Disclaimer: BioWare owns Mass Effect. 20th Century Fox owns the Alien franchise. EA owns Dark Space.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I think I've teased you enough with the set-up. Welcome to the USG Ishimura. Please keep all extremities attached.
Hades Nexus Cluster, February 22, 2177
The CDF Spirit of Vengeance arrived in the Hades Nexus Cluster, FTL'ing to the Yamlat System at a full-burn, arriving at the planet simply known as Aegis VII. 1st Lieutenant Jane Shepard stood on the bridge of the Spirit, alongside Captain Veraponia Belltumus, the female Turian officer standing at the ship's CIC in a relaxed position as the Turian crew operated their stations at a efficiency level that Shepard found quite favorable. She was hard-pressed to admit it, but when it came to Navies, the Turian Hierarchy was damn good at their jobs, very professional, and dedicated to the cause. She hated to admit it, but they were very impressive, and obviously more skilled than their equivalent human operators. It was a hard fact to swallow, yet she had told Captain Belltumus just that, showing her respect for the Hierarchy and its warriors. The news had gone over well, though there was a bit of a 'of course' cavalier attitude attached to it that Shepard didn't exactly appreciate. Still, the Turian sailors were pleased that Humanity's First Specter wasn't exactly some bigoted bitch, and a few had come up to her and told her just that, though in more polite terms. Some had even seen her interview, and expressed their pleasure in watching Shepard tear into Ann Coulter, showing herself to be, what they called, a 'female of the galaxy'. Shepard took that to be a compliment, and thanked them.
"Ah, we have found your ship, Agent. The Ishimura." Captain Belltumus called out, opening up a display screen by the station that Shepard was operating on, reading through data and scans that the Turian CIC operators were gathering on the Yamlat System. What Shepard found was dead space; a term that the Alliance Navy use to indicate that no signal or operational systems were available. No signals were coming from the USG Ishimura, the scans from the Spirit painting a bleak picture. It seemed that the vessel, the Alliance's first planet-fracker, easily its largest, had arrived at the orbit of Aegis VII and done what it was made to do; slowly cracking the crust from a planet into pieces to collect as much resources and materials from the planet as possible without having to dig. Shepard was pretty sure that the Counsel wouldn't approve of such a practice, even though the Alliance had been using planet-frackers for about five decades. Still, the Dreadnaught-sized vessel hung over the remains of the Martian-sized planet, a new ring of debris coalescing around the planet, much larger than any planetary ring that any gas giants in the galaxy could boast of. The Ishimura itself was buried in the ring, using some sort of gravity-drive suspension system that would keep it from colliding with the newly-formed astroids, as well as being able to drag chunks of rock from the belt and into its processing systems like the whaling ships of old. She knew that a planet-fracker could theoretically collect some 98% of collectable material from gathered earth from a planet, dumping the rest of the debris into a rock cloud that would probably be absorbed by the system's sun or turning the system into a billards' table with asteroids, comets, meteorites, and hazards. Typical Corporate thinking; take away whats profitable, and dump the rest for someone else to deal with for maximum profit.
"Looks like most of the ship's systems are off-line." Shepard mentioned, looking at the power output levels. "Some are still operational; it hasn't fallen into the planet, at least. Gravity drive is still functional, and it looks like life support and electrical is running. But the rest is a Godsdamn mess."
"Can you boot-up sequence from here?" The Captain of the Spirit asked, curious.
"No. No ship system in the Alliance has any remote access points; we're too afraid of 'outside' interference." She told Captain Belltumus, who understood what she was saying; humanity was afraid that an alien might come by and shut down their ship from underneath them. "If we want anything to work, someone's got to go on board and flip the switches. That'll be fun on a ship that size. I just hope the tram systems' working, otherwise it's going to be a shit load of walking." The Turian chuckled at that. "I'll prep my team for insertion on the shuttle. Do we have any recon probes or communication probes that we can launch? That debris field is nasty."
"We have a communication hub that we can send." Captain Belltumus allowed, looking thoughtful for a moment. "It allows for tight-beam communications, which will be hard to interrupt, and next to impossible to intercept. Expecting trouble?"
"I'm a human; I'm always expecting trouble." Shepard allowed, making the female Turian officer snort. "This is out in the butt end of nowhere, and it doesn't even look like this system was fully surveyed. Who knows if pirates, slavers, or Gods knows what else uses this system for its own devices. We've already got what looks to be an illegal mining operation on a planet that wasn't even given a full scan to the Citadel Department of Minerals and Resources for exploitation. My guess? CEC found a sweet little gold mine, and started stripping the fuck out of it before anyone caught wise. In a year or two, they'd be gone, and no one would be the wiser at a planet with huge chunks carved out of it. At least the planet itself doesn't seem to be worth anything. Bad atmosphere, poor gravity, light pressure, no water, no habitable zones… it's a rock no one would be interested in except for its intrinsic wealth."
