Chapter Six
Dr. T'Soni, I Presume?
"Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go"
Kenny Loggins "Danger Zone"
"Come on, let's make a stop on our way back to the ship, I could use a cup of decent coffee," Kate offered as they descended the stairs back down in the garden atrium.
"That place in the presidium near embassy row looked pretty nice," Castle offered., "Tali, you in?"
"You two go ahead," Tali replied, feeling incredibly self-conscious, which thankfully - like most of her secrets - was hidden by her exo-suit. "I need to gather my things from where I've been staying, I'll meet you at the ship."
She didn't tell them that she was essentially homeless, nor was there anything to retrieve. Everything she owned not being held for her by Auntie Rahn back on the flotilla was in the pockets of her suit.
Quarians were not held in high esteem on the Citadel, especially when it came to the shops and restaurants of the presidium. "We don't serve quarians" was a litany she'd heard more than once since she'd arrived. "Suit-rat" was among the less offensive things she'd heard whispered after being turned away. She'd been warned before leaving the flotilla how deeply ingrained in Citadel space the bias against quarians was, but she didn't really believe it until she arrived on the station. Even the volunteers distributing dextro-based food paste at the turian-run homeless shelter on the wards looked at her with contempt.
Though Commander Beckett and Chief Castle seemed nearly oblivious to it, the attraction between the two of them was strong and she didn't want to interfere with their plans. They had both been very kind to her and she didn't want to draw them into her problems so she kept her feelings to herself and tried to appear jovial and upbeat.
Castle and Beckett walked to the public transit port and hopped a shuttle for the embassy wing of the presidium. When they arrived they were held up by an Indian male wearing a conservative suit waving to get their attention.
"Commander Beckett," the man spoke in introduction, the accent of his native India clear in his tired-sounding voice, "my name is Samesh Bhatia. Please forgive the intrusion, but I have nowhere else to turn."
"It's no trouble, Mr Bhatia," Kate replied, her empathy for the clearly grieving man evident in her tone, "what can I do for you?"
"My wife was a Marine with the 212 on Eden Prime," Bhatia replied.
"Wait, the 212?" Castle interjected. "Your wife was Private Nirali Bhatia?" To which Samesh nodded sadly. "I'm Chief Castle, I was her squad leader."
"Chief Castle," Samesh replied, "I am honored by your presence, Nirali spoke of you with great respect."
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Bhatia," Castle offered, straightening to attention, "Nirali was my comm specialist and a damn fine Marine. What can we do for you?"
"The Alliance has not yet released Nirali's body to me. I have tried to appeal to Alliance Command, but so far they have refused my request."
"I can put in a word with the embassy, Mr. Bhatia," Kate offered, "see if I can clear the red tape and speed things along."
"I just want to give my wife a proper funeral, the respect she deserves. I thank you for any help you can offer," Samesh added, "The man in charge of my case is a civilian clerk named Mr. Bosker, when last I saw him, he was in the expensive bar upstairs."
"Nirali's one of my Marines, sir," Castle replied, "The burst she took was meant for me, had our positions been reversed and my daughter were in your shoes, Nirali would do the same."
Castle shook Samesh's hand before he turned smartly and followed Beckett up the stairs, his feet carrying him with military precision. He was on a mission, one final duty to his former squad, which he took very seriously.
The young clerk, Raymond Bosker noticed them as soon as they walked into the bar and hastened to meet them the moment he heard them ask the bartender where they could find him.
"Commander Beckett," Bosker gushed, trying not to stare, "Your appointment as a Council Spectre made for quite the briefing in the Diplomatic Corps! Is there something I can do for you?"
"Yes, there is," Beckett replied smartly, "you can fast track the release of Private Nirali Bhatia's remains to her husband. Immediately."
"Commander," the clerk replied, "nothing would make me happier, but I'm afraid it isn't quite that simple. The wound patterns on her corpse are inconsistent with any type of mass accelerator weapon we've encountered to date. She's one of fifteen casualties from Eden Prime being held over for further testing."
"I don't care how badly the geth mangled her body," Beckett replied, her voice becoming dangerously icy, "it's her husband's right to claim her."
"Commander, the tests being conducted may lead to better defenses against geth weaponry," Bosker replied, squirming just a little, "respectfully, Private Bhatia and the rest of her squad may save more lives in death than they did in life."
