Protoculture Effect (Robotech/Mass Effect

[Cyclone]

But Robotech energy weapons have ranges measured in "HUNDREDS of thousands of Kilometers" so their weapons are still better,

Click to shrink...

Yes, the Sentinels' weapons do have better range. And? During the Relay War, the turians had the advantage of a tactically-useful FTL. Sure, the human ships had better range, but the turians could pick what range the battles were fought at.

You see, the Sentinels didn't have most eezo tech (including the aforementioned tactical FTL) until relatively recently. I haven't gone into why because, frankly, in-universe, there's no way to express it, but the Prothean cache on Mars was never discovered.

It was obliterated when Mars Base Sara's reflex furnace blew up, so Earth never got eezo tech from it.

and I still say they should have better understanding of Shadow Tech, the Haydonites didn't create it, they based it off work from Dr. Zand is work and they captured Zand alive so they have him to learn and better the Tech and he is a hard core scientist so he would continue his work even knowing his captors are benefiting from it since that work and Tech would be his children his legacy so they should have still been using it, no excuses.

Click to shrink...

You should read between the lines. The Haydonites are familiar with the technology and claimed to have thought it long lost, and yet, they could easily recreate it. Moreover, they managed to insert all the back doors and booby traps in all shadow tech based equipment, including shadow cloaks, synchro cannons, and the Neutron S missiles... all of which was already built in at least some numbers by Edwards' forces. More tellingly, they also use shadow tech in their own fighters and mecha, the ones kept hidden from the Expeditionary Force.

Zand was fed that data. The Haydonite involvement in shadow tech goes back much further than they claim.

I would really like a discription of the ships and Veritechs and not just they're capabilities, their appearance.

Click to shrink...

You're obsessing. You want me to put in my story detailed descriptions of:
1) VF-23 Sif: A fighter that has only briefly appeared in one very short scene in which no one was even in it and it wasn't even powered on.
2) VF/B-26 Thor: A veritech that has not even appeared anywhere yet except as a name in a codex entry.

 

[Cyclone]

By the way, for those who aren't aware, I've been posting Protoculture Effect here after polishing it up from what I post it here at SB.


And on to chapter six!


* * *


"White Star to Normandy, looks clear, but I'm going around for another pass," Kaidan commed, his voice patched through to the M-35 Mako slung beneath his VF/B-26 Thor veritech fighter bomber. The Thor was a big, heavily armored fighter bomber with expansive delta wings and massive thrusters; its lumbering appearance belied the acceleration and agility its mass effect field afforded it, but it was no dogfighter.


"Copy that, White Star."


The Mako was not a veritech, but rather, a six-wheeled, heavily armored and shielded IFV. In the passenger compartment in back rode Wrex, Jenkins, Williams, and Bhatia, the latter three in full Cyclone battloid armor. Garrus was manning the turret while marine Third Lieutenant (3rdLt) Jacob Taylor drove. Shepard was in the Mako commander's seat, designed to accommodate a Cyclone battloid, and not liking it one bit. He would have preferred to fly Midnight, but Alice was still hip deep in the Block Twenty upgrades.


"White Star to Normandy, the camp looks clear. Releasing the Mako."


Thanks to the Mako's mass effect field, the drop was fairly gentle, as they were only falling about fifty feet. Shepard checked the nav console; they were about two klicks from the base camp. Dr. T'Soni was part of a multi-species archaeological expedition, but the Normandy had received no response from the researchers.


"Taylor, take us in."


"Aye, Commander," the Mako's dark-skinned driver acknowledged and drove the IFV toward the base camp.


The lack of response from the base camp prepared Shepard for what he saw as they approached. Signs of mass accelerator weapons fire and explosives marred the otherwise pristine prefabs the research team had brought with them.


"They never had a chance," Garrus muttered, as they surveyed the damage.


"No," Shepard agreed, "they didn't." He popped the hatch and clambered out. "Garrus, Taylor, stay here. The rest of us will see if we can find Doctor T'Soni. Or her remains."


The search was quick and simple. They turned up a dozen corpses, most of them human, a few Garudan, and one Karbarran. There were also the charred remains of a pair of turians, judging from the bone structure, and the remnants of a pair of geth troopers taken down by small arms fire.


"Well," Bhatia said, "I guess this is good news, Commander. No asari among the casualties."


"Which means we have to find her. Now," Shepard said, bringing up his omni-tool and accessing the wireless network the archaeological team had set up. "Downloading the dig site coordinates now. Let's mount up."


They returned to the Mako and continued onward, and Shepard pulled up the data he had downloaded to his omni-tool from the base camp's computers.


"White Star to Ground Team," Kaidan's voice came over the comm. "We have incoming. Profile matches geth dropship. Shall I intercept?"


"Give 'em a warm welcome, Lieutenant."


"Aye, Commander."


* * *


Kaidan Alenko was a marine aviator, but the old saying about every marine being a rifleman held truer now than it ever did before the advent of robotechnology. The crossover of skills and tactics required between piloting a battloid, operating a Cyclone, and fighting from foot meant that almost all marine officers were dual-trained. His Thor's four wing hardpoints were each loaded with a triple-ejection rack of Switchblade air-to-air/space-to-space missiles.


He brought his veritech in on an intercept course, bringing his active sensors up on the geth dropship. "White Star," he declared, "Fox Three."


The Switchblade air-to-air/space-to-space missile was an active sensor homing missile that could be overridden to operate as a semi-active sensor homing missile. Its mass effect/high explosive warhead was more potent than the smaller Piranha's plasma warhead, and its mass effect field and rocket motor gave it considerable range. A trio of maneuvering thrusters near the head end and a deliberate tendency to overcorrect programmed into its guidance computer gave it surprising maneuverability and made its flight path erratic and difficult to predict.


The geth dropship never stood a chance. Unfortunately, it wasn't alone. From the dropship's shadow, a pair of fighters emerged, paired mass accelerator cannons blazing.


Kaidan reflexively hauled the Thor up into a climb, using the brute force of his thrusters to get out of the kill zone. Despite his best efforts, several rounds still pricked his fighter's kinetic barriers. He quickly realized his mistake, as the two fighters climbed after him, settling in on his six.


The two geth fighters kept firing, steadily draining his kinetic barriers, until finally, he felt them start to impact the Thor's computer-controlled pin-point barrier. "To hell with this," he muttered. "White Star, going to battloid."


The Thor contorted like some metal origami, unfolding and transforming. Its wings folded away, even as the mounts shifted forward and swung away; the engines swung down and forward as the main body of the fuselage itself scissored and twisted into a new configuration. Kaidan spun the battloid in mid-air and let Halla's gravity slow and reverse his velocity. Thrusters kicked in to help gravity along, and soon, he was hurtling down toward the two fighters, his battloid's forearm cannons spitting particle beams at the geth fighters climbing to meet him.


* * *


"Heads up!" Taylor warned as a second geth dropship flew overhead, releasing a pair of larger geth platforms ahead of them. Shepard took a moment to analyze them, but these had to be the armature-class platforms Tali had briefed them on.


They turned, and each launched some sort of slow-moving blue energy pulse at the Mako. Taylor hit the thrusters, sending the Mako into the sky, ruining Garrus's shot. Between gritting his teeth at the sudden movement and trying not to bang his helmet against the cockpit, Shepard found himself wondering just what exactly those weapons were. They most closely resembled plasma annihilation discs, but the similarity was thin at best.


"Everyone out!" he roared, popping the hatch as the Mako hit the ground and slewed to the side. He jumped and tucked into a roll, just as Garrus brought turret over and fired the particle cannon again. Shepard turned and blanched as his kinetic barriers suddenly dropped for no apparent reason.


"Sniper!" Ashley called out.


Well, that explained that. Shepard dove for cover behind what was either rocky outcropping or the remains of a wall and scanned the horizon. He had missed the smaller geth that had been released with the two armatures earlier, but he had them marked on his HMD now: geth snipers and rocket troopers, their numbers shored up with shock troopers.


Shepard drew his Defiant and extracted modular components. Within seconds, he had attached a rifle stock with protoculture flat cell, a variable zoom scope, and a magnetic focusing barrel extension. Raising the weapon up and linking it to his Cyclone's HMD, he raised it over his cover and used the remote link to sight down the scope via his HMD, targeting a geth rocket trooper just as it lined up a shot at the Mako. He waited a moment... then fired. The particle beam lanced out and struck the rocket just as it emerged from the rocket trooper's weapon, cooking off the warhead in mid-air.


