Mass Effect: Augment

Chapter 15: Feros I

“Hackett.”

“Sheppard.” Their conversation started as usual.

“How are you?” Jon asked for the first time in a while.

“Not bad, could be better. Getting old though. I think this Reaper deal is going to be my last ride if we survive it.” He admitted.

Jon nodded in understanding and acceptance. Secret applications of nearly illegal Institute medicine and cybernetics could only go so far for a slightly above normal man. Contrary to popular belief, Fawkes did use the last of his life to reverse the sabotage in Purity, and Lyons agreed to list him KIA as the big hero so he could run and get away from it all.

Of course the Lone Wanderer saved the world, and of course he sacrificed himself to do it. Ad Victoriam, they cried. Fawkes was still a hero for taking part in the first place, dying in the attempt, and would understand the need for the biggest lie he ever got someone else to tell. No one questioned his lack of body. Atomization was not an uncommon way to go in the wasteland, especially with the rads the plant was recorded as pumping out.

Hackett smiled, “How was your shore leave? I heard about a trip to a Consort.”

Jon chuckled, “If you ever get the chance…”

“Matriarch looking for a late game conquest. Distinguished foreign admiral of a brand new species on a diplomatic visit fit the bill. Wasn’t even a lie, my man. It very well may have been the first, shall we say, close encounter.” Hackett shot back a shark smile, endemic to the Old Commonwealth in a lot of places. It was a back alley town and the people that lived there weren’t afraid to show it.

“And you’re alive?”

“She had an experienced touch. I fear for the future of our species.”

Jon shook his head, “It’s truly insidious how they do it. It’s not their fault, but…”

“You thinking what I’m thinking.”

“Yeah. There’s just to much to ignore. An entire species of perfect seductresses? Near predatory in how they act, even on average? I’ll buy some brahminshit but not that much. The Protheans did something to them, engineered them for their pleasure.”

“Those are, disturbing implications. But what they hell can be done about it. It was fifty thousand or more years ago, and the Asari are mostly just decent people just like everyone else.”

Jon shrugged, “Nothing, but it tells us more about the Protheans than we knew.”

“Insight is always important, no matter how small it is. Things connect over time. I also heard about a right hook connecting with a snoops camera.”

Jon chuckled a couple times, “What’s the word?”

“She looked like she was bothering you on your day off, and bringing the Quarian angle up really made her lose out on that exchange. Of course the General got pissed, she’s lucky you only punched a drone.”

Jon smiled, “Perks of having a good reputation.”

He returned it, “Not for nothing, the Quarians did send an official message, first one since first contact.”

“Stay away from us?”

“On first contact, yes, but this one was a thank you and a request for an update on Tali.”

“Just a request, just an update?”

“That’s all it said. Pretty to the point.”

“Ah, request approved, she’s fine. Shes fine, right EDI?”

“She spend a small amount of time in the med-bay after a close encounter with Crewman Vakarian, but prepared well for the encounter judging by her medical reports. She is currently fine.” EDI said.

“Thanks EDI.” Was all Jon said. Rookie mistake there, questions and unwanted answers.

Hackett nodded, “Maybe leave that out. She’s fine.”

Jon said, “Oh, since I’m a double agent I should tell you one of my assets is about to bust a corruption ring on the Citadel, I’m certain the Alliance can capitalize on that.”

Hackett smirked, “And what did that cost us?”

“I told them House had formally shacked up on the Citadel, something they already knew.”

Hackett nodded, “A fair trade. Since you’re going to Feros, you may be able to pull something else off. The Geth have been picking at the edge of our territory, namely the Attican Beta cluster where you’re heading. We had a beacon go down over Elentria and we should probably try to get the data module back before they do.”

“Feros is the priority. Their comms went down shortly after we left dock, but I can poke around while I’m in the neighborhood.”

“Thank Sheppard. Be careful, the place looks like a garden, but reports say looks can be deceiving. You’ll pick it up on you’re sensors.”

“Thanks for the warning though. Sheppard out.”

