Alright... Enough fillers, despite me lovin' to write them. Time for some non-canon action.
Also, a name has been chosen for the super-Dreadnought. Check out my profile for the name. Specs and Codex about it will be added when it is complete and battle-ready.
Also, I am really glad for the love Tara still receives. True, she's a killer, but so is Tali if you think about it. Hell, even the original Jack got some love despite her long and obvious list of crimes.
Harvest
November 23rd
Virmire, Hoc System
Krogan research facility.
Saren stood with his hands behind his back, the artificial arm idly twitching as the nanites in his blood coursed through it. Since Noveria and the horde of hostile creatures that took over the planet, he had begun to doubt the resolve he had started out with. Surely, the death of so many Turians and Salarians could have been avoided, as well as the death of Benezia.
He knew it was a folly, an unimportant piece in the plan of his masters. Benezia had been an ally of convenience. He had kept telling himself that because he knew that was what Sovereign believed, and Sovereign had to be right. Saren had already gone through too much pain and horror for it all to be for naught. And yet, even if Sovereign was right, and Benezia had not been important, he still felt a part of his mind grieve for the loss of an old friend. It was natural that she had followed him, of course. Sovereign had made her do so, and had allowed Saren to make use of her the way he saw fit.
But still…
He shook the thoughts from his head. Sovereign would know if his resolve started faltering again. He could have to get a new implant if that happened. He could vividly remember the last surgery. It had felt like Hell itself had taken residence in his head, and then he had felt at peace again.
He looked back over the facility, observing how his geth walked about, working or patrolling the perimeters. They were a means to an end, nothing more. He knew geth had no stake in the survival of organics, but he knew that he needed the Reapers allied with the galaxy in order to save as many lives as he could. If he had to kill innocents to do that, he would just have to swallow the guilt and pain as he did it.
And yet, a small piece of his mind had once told him to have a plan in order for the risk that the Reapers would not keep up their end of the bargain. What if they would turn on the galaxy instead? That had been long ago, but he had made a move with his plan, back when he still suspected Indoctrination of being used on himself. He had not needed to attack Eden Prime. Of course, he had needed the beacon, but that could have just as well have taken place when it was being moved by Council forces. In truth, the attack on the human colony had cost him more geth than he had wanted to lose. But he had made one, at the time, very important fact known to the humans.
There was something out there, bigger and more powerful than they could imagine. He knew what humans were like. He had seen how Anderson had performed when they had been on the joint mission together. Back then he had still resented humanity for the death of his brother, but he had come to regret his stance on their importance since then. True, he still wanted them reduced to their Homeworld, but he knew they were important. Sovereign told him so too, but he had had different reasons for thinking Humanity important, back then.
He knew what they were like, how they fought, the vigor and skill they showed in battle. He had attacked Eden Prime because he, back then, had believed that Humanity needed wake-up call. He had thought they needed to be ready for what might happen if he failed and the Reapers invaded with another purpose than preserving life. He knew humanity was militaristic. He knew that people such as Fisher, Hackett and Petrovsky were hardened veterans and would stop at no laws or rules to ensure the survival of their species. He resented Hackett on a personal level though, but personal grudges had been shoved back when he attacked Eden Prime. Humanity needed to be ready. That was what he had believed back then.
Of course, these days he knew it had been stupid. And dangerous. Sovereign told him so. The Reapers would never go back on their words, and they would come anyway. If he could prove the value of organic life, they would only conquer the galaxy, not exterminate it like they had with the Protheans. They had resisted, and therefore the Reapers had destroyed them. He needed to make sure his own galaxy didn't resist.
If they did, they would all die.
Saren, for himself, had no illusions that he would survive though. He knew that he would most likely die in the struggle to open the relays. If so, he would die knowing that he had saved as many lives as he could. Because of course the Reapers would spare organic life if he proved the worth of it.
He sighed, trying to remember what he had been thinking at the time he had almost killed Nihlus. He had not been thinking clearly, of course, but that was no longer relevant. He knew that Nihlus was on the human ship, the Normandy. Maybe he could see him once more before it was all over, try to explain why he had done what he had done. Of course Nihlus wouldn't understand, Saren knew that. He had faced his mentor with a gun pointed at him, no way Nihlus would forgive that. He would insist that Saren was the traitor, and then try to kill him. But if Saren could just let Nihlus meet Sovereign, he could be made understand why Saren had done what he had done. Rubbing his metallic eyelids with his organic arm, Saren noticed a presence behind him, and turned to face his newest additions to his cause. They had been troublesome in the start though, but once they had seen the truth, they had gone with him. He could come to need them, if his base was discovered, but he hoped it never would. Too much was at stake for him to be stopped now. He needed the Krogan to make up the bulk of his army he needed the facility for them to do so. The Salarian near him shuffled slightly, a small blob of drool dripping from his mouth;
"Saren…" He said. Saren sighed, then faced the former STG.
"What is it?"
"The new platforms are a success. We have already constructed hundreds of them." The Salarian said. Saren felt sorry that a man so dedicated to the survival of his people as the man was, would have to be taught in such a harsh way.
"Thank you… Kirrahe."
"Also… we are ready for the next step."
"Good… send them out."
…
November 24th
Arcturus Stream, Arcturus Station
Office of Anna Fisher
18:22 (Station time)
Anna felt tired. She felt more tired than she had for a long time.
In her long career, she had been used to deal with situations that came out of the blue. But these days it seemed like the entire galaxy was intend on giving her a headache that could take down a Krogan. First, she had had to deal with the synthephobic Admiral Raan. Of course, it had actually been Price that had dealt with her. Anna had just been ready to jump the gun if Raan had tried taking out her AI. After that, the meeting had gone as well as one could have expected. Price had taught the admiral some manners and she had slowly started to refrain from calling him out of genocide and lack of respect for organic life. Then, she had left the station. Anna had been told that Raan would bring another admiral with her when she returned, and she hoped to God that it would be Korris. By far, he was the most level-headed of the admirals, especially in his stance on the geth. That was another thing that disturbed her. The geth had yet to make contact, and they should have long since reached their collective opinion, whatever Price had called it. In her mind, she felt a nagging concern that that meant the geth had decided on war and would soon attack. Not really what she felt like doing with an impending invasion.
