Nano Effect: The Geth Crysis

by LEGION001

Crysis tech in Mass Effect universe. CryNet Phantom Wraith, is sent on a mission to Eden Prime on the Alliances newest warship with the legendary Commander Shepard. Nothing could have prepared him for what would come after. Revised version. Shepard/OC. Rated M for language and violence.

5. Chapter 5: Raven Team

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Crysis or Mass Effect.

Raven Team

Wraith POV, a few minutes before

I smirked as my connection to the Council closed. Sparatus's racist comment had made it quite a bit easier to get Shepard into the Spectres. Everything was going perfectly. As I put my nanosuit back on I knew that I had to go have it checked. Eden Prime might have damaged something and a malfunction in the suit could mean the difference between life and death. As such I had to get to a facility to do a in depth scan of the suit as the suit didn't have the ability to do such a scan by itself.

Luckily the CryTech facilities on Noveria had such a cradle and was merely a single mass relay jump. I planned to go there, get the suit checked out and meet up with Shepard after. Getting there I would take the CryNet Space Vehicle (CSV) Pheonix Stealth Insertion Vessel (SIV class), ship of Raven Team, my CryNet Phantom team, to Noveria since they were docked at the Citadel, originally to pick me up after the Eden Prime mission. While they would still be picking me up it would only be temporary.

I called Shepard and told her of my plans as I made my way to the Pheonix's docking bay, she informed me that the Normandy would leave the Citadel in six hours. Taking into account travel time and the suit diagnostic, I would be able to meet up with her an hour or two after the Normandy arrived in the Artemis Tau cluster.

As the call ended, the elevator opened granting me a view of the Pheonix – I smiled at seeing the ship. Unlike what most thought, the Normandy was not the first stealth ship to be developed. CryNet had created multiple stealth ships in the last few years, the Pheonix of which was the first. The Normandy may be the first stealth reconnaissance vessel to be flown by a recognized military power, the Pheonix was of a completely different class. Rather it was designed for stealthed insertion and infiltration.

Every Phantom team has a designated SIV and the Pheonix was Raven team's ship. Based off the old SR-71 Blackbirds used in the 20th century the SIV class ships had the same form of the SR-71 however were the size of a heavy frigate. With the best stealth equipment, which included thermal shielding similar to the IES systems on the Normandy as well as visual cloaking, made the SIV almost impossible to detect with any sensors. Visual, thermal and LADAR scans were all fooled by the SIV's stealth systems. However, the stealth systems can't run for as long as the Normandy, leading for the SIV's role of quick infiltrations, rather than prolonged stealth.

Deck one holds the bridge, monitoring stations for the stealth and sensor suits, the CIC, the armory, Cradle engineering and the top deck of engineering. Deck two has the med-bay, mess hall, sleeper pods, the lower engineering deck and the quarters for its crew and Raven team members. The third deck is the cargo hold.

Then there was Raven team. Raven team was one the first CryOps Phantom team created and is, as of yet, one of the best teams. A team of eight, Raven team has multiple specialists. Every one of us has a unique insignia on our shouldersincorporating a Raven in some way. My insignia, for instance, was a ghostly raven infront of a large star.

Viper is my second in command and loves his hit and run tactics. Something that we often try to outdo each other in. Viper was fairly tall with short black hair and black eyes. He was born 2148 in London as James Green to his Alliance parents. In 2166 he joined the Alliance and was accepted four years later in the Interplanetary Combatives Academy (ICA), where he trained in infiltration and espionage. James received his N6 designation after two years of intense training. In 2173, James took part in a raid against pirate forces and received his N7 designation for his actions in the raid. James participated in multiple operations until 2175 when an operation of his went south due to bureaucratic red tape. I just happened to be looking for potential recruits for the new Phantom project when his name came up. James accepted our offer soon after we made it and he went into Phantom training in 2176 with three other phantoms. Viper fittingly chose a Viper coiled around a raven as his insignia.

