John wandered the halls checking on the crew as the Normandy made its way to illium. He continued towards the elevator thinking about his brother and Mordins research when a voice rang through the comms. "John. Jack just headed over to Miranda's office for a little chat. You may want to check in on that." John rolled his eyes slightly and replied "Thanks Joker, I'll deal with it." As he turned to head for Miranda's office, Joker replied in his usual sarcastic tone "Take pictures."
John moved quickly towards the door as it flung open a chair flew out the door striking a nearby wall. John stepped into the room to see that both Jack and Miranda were both sizing each other up for a fight. Jack began to grow more tense by the second, as Miranda posed for another attempt. "Stand Down! Both of you." He bellowed and Miranda turned slightly to acknowledge John's arrival.``She denies that cerberus were the ones that Experimented on me at the paragia facility." Jack screamed. Miranda turned her attention back to Jack and replied "It wasn't Cerberus, not really anyway. " Biotic energy began to swell around Jack "That is a load of.." John stepped forward placing himself between them "Enough!" Both of you. We have to take down the collectors, then you can kill each other." Jack began to settle down as a smug smile drew across her face. "Fine by me. I can't wait to see her die" As Jack turned to leave, Miranda replied "Looking forward to it.`` The door closed leaving John and Miranda alone in the room. Miranda sat down at her desk and let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks John.'' Before John could say anything in response "ETA ten minutes to Illium" John replied "Thanks Joker" the placed a hand briefly on MIranda's shoulder then headed fpr the door.
The Normandy pulled into the docking bay on Illium as the ship landed, John headed for the door. To find Mordin and Jacob prepping their gear. John seemed a little shocked. "Mordin, what are you doing here?" he questioned. Mordin looked at John and smiled, "A few things Required here are easy to obtain, also needed fresh air, the ship is a little cramped." Mordin suggested as Jacob nodded in agreement "Couldn't hurt to see something other than a bulkhead." He jokingly replied. John headed for the door as they opened to reveal an elegantly dressed asari standing patiently by the entrance to the ship. She seemed rather pleased to see them as she bowed slightly. As she rose to meet their gaze "Commander shepard I presume." John nodded as he quickly scanned the hall. The asari smiled and added "mrs T'soni would wish to speak with you before pressing on your current business. John seemed surprised to hear that name as he let out a smile and said "I would be happy to meet with her." As the asari gestured toward the hall, John turned to face Mordin and said "You and Jacob head for the Markets. Get Intel and whatever materials we need for the mission." Jacob saluted and pressed on as Mordin smirked and said "Geoff is stable, but will talk later.
John and the asari headed down the hall towards a large commerce area where other species where talking and doing business. As they pressed on don the hall they came to a set of stairs leading to some offices up above. The asari gestured and said "Mrs T'sonis' office is upstairs on the left. John smiled and headed on up. He approached the door of the offices. He pressed the button on the right to signal his arrival. A chime echoed for a second as the doors opened to reveal a large office with a large glass window and a desk in the middle. There sat another asari in an elegant red dress. He entered the room cautiously when he felt something cold rest on the back of his neck. A woman's voice rang in his ear "You still don't check your six." John quickly turned and smacked the pistol out of the assailant's hand and drew his pistol. The woman quickly drew a second pistol and met the aim of Johns. The two stared intently down the barrel of their guns, when John began to laugh. The woman began to laugh as the two put away their guns.
John held out his arms and shouted "Jane! How are you? `` Jane smiled and moved in for a hug. "It's good to see you brother." John and Jane shared a brief hug before separating "Its been what a year. No phone call."Jane quipped. John let out a smile and replied "couldn't reach you. Called Anderson and he said that you went to train with the asari commandos. Apparently that was kept on the DL." he replied John turned to see that Liara had moved from her desk now to greet her old friend. John and Liara shared a brief hug "Its good to see you John." John pulled out from the Hug and "It's good to see you Liara, but sadly i'm here on business. Liara moved back to her spot at the desk and gestured for John to sit at the chair next to it. John sat down as Jane moved to stand next to Liara. Liara looked at John and with a smile said "what do you need." John leaned back a bit to relax in the chair and said "I'm looking for a drell assassin and an Asari Justicar. Jane's eyes snapped open "Did you say a Justicar? You must have a death wish." John smirked as he waited for a reply from Liara. She looked at her computer and said, We have an asari justicar that had checked in a couple of days ago. I believe she is somewhere on the commercial spaceport. As for the drell one did pass through customs but has not been seen since." John nodded and said "that's a start Ill have to look around. I thank you for the assistance "
John stood up, as Jane stood forward sharply and said "So what is this mission you are not telling me" John adjusted his armour slightly as he said "I got roped up in this investigation with cerberus. They are trying to Beat the Collectors." Liara and Jane froze in place at what they had heard. "The collectors. Now that you mention it I have heard that human colonies have been attacked." Liara stated as she began running through her computer. Jane stepped forward and added "Count me in." John's attention snapped over to his sister at the sudden news. Curiosity took hold as he asked "Just like that, are you not liaras Bodyguard?" He comically added to his quip. Jane smirked "I'm more than A bodyguard to Liara, you know that." John smiled and turned slightly to watch Liara begin to blush. John returned his attention to his sister and said "Well if Liara can spare you. You are welcome on the Normandy." Liara spoke up and said "Ill be fine you two, I can handle myself for a few days."