Invasions… that was the second thing that pissed her off. She had, only two days ago, found out that the Batarians, supposedly just pirates, had attacked Elysium with almost a thousand ships and tens of thousands of soldiers. Of course, being an Admiral and not a hillbilly, she had done the math for an operation that big. No pirate organizations held the recourses to mount an attack like that. In other words, she knew it had to be the Hegemony. Of course, they had denied all claims, as they always did, but this time they had crossed the line. She had spoken to Zaeed over the CQC last night, and had been told in grim details how the four-eyes had scorched their way through the city in squads and armor. They had been professionals, not simple mercs. She had been enraged at learning about his near-death encounter and had demanded to come and see him. Of course, as an admiral she had had all rights to do just that. Still, Zaeed had told her not to. He wouldn't halt her work just to feel her in his arms again. Instead he would ask his superiors for leave and come see her. At least the universe held some amount of joy. He should be arriving within the next day, and she had already started planning out their first day together. Of course, she had had too much going on to simply think about her date with the scarred man.
Kasumi was the third thing going through her mind. Normally it would take only a day at most for her to return home with new tech, but she had been gone for four days now. Anna just hoped she hadn't been caught and forced to destroy the tool. She was worth too much strategically, and Anna still needed the tech to put the finishing touch on the Goliath-class Dreadnought. It was around seventy percent done, but what mattered the most was the fact that they had issues with the engines and the drive cores. The thing would originally had used insane amounts of fuel, but thanks to modern technology, they had been able to reduce the amount of fuel needed for the FTL-engines. Eezo was a wonderful thing, even if they couldn't use it quite to the same effect as in normal warships. The simple reason was that the Dreadnought was simply too big. Running at two-point-five kilometers, the ship was already heavier than the Destiny Ascension, and they still needed to mount most of the weapons, the main guns, the engines and the thrusters on it. When finished, Anna reckoned it would be at least twice as heavy as the Ascension. And that she would kick Reaper ass. If they had an ass to kick that was. Otherwise she would just jam a fission-bomb somewhere the stars never shone.
Price had been more helpful than she could have ever imagined. When the organic crew went home, he simply took over the mechs and the tools and kept working, using the robots as slower, but still useful workers. Therefore they were at seventy percent instead of fifty. She repressed a shudder when she thought of what might have happened if he hadn't been there to help out. They might not have been ready for when the Reapers arrived, or they might only get one ship ready in time. She knew the dreadnought would be the biggest ever built by anyone in the galaxy, but she would still feel safer if she knew there were twenty other Dreadnoughts out there. A knock on the door caused her to snap from her train of thought, turning around to face the door instead;
"Enter please." She said, keeping her voice courtly in case it wasn't Steve or Kasumi. The door slid open to reveal the form of a man she knew well. True, they weren't close, but at the same time they had shared some less than pleasant experiences and had found comfort in drinking together.
The man was heavily built with short croppy hair and muscular arms. His skin had originally been tanned, due to his Greek origins, but a long life in space had taken that tan and turned him as pale as everyone else. His eyes were slightly sunken and bore witness to a man who had lost most of what gave him purpose in life. His face bore a series of long scars from when an explosion had taken most of his face, an appearance he shared with Zaeed. The small smile on his lips was a rare one, born out of respect for his superior. It was a rare sight because he almost never smiled. Having lost his family on Mindoir, that was something Anna could sympathize with. He wore his Alliance Officer Uniform with pride, a rare sight as he almost never took off his heavy armor. Still, meeting with an Admiral was an occasion where he had not felt he needed it. She smiled back at him, and he saluted, a hand made from artificial flesh and steel touched his temple.
"Colonel Kun. Come in." She said, nodding for the man to proceed. If there was a man she trusted besides Hackett, it was the colonel who had suffered the loss of his entire family. A man of few words, he only spoke when he had something important to say. Seemingly this was to be such an occasion;
"Ma'am." He said, walking to the other side of her desk where he stood at attention. A long life as an officer had instilled a bone-hard discipline in him, something he couldn't drop even if he wanted to.
"At ease Colonel. What can I do for you?" She said. The man assumed a more relaxed stance before speaking.
"I was contacted by Operative Kasumi Goto, ma'am." He said. One of the few people to have been let in on the secret of how Anna got her hands on the new tech was her colleague through twenty-three years. Anna raised a brow in surprise, not understanding why Kasumi hadn't just come to her instead of contacting Exar Kun. True, he could be trusted, but it made little sense to the Admiral.
"Oh?"
"Yes. She transferred these new schematics to me. I am just taking them to you now. " He said, activating his Omni-tool. Several large images and streams of data floated above his wrist as the files were transferred to her own tool. She turned it on and looked at the files as they poured in. She looked at the first image, a large gun-emplacement for ships with flat space on the top-side of the hulls. The Dreadnought didn't have much of that, but she could easily change the design a bit since they hadn't placed the plating yet.
"Turbo-laser… Yes, yes I can make that work… I think this will do nicely in fact. But damn it's a big gun! It almost amounts to the main gun of a frigate… who ever seems to have listened to the vids, they didn't feel cheap. Alright, this will go straight to the techs.. If anything this should help them master the plasma- and laser-guns for the secondary turret."
"There's more ma'am." Kun said, pointing out the files stacked up in her database. Nodding, Anna activated the next set of schematics.
"What in… is that a tank?" She asked, disbelief in her voice. What she was looking at looked more like a hexapedal animal made from steel. And yet the giant gun on its back clearly wasn't meant to be used to freight cargo. The letters AT-TE hung in the air above the image of the six-legged tank. It seemed to sport even more firepower than an Apocalypse, and the legs were definitely something never used in a tank before.
