Mass Effect: Razor 1/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 4 2013, 08:07:17 UTC
A/A: Hope you don't mind a double fill, OP. Saren/Ash interests me.
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“Unbelievable.” Staff Lieutenant Alenko whistled as the recovery team approached the beacon. “Actual working Prothean technology.”
“It IS impressive.” Commander Shepard walked slightly in front of him, the shorter woman examining the beacon critically.
“Impressive? Ma’am, this is fucking AWESOME!” Corporal Jenkins bounced like a puppy as he came up behind her. “I mean this, this is like the biggest find since forever, right? A Prothean beacon AND a Prothean ship? Weapons tech is going to get jumped forward, same with ship and shields. And it’s all Council property. Batarians aren’t going to know what hit them.”
“Tone it down, Corporal.” Alenko patted him on the arm. “We’re just here to collect the beacon and the ship.”
“Yeah, and for the Commander to get assessed for the Spectres.” Jenkins looked enviously at his CO. “That’s just wicked cool.”
“Corporal...” Shepard’s tone was warning, but Kaidan could see a smile on the corner of her mouth. He was glad to see she appreciated the kid’s enthusiasm as much as she did She also had a super cute...down Kaidan, bad Kaidan. “Where’s Nihilus?”
“I think he went to talk to the garrison commander, see about getting some extra civilian transports rustled up to help shift that ship.” Kaidan indicated the massive vessel on the plain beyond them.
“You think that might tax the poor guy? He’s just a ground nugget.” Jenkins used the scornful Fleet nickname for the marines stuck guarding colonies like Eden Prime.
Kaidan knew what she was talking about. “I don’t know what that is...but I can feel it buzzing in my...”
The beacon lit up with a green flash.
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Nihilus knew something was wrong when the humming started. He wheeled around from where he stood with Commander Franks and raced toward the loading dock. Vaulting the railing he sped toward where Commander Shepard had walked with her team.
The loud hum was almost unbearable by the time he rounded the corner. And then...just as suddenly, it vanished. There were three simultaneous crashes...and then silence. The beacon came in view, along with three armoured figures lying prone in front of it.
“Commander!” Nihilus raced to her side, helping the woman up as she regained consciousness. “What the hell was that?”
“Beacon activated.” Shepard grunted as she got back on her feet. “How’s the Lieutenant? Jenkins?”
“All here, ma’am.” The rookie shook his head in confusion. “LT’s fine. Did you see that?”
“Yeah...all of it.” Shepard pursed her lips as she walked toward the edge of the loading dock, staring out at the massive ship, dug out by the excavation teams over the past month. “LT? You saw it?”
“Yes ma’am.” The biotic shook his head. “How could...how did we miss this?”
“Irrelevant.” Shepard’s voice was very cold as she turned around. “Doesn’t matter right now.”
“Commander?” Nihilus felt lost. “What are you talking about, what did you see? Are you alright?
Glancing at him with a genuine smile, Shepard nodded. “Nihilus, I feel absolutely great.”
And then, extending her hand in a fluid motion, she shot the turian twice in the chest. He sunk to the ground, mouth locked open in surprise. “What...?”
“Trust me.” Shepard walked past him. “I’m doing you a favour.”
Without even looking, she fire again, delivering a killshot to the base of his skull. “Jenkins, are you with me?”
“Yes ma’am!” The rookie was already unholstering his assault rifle. “All the way!”
“Lieutenant?” She glanced toward the Sentinel, the man staring down at the turian’s body in shock. “How about you?”
The biotic paused, as if trying to think of something to say.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Commander Franks raced toward the group, followed by a group of curious troopers. “What the...is he dead?”
Flaring with blue, Kaidan turned. A biotic warp detonated right in the path of the oncoming marines, turning them into red spray. It was an impressive move...one that should have been beyond his abilities.
He turned to Shepard, his eyes ice cold. “To the death, ma’am.”
Smiling grimly, Shepard unslung her assault rifle. “All right then, let’s clear a path.”
Mass Effect: Razor 2/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 4 2013, 08:14:16 UTC
“We’re under attack! Get up! Get up!” Someone screamed into the door of Barracks Five, even as a rattle of gunfire sounded less than twenty metres away. “Holy shit! Somebody just shoot them!”
Private First Class Nirali Bhatia shifted in her sleep. “Somebody tell the fuckers in Charlie Company to stop busting balls this early.”
On the bottom bunk, Corporal Travis grunted his agreement. “Maybe we should go run drills over in their compound tomorrow morning, see how they like the...”
The entire left hand side of the barracks suddenly imploded under the force of an explosion from outside. Marines in their skivvies were sent flying out of their bunks, half of them screaming and clutching at new shrapnel wounds or broken limbs.
“Mother...FUCKER!” Chief Williams was the first on her feet, the Platoon Senior NCO already grabbing her tactical vest and boots from the ground, half dressed in tactical pants and a sports bra. “On your feet! Grab your boots and vests! Boots and vests only!”
“We gotta get our hard suits!” Travis yelled as he scrambled toward the exit.
“Rifles first! Rifles first!” Williams led the way out of the barracks, pausing only to do a head count...twenty four, half the platoon.
Travis was tearing off the hinges of the weapons lockers by the time she caught up to her soldiers at the armoury. Avengers were passed out, Ashley pausing only to grab a sidearm as the Marines split off into fire teams, then raced back out into the compound and into a wall of gunfire. Travis died first, followed by Brown and Grey.
“Holy shit!” Williams slid into cover, followed by Bhatia. “Did you get a look at who’s shooting at us?”
“Yeah.” Bhatia blind fired over the top of the barricade.
“How many? What direction?”
“Right in front of us...one.”
“One?!” Ashley practically screamed as gunfire ripped into their position. “What do you mean...?”
A biotic orb, taking most of Nirali’s head with it. What was left of her best friend’s brains toppled into Ashley’s lap. The Gunnery Chief almost threw up as the woman’s blood began soaking into her fatigues.
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“Alenko, how’s the right flank looking?” Shepard disinterestedly gunned down a group of troops running out of the shower block, the half naked soldiers bleeding out onto the parade ground a good hundred metres from their rifles and hardsuits.
“All armed pickets are dead, as are the rest of the loading dock security detail.” Alenko sounded equally distant as he tossed a singularity into a barracks, following it with a warp. “All that’s left is whatever was still sleeping.”
“Jenkins?”
“Comms tower is down.” The Corporal reported, two rifles now in his hands as he moved through Alpha Company’s command centre. “Nearest reinforcements are Bravo and Charlie Company, both ten klicks out.”
“Let’s get out of here before they do their morning comms check. No survivors. And no prisoners.”
------------------------------------
“How can one guy be doing this?” A machine gunner from 3 Platoon screamed in desperation as he unloaded on the steadily approaching biotic, his cries drowned out by the sound of more gunfire tearing into the right flank of the improvised formation Ashley found herself in command of.
“It’s not one guy!” Kerrigan screamed back. “There’s another on the right flank. He’s got two rifles!”
In the confusion, no one ever saw the woman coming from the side, her shotgun held at low port. In a second, she had the barrel of her weapon pressed up tight against Kerrigan’s chest. And then she pulled the trigger.
“Motherfucker! Shoot her! Shoot...” Smith wailed before the woman slammed a knife into the side of his temple.
“Shit! Run man, run!” Nance was already fleeing, the terrified trooper flinging his rifle aside as he bolted. He didn’t make it five paces before he jumped like a rabbit and fell like a stone.
But the damage was done. The Marines broke ranks, desperate to get away from the shotgun and knife of the woman around them. Ashley found herself caught up between the running soldiers, trying to get her own rounds back downrange. But whether they fled or stood their ground, it didn’t matter to the three killing machines that Alpha Company now faced.
Mass Effect: Razor 3/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 4 2013, 08:16:24 UTC
Only Ash and half a dozen others fell back in good order, providing covering fire for the rest of the routed soldiers. Ashley knew that she’d hit the three targets at least a dozen times each, but their armour was just soaking it up. The difference between soldiers with crack grade armour and weapons vs poorly equipped garrison troopers was almost comical.
