Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.
Thank you all for your wonderful support and feedback. I know I sound like a broken record when I say that, but I really do mean it. Without your support and feedback, this crossover would never have gotten anywhere.
Also, I closed the poll that was on my profile yesterday. In a 7-6 vote on that poll it's been decided that a major rewrite of Halo: MechWarrior will be conducted. Thank you all for voting on that poll. I appreciate it, and I will honor your decision to have me rewrite that crossover so that it's better than ever. I will be deleting the older ones, both to make room, and because of the fact that they're no longer indicative of my writing skills.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their 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.
Citadel
Dr. Bryson's Laboratory
September 27th, 2186
It had taken them around four days to get back to the Citadel. As he exited the skycar, Shepard thought back to some of what had happened back at T-GES Mineral Works, especially when they were pursuing the man being controlled by Leviathan. That is some freaky shit there, he said to himself. The fact that Leviathan can control anyone that's been around that artifact long enough chills me to the bone. It neatly explains why Derek was acting odd that day.
Walking towards the house, he found Dr. Bryson outside, along with Victor Steiner-Davion. Spotting Shepard, Bryson walked over and asked, "Shepard, is Garneau…?"
"I'm sorry," Shepard frowned. "Garneau's dead. Some miners being controlled by Leviathan killed him to keep the artifact there a secret."
Hearing that, Bryson seemed to visible deflate, with his shoulders slumping and his expression becoming crestfallen. "I… I see…" he said a moment later, his mind reeling from the news. "Garneau was always one of the best. I thought that… that there'd be a chance that he'd survive. To hear that he's dead is just…" Walking away, he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Commander, can I have a few moments alone?"
"Sure," Shepard nodded. "Before you go, did you -?"
"Yes," Bryson nodded. "The shielding device is ready."
"Then I won't bother you anymore. Take your time."
As Bryson walked away to mourn the loss of one of his friends, Victor came towards Shepard. "I'm sorry for his loss," he frowned. "I know what it's like to lose people that are close to you. I lost some close friends at Pinnacle when we fought the Clans."
"Me too," Shepard nodded, the memory of Grunt's death coming to the forefront of his mind. "I hope that when we find Leviathan, we can get answers as to why it's killed people to keep itself hidden."
"True," Victor nodded. "Anyways, it's about time we shielded that device and kept it from causing any more trouble." With that, they proceeded inside of the building.
Moving towards the artifact, they found that the orb in question was now mounted inside of what appeared to be an forcefield emitter, similar to the design used on Omega by Cerberus to cordon off areas of the station. Nearby, Shepard could see a button mounted on a small stand. Moving over there quickly, he noted that the lab had another person inside. "EDI?" he asked.
"Yes, Commander?" EDI replied walking over. "Is there something you need?"
"Just wondering what you are doing here?"
"Dr. Bryson needed someone to build and test the device without risking falling under Leviathan's influence," EDI explained. "Given that I am a machine, and not an organic being, I was the ideal candidate for this task. Thanks to the data you sent us a few days earlier, I was able to make the necessary modifications."
"Good," Shepard nodded. Walking over to the button, he pressed it. Moments later, a blue field with hexagonal patterning on it formed around the orb, creating an impenetrable barrier. Apparently, that was the right thing to do, as moments later, the orb stopped glowing, and became a dull, opaque object once more.
"Alright," Victor noted. "Looks like it's done the trick. Still, I've got a question. Why haven't we been affected by it yet? It's been here the whole time."
"Perhaps, much like Indoctrination, the time spent around the artifact is key," EDI speculated. "After a certain duration, it affords Leviathan an impressive mind-control capability."
"I'd call it dangerous as hell," Shepard frowned. "Bryson's assistant nearly killed Byrson and myself. It was only thanks to Victor and his bodyguards that he and I are alive."
"Maybe it was trying to get us off it's tail," Victor mused. "It's what I'd do if I didn't want to be found out by anyone."
"Maybe. It just shows that we don't know what we're dealing with."
