Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Gears of War/Mass Effect crossover.
Now that we're finishing up this sub story arc, I've decided to tell you the roadmap from here on out. The next chapters will be about dealing with the potential Geth Invasion, then we're off to finish the main plot. Stay tuned, folks! It's about to get really interesting.
As always, leave a review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Gears of War or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of BioWare, Electronic Arts, Microsoft Studios, The Coalition, Epic Games, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
X57
Approaching Terra Nova
March 9th, 2183
If there was one thing that got the adrenaline going in Marcus' veins, it was the nearing of the conclusion of a mission. Already, his heart was starting to hammer inside of his chest as they approached the main facility. It was there that Balak, if their intel was correct, was holed up, ready for them to kick in the door and come in swinging.
He examined the mission timer in his helmet HUD. Two hours and forty five minutes remaining, he observed. We'll need to get this over with quickly. If we take too long, we won't have enough time to reverse the asteroid's current course. He began tapping his feet against the floor of the Mako to help with the nervous energy.
"You OK?" he heard Cole ask him.
"Fine," Marcus replied. "Just getting the jitters."
"Hey, I get jitters all the time," Cole reassured him. "Ain't nothin' to be ashamed of. Just means you're ready for a fight." That was something Marcus could agree with, as he nodded and continued to wait.
"We're almost there," Shepard reported to the others. "We're about to come up against Balak's top men, so be prepared for anything. I wouldn't be surprised, at this point, if they used suicide bombers against us. Marcus, you ready?"
"Affirmative."
"Wrex?"
"Ready for war," Wrex nodded.
"Tali?"
"I'm good to go, Shepard."
"Cole?"
"Uh, huh! Come on!" Cole beamed. "I'm gonna show them how the Cole Train rolls!"
"Excellent. Let's get the show on the road." Gunning the throttle, he felt the vehicle quickly surge forwards, the wheels turning quickly as they advanced on the terrorist controlled facility. Looking around, he could see the small bunker that marked the entrance, but he could also see some silo tanks, and what appeared to be gantries of some kind. He didn't like the look of them one bit. That distrust was proven correct, as seconds later, more armored turrets appeared. While some where hidden inside of the armored cylinders, the others were moving horizontally on rails. I guess that's what the gantries are for, he decided. "Wrex, get to work!"
"On it," Wrex replied. There was a muted THUNK as the railgun on the Mako fired. One turret, it's kinetic barriers not fully powered up, promptly exploded. The others, though, had their barriers fully activate, with the fight quickly becoming a slog.
"Watch it!" Shepard shouted as something hit the Mako.
"Barriers at 42%!" Tali reported. "We're taking too much fire!"
"Come on, Shepard!" Cole shouted. "Get this thing's ass moving!"
Throwing the controls around, Shepard maneuvered the Mako through a series of evasive maneuvers in an attempt to throw off the turret's targeting. His efforts succeeded, as the amount of fire the Mako was taking quickly dropped off. "Another turret down!" he heard Wrex report.
Just then, they heard a loud CLUNK as something hit the Mako. "Took a hit!" Shepard shouted. "No damage!" After a few more minutes of intense fighting, the last of the turrets was destroyed. "That was too close!" he whistled. "Everyone alright?"
"I'm good," Marcus replied. "A little rattled around, but all good."
"Shit, that was nothin'!" Cole shrugged. "The Cole Train can take a beating and keep coming."
"I'm good," Tali replied.
"Nothing to sweat at," Wrex added.
"Let's get out and get to the facility. If we wait too long, the asteroid will pass the point of no return." Walking to the exit, Shepard opened up the Mako, with everyone quickly piling out. Weapons at the ready, they moved towards the door to the facility.
It didn't take long for Tali to crack the encrypted keypad, allowing the team to move inside. Wrex, taking point, moved in with his shotgun primed, while Marcus, Cole and Shepard moved in behind him. Tali took up the rear, her omni-tool primed as they moved inside.
Moving through the door, they passed through a small hallway and entered what appeared to be a receptionist room. There was a medi-gel dispenser on one of the walls, and a box of grenades, though the room was mostly deserted. The only other things occupying the room were a single desk, and a cargo crate. As they were about to move forwards, Wrex said, "I don't like how this looks. Do we have a plan, aside from moving in and killing every terrorist inside?"
