Well, here the next chapter, a lot later than I'd hoped. I'm sorry for the long wait but I was asked to work an extra day over Christmas which meant more money (yaaay!) but less free time (boooo!). I'm particularly proud of the battle scenes in this one and I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.
The Calen had been travelling at FTL speeds for several hours now as Shepard and his crew made their way towards Therum, a small volcanic word in the Artemis Tau cluster. From all accounts it was a backwater, non-habitable, no real resources of any value, the only thing that marked it out a special was a remarkably well preserved Prothean ruin. Doctor Liara T'soni and her team had been there for the past week on a research expedition. Everything was normal until the team missed their last two scheduled check ins. This wasn't too unusual in itself and no one was really panicking but then no one else knew about Liara's connection to the rouge Spectre Saren.
Shepard had spent the past two hours reading and re-reading Liara's personnel file that had been 'acquired' from the University of Serrice. The general view the file gave was that she was a calm, inquisitive if somewhat social awkward researcher. There was nothing to indicate that she knew Saren directly or that she would even want to work for him but she was still a lead that Shepard couldn't ignore.
He was about to reach for another sip of his 'Lava Burst' drink but a sudden surge of emotions coupled with a loud metallic clang from outside interrupted him. "Ugh. They're at it again." he groaned to himself.
Reluctantly he got up and walked out of his quarters. As soon as the door opened he had to duck back to avoid a magic bolt that shot past his face. Looking in the direction the bolt had come from Shepard found Skyfall and Wisplight were again fighting for the T.V. controls.
"Anime!" yelled Skyfall as he tried to prise the remote from Wisp's grasp.
The other Genlock resisted and tried to use a freeze spell with his other hand that went wild and turned a patch of wall to ice "Sit-com!"
"ANIME!"
"SIT-COM!"
As they fought the TV kept on switching between the two shows. One was a popular Salarian anime where the galaxies races fought using piloted mechs in place of tanks, the other was an Asari sit-com series with several different characters from different races all sharing a high school dorm.
The rest of the crew were taking cover as best they could behind bulkheads, upturned tables and in doorways. Shepard dived forwards as another freeze spell shot overhead and landed behind the same table Garrus and Ash were using as a barricade. "Again?" he asked, tiredly.
Ash nodded while rolling his eyes "Twice in as many hours."
"Is this common on Darkspawn ships?" asked Garrus.
"Normally we all just watch whatever the Ogres are watching. No one's brave enough to argue with them." Shepard ducked again as another ice blast slammed into the table. "Right, that's it!" He vaulted over the table, marched over to the two brawling Genlocks and picked them both up by the scruff of the neck. They barely had time to protest before Shepard smashed their heads together and flung them both at the wall. Three nearby crewmen activated their omni-tools to project the numbers ten, ten and nine point five into the air.
"Oooww! An-i-me." Skyfall groaned as he got back up, rubbing his head.
"An hour's peace and quiet that's all I ask!" Shepard yelled in despair.
With a soft glow the Spirit of Faith appeared beside him "Alpha." she chipped happily.
"Please tell me you have good news."
"Yes. We're approaching Therum. ETA ten minutes. Sensors detect no vessels."
Shepard seemed to brighten up somewhat "Good. Tell Wrex to meet me in the hanger in five. Garrus, you're coming to. And have you seen Tali anywhere?"
"She's still in the engine room. My knowledge of old Quarian dialects is...not perfect, but I think she's trying to exorcise me."
Shepard groaned then turned and walked towards the elevator, all the while muttering to himself "'Join the Wardens, you'll get your own command in no time'. Didn't mention how I'd be running a bloody mad house..."
Once he was out of earshot Garrus reached down and grabbed the TV remote "Anime?" he asked, looking over at Ash.
The young Darkspawn nodded "Go for it."
