Caprica
The living forests of Caprica proved to be quite a useful little hiding place for the Resistance when they wanted to conduct their usual attacks. It did, however, not provide good cover, just concealment. And when the Cylon Centurion search parties inevitably found them, engagements turned into a fairly nasty affair.
Samuel Anders, formerly captain of the Caprica Buccaneers and current leader of the Resistance here on Caprica, ducked under a volley of automatic weapon fire from the Machines' forces. They'd brought a bunch of new Centurion types out, too, including light scout units and even a tank if what he'd seen during the latest raid to the ammo dumps was true.
The thumping footsteps echoed amidst the trees, as did the rapid beat of arm-mounted guns. Ahead of Sam, two of his comrades took rounds to the back, collapsing in front of the fireteam of other rebel fighters. Several returned fire with pistol-caliber carbines and standard-issue Caprican firearms, but the armor of the red-eyed monster machines barely dented.
Tracers zipped between the units, with Sam ordering, "Keep leapfrogging back! GO! GO!" only to stagger as several rounds struck right next to him, kicking up dust and tearing into the thinner trunk of a tree. Splintering wood almost hit his eyes, had he not ducked behind it. He poked out and returned fire with his own forty-five caliber SMG, but the rounds sparked and barely scraped the Centurions' armor.
The machines returned fire with almost deadly accuracy, one round scratching the man's cheek. Two more of his buddies died to his right, while a third was injured. The Centurions continued stomping forward, firing their guns as an entire platoon of them slowly advanced on the positions of the local Resistance.
"This is frakked," A woman beside him said, "Where the hell's that backup Thrace promised us…?"
Sam wanted to defend Kara, because he knew the girl was at least as close to keeping her word as humanly possible. However, he was starting to have doubts he'd get to see those reinforcements any time soon. So, he replied automatically, "They'll be here at some point, Jace, just keep shooting…" only to gasp and push her head down as a Centurion fired a burst their way.
He grit his teeth, peering over the berm he'd hidden himself and his fireteam behind, then murmured, "Any time you wanna send the Cavalry, Starbuck, we're frakkin' waiting…" and paused as he saw shadows moving in the trees. He barked, "All units, possibly more hostile contacts incoming! GET MOVING, PEOPLE!"
The figures moved, almost a dozen of them, in his peripheral vision. He fired at the platoon of Centurions ahead, watching as one got close and closer to them regardless of how many rounds he put into it. Dropping the spent magazine, he loaded in a fresh one and slapped down the bolt handle, then aimed for the head and fired, throwing off its aim.
… Moments later, a thunderous snap echoed from the right. The machine's head exploded in a shower of sparks and steel shards. Two Centurions ahead soon keeled over as bursts of automatic fire echoed from another nearby defilade position. One of their few radios crackled to life, garbled transmissions filling once dead air.
He watched as a unit of about twenty people mobilized, surprising even the Toasters. A sniper atop the ridge fired again and the round cratered the chest of another Centurion. Beside him, a rifleman carrying a single-shot weapon fired, picking off anything that moved at a distance, too. The troops to their right descended, with Jace barking, "Frak me! Caprican infantry?!"
"No way, look at their gear!" Another Resistance member spoke, watching the heavily-armored soldiers, whose helmet visors were opaque and blue, descending and laying waste to the enemy in concentrated, overlapping fields of fire. A Machine Gun started barking from atop the hill, the rounds tearing into the monsters ahead and forcing them to retreat.
Sam blanked, staring at the soldiers as their CO barked something and balled his fist up. He then lifted a finger and made a circular motion, before turning to face the Resistance. A switch flipped in his helmet and he called out, "Samuel Anders?" to them. He shifted a black rifle with a scope on top of its carry handle onto his chest by the strap, then spoke, "Lieutenant Thrace sent us. We're your support."
"... Holy shit," Jace murmured.
Samuel felt his entire body relax. He grinned and said, "She took her gods-damned time sending you guys in…" as he stood up. He approached the officer while the Platoon formed a perimeter around them, then extended his hand. The officer grabbed and shook firmly, his gloves creaking a little under the touch.
