Chapter 10
I don't own any of the Mass Effect games
Again sorry for the short and overdue chapter. I didn't say this but one of the reasons it took so long is I stopped writing during my lunch breaks but even then it still feels like I writing slower than normal. I also replayed through mass effect Andromeda, I wanted to redo my romance with Vetra and try to get some ideas, also I think is shorter than mass effect 1. I usually used Sidewinder...holy shit is it bad with vintage heat sinks so I switched to N7 eagle, though I'll probably give it another go when I get a mod to increase the mag size more.
Hope everyone is still liking my story and let me know if that changes
Hey Azin Jin, Shiala will not be coming onto the Normandy but she will have an important role like you guessed in a couple chapters
Story start
Landing on Feros, Shepard, Wrex, Kaiden and Tali left the ship, however less than 20 minutes later
"All ground crew report for duty and be on stand by." came the voice of Presely over shipwide comms
"What's going on?" asked Liara as she exited the elevator
"Shepard encountered some geth shortly after she left so we need to make sure they don't try anything and be ready if they do." answered Ash as she geared up
"Can't we just leave the docking bay?" asked Liara
"No, we might be stealthy but the geth will have a ship nearby and if we take off the geth will see us and it will be harder to give Shepard any support she'll might need later. So it's better all around if the ship stays here for now." explained Ash
"I see." said Liara
"Anyway, there are two points of entry, here and the airlock. Liara you'll come with me and Solana to the airlock while Garrus, Tristen, Alice and Callum stay here." said Ash
"Do you think we'll have to fight off boarders?" asked Liara worriedly
"Not likely, this is an alliance frigate. Light arms aren't getting in anytime soon, we just need to be on standby at those locations." repeated Ash "It's better to be ready and in place than running down here, arming ourselves and then running back up. Especially due to how slow that bloody elevator is."
After everyone was armed and ready we all left to take up relaxed positions and wait, and wait we did.
Over 30 minutes later the Normandy took off and our comms activated.
"The Commander has requested Mako drop off, Tristen and Alice ready the mako." ordered Pressley. With that Tristen and Alice hurriedly made preparations.
After the mako was dropped off the Normandy once again landed and we once again resumed waiting.
"Situation Red Alert! We have lost contact with the Commander, everyone to battle stations immediately!" shouted Pressley over the comms
"Spirits, do you think something happened to her?" asked Garrus
"I doubt any could take her out that easily, no I think it's more likely that the geth have managed to block comms." I answered
"I hope your right other." started Garrus before a barely audible bang was heard "...what was that?"
...
"Hey everyone I don't know what the hell's going on but I've got three people banging on the windshield." said Joker in a WTF voice
"It seems multiple colonists are also trying to forcibly gain access to the Normandy via the airlock as well. I doubt they'll be able to breach it with out the proper tools, but ground crew and security standby just incase, support staff lock all access and maintance tunnels down, if it leads somewhere lock it! Also, continue to monitor all trasmitions the Commander might try other methods to reach us if her Omni-tool isn't working. Joker, keep trying to reach the Commander." ordered Pressly "Lock air down to, recycled only, I don't want to take the chance that they have some sort of airborne weapon." commanded Pressley
"What in Spirits is going on?" asked Garrus
"No idea." I lied "Perhaps they want to use the ship to evacuate the colony and don't think we'd help otherwise."
"Hmmm." responded Garrus
For 20 minutes the colonists continued to bang on the hull and try to forcibly open the airlock with anything they had on hand with out success. Eventually both mine and Garrus omni-tools activated and Shepards voice came through
"Guys, long story short the colonists are under the control of a mind-controlling plant called the Thorian. Lethal force is not authorized unless as a last resort, speaking of which none of us are carrying rubber ammo blocks. Any chance you can meet up with us?" asked Shepard
"Afraid not commander." came Ash "Their jammed into the airlock like sardines and opening the door runs the risk of them pushing through."
"Can you reverse out and do a drop at or near my location?" asked Shepard
"No such luck commander, I've got at least four of the buggers on my windshield and I bet that there's more on the hull. I take off and they fall and as you want to keep casualties to a minimum..." trailed off Joker
"Shit, there's no way you can get out, say an access tunnel? Without those rubber blocks it's going to be a lot harder to go the none lethal route." asked Shepard
"I might have an idea, but I need to check with Ash first." I offered
"Okay, if it's safe go for it, if not hopefully us attacking one side of the colony will draw them off enough for you to get out. Preferably I'd like to attack two sides of the colony simultaneously but...hold on our passenger might have an idea but she'll need to check with her mother first." said Shepard "Also make sure at least one weapon uses rubber and another uses regular, there colonist out here not acting on their own will but there might me more geth running around."
"Passenger?" asked Ash
"Yeah, it's a long story. We picked up a civilian on our way and we're about to drop her off back to her mother. By the way we've got some good news, we managed to get our hands on a working geth assault rifle." said Shepard
"Really sweet." I responded "By the way this mind control...any sign that the colonists can resist or fight against it?"
