A/N:
Alright, I'm back. Bet you all thought i was dead, but, sorry to disapoint ye, I'm very much alive :)
Alright, after much... suggestion... I have corrected some minor yet deadly errors in the grammar.
Yes, I know this chapter took a war to write, but blame my teachers for throwing reports and stuff at us twenty-four seven.
Other than that; Enjoy.
Geth and monsters.
As we move back into the colony, Boss and John take the lead, leaving the rest of us to wander in a big group behind them. Funny, how things turned out. We start out needing just about everyone on the ground team, then suddenly we meet four more people who could probably do this themselves. And now? I look around, counting to myself… now we are twelve people… twelve team members… in opposite to the three in the game… suck it BW, we beat your odds! I actually can't help a little smile. The geth can come at us; we have the most deadly team in recorded history. If nothing else happens, these guys can tip the scales on Virmire.
Fai Dan is waiting at the corner of an intersection of walls, speaking to the woman with the short dark hair. When he sees us, he quickly sends her away. Hmm… that might be a little rude…;
"I see you have refrained from shooting each other. That is good… we… still have some problems…"
"What's wrong now?" I hear Nic saying, a bit of boredom in his voice. How the hell can he be bored here? I swear sometimes…
The elderly man then resumes speaking;
"Oh, it's nothing big, should be handled within minutes if we just send some small teams. The water supply has been turned off, as has our power. The main problem though, is a big Varren residing in one of the many corridors down there, blocking aces to our comm. sat… Would there be a chance that your team could handle that one, while the commandoes took care of the water and power?" Really? He is tasking Delta squad with maintenance-duty? And how bad can one Varren be? The ones in ME2 were just a knock-knock on the head, and they died…
"Do I still have to remind you that this is real? They are a bunch of butchers, so fierce they make a Rottweiler look like a puppy!"
"I'm really hoping that was a joke… "
"I never joke to you, only around you…"
"That doesn't make any sense!"
"Just focus, will you?"
"Right, right…"
"Shouldn't be much of a problem." Nihlus says; "I can take a small squad down there to deal with your Varren-problems, while the commander stays here with the rest of the team, and the commandoes take care of the other tasks. We will keep in radio contact, should anything go wrong." Hmm… good plan… I think…
I look at Fai Dan who's wringing his hands… is it just me, or does he look a tad nervous? Nah, that's probably just me.
John makes the decision of how to divide our team: Me, Nihlus, Kaidan and Tequila are sent to deal with this Varren that has everyone so scared. John and the rest stayed behind, while the clones played janitors and we play pest-control. I told Nic to watch out for Ash, just in case. I know she never died until Virmire, or at least, that's when Jane had to choose… but we can't be too careful. Things are already fucked up as it is, and I can't help the feeling that something is wrong here. It's not because mister Roku has picked something up. And yes, I've finally named the bugger… or actually, he chose the name for himself: As a small child, I really enjoyed the cartoon series "Avatar". And this kid, the main character, had a spiritual helper and guide named Roku. So I guess it fits. I haven't called him that yet though... it just seems… weird… Anyway, I'm zooming out here. We are down in the network of hallways, pipes, tubes and long narrow corridors, which make up the infrastructure of the colony. I think- and I've actually lost my sense of direction down here- that we are about two or three levels down, and the only light in here comes from our flashlights. It's actually pretty scary;
"I hope we don't run into more bugs down here…" I say.
"Shut up, Thomas." Tequila says.
"'Heard about some sort of bugs down there… on Therum… what happened?" Kaidan asks. Of course, he wasn't on the mission, but he could have waited till we were back on the Normandy, or asked me before… but, I really can't be mad at the guy. I often killed him off in Gene-… no! For fucks sake brain. This is REAL! I won't let anyone die, even if it costs me a leg!
"Eehhhrrr… can it wait for a bit Kaidan? I don't think Tequila wants to hear what I say about it… bad memories, you know…"
"Right… sorry about that corporal…" Kaidan says. We then continue wandering through the dark with only our flashlights illuminating the corridors.
"Stay alert people, I don't like this…" as Nihlus says this, I glance at the wall on our left. The flashlight on my helmet follows my eyes, while the flashlight on my gun is still pointing forward. There is some kind of growth on the walls, and I'm just about to yell for Tequila to watch for bugs, when I take a closer look and notice that the growth isn't like the black stuff covering the walls when Xenos are present. It's more like… moss? Okay, I guess moss is kinda harmless, though finding it at these heights… that can't be natural…
"Nah, me neither…" I say, then we continue walking for about a minute, only sound in here is the echo of our footsteps; "So… Nihlus… what do you think of the commandoes?" The Turian turns his head a bit, causing his headlight to dance on the far wall;
"I don't know… they seem like good soldiers, and for what I've seen they are good at killing geth… but…"
"But what?" I ask.
"Hmm… they just don't seem to trust other races… I wonder how they would work with John… or me… they do seem to respect rank however, so that shouldn't be a problem…"
"If you say so… but, ehh Nihlus?"
"Yes, what is it?" he is starting to sound like he's being bothered by some annoying youngster…
"I was thinking… could we take those four aboard the Normandy?" I was against it myself, at the start, but seeing as we resolved the whole "John vs. Sev", we shouldn't have more trouble… besides, I really would like to have all the extra-dimensionals on one ship… to prevent some sort of galaxy-wide case of mass panic… not that it would likely happen that way, with the panic and all, but still… Nihlus stops dead in his tracks, turning to face me head-on;
"Fisher… why do you insist on transforming the Normandy into a flying freak-show!?"
"Freak-show? What do you mean?" I ask, leaning against a wall, but careful not to touch any of the green plant-mass, now covering most of the corridors walls.
