3Alright. This one is shorter, but I felt that anything more would be needless wording to pad word count. We're still rolling.
Chapter 14
Big Goddamn Heroes
Mallory shrugged her shoulders in the Alliance issued Onyx armor. She put her hand to her provided communications earpiece to make it secure and then ran her hand through her hair. It was loose and hanging down onto her neck. It didn't feel like it was right. Usually, she could put it up in her knit cap, but she was leaving the cap at home for this trip.
The biotic looked over at Ashley who had her hair in a bun, as usual, and frowned before messing with her own hair and growling when it wouldn't cooperate.
"Here."
Mallory looked at Ashley who had stepped over from her own locker. The Gunnery Chief had a hair tie in her hand. Mallory let go of her hair and then she let the Gunnery Chief take hold of it. Ashley made a small bun and then Mal felt a hat get put on her head.
The ganger pulled off the hat and found a black Alliance issue field cap. She looked at Ashley who shrugged.
"I mean you can just have the bun if you want but it didn't seem like your style."
Mallory laughed and pulled the hat back on, tucking the bun underneath.
"Yeah, no shit."
Ashley stepped over and pulled on Mal's armor in a few places.
"Alright. Just remember that this crap doesn't make you invincible. You're still going to feel it if you start catching rounds and an armor piercing round will punch through this. It's the medium armor variant."
Mallory looked to Garrus who had just finished attaching the armor plates to his usual C-SEC gear.
"What about Spike's?"
Garrus's mandibles twitched before he pulled a sniper rifle from his locker and collapsed it onto his back.
Ashley looked at Mal and shook her head.
"His is medium. The Commander's is heavy, take a look at his when we get up to CIC."
Mal pulled her own shotgun from her locker and collapsed it onto her back. A pistol went onto her waist and then she looked at Ashley who was offering an eyepiece. Mallory took it and looked at Ashley expectantly. The Chief pointed at her ear.
"It attaches to the earpiece. It provides a basic HUD. Very basic."
Mal attached the eyepiece to the earpiece, and an orange holographic display appeared over her left eye. The HUD showed what cardinal direction she was facing and the heat state of her weapons. A chime sounded from her wrist as her HUD synced with her omni-tool. Ashley gave a satisfied nod and then gestured to the elevator.
"Alright. It's transmitting your vitals to the Commander. Let's get up to CIC."
Mallory walked past Garrus as he closed his locker and joined the duo on the elevator. Mal looked at the Turian. The Turian looked back and nodded.
"Ready?"
Mallory smiled smarmily at the Turian.
"Try to keep up Spike."
The Turian tilted his head and nodded.
"Back at you Doper."
Ashley laughed as Mallory glared at the Turian who began checking his omni-tool. Mallory followed Garrus and Ashley off the elevator and over to the stairs leading to the CIC. As they made the short climb Mallory fumed.
'Doper…what an asshole…'
They made their entry to CIC and found Shepard armed and armored already. The commander gestured towards the helm. The group made their way up and Shepard stopped near the exit hatch. Williams stood with her arms crossed next to Mallory. Shepard stood before the group with his arms behind his back.
"Alright. Here's the deal. We're descending to Feros now. Inbound on a corporate owned colony named Zhu's Hope. The Exogeni Corporation has small colonies up and down this rock. They're not responding to hails and we've detected no signals between them nor to the local comm buoy."
Shepard looked over the group one at a time, as if inspecting them.
"Zhu's Hope is the largest of the colonies and the closest to Exogeni's headquarters on the planet, so we'll be dropping there to investigate. My team will be moving out to recon the situation. Gunny, you and Lieutenant Alenko will be staying aboard with the Marine complement and the rest of the squad to ensure security of the Normandy."
Ashley nodded her understanding and Shepard looked to Garrus.
"Garrus. I'll be depending on your abilities for this op. Technical abilities will be essential in our intelligence gathering. Hang back. Act in a support role."
Garrus nodded and opened his omni-tool to check settings. Shepard looked to Mal and smiled.
"Ready to go, rock and roller?"
Mallory grinned at Shepard. The commander nodded.
"You're up front with me. I'll be taking the brunt of any fight, but I'll need you to be johnny on the spot with the good stuff. Just follow orders and break stuff like I know you can."
