Chapter 24
Night fell on Virmire and Shepard had a lot to process about the day. She had the ground team take up camp on the beach with the salarians, in case of geth or krogan attacks. Safety in numbers she figured. But everything seemed almost too much to handle. She was just a merc, not some soldier. This was the biggest job she had to undertake. She felt out of her league. Yet she pushed forward. She had something worth fighting for. Liara was a source of strength for the merc, and Shepard would not give up the fight.
Shepard sat on the beach with these things in might while the rest of her crew were spread out amongst two camp fires, most of them sleeping. She had agreed to help keep watch with some of the salarians until a shift change. It gave her time to think.
Anderson had explained his history with Saren. To think the Alliance Captain had been a Spectre candidate. And to think this Saren had always been a ruthless bastard. According to Anderson Saren was cold, calculated, he didn't care if someone died. In fact it sounded like Saren only rushed death to anyone's door who was in his way. It didn't matter if they were innocent or guilty. He played executioner whenever it fancied him.
It worried Shepard. She had dealt with some ruthless people but the ex-spectre seemed to get a thrill out of killing. She sighed as she rubbed at her forehead. Never had she seen someone so empty of compassion. In her line of work it wasn't uncommon to cross murderers, but even they had compassion for someone when the occasion called for it. Saren seemed to lack any at all.
Then there was Kirrahe's plan. He wanted to nuke the facility, and they had been working on a bomb all evening that would do the job. It would take two teams to deal with this, and the Normandy would deliver the payload once the path was carved. She couldn't lie to herself, she felt concern over this idea as well. But how else were you going to destroy a base so massive?
The teams were already decided. Ashley would go with the salarians, along with Garrus. Shepard would take Wrex, Liara and Tali... Kaidan had volunteered to set up the bomb at the site. It concerned Shepard, having her crew so spread out. She had encouraged all of them that they were more than capable of handling this, but really she worried for them. If anything went wrong out here it could end in slaughter.
She looked at the time on her omni-tool, seeing that there was a few minutes before the next watch came along. Ashley was supposed to take her place so that Shepard could get some rest for the shit show in the morning. And just as she thought about it, Ashley came into view. "Time for some sleep?" Ashley asked, trying to sound humorous.
Shepard gave the Chief a small smile as she got to her feet. "Yeah, it is about that time. If anything happens wake my ass up, I don't wanna miss the fun." Shepard joked back as Ash laughed a bit.
Ashley then looked over at the camp. "Liara was having some trouble sleeping. She said something about the beacon from Eden Prime." Ashley said as Shepard frowned. Shepard nodded some as she looked over towards the camp, seeing Liara laying in her bedroll.
Shepard shrugged some as she sighed. "Yeah, she's had hell getting a full night's rest since the Eden Prime incident. Some nights are more successful, but most nights?" Shepard shrugged once more. Most nights Shepard spent trying to help assure Liara that sleep was needed and would lose sleep herself. But she wanted to be there for the asari, she always did, even before they had confessed an attraction for each other.
Shepard firmly patted Ash on the shoulder. "Anyway, keep frosty. We organics might need rest, but the geth?" She then said as Ashley nodded. Shepard turned and walked towards camp, heading for the bedroll she had set up. Once there she began to pull off her armor, feeling a sense of relief to get the stuff off.
She had been wearing it all day and had began to feel stiff. Combat armor was not light, and after a while it just felt ungodly uncomfortable. Once her armor was off and set aside she stretched her limbs, almost groaning at how good it felt to be out of the armor. At least for a little while. She looked over to Liara who stirred in her sleep, looking troubled once more.
Shepard gave a sad frown as she debated on waking the asari or not. But she did not have to make a decision as Liara snapped awake, sitting straight up, her blanket falling from her as she looked panic stricken. Shepard quickly moved over to Liara, squatting down as she gingerly rested a hand on Liara's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright." Shepard said soothingly as Liara looked to Shepard with tired eyes.
"I hope I was not calling out in my sleep." Liara said as she looked around at the others, who seemed undisturbed. Shepard sat onto the beach floor as she shook her head in affirmation that Liara had not been.