"Let me sum it up for you then, should you have forgotten; One, we have two Shepards on the ship, both the same commander in each their parallel-universes.
Two, we have you and Tengberg, both from a dimension and time where all of this" he gestures towards the air around us; "is a game, millions of pixels, and millions of people watching and controlling us.
Three, we have, and no offence corporal, a member of something called the USCM, a marine from a dimension where the races of this galaxy aren't even existing. That, plus the horde of insect-like monsters that followed her through whatever kind of wormhole she came through.
And four, there is me. I was supposed to be killed on Eden Prime, as you told us. Me being alive is a price I am willing to pay for changed canon, however, or whatever you call it.
And now, you want to add four people from a galaxy so alien to ours that it is hard to even imagine… or am I missing something here?" He finishes, voice sounding very tired.
"Ahhh…. No… no, I think you about covered it all… but we can use them Nihlus, I mean, didn't you see the carnage they had brought on the geth in the tower? They could tip the scales for us in our hunt against Saren."
"(Sigh)… I'll give it some thought… if that will make you keep quiet…" Yeeessss!
We continue walking through the darkness until we come across another large spiral staircase. I don't really like heading down a fifty-thousand years old concrete staircase with only flashlights as illumination.
"Careful down here… Ghosts in the dark…" I say.
"Ghosts in what?" Tequila asks. Yeah, I figured that might sound weird…
"Hmm…" I chuckle lightly, treading carefully; "Just something from a… was it the movie or the game?... Something called the Da Vinci code… can't really remember why it seemed fitting here…"
"… So that is what Ashley meant…" huh?
"What did she say?" I try to make my voice as… call it casual, if you will, as possible.
"That you and Nic were very strange at times, and that that was one of the reasons she… likes you…" For a short moment, my heart stop, and my body goes numb. But it passes quickly. After all this, I am not so worried about people knowing… but I'll keep my mouth shut to Tequila about Nic's… interest…
"Ha, yeah… that's… true…"
"The "she likes you" part?" Tequila asks.
"Yeah… we… you could say we are a "thing"…"
"But you have known her for years, as a person in a game?"
"Well… where are you getting with this Tequila?" I ask, while I am careful not to touch an inactive geth drone sprawled over the floor. The thing looks like it's been ripped apart… krogans perhaps…
"I… I mean; isn't… wasn't it strange to befriend and fall in love with someone from a game?" Oh…
I keep walking in silence for some seconds, considering just how to answer that. I am not going to mention the times, few times, where I sacrificed Ash on Virmire in Genesis. That will never happen in this life, and there is no reason for Tequila to know… well, besides what she heard in the med-bay from Jane;
"Well… consider… it was like… you know Star Wars… imagine waking up to Kenobi, or Skywalker standing over you… something like that…"
"So… it was more like a sense of awe?"
"Pretty much… but not the awe you might feel when being aimed at by a tank… more like standing in the presence of an angel… if that doesn't sound too cheesy… "I say, suddenly realizing that I'm rubbing the joint between my helmet and the rest of my armor's neck.
"It doesn't… at least not from you…"
"Thanks… perhaps… you could not mention this to Nic? He would never let me hear the end of it…"
"No problem there…" she says, and a silence ensues. It's a little awkward, so I decide to ask something that should probably wait till back on the ship, but what the hell;
"So… I hear you lost to him on the weights?" I say, a wide grin spreading on my face. I'm glad I'm wearing a helmet, because she would likely have punched me if she saw my face right now. The corporal sighs;
"I should never have taken his bet, but I just felt like pumping some metal, and he didn't look that strong… and he proposed that we could have a little bet. I said, "Oh fine, you lose, you take fifty"… then he countered, saying that he was taking me to the movies if he won… was he always like that where you come from?" She says, now walking besides me. I chuckle a bit, and then I shrug;
"Pretty much… he was what we used to call "A ladies man"… or, that's what I called him…" more like a skirt chaser… but I'll keep that to myself…
"I see… why just you?" she says, and I can't help a chuckle, despite the circumstances… those being us located in a geth-nest… or hub, or whatever it is called…
"I… was the only one who didn't have a girlfriend... so, I teased him with his…"
"So… Ashley is your first… how old are you guys?"
"Me and Ash?"
"Nah, you and Teng- Nicolai?" Oh… and a double Oh…
"Well, I'm twenty-one in two months, and Nic is a bit older, twenty-three… why?"
"Just a funny thought… does he… usually like… women four years older than him?" Okay, so Tequila is twenty-seven… always thought she was older, given her badassry… but then again, Ash is what, twenty-five?
"Eehhhrrr… I don't… think so… he mainly went with the girls around him, and they were in his cla- wait… "like?" Why are you asking me about this?" I swear her face looks like Udina's when he raged at the councilors; All red. What the?
"Oh… nothing…. Just… forget I asked, okay?"
"Okaayy…." She then hurries past me, leaving me at the rear;
"Well, that was random…" I jog after the others, not really wanting to be left behind down here, when my comm. and the coms of the other members of the team, suddenly scratches to life;
"Beta team, this is Delta team, do you read? Over." Oh yeah, we gave each group a name. Needless to say, Delta team is the clone-team. The guys who stayed back at the colony are Alfa team. Nihlus taps his comm.;
"This is Beta team, copy all. Proceed. Over."
"We have encountered some kind of… growth down here… it doesn't seem natural… you people 'seen something similar? Over."
"Copy that… it's called moss… though it is strange finding it at these heights…Over." I say. Nihlus and the others hadn't discovered the moss-thingies, so I answer for them.
"I know what moss is Fisher, and that is not it." The heavy voice of Sev cuts through.
