It's astounding how fast things can spiral out of control...
A woman runs. Her armored white legs met and left each other; every once in a while, they smash against each other in haste. Her onyx eyes match her equally onyx, bunned hair. She is about Shepard's height. The whirring of drones is present behind her as she thrusts her legs out even harder in an attempt to run faster. She squints her eyes and moves faster; the implant in her mind releases a Rush of Adrenaline. Her nerves quicken, her thoughts quicken, she herself quickens. But she is not fast enough... Or maybe she is too fast. I'll let you decide.
The drone fires a concussive shot. It meets with the woman's shields. Even though the shields do absorb the damage, the kinetic energy radiates past. The violent vibrations send her reeling and tripping over her long, full legs. She falls to the moist ground. Her chin skids against the mud as her Diamond Back assault rifle clacks to the ground in front of her. She straightens up and spits the mud out of her mouth. The drones zoom closer, their mechanical whirring heralds the end of this woman's life... Or so she thinks...
When the team had gone over the layout of the beacon's pedestal and the vicinity that stretched five miles in every direction, Nihlus had asked what the Commander thought they should do. It was a test, of course, if she came up with a terrible idea, they wouldn't have followed through with it. But they did ask and she did answer. They would split up into two teams; Shepard with Kaidan and Nihlus with Jenkins. They would land one team at the spaceport and the other on the southern side of the beacon pedestal. Eventually they would merge together at the beacon; leaving trails of dead bodies in their wakes. A bloody trail of justice-born destruction. In addition to the surprise assault, they had a very strong chance of surrounding their enemies at the merge point, the beacon, given they had perfect timing. They hastily drop off Beta team before they hover above Alpha's landing zone. Shepard activates her tech armor. Dried yellow holographic plates emerge from her torso, legs, arms and back. There it statically floats; its digital veins pulse and glow as energy surges through them.
"Ready, Lieutenant?" She asks.
"Yes ma'am."
They both jump from the Normandy, landing on the mud below.
"Good luck, Commander!" The captain yells to her. She gives a small wave as the Alpha team struts away and the Normandy falls back.
The woman looks at what seems to be her demise. The two combat drones whir and hiss as they draw closer. Their small barrels start to light up and sputter. This is the end for her. After all she's been through, the training, the exercises, the work, and the long hours; this was finally the end. Just another casualty in a random terrorist attack, another forgotten name to add to the list of soldiers that died protecting a colony. She hadn't made an impact on the galaxy. Her family would mourn her, sure... But they would move on. The Alliance would put her name on a wall and forget her almost immediately. If she knew it would end like this, she would not have joined the Alliance. She would've stayed with her sister. She could've been important then. As one person, she wasn't important to the Alliance. There would always be more.
Bolts of lightning burst from the drones, sending them to the ground in a hectic manner. They scar the ground with their loss of momentum followed by their microscopic explosion that sends silicon and steel clacking in different directions.
The woman looks over to see two Alliance soldiers. One woman glowing with a holographic armor, holding a neon green omni-tool; and a man clad in medium black armor an in his arm glowed a light blue omni-tool.
"Enemies dropped", the Commander says, "Lieutenant, see to the woman", she commands. She lifts her finger to her ear as Kaidan walks quickly to the woman, "Nihlus? Jenkins? You read me?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Ma'am" she corrects, "What's your position?"
"We just took the tram over. We're at the port now. Nihlus is talking to another Turian. I think they're friends."
Another Turian? "Jenkins, do you know who he is?" She asks. She didn't get a memo that stated she'd get extra support. "Do you know what they're saying?"
"He looks kinda familiar... And no, I left my translator at home."
...Is this level of stupidity even possible? "Rule one, Jenkins. When you're in a galaxy full of aliens, you bring your damn translator", she says, trying to reign in her frustration.
"Oh! Sorry. I promise I'll do it next time!"
Here's to hoping there is not a next time. "Nihlus has his translator, tell him that the hostiles lug around drones. He'll understand you."
"Will I be able to understand him?"
She didn't really think people could be this stupid... "Not without your translator."
"Okay. See you soon, Shepard!"
The comm goes quiet. Shepard pinches the bridge of her nose as she walks over to Kaidan and the woman, "She's okay?" She asks.
"Yes, Commander she-" Kaidan starts before the woman stands up and wipes the mud from her face.
"I'm good. I have a few scrapes and burns but I'm good. Are you the one we sent the evacuation request to, ma'am?"
"Yes. I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance", she says. It's an accomplishment that was a hard earned title that had been a long time coming.
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212" the girl says shakily.
"What's the situation, Chief?"
The girl jammed her eyes shut and shook her head, "Oh God... It was terrible", she draws in a shaky breath, "The 212 was stationed here on Eden Prime as security. They dug up something. A Prothean beacon. An artifact. It was huge... We alerted Arcturus station. By the time they finished digging it out... The Geth attacked."
"The Geth? The Quarian's servants?" Shepard asked. If Geth were attacking a Human colony... It could mean they had declared war. She needed to inform Nihlus. "Nihlus! Jenkins! Come in!" She calls through her comm.
No reply.
