A/N
Hi everybody! Looks like things are still going on and I am keeping up with my update schedule. I have had a couple of reviews that people have made comments on the fact that the MC joined Shep and co and that I am basically copy/pasting. I hope you will stick with me as I show that there was a legitimate purpose for joining the Normandy and that it will make sense.
As previously stated in earlier updates, if you are enjoying me having a regular update schedule, please consider supporting me on pat-re-on as it helps me get these updates out regularly. I already have the next chapter for this on there so if you want to read, jump on and take a look. It's under Bored Peasant's Written Works. I have some other stuff there too such as original works so please head over and take a look if you are interested.
Special thanks to Ranger and Kushtacah for their support.
On with the story!
…
CHAPTER 32 – FINDING A SCIENTIST
Therum. It was a volcanic world, with no surviving settlements. There were vast fields of surface lava plains, extreme levels of volcanic activity and a somewhat toxic atmosphere. The lack of settlements meant that there were a lack of roads, causeways or freeways, and the constant eruptions from the many volcanos had meant that over the millennia, the ash and volcanic rock had firmed up into extremely uneven terrain without any natural pattern.
That meant it was perfect for off-roading.
The Mako bounced with passion as Shepard drove over every bump and hill, down every crevice and spun it at random just for kicks. Honestly, I lost track of figuring out if it was done on purpose or she was just that bad or unlucky. Thankfully, having grown up in Australia, I had a great love of bush-bashing, the next level up from off-roading. The difference between off-roading and bush-bashing; bush-bashing didn't have seat belts, but somehow, I don't think that Shepard would let me take my seat harness off. Feeling your stomach fly up while you are going over bumps was a feeling that I have loved since my early childhood and so I had a great time, trying hard not to cheer about it.
Tali and Garrus, not so much.
They clung on for dear life to their restraints while Tali seemed to make sure that she didn't start screaming in fear, if her hyper-tense body language was to go by. Garrus had a strong grip on the hand hold but was otherwise ok. He probably had some experience being a passenger in high-speed chases, or shuttle landings under fire.
Dodging the rocket towers and running over the random geth along the way wasn't hard. Surprisingly, none of us had to man the turret. It was completely controlled by a targeting VI so I couldn't use that to help distract the two aliens.
"Does she drive like this all the time?" Tali finally shouted out.
"I don't know," I replied. "I have never driven with her before. Somehow though, I think the answer is yes."
"I don't need commentary from backseat drivers!" Shepard barked as we gained some air going over a small hill.
"Then let Garrus drive!" I called back. "The guy probably has a lot of experience from the turian military and CSEC in driving and chases."
"CSEC yes, the military no," Garrus called out. "I was a rifleman, sniper battalion."
"I'll take a CSEC driving licence over whatever this is," I exclaimed.
"Quit your whining!" Shepard barked, clearly annoyed of the criticisms. "If you had problems being in the back then one of you could have taken the front seat. I drive just fine!"
"For a blind batarian, sure!" I laughed, causing Garrus to chuckle and Shepard to huff. Tali just held on for dear life.
"I've got Armatures!" Shepard barked, interrupting our light-hearted joking.
The Mako dodged side to side for a few moments, before lurching hard as an explosion sounded to our left. The machine gun above our head was nearly constant as it fired repeatedly, whittling down the geth shields before, after nearly two minutes of frantic manoeuvres, it finally stopped.
"Clear!" Shepard called. Tali almost wilted in relief until Shepard started driving again.
Ten minutes and several rocket towers later, Shepard took a hard right, throwing us against our restraints.
"Sorry!" Shepard called, as the Mako tilted harshly to the left. "I have some more rocket towers. Hold on!"
I have to admit, as tense as it was to know that there were rocket towers shooting at us, without being able to see them because we were stuck in the back of the wildly jerking vehicle, it made it easier to ignore and pretend I was in a theme park ride. Still, thanks to having been around quarians a lot, I could see Tali was terrified from her body language. I imagine it was taking the girl a lot to just not scream. Though, if she was like her game self, maybe I was wrong and she was made of sterner stuff. Still, I felt the need to distract the girl.
"What's the bet that there aren't actually any geth out there?" I asked loudly, making sure Shepard could hear it. "She is just a really bad driver and trying to cover herself. The explosions are just her nearly falling into the lava."