"And like a plague of Quarians, your human ship descended and started digging." Captain Belltumus pointed out, her tone not at all pleased. There was no doubt about it; this was going to hurt the Alliance.
"Looks like." There was no use defending the Concordance Extraction Corporation, the Ishimura, its crew, or even her species against the obvious. "I'll find out whatever I can from the ships' logs, probably task one of our Salarian data-miners for it. I don't want to be accused on either side for favoritism." That had the female Turian officer grunting.
"I… would not want to be in your position, now that I think about it." The Captain allowed, looking over to Shepard, her mandibles flicking out. "You are an interesting one, huma… Specter." Captain Belltumus corrected herself, obviously having made up her mind about Shepard. "Never thought I'd meet a human I thought worthy of respect."
"It's a hard road for both of us." Shepard told the Captain quietly, and she saw that the female Turian understood. "Still, someone's got to stand up and show what my race can be worth. I can think of a few better examples… and a whole hell of a lot worse ones. For what it's worth, I found that we've been pretty wrong about the Turians. I haven't seen you eat one baby… yet."
"It's still lunch time." The Captain of the Spirit smiled with her mandibles, obviously knowing that Shepard was teasing her, and accepting it like a warrior. "Be back before dinner, we've got Krogan children on the menu."
"Sautéed or barbecued? I like mine fried." That got a laugh out of both women, and for a moment, it didn't matter that they were human or Turian; for a moment, they were sailor and Marine, on the same side. It was a moment that Shepard was proud to share. "I'll be in the cargo bay, and I'll call up when we're ready to deploy. Wish me luck, Captain."
"Who needs luck when you've got Turians at your back?"
"Alright, people! Everyone aboard! Hustle your asses like you've got somewhere to be!" Master Chief Stacy Valentino shouted, standing outside the crew door of the Turian shuttle that they would be taking to the USG Ishimura, a shuttle meant to fit twenty-five Turians, and would more than accommodate the twenty-four members of 1st Lieutenant Jane Shepard's team. Shepard herself stood by her Auntie Val, armored in her Serrice Counsel armor, her weapons placed on her armor's hard point, and visor activated and running. Everyone was equally ready with their equipment and weapons as humans, Turians, Asari, Salarians, Quarian, Volus, Drell, and Elcor piled into the shuttle, with just enough space left over for it not to be cramped. She was impatiently waiting for everyone to board the vessel, her grandmother Ellen Ripley piloting the vessel along with a Turian co-pilot named Flight Lieutenant Tibevius Victonius, who didn't seem pleased with the fact that he would have to share a cockpit with a human. Shepard had put her foot down on the issue though; Ripley had been vetted by the Counsel, and held a Citadel Pilot's License that gave her clearance to fly Specter missions. Lieutenant Victonius, on the other hand, was only there because Ripley, while trained on simulators to fly the Turian V-23 Shuttle, hadn't actually flown a real one yet.
"We're loaded up, Janey." Stacy informed her as the last member of the team entered into the vessel, Captain Royce Mason giving Shepard a nod before stepping into the Turian craft. "Never thought I'd enter one of these buckets except as a prisoner-of-war." The N7 thumped the side of the V-23, its sharp angles and strange motifs a reminder that it wasn't a human craft. Shepard knew exactly what Stacy was saying; being a human in a Turian warship hadn't been on anyone's agenda, but being invited onto one, especially with the ability to walk out on one's own power, was simply mind-blowing.
"Well, the bucket's our ride, so find yourself a seat and enjoy." Shepard slapped Val on the shoulder, giving her Auntie a smile as Stacy maturely stuck her tongue back out on her. "Ripper? Last one's in, and I'm closing the hatch behind on me. Give Captain Belltumus the green light and my compliments."
"Roger, Janey." Flight Officer Ellen Ripley replied from the cockpit of the Talon Personnel Delivery Shuttle, the V-23 powering up as Shepard closed the crew door behind her, the shuttle now hovering over the decking of the cargo by of the CDF Spirit of Vengeance. "Spirit Actual? This is Talon 23, request permission to open cargo bay door and disembark." Her grandmother's voice came over her earpiece radio connected to her Kuwashii visor.
