The screen showed terrifying images… a fight… an uneven fight—and it wasn't clear yet who the Alliance soldiers were fighting. They were requesting assistance, and at the very end they showed a huge ship, like some kind of crustacean.
"Fuck…"
I didn't hold back. Living in this world for a bit over thirty years—almost half of it in the military—I'd learned that ships that big can't land on a planet's surface. I'd always thought this part of canon was bullshit. Turns out it wasn't.
"Joker, rewind…"
Anderson asked to see the ship again, and we watched it once more.
"Looks like the mission just got a lot more complicated. John… your task is the same as before: extract the beacon. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, sir."
I answered calmly, while in my head I estimated whether the colony could hold. The dig site was the dig site—once Prothean ruins were found, all private companies were cut off from sponsorship. Sure, we'd been paid compensation that covered our expenses, but… I could no longer ensure security.
The colony itself, far away, was likely lying low—because it had no desire to fight a dreadnought, and no planetary defense systems would help. Though…
I glanced again at the Reaper image.
…if you pretend the defenses are down and open fire when the ship is almost on the ground, maybe you can damage it.
Anderson gave Joker the order, and we headed straight for Eden Prime. I activated my omni-tool and contacted Jane.
"Shepard, bring the team to combat readiness. Authorization to open the locked container compartments. Code: Alpha-Zeta-Five-Seven-Nine-Alpha-Gamma."
"Yes, sir!"
She didn't ask extra questions—just executed. In the previously locked compartments were exoskeletons. Prototypes from my company. The military probably wouldn't adopt them, but mercs would use them with great enthusiasm—especially mercs working for a certain lady…
I moved quickly toward the cargo bay.
"Sir, permission to speak…"
Seeing me, Jane immediately moved to my side.
"Go ahead."
"What the hell is this for?"
"The mission has escalated. Besides landing and escorting cargo, we'll face an unknown enemy that attacked the dig site."
Jane's questions vanished instantly. I walked along the line.
"How's Orimura doing learning the vehicle?"
"Fine. She'll manage. Not like a Mako, of course, but she'll manage."
"Good. Put Jenkins or Alenko on the gun. You and Rebecca—take the exoskeletons."
"Sir, and you…?"
"And I don't need any of this. You remember how I fight."
She nodded sluggishly.
"Don't worry…"
Seeing she didn't like my answer, I put a hand on her shoulder.
"…since Elysium, I've gotten much stronger."
Jane only nodded, stepped aside, and began issuing orders. About an hour later we reached the planet, and everyone was gathered by the ramp in the cargo bay.
"Drop me closer to the dig site."
"Nihlus, that's not reasonable…"
I tried to stop him.
"Alone I move faster, and a crowd like this…"
He nodded carelessly toward my landing group.
"…will get bogged down among the enemy."
At that moment the ship hovered and the ramp opened. He simply jumped out. I shook my head in disapproval.
"Shepard, you're not thinking of quietly eliminating Mr. Kryik, are you?"
"Sir, even if I am, it'll stay a thought. My attitude toward a particular arrogant representative of the Turian Hierarchy has nothing to do with my mission. Reach the beacon, secure it, and deliver it to the ship."
"Exactly."
Anderson nodded, slightly relaxing.
"We're in position."
After Joker's words, the ramp opened again and we deployed.
"Move out, double-time!"
I gave the order and sat on the front of the armored vehicle, while Jane and Rebecca in their armored suits sat on the rear sides. In that position, we started moving.
A few minutes later, my biotic shield flared in front of me.
"Movement!"
Shepard's warning was late by only a few hundredths of a second—enough that it could seem like my shield appeared exactly when she shouted. Shots struck the barrier immediately, and geth drones appeared ahead over the road.
"Fire!"
Shepard ordered and opened fire herself; Rebecca did too. They were surprisingly synchronized, and Orimura didn't slow down. We destroyed five drones on the move—without them managing anything.
They couldn't even dent my biotic shield. With a small gesture I extended a biotic barrier around the entire APC—one-way permeable: we could shoot out, they couldn't shoot in.
"Fuck…"
"That's the captain's strength."
Pride rang in Shepard's voice as she answered Rebecca's shocked reaction—pride as if she herself had created the shield.
There wasn't time to dwell, because soon we ran into a sizable group of standard geth trying to open fire. Trying—because this time they didn't even get a proper shot off; the girls simply gunned them down.
"Damn it, I want to shoot too!"
Jenkins sounded offended from the gun seat.