Tali just stared at me for a second before she snorted in laughter. A moment later she raised a hand to cover her mouth port. "Sorry Shepard," she exclaimed, clearly mortified.
"Don't worry Tali," Shepard called back. "I'll kick his ass later."
"Sure thing, Spectre," I replied cheekily. "My safe word is pineapple."
This time it was Garrus that snorted in laughter, while Tali, sweet, innocent Tali, tilted her head in confusion. "What's the safe word for?" she asked cluelessly.
I bit down on my laughter. "Not it!" I called out.
"Yeah, I'm not touching that either," Garrus said quickly.
"Assholes!" Shepard growled. "Don't worry, Tali. There are just being immature."
"Of course we are!" I laughed. "There is a time to be serious and a time to cut the tension with humour. The Spectre's driving justifies the latter."
We could hear grumbling from the driver's seat but Shepard didn't say anything else.
The Mako slowed a little. "I can see an outpost ahead but there is a lot of rocket turrets guarding the entrance," Shepard called out as she started to turn to the right. "The scopes tell me there is a different path that might work. But hold on; it's a little bumpy."
Truer words were never more undersold. If the journey to this point had been bumpy, the next part through the back path to the outpost was a series of cliffs that had to be climbed then jumped off repeatedly. Tali was holding onto her restraints with a clear death grip. Garrus seemed to be mumbling a prayer to the Spirits.
I had my hands in the air, hollering like a madman in enjoyment.
I kinda felt like King Julian in Madagascar 2. Put your hands in the air, Maurice!
"I have more rocket turrets," Shepard barked. The journey immediately got even more jerky and I have to admit I was impressed by how sturdy the restraint harnesses were. I would have sworn that they would have ripped out of their bearings, but they held up… somehow. I would have to get hold of the manufacturer. Quality equipment could not be ignored.
All the while, the cannon kept barking over our heads, and the occasional rocket exploded close enough to make the Mako bounce even more.
Finally, the cannon fell silent and the Mako stopped throwing us around quite as much. "We're clear!" Shepard called. "Charging the compound."
Another minute of crazy vehicular movements combined with cannon fire above us and finally the Mako stopped and everything fell silent.
"We need to get through that gate ahead of us," Shepard declared, undoing her own seat harness. "Garrus, you and Nielson head over to clear the first building and see if there is anything we can use. Tali and I will head to the second one and try find the gate control."
We climbed out of the Mako, grabbing our weapons as we did. The second that he was outside, Garrus fell to his knees with his arms thrust to the sky.
"Thank you, Great Spirits, for watching me through my journey through the trials I have faced and watch over me as I must face them further in the future!"
I couldn't help but laugh as Shepard stalked off and moved to the second gate building, Tali running after her to catch up.
"Come on, you," I said, hauling the turian up by his armour. "If you keep acting like me you might find yourself being returned back to the Citadel. I like you around too much for that to happen."
"Thanks, but I prefer the fairer sex," Garrus said, falling in behind me.
I chuckled. "Don't worry, me too."
I turned to the building and let the humour fall into the seriousness of an operation. I deployed my Butcher and moved forward, Garrus following me holding his Phaeston. From the games, there would only be two geth in the building, but I didn't want to take anything for granted.
We moved at a run to the doorway, taking cover at the wall on either side. I tucked my Butcher into my shoulder and gave a nod to Garrus. At his nod, I stepped in, raising my weapon in a clearing sweep. There was a single geth platform that I put down with a three-shot burst. We moved ahead in a crouch, weapons kept at the ready. We paused at the corner, and I hit my SONAR. There were two more geth platforms, one around the corner just out of view and one around the u-bend.
Using a hand signal to show let Garrus know what I saw, I waited until he nodded in understanding. Then I leaned out and fired off three more shots.
The geth went down but the final platform started moving towards us. I just waited, then once they became visible, I put them down.
"Clear front!" I called.
"Clear back," Garrus responded. "How did you know how many geth were in the building?"
I waved a hand at my helmet. "Sonar view," I replied. "Not the best range but for small buildings like this, looking around corners is very useful. I've been using it for years."
"That sounds convenient," he said thoughtfully. "Any chance you can upgrade my helmet?"
I shrugged. "Sure, but you will probably have to wait until I get my technicians on it, which means waiting till we get back to the Citadel," I replied. It wasn't a bad idea. No one in the immediate crew would do anything bad with it and it's not like the tech for it isn't readily available. "Let's take a look around, see if there is anything interesting."