"I'm Lieutenant Holden, 501st Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Division. This is my platoon, Bravo-6. We've got a few more on other planets, searching for survivors, too," He told them, then said, "And I'd like to get the hell out of here before the rest of those Tin Cans come by to say hello," and he got a nod. Sam motioned to his squad to pack their gear.
"We leaving the planet now?" The Caprican then asked as he set his gun on safe.
The Lieutenant shook his head, "Not yet. We have orders to scout Caprica and all other Colonies out, find survivors, gather them and move out. And, if possible, inflict a shitload of Casualties on the Cylon, including their Humanoid infiltrators," then he jabbed a thumb back and stated, "That's why my Platoon came down, loaded with everything from AT to heavier support weapons."
"Alright," Sam nodded, "I was looking to get a few more licks in against the Toasters anyhow," then he tilted his head, "Follow us. Our base is this way," then he walked. The Platoon of ODSTs soon spread out across the area, forming a defensive 'diamond' around the officers and the Resistance members. They were almost unnoticeable.
Jace walked up to Sam and asked him, "We really gonna be trusting them this easily…? What if they're Toasters, too? What the hell's the UNSC?"
"One thing at a time. You know the old adage, 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'..."
"Always found that saying frakking stupid," Jace mumbled. Sam didn't have the strength to argue with her right now. He hefted his half-empty backpack onto his back and checked its contents, finding another couple blocks of plastic explosives left from when they'd sabotaged the Fuel Dump. The team trekked through the forest, the blazing sun over Caprica glowing through the canopy in rays.
"Radiation count?" The Lieutenant asked one of his techs, an ODST with a green stripe on his left shoulder.
The woman spoke, "Background radiation within acceptable levels, sir. The fallout must've fully dissipated, meaning rad meds may not be necessary," and she checked her MA40, pulled the bolt back to see if she had ammo, checked the attached two-times scope that replaced the ammo counter, then told him, "Fifty megaton warhead MIRVs struck this planet for sure, though…"
In the distance, a mountain was visible amidst the canopy. Tall steel spires, skeletons of old buildings, made up the skyline past it and a small crater marked the 'impact' spot of the nearest bomb's detonation. The heat-wave alone must've killed anyone in that general area. The ODSTs hoped it had been quick.
The Resistance members looked at the ODSTs, however, several of them worried that these people were alien to them. Holden sighed, then whispered over com, "Helmets off, kids. Looks like they're worried we might be tin cans," before he undid the seal of his helmet, twisted it gently left, then lifted it off his head, revealing a grizzled older man with graying hair, a salt-and-pepper beard and a burn scar on the right side of his face.
The others showed the same kinds of injuries. Burns, cuts, sutures and injuries barely healed over the decade. The Resistance, people who've been fighting in the months since the Fall, looked only a little worse for wear than they had been pre-Fall. Especially folks like the Buccaneers, who were used to hard sports.
These human soldiers looked like they'd been fighting the Cylons for the past forty years. The Lieutenant himself commented, "I know we're not pretty, but we're as human as any of you… I want there to be no doubt for you all that we're here to help, regardless of the situation. I know it seems too good to be true, but…"
"We'll finish this talk back at base, El-tee," Sam said, shouldering his gun. He, however, smiled at the group to show them he understood. The ODSTs all nodded, slid their helmets back on and hurried on their trek to the base, some carrying the wounded Resistance survivors from the previous skirmish. The soldiers humped heavy equipment rucks as well, from the looks.
Upon arriving at the outskirts of a less-damaged city, the group were greeted by a large school campus that had been reinforced. Parked outside, under a camo net, two military transport four-wheeler vehicles, what looked to be the ancient, rugged Humvees, sat. A mechanic worked on them, but she poked her head out and called, "Ay, Sam, what's the-" only to freeze, her smile tapering off as she saw the ODSTs.
The Lieutenant and his troops all greeted the woman in a specific way, with Sam stating, "Kara sent our reinforcements…" as he grinned, "Don't worry. I'm gonna talk to them, see if they mean business… But, considering they saved our asses from a platoon of Centurions…" then he turned to show the group to follow.
