A/N: Just to clarify something: the Krogan Ether Beams are not Reaper weapons although they function based on similar principles. Thanix beams fire streams of a molten alloy of iron, tungsten and uranium accelerated by a powerful magnetic field inside a mass-reducing effect field. Ether beams fire streams of pure tungsten in the plasma phase accelerated through controlled explosive decompression from the containment chamber inside a mass-reducing effect field.
###
The team snapped to attention as Saren strode into the briefing room.
"At ease."
They sat down in the chairs, painfully aware of the casualties they had suffered the previous mission. They were down to eight, plus the unknown quantity of the four Stalwarts they had taken aboard at Feros which Saren didn't want to send into the field until he had made a more accurate assessment of their abilities.
"Here's the situation. We've got reports of major Collector activity at a Prothean digsite on Therum. This has been brought to our attention because their presence there doesn't fit with the rest of their pattern. We believe Benezia herself may be overseeing the operations on that planet for some reason. Our mission is to infiltrate undetected onto the planet, assess the magnitude of the Collector presence and intervene as necessary. R&D have some new toys for us, report downstairs for your upgrades."
Nodding at the rest of the team, Saren headed downstairs.
###
Miranda clenched her fist, feeling the familiar thrum of biotic power as she finished the checks to her armour. She had to admit the Cerberus Phantom armour was thoroughly unpleasant to wear. It was designed to be worn by the user for weeks on end, effectively a mobile survival pod. A system of absorbent nanolayers and tubes in uncomfortable places ensured her body had a 100 per cent water efficiency, the same H2O molecules cycling through her system millions of times, her nutrients provided by a small stock of hyperconcentrated nutrient paste constantly replenished by the suit processing her body's waste products. For inhospitable environments or EVA, her armour was completely sealed, her air supply of pure oxygen constantly replenished by the catalytic breakdown of carbon dioxide, the carbon feeding back into her nutrient paste. As long as the generators in the armour's weave didn't run out she could in theory go indefinitely without resupply. As the helmet closed over her head she briefly reflected that she understood how the Quarians used to feel.
Her face concealed behind the golden visor of her helmet, she checked over her selection of weapons. Cerberus provided her with an enormous variety of firepower despite the fact she only ever really used the long mono-molecular sword and the SN12 extreme velocity pistol. Locking her weapons to her armour, she stepped out and regarded her companions.
Her team was comprised of three Phantoms, including herself. She was Spirit class, a biotic and tech powerhouse. The petite Italian woman opposite her, Celine Pattenesca, was Nightmare class, capable of killing with a single bullet from her heavily modded Sharp at almost six hundred metres out. Last but not least Amili Bayne was the squad's Shade class, the most capable in close combat.
When Miranda spoke, her voice came out filtered to the point where her accent was totally undiscernable.
"The situation is this, ladies. A high priority target has just resurfaced. We need to capture her alive. Our agent has reported she is aboard a ship en route to Therum. Our job is to get aboard, get the target and get out."
The Phantoms nodded at her, then turned to their own preparation.
###
The Alliance frigate Jorgal slowly approached the disabled Collector ship, searchlight slowly sweeping over the crippled vessel. The frigate's captain, Jorgal Russc, had taken a major risk and wormholed his ship straight into the Collector's exhaust stream. The superheated contrail of plasma had almost instantly overwhelmed his vessel's shields but the miracle-stone hull had held firm, allowing him to lurk in the Collector ship's blind spot long enough to fire his ship's main ether beam straight up into their exhaust port, burning out their engines and power core.
Inside the Jorgal's hangar bay, the Alliance boarding forces were readying their equipment. The weapons they were going to be using were all Fortack-line prototype ether-tech, tested extensively on a handful of Weyrloc sub-clans that had been holding out against the Alliance. Each Clan-class frigate carried fifteen sets of the new breaching armour. That was really all they needed.
Russc looked over the fifteen black armoured figures ready to deploy in the vessel's cargo hold. Each of them was clad in Essaten tactical breaching armour, the enormous powered suits adding three foot onto the height of each Krogan and bulking them out to the point where they could effectively block an average sized corridor. They were all wielding a variety of arcane weapons, eager to engage the enemy.
"Ready to engage."
"Begin the assault."
Each of the Essaten warriors, or Terminators as they were known in the fleet, raised a fist to their chests, punching in co-ordinates for their personal wormhole drive systems, nicknamed 'Pewds', and disappeared into their own personal crackling red portal.
Battlemaster Urdnot Axen stepped out of his wormhole, looking around the Collector vessel as his squad emerged beside him.
"Tark, come in."
Moments later the voice of Khel Tark, his squad's handler, appeared.
"Hold on. The ship's barriers are still partially functional in areas, comms are spotty. Okay, I've made your position. Bringing up internal scans."
