Chapter Text
Fehl Prime—Prothean Dig Site just prior to the attack on the colony
“Dr Treeya?” One of the anthropologists graduate assistants called out, “Inbound shuttle.”
“Must be from the colony.” The asari scientist replied with a grin. “I hope this time they send us the right supplies.”
“Tell me about it.” Sergeant Stephens, one of the team’s Alliance escorts, grinned back. “Last time they sent us five boxes of dextro rations and not a turian or quarian in sight.”
“So…what’ll be this time, Sarge?” Private Michaels joked, her lips turning up in a smile. “Cold weather gear? A stack of Fornax mags for Rolfson?”
“Says the gal with the oversized…” Rolfson bantered back only to be interrupted with a growl from the sergeant.
“Secure the chatter.” Pointing to his two squad members, Stephens commanded, “You two get your asses to the landing pad and help ‘em unload. Doctor? Do you want to go out to greet the shuttle?”
“No.” The asari professor shook her head, “I need to get back to my work. That relic is the key to something…but what?”
Laughing, the sergeant keyed in the sequence to open the sealed door and entered with his charge, “When you find out, Doc…let us know. There are a lot of credits riding on it.”
“I know.” Treeya chuckled, “I’ve got two hundred credits in the pool.”
“They don’t suspect a thing, Commander.” Hawthorne commented as he guided the Cerberus shuttle on its approach pattern.
“They will once they see our colors.” Shepard replied as she signaled her crew. “Barrett, I want you on the side gun. The moment the door opens, let ‘er rip and don’t let up until there’s no one shooting back.”
“Aye, Commander.” The heavy weapons specialist grinned as he took his position behind the heavy weapon, loading a fresh thermal clip.
“Markham?”
“Yes, Commander?”
“Shoot the first target you get in your sights.”
“Got it, Ma’am.” Ben, still simmering from Whaley’s recent betrayal, grimly replied as he hefted his Viper sniper rifle.
“You know what to do, Mr. Leng.” Shepard said as her XO’s hand dropped to his katana. “No one left standing.”
“Right.” The Cerberus assassin laconically replied as Hawthorne again called out.
“Closing to range. Seeing two Alliance marines and a few dockworkers.”
“On my mark!” Shepard commanded as her hand went to side door release, “Now!”
“That shuttle’s coming in awful low.” Michaels remarked as she pointed to the rapidly approaching shuttlecraft.
As the small vessel drew closer, Rolfson began making out details. At once recognizing the distinctive black and gold markings, the Alliance marine called out in alarm, “Cerberus! We’re under…”
The sound of mass effect projectiles drowning out his last words, Michaels gazed in shocked horror at the sight of her friend disappearing in a red haze. Stunned, the young marine never saw or heard the round that penetrated her skull, killing her instantly.
Moving with precision, Shepard and her team swiftly dispatched the fleeing and cowering dockworkers, granting no quarter, even to those on their knees begging. In seconds, the landing pad secured and their shuttle safely on the deck, the commander pointed to the sealed door. “Barrett? Explosives.”
“On it!”
After setting the charges, the weapons expert shouted, “Get into cover!” Moments later, after the smoke had cleared, Barrett looked on with satisfaction at his handiwork, smirking. “Barrett Demolitions for all your explosive needs. Nukes extra.”
Chuckling, Shepard pointed to the gaping bunker entrance, “Let’s get what we came her for and get the hell out.”
“What was that?” Treeya exclaimed as she heard the muffled explosion coming from behind her.
“Oh shit.” Doris murmured before calling out to the sergeant, “They’re here!”
“Who’s here?” The asari cried out in alarm, recognizing the two new faces, "Who are you?"
"Friends." Sergeant Ruiz quickly replied, "We came here as fast as we could to warn you. We're under attack."
"By whom?" Dr. Treeya exclaimed in alarm.
“Cerberus.” Edi stated in a flat tone. “They have come for you and your information.”
“No.” Treeya violently shook her head. “No matter what the cost, we can’t let them have it.”
“Fuck.” Ruiz, the senior noncom, taking command once their shuttle had arrived, cursed as he activated his comm. “Michaels? Rolfson? Come in. Is anyone there?”
“That noise! They must have blown the entrance.” Stephens cursed.
“Barrett.” Doris declared, “Team heavy weapons and explosives expert. Asshole always liked to make big explosions.”
“Dr. Treeya, we need to recover your data and escape as quickly as possible.” Edi prompted with what seemed to be a note of urgency in her voice.
“Good idea.” Ruiz decided. “Venner…Li…we’re withdrawing to the chamber. I need you two to cover us. Run and gun…don’t stay in one spot too long. Keep them busy. And try not to get yourselves killed.”