"Roger, Talon 23." Came the voice of Captain Veraponia Belltumus, her duel-toned voice calm in Shepard's ear. "Permission granted, cargo bay doors opening now." The hum of an atmo barrier ached Shepard's ear as she heard the rumbling of a great metal door being opened, the blackness of space appearing before the viewer on a haptic screen by her seat at the door, which she immediately shut off, feeling sweat popping out of her pores. The bond inside of her sent a calming thought, which helped, and Shepard silently thanked Counsel Agent Tela Vasir, the bond helping her with her fear of the emptiness and blackness of space. "Talon 23, you are free to disembark."
"Thank you, Spirit Actual. Thanks for putting up with us." Ripley returned. "Marines and Agents? Grab your gullets and tuck your mullets, we're going into the void." A surge of panic hit Shepard again as she felt the shuttle launch forward, the thought of the emptiness just outside the metal walls of the shuttle looming large in her thoughts. She had to work very hard to control her breathing, feeling the sweat bursting out on her brow as her phobia threatened to take over. The bond pulsed within her, and Shepard was shocked to feel her fear leaking away, the bond pulling at the panic and terror that she had felt whenever she thought about the emptiness of space since she was eight years old. Tela… Tela was taking her fear away! Was it scaring her, too?
The void holds no sway over me, dear one. The voice of her companion came like a gentle whisper in her mind, calming, soothing. I am simply sharing with you, giving you relief, and giving you my strength.
I… thank you, Tela. Shepard thought, and she meant it more than she could say. No longer did she feel the need to cry, vomit, scream, or pound at the walls of the shuttle. It was something she had always struggled with before, growing up on ships after her mother died. Pop had helped her, as had Royce and Stacy, but it was always like a living thing within her, ready to pounce at a moments' notice. Now… now she could fight back, now she was no longer alone. The terror and panic now was merely a discomforting feeling, a slight reminder that the environment outside was merely unpleasant. Gods, you have no idea how grateful I am right now!
Well, if we ever see a Thresher Maw, you can return the favor. Shepard was about to ask what a Thresher Maw was, but decided not to. If something scared a 600 year old Asari, it was probably worthy of fear. She would look into it later, she promised herself. Calming herself, she turned on the viewer, and saw that the image of Aegis VII and its new ring come into view as the shuttle made its way to the Ishimura.
"USG Ishimura, USG Ishimura, this is Talon 23 calling on all frequencies. USG Ishimura, please come in." Ripley's voice came to Shepard's earpiece as the woman called out to the planet-fracker, still some one-thousand kilometers away and closing. "Any station on this net, any station on this net, calling on all available frequencies to anyone on the USG Ishimura, this is Talon 23 carrying Citadel personnel. Anyone please respond!" The familiar crackle of empty comms came over Shepard's earpiece, indicating that either their was no response, or that anyone still aboard didn't have the signal strength to send back.
"Ripper? Save your breath until we penetrate that debris field." Shepard ordered, her tone sympathetic, knowing what it felt like to call for help without an answer back. "If all anyone's got is a RIG suit and an Omnitool, they won't have the power necessary to answer us."
"Roger. We'll try again when we get closer." Ripley replied, her tone indicating that she wasn't happy with the decision. Had Ripley done the same on the Nostromo, Shepard wondered? Had she called and never gotten an answer, too? The terror reared its head for but a moment, but it was suppressed by her bond with Tela Vasir. Shepard tried to think about anything else than beating on a metal wall, looking out a viewport, screaming for rescue. Nothing was helping.
"Janey." Royce came up, his voice soft as his hand went to her shoulder, his brown eyes looking into her as she saw in his face understanding; Uncle Royce knew her fears, and was being there for her. "If anyone's still alive, we'll find them. And if there's a bloke that could understand what they're goin' through, it's you." Unfortunately, the shuttle wasn't big enough for their conversation to be private, but thankfully, Shepard saw that everyone was studiously paying attention to anything else but them. She nodded her head quickly, perhaps too quickly, closing her eyes and trying to quell the fear within her. Gods, you would think a Marine and a Specter would be fearless, or at least have conquered their own fears.
Sadly, it isn't the case. Tela informed her, her tone sweet yet sad. We've learned how to fight through it and live with it. Your Uncle Royce understands this, as does your Aunt Stacy. We choose this path, and we take it, no matter the pitfalls and ugliness. We do it so others don't.
I know. Shepard replied lamely, though she did understand. Can't fear take some time off, though? Vacation in some slimeball Class Gamma colony that needs a full envirosuit to survive? The humor wasn't lost on the Asari, and she physically chuckled, getting an odd look from Dr. Liara T'soni at first, whose features smoothed when the nearby Asari Protheanologist made the connection.
