Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Mass Effect crossover.

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.

For those of you wondering, I edited the previous chapter so that I could answer any reviews that didn't appear due to the technical issue that happened last time. If you want to see my previous replies to your reviews, you're free to take a look.

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, WizKids, 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.

SSV Normandy

En Route To Rannoch

October 1st, 2186

Once more, the cargo bay for the Normandy was alive with activity as Shepard and the others got ready for what would be a very risky rescue operation. Kaidan and Vega were getting prepped and ready, while Edward was coming along once again. Once they were ready to go, they boarded the Kodiak II and quickly began flying towards the surface of the planet.

Looking out of a nearby window, Shepard could clearly see the planet in all of it's glory. Despite the battle that was raging over it's surface, he could see the verdant green continents, crystal blue water and cloud formations that had existed since Rannoch was capable of supporting life. Reminds me of what we're fighting for, he said to himself. A galaxy free of the Reapers, and filled with planets capable of supporting life.

For once, the interior of the shuttle was mostly silent, as everyone inside knew the mission there were undertaking, and the risks that were involved. The Geth have likely been trying to find ways to counteract our laser weaponry, he noted to himself. Hopefully, my laser rifle will still be effective against the Geth. The PPC sidearm that I got really worked out well against them.

Vega and Edward in the meanwhile were making small talk with each other. "You doing OK?" Vega asked Edward. "You're awful quiet."

"Someone has to be, what with the Quarian Admirals flapping their lips all the time," Edward countered.

A chuckle came from Vega when he heard that. "Wish they could let us enjoy the silence every now and then. Maybe if they talked less, they'd get more done."

"Maybe," Edward frowned. "Wouldn't bet on it."

Any conversation that would've continued was interrupted when Admiral Daro'Xen came in on the comm. "Commander Shepard? This is Admiral Xen. Have you reached Zaal'Koris' escape pod yet?"

"Not yet," Shepard replied. "What's your status?"

"The Civilian Fleet has taken significant losses since Zaal'Koris sacrificed his ship to destroy a Geth cannon, though not as severe as it could've been, given that the Federated Commonwealth and Taurian Concordat's WarShips are taking the brunt of the fire. Searching for their lost Admiral is the only thing keeping the ship captains from panicking, though."

"What makes finding him a priority?"

"Despite opposing the invasion, he did an admirable job protecting our civilian ships. Without him, some of our noncombatants are planning on leaving the Flotilla. Picture the consequences if you will."

I can, but I wouldn't blame them either, Shepard thought. Out loud, he said, "They've lost a leader in a war they didn't want."

"Their wants are immaterial," Admiral Xen said dismissively. "We are committed. Even Zaal'Koris understood the Civilian Fleet's importance. The invasion would be stalled without a supply chain, after all."

"I'll do what I can," Shepard replied. "Keep your civilians safe."

"I make no promises," Admiral Xen frowned. "My own ships must be coordinated for the final strike on Rannoch."

Shepard, though, noticed something. Whenever she spoke, he heard static, as though something was blocking the transmission. "I'm getting some static," he reported.

"It appears Zaal'Koris crash landed within range of a Geth jammer tower. You must disable it to contact him. Make sure to -" A moment later, her words were drowned out by static.

"Xen?" Shepard asked. "Admiral Xen?"

"Shit," Edward growled. "Looks like we're on our own for the duration."

"Hope the Admiral stayed by his escape pods," Vega frowned, "… or at least left a note."

"We'll see in a minute," Shepard decided. Turning towards Cortez, he said, "Take us in to the tower."

As they flew in closer, the sensor suite on the control panel Cortez was using immediately began to emit a loud and insistent beeping. "Enemy AA Emplacements Detected," the DIC reported. "Evade, Evade."

Just as it said this, the shuttle began to shudder, though Cortez managed to avoid the worst of it. "We're taking fire," he reported, even as he maneuvered around air-burst detonations. "They've installed the AA emplacements beside the jamming tower."

"We'll disable those on foot," Shepard decided. "I know this thing has long range weapons and advanced armor, but I'd rather not take my chances. Once the guns are out, you take out the tower."

