SfS-21

Chapter 21 - Standing By

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Part 1

World of Omega
Outside Citadel Space
Deep Periphery 3080

The four Elementals stood out from everybody and everything else in the wretched pirate den. Not just because they were in full armor, or because they were disembarking first from the transport as was their right as warriors of Clan Hell's Horse. For Point Commander Alenko, it was the way the trueborn marched disciplined through the scrawny freeborn, the way they carried themselves as befitted their martial heritage and the expectations laid upon them. To see something familiar from the Clans again was a balm upon the mind of Alenko, after the time he had spent among the honorless outsiders.

As one, the rest of his Point halted before him and snapped to attention. "Point Commander Alenko, Alpha Point reporting for duty." Borta formally announced.

"At ease," Alenko commanded, smiling with his visor open. "Follow me, our barracks is this way. By the Founder, I am glad you are finally here."

"It is a shame we could not have come earlier," Carmen agreed from behind him. "But the freebirths are slow. We had orders to wait for them." she derisively jerked a finger at the other passengers disembarking from the transport. Additions to Normandy Initiative, Alenko knew, from the rest of the Star League.

"Arriving together is a sign of our unity." Dumon amended. "The Normandy Initiative must not show division, especially when in this lawless place."

"It is insulting for the Initiative to share an asteroid with criminals. We should have simply claimed this rock for the Clans if the Normandy Initiative needed this place," Erin complained. "Point Commander, you must feel the same way."

Alenko did, but he had his orders. "ComStar had negotiated an agreement with the bandit ruler of Omega," he repeated what the adepts had told him. "They are scum, yes, but they did not attack the Star League. The Geth and their allies are our enemy. Wasting our strength and time on such common vermin will only impede our objectives."

The point of five Elementals passed through the narrow corridors of the temporary Normandy Relay base. They were slightly too small for the power-armor-wearing large warriors, requiring the occasional freebirth who was in their path to duck aside. Carmen chuckled as they passed an open hatch, through which Normandy Relay's Scientist Caste was working on Geth wreckage. "I see Therum has yielded bountiful isorla, Alenko. You even managed to claim a quarian as bondsman?"

"The quarian is a she, and she is not a bondswoman," Alenko corrected grudgingly. "The mercenaries hired her as a Geth expert."

"Can she be trusted?" Erin asked warily. "How do we know she's not a Geth spy?"

Borta replied, "the Geth and quarians are enemies, Erin. So long as she is directed against them, we can trust her. I concede, though, she may be a spy for the Citadel. We would do well to watch her for treachery."

"Aff," Alenko agreed. "in any case, here are our quarters. You will meet Star Commander Moreau later. He is … quite unorthodox." The Clan Wolf warrior had been difficult to find the last few days, engaged in some activity Alenko was not privy to. At the press of a button, the door slid open. Said aerospace pilot was waiting inside.

"Oh, hail, Elementals of Hell's Horse." Star Commander Moreau spoke before Alenko could react. "Do you want to do something about the Dark Caste on Omega? Turns out quite a few of the warriors who abandoned the Honor Road ended up on this rock."

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Part 2

World of Omega
Outsider Citadel Space, Deep Periphery

"Dr. Chakwas, pleased to meet you." Monty Shepard shook the Canopian's hand politely. "Good to see a neighbor from the Periphery help out."

"Not really a neighbor, to be honest." the doctor drily replied. "I haven't ever been near the Aurigan Reach. Met a few exchange students from the Reach during my studies, of course, but I served with the Magistracy Armed Forces along the Marian border on the other side of the Magistracy before being shipped to the Relay Systems. About time I corrected that deficit."

"Well, better late than never," Shepard replied. "Hopefully the Aurigan Trading Company's medbay meets your expectations." The Canopians had a reputation for cutting-edge biomedical technology, and accompanying high standards.

"The facilities here are adequate, if a bit minimal, but I have the equipment I need." Dr Chakwas approved. "In any case, the MRB Omega has offered use of their medbay if necessary. Nothing but the finest medicine for the Initiative's heroes. Still, please avoid getting killed in any case."

"I'll do my best. In any case, I expect a lot of people are about to come in for checkups once they hear a Canopian is here," Shepard joked. The second thing Canopians were known for was their entertainment industry and beauty.

"Very original." the doctor groaned. "I won't pretend I'm ugly, but I've heard that joke far too often for my liking. I suppose I should prepare to hear it some more. A question though. Will I have to prepare for alien patients?"

