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4-8-2186
[ ISMAR FRONTIER | AQUILA SYSTEM | ████████ ]
TASKS: RESUPPLY
ATTENDING: CSV NORMANDY SR2 / CSC GAIA
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This was their sixth resupply run since John had taken over as captain on the Normandy. Which meant John was beginning to get acquainted with both the captain and crew of the CSC Gaia. Interestingly, the cell group responsible for designing the Normandy had a sister cell that was responsible for designing a supply class ship for the SR2 to dock to via its cargo bay.
It was clear, at the conclusion of both projects, that one of the groups lacked an artistically driven conceptual designer.
Whereas the Normandy was sleek and appealing to the eye, the Gaia was only half so. It reminded John of an anglerfish, honestly. Regardless of its design, their ship worked like it was supposed to. But damn was it one hell of an eye-sore of a ship.
John crossed his arms as he watched the forklift set down a large freight container full of supplies. Shortly after, a crew member from the Gaia handed him a clipboard to sign off on. Accepting the papers, he signed them off, handed it back, and watched her walk away.
Garrus stepped up next to Shepard and set down a tool-box he'd brought down with him from the battery.
"Hey. Didn't expect to see you here so soon."
"Rushed myself since we're getting a really big upgrade. We've got a lot of work ahead of us."
"Thanix cannons." John said, already knowing.
"You better believe it."
They both stared at the shipping container the gun came in.
"You've got a lot of unpacking to do."
"Yeah."
"Don't get packing peanuts everywhere."
Garrus gave John a small chuckle. "I won't."
"Here. Follow me." John said. Garrus followed him to one of the other freight containers.
"I think you'll like what we got." John said, bending down to unlatch the mechanism. He heaved the door aside and revealed to Garrus the contents inside.
Garrus flipped on his flashlight to take a look. "...LOKI mechs?"
"Twenty four of them."
"What're they for?"
"For EDI to use. We're outfitting the mechs for a support role when we're boots on the ground."
Garrus took a knee and ran a hand along the arm of one of them. "I get that it worked on Horizon. But that's a lot of firepower for a shackled AI to be in control of. I hope you ran this by Tali."
"Of course I did."
"And what did she say?"
"She said she's not worried since EDI's blue box comes with a kill switch. EDI pulls something crazy, she's gone. Forever."
Garrus just shrugged. "If Tali says it's okay, then I'm not worried."
"They also stay in the container until we need them."
"Fair's fair." Garrus walked out and John closed the door.
"How's your team?" John asked, latching the bolt.
"They're okay."
"How are they dealing with Jack?"
"Not on speaking terms. No incidents or complaints from my end."
John scanned the room just to make sure she wasn't around. "I think she's improved lately. What do you think?"
"I think that shouldn't let your guard down."
"You could say that about a lot of things doing what we do."
"Helps to try and keep that list small."
"Sacrifices have to be made."
"Sacrifices." Garrus rasped, staring at the floor before meeting John's gaze. "You prepared to sacrifice everything to stop the collectors?"
Tali flashed through John's mind.
"I'm here, aren't I?" He croaked.
"I think that's the case for about everyone on this ship." Garrus said. He sighed. "I need to get started. See how we're going to get this all set up."
"You do that."
Garrus was about to turn on his heel, but he remembered something. "Hey. Before I go. How're you and Tali doing?"
John wanted to give him a confused look. He was surprised Garrus would ask him that, given the timing. "We're doing well, Garrus. I think she and I have never been better. Circumstances withstanding. Why?"
"Just wanted to know. I'll see you at lunch."
"Be careful. Don't get crushed lifting anything. Don't think Cerberus has workmen's comp. Have Grunt help." John said jokingly.
A small grin crept on Garrus' face as he walked away.
The smile on John's face disappeared as soon as Garrus was gone. To keep himself occupied, he bent down to rummage through some of the smaller boxes to see what was in them with a stoic look on his face.
Garrus lost two guys and it changed him a lot. Which struck John as odd because he was surprised he hadn't lost more men in the two years he'd been raiding and killing crooked people.
This incident changed Garrus' perception of life and it showed in the way he talked and walked. He couldn't tell if Garrus was more simplistic in his ideologies or if his personality had become more multifaceted.
Garrus had always been an action-oriented individual. Which meant he hated red-tape. He always hated it. Despised it. And it made John think, in hindsight, that maybe his hatred for it blinded him too.