"You want to shoot mosquitoes with a howitzer?"
Disapproval entered my voice.
"Jenkins!"
Realizing I was unhappy, Shepard cut in immediately.
"Once we're back, you'll be studying the manuals! You'll recite for me how much a shot from this vehicle costs versus a rifle shot. And not only those!"
"But ma'am…"
"Don't argue."
Alenko's voice came over the line; by the sound of it, he was suffering another migraine.
"Shepard's in command, and she decides what and how. The only thing you can do is file for transfer. Personally, I'm planning to—one tyrant was enough, and now there are two…"
Under my helmet, I grimaced slightly.
"Chatter. Talk transfers and resignations after we're back on the ship. Until then, work!"
Sure, it would've been nice to tell them what idiots they were, but… why? This wasn't the game's cast; this was the real world. Still, walking corpses… Jenkins would be a corpse if he weren't in the vehicle—though even then, who knows. Jane checked his gear before deployment and kicked him to replace his discharged shield battery. Alenko… Alenko was supposed to die on Virmire…
Anyway. It was easier with people whose fate I didn't know. Chifuyu and Rebecca would be a great addition to the team. Especially together with Jane.
A girl in pink armor ran toward us…
No—her armor was genuinely pink. More precisely, the main plates were white, but all the joints were pink.
"Fire!"
Jane ordered, while I formed a small shield above the girl—this one immobile and impermeable from the inside. She slammed into it and immediately fell, covering her head with her hands, while Jane and Rebecca worked the geth chasing her.
"Up!"
Once the immediate threat was gone, the girl in pink and I were under one protective dome. Hearing me, she jumped up and snapped to attention.
"Report, proper form!"
"Sergeant Ashley Williams, sir! Platoon Two-One-Two! Last survivor, sir! Left the defensive position after receiving a signal that civilians were in the shelter, sir!"
"At ease."
I wanted to yell, but if civilians were in the shelter… still, that didn't prove anything yet.
"How many geth on the planet?"
"Don't know about the planet… as far as I know, they landed only at the dig site. But there are a lot of them."
She answered crisply.
"Understood."
I looked her over thoughtfully. With my opaque visor, no one could tell where my gaze was directed.
"I'm John Shepard, captain of the landing party of the frigate Normandy. We're here to extract the beacon. You are temporarily attached to my group. You answer to me or to my deputy—Lieutenant Jane Shepard."
"Yes!"
She snapped to attention again.
"You proficient with a sniper rifle?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Ashley answered without bravado now—calmly.
"Good. Then you'll handle long-range targets. It's not convenient for me and Revi, and shooting flies with the gun…"
"Vehicle sensors indicate survivors in that building."
"Send the data to the Normandy. Continue moving."
"But sir—"
"Belay that."
Jane cut off Williams, who was about to say something.
"Williams, we have orders. Helping civilians is good, but it's relatively safe here for now, and if we draw extra attention to that container, it'll only make it worse. Besides, we have orders. And those orders are: deliver the beacon to the Normandy. Civilians weren't mentioned."
"But ma'am… that's…"
"That's an order. If the captain were in charge, we might have discussed it back on the ship. But right now, if you open your mouth and challenge an order…"
"Ma'am, I wouldn't dream of it!"
"Then shut up."
Satisfaction crept into Jane's voice.
"What the fuck is this?"
Rebecca—Revi—couldn't hold it back when she saw huge spikes with bodies impaled on them.
"I don't know what this shit is, but everyone stays alert. Geth are motherfucking microchips, and they don't put people on stakes for no reason."
When we got close enough, the spikes moved and retracted into the base. The bodies, losing support, fell—and twitching absurdly, began to rise.
"Fuck, it's zombies!"
Revi sounded delighted.
"More like techno-zombies… vehicle sensors show extreme levels of element zero and some electrical signals in the bodies."
"Even cooler!"
"Keep talking and see what happens. Fire!"
Jane ordered, and the zombies were shot down quickly.
"Williams…"
Jane turned to Ashley, who immediately realized she'd done something wrong.
"Why the hell were you shooting their legs?"
"But… they're people…"
"Williams, people don't survive being impaled through the stomach and pumped full of element zero up to their ears. If you screw up like that again, I swear, I'll personally shoot you—just so your actions don't put our squad's survival at risk."
"I… understand…"
The words came hard to her. I decided that once we were back on the ship, she needed a test too. So far, this girl left a mixed impression.
"Good."
Meanwhile, Chifuyu drove us forward again, and we headed for the dig site, which was already not far…