A couple of rockets slammed into my biotic barrier, but Jane already had a sniper rifle in her hands and immediately opened fire on the enemy. Slightly delayed, Rebecca opened fire, and only at the very end did Williams start shooting.
I noted all of this in the back of my mind, lifting a Geth that was off to the side with a short flick of my hand, and it was immediately struck by a shot. That was how we worked: I protected our group and lifted Geth into the air that had gone unnoticed by my subordinates, while they did the shooting. There was even work for those sitting inside our armored vehicle, as several Geth were particularly large—not Primes, of course, but something between a standard model and a Prime. They were being targeted specifically by the armored vehicle's cannon.
Several more rocket explosions washed over my shield.
"Damn... how is that even possible?"
Williams's voice wasn't loud, but I heard her perfectly.
"Not a single biotic I know was capable of that."
"Most human biotics are pathetic losers for the most part..."
Jane replied, not hiding her attitude toward biotics.
"...no, there are worthy sentients among them, like Kaidan, who's inside right now... he doesn't have the Captain's power, of course, but the skills he does possess are honed to an incredible level. Among those I know, I can name maybe ten more people who didn't just go through biotic school but continue to develop. The rest, though..."
"Jane, less chatter."
I cut the girl off, though her words were very pleasant to me. However, my power isn't exactly mine—or rather, it is mine, but...
Shaking my head, I brushed away another set of memories, focusing on the job, especially since we were approaching the spaceport. This was clear not just because the buildings had come into view, but because we were being fired upon by sniper rifles. Moreover, the fire was so intense and accurate that I had to create another small shield in front of my head, as ten shots hit a single point with an extremely short interval. Though ten was just what I managed to count. In theory, there should have been more.
"Why are you so slow?!"
"I was mostly firing an assault rifle!"
Williams snapped back at Jane's indignation.
"And I was never issued enough ammo to properly hone my skills!"
"Yeah, yeah..."
A hint of mockery could be heard in Jane's voice.
"...and that pink armor was 'issued' to you too, right? It's not like you found the dye yourself and touched it up. If you had enough for armor dye and a bribe so people wouldn't notice, you could have spent it on ammo."
"Ma'am..."
Whatever Williams wanted to say remained a mystery to us, as a hail of gunfire descended upon us, and now Jane and Rebecca had to climb back into their exoskeletons to return fire from the weapons mounted on them.
"Damn, running low on ammo..."
Rebecca said this as if to the air, but I heard it.
"Well, sorry, at this caliber even Mass Effect weapons with pseudo-infinite ammo stop having that pseudo-infinite amount. It's one thing to provide ammo for a rifle where the round weighs no more than a gram, and quite another to feed these monsters."
"I'm not complaining..."
A guilty note sounded in Rebecca's voice.
"...it's just that some spare 'magazines' wouldn't hurt, something to let us fire two or three times longer. I've already burned through two-thirds of my combat load. And with a regular rifle, I could have fired twice as much and not even spent half."
"Ha, write a review after the mission."
"Huh?"
Rebecca was clearly shocked by Jane's words, which were spoken with a light smirk.
"John is famous in the fleet not just for often buying gear for squads out of his own pocket, but for demanding that all gear users write a full review. What they liked, what they didn't..."
"Wait, Jane, I heard something like that, but I thought it was just tall tales..."
Rebecca was shocked.
"No, not tales."
I began to answer the question, which, judging by the intonation, wasn't really a question.
"It's just that I often supply subordinates with experimental weaponry. It's passed testing, of course, but you should understand yourself that a proving ground and combat conditions are somewhat different. So, reviews are needed to refine the gear before putting it into full production."
"And these exoskeletons?"
"Yep... though the Army guys have already notified me they aren't interested in this development."
"What?!"
Jane, Rebecca, and even Williams were shocked by my words, and Chifuyu, Jenkins, and Alenko, who were inside the armored vehicle, also reacted to my words over the general channel.
"Too expensive... it's not feasible to buy such machines for the Army, so the exoskeleton line will mostly go for sale to mercenaries."
"Fuck..."
Jane didn't like my words.
"Well, I'll always have suits like these for my own people. And I'm acquainted with a couple of Admirals—I've worked on their ships—so they'll use their channels to push for these exoskeletons to be purchased specifically for their fleets. They won't equip a division, of course, but a battalion, maybe a few platoons. In short, it'll be case-by-case."
I allowed myself a slight smirk.
"Alright, enough talk, time to fight. Chifuyu, get outside; you won't be able to drive around at the destination, so we'll be working on foot."
"Understood."
With that single word, the rear compartment soon opened, and everyone who had been inside scrambled out.
"And where do you think you're going?! Get back inside, now!"
I tried to use my authority to pressure Nihlus Kryik, but I had no such authority over him.
"I am not your subordinate; I am a Spectre, so I will work at my own pace."
I could only grimace at the Spectre's words, but I couldn't argue with him, and there was no time for it anyway, as we had arrived at the final station where we were forced to face new enemies. Or rather, the enemies were already familiar to us, but that didn't change the fact that there were a hell of a lot of them. A whole hell of a lot!
"Captain, we have a problem!"