No one got past the attackers. Seeing this, the garrison tried to flee the other way, only to come up against the drop where the loading dock ended. Some chose to take the chance, dropping away into the thick trees a good ten metres below. Others tried to look for rope, a ladder, anything...but once the three soldiers in armour arrived, it was all over.
Ashley fell back, step by step, her rifle red hot in her hands as she tried to squeeze a few extra rounds out of it, even as the butchers in front of her swept through the unarmed soldiers, weapons on full auto.
Then there was a horrifying sound, worse than the screaming around her. The awful click of a weapon jammed. Tilting her rifle, Ashley bashed at the side, cursing furiously as she tried to persuade the auto-clear system to do its job.
Back, back, back. The garrison troops were quickly understanding that it was fight or die. If they’d just had hardsuits, something to keep them alive for a few extra seconds while they returned fire, then maybe the three humans could have been halted. But the foe was unstoppable, their accuracy lethal, their co-ordination freakishly perfect.
Ash charged, her now useless weapon held high as a club. Maybe she could buy a few more seconds...
Yet another biotic explosion went off, Ashley catching the fringe. Even that was enough to send her flying backwards, landing just in front of the beacon. Getting back on her feet, she whipped up her sidearm, firing off seven rounds before the cheap heatsink began to whine.
“Come on, nugget.” One of the human’s in front of her, just a fresh faced kid underneath his helmet, grinned sadistically as he held his arms wide. “Have another go.”
Ashley gritted her teeth and waited for the weapon in her hand to cool. “Why are you doing this? You’re Alliance.”
The smile disappeared, to be replaced by an oddly sad expression. “I’m afraid...there’s not going to be an Alliance left in a little while.”
The bar on the rear of her pistol turned green, and Ashley took aim. “We’ll see about that.”
One, two, then the dull thud of the recoil made her take a step back into a more stable firing position. Three, four...
And then...
“THE OLD ONE’S MIND HAS LEFT US!” A voice screamed inside her brain. “OUR MESSAGE WAS TAINTED! YOU MUST CARRY IT! CARRY THE TRUTH! IT IS ALL WE CAN DO NOW! YOU ARE ALL THAT ANY OF US CAN DO!”
Then the images began. And Ashley screamed.
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Shepard nudged the unresponsive human with the tip of her boot. “And the beacon just exploded after that?”
“Affirmative, ma’am.” Jenkins levelled his rifle. “Shall I finish her off?”
“Negative, Corporal.” Shepard turned away. “That beacon would have turned her brain to mush without the correction. She’s as good as dead.”
Even as Jenkins growled his disappointment, Shepard turned her gaze toward Kaidan. The biotic was shaking slightly, his eyes dismayed as he looked at the destruction he had wrought. “What...what have we...?”
She needed a way to calm him, to keep him firmly on side. In retrospect, it was painfully obvious what he needed.
Stepping forward, she took him by the hand. “Lieutenant. Just think. A hundred here today, so that billions more may live.”
Nodding slowly, the Lieutenant turned back to her, his eyes once more emotionless. “Of course, Commander. What next?”
Shepard gestured to the ship in the valley. “Sovereign awakens. We should be going, there is a long journey ahead of us.”
The three soldiers moved fast, vanishing from the loading dock as quickly as they had come. The only sign of life was the feeble twitching of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, sprawled out in front of the ruined beacon.
Mass Effect: Razor 4/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 5 2013, 19:10:44 UTC
The turian observed the simple coffin with an impassive stoicism. “How?”
Councillor Sparatus shook his head. “His barriers were down...he was taken by complete surprise...he could never have predicted it.”
“Nihilus was paranoid to the point of obsession.” The turian turned to the councillor. “No one took him by surprise. Least of all a human.”
“He was going to her aid...she had been knocked unconscious by the beacon.” Sparatus rested a hand on the other turian’s shoulder. “She was not an enemy.”
“Clearly she has proved otherwise.” The turian gritted his teeth slightly. “How did she escape? Surely Anderson is not so incompetent as to...”
“There was a ship.” Sparatus replied. “An ancient Prothean vessel, we suspect. Shepard managed to reactivate it, then used it to wipe out entire brigade of Alliance Marines and one of our patrol cruisers in the Artemis Cluster. This is all...quite a mystery, Saren.”
Spectre Saren Arterius turned away from his student’s body, his face still reasonably controlled. “I trust we are assembling a fleet to go after her?”
“Saren...”
“Don’t!” The Spectre’s mask shattered, his rage showing through in a brief, blinding second. “Don’t tell me you’re letting her get away! Tell me that there’s a dreadnaught being readied to pursue her and bring her to justice! Better yet, tell me that the Destiny Ascension is under my personal command, I’ll go and get it done myself! Don’t tell me you’re giving up like a scratched quarian!”
Sparatus drew himself up, his own eyes narrowing. “You forget your place, Spectre.”
Saren wanted to snap back, break the older turian of his undeserved superiority...but that would get him nowhere. “Perhaps, sir, but you are forgetting the excellence of this soldier’s service. This cannot go unavenged. I will not allow it!”
Sparatus stared at him, half reluctant, the other half just as angry as his subordinate. “Walk with me.”
The last thing that Saren wanted to do was walk. Hunt, track, fight and kill were more his priorities. Nevertheless...
“The Council is worried, Saren.” Sparatus explained as they walked toward C-Sec headquarters. “We did our own assessment of Shepard. As volatile, unpredictable and brutal as she is, she was sane, and she was loyal. Much like yourself.”
Saren highly doubted that particular statement, but kept his silence.
“Her appointment to the Spectres would have been a boon to turian-human relations. It would finally have resolved the trade issues from the First Contact War and set humanity on the slow, steady path that we wish for them, rather than an impetuous charge that most of their leadership favours. First Shepard, then a few others. We might have eventually made up ten percent of the Spectre ranks with humans. It would have satisfied their leadership and given us some valuable operatives. Sadly, that is all in jeopardy.”
“And why should I care? They’re a primitive, and violent race.” Saren balefully eyed a human detective disappearing with his asari partner into an office. “Bad enough we make peace with them, invite them into our home, allow them to patrol our streets. I have never understood the fascination with appeasement.”
“Like it or not, Saren, the humans are our allies, and a damned sight more useful in battle than any of the others. Imagine if the krogan ever rose again, or a species with the might of the Rachni. Could you guarantee a turian victory?”
“Speculation is useless.”
“The Hierarchy disagrees. Hence, why we prompted Nihilus to recommend his choice of human soldiers for us. He chose well...at least we all thought he did.” Sparatus turned back to Saren. “We’re beginning to think that maybe the beacon did something. Made her mad...made her see things.”
Mass Effect: Razor 5/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 5 2013, 19:13:57 UTC
“For what other reason would a man described as a living poster boy follow her into destroying a company of the local garrison troops with his own hands, and allow her to wipe out the rest with the guns of that ship? Shepard, Alenko, Jenkins. Now the most wanted criminals in Citadel Space, and they are on the run. One survivor from their rampage, one. We want them found, captured and brought in for medical testing.” Sparatus brought his face close to Saren’s. “Prothean technology is the lifeblood of our civilization. If we can no longer use it because it turns our people into rampaging psychopaths...we cannot let this matter rest.”
Saren flinched, recalling a dusty temple...and the obelisk... “No sir, we cannot.”
“Glad you see it my way.” Sparatus turned into a side corridor. “Now, let’s get on with this. Captain?”
“Councillor.” A deep voice acknowledged the politician, its owner stepping out of the shadows, brow furrowed in concern. Saren’s hackles were instantly raised.
“Captain Anderson.” The Spectre nodded in recognition. “Once again, the Alliance’s talent for rewarding incompetence remains unmatched.”
The human was unmoved by the insult. “Saren, I am here at the invitation of the Council. Should you feel that invitation was unwarranted, I can depart just as swiftly.”
Before Saren could agree, Sparatus intervened. “Captain, please. I am aware you two have history, but now is not the time for it.”
