Chapter 30: Violation

Collector Base, southern sector. Garrus' Normandy team en-route. Twenty minutes before Xamutet's Nexus assault.

Garrus led the remaining members of the Normandy team on foot through a network of rocky tunnels with some form of brown metallic flooring. The former C-Sec officer wore his heavily armored blue and black refurbished Turian suit, fully sealed with a tac-light on the helmet's brow illuminating the way ahead. The lighting was just enough to be able to see. The area was most likely meant for maintenance of power cables that ran through to the central power source. It was the quickest route to reach the cloning facility and to the human colonists being held by the Collectors. Time was of the essence and they had to reach the humans held captive before Xamutet completed his own objective. That and ensuring that the Collectors wouldn't be able to call upon reserves to make things last longer than necessary. Garrus had a thought, why not just let the Collectors call in their reinforcements and make things harder for those metal Necron bastards? Then he remembered the Aeldari, another fleet of Aeldari would no doubt be too much for what was left of their own fleet. The Turian shook his head and sighed, then a familiar voice called out to him.

"Garrus?"

"Huh?" the Turian said, shaken out of his own thoughts. Glancing over his shoulder he saw the visored face of Tali behind him. Concern was in her eyes. Her beautiful violet hard suit was now reinforced with some armor plating for protection and she cocked her veiled head as she looked at him.

"You've been quiet a while and we're getting close to the first junction."

"Ah...right. Once we get there we'll begin dispersing teams into the adjacent tunnels and begin locking them down. That'll keep our flanks secure."

"Yeah, but then they could just pour all of their numbers down our throats instead of our sides and back," said Nemar. The Krogan engineer was in a black and orange Krogan hardsuit that didn't sport the usual amount of armor but had a utility belt full of tools. The Krogan raised a brow behind his helmet before continuing, "How exactly are we going to deal with that AND the captured humans at the same time?"

"Solvatas apparently has someone nearby who can help with that." Garrus replied

Tali scoffed, "Oh Ancestors no! I know we talked about it, but that metal Bosh'Tet-"

"Tali, like it or not, he's got the muscle and firepower to render at least a good portion of their numbers moot. I know you hate him and I ain't much of a fan either. But...if we want to save those people we don't have a choice." Garrus stated, returning his focus to the front.

"I know," from behind Tali groaned and shook her head, "I didn't want to just hide on the ship and let all of you deal with this. I still feel pretty stiff from Haestrom, but it won't slow me down. I'll...deal with it."

Nemar grinned, "Heh! That's the spirit! Wish Misi had more of your spunk."

Tali shrugged, "Every Quarian is different, just like everyone else. Its probably for the best. She didn't exactly come off as one who can handle this kind of dangerous work."

The Krogan gave a light chuckle, "True but she can handle my kind of work just fine and it isn't too different from this at times."

Gefren took a big inhale of methane getting the others attention, "Maybe so but this sort of mission can't be left to chance. People's lives are at stake and we need the best we can bring here. Best we respect Misiya's decision."

Nemar shrugged, "Fair enough."

Garrus brought up his Omni-tool and checked the holographic map of their position. Just as Tali said there was a junction where the other tunnels conjoined together to allow personnel from one tunnel to go through to the others. A green dot began to blip in that area and the Turian heard the familiar voice of Kor'Pharas in his helmet, "We are waiting Turian, you are approximately four minutes later than optimal."

"Then bill me, we had to get some extra hands for this. It will be worth it if we can shut down the tunnel network quickly."

"Even so, Xamutet is about to commit. We must make haste."

"I'm aware, let's figure who goes where and get this done fast."

"Very well." The Necron finished, a hint of annoyance at the coming meeting in his voice over the comm.

The squad reached the junction and found the tunnel opening into a wider space with access to other tunnels. The sound of metal footfalls approached on their right and from the furthest tunnel multiple sets of green eyes lit up in the dark. Even as allies at the moment, the Necrons were unnerving with those lifeless glowing eyes. Garrus shook off his feeling of unease as his team and the Necrons convened, meeting in the middle.

Kor'Pharas was at the head of his own squad of a dozen Necron soldiers, "We do not have the luxury of...pleasantries. We need to divide our forces to reach the maximum level of targets. Currently with the units at hand, working pairs should be enough to accomplish the objective."

Garrus thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Sounds possible, but how many tunne-"

"Approximately eight junctions upon this portion of the enemy base connecting over a dozen tunnel networks. I've already "worked the numbers" Turian. All that is needed is your team's tech expertise to seal the appropriate targets."

"Sure...but why into pairs? What about enemy forces detecting us? As for you 'working the numbers' how many of your guys are we going to get?"

"You will receive half of my current force, mainly my mobile lightly armed units. If that is too much for you, I will gladly reduce that if you wish. As for your other question, pairs of technical units and warriors will ensure the minimal risk of detection, along with adequate spread of teams to seal the junctions swiftly. At the moment the main enemy presence will be at their command and control. The foe seems to be using a tunnel network more to the rear portion of the chamber for reinforcement. I will take that risk personally to ensure it is closed." Kor'Pharas stated matter-of-factly.

"How noble of you..." Garrus remarked sarcastically.

Kor'Pharas tilted his death mask up slightly, "Hmph, nobility had nothing to do with it. With your fleshling minds and bodies, the risk of failure that far afield is too high. Thus it is only logical I bring with me personally, the deadliest of my force."

"Still we do appreciate the concern." Gefren added diplomatically.

The Praetorian's eyes narrowed, "Concern is irrelevant. It is merely a courtesy for Commander Shepard's cooperation that I endeavor to spare processing to your..survival."

"Of course you would you heartless Bosh-" Tali spoke before being suddenly cut off.

"And your courtesy... is appreciated." Garrus tersely replied before looking back to Tali. He could see her eyes narrowing.

Kor'Pharas stepped forward, a holographic sphere appeared in an outstretched skeletal hand revealing the network of tunnels. Slow flashing points in yellow appeared, seemingly indicating the objectives the Necron had in mind. "Make your choice, battle is about to commence."

Garrus furrowed his scaled brow at the sphere, taking in the information and looking behind Kor'Pharas to his warriors, "Are they even capable of being...stealthy?"

"While they are not the ideal unit for such operations these warriors were once veterans of the Solvatakh dynasty. They will follow your orders to the utmost, provided you have some command capability. But stealth is merely a secondary concern. I will carry the bulk of my unit to the rear of the enemy position as I mentioned earlier. Therefore you merely will have to be swift in your tasks." The Praetorian stated, bringing up his metallic forearm that was also equipped with his particle caster.

Garrus got the subtle hint of the gesture, having witnessed its firepower on the dead Reaper. The Turian shrugged and took a breath before taking one last look at the tunnel network. He then spun around and addressed the team, "Alright, Nemar and I will take the most forward network junctions to the main chamber, Tel'Se and Gefren can cover the furthest with Tali supporting."

Tali cocked her head and crossed her arms, "Wait, why am I working on those Junctions?"

"Well you did say you were pretty stiff." Garrus replied meekly with a shrug.

"The walk helped get some of the rust off, I can-" Tali began to say as she took a step forward. She stepped on something slick and nearly lost her balance if it wasn't for the quick reaction of Mordin catching her from behind.

"Thanks!" she said to the Salarian with an exasperated breath.

"Of course, noticed leaking of fluids from floor. Kept a close eye." Mordin said, giving a thumbs up.

Garrus shook his head, "Even so, I still want you to the rear junctions to help Gefren and Tel'Se keep our retreat corridor open in case things get too out of control."

