"Pressly, you have the conn."
I walked past the XO, patting him on the shoulder and ignoring the elevator as I headed down to the cargo bay. Pressly simply saluted, not offering any other response to my words.
"Jane..."
"Captain! The squad is ready for landing! We've split into two combat vehicles. I'm commanding the first; Reyno is commanding the second. In my Mako are Alenko, Chifuyu Orimura, and Zorah. In the second transport are Wrex, Garrus, and Williams. You can choose which vehicle you want to ride in."
"I'll take yours." I shrugged casually. "Tali, I see you took a Sniper Rifle?"
I looked closely at the girl, and judging by her gestures, she was very embarrassed.
"Well, you said it's not worth letting the enemy get within Shotgun range, so I... Shepard gave me the sniper software..."
Somewhere to the side, Garrus gave a quiet snort.
"...so I won't be useless."
"I never doubted you." I nodded approvingly and thoughtfully scratched my ear. "Who's driving lead?"
"I am." Jane shrugged noncommittally, as if it couldn't be any other way.
"Excellent, then I'm riding with you. The lead usually needs more protection than the second. Alright, soldiers, listen up. We need to reach the dig site and evacuate Liara T'Soni, an archaeologist whom Saren wants for some reason. Actually, I understand perfectly well why. She's one of the best Prothean specialists currently accessible; the other experts of her level are mostly on well-protected planets and can't be flushed out easily."
"Permission to ask a question?" Kaidan looked at me intently.
"Granted."
"You speak as if you know this T'Soni... Is that true?"
"Yes, it is. T'Soni is an acquaintance of mine; moreover, her excavations are funded by my corporation, so I can be sure she's a truly good specialist. Any other questions?"
"Expected enemies?" Garrus tilted his head inquisitively.
"I contacted T'Soni not long ago, so I can say the enemies pressing them are Geth and Krogan."
"Krogan?" Wrex frowned slightly.
"Is that a problem?"
"No..." He swung his head playfully from side to side. "...it's fun!"
The grin on his face looked quite macabre.
"Alright, to the vehicles. The landing will be rough, so don't forget to strap in."
"Yes, sir!" A synchronized response from the humans, while the representatives of other races didn't bother answering. Soon we were sitting in the Mako, and I watched closely as Tali settled into the gunner's seat.
"Is... is there a problem?" Noticing my gaze, she pointed somewhat jerkily at the gunner's station.
"No, I'm just thinking about how surreal a fragile little Quarian looks behind a Mako cannon. I suppose you'd only look stranger in an exoskeleton. By the way, Jane, why without them this time?"
"Orbital drop. In the Mako, we'll feel almost nothing, but for anyone sitting in an exoskeleton on the outside... it would be hell. We need to design a deployment system for that kind of gear."
"A system has existed for a long time, but..." I grimaced. "No one provided for it on the Normandy. To make it now, we'd have to give up several escape pods."
"Hm?" Jane shot me an interested look.
"In their place, a drop pod is installed that's released along with the exoskeletons; it opens just before hitting the ground, deploying its passengers. Although..." I thoughtfully scratched the back of my head. "...I think my experts were developing a small-scale transport container. Something you could hang a couple of on the side of a Mako and then open and equip after landing. I'll have to check on that."
"That would be perfect!" At the end, Jane was shouting happily as the ramp opened and the Mako surged forward, flying out of the cargo bay and falling toward the planet.
"I'll never get used to thi-i-i-is!"
The thrill in her voice was audible, and I shared it, while Tali, sitting in her spot, shrank back slightly. Well, no wonder; even the Turians didn't drop their transports from such a height.
"You're psych-o-o-os!" Garrus's voice came over the general channel, followed by Wrex's joyful laughter, as he mentioned the Pyjaks who had finally come up with something interesting.
However, the fall wasn't very long, but it was enough for everyone to calm down a bit. When the thrusters started firing, everyone took it quite calmly. Only Tali's shoulders twitched, clearly showing she had exhaled in relief.
"I'm going outside." As soon as the Mako touched the ground, it surged forward. I opened the rear hatch on the move and quickly climbed out, making my way to the nose where I positioned myself, creating a simple flat shield. I heard the hatch close behind me, which was good.
"The road is clear for now, but they could have dropped us closer."
"They couldn't." Kaidan answered Jane's grumbling. "Any closer and we'd be in enemy range. During a drop, an infantryman with the right gear can shoot down a Frigate. You don't even have to hit the hull; a few lucky rocket shots to the engines are enough."
"I know... I know, but that doesn't stop me from grumbling."
"Um... Lieutenant Shepard..." Tali's quiet voice came over the comms, so soft that everyone else immediately shut up so the shy girl could be heard. "...is it normal that Captain Shepard is on the outside?"
"It's normal. He's a very strong Biotic and can handle anything they might throw at him."
Tali didn't say anything more, but about thirty seconds later, the friendly chatter resumed on the general line. I noted to myself that Tali wasn't ready to join such a conversation yet. But that was fine; it gave me time to work on her properly so she wouldn't even think about returning to the Fleet. Moreover, so she wouldn't think about other men.
A predatory smirk appeared on my lips.
"Enemy at one o'clock."
