This chapter sticks pretty close to the story line but with some little extra bits here and there. Enjoy!
The Normandy had jumped from the Athens system to the Sparta system of the Artimus Tau cluster and had found no sign of Dr. Liara T'soni, Matriarch Benezia's daughter. They had uncovered a slaver camp and a pirate haven and took a little pleasure in burning the encampments to the ground.
Luke sat with Ashley cleaning their weapons in the cargo bay. Garrus watched his friend with a smile hidden by his mandibles. Luke had been alone for as long as he had known him. Garrus turned back to the diagnostics of the Mako.
"How's it holding up?" Garrus turned to see Claire standing there placing her hand on the Mako. Garrus cleared his throat and brought up his scans.
"I have to recalibrate the shield interfaces. They were built for resisting small arms fire, not missiles and tumbling down mountains." Garrus said pointing out the stress points in the system.
"Is that a comment on my driving skills Vakarian?" Claire placed her hands on her hips and shifted were gaze to the turian.
"Um…" Garrus started.
"Confirm nothing. Deny everything Garrus!" Luke called from across the cargo bay. Ashley laughed. Garrus' mandibles flared slightly as let out a small chuckle.
"I get it. I get it. Well, just so you know Garrus, you, Wrex, and Luke will be on the next ground team. We've got about four hours until were reach Therum. Make sure you and the Mako are ready to deploy." Claire smiled as Garrus straightened up and nodded.
"No problem Shepard." Claire shook her head and looked over at Luke.
"Hey, since there are three Shepards on this ship, how about you just call me Claire." Garrus stopped and looked back at the woman. There was a slight redness to her cheeks but he paid it little mind.
"Okay Claire. Everything will be ready before we drop." Claire nodded and turned to head for the elevator. She could feel her cheeks burning. What am I doing? I don't have time for this. The mission has to come first. Get a grip Shepard.
The planet was what Luke would have thought Hell might look like. Molten lava lakes with metallic demon firing at them at every turn all the while searching for someone who may not even be there. Luke shook his head as he fired the main fun at a Geth armature. The shot ripped though the mech's shields and Garrus finished it off with the machine gun.
"That canyon up ahead looks like a death trap. We should find a way around." Garrus said as Claire slowed down. Luke used the targeting matrix to zoom in on the fortification in front of them. Three Geth turrets were positioned to make any approach they tried under heavy fire. Not to mention the doors were controlled from the inside of the compound.
"Garrus is right. Pull up my view on your vid screen. All avenues of approach are covered and that gate would hold up against the Normandy's main gun for at least an hour." Luke said punching in a code into his console and brought up a scan of the metal in the walls of the encampment. They were too thick to punch through and the metal would was solid. No other access points.
"There, thirty meters a head on the right. See it?" Claire said pointing. Luke turned his view. There was a small opening in the wall of the canyon. It was wide enough for the Mako to fit through but very well concealed.
"We don't know what's in there Shepard." Garrus said as he typed the parameters of a search into his console trying to scan the surrounding area.
"No choice." Claire slammed on the gas and the Mako lurched forward. The Geth towers at the far end of the canyon opened fire sending missiles straight for them. Luke turned the turret and fired the cannon once. The round missed the missiles but the interference from the round seemed enough to send one of them off course. The vehicle made it through the gap in the wall as the two remaining missiles impacted and detonated on the canyon wall.
"Shepard, Geth tower at eleven o'clock." Garrus shouted. The machine gun opened up on the weapon as Luke turned and targeted the launcher. The tower fired but Claire hit the thrusters sending them up out of the missile's path but the Mako hit a structure causing the vehicle to jolt. They landed back on the ground hard tossing everyone again. Luke was sure that if it had not been for the inertia dampeners, the impact would have probably hurt them stead of merely disorienting them.
"Luke fire!" Claire shouted. Luke pulled the trigger and the cannon erupted causing the tower to explode. He looked over at his sister and started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Claire asked turning to look at Luke.
Luke calmed himself enough to speak. "Maybe Garrus was making a comment on your driving." Wrex chuckled as Luke started laughing again. Garrus looked away from Claire hiding his amused look with a mask of focus.
"Guess what funny guy… you get latrine duty when we get back to the ship." Luke stopped laughing immediately. Claire turned around and started forward again. Garrus managed to see a small smile play across her face. She is enjoying having Luke around, but still trying to keep command. I guess with all us non-alliance squad members she kind of has to.
