"The barrier will drop in three... two... one..."
As soon as the barrier deactivated, Jane opened rapid fire on the Colossus, as did Tali, using LOKI Mechs that utilized assault rifles. Chifuyu also fired, while Liara used Warp, a biotic hammer, and a biotic spear to prevent the Geth platform from rising to its feet from a lying position. However, even while lying down, it fired an energy beam at us, which got bogged down in my biotic barrier.
"John, move forward."
I nodded and began to gradually shift in the indicated direction; the barrier and the girls moved with me, and more and more marks appeared on the Colossus's body. Now they had already smashed its "eye" lamp, and it began to send its energy beams slightly less accurately.
"Damn, it's a new model... it seems this platform has backup cameras."
Disappointment was heard in Tali's voice.
"Well, it was clear from the start that things wouldn't be that simple..."
The platform short-circuited after a particularly lucky hit and slumped down, but we were in no hurry to relax.
"One second..."
Liara stopped everyone and sent a Singularity toward the head; though she had to strain a bit for this, as this Colossus was somehow particularly interesting and she decided to play it safe.
However, even a normal Colossus isn't taken so easily by a Singularity, but this one lost its head completely after the reinforced version of the technique.
"Good then, wonderful."
Jane gave the signal, and we continued to move forward, though we didn't encounter any more such large Geth. Mostly they were ordinary platforms, and some slightly larger ones, which could do nothing to either my barrier or Liara's barrier, who volunteered to replace me after several skirmishes that ended in the total destruction of the Geth.
"Tali, you're up."
I nodded to the girl toward the nearest terminal, and she was very quickly beside it and connected.
"No, there's nothing here... but I can track the locations where there might be terminals with the information we're interested in."
"Do it."
Jane nodded to her, but Tali didn't need permission; she was already working, applying all her strength to calculate all the necessary terminals, and she did it very quickly.
"I'm done... we need the fifth, tenth, and twenty-seventh floors. At least that's where the server rooms are that might store the information."
"Well, then to the fifth..."
I nodded toward the stairs, as the elevator was unable to lift Jane.
"Fuck..."
Jane was clearly not thrilled by such a prospect, but she understood there was generally nothing to be done, so we'd have to stomp to the fifth floor and hope we wouldn't have to go higher.
"Although... we could try something... Tali, can you take control of the elevator?"
"Of course, but..."
"I know it won't lift Jane's exoskeleton, at least not with all of us inside. So we'll try it differently. I'll lift her using Lift; theoretically, this should nullify her weight on the elevator and it will be able to go up to the floor we need."
"Well, we can try..."
Tali nodded, and I saw hope in Jane's eyes. Soon the elevator opened its doors and I, lifting the exoskeleton with Lift and very carefully shifting the technique, moved Jane inside, after which the others went in as well, and the elevator doors closed, and it started moving toward the fifth floor.
"A bit cramped..."
Liara shook her head, but she showed no more dissatisfaction and covered us with a barrier, which immediately took several shots. However, Jane, even while hanging in the air, was able to open fire and literally shot the Geth platforms to pieces.
"Getting out..."
Jane wasn't very comfortable, so when I set her down on the floor of the fifth floor, she felt relief.
"...finally... let's pray that everything we need is in this server room."
However, by the law of unintended consequences, the information we needed wasn't in this server room, nor in the one on the tenth floor, so we had to use the same elevator to reach the twenty-seventh floor. And there Tali froze for almost an hour, but she found all the necessary information both on Species 37 and on other ExoGeni developments.
"Dropship!"
Jane's shout made me pay attention to the windows and cover them with a barrier, but the Geth ship managed to change flight direction and crashed into the twenty-eighth floor; however, it crashed in such a way that the floor of that level began to collapse and we had to leave the server room.
Above us, we heard the sounds of grappling hooks engaging, which prevented the dropship from falling down, followed by the footsteps of Geth beginning to leave their transport. Но we noted this while already heading for the elevator.
"Faster, faster, and everyone press against the walls!"
As soon as we were all in the elevator, Jane literally jumped into it, thereby snapping the locking mechanisms, and the elevator began to fall with a screech, and somewhere at the level of the fifth floor, the emergency brakes kicked in, so the elevator stopped on the third floor.
"To the exit?"
"Jane..."
I wiped the sweat—or rather, tried to wipe it from my forehead.
"...let's agree, if you want to repeat such a maneuver, tell me. Honestly, it would have been easier for me to jump out the window. I would have softened the fall with biotics, but here..."
"If I hadn't managed to overload the emergency brakes, they wouldn't have clamped with the necessary force and we would have just crashed."
Tali's words made Jane freeze and very slowly turn around.
"Um... sorry?"
She really felt guilty, and we all saw it.
"Forget it..."
Chifuyu waved her hand.
"...but don't do that again."
"It would have been better to sit behind Liara's and John's barriers and dismantle the Geth platforms than like this..."