"You forgot the "over" Sev, you know how important that is… Over" I hear Scorch in the background. Man, that guy is too humorous to be a commando…
"Then what is it, oh all-knowing Oh-seven?... Over" Tequila asks. She still doesn't have that much patience for the clones, given what she knows about them.
"Don't know… I'm not a botanic, but this shit aint natural… or, what I mean is; It is not supposed to be here…over."
"Let it go Sev, we will figure this out later, you know, before the attack of the plants. Over." I say, barely containing a chuckle. Pissing Sev of is funny… when he is not within arm's reach of you, that is…
"Screw you Fisher!" he says, a hint of laughter is hearable in his voice. The other group then cuts the transmission.
"Fisher, next time you spot something suspicious, you report it to me, understood?" Nihlus says.
"Well, it was just mo-"
"Understood?"
"Yes sir…"
"Then let's keep moving… I see lights up ahead… must mean we are close to the area with the Varren." I had happily forgotten that we were supposed to hunt Varren down here, but now I'm nervous… the way "Roku" described them, they sound more like hyenas than "Fish-dogs". I can't really say that I get the time to argue with him, because we haven't even reached the doorway to the lights, before something the size of a large wolf jumps down in front of us. Per reflex, I guess, Kaidan flings it backwards towards the opening. When its silhouette becomes visible, I can make out four legs and a long head. Almost like that on a horse or a fish. Long teeth emerge from its mouth, often going taller than the top of the head. When it lands on the concrete outside, I can get a good look at it;
"So that's a Varren…" Tequila mumbles. I could have said the same thing.
The fucker is up again, teeth barred and fangs sticking out from its ridiculously big mouth. Its eyes are big and blue, and I can't make out if it has got two or four of them. Its back is lined with either spikes or something made out of feathers or something, and it's body is glinting vaguely, light reflecting from its scales;
Bang!
Tequila fires her new pistol, and the Varren drops dead, a smoking hole in the eye. Pheeeuu…. Talk about marksmanship… that was at least twenty meters! Suddenly, the air is filled with angry howls and sneering. Apparently, shooting that one was a bad idea, according to the now… fifty, or so, Varren surrounding us on both sides of the corridor. Their eyes are glinting in the lights from our flashlights, fangs glistering in a most unwanted display of sharp teeth;
"Oh for Talos' sake…" I mutter. And then all hell breaks loose.
The beasts just flood us like… a flood of Varren. There is no end to their numbers, and I find myself wishing for Xenomorphs… at least you knew… no, why the hell would I wish for those bugs? At least these are stupid dog-thingies… I constantly fire into the herd, and the advantage here is that the narrow corridor makes it practically impossible to miss. Every shot rewards me with a howl. While Nihlus, Tequila and me are firing our guns, Kaidan is straining his biotics to keep the dogs we miss from coming close, throwing them back into the groups, or sending shockwaves into them, giving us a break when the entire left side of the horde is transformed into waves of flying dogs. I wish I had time to record this…
"Just a quick hint; you do know that you have a helmet cam… that is constantly active, right?"
"Oh…" Well, that takes care of that part, but the Varren are constantly getting closer, and we are overheating our weapons more than we can afford to, straining them to the breaking point. Fuck, I knew I should have brought that shotgun!
"They are getting closer!" Tequila yells. I switch to my pistol for the I-don't-fucking-know'th time, and fire off a volley before the wimpy piece of crap overheats. At least the xenos had the decency to die after one shot in the head and then splash acid over their friends...
"Tell me something I don't fucking know!" I shout. I have overheated my guns so often, I've got blisters on my hands from the heat, and my knuckles are bruised from when Kaidan missed one of them, and I had to batter its brains out. That was really nasty. I enjoyed doing that in the game, but then you didn't have to watch as the skull cracked and the blood and brain spilled out. Finally, the creature just squirmed around on the floor, crying in pain and I stomped on its head to put it out of its misery. I know it sounds weird, but I always hated watching animals suffer, even when a Schaefer attacked me once, and the owner damn near tortured it… when I got over the scare, I felt sorry for the dog. I don't have that much pity for the Varren though, seeing as they are not even… well, mammals. Still, I would feel really sorry for them- if they weren't fucking trying to kill us!
"Alenko! Push them more back! We can't keep this up!" Nihlus shouts.
"With all due respect, Spectre, I'm doing my fucking best here!" Wow, Kaidan curses… well, in this situation, who wouldn't?
"Then do it better! We-"His voice is cut off by a series of blast, coming from the other side of the entrance. Suddenly, the Varren in that direction are starting to file out, focusing on getting out of whatever trap they are suddenly in… the sound of slicing, however faint, starts growing in strength till I can spot a blue shimmering through the crowds. What the hell?
When a Varren is lifted into the air, then receives a knife to its neck, I spot a clone commando on the other side, armor once bright and dotted with some artificial blood smears, now completely drenched in non-artificial Varren blood. He is practically a walking shower of intestines and organs, blood and grime. Behind the clone, whom I guess is Sev; I see three others currently busy with the same task. Did I ever mention how badass these guys are?