Liara sighed as she reached up, rubbing at her temples with both hands. The visions always left her with a bit of a headache. "The visions have been worse tonight." She confessed.
Shepard frowned. "What can I do to help?" Shepard asked. Liara let her hands rest in her lap, looking down. She was at a loss. She had no idea how Nicole could help. She did not even know how to help herself in this instant.
Liara finally looked up at Shepard with almost pleading eyes. "Would you... Would you sleep here, with me? I feel like it may be comforting at least." Liara said as Shepard gave her a small smile and nodded.
Shepard rose to her feet, gathering her bedding before moving it up next to Liara's, setting it up again before retrieving her armor and placing it on her side of the two bedrolls. Shepard got into her bedroll as she motioned for Liara to lay back down as she herself lied onto her back, folding one arm behind her head. Liara flushed some but laid down as well, resting her head against Shepard's shoulder as she draped an arm around the human's middle. Shepard kissed Liara on the forehead as she wrapped her free arm around the prothean expert.
After Liara snuggled up to Shepard and was settled they laid in there in silence. It didn't take long for Liara to fall back to sleep. Shepard, however, was still mulling over the day's events and what was to come. She could only hope things went smoothly, but she feared for the worst too.
They all hit the ground running. Both teams fighting on different paths, working their way towards the drop off point for the bomb. They had to disarm the AA towers as well to clear a safe path for the Normandy. They had to take this slow, but not too slow either. God knows what would happen if they moved too quickly.
For what it was worth Shepard was proud of her team. Tali, Wrex, even Liara were picking off geth and krogan quickly as they moved. They were all so focused as they approached the main facility, Shepard pulling up a map Kirrahe had given her on her omni-tool. She could see where the entrance was for the facility. The maps were a bit fuzzy from whatever jamming tech Saren had strewn about the place but the salarians were somehow able to piece together a mostly functional map.
"Shepard." Tali suddenly called out. Shepard looked up at the quarian who pointed towards the sky. Shepard perked a brow and looked in the direction Tali had been pointing in seeing a bunch of geth drones flying in the same direction. A few of them stopped, noticing the small team below but never even bothered to attack as they quickly flew away with the rest of the drones.
Shepard felt a little confused as all four of them watched the drones fly away. "Huh... Tali, what do you think they're up to?" Shepard asked before looking back at the quarian.
Tali shrugged casually but gestured in the direction the flyers went with her shotgun. "Geth drones like those usually have small fuel tanks... It's possible they are on their way to refuel." Tali suggested. Shepard couldn't help but smirk as she looked at the path before them.
The human looked to the others, her smirk pretty clear. "Alright, we already destroyed some comms equipment, maybe taking out a fueling station can help both us and the other team. Who wants to go have a look?" She asked.
Wrex gave her a big krogan grin. "I could do with an explosion." He rumbled as Shepard laughed a bit. Tali and Liara also agreed to the idea. Shepard nodded, the grin never fading as she raised her assault rifle and taking the lead. It might be a bit of a side trip, strategically, it would be a good idea. The less everyone had to deal with the better their chances of getting out of this in one piece.
On the Normandy Kaidan sat in the cargo bay staring at the nuke the salarians had built. With both teams on radio silence it was hard to know what was going on outside of the ship. He couldn't help but feel nervous about having volunteered. He had to babysit a nuke, something that was going to put a sizeable crater into Virmire. Probably big enough to see from orbit. Who wouldn't be nervous about that?
He let out a slow breath, looking down at his omni-tool. He began to wonder if he should try to write up a quick message for his parents back on Earth. He hadn't spoken to them in years. Had not seen them, heard from them, never reached out to them. After he had accidentally killed Commander Vyrnnus when he was a kid he just fled and never looked back.
It was an accident, but he still felt ashamed. He had murdered someone and he was too afraid to face the consequences. Too afraid to face his family. He was too ashamed of himself for having lashed out as violently as he did. He looked down at his gloved hand, balling it into a fist before allowing a small biotic glow surround his hand. Just as quickly as he called his biotics he had dismissed them.