"That's probably unnecessary," Shepard considered. "They're only two around here. I don't think the quarian Miss Zorah ever used our medbay, her suit's supposed to be capable of providing medical attention, and Officer Vakarian can always use one of the local clinics for now. Not sure about prisoners."

Adept Williams, who had been silently supervising from the sidelines, answered, "ComStar can provide medical services for prisoners as needed in MRB Omega facilities."

"I'm not giving ComStar exclusive access to wounded prisoners," Shepard warned her. "They'll be kept and treated where every Normandy Initiative member has access to them."

"Fantastic." Doctor Chakwas muttered. "First day here, and we're arguing about jurisdiction for medical treatment. Well, the one prisoner is healthy, so maybe Normandy Relay Command can come to a decision in time. Who exactly is in command, anyway?" She asked the ComStar adept.

"The chain of command is still being finalized," Adept Williams replied. "There will be a command staff made up of representatives from across the Star League to coordinate the Normandy Relay, but field operations will be under the purview of assigned commanders. For the moment, Precentor Shepard is still in charge on Omega, and Commander Shepard," she emphasized the rank, "is in command of the First Relay task force, and thus can only advise on the treatment of prisoners."

"Except T'Soni is currently in being held in Aurigan Trading Company facilities," Shepard countered, "which I am in charge of on behalf of House Arano. She doesn't get moved out without my approval." He suspected his aunt would keep any information obtained from the asari prisoner from people she considered unworthy, himself included.

"A moot point, given the presence of the asari commando squad." the adept replied. "In any case, Doctor, we won't be taking up more of your time. Blake's peace be with you," she intoned, and gestured at Shepard to the exit.

"Remind me again, Adept Williams, why you are following me?" Shepard asked as he walked.

"I am merely here to mediate your interactions with the new arrivals to Normandy Relay," Adept Williams snipped, "to ensure no misunderstandings or bad feelings occur. ComStar has been acting as mediator and neutral party ever since its founding, following the teachings of Blessed Blake. Not every member of the Normandy Relay will be friendly to you."

"Of course," Shepard grumbled. "Let's see. There was the Mech lance from the First Elysium Cavalry. No problems with them. A DEST elite commando squad from the Draconis Combine. Hates mercenaries, but professional enough, so long as I don't have to work with them. An aerospace wing from the Free Worlds League. Haven't met them yet. And Elementals from Clan Hell's Horses. Not sure where those Clanners are right now. They weren't in their barracks. I'll check the gym later. If they were up to something, I'm sure there'd be more yelling and gunfire."

"So, where are you going right now?" Adept Williams inquired. "Checking in on the Techs and scientists?"

"Not yet. I'll give Miss Zorah and the other experts some time to know each other first and get started on their work. Virtanen will contact me if anything pops up. Going by the yelling we're hearing right about now, Miss Oliveira has some disagreements with the new logistics staff."

Part 3

World of Omega
Outsider of Citedal Space, Deep Periphery
3080

The Quarian Pilgrimage was supposed to give Tali a taste of life beyond the hulls of the Migrant Fleet, her chance to see the galaxy. In that sense, she was currently technically not actually fulfilling the goal. After all, the geth were quarian creations, so she was, from a certain point of view, now devoting her pilgrimage to working on quarian equipment.

Then again, she was working with non-quarians, so that counted as something. And geth were important. If the genocidal AI were ever to be neutralised as a threat, they needed to be researched and analyzed.

If only there was more useful salvage.

"So, anything useful here?" The ComStar Adept Adams asked, poking with a gloved finger at a cracked white tablet, as Tali's Omni-tool slowly scanned it. It had been the most intact piece from the geth trooper's body, which was a mangled mess due to anti-vehicle rockets.

"The memory unit is broken," Tali judged. "It looks like shrapnel penetrated the protective shell and damaged the circuitry. A capacitor inside discharged and fried whatever was left, might have been a self-destruct? The data won't be recoverable. Still, there may be some intact components inside that can be used for repairing other geth pieces."

"Maybe the Mechwarriors should exercise restraint with Mech weaponry. Perhaps explicit instructions to avoid overkill would help. Alright, so that's junk as well," the human lamented. "What's next?"

"Well, there's this arm as well, with a functional weapon mount." The armor plating had been removed already, and the internals partially disassembled.