Tali furrowed her brow behind her visor, "But what if you need extra support at the front? This tech is still relatively new and I can-"

"Make your decision with haste, Xamutet is commencing his attack!" Kor'Pharas announced with now slitted eyes, clearly annoyed at the delay.

The Normandy officer grimaced, "He's right, we don't have time to debate it Tali. Lives are on the line and I need you to trust me on this just as I trust you to keep our backs safe."

The Quarian huffed before sighing, "Alright, but be careful."

Garrus nodded, "Mordin will work the Junctions between our two sides as we eventually retreat from the front...or rear depending on how the Collectors respond to us."

"Of course!" Mordin replied bringing up his Omni-Tool and quickly calibrating it.

"I am leaving Turian, I leave half these warriors to your commands. Do not squander them." Kor'Pharas said, still clearly irritated at the tardiness as he turned and left with half his unit in tow behind him.

Garrus frowned at the Praetorian's display of disdain but he didn't dwell on it. He focused on what appeared to be the lead unit of the Necrons left to him, "Can you understand me?"

"Translation software operational, verbal command protocols engaged. This unit and ancillary units await your orders." The Immortal replied in a deep monotone.

Garrus nodded, "Good I need each one of you to escort the teams I am assigning. You personally will escort Tali."

"Order confirmed." The lead Immortal's oculars pulsed in reply.

Tali shuddered in revulsion as the robot approached her, "Ugh, maybe I should have stayed on the ship." she said under her breath.

"You could, but do you really want to walk all that way back?" Garrus sarcastically jabbed.

The lead Necron Immortal took up a position beside Tali, who swiftly shook her head, "No, I'm fine...I just..." She sighed, "I really don't like these things."

"Awaiting command." The machine coldly stated.

Shaking off her disgust, Tali straightened herself and spoke with authority to the Necron, "Follow me and protect me as I work. If you can, keep those eyes of yours dim or off and try not to make too much noise. If we're attacked forget stealth command and retaliate."

"This unit will comply." The Immortal said, its eyes darkening to black and it assumed a combat stance with its Gauss Flayer. Tali nodded to Garrus, "Well...here goes nothing."

Garrus returned the nod and the assigned teams were then dispersed. Each tech team having a Necron to provide firepower and or a body to block any incoming fire. The teams then proceeded down their respective tunnels, waypoints on their huds guiding each team toward each of their objectives. The supporting Necrons surprisingly were trying to be as cautious as possible, with their lighting off and doing movements that limited their metallic footfalls. Though this unfortunately made them slower than usual, thus they were at the rear of each group.

Coolant fluid leaked from some of the walls along the cabling as Garrus and Nemar went down the same tunnel with their Necron escorts behind them. Weapons drawn and at the ready, Garrus aimed his Partizen ahead. Nemar did the same with his Claymore shotgun. The Turian pointed with a taloned finger for Nemar to take an adjacent tunnel to the right toward his own objective. Meanwhile, Garrus continued down his tunnel, the footfalls of his Necron compatriot not too far behind him as he moved forward for several minutes deeper into the tunnel network. Finally, he was about twenty-five meters from his junction when he heard multiple scuttling feet. His training kicked in and Garrus took a knee into a firing position raising a fist in the air. A part of him then realized the Necron may not understand the gesture. He looked back over his shoulder and was surprised to see the Necron had halted and was now pressed against the wall in the shadows using its body to cover its glowing weapon. Smarter then it looks, Garrus thought to himself.

The scuttling drew closer and Garrus switched his tac lights off and got down into a prone position, his Partizan ready to blast off the head of any that entered his field of view. The tunnel ahead angled down past his objective meaning he had the advantage if they rushed him. However, a part of him was curious what the enemy was up to, so when a Collector appeared in his crosshairs, he held back. The insectoid alien didn't notice him at first, seemingly more concerned with the terminal junction that worked beside the large cable along the wall. It was quickly working the holographic control panels frantically, likely in response to Xamutet's attack. Garrus decided he had seen enough and hoped he wouldn't draw too much attention. He sighted up the creature's head and fired, his Partizen sending a bolt of plasma that connected with the side of the Collector's head. The explosive plasma bolt melted and exploding half the insectoid's head in an instant. Garrus sprang up, tac lights of his suit back on and motioned for the Necron to follow him. When the Turian reached the junction point he kicked the Collector once to ensure its death before activating his Omni-tool and beginning his work.

Garrus activated his comm link, "Alright I'm at the first junction and starting my hack. How are you guys doing?"

Tali responded, "Slow going, but almost at my junction point, no enemy contact just yet."

"Have reached junction point, beginning work." Mordin reported.

"Just about at my point, so far so good." Nemar said.

Garrus nodded and began working the terminal via his Omni-tool, his translation software began working to decipher the Collector script to see what the bug was up to before he got blasted. It was a rough translation, but the best guess of his software was that the Collector was attempting to stabilize an increase in power flow toward the chamber from the station's reactor. Interesting, Garrus thought, were they going to put their cloning facility into overdrive to pump up their numbers? Would that even work? Could it be something else in the chamber maybe? Whatever the case he and his team were going to nip that in the bud. He began working to gain higher authority access which thankfully didn't take too long. Garrus was tempted to set the junction to be destabilized to disrupt the flow of power but...that could cause complications with the human hostages. The Turian settled on just leaving the power alone and began setting the tunnel system in his area to enter a lockdown state. Considering the Necron attack was well underway, this order wasn't too far from the truth to be noticed by Collectors higher up on authority...if they even had such things. A chime sounded when he completed his task and a pair of doors began sliding down from the floor and ceiling of the tunnel to his left. They clamped together shut and a seal was heard, one down Garrus thought.

Quickly Garrus got on his comm, "Alright one tunnel sealed, moving to the next target. Status Nemar?"

"Working my junction, still no bad guys yet...wait."

"Nemar?"

Sounds of gunfire were then heard over the comm as Garrus continued moving to his next objective, his Necron follower taking position behind him. The Krogan engineer quickly responded after a moment, "Looks like a couple of 'em were headed my way for some reason. Down and done though, heh heh." He chuckled.

"I'm on my way to another tunnel near you if things get crazy." Garrus said, now beginning to jog to his target.

"Hah! Crazy is my Tuesday Turian, but I appreciate the thought of you wanting to get in on the fun." Nemar replied clearly grinning.

"Wouldn't miss it." Garrus smirked, "But we can't get too distracted with these guys otherwise they'll flood the tunnels with bodies. We got several more after these two."

"Right, working mine now. Just need a minute."

Garrus switched channels, "Mordin, Tali, hows it going?"

"Nearly finished with this section, readying to move to next target." Mordin reported succinctly.

"Tali here, still have a little ways to go to reach my objective but it shouldn't take much longer."

"Nemar and I had a couple of run ins with our old friends. I expect more to be headed our way. Keep me posted and stay safe."

"You too!" Tali replied before Garrus cut comms and reached another intersection within the tunnels which was close to Nemar's target. It was then that he froze and then quickly retreated back to the corner entering the area. A whole squad of Collectors poured out of the junction tunnel he was heading towards and were now moving towards Nemar's adjacent tunnel. There was no time to warn him, so Garrus instead acted before the Collectors could move on the Krogan. He took a proximity mine from his belt and flung it in their direction, causing them to react to the sound of it attaching to the floor. He then opened fired on the Collectors at the back of their formation further drawing their attention towards him before the explosive detonated, killing several of the bug bastards with concussive force and shrapnel. The Necron behind the Turian then acted on its own initiative, taking point moving into the room and laying into the disoriented Collectors with Gauss Flayer fire. Garrus followed up behind the Necron, leaning around the robot and putting down pin point shots with his Partizen on the Collector survivors before they could respond. Within a minute Garrus had effectively ambushed and killed off the entire enemy squad. He smirked at his accomplishment before telling the Necron, "Nice follow through, efficient."

