the place" informed the Salarian
"Before we get any further into this, perhaps introductions are in order" stated Echo
"Of course, forgive my earlier brashness. I am Captain Kirrahe" replied Kirrahe
"I'm Spectre Shepard, this is Echo and Ashley Williams" continued Shepard
"I've heard a great deal about you Shepard" Kirrahe's gaze then fell on Echo "And even more about you Mr. Echo, not all good I'm afraid"
"I never expected my reputation to be flawless" replied Echo with a shrug
"I'm not surprised. As for what Saren is researching here, it seems he is using this facility to breed an army of Krogan" informed Kirrahe
"How is that possible?" interrupted Wrex as he had been listening in from afar
"It would appear Saren has discovered a cure for the Genophage" replied Kirrahe with a pointed look
"An army of Geth is bad enough, with an army of Krogan he would be unstoppable…" mused Shepard
"Exactly my thoughts, which is why we must ensure this facility and all its secrets are destroyed" replied Kirrahe with a nod
"Destroyed? I don't think so pup, my people are dying and this cure could save them" said Wrex in a surprisingly calm voice
"If that cure leaves this planet, the Krogan will become unstoppable. We cannot make the same mistake again" stated Kirrahe with a stern face
"We are not a mistake…" growled Wrex as he turned and began walking away
"Is he going to be a problem?" asked Kirrahe towards Shepard
"I'll go talk to him" said Echo and began walking away
Echo just followed Wrex silently, as he walked as far away from the Salarian camp as was safe. When the large Krogan finally stopped Echo stepped up to his side and stared out over the landscape with him.
"This isn't right… that cure could save my people" began Wrex
"But at what cost? I have told you Wrex, a cure is already in the early stages" continued Echo
"And who knows how long it would take for it to be finished? There is a ready cure right here"
"*Shrug* Then do it, strike me down and get killed by the Salarians. Or do the smart thing, and think just what the Krogan serving Saren is paying for that cure"
Wrex looked thoughtful for a moment before a light shone in his eyes.
"The last time we helped someone, our entire race ended up neutered… I doubt Saren would be as generous"
"Exactly… the Krogan here are fighting a losing battle, you know this Wrex. So help us, help us take down this facility and I promise you that you will see your people cured one day"
"*Sigh* Perhaps you are right… thank you for not letting me do something stupid"
"Anything for a friend"
"Leave me alone, I need to gather my thoughts"
"Of course, Wrex"
With those words Echo turned on his heel and began walking towards the camp, a small smile under his helmet… at least one thing went right on this mission, now everything else just needs to fall into place as well.
"Wrex going to be okay?" asked Ashley once Echo was within hearing range again
"Yeah, so you can put that gun down again Lieutenant…" 'Before I shove it up your ass, and press the trigger' added Echo silently in his head
With a few mumbled words Kaidan lowered the rifle and walked away.
"So do we have a plan?" asked Echo once he was close enough to Kirrahe
"It would seem so, if you would assemble your team Commander" said Kirrahe
With a nod Shepard turned and walked a few steps away, to begin the call.
"Your Commander has an excellent tactical mind" stated Kirrahe
Echo walked over and looked at the holographic map spread over the table
"That she does, how many teams are you taking with you?" questioned Echo
"I'm taking three teams"
"I'm coming with you"
"Well, I was going to ask your Commander to lend me one of you"
"And I am going; we are going to face lethal odds…" Echo left the rest unsaid
"And you are the most expendable part of their team?" asked Kirrahe putting words to Echo's last thoughts
"More or less"
Their conversation stopped as Shepard returned.
Everyone stood gathered outside the tent, and waited as Kirrahe had some final words with Shepard. Finally Kirrahe stepped forward and cleared his throat.
"The plan is simple; we will be converting our ships drive core into a twenty-kiloton ordnance. The Normandy will carry this bomb to the far end of the facility, for this to happen we need to infiltrate the facility and disable the AA gun's and pacify the ground troops. For this purpose I will be dividing my men into three teams, we will assault the front and cause confusion which will allow Spectre Shepards Shadow team to infiltrate from the back.
We do not expect to bring everyone back alive, which made my decision to ask for one of the Normandy's crew to come with us to help coordinate the teams that much more difficult, thankfully one of you already volunteered" Echo then stepped forward and nodded to most of the ground team, leaving many stunned faces "I wish you all the best of luck" Kirrahe finished as he turned and went to speak with his own men.