By now Shepard had made his way down to the Calen's hanger bay. Apart from a handful of engineering staff the only other person there was Wrex and he was busy pawing over a laser cannon like it was some holy object. Not wanting to interrupt Shepard passed by and went through the doors to the main engine room. The first thing that struck him was the tingling. You couldn't feel it anywhere else on the ship due to the rooms shielding, but with that gone he could almost feel the lyrium in the core, like it was pulling and pushing at the same time.
The ships main energy core was a ball of processed lyrium the size of a medicine ball, but the continuous glow it emitted made it look a lot bigger. It was held above the ground by four rotating armatures attached to the far wall, underneath which sat a semicircle of computer consoles that bleeped and blooped (and occasionally sparked). In the middle of all this was Ghilani, a Shriek who served as the Calen's chief engineer.
His long ears pricked up at Shepard's approach. He stopped examining the core and turned to face the Hurlock. His natural skin colour was completely obscured by a thick layer of engine grease and spider blood. "Alpha. Looking for the Quarian?"
"Yes. Faith told me she was down here trying to perform some kind of exorcism?"
Ghilani's mandibles twitched as he stifled a laugh "I wondered what was with all the chanting Pffft HAhaha! Oh, she's over there, behind the computer. Exorcism. Ha!"
Shepard left the still giggling Shriek and walked towards a bank of computers on the far wall. As he got closer he started to hear someone talking, then without warning Tail sprang out from behind a machine, holding some kind of metal object in her hand.
"The power of the Ancestors compels...!Oh, ha Alpha, it's you." She quickly pulled her hand back behind her, hiding the whatever-it-was she was holding then she started shifting uncomfortably. "I erm, er wasn't ummm, expecting you to ...visit."
"I just came to see how you were adjusting." said Shepard, who was now questioning his decision to bring the Quarian along.
"I'm fine, yes fine. Right as rain. Yes, hahaha." her nervous laughter wasn't doing much to reassure Shepard. He was about to let the matter drop when Faith appeared next to Tali.
"Alpha, I-"
"ARRRGGHHH!" Tali shot up into the air and ended up dangling from a tube handing down from the ceiling.
The spirit looked up at her for a few seconds, then she turned back to Shepard. "Garrus and Wrex are waiting for you by the Mako. We'll be entering Therum's atmosphere momentarily."
Shepard managed a half hearted "Um-hm" before he turned and left. Behind him he could hear Faith trying to talk Tali down, with no success. He was almost out of the door when one of the wall panels fell off and the Geth poked it's serpentine head out of the wall.
"Shepard Alpha, we are uncertain as to how long we can maintain this ruse."
Shepard quickly looked round at Tail, who was thankfully still too occupied to notice before he went back to the Geth. "It'll last as long as it can," he picked up the loose panel "now shhhh!" and forced the Geth back into the wall while locking the panel back into place.
'I'm going to have to find a better place to hide him.' he thought to himself as he left the engine room and made his way over to Garrus and Wrex who were both waiting by the Mako.
The Calen was a brand new ship design, but the Mako all terrain vehicle was close to three decades old. It wasn't really that complex, little more than a rectangular box of metal sat on six huge wheels, but what made the Mako stand out was its durability and its versatility. There was a Mako variant for just about every conceivable combat role, from Command and Control to troop transport. Hit-and-run raids to mine clearance. The one sitting in the Calen's hanger bay was a B-26 or 'Bronto' pattern, so named because for both its thick armour and limited manoeuvrability.
"All aboard." said Shepard as he opened a hatch on the light tank and clambered inside.
Garrus looked a little confused. "Um, Shepard? Aren't we going to discuss a battle plan first?"
Shepard poked his head out of the open hatch. "We go in. We get Doctor T'Soni. And we blast anything that fights back." then he disappeared back inside.
"Sounds like a plan to me." said Wrex as he pushed past Garrus, threw his new laser cannon inside then climbed in after it. After a moment's hesitation Garrus followed them. The inside of the Mako wasn't very large, but with Shepard in the driver's seat, Garrus on shotgun and Wrex sitting behind them at the turret controls there was just enough room for the three of them.
