The Red Moon Collection - 2 - Three Phantoms

Chapter 11

MSV Hyperion, en route to Neidus, Pylos Nebula

It was rare for Will to occupy to cockpit without Shansa. In this case, however, with the Hyperion still hours away from Neidus, Will had managed to convince her to rest up as much as possible before their arrival. He loved to sit and relax in the cockpit during FTL jumps as it boasted the only viewports on the ship. It was so easy to get lost in the menagerie of countless stars and nebulae that spanned infinity in every direction. Combined with the painterly swaths of light cast by the mass effect fields during their FTL jump, the sight was truly breathtaking. Will had been in the pilot's seat for well over an hour now simply staring, his mind slowly drifting from one subject to another. Unfortunately, no matter what subject he attempted to steer his wanderings toward, they always ended up returning to one person. There we so many things about her that he had come to appreciate over the past six months... Eleena's laugh, her independence and strength, her playful grin, the way she looked up from her reading with those gorgeous, light purple eyes when he passed by. But he wanted more. He wanted to know more.

"How far out are we?"

Will jumped in his seat and twisted his head to see Vayren standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Goddamn, Vayren." Will let out a sigh. "Scared the hell out of me."

"Well, my apologies." The salarian stared down to the human with a remarkably unamused expression. "I didn't realize how intently you were focused on staring out the window."

Will narrowed his eyes slightly. "Did you just... make a joke..?"

Vayren continued to stare. Will could have sworn he saw the salarian's lips try to curl into a smile.

"My question still stands, Captain."

Will smirked lightly. "Three hours or so." He motioned to the copilot's seat. "Take a load off. You've been at that workbench for ages."

The Spectre hesitated a moment before nodding in agreement. He leaned forward slightly to duck through the doorway and sat himself comfortably in the chair beside Will. Vayren's eyes darted about the cockpit curiously, but casually.

"I'm guessing you haven't had much time up here." Will deduced as he shifted his weight to lean back in the chair.

"You are correct," Vayren affirmed as he looked back to Will. "It's a peculiar ship."

"Peculiar how?"

The salarian motioned to the ship around them. "This vessel is a human design, correct?"

Will nodded. "Yep. Guiana Class ships were some of the first civilian, inter-system capable models produced by humanity."

"Its hull is quite unique among those of the human ships I have observed." Vayren looked around the cockpit briefly. "An interesting choice."

"We actually didn't choose the ship." Will propped his feet up on one of the empty sections of metal plating as Shansa did from time to time. "Shansa and I came into possession of the Hyperion a few years ago after our old captain was killed."

The salarian raised a brow. "Oh? I was under the assumption you purchased the ship when you formed your mercenary band."

Will chuckled lightly. "'Formed' is not exactly how our little operation came into existence. Sommesh forced us to become a team... but we figured it would be unwise to put an end to a good thing."

"Your group was formed during your confrontation with Project Sommesh?" Vayren tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Yeah." Will smirked to the salarian. "Being the master of gathering intelligence, I thought you'd have known that."

The Spectre shook his head slightly. "There is only so much information floating around out there, Captain Hume. And believe it or not, the exact comings and goings of your crew is not part of it."

"Heh, fair enough." He smiled curiously and adjusted himself in his seat. "So what's your story? You've been pretty damn secretive since we met."

"Secretive? Hardly." Vayren motioned to Will. "You just haven't asked."

Will raised a brow and sat up. "Well, I'm asking now."

The Spectre glanced out the window. "Well, as you know, I've only been a Spectre for nine months. Ten, in a few days." Vayren looked back to Will as he continued. "I have only had a handful of assignments as a Spectre, the lengthiest being... Project Sommesh. The others were minor things, really, nothing worth mentioning. In all honesty, before this mission, I conducted far more high-profile and dangerous operations during my tenure with the salarian STG."

Will nodded for him to continue. "STG... that's the salarian special forces, yeah?"

"To put a generic name on it, yes. Though the Special Tasks Group is just as much military as it is espionage." The salarian gave a small, proud smile. "It was a privilege to have served with them. A handful of wars in the Terminus Systems never began because of my unit."

