A/N: With all the daily updates, I'm thinking I should slow things down a bit. Updates are still going to be coming quick, I just don't want to burn myself out mentally trying to keep up my quota with this. And besides, I really like writing this fic and I want to see it through to the end.
I've also decided to split this story into three separate fics, just like the games, with a little extra thrown in between to give it my own style. So when this one comes to a close you can be damn sure that there will be a sequel.
I own nothing
Alexander 'Maverick' Drake
Feros Colony
August 4, 2183 - 15:57 hours
The Geth had been averted for the time being, but deep down the team knew that it was only a matter of time before they struck the colony again. And the colonists were in no shape to take another hit.
Alex patrolled the outer perimeter with Ashley, the others doing the same in separate sectors while Jane talked with Fai Dan about where the Geth were coming from and what they were after.
The nano soldier had no problem with the Commander doing most of the talking. Between the two Spectres, Shepard was the most charismatic when it came to stuff like this. But no matter what she picked from the leader of the colony Alex already knew everything.
But the real question was what was the Post-Human going to do about the knowledge he had of this place.
"Think the Skipper can figure out what's going on around here?" asked Ashley with her helmet still on. "I mean, the colonists are acting really wierd. Could it have something to do with those spores your VI picked up?"
"Possible. But I'm not 100%. Prophet's been running scans every few moments and the highest concentration of spores are coming from here in the colony. My best guess is that whatever's making them is close by." said Alex as they finished their last trek around the settlement.
"How bad do you think it could be?" asked the Gunnery Chief.
Alex looked around them at all the dazed colonists, "Considering what's happening to the people here? Very bad." he said as they regrouped with the rest of the squad in the center of the settlement.
"Here's where we're at." said Jane as she brought up a map of the area with her omni-tool. "The Geth are coming from the Exogeni building a few clicks down the skyway. If we can stop them at the source then we can make sure that the colony will be safe. But at the same time we can't leave these people unprotected, according to Fai Dan there's a Geth transmitter in the sewers under us that gives them an edge. We take that out than we can release the strangle hold they have on the colony."
"So we're splitting up." said Garrus understanding the situation.
Alex nodded in agreement, "Makes sense, we split into three groups we can hit all objectives at once. Shepard can take a group with her and hit the Exogeni building, while I take a team into the tunnels and take out the transmitter, we can leave a two-man team here with the colonists to make sure that the Geth don't attempt another push."
The team all agreed. "So whose going where?" asked Kaidan.
"I'll take Liara and Garrus with me." said Jane.
"I'll take Tali and Ashley, Wrex and Kaidan can stay and help support." finished Alex as they began mapping out their plans.
"There are also a few issues with the colony that need to be met as well." said Jane. "Water, food and power cells to help get this place back on its feet."
Alex nodded and brought up his omni-tool, "Send me the data and we'll take care of it while we deal with the transmitter." he looked around a moment to make sure none of the colonists were around before leaning in close, "Shepard, whatever is going on with these people can probably be explained at the Exogeni building. This isn't natural, and those scientists fund this place. They have to have the answers to it all."
The Commander nodded seriously as they all split up. As Alex took his team down the stairs toward the sewer system he had already begun formulating a plan of action.
X
On a small bridge connecting to the tunnel network under the colony, two Geth platforms stood on guard for anyone that would try to pass. The two synthetics stayed motionless, small clicks coming from them as their optics searched for hostiles.
A rock shifted to their right making the Geth aim their weapons at the disturbance. One of the platforms moved forward and scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. The platform that was still in its original spot looked left just before an invisible blade was jammed up through its head spilling white fluid across the ground.
The first Geth looked back as its counter part fell to the ground lifeless. Its optic scanned for what had killed the other platform when a soft 'twang' sound was heard. The synthetic's optic exploded in a shower of sparks as an arrow burst from the back of its head.
As the body fell over the railing and into the water below, Alex decloaked and lowered his bow. "All clear." he said as Ashley and Tali came out of cover.
"Nicely executed." said Ashley peering over the railing. Tali looked at the other dead Geth before looking at Alex as he refolded the bow and put it on his back before drawing his Jackel. "What's next?" she asked as they started to move deeper into the tunnels.
"There are three valves connecting the main water system to the colony. They need to be reactivated to get the water running again." said Alex as they stepped through the first archway. He pointed to a small panel on the wall, "That should be one of them."
Tali brought out her omni-tool and reactivated the valve system before they moved on down the tunnel. "What do you think the Geth are after here?" asked Ashley with her assault rifle sweeping from side to side.