Several klaxons sounded and the hanger bay door began to creak open, letting the light and howling wind pour in.
"A one. A two. A one, two, three four!" Shepard slammed the gearstick into first and floored the accelerator. All three of them were crushed into their seats by the force as the Mako dived out of the Calen then they were violently thrown forwards as it hit the ground. Shepard didn't slow down for a second and even as the Calen pulled up the Mako was racing across the lava strewn fields of Therum.
"So Garrus" Shepard swerved to avoid a lava spurt "what made you join C-sec?"
"You're asking me this now!?" he yelled as he held onto his seat for dear life.
"No time like the present." Shepard made a sharp left, taking them up an incline.
"W-well my father was in C-sec and he wanted me to follow in his...oh crap!"
A Geth cruiser flew overhead, dropping two Armatures as it flew by.
"Where the hell did they come from!?" demanded Wrex.
The two Armatures unfolded and started shooting, forcing Shepard to take evasive action. Wrex fired of a blast from the cannon that took the closest machines head clean off, the body collapsing uselessly. Shepard drove straight at the last one, smashing into it and wrapping it round the front of the tank. The Armature didn't stop fighting and tried to flip them by jamming it's back legs into the ground, but Shepard hit the brakes and the Geth flew away from then, over a cliff and into the river of lava beyond.
Shepard reversed back a little, then carried on driving towards their destination. He looked over at Garrus and saw that he was breathing heavily and was gripping the seat so hard he'd actually torn the upholstery "So, Garrus. You were saying."
"Maybe you should just concentrate on the road." Garrus suggested.
"Shepard, we've got a problem!" Wrex yelled from above.
Shepard saw it. The Geth had taken over a gatehouse in the canyon up ahead. Not just satisfied with closing the door, they'd also set up two huge missile turrets as well.
"Err, maybe we should go around?" suggested Garrus.
Shepard ignored him and floored the accelerator. The turrets sprang into life, firing two anti-vehicle rockets at the approaching tank. Shepard swerved round them and they impacted harmlessly on the ground.
"Shepard! Door!?" Garrus pointed a talon at the still closed metal gate.
"I know!"
They kept driving towards the door, going faster and faster.
"DOOR!"
"I KNOW!"
SCCHHHREEECHHH!
The Mako rammed into the door, breaking it free from its holdings and knocking it down, crushing several geth who weren't fast enough to get away. Before the survivors had time to get off a shot the tank was roaring off into the distance.
"Ohhh, I love driving this thing!" proclaimed Shepard as they left the canyon.
"Best. Ride. EVER!" yelled Wrex as he fired an anti-tank round at the nearest armature.
"I know, right!?" Shepard yelled back.
"Spirits, will you please SLOW DOWN!?" Garrus was less enthusiastic.
Five minutes later, at the dig site.
Dahlia Dantius was starting to regret this job. She and her small band had been hired as extra muscle on a 'slave raid' in the Artemis Tau cluster. It looked like easy credits so naturally she'd jumped at the chance. When she'd got to the pre-agreed location however all she'd found were an already dead archaeology team and a whole bunch of Geth standing over the bodies. She would have just shot the machines and left but then a Krogan battlemaster had shown up. Apparently he was in charge of these Geth, he'd also been the one who'd hired her. Said her job had changed to guard duty. GUARD DUTY! She was going to shoot the lizard there and then but he'd offered to triple her pay. She'd grudgingly agreed and the krogan and his Geth had gone underground, leaving behind the big white box that she was leaning on now.
So now she and her men were just sitting around guarding a goddess damned hole in the ground.
