Normandy-War Room
Abigail Shepard stood at the briefing table in the war room which showed a communications relay, and a map from the Normandy's current position, to their target destination. They were currently enroute.
"What do we know?" Abigail asked.
"The Batarian Government, the new one, as an act of good faith handed over intelligence they gathered during the raid." Miranda stepped forward, "It shows the plot was more expansive then we gave it credit for. While the Batarian led a main line attack on his own Government another off shoot of his group was going to attack key targets throughout the Citadel."
"The Citadel, that's loco." Vega piped in.
"How could they think they could attack the Citadel at this time?" Abby agreed.
"We don't know, the details were sketchy, only who the targets were not the how's. They include Matriarch Aethyta, General Taquin of the Turian Hierarchy…he has been leading several missions out in the Terminus and Batarian Space and has not had much of a chance to make it home lately, and a few other military officers and low ranking dignitaries from most of the races in Citadel Space."
"Most?" Abigail pressed.
"The Elcor and Salarians seem to be off the list." Mirada explained.
Abby arched an eyebrow, "Well it is probably nothing…but we should at least investigate the possibility."
"What about your return to Earth?" Ashley asked.
"It can wait, at least for the moment. This is on the way and it's not going to hurt us to take a peak."
"Fine." Ashley nodded, "I will make the preparations."
Abigail watched Ashley leave with a sad smile on her face, but her mind was beginning to piece through the tactical problems of what was involved to achieve success with the coming mission.
She smiled as an idea occurred to her, "You know I think it's time to see what our newest guest can do."
"Really? Are we sure we can trust him?" Miranda asked her eyes narrowing.
Gee this sounds familiar to other recent acquisitions to the squad. "Well, only one way to find out. Besides with me, and another squad mate on the mission, we should be able to contain any situation. And as far as his capabilities are concerned this should be a relatively simple mission."
She saw James scowl at her out of the corner of her eye and almost laughed.
"You know I hate to say this Shepard but you are a valuable military commodity now-"
"You mean I wasn't before?" She said teasing mock hurt.
"Fair enough," James conceded sighing, "But you are now in a strategic role, if we lose you Jameson is going to have my ass and a real tough time replacing yours."
"You saying I'm getting old Vega?" She teased.
"I didn't say that." Vega countered, "Besides what else are me and my team for?"
The Captain of Special Forces sighed, "Fair enough James, but this is an opportunity to see what Cameron can do, and I want to be there for that. I think I need to be there for that. And your team can ride in for the rescue if we get into trouble."
James shrugged and nodded slowly.
"Who else are do you want on the team?"
"It's been a while Miranda, suit u-"
Abigail's eyes widened, oh crap, what to do now…I already invited her along but to put the two of them in the same room…
"Captain?" Miranda asked.
"You're with me, suit up."
This should be fun.
Shuttle bay
Abigail stood by the armor locker getting her armor out, placing her hand in the gauntlets, already dressed in the legging and the chest piece. She flexed her hand for the millionth time, testing the dexterity, and it looks just plain cool.
She looked around and…noticed the dark blue armor with rings of dark red that represented Cameron's armor, as well as his visor…that was different then hers…off to a side. The name escapes me right now.
"Uh…that is not exactly standard issue." She opined.
"What good is having your own combat armor if you can't customize it?" Cameron asked before heading over to the armory bin.
And he picked out…a Revenant... "You only have this thing in a seven?" Cameron asked turning to her hefting it menacingly.
She shrugged, "When Cerberus came out with the Harrier I did not see the need."
He shrugged, "I guess that is a good weapon but when you want to have pure…destruction…nothing else really comes close."
She went over to the armory bench picking out her Valkyrie, "Yeah? And what military designation are you?"
"I'm a Vanguard."
"A Vanguard without a Shotgun?"
He picked out the Carnifex and placed a scope on it. "Yep."
"OK…why?"
"My own style and Shotguns are not very good at long range, they don't have a lot of ammo, so they are not versatile, they are great when they work but when they don't… I just feel more comfortable with the Revenant…besides its cool."
She shrugged picking out her grenades and thermal clips before handing some of them to Cameron as he pocketed them.
Satisfied with the effort she looked at Cameron as she placed her Valkyrie in its place on her back as it went into its folded position.
Now I wonder where…
The elevator door opened impeding her thoughts, but the subject of her thoughts spilled out in her battle gear and complete with pistol holster.
If by battle gear you mean skin tight black cat suit, Abigail smirked at the entrance.
"Miranda?" She heard Cameron ask next to her.
She winced, and there is the complication.
