Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Mass Effect - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you all for your wonderful support. I greatly appreciate it.
My apologies for taking so long to post this chapter. I wanted to make sure that I got this chapter right, so it took a while for it to get beta read. Thankfully, I've made the necessary adjustments, so we're ready to proceed at full steam ahead. Thank you for your patience, and I hope to receive your continued support.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries OST - A Life Left Behind
SSV/FCS Normandy
Departing New Avalon
September 19th, 3019
The air was filled with nervous activity as everyone that was assigned to the mission boarded the Normandy. Shepard could feel the nervous anticipation in the air as he stood at the galaxy map, his eyes fixed on their destination. One more, we're going to be disrupting the balance of power, he thought, and, hopefully, for the better.
As the team boarded, he took the elevator to his private quarters before locking it. Pulling out the verigraph-locked data pad that Quintus had given him, he opened it up and pressed his thumb onto a specific part of the datapad. Within moments, the computer recognized his DNA, and opened the single file that was present on it. It was a clarification on some of the mission parameters, especially how to access the Helm Field Library.
"Shepard," Quintus had typed. "If you are reading this, then that means that the test flight was successful, and you will soon be on your way to the Helm system in the Free Worlds League. The JumpShip Captain assigned to your ship has been fully briefed on the required details of this mission.
"With that being said, there is one more detail that needs to be clarified. During the course of the Normandy's refit, we tasked a few DMI and MIIO agents to go into the Free Worlds League. According to James Vega, the only way we can enter the Helm Field Library is with a specialized memory chip. It contains the codes required to gain entry into the base without triggering any defenses, or activating the self-destruct sequence inside.
"While we are not certain as to whether or not they have succeeded in their mission, we are certain as to where they will rendezvous with you. The closest uninhabited system is where they will link up with your ship. The Captain already knows the details, so you will not have to worry about missing it.
"Once you are at the Helm Field Library, and you've gained access, you are to recover the Helm Memory Core and whatever technology you can bring aboard your ship. Given the turbulent nature of the Inner Sphere, I recommend that you recover any weapons you can. Computers are also a necessity, so any advanced computer technology you find will be greatly appreciated.
"With all that being said, it is now up to you to begin the first step towards restoring Humanity's golden age, while securing the Federated Suns, and future Federated Commonwealth's, future. I wish you good luck, Shepard. This is Intelligence Minister Quintus Allard, signing off.
"P.S: Should your mission be successful, we will discuss employment matters. If you wish to work for a mercenary company, you are free to do so. Military service would be preferred, but that's your choice to make.
Shepard smiled as he deactivated the datapad. Quintus doesn't leave much to chance, he thought to himself. I'm not worried, though, at least with our defensive capability. If we happen to run into ComStar out there, we'll show them that the Normandy's got some teeth. Hopefully, though, all will be quiet, though we won't take any chances.
With that out of the way, he proceeded down towards the CIC after unlocking and exiting his quarters. Arriving on the CIC deck, he found a number of technical personnel that were hovering near the elevator. "What is it?" he asked.
"We're the computer team assigned to you for the time being," one of the men replied. "I'm Specialist Arnold Trascor, from NAIS. A pleasure to meet you, Commander."
Shaking the extended hand, Shepard asked, "You an expert in computers?"
"Correct," Arnold nodded. "I'm not sure what we'll find at Helm, but I'm certain that I can do a better job of using the computers there than anyone else on this rock. Either way, I look forwards to being challenged by the most advanced technology in the Inner Sphere. Shall we get this boat underway?"
"Sure," Shepard nodded. "Anything else?"
"We had a Heavy Transport B1 loaded up into the Normandy while your engineers were busy in the engine room. It's got just enough cargo capacity to carry the Helm Memory Core inside of it. We've also modified said transport so that the Memory Core will not be damaged should the going get rough."
"Good to hear," Shepard nodded. "We'll be starting our trip shortly. Get settled in. We're going on a field trip."