"Right, Commander. Setting you down here." With the skill that an expert had, Cortez maneuvered through a series of natural rock formations before coming to a small ledge on the top of a cliff. Setting the vehicle down, he opened up the hatch, allowing Shepard and the others to quickly get out.

As the shuttle left, Shepard took a look around. From what he could tell, they had landed at the edge of a desert or savanna region of the planet, with this area bordering a nearby ocean or sea. Shrubbery was present in several areas, and he could see trees that looked like ones that he'd seen back at Terra in what was once the southwestern United States. The sky was dark, with nighttime having replaced what was once a bright day, with stars twinkling overhead. Moving along, he guided the team past a stone arch, and along a cliff side path that, according to his HUD, would take them closer to the jamming tower.

"Jamming towers, AA guns, rockets… Geth must've been building up an army for a while," Vega noted.

"They've had three centuries alone down here," Shepard agreed.

"Then I guess we're lucky they're not all wearing nukes for backpacks."

"Tell me about it," Kaidan agreed. "I remember when I had to disable a ComStar nuke at one of their bases. Nerve-wracking."

Just as he said this, Shepard made a motion to the others to quiet down, and it wasn't hard to see why. Up ahead, he spotted a yellow-orange glow, like someone had lit a fire nearby. Peering around the corner of some rocks, he found that the glow came from the impact crater that an escape pod was resting inside. He spotted a single Geth trooper that was scanning the wreckage with an omni-tool.

I doubt he's the only one here, Shepard noted. One Geth usually means that there's dozens of them somewhere nearby. Looking around, Shepard said over an internal comm-link, "I've got a single Geth here. Any others nearby?"

"I count two more, according to sensors," Edward replied. "One of them looks like it's carrying some kind of apparatus. I think it's a Man-Portable Flamer."

"That's not good," Vega frowned.

"The Geth with the flamethrower is top priority," Kaidan informed Shepard. "Our barriers are good, but they can't block napalm being sprayed at us. Orders?"

With that in mind, Shepard quickly reached his decision. "Alright," he decided. "Kaidan, use a warp on the Pyro's armor before you lift it, then Vega will take it out. Edward, remain on standby if any heavier Geth appear. Understood?"

"You got it," Edward nodded. As he said this, he quickly got into a nearby shrub, where he could remain hidden until a larger Geth came out into the open. Counting down with a trio of fingers, Shepard made a fist before leaning out of cover. Popping out of cover, he fired his M61B.

The Geth Trooper that he'd spotted earlier was the victim of his first attack. It's chest and head were torn apart by the pulsing laser beam emitted from the lens on his rifle. The loss of one of their platforms caused the other two Geth to come out into the open, with one firing at Shepard. The other hefted it's Man-Portable Flamer, ready to turn him into a charred corpse.

It never got the chance, as moments later, Kaidan sent a biotic warp towards it, tearing through it's armor before hurling it through the air. Vega, taking aim, fired, while Shepard neutralized the last one. Just as Vega destroyed the Geth Pyro, it sent out a burst of flame, with some of the chemical compound getting onto Edward. At that moment, Edward backed up and waited for the compound to burn out, while sealing his suit so that he wouldn't be burned alive. "You OK?" Shepard asked him once the compound burned out.

"I'm OK," Edward replied. "I sealed the armor before it could do any real damage to me. Still, I'm getting myself checked over when we get back to the Normandy. Some of those compounds could be caustic."

"Good idea," Shepard nodded. Walking over to the escape pod, he found Kaidan scanning a few bodies with an omni-tool. "Is Koris among them?" he asked.

"No," Kaidan replied, though his tone of voice was somber. "A ship full of civilians… They never had a chance."

"Fuck," Shepard frowned, his heart sinking at that. "Do what you can for them." Taking a moment, he knelt down with the stock of his rifle on the ground and paid his respects to the dead. Getting up when he was done, he said, "We need to radio Zaal'Koris if we're going to find him. Let's get to that jamming tower."

With that, they continued to advance through the area. As they did so, Edward said, "Hold up!" Pulling out his sidearm, he fired a single pulse from the laser pistol. There was a momentary bout of sparks, then he walked over and pulled something out of the ground.

"Shit," Kaidan frowned when he saw it. "Geth have mined the area."