Typhoon is our heavy weapons specialist and he just loves charging headfirst into the enemy ranks with heavy weapons. Typhoon is of fairly average height with piercing blue eyes with black hair. Typhoon was born in 2152 in southern Germany. Named Felix Faber he joined the alliance when he turned 18. There he became a very competent heavy weapons specialist. In 2173 he was transferred to the same unit as Alex Hunter, who would later be known as as Jackal. He formed a strong friendship with Alex and when CryNet approached both of them on becoming candidates for the Phantoms he accepted. A Raven flying above a typhoon was Typhoon's choice of insignia.

Alex Hunter, now with the codename Jackal, is our assault specialist. He is slightly taller than average with blue-green eyes and light sandy hair. He was born as a spacer to alliance parents in 2150. Following in his parents footsteps he joined the alliance when he turned 18. His prowess led to him being invited to the ICA after only two years of service. Two years later he graduated the ICA with an N4 designation and was assigned, one year later, in 2173 to the same unit as the then Felix Faber. Here he formed a strong friendship with Felix and when CryNet approached both of them in 2176 he accepted along with Felix. Jackal's choice of insignia was a raven standing atop a growling jackal.

Nova is our demolitions expert. If you want something destroyed or blown up you go to her. Nova is pretty average in height with blond hair and green eyes. My relationship with Nova is a special one as I found her on the streets of Terra Nova in 2178 when she was 16. When I first met her she was running away from another gang, apparently having just blown up one of their buildings with an improvised explosive. Rescuing her from the gang she introduced herself as Nova Terra, saying she doesn't remember her parents or her real name. I was immediately able to see her potential to do some good in the galaxy and offered to train her as a Phantom. Nova immediately accepted saying that she didn't have anything to stay on Terra Nova for. During the trip to the Prism she told me about herself, telling me that she made her first explosive with 15 and was conducting a one woman war on the gang I saved her from. I was very impressed with her tales if a little doubtful. Those doubts were however laid to rest when I saw her training. She excelled in the Phantom training and I even began to train her myself when I had the time. When she graduated training she was very proficient in many different weapons but she never lost her love for explosives. This love for explosions lead to her insignia being a raven atop a large explosion.

Tigress,or as we call her, The Tigress, is our medic. She takes our well being very seriously. If one of us is hurt she first patches us up, then goes and tears the person responsible to pieces. Tigress is shorter than average with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. She was born in Lowell city on mars in 2147 and when she was 19 joined the alliance as a combat medic. She quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the best combat medics and catching CryNet's eye. In 2176 she joined CryNet to become a Phantom, choosing a Raven riding atop a Tigress infront of a medical cross.

Our last two teammates are our sniping team, Kestrel and Bolt. Kestrel and Bolt are like two siblings, having been friends since they were young. They were both born in 2151 on demeter and grew up together. When the became 18 they left Demeter to travel the galaxy and three years later in 2172 they had become assassins, both crack shots with any sniper rifle. CryNet tracked them down in 2176 with a proposal to become Phantoms. Seeing that they could become phantoms and use their skills do to good in the galaxy they accepted. Kestrel is the tallest of the entire team, standing at 2m tall, with dark skin, brown eyes and black hair. His insignia has a raven and kestrel locked in an aerial dance. Bolt is also fairly tall, with pale skin, brown eyes and black hair. A raven gripping a lightning bolt in his talons is Bolt's insignia.

As I entered the Pheonix I was greeted by Viper. "Hey boss. It's good to see you." He welcomed me.

"Viper. Good to see you too." I responded smiling. As the airlock doors closed I took off my mask. Raven team were some of the few who knew I was also the Director. "Tell Mark to get to Noveria ASAP. I need to make sure Eden Prime didn't fuck up my suit too much, then I'm going to join Shepard and hunt down Saren." I said mentioning our pilot.

"Good good." Viper replied,"And what will we do?"