When he had spoken to his recruiter about what had happened back at BAat, the recruiter said that they had never formally sought charges after him. It was considered self defense, and they never even thought to pursue him when the investigation was over. Kaidan sighed as he wondered if his parents would feel similarly.
He looked back at the bomb. He decided after this mess with Saren was over he would try to reach out to his folks. He could only hope they wouldn't be too angry with him.
Saren watched the progress of the two teams from his security station. On one side was a group of salarians, accompanied by a turian and human. His mandibles twitched with agitation as he looked to the other, smaller team, approaching the geth fueling station. The second team was lead by a human woman with fiery red hair, followed by an asari, a quarian, and oddly enough a krogan battlemaster.
"I have found more information about the Normandy." The asari from before suddenly said, breaking the silence as Saren slowly turned his chair around to look at the woman before him. "The Normandy is captained by a human named David Anderson. He has been put in charge by the Alliance to investigate Eden Prime, and he has a small group of mercenaries tasked by the Council to capture you." she went on, her tone sounding as though she could care less what she was saying.
Saren shot to his feet as he hurled the chair across the room, losing his temper almost instantly. "David Anderson, that pathetic insect!" He snarled, marching towards the asari, who still never flinched, never even feeling fear. He grabbed her by the face, yanking her almost violently closer to himself. "I should have killed that human back at Dah'Tan. He is always getting in my way!" He continued to snarl, violently pushing the asari away from him. She merely stumbled backwards before regaining her balance.
He turned away from her almost feeling the need to destroy whatever happened to be in front of him. "I will not let him go alive again." He said more to himself than anyone else. He then looked back at the asari, the anger obvious on his face. He tried to calm himself, but his rage was not dissipating. "What other information do you have?" He questioned, feeling impatient.
The asari looked him dead in the eyes. "The asari with the mercenaries is Liara T'Soni. Benezia T'soni's daughter." She replied calmly, but still sounding disinterested. This caught Saren's attention however. Perhaps this could be used to his advantage. If they survived Virmire anyway.
His mandables flared once. "Interesting." He said as he turned back to his monitors. "Go, figure out what they are doing and report back to me." He then said sounding much more calm than he did a few moments ago. He eyed Liara on the screens carefully wondering how he could use this to his advantage.
If he could capture her she could be another powerful force on his side. And a prothean expert could help him figure out how to use the conduit. She could help him locate it as well. Or perhaps she could be used as bait. But to what end he was unsure of yet. Perhaps to lure out David Anderson? He would have to think about this.
"Shepard really is crazy." Ashley muttered with Garrus at her side. There was a huge cloud of smoke off in the distance, barely noticable from their position as there was an obstruction from their view. They heard the explosion however. And felt it a little.
Garrus let out a chuckle as he shook his head. "You have no idea." He replied casually. "She wouldn't be Shepard if she wasn't causing a ruckus somehow." He went on, grinning. The salarians they were with all seemed unimpressed by the explosion off in the distance Ashley noticed. They were all shaking their heads and frowning.
The STG was more about stealth than frontal assault. And Shepard was anything but stealthy. Even Ashley had noticed by now. "Is she insane? Saren is going to know we're making a push." One salarian said, sounding rather annoyed. Ashley just shrugged her shoulders.
Garrus turned to the salarian. "Saren likely already knows we're making a push. He's not stupid." Garrus said, coming to the defense of Shepard. "Whatever that explosion is she probably did it with good reason." He added as the salarian shrugged his shoulders at Garrus.
"Enough chatter, we need to move." Kirrahe suddenly interrupted as he motioned for a couple of his men to take point. Ashley and Garrus exchanged looks. Ashley gave the turian a slight smirk before she too moved forward with the rest of the team. He sighed as he began to push forward as well.
"Ahhh, I needed that." Wrex said, sounding rather satisfied with himself as one of three fuel tanks sat in ruins and smoldering smoke and flames. They had dealt with the geth drones before he had decided to start spraying the giant tank with bullets, but Shepard knew this would give their position away.
