Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect games. This story is written with no profit in mind. I make no money from it. It isn't for sale or rent.
Chapter 7
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Part 1
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28.04.2183 GS
Port Hanshan
Noveria
Pax system
Horse Head Nebula
Tali was busy with the finishing touches of her Geth hacking software targeted at retrieving as much intact data from crippled platforms as possible. She moved on autopilot, doing her best to not bump into one of the Humans or Turians surrounding her, while they all walked towards the garage. Ideally, she would have the software updated and distributed before they reached their destination.
The young Quarian was so absorbed in her work, that she didn't notice her group reaching the garage. She didn't see the several cloaked Hopper platforms observing the Normandy's party, though at least her omni-tool did ping, detecting a brief data-burst ensuring all present Geth will attack as one.
Tali did notice a large hand unceremoniously shoving her to the ground. A flash of a dark purple, nearly black Biotic barrier formed around the big Krogan menace.
"GETH!" Wrex roared a moment before five sniper shots slammed into him. A sixth took the head of an unlucky technician who was too busy controlling a sled carrying supply crates to pay attention to anything else.
The last sniper shot tore through the barrier of Lieutenant Alenko, then shattered a huge chunk of his helmet. Ablative armor, spinal bracing, and shock absorbers barely kept his neck from snapping, though they couldn't stop all of the energy transfer. The Human Biotic collapsed with a shattered jaw and heavy concussion taking him out of the fight.
At the same time, multiple crates disintegrated as their content – more Geth units, unfolded and opened fire.
Training kicked in after precious moments of stunned surprise. The Turian infantry spread up, lighting up omni-tools to reinforce their shields. Smoke grenades soon created a gray wall cutting off visibility.
For nearly a third of the CDF troopers, it was too little, too late. Snipers and concentrated rifle fire cut them down before they could meaningfully react. Many of the survivors had their barriers drained, and their armor compromised. Built-in medical suites, along with a generous application of medi-gel and stimulants kept them in the fight.
Tali's heart did its best to jump out of her chest. The sudden unexpected attack was stunning. If it wasn't for the Krogan or the Turians being primary targets, she would have died then and there, without knowing what hit her. However, she was still alive! Her suit was intact, and the bruises thanks to Wrex were something she could worry about later if there was later to worry about.
"Boh'tets!" Tali hissed while crawling on her stomach in search of cover. Her omni-tool was still active, and she wasted no more time in fabricating a combat drone. "Go get them!" The glowing orange construct bobbed once in the air and vanished in the dense smoke. Glowing bolts of plasma or disruptor sheathed rounds tore through it, lighting it up. Overloads crackled dementedly through the haze seeking targets.
Then there was the angry turtle. Wrex roared an ancient war-cry and the distinct crack of a Biotic charge, followed by a thunder-clap of displaced air turned the smoke into a whirlwind.
Tali finally found a dubious piece of cover – a stack of small square crates and crawled faster towards it. She found it occupied by pair of Turians. One was prone at its farther side and busy sending bursts downrange. The other sat with his back to the crates and clutched his bleeding chest with one arm while speaking in his omni-tool.
"...ambush! Need reinforcements and casevac…" Now and compensate.
"I can provide first aid!" Tali exclaimed when she finally crawled beside the wounded Turian and the dubious safety of their cover.
"Thanks the Spirits…"
"Just hold up, Kais! We'll deal with those barefaced bastards soon!" The other Turian pipped up and kept firing.
"Damn, that's a lot of blood…" Tali muttered to herself while applying as much medi-gel as she could to the wounded man.
Something sinuous and agile landed on top of their cover. A glowing head pocked down, lighting them up. It blared something at them, and a red light flashed, focusing on Kais' head. The Turian made a reflective punching motion, and a glowing blade formed around his left hand, which sliced through the Geth's head just as it tried to shoot. The resulting explosion stunned Tali and had the Turian screaming in pain.
The Quarian girl bleary noted that pieces of the blown-up Geth punctured her suit. Emergency medical routines were busy flooding her system with antibiotics and stimulants. An intrusion alarm lit up her HUD, and foreign medi-gel flooded her suit.