"Alright," Arnold beamed. "It's time to get the show on the road."
While the technicians got themselves into the crew quarters on the deck below, Shepard proceeded towards the cockpit. "Is everything ready?" he asked Joker.
"As ready as she'll be," Joker nodded. "I just hope Engineer Adams got the Drive Core tweaked to accommodate the refits."
"The adjustments to the Tantalus Drive Core went smoothly, Joker," EDI reassured him. "Full maneuverability has been restored. The ship is ready for duty."
"Alright then," Shepard nodded. "Take us out of here, Joker. Engage the IES system when we begin flight."
"Aye aye, Commander," Joker nodded. His hands flew over the controls for the Normandy as he got to work. "IES system engaged. We're beginning our voyage."
Moments later, the ship vibrated as the powerful anti-proton thrusters at the back of the ship fired up. At the same time, the Normandy rose up into the air, smoothly lifting off from the hidden DropPad that it was next too before flying through the air at accelerations that would make a DropShip turn green with envy.
Before long, they had left New Avalon's atmosphere and were flying in the inky black void of space. "All's going well so far," Joker beamed. "Those adjustments came in handy alright. Permission to begin the FTL jump to the JumpShip?"
"Granted," Shepard nodded. Moments later, the hum of the Tantalus Drive Core increased as it went to work performing the warping of space and time that allowed the Normandy to thumb it's nose at Einsten. Seconds later, they dropped out of FTL, with the view outside changing from the kaleidoscope of colors associated with Element Zero FTL to the view that Shepard had been expecting.
It was a JumpShip, and a recently maintained one at that. The JumpShip resembled a barbell from a gym, with the large sail having been folded up in preparation for FTL flight. Already, the grav deck that was built in had been fixed in place, and Shepard could spot the Docking Hardpoint that would allow the Normandy to dock to the JumpShip and begin it's first experience at Hyperspace FTL.
Moments later, a voice came in over the comm. "SSV Normandy, this is the FCS Icarus. We were informed that you would be arriving. Are you ready to perform the docking procedure?"
"Roger that," Joker replied. He'd run through the simulations for that sort of thing dozens of times, so he knew the docking procedures like the back of his hand. "Initiating docking procedure. You might want to strap yourself down, Shepard." As Shepard did so, Joker said, "Disengaging artificial gravity."
Moments later, Shepard felt a feeling of weightlessness as the Normandy's artificial gravity was turned off. A few seconds later, a muted THUMP echoed throughout the ship. "Docked and locked in tight," Joker reported. "Disengaging Element Zero Core. We're ready for the jump."
"Roger that," the JumpShip captain reported. "Jump Procedures complete. Initiating K-F Jump in ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… zero."
As soon as the JumpShip captain said 'zero', the K-F Drive activated. Electricity gathered from New Avalon's sun surged through the K-F Drive components, energizing them with the energy needed to create a hyperspace field around the JumpShip. Thanks to the K-F Boom inside of the Normandy's Docking Collar, it too was enveloped by the hyperspace field.
At the same time, a blue-white glow enveloped the JumpShip and the Normandy. With seconds, space and time began to bend and change as the hyperspace field altered the fabric of reality around it, before sending the ship through the hyperspace wormhole that had formed. To outside observers, the ship appeared to glow blue-white, before suddenly zipping forwards before disappearing out of sight.
Onboard the Normandy, Shepard felt as though he'd been compressed vertically, while being stretched horizontally in all directions. The sensation, while palpable, lasted for only the briefest of seconds, as within an instant, the Normandy, and the JumpShip it was connected to, winked back into reality, emitting a burst of infrared and visible light that could be detected by nearby JumpShips, or anyone that was looking.
"Wow," Shepard remarked as he looked around. "I don't feel a thing."
"I do," Joker replied. "I'm a little dizzy, but beyond that, I'm good. EDI?"
"Most of the crew has not suffered any ill effect," EDI replied. "A few, however, are showing symptoms of nausea and disorientation. Chakwas and her team are already handling the worst cases. According to records, this is known as Transit Disorientation Syndrome."