The ground team was on Echo, the moment Kirrahe was out of earshot.
"What the hell are thinking?" asked Shepard angrily
"He needs someone to help coordinate the teams, you need everyone else for more important tasks" replied Echo calmly
"But the chance of coming back from that alive…" began Liara
"Are none of my concern, of this entire team I am the most expendable… you all have bigger roles to play" stated Echo
No one batted an eye as Shepard tried to slap Echo, but they were surprised when Echo grabbed the hand and began pulling Shepard away from the group.
"I think he's pissed over something" Garrus stated the obvious
"I don't think the Commander is all that happy either" said Ashley
"Anyone have some medi-gel handy?" asked Liara
"I do" replied Tali as she lifted her arm
"Good, we are probably going to need it" stated Garrus
In the meantime Echo had dragged Shepard quite far away from the rest of the camp, all the way behind a rock formation so they were hidden from view.
"What the hell are you thinking?" sneered Shepard angrily
"What the hell are you thinking, letting your emotions getting the better of you like that?" returned Echo in a calm voice as he disengaged his helmet
"What do you mean "letting my emotions get the better of me", the man I love just told me he was expendable!" half-yelled Shepard in response
"Love… you don't love me Sarah…" replied Echo in a low voice
"What are you talking about, of course I love yo…"
*SLAM* Echo hammered his fist into the rock, with enough force to leave a small crack under his fist
"You don't keep that fact that you are dying from people you love!" roared Marc with a cold fury blazing in his eyes
Sarah almost looked like she shrunk slightly, as she stepped back and averted her gaze.
"…how did you find out?" she mumbled weakly
Marc released a large breath and rubbed his eyes "Chakwas accidently let it slip when we spoke…"
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to keep it hidden; I just didn't know how to tell you" she continued in a weak voice
"Around the time we got together might have been good…" he released a large breath again "I know I kept it hidden what I was… it was grinding away at me until I couldn't hold it in any longer, thankfully it didn't hurt us too badly but Sarah… something like this…"
"I know… I wanted to tell you before we got together, but then Feros happened and then I didn't know how to tell you without breaking your heart…"
Marc sunk down, until he sat on the ground and then leaned against the rock.
"I know now and I suppose that is what matters…now… now we deal with it"
"How? I have been to every doctor available, and talked with every specialist alive; there is no cure for what I have"
"There is…"
"What are you talking about?"
"The nanites I have in my blood… they could cure you"
"But don't you need them to live? And how would you even give them to me?"
"I have an emergency reserve of them aboard my ship… if it's the only way to save you, then I can see no better use for them"
"And what? You just inject them into my blood, and tadaa I'm cured?"
"No, first I take a blood sample, tissue sample, bone marrow sample and then run a few tests to ensure that the nanites won't kill you… then I start reprogramming them to actually work for you. and then we get to injecting them into your bloodstream. Followed by you going under observation to ensure they don't backfire on you and start killing you, and then if everything goes right… they will take care of the virus and then you will be cured"
"*Snort* Is that it?"
Echo stood up with a sigh before nodding, to himself perhaps more so than to her.
"For now…"
"I don't suppose this means, I can convince you to let someone else go with Kirrahe?"
Echo shook his head in refusal "I'm not letting someone else go through that"
"*Sigh* then just come back alive, you hear me?"
And for the first time since his talk with Chakwas, Echo smiled a genuine smile as he reactivated his helmet with the words "When have I ever let you down?"
"Ready, Mr. Echo?"
Kirrahe got a nod in response as Echo moved up and stood beside him.
"Three teams, our goal will be to disable the AA-guns so the Normandy can deliver the package"
"What is the plan of attack?" asked Echo
"We will advance slowly, we cannot risk running into unexpected groups. Hopefully we can count of Shadow Squad to take down some of their defenses as they approach" replied Kirrahe
Echo nodded in confirmation as he took his place in the formation.
The approach to the base was quiet, most of the Geth seemed to be guarding the facility itself but they didn't mind… the longer it took them to be found the more havoc they could wreak to take attention away from Shadow Squad.
"Alright everyone there's the main entrance, team one approach with breaching charges" ordered Kirrahe
A round of confirmations sounded from team one as they approached, the charges were placed quickly and efficiently and soon enough team one was back at minimum safe distance.
"Gentlemen, it has been an honor" stated Kirrahe as he pressed the button sending a tremor through the front of the facility
Alarms began blaring instantly as Geth swarmed the entrance, the attack team barely managed to set up a proper line of cover before the first shots flew over their heads.
Echo had foregone his own weapons for the moment, as he had grabbed a spare assault rifle before the departure from the base camp. Popping out of cover he managed to bring down the shield of a few Geth, before being forced back into cover from the concentrated fire.
"They seem to be targeting you Mr. Echo" stated Kirrahe as he lobbed a grenade over his head and into the Geth
"Let us just say this isn't the first time we have met" replied Echo as he sunk a little lower after a shot hit the edge of his cover
"If we make it out of this alive, I'll look forward to the stories" said Kirrahe with a grin before popping out of cover and unleashing a widespread Overload that fried a few Geth circuits
Echo nodded as he quickly survived the rest of the team, group one and three were thankfully still full in number.
Slowly the first round of gunfire calmed down, as the last of the Geth fell to the combined gunfire of all three teams.
"Advance!" ordered Kirrahe
They slowly moved forward and made their first press into the facility. Echo had to admit that seeing it from the front entrance, was a completely different experience. Presently the Shadow Team was most likely going through the tall rocks surrounding the facility, and should hopefully soon hit the Communications Relay.
A few Geth came out of some side rooms, they were quickly dispatched and the assault team found themselves fortifying a large research room as they had detected a large Geth battalion on the way.
"Overloads at the ready!" ordered Kirrahe
Echo held tightly around the EMP grenade in his hand, ready to throw it across the room as soon as the door opened.
To his annoyance it proved to be useless, when the doors finally opened they weren't swarmed with Geth as they had expected. Rather mindless raging Salarians began pouring out through the door; the indoctrination was clearly seen on all of them… their beady eyes the biggest hint of all.
"What the hell are you waiting for?! Shoot!" roared Echo as he began firing at the approaching Salarians
This thankfully shook the rest of them awake, and they began firing against the oncoming horde as well. It didn't take much for the group of unarmed and mindless Salarians to get shot to pieces… though it did leave most of the assault team in a somber mood.
"More pointless deaths…" mumbled one of the salarians
"They will be avenged" stated Kirrahe as they began pushing further into the facility.
The assault team pushed forward, the facility held a rather atrocious number of corridors. These corridors were single handily responsible for the death of three Salarians, and Echo breaking another finger.
With a small explosion another door was blasted in, the team moved inside slowly only to come face to face with a completely empty room.
"Captain, this looks like the primary research station" said one of the Salarians
"Search the place men, let's see if we can find something useful" ordered Kirrahe
Echo moved over to one of the consoles standing against the wall, placing a hand over some exposed machinery he gave a small push.
"Eva, hack into the system as see if you can get me something" ordered Echo
"Searching…" responded Eva
It was some quiet moments, as Echo skimmed the data passing by inside his helmet. At first it was simply senseless data that made no sense, and then slowly it began taking form. Thankfully, he had spent enough time down in Medical with Sivra to understand at least some of the biology going on here. Though that wasn't to say some of this didn't go over his head, but from what he understood the first part of all this was the Genophage cure.
Then slowly the data turned more and more interesting, there was references to all sorts of research going from weapon's designing to architecture. When the files swapped over to disease research, well… Echo suddenly got a lot more interested. A number of horrible diseases were listed here, some he knew, some he didn't, but one thing was clear as day… these were killers.
Finally the data surrounding Indoctrination began passing… Echo wasn't afraid to admit that some if it made him ill, he had seen and done his share of unspeakable things but this just took the cake… some of the experiments listed here, there were no words for them… in fact he was quite sure he could make a Nekros user uncomfortable with some of this.
"Search complete, download and transfer results to a Data-Disk?" asked Eva
"Do it, but separate it into two. One for the Genophage data, one for the Indoctrination data and a final one for everything else" replied Echo
"Downloading… downloading… download complete" announced Eva
A few footsteps announced the approach of someone
"Find something interesting Mr. Echo?" asked the voice of Kirrahe
"Perhaps…" began Echo as he stood up and showed one the data-disks to Kirrahe "This little disk contains all the research data Saren did on Indoctrination, I have erased the data from the facility as well"
"That's amazing, perhaps there is something there which can help us combat it?" suggested Kirrahe
"I intend on destroying this as soon as I can, I am not letting the Council or anyone else have a chance to study this… it's sick" responded Echo in a low growl
"Destroy it?! Do you know what this data could do for the galaxy?" said Kirrahe with wide eyes
"I do Captain, and I also know just what sort of damage it can do. You may trust the council, but I do not" stated Echo in a tone brokering no argument
"Very well, but you do realize I have to mention this in my report" informed Kirrahe
"*Nod* I suspected as much, but I do not care for the council" replied Echo
"Let's continue, the AA-guns shouldn't be much further" said Kirrahe as he turned and walked away
Echo followed behind him, soon enough the assault team was back on track and continuing through the facility.
Echo was currently taking point for his group; he barely managed to turn a corner before he was looking down the barrel of five Geth rifles.
"Geth!" roared Echo as he ducked and rolled backwards to avoid the storm of gunfire
Battling in these tight corridors had advantages and disadvantages, one of the biggest disadvantages about it were they didn't have much room to take cover in. Most of the Geth on the other hand, they wasted no time in placing down their portable shields which only extended the fight further for the assault team.
"Those EMP grenades would be very helpful right now Mr. Echo!" yelled Kirrahe
Echo didn't have to be told twice, activating the small disk he roared "EMP!" before sending the grenade sailing through the air and in between the Geth.
The following electrical surge knocked down the Geth shields, and a few of the Geth units were momentarily disabled as well.
Of course the assault team didn't overlook such a chance, and happily rained down gunfire on what few Geth remained.
When everything was clear once more the assault team advanced, the next room they entered was thankfully the control room for the AA turrets.
"Tamip, get to work" ordered Kirrahe
"Yes sir, commencing hack" replied the Salarian
The rest of the assault team bunkered down in front of the door, given that it was the only way into the room at least they would hold the advantage as their enemy couldn't advance in great numbers.
In another part of the facility, a rather irritated Shepard was leaving a closed off part of the facility. The team had just had an aggravating conversation with Sovereign, the Reaper which Saren was currently using as flag ship.
That and they had found another beacon which Shepard had activated, now she had a headache rivaling the mother of all headaches and she wasn't happy.
"Shepard we have found the controls to the AA-guns, we are in the process of shutting them down" came Kirrahe's voice over the com
"Understood, we should closing in on the drop point" replied Shepard
"Roger that, we will maintain radio silence unless an emergency arises" stated Kirrahe and shut down the com link
"Okay people, double time!" ordered Shepard as she picked up the pace
The team just nodded in compliance and kept up with Shepard. They had faced relatively few problems getting this far, the Geth had been too focused on the assault team.
They had run into a single Asari that Shepard let go, though most of the team questioned her chances of getting far enough away from the explosion.
The team was coming up on a lowering bridge, further down the path behind said bridge stood three fully armored Krogan.
"Right… kill them?" joked Garrus
"Sounds like a plan" quipped Tali
And then they unleashed hell, Wrex and Liara worked together to throw biotics in every direction. Garrus and Tali were keeping the Krogan's shields down with their tech, and Shepard was putting her rifle through the ringer as the damn thing was almost near overheat stage.
It took a bit of effort and lord knows how many bullets, but the three Krogan were killed and the team could progress… though not without Wrex letting lose some rather choice Krogan words that sounded mighty colorful to the rest of the team, especially since their translators either didn't know the words… or simply just didn't want to translate them.
They passed through another door, then up a ramp and further into the facility. They encountered a small group of Geth and a single flyer but, that was dealt with quickly enough. If everything was as planned then they should be approaching the rendezvous point soon.
"The elevator over there Shepard, should take us up to the drop site" stated Tali
"Good" replied Shepard
They made their way to the elevator and called it down, of course they knew the chance of it being full of geth was quite large so Garrus placed a grenade right at the foot of the door and the team retreated to a safe distance.
When the doors opened and the first flashlight head came into view, Garrus smiled a feral smile and pressed the button blowing apart the three Geth.
"That was easy" quipped Garrus
"Let's get moving" ordered Shepard
They took the elevator up and sure enough they came to their destination, a few more Geth were waiting atop the elevator but their numbers by now had diminished so much that it didn't even prove a challenge.
Shepard quickly called it in, and the Normandy was soon on her way to the drop off point.
The Normandy made its grand entrance, and then the crew began off-loading the bomb.
"There now we just need to arm it, and we are good to go" commented Kaidan
"Good, get it done as quickly as possible… I want off this planet" replied Shepard
Kaidan gave a nod, at the same time Shepard's com gave a ping
"Commander, do you read me?" came Kirrahe's voice
"I read you Kirrahe, what's going on?" replied Shepard
"We are pinned down at the AA-tower, the geth are swarming our position!" yelled Kirrahe in response with gunfire ringing out in the background
"Shit! Normandy get them out of there!" yelled Shepard
"Negative Commander, it's too dangerous. Just make sure that bomb goes off" said Kirrahe before Joker had a chance to reply
"Go get them Commander; I still need a few minutes to set up the bomb anyway" interrupted Kaidan
"Okay, everyone to the AA tower!" ordered Shepard loudly
Everyone quickly assembled and was about to head out, but before that Shepard turned around and stared at Kaidan
"Kaidan… thank you" stated Shepard
"Don't mention it" replied Kaidan over his shoulder
With a final nod Shepard turned and led the team towards the AA tower.
The amount of Geth seemed to have increased out of nowhere, the closer to the tower they got the denser the groups got and the team had more than a few close calls.
They finally managed to break through another group, and into an elevator which would get them up to the approach of the AA tower.
Though they had barely stepped outside the elevator, before they saw a Geth ship flying over their heads and in tandem with that Shepard's com sounded off once more.
"Watch out Kaidan, you have geth incoming" said Echo over the com
"They are already here, there is geth pouring out all over the bomb site!" yelled Kaidan in reply with some gunfire erupting in the background
"Can you hold them off Kaidan?!" asked Shepard in a worried tone
"Negative Commander, there is just too many of them. I don't think we can survive until you get here… I'm activating the bomb" stated Kaidan
"What?! What the hell do you think you are pulling Kaidan!" yelled Shepard
"I'm just making sure this bomb goes off no matter what, go grab Echo and get the hell out of here" replied Kaidan
"Kaidan… shut the fuck up" came Echo's voice over the shared com "You are much more important to the functioning of the Normandy than me, so don't you dare try and play hero here" a few seconds of stunned silence followed "Wrex do me a favor, if Shepard doesn't want to go back to Kaidan willingly, drag her ass back there"
"What?! You can't be serious Echo, just hold on!" yelled Shepard
"It's too late, I have already covered the Salarians escape, there is only me here now. Go back to Kaidan and wait for the Salarians, they should be there in a minute… Wrex, do it" ordered Echo
"Sorry Commander, I might not like it but he's right. Now am I going to have to do as he asked?" challenged Wrex
Shepard was by no means happy but she couldn't justify it to anyone, going after just a single person when you have just been told that an entire squad is coming down.
"Marc… I…"
"Sarah stop it, I have made it out of worse situations… go grab Kaidan, we will be seeing each other again. Trust me" stated Echo before he cut the com
"Shit…" growled Shepard "Okay everyone back to the bomb site, double time!" roared Shepard as she turned and began running
Back up with Marc, he was currently breathing hard as he had just done perhaps the stupidest thing he had ever done. But thankfully it wasn't a lie when he said he would see Sarah again.
"Eva, get the Shadow here on the double… or I'm dust" ordered Marc as he slumped to the ground
"Departing the Normandy, I'll be there as fast as I can" replied Eva
Marc just smiled and disabled his helmet before taking a large breath, which ended up sending him into a coughing fit because of his damaged lungs.
He ended up just sitting there on the edge of the platform, enjoying the scenery of Virmire. Sarah had certainly been right, this place had gorgeous beaches.
It was an odd feeling sitting here, he knew that Eva was on her way with the Shadow… but there was still the chance that the bomb would go off faster than he anticipated, which would mean that he was in quite the predicament as he would be spread neatly out over Virmire as a fine red mist… if even that would remain.
A small sound registered in his ears and Marc looked up, sure enough there in the distance a certain Turian on a floating platform was approaching. Soon enough the visage of Saren Arterius was fast approaching, with a surprisingly calm expression.
"Hmm… I find myself disappointed, I had expected both Commander Shepard and a great deal more destruction" stated Saren with a hint of amusement as he came within Marc's hearing range
With a lazy flick of his wrist and a pointed thumb, Marc pointed behind him. Saren followed the gesture and his eyes widened slightly, behind some broken crates lay scores of Geth and the occasional Krogan. One would say it was quite the impressive display of chaos, a thing Saren could respect ever so slightly.
Landing his floating platform a little away from Marc, he then walked over to the half-breed and stood beside him and shared in the view.
"I've heard a lot about you Mr. Echo, you do fast efficient work" stated Saren
"As I have heard of you, you are not quite as subtle as I would prefer but you get the job done, damn the consequences" replied Echo
The two then fell into a silence as they watched the waves smash against the rocks, and listened to the gentle sound of the wind singing between the mountains.
"This planet is quite beautiful" mused Saren
"*Nod* I agree, it is a wonder it has not been claimed" replied Echo
"I believe it has something to do with the many pirates in the area"
"Hmm… perhaps"
Saren stood quiet for a moment before sitting down himself, much to Marc's surprise and amusement.
"You know I found myself expecting Shepard, not her second in command"
"*Shrug* I volunteered to join the Salarians, turned out to be the wrong call"
"Ah the Salarians, it was really no surprise that my Geth believed them the true threat"
"Kirrahe is a good captain"
"*Nod* I find myself in agreement with you, he was offered to become a Spectre you know"
"Really? And he refused?"
"Said that he served the Salarians, not the galaxy"
"One cannot fault him for that, we all do what we think is right"
"Which is why I am currently facing down a pressing issue, losing my facility here"
"Perhaps it is my turn to admit something, I expected you to come here with the intent of killing me"
"*Chuckle* Certainly it was a possibility, but I had now hoped to capture Shepard and use her as leverage to get the bomb disarmed"
"Ah, and I am afraid I do not carry the same weight"
With those words Marc rose to his feet, and stretched slightly making his bones pop. Opening a small compartment on his leg, Marc then pulled out a data-disk.
"Here" said Marc
Saren stood up and picked up the small device, he looked it over in curiosity.
"What is it, if I may ask?" inquired Saren
"That" began Marc with a nod towards the device "Is a data-disk containing all the research you did here, minus of course the Genophage cure as I have need of that, and your Indoctrination research as that is monstrous at best"
Saren's eyes widened even further as he stared down at the research, his hands beginning to tremble as he felt a weight lifting from his shoulders.
"I figured this could end in one of a few ways, one of them would be us fighting for this information and I think we both know that such a fight would last long enough for the bomb to go off. So I figured might as well save us both the trouble"
"You have no idea what this means to me… then perhaps it is not too late, perhaps I can still save her"
"Her? If I might be as bold?"
"My sister… she is back on Palavan, she has been suffering from a disease that will eventually kill her. I have been using the facility here to look for a cure, a week ago I was told they had made great progress and would soon be able to synthesize the first test. I feared the research would be lost, but with this there is still a chance"
Marc found himself quite speechless; he had no idea that Saren had a sister… much less a sick one. He knew that Saren wasn't all bad, simply misguided in his belief that he was doing what was best for the universe… but to think that there was something like this below the surface.
"And I find myself quite surprised once more, but I suspect there is plenty no one knows about you"
"*Chuckle* That would be a safe assumption, again thank you for this… this will save many lives if they were truly as far in their research as I was told"
Marc gave him a smile before putting his hand forward.
"I find that we have never been properly introduced, Marc *********… I respect you enough to let you know my real name"
Saren took the hand and shook it firmly, a small amused smile on his lips.
"Saren Arterius, I hope that the next time we meet Marc, it will be when this is going to end. Goodbye Mr. *********, it has been a short pleasure"
Marc gave a nod and watched as Saren boarded his platform, and began flying away.
Mere moments passed before he heard the familiar thrum of the Shadow's engine approaching and that small smile returned to his lips… time to see if the Shadow was fast enough to outrun a nuke.
A/N: Well that certainly took a while to complete didn't it? I must apologies as I have been quite busy, I cannot promise that the next chapter will go any faster but I am sticking to my earlier promise though, Mass Effect: Dimensional Rift will see an ending.
More sappy and cringe worthy romance in this chapter, I know I suck at writing those parts but you only get better with practice and feedback… so yeah, if you cringed reading it, think of how I reacted writing it.
Hope to see you all again next time, drop a review if you are feeling kind.
-BundleJumper