This was entirely the wrong thing to say in front of Castle, who was dangerously close to punching the young civilian clerk out. Instead, he reached behind his back to remove a very wicked looking rifle from his left shoulder hard-point and thrust it into Bosker's arms so hard he could hear the huff of breath forced from the man's lungs.
"Wh...what's this?" Bosker husked, as if he'd never held a rifle before, nearly dropping the weapon.
"It's the weapon that killed her," Castle snapped at him angrily, barely controlled rage palpable in his voice and his eyes, "if you'd been willing to get your own hands dirty, you'd have found them scattered all over Eden Prime's spaceport. You want to study something? Study that and release the hold you've placed on the bodies of my Marines so they can be laid to rest with honor."
Castle turned angrily on his heel and marched back out of the cafe without waiting to be dismissed. Beckett glared at the clerk for good measure then followed him out and down the stairs. Her comm beeped with a message on their way down, and she checked her omni-tool to confirm the status of the fallen Marines from Eden Prime.
"Hello again, Commander," Samesh Bhatia greeted, rising from his seat in the Embassy waiting area, "has there been any word?"
"I reminded Mr. Bosker of the debt we owe to the families of our honored dead," Castle replied, "Nirali and the rest of my Marines will be going home to be laid to rest with full honors."
"I received word," Beckett interjected, "they'll be transported to Jump Zero aboard SSV Iwo Jima when it arrives at fifteen hundred. From there, each of them will be transported home. I've taken the liberty of arranging passage and a berth for you on board."
"Thank you for your help, Chief Castle, Commander Beckett," Mr Bhatia replied sadly, "What you have done for me does not bring me happiness, but it may bring me peace."
"Mr. Bhatia," Castle added softly, touching his shoulder to delay him for a moment, "I don't know if this helps, but Nirali loved you very much. She missed your cooking and played your recordings every chance she got."
"I know, Chief Castle," Samesh replied sadly, "but thank you. It is good to hear it again."
Two hours later
The aging Alliance Frigate SSV Iwo Jima slid like a white and blue ghost into the berth adjacent to the Normandy before the gangway and docking clamps locked on. The venerable old warship - one of a dwindling number of vessels that had seen action in the First Contact War still in active service – was standing in to the Citadel as the final port of call before returning to the Sol system. Her final trip home before the scrapyard was now a matter of honor.
Shortly after Normandy's civilian workers from her shakedown cruise climbed the gangway carrying their footlockers and disappeared inside, five Alliance Marines dressed in pin-straight spotless undress uniforms and spit-shined boots marched in grim lockstep down the gangway to meet a cargo loading truck as it slid to a stop on the docking platform. Normandy's crew stopped what they were doing and gathered smartly alongside their ship's gangway.
"Ship's company," Castle barked. "Ten hut!"
Captain Montgomery, XO Beckett and the ship's company of the SSV Normandy snapped to attention as the cargo doors of the loading truck slid open.
"Present... arms!" Castle barked and every right hand swept slowly to their brow. They stood at rigid attention in absolute silence as one by one the Marine honor guard transferred fifteen flag-draped ceramic composite coffins by hand from the loading truck to Iwo Jima's waiting cargo bay. Castle's blue eyes glared fiercely, his only outward show of emotion, the single tear that tracked down his cheek as he bid his last farewell to the men and women he had once led in combat.
When the honor guard reached Samesh Bhatia standing next to his wife's coffin, the officer in charge of the detail snapped to attention, saluted, then turned smartly and stood with him as the detail lifted her coffin and transferred it to the Iwo Jima with the others. With their solemn task completed, the honors detail closed ranks behind Samesh and their Lieutenant and the entire group boarded the ship in slow measured lockstep.
He knew that a Marine would be posted in the cargo bay bearing full arms the entire trip to Jump Zero and from there, each of the fifteen coffins would make the solemn journey to their final resting places with an honor guard. Samesh Bhatia would be looked after as well, carefully tended to under the watchful care of the Marines of SSV Iwo Jima. Castle knew he would be making this trip with them if his presence was not required elsewhere, but his duty to the living superseded that of the dead.
Saren Arterius and his geth had much to answer for and if Master Chief Richard Castle had his way, that answer would be provided downrange at muzzle velocity.
"Order... arms!" Castle barked.
"Dismissed," Captain Montgomery ordered, "all hands, report to departure stations."
As the crew dispersed and went back to their duties, Montgomery stopped Beckett at the sight of Ambassador Bracken stepping off the lift.
"Commander Beckett, I've got important news," Bracken said, "Captain Montgomery has agreed to step down as commanding officer of the Normandy, the ship is yours now."
