Chapter 5 - Therum

The Council was stunned when the recording was played. "You wanted proof," declared Udina stentoriously, "there it is."

"This is," Councilor Tevos trailed off. "That was Matriarch Benezia."

"And she is?" asked Kent.

"She is a prominent leader among the Asari," explained a frowning Tevos. "She is a pacifist, teaching the principles of empathy and mercy to all peoples."

"I am more concerned with the A.I. known as Braniac," said Valern. "How great of a danger is it?"

"The Braniac we encountered before was a planetary level threat," said Udina. "We had many dangerous encounters with it until the current Superman was able to defeat it for good."

"At least we thought so," added Kent. "If the one we hear on the recording is truly the original, we have a grave threat on our hands. He'll have had unimpeded time since the destruction of Krypton to improve his programming."

"Will you be able to defeat this AI?" asked Valern.

"No," answered Kent honestly. "We'll have to call in the Justice League."

"They have no jurisdiction in Council space!" snapped Sparatus.

"It's either call in the League or face a technological apocalypse," countered Anderson.

"We will defer to the greater experience of the Systems Alliance in this matter," stated Tevos in a tone that brooked no argument. Valern nodded. Sparatus grudgingly nodded his agreement.

"In any case, that still leaves us with the threat of Saren," said Udina.

"He is stripped of his Spectre status," said Sparatus. "Without those resources he won't be able to act freely."

"That's it?" asked Anderson.

"What else would you have us do?" asked Valern.

"Send in your fleet!" exclaimed Udina, "secure the entire Traverse!"

"That would lead us into conflict with the Terminus systems," countered Sparatus.

"A fleet is a poor tool for hunting down one man," said Tevos.

"Only if you ignore his big ass ship and army of Geth," whispered Williams to Alenko.

"Then you can send one man to hunt him down instead," said Udina smugly.

"What? No! It's too soon!" protested Sparatus.

"You want us to invest Commander Kent as a Spectre and send him after Saren?" asked Valern.

"Who else are you going to send?" asked Anderson.

"We have other Spectres, Captain," said Tevos.

"And the Commander isn't simply a soldier," said Sparatus. "He's also a member of this League."

"Kent has served with honor and distinction in the Systems Alliance since he took his oath eight years ago," said Anderson sharply. "His membership in the League has never interfered with that."

"The Justice League has held itself apart from joining the Citadel," said Valern. "It would be very unorthodox to select a Spectre from a government that was not part of Citadel space."

"You would not be selecting a Leaguer as a Spectre," said Kent. "You would be electing a Systems Alliance marine."

"Would the League consider joining the Citadel if you are elected Spectre?" asked Tevos keenly.

"As a representative of the League, I can state with certainty that my admission to the Spectres will definitely make the Justice League consider membership with Citadel Space."

Tevos leaned back, an open smile on her face. She turned to Valern, who nodded. They turned to Sparatus. He glared at Kent for several moments before nodding as well. "Commander Kent, step forward," stated Tevos. Kent stepped forward, in his black and red nanosuit, and assumed a parade rest.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," intoned Tevos.

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," continued Valern. "Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions lift them above the rank and file."

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance," said Tevos. "They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," said Sparatus, clearly putting aside his dislike because of the solemn nature of the moment. "Both our first and last line of defence, the safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first Human Spectre, Commander," reminded Tevos. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your species."

"Thank you, Councilors. I'll strive to be worthy of this honor," said Kent with a slight bow of his head. "I'm assuming Saren is my first mission."

Valern nodded. "We're sending you into the Traverse after him. Saren is a traitor and a fugitive from justice. You are authorized to use any means necessary to capture or eliminate him."

"We'll forward any information we have on Saren to Ambassador Udina," said Sparatus.

"That concludes our business for today," said Tevos. "This meeting of the Council is adjourned."

Captain Anderson moved over to Kent as they left the Council chambers. "Congratulations Commander," said Anderson as he shook Kent's hand. "You've earned it."

"Yes, sir," replied Kent.

"You're going to need a ship, crew, supplies…" said Udina.

