Chapter 12
Commander Shepard looked down the sights of his M-8 Avenger, bringing his mental state to combat readiness. The moment his eye focused on the digital scope his subconscious military mind took over. He was ready. Shepard lowered his weapon and slung the rifle onto his back. His side-arm was sitting on the table before him, ready and waiting with a fresh thermal clip and clean barrel. The commander reached for the pistol before turning to observe the rest of his team. They were heading into an unknown and he was not about to get them caught with their pants down again. He had spent a portion of the previous day with Kaidan formulating their infiltration strategy.
Long-range scans of the suspected Cerberus facility filled in many of the variables Shepard had hoped for. The base was huge, but nondescript in terms of structures and layout. If anything it looked like an enormous infantry housing and processing center. The wooded valley the base was situated in gave each half of the team two ideal points of insertion: one on either side of the foothills that surrounded the facility to eliminate the possibility of visual contact. Kaidan had pointed out that if the base was even marginally equipped it would have an operational detection system in place. It was a risk they would have to take.
The squad was finishing up their final pre-mission rituals. Liara tapped away at her omnitool, ensuring that everyone was on the correct channel for monitoring communications and life support. Javik slid clip after thermal clip into his belt holster. Kaidan and Garrus laughed and nodded as they chatted, waiting for the call to form up. EDI stood silently to the side with a curious smile as she observed her comrades as intrigued as ever.
Shepard looked down to see his pistol still idle in his hands. He holstered the weapon before addressing the team. "Everyone ready for briefing?"
Squad quickly diverted their attention to the commander, nodding in affirmation.
"Good." Shepard crossed his arms, looking to the faces of his friends. "Since this is Major Alenko's mission, he'll be calling the shots. Major?" The commander turned to Kaidan with a nod.
Kaidan cleared his throat and straightened his stance as he addressed the squad. "Sadly this mission briefing won't be as thorough as I would have liked, but seeing as this is a recon assignment I think that's to be expected. We'll be splitting into two squads: Alpha and Bravo. Alpha squad will consist of Shepard and myself. We'll also be taking EDI with us for her familiarity with Cerberus protocols."
Kaidan looked to the remaining three. "The rest of you will be Bravo, lead by Garrus. The base is located in a valley; each squad will be inserted on either side of the surrounding hills. Alpha squad will be inserted first and head in to provide primary recon. Bravo, I want you to move in close, but stay out of sight. You'll provide backup for our exfil if things go sour."
"Hmph," Garrus chortled, "Kaidan if you keep playing safe and responsibly and you're gonna give the Spectres the wrong reputation."
Kaidan smirked. "Tell you what, Garrus. You actually get that Spectre position and you can play as reckless as you want with your ops."
"That sounded a little too much like an invitation," Shepard grinned.
Kaidan nodded. "Well, that's it, really. Let's play this thing safe."
Shepard nodded. "Let's move, people."
The commander turned and began walking toward their battle-worn, deep red Kodiak. The squad fell into file behind Shepard immediately and the six comrades quickly found themselves boarded and ready for take off. As Shepard closed the access hatch the muffled sound of roaring engines filled the small craft. Cortez glanced back to the squad from the cockpit.
"Here's hoping there aren't any Reapers on Horizon, eh?" The pilot joked with a hint of sincerity.
The Kodiak hugged the surface of Horizon as it sped toward the Cerberus compound. The shuttle had exited orbit a significant distance from the target in an attempt to minimize the chances of being seen or picked up by scanners. This gave Shepard and his crew a long, quiet shuttle ride through the hills and plains of unsettled Horizon. The dropship's hull cameras fed video of the landscape to the briefing screens inside the craft. Despite having been to the colony twice before, Shepard had never had much time to admire the beauty of the planet. The fields shifted from green to gold and then back again, a mutation that intrigued Shepard. As the shuttle closed in on the target the local flora grew in density until it reached a point that resembled a thick Earthen forest. The tall trees forced the Kodiak to maintain a slightly higher altitude.
"Commander, we're approaching the facility," Cortez reported via the comm. "I've got a visual on a decent LZ. Taking us in."