The Spectre took a moment to check on his team while his shields regenerated. In the Mako, Taylor and Garrus were, naturally, focusing on the armatures, and Jenkins was double-teaming it alongside them. Nirali was hanging back, covering Ashley, and Wrex...


Shepard did a double-take. Wrex was running towards the thickest crowd of geth, his assault rifle blazing, ignoring the shock troopers' withering gunfire as it hammered his shields, the rocket troopers and snipers apparently unable to get a solid enough fix on him to take him out. The charging krogan bowled over the geth, toppling them like ten-pins, roaring and laughing as he stowed his assault rifle and drew his shotgun.


Shepard just shook his head and turned his attention to the rest of the geth. The cluster around the rocket trooper he had sniped earlier was scattered, so he switched to his heavy particle rifle, then stepped out from cover and opened fire.


Another sniper round pinged his shields, but this time, Shepard caught sight of the offending sniper. He snapped his Defiant up to his shoulder and stroked the trigger, sending a particle beam out to decapitate the geth sniper.


* * *


Kaidan continued his dogfight with the two geth fighters. A Thor wasn't suited for the kind of dogfight he was in, and it was only the advantage of battloid configuration and its impressive shields and armor that kept him alive so far against the nimble geth fighters. He turned and sprayed one of the fighters with particle beams, but the fighter nimbly dodged out of the way.


"Ah, f*ck it," he muttered, bringing up his missile control, racking one of the geth fighters in sights until he heard the tone of a target lock. Two of the three armored shutters on the missile pack mounted on the outer side of White Star's left lower leg swung open, each revealing a row of six Piranha missiles, which shot out toward the targeted geth.


The geth fighter seemed about to pull up, then abruptly dove toward him. The missiles detonated on contact with its kinetic barriers, bathing it in hot plasma, but it continued its ballistic trajectory toward him.


Kaidan cut his thrusters, dropping like a rock, and the molten fighter overshot and flew overhead.


"Come on, baby, work with me," Kaidan whispered as he re-engaged his thrusters. A Thor, as massive as it was, didn't exactly stop on a dime, even with its mass effect field engaged.


He ignored the mass accelerator rounds pounding his kinetic barriers as the other geth fighter took advantage of his poor positioning. White Star could take it. He reconfigured to fighter mode again, and the added thrust gave his veritech a burst of acceleration as he fired back, and he smoothly reconfigured to battloid just as they passed each other, grabbing the geth fighter in his battloid's massive arms. He cut his thrusters again, piledriving the geth fighter into a rocky outcropping.


* * *


LCpl Richard L. Jenkins felt alive for the first time since the geth attack on Eden Prime. Seeing his home devastated like that... it had been unsettling, and now, he was able to dish out some payback. The geth armature was clumsy and slow, and his Cyclone easily allowed him to dance around it while Taylor and Garrus focused on the other armature.


Jenkins dodged another siege pulse, rolling to the side, frowning when he looked back and noted that his attempt to get the armature to blast its companion had once again failed. The geth must have one hell of a battlenet. Firing his thrusters, he rocketed into the air and fired his MAC-95 again, the semi-molten projectile knocking out the armature's weakened kinetic barriers as it tried to track him with mass accelerator fire from its secondary guns.


"Eat this, tinhead!" he snarled as he landed, dropping to one knee and firing a Scorpion at the armature's head, the hypersonic missile drilling into it before detonating, releasing plasma directly into the armature's circuits. Jenkins fired his thrusters again on reflex, hopping away from the geth armature as it collapsed, spinning in mid-air to check on the other armature and check for other hostiles.


A final blast from the Mako's heavy particle beam cannon brought down the other armature, so Jenkins turned his attention to the remaining foot-mobiles, bringing out his heavy particle rifle and blasting at them from his vantage point in the air. Without the heavy firepower of the armatures, the remaining geth were easily disposed of.


"Area secure," Gunny Williams reported.


"Copy that," Shepard said.


The ground shuddered as Kaidan's Thor landed in battloid mode. "Airspace is clear," he reported. "At least for now."


"Keep flying cover for us, Lieutenant," Shepard ordered. He turned to the others and said, "Let's mount up." He mentally reviewed the battle as he climbed into the commander's seat. The geth had sent in the first dropship and hid a pair of fighters in its sensor shadow to decoy their air cover. They were getting smarter.


Taylor drove the Mako toward the research site as Shepard went back to looking over the archaeological expedition's files. He could see why there was so much interest in the planet. Among the Haydonite ruins were weapon impacts and traces of Prothean remains. The idea that the Haydonites may have been at war with the Protheans -- may, indeed, have been responsible for the Prothean extinction -- was an enticing one, neatly tying up a lot of loose ends.


Yet, for some reason, it didn't sit right with Shepard. The Haydonites had devastated the United Earth Expeditionary Force -- indeed, had it not been for their Sentinel allies and sheer luck, humanity would be extinct by now -- but that had mostly been through their treachery and booby-trapped technology. The worst of the Haydonite War had simply been recovering from the initial setbacks and the losses suffered in the last two Robotech Wars. To suggest that the Haydonites were at that level fifty thousand years after crushing the Protheans... it made no sense to Shepard.


"Looks like some sort of mecha bay or tunnel up ahead, Commander," Taylor said, slowing the Mako down. "Don't know how deep it goes." He paused, then added, "Or how structurally stable it is."


"Take us in, Lieutenant," Shepard said. "I'd rather take our chances and have the extra firepower."


"Aye, sir," Taylor said and started the Mako rolling again, taking a moment to double-check the IFV's shields and pinpoint barrier system. "Slow and steady," he muttered, "preferably without getting shot at."


A chorus of groans came over the tacnet.


"What?"


"Nothing important," Ashley replied. "You just jinxed us, sir, that's all."


Shepard took in the ruins they drove through. The Haydonites built to last, that was for sure. The excavation was mostly complete, but dirt still clung to the walls, and debris and excavation equipment still cluttered the area.


Finally, the Mako rolled to a halt. The debris ahead narrowed the tunnel down to a crevice only a few feet across. "Sorry, Commander," Taylor reported. "No way through unless we make that hole bigger, and the debris looks recent. We might bring the tunnel down on our heads."


Shepard nodded. "All right, everyone, looks like we're hoofing it from here. Taylor, keep the Mako secure. Everyone else, with me."


"Aye, Commander," a chorus of voices responded.


* * *


Codex: M-35 Mako Infantry Fighting Vehicle

The Mako infantry fighting vehicle was designed for the System Alliance's frigates, small enough to be carried in a frigate's cargo bay and easily deployed on virtually any world, either directly out of a mecha bay or slung under a VF/B-26 Thor. The Mako has three crew positions -- driver, gunner, and commander -- and a rear passenger compartment capable of carrying a dozen marines fully kitted out in standard body armor or half that many Cycloners.


With its turreted heavy particle beam cannon and coaxially-mounted tri-barrel minigun, the Mako can provide a squad of conventional infantry with weapon support as well as mobility and the added protection of vehicle-grade kinetic barriers and a pinpoint barrier system. Since Alliance marines may be required to fight on any world, the Mako is environmentally-sealed and equipped with microthrusters for use on low-gravity planetoids.


The Mako is powered by a bank of six protoculture cells and includes a small element zero core. While not large enough to nullify the vehicle's mass, the core can reduce it enough to be safely air-dropped or increase it to provide unprecedented traction. When used in conjunction with the thrusters, it also allows the Mako to extricate itself from difficult terrain.


* * *


Codex: VF/B-26 Thor Veritech Fighter Bomber

The other half of the United Earth Defense Force's fighter force, the dual-mode VF/B-26 Thor is a two-mode veritech fighter bomber that serves as the primary heavy assault, ground attack, and anti-ship fighter for all branches. Like the Sif, the Thor has a mass effect field generator which grants it a speed and agility that belies its blocky design and heavy armor, and its kinetic barriers supplement its computer-controlled pinpoint barrier system to provide a nearly-impenetrable defense.


The Thor is armed with a pair of integrated EU-34 tri-barrel particle beam cannons mounted in the wing roots which reconfigure to the forearms in battloid mode. The Thor's internal missile armament consists of multiple missile bays with a total payload of seventy-two Piranha multipurpose missiles and two internal revolving missile racks, each capable of carrying six Switchblade air-to-air/space-to-space missiles. The Thor's delta wings boast two external hardpoints apiece, and its internal bomb bay can accommodate a variety of ordnance, ranging from anti-infantry submunitions and additional air-to-air missiles to heavy bombs and anti-shipping missiles.

