Wow, it has been a loooong time since my last update on this. I didn't mean for this to take so long but I just kept on re-writing this because I wasn't sure where I wanted it to go. But anyway I've finally settled on something and I hope you all think this was worth the wait.
Now, regarding my plans for this story. I am going to cover all of mass effect one, but I will not be doing two and three. I do have some ideas for them but sadly not enough to hold two stories together. What I am planning to do later is a series covering the First Contact war with different races in control of Thedas. I'm planning to start with the Tevinter Imperium in control (Blood magic for the win!), then the Primal Darkspawn (many Turians will die horribly, and they will be the lucky ones), then I'm thinking the Qunari and then one where all the nations on Thedas are in a lose alliance.
Now, on with the show.
Chapter 9.
Close to Thedas' Mass relay. Command deck of the DMS Calen.
There was a soft ping as the elevator door opened and The Shepard walked out onto the CIC deck.
"We are approaching the mass relay. All hands, prepare for FTL jump" announced the pilot over the ships intercom. The Shepard carried on walking, past the holographic galaxy map and several crew members that were going about their business until he reached the helm. Sitting in the pilots chair, tapping way at a holographic display was a Shriek called The Joker. Shepard had only met him once before but he seemed decent enough if a little...eccentric. Standing just behind the pilot was the only non-Darkspawn aboard the ship, a Turian spectre named Nihlus. He didn't say anything or acknowledge Shepard's presence but he somehow got the feeling that Nihlus knew he was there.
"Reaching the relay in three...two...one." The view of space from the cockpit's window as swept away by blue light as the frigate was catapulted across the galaxy.
"Thrusters. Check. Internal emission sinks engaged. Check. Drift...just under fifteen hundred k."
"Fifteen hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased." said Nihlus before walking away from the cockpit.
The Joker looked over his shoulder to make sure the Spectre was out of ear shot before saying "I hate that guy."
Shepard gave the pilot a bemused look "Nihlus gave you a compliment. So you hate him?"
"Remember to zip up your jump suit on the way out of the bath room, that's good. I just launched us over half way across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pin head so that's incredible. Besides, spectre's are trouble. Why do we even have one on board?"
The spectral form of a human female appeared next to Joker and said "Darkspawn-Citadel relations have been strained since the Batarain war. It is hoped that by inviting Spectres to observe on Darkspawn vessels that relations will improve."
When Nihlus had first come aboard and seen the Calen's spirit of faith he instantly assumed it was an AI. It had been quite funny to see the stunned look on his face. At least Shepard assumed he'd looked stunned, it was hard to tell with Turians. Once Nihlus had stopped droning on about the dangers of artificial intelligence they'd finally told him that Faith was a spirit, not an AI. The Turian had clacked his mandibles a few times then he'd just walked off without another word.
Warden Commander Dryden's voice suddenly blared out from the cockpits speakers "Joker! Status report."
"We just cleared the mass relay Captain. Stealth systems are engaged. Everything looks solid."
"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Thedas before we reach the Cadash system."
Joker started tapping at the holographic display in front of him "Aye aye. Steel yourself Commander, I think Nihlus is heading your way."
"He's already here pilot."
Joker winced slightly.
"Tell The Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." There was a quiet beep as the communication ended.
"You hear that Shepard?" asked Joker.
The Darkspawn Warden nodded "I'm on my way now. Try not to antagonise the Spectre more."
Joker muttered something incoherent as Shepard left the cot pit and made his way towards the communications room. He was almost there when he bumped into a familiar face.
Skyfall was standing a short way from the comm room. After Shepard had been invited to join the Wardens, Skyfall had inexplicably decided to join as well. The Wardens had been a little apprehensive at first but after he'd "demonstrated" his skill with explosives (which left several rooms in Weisshaupt in need of remodelling) they decided that he would be a worthwhile addition to the order, if only to keep an eye on him.
He was currently talking with the ships medical officer, a Genlock spirit healer named Wisplight. Like most Darkspawn spirit healers he was possessed by a fade spirit, which in his case was a spirit of love, one of the more powerful types. The spirit was not the most ideal choice however. It's power did greatly increase the potency of Wisplight's healing spells but it could cause sporadic outbursts of emotion that often lead to uncomfortable situations.
"I still think there's something fishy going on." said Skyfall. "I can sense that Commander Dryden's agitated. We all can. And then there's that Spectre. If this is just a shakedown run, why is he on the ship?"
Wisplight rolled his eyes "Of course the commander's agitated, there's a Spectre aboard his ship watching everything he does. And Nihlus is only here as part of this exchange program-thing we have with the Citadel."
That was when Skyfall noticed Shepard standing next to them. "What do you think Shep?"
"Shepard!" without warning Wisplight shot forwards and grabbed Shepard in a tight hug.
If Darkspawn were capable of blushing Shepard would have turned tomato red "Erm...Wisplight?"
The genlock came to his senses and let Shepard go. "Oh, blast it! Sorry Alpha."
"No harm. At least you didn't kiss me this time."
Whisplight let out an embarrassed groan. "It was a choice between a spirit of Love or a Sloth daemon. I should have gone for the daemon." his ears suddenly pricked up "What!? No I didn't mean it like...Oh don't be so...Wait just hold on I.."
"Annoyed your spirit have you?" asked Skyfall who was smiling smugly.
Wisplight shot him an indignant look "No, I'm talking to myself for fun!"
"I need to go see the Commander." said Shepard "Wisp, try giving your spirit chocolate. I'm told that works for most couples."
Before the spirit healer could yell at him Shepard had dived into the comms room, the metal doors sliding shut behind him. The room itself was large and circular with six chairs, three on each side, facing inwards. Opposite the door were three holographic projectors that were currently inactive. Standing in the middle of all this was Nihlus yet strangely Commander Dryden was nowhere to be seen.