"Is it lethal?" Shepard asked.
"No," EDI replied. "There are no records of anyone dying from TDS. At the worst, severe headaches, nausea and irritability were recorded and epileptic seizures are possible, though they are extremely rare. A few days rest is all that is needed to treat TDS."
"Good to hear," Shepard nodded, "because we're going to have to get used to this. Joker, disembark at your leisure once all systems are online, and get us to the next JumpShip. EDI, have Hanse's men reported in?"
"Yes," EDI replied. "According to MIIO agents tasked with assisting us, we are safe to use the next JumpShip."
"Good," Shepard beamed. With that, the Normandy undocked from the JumpShip and quickly began getting to the next one. Let's hope that we remain undetected for the entire journey, he thought.
. . .
For the next two months or so, the journey to Helm proceeded in this manner, with the JumpShip recharging it's K-F Drive before jumping off through the mysterious realm of Hyperspace to the next system. It was fairly tedious, though there was always the ever-present concern that someone, either a civilian, or a member of the Great Houses, or ComStar, would spot something abnormal and send someone to investigate. As such, the crew was in a state of relaxed alertness: not complacent, but not rushing about to take care of anything.
The slow pace of recharging for the K-F Drive was something that bothered Shepard, though he knew that it was better than using up all of the fuel that the Normandy used for it's FTL flight propulsion. I wonder if we can shave off a few days or so, he mused to himself. That, or we could increase the jump range for these JumpShips using Element Zero, somehow.
Fortunately, Chief Engineer Adams and EDI were the experts in that area. While they didn't have anything solid yet, EDI had theorized that the use of Element Zero could stretch out the range of a JumpShip by ten to twenty light-years, while recharge times could be reduced down to four days, or even three, depending on the spectral class of the star in question. While they wouldn't reach the same level as that of the Mass Relays, if at all, those modifications would certainly be major improvements. Of course, the only practical way to get the modifications installed was to completely redesign the Invader-class JumpShip, and build a new one from that new design, something that would take time and money to do.
It was near the end of the second month of their journey to Helm that things got interesting once again. While he was playing some chess with Specialist Traynor, Shepard heard the intercom chime. "Commander, we've got someone requesting permission to come aboard," Joker reported to him. "You might want to use that pass code phrase or something to see if it's our man or not."
"Got it," Shepard nodded. Looking at Traynor, he asked, "Another time, perhaps?"
"Maybe," Traynor replied, a smile on her face. "Besides, it's fun kicking your ass in chess."
"Yeah, yeah, dab on the Commander," Shepard retorted jokingly. Getting up from his chair, he left for the cargo hold.
Down in the cargo hold, Shepard could see the security team for the Normandy clustered around the door that connected to the Docking Collar, and the airtight tunnel that led to the JumpShip. Clambering inside, he felt a momentary bout of vertigo as gravity realigned itself to match that of the door, a result of some of Engineer Adams' modifications. Coming up to the door, he pressed the speaker button and said the codephrase. "Sword."
"Shield," came the reply.
That's our man, Shepard nodded. Opening the door, he watched as a man wearing a leather jacket, white T-Shirt and black pants floated through the air. Apparently, the MIIO Agent was expecting the Normandy to not have gravity, as he flailed about in surprise when gravity decided to remind him of it's existence.
"Damnit!" the agent shouted as he fell face first to the small portion of floor present in the tube. "I thought your ship didn't have gravity. None of our ships do."
"The Normandy is a special case," Shepard reassured the man. "Did -"
"Quintus brief me and my fellow agents on the nature of this mission?" the MIIO agent finished for Shepard. "Yes. Once my agents and I are onboard, then we'll begin with the introductions." Pulling himself forwards, he was much more cautious this time, with that caution saving him from face-planting into the deck of the Normandy's cargo bay.