"The Normandy?" Jane asked as she stared down her brother, puzzled as to what she had just heard. a light chuckle escaped her as she added "You must have hit your head pretty hard. The Normandy was destroyed." John looked at his sister and said "Cerberus Rebuilt her, and well there are other things I will have to tell you later." John headed for the door as his comm began to beep and buzz. John raised his hand to receive. Mordin's voice rang through the comm. "Shepard, we have found a lead on the assassin. And his target." John paused to think for a second "Mordin Im Sending my sister Jane to your way to help acquire the Justicar and forward the Data to me I'll get the assassin." Mordin took a second before replying "Understood shepard." John turned to see Jane and Liara share a farewell kiss illuminated by the sunset glaring through a nearby window. Jane walked toward the door as John began "You are gonna get the Justicar, With Mordin and Jacob. At all cost we need the justicars help." Jane nodded "And the Drell?" she asked. John looked towards the commerce area to see a small blue car pull up. The doors flung open revealing Garrus and Grunt. "I'm going for the Drell. We will meet up later on the Normandy." John rushed forward jumping into the car as it began its climb to the towers.
The car rushed through the traffic zipping past cars and trucks whizzing through the air. "According to the intel Mordin and Jacob dug up, the target is an asari named…Nassana Dantius." John paused for a second to review the name he just read aloud. "Isn't that the diplomat that conned us into killing her sister," Garrus comically mentioned. Grunt sat quietly in the back seat as he grunted to himself. John looked out to the city and said "Maybe Nassana's days are numbered." John added as they approached the building. As they approached the landing zone they could see people rushing out of the building as shots whizzed past them. Garrus moved the vehicle a bit higher " The L.Z is too hot we are gonna have to land somewhere else." Garrus shouted as he began to move the car. John Smiled as he saw the droids move to a clearing. He turned to the back seat. "Hey Grunt, How do you feel about air strikes?" Grunt smiled and readied his shotgun.
A salarian rushed out into a large courtyard as a droid marched slowly behind him. The man dropped to the ground as he looked up in terror at he droid that was seconds away from sealing his fate.
"I AM! KROGAN!" Grunt bellowed as he jumped out of the car just over head, barreling down towards the droid.
He slammed the lump of metal to the ground listening to it snap and break. The salarian looked up at the lumbering beast before him as Grunt slowly turned and shouted "RUN!
The Salarian quickly rose to its feet and ran away from the shooting. Grunt looked down what appeared to be a large hall leading to a greeting room. "John down here! More bad guys this way." Garrus began to land the car as he muttered "he enjoyed that too much."
The trio made their way up the building facing off against any of Nassana's goons. But as they travelled there was no sign of their assassin. Several salarian workers all mentioned a man locking them up and killing guards but nothing really solid on his location or whereabouts. They finally reached a large door reading boardroom over the doors. The doors flung open to find three guards and Nassana behind her desk.
As they entered the room Grunt stood near the door waiting for more to arrive. Nassana paused for a second. "Just my luck. What do you want?" John stood still "I'm looking for someone, hopefully they will turn up." he comically gestured as the guards began to become uneasy. Nassana stood up as a man dropped from the vent in the ceiling. In a clear second he snapped the first guard's neck and shot the other two. Nassana turned to face the man as he was ready. She drew a pistol but the man deflected it with his left and drove his pistol into her stomach. He fired and Nassana let out a small gasp. The Drell laid her down gently onto the desk resting her hands upon her chest. He took a step back, raising his hands holding them together and began to pray..