"Good catch, Edward," Shepard nodded. "If you see anymore mines, disable them."

"You got it," Edward nodded.

As they proceeded onward, Shepard thought he could hear gunfire up ahead. Looking down below, he found that the gunfire was coming from a few Geth that were firing at Quarians near an escape pod. The Quarians were in dire straits, though despite this, they fought on like mad to survive the night. "Got some civilians down there!" he heard Vega call out.

"Take the Geth out!" Shepard ordered. "We've got some Rocket Troopers down there! Edward!"

"I'm on 'em!" Edward nodded. "Kaidan!"

"You got it!" Kaidan nodded. Using his omni-tool, he fired off an overload attack, stripping the barriers from one of the Geth. At that, Edward fired his M42C, blasting the Rocket Trooper apart with HEAP rounds.

The last Geth Rocket Trooper, though, spotted him, firing off a pair of missiles before Shepard destroyed it. Both missiles, despite Edward's efforts, smacked into his armor. The Lieutenant grunted as each missile impacted and detonated, though his armor withstood the attacks quite well. "Damnit!" he grunted. "Second time I've been successfully targeted. Is it me, or do the Geth have a grudge towards me?"

"Probably not you," Vega frowned. "I think they told their buddies what you're capable of."

"That's all the more reason to be cautious," Shepard decided. "Kaidan, if you see any Geth Rocket Troopers, they're your top priority. I don't want Edward being injured if I can help it." With that, he moved down the steep incline with the others and towards the Quarians.

"Thank you!" one of them gasped as Shepard came over. "I thought we were done for!"

"You're welcome," Shepard nodded. "Do you know where Admiral Zaal'Koris is? We're trying to rescue him, and all of you, if we can."

"I don't know," the civilian replied, though her eyes were wide behind her visor. "We were just trying to defend ourselves. The Geth attacked us as soon as we came out of the escape pod." Her eyes widened, and then she said, "One of us left in order to find the Admiral! If you find him, please bring him back safely!"

"We'll do our best," Shepard replied. "We've gotta go now. Stay here, and don't draw any attention to yourself." With that, the Quarian nodded, while Shepard and the others proceeded ahead.

Following a narrow path in the rocky terrain, they soon found themselves approaching a Geth structure. Peering around the bend, Shepard spotted metal walkways with some half-walls, as well as a larger structure. "That's one of the AA guns!" Vega noted. "We can disable it right here!"

"Good idea," Kaidan nodded. "However, it's got a lot of Geth around it." He pointed at four Geth that were visible from their position.

"I've got an idea," Edward suggested. "I can destroy the AA gun with a well placed explosive charge, or at least mangle the insides badly enough that the gun can't fire. While I get the charges set, though, I'll need cover fire, as the Geth are going to target me when I do that."

"Good idea," Shepard nodded. As he said this, he thought he heard an odd sound. Looking up, he could see small pinpricks of light that were descending downwards to the ground. "Looks like the DropShips are landing on the planet," he noted.

"I figured as much," Kaidan remarked. "Just before we left, Victor Steiner-Davion gave the order to have DropShips land on the planet. Mostly infantry, though there are a few Combat Vehicles to counter any armor the Geth have. Still, we can make their lives easier by destroying this AA gun."

"Agreed," Shepard nodded. "We ready?"

"Yes," the others replied.

"Good." With that, Shepard popped out of cover and fired his laser rifle, blasting apart one of the Geth. The Geth immediately retaliated, sending missiles and bullets in their direction. Popping out of cover, Kaidan fired off an overload, before using his own M61B to blast apart two Geth Rocket Troopers. Vega fired off his own rifle, while Edward waited until all hostile contacts were down.

Once they were, he advanced to the tower and, using his jump jets, flew up to the swivel mount for the AA gun. "Cover me!" he shouted as he detached the armored 'pack off his armor, and began to pull out some explosives. "I need a minute to plant the explosives!"

"You heard the man!" Shepard agreed. "Keep Edward safe until the charges are planted!"

"Head's up!" Kaidan shouted. "Incoming Geth!"

"We've got a Prime!" Vega shouted.