"Jane, we're approaching the debris field now." Ripley's voice came through both the radio earpiece and the intercom of the shuttle. "We're going to take it slow. This shit's moving about like a flooded creek."
"Do what you need to do, Ripper. Everyone else, hold on and pray to the Gods." Shepard called out, and somehow, the thought of fancy flying through a moving asteroid field beat back the fear. Danger never did frighten her; it was always the fear of what she couldn't fight against, what she couldn't touch. A rock, even a fast-moving one, could simply be avoided.
"Fucking Christ! Victonius? Full power, port thrusters, and ready to engage forward guns." Ripley's voice came out strained, concentrating as the shuttle began making strange motions, swaying back and forth as inertia dampeners tried to correct what felt like a boat ride in river rapids. Shepard held onto a ceiling roof rung, letting her body sway with the vessel while her grip kept her steady, the sound of pebbles tinging off the shuttle's hull like rain peppering the interior with its sound a few times. It was hard to remember that in space, sound didn't exist the way it did in air; the thinner the volume, the poorer that sound waves did in it. So the sound of the miniature asteroids pinging off the shuttle was a bit of a startling fright for everyone inside the shuttle, the vessel meant to go from Frigate to planet, not fly about in minor space. Yet the asteroid field that encircled the planet Aegis VII made it impossible for the Spirit of Vengeance to approach the Ishimura. The V-23 was the only way that Shepard and her team was going to be able to make it in. The shuttle made more jogging motions, and there was another rain of rock that pattered against the hull, though it sounded like small fragmentation, probably the size of pebbles. Shepard was holding her breath, fretting at their chances. Even though everyone had their armored hard locked for EVA if needed, being caught in an asteroid field was a guarantee death sentence; no one would be pulling them out from it even if they had the capabilities. One or two of the strikes were loud, banging against the hull, sounding almost loud enough to puncture the shuttle. "God damn it, Victonius! Blast those fucking rocks like we're playing 'Asteroids'!" Ripley growled over the radio, the shuttle jogging to the left, and then surging forward. "Everyone hold on! This part's dicey!"
The entire shuttle was knocked off course as something punched into its side.
Shepard felt herself slamming into the V-23's wall, knocking her breathless for a moment as a Turian-style klaxon rang out, and the deadly words 'hull breach' began to sound out. Through her helmet, Shepard could hear the whistling of escaping atmo, the temperature of the interior of the shuttle dropping quickly as air and heat escaped through the puncture. As soon as she could catch her breath, her voice and her hands were at work.
"Anyone hit? Everyone check the person next to you!" Shepard called out, her hands going for the repair box that was attached to one wall in the shuttle, pulling out a stiffened piece of carbonite steel that was meant to make a quick patch. "Hicks! Give me a hand tacking this seal on!"
"On it!" Sergeant Dwayne Hicks pushed through the jostled bodies inside the shuttle as Shepard found the hole in the shuttle, no bigger than her thumb. Already the metal around it was frosted, and it was easy to see atmo leaking out. She slapped the steel right onto the hole, the square foot plug being pulled into place by the vacuum as she turned on her red Omnitool, and selected the 'tools' option, and went for 'weld'. Selecting 'spot', she began to weld small spot welds onto the corners of the steel, pinning it into place before removing her hand from the temporary seal, the tacks holding it into place. "El-Tee? I got the rest of this." Hicks told her as his Omnitool began to fully weld the steel into place.
"Ripper? How bad?" Shepard asked over her radio, looking over everyone. It seemed that, while everyone was rattled and disoriented, there didn't seem to be any injuries. They had gotten lucky.
"It's like trying to dodge rocks the size of buildings out here, and the secondaries are too many to track! We took a hit in the fuel cell." Ripley's response had Shepard's blood run cold. "We got more than enough to make it to the Ishimura, but making it back is not an option."
"Fuck." Shepard swore, unable to believe their luck. They're only Godsdamn ride was now crippled? If the Spirit left, it would take them two days to make it to Citadel Space, and two days to come back with another shuttle! Perhaps another ship could be tasked out to deliver one, but that was still two days stuck on a derelict ship! Calm yourself, Janey, she reminded herself, forcing herself to calm her breathing. You had it worse on LV 426, with fewer people, worse guns, and no backup what-so-ever. You can power a ship up for everyone to survive. Shuttle's got supplies and rations for the dextros, and the human ship can feed the levos. This isn't that bad. Just hole up somewhere, do the investigation, and think smart. "Take us in to the Ishimura as quickly and as safely as you can, Ripper. Shut off the fuel as soon as you're able, and use docking thrusters when we're close enough. If we can seal the hole, perhaps we can find some H3 on the Ishimura and tank up."