Moments later, four more DMI and MIIO agents floated into the cargo hold. While most were able to compensate for the presence of artificial gravity, one agent suffered the indignity of face-planting onto the cargo hold's deck, much to Shepard and his friend's amusement. While the agent in question scowled for a moment, he decided to let it drop and decided to laugh at his own clumsiness.
The lead agent, after making sure his hair was in order, closed the airtight tunnel's door and said, "Now that we're onboard, and this place is secured, we can begin with the introductions. I'm Agent Ronald. This is Carter, Strauss and Osman."
"At your service," Carter nodded. "So, I hear that we're going to recover something."
"Yes," Shepard replied. "Gentlemen, to the War Room."
. . .
In the War Room, Shepard and the others had gathered around the holoprojector in the center of the room. Currently, the holoprojector was displaying a map of the Helm system, more specifically, the sole habitable planet in the system: Helm IV. Once everyone was situated, Shepard began to speak.
"Gentlemen, welcome," he said to the others. "As you all know, we are just one jump away from entering the Helm system, where our objective is. What you might not know is the location of our objective. During the Normandy's refit, Vega was able to provide an exact location of the Helm Field Library."
Adjusting the controls, he brought up an image of the area in question. "According to Vega's intelligence, the Helm Field Library is located inside of the Vermillon Valley, more specifically inside of a labyrinth of caves located inside of the Nagayan Mountains. The only way to get inside, however, is with a specialized memory chip that contains the codes required to open the facility's main gate and prevent the defenses from firing on us."
"I can provide that," Agent Ronald replied. Opening up what appeared to be a briefcase, he pulled out a battered container. Opening it, he showed the contents to Shepard.
Looking inside, Shepard found what looked like a small flash drive of some kind, barely larger than a clenched fist, held inside of what appeared to be heavy duty padding. On the side that he could see, he saw the faded banner of House Marik: a purple eagle in front of a blue background. Wow, he thought. All of that trouble for something barely larger than a fist. Looking up, he asked, "Did you have trouble getting it, and are we certain that it's the real thing?"
"Definitely," Ronald nodded. "We did a check on our systems to make sure it was the real McCoy. The good news is that it's operational and it's the real thing.
"As for getting it… Well… SAFE is hit-and-miss at the best of times. Fortunately, though, they had some rent-a-cops guarding it that were very lousy. We also utilized a flaw in the storage building's design to get at the thing. We replaced it with a clever fake and got out without tipping anyone off."
"Good," Shepard nodded. "That makes our job a whole lot easier." Looking at Carter, he asked, "So, what can we expect from Helm?"
"I've been there before," Osman spoke up. "Helm is a cold planet, but it is habitable. However, much of the planet's surface was reduced to radioactive deserts by one of Minoru Kurita's warlords, who bombed the surface with nukes when he didn't find the Star League facility there. Fortunately, the Vermillon Valley avoided the nuclear bombardments."
"Then we can get inside," Shepard beamed. "Alright. Once the JumpShip's fully charged up, we can jump to the Helm system and get the Memory Core. You ready for tomorrow?"
"Always."
. . .
The jump into Helm was, thankfully, devoid of any drama, as they arrived without alerting anyone. In fact, the zenith jump point they arrived at was devoid of any activity, even some of the usual merchant vessels that traveled through the region. I hope our luck holds out for now, Shepard thought, though he knew that all it took for good luck to change was the flip of the figurative coin. "Joker, we ready?"
"All set, Commander," Joker replied. "Detaching from the JumpShip now." Moments later, a muted THUMP echoed throughout the ship, with artificial gravity returning at the exact same time. Moving up to stand next to Joker, Shepard watched as the ship momentarily entered FTL flight after the IES system was engaged.
A few seconds later, they emerged from the multicolored vista of ezzo induced FTL flight over the planet of Helm. From above, Helm looked cold and deserted, though Shepard thought he spotted a few green areas. Most of the planet's habitable regions, though, looked like light brown deserts, and he could see large glaciers that covered much of the planet. A dying world, he thought to himself. "Take us in," he ordered Joker.
