"Shepard, the STG group sent to Virmire is not checking in. Three communication sessions have already been missed. I have decided to send you there. Questions?"
"I have one..."
Tevos raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"...does the rest of the Council fundamentally not talk to me?"
I allowed myself a smirk, but tried to make sure it didn't look offensive or mocking.
"No, there's just no point in dragging the entire Council to give an order or receive a report. So I became responsible for communicating with you. And even then, only as long as you're hunting Saren Arterius. And as soon as all this is finished, a regular coordinator from the corps will work with you."
"Understood. Thank you for the answer."
"Yes, yes... end of transmission."
The connection broke, and I sighed, after which I immediately called the pilot.
"Joker, are you there?"
"Where else would I be?"
"In the world of those terabytes of information stored on the external drive..."
A slight mockery was heard in my voice.
"Captain! I never! At least not when on duty... I'm not some green youth; I understand that on combat duty you can't..."
Joker's first words sounded very indignant, and afterward rather hurt.
"Fine, don't be offended; you're not a maiden. Anyway, set course for Virmire. An STG group hasn't checked in there. And also, upon approach, we need to launch a couple of dozen hidden signal relays, as the group isn't checking in and perhaps the connection there is simply being jammed."
"We'll use the SSV Normandy as a directional relay to hidden points, which will then pass the signal to the Citadel?"
"Exactly."
"Understood, Captain, everything will be top-notch!"
As soon as the connection with Joker broke, I immediately called Jane Shepard.
"Jane Shepard, send the entire landing party to rest. We're flying to Virmire... so that by the time of landing, and it will be... in about six hours, everyone is ready. Check the Mako, load additional heavy weaponry on board. In short, we're going to a small war."
"Understood."
The connection broke, after which I was finally able to breathe more freely and go prepare for the landing.
** Time of landing. **
"Joker?"
"Captain, we'll be landing from maximum altitude, as the Anti-Air Defense here is just terrifying..."
Dissatisfaction was heard in Joker's voice. He clearly expected to land us much more comfortably, but he obviously can't do it without exposing the ship.
"Land us however you can. Don't worry, if we're alive, we won't die."
"Yeah..."
Confidence didn't increase in his voice, however, we had already loaded into two Makos.
"Captain, if you disable part of the Anti-Air Defense, I can bypass the rest, but until then you'll have to work on your own."
"Just do it already..."
"Understood..."
The ramp began to open and as soon as Joker gave the signal, two Makos flew out of the SSV Normandy's belly one after another to end up in free fall.
"Chief, Revi, only turn on the braking ones at the last moment!"
"Don't teach a girl how to fuck boys..."
Rebecca Lee was clearly very nervous; however, everyone is nervous during such a deployment she was truly becoming the best version of herself.
"Theoretically, one Mako can tow another. The engine power will be more than sufficient for that."
"A tow?"
Jane reacted to the idea with slight skepticism, especially since they wouldn't just be driving on a towline, but fighting the enemy as well. And that was not the same thing at all.
"Alright, all biotics onto the hull... everyone with exoskeletons in transport mode on their armor, too. Keep the rear door open so you can jump out of the damaged Mako at any moment. Tali, we have to break the hitch at the first sign of necessity."
"Understood!"
Work began immediately; despite the non-standard situation, everyone acted with enough coordination. Less than five minutes passed before everything was ready, and the transport began to move.
"Contact!"
After ten minutes of movement, Rebecca Lee announced that she saw the enemy, and a few seconds later, the first shot hit my barrier. Then came another and another, though we didn't leave those shots unanswered and opened fire. It was then that I personally felt glad we had used Tali's idea, as two Mako cannons are better than one, especially for dismantling Geth fortifications.
We didn't even have to dismount, as we had loaded plenty of heavy weaponry. In short, the first base was simply leveled—or rather, the Geth were leveled, along with the gates blocking the path forward. We also didn't forget about the Anti-Air Defense system located at that base. The second base proved a bit more difficult, as we had little ammunition left of the type used to blow the first gates, but we figured out what to do: we fired at vulnerable points, naturally destroying the Anti-Air Defense first, and then simply rammed through the gates at full speed.
But the third base... things weren't so simple there... mostly because we had to crawl around the base a bit, clearing it of the enemy. And these bases weren't at all like the little walls from the canon mission. No, these were small fortresses. And they contained quite a few enemies who weren't shy about using heavy weapons. Granted, that weaponry wasn't enough to blow up the Anti-Air Defense system, but we managed again...
