Chapter 10: Ragtag Bunch of Misfits

Shepard finished reading the intel the Council had provided as he waited for the airlock on the Normandy to cycle. Exiting it, he was greeted by the smirking visage of Joker, who turned to meet him as he entered.

"Jeez, Commander, you sure are assembling a ragtag bunch of misfits for this mission: three Spectres, including a smokin' Quarian and good ol' stick-in-the-mud Nihlus, plus an ex-detective with chip on his shoulder and a crazy Krogan bounty hunter who looks like he might eat me. And that's not including the granddaughter of General "Fuck You" Williams, nice and simple Kaidan, and our soon-to-be newest member, an egghead Asari scientist."

Shepard hadn't realized that Nihlus, Garrus, or Wrex had come along. He'd have to talk to them about it. That didn't stop his retort to the smartass pilot, though.

"I notice you didn't say that in front of them. And Wrex wouldn't eat you, Joker. He's a teddy bear."

"Sure he is, Commander." said Joker, spinning to face his controls. "He's a four hundred kilo reptilian teddy bear with a shotgun the size of my torso. Remind me not to let you buy my kids presents at Christmas."

Chuckling slightly, Shepard made his way to the back of the deck and entered the briefing/com room, where he found his team waiting for him, conversing quietly.

"I see everyone's met. I'll admit, I'll take all the help I can get, but why are you three here?" he asked, looking at Wrex, Garrus, and Nihlus in turn.

"The Alliance is paying me well is why." replied Wrex. "Plus, I'm in the mood for a good fight, and three Spectres should attract plenty of trouble."

"What about you, Garrus? You've worked at C-Sec for years. Why give it up now?"

"Saren is more than just a threat to Humans, Shepard. He's a threat to everyone, including the Hierarchy, even if they're too blind to see it. I want to see him pay for his crimes, and I'll be damned if I sit around trying to wade my way through oceans of red tape and regulations when I could be out here doing something about it."

"I agree." said Nihlus. He hung his head, and his voice was heavy as he continued. "Saren was… a friend, and my mentor. I want to know what the hell happened to him, and why he's doing this. And if he's just out for blood or revenge…" He looked Shepard dead in the eye, his gaze determined. "Then I'll kill him myself."

"Good. Because I intend to rip him limb from limb before this is over. His bullshit cost thousands of people their lives, and he's going to bleed for each and every one." Shepard stood up straight, coming to parade rest before continuing. "Can I assume you've all read the briefing on our next objective?" When they all nodded, he pressed on. "Good. The intel we have on Therum is that it's a highly volcanic planet. The dig site was discovered by accident, because it's apparently been protected by some sort of Mass Effect shield from the conditions on the surface. The Geth have a head start on us, so we're expecting them to be there in force and put up heavy resistance, which means we need heavy armor. The ground down there is unstable, so we're going to have to find a safe place to chrono in the MIAFV."

"Sorry, the what?" asked Garrus.

"Multi Infantry Adaptable Fighting Vehicle." answered Shepard. "It's an armored transport used by the Alliance, essentially a light – by Alliance standards – fast tank. It has three turrets which conform themselves to their users and alter to one of several configuration based on who's in them. They multiply the user's effective combat effectiveness several times. For example, since I know Tali prefers a good shotgun, if she were to man a turret, it would automatically rearrange itself to a Flechette Cannon."

"Sorry, but I'm still lost." said Garrus.

"OK, think of it like this: what type of weapon do you prefer?"

"Sniper rifles." he said automatically.

"Heh, a Turian after my own heart. Basically, if you were to get inside a turret on an MIAFV, it would become a Sniper's Perch: it would turn into a high powered anti-material rifle with an effective range of about five clicks and enough power to rip through a meter of solid titanium."

Garrus got a shocked look on his face before his eyes lit up with greed and he began rubbing his hands together. "Spirits. I've got to get me one of those."

Shepard chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Sorry to burst your bubble, Garrus, but the turrets have to stay with the vehicle. There's a lot of delicate electronics that make the thing work, not to mention a highly sophisticated onboard VI."

"Aww. You just had to get my hopes up."

Shepard put on a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, Garrus. I've got something for you that should cheer you up. It's not as powerful as the Perch, but as you know, it's not the size that counts, it's how you use it." he said slyly

Garrus caught on and returned Shepard's jibe with one of his own. "I'll have you know I've got more size and power than you, Shepard."

