Terrible images appeared on the screen…
a battle…
an unequal one.
It wasn’t clear who the Alliance soldiers were fighting, but they were calling for help.
At the very end, they showed a massive ship, looking like some kind of crustacean.
“Fuck…”
I didn’t bother holding back.
In over thirty years of living in this world, almost half of which I’d spent in the military, I’d learned one thing: ships that big don’t land on planetary surfaces.
I thought that part of canon was just bullshit, but apparently—
“Joker, rewind…”
Anderson asked to see the ship again, and we watched it once more.
“Looks like the mission just got a hell of a lot harder.
John…
your objective is still to extract the beacon.
You hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
I answered calmly, but in my head, I was calculating whether the colony could fight back.
The dig site was one thing — as soon as Prothean ruins were discovered there, all private companies were cut off from the sponsorship list.
We got compensation that covered our losses, but…
I couldn’t arrange for security there anymore.
But the colony itself, which was far enough away, was probably keeping its head down.
They had no desire to fight a dreadnought.
No planetary defense system would help there.
Though…
I took another look at the Reaper’s image.
…if they made the defenses look broken and opened fire just as the ship was about to land, maybe they could damage it.
Meanwhile, Anderson gave Joker the order, and we headed straight for Eden Prime.
I activated my omni-tool and contacted Jane.
“Shepard, get the squad to combat readiness.
Unlock the restricted container compartments.
Code Alpha-Zeta-579-Alpha-Gamma.”
“Yes, sir!”
She didn’t ask unnecessary questions and just carried out the order.
In the previously locked compartments were exoskeleton suits.
Prototypes from my company.
They probably wouldn’t be adopted by the military, but mercenaries would love them.
Especially the ones working for a certain lady…
I headed quickly toward the cargo hold.
“Sir, may I have a word?”
Jane appeared beside me as soon as she saw me.
“Go ahead.”
“What the hell is this?”
“Mission just got complicated.
Besides landing and escorting cargo, we’re going to face an unknown enemy that attacked the dig site.”
Jane’s questions vanished immediately.
I walked past the formation.
“How’s Orimura doing with the transport?”
“Fine.
Can handle it.
Not as well as the Mako, but she can drive.”
“Good.
Put Jenkins or Alenko on the gun.
You and Rebecca take the exoskeletons.”
“Sir, what about you…”
“I don’t need any of this shit.
You remember how I fight.”
She nodded stiffly.
“Don’t worry…”
Seeing she wasn’t thrilled with my answer, I put a hand on her shoulder.
“…I’ve gotten a lot stronger since Elysium.”
Jane just nodded, then stepped aside and started giving orders.
About an hour later, we were near the planet, and everyone was standing by the cargo hold ramp.
“Drop me off closer to the dig.”
“Nihlus, that’s not wise…”
I tried to stop him.
“I move faster alone.
A crowd like that…”
He gestured dismissively at my ground team.
“…would just get bogged down fighting.”
At that moment, the ship hovered, the ramp opened, and he jumped out.
I just shook my head in disapproval.
“Shepard, I hope you’re not thinking about quietly eliminating Mr.
Kryik.”
“Sir, even if I were, it would stay as just thoughts.
My feelings toward a certain arrogant representative of the Turian Hierarchy have nothing to do with my mission.
Reach the beacon, protect it, and deliver it to the ship.”
“Exactly.”
Anderson relaxed slightly and nodded.
“We’re in position.”
After Joker’s words, the ramp opened again, and we disembarked.
“Move out, double time!”
I gave the order and sat down on the front of the armored vehicle.
Jane and Rebecca, in their armored suits, sat on the sides in the back.
And that’s how we started moving.
Just a few minutes in, a biotic barrier flared up in front of me.
“Incoming!”
Shepard’s warning came only a couple of hundredths of a second late — it might have looked like my barrier appeared just as she yelled.
Shots slammed into it.
Up ahead on the road, geth drones appeared.
“Fire!”
Shepard gave the order and opened fire herself, along with Rebecca.
They moved with surprising synchronicity.
Orimura didn’t slow down either.
We casually destroyed five drones that couldn’t put up any fight.
They couldn’t even punch through my biotic barrier.
I created a biotic shield around the entire APC with a slight gesture of my hand.
It had one-way permeability — we could shoot out, but they couldn’t shoot in.
“Damn…”
“That’s the captain’s power for you.”
There was pride in Jane’s voice when she responded to Rebecca’s shocked reaction.
The kind of pride as if she’d created the barrier herself.
We didn’t have long to think about it.
Soon we ran into a sizable group of standard geth who opened fire on us.
Or rather, tried to — this time they couldn’t even get a proper shot off.
The girls just mowed them down.
“Damn, I want to shoot too!”
Jenkins’s voice from the gunner’s seat sounded offended.