"Regardless, this is our best option for finding Leviathan. It's risky, but then again, everything has risks. Let's look around the laboratory. We might find more information. Ian, you're up." With that, they began to look around the place, while Ian and EDI moved to the galaxy map.
A moment later, the doors opened, allowing Dr. Bryson to walk inside. "Anything we can help you with?" Shepard asked.
"No," Bryson replied. "I can do what I can, however, to help you. I'll bring you some of my notes. Maybe I can help you out."
"You sure you want to?"
Bryson fixed Shepard with a glare, though it held no hostility. "Shepard, Garneau died because of Leviathan. I just want answers as to why; besides, he wouldn't want me to focus on his death. If anything, he'd tell me to keep going because we're on the right track. I'm doing this to honor his death; if I don't, then it's all for nothing."
Shepard nodded at that. I've had to do the same for Grunt, he agreed. "Alright," he said aloud. "Let's get to work. First off, did you scan the artifact for any emissions? What's it's chemical composition?"
"That's the first thing we did. When we did a scan of it, we found that it wasn't emitting any emissions, nor was it reacting to any attempt to cause an emission, though now I know that Leviathan was merely biding it's time. As for the composition, aside from the fact that it's not composed of Reaper tech, we really didn't find much to be interesting."
"Anything at all?"
Bryson paced around for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "I think I know of something. My daugher, Ann Bryson, is a member of the team as well. I recently got some messages from her, but since I had to stay out of the lab, I wasn't able to answer them. Now that the artifact is shielded, I can do so."
With that, Shepard followed Bryson to his bedroom, where a small answering machine was located on the dresser. Pressing a button, they heard the machine say, You have one message. Message from: Ann Bryson.
A moment later, Ann Bryson's voice came in loud and clear. "I'm at the dig site in the Pylos Nebula. Project Scarab paid off. I've got another artifact like the one Garneau found. I think it could be affecting people's behavior. You need to shield the one with you in the office. I tried to warn Garneau, but I can't get through. We've got Reaper scouts coming towards the main site. I'm heading to the secondary base to grab whatever research I can." A moment later, the message ended.
Bryson, now having heard his daughter's words, looked worried. "Reaper scouts where she's at?" he asked. "That's not good news. Shepard, we have to rescue her. I don't have the best relationship with her, but she's my daughter. If she gets hurt -"
"We won't let it come to that," Shepard reassured him. "Victor?"
"We need to find out where she's at exactly in the Pylos Nebula," Victor decided. "Once we get there, we can use the Concordat-class WarShip that Jeffrey Calderon lent us to get there as fast as possible. Bryson, can you get us any relevant information on where she's at? According to the star charts of that nebula, there are several systems, and she could be in any one of them."
"Sure," Bryson nodded. "She sent me a good deal of the information we can use to find her location at."
"Good," Victor nodded. Heading downstairs, he said, "Hastings? Pull up a map of the Pylos Nebula. We're hunting for Ann Bryson, Dr. Bryson's daughter."
"Got it," Hastings replied. "Ho boy. No wonder you're having to get specific; there are a bunch of star systems present. Once you've got the info we need to narrow her location down, I'll enter in the search filters and we can go from there."
"Sounds good," Victor nodded.
Around five minutes later, Bryson came in, holding some datapads in the crook of his right arm. "Here," he told the team. "This is all of the relevant information that we'll need in order to find Ann Bryson."
"Thank you," Victor nodded. Taking the datapads, he began to work with Shepard to sift through the information that they had. Pulling up one datapad, he found that it listed the ships the task force used. Looking at Ann Bryson's team, he noted that she used the MSV Icarus. "EDI, what's the specs for the MSV Icarus?" he asked.
"Searching," EDI replied. A moment later, she said, "The ship is similar to most ships of the Kolwoon design, but the Icarus was refitted with enhanced electrostatic discharge cells. Those help facilitate long range travel."
"That narrows it down. That means that they didn't stick around the relay system as I suspected, otherwise they wouldn't have bought an expensive ship. Hastings?"
"You got it," Hastings replied.
"Alright, what do we have next? Shepard, anything on your end?"