"Yeah, that might work." Ripley allowed. "Sorry, Jane. This damn debris field is too much. Astronavigation and the VI prox sensor can't keep up with it. It's all eyeball and guess work now; the computer's shot." That had Shepard frown. If those were gone… then they were blind… and silent. They wouldn't be able to contact the Spirit. True, the Frigate had long-range scopes to visually see them, but they were essentially lost, unable to talk, fly, or return. Not a chain of events she liked finding her and her men in.
"Mining ship, Ripper; you use to work those." Shepard reminded both herself and her grandmother. "They probably got something on-board we could use, not to mention a few Salarians and a Quarian to hack it together. Put that together, they could probably install a warp drive on this sucker and we can avoid the whole damn thing!"
"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." Ripley replied. "We're past the worst, now. I've located the flight deck, and I'm bringing us in manually. Better hold on, kiddos, this could get rough."
'Rough' was an understatement.
The Turian V-23 Shuttle, despite both pilots working together, had practically crashed into the flight deck of the USG Ishimura. Most of it wasn't their fault; the shuttles' astronavigation was shot, not to mention that the Ishimura's flight deck was also off-line, the gravity tethers that would have assisted with an incoming vessel unresponsive. Both Flight Officer Ellen Ripley and Flight Lieutenant Tibevius Victonius had done the best they could under such circumstances, the V-23 losing response as they had to switch to manual docking thrusters inside the flight deck that was not meant for a shuttle their size. The vessel scraped the entrance that wasn't wide enough, and plowed into a few supports and grated walkways that were impossible to avoid as it came into a gentle collision with the dock of the flight deck. Both pilots began switching systems off on the V-23, conserving what fuel and power they had left in the shuttle in case it was needed, and to avoid an further damage to the systems. The shuttle rocked in its forced moorings as the people inside rocked with it, holding onto any purchases to keep them from being injured from the forced landing. When the Turian vessel finally screeched to a halt, 1st Lieutenant Jane Shepard went into action.
"Crew door opening!" She shouted to the twenty-two people of various species that occupied the crew compartment of the V-23. "Helmets on until we can verify that life-support is viable!" With that, Shepard punched the 'unlock' button on the crew door, the gull-wing portal opening to give access to those inside the shuttle a means of egress. "Royce! Stacy! Front and center! Clear the docks!" Captain Royce Mason and Master Chief Stacy Valentino were out, bounding out of the Turian craft and onto some surviving portion of the Ishimura's flight deck dock, their N7 Saber Assault Rifles out and ready as both N7's cleared the immediate vicinity, their weapons scanning left and right of the crew door for immediate hostiles. "Tela! Cavius! You're next!" The two identified Specters leapt out, Counsel Agent Tela Vasir wreathed in biotic energy as she held a Specter Gear Mark VIII Submachine gun in one hand, Specter Instructor Cavius Raminion right next to her as they cleared deeper into the dock with a Specter Gear Mark VIII Assault Rifle in his talons. Together, the two Specters and two N7's faced the interior of the ship, stalking down the grated platform towards the access portion of the ship, their guns scanning everything.
"Jane!" Ellen Ripley called out. "Jane! Get everyone off the shuttle! Engine must have sucked something in, I'm reading power fluctuations and critical warnings!"
"You heard the woman! Everyone off!" Shepard called out. "Go! Go! Go!" Twenty-one beings burst out of the shuttle as fast as they could without stampeding one another, Ripley and Victonius jumping out of the opening cock pit while everyone else double-timed it through the crew door. As soon as the last person left, Naor the Bull's bulk taking up too much space for him to try to be anything but last, Shepard grabbed the two hardened cases that they had brought with them, dragging out the fifty kilo boxes herself with one in each hand, exiting the shuttle as she heard something inside the vessel cough and sputter, metal groaning as the smell of burning electronics and fuel began to assail her nose. She dragged the cases out, grunting at the weight of them as pulled on them, the one hundred kilos of weight making her slow and cumbersome. She was surprised to see that two Turians jumped in to help her, Garrus Vakarian and Elias Korvan grabbing a case each, lifting them so the bottoms didn't drag and they could move faster. Shepard grunted as she began to pull away faster from the shuttle, seeing smoke starting to billow from the crew compartment of the shuttle, as well as flames sparking out from side vents of the engines. Together, the three of them moved away from the shuttle, heading down towards the platform where the N7's and full-fledge Specters had cleared, everyone else having taken positions on the flight deck platform, weapons out and scanning. Shepard, Garrus, and Elias scuffled over towards the group, reaching them in a few seconds when a loud 'bang!' came from somewhere inside the shuttle. Shepard turned to look, and saw a nice new hole in the side of the shuttle's hull where the engine laid, fire billowing out of it.