"She's the perfect ship for your mission," Montgomery told her, "quick, quiet and you already know the crew."
"I spoke to Admiral Hackett," Bracken added, handing her a black box, "he approved my recommendation for a field promotion. Congratulations, Captain Beckett."
Kate stood in shocked silence as she opened the box containing the rank pins and shoulder boards of an Alliance Navy Captain.
"I also have a lead for you," Bracken continued, "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter, Dr. Liara T'Soni, an archaeologist specializing in the Protheans. Her travel itinerary has her excavating Prothean ruins in the Artemis Tau cluster. Given her area of expertise, Benezia might have tried to recruit her. We don't know if she's involved in what her mother's doing - according to my sources they've been estranged for at least a decade - but it couldn't hurt to find her and see what she knows."
"I'll look into it, Ambassador," Kate replied, snapping closed the box bearing her new rank insignia.
"As a Spectre, you answer directly to the Council now," Montgomery told her, "not to us or Alliance Command."
"I'll deal with Saren," Kate replied confidently.
Bracken stopped and looked at his beeping omni-tool, then cleared his throat to prevent any further questions.
"I have an important meeting to attend to," he muttered, as he turned back toward the elevator, "Captain Montgomery can answer any further questions you might have."
"How are you holding up sir?" Kate asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence after Bracken was out of earshot.
"Honestly?" Montgomery muttered. "This isn't how I pictured my military career coming to an end."
"This doesn't feel right," Kate complained, her eyes absently taking in the sleek lines of the Normandy, "I feel like I'm stealing her from you."
"You're a Spectre now," Montgomery replied with conviction., "You need to operate independently, do whatever it takes, not have the crew constantly look over your shoulder for my permission. I had to step aside."
"Any advice for tracking down Saren?" Kate asked.
"Saren's gone," Montgomery stated, which surprised her, "don't even try to find him. If these reapers are out there, they represent the real threat."
"I hate to admit it, but I think I'm with the Council on that one," Beckett replied, "I want to believe Castle, but I'm not sure they exist, at least not anymore."
"That's not a chance we can afford to take," Montgomery countered. "Saren clearly believes they exist, and that he can bargain with them, he wouldn't have pushed it this far if he didn't. If this conduit he's got the geth scouring the galaxy for is the key to bringing them back you have to keep him from getting his hands on it at all costs."
"Yes sir," Kate replied.
"Get your uniform sorted out and we'll officially change over command shortly."
One hour later
Normandy CIC
Captain Kate Beckett appeared in the stairwell door to the CIC, her head up, shoulders set and back straight, but still concealing her misgivings over what she was there to do.
"Attention to orders," Captain Montgomery commanded. Everyone in the CIC stopped what they were doing, turned to face him and snapped to attention. Kate marched smartly up to where Captain Montgomery was standing and saluted.
"I hereby accept command of SSV Normandy," Kate stated clearly, "Captain Montgomery, I relieve you sir."
"Captain Beckett, I stand relieved." Montgomery replied, saluted and stepped aside for her to take her place at the captain's console overlooking the galaxy map, "duty officer, so note in the ship's log."
"Aye sir," the young lieutenant jg at the duty station replied.
Captain Montgomery made his way to the forward lock, laying a hand on the shoulder of everyone - both officer and enlisted - as he passed their station. When he finally reached the airlock, Master Chief Castle snapped to full attention and saluted as the airlock door slid open and the bosun's whistle sounded.
"Captain Montgomery departing," Castle stated.
"Stand ready for departure," Kate commanded, "all stations report in."
"Engine room reports ready," Chief Engineer Adams voice stated through the comm.
"Helm reports ready," Ryan stated through the comm.
The litany of ship's departments reported in crisply, followed by silence as the officers in the CIC waited expectantly for orders.
"Alliance tower has granted departure clearance." Gunnery Chief Hastings reported.
"Retract docking clamps, disengage umbilical and clear all moorings," Kate ordered, "navigational thrusters hold station."
"Thrusters at station keeping," Ryan reported from his seat farther forward on the flying bridge,
"Thrusters back one quarter," Kate ordered. "Dim running lights as we pass the Iwo Jima, then come right ninety degrees as we clear the mag-con field."
"Aye Captain," Ryan replied, his hands dancing over the helm's haptic display "helm answering."