We moved ahead and I made sure to pick up the weapons that the geth were carrying. Just because I was financing the mission, didn't mean I wasn't going to get people in the habit of picking up useful gear to take back.
Other than a wall locker there was nothing in the room. I used my hacking program to open the lock and inside there was a spare shotgun, a Hurricane if I wasn't wrong. I grabbed it and passed it to Garrus to hold. Once we had cleared everything worth taking, we headed back to the Mako.
By the time we got there, Shepard was walking back from the far building, empty handed, Tali walking behind her with her shotgun still in her hands.
"What's with the weapons?" Shepard asked when we got close.
I looked at her, for a long moment. "You do remember what I said when we met at the Citadel, right?" I asked. "You don't get paid to be a Spectre. And while I am funding you for this mission, it is only until this mission is done, and I have no idea how long the Alliance is going to bankroll you later. You are going to need funds and picking up leftover gear is one of the easiest ways for you to make money, or even find better gear than what you have. So I am doing what I can to help you get some funds so when this all ends you are not going to be left out in the lurch. You should probably start doing the same."
With that, I walked into the Mako after Garrus.
…
Jane couldn't help frowning as Brock and Garrus walked into the Mako, with Tali walking in after them. Not because of him talking back to her but because of what he was he saying. She still wasn't fully thinking about what it meant to be a Spectre. At least, not all parts of it. She was fine with the missions and chain of command and so on, but the economic and political parts of it were clearly areas where she was lacking. As a soldier, that wouldn't be an issue. As a commander, it would be avoidable. But as a Spectre, it was a necessity, and she was needing help bridging the gap. Still, it was something that could until after this mission.
She climbed back behind the wheel of the Mako and took off through the now open gate.
While it was true that there were more geth on the journey, and some rocket turrets, the fact was that she was going over extra bumps just to mess with the passengers. Though it didn't seem to be causing any problems with the resident billionaire, who sounded like he was having the time of his life. A small part of her was annoyed that he wasn't affected by it but still, he was keeping the alien's spirits up and had been… useful in scavenging gear for her to use later.
Clearly, he knew more about her job than she did. How annoying. At least he'd stopped making jokes about her driving.
She was nearing the dig site but eventually pulled to a stop as the path ahead was blocked by the rock wall closing too tightly for the Mako to pass through. "Road's blocked," she called out, undoing her own restraints. "We'll have to go on foot."
She was grateful that the others were professional enough to not complain about leaving the Mako. They grabbed all of their weapons, Jane focussing on just a pistol, an Avenger -line sniper rifle and an Avenger assault rifle. Her standard Alliance provided weapons. She made a mental note to see if Nielson could get his hands on anything better.
She looked over at him out of curiosity. He pulled out his boxy assault rifle that she had seen on Eden Prime, a heavy pistol of unknown make, and what looked like either a large shotgun, or small grenade launcher. Going by the crossed bandolier he was wearing; she would go with grenade launcher.
Somehow she doubted that any of his weapons were standard issue.
They headed out between the rocks, Jane confident that the Normandy would pick up the ground vehicle while they were away. They advanced along the route until she began to hear the electronic beeps and grinds of geth units. They came to a ridge that overlooked a valley and she saw them.
"Geth!" she called, pulling her sniper off her back. Garrus did the same. Tali sent out some sort of drone and Nielson fiddled slightly with his weapon before he started to take pot shots. It didn't really seem to have the range, but he did take a few of the closer geth without difficulty. She frowned for a split second as she noticed that his shots seemed to pass through the geth shields as though they weren't even there, but without the characteristic blue glow of the disruptor rounds usually used to wear down shields.
She shook her head and turned back to the geth that were shooting at her. Fight now, guns later.
She took aim at a geth platform standing in a watch tower on the far side of the valley from them. Her first round took care of its shield, the second blew its head off, but it meant the overheat alarm on her sniper rifle went off and she had to duck back while it cooled.
The steady crack of Nielson's weapon on single fire made her look over again. Surely it should have started overheating by now. Clearly the thing had a more efficient heat management system. She would have to check it out after they left the planet.
There were only a half dozen geth but with this being the first chance to watch the rest of her squad in action, Jane took a metaphorical step back and watched them go.