Mallory nodded and adjusted her earpiece.
"You got it."
Joker called out to the team.
"Sixty seconds to Zhu's Hope, Commander."
The team waited in silence until they heard and felt the docking clamps lock into place on the Normandy's hull. Shepard lead the team out of the airlock and out onto the surface of Feros…or at least the catwalk above it.
Mallory wrinkled her nose at the smell of the planet.
The ganger pulled out her shotgun and stood next to the commander. Mallory looked at Shepard.
"This place smells like my fucking armpit…"
Shepard laughed and Garrus seemed amused.
"You'd be surprised how common that is." Shepard mused as he pulled out his assault rifle and began walking forward. The squad fell in behind him. As they proceeded up the catwalk Shepard pointed to a crate. Mallory pointed her shotgun at it and shouted.
"Come out of there asshole!"
A human male in overalls stepped out and held his hands up.
"Wait! Don't shoot!"
Mallory trained her shotgun on the man. Garrus did the same with his rifle. Shepard held a hand up.
"Identify yourself." The commander demanded. His voice was level. Nonthreatening. The man relaxed slightly.
"David al Talaqni! I'm from Zhu's Hope!"
Shepard motioned for Mallory and Garrus to lower their weapons. Both did and the squad walked forward to David. Shepard gestured at himself and the squad.
"Commander Shepard. SSV Normandy. Why haven't you responded to hails?"
David frowned and looked around.
"You don't know about the Geth? We've been under siege for days!"
Mallory scanned the other catwalks. She heard Shepard mutter "Called it," and smiled.
"Please, Commander, up the stairs. Fai Dan wants to see you."
As Shepard asked who Fai Dan was Mallory's eyes locked onto movement on the catwalk. At the very same moment, Garrus shouted.
"Contact!"
Shepard grabbed David and dragged him behind a crate as Garrus fired a long burst down the axis of the catwalk. Mal saw a white armored Geth try to hide behind a crate and her hand glowed blue. She threw her hand in the air and two Geth came from behind the large crate.
The ganger fired on one with her shotgun and blue and black fluid began floating behind it as the machine's flashlight head winked out. Garrus fired on the other and as it died, Mallory released the lift. Both machines fell limplyto the ground and Shepard stood from where he had covered David.
David was breathing hard and frantically looked around.
"No! They can't be here!"
Shepard dusted the man off and smiled easily.
"Apparently, they can. Come on, David. Let's get you back to the colony."
The squad led the way up the catwalk as David hid behind them. As they turned the corner four more Geth appeared in the door at the end. They were clustered together in the tight space behind the pillars. Mal touched a control on the bottom of her shotgun. Shepard had the exact same idea.
"Mal! Carnage!"
Mal let off an explosive round from her shotgun. The large caliber round impacted in between the pillars and the blast threw the Geth to the ground. Shepard tossed a grenade and blew the remaining Geth to pieces.
Mal peered at her shotgun's heat indicator on her HUD. It was overheated and slowly cooling.
The squad continued forward. As they entered a stairwell a grey Geth bounced from one wall to another. Garrus snapped his rifle onto the Geth and fired a burst which knocked it from the wall. The machine fell limply down the stairwell. Which, as Mal peered over the edge, looked bottomless. Shepard bumped her shoulder.
"Stay on task."
Mal looked away from the stairwell and continued up with the squad.
They encountered no more machines and soon came face to face with two humans. They were holding rifles towards the stairwell. David waved his arms and the rifles were lowered. He ran towards Zhu's Hope and the population of the colony clustered around as Shepard led the squad in. There was a smattering of conversation from the couple dozen colonists that gathered around. Most of it hopeful with an undertone of "What the hell took you so long?"
As the squad approached the prefab building in the middle of the settlement an older man came from the prefab. He smiled widely and approached the squad with his arms held wide.
"Ah! Thank God they've sent someone to help us!"
Mallory cut her eyes to Garrus and the Turian was looking anywhere but at the older man. The man put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly to Shepard.
"I am Fai Dan. The erstwhile leader of Zhu's Hope."
Shepard offered a hand and Fai Dan took it with a warm smile.
"I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy." Shepard introduced himself as the men shook. Fai Dan nodded.