"You think we can convince some of them to lay down their weapons voluntarily? Or at least long enough to make it easier on us?" asked Shepard
"That too, but I'm also afraid that some of them might try a more permanent not to mention lethal way of stopping the mind control." I said
"Shit you may have a point, we met a guy that seemed quite keen fighting off the Thorian's control. It stands to reason that there might be others." said Shepard "Listen I'll let you know when we're getting close and come up with a plan then."
"Sure thing commander, I'll head down and see what idea Callum has." said Ash
"Okay but if you think its too risky find another way or wait for us to get their attention." said Shepard
A short time later Ash exited the elevator
"So what's your idea?" asked Ash
"I'll show you, Garrus can you open the cargo bay?" I asked
"...okay sure." said Garrus curiously before opening the bay door
"See the platform, the same platform that the airlocks connected too?" I ask
"Yeah but its all the way over...holy shit you want to throw me over there?" asked Ash incredulously
"Not throw lift." I correct "I'll lift you over and when the colonists in the airlock see they'll chase you and allow Solana and Liara to exit the airlock without being swarmed."
"And can you do that without dropping me?" Ash asked worriedly as she looks at the ground, far far below."
"Definitely, it's not that far away and I've pulled or pushed things further, all I'm doing differently this time is doing it slower. Once your on the other side Garrus and I will cover you from hear while Solana and Liara make their way out the airlock."
"Fine, I'll go fill in Solana and Liara with the plan. I'll also make sure they have some sleep gas grenades to put things even more in our favour."
As we once again waited I wondered whether we would actually be able to leave and do anything. I understood that sometimes one had no choice but to wait but it just seemed that the entire day so far was all about waiting. Finally, though that wait came to an end.
"Okay everyone I've got some good news. Lizabeth and her mother were able to modify our grenades to release a harmless nerve agent, it's based on some herbicide or something. It should knock the colonists out but leave them unharmed in the long run. Also Tali has managed to modify a overload program to act like a rudimentary taser, sending it to you now."
"How many grenades do you have?" asked Ash
"Not as much as I'd like, we have 10 in total. We used a bunch to take out a small geth tank that seemed to be in sleep mode and that's all we had left on hand as well as what we had in the mako. I imagine that your loaded up on sleeping gas?" asked Shepard "And found a way to get off the ship with minimum risk?"
"That's correct." answered Ash "But we're probably going to need to resupply after this mission depending on how many more we're going to use."
"That's fine, just don't use them frivolously and make each one count as we don't know the exact number of colonists left. When things start we'll take as many out as we can using the our grenades and Tali's program, we'll be counting on you to make sure we don't get overwhelmed. We're less than 10 minutes out from the colony. So be ready to start by then." ordered Shepard "Also make sure one at least one weapon has normal rounds while another has rubber rounds as I'm sure there are more geth out there and rubber will do shit to their armour."
"Sure thing Commander." acknowledged Ash grabbing some ammo blocks and taking them to Liara and Solana
Six minutes later
"Okay Shepard is nearly at the garage so we'll start now." said Ash "But first I want to double-check everyone's load out, I've got two assault rifles. One with rubber and the other with normal and my pistol."
"Rubber for my sniper and pistol, lethal for my assault." said Garrus
"Rubber for my assault rifle, lethal for pistol. I've also got my bow and sword." I said
"Don't know why you need a sword when you've got a pistol like the one you have, I mean there's always an omni-blade. Okay Liara and Solana what do you have?"
"Rubber for assault, lethal for pistol and Liara's carrying the opposite." answered Solana over omni-tool "
"Okay good, I'm also carrying two spare blocks of each just incase I, or someone else needs to swap ammo blocks without having to take it out of another gun. Now let's get going." said Ash
"Finally, I swear it feels like we've been waiting on this ship all day." I stated, Garrus nodding his agreement
"And here I thought snipers and archers were supposed to be patient, able to wait for hours without complaint." smirked Ash "Anyway lets do this before I change my mind."
Lifting up Ash I carefully carried her over to the platform. Halfway there some of the colonists noticed what was happening and quickly moved to intercept her. Thankfully Garrus's sharpshooting took them out, they'd have a number of broken bones and fractures but they'd live.
Once Ash's feet were back on the ground things became quite a bit easier as I could join in the effort as Solana and Liara had no doubt already done. Liara's biotics likely proving useful in subduing the colonists without harming them. Sure enough when Ash gave the all-clear for us to join her Garrus and I saw a pile of colonists outside the airlock, it looked like Liara used a singularity to gather them together before a gas grenade took them all out. In total there had to be at least 15 or 20 taken out...just how many colonists were there?
"Okay these people should be out for the better part of an hour if not more." said Ash "Joker if you haven't heard back from us by then back the Normandy out and pick us up elsewhere, no point in repeating this all over again."
"Understood...hey, just to be sure no one fell to their death from the ship right?" asked Joker concerned
"No, one did trip but Liara managed to catch him." reassured Ash
"Glad to hear it." responded Joker
"Alright we need to head to the colony and from what intel tells us there is a ton of stairs ahead, so keep your head on a swivel and watch your corners." said Ash "Due to space I'll go first with Solana with Callum behind us. Garrus and Liara stay at the back and keep us covered with you rifle and biotics."