Ashley giggled. "I've seen Turian soldiers in action before, Skipper, and I believe him."

"Getting double-teamed by you and Tali was fun, Ash, but now we're getting weird." That earned him a sharp jab to the ribs from Tali.

Kaidan ignored the byplay and spoke for the first time in the briefing. "Not to be rude, but we're giving them Alliance tech, sir? I know the mission is important, but is that wise?"

"We don't have time for wise, Kaidan. We need to stop Saren, and I'm not about to risk someone's life for fear they might make off with something. You've all signed up for this willingly, whatever your reasons, and that buys all of you my trust until you do something to prove you don't deserve it." Shepard waited for him to nod before addressing the rest of the group. "Ash, Kaidan, you two know your way around Alliance tech well enough to decide on a loadout on your own. Everyone else, follow me. It's time to get you some new toys."

As Shepard and his non-Human team members exited the elevator and entered the cargo bay, they were greeted by the sight of dozens of metal crates with the Alliance logo on them. They had just been delivered for this very mission.

"Alright, let's see what they sent us." he said. Opening one of the crates, he saw a dozen of what looked to be modified sniper rifles. "Ah, here we go." Lifting one out, he handed it to Garrus, who looked it over, confused.

"What's this? It looks like a sniper rifle, but it uses metal projectiles instead of Mass Effect driven rounds. This thing's an antique."

Shepard shook his head. "It may look low tech, but that rifle is the single most dangerous long distance weapon in the Alliance arsenal, including the MIAFV's Sniper's Perch. That…is the Mark III Chronorift Rifle. While it does fire slugs, and hence have fairly limited ammo as well as tangible travel time on the projectiles, the bullets it fires are driven by our most compact chrono technology. When you pull the trigger, a built in range finder determines the exact distance to the target, down to the millimeter. The round that's fired passes through a chronorift as it leaves the barrel, a field that causes the bullet to exit our space-time and enter another reality temporarily. By default, the effect lasts until the bullet has passed about two centimeters beyond the target, rematerializing inside it, bypassing shields, biotic barriers, and armor plating. And in case they have thicker armor, you can manually adjust the distance it travels past the surface. There is literally nothing it can't go through. If you could determine his exact position, you could kill a man inside a fortress from a kilometer away through buildings, people, and defenses, all without ever being seen."

As Shepard finished his speech, Garrus looked down at the rifle with a look of awe in his eyes. "Holy shit." he breathed. "No wonder Alenko was worried about giving us Alliance tech."

"Ah, don't mind him. Besides, I doubt you could learn to use that thing anyway." said Shepard playfully.

"O-o-o-oh, it's on now, Shepard. It is on."

"Any day of the week, and twice on Sundays, Vakarian." retorted the grinning commander. Reaching down to open another crate, Shepard pulled out what looked like an oversized shotgun with Tesla Coils wrapped around the barrel. "This one's for you, Tali. Ever seen one of these before?" he asked, handing her the weapon.

"Well, I've seen Tesla Coils, so I can guess what it does, sort of anyway. Give me the details."

"This is the Union Tesla Cannon. It works mostly like a standard shotgun, but with Tesla tech built in. When it fires a blast, the metal fragments that come out of the barrel are electrified by the Coils as they leave. The high voltage current jumps rapidly between them as they travel, and turns them into highly ionized, extreme temperature plasma. The voltage discharge from the shot will almost instantly shred any shield or barrier that exists, while the follow-up plasma burns and melts its' way through whatever's behind them. The best part is that the ionized shots become magnetized, automatically homing in on anything metallic in their path, such as body armor or Geth platforms. It's the perfect anti-synthetic weapon."

"Oh Keelah. I think… I think I'm in love."

"Careful now. You know how jealous I can be." he joked.

"I could use one of those." said Wrex. "Got any more?"