"Good to meet you, Commander." Fai Dan turned and extended his arm. He gestured further up the walkway through the colony. He began walking. Shepard followed, squad in tow.
"What's the situation here?"
Fai Dan shook his head.
"Not good. There were 200 of us just a few days ago. Now there's only about twenty of us left standing. Maybe double that bedridden. We've had no contact with headquarters since the attack began. We're out of food and nearly out of water."
Mallory looked around and saw colonists lying on cots or bedrolls. They didn't look healthy. Some had burns she'd come to associate with Geth plasma weapons and others were pale and tired looking. That look she knew to be dehydration.
Fai Dan stopped next to a woman in light armor and looked to the Commander. The old man smiled wanly.
"You're not here for us, are you, Commander?"
Shepard looked at Fai Dan and shook his head ruefully.
"I'm after a rogue Spectre. Saren Arterius. He's likely the one who brought these Geth here."
The woman in light armor scoffed and glowered at the squad.
"Typical Alliance. To late to save anyone and you're not even here for us."
Mallory stepped around Shepard and came face to face with the woman.
"Shut your fucking mouth."
Shepard grabbed Mal's shoulder and pulled her backwards as Fai Dan admonished the woman he called Arcelia. Shepard glared at Mal.
"That'll do."
Mal nodded and then glowered at Arcelia anyway. Shepard apologized to Fai Dan. The old man put his hands up.
"No harm, no foul, Commander." Fai Dan gestured over his shoulder "You'll likely find your Spectre at Exogeni headquarters. It's where the Geth first landed."
Shepard nodded and then looked around the colony. He looked back at Fai Dan.
"Food and water I can help with. What about the Geth?"
Fai Dan shrugged.
"Commander, if you're attacking their headquarters, I'd say you're already doing as much as you can to help us on that front. If you really want to help with food and water, and I would appreciate it, please speak to Davin and May. You'll find them at the prefab."
Shepard nodded to Fai Dan and led the squad over to the prefab.
"Shepard."
Shepard turned to look at Mallory who was frowning at him with a bored look. He crossed his arms as if he knew what was coming. He gestured for her to speak.
"We're not actually going to do these peoples' bitch work are we?"
Shepard frowned.
"We aren't just going to let them die, Mal."
The ganger gestured to the sky.
"Yeah, but aren't we kind of on a time crunch?"
To Mal's surprise, Garrus spoke up.
"Commander, I concur with Mallory."
Shepard turned a critical eye on Garrus. He nodded to the Turian. Garrus twitched his mandibles and then spoke.
"Saren already has a large lead on us. It's evident that he's already gone. There's no way he could hide that Geth dreadnought of his. We need to gather information from here and be on our way. Let the Alliance or corporate security deal with this."
Mal looked at Garrus and then back at Shepard.
Shepard crossed his arms and frowned. He eyed them both and seemed to be deciding if he should just tell them to shut up and follow orders. Finally, he spoke.
"My motivation isn't purely altruistic here. We have no idea what Saren wanted from Feros. Until we do, I'm not losing any potential source of intelligence. That includes this settlement."
Mal stared at Shepard and then turned to Garrus. The Turian nodded and stood straight. Mal looked back at Shepard and nodded. The Commander turned to walk away and began speaking to some woman about water pumps and power cells.
Not that she cared, but Mal couldn't help but feel she had disappointed him somehow.
Mal leaned on a large pipe, her face lit by the glowing panel of a water pump. She looked around at the tunnels surrounding her. This whole place still smelled like an armpit and now it was a dark and dank armpit. The only light came from the glowing instrument panels and the sunlight coming down from the surface from the top of the chasm to the right of the walkway. The sunlight lit up a bridge leading across the chasm and into a dark hallway. There was a faint glow emanating from the hallway and room beyond.
Mal grunted as she readjusted so she could keep her eye on the tunnel and her Turian squadmate standing not far away.
Not long ago she'd followed Shepard into the tunnels beneath Zhu's Hope. They had cleaned some Geth out and begun turning on water pumps to the colony. They continued to the end of the pipes, cleaning out individual Geth along the way until all the water pumps were on and sending fresh water to Zhu's Hope.
