A/n: Short chapter is really short. Sorry for that but like Odyssey I have decided not to restrict myself to word counts. I wanted to Thank ObsG and MiizBHavvin for their reviews. I really appreciate them. It makes me eager to continue the story.
On another note, is there anything in particular you guys wanna see? I'm just writing it as it comes to me and/or my room mate. Let me know
-brittsis
"I have a theory on what happened." Edi spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "The Commander and I spoke of something like this. An alternate universe similar but different than ours. I believe that we jumped the barrier between our universes while trying to out run the catalyst's beam."
"Ca… can we get back?" Tali asked hesitantly.
Edi stood still for several minutes, possibilities running through her head. Everyone watched her waiting for the answer. "I do not believe so. It took pushing the Normandy past her limits, the power of the catalyst, and the mass relays to make the jump.
Liara hung her head, eyes closed to the tears that threatened to fall. She could hear the grief set in around her. They'd never get home. They were stuck here, isolated from everyone they loved. Liara would never see Alarice again, not the woman she loved. The one standing in front of her was a pale imitation, a copy.
"With the exception of Edi, you are all invited to come back to…"
"I'm not going anywhere without her!" Joker bellowed, pushing himself from the table. "She's belongs with us."
Shepard frowned, "Then you can stay here with her. I can't allow an AI on my base."
"We trust her with our live Commander." Kaidan spoke up. "Surely we can come to an understanding."
Shepard shook her head. "I have to think of my people. They've lost everything to synthetics. The reason we are hiding on uncharted planets and barren wastelands are to get away from her kind. I cannot allow her into my camp."
"Then we aren't going." Joker growled.
"You can't stay here. If the Geth were to make a sweep they'd find the Normandy and come for you." Shepard warned. "I cannot risk the safety of my people."
"There has to be a compromise." Traynor spoke up. "What if we…."
"Shadow Broker, we have receive a reply to our hails." Taylor was interrupted as Glyph came flying into the room.
Shepard jumped, pulled her pistol, and had the drone in her sights before Glyph finished talking. Only years of discipline kept her from pulling the trigger. Her eyes narrowed as she growled out. "What did that thing say?"
Liara's eyes snapped open and she rushed from the room, Shepard hot on her heals. Liara paced the elevator as it made it's slow crawl to the lower levels.
"What is going on?" Shepard grabbed her, pinning her to the side of the elevator.
"Before we met you, before we knew what was going on, we were sending regular hails on all channels." Liara managed out, eyes wide at the fury in the other woman's eyes.
"YOU WHAT!" Shepard yelled out.
"We didn't know!" Liara cried out.
"Do you know what you've done?" Shepard was shaking with fury now.
"We didn't know!" Liara repeated, flinching when Shepard yelled in fury and pushed her away.
The doors opened and they both hurried to Liara's quarters. One of the monitors was alive, data flowing through it. What ever had caught their signal was answering in series of codes that Liara didn't recognize. Before she could go to the keyboard Shepard raised her pistol and shot each of the monitors and the central system.
"A bunch of fucking idiots." Shepard cursed and stormed from the room. "We've got company coming T'Soni. I suggest you get your crew and gear up."
There had been no time for arguing. Shepard gathered their crew and escorted them to her base, Edi in two. She had insisted that the AI dress in armor, hoping that it would lessen the shock her presence would cause. They filed through the underground tunnel and emerged into a large chamber. The Normandy couldn't help but gawk at the city underground. Building had been carved into the rock, providing housing for the hundreds of people that moved about. Shepard had pulled a guard aside and issued some orders before the young girl when running off.
"This is… it's…" Traynor stumbled on her words.
"It's going to burn if we don't win." Shepard growled before beckoning them to followed.
They moved through the streets, Shepard stopping here or there to issue orders. As word spread panic and fear took it's grip. Parents rushed their younger kids inside while the older kids were given weapons. Anyone older than fifteen was armed and sent to the gates, ready to fight the incoming enemy.