"A couple of times, yeah…"
They just took out with knifes, what we had to use biotics and guns to kill…. They are so going on the Normandy. As the Varren on our side notices the newcomers, they for some reason break up and run away. The last of the dog-creatures climbing across the small mountains of dead Varren. Man, did we kill that many? As we holster our guns, I look at the commandoes; currently busy wiping some sort of wrist-knife against their leggings;
"Fuck man, what are you guys doing here?" Tequila asks, using the wall for support as she pants heavily. I find myself somewhat exhausted actually, and slide down the opposite wall, leaning my head back and feeling the surges of adrenalin rush through me. My hands are shaking, and while I can control the right hand, I can't stop the fingers on the left. They constantly twitch and make spasms, scaring me a little… I'm too young to get that disease where you can't control your movements;
"We were in the neighborhood, trying to find the power cells, when we heard gunfire coming from the tunnel. When we looked inside, I could see dozens of dead… what did he call them, Varren? Dozens of them lying about, while a really big one was running down the hallway, almost filling it out. When we got down there, we could hear you guys, but the varren were blocking our view, so Sev… made a window…" The red-helmeted clone just shrugs and lets out a disturbing low chuckle. Man, this guy may be a great soldier… but he is creepy as hell at some points…
"Well, thanks for the help… but that big one… what happened to it?" I ask, looking at Boss from my seated position on the ground. He resumed speaking;
"Let's just say, Sev had some "slice and dice" practice… it wasn't that pretty…" Boss says. Sev just shoots out his wrist knife, polishing it with some piece of cloth. Alright, so not only did the Deltas deal with their own objectives, they also dealt with ours… have we even accomplice anything since we got here? have I? I mean, I tried playing doc, and look what happened then… I don't even know anything about this place… I… just feel powerless… like I'm suddenly of no use to the team… No, fuck that thought. Even that I'm here means that Nihlus is alive, and at the very least, I'm warning the council of the Reapers, and I'm adding an extra hand to the ship… And Nic is making good food. I got the Normandy a good cook. That's something.
"Alright, but with our respective tasks completed, I think it is about time we head back to the colony." Nihlus says. Boss just shrugs. I guess he isn't much for taking orders from other people than his old advisor… funny I remembered him… and not the names of those guys…
"Sorry sir, but we still need to collect that power cell. You go on ahead though; we'll catch up in no time."
As we head back through the corridors, Nihlus suddenly stops dead in his tracks near a bridge going over a small chasm. He turns his head, and following his gaze, I spot a human, a man, to be more specific. He is just… standing there, near a pair of concrete pillars. What the hell? Has he been here all along?
"You don't want to go down there…" he says. While I wasn't even aware we were going down there, I'm pretty curious now.
"And why is that?" Nihlus asks.
"Oh, I can tell ya, I could tell ya everything. How would you like- Gnaaaarggghh!" Suddenly, while speaking to us, the guy appears to have some sort of spasm, or intense pain inside his head; "That was a good one… very intense." I find myself having taken several steps away from the man.
"Just what the hell is wrong with you? Are you injured or something?" Nihlus asks. The man just shakes his head;
"Just… invoking my master's whip… helps remind me I'm still alive… you're here for the geth… you are not the only one…" For some reason, this guy is beginning to give me the creeps. I can feel the hairs on my neck standing. There is something really weird going on here...
"So, we are not the only ones looking for the geth? Who else is?" Nihlus asks. The man just nods;
"Not looking for… looking to get rid of… they are a thorn in the side of the- Gnaaaaarggghhheeehh! They are trying to get to the- Gnaaaiiiiihhhaare! Ah ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!" Okay, this guy is seriously wrong in the head!
"This might be easier if we took him back to the others…" Nihlus says.
"N-no… I am to be down here… Fai Dan doesn't want me upstairs… afraid I'll start talking abou- Aaaargghh!" He then collapses on the floor, completely unconscious. Tequila bows down and feels his throat;
"Well… at least he has got a pulse… but what the heck was that about?" She asks, eyeing me in particular. She must be thinking I know something about this;
"Well… your guess is as good as mine… probably better…" I shrug. Nihlus just sighs.
"Well… do we just leave him here?" Kaidan asks. Sometimes, it's really strange how he can almost disappear during a conversation.
"No… I say we bring him back to the colony, then they can haul him down here again themselves. I am not leaving an innocent, if mentally sick, civilian to die at the hands of the geth." Nihlus says, before looking at me;
"Fisher, you carry him back, we'll cover you." Hey what!? I'm to drag the weirdo all the way back? What if he has rabies or something? Oh well…;
"Right, right… mister maniac mover… that's me…" While speaking, I haul the bugger on his feet, then I drop him over my shoulders. Well, at least he's not as heavy as Ash…
"As long as he doesn't wake up'n bites me…" I say, trying to sound casual. It doesn't work… or at least, it would have worked, if it wasn't because a group of geth just appeared in front of us;
"Oh shit! Well, you said it yourself sir, cover me…" As I'm speaking, I run past the guys and dive behind the nearest column. I put down the guy, trying to make sure he lies somewhat out of the firing line.
"Suppressing fire! Corporal, concentrate on the shock trooper near the wall. Lieutenant, focus on the geth near the ledge, give them a push over the edge!" Either Nihlus just saw some smart move, or he just has a… not morbid, but… harsh kind of humor. Subsequent, Kaidan teaches the two geth closest to the chasm how to fly. The sound of their platforms bouncing between the sides as they fall to the… I guess they fall to the planet's surface… that quite a drop…
Before Kaidan can resume firing though, he is hit in the right leg by one of the geth's rifles. Fucking thing goes right through the shields, and Kaidan drops to the ground, clenching his now bleeding thigh. As he lies on the ground, another shot penetrates his armor, going right through his foot. A spasm of pain goes through him, and he squirms on the ground, trying to get out of the firing line;
"Aaaargghh! Fuck! My leg! Someone- someone get me… help!" at the last word, I notice him looking at me. So far, I've actually kept out of the fight, looking after our "friend", while my friends got their asses shot up. To hell with that guy, Kaidan needs me! I jump out of the cover and close the distance between me and our biotic lieutenant in two seconds;
"Come on mate, I'm not leaving you to di- Aarrgg! FUCK!" I haven't even picked him up completely, before something very hot penetrates my… well, my ass. My left side feels like it's on fire, and can suddenly feel something very cold emerge on the site. I steel a glance to my behind, seeing the yellow fluid flow out of the armor. The medi-gel's kicking in, but it still hurts. I wrap my arms around Kaidan again, and drag him into cover. As I put him down besides the crazy guy, I look at my squad mates;
Nihlus is leaned against another column, panting heavily. Next to him is the mangled wreck of a geth, probably one he was forced to kill in close combat. He constantly pops in and out of cover, laying down a spray of fire that never fails to down at least one geth. His otherwise pristine spectre-armor is riddles with burn-marks and he only has one eye open.