The screen darkened as the Admiral nodded back. EDI chimed in, “Sheppard, impeccable timing again, something I will study over the long term. We are about to dock at Zhu’s Hope, should I rally the troops?”

Jon smirked, “Rally away.”

EDI clicked off her avatar, and Jon got to putting on his hard suit. He felt annoyed that the first real threats he face with it showed the ability, however minor, to interfere with it. Given it’s nature, it put a latent fear into his mind about his own technology, and he found latent fears like that had kept him alive over the years. It was good enough, he decided, just as the Alliance determined of the hacked Citadel tech when they decided against ordering an interstellar military’s worth of power armor. It was good enough, especially when adding the Alliance’s own technology base too it. Better, stronger, if more labor intensive and not as efficient as Council alloys and omi-gel.

The Council was undoubtedly advanced, but Earth’s overwhelming advantages in key areas, however early in their advancement, kept the Council at bay. While expensive, producing anti-matter being the largest bottleneck to reactors and other technology that could only be powered by their output, it’s existence at all ensured the Alliance was too much of a fight when they were perfectly willing to play the Asari’s preferred long game.

The Council would draw them into the Citadel, blending the two until there was no distinction, and the Council would sit on top of the Alliance. Likewise the Alliance was perfectly happy to take part in the galactic economy, to benefit from a mutually cooperative relationship especially in terms of anti-piracy defense, and open their doors to their perhaps more disaffected immigrants. Ones that would help them build their strength until the Council had no choice but to accept them as equals with large numbers of their own species represented by the Alliance, as members of the top table that could make changes.

While by the numbers extremely rare, enough of Humanity had either already lived a long time, or would live longer still. Enough of Humanity had learned their lessons about refusing see past the short term. They understood they value of planting trees they would never see the shade of, like recent generations quite literally did for them. With modern medicine as well, and much of the environmental pollution from the Great War and before cleaned, the current generations would get respectable lifespans themselves. The game was very much afoot between the two galactic powers.

Jon grimaced as he thumbed the elevator button. Hackett was right. Earth had just picked it self up after a century of labor, it was just getting going on a galactic stage. Then it walks face first into another apocalypse. War never changes, he decided as the elevator came to a stop.

The full team was readying up, and he was taking them all on the away mission. He said, “All of you, on me outside the airlock. Liara, Garrus, with me.”

EDI chimed up in the bay, “I have detected biological contaminates, spores. I recommend you keep your helmets on.”

“You heard her.” Jon said as he pulled his own helmet and snapped it on.

The fire team replied in kind and Liara and Garrus walked to meet him. He turned and made for the elevator, and waited to activated it until they had stepped on. The short hop up took them to the command deck, and a short walk took them to the main airlock.

As it worked Garrus said, “I love a good third wheel.”

Jon smirked under his helmet, “I could pick you or Tali for a techie.”

“I’d rather she stay with the Krogan Battlemaster.” He replied.

“Logged, the commanding officer has departed. Your AI overlord has the deck.”

“I am interested to get scans of this biological contaminate.” Liara said as the door opened.

“Scan away.” Jon ordered as he stepped out.

His squad would be up in a moment, and there was a man down the berth walkway waving them down. Jon marched off to greet him. As he got closer he got the feeling that something more was going on. He knew what being under enchantment felt like, and he knew the man in front of him was under some kind of spell. The odds favored something to do with the spore, he determined.

“We saw your ship. Fai Dan wants to speak to you.” The man said.

“Fai Dan the boss around here?” Jon asked.

“Yes. Please, up the stairs, past the freighter. The geth are preparing for another attack.”

Just as the man finished his sentence, and just as the airlock opened to disembark the rest of the squad, a Geth ambush hit, killing the settler first. Their reactions were immediate, and Jon dove behind cover, with Liara behind him, and Garrus finding his own. The squad took their cover along the side wall on the berth walkaway, and poured fire across the gap and into the perpendicular entryway the Geth were starting to come down.

Jon tossed some ordinance from around his cover, and Liara added her own biotic firepower opposite him, along the same angles as the rest of the away force. Her lifts acted as area denial, and created favorable targets for the combined plasma and mass effect fire.

