The enemy fleet is in the Terminus system – a real hellhole where chaos and lawlessness reign. Shepard was previously sent there for negotiations, but her mission was unsuccessful. The local rulers weren't eager to join an alliance against the Reapers, but they at least allowed the Citadel fleet to enter their territory. An achievement in itself, if you think about it. Somehow, we managed to avoid a direct clash with the dictators, consequently avoiding unnecessary losses before arriving in the Pangea Expanse.
Now the question of the day: how to defeat a swarm of advanced geth ships and a Reaper under their direct and tight protection? It was also obvious that the enemy was ready for our attack and would resist with all their might. And they have might to spare... The situation, to put it mildly, is not a simple one.
Not even five minutes had passed before the Citadel ships had already managed to panic: captains were requesting permission to retreat to develop a more reliable plan, the execution of which could be entrusted to someone else. Something along the lines of legal desertion...
Before Saren could flare up and intervene with threats, promising all deserters cosmic punishment coupled with a tribunal, I transferred special command authority to Miranda Lawson. Just for her pretty eyes. Why not? Let the genius act all inspiring, trying with all her might to preserve the fragile alliance. Well, and simply demonstrate her usefulness not with words, but with deeds. And I, in turn, will focus on developing a strategy...
Currently, hundreds of scenarios for breaking through the enemy ships and destroying Sovereign were racing through my head. However, almost all of them boiled down to losing part of the fleet or allowing the enemy to retreat. Just one Reaper is already creating so many problems it's sickening. I wonder what will happen when a whole flotilla of ships like Sovereign appears? I won't run, but others might not withstand the pressure and surrender without a fight.
— Bastards from the Citadel, - Saren hissed, pacing nervously from side to side. — I've been asking the Council for ages to increase the military budget, reallocate spending from foolishly burning credits to something more substantial – elementary military training!
— There haven't been any significant skirmishes since the rachni and first contact, so there's nowhere to get experience from, - I objected, but immediately encountered the turian's serious gaze.
— Combat pods – virtual environments with full immersion and simulation of real combat. But no, they need to make the simulators public and rake in money instead of providing them to the army.
— Are they that expensive to produce?
— Imagine that – Yes! - he waved his hand, opening a holographic interface. — Okay, analytical data from the Destiny Ascension has arrived. Ty'tok! Selah'se! Useless bastards! Our chances of breaking through the geth to Sovereign... less than ten percent...
— Not much, but I'll try to increase them to a hundred, - I stretched my neck. — Before that, warn everyone on the ship about the need to firmly secure their position in space. The ship will be shaking in all directions, - I sighed, heading to the pilot's seat.
On the screen, and through the glass, one big problem was clearly visible. And a bunch of other troubles. Yeah, the signature of a hundred enemy ships was a bit alarming, but everything in space will die sooner or later. That's what I tried to convince myself of before taking command of the assault operation. Miranda had managed to warm up the army so they wouldn't be shivering with fear. In any case, the number of messages suggesting we bolt had halved – or maybe the captains realized they'd be sent to a tribunal.
— This is Starkiller-I. Entering the combat zone, - I reported calmly, increasing engine power.
— Copy that, Starkiller-I. The fleet is covering your approach, but be careful. The enemy is forming a shield formation.
The geth stopped circling the Reaper, gathering in a wall in front of it. If we had a powerful weapon like the Death Star, we could have destroyed everyone at once – including the Reaper, but nothing like that was at hand, which Sovereign was aware of. Saren, although working for us, had previously transmitted all information about Alliance and Citadel forces directly to the Reapers. Sovereign is better prepared than we are, knows the characteristics of all our weaponry on all Citadel ships. So, charging straight in is pure suicide, but now is not the time to be discouraged. And, strictly speaking, caution isn't my style.
The starfighter surged forward, and EDI helped optimize flight speed so we drew a perfectly straight line in record time. Almost in the blink of an eye, we slipped through the danger zone, entering close combat territory. Which saved us greatly. Middle space distance was the most dangerous – like standing before a firing squad, though up close it smelled of a match and spilled starship fuel. Not as strongly, of course; our chances of avoiding trouble are far from zero. Unfortunately, not one hundred percent either.
The first geth ships quickly aimed their laser turrets at us, so we had to dodge, simultaneously launching defense systems and responding with counterattacks. Our laser cannons targeted those geth ships whose shots were the hardest to avoid. And although EDI was successfully dodging most enemy projectiles so far, at some point, an alarming warning flashed on the holographic screen.