Tequila is as aggressive as ever, crouching behind one of the horizontal blocks of stone, she grabs a geth that comes to near, hauls it over the block, and fills it with bullets. She then uses her foot to push away the trashed construct, before she resumes cover.
As I'm able to stand up, no doubt due to the medi-gel, and the fact that only my… well, bottom was shot, I edge my way over to the Specter;
"Well sir, seems like these kind of things just love to happen to us, right?" I shout to overcome the constant sound of shots being fired towards us;
"I don't know if I should be impressed or disturbed by the fact that you are smiling after having been shot, and now you are engaged in combat! I truly believe you must be insane!" he shouts, then he pops out to scrap another geth with his rifle. I follow his example, zeroing in on two geth troopers that comes within sight, and unleashing a barrage on them. I do need to get some more training, because I only hit one of them, while the other hardly notices I aimed at him as well;
"Awww sir that hurts my feelings!" he does have a point though. How can I be this calm in a firefight with geth? It's the first where I've actually returned fire on something… I should at least be a little scared!
I grab one of the grenades from my belt, activate it, then I let it roll down the small slope just ahead of us. A few geth stop to observe just what rolled down in front of them. They start to back away when they realize that it's a small ball of f' you. The following explosion sends them flying into walls in the form of scrap. Tequila then increases the weight of one of the last geth by about a kilo, as she fills it with tungsten. Nihlus takes down the another one with a clear pistol-shot through the flashlight. But that one is followed by a seven more. Just as I'm about to say "to hell with this", a long series of… different shots sound from behind me. The clones have arrived. They quickly take down the last geth, their weapons penetrating the geth's shields with little problems;
"Clear!" the voice of Boss cuts through.
"No contacts." Nihlus affirms, and then he looks around, noting the deltas that just saved our hides.
"That's the last of them." I say, before I turn my attention back to Kaidan. The guy has stopped moving, and he isn't looking to good. A small puddle of blood has begun to emerge under him, and his eyes are closed. Crap! We've gotta get him to Chakwas, and fast!"
"Nihlus, Kaidan needs help!" I shout. I'm not about to lose someone already. Nihlus runs over to me, getting a look at our wounded biotic;
"He's not gonna make it if we don't get him to Chakwas right now! Fisher, let the corporal take the man, then you get Alenko to the Normandy and to Chakwas. NOW!" He doesn't have to say it; I'm already hoisting Kaidan to his feet hefting him across my shoulder. I can't help but note that he as well, doesn't weigh as much as Ash did when I got her away from the geth on Eden Prime. I take a last look towards the group, and I notice that Scorch is standing right behind me;
"Six two, I can't really… what is it?"
"Boss told me to make sure you got to the ship in one piece. And it would give me an opportunity to see it at the same time, so you lead the way, and I'll cover you." I nod.
"Fine by me." And I start trudging away, never faster than jogging speed. I may be able to lift Kaidan, but that doesn't mean I'm superman, and can run with him… impressively enough, Scorch actually manages to cover me all the way through the tunnels, nailing at least ten geth. When we emerge in the colony, we get a lot of looks, me running with Kaidan on my shoulders, while Scorch is right behind me. When we exit the tunnels, Scorch taps me on the shoulder;
"I don't have to cover you anymore, you know? I can help you carry him." I nod again, and we cover the rest of the way to the Normandy by hauling Kaidan's arms over our shoulders, kinda like that thing you would expect a drunken guy to do when his friends are carrying him home after one hell of a night. When we reach the ship, Wrex nods and slams the panel, which opens and lets us into the Decon chamber. While the VI runs it's… whatever it is, I look at Kaidan.
The poor guy is even paler now, and blood has started seeping out of the uppermost wound. Fucking Medi-gel, why won't you stop it?! Upon entering the ship, Joker looks at us and starts saying something, then he sees Kaidan. He quickly activates the intercom;
"Doctor Chakwas to the med-bay, Chakwas to the med-bay!" His voice echoes across the CIC, and people make room for us to get through. When we reach the stairs, we switch so that Scorch carries the legs, and I grab Kaidan's shoulders.
"Come on, come on! Don't fucking die on me now Kaidan!" I sneer, panting as we get him past the mess hall and several startled crewmembers, including a now awakened Liara who's conversation with a now cleaned Garrus is cut short when he sees Kaidan being lifted through the hallway;
"Thomas, what-"
"Not now Garrus."
"Who is-"
"I said NOT NOW!" the turian backs down and returns to his chair with Liara. I slam the panel, and we enter the med-bay. Chakwas is already inside, putting on rubber gloves and preparing a lot of equipment;
"Alright, put him on the bed. Quickly, come on!" We just follow her orders, almost tossing Kaidan onto the bed;
"Alright, now you two out, and get Williams down here as fast as you can. I need her help here." Chakwas says, before shooing us out of the door. I activate the Omni-tool, and dial up Ash;
"Ash, get down to the med-bay, Chakwas needs you to help with Kaidan!" And please don't be too late…
"On my way!"
