"-and that's how I ended up with a scar on my ass!"
Riotous laughter in varying octaves broke out on the far side of the garage as Ashley dug through her locker. Normally turians and krogan made for strange bedfellows but they weren't there for each other right now. They were all gathered together around a small human woman, leaning against the side of her Mako and grinning like a coyote.
The little inter-species gang had become a common sight in the garage. Too common if you asked Ashley. She didn't hate the aliens but you had to be careful with them. Your own people always had to come first; every other species in the galaxy did it so humans shouldn't be any different. Jane Glenn just had a different view on things. The aliens liked her... too much in some cases she thought, eyeing the young turian man with the blue tattoos sitting beside her friend. He'd been getting very close indeed... A frown drew hard over her face, dark brows furrowing. She had damn good reasons to be concerned for her.
Ash sidled past them on her way towards the elevators, but while the krogan and the turians paid her no mind someone else did and as she pushed the button to head up Jane jogged up beside her.
"Heading up for some food?"
Despite herself she cracked a smile. "If that's what they're calling it these days."
Everything stayed lighthearted as they rode up and settled into the abandoned mess with their rations for the day, but after a few silent minutes of eating Ashley came to a decision and looked up across the table. "We need to talk Jane."
The woman made an unintelligible sound through a mouth of what was suppose to be re-hydrated potatoes before stopping to swallow. "Let me guess, this is about my friends."
"You have to be more careful around them, keep them at a distance. They're not like us, you can't trust them that easily."
A chuckle rolled off her tongue and Jane shook her head. "I grew up on my own in a shitty neighborhood Ash, I don't trust anyone easily. But Wrex is a hell of a guy and Solana's unit is made up of good people who happen to be turians. You should try talking to them sometime." A shrug and she went back to digging into her MRE.
"You talk to them too much." she warned, lines drawing hard on her olive face. "Fighting on the same side with them is one thing but you've gone way beyond that. That Vakarian guy?"
Jane grinned and took a slug of instant coffee. "What about him? He's smart, funny, a hell of a shot, and that voice... I'm telling you as soon as he makes a move that lets me know he's interested I am gonna rock his world. I'm pretty sure he's good for it but you can't take body language for granted with a different species..." Halfway through she started staring off into the distance with the haphazard grin of the infatuated and Ashley shook her head. She was still considering whether to argue the point further when a call went out over the coms for a meeting.
As soon as Ash walked into the room her warning bells were going off. Spectre Arterius stood at the far end with all the pleasantry of the grave, his eyes resting on no one in particular. She and Jane settled by their fellow humans, the krogan and Spectre Kryik nearby.
Once everyone was there their dear Commander didn't waste any time, cutting right to the point and Jesus his voice was as cold as his face. "Noveria is under attack by Shepard's geth. We are going in force to stop this now. There will be three groups on the ground: Vakarian, I want your people to do as much damage to their forces as you can, keep them distracted. Kryik and Alenko will be escorting Tali'Zorah to the Administrator's office to attempt to regain control of the security systems. I will be going after Shepard directly with Urdnot Wrex and Williams."
He said something after that about the remaining human soldiers staying on the Normandy in case of an attempted boarding action but she couldn't hear it over the suspicion that exploded in her mind. He wanted her in his group? The turian who trusted her as far as he could throw her and would have left her to rot in isolation wanted her to have his back? Something was going on here.
...but on the other hand they were going after Shepard. She still woke up soaked in sweat some nights dreaming about being trapped in that dark room full of dead civilizations as a low humming noise clawed at the back of her skull trying to get in.
You know what? Whatever the Spectre was playing at she could handle it. Bring it on. Arterius wrapped up his speech and she left to suit up with her head held high.
How was it, Saren wondered, that the drop from orbit always felt far more smooth than the Mako's actual ride? Such difference in magnitude yet the relatively short drive between their landing point and where they would be entering Port Hanshan was... excruciating.
Judging by the faces around him the sentiment was vastly shared. Alenko and Zorah both looked ill with Williams doing marginally better. Nihlus was too much of a professional to complain. But Urdnot Wrex took it all in stride, sitting up front with the driver and carrying on a conversation as if she wasn't snapping around obstacles like a madwoman. As he recalled the mercenary had outright grinned upon hearing who was diving them...
Saren permitted himself a brief mandible flick; that answered it, the woman was a krogan in human form. Yes she had proven her worth on Therum by saving their lives but Spirits she would end up killing them all by falling down the side of a glacier if she kept this up.
Contact with Obstinatus confirmed that the strike team was ready and waiting to move in the central entrance to the Port. He gave them the go ahead and trusting Vakarian and her people to do their job they disembarked to make final approach to the garage on foot. Alenko lingered at the tank, lines drawn in his fleshy face. "Jane you be-"
"Careful is for people who don't have Makos." She said, small square teeth showing as she leaned out the window. "I'll be fine Kaidan, I'll be running those fuckers over before they know what hit them. Godspeed ladies and gentlemen! Call me when you need a ride!" The tank exited at that, leaving them alone in the darkness. Tali'Zorah and Nihlus immediately began hacking the door as the rest of them stood guard.
Williams still held her charade for now. Bringing her had been a calculated risk as it would he a difficult enough mission without traitors at his back as well as enemies at his front. Yet the opportunity to damage Shepard's Sovereign with the device he'd implanted in the human's omnitool was one he could not pass on. He would simply need to keep an eye on her, and trust Urdnot to do so when he could not. Mercenary he may be but the man had been nothing but straightforward with him since Tuntau. If Wrex said he would watch his back, it would be done.