"That's a derivative of Clan-spec lasers," one of the new Normandy Relay arrivals speculated. She pointed towards the floating hologram of the weapon. "See how the coolant coils are arranged? Probably copied a salvaged laser from a failed raid. Power couplings are different. And what about this part? Looks too big and complicated to merely be a targeting subsystem."

"It's how the geth are designed," Tali explained. "They're networked hive intelligence, many smaller programs working together to become smarter. That processor houses a complete, if dumb, geth programed to control the laser. Careful, I think the software is still intact."

"So," the woman mused. "If we were to reconnect the power to the arm, it could shoot? Can we adjust its friend-foe algorithms, make an autonomous turret?"

"Doctor Nahlev," Acolyte Adams sighed, "straight to weapons. I shouldn't have expected any different from an NAIS graduate."

"I've worked on reverse-engineering batarian equipment, this is no different. Talking theory is all fine and good, but if we can understand how these machines work, we can implement improvements to our own equipment," Doctor Nahlev shot back. "Contrary to what ComStar claims, New Avalon's Institute of Science is no way inferior to Terran universities. The Federated Commonwealth is more than equal to innovating new technology without ComStar's assistance."

Acolyte Adams grinned. "Is that what the Gravity-Unlimited Direct Assault Mech was? I thought it was a good example of Lyran oversizing and Federated ego."

"The GUnDAM project was a terrible idea from the outset." Doctor Nahlev lamented. "A multi-hundred tonner Mech is already challenging enough without also demanding the speed and agility of scout Mech. The element zero and mass effect field systems required would already render the design too expensive for its role as a shock assault unit. Considering the lead designers were also tacking on aerospace capabilities before the Steiner-Davions shut it down, the whole project was a waste of resources. But the NAIS had nothing to do with that disaster, that project was fully Defiance Industries' fault."

The woman gestured to the geth arm again. "However, this is completely different. The geth created successful synthetic combat units, on par with living soldiers. Imagine the possibilities when we unlock their secrets and can augment our own forces with robotic troops. A successor to the ancient Star League SDS that defended the Terran Hegemony, an unbreakable legion of metal on the battlefield, securing the reborn Star League's freedom and prosperity in the galaxy."

"The military might of the Successor States has done enough damage already," Acolyte Adams warned. "They have not proven themselves wise enough to be trusted with new technology without Blake's guidance. Have you considered how much worse the Succession Wars would be if the Great Houses had access to more weapons? Robots wouldn't hesitate to commit Kentares. Learn what we can, but humanity should not be so reckless as to simply adopt alien technology without assessment by proper authorities."

"By that you mean ComStar." Doctor Nahlev argued. "If Primus Waterly had her way back then, you robes would be hogging all the mass effect technology while the Federated Commonwealth begged and scraped for scraps. No, this is a Star League project, and what we learn here will benefit the Federated Commonwealth and the rest of the Star League, whatever Precentor Shepard may try."

Tali interrupted the discussion with her own input, before the two had yet another hour-long argument about human politics. "It's not a good idea to simply copy the geth code. The geth programs are complex and highly adaptive. You could easily end up with the rest of the system hacked and controlled by the geth."

"Well, there you go," Acolyte Adams responded with smug satisfaction, "no blind reverse-engineering." He frowned. "Is there anything we can glean from it? List of allies, ways to spoof their IFF?"

"The geth are AI, they won't fall for dumb tricks." Tali replied, connecting the geth processor to an isolated system and beginning to interface with it. She kept the geth intelligence, if there was a functional one still, dormant, trawling through its data for anything that could be useful. "But this arm may contain information the geth knew. Decentralised network intelligence, after all. It's possible something may be retrievable."

The intercom beeped. <<"All personnel, we have reports of heavy weapons being deployed in combat on Omega Station, as well as outside. Please remain within Aurigan Trading Company property if possible, and take an armed escort otherwise.">>

"I wonder what is happening?" Doctor Nehlav mused.

"Not important to us. Hey, Miss Zorah, what's that?"

Tali studied the flagged data packet, quarian anti-geth software slowly piecing together the encrypted information. "Mission parameters, I think," she suggested. "Dr T'Soni's name is mentioned, as is her mother. And an extranet address.
"

Part 4

World of Omega
Outsider of Citedal Space, Deep Periphery
3080

"Did you think we would not notice the trap, 'Joker'? I knew you were not a Bandit Caste the moment I laid eyes upon you."