"Seems like it. It's big enough to carry over thirty soldiers, but there is a weakness that we need to work around, Ma'am." Kun said, highlighting a section of the walker on his own tool. Anna cocked a brow at his comment;
"What are you, an engineer now?" She asked, half joking. The colonel just shook his head, his face remaining in the small smile it had throughout the meeting;
"No ma'am, just observant. Notice the pilot's seat? It's positioned ripe for a single round to penetrate the glass and kill him, then render the entire thing useless. We need to replace it with haptic interfaces and holographic screens to protect the driver and his co-driver. It also appears that the gun on the roof of this thing fires mass-driven plasma at about two-point-five kilometers a second. Not exactly as fast as our own guns, but the size of it makes it more cost-effective. I also believe we should keep the legs as they allow for greater versatility and allows it to traverse steep grounds where even the Mako comes short." He said, leaning slightly back while examining the mentioned sections of the vehicle. Anna now had both her brows cocked;
"You… seem to have been giving this some thought." She said, looking closer at the outline of the section used to transport troops. It seemed to be able to hold around thirty-eight soldiers. There also seemed to be an alternate outline for the rear-section, allowing it to carry a pair of mechanized infantry-walkers on account of cutting the carried soldiers down to twenty instead of thirty-eight. Looking back at the colonel, she recognized the somewhat pained expression that told his surroundings that he was thinking about Mindoir.
"Yes. Too often soldiers die due to faulty equipment. It would be foolish to simply assume that the tech is faultless simply because it is alien to us." He muttered, his fingers dancing over different points in the tank; "For a second point, the top-most gunner is far too exposed to enemy fire. I suggest installing a VI or directing the controls of the mass-driver to the cockpit or even construct a new station in the crew-section. It would cost us minimum three soldier's space, but it could increase the capacity with more than a hundred percent." He said, fingers deleting the seat labeled 'gunner' and instead creating a spot on three seats of the interior where a small square shape appeared, labeled 'gunnery station'.
"Good thinking. Anything else?" Anna said, approval in her voice as she regarded the changes. Exar kun nodded slightly, drawing up the make-up of the armor;
"Now, we can't really improve on the armor, it's already reinforced P-Steel, but… the shields are completely useless. A single rocket can disable them."
"Rocket? I thought shields didn't register rockets and missiles?" Anna said, scratching her chin in confusion. The colonel shook his head, then a stream of data poured down the side of the screen;
"Our shields don't. This thing's shields do though. Not sure on how, but if we can figure it out, we should be able to give it a boost." He said, not looking up as Anna nodded again.
"You keep finding flaws, I'll have to scrap the thing." She said, half-joking, half-serious.
"No worries, that's about it really. A few things here and there, of course, but nothing major." He said. Anna nodded, then pulled up the next picture.
"Alright… I'm not sure what this is either…" She muttered. The colonel followed her lead and opened up the next image on his own tool.
"Hmm… yes, this is a minor improvement. Not exactly a game-changer, but it could prove useful." He commented, looking at the image.
"Still… what is it?" Anna said, looking at the picture of a large suit of armor, at least two meters in height and completely white in color. It was labeled 'Blazer-suit'. It wasn't until she saw the armament that she understood why.
"A Juggernaut, if you will. It is a heavy infantry suit, allowing the user to stand up to incredible amounts of firepower while dealing out his own as well. The standards seem to carry either miniguns, flamethrowers or a shoulder mounted railgun with enough punch to knock out light and heavy armor with repeated shots. The material used is reinforced P-Steel with non-Newtonian fluids to absorb hard impacts and an interior array of servo-motors supporting optimal agility for the user. Think of it as a walking tank capable of running and gunning. Still, the user has to be in fit shape to wield it effectively." Kun said, highlighting the different weapons available as he spoke. Anna's eyes almost bulged from her skull.
"Damn… just… damn. This could stand up to a battalion of firepower. Any drawbacks?" She asked, fearing something like 'too long in use will cook the user alive', or 'it tends to snap the spine of the user when it turns around'. Instead her colonel just shook his head;
"Aside from costing the same as ten suits of Bulwark armor? No, not that I have been able to see. The helmet can even resist a direct punch from a high-caliber slug from an Anti-material rifle, and the shields look like they can stand up to a punch from an Armature. I'd recommend getting it on the assembly-lines as soon as possible, in case the next war is one on ground." He said, idly looking between the admiral and the slowly rotating image of the super-suit; "It also comes with attachable jetpacks, but with those there is the risk of the thrusters being shot and then exploding." Anna felt like jumping on the spot, but retained her exterior calm as she looked over the specs. The new set of armor was almost too good to be true. With this in the army, even the Krogan would have to bow down in the dust. Humanity was well on its way to become top-dog in the galaxy, and she would do it without those idiots in Cerberus. Sure, they could shout and proclaim to stand for humanity, but she knew better. She knew the mind of Jack Harper. Why he did what he did, what nightmares haunted his dreams, what screams he heard in the night. She knew his methods of work and how he justified his doings.
After all, as weapon-siblings they had been supposed to know everything about the other.
Anna felt sure Eva would have thrown up had she seen what became of him later on. What acts of horror he had committed in the name of preserving humanity. If only she had been fast enough to save Corre, Harper might not have been what he was today.
"Ma'am?" Anna was snapped from the memories by the colonel in front of her. She regained her posture and looked at him;
"What else?" She asked. The man shook his head slowly;
"Nothing more ma'am. There was a vid-file, but miss Goto was insistent that only you saw it. Good day." He said, deactivating his tool before exiting the room, leaving Anna slightly confused.
A vid-file? Why would there be a vid-file in the data? Kasumi hadn't done espionage, had she? Filming the facilities of the strange new worlds she had been to? Still, Anna had to admit that, with what she knew of the thief, that wasn't all that unthinkable. Throwing herself into her chair, she sighed. Yet for the first time in days, it wasn't a 'I'm going to put a gun in my mouth' sigh. She felt happy and assured. What Kasumi had brought back looked like it could make human soldiers capable of taking on a Spectre, grunt versus the best the Council had to offer, and win. Shrugging the thoughts of galactic domination from her mind, she opened the file. It was clear that it had been taken with the camera in Kasumi's own Omni-tool, as the picture shook noticeably.