Bureaucracy usually had a purpose. Maybe it was made by a bunch of stuck up snobby political figures. But there was always an intended reason. Laws that Garrus had expressly disagreed with were often forged in blood. Blood that nobody wanted to spill anymore. Whether or not some laws had more measurable success than others, John couldn't really say.
He recognized that Garrus was trying. But their relationship was different now. Not in a bad way, of course. But different. Garrus had a lot to carry on his shoulders. A team of his own and a cerberus-built psychopath he needed to reconcile with. It was a difficult position to be in and John didn't pretend to think it was supposed to be easy.
But, empathy aside, John knew that things came at cost. He knew what it was like to lose those under you. And from that, John had eventually learned how to compromise. He was working with Cerberus, and mind you, he was very well aware of their responsibility in the slaughter of his unit on Akuze.
John could also look back to their campaign against Saren and the men and women who served under him. Many of them lost their lives. Akuze didn't make it feel any different.
Eventually, he came to accept it and moved on. Garrus would too, given time.
To help smooth along that transition, maybe all the turian needed was more time and a couple of cold beers to mellow him out. The old Garrus was still there somewhere. Occasionally, it showed. He wished it was more often.
Tali crouched next to John and smiled. "Hey. What's up?"
"Oh," He stopped poking around, "Hey. Didn't notice you come in. What're you doing down here?"
Tali scanned the contents of the box John was closest to. "Came for my replacement parts. What about you?"
"Just overseeing the transfer. LOKI mechs came in."
"Have they now?"
John nodded. "Mhm."
"Tali, you find them yet?" Juel called out from around the corner, "I don't see anything."
"Nope. Keep looking." She said.
"Juel gonna help you out? John said, smiling.
"Fortunately so. I might actually get something done on time."
"Good. Working almost till nine sucks."
She touched his knee and stood back up. "Well. Back to it."
John nodded. "Alrighty, hun. Love you."
"Love you too."
Juel came from around the corner with a big box in his hands.
Juel gave John a nod. "Hey, Shepard."
John stood up himself. "Hey, Juel."
He looked at Tali. "I found it. Ready to go?"
"Yup." She turned to leave with Juel and smiled at John as they walked away. "See you soon."
John just dipped his head and put his hands on his hips. When the two entered the elevator and disappeared behind the closing doors, John scratched the stubble on his chin, walked around to get an idea of what else they got, floated around, and finally decided to go grab his mug he'd set down at one of the workbenches.
He didn't even have time to grab the cup of joe when his omni-tool lit up to tell him The Illusive Man had an urgent message for the Normandy's leadership.
Frowning, he swiped the notification away and made his way to the lift to head up to the conference room.
He took a careful sip and entered the elevator with several other crew members.
"Which floor, Commander?"
"CIC, please. Thank you."
"Aye, sir."
The lift rose, but it stopped at the crew quarters level to admit Miranda and Mordin.
"You get the message?" John asked.
"Yes." Is all Miranda said.
Crew members exited and the lift rose again.
John took another sip of coffee. "Do you have any details?"
"Nothing. But it's the first time he's ever used the alert." Miranda said, eyes forward on the floor counter, "It's serious."
John swallowed dryly.
They arrived and went to the conference room without delay.
Miranda, John, and Mordin entered. Shortly after, Lieutenant Dan, the leader of their detachment of Cerberus' marines, came in. Another five or so minutes pass until Tali, Olasie, and Garrus file in themselves.
"We got the message," Garrus said, "What's going on?"
John shook his head. "Don't know yet. Hopefully nothing that'll keep you from your work too long."
Tali took a place beside John and Mordin and didn't say anything.
The table fell to the floor and they all stepped on. Given how small the circle was, they gave each other as much space as they could allow.
The first thing they all saw was The Illusive Man with his back to them.
"I'm glad you're all here and on such short notice." He said before turning around to face them all, "There's been a recent development involving the collectors and we need to act."
The Normandy's leadership stood silent and waited for him to continue.
"We've intercepted a distress call from a turian patrol. They stumbled on to a collector ship inside the Imir solar system which resides in the Eagle Nebula. The skirmish occurred near the orbit of a planet called Korlus."
"Any intel on whether or not it's the same ship that attacked Horizon?" John asked.
"I couldn't give you a concrete answer."
"What happened to the turians?" Tali said, frowning, "I can't imagine they made it out of that."
"They didn't. But they managed to cripple the vessel before being wiped out. I need you to board that ship and get some hard data on the collectors. Find us a way to get to their homeworld."