'Think of the credits.' she told herself. For a moment she thought she heard something apart from her men complaining and the sound of flowing lava, then out of nowhere a tank zoomed into view. It started firing straight away, first wrecking her shuttle, then scattering her men like cockroaches. Dahlia dived for cover behind her box, then the damn thing unfolded and stood up. It was another bloody Geth! The Colossus fired an energy blast that hit the tank square on the nose. It careened out of control and crashed into a nearby pre-fab held up by scaffolding.
Wrex, Shepard and Garrus all climbed out, taking cover behind the Mako. The first thing Garrus did was throw up, then he quietly vowed never to get in any vehicle with Shepard at the wheel again.
Gunshot pinged off the tanks hull as the remaining mercs and the colossus opened fire. Garrus got one with a sniper shot to the head while Wrex staggered the Geth with a laser blast to the front leg.
"Where's Shepard?!" the krogan yelled over the din "He's missing out on all the fun!"
Garrus looked around for the Darkspawn. He found him clambering up the scaffolding they'd crashed in to. He had just reached to top and was now running towards the one merc who had set up a sniping position on the small platform. He saw the Darkspawn coming and started shooting, at the same time Shepard fired back with his combat pistol. Shepard got the most hits, downing the Batarians barriers but the merc got a shot in to, hitting Shepard's left shoulder. By that time though he was right on top of him. Shepard jerked back with the impact but at the same time he brought his blade slashing upwards. He cut into the Batarians side all the way up through his chest, then he wrenched his sword free and tossed the body over the edge. Not stopping he leapt off the structure, using a Fade Step at the last second for extra momentum, then he brought his sword down into the joint between the Collossus' head and neck.
The machine reacted like a wounded beast, thrashing and screeching as it tried to dislodge the Darkspawn. In its rage it began trampling the remaining mercs.
Wrex and Garrus just stared at the spectacle, both wondering if hallucinations were a symptom of blight sickness. Wrex even took a photo for 'posterity'.
"SHOOT IT!" Shepard screamed at them as the Geth tried to fling him off "SHOOT IT!"
Wrex walked out from behind cover and matched towards the flailing war machine, firing off blasts from his laser cannon as he went. The Geth staggered as each impact tore off chunks of armour, then one of its legs was blown off, then Wrex hit it in the head. The Colossus froze for a moment, then it tumble forwards, crashing to the ground.
The two of them stood there for a moment, then the Krogan asked "You think I can take back the head? Maybe hang it somewhere on the ship?"
A burst of gunfire hit the dead Geth. The pair spun in the direction of the shots, bringing up their own weapons. Staggering towards them was a wounded Asari. From the armour she was wearing they knew that she was one of the mercenaries they'd just wiped out.
"Drop it!" ordered Garrus.
She didn't listen "You...this was supposed to be just a simple job...easy money...you...you RUINED IT!" Dahlia screamed hysterically. She was about to shoot again when a white blur bolted out from somewhere behind the Colossus and flew towards Dahlia. Before she had time to react Shepard appeared right in front of her and rammed his sword right through her chest. She stood completely still, then she dropped the gun and fell back. Dahlia Dantius was dead before she'd even hit the ground.
Shepard was so exhausted he almost fell over, having to use his sword to steady himself. "You know...I've *mmn* never really, ouch, liked Asari that much."
"I know what you mean." Wrex agreed "They're so damn squishy, there's nowhere to get a good grip." That left Shepard and Garrus with images in their heads they really didn't want.
The trio entered the mine and began their decent into the Prothean ruin. The first few meters were nothing special, just a bunch of metal gangways that lead to a single elevator. They bundled inside and descended even further. As they travelled the solid stone walls suddenly became alcoves made of small white tiles. The elevator came to a grinding halt all of a sudden. Shepard looked out over the side and instantly saw why. The rest of the elevator shaft was gone, broken by something but fortunately they weren't that far above the ground and in one quick jump they all landed on the metal walkway below and made their way down the last flight of stairs. They were now in a vast cavern that had been excavated by the archaeology team but there was still no sign of anyone. Shepard was briefly worried that Saren's men had got what they'd came for and left but then he heard a voice.