"Damn, so you've been on missions as heavy as this one before." Will sat up surprise, his interest piqued.

"Absolutely," Vayren affirmed.

"Hm. Corsin made it sound like you were pretty green." He paused for a moment as the salarian raised a verdant brow. "I mean... inexperienced."

The Spectre nodded. "Well, it is true that I have not been with the Spectres for long, but Agent Rentarius does not know much about my service with the STG."

"Sounds like he could stand to learn more about you," Will suggested.

Vayren shook his head slightly. "Truthfully, he isn't wrong about my inexperience. Although the STG is said to have been the template for the Spectres... it's hard to describe the difference in personal accountability between the two. For me it is difficult to fully grasp, at times."

The salarian had very slowly averted his gaze from Will, though seemingly unconsciously. Vayren stared at one of the blinking nav panels in silence, his brow furrowed in contemplation. Will gently placed his hands in his own lap and laced his fingers as he watched Vayren curiously and waited for him to speak again.

"My apologies," the salarian said after a few seconds. "I was lost in my thoughts for a moment."

Will narrowed his eyes curiously. "It get the feeling that being a Spectre isn't what you anticipated."

Vayren stared Will down for a moment. Will assumed the Spectre was having an internal debate on whether or not he would open up to a mercenary captain he had only known for a week or two. The salarian let out a small sigh as he decided.

"I wouldn't say that, exactly. It's just quite different. As a Spectre, the whole galaxy knows that you're a hero. You're the Council's hand, doing good for every world."

"You sound like you're reading out of a pamphlet," Will mused.

Vayren nodded. "Precisely. And that's how the Council wants the galaxy to see the Spectres. But the STG... the only ones who know the extent of the accomplishments of STG operatives are their comrades." He lifted his chin proudly. "We were the nameless, thankless heroes. And we remember one another and those who came before us to ensure their effort meant something."

Will nodded understandingly. "So you don't like the responsibility or recognition that comes with the title of 'Spectre.'"

The salarian smiled slightly. "Like I said, Captain Hume, it is simply something I must learn to accept."

"You know, Corsin doesn't seem to have any qualms with throwing around his title," Will mentioned.

"Of course not." Vayren laughed slightly. "He is a turian, after all. Their take on military doctrine is all but the opposite of ours. They honor the names and faces of their heroes for centuries."

Will chuckled. "Very true."

"Pardon my intrusion."

Will and Vayren glanced over their shoulders to see Tul'Sorrin standing into the door.

"Oh, hey Tul," Will greeted with a smile. "Need something?"

The quarian nodded. "Yes. From Agent Vayren, actually."

The salarian eyed Tul suspiciously. "And that would be?"

"Well..." Tul'Sorrin paused for a moment. "I was curious about some of the equipment you use." His posture straightened slightly. "More specifically, your cloaking system."

"I see." Vayren nodded. "What did you want to know?"

Tul glanced to Will, then back to Vayren. "I was actually wondering if you might show me some of your systems. I might be able to optimize something..." He shrugged and tried to put on a casual tone. "Or, maybe, I could learn how to operate with the cloaking device... you know, whatever you feel like showing me."

The salarian shifted his gaze to Will. He human smirked lightly and nodded encouragingly.

"Eh, sure," Vayren replied as he looked back to the quarian. "Why not? It's not terribly difficult to learn the system." He pulled himself to his feet. "But I only have a few of the cloaking generators on hand."

Tul shook his head and raised a hand. "I can promise you that I know how to treat tech."

The salarian grinned slightly. "I'm well aware. That's the only reason I considered your request." He stepped through the door and past Tul'Sorrin. "Come on, then. We can cover most of the basics in a few hours." Vayren glanced back over his shoulder to Will. "I appreciate your time, Captain Hume."

"Good talkin' to you too," Will replied.

Tul'Sorrin turned to follow the salarian as he started off down the hall. "I've already done some research on the firmware the cloaking systems operate on and I've got a few tweaks in mind."

