The shields hummed as the gauntlet clicked on, the blue bar lit up full. The armour seemed to fit, but a double check never hurt. Nothing seemed out of place. The yellow haze of the visor stained my vision. It was time. With my room behind me, my shoulders trembled, an impatience setting in. Kala changed the visor, switching it from her usual interface to a combat layout. A crosshair with a distance to the object on it, along with smaller dials that followed moving objects. The elevator hummed as it descended towards the CIC. How Sassy convinced mum to let me out on this training mission was beyond me. Maybe he hadn't told her. The salarian worked in weird ways, ways no one could predict. In the CIC, mum paced, rubbing her chin as she tore up the width of the control ring. Drutus hovered beside her with armour on. His eyes shifted as I shuffled closer. Mum spun around, noticing my entry. She yanked me into a hug.
"Have you got everything? Does the armour fit? Are your shields working? Do you need that visor? Heat sinks, have you got plenty of them? And medi-gel! Carry as much as you can, you never know what will happen. Oh, might need a survival kit, anything can happen," Mum fussed, checking my shields, turning me to check the fit of the armour. All the while, my mouth remained jammed shut, aware of Sassy's eyes on me.
"I think so. Not sure about the survival kit though, you'd need to ask Sassy. Is the Starquake going to be far, just in case?" I asked. Mum spun to face Drutus. The turian smothered the rising grin.
"The shuttles will be half an hour away at most, plus the reserve shuttle on the ship. Help will be near," Drutus said. My eyes flew to mum. She shuffled under my stare.
"I'm… going out for a training day so I can't join you," she said. "Mat'al, are you sure about this?" Sassy shrugged.
"The satellite readings have said there is a small cluster of geth in the area, nothing massive. Far enough away that if the boy misses, and he will, we have enough time to bunker down and take care of them. I suggest you fret more about the turians who will bust your ass," Mum scowled as she shifted her gaze to Drutus.
"Don't worry, Commander. We have more than enough turians to whip the Captain into shape. It may take time to bring her up to turian standards, but we'll get there," Drutus said. "Morethrin, is everyone ready?"
"Yes, sir," Phentos said with a salute.
"Good, have all turians report to the Cargo Hold for weapon checks," Drutus ordered. Phentos saluted again before marching towards the elevator. Cops clicked his mandibles.
"Wait, I wasn't told of this," he frowned to the older turian. Drutus smiled.
"Well, someone needs to CO the ship," he said.
"Wait, what? I-I'm not captaining the ship!" he balked. Drutus raised a brow.
"Oh?" he asked, approaching him, hands behind his back. Drutus towered over Cops as he leaned close. "Are you going to follow my orders then? Without hesitation? If I asked you to shove our dear Captain off a cliff, would you?" he asked. Cops' mandibles snapped shut, eyes narrow. Drutus snorted. "Thought as much," Drutus backed off as Cops growled.
"What about Marruns? He's a commander," he grumbled.
"He is coming with is," Drutus said. "All turians are coming on this mission. Except you as you appear to have a difficult time following orders unless the little red head is giving them," Drutus smirked. "Is she that good in bed? Never took you as a submissive sort," Cops' biotics flared, hackles raising. My hands found Cops' lower arm, his biotics tickling my skin. Drutus chuckled. A fist smacked into Drutus' cheek, jolting the turian back a few steps. My eyes darted to mum, her pupils the size of pin points. She grabbed his carapace as dragged him down to her height.
"Kindly keep your nose out of our private business, Spectre," she hissed. "Otherwise I will throw you so fast off my ship not even a black hole could stop you," Drutus waved his mandibles.
"Understood, Captain," he said. Mum shoved him back. He smiled. "Regardless, Autillin. You are the only crew member in position to take to the helm. Captain Shaik has already discussed it with us,"
"Dell?" Val gawked. "B-But… you know how I feel about-"
"I don't have a choice, Val," she sighed. "Rosmeni is a fighter, not a leader. Indira and Shayan well, you know what they're like. And Anthon… you'll excuse me if I'm suspicious of promoting people too quickly. You're the only other person I can trust with this," Cops clicked his mandibles. "Please. For me,"
"I… all right. Fine," Cops sighed. "For you," Mum crossed the distance, reaching up on her tip toes to press a kiss on his lips. My tongue stuck out, earning a chuckle from Drutus.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"No more time wasting. All personnel to cargo hold," Drutus ordered. Mum frowned at him, but put her hands on my shoulders and herded me to the elevator. Sassy and Drutus followed.
When Drutus said he was taking every turian except Cops, he wasn't kidding. Phentos, Iona, Aurentia, Saere, Lanster, Quin, Veracia and Marruns waited in neat rows by the large shuttle. Mum frowned as she loaded up, Paladin and Locust at her hips. Sassy pulled out a sniper from the sniper cache to join his Mantis on his back. He strapped a shotgun and 2 pistols in place. He tossed me another two and a belt with additional heat sinks and grenades. It snapped around my waist as the pistols secured to my hips. Sassy led me to one of the small shuttles. Drutus lined mum up with the turians as we jumped in. Her eyes trailed after me as the door shut. In the cockpit, Sassy prepped for take-off while I sat on the co-pilot seat.
We took off first to let Drutus drag mum's attention together. My eyes focused on the instruments as Sassy steered us towards the small planet in the middle of nowhere, a forgotten system in the Sentry Omega cluster. From what Kala had dug up, this planet lay on the limit of normal geth space. Nothing more than old Prothean ruins and the occasional geth. The only other thing that brought any concern was the environment. When we cleared the upper atmosphere, the landscape below ruptured.
The arid land spread before me, the dusty yellow dust weaving around the crumbled ruins of a city long levelled. Heat battered the shuttle, the air con working overtime to compensate. Not a drop of green sprouted here, only dust and rock. Water was non-existent. The sea of rubble piled tens of metres high, a maze of corridors were old streets lined the valleys of the sprawling metropolis, but not a single skyscraper remained. Was this prothean or was it older? A frown settled as the shuttle lowered on a rare patch of clear ground. Waves of broken concrete greeted us as Sassy shut the engine, pushing himself up. As the doors open, the dry air smashed me like a hammer. My throat stifled, gagging on the hot air as I followed. Dust stuck to my tongue as a cough reared. Sassy ignored me as he dropped from the shuttle, dragging me into the parched air. He closed the shuttle. He brought out a pistol. The ammo light glowed pale blue.