“You want to use a howitzer on mosquitoes?”
There was clear disapproval in my voice.
“Jenkins!”
Realizing I was displeased, Shepard immediately cut in.
“When we get back to base, you’re studying the equipment!
You’ll recite from memory how much a shot from this APC costs versus a rifle.
And not just those!”
“But, ma’am…”
“No arguing.”
Alenko’s voice came over the line.
Judging by his tone, his migraine was acting up again.
“Shepard’s the commander, and she decides what and how.
All you can do is file a transfer request.
I’m planning to do that myself.
One tyrant was enough for me, and now there are two…”
I grimaced slightly under my helmet.
“Enough chatter!
You can discuss transfers or discharges after we’re back on the ship.
Until then, work!”
I wanted to tell them what idiots they were, but…
why bother?
They’re not game characters — this is the real world around me.
But they’re still dead men walking…
Jenkins would have been dead if he wasn’t in the APC, though that’s still up in the air — Jane checked his gear before we landed and kicked him to get his shield battery replaced.
Alenko…
Alenko’s supposed to die on Virmire…
It’s just easier with the ones whose fates I don’t even know.
Chifuyu and Rebecca will be great additions to the team.
Especially working with Jane.
A girl in pink armor ran toward us…
No, the armor was really pink.
The main part was white, but all the joints were pink.
“Fire!”
Jane gave the order as I created a small barrier over the girl.
This time, it was stationary and couldn’t be passed from the inside.
So the girl just slammed into the shield and fell to the ground, covering her head with her hands.
Meanwhile, Jane and Rebecca took out the geth that were chasing her.
“Up!”
As soon as the immediate threat was gone, the girl in pink and I ended up inside the same protective bubble.
She heard me and immediately jumped up, snapping to attention.
“Report!”
“Sergeant Ashley Williams, sir!
Two-twelfth platoon!
Last survivor, sir!
Left the defensive positions after receiving a signal that the civilians were in the shelter!”
“At ease…”
I wanted to yell at her, but if the civilians were in the shelter…
though that doesn’t mean much yet.
“Many geth on the planet?”
“I don’t know about the whole planet…
as far as I know, they only landed at the dig site.
But there are plenty of them.”
She answered clearly.
“Understood…”
I thoughtfully looked the girl over.
Good thing my helmet had an opaque visor — no one could tell where I was looking.
“I’m John Shepard, captain of the Normandy’s ground team.
I’m here to retrieve the beacon.
Effective immediately, you’re attached to my unit.
You report to me or my second-in-command — Lieutenant Jane Shepard.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
She snapped to attention again.
“Know how to use a sniper rifle?”
“Affirmative, ma’am.”
Ashley answered without bravado, in a calm voice.
“Then you’ll be taking out targets at long range.
Revy and I aren’t suited for it, and using a cannon on flies…”
“The APC’s sensors show survivors in that building.”
“Send the coordinates to the Normandy.
Keep moving.”
“But sir…”
“Stand down.”
Jane cut off Williams before she could say more.
“Williams, we have our orders.
Helping civilians is a good thing, but it’s relatively safe here right now.
If we draw unnecessary attention to this container, we’ll only make things worse.
Besides, we have an order.
And that order is to deliver the beacon to the Normandy.
There was nothing about civilians in the order.”
“But, ma’am…
that’s…”
“That’s an order.
If the captain were in charge, we could have discussed it back on the ship.
But if you open your mouth now and question the order…”
“Never crossed my mind, ma’am!”
“Then keep quiet.”
There was a note of satisfaction in Jane’s voice.
“What the hell is this?”
Rebecca — Revy — couldn’t hold back when she saw the huge spikes with bodies impaled on them.
“I don’t know what this shit is, but everyone stay alert.
The geth are machines that don’t just put people on pikes for fun.”
When we got close enough, the spikes started moving, retracting into their bases.
Deprived of support, the bodies fell to the ground and began twitching weirdly before getting up.
“Shit, they’re zombies!”
Revy’s voice was full of excitement.
“More like husks…
the APC’s sensors are reading insane amounts of element zero and some kind of electrical signals in the bodies.”
“Even cooler!”
“Shut it!
Fire!”
Jane gave the order, and they started shooting the husks.
They were dealt with quickly.
“Williams…”
Jane turned to the girl, who immediately understood she’d done something wrong.
“Why the fuck were you aiming at their legs?”
“But…
they’re people…”
“Williams, people don’t survive having a spike through their gut and being pumped full of element zero!
If you screw up like that again, I promise you, I’ll shoot you myself — just to make sure your mistake doesn’t risk the survival of this squad.”
“I…
understand…”
The words came out painfully.
I decided I’d need to check on her when we got back to the ship.
This girl was leaving a mixed impression.
“Good…”
Chifuyu started the APC moving again, and we headed for the dig site, which wasn’t far now.
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