[Book Three] Chapter 28: Stumbling into War

Chapter 28: Stumbling into War

“YOU BOSH'TET!!!”

Rick didn’t understand what just happened. He was working on his terminal in his room when he heard Tali yell behind him. Then he took a hit to the head and got tasered multiple times by Chatika. Quickly, he put up a barrier and hid behind it to stop the little drone onslaught on his body.

“What the hell?!”
“What the hell?! What the hell?! The hell is that you tried to kill yourself you stupid, retarded, braindead, asshole!”
“Oh, that. No need to make a fuss about it, I got my punishment already.”
“NOT. BY. ME.”
“I think that getting hit in the head and tasered is enough.”
“NO.”
“Tali.” he said seriously.
“NO! Do you…”
“YES! I get it! I was told multiple times, already: I. GET. IT. So cut the crap.”

She glared at him in silence for a long moment then deactivated her drone. In consequence Rick dropped his barrier and Tali immediately rushed him and began to pummel his chest with her fists without any strength in them. She was just venting what she was feeling and Rick let her, understanding it was important for her to do so. Finally, having her fill, she embraced him.

“Promise me, you won’t do that again.”
“I promise.” he said with a sigh.
“Mean it!”
“I do mean it!”
“Good.”

Pushing her away, he sat back on his chair and pulled her back so she could sit on his lap.

“Is that all they told you? Or did you rush out the moment you heard.”
“That was the last thing they told me.”
“What else did they tell you?”
“That Jack is your sister-in-law and goes by Jennifer now. That you punched a reaper in its face, that you created plenty of new tech without me. Ashley said that you met her family, EDI has not one but two bodies, one synthetic, one organic…. I still can’t believe the latter.”
“You didn’t see it yet?”
“No, I only saw synthetic EDI.”
“You’re in for a treat.”
“Whatever, EDI is EDI no matter her appearance. Liara told me that you tried to kill her father and that’s it.”
“Okay.”
“S-Should I know something else?”
“I killed another councilor but it was an accident this time.”
“Seriously?! Which one?”
“Udina.”
“Ah… No big loss, then.”
“That was exactly my reaction at the time. Besides, he was corrupt and attempted a coup with Cerberus’ help. No one is mourning him. I also rode the biggest Thresher Maw on Tuchanka before punching that reaper.”
“Really? How big was it?”
“Bigger than the Reaper. I’ll send you the video. Wrex is jealous but won’t admit it.”
“Pff. I’m not surprised.”
“Anything else?”
“...My birth giver found me.”
“Keelah…”
“Tried to kill her on the spot of course, but Gingey had put the safety on my gun so nothing happened.”
“What happened then?”
“She… tried to make a connection with me because she wants me back. After five minutes of talking I just left.”
“...”
“...”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Killing her would solve plenty of problems for me but she's important for the alliance so I can’t.”
“Well, if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll stay away or I’ll release Chatika on her.” she said with determination, making Rick laugh. “I’m serious!”
“I know! It’s just… You’re the first person to say something like that. No one ever said they would hurt her for me before.”
“Really?!”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s proof that I’m the best!” she said hautilly.
“That you are.”

Rick hasn’t been lying. Ashley and Liara never brought up the subject with him, neither did he though. Jane didn’t either but it was understandable why. Hannah Shepard was her mother. She may have said that she would choose his side but she clearly stated by her actions that she won’t hurt her mother or let him hurt her. To hear Tali defend him like that made him feel good.