SSV Normandy slid backwards, her running lights dimmed in grim salute to the Iwo Jima and her precious cargo of honored dead as she slipped from her berth. Her lights returned to standard after she cleared the mag-con field. Her wings slid into cruise configuration as her bow swung away from the docking ring toward the nebula and open space.
"Main engines at your command," Adams reported through the comm.
"All ahead one third, Mr. Ryan, take us out," Captain Beckett ordered and Normandy's four vectored-thrust main engines flared to life powering her away from the Citadel.
Kate thumbed the control on her console to put her on the ship's speakers.
"All hands, this is the Captain speaking," Kate began. "We have our orders; find the renegade Saren Arterius and bring him to justice. This may have started with an attack on a human colony in the Traverse, but Saren and his geth followers won't be content to wait on the fringes of Citadel Space for long."
Kate paused for a moment to let her words sink in before she continued.
"For too long our species has stood apart, but now it's time for Humanity to step up and show the rest of the galaxy that we're ready to pull our share of the load. Saren's followers may be waiting for us out in the Traverse, but though we are outnumbered, we must not falter in our duty. Saren must be stopped so we'll do what Marines have always done: adapt, improvise and overcome."
"As Dwight D. Eisenhower said on the eve of the battle for which this ship was named, the eyes of the galaxy are upon us. The hopes of liberty-loving people everywhere - regardless of species - go with us. I have full confidence in each and every one of you to do what is necessary. Semper Fi."
No sooner had Kate cut the audio feed, than she heard Castle bellow from his station, "Ooo rah!" followed shortly by the same response from the bridge crew.
"Set course for the Mass Relay," Kate ordered, "Destination; Artemis Tau cluster. Mister Pressly you have the deck, inform me when we reach the PNR for the Artemis Tau relay."
"Aye Captain," the newly minted XO replied, replacing Kate at the command console before she departed the CIC and took the stairs down to the Captain's cabin to unpack.
Normandy Captain's Cabin
Kate had no sooner finished unpacking her things, including her mother's ceramic elephant family on parade which she placed on her desk that she heard the door chime.
"Come," she called out, to find a young woman waiting in the doorway when it slid open.
"Captain Beckett, do you have a minute?" the noncom asked tentatively.
"I keep an open-door policy, chief..." Kate asked.
"Gunnery Chief Hastings, ma'am." Ann Hastings offered, standing in the doorway at full attention.
"Hastings, if my Aunt Teresa comes aboard, you can call her ma'am. Call me sir or captain."
"Yes, Captain," Hastings replied.
"As you were," Kate stated, "come in."
Hastings stepped crisply in the doorway and stood in front of Kate's desk at parade rest. "Permission to speak freely, Captain."
"Granted, Chief Hastings," Kate offered, "speak your mind."
"All right," Hastings began tentatively, not sure how she would be received, "I know things are different on the Normandy with you being a Council Spectre and all, but I'm concerned about the aliens – Vakarian, Wrex and the quarian. With all due respect, sir, I'm not sure whether they should have unfettered access to the ship."
"They may not serve the Alliance, Gunny," Kate replied, "but they're our allies, at least for this mission anyway."
"This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy, sir," Hastings continued, "are you sure they should have free reign to poke around the vital systems... engines, sensors, weapons?"
"Are you saying we shouldn't trust our allies?" Kate asked, wanting to get to the bottom of Hastings' concerns.
"I'm not saying we should turn down allies, sir, I'm just not sure we should be so quick to call them "allies". We - humanity I mean - have to learn to stand up for ourselves."
"Hastings, I'm guessing you haven't had much experience working with aliens, have you?" Kate asked rhetorically. "Standing up for ourselves doesn't necessarily mean standing alone."
"No, sir," Hastings replied, "Until I cross trained in ops this past year, I served mainly in the surface garrison forces. Closest I'd been to a space posting before that was my rotation at Jump Zero for combat training - every Marine a rifleman, every rifleman zero gee certified - so no, I haven't served around many aliens."
"All right, Hastings, I can see where your concerns are coming from, but Captain Montgomery didn't go in for any of that Terra Firma "go it alone" claptrap on this ship and neither will I. This is a multilateral mission so you're gonna have to suck it up, Marine and work with aliens whether you like it or not, understood?"
Hastings snapped to attention and saluted.
"Sir, yes sir!" she replied, "It won't be a problem, sir! You tell me to jump and I'll ask you "how high?" You tell me to kiss a turian and I'll ask "which cheek?", sir!"