The Turian Spectre turned round at the sound of Shepard's approach. "Lieutenant Shepard."
"It's Alpha, not lieutenant." Shepard curtly replied.
Nihlus mandibles clicked a few times before he continued. "I've heard good things about this world we're going to. Cadash Prime. It's become quite a symbol of your..." Nihlus trailed off when he noticed that Shepard wasn't listening to him. Instead he was looking up at the wire covered ceiling.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.
Nihlus couldn't hear anything. Shepard continued to scan the ceiling until he spotted something.
"There!" he yelled as he drew his combat pistol. He fired off a few shots that hit nothing but metal, then he hit something that fell to the ground with a soft thud. Nihlus moved closer to inspect the now dead creature. It was some kind of rodent but it was frighteningly large and covered in infected looking blotches and strange bony spikes.
"Blight rat." said Shepard as he holstered his pistol. "Of all the creatures to survive the apocalypse, why did it have to be rats. Well, at least were not on one of the bigger ships. I hear that they have giant spiders hiding in the ventilation ducts."
Nihlus looked down at the rapidly expanding pool of blood beneath the rat.
"How much blood do these creatures have?" he asked.
Shepard shrugged " 'Bout twelve gallons under high pressure."
"Twelve!" Nihlus yelled in surprise "That's not possible. A creature that size can't store that much blood. It's not big enough."
"I know that. It's just one of those things, like how Brontos keep showing up in unexpected places."
The door to the com room opened and Warden-Commander Dryden walked in. He was a Hurlock with greyish green skin and the same pale, almost dead looking eyes that all Awakened Darkspawn had. Shepard had met Commander Dryden only twice before, first during the vigil he'd gone through when he'd joined the order and again when he'd been assigned to the Calen. From what little he'd seen so far Dryden was a capable leader and a decent enough Darkspawn but Shepard still hadn't really known him long enough to form much of an opinion.
The Commander took one look at the dead blight rat and let out a tired sigh.
"Ugh. I hate rats."
Nihlus coughed "Perhaps we should get to the matter at hand, Commander?"
"Hm. Yes. Shepard, It's time we told you what this mission is really about."
Shepard nodded in understanding. 'Guess Skyfall was right after all.' he thought.
"Two days ago" Dryden continued "a Council research team on Cadash Prime uncovered an old Prothean ruin. They had expected to find only junk, instead they found a working Prothean beacon."
"Why was there a Council research team on one of our worlds?" asked Shepard.
"When we first arrived on Cadash Prime and started excavating our tunnels we stumbled upon some Prothean artefacts. When the Council found out they requested to send a team. Our council allowed it, hoping it would improve relations."
"Obviously this goes beyond mere Darkspawn interests Lieu-Alpha." said Nihlus, remembering Shepard's correct rank at the last moment. "The value of a working Prothean beacon cannot be understated and there are plenty of groups out there that will view it as an all too tempting target."
"That still doesn't explain why you're here." said Shepard.
The Citadel council had anticipated this question and they had asked Commander Dryden to be tactful in his answer. "Nihlus is here because the Citadel still doesn't trust us. They want him close to the relic at all times."
'Tact' is not in the Darkspawn dictionary.
Nihlus winced slightly at Commander Drydens answer. "That's...not how I would have put it."
The Commander rolled his eyes "I'll never understand this obsession other races have with distorting the truth."
That was when Joker chimed in over the ships Intercom. "Sir! We have a distress call coming in from Cadash Prime. You'll want to see this!"
"Put in on the main screen." ordered Dryden.
A large holographic screen flickered to life at the back of the room. For a moment it was just static, then as the picture began to clear it showed a Genlock onboard what appeared to be a space station. Shepard could see red warning lights flashing in the background along with people yelling orders and muffled explosions.
"Hello!? Hello!? are you re-kkkshsh-me!?" asked the Genlock on screen.
"Barely." replied Commander Dryden "Report soldier, what's happening at Cadash Prime!"
"You mean you don't knowbzztft!?" yelled the Genlock in surprise and annoyance "We've been sending out a signal for fu-ksshsh-ing hours! We're under attack by Heretic Geth! They jumped in about four hours ago and just started shooting!"
"They must be after the beacon." reasoned Shepard.
Dryden nodded in agreement "Hold on just a little longer soldier, we're on our way."
The Genlock nodded and the signal terminated, the screen turning to static.
"Joker, amplify that distress signal and send it to the nearest comm relay, then get us to Cadash Prime as fast as you can!"
Joker acknowledged with an "Aye aye!" before setting about his task.
"He called them 'Heretic' Geth." said Nihlus. "Why use that word specifically?"
Dryden ignored the Spectre's question and instead addressed Shepard "Alpha, I want you, Skyfall and Wisplight to secure that beacon. We can't let the Heretic's get their hands on it."
"Commander! You didn't answer my question," insisted Nihlus "why are you calling them the 'Heretic' Geth?!"
"I'm under no obligation to answer you Spectre." said Dryden mater of factly as he marched out of the room "Now, are you going to stand there or help?"
Nihlus slumped his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling "This is the last time I work with Dasrkspawn." he muttered, then he ran out of the comms room after Shepard and Dryden.
Twenty minutes later the Calen arrived at the Cadash system to a very warm reception by two Geth cruisers. If it hadn't been for Joker's fast reflexes the ship would have been blown apart there and then but thanks to the Shriek's piloting skills they managed to get past the guard ships. Cruisers are not built for speed and the agile Darkspawn frigate was able to outrun them easily.
The Geth fleet around Cadash Prime though was another matter.
"Ohhhh dear." said Faith, nervously as she looked out at the Geth cruisers surrounding the planet. "I'm not sure this is a wise course of action Joker."
The Joker gave her a toothy grin and said "Just have a little faith."