As it cleared up, she realized it was actually a panorama of a large group of people centered in a circle. There looked to be at least ten of them, and much to her surprise, a few of them were human. Still, the leprechaun in the middle looked like nothing she had ever seen before, except maybe a Volus crossed with the Grinch. Hoping that it would be the humans who spoke, she readied herself for a bunch of incoherent chatter, given the fact that people in another universe surely couldn't speak English.
"Greetings, I offer you, Admiral Fisher. Yoda, grandmaster of the Jedi-Order, am I." Anna's eyes almost went white when the Leprechaun spoke English. She almost replied with a meek 'Hello', then thought better of it.
"Met your thief, Kasumi, we have. Intrigued by this new technology, we are. If true that your galaxy threatened, it is, then help, of course we will." Anna knew that much already, given the different schematics currently on their way to the techs in the laboratories where Price would assist Cole and her team in transforming it from data to hardware. Still, she felt equally puzzled and disturbed by the way the green smurf spoke. Is he handicapped? She thought, then pressed play again.
"Allow to speak, Obi-Wan I will. As humans you are, more familiar he will be." The alien said. The focus then shifted to a man with ruggedly handsome features, including a red beard in a triangular shape, wearing a robe normally associated with monks or priests.
"Greetings Admiral. I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Republic Jedi Order. My friend Anakin Skywalker, his apprentice and I were the ones who apprehended and discovered your employee Kasumi Goto. She was in the process of copying the schematics for one of the weapons we have allowed to be transferred to you via her Omni-tool. Understand that we were only stopped from sending her to prison by the video you equipped her with. It was not a wise strategy to have her sneak around. Still, I suppose your actions can be forgiven due to the threats you face. That you have at the most a year to prepare is why we have not sent more complicated or grand weapons to aid you. Also, we too are at the moment embroiled in a war for our very way of life. Therefore you may consider these schematics a sample of what future trade between us might bring. If the technology in this Omni-tool is to be used as an example, you possess technology far ahead of ours." Anna found it rather amusing that the people of the other side were fighting for their lives as well, but then figured that it seemed to be the destiny of any sapient life. To always fight each other.
"It seems you possess higher ability in the area of computers and their processing powers, while we have the advantage in weapons and travel technology. Our Republic is led by the Chancellor. We have given him a brief rundown of the situation, and a solution has been found." So they were a democracy like this galaxy? If anything that served to settle Anna's worries. Democracies tended to stick together in a pinch.
"We will be willing to trade the designs and plans for our hyper-drives, if in return you will share the technology of the shields known as 'Cyclonic shielding' and the knowledge of how to construct these Omni-tools of yours. Our chancellor hopes that one day in the future, we shall be able to travel between our respective galaxies. This in turn brings me to another subject." Anna furrowed her brows, not following Kenobi's thoughts anymore.
"From what we have been able to understand from your videos, your galaxy is called 'the milky way' and the images show a sizeable galaxy. The situation is, that we believe ourselves not to be in different universes, but simply in different galaxies. You see, we find ourselves in the galaxy known as 'the Andromeda galaxy'. From what I can understand from miss Goto here, who seems to hold a good knowledge of her own galaxy and the general universe, we are in fact your neighboring galaxy. While this is a lot to take in, I am sure, you must understand that despite the possibility of travel between the two galaxies existing, the distance makes it anything but feasible to travel between our respective galaxies at the moment. Still, the possibility of teleportation that you seem capable of will allow a small measure of trade to be conducted. The next time Kasumi returns here, we will hope for the possibility to copy the means allowing her to travel here, so that proper connections and alliances can be established. I think that will be all. Admiral, I bid you a temporary farewell and a hope that we will be able to contact each other soon enough. Good day." And with that, the vid ended, leaving a startled Anna Fisher to sit in her office, numbly starring at the empty screen her tool now projected. After a few minutes, she finally managed to collect her thoughts;
"Price?" She asked the room. Instantly the projection of the man appeared on her desk, using the small newly installed projector that connected directly to his disk. She blinked twice when she saw him. His hat was off, and his hands wore lab-gloves, the sort that was filled with talcum and smelled like old men's sweat.
"Yep?"
"Did… what are you wearing?" She asked, her mind finally registering what he looked like. He even had a small cover over his mouth, making it look hilarious as his beard protruded from it still. He shrugged at the question, looking at a gloved hand;
"It was Bryn's idea. She figured I'd feel more useful if I dressed like an egghead. Never been happier to have the intelligence of an AI. Had I been human, my head would have broken with all the weird stuff they are talking. Never mind, what's up?" He asked, dismissing the fact that he had done something no proper AI ever even considered: He had altered his Avatar.
"Did you even monitor that video?" She asked, cocking a brow at his dress-up.
"Can't say I did, but give me a second and… there, watched it and combed it for hidden malware. Well, I have to say that you get results Fisher. They are strange as hell, but you get them." He said, a small amount of admiration in his voice. Anna rubbed her eyelids;
"I mean, what thoughts do you have on what they said?" She said, her voice tired from the constant dropping of bombshells on her head. The AI shrugged, looking a cross between annoyed and interested;
"Well… I don't see anything wrong with giving them the designs for the Omni-tools, I mean, that's like safeguarding the cell-phone. And the better computers? As long as we don't hand them a copy of me, or a more advanced VI, I think we can easily follow up on that one. The issue though, is going to be how to transfer it to them. A completed VI won't work, as an Omni-tool can't pull that big a load, but the schematics for a VI should be easy enough to give away. Like with the Omni-tool. I wonder though… isn't it a bit weird that a civilization capable of manufacturing laser weapons doesn't have proper computers?" He asked, scratching his neck. Anna had found early on, that despite knowing full well that he was artificial and not even alive, Price behaved so much like a human that she sometimes forgot she was just talking to a billion run-times coupled with a brain-scan of a dead guy.