"I don't think kissing turians will be necessary, Gunny," Kate demurred. "but before you discount our non-human shipmates out of hand, you may want to try getting to know them first. Dismissed."
Four Hours Later
After three mass relay jumps, the Normandy burst through the Artemis Tau relay into normal space. Kate - who had since returned to the CIC – stood at the command console behind the galaxy map and waited as all stations secured from relay transit.
"Signal contact, Captain!" Gunnery Chief Hastings exclaimed, "Bearing: two four zero, LIDAR silhouette matches geth ship profiles from Eden Prime... size suggests a cruiser!"
"Sound general quarters!" Kate ordered. "Set condition one throughout the ship, engage IES stealth system and go to silent running."
Alarm klaxons sounded throughout the ship and the Normandy VI's calm female voice began to drone:
"General quarters, general quarters all hands man your battle stations. This is not a drill. All stations go to silent running, condition one is in effect."
Normandy's emission sinks initialized and all non-critical heat generating systems were shut down. Within seconds, her heat and EM emissions were reduced to zero. Ship's lighting dimmed and the CIC lighting switched to red.
"Action stations, torpedo," Kate ordered, "load forward tubes one and two with disruptor torpedoes tubes three through six with anti-ship munitions and plot firing solution. Aft torpedo tubes load silver bullets Stand ready GUARDIAN defense grid. Mister Ryan, take us in, slow and quiet, get us as close as you can. We need to take that cruiser out on our first pass or or it'll cut us to pieces."
"As long as we don't start broadcasting the Russian National Anthem, I'll take us right down its throat," Ryan joked, but nobody laughed.
"Fifteen hundred kilometers and closing," Hastings reported.
"Fire control reports torpedo bays one through six ready in all respects." XO Pressly stated tersely
"Targeting solution plotted and locked into fire control computer, GUARDIAN defense grid on standby."
"One thousand kilometers," Hatings reported.
"Open outer doors, set forward torpedo tubes to ripple-fire mode," Kate ordered, "spread pattern Sierra."
"Five hundred kilometers," Hastings reported, "at present speed we are fifteen seconds from visual targeting range."
"Torpedo guidance locked." Pressly reported, "we have tone."
"Two hundred fifty kilometers," Hastings reported, "now entering visual acquisition range."
"Drop stealth mode and activate GUARDIAN defense grid on my mark," Beckett ordered,
"One hundred fifty kilometers, now entering knife fight range," Hastings reported, "zero aspect change on target."
"Fire torpedoes! Emergency starboard!" Kate ordered. "Hard over!"
"Torpedoes away!" Pressly reported. "Running hot straight and normal."
Six torpedoes streaked from Normandy's forward torpedo tubes before Ryan banked the ship hard to starboard to bring her aft tubes to bear, straining the ship's artificial gravity in the process.
The two disruptor torpedoes detonated ten meters from the hull clouding the sensors for the cruiser's defense grid seconds before the four anti-ship "silver bullets" struck home at a forty-five degree angle to the insectoid-looking geth cruiser's primary hull and detonated in sequence. The last torpedo's warhead took the cruiser's mass effect core with it, tearing the ship nearly in two.
"Four direct hits amidships!" Hastings shouted. "we have secondaries."
Cheers went up in the CIC for the Normandy's first combat victory, her stealth system having allowed her to get in close enough to punch well out of her weight class. Secondary explosions wracked the geth cruiser as it lost structural integrity and began to break up.
"Enemy cruiser breaking up, no escape pods detected," Hastings reported and suddenly the CIC went quiet. The geth cruiser may have been an enemy vessel crewed by synthetics, but destroying another ship and wiping out her crew never felt entirely like a victory. It was what separated organics from synthetics, after all... empathy. Every crew of every warship that ever sailed into combat knew that one day it might be their number that came up. Such were the fortunes of war.
"LIDAR scan reveals no other ships in the area," Hastings reported.
"Stand down from silent running and vent the heat sinks," Kate ordered, "Prepare for orbital insertion. Castle, Esposito, Vakarian, report to the Mako for combat drop. Mr. Pressly, you have the deck."
As Castle, Beckett, Esposito and Garrus climbed into the Mako, Castle felt slightly confused about the seating arrangements. Kate was at the Mako's controls, when typically the commander held the turret seat and the crew chief had the driver's seat. When Kate caught his questioning look she shrugged and said "I like to drive."