The ordinance exploded and Jon and Garrus poked out and offered their own staccato to the cacophony. Jenkins was in his Mk. 2 for the mission, and had in his hands a heavy repeater. The volume of the phased plasma bolts alone kept the Geth suppressed at the beginning of their run around the berth, along with Liara’s area denial biotic attacks.

Garrus actually snapped the first shots off at the threat in front with his trusty vindicator. Jon had his own vindicator derivative, and opened up second at his chosen target, the one Garrus wasn’t shooting at it. The barrage from the advanced assault rifle ripped right though the geth, and sent the platform flying backwards. Garrus had just finished his own target in almost as fast, his Vindicator having it’s own calibrations and modifications, special for the Geth based on personal work he did with Tali.

Jon decided to let the weapon cool as Garrus moved up on instinct and took the point to get better angles on the Geth ambush. Geth were just in cover from the squad’s suppression, but had clear angles on the far end of the walkway. Garrus opened up, and Jon was was right behind him as He darted across and behind a crate on the opposite of the wide end from Garrus.

Jon picked a target again, and worked his tool. The recoil was a fierce beast to tame, but the only thing that sent wide a shot at relativistic speeds was the user’s own control over their weapon. Jon mostly had control, and a short burst plowed into the geth’s head, with only two of the five or so shots missing their mark. The explosive force of the other three or so was enough to mangle the platform, and slide it back towards the rest of the geth.

Fix bayonets, the must have thought, the rest of the programs deciding that massing their fire was the only way to break the deadlock. The last dozen or so geth charged with all guns blazing, half targeting Jon and Garrus, and half targeting the rest of the fire team. It succeeded in it’s objective, getting their heads down, but Jon had seen the walkway, could hear them charging, and needed not his eye to pop some grenades own and have them roll into the charge. Liara was also tucked into and angle of the geth fire, and could throw out another biotic attack. Jenkins also stood back up, incoming plasma be damned, and opened back up with is repeater.

The three axis of attack caught the geth squad, a destroyer included, in a crossfire. Liara’s attack was not a lift, but a crushing blow to the front of the formation attacking Jon and Garrus, the grenade ripped apart the middle before it got suck up and into the purple-black maw, and Jenkins heavy weapon tore apart their rear.

After a moment of quiet Jon stood up and hit his comms, “EDI, forget to tell me about the geth up my ass?”

EDI replied, “I did not read them on sensors even at point blank range.”

“How do we keep missing them?” Jon asked.

“I do not know, Sheppard. I am sorry. Further investigation must be conducted.” EDI replied.

Jon took a breath to calm the pulsing red of his mind. The machine is a traitor! It cried. Do not trust it! It beat. Jon said, “It’s obviously the responsibility of the geth. Not yours. Keep at it on you’re end, maybe we can pick up something here that will tell us.”

“Yes sir.” EDI said.

“The rest of you, cover our asses. Garrus, you’re up, Liara, on me.” Jon said over the radio.

Garrus took his point, and Liara moved behind him. They made way down the path. Their weapons were up and their pace was not too quick down it. When they did, Ashley took her point, and the rest of the squad as well. Jon’s fire team moved almost into another set of steps.

Garrus said, “The short bands are jammed again, some of those hopping things.”

Jon said, “Liara.”

“I am on it.” She said, knowing what he wanted.

“Take her in, Garrus.” Jon said.

“Now it’s getting steamy.” He said as he moved, Liara behind him.

Jon took the rear this time, and Garrus was quick on the draw as he pegged his first target on enhanced visuals, and opened up on them. Jon did the same and got the three geth bouncing around. They couldn’t stop to fire, both because of the speed of veteran Augment reactions. Garrus’s own avian spacial perception could get him close enough to keep them moving.

When they were all riled up, Liara shot a biotic singularity into the flying melee to capture and pull them in. Then they were easy targets for all three. The singularity dissipated and they fell to the floor and across the stair railings with thuds.

Jon keyed his comm, “Keep moving people.”