"You will be doing any missions that CARLA assigns to you or helping me and Shepard out." I said.

"Very well. We will be on standby, waiting for further orders." Viper confirmed as we approached the armory.

"Tell the rest of the team that we will be arriving at Noveria half an hour." I said

"Will do Wraith." Viper said.

As I entered the armory, Typhoon greeted me "Wraith!"

"Typhoon. How's it going?." I asked in reply.

"Not bad Wraith. Heard about Eden Prime though."

"Yeah, it was rough. Something fucked with my suit and tried to take it over. We're heading to Noveria to make sure nothing is lasting. After that I'll be leaving you guys to hunt Saren with Shepard."

"You got it. I'll get all your gear packed up. It's a pity though. Why do you get to shoot stuff up while we are stuck out here?" Typhoon asked me.

"Come now Typhoon. I know that you like action but you can't have everything in the world." I smirked. "Besides I might call you guys in for some help every once in a while."

"Sure. Probably you will call us in for the suicide missions while you get all the fun stuff." Typhoon grumbled.

"Aren't the suicide missions the fun ones? I asked pretending to be confused.

"Bah, you know what I mean Wraith." He scoffed.

"Indeed I do Typhoon." I said. "Right, if you could get my gear ready for transfer, then I should go. Check on the rest of the team."

"Right boss," was Typhoons response as I left the armory and made for the bridge. I arrived just in time to see us go through the relay and come out in the Horse Head Nebula.

"Hey Wraith. I suppose you want me to dock at the CryTech base?" Mark asked me as I arrived. Mark was our designated pilot. A fairly skilled pilot he had joined the alliance at a young age until he got grounded for disobeying orders to extract a ground team that had been left to die. He joined CryNet of is own accord and was assigned to the Pheonix upon its construction.

"You know it. Gotta make sure this suit isn't too fucked up." I told him.

"You know I hate dealing with Noveria. Those bastards think their so special." Mark complained.

"Well they know not to mess with us." I smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. ETA ten minutes."

"Good, good. You know, the pilot of the Normandy was something else." I told him.

"Yeah? Who was it. Someone I know?"

"He went by Joker."

"Wow... They really pulled out the best for that mission didn't they?" He asked rhetorically.

"They sure did."

"Yeah I remember Joker. Went to flight school with him. He worked his ass off there. Has Vrolik syndrome, but trust me, he earned all the stuff he's been awarded with. No charity going on there. Then he got the name 'Joker' from an instructor because he never smiled. It's stuck with him ever since. Kinda interesting really. Anyway I should deal with those bastards down there. You can get ready to depart Wraith."

"Gotcha Mark. I'll see you later no doubt. Get some rest. We'll be leaving right after I get my suit checked."

"I'll be here."

I turned and headed to the airlock as I waited for Mark to dock us. I didn't have to wait long before I could leave. I was met an engineering team who led me to a lab where a high powered Cradle was waiting. Sitting down in it they began a complete scan of the suit. As the outer scans detected nothing abnormal the techs began a deep layer scan. The scan would go down into the deepest parts of the suit to make sure absolutely nothing was wrong. Of course one problem was that no one knew everything about the suit and how it worked, so we had to study every difference to see if it would be a problem or a benefit to the the deep layer scan the techs came across one such thing as a new deep layer protocol had been started that seemed to be the start of a counter to something called 'Neural Defense.' It was determined that this protocol was completely harmless, but would require more work by the nanosuit to create its counter. Right now the techs couldn't understand exactly what the nanosuit was doing, so they decided to let it do its thing.

After six hours of scanning and testing, the nanosuit was given the green light and I could finally leave. Half an hour later found me on the Pheonix once more heading to the Artemis Tau Cluster where Shepard was apparently heading to investigate the planet Edolus for a missing Alliance marine unit.