Garrus focussed on the geth furthest away, his sniping was near perfect, definitely better than the geth sniper in the tower, but the need to duck behind cover after three shots to let his weapon cool down was a big problem.
Nielson focussed on the geth that appeared on the ridge to the right, blasting them away with his rifle that never seemed to overheat. Whatever he was doing was making short work of the geth there.
That left Tali to deal with the geth in the rocky valley. She used a combination of overloads, shotgun blasts and tech drone explosives to deal with the two geth she had to face.
All in all, Jane was pleasantly surprised that the team was so competent.
"You having a nap there, Spectre?" Nielson asked, his voice dry even through the filter.
She gave him a sharp grin, not that he would see it through her own helmet. "If you keep taking so long, I might just do that," she said, stalking forward into the valley to make sure the Australian didn't have a chance to have the last word.
The climbed out the valley, reaching the edge of the prothean ruin, when a massive plasma blast hammered the wall next to them, knocking them over.
"Armature!" Garrus shouted, climbing back to his feet and putting two shots into the big geth's head. The shields flickered slightly but that was it.
There were some large storage crates that could provide cover just further ahead. There wasn't anything else in the area that would work, short of standing open in the middle of a clearing.
"Cover!" Jane barked and sprinted towards the crates.
Just as she reached them, a blast of geth pulse fire hit her shields, nearly breaking them just as she dove behind the crates.
"We have geth infantry!" Garrus shouted, getting behind another crate.
"Spectre!" Nielson said from next to her, having made it to the same crate as her, "I can do some damage to the Armature, you focus on the geth."
She looked over to him, flinching only slightly as a large plasma shot from the Armature collided with their cover. He had just holstered his assault rifle and plucked the launcher from his lower back. "What are you going to do with the pea shooter?" she asked.
"You'll see!" he called back, not looking at her. He pulled off a couple of rounds from his bandolier. They looked similar to large bullets, with an orange ring around the base.
He quickly stuck his head around the corner and ducked back. A second later another plasma blast hit his side of the crate. "I need you three to hit the Armature with Overloads," he continued, speaking louder to make sure that Garrus and Tali could hear him from their cover. "You all have it?"
Jane said she did and heard Tali and Garrus confirmed the same.
"Good," he said. "On your mark, Spectre."
Jane appreciated that he was deferring to her. It was always easy for people in high stress combat to forget the chain of command. "On my mark!" she called, activating her omnitool and selecting the Overload program. She took a steading breath, to settle her adrenaline. "Mark!"
She quickly leaner out from cover long enough to fire the Overload at the Armature, seeing two more heading out from the other cover. Together, they splashed against the shields of the geth machine. She ducked back, just as the Armature aimed its 'head' at her and fired a burst of machine gun fire at her. A few seconds later a plasma blast melted the corner of Garrus' cover.
Nielson leaned out and fired his launcher. The small projectile whistled through the air and smashed into the Armature. The explosion was impressive, Jane thought, considering how small they were. A couple of seconds later, a second explosion blasted the machine, dropping the shield.
Jane wasn't wasting time though. Nielson had his job, she still had hers.
She took aim at a shock trooper, firing a burst from her assault rifle. Its shield popped and a second burst put the machine out of action.
Another explosion was heard in the background but Jane ignored it, focussing on a rapid moving geth mech that was somehow able to jump massive distances rapidly.
"You have to wait for the stalker to stop moving!" Tali shouted. "It has to stop to fire and takes a few seconds to aim. Hit it before it hits you."
"Got it!" Jane shouted back, feeling relieved that the quarian girl knew how to handle the annoying machine. She tracked it as it leapt from the floor to the wall of the structure to her left, to the scaffolding and back to the floor, unconsciously hearing another explosion as Nielson fired his launcher again. It paused as a light came on, tracking Garrus. She fired a long burst until her gun beeped a heat warning, putting the stalker down.
Another plasma shot had Jane ducking back behind cover as it melted more of their cover away with its superheated explosive. Nielson responded with a fifth explosive round of his own.
Then his launcher beeped. "Carnage ready."
"Ha!" Nielson whooped. "This should be the last one."
Jane watched in awe as a glowing red light as large as a basketball blasted out of the launcher with so much force that the recoil pushed Nielson back two steps.
The carnage shot flew the distance in an instant, crashing into the shieldless Armature. The explosion from it was massive, putting all the previous explosions to shame, ripping chunks of the geth structure to pieces.