"Well, there goes our ride." Shepard grunted, dropping the cases in her hands, feeling the servos of her Serrice Counsel armor kicking back into a passive state, the motorized joints in her elbows and knees returning to their resting state, giving her better mobility. Even with them, she was panting from having to drag and lift the cases, but they were needed. She cracked one open, pulling at its simple lock and opening its hardened lid, and sighed when she saw that everything looked to be in order; food, water, and Medigel were contained inside, compartmented between levo- and dextro-chilarity. If things went strange, they had enough food and water to last them at least six days on two-third's rations, a week plus on half. It wouldn't be pleasant, but they would survive. "Good. Food and water's fine." She went to the next case, opening that as well, and let out another sigh of relief. More Medigel, more food, more water. A solid seven days of supplies, plus whatever they might scavenge from the Ishimura. Recharging their Omnitools and their armor's battery packs would be a concern before getting a bite to eat would be!
"Seriously, El-Tee. What is up with you stranding us in shitholes?" Corporal Jeanette Vasquez asked, holding her heavily-modified M56 Marshal Light Machine Gun at the ready, the now-overpowered squad support gun with its rotating heat-sink drum aimed at the primary door that led from flight deck to interior of ship. "First LV 426, now this place. Can't we get stranded someplace nice, jefe? Like Venus?"
"I'll take it under advisement, Vas." Shepard replied dryly, closing both hardened cases, taking a look at her team. She wasn't pleased with what she was seeing; most seemed on edge with the thought of being stuck on a derelict ship that hadn't responded to hails and looked to be dead in the water. Thankfully, her team of humans and the Turians were made of sterner stuff, though Corporal-Technician Bill Hudson was muttering to himself; never a good sign with him. Hudson was a classic grunt; brave during peace, vicious during a stand-up fight, but the squad's technician didn't handle stress well. Sometimes it was hard to forget he was just a 20 year old kid from the area of Texas. She moved a few steps over to Hudson, who was looking a little bit on edge, the panic in his eyes growing as he looked at the dead shuttle. "Hudson? Bill?" Shepard whispered to him, moving her throat-mike first so that her conversation was for his ears alone. His eyes focused on hers, and she could see him sweating much in the same way she would whenever she thought about outer space. "Bill, see what's behind me?" The man' looked at her oddly, but his eyes darted over her shoulder, where most everyone else stood… including the variety of alien species behind her. "Do not embarrass yourself in front of them, Bill. You're better than that, and we both know it. If you can wax bugs in LV 426, then you can survive anything, Marine."
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right!" The squad's technician snorted in some air, wiping off his brow, his helmet collapsed and on a hardpoint at his back. Most had already taken off their helmets once they had read the atmo analyst on their own personal Omnitools, seeing that the flight deck had not only breathable air, but acceptable air pressure, too. "Shuttle crash just rattled me a bit, El-Tee. I'm five-by-five." Hudson nodded, pulling his Stryker Assault Rifle off his back and putting the stock of the explosive-projectile weapon to his shoulder. "Ready to tag some bags and grab some ass."
"As long as it isn't mine." Shepard pointed out with a smirk, making the squad's technician cough uncomfortably. So someone has been checking out my ass. Shepard thought to herself, slightly amused. She couldn't really blame him; guys were biologically wired to do so. As long as he kept it in check, she'd let him look as much as he liked as long as it wasn't obvious.
Otherwise he'll find out how much fun warpfire feels. Tela Vasir thought through her bond, making Shepard smile internally.
"Alright. Daeporm?" Shepard identified the Salarian Specter Daeporn Norban, a former C-Sec Electronic Crimes Investigator who was good with a gun and an Omnitool. "You and Hudson see if we can get that door panel access talking to us. I want to know what's on the other side and the status of it before we start making a beachhead for us. Royce, Stacy, Cavius? Walk with me for a moment." The two N7's and the Specter Instructor moved away from the group slightly, their eyes still on everything as Shepard double-checked to make sure her throat-mike was still off. "We're going to have to split up into four teams. Dragging everyone at once is just ungainly and asking for problems to occur. That give each team at least six, and one with seven. What I'm worried about are the people we've got that aren't exactly suited for combat operations."