We arrived in the Sparta System an hour later to find the Normandy pulling into orbit around Edolus. Scans showed that it had just dropped a Mako on the surface of the planet, along with a distress beacon. Mark started reading off data from his scans.

"The distress beacon on Edolus is automated and without a message. It seems that the Normandy's Mako is heading straight for the beacon itself and will arrive there soon. Wait. Penetrating scans are detecting multiple thresher maws in the vicinity! They're in danger!"

"Fuck!" I swore. "Raven Squad! We have multiple Thresher Maw's on the planet surface! Shepard is running straight into a Thresher nest. Prepare for insertion. Mark get us down there, now." I ordered.

"Yes sir!" Mark replied.

"Raven squad to the cargo bay." I ordered.

I turned and nearly sprinted towards the elevator where I was joined by Jackal and Typhoon coming out of the Armory.

"Wow boss. Multiple thresher maws?" Typhoon asked me incredulously.

"We haven't faced a maw yet outside of Valhalla." Jackal added.

"I know. But don't worry. We can do this."

As the elevator arrived on deck two we were joined by Tigress, Nova, Viper, Kestrel and Bolt.

"You know Wraith this was a rather short notice," Viper quipped "I prefer a bit more warning when having to face giant sand worms."

"Sorry team but this was a big surprise." I apologized as the elevator doors opened on the cargo deck. "Alright, sync up squad."

"Synchronizing with Raven Squad.

Viper Synchronization Complete.

Typhoon Synchronization Complete.

Nova Synchronization Complete.

Jackal Synchronization Complete.

Kestrel Synchronization Complete.

Bolt Synchronization Complete.

Tigress Synchronization Complete.

Raven Squad Synchronization Complete."

"Alright squad. SECOND bring up the tactical map."

SECOND brought up a map of the area around the distress beacon showing Shepard's Mako and the direction the two thresher maws were coming from.

"Alright, this will be a HALOM insertion and we are spliting up on the way down. Kestrel and Bolt, you will drop on this southern hill. From there you should have a good vantage point to engage the Maw's with Penetrator rounds. They should be able to pierce their armor. The rest of us will land and spread out over this area here." I ordered, the different locations being marked as I mentioned them. "Take armor piercing and heavy weapons, but be fast on your feet. Thresher maws can take a lot of punishment and can come up from below with little warning."

"Sounds good." Viper said. "You guys agree with that?"

Various agreements came from the different Team members.

"Alright. Mark, you got the landing zones?" I asked.

"Yeah I got them. ETA five minutes."

"Got it." I said "Alright team. Grab your HALOMs, we are going in." The HALOM (High Altitude Low Mass) Units use mass lowering fields that on the user allowing for lighter landings. They were developed by Alpha Tech and Science to allow for high altitude drops in a nanosuit and later GHOST armor. Essentially it's a backpack that contains a small mass effect core and enough power for one drop, after which it had to be recharged. The eight of us moved quickly as we each grabbed a HALOM, strapping them on.

HALOMs secured, we walked to the cargo bay door as it opened giving us a view of Edolus. Large deserts broken only by a few rock formations greeted us. In the distance I could see meteors burning up in the atmosphere.

"Alright guys and girls." Mark broke the relative silence between us, "We are approaching the drop zone. On green Kestrel and Bolt will jump, followed by the rest of you." I glanced at the red light to the side of the door, waiting for it to turn color. The moment it did Kestrel ran out of the Pheonix followed closely by Bolt. Typhoon ran out next, Jackal close behind. Nova and Tigress jumped out leaving only me and Viper. I motioned for Viper to jump out and once he did I took a running leap out of the Pheonix.

Upon jumping out, I tucked my arms to my sides and fell headfirst down towards the planet. A typical HALOM drop was performed at an altitude of 40km up and consisted of multiple stages. The first stage would be at such a height that air resistance was negligible and I would continue accelerating until the air resistance would grow large enough to start slowing me down. I would then start slowing down until I reached a constant speed at which I would fall until the HALOM activated during the last five seconds and slow me down allowing for a relatively soft landing.

