Mass Effect - A Hero Rises Ch. 04

Book 1, Chapter 4 - Doctor T'Soni, I presume? (Therum)

*****

Standing by the galaxy map, I realised straight away I could do two birds with one stone. Within the Artemis Tau cluster were four systems. Therum was in the Knossos system. Kahoku hadn't been able to give me a pinpoint location on where the marines had gone missing, but sending out a few probes in each system should help me pick up something. If the marines had managed to get a distress beacon working, even better. Our ship should pick that up on the scanners.

Getting to the system we needed would require a few relay jumps, and then we'd have to fly through space to reach the system. We'd be looking at a little flight time before we'd hit the ground. The only concern I had regarding that is the system was deep in the Traverse. And despite the brave speech I'd made, I still didn't want to have to face a roving band of pirates. Thankfully the stealth systems of the Normandy should keep us cloaked from any scanners.

The extended flight time gave me the opportunity to wander the ship and get to know my crew, as to be honest, I was rather new to the Normandy myself, so we'd barely got to know each other before I assumed commander. The enlisted men and women were immediately respectful, I think for a variety of reasons, one being my war record and, two, the fact I was the first human Spectre.

Speaking to Pressly, he surprised me by voicing his suspicion of the fact I'd hired non-humans as crew, believing the mission to catch Saren should be a human-only endeavour. I listened to what he had to say, believing he had the right to express his opinion, before I retorted, suggesting the fact we accepted the help from what we had one termed 'alien' races simply made the Alliance appear more open-minded and tolerant than perhaps other species in the galaxy. Adding to that, the Alliance could and should accept help from anyone who wished to ally with it in the face of such overwhelming danger. It was food for thought.

Ashley was also suspicious, particularly of Garrus. Her suspicion wasn't a great surprise considering her personal history, and after doing a little research on her, it was rather sad to know she was basically banging her head against a brick wall in regards to promotion. I would do what I could if she proved herself in my team, but it appeared the entire Alliance had a chip on their shoulder regarding the Williams name. I gave her credit simply for joining up, knowing what she was possibly in for.

Kaidan was a rather private individual, not particularly wanting to open up to me yet. He admitted to suffering headaches because he was a biotic, but other than that, he wasn't ready to open up yet. I'd give him time. Garrus was just relieved to be off the leash, showing absolutely no concern about quitting his job with C-Sec. Wrex just wanted to go and kill things. As for Tali, she was terribly excited, near enough bouncing off the walls, in regards to being allowed onto such an advance spaceship, explaining a few things about the Migrant Fleet, as I knew next to nothing about them.

Entering the correct system, I had everyone head down to the garage by the Mako, where I would explain how things would work. Anyone who had served in the Alliance would know about a Mako air-drop, a ship would fly down close to the ground, unloading the Mako, which would use small thrusters, though relying more on suspension to soften the landing.

"Okay, let me explain a Mako air-drop," explained Shepard to the group, "LT. Chief. I have no doubt you've experienced an air-drop during your service. Correct?" Garrus, Wrex and Tali all nodded, all three keeping their faces inscrutable. "Okay. Wrex, Tali and Garrus. I'll explain. It is not always possible for the Normandy to land on a planet's surface. The Normandy is rather heavy, even for a frigate, so it is not always possible to land, and subsequently take off, depending on a variety of factors, two being atmosphere and the gravity field, another being whether docking facilities are available or not. To make infiltration and extraction easier, the Alliance uses a Mako air-drop. It's quite simple. Joker will come in low over the surface. The Mako, this massive lump of metal beside us, with the team inside, will be dropped out of the hangar bay doors. The Mako will deadfall to the ground, where thrusters will be fired to allow a graceful landing on the surface."

Wrex just started to rumble with laughter, so I assumed he thought it was fine. Garrus shook his head, muttering something about spirits. Tali wrung her hands, I assume nervously. "Any questions?" Surprisingly, all three shook their heads, so I must have explained it well enough that they knew what they were in for. "Now, usually, a Mako will only handle a driver, me, plus three occupants easily, five with a squeeze, any more than that and it does get rather uncomfortable. Since there are five of you here now, I don't see the point of keeping any of you back on the ship. The Mako is used for transport and to eliminate those which cannot be taken out on foot. So, you're all in for now. Grab armour and weapons, Joker will let us know when we've located the correct planet and we can be unloaded."