 

[Mizuki_Stone]

Now that is what I'd call a heavy mecha!


Nice to see combined arms doctrine lives on.

 

[Cyclone]

Oh, almost forgot. I'm going to need some batarian names. At least two, but could probably use more. Plus a couple of names for a batarian heavy cruiser and its ship class.

Suggestions would be welcomed.

 

[Cyclone]

Those example names aren't too useful. Two of them are from the Bring Down the Sky DLC (which I expect will make an appearance in Protoculture Effect... with some twists).

That link is also suspect, seeing as how they got the name of their home planet wrong. They're from Khar'shan, not "Bataria Prime."

 

[Cyclone]

Thanks anyway.

Was the last chapter that boring?

 

[Jace911]

Last chapter was good. Seemed more like a filler to me though, but still some interesting info.

 

[Cyclone]

Btw, how do ME fields affect space folds?

Click to shrink...

Not much, unless maybe really large mass effect fields. Remember, they had artificial gravity before they had eezo.

A little action, a little story progression, a little demonstration of the Thors ability to grapple in CQC. That part was particularly amusing. Solid overall.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. Where else can you end a fighter dogfight with a piledriver?

Good.


And nothing like a 3M attack to make the Geth's day horrible.

Click to shrink...

Had to happen, though this one was pretty sedate as far as MMM is concerned. Just a dozen missiles.

Last chapter was good. Seemed more like a filler to me though, but still some interesting info.

Click to shrink...

Well, I suppose any non-boss fight scene would be filler from at least some points of view.

 

[Cyclone]

It has a similar transformation sequence to the VF-17 Nightmare, but its fighter mode more closely resembles an F-15E Strike Eagle.

 

[Cyclone]

Almost forgot. Chapter six, cleaned up and posted here.

 

[Cyclone]

Here's the draft of chapter seven. Chapter eight's going to involve some downtime and lead up to some more of the differences between this 'verse and the canon MEverse.


* * *


Garrus Vakarian was anxious. This would be his first time out with the Predator P powered armor. Bigger and more elaborate than the hardsuits he was used to, the new P line in Armax Arsenal's Predator armor series was every bit as capable as a Cyclone battloid -- at least in theory -- and he had had to pull a lot of strings and burn a lot of favors to get one, especially on such short notice. He lovingly caressed the Defiant Shepard had issued to him. It had been modified with a magnetic focusing barrel extension, variable-zoom low-light scope, forward pistol grip, and protoculture flat cell rifle stock, allowing him to use it as a sniper rifle or assault rifle with the flick of the fire mode selector and zoom adjustment.


It was a lovely weapon.


He shook off his introspection and nodded as Shepard waved him over. He moved into position as the commander waved ahead the other three-person team.


Interesting, Garrus mused. Shepard had chosen to keep him and Wrex with him, leaving the three other humans to form the other team of three. It made a certain amount of sense -- the three other humans, two of whom were from the same unit -- all had the same training and would be better able to work together. Still, it also conveniently kept the two aliens under the commander's watchful eye. He wasn't sure yet whether to feel offended or not.


Ash took point. Nirali was a corpsman, and Jenkins was a heavy weapons specialist, neither of which was suited to front line combat, so the point position fell to her. She didn't mind. She liked the new Typhoon she was wearing, and the earlier battle had her blood singing for more. She was a Williams. This was where she belonged, right on the front lines against humanity's enemies. Past the debris which blocked the Mako's progress, the tunnel widened again, and her team moved along the right side of the corridor, while Shepard's moved along the left, leapfrogging and covering each other, three by three.


They had moved forward like this for five minutes when Ash spotted the geth. The tunnel abruptly ended in a dead end, a massive blast door impeding further progress, and it seemed the geth were just as obstructed.


"Commander, multiple contacts, up at the door," she reported, bringing up the zoom on her proton cannon's HMD-linked scope. "About two dozen foot-mobiles, mostly troopers or shock troopers. I see two or three juggernauts and at least one prime." She frowned. "They seem to be having trouble getting through that blast door."


"Hold position and wait for my signal," Shepard ordered. "We don't need another trap."


"And if they engage, sir?" Ash asked, noting as, on the other side of the tunnel, the commander moved to reposition his team.


"Take them out."


"Aye, Commander," the gunnery sergeant acknowledged. It was a fairly remote possibility, though. A handful of geth troopers seemed to be the only ones not focused on the blast door, and they weren't too bright. Though they did seem to get smarter the more of them there were. "Jenkins," she murmured.


"Gunny?"


"Target that prime with your railgun," she ordered. "Hold fire until either we get spotted or the commander gives the go order."


"Aye, Gunny."


It was a tense five minutes before something happened. The blast door split down the middle and slid aside, revealing...


"Armature!" Shepard hissed. "Shit! Open fire!"


Jenkins fired, the hypersonic 30mm round from his MAC-95 streaked out and hammered the geth prime before he turned his focus on the armature, targeting it with all his remaining micro-missiles. He stood there, nerves wracked as he waited for the tone of a missile lock as the targeting reticle slid over the armature's center mass... and past it, not even registering the armature.


"What the-?" he muttered, then threw himself aside as a siege pulse nearly fried him. "I can't get a missile lock!"


"We're being jammed!" Shepard snarled, looking around. He spotted something white darting across the ceiling of the tunnel. "Hopper! Garrus, take it out! Everyone, spread out!"


Except for Wrex, the team chorused their acknowledgement. The krogan battlemaster plowed right into the foot-mobiles, even as Garrus turns his attention to the geth hopper that was jamming their sensors.


Shepard's sensors weren't affected by the hopper's jamming, thanks to the advanced sensors he mounted into his Cyclone's chest farings. At times like this, the sacrifice in firepower was worth it as he targeted two of the geth juggernauts and fired all eight of his Recluse-Ds at them. Of the eight, two struck at a shallow angle and skipped off their shields, five scored direct hits on their shields and knocked them down, and the last one slipped past and blew a hole in the left-hand juggernaut's chest plate. Wrex charged the other, planting the muzzle of his massive krogan shotgun against its chest plate and pulling the trigger.


"Remind me to kick Jacob's ass later on for jinxing us," Ashley growled as she fired her proton cannon, picking off a pair of charging shock troopers.


"You do realize he is a superior officer, right, Gunny?" Jenkins pointed out, cutting down a quartet of troopers with his heavy particle rifle.


"Oh, she knows," Nirali assured him, blasting a trooper with her proton cannon.


"Keep this channel clear, you three!" Shepard snapped. "Garrus, what's taking so long?"


"This bastard's fast, Shepard," Garrus retorted, triggering another burst. "And getting shot at is not helping my aim!"


"Siege pulse!" Shepard warned, and the team once again hurled themselves aside on instinct.


Jenkins slowly picked himself up, shaking his head clear. The siege pulse had shattered and scattered the debris he had been using for cover, throwing some of it on him. He scrabbled around and grabbed his heavy particle rifle and opened fire on the armature, gritting his teeth. Particle beams were highly effective at stripping away kinetic barriers, but the armature's shields were strong enough that the particle rifle was proving only marginally effective. Suddenly, the soothing tone a missile lock sounded in his ears. Dimly, he heard Garrus's unnecessary crow of "Hopper's down!" as he launched every missile still in his Cyclone and backed it up with a shot from his MAC-95.


The armature creaked and collapsed. Silence reigned for a long moment, and it took the team a moment to realize that the battle was over.


"Good job, Jenkins," Shepard said.


"Just shot my wad, Commander," Jenkins said, shaking his head. "I'm dry on missiles."


"Then we'll just have to make do without them," Shepard said, replacing the boxy energy magazine in his heavy particle rifle. "Let's move out."


They stepped past the armature's remains to the end of the tunnel and turned to a side door. Shepard brought up his omni-tool, then shook his head and frowned. "The encryption here's pretty basic. The geth should have had no problem hacking this. Eyes open, people. I smell a trap."


The team nodded and held their weapons at the ready. Shepard tapped a few commands into his omni-tool, and the door slid open, revealing...


"Ha!" Wrex barked. "Someone sure had a party down here."