Saren was eager to disagree, but the Councillor’s patience was likely used up. No matter, Saren would just have to wait until later to rub Anderson’s newest failure in nice and deep.
“Shepard is loose. She has a ship capable of unknown levels of destruction, and the entire Terminus to hide in.” Anderson folded his arms behind his back. “There’s only one person in Council space that knows the Terminus well enough to hunt her down.”
“So I’m being sent after her?”
“Yes.” Sparatus nodded. “But you won’t be going alone. We need Shepard alive to interrogate, to find out what it was that the beacon did to her. And since, to put it mildly, you have a tendency to shoot everything that moves, we need you to be...accompanied.”
“So send Bau with me.” Saren replied irritably. “He’s practically a pacifist. We can deal with this with a minimum of bloodshed. And should the worst happen, he can always preserve her brain for scientific analysis.”
“If that ship possesses a tenth of the power we suspect, you won’t get anywhere near it.” Anderson informed him. “You need a vessel capable of sneaking up on her undetected, and people who have a vested interest in bringing her back breathing.”
Saren folded his arms. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
“We’re detaching you to serve under Captain Anderson’s command, aboard his vessel, the SSV Normandy. A stealth ship, first of her class.” Sparatus explained. “You’ll have full autonomy, and tactical command of the mission. Strategic command, however, belongs with Anderson. He has more...direct experience with this kind of mission.”
No one said it, but they all knew what the Councillor meant. Saren’s tendency to bring in live prisoners was...less than average.
“This is a bad idea.” The turian spoke bluntly. “If you’ll forgive my candour, Councillor, Captain Anderson has certainly proven a certain capability against...less elusive enemies....”
“How do I put this...?” Sparatus pondered the problem for a few seconds. “If we want Alliance support, Alliance intel, and more importantly, the Normandy to aid our hunt for Shepard, then turians and humans will be working together, with Anderson in command.”
Saren clenched his talons imperceptibly, but finally just nodded. “As you wish it, sir. Anderson is in command. For now.”
To his credit, Anderson barely reacted to the implication of the words. He’d always been hard to shake. Truth be told, he’d never even been that bad of an operator. But typically arrogant, reckless, overconfident and at the end of it all, unfit for Spectre status.
If Anderson wanted to bring in his protégé alive, Saren could take care of that. It was surprising just how many amputations, gunshot wounds, missing organs and burns humans could survive.
Saren simply stared back at the human officer. “Now, I believe I heard something about a survivor.”
Mass Effect: Razor 6/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 5 2013, 19:15:17 UTC
“This is fucking bullshit!” The woman pacing the interrogation room pushed the table out of the way. “Why the hell are you questioning me?”
“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down.” The asari C-Sec officer instructed her. “Now, can you tell me again what you observed...”
“You want to know what I saw?!” Ashley snarled back. “I saw three people. Three! I saw a man lifted a pair of rifles like sticks! I saw biotics that tore entire platoons apart! I saw a psychotic bitch kill thirty good men with a shotgun and a knife without even pausing for a coffee break.” She smacked the side of her head. “And then to top it all off, I saw a whole fucking heap of shit that I don’t even understand. Put me in a fucking coma.”
“Yes, but if you could explain what you saw in the beacon, that might explain why...”
“No, I saw billions of people screaming in pain and dying in droves. I saw...something. Something big, something dark.” Exhaustion showed through the cracks of the soldier’s rage. “Look...I don’t know if the asari have a word for it. But from what I know...what I saw comes from a lake of fire and drags people back down into it. I saw...hell. That’s the only word I got for it.”
The asari did not look at all satisfied by her explanation. “There must have been more than that. Were there instructions of some kind? Would you be willing to submit to a voluntary joining of the minds in order to ascertain the truth of the...”
Ashley leaned forward. “Lady, you take one step toward me and I’m going to break your nose. Politely.”
The door to the interrogation room opened and another alien walked in. This time it was a turian, though not in C-Sec kit. He was dressed entirely in grey and black armour, cutting an imposing figure against the drab uniforms of the Citadel cops. He looked over at the asari and simply nodded. “Leave. Your assistance is not required.”
The asari opened her mouth to protest...then shut it just as fast. “Yes sir!”
Ashley’s anger faded into the background, curiosity replacing it as she observed the newcomer. He didn’t walk like a cop, but he didn’t look like a soldier, either. Clearly above the asari, yet he wore no insignia of any kind.
The turian examined her in kind, alert grey eyes scanning her up and down. His mandibles parted, teeth bared slightly. “I couldn’t believe it when they told me who you were. General Williams’ granddaughter, here in the flesh. Sole survivor of her entire brigade. There’s something very fitting about that.”
Ashley folded her arms. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m the alien who beat your grandfather.”
Ash didn’t know turian facial expressions from pyjak migration patterns, but she could have sworn that the alien had a grin plastered over his feature. “Really? And who’s that?”
“He never mentioned it?” The turian began to walk around her. “No...I suppose I wouldn’t have either. Always an embarrassment when you lose a war. Saren Arterius. Spectre.”
“So it was a war after all? Strange how you guys always try to palm it off as the ‘Relay 314 Incident’.” Ashley took the seat vacated asari officer. “I’ve never heard of you. You come to ask me another bunch of bullshit questions about stuff I don’t even understand? ”
“No, just to deliver your marching orders.” Saren replied, his tone that of boredom. “You’re being transferred under my command, until the apprehension or death of Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy.”
“Yeah?” Ashley’s rage flared back up, fresh and fast. “Well I don’t think I’m feeling like serving under a turian.”
Saren nodded. “That is good. You have hate, a lot of it. But the question is, who do you hate more? Turians who beat your grandfather? Or the humans who massacred your friends...your unit?”
Ashley remained silent.
“You’re not happy about this, I can see that.” The Spectre moved closer to her. “To be honest, I have very little use for you. Had you been competent, you might have managed to at least kill one of Shepard’s team, or keep some of your own friends alive. You did not.”
Mass Effect: Razor 7/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 7 2013, 10:39:42 UTC
The Marine bristled. “That wasn’t my fault.”
“It rarely is, for anyone, and yet there you are.” Saren shook his head. “Your real value to me, Gunnery Chief, is what is in your head. Like it or not, that beacon gave you information, information similar to that given to Shepard. And yet, while Shepard regained consciousness almost immediately and with a homicidal edge, you woke up two days later with almost no side effects. I need your head examined, Williams, and not by any of the amateurs here.”
Ashley continued to stare at him, chewing her lip slightly as she thought about it. “If not here...then where?”
“There is a friend of mine. A Matriarch who has experience with this, more than most of her kind. It is possible that she will be able to give us a reasonably accurate interpretation of whatever the Protheans left inside your head. With luck, there will be information that directs us toward Shepard.”
Ashley lowered her gaze, staring back down at her boots. “And when we find her?”
“I am aware that N7s are held to be particularly good, the best, even. But I’ve killed the best of many species before. We will track her, find her, and then take her down. Now, I can’t promise you her head, that’s going straight to the Council, but you can take your time with her subordinates, and handle any preliminary interrogations that you see fit.” The human penchant for revenge. Such an easy way to manipulate...but very understandable. His own code held revenge to be essential to maintaining order, but he could ignore it when he needed to.
“Deal.” The Marine stood up. “So where do we find this Matriarch?”
“Ah...” Saren nodded. “That part...you might not enjoy as much as the revenge.”
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“Millions of worlds in the galaxy.” Ashley grunted as she followed Saren. “Beach resorts by the handful, skyscrapers that go into low orbit...and we have to come to Tuchanka? Man, this place is so bad they don’t even have pics of it on the extranet.”
“You have a talent for complaining, really.” Saren was stoic about the heat, dust and potentially radioactive particles clinging to his armour. “Maybe you could complain about having to walk all this way?”
“Maybe I will?” Ashley growled back. “Why on earth does your asari friend have to come to Tuchanka?”
“She feels...obligation. Duty to those less fortunate than herself. Not something a human would understand, I’m sure.”
“What are you talking about?” Ash glared at him. “You hate it here as much as I do.”
