Chapter 26 – Heroes
The story thus far…
Twenty-five years after the Reaper War, a trio of Spectres board a ship on a mission from the Council. Following the activation of the Crucible, something spread on Earth, making it sick and uninhabitable and rendering most of it into a gray wasteland. Thessia then began to show the same signs and symptoms. As a result, the galaxy began to study leftover Reaper Tech in the hopes of finding an answer. The Systems Alliance conducted most of this research aboard their R&D vessel known as the SSV Hippocrates. The Spectres were sent to oversee the re-activation of a derelict Reaper core.
Things quickly go wrong, critical systems around the ship fail. Unlike the events of dead space, the activated core begins changing the crew into synthetic-organic creatures with the ability to change other organic beings into creatures like them. These creatures begin killing and converting the crew. The Spectres quickly team up with the ships survivors, including a doctor named Sarah Messner. Together they set out to find out how these creatures are made and to fix the ship.
They soon discover that the ship and the core was sabotaged by a group of saboteurs led by former N7 Thomas Locke. They reveal that these events were orchestrated to bring about something called transcendence. The Spectres believe that the saboteurs intend to convert everyone in the galaxy into these creatures. The saboteurs and the Spectres clash, and Sarah is killed by the actions of a particularly insane saboteur known as Olivia.
The Spectres are given a video by the insane saboteur. They play it to reveal startling information. Many of the Reaper Cores were made with a species that possessed DNA capable of infecting other creatures and converting them. Once the Crucible had been activated in the previous war, the Reaper DNA that kept this infectious DNA in check was deactivated, allowing this infectious DNA to begin to replicate and infect new hosts. A salarian scientist whom the Spectres met aboard the Hippocrates believes that this DNA is what created the creatures aboard the ship, and he believes that these potential outbreaks can happen on any colony world that was invaded by a Reaper possessing one of these infected cores. The Spectres decide that they have to destroy the ship and return to the Council with this information.
They fix the ship and manage to fly it into a nearby star, destroying the creatures onboard. During the final hours, one of the Spectres discovers that the creatures can telepathically speak to him. He doesn't care and tries to kill it anyways. Oh and he kills Olivia too for killing Sarah, who the Spectre developed an almost unbelievably close relationship with in the span of a few short hours in a plot very unlike the plot of final fantasy 7.
The Spectres and the survivors manage to escape and return to the Citadel where they tell the Council of what they have learned and begin planning how to deal with the danger of the infected cores. Cloud, the Spectre that the creatures spoke to, soon begins to have strange, alien dreams. In spite of this, he adamantly tries to make the best of his shore leave. He adopts Sarah's child, reunites with an old friend and fellow Spectre, and fights a krogan in a bar.
The Spectres soon learn that the saboteurs have unleashed yet another core on the planet of Anhur, putting its people in danger. What's more, an entire fleet from the Systems Alliance has defected to join the saboteurs. They are led by Locke and a scientist known as Mordred. The Spectres don't know why they intend to subject the galaxy to such a grisly fate, but they are determined to stop them. Anhur lies deep in the Terminus Systems. If they are to figure out how to stop the infectious Reaper Cores and how to stop the saboteurs from bringing about transcendence, then it is there they must go…
And so the story continues…
March 12th, 2211 – The Citadel, Docking Bay D-24 – Elevator 3-S
Six weeks after the events of the SSV Hippocrates
"Wish I'd had a chance to finish up my rogue," groused Cade. He tugged at a couple of clasps on his armor, rolling his shoulder to ensure that his pauldrons weren't attached too tightly.
Percival rolled his eyes. "I swear, you've spent nearly your entire shore leave playing Galaxy of Fantasy, like maybe fifty hours total in just seven days."
"Fifty-four actually," Cade corrected him. "And that's actually pretty tame for me. Hopefully we'll be done this mission before the next expansion drops."
"Hopefully I won't miss my daughter's first words or her first steps while were on this damn mission," Percival sighed sadly.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He turned to me and ticked a corner of his mouth up in a tiny smile as if to say that he was okay. It was times like these that I'd been glad that I had never had children, I couldn't fathom how Percival could always bear to leave them. I suppose that I'd find out soon enough, if I were to consider honoring Sarah's last promise.
"I'm sure Gwen will record everything, and I'll be sure to kill the saboteurs extra fast," Cade assured him.
The three of us were currently on an elevator en-route to the docking bay that the councilors had sent us encrypted coordinates to. There we would meet the ship that we would be taking and the crew that would be accompanying us to Anhur. Unfortunately, we still hadn't received word from the Council as to what reinforcements we would count with once we actually reached the occupied planet. I didn't fancy the idea of re-taking it with a ship's worth of soldiers.
Cade had on his black, blue and silver Ghost Infiltrator armor and his trusty Meera slung over his back. His Vindicator hung beside her and he had cleaned both of his Carnifex's this morning, both of which now hung on each of his hips above his arc grenades. We had all decided to meet with the crew and our team fully-kitted up in order to establish our authority and to look damn cool while doing so.