The spirit rolled her eyes at him "I hate it when you say that."
Fortunately most of the Geth ships were still tied up battling with the plants remaining defenders and space stations allowing Joker to slip the ship past them by flying between two cruisers. Some of the ships gun turrets locked onto the Calen but its defensive runes managed to turn the shots away.
As the small craft descended through the planet's atmosphere Skyfall, Shepard and Wisplight had assembled in the cargo hold and were listening to Commander Dryden giving them their orders.
"We'll be dropping you three a ways south of the beacons location. Secure it no matter the cost. If it gets into Heretic hands then only the Ancestors know what they'll do with it." As he spoke the cargo bay door began to slowly open.
"What about survivors sir!?" asked Skyfall, having to raise his voice to be heard over the wind.
"They are a secondary objective. The beacon must be your priority!"
That was when Nihlus walked into view, holding an assault shotgun close to his chest.
"You're coming with us?" asked Shepard, surprised that the Spectre wanted to go with them.
Not looking at them Nihlus simply said "I move faster on my own!" then he ran forwards and jumped out of the open door.
"Nihlus' mission is to protect the beacon." said Dryden. "Get there before he does. I'd rather not leave the Spectre alone with it."
Shepard nodded, then he and his team followed Nihlus out the cargo bay door.
The group landed on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the initial surface colony. Most of the fighting now was probably taking place underground or in space but from the large plumes of smoke rising up into the sky the surface settlements had been hit to.
"Well that's not good" muttered Skyfall.
"Come on" said Shepard "we need to get to the beacon."
The three of them set off on the path to the dig site. On their way they past a few of the local fauna, a bunch of giant floating air sacks that paid them no mind. They'd made it to a part of the path that was littered with rocks when Shepard heard a strange buzzing noise and ordered them to stop.
"You two hear that?" he asked.
Skyfall and Wisplight both pricked up their ears, then they both nodded. They heard it to.
"Bees?" asked Skyfall, hopefully.
The buzzing steadily got louder, then two hovering Geth drones came darting out from behind a large rock. The drones instantly started firing, forcing the Darkspawn to take cover. Shepard dived to the left and ended up hiding behind a fallen tree, while Skyfall and Wisplight went to the right, behind a single large boulder.
"Those are some big soding bees!" said Wisplight, in a angry aside to Skyfall.
"Give me a second and they'll be scrap!" the Genlock retorted as he primed his grenade launcher. Taking carful aim he fired one shot up into the air. The small explosive arced upwards then it fell down somewhere behind the two drones. It bounced once, then it exploded, sending the twin machines flying forwards.
One smashed into one of the many boulders on the path, the other managed to right itself at the last moment. It was just in the process of reacquiring its targets when it was cut in half by an upwards sword swing from Shepard.
"Well, that was fun." said Skyfall as he and Wisplight emerged from behind the boulder.
"Need healing Shep?" asked the Spirit Healer.
"No. Just a few scratches, save your mana for later. Let's move!"
They hadn't gotten much further when they hit another obstacle. They'd just past through a lightly wooded section and a few meters ahead of them they could clearly see two Geth platforms pinning a Darkspawn to some kind of device. Shepard briefly wondered what they were doing, then a spike shot out of the strange machine, impaling the darkspawn and lifting his body high into the air.
"Andraste's flaming pants!" exclaimed Wisplight.
"Oi!" yelled Skyfall, aiming his launcher "Over her you walking flashlights!" the two Geth looked up at them, just in time to see a grenade hurtling towards them. It exploded between the both of them, destroying both machines and knocking over the strange spike.
Shepard and Skyfall ran over to the devise while Wisp went to check on the darkspawn that had been impaled on it. Checking him for signs of life and finding none the Genlock Healer joined his comrades, who were examining the odd machine.
"That's not like Geth tech." observed Skyfall.
"The Heretics have been separate from the rest of the Geth for three centuries. Maybe they built some new toys?" suggested Wisplight.
Shepard reached out and tore off a lose metal plate "What did they even build this thing for?"
Wisp shrugged "Psychological warfare?"
"People! Geth squad incoming!" yelled Skyfall.
Shepard's head whipped round. There was a Geth squad, five strong running towards them.
"Take cover!" ordered Shepard as he conjured a fireball and threw it at the advancing machines. The three Darkspawn dived behind whatever cover they could get to just as pulse blasts started flying overhead.
Wisplight fired off a blast from his staff, then a hail of gunfire forced him back down. "Not very good shots, are they. I would have thought that machines would have better aim!"
Skyfall tried to poke his head up over the rock he was crouching behind, but a bullet blasted a chunk out of the stone just to the left of his face and he quickly ducked back down. "I think it's called the 'storm trooper effect'."
Shepard threw another fire ball that blasted a chunk out of the rock the Geth were using as cover. One of them stepped out into the open, took aim and...
BLAM!
The Geth's head jerked violently to the left, then it toppled sideways. There was another loud BLAM followed by a metallic clang as another Geth fell.
Seizing the opportunity Shepard broke from cover and charged at the Geth position. One of the machines noticed him but before it could so much as take aim it caught a grenade to the face, curtsey of Skyfall. Shepard clambered over the rock that served as the Geth's cover and dropped down between the two survivors. The first one he dispatched by slicing it's head off, the second he blasted with a sustained bolt of lightning that overloaded all the robot's circuits. After five seconds Shepard ran out of mana and ended the electricity stream, letting the fried Geth slowly fall backwards.
Shepard gave the all clear and his team mates ran over to join him, Skyfall chucking him a lyrium potion. "Anyone see our mystery helper?" asked the Genlock.
"I think I do." said Wisp. They both followed his gaze and saw another Geth standing on the ridge above them, holding a large sniper rifle in its left hand. It looked between them all then it made its way down towards them. The three Darkspawn readied their weapons but the Geth made no hostile movements. It came to a stop a few feet from them. Shepard noticed that a large hole had been blown through its torso, exposing several wires, circuits and large pipes.