Someone fired homing missiles? Sounds painful. To avoid damage, I used a Force Dome, enveloping the ship in a protective shroud that absorbed the impact without a trace. We weren't even shaken, which gave me the opportunity to take control of the ship and move it several kilometers down.
Tilting the "Starkiller-I" so the ship's nose pointed upward, I activated the long-range laser cannon at full power. A precise shot, and the attack pierced far more than one target – even those standing behind it. Several geth ships exploded at once, showering space with debris.
— I have a bad feeling about this, - I felt a familiar tingling at the back of my neck. Thus the Force warned me of mortal danger, so in advance, even before EDI's intervention, I fired the first mass accelerator, which saved us from the assault burst of a dozen ships at once. Innovative turrets firing hyper-velocity projectiles were installed on the geth flagships. Small ones, too, which are even harder to dodge.
Setting new parameters in the maneuvering system, I forced the ship to perform a dizzying move, dodging another volley of missiles. Fortunately, while I was busy with defense, EDI had fully prepared everything necessary for a counterstrike: two of the four missile pods fired volleys. I wouldn't envy the enemies. Each such missile was controlled remotely by the AI, meaning they didn't hit head-on, but sought out the most vulnerable targets.
Once again, I had to cover the ship with a shield and accelerate, flying strictly near the explosions. Usually, enemies rarely shoot at an area that is already ablaze.
— Enemy encirclement, - EDI warned, stating the obvious. I could see perfectly well how enemy ships were closing in around us after we flew out of the destructive curtain.
— Disable autopilot for thirty seconds, - I quickly gave the order, closing my eyes and enhancing combat concentration with the Force. The world seemed to freeze, and intuition suggested the consequences of every maneuver that could be performed in this situation. Probably a fraction of a second passed in the real world, but for me, it stretched out for an hour and a bit. But now I didn't need to tire my brain adjusting to surprises – most future variants had been calculated.
My hands began to move across the dashboard with incredible speed, and internal energy expenditure dropped to a minimum due to not having to protect the entire ship. Needless to say, the Starkiller-I's agility was legendary! Except for one moment... I almost crashed our ship trying to squeeze through several narrow corridors – fissures between the tightly packed geth ships.
— This is "Starkiller-I." The geth are tightly grouped. Begin the assault, - I gave the order to distract the enemy's attention to someone else. The geth were grouped perfectly, and shooting at them was a pleasure – even a gunner without eyes would have hit. I would have dealt with them myself, but without the help of the allied fleet, I couldn't advance to the main target – Sovereign. It's better to act quickly with it, before it responds to the provocation. But leaving grouped enemies with ready guns behind your back is the height of arrogance: dodging their fire from behind will be practically impossible.
— Copy that. The combat squadron is executing an offensive maneuver, - replied the captain of the dreadnought "Destiny Ascension" – the Citadel's best ship. It's also called the punishing hand, as the dreadnought is capable of destroying an entire fleet single-handedly. All thanks to shields, powerful armor, and overwhelming firepower. But the main thing is distance. Even if the ship is clumsy due to its colossal size, its guns hit at gigantic distances.
One powerful shot from the asari dreadnought was enough to tear apart the geth barrier and almost destroy my ship. EDI saved us from the latter, correctly calculating the trajectory of the allied shot, from under which we emerged at the last moment. Meanwhile, the still-functioning geth ships were distracted by assault vessels – smaller and more agile, out to bathe in the rays of glory or die... I hope bathe, after all. Before their arrival, I managed to sow confusion in the geth ranks, so now resources could be risked in the fight against them.
But I can't help any further. Ahead loomed the main target – the Reaper. A huge ship, resembling a giant metal squid, or even a kraken, capable of sinking any fleet. In our case – sending it to the bottom of space.
— Captain, - Miranda's voice over the internal comms pulled me from my thoughts. — Immediately order all Citadel ships to retreat. It's a trap!
"It's a trap!" - I ran through my mind.
— Permission granted... - I didn't have time to finish before Sovereign activated a laser cannon the size of a small cruiser. A crimson glow, resembling a devil's eye, flared blindingly bright. From something like that... even the short hair on my head stood on end.
— A thousand Tatooine worms on your head! - escaped me as the Reaper fired a beam of absolute destruction. I activate two mass accelerators and additionally push the ship with the Force to get out of the death zone. But this creature spared neither allies nor enemies – no one. The destructive beam burned tons of energy out of Sovereign, acting continuously, and its rotating head allowed it to draw a crushing line, destroying a fifth of our forces. The "Destiny Ascension" withstood the blow thanks to energy fields; the other Citadel ships were dispersed in advance. So we only lost the assault ships sent to the geth? Well, Sovereign took a lot of geth with it, thanks for that at least.