"Nihlus! Jenkins! Come in!"
Still nothing.
"Dammit. Chief, are you sure this is the Geth attacking?" She asks the girl.
"Yes. I've seen the old designs the Quarians used, back when I was in high school."
"Where's the rest of your crew?"
"All gone. The Geth would... Stick them... on spikes... tall ones... I've never seen that type of engineering before. It was... disturbing..." The girl stutters.
"Do you know why?" She asks. She had never heard of synthetics stabbing people on to spikes before. She hoped there wasn't any significance to it other than the damnable synthetics' version of sick twisted humor. Even that is hard to grasp.
Kaidan speaks up, "Commander, this could be an attempt of psychological warfare..."
"Could quite possibly be. Either way, we need to press on and rendezvous with Beta team", she says before she draws her attention back to Ashley, "Are you fit enough to take us to the beacon?"
"Hell yes. It's time for some payback", she says before adding "ma'am."
"Let's move out."
The two Alliance soldiers salute simultaneously. Unwaveringly. Flawlessly. This was something Shepard enjoyed above anything else. People following orders-her orders. She enjoyed having power; not in the way you'd think, though. She loved the power of command, but not because she wanted to control, and not because she could abuse it for her own benefit. It was because it is comfortable. It is a confusing reason, but a valid one. She feels comfortable when she is in charge. She didn't trust other people to lead her. And truthfully, the most ironic part about this weird habit she calls her own, is that the person she trusts the least... is herself. She believes the part of her mind she neglects; ignores, is like a sleeping beast. A beast that has not tasted blood for too long. If she lets her emotions consume her, the beast awakes, roaring, screaming, and howling. It is in those moments that she doesn't know what's real anymore; she doesn't think. She breaks down. She becomes weak. It might be hard to comprehend; it takes an unstable mind to understand another. People who have been broken understand other who has been broken. Was Shepard broken...? Yes. She remembers... But she ignores it. The more she thinks about it, the more likely the beast will awake... So she busies herself. She joined a mercenary gang, she joined the Alliance, impregnated herself in an attempt to permanently distract herself, making a new family to love. And that is why she feels safer on the battlefield than by herself with her thoughts.
Shepard turns on her heel, Faith in hand, walks down the hill towards the beacon's pedestal. They pass by the spikes Ashley mentioned. Burned and dried corpses' limbs hang and dangle in the subtle breeze. It would have disturbed her if she hadn't been born on Mindoir; but she was. She would not lose to the psychological assault.
Ashley grabs Shepard's arm "Commander, wait!" Calls Ashley. Shepard peers over her shoulder at the girl. "Hear that noise?" She asks. A small whirring and stuttering sound carries itself across the air. "That's the Geth, Commander."
The stutters continue and seem to grow closer. "GET TO COVER!" Yells Shepard as plasma begins to fly their way. The three find temporary haven behind a thick boulder. Shepard presses her back against the cold uneven stone. The stutters grow closer. Of course they do; synthetics do not fear death. It seems logical that they would attempt a flank. She needs a plan, and fast. She looks over to her followers. Both Kaidan and Ashley are ducking down behind a smaller rock just inches away. "Visual, Lt." She commands. Kaidan sticks his head out and quickly retracts it when bullets caress his shields.
"Six Geth, Commander. All coming this way."
Six Geth... Six Geth... Her mind trembles for an idea, a plan. Her hazel eyes twitch over Ashley. Her armor. Her weapon. Her assault rifle had a bulky barrel attached to the side. She had seen them before; secondary fire attachments took years to train for. Years that would no doubt be definitely worth it, "Chief, is that a Carnage attachment?" She asks hastily.
"Yes ma'am."
The Geth's stutters are almost upon them. "Alright. I have a plan; I'll use my biotics to trip them up. Ashley, you are going to use Carnage. Kaidan, I want you to use Overload on the closest one to you. After that, we fill the survivors with enough plasma to sink a cruiser, understand?"
"Yes, Commander", they harmonize.
"Alright... One", the stutters grow louder. "Two" she says as she intakes a breath. There is no sound to be heard above her heartbeat, her breathing. Silence. Absolute silence. This is what many marines desire. That last moment, the promise of blood about to be filled, that first burst of adrenaline. And it was theirs now... "Three!" She screams as she rounds the corner, arm lightly glowing; the Geth stop in their tracks. It is now that Shepard can see them perfectly, no more than ten feet away. They are made out what seems like silicon or some relative alloy with which they heavily plate their torsos, spines, backs and necks. Their seemingly rubber thighs and arms are made from an overabundance of dark cords, cables, wires and electronic veins. The most striking and definitely singular trait is their ocular units. A metallic rod juts from the torso, bends under the neck plates and ends where its face should be; a bright beam of light radiates powerfully out of the center of the rod. She thrusts her arm towards the synthetics, releasing her pent up dark energy. It creates an incredibly weak wave that shoves the Geth back a step, in that time, Kaidan has already Overloaded the closest one, causing it to stutter and fall to the ground dead, and Ashley deploys her Carnage. A brilliant red mass of pure plasma lobs itself out of the attachment and towards the Geth. On impact, it pops like a water balloon, melting the plates away as well as the grass. "Open fire!" She commands. The trio aligns their weapons and fire. Three remaining Geth are caught in a three-way crossfire, their shields quickly break as the synthetics twitch and spasm. It becomes a slaughter.