"You think they're trying to screw us over?"
"On the contrary: I think we're screwing them over when they find that our computers are pretty much the same as theirs. Now, I'm not saying that we should give them one of me, mind you, but… I seem to remember humanity having dabbled in AI's before the Council made you drop it… pussies, as you were… would it be impossible to dig up one of those and work a bit on the design? I'd be more than willing to help, since I'm not really taxed with the other stuff you have me doing. Hell, I even have a version of me relaxing with the second Blasto-movie, as well as one working on increasing the work-pace of the machines working on your ship. By the way, Blasto's story sucks. I think General Shepherd could have come up with a better story for why he gunned down Ghost and Roach in Azerbaijan. And believe me, I think I very much enjoyed watching a knife stick out of his eye in Afghanistan." He said, almost causing Anna to become a bit worried at the name before she remembered the discovered war-criminal of World War III. Shepherd had let Makarov know that a CIA-agent had infiltrated them, and later on he had executed a pair of commandoes because they had, unknowingly, found files that incriminated him as an accomplice.
"You know, we have a Commander Shepard here as well." She tried.
"Yeah I know. He's a Quarian and is called John'Shepard. Before you ask: No, I never mixed those two up. Also, I seem to spot a red-head on the ship, as well as a corporal with your surname. Coincidence? I think not." He said. Anna was startled: Was it possible to spy on the Normandy? And how did he gain access to the files pertaining the crew?
"Calm down, it's hardly classified anyway. Besides, I've checked up on your family. You don't have any relatives named Thomas Fisher, so I'm not digging for more there. The red-head intrigues me though… she seems oddly familiar."
"How so?" Anna asked. She had, of course, found out the truth about the red-head, a woman named Jane Shepard for a reason. She could perfectly well abide and let the Quarian run the show, he had done well so far, but as it was a human ship, she would have liked a human running it. Still, according to Jane, they had a partnership of sorts, with Nihlus playing chaperone and securing access to the places needing a Spectre getting involved. Also he was seemingly doing some scouting for a good candidate for the Spectres while onboard the ship. As long as it was a human, she would be happy.
"Mmm… don't know, and that's what's bothering me. Maybe something from my actual life has a connection to her, or maybe I had a girlfriend who looked like her in college. Hell I forget…" He admitted, looking sour that he couldn't place her.
"I didn't think AI's could forget?" Anna said, looking at her helper with a worried mine.
"It's a safety-measure. If we don't delete some memories from time to time, we'd go rampant… like Cortana did. Fucking Didact…" He swore, then was silent. Anna cocked a brow for the umpteenth time that day, looking at the captain with sympathetic curiosity. Had he lost someone?
"Who?" She asked.
"Gaahhh… you know I wasn't the only AI in the place where I served right?"
"Yeah?" Anna said, gesturing for him to continue.
"Well… since AI's are like regular people in mind, we like to take some time off when we're not needed. Me, an AI named Roland and a HOT AI named Cortana, we liked to spend time in an artificial rec-room. You know, relax and such… well… one day, she didn't show up when we had planned to, and Roland… dammit… It's the downside to having to delete certain memories. When I think of something specific, I can have deleted that specific link, and I won't remember what happened in the memory, but now that I think the word 'Rampancy', I can suddenly remember what happened… Cortana had suffered from rampancy for some time, and we thought, or… they thought they could save her. Funny thing though, they couldn't. She ended up dying for the man I suspect she had come to love. Remember I mentioned a Spartan named One-One-Seven? Well, they called him Master Chief, and those two… well, let's say it was like… I mean… I can't actually come up with a comparison. It was a few days before I was pulled here, right? I sat in the rec-room, sifting through the comms of Cortana and the Chief for the past… what, three years or so?" He said, then hesitated. It looked like he was troubled, something that shouldn't be possible for an artificial intelligence, yet it was.
"Go on…" She suggested, making him flinch slightly as if she had pulled him from a bad memory. He looked up again, and she could have sworn that his eyes looked wet;
"They had started out just professional, right? Then they slowly became more and more connected, and I think the Chief didn't register the fact that she was synthetic in the end. Sure, I had a crush on her, but I resigned when I heard how she spoke of him, to him… it was love. And… and then… Gah fuck it!" Price exclaimed, turning his own projection off, leaving a deeply confused Anna to sit alone again, still looking at where Price's head had just been.
"Price?"
No one answered.
…
November 24th
SSV Normandy, CIC
06:02 (Ship time)
"Gear up people! We're back in action!" Jesus Christ! Does Jane have to shout like that? I mean, what the hell time is…looking at my already ignited Omni-tool, I spot the time being as early as six in the morning. Moans and groans from the other bunks fill the room as people drag themselves from the lull we have been experiencing these past weeks, with nothing close to a peep from Saren. Opposite from me, in the bunk across the room, Nikolai drags himself out of bed in a comical way, almost falling flat on his ass as he does.
"Suck my balls Jane, I'm dead-beat after the last time you shook us out of bed lik- OW!" He interrupts himself as Jane kicks his ass in every sense of the word, her hard, armored boot connecting with his lower hip instead of his ass. This in turn is bound to create a bruise.
"It's suck my balls, MA'AM! Now get up Tengberg, the commander wants all hands on this one!" She bellows. Most of the room, me included, is already busy jumping in our uniforms and heading out the door. Struggling to get my shoes on, I steal a glimpse of Ash getting into her uniform as well. ever since we started scouring the entire galaxy, system by system, we have decided not to fall asleep together again, since the risk that Jane is going to drag us out of the gym-room naked as God made us. As I get my last shoe on, I turn to Jane;
"For the love of Mara, what the fuck is going on Jane?" I demand, running sleep from my eyes. That really is the last time I let Jen talk me into letting her, and by extension me, stay up to after midnight. I suppose that settles it: I'd suck as a parent.