Their voices faded slowly as Will watched them continue down the hall and into the cargo bay. As they stepped out of sight he smiled and slid back down into his seat. He looked to the nav panel and let out a sigh; they still had a little under three hours to go. Will leaned his head back and shut his eyes, surrendering to the idea of a short nap.

"Everyone circle up," Will ordered.

He stood with the Spectres at his side as Kallux, Eleena, Tul'Sorrin and Tyrixis grabbed the last of the equipment from their workbenches and lined up for the mission briefing. Will looked over each of them as they approached. Kallux had been unusually quiet for the past few days, but Will knew he would need some time to get back to himself after what had happened on Tuchanka. Tul'Sorrin, on the other hand, was the opposite of his normally quiet and reserved self. The quarian practically bounced in place from the exciting prospect of putting the cloaking training he had received into action. Eleena stood beside him with an outward level of enthusiasm much closer to Kallux's. She had been working on the Kodiak for nearly sixteen hours straight in an attempt to finish her work before they reached Neidus. Unfortunately, there had still been much to do on the shuttle when they exited FTL a few hundred thousands kilometers from the planet. The last to ready herself with the group was Tyrixis. She held her helmet under her arm as she stood straight and stoically, ready to receive the mission orders.

Will cleared his throat slightly. "Hey, Tyrixis... er, Doctor Rentarius... Major Rentarius..?"

"My rank upon discharge from the turian military holds no significance in the Terminus Systems or, in fact, with your crew. Tyrixis will suffice," the turian answered very matter-of-factly. "Doctor Rentarius is you insist on formality."

"How do you feel about Doc?" Will raised a brow hopefully.

Tyrixis shrugged, unamused. "Tyrixis, Doctor Rentarius, Doc... as long as it's clear enough to catch my attention during a firefight."

"That's actually what I was trying to get around to." Will nodded to her. "You really don't have to be on the ground with us if you don't want to."

"I've seen plenty of patients die on an operating table that could have lived had they received even the most basic treatment in the field." The turian shook her head. "I will be joining you. Besides, my marksman scores were virtually identical to Corsin's."

Corsin glanced to Will and nodded. "It's always nice to have another gun."

"True enough," Will conceded with a smile to Tyrixis. "Now let's get this briefing started. Corsin, you've got most of the intel, how'd you like to do most of the talking?"

"Of course." The turian answered as though the question had been implicit. Corsin stepped forward and looked around the circle. "This mission will be simple: get in, tear the place open for any shred of evidence we can find, and get out. Our target is an abandoned weapons manufactory that I believe was used by Narenthus Antarian for at least five years, abandoned less than six months ago. The planet, Neidus, is nothing to write home about: post-garden, low surface temperatures, but plenty of empty space for businesses trying to stay under the radar. Thankfully, this factory didn't.

"The facility is built into the side of a cliff-face, complete with a landing pad large enough for the Hyperion to land with ease." Corsin rechecked his omnitool. "When we got close enough I had Shansa and Tul'Sorrin run the scanners around the facility's coordinates. No signs of life."

Kallux crossed his arms. "How big is this place?"

Tul'Sorrin looked to his left where the krogan stood. "If our scans are correct... big. But we don't know exactly how big."

"Unfortunately," Corsin added regrettably. "As I said, the facility is built into the cliff-face of a mountain that interfered with most of our data probing."

Tul nodded. "The long-range scanners were disrupted by large deposits of metal in the mountainside."

"So as you already said, it's big," Will reiterated. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

Corsin shook his head. "No, but I do want everyone keep their eyes open wide. Even the most insignificant bit of information could mean the difference between a new lead and a dead end."

"So, keep our eyes open and stay warm." Eleena nodded. "Anything else?"

"No, that pretty much hits the nail on the head," Corsin answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Any other concerns?" Will looked around the circle to see the others were silent. He glanced to Corsin. "Shall I make the call?"

The turian nodded. "Do it."

Will opened his comm channel to the cockpit. "Shansa, we're ready. Take us down."

"Got it! Exiting orbit and setting course for the facility's coordinates."

He closed the channel with a nod. "Alright, everyone into the airlock."

