Chapter Text
Eden Prime
Jane crouched down in the soil before slowly standing up, weapon at the ready, scanning the horizon for enemies. Seeing none, she lowered her weapon, the two men behind her following suit.
The four of them; Jane, Kaiden, Jenkins, and Nihlus had all been transported via a small shuttle, with Nihlus immediately going his own way while promising to regroup later at the dig site. Jane sighed, but knew better than to try to stop him. After all, who was she to command a Spectre?
Forcing these thoughts out of her mind, she focused on her surroundings. Eden Prime was a garden world, but a fairly sparse one. Or at least, it was sparse in the area where they had landed. While greenery was seen, it seemed more like a rocky plain to her.
Silently signaling for her team to follow, Jane quickly made a dash for an outcropping of rock. Peering around it, Jane found a few balloon-like creatures. None obstructing their path, but still unknowns.
“What are those ugly things?” Asked Kaiden, immediately to Jane’s right.
“Their official name’s in debate, but they are creatures native to this planet.” Said Jenkins, standing to Jane’s left. “I read a brief file on them before coming here. They’re fairly harmless, but will attack if they feel threatened.”
“Threatened by what? A stiff breeze?” Despite the potential seriousness of the situation, Jane couldn’t help but crack a smile as Kaiden’s eternal wit shone through.
“We’ll trust you on this Jenkins. Squad, weapons at the ready but don’t shoot unless those… Things make a move!”
Sticking close together, the team slowly skirts around the balloon creatures. A few seem to drift closer, but were really dragged closer to them by a light wind. Successfully skirting around the strange creatures, the find themselves going up a small hill with rocky outcropping littering its side. Drawing closer to it, Jane begins picking up a faint sound. “Get to cover!” She shouts, jumping for the nearest outcropping of rocks with Kaiden right behind her.
Jenkins wasn’t as lucky. As soon as he pinpointed what the noise was, three hunting drones, he immediately lifted up his rifle and began firing wildly while running for cover. One of his shots managed to clip a drone, sending it spiraling to the ground, but the other two pinpointed their fire on him until he dropped.
“Jenkins!” Kaiden shouted, seeing his falling friend. Ignoring the current plight, Kaiden tries to reach the fallen soldier but is quickly restrained by Jane.
“He’s dead Kaiden! And if you just rush out there you’re dead too!”
“Y-You’re right commander.” Said Kaiden, lifting up his rifle. “Then let’s get those bastards.”
Targeting the drones turned out to be difficult, their constant weaving through the air making it difficult to track them. But eventually, Jane figures out a way to get them lined up. She uses her innate biotic abilities to pull one of the two remaining drones her way before firing at it, landing a solid hit. Kaiden, seeing her approach, also unleashes his biotics. With a massive push of the dark energies, he slams his drone into the rock wall, crushing it like a tin can.
With the two attacking drones down, Kaiden walks over to their fallen comrade while Jane walked over to the drone that Jenkins had clipped. It was still in the dirt, auto-repair functions trying to get it flying again. With a single shot into its core, Jane finished it off and walked over to Kaiden.
“He was just a young recruit…” Kaiden whispered as Jane approached. “He didn’t deserve this.”
“No, he didn’t.” Jane agreed, resting a hand on Kaiden’s soldier. “But he knew the risks when he signed on. Now come one soldier, we have a mission. But I swear to you that after this we’ll come back and give Jenkins a proper funeral.”
Silently, Kaiden stood up and walked back to Jane’s side. “I’ll hold you to that Shepard.” He said, falling in behind her.
Together, Jane and Kaiden climbed the hill and found a half-hidden path. Being more cautious since confirming a viable threat, they both held rifles at the ready. Thus, they were prepared when they heard shooting and the whirring noise of more drones.
*******
Ashley cursed as she hit the ground, the hunting drones closing in as she recovers from the bullet that had just hit her. Luckily it was absorbed by her shields. The only piece of luck she’s had that day. She quickly pulled the pistol off of her belt and with a few desperate shots, manages to destroy her incoming attackers. Finally able to breath easy, Ashley’s well-earned breath catches in her throat as she sees two clearly synthetic creatures, Geth, positioning a screaming colonist over a strange machine.
Suddenly, the machine comes to life, a long spike shooting out and impaling the colonist, hoisting him a good distance off the ground while his limp body dangled at the very tip of the spike.
Turning around now, the two Geth spot Ashley. Waisting no time, she immediately gets to her feet and runs to the nearest rocky outcropping, switching from her pistol to a machine gun as she does. Once behind cover, she catches her breath and waits as she hears the crunch of gravel as the Geth draw closer to her…
*******
Already alerted and with itchy trigger fingers, Kaiden and Jane jump into the scene of Ashley taking cover from the Geth. Too pumped to even notice her, they immediately begin firing at the Geth a trio of hunting drones suddenly appears and begins firing at them.
Kaiden, clearly on a revenge kick, puts out a wall of disruptive biotic force, causing two of the drones to instantly explode while he brings up his gun and snipes the third.
Jane, meanwhile, focuses on the two Geth. She focuses her fire on the one closest to her, a few seconds of precision pummeling managing to get her through the Geth’s shields and allowing her to shoot out its processor.