Garrus started up the Stairs with Jon back behind him, and Liara at his rear. The rest of the fire team was falling in as they got up the first platform and winding turn. There were no more hostiles, and as they got up to the final landing, Jon spied a failure site. There were tubular buildings, and even the half pipe standing upright for semi-covered storage. There was dust and rubble all around, and makeshift emplacements, defenses. He even saw some old school ASAMs, their use fading out as the rebuilding nations simply didn’t need them anymore, and House was starting to get cantankerous about unauthorized usage of Rob-co intellectual property, until he formally signed it over to keep taxes out of his pockets.

He almost smiled, then contained himself out of respect for the ragged looking people and the heavy weapons fire some distance away, no doubt Exogeni security engaging geth. Then the red flashed and he remembered he had a full face helmet on, so he smiled anyway. The place looked like a wasteland shanty town, one someplace would charge tickets for, or even older but smaller towns that never tore them down. Some used the vintage old town as a main market square and gathering place. A reminder of harsher times and how quickly they could return.

Jon put his hand on Garrus's shoulder, and he stepped back from the front to let Jon take the wheel. The militia force hadn’t shot at them when they came up, and Jon walked though the final door to the first cover.

He didn’t even get there when it’s occupant said, “Fai Dan wishes to speak to you.”

The next cover the occupant said again, “Fai Dan wishes to speak to you.”

Jon nodded again and continued, as he passed a tech working on a pipe he didn’t even look in the direction of she said, “Fai Dan wishes to speak to you.”

“Okay, that’s weird.” Ashley said over the private comms.

Each of the team clicked their concurrence, and Jon also agreed. He said, “I got a feeling I’m going to need a lot of short range blasting on this. Ruins are all the same no matter the world. Wrex, with Liara and me, Garrus and Tali, help them how you can technically, and try to find out what’s going on. Passive observation only. Gunny and Jenkins, work security. If anyone asks, tell them I’m going to speak to Fai Dan”

“Try to find a concentration of spores. Where it is coming from, vents or some such.” Liara said over the comms while she moved back onto Jon’s rear and Wrex fell in behind.

“Liara.” Tali replied with some drip in her tone.

“By the Goddess, of course you would know how to track pathogens. My apologies.” Liara said as Jon smirked behind his visor.

Tali replied as he entered the high tech shanty, and more gave their standard greeting, “It’s alright. I just had to say it.”

“Oh, a dominance game. A cat fight I think the Alliance calls it.” Garrus said.

Jon had just exited and was about to meet Fai Dan. He said, “Jenkins?”

“Yes.” Was all he said.

“Now its a bar brawl.” Ashley said from her current watch.

“Let’s make it back alley. How was the Consort, General? You never said.” Wrex finally chimed in.

Jon took a breath to center himself before he introduced himself. And to let the couple whats, a single cheer, and an interesting pass though the radio. Damn that Krogan and his surprise attacks. All they while Fai Dan though they were eyeing each other for a moment, and obliged the small contest.

Jon said, “Fai Dan?”

“I am Fai Dan. I wish to speak to you.” Was all the man said.

Jon left it hang for a moment before saying, “About?”

Just as he was about to speak, he reacted. Just as he did Jon’s short range sensors went sideways and jammed. From the tower to the side geth started running down the hall to the outside.

“Protect the heart of the colony!” Fai Dan cried.

Jon and his fire team had their weapons up, and the other side of the shanty saw the squad moving to cover and preparing to meet attacks from other directions, or ones that somehow got though their General. There was a ruin block that stood as perfect cover to the tower entry, and Jon took it as he worked his blaster against the platforms. The first one was torn though, then the second, then the third by Wrex walking out and blasting down the tight hall with his big gauge. It had it’s own upgrades special for geth from his favorite pupil.

There was a geth barrier placed down at the other end of the hall and the rest of the geth were clearly content to wait a siege, drawing their enemy into favorable terms. Wrex called out, “Works like a charm pyjack.”

“Thanks.” Tali said with bubbles in her tone.

Jon called, “Moving in, stand to squad.”