"Statement Acknowledged." The machine stated monotonely.

The former C-Sec officer cocked a brow behind his helmet, "Geez, they really didn't leave much personality for the rest of you guys huh?"

The Necron said nothing to that, which Garrus could only shake his head at. He opened up his comm link while heading to his objective, his Necron companion following him, "Nemar I just took out a whole squad that was coming up to flank you. My guess is you got alot more on the way."

"Good! Nearly done here anyway. It'll be a nice warm up before the next one."

"Don't get distracted, if they figure out what we're doing it'll get more hectic then it needs to be."

"Relax Turian I get it." A chime was then heard over the comms, "Bingo! All done!" Nemar smirked.

"Alright, get moving to the next one."

Garrus began to move more quickly prompting the Necron supporting him to also begin jogging to keep up. They headed downwards through metallic stairs in the tunnel to reach the next junction, but as they went down a small set of stairs before their target, incoming shots flew their way. Garrus swore under his breath, "Damn!", as the shots were absorbed by his shields. He retreated back up the stairs behind his Necron follower, "Take point, advance!"

"Order confirmed." The Necron Immortal acknowledged. Its Gauss Flayer aimed down the stairs as it walked forward with Garrus close behind it, using the robot as mobile cover. Collector rifle rounds began hitting the robot and it responded in kind. Azure beams of death erupted from the Gauss Flayer as the Necron's chassis lights switched on. Garrus could hear the screeching of dying Collectors as they advanced and peeked around the robot's shoulder as they moved through the firestorm of enemy fire. The Immortal was slowly melting down one Collector at a time out of a squad of six of them. The bugs were retreating after seeing their weapons do little effect, yet they attempted to continue firing on them both as they went. Garrus noted that the Collectors here were using their old rifle armaments, "Hmmmm must be a support unit. Guess they weren't expecting front line fighting here. Either that or they didn't have enough of their better guns for all of them." The Turian surmised.

In any case, the pair continued their advance until they finally reached the junction near the bottom of the stairs. The last of the bugs ran for it but Garrus figured they'd be back. He wasted no time, setting his rifle on his back and beginning his hack of the junction, ordering the Immortal, "Cover me!"

"Order confirmed." The skeletal bot stated, assuming a wide stance to cover as much of Garrus' body as possible while facing down any further threats in the tunnel.

"Whats your status guys? I'm on the next junction." The former C-Sec officer queried, working the holographic interface as fast as his talons would go.

A loud roar followed by screeching was heard back up the stairs along with a body falling down. Garrus looked to his right and saw from the corner of his eye a Collector rolling down and stopping at the bottom of the stairs face down. A loud gunshot along with laughing quickly followed. After a few more shots and scuffling was heard, Nemar came back on the comm link, "Now we're even Turian heh heh!"

"Don't have too much fun Nemar, more will be coming! Get moving!"

"Yeah yeah, you don't gotta rush me." The Krogan grumbled, the slight sounds of his lumbering feet heard through the comm link.

"Almost finished with current target, not difficult!" Mordin responded, though there was the sound of a pistol going off indicating he was under fire.

"Tali here! Encountering resistance but making progress on my end! Should be finished in a moment."

"Gefren here! Enemy forces seem to be increasing, but I just finished locking my target down, moving to next target!"

Damn...this is going to get close, Garrus thought to himself. The fact they were already at Tali's position was disconcerting. But he couldn't get too distracted, he returned his focus to the interface and was working as fast as he could. The sound of his Necron bodyguard firing caught his attention. Collector Plasma rounds hit the Necron Immortal from the end of the tunnel and began melting down some parts of its chassis. Yet despite the damage the machine took methodical and precise retaliation against its attackers, melting down heads and chests with beams of azure death. Garrus entered the final commands into the junction and the doors in front of the Necron quickly closed, hissing shut with a seal.

"Follow me!" Garrus ordered the machine.

The Necron turned and began to stride after the Turian as Garrus sprinted up the stairs, parts of its necrodermis body already beginning to reform from the damage it sustained. When Garrus reached the top of the stairs he found Nemar fly past his face, landing in a heap at the other end of the room connecting the multiple tunnels together. He looked to his left to see a large Collector bearing shotgun wounds with four arms beat its chest and roar in Nemar's direction. It had come through a larger entrance that had opened at the end of the room and more of its fellows joined it and they began firing violet plasma at Garrus, forcing him to hide back in the tunnel.

"Nemar!" Garrus called out over the comm hoping the Krogan wasn't dead. No response.

"Dammit!" He swore as he readied another explosive.

He tossed it from around the corner of the tunnel entrance, taking a few shots and losing shields in the process. However, his throw hit home, landing on a Collector at the edge of their firing line. The bug humanoid tried to remove it from its body but a chime sounded and it detonated, blasting the bug and its fellow beside it away in a shower of gore. Garrus took advantage and began taking shots at the smaller Collectors, killing several more. The Immortal finally reached him and Garrus' shields had now recharged. The two of them rounded the corner to try and reach where Nemar was but the larger Collector charged them roaring as it went. It swung at the Turian with something in its hand, forcing Garrus to tuck and roll into the room. A metallic crash was heard as the bug's bludgeon impacted where Garrus had been. It was then out of the corner of his eye that the former C-Sec officer saw the lower half of Nemar's Necron bodyguard in the Collector beast's clawed hand.

Garrus grimaced but stood up and returned fire at the creature. It roared in pain as its flesh seared from the plasma, turning its back to the tunnel where the Turian's robotic partner was preparing a shot. A Gauss Flayer beam lanced out and carved into the creature's carapaced back, forcing it to its knees. Despite the mortal wound, the Collector brute was able to twist and fling the remains of its previous metal victim at the Necron Immortal. The impact caused it to lose its balance and fall down the stairway. The former C-Sec officer didn't let up and continued pouring fire into the head and neck of the giant Collector, causing it to squeal in agony as it fell onto its disintegrating back. A puff of ash erupted from its corroding backside as it hit the ground. The brute's limbs twitched in death throes, the beast finally succumbing.

Garrus grit his teeth, "Finally...spirits."

The sound of groaning was heard from the back of the room amidst the Collector dead from earlier. Nemar rose, orange blood dripping from his mouth behind his helm, "Bastard..."

The Turian rushed to him still wary of more enemies, "You alright?"

Nemar waved off Garrus' concerns, "Bah, I'm fine. Bastard bug sucker punched me after he ripped my poor friend apart. They caught him at the door with all that monster's brood and he couldn't get a shot off fast enough."

"We need to regroup with the others, we're nearly done. Think you can keep up?"

"Yeah, I ain't gonna croak now that we're this close to the finish."

Garrus nods, "Then let's go!"

Nemar spat out the remaining blood in his mouth and nodded back, before realizing, "Wait! What about our robot pals?"

A marching, clanking sound was then heard coming from the previous tunnel, drawing both Garrus and Nemar's attention. The glowing eyes of the Necron Immortal scanned the area, before stepping within the room, carrying with it the lower legs of its fellow. Garrus shrugged towards the Krogan as it proceeded to reunite the lower half of its brother machine back to its upper half that was now lying beside the larger entrance.