Shepard looked to EDI and Kaidan and nodded as the three stood and prepared for the insertion.
"Hitting the ground in five."
Shepard tapped the door controls and the hatch began to swing open as the Kodiak descended to a meter off of the ground. EDI and Kaidan jumped from the shuttle and Shepard looked back to his remaining three companions.
"No heroics from you three." Shepard stated, only half joking.
"No promises," Garrus quipped.
Liara smiled softly. "Be safe, Shepard. Good luck."
The commander locked eyes with the asari and smiled in return before looking to Javik, who merely nodded. Shepard turned and jumped down to his squad and like clockwork the Kodiak began to ascend, the door sliding shut. The sun was just beginning to set and the dense forest made light hard to come by. The vegetation on the ground was thick, to say the least. The soft glow of EDI's visor gave the small clearing they stood in an orange tint.
"You doing okay, EDI?" Kaidan asked.
"Yes. I am always excited to test my chassis in new environments," the AI stated with a smile.
Shepard drew his assault rifle, holding it at ease. "Ready for a hike?"
Kaidan grinned. "Beautiful evening. Why not?"
"The base will be located on the far side of this hill," EDI stated, pointing to the north-east.
The trio turned and began the arduous process of moving quickly through thick, foreign vegetation. They had not traveled more than twenty meters before Kaidan had to slice through a patch of vines using his omni-blade. The slicing sound of the microscopically thin blade being forged sent a collection of unseen local fauna scurrying away from the group and into the wilderness. Kaidan waved them forward and back onto the trek up the hillside. A few minutes into their hike a light on Shepard's omnitool changed from red to green. The second squad had landed and was moving toward the compound.
The tree coverage was as thick as Shepard had ever seen a forest. The light of Iera, the system's star, was rapidly fading from holes in the treetops above them. The trio flipped on their personal lights as darkness began to settle around them. As the squad made their way toward the top of the hill in silence Shepard ran through the possibilities of what they might find once they reached the base. At this point he was hoping it was a training facility. They might even be able to help some of the recruits, or kidnapping victims, before they could be transformed into the monsters they had been fighting for months.
"I am picking up an incoming vessel with the Normandy's scanners. Initiating LADAR scan," EDI stated suddenly.
"Where is it?" Kaidan inquired.
"It is entering the atmosphere now and appears to be maintaining a flight path toward the Cerberus facility. The ship's silhouette does not match that of any documented Cerberus combat vessels."
"Supply ship, most likely," Shepard speculated.
"Or reinforcements." Kaidan stated as he came to a stop. "Alright, let's hold for a second. I'll get in touch with Garrus and see how the others are doing."
The three had reached the crest of the hill, though Shepard could only tell because the terrain had leveled off. The tree coverage was thick back down into the valley. However, lights emitting from down the hillside shone through holes in the leaves and branches. They were certainly headed in the right direction. Shepard reached down to his belt and pulled a small canteen from its holding, taking a quick sip before placing it back.
"Garrus, you read?" Kaidan asked to his open comm.
"Loud and clear," Garrus responded almost immediately.
"What's your status?"
"Still moving up the hill. Couldn't tell you how close we are to the top, though."
"We just reached the crest on our side so you're probably getting close. We're gonna start making our way down," Kaidan replied.
"Acknowledged."
As Kaidan closed his comm EDI spoke up. "Major Alenko, I am intercepting comm traffic from the facility."
Shepard glanced toward the AI. "Anything useful?"
"The only information I can confirm is that they have a security force. However, I have noticed an anomaly. Cerberus security regulations maintain that when individual soldiers are referenced, they be referred to by either a call sign or their operating number. The soldiers at this facility are referred to by one another and their superiors by name."
"Strange," Kaidan pondered aloud. "Are you sure Cerberus regulations haven't changed since they started 'enhancing' their personnel?"
EDI nodded. "Yes. In fact, the practice of dehumanization of Cerberus foot soldiers through various means, not just identification, has become standard since Shepard went rogue from the organization."
"Went rogue? I told the Illusive Man from day one that I wasn't a part of Cerberus," Shepard interjected.