The side tunnel was still quite spacious, a good thirty feet across and twenty feet high, but it wasn't the size of the corridor that held their attention. Everywhere they looked were wrecked geth platforms.


"You can say that again," Garrus agreed.


As they continued down the tunnel, the distinct lack of anything else -- like the bodies of whoever the geth had been fighting -- worried Shepard more than he cared to admit.


Ashley bent down by the top half of a geth juggernaut, running a finger along the smooth edge of the cut that bisected the geth platform. "These are laser burns, sir." She fingered one of the round holes that perforated it. "Mass accelerator rounds too."


"Earth weapons?"


"Doesn't look like it," she said, shaking her head. "This was a beam laser, not a pulse laser." Shepard nodded. Earth didn't manufacture beam lasers as small arms due to the difficulties in applying acceptable safety measures to prevent accidental discharge.


"Anyone else here besides me have a distinct case of the heebie jeebies?" Jenkins asked.


"No."


"Why not?"


"Because nobody in their right mind would admit to that," Ashley snarked.


"With all due respect, Gunny, bite me."


"Why is it whenever anyone says 'with all due respect,' they really mean 'kiss my ass'?"


"Cut the chatter, you two," Shepard snapped, breaking up the verbal sniping. "Listen!"


K-chunk! Skreeeee! K-chunk! Skreeeee!


The team looked around, frowning. The sound was faint and distant... but coming closer. Shepard waved Ashley's half of the team to the right and led Garrus and Wrex to the left. The hallways were lined with doors, and while they didn't provide much cover, especially for the bulky Cycloners, the slight depressions into the walls around the doors was better than nothing.


They waited anxiously as something out of a nightmare dragged itself around the corner.


"My God," Shepard murmured, recognizing the black and red monstrosity. "That's a Haydonite war drone."


Were it fully erect, the Haydonite war drone would have stood ten feet tall, but this one stood at a lopsided angle, its stiff left leg dragging uselessly across the floor. Its arms resembled those of the Haydonite Infiltrator battloids, and they unfolded and planted themselves into the floor, providing a defensive barrier.


"Get down!" Shepard snapped, diving to the floor. The rest of the team followed suit not a moment too soon as a laser beam swept across the hallway at waist height, burning cleanly into the ancient alloyed walls. Shepard raised his arm and snapped off both his Scorpion IV micro-missiles with their guidance systems disengaged. It was a sure bet this thing was shadow cloaked.


Ball-turreted mass accelerators mounted in the drone's shield arms spat out, swatting one of the micro-missiles out of the air, but the other struck home, blowing off the end of its left arm and ruining the mass accelerator turret in it.


Jenkins's railgun spoke, the shell slamming into the war drone, crashing through armor, but it seemed not to notice as it went on the move again, dragging itself closer. The beam laser lanced out again and carved off the end of the railgun's barrel with ease.


"Damn it!" Jenkins swore.


Dark energy suddenly flared around the war drone, and the drone shuddered. Wrex snarled and gestured, the mnemonic sending the biotic wave in a different direction, and the war drone was rotated in place, turning toward its left. The krogan roared and charged, shotgun at the ready. Just as he brought the weapon up, the war drone's right arm snapped out and caught him across the chest, sending him flying backward.


Shepard noted Nirali crawling over to the krogan's position, then turned his attention back to the war drone. A concealed gun port in the war drone's side dilated open, and a ball-turreted cannon emerged and spat a high-velocity round that slammed into the lower half of his chest plate, crashing through his shields and knocking him back.


"Overloading!" Garrus called, hurling the tech mine out. The tech mine slowed to a halt, hovering beside the war drone, then pulsed with electricity which wreathed the drone for several seconds.


The war drone dragged itself around, and the pulse laser lashed out again, carving across Garrus's chest plate, ablating the outer layers easily, the flash-vaporization sending him stumbling back a step. The turian's expletive didn't translate properly, but he followed it up with, "We've got to take out that laser!"


"On it!" Ashley replied, firing her proton cannon with expert precision. The first two shots struck to little effect, and the third shot was blocked as the war drone raised its left arm defensively.


Suddenly, Shepard bolted forward and dove under its upraised arm, bringing his heavy particle rifle up. Pressing the muzzle against its underbelly, he drained the energy magazine into it at point blank range.


The silence that followed was positively thunderous before a creaking sound shattered it. Shepard's eyes widened, and he rolled over, firing his thrusters and shooting back up the hallway, his chest plate scraping across the floor as the war drone collapsed.


"Commander," Ashley blurted out, "are you insane?! Uh, sir."


Rolling over onto his back, Shepard looked up at her. "I'm a Spectre, Gunny. I think that's part of the job description." He took a moment to catch his breath, then picked himself up. "Now, let's see what the hell that war drone was guarding."


After loading fresh energy magazines, the team advanced cautiously, weapons at the ready and uncomfortably aware of their lack of heavy ordnance. They found themselves walking past rows of war drones, folded up in storage, but despite their nerves, the drones remained inert. Finally, they reached a door at the far end which slid open. An asari woman and what appeared to be a mated Garudan pair stepped out.


"Oh, thank goodness!" the asari exclaimed, clearly relieved to see them. "I'm sorry about that war drone. When the geth attacked, I couldn't think of anything else to do."


"We have wounded," the male Garudan said.


"Bhatia?" Shepard nodded.


"Aye, Commander," the corpsman said, brushing past the squad and following the female Garudan.


Shepard turned to the asari and asked, "Are you Doctor Liara T'Soni?"


"Yes," the asari nodded, suddenly uncertain.


"Any idea why a rogue Spectre would want you dead?"


The asari woman blinked a few times before she whispered, "What? No, you must be mistaken. The geth-"


"We're not mistaken," Wrex broke in. "The man tried to hire me himself."


"I don't- that's ridiculous!" Liara said, shaking her head.


"That would explain the krogan," the male Garudan pointed out.


"What krogan?" Shepard asked.


"Doctor T'Soni is quite a gifted biotic," he said. "She crushed the krogan leading the geth in a singularity. He's the smear you're standing in right now."


* * *


A frustrated Shepard ignored the twinge in his ribs as he submitted his report to the Council; he had skipped the standard post-mission physical, reasoning that this was more important, but the frustration was palpable. Their best lead had hit a brick wall. Dr. T'Soni was an unremarkable scholar, a xenoarchaeologist specializing in Prothean studies filled with wild-eyed ideas on what caused their extinction. She didn't really have an explanation for the apparent Haydonite connection either. Still, he wasn't sure why, but her theory of a cycle of extinction somehow rang true for him, despite the lack of evidence.


He idly wondered if it had to do with that vision he saw when he encountered the Prothean beacon; Dr. T'Soni certainly seemed excited about it when she heard about it, even if she did make him feel like a bug under a microscope.


His computer chirped, marking an incoming message, and he brought it up. Reading through it, he nodded in satisfaction; the resupply request had been approved, and he had a window for arrival at Space Station Freedom. The Normandy hadn't been stocked for a long-term mission like this, so he had submitted the resupply request up the chain before heading out to Halla.


"Joker," he said, "set course for Space Station Freedom."


"You got it, Commander."


* * *


Codex: Predator P Powered Armor

In response to the Cyclones used by the UEDF during the Relay War, Armax Arsenal developed the new P line in their Predator series, building on the foundation of their already successful Predator H line of heavy armor. The Predator P is a suit of powered armor designed exclusively for turians, far and away superior to previous heavy hardsuits and comparable to Cyclone battloids. Like all hardsuits, the Predator P can be fully sealed against hostile environments.


The Predator P's armor is considerably thicker than the Predator H upon which it was based, and it is furnished with a refractive and ablative coating to disperse incoming directed energy weapons fire. Like the rest of the Predator series, the Predator P line has hardened circuits and an oversized eezo core, giving it superior kinetic barriers and resistance to tech and biotic abilities. The same eezo core has been adapted to provide other benefits as well, increasing melee striking power and lightening the wearer and his or her equipment. The latter effect means that, although the Predator P does not have actual thrusters, it still affords the wearer considerable agility.

 

[Cyclone]

I havent read the fic yet, but before I do, when does this take place for the Macross timeline.

Click to shrink...

It doesn't. This is a Robotech 'fic, not a Macross 'fic. Why is that so hard for people to understand?

 

[Cyclone]

Did the Haydonite drone show up in Shadow Chronicles? Because I didn't really get a good picture of what the thing looks like and could use a picture to help visualize it.