With that logistical issue settled, Castle slid into the seat next to hers which annoyed Esposito slightly. Garrus slid into the gunner's seat Kate had left vacant and muttered something about "calibrations" while they strapped in and Kate powered up the Mako's systems.
"M-35 Mako serial number 11438 powering up," The Mako's AI reported dutifully, "Element zero core one hundred percent - initializing mass effect field. Environmental systems engaged. Primary drop thrusters nominal. Fire control system active. Kinetic barriers in standby mode."
"Transferring core control to Mako," XO Pressly reported. "Drop profile nominal, landing zone targeted, approach vector locked in. Launch catapult engaged and locked on."
There was a slight rumble as Normandy's artificial gravity gave way to Therum's just before the cargo bay's forward ramp slid down and locked, giving them a view of the geologically active surface of the planet getting closer as the ship dropped from the sky to put them on their drop coordinates.
"Drop in ten seconds," Pressly noted, "nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... drop!"
"One express elevator to hell," Castle snarked just before the catapult system engaged, gaining him an eye-roll from Kate, "going down!"
The Mako burst from the cargo bay and the landing thrusters fired, easily countering the vehicle's artificially reduced mass. Within ten seconds they soft-landed on the surface of Therum with a barely noticeable jolt when all six wheels made contact with the surface and rolled to a stop with twenty feet to spare.
"Transferring coordinates for the Prothean ruins to your navigational computer," Hastings noted, "good hunting, Captain."
"Keep IES on standby in case the geth come looking for their cruiser," Kate ordered as she set the Mako in motion toward their objective, "I'd rather not become a permanent resident on this rock."
"Understood, Captain," Pressly replied, "reducing EM emissions, IES to stand-by."
The ride to the Prothean ruins hadn't been exactly a smooth one, due not just to the to the heavy volcanic activity, but the presence of geth armature and colossus class units which sought to eliminate or delay them. It had been pretty slow going until they reached an outcropping that the Mako could not squeeze through without giving away their position.
They set the Mako to automatic defense mode and moved with Castle on point into the chasm. Thankfully the same Chasm that had kept the Mako out also kept the armature class heavy units from moving effectively as well, so they faced mostly standard, bipedal geth platforms. With their massed firepower and some well-placed sniper shots courtesy of Garrus, they were able to fight their way to the access ports leading to the ruins, only to be stopped short by the presence of a massive geth colossus.
Each of them dove for cover as the massive, sauropod-shaped colossus opened up with the MAC cannon in its head.
"Op-six to Normandy," Kate called out out, transmitting it's location with her omni tool. "Target: geth walker! One hundred meters magnetic south of our position, target painted, fire for effect!"
Seconds later, a single disruptor torpedo streaked down out of the sky and the colossus and it's defensive screen were enveloped by its short range EMP field. Though that class of weapon had been initially designed to fry a warship's GUARDIAN defense grid, it clearly had a similar effect on geth neural processes. Kate was certain that if the thing were studied, it's memory core would be fried just as effectively.
Resistance was minimal after entry into the complex set up by the archaeology team to protect the ruins, only a few geth platforms, who seemed to be more easily defeated now that there were fewer of them. Something that Tali had mentioned in the notes she had provided about how the geth were created. That they gained intelligence and complexity with numbers. When said numbers were reduced, they lost that. After descending two levels they approached the main Prothean ruins when a quiet, definitely female voice called out to them from the bottom of a set of stairs.
"Uh... hello? Can you hear me out there? I am trapped and I need help!"
Beckett and her team carefully descended the debris-laden staircase toward the sound of the voice, to find a single Asari. Her lithe feminine curves in the tight jumpsuit she wore were somehow accentuated by being suspended spread-eagle in the air by what appeared to be a security force field. Esposito seemed to be having a hard time moving his eyes up to meet her blue skinned face.
"Dr. T'Soni, I presume?" Castle and Beckett stated almost in unison, then looked at each other quizzically.
"Do they practice this stuff?" Garrus whispered to Esposito, who shrugged.
"Thank the Goddess!" Liara exclaimed, as the squad moved in closer, "I did not think that anyone would come looking for me! I am trapped in some sort of Prothean security security field. I cannot move so I need you to find a way inside the Prothean complex to get me out."
"How did you end up in there?" Kate asked.
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here." Liara replied, her concern for her predicament temporarily overridden by scientific excitement "Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the veil!"
"I figured out how to activate the tower's defenses. The barrier curtains successfully kept them at bay, but when I turned them on, I must have touched something I was not supposed to, or got the sequence wrong. The tower's defenses must have perceived me as a threat and the security field trapped me here. You must get me out! Please!"
