Chapter 39: 39
The Citadel. Councillor Tevos' flat
Sparatus slowly opened his eyes as he had to go to work. He sometimes thought the day wouldn't start until he opened his eyes, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. However, to his surprise, Sparatus found that the room was dark, and the lights of the big city could be seen in the window.
- Is it night or what? - The turian asked in a lazy and tired whisper and looked up to see what time it was. He had only been asleep for three hours. Sparatus himself wouldn't know why he was awake. But turning around to look at the sleeping Tevos, he saw the Azari sitting on the edge of the bed, sobbing softly. Standing up and crouching beside her, Sparatus put his hand on the Azari's bare back, trying to calm her down. - Hey, what's wrong with you? You haven't been yourself today since you heard about Benezia," Tevos let out another sob instead of answering but then braced herself.
- It's just... Eh... Once upon a time, I and... Benezia... We were... We were close... - The turian saw the pain Tevos was giving those words and knew there was more to it. It was unlikely she would be pouring out the same if something happened to him. No, there's something else.
- You didn't tell me. How long ago was that?
- About a hundred years ago... Give or take ten years," Azari answered more calmly. - It was something... unusual... To me, she was just a lover... Experienced, attractive, wise... And she... She fell in love with me... For real... Goddess, she was eight hundred and thirty years old, and I was her first love... I even began to feel something more for her myself than... The desire for her body, but... Then I was made Councillor... I was recommended by the last Councillor... Do I have to explain that you can't turn that down? - Sparatus didn't say anything. He knew what it was. A past Councillor recommends you for your position, and to refuse such a thing... It was easier to put a bullet in your head. - Except it was a blow to her... She... She hasn't forgiven me... I left her... I gave up on her... We didn't talk anymore... I mean... She's understandable... I didn't help her at all...
- Didn't help with what? - The turian didn't understand, but he began to understand thanks to his brains. - Wait, she has a daughter. Liara... I mean... I mean she... - Sparatus himself could not believe what he was saying, but Tevos could not deny it. She only nodded her head in agreement with what the turian had implied.
- Yes... Awkward... She doesn't know anything?
- No. Benezia had yet to tell her anything... Ashamed of it...
- You followed them?
- Of course, I did... I was worried about her... I was afraid she'd do something stupid... So I did... - With those words, Tevos took a deep breath, exhaled, and then got up and went to the shower, leaving Sparatus to digest all the new things he had learned. He would still have been sitting on the bed if his unit hadn't glared, discussing the challenge.
- Valern? Ooorgh, what more could he want? - Sparatus barely restrained his scolding and accepted the challenge.
- Sparatus. Did you not wake him? - Valern began in his usual tone.
- Not really. Can't sleep... Has something happened?
- Yes. I've just heard. Dalatressa sent the 3rd flotilla to Vermeir.
- WHAT?! - Sparatus couldn't stand it, and then he heard Tevos' voice.
- What are you saying?" she shouted from the ajar door. She usually left the door ajar so Sparatus could walk in on her... to give her a back rub. And then, lo and behold, Valerne called. When the turian realised that, he was slightly angry with the Salarian.
- It's alright... It is all right! - Shouted the turian.
- Who do you have there? - Valern asked, then suddenly looked behind Sparatus. - Where's your chandelier? Ahh, you're at Tevos' again; Valern didn't ask; he stated the fact. He'd known about his colleague's adventures for a long time.
- Yeah, why? Can't I? - Sparathus asked curtly.
- Ah, they say the Salarian is overactive, don't they? - Valern teased his colleague, but Sparatus was in no mood.
- Never mind, never mind. What about the fleet? What's your... - Sparatus wanted to say toad, as the humans called them, but held back. - Dalatressa's mind? Is it with the rani?
- Not with everything. The GOR was able to detect and determine the course of a dreadnought that was on Noveria.
- You mean Saren's dreadnought? That... The Overlord?
- No. I mean that Geth's ship. It, too, went to Vermeir. And the fleet has orders to kill the Rakhni queen and take the Geth alive.
- Berkrid! - Sparatus cussed out in Thurian. - We were going to keep the queen alive. What does she want with the Get?
- She wants to keep the Get. It'll go a long way in the study of artificial intelligence. She wants the Salarian Alliance to have a monopoly on its production. Can you imagine what would happen?
- Yes. Our whole system would go to hell from hacking! Eh, what do you suggest?
- Try contacting Shepard. Give her the authority to shoot on sight the Fleet soldiers.
- Look, uh... Why the hell are you helping us like this? This is your country! - Sparatus didn't understand his colleague's actions.
- You have yet to learn what kind of ruler it is. If she has a weapon like the AI... She'll just lose her brakes; I know her. She hates the Hierarchy, so... there's no way around it. You know we have to keep the balance, or else...