"The colony and Training facilities of Valhalla has been attacked by E.U, and since we are in-system, we're going to lend a hand to the defenders. Now move and get your gear and ration-packs. Be in the briefing room in ten minutes!" She shouts, seemingly forgetting the fact that I'm standing right in front of her, straining my hearing in order not to lose it. Instead of risking her wrath, I make a run for it, boarding the crammed elevator. I then turn to the guy closest to me, being Boss.
"The hell does E.U mean?" I ask, silently thinking if the European Union has become galactic bad guys in the interval between twenty-eleven and twenty-one eighty three. As the insanely slow lift descends to the cargo- and munitions bay, Boss, never sleeping out of his undersuit, looks at me before responding. At least he seems just as dead-beat as me;
"It means Enemy Unknown. And while I'm not the best to ask, I'd say it's bad. Especially if we're getting pulled from our mission." Before I get a chance to ask again or to consider his words, the lift opens and we all spill out from the lift. Wrex is already down here, hoisting his new minigun onto his armored form. I've seen him spend hours doing the painting of his phase-II to make it the same color as his old armor. I have to admit, I'd like to give my own some personalization as well, but the painting would have to be fire-proof then. For obvious reasons.
Getting to my locker, I open it up, taking out all my stuff as I pile it on the floor. The first thing to go on is my undersuit for the armor. Then the boots. Pressing my feet in them, I watch as they snap shut around my feet, the improved servo-motors making sure it's airtight and fitted to my foot.
Then the leg-guards come on, clasping shut to the undersuit as they seal themselves tight. The P-Steel feels light and comfortable as always, mainly due to the inner coating of foam, and the servo-motors serving as an inbuilt exoskeleton. I only need the exterior one when using the minigun, and since Roku started dashing out the power-trips, I have not really felt a use for it. The lower torso is then stepped into, making me realize that I should have put on the body-section before the legs. Cursing inwardly, I wiggle my now hard legs through the plastic-like crotch-protector. Then I clasp the armor on my torso, sealing it tight and making sure that the seals are functional. If not, a vacuum will turn me inside-out. Having struggled with the armor for a while, I finally feel satisfied with the torso and quickly slap on the armor for my arms and shins, connecting it by zipping up the synthetic weave connecting the pieces of armor underneath the solid materials.
Having slipped on the gauntlets, I grab my helmet as well, briefly starring at the T-shaped visor before I put it on, feeling as if I'm dreaming. The Phase-Ii armor still has that effect on me. I mean, it's like a mockery of Star Wars, using their tech but performing better than them. At least better than the average trooper, given the fact that we have only lost one guy so far, cynical as it might sound.
As the HUD boots up, I reach into the locker, grabbing my Lancer-V as the computer in the helmet syncs up with my gun, displaying the amount of heat it can still handle dishing out. Clasping the rifle onto my back, I let go the moment I feel the magnetic clamps grab it. Then I pull out the Raikou from the locker as well, checking the block of Tungsten inserted in it. Aside from one of two microscopic cuts in it, the block is whole and I shut the compartment again, locking the pistol before I press it into its holster at my side. I then grab the shotgun, a Katana-model, checking it as well. Satisfied, I slam it onto my hip's back, releasing it as I feel the clamps grab a hold of it. I then reach for my sword as well, tightening my fingers around the handle as I pull it from the locker. I then heft it to my right hip-side, sliding it through the reinforced synthetic material used to make up the sheath for it. When I have everything, I look around, noticing that I'm one of the last people to be done with it, and that only Nikolai too is running towards the lift, held where it is by an impatient Tequila.
As we enter the lift, she palms the interface, shutting the doors and sending the lift upwards. Taking advantage of the silence and the pause, I look at my two comrades in arms, as weird as that still sounds to me.
Nikolai is wearing pretty much the same as me, except for the fact that he has donned the exoskeleton and is currently doing last-minute checks on his minigun. Also, where I have spent my time fussing over Jen or being with Ash, it seems he has spent his free-time customizing his armor. Where my armor is just the regular white and blue, he has completely removed the original coloring on his own. Then it seems he has painted it a darker shade of grey, before applying yellow markings on it. The shoulder-rims, his helmet's visor and the outlines of his torso have all been painted with stripes and brushes of brown and dark green, making him potentially difficult to spot in the surrounding environment, should we ever find ourselves in a place like that.
Tequila has been even more thorough. Since she refused to use the helmet of the original suit, she has painted the entire thing a deep shade of green, matching her original armor. Several markings have then been applied, showing off a line of kill-marks, each scratch with a red pen symbolizing a kill. Long streaks of brown go from her shoulders to where her groin starts. They then merge below where her bellybutton would be, ending there. On her back she still keeps the re-modded Pulse-rifle, as well as a regular Avenger Rifle, a shotgun and a set of dual pistols at her hip. Compared to those two, my outlook is almost normal.
The doors open, and we spill out, rushing through the mess-hall where we each grab a small kit containing rations. In what form I have no idea, but they are standard military rations and can last for weeks. I suppose that's why they use to say that military food tastes like shit. When it has to last for that long, things like sugar can't be in it.
Trampling up the stairs, I can hear the 'all-hands' alarms go off. It's really annoying as we all know what's going on but someone thinks it will be better to add an alarm tempting me to shoot the speakers. We then storm into the briefing room.
"Corporal Fisher reporting."
"Corporal Aquila reporting."