She kept her gun raised and ready, along with Liara and Tali. "Better hurry with the other two before we have company." She said quite seriously. She liked a good firework show like the krogan but this was no ordinary mission either. She felt like a sitting duck here knowing that at any moment more geth or krogan would come to investigate what they were doing.
"Too late!" Tali said as Shepard heard the quarian's shotgun go off. Shepard spun around seeing a group of geth troopers coming into sight as Liara hurled a biotic throw at them. Shepard cursed to herself as she began to fire on the geth as well, hearing Wrex firing at yet another fuel tank before the whole platform shook, another explosion erupting behind them. Shepard cringed as she wished she had brought ear plugs, the resulting sound hurting her ears.
But she continued to mow down what felt like an endless supply of geth. "More flyers!" Liara called out. "To our right!" She added as Shepard quickly spun around, aiming hire as she began to shoot at the drones who were heading straight for the krogan. Wrex didn't seem the least bit concerned as he went to work on the last tank.
A third explosion, catching Shepard off guard as she ducked down a bit, losing her balance as the platform rocked a little more violently. Wrex roared with laughter however, seeming most proud of himself before he too spun around taking down more drones. "Nicole!" Liara suddenly shouted, catching the mercenary's attention.
Shepard looked over her shoulder from her near crouched position, seeing a group of krogan followed by more geth from the other side of the platform. "Oh I have become error." Shepard said to herself as she turned around, firing her assault rifle once more. She began to think this was a bad idea as they were quickly becoming surrounded.
Suddenly a massive blur of krogan rushed right by her, Wrex letting out a battle roar, but looking entertained as he charged into one of Saren's krogan, both of them grappling at each other the moment Wrex reached him.
Shepard couldn't watch the spectacle for long however as she started to shoot the other krogan who was charging right for her. Her eyes went wide as the krogan seemed unphased by her weapon, only shouting out in rage, her gun over heating. "Shit shit shit!" She called out clambering for one of her grenades on her belt.
That was until the krogan was lifted off the ground, surrounded in a blue glow. Suddenly the krogan flew sideways looking confused before he was flung over the edge of the platform and out of sight. Shepard looked over to Liara who did not look pleased that a krogan had tried to charge Shepard. Nicole gave the asari a cheeky grin before whipping out her Carnifex before going back to shooting at more geth.
"This is not good, Shepard!" Tali called out as more company arrived. Shepard looked at both walkways leading to their position on the platform as she tried to come up with a quick solution. She knew this was getting out of hand quickly.
Shepard looked to Wrex who was now stomping on another krogan's head, effectively ending their life. "Liara throw a singularity on the left, Wrex clear us an exit on the right, we need to get the hell out of here and fast." Shepard ordered. Wrex and Liara both nodded their heads as they went to carry out said orders. "Tali, can you hack a flyer?" Shepard then asked. "Get us some cover fire." Shepard went on.
Tali quickly brought up her omni-tool as she began to type hastily on it, getting control of a damaged but still functional geth flyer. "Got it!" Tali said. Shepard saw the flyer swoop in and started clearing a path with Wrex.
"Fall back, keep an eye on our backs." She said as they all began to slowly back away, picking off the geth as they did. Finally once they were on the cleared path Liara let off a new singularity to cut off any following enemies as they made a hasty retreat back for the main complex. Shepard had them all duck down under the bridge and into a small alcove in the rocks to try and lose anything following them.
She let out a heavy breath as she looked her team over. They were all in one piece. "Remind me not to do anything that dumb again." She tried to joke. Liara and Tali nodded in some agreement. Wrex just gave her a snort of amusement.
Alright, I am super sorry for the... two week(?) delay... I have been working non-stop since the last time I posted. 13 days in a row so far. I have been incredibly tired. I also had a tooth yanked this last week so that didn't help matters much.
I hope everyone here in the states had a happy 4th of July, and I hope to update again on Weds, but I won't lie, it'll be my first day off in two weeks so I may also be incredibly lazy and just sit on my butt watching movies... or sleeping lol.
Until next time =x
