Normandy Command Deck, 07:42 3rd May 2184, 23 hours after Batarian Assault
Jane Shepard, Council Spectre and 'Hero of Elysium'
"Well, this explains why we weren't able to contact the Asgardian Frigate pack about our concerns…" Looking at the sensor readings of at least one destroyed Alliance Frigate, and three smaller vessels that were probably civilian in origin, Jane felt that XO Pressly's comments were a little understated.
Given the potential threats facing them, and the communications blackout from the Asgard system after they had arrived into the Exodus Cluster, the Normandy had activated its stealth systems and left the Ontario at the gateway.
The Quarian crew had made some excellent progress towards making the Ontario a support type vessel, with enhanced communications, radar and cyber warfare equipment seemingly conjured up from scrap materials the away teams salvaged; yet, until it could be fitted with shielding and some defensive weapons, there was no way Jane would allow the ship into an active warzone.
So, the Mako was back aboard the Normandy, along with the entirety of their marine detachment, while Ai and the majority of the stored Batarian weapons were on the Ontario until the all clear was given. No point in risking casualties when they weren't needed.
"Registering at least three frigate level ships at the edge of our passive sensor range Commander, though they are all using planetary bodies as cover. Highly doubt those ships are friendly, probably the ones who took out the SSV Jackal here." Joker chimed in, his usual joking tone replaced by a steely edge as he navigated the Normandy around the wreckage.
"We will leave them for the 3rd fleet when it arrives, though if the Batarian's have gone this far, then there is probably less time than we anticipated." The threat of such a vital colony being annihilated was something that Jane couldn't keep to herself, even if she agreed with Naruto about his intent to keep the theory from the Council.
Captain Anderson had been informed, and had been coordinating an urgent but 'unrelated' military exercise for the 3rd and 5th fleet in the nearest cluster when they left the Citadel. The 3rd fleet wouldn't be partaking in the exercise however, and were probably making their way to the Exodus Cluster as fast as they could, whilst the 5th fleet were preparing for any offensive maneuvers from the Hegemony itself.
Admiral Singh, the 3rd fleet's Commander, would probably be on the first ship to come storming into the Asgard cluster. A former N5 operative turned ship captain, before the meteoric rise to Admiral that had broken pretty much every record around, Nitesh Singh was one of the few members of Alliance Brass that Jane actually had the time of day for.
"I don't think time is the primary concern here Commander." Pressly's voice was tight as he transferred something to the galaxy view, the readings taking several moments to mesh with the previous data he had sent before flaring into life on her screen.
Looking down from her Command position, Jane's eyes widened as she saw what Pressly was referring to.
"A Dreadnought! Fuck…" As they were only using passive sensors, as active sensors would require them to drop their cloaking, it took Pressly several more seconds before he shook his head negatively.
"The only known Batarian Dreadnaught, the Eeluram Prototype, is actually about 25% bigger than this… thing we are reading on our sensors. It could be some kind of 'Grand Cruiser' that the Batarians created after Elysium, but there have been no reports of any ship like this in any of the Alliance's anti-pirating campaigns…"
Which meant that either these Batarian 'pirates' had retrofitted a Cruiser in a Black-Market Shipyard, or the Hegemony had been successful in keeping some of their fleet strength secret even from Alliance Intelligence.
"We will be able to get better readings as we get closer Commander, but I am reading at least 4 frigates and several smaller craft as well as that 'thing', in orbit over Terra Nova. Even if we deal with the asteroid, that number of ships would be able to wipe the colony off the map before the 3rd fleet can reach us."
And the Normandy couldn't hope to deal with a Cruiser by itself, let alone backed up by other frigates, no matter it's prototype arsenal and Joker's flying skills.
"How long do we have until the asteroid reaches a point of no return?" Pressly looked at his readouts for a moment, before looking up and shrugging slightly.
"Hard to say Commander, I am not a specialist in sensors and this kind of calculation. But given the Batarian ships heading to the surface of Terra Nova and the speed of the asteroid, at least 12 hours."
Batarian ships heading to the surface? Jane could work out the specifics of that later, instead she activated the ship's PA system.
"All Spectre team members to the bridge! Get your gear ready, this one is going to be messy…" Jane highly doubted any of them weren't already suited up and ready to go, they knew what they had been getting into with this mission, but it was always good to be sure…
Deactivating the PA, Jane moved from the Command Post towards the Normandy's helm. She needed Joker to get them close enough for detailed readings on that unknown ship...