"Pfc. Tengberg reporting." We all chime, hurrying to our seats as the briefing begins. Seeing as I can't sit down with my sword hefted in the sheath, I pull it out, leaning it against my abdomen as I look at the end of the room. Jane and John are both standing at a screen showing the general outline of a large building on a mountain, surrounded by what looks like a colony. John and Tali are both clad in armor as well, making suit-rupture a threat of the past. John starts out;
"Precisely three hours ago, the colony of Valhalla reported it was being raided, but that they couldn't confirm who did it. I know many of you burn for revenge after Elysium, but there is a possibility that these aren't the Batarians. Now, the facility you see on this image is the N8 Valhalla facility. It is where the Alliance trains the people they won't even risk becoming Spectres working for the Council. It is a top-secret facility that we have only just learned of, so expect heavy fighting, as we believe the hostiles are here to take the place intact. It's the only reason they haven't just bombed the place from orbit. They do not seem to go for the colonists, so consider this an RfG, not a simple slaver-attack." The screen then zooms in, showing the entire place from a look straight down. Jane then takes over;
"Now, we split up in two teams. Team Apple will ensure the evacuation of the local populace as well as secure the colony. They will consist of Vakarian, Liara, Nihlus, John and Alenko, with the commander as squad leader and Nihlus as second in case of KIA." Jane says, letting the mentioned people look each other up in the room.
"Team Baker will consist of Williams, Wrex, Fisher and me. We will drop in above the facility itself and secure it along with any friendly personnel. I'll be in charge, with Williams as second in command in case of KIA. Anyone not mentioned will stand by with the Mako in orbit ready to be dropped down and harass eventual hostile forces in the surrounding area as well as provide support for either of the two teams. Questions?" Jane says, clasping her hands behind her back. Her armor, probably in style with her personality is painted blood red on the shoulders and knee-guards, as well as the helmet sporting a set of red stripes running from under where her eyes will be and down to the bottom of the helmet. She also has two sets of small wings in red painted on her helmet above the visor, in a style very similar to that of Captain Rex from Star Wars. Dammit that I never got to see season four! I stand up, waiting for Jane to acknowledge me;
"Fisher"
"Ma'am, what kind of facility are we talking about here? Like the one in Rio or more hush-hush? Also, do we have any Intel as to what help we can expect from the people already down there?" I ask, standing before her. I'd really prefer sitting down, but the way Tequila, being the only one of us 'outsiders' who has actually spent time in what I would consider the real army, told me, you stand the hell up when addressing a superior.
"As I said, it's the N8 facility. Started out about six years ago and trains some of the best soldiers humanity has. In theory. The program takes eight years to fully build a super-soldier, so no soldiers have exited the building since its foundation. Also, it is classified what training goes on in there, but not illegal in any ways, from what I can understand. Consider it an upgraded version of the Villa. As for potential friendlies, we have at least three-thousand confirmed civvies in the colony, and a colonial militia consisting of a thousand men. It is unknown if they are still active. If the facility is well-run, I suspect we might get the help of the people in training in there. Expect at the most twenty armed friendlies once inside. Other questions?" I sit down, somewhat satisfied with her answer.
"Yeah… are we taking prisoners?" Wrex asks, seemingly not interested in trying to look the least bit professional. As a Krogan mercenary, I suppose I can understand his thinking.
"Only if it's in no way an issue or a bother for the mission. In the end of the mission, if they all surrender… let's say we spare the highest ranking guy left." Jane says, drawing a smirk from the heavily armed and armored krogan;
"Works for me"
"Alright people, get ready in the cargo-bay, we are ten minutes out and counting down." Joker says over the intercom. I nod, not really knowing why, since the guy… oh wait, he can see me. Forgot about that. So far he has been really cool about having a "ghost" on the ship. I remember how he reacted to EDI, so I'm surprised at his coolness. Maybe that was because EDI couldn't tear his head off if he pissed her off. Not saying I will, but Roku's powers tend to make me less people-ish.
"You heard the cripple, get moving teams. Be in the cargo-bay yesterday and line up in three rows for your teams. Dismissed." Oh man…
Three minutes later, I'm standing behind Ash and doing the last-minute equipment checks on her gear. The rifles are both checked out, loaded and operationally capable, as I'm supposed to call it. Her sidearm is loaded as well and safety is on. Her shotgun is cocked and loaded, with the safety on. Behind me, Wrex is doing the same to my weapons, except that he just chuckles at the size of my sword. Giving me the pat on the back, he signals that I'm good as well.
Next to our line, I see Nikolai doing the last minute checks on Boss, seemingly apprehensive at even touching the blaster-rifle on his back. Hey, at least he doesn't have to go down and fight unknowns. In front of us John and Jane are standing in front of the still closed cargo-bay door. John then turns around;
"Listen up! The Normandy is going to create a mass effect tunnel to the ground. We jump into the tunnel and float to the ground with a max velocity of ten kph. You can control your direction and speed by spreading out your arms and legs, thereby increasing or decreasing the friction during the descent. If you move outside the tunnel, you're dead. I trust you aren't going to die just now, am I clear?" Jesus Christ, he really spends too much time with either Jane or watching war movies. We all stand at attention;
"Yes Sir!" A shout goes out in unison. As odd as it sounds, it's these moments that really makes me love my job. Sure, I'm scared of heights, what of it? At this point, I just love the feeling of unity the uniforms and shouts give off.
"Alright! Apple will drop down first and secure the colony, then link up with any friendlies. The moment we have dropped, the Normandy will turn and drop the rest of you at the facility. How you get in is up to you. Team three will then stand by with the Mako, ready to drop at a second's notice. Am I clear?"
"Yes Sir!" Once again, the unified shout. It sends shivers down my back as I watch the grim helmets and armor of my comrades. We look like something from a bad action-movie. Only we don't shoot flashes. We pack weapons that can kill just about anything we meet.
"This is your pilot speaking. We are two minutes out and counting. Twenty unknown ships in orbit, we are going in silent."
"You heard him. People, when we get down there, remember two things. One, for those of you that are humans, this is a fight for your own soil. Those fuckers think they can just attack you? Show them something else! And for the rest of us? Kick some serious ass!" John bellows, resulting in a loud and fierce Hoorah! From Tequila as she pumps her fist into the air.
"Hoorah!" For some reason we all repeat the cry, even the ones who aren't human. It makes my skin crawl in a good way, watching the entire bay being full of ready and waiting guys and girls who are ready to die for each other. Well, I'm not sure if Wrex is, but probably.
