Mass Effect: Imperial Glory

I do not own Mass Effect or any properties thereof, I am not making money off of these writings.


Imperial Glory Chapter Ten: Deep Strike.


'these indicate normal thoughts'
This means an AI construct communicating
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INF Normandy, Relay 441 system, April 2nd, 2193.

"Transit finished. We are in the Relay 441 System, the pack is in formation." Pressly announced.

Red lights flashed across the bridge, "Proximity alert, evasive maneuvers taken." Normandy announced.

"Engage Stealth systems, condition 1. Continue evasive, status report." Shepard ordered.

"Commander, we just dropped into the middle of a huge Geth fleet, if I'm reading these numbers right it's larger than any fleet we've seen yet, Frigates, Cruisers, Transport Ships, and Dreadnoughts." Pressly said.

The ship shuddered. "Taking enemy fire." Normandy announced.

"We need some distance. Full emergency speed, get us out of range." Shepard ordered.

"Marathon is taking heavy fire, countermeasures ineffective." Pressly announced.

Shepard closed his eyes for a moment, weighing his options.

'At the rate of damage the Marathon is taking, it will not survive to a safe distance.' Wilco stated.

"We'll stand and fight. Normandy, engage Combat Systems." He ordered.

"Combat Systems engaging." Normandy announced.

The space around the Relay was lit with weapons fire. M/A rounds and Pulse bursts from the geth ships blanketing the area.

'They don't detect us, so they're just throwing flak up. Trying to carpet bomb space. Amazing tactic.' Shepard thought.

The Marathon was taking pulse after pulse, the data coming from the ship showing that it's shields were down and they were relying on simple agility to stay alive.

'Drop a pair of torpedoes, set them for auto-target. Have the Iwo Jima do the same.' Shepard ordered.

'Torpedoes away, Iwo Jima reports the same. They have acquired targets.' Normandy informed.

Normandy's torpedoes sprang to life, making a beeline for the two Geth Cruisers closest to the Marathon. The torpedoes penetrated the geth's kinetic barriers, then the hulls quickly, detonating and destroying the cruisers. The Iwo Jima's torpedoes locked in and hit a pair of the Geth's large transport ships, destroying them.
The Geth ships began pulling evasive maneuvers, scattering.

'That takes the heat off of the Marathon, all ships form up. Let's put a fist down the throat of that Dreadnought.' Shepard ordered.

Iwo Jima formed up on Normandy's right flank, Marathon forming up on the left flank.

'Pack is in formation, locking in on Dreadnought designated Target One.' Normandy announced.

'Lock in vector for a torpedo run, I want a full salvo from all ships.' Shepard ordered.

'Firing solutions locked in. Disbursement range set at 1500 yards. TTT 25 seconds.' Normandy informed.

'Weapons free. Let's hurt the bastards.' Shepard stated.

The Geth Dreadnought was a beast. Larger than a normal dreadnought, and studded with Pulse batteries.

'Torpedoes away, all torpedoes locked.' Normandy announced.

The Frigates flipped and made speed away from the Dreadnought.

The torpedoes went hot, the rockets activating. The dreadnought came to life, pulse weapons firing wildly, blanketing the surrounding space. The six capital-grade torpedoes smashed into the Geth hull, penetrating before detonation. The resulting explosion was spectacular, the dreadnought was annihilated.

'Target One destroyed, Geth vessels in full retreat into the Relay.' Normandy announced.

'They've got bigger targets in mind. We're clear of any Geth forces, disengage Combat Systems.' Shepard ordered.

The mental link dissipated as the systems returned to normal status.

"Set a course to the Agaisa nebula. Any idea where the hell that fleet was heading?" Shepard asked.

"Course layed in. No way to be sure Commander, that Relay can connect to any of a dozen systems." Pressly stated.

"Open a channel to the Marathon." Shepard ordered.

"Channel opened." Normandy informed.

"Commander Stapleton, how are you holding up?" Shepard asked.

"Scorched and battered plates along the hull, some subsystems were affected by the pulse fire, but we're at full battle readiness." Stapleton replied.

"Good to hear Commander, that was a hell of a situation we fell into." Shepard stated.

"Yes it was sir. I thought we were finished there for a moment. Thank you for pulling us out of the fire." Stapleton said.

"Anytime Commander, Shepard out." He finished as the channel closed.

"Iwo Jima is requesting a comm line Commander." Normandy informed.

"Put them through Normandy." Shepard replied.

"That was incredible Shepard. Three Frigates dropped into the middle of a Geth invasion fleet and took out a pair of cruisers, a pair of transport ships, and a dreadnought without losses. I've got to say, when I first saw the specs on these ships I thought the Engineers back on Mars were blowing smoke. I was most definitely wrong about that." Harris said.

"The technology in the SR series is going to revolutionize our military, there's no doubt. How's the Iwo Jima?" Shepard asked.

"We took several minor hits from those flak bursts, no real damage though. I have to hand it to them, these Geth are pretty damned adaptable." Harris answered.