Percival's M-7 Lancer and his M-23 Katana were clipped onto the back of his massive set of standard N7 armor. His M-5 Phalanx lay holstered across his chest and a brace of Inferno grenades went in a ring around one thigh. He hadn't opted to activate his red Tech Armor, much to the chagrin of Cade, who'd suggested he do so to really wow the newbies.
My jet-black Ariake Technologies Armor with the baller navy-blue trim was slimmer and lighter than both Cade and Percival's suit. It did kind of bother me that Elektra would be wearing the same armor as I, but in her defense it was a fantastic suit, lacking the heavy arm plates that other sets had which allowed my arms more mobility for my biotics.
My Snakebite hung beside my own Vindicator and my custom M-3 Predator was prepped and ready to go. My knives were sharpened and I had purchased a whole crate of top-tier sticky grenades yesterday, six of them now clipped to my utility belt. I couldn't wait to try them out.
Now that that's all out of the way, at our feet's were also trio of black, standard-issue duffel bags in which we each had packed some clothes, data pads, knickknacks, and what-not. We'd been notified this morning that a lot of our more specialized mission equipment – rebreather packs, mag-grips, etc, had already been moved onto the ship's special armory, allowing Percival and I to pack extra personal belongings and for Cade to bring along nearly forty extra chocolate bars.
Cade decided that he absolutely would not finish the rest of the elevator ride in silence. He let out a happy sigh and slung an arm around each of our shoulders. "Spirits I'm so excited! The three of us on another mission! Flying around, shooting bad guys, blowing shit up—"
"—And stopping a bunch of crazies from turning everyone in the galaxy into space zombies," Percival interjected, "And figuring out how to stop some DNA from wiping out life on Earth and Thessia—"
"—hitting up bars on Anhur, saving people, hunting things…" Cade continued on.
"—not to mention trying not to get killed, finding out where all the Reaper Cores are, fighting off an entire renegade fleet…" Percival counter-listed.
I brought my hand up to my brow and rubbed it. My two friends went through their traditional pre-mission bickering, making it once again feel as if it were pilot episode of a very poorly-written sitcom.
It was particularly bad this time but that was understandable given the import of this particular mission. Cade had his coping mechanisms and Percival had his own. Sometimes they irritated one another with them—Cade irritating Percival with his overly cavalier attitude, Percival irritating Cade with his buzz-kill tendencies—but neither of them ever held it against the other. I on the other hand preferred to just fume quietly. Strangely, I felt more at calm and focused now than I had ever felt before a mission. Unlike Cade, I didn't need false confidence. Unlike Percival, I didn't need to beat myself up on the potential dangers.
A part of me secretly wondered if maybe the two of them had it right and it was I who was in denial about what awaited us on Anhur. The colony had a population of nearly five-hundred and fifty million people, all of them potentially changed into those horrific synthetic creatures. The Hippocrates had only had about a thousand of them on board and we had barely survived that. Not to mention Anhur was currently occupied by nearly a hundred renegade ships and several dozen hijacked planetary defense cannons.
They weren't good odds. Deep down I probably was afraid. That's why I didn't deign to stop or interrupt the two, because deep down I knew that they too were probably scared shitless. They needed this.
"Seriously Cade, aren't you even a little bit worried?" Percival asked.
Cade's blue eyes glinted as he looked at my friend. "Yeah, I am," he admitted. "But I've never fought well when I was scared, and I want to fight well where were going."
"I want to fight well, especially when both your lives are at stake," he continued quietly. The flanging in his voice had taken on a different tone now, and Percival and I both had to strain a little to hear him.
"Potentially a planet's worth of those creatures, guys. Spirits, I am shaking in my armor. I have no idea how the hell we are going to pull this one off."
Percival looked away guiltily, likely mentally kicking himself for bringing Cade down. Sometimes it was hard to remember that the younger turian was only twenty-five, despite being a galactically reknown war hero. Like all young men, they covered up their fear and insecurities with bravado, by being the loudest in the room.
He looked at me for advice but I could only shrug and raise my eyebrows at him. Between us, Cade had fallen silent, his shoulders slouched, and was currently staring at the elevator doors.
It's your mess, fix it, I said with my eyes.
The big N7 sighed and pulled the smaller turian into a broad hug, their chestplates clapping loudly together as Cade was smashed against Percival's beefy chest.
"I'm sorry buddy," he began. "Honestly, I'm fucking scared too, scared that I'll never see my family again, scared I might lose one of you guys… shit, I'm just scared all around."
Instead of pulling away, Cade wrapped his bony arms around Percival's broad upper back and leaned into the hug.
"I'm scared I'll fuck up, miss a shot, and get one of you killed!" Cade cried. "I'm scared that I'll never see Camilla again, that I'll never get to have kids of my own, and that I also might lose one of you guys… Spirits, I'm more scared of this mission than any other mission I've ever been on."