The Mako roared down the small canyon and came up over the hill to see the interior of the encampment. Garrus opened fire with the machine gun while Luke fired the cannon. The bout between the Mako and the Geth defenders was short and ended with all the synthetics as little more than scrap metal.
The vehicle slowed to a stop at the far end of the compound where a second gate blocked their path. "Let me and Wrex out. We'll clear these two buildings and get the gate open." Luke said adjusting his armor and pulling his pistol.
"I like this plan." Wrex said from the back seat. He had not done any fighting since they dropped. He was getting restless.
"Alright, but as soon as that gate comes down, I want you both back here." Luke made and exaggerated salute before exiting the vehicle.
The air was hot and very dry. It reminded Luke of the heating vents on the Citadel. He had chased a man named Ellias Kellam through the tunnels a year after he joined C-Sec. Luke brought up his omni-tool and adjusted the temperature control for his armor and started moving forward.
"You take the right and I'll take the left?" Luke suggested to the krogan. Wrex nodded and headed for the other building with his shotgun out and ready.
As Luke took cover next to the door way, he flipped the safety off on his pistol. He tooka deep breath ready to announce his presence as he was trained to do when entering a building to make an arrest. He stopped himself and shook his head.
I have to start thinking like a soldier. Everything inside should be considered hostile. Shoot on sight. Come on, Luke. Focus.
He turned the corner and started moving slowly forward. He could hear something else moving. Metal on metal. It was heavy. Then he saw it, the gleam of the flashlight head of the geth. He moved forward as quietly and quickly as he could bringing his pistol up and taking aim. As the being turned the corner, Luke started firing and charged forward. The projectiles ripped through the synthetic's armor and splattered what appeared to be some kind of coolant all over the wall behind it.
"Luke, I heard shots. What's going on?" Luke looked down at his com-unit and rolled his eyes.
"Nothing, just a straggler. I've taken care of it." Luke snapped he found the controls of the gate and brought it down.
As Wrex and Luke climbed back into the Mako, Luke let Wrex take over the canon as he settled into the back seat. "You okay?" Garrus asked.
"Fine, just giving Wrex some entertainment." Garrus nodded. There was something on Luke's mind but no way of telling what it was. When he felt like sharing, he would.
"Hello, can you hear me out there? I'm trapped I need help!" The asari cried from inside the security field. Luke had his assault rifle out and level watching the open cavern for any signs of movement.
"What's going on with you?" Garrus asked kneeling beside him and steadying his rifle on the guard rail.
"I was never military Garrus. All my instincts are honed for C-Sec work. I almost announce my arrival when I turned the corner into the gate house. I even hesitated to open fire…" Luke's voice was kept to a low whisper so Claire could not hear him.
"You'll get use to it." Garrus said. Luke looked over at his friend and sighed.
"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm a cop Garrus. All I've ever known is how to be a cop. What's may purpose for being here other than pulling your ass out of the fire?"
Garrus chuckled and nodded. "You're here to finish what we started. You're still a cop, Luke. Just not saddled by red tape anymore." Luke nodded with a small smile on his face. No red tape. If I need to take someone down, I don't have to follow C-Sec rules anymore. No more getting the enemy in my sights and being told not to fire.
"Alright guys, we need to find a way past there containment shields. Let's head down into the cavern and see what we can find." Claire said turning around and starting down the ramp. Wrex followed her with Luke and Garrus close behind.
Suddenly, Claire signaled for them to stop and conceal themselves. Luke started look around trying to figure out what caused his sister's sudden reaction. Then, like death itself, the geth appeared moving silently and slowly below them. They were ready to ambush them.
Claire pointed to Garrus and held her hands as if holding a sniper rifle then pointed to the balcony where they had just come from. Garrus nodded and moved to the railing above them and steadied his aim ready to fire. The commander pointed to Wrex and signaled for him to go up the middle while she crossed to the right flank and supported him while Luke covered them on the left flank.
They group moved forward and sprang into action. Claire and Luke threw grenades as Wrex charged into the fray plowing over a Geth trooper as Garrus shot the head off of a rocket trooper. Luke charged forward and drilled a geth trooper in the head with his assault rifle.
Concluding the initial action, Wrex moved forward with Claire as Luke stopped to examine some of the equipment in the area. Garrus came down the ramp and stood at Luke's back as he examined the machinery.
"Luke, is that mining laser still operational?" Luke looked over at his sister as she walked by looking at the large machine.