"Um Hello? Can somebody help me? Please?"
Shepard and the other approached the bottom most alcove. Unlike the others this one was barred by a pulsing blue force field behind which was an Asari stuck inside a ball of the same blue energy. "Can you hear me out there!? I'm trapped! I need help!" she cried.
"Shhh! Keep it down! You'll alert the Geth!" Shepard ordered as quietly as he could. He glanced back into the cavern and after a moment of nothing happening he turned back to the Asari. "Doctor T'Soni I presume?"
The Asari nodded "Listen, this thing I'm in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move so I need you to get me out of it, alright?"
"Careful Shepard." warned Garrus "Her mother is working with Saren, and we still don't know whose side she's on."
"What!? I'm not on anybody's side!" said Liara, indignantly. "I may be Benezia's daughter but I am nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please, just get me out of here!"
Shepard wasn't good at reading other races emotions but she seemed sincere (and a little angry). He turned his attention to the energy barrier. It seemed impenetrable. "Hmmm. Can't go through...maybe." he looked down at the bottom level of the dig and saw the huge laser drill lying there. "Perfect." The team cautiously made their way to the drill and, while being covered by Shepard and Wrex, Garrus started up its firing sequence.
"Just where are the Geth?" Shepard wondered aloud.
The drill cut through the rock below Liara's alcove like it was nothing, allowing the three of them in to the alcove below and the circular chamber beyond. There was one massive pillar in the middle, connected to the alcove by a short elevator with a console at the end. Despite being over fifty thousand years old it still worked, and in no time they were back at Liara's level.
Liara looked back over her shoulder "How? how did you get past the-? Never mind. The button over there should shut down the containment field." She pointed her chin at the console on her left. "Please get me out of here before more Geth arrive."
Sheapred complied and the sphere around Liara vanished, causing her to drop to the ground. She unsteadily rose to her feet, brushing some dirt off her uniform.
"Any idea how we get out of this place?" asked Garrus.
"There's an elevator back in the centre of the tower." said Liara "At least I think it's an elevator. Follow me." She lead them back to the stone pillar in the middle of the tower and after she tapped a few keys on another consol it began to rise. As they travelled she asked why Shepard and the others had come looking for her so he gave her a brief summery about Saren and her mother.
Liara looked bewildered "I've never heard of this Saren but...my mother was one of the best diplomats in the galaxy. She always looked for the best possible outcome for everyone, why would she join someone like Saren? And why did he send his Geth after me?"
Shepard shrugged "Well, I can't speak for your mother but he probably wants you for your expertise."
"My expertise on wha-?" Liara's question was cut off as the whole structure violently shook.
"*crackle* Alpha?! Alpha Shepard do yo*crackle* ead me!?" Jokers garbled voice came in over the com. "Commander I don't know what you *fzzzz* down there but were picking up a lot of thermal readings. If you don't get out of there *bzzzzz* blow sky high!"
"Oh great, what else could go wrong!?" moaned Garrus.
That was when they reached the top of the tower. There was only one way back into the cavern, and it was blocked but seven Geth and a Krogan Battlemaster. Shepard and Wrex both glared at Garrus who shrank back a little, muttering a quiet 'sorry'.
"Hand over the Asari." the Krogan grunted.
Shepard reversed his grip on his sword "We don't have time for this. Charge!" drawing on his magic Shepard dashed forwards, slashing at the Krogan's chest but the Battlemaster managed to block him with his shotgun.
"Oh, I like the way you think!" The Krogan pushed Shepard away "Kill them! Spare the Asari if you can. If not, doesn't matter."
Liara threw a biotic blast at one Geth as she dived behind the control panel, Garrus and Wrex stood their ground and started blasting the troopers away while Shepard continued duelling with the Battlemaster. As the last trooper fell Garrus and Wrex turned their guns on the Battlemaster but before they could fire two new Geth entered the room.