*******
Ashley, bolstered by the sight of these new allies, follows Jane’s lead, concentrating her fire and then targeting the Geth’s CPU. With the battle over, she finds herself unsure of what’s going on. She is glad, however, to recognize the symbols on Jane’s and Kaiden’s uniforms as marks of the Alliance.
The woman, clearly the leader of the pair, checks in on her comrade before walking over to Ashley. Years of training kick in as she reflectively says her name and rank as the woman stops in front of her. “Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212.”
*******
Jane looks curiously at the young woman in front of her. Clearly a soldier, and yet she had not expected to see any soldiers this far out from the target they were supposed to be guarding. Nonetheless, she put her gun away. “Are you ok Ms. Williams?”
“A few scrapes and burns ma’am. Nothing serious. The… The others weren’t so lucky.” Saying this, Ashley turns away, years of soldier training and discipline not being enough to hold back the tears and memories of her former squad.
“We, my squad that is, was patrolling the perimeter when the Geth attacked. We tried calling for help, reinforcements from the colony, but the Geth jammed our signals.” Ashley turned back to the Commander. “I’ve been fighting for my life ever since.”
“What happened to your squad Williams?”
“Well ma’am, we tried doubling back to the dig site, we assumed it’s what they were after, but they had set an ambush for us. One we walked right into. We managed to take a fair chunk of them out, but we were forced to run. They managed to pick us off while we were escaping. I don’t know if it was luck or what, but I managed to escape.” As Ashley spoke, Jane recognized something in the softness of her tone and the look in her eyes. It was her squad who went down, and she was convinced it had gone down because of her.
“Don’t beat yourself up about it Ashley.” Said Jane, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You were outnumbered and outgunned. Anyone could have led that team and they’d have the same result.”
“Thanks ma’am. That means a lot.” Said Ashley, brushing off Jane’s hand.
“I don’t get it.” Said Kaiden, suddenly breaking into the conversation. “The Geth haven’t been seen outside of the Perseus Veil in three hundred years! Why attack this colony now just for a Prothean relic?”
“I don’t know, but I do know where the dig site is. It’s just over the next rise. They might not have had time to move it.” Said Ashley, pointing to what seemed like a long, narrow trench.
“Thanks Williams.” Said Shepard, getting her rifle back out in case any Geth still lingered in the area they were about to go to. “You know, we could do with another skilled soldier on our team. Why don’t you come with us and lead the way?”
“Yes ma’am!” Exclaimed Ashley, saluting briskly. “I want to make those sons of bitches pay for killing my squad.”
*******
Jane carefully led her team down the trench, sticking to cover and keeping weapons at the ready, always remembering that there were likely Geth waiting for them. Upon seeing the dig site, Jane motions to Kaiden and Ashley to take up flanking positions as Jane herself cautiously walked up to the dig site.
The cautiousness of the group is rewarded as, almost as soon as Jane steps out of cover, two Geth appear, guns firing. Jane quickly runs back to cover, taking a grenade from her belt and launching it towards the two Geth as she does.
The detonation manages to destroy the first Geth, but only minorly damages the second one. Ashley quickly takes that one down as three more Geth step out of cover. Kaiden again uses a wave of disruptive biotic technology, hitting two of the Geth with it and shorting out their shields. Switching back to his gun, he helps finish them off before the entire group turns their rifles to the remaining Geth, quickly taking it down.
With the firefight over with, Jane feels a searing pain in her left arm where a Geth bullet had grazed her while she had ducked for cover. Using a quick application of medi-gel, she sealed the wound to prevent blood loss and contamination. After examining her companions for signs of similar wounds, most soldiers to prideful to admit when they’re hurt, she turned her attention to the dig site.
Aside from the Geth bodies, digging equipment, and a small platform, it was just an unremarkable patch of earth. “Where’s the relic?!?” Jane asks, turning to Ashley.
“I don’t know!” Says Ashley, holding up her hands in a defensive posture at Jane’s aggressive tone. “Last I heard it was here! Maybe it got moved.”
“But by which party, yours or the Geth?” Asked Kaiden, who had stopped to exam the ground for possible tracks.
“I don’t know for sure. But there’s a researcher camp nearby. If they got lucky and hid well enough, there might be a few survivors we can talk to.” Ashley points in to the distance, where a few hazy buildings can be made out.
“All right then Williams. Lead on.” Jane says, motion to Ashley to get into a scouting position.
As they head out, Nihlus’s voice unexpectedly crackles over their intercoms. “Shepard, change of plans. I won’t be meeting you at the dig site, going to check out the nearby colony.”
Jane quickly touches the button on the side of her helmet to activate the transmitter in her helmet. “Copy that Nihlus. We just got here and were about to leave anyways. There’s Geth here but we have reason to believe that a few researchers might have survived.”
“Geth?!? Be careful Shepard. If there’s Geth involved this just got a whole lot more complicated. Meet me at the colony spaceport, and if you find any survivors inform them help’ll arrive soon. Over and out.” The crackling of the radio stopped.
Jane sighs before turning to Ashley. “You heard the man; we got a rendezvous to make.”
“Aye ma’am!” Ashley exclaims, saluting before leading the way to the buildings, Jane and Kaiden picking a path behind her.