"As a Spectre you'll have access to special equipment and intelligence," said Anderson. "There's a Spectre Outpost near the Embassies. Head there."

"I'll make sure your Spectre Authorization is in place by then," said Udina. "Come, Anderson, I'll need your help setting the Commander up for his mission."

Kent and his crew hung back as the Ambassador and Captain marched off to the Elevators.

"You'd think the Ambassador would be happy," said Tali, "he didn't even thank you."

"I haven't done anything as a Spectre yet," said Kent.

"Plus he's an ass," added Williams.

"He's a politician," said Alenko.

"Same difference."

Kent chuckled as he lead his crew into the next available elevator. Once they were in, he turned to Wrex and Garrus. "We make a good team." He turned to Tali. "The three of you are welcome to join me."

"It would be an honor, Commander," said Garrus.

"Same here," said Tali.

"You normally get into fights like we did earlier?" asked Wrex.

"Only most of the time," said Kent casually.

"Heh, this is going to be fun."

"Great! Alenko, take everyone to get them the best gear available," said Kent as he sent Alenko an access key via omnitool. "I'll foot the bill."

"I definitely know the best places to go," said Garrus.

"Thanks," said Alenko, "that'll make things easier."

"You're heading to the Spectre office, sir?" asked Williams.

"Yeah, I'll see what they have available. I'll message you once I know what Udina has planned for us."

"Aye-aye," said Alenko.

Things moved quickly after that. Kent spent some time familiarizing himself with the operations of the Spectre Office. He bought a full set of Spectre Masterwork guns for himself. Fortunately they could be easily modified to work with his suit. After downloading all the intelligence the office had on Saren, Udina called him to meet at the Normandy's dock. He messaged his crew, who had put a sizable dent in his League operational funds, and they all gathered at the Alliance docking bay, where Udina and Anderson were waiting for them.

"Congratulations Commander," said Udina without preamble. "Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now."

The alliance marines turned in shock to Anderson. "She's quick and quiet. You know the ship and her crew. It's a perfect fit for a Spectre."

"That's not the whole truth, sir," protested Kent.

"You'll know soon enough, if you have Saren's files." Anderson took a breath. "I was once considered to join the Spectres. Saren was my supervisor, like Nihlus was for you. He made sure I didn't make it. I took the blame when he set fire to a mining facility we were infiltrating."

"And you couldn't make the charges stick with his Spectre status in the way," said Kent as he connected the dots.

"Exactly. Plus, you're a Council Spectre now. You're outside of the chain of command. And the Normandy is the best ship for a small infiltration force."

"Thank you sir. I won't let you down," said Kent with a salute.

Anderson returned it. "I know you won't"

"We also have one lead for you to pursue," said Udina. "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter. A Doctor Liara T'soni. She's currently on site at a dig for Serrice University. The dig is located on Therum, Knossos system in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"Do we have anything that ties her with Saren?" asked Kent.

"Just that she's Benezia's daughter and she's one of the Asari's foremost experts on the Prothean Disappearance," said Anderson.

"She might be able to help interpret the Beacon's message, if she isn't already working for her mother and Saren," said Kent.

"Precisely our thinking, Commander," said Udina. "The Normandy is ready for to get underway. Congratulations and good luck." Udina stretched his hand out. Kent shook it. Everyone waited until Udina's elevator was well away before talking.

"Come clean with me, sir," said Kent. "What really happened?"

"This was always going to be your command, Kent," answered Anderson. "Even if you weren't accepted into the Spectres, the Normandy was always going to be yours. For now, I'm going to take a long put-off vacation." Anderson shook his head ruefully. "I'm not as young as I used to be. Don't have the legs anymore to go chasing after Saren."

"I'll make sure to give him a good one for you, sir."

"Ha! I bet you will." Anderson's grin faded as he became somber. "You're heading into a firestorm, Kent. Saren was already dangerous. He'll have Benezia's Asari commandos backing him up, as well as an army of Geth. Not to mention Braniac. But you're the pride of the Alliance. The pride of Humanity. Go show the rest of the galaxy why that is."