"Yes?" Miranda said in a half sneer at her opposite number.
Cameron glanced at Abby, "Sorry," She mouthed.
Cameron shrugged, "I guess we have a mission to run."
Council Communications Relay 427
Abigail Shepard led the way off the Kodiak, Cameron and Miranda drawing in her wake, their weapons still in their holsters, Abby glancing around checking their progress. They did not have a welcoming committee.
The forward airlock was Spartan in its entirety, sterile, smooth. No signs of battle, no signs of anything, no one to greet them. It was more than a little eerie.
"Where are the guards? How did this guy gain access to this station in the first place?"
"Something to conference with the other intelligence arms of the Council when we get out of here." Abigail agreed.
"Right…uh…who's on point?" Cameron asked.
"Relax I got it" She said turning to him.
The three squad mates slowly moved through the empty hallway through a single door at the end of the path. It opened at their presence and showed…a similar hallway.
"Do the Citadel Council just build these things out of a modular unit or something? Just have something stamping them out?" Abigail asked smirking.
"If there is one thing that Governments just love it's their uniformity." Miranda pointed out, sneering.
"That sounds familiar." Cameron opined, "of course a lot of people would say the same thing about you, factory made, to some sort of ideal."
Miranda shot him a look, her eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
"Come on people, we can work this out later." Abigail grunted before moving on.
"We can't just keep this up, we need direction." Cameron sighed behind her.
"Yeah, hold on," She held her hand up to her ear, "EDI you got anything?"
She had to wait a second before the AI could come up with what she wanted.
"Shepard, without the ability to engage in active scans due to stealth protocols we cannot determine the internal layout or life form readings."
Really have to work on that, "What about the schematics? If this guy is anywhere he should be in a central com room or a communications hub, anywhere he can keep an eye on the situation and live in any relative comfort."
"One moment please." EDI said.
A noise drew the attention of the three squad mates; they looked down a side corridor where the noise came from, then at each other. Cameron Abby and Miranda shared a look, nodded slightly, and drew their weapons, in Miranda's case it was a Tempest.
The three of them again looked at each other, Shepard powered up her visor and so did her male counterpart.
They began to stalk silently down the corridor, alert for any movement, or any threat. Their weapons were not out in front of them but casually held across their bodies, only Miranda was aiming down the Submachine gun.
"I have access," EDI's voice rang out on the coms like a gun shot in the tense atmosphere, Abby winced, "there is a main command center with living quarters about twenty five meters from your position."
"Thank you EDI," Abby said toggling her Omni-tool as the information streamed onto the holographic display.
"Abigail." Cameron said next to her.
She shushed him, "Getting the data now, synching it up and I am doing to give us a tone tell us when we are getting close." She began to type the commands into the Omni-tool interface.
"Shepard." Cameron said again.
She shushed him. "Is Vega's team in position?"
"We are Shepard, awaiting your entry orders." Vega's voice claimed over her com signal.
"Captain!" The Commander shouted in her ear.
"Hold on Vega," She spun on him, "what?!"
"Listen!" He yelled.
She cocked her head to one side, doing exactly what he suggested, and she heard…something. A crawling noise or the scratching of metal on metal, and it was growing steadily louder. She looked around her surroundings, it seemed it was coming from all around them…all around them? Oh no
"You lead us into an intersection." Cameron said stating the now obvious.
And now that they were trapped, and using their radios, the stations internal defenses were activating.
"Stand by James," She said into the Omni-tool, "Back to back!"
She placed her Valkyrie in a ready position facing it out down the hall they were going down, Cameron flattened against her back facing the way they came, and Miranda covered both of them on Abby's left towards one of the side corridors.
"This is not exactly the best tactical position, Shepard." Miranda commented.
Thanks for the input Miranda; Abigail grunted as the first mech peered around the corner, it looked like the newer version of the Loki mech they had just released since they got their assembly lines back in shape.
She aimed down her Valkyrie as she heard Cameron set off a shockwave behind her, she glanced over her shoulder to see the blast jolt two mechs skyward, only to be mowed down by a precise burst of Revenant fire, the weapon roaring and jack hammering in his hand.
Her own group of mechs charged her position, the Valkyrie came up to meet them depositing high velocity molten led into the face plates of its target, ripping through the armor and circuitry.
Click. The weapon went, beeping with the thermal clip being depleted, Oh son of a…the one disadvantage to this thing. She reloaded exchanging a spent thermal clip for a new one, expertly, crisply, getting back onto the firing range in mere seconds.