The new machines were not like the others. While still humanoid in shape they had lither frames, long thin arms and legs that ended in sharp points instead of hands or feet along with longer necks. The two walked in side by side, perfectly in step, then they stopped and in the blink of an eye shifted into a battle stance and began circling towards Shepard's friends.
"Well that's new." said Garrus. One of the new Geth shot up into the air then came spinning down at Garrus. The former C-sec officer stumbled back, bringing up his rifle to block the attack. The blade missed him, but it sliced his rifle in two. Garrus looked at the two broken pieces in disbelief "Oh shit!"
The second Geth skated towards Wrex, nimbly dodging his laser blasts then once it was close enough it launched itself at him. Fortunately for Wrex Liara created a biotic singularity that dragged the Geth away and held it mid air. Completely exposed and immobilised it was easy for Wrex to blast it to pieces.
"Hahah! Eat it you stupid piece of ti-!"
"Wrex look out!" Garrus' warning came too late. Before Wrex could move the other Geth had leapt over to where he was and cut his shotgun in half, then it thrust its other blade into the Krogans stomach. Wrex grunted in pain but he'd had worse injuries than this. He grabbed hold of the Geth blade arm, keeping it from pulling out and yelled "Shoot it!" Garrus brought up his pistol and fired at the robots head but it managed to dodge, then it used its free arm to slice off the arm Wrex as holding on to. Unprepared the Krogan tumbled back and the Geth ran towards Garrus, sliding left and right to avoid more shots. Garrus couldn't get back fast enough, in a second the Geth had closed the gap between them and with one high kick it knocked the pistol from Garrus' hand, then it followed through with a spinning kick that was more like a slash, cutting through the Turians armour but thankfully missing his flesh. The machine did not relent, it continued stabbing at Garrus, trying to impale him on one of its remaining limbs. Seeing an opening Garrus lashed out and punched it in the side. It was like punching a solid metal wall. Pain shot through his arm, distracting him for a second. A second was all the Geth needed. In one stroke it brought its arm slicing down into Garrus' shoulder, shearing through his armour. The pain was so intense Garrus nearly lost consciousness but somehow he manage to stay awake. The Geth pushed down forcing Garrus to his knees, planning to slice him in half.
The robot suddenly spasmed violently as something pierced its chest. Looking round behind it Garrus saw that Wrex had gotten back up, taken the Geth's other arm out of his stomach and had impaled the thing with its own arm "Ha! You thought you had me!? It'll take more than that to-" The Geth stabbed Wrex's foot with its leg "Gaah! Son of a-!" Garrus saw his opportunity. With his good arm he reached up, grabbed hold of the thick bundle of cables connecting the Geth's eye to its body and pulled. There was a load of sparks and the machine made a wounded whirring noise and it staggered back, pulling its blade free from Garrus as it did so. Wrex walked up to him and helped him to his feet. "Haha! Oh I am so glad I took this job! This has been one of the best days of my life!" He gave Garrus a pat on the back that nearly knocked him over. It wasn't over yet though. The Geth was wounded and blinded but it was still standing. Garrus herd a faint 'ping', then it lunged at them, slashing wildly, its former surgical precision and grace replaced with what could have been wild fury. There was another ping and it came at them again but it faltered at the sound of a metallic clang.
Garrus and Wrex looked towards the sound and saw Liara whacking two metal pipes together. The Geth staggered in Liara's direction, lunging at the air. While it was distracted Wrex ran over to the dead troopers, grabbed one of their rifles and shot the Geth until the heat sink overloaded. The machine crumpled to the ground, finally dead.
Liara ran over to Garrus, helping to steady him and applying medi-gel to his wounds. "What...ow...what did you do?" he asked.
"That 'ping' sound was sonar. Basically I used a loud noise to blind it." she replied.
"Clever." said Wrex as he staggered over.