"—I'm scared I'll never get to have my wife's cooking again, I'm scared I'll never get to teach Tristan how to—"
"—I'm scared that I'll never get to play the next Galaxy of Fantasy expansion, I'm scared I'll—"
And on and on it went, both of them clinging to each other and (fake?) sobbing into each other's armor. I closed my eyes and rubbed the both of them with my hands as both Percival and Cade put all their fears onto the table for each other to see. It was unsettling.
"Cloud! Get the fuck in here!" Percival screamed.
I backed away as Cade's arm shot out to grab me by the wrist. "No, I'm good man, really—,"
I struggled and thrashed but there was nowhere for me to run inside the tiny elevator. With a tiny shout of terror I found myself pulled and sandwiched between two heavily-armored Spectres. Percival's chestplate dug into the back of my head and Cade's armored cowl was pressing painfully against the line of bruises that the krogan had left on my chest back in Steve's bar.
"We know you're scared too man, and we're here for you," Percival whispered quietly into my ear as he swayed slowly in place, eyes closed.
"Hold me Jack, just hold me…" Cade whispered quietly in front of me.
I sighed and resigned myself to the embrace of my two friends. Long ago I'd learned that it was better just to let them get it out of their system. I placed my two hands in front of my groin to from Cade from getting too uncomfortably close down there, but that only prompted the turian to move his two hands from Percival's back down to my ass.
With a chime the elevator door opened, and it was in that position that the four councilors and a platoon of C-sec guards found us.
March 12th, 2211 – The Citadel, Docking Bay D-24
Six weeks after the events of the SSV Hippocrates
"If you're all quite finished," Victus sighed, "we've taken the liberty to assemble your crew to the best of our abilities given the sensitive nature of your mission."
I shoved my two friends off of me and grabbed my duffel bag off the floor, striding out of the elevator past a pair of humans in C-sec armor struggling to keep the grins off of their faces.
Cade and Percival followed suit, with Cade taking the opportunity to shove his face close to one of the officers as if to say 'what are you looking at?
We all moved down the corridor towards the docking bay. The four councilors walked a couple of steps in front of me. The platoon had split up so that there was a squad covering each of the two sides, another at the rear and another in front of the councilors. Cade and Percival followed a few steps behind me, their backs straight and their faces now an emotionless mask.
"All of them have signed non-disclosures, although several of them had already told a few of their family members about what the mission will entail. It isn't something that we're comfortable with, but we're not about to start silencing civilians for knowing dangerous information," chuckled Victus.
"In addition," the turian councilor continued, "several individuals have come forward requesting to join the mission on the basis of some form of attachment with several of your pre-selected crew. Seeing as this is not an official military operation, whether or not they will be permitted to join is something that we will leave up to your discretion."
"What about the rest of the strike-force, councilor?" I asked. We weren't going to be able to take a whole fleet into the Terminus Systems, and anything more than a stealth frigate or two would likely attract the attention of one of the many warlords that ruled over the systems. They'd consider it an act of war and would retaliate against Council Space.
"We've hired a whole battalion of Blue Suns Mercenaries under the command of Captain Revak Ghar'aran," replied councilor Jath. "As a mercenary outfit based in the Terminus Systems, their presence would not put us under the scrutiny of the Terminus Warlords, and since Anhur is actually one of the worlds from which they pull many of their recruits, they were more than happy to cooperate with us to liberate it."
Percival's mask slipped and the slightest of grimaces came out. Cade and I immediately turned to look at him.
"I trust that that won't be an issue for you, Spectre Percival?" Jath asked my friend. "Given your service record?"
Percival swallowed and shook his head. "No councilor, whatever it takes to complete the mission."
"Excellent," nodded the salarian councilor. "They'll accompany you aboard half-a-dozen cruisers and a several frigate wolf-packs."
"Will that be enough given that the defectors have nearly a hundred ships in and around Anhur?" asked Cade.
Jath shook her head. "We can't pull together enough ships for you three to fight off an entire rogue fleet. You'll have to get creative, Spectre Kitiarian, about how you decide to complete your mission."
My friend nodded and pulled his mandibles close to his face. We hadn't actually been expecting that we'd have to fight nearly a quarter of the Ninth Fleet in a straight up naval space battle. Spectres weren't supposed to be a flurry of haymakers to the face, we were supposed to be a knife in the back. We'd go in quiet and quick, hit our objectives and slip away before the Ninth Fleet could bring their superior numbers into play.
I already had a half-assed plan in place. Sure, it was predictable and not particularly original and was definitely something that Admiral Octavian could see coming a mile away, but it would be something impossible for the saboteurs to stop as long as I kept killing every single soldier they threw at me.
"What's the size of the colonial militia on Anhur?" I asked. A battalion and change might have been enough for raids and what-not, but it wouldn't be enough for civilian evacuation in case those creatures appeared.