"Impressive" Garrus muttered, John took note of the Drell before them. He was a fairly tall and slender man, well dressed, and well mannered. John moved slowly to the desk and said "Hello?" the drell calmly in a raspy voice "A small prayer for the wicked." John paused as he looked briefly at the asari. "Prayer for her?" The drell looked up and replied "No. For me. Killing is a nasty business and taking a life is not a task I take lightly." John, realising that the man was not a threat, moved a bit closer. " I want to employ your help to stop the collectors." The drell took a moment to assess the scenario. He looked at John and replied 'for you Commander Shepard I'll do it for free." John seemed shocked and replied " Excellent Mr.." The drell stood up straight, "Thane Krios." John nodded and said "we will meet you at the Normandy. We have one other member to recruit. Let's hope they are as eager as you." Thane moved towards the door and headed out. John raised his hand to his ear "Jane we got the assassin. How is the acquisition of the justicar?" a few seconds went by until a voice came over the comm. "John, we just made it back to the Normandy . We are awaiting your arrival." Jane replied with a bit of snark in her tone. Took a step towards the door when his comm buzzed. He raised his hand again to accept. "John it's Dr. Chakwas, get to the medbay as soon as you can." John rushed for the door with garrus and grunt in toe.
(Several minutes Later)
John entered the medbay to find Dr. Chakwas frantically mixing chemicals and Miranda attempting to hold Geoff down "What is going on here?" he shouted as Miranda replied "We have no Idea I was getting a briefing from Karin on Geoff's condition when suddenly he attacked." John rushed over to help Miranda. Geoff flailed around when he slammed his fist down on Miranda's head. The doors flung open and Mordin Stormed In. Karin shouted "Mordin!" Mordin rushed over to John reaching into his jacket, he removed a small object and quickly jammed it into Geoff's neck. Geoff suddenly went limp and returned to an unconscious state. Miranda took a step back and sat down on the floor. John moved to her and quickly examined her for wounds. "I'm fine John." She calmly reassured him. John rose up and turned to Mordin. "What was that?" Mordin held up the object and said " Sedative, needed a few ingredients, only found on illium. Lucky we came." John turned to face Karin "What is going on here. He was acting like a husk." Karin turned the monitor and showed A series of numbers and stats. "I was monitoring his synaptic pattern. Looking for any irregularities. All was fine, till about five minutes ago when Miranda arrived." John Moved to the monitor to view the results. He watched the log as it confirmed her findings. John turned around to find Mordin scanning with his omni tool. Mordin seemed perplexed at his readings as he kept to himself. John moved from the monitor to stand next to Mordin. "Find Anything?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm layered in his voice. Mordin continued for a second more ignoring John and with a quick turn he looked up and replied "Nothing to report all seems normal. Neural trauma perhaps. Possible mental incompatibility with neural tech." mordin rushed for the door as he continued to ponder the possibilities. Mordin walked through the doors of the medbay in a hurry "Will talk later! Shepard" the doors closed as dr chakwas sat in her chair. "That one really takes the air out of the room." She quipped in her usual joking manner. Miranda rose from the floor and added "I'm gonna stay here and help Karin with Geoff." John nodded in agreement
"We have received a distress signal from our long range scanners." Joker buzzed through the comms. John perked up "From Who?" He replied curiously. "Its Tali, I've set the coordinates." Joker replied. John quickly moved to the door as he shouted "Let's go save Tali" John rushed out the door and headed for the bridge.
"John, we are approaching Haestrom now." Joker remarked as the ship entered the system. John moved to Joker's chair and watched the data scroll on the monitors. "If i'm not mistaken..we should be in Geth territory" John noted as Joker switched the ships stealth drives on."well they won't see us coming now. You should probably get a team together. We are gonna have to do a quick drop off" Joker quickly suggested. John smirked "Page Mordin and Grunt. We will need the muscle in case the Geth are here." "will do commander they will be up shortly." Joker replied.