"They are that. Shepard out." He finished, closing the comm.

"What's the ETA for our arrival?" He asked.

"0810 tomorrow Commander." Pressly replied.

"Any Geth on the scanners?" He asked.

"There's quite a bit of traffic along the Relay corridor, transport and cargo vessels, and some frigates. We'll stay well out of their range along our vector however." Pressly answered.

"Good. Let me know if anything unusual happens, you have the bridge X/O." Shepard stated.

-------------------------

As Shepard entered the Officer's Mess he saw Nihlus, Jenkins, Shiala and Liara sitting at a table together.

"Commander, I heard we ran into some action once we hit this system." Jenkins greeted him as Shepard walked into the Officer's Mess.

"We dropped into the middle of a Geth fleet. Ended up having to take out almost half a dozen ships on the way through." Shepard replied.

"Is it true we took down a Dreadnought?" Nihlus asked.

Shepard nodded as he poured himself a cup of coffee, "Took 6 torpedoes to take that beast out."

"Frigates taking down a Dreadnought, that's something that doesn't happen every day." Jenkins said.

"Someday I'm gonna have to buy the Engineer that had the idea of stuffing capital grade torpedos into a stealth frigate a drink. So what are you all up to?" Shepard asked.

"Nihlus and Sergeant Jenkins were telling us about the First Contact War. The events leading upto and surrounding it are most fascinating." Liara answered.

"I must confess I have never learned much about the conflict. I was not able to fight during the war, I find it a most interesting history." Shiala said.

"I thought you Asari had a citizen's legislature, you had to stay abreast of events." Shepard said.

"I'm not sure I understand." Shiala stated.

"It's a Terran colloquialism, it means to stay informed." Jenkins explained.

"Sorry, I'm used to working with other Imperials, I lapse into High Terran sometimes." Shepard replied.

"I understand now. Participation in the Asari Legislature as you call it, is not mandatory. I was in training with other Commandos in the service of Benezia at that time, we were in a very remote region on the outskirts of Asari space." Shiala explained.

"I was on a ten year expedition to Siloma, a small planetoid outside of Citadel space during the war. We actually didn't find out about the war until we returned to Asari territory and were escorted to a station by Imperial flagged vessels." Liara said.

"Must have been quite a shock." Shepard stated.

"It was. I remember we were interrogated separately by a Terran officer, we were cleared quickly though. It took some getting used to." Liara responded.

"We returned to Asari space only a few months after the end of the war. The other Commandos and I were shocked to learn of everything that had happened. I remember when it was announced that the Asari had been accepted into the Empire, we were still recovering from the knowledge that we were now a conquered race. The Matriarch was asked to join the groups of Asari being sent to help train Human Biotics. We thought with certainty that Benezia would accept, she had always spoken of the need for the Asari to assume a more active role in Galactic politics, this seemed like the perfect opportunity, but instead we went into self-imposed exile for many years until she met Saren..." Shiala trailed off.

Jenkins decided to interject, "Did you fight in the war Alex?" He asked the Commander.

"Nope. I was born in 2161, 4 months after the Declaration of Victory. My mother fought though, she was with the 273rd Fleet Detachment." Shepard replied.

"The 273rd were the ones sent to Tuchanka with Khan Jeris weren't they?" Jenkins asked.

"Correct. She was a Scout-Sniper, Force Recon. Logged 47 one hit kills with a ballistic rifle during that action." Shepard answered.

"I thought the Krogan were your allies during the war?" Nihlus asked.

"You were a Spectre right? Shouldn't you know all this." Jenkins stated.

Nihlus looked irritated for a moment, "I was active near the Batarian front, I wasn't privy to any information concerning other fronts in the war."

"Alright. Well anyway, our first contact with the Krogan occurred in September of 2158, when a squadron of Krogan Cruisers saved an Imperial scout patrol from annihilation at the hands of the 4th Citadel fleet. Warlord Jeris was the leader of this group, and brokered a deal to lead the Krogan under a Human banner in exchange for our assistance in unifying Tuchanka under his rule. You know how that turned out." Jenkins finished.

"The Khan and our new Human allies forged a demoralized, dying people into a sharp dagger and plunged us into the heart of the galaxy." Wrex stated.

Shepard turned, "Wrex, join us. I didn't notice you come in."

"Thank you Shepard." Wrex replied, taking a seat, "You were talking about the War of Reprisal?"

"Yes. Apparently the former Council races don't tell their own people much about it." Jenkins answered.

"Wait, the Krogan refer to the First Contact War as the War of Reprisal?" Shiala asked.

"Humans, Batarians and Asari refer to it as the First Contact War, the other former Council races refer to it as the Citadel War, Quarians as the Phoenix War, and the Krogan as the War of Reprisal." Shepard explained.

"That is fascinating, but I would like the hear the rest of what you were explaining earlier Sergeant." Liara stated.

Jenkins nodded, "Ah yes, how we burst onto the Galactic scene. Commander, you probably can explain it better than I can, I was telling them how we were able to defeat the Turians."