There was a momentary pause as Axen checked over his weapons. His main weapon was a Gorgon rifle, a larger, bulkier version of the Blitz rifle being developed for mass production. To back up that weapon for close combat he carried an ether hammer, the revamped version of the old Warlord hammer. His squad were similarly armed, apart from the fact that instead of an ether hammer they wore ether gauntlets that coated their left hands in a field of cherry-red plasma, enabling them to punch through almost anything. The one exception was Ravanor Jask who carried an enormous heavy flamethrower that cast its flames in excess of three thousand degrees.
"Okay, I have them. The Collector data core is about two hundred metres away, six levels up from your current position. Watch yourself though - several Collector squads are headed towards you."
"Acknowledged."
He hefted his Gorgon rifle and waved for his men to move out. The plan was to converge on the Collector data core from three directions and take control of the vessel from there while they awaited the arrival of their reinforcements on the Warlord-class cruiser Shiagur.
"Axen, you've got a Collector squad entrenched directly in your path. Watch yourself - they've got heavy weapons."
Axen responded with his thanks and held up a fist, bringing his team to a halt.
"I marked them on your HUD."
Checking his screen, Axen jolted in surprise. They were literally just around the corner. If he had kept going he would have walked his squad straight into an ambush.
"Appreciated."
He stepped smartly out into the firing line then instantly recoiled, smirking as three Collector railgun bolts splashed against the opposite wall. Collector railguns functioned similarly to ether beams, firing bolts of molten metal powerful enough to blow through frigate armour. The downside was that each cannon took thirty seconds to recharge between shots. Which meant his team had thirty seconds to wreak bloody havoc on the entrenched Collectors.
"Full extermination!"
All five Krogan in his squad stepped round the corner and began pacing towards the Collector position. Four Gorgon rifles opened up, the flamethrower waiting until they were closer.
Axen jammed down the trigger of his Gorgon and inside the weapon, a bolt shunted back and rotated, scooping a fat shell out of the first of the three magazines arranged radially around the enormous rifle. A tiny rocket engine at the rear of the bullet opened up, the mass-reducing field around the three barrels enabling the miniature missile to be accelerated out of the weapon's barrel at enormous velocity. As the shell left the muzzle of the weapon four stabilising fins popped out, allowing the bullet to fly straight and true. Five metres from the Collector position, the bullet exploded, replaced by a cluster of flechettes that glowed white hot from being exposed to the blast of the rocket engine during the shell's flight. The flechettes flew true, unencumbered by the cover the Collectors were hiding behind as the metal plates were sliced through by the white hot blades. Likewise, the Collectors behind the plates proved to be little obstacle to the flechettes.
Axen roared in approval as the airbursting rounds made short work of the Collector front line. Likewise, his men greatly enjoyed the spectacle of the Collector line being slice'n'diced by the barrage their heavy machine guns put out.
They came to within twenty five metres and sheets of incandescent flame spewed out of Ravanor Jask's flamethrower, immolating any surviving Collectors. When he lifted the muzzle of his weapon up and released his hold on the trigger, the bodies weren't burning or even melting. They simply weren't there any more.
Chortling to himself, Axen pulled up his Gorgon and checked the ammunition counter on the side of the weapon.
12/12/11
Quickly running the math in his head, Axen baulked at the amount of ammunition he alone had used in the fight. Fifty five rounds out of the weapon's capacity of ninety. He pulled the magazines out of the weapon, plugging them into the slots on his backpack and they disappeared inside to be refilled, three fresh magazines popping out of the slots. He plugged them into their relevant ports on the weapon, nodding in satisfaction as the ammo counter once again displayed three thirties.
"Let's move."
The team stomped through the slowly cooling remains of the Collector position, heading deeper into the ship.
###
Tali, Jack and Kelly all leaned in close, waiting anxiously on the answer to their question. Sam chewed her lower lip in thought for a moment, then looked up.
"Bang Audrey Hepburn."
There was a stunned silence.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Jack groaned and rubbed her forehead.
"You're telling me that if you had a time machine the first thing you would do is bang Audrey Hepburn?"
"Yes."
Tali raised a finger imperiously and pointed at Sam, who was squirming slightly.
"Kelly, you need to have sex with this woman before she grows horns."
Sam wildly gesticulated at Jack.
"So! Hers was to beat up Chuck Norris!"
"That's a serious achievement."
"So is sleeping with Audrey bloody Hepburn!"
Jack sniggered and poked Kelly.
"I didn't know your girlfriend was looking for her red wings. Kinky."
Tali looked blank and Kelly took pity on her.
"She's talking about that thing Human women do once a month."
She still looked confused. Jack took it upon herself to explain.
"Menstruation."
"Oh Keelah. Is that the thing with the ... Never mind, I don't even want to know."
A little voice piped up behind them.
"What does that mean?"
The expressions of sheer terror on their faces had Joker doubled over laughing as he turned off his Omnitool, hiding the recording of Nari.