"You are not thinking about… Claire that's crazy." Luke protested but Claire brought up the controls on the laser and smiled over at her brother. "We have no idea what this thing might do."
"Will it get through the containment shields?" Luke turned and studied where the laser was aimed and the machine itself.
Luke sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, it will cut through the ground and shields in a couple of seconds but after that we maybe racing lava to get out." Claire smirked. Luke sighed and brought up the laser's control console. The sequencing had been erased. He would have to reprogram it completely.
After a couple minutes, the laser roared to life and fired. The vibrations knocked everyone off their feet until the laser dissipated and shut down. "Looks like we overloaded the circuits. It's just a piece of scrap now." Luke said standing and kicking the laser.
Claire led the group into the structure that held Dr. T'soni. Luke took a look around. The tower was a Prothean ruin. The tiling in the alcoves reminded him of the shower floors in his apartment back on the Citadel.
They took a lift to the level where Dr. T'soni was trapped. Claire shut down the stasis field holding the asari and helped her to her feet. "We need to get out of here." Claire said softly looking around. "We can't go back the way we came."
"There is an elevator in the central chamber…at least I think it's an elevator." Dr. T'soni's voice was soft and sounded more like that of a preteen than an adult. Luke smiled as she led them back into the tower. Suddenly, there was a low rumble and the tower shook.
"What did I tell you? Racing lava!" Luke shouted at his sister. Dr. T'soni raced over to a console and the elevator started to rise.
"Once we get to the top we make a break for the surface." Claire said to the group. "Joker, get the Nromandy airborne and lock in on my coordinates, on the double mister."
"Aye aye Commander, ETA 8 minutes." Joker's voice sounded over the comms.
"If we die because he's late, I'll kill him." Wrex grunted.
The elevator reached the top of the tower but the escape route was blocked by a krogan and squad of Geth shock troopers.
"Surrender or don't, that would be more fun." The krogan snarled.
"This whole place is coming down." Claire explaimed.
"I know. Exciting isn't it?" The krogan responded. Luke saw the geth spreading out to flank them. He knew Garrus saw it too.
"We can come to some kind of agreement." Claire said taking a step forward. As she did another tremor rippled up the tower.
"We don't have time to negotiate with this idiot! Charge!" Luke's outburst was unexpected to say the least but his actions kicked everyone into action. Wrex charged the other krogan while Garrus fired on the geth to the right and Luke sprinted toward the geth on the right riddling them with holes. The Geth went down quickly but the krogan was proving difficult even for Wrex. Claire was firing bursts from her assault rifle trying to support him but the other krogan had upgraded his armor with extra shield modulators. Luke cut behind the enemy and modified his ammunition to fire shredding rounds, used in combat against organic targets. He pulled the trigger and poured the fire onto the krogan without stopping. As he did, the krogan turned realizing he was get hit in the back. The krogan's shields went down and he fell but managed to get a single shot off that.
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Claire shouted. Luke looked at her as she ran for the exit with Wrex, Dr. T'soni, and Garrus behind her. He wasn't moving to well. The krogan's shotgun blast had hit him directly in the upper right side of his chest. Luckily his shields and armor with stood enough that it was only a minor wound. He replaced his rifle on his back and, holding his right arm to his side to keep from hurting his chest or shoulder any more, he sprinted after the team.
He didn't know how they did it but somehow all five of them had made it back to the Normandy. He watched as the dig sight was swallowed by a geyser of lava while the Normandy ascended. He exhaled a breath of relief and winced at his wound.
"Hey Luke, nice job taking down that krogan, but next time wait for my command to attack." Claire said as she set her equipment on the cleaning table.
"I got it Commander." Luke slowly made his way over to the elevator before hearing his sister's voice again.
"Luke, leave your weapons and armor down here. No weapons outside the bay, you know that." Claire jogged after her brother. Luke stripped the weapons off himself with his left arm and dropped them next to the Mako.
"I'll clean them when I come back down." Claire caught up to him and immediately covered her mouth.
"Damn it Luke. When did you get hit?"
"The krogan got me right as he went down. It's just a couple scratches. I'm just gonna go up to the Med-bay and le the doc clean me up a little." Luke nodded and stepped into the elevator. Claire shook her head as her brother stuck his tongue out at her.
"Luke got hit?" Ashley asked coming up alongside Claire once the door had closed.
"Minor wound, he'll be fine. Grab his weapons for me would you. Clean them and place them in his locker." She paused looking back at the elevator before heading back to work on her own weapons. "Remind me to order him some new armor as well."