!"£$%^&*()_+
Normandy Command Deck, 09:15 3rd May 2184
Urdnot Wrex, Krogan Warlord
"As I told you Shepard, it's a slaver ship." The last two hours had been rather tense for all those aboard, well, everyone but Wrex of course.
He had been spoiling for a good fight since Naruto had beaten the shit out of him in that spar, and his first comment after reaching the Command Deck had not helped other people's mood.
"What my bonded is trying to say, as he forgets the rest of you aren't centuries old, and forgetting things like birthdays, anniversaries and anything else that doesn't involve a fight, is ships like that were much more common about 200 years ago. Can't remember what the official Batarian name for them is, but they are called 'Harbingers' by those that lived in the Terminus system at the time." As his 'bonded', and Wrex still had to resist the chuckle that came up every time it was mentioned around those that didn't know, clarified his statement, he merely gestured towards the now more detailed ship on the Normandy's main viewing display.
"Ended up boarding a couple of these in my time, either to rescue a target group or just because they interrupted my drinking…" Wrex noticed that most of the Spectre's team didn't even seem surprised at the idea he would get involved in boarding a Cruiser ship over a spilled drink, and he wasn't sure he liked having that kind of reputation…
Something he could worry about later, when the head bashing here was complete…
"They are about as mobile as an Elcor after a banquet, and it's offensive weapons are worse than your average Cruiser. But, it has enough shields to shrug off most ground based defenses and can carry almost 4,000 Batarians in addition to the crew, as well as their 'merchandise'."
Rather than the long and streamlined profiles preferred by most frigates and Cruisers, Harbingers were stub nosed and squat designs, more of a mobile space station than a fighting vessel. This was probably why they had dropped out of service when the Alliance had staked their claim on the Skyllian Verge, a Frigate Pack would make mincemeat out of such a ship without much difficulty.
"So not something the Normandy can kill by itself, but also not as much of a threat as the other Frigates in orbit. I assume that the ships going to and from the surface are transporting people?" There was a cold, hard tone to Commander Shepard's voice, which given her past was unsurprising.
"Most likely." Aleena weighed in before Wrex had a chance to mull it over, the Asari mercenary having been around long enough to have some experience in the ways of pirates and mercenaries.
"It makes a grim and disturbing amount of sense." Aleena seemed disturbed by the Batarian's actions, and her hand reflexively went out and up to her side, obviously concerned for Nora and her own past as a captive/slave.
Aleena's reaction, and the hurt that appeared in her eyes when she remembered their daughter wasn't there, made Wrex's blood boil in a manner that it hadn't done in decades.
"Bastards are assuming that, with the colony destroyed, no-one would investigate closely enough to realise the people had been taken as slaves." It was only when Wrex noticed Garrus backing away from him slightly, and the rest of the command deck staring at him with varying levels of concern, that he realised he had snarled his thoughts aloud.
Given he seemed to have taken centre stage, Wrex decided that he would take advantage of it.
"Enough talking! What's the plan Shepard and how many of these varren feed do I get to kill?" There were several nods of agreement from people around the Command Deck, and the look Aleena sent him was hungry enough that he felt his blood start to pump for an entirely different reason.
"Given the numerous threats, we will need to split into at least two teams. I will lead the team in the Mako to the Asteroid's surface. If we can't stop the Asteroid, anything else is pretty much pointless." Shepard was managing to restrain her anger remarkably well, though how much that was simply due to anger fatigue Wrex wasn't sure.
Between Saren, Cerberus, her sister and this… Even Krogan needed a break from being angry occasionally.
Discussing the business side of the mission returned the room to the sombre affair it had been before Wrex had gotten stoked up, nobody interrupting as Shepard carried on speaking.
"Whilst I would like to take the fight to the bastards on the planet itself, I realise that is my personal desire rather than any tactical reasoning. I will be taking Tali, Alenko and Garrus with me. Stopping or reversing the asteroids engines will require considerable engineering skills, and we don't know what other surprises are waiting for us down there."
It was a solid team, with Shepard acting as the powerhouse, Garrus providing ranged support and the other two providing tech and biotic skills that were always useful.
"Another team will need to head down to the surface, either to reactivate the colony's defence grid or to bloody the nose of their assault parties… If they can do both, that is an certainly something I won't complain about." With Aleena stood next to him, Wrex had to work on hiding the reaction Shepard's bloodthirsty smirk brought up.
"Though if what you say about this Harbinger is true Wrex, the defence cannons won't be a deterrent to it destroying the colony from orbit." Wrex thought about it for a moment, but he had to agree.
"If the defence grid is mostly intact, which given Batarian standard attacking procedure it will be, then it would be enough to scare off the frigates. The Harbinger won't be scared off so easily, and there would be a lot of casualties if the Batarian decided the slave runs aren't worth the effort any longer."