Jane had never seen any launcher do that before.
She wanted it.
The machine let out a squealing death before the armature finally collapsed, broken and lightless. Nielson fire a last explosive into the chassis for good measure but there was no response from the geth heavy platform.
"Clear!" Jane called out.
"Clear," Nielson responded, collapsing his launcher and returning it to the small of his back, before drawing his rifle.
"We're clear too," Garrus said, coming out from the cover they had been hiding behind, Tali moving over to scan the armature with her omnitool.
"Hey Commander,' Joker's voice came over the comms. "We lost you for a minute there. Everyone all right?"
"We're fine Joker," Jane replied, looking up to see if she could see the Normandy above. "Just had some geth that were jamming all frequencies."
"Roger that Commander," Joker said. "On standby if you need us."
Nielson aimed towards an open hole in the rock wall a short distance away with a ramp heading into it. "Looks like we have an entrance into the dig site," he called out.
Jane took a look and nodded to herself. They had to be getting close to where their target was. "Sounds like our entrance all right," she agreed. Then she looked at her fellow human. "We are going to have a long chat about weapons when this mission is over." Nielson snorted in amusement but didn't reply. "Let's move. Nielson on point."
They moved to the entrance of the mine, to see that the shaft descended a long way down. Thankfully, the shaft was large enough to stand up in completely, even for Garrus. They made their way down for a long moment, until the entrance behind them was only a speck in the distance.
Finally, the exit came into sight and they came into a large cavern. A rickety looking elevator, looking like a steel cage, led further down. It was a bit of a squeeze but they all managed to fit in, even if Jane found herself pressed awkwardly up against Nielson's chest. He silently looked down at her, his head tilted curiously.
"Don't read into this," she growled softy.
Nielson didn't reply, save for an amused grunt that left Jane glaring at him slightly. Cocky jerk.
"We have movement," Garrus called out, lifting his sniper to his shoulder, holding it awkwardly over Tali's head. "Geth."
"They're not active yet," Tali said, squeezed up against the turian. "Try not to let me get hit with the recoil."
Garrus chuckled lightly, shifting his body slightly. Then the crack of his sniper echoed around the tunnel. "Target down."
He had another two down when the elevator reached the bottom and stopped. Jane wasted no time opening the grill and marching out, pulling her assault rifle off her back in a smooth motion as she did. They moved their way along the metal catwalks, taking out the geth on the way as they moved deeper into the facility.
Nielson fiddled with his gun again then took aim at a couple of airborne drones that came up. He fired and Jane blinked at how the gun now seemed to be firing regular shotgun rounds. She would have to ask about that later. The gun was certainly effective though and after a few seconds the area was clear.
Tali took a longer look around the place as they made their way to another elevator, passing a weird room built into the wall.
"It looks like this cavern formed around the ruin," she said, walking into the elevator. "After it was built."
Jane blinked and took another look around. It was true that some of the structure looked like it was built into the wall but she hadn't considered that. Still, it vindicated her to know that the young quarian was able to pick up things that she hadn't noticed.
They squished into the elevator, this time forcing Jane and Tali to be sandwiched between the men.
"So, Garrus," Nielson said as the elevator descended further into the cavern, "do you think your friends at CSEC will believe you when you tell them about this?"
"Ha!" Garrus snorted. "I doubt any of the asari would believe that I was chasing a Spectre across a volcanic planet. And I doubt the Executor would approve of it. Not without the proper forms."
Nielson chuckled back. "If it's anything like my old bosses," he said, "then having the right forms wouldn't matter if it made them look bad in the slightest. They just get more creative in their punishments."
"Yeah," Garrus huffed in amusement. "Sounds about right."
Hearing the casual conversation, Jane could feel Tali relax slightly. Jane blinked. Had Nielson been able to tell that Tali was still tense about being shot at? Clearly, he was more observant than she had expected. But he was still doing what he could to help the young woman work through her battle stress.
She frowned thoughtfully to herself. She had to admit that she was being slightly unfair to the billionaire. He had proven himself capable in combat so far, not contradicting her orders or resisting her instructions. Matter of fact, he was performing better than Williams had when they had fought together on Eden Prime. She really needed to stop viewing him as a rookie when it was clear he had more experience than nearly anyone else on the ship. It was doing a disservice to the smug jerk.