“Have you seen Garrus?”
“Not yet. I just came down and went straight for you.”
“Then go. I’ve work to do and he’s just…”
“Calibrating. Honestly he needs to get laid or find a hobby.”
“I agree on both counts. He’s even denser than I am. Dr. Michel is completely in love with him and he’s seeing none of her hints.”
“Dr. Michel?”
“The doc that helped you when you arrived on the Citadel the first time before we met.”
“Oh, her! I remember her, she was so nice! And pretty! And he really has no idea?”
“Nope. At that point, I’m just ready to tell him. It’s so frustrating.”
“I can imagine.”
“By the way. Adams is here too. Down in the engineering deck, along Gabby and Kenneth.”
“No way! I’ve got to see him! And Gabby too!”
“Not Kenneth?”
“The only thing Kenneth will see is Chatika.” she replied darkly.
“Eh, I’m sure he’ll like it.”
“Yeah, probably. I guess I’ll allow him to live a bit more.”
“What magnanimity.”
“Of course.”
“He’s not that bad. Gabby wouldn’t have stuck with him all his time otherwise. He’s just…”
“Horny?”
“Yes. Once Gabby puts her claw in him, he’ll straighten out a bit.”
“By the way, where do you sleep?”
“In that room there, why?”
“So I can pay you a visit or two.”
“Difficult, EDI is sleeping there too.”
“You’re sleeping with EDI?!”
“Eeeh… Yes and no?”
“What?”
“If you mean just sleeping, then it’s organic EDI that uses the bed during the night, cause there is no bunk bed that fits her downstairs. If you mean sex then it’s synthetic EDI.”
“You’re having sex with EDI’s synth body?! Why?”
“She asked me. Data gathering.”
“I… You know what? I don’t want to know.” she said as she got out of his lap and stood up. “I’m going to see Garrus, see you later!”
“Bye, Centerfold!”

____________________________________________________________

After Tali left, he finished his calculations he had been working on before her impromptu and violent visit then went to see Jane in her cabin. He found her sitting on her couch reading a data pad. Not even hesitating, he sat beside her and rested his head in her lap.

“I’m surprised you’re still alive.”
“I defended myself. I’m tired of people always scolding me for what I did and I didn’t rebuke at the need to yell at her.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I love her but sometimes she’s too much.”
“Pot meets kettle.”
“I know. That’s why I’m not upset with her because I’m the same.”
“Is that why you came? To talk about standing up against Tali?”
“No, it’s about what you didn’t tell her.”
“I thought it would be more prudent not to.”
“You’re right but… I’m hiding things from her, I’m lying to her. I don’t like it, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.”
“We don’t know how she will react.”
“I know and let’s not forget my whole parentage. I really hate them both and I didn’t even meet the guy! Hero of the alliance my ass! He was told no and he doesn’t even bother to insist. Like he just asked the first time out of duty not out of want.”
“That’s… the first time you speak of him.”
“Well, there isn’t much to speak about.”
“True. Any news from Kahlee?”
“Nothing important. The work on the crucible is progressing well. Sometimes she gives me news of Jen and the kids or just tells me about her time on the project or just talks about herself. I answer in kind, about my work and what’s happening on the Normandy or what we’re doing. “
“Not about yourself?”
“I don’t like to talk about myself.”
“Come on, you’re the only family she has left. Share a bit.”
“I suppose I could try.”
“Good. Speaking of sharing, what are you working on?”
“Two things. One is a camo armor…”
“If it was anyone else I would joke that it already exists but it’s not just camo paint, isn’t it?”
“No. Imagine you need to hide but there’s no place for that. With the camo armor you just lean against a surface and the material takes the color of said surface and I mean by that the exact same color. If there is a drawing on the wall your armor would display the drawing. It’s not perfect since, you know, depending on the angle your shape is seen, but it allows you to hide in every environment.”
“Isn’t a tactical cloak better?”
“Yes and no. The cloak makes you invisible by bending the light around you but if you pay attention sometimes it flickers. Another drawback is that someone with thermal vision can see you nonetheless. Lastly the cloak deactivates when you use a weapon as the mass effect field of the gun disrupts it. The camo armor has none of these cons and as a bonus you can change the color of your armor whenever you want. No paint needs to be involved.”
“Hearing that it does sound pretty nice.”
“I think it’s perfect for a messy environment, like a forest or ruins or anything that’s not sophisticated. Places with uneven topography.”
“I can see the appeal. Is it progressing well?”
“I’m done actually. I just need the material to build some as I already have the machinery to create them. I put Kasumi on alert some time ago and she got enough in one of her heists. She sent everything to the Citadel.”