Then much to the teams surprise the Geth spoke. "Shepard Alpha."
The two Genlocks looked up at Shepard, who blinked several times before saying "Yes?"
"We are Geth."
"I can see that." said Shepard. "I take it your one of the 'true' Geth."
"Correct."
The Darkspawn all lowered their weapons. "So do you know what's going on here?" asked Skyfall.
The Geth's head flaps moved a little before it answered. "Probability: The Heretics learned of the discovery of the Prothean beacon and came here to retrieve it for the old machines."
"How did they find out about it?" Wisplight wondered aloud.
"Unknown." the Geth responded.
"I doesn't matter how they found out." said Shepard "We need to keep the beacon from them. Let's get to the dig site."
"Shepard Alpha." Shepard looked back at the Geth. "The beacon is no longer at the excavation site."
"Well then where is it?"
"It was moved approximately two hours ago by the research team. We believe they were taking it to the space port."
Skyfall let out a loud groan "Of course it's been moved further away! The mission wouldn't be fun if it was over quickly!"
"Just think of all the things you'll get to blow up on the way." said Shepard. That seemed to brighten Skyfall's spirits.
"Shepard Alpha." they all turned and looked at the Geth. "The heretics cannot be allowed to possess a working beacon. We wish to aid you in its recovery."
Shepard regarded the Geth for a moment, then he gave both Skyfall and Wisplight a questioning look.
"We...could use a sniper." admitted Wisp.
So the Darkspawn squad, now accompanied by the Geth platform, marched on up over a small hill and along a dirt path. After a while they came to an area that held a few pre-fabricated buildings, apparently the Council teams base according to the Geth and a large hole in the ground that was surrounded by digging equipment. There were more spikes there too, five of them. And each one had a body impaled on top.
As the squad approached the spikes began to lower themselves and the Darkspawn that had been impaled began to get up and move.
At first Shepard thought they were still alive, then he saw the glowing blue cybernetics that covered their bodies and the lurching, zombie like way in which they were moving.
"It's just one thing after another today, isn't it." commented Skyfall and he loaded a grenade into his launcher.
"Well now we know what the spikes are for." said Wisp.
Shepard reached into his back pocket and brought out a small frost rune, which he immediately placed in his swords rune slot. "Remember your training. When facing un-dead, aim for the head!" to prove his point he swung his sword and decapitated the nearest walking corpse.
The Geth raised its rifle, took carful aim and fired a round that hit a husk right between its eyes. Wisp hit a reanimated Shriek with a well place arcane bolt while Skyfall, deciding that close courters explosions may not be the best thing for his health, folded away his grenade launcher and pulled out a pistol, which he proceeded to empty into an advancing robotic Hurlock.
Shepard sliced another Husk in half diagonally and both pieces fell sparking a sputtering to the ground. He was about to cut down another but before he could it was blasted away by a shot from a rifle. Looking in the direction the shot had come from Shepard saw a Hurlock, wearing Templar armour and holding a assault rifle running towards them from the pre-fabs. He ran up to Shepard and the others and unloaded a few more rounds into the twitching husk.
"I hate un-dead." the newcomer muttered. He looked up at Shepard, then he noticed the Grey Warden symbol on his armour and made a clumsy salute. "A warden!?...how...why..?"
"Calm down soldier." said Shepard. "Are you injured Templar?"
"No. I-I'm The Ashen...Knight Ashen. My squad and I were sent up here with the Council archaeology team, partly to keep them safe but also to keep an eye on them." that made sense to Shepard. The Darkspawn would never leave a Council team unattended on one of their planets, the risk of infiltration by Spectre's was too great.
"And where is your squad now?" asked Wisp.
Ashen gripped his rifle tighter, the other three Darkspawn could sense regret rolling off him in waves "Gone. I am the last one left."
"And the Council team?"
The templar pointed in the direction of the pre-fabs. "Hiding in there. Doctor Solia, the head researcher, is the worst off. She keeps muttering to herself and acting strange, even for an alien. I think she's losing her grip on reality."
"Fantastic." muttered Shepard, then he started giving orders. "Geth, scout ahead while we talk to the research team. If they see you with us it will raise questions that we don't want to answer."
The Geth responded with a single nod of its head and proceeded further up the path while reloading its sniper rifle.
The four Darkspawn went towards the small collection of pre-fab buildings. Ashen guided them towards the middle one and knocked three times on the door. After a moment's pause it opened a little and a terrified looking Salarin became partially visible.
"A-ashen? I-is it safe out there now?" he stammered.
Now a normal person would have said something comforting at this point "No Palion, of course it's not." replied the Ashen, bluntly. "Now open the door. The Wardens must be told of the ruins."
The Salarin retreated and the door opened all the way. The Ashen stood aside and the Wardens walked in. The pre-fab was fourteen by sixteen feet but most of the room was taken up by lab equipment, most of which was in a state of shut down. In addition to Palion there were four more aliens in the room, a female Turian who wore a guards uniform and carried a pistol, another Salarian who was trying to get his omni-tool to work properly and two Asari, one of whom was hugging her own chest and seemed to be muttering to herself. All of them, apart from the muttering Asari, looked up at the Wardens arrival.
Skyfall scratched his head "This is the whole team?"
"There used to be twenty of them." said Ashen.
The Salarian that had been fiddling with his omni-tool marched up to Shepard so he stood just inches away "Are you the one in charge here!?" he asked indignantly.
"Yes. Who ar-"
"I am Anost Emnonin. I am the teams legal advisor and just so you know we will be suing the Darkspawn for this gross act of incompetence!"
"Duly noted. Now shut up and get out of my way."