"Yet you offered me safecon to your race, which, incidentally, I win on a technicality, given none of the other contestants can still fly. Point Commander Alenko only found your compound because you lured them there for your own ambush. You wished to test my mettle against yours. It is not my responsibility you are losing."

"I still have a fully functional gunship, with allies on the way, while your craft is damaged and alone. I will not offer you hegira, warrior, nor will I accept retreat if you offered it to me. You will not leave Omega alive while I still breathe. Any last words?"

"If not for me, you would have died dishonorably someday, killed by some pirate lowlife for nothing. You deserve better than that, even if you are no longer of the Warrior Caste. I am offering you an honorable end, to be vanquished by a worthy opponent."

"I prefer to live, Moreau, but I admit I have longed for a challenge. None of these aliens know how to fly the way you do. Very well, one on one. Let us duel as equals, and we shall see who the greater warrior is."

Part 5

World of Omega
Outsider of Citedal Space, Deep Periphery
3080

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. The turian Shadow Broker agent had abandoned his original name and past entirely some time ago to facilitate his clandestine career under the elusive and powerful information broker, adopting various monikers and codenames as needed. Here on Omega, the Shadow Broker had assigned him to spy on the Mercenary Review Board and ComStar, important players in the Terminus System's mercenary sector, so he had acquired a human name, some famous animal from the human's homeworld.

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. He'd memorized ComStar's holy book the Word of Blake, in order to understand the internal jargon of the religious order. He'd studied the Shadow Broker's records on the various human intelligence groups he'd be competing with. He'd taken days plotting his course, before even setting foot onto the asteroid.

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. He'd been methodical and thorough, rebuilding the web of informants and connections his predecessor had lost. The salarian ought to have known better than try sneaking into the MRB as a convert to the human religion. Instead, Grey Fox had simply planted his eyes and ears among the mercenaries and local contacts of ComStar, while ComStar's ROM was busy with more ambitious spies. It put him in a prime position when the Shadow Broker had redirected him to the human 'Normandy' task force setting up on Omega.

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. So when the contact, one of the MRB-employed workers who'd 'volunteered' to work for the newcomers, slipped into the room furtively, so obviously amateur and suspicious, he politely did not grab the human and rudely slam answers out of him. Instead, he merely asked, "Tell me, Joe, why I was not informed the Normandy Initiative was planning an anti-piracy operation on Omega."

"Look, boss." Joe stammered, "I'd have told you if I knew, but I didn't know anything about that."

"In other words, you're saying you're useless to me?" Grey Fox tolerated his contact's protests briefly, before continuing, "I'm giving you a lot, Joe. Money, but also everything else you need to bring your family out here. It'll be a shame, won't it, if they can't join you here on Omega. But I need to know you're worth the investment. So, start talking."

"I wasn't told about the attack, Grey Fox," the human whined, "none of my friends knew either. They kept it secret. All I know is the new reinforcements arrived. There was a lot going on, unloading, meeting, talking. None of us Techs noticed anybody missing until the shooting started, and I didn't even know it was us until an hour ago. The top brass are still keeping everything to themselves. But I did look around like you wanted me to, boss."

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. As disappointing as the contact was, there was no point pressing further. He'd have to dig around after all the excitement was finished to piece together the clues. Going by the frustrated updates from a fellow Shadow Broker agent, that would take a while yet. So, he focused on what he could work with. "Tell me about the asari prisoner. I understand she got new guards?"

"Yeah, a bunch of asari chicks. They're hot, but we got a Canopian doctor now. I think she's hotter, but I'll need a check-up to confirm."

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. "Focus, Joe. The prisoner. How are they guarding her?"

"All around the clock, in shifts. Won't let anybody in without the prisoner agreeing, which beats the whole point, don't it? Looked at me funny when I got close, so I booked it. Didn't want them reading my mind." Gray Fox didn't bother correcting him. "Bunch of ComGuards watching them too, so the aliens can't sneak off with the prisoner. But I heard a bunch of Kuritan special forces were going to take over that job, Bill said the Adept Williams was telling the merc commander so."

"Williams? Like the admiral at Shengsi?"

"Yeah. I mean, is that important? Must be lots of Williams running around. Common enough surname. I mean, I know a guy called Blake, but nobody's busy worshipping him or anything."