I had fallen for fifty three seconds when I started slowing down and entered the second phase of the drop. It would take another sixty two seconds for me to reach the constant speed that I would be falling at for just over three minutes until the HALOM would activate.

Not even thirty seconds until the HALOM would activate did SECOND speak up:

"Comm channel opened"

I glanced at my HUD to see that it was Shepard calling me. "Hey Shep." I said keeping my eye on the timer until the next phase of the fall.

"Wraith, what the hell is going on here?" Shepard asked me without preamble, a little static from the drop interfering with the call.

"Oh you know. You're heading into a thresher maw nest. Figured you could use a hand."

Shepard was silent for a few moments in which time I extended my arms and legs to slow my fall.

"A thresher maw nest..." She repeated finally "Right. Well thanks then."

"Don't thank me yet. We haven't started yet." I told her as I felt the Mass Effect field kick in slowing my fall as it lowered my mass.

"What's with the static?" Shepard asked as the static grew somewhat.

"Oh you know. Performing high altitude drops can mess with comms somewhat." I told her as I spun righting myself to allow me to land feet first on the ground.

"Maximum armor."

WHAM! Since the HALOM had lowered my mass and speed the suit was easily able to absorb the fall.

"Did you just jump out of your ship?" Shepard asked me calmly, I could almost hear her eyebrow raising over the comms.

"Yep just landed. Hold on a sec. This is Wraith, I am on the ground. Check in"

"Viper has landed."

"Typhoon here with Jackal, Nova and Tigress."

"Kestrel and Bolt are in position. Have eyes on the Mako."

"Alright team remember to keep moving. Those Maws will make short work of you if you stay in one spot." I said engaging power mode.

"Alright Wraith. What's the situation?" Shepard asked me.

"Two thresher maws are heading for the area by the distress beacon. Keep that tank moving and firing. Be ready for anything as they will try to burrow underneath you and disable you that way." I said starting to move towards the Beacon.

"I know what maw's do Wraith. Probably know better than you." Shepard told me testily.

"Right. Sorry bout that but-"

"Seismic activity detected. Thresher maw inbound." SECOND informed me as the two Thresher Maws unburrowed. One broke through the ground close to Shepard's Mako while the other came up near Typhoon's portion of the team.

"Here they come!" Jackal said.

"We are moving to engage!" Came Nova's voice.

"Kestrel! Bolt! Penetrator rounds! Aim for the eyes!" I called out.

"We don't have a shot! Make one turn towards us!" Bolt said.

"Do you copy Shepard?" I asked pulling my JAW (Joint Anti-Armor Weapon) from my back "Try to get your maw to turn to the south!.

"Roger that."

"You want some of this?" Nova shouted and I heard massive explosion by the maw closest to her.

"Well done Nova!" Typhoon congratulated her.

I aimed my JAW at Shepard's maw and pulled the trigger. With a loud whoosh a rocket was launched out and I kept the JAW's scope on the maw as the rocket homed in on the laser sight. It detonated, causing the maw to shudde and quickly dive underground. I looked around and saw that the other maw had disappeared underground as well.

"Keep moving! Those maw's are not gone yet!" I ordered as I engaged in power mode and kept on the move.

"Affirmative."

"Oh fuck!" "Shit!" I heard both Bolt and Kestrel swear. Spinning around to face their location I could only see two massive spurts of dirt near their location.

"KESTREL! BOLT! Report! What's your status?" I yelled panicking as I realized what I was seeing.

"This is Kestrel. We made it out of there. Quick! We can paint a target!" Kestrel responded after a few seconds.