Anost looked like he was about to say more but the female Turian interrupted him. "Oh cram it Anost. If I have to listen to you rant for a second longer I'll throw you out of the lab!" With Anost dealt with she turned to the Darkspawn. "Sorry 'bout him. I'm Carthia Arteam. I was part of the security detail here. This is Doctor Solia" she raised her arm to indicate the traumatised Asari "and her assistant Melina Karvith."
The younger of the two Asari nodded meekly "H-hello."
"Yes, greetings." said Shepard, who was starting to get impatient "Now can someone please tell us what happened here."
"We found the Darkness and death came hunting for us." said Solia in a timid high pitched voice.
"Someone SANE please." added Shepard.
Melina swallowed and started talking "W-we opened up a new chamber in the ruin. Some kind of s-storage vault I think. We found what we thought was a Prothean beacon and we sent a message to the Citadel. But we were wrong. I-it wasn't a beacon it was a totally new artefact. We were going to send another message but that was when the Geth attacked. There was a...a..." Melina folded her arms defensively as she recalled the attack "a ship. I-it was huge and powerful. When it came there was this sound that...it felt like it was boring into my brain."
"Huge warship." repeated Skyfall.
Shepard nodded and said "New artefact. What was it exactly?"
Melina was about to speak when Wisplight called out "Alpha! More un-dead are coming this way!"
Shepard looked out of one of the narrow metal slits that served as the pre-fabs windows and saw that a multitude of cyber-zombies were coming towards them at a frightening pace. Most had been Darkspawn but he could see a few that had been Salarian, two Turians who were still carrying their old pistols and a warped nightmare version of an Asari.
"These things have a great sense of timing." Shepard muttered to himself. "Sky, Wisp! Get ready, we're going back out there. Ashen, are you with us?"
The Hurlock Templar nodded and readied his rifle.
"Good. The rest of you" Shepard turned to look at the Council team "stay in here. Lock the door once we're gone and for the love of Andraste, keep quiet."
The Wardens and the lone Templar left the pre-fab and as instructed Carthia close and locked the door behind them.
"It doesn't matter." said Solia, who was still very much deranged. "Darkness will descend again. The age of the living is ended. Soon only ruin and corpses shall remain!"
"Shhh Doctor." said Melina in the most comforting voice she could manage. "You'll feel much better once your medication kicks in."
Outside Shepard was currently cutting through the swaths of robotic corpses that were assailing him. He lost count of how many risen Darkspawn he'd killed but he knew he'd cut down one of the Turians and he'd seen the other blasted apart by a grenade.
The only true threat left was the Asari, which was slowly advancing towards them. It may have looked emaciated and fragile but it was projecting a strong biotic barrier around itself that had so far blocked every bullet, grenade and magic bolt thrown at it. The monster leaned forwards and let out a scream so shrill and loud that if forced the Darkspawn to cover their ears.
"Ouch! I think I've gone deaf!" yelled Skyfall.
A biotic aura flared around the twisted Asari as it prepared to attack but before it could it was blown off its feet by a powerful, blast of magic. Shepard knew it hadn't come from him or Wisp so who was helping them?
He got his answer moments later when a Velghastrial appeared on the hill overlooking the husks. It gave a loud cry of "ARRRRRshbabaayayay!" before it fired off more bolts of magic into the un-dead. More ghasts appeared behind it, running past and barrelling straight into the husks.
"Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it." said Shepard "All right people, let's get moving, we have to get to the space port before the Geth do."
"What about the research team!?" asked Ashen as the Darkspawn turned and ran from the battle.
"They'll be fine as long as they stay quiet!" replied Shepard.
Spaceport tram station.
Nihlus had been in his fair share of battlefields and he'd seen some crazy things that he'd probably never truly understand, but this mission, oh this mission was completely insane. The Darkspawn it seemed, had decided to introduce some of Thedas' wildlife and native strangeness to this planets ecosystem. Since arriving he'd seen small goblin like monsters armed with sticks fighting Geth, spectral warriors battling robotic zombies and five minutes ago when he'd gotten lost and wondered aloud where the space port was a tree had looked down at him and told him where to go.
By now Nihlus had quietly resolved never to set foot on a Darkspawn world ever again.
Despite all the craziness (and thanks partially to the talking tree's advice) the Turian Spectre had made it to the space ports tram station. All he had to do now was neutralise any hostiles, take the tram to the port and secure the beacon. It sounded so easy in his head.
As he made his way from cover to cover Nihlus became aware of a figure standing close by. He hadn't gotten a good look yet but it was roughly Geth sized. A scout perhaps. Looking down he gave his combat pistol's heat sink one last check, then he jumped up from cover ready to shoot the synthetic right in the...
"Saren!?" said Nihlus in surprise.
Slowly Nihlus' fellow Spectre and mentor turned to face him. "Nihlus." he said, coolly.
Nihlus lowered his pistol and stepped out from behind his cover. "This isn't you mission Saren. What are you doing here?"
Saren walked towards him and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder as he passed by "The Council thought you could use a little help on this one."
Nihlus nodded and looked off further down the tram way towards the spaceport "I wasn't expecting to find the Geth here. The situation's bad."
"Don't worry. I've got it all under control."
Back with the Darkspawn.
After escaping the horde of Husks the squad quickly scaled the hill behind the pre-fabs and got their first look at the space port. It was little more than a large metallic platform in the middle of the forest with a multitude of crates scattered about providing a decent amount of cover.
What really drew their gaze however was the massive machine off in the distance. Shepard had been show some images of what a Old Machine looked like but pictures really didn't do it justice. It was about three kilometres tall thought it managed to look much taller. Its body was made of a dark metal that looked jet black against the red sky. Small red lights could be seen dotting its hull along with bolts of red lightning that occasionally arced around it.
"Shepard Alpha." Shepard herd the Geth's voice to his left but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the colossal war ship.