That was when Shepard joined them "Everyone ok?" he asked. Garrus and Wrex both shot him looks "That erm...may have been a stupid question."
"What happened to your dance partner?" asked Wrex.
Shepard pointed over a some still burning remains. "He's not getting back up." There was a loud rumble from below and several large chunks of the ceiling fell down around them "Annnnd that's the volcano. RUN FOR IT!"
Half an hour later
By sheer luck the four of them had made it out of the ruin before it collapsed and after having their wounds looked at by Wisp the crew had assembled in the Comms room. Wrex and Shepard were mostly ok. Garrus had been hurt the worst but Wisp's magic had healed most of the damage, although he did have his left arm in a sling.
"Hey Alpha, next time let's not try an extraction from an active volcano." said Joker over the intercom "They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just saying."
Liara wasn't amused "We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?"
"He does that." grumbled Shepard. "For now doctor, I suspect you have questions."
"Yes, you said that Saren wanted my 'expertise'. On what exactly?" Shepard gave her a quick summery of events, the orb on Cadash Prime, the Conduit. Liara's eyes seemed to light up as she listened "Fascinating. I've wanted to study Thedosean ruins for years now, specifically the Elves. If there was an Eluvean on Cadash Prime then the implications are-"
"Focus Doc." said Skyfall.
"Yes, I'm...sorry. I'm afraid my knowledge of elven artefacts is limited. My main field of study is the Protheans. Their extinction in particular. It's one of the greatest mysteries in our galaxy today."
All the Darkspawn in the room shared knowing looks. "Well...if that's all you have then-" Shepard began.
"Wait!" Liara interrupted him "Sorry but...I know that you don't trust me because of my mother but...I want to join your mission." she saw the looks on their faces but carried on with her argument "Saren has already sent troops after me once and he may do so again. This ship is probably the safest place I can be. I'd also like to find out just why my mother has gone against everything she ever believed in and joined with a mad man."
Shepard weighed up his options. Liara wasn't wrong, Saren could send more men to either capture or kill her. She may be a security risk but he didn't think she was in any way aligned with Saren. "Alright, fine. You're in." Liara breathed a sigh of relief "We've had a rough day, so let's all get some rest before we move on. Liara you'll probably want to introduce yourself to the rest of the crew properly and we need to set up some quarters for you."
"No problem." Wisp chimed in "There's a spare room behind the med bay, she can stay there for as long as she's with us."
Shepard nodded "Alright, dismissed."
As everyone else filled out Joker informed Shepard that the Council want to speak with him. With resignation he told the pilot to put them through. Seconds later he was looking at three life sized holograms of the Councillors, wishing to all the Ancestors that they'd just been shut out of the loop altogether.
"Alpha, I understand your mission was a success." Began Tevos.
"Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin." Sparatus pointed out.
Shepard was about to tell him to go shove his head in a ghast hole but Valern spoke before he could "I hope you are taking proper precautions with Doctor T'Soni."
"The Geth didn't seem to have a problem with killing her so I doubt she's with Saren Councillor."
That seemed to trouble Tevos "Benezia would never allow harm to come to her daughter."
"Maybe she doesn't know?" Valern suggested.
Sparatus had a lest optimistic view, as always "Or maybe we don't know her. We never suspected she could become a traitor."
"Careful there Councillor. You might just get into the habit of admitting your mistakes." Shepard gave the Turian a toothy grin. The Councillors mandibles twitched, then his hologram vanished.
"Erm..." Tevos started drumming her fingers together. "Thank you for the report Alpha. We'll will contact you again when we need to." Then the other two holograms winked out of existence as well.
Shepard smiled to himself, then left for the bridge. On the way he saw that Liara had met Faith but thankfully she was handling the spirits existence better than Tali was and she seemed to be asking if Faith was around at the time of the Lost Races on Thedas.
"Ya know, this is starting to look familiar." Shepard looked down and saw Skyfall next to him.
"How is any of this 'familiar'?" he asked.