Saren chose not to dignify her accusation with a response. He simply pointed. “Down there, cluster of pre-fabs. That’s where she’ll be.”
The climb down was almost as treacherous as the climb up from where the Normandy had dropped them. While technically just a simple pick up, Saren was not setting foot on Tuchanka without enough armour and weapons to fight off a thresher maw if need be. And so they walked, blessedly in silence this time.
She kept his pace...he’d give her that. “Your armour and weapons are terrible.”
Ashley blinked. First time he’d spoken to her about something non-mission related...and it was that? “Yeah, I know.”
“If you know, then why don’t you requisition better?”
“In the Alliance, only two groups get the good stuff. Special Forces and biotics.” Ashley shrugged. “Hell, I had to source my own armour. This was the best I could afford.”
Saren was silent. It just confirmed yet another of his theories about humans. Nothing he didn’t already know.
At the gate to the compound were a pair of krogan, both carrying high tech kit. SHE was probably splurging, pumping credits into a whole community, bolstering up education and local services. Always the good matriarch, always the wise teacher. Insufferable do goodery, really, but better he was her ally than enemy.
The gates opened slowly, with krogan weapons trained on him and the human as they walked through. On the other side, a massive krogan in deep red armour was standing, waiting for them. He growled slightly as he saw the turian. “Saren...”
“Wrex.” Saren greeted him neutrally. “Been too long.”
Mass Effect: Razor 8/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 7 2013, 10:45:27 UTC
“Not long enough.” Wrex bared his teeth. “And here I was hoping we’d meet somewhere nice and quiet where I could kill you in peace.”
Saren’s mandibles quirked slightly. “Better luck next time. Now where is she.”
“Right here.” A voice spoke from the entrance to the nearby pre-fab.
She was not dressed in her usual robes and headdress, but she was no less stately or magnificent for the plain overalls she wore. Descending down the short steps, she strode to Saren and embraced him warmly. “You are most welcome, my old friend.”
Saren was taken aback by her display of affection, awkwardly aware of Williams and her sniggering. It would take him a while to live this down. “Matriarch Benezia. It is...good to see you again.”
Benezia pulled away. “Likewise, Saren. And who is your companion?”
The human self consciously straightened up. “Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 2...of the SSV Normandy.”
Benezia’s face drained. “Then...the rumour’s are true. Nihilus is...”
“He’s dead.” Saren replied shortly. “I am tracking his killers. But to do that, I need the information salvaged from a Prothean Beacon. Information that the human has in her head.”
“Human has a name, split jaw.” Ash shot back.
“Please.” Benezia held up her hand. “Why don’t you both come inside. The children have finished class for the day.”
“Children?” Saren looked incredulous. “You are acting...as a teacher?”
“Saren, I think the krogan have earned the right to whatever education they wish.” Benezia’s eyes narrowed. “Unlike you, I grew up in the days when we remembered what they sacrificed for us.”
Saren had no wish to argue with her. She was always better with words. “Perhaps we could...?”
“Of course.” Benezia turned to Wrex. “The Shaman wishes you to instruct the children in the Rite of Challenge, as well as the Rite of Settlement today, in preparation for the Passage to the Hollows next month.”
Wrex bowed his head slightly. “As you command.”
Saren followed Benezia inside. “How much did you have to pay for his services?”
“Wrex? Not a credit, despite my insistence.” Benezia smiled. “He demanded that I simply add his fee to the cost of building this compound and properly arming it. It’s working wonderfully. This is neutral ground, partly because of our weapons, and partly because we picked up the allegiance of five or six major clans who are firmly on our side.”
“Ten years you’ve been down here.” Saren shook his head. “Seems like a waste of your time.”
“It is my time to waste.” Benezia sat cross legged on an elegantly woven carpet. “And now, I presume you wish me to meld with Chief Williams?”
“Yes, that’s the general idea.” Saren did not sit. “And I was hoping we might do this quickly.”
“In a minute.” Benezia turned to Ashley. “And you, Ashley? You have agreed to this?”
“Her agreement...” Saren began, but was silenced by the asari’s glare.
“Yes.” Ashley nodded, feeling a little smug over Saren’s sudden deference. “If you can find something in there that helps us kill them...then I’m fine with that.”
Benezia nodded, reaching out a hand to the side of Ashley’s head. “Be warned, Ashley. You may find this...strange.”
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Ashley gasped as she surged out of the water, hauling in mouthfuls of air as she struggled back onto the beach. She collapsed to her knees, retching slightly as she brought up seawater. “What...the fuck?”
“My apologies.” Benezia stepped out of the water alongside her. “I have been experimenting with easier ways of introducing the meld for the better part of two centuries. I find that the best thing to do is immediately introduce the subject to a situation of their choosing. In your case, this beach.”
Ashley glanced around. “This isn’t what the beacon showed me.”
“No, but I’ve had first hand experience with various artefacts such as the beacon you encountered. Experiencing a thousand memories at once can be an unpleasant experience. Better to view them from the outside, looking in. Are you ready to begin?”
Mass Effect: Razor 9/? (Saren/Ashley)
anonymous
February 7 2013, 10:46:56 UTC
In all honesty, all Ashley wanted to do was lie down on this beach and go to sleep. But that would not avenge Nirali or the 212. “I’m ready.”
In an instant, the world changed. Ashley found herself walking through a battlefield. Around her, thousands of armoured figures battled against twisted, deformed shapes in the middle of a fog of war. Overhead, massive behemoths did battle against blocky cruisers. It was like the images she had experienced...but more clear, less terrifying and more informative.
“Interesting...” Benezia walked beside her, examining the figures. “My daughter would be fascinated by all of this...”
A voice rang out through the fog, the same one Ashley had heard when the beacon seized her. “THE REAPERS ARE UPON YOU. TAKE ARMS AND RALLY TO WAR. ASSEMBLE YOUR FLEETS AND PRAY TO YOUR GODS. ABOVE ALL, KEEP THE CITADEL SAFE. WE HAVE DONE OUR BEST, BUT YOU MUST SECURE OUR GREATEST WEAPON. FIND THE CONDUIT. FIND ILOS. MAY OUR SPIRITS AND WEAPONS GUIDE YOU TO VICTORY. AVENGE US!”
“This...is a lot clearer than before.” Ashley stared on with fascination as one of the massive ships lifted a tentacle and blasted away a cruiser.
“I have enough experience with the Prothean language and culture to interpret what you see.” Benezia frowned. “But there is far more than that. This is simply the top layer, easily available to anyone. There are deeper memories beneath. I can see co-ordinates, star charts, schematics for something. But there’s no way to access it.”
Ashley did her best to conceal her disappointment. “So there’s nothing to indicate where Shepard is going?”
“On the contrary, there is much there...just very little to piece it together.” Benezia looked frustrated. “Oh, if I had my daughter here, she could solve this in a few minutes. She spent her childhood in history books and the past forty years in Prothean ruins. If I had a tenth of her knowledge this would be easy.”
“So where is your daughter?”
“I don’t know.” Benezia turned to face her. “Her guard captain sent me a message two days ago, saying she and Liara were going on a last minute trip after their excursion on Therum, and that they would be out of touch for a while.”
“So we’re back to square one?”
“It might seem that way.” Benezia tapped her foot gently. “Come, we should probably take this conversation out of your head.”
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Ashley blinked for a second as reality swam into view. “OK...that was trippy.”
“Well?” Saren asked impatiently. “Where is Shepard going?”
“In all likelihood? To find a weapon called ‘the Conduit’, on a world called ‘Ilos’.” Benezia told him straightforwardly. “None of which will make any sense until we go to the Citadel.”
“The Citadel?” Ashley was exasperated. “We just came from there.”
“Nevertheless, my daughter’s research works will be there, stored in the Council databanks in the Presidium libraries.” Benezia rolled down the sleeves of her jumpsuit. “I must confess, you have tickled my curiosity. Nihilus was an honourable soldier. If you need my help to avenge his death, you shall have it.”
“And your project here?” Saren indicated the classroom.
“The Shaman shall take over for now.” Benezia nodded thoughtfully. “She is wise, and the children love her. Besides, I know how you work, Saren. This will all be over in a few weeks. Then I shall return.”