As I was assembling myself in armour, Joker came over the comm, letting us know that he'd received a signal from a planet named Therum. I immediately pulled up any information about the planet on my omni-tool, and the words that leapt out were 'Prothean Ruins', so that explained why she was there.

"You won't like this, sir, but the planet is crawling with other signals."

"Who?"

"Think it's the geth, sir."

"Fuck, that's all we need. Okay, thanks, Joker. We'll load up in the Mako and wait for your word."

Should have known those bastards would involve themselves again.

*****

It was the moment that she always feared, working alone on dig-sites in the ass end of nowhere. She left a trail of footsteps in the soft dirt as she ran, her head down, her heartbeat thumping, breathing heavily, arms pumping, as she tried to put as much distance between herself and what she could only assume were geth. She carried her pistol in her left hand. It was cold for the moment, but had been hot only moments before, as the geth dropship suddenly appeared in the sky and geth units poured out.

Liara T'Soni was concerned. She had no idea why the geth would suddenly appear outside of the Veil, and of all places, on a planet that was primarily worthless, apart from the Prothean ruins that she had been investigating for the previous six months.

Why would the geth have any interest in Prothean ruins?

Liara could hear the occasional burst of gun-fire behind her but she knew she was leaving the geth behind as she ran towards what she thought was relative safety. She had also noticed a krogan battle-master working alongside, if not leading, the geth units. She had no idea why a krogan would be working with the geth, or vice-versa. It was a strange turn of events.

Liara turned her head as she ran. She could see the geth behind her, far in the distance. She thought she might just have a chance of out-running them. Escaping, though, was a completely different proposition. Her shuttle was parked up miles away on an abandoned space-port, and running there, in this atmosphere, would be impossible. As far as Liara knew, she had been alone on the planet. Liara was used to working alone. There were not many asari archaeologists of her age. Most asari her age were far too busy living the high life to traipse across the galaxy, rather than Liara, who enjoyed digging in the dirt, looking for information regarding a race that had disappeared 50,000 years ago.

She could almost grin to herself as the entrance to the mine-shaft appeared over the horizon.

Just another minute...

Up the ramp Liara ran, looking to her side to see the geth in the distance, the krogan lumbering behind them, shouting orders. The doors to the mine-shaft opened, Liara running as quickly as she could. The cavern she ran into was a treasure-trove of Prothean artefacts. She had been trying to piece together information on why the Protheans had just suddenly disappeared. What she had managed to find, so far, had been disturbing.

Two long elevator journeys to the bottom of the cavern had Liara fretting, as she was sure that the geth would be approaching, if not already in the mine-shaft itself. But, for now at least, Liara still had time. She ran into the large Prothean ruin that the miners had excavated in the previous year and started keying the terminal she had been using. She couldn't read the language, but had worked out, through trial and error, what most of the commands did.

The sounds of metal on metal, as the geth ran along the walkway high above her position, caused Liara to pause for just a moment. She knew she was now trapped, but there was an ace up her sleeve. She keyed the buttons on the console and pressed the command she knew meant 'Execute'. She looked to her right as the barrier started up and soon a see-through, near-invisible wall separated herself from her pursuers.

What do I do next though?

Liara just stood there and waited, her breath calming as her safety was assured for now. It would be a waiting game. She watched as the krogan exited the elevator and trudged towards her position, laughing to himself as he approached the barrier.

"Looks like you're stuck in there, Miss T'Soni."

"That may be so, but I'm still in here, while you're stuck out there. Why don't you see if you can get in? I find that highly unlikely," replied Liara, a slight smirk on her face.

"Stop with the games, Miss T'Soni. If you just co-operate with us, I promise you will be unharmed."

Liara chuckled, shaking her head. "And I'm to take the word of a krogan who has allied himself with geth?"

The krogan shrugged. "My boss thinks geth allies will prove to be an invaluable asset in the events to come. Your help is desired, and would be appreciated, at the same time."