"We are thirty seconds out and counting down to drop one. Team One make ready." Joker says over the intercom. Looking to my left, Kaidan looks like he's ready to kill something, fists curled up at his sides. Liara looks pale but steady, her hands trembling at the prospect of going into a fight. I can imagine why. The last actual one she took part in cost us the life of Sev. Before I can look at the others, the large door opens, revealing a landscape filled with fire and smoke rising towards the skies.
"Drop One people, good luck down there." Joker calls. Looking at John, I see him take a deep breath, his entire body curling slightly for a moment, then straightening out;
"Move people!" He shouts, the runs for the open door. The rest of the team follows him out into the open air, each shouting something to express either their dislike or love for the situation. For John, it sounded more like love than dislike. Kaidan is the last to clear the door, it shutting behind them as the rest of us stand at the ready. Waiting for our turn, I suppose.
Team One is one the ground. Proceeding to Drop Two. ETA twenty seconds."
Breathing in heavily, I place a hand on Ash's shoulder. It was like this on Noveria too, me fearing that this could be the last time I saw her. Granted, we had miniguns then, but there were Xenomorphs, so it outweighed itself. I know she can kick respectively more ass than I can, and the truth is that I would probably have been erased from history more than once already without Roku. I know she can handle herself just fine, but something inside me just screams at every single risk there is for her to slip or get shot. Especially since Virmire isn't going to happen, this could be the mission where either she or Kaidan… No! fuck it, no one dies!
"Be careful down there, alright?" She says, literally taking the words from my mouth. Recovering from the surprise, I nod, despite her not turning to see it;
"Don't worry about me, just… let me take the worst of it, okay?" I ask, despite even I being able to hear the lack of question in my voice. Being revived takes away your fear of death, I guess. And I'll never let any of those fuckers-
"Drop Two people, kick some ass!"
"Oh God…" I mutter, looking as Jane is the first out of the bay, letting herself fall through the air with a scream of fury. Ash then runs right after her, making a jump right before the edge;
"Geronimo!" And then she's gone, leaving me to start running despite my mind hardly recognizing it. I only realize what I'm doing when my feet suddenly lets go of the ship, letting me drop through thin air.
"Here I come YOU FUCKERS!" I scream, watching as Ash and Jane are soaring towards the ground below me. Both are floating in free-fall, arms and legs spread out to maximize friction. Realizing that I'm going to hit Ash with this speed, I follow their example, spreading my limbs out as if I'm floating in water. Truth be told I never even had the balls to try parachuting, and now I'm doing a free-fall without a screen at all. A loud roar of rage and pleasure fills the air behind me, letting me know that, since wind carries sound away from me, Wrex is just behind me.
Is this even practiced military behavior, or is this insane jump just Jane's idea of a quick drop? Whatever it is, I'm both overjoyed and terrified at the same time. I look up, trying to see what the horizon looks like from up here. That's when I see it.
Like a dragon, flying through the air. Large brown wings are flapping, carrying it adrift through the sky. A long neck seemingly ending in a head the same thickness as the rest of the neck. At least three pairs of insectoid legs protrude from the body, hanging under its belly as the insect-like creature soars through the air. Strange lights are shining from several places on its body. What the…Then I spot another one… and another one… dozens of them. The comms open up, letting Wrex shout;
"Look, Harvesters! I've never seen that many in one place… looks a bit weird though… they fly odd." He grumbles the last part. I take a hand to my helmet, responding;
"Harvesters? What's a Harvester?" I shout, despite the fact that there's no wind inside my helmet.
"Big flying things that will try to eat you. No one knows why or how, but they always drop off Klixen when they attack…" He replies. Right, now I remember where I've seen it before. In Grunt's rite, there was a dragon dropping off the fire-breathing bugs. So they are called Harvesters?
Suddenly, the Harvester takes a turn, flying towards the large facility. What is it- That's when the creature opens fire on the building. Large red balls of fire are sent raining towards the facility at the speed of a regular cannon. Jane then opens the comms;
"Wrex! Harvesters aren't carrying guns!"
"I know, just thought that myself!"
"I can't see anyone riding it! Why are there blue lights on it?!"
"Hell if I know, let's just- Kalros, look at it shoot!" Wrex shouts, causing my blood to freeze in my veins. Instead of just flying around, the creature is shooting at a building. The shots impact on the facility and the impacts create large holes in it.
What the hell is going on?
Codex Entry: Blue Suns Reformists
Little to nothing is known about the shady organisation calling itself the Reformists. No data exists on any of its members or their numbers. It is however known that they intend to reform the very core of their organisation, most likely with a bloody coup. Rumor has it that the organisation has operatives in every cell in the Traverse, but spokemen for the Suns have refused that statement, citing that 'they would know if there was a rat in their group'.
There is speculation that Batarians are targeted by the new group, given their suspected desire to return to the days of the founding of their group.
...
Codex Entry: Siege Walkers.
A prototype tank invented by infamous Admiral Anna Fisher, the Siege Walker moves around on six legs instead of the traditional wheels of treads of most modern day tanks.
Capable of carrying a detachment of thirty-eight soldiers, the Siege Walker is also adept at delivering soldiers to where the fighting is thickest. A ramp in the rear-section then allows for covered deployment of the soliders.
The Siege Walker is heavily armed and armored, sporting a mass-driver. Mounted on the top of the vehicle and capable of turning 360 degrees, the cannon is the main weapon of the tank and fires severeal different types of ammunition, hereunder plasma, explosive shells and, it is suspected, laser as well.
Aside from the cannon, the walker sports six anti-infantry guns on the lowe hull. Four are mounted at the front, while two are mounted at the back to help clear landing-zones in all directions.
It is almost certain that the Walker is equipped with vehicle-grade Mithrill-shielding.
Well, there we go. Harvesters that look weird, promising relations with the Andromeda galaxy and Virmire? What's going on there?
Ahhhh... Damn did this one take some thought. I'm thinking: Why simply rape cannon? Why not mutilate it as well?