At the door's opening the two groups split, Nihlus taking his two left towards a quick exit into the maintenance paths. There was no need for either of them to send back farewells or worrying glances. Each trusted the other and their skills far too much by now to need that. Saren's group was deep in the bowels of the garage when they spotted a patrol of five geth moving quickly in a cluster with enough leeway to take cover unnoticed. He was sighting them from behind a limousine plotting the best time to drop a singularity on the group when there was a sound Saren hadn't heard in thirty years- the crack of an Armax M-6 Scorpio
The shot cleanly shattered the optics of the rocket trooper in the center of the group, severing something vital and dropping it. When the remaining geth snapped towards the direction of the sniper they left themselves open with their heavy fire downed; Saren gestured his squad forward and they took out the remaining synthetics with the help of their unseen ally.
When that was finished however Spectre kept in cover with his eyes trained in the direction of the shots. "I am here on authority of the Council, show yourself."
"Just give me a minute to get down there. I'm not as spry as I used to be." called down a turian from somewhere above. Despite the claim the man who climbed down from the sniper nest moved quite well, though by the look of him he was well into his 11th decade. "So you're the rescue party?"
"In a manner of speaking." Saren stood at last. The sniper blinked twice, looking closely before flaring his mandibles in a grin.
"Well I'll be damned. You're General Arterius' little brother." He shifted a bit, tapped his chin. "Or not so little now. Pardon the disrespect. I knew your old man back in the service and the last time I met you your mother was still carrying you. Damn shame they're all gone."
"Yes." He kept his demeanor carefully controlled. He was an expert in it after all, it was simple to ignore the curious eyes on his back. "Spectre Saren Arterius. We are here to put this incursion down."
"Lilihierax Karos, head mechanic. I can't tell you much of what happened, I was in here working for a client and minding my own business when everything went ass-up. Been hiding out and killing whatever shows up since. Luckily I keep this old girl in my office" and he patted the rifle on his back. "Never should have put her out of service. She can be touchy but if you've got a steady hand she'll never let you down."
After that they blessedly got down to business. The mechanic knew little about the situation outside the garage but he told them everything he did, and he was able to give them the contacts of the people he believed would be capable of holding their own and helping out. The discussion was cut short at the end by a sudden flash of the old man's omnitool.
"Karos! Get back up here, something's coming!"
"Keep an eye on it until I get there. 'Scuse me Spectre." Saren's head snapped up and began scanning the area anew as the old man sprinted up the ladder quick as a flash. A few moments later a short ranged open-contact call pinged on his omni.
"Looks like just three of them. Lorik and I can handle this, you go on your way and do what you have to. Spirits guide you, you have some damn good ones on your path."
The Spectre cut out communication after that; enough had been said already. At a gesture the squad moved quickly through the remainder of the garage into the main expanse of Port Hanshan. Shepard would be here somewhere. It fit the way the human had operated his entire career, always at the front of the situation. And Saren had no intentions of letting him leave.
"On your flank Solana!"
"Got it. Livitus watch your heat gauge!"
"Not a lot of time for that fearless leader! Need a little help here!"
"On it." Both eyes snapped towards the soldier in question and the hopper tearing after him. Between the targeting system over his eye feeding him data and his own substantial skills he lined up the shot and shattered the thing's slender spine in a matter of seconds.
"Nice one G!"
"Same to you Sol!" Garrus laughed back to his sister's call sign. Gunfire was everywhere in the commons but his Unit was holding strong, his position over the battlefield was perfect and it was simple to tell that they were just as well placed.
"Like picking off rats in a barn." That one wasn't from the coms but from his companion behind him, probably still propped up with her pistol in the same spot as when they'd found her. She'd been shot up and worn down but still killing every Geth she could see.
"Never heard of them. Are rats anything like sectu?"
"Hell if I know." Parisini replied. "You people have a plan besides just shooting everything, right?"
Garrus focused on another target, a trooper that had been gaining on Tarquin while he was remaking his drone. Breathe, stabilize, aim. A crack from his rifle and the synthetic was spun around at an angle to get double-tapped by Aella's pistol and Hestia's assault rifle to take it down for the count. "All in good time."
She was really growing to hate the salarian. No matter how many times he was told to shut up and sit down he kept yelling about 'Council overreach' and 'I'm calling the Union about this' and 'my time is precious and you're wasting it' and 'this is an inexcusable breach of privacy!' And his voice was so annoying it was throwing off her hacking.
After the third time a whining outburst shook her out of her groove Tali had had enough.- she whipped her shotgun off her back and pointed it straight at the Administrator where he was backed up against the wall.
"I'm trying to do delicate work her to save all of our lives here, and you're interrupting it. So one more word Pinky and I put rounds in your head until it hits cool down. Understood?"
The salarian blinked rapidly, indignation clear on his face. He was just opening his mouth to protest when the broad side of an assault rifle gave him a love-tap that knocked him out for the count. Tali looked up to see Spectre Kryik standing over him.
"Just minimizing the paperwork. Please continue Miss Zorah." He gave her a brief smile at that that made her blush so bright she worried it might show through her helmet. Keelah he was so handsome! And here she was working with him! And that human with the cute butt too! Ooh Auntie would never believe her when she-
Programming, yes programming! Tali shook her head sharply and put her shotgun away. Work now, girly tizzies later when everyone wasn't being shot at. A quick breath to get herself back on focus and she settled back down for some serious cyber warfare.