As they entered deeper into the school itself, they saw old decorations and the faint marks of shrapnel embedded into the steel lockers lining each wall. Samuel told them, "The nukes hit while we were hiking up the mountains nearby. Like I told Kara, the valleys and height pretty much saved us from the blasts and the fallout."
"Damn lucky, I gotta say," Holden spoke, "And now you went from some ball game captain to leading an entire Resistance force."
"One hell of a job change," The man nodded, "I learned on the fly how to prep ambushes and all that. Was lucky my team was willing to listen. A lot of us nearly broke down when we saw Delphi nearly turned to ash…"
"Understandably," Another female ODST spoke, "I nearly went catatonic when I saw my home planet burn."
"And yet you pulled through and kicked ass, Corporal," The Lieutenant noted, then looked to the confused Samuel and told him, "This is Corporal Melissa MacKay. She's one of my best fireteam leads and by fuck does she have a fiery temper when in combat. She manages to keep herself level-headed enough to command… Barely."
"Fuck you, too, sir," Sam could hear the smirk behind her helmet. She nodded to Samuel and told him, "Hope you kids don't mind a demo expert. I gotta find targets to offload excess C12 into," as she pat her rigid backpack. Samuel snorted, then showed them to follow. Entering another room, they found it to be a repurposed Geography class.
Inside, there were maps lining the walls and even the whiteboard, some marked, others not. A large table lay in the center, made up of the classroom's desks, with several globes and system-related photos sitting side-by-side with a map of Caprica itself. There were radios in the far-left corner, currently being operated by a dark-skinned female with a shaved head, but the class was otherwise empty.
The glass panels had been replaced with steel reinforcements about an inch thick, with a couple of portholes to shoot out of, same as with every other window in the place. The Lieutenant spoke, "You've all been busy fixing this place up. Nicely defensible, one entrance at the front and the rear ones are protected, I assume?"
"We've got sentries 24/7 on every inch of the place," The man nodded as he approached the table. The rest of the ODST Platoon gathered around, too, then took their helmets off as Jace and a few other higher-ranking Resistance members joined Samuel on his side. He breathed in, then sighed and started, "Look… I hope you understand that we think what just happened is…"
"Too good to be true and that there must be a catch," Melissa spoke with a nod, running a hand through her hair, which was regulation short and gradient, going from black to a dirty blond at the tips. Her green eyes were locked with Samuel. She told him, "We know… We have a lot of talking to do before we go any further," then she turned her head to the Lieutenant.
The man nodded, then asked Sam, "If you want me to start…?"
"By all means, enlighten us as to who our saviors are," Samuel nodded, though he spoke with a combination of joy and wariness, understandable from a man thrust into the role of a leader for a whole different kind of sport. He seemed to know, because the entire ODST team could see the weight pressing down on Sam's own shoulders.
The Lieutenant hummed, nodded, then pulled out a data chip from his helmet and a holographic device. He set the device down on the table and began, "As I said before… I'm Lieutenant James Holden, Sixth Platoon, Third Battalion, five-oh-first Orbital Drop Shock Division. I and my men and women are ODSTs. The psychotic bastards employed by our people to drop from perfectly good ships in egg-shaped titanium pods."
As the group of Resistance members laughed nervously, the holographic display brought up the ODST emblem. A comet-shaped craft wreathed in flame, a red skull in the center and a ribbon down below, arcing down, with the letters 'ODST' written in bold golden lettering. He continued, "We are employed by the United Nations Space Command, a faction from Earth-"
"Wait, wait! Earth!? Kara and the Fleet found Earth?!" Sam perked up, smiling ear-to-ear. He told them, "She came here first-hand to find the Arrow of Apollo. It means the damn thing worked and they found you all on Earth…!" with a few of his comrades shaking hands and laughing happily. They had a way to a new home.
"Two of the places. Or three, if there is really an Earth in this Galaxy here," Melissa joked, causing the entire room of Resistance members to stagger. She looked at the Lieutenant as if asking permission, to which he nodded. She continued, "Kara and the Refugee Fleet were pursued with another Artifact on-board after they retrieved the start of a map to this Galaxy's Earth. We're not your Thirteenth Tribe…"
"How's that possible?" Jace inquired, "You guys said it yourself, you're human."