"Now, a ground rule before we begin," Sassy said, cocking the gun. My eyes fixated to the gun. "Rule 1, follow orders when given them. Clear?"
"Y-Yes sir," I said.
"Good. Let is see what we have ahead of us," Sassy stepped up onto the rubble pile, navigating the maze of broken concrete and metal. There was no hope for me to follow without difficulty, stumbling over the uneven surface.
Sassy hiked to the highest point he could find, bringing out the Mantis to peer down the scope and examine the area. The exposed mound was less than stable. My arms flew out to save myself from falling off the shaken ground. Once stable, I shielded my eyes with a hand. There was nothing out there, a sea of rubble to the horizon with dust storms masking everything beyond 3km. Sassy clicked his tongue, checking his omni-tool. He nodded as he walked to an angled sheet of concrete. He slid down 20m to the bottom. My jaw dropped, staring down the abyss. He smirked up at me.
"Come along now," he said. My vision swam as vertigo struck.
"Is there no-" I started. A yelp snapped free as pain radiated from my lower leg, the pistol bang triggering my legs to leap up. The ground beneath me caved. The scream was automatic, tumbling down the angled debris to the shattered ground, rolling at the bottom to sprawl on the ground. As the dust settled around me, my lungs wheezed, gagging on dry, dusty air. My back and shoulders stung, but nothing seemed broken. My head flopped, muscles tingling as they relaxed. Another pistol shot echoed around me, a sharp pain in my waist. "W-What was that for!?"
"For hesitating, for one," Sassy reloaded the pistol. "Rule 2; don't hesitate, it will get you killed. The other was for screaming. Rule 3; no screaming. You aren't dying, there's no need for it. Although, it probably attracted the geth's attention if they are in the area," he grinned. "Let us see if it did," he stalked away, scurrying up a small rubble pile to reach the remains of old column. Helpless, I could only gawk after him, watching him traverse the terrain. He glanced behind him, spotting me unmoved from my spot. He shot me again. My legs shambled up the unsteady rubble to him. Sassy grinned as he trained an eye through the sniper scope. He frowned.
"Strange…" he muttered. My hand covered my eyes peering through the hazy heat. Sassy grabbed my head and shoved me down, the frown growing. "I was unaware anyone but geth traversed this system. Why would they be here?"
"Is… is it mum's squad?" I asked. He shook his head. He unfolded the Widow, passing it to me. My shoulders groaned under the weight, my arms quivered. Why the hell was he giving me a Widow of all things?
"12 degrees left of the broken metal bridge," Sassy said. Sweat dropped from my brow as the Widow's barrel stand dropped onto a ledge before me and positioned myself at the scope. Kala's interface led me in the right direction. My eyes narrowed at the scene.
Mechs. They weren't new mechs, not by any standard. Rust covered the outer casings, rubble had crushed some of the crates, but they were still new enough to cause a stir. Kala ran a quick check, but only found basic model information dating 20 years ago. My face scrunched up as I scanned the area. A rusted housing unit filled with LOKI mechs, a few FENRIS mechs, even an YMIR mech in the middle of nowhere. We saw no sign of the owners though, no markings that gave any identification. Geth had no such use for them. Had mercs dropped here and got themselves killed by the geth, had someone tried to settle here, had someone stored them here for safe keeping and then forgot about them? My eyes flew to Sassy as he sheathed the Mantis. He crept further away, eyes now on the horizon. The Widow compacted but even in its small form, it remained cumbersome. It took a minute to slide it into place. My left side dragged down as we pushed through the heat. We hiked for another 10 minutes, pausing under any shade we could for a time, catching my breath. Upon a shaded mound where the remains of a building blocked the sun's rays, Sassy smiled. He cocked the sniper, throwing on disruptor ammo. Sassy lined up the scope, scanning the land before us. He nodded.
"Geth. Sniper out, boy," he said. The Widow tumbled free with a grumble. The Predator hovered near my face, freezing every muscle. "Rule 4; no complaining. You wanted training, after all," A glower stained my face as the Widow extended. We stretched out on a rare flat piece of ground, the weight off my shoulders. 200m away, a small group of 6 geth patrolled.
"So we just shoot, right?" I asked. Sassy frowned. My teeth dug into my lip, a copper taste staining my tongue as my thigh stung. The geth twitched, scanning the area as it echoed while Sassy reloaded the pistol.
"Rule 5; restrain yourself. You need to know how to hold the gun for one," he scolded. My jaw tightened to stop any whimpering, to make the geth aware of our presence. "Now, hand on trigger, your other hand should hold this here," he cupped his hand under part of the barrel. "This Widow has a stabiliser mod so the kickback won't be too bad, but it will still try to punch you in the face. Also, get the butt into your shoulder," he rearranged the gun, pressing the end into my shoulder. "Now, do you know how to focus the scope?"
"Yes," I said.
"Good, read the serial number on that black, silver and orange geth," Sassy ordered. My eye peered down the scope, droplets of sweat dropping past my vision. The lens focused as I twirled it, zooming in and out to ensure it transitioned. After 2 minutes, the geth stood still long enough for me to read the tiny numbers on the side of its head.
"148-AL2:F," I said.
"Good. Now we wait. They're alerted, so let them calm down before we liven things up," Sassy said.
My finger eased away from the trigger, just in case it twitched. The geth patrolled, even walked to higher ground to assess the situation, but in the shadows of the collapsed building, we remained hidden. The heat cooked the landscape, sweat trickling down my face. Even though Sassy had found a rare sheltered area for us, the heat blurred my vision. My lips chapped, my dry tongue useless to dampen them. My palms sweated as the geth recollected. 3 units abandoned the area, disappearing behind the rubble mounds. Sassy tracked them, spotting them about 5 minutes later heading for an abandoned building that had lost its upper floors. Sassy nodded, turning to the remaining 3 geth.
"All right, pick a target, aim. Hold the rifle, it will kick up," Sassy ordered.