"Well guess that answers that question..." The Turian said, moving towards the entrance and getting on his comm link, "Alright its time to wrap up people! Follow my IFF sig on your maps. After poking around at the last terminal I got a good idea how to get out of here to our objective."

"Ah! I was wondering exactly how we were supposed to reach the captives. On my way after I finish this last junction, shouldn't be long!" Gefren announced.

"Understood! Will meet you soon!" Mordin concurred.

Tali sighed over the comm, "Well looks like there's not much for me to do here then. Locking my area down now Garrus."

Once again the Normandy Gunnery officer activated his tac lights to see in the dimmer light of the tunnel with Nemar following close behind. They looked back to see the Necron Immortals following, with the previously damaged one putting itself back together thanks to aid from its fellow. After a moment of proceeding down the large tunnel they found what seemed to be another large room that connected to the other junctions. This one appeared to have some kind of metallic disc in the center of the floor, but when they looked closer Garrus noted,

"Just like I thought. The only way those bugs could have reached us like that was through there. Its a sort of cargo lift that comes up from the main path to the facility from below. That path connects to the dockyards that we currently control. They wouldn't try to use that way to reach their Nexus."

"So wait, does that mean that there's more we need to lock down?" Nemar asked.

"I don't think so...let's just hope our hacks will last long enough to keep their numbers down. We'll take a look and hope there isn't an army waiting for us down below." Garrus said, kneeling down and activating his Omni-Tool.

The rest of the teams quickly arrived from multiple tunnel entrances while Garrus examined the lift's systems. The Normandy officer looked up and smiled behind his helmet, "Good to see you all made it in one piece."

"I have to admit, the robots kind of made it easy." Tel'Se admitted.

Mordin shrugged, "Indeed, not one to complain but...it seems odd."

Gefren picked up the Salarian's insinuation, "Ah so you too eh? I agree, something is certainly amiss with this."

"Am I missing something? It went off without a hitch and we proved to be stronger in the fight. I don't see the problem." Nemar said.

"That's because you haven't been with us very long." Tali said smirking behind her mask before furrowing her brow, "When operations go too smoothly for us its usually not a good sign."

Nemar shrugged, "Why is that?"

Garrus stood up, his Omni-Tool still engaged, with a push of a button he sent the lift down. Some of the squad gasped in surprise at how blatantly the Turian went with the action. Nemar and Tel'Se drew weapons and looked into the hole, but Garrus quickly explained himself, "Because they know we're here and yet they aren't doing all that much to stop us anymore. No more enemies below us as far as I can tell."

"Wasn't that part of the plan though? I mean they are kinda distracted with the main assault above, along with Shepard's attack." Nemar said, peering down below.

Gefren raised one metal finger from his small suit hand, "True, but if this facility is that important to sustain their forces, you would think they would be more determined to defend it, especially once we were revealed. Instead they send several squads from multiple directions, but afterwards nothing more."

"Exactly...maybe our intel is off." Garrus said, calling the floating lift back with his Omni-Tool.

Tali crossed her arms, "I hope not, I'd hate to think we went to all this trouble for nothing."

"Only one way to find out." The Turian stated, the lift now having finally arrived.

They all assembled upon the platform and Garrus once more hit the holographic panel to activate it. The trip down lasted a moment and the tunnel below was quite cavernous. Easily enough for great loads of material and hundreds of captives to be ferried from the dock to this location. A great glistening pair of sealed doors lay ahead to the main facility and when the platform landed on the deck of the tunnel, Garrus' team dispersed. Both Normandy and Necron units at first approached cautiously, utilizing strewn about containers and empty Collector pods for cover on approach to the door. Eventually, the Turian motioned for the team to relax and casually strode over to the large doors and began looking for a panel to interact with. The rest of the tech members of the team began glossing over the large sleek doors for a minute or so before Tali called out, "I found the way in! Least I think I have."

"What do you got?" Garrus called out as he approached.

Tali continued sweeping the floor beside the doors with her Omni-tool and apparently was following a hard line connection to what appeared to be an interface. It was connected to the side of the doors and was embedded in the rock that ran along them. Using her tool she quickly began to send wireless signals in order to activate it. After a moment, a holographic interface appeared beside the door. The Quarian girl beamed a smile behind her mask, "Found you, you little Bosh'Tet! Now let's see what we have here."

Garrus nodded and began to rally the team, "Alright, all of you form up on me!"

The Normandy and Necron team members casually strode to their team leader, where he continued explaining the plan, "Okay, Tali's working on the door. The rest of us will form a perimeter and keep her safe while she works. Those of us from the Normandy will keep close to Tali and be ready for when the door opens for any threats inside." The Turian then looked to the skeletal Necrons, "You guys will form interlacing bands of fire to protect our rear. Do you understand that?"

"Elaborate order."

Garrus sighed, "I want you to setup in a half circle around us with you Necrons able to cover each other in case the enemy charges us from behind. Does that make sense?"

"Order confirmed. Execute?"

The Turian crossed his arms, "Yes...please."

"Executing."

The Necrons strode to their positions in unison, taking up firing positions around the team as ordered. With that done, Garrus nodded to the others and they quickly took up positions beside the huge doors. Tel'Se and Garrus took up some cover in front of and away from the door to offer some fire discipline as needed. After a few moments of waiting and no contact from the enemy, Garrus asked over the comms, "You okay over there Tali? Not trying to rush you or anything but-"

"Agh!" Tali spat, frustrated at the holographic of the door flashing red, "This Bosh'Tet is...more difficult then I thought. The encryption language is unlike anything I've seen before. I'm going to have to get creative to crack it."

"Oh? Still a little rusty after your long nap? Need me to come over and take a look?" Garrus said teasingly.

"Spare me Garrus, I just need time."

Gefren then suddenly spoke up, "Well I'm closest I could take at least a look."

"Gefren no offense, but its okay I got this." Tali said waving him off.

"Never insinuated you didn't my dear, I simply was curious as to what kind of encryption that would frustrate even the Tali'Zorah of the Normandy."

Tali mulled it over as she continued to work before another failure caused a frustrated sigh to leave her lips, "Fine, I can give you at least a window close by to see what I am dealing with."

"Of course, thank you for entreating my request." replied the Volus with a smile.

Garrus watched from his position while Gefren moved beside Tali and observed the code she was dealing with. A slight gasp of recognition was emitted by the Volus while the code scrolled over his holographic window, "By the Spirits of Old...I recognize this!"

"You do?!" Tali exclaimed.

"Yes! Its from an old Densorin script! Least some of the words are...fascinating."

"Can you translate some of that for me?"

"Yes! Just give me a moment to set up a program for you." Gefren said excitedly, working on setting up a program on his Omni-Tool.

Tel'Se smirked over the comm, "Huh, never knew you were an archaeologist Gefren."

"Oh it was simply a hobby I enjoyed from time to time. Communication was one of my minor studies before I entered the Merchant Marines. From that, I learned to appreciate the study of dead dialects. You'd be surprised how useful such things are when working with encryption. Especially with a language no one uses anymore."

"How much longer you think?" Garrus asked over the comm.

"Well, with Gefren's help it should just be a few more minutes." Tali replied with a confident smile.

Garrus nodded, "Got it. Keep your eyes peeled everybody."

Nemar sniffed the air, "Hey...I smell something."

"Where?" The Turian asked, quickly sweeping the area with his rifle.

Tel'Se perked up and quickly looked behind both her and Garrus, "Shh, Do you hear that?"

Garrus then began to hear it too...the beating of thousands upon thousands of small wings rising in volume upon their approach, "Shit...look alive people. Seeker swarms incoming!"