Everyone seemed a little disheartened by the news, as there was seemingly no tactic or strategy that would remove the main problem facing them. Wrex noticed the silent conversation going on between the old man and his pet plant, the two of them flashing through hand signals so quickly his eyes could barely differentiate them.
Naruto noticed Wrex's gaze a moment later, and with three last hand signs he turned fully back to the gathered group, face set in a stony expression that gave nothing away.
"Get on with Uzumaki, you and Corporal Mari obviously have something in mind…" Wrex hadn't been the only one to notice the side meeting, as Shepard's barked tone made it clear that she didn't have time for the old man's joking conversations.
"So, the way I see it, that big hunk of metal is the only problem. Can't stop the asteroid, activate the defence systems or kick these bastards in the proverbial nuts with it looming over us…" Naruto looked at the Harbinger on the screen and suddenly pointed to himself and Mari.
"So what if we have an infiltration team get aboard the thing and disable it? Take out either the engines, shields or weapons on the thing and suddenly it isn't a problem." There was a moment's pause, more so that people could think about the idea rather than out of shock any longer Wrex imagined, before someone pointed out what they obviously thought was an obvious problem with that plan.
"How do you get aboard the ship? The Batarians aren't stupid, the only way you are getting aboard is as one of their prisoners, and they won't let you board wearing armour or carrying weapons…" Xeveena flushed slightly as her question brought a round of chuckles from the assembled group, obviously not the response she expected from what would normally be a reasonable point, but a wave from Shepard stopped the chuckles before the Drell could get too worked up.
"Sorry, forgot you're new. Despite his usual showboating and hammer like bluntness, Naruto is actually the most competent infiltrator I have ever encountered." The combination of compliment and semi-teasing rebuke had Naruto frown a little, obviously not quite sure how to take Shepard's tone.
Wrex knew that the two had issues they were still working through, and given how pissed he'd been when Naruto had told him about the whole gang thing it was understandable. But he hoped they worked it out soon, as the two of them were a lot more dangerous as leaders when they weren't tip toeing around each other, like Krogan younglings when released from their creche for the first time.
"I'll take Mari and Kasumi along, be a good opportunity to test her skills. The rest of you can start wiping out the Batarians on the ground. Once we've created enough chaos on the ship, you can start up the defences and let the fireworks begin…"
Naruto stated the last comment in Wrex's direction, Wrex taking the moment to rear up to his full height before nodding. All of this small unit stuff against Saren and his cronies had been fun, but there was something about massed combat, which is what this would no doubt become that appealed to every Krogan on a primal level.
The fact that he would be crushing a bunch of slaver scum was definitely the main point though… definitely…
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Nova Terra Suburbs, 10:27 3rd May 2184
Ragat Urdar'kshen, Urdar Clansman and Leader of band 'First Spear'
"Encountering some feeble Monkey resistance, these pathetic creatures had to show some spi..argh!" Ragat would normally be happy that the voice of one of his warband stopped filling the radio waves with nonsense, the members of the vassal Friarch clan thought that boasting and mocking their opponents would boost their standing amongst the Urdar clan.
It honestly gave him a headache at the best of times, but this wasn't the first event of it's type in the last few minutes. Monitoring the radio, Ragat had noticed two similar events that made him slightly nervous.
"Fragan, where are these humans?" Given the rather chaotic nature of their raiding, Ragat hadn't been explicit in giving directions to the members of his band.
Given the lack of meaningful resistance that had been reported so far, he hadn't thought it necessary to go to the extra effort. Batarian raiding groups didn't exactly believe in discipline anyway.
"Heard a Heavy Machine Gun to the South East, probably caught the whiny brat by surprise. Bringing a shipment in from your West, First Spear." The voice of his brood brother and Second in Command made Ragat relax slightly, Lochtar showing his experience even if he couldn't keep his dislike of the lesser clan warriors out of his voice.
As members of 'The First Strike', part of the Batarian Combat and Raiding Doctrine, most of his command were younglings and lower caste members, so the number of rifles that Ragat could count on were not worth counting on both hands. They had landed amongst the outskirts of the main population centre on the planet, both to face less resistance but also to act as a buffer against any attempt at a counterattack.
The fact that these losses were mounting, less than half an hour after he had seen a human frigate of some kind land somewhere to the South and then take off again minutes later, didn't take an elder to work out what was going on. Somehow a human ship had gotten through the blockade and dropped off an assault party, and Ragat wasn't about to sit around and let them ruin his day.