Breathlessness rasped at my throat, a tremble running down my spine. My heart skipped, breathing was now deliberate to settle it. The crosshairs lined with a silvery geth, aiming for the head. A breath crawled into my lungs, it held, stagnated. My finger squeezed the trigger. The gun leapt in my hand, ripped free to bounce upwards. My heart crashed against my ribs as I released the gun to grab the barrel with two hands. Seconds later, my hands released as heat pushed through the armoured gloves. Sassy stared, a frown deep on his face. A flush burned my cheeks as I grabbed the rifle, lowering it back on the ledge with a thud. With a numb shoulder and ringing ears, my lungs pleaded for moist air. Sassy tutted.
"You missed. And you alerted them," he said. "Reload, line up and try again. And this time try to not drop the gun. That is a mighty expensive weapon and you've already scratched the paintwork," Sassy shook his head. "They're moving. Time your shot to your heartbeat, assuming you can keep it steady," My jaw clenched as the reload lever clicked, ejecting the heat sink. The gun settled back into my shoulder. The geth zig zagged around the debris, attempting to locate the source of my bullet. My crosshairs zoned in on one that peered down a ridge. A breath in, held, my heart rattled my rib cage. The trigger clicked. The gun ricocheted again, but my death grip held it enough to stop it flying into my face. With my eye back down the scope, the geth staggered but remained standing. With my teeth on the brink of snapping, I lined up another shot. It missed. Reload, aim, breathe, shoot. It took 4 tries to graze the damn thing, but it hobbled as the leg contorted. The 7th shot put it down, helpless in my scope.
Sassy's Mantis erupted beside me, jolting me. Another of the geth tumbled, the head ripped clean off. My cheeks burned. The remaining geth spun, wild and confused. Sassy lined up another shot, taking his time. He shot a leg off. The geth tumbled on the broken concrete. He nodded. With my lip trapped between my teeth, the scope trained on the head. The geth tried to crawl away. The gun scratched on the ledge as I twisted, following it before remembering basic aiming techniques. With the scope aimed just ahead of the direction it moved in, Widow roared. My whole shoulder throbbed and my ears rang, but the shot the geth in the shoulder, the machine falling still. I sat back, rolling my shoulder as a rasped in the dry air.
"How many bullets did you use?" Sassy asked.
"Um… 9 or 10 I think," I said. Sassy snorted.
"We need to do some serious work. Reload, buckle up and follow me," he ordered. He reloaded the Mantis, slipping it back on his back and sliding down the rubble into the sun again. Forced to chase after him, the Widow slipped back onto my back as I scurried after him into the sun.
We trudged through the valleys of crumpled rubble, towering anywhere between 3 to 10m tall around us. Sometimes it kept the sun at bay, but the heat was another monster. The shade could cook eggs. My first water container emptied, my second and third weighed down on me, a reminder of how little remained and how long I had been out here. It wasn't a good sign. My head shook, flinging sweat from my face as my body flushed under the armour. We spent half an hour trying to locate the next set of geth, giving Sassy a good opportunity to test my physique. He trudged me up and down the rubble, sliding or scrambling down near cliffs. I lost count of the number of times he shot me for hesitating at a drop, for grumbling behind his back. Because of that, my jaw had clamped shut, refusing to sprout a sound as we mounted the top of a ridge. We paused under the shade of another semi-enclosed structure, out of the sun.
Sassy unhooked a canister around his waist, pouring cold water over my head. The sudden cold tore air from my lungs, but the sting of my heated skin eased. Sassy appeared unaffected in the arid climate, despite being an amphibian and everything. He had no trouble staying hydrated. He watched the horizon as I caught my breath. My blond hair worked to my advantage is that it didn't attract as much heat. But it was thicker than most, trapping heat. Sassy slipped the Mantis out, squinting at something in the distance.
"Hmm, we appear to have found our geth," he said. My head flopped, securing the top of my water canister. The Widow dropped off my shoulder, extending as gun slide along a ledge before me. Through the scope, 3 geth stood in the shelter of a building about 280m away. My shoulders rolled as the sniper pressed into it, sweat dripping off my brow. It ached from the pressure. An initial scan assured that there was nothing much here, rubble as far as the eye could see. Something colourful stepped past my lens. I zoomed out to get a better view, my jaw dropped at the sight.
"Uh… Sassy? There's… there's a salarian down there," I said. Sassy paused, narrowing his eyes as he fiddled with his lens. He leaned back.
"That… I think that might be… no," he muttered, checking again. "Virolyn? Why is she here?"
"Who?" I asked.
"Virolyn Heloni, looking to be dalatrass within the next few months for a research and military colony out here in the Sentry Omega Cluster. Virmire is a lost cause, too many pirates but this dalatrass got peace treaties from several groups for the colonisation of a planet in the Geva system. Raiders avoid that system due to the high geth threat. Talented woman, a little crazy but she gets results. Why she is here in the Feryn system is beyond me…" he said. Back down the scope, the baby blue female salarian paused near to the group of geth. Her white crown and white markings flicking off the corner of her… eyes… I straightened.
"S… Sassy," I stuttered. Sassy hmmed. "I… I know her," Sassy spared me a glance. "She… she tried to raid… the Starquake with Rolidin," Sassy wheeled to face me as my throat tightened. "I… I think she's… a Saboteur. It's definitely her! I-I remember her markings," It had to be her, she looked too similar! My omni-tool lit up, the video footage we gave to the Council playing. It paused when she appeared. Sassy studied the image, jaw tight. He raised eyes his to mine.
"Lesson over. We leave. Now." He hissed. He shoved me back whence we came. My footing stumbled as the Widow collapsed down, back on my shoulder. "Delern to crew, Delern to crew. Saboteur in sight, I repeat, Saboteur in sight. They are unaware of our presence. We are returning to shuttle," he said over the radio.
"Roger, Commander. Scrambling crew for deployment, we have informed the captain. Description?" Una asked.