As soon as I said it, the Mako's cannon came to life. Turning in the right direction, it fired several shots. It was clear Tali was firing using the Mako's software, as it was programmed to fire several shots at a target with slight adjustments to ensure the enemy couldn't avoid being hit.
"Well done, quick work."
"It was... easy... I just point at the targets, and the automation does the rest..."
"Jane..."
"I got it. I'll give our shy girl a boot camp, including Mako gunnery. I think in a month she'll be shooting better than the computer."
"I'm sorry!" A quiet, frightened squeak made me open my eyes in surprise.
"Tali, stop that. We weren't scolding you; we were praising you. If you couldn't handle the onboard computer—and believe me, you find such people in the army—there would be no point in setting up a boot camp for it. As it is, you have potential, and we're going to develop it. Do you understand me, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy?"
"Yes, Captain!" she answered extremely fast, clearly before she had even processed what I said. "Thank you." This she said more quietly once it dawned on her that we were praising her.
"Ten o'clock. Just don't get distracted..."
A few shots splashed against my Biotic shield, but the cannon worked successfully again. However, I had to quickly change my position to avoid being knocked off the hull when the weapon turned.
"Many enemies ahead!" Tali immediately began marking them on the computer, and the Mako's targeting system opened fire. Meanwhile, the second Mako pulled up slightly from behind and also opened fire. In literally thirty seconds, the enemy was completely suppressed, and I used Biotics to toss the Geth platforms that were still functional out of our way, not wanting them to explode under the chassis.
"Captain, I'd like to poke around in the Geth..." Tali's voice sounded embarrassed and somewhat uncertain. "...no, I understand we're on a mission right now, but when we've completed it..."
"If there's an opportunity, we'll secure a couple of Geth hulls for you."
"Thank you!"
We continued moving forward.
"What beauty..." Williams couldn't help but comment on the lava lake we were driving past. I wasn't going to scold her right now. In fact, I intended to ignore her presence entirely; she was Jane's subordinate, so let her deal with it.
A Geth ship flew over us and, without slowing down, dropped something large onto the road.
"Colossus!" Tali shouted with a hint of panic. I watched as the large Geth's structure slowly unfolded, knowing this so-called enemy wouldn't be able to stop us. Yes, the smaller platforms around it unfolded much faster and immediately opened fire, but...
A smirk appeared on my lips. "Too slow."
Modifying the "Lift" power slightly, I literally dragged the Colossus—which hadn't yet activated its shields or fully unfolded—along the road. By the time its shields were supposed to activate, its right legs were over the lava, into which it fell a couple of seconds later.
Then a few shots from the Mako at the smaller targets, and the road was clear. By that point, only the head of the Colossus was sticking out of the lava lake, but the light in that head was no longer glowing, signaling the total victory of lava over Colossus materials.
"Outpost ahead. Chifuyu, full speed!"
"Understood!" The girl didn't argue and stepped on the gas. The Mako's engine roared, and we literally blew through the gates with our Biotic barrier. Once inside, Tali didn't lose her head and immediately began marking targets. The second Mako didn't stay behind either; it burst into the outpost and began dealing death to the Geth.
"Right, the second gates..." Chifuyu looked at them somewhat confused. "...we don't have enough speed for a ram."
"Tali, be so kind as to put a few shots on both sides of the gates, so when I give them a push, they'll be blown to hell."
She didn't ask any questions, following my order while the second Mako kept the situation around us under control. Then I created a powerful push that caused the gates to simply collapse onto the ground.
"Ahem... and I thought we'd have to get out and do some shooting..." Garrus's voice held a hint of confusion.
"Ha, you're still young... green... The Commander is doing it right. As long as there's a chance, you solve everything with big guns, so when we actually have to do the work, we aren't tired." Wrex said this with a clear sneer.
"Um... is he really a Krogan?" Jane's voice held disbelief and a slight jab. "Usually they all yell 'I am Krogan!' and charge the machine guns, but here he is, happy he doesn't have to run anywhere..."
"Hey, woman, I'm not young, for your information, so I've already managed to temper my hotheadedness. No, I won't deny there are those among my people who act like a Vorcha with a gun even at a thousand years old, but I'm a Battlemaster!" The last words, about being a Battlemaster, were spoken with unhidden pride.
"Translating..." Rebecca, judging by her tone, decided to tease Wrex. "...I'm an old man, I've done enough running and yelling, and now I just want a quiet and peaceful life. And all these shootouts aren't worth my time."
"Hey, hey! Little one! Don't overdo it! I've still got plenty of kick! And I love a good shootout!" The big lizard's voice held a hint of offense. "You'll see, when we have to fight in person, I'll outdo you all!"
"Alright, Grandpa Wrex, don't be offended by us youngsters..." Jane was clearly enjoying everything that was happening. "...we're just teasing. And you're being so quiet... it's unusual..."
"Yeah, yeah..."
"I see a blockage ahead."
"And what are we going to do? The Mako can't jump over a blockage like that." Jane's voice held a hint of dissatisfaction.
"We'll just drive over it. Just keep your foot on the gas."
"Understood." Rebecca and Chifuyu answered in sync, after which our Makos' engines roared and we began picking up speed.
***
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