"Roughly about point-five percent of the population," replied Jath. "No word from them, and they're mostly scattered across the planet. Last I checked they had a few dozen moth-balled space fighters, an old wet navy, and some ground vehicles, but otherwise they rely on escorts that usually accompany supply or trade vessels and their web of planetary defense cannons for defense against an invading fleet. Anhur is largely a peaceful trade colony, they just aren't on the same military playing field as Illium or Omega."
Damn. A militia of about half a percent meant that probably only a tenth of that were able-bodied militiamen ready for combat. The other ninety-percent were likely support staff, logistics, etc etc.
Cade leaned in and whispered into my ear. "We've done more with less," he assured me.
"Maybe we can co-opt the local police force," offered Percival. "No idea how willing they'd be to work with Council Spectres, but it wouldn't hurt to ask."
"We wish we could give you more, Spectres," Tevos sighed, "If Anhur were a planet under our jurisdiction than maybe things would be different. Our fleets are stretched thin as they are patrolling our own territories and a lot of our resources are tied up in this investigation into the remainder of our fleets."
If we could regain control of their planetary defense cannons, then the Ninth Fleet wouldn't be able to do shit. Problem was, the generator that supplied them with power was the most obvious of targets, meaning that the saboteurs had to have left it well-guarded. I wasn't sure if they were willing to sacrifice them in the event that we did manage to take them, or to prevent us from having them, but if we wanted to evacuate the colony, we'd need to take those guns out of the saboteur's hands anyhow.
Up ahead the corridor was about to end in a couple of meters and feed out into the docking bay itself. The councilors and their C-sec bodyguards moved through and stood off to the side, allowing the three of us to move up to the railing and look down at what awaited us in the docking bay below.
"We might not be able to give you an army or a fleet, Spectres, but nonetheless, you won't be going to Anhur alone," councilor Lanllivan said warmly.
I was the first one through. I braced my elbows against the railing, looked down and smiled. My heart welled up with some kind of nameless emotion as I looked at what lay below us.
Docked below was the SSV Excalibur, in all her sleek, shapely glory. Her wings were painted in black and the body in Alliance Silver. A pair of blue stripes ran from bow to stern, accentuating her curves and making her look pretty as hell.
"Spirits, those are the new XM-38 Scrambler Torpedoes," Cade whispered, pointing at a quartet of missiles under each of the Excalibur's wings.
"Correct, Spectre Kitiarian," Lanllavan nodded. "We greenlit a few prototypes for your use, if fired they should generate hundreds of ghost signatures on enemy ladar, allowing you to mask your numbers and the movements of your task force. Use them wisely."
"It's good to be back," whispered Percival. We'd been expecting to take a heavy stealth frigate to Anhur, given our personnel and discretionary needs and I'd be lying if I didn't think we would be taking this one.
"Given that the Excalibur was involved in your previous mission aboard the SSV Hippocrates, it seemed natural for you three to take her into your next one," Victus replied. "We've already cleared it with Systems Alliance High Command, they've graciously allowed you to take it for the duration of your campaign against these fanatics."
We all boarded the lift and made our way down to the docking bay floor where our crew awaited.
Elektra greeted us first, already clad in her own set of Ariake Technologies armor. She pushed past a pair of bulky turian C-sec guards and grinned at the three of us coming off the lift.
"What took you guys so long?" She asked.
"None of your business, harpy," Cade snapped. Elektra laughed and pulled up a photo of her omni-tool and showed it to Cade. I glanced at it briefly, noting that it was from the vantage point of one of the cameras that had been installed in the elevator that the three of us had taken on our way down to the docking bay.
"Nothing to do with this?" she grinned slyly.
Cade growled and made to grab at her omni-tool but she pulled it away. Percival shook his head while I merely sighed.
Elektra looked at me, laughter twinkling in her eyes, and gave me a small wink. She then jerked her head over her shoulder and gestured for us to move along.
"Come on, it's time to meet your new crew," she laughed.
A mass of people awaited us beneath the wings of the SSV Excalibur with duffel bags similar to ours tucked between their legs, chatting quietly. Most noticeable were the two-dozen figures clad in iconic black armor, white knights astride horses painted on their shoulders.
I moved up and took the hand of the Jaeger at the head of the pack. "Captain Murgen," I greeted warmly.
The captain smiled and shook my hand enthusiastically. "What on earth did you sign us up for, Spectre?"
"Nothing you wouldn't have done for free," I replied. Murgen chuckled and a couple of the Jaegers behind him laughed.
The sound of running footsteps drew my attention and I watched as a slight, female figure pushed her way past the cadre of armored soldiers and fling herself into Cade's arms.
"Turian bastard," Camilla Martell cried, "when mi padre told me he'd spoken with my boyfriend I almost cried!"
Cade smiled and stroked her hair. "Well, lucky for me I had a friend speak on my behalf," he grinned wickedly at me. My chest ached a bit as I remembered my encounter with her father.