"It feels like it's looking at me." said Skyfall.
"What...is that thing!?" asked Ashen who Shepard could sense was panicking a little.
"Trouble." said Wisplight, simply.
The Machine made an impossibly loud sound that seemed to bore into Shepard's skull, then it began to rise off the ground. It gained speed as it ascended, becoming smaller and smaller until it had vanished from view entirely.
"Do you think that was Nazara?" asked Skyfall.
"I hope so." muttered Shepard, who was still staring after the Old Machine.
Skyfall gave him a confused look "You hope so?"
"Well, if that wasn't Nazara that means there's more than one Old Machine lose in the galaxy."
"Oh...god point. I hope it was Nazara to."
The Darkspawn team along with the Geth made their way down the hill towards the tram station. There were a few more husks walking about but they were dispatched easily enough.
"Shepard!" the Warden ran over to Skyfall who was standing over something. That something turned out to be a dead body of a Turian Spectre.
"It's Nihlus." said Wisplight.
Wisp dropped to his knees and let out a loud and overly dramatic "NOOOOOOOOO!" then he realised what he was doing and got back up, looking embarrassed.
Ashen gave the healer a weird look then asked ."A... Turian? What was he doing here?"
"He was a Spectre." Shepard began "He was here to-"
Before he could explain further he was interrupted by the Geth "Shepard Alpha. We are detecting multiple Geth platforms approaching our position."
Shepard was about to ask 'How many?' but that was when a tram car (which was more of a platform in all honesty) arrived in the station and ten Geth troopers, two Juggernauts and a Prime stepped out.
"That's bad." said Ashen.
Skyfall nodded in agreement "Look on the bright side. It couldn't get any worse."
With a loud whirring sound a Geth Colossus unfolded itself behind the rest of the Geth and looked down at the Darkspawn with a single unblinking green eye.
Shepard, Ashen and Wisplight all cast Skyfall a baleful look, causing the Genlock to shrink slightly.
"You just had to say it. Didn't you." Wisp growled at him.
"TAKE COVER!" yelled Ashen. As though they needed to be told.
The Darkspawn and Geth all dived behind the various metal crates just as the Heretic platoon opened fire. In seconds the air was filled with pulse rifle fire on one could so much as move without risking a limb. A heavy shot from the Colossus blew a chunk out of the crate Shepard was hiding behind.
"Shepard Alpha!" yelled the Geth from behind its own crate to Shepard's right "We estimate our chances of victory at eight percent! Probability of total squad fatality is ninety three percent!"
"That's synthetic speak for 'we're all going to die'!" Skyfall added.
"We're not dead yet!" Shepard yelled back.
RRRRAWWWWGGHH!
The shooting stopped as everyone, Darkspawn and Geth, turned and looked up into the sky. Flying towards their battlefield on giant leathery wings was a full grown High Dragon.
"Ok. Now we're dead." said Shepard quietly.
The dragon swooped down, its mouth opened and red and orange flames gushed out, bathing the Heretic Geth in flames. The Colossus went down next. The dragon crashed into it, forcing the metal war machine to the ground the it bite down hard on the machines head. There was a sound of rending metal and wires shorting out and the Colossus went limp like a puppet whose strings had been cut. A flaming, damaged Prime stood up and fired a few shots into the dragons hind quarters before it was smashed into the floor by the giant lizards tail.
"I was told they hadn't introduced any dragon kin on this planet." said Wisp, who was still hiding behind a metal box, along with Skyfall.
That was when the beast turned to look at the Darkspawn. It reared up on to its powerful hind legs, then its whole body suddenly began to glow.
Ashen realised what was happening first "A shape shifter!"
"Impossible." said Wisp "No one has ever mastered High Dragon form. It's too difficult."
"One person did." said Shepard as he stood up and began cautiously walking towards the shape shifter. It wasn't a high dragon any more, it looked like a human woman, an old human woman with white hair styled to look vaguely like a dragons horns.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" she said almost as though she was talking to herself.
"Andraste's flaming underclothes." breathed Skyfall.
Wisplight reached up to his ear to activate his communicator "Commander Dryden! We have a priority one situation! Commander?...Commander!? No signal. Blast!"
"Flemeth." Shepard hissed as he brought up his sword and took a defensive stance.
The Geth made a few whirring sounds then it said "Subject, Human female. We believed that their race were extinct?"
"She isn't human!" insisted Shepard.
"It seems my reputation precedes me." Flemeth had stopped a few feet away and was regarding the Darkspawn with a curious expression that none of them could place. "I must say, when I woke up talking Darkspawn were not what I expected to find."
"You seem to be taking it rather well." commented Ashen.
Flemeth gave a hollow laugh "Hahaha. All the things I've seen and done, talking Darkspawn aren't that much of a revelation. Still, it's nice to see that not everything happens the way I expect. Imagine how dull the world would be."
"Why are you here?" asked Shepard, who was still having a hard time believing that legend was standing right in front of him "More importantly how are you here? You haven't been seen or heard from since the Dragon Age. That was two thousand years ago!"
Flemeth gave a coy smile and simply said "I slept."
Needless to say, Shepard didn't believe her "That's it, you just...took a nap?"
"No. There was much more involved, but alas there is too much to say, and you have very little time indeed."
"And just what does that mean!?" Shepard demanded.
Flemeth stopped smiling and suddenly looked very serious indeed "A piece of Thedas' past is returning. A part that is better off forgotten." She walked over to Nihlus' corpse "This one, he was killed by one of his own. Someone he knew and trusted."
"There was another Turian here?" said Skyfall.
Shepard nodded "Someone Nihlus knew."
"Betrayal is something I am all too familiar with." said Flemeth, sadly. "The other one. He goes now to what he thinks is his prize. He has no idea what he is about to unleash." She turned back to Shepard. "Stop him if you can. And even if you can't, someone must try." with that she started to walk away.