"Aye aye, sir," Joker nodded. Moments later, the ship shuddered as they began to fly towards the planet itself. "EDI, plot a flight plan that lets us avoid any settled areas. We don't want to cause any suspicion."
"Already done," EDI replied. With that, the Normandy banked as Joker had it proceed along the new flight plan. It wasn't long before they began to enter the planet's atmosphere, with the Normandy smoothly flying through the air.
In order to remain undetected, they were having to fly low to the ground, which would prevent most RADAR systems from spotting them. Even though Joker was an ace pilot, Shepard was still clenching his gut every time they flew close to a rock formation or a glacier. I guess that's why Joker's a pilot and I'm not, he thought as they zipped through a rocky arch, with little room on either side to spare.
Eventually, the Normandy slowed down, with the ship coming to a stop before landing on the surface of the planet. "And we're down," Joker announced.
"Where are we?" Shepard asked.
"We're around two kilometres away from the location of the gatehouse to the Helm Field Library, Commander. I couldn't get any closer due to how narrow the area gets for the Normandy. The good news is that it's wide enough for a few 'Mechs to get in there, so the vehicle in the Normandy's cargo bay should be good to go."
"Let's get it out there, then," Shepard decided.
. . .
It took the better half of ten minutes to get the Heavy Transport BI vehicle rolling, but once it was ready to go, it was quick to move out of the cargo hold and onto the ground. Even so, Shepard and the others were advised to be careful. "We've got some radiation hotspots here and there," one of the men had reported. "Nothing major, but I wouldn't recommend exposure anyways."
Eventually, after a few minutes of driving, they came to the location that Vega's information had indicated was the right spot. To Shepard, it looked as though a large volcanic formation had formed a long time ago, as he spotted a massive slab of granite that was in the rocky walls of the valley. All around, he could see grass that was a light brown, as well as a few hardy plants that had survived both time and radiation. The air was cold, with the wind biting at Shepard's skin.
"Certainly not somewhere to spend a vacation," Kaidan remarked as he looked around.
"I am not interested in this place, either," Javik frowned. "Though, I am curious to see how the Star League built this 'Field Library' of theirs. Perhaps they and my people have something in common."
"Perhaps," Shepard nodded. "Liara?"
"I'm curious as well," Liara nodded, the young Asari looking around. Spotting what appeared to be a lonely gatehouse, she said, "I take it that's where we need to go, yes?"
"Yep," Agent Ronald nodded. "Anything we need to know?"
"No," Shepard replied. "I assume that we just have to plug the device in, and we're all set."
"Then let's get to it," Specialist Arnold remarked. Walking over to the gatehouse with an armed guard, he proceeded inside. There wasn't much to look at, other than what appeared to be a computer console that had recently undergone maintenance, as it turned on almost immediately.. Pulling out the memory chip, Ronald handed it to Arnold, who quickly found a slot for the device. Taking the memory chip into his hands, he gently pushed it into the slot.
At first, nothing seemed to have happened, then the team felt a slight shudder in the ground. Almost immediately, a flock of birds that had been sheltering in the brush above the granite slab flew away, as though some predator had swiped at them. Then, seconds later, the large slab of granite began to slowly retract into the mountain, then another jolt vibrated through the ground as it slid to the right, revealing a large cave.
Inside of the large cave was what appeared to be a tunnel that went down into pure blackness. The rocky ceiling was tall, tall enough that even the light from Shepard's helmet mounted flashlight barely reached it, a faint glow being cast onto the rocky material. When aimed at where he thought the wall was, Shepard found that the wall was far enough, that the light from his flashlight was swallowed up by the darkness.
It was clear, though, that this place, though it could've held quite a few BattleMechs in it's heyday, was empty and deserted. The only thing that was in there was a small building. It looked like a four walled pyramid that had been chopped off at the top, as though some giant had decided that the pointed top was either excessive or offensive, and neatly cut it off with a cutting knife. On that structure was a single door.