"Female salarian, light blue, white markings on the face," Sassy said. We jogged down the narrow corridors of rubble, forming a maze through what used to be old streets. Sassy scanned the area as we meandered back towards the shuttle. So much for training… and there was no way I could get Sassy to take me out again either, not with a Saboteur on the first trip. Looks like Saboteurs would be a pain in my ass-
My yelp couldn't compete with the bang in the valley, Sassy dragging me back. A bullet slammed into the ground before me. My eyes swivelled upwards, geth popping over the edges with assault rifles in hand. Sassy shoved me forward, barking to run. My legs jolted free, sprinting through the heat, sun and bullets as Sassy broke out the shotgun. My hand fumbled for a pistol, but Sassy threatened to shoot me in the back if I stopped running. A sharp bend appeared, forcing me to skid around it, making a mad dash down the long straight. Sassy nipped behind me, shotgun blasting. Around another corner, the anchors snapped on. Sassy crashed into the back of me but made no complaint when his eyes looked up.
Virolyn waited, arms folded as she stared us down. How the hell did she get ahead of us?! She must've ran, maybe had the geth herd us towards her. Geth clicked on the ridges above. Sassy glanced behind him as geth piled up behind us. He aimed the shotgun at the Saboteur. She smiled. Sassy's gun clicked then whined, the lights failed. Sassy narrowed his eyes. My shields shut down, Kala's visor vanished from my eye. Sassy bent down, dragging two short swords out of the back of his legs. The Saboteur frowned.
"I see the Advocacy has prepared. Unfortunate but expected. I presume that since Narciso's target is here, the Advocacy cannot be far," she said.
"Narciso?" I echoed. Sassy snorted.
"Sitoln," he said. Sweat ran down my spine. "An odd place for a Saboteur. Something of interest here?" The Saboteur chuckled.
"Peace," she said. "Ruined by you," her eyes scanned the geth. "Finish them before the Advocacy arrives. Her body count is too high," The geth raised their guns, locking my knees. Sassy grit his teeth as he grabbed my armour by the collar.
"Get to the shuttle," he hissed, hurling me down a gap in the rubble wall. A squeal echoed around me as my ass slid down the narrow tube into an underground tunnel. At the bottom, the dust blinded me as I tumbled to a stop. When the dust settled, light pocketed the tunnel, spreading out in all directions as gaps in the rubble created pin-points of light. Shuttle, get back to the shuttle. My jaw locked as I pushed myself up, ducking my head in the low tunnel as my legs launched me into a mad sprint to find a way up. Kala's visor sprung to life. A rough ramp reared before me, an exit to the surface. Gunfire popped through the air. My vision hazed from heat, exhaustion and sweat.
"What happened? I lost connection," Kala said.
"Tech Incap Saboteur!" I said. "It's that blue salarian we saw on the Citadel! Why didn't she try to stop the Starquake back then?"
"Her Tech Incap has a limit. Estimating our location with Commander Delern's when the connection re-established, I would say at most a 100m radius but is more sustainable at 50m. The Starquake is about 315m long, the servers were well out of her Incap range," Kala said. My teeth grit. At least we had a range for her ability…
"Help me get back to the shuttle, Kala!" I begged.
"Roger. Keep on your present heading. Shuttle is 300m away," Kala said.
The dry air wrecked my lungs. It was like breathing sand, forcing me to wheeze as my hands pulled me up the walls of rubble to reach the shuttle. The gunfire in the distanced popped like fireworks. That meant Sassy was still alive. An angled ramp phased me not, sliding down before stumbling at the bottom to stay upright. Geth poked out from the rubble gorges, but all they ever saw the trail of dust behind me. They were close, but a sizable lead remained. The shuttle burst into view below me. It took everything to stop myself falling down the slope to it. Without the access codes, the emergency release handle was my option. With the door open, the baking interior pinned to the ground as I crawled to the cockpit. The shuttle rumbled as the engines started, pushing itself off the ground. The air con shoved my fuzzy head back into gear. I had to get help, try and get Sassy- Wait, the Saboteur would take me out the sky. Sassy had to come to me, but how without-
An explosion rattled the shuttle. My scream deafened me as my hand thrust the power controls to max, lifting the shuttle higher and pushing it forward. A group of 4 geth with rocket launchers fired upon me. 2 missed, one smashed one of the rear thrusters and the other hit the belly. The shuttle rocked in the air, warnings erupting around me. Lights flashed, the flight controls jammed, the shuttle banked to port and the nose dropped. It was like being in the Starquake all over again… helpless… Kala warmed me to drag on the harness behind me. It snapped on just seconds before the shuttle bounced on the ground. My eyes squeezed shut as the shuttle cartwheeled. The shuttle creaked as it skidded to a halt. My eyes flew open, panting. The crackling of fire jumpstarted my limbs, smoke filling the cabin. The harness snapped off, but without it holding me in place, I collided with the co-pilot window. My hands found the emergency evacuation handle, prying the front of the shuttle open like an orange. The tiny gap was large enough to crawl out of, tumbling onto the ground and back into the heat. The ringing in my ears died down.
"…I repeat, shuttle down! Saboteur is Tech Incap. Bring mechanical weapons!" Sassy's voice crackled in my ear.
"Is he ok? Are you with him?" Mum's frantic cry rang out. My head spun as it tried to make sense of the convulsing horizon. A quick glance around me told me where I was, by the abandoned mechs. I raised a finger to my ear.
"I-I'm ok," I gasped. "S-Shaken, b-but I'm ok. I-I will try-" My body failed. My eyes widened as my vision faded, my sense of touch leaving me floating. With no sense of reality, only the darkness and my thoughts, I struggled to understand what happened. Was this a dream? It… it felt weird. It felt too alien to be real, but too real to be fake… that made no sense. A wheeze punched out my lungs as it came back, pain radiating from almost every part of me. My ears rang, a sour taste stuck to my tongue. The dusty ground swirled before my eyes. My laden body struggled to respond to my commands, scrambling back to my feet. Sound registered, a clanging sound. I spun around, the black, silver and orange geth staggering away as an overload sparked over its body. My jaw dropped. The geth turned its attention to me, the flashlight focusing. Why had everything vanished? Where had… oh… fuck…
"You're a Saboteur, aren't you?" I asked. The geth clicked.
"The Advocacy's spawn are certainly sharp," it said. My eyes bulged. Oh fuck! My vision swam, my skin tingled as pins and needles spread over my body. Unable to feel my legs, my arse crashed to the ground. The ringing eased, but so did everything else. Kala beeped in my ear, but with the geth Saboteur advancing on me, there were bigger things to worry about. Wires slipped free from the geth, glowing Reaper blue. My vision swam until a blue of colours was all I could see.