When Tali could kind of focus again, she saw the other Turian kneeling above Kais, whose helmet was cracked and leaking blood. Even worse, from where she lay on the ground, Tali could see the remains from his left hand. It was gone almost up to the elbow, with the rest being a mess of shattered metal, broken carapace, and cooked meat, held in place by medi-gel.
"Taking left…" A familiar voice shouted. "Friendlies incoming, twelve o'clock!"
Another Biotic charge tore through the smoke, followed by a burning plasma ball and a faster-moving overload charge. The sounds of fighting went up to a deafening crescendo, before abruptly cutting off.
"Left sector clear!"
"Right clear! We need medics here yesterday!"
"Center clear! What in Kami's name happened here?!"
At that point, Tali could hold on no more and drifted off.
=DC=
"XO, contact the CDF task force. We need med-evac for multiple wounded Turians, and a party to pick up the dead, Have Chakwas ready to receive casualties. Both Lieutenant Alenko and Gunnery Sergeant Williams are in a bad way. We'll need more boots on the ground to secure Port Hanshan before pushing through towards our primary objectives. We've got an unknown number of surprises down here, on the way to the target and on-site at Peak 15!" Shepard did his best to keep his anger under control as he spoke into his communicator. His hands were busy applying medi-gel to Williams – she had her thigh shredded and multiple perforations in the abdomen where repeated strikes had shattered her armor
It was a small miracle she hadn't bled out already.
"Major Matsumoto, the kid gloves are off. This port is now an active war zone between the Citadel Alliance and hostile forces. Your cooperation will be appreciated. We will deal with any obstruction will be handled under military law," Vasir sounded as pleased at the unfolding disaster as Shepard himself felt. "Right now, I need to know how much cargo Benezia arrived with! I also need the volume and weight of any deliveries sent to Peak 15 over the past couple of months at least as well!"
"That's… the Board would not accept…"
"One way to read this situation is to assume that you and the Noveria Development Corporation are enemy assets, who arranged a deadly attack on Citadel Forces. Even at the best of times, this," Vasir waved a hand at the carnage, "is something the Turian Hierarchy will want to make an example over."
Shepard let out a sigh of relief when he got Williams stabilized, and moved to the next wounded. He saw Matsumoto purse her lips, before making a decision and activating her omni-tool.
"Benezia left multiple small shipping containers here," Matsumoto explained after consulting the port's records. "She left for Peak 15 with eight standard shipping containers, and at least forty smaller."
"Spirits, she can have at least a battalion of Geth between here and Peak 15," Vakarian exclaimed. The C-SEC liaison emerged from around a far-off concrete pillar and hobbled towards the wounded. The armor on his right leg was mostly gone, along with about half the spike at its back.
"She can have more surprises here waiting for us," Shepard growled, "I won't bet on any vehicle left here being operational either,"
"We'll either rely on aerial insertion or use vehicles from the CDF task force," Vasir agreed. "But first we need to secure a base of operation here and get some reinforcements," The veteran Spectre grimaced, "We'll need help cracking that facility even if we need to only deal with whatever Geth Benezia brought on this trip,"
=DC=
Part 2
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28.04.2183 GS
SSV Normandy
low orbit above Noveria
Pax system
Horse Head Nebula
Shepard stood near the medical bay, seething with fury. They, he, should have taken into account the possibility of a Geth ambush. Those things were machines, not flesh and blood people! Shut them down, and you could stuff a bunch of them in shipping crates with no one the wiser without visual inspection of the contents. He should have taken into account that someone of Benezia's status could pass through customs without having her cargo properly checked using either through clout, bribes, or both.
The results of that oversight spoke for themselves. Two Specialists from Normandy died in that garage while helping haul additional supplies for the ground combat elements. Alenko and Williams were in critical condition, though happily expected to make full recovery given time. The Quarian kid was on the way to the Turian battle group en route to Noveria, along with the CDF casualties, where she was expected to swim in antibiotics for a few days and rest in a cleanroom. If she was lucky, Tali would get away with a few scars, a concussion, and a nasty cold. If not, she might be stuck in a hospital for weeks, depending on how her immune system reacted to her suit breach.
Six dead Turian marines, four crippled enough to need significant cybernetic replacements, another four in critical condition, and ten walking wounded. In practice, Lieutenant Karsis' platoon was now combat-ineffective, complete with their CO blaming himself for not seeing the ambush either.