"Enemy detected." The Necrons took aim and fired their Gauss Flayers into the darkness as from above, below and from the nooks and crannies all around as the Seekers coalesced into bands of thick swarms. Garrus opened fire with his Partizan, plasma bolts scorching the tighter clumps of bugs now quickly rushing their position. The Necrons began to concentrate their fire on the rapidly approaching tendrils of bugs, burning down thousands within seconds. But more tendrils were forming again and Garrus looked back and called over comms, "How much longer?"

"Just another thirty seconds!" Tali called back.

"Dunno if we got that long!" Nemar retorted while firing his Claymore into the swarms at long range, vainly hoping to deal some damage.

The tendrils of Seeker swarms continued to attempt to reform, but thankfully the Necrons along with Garrus' Partizan seemed to be containing them. Until some of the insects from the main swarm began to collect above on the ceiling that Tel'Se noticed too late. "Above us!" She gasped but the swarm of bugs were already diving on her, her body flattened to the ground with insects. The closest Necron to the Asari turned and opened fire just inches above her now prone body, which thankfully dispersed some of the swarm. Garrus tactically approached the downed Asari. With his Partizan drawn, he took precisely aimed shots at any clump of the bugs to shoot them off of Tel'Se. She groaned and struggled over the comms, her once pristine suit now full of scratches and scraps by hundreds of tiny limbs and stingers. She praised the Goddess for her hardsuit, but the impact to the floor had knocked some of the wind out of her and she was slow to start retaliating against the remaining bugs. When Garrus reached her, he ripped off some of the bugs off her back while she coughed and tasted some blood in her mouth that also ended up on her visor.

"You okay?" Garrus asked quickly offering her a hand up.

Tel'Se gritted her teeth behind her bloody visor, holding her side as she stood "Feels like I got hit by a car..."

The Turian got her up on her feet and aided Tel'Se by being something to lean on while he carried his Partizan underslung with one arm. She slowly began walking with him to regroup with the others by the doors. The rest of the team was doing their best to keep the bugs away from Tali as she worked, shooting at clumps of Seekers that attempted to dive at her. The Quarian was working the holographic console as fast as her fingers could work. Garrus approached carrying a wounded Tel'Se and called out, "We're running out of time!"

Tali furrowed her brow, entirely focused on her task, "Almost!"

The Chief Engineer of the Normandy was so focused that she didn't notice a clump of bugs about to hit her from above. A shotgun blast from Nemar dispersed it, with Mordin's Incinerate landing into another group that was coming straight for her. A chime sounded on the holographic and Tali cheered, "Yes! It's opening!"

The loud sound of seals breaking sounded and the large doors slowly began opening. Garrus shouted to the Necron soldiers, "Regroup to us! Maintain formation! Keep them back!"

"Orders confirmed." The Necron Immortals stated as they slowly began to retreat, still focused on suppressing the bugs attempting to assail them.

Mordin, Nemar, and Gefren continued to aid the Necron soldiers with fiery tech attacks via Omni-tools at the doors, while Tali aided Garrus with Tel'Se. Once they were all inside Tali activated the doors again to shut them while the seeker swarms seemingly retreated. The team then turned to find themselves surrounded by rows upon rows of Collector capsules. The sheer amount of them was baffling, they went up along the walls in ascending rows with rocky steps beside them. The capsules appeared to be connected to pipes that weaved along the floor and walls up toward the ceiling of the this large chamber. There was also some kind of steam or gas pouring from floor vents around them.

Garrus took a head count quickly, as he took it all in asking, "Give me a sit rep guys. We're all here?"

"Yeah, least as far as I can see." Nemar replied as he took a look around and got closer to one of the capsules.

The Turian looked back to Tel'Se still slumped against him, "Can you walk?" When he only got a grunt of pain in response he took Tel'Se over to a step and helped her sit while he motioned over to Mordin.

The Salarian doctor gave her look over with his Omni-Tool, "Multiple contusions forming and minor fractions detected. Soft tissue damage in lungs and chest. Can treat what I can for now."

"Yeah and likely she won't be the only one to work with. Do what you can to get her on her feet doc, we're likely going to have quite a few people to get out of here that may be hurt." Garrus stated.

Mordin nodded in response as he began applying Medi-Gel injections into Tel'Se's chest, resulting in the Asari coughing. The Turian then turned to see his team which was either waiting for orders or already checking out some of the capsules, "Alright, this was where we detected the human life signs. Let's spread out and sweep the area. Call out if you find anything."

"Of course, we're on it sir!" Gefren declared, quickly moving to begin checking the capsules near Mordin and Tel'Se.

"I'll check the ones further toward the back Garrus." Tali said pointing to said rows.

"You're sure?" Garrus asked.

Tali crossed her arms, "I'm fine, especially after that excitement. Nothing like adrenaline to get the gears working...least I think that's how that saying goes."

Garrus chuckled slightly with a smile, "Eh, close enough. Go ahead but don't go too far, there may be more surprises."

The Quarian nodded and began running off toward the rear rows of capsules. Garrus looked to several of the Necrons and pointed in Tali's direction, "You two support her and keep Tali safe. The rest, remain here and keep watch over the area."

"Orders confirmed." the lead Necron acknowledged, now moving with several of his fellow machines into a watchful perimeter whilst the team searched. Garrus was beginning his own sweep when he heard Tali get startled. He then chuckled lightly when he heard her chide the robots for not announcing their presence. She got on the comm to deride the Turian, "Next time, warn me when you are going to send them over! I nearly blew them up!"

Garrus still grinned in response, betraying his amusement, "Hey, I didn't tell them to do that. I just told them to support you. They don't always get the nuance of what we tell them."

"Fine...but you're still not off the hook for this!" After a moment the Quarian sighed and said, "I suppose its not their fault. They're not that bad in hindsight. Hard to say how this mission would have gone without them."

The Normandy Officer walked past more Collector capsules while stating, "Yeah, hopefully we can figure a way out from here so we don't have to deal with the bugs outside. Anyway let's keep looking."

"On it." Tali acknowledged, motioning to her new escorts to keep some distance from her and where to look for threats.

They spent the next few minutes checking and scanning the capsules but surprisingly found no humans present. The team was now further down the chamber, still examining the latter rows of Collector capsules. Tel'Se was now standing guard with the Necrons but her posture indicated she was still hurt and would likely stick to being just a rear guard. Mordin was now aiding in the search among the rows of Collector technology when he noted something, "Strange, technology is same as pods used to abduct humans from colonies but repurposed. Believed this to be cloning facility...yet I'm detecting no Collector tissue or DNA within capsule. Storage area for abducted humans...why? Why need humans if cloning facility? Need more data." The Salarian mumbled over the comm as he continued scanning.

"I got a live one!" Nemar shouted

"One over here too!" Tali also reported.

Mordin was sprinting into action towards Nemar's position further up the steps above the ground floor. Garrus breathed a sigh of relief, least their efforts now weren't for nothing, "How many we got?" The Turian asked.

"Ah! I have several more over here!" Gefren announced over the comms.

"Seems like we have at least up to about...forty-five just on my side alone." Tali reported.

"Yeah looks like they were being kept more towards the back to allow a fresh new batch from the docks." Nemar thought aloud over the comm.

"Are they alive?" Garrus asked tentatively.

Mordin stepped up beside Nemar with his Omni-tool ready and began scanning the capsule. Inside appeared to be a human male, with dark skin and standard colonial fatigues in brownish orange colors. He was seemingly asleep and the scan came back to the Salarian confirming that, "Subject appears male and is in comatose state. Lack of injection sites suggest some form of aerosol breathed through the lungs or other means to cause rapid loss of consciousness."