Click to shrink...

The Haydonite war drone did not, but the so-called Haydonite Infiltrator battloid (so named by the RPG) did, and I envision the war drone as very similar in appearance.

 

[Cyclone]

Just to be sure, the Haydonite Infiltrator is this thing, right?

Click to shrink...

Yes, the inappropriately-named Infiltrator is the big hulking thing in the background.

 

[Cyclone]

Posted chapter seven to FFN. Based on comments here, it was apparently unremarkable, but at least no major problems needed to be fixed.


Here's a draft of chapter eight. It feels kind of rushed to me, like something's missing, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what.


* * *


Tali'Zorah nar Rayya seethed.


He's the captain, she reminded herself. I'm sure he had good reason. Good reason to...

She snarled and punched the bulkhead.


"Is something wrong, Tali?"


She spun and was thankful for her environment suit, as it hid her blush. "Oh! Commander! I, uh..." She floundered. As a quarian, she found herself in a serious quandary regarding the situation. On one hand, Shepard was the Normandy's captain, his actual rank aside, and to a quarian, the captain's word was law. But on the other...


Her gaze drifted to the console sitting in the cargo bay.


Shepard followed her gaze, then nodded in understanding. "So, you've met Bishop."


"Bishop" was the name taken by the AI Shepard had found skimming credits off the Quasar machines. As a Spectre and the Normandy's skipper, he had gained the authority he needed to grant it asylum, something his conscience had required of him. It made this confrontation inevitable, but he had hoped to put it off until later.


Much, much later. Tali had a habit of putting him off-balance.


"You are... aware of what quarians think of AIs, yes?" she asked delicately, still not able to bring herself to outright accuse the ship's skipper.


"Yes, I've heard."


"Then why have you granted that... that... that thing asylum?"


"I didn't exactly ask for it, Tali."


"You could have told it no," she pointed out. "From what I understand, you did tell it no."


"And just abandon a sapient intelligence to prejudice and discrimination?" he fired back. "Like we could have done to your people?"


The shot was below the belt, and he knew it.


It worked, too.


That didn't stop her from slapping him.


Shepard slowly turned his head to face the quarian again, ignoring the shocked looks from the other crewmembers present in the cargo bay. "I deserved that," he admitted. "I should have told you about it, been up front with you." His voice hardened. "But there are some things you need to understand, Miss Zorah. Humanity accepts your people, your goal to reclaim your homeworld, because we've been there, a hundred and fifty years ago, when Earth was conquered by the invid. But in the end, freedom is the right of all sapient beings: levo, dextro, or digital. Is that understood?"


"Y-yes, Captain," she stuttered, her word choice underscoring just how rattled she was.


"And Tali? If you ever hit me again in public, I will throw your ass in the brig. I like you, but this is my ship, and I have to maintain discipline."


The quarian nodded. Satisfied that he'd made his point, Shepard turned and headed over to the console that housed Bishop.


"Hey," he said, "how are you doing?"


"Satisfactory," Bishop replied.


"We'll be entering Alliance space soon," Shepard said. "Once we get to Space Station Freedom, I'll pass you over to Immigration Services, and they'll take it from there."


"Thank you, Commander."


"I hope you don't take anything she said personally."


"She is quarian," the AI said. "Given the history, her reactions are understandable, if irrational."


"Thanks for understanding," Shepard said. Bishop declined to respond. Shaking his head, the commander turned away and continued on his way. He made a habit of making the rounds on the ship; it helped him know his ship, inside and out.


"Shepard."


He turned and greeted the krogan, "Wrex."


The battlemaster walked up and looked down at him. "You look different without your armor," he noted. "Smaller."


"Don't underestimate me," Shepard warned, a wry smile on his face.


"Ha! I won't," Wrex assured him. "Like I said, you've got a quad on you, Shepard. That... that 'Haydonite war drone' you called it? That was glorious. I haven't had a fight like that in centuries." He rubbed his abdomen. "I can still feel that punch it gave me."


"Well, I hope you don't mind, Wrex, but I hope we don't run into too many of those," Shepard said. "That thing was half-wrecked, and it still nearly killed us all. Not exactly an experience I'd care to repeat any time soon."


"Bah, you humans," Wrex snorted. "What is life without challenges like that?"


"A lot longer," Shepard deadpanned.


"A near-death experience now and then is nice," Wrex retorted. "Keeps the mind sharp."


Chuckling, Shepard shook his head and continued on his way. At least Wrex was enjoying himself. He clambered down one level to the MARDET armory, wincing a bit as his ribs protested again. As he stepped off the ladder and turned, he froze.


Ashley turned away from her project at the sound of footsteps on the access ladder and snapped to attention. "Sir!"


"Is... is something wrong, Shepard?" Liara asked.


"Uh, no. No, of course not," Shepard said, shaking his head. "As you were, Gunny." The gunnery sergeant cocked an eyebrow curiously, and as she noted his gaze, her lips twisted into a sly smile. She was still weighing the pros and cons of teasing her commanding officer when he asked, "Would you excuse us, Doctor T'Soni?"


"Of-of course."


"Don't worry," Ashley said, giving Liara a reassuring nod. "I think we've got the final adjustments done. Just walk around, get used to the armor, and we'll get you checked out on a Cyclone tomorrow."


She stepped aside with Shepard, who pursed his lips and asked, "All right, Gunny, would you care to explain why you're fitting a suit of CVR for Doctor T'Soni?"


"She's volunteered to help with the mission, sir, to join the ground team," she answered, clearly anxious. "With her biotics, she'd be an incredible asset to the team. I-I cleared this with Ka- Lieutenant Alenko, sir. He said you'd be okay with it."


"I am," Shepard assured her. "Just... surprised. I haven't gotten around to checking the daily reports yet." He looked back at the asari archaeologist and sighed, running a hand through his buzz cut. "I just wish I knew why Saren wants her dead. Train her well, Ash. I won't take her on-mission unless she passes at least Basic Quals on a Cyke, both modes."


"Got it, Commander," she said, snapping to attention and saluting.


Shepard frowned as she turned back to Liara. What was that he'd heard in her voice? Dismissing the errant thought, he headed further down the corridor to the maintenance and repair bay. Laid down on the "operating table" was Garrus's Predator P, and Garrus and Jenkins were going over it with molecular fusion welders, patching the damage the armor had taken on Halla.


"Are you sure there's no way we can mount one or two of those missile launchers on this thing?"


"Yes." From the sounds of it, Jenkins had answered the question multiple times. "Without a control interface and full sensor suite, it would be worthless."


"Then how would we do that?"


Deciding not to disturb them, Shepard left with a slight chuckle as Jenkins growled something under his breath. Time to check on the veritech fighters.


Another ladder found himself stepping past Midnight's disassembled frame. Alice's crew was working on it, but the Senior Chief herself was busy... "discussing" with Kaidan his treatment of White Star. Shepard quickly turned and left. There were some things it was simply best a ship's commanding officer not be witness to.


"There you are, Commander!"


Shepard paused as HA1c Bhatia slid down the access ladder in front of him. She turned and glared at him, hands on her hips.


"Is something wrong, Corpsman?"


"I've been looking all over for you, sir," she said. "Doctor Chakwas says you pushed your post-mission physical back a day and then skipped it."


"I'm fine," he said, trying to wave it off.


"Uh uh," she retorted, shaking her head. "Doctor's orders."


For a moment, he considered resisting further, but the look in her eyes dissuaded him. "Fine," he relented.


They stood for a moment.


"You gonna move?" he asked, nodding to the ladder behind her.


"No, sir," she said. "I saw that hit you took. We're taking the elevator."


Shepard suppressed a groan. The cargo elevator was slow as molasses.


* * *


"There," Dr. Chakwas said, "was that so painful?"


Shepard kept his mouth shut. She had sent Corpsman Bhatia after him this time. If he said anything, she might recruit others as well. Instead, he simply stood and left, stepping out of sickbay, where he saw Garrus munching on something.


"Jenkins kick you out?"


"Yeah," the turian groused. "Apparently, I was distracting him." He speared another morsel with his fork and popped it in his mouth.


Shepard frowned. Wait a minute...

"Garrus, what are you eating?" he asked.


"The breen you had in the fridge," the turian said, gesturing with his fork to the galley. "I'm surprised you were able to find any so far from Palaven. It costs a small fortune on the Citadel."