"Uh-huh..."
Liara and Tali confirmed the girl's words with nods.
"Besides, I left my LOKI Mechs there... and because there was no way to control them properly, they've already been shot to pieces."
"I hope there was nothing important on them?"
"There was..."
Tali replied in a perfectly calm voice, which didn't match the information she told us.
"Um... Tali?"
As soon as I prompted her, two explosions rang out above.
"Explosives that were supposed to destroy them and anyone trying to download the data. It's very important, after all."
"Phew, don't scare me like that..."
"Alright, Commander."
Tali was clearly pleased with the effect produced, however, we couldn't stay in one place and headed at a quick pace toward the stairs, and from there, once we were downstairs, to the Mako.
"Captain, something strange is going on here..."
Joker contacted me, clearly very agitated.
"And what is it?"
I tensed up slightly.
"The colonists seem to have gone mad... they're throwing themselves at the SSV Normandy, firing at it with hand weapons, including rocket launchers. I turned on the shields, but... I don't like what's happening, it's like a frenzy."
"Understood... we'll try to get to you as soon as possible."
And we did indeed set out, though on the way we had to stop near the shelter of the ExoGeni representatives, where that man had already been hit on the head and tied up, and everything was being run by the mother of the girl we had saved.
"The other workers, according to your daughter, have settled in the bunker. To be honest, I don't know why you didn't do the same, but I'm glad you didn't, because if you were there, we wouldn't have gotten the codes that helped us so much."
"Well, we helped each other..."
The lady shrugged uncertainly.
"Uh-huh... don't go into the colony for now; the colonists seem to have lost their minds."
"It's... Species 37..."
The daughter didn't let her mother say a word.
"...that's why I was suspended. Part of the information that fell into my hands was that this species spreads spores. They affect people's state—migraines, voices in the head... I even suggested it could turn into direct control."
"So, perhaps it's even good that you're in suits... you didn't take them off, did you?"
"No."
I shook my head.
"But how did it happen that the colonists are infected and you aren't?"
"Special drugs that didn't allow spores to accumulate in our bodies. It's not very pleasant, of course, but we took them regularly..."
The head of ExoGeni on Feros clearly tried to say something, but a gagged mouth didn't favor such a thing.
"You know..."
I looked at the girls.
"...you'll most likely be fired after all this."
"I understand."
The older woman nodded, grimacing slightly. She clearly didn't like the idea of looking for a new job.
"I think my daughter and I will be looking for work..."
"I see. In short, there are some conditions, and you'll also need to pass an interview, but you can try to get a job at 'New Life.' Of course, the direction of work isn't quite the same as ExoGeni, but we need competent specialists."
"We?"
"Yes, we..."
"We..."
"We'll think about it."
The older woman shut her daughter's mouth.
"But what are the conditions?"
"You'll be very closely monitored. Medical exams and all that. We need to be sure that Species 37 hasn't affected you in any way. And won't affect you in the future. In general, it won't be very burdensome for you."
"Alright, we have to go."
I waved my hand, and we returned to the Mako, after which we headed to the colony.
"Commander, did you... know?"
Tali asked this question quite quietly and clearly contacting me over a private channel.
"Yes."
"How? No... don't answer, just... your orders, requirements... you know, I analyze them and each time I realize more clearly that you know in advance what awaits us. It's strange..."
"Knowing in advance what awaits is impossible. I know..."
I thought about what I could say and then mentally waved it off.
"Imagine that someone made a computer game about our lives, a brisk action flick, and I managed to play it."
"That's... strange..."
Tali commented on my words.
"Strange, but... that action flick didn't have everything... there were the main missions—Feros, Noveria, Therum... but what happens on the missions themselves is already impossible to predict. Simply because it was a long time ago and I just don't remember exactly who and in what numbers opposed us in that game. And trusting that information..."
I shook my head, though she couldn't see it.
"In short, you know roughly what should happen, but as for how..."
"Exactly."
"Will we win?"
"I don't know..."
"But you said..."
"The game ends quite primitively: they find an ancient weapon that creates a traffic light. Go right and you destroy the Reapers; go left and you unite synthetic and organic life into something new; go straight and you become a Reaper yourself, taking their whole race under control."
"Nonsense..."
In Jane's voice, whom I had connected to the conversation along with Liara, dissatisfaction was heard.
"Unfortunately, that's how it is..."
Liara sighed sadly.
"...Mom and Aria T'Loak have been basing everything on those memories of Jane's all these years."
"But why not tell others?"
"Because even Aria T'Loak and Matriarch Benezia doubted it wasn't a psychosis until they saw Jane's memories. But this conversation can wait; we're approaching the colony. Prepare non-lethal weaponry."
I said the last words over the general broadcast.
"However, remember its use is only advisable if you don't take damage yourselves. So if there's a threat, use lethal."
***
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