"What ever it is, it's something that Saren wants. And that alone could mean something about the Conduit or the Reapers." said Tali as she activated the second valve at the end of the tunnel.
"Either way, we need to shut them down and find out what he was after." said Alex as he opened a doorway leading into a large room with a slope leading up to a roadway that had caved in long ago. At the top of the slope was a Grizzly that looked like it hadn't run in several years. "That might have the power cells that the colony needs." said the nano soldier as they started heading up toward the old vehicle.
They were about halfway when growling began to echo all around them.
From under the various piles of rubble came over a dozen Varren. All of them about the size of an average dog with sharp teeth and claws. Their ember colored eyes leering at the team as they closed in on them.
"This is exactly why my younger sister is a cat person." mumbled Ashley with his rifle on the nearest Varren.
From the back of the pack, a Varren easily twice the size of the others stalked forward. It's hide a dark orange color with black along the spine making it look much more different than the silver and black Varren around it.
"That's the Alpha. The colonist that spoke to Shepard said that he's been causing the hunting parties problems." said Alex raising his Jackel at the lead Varren.
The Alpha growled menacingly as the pack began to close in around them. "Do we have a plan?" asked Tali quietly while keeping her shotgun leveled on a Varren that had started getting closer to her.
"You two trust me right?" the nano soldier asked seriously.
The two women glanced at him oddly. "Yes...why?" asked Ashley unsure.
"Maximum Armor." He quickly grabbed them both by the waist and tossed them the rest of the way up the slope. The sudden movement making all the Varren leap on top of Alex in a huge pile, biting and clawing at the hardened weave of the suit.
Tali and Ashley landed on their feet and looked back in shock as the Varren attacked the Spectre in force. The Alpha prowling around the pack waiting for an opening.
The sound of a shotgun going off echoed through the room, a Varren was blown away from the group and landed in a bloody heap several feet away. Another shot fired and another of the creatures flew away.
Alex stood with two Varren hanging from his form with their teeth as he raised the Jackel and shot another, blowing it's head clean off its shoulders. He swund around sending the two Varren hanging off of him crashing into the wall before shooting another one.
Ashley and Tali fired from their elevated position. Taking down any Varren that were scattered around. The Alpha charged through the chaos and snapped it's jaws at Alex's leg only for the Post-Human to kick it hard in the side sending it skidding across the ground.
Facing the Alpha, Alex tossed his Jackel aside and drew a Hammer in one hand with his combat knife in the other. "Com'mon big boy!" he shouted as the large Varren came at him again.
The nano soldier fired several rounds that the creature was able to dodge around before making another attempt at snapping its powerful jaws at him. Alex leapt out of range and slashed his knife, carving a large gash along the Varren's head making it yelp and jump away.
Hearing growls coming from behind him, Alex spun around and drove the knife into another Varren's head as it leapt at him from behind. The Alpha ignored its pain and charged the Post-Human and leaping on to his back.
Alex flipped forward causing the Alpha to hit the ground. Rolling with the momentum and landing on top of the large Varren with his pistol for its head. The rest of the Hammer's clip emptied into its head, splattering blood and grey matter across the ground with each shot fired.
Tali took down another Varren with her shotgun as the rest of the pack started to back off. Ashley finished venting her rifle as she looked down seeing Alex standing over the dead Alpha Varren.
The Spectre collected his dropped weapons before rejoining the women at the top of the slope by the Grizzly. "Now that, that's out-of-the-way." he said heading for the dead vehicle.
"You know you could have warned us." said Ashley not liking being tossed across the room like a stone. Tali nodded in agreement as Alex pulled the working power cell from the Grizzly and stashing it in one of his packs.
"Sorry, but my suit could have taken the damage. Couldn't risk having you lose a limb or Tali having her suit punctured." he said turning to them and drawing his Grendel. "You've seen how vicious those things can be."
"Still, warn us next time okay?" asked Ashley as they left the room and resumed their search for the Geth transmitter and the last valve.
They didn't have to search far. The last valve was right next to a small bridge that lead to another door on the opposite side of the tunnel network. "Alright, that's the last valve." said Tali finishing up.
Alex got on his comm, "Wrex, Kaidan, we're almost finished up down here. How's everything on your end?"
"Everything's quiet up here. But the colonists are starting to get a little restless. It's like something's bothering them." Kaidan replied.
Mentally cursing, Alex kept himself focused. "Keep an eye on them, if that spore is really effecting them who knows what could happen. Have you heard anything from the Commander and her team?"
"Just talked to her a few minutes before you contacted us. They're still moving across the skyway and dealing with the Geth that are guarding the roads. They found survivors that evacuated from the building and are close to the Exogeni building." said the Lieutenant.