"I agree," Tali nodded. "I don't like how this looks at all."
"This doesn't look like a really good idea," Cole agreed.
"Yeah," was Marcus' sole contribution to the conversation. Already, he could tell that something was off. I've got an idea that might give us some clue as to what we're looking at. A moment later, he said, "JACK, need a Pulse here."
A moment later, JACK sent out a pulse, allowing them to see what was really going on. Moments later, several hostiles, a few Varren and a lot of Batarians, came up on the scan. In addition, they also noticed several orange silhouettes, including one that was right next to a few blue silhouettes. "Tali, what are we looking at?" Marcus asked.
"Hang on," Tali replied, checking the scan. "Oh, keelah," she gasped.
"What?" Shepard asked.
"Those orange silhouettes on the scan, they're bombs," Tali explained. "Those blue silhouettes must be the people that were speaking to us before the Batarians found them. Shepard, I think they're holding those people hostage."
Damn, Shepard growled. As if sending this asteroid hurtling into Terra Nova wasn't good enough, now they're threatening innocent lives on this asteroid. They could be using them as bargaining chips in order to get away. It's what I'd do in Balak's position. With that in mind, he began to furiously cook up any ideas that could allow him to arrest Balak, while saving the hostages.
Then an idea occurred to him. Looking at Marcus, he asked, "Can JACK defuse explosives?"
"Don't know," Marcus frowned. "JACK." In reply, he got a number of beeps, though they all sounded like affirmations. Seeing a line of text appear on his helmet's HUD, he said, "According to JACK, Baird outfitted him with an EOD kit that should make short work of any bombs that we find."
"They can do that?" Tali asked.
"Oh they definitely can," came Baird's voice. "JACK units are designed for all kinds of things, from defusing bombs, to performing field surgery."
"Baird?" Shepard asked. "How'd you contact us?"
"I tried a few minutes earlier," Baird explained, "but I overheard what y'all were saying. Balak was paranoid enough that he set up a one way jammer: I can hear what you guys are saying, but I couldn't contact you. JACK, however, served as a strong enough relay to allow me to punch through the jamming."
"So, any ideas that are better than mine?" Shepard asked.
"Nope," Baird replied. "Your idea is a solid one. JACK units can handle EOD duty just fine. Just have him cloak as he reaches each bomb, then he'll disarm each one. I'll also have him jam any signals from any detonators."
"Sounds like a plan," Shepard nodded. "Alright, we've got a plan worked out. Marcus, Wrex, Cole, you three and I will assault the Batarians. JACK, you disable the bombs and jam any detonator signals. Tali, you'll provide fire support for the assault team. Got it?"
"Got it," Tali nodded.
"Alright then. Let's move out."
With that, they moved up the stairwell and into the next area. The stairwell exited into a large atrium that went upwards a few stories. There were no windows to the outside, though that was normal since the entire facility was underground. A large maple tree was inside of a massive planter on the floor below, along with various other plants that were native to Earth's environment. The lower floor could be accessed via stairwells that were ahead of him, while a translucent half-wall prevented anyone from tumbling over to the floor below.
To the left and right were walkways that had transparent half walls, along with rooms that had windows peering inside. He guessed that there were likely stairwells behind and to the left and right of where he was. If it wasn't for the present circumstances, he would enjoyed the place, as it was the only really opulent facility on X57.
The other thing that had his attention, of course, were the Batarians that were swarming all over the place. Rifle out and ready, he and the others quickly moved into position. It wasn't long before gunfire rang out, with everyone firing at any targets in the area.
Talk about a 'target rich environment, he thought as he gunned down a Batarian Engineer. Hearing whirring sounds, he ducked behind cover, just as a bullet flew through where his head had been. Peering over cover, he spotted drones flying towards them. "Wrex!"
"Got it," Wrex shouted. A distortion rippled past Shepard, with one of the drones being ripped in half, while the other two were tossed about. Taking advantage of the drone's current problems, he fired his rifle, blasting one apart, while the other fell to the ground, riddled full of bullet holes.
"Come on, assholes!" Cole shouted. "I'll show you how the Cole Train deals with terrorists! Pest control bitches! We're exterminatin'!" Popping out of cover, he fired his Battle Lancer, nearly taking the head off of a Batarian that was shooting at him.