"Take it out first!" Shepard ordered as he fired on some of the Geth Troopers. "If we kill the Prime first, that'll disrupt their coordination!" With that, they began to fire, while the Geth Prime sent out periodic blasts from it's heavy weapon.

One Geth got too close to Kaidan, forcing the later to backpedal. Before the Geth could fire, though, a pulsing emerald beam cut through it's head, destroying it. Ducking into cover, Kaidan looked towards the AA tower, where he saw Edward holster his Pulse Laser Pistol before going back to work. "Thanks!" he shouted.

Shepard, however, was focusing on the Geth Prime. Ducking into cover to avoid another concussive blast, he pulled out the M20A that he'd been given on the dreadnought. Taking aim, he fired off a shot, with the high energy particle bolus smacking into the Prime's shields. That disrupted it's barriers, allowing him to get a clean shot with his rifle. And stay dead, you persistent bastard, he snarled internally.

It went on like this for thirty more seconds, with Shepard and the others neutralizing the Geth as they came. Just as he destroyed yet another Rocket Trooper, Shepard heard Edward shout, "Explosives in place! GET CLEAR!" Hearing that, Shepard and the others moved to the other side, where the Geth had been, while Edward flew down to them. Once far enough, he detonated the explosives.

There was a loud WOMP-BOOM as the pair of C-20 blocks that Edward planted detonated. The two servomotors that had elevated the gun up and down were shredded by the blast wave, causing the turret to slump all the way to the down position. The blast also tore the turret off the mount, leaving it dangling via some cables that snapped shortly thereafter.

"AA gun is history," Edward beamed.

"Nice work," Shepard nodded. "Now, let's head to the next AA tower."

"Yeah!" Vega beamed. "Now that's what I call an explosion!"

With that, they moved on through more of the rocky terrain. As they did so, Shepard heard coughing and gagging, which was intermittently interrupted by a moan of pain. Moving forwards, he found a single Quarian that was leaning against a nearby rock. Blood was seeping from a wound in his waist, though he still clung to life.

Spotting this, Shepard looked at Kaidan, who had pulled out a Basic Medical Kit, before talking to the Quarian as Kaidan did what he could. "You…" the Quarian gasped, "you heard my message? Sent out a distress call…"

"Radios are down," Shepard replied. "You a soldier?"

"Maintenance," the Quarian replied. "Dorn'Hazt. I clean engine parts."

"This place is filled with Geth," Shepard frowned. "You should have stayed hidden."

Dorn'Hazt winced as Kaidan cleaned the wound. "I thought I could buy the other civilians time," he gasped, "fight some Geth. There were so many… First time I've even held a gun."

"Shepard," Kaidan frowned. "I don't think I can help this guy. Too much blood loss."

"He's right," Dorn'Hazt nodded. "I've lost too much blood. Go, back for the Admiral. Destroy that jamming tower, and you can radio him."

"We'll find him," Shepard reassured him.

"Please," Dorn'Hazt pleaded, "listen. The Civilian Fleet didn't want this war. If there's even a chance that Admiral Koris can get us out alive…" he gasped in agony before continuing. "And my son… tell him… Tell Jonah that his… his father made it to… to the home world." A moment later, he gave out a final hacking cough, then he fell still.

"He's… he's gone," Edward frowned.

"Shit," Shepard frowned, though that sorrow was mixed with anger as well. "If the Admirals had only heeded the voice of the people, they might've avoided this terrible mess!" Taking a deep breath, he said, "Still, we can't worry about that now. We just have to get to that tower and destroy it." With that, they continued on, but not before Shepard gently laid Dorn'Hazt's body on the ground and covered the body with some rocks, a process that only took two minutes to complete.

Moving up, they found themselves approaching the jamming tower. The jamming tower was a large tower that extended upwards into the air for about fifty meters, with two arm-like appendages on either side. It was built into the cliff-side, with a series of walkways that were anchored into the cliff walls. The tower was also built into another structure, with this structure being a building that jutted out from the cliff wall. Two more AA guns were present on either side, and the sensor readouts on Shepard's HUD indicated the presence of numerous Geth.