Wrex took point, and Jon took the rear with Liara between them. Wrex moved in and blasted the first geth he saw that tried to pop their cover. He could only get two shots with the thing and the heat it vented, but those two shots were rapid fire and more than enough to break barriers and then bone not long after. Jon opened up further up the tower and Liara threw a biotic singularity up it to catch the hopping source of the jamming. After she did she added her own pistol fire up the stairs as they moved to cover.

Wrex blasted again as his big gauge finished cooling, and caught another geth that Liara then pegged again for the kill shot. He added his own biotic tricks not long after, and tossed a crush up the steps and to the landing above. Jon gave it a moment to dissipate, and moved up himself not wanting to be left out of the fun. He marched up the stairs and over the bodies of geth, and found more down the next hall to the other room. They were live and now shooting.

As he grabbed ordinance Liara and Wrex moved up the stairs, and they reached his rear when it exploded. Jon leaned out and started laying heat into the platforms forced from cover by the lazily aimed blast. A couple bursts with his beat stick put them out of action, their barriers and alloy plating not holding up to the volatile shots.

Wrex took his position again and charged though with his firepower at Jon’s beckoning. There was one geth left, but it didn’t last long. In front were more steps, and to their left was another hall. Just on the edge of their short range they saw a concentration of geth up the step, and that was their target.

He also hear what he thought a geth ship would sound like in atmo. It certainly wasn’t his ship, and the geth were the only other ones that had ships in the AO. More red dots dropped onto their sensor readings, and Wrex eased his way up the steps, to just before he broke cover.

Jon keyed his comms, “EDI they’re right on top of us, how copy.”

There was no response, he said again, “Damnit how do we keep missing these fuckers, and how do they keep jamming our shit. Wrex, you have any space magic up your ass that can clear that room?”

“Heh, heh. I got just the trick.”

“I am interest to see what I think you will try. It is a very complicated technique.”

“No try about it, whelp.”

Wrex charged up his biotics, then charged a little more. He just peaked his eye out to aim, and the shots started answering back. It didn’t matter to him. All he had to do was poke his arm out to fire. The biotics burst from his palm, and left a shock wave down the nearly straight path. Each time it skipped it left a small black maw with lightning behind. It ripped across the ancient floor, cracking it wherever it hit, and mangled the geth defensive lines. Before it even stopped Wrex moved forward and started blasting. Liara was behind and added her own biotics with tosses of lifts up to the second level to drive the geth from cover.

Jon tossed a grenade to the far end for it to detonate where it would, and opened up with his beat stick against the slack of the rest of the fire team. Mostly lifted geth from Liara’s skilled attacks that they hadn’t gotten too yet. They got about half way down before the Liara's last attack, and the gunshots had died down.

Liara said, “Goddess. That was incredible Wrex. I have only ever seen that technique preformed once, and it was by and Asari master. Not as powerful even.”

Wrex chuckled, “Heh heh. 800 year old battle master, sister. You only get that title by completing your trials with biotics and honing killing to a science, or taking it from a fallen foe. I’m also technically a warlord but that’s not title I want nor care for.”

Jon motioned and said, “Let’s report back. This place is clear for now.”

Wrex doubled back and took his point again, this time more casually, “Speaking of, who says shit like protect the heart of the colony. That's a new one even for me.”

“People under the influence of something, probably the spore.” Liara answered.

Jon agreed as they marched out of the tower and back to the waiting Fai Dan. It was like he assumed his former position, and didn’t move an inch from it. There wasn’t even natural body language that he would expect from someone that looked so alive and unharmed. He stood perfect still, as if waiting to be talked to by the protagonist of a story. It left Jon perturbed, and he was happy for his helmets advanced filtration systems.

Fai Dan said, “The heart of the colony is safe. You have our thanks.”

“Happy to help.” He said. It was like the man in front of him had never been outside, ever. Had never seen nor touched grass. Felt the warmth of a maiden’s reassurance.

Could he imprint on this thing, he wondered, at least whatever was controlling Fai Dan. His point was accentuated with a bit of flair, howdy do tone, and flick of a lightly closed fist, favoring his thumb, towards the man.