John stood near the bay door as Mordin arrived "according to EDI, the information i received indicates increased solar output, possible radiation spikes and maybe, yes..significant temperature increase above recommended levels." Mordin ais in his usual way. "So In short, Stay out of direct sunlight.:" John remarked. Mordin turned to face him and replied "Correct." Grunt walked into the bay loading his shotgun. "I hope we meet some geth don there. Been feeling restless." He grumbled to John. John turned to face Grunt and said "We will cross that bridge when we have to, just follow my lead and we will be in and out with Tali." John raised his hand and said "Ok Joker, open the doors." The bay doors opened as the warmth of the planet filled the room the trio hopped out onto and platform and began to move out down to the nearest structure. The heat bega to increase as Mordin started to scan. Grunt moved to a large rock and took shelter in the shade. Mordin watched his readings begin to peak in the red "New info, we should avoid direct contact with the sun. its possible our shields will overload." Grunt let out a loud snort "now that sounds like a challenge." John moved next to Mordin and said "A good idea lets move out and head for that building over there " he pointed towards a small building. The three moved quickly, keeping to the shade until they reached the building. The door hung ajar, John signalled to Grunt to watch the rear as Mordin drew his pistol and John entered the room. The two scanned quickly finding only a few dead quarians and geth remains. Grunt entered after them and closed the door. Modin quickly examined the Bodies "Dead. Three days. Severe gunshots. Plasma scoring and solar scorch marks on the armour." John looked over the room "No sign of Tali. she may still be alive somewhere." he remarked as he looked over a dead geth trooper. Grunt saw a small terminal on the other side of the room and noticed a small flashing light. He moved over quietly and pressed the button. A young quarian appeared "Hello is anyone there?": John ran over and recognized the quarian instantly."It's Tali!" He reached towards the console and pressed two buttons. "Tali It's John shepard are you Ok." Tali paused for a second and replied "John?! Oh thank the gods you are here just in time" Tali replied with some relief in her voice. "Tali we got you distress signal and are here to ghet you and any survivors off this rock, where are you." he exclaimed. Tali began to type and said "Im in a building on the far side of the complex. The Geth are trying to break in but i'm making it rather difficult for them.. Please hurry." she yelled into the comm. John looked out a nearby window and saw a gate begin to open. We are on our way, it looks like we have company." he remarked. Quickly he waved his hand and Grunt smiled ."Finally a worthy foe"
John moved to the back of the room as Grunt hugged a nearby wall. Mordin dove behind a nearby console and readied his pistol. He reached for his belt and pulled a small round object off the side. John signalled Mordin to throw the object toward the door. Three large metal soldiers walked in scanning the room. Mordin lobbed the object at the geth as it began to glow. It hit the ground and released an electrical charge stunning the Geth. Grunt and John raised their rifles and began shooting the helpless foes. Their metal bodies hit the ground with loud thumps. Grunt let out a laugh "Ha! They didn't stand a chance, let's find some more." John signalled for the team to move out. The trio made their way through the gates and found the open courtyard leading to the next few buildings. The open cover provided no real protection from the scalding sun as they made their way quickly using the overhanging pillars and bridges in the area as cover. While they made their way into the first building, which appeared to be a field garage. A sudden humming noise began to shake the building as Grunt turned to face the entrance and several objects struck the ground outside the door. The objects began to shift and stand revealing themselves to be Geth. "Hostiles! Ambushing from the rear." Grunt bellowed as he moved to cover unloading his shots at the enemy. Mordin moved to a nearby cinderblock and took cover as John turned to identify the Geth troops. "Prime units, Grunt take them down!." he bellowed.. Grunt let out a loud roar as he charged the first prime tackling it to the ground. John continued to provide support from a nearby table as he began to pegg off the smaller units that began to converge on the garage. Mordin quickly drew his pistol, opening the chamber he loaded the gun he began to aim as Grunt tore apart the Geth prime. A second prime moved closer to intercept. Grunt looked up at the tower of metal as it sighted him up."Grunt heads up!" Mordin shouted as he fired a round at the Prime. The round connected and began to spark. The prime began to wobble as its lights flickered, dropping its gun to the ground it fell next to Grunt with a loud thud. John moved closer to the down Geth as it finally shut down. Grunt stood up "what was that?" he asked while Mordin approached. "Experimental ammunition in early stages field test was successful. Designed to incapacitate, NOT kill." Grunt raised his rifle and planted a round into the head of the Geth prime as the sound echoed through the courtyard.. the two looked at Grunt in silence. Grunt looked at John then Mordin "What?" he curiously asked. John reloaded his rifle "We keep moving Tali is not here, to the next building." The trio made there way through the courtyard.
They moved through the buildings making their way to the other end of the facility, dispatching numerous Geth as they searched for any signs of life. Mordin took every possible opportunity to scan the Geth and examine the environment as Grunt and John continued to shoot down drones that passed by. A loud series of noises began to echo through the compound. They trio quickly rushed through as the noise grew louder. They reached a room where they found dead Quarians as well as Geth. A broken message ran in the corner of the room. Cautiously they entered the room scanning for any possible clue as to where Tali was held up.
