Chapter 72
Living in the community surrounding the dig site on Eden Prime represented the longest time Liara had spent since college amongst other people, and she adapted surprisingly well to it. At home, the curiosity of her peers was always meant in mockery, but amongst Humans, Quarians and even the Krogan it was quite genuine. In fact, Liara found herself on Thursday afternoons giving history lectures at the local high school, and she always received their rapt attention. They were high schoolers so their questions tended to be rather basic, but she always found herself impressed with their inquisitive nature. Asari children of this age never question anything, they just go from one shiny distraction to another. Liara had always been an aberration in that regard, something Benezia had taken inordinate amounts of pride in.
"So, Dr. T'soni, the Krogan were only engaging in basic spaceflight before the Salarians uplifted them?" a student asked.
"I wouldn't use the term 'uplifted' so much as 'conscripted.' but yes, the Krogan were exploring local moons and asteroids for minerals but had not left Tuchanka's home system. When the Salarians found them they were so desperate for help against the Rachni that they didn't take the time to build a viable plan, and the Krogan suffered greatly for it. We'll get into that next week, until then I'd like for you to read chapters 3-7 in Krogan Studies II on the Genophage. Be warned, the descriptions on that abomination are not sugar-coated. It will be disturbing especially to those who have not yet studied the Great War." Liara said. The students all gathered their things and began filing out.
After gathering her own things Liara left the room and secured the door. It was a nice day out so she decided to walk instead of calling for transport. She stopped a few times to chat with some of the other citizens of Eden Prime but was able to make it home at a respectable pace, however she was surprised when she arrived at her dwelling to see that there was a Geth platform waiting for her.
"Um, hello, Geth, what can I do for you?" She asked the platform.
"Hello Dr. T'soni. May we have a word, in private if possible?" The Geth asked.
"Of course, please come in." Liara said, opening the door. The platform, a standard model still had to duck its head to get in.
"I'm not sure if I have anything compatible with your physiology, is there anything I can offer you?" Liara asked.
"No thank you." The Platform said before settling in the corner of the room.
"What is it that you'd like to discuss?" Liara asked.
"We have been working with Rothschild AI to ensure the security of communications all throughout the alliance, and we wished to inform you that a known terrorist group has been attempting to contact you. They've also been attempting to breach the security of your communications." The platform stated
"Goddess, what messages have they been trying to intercept?" Liara asked, mostly rhetorically to herself.
"We do not know. We only monitor the behavior of data packets, not their contents. We are careful to respect the privacy of the Alliance and our friends. This group however we have been charged with monitoring and blocking communications attempts to and from using Alliance networks." The unit said
"Of course, and I appreciate it. Which group is it that is seeking me out?" Liara asked.
"They are know as Cerberus. They are a group of extremists composed of Humans and Quarians. They were originally a Human supremacist group however they opened their ranks when they found sympathetic Quarian ears. They believe in a strict separatist policy, thinking the Alliance should remain in solitude above what they consider the 'lesser races.'" The platform explained.
"That's highly disturbing. I wonder why they are seeking me out." Liara said.
"We suspect it's due to the work you're doing on the Prothean technology. Our spies have reported they have keen interest in both Prothean technology and Reaper technology." The unit reported.
"Spies?" Liara asked.
"Cerberus are convinced that a splinter faction of Geth have rallied to their cause. They are unaware that the Geth amongst them are still very much a part of the consensus." The platform stated. Liara smiled. She could swear the Geth seemed almost smug.
"Ok. Thank you for the warning. I'll need to set up some surveillance here for sure." Liara said.
"With your Permission, Dr. T'soni, we wish to install a few hundred Geth into this domicile's security systems in order to protect you more directly. A platform will be stationed nearby if more direct interaction is required." The Geth said.
"I'd hate to impose.." Liara said.
"Dr. T'soni, you are the daughter of an ambassador, an employee of a prestigious Alliance university, and a dear friend to many Alliance citizens. Your personal safety is extremely important to us. We are happy to assist." The Geth said.
"Ok, I'm grateful for your assistance. Do you need me to do anything?" Liara asked.
"Negative, the Geth are uploading into this domicile's servers now, and we will begin constructing a QEC connection to the consensus on Rannoch immediately. We will warn you of any attempts at intrusion either physical or virtual. If you wish, a hunter platform with cloaking capability is within one kilometer of this location and can arrive at a moments notice to secretly escort you wherever you need to go if you feel threatened." The unit offered.