###
The Blue Suns owned Zorya. That was the only way to put it. The entire planet had been claimed by them, a number of civilian cities on the planet completely overshadowed by the sprawling fifty kilometre wide base that was their galactic headquarters. The entire thing was studded by defence cannons and missile silos and protected from orbital bombardment by an enormous kinetic barrier dome, the largest planetary based dome in existence. At the very centre of the base, a one hundred and sixty storey tower served as the beating heart of every Blue Suns operation in the galaxy.
On the one hundred and sixtieth floor, Captain Jentha Mae Sorsdöttir stood at attention as General Zaeed Massani appraised her coolly. She had heard rumours that Massani was past his best. She knew different. The old man may not have much left in the way of hair but he had a razor sharp mind and the fitness of someone who had spent almost their entire life honing their body as a weapon. His eyes examined her armour and weapons even as he poured two glasses of Tirfan firebrew, a very popular Raachok drink that tasted like sweet red wine but had the kick of absinthe.
"Sit down before you drop dead, girl."
Sighing, she gratefully collapsed into one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. She had been run ragged the past week or so, operating on about an hour of sleep a night and too much coffee, her time consumed with desperately trying to field the slew of reinforcement or evac requests for Suns caught in Collector warzones. The entirety of the Blue Suns command structure was like an ant nest that had just met a boot.
Jentha caught a glimpse of herself in the polished reflective surface of the titanium desk. Despite being in her early fifties she still looked as if she was around her late twenties. She was getting to the end of her prime - thanks to Raachok anti-senescent gene mods Humans really had two plateaus to their ageing process. The first was from the age of twenty five to fifty five, when they essentially stopped ageing for thirty years. The next was from eighty five to one hundred and twenty five, which most Humans spent looking like an unaugmented human in their early sixties. From there onwards they started ageing again, albeit slowly with the longest recorded human living to the ripe old age of one hundred and eighty seven. The stress and sleep deprivation almost made Jentha look like she was in the second plateau with Zaeed.
"How are you holding up?"
She thought about playing down her state of exhaustion, then decided against it.
"Like reheated bug shit, sir."
He chortled at the expression. It had highly unsavoury origins, coming from the Seu'Seun war when survival guides had as a last ditch hail Mary to survival recommended boiling up Seu'Seun excrement which was surprisingly nutritious if a little disgusting.
"You look it. When's the last time you slept more than an hour?"
"I think we lived in caves and made fire with sticks."
She glanced down at her reflection again, trying to ignore the bags under her eyes as she sipped at the firebrew. Even after drinking the stuff almost since she was old enough to drink she had to fight down the urge to splutter after taking a mouthful.
"I'm sending your battalion to Therum. Proteus Battalion are dirt side and getting hammered by the Collectors. You need to extract them."
He reached across the desk and patted her hand.
"It's quite a journey. If I were you I'd lock myself in my cabin and sleep the whole way."
She yawned cavernously and rubbed her eyes, having to exert a considerable amount of willpower to lever herself out of the seat.
"I'll get it done, boss."
###
Liara paced anxiously in front of the barrier curtain, TCN5 HSMG in hand as she stared at the creatures in front of her. Dome heads, they were called, appearing to be the Collector version of security mechs. A nightmare collision of flesh and metal, they stood mute and motionless in front of the barrier curtain, their strange flattened ball-like heads with no discernible facial features, limbs and long tails composed of two separate segments that came together at the joints much like the radius and ulna bones of a Human or Asari forearm. One of their hands was replaced by a semi-automatic high caliber rifle, the other was a thumbless two-fingered hand, each finger tipped in a vicious thirty centimetre blade. They unnerved her, a rare feat for someone who had stared down a biotic thresher maw.
The Collectors outside clicked at one another as they moved equipment around, the dome heads standing as silent sentinels as Grunt approached her carrying two steaming bowls of stew.
"Battlemaster, I brought you some food."
She smiled at him as she took the bowl, spearing a chunk of meat with her combat knife. The stew was very makeshift, consisting of chunks of dried varren meat, doughy bread and dehydrated peppers, all stewed with a significant helping of chilli powder. It wasn't Michelin Star cuisine, but it was hot and high-calorie, exactly what she needed.
"Thanks."
She slumped against the wall and Grunt sat beside her, dwarfing her even sitting down.
"We're in a fine mess, aren't we?"
Grunt chuckled darkly as he stabbed at his food.
"Surrounded, outnumbered and trapped in a volcano. You pick the best battles."
She sighed and scratched her face, huffing in annoyance as she inadvertently deposited some of the greasy water from the stew on her cheek.
"The Collectors really got us here."
Grunt shook his head and lightly punched her on the shoulder, making her stew slosh around in the bowl.
"Hey, we took on Antros and lived to tell the tale. What chance do a bunch of insects have?"