"Your mother is working with the Saren and the geth," Kate replied tersely, not sure why she was suddenly overcome with a twinge of jealousy, "Who's side are you on, exactly?"
"What?" Liara exclaimed, almost insulted by the reference to her mother, "I am not on anyone's side! We had a falling out - as you humans put it – over my chosen field of study I have not spoken to her in years!"
It was clear to Kate that that struck a nerve in Castle, she saw his body language shift. No longer looking at the beautiful Asari lustfully, but a more paternal, protective expression she rarely saw displayed on his features. She knew he had a daughter and the mother was not in the picture – that much was in his personnel file - and wondered, not for the first time what sort of falling out had taken place there.
"Please," Liara pleaded, which clearly had Castle's full attention, "just get me out of here. There is a control panel in here that will disable the security field, you just have to find a way past the barrier curtain. But be warned, there is a Krogan with the geth who has been testing the defenses, trying to get inside."
"Sit tight," Castle offered, trying to be supportive, "we'll see what we can do!"
With that, they moved farther down the ramp toward the remains of the science team's camp, where the bodies of the asari and salarian archaeology and geology teams still lay sprawled where they fell. The few remaining geth guarding the camp were easily swept aside.
Castle stopped to examine the excavation laser. From the notes left by the geological team leader in it's control interface console, it was clear that the magma encrusted tower discovered by the geologic survey team was seated in a region of tectonic instability and likely had been abandoned in a hurry near the time of the Prothean extinction given how complete the ruins were. The laser had already been primed to create an easier path to what had once been the original ground level. Likely to create a ramp to the tower's garage to get their heavier equipment inside. With a few tweaks to the mining laser's targeting computer Castle set it to bore through the wall of the complex, closer to Dr. T'Soni's location and set the firing program.
The mining laser activated and it's limited VI program ran the allotted burst to carve out a smooth slope down to one of the lower floors of the tower and cut through the wall before it stopped. While the rock and metal cooled, everybody took the chance to perform armor repairs before they descended into the complex.
The comparison between the camp and the ancient Prothean geothermal complex was as different as night and day. The corridors were dimly lit, the only sound a calm voice that droned in an alien language they assumed was Prothean - likely an intruder alert warning given Dr. T'Soni's current predicament - the flavor of which was similar enough to the voices in his dreams to fill Castle with an ominous sense of dread, which he did his best to hide.
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the light touch of Kate's hand at his shoulder.
"Easy, Castle," she whispered as they ascended a set of stairs leading up to where they had last seen Dr. T'soni, "look sharp."
When they finally swept the room, Castle saw Dr. T'soni, her back turned to them, still suspended in mid-air. It took a moment for her to realize they were there.
"How... how did you get in?" Liara asked almost incredulously, "I did not think there was any way past the barrier curtains."
"Your survey team had a mining laser set up," Beckett replied, "we used it to cut our way into one of the lower floors."
"Yes, of course," Liara nodded, "my team was planning to excavate a path to the garage. From what little I could translate, this site had been plagued by tectonic instability since the Prothean era. It was only a matter of time before the tower was buried again, or destroyed and there was too much working Prothean technology here to lose, but there is no time for that now. That console over there should shut down the security field. We need to move quickly before the geth discover your handiwork and find us."
Castle looked over the console - despite the jumble of images in his brain, it seemed... familiar somehow. His fingers found the right sequence almost without conscious thought and the security field holding Liara prisoner cut out, dropping the stunningly beautiful asari archaeologist unceremoniously to the deck with a loud "oof" before she gathered herself to her full height, only slightly taller than Beckett.
"Dr. T'Soni," Kate asked brusquely, "we don't have a lot of time. How do we get out of this place?"
"There is a cargo lift in the center of the tower," Liara replied, "or at least I think it is a cargo lift. It should take us to the top of the tower and the exit shaft of the upper dig-site. Come on, I will show you."
Kate waved her to the front of the line, wary to have her so close to Castle for reasons her own brain could not seem to process, she rejected the idea of jealousy though the green eyed monster was clearly evident, had anyone been able to see her eyes behind the visor of her helmet.
"I still cannot believe all of this," Liara commented as the lift moved slowly up to the top of the tower, "Why would the geth come after me? Do you really think that Benezia is involved?"
"Saren's looking for something called "the conduit," Kate replied coolly, "and you are a Prothean expert."