Because, smug jerk he may be, but he was a competent one at least.
The elevator jerked and squealed and sparks came from the runners. They got thrown into each other as the elevator ground to a halt between levels, right at the level of a broken catwalk. Jane noticed that the alcove below their level had a barrier cast over it, indicating someone was there. It seemed as good a place as any to start.
They exited the elevator and jumped down to the next landing.
"Uh… Hello?" a tentative voice called out plaintively. "Could somebody help me? Please?"
She shot a look over at Garrus before dropping to the next landing below. Right in front of the barriered alcove.
Inside the barrier, there was the asari she was looking for. Doctor Liara T'soni. Somehow floating inside another barrier that looked like a bubble, her arms splayed like she was imitating a scarecrow.
"Can you hear me out there?" T'soni asked. "I'm trapped. I need help!"
"Doctor T'soni, are you ok?" Jane called. "What happened to you?"
"Oh, thank the Goddess!" the asari exclaimed with obvious relief. "Listen, this thing I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move so I need you to get me out. All right?"
"Your mother is working with Saren," Jane said, keeping her tone firm. "Whose side are you on?"
T'soni looked confused for a second. "What? Saren? I'm not sure what you're talking about. I am not on anybody's side! I may Benezia's daughter but I have not even spoken to her in years. Please just get me out."
Jane supposed the blue woman's confusion was reasonable. If T'soni had been stuck on this dig site then it was possible that she hadn't been able to hear any recent news from the Citadel, like the attack on Eden Prime or Saren's betrayal. Still, she wouldn't just take anything at face value.
Still, she could move on from that. "How did you end up in there?"
"I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up so I hid in here," T'soni explained. "Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil! I activated the tower's defences. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. When I turned it on I must have hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here; you must get me out. Please!"
Jane gave a nearly imperceptible sigh. "We'll find some way to help you," she said, making the choice to trust this time despite her misgivings.
"There is a control panel in here that should deactivate this thing," T'soni said. "You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defences cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here. Oh, and be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."
"Before we go freeing the good doctor," Nielson called out, making Jane turn around. The other human wasn't looking at the barrier at all, but was instead staring out over the ground floor below, "may I make the suggestion that we finish clearing out the geth from the area?"
In an instant, both Garrus and Jane had their sniper rifles out and targeting towards the cavern floor. Sure enough, there were geth units in standby mode down there.
"Yeah," Tali said, pulling her shotgun. "I would personally like to go with that suggestion, Commander."
Jane scowled, not from Nielson, but for the cockroach-like quality the geth were showing. Anytime you thought you got rid of them all, more popped up. Still, nice to know that the little quarian had a bloodthirsty streak towards geth.
The squad dropped to the ground floor and moved behind the cover of the stalagmites. Tali threw out an overload at a geth shock trooper, draining its shield, before putting a shotgun round into it. It died with an electronic gurgle.
Garrus stayed further back, choosing to stick with his sniper and taking pot shots that blew the heads off of two regular troopers.
Jane moved passed a mining drill and quickly put a burst into two units, dropping the first one wearing out the shields of the second before her assault rifle beeped its' overheat warning. She ducked behind a rock formation, feeling a soft vibration through the rock as the geth fire its rifle into her cover. She jumped out from behind cover, bringing her rifle to bear when a burst from Nielson blew its head off.
A silence fell over the cavern as she looked around to see that all the geth were gone, leaving them unscathed.
"Clear!" she called.
"Clear," Garrus called back.
"We're green, Shepard," Tali said, standing next to Nielson.
"So how do we get to the Doctor?" Garrus asked, holstering his sniper over his shoulder as he moved closer to the group.
Jane looked back at the mining laser. "Well, there is one way here," she began hesitantly. "But I don't like the chances of it causing any instability."
Nielson hummed. "Well, before we risk bringing the ruins down on top of us," he began slowly, "do you mind if I try to take a crack at it? See if I can get it down from this side?"
Jane looked over at the barrier where T'soni was being held, before agreeing. After all, they could always go back to using the laser.
They went back to the cell holding the asari and Nielson stepped forward and activated his omnitool.
"While I am not the engineer that young Ms Zorah is by any stretch," Nielson said, tapping away at his tool, "I am familiar with prison systems. And if there is one thing that all prisons have in common, at least in our space, it's that there is always a back up way of doing things."