"I know, pendejo, why didn't you say something to him?" she asked.
"Why didn't you tell me your father was a krogan?" countered Cade.
Percival moved up and beamed at the female engineer. "It's good to see you, Camilla."
"You too," she replied warmly. She disentangled from Cade and gave Percival a tight hug. "Cloud, get in here as well!" Camilla cried.
I took a small step back. "No thanks I'm g —".
Percival's beefy arm shot out and once again I found myself pulled into a cramped, three-way embrace. I could hear a couple more camera-clicks behind me and some distinct feminine snickering.
"It's good to see you too, Camilla," I greeted, my voice muffled by Percival's massive, armored chest.
Eventually the technician had gotten her fill, she finally relented and released the two of us.
"It'll be good to have you with us, that way we won't have to deal with Cade moping the entire mission," Percival laughed. Cade gave him an annoyed look but otherwise refrained from replying with a witty rejoinder.
"I'm not surprised the Council hand-picked you," I told her.
Camilla nodded and smiled. "Yeah, they actually contacted me early on. Said they saw me perform in your mission recordings and were much impressed. Also, seeing as I am Systems Alliance, it wasn't too hard to have me transferred to the SSV Excalibur."
She jerked her head over my shoulder towards where Elektra had been standing silently the entire time.
"Who's your friend?" Camilla asked.
Elektra and I shared a quick look and I nodded to indicate that she should introduce herself.
"Spectre Operative Elektra," she smiled. Elektra grabbed Camilla's proffered hand and shook it.
"Camilla Martell, Systems Alliance Drive Core technician," the Hispanic engineer replied warmly.
Cade grabbed Camilla and quickly pulled her away from Elektra. "Don't get too chummy too soon, wouldn't want her to stab you in the back. Why don't we go tour the ship?"
Elektra rolled her eyes while Camilla looked at the turian in slight confusion. With an awkward shrug, the engineer left to board the Excalibur with my friend. Probably to talk shit about our new fourth Spectre. Hopefully just to talk shit about our new fourth Spectre.
"She's pretty," Elektra said quietly. She crossed her arms and grinned at me. Maybe it was just her accent, but she made it sound like she was insinuating something.
"She is," I agreed.
"She can also fight," chimed in Murgen. "Give me nine months and I'd make a Jaeger out of her."
"Give Cade nine months and he'd make her something else," Elektra chuckled.
Percival cocked an eyebrow, bemused. "I don't think it works like that."
A set of heavy, ominous footsteps stomped slowly towards us from behind, then a shadow was cast over me, chilling the back of my neck. All four of us turned in slight confusion, wondering if somehow there was an active mechanical loader still being used or something. I looked up to see the krogan that I'd fought before towering over me, his one good eye regarding us icily.
"I'll be joining you, that's non-negotiable," he rumbled. "Urdnot Garm at your service."
Percival moved up behind me, ready to intervene should the krogan take my next few words in the wrong way and even Murgen's hand drifted just a tiny bit closer to his pistol. I made a mental note to ask Cade exactly how many people he had sent the video of our fight to.
I held out a hand to stop Murgen. I moved in closer to the massive krogan and stared directly into his eyes, uncowed. You wouldn't believe the number of krogan I've had come to me asking to team up, and you wouldn't believe how many of them were Urdnots. It's like every last one of them developed a boner for serving with a Spectre ever since Wrex did his thing twenty-five years ago.
However, I knew that this was not why this old krogan was here. Garm stared unblinkingly at me and I stared unblinkingly back. He was so close that I could see my breath fogging up his bright-red armor in the periphery of my vision. His breath was a hot wave of what smelled like raw meat and fish. I wrinkled my nose ever so slightly.
We stared silently at each other for the better part of a minute. Several onlookers looked curiously at the two of us engaging in our tiny contest. Everyone watched quietly, waiting to see what would happen.
Finally he tilted his head back and laughed. It was so loud that my ears began to hurt and everyone in the docking bay immediately turned to see the source of all the noise.
He laughed and laughed and laughed, tears streaming out of his good eye. It was so loud that I could feel the sound waves irritating the bruises on my chest. Eventually it died down and he slammed a heavy hand down on my shoulder, nearly knocking me flat on my face.
"Between you and I, Spectre, my baby girl picked the wrong one. I look forward to fighting with you," he chuckled.
Elektra crossed her arms behind me at the krogan's statement and blew a strand of hair away from her face in irritation. I merely smiled and jerked my head back towards Captain Murgen.
"You'll be attached to Captain Murgen and his platoon while you're on board the Excalibur. And between you and I, Camilla will likely be serving in engineering, no need to keep her on the ground in harm's way," I told him.
Garm leaned in close and barred his pointy teeth in a toothy grin. "Looks like we understand each other perfectly," he thundered.
"Follow my orders or you'll wish that Shepard had never cured the genophage," I returned.