The squad broke from their circular formation and quickly secured their helmets and any other loose ends as they followed Will, Corsin and Vayren across the room to the cargo airlock. After the squad had filed in and secured the inner airlock door, Shansa's voice appeared over the ship-wide comm system.

"I'm taking us in nice and slow," she informed them. "The fog in this place is thicker than any I've ever seen."

"So we're headed to a creepy, abandoned, underground facility located on a planet with inclement weather." Tul'Sorrin tilted his head to the side slightly. "I can't help but feel like I've been here before."

Eleena grinned with a shrug. "Hey, maybe we'll get another benevolent krogan out of it."

Kallux chuckled. "Keep dreamin', Eleena. It's cute."

Will smiled to himself and pulled the exterior cameras up on his omnitool. Shansa wasn't exaggerating about the fog. He cycled through the numerous optical settings with little luck and closed out the omnitool with a sigh.

"Touching down in five seconds," Shansa reported.

Will pressed his finger firmly to the panel on the wall, causing the outer airlock door to slide apart. The squad looked out the doorway to see nothing but thick, gray fog. The thermal sensors on Will's HUD immediately adjusted, indicating the influx of near-freezing temperatures. He stepped up to the edge of the airlock and placed his hand on the bulkhead for balance as the Hyperion eased off of its descent and the roar of the belly thrusters initiated. The ship slowed until it was nearly at a standstill, then shook gently as the sight of the landing pad broke through the fog. There was a faint sound of metal-on-metal as the landing gears connected with the ground and the ship swung to a halt.

"Well, here we are," Will announced as he reached for his rifle and jumped to the ground.

The rest of the squad followed close behind with their weapons drawn but at ease. Once they had all exited the ship, Will reactivated his comm link to Shansa.

"We're on the ground."

"Alright, stand clear. I'm headed back into orbit."

"Let's move!" Will waved everyone forward and away from the ship as the belly thrusters ignited once again.

The Hyperion slowly rose up from the landing pad as Shansa pushed the engines to full. Will looked back over his shoulder and watched as the blue glow of the ship's thrusters faded into the gray mist. He turned his attention back to the task at hand as he and the others walked forward, assuming that Shansa had inserted them in the right direction. After a few moments of walking the white glow of spotlights began to fade in through the fog in front of them.

"Lights," Tyrixis stated. "I thought you said this place was abandoned, Corsin."

"It should be," he answered slowly.

"You don't sound so certain," Vayren noted.

Kallux flipped a switch on the side of his cannon to send the power core into warmup. "Could be automated."

Will shook his head. "Let's not take any chances."

The squad calmly raised their weapons up without order as Will took point. They moved cautiously toward the pair of lights until, seemingly out of nowhere, the wall of the cliff-face and a massive set of doors appeared in front of them. The lights shone brightly from above the metal doorway that stretched up and out in either direction dozens of feet, making it nearly large enough to be a hangar bay door. The squad scanned the area in silence.

"Personnel door," Tul'Sorrin reported.

A waypoint blipped up on the squad's HUD as Tul motioned toward a relatively small door located past the far end of the large one they stood in front of.

"So it would seem," Corsin replied. "I'd be willing to bet that they used the big one for shipping and receiving cargo."

"Well, it exits to the landing pad," Eleena remarked. "So it's either that or they employed giants."

The group picked up their pace and hurried to the smaller door with Tul'Sorrin stepping ahead. He pulled up his omnitool as they reached the door and began his work to bypass the security system. After only a few seconds the controls blinked green and the door slid apart to reveal a decontamination chamber.

"That was quick," Will mentioned offhandedly.

"I'd love to take credit," Tul began as he lowered his omnitool. "But the lock wasn't even engaged. It looks like they wanted to get out of here quick."

Will stepped into the room and waited for the others to follow inside before shutting the outer door and opening the inner. He held his weapon up as the door slid apart to reveal a rather unremarkable hallway. Dim lights hung from the ceiling that looked to be shining at less than half their intended strength. The left wall was lined with window after window allowing sight into a massive chamber about the same width and height as the large door outside. The only illumination in the the large, adjacent chamber came from the faint light that shown through the windows. Will took a step into the hallway and toward the wall.