"Yes, sir!" With one final salute, that the Alliance marines and Garrus returned, Anderson took his leave.

"I've seen a lot of warriors have to hang up their guns," said Wrex. "He wasn't ready to give up his."

"No," said Kent, "but we can't worry about that now. Is all your gear ready to go?"

"It'll be loaded within the hour," reported Kaidan.

"Good. Let's get you all settled in."

Two hours later the ship was finally ready to get underway for its second mission. Kent stood at the Captain's perch overlooking the central hub of the command center. He flicked it over to Galaxy Map mode and punched in his destination.

"I have our heading, Commander," reported Joker. "You want to say a few words?"

"Yeah," answered Kent.

"Intercoms are all yours."

"This is Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Kent speaking." Kent's voice rang out through all the ship's speakers. "We have our first mission. Track down Saren and bring him to justice for the attack on Eden Prime and his betrayal of the Citadel Council. For too long Humanity spent its time fighting itself. Focusing on our differences. White or black. Baseline or Meta. Organic or Synthetic. Now that we've finally put that behind us we come out into a diverse galaxy. A galaxy that Saren and his allies threaten." Kent took a breath. "We need to do this for Humanity. But we also need to do this for all the other species of the galaxy. For all sentients. We need to stand together. All eyes will be on us. We will not let them down. We will stop Saren and his army of Geth. Let's show them what it means to be Alliance! Let's show them what it means to be Normandy!" A muted cheer rang through the ship. "Kent out."

"Well said, Commander," said Joker. "Captain would be proud."

"Let's make sure he stays that way," Kent told him.

"Yes, sir."

Kent spent the intervening time filling out all the paperwork generated by the takeover of his command as well as getting to know his squad and his crew. Ashley helped Kaidan pass the assault rifle certifications, which had been waived by his status as a biotic. Wrex spent his time observing the workings of a human warship and using the ship's holo practice room. Tali quickly endeared herself to the Engineering crew, while Garrus brought his mechanical expertise to maintaining the Mako.

"We're on final approach to our dropzone," reported Chief Navigator Charles Pressly, his new XO.

"Roger," replied Kent as he prepped the Mako for drop. Kaidan helped him ready the systems as his co-driver. Ashley had quickly claimed the gunner's seat in the turret. Tali was sitting in between Wrex and Garrus on the jumper seats. Kent made a mental note to have Tali certified for the sensor suite before the next time they had to deploy.

"Joker's found a place to land?" asked Tali. Kent and Kaidan turned around to see Garrus double checking his straps. Wrex looked on curiously.

"Yes," replied Kent. Kaidan turned to look at him. He gave him a wink hidden from Tali's view. Kaidan turned forward to hide his grin. "We're ready to go," he reported.

"Sir, we have signs of a Geth incursion at the dig site," reported Pressly.

"Any signs of the expedition?"

"A garbled distress signal. Camera's managed to catch a glimpse of their base camp. It's shot to hell."

"That wouldn't have happened if the Doctor was with Saren," said Kaidan.

"Not enough data to make any assertions," countered Kent. "For all we know it was an inside job. Or the expedition discovered something they were silenced for. It's all conjecture. For know, all we know is we're heading into hostile territory."

"Aye aye."

"Assume overwatch course after drop," Kent ordered Pressly.

"Aye aye."

"Drop?" asked Tali. The Hangar bay door opened in front of the Mako, showing the ground below. "Isn't he going to land first?"

"Go! Go! Go!" yelled Pressly. Kent floored the accelerator.

"Wai-aaaaaaaaah!" screamed Tali.

The Mako's mass effect drive kicked in after they cleared the ramp, orienting the bottom of the Mako with the ground below. Their new position let them see the Normandy zoom off, gaining altitude. The mass effect drive, in conjunction with the jump jets, slowed down their descent until the suspension could compensate. The squad felt a gentle bounce as the Mako came to a rest on the surface of Therum.

Tali was still screaming.

"We've touched down," reported Kent. Tali forcibly cut off her yell. "Are you receiving Normandy?"

"Aye aye, Commander," said Pressly, "reading you loud and clear."