Grunt moved to a door at the end of the room. "Where is the challenge?" he huffed as he looked around the corner to find a quarian hunched near an adjacent wall. "John! Over here" he barked as the Quarian quickly hit the ground as the edge of the wall suddenly exploded into a sea of debris. John and Mordin rushed around the corner to find the quarian kneeling on the ground. They quickly rushed to his aid. "Mordin scanned the quarian as he began to mumble incoherently to himself. The quarian looked over towards Jhn "You must be shepard. Tali Is in the building on the other side of the lot." He said as he sat down clenching his side. ``My suit is damaged but I can still fight." John patted him on the shoulder and said "No you stay here we will take care of the Geth." Grunt moved around the corner to view the courtyard. "GETH COLOSSUS!" he shouted. John rushed out tackling him to the ground, dodging a purple blast rushing past them. Grunt rolled to his side laughing "Finally some real action!" he bellowed as he raised to a knee behind a nearby wall. John rolled his eyes and quickly rushed back to the quarian. "You Must be John Sheppard, Tali spoke of you." The quarian remarked as he sat down "I'm Kal'Reegar I was assigned to protect Tali during this mission." Kal held one hand on his side as he spoke. "My suit is damaged but its no problem." John looked at his side and took note that the wound was not fatal. :sit this one out Reeger, we will deal with the Geth." Reegar nodded and leaned back against the wall. John turned to see Grunt taking pot shots at the Geth as they approached. "Mordin/" John barked as he moved away from Reegar. Mordin stood up as drew his attention away from his omni tool. "Shepard, I might be able to disrupt that colossus, but it would have to be closer." he remarked. John grew a tad worried as he cautiously replied "How close?" Mordin quickly worked some calculations on his omni tool while he muttered to himself. Looking up he cheerfully said "Nine Thousand one hundred and forty four metres." John paused and stared at Mordin with a look that could cut through a bulkhead "Thirty Feet,are you serious." He remarked in a harsh tone. Mordin paused and added "Give or take." John sighed, turning to face Grunt only to find a field of dead geth. He sharply ran around the corner to spot Grunt charging in towards the colossus. Mordin followed Shepard and further added "Krogan never ceases to amaze." John gestured for them to follow as they could hear Grunt cry out in a thunderous roar. Grunt Stayed behind some cover as the colossus noticed his approach and began to fire. John quickly slid next to him and shouted "we have a plan to disable that thing!" Grunt snarked at the idea and replied "No fun." Mordin quickly typed up the formula on his omni tool and prepared a round to fire. John nodded at Mordin to signal him to fire the shot. Mordin raised up and fired a single orange blast that struck the colossus in the base of the neck. Suddenly the colossus shields began to flicker and the lumbering beast fell to the ground. John quickly drew a couple of grenades at the machine's feet "Fire in the Hole!" the explosion sent the colossus to its side. Grunt Smirked and began to charge the lopsided enemy "I am Urdnot Grunt!" John lowered his rifle and watched as Grunt tore through the machine like a pinata. Mordin looked over in the corner and saw a small door with burn marks along the edges. "John, I believe she is in there?" Mordin shouted. John and Mordin left The happy Krogan to his new toy, as they approached the door they could hear what sounded like gunfire. The door suddenly flung open to reveal Tali at a console at the far side room and a few dead geth on the ground. John cautiously entered and said "Tali are you ready to leave." Tali looked over her shoulder to find Mordin and John entering the room. A sudden wave of worry flushed over her as she could not see Geoff with them. She looked back at the monitor and said "I now have the data, but what about Reegar?" "I'm still alive Ma'am.' John and Mordin turned around to see Reegar hobble into the room. Tali seemed more delighted to see that he had survived. "I'm so glad you're alive." she replied as she moved closer to them. "Reegar stood up slowly as he added "Takes alot for this old soldier to go down." he jokingly uttered. "If you want I can take the data back to the fleet. They seem to need your help with something." Tali nodded in agreement as she sent the files to Reegars omni tool she looked over at John and asked "where is Geoff?" John's face drew in concern as he had no idea how to tell her. "Tali Geoff is back at the ship." suddenly the comms cut Him off as Joker's voice could be heard. "John it's Joker we have a problem on the Normandy we need you back here Now!" John noticed the sound of gunfire in the background as he turned "everyone back to the Normandy, Tali ill explain on the way." He stopped and looked at grunt still ripping the colossus to pieces "GRUNT! DOUBLE TIME BACK TO THE SHIP!"