"Damn," he muttered.

The rest of the squad exited the airlock and Tul'Sorrin closed it behind them. Will's helmet tapped the glass of the window as he attempted to see as far down the chamber as he could. It extended far beyond the length of the hallway and out of sight.

"We need to find a map," Will decided as he turned back to the squad.

Vayren and Tul'Sorrin both began to speak at the same time, but stopped as they heard one another. They glanced to each other and the Spectre gave a small nod to Tul.

"We'll do what we can," Vayren said as he looked back to Will. "Hopefully there's still a terminal or two operational in this place."

"Hopefully. If there is, let's find it." Will readied his M-15 and began making his way down the hall. "Everyone keep your eyes peeled."

The hallway was only a few dozen feet long and ended at a pair of doors: one led forward, and the other to a ninety degree angle. As they neared the end of the hall, the door to their right blinked to life and parted. The squad froze in place and locked their weapons on the open door as two mechanical figures appeared. The heads of the robots turned toward the Hyperion crew at the same instant and their bodies followed suit. Their arms raised and pointed the light security pistols in their hands at the squad.

"Unauthorized presence detected," the mechs vocalized in unison.

The mechs only got off a shot or two before they were cut down by a quick burst from the guns on the front line of the group. Will, Tyrixis and Corsin lowered their rifles as the robots fell to the ground, sparking and buzzing incoherently as their voice modulators failed.

"LOKI mechs," Kallux muttered. "Big favorite for Terminus gangs."

"And more evidence for your hypothesis," Vayren said to Tul. "It seems this facility was abandoned before they could even round up their security."

"Attention." The voice of a VI emitted from the ceiling. "Unauthorized intrusion detected. All personnel: please exercise caution. Security has been dispatched."

Will let out a sigh.

Eleena stepped up to his side with a sly grin. "You didn't think this would be easy, did you?"

"Is it ever?" Will asked with a sideways glance.

Vayren cleared his throat to gather their attention. "Captain, I have a suggestion."

The squad turned to face the salarian. Will nodded and held his rifle at ease. "Go for it."

"I feel it would be best if we divided our resources."

Will frowned slightly. "Split up? I'm not sure splitting up has ever worked out."

Vayren shook his head in objection. "We could cover more ground this way."

"But our effective firepower would be cut in half," Corsin retorted.

"We do not need to divide ourselves evenly. I can move alone and use my cloaking generator to avoid any security mechs that I might run across." Vayren looked between Corsin and Will as he waited for a response.

Will hesitated. "I don't know... alone?"

"I could go as well," Tul'Sorrin suggested. "He gave me a rundown of operating the cloaking system." He quarian tapped his belt. "And I... might have brought one along. Just in case."

The salarian narrowed his eyes slightly, but quickly decided to abandon his objection. "That was... good thinking, Tul'Sorrin."

"That might work," Corsin admitted. "We could take all the heavy firepower and attempt to draw the security towards us, leaving them to analyze any tech undisturbed."

Will glanced to the others. "What do you guys think?"

Kallux shrugged. "If they can stay out of sight, I don't see why not."

"Tul can probably do some serious damage to those mechs even if they get caught," Eleena added.

Tyrixis remained silent.

"Okay, but be careful." With a nod of agreement, Will motioned toward the open door. "Which door do you two want?"

Vayren stowed his sniper rifle and retrieved the pistol on his belt. "We'll leave you to breach the closed door and take the open one." The Spectre turned and stepped up to the doorway. "We'll stay in frequent comm contact."

Tul'Sorrin hurried to the salarian's side as Vayren activated his omnitool and vanished in a small electrical flash. The quarian activated his crimson omnitool and, after a slightly longer bit of work, did the same.

"Stay vigilant, Captain Hume." Vayren's voice faded as it passed through the doorway.

"And, good luck," Tul'Sorrin added.

Will looked back to the others. "Everyone ready?" The squad nodded affirmatively. "Good. Let's tear up some mechs."