“Can I talk to Hackett about it?”
“Yes but I need to actually build one and test it. It won’t be cheap to produce though, Not as expensive as an eezo crystal but in this range price, so it would be for the very best soldiers and black ops.”
“Well he won’t be unhappy about it but with how useful it seems to be I’m sure he won’t mind. Want me to check if the Alliance has some of the material in stock?”
“I… Yes. Gosh why didn’t I think about that?”
“You’re still prejudiced.”
“I didn’t see anything to change my mind.”
“That’s not true and you know it. Now, what about your second project?”
“Another type of armor or rather… it’s more like a catsuit?”
“A catsuit? Like Miranda’s?”
“Now that I think about it… Yes.”
“What’s so special about it?”
“The material. It needs to do two things. First stop any shock or kinetic energy. You’re hit by a bullet? The material stops it and you don’t feel anything.”
“Ooooh I like it already.”
“If possible make it so the kinetic energy is stocked and reusable at will.”
“You mean I could punch with the force of a bullet if I get shot?”
“... Something like that.”
“The more you talk the more I want one.”
“Well, the first part is done, the first point five, I’m still working on it and the second, I had to ask Mordin for help.”
“Mordin?”
“Yes. The second objective is to make it self-repairing.”
“Not as useful as the first two abilities but I’ll take it. That would put a stop to the credit drain that changing armor parts make. Why ask Mordin though?”
“That’s the complicated part. Armor is made of inanimate matter, like carbon. It can’t repair itself because it’s not alive. A cell on the other hand or any organic element can. So the idea is to combine the two and since Mordin is more knowledgeable about organics than I am, I asked for his help. So far he found an animal that can fuse back a small part cut off his body but I think he’ll find a better answer by looking at plants.”
“Why not combine your camo armor with your other material for the catsuit?”
“The price would explode for one and the material for the catsuit is malleable. What makes the camouflage work is not, it needs a hard surface to work properly and there is all the tech behind it and that takes space. Perhaps one day technology would be advanced enough to have all the tech needed to be so thin that we could put it in a catsuit. But it’s not anytime soon in this war.”
“That’s more than good enough. It would help a lot.”
“Now that I think about it, I’m thinking of refining the thermal clip, making it smaller so it doesn’t take as much space on a weapon. That way we can put more mods on it. Maybe Dredd’s gun would be possible then.” he teased.
“Please do it!” Jane exclaimed with want and hope in her voice.
“You really want that gun.”
“Of course! It’s so cool!”
“Fine, I'll try when I have the time.”
“Thank you!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I wondered though. How did you get the idea to upgrade the thermal clip from speaking about armor?”
“Oh? Well… I was talking about the catsuit which is really thin and at the same time talking about putting more tech in it. That made me think about our conversation about Dredd’s gun, that we can’t make it because of a lack of space and then… I don't know… I thought about thinning the thermal clip. Making it like a slate instead of a cylindrical container and gaining a lot of space on a gun.”
“...”
“...”
“Your brain is really working like no other.”
“Thank you?”
“It’s a compliment and to be honest I find it really sexy.”
“And you made it weird.” he said flatly, making Jane laugh.

Any further talk was interrupted by Joker warning the commander that they would arrive at their destination in half an hour. It was Jane’s cue to gather the team and gear up.

“Who’s going with you?”
“Tali obviously and since it’s a ship full of geths, Synth EDI and Kaidan.”
“Two overload users and a biotic to make some combo. Good choice.”
“You’re not upset I’m not taking you with me this time?”
“No, not really. Why? Should I?”
“Tali is going inside a Geth dreadnought. I would have thought that you’d go for her.”
“She’s a big girl and can take care of herself besides I’m not the most suited to go there.”
“Don’t kill any Admiral while I’m absent, okay?”
“No promises but I’ll try my best.”
“... I guess that will have to do.”

She lifted Rick’s head from his lap to indicate it was time to go and both stood up. Jane went to her armor closet to prepare while he waited for her at the elevator. She told EDI to warn the people that would be with her on the team to meet her down at the Cargo Deck. Rick went with her to lend Tali his own shotgun and to tailor its specs for her. She was over the moon to have in hand her creations and immediately began to shoot against a dummy to see how she liked it. When Rick saw Kaidan take a simple Avenger and Carnifex he couldn't help but ask why. It was something he hadn't noticed when they went to the asari monastery.