"I am aware, Shepard." EDI stated calmly. "However, I speculate that he had hoped to make you a believer in his cause by the end of your mission. When he failed, he did not want to run the risk of free-will interfering with his soldiers again."
Kaidan retrieved his rifle. "Let's keep moving. We'll find out what's going on here soon enough."
The squad formed up and began their hike down the hill. The practice of hiking up and down a forested hill in the dead of night brought Shepard back to Interplanetary Combatives Training. Working for his N1 designation seemed a hundred years ago now. Shepard smiled to himself. He wondered what happened to the other graduates of his ICT class. Shepard, Kaidan and EDI were moving in near silence down the hill when the faint sounds of surface-level ship thrusters began to fade in from behind them. Shepard had glanced up and back toward the crest of the hill when a sudden burst of noise and light erupted and soared over them. The squad knelt down instinctively as the light of burning thrusts passed over them, sending the trees around them shaking in the wake.
Shepard glanced to EDI. "Guess that's the ship you tagged earlier."
"We've gotta move fast," Kaidan stated intently. "I want to know what that ship is carrying."
Shepard nodded and the three set forth at a hurried pace, slicing through vegetation as needed. The sound and light from the ship had come to a halt a few hundred meters ahead of them. At the very least they were approaching the facility's dock. Shepard held his rifle at the ready as they moved onward. As they grew closer to the facility less and less flora stood to shield their view. Light from the base and the now landed ship illuminated the forest around them. Kaidan raised his hand, ordering the group to halt a few dozen meters from what appeared to be a six or seven foot wall. The squad found cover behind a particularly thick tree trunk.
"EDI, are you getting anything new on the comms?" Shepard queried.
"I have picked up a transmission informing someone known as the "Watchman" that the transport has arrived," EDI informed them.
Kaidan was leaning around the tree, using the scope on his assault rifle. "Hey, I think I see a way in. It looks like a maintenance door. It's pretty close to where that ship set down."
"I should be able to hack past any security the door may have," EDI stated.
Shepard looked to Kaidan. "Any visible security on the walls?"
"Hmm..." Kaidan scanned the length of the visible wall. "No... no watch towers. No security cameras by the look of it."
"Sounds too good to be true. EDI, watch for anything suspicious and keep monitoring the comm traffic," Shepard stated as he looked back to the AI.
"Of course, Shepard."
Kaidan lowered his rifle and turned back to the others. "Ready to move?"
Shepard and EDI nodded in affirmation and Kaidan stood, raising his rifle to the ready. The commander and AI readied themselves, Kaidan looking back at them once more. They rounded the tree on Kaidan's lead and began their run for the wall. The squad covered the roughly thirty meters in near silence, each of them sliding into position at the side of the maintenance door. EDI stepped up the security panel and began working.
Shepard raised his comm, speaking in a whisper. "Garrus, what's your status?"
"We're nearing the facility. Gonna hold right on the edge of the forest. How's security?" Garrus responded quietly.
"Outside? Non-existent," Shepard said warily.
"Hmm, alright... just let us know if you need the support and we'll find a way in."
"Affirmative. We're about to enter the compound. Alpha, out."
"I have bypassed he lock," EDI reported. "I am ready to open the door on your command."
Shepard and Kaidan raised their rifles and assumed their positions on either side of the door. Kaidan nodded to EDI. "Do it."
The security panel chimed and flickered to green as the door slid apart. As it did the bright, artificial illumination of tall flood lights burst through the doorway. Kaidan and Shepard squinted and shielded their eyes, not expecting the blinding intensity. As Shepard's eyes began to adjust he forced himself to look back into the light and whipped his rifle to attention as he saw three figures standing on the other side of the doorway.
"You know, traditionally you're not supposed to greet old friends by pointing guns at 'em. Or by breaking into their place."
Shepard grinned as his eyes focused on the middle figure in front of him, his arm hoisting his rifle up and resting it on his shoulder. "Well if you called more often maybe I would've known what you were up to, Jacob."
Author's Note
Too tired for witty remark. See you next week!