As they moved up, Shepard heard a loud, whirring sound, just as Vega shouted, "Turrets!" Ducking into cover, he barely avoided being hit by a round that zipped over his head. Peering ahead, he spotted a trio of Geth Troopers, a Geth Rocket Trooper and a Geth Pyro.

Edward, however, spotted the problem, and quickly worked on neutralizing it. Using his jump jets, he quickly moved forwards, firing on the turret, while Kaidan neutralized the Geth Rocket Trooper. Flaring his jump jets again, he quickly shot downwards, landing behind the Geth that was manning the turret. "No you don't!" he shouted as he punched it in the head, crumpling the optical sensor before firing his rifle.

That distracted the Geth Pyro, allowing Shepard to nail a clean hit without the turret posing a threat. With all hostile Geth down, they advanced forwards. "James, you disable this AA gun," he ordered.

"Not my specialty, but I'll see what I can do," James replied. Walking over, he spotted what he thought was a maintenance panel, an assumption that was correct when he kicked it open, revealing wires and cables inside. "Cover me!"

With that, Edward and Kaidan got into position, while Shepard looked at the turret. Hhmmm, he thought to himself. How kindly of the Geth to leave this here for us. I wonder what it does. With that in mind, he manned the turret.

"More Geth!" Edward shouted as he and Kaidan fired on Geth being dropped off from an dropship.

Firing the turret, Shepard could feel it jerking under his hands as it rattled off, blasting apart a Geth Rocket Trooper. A small gauge told him that he had 80 shots remaining before he needed to swap out the thermal clip. Not as good as a Heavy Support Machine Gun, but I'll take it, he thought as he fired again. Spotting a Prime, he immediately opened fire, while Edward and Kaidan did the same. Under the onslaught, the Prime didn't stand much of a chance.

"Fuck!" Edward shouted as he ducked, with a missile flying over his head. "Fucking bastards!"

"You OK?" Kaidan asked as Shepard fired the gun again.

"I'm fine, but if this keeps up, I'm going to lose my armor plating!" Edward shouted. "James, how much longer!"

"Almost… GOT IT!" James shouted as the AA gun went offline. "We're good here!"

"On to the next one!" Shepard shouted as he blasted apart the last Geth Trooper.

. . .

The next AA gun was much easier to deal with, as they didn't have to worry about a Geth Prime marauding them. As Kaidan finished disabling the AA gun, Shepard pulled something out of his own armored 'pack. Pulling out a small shell, he loaded the flare gun he pulled out, before aiming it skyward and firing. There was a quiet PLOOP as the flare was fired, before it glowed a bright red-white as it emitted similarly colored smoke.

Cortez, spotting this, quickly flew over with the Kodiak II. Maneuvering the shuttle, he fired the ER Pulse Lasers first, cutting through parts of the structure with ease, before opening fire with the two frontal mounted Machine Guns. With much of the internal structure damaged, the Geth Jammer Tower fell apart.

One of the two arms was cut cleanly off the structure, while the 20mm Machine Gun rounds tore through parts of the internal structure. Halfway down, the structure was sheared cleanly off by a ER Medium Pulse Laser, causing the entire structure to tear away from the base, before it plummeted down to the ground. The top section detonated, scattering pieces of metal everywhere.

A moment later, Shepard heard a squeal of feedback, before comm signals started coming in. A moment later, he heard Admiral Koris' voice. "Dorn, it's Zaal'Koris," the Admiral was saying. "Are you there?! Dorn?!"

Keying his comm, Shepard spoke up. "This is Commander Shepard. Dorn didn't make it, Admiral."

"He didn't?" Koris asked, weariness in his voice. "I see…"

"I'm coming in with a shuttle. Where are you?"

"My surviving crew found a way to a clearing. I'll upload their location."

"Stay together," Shepard ordered. "We'll meet you there."

"No, the Geth have cut me off," Zaal'Koris added. "I hear another wave approaching."

"Give us your coordinates," Shepard ordered.

"Leave me," Zaal'Koris responded, again that weary tone. "My crew will soon be overrun."

"So will you."

"My people are noncombatants, Shepard! They'll be slaughtered! Rescue them!"