"Yes, well, long story, related to an alien artifact," The Lieutenant offered, "Said artifact brought us into contact with your Colonial Fleet and with two other friendly fleets, one formed of humans as well, and one of aliens… All within another Galaxy," and before they could utter any sort of opposition, the man activated a replay of the first jump through the Star Road and the meetings.
Twenty minutes of footage of negotiations and all later, with all fears and opposition assuaged, the Lieutenant continued, "Our people have vouched to aid the Colonials, yourselves included, in finding and getting their people to a safe place. At the same time, we have orders to scout the Colonies, find any other technology that could potentially be related to the Star Road and kick some Cylon ass for good measure. There'll probably be a bigger task force coming in as soon as we give enough info."
Jace looked at them all for a moment, hummed, then smirked, "Frak, I'll take it. So long as you throw in some of your guns so we can actually damage the Toasters," only to pause as she saw an ODST pull up a comm device and a beacon of some kind. After a little back-and-forth, the Lieutenant gave a nod of approval and smirked.
"I have a feeling you just opened the channel, Jace," Sam murmured, then sidestepped the table and watched as the Lieutenant and the others marched out toward the courtyard. Following them, the group found themselves in said courtyard, the place surrounded by the school's main building. The Lieutenant walked past their Pyramid field and set the beacon down.
It unfolded into a small antenna which immediately powered on and started emitting. The Lieutenant spoke, "Activating sensors… We're green. Looks like the tech the Red Horse gave us works just fine," and turned to face Samuel and Jace. He told them, "This beacon's linked directly via tightbeam to our stealth ships up in low orbit. The Cylon can't see them on sensors or visually… And we just asked our boys to send down the packages."
Overhead, jet engines droned and then roared. The Resistance members gasped as they looked up and saw a friendly aircraft appear out of basically thin air, a film of nothingness peeling back to reveal a black dropship with a lot of angles and a sealed cockpit. It touched down in the courtyard, with the Lieutenant smirking and adding, "Oh, this is our Stealth Pelican, too, by the way."
"... Boss, I think I'm in love," Jace murmured, staring up at the armored bird as it dropped off supplies:Boxes full of ammo, food and everything else. It looked like their new friends expected to be here a while, going by how the other ODSTs were already helping unload the gear. The Pelican itself lifted off, then gently disappeared above, as did its engine noise.
Sam had just told Jace not to look a gift horse in the mouth, he thought, but holy shit if these people weren't already a tad more terrifying than your standard Cylons. He paused as the Lieutenant asked, "We have a direct link to command via the Com Buoys we dropped on the way over. Hope you don't mind if I find a quiet corner to contact them, give them the first report of our mission here."
"... Feel free… Jace, show him a spot he can talk in," The man ordered. Jace smirked, nodded and showed him to follow, while Samuel marched toward one of the boxes as it was popped open by an ODST. Namely, by the Corporal. She grinned, handed him a weapon butt-first, then led him away while the rest of the team started spreading the gear out.
Holy frak…
Haestrom
Shepard and her team dismounted from their dropship. This time, she decided to move slow and small, namely taking Garrus and the Blues with her to the incredibly strange surface of Haestrom. Carved into what seemed to be monumental slabs of stone that felt non-natural. She spoke, "So, the sun here's burning hot…"
"This is gonna go well," Garrus mumbled as he checked his rifle, "Let's try not to step too much into the light, Shepard," Then he turned over to the Spartans. Cortana flickered to life in John's hand, the AI seemingly focusing on something, her entire body flaring with code and datastreams around them. He asked, "Something the matter, Cortana?"
"... I'm detecting some new presence here. Unknown, but obviously Geth," The AI replied, "Let's get moving. Eyes peeled for possible new Geth units…" and she disappeared back in Chief's Gauntlet. The Spartans tensed, with Shepard sighing and ordering the team to move out as they walked through the gatehouse.
"Commander!" Helo spoke, but his com sounded distorted.