He tapped away at his system before a moment, before he moved to the side and put a hand up on the wall next to the barrier.
"Uh, what are you doing?" T'soni asked, sounding confused. Clearly the asari couldn't see what Nielson was doing.
"It should be… ah there we are!" Nielson said, sounding extremely satisfied.
Jane gaped as a small red keypad became visible on the left-hand wall next to the barrier. He placed a hand over the keypad, but didn't seem to press any buttons. Clearly, he did something though because whatever he did, turned the barrier off.
"What?! How?!" T'soni exclaimed in disbelief. "There was no control panel there!"
"Like I said," Nielson said, sounding smug even through the voice filter as he stepped into the cell, "I may not know protheans as well as you, or be the engineer my friend here is, but I do know prisons."
"Doctor T'soni," Jane cut in, feeling annoyed by the billionaire once more. They didn't need to waste time boasting. "We have to get you out of here before more geth arrive."
"Yes, you're right," T'soni agreed. "I've seen enough of them to last a lifetime. The button on the console should shut down my containment field."
Jane took a look at the console and was relieved to see that it was a standard, modern console, and not some weird prothean device. She walked over and pressed the button that had been indicated.
The bubble holding the asari faded and the doctor dropped unceremoniously to the floor. Surprisingly the first person to offer her aid was Nielson. The man had made it over while the asari was still on the floor. He reached into a pouch on the back of his belt and pulled out a small bag, that Jane recognised as being a food gel popular with biotic troopers, offering it to the blue alien. T'soni looked at him for a long moment, clearly not registering what was happening. Finally, she looked down at the bag in his hand. "Oh, yes, please," she stammered.
She took the proffered bag and ripper a corner off, before downing the contents as quickly as she seemed capable. A canteen was offered once she had finished and that too was consumed in moments.
"Thank you so much," T'soni panted. "I have been stuck in that device for nearly two days. I didn't realise how parched I was."
"You're welcome," Nielson's synthesised voice rumbled out. He held out a hand and with surprising gentleness, helped the doctor to her feet. Jane assumed that he must have had some experience in helping people from all the slaves that he had claimed to have freed. It was a surprisingly tender moment, seeing him assisting the clearly exhausted asari.
He turned to face Jane. "I don't suppose there is any reason to sit around here, right Spectre?" he asked.
Jane blinked, then shook her head, getting her mind back in the game. "Right, we need to get out and I don't think we can go back the way we came," she declared. "Is there another way out?" she asked the asari.
T'soni blinked and turned her head away from Nielson with a small blush, looking at Jane properly for the first time. "Oh, yes," she said pointing to the large circular platform behind the cell. "There is a cargo elevator there which leads to the surface."
T'soni led the way to the control panel of the elevator platform, Jane right behind her while Nielson moved back with Tali and Garrus to cover the rear.
A few taps of the display had the elevator moving with a light jolt.
"It's amazing that the prothean tech here is functioning as well as it is," Tali said, looking back at the disappearing detention level.
"And with how strong that barrier and restraining field was, it's no wonder why every piece of prothean tech is considered as valuable as it is," Garrus piped in.
"Spectre, we have troops above us," Nielson cut in.
Jane looked over at the man to see him staring straight up the shaft to the destination above. Tali pulled her shotgun off her back and Garrus pulled out his assault rifle.
"It looks like we have our krogan and a squad of geth," Nielson continued, not looking down. "I make out at least two rocket troopers and a few regulars."
Jane frowned at him for a moment. "And how do you know this?" she asked sceptically.
He looked back down at her and tapped the side of his helmet. "SONAR vision," he replied. "All my infiltration teams have it as standard. Useful for seeing through walls, but the distance is obviously less than optimal."
Her frowned lessened as she nodded slowly. "I want that," she said firmly.
His head tilted and she just knew that the dickhead was smirking at her. "Say please," his synthesised tone came out teasing.
Jane bit off the reply she wanted to give as the platform started slowing down. "Please," she said, forcing herself not to growl.
This time the rich human nodded. "Of course," he replied, looking back up. "I will have it keyed up with my technicians for the next time we hit the Citadel. Garrus already asked anyway."
"Uh…" Tali began hesitantly.
"And it will be for anyone on the crew that wants it," Nielson finished.
"Thank you," Tali sounded pleased.