“I can’t use any Freyja or Junon with my ID. It’s not registered.” the man confessed.

Immediately Rick used his omni-tool to access a Freyja and a Junon and added Kaidan’s ID as an authorized person to wield it.

“How?”
“Creator privileges.”
“Should have known that you were the one who created them back on Mars.” Kaidan replied with a grin.
“By the way, Tali, you have Creator privileges too.”
“Good to know.”
“Everything is alright on your side?”
“Perfect.”

Once everyone on the ground team was armed and armored they went back up to the CIC and walked up the bridge to reach the sass and the cockpit Rick tagging along as he would be present in the com center to deal with what was happening around.

“Joker?” Jane asked.
“ETA three minutes. Stealth mode activated.”

The three minutes felt like thirty. When the Normandy arrived at its destination, geths ships were everywhere around. Quickly, Joker got everyone away from the Mass Relay and flew towards the Geths dreadnought the team needed to infiltrate. The surroundings were chaotic. Geths and Quarians ships firing at each other indiscriminately, debris of destroyed vessels all around floating in space. That wasn’t a pretty sight. EDI analyzed the dreadnought and found a point of access. Unfortunately the corridor for the sass was heavily damaged and could break at any time. The team would have to cross it fast if they didn’t want to drift in space. While Jane had the idea to go one by one, Rick had another. He went back to his quarters and came back with long but thin and strong cables with him in less than a minute.

“What are you going to do with that?” she asked her brother.
“You’ll see.”

He tied one cable around her waist like a belt then did the same for the others. Then he linked all members of the team to Jane.

“What’s the point of…”
“You’ll. See.” Rick repeated as he signaled them to open the Normandy’s sass and exit the ship. “Now create an area barrier, big enough to surround the team.”

Jane wanted to protest but she knew her brother enough to know he had an idea so she went along with it.

“Get closer to Jane, the smaller the barrier the better.” he indicated and they did like so. “No matter what, DO NOT release the barrier.”
“What do you meaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaa.”

Being in space, no gravity was involved and no air resistance either. Henceforth if a floating object gets pushed to one direction it will continue almost forever moving in the direction unless it’s subjected to another force. What Rick did was simply use his biotics to push violently the team towards the dreadnought sass. Jane’s barrier pushed away any debris on their paths before colliding against the said sass. All would be well if Rick hadn’t played a practical joke on the team by pushing them so hard that crossing the corridor took five seconds. The arrival was less than gentle on the other side but no one got hurt.

“There! Problem solved!” he said into the com laughing madly.
“I’m going to kill you when I get back!” Tali yelled.
“Joker, you heard something?”
“Nope.” replied the pilot who was also laughing.

When the team opened the sass and entered the dreadnought the corridor broke down.

“Ha! None of you are stuck floating around thanks to me!”

He ignored their protest and insult and got back inside the Normandy, making his way towards the com center. Once there he observed the situation on the holographic display. It was worse than he thought. The quarians were taking heavy losses, especially the civilian fleet.

‘Thankfully Jane and co will be quick in deactivating the signal and shutting down the ships around. The civilian ships need to retreat to a safe spot.’

Just as he thought that, two civilian ships were destroyed. One immediately the other took time but the crew was able to evacuate through some escape pods. It was difficult for him to watch so many lives lost because of a mad man.

“Oh, no.” Ran said looking at the display.
“What is it?”
“That ship there.” She answered, pointing at the one whose crew escaped. “That’s the Qwib-Qwib. Admiral Koris’ ship.”
“EDI, can you calculate the trajectories of those pods and determine where they will land?”
“I can.”

One by one red dots appeared on Rannoch. They were relatively far apart but the problem was the geths presence. They were not far from anti-aircraft turrets that would make any rescue via shuttle difficult and the jamming towers.

“Ran, can anyone be spared for a rescue?”
“There is no need, they’re already lost. We should not waste our resources.”
“Gerrel!” Ran protested.
“Fine, we’ll save the ass of your own people since you can’t be bothered to do it yourself.”
“EDI, contact everyone and tell them to go down the Cargo Deck, we’re going out.”
“Understood.”