The geth Saboteur collapsed as a FENRIS unit colliding into the side of it. My body jerked, senses returning in a snap. Through my swirling head, I struggled back to my feet. My eyes flew around the area. The mechs trudged to life, unfolding, rust flaking off as they swayed on dried joints. Their lights burned yellow. The LOKI mechs raised pistols. My knees trembled, staggering away from the Saboteur. The mechs fired on the Saboteur. One of the FENRIS units, one of the better preserved ones, skidded to a stop beside me.
"Gideon, run!" Kala snapped, utilising a speaker system on the FENRIS unit. My expression slackened.
"Kala? You… You can hijack-" I stammered.
"Of course I can, you removed that shackle! I just can't do it without leaving traces of myself. Now run!" The YMIR unit rumbled towards the geth Saboteur as it struggled to fend off the 20 or so units. My inspiration to flee returned, wheeling around and running in the opposite direction. The FENRIS unit followed. I raised a finger to my ear.
"Second Saboteur on site! I repeat, second Saboteur in the area! S-Sensory Overload! We need mechs! G-Geth Saboteur, black, orange and silver in colour! I-I need help!" I called.
"You are kidding me!" Mum balked. "Two? Two of them? Tech Incap and Sensory Overload? How the… How the hell are we meant to combat that?! Where is Mat'al?"
"H-He's fighting the Tech Incap Saboteur! T-The geth will be on me soon. I-I got some mechs up and running but they won't hold him for long!" I said. There was a pause. Had mum fainted in terror?
"Gid, just run. Just run, baby, don't stop running! Mat'al, get to him! Now!" Mum ordered.
"Roger that, breaking off now," Sassy responded.
Kala as she led me through the meandering maze of concrete. With luck, those mechs would distract the geth Saboteur long enough to let us hide until backup arrived, or at least until she lost signal. How long the omni-tool radiated her single, who knew, right now wasn't a good time to worry about it. Kala bounded around a corner. A crash rang out. Kala tackled a geth to the ground, electricity dancing over the geth. My legs refused to stop as I ran past, scrambling up the rubble pile ahead of me. Kala re-joined me along a ridge of rubble before it slipped into another valley. The concrete crumbled under me. My hands slapped over my mouth during the tumble to the ground. My legs already forced me up as Kala bounced after me. The heat blinded me, my throat parched and head fuzzy, gasping for air. Dust tumbled down the concrete ahead of me. My eyes flew up the geth Saboteur slid down the slope, cables and shotgun primed.
Kala launched herself at the geth, giving me enough time to sprint down another canyon. The clash of metal sent tremors down my knees. My feet lost their footing, my body sluggish. My head thundered onto the ground, eyes rolling. Instincts threw my arms out, crawling along the ground. A geth click behind me. It crashed to the ground, footfalls thundering beside me. Something grabbed my collar yanking me up. My stomach heaved as I doubled over something. Cold water soaked me an instant later. My vision cleared enough to see the ground moving below me, Kala's tail just in sight. I recognised Sassy's armour as my eyes drifted up. Green blood dripped down his arm, staining parts of my armour. Sassy grabbed a canister of my water and forced into my hands.
"Drink. This is not the time pass out from dehydration," Sassy ordered. The cold water gave me the strength to down the container until I drank air. Sassy knocked the empty can out of my hand and hurled me off his shoulder, forcing me into a run.
With no shuttle, we just had to delay the Saboteurs until backup arrived. Sassy pushed me on, Kala helped. We only ran about 4 minutes before the heat battered me to the ground again. With no strength, I was in the dirt, landing face first on the rubbly ground. Kala wheeled around to stay with me as Sassy skidded to a stop. Clicking echoed behind me. My feet kicked to push me up. Kala growled before charging. Sassy grabbed my armour and pulled me up. The geth Saboteur had caught up. It tried to control Kala as she charged, thinking it a normal mech with standard programming. As an AI, Kala wouldn't fall to such basic failures. She tackled the geth to the ground as Sassy shoved me on.
"Kala! Get out of there! The Tech Incap could be close behind!" I cried. Kala zapped the geth Saboteur before wheeling around.
"Then run, you idiot!" she snapped. The horizon swayed before me as I stumbled on. Kala turned back to the Saboteur before racing towards me and tearing between my legs. My scream echoed down the canyon as my hands gripped the lip of her face, raising my knees off the ground as Kala carried me away. Sassy followed.
"Where is everyone?" I begged. Kala beeped.
"I saw the shuttle leave the Starquake 20 minutes ago, but it had to return to pick up mechs. Your mother should be close as well, depending on how far from the shuttle they were," Kala said. That could take half an hour!
"Gideon," Sassy said. My eyes swivelled up. "What is this?" he pointed down to Kala. My expression blanched, looking between Kala and Sassy. A cough ripped free.
"Oh… oh uh… well it's… Um… S-Sassy, this is Kala. Kala, this is Sassy," I said.
"A pleasure, Commander," Kala commented. Sassy narrowed his eyes.
"Is that an AI?" he asked. There wasn't enough moisture to swallow.
"Ah well ah m-maybe, b-but she's a good AI! S-She's friendly and-" I stammered.
"Gideon. We will have a nice, long chat when we get back to the ship," he warned. "For the time being, I will not say no to immediate help," My body trembled at the thought. Could Kala prove herself?
"Shaik to Delern. What's the situation?" Mum called, voice strained but calmer than she was.
"I'm with Gideon, he's fine. Geth Saboteur in pursuit. I cut off the leg of the salarian Saboteur. It won't stop her, but it'll give us some time,"
"Good. Try to separate the Saboteurs. The mechs won't work with the salarian around and we can't operate with the geth. Can you do that?" she asked. Sassy glanced to me. He clucked his tongue.
"Gideon has a FENRIS mech with him. He's programmed it to let him ride it. The heat is killing him, Dell, he can't take much more. He can lure the geth Saboteur away with the mech's help. I'll keep the salarian busy," Sassy said.
"I… Can you use the FENRIS mech without Gideon?" Mum said. Sassy glanced to the mech, thinking.
"Possibly, but Gideon will be a sitting duck without it," he said.