I turn off the Omni-tool, and head for the table. I notice Scorch follows me. Liara and Garrus both have a look of worry on their faces. I grab a chair, and offer one to Scorch. He nods, and sits down. Oh wait, does Nihlus still need me? I turn on the tool again, and contact my superior;
"Nihlus, this is Thomas with Scorch… do you need us to double back, or can we take a break?" there is some pause on the other side, before the Turian answers;
"Not right now… don't get too comfortable down there though, my guts tell me I'll need you again. But right now we have merged with Delta, and we are heading back to the colony with them. Give or take, you have about an hour before we-" The transmission just cuts off.
"Nihlus? Nihlus, what happened?"
"-again… what do you mean "what happened?", is something wrong?"
"Yeah, you just… never mind… out." well, that was strange…
I notice our two aliens are looking at me and Scorch, though Garrus is mainly looking at Scorch… no, not looking. Starring is more accurate.
"What happened to Kaidan? And who is this guy?" He asks.
"We… met this crazy guy who kept ranting about something, then he… buzzed himself, ranted and buzzed himself unconscious… then, we were attacked by geth, and Kaidan was shot… I carried him back here while Six two covered me, then he helped me carry him the last piece of way… and that's it… oh, and I was shot in the ass…" Garrus's mandibles spread apart, almost like he's… I don't know, smiling or pondering? I have never been good at judging turians…
"Will he make it?"Liara asks. She doesn't really know any of us yet, but I'll try and make sure she feels at home here… sort of.
"If-" at the same time, Ashley is rushing down the hallway in her armor, tossing her rifle at me, which I grab, else I would be very sore, and then she runs into the med-bay. The door then locks. Oh dear… you have to save him Ash… please. I sigh, and look at Liara again;
"If both Ash and Chakwas are doing their best… I don't see why… why not."
"Yet you don't sound very certain… if you will excuse my bluntness…" She says, studying the table and her hands. I forgot how socially awkward she is supposed to be. That, or I've been misinformed by every single person who ever talked about her character back… back home.
"It's just… nothing was supposed to happen to him… I must have done something wrong…"
"You couldn't have known what would happen…"
"Perhaps…" I sigh, then take a deep breath; "My name is Thomas by the way. Thomas Fisher." I give her a wry smile. She tries to return it, but I can see she is a little… should I call it shy?
"I'm Liara. Doctor Liara T'soni."
"Yes... I... know that." At my words she seems to become even more nervous and starts fiddling with her fingers. Strange, I thought only Tali did that…
"Oh… I… Of course you know. How stupid of me… you were on the team that helped me out of the cave on Therum, right?"
"Yeah, though it was Garrus who carried you. I… just helped him… don't ask." My last sentence seems to confuse her a bit, and Garrus shoots me what I take as a wry smile with a glint in his eye. He then looks at Scorch, who is just starring at Liara like she is a female clone;
"So, who is armor-boy here?" Garrus asks before Scorch even can open his mouth. Or he may have his mouth open, I don't know; he still wears his helmet.
"Delta-62, at your service… Garrus."
"That's a weird name… but I also meant, who do you work for, that armor isn't exactly Alliance standard?" Oh boy… perhaps Liara shouldn't be in here. I mean, I am going to tell her at some point, she's the only one besides Joker and Chakwas that doesn't know.
"I'm with Delta Squad, under the command of Boss Delta-38."
"Are you some kind of black ops group?" Liara asks. Damn it, now she has to stay here… oh well… it is as good a time as any… funny that I should quote Morrigan here… never mind…
"That is quite strange, especially since it would surprise me greatly, and disturb me even more so, to see her here…"
"Long time no hear… I guess… and yeah, I would prefer her to stay wherever the hell she is…"
"Yeah, we are a part of the Delta initiative. Fifty squads like ours have been created with the purpose of turning the tide against- crap, I wasn't even allowed to say those things… so, yeah we are a task force… but we are not Alliance…"
"Then… are you Cerberus?" Garrus asks, and I can see his hands tighten a bit.
"What is Cerberus?" Scorch asks, taking off his helmet. He runs a hand over his bald head and looks at Liara. She almost immediately looks down and mumbles something I can't even hear. Well that was random…
"Cerberus" I say; "is a splinter cell of pro-human fanatics who looks to advance humanity above the rest of the races in the galaxy."
"Oh… well, we are definitely not them…"
"Then who are you?" Garrus asks. He sounds like he is starting to get a bit suspicious. Of course, given his time in C-Sec, he has learned to spot liars and people who aren't telling the entire truth right away.
"Delta Squad is… was, I guess, given our current location, part of the Grand Army of the Republic."
"Never heard of that…" Garrus say, now starting to really stare at the man. I decide to break in again;
"You shouldn't have either Garrus… these guys are like Tequila. They are not from here." He looks like he is about to fall off his chair;
"You have got to be kidding me! Don't we have enough of you people already? I swear Spirits, this is borderline ridiculous!" Next to him, Liara just looks even more confused. I can understand that. Must be like hearing an intern joke that makes other people fall dead with laughter, and you just don't get what's so funny;
"I do not understand… what do you mean not from here?"
"Well… I-"As I'm about to answer her, my Omni-tool flares up. I press the speaker;
"Fisher, this is Nihlus. I can't get through to John'Shepard; see if you can find out why. Out." Well, saved by the bell.
"Garrus, I'll let you handle this one. I think I've had my share of stares and disbelief. You coming Scorch?"
"Right behind you… Fish…"
"huh?"
"Oh sorry. I mean Fisher!" uh…. Okay…
"Have fun up there." Garrus says as we head up.