"Aren't you coming with us?" asked Skyfall.
"No. I must prepare when the worst happens." she said without turning.
"Shouldn't we...try and stop her?" asked Ashen, hesitantly.
"If you want to get in her way, I won't stop you." said Shepard. Ashen thought about that for about two seconds, then he wisely decided it was best not to anger the legendary Witch who could turn into a dragon.
"Where will you go?!" Shepard called after Flemeth. "The world's changed since the Dragon Age. There's a lot you don't know!"
The old woman stopped in her tracks burst out laughing "Hahaha! The world has gotten bigger, Darkspawn but it hasn't changed one bit." Her entire body began to glow again and in a moment Flemeth was gone, replaced by a High Dragon that quickly took flight.
"I met Asha'bellanar and lived." said Skyfall after a few seconds had passed. "My brood are going to be so jealous."
The Geth chose that moment to speak. "Shepard Alpha. Our data indicates that Flemeth is a myth from Thedas' distant past. It is not possible that that was the same person."
"So, that was just another Human Shape Shifter who looked, acted and sounded just like the Flemeth of legend then?" said Skyfall, not even bothering to hide his sarcasm.
"It was Flemeth, Geth." Shepard insisted. "There's no mistaking it. Now get moving! We need to stop that other Turian."
"Erm, Alpha. We may have a problem." said Wisplight, who was pointing at the cargo platform the Geth had arrived on. Apparently one of them had decided to unload their pulse rifle into the control panel, which was now torn open and sparking.
"Ah Wyvern Shit" Shepard swore.
"Shepard!" everyone turned to look at Skyfall who was standing on top of a pile of cargo crates and looking out at the forest behind the tram station. "I think I have a solution."
Shepard and the others followed his gaze. "He's joking, right?" asked Wisplight hopefully.
"No." said Shepard, simply. "No no no. No."
A few minutes later. At the space port.
Saren was angry. Strike that. He was furious. He'd come all this way, had his Geth invade an entire planet, shot another Spectre and his reward for all this, his working Prothean beacon. Was. Not. HERE!
It was just a blasted Obolisk covered in those strange glowing runes that the Darkspawn cut into the hulls of their ships.
Saren turned to face the Geth trooper behind him,. "Set the charges, destroy the entire colony!" he ordered. The Geth left without so much as a nod and went about its work. Saren matched up to the artefact. It was just a few centimetres taller that he was, carved from an obsidian black stone that was perfectly smooth apart from the glowing green runes that...wait where were the runes. Saren gave the obelisk a one over. There had been runes carved all over it but now they were gone. He looked over his shoulder to speak to one of the Geth but they were all gone. He turned back to the obelisk. There was now a long thin line splitting the thing in half, like it was opening up. He could see something glowing inside. It was...singing.
Silently the obelisk opened, parting to reveal a pedestal upon which sat a orb. The song was louder now. It seemed to be coming from everywhere.
"THERE HE IS!" Saren snapped out of his trance like state and spun round to see...
Ok, Saren had seen nugs before. They were small, subterranean animals that could fit in your lap. Charging along the spaceports wide metal walkway, heading straight for him were five nugs the size of cars with curved hors sprouting from the sides of their heads. Riding on the backs of these monstrosities were four Darkspawn and a Geth.
"This is the most fun I've ever had!" yelled Skyfall.
Wisplight, who was holding on tightly to the Nuggalopes horns, shot him a angry look before focusing on the Geth troops baring their path. There was a horrific sound of bending metal as the nuggalopes crashed into the Geth, either trampling them under foot or knocking them off the walkway. Sky, Wisp, Ashen and the Geth all jumped off their mounts and came to a rolling stop, then they drew their weapons and set about finishing off the remaining Heretic Geth. Shepard stayed on his nuggalope, which was still charging at Saren.
The rouge Spectre grabed his pistol, took carful aim and shot the charging beast right between its eyes. The nuggalope died instantly, falling over forwards and sending Shepard flying towards Saren. The Darkspawn hit the metal floor hard, but in an instant he was back on his feet, drawing his sword and running at Saren. The Turian fired off two more shots that glanced off Shepard's protective runes, then he reached round and grabbed the orb.
For a split second nothing happened, then the orb pulsed with red light. Saren dropped to his knees in pain but he seemed unable to let go of the strange device. That's when Shepard reached him and without thinking he also grabbed hold of the orb in an attempt to get it out of Saren's hands. The whole world went black. There was nothing above. Nothing below.
That's when he heard it. A voice so quiet he could barely make it out.
"We have found the dreams again. We have returned."
Suddenly reality reasserted itself and Shepard was back at the spaceport, only no he was lying on his back with the Turian standing over him. He wasn't looking at Shepard though, he was far to enraptured by the orb he held in his hands.
"Yes." he said to himself. "I...can hear it..."
A Geth transport platform swopped in from the left and one of the troops on board grabbed Saren as they flew by. That's when Shepard blacked out.
Hours later
"I think he's waking. Get the Commander!"
The first thing Shepard heard was Skyfall's voice slowly fading in. He opened his eyes and found that he was now back on the Calen, lying on a bed in the ships infirmary. Both Skyfall and Wisplight were there, the latter of whom had washed off his face paint and was typing into his omni tool.
"Ah excellent, your awake." said the healer.
With a groan Shepard sat up.
"How do you feel?" asked Skyfall.
"Like I just drank a whole bottle of Hirol's Lava Burst. What happened?"
"Well, after Saren got his hands on the...whatever that thing was he flew off with the heretics. Their fleet left a while ago. No one knows where they've gone." answered Wisp.
"We told the Commander about Flemeth." said Skyfall. "And he told our Council. You could hear them yelling all over this ship."