Tali's inner monologue spun up when she heard him say what he said. She could tell Garrus and John, just by judging their faces, that they were thinking the same thing she was.
It made her feel ill. Her tongue felt dry. Her vision went blurry. To ask the survivors of Ullipses to do what he was asking was a tall order. Did he understand how desperate they got on Ullipses? How absolutely suffocating it was to be under the solid clutches of the collectors? How close it really got, despite their best efforts to resist death at all cost?
No one surviving their plight on Ullipses came out without scars. She still had nightmares about it. Who didn't?
Maybe this time it wasn't under the same set of circumstances. But that didn't matter. It didn't matter how many odds were stacked in their favor, if you could even call it that. The collectors were always a step ahead of them. Always.
"I'm more interested in how a standard turian task force managed to disable a collector ship." Miranda asked, raising a single brow, "Was this more than your standard array of frigates and corvettes? Or did they just get lucky?"
"Unknown. Intercepted packets of information do provide images with debris wafting out the ship's starboard side. From what we've gathered, drive systems appear nonfunctional. They could be making repairs as we speak. Time is of the essence and we can't pass up an opportunity like this."
"Response time for the Hierarchy in that zone is a mere thirty minutes." Garrus said with a deep frown, "Which means you're keeping intel from reaching turian authorities. We wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise. What have you been feeding them in the meantime?"
TIM took a drag from his cigarette. "False reports as you've guessed. To buy you time to get in there."
John's brow had stayed furrowed and his mind raced. But he kept it to himself. "Korlus system? Where's that located again?"
"Eagle Nebula in the Imir Solar system." TIM answered.
"Send us the coordinates. We'll be on our way as soon as we're done offloading supplies with the Gaia."
"This operation may be orders of magnitude more difficult than Horizon and for reasons you can already guess." The Illusive Man gave them all a watchful stare. "Be careful. All of you."
John ended the call and waited for the holographic display that enshrined them to dissolve away.
"Off the platform." John ordered. They all stepped off the table and waited for it to rise. As soon as it was set back into its place, John ran a hand through his short hair and sighed heavily.
"We have a problem here and I'm not sure our benefactor is seeing it. He's asking us to infiltrate their ship with which he only suspects to be offline."
"Then what's the plan?" Miranda asked.
"Not sure if there is going to be a plan." John said, leaning onto the table with a harsh look on his face, "We can't even determine a damn ROE because we have no idea what's even inside. For all we know, they're transporting live human cargo. We go in there knowing absolutely nothing. No CAS. No overwatch. No combined arms whatsoever and he wants us to QRF a capital-sized vessel of probable reaper origin with a frigate. He's out of his mind."
John took a breath to stall the anger and frustration he felt. "Two to one odds are already grounds for automatic withdrawal. I know we've been in odds much higher than that. But never have we engaged against larger numbers without a supporting element. We could be looking at upwards of fifteen to one odds here on a level playing field; if Horizon is anything to go off of. We only got lucky because we caught them off guard."
Miranda just stood there. "Then what do you propose we do?"
John looked her in the eye. "I don't know."
Miranda faced Tali and Garrus. "You've raided a collector ship before against impossible odds and managed to survive to tell the tale. It can be done again."
Tali shook her head. "But we had nothing to lose and everything to gain by doing it. John is right. I think you're vastly underestimating the collector's capabilities."
"They were toying with us on Ullipses." Garrus said dryly, only further adding to their point, "If they wanted us dead, we would've been dead on that rock. All of us."
"And who's to say they won't make a random FTL jump once we're inside?" Tali added, "That's a death sentence."
Several heads in the group nodded in agreement.
"I have idea." Mordin finally spoke. All heads turned to him.
"I'm all ears, Doctor." John said with the sway of his hand.
"Infiltrate with EDI controlled robot: one or two LOKI mechs. Insert via kodiak. See what happens."
They all look amongst themselves. No one seemed to dissent to the idea.
"I like that." John said, nodding before pointing at the salarian approvingly, "That's a good idea. We can determine what to do next without risking casualties. Anybody else got anything worth pitching in?"
"After I get the Normandy's parts replaced, I'll fix up the mechs with some better recording equipment. Hopefully we can pull data or at the very least, take pictures."
Tali was about to open her mouth to say something else, but the words died on her tongue when she realized something really, really important. "Whoa, hold on. Keelah. I think I still have something."
John crossed his arms and stared at her. "What?"
"I snapped this picture. Of a map." Tali said, bringing up her omni-tool, "Took it trying to find a way to save the crew on Ullipses. After we boarded their ship."