With one last chuckle he stomped off to Murgen and Percival and began discussing matters with the two Alliance marines. Together the trio moved up the ramp to board the Excalibur.
"Damn, you handled that like a boss," crowed another familiar voice.
"Straight up G!" exclaimed another one.
Accer and Teewin moved up in the wake of the departing krogan, smiles on their faces and clad in their black armor. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw that Rake and his team were right behind them, also wearing Jaeger armor.
"Damn, how long did you spend on your knees to pull that off, Gunnery Chief?" I asked.
Rake rolled his eyes while Fly and Jay both laughed good-naturedly. Soph smiled and gave me a little wave. All four of them were wearing the same black, angular armor and the same painted white knight that Accer and Teewin were currently wearing.
"The captain had a couple of holes to fill after the Hippocrates," explained Accer. "Rake and his team proved themselves a hundred times over on the ship, so when the time came the captain and I called in a couple of favors with the Systems Alliance High Command and had them fast-tracked."
"Yeah, the captain's got some pull," winked Teewin. "You should have heard the way he sat Admiral Vega down and demanded that they be pulled in, it was like watching a child dress down a bear."
I shook hands with each and every one of them, a smile on my face. They were exactly the marines that I wanted at my back when we hit Anhur, I was glad that the Council had seen that.
"Can't let you hog all the glory, sir," Rake said. "You non-Alliance types make us grunts look bad."
"I don't think he's the reason we look bad," Jay said with a raised eyebrow.
"The four of us did get our asses kicked by some split-chinned saboteur back on the ship, a turian that the good Spectre here nearly beat the shit out of," added Fly.
The newly-christened Jaegers all laughed good-naturedly at their squad leader. I hoped that I'd be able to keep all of them safe in the days to come.
Teewin caught sight of Elektra behind me and whistled. "And who is this lovely lady?" he smiled at her. He brushed past me and held out a hand. "Gunnery Chief Sean Teewin, at your service."
Elektra gave him her best smile in return and gracefully took his hand. "Spectre Operative Elektra, at your service."
Accer rolled his eyes and moved to pull his friend away. Teewin tried to shake off the smaller Jaeger in protest but the young biotic held gamely on.
"Come on," Accer groaned, "We need to get our stuff aboard the ship."
With a sigh, Teewin ceased fighting and followed his team leader aboard the Excalibur, shooting Elektra a departing, apologetic glance. I couldn't help but notice that both Jay and Fly were also making eyes at Elektra, and as usual she seemed to be basking in it. She was like an adoration vampire – it both fed and sustained her, literally, because I think I've seen her eat maybe four times in the last six years.
"You're dismissed, Jaegers," I sighed.
Rake and his team gave me one last salute and followed Accer and Teewin inside the ship.
"I'll go with them," Percival said. "We're set up in the officer's quarters again by the way, Victus said that the captain's cabin has been repurposed into a Spectre-only armory and meeting room."
I nodded. "That'll be great, tell Cade I'm taking the starboard side, I like having the wall to my right when I'm sleeping facing the door."
"Will do!" he replied in a curiously high-pitched voice. Percival grabbed his duffel bag, slung it over his shoulders, and quickly scurried up the ramp.
Most of the Jaegers began boarding with them as well, leaving just the councilors, their guards, a few of the ship's personnel, Elektra and I.
"That's my favourite way to sleep as well," Elektra smiled. "More room to throw a biotic field at your intruders."
I chuckled. "Yeah, remember that time on Watson?"
"That stasis held them long enough for us to not only get dressed and have breakfeast," she grinned.
Many of the ship's personnel had boarded, leaving only a few behind. One of them lingered at the back of the pack, a duffel bag slung over her shoulders and a Flight Lieutenant's cap pulled snugly over her light-blonde hair. She caught sight of me on her way up the ramp and stopped and looked directly at me with her gray eyes.
She didn't come over to say hi, instead she merely gave me a tiny wave, one that I returned with a small smile.
She continued up the ramp and boarded the ship, followed closely by a few of her other crewmembers. Navigator Lee tripped and nearly tumbled of the ramp at least twice, stopped only by the quick actions of Ensign Chan.
"She is also pretty," Elektra whispered in my ear, prompting me to sigh again.
"Not as pretty as you, is that what you're fishing for here?" I said, exasperated.
She beamed at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Yes, was that so hard?"
I blinked at her. "You've got some disturbing issues, Ellie."
"Yes. They're called 'daddy' issues. Because I didn't have one, something that you should understand more than anyone," she joked.
I didn't follow up with a witty rejoinder, or reciprocate with the kind of banter she was hoping for, the kind I might have given her years ago before that fateful day. The councilors began to board the ship as well followed by a team of C-sec guards, probably to go over a couple of last-minute details.
Elektra eventually looked away. We stood in awkward silence, no doubt the both of us remembering the people we were before we had both decided to pledge our service to the galaxy at large. We had both helped each other through some of the worst parts of our lives, had grown up together in a world that hadn't known what to do with either of us.