"Just who is your boss?"

"I can't say. But he has seen things which have convinced the geth that their co-operation, with some organics at least, will be beneficial to their continued existence."

"If you wanted me alive, why were you shooting at me in the first place?"

"I guess the geth were slightly over-zealous in their approach. Now, if you've asked enough questions, Miss T'Soni, bring down this barrier and stop wasting my time!"

"The only way I'm coming with you is if you're dragging my dead body behind you."

The krogan stepped right up to the barrier. "That can be arranged," he growled.

Liara stepped up to the barrier herself, looking up as the krogan towered above her. "Good luck," she said, before turning her back. She heard the krogan roar in anger, before turning around and walking off in a huff, issuing orders to the geth to look for a way to bring down the barrier. Liara sat down on the floor, only one thought now in her mind.

I wonder how long it will be until someone else comes to this planet?

*****

The geth were ready and waiting for us this time. As soon as we landed the Mako, I put my foot down as everyone else within the Mako got to work. Garrus was handling the gun, wasn't a particularly powerful cannon but it would do the job required. Tali was an engineer, so would look after shields and would hopefully keep the Mako running. Alenko would assist her. Ashley and Wrex were pretty much just along for the ride until we had to head out on foot.

"Garrus, do you need me to report targets? I've got a targeting system here."

"No, Shepard," the turian replied, "Targeting system here is perfect."

"Good. Tali, report when shields are below 50%. I get readouts here but, if I'm distracted, I'd like to know. Other than that, just make sure this keeps moving."

"Aye, Shepard."

"Ash and Wrex, just hold on. This could get tasty."

The M35 Mako was already a veteran of service having replaced the obsolete M29 Grizzly. With a 155mm cannon and coaxial-mounted machine gun, it had formidable firepower for what was effectively an APC. With thick amour in addition to shields, the Mako also came equipped with laser detection arrays and ground-penetrating radar. The tri-axle design, with tyres instead of tracks, allowed the driver to take the Mako nearly anywhere. I'd previously driven the Mako up inclines that seemed crazy until I crested the top. Basically, despite it appearing unwieldy, in the right hands, a Mako was invaluable.

The presence of geth was highlighted by the fact a geth dropship flew over our heads as we headed in what I hoped was the right direction. I figured it was only dropping soldiers, hearing Garrus start firing once we were in range, but I brought the Mako to a halt when I saw things I hadn't seen before.

"Tali, I've already seen various geth soldiers. Don't really care about all their names. But what the fuck is that?"

She took a moment to look through the scope before replying. "I've only heard of these, Shepard. We call them Armatures."

"Know much about them?"

"No. I've only heard of them. We know there are two types similar; Armatures and one that goes by the name of Colossus. You can only imagine how big that would be."

"Right, could be tricky. Garrus, get that cannon ready. No doubt it'll be shielded, so it's going to take some work. Tali, what sort of weapons do you reckon it has?"

"No idea, Shepard. But knowing the geth, perhaps a pulse weapon?"

"Great," I muttered.

I'd had plenty of experience with the Mako, either driving or at the turret. I'd always preferred driving though, as I did like the semblance of control it gave me over the operation. Garrus soon has the machine gun firing in small bursts, announcing when he'd taken out a geth soldier. When we were within range of an Armature, I would hear cannon fire above my head. Though the Mako was insulated, it was still incredibly loud with the cannon and machine gun fire, plus the roar of the engine. That's why we were all still wearing helmets inside the Maki, simply as it protected our ears. Well, all of us except Wrex. We didn't have a helmet big enough, and we could hear his laughter over the roar of everything else. The krogan was enjoying himself.

Garrus certainly proved to be accurate, the geth soldiers falling quickly, while he handled the first couple of Armatures with relative ease. I didn't race ahead as I was sure there would be at least one or two ambushes, Tali explaining that, with more numbers, the geth were more intelligent. It's how they'd won the war against her people.

Eventually reaching some sort of industrial outpost, the geth had obviously been there long enough to build turrets. And those could get a lock on us, Garrus asking me to simply keep the Mako moving so he could get a lock on them. With geth also opening up on us, we were in a bind.

