Author's Note: I'M ALIVE! Sorry it took me so long to update! It turns out my semester was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Fortunately, I didn't spend three month doing nothing but college work. Although I did not update, I did manage to work on the overall plot of the story. I know how it goes; now I just need to write it down. I will warn you, it has been a while since I actually started writing again, so I may be a little rusty. Ah well, that's what reviews are for!
To answer what I think is the most frequently asked, the Omni-Sword mentioned before is NOT a version of the Master Sword. It is just a sword that Link uses until he gets the Master Sword. When will he get it? You'll have to keep reading to find out!
Now, back to the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Legend of Zelda.
Chapter 3: Eden Prime
Over a clearing that looked out towards the setting sun, four black clad figures, three men and one woman, fell from an opening underneath the Normandy. Upon landing, two of them pulled assault rifles off their backs, while the other two pulled out a pistol and a sniper rifle. The sniper, Link, looked out through the scope for possible hostiles. He saw what appeared to be floating gas bags on the other side, but they seemed docile. Kaidan, the one with the pistol, took notice of them as well.
"What the hell are those things?" he asked.
"Gas bags," Corporal Jenkins, the man with the assault rifle, replied. "Don't worry; they're completely harmless."
The woman bearing the assault rifle nodded in acknowledgement, focusing her aim to an opening on one side of the clearing.
"Let's move out," Commander Shepard said.
All three men followed the commander, keeping their weapons raised in case of an attack. The group came to an open area with multiple chest-high rock formations scattered across it. Shepard stopped the group right at the rock wall. Link couldn't blame her; this scene was practically screaming for an ambush.
Shepard scouted what little area she could see while Link waited. After a few seconds, she signaled for Link and Jenkins to proceed. Without hesitation, Link moved out into the open, keeping his rifle aimed toward the other side. He and Jenkins were halfway across the width of the opening when suddenly three drones came streaking out the other side, guns blazing beneath them. Acting purely out of instinct, Link fired a shot, destroying one of the drones, before jumping towards the nearest rock formation.
Staying low, Link turned around just in time to see Jenkins fall from multiple rounds in the chest. His thoughts didn't linger on the sight, but focused more on the attack drones that waited on the other side of his cover. Combat first, everything else later.
Link jumped up from cover, and fired a shot at the drone approaching his position. The machine's shields diminished, leaving the drone open for an onslaught of rounds from an assault rifle. Link watched as the last hovering synthetic was fiercely pulled to the ground by a ghostly blue force. He turned to Kaidan, the man behind the biotic display, as he examined Jenkins.
"Ripped right through his shields," he said as he closed the corporal's eyes, "he never had a chance."
Link looked down, slightly ashamed of himself. Jenkins had been very enthusiastic about this mission, especially since it meant working with a Spectre. True, the news that his home colony was under attack did shake the corporal, but after Link talked to him, Jenkins became determined to see this through. The lieutenant knew what he was going through, being a survivor of Mindoir himself. He had promised Jenkins that the enemy would pay, so long as they went in with a calm mind and a cautious attitude.
Now Jenkins was dead. He should have done something; pushed him out of the way, boosted his shields beforehand…
"We'll see that he receives a proper service after the mission is complete," Shepard said, "but I need you two to stay focused."
Link nodded as Kaidan replied "Aye aye, Ma'am."
Shepard was right, now wasn't the time to start mourning. There was still the Prothean beacon to collect, and dozens of enemies standing in their way. The mission comes first, everything else after.
The grouped moved on, but Link lingered a little longer than the others. He made a silent promise to Jenkins that he would protect the colony, no matter what. He then followed Shepard, sniper rifle in hand.
Xxxxxxxxxx
After a few encounters with more drones, Shepard's group came across another clearing, just in time to see a female soldier in white and pink armor run from the other side. From his scope, Link could see two drones, which were quickly taken out by the soldier's pistol. More movement from the far end caught Link's eye, and he zoomed in his scope to see two synthetic looking creatures place a colonist onto some weird tripod. He wondered what the purpose was…
"!"
The tripod just impaled the colonist! Why would-? Who would-? MONSTERS!