"Bunker down somewhere. Have that mech keep the geth distracted. You worry about the salarian," mum said.
"Roger that," Sassy said. "Your mother is surprising calm given the situation,"
"Maybe Drutus kicked her ass?" I jittered as Kala skidded to a halt. My legs strained to hold my weight.
"Possibly. Now, AI," Sassy glanced to the mech. Kala sat beside me.
"Kala. What do you need, Commander?" she asked. Sassy raised his chin.
"Distract the geth Saboteur for as long as you can. Is this your only platform?" he asked.
"No, but it is my only moving platform. I can mount a basic copy of myself onto it to prevent distance from Gideon hindering me. I may also be able to re-control what mechs remain the area, however that depends on how nicely the Saboteur plays. He might play hard to get. I'll wiggle my ass, see if that gets his attention," Kala drawled. Sassy frowned.
"Wonderful, she's sassy," he moaned. "Fine, do that. Gideon, you're with me on the hill. Go!" he ordered.
Kala bounded off in the opposite direction, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Sassy dragged me up a mound to a shady hole in the rubble. We ducked behind it. The geth Saboteur jogged through the area with a rifle drawn. Kala charged, zig zagging to avoid the bullets. She smashed into him, leaping and running. The geth clicked as it found his feet. Kala wiggled her ass, beeping. The geth shot at her, but she jumped to the side and ran down another canyon. The geth ran after her. Sassy nodded.
"The good thing about not having your mother around is that the Saboteurs cannot sense where we are," Sassy said. My eyes scanned the canyon Kala vanished down. She remained on my visor, but still… with a physical body it gave her more… reality for a lack of a better word. "Now, we stay here and hope the other Saboteur passes us by…" Sassy trailed off
Sassy whipped around, metal blade in hand. The movement jolted my muscles, shoving me away from Sassy as he sliced through 3 cables aimed at us. My eyes bulged. Sassy kicked me off the high perch. My arms covered my head as I rolled down the rubble. The fighting intensified above me as my knees found the will to hold me. Please, Kala kept the other Saboteur busy! Sassy grunted, thrown off the edge and rolled after me. He recovered better than I, drawing the Mantis. The salarian Saboteur growled. The Mantis hummed. It exploded before it extended. The eruption sent Sassy flying back. I ran to his side. He lay there, gaping at the shattered remains of the Mantis, pupils shrinking with each second. A shaken hand reached out to ease pieces off the ground. The Saboteur advanced.
"Did I break something valuable, salarian?" the Saboteur asked. Sassy didn't respond. "Don't worry, you won't be parted for long," cables reared out from her back. One aimed for him as Sassy gawked glassy eyed at the remains. "The good thing about organics is that just by breaking their toys, you break them"
She would kill Sassy… she'd kill him! Why wasn't he doing anything?! I… I had to save him! It was instinct, out with my control. I grabbing the cable, yanking it away from him. The Saboteur frowned, the cable snaking. My feet lifted off the ground but my grip remained true. Save Sassy, have to save Sassy! She slammed me into the ground, using other cables to haul me in the air once more and plunge me back into the ground. Air erupted from my lungs in painful wheezes. The cables tightened, my limbs flailed to free myself. I couldn't move my arms to use a blade, despite the yellow hued blade gleaming down above me. My eyes found Sassy, oblivious to my fight.
The Saboteur froze, the cables ceasing their strangling. She spun around, eyes skywards. A shuttle soared above us, but mum was 5m from the salarian, metal blades armed as she fell the remaining height. Her pupils were pin points. The shuttle hovered a safe distance away, waiting to land. Mum and Saboteur clashed together. With the Saboteur distracted, the shuttle lowered to the ground, the turians pouring out. Mum sliced through the cables, diving for the salarian, freeing me from her grasp. The Saboteur side-stepped, wrapping cables around mum and hurling her away. Mum crashed to the ground but rolled onto her feet.
"Get him out of here, Saere!" she barked. "Aurentia, Iona, get on high ground with those guns! Phentos, Marruns, on my flanks! Quin, Veracia, Lanster, Drutus, cover fire! Watch for the other Saboteur!" she shouted as she charged. Phentos and Marruns rushed in with her, metal blades gleaming in the sun. My legs refused to respond, but my arms did. They dragged me back to the Sassy's side. When I tried to pull him away, he resisted.
"Sassy, c'mon!" I urged. No matter how hard I pulled, he jerked his arm free, doubling over the pieces of his Mantis.
Saere grabbed the pair of us, hauling us away. Sassy fought. Saere released me to tumble to the ground and used both hands to restrain the salarian, but Sassy turned wild, eyes rolling in his head as he reached for Mantis, incomprehensible sounds sprouting free as he wailed. Saere struggled to drag him back as the fighting intensified, creeping closer. She smacked her mandibles together, tapping on her omni-tool as she head-locked him. She pressed her omni-tool to his chest. Within seconds, Mat'al's frantic flails slowed. He fell limp her arms. She hauled him over her shoulder as grabbed me with her remaining hand, dragging us away. She threw us into the shuttle.
Marruns pinned the Saboteur with two blades through the shoulder blades, Phentos holding the hips as mum sliced through cables and muscle to rip the spine free. The three people choked on strangling cables crushing their bones, but they held. Out of the debris canyon, Kala trotted out, one leg held up as she limped over. Saere aimed a pistol at her, but my hand grabbed her pistol. Saere glanced down to me as Kala hopped inside, sitting by my side. She lowered the pistol. Mum grunted as she and Marruns yanked the spine free from the neck, a piece of the brain still attached. Mum stepped off, spine limp in hands as the small lights died. Kala sent a message to my omni-tool, saying the geth Saboteur had fled and her 'ground unit' could not keep up. At least we got one of them. The turians returned to the shuttle, Aurentia and Iona breaking down the mechanical rifles. Mum ran over. My hands tightened on the shuttle seat. She clamped her arms around me, crushing me. A whined sounded as she ran her hands over me, trying to find any injuries. She hugged me again when she found nothing obvious.
"Captain, we need you back up here. Our sensors tracking that other Saboteur tell is they're heading for a ship," Una called. Mum grit her teeth.