- Otherwise, it's all gone," Sparatus said. - All right, I'll try to contact Shepard. I think she's already on Weimar. 'See you later.
- See you later," Valern said and disconnected.
****
Dreadnought Light of Kila
Ten minutes after we arrived in Vermeer's orbit, I had a general picture of what was going on:
- Normandy is already here, and Shepard has already knocked out the air defence system;
- Shepard is already thinking with Kirrahe about what to do;
- The complex is a pure fortress, no different. Most of the complex is in the rocks, and what protrudes is of little consequence;
- Inside the complex, 1,575 crogans have been found, with three times that many more being grown. Plus, there are likely to be huskies there. Also, the Geth signals were found to speak of 3,240 humanoid Geth platforms and 300 walking tanks, and 50 Colossi;
- The queen is stored deep underground in a rock;
- We've also discovered a wrecked Battarian Hegemony dreadnought, but now it's all geths. I don't even want to imagine what was done to the crew;
- Oh, and one more thing. The Overlord got away from us. As soon as we got into orbit, he took off. Well, the hell with him. It'll be easier without him.
And now we were wondering what to do about it all.
- Your suggestions, gentlemen," I asked Xad and Tori. Thankfully, Xad had now been integrated into the ship and could quickly appear in any part of the ship. On the other hand, Mila dropped her off on the way here, calling her friend to pick her up and paying forty million credits to keep quiet about what she saw. She vowed and then convinced her that no one would believe her anyway. Well, well, we shall see.
- Here's a suggestion," said Xad. - "As far as I've been able to check the ship, you last discharged its engines when you left the Red October. There's an enormous amount of static electricity built up in the batteries. Even before the Reaper invasion, we learned how to use it as an EMP hit.
- EMP? - I interjected. - Hell, that would disable the Geths altogether, along with all their weapons and shields. They're all on mass effect, which you can't do without electricity," I immediately realised.
- And after that, the queen can leave the complex alone," Tori added.
- Are you sure about that? - I wasn't sure this queen could get out of there alone.
- Yes. She's a biotic, compared to which these Azari are small children. She'll also fight in confined spaces and caves. That's something Rahni is unrivalled at.
- Agreed," Xhad jumped in. - The Rahni were always clever, and venturing into their nests was suicide. And if the queen was involved in the battle... Anyway, the negotiation was much safer than weapons.
- Good. We, in turn, will attack the compound and move in on her. That'll put them in the middle of a firestorm. And if the Salarians and Shepherds attack, the complex won't stand a chance. How does it even work?
- If we do some calculations and move your lightning rods to the main gun, there's enough power to fire a shot from orbit directly at the complex. We won't be affected by that.
- And Shepard and the Salarians?
- It won't kill them, but it will disable their weapons," Xad explained.
- Shit. If the Krogan come at them, they'll clump them, and if the Masters of War... They'll be swept away.
- Comrade Legate," the pilot's voice suddenly came through. - According to the scan, the hull of the frigate Normandy is shielded. If you put weapons and any other electronic objects into the frigate, the pulse will not affect them.
- Thank you," I thanked the pilot. - All right, Xad take whoever you want and deal with the EMP. Tori, contact the queen, tell her to get ready to run. I'll try to contact Shepard and warn them," I gave my orders and headed for the pilot.
****
Planet Vermeir. GOR task force camp
Rex and Shepherd entered the tent where the entire team and Kirrahe were. The conflict over the genophage was quickly over, so both had already arrived in an everyday mood. Ashley was saddened by this fact, as she would have gladly shot the lizard, but Tali, Liara and Garrus were glad that everything had been resolved peacefully. On the other hand, Cayden was also delighted, though not jubilant. Still, Rex had often helped Cayden with his biotics training, especially after what had happened on Terra Nova. So Ashley's views were not shared by him.
- How's that? Is the conflict over? - Kirrahe asked.
- Quite," Rex replied nonchalantly, much to the Sallarian's surprise. That a human had pacified a Krogan and a Master of War was astonishing. It meant Shepard's complete dominance over him. Kirrach was terrified to even imagine what the woman was capable of. And then the urge to argue was already gone.
- Now, where were we? - Shepard asked, approaching the holo map of the complex.
- We don't know what to do," Kirrahe said, and Shepard did not say anything to him, listening further. - Five roads are leading to the complex, running through the gorges. They are all blocked off by gates and protected by roadblocks. There are turrets, krogan, geths. The complex itself is mostly underground, and there... And we don't stand a chance there," Kirrahe commented, waiting for the captain's suggestions.
- What if... We attack from two sides. Your squad can pretend to attack and distract most of the enemy while my team can infiltrate the complex and find Saren. But how do we destroy the complex?
- We've been thinking about that. We could make a ten-kiloton bomb out of our ship's reactor. Crude but effective. And it could be installed here. - Kirrahe jabbed his finger at the hologram, and a red dot appeared.