The original plan had been that several of the team would have stayed on the shuttle, using it as a communications hub, as well as a tactical headquarters and information-gathering purposes. While the Specter recruits were at the top of their respective fields, not everyone had 'combat' as a field. Such beings like Garrus Vakarian and Asha T'vara were warriors, trained, tried, and true, ones that Shepard had no worries about when it came time to rock n'roll. Yet others had been selected for other skills. Cur Dileed, the group's sole Volus, was a brilliant computer programmer and software specialist; he was a hacker of talent. Picked up by the Office of Special Tactics when doing personal investigations on a Volus company interested in selling out false territory claims and instigating battles to sell weapons to both sides, Cur was a wizard with an Omnitool. Yet his combat abilities weren't even marginal; Volus just weren't built for speed or for defense for the galaxy at large. Perhaps if they were on Irune, Cur Dileed would prove his metal, but in his blown-up pressure suit containing chlorine gas, Cur was a great liability when bullets started flying. Porol Lamel, another Salarian Specter recruit, came from the STG as a Electronics Warfare Officer, an operator who could sabotage an emey's armor and cut through building defenses with ease. While a great support specialist, he only had the basic combat skills, and was armed only with a M-77 Paladin pistol and a M-4 Shuriken Machine Pistol. There was also Dr. Liara T'soni, Bastila Shan, her own grandmother, and possibly Flight Lieutenant Tibevius Victonius, though the last two wouldn't be completely defenseless or without training; Ellen Ripley was a former United States Navy pilot with a passing familiarity with guns, and had proven her resourcefulness on the Norstromo and LV 426, and Tibevius Victonius was a Turian, plain and simple. There was also Sergeant Rita Vrataski, who was almost three months pregnant with Tip Crowe's son. While she could fight, Shepard had no inclination putting the N3 through combat. Now they had no choice.
"We've got enough tech specialists and biotics to spread around." Cavius Raminion pointed out, mulling it over quickly. "An Asari to each squad, spread the tech evenly, and whoever has the larger squad takes our two civilians around."
"Then I'll take the Protheanologists, along with Tela Vasir, Garrus Vakarian, Rahe'Tarram and Jondum Bau. That'll give me enough heavy-hitters to compliment the fact I've got two nerds running along with me." Shepard declared, seeing the others nod. "Naor should compliment whoever takes Cur Dileed and Porol Lamal. His auto-targeting Spitfires are worth about four of us alone, and I've seen him in simulation; we don't call him 'the Bull' for nothing."
"Then I'll take the Elcor, the Volus, and Porol." Captain Royce Mason replied with a nod of his head. "I'll get Ulla D'veora and Sergeant Hicks. That bloke's as cool as ice."
"I'll absorb the Ripper, Bitch, Vasquez, Daeporm Norban, and the Drell lady." Master Chief Stacy Valentino threw out, making Shepard frown; there wasn't enough biotics to pass around if she took Tela with her. The look must have told, because her Auntie gave her a leveling stare. "I've worked without biotic mumbo-jumbo my entire life, Janey. Another mission without ain't going to kill me. Besides, of the four of us, you have the least experience leading a team, and you need the Blue's experience at your side." The female N7 smiled at her for a moment, as Stacy gave Shepard a friendly pat on her shoulder. "Besides, if I understand it correctly, you two will be much more useful side-by-side than pulled apart." Shepard felt her heart almost stop in her chest. Did… did she know?
"But… how…?"
"Please, Janey, we've known you since you was a lil' Sheila." Royce replied with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "Plus the fact that you can't seem to keep your eyes off of her. Especially recently."
"Je'dai?" Cavius asked, curious, looking right at her. "You must been in the early stages; you haven't known each other that long."
"Gods…" Shepard groaned, covering her face with her hand, unable to believe that this was happening right now. "You… knew?"
"You're not that subtle, Janey." Stacy told her, the smile having gone, but the tenderness was still there. "You two've been practically connected to the hip since we landed on the Citadel, and she's been there for you for… what, seven different assassination attempts? You care for her, and I trust her. Good enough for me."
"I… I'd thought…" She felt her breath coming in ragged and hard, looking at Royce and Stacy, her adopted Aunt and Uncle merely looking back at her, their faces understanding, supportive. "I didn't even know what to say! It's been… it's been so hard for me…"
"I know, 'gel." Royce replied softly, his rugged features softening. "We could tell, and if the Blue makes it easier for you, makes you stand a little taller, makes you smile a little more, then how is it a bad thing? Me, Val, and Ripper talked this over a few weeks ago, and we were just waitin' for you to fight through your own demons before we said anything. You've got our approval, Janey. So does Tela." Shepard couldn't believe what she was hearing, yet… yet they knew and they weren't condemning her! It was as if a ball of stress she never knew existed finally relaxed inside of her. She blinked away the tears that were beginning to burn her eyes, and Cavius, thankfully, pretended to be looking somewhere else.