"Yeah, yeah… just, remember to ping me or something if there is a change with Kaidan.
"Will do."
We head back up the stairs and through the CIC. When we get there, Joker is actually out of his chair. He is standing by the entrance, and he isn't looking too happy;
"What happened to Kaidan?" he asks, while he is eying the clone.
"He got shot by the geth. Chakwas and Ash are with him now."
"Figures. You know, it's like everyone who get's send out of here, ends up in some kind of mess. First, Dawson and Jenkins embark on Eden Prime, they die. Then, Garrus embarks on this place, comes back covered in… something red. Then Kaidan goes out, he is carried back by you two…"
"Joker, perhaps you could stop talking about that? At least till we know Kaidan is gonna be fine?"
"Yeah, yeah… just, nail some geth. Okay?" he says, as he turns to walk back to his seat.
"Will do sir." I say with some smile in my voice. I should be able to accept the fact that Joker doesn't have what is called the "inner voice", who tells him when something is appropriate to say.
We exit the ship, and head back towards the colony. We pass the place where that guy got smeared, and I can actually see a large spray of gore a meter next to where he stood. Oddly enough, there seems to be the shape of a turian in it, marking an area where the floor is untouched by the blood shower. Christ…. Doesn't even cover it… what was it John shouted after the Turian councilor had called him a liar? Oh yeah; K'eesh! I wonder what it means…
I activate my tool, and send a transmission to John while we're jogging towards the stairs. I really have to learn how to just use the head-phones.
"John, John this is Thomas. Are you there?"
Nothing. What the hell could have- oh…
John and the rest of the first fire-team, consisting of him, Tali, Nic and Jane are bunkered down, firing at something on the walls in the inner colony. Something is returning fire as well, and then I spot the man-sized geth frogs. Scorch and I run towards the others, while shooting at the geth. Nihlus, Tequila and the clones are nowhere to be seen. Something is wrong here.
"John, hey John you Bosh'ted! Why didn't you answer your comm.?" I shout at him. The Quarian turns to look at me, and I jump back in horror;
"Jo- John! What the Fuck!?"
His faceplate, the opal visor… it's… gone! I can see his face, but… it's… green. Green and red, bloodied and filled with holes. Two red orbs are shining from where his eyes used to be, and where his mouth used to be, the lower jaw is now missing, and long teeth like those of… I don't really know how to describe it… they are ragged, pointy and scattered in no ordinary fashion or pattern. It's… like looking at a corpse. A very much alive corpse! His eyes start glowing even more brightly and now his mouth is like a lamp as well. A sharp and nasty screeching sound sounds from his mouth. He points his gun at me, and I have to fight his arm to keep it from my head;
"John! N-no stop! What the Hell are you… Aarrgg!" Suddenly, Tali is by my side, but instead of helping me, she, without a mask as well, sinks her teeth into my left arm, the long and sharp canines burry themselves in my flesh, and she begins ripping through it, nearly tearing it off;
"Ta- ARRRRGGGGG! GET THE FUCK OFF ME! HELP! SOMEBODY! NICOLAI, JANE, SCORCH HELP ME GODDAMMI- AAAARRGGG!"Tali is tearing away at my arm, ripping off big pieces of flesh as she simply… tears through the armor on my arm. Meanwhile, Nic and Jane are nowhere to be seen, and John is pushing down on my arm now, his Cerberus-enhanced muscles are way better than mine, and slowly, inch by inch, the gun nears my face.
"John… Please! D-Arrrrgggg! Don't do this!" the gun is now against my temples, and I feel tears running down my cheeks.
"Please…. Don't!" I almost whisper.
Suddenly, I see Scorch, Sev and Boss in front of me, but instead of pushing John away, they are grabbing my arm, forcing it away from my face. When I look back at John, I see the visor once again is whole, and the pain in my arm has lessened. I look at Tali, slowly turning my head at her, and find her also being back to normal. She is holding my left arm under her feet, and it feels like it's broken. I look back at John, who is now joined by Nicolai who is looking scared shitless. I then notice that I'm the one pulling the gun towards my own head, and they are trying to pull it away. I drop the gun as realization dawns upon me. I just tried to kill myself!
"K'eesh Thomas! What the fuck do you think you are doing!?" John shouts.
My hands start shaking, and my legs begin to give away under me.
"Thomas!" I faintly hear Nic's voice as I slip away, darkness surrounding me.
"Thomas"
"Thomas…"
"THOMAS!" Suddenly, I find myself in the void once again. All emotions are washed from me, and I find myself thinking; "Well, this is getting kinda trivial…"
"Thomas, whatever just came over you… I don't know what just happened… about the time where you shouted for Shepard, something… assumed control over you. I was locked out… I could only watch as you drew the gun at yourself, and I had to make a physical shout for your friends to restrain you before you could pull the trigger."
"Is that so… so, the entire colony now heard your voice?" I should be worried, but I just don't feel… anything.
"Well, what would you have me do? Watch as you blew you own brains out?!" He sounds strangely… frantic…
"What happened to me… was that some kind of post-combat trauma?"
"No… whatever it was… it was foreign… some kind of… I don't know… whatever it was… I couldn't break its hold and hold you back at the same time. I actually couldn't even do one for very long… I was losing you…" Hmm… he sounds sad.
"What happens to my body now?"
"Not your body; you. By saying body you imply that you are de- you are being taken to the med-bay, where Chakwas at the moment is sewing up Kaidan after successfully removing the bullets, applying SEMA to the severed artery, and supplying him with at least two liters of synthetic blood." So Kaidan made it… good.