"Yep, but I think I can do one better for you, big guy." Shepard walked over to a larger crate, this one housing a single massive weapon, reminiscent of an old Human minigun. He struggled to lift the seventy kilo monster before handing it to the Krogan. "This is the PRISM Gatling. Normally, only synthetics can use these, since they're so damn heavy, but you can handle it. The six barrels produce miniature PRISM lasers, which fire in a reasonably large cone in front of the business end. Each shot's every bit as powerful as a round from an assault rifle, but they ignore shields, and the thing fires six thousand of them a minute. But that's not all: if you squeeze and hold the second trigger located behind the first, all six barrels will stop firing and begin a controlled overload. It takes about ten seconds to charge, and it drains power like crazy, but this thing can fire a single beam of death powerful enough to take out a frigate, not to mention anything that walks, runs, or rolls."

Wrex got an evil smile on his face as he hefted the behemoth of a weapon. "He he he. This is gonna be good."

"I assume you have something for me as well, Shepard?" asked Nihlus.

Shepard glanced around the room for a moment. "Well, there's plenty here, but I'm not sure what to give you. What are your strengths and weakness in a fight?"

"Well… I tend prefer close quarters combat. I'm also a decent scout, and I'm fairly good at thinking on my feet."

"CQC huh? In that case, I've got exactly the thing. Or should I say things?"

Reaching into yet another crate, Shepard pulled out what looked to be a white and blue shield roughly a foot across in the shape of an octagon.

"Item one. Care to guess what it does?"

"It looks like a shield. Is it some kind of armor?" said Nihlus.

"Close, but not quite. I'll give you a demonstration. Everyone, do me a favor and turn around." Looking confused, the team slowly complied, spinning to face the elevator. After a few seconds, Shepard spoke again. "Alright, you can look now." They did, and their confusion increased when the Commander was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?" asked Nihlus, puzzled.

Garrus wasn't fooled. Years of working as a detective at C-Sec had given him an eye for detail. "That crate wasn't there before." he half stated, half asked.

"Good eye, Garrus." said Shepard's voice, coming from the crate in question. He moved towards Nihlus, breaking the illusion and making the Turian Spectre jump backwards in surprise. At the peak of his jump, Shepard's omnitool flashed, immortalizing the moment.

"Gotcha, Nihlus. Wanna see the look on your face?" he joked.

"Spirits, what…?" asked Nihlus, sounding winded. "What was that?"

Removing the device from his chest, where it was hanging from a strap around his shoulders and back, Shepard handed it to him as he answered. "This is a Mirage Inducer. As you've seen, it can project an illusory field around the wearer, making them look like something else. It automatically scans the surrounding environment for objects to disguise as: rocks, shrubs, boxes, you name it. As long as you're relatively stationary, you'll look like an inanimate object. You can fidget a little, even aim a weapon, but if you move from your hiding spot, or fire a shot, you'll revert until you stop moving again."

"The ultimate camouflage… I like it." said Nihlus. "Probably doesn't work too well on the Geth though."

"Probably not. As Garrus proved, someone with a sharp eye or a decent memory can spot you if you try to move on them, and synthetics tend to have both. It's still excellent for impromptu ambushes, though, or for making a quick "escape" if you can lose your pursuers long enough to hide. I should mention that this thin can fool most types of sensors, including IR and EM, but ultrasound sees right through it."

"I can think of a dozen times in the past where I'd have killed for one of these." said Nihlus with a nod. Then he chuckled. "Literally, in fact."

"Christmas isn't over yet." said Shepard, opening another crate.

"What's Christmas?" asked Nihlus confusedly. All of the non-Humans looked equally puzzled, except Tali.

"Human holiday." answered Shepard, pulling out what appeared to be a meter long, thin metal rod, with a hilt on one end. "It used to be a religious occasion, to celebrate the birth of a man thought to be the son of god; it still is, among Christians anyway. Over the years, it's become more secular: now, it's mostly just a day where families and friends get together and exchange gifts. And speaking of gifts…" he finished, handing the rod to the Turian. "This one's for you."

"I'm touched Shepard, but what is it? You keep pulling surprises out of those crates, so I almost wouldn't be shocked if you found an Asari stripper in there somewhere."

"I wish." he laughed. "I don't think the Alliance has a requisition form for those, though. If they did, I'd have filled it out years ago." That earned him a mild glare from Tali and chuckles from the others.

"Watch it Shepard." she said dangerously. "I can get just as jealous as you, remember?"