Continuing on we encountered further colonists, I wasn't sure if it was due to the connection they shared or by omni-tool but the colonists must have somehow raised the alarm. The first group was encountered halfway up the stairwell and were easily dealt with by a couple of gas grenades courtesy of Ash and Solana, after that they seemed to work out that being in a group or even just close together was a bad idea and decided to spread out more. Which is why the next time we were ambushed the colonists were shooting from multiple locations above us and not from a single one.
Using a pull I managed to snag a colonist that was in hiding and expose him to a modified overload from Solana that took him out while Liara used singularities to draw as many colonists together to be taken out by grenades. We had just finished with the second ambush when the third began, multiple figures fell from above and landed near us. When they stood up I immediately saw what they were...thorian creeper, at once they charged at us. One tackling Solana to the ground and trying to claw her eyes out while another round of gun fire came from above.
"Shit go lethal!" said Ash as she switches to her assault rifle carrying regular ammo seeing that whatever these things were...they weren't human.
Drawing my sword I swing and take off the head of the creeper, throwing the body off of her Solana gets to her feet and pulls out her pistol.
"What the hell are these things made of!" shouted Ash before her assault overheated "Shit Liara, Callum singularities now!"
Two singularities immediately appeared in front of the group and and when they had drawn in a number of creepers I detonated it with a slash, putting a bit more power into in than normal. While the creepers stuggled to their feet we started taking them out, my sword doing the most damage by far as I channeled biotics into both my sword and arms for each stroke, ensuring that each slash made it through the tough, plantlike matter that made up the creeper. The others however had a lot more difficulty taking them down with weapons often overheating at least once for each creeper they took down.
"What the hell are these things and why our guns doing jack shit against them?" asked Ash
"It is odd, usually anything that tough can't be lifted with a singularity...right Liara?" asked Solana, making sure she was right
"Yes and no. While heavy armour or even just weight alone makes it harder to lift a target there are exceptions, but whatever these are don't seem to be that armoured." answered Liara, looking at the creeper curiously
"So why were they so hard to take down?" asked Ash "And what even are they? They look likes the husks on Eden Prime."
"My guess there from the plant thing Shepard was talking about and the reason they were hard to take down? I think it might be because they could lack any organs that there are dependent on or anything we would recognize as an organ that is...I mean can you imaging how long cutting down a tree would take if you only used an assault rifle?"
"Yeah, but they still must have some limit or something they need to function as while they are torn up." said Garrus, gesturing at the large number of holes peppering the creepers "They are more or less still intact, in fact if they were from the Thorian why send the colonist? Why not just give these guys guns? Give them kinetic barriers and they'd be nearly unstoppable."
"Effort and efficiency, making and controlling these guys would likely take more effort than it does with the colonists. It costs nothing for the Thorian to control a new colonist while these things it had to...grow? As why these things don't have any guns maybe the Thorian lacks the fine control to do that? If it for example just tells it's subjects to kill us the colonists understand how to use and operate a gun on their own while the plant guys lack that. It's like a VI drone you made and programmed which has a small memory core versus one stolen from a shop with a much bigger memory core and a number of preinstalled programs." I reasoned
"Hmm, reason's like that might be why the husks didn't carry weapons either." said Ash
"I would have just said it was like a vorcha that didn't know what a gun was versus a standard thug who does." said Garrus
Just then a call came in for Ash's omni-tool, muted so it wouldn't make a sound. Answering it Ash responded
"I'm here Commander."
"Good, we just cleared the garage. I bit of warning we encountered some new form of enemy. They look like those husks on Eden Prime but they're a lot tougher which sucks. They look like a character from a game Kaiden played so we're calling them creepers, Wrex had to literally tear some of them apart as our guns seem less than effective on them." came Shepard's voice from the omni-tool
"I know we already encountered some of them, Callum seems to the reason there hard to take down is because they could lack any vital organs. It would make sense, even Krogans have organs they need they just have a lot of backups." said Ash
In the background, we could hear Wrex grumbling
"Something I said?" asked Ash
"No, Wrex has just been off since we ran into some krogan that worked for Saren earlier, said something was wrong with them." answered Shepard
"Didn't smell right, too clean. Also didn't act right, no normal Krogan charges silent like that." defended Wrex "Even the ones that like to use stealth don't act like that."
'Shit those must have been krogan clones! I wonder if I can clue Wrex into what Saren's doing to his people or at least that Saren did not have the krogan's best interest.' I thought to myself
It was honestly not until well after I finished Mass Effect 2 that made the connection between how the krogan in mass effect 1 acted like Dr Okeer's krogan rejects. I then remembered that the base on Virmire was apparently a cloning facility not a...breeding facility ewwwww. Anyway, when I made the connection I realised that the krogan charging silently wasn't a glitch or from the game designers forgetting to put the sound in but from the fact that they were cloned and were likely to be completely indoctrinated. It made sense really, a roar was a challenge, a declaration that they were there and would be heard. I clone breed krogan with no mind of its own and had no need of such things.
Bit of a short chapter but having bit of a dry spell and didn't think I could add too much more any time soon