"Lanster, go! Get us back, now!" Mum ordered. Lani charged into the cockpit. The shuttle hovered as he guided it up, pushing the engines. "Either it's fleeing or it will attack the Starquake, neither is acceptable. Una, keep track of the ship!"
"Roger, we're coming to get you," Una responded.
Mum marched into the cockpit, hovering over Lani as he steered as at near max speed to the ship. My eyes pinned to Saere as she checked over Sassy on the floor. The FENRIS mech sat beside me. My body ached, muscles I didn't even know I had complained, but I was alive. Flames engulfed the flanks of the shuttle as we charged upwards. In the distance, the faint glint of the Starquake, the other shuttle returning as we were. They never reached us, not after returning for the mechs. The Starquake drifted closer until it swallowed us, the door closing as Lanster brought the shuttle in and secured it. The doors opened and the team charged out. They ignored the weapons returns. Saere carried Sassy away.
"Take the mech to my room, Kala. It's too damaged to be useful just now," I said.
"Sure, just try to stay upright this time," she giggled as she hobbled away. My lips pinned down. The engines surged, the ship vibrated. My hands found grooves in the floor as the ship turned sharp to port, I would have been on the floor otherwise. The G-forces pinned me to the floor, forcing me to crawl to the elevator. Inside the elevator, Kala's magnetic feet keep her stable while my grip on the floor only tightened. My fingers touched the CIC and top floor buttons. I tumbled out of the elevator at the CIC, Kala continued upwards with the mech.
Full combat systems lit up the CIC. Mum sat belted into the captain's chair, everyone else harnessed into their chairs. Lanster had regained control the ship as we danced around salarian frigate, probably the salarian Saboteur's before we killed her. A rare straight moment granted me the time to dash to the Control Ring, taping a button to rotate the outer plate on the consoles to reveal a harness. It snapped around my chest. Lanster swerved to avoid the salarian while new guns mounted on the rear fired back after the salarian. They couldn't stay in one place for too long. They banked to get some distance. Then the Starquake shuddered to starboard, a sharp snap that took everyone by surprise. Alarms blared in the cockpit. The ship twisted towards the bullets, Lanster fighting every step of the way.
"That geth is in our systems!" Lanster called. "He's fucking up our steering! Science, Intel, get on it!"
The ship lurched again, the drive core fluttering. Lights flickered, but the engineers hauled ass to keep it turning. The salarian ship spun in and fired. It smashed into the shields near the rotary. The ship jerked as the engines refused to give proper thrust. No longer held by g-forces, I tore the harness off and ran up to mum. A new alarm broke the air, a high pitched peeling. A screen flashed before mum. Mum threw her own harness off, spinning to face the labs. Through the glass, thick black smog billowed up the sides.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"Saboteur is shorting out electrical systems to the labs. It's shut the vents, smoke is filling the room!" Una called from the cockpit. Mum's eyes widened.
"The Saboteur's trying to kill the people in the Server room! Get them out of there!" she snapped.
People hurled their harnesses off, sprinting down the halls. When they reached the science room, they tried to pry the doors open, but the Saboteur fought, holding the doors shut. People clawed at the glass, gagging on the black smoke. Some people threw on smoke hoods to prepare for going in, but the doors refused to open. The walls blocked the screams from the crew in the labs, but the cries from the crew outside the labs, screaming to open the doors, they rang in my ears, a stone forming in my stomach. The ship lurched again, another shell punching the Starquake as electrical systems failed. We couldn't turn the drive core off. Not only would it leave us defenceless but everyone would need to don spacesuits to deal with the decompression.
With the scientists dying, they couldn't get to the server to counteract the geth or Reaper controls. What could we do? Mum shouted orders over the alarms, over the frantic activity of the crew around her. There was nothing… we couldn't stop the geth, not without shutting the drive core down but then we'd lose everything. We'd all die! Did… did we have to abandon ship? No, no, he'd destroy the escape pods. Another round smashed into the Starquake, hurling me into a computer bank, sliding the floor. A slot for an omni-chip appeared before me. My eyes locked onto it. People slid down the glass in the science room, the smoke overpowering. My teeth clenched until it hurt, eyes narrowing. I yanked a chip out of Kala's omni-tool and shoved it inside.
"Kala, you gotta help! We can't fight it!" I said, reaching up for a control panel, trying to overcome the commands. The Saboteur overwrote everything before I finished typing the command.
"Gideon… I… the ship is… Gideon, this goes against my self-preservation coding. If I do this, the crew may see me as a threat-" Kala stuttered, her emoticon changing to surprise.
"Kala, we will die you don't help! I freed you from the shackles that stopped you hijacking servers," I pleaded, trying again to fight the doors open. My command line vanished, tensing my shoulders as my fingers tried again.
"Well… yes, but I have my own code, Gideon. I… Taking control of the ship would-" Kala said.
"Save us all! Kala, listen to me. Sometimes in life, you gotta do things that feel so fucking wrong but it's the only way to save what matters to you. Like mum abandoning Tuchanka. She didn't want to leave but to make sure no one else died, she had to! If you don't help, we're all dead! Do you want me to…?" I asked, voice failing. Kala remained silent. My eyes flew to the science rooms, the team trying to break the glass. Kala's emoticon narrowed its eyes.
"I am assuming control," Kala said, utilising the ship's intercom. The power sprung to life, the drive core hummed. The console before me whizzed by as Kala fired through the Saboteur's commands. She took the Saboteur by surprise. "Reaper software detected, counteracting. Lab doors opening, preparing to vent," Out from the corner of my eye, the doors to the lab flew open. The teams grabbed people and dragged them out, oxygen tanks pulled from the medical bay lining the hall.
"Rescue team, there are 3 occupants still within the labs. 2 within the server room, one near Isolation Lab 1," Kala instructed, the engines roaring as we avoid another shell. Kala spun the ship, the projectiles skimming past as she pin-pointed each projectile, making as few movements as necessary to keep the crew on their feet. My fingers danced on the console, taking down what firewalls the Saboteur had formed to slow us down while Kala kept it busy. With Kala occupied the Saboteur, I made progress.
"All occupants within lab recovered, sealing and venting," Kala said. The doors slammed shut, the venting alarm blaring as smoke whisked away into the reaches of space. "Engineering, redirect electrical power from the 4th floor port electrical system. The venting will kill the fire but- Oh, will you piss off you overcompensating piece of shit!" she snapped to the geth. Another firewall collapsed under my touch.