"Right now you are being… why don't you just watch for yourself…" and the void becomes the same kind of video it was after the train accident;
"Spirits, who got shot this time?" Garrus asks, standing up from the table and rushing to where the group is now opening the med-bay's door. Liara is close behind him;
"No one… Thomas he… tried shooting himself in the head. It was only because the voice alerted us that we managed to restrain him. Then he just fainted!" John shouts. He and Nic are carrying me towards the bed next to Kaidan who groggily turns his head to see what's going on. he follows us as I'm carried and laid on the bed. Ashley rushes to my side, trying to wake me up, slapping my cheeks, but for some reason, I'm not waking up.
"And you are sure I'm not dead?"
"Positive. You are just out cold…"
"What caused this?" Chakwas asks as everyone but John and Ash are being shooed out of the room;
"I have no idea doc. One second we are shooting at the jumping geth, the next Thomas's friend is shouting at us to help him restrain Thomas, and I discover that the crazy bastard has drawn his gun and is aiming at his own temples. I knock him down with my biotics, but he gets back up and puts the gun to his head. Then I grab his arm and try forcing it down, but it was like… like someone helped him pull the other way… the Tali came to and grabbed one of his arms, placing it in a grip between her legs, and the entire Delta Squad was needed to get his arm away from his head. All the while he was shouting things like "John no!" and "Please no!" I… I've never seen him like this before!"
"My God… that… has he been under much stress lately? I mean, more than usual? And who is this voice and friend you are talking about? Was it Tengberg?" Oh right… Chakwas doesn't know yet, does she?"
"Later Karin, right now, just give him the full scan, drugs, blood samples, everything. Find out just what the hell is wrong with him." Hmm… so her name is Karin Chakwas… Always did wonder about that, but never enough to check it I guess…
"Alright. Now, unless there is something else, I must ask you to leave commander… you too Ashley." Ashley doesn't move an inch;
"With all due respect Chakwas; I'm not leaving till Thomas is." Hmm… love… what a peculiar bond we share through it…
"Then… fine… just don't disturb me." And the scene fades.
I suddenly start feeling again, and something in my head is hurting like hell. I open my eyes, feeling the burning pain resume, and something cold and moist on my forehead. When the blinding light fades a bit, I can see the roof in the med-bay. The pain then lessens, and I'm able to think again. Okay, just to sum up… I just tried, for no apparent reason, to blow myself away, and I was hallucinating… that can't be good… I wonder if it's the same with the guy we found in the tunnels… I let out a deep sigh, which immediately is followed up with the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, and a hand smacking me hard across the face. The burning feeling is then followed up by a tight hug from Ash. Well, actually it's more like a body slam, because half Ash's body is now sprawled over mine, and she is clinging to me as to prevent myself from trying again;
"Don't… ever… do… that… again." She says between the heavy breathings. I can't speak or nod, as she immediately forces her mouth against mine in a tear-wetted kiss. I am not even conscious enough to return it, though I am capable of putting my right arm across her back. For some reason, I can't move my left. I try lifting it again, but from my left side I feel only pain at each try.
After some time, Ash finally pulls away before she slaps me again;
"Thomas what the hell were you thinking back there!? Were you just gonna blow your brains out, why?! Please, if… if you have trouble… flashbacks or… hell I don't know, anything; Just tell me. I want to help you. I…I don't want to lose you." She has tears in her eyes, and more are steadily rolling down her cheeks. I finally muster enough strength to say something;
"Ash… I… I don't know what happened… I just don't know. One second I was tapping John's shoulders... or, I think I was, and then I… what happened… I… was being attacked. John and Tali… they were turned into monsters… like some kind of… I don't know… zombies or something. John was forcing his gun against my head, and I was fighting to keep it away. Then Tali bit my arm, and John had the gun against my head… then… everything just went back to normal… I don't really know how to… explain it, but it was like something… I don't know."
"I have not been able to find the cause, neither are there any drugs in your system that could have caused this… but you do have some… most unusual brain activity Thomas… like something dormant just woke up in your head… how are you feeling?" As Chakwas moves in, Ash slowly gets off me;
"To be honest doc? I feel like shit. My head is burning; feels like someone just emptied a bottle of tequila in it, before proceeding to smack me in the head with it, and I can't feel my left arm… other than that… just some burning cheeks from a more recent… incident." I try giving Ash a smile, but I'm not sure how well it turns out, as she doesn't really seem to calm anymore down.
"Well, I can't help you with the head, other than advice you lots of rest, and no leaving the med-bay the next twenty-four hours. As for the arm… well, it's broken. When Tali restrained you, you pulled your arm so powerfully from under her that the antebracii os… the bone in your forearm… snapped. The reason you can't feel it, is mainly because of the painkillers, and you can't move it due to the heavy plaster on it. You should, as I said before, remain in here for the next twenty-four hours… for observation and rest."
"Bu- but… Feros… I have to be there!"
"By the Maker, no you don't young man! You should count yourself extremely lucky that this friend of yours managed to restrain you and call on the team… else… "
"But… in the name of… fine… just tell them to be careful out there, and to bring Wrex…" somehow, I feel they will need him…
"If it means you staying out without further discussion… then yes, I'll relay that order."
"Doc… I'm not really in the mood for jokes right now…"
To quote John Steward;
"Boom!"
Alright, I think this came out alright, but then again, I'm the author, and I'm not really in any position to jugde my own work... at least not from an independent viewpoint.
So, we have some freaky hallucinations, weird people, and more than two team-members out of commision for the moment. Truth be told, I had some doubts as whether or not to include the hallucination and the suicide attempt. I wish I could have made it longer, but eh, I think I did the best I could.
Don't forget to review, and tell me if this was a good idea or not. Other stuff can be reviewed as well, as I feel so fabulous when i recieve positive feedback.