"Phantoms! JAW's on my mark!" I shouted when I realized that their suits were transmitting targeting data. I aimed my JAW, which had chambered another rocket in the meantime, at the target shown on my HUD. After a few seconds when my HUD told me that everyone was locked on, immediately SECOND sent data to the rest of Raven team's suits ordering them to fire. I felt the suit manipulate my finger by itself to fire the JAW in unison with the rest of the again my JAW spat out another rocket which sped towards the targeted maw. As if realizing that its life was in danger the maw in question started to burrow underground again but it was too late. Six JAW rockets detonated right after each other, blowing the maw in two.

"YEAH!" "WOO!" "BLEW IT SKY HIGH!" "Alright!" The various jubilations from the phantoms crackled through my radio as the last maw burrowed down into the ground once more.

"Good job guys, but watch out. That last maw is still around." Even as I said that I felt the ground shaking underneath me. "Oh shit." I swore as the earth erupted underneath me. I was sent flying up as the maw burst out directly beneath me. Time seemed to slow down as I reached the peak of my flight. Turning in mid air as I started falling back down, the maw was preparing to catch me in its deadly jaws and I realized that while the suit could protect me from a lot of stuff, the acid of the maw's digestive tract would dissolve the suit and me like paper. I tried to maneuver myself so that I wouldn't land in its gaping Maw with no success, and just as I thought I would become monster chow a blast rocked the beast, causing it to jerk out of the way and howl in pain. This allowed me to miss its mouth by mere centimeters, slamming into the armored head just above an eye stalk. I grabbed hold of a plate to keep from being shaken off as I pulled out a CTA-33 Advanced Explosive Charge (AEC) from a pouch on my belt and threw it into the maw's still open mouth.

Releasing my grip on the plate, I slid down the worm and slammed into the ground with a sickening thud as I felt my right leg break. Grimacing in pain, I detonated the AEC. The head of the maw exploded as all the explosive energy of the AEC was contained by the maw itself. The small smirk on my face vanished as I realized that the Maw was falling directly towards me. In that moment I felt the nanosuit harden around the break in my leg allowing me to scramble to my feet and stagger as fast as I could away. I cleared the area moments before the massive worm hit the ground exactly where I had been lying. I stumbled and fell to the ground where I lay, panting in pain.

As the adrenaline wore off I could hear the voices of my team and Shepard shouting in my ear.

"WRAITH!"

"Operative Wraith report!"

"Come on boss! Report!"

"That maw fell right on top of him!"

"His suit is still transmitting!"

"Get over there NOW!"

I looked around as my vision dimmed slightly, dark edges creeping into my vision as I saw exactly what the maw had done to me. Landing on the sharp plates the maw used to burrow through the earth had made deep tears in the nanoweave. My right hand was particularly damaged because I had held onto said sharp plates. The plates had sliced through the nanoweave and into my fingers from which blood was pouring out. My leg had been locked down by the suit due to the break and me having to escape the falling maw, preventing it from being moved. Obviously my suit had injected me with painkillers because while I could still feel the pain from my wounds it wasn't as bad as it should have been. While I took in what happened to me I heard a sizzling noise. Looking around I noticed to my alarm a greenish yellow fluid forming a puddle around the corpse of the maw. The fluid was burning through the body of the maw and was slowly flowing towards me. Grunting I started dragging myself away from the acid as fast as my left arm could pull me, as my right arm was next to useless.

It was then that I heard a loud engine approach and saw the Mako drive up near me. The engine stopped and I saw an armored figure exit and sprint towards me.

"Shit! Wraith! Can you hear me?" I recognized the figure's voice as Shepard's. "Fuck, we need to get you away from this acid! Williams! Give me a hand here!" She shouted over her shoulder and soon enough a second figure joined her and they both picked me up and dragged me away from the acid. I groaned as the pain spiked at the movement. "Just hold on Wraith! You're going to be alright!" I finally blacked out as they stopped dragging me and set me on the ground.

A/N: Welp, ended that on a cliffhanger. Please don't kill me. Next chapter will be on the 22nd, I'll have to see if I might post another on Christmas. No promises, but I may do that.