"I did," Shepard replied. "From what I can tell, Ann Bryson requisitioned some gear."
"I know what kind too," Richard, one of Victor's bodyguards, added. "Just checked this locker out. From what I can tell, Ann Bryson went to an arid, but habitable planet. She snagged wind protection gear."
"Add that to the list," Victor ordered.
"Got it," Hastings nodded. "I think we've got enough to narrow down her location."
"Alright," Victor nodded. "Let's see what we've got." A moment later, they entered in the two filters. A moment later a single star system lit up. "Alright," he beamed. "Dr. Ann Bryson, according to the filter, is located in the Zaherin system. I'll contact the Captain of the TCS Fury II and inform him that we'll be riding his ship to the Zaherin system. The Normandy's going to have to sit this one out, unfortunately. It's too large for the Fury II and it doesn't have a K-F Drive installed."
"Will he let us do that?" Shepard asked.
"Captain Carmichael is a reasonable person, Shepard," Victor reassured him. "He was the first member of the TDF to volunteer to help us fight the Reapers. Besides, we'll need speed to get to the Zaherin system fast, and the Concordat-class of WarShips are fast."
. . .
Around a few hours later, the TCS Fury II was moving swiftly towards the Zenith Jump Point for the Nariph system. Onboard, Shepard approached the CIC of the Fury II, moving past members of the Taurian Defense Force as he did so. Looks like they've been told of my mission, he thought as he noticed their glances towards him. So far, they haven't mistreated me, which is good.
Still, you have to give the Taurian Concordat their due. They know how to make a good WarShip, and they know how to really make a determined enemy pay for every inch of ground. As for this ship, I don't know what happened to the original Fury. Guess that's why they call this ship the Fury II. With that, he entered the CIC of the Fury II.
The interior of the CIC was similar to the Avalon-class of WarShip in that it was located near the center of the ship, but that was where the similarities ended. While the CIC's for Avalon-class WarShips were round, those of the Concordat-class were rectangular. In addition, the Captain sat inside of a circular bank of controls, before which stood the galaxy map.
Right now, Captain Carmichael was at the helm. An older individual that approached Admiral Hackett in terms of age, Captain Carmichael was an experienced captain nonetheless. Turning around, he allowed Shepard to see his dark skin, graying beard and hair, as well as his sharp blue eyes. "Shepard," he said in a husky voice. "Good to meet you. I've heard a lot of good things about you."
"Me too," Shepard nodded. "I heard that you helped out during the Clan Invasion. Kicked their asses at the Pinnacle system."
"Yes, we did," Carmichael nodded. "That was just after Jeffrey Calderon allowed the Inner Sphere to get access to some of our military resources. I don't trust the Inner Sphere fully, not after everything that's happened, but I can trust you, Shepard. You might've helped the Federated Suns, but that was to restore the Inner Sphere, and Periphery, to it's former glory. That's a good thing in my book."
"Alright," Shepard nodded. "I can work with that. So, what's the ETA?"
"We're about to arrive at the Jump Point for this star system. Zarherin is around 40 light years away, so we can make the jump easily. While you're down on the surface, we'll send down Light and Medium ASF's to provide air support and to help minimize trouble there. We'll do what we can to keep away any Reaper reinforcements, but we'll need the Avalon if we're going to keep away any Reapers that are larger than the Fury II."
"Sounds about right," Shepard nodded. "Should I go ahead and strap myself in?"
"That's a good idea." Keying the intercom, Carmichael said, "All hands, this is the Captain. Begin K-F Jump preparations." With that, the crew quickly got themselves strapped down, with Shepard sitting in one of the observation chairs in the room. "Alright pilot. Take us away."
"Roger that," came the reply. "K-F Jump in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0."
A moment later, Shepard felt that sensation of being stretched horizontally, and compressed vertically, one again. It lasted for only an instant, as a moment later, the pilot said, "We've made the jump. I've got a faint radio signal coming from the second planet in the star system. Navigation data says that it's called Namakli."