Angered by the immoral act, Link shot the first mech through its flashlight head, just as the other was taken down by three sets of assault rifles. Once the area seemed clear, Link turned his attention to the soldier, who began talking to Commander Shepard.
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212" she spoke, fatigue clear in her voice. "Are you the one in charge here, Ma'am?"
"Are you wounded, Williams?" Shepard asked.
"Just a few scrapes and burns, nothing serious," Williams answered. "The others weren't so lucky. We were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to send out a distress call, but they cut off our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."
"Where's the rest of your squad?"
"We tried to double-back to the beacon, but we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others..." Ashley paused and shook her head. "…I think I'm the only one left."
Link saw Shepard's expression soften at the gunnery chief's words. He couldn't blame her, considering how closely related this was to Akuze…
"This isn't your fault, Williams," Shepard said, "You couldn't have done anything to save them."
"Yes Ma'am," Ashley acknowledged before continuing, "We held our position as long as we could, but the Geth overwhelmed us."
Geth? Link thought. As in the sentient machine race accidentally created by the quarians?
"The Geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly two hundred years," Kaidan said in disbelief, "Why are they here now?"
Ashley shrugged before saying "They must have come for the beacon."
It made sense to Link. If the beacon was as important as everyone says it is, it would be a target for anyone interested, including the Geth. Who knows what the machines could learn from it?
"The dig site is close, just over that rise," Ashley pointed out. "It should still be there."
"We could use your help, Williams." Shepard stated.
"Aye aye Ma'am," Ashley said with steel in her voice. "It's time for payback."
"Move out!"
Xxxxxxxxxx
Ashley swore to herself. They had made it to the dig site, only to find it full of Geth and more spikes with people impaled on them. No Prothean beacon in sight.
"This is the dig site," she told the others. "The beacon was right here! It must have been moved!"
"By who, our side or the Geth?" the dark haired soldier asked.
"Hard to say," she replied, although she hoped it was former. "Maybe we'll know more once we check out the research camp."
"You think anyone got out of here alive?" the red haired commander asked, looking around at the carnage.
"If they were lucky," Ashley said hesitantly, "Maybe hiding out in the camp. It's just on the top of this ridge, up the ramps."
It seemed like a long shot, but after everything she saw she'd gladly welcome any sort of miracle right now.
The others nodded and headed for the ramps, the blond-haired one with the sniper following behind her. He hadn't spoken a word since they'd met, but Ashley didn't dwell on that too much. They were approaching the camp…
…or what was left of it! There was debris everywhere, and fires sprung up on one side of the camp. On the other side were spikes, more than half a dozen, all of them with people on them.
"Looks like they hit the camp hard." Ashley said.
The dark haired guy nodded, "It's a good place for an ambush. Keep your guard up."
Ashley kept her eyes out for potential hiding spots, when she noticed something about the bodies on the spikes. They were much paler than the usual corpse, practically grey in color. Some parts of them seem to glow a light blue. Before she could move closer, the spikes suddenly retracted, leaving the bodies on top of the tripod. Immediately, the corpses began twitching and rising up from the stands.
"They're still alive!" the dark-haired guy exclaimed.
"What did the Geth do to them?" Ashley asked, shocked at what she was seeing.
Before anyone could respond, the corpses groaned and stumbled their way towards the soldiers, acting very much like the living dead. Everyone fired at the seemingly synthetic husks, most of their rounds impacting kinetic shields before actually tearing through the bodies. The husks continued charging, ignoring the shots. Two had fallen as a result of headshots, but the rest kept coming!
The commander must have noticed how close the enemy was getting, because without turning around she yelled "Link!" The silent soldier suddenly ran forward, dropping the rifle and activating his Omni-tool. At first, Ashley thought he was going to release some sort of EM pulse to take down the closest husks, but instead a long orange blade extended from the device! Before she could blink, the blond soldier had slashed at the nearest husk, and then cleaved another one in two. She watched as the soldier hacked and slashed at the husks until they all disintegrated at his feet.
"Whoa…" was all Ashley could say.
The other two chuckled at her reaction.
"This is why most people call Link," The dark haired one said as Link turned around, holographic sword still in hand, "The Lion of Elysium."
What do you think? Good? Bad? Quit while I'm behind? Review and let me know!