"Let me out, Shepard. I'll help out on foot," Wrex stated, "The human woman can help too."

"My name is Ashley."

The krogan laughed. "I know, but let's see how your squishy form handles geth."

I brought the Mako to an immediate halt, glancing back to see Wrex open the back door and head out, Ashley checking her rifle before she headed out too. "Me too, Commander?" Alenko asked.

"Tali?"

"I'll be fine, Shepard."

"Support them, Alenko. Focus on that tech skill you have."

"Aye, Commander."

Hearing the door slam shut and a slap on the roof, I moved the Mako immediately, checking radar and making sure I didn't run over my colleagues. I had no real idea what they were doing, but opened the comm line so those of us left in the Mako had a general idea.

Garrus eventually eliminated the three turrets while I'm sure those on the ground helped out with the soldiers. No Armatures this time, but I was confident more lay ahead. There was a small fort like building ahead, Garrus sending a couple of cannon shots into it before Wrex, Ashley and Alenko headed into the facility. They were not in there long, Ashley signalling that I should move and they'd remain on foot.

"I'll keep the pace gentle. Run into trouble, take cover behind us," I ordered.

"Aye, sir. But it's better out here than in there," Ashley retorted.

"It's not so bad. More of a dry heat," Alenko added with humour.

We eventually reached a gatehouse, the three outside heading up to take out a few geth that were on patrol. Once the barrier lowered, an Armature appeared, Garrus proving quicker to the driver, the cannon causing the geth machine to explode into bits. Waiting for the other three to signal they were ready, I pushed us forward, following the lone path ahead, amazed at the lava pools around us. The planet seemed to be completely uninhabitable, amazed they were even mining, left wondering if there were volcanoes that were ready to explode.

Something ahead caused me to slam on the brakes and turn to my quarian colleague. "Tali, is that a Colossus?"

"It is, Shepard."

"Fucking hell, it's enormous. Surely even our cannon will have to send in a few shots to take it down..."

"Get me close and I'll take its legs."

"Hmmm. That could work. Ashley, Kaidan, ever seen Star Wars?"

"No, what's that?" Ash wondered.

"I've heard of the name. What's the idea, Commander?"

"This thing comes with one of those hooks right? What we do is get in close, fire the hook, then wrap wire around the legs so it collapses, then we blow it up."

I heard laughter over the comm from Wrex. "You know what, Shepard? That might just be mad enough to work!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Wrex. Ash, the hook should be in one of the compartments to the left side. See if you can find it. Garrus, once we're close enough, fire, as I'll be going in fast."

"I'll know when to fire, Shepard."

I got the revs nice and high before I slammed my foot down, heading straight for the Mako. I'm heard Tali mutter something to herself as the Colossus soon towered over us. Hearing the cannon fire, Garrus immediately reported connection, and I was soon sliding the Mako around the legs of the Colossus. Once I'd gone around four or five times, Garrus cut the cord and I drove us away, spinning the Mako around so we could watch what happened.

The Colossus tried to keep moving, but with its legs held by the wire, it couldn't move, and it soon tripped over and fell. It didn't explode immediately, Garrus firing the cannon until the Colossus exploded. I heard laughter over the radio from those outside before I figured getting out of there would be a good idea, assuming the geth would investigate the explosion.

Heading through a tunnel was a pain in the arse, as the geth were lying in wait for us, a couple of turrets and Armatures definitely proving troublesome, while geth with rocket launches nearly killed my colleagues outside. I did ask if they wanted to come back in, but Wrex suggested he would feel safer outside rather than inside the Mako. I think he was trying to insinuate my driving wasn't great.

We continued to kill geth as we moved ahead. Occasionally I'd even run one or two over, and I did manage to send one Armature into one of the lava pools after running over it. Garrus was a natural with the cannon and machine gun, so I already knew that would be his job going forward. As for Tali, she was a genius with the shields, keeping them at a high percentage but ensuring it never effected the power output of the Mako.

I was hoping we could keep using the Mako until the very end, but we eventually reached a barrier I simply couldn't drive the Mako through. Far too narrow. "End of the line, Shepard," Alenko stated.