John's face went slightly pale. "You're kidding me."
"No," She looked him straight in the eye, "I'm not."
She found the picture. The one she had taken that fateful day years ago. With a gentle sigh, she tossed the image toward the table so it would be displayed for everyone to see. Then she shuddered wordlessly at the poorly lit image while the others gawked at it.
Olasie, who'd been standing near Tali, felt chilled to the bone looking at what she was seeing.
"You took this fifteen or so minutes after we crash-landed." Garrus murmured.
"How's the scar holding up?" Tali asked.
"From me getting skewered? Can hardly even see it now."
John rubbed his neck. "I never did ask how you got aboard that ship, did I?"
"We can muse over it with beer." Garrus offered, "Even show you the scar I got."
Tali looked up at the image and studied the gritty details. "Still feels just like yesterday. Keelah. You and Wrex and Liara. Covering me as I pushed random buttons to see if I could learn anything from that stupid computer."
Garrus just stared, eyes lost in the detail himself. "Still feels like it's too soon to be looking at this."
A small moment passed where no one said anything. So Miranda decided to speak.
"While Tali's image is undoubtedly useful, I call into question its efficacy in this particular matter. We don't know if the ship we're after is the same one you boarded." Miranda said, still staring at the image, "It's unlikely, actually. We know they have more than one ship."
Tali just shrugged at her. "It's a start. I thought it was worth sharing."
They all study the image for one last time before Tali took it back down.
"Tali, give it to EDI and have her analyze it." John said.
Tali nodded. "Got it."
"That's it for now, everyone. You're all on call for the rest of the day until we finalize some more details of whatever is going to pass as our OPORD. Garrus, Olasie, Dan: get your squads up to speed with what's going on and have them prep their gear. Dismissed."
There was a chorus of ayes. Then they all filled out until only Miranda remained.
He gave her a dead stare. "This is a bad idea, Miranda."
"We'll handle it."
"You think our fight on Horizon was in any way telling of the collector's combative capacity? We're hardly even scratching the surface of how bad this is going to get."
"Then at what point are we going to actually face them head on? You've said it yourself: casualties are an inevitability. This is it, Shepard. The road ends. The war's already started and we're still losing."
He put both his hands on the table. "Don't lecture me on how to do my job, Miranda. I know how this works. I've done this on Akuze. I've done it on Noveria. As well as Feros and Therum. Virmire and Ilos. And then I did it one last time on Ullipses against the collectors themselves; losing over half my crew and life in the process. So when I tell you that the risk is too great, that should give you pause for concern."
Miranda relented. "We can't pass this opportunity up, Shepard. The potential payoff is too great."
He took in a pensive breath. "We'll see soon enough, won't we?"
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Tali took off her boots and slipped underneath the mesh of pipes to join Juel.
"Back so soon?"
"Yeah."
"What was it about?" Juel asked, moving aside to give her more room to slip in next to him.
Tali grasped her socket wrench and clenched her teeth. "Nothing good. Cerberus says a turian patrol crossed paths with the collectors and got wiped. But not before crippling their ship. Now their drifting in the middle of nowhere. And that we need to go in and board their ship."
Juel swallowed. "And... how are we going to do that exactly?"
"I don't know yet." She muttered, clearly crestfallen, "The only plan we've got so far is to remote control some mechs and deploy them with the kodiak. From there, it's anyone's guess on what we'll do next."
Tali started loosening a bolt to open up a panel.
"I've got an RC car we could use. Could tape a camera to it." Juel offered.
Tali stopped loosening her nut and stared at him. "When did you get an RC car?"
"Well." He shrugged, mildly embarrassed, "I, uh—bought it last week. Got it delivered today with all the other stuff we got. Haven't even opened the box yet."
Tali actually laughed a little. "Running out of things to buy with your stipend?"
"What else am I going to use the cash for? My gear's already modded out. Last thing I need is another foregrip to add to my box of useless accessories. Let me live."
"Hey, I'm not judging."
"You're not judging? Really? Then I lied to you. I got two."
Tali's frown was turning into a small grin. "Wow."
She went back to unbolting the panel while Juel watched.
"I thought you weren't going to judge me."
"Guess I lied to you too." She snorted.
Juel smacked his lips and shook his head. "So how long before we're there?"
"Hours at most."
"Well, damn. We need to hurry up if we're actually going to use what I bought."
"Okay," She pointed at the flexible conduit, "Come on then. Start disassembling."