"Oh come one Shep. You know the stories. You've assembled a band of misfits, there's an ancient evil on the rise. You've even met Flemeth! This is just like the Tale of the Warden."
"I don't think there were space ships in the Tale of the Warden last time I read it."
Skyfall seemed to ponder this for a moment "Good point. That story needs updating."
That was when Shepards omni-tool started beeping. Opening it he checked his mail and saw a new message in his inbox. "You might just be on to something Sky. Joker! Set course for the Citadel!"
Later. In the Citadel Wards
"Shepard, just where are we going?" asked Wrex for the twentieth time.
"I told you. Shopping."
"But why did you have to bring all of us?" asked Garrus. Shepard had brought the entire team for this visit. Trying to all fit into the elevators together had been...interesting. Skyfall had gotten into the habit now of dismantling the speakers so at least they didn't have to put up with the music.
"You'll see." Shepard replied. "It's not much further n-"
"Curiously: are you Alpha Shepard?" Without warning Shepard found his path blocked by an Elcor. Without really thinking he answered 'yes'. "With barely contained glee: The Great Alpha Shepard. Hero of the Batarian War. It is a great honour to finally meet you in person! Humbly :my name is Conrad Verner. Proudly :I am your biggest fan!"
Shepard looked over at his comrade for help but they seemed just as at a loss as he was.
"Hopefully : C-can I ...that is...Can I please have your autograph?" The Elcor raised his left arm, bringing up his omni-tool. Deciding there was no harm in humouring him Shepard signed his name, which seemed to please Conrad greatly "With great joy :wow! I have Shepard's autograph! I can't wait to show this to my wife. Thank you." with that he lumbered off, leaving Shepard and Co. bewildered.
"Well that was surreal." said Skyfall. "But you still haven't told us why we're here Shepard."
Forgetting about Verner Shepard decided now was the time to break the news. "I got an invitation. Now, it should be...ah! Right here!" He stopped outside a small door.
"Erm, Shepard, this is a maintenance closet." Garrus pointed out.
"On most days yes. But today..." Shepard opened the door and went inside.
"Oh, I know what this is now." said Wisp as he followed Shepard in. Next in was Skyfall, then Tail, Wrex and Liara and finally a now very confused Garrus. As soon as he stepped over the threshold the noise of the wards vanished, replaced by the sound of a soft breeze and creaking wood. This was not the interior of a storage cupboard, in front of his was a wooden walkway that lead to a large circular platform, populated with various stalls.
Shepard turned to face everyone, spread his arms and declared "Team, Welcome to the Black Emporium!"
"It's a...shop?" Garrus finally managed to say.
"How is...I don't...this doesn't...!" Tali stammered.
"Goddess! Is that a authentic Andraste bust!" Liara was more interested in the merchandise than the impossible shop.
"Right." Skyfall pulled a pack of cards from one of his pockets. "Now where's that bear Chauncey. I've finally figured out his tells."
Codex : Geth Striker
A new Geth platform encountered by Redacted on Redacted the Geth Striker is unique in that unlike all other known platforms it is designed purely for melee combat. It's advance vision and high processing power combined with extreme agility allow it to predict incoming attacks and avoid them with an almost dancer like grace. This evasion system is not perfect however and it can be overwhelmed if enough firepower is brought to bare. Alone or in the open the Strikers are vulnerable to coordinated ranged attacks so they tend to operate as support units for other platforms, attacking foes while they are distracted. In close quarters even one Striker can easily tear apart an entire squad. Their sharp blades can cut through barriers, armour and flesh with little trouble and their advanced vision allows them to spot even the smallest weakness.
Threat level : Moderate to high
Advised tactic : Grenades/ coordinated crossfire.
The votes are in and Conrad is an Elcor! I know he only had a very shot appearance but he will turn up again, I promise.
Next chapter will take us to Noveria for a showdown with Matriarch Benezia.
TTFN