"The conduit?" Liara asked, a blank look on her face, "But I have never found any evidence to support..."
Suddenly the entire tower shook, causing the light in the elevator to flicker.
"What the hell?" Garrus swore, though it was clear that Esposito wasn't far behind with a few choice Spanish epithets of his own.
"These ruins are not seismically stable," Liara offered "one of the reasons the archaeology team was considering cutting into the tower was to secure as many artifacts as possible for study before it could be destroyed. The initial geth bombardment and the use of the mining laser may have prematurely triggered a major seismic event. If the next quake is strong enough, the surrounding basalt may cave in and destroy the tower."
Kate swore under her breath before she keyed her comm. "Op-six to Normandy, we need emergency evac. Lock onto my signal and get down here on the double!"
"Aye Aye, Captain," Pressly replied, "eta, eight minutes!"
The lift shuddered to a stop at the uppermost floor it could reach just before the power fluctuated again. Before they could get moving, however, they were confronted by a squad of geth platforms lead by the Krogan battlemaster Liara had warned them about.
"Surrender!" The krogan bellowed. "Or don't, that would be more fun!"
Beckett's shoulders tensed and her eyes narrowed, clearly not of a mind to surrender. Esposito recognized the fire in her eyes. He had seen much the same expression when she took command of the garrison on Elysium and the young, poorly trained militia volunteers began to panic and talk about falling back. He remembered her No retreat, no surrender speech by heart. Last he heard every school age child on Elysium memorized it with the same reverence as the Gettysburg Address.
"This whole place is about to come down around our ears!" Kate barked at the krogan.
"I know," the big reptilian alien replied. "Exhilarating isn't it?"
"We don't have time for this shit," Kate growled, "charge and lock!"
Castle charged biotics and ejected his spent thermal clip as the the others readied their weapons, forming a defensive phalanx around the Asari civilian, who knelt behind the lift console and raised a protective barrier.
"Heh, heh, heh," The Krogan chuckled menacingly, as he motioned for the geth at his flank to attack, "I like your attitude."
The double strength geth squad spread out quickly, dividing their fire, their unintelligible stuttering clicks reminding Castle of homicidal metallic dolphins. He burst forward in a biotic charge, unleashing a shock-wave into this path as he went, sending three geth flying like bowling pins. Garrus backed him up with well-aimed rifle fire as Beckett and Esposito hammered away with their rifles at the other geth from the cover of Liara's biotic barrier.
The krogan turned and faced down Castle, ignoring the firefight between his geth and the others behind him.
"Never faced a human biotic before," he rumbled, "not as disappointing as I'd thought."
"You'll find that I'm full of surprises!" Castle shot back as he faked a biotic charge and dive-rolled under the krogan's warp pulse - making the large alien turn awkwardly to keep sight of him - directly into the singularity Liara opened in the spot behind him that Castle had vacated.
"Impressive..." The krogan rumbled, right before his barrier cut out and he was dragged to his death in the singularity's gravity well.
No sooner had the geth been defeated, the seismic tremors in the corridor began in earnest. Alert klaxons sounded and the sense of urgency in the alien voice in the corridors increased just before the power cut out entirely, the magma in the pocket having enveloped the tower's barely functional reactor. The lights went out and the barrier curtains cut out as everyone followed Liara through the maze of corridors and collapsing stairwells until they finally reached daylight and the waiting Normandy, her cargo bay opened for them to jump from the from the gantry to safety just before the entire facility was enveloped in molten lava.
The Normandy streaked for open space and then made her best speed for the Mass Relay.
"Too close, Captain, sir," Ryan quipped, "the Normandy wasn't designed to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull... just for future reference."
Flight Lieutenant Kevin Ryan was one of the best pilots in the Alliance Navy - ruined knee or not - and she knew he meant no actual disrespect, but Captain Beckett was beginning to understand why he gave Roy Montgomery migraines.
**Author's note** I wasn't originally going to use the scene featuring Samesh Bhatia here, (it was slated for a later chapter) but after the disrespectful actions of a certain presidential candidate toward a Gold Star Family, I felt it necessary to include it sooner in honored memory of Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan, United States Army.
The families of our servicemen and women who fall in combat deserve our unconditional support and respect for what their loved ones have unflinchingly sacrificed for this nation regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, religion or nation of origin. Anyone who cannot respect that does not deserve to be commander in chief. Period. Full stop.
Honor the fallen.