A commotion outside interrupted their conversation. Wrex stormed in, his jaw set in a hard line. “My Lady, something dark is coming. Shadows on the horizon, shifting in the winds.”
Benezia moved fast. “Anything on the scanners?”
“No, but they’re calibrated for ground assault, not air invasion.”
The group rushed back out into the compound. The sun seemed to beat a little less harshly...for which Ashley would have given thanks if she hadn’t seen what was blocking it out.
An oddly insect shaped ship, about the size of a dropship, swooped in over the buildings. From the centre of its body, a hole opened, two dozen box shapes dropping into the compound. Saren’s eyes widened as he saw it. The same sight he had seen on a covert recon mission all those years ago. Geth. “PROTECT THE MATRIARCH!”
Benezia had different ideas. “PROTECT THE CHILDREN!”
Williams had already unfolded her assault rifle. “SHOOT THE BASTARDS!”
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“Unbelievable.” Staff Lieutenant Alenko whistled as the recovery team approached the beacon. “Actual working Prothean technology.”
“It IS impressive.” Commander Shepard walked slightly in front of him, the shorter woman examining the beacon critically.
“Impressive? Ma’am, this is fucking AWESOME!” Corporal Jenkins bounced like a puppy as he came up behind her. “I mean this, this is like the biggest find since forever, right? A Prothean beacon AND a Prothean ship? Weapons tech is going to get jumped forward, same with ship and shields. And it’s all Council property. Batarians aren’t going to know what hit them.”
“Tone it down, Corporal.” Alenko patted him on the arm. “We’re just here to collect the beacon and the ship.”
“Yeah, and for the Commander to get assessed for the Spectres.” Jenkins looked enviously at his CO. “That’s just wicked cool.”
“Corporal...” Shepard’s tone was warning, but Kaidan could see a smile on the corner of her mouth. He was glad to see she appreciated the kid’s enthusiasm as much as she did She also had a super cute...down Kaidan, bad Kaidan. “Where’s Nihilus?”
“I think he went to talk to the garrison commander, see about getting some extra civilian transports rustled up to help shift that ship.” Kaidan indicated the massive vessel on the plain beyond them.
“You think that might tax the poor guy? He’s just a ground nugget.” Jenkins used the scornful Fleet nickname for the marines stuck guarding colonies like Eden Prime.
“Relax, Corporal, it’s just...” Shepard frowned. “That’s...odd.”
Kaidan knew what she was talking about. “I don’t know what that is...but I can feel it buzzing in my...”
The beacon lit up with a green flash.
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Nihilus knew something was wrong when the humming started. He wheeled around from where he stood with Commander Franks and raced toward the loading dock. Vaulting the railing he sped toward where Commander Shepard had walked with her team.
The loud hum was almost unbearable by the time he rounded the corner. And then...just as suddenly, it vanished. There were three simultaneous crashes...and then silence. The beacon came in view, along with three armoured figures lying prone in front of it.
“Commander!” Nihilus raced to her side, helping the woman up as she regained consciousness. “What the hell was that?”
“Beacon activated.” Shepard grunted as she got back on her feet. “How’s the Lieutenant? Jenkins?”
“All here, ma’am.” The rookie shook his head in confusion. “LT’s fine. Did you see that?”
“Yeah...all of it.” Shepard pursed her lips as she walked toward the edge of the loading dock, staring out at the massive ship, dug out by the excavation teams over the past month. “LT? You saw it?”
“Yes ma’am.” The biotic shook his head. “How could...how did we miss this?”
“Irrelevant.” Shepard’s voice was very cold as she turned around. “Doesn’t matter right now.”
“Commander?” Nihilus felt lost. “What are you talking about, what did you see? Are you alright?
Glancing at him with a genuine smile, Shepard nodded. “Nihilus, I feel absolutely great.”
And then, extending her hand in a fluid motion, she shot the turian twice in the chest. He sunk to the ground, mouth locked open in surprise. “What...?”
“Trust me.” Shepard walked past him. “I’m doing you a favour.”
Without even looking, she fire again, delivering a killshot to the base of his skull. “Jenkins, are you with me?”
“Yes ma’am!” The rookie was already unholstering his assault rifle. “All the way!”
“Lieutenant?” She glanced toward the Sentinel, the man staring down at the turian’s body in shock. “How about you?”
The biotic paused, as if trying to think of something to say.
“What the hell is going on here?!” Commander Franks raced toward the group, followed by a group of curious troopers. “What the...is he dead?”
Flaring with blue, Kaidan turned. A biotic warp detonated right in the path of the oncoming marines, turning them into red spray. It was an impressive move...one that should have been beyond his abilities.
He turned to Shepard, his eyes ice cold. “To the death, ma’am.”
Smiling grimly, Shepard unslung her assault rifle. “All right then, let’s clear a path.”
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Private First Class Nirali Bhatia shifted in her sleep. “Somebody tell the fuckers in Charlie Company to stop busting balls this early.”
On the bottom bunk, Corporal Travis grunted his agreement. “Maybe we should go run drills over in their compound tomorrow morning, see how they like the...”
The entire left hand side of the barracks suddenly imploded under the force of an explosion from outside. Marines in their skivvies were sent flying out of their bunks, half of them screaming and clutching at new shrapnel wounds or broken limbs.
“Mother...FUCKER!” Chief Williams was the first on her feet, the Platoon Senior NCO already grabbing her tactical vest and boots from the ground, half dressed in tactical pants and a sports bra. “On your feet! Grab your boots and vests! Boots and vests only!”
“We gotta get our hard suits!” Travis yelled as he scrambled toward the exit.
“Rifles first! Rifles first!” Williams led the way out of the barracks, pausing only to do a head count...twenty four, half the platoon.
Travis was tearing off the hinges of the weapons lockers by the time she caught up to her soldiers at the armoury. Avengers were passed out, Ashley pausing only to grab a sidearm as the Marines split off into fire teams, then raced back out into the compound and into a wall of gunfire. Travis died first, followed by Brown and Grey.
“Holy shit!” Williams slid into cover, followed by Bhatia. “Did you get a look at who’s shooting at us?”
“Yeah.” Bhatia blind fired over the top of the barricade.
“How many? What direction?”
“Right in front of us...one.”
“One?!” Ashley practically screamed as gunfire ripped into their position. “What do you mean...?”
A biotic orb, taking most of Nirali’s head with it. What was left of her best friend’s brains toppled into Ashley’s lap. The Gunnery Chief almost threw up as the woman’s blood began soaking into her fatigues.
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“Alenko, how’s the right flank looking?” Shepard disinterestedly gunned down a group of troops running out of the shower block, the half naked soldiers bleeding out onto the parade ground a good hundred metres from their rifles and hardsuits.
“All armed pickets are dead, as are the rest of the loading dock security detail.” Alenko sounded equally distant as he tossed a singularity into a barracks, following it with a warp. “All that’s left is whatever was still sleeping.”
“Jenkins?”
“Comms tower is down.” The Corporal reported, two rifles now in his hands as he moved through Alpha Company’s command centre. “Nearest reinforcements are Bravo and Charlie Company, both ten klicks out.”
“Let’s get out of here before they do their morning comms check. No survivors. And no prisoners.”
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“How can one guy be doing this?” A machine gunner from 3 Platoon screamed in desperation as he unloaded on the steadily approaching biotic, his cries drowned out by the sound of more gunfire tearing into the right flank of the improvised formation Ashley found herself in command of.
“It’s not one guy!” Kerrigan screamed back. “There’s another on the right flank. He’s got two rifles!”
In the confusion, no one ever saw the woman coming from the side, her shotgun held at low port. In a second, she had the barrel of her weapon pressed up tight against Kerrigan’s chest. And then she pulled the trigger.
“Motherfucker! Shoot her! Shoot...” Smith wailed before the woman slammed a knife into the side of his temple.
“Shit! Run man, run!” Nance was already fleeing, the terrified trooper flinging his rifle aside as he bolted. He didn’t make it five paces before he jumped like a rabbit and fell like a stone.