Still laughing slightly, Shepard answered Nihlus' question. "That's a Riftblade, though it doesn't have a sharp edge in the conventional sense. It operates on the same principle as Garrus' rifle, but in melee form. Press and hold the top button on the hilt, and it'll phase through whatever you swing it at. Release the button midway, and you'll tear a gash through whatever it's inside of at the moment. If you press the bottom button, the entire length will be electrified with Tesla energy, and it'll glow white hot, which should cause serious problems for whatever it happens to be within at the time. It can melt or burn its' way through just about anything that isn't solid eezo."

"I've seen something like that before." said Tali. "But it was on some old Human vid. I think they called it a… a lightsaber."

"Fan of the classics, eh Tali? Darth Vader would drool over one of these." said Shepard.

"Who's Darth Vader? Is he some Human historical figure?" asked Garrus.

Shepard shook his head and laughed. "God help us if Vader was real. No, he's a character from an old science fiction vid from Earth, called Star Wars. A very old one, in fact: over two hundred years. When we have some down time, I'll show you the series. It's pretty good, if a bit corny nowadays."

As Shepard removed a second sniper rifle from the crate for his own use, Nihlus asked him a question. "Shepard, I've been meaning to ask: on Eden Prime, you used your armor to teleport around the battlefield, and to use that eraser… gun… thing. Can we get those?"

"Sorry, but no can do. It would take months to custom build you all chronosuits, and months more to train you to use them. Unfortunately, Jenkins was the only one we had besides me that knew had to use one… Didn't help him much, though." he finished sadly.

"It's not your fault, Shepard. You know that." said Nihlus.

"Marines die, Nihlus. It's our job. But I'm not about to let anyone else go out that easily. We're still about a day away from Therum, so try to familiarize yourselves with your new gear, preferably without putting holes in my ship. When we get there, we'll teach the Geth what happens when you fuck with the Alliance."

"This place has a firing range?" asked Nihlus. "Wish I'd have known that before Eden Prime. I was bored out of my skull during the trip."

"Just because Turian built ships don't have these doesn't mean Alliance ships don't." retorted Ashley testily. "Now, if you'll all hand over your gear, I need to set it to training mode."

"Why?" asked Wrex, apparently unwilling to be parted with his new toy.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't know; maybe so you don't blow a hole in the side of the ship?" she snapped.

"Calm down Ash." said Kaidan in a placating tone. "You heard the commander. We're all in this together."

Ashley shot him a fierce look, but didn't reply. After she'd finished modifying the weapons, she stalked off to far end of the range.

"What's her problem?" asked Wrex, lining up a shot on his simulated target. "I get that she's protective towards the Alliance, but why all the hostility?"

Kaidan made to answer, but Garrus interrupted him as he took a shot. "She's Ashley Williams, the granddaughter of Marcus Williams of Shanxi. Not really much of a surprise that she'd be…"

"Racist?" supplied Wrex, letting loose a stream of low-powered PRISM lasers downrange, grinning like a loon as he did so.

"I was gonna say xenophobic, but that works too." replied Garrus, firing another shot.

"Just give her some time." said Kaidan, throwing several biotic attacks towards the training dummies in front of him. "She'll come around."

"You're a damn good shot, Vakarian." commented Nihlus as he watched Garrus shred another target with his rifle. "I may need to keep my eye on you in the future."

"Not sure that's such a good idea." muttered Garrus as he emptied his magazine. "My father is dead-set against the Spectres, and considering what happened with Saren, I can't say I blame him. There's just too much room for blatant abuse of power."

"So you don't agree with the idea of Spectres?" asked the other Turian.

"I didn't say that." answered Garrus with a shake of his head. "I just think there needs to be more oversight. The Alliance Geist program is a good model. Their agents have similar broad powers to Spectres, but they aren't above the law."

"What do you think, Wrex?" asked Kaidan.

"I'm not being paid to have an opinion." replied the Krogan gruffly. "I don't care about the politics of the situation, only if you pyjaks can fight."

Kaidan shook his head, but didn't reply. After a moment, he made his way over to Ashley. She didn't respond to his presence initially, but after a few minutes, her annoyance got the better of her.

"What?" she snapped.

"Look, Ash. Whatever views you might have on Turians or other species in general, you need to work with these people. If you can't do that, you won't be as effective in combat."