“Right, Sarge.” Corporal Venner acknowledged as he slapped his squadmate on the back, “C’mon Li. Time to earn our pay.”
“They’re gonna die…you know that, don’t you, Sergeant.” Doris commented with a mournful expression on her face.
“Yeah. I know.” Ruiz grimly replied. “But Dr. Treeya and what she knows is too important. So are you two.” The sergeant declared, looking Doris directly in the eyes as he spoke. “Me…Stephens…the others…we’re just grunts. Our job’s to make sure you all make it out alive. There’s nothing in our job description that says we have to live through it.”
“But Sarge…” Dixie began to protest only to be cut off.
“If you three get out of here alive and make it back to the Alliance with what you know, then I’m gonna call that a win.” Ruiz declared. “Like I said, Dr. Treeya’s too important and it’s not every day we get Cerberus deserters with good, actionable intel.” Jerking his head in the opposite direction from which his two team members went, the sergeant urged, “We need to go. Let’s hope Venner and Li can buy us the time we need.”
“Ya’ll do have another way outta here—don’t you, Sarge…Dr. Treeya?” Doris asked as she and the others picked up their pace.
“There is a way out.” Treeya replied, “But first, I need to get something. “I’ll show you.” Leading the people accompanying her into a chamber, the asari anthropologist pointed to a console.
“Is that what I think it is?” Doris exclaimed in a hushed tone.
“A Prothean beacon.” Treeya confirmed with a smile.
Doris let out a low whistle, “Well I’ll be damned. Never thought I’d get to see one of those.” As she drew closer, Dr. Treeya’s sharp command drew her back.
“Don’t!” The asari scientist warned. “When one of Shepard’s people got too close to the beacon on Eden Prime, it caught him.”
“And after Shepard knocked him away, she got caught by it.” Doris concluded with a rueful grin, “Sorry, Doc. My curiosity got the better of me.” Taking a breath and exhaling, the former Cerberus specialist inquired, “Do you think that beacon might have something to do with that relic of yours?”
“I think so.” Treeya replied. “Being asari, I believe I can interact with the beacon somewhat safely.”
“Somewhat?” Ruiz raised an eyebrow at that comment.
“There is a risk.” The asari anthropologist admitted, “But I don’t think we have much choice.”
“She’s right.” Doris interjected. “Shepard and the others are making their way down here now. I know your people are gonna do the best they can to buy us as much time as possible, but…”
“I know.” The Alliance sergeant nodded his head grimly. “You used to work with them. You know them best. What do you suggest?”
“We need to pick an area with a lot of open ground between us and them and plenty of cover.” Doris suggested, “If we can find a spot where there isn’t that much cover for them, that’d be a bonus.”
“Sarge?”
“Yeah, Stephens?”
“What about the atrium?”
“That’ll work.” The experienced NCO nodded his head. “There’s nothing but space between the atrium’s north entrance and the south entrance. We’d have the advantage of good cover and high ground. Me and Stephens will set up there. Reynolds…”
“Yeah, Sarge?”
Ruiz inclined his head to where Doris and Edi stood, “Go ahead and give those two their weapons back.”
“You sure, Sarge?” Reynolds protested, sounding a note of caution. “They could be lying. What if they hit us in the rear?”
Looking into the young engineer’s eyes, the grizzled old sergeant shook his head, “I got a feeling. Go ahead and give ‘em their guns.”
“Okay, Sarge.” Reynolds sighed as he handed Whaley and Edi’s weapons back to them, warning the southern belle in a low voice, “I promise, the last thing I’ll do if you two turn out to be snakes is put holes in your heads. Got me?”
“Yeah.” Doris responded in a soft voice, answering for both herself and her companion, “We got it.”
“One other thing, Reynolds.” The sergeant requested with a grim expression on his face. “I want you to stay with them and get them out safe.”
“But Sarge…” Reynolds started to protest only to be cut off by his sergeant.
“You’ve got to get them to safety.” Ruiz flatly stated. “Go as soon as Dr. Treeya says. Get back to Captain Toni and let him know what’s going on. Understand?”
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the pilot reluctantly complied, “I understand, Sarge. I’ll get ‘em out.”
“I know you will.” Ruiz said, his lips turning up in a slight grin as he clasped his teammate on the shoulder. “When you get back, tell Anna…well…you know what to say.”
"Yeah." Reynolds answered in a soft voice, "I know."
Hefting his rifle, the sergeant pointed to the exit, “Ready Stephens?”
“We’re wasting time, Sarge.”
“Why does Cerberus want my information?” Dr. Treeya asked as Ruiz and Stephens left the chamber, sealing the door behind them.