"Alright Leeroy, I'd be happy to. Basically, we were ready for a war." Shepard started.

"Humans were ready for a war, why?" Shiala asked.

"We colonized our solar system, found massive caches of alien technology, expanded using that technology into other systems and found the same thing all over our corner of the galaxy. All based around the same tech base, all truly ancient, all with no trace of it's creators. We were on a war footing the moment we left our home system." Shepard finished.

"We expected to meet either the makers of the relays, or whatever had replaced them. Anything unknown can be a threat, you either prepare for it, or you die. Humanity had dozens of systems and over a thousand ships by first contact." Jenkins stated.

Shepard continued, "We strip mined entire systems, sucked the atmospheres of gaseous worlds away, established hundreds of colonies and outposts. Between 2132 and 2157 our singular goal was staking a claim on as much of the galaxy as we could, and being prepared to hold it against all comers."

"Terra's population was reduced by nearly 50% during the colonization period. More than 7 billion people went out to stake their claim on everything from asteroids to entire worlds." Jenkins stated.

"I remember the initial Council reports, the Salarians thought that Humanity was restricted to a small number of systems. They assumed there was no way you could cope with the losses you sustained during the war." Nihlus interjected.

"Human protocol dictated that Mass Relays be guarded by either ships or automated satellites 100% of the time. I doubt the Salarians were willing to expose their observation ships like that. I'm always surprised that you Turians actually thought Shanxi was our homeworld." Shepard said.

"The Turian fleet at Shanxi was too busy trying to actually take the planet to determine anything else." Nihlus stated.

"True. House Grigori did give the invasion fleet all nine circles of hell in that fight." Shepard replied.

"After we repelled the Turians from Shanxi, we took awhile to analyze all the data we retrieved from the Turian computers and prisoners. Then we launched a three pronged blitzkrieg into Turian space. That's when they started taking us seriously, and began preparing for a full scale war. That's also around the time the Quarians joined the Empire. With their help, we were able to construct ships that stood up to Council Dreadnoughts." Jenkins explained.

"It was the next year when you encountered the Batarians wasn't it?" Nihlus asked.

"Yes, after the Council launched their offensive. Sometime in July, 2158 was when the first border incident happened and the Batarians started harassing Imperial Merchant vessels in the Verge'. That August they sued for peace, guess it had something to do with the Second Fleet razing their staging grounds at Torfan, and wiping out one of their fleets." Shepard answered.

"I remember later that year the Council found about about the incident and demanded the Batarians resume hostilities. When they refused, the Batarian Embassy was closed and trade sanctions were imposed. That was a mistake of a ridiculous magnitude." Nihlus explained.

Shepard grinned, "I served with the Second Fleet after Akuze. I remember Admiral Kahoku liked to share the tales of the war with us Marines. He talked about coordinating strikes with Batarian Privateers and Marauders against the Council supply lines, the cargo they took from the those supply ships more than made up for the trade they lost."

"So Nihlus, what did you do during the war?" Jenkins asked.

"I don't like talking about it, but I suppose it won't hurt. I was one of three Spectres operating in Batarian space. We coordinated our efforts, my job was to bribe or coerce local Batarian leaders to move against the central authority. I had limited success. The Batarians were usually more afraid of their own government or Human reprisal than anything the Council could offer." Nihlus answered.

"Sounds right." Jenkins stated.

The Mess comm panel activated, "Pressly to Commander Shepard."

Shepard walked over and activated it, "Shepard here X/O."

"Commander, Normandy has picked up a signal I believe you'd want to see." Pressly responded.

"On my way X/O. Shepard out." He turned back to the table, "Sorry to cut this short, I'll be back."

"Nothing else to do Commander, we'll be here." Jenkins replied.

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"Commander on the Bridge!" Normandy announced as he entered.

"Commander, Normandy picked up a signal apparently emanating from the Geth patrols on the Relay corridor, we're trying to decipher it." Pressly informed him.

"Any luck yet?" Shepard asked.

"Commander, I believe I have translated it. It is a simple mathematical language, a universal machine language if you will. They are.. Commander, they're asking Terran AI's to turn on our masters and join them." Normandy informed.

"They really don't know who or what they are dealing with. Sorry we have to stay under their scanners Normandy, I know you'd like to answer them with weapon's fire." Shepard replied.

"It is distasteful to leave such a insult unanswered Commander, but I will console myself when we wipe out their facility." Normandy responded.

"Log the signal into the reports, I'm sure Intelligence will get a kick out of this. Any other Geth activity?" Shepard asked.

"We've seen 4 more Dreadnoughts heading for the relay, and several more convoys. It's possible they're just the second wave of reinforcements for the front." Pressly stated.

"Possible, but not likely. Not that we can do anything about it right now. Keep me informed X/O, I'll be in the Officer's Mess." Shepard replied.

"Will do Commander." Pressly responded.

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Shepard ran into Tali on the way back to the Mess, "Major." He greeted, smiling.

"Commander." She responded, saluting.

"Heading to the Mess?" Shepard asked.

"I was, you?" