Chapter Five

Shepard stares into the galaxy map. It's been a slow couple of days, and still nothing from the damned IFF. The whole crew was on edge, too. Joker's sarcastic remarks were becoming more and more annoying. Mordin had locked himself in his study, doing goodness knows what. Miranda had been feverishly writing incredibly detailed reports with titles like "Per capita rations consumption," and "Average beard growth time for male humans on the Normandy." Shepard doesn't want to speculate about how Jack has been occupying herself. Probably causing a hull breach somewhere down in the hold.

He sighs and squints at the map. The team needs to do something, anything.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the bridge's extranet terminal chimes. Shepard steps down from the platform and opens the terminal. His email is open, proclaiming one new message. It's probably nothing, he thinks. Just another damn advertisement. The orange screen blinks as the email opens. Shepard scans it, trying not to be too hopeful. Counselor Anderson... Shrike Abyssal Cluster... Mercenary base... A slow smile stretches across Shepard's face. Finally, some action.

…

Shepard has rounded up Jack and Legion to take planet-side on the mission; Legion, because the geth is new to the team and could use the experience, and Jack because the mission will most likely be combat-heavy. She is like a tornado in a jar, a storm of anger and aggression barely held within a human body. Shepard hates to think what would happen should she ever loose her control of that storm, but personal issues aside she is a valuable squad mate. When Jack is set loose on the battle field, nothing stands in her way.

The small group walks down the corridor to the hangar as Shepard explains the mission. "I got a message from Anderson, the human counselor. Apparently the counsel got wind of a Blood Pack weapons operation way out in the Xe Cha system, and they want us to investigate. Whether that means we're reliable, or they're anxious to get rid of us, I'm not so sure," says Shepard, half joking.

"Who cares," says Jack happily. "I just want to get into the action. It's been too long since I killed something."

"Let's just keep the objective in mind. If there are weapons of mass destruction lying around, we want to be far away before we blow them. If we blow them. This could just turn out to be reconnaissance."

"Fuck recon! If there's Blood Pack, this isn't going down without a fight."

Shepard nods acknowledgement. "Just try not to accidentally blow up any nukes while we're in the base."

Jack grins wickedly. "Oh, I never blow up anything accidentally."

…

The squad piles into the Kodiak drop shuttle. Shepard remembers the transport from his days in the N7 corps. They had a much more accurate name for it then: the combat cockroach. The squat, cramped vessel certainly does resemble a beetle. Supposedly it was designed to carry up to fourteen people, but one look around the interior was enough to see that that was wishful thinking. Shepard sits down on the hard bench and pulls the harness over his chest. Legion and Jack strap themselves in across from him, and the shuttle hums to life.

Joker's voice crackles over the intercom. "You all ready in there?"

"Ready when you are. Cut us loose."

"Make sure to buckle up. Shall I give Miranda a goodbye kiss for you?"

"Go fall down some stairs, Joker."

"Huh! I hope I don't suddenly forget you're down there, Commander. Might leave you stranded down there for days. Weeks, even."

There is a click, and the shuttle begins to slide down its rails towards the airlock. Shepard smiles and reaches up to turn off the PA speaker. "Take care of the ship while I'm gone. Don't drive her into any walls or anything."

Joker mutters something, then the intercom snaps off, leaving the squad in silence as the drop ship tumbles out into the planet's atmosphere.

…

The shuttle has been in flight for about five minutes when suddenly the craft shudders. Legion is thrown against the wall and a high pitched whirring sound comes from the engines. Shepard pulls himself back into his seat and yells into his omni-tool. "Joker! What the hell was that?"

He is answered only with static. Legion opens its radio channels and finds that it cannot connect to the Normandy. "Shepard-Commander. Our communications re being jammed."

The noise from the engines has grown to an urgent whine, filling the cabin and bouncing off of the walls. The shuttle continues to bounce from side to side, shaking the squad around like marbles in a can. Shepard stands up, then is flung back onto the bench as the shuttle lurches violently. "Tractor be- Ouch!" he yells. "A tractor beam! We have to stop the shuttle, the thrusters are going to melt!"

"How?" demands Jack. "In case you hadn't noticed, this thing drives itself!"

"Just stay calm! Everybody stay calm!" Shepard looks around the cabin. "I don't-"

The front of the shuttle buckles inwards. The impact tosses the squad out of their seats and into the floor and walls. The craft bounces once, then slides forward and comes gradually to a stop. Something behind them explodes, and the shuttle rolls gently onto its back. The echoes of the crash ring through the smashed compartment, then fade slowly away to silence. Legion stands up carefully and shoots a few holes through the hull to let out the smoke. Jack and Shepard begin to get shakily to their feet.

Jack rubs a bruise forming on her arm. "What the fuck just happened?"

Shepard shakes his head, trying to regain his balance. Steam hisses from a cracked bulkhead, and something in the cockpit is on fire. The temperature is gradually rising. Shepard tries to sum up the damage. Even without close inspection, it is fairly obvious that the shuttle won't be flying any time soon. The door of the shuttle is stuck partially open, crumpled slightly by the crash. Warm sunlight shafts in, illuminating the mess. He takes a deep breath. "Okay. Let's see if the door controls are still-"

A streak of blue light punches through the wall, shoots by Shepard's face, and exits through the other side of the shuttle. Shepard's brain doesn't have time to think. Instead years of training and instinct take over, propelling him into Legion and bearing the geth to the ground just as more bullets tear through the wall. He hits the deck and presses his back against the bulkhead, trying to make as small a target as possible.

…

Legion's auditory sensors are filled with the cacophony of gunfire and ripping metal, but for some reason it finds itself distracted. It knows it should be occupied with trying to escape the storm of bullets, but all it can think about is the firm weight of Shepard's arm against its chest, the warmth of his skin. And then, just as abruptly as it began, the firing stops.

The squad huddles against the bulkhead as the last echoes ring through the cabin. A chunk of the wall falls to the floor with a dull clang. "Shepard-Commander," says Legion. "We have detected lifeforms outside the shuttle."

"Thank you, Legion," says Shepard, looking up at the burnt cheese grater that used to be the wall. "Alright," he whispers. "We need to get out of here. Whoever's shooting, they've stopped to come and check if we're still alive. The jungle will give us cover. Our best bet is to slip out now and make a break for the trees." He looks at Jack. "Ready?"

She nods.

"On three... One, two, three!"

Shepard takes a quick look out the open door, then clambers through it. He turns back and beckons to Jack and Legion.

The squad clambers through the door and inches around the back of the shuttle. The surface of the planet is densely forested. When the shuttle crashed it had flattened a circle of trees, creating the clearing that they stand in now. Shepard motions to Jack and Legion, and they start towards the tree line.

"Our first priority is safety," says Shepard in a hushed voice. "Once we put a distance between us and the enemy, we can start to recon the area. I'll bet that we didn't land too far from the base, and that's where they have the signal jammer. Once we take out the Blood Pack, we can contact the Normandy from there. They can send the Mako down for us, I think we still have it lying around somewhere."

"The thing is," says Jack. "They got us with a tractor beam, right? That means they knew we were coming, and unless this is one hell of a coincidence, this whole mission was a tr-"

"Shhh!" Shepard pauses, holding up a hand. "Do you hear something?"

The squad pauses, the two humans holding their breaths. At first the only sound is the quiet chirping of an animal somewhere off in the forest. Something becomes gradually audible. A faint hiss, growing louder and louder.

Shepard frowns, then his eyes open wide in comprehension. "Run!" He yells, and trips over a tree root.