"Yeah, thanks," Garrus spoke up.
The platform finally came to a halt as it reached the top level. They found themselves in a lowered section of the landing, with three support pillars and only one exit. Unfortunately, the exit was blocked by a barrier and the barrier was blocked by the enemy troops that Nielson had identified before they even hit the level. A large krogan in blue armour and a squad of white and red geth mechs were standing just behind him.
Jane moved so that she was directly between the krogan and T'soni, sensing her team moving into other positions with weapons ready. Garrus and Tali both took aim but Jane raised a hand to steady them.
"Hand over the doctor and this doesn't get messy," the krogan said as he stepped closer to the group, his squad of geth behind him. "Or don't. That would be more fun."
"You realise that this whole continent is a giant lava pit?" Shepard asked incredulously. "If we blow up too much then we could destabilise this whole platform and drop it into boiling hot magma."
"Yes," the krogan agreed. "Exhilarating, isn't it?" He took a step closer. "Thanks for getting rid of those ener…"
"Fire in the hole!" Nielson called out behind her.
Before Jane could even blink, a loud thumping noise came from behind her and a large shot flew past her left shoulder. The shot connected with the krogan, but instead of an explosion, a massive flux of electricity hammered against the giant alien, spreading out to the geth who were all in range of the battlemaster.
For five long seconds the air was filled with the screeching of geth units being overloaded with electrical current and the bellows of pain and rage that came out of the krogan. It seemed to go on for far longer though and Jane could only stare at the ongoing damage that was happening to the enemy right in front of her.
Finally, the electricity stopped. It was so sudden that the silence was almost more shocking than whatever had been used against the grouped-up enemy. The krogan seemed to fall in slow motion, going backwards to collapse with a ground-shaking boom. His gasping breath was the only sound in the wake of the attack.
"Fascinating," Nielson's voice sounded far louder than normal in the unusually quiet atmosphere. "I've never used this against krogan before. Good to know how effective it is."
Jane turned her head slowly to stare at the Australian, who was collapsing the grenade launcher into the magnetic plating on his back. "What. The hell. Was that?!" she demanded.
"My grenade launcher with a Thor round instead of explosives," he said, far too calmly for what he had just done to take out the entire enemy squad in seconds. "Very useful for when explosions are not wanted or clustered enemies equipped with shields. Doubly so for mechs. I had never used it against the geth and I didn't want to waste it against an Armature in combat in case they had defences against it, but I assumed it would work here. The only thing I hadn't used it on were krogan and you can never tell with how they have redundant organs to take over if the primary ones are damaged."
He gestured to the alien lying unmoving on the floor, still gasping for breath. "As you can see, it was enough to incapacitate, but not kill. Still, extremely useful to know."
He took a step closer to T'soni who was staring in shock at the enemies before her. "Doctor," he said, offering her arm, as if it was a casual date, "may I help you out?"
The asari blushed slightly and slowly looped her arm in his. "Y-yes," she said, somewhat shyly. "I think I have had enough of this world for now."
Jane watched in disbelief as the billionaire gracefully strolled out of the area, towards the exit that was no longer barred by a barrier which had shorted out from the electrical discharge of his weapon, leading their target out as if they were on a romantic date. She couldn't help being stunned by his audacity.
As they passed the wheezing krogan, without even turning to look at him, Nielson smoothly pulled his pistol from his magnetic holster and put a round through the large alien's head. The wheezing stopped immediately, and Nielson holstered the weapon without pause.
Jane grit her teeth in annoyance. Smooth bastard.
Garrus' chuckles at the display showed that he agreed. "That was suave," he said, amused as he started after them.
"I think I'm in love with that launcher," Tali said behind her, still staring almost hypnotised at the ruined geth platforms on the ground.
Jane didn't respond, instead choosing to stomp after the billionaire and the asari.
She refused to give anyone the satisfaction of admitting that she was in love with it too. But dammit all if she wasn't going to get one for herself!
But she did make sure to pick up the krogan's shotgun on the way out.
…
A/N Please Review/Follow/Favourite as you please.
I hope you enjoyed the Therum mission. As I said, next chapter is already available on my pat-re-on if you want to look. Bored Peasant's Written Works. I am trying to keep on top of my update schedule, I am just trying to take care of sick kids right now, and have to work overtime again. Please be understanding if it takes an extra couple of days.
Until next time!