"We're heading for the Base Camp. Keep us posted."

"Roger." Kent drove forward, skirting around a lava pool to the most direct route to the Archaeological expedition's camp.

"Are you humans insane!?"

"Probably," quipped Kent.

Tali caught Garrus' grin out of the corner of her vision. "You knew!?"

"Um," drawled Garrus, nonplussed.

"You stinking bosh'tet!" she yelled as she began slapping at his shoulder. "You could have warned me!"

"Sorry! I'm sorry!"

She rounded on Wrex. "Did you know!?" Wrex shook his head. She jerked back and stared at him a moment, "You weren't surprised," she said accusingly.

Wrex shrugged. "Not the first time I jumped from a ship. At least this time I was inside a vehicle when it happened." Tali stared at him.

"Well, congrats on having your cherry popped," said Ashley.

"Huh?" asked Tali, confused. Kaidan snorted.

"At least there were no sweaty jocks involved," Ashley continued.

Garrus turned a confused look on Tali and Wrex. They both shrugged.

"Enough people," ordered Kent through his chuckles. "Eyes up, Ash."

"Yes, sir,"

"Scope's negative," reported Kaidan.

"All right. We should be able to cut through this valley, around another lake and through a sealed tunnel. The Base camp should be after that."

"Lots of magma around," said Ashley as she spun around. A view of the outside was projected onto her hud from a camera system rigged around the Turret joint, preventing the need for an exposed viewport.

"We'll make sure to steer clear. How's the climate control systems?" Kent asked Kaidan.

"Compensating. The heat sinks should be fine at this distance."

"Good."

"Commander, you have a dropship incoming!" warned Pressly.

"Copy!" Kent turned to the inside of the Mako, "get me a visual."

"Yes, sir," replied the two marines.

"I have it," replied Ashley a moment later. "Incoming fast at seven o'clo-" she cut herself off as the dropship zoomed over the Mako. The shields took a pair of hits before Kent managed to maneuver them out of the line of fire.

"Normandy, we need air support! Ash, splash that thing." The boom of the main gun firing was his answer. The Dropship released two rounded cubes before the Normandy chased it off.

"Tali, what are those blue four-legged Geth?" asked Kent.

"Armatures," she replied. "Be careful of their stalk mounted Plasma cannons. The Geth use them as infantry-support."

"Strafing right," called Kent. He drove the Mako in a wide circle around the two Armatures, accelerating past their plasma shots as Ashley fired the main cannon then peppered them with the machine gun to keep their shields from regenerating.

Once they were both destroyed. Kent drove over an isthmus between two large pools of lava. Crossing the rise right after put the Mako in front of the Eldfell-Ashland mining facility. It also put it in front of three rocket turrets.

"That's not good," muttered Kent.

"Missiles incoming!" called Ashley as she fired at the middle turret.

"We have a path to our right," said Kaidan.

"Jumping!" Kent hit the jump jets and propelled the Mako over the rocket barrage. As soon as the Mako landed he spun it and made for the crevasse to their right. The ridge turned sharply right. Kent drove around the corner. There was another missile emplacement blocking the way. Kent jumped and jinked around the turret's rocket fire while Ashley blasted it to smithereens. Kent drove past it into an ambush of Geth waiting for them in the compound. Kent chose the most expedient course of action and simply ran over most of the Geth troopers. Ashley concentrated her fire on the Geth juggernauts leading the ambush.

"Where's the digsite?" asked Kent.

"If we follow this pipe system it should lead us to the tunnel and right to the digsite," said Kaidan.

"Alright, let's roll," said Kent. "Normandy, give me a sitrep."

"Still trying to down this dropship, sir," reported Pressly.

"This guy's a squirrelly bastard in atmo," said Joker. "Damn machines are also using the lava vents to confuse our sensors."

"Any other surprises?"

"I sent a satellite probe up. We're getting a lot of thermal activity and not much else. At least not without a dedicated scan net," said Pressly.

"Can't do that and track this dropship," protested Joker.

"Down that dropship," ordered Kent. "We're heading to the digsite."

"Roger, sir."