"I see the camp..."
After those words from Rebecca Lee, we all tensed up, but barely thirty seconds later, a clarification followed.
"Salarians. Most likely, STG."
"No sudden movements, but everyone stay ready for a fight."
Jane gave the order, after which we finally reached the camp.
"Captain Kirrahe, with whom do I have the honor?"
The STG captain stepped out to meet us, while his subordinates kept us in their sights.
"Spectre Shepard. Sent by the Council, as you've missed several communication sessions."
"Ah... missed them..."
There was a hint of mockery in the Salarian's voice.
"...there is no communication here. Only Saren's laboratory for the Genophage cure."
"WHAT?!"
Wrex reached Kirrahe in three strides, but the captain managed to point a strange pistol at him. I hadn't seen one like it before.
"You heard me, Krogan."
"Captain, be careful. I certainly believe you're a brave representative of the STG, but against a machine like Wrex, you likely won't hold up. I only know of maybe five sentients who could take him, and all of them are quite powerful biotics."
At my words, the Salarian's cheek merely twitched.
"Shepard, we must..."
"Shut up... shut up and use the brains I know you have."
"Shepar-r-r-rd..."
"I said use your brains!"
"Go to hell!"
He growled at me once more, after which the Krogan hurried to step aside, though I saw he very much wanted to do something irreparable.
"How do you even deal with this..."
"Captain..."
I silenced the STG operative with a single word.
"...don't say something you'll deeply regret later. After all, it wasn't your race that was effectively destroyed as a 'thank you' for helping in a war."
"Don't exaggerate, it's a birth control measure..."
"A measure, is it?"
I sighed.
"You know, Captain, if we survive, I'll ask Wrex to give you a tour of Tuchanka. To a female clan, so you can watch how women bury unborn children. I wonder if you'll be able to speak about it so calmly after seeing everything that happens there?"
The Salarian winced but didn't argue.
"Fine, in..."
I glanced at my Omni-tool.
"...twenty minutes, the SSV Normandy will land, and we can use its equipment for communication. Unfortunately, it's a one-time deal... since the Comm Buoys will likely either be destroyed or the interference on the planet will be increased. Anyway, prepare the file... I'll be contacting the Council, and we can transmit your data too."
"I'm not sure that's wise. We are STG representatives, after all..."
"Well, it's your choice..."
I shrugged carelessly.
"...I have no contacts with the STG anyway, so it's either transmitting the data through the Council, fearing they'll check it, or the chance that no one will ever receive the data at all. Because my mission isn't just to save you, but to deal with Saren's base. And it's quite possible we'll all end up dead here."
"Tch... fine... I'll prepare the data..."
While Kirrahe went to prepare the data, I headed toward Wrex, with Jane already standing beside him.
"Just remember! You said yourself they were too young! You have to understand this isn't for nothing! He's not saving your race, he's destroying it!"
"Wrex..."
"Shepard..."
He shot me a foul look.
"Do you remember what we talked about?"
"Talked about? You mean weakening the Genophage?"
"Yes... I've already given the task to my tadpoles, so..."
"But there's a cure right here!"
"Then we'll take it and finish it ourselves!"
I raised my voice at this overgrown lizard, making him take a couple of steps back.
"Or are you ready to sell your race to Saren?"
"Dammit!"
He kicked the water.
"Shepard, if you lie to me..."
"I won't. No, you won't have your old birth rate—that would scare others too much—but I'll try to make it so your women lay three or four healthy eggs every couple of years. I already explained this to you."
"Yes... you explained..."
Wrex growled softly.
"...sorry... I didn't think this information would affect me like this."
"It's alright... I understand..."
"Pff..."
"Don't snort, I didn't say I could feel what you feel; I'll never understand that. But I can understand the reasons for your reactions."
"Fine, I'm going to check my gear... call me when we're heading out..."
Wrex turned and walked toward the Mako.
"Damn, this is harder than I thought..."
Jane shook her head.
"...I don't think I would have been able to convince him to calm down."
"And you think he's calmed down? Oh no..."
I gave a grim smirk.
"...the fuse is still smoldering, and it could explode at any moment. Our job is to direct that explosion at the enemies."
Jane gave a short nod; we just had to wait for the SSV Normandy, after which we could head out on the mission.
***
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