"Head there immediately," Carmichael ordered. "If the briefing that Shepard gave us when he came aboard is correct, that is where Dr. Ann Bryson is located at. Once we arrive, scramble all ASF's and move into geostationary orbit around the planet. If any Reapers approach the planet, we'll move to perform a blocking action." Turning to Shepard, he said, "This is your show now. Get your ass down there and rescue Bryson's daughter."
"Roger that," Shepard replied, already heading for the nearest hangar bay.
. . .
A few minutes later, the Kodiak II that had been brought over from the Normandy was heading directly towards the surface of Namakli. Onboard, Shepard was making sure his gear was fully ready, along with Kaidan, Hastings and Edwards. "OK," Kaidan remarked as he made sure his MP-20 was ready, "So we got reports that the dig site was under attack, right?"
"Right," Shepard nodded. "According to intelligence from EDI and a scan the Fury II conducted, we're approaching the main site of excavations established under Dr. Garret Bryson. Records indicate that Ann Bryson is the project leader for this expedition and that she uncovered another artifact related to Leviathan.
"In addition, the attack means we're one step behind the Reapers. We need to pick up the pace. And since Dr. Bryson's daughter is our only lead, our objective is clear." Looking at Cortez, he asked, "Anything?"
"Nothing so far, Commander," Cortez replied. "If she's down there, she hasn't responded to our hails. Getting some strange signals, though. Give me a minute."
"Maybe the artifact she found is causing complications," Hastings suggested.
"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "Take us in." Looking outside, he could see the dig site. From what he could tell, the buildings for the dig site were built into the walls of what appeared to be the cliffs of a canyon. Still, judging by the sight of Reaper Harvesters flying around, the researchers were in trouble.
Just then, he spotted a flight of Light and Medium ASF's flying, likely Dagger, Sabre and Sparrowhawks. Swooping in fast, they began to fire their weapons at the Reaper Harvesters flying around, forcing them to engage and fly away. "Looks like the Concordat cleared a path for us," Cortez reported. "Also, we've got people on the landing platform!"
Looking outside, Shepard spotted a man and woman inside of a control room near the landing pad. One was a middle aged man, while the other was a woman that had brown hair and hazel green eyes set in a round face. "That's her!" Shepard confirmed.
A moment later, Ann Bryson's voice came in over the comm. "Attention, shuttle! This is Dr. Ann Bryson! We're under attack!"
"OK," Shepard nodded. "Let's -"
"LOOKOUT!" shouted Cortez's co-pilot. Spotting the incoming Reaper Harvester, Cortez threw the shuttle into an evasive maneuver, narrowly dodging being knocked out of the sky.
"Damnit!" Cortez shouted. "Multiple bogies." Keying the comms, he said, "Any ASF's in the area, I need cover fire! We're getting swarmed over here!"
"Roger that, we're on the way," came the reply. Another Harvester tried to attack the Kodiak II, only for emerald beams of energy to flash, tearing through some of it's armor, while severing a wing and sending it falling to the ground. Moments later, a Dagger ASF zipped past the shuttle, fusion engines screaming loudly as the fighter pulled away from the cliff. "We'll distract them as long as we can!" the pilot of that ASF reported. "They're tenacious bastards, so don't expect them to stay away for long!"
"Roger that," Shepard nodded. "Cortez, set us down now, while we've got time!"
"Copy that," Cortez nodded. A moment later, he flew towards one of the lower platforms before landing. As soon as Shepard and the others had gotten out, he quickly took off. "I'll see if I can lure some towards the ASF's," he told Shepard.
"Be careful, Cortez," Shepard frowned.
"I will, Shepard. Thanks. Cortez out."
With that, Shepard and his team began to run like crazy towards where Ann Bryson and the others were at. Now that they were much closer, Shepard could tell that the buildings were attached to the walls of the cliff using titanium alloy beams and mounts that were designed to be attached to rocky surfaces. The wind, along with the Reapers, had weakened these mounts, as he could see some of the buildings beginning to sag.
Spotting a Husk nearby, he fired his sidearm, a Hawk Eagle, blasting apart the Husk's head. "Get to cover!" Kaidan shouted as more Reaper troops began to try to fly in. One capsule headed towards them, only for a missile to impact it, blasting it into thousands of pieces.