But the damage was done. The Marines broke ranks, desperate to get away from the shotgun and knife of the woman around them. Ashley found herself caught up between the running soldiers, trying to get her own rounds back downrange. But whether they fled or stood their ground, it didn’t matter to the three killing machines that Alpha Company now faced.
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No one got past the attackers. Seeing this, the garrison tried to flee the other way, only to come up against the drop where the loading dock ended. Some chose to take the chance, dropping away into the thick trees a good ten metres below. Others tried to look for rope, a ladder, anything...but once the three soldiers in armour arrived, it was all over.
Ashley fell back, step by step, her rifle red hot in her hands as she tried to squeeze a few extra rounds out of it, even as the butchers in front of her swept through the unarmed soldiers, weapons on full auto.
Then there was a horrifying sound, worse than the screaming around her. The awful click of a weapon jammed. Tilting her rifle, Ashley bashed at the side, cursing furiously as she tried to persuade the auto-clear system to do its job.
Back, back, back. The garrison troops were quickly understanding that it was fight or die. If they’d just had hardsuits, something to keep them alive for a few extra seconds while they returned fire, then maybe the three humans could have been halted. But the foe was unstoppable, their accuracy lethal, their co-ordination freakishly perfect.
Ash charged, her now useless weapon held high as a club. Maybe she could buy a few more seconds...
Yet another biotic explosion went off, Ashley catching the fringe. Even that was enough to send her flying backwards, landing just in front of the beacon. Getting back on her feet, she whipped up her sidearm, firing off seven rounds before the cheap heatsink began to whine.
“Come on, nugget.” One of the human’s in front of her, just a fresh faced kid underneath his helmet, grinned sadistically as he held his arms wide. “Have another go.”
Ashley gritted her teeth and waited for the weapon in her hand to cool. “Why are you doing this? You’re Alliance.”
The smile disappeared, to be replaced by an oddly sad expression. “I’m afraid...there’s not going to be an Alliance left in a little while.”
The bar on the rear of her pistol turned green, and Ashley took aim. “We’ll see about that.”
One, two, then the dull thud of the recoil made her take a step back into a more stable firing position. Three, four...
And then...
“THE OLD ONE’S MIND HAS LEFT US!” A voice screamed inside her brain. “OUR MESSAGE WAS TAINTED! YOU MUST CARRY IT! CARRY THE TRUTH! IT IS ALL WE CAN DO NOW! YOU ARE ALL THAT ANY OF US CAN DO!”
Then the images began. And Ashley screamed.
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Shepard nudged the unresponsive human with the tip of her boot. “And the beacon just exploded after that?”
“Affirmative, ma’am.” Jenkins levelled his rifle. “Shall I finish her off?”
“Negative, Corporal.” Shepard turned away. “That beacon would have turned her brain to mush without the correction. She’s as good as dead.”
Even as Jenkins growled his disappointment, Shepard turned her gaze toward Kaidan. The biotic was shaking slightly, his eyes dismayed as he looked at the destruction he had wrought. “What...what have we...?”
She needed a way to calm him, to keep him firmly on side. In retrospect, it was painfully obvious what he needed.
Stepping forward, she took him by the hand. “Lieutenant. Just think. A hundred here today, so that billions more may live.”
Nodding slowly, the Lieutenant turned back to her, his eyes once more emotionless. “Of course, Commander. What next?”
Shepard gestured to the ship in the valley. “Sovereign awakens. We should be going, there is a long journey ahead of us.”
The three soldiers moved fast, vanishing from the loading dock as quickly as they had come. The only sign of life was the feeble twitching of Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, sprawled out in front of the ruined beacon.
Silence had fallen.
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Councillor Sparatus shook his head. “His barriers were down...he was taken by complete surprise...he could never have predicted it.”
“Nihilus was paranoid to the point of obsession.” The turian turned to the councillor. “No one took him by surprise. Least of all a human.”
“He was going to her aid...she had been knocked unconscious by the beacon.” Sparatus rested a hand on the other turian’s shoulder. “She was not an enemy.”
“Clearly she has proved otherwise.” The turian gritted his teeth slightly. “How did she escape? Surely Anderson is not so incompetent as to...”
“There was a ship.” Sparatus replied. “An ancient Prothean vessel, we suspect. Shepard managed to reactivate it, then used it to wipe out entire brigade of Alliance Marines and one of our patrol cruisers in the Artemis Cluster. This is all...quite a mystery, Saren.”
Spectre Saren Arterius turned away from his student’s body, his face still reasonably controlled. “I trust we are assembling a fleet to go after her?”
“Saren...”
“Don’t!” The Spectre’s mask shattered, his rage showing through in a brief, blinding second. “Don’t tell me you’re letting her get away! Tell me that there’s a dreadnaught being readied to pursue her and bring her to justice! Better yet, tell me that the Destiny Ascension is under my personal command, I’ll go and get it done myself! Don’t tell me you’re giving up like a scratched quarian!”
Sparatus drew himself up, his own eyes narrowing. “You forget your place, Spectre.”
Saren wanted to snap back, break the older turian of his undeserved superiority...but that would get him nowhere. “Perhaps, sir, but you are forgetting the excellence of this soldier’s service. This cannot go unavenged. I will not allow it!”
Sparatus stared at him, half reluctant, the other half just as angry as his subordinate. “Walk with me.”
The last thing that Saren wanted to do was walk. Hunt, track, fight and kill were more his priorities. Nevertheless...
“The Council is worried, Saren.” Sparatus explained as they walked toward C-Sec headquarters. “We did our own assessment of Shepard. As volatile, unpredictable and brutal as she is, she was sane, and she was loyal. Much like yourself.”
Saren highly doubted that particular statement, but kept his silence.
“Her appointment to the Spectres would have been a boon to turian-human relations. It would finally have resolved the trade issues from the First Contact War and set humanity on the slow, steady path that we wish for them, rather than an impetuous charge that most of their leadership favours. First Shepard, then a few others. We might have eventually made up ten percent of the Spectre ranks with humans. It would have satisfied their leadership and given us some valuable operatives. Sadly, that is all in jeopardy.”
“And why should I care? They’re a primitive, and violent race.” Saren balefully eyed a human detective disappearing with his asari partner into an office. “Bad enough we make peace with them, invite them into our home, allow them to patrol our streets. I have never understood the fascination with appeasement.”
“Like it or not, Saren, the humans are our allies, and a damned sight more useful in battle than any of the others. Imagine if the krogan ever rose again, or a species with the might of the Rachni. Could you guarantee a turian victory?”
“Speculation is useless.”
“The Hierarchy disagrees. Hence, why we prompted Nihilus to recommend his choice of human soldiers for us. He chose well...at least we all thought he did.” Sparatus turned back to Saren. “We’re beginning to think that maybe the beacon did something. Made her mad...made her see things.”
“And why would you think that?”
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Saren flinched, recalling a dusty temple...and the obelisk... “No sir, we cannot.”
“Glad you see it my way.” Sparatus turned into a side corridor. “Now, let’s get on with this. Captain?”
“Councillor.” A deep voice acknowledged the politician, its owner stepping out of the shadows, brow furrowed in concern. Saren’s hackles were instantly raised.
“Captain Anderson.” The Spectre nodded in recognition. “Once again, the Alliance’s talent for rewarding incompetence remains unmatched.”
The human was unmoved by the insult. “Saren, I am here at the invitation of the Council. Should you feel that invitation was unwarranted, I can depart just as swiftly.”
Before Saren could agree, Sparatus intervened. “Captain, please. I am aware you two have history, but now is not the time for it.”
Saren was eager to disagree, but the Councillor’s patience was likely used up. No matter, Saren would just have to wait until later to rub Anderson’s newest failure in nice and deep.
“Shepard is loose. She has a ship capable of unknown levels of destruction, and the entire Terminus to hide in.” Anderson folded his arms behind his back. “There’s only one person in Council space that knows the Terminus well enough to hunt her down.”
“So I’m being sent after her?”