"You arm the children?" Liara asked, dismayed by the prospect.
Shepard nodded, not stopping. "Anyone older than fifteen and younger than one hundred is armed. They out number us fifteen to one T'Soni, we need as many fighters as we can get."
"But they're only children."
Shepard stopped, turning to her. "My advisors wanted us to arm anyone older than ten. If their hands can wrap around a pistol they were to be armed and sent onto the field. The smaller the target, the harder they are to hit. Look around you T'Soni. We're at war with things far more resilient and smarter than we are."
Liara hung her head, admitting defeat. Shepard took a couple deep breaths before turning on her heals and continuing. They remained silent until they reached commander center. Soldiers moved around in a hurry, screaming their orders. A single screen was on, a green line circling around. A couple large dots emerged as the line passed them.
"What do we have Lieutenant?" Shepard asked as she stood besides Hunter who was hunched over the machine.
"Looks like two carriers, a couple cruisers, and two dozen fighters." Hunter growled out. "What the hell happened Commander?"
Shepard looked over their shoulder at them before turning back to her second in command. "An unfortune mistake. Did Quinn get out?"
Hunter nodded. "She left ten minutes around. Going to hide on the moon until the bastards pass her then head for the next outpost."
Shepard sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Suit up Lieutenant, we're in for a fight."
"Will you be up there Ma'am?"
Shepard grinned, teeth flashing dangerously. "I'll be in the trees with the sun at my back. Pick off a few bastards before they can skin your ass."
Hunter laughed, "We'll see Commander." He saluted her before pushing through the room toward the armory.
"Tali, you and Edi are staying here." Shepard replied moving toward a locker and unlocking it.
"What! I can fight!" Tali protested, pulling her shotgun out.
"No you can't." Shepard pulled out her rifle, checking it's sights.
"With all due respect Comm…."
Shepard slammed her locker shut and turned to them. Her finger pointed to Tali, "You are the last of your kind. You know those fuckers better than anyone in this room. IF we have any hope to winning this war I need you alive and well for the final push."
Shepard pointed to Edi, growling. "And you're an AI. NONE.. I repeat NONE of my men will trust you at their backs. They will constantly be looking back, waiting for the knife. I can't afford to have them distracted. Do you understand?"
The Geth arrived in droves, crawling through the vegetation. Liara had never seen so many since the fight for Rannoch. There was new models, ones she had never seen before. She had ran out of clips for her pistol long ago, now relying solely on her biotics. She threw another singularity into a large group and watched the troopers get sucked into the gravity well. With a twist of her hand, she sent a warp and exploded the dark energy. Dozens, hundreds… Liara lost count to the number she had killed since the battle. It felt like Earth all over again.
Liara felt a brush of air and turned in time to watch the Geth hunter drop to the ground, his head gone. She looked up to find Shepard shifting her gaze onto the next target, squeezing her trigger. It was strange to see the woman in the trees. Although an infiltrator, Alarice had been known to move through the enemy's ranks and taking them out while cloaked. This Shepard worked from the high ground, taking down the Geth with her high powered rifle.
Liara was pulled out from her thoughts as they rifle fired again, another Geth dropping beside her. "Watch your back T'Soni!" Shepard yelled out as she glared at her.
Turning back to the battle, Liara spotted several pyros cutting through their ranks and ran over to help. Her and Kaidan got there at the same time, both warping the tanks on the Geth's backs. The pressure was to much and the tanks exploded, taking a couple dozen of the enemy with the chain reactions. Kaidan tossed her his pistol ammo before pulling his assault rifle from his back. They nodded at each other before going to opposite ends of the battle.
The fight had lasted well into the night and onto the next morning. When the final enemy fell and the Geth retreated a call of victory echoed through the field. But the hard part was just beginning. The Geth now knew where they were hiding, they had no choice but to evacuate.