"Keep us posted Kaidan." said Alex as he closed the link. His motion tracker went off and he spun around weapon ready to see a lone man stumbling toward them.
"You...shouldn't be down here." he said before grabbing his head in pain.
"Who are you? Why aren't you with the other colonists?" asked Ashley suspiciously.
"NO!" he shouted making the squad tense. The man shook his head as though he was trying to clear his mind.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" asked Alex keeping his rifle ready.
"Just invoking the master's whip. Helps remind me I'm still alive." said the colonist with a glazed look in his eyes. "Your here for the Geth. aren't you? Your not the only ones interested in those things."
The squad looked at one another a moment, "Who else is looking for the Geth?" asked Tali unsure of the strange man.
"Not looking for. Looking to get rid of. They're a thorn in the side of the...ahhhhhhhhhh!" the man screamed holding his head as though it were going to burst. "Trying to get to the...AH ha hahahahaha!" he cackled madly.
"What the hell's wrong with this guy?" asked Ashley as the crazed colonist fell to his knees.
"Is there any way for us to help you?" asked Tali worried about the man's health.
"Help me? No...no one can help me now. I would rather die fighting." he said weakly.
"Fighting what? What is happening to the colony? Does it have something to do with the spores that are in the air?" asked Alex.
"It's...not that kind of fight. More like running through a thorn bush, the more you struggle...the more...ah!" the colonist gripped his head again. "Can't...can't take it...ask Fai Dan. Ask him about the...ARGH!" he collapsed onto the ground hard and fell unconscious.
Alex went to the man's side and brought up his omni-tool. "Prophet, what can you tell me?" he asked as he scanned the man's body and finding him still alive. "Spore Chemicals Detected in Subject's Brain. Brainwave Patterns Severly Altered." said the AI.
"I was right." he said standing and facing the women, "There are spore chemicals in his brain and it's affecting his thoughts. And since he's from the colony..."
"Then there's a chance that the rest of the colonists are affected too." said Tali in horror.
Alex got on his comm immediately. "Kaidan, we just encountered a crazed colonist down here in the tunnels. His brain has been severely altered by the spores Prophet detected in the air, there's a chance that the rest of the colony could be affected as well."
"I had a feeling that was what's going on. The colonists are getting more restless. Me and Wrex are considering falling back to your location, they got us a bit out numbered out here." said Kaidan.
"We're going to take out the transmitter. Meet us back at the enterance to the sewer system so we can regroup and come up with a plan." said Alex as they started moving again.
"Good luck guys, Alenko out."
X
Finding the transmitter wasn't hard. Alex used Prophet's hacking program to search through Geth channels and pin pointed its location to a room across the bridge they had passed. He had also tagged roughly half a dozen hostiles protecting the transmitter.
"Get ready." said Alex as they stacked up by the door. He hit the switch allowing it to open causing two rockets to fly through the opening and explode against the far wall. "Rocket Drones up high, Tali, double overload on my mark."
They both powered their omni-tools and waited for the right moment before Alex gave the signal. Leaning out, the tech attacks struck the drones that were on the upper ledge. Shorting them out and shutting them down permanently.
Two Geth Shock Troopers came out of cover and started firing on the squad. Ashley primed a grenade and tossed it over their cover. Blowing the synthetics to scrap before they knew what was happening.
The squad moved in fast, hoping to hit the remaining resistance hard before they could regroup. A Geth came around the corner only for Alex to grab it by the neck and smash its head had against the wall. Crumpling it like a tin can before it collapsed to the floor.
Peering around the same corner, Alex saw two Krogan standing guard by the transmitter in the far corner. "Got two Krogan. I'll take the one on the left, you two take the one on the right." he said taking out his bow and knocking an explosive arrow. "Ready...NOW!" they flipped out of cover and opened fire.
Alex let the arrow fly and watched it sink into the chest plate of the first Krogan. He hit the switch and the large alien exploded in a cloud of blood and gore distracting his partner long enough for Ashley and Tali to put him down with combined assault rifle and shotgun rounds.
Ash walked up to the downed Krogan as it started to regenerate and put several more rounds in its head to make sure it stayed down. "All clear." she said moving to secure the rest of the room.
Tali approached the transmitter and brought up her omni-tool. "Taking down the transmitter will stop the Geth from communicating at long distances. The colony will have a fighting chance if they ever come back." she said hitting a few buttons.
"Do it." said Alex keeping his bow ready.
The Quarian fired a concentrated overload into the machine causing it to short out and explode moments later. "All done, let's get back." she said as they left the room and back into the tunnels.
"Shepard, it's Maverick. We took out the transmitter, how are things on your end?" Alex said into the comms.