He continued the bit, “Whaddya think they were after, champ?”

“We do not know what they’re after. They came, they attacked us. That’s all we know.” Fai Dan flatly said.

“Well gee golly, that’s a pinch. Where are the rest of them?” Jon replied.

“Their main base is at the ExoGeni headquarters. A good place to start looking for answers.”

“Bingo! And how do we get there?”

“Though the sky-way. There is a Mako you can use.”

Now Jon was more serious again, one to change things up and see what happened, put the thing on a back foot like their jig was up, and because an ass end ruin colony had a still technically classified project just sitting in their garage. What kind of reach did this ExoGeni have?

“You gave a Mako?” He said with a somewhat unfriendly tone.

“They have Mako? Holy shit spare parts baby.” Garrus called out over the internal comm.

Fai Dan blinked a couple times, then chuckled suspiciously.

“Why yes, it’s top of the line I’m told.” He said like he was trying to sell the thing.

Jon took to the bit again, “Winner winner! Sold, one Mako sitting in the sky-way. The rest of my squad will remain here to assist and repel further attacks.”

“Thank, you, sir. A true saint and scholar you are. Now maybe we can get this colony cooking with...gas...yes, gas again.” Fai Dan said as he returned Jon’s accentuated point with a finger and a fake smile.

Jon gave it back with a nod, and went left for the elevator he saw on the way past the original trip though. His fire team climbed in, Liara and Jon not minding ceding some room to the Krogan so they could be closer.

Wrex said, “Sheppard. As your friend, what the fuck was that?”

Liara answered as the elevator began a slow climb, bumping her hard suit against Jon and putting a hand around his opposite hip bushing it up and down slightly, “You were attempting to manipulate whatever has the colonists. To see if it has intelligence or not. Could learn and react to you. You succeeded.”

Jon smiled, “Liara, wait until after the mission to stroke me off like that.”

Wrex bellowed with a deep chuckle, and Liara pulled her hand away like she had done something wrong, gotten too close at the wrong time, but began her own giggle as she got the joke, and replaced the empty space between them. While in general she was more private than most Asari, she didn’t mind knowing who warmed the General’s bed. Not the Consort, certainly.

Jon said, “Yeah, basically. Not the first time I dicked with someone like that either. Bit of fun too.”

Wrex asked, “What as the first?”

“Some asshole mayor working for the Institute when they were still the bad guys. I wanted to bias his reports so the Institute had a conflicting picture of me, and undermine the trust in their asset.”

“Did it work?” He followed up.

“Ah, yes, in that the reports we read after the battle of Cambridge did indeed show lack of trust in their asset, given that he was burned right before their grand plan came to fruition. They also showed more deliberation than action on what to do about me, if I could be recruited and whatnot. No, in that the action they finally took was shooting me in the fucking face in the middle of my own scrap fort.”

Wrex bellowed again, this time with more than a chuckle, “So that’s how you got that scar.”

Jon was about to respond in the affirmative, but the elevator door creaked open to a gunfight. Wrex was up and out, and Jon wasn’t far behind, leaving Liara where she stood before she reacted as well and took Jon’s rear. It wasn't a sight she minded all that much, all things considered.

With the addition of their fire, the last couple geth platforms were slagged, and Jon noticed a couple more scatted about as well. The settlers were handles themselves coolly under fire. Perhaps too coolly for simple settlers.

On said, “Jumping Jupiter, thanks for the rescue sir!”

“Thanks Mister! We were in a real jam there.” the other replied almost exactly as the other finished their words.

“Not, a, problem you two rascals. Good work yourselves. Now I hope you don’t mind, but I have to commandeer your Mako. A special authority us specters have, you see.”

“Gee wiz mister, the squares up top might be real peeved about that.” One said.

“I plumb don’t reckon we rightly figure how we can stop you.” The other finished.

Jon gave them a signature thumbs up, they met it with mechanical smiles, and the fire team made way for the Mako. The HQ for the corp running this place awaited, and he was certain it would have answers.