"Um, Garrus," Shepard said, "the only dextro food we have on board is the flavored nutrient paste we stocked up on for Tali. Those are Swedish meatballs. Human food. Levo food."


The turian stopped chewing and stared. "...what?"


Shepard stepped back and reopened the door to sickbay. "Doctor Chakwas!"


* * *


Shepard shook his head as he considered the situation. Once again, they had no more solid leads, but there were rumors on the extranet about geth attacks on some remote colonies, and if true, FAdm Hackett would be able to brief him. Garrus was still down in Medical, getting his stomach pumped to clear his system of the levo food he had indulged in, and Liara was making progress in her training with Ashley.


So lost in thought was he that he almost missed the Normandy making the last relay jump to the Arcturus system and Space Station Freedom. Space folds were faster and greater practical range than the regular (that is, eezo-based) FTL and also had the advantage of being able to carry nearby smaller craft with the folding ship without actually docking, but it lacked the tactical utility of standard FTL, and relay jumps -- being instantaneous -- were still faster, which was why most modern Alliance ships, including the Normandy, were equipped to travel by all three.


"Freedom Control to Normandy, transmitting approach vector."


"Approach path received, Control," Joker answered.


* * *


Resupplying a warship was always hectic, doubly so for one built with top secret technology on a high priority mission. Fortunately, as a civilian, Tali herself wasn't part of the rank and file and therefore had a bit more leeway. A bit.


Enough to pick up this.


"You're sure they will work?" she asked.


"As sure as I can be without testing them out," Chris Tanner nodded reassuringly. Chris and Tali weren't really very close, but given the mission she found herself on, she had felt this course of action was prudent, if not necessary. As for Chris... he was an armorer and found the challenge exciting. "Go ahead," he said, "put one on. We've still got that clean room you bunked in before Normandy's shakedown, and I sterilized it twice."


"Perhaps I will," she mused aloud. "It would only be prudent to make sure they work properly, after all." She shot him a sly look. "And of course, you want to see your handiwork in action, right?"


"That I do, ma'am."


* * *


1stLt Kaidan Alenko sat in the Officer's Club, glad to finally catch a break to fuel his biotic metabolism. As he wolfed down his third serving, he was dimly aware of someone taking a seat across from him. He looked up and nearly had a heart attack.


"Relax, Lieutenant," UEMC Brigadier General (BGen) Kahoku said. "Carry on."


"Uh, sorry, sir," Kaidan apologized. "Resupply stop. It's been hectic. You know how it is."


"I know," Kahoku said, nodding pensively.


They lapsed into silence as Kaidan continued his meal at a slower pace. The lieutenant wondered just why the Force Recon one-star would stop to have lunch with him. Kahoku had taken him under his wing, so to speak, after Akuze, but it was a distant sort of mentorship that didn't generally include shared meals at the O Club. Something had to be up, something unofficial... or so black it might as well be unofficial. And it had to be marine business, or the general would be talking to the commander.


"Your ship's on detached duty, right, Lieutenant?"


"I can't say, sir."


To anyone else, it was simply that: "I can't say." To the Force Recon general, though, it was an affirmative and a request to not ask any further.


* * *


LtCmdr Shepard strode through the halls of Space Station Freedom, his destination firmly in mind. It had been a stressful day, transferring Bishop to Immigration Services' custody, not to mention Commodore (Cdre) Mikhailovich's snap inspection. Still, the resupply was well under way, and the crew didn't need him looking over their shoulders, so that was one less worry for him to be concerned about while he responded to the summons he had received.


"The admiral's expecting you, Commander."


"Thank you, Petty Officer," Shepard said. He entered Admiral Hackett's office and snapped to attention. "Lieutenant Commander John Shepard, reporting as ordered, sir."


"At ease," the admiral greeted him. "Good job on Halla. You saved lives, even if we still don't know what Saren's up to." He rose from behind his desk and presented him with small case. When Shepard opened it, his eyebrows shot to his hairline. Inside lay a rank patch with four thick grey stripes in contrast to the three he wore now, and pinned to the top were two sets of three pips each, the matching collar insignia of a full commander.


"Congratulations, Commander," Hackett said.


"Thank you, sir."


"Don't thank me," he said. "You've earned it. I've also found you a new XO and some new leads."


"Respectfully, sir, I don't need a new XO. Commander K'Dar and Lieutenant Pressly..."


"K'Dar's an engineer, not a bridge officer," Hackett interrupted, "and Pressly doesn't have the seniority or the time in grade for promotion. I'm assigning Lieutenant Commander Jane Hunter as your new XO."


"Hunter?" he repeated, surprised. He knew the name, all right -- few in the UEDF didn't -- but it wasn't just the history of the Robotech Wars that came to his mind, but the very person Hackett was speaking of, herself a descendent of the famous Admirals Hunter. Auburn hair, green eyes, a lithe grace... he hadn't seen her since the Academy. He nodded. "She's a fine officer."


"I had a feeling you'd agree," Hackett said, not quite smirking.


Shepard coughed. That had been a long time ago. "You mentioned some new leads, sir?"


"Yes," Hackett nodded, picking up an OSD and handing it to him. "Geth activity in the Armstrong Nebula and Attican Beta."


"The Armstrong Nebula, sir?" Shepard frowned. "That's in the Skyllian Verge, isn't it? We don't have any colonies there, do we?"


"No, Commander," Hackett answered. "Which is why you'll be working with the batarians on this."


Shepard tried to hide his distaste. After what happened on Mindoir and Elysium, the idea of working with batarians was anathema to him. The admiral's next words proved he had failed miserably.


"Try to stay professional, Commander," Hackett warned. "They're not too happy about you being involved either, but you're a Spectre now, so they don't have a choice in the matter. We do. It's either work with them, let them handle it, or start a war, and the third option is most assuredly not acceptable, Commander. With the geth attacking, we can't afford to open up a second front. Do I make myself clear?"


"Crystal, sir."


"Good," Hackett said. "Dismissed."


* * *


Codex: The Skyllian Verge

The Skyllian Verge is a section of space situated between the United Earth Alliance and the Batarian Hegemony, which resulted in intense competition between humans and batarians to colonize, develop, and exploit the planets within during the early 2160s, to the point that the Batarian Hegemony petitioned the Citadel Council to declare the Verge an area of batarian interest, a petition the Council had granted, but which the UEA had ignored, refusing to recognize any authority in the Citadel Council at the time.


The tensions between the United Earth Alliance and the Batarian Hegemony eventually culminated in the Skyllian Blitz in 2176, a massive assault on the human colony of Elysium by pirates and slavers based within the Verge and rumored to be funded by backers within the Hegemony. This, in turn, triggered a two-year punitive expedition by the United Earth Defense Force into the Verge, thoroughly purging the lawless region of criminal activity before withdrawing to human-controlled space.


After the Haven Accords shortly thereafter, the UEA tacitly ceased further expansion into the Verge and restricted activities within the Verge to the defense of existing colonies. The Verge remains largely unsettled, and although human colonies within the Verge are well-defended and the Batarian Hegemony makes a token effort to patrol the area, the UEDF's withdrawal from most of the area has resulted in a resurgence of criminal activity, and it is still seen as a lawless area, with pirates, slavers, and mercenary bands operating freely.

 

[Jace911]

...freedom is the right of all sapient beings:

Click to shrink...

Going transformers on us now?

Edit: and yes, i know it is sentient.

 

[Aaron Fox]

Going transformers on us now?


Edit: and yes, i know it is sentient.

Click to shrink...

Or more specific, Autobots.

Anyway, good, if not totally exiting like the last few chapters, chapter.

 

[Mizuki_Stone]

He he he, Nice shout outs. I'm glad to see Shepperd man up a bit around Tali, he tends to be a bit soft (and I wager sweet) on her. Good to see he can remain professional.


Playing nice with the Batarian's eh? We'll see how that turns out...

 

[Rolfson]

Swedish meatballs

Click to shrink...

I see what you did there.

 

[Mizuki_Stone]

Epic, We need to make Bishop a regular crew member... hum, I think I know just the design his humanoid interface/drone could use...

 

[Cyclone]

Going transformers on us now?

Edit: and yes, i know it is sentient.

Click to shrink...

Or more specific, Autobots.

Anyway, good, if not totally exiting like the last few chapters, chapter.

Click to shrink...

A bit more correct, though, IMO. Sentience only implies self-awareness, while sapience involves tool-using, long-term planning, and abstract thought.