The mechs advanced with the courage born of machine programming, cold, heartless. They carried Eviserator and Scimitar shot gun…and were armed with…
A missile shot out of a compartment in the wrist, exploding just in front of Abigail's fleet, nearly blinding her with its bright light, she felt her shields go down.
The Valkyrie scrambled to regain her footing, her weapon firing wildly into the crowd of mechs, she couldn't quite make them out, they were blurry, but they fell from her weapons fire.
"Abigail! Other side!" Cameron yelled behind her, she finished off the last mech with a Concussive shot before turning to join him.
Shoulder to shoulder, Valkyrie to Revenant, aiming as a signal unit the two Shepards fired as one. The group of mechs, the largest yet, fell from the combined fire but pressed the advantage they had in numbers
Abigail cooked off a grenade and tossed it into the crowd, it exploded launching them into the roof. Cameron unleashed a shockwave causing them to scatter. The Valkyrie ran out of ammo again and there was no time, Abby ripped the Eagle from its holster, held the Valkyrie out at an angle and fired, quickly emptying a thermal clip as the Revenant went to work beside her.
The combined firepower was too much for the group of mechs, they died quickly, leaving the three squad mates standing amongst the ruins.
"Wow." Cameron breathed.
Abby nodded, "I guess there is only one thing left."
Her Omni-tool trilled, she activated it.
"Lola come in damnit answer me!"
"We're fine James." She answered.
"Thank the…you should have answered! You need me to come in?"
"Sure, for cleanup, we're moving onto the final objective, Shepard out." She said cutting the link, "Come on, it's this way."
The squad moved through the snaking corridors of the station, making its way nearly to its heart.
Abigail led the way, then Miranda, then Cameron; all three of them had their weapons out. They got to the double doors of the compound, reinforced steel and concrete, sitting there, imposing.
"Well this is going to be a problem." Miranda smirked.
"Nah, unless the Spectre codes have been over ridden my Omni-tool should still be set to…" She activated it and the doors swung open, "See not difficult at all." Abigail smirked.
Miranda nodded, and the three of them flew into the building.
"Well well, if it's not the butcher of Torfan, and the destroyer of Arahtoht." A Batarian voice said as they came in.
Both the Shepard's looked up, both of them scowled at what they saw; a Batarian flanked by two more of the mechs holding Phaeton assault rifles.
"So help me if I hear that name one more time…"
"If you didn't want to be known by something Abigail Shepard, you should not have done it." The Batarian sneered.
"Who are you?" She challenged.
"The man who is going to help tear down your world."
"Tough talk for a dead man." She sneered, "Or do you really think your toys are going to save you?"
"Oh they have some modifications…att!"
Before he got the last syllable out Abigail nodded to Cameron and Miranda, and they sprung into motion.
Miranda's Omni-tool sprang to life, the overload launching at the Mech on the left, hitting it, and leaping across to the other two, stunning all three. Cameron's hand lurched out launching a green wave of energy striking the mech on the right, Abby's eyes widened, but she kept her peace. He then launched into a Biotic Charge striking the mech with an explosion of energy, the green lightning launched to the other mech.
Abigail brought up the Valkyrie to acquire the target, and switched over to a Concussive shot. The round hit the mech in its chest and exploded in the combination of energies, then the mechs core went off exploding, the Batarian flung to the ground, bleeding.
Cameron behind him picked the Carnifex out of his holster pointing it at the Batarian's head, covering him.
"Dark Channel?" Abigail asked.
"Yeah, picked up a few things from Javik." Cameron replied, "Warp ammo?"
Abigail nodded.
"Nice."
"Who is this freak another one of your sick protégés?" The Batarian sneered.
"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." Abigail smirked.
"You won't get anything out of me, might as well kill me now."
"Nah," Abby shook her head approaching him while placing the Valkyrie in its proper back port, "I have to admit I am really curious about how you, a single Batarian will tear down my world."
"All Batarians are insane animals and should be put down? Isn't that your philosophy Abigail?" He sneered.
"We'll see won't we…come on get him back to the Normandy." She ordered, turning around and walking out.
"This isn't over Shepard! The Batarians will have vengeance on you and your ingrate species! Whether it takes a thousand years!"
His shrieks of protest echoed down at her as James and his crew moved to secure the prisoner for transport.
AN: Well another chapter down and I have a question. The description/ blurb for this fic? Is it just right? Too much? Make you go what the heck are you doing? Is it confusing? Does it draw your interest? I want to hear from you considering it was a bit of a gamble and I was not sure how I should implement into the fic, so I was just curious on how everyone was dealing with it.
As always, read, review, they are always appreciated.