I remembered the gangly, tall girl with the abnormally long limbs and how awkward she'd been. I remember stealing food from street vendors and patching our two ratty old blankets together so that we'd have one whole one. I remember the two of us stowing away on a ship, hiding from the crew, talking for days in whispers in fear of being found.
Eventually she brushed the back of her hand across the base of one of her eyes and nodded resolutely. "You have every right to be angry at me for what I did, I don't blame you for not ever getting past it, and I most certainly don't blame Cade for still being upset about it."
The rest of the crew and even the councilors had finally boarded, leaving just the two of us in that docking bay.
Elektra grabbed her duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Come on, they're already all aboard the ship. We've got a galaxy to save."
And with that she moved past me and made her way onto the ramp, heading up to the airlock. I grabbed my own duffel bag and followed behind her.
March 12th, 2211 – The Citadel, Docking Bay D-24 — aboard the SSV Excalibur
Six weeks after the events of the SSV Hippocrates
The Durandal-class Heavy Stealth Frigate was comprised of six decks and was approximately three hundred and fourteen meters long, making it nearly twice the length of the original Normandy-class Stealth Frigate. It possessed thicker armor-plating, twin XM28 Thanix Cannons, and possessed the capacity to house and deploy larger concentrations of troops.
Although they lacked the maneuverability of the traditional frigate, they possessed greater speed and could match the firepower of an Alliance Destroyer. Despite these advantages, Heavy Stealth Frigates were not meant for wolf-pack combat tactics such as Alliance frigates were or stealth reconnaissance like traditional stealth frigates such as the Normandy were, although they could fill those roles comfortably. No, they were designed for cloaked insertions of platoon-to-company sized special forces soldiers.
Elektra and I moved through the airlock and stepped into the Excalibur. Directly in front of us was the galaxy map, awash in a swirl of bright colors and lights, the four councilors arrayed around it, their guards close beside them. Percival stood close by while Cade leaned against the elevator console, his blue eyes travelling down the length of the command deck, making note of the personnel.
"Finally, where were you?" asked Percival.
"Did you check your back for a knife-handle?" chimed Cade. Elektra glared angrily at his comment but refrained from saying anything in front of the councilors.
I dropped my bag onto the floor in front of my friends and walked over to where Tevos and Victus were conversing quietly.
"Councilors, when do we depart?" I asked.
Victus looked up at me. "Immediately. The SSV Excalibur has been fully stocked, all crew members are now on board and the corridor to the mass relay is clear. We'll be out of your hair in a bit."
I nodded appreciatively, "Good, the people of Anhur won't be able to hold out much longer."
Tevos stepped up beside Victus and swept her hands out in front of her, raising her voice so that she could be heard by all those present. "By merit of his former rank, Spectre Operative Lancelot Percival will be in command of this ship, and the agent-in-command—"
"Why am I never agent-in-command!" hissed Cade behind me.
Tevos abruptly stopped when Percival suddenly cleared his throat behind her. I blinked in confusion, taken back a bit by the interruption. The asari councilor stared at the former N7 for a moment before gesturing for Percival to step forward and speak.
Percival nodded in appreciation to the councilors, his hands were clasped behind his back and his spine was comically straight. I had seen that pose countless times. It was the pose Percival adopted every time he wanted to ask some higher-up for a big favor. Neither Cade nor I had ever mastered it, and it had gotten us some very useful shit over the years. I mentally rubbed my hands in anticipation at what Percival would ask them for.
"Councilors, thank you for your confidence in me, but I don't believe that I should be the one in command," he began.
Lanllivan raised an eyebrow and both Tevos and Victus both blinked in surprise. Jath merely looked at me and winked. I narrowed my eyes at my friend as Percival continued to speak.
"As a former Systems Alliance marine attached to the Ninth Fleet, I fear that some crewmembers may feel uneasy with me in overall command despite my status as a Council Spectre. In accordance with such concerns, I feel that the position of agent-in-command would be better filled by one of my colleagues."
Percival didn't even so much as look at Cade. He immediately looked at me, prompting everyone else to do the same, including the four councilors.
"Spectre Operative Cloud not only was the only one present for first contact with the creatures, he also single-handedly secured the Reaper CPU, discovered the video, and personally eliminated two high-ranking saboteurs who had been responsible for the events aboard the Hippocrates," Percival listed.
Victus eventually held up a hand and Percival stopped talking. "We hear your concerns, Spectre Percival. In light of your feelings we would be more than happy to delegate command of this mission to your fellow Spectre operative."
I silently cursed my friend, who merely looked my way and winked. Agent-in-command had never not been Percival, not once in the entire time we'd worked together. I hated being in-charge, I was a doer, not a leader. Leaders were planners and thinkers and pushers and officers. They knew what to say, when to say it, and who to say it to. They knew how to act in a crisis situation, how to respond to changing circumstances, and how to bring out the best in those who served under them. They weren't orphans who liked to fight.