"We're going in blind?" asked Garrus.

"No other choice," answered Kaidan. "Our sensors aren't calibrated to be able to filter through this much thermal interference."

"I might be able to rig up a program to zero in on Geth signatures," offered Tali.

"Even through lava?" asked Garrus.

"It'll take a little longer."

"We'll definitely look into that later," said Kent. "For now we'll have to make due with close range information. Turning right!" Kent swerved the Mako around a plasma shot from a Geth armature that had moved out from behind a large boulder.

"Traversing!" said Ashley as she lined up her shot and blasted the armature. They fought through a few scattered Geth rocket troopers that fell easily to the Mako's machine gun. The curved around the far side of another lava lake and crested another rise. Kent spun the Mako around and floored the Mako back over the rise. The crest they just passed exploded, sending the Mako into a front flip. Kaidan turned the mass effect generator to the max as the Mako turned right side up, slamming them wheels first into the ground.

"Ow!" cried Tali.

"What hit us?" asked Garrus.

"A giant-sized version of the those armatures," spat Ashley.

"It's a Colossus," said Tali, "super heavy mobile artillery."

"How do we kill it?" asked Kent.

"A couple of rockets to take out its shields, a machine gun to keep it from regenerating, and a couple more rockets to breach its armor."

"Gonna take a long time sir," warned Kaidan. "And I counted ten rocket troopers moving in on our position."

"Fuck that," said Kent. "Normandy, I need an airstrike."

"Give us the target," said Pressly.

"Ash, get ready to paint that thing. Strafing Left."

"Got it!"she replied. Kent floored the Mako and hit the jump jets just as they cleared the rise. A barrage of rockets and a humongous plasma blast sailed under them. Kent landed and began strafing to the left of the Colossus.

"Jumping!" He jumped the Mako over a fusillade of rockets. Fortunately, the Geth Colossus couldn't seem to compensate for his speed at this range. "Normandy, what's taking so- jumping!" Unfortunately, while the Colossus couldn't compensate with it's slower moving plasma shot, the Rocket troopers could.

"Shields down 30 percent," warned Kaidan.

"We have a solution, sir," reported Pressly.

"Finally!" cried Ashley as she began firing on the approaching Rocket Troopers.

"Missiles Away!" called Joker. Almost instantly, the windshield of the Mako became nearly opaque as the Colossus and the surrounding ground exploded, sending a shockwave that picked up and flung the Rocket troopers and pushed the Mako nearly to the top of the rise.

"Confirm," Kent ordered.

"Can't see anything through this dust," complained Ashley. Kent drove over several of the prone Geth, crushing them under the Mako's six wheels. "There! The target is vapor sir!"

"Normandy, we confirm kill," radioed Kent.

"That's the good news, sir," said Pressly, "Bad news is we lost the dropship."

"Take up overwatch again," Kent ordered, "they're bound to come around."

"Yes, sir."

Fortunately, they didn't encounter any heavy resistance. Unfortunately, the dig site was located through a narrow ravine that was impassable for the Mako. "Is there a way around?" asked Kent.

"On the far side of the site," said Kaidan.

"Way too long to get there, especially with the Geth all over the place," mused Kent.

"We'll just have to get out boots dirty," said Wrex.

"Right. Okay, everybody out," said Kent, "we're hoofing it."

"Aww," pouted Ashley. "But I like shooting the big gun."

"Onanism as defined by teen males," muttered Kaidan. Kent turned back to him in surprise and snorted. Alenko grimaced and shook his head. "God damn it, it's infectious."

Exiting in the middle of the group, Kent jogged up to join Garrus and Wrex, who were peering around a portion of cliff that jutted out, blocking most of the entrance to the ravine. "Hostiles?"

"Can't tell but there's a large open space with no cover ahead," reported Garrus.

"I can scan for geth signals," said Tali, "but I can't reach that far and compensate for thermal interference."

"Well if that sensor won't work let's try another," said Kent cryptically as he knelt down and placed on hand in the dirt. His squad stood around, watching him in confusion for a moment. "Alright," he said as he stood up, "we have three geth waiting in ambush behind the large rock, one of them rocket troopers. There's more geth further behind them in the passage that leads up to the dig site. They built a watchtower so watch out for sniper fire."