"Is that it?" Ronald asked. "I thought we were looking for something the size of this entire chamber."
"Maybe that's the whole point," Shepard mused. "I'll bet that the Helm Memory Core is inside of that small little building there. It would make sense."
"That does make sense," Ronald admitted. "We'll check that building out first. The rest of you, get the Heavy Transport inside and see what you can find. Once you've got a sizable load, get it to the Normandy and load up the cargo hold. Leave enough room for the Memory Core. That's the main reason why we're here." A chorus of affirmations came back in reply as the large truck moved inside of the tunnel.
Approaching the door to the small building, Shepard gently opened it up and looked inside. The entire building's interior was occupied by a single room, with the far wall occupied by a massive computer screen and a single control console. Nearby, he noticed what looked like a tall, but narrow, server bank. Is that the Memory Core? he wondered. If it is, it's smaller than I thought it would be.
The room was also well lit, with warm white lights flooding the interior with a happy glow, almost as though the room was welcoming them. It was as though the Memory Core had been patiently waiting for someone to find them after all this time and was now saying 'You found me. Thank you for doing so.' Arnold, who still had the memory chip, quickly found a matching port, and gently slid it inside. "Let's see if this is really it," he whispered.
Moments later, the workstation fully powered up, along with the screen. Looking at the screen, Shepard saw a few words appear. "The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."
"Who said that?" Shepard asked.
"I think that would be… ah, James Madison," Kaidan replied. "I remember him from some of the history lessons we took during high school."
"James Madison," Liara mused. "I remember doing some research on Human culture. From what I recall, he was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, one of the countries that sponsored the creation of the Systems Alliance."
"Interesting," Javik noted.
Just as he said this, the words disappeared off the screen, before more information flooded it. Looking at the screen, Shepard's eyes widened when he saw information flowing into view. While he couldn't guess as to what all of that was, he did recognize certain parts of the information, from advanced weapon schematics, to what appeared to be water desalinization plant blueprints.
Arnold was, for the first time in his life, completely dumbfounded. After a moment, he said, "It… it's real. It's really real." A moment later, a large, dumb grin spread across his face as he smiled. "We found it! We found the motherlode!"
"Congratulations," Ronald said to Shepard. "I had a feeling you wouldn't let us down."
"You should thank Vega when you get the chance," Shepard replied, feeling no small amount of pride at having found the mission objective. "Can you pull up a schematic of the place, as well as a supply manifest?" That question was directed at Arnold.
"Sure," Arnold nodded. "Just give me a moment here… ah here we go." Moments later, using the command line, he pulled up a schematic of the place. "Well, I'll be... We're standing right next to it." He pointed at the server-like column next to them."
"I thought it would be larger," Shepard admitted.
"If the data's compressed, it doesn't have to be large. Still, there's got to be exabytes of data inside of there, just waiting to be opened and studied. Oh, I can't wait to get this back to NAIS for study!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. Let's focus on the rest of the base. What about the supply manifest?"
"One second… Oh, wow!"
"What is it?" Ronald asked.
"We're looking at a shit ton of SLDF military equipment. From what I can tell, we're looking at the stuff their Royal Regiments were outfitted with. There's a lot of Assault 'Mechs in here, as well as a number of Combat Vehicles and infantry equipment inside. If only we had a DropShip to help get this all out."
"We'll come back for it at a later time," Shepard remarked. "Anything else we need to know?"
"Yes," Arnold replied. "Most of the data's in a format that most computers don't use nowadays, which means that, even if we got the Memory Core back to New Avalon, it would take years to decrypt. Fortunately, it has a export program that can convert the format into one that is in use at New Avalon. It'll take around six hours to reformat the Memory Core and the information inside, then we can get it the hell out of here."
"Good," Shepard nodded. "Have the Heavy Transport acquire infantry weapons, armor, as well as any computers that they can find, but be careful. This is the biggest find in the Inner Sphere, and I don't want us remembered as the people that screwed it all up."