As they ran through the decaying dig site, they heard Ann Bryson on the comms. "Hello?!" she called out. "Is anyone there?! I'm coming down!"
"NO!" Shepard shouted. "Stay where you are! This is Commander Shepard of the Alliance Navy – it's too dangerous! We'll come to you!"
"Yes, OK," Ann agreed. "You should take the elevator up, on the far side!"
"Copy that," Shepard nodded. As he moved forwards, another Reaper troop capsule smashed into a building, causing it to detach from the cliffside and fall down. Fortunately, the walkways below were strong enough to not collapse, allowing Shepard to walk along the roof of the building and into the room of another one. Spotting another Husk, he blasted it's head apart with a headshot.
Moving forwards, he found another building that too had fallen down, this time with the doors pointing up and down. Dropping down, he could hear the BRRTTZZZZ of Rotary Autocannons firing, the BOOM-FFWOOOSHH of missiles firing,as well as the loud pulsing sizzling that was typical of ER Pulse Lasers. Moving outside, he could see the source of the sounds.
What he saw was what some would call the mother of all dogfights. Everywhere he looked, he could see Daggers, Sparrowhawks and Sabre's zipping around their Reaper counterparts, with the two sides vying for supremacy. He watched as a Sabre used it's ER Pulse Lasers to tear apart a Reaper Harvester, before performing a high-g left bank to avoid an Oculus drone's laser beam. Nearby, a Dagger fired it's LRM-5 missiles, blasting apart an Oculus before firing it's RAC/5 at a Reaper Harvester.
Refocusing his attention, he continued to move forwards through the buildings and on the walkways. "Comnander, they're swarming everywhere up here!" he heard Bryson inform him.
"Can you find a place to hide?" he asked.
"We'll do our best!"
"Get there and stay hidden!" With that, he proceeded forwards, firing his pistol at any Husks. So far, it was quite easy going, but Shepard knew that sooner or later, it was going to get much harder. "Edward, can you move up ahead and get to Ann Bryson?"
"Affirmative," Edward nodded. "I'll do what I can to eliminate any Reaper Brutes."
"CANNIBALS!" Hastings shouted. "11-2 o'clock!" Right on cue, several Reaper Cannibals appeared, firing their arm mounted weapons at the team.
Taking cover, Shepard watched as Kaidan sent a few flying over the side of the walkways and to death via hard impact down below. Popping up, he fired his M61B, blasting apart a Cannibal with the pulse laser fired from his weapon. Hastings, armed with the same weapon, also did the same to another. Once the Cannibals were down, they moved towards a stair, just as something blew it apart.
"Fuck!" Hastings shouted. "Any ideas for how to move ahead?"
"I've got one!" Edward shouted. "Shepard, Hastings, climb onto me!"
"What?!" Hastings asked.
"My armor can handle the extra weight!" Edward shouted. "JUST DO IT!" Not wanting to argue, the two men clambered onto Edward, while keeping out of the way of his armor's Jump Jets. Once they were on, he fired up the Jump Jets.
With the extra weight of two people, the Jump Jets were having to use extra fuel. Fortunately, they were powerful enough to allow Edward to transport Shepard and Hastings across the gap and to the other side. Jumping back, he quickly brought Kaidan over. "Nice one!" Shepard smiled.
"Thanks!" Edward nodded. "Just keep moving!"
Not wanting to remain in one place anyways, they quickly began to move up, firing their weapons at any Reaper troops coming towards them. "BRUTE!" Shepard shouted as a Reaper Brute came into view. "Edward!"
"Got it!" Edward shouted, firing his Automatic Grenade Launcher. Three explosions rang out, with the Reaper Brute falling over dead moments later. "Keep moving!"
"There's the elevator!" Kaidan shouted. Up ahead, there was a single control panel, as well as a makeshift elevator shiaft. Moving forwards, Shepard pressed the down button on the panel.
Hearing a loud CLUNK, he looked up and swore. "Damnit!" he shouted. "There's debris blocking it! Bryson?!"