He he he, Nice shout outs. I'm glad to see Shepperd man up a bit around Tali, he tends to be a bit soft (and I wager sweet) on her. Good to see he can remain professional.

Playing nice with the Batarian's eh? We'll see how that turns out...

Click to shrink...

Yeah, he kinda does have a soft spot for Tali. And as for the batarians... well, I figure that's a sharp left turn from canon. If they occur in this timeline, the events of Arrival should be interesting.

I see what you did there.

Click to shrink...

Would hope so.

Hey so nothing about the AI during the resupply stop?

Also when did the AI get on board?

Click to shrink...

Discreetly, at the end of chapter five. As for the resupply stop, what would happen? It's going through Immigration Services, a whole crapload of boring paperwork.

Anyone else got the Swedish Meatballs reference? I'm disappointed. Thanks for another chapter!

AI got aboard hours after Shepard became a Spectre. Along with firefights with thugs and mercenaries, persuading a couple to have their child treated, bought a permit for a Jellyfish, scanned all the Keepers for a misunderstanding duo, talked to a drunken Turian Admiral for an Asari consort, etc.

Click to shrink...

Actually, Septimus is a general, IIRC.

Epic, We need to make Bishop a regular crew member... hum, I think I know just the design his humanoid interface/drone could use...

Click to shrink...

Bishop won't be showing up again any time soon, unfortunately, but I do intent to have it reappear later on, just not yet sure in what context. As for a design for its drone? Tell me more.

 

[Cyclone]

Working with the Batarians... now there's a challenge for Shepard and the crew. Gag those shoot first responses nice and tight.

Click to shrink...

That will be a challenge for some, especially Shepard, who's a Colonist War Hero.

Oh those damn slow ME1 elevators. Especially the CSEC to docking bay one. Nice to see Shep feels the same way.

Click to shrink...

Actually, I always found the Normandy's elevator the most annoying. At least the Citadel elevators had amusing squadmate chatter.

Well, the Normandy had a AI, so.....

Click to shrink...

So? They're now on an Alliance space station, an Alliance that doesn't have the Citadel's bias against AIs and is willing to offer AIs political asylum. Note that, although Bishop was on board the Normandy, I have at no point said or even suggested it was actually connected to the Normandy's computer systems, so there's no real security risk there. Not that they won't check, but again, that would be boring.

 

[Gore17]

I liked the elevators: I used them as toilet breaks or get something to drink.

 

[Cyclone]

New update. New squad member. Chapter nine.

* * *

The newly-minted Commander (Cmdr) John Shepard, UES-SOC, Citadel Spectre, stood pensively in the Normandy's rear observation deck. The upcoming mission had him tied up in knots. He hated batarians. Intellectually, he knew they weren't all the same, but after what he'd seen, it was... difficult, to say the least.

"John."

He turned. "Jane."

His blue eyes met her green. LtCmdr Jane Hunter, UES-SOC, stood before him. She wore her uniform easily, and it did little to hide her natural grace. She gave him a faint smile. "It's been a long time."

"Not since the Academy," John agreed. "Funny how things turn out," he added after a long moment. "If you had come visit while on leave like you'd promised, it might be you in charge of this mission. Lord knows we could have used your skills during the Blitz."

Her lips curled into a smile, and merriment dancing in her eyes. "I think I came out ahead in the end. I don't have to deal with the Council."

He groaned. "Don't rub it in."

"And then there's that statue on Elysium..."

"Stop!" he protested, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Stop it, please!"

She smirked but relented and changed the subject. "In the continued interest of catching up, whatever happened to Jim? I would have thought he'd be at the center of action at Elysium, but I hadn't heard a peep out of him since." An orphan from Earth who enlisted to escape gangs like the 10th Street Reds he had run with, James Farmer had been the third member of their little band of miscreants in the Robotech Military Academy.

John sobered quickly. "He was transferred away from Elysium just before the Blitz," he answered. "His unit was ordered to investigate a colony we'd lost contact with. On Akuze."

Jane's face paled. "Akuze? He was there?" She frowned. "Lieutenant Alenko was there too, wasn't he?"

"The sole survivor," John confirmed. "I... haven't really spoken to him about it. I don't think he realizes I knew Jim."

There was a long moment of silence.

"What about you?" he asked gently. "I heard Torfan was rough."

After the Blitz, Jane had volunteered for Operation Clean Sweep and led a platoon at Torfan, but Major Kyle had held her platoon back from the final push until the last minute, and Ashley led her decapitated platoon down to take the last strong point on Torfan.

"It was, John," she said quietly. "We lost a lot of good people there."

Wordlessly, the two turned to gaze out at the stars and simply stood in companionable silence.

"By the way, here," John said, pulling out an OSD. "We'll be working in batarian territory, so I picked this up from Earth Intelligence."

"EIA's latest hits?" she noted as she inserted the OSD into her omni-tool and brought up the data. "Thanks."

* * *

Shepard was standing behind Joker in the cockpit when they arrived rather than at his command position at the rear of the bridge. He didn't much care for the turian bridge design.

"We're in orbit over Casbin, Commander," Joker reported.

"Sensor contact!" Operations Specialist Second Class (OS2) Monica Negulesco reported. "Heavy cruiser, unknown configuration. It's broadcasting a batarian IFF!"

"Going evasive," Joker called.

"Don't bother," Shepard said. "That's our liaison for this mission."

Joker paused, then turned and stared at Shepard. "You're not serious, Commander. Working with batarians?"

"Unfortunately, Joker, I am," Shepard said with a grimace.

"Incoming transmission, skipper," Operations Specialist Third Class (OS3) Alexei Dubyansky reported.

"Bring it up," Shepard ordered. "This is Commander Shepard, Citadel Spectre and captain of the United Earth Ship Normandy."

"We copy, Shepard. This is Captain Taban of the Khar'shan State Ship Ashar. I've been ordered to escort and support your investigation of the geth incursion into the Skyllian Verge."

For what it was worth, this Captain Taban didn't sound any happier about the situation than Shepard was.

"Thanks for the offer, but we'll manage," Shepard said flatly.

"I'm afraid I must insist on at least sending along an observer," Taban replied, his voice strained. "One of our SIU commandos, perhaps."

"Fine," Shepard agreed reluctantly. "Send him over."

* * *

SIU. The Special Intervention Unit. Shepard had never run into them before -- not directly, at least -- and though he'd killed more than a few batarian pirates and slavers who claimed to have retired from it, he was certain it was largely bullshit, the sort of self-aggrandizement and boasting criminals were prone to engage in. Their brutal training regimen -- with a mortality rate of over 15% by EIA's best estimate -- meant those who made it into the SIU had to be among the toughest bastards in the galaxy. Still, how they compared to SOC, especially N7 rates like himself and Jane, remained to be seen.

As he headed for the mecha bay, he considered who to bring along for this mission. Wrex and Garrus could probably keep themselves under control, as could Bhatia and Jenkins, but Ash was right out. Someone who fought at Torfan wasn't likely to keep a level head, and Shepard wasn't sure he could trust himself either. Liara still hadn't qualified on a Cyclone yet, and...

He paused and tilted his head curiously. "Tali? Is that you?"

The quarian turned. "Yes, Commander."

Shepard frowned. She was in her ever-present environmental suit, but clearly, it had been modified. He couldn't see the modifications directly, but only because they were hidden by the Cyclone wrapped around her. Which shouldn't have been possible.

"What's going on?"

"When we stopped by Space Station Freedom after Eden Prime, I asked one of the armorers if he could help me, and he took it as a challenge," the quarian girl explained. "He modified two of my environmental suits to interface with Cyclones. I want to help. Your team is lacking a dedicated tech specialist."

Shepard closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Talk to Gunny Williams. You'll need to qualify on a Cyclone first, same rules as Doctor T'Soni."

The quarian nodded. "Understood, Commander."

The Spectre just shook his head and continued on his way. The day he figured out this crew was probably the day he'd have to resign his commission on mental health grounds.

They were trying, at least. Whether they were trying to drive him to a Section Eight or something else was another matter entirely. He decided to let them be. As long as no one started drawing up designs for Wrex, anyway. A kroganized Cyclone was where he drew the line.

Great, now I'm gonna be distracted the whole mission, Shepard thought sourly as his mind conjured up images of Wrex in an oversized Cyclone. He slid down the access ladder into the mecha bay just in time to see the small batarian shuttle slide in and land in the cleared area with expert precision. The shuttle powered down, and the hatch swung open, revealing a black-clad batarian woman.