"First Spear, back to the ship! We leave in 5 minutes! A few pieces of resistance aren't worth chasing down, the Karaz'darn (Sky Spear) (AN:This is normally used in reference to a fleet, but in this case, refers to the asteroid) will wipe them from this place." Ragat wasn't going to wait around whilst the younglings had their fun.
If they wanted to fool around, then they could stick around for when the asteroid hit. His Transports had already completed 3 trips to the Urdar clan ship, with over 800 captives and other riches that would boost his position within the clan. If he could get another raiding run in, before the asteroid wiped this pitiful place from the galaxy, he could stake his claim on a Dek'shar (Frigate) Command.
It was a more honourable position than this role, Ragat thought imperiously as he watched the Batarians under his command arrive in disorganised groups, several of them herding groups of humans before them like the cattle they were. It was clear that the resistance to their attacks was getting more organised, as he counted less than 30 of his warband had returned by the imposed time limit.
If they were actual Clan Urdar members, then Ragat would have felt humiliated by the 60% losses this run had suffered. But as it was, this just meant he would have to give out less of the spoils to the survivors and keep them for his own Riflemen.
Seeing Lochtar approach, his organised force of 10 Urdar clansmen forcing a mixed group of 100 humans and other aliens with them, Ragat moved from his position at the base of the transport ship to greet them.
"A good haul Ak (Second)! I see you even managed to get some males this time! They will sell well on the colony worlds. Any trouble?" Lochtar shook his head before pausing and waving his left hand behind him.
"There was an attempted ambush as we started to return, but our organised fire drove them off without casualties. These Kra'tash do not have the stomach to resist us, which is a shame. There used to be glory in combating these creatures." As the humans and other captives were corralled past him and onto the transport, Ragat's eyes focussed on the sole Asari amongst their number.
Her skin colouring was of a lighter blue colour than the other blue skins he had encountered before, and despite being captured there was a clear defiance in her posture, glaring at one of the Urdar clan members when he growled something at her as she passed.
He hadn't had an Asari pet before, and the stubborn ones were always the most fun.
"Pilot, any news from the other warbands?" If the other warbands were gathering as many slaves as his own team were, then there might not be space on the Svyatyagor (Goro the Second/Battleship) for another run.
Though they could use it as an excuse to cull the weaker members of their spoils and destroy their morale at the same time… Something he could suggest when he was back on the ship…
"First Sword and First Blade have been forced to withdraw with heavy casualties, reports indicate a Krogan was the cause, but reports are limited. First Shield has been deployed to deal with the fish before it can cause any further trouble." Ragat tilted his head to the left slightly as he sent a small prayer to the gods.
Krogan were one of the few races that the Batarians tried to avoid when on raiding missions, the brutes were far too much effort for any potential benefits they could offer as slaves. But First Shield consisted of almost 100 Clan Urdar soldiers who were actually experienced combatants. Whilst not the Urdar core fighters who were plundering the main part of Terra Nova, they should be able to take care of a single Krogan, even if it was probably prompting some of the humans to actually resist as well.
"Get the coordinates of the Krogan. We will avoid the area if we return, no point in gaining the Shmila's attention if we don't need to." As he released the connection to the pilot, Ragat paused whilst turning to head onto the ship.
For a moment, he thought he had seen a distortion in the dust and smoke of the surrounding area. But after staring for a moment longer he shrugged the feeling off, it must have just been the wind…
Harbinger Hangar, 11:00 3rd May 2184
Shiala, Asari Commando and Former Acolyte of Benezia
"Quiet down maggots!" Shiala had to utilise the decades of training that she had undergone as an Asari Commando to remain patient and unthreatening, torn between anger at what the Batarians were doing it, and scorn for how badly they were doing it.
Looking away from the Batarian at the front of their group, who was clearly in charge given how many orders he was giving as they were moved off the transport ship and onto the Harbinger, Shiala's eyes fell upon the group of five men wearing baggy overalls and work gear, stood in a semi-protective stance around the children that had been gathered by the raid.
None of the Batarians had questioned why there were several more 'spoils' amongst their plunder after the 'ambush' that had been created as a distraction, and they hadn't even checked the slaves for weapons before they boarded the transport.
Admittedly she only had a small hold out pistol rather than her usual arsenal. But given she had spent almost a month in a cell aboard the Spectre's transport ship, having a weapon and being allowed to enter combat against slaver scum was like a balm on her soul.
Dealing with the more… unusual members of the Spectre's team was something she still wasn't used to, as she looked at the blonde teenager that had originally been one of the Thorian's clones of her. But, given the actions of her former Matriarch and her subsequent time being 'hosted' by the Thorian, Shiala liked to think that her capacity for dealing with such bullshit was better than it had been.