"I'm overriding the pod door near you," Ann shouted, "There's an access point above, Commander, but you'll have to climb to get it it!"
"I'll move up ahead," Edwards informed Shepard. Detaching the armored 'pack off his back, he fished through it before pulling out a pair of grenades. "Take these!" he told Shepard. "Anti-Vehicular Grenades. Not as large of a blast radius, but they're worth their weight in gold against Brutes!" A moment later, he said, "I'm off!" before firing up his Jump Jets. Soaring into the air, he flew to the upper levels before landing and disappearing out of sight.
Nodding at that, Shepard continued to move forwards, while taking one of the AV grenades from Hastings. As they moved forwards, crossing over debris that formed walkways, he spotted more Reaper troops landing up ahead. Spotting a Ravager, he took out one of the AV grenades and hurled it towards the Reaper.
There was a large puff of dust and sand, along with a WOMP-BANG as the Anti-Vehicular grenade detonated. When the dust cleared, the Ravager was dead, though Shepard now had to contend with Reaper troops. Ducking under cover, he fired his rifle, just as his barriers failed. There was a slight stinging sensation, though the fact that it was a dull sting told him that his armor had blocked the attack.
A moment later, there was a loud RATATAT as Kaidan fired his SMG, blasting apart a few Cannibals and Husks. As they moved forwards, Ann Bryson said, "Commander, some kind of mech arrived where we're at. Is that a friendly?"
"Yes," Shepard replied. "That's Lieutenant Edward. He'll provide you cover fire."
"Alright," Bryson nodded. "He's really hammering the Reaper troops up here. Get here soon!"
"Working on it!" Shepard replied.
For the next few minutes, they moved through the buildings while dealing with relatively light resistance. Looks like the ASF's are thinning out the Harvesters, he noted. That's good news. That means less trouble to worry about and we can get to Ann faster.
Eventually, they managed to reach the elevator where it was blocked off. Reaching it, Shepard simply reversed the direction it was moving. Spotting the control room up ahead, Shepard ran towards it. Inside, he found Ann Bryson, her assistant, as well as Edwards, who was firing his M42C at some Reaper troops. "Dr. Ann Bryson, you OK?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, and so's Hopkins, my assistant," Ann nodded. "I don't know who you managed to call for help, but we've been watching the entire air battle out there. Whoever they are, they really are giving the Reapers a run for their money. Who are they?"
"Long story," Shepard replied. "I'll tell you all about it on the way back."
"Is everyone alright?" Hopkins, the man that Shepard had seen earlier asked. "Where are they?"
"I'm sorry," Shepard frowned, remembering seeing corpses in some of the buildings. "They didn't make it."
"Fuck!" Hopkins snarled, tears starting to brim in his eyes.
"There's nothing we could've done," Shepard said to him. "The fact that you and Bryson are alive still is nothing short of a miracle. Honor your dead friends by making sure you can help us."
"Y-yeah," Hopkins nodded.
"Where's the artifact?"
"Up ahead," Bryson informed them.
"We'll handle it," Shepard reassured her. "Hastings, stay with Bryson and Hopkins. We'll move up ahead and find out what the Reapers are up to." Nodding, Hastings remained where he was, while Shepard and the others moved up ahead.
"I was at another dig site when the attack began," Bryson informed them as they moved through a rocky grotto carved into the cliffside.. "I got back as quickly as I could, but… what's happening?"
"Shepard, look," Kaidan interrupted.
Looking up, Shepard spotted what Kaidan was referring to. On the cliff wall where they were at, he spotted what he realized were tribal paintings. The paintings showed a group of humanoid aliens that seemed to be paying tribute to some kind of creature. It was similar in shape to a Reaper, but there were a few differences. For one thing, it looked more organic in shape, and it was painted in multiple colors, all of which were faded by the passage of time.
"I'm not sure," Shepard told Bryson, "but it might have to do with some of these paintings. Is that Leviathan?"