He exited the com room and went straight to the elevator where Organic EDI was waiting for him. Ashley, Liara and Garrus got in on the Crew Deck and Javik on the Engineering Deck. Once again Rick did his best with how limited the space was, supported by Ash and Liara. Just like last time he got away from the other to breathe and only when he had calmed down went to his locker to arm himself.

“What’s the deal?” James asked, ready for action.
“A few minutes ago, Admiral Koris’ ship went down. Fortunately the crew escaped through pods that landed on Rannoch. Unfortunately those pods are scattered in a geth infested area.”
“Rescue mission then?” Ashley asked.
“Yes and no. There are anti-aircraft turrets in the area, making things difficult. One team will be the one doing the rescue and start with the pods out of range of those turrets. In the meantime the second team will destroy the turrets and the jamming towers then help in the rescuing. The priority target is Admiral Koris. Hopefully he is alive otherwise this war will turn to shit real fast with Gerrel in power.”
“What are the teams?” EDI inquired.
“Team Mako is composed of You, Ashley and me. Team Hammerhead would be the rest, you’ll have to fly your own shuttle since you’ve got more members than Team Mako which Steve will be the pilot of. Any questions?

No one spoke up. Rick walked towards Steve’s shuttle followed by Ashley and EDI. They were the first to go and Steve made sure to avoid getting hit by a stray shot from any side. He got them as close as he could before dropping them on the ground.

“Be on stand-by. Once we deactivate those turrets you’ll have to destroy them and the towers.”
“Roger that.” the pilot said as he closed the shuttle’s door and flew to a safer location.
“Ready?” he asked his teammates.
“I was born ready.” Ashley replied.
“I am.” was EDI’s answer.
“Your emotional dampeners?”
“Working at 60% if there is a problem I’ll put them back at one hundred.”

Rick nodded and opened the way. It was a very rocky and narrow path not giving them a lot of leeway to navigate. They couldn’t dodge and hide behind a cover as there was none. After walking a bit for a few minutes they arrived at a cliff and saw a pod crashed and on fire on the other side of the small bay they just arrived at. Following the edge of the cliff they found a small group of geths and took them out quickly. They had been lucky those geths didn’t have any shields. They arrived at the crash site and saw a few Quarians’ bodies. Looking closely for a possible survivor, Rick found a blood trail leading towards the geths outpost. Following the new path they found a bleeding Quarian walking with difficulty.

“Hey!” Ashley shouted.

Immediately the Quarian turned around, gun raised and seeing that it was not geth attacking him lowered his weapon. Rick went to the man as he saw him drop down on the ground.

“How bad is it?”
“Bad… If the bleeding isn’t stop soon…”
“That’s alright we have plenty of medi-gel. What about your enviro-suit?” Rick said as he kneeled down and began to apply the medical goo on the man’s stomach.
“I can… I can patch it up.”
“Anti-bodies?”
“None, but I’ll… I’ll hold on.”
“Okay, EDI, send as soon as you can his coordinates to Team Hammerhead, please.” he said looking at his best friend then got up and looked at the Quarian. “We’ll take those turrets and towers down and  either pick you up or the other team will. Hang on.”
“Tha-thank you.”

They left the quarian and moved forward arriving at the first jamming tower. Everyone picked their sniper rifle and began to shoot down any Geths in the area. It didn’t take much time for that and the team ran the Tower console.

“It will take a few minutes.”
“Minutes?” Ashley said, surprised.
“Reaper code.”
“Ah!”
“I’ll be fine with my barrier and play the bait.”
“We won’t be far.” Ashley said and left to find a good cover to shoot any incoming Geth. EDI did the same.