- That's not enough charge to destroy the complex. We'd have to put it inside the complex, but we'd also have to increase the power. - Cayden spoke up, and Shepard mentally backed him.
- Yes. Tali, can you help? - asked the captain, and Tali answered immediately.
- I think so. I've seen your ship and know what kind of reactor it has. I believe the power can be increased to thirty kilotons," Tali explained as Ashley suddenly interjected.
- Why not just break into their reactor? Come in and break the cooling system and run the reactor at full power. The explosion would be much more effective.
- 'No way,' replied Tali. - The reactor is probably Helium-3. If we take the reactor to the meltdown stage, the explosion will be 30 megatons or more, and we won't be able to control the process. We might not make it to the ships, much less get blocked in the corridors of the complex," Tali explained, again earning Ashley scornful looks. Shepard, on the other hand, was thinking seriously.
- 'Yeah. Tali's right. How long would it take to plant the bomb?
- Can't say right away. Probably half an hour," replied Tali.
- OK, then. 'But still, how do we get in there? - Shepard asked, as suddenly her sonic device vibrated and lit up, but all she could hear was static.
- Shep... [static]... hear... [static]..." The message sounded somehow, but you couldn't tell what it was about because of the static.
- Tali, can you do something?
- Now," the Quarian was already doing something on the instrumentation, and the message was getting more precise.
- Shepard... [static]... men... [static]... [interference]... - the message got more apparent, but there was still interference.
- Just a second... - said Tali, and the signal reached the 'excellent' level. Except the other side didn't know that.
- Oh my God, can you boost the bloody signal! - Some sort of synthetic voice yelled.
- You can go down to the planet's surface and make direct contact with Captain Shepard," a second voice suggested dryly, and Team Shepard and the two captains had no idea who he was.
- Yeah, I just took off and went straight there. I still cherish my hull and don't want to be taken apart by the screws.
- Uh, excuse me, who's that talking? - Shepherd asked, speaking into the unit.
- Oh, Captain Shepherd. Can you hear me? - The voice asked for the third time.
- Loud and clear. Who are you? - said Shepard a little apprehensively.
- Legate," the voice said quietly, making the whole crew, especially the captain, cringe.
- L-legate? What are you doing here? - asked the captain in an offended voice.
- Let's leave my motives for being here alone and get down to business," the goeth said somberly. - I'm on your side here, and that should be enough. Look, there are fifteen hundred Krogan and three and a half thousand Geth in that compound you're about to storm. You need the strength to take such a fortress by storm or at least get into it unnoticed.
- Any ideas? - Shepard asked Shepard bluntly, causing Ashley and Cayden to lose their brakes altogether.
- What are you thinking, Shepard!? You're going to cooperate with the Geth!? - Cayden shouted.
- Captain, this is too much! We still have orders to capture him! - Ashley said.
- Sergeant Williams... I can still hear you... - Stretching out the accents, said the Gete.
- Shut up, all three of you! - Shepard shouted, and then Ashlene and Cayden held themselves upright. - Legate. What are you suggesting?
- In a nutshell. My ship's main gun can fire a massive electromagnetic pulse directly into the complex. It would cut off all power within a hundred kilometres of the complex. It would kill the Goths instantly and deprive the Krogan of their weapons. No electricity, no mass effect," the simple statement made everyone's eyes grow more significant than an anime. Even Kirrahe was surprised by the idea, but he was even more surprised by its simplicity.
- Wait a minute," Ashley suddenly interjected. - That would take away our weapons, too. Captain, he wants to take us by surprise too!
- Sergeant Williams, if I wanted to kill you or take you by surprise, I wouldn't mess with you," Legate clarified. It was checkmate for Ashley. - About that, I have an idea. The hull of your frigate Normandy is capable of EMP shielding. All the electronics on the Normandy won't shut down. So I suggest you lock down on the Normandy and sit tight. And then proceed as you planned. You attack one side, and I'll attack the other. That leaves the krogan clones to come at you hand-to-hand and the biotics war masters. You set your ten-kiloton charge from the converted reactor, and I do what I came here to do. Anyway, you've got ten minutes before we finally figure out how it all works.
- What do you mean? - Shepherd said in an agitated voice.
- Yes, this is essentially our first EMP shot. So you'd better hurry up. And pray. And in that order," and then the connection went dead.
- All right. Everybody goes to Normandy. Kirrae, your squad will be affected as well. We're gonna need every soldier.
- I understand. Just let me ask you a question," the Salarian asked.
- Yes," Shepard allowed.
- Who was that?
- It was a Geth.
- Is that a human joke? Getts aren't jokes," Kirrahe protested.
- Yes. Neither do I," the captain said sternly, and Kirrahe realised it wasn't a joke.
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