Static was his response. "Commander? Are you there? Respond." he tried again with the same results. "Joker, are you picking up anything from Shepard's team?"
"Negative. The Geth probably set up a jammer somewhere in their location. We'll just have to wait until they take it out." replied the helmsmen.
They approached the tunnel where the first two water valves were located and was shocked to see the bodies of five Geth laid scattered all over the place. In the back of the tunnel stood Kaidan and Wrex with their weapons ready. "Took you long enough, you missed a good fight." said the Krogan.
"You didn't see what we did." commented Alex as they approached, "What's the situation up in the colony?"
"Bizzare." said Kaidan. "The people are acting very strange. And the more time that passes the more restless they get. I can't really explain it."
"The man we met back there said something about 'involking the master's whip'. It sounds crazy, but I think that he was being controlled by somebody." said Ashley.
"Or something." said Alex bringing up his omni-tool and displaying a read out to them. "This is the spore Prophet's been scanning since we arrived. According to the readings, it's plant-like in nature. The spores secrete a neruological chemical that disrupts brainwaves, the colonist back in the tunnels had the chemical in his head. So whatever is making the spores is what's causing the people to act the way they do. But the spores only secrete a little of the chemical, someone would have to be exposed for a long period of time to get the reactions we are seeing."
"The people from Exogeni have been funding this place...you don't think they knew about all of this do you?" asked Tali.
"It wouldn't surprise me. But right now we have to deal with the problem before it get's out of hand." said Alex. "Shepard's out of radio contact, most likely from a jamming device. We're on our own right now."
"So what exactly are we dealing with here?" asked Wrex.
"A plant that can control minds. And my best guess is that it's underneath the colony in one of the many tunnels throughout the area. We need to find it, and kill it." said the nano soldier taking out his Grendel.
"What about the colonists?" asked Kaidan. "If their being controlled then they'll be sent after us to stop us from reaching whatever's causing this."
"Then we use non-lethal methods. Stun attacks from our omni-tools, weak biotics, hand to hand. No killing." ordered the Spectre.
Wrex looked back the way they came and raised his shotgun. "Incoming!" The team all readied weapons, but paused when they saw what was coming.
It looked Humanoid in shape with dark green skin and black eyes. It had long black claws on each hand and shuffled like it had two broken knees. And what was worse was that there were four more behind it all drawing closer.
"What the fuck are those things?" wondered Ash keeping her rifle steady.
"Don't know, don't care. Take them out!" Alex ordered putting a three round burst through the head of the lead Creeper, splattering dark green blood across the ground as it fell. The rest of the team opened fire and put the rest down quickly before approaching the corpses.
"Keelah...it's like the Husks the Geth have made. Only far more gruesome." said Tali poking one of the bodies with her shotgun. A bit of green slime dripped from the corpse's mouth on to the stone ground where it started to fizzle and burn.
"Acid. Highly Corrosive." said Kaidan examining it. "We need to be careful, I have a feeling we're going to be encountering a lot more of these things when we reach the colony."
Weapons armed, the team of five began making their way back up the stair well. Keeping their eyes and ears open for anything even remotely hostile as they moved farther up.
They didn't make it too far when they encountered more of the Creepers that had waited for them. Their weapons tore through the weak flesh of the zombified-creatures quickly, but more kept coming to replace the fallen.
Alex reloaded his Grendel as the others had to switch weapons since their other ones couldn't vent fast enough. "Keep pushing!" he shouted taking down three Creepers that had gotten close. One ran at Wrex and attempted to spew acid when the Warlord grabbed it by the throat and hurled it hard into the wall.
The team was mostly using shotguns by that point. Kaidan sticking with a heavy pistol and using his biotics to keep the creature back long enough for them to be taken out. With bodies still piling up they managed to reach the top of the stairs were the colony was located.
Two colonists jumped up from cover with pistols in their hands and fired forcing them into cover. "What the hell!" shouted Kaidan.
"Looks like whatever's controlling them took charge." said Alex as he looked over the fallen pillar he was behind. "Maximum Armor."he put away the rifle and leapt over his cover before charging the colonists. Sliding over their cover and grabbing their faces.
He konked their heads together just hard enough to knock them out before signaling the others to move up. "If the've already started attacking, than we can be sure the rest of the colonists are the same way right now." he explained. "The objectives are still the same. Non-lethal, no killing. Subdue them anyway you can without causing serious injury."
They entered the colony slowly and saw something most would see out of a horror movie.
Creepers came stalking out of the shadows, emitting low moans as they approached the squad. Brainwashed colonists walked among them holding various tools and firearms in their hands with glazed looks in their eyes.