Juel got busy while she removed the panel. They carried on in silence for a minute or so until they heard footsteps.
"Guys?" Olasie called out, "Juel? Tali? You here?"
Tali tried to get a look through the winding pipes and only got a peek of Olasie's legs.
"Over in here."
Olasie knelt down to get a better look at both of them. "Oh. Hey."
"What's up?"
"Did you tell Juel?"
Tali nodded. "I did. What about you? Did you tell your team?"
"Yeah. They know. They're going through their gear now. But Lukh's going to have to sit this one out if we actually deploy."
"Hope he's not disappointed."
"He doesn't like it." Olasie croaked. There was a brief lapse of silence. "What should we be expecting, Tali?"
She caught herself under both their gazes.
"I—I'm not sure I can really put that experience into words. I was scared out of my mind, but we made it out." She felt herself staring at the floor all of a sudden, so she shrugged a little. "Well. Most of us did."
"You shouldn't dwell on it that much. It's all behind you now."
"No." Tali shook her head, "It isn't. It's right here. On my heels."
"Tali." Juel spoke. "We have your back. Don't worry."
Tali felt a sad smile coming on. "I'm glad you guys are here."
"You two need help?"
"Don't think another person could fit in here, honestly." Juel said.
"Just thought I'd offer." Olasie replied, getting back to her feet, "I'll see you guys later."
"Bye."
Olasie took the stairs, two at a time, and felt her frown getting deeper and deeper.
She felt like they were just outside the jaws of death. The analogy wasn't far off either. She was scared of what to expect and for what was to come. Little did she know, Juel felt the same way.
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Six hours later.
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John, standing with his arms crossed just outside the entryway of the Kodiak with Mordin, turned to see Juel and Tali walking up to them.
He peered a little closer and saw them both holding... something.
"What's that?" He asked, raising a single brow.
"Juel's toys." Tali said, grinning before raising the remote controlled car so John could get a better look."
"Keelah, Tali. Knock it off." Juel groaned, setting the second car down on the ground.
Tali let John hold the one in her hands so he could inspect it himself.
"Now this is a good idea." John said, peering at the jury-rigged modifications to the RC car, "Tell me what you changed."
"Put stronger antennas on. strapped on a bigger battery. Duct taped a camera and… that's about it." Tali said, crossing her arms.
"What kind of specs are on these bad boys?" John smiled.
"All wheel drive. Limited slip diffs with locking actuators, and working suspension." Juel listed, "They're both mechanically the same. Just different body shells."
"That's a lot of tech for a toy."
Tali chuckled. "Right?"
"Welp. Load 'em in." John said, setting it down on its wheels and stepping aside. Tali took out her controller and sent the little thing on its merry way into the kodiak's cabin. Juel did the same.
John stepped up next to Tali. "Where's your battle-station at?"
Tali pointed to the two poorly installed screens at the other end of the cargo bay. "Right there. We'll use the trucks to scout ahead and make sure the mechs don't end up going where they shouldn't."
Mordin nodded. "Not your everyday run-of-mill op. Will be interesting."
"I think so too." Tali knelt down next to the little rovers and made sure the cameras they'd taped on were fitted securely.
"Where are the mechs?"
"Here." EDI said through the body of one the robots with a full rig of gear, "The last five are still being outfitted."
"We're bringing six now?" Tali said with a wary stare.
"Figured, the more, the better." John explained.
"The robot boarded the kodiak and secured itself into one of the seats.
"Keep this up EDI, and you're going to replace us." Tali said flatly.
"Unlikely. Compared to their organic counterparts, these mechanized platforms underperform heavily in both gross and fine motor skills. Hahne-Kedar, the fabricators of the LOKI line, claim this was intended by design."
"While that might be true, they're not being controlled by some rudimentary VI. They're being controlled by you. With hardware you'd only catch SOF using." John said.
"Yes. This is correct." EDI agreed. The rest of the mechs passed by Tali and the others so they could take their seats.
"Declaration to exit FTL in five minutes." Joker announced over the PA.
"Alright. It's almost time." John stepped away from the Kodiak, "Mordin, finish equipping the mechs with whatever you need them to have; we need to close the hatch."
"Of course." Mordin resumed his work while Juel and Tali exited the cabin.
"I've got a good feeling about this." Juel said.
"I think it's about that time for things to go our way for once, yeah." John agreed.
Tali held up the controller to John. "You want to do the honors?"
He grinned. "We can take turns if you want."
She smiled a little. "Okay."