Grey Fox considered himself a consummate professional. He'd work with what resources he had. The Shadow Broker would receive a full and accurate report of everything he could glean of the Normandy Initiative. The turian would figure out what the Initiative had been planning with their surprise offensive. The humans were obviously up to something.

Part 6

World of Omega

"Clan Wolf has been informed of our operation, and are providing two Stars of Mechs as heavy support," the Precentor briefed Shepard and the other adepts. "They believe we're here to liberate human prisoners from a pirate base. As usual, keep them in the dark and tell them what they want to hear, but don't let them interfere with our objective. They'll be useful as a blunt hammer, but we need discretion to fulfil Blake's will today. The Salarian Union must not unlock the secrets in the memory core."

Precentor Kamea Shepard banished the memory to focus on current matters. "So they all returned alive, at least. Do we know how long repairs will need?"

"The Clan Techs told me a few days at most," Adept Williams reported. "Mostly replacing damaged armor and maintenance on internal components on the Elemental suits. Star Commander Moreau used a… pirate shuttle? It belongs to us now, apparently, but the Techs were talking about scrapping it."

"I should have kept a closer eye on them," Precentor Shepard lamented. "Blake preserve me, first my nephew and now the Clanners. The Normandy Initiative cannot tolerate such rampant insubordination." She eyed the prelimary list of assets for Normandy Relay. "All the might of the Star League is useless if we cannot direct it at Saren. We cannot afford to waste time while his schemes unfold."

"The Pied Piper is more valuable than we thought, for Saren and the Geth to act so openly," Precentor Udina told her. She only nodded, mind still numb from the news from Coromodir. "The Aurigan Coalition is just the beginning. Who knows what he'll do next to find the Pied Piper, once he realizes it's not on Coromodir like we claimed. Whatever he's planning may doom all of ComStar's work, if we don't manage to stop him."

"We may need to reshuffle our plans for Normandy Relay at this rate. Focus more on improving cohesion and teamwork than operational effectiveness. The rest of the arrivals presented no issues?"

"No, Precentor," Adept Williams confirmed. "Just some minor inter-faction rivalry like on the Citadel. Before the Citadel Riots," she clarified.

"Excuse me, Precentor," a voice announced. Adept Adams approached her, holding a dataslate in his hands. "We found a piece of intelligence in the Geth salvage. The quarian Miss Zorah managed to recover a partial datafile."

"Show me," Shepard commanded, taking the dataslate and reading its contents. "Noveria? That planet sounds familiar. Was it a location of interest?"

"Only of tertiary priority, Precentor," Adams reported. "The Spectre had ties to a megacorporation with research facilities on Noveria.
"

"Well, this is suspicious," Shepard mused. "Continue scouring the salvage for more data, and keep the information under wraps. We don't need somebody charging off by himself on what might be a wild goose chase. Can the others in your team be trusted to keep silent?"

"Yes, Precentor. Only the quarian and Doctor Nehlav are aware so far, and they both agreed to keep this secret until we can confirm its authenticity."

Shepard nodded. "Thank you, Adept. Inform me immediately if anything else is found." Adept Adams accepted the dismissal and departed. Shepard thought silently.

"You do the mission with what you have, Shepard," the dying woman rambled, combat stims keeping the brain half-lucid as the body bled out. "If Blake could have given us BattleMechs for this FUBAR op, he wouldn't have needed us to fulfil his vision. So go, make those heretic Wobbies regret betraying his dream."

"Adept Williams, you are qualified for field operations. How do you feel about Noveria as your first field assignment?"

The girl stared blankly at her. "Precentor, surely the other adepts are better qualified? My name is too high-profile-"

"The others have their own parts to play, and you'll be going with a false identity. Your grandfather saved the Inner Sphere from human conquest with his sacrifice. If you want to live up to his legacy, you'll need to prove yourself. This is your chance. -"

Shepard's speech was interrupted by an alert from her communicator. Annoyed, she picked it up and asked, "What is it, Acolyte?"

"Precentor Shepard, we received a priority message. You have an invitation to a performance at the Omega Queen's Afterlife Club tonight."

The asari glared at her. "Your Normandy Initiative is already annoying just being here. I don't want Geth, I don't want Citadel," she listed, "and I don't want a Spectre on Omega because you're causing trouble for him! So, if you want to stay, your troops had better keep in line."

"I see." Shepard muttered darkly.

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