Marcus, however, was calm and focused, though no less angry at the Batarian's antics. Popping out of cover, he fired his Assault Lancer, forcing a Batarian into cover to avoid losing barriers. Giving him no rest, Marcus pulled out a grenade and flung it in the attacker's direction. Moments later, there was a loud BOOM, followed by wails and screams from the Batarian and his comrades.
Hearing footsteps running towards him, Marcus turned and spotted a Batarian charging at him, his omni-tool projecting a blade of some kind. Raising his rifle, he activated the chainsaw bayonet, causing the two to be locked into a duel, a duel that the Batarian promptly lost when Marcus pushed hard. The Batarian screamed as the chainsaw bit into his shoulder, splattering blood and gore all over the place. "Let's go! Who's next?!" Marcus shouted as the Batarian fell to the ground, dead.
Something pinged his barriers, causing him to fire in that direction. Damnit, he thought as he fired on a Batarian Shock Trooper that was firing at him. Why won't you bastards just stay down! The two exchanged bullets, but the Batarian's armor broke first. Three bullets to the head sent the terrorist tumbling to the ground.
Something punched through his barriers, and he felt a momentary sting. "Marcus!" Wrex shouted before tackling him behind cover. "You've been hit!"
"I'll be fine!" Marcus shouted. "You keep firing at the Batarians!" Looking at the affected area, he noted that while he'd been hit, the projectile hadn't penetrated his armor. Still, the blow had been hard enough that he now felt a gradually dulling pain in his arm. Damn, they got me, but I can't stop now. I've gotta keep going. Fighting through the pain, he continued to fight and fire his weapon, rifle barking loudly as he fought on.
Shepard, despite having less durable armor than the Gears, was fighting on with a single-minded determination and intensity. Popping out of cover, he fired his rifle, blasting a Batarian and pumping him full of bullets. A Batarian charged him, only for Shepard to grab the terrorist's arm, before tearing off the Batarian's helmet. After that, he repeatedly hammered the terrorist in the face, splattering blood onto the ground before shooting the terrorist with a pistol, sending the hostile to an early grave.
Even Tali was doing her part for the battle. Firing an M-35 Fusilier that Baird had lent her, she could feel the pistol kicking in her hands as she gunned down a Batarian Engineer. Using her omni-tool, she fried the barriers on a pair of terrorists, before sabotaging their weaponry. Hearing footsteps, she whirled and fired instinctively, gunning down a Batarian soldier that had been sneaking up on her. "I'm getting the hang of this," she noted to herself as she fought on.
Eventually, they passed a critical point, with the Batarian resistance slowly loosing steam. Sensing this, Shepard began pressing the attack once again. Moving past a small office room, he heard a Batarian shout, "Die, human!" Snapping his rifle to the right, he fired once, twice, then thrice. Moments later, a Batarian fell to the ground dead, his chest riddled with bullet holes.
He was about to turn and head to the hostages when he heard a voice behind him. "You humans," the voice remarked. Turning around, Shepard spotted the man that was responsible for all this death and destruction.
Standing one level above him, surrounded by guards, and a pair of Varren, was Balak. The Batarian was an ugly son of a bitch, with green skin that became a dark brown color towards the rear of his head, while his chin was a pale green that was almost white. Both pairs of eyes gazed at Shepard with barely restrained hate and fury. Beyond that, any other identifying marks were hidden by his armor.
"You're almost more trouble than you're worth," Balak growled.
"So, you're Balak," Marcus growled. "Hhmmm… you look like a fucking asshole
"Easy," Shepard told the others. After a moment, he turned to Balak and said, "Let the hostages go, and maybe you'll live long enough to explain yourself to the Council." He had a feeling that Balak would outright refuse.
He was right. "I don't answer to the Council!" Balak shouted in reply. "Or to you. I'm leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, I'll detonate these charges and your helper and her friends are going to die."
Looking behind himself, Shepard spotted what Balak meant. There was a small room that he hadn't noticed before, though he could clearly see inside of it. To his horror, Bowman was inside, along with a few other people. I was right. Balak's using them for leverage! While it was tough to do so, he kept cool and collected, though his hands clenched into fists as he looked Balak in all four eyes. "I can't just let you go, Balak," he replied. "Not after everything that's happened here."