“Yes.” Sparatus nodded. “But you won’t be going alone. We need Shepard alive to interrogate, to find out what it was that the beacon did to her. And since, to put it mildly, you have a tendency to shoot everything that moves, we need you to be...accompanied.”
“So send Bau with me.” Saren replied irritably. “He’s practically a pacifist. We can deal with this with a minimum of bloodshed. And should the worst happen, he can always preserve her brain for scientific analysis.”
“If that ship possesses a tenth of the power we suspect, you won’t get anywhere near it.” Anderson informed him. “You need a vessel capable of sneaking up on her undetected, and people who have a vested interest in bringing her back breathing.”
Saren folded his arms. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
“We’re detaching you to serve under Captain Anderson’s command, aboard his vessel, the SSV Normandy. A stealth ship, first of her class.” Sparatus explained. “You’ll have full autonomy, and tactical command of the mission. Strategic command, however, belongs with Anderson. He has more...direct experience with this kind of mission.”
No one said it, but they all knew what the Councillor meant. Saren’s tendency to bring in live prisoners was...less than average.
“This is a bad idea.” The turian spoke bluntly. “If you’ll forgive my candour, Councillor, Captain Anderson has certainly proven a certain capability against...less elusive enemies....”
“How do I put this...?” Sparatus pondered the problem for a few seconds. “If we want Alliance support, Alliance intel, and more importantly, the Normandy to aid our hunt for Shepard, then turians and humans will be working together, with Anderson in command.”
Saren clenched his talons imperceptibly, but finally just nodded. “As you wish it, sir. Anderson is in command. For now.”
To his credit, Anderson barely reacted to the implication of the words. He’d always been hard to shake. Truth be told, he’d never even been that bad of an operator. But typically arrogant, reckless, overconfident and at the end of it all, unfit for Spectre status.
If Anderson wanted to bring in his protégé alive, Saren could take care of that. It was surprising just how many amputations, gunshot wounds, missing organs and burns humans could survive.
Saren simply stared back at the human officer. “Now, I believe I heard something about a survivor.”
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“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down.” The asari C-Sec officer instructed her. “Now, can you tell me again what you observed...”
“You want to know what I saw?!” Ashley snarled back. “I saw three people. Three! I saw a man lifted a pair of rifles like sticks! I saw biotics that tore entire platoons apart! I saw a psychotic bitch kill thirty good men with a shotgun and a knife without even pausing for a coffee break.” She smacked the side of her head. “And then to top it all off, I saw a whole fucking heap of shit that I don’t even understand. Put me in a fucking coma.”
“Yes, but if you could explain what you saw in the beacon, that might explain why...”
“No, I saw billions of people screaming in pain and dying in droves. I saw...something. Something big, something dark.” Exhaustion showed through the cracks of the soldier’s rage. “Look...I don’t know if the asari have a word for it. But from what I know...what I saw comes from a lake of fire and drags people back down into it. I saw...hell. That’s the only word I got for it.”
The asari did not look at all satisfied by her explanation. “There must have been more than that. Were there instructions of some kind? Would you be willing to submit to a voluntary joining of the minds in order to ascertain the truth of the...”
Ashley leaned forward. “Lady, you take one step toward me and I’m going to break your nose. Politely.”
The door to the interrogation room opened and another alien walked in. This time it was a turian, though not in C-Sec kit. He was dressed entirely in grey and black armour, cutting an imposing figure against the drab uniforms of the Citadel cops. He looked over at the asari and simply nodded. “Leave. Your assistance is not required.”
The asari opened her mouth to protest...then shut it just as fast. “Yes sir!”
Ashley’s anger faded into the background, curiosity replacing it as she observed the newcomer. He didn’t walk like a cop, but he didn’t look like a soldier, either. Clearly above the asari, yet he wore no insignia of any kind.
The turian examined her in kind, alert grey eyes scanning her up and down. His mandibles parted, teeth bared slightly. “I couldn’t believe it when they told me who you were. General Williams’ granddaughter, here in the flesh. Sole survivor of her entire brigade. There’s something very fitting about that.”
Ashley folded her arms. “Who the fuck are you?”
“I’m the alien who beat your grandfather.”
Ash didn’t know turian facial expressions from pyjak migration patterns, but she could have sworn that the alien had a grin plastered over his feature. “Really? And who’s that?”
“He never mentioned it?” The turian began to walk around her. “No...I suppose I wouldn’t have either. Always an embarrassment when you lose a war. Saren Arterius. Spectre.”
“So it was a war after all? Strange how you guys always try to palm it off as the ‘Relay 314 Incident’.” Ashley took the seat vacated asari officer. “I’ve never heard of you. You come to ask me another bunch of bullshit questions about stuff I don’t even understand? ”
“No, just to deliver your marching orders.” Saren replied, his tone that of boredom. “You’re being transferred under my command, until the apprehension or death of Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance Navy.”
“Yeah?” Ashley’s rage flared back up, fresh and fast. “Well I don’t think I’m feeling like serving under a turian.”
Saren nodded. “That is good. You have hate, a lot of it. But the question is, who do you hate more? Turians who beat your grandfather? Or the humans who massacred your friends...your unit?”
Ashley remained silent.
“You’re not happy about this, I can see that.” The Spectre moved closer to her. “To be honest, I have very little use for you. Had you been competent, you might have managed to at least kill one of Shepard’s team, or keep some of your own friends alive. You did not.”
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I can see Ash and Saren butting heads, especially over the "I'm the Alien who beat your Grandfather." And what Saren just said.
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“It rarely is, for anyone, and yet there you are.” Saren shook his head. “Your real value to me, Gunnery Chief, is what is in your head. Like it or not, that beacon gave you information, information similar to that given to Shepard. And yet, while Shepard regained consciousness almost immediately and with a homicidal edge, you woke up two days later with almost no side effects. I need your head examined, Williams, and not by any of the amateurs here.”
Ashley continued to stare at him, chewing her lip slightly as she thought about it. “If not here...then where?”
“There is a friend of mine. A Matriarch who has experience with this, more than most of her kind. It is possible that she will be able to give us a reasonably accurate interpretation of whatever the Protheans left inside your head. With luck, there will be information that directs us toward Shepard.”
Ashley lowered her gaze, staring back down at her boots. “And when we find her?”
“I am aware that N7s are held to be particularly good, the best, even. But I’ve killed the best of many species before. We will track her, find her, and then take her down. Now, I can’t promise you her head, that’s going straight to the Council, but you can take your time with her subordinates, and handle any preliminary interrogations that you see fit.” The human penchant for revenge. Such an easy way to manipulate...but very understandable. His own code held revenge to be essential to maintaining order, but he could ignore it when he needed to.
“Deal.” The Marine stood up. “So where do we find this Matriarch?”
“Ah...” Saren nodded. “That part...you might not enjoy as much as the revenge.”
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“Millions of worlds in the galaxy.” Ashley grunted as she followed Saren. “Beach resorts by the handful, skyscrapers that go into low orbit...and we have to come to Tuchanka? Man, this place is so bad they don’t even have pics of it on the extranet.”
“You have a talent for complaining, really.” Saren was stoic about the heat, dust and potentially radioactive particles clinging to his armour. “Maybe you could complain about having to walk all this way?”
“Maybe I will?” Ashley growled back. “Why on earth does your asari friend have to come to Tuchanka?”
“She feels...obligation. Duty to those less fortunate than herself. Not something a human would understand, I’m sure.”
“What are you talking about?” Ash glared at him. “You hate it here as much as I do.”
Saren chose not to dignify her accusation with a response. He simply pointed. “Down there, cluster of pre-fabs. That’s where she’ll be.”
The climb down was almost as treacherous as the climb up from where the Normandy had dropped them. While technically just a simple pick up, Saren was not setting foot on Tuchanka without enough armour and weapons to fight off a thresher maw if need be. And so they walked, blessedly in silence this time.
She kept his pace...he’d give her that. “Your armour and weapons are terrible.”
Ashley blinked. First time he’d spoken to her about something non-mission related...and it was that? “Yeah, I know.”
“If you know, then why don’t you requisition better?”