Kaidan drew my attention to him, but I couldn't turn around as I needed to control the shield protecting us.
"What kind?"
"A nuclear bomb... Turian design."
"You're recording everything, right?"
"Affirmative..."
"Well, then start defusing it if you can; if not, just tell me how much time we have."
"Five minutes... and this isn't the only bomb. It's linked to others."
"Can I lift it and carry it with us?"
"I'm not sure..."
Doubt sounded in Kaidan's voice.
"Step aside..."
The Spectre clearly pushed Kaidan away from the bomb and immediately cursed under his breath.
"What happened?"
"Old model, from the Krogan Rebellions. Non-removable... But you can even carry it with you. As long as it's networked with the other bombs, it won't blow. Well, unless the timer runs out, of course."
"Can you find out where the other bombs are?"
"One minute."
We stayed in place, and the only thing pleasing me right now was that the enemies were gradually thinning out.
"Kryik? Your Turian mother, how much longer do I have to wait?!"
I tried to hurry the Spectre.
"Done. The directions where the bombs are planted have been determined."
"Then move! Move, damn it! Or do you want to live forever?!"
"No, sir!"
Jane answered for everyone, after which she began using profanity to hurry the others, and it had an effect. Everyone started moving faster, and I noted to myself that I had made the right choice by giving the position of second-in-command to her instead of leaving it to Kaidan. He's not a commander, after all, even if he has the appropriate rank.
Soon we reached the second bomb, which I also lifted with biotics, and now I was lugging two bombs behind us. And then there was the third... the last one.
"Kaidan, shield!"
"I can't..."
"Shield, I said, you piece of imbecile! Or do you want the bombs to explode right next to us?!"
He didn't answer me and created a shield in front of the squad. However, all squad members understood perfectly well that Kaidan's shield was significantly weaker than mine, so they immediately started using cover, while I, stepping behind a wall, began creating a displacement module out of biotics...
"Jane, squad command is on you."
"What?"
She looked at me in surprise, while I, using all my strength, not only created a sort of displacement module out of biotics but also surrounded the three bombs with a shield before firing them high into the air.
A single shot, and my strength completely left me; I simply slumped against the wall and slid down.
"Commander!"
Williams was suddenly beside me.
"Williams! Why the fuck did you stop shooting?! Geth reinforcements have arrived!"
"But..."
"You birdbrain! You weren't ordered to think!"
I smiled weakly, watching as Rebecca appeared next to Williams and kicked her toward the cover, after which, casting a brief glance at me, she returned to the combat objective.
"Clear!"
I opened my eyes when I heard that word from Jane.
"Check the area! Work in pairs! Chief and Revi, Kaidan and Jenkins, me and Williams! Move!"
With great difficulty, I rose from the floor and took a couple of steps, but I had to lean my hand against the wall.
"Interesting skills..."
"I just had good teachers."
I replied to Nihlus Kryik's short remark.
"Any Asari who spent her life developing biotics could do this. Moreover, she wouldn't look like I do right now afterward."
"Hmm... I once worked with an Asari from the commandos, and that task became one of the easiest for me... Are you saying you're on the same level as her?"
"I don't know..."
I shrugged.
"You probably know my personal file..."
"Yes, your legend didn't prove much of an obstacle for the Council. So I know you're the test-tube son of the late Henry Lawson and a protégé of Aria T'Loak. And honestly, I'm amazed by the persistence with which she helped push you for this trial. Does she really think you'll be her pocket Spectre?"
"Heh... are you saying that's so surprising?"
Kryik continued to drill me with his gaze, and I sighed.
"I know of at least three Spectres who don't mind collaborating with the Shadow Broker—for the common good, naturally. So tell me, how is collaborating with him better than collaborating with Aria T'Loak? To me, it's many times worse."
"Well... you have a point there. Aria is at least partially controlled..."
I mentally smirked at that statement from Kryik. Aria, controlled? That lady only puts on an act of being obedient because it's profitable for her. After all, as long as she's "obedient," certain supplies happen on a completely official level. If she goes out of control, she'll have to reinvent the wheel and make all orders through the black and gray zones.
And considering the upcoming Reaper Invasion, which she knows about—even if she doesn't quite believe it—it's simply counterproductive for her to turn the Council against her right now.
"Sir, we've found the Beacon."
Jane contacted me.
"But it's active."
"Active?"
"Affirmative, some kind of energy is shooting into the air from it, and Williams says she's never seen anything like it before."
"I hope no one approached the Beacon?"
"I gave the order... Williams! I said stand down! Stand down, you thick-headed fool!"
We had no choice but to hurry, and we arrived exactly at the moment when Jane used her body to knock Williams's body out of the energy barrier, after which she was slightly arched.
"Fuck..."
I tried to grab her with biotics, but my strength hadn't returned yet, and I could only watch as she hung there, and then the Beacon exploded, and her body was thrown to the ground.
"Rebecca, check Jane's condition."
"I... didn't mean to..."
"Chifuyu, put Williams under guard. And do not release this bitch without my order or the order of anyone senior to me in rank!"
"Yes, sir!"
"SSV Normandy..."
I contacted the ship.
"...we found the Beacon, but it's damaged. Awaiting evacuation..."
***
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