When they reached this spot the Commander had then ordered them to stay put while he went to go hunt down a varren. Apparently the colonists were down to eat the space dog. The commander was going to go alone. When they'd objected he'd told them to stay here and make sure the water stayed running.
'Probably had to blow off steam...'
Which is why Garrus and Mal were now standing in a dark hole in the ground with their thumbs up their asses.
'Or a talon in Garrus' case…do Turians have asses?'
A noise like shuffling came from behind a nearby pillar and Mallory whirled.
"Come out here!"
Garrus appeared next to her and raised his rifle in the same direction.
"Nice and slow!" The Turian shouted. A blonde man holding his head came out from behind the pillar. He was dressed in the same coveralls as the rest of the Zhu's Hope colonists. He gave a pained grin to Mal and Garrus.
"Why, hello, I'm Ian."
Garrus stepped forward.
"Nice to meet you, Ian. What're you doing down here?"
Ian laughed and something about it rubbed Mal the wrong way. It sounded very...broken.
"Not a thing worth doing." Ian laughed again before suddenly flinching and gripping his head tighter. He clenched his teeth before sighing.
"Wow! That was a good one!"
Garrus was silent and Mal stepped forward to cut her eyes to the Turian. The Turian kept his eyes forward.
"What's wrong Ian?"
Ian grimaced again, rubbed his temples, and promptly ignored the question.
"You're here for the Geth right? That's good. They can lead you right to the-" Ian groaned and then shut his eyes as he held his head. He panted and then tried again.
"They'll lead you to the-" Ian screamed and his body convulsed. He fell to the ground and struggled to get his breath. Mal mumbled to Garrus.
"This guy is a few bottles short of a six pack."
Garrus looked at her in confusion before looking back at Ian.
'Must not have translated well...' Mal mused as she lowered her shotgun, her eyes still on the strange colonist.
The man was now sitting against the pillar and mumbling to himself incoherently. As the Normandy crew stared at him there was a blurt of binaric from across the bridge. Both Garrus and Mallory whirled. A Geth trooper appeared from around a corner and fired the first burst at Mal.
Her shields flared and she stumbled backwards. Garrus stepped forward and fired a burst at the trooper. It stumbled and Garrus put it down with a second burst from his assault rifle.
A larger Geth stepped around the corner. It was orange and black and equipped with a shotgun that Mal couldn't help but find impressive. The Geth let out a blurt of binaric. Mal couldn't help but think it sounded angry as the large Geth unit charged at the duo. It was faster than Mal had seen one of the synthetics move and was covering the distance alarmingly fast.
Mal raised a glowing hand and tossed a bubble of dark energy at the Geth. When the Lift impacted, the Geth ran right through it unaffected. Mal stumbled backwards and the Geth rammed her. She yelped as the bot sent her tumbling head over heels. The large synthetic stood over her and pointed that impressive shotgun right into Mal's face.
There was a thud and the machine was suddenly covered in arcing electricity. The machine trembled and was seemingly immobilized. Mal thrust her shotgun up towards it and fired a blast directly into the flashlight head. The machine tumbled to the floor as Mal was covered in white coolant. Mal pushed the machine off of her and got into a crouch. She raised her shotgun and let off a few rounds towards two Geth troopers coming across the bridge, each blast punctuated with a curse. Mal registered Garrus swapping weapons out of the corner of her eye. He retrieved a long barreled rifle from his back.
Garrus' sniper rifle let off a big boom and one of the troopers fell in a tangle of limbs and wires. The other kept coming until Mal glowed. She tossed the machine into the chasm with a biotic throw. After a moment there was a quiet thump from the bottom of the chasm.
The biotic looked at Garrus. He'd used an Overload on the big Geth that put her on her back. Probably saved her life. Mal stared at the Turian as he swapped back to his assault rifle and then gestured with his whole hand across the bridge. He looked at her with what she could only describe as an eager grin.
"Let's go get'em!"
Mal grinned wolfishly and charged across the bridge. She walked through the door on the far side and found a Geth trooper standing very close. Its eye got wide and it appeared to be surprised at her sudden attack. Mal fired a shotgun blast and the Geth's kinetic barriers flared and failed. Mal glowed and she picked up the Geth before tossing it across the room where it made a satisfying crunch against the wall. The flashlight winked out.