"Yes…," Bryson nodded. "Yes, we think so. It's old, much older than my father thought. And there, the natives acting as if under it's control. Clearly a Reaper, but acting alone. Not like any Reaper we've seen before."
"Maybe it's not a Reaper," Hastings frowned. "Maybe it's whatever created the Reapers, or a species that avoided total assimilation. We won't know until we find out more."
"Doctor, I understand that you found something recently," Shepard added.
"The artifact, of course," Bryson nodded. "Incredible. It's just up ahead."
"Alright. Stay with Hastings. We'll take care of it." With that, Shepard and the team moved ahead. Hopkins and Bryson also moved ahead, though they did so since Hastings was escorting them, rifle pointed at any nook and cranny.
"It may sound strange, but I'm certain it affects people – their behavior," Ann informed them. "I've only had a short time to study it."
"Not strange at all," Shepard nodded. "Did you find anything?"
"Not much, but I did learn something about the energy it ge -"
"Get down!" Hastings informed her, pushing her into cover. "Reaper troops up ahead!"
Looking ahead, Shepard spotted the Reaper troops, who where standing near a series of platforms and buildings that were built into a overhang in the cliffside. To his surprise, they were near a glassy orb that looked identical to the one in the lab. A Reaper Marauder was projecting some kind of beam into the artifact, while others were actively scanning it. "What are they doing?"
"I don't know," Hastings frowned, "but I doubt it's anything good."
"They've activated it somehow," Bryson noted. "I've never imagined anything -" A moment later, she stopped talking. Hastings then spotted her eyes becoming glazed over.
"Oh, shit!" he frowned. "I think Bryson's hung around it too long."
"Aw, crap," Shepard groaned. "Not this shit again." Just as he said this, Ann began moving towards the orb, her movements jerky and uncoordinated.
"Not this time!" Hastings shouted. Launching himself upright, he quickly grabbed Bryson and hauled her over, gritting his teeth as she struggled. "Edward!" he shouted.
"I got her!" Edward replied, holding her still. "Bryson! BRYSON, WAKE UP!"
"They've learned too well," Bryson said in a monotone voice. "The darkness cannot be breached…"
"Take it out!" Shepard shouted.
"Got it!" Hastings shouted, firing the grenade launcher on his M61B. There was a BLOOP as the grenade fired, before smashing into the artifact. Moments later, it exploded, along with the grenade, killing the Reaper Marauders fiddling with it. "Target destroyed!"
At the same moment, Bryson slumped, before she quickly started awake. "I… what…?" she asked.
"No time now!" Shepard replied. "We have to get out of here!" Spotting a landing pad nearby, he keyed his comms and said, "Cortez, we have Ann Bryson! Need a pickup!"
"On my way!" Cortez shouted. "The TDF forces have cleared a route through. ETA: 30 seconds!"
"Roger that," Shepard replied. Just thirty seconds later, he watched as the Kodiak II flew into view. Looking in the shuttle's direction, Shepard could see that the ASF's from the Fury II had destroyed most of the Reaper forces marauding the dig site. A few ASF's had retreated, and he could see one smoldering on the ground. We lost a few, he frowned, but we won the battle. As they loaded up, he knew one thing: the search for Leviathan was really starting to ramp up.
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you.
SulliMike23: I agree. It certainly gave the Baron-class of WarShips a proper thrashing.
Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.
RandomReader: Yes, he will.
Guest: Thank you.
.nimrod: Thank you. I figured that the Marauder would be a good match for Shepard. Much like him, it is capable of performing well in a variety of roles, be it long range sniping, or close range brawling.
Axccel: I know. BioWare didn't really do their research when it comes to protein chirality. In fact, sugar is a D-amino acid based substance, but the human body is designed to break down D-amino acid substances into L-amino acids. As such, if you were to eat Turian food, it would actually taste like mint or sugar. In addition, your reasoning on why ComStar made a bad decision in capturing Liara makes sense. It only motivated Shepard to kick ComStar's ass and to get Liara back home. Also, thanks for the tip on lasers. I didn't know they produced that kind of a sound. I'll definitely be making edits. Thank you for your wonderful feedback.