Shepard put her hand up to her ear and said, "Shoot, Helo. I'm reading you three-by-five right now," as they advanced through the gatehouse around them. They pushed up to the main gate while Shepard listened to garbled transmissions from the Pilot. She spoke, "You're breaking up..! Yes, RTB If you can't stay anywhere near us with the bird! We'll be fine!"
"Problems?" Chief asked as he walked up next to the Commander.
She sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes, "Heavy radiation issues. They had a similar problem with their Raptors during their outbound trip from the Colonies and it seems that this particular Raptor wasn't outfitted to deal with it," then she murmured, "Which means we'll fry like eggs on a hot skillet if we hang out in the sun too long. It'll strip our shields first, then give us one nasty tan."
"Don't get skin cancer, folks," Cortana joked. The Spartans sealed their armors properly, then activated an overshield addition while Garrus and Shepard laughed nervously. Both of them prepared their weapons and marched toward the gate, activating the seal and letting the massive steel slab peel back with a groan.
Ahead, a wide open area full of outcroppings, terraces and catwalks awaited them. As did a platoon of Geth troops and a Geth dropship flying in low and fast. It deployed another platoon of Geth, forcing the team to move, with Shepard calling out, "Watch your spacing and shoot to kill!" as she ran forward and took cover in the shadow.
Plasma rounds zipped over the Spartans' and Garrus's heads as they found cover in the shade, too, behind pillars of what looked to be beautifully-carved Granite. Chief was the first to pop out, his rifle barking as it met the first of a platoon of Geth. The hunched-over alien machine with three-fingered hands and splayed, long toes stepped forward, its bright central eye cam adjusting.
The burst caught it right in the eye, its barrier flaring. Chief fired another burst and put it down by breaching clean through, then gave hand signals to Blue Team. Linda activated a grappling system on her arm, firing it up toward a secure and shielded perch and setting up. Chief, Fred and Kelly, meanwhile advanced to Garrus.
Garrus looked up at Linda just as the first shot rang out and murmured, "Seriously, I need to get some of your gear!"
Chief replied partially jokingly, "I think our quartermaster will sell some!" before he planted the butt of his rifle into a second Geth's face. Bolts of plasma struck his shielding, forcing him into cover as it flared. He primed and threw a grenade while both Garrus and Shepard laughed and the explosive shockwave and shrapnel scrapped two more Geth.
Kelly advanced past them next, spryly jumping from one point of cover to the next as bolts singed and scarred the rocks, containers and other such items she was using as jump pads. She drew two plasma grenades, primed them and threw them both in separate directions in a wide arc. When they landed, she reached the leading enemy unit, pounced on it with her feet and stomped its head flat as she landed.
The grenades exploded, spraying plasma and cauterized Geth bodyparts all over the place as Kelly fired her shotgun, advancing parallel to an area where the light of the Haestrom Sun boiled away the ground and marked it with black spots. She took cover and waited for Fred to push up next, with Garrus and Shepard not far behind.
Shepard's Mattock roared thrice and a Geth rocket trooper doubled over, keeled over, then dropped on top of his cover, his missile launching high into the ceiling and striking one of the pillars. Stone and sharp fragments rained down upon its siblings, but they returned fire quickly, plasma focusing down Shepard to the point her shields died in the first volley.
Her armor's ceramics superheated and a round boiled through, but even as she groaned in pain, she rolled into the safety of cover. She administered medigel as Garrus beside her sniped an enemy unit and Linda, much farther behind, sniped another. The Turian looked back and gave a thumbs up to the woman, then looked at Shepard and asked, "How're you doing?" with worry in his voice.
"Been worse…" She grunted, though it was obvious she was in pain. She wiped away tears when she thought nobody was looking, then shook her head and let her stripped barriers recharge. When they flashed back to life on her Heads-Up Display, she loaded a fresh thermal clip in her rifle and pushed forward with the Spartans, stating, "C'mon, Garrus, we gotta move! Cortana, forgot to say, but keep me apprised of the situation with that thing you mentioned!"
"Will do, Commander… I'm trying to track the contact, but the Sun's interference is surprisingly potent," The AI spoke as she powered on various systems in Chief's suit to help bolster defense against Radiation. They continuously advanced, past and through areas with sunlight beaming down on their heads and past and through goddamned Geth.