Only one stands, barely. It is beyond any state that could prove harmful to the team; regardless, Shepard takes her precaution. She holds her hand up, signaling a cease of fire. The Commander cautiously steps toward the twitching synthetic. She raises her omni-tool and activates an application; a sphere of ice forms in the palm of her hand; she taps another button and the Cryo sphere soars at the software platform. A layer of ice envelopes around it as she draws closer. "Can you understand me?" She asks the synthetic. It only stutters and creates grinding noises as it struggles to free itself of the glass. "I will ask once again. I know Geth have the capability to speak. Why are you attacking? Why are you after the Prothean beacon?" Her voice rises. The Geth only stutters and shakes. She shakes her head. Two neon green omni-tools appear at her sides. They lengthen and take shape; long, sharp edges jut from the base.
"Omni-daggers?" Whispers Ashley to Kaidan.
She brings them up to the Geth's torso. "Last chance", she states. The Geth does not reply. She sighs out of pity as she raises the daggers and slashes through the ice. The Geth gives one final screech as it falls apart. Shepard stands there as her omni-daggers disappear. She wipes a white, burned battery-smelling liquid off of her hands. She assumes it's the Geth's equivalent of blood. The Commander turns her head to Ashley, "Shall we continue?" She asks. Ashley gives a quick nod and rushes ahead of the group to lead.
The pedestal was empty. It was almost humorous to have such an architecturally brilliant structure empty. It was like making a star ship beautiful on the outside and completely hollow on the inside; no floors, no ceilings, nothing... Just hollow.
"Something's not right here. The beacon should be here, I saw it!" Cries the Chief.
"Who moved it? Our side or the Geth?" Asks the Lieutenant as his eyes dart around the premises.
"Hard to say." It really was; it could've been taken to the port for shipping, packed and secured in a crate; could've been moved by security when the Geth landed, or taken by the Geth. Any of those warranted their haste. "We need to move. Chief, take us to the port. And watch where you shoot, we have a second team walking around there."
"Yes ma'am!" Says the Chief as she leads the team up the hill, "It's not too far. It's just at the bottom of this hill."
They jog up the subtle incline. At the apex stand warped and scarred buildings set ablaze from the attack as well as more of the dragon's teeth that skewer their victims. The victims' corpses were deranged; the burned and scarred flesh that was present on the ones they saw before are vastly different than the ones they see now. These ones were pale, almost pale enough to be a light blue tint. Their eyes were not of this world anymore, the left eye contained two glowing orbs as the right holds one; both of which, radiate a bright cyan shine; merely Husks of what they used to be. This was starting to worry Shepard. They could be reacting to a radioactive element that resides in the spike... Or it could be something else, but she couldn't imagine something else... That was a lie. She could, but it was impossible. Beyond impossible. It's not possible to bring back someone from the dead. It was a radioactive reaction. It had to be. "Ashley, did the 212 evacuate all the civilians?" She asks as she glances around the top of the hill.
The onyx-haired girl shakes her head disappointedly, "No... We evacuated a lot... But not all", she says with remorse.
"You did everything that was expected of you, Chief. I just wish that-"
A horrific sound of metal screeching against metal forces itself into their ears. The dragon's teeth retract one by one and the Husks twitch as their backs touch the base. "Oh my God", mutters Shepard as it slowly arches itself off of the Geth technology. "Open fire!" She yells to her team. Kaidan and Ashley stand there with their mouths agape in shock. "I said open fire! NOW!" She screeches. The team burst to life as the Husks start lumbering over to them, firing continually into the twisted creatures. Each hit, she could see a dark mucus splatter forth from its insides. No matter how many shots they landed, it didn't seem to be affected in the slightest; they kept coming, screaming as they did so. Shepard presses her arm against Ashley's torso, pushing her back, "Kaidan, I need a Warp field!"
"Right away, Commander!" Kaidan replies as he glows a beautiful blue, raising his fist towards the Husks. A blue mist surrounds a twenty foot radius; it envelops the Husks with its atom eating presence. The two women stare in awe as the Husks, and whatever is in the vicinity, turns to ash and crumbles in front of them. The cloud dissipates as Kaidan looks back at the women with an awkward facial expression. He shrugs, "Just doing my duty... Ma'am."
"Yes you are... You're getting a medal for that by the way", she says, giving him a sideways smirk, "Come on, we still have to get to the spaceport."
Post-notes: (Have I been putting "pre-notes?")
Thank you for reading this chapter. You can see I changed a lot more things... I'm sorry if the chapter's quality seems to go down... I lost another friend and I've been distracted...
Review. Follow. Like my page on Facebook (Mass Effect by Celestiallight) so you can see my inspiration and concept art I leave around there. I got some good ones.
Thank you.
P.S. The Baby is not Kaidan's. it is not related to Kaidan at all but I still have plans for it.
P.P.S. I do realize that I'm not giving Shepard's full name. There is a reason.