The fact the presence of the Thorian clone stopped the headaches she had been having with slowly growing intensity, and seemed to stabilise and strengthen her biotics beyond their previous limits, meant that Shiala could deal with having a reminder of her captivity around.
"Right, follow us humans, or die!"As the blonde girl suddenly straightened up from her nervous posture, a determined look appearing on her face as she clicked her fingers twice, Shiala realised it was time.
Whilst she had no real armaments, Shiala still had her biotics and Commando training. So as they were marched out of the hangar, and into the long angular corridors of the ship's interior, she made her way to the outside of the group of captives.
There were only 15 Batarians guarding them, a sign of overconfidence with how successful this raid had been, but there were at least a dozen others moving back and forth between different sections of the ship section they were in. Most of the guards were either at the front or the back of the group, and the plan was for the Thorian clone and the blonde human to deal with those, whilst she and the others would deal with the 4 spread out along column.
"Why have you stopped girl!" The shout from behind, the Thorian clone having moved to the back of the group and then stopped to end up amongst the Batarians, was the signal Shiala needed.
Unlike most of her sisters, Shiala understood the importance of subtlety regarding biotics, and the disjointed memories of what the blonde human had done to her Thorian clones had shown that brute force wasn't always the answer anyway.
Thus, the Batarian she snuck up on died to a silent and controlled Warp almost instantly, from the hand she placed against the back of his neck, before he even realised what was going on.
One of the disguised marines, a female that had deliberately separated from the male marines in case the Batarians had proved even semi-competent, caught the Batarian's shotgun before it could hit the ground whilst Shiala grabbed the body.
Lowering it to the floor as quickly as possible without dropping it entirely, Shiala was moving to the next target before the nearest captives could even begin to react to the brutal event.
"What the!" There were several thuds and meaty splats from behind her, and as Shiala pounced on the Batarian who had just began to turn around, the shouting began.
A strike to the throat crushed the Batarian's windpipe, Shiala disarming and shattering his kneecap with a biotic strike before leaving the scum to collapse to the floor grasping at his throat. Throwing the assault rifle to one of the marines, Shiala rushed through the crowd of captives to the front of the column. Whilst the Thorian Clone sounded like she had the rear guard dealt with, the blonde would need hel…
As the shocked civilians parted in front of her, Shiala found the Batarian guards slaughtered to a man, with a dozen black armoured men and women moving up the corridor away from them in complete silence. Only one of them remained, Skull mask only adding to his intimidating figure as he held a finger to his mask in a 'shh' motion.
Within a minute the fighting was over in this section of the ship, any Batarian found with a weapon drawn killed without mercy and barely a shot fired, the only reason the unarmed Batarians were merely captured was because they were most likely worker or slave caste members. Radio Jammers had been brought along by the infiltrators, so it was highly doubtful anyone had managed to alert the other Batarians aboard the ship.
Shiala had to admire the human's compassion, even as the 20 odd Batarians were herded into one of the nearby storage rooms by the marines, Asari Commandos wouldn't have spared anyone. The Skull masked human was directing the colonists that weren't too shellshocked into helping to remove the bodies and collect weapons and armour.
"Shiala, I need you to guide us to the Bridge. Kasumi and Mari will be dealing with the weapons systems and Sergeant Jax will be finding the other captives." The order from the Skull masked man made Shiala realise that he was in fact the blonde human who had defeated the Thorian on Feros.
He was taller now, and more broad shouldered, but that could just be the armour. She nodded a little unnecessarily, that had been the plan all along after all, but as those civilians that felt like fighting were given weapons and told to follow the now visibly armoured Alliance Marines she realised why he had voiced it.
Not only did a plan help calm those they had rescued, but it meant the civilians were less likely to volunteer to help. Given the strange and unique powers the blonde had shown so far, the less people that saw them the better.
"This way." Whilst the alarm hadn't been raised yet, the blessing of the goddess would not shine upon them forever.
Less talking and more action would increase their chances of getting spaced, and whilst Shiala suspected the Blonde had a plan to survive such an action, she did not have a the luxury of a full void suit…
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Urdar Clanship Svyatyagor 'Blood and Contempt', 11:05 3rd May 2184
Jagard Urdar'ken, Urdar Clan Leader
"The First are suffering heavier losses than expected Clan Leader, Friarch and Vogal Clans are reporting casualties of almost 40%. Most of these losses seem to be in the South of the City." The Urdar Clan member in charge of the Blood and Contempt's Communications systems, more of an overseer than an operator given the communications systems were actually run by Servant or Slave Caste Batarians, paused as Jagard snorted.