"I've almost got the flight controls back!" I called.
"Roger, Flight crew, prepare to take control," Kala said. My tongue poked free as the final firewall blocking flight controls fell. Kala rolled hard to the starboard to avoid another shell.
"I have control!" I heard Lanster say.
"Roger, control returned to flight crew. Now you, you little piece of Reaper bullshit," Kala snarled.
While my skills could help Kala, at this point, all that remained aside from the Saboteur themselves were software glitches. Kala counteracted all the Reaper's attempts to foil the ship's system quicker than me. Then she took a page out of his book. The salarian ship roll straight into a shell from our main gun, much to Kala's delight. The fight then shifted from the Starquake servers to the salarian ship. Kala's commands suggested she tried to mess with the drive core. A brilliant light erupted from the rear of the ship as she overloaded the drive core. Without power, the servers on the salarian ship died. Kala returned to the Starquake. She dived straight back into the servers to scrub them of any remaining Reaper fragments I had missed. Meanwhile, Lanster opened fire on the ship until it tore itself apart. The pieces of ship floated away, salarian bodies contorting as they spun in the vacuum. The geth Saboteur came into view. Lanster fired the main gun. The resulting white flash of burning magnesium proportions followed as the fusion and mass effect generators exploded. Kala dimmed the cameras to protect the eyes of crew. The Starquake eased forward to pick up any traces of the Saboteur for proper disposal.
"N-Nice work, Kala," I said. Kala's emoticon flicked a small smile but remained concentrating.
"Thank you. However, I believe your mother wishes to speak with you," she said. A frown flitted over my face.
"How so?" I asked.
"Well, she is standing right behind you," she started. My muscles tensed, twitching as my eyes turned to look up at her. Her expression was deadpan. "And she does not looked pleased,"
"…Oh," I said. "Um… ok uh…" Mum pointed a finger upwards.
"Is that an AI?" she asked. My body trembled.
"Um… y-yes, b-but she's friendly! S-She saved us and-" I stuttered.
"You have an AI? An AI?! Where the fuck did you get an AI from? Why do you have one?! How long have you had it?!" Mum snapped.
"Uh.. w-well its… I-I found her on the Constellation and-" I said.
"Julian knows about this?!" she reeled.
"…yes," I coughed. Mum stared at me, eyes wide but focused.
"My apologies," Kala said. Mum snapped her gaze to the nearby console. "My summary of the server status is ready. I've dealt with any remaining Reaper Code," Mum swayed.
"There's an AI on my ship," Mum said, eyes glazing as she stared at the wall behind me. "There's a fucking AI on my ship. What did I say about motherfucking AI's on my motherfucking ship?!"
"Um… n-no AIs," I muttered.
"And what the fuck have you done?!" she snapped. My arms snapped around me as I recoiled.
"K-Kala. C-Can you unmount please," I said. Kala chimed. After a few seconds, the chipped popped out. My hand slipped the chip free and clicked it back into the omni-tool. Mum's eyes focused on the silver band.
"That's what this is, isn't it," she said. "All of this. The visor, the sleeve, the double omni-tools. All of this is because of the AI!" I wrapped my arms around my waist. My head flopped forward, but nodded at her words. Mum froze before me, a petrified statue. She held her hand out. "Give it here,"
"What? B-But mum-" I pleaded.
"Give. It. Here. All of it!" she ordered.
"But-" I whimpered.
"You will either give it to me or I will take it from you. Now give it over!" she snapped. My dish-sized eyes stared up at her, eyebrows upturned. My head sagged, chin hitting my chest. The omni-tool snapped off, the sleeve eased off and the visor pried free. Mum all but snatched them off me. "Is this the only place this thing exists on?" she asked. My eyes locked to the floor. "Answer, my question,"
"Yes," I mumbled.
"Really?" she said. "So if I send engineers up there and strip your room bare, they won't find anything… the servers," her eyes widened. My head snapped up. "That's why Julian gave them to you… he knew! Was this to spy on me or something?"
"N-No!" I cried, tears clogging in my throat. "No, Uncle Julian wanted to destroy her!"
"And you kept it?!" Mum balked. My mouth flailed open, but my voice failed. Mum popped her jaw. "Marruns, take him to Val's room and keep him there. Shayan, get to his room and strip it bare! You find any traces of this AI, you disconnect it immediately!"
"Why do I have to watch the kid?" Marruns sulked.
"Because I said so. Now move it!" she snapped.
"M-Mum, please, y-you're over-reacting!" I sobbed. "Please! Just give her a chance!" Marruns grabbed the back of my armour, dragging me away. My hand grabbed his wrist, eyes locked to my mum. "Please! Mum please, I'm begging you!" The CIC doors closed behind me. The tears rolled down my cheeks in rivers. I was losing Kala… she was gone… gone forever! I crumbled in Marruns' hold. The turian had to drag me to Val's old room.
The Timeline, Saboteur Sheet and Galaxy Map have been updated for this chapter. Please see profile for link to Archive.
A/N: Holy. Mother. Of mercy. Ok, I knew this chapter would be a pain in the ass, but jesus christ! This thing has exploded from 8400 odd words to 9500 odd after I edited it. And I can't really see a good place to cut it either so... hope those who like long chapter like this! At least stuff happens!
Also, as you may have noticed above, I've added a new sheet, the Galaxy Map! Now, I've added this because I realised this would be handier than the timeline for the fourth book. However, to throw it in then would have increased my workload. As I am a completionist, I wanted the full set from the beginning of the saga. Wow, everyone is well travelled XD it also shows you what Julian has been up to, which will come into play in the 5th book.
Also, to give you all fair warning: Over the next day or so, they overall chapter number is going to change by 4. I'll be merging 8 chapters to 4 in Homecoming; The Citadel Fight with Saria (Ch. 14 and 15), two of the Omega chapters (Ch 20 and 21), after the crash (Ch 23 and 24) and the Earth Kinlochleven mission (Ch. 31 and 32). This will reduce Homecoming's chapter total from 43 to 39. I've also got it planned out that Revenant will be either 39 or 40 chapters, depending on if I throw a chapter between the two final missions.