“I don’t know, Ma’am.” Doris answered truthfully, “I managed to hack into some of their files with Edi’s help, but the really big stuff was walled off behind some of the tightest security I’ve ever seen. I know that they are using genetic engineering and cybernetics to create some sort of…super soldier, I think. And that there’s something or someone called ‘Borg’ involved along with the Reapers and something else, but that was all I could get without triggering any alarms. Maybe it’s that relic? The young engineer suggested as she pointed to the alien artifact. “Is it Prothean?”
“No.” Treeya replied as she quickly gathered notes and disks into a carry bag. Pausing for a moment to scrutinize the strange object, the asari scientist remarked in a tone both awestruck and curious, “I’ve never seen anything like it—anywhere.”
“So what next?”
“I interact with the beacon and hope we can get some answers.” The asari scientist answered back with a slight grin.
“Just don’t get yourself killed, Doc.” Reynolds quipped in a half-joking manner. “Sarge’ll put me on permanent latrine duty if anything happens to you.”
“We can’t let that happen now—can we?” Dr. Treeya grinned, “Here goes nothing.”
Inside the dig site—Shepard
“Keep alert.” Shepard commanded as Barrett and Markham took overwatch positions while she carefully scanned the immediate area. Not seeing any immediate opposition, the commander addressed her XO, making a sweeping gesture at the ruins. “They’ll be waiting for us in the corridors. No room to flank. Plenty of areas and chokepoints to set up ambushes.”
“Agreed.” The Cerberus operative nodded his head. “We can’t use explosives either. Too much of a risk of a cave in.”
“Barrett! Markham!” Shepard barked, waving the gunner and sniper to where she and her XO stood.
“Yeah, Boss.” Jason crisply replied.
“Barrett, I’m going to need you to be ready to lay down heavy suppressive fire. Keep it going and don’t let up until I tell you to. If you can blow any cover away without caving us in, do that.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Markham? Your job will be to pick off anyone you can get your sights on. If they give up…great. But if they put up too much of a fight.”
“Understood, Commander.” Ben acknowledged, speaking for his teammate who simply nodded his head in agreement.
“Good. Move out!”
“Here they come.” Li whispered as he heard movement coming down the corridor. “Get ready, Jack. Hit ‘em and…”
“I know, Li.” Venner grinned as he checked his thermal clip. “Hit ‘em and scoot. Only got so much room to scoot though.”
“Yeah.” Li agreed, “Sooner or later we’re gonna have to stand and fight. Shhh…they’re here.”
Coming to a bend in the corridor, Shepard held up her hand. “Good spot for an ambush.” She muttered to her XO.
“Indeed.” Leng nodded his head as he drew his pistol.
Signaling Barrett to come forward, Shepard whispered, “Smoke grenade right there. Leng…draw their fire. On three. One…Two…” As the Commander dropped her hand, Barrett tossed his grenade, the smoke bomb landing almost exactly where it was intended. As the corridor filled with smoke, Shepard nodded at her XO. The pair moving in unison, advanced rapidly to the bend, Leng diving for cover as the Alliance marines opened up with their weapons. Returning their fire with a hellacious volley of of her own, a slight grin appeared on Shepard’s face as she heard a yelp of pain and then footsteps retreating.
“You got one of ‘em, Ma’am.” Barrett exclaimed as the smoke cleared to reveal a blood trail.
“Not enough to take him out.” The commander noted. “They’ve dropped back to their fallout position. Load up. I expect we’ll be doing this until we get to Treeya.”
“How’re you doing, Li?” Venner asked as he helped his comrade back to safety.
“Medigel’s kicking in.” Li responded, “Wish we had time to put on our hardsuits though.”
“Can’t have everything.” Venner quipped before letting out a sigh. “Time to get set for round two.”
Looking down at the mangled corpse of his friend, Corporal Li sighed, “Looks like I’ll be joining you soon, Venner. Activating his comm, the corporal reported, “Sarge. Venner’s down and I’m at the last fallback line and it looks like they’re coming. It’s on you now.”
“Thanks, Li. We got the watch. Save a place for us at the bar. I got a feeling we’ll be joining you very soon.”
“Will do. Goodbye.”
Sergeant Ruiz listened in silence to the sound of combat and then a gruff voice shouting in triumph. “Got the bastard!”
“Good shooting, Ben.” A female voice responded. “Don’t relax though. I got a feeling this isn’t the end of it.”
“Bet your sweet little ass it isn’t, bitch.” Ruiz grunted as he turned his head to the man crouched down next to him. “Get ready, Stephens. They’re coming.”
“Bastard cut through my suit.” Barrett winced as the medigel took effect. “Nice shot, Ben. That sneaky son of a bitch almost got me.”
“Anytime.” The sniper grinned as Shepard called out to the two men.
“You up for more, Barrett?” The clone asked solicitously.
“Just point me at ‘em, Boss.” The heavy gunner grinned back.
“Good. Move out.”