"Part of me wishes we had more backup down here!" Garrus spoke as he sniped an enemy flying unit, a drone, mid-advance. Linda, who'd pushed up behind them, gave them a warning and displayed an image on their HUDs through a tight-beam connection, which seemed to be harder to interrupt. Casting a biotic blast next, Shepard looked at Garrus.
The Turian nodded, then pushed up next to Fred and said, "We've got incoming! Something big due North-North West, just there!" and pointing at an advancing platoon of Geth about a level below them on the Terrace. Fred nodded, probably already aware thanks to Linda. Speaking of the Spartan, her rifle rang out again and nailed another Geth heavy unit, this one a Prime, in the chest, staggering but not killing it.
Shepard barked, "Focus fire on the Prime!" while watching the red-clad Geth(which stood at about a Spartan's size in height
As enough lead was poured down onto the beast-sized bipedal mechanoid, it staggered, its heavy weapon shot narrowly missing Shepard when it fired. Fred charged it, slamming headfirst into it and throwing it to the floor, then snapping its neck with the butt of his rifle. Shepard reminded herself on the daily that Spartans were nothing to fuck with.
As they pushed on further, Garrus remarked, "Hope whatever Tali and the Quarians were looking for in here was worth it!" then he opened a door to an alcove and paused as a dozen corpses, both Geth and Quarian Marines clad in heavy-duty combat and anti-rad gear, lay ahead of her. In fact, it wasn't just Marines. Some were civvies…
"Christ," Shepard murmured as they walked in. She motioned to Blue Team to secure the exit across from the way they came in, then began to scour the place with Garrus.
He spoke, "I'm not seeing Tali here, thank the Spirits…" in a murmur. He knelt beside a corpse, gently flipped the dead woman onto her back, then sighed as he saw the bullet holes in her stomach and the one round that had punctured her mask, spraying it with blood and leaving a pool below her. He told Shepard, "Executed. The Marines fought back, but the Geth platoon was too much…"
"Let's pray there's more than this," Shepard replied as she approached a console and started scanning for signals, boosting their own. She sighed deeply, mumbling, "C'mon, Tali, give us a sign," before casting a glance at the Computer's side screen. It flashed blue and Cortana appeared in her full holographic form.
The AI flipped a few switches and said, "We're getting a broadcast. Friendly," before she hit another button. The interference slowly began to resolve to actual, audible chatter, though even that seemed to be a bit broken for another few moments. The Commander prepared her rifle next, then nodded to Garrus.
"... Is sergeant Kal'Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines! My boys and I are currently being pinned down by a large Geth Contingent near the Motor Pool, but we have secured Tali'Zorah! If there's any allied unit on this frequency, respond!" The voice of a Quarian Marine barked over the com as gunfire echoed. Shepard looked to the Blues and motioned for them to ready up at the door.
She picked up the com and said, "Sergeant Kal'Reegar, this is Commander Shepard. I'm groundside with my own team and we're moving in to assist in retrieving Tali. Hold your position and wait for us to arrive," before she motioned for the team to breach.
Cortana said, "They're dead ahead of us in a depression. We'll be in defilade from the Geth, so I'd suggest-scratch that! Geth Gunship, en-route! Move it or lose it!"
"Shit…!" Shepard swore, then radioed, "Reegar, we've got a Geth Gunship incoming! Check your twelve high!" as she led the team out. She drew her own heavy weapon, a rocket launcher, in hopes of shooting the enemy out of the sky. She staggered, however, when she saw the shrimp-like, grey Geth transport/fighter gently settling above the alcove the Quarians were fighting from.
Its main gun shifted toward the Quarians and charged as it prepared to fire, all while troops dropped and moved to engage Shepard and crew. The Commander ducked under heavy fire, swearing to herself as she, the Spartans and Garrus tried to get to Reegar's platoon and get them out alive, but just as all hope seemed lost…
… Seven separate emerald plasma bolts struck the enemy fighter, cratering its armor as explosions blossomed across its entire body. The burst tore through the Geth ship with such violent beauty that it took the team a little to register it. The gunship then exploded violently, raining Shrapnel down onto the Geth below and clearing out the Quarian troops' scopes for now, to their cheers.