Shepard stepped forward and held out a hand. "Commander Shepard, United Earth Spacy, Citadel Council Spectre."

"Lieutenant Kilika," she replied, eyeing his hand suspiciously. Her voice was guttural and husky. "Batarian Hegemony Special Intervention Unit."

Shepard let his hand drop and eyed the batarian SIU commando distrustfully, analyzing what he saw. She was definitely fit, as to be expected, her figure accentuated by her suit, which was light and flexible, hugging her body and giving her full freedom of movement. Still, it was hard to judge; something about the matte black hardsuit made his eyes want to just slide right off it, and though it couldn't possibly offer much damage resistance, he suspected it would have powerful kinetic barriers to compensate. As for weapons, she had what appeared to be a folded up sniper rifle strapped to her back and a pistol of some sort in a hip holster; sheathed along her forearms were a pair of knives with foot-long straight blades, probably double-edged.

Great, he thought, his hand twitching for his sidearm. An assassin. Why am I not surprised?

"Let's make one thing clear," Shepard said, jabbing a finger at her. "You're here as an observer, over my objections. This is my operation. You fall behind, you get left. You get in the way, and I'll kill you myself."

"Of course you would, 'hero,'" she replied acidly.

* * *

It was easy to find the geth outpost. As a classic "pre-garden" terrestrial world with the beginnings of plant life on it, Casbin was listed as a Sanctuary World by the Citadel Council, and not even the aggressively expansive Batarian Hegemony were willing to cross the Council over it. If it weren't for Shepard's Spectre credentials, even landing on the planet would have gotten the ground team locked up for years.

There was only one source of comm transmissions on the entire planet, narrowing down their search considerably.

Shepard had parked the Mako some distance away and was now observing the geth outpost. It was fortified, with turrets and watchtowers backed up by a trio of armatures.

"Shepard to White Star," Shepard called. "Bring the rain."

"White Star copies," Kaidan replied. "AMTAG inbound."

The Advanced Multiple Target Air-to-Ground missile -- aka AMTAG -- was designed to suppress ground forces. The missile flew overhead, popping over the mountains that surrounded the geth output before releasing its payload. Two dozen submunitions burst out, active sensors flaring. So-called "brilliant bomb" guidance computers analyzed the area and selected their targets, and the independently guided submunitions rained down on the geth, carrying their cobalt warheads with deadly precision.

Kilika snorted. "You humans have no sense of subtlety."

"We're dealing with the geth and a rogue Spectre," Shepard pointed out. "Subtlety was never in the cards."

"Subtlety was out of the question once you showed up, human," she retorted scornfully.

"You've never seen us try and be subtle. We're surprisingly good at it."

"I'll believe it if I ever see it."

Shepard held his tongue. She was obviously never going to let him win, let alone have the last word.

"We need to get moving," he said instead.

* * *

Clearing out the geth outpost had been a simple affair. Whatever the geth had been anticipating, it wasn't a frontal assault by heavily-armed Cycloners. This did nothing to ease their anxiety, though; they still had a whole cluster to investigate.

Their next stop was Antibaar in the Tereshkova system, a frozen ball of rock and ice. Like Casbin, it was uninhabited. Almost.

"Commander, I'm picking up a faint transmission a couple of klicks from the main transmission source," Kaidan reported.

"Drop us off," Shepard said, "then circle around and check it out."

"Aye, Commander."

The Mako plowed into the snow, but Taylor turned into the skid and quickly regained control. They approached the suspected geth outpost carefully. Shepard wanted to scout it out while they had the chance; he wasn't about to assault it without having some idea what they were up against. Before long, they were on a ridge overlooking the geth outpost.

At his order, the team clambered out of the Mako, leaving Taylor and Garrus once again manning the IFV. Shepard brought up the zoom on his integrated helmet-mounted display and scanned the facility. The central structure had what looked like a retractable roof, possibly for airlift access, as well as numerous smaller doors. Three guard towers surrounded the building, connected by waist-high portable metal walls which obviously served as semi-mobile cover. He then focused his attention on the enemy forces. "Doesn't look too tough," he murmured. "Snipers and rocket troopers."

"Sir, I can't see anything through this snow storm," Kaidan reported. "Gonna have to go lower."

"Be careful, Lieutenant."

"Will do, Comma- oh, shit!"

Shepard turned as the sound of explosions cut through the icy wind. "Alenko, report!"

"Sorry, Commander. Goddamned thresher maw nearly took a bite out of my fighter."

"Did you get it?"

"With the amount of ordnance I dropped, sir, I better have."

"Just... how much ordnance did you drop, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked with a frown.

"Umm, all of it, sir," was Kaidan's sheepish response. "Except the Switchblades."

Shepard mentally ran through the list, and his jaw went slack. "You unloaded two AMTAGs, six Chasms, and seventy-two Piranhas on a biological?"

"And four five-hundred-kilo gravity bombs, sir."

Shepard closed his eyes, then added, "Don't you start, batarian."

"Start what? Your people prove my case well enough without my input. Shall we, Commander?"

Shepard bit back a snarl. "Wrex, you have point," he said. "Jenkins, you have drag. Taylor, Garrus, keep the Mako on the ridge and provide us with heavy support. Bhatia, with me. Kilika..." he paused as his gaze met the blank visor of the batarian commando's helmet, "...stay out of the way."

Kilika vanished into the swirling snow, and the rest of the team fell into formation. They were nearly at the bottom of the ridge before the geth took notice of them, opening fire. Shepard trusted his team to take care of themselves as he fired his thrusters, getting some distance so a single rocket didn't take them all out. One of the side doors in the central structure opened, and geth troopers began streaming out.

Shepard's blood ran cold as he spotted a contingent of taller geth platforms in the crowd. Juggernauts... and a geth prime.

Wrex charged straight toward the barriers, crashing through and blasting his shotgun at the rocket trooper crouched behind it, and the nearest guard tower toppled under fire from the Mako.

"Jenkins! Garrus!" Shepard called. "Thin the crowd!"

Hypersonic rounds the size of a grain of sand from the Mako's minigun began stitching across the geth formation, and salvo after salvo of missiles streaked out from Jenkins's Cyclone. Shepard himself targeted the geth prime with his Scorpions, while Bhatia kept up a steady stream of suppressing fire.

Shepard never saw the rocket coming. All he knew was that, one minute, he was cutting down geth troopers, and the next, his shields were gone, and he was on his ass, looking up at the geth prime, which was firing its pulse rifle over him, presumably at some other member of the team.

"Oh, f*ck," he swore as he brought his particle rifle up and opened fire, stripping away its kinetic barriers as it pointed its pulse rifle at him. His sensors told him the story. Its shields, already lowered from his Scorpions, would drop just as it lined up its shot.

He was dead, and he knew it.

Just its shields collapsed, a shimmering figure leaped onto its back, driving a pair of long-bladed daggers into its shoulders through seams in the armor. The figure drew back the daggers and somersaulted over the geth prime's flashlight head, sheathing the two blades as she landed just past Shepard's head. Kicking off the ground, she leaped back at the geth prime, drawing the pistol at her hip and ramming it in its face. The staccato beat of full-auto mass accelerator fire intermingled with the sound of shattering electronics as the geth prime fell back.

"Okay," Shepard admitted. "I'm impressed."

Kilika leaned down, glaring at him. "Try not to die on my watch, Spectre. It would not do any favors for my career."

Well, he thought as he picked himself up, it's nice to know where we stand.

The team gathered at the door and paused to do an ammo check. Shepard still had eight Recluse-Ds in his GR-198 hip launchers, but that was about all for expendable ordnance. Once the other reports came in...

"Jenkins," he sighed, "you really need to learn some fire discipline."

"Sorry, sir," the lance corporal apologized.

"We've got some spare Recluses in the Mako," Shepard said. "Restock, and we'll move in."

"Aye, Commander," Jenkins said, snapping to attention before turning to the Mako.

He was halfway into reloading when they heard the roof of the central structure grinding open. A geth platform -- some sort of white-armored variant of an armature -- rose to its full height and stepped over the building's wall, swinging its glowing head around before looking down at them. Shepard looked up and met its impersonal gaze.

"We're gonna need bigger guns."

 

[Mizuki_Stone]

Just remember, if not Bigger, More, this is robotech we are talking about after all...