"How the hell do you know that?" asked Wrex.

"Ol' injun trick," he said making Ashley snort. "Alright, Wrex, move up with me. We'll draw their fire. Ashley, Garrus, you pick off the snipers in the tower. Once we can push up, Tali and Kaidan, you move in to support us. Got it?" He received a chorus of nods.

Wrex wrapped himself in a biotic barrier and followed Kent as he barrelled forward. Three Geth popped out from behind the only large boulder in the middle of the ravine. Kent preemptively exploded a rocket from one of them before laying into them with his sword. Wrex made short work of his side with his shotgun. They slammed back first into the boulder and turned to each other.

There were two nearly simultaneous barks of sniper fire. "Snipers are down," reported Garrus.

"Move up," ordered Kent. He gave a nod to Wrex as he brandished his assault rifle before they ran around opposite sides of the boulder. A group of Geth, led by a shock trooper, tried to halt their advance. They kept pushing forward, despite the damage their defenses were taking, until a simultaneous mass overload from Kaidan and Tali splashed over the group. Kent charged forward and sliced the stunned Geth to pieces before moving up.

The Ravine narrowed as it approached a trail that led up to the dig site. There was a boulder blocking one side of the ravine. Three shock troopers, two rocket troopers and a destroyer. The shock troopers deployed strange hexagon shields that soaked up all their gun fire. Kent put up a shield as the rocket troopers fired on him. He felt a sharp yank as a set of grenades landed in front of him. Wrex had grabbed him and pulled him behind the boulder.

"Thanks."

"We need some way past those barriers," said Wrex. Kent felt the boulder they were hiding behind as it was peppered with bullets.

"Get ready to run," he told Wrex as he placed both hands on the boulder.

"What crazy stunt are you pulling this time?" Wrex watched as the boulder shot away from them as if it had been launched from a cannon. It rolled down the hill, easily breaking the geth barriers and scattering the Geth formation. He ran down the rocket troopers first as Kent made a beeline for the destroyer. The Geth destroyer made the fatal mistake of engaging Kent in hand to hand combat. Kaidan and Tali mopped up the remaining shock trooper as Garrus and Ashley ran up to join them.

The group carefully made their way up the path to the digsite. A rudimentary cargo loading facility had been built around the entrance to the site, which was blocked off with a standard mining seal. They didn't encounter any further resistance, which bothered Kent.

"Anything?"

"Got nothing, sir," answered Kaidan.

"Same here," agreed Ashley.

Garrus growled. "Doesn't make sense. There should be another perimeter here at least."

"Maybe they're afraid you'd just bomb them if they gathered together," said Wrex.

"Can't do that and leave the entrance intact," disagreed Kent. "They have to know the archaeologists would be our objective."

"Maybe a machine can't make the emotional connection?" asked Ashley.

"They could extrapolate our course of action from numerous previous examples," said Tali. "Even if it wouldn't be the logical choice they can still predict emotional responses from a statistical model."

"Keep alert," ordered Kent as the group walked in between a series of cargo containers on a path that led to the mining entrance. "This is a great spot for an am-" Kent surged forward and pushed Wrex aside. His protest died on his lips as a round splashed against Kent's kinetic barrier. The group turned and spotted an organic looking Geth jumping from its perch on top of a container to the scaffolding. A red targeting beam swung toward Kaidan, who took cover behind a crate.

"They're jamming our sensors," said Garrus as he fired a burst at the Geth, who hopped away from its position. Three more jumped up to different positions, trying to get the group in a crossfire.

"Any tips Tali?" asked Ashley as she fired.

"I've never seen Geth like that before!"

"We've got incoming on the ground," yelled Wrex as he fired his shotgun down the path between the containers.

"Garrus, Ashley, get the hoppers," ordered Kent. "Tali, Kaidan slow down the ground advance!"

"On it!"

"Yes, sir!"