"Thank you again." Liara said. They chatted for a few, mostly the platform giving her bits of advice on how to reduce the risk of intercepted communications and how to avoid putting herself in situations where she might be vulnerable. To her shame, Liara's naivete rendered her almost humorously open to abduction, attack and worse. To be fair her upbringing on Thessia and travel to abandoned Prothean sites surrounded by armed commandos had conditioned her to a constant feeling of security. It was clear there was much to learn.
Aboard the Mayhem Chambers and Xen were preparing their battle group to follow after Shepard gave the word. They would be comprising the second wave, mostly heavy assault craft to protect the support ships as well as pound the hardened defensive positions into submission, a role they were perfectly suited for.
"What about the maximum yield warheads?" Xen asked. Chambers' expression fell.
"Remember what I said about the 20th century on Earth? 1945, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?" Chambers said
"Yes.." Xen said
"When I was in high school, when they exposed us to the horrors of the great war and the wars before it, I remember an extremely old vid. One of the main scientists that developed the bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, was interviewed after decades after. He looked shattered, Daro. Let me show you." Chambers said, digging a bit through his omnitool before projecting the vid on a flat surface beside them.
"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent.. I remembered a line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu was trying to persuade the prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form, and says 'Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds!' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another." The image of Oppenheimer recited, emotionless and dead-eyed.
"Keelah." Xen said. It was extremely rare for Xen to let out a religious exclamation like that.
"Some things you can't undo. That's why we never use those weapons unless absolutely necessary. We're going to beat the Hegemony, but we're going to do it the right way. Even if it's hard, even if it hurts. We'll save the high yield weapons for the Reapers." Chambers said, squeezing Xen's shoulder. If anyone else had tried that they'd be face-down on the floor with a big two-toed footprint bruise on their ass, but Xen accepted the gesture as it was intended.
"You're right Simon. You're right. We'll do this slow and careful." Xen said.
"Cheer up Xen, we've got a hangar full of new infernos for you to play with." Chambers said, grinning. She smiled at him in response. He always knew how to cheer her up.
"Incoming message from the Normandy!" A bridge officer announced.
"Put it through" Xen ordered.
"Admirals Xen and Chambers, the first wave is 75% mobilized, estimate 25 minutes until we're ready to jump. How is the 2nd wave doing?" Commander Shepard asked.
"We're at 100% already commander, we haven't been as busy as you are. We're on standby" Chambers reported.
"Good to hear, we'll keep you posted. Shepard out." Shepard said, cutting the comms, presumably to inquire about the status of the third wave.
"They need to promote that woman, I'm tempted to field promote her to at least Captain." Xen said
"Oh no you don't. If Anderson doesn't get to pin those bars on her we'll never hear the end of it." Chambers said, smiling.
Aboard the Normandy everyone was moving on autopilot. Joker was plotting multiple possible approach vectors in case of unexpected changes in conditions, Tali and the engineering crew were buzzing around the engine room taking readings and tightening up tolerances, Garrus and his crew were completing last minute calibrations and the ground assault crews were armed, armored and resting in preparation. Commander Shepard herself was dressed in full combat armor with her weapons secured and was directing the crew with her usual ease.
"Commander, All stations report green status we're ready to go. Just waiting on the rest of the first wave." Williams reported.
"Understood. Joker stand by. What's the latest update from our AI friends?" Shepard asked
"Status is unchanged, fleet strength in the sector is moderate. We are anticipating considerable but not insurmountable resistance." Williams reported.
"Understood." Shepard said. She looked down at her console to see a text stream coming from Rothschild.
"We're ready when you are kiddo. The slaves are as safe was we can make them. We believe in you. I believe in you. Don't fuck it up, meat bag. -R" the note said. Shepard laughed and replied
"Wow no pressure, right?" She replied. She heard nothing back and didn't expect to.
"Open up a channel to the fleet. Encrypted comms please." Shepard asked. Joker complied and signaled her that she was live.
"Soldiers of the Alliance, as well as our Turian and Asari friends. The last time I issued this order we found ourselves facing atrocity in the truest meaning of the word. We've taken steps to avoid a repeat, but no plans are ever perfect. However, we must'nt allow fear to lead us astray. I have the utmost faith in you all and it is my honor and privilege to lead you into battle. FORWARD!" She said, bellowing the last and all of the gathered ships jumped into light speed nearly simultaneously.
When the fleet jumped out the first thing Shepard noticed was that the Geth had clearly been working overtime as the ships in operation around the outpost world did not even notice their arrival. Apparently they'd managed to trick their sensors, block communications or some combination of the two because no ships appeared to be taking action. Shepard ordered Kasumi's inferno squadron to sneak in and attach to the larger personnel or cargo carriers and disable them using cyberwarfare. With the close proximity of the inferno fighter, even cloaked, the chip scrambling signal could be broadcast locally and within minutes the slaves aboard all ships larger than a frigate in the space around the second outpost were free, even if they didn't know it yet.