Garrus himself found another human in a capsule. A human woman, also comatose suspended in the tube. Suddenly a gaseous steam began to be released around the piping of the capsules. Some kind of fumes were being released into the tube and liken to some kind of smelling salts, the human awoke with a gasp. She wasn't the only one as the human colonists all around became aware of their surroundings. But the Normandy team wasn't prepared for what came next.

The woman behind the tempered glass struggled and began hitting it, begging to be let out. The Turian replied, "Hang on! I'll get this open!" He began quickly looking over the capsule for a release, but then the woman screamed. He looked back through the glass to witness the capsule releasing some kind of tannish colored gas that was now also being emitted from above onto her and her body was now steaming. The poor human woman's skin began to sloth off, she screamed louder in pain as more of her flesh dissolved. In desperation Garrus began hitting the capsule with his compacted sniper rifle to break it, but then suddenly the capsule was flushed with more gas and the human colonist dissolved rapidly in front of him. He could only look on in horror as she was reduced to a sludge that was than pumped from the bottom of the capsule and into the pipes. Hearing more screams all around him snapped him out of his despair at his failure.

"Holy shit!" Nemar cried out.

"We need to get them out of there!" Tali shouted over comms. The team's comm link was buzzing with Garrus' team panicking at the sudden development and trying to help save the colonists. Nemar was using his hardened head to crack open one pod while Mordin began cutting open another with his Omni-Tool. Tali was doing the same on her end, while Tel'Se could only look on in horror, her injuries denying her desire to render aid. Gefren shot at a section of a pod and cracked the tempered glass. Garrus' mind now raced, these pods were killing people and they needed to act fast. The Turian looked to his Necron allies and called out, "Direct order! Help us! Break these pods open now!"

"Order confirmed." The lead Necron acknowledged.

With calculated and rapid pace for their kind, the Necron warriors began aiding the Normandy team, smashing open the pods with their axe bayonets. They then began to axe the next pods beside their targets after that continuously. Garrus was smashing open another pod with his unfurled Mantis sniper rifle when he observed the Necrons and quickly clarified his orders, "No! Break the pods with the people inside!"

The Necron's didn't respond but clearly understood the order as they began to be more precise with their efforts. The next few minutes was horrific. For every life saved two others were melted down and pumped into the pipes. The Normandy team continued their struggle, smashing pod after pod and helping as many colonists as they could. At one point a pod was broken open by a Necron, but its occupant was partially already melted down. The victim's body fell to the ground, falling apart on impact with the ground face first, splattering gore on the ground. Mordin rushed over to check but could tell the person was already dead.

Before the doctor could call out to the 'helping' Necron unit, it smashed open another pod. Yet again it was another partially melting victim, a human man. He was screaming as his skin was slothing off when Mordin got to him, quickly analyzing with his Omni-Tool what was happening. The Salarian's eyes opened wide and he began dousing the victim in a sort of cryo spray. Gefren approached and was shocked, "Spirits what are you doing?!"

"Target vector is not just an acid via aerosol gas. It is minor. Real culprit... microscopic. Nanomachines. Rapidly breaking down tissues and cells at molecular level. Speed unprecedented. Primary focus, neutralize nanomachines. Rapid cooling. Freezes acid and thus slows process, freezes nanomachines as well. Follow up with Medi-Gel compound combined with sodium bicarbonate base to neutralize acid. Hopefully will not kill patient."

"Hopefully?!"

The former STG agent continued spraying for a moment longer before applying medi-gel to the burns. The fallen colonist was shaking now, either due to the cold or approaching shock but the doctor was constantly monitoring vitals and it seemed to be working. He looked back to the Volus, "Still have medkit?"

"Yes!"

"Help me with this one! Quickly! Need to stabilize!"

While Mordin was trying to save the injured, the rest of the team noted that the screaming had stopped. Only to be replaced with moaning and confused voices. Garrus then realized that the immediate crisis was now over. He looked over the scene. While some colonists had not awakened even after hitting the ground, many were now confused and frightened. Especially by the metal skeletal robots now standing over them brandishing their freakish weapons. The Normandy Gunnery officer took charge of the situation by calling out over comms, "Is that everyone?"

Tali's voice sighed sorrowfully back over the comm, "It would seem so..."

"You okay Tali?"

There was a pause before the Quarian responded, "Honestly...I don't know Garrus. They...they melted them down...Ancestors. Why?"

"I second the question...why the fuck do that to prisoners?" Nemar commented.

Garrus scowled behind his helmet, "I don't know what they were planning. But whatever it was we stopped them. Thats a victory guys. We couldn't save everyone. But from here...not one more. No more innocents are dying because of these bastards. You with me on that?"

The Krogan nodded with an angered scowl behind his helmet, "Hell yeah...can't wait for the fireworks when the tin heads nuke this rock."

"Preferably without us in it." Tali quipped, a spark of her old self returning.

Garrus gave a light smile, "Okay, let's get a head count and figure how to get these people out."

They spent the next twenty minutes attempting to stabilize the injuried and helping awaken any colonists who hadn't been revived yet. One tan, middle-aged balding man stood out from the gathering crowd of several dozen survivors now forming in the main floor of the chamber and approached Garrus, tentatively asking, "Is...is this real?"

"You're going to be fine sir. We're here to get you and your people to safety." The Turian said reassuringly.

The colonial man broke down in front of the Turian, his hand covering his sobbing face. Garrus approached calmly and patted the man's shoulder, trying to reassure him, "Its okay."

All of a sudden the man hugged the former C-Sec officer abruptly, catching Garrus off guard before giving a light chuckle, and patting the man on the back while still being hugged, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" the man cried out still sobbing.

Eventually getting a hold of himself and wiping away a tear, the human colonist broke the hug and caught his breath, "I thought we were all dead."

The Turian shook his head confidently, "Not today...I'm sorry we couldn't do more."

"No! No...just this much is more than anything we were expecting. I thought we were all going to end up like the others."

"What's your name?"

"Sam Nual, construction foreman at...Ferris Fields."

Garrus' eyes widened at the revelation, thousands of people had been taken from that colony, "Ferris Fields...spirits. That colony was abducted over a month ago now."

Now it was the Sam's turn to be shocked, "A month?! They've been...doing this to us for over a month?!"

"Yes. I know this may be difficult, but what exactly did they do to you?" Garrus asked calmly.

The colonial foreman winced, "Pretty much what you saw. Waking us up...then melting some of us down. We heard them...the ones being processed... screaming the whole time. Then the rest of us screamed or begged...expecting it would be our turn next. When it wasn't they put the rest of us back to sleep. It was like a nightmare that wouldn't stop."

Garrus furrowed his scaled brow, "Could there be anyone else still alive in here?"

Sam hung his head, "I doubt it. This was the only place they were taking us. But I can say that every now and again, I saw them taking equipment and other things further on that path to the other side over there." the human pointed to what appeared to be the far wall across the chamber away from them.

"So thats a door?" The former C-Sec officer queried.

The colonist comforted himself, rubbing his shoulder, "Yeah...think so. I mean it wouldn't make sense to bring all that material through here for no reason." The man scratched the back of his head and then realization struck him, "Wait, it wasn't just the bug people either. I saw 'em with some other guys."

"What other guys?"

"I dunno who they were. But when I was falling asleep after another...well...process. I saw them. They were shaking their heads at us. "The man strained at this memory, closing his eyes before nodding and looking at Garrus, "Yeah, they had weird pointed helmets or something, but I'll never forget those blue eyes staring at me."