Kent threw a discus at one of the hoppers near the edge of the scaffolding. It hopped out of sight. However, the scaffolding buckled under the ensuing explosion and an entire section came crashing down, taking one of the Geth with it. Tali sent an overload while Kaidan fired off a Lift. Wrex immediately fired off a Throw, detonating the Lift field and sending one of the Geth flying. Garrus and Ashley staggered their fire and managed to down the other hoppers one after the other.

"Alright, let's concentrate fire on the-" Kent was interrupted by the whine of the Geth dropship as it flew into position over them and began dropping Geth, including another armature. "Normandy! Dropship over our position!"

"Shit! Sorry, sir!" responded Pressly.

"Get rid of it!" The dropship broke off as it was pelted by guardian laser fire. The squad huddled behind the containers as the Armature opened fire. The container shook and slid back a step but held.

"Our cover isn't going to last!" said Garrus.

"Cover me!" ordered Kent as he charged out from behind the container. He ran under the Geth's fire as his teams suppressing fire kept the smaller Geth off of him. He charged the armature as it readied another plasma shot. He swung his sword out and decapitated the armature as he ran past it. The plasma shot it was building destabilized and detonated, taking out the armature and the surrounding Geth.

There was a shockwave followed by the sound of a detonation. "Dropship is down, sir," reported Pressly.

"Good, keep the entrance clear," ordered Kent. "We're going in."

The entrance to the mine was almost abandoned.

"It's quiet," muttered Garrus.

"I'm not detecting any Geth signatures," said Tali. "They could be powered down however."

"Keep alert," said Kent as he led them to a dilapidated elevator. "Let's hop down. Buddy up." Ashley jumped into Shepard's arms as Kaidan took hold of Tali. Garrus and Wrex looked at each other before Wrex motioned at his back. Garrus jumped up and grabbed hold of his hump. The two biotics floated down while Kent dropped and absorbed the impact with his TTK.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" called out a distressed female voice. "I'm trapped! I need help!" Kent quickly led his team over to an active forcefield. Behind the forcefield, suspended in a bubble, was Doctor Liara T'soni. "Thank the Goddess! I've been here for over a day, I think."

"Doctor T'soni?" asked Kent. "My name is Commander Jonathan Kent, Spectre. I was sent to retrieve you."

"A human spectre? I had not-wait, did you say Kent?" Her eyes quickly flashed to the insignia on his chest and widened. "Oh my."

"An alien trapped in a cave on an undeveloped planet in an unsettled region of space knows who you are. Now that's fame," snarked Ashley.

"Quiet you. Doctor T'soni, can you fill us in on what's going on?"

"We were attacked, by Geth! Can you believe it! They haven't been beyond the veil in 200 years!" Ashley shot Kaidan a grin. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Do you know why they attacked the camp?" asked Garrus.

"For the technology?" asked Doctor T'soni hesitantly. "I'm uncertain what could motivate them. They started killing everyone when they arrived. A few of us ran here." The doctor grit her teeth as tears started flowing. "I was the only one who made it into the site. I trapped myself while activating the curtain barrier. Please! Can you find some way to let me out?"

"Sure thing," said Kent. "How can we deactivate this curtain?"

"It's thermally powered," she said, "the level below isn't shielded. You may be able to use the mining laser to dig through."

"Why wasn't that level already dug up?" asked Wrex.

"There's a magma chamber under that level. If we had dug too deep we could have destabilized the vent system and caused an eruption."

"Have to be careful then," asked Kent. "Tali, your scans find anything?"

"Sorry, Commander," she said with a shake of her head. "Other than the energy readings I can't seem to access any of this technology."

"Doctor T'soni? How do you know Saren?" asked Garrus casually.

"Saren? Do you mean Saren Arturius?" Garrus nodded. Doctor T'soni looked at him sketically. "I know of him, but I don't know him. The last I heard of my mother she was looking to be his advisor."

"That's it?" asked Ashley. "That's all your mother told you?"

"I'm sorry but I haven't spoken to my mother in over fifty years." Kent's team traded looks with each other. "Why? Has something happened?"

"Saren led the Geth on an attack on a Eden Prime," Kent told her bluntly.