Cracking the reaper code was not that difficult but the unfamiliarity of it was why it took so long. Since he was exposed he got shot at plenty by geths reinforcement but his barrier held on. That didn’t help with his task and he had to focus on maintaining his protection at the same time he was working on the console. EDI’ and Ashley’s was invaluable and they took down the geths as fast as they could. When the tower was deactivated, Rick joined the fray and quickly the team dealt with the rest of the geths force.
On their way to the second outpost they found some more crashed pods but sadly devoid of survivors. It was to be expected the turrets had shot them down after all.  Arriving at the outpost they noticed it was split in two on one side the turret on the other the jamming tower first. They went for the turret as with it gone, Steve could snoop in and take down the tower gaining some time instead of deactivating it.
The place was more heavily guarded than the first outpost. More geths,  bigger ones and a very annoying turret. EDI proved once again that she was at the peak of humanity when she put a headshot on the geth manning the turret. With less risk of being riddled with bullets Rick charged the first geths he saw and began his dance of death with his shotgun while staying close to the turret. It wouldn’t do well if other geths got to use it. Ashley quickly joined him and took control of the turret. The geths didn’t know what hit them. EDI switched for her assault rifle and dealt with any enemy trying to geth to the brunette while Rick, just like in the first outpost, was working on a console under his barrier. With the turrets down, Steve came into the fray less than a minute later, first destroying the first tower then reaching their position and taking down the second. As Team Mako climbed up into the shuttle, Rick contacted Team Hammerhead.

“This is Team Mako, Hammerhead, do you copy?”
“Loud and clear Mako.” James’ voice replied.
“How is it going?”
“We already evacuated dozens of survivors back to Normandy, we’re on our way for a third trip.”
“Good. We’re done with the turrets and as you can hear the jamming towers. Any word of Koris?”
“He was one of the last to escape the ship and was with some members of his crew, otherwise nothing about his current location.”
“Alright. EDI will send you some coordinates to a lone survivor, he’s hurt badly and holding on as best as he can.”
“We’ll pick him up, we’re loaded with medical supplies that Dr. Chackwas provided when we got back from her first trip.”
“Good to hear. See you later guys. Rick out.”
“I got a distress signal from Admiral Koris.” Steve exclaimed.
“Perfect! Does he say where he is? Can we contact him?”
“Yes and yes, sir. Just need a moment.”
“EDI, any news from the dreadnought team?”
“They stopped the signal.”
“Good.”
“The heretics were using Legion to broadcast it.”
“Legion?!”
“Yes. It seems that not all the geths joined the reapers.”
“That’s even better news.”
“Not so much. With the signal interrupted the geths ships shut down.”
“How is it bad?” Ashley inquired, confused.
“Admiral Han’Gerrel is opening fire on the dreadnought instead of helping the civilian fleet evacuate. He’s holding them hostage as it can’t leave for safety without the protection of the armored fleet.”
“That mother…”
“The team is still in the dreadnought.”
“... He dies.”
“I bet Skipper won’t even be too mad this time.” Ashley tried to joke.
“This is Admiral Zaal’Koris. I’m requesting an extraction…"

"This is Wald of the Normandy. We got you covered. ETA…" he began and saw Steve raised two fingers. "Two minutes."

"Geths are everywhere but we’ll hold the line. What about the rest of my crew?"

"A second team evacuated a good number of them already, and is going back for more."
“Only one other team?”
“Han’Gerrel considered you and your crew already lost.”
“That bosh’tet.”
“Oh it gets worse but we’ll tell you about it when everyone’s safe.”

“Yes, it’s preferable.”

They quickly arrived at Koris’ coordinates and things were bad. The small group of Quarians was surrounded on all sides by geths.

“Ash, man the turret. EDI covering fire.”

Both nodded and took position while Rick activated his biotic and did a charge towards the ground near the Quarians. Quickly he put up an area barrier big enough to protect the dozen of people there.

“Status!” He said, grounding his teeth as the amount of hits the barrier was stopping was enormous and required some serious effort.
“Two heavily wounded that we can carry, anyone else is unharmed or had just some light wound that has been taken care of.” Koris answered.
“Good, then we’re moving.”

Koris led the way under the biotic bubble, the walk was slow because of the two Quarians being carried and because Rick was focused on maintaining the barrier, he couldn’t just run forward, that would have broken his concentration. Ashley did a wonderful job with the turret taking down geth after geth. Quickly they reached the shuttle and everyone got in, Rick being the last. Only when Steve got them out of the area did the helmeted man finally let out a long breath as he went to sad on the co-pilot seat, the space for troops being cramped with the quarians.

“What did Han’Gerrel do?” Koris inquired.
“Signed his death warrant.” Rick replied vaguely.
“Rick, the Commander issued a new order for you.” said EDI.