English Bay Blues: A Mass Effect Prequel (Shenko)

Chapter 13

Milky Way/Artemis Tau Cluster/Knossos System/Therum – Planet Surface

Earth year: 2173 CE

The scenery that greeted him as the airlock doors opened was like nothing he'd seen before. A wave of intense heat reached him briefly before his suit's thermal shielding engaged.

The ground before him was dusty red and hard like 21st century vids of Mars. He clicked on his omni-tool to get his bearings before heading off in the direction his map indicated.

Ten minutes later he was standing in a rocky outcropping near a flow of lava as wide as a river. Thankfully it didn't seem to be moving which as far as Kaidan was concerned was a good thing. He looked around but could see no sign of Aryana, even though his omni-tool indicated he had reached the coordinates she'd sent him.

"Alenko." Said a voice directly behind him. He started, his heart leaping to his throat as he turned to face her, just as she stepped out from behind two large boulders.

"Dammit Aryana." Kaidan swore. "You scared the crap out of me. Didn't you see me coming?"

"Of course I saw you. Just had to be sure you weren't being followed."

"So what's your plan? Who are these batarians? What do they want?" Seeing her look, he checked himself. "I mean, have you figured out yet what they're doing here?"

"Hmph." Aryana snorted. "With batarians who knows? But no, I don't know what they're doing here. As far as I can tell it's a small raiding party - no more than 20 crew, including the ones from their ship."

"You found their ship?"

"No." She spat, clearly annoyed. "It can't be far but damned if I know where they've stashed it. Which means we've got to hustle. If we can't see the ship we won't know when we're out of time - so let's move."

Aryana headed out, Kaidan following closely behind. "Have you figured out where they've taken the crew?"

"Yes." She said not slowing. "I downloaded a blueprint of the facility before we entered the system. Good thing too since comms aren't working here." She stopped and showed him the image she'd called up on her omni-tool, marking key points of entry on the map as she did so - then sent a copy to his own tool.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be only one entrance. I've no idea why they haven't posted anyone outside, but I assume they've got at least one or two just inside the doors."

Kaidan agreed but still felt they were missing something. Batarians didn't raid research facilities - at least he'd never heard of it, and they typically didn't go after facilities that held Council races.

Hitting one with asari inside just didn't make sense. "I don't get it." He said, as they neared the building."This doesn't seem like a standard batarian raid. Even if they just wanted whatever your scientists recovered, they should've left by now- why are they still here?"

She stopped and faced him. "I know what you mean Alenko. Something about this whole operation stinks. What say we go inside and find out?"

"Could it have something to do with the research here?"

"Doubtful. Batarians don't put much value in Prothean ruins or technology unless it's some form of advanced weaponry they can exploit. But there's nothing like that here."

"So we have no idea. Great."

"Chin up Alenko." Aryana teased, her voice playful again. "I'm sure you'll get your chance to be a hero today."

Kaidan blushed as Aryana turned away from him, continuing on the path she'd chosen for their approach to the facility. He fell into step behind her, grateful the helmet he wore masked his reaction to her words.

He wished he was harder to read. He still clung to his youthful fantasies about saving the galaxy and impressing a woman he loved, but that didn't mean he wanted anyone else knowing about it. That Aryana kept bringing it up embarrassed him, but he hoped her insight was how she spoke to all males, regardless of species. But he also thought it much more likely he was just being overly sensitive and she had no idea how close to the truth she was.

As they neared the building, Aryana ran through her plan. It was by no means perfect, but it was solid enough given how many unknowns they were dealing with. They approached the base cautiously and entered the facility, pistols drawn. As the doors slid shut behind them, they held their breath straining for any sound of approaching footsteps.

Silence greeted them and they sighed in relief as they moved cautiously forward. Aryana flinched as Kaidan clamped a restraining hand on her shoulder, moments before she almost put her foot squarely on top of a land mine. Casting him a grateful glance, she eased past the trap, eyes alert for more.

They made their way down what was a long stretch of tunnel without encountering any form of resistance other than a few more mines scattered along the path.

Unnerved by the silence and lack of security, they left the tunnel cautiously, emerging onto what was a deserted set of suspended walkways connected to each other by ramps.

Aryana paused to remove her protective headgear, stashing the collapsible piece on a clip at her belt. Kaidan followed suit,looking to her for direction.

"This just seems so wrong." She said, breaking the silence. "Where the hell are they? What have they done with the hostages?"

Shaking his head not knowing how to respond, they followed the path until they came upon an elevator.

"Shit!" Aryana said. "There's no way we can use that quietly."

Kaidan looked around, there was no way to avoid it. All the paths led here, and down was their only option. If they wanted to find out what was going on, they were going to have to take their chances with the elevator.

Sighing heavily, Aryana pulled up her omni-tool, then stepped up to the railing and aimed it below them. Watching in interest, he could only guess at what she was doing.

After a few button presses, she turned back to him, a triumphant smile on her face. "It's a thermal scanner." She said, seeing his puzzled look. "I had it installed last time I was on the Citadel - new technology, very expensive. But also very handy."

"I bet."

"I've got no heat signatures directly below our position or any within 20 yards of where we we'll end up. It's the next level down that the researchers here have successfully excavated. There seems to be some square or rectangular shaped rooms that lead out from the open area below us - unfortunately it doesn't show what might be on the other side of them."

"So we're going down?"

"We're going down." She said, stepping onto the elevator. "Ready to do this Alenko?" She asked, pressing the button.

"If you mean take out an unknown number of batarians and save the crew, then yeah. I'm ready."

"Good." Aryana said. "Remember to stick to the plan. Anything happens, use your barrier or shield or whatever you can. You're strong. Strong enough for anything a batarian could throw at you."

"Thanks." Kaidan said. "I'm glad you think so."

"Don't worry Alenko," she added with a wink, "I'll protect you."