The weakness of the two clans he had brought for this mission was the exact reason why he had brought them along. Rumours of Urdar Clan's weak and stagnant servant clans were starting to spread in the Hegemony, and it was either use them and allow them to prove their worth, or stop pretending the two clans were anything other than meat shields and put them in their rightful place as Slaves.
The Communications officer, Blvar… Something, took his resumed silence as permission to continue his report.
"First Shield reported combat with Alliance Military forces, though the survivors are unable to confirm the appearance of a Krogan, which was what was reported during the initial attacks." Blvardok, that was his name, seemed to steady himself before continuing in a far more cautious voice.
"We, we lost contact with First Shield shortly after that communication, and there have been no reports from them for almost ten minutes…" Blvardok was cut off as Jagard raised a hand, biotic power shimmering around the armoured shock gauntlet that he had inherited when he 'inherited' the clan from his elder brother in ritual combat.
"And we haven't deployed our core raiders from where they are pissing around in the centre of the Colony?" Blvardok, to his credit, seemed to realise that lying was a bad idea and merely shook his head.
Jagard wasn't stupid, and his clan didn't have enough warriors for him to start killing people off for not thinking strategically. But if there was one thing he hated enough to ignore that point, it was liars and cowards.
"Tell Commander Harresh to send 300 south, the rest are to withdraw. We are only here to provide support for Balak's little terrorist plot, and that doesn't require us losing most of our available raiders. Have the latest group of slaves been subdued?" Turning his three eyed gaze, as well as the milky 4th eye that unnerved so many people, away from Blvardok to the Clan's Security Chief, Jagard's eyes narrowed as the Batarian woman didn't respond to him straight away.
She was instead speaking urgently into her commbead and typing into her console in an almost frantic manner, signs that indicated Jagard wasn't going to get a positive answer.
"We've lost contact with the returning members of First Spear, and I can't raise any of the security teams on Decks 5 through to 8. Deck 9 is still responding via consoles, but they reported a disturbance in the direction of the storage rooms. I've scrambled the main security teams." She stood, and Jagard was pleased to see that she was at least planning on leading the response teams.
"Obviously some of the raiders got lazy about searching for weapons." Gesturing with his arm, the four members of the elite Clan Guard he had brought on this trip moved forward.
Dressed in Batarian Blade armour, painted pitch black other than the bladed parts, and armed with Executioner shotguns and a range of biotic and tech powers, each of these Batarians was trained from a young age from the best of the clan's younglings. Casualties were relatively low, only about 30%, but only the very best could join the ranks of the Clan Guard, the other survivors were allowed to join the normal raiding bands with honour.
"The Clan guard will lead the response teams, I have no time for a few uppity slaves to ruin such a profitable trip." The security chief nodded, though as she turned away Jagard gave a hand signal that the Clan Guards would understand instantly.
If the Security Chief did not perform courageously in reclaiming the ship, then he would use the opportunity to promote someone new to the role.
Such was the nature of Clan politics…
!"£$%^&*()_+
Asteroid X57, Midday 3rd May 2184
Jane Shepard, Council Spectre and Hero of Elysium
"Away teams deployed Commander, though there are now several Batarian Frigates patrolling the local area. Someone on the ground probably reported the Normandy when we landed. We will remain on station here, judging by the frantic comms traffic we are starting to pick up, the infiltration of the Harbinger is going according to plan. Joker Out."
As Shepard finished listening to the comm buoy's message, the only way the Normandy could communicate with ground teams without risking it's stealth system being compromised, she felt a small amount of grim satisfaction at the news about the boarding party.
Even if they stopped the asteroid and prevented the colony from being destroyed, the Batarian Hegemony would just claim that it was the work of 'unaffiliated pirates and mercenaries'. If they could capture the Harbinger though, or at least prevent it leaving the system when the 3rd Fleet arrived, then the number of prisoners and amount of data they would be able to extract from it would make it much harder for the Batarians to try and hide behind diplomatic red tape.
"Any other snipers to deal with Garrus?" The Turian paused for several seconds, before shaking his head.
They had parked the Mako up not too far from their landing point, Tali detecting anti-vehicle mines in their path to the Fusion Torch control centre. Since then, it had been a constant stream of snipers, patrols and booby traps.
"Nothing here either Spectre. Given the number of hostiles we have neutralised, it is most likely that the rest are being held in reserve at the target facility." The voice of the Drell C-Sec officer Xeveena, who had volunteered to support them on the mission, made Jane nod slightly in appreciation.