Ashley glared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "I know. It's just… Growing up, I would hear my grandfather tell me and my sisters stories about what happened on Shanxi, and every time I see a Turian, I see red. On an intellectual level, I understand Nihlus and Garrus had nothing to do with the Contact War, but…"

"I think the answer is getting to know them better." advised the biotic. "Try not seeing them as only Turians, and just try to see them as people."

She let out another sigh. "You're right, Kaidan. I'll try."

Nearly four hours later, Ashley found herself in the cargo hold, dismantling, cleaning, and inspecting the various weapons Shepard had issued the new team members. Even firing low powered training shots, it was still a good idea to be in the habit of maintaining one's weapons after use. Behind her, Garrus was poking around inside the MIAFV, pouring over the technical specifications and tinkering with the barriers and turrets. Meanwhile, Nihlus was working off nervous energy by hammering on a heavy bag in the far corner of the room. Ashley was interrupted from her work by the sound of a clearing throat just behind her.

"Excuse me Lieutenant." began Garrus.

Ashley let out a sigh and fought down her annoyance. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to give me a few pointers with the MIAFV over here. I've worked on Makos before, but this is a bit above my level at the moment."

She shot him a slight glare. "What makes you think I know my way around an MIAFV."

Garrus frowned slightly. "Believe it or not, Lieutenant, I read your personnel file, and you've been trained on them before. To be perfectly blunt, I can't say I blame you for your… hostility towards me and Nihlus, but if we're going to work together, we need to move past this."

"Don't presume to lecture me." she snapped. "Maintaining our equipment is my job, and I don't need your help to do it."

"Is there a problem here?" came Shepard's voice from just outside Ashley's field of vision. She stiffened and began to respond when he cut her off. "Don't bullshit me Ash. I suspected this might happen." He sighed slightly. "Kaidan told me what happened in the firing range, so I set this up."

"You set this up, sir?"

Shepard nodded tersely. "Yes. You will work with Garrus and Nihlus on the MIAFV, and you will do so in a professional manner. You will overcome this hostility before we get to Therum, even if I need to lock the three of you in a cell together, because I refuse to see anyone hurt or killed because you can't stop acting like a child. Am I understood?"

Ashley saluted and fired off a quick 'Yes sir.' Shepard studied her for a moment more before nodding and heading towards the elevator.

After Shepard had gone, Ashley turned to Garrus and Nihlus, who had joined them just before. "Let's begin. What do you know about the MIAFV versus a Mako?" she began.

"Besides the size difference, Makos use mass effect fields more extensively, allowing them to be airdropped from medium altitude if needed. Because of their larger mass, MIAFVs can't, but that isn't really a problem with a chronosphere. MIAFVs have three turrets, which automatically reconfigure to suit their user-"

"Not always." interrupted Ashley. "Manually overriding the turret configuration is possible, and useful if you've been cross trained. We'll go over that. Continue."

"Right." said Garrus with a nod. "The turrets use neural taps to detect what configuration the user is most suited for, and an onboard VI adjusts the turret as needed. MIAFV's have fairly light shields for their size, and are faster than they seem. Considering the potential firepower they possess, they're best utilized as scouts, skirmishers, and hit-and-run attack platforms."

Ashley nodded, mildly impressed. "Not bad. You did your homework. Nihlus, anything to add?"

"I've been looking at the programming used in the turret VI. From the looks of it, there are several configurations which exist within the realignment matrix that can't normally be accessed. Any idea what those are?"

Ashley grinned slightly. "You saw them too, huh? I spotted those about four weeks in to my training on this thing, and when I asked the instructor, he just smiled and refused to answer. Finding those configurations and investigating them is sort of like a rite of passage for people who work on MIAFVs."

"Really?" asked Garrus, now sounding intrigued. "I take it you know what they are?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Tell you what: why don't I run you through the standard configurations and the VI processing. That should give you a basis for investigating the… other configurations."

Nihlus grinned slightly. "Sounds like a plan. One other question: I found an onboard reserve of omnigel, but no obvious self-repair function. Does that have anything to do with the other configurations?"

Ashley just smiled. "After that, we'll run through the shielding systems and engine. Maybe you can find a way to squeeze more power out of them."

"You didn't answer the question, Ashley." protested Nihlus.

"Really? Fancy that."