Hearing that, Shepard knew he was torn between another terrible decision: save the civilians and let Admiral Koris die, or save the Admiral and let his crew die. Damnit, he frowned. I don't like these decisions. Still, if we let Admiral Koris die, this war's going to grind on for a long time, but those civilians need help as well!

Still, he knew he had to make a choice. He frowned for a long moment before he said, "Admiral, I need you leading the Civilian Fleet if we're going to end this fight."

"Civilians?" Zaal'Koris asked. "Our entire people took up arms for this insanity! It's too late for us."

"It's only too late if you die down there!"

"You can't possibly think you can stop this war!"

"I don't know," Shepard admitted. "What I do know is that I can't do it without your help."

There was a long silence, then Zaal'Koris said, "Ancestors… forgive me. Uploading my coordinates."

"We're coming," Shepard informed him. Turning to Cortez, he said, "Deploy the Sperry Browning that's mounted in here."

"Got it," Cortez nodded. At the press of a button, a single, rotary barrel Machine Gun was deployed on a sliding internal mount. Folding into position, it came to a halt, allowing Shepard to make sure the chambers of the weapon were loaded. At that moment, the shuttle bay doors opened, giving Shepard an idea of what Zaal'Koris was facing.

Zaal'Koris, from what Shepard could tell, was pinned on the other side of what appeared to be a bluff, with the cliff being only a few yards away. Geth were firing on his position, while the Admiral fired back from a large boulder. Seeing the hostiles down below, Kaidan shouted, "The Admiral's outgunned down there!"

"Good thing I'm on the Machine Gun," Shepard nodded. Taking aim, he lined up a target before depressing the firing stud. There was a loud BBBBRRRRRTTTTZZZZ as the Sperry Browning Machine Gun spat out a storm of bullets. Geth that were caught in the Machine Gun's wrath practically exploded, as powerful HEAP shells tore into their mechanical bodies. "You're clear, Admiral!" he shouted as he destroyed the last one.

Spotting more Geth dropping in as Zaal'Koris moved, Shepard fired the Machine Gun again, while Edward fired grenades whenever possible. A pair of missiles zipped towards them, only to detonate uselessly on the Kodiak II's ablative armor. As he fired, Cortez brought the vehicle in lower to the Admiral.

Zaal'Koris, spotting his chance, immediately made a beeline for safety. Nearly tripping over himself, he ran as fast as he could, before he practically threw himself into the Kodiak II. "Welcome aboard," Shepard said to him as the shuttle doors closed, but not before he blasted two more Geth with the Machine Gun.

"Shepard…" Zaal'Koris gasped. "My crew! Perhaps there's still time." Heading over to the shuttle's communicator, he put in a frequency and said, "Hello?!" he called out. "This is Admiral Zaal'Koris! Does anyone copy?! HELLO?!" All he got back as a reply was static.

"We've got to go," Shepard added. "I'm… I'm sorry, Admiral."

Hearing this, Zaal'Koris' shoulders slumped, and Shepard thought he heard a silent sob. Walking over to a nearby seat in the shuttle, he sat down and clasped his hands together. "I pray that they found comfort in the homeworld's skies," he said somberly. For the rest of the trip, the shuttle was silent.

(Author's Q&A)

SulliMike23: Yep. It's gonna get messier before it gets better.

RandomReader: An excellent explanation, and it's one that I fully agree with. It's why the Federated Commonwealth has an edge over the Reapers. Not only do the Reapers not know where the worlds of the Federated Commonwealth are at, the FedCom didn't have Mass Relays, which forced them to diversify their technology and invest into terraforming technology once it was no longer LosTech.

Reikson: Thanks for pointing that out. I edited the previous chapters thanks to your feedback.

edboy4926: Thank you.

Bluesnowman: Thank you.

Just a Crazy-Man: Thank you.

galacticarmor2 Alt: Fair points all around. One must keep in mind, though, that desperation and fear makes fools out of all of us at some point. Fair points either way, though.

StarBorn Michael: I agree. I also had fun writing Victor Steiner-Davion's impromptu dressing down of the Quarians. Just so you know, a dressing down is a very harsh or severe reprimand. The fact that Victor Steiner-Davion goes that far shows how disgruntled he was with Han'Gerrel and the other Quarian Admirals.