Whilst she enjoyed the rather relaxed attitudes of Wrex and Naruto, the Drell's professional manner was something of a soothing balm on her psyche right now.
"Commander, the Engineers and I have managed to disable the 2nd Fusion torch with only minor resistance, is the route clear for us to move on the third?" Initially, Jane had been a little leery about leaving Alenko and Tali to clear the inside of the Fusion torch buildings.
Not that there had been much of a choice, given the number of Batarians that had either charged out from the main facility, or been transported down from the circling Batarian Frigates.
But when she had taken a pause in the assault on the first Fusion Torch's perimeter, to review how the storming of the building was going, Tali's camera feed had shown she had nothing to worry about. The Quarian had taken to the lessons Naruto had been giving all non-military personnel remarkably well, her speed and strength far eclipsing what it had been when they had first run into her.
There was also far more viciousness in the Quarian's actions than might be expected, the finger jab to partially blind a Batarian Shock Trooper that thought she was an easy close combat target followed by a kick to the groin, meant the Batarian barely able to groan when Tali finished him off with a shotgun butt to the head.
"Clear so far Tali, how are the civilians holding up?" When they had landed, they had detected several human distress signals from the area around the Asteroid Command Centre.
They had been too late to save one of the Engineers that had escaped the facility, but three survivors including Commander Atwell wasn't what she would call bad statistics. The defensive drones that one of them had managed to reactivate was certainly helpful if nothing else.
"Struggling with all the combat, though no problems so far. I really hope I wasn't that bad when we first met…" Tali trailed off, and Shepard imagined she had just realised what she had said and gotten slightly embarrassed about what she had just said.
As much as Tali had gained valuable combat experience, she was still the same socially awkward girl that was almost impossible to dislike.
"Commander, transport incoming…" Garrus' interruption broke the slightly lifted mood, and Jane looked up to see the ship in question moving off to the South West. Whilst the Batarians didn't know where they were currently, she would prefer to make it to the complex before getting involved in another space fight.
Whilst the quality of the Batarians they were facing wasn't exactly impressive, it would only take a lucky bullet through their kinetic barriers to make a difference given they were not in atmosphere…
"Let's move out. Tali, we are going to storm the complex, that should keep the Batarians focus away from you as you turn off the 3rd Fusion torch." Leaping from where she and the others had taken cover, as the asteroid didn't have much resembling a gravitic field, Jane landed almost 100 feet in the direction of the complex.
"Understood Commander, see you when these Bosh'tets are out of the way." As she made another leaping jump, Jane hoped it would be as easy as Tali was implying.
The chance to be the tip of the spear against these bastards was something that she had dreamed at since she had been a teenager, though that kind of role was never easy.
They made it to the entrance of the complex just as the transport locked into their position, which meant that they would have enemies at their backs, as well as their fronts. But as the airlock pressurised and air flooded into the room, Jane was just glad that they weren't at immediate risk of decompression any longer.
"Multiple contacts on the other side of the door Shepard. I am getting flashbacks to Chora's den already." Grabbing two of the grenades from her belt, Shepard tossed them the moment the interior doors started to open, ducking to the side as a fusillade of bullets filled the opening a moment later.
The Flashbang and ECM grenade went off a moment later, only the fact that her team's armour was keyed to the grenade's signal meant they were able to move freely.
It was a creation that she had commissioned the Quarians on the Ontario for after overhearing the end part of a discussion between Naruto and Wrex, about configuring some old suits into training suits by changing the programming of the movement systems.
"What the, my armour…" The Quarians had created a system that hacked every piece of armour within 30 metres, and as Jane bull-rushed through the airlock as it finished opening, she concluded that it would be worth every piece of Geth tech she had promised the Ontario's captain for her crew's work.
The Batarians in Light and medium armour were moving at a sluggish pace, and though several of them fired on her they couldn't keep up with her rapid charge. The Batarians in Heavy armour weren't even combat capable, several of them screaming as their servo's twisted their limbs at unnatural angles, the armour causing more damage as many of them strained to counteract the effect.
"Machine gun!" The heavy weapons, set up further back in the station, opened up even as Jane gunned down a whimpering Batarian raider whose heavy armour had forced him to perform an impromptu split.
The bullets scythed across the relatively small corridor, the now unshielded Batarians mowed down like wheat even as Jane's barrier took several bruising hits.
"Poor bastards." Having held a grudge against the Batarian state for her entire adult life, Jane was aware that even Batarians weren't 'safe' from their barbaric social structure, and given the disregard for their lives she assumed the ones near the airlock had been low level caste members at best.