"And you think my mother is involved?"

"We have a recording of her helping Saren."

"Impossible! My mother preaches peace and compassion for all species! How could- how…"

"I'm sorry, but it's true. We came here because you were our only lead."

"I'm sorry Commander but you've wasted your time," Doctor T'soni sagged in her restraints. "I don't know anything that could help you."

"Saren targeted this camp for a reason," said Garrus. "Probably to get at you."

"I'm just an archeologist, what could Saren-"

"What's your specialty?" asked Kent.

"The Prothean extinction. But I fail to see…" she trailed off again as the team traded looks. "What is it?"

"We'll explain later," said Kent. "First we get you out of there." He approached the barrier and looked at it closely. The light it was giving off was a side effect of the energy used to create a semisolid barrier of kinetic energy. Fortunately, this was his specialty.

"Commander?" asked Kaidan as Kent laid his hand on the curtain. There was a clear ringing note as a ripple spread out from his point of contact. "Whoa."

"What is he up to know?" asked Wrex as Kent clenched his fist. He spread out his fingers and a hole appeared under his hand, slowly spreading.

"Incredible," breathed Doctor T'Soni. The hole spread to the size of his torso before it collapsed with a low bass note.

"Damn it," panted out Kent. "It's too strong for me to stabilize an opening. We'll have to go with the mining laser and hope we don't blow us all up."

"Incoming!" yelled Tali. The team turned to find a troop of Geth firing on them. Garrus and Ashley assumed positions on the railing and began counter sniping. Kaidan and Tali each launched overloads. Wrex and Kent launched themselves off the balcony and into the center of the Geth attack.

All the Geth were destroyed in moments.

"Tali, can you work this thing for us?" asked Kent.

"Sure thing, Commander." They were through in moments.

"Oh, thank the Goddess," said a relieved Doctor T'soni as the group approached. "The console next to me controls this device. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure what I pressed…" She trailed off as Kent stared at the console for a moment then confidently pressed a series of buttons. Doctor T'soni collapsed to the ground as she was released.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" asked Kaidan as he helped her up.

"I will be alright," she panted, "I was trapped in that sphere for quite some time."

The ground rumbled beneath them.

"That isn't good," said Ashley.

"Normandy, we need evac asap," ordered Kent as he led the team onto the central elevator. "This place is about to blow!"

"Exit to the site is secured," reported Pressley.

"Just make sure you outrun the lava," chimed in Joker.

"If we die here I'll kill him!" snapped Wrex.

Kent quickly had the elevator rising to the upper level, giving them a straight shot to the exit of the mine. Kent growled under his breath as the elevator stopped and a squad of Geth led by a Krogan Battlemaster stomped into view.

"Surrender," called out the Krogan, "or don't. That would be more fun." His head was just turning up to track a blur of motion when Kent came down on him like a meteor. He raised his barrier. It broke into pieces as Kent slammed into him feet first. It was the only thing that kept him from being broken.

Garrus and Ashley reacted first and unloaded on the Geth. Kaidan sent a lift field up. Wrex shook himself out of his stupor, having just watched Kent bounce off the ceiling, and launched a warp. Kent buried his sword through the Krogan's face and into the ground, then held on as the biotic detonation washed over him.

"Let's go!" Kent called as the mine began shaking even more. The team ran for the exit. Kent lagged behind to make sure that everyone got out. He grabbed Doctor T'soni around the waist and ran with her, using his TK to nudge falling boulders out of their path, even as Wrex and Kaidan cleared a path in front of them. The team was rushing up the ramp into the Normandy as a tremendous wind picked up behind them.

"Go go go!" ordered Kent as he jumped up the ramp, landing in the hanger. There was not answering call as the Normandy flew up, even as the ramp finished closing. The team let out a collective sigh of relief once the ramp closed.

"We are aweigh, Commander," reported Pressly.

"Well done, extend my thanks to Joker and the crew," said Kent, "Also, inform Chakwas that she has an Asari patient incoming. Dehydration and exhaustion probably."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, we debrief in fifteen," Kent told his team.