I stared at him intensely. Don't do this to me man.
He shrugged lightly. It's about time you grew up, his eyes seemed to say.
"Then it's settled," Tevos decided. She raised her voice again for all to hear. "Spectre Operative 04272182-Cloud, you are hereby in command of the SSV Excalibur and the agent-in-command."
The crew clapped and a few of them cheered. I simply stood numbly in place as I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I was now responsible for the dozens of lives on board, and for the lives of everyone else in the galaxy, blissfully unaware of the terrors lurking under their beds.
If the mission was a success, if we managed to stop the saboteurs from turning everyone into synthetic killing machines, then everything would be fine and it'd be because of me.
If the mission was a failure, if we couldn't stop them, then billions of people would die, whole colonies would fall and it would also be because of me.
"Would you like to say a few words to the crew, Operative Cloud?" asked Lanllavan.
She gestured to the small command deck overlooking the galaxy map, the customary position of whomever was in command of the ship. The map swirled and swirled, ribbons of blue and purple and green and white mixing like paint on a palette. Anyone who stared too long at it would swear that they were slowly being pulled in.
I stared at it, lost in thought, still caught off-guard by the declaration of the councilors. An inordinate amount of time passed with me just staring silently at the galaxy map, causing more than one crew member to look around uneasily. Just when I was about to shake my head and turn down the offer of words, I suddenly felt an elbow dig into my lower back.
"Go," whispered Elektra. "They're waiting on you."
Swallowing nervously, I proceeded up onto the command deck. I suddenly became very, very conscious of all the eyes that were now on me and my heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. Beads of sweat dotted my forehead and my jaw was clenched so tightly that I feared I'd shatter my teeth. I noticed that several of the crew members around the galaxy map had started whispering amongst themselves in confusion at my silence. It only made it worse.
Just when I thought that I couldn't take it anymore, just as I was about to turn around and beg the councilors to rescind their decision, a tiny voice sprung up in the back of my head, one that I'd last heard about the Hippocrates.
You're going to do fine.
And like that, my heart resumed its normal rhythm. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and felt like a hand had suddenly wiped away all my anxiety, my fears, leaving behind only a sense of clarity, of determination.
Like you said, some things you'll never feel truly prepared for. Better to just dive in and do them, right?
I placed one hand on the console in front of me and keyed open the comms with another. Static echoed throughout the ship as I was patched through to every available speaker. I licked my lips and considered my next words carefully.
"This is Spectre Operative Cloud speaking," I began.
A palpable hush settled throughout the ship as I began to speak, as if the entire crew had suddenly collectively held their breaths. I shrugged off the last of the uncertainty and soldiered on.
"We have our orders. Find the Ninth Fleet, find the saboteurs, stop the phenomenon on Earth, and stop these creatures from killing everything in the galaxy."
Percival and Cade and Elektra all nodded at me. I looked at them, taking the opportunity to memorize each and every last detail on their faces. A part of me knew that after this mission we would cease to being the people we were, and I wanted to remember each of us as we were one last time. I closed my eyes and turned back to the microphone.
"I won't lie to you, crew. This mission won't be easy. This began with an act of terror on one of our ships, our friends and our fellow crewmates turned into horrific, monstrous creatures right out of our very nightmares."
My voice grew stronger and stronger as I continued on. These creatures had the potential to wipe out billions of lives in weeks. We had to find the Reaper Cores with the aggressor DNA before it was too late. There was no price too high to pay, not when so many lives were at stake.
"The saboteurs did this. Mordred did this. And we know that they won't stop there. Whoever these people are, they aren't going limit whatever they're doing to ships like the Hippocrates, to colonies such as Anhur."
I clenched my fists at the thought of hundreds of millions of people dying at the hands of their converted families and friends — sons and daughters falling to their mothers and fathers, children being ripped to shreds by those who were supposed to protect them.
"For too long, we've lived with the belief that the worst of the horrors that the galaxy would see passed with the Reapers."
Whole cities burning, a loud horn, babies torn from their mother's arms.
"We now know that to be a lie. The fight for freedom and peace is not something that can ever be finished. Freedom is not a right, but a privilege, one that must be continuously fought for."
I swallowed and stared at the galaxy map in front of me. A gunshot, screaming, more horns.
"My crew, now it's our turn to fight, our turn to bleed, our turn to die. I wish that there was another way, and if there were I'd chase it to the ends of the galaxy, but there isn't."
A woman waving goodbye, a child letting go, John smiling at me with his bright, blue eyes.
"We need to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of everyone else in the galaxy. Every last man, woman and child. These saboteurs need to be stopped, Mordred needs to be stopped."
I clenched my jaw tightly for a moment. When the time came I swore that I'd drive my knife through Mordred's heart. There wouldn't be any more orphans.
"And I promise you… We will stop them."