As the machine gun fire shifted to the otherside of the corridor, Jane leaned out and prepped a biotic throw, the Batarian raider manning the machine gun screaming invectives as he tried to bring his weapon back across to target her.
The throw caught him in the face, even as the first mass effect rounds slammed into her barrier. Her barrier held for the first three, her shield taking two bullets before shattering after partially absorbing the force of the last bullet. It slammed into her shoulder, but didn't penetrate her armour, leaving several cracks along it's surface.
But as the Batarian was sent flying backwards before impacting the wall behind him with a satisfying crunch, Jane felt it was a suitable exchange.
There were several other Batarians at the far end of the entrance corridor, but one of them fell to the combined sniper fire of Garrus and Xeveena before they even realised their Heavy support was neutralised. With the two snipers pinning down the reinforcements, Jane scanned the downed Batarians quickly, the last thing she wanted was for one of them to recover enough to attack them in the back.
Of the 15 Batarians that had been waiting directly outside the airlock, only four of them were still alive as far as she could tell, several of them torn in half by the heavy fire they had received from their 'comrades'.
Of the survivors, two were probably going to bleed out before the combat was over, but the other two were only in light armour and had ducked into cover when the HMG opened up. Judging by the fact that neither of them were firing in her team's direction, Jane assumed the two Batarians weren't particularly confident that they wouldn't come under fire from both directions if they did.
"This is Commander Jane Shepard, Butcher of the Clans and Council Spectre." As she announced her identity in a wide band broadcast, Jane decided to use the name the Batarians used for her, rather than the Hero title she had been given.
She was trying to be intimidating after all.
"Drop your weapons and surrender. This is your only warning." Normally she wouldn't bother, especially with someone trying to wipe out a human colony.
But as one of the two hiding Batarians threw down his rifle into the main walkway, and proceeded to start arguing with the other Batarian rather fervently, Jane knew that the Batarians would be one of the few races such a view was actually reasonable. Despite her hatred of the Raiding Clans, her personal experience and research meant she knew exactly how many raiders weren't there out of choice.
As she moved up towards the location the two Batarians were using as cover, using her biotics to Lift one of the reinforcements in the air as she did so, her approach seemed to make the Batarian's minds up. They both dropped to one knee ,with heads tilted back and eyes wide open, the Batarian stance of complete surrender.
"Peace Spectre, we of the Galcvar Clan present ourselves to your mercy." Galcvar? Jane hadn't heard of the Clan, but given there were literally thousands of them in the Hegemony alone, that was hardly a surprise.
"Slave Clan?" There was a slight growl from the Batarian who had taken longer to drop their weapon, but after a moment she nodded her head.
"Shepard!" Garrus' cry alerted Shepard to the fact that they had to keep moving, and that left her with a choice that had no good outcomes.
"Are there others of your clan here?" The female Batarian tilted her head forward so that her lower set of eyes met Jane's, the upper set darting in the direction of the corridor when the Machine gun fire started up again.
"Here, and on the ships, we are the meat for the Clans." Shepard took a moment longer to think on the matter, leaning out to fire another throw at the slowly growing number of Batarians crowding at the end of the corridor.
"How do you feel about the chance to get back at your masters?" Kicking one of the downed rifles in the Batarians direction, Jane knew she was taking a chance, as the Batarians took their honour and caste system seriously, even those at the bottom of the ladder.
But judging by the feral grin that crossed the Female Batarian's face, as she kicked the rifle up into her grip, they weren't above getting revenge against those that sacrificed them like sheep...
A/N: Bring Down the Sky, part 1, my version. Whilst Mass Effect is still one of the best games I have ever played, there was always room for improvement in certain missions, this DLC being one of them.
Sending an Asteroid to take out a colony is a great plan, but it requires considerably more forethought and planning than has been highlighted in the mission itself.
I hope my version is a decent explanation of not only why the Normandy is the only viable ship for this mission, but also why no one from Terra Nova tries to land on the Asteroid to prevent the impact.
I've also tried to provide some backstory into Batarian culture, tactics and ideology. Whether or not I've managed to make them something more than 'cliche bad guy', I am not so sure. Let me know guys.
Part 2 will provide the result of the three missions (imagine having to allocate people to missions and having to complete each of them within a certain time period?)
Certainly would make a fun challenge mode where you gained/lost resources depending on the outcomes.
It will also have the Alliance turn up, the Council and other reactions as well as the shitstorm that is coming the Hegemony's way… With all the Saudi Arabia news going on, I am debating basing the Batarian response on that. Thoughts?
Regards and let me know peeps!
Defias out!