"This is nothing," Balak sneered. "You humans have done far worse to my people! We've been forced into exile! Forced to survive on whatever we can scrounge up! It's been like that for decades!"
"All because it's your fault," Marcus growled. "Besides, why attack these people? They're not soldiers, they're innocent civilians. They've done nothing to you to deserve this."
"Innocent," Balak snarled, his eyes filed with rage. "Didn't do anything? Aside from colonizing a world that should have been ours? Aside from using resources that should have been ours? We were left to defend ourselves, but you humans were stronger than us. We knew that, the Council knew it, but it didn't matter. It was you, you and your kind are the only reason why we're in this position!"
"How does killing innocent people make up for that, aside from satisfying your bloated and spoiled egos?" Shepard asked.
"We had no other options. Sometimes, you need to get someone's attention before they'll listen," Balak explained
At that moment, Shepard knew why Balak had done what he had done, though it was Marcus that beat him to the punch. "Is that what Elysium was?" Marcus asked. "A way to get our attention? Well… you got it, and when we responded, you ran like fucking cowards. No wonder you have to threaten civilians: you're too cowardly to stand up to real soldiers like Shepard, like Cole… like me."
That got Balak angry. "ENOUGH!" he roared. "You couldn't possibly understand…" Pausing for a moment, he said, "Actually, you don't want to understand, and I'm done wasting my breath. Now, if you want your friends to live, I suggest you'll step aside."
As Balak said this, Shepard heard a ping from his HUD. Looking up, he spotted a message from JACK. Frowning at Balak, he said, "I'm not letting a terrorist like you go free. I'm taking you in, whether you like it or not."
"So be it," Balak growled, activating his omni-tool. "If that is what you want, then that's what you'll get. You humans think you're so superior, but you're not better than us. I gave you a chance to save the hostages. Who's the real monster here?" With that, he pressed the switch to detonate the bombs.
Almost immediately, however, he noticed that something was wrong. For one thing, he didn't hear an impressively loud detonation, nor did he hear the screams of dying people. "What?" he asked slowly. "Why is -?"
Just as he said this, Marcus, Cole, Wrex and Tali opened fire, gunning down Balak's guards. Before Balak could reply, Shepard walked forwards and punched him in the face. Blood splattered everywhere as Shepard gave Balak a beat down. Kicking the Batarian between the legs, he watched as Balak crumpled like a tin can as searing pain registered in his brain. "H-how?" Balak asked, shocked and surprised. "How?"
"Simple really," Shepard replied. "JACK?" A moment later, JACK delocaked, with Balak staring at the machine. "We had this guy on our side," Shepard replied, a smug smile on his face. "We had him project a jamming field that prevented you from using your detonator to kill the hostages. As for who the real monster is… well… that would be you, you sick, twisted fuck."
"Coward!" Balak snarled, knowing that he'd been beaten. "You're weak, just like the rest of your kind. Unable to make the hard choices."
"Valuing life is not weakness," Shepard replied, "and disregarding it is not strength. The thing is that I'm better than you, Balak. I want you to watch as the rest of the galaxy moves on and becomes a better place. The punishment will be for you to forever know that you could have done the same, even as you watch the galaxy move on without you." With that, he walked up to Balak and drove the sole of his armored boot directly into the Batarian's face.
There was a loud CRACK as the sole of Shepard's boot smashed into Balak's face. Blinding, white-hot pain erupted across Balak's face, just before he fell unconscious. His body slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, his limbs going limp as he fell onto his back. The blow had been hard enough that Shepard, from what he could tell, had smashed Balak's nose, if he had one, and had broken his cheekbones. Beyond that, though, he was going to live.
"Nice work, Shepard," Marcus nodded. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
"Aw, yeah!" Cole shouted. "The Cole Train and Commander Shepard, ten baby! Um… lemme see. Balak, nothin'! HAH!"
"I've never seen you play," Wrex remarked. "You must've been quite the deal, Cole."
"I still am, man. It's just that – I gotta get back into training."
"Yeah, let's redirect this asteroid, preferably before it smashes into the planet," Shepard decided.
As they went to search for a control station, Simon came towards them. "Did he get away?"
"No," Shepard arrived. "Thanks to an idea from my squadmate here, we stopped Balak, and rescued the hostages. This asteroid is back under Alliance jurisdiction. Speaking of which, I thought you holed up someplace safe?"