Shepard dismissed the casualty list with an angry motion and walked towards the nearby stairway.
"Joker, get me a sensor sweep on the road between Port Hanshan and Peak 15. If the results are inconclusive, launch a reconnaissance probe."
"Roger that, skipper. We're changing orbit now…"
Shepard walked into the communications room, where Vasir was talking with an old Turian with a scarred face. Face-paint, almost identical to that of Garrus, made a few nasty scars jump out.
"We're decelerating to pick up the shuttles with the casualties and will be in orbit within the next half an hour," The Turian Commodore spoke in a displeased tone.
"We're moving in position to intercept any runners from Peak 15 and will be executing active scans on that facility and the road leading there," Shepard said.
"We'll make a properly paranoid Spectre out of you yet," Vasir nodded.
"From what I hear, you missed the ambush too, didn't you, Spectre Vasir?" The Commodore's fringe rose in a confrontational manner.
"I did and others paid the price," Vasir answered with a scowl. "We failed to take into account the nature of the enemy and some of the capabilities it offers them,"
"We also didn't take into account that Benezia might just stroll in without anyone down there bothering to check what cargo she brought. In hindsight, someone like her could have gotten away with doing so,"
"That's on me. Just a few days ago, you were a soldier Shepard, you didn't have to deal with Matriarchs and what they can get away with as a matter of course," Vasir grudgingly admitted. "And I will own it in my AAR. However, we have more present business to deal with,"
"I've seen the raw data. According to my staff, Benezia could indeed have smuggled at least a Geth battalion with her. Obviously, that's with her current visit alone. The odds are great, that the enemy will outnumber us on the ground," The Turian didn't sound any more pleased as he stated that fact than Shepard did at the confirmation. "Commander Shepard, I'm Commodore Quale, CDF." The Turian officer finally introduced himself.
"We should not forget Benezia's Huntress escort and whatever security Peak 15 had before her arrival," Vasir pointed out.
"Your other least favorite Matriarch might even the odds in that regard. We can use all the help we can get on this one,"
"Ah, yes, our uninvited Asari guests," Commodore Quale narrowed his eyes at the Spectres, "Do you care to enlighten me on the political minefield you put my command within? It's not every day the Council gives me explicit orders to shoot down an Asari cruiser if it comes to it!"
"Aethyta is or was Benezia's bond-mate. She's the father to her single daughter," Vasir explained, "While she does have credible interest in the situation, we're not yet sure if she has been compromised or not. Her delay was for screening and that at best indicated that she isn't compromised," The Asari Spectre scowled, "she might still be willingly involved in this disaster we've got on our hands,"
"Ah. I see," Commodore Quale nodded, speaking in a tone that sounded like grim amusement, "We should assume that our Asari allies are ready to shoot us in the back on this mission. Is there something else that I should know? Like the odds of a Geth armada arriving in the system shortly?"
"We have no intelligence on Saren's location or that of his Geth naval forces," Shepard quickly spoke, before Vasir could say something unfortunate.
"Of course not," The Commodore grumbled, "Do we need to assault the facility in question immediately, or could we wait for reinforcements? If you get overrun down there, the best we could do is either keep the enemy grounded or take out the whole site from orbit, which would be counter-productive, I understand?"
"We need actionable intelligence, ideally prisoners for interrogation and examination as well," Shepard pointed out. "We aren't getting any of those if you have to take out Peak 15,"
"Let's keep that as a last resort," Vasir suggested, earning herself a pair of questionable looks.
"Depending on how many Geth Benezia has down there, and what she has cooked at Binary Helix, it might be safer and cheaper to take out the site from orbit once we're done with it, instead of clearing it up the old-fashioned way,"
"There's that," Shepard agreed. "Commodore, do you have enough shuttles that can get us down safely in that storm? Port Hanshan was at the edge of it, yet it was strong enough to cause significant turbulence in the Normandy on the way up,"
"We should have several shuttles able to get you down safely, if not, we can fabricate upgrade kits to increase stability and counteract icing," Commodore Quale answered after thinking for a few seconds, "Get me a detailed scan of the storm, and I can give you a better answer by the time we reach orbit," With those parting words, the Turian Commodore cut off the link.
=DC=
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