Garrus crossed his arms and scowled, "Aeldari."

"Is that their name?"

"Yeah and we've gotten acquainted with them lately. Seems they've been working on something with the Collectors back there."

Tali chimed in over comms as she approached Garrus from behind with her Necron escorts, "Yes but what? If its dangerous we can't just leave it alone. It could affect the mission."

"Heh, wouldn't mind blowing something up after all the crap so far." Nemar grinned.

Mordin cut in with a cough, "Valid points, however colonists are priority. We also have injured among team. Uncertain if current firepower is sufficient to sabotage target."

"I'm with the good doctor. We have thirty-seven colonists to look after and are bogged down in here with potentially more of those swarms waiting outside. We've done more than enough I think, anymore than this and we may suffer for it." Gefren stated.

Garrus brought a talon to his helm's chin, "Yeah and we can't call in Grunt for backup. My long range comms are either being jammed or we're in too deep in this rock to reach him."

"Wait what was the runt's job again?" Nemar asked.

The Turian sighed, "Once we got the humans and sent the signal he was to come down the tunnel from the docks to link up with us to provide heavy support with the Hammerhead."

"I'm still unsure if that was a great idea. He's not exactly the best driver." Tali said shrugging.

The Normandy Gunner officer waved his hand in response towards her, "Oh no, we're leaving some of the Normandy crew to handle the driving. Can't imagine he'd want to drive that thing anyway. He'd just use it as a battering ram."

A scuffling sound was heard, like that of a mechanical insect. The noise triggered the team and they unfurled their weapons in the direction of the sound. It had come from a vent in the ceiling and was now crawling along the wall and jumping down in front of them. It's black necrodermis however was instantly recognizable as a Necron Canoptek Skarab. The team relaxed their stances as it approached. The Skarab then activated a holographic projection from a lens on its back. A green projection of Kor'Pharas appeared before them, "My objective is complete Turian. It would seem that yours is as well."

"Yeah but we got problems, we have Seeker Swarms waiting outside and I got nothing but interference on long range comms. We can't call for backup."

"Hmph, of course. I suppose I could attempt to reach you but a direct route will take some time." replied the projection. Kor'Pharas aimed his arm mounted particle caster at something and the sounds of it firing was heard over the audio.

The Normandy Gun officer tilted his helmeted head and remarked, "Pretty busy over there is it?"

Kor'Pharas' eyes narrowed in irritation, "Would that I had the full weight of a legion at my back it would be trivial. But as it is, you merely must hold until we arrive."

A loud hiss was heard and the sounds of motors engaged as the large door that was pointed out by Sam earlier began to open. Garrus' eyes opened wide. The Skarab departed and ended the transmission as it fled. The former C-Sec officer looked back to the others and commanded, "Tel'Se, Mordin, Tali, get the colonists back! Use the pods for cover if you can! Gefren, Nemar, and the rest of you with us! We have to hold them here!"

"Righto! Cover coming up!" The Volus declared while throwing out electrical devices that quickly set up holographic barriers in front of them.

The Normandy Gunnery officer motioned to the metal skeletons and ordered, "Necrons! Form a firing line! The three of us will take positions behind and provide fire support. They aren't getting past us!" Garrus declared as he got into position beside some pods on a flight of stairs.

"Order confirmed. Preparing to engage." the machines said while casually walking over to the barriers set up by Gefren.

"Alright, follow us everyone! Quickly!" Tali shouted, motioning the people to follow her. Those who couldn't were either picked up by several others or fireman carried over the shoulder to the main entrance.

The back door finally opened from the middle, opening wide like a pair of jaws and plasma bolts came flying. Collectors with unfurled wings hovered above and began raining down shots upon the makeshift firing line. The Necrons retaliated, opening fire upon the flying Collectors via beams of azure death from their Gauss Flayers. With the metal warriors now drawing the enemy's fire, Garrus and the others holding the line began providing fire discipline. Mantis sniper rifle unpacked and scoped in, the Turian took aim and began picking off some of the flying Collectors with well timed shots to the chest. The others could only support with pistol fire at this range but enough shots did shred some wings to force those Collectors hit to the ground.

Once the doors were now fully opened the team witnessed a full scale assault falling on them. A dozen or so Collectors charged the line, weapons firing plasma, supported by several of the large four armed Collectors. They charged the line but the Necron's concentrated fire and accurate shots for their legs ensured they wouldn't get far. The massive insectoids roared in infuriation and pain as their legs melted and they fell to the floor only to be followed up with accurate beam shots to their heads. More Collectors pushed into the breach with particle beams of their own and plasma shots that scorched and cut the necrodermis of the Necron Immortals and their cover. Garrus and company unleashed their tech abilities, overload barriers combined with Mordin's incinerate to cause several tech explosions in their ranks. The Necrons accurate, fire despite their own battle damage, ensured the first wave was easily cut down.

But more were coming, with the doors fully opened they revealed a massive chamber featuring green metallic walls and flooring. A large chasm for some reason was twenty meters ahead of the doors. A bridge made up of the Collector's floating platforms was now forming to connect their side to another section, several hundred meters further on. Garrus scoped in to see where it connected to and his eyes widened upon seeing it. He saw an army of Collectors, especially the big ones, frothing and filled with rage ready to storm over as the floating platforms continued building the bridge. "Spirits.", left his alien lips as he saw it.

Then he looked up through the scope and saw something else hanging above the army of bugs. Connected via the massive tubes from Garrus' own locale...up to a humanoid giant. It bore an almost...human-like appearance. Its frame was purple in coloration, with some kind of white bone-esque structure affixed to its body almost like armor. Its legs were white in appearance made up of the same material, but it looked almost jury-rigged when compared to the upper body. The head was the most striking, a human looking skull with large eye cavities; fitting multiple eyes within the cavities and some kind of cannon built into the mouth. A rumble was felt, followed by the giant being drawn up into the roof. From Garrus' position, he couldn't see how it was happening but he did see the giant's eyes lighting up blue before it disappeared into the roof above.

The Normandy officer gritted his teeth, he knew he could do nothing to stop that thing now. Likely the Necron force above would have to handle that thing. Right now he focused on the enemy before him. The enemy's bridge completed forming and then the Collectors charged forward. Amidst the Collector horde many of the bugs took flight and began opening fire. Garrus began picking them off when he heard from Tali over comms, "Garrus! The doors behind us are opening! They initiated an override with us distracted!"

"Can you lock it back down?!"

"No! They've locked me out! The Seeker Swarms will be coming!"

Classic pincer play...dammit! Garrus thought to himself. He knew it was too easy, the Collectors had lured them all into a trap and they were now closing it. With their clone army now assaulting head on and with Seeker Swarms harassing their rear, their attention would be too divided. He struggled to think of a solution but all he could do is shout expletives in frustration and take it out on some more flying Collectors with his Mantis, "Spirits damn you you bug bastards!"

Garrus turned back and saw the Seeker swarms begin filtering in through the now opening cracks of the front gate doors. The surviving colonists screamed in terror, the insects once more swarmed in their direction. Tali, Tel'Se, and Mordin were doing their best using tech attacks and their weapons to disperse the tight clusters of the small bugs but there was just too many. Gritting his fangs, the Turian looked back at the Collector horde approaching his position. He shook himself out of it, and just focused on the act of sniping. That was all he could do now...shoot and kill as many as he could before he went down. Plasma rained on the front line and the Necrons were now beginning to buckle under the rain of energy bolts. The Immortals shots became less accurate with all the damage they were sustaining. Garrus and his fellows were doing their best to pick off the flyers, but the bigger brawling insectoids were leading the charge across the bridge. Once those giant Collectors got into melee, they will crash into the Necron line and kill the rest of them.