"I – there might've been something I could've done to help. I thought I should be here. I know this asteroid better than anyone."
"Can we halt the asteroid's course here?"
"Yes. There's a master control room on the upper levels of the facility. If we get there, we'll be able to stop the asteroid's plummet towards Terra Nova and redirect it to enter a safe orbit."
"Then let's get going."
. . .
Up in the control room, Shepard and the team were walking around nervously as Simon Atwell quickly worked at the console. After a moment, they heard the man let out a sigh. "Did we succeed?" Shepard asked.
"It worked," Atwell sighed, relief palpable in his voice. "Another hour and our course would've been irreversible. I ran the numbers, Shepard. X57 would've struck near the capitol city. The most densely populated region, but that's not going to happen, thanks to you." Motioning to the room that Shepard had seen Bowman inside, he asked, "Is Katie in here? Is she alright? Is her team OK?"
"Safe and sound," Shepard reassured him. "We used a VI controlled drone to jam any detonation signals that Balak might've sent out. As such, we not only were able to arrest him, we had the drone disarm any bombs that he set up. In other words, mission accomplished."
"That's a wonderful relief," Atwell beamed. "Still, that's a decision I do not want to have come my way. Sacrifice innocent lives to catch the terrorist, or let him get away." As he turned to leave, he said, "Shepard? Thank you, for my grandchildren's lives."
"You're welcome."
"I don't think I'll stick around, though. Not with my team gone. Too many ghosts. It's time for me to get back and spend some much needed time with my family."
"At least those ghosts will rest easy, knowing that their killer will face justice for his crimes."
"That much I can take comfort in," Atwell agreed. He turned to leave, then stopped, as though he'd remembered something, "Oh, before I go, I wanted to give you something as another way of saying thank you."
"Let's talk about it as we head to the exit," Shepard suggested. "Marcus, you have the honors."
"Alright," Marcus nodded. While Shepard and Atwell left to talk with each other, Marcus came up to the door containing the former hostages and unlocked it. While most of the engineering staff quickly got out, while thanking him, Bowman came towards him. Taking his helmet off, he let it hang on his belt as he looked at her. "Yes?" he asked.
Instead of speaking, Bowman wrapped her arms around his and cried. Quiet sobs escaped from her mouth as she held onto him tightly. Marcus, not used to displays like this, hesitated initially, then he wrapped his arms around her. "It's OK," he reassured her, remembering those times when JD woke up crying from a nightmare. "It's alright. You're safe now."
After a few minutes of quiet sobbing, Kate released her hold on him and stepped back. While tears were still streaming down her face, it was clear that Marcus' gentle approach had helped her calm down. "Thank you for saving us," she whispered to him.
"Was the least I could do," Marcus replied. "I'm sorry for your loss. That man that was killed… was he a friend of yours?"
"He was my brother, Aaron," Kate replied. "You remind me of him. He was always so stubborn… but always willing to do the right thing, no matter what. He was the one that convinced me to join the team here. Said it would be an adventure. I – I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I should see to Aaron."
"Go ahead," Marcus replied, knowing full well how important that was. "I won't stop you."
"Thank you. Uh… I don't even know your name."
"Marcus Fenix."
"Thank you, Marcus Fenix. If it wasn't for you and your CO, I wouldn't be alive now."
"You're welcome." With that, Kate left, while Marcus stood there. He could feel his own eyes beginning to mist up. She reminds me of JD, he thought to himself. I don't know how, but once all this is over and done with, I'll do what I can to reunite with him."
As he stood there, he heard someone pat him on the shoulder. "You OK?" he heard Cole asked.
"Yeah," Marcus nodded. "I'm OK."
"I know what you mean. We'll get back home eventually, even if we have to destroy every last Reaper to get back home. I know it."
"Same here," Marcus nodded. With that, they followed Shepard to where he was at.
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Thank you
THATs1I3ntGUY: I don't know, though it'd be quite gruesome. Sadly, we won't be seeing that in this chapter.
Guest: We'll be seeing that in the sequel, especially when Baird gets to do his own personal modifications to the Normandy SR2.
Colossus Bridger: We'll be seeing that eventually. If not in this crossover, then in the sequel.