“In the Alliance, only two groups get the good stuff. Special Forces and biotics.” Ashley shrugged. “Hell, I had to source my own armour. This was the best I could afford.”
Saren was silent. It just confirmed yet another of his theories about humans. Nothing he didn’t already know.
At the gate to the compound were a pair of krogan, both carrying high tech kit. SHE was probably splurging, pumping credits into a whole community, bolstering up education and local services. Always the good matriarch, always the wise teacher. Insufferable do goodery, really, but better he was her ally than enemy.
The gates opened slowly, with krogan weapons trained on him and the human as they walked through. On the other side, a massive krogan in deep red armour was standing, waiting for them. He growled slightly as he saw the turian. “Saren...”
“Wrex.” Saren greeted him neutrally. “Been too long.”
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Saren’s mandibles quirked slightly. “Better luck next time. Now where is she.”
“Right here.” A voice spoke from the entrance to the nearby pre-fab.
She was not dressed in her usual robes and headdress, but she was no less stately or magnificent for the plain overalls she wore. Descending down the short steps, she strode to Saren and embraced him warmly. “You are most welcome, my old friend.”
Saren was taken aback by her display of affection, awkwardly aware of Williams and her sniggering. It would take him a while to live this down. “Matriarch Benezia. It is...good to see you again.”
Benezia pulled away. “Likewise, Saren. And who is your companion?”
The human self consciously straightened up. “Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 2...of the SSV Normandy.”
Benezia’s face drained. “Then...the rumour’s are true. Nihilus is...”
“He’s dead.” Saren replied shortly. “I am tracking his killers. But to do that, I need the information salvaged from a Prothean Beacon. Information that the human has in her head.”
“Human has a name, split jaw.” Ash shot back.
“Please.” Benezia held up her hand. “Why don’t you both come inside. The children have finished class for the day.”
“Children?” Saren looked incredulous. “You are acting...as a teacher?”
“Saren, I think the krogan have earned the right to whatever education they wish.” Benezia’s eyes narrowed. “Unlike you, I grew up in the days when we remembered what they sacrificed for us.”
Saren had no wish to argue with her. She was always better with words. “Perhaps we could...?”
“Of course.” Benezia turned to Wrex. “The Shaman wishes you to instruct the children in the Rite of Challenge, as well as the Rite of Settlement today, in preparation for the Passage to the Hollows next month.”
Wrex bowed his head slightly. “As you command.”
Saren followed Benezia inside. “How much did you have to pay for his services?”
“Wrex? Not a credit, despite my insistence.” Benezia smiled. “He demanded that I simply add his fee to the cost of building this compound and properly arming it. It’s working wonderfully. This is neutral ground, partly because of our weapons, and partly because we picked up the allegiance of five or six major clans who are firmly on our side.”
“Ten years you’ve been down here.” Saren shook his head. “Seems like a waste of your time.”
“It is my time to waste.” Benezia sat cross legged on an elegantly woven carpet. “And now, I presume you wish me to meld with Chief Williams?”
“Yes, that’s the general idea.” Saren did not sit. “And I was hoping we might do this quickly.”
“In a minute.” Benezia turned to Ashley. “And you, Ashley? You have agreed to this?”
“Her agreement...” Saren began, but was silenced by the asari’s glare.
“Yes.” Ashley nodded, feeling a little smug over Saren’s sudden deference. “If you can find something in there that helps us kill them...then I’m fine with that.”
Benezia nodded, reaching out a hand to the side of Ashley’s head. “Be warned, Ashley. You may find this...strange.”
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Ashley gasped as she surged out of the water, hauling in mouthfuls of air as she struggled back onto the beach. She collapsed to her knees, retching slightly as she brought up seawater. “What...the fuck?”
“My apologies.” Benezia stepped out of the water alongside her. “I have been experimenting with easier ways of introducing the meld for the better part of two centuries. I find that the best thing to do is immediately introduce the subject to a situation of their choosing. In your case, this beach.”
Ashley glanced around. “This isn’t what the beacon showed me.”
“No, but I’ve had first hand experience with various artefacts such as the beacon you encountered. Experiencing a thousand memories at once can be an unpleasant experience. Better to view them from the outside, looking in. Are you ready to begin?”
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In an instant, the world changed. Ashley found herself walking through a battlefield. Around her, thousands of armoured figures battled against twisted, deformed shapes in the middle of a fog of war. Overhead, massive behemoths did battle against blocky cruisers. It was like the images she had experienced...but more clear, less terrifying and more informative.
“Interesting...” Benezia walked beside her, examining the figures. “My daughter would be fascinated by all of this...”
A voice rang out through the fog, the same one Ashley had heard when the beacon seized her. “THE REAPERS ARE UPON YOU. TAKE ARMS AND RALLY TO WAR. ASSEMBLE YOUR FLEETS AND PRAY TO YOUR GODS. ABOVE ALL, KEEP THE CITADEL SAFE. WE HAVE DONE OUR BEST, BUT YOU MUST SECURE OUR GREATEST WEAPON. FIND THE CONDUIT. FIND ILOS. MAY OUR SPIRITS AND WEAPONS GUIDE YOU TO VICTORY. AVENGE US!”
“This...is a lot clearer than before.” Ashley stared on with fascination as one of the massive ships lifted a tentacle and blasted away a cruiser.
“I have enough experience with the Prothean language and culture to interpret what you see.” Benezia frowned. “But there is far more than that. This is simply the top layer, easily available to anyone. There are deeper memories beneath. I can see co-ordinates, star charts, schematics for something. But there’s no way to access it.”
Ashley did her best to conceal her disappointment. “So there’s nothing to indicate where Shepard is going?”
“On the contrary, there is much there...just very little to piece it together.” Benezia looked frustrated. “Oh, if I had my daughter here, she could solve this in a few minutes. She spent her childhood in history books and the past forty years in Prothean ruins. If I had a tenth of her knowledge this would be easy.”
“So where is your daughter?”
“I don’t know.” Benezia turned to face her. “Her guard captain sent me a message two days ago, saying she and Liara were going on a last minute trip after their excursion on Therum, and that they would be out of touch for a while.”
“So we’re back to square one?”
“It might seem that way.” Benezia tapped her foot gently. “Come, we should probably take this conversation out of your head.”
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Ashley blinked for a second as reality swam into view. “OK...that was trippy.”
“Well?” Saren asked impatiently. “Where is Shepard going?”
“In all likelihood? To find a weapon called ‘the Conduit’, on a world called ‘Ilos’.” Benezia told him straightforwardly. “None of which will make any sense until we go to the Citadel.”
“The Citadel?” Ashley was exasperated. “We just came from there.”
“Nevertheless, my daughter’s research works will be there, stored in the Council databanks in the Presidium libraries.” Benezia rolled down the sleeves of her jumpsuit. “I must confess, you have tickled my curiosity. Nihilus was an honourable soldier. If you need my help to avenge his death, you shall have it.”
“And your project here?” Saren indicated the classroom.
“The Shaman shall take over for now.” Benezia nodded thoughtfully. “She is wise, and the children love her. Besides, I know how you work, Saren. This will all be over in a few weeks. Then I shall return.”
A commotion outside interrupted their conversation. Wrex stormed in, his jaw set in a hard line. “My Lady, something dark is coming. Shadows on the horizon, shifting in the winds.”
Benezia moved fast. “Anything on the scanners?”
“No, but they’re calibrated for ground assault, not air invasion.”
The group rushed back out into the compound. The sun seemed to beat a little less harshly...for which Ashley would have given thanks if she hadn’t seen what was blocking it out.
An oddly insect shaped ship, about the size of a dropship, swooped in over the buildings. From the centre of its body, a hole opened, two dozen box shapes dropping into the compound. Saren’s eyes widened as he saw it. The same sight he had seen on a covert recon mission all those years ago. Geth. “PROTECT THE MATRIARCH!”
Benezia had different ideas. “PROTECT THE CHILDREN!”
Williams had already unfolded her assault rifle. “SHOOT THE BASTARDS!”
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Love Ash's line, straight down to business "SHOOT THE BASTARDS!"
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