More Collector platforms appeared beside the bridge and Garrus just shook his head at it all concentrating on picking off the innumerable Collector flyers that kept up the suppression before he had to duck behind a pod. A flurry of plasma slammed into his cover and even behind it he could feel the heat. Then an explosion was heard and the Turian looked to his rear to see the colonists and his team were sent to the floor from it. It also scattered the bugs and then a familiar voice was heard over the comms, "Whoa! Sorry about that! May have shot a bit too close."

"Grunt?!" Garrus called out.

"Damn right Turian! I was getting tired of waiting and apparently so were they."

The Normandy officer looked to see the Hammerhead, with its recently installed mass accelerators firing and scattering the tight clusters of bugs swarming around the front doors to the complex. Behind it were several Necron transports. As the Hammerhead swiftly came to a stop at the front door, the Necrons deployed from their floating arks, falling to the floor with a clang of metal feet. They weren't the usual warriors like that of Solvatas' group. They were bulkier and less skeletal and had the familiar faces of other races. Xamutet's conscript forces...but why are they helping us? Garrus thought.

The Necron conscripts went straight to work, Gauss Flayers primed and firing at the clusters of Seeker Swarms. The colonists panicked at the sight of them and it took some rallying from Tali and Mordin to pull them out of the way of the Necron Pariahs who just continued to focus on destroying targets with little care for their allies in the way. An azure atomizing beam nearly hit Tali and she cursed, "Ancestors! What the hell is wrong with them?!"

"Seems they share their commander's view on collateral damage. Keep the survivors out of their way! Let them do their thing." Said Garrus before an explosion rocked his cover and sent him rolling down to the main floor. The Collectors main force had arrived and were now hurling plasma grenades at the dug in defenders.

"Garrus!" Tali called out over comms. The Turian groaned and felt the need to cough from the blast. He looked up just in time to see their Necron line get thrashed by a pair of the larger Collectors. With a swipe of their claw arms they smashed the damaged Immortals, sending them flying into pieces. Gefren threw down a barrier to protect Garrus from incoming fire, before diving and rolling beside his downed comrade. Nemar rushed over, tanking some incoming plasma shots and roaring in pain to get to Garrus. A chorus of roars got their attention as the large brutish Collectors charged their position. The Normandy Gunnery officer coughed but knew what was coming. He shouted out, "Get down!"

A series of energy beams went right over the top of them and into the Collector line, cutting down the brutes in a flare of green light that rendered them into powder. Marching up to the impromptu cover made by the Volus, the Necron conscripts took up positions. Clearly converted from Turians and Batarians, the cyborgs laid into the enemy with concentrated fire. Collector troops attempted to use their own purple barriers to create cover for themselves but the sheer amount of Necrons easily overwhelmed the energy walls and cut down the bugs behind them. Then explosions rocked the rear lines of the Collector army. The platforms that were spinning around the constructed bridge were then revealed to be Kor'Pharas and his forces. From their elevated positions and armed with double barreled Gauss Blasters, the Triarch Praetorian's Immortals rained down fire onto the Collector clone army. The blaster's firepower effortlessly atomized scores of the bugs, alongside explosions courtesy of the Necron Praetorian's particle caster that blasted more over the side of their bridge. Whether the Collectors stayed on the bridge or took flight it mattered little. Caught between the Necron reinforcements and Kor'Pharas' ambush, the Collector's fate was now sealed.

At this moment the Necron Praetorian took flight via his gravity displacement pack and chose a surviving Collector brute as his target. It was on the ground by the entrance at the end of the bridge, partly atomizing from the fire of the reinforcements but not quite dead. It roared defiantly at the Necron falling on him, attempting to swing a claw his way. Kor'Pharas fell upon him like a meteor and crushed its head with a sickening crack via his staff of office. The Necron Praetorian turned and opened fire on the survivors of the bridge, turning any Collector taking his shots head on into blasted apart chunks. Kor'Pharas strode toward Garrus and his team while the reinforcements marched forward past them all, continuing to press onto the bridge. The Turian stood up with the help of Nemar and coughed a bit before saying to the stone faced Necron, "You certainly cut it close..."

"Yes, well we needed to find some means to traverse the chasm, as you can see." The Praetorian said, a hand casually pointing to said chasm.

Garrus looked around him, the wheels in his head turning as he realized something, shaking his head before bluntly stating, "You planned this didn't you?"

An audible acknowledgement was emitted, like one made from a smirk, "You did make yourself useful bait with this whole attempt at a rescue. It was one of many possibilities that I and Xamutet deduced. Thanks to you, the reinforcements that could have joined the battle above have been neutralized."

"Not all of them."

"Yes well, I suppose the rest will be up to Xamutet. I'm sure he doesn't mind a little extra meat on his plate to carve."

"You both coordinated this? Without telling us anything?!" the Turian said with gritted fangs.

"Sometimes to get the best results one must keep their lessers ignorant. Not that I wish to offend you as such. After all, Shepard and you both acquired what you wanted in the end."

Garrus stood upright shaking off his hurts, "If we had gotten here faster we could have saved more lives."

Kor'Pharas tilted his head, "There was no high probability of that...and speaking of said lives. Perhaps you should be grateful for what meager amount you did save and pull back."

The Turian grimaced but the voice of Tali over the comm concurred, "As much as I hate to admit it. The metal Bosh'tet may be right, we have alot of injuried people here, including yourself."

Nemar frowned, "We can still fight. Once we get these guys dropped off at the ship we can link up with Shepard. Give him a hand."

The Triarch Praetorian shook his head dismissively, "How pray tell would you accomplish that at this point? Now that the main battle has begun, by the time you reach him he will either be victorious or dead. Risking your own lives on such odds would be wasteful. I would suggest you return and stand by for orders."

"You don't get to decide that." Garrus spat.

The Praetorian's glowing eyes narrowed, "Hence it was merely a 'suggestion'. If you wish to join your Commander, by all means try. But by now you will find little support or time to reach him before the mission ends and this asteroid is obliterated."

Garrus grimaced before holding his side from the pain. He quickly turned and made his way back to Tali, Tel'Se, Mordin, and the colonist survivors. Nemar and Gefren were following behind as the Necron reinforcements marched past him. "Fuck..." Garrus muttered to himself, frustrated that the metal bastard was correct. The colonists were priority, Shepard would tell him the same. He hated that his friend was dealing with Spirits only knew what on his end.

When he reached the gathering of colonists at the entrance the Turian announced, "Alright let's get you people out." Garrus looked to the Hammerhead now in front of them, "Keep us covered Grunt."

"You got it. What about Shepard?"

Pain stung at him as he walked past the hovercraft. The Normandy team began aiding colonists who couldn't move on their own to help them walk towards safety. Garrus began helping a human man up from the ground to get him on the long walk to the dock when he finally answered, "He's on his own...but we'll be waiting for him. Tell Joker to look for any exfil points near his AO."

"Tch, I was hoping for more fun than just guard duty."

Garrus paid the Krogan's comment no mind, he just focused on helping the human on his shoulder get through the long walk ahead.

Author's note: I apologize for how long this took. Family and personal issues prevented me from being able to maximize my time to write. I thank everyone for still sticking with this story despite it taking this long. I appreciate the compliments and I will keep working to finish this story to the end. Hopefully if things settle down the next chapter will be quicker but I can't make any promises. 2024 has been crazy and 2025 only looks to be more crazy so we shall see.