Kaidan fired up his biotics, Tali her omni-tool while Ashley loaded concussion rounds into her weapon. Wrex racked his Claymore, ready to tear the Creepers apart. Alex cracked his knuckles and drew both his Hammers. "Alright. Wrex, you and I will deal with the Creepers. The rest of you subdue the colonists."
The large group of people and creatures moved in closer as the team got ready.
"NOW!" the Post-Human ordered as they went on the attack.
Alex pistol whipped the first colonist he saw before putting two rounds into the head of a Creeper that was next to them.
Kaidan focused his biotics to lift only the colonists into the air before dropping them back to the ground and knocking them out, allowing Wrex to blast the Creepers that had stood with them a moment before with his shotgun.
Tali jammed her omni-tool into the chest of another colonist and tazzed them until they dropped. She ducked out of the way when a Creeper got close and took a swipe at her with it's claws. She pulled out her pistol and shot it in the head and quickly did the same to another that tried to flank her.
Ash took down a few brainwashed people before switching to regular ammo and spraying it on to the oncoming crowd of Creepers that tried to overwhelm them. But the more they put down, the more seemed to take their place.
Alex dumped both pistol clips and slammed in fresh ones before taking out more creepers. A shout from behind caught his attention. Kaidan moved back quickly as three Creepers closed in on him, the sleeve of his armor smoking from the acid that managed to hit in.
The nano soldier wasted no time taking out the creatures before running over to check on the biotic. "You good?" he asked over the gunfire.
Kaidan worked fast, quickly detaching the sleeve of his hard suit and tossing it aside as the acid finished burning through it. The sleeve of his under suit had been slightly eatten through and showed blistering skin underneath. "I'll be alright." he said applying medigel before firing a throw attack that sent five Creepers crashing into the side of a building.
With a nod, Alex jumped back into the fight. Wrapping a colonist in a head lock before pushing a pressure point to put them out.
The fight seemed to last for hours, when it was only a few minutes. The bodies of dozens of Creepers lay scattered across the settlement. Their green blood painting the walls and ground everywhere.
Alex helped move the last colonist into a secure building and sealed it shut. "There, that should hold them until this is all sorted out." he said looking around.
His team was tired; some injured. Ash was tending to Kaidan's burns from earlier. Wrex's armor was melted in a few places, but being a Krogan allowed him to heal very quickly. Tali got lucky and didn't find any suit tears or punctures from the fight and was grateful.
Once finished making sure the area was secure, the Post-Human heard shuffling. The team was up and ready to fight when they saw Fai Dan step out from between two buildings. Struggling with each step as though he were fighting an unseen force.
"You...You can't fight it..." he forced out. "Not...not forever...it gets inside...takes control...can't fight it." he continued moving forward. "It...want's me to stop you..." he said drawing a pistol from his belt and aiming at them. "But...I won't!" he fought, forcing the pistol's aim away from them and toward his own head.
Alex raised his Hammer. "I...WON'T!" Fai Dan shouted pressing the barrel to his head.
A gunshot went off.
Fai Dan's pistol fell to the ground with a hole in it. The colony leader was quickly grabbed by his shoulders as he began to struggle. "Fai Dan fight it. I need to know what's doing this. Where is it hidden?" asked Alex hoping to get the information before it was too late.
"Can't...Can't stop it...for long..." he ground out. "Under...AH!" he shouted clenching his eyes and teeth shut. "...under...FREIGHTER!" he screamed while clawing at Alex's arms.
Alex nodded before pushing a point on his neck and knocking him out cold. "Thank you." he said gently laying the man down. "We need to stop this thing." he said to the others seriously.
"I'll stay with Kaidan and wait for the Skipper to get back." said Ashley keeping her assault rifle at the ready.
"Alright, but if things get too hot get yourselves somewhere safe." said Alex getting a nod from the Gunnery Chief as he, Tali and Wrex made their way over to the large freighter in the center of the colony.
Activating the crane nearby, the freighter was lifted into the air revealing a concrete ramp that lead down deeper into the planet. The trio all pulled out shotguns and began to decent into the tunnels below, ready to face what was at the bottom.
A/N: Next up, Alex faces the Thorian. And I know of the large changes I've already made to everything about this mission. But those who have played Crysis know full well that the suit's AI would have picked up the Thorian's spores in the air and the people it was able to scan. That's just how advanced SECOND (or Prophet in this case) truly us compared to other AIs.
As I said I'm still updating fast, but I am going to tone it down a bit to keep my head straight and you guys on your toes.
Either way I'll keep you guys posted. So be ready.