Mal moved up to the next corner, hearing Garrus behind her.
The ex-cop patted her on the back that he was right behind her and ready to move forward. The ganger took a step forward and turned the corner. What she saw made her stop short. In the room were two more Geth troops and, much more concerningly two Krogan. Both Krogan roared and charged simultaneously. Mal stepped to the right to give Garrus a line of fire, but it put her right in the path of the charging Krogan warriors.
'Oh shit.'
As Garrus dropped one of the Geth with a headshot, Mal's biotics flared and she locked one of the Krogan in a stasis field. The second Krogan kept coming and Mal threw a fast Warp at him to begin breaking his armor. The impact of the Warp stumbled the warrior but didn't stop him. He roared in pain from the Warp as he hit Mallory. The warrior pushed her backwards and Mallory grunted in pain as her back hit the wall behind her. The wind knocked out of her, Mal struggled to raise her shotgun. The Krogan roared again and went for a headbutt. Mal moved her head to the side and the angry lizard hit the wall instead.
Mal bared her teeth and fired two point blank shotgun blasts into the Krogan's side. The Krogan howled in pain and fell to his knee. Mal swore at the Krogan and fired a third blast into his face. Dark red blood splattered across Mal's armor and and face. The Krogan fell to the side in a heap. Mal turned to see the other Geth falling. The last Krogan broke free of the stasis field and charged her. Mal charged her biotic barrier and raised her shotgun. A blast stumbled the Krogan, but he lowered a shoulder as he got ready to ram Mal. Mal set her feet and got ready to get in another fight with a Krogan.
"Firing a high impact shot!"
A large concussive round from Garrus hit the Krogan and knocked him to the ground. He slid to a stop at Mal's feet. Mal pushed the muzzle of her shotgun into his eye socket before letting off a round. The Krogan was probably dead, but Mal fired another round into the Krogan's face. Bits of skull and brain matter showered the floor under the warrior.
Mal let her shotgun cool as she caught her breath and turned around to look at Garrus. He was breathing hard and turned to look at Mal. His mandibles twitched as he looked her up and down.
"You alright Spike?"
Garrus regarded her and huffed out a laugh before nodding.
"Fine, Doper. Let's get a charge on that transmitter."
'Transmitter?'
Mal turned and saw a large antenna. It was clearly Geth tech. Something valuable. Mal looked down at the two Krogan. Were they protecting this thing? Mercenaries or something? As she wondered why the large warriors were here Garrus set a charge on the transmitter and linked it to his omni-tool. He nodded towards the door.
"Let's get outside."
Mal hummed. 'Couldn't agree more.'
The duo stepped outside and back across the bridge. Mal took a knee next to the still whimpering Ian, peering at him out of the corner of her eye. Garrus held up his omni-tool and there was a muted karumph from inside the room they'd vacated. A small dust cloud came from the door and as Mallory stood she heard footsteps behind her. She looked over her shoulder, halfway expecting to see another Geth or Krogan intent on invading her personal space.
Commander Shepard was staring at them in a mix of amusement and irritation. He held up a pack of power cells.
"Found the power cells for Zhu's Hope and took out those varren for them. What the hell happened to you two?"
Mal looked at Garrus and shrugged. The Turian made an amused "Ah-ha," and shrugged before looking back at Mal.
"Bonding experience?"
Mal stared at Garrus and then grinned.
"Call it what you want, Spike."
Garrus twitched his mandibles and nodded back.
"I always do, Doper."
Shepard snorted and then looked at Mal's blood covered armor.
"Are you alright?"
Mal grinned and laughed once, holding up her shotgun.
"I'm good. Krogan wanted to throw hands. I wound up in the splash zone."
Shepard smiled strangely and shook his head before nodding to Ian.
"Who's that?"
Garrus looked at Ian who was now looking around frantically.
"Zhu's Hope colonist. Seems like he lost it."
Shepard grunted.
"Well, get him on his feet. We're headed back to the settlement."
As Garrus lifted a whimpering Ian to his feet, Mal cackled.
"Food, water, batteries and their long-lost friend. Ain't we a bunch of big goddamned heroes?"
Alright. Next time it's Exogeni Headquarters.