They heard a familiar cheer over the Com, then General Ahsoka Tano spoke, "Sorry, Commander! It took me a hot second to get the girl in the air with all this interference!" as she flew in low and fast, her ion engines screaming in the atmosphere. She spoke on, "I'll be keeping you all covered from up here! Go retrieve Tali!"
As they saw her dive after another Geth ship, Shepard smiled and said, "Thanks for the cover, General. We're moving now…" before she descended with the team down to the Motor Pool and the Quarians. A red-clad Quarian Marine in heavy anti-rad infantry gear approached. He snapped a salute, to which Shepard saluted in kind and asked, "Sergeant Reegar?"
"That's me, ma'am. If you're looking for Tali'Zorah, she's right this way," He motioned, then added, "We dropped her off at the local observatory. Geth Platoons came in force for some reason… Don't know what the hell they could be looking for here, cuz we haven't found anything worth a damn on this rock ourselves aside from… Fresh tans."
"That's what we're here to find out, Sarge," Shepard murmured, "And if anyone's gonna have answers…"
"Gonna be Tali," Reegar admitted, "You're her old Captain, aren't you?"
"Was there when she was on her Pilgrimage, yeah. She was a great deal of help in dealing with Saren…" Shepard smiled, remembering the days when they were all two years younger, she hadn't died and, for all intents and purposes, their first big Galaxy-saving adventure ended with all of them getting praises sung about them… And lies told about the enemy they fought. She sighed.
Garrus quipped, "And helped us keep our armors and guns in working order," then looked back at the Spartans and smiled a little in his own Turian way as he said, "And I just realized she's probably going to lose it for a few minutes when she sees the Spartans and everything else aboard our ship," as distant starfighter cannon fire filled their ears.
"Glad to know she ran with good people," Reegar spoke as they walked through the area, with the crew noting the injured. Shepard blinked, then knelt beside one of the wounded and checked her over, noting slash marks in her armor. She sighed and sprayed some Medi-Gel onto the wound. She patted her down, stood up, then hummed.
As Kal spoke to them, Shepard listened. The Spartans tensed, too, weapons at the ready, while Garrus, noting this, also prepared his weapon. The group gathered up, with Shepard whispering to the Marines, "New contact…" as she aimed. A thump, though muffled by nothingness, echoed, then… A ripple in the air.
Chief popped up first and delivered the butt of his rifle to the unknown machine's face. It dented, staggering back as photoreactive panels peeled away, revealing a six-foot-tall warmachine, clad in steel plate and with sharp claws. A V-shaped eye glowed blue as it glared at the Spartan. It cocked its arm back and thrust toward Shepard…
Only to get shot down by Kelly, the Spartan emptying her shotgun tube on it, spattering (strangely enough) blood and steel shards. Reegar sighed in relief, stating, "Keelah, that bastard had been stalking us for the past few days…" as he pointed at it. The destroyed machine was black as night ,its eye fading out…
Shepard spoke, "... Reaper tech…" in a murmur as she looked over the damage. She spoke, "Geth modified by the Reapers. This isn't good," before she radioed, "Normandy, Shepard. Get a dropship down for Mordin to check a new contact out. High priority," and she pushed the mech with her foot. She said, "Get us to Tali."
Entering the bunker, the group was surprised to see young Tali dead ahead of them, clad in a purple, black and gold, fancy Enviro-suit. She tapped a few more buttons and said, "Give me a minute. I…" only to pause as she saw Shepard in the reflection. She called out, "Shepard! The moment I heard extra gunfire…" only to pause as she saw the Spartans, "Keelah…"
Shepard smiled, "Yeah. Hey, Tali… We can talk when we're aboard," before pausing. Tali nodded, started sending some data via a transmission system, data on Haestrom. She nodded to Shepard as a dropship's whirring engines echoed in the background. Tali blanked, eyes widening as she saw it wasn't a normal Kodiak…
… This was gonna be fun to explain…