"Thank you, I…" Shepard was at a loss of words, what she had been fearing proved to be only in her mind. Yes, there would be human that would condemn her no matter what, but those closest to her had her back still. That support meant so much to her, and she couldn't help but feel the love she had for her Uncle Royce and Aunt Stacy, two N's that adopted her just because they could, seeing a little girl with no one else but her Pop. They had probably told her a dozen times why they had done it, but Shepard knew the truth; she was the daughter they never had, the child they would never raised. Like most N's, their lived were fraught with deployments and danger, and most feared leaving behind children too young to understand why mommy and daddy were gone all the time… or just plain gone. To Stacy and Royce, Shepard was a chance to be like a parent, to help raise an orphaned girl whose father's best friend tried to raise the best he could while being an N himself. Perhaps it was out of sympathy, or love, or simple kindness, yet they had done it all the same. When she had agreed to become a Specter, Royce and Stacy had been the first people she told, making Vasquez promise to shut her mouth. Now they were the first to know that she was in love with an alien; a very serious taboo among humans. Yet, they cared, and didn't condemn her. Shepard wiped away at her tears, and she could tell that Tela was feeling what she was feeling through her bond, how her heart had filled with love for the two humans standing in front of her. They know, and they understand… the relief was almost overwhelming.
You have a good family, Jane Shepard. Tela's thought echoed in her mind, and she couldn't help but agree. Honor and cherish it well.
"I was… I was just afraid to say anything." Shepard admitted, feeling embarrassed by it all, especially with Cavius Raminion standing right there, her Specter Instructor standing there with arms folded. "You… you know how we humans can be, and with everything that was going on…"
"Janey, we understand." Stacy said softly, her tone kind. "We don't blame you. I'd be pretty torn if I were in your position. You've got a lot riding on your shoulders, kiddo; the Trial, being a Specter, those fucking assholes trying to bump you off. You found a way through all this mess that makes you happy, keeps you straight and true. Why do you think we follow you, kiddo? Because you need our support as well, some humans that aren't complete fucking jerks. Same with Vas, Hicks, Hudson, and Bitch; we're all here for you. We're not here to remind you that you're human; we're here to remind you that no matter what, there are people that support you, believe in you. Besides," the N7 smile, "we get to tease you behind your back about possible 'nightly' activities. You should hear some of Vasquez's ideas."
"Wai… what? They know?"
"As we said; you ain't subtle." Royce replied, amused. "Think we haven't noticed that Tela hasn't seemed to leave the Tor'jelai the last few days, or how 'early' she was? You're just as bad as you were when you was a teenager. I seem to remember your Auntie catchin' you then, too."
"Okay, so if we're done laugh at me," Shepard huffed, feeling foolish, "we're still stuck in a dead ship in the middle of dead space. Can we keep your perverted thoughts in check so we can figure out what the hell happened to this ship and find a way off of it?"
"Of course." Stacy replied, but by the smirk on her face, Shepard didn't exactly believe her, either.
A/N: There is no 'Yamlat System' in Hades Nexus, as the area was supposedly 'uncharted' in Dead Space, and an 'illegal operation'.
The term 'dead space' actually indicates something else other than the lack of contact-able nodes. If you haven't played the game or have forgotten, then I'm not spoiling it.
Shepard fears space itself, an incident connected from her being a sole survival of the destruction of the SSV Iwo Jima, and being stuck in a one-person lifepod that only allowed her to look out into space for five days. It's been a while since I mentioned this.
While I don't understand why this is true, sound travels better in a thicker fluid. Thus, in water, sound travels not only faster, but better as well than in air. In space, sound is almost completely deadened, though as I understand it, it might be due to so much cosmic interference. But in space, it is true that no one can hear you scream. It does exist as electromagnetic vibrations that can be computed into sounds that we understand, though.
I'm sorry, but Issac Clark, Zach Hammond, and Kendra Daniels are not making it into this story. Neither will 'make-us-whole' Nicole. Good riddance to her.
Asteroids belongs to Atari. I still play it to this day on occasion. Pew-pew-pew!
One hundred kilograms is two-hundred and twenty pounds, for us Americans. A hundred and sixty pound person should find it impossible to drag anything more than their weight, especially dragging it on the ground, adding resistance. Shepard's armor does have motorized joints for such things, though I haven't made mention of them before, an oversight of mine. In ME 1, this was suppose to make your 'smash' damage greater, but wasn't used in ME 2 or 3, especially when there's a melee button. An oversight.
And I made it to where Omnitools need to charge. Seriously, it makes sense. To me, they are fancy tablets with some extraordinary capabilities, but they still need power, and it's not running off of Kool-aid.