"Do we know what that sphere was?" asked Shepard.
Skyfall shrugged.
"It looked like and elven foci." said Wisp. "But then again I didn't get a very good look at it."
The infirmary doors opened and Commander Dryden walked in. "Shepard. Skyfall and Wisplight told me what happened on Cadash. Did anything happen to you when you touched the artefact?"
"He's fine by the way. Thanks for asking." said Skyfall.
"I can see he's alright Recruit. If he wasn't it would be obvious." Dryden shot back.
Before Skyfall could retort Shepard interrupted and told them all what he'd seen and heard when he'd touched the Sphere.
"That doesn't sound creepy at all." remarked Skyfall.
"Flemeth, magic relics, Old Machines, rouge Spectres. All that's missing is an archdemon." said Wisp.
"Rouge Spectre?" Shepard gave the others a questioning look.
"The description of the Turian you met matches Saren Arterius." said Dryden. "He's one of the Citadels best. He has a noted dislike for Darkspawn. He thinks were growing too fast, taking over the galaxy."
"If he's a Citadel Spectre, could they be involved?" Shepard asked.
Dryden shook his head "I doubt that. Spectre are given almost total freedom in how they operate. Is more likely he did this on his own. I'm more interested in how he got the Heretic Geth on his side."
"The Old Machine was there too right?" said Skyfall. " And the Heretics worship them. Maybe that's what ties them together. Saren Works for Nazara, so the Heretics work for Saren."
"So, he has an Old Machine and a Geth army." said Shepard."...we're going to need more ships. With bigger guns."
There was a glow and a slight hum as the Spirit of Faith materialised in the room. "Warden-Commander. We are approaching the relay."
"Good." then he noticed the confused look on Shepard's face."We're going to met with the council on the Citadel. Hopefully we can convince them of the threat Saren poses."
Dryden left the infirmary, Shepard left to after slowly getting up. On his way out he bumped into Ashen and the Geth from Cadash Prime.
"Why are you too here?" he asked.
The Geth answered first "We sent our findings back to Geth. Consensus was achieved. We will remain on the Calen to assist you until Nazara is stopped."
"I requested a transfer to the Calen to." said Ashen. "Saren attacked my home, killed my friends. I want to be there when the Council have him tried."
"You really think that's going to happen, don't you?" said Skyfall in a sarcastic voice.
"Yes. The Citadel can't ignore our evidence."
Every Darkspawn who'd heard him suddenly burst out laughing. Ashen just looked around, obviously confused. "What did I say?"
"Oh, you'll see." said Skyfall.
Shepard continued on his way to the cockpit, where he was greeted by Joker "Alpha. Good timing. We're just about to hit the relay."
As the scout frigate pulled up alongside the mass relay it was struck by arcs of blue lightning and catapulted forwards faster than light, leaving a blue trail behind it. In moments the small craft crossed thousands of light-years to arrive at the Serpent Nebula. For a moment all anyone could see outside was the ever shifting mass of pink and purple gas, then as the clouds of cosmic dust parted they got their first look at the Citadel station. It looked almost mystical, just hanging there amidst the gas clouds.
Skyfall eloquently summed up everyone's feelings on the sight. "Andraste's holly arse."
"This is going to be an experience." said Shepard, dryly.
Elsewhere in the galaxy
Benezia was concerned. When she'd first joined Saren her intension had been to guide him down a gentler path, then he'd shown her the error of her ways and she'd joined him in earnest. Since then she'd never once doubted Saren, his methods or his goals but...something had changed. Ever since he'd been brought back aboard Sovereign he'd done nothing but sit in his chair and stare at the orb he'd found. It had not been what he was looking for, he should be enraged but instead he looked more content now than she'd ever seen him.
She gave a slight cough to announce her presence then she gave her report. "We identified the ship that interfered on Cadash. The Calen, a Darkspawn vessel. They managed to save the colony." she waited for a response but Saren acted as though he hadn't heard her. "The beacon was not there. Where should we look next."
"Nowhere." said Saren.
Benezia gave him a quizzical look.
"I no longer need the Cipher." an angry buzzing sound seemed to emanate from the ship as though it was displeased somehow. Saren looked up at the ship around him. He stood and raised the orb, which began to crackle with red energy. "And I no longer need you." The energy exploded forth. It was as though a hurricane had been unleashed inside the confines of the ship, Benezia was thrown back, she lost sight of Saren, there was nothing around except the swirling red energy. Then she felt something pressing against her mind. She'd had her mental defences attacked before but this felt like she was being smothered, crushed, she couldn't keep it out. She could hear voices. They started as whispers but they grew louder and louder until she could hear nothing else.
"We are here. We are free. We are corrupted. We are crippled. We are returned. We are..."
Then there was another voice, one that drowned out the whispers.
"I am Darkness...I...am...Death."
Codex.
The Templar Order.
The original Templar order was formed to watch over the Circles of Magi and to police the mages themselves. While the Darkspawn tempalrs share the orders name that is just about all they have in common with the Templars of old. They don't police mages, instead they are the Darkspawn equivalent of regular guards and they perform the same taskes that any other police force would. They are structured very much like the original templars, with a Knight commander overseeing a solar system, Knight Captains running a planet and Knight Alphas in charge of individual provinces. Squads are made up of regular Knights and recruits lead by a senior Knight. Only a few in the order (one per squad usually) drink lyrium for it's anti magic abilities which help against Velghastrials and unbound demons. While Darkspawn have a higher tolerance to lyrium than men, they do eventually begin to suffer from it's side effects.
Move over Soverign, there's a new evil in town. The next Chapter (which will get done this side of spring, hopefully) will show what it's like for Darkspawn on the Citadel, how they interact with other races and more of the council being idiots. (note: I've already decided I'm going to let the council live, it's just too much fun messing around with them).
TTFN