Once she got the signal from Kasumi that they had possession of the slave ships, Shepard took a more aggressive stance and brought in the frigates and cruisers to actually dock and board the ships with marines. Kurg as always lead the push from the Normandy into an over sized cargo hauler and after a surprisingly short firefight the vessel was theirs. The Geth swarmed into the ship's systems and took control.
"Kurg, Status." Shepard asked into her comm console.
"Ship's ours, Commander. Hegemony has been neutralized, and the hauler is fit to jump.
"Understood, Kurg, return to the ship, we'll have the Geth link this ship up with the Shimmer." Shepard said.
"Acknowledged. Commander. Side note, Shimmer? Asari have weird ship names." Kurg said
"What would you have called it, Varren Steak?" Shepard asked.
"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it Commander. Kurg out." Kurg replied. Shepard smiled and continued directing fleet movements. Meanwhile, under the command of Korvus, nearly innumerable Turian, Asari and Alliance fighters were utterly violating the local defense forces. The ships Batarians used for defense were large, slow and clunky, designed to survive against Dreadnought barrage, they were completely unready for the unexpectedly potent, high-precision strikes being landed on them now.
"The Geth are getting ready to come out to play, Commander." Ashley announced.
"Acknowledged. Troop Ships, prepare drop pods!" Shepard said to the comm console and got several dozen acknowledgments as massive Alliance vessels maneuvered into position over the planet and began jettisoning thousands of individual drop pods containing the marines that would assist the Geth platforms with the first wave against the ground forces. Shepard ordered the Normandy to fly a defensive pattern between the drop ships and Joker was gleefully picking off enemy vessels making a run for either the ships or the pods.
It took almost an hour but soon enough the drop ships were depleted and requesting permission to jump back to Outpost 1. Shepard allowed it and continued with the next phase. The space borne resistance had been entirely subdued very quickly thanks to the precise coordination of the three individual fleets so Shepard ordered the Cruisers, Frigates and fighters to land and deploy their assault squads while the dreadnoughts, carriers and battlecruiser were to remain above the planet to deny enemy escape or reinforcement. As a member of one of the Frigates, Shepard prepared with the rest of her squad down in the cargo bay. As she locked her helmet into place and checked her rifle she tapped the comm console on the wall and called Ash.
"Lieutenant Commander Williams, while I am ashore the ship is yours. I want you to keep the engine warm along with all of the other frigates and cruisers in case the capital ships need support. After the LZ is secure, I want Dr. D'inan planet side with us along with our mobile med station. Dr. Chakwas is to stay on board to handle shipboard injuries as well as any critically injured personnel that require immediate evac. Lieutenant Zorah, Once the LZ is secure I want you and a small team to adapt to shut down the reactor and tie the infrastructure into the Normandy, that shitty old nuke reactor at the last outpost could have killed someone Garrus, we're gonna need your sniper rifle, get down here and armor up." Shepard said. She received acknowledgments all around and sooner than she'd have liked the cargo bay door opened and they all jumped out and ducked under cover. Their shields had deflected several rounds during their brief period of vulnerability but were recharging admirably.
"CHECK YOUR TARGETS! All Batarians that surrender are to be restrained and escoted to safety, Non-batarians that surrender you can skip the restraints. Shoot to kill all hostiles, we don't have time to subdue them." Shepard ordered then rolled from one barricade to another. The Geth had brought down several downed fighters and placed them all along the battlefield for the Organics to use as cover. A rocket sailed over them and slammed into the Normandy, the explosion rocking but in no way damaging the heavily shielded Frigate.
"WATCH THE FUCKIN' PAINT JOB!" Reegar shouted, then popped up and almost instantly decapitated the Batarian with the rocket launcher with a single round, ducking immediately behind cover just as a storm of bullets headed his way. Kurg, Grak and Kowalski took advantage of the distraction and made their way into an empty building. Kurg turned his back to Grak, who then removed a heavy-looking metallic disc that had been attached to the larger Krogan's back. Grak placed it on the floor and opened an access hatch that exposed a small control panel.
"What you think, Low, Medium or Heavy?" Grak asked. Kowalski took a quick look out of a broken window and saw a heavy concrete fortification from which Batarians were firing assault rifles.
"Let's go with Medium, I think Heavy would rain down a lot of shrapnel on our friendlies." Kurg said
"Yes sir." He said before dialing in the yield.
"Ok, which one of us is gonna toss this thing?" Grak asked.
"I'd offer but I don't think I can carry that thing quickly. Gonna have to be one of you guys." Kowalski said. Grak and Kurg nodded.
"I'll do it, I'm faster. You should make a lot of noise with your new toy while Baxter picks off the idiots up on the roof." Grak suggested.
"Sounds good, get it done, and keep your heads down, I ain't in the mood to explain to Commander Shepard why you guys bought it, understood?" Kurg said Baxter and Grak nodded and got into position. Kurg reached back, on the other side from where the mine had been attached, and detached a big, angry looking hand-held particle cannon. It hadn't originally been hand-held, it was originally designed for an Inferno fighter, however when Kurg discovered he could heft it when attached to a small power supply instead of the ship's batteries, it made a useful weapon. Once engaged it would discharge continuously, and unable to be stopped for roughly 30 seconds before burning out. Not enough to bring down most ships but definitely enough to vaporize unarmored infantry and keep the enemy busy.
"Ready?" Kurg asked, and when he got two acknowledgments, he unleashed hell on the enemy lines with the partical cannon. Three Batarians immediately exploded upon coming into contact with the 20cm wide beam, as Kurg effortlessly swept it around back and forth across the openings in the bunker from which the Batarians had been firing. This gave Kurg enough time to make it over there and toss the mine in. He immediately bolted at full speed, far faster than Kowalski ever saw a Krogan run, and dove into a subterranean utility hatch that he'd seen on the way over.
"DOWN!" Kurg bellowed, Kowalski picked off the Batarian squad leader before ducking down. Kurg threw the particle beam out, still sputtering and sparking before an enormous explosion rocked the outpost. Even a hundred meters back it still felt like an earthquake when the mine detonated and turned the hardened bunker into a smoldering crater.
This gave shepard the opportunity she was looking for and she ordered all ground forces forward. Like a swarm of hornets, Alliance, Turian and Asari troopers poured out of cover and stormed the enemy positions. They'd been so disoriented by the explosion only few fought back. Some of the Batarians were smart enough to throw down their guns at this point, but most were not and attempted to put up a pathetic resistance.
Similar situations were happening across the city. When the Geth had reported that they had positioned hardened concrete bunkers they were wary of dropping bombs or firing guided missiles at them because of the chance of harming slaves, so when asked for any ideas, Uvenk had recommended the anti-ship mines. Krogan could carry them and deliver them while being sturdy enough to have a good chance at surviving the consequences of being too close when it went off. They had to be modified to have adjustable yields as well as reduce the emissions of ionizing radiation to safe levels, and the resulting smaller, but heavier mine was called a 'nut cracker.'
While the organics were waging conventional war against the ground forces, the Geth were methodically and carefully isolating slaves from Hegemony loyalists and mercs. Soldiers would find themselves receiving orders to report to a position across camp, then after discovering the mistake tehy'd find themselves locked out of their buildings. The Geth marked the safe buildings on Alliance maps and Colossi were careful brought in to generate and maintain kinetic barriers around the buildings.
Asari fighter pilots were patrolling around the city, picking off soldiers making a run for it, and there was a steady stream of civilians making its way under heavy guard towards the landed frigates and cruisers. Building by building, they secured territory until Shepard was faced with a situation reminiscient of that which haunted her nightmares. All resistance on the planet had been neutralized, except that which was holed up in the City Hall building.
"Geth, do we have eyes in there?"
"Affirmative Shepard Commander. Of the seventy-four slaves in this building, sixty-eight remain alive, though fifteen are critically injured. There are five Hegemony loyalists holding them at gunpoint. We are not in a position to neutralize them without endangering Civilians.
"Kasumi?" Shepard asked.
"Already on it Commander. ETA 2 minutes." Kasumi ordered.
"Geth, Kasumi's squad is inbound, fully cloaked. Do what you can to protect the slaves until they arrive.
"Acknowledged." The geth replied. It kept an audio feed open to the inside of the building, and Shepard paced back and forth in place while listening desperately to hear what was happening. A series of five thumps could be heard, followed by a deep, distorted scream before a sixth thump, and then there was silence.
"Clear. Got Sixty-Eight live ones here Shep." Kasumi said, so elated to see the slaves alive she forgot to address Shepard by her rank.
"Awesome work Kasumi, and Geth. Please convey our sincerest appreciation to your squad and the Consensus. Cheers could be heard from the liberating Alliance, Asari and Turians, as well as many of the newly freed slaves. They'd heard stories of The Shepard traveling throughout the galaxy leading slaves to freedom, and they had just found out they were true, though Shepard wasn't exactly elated about the title. She was congratulating people and shaking hands when a Quarian soldier jogged up to her and saluted.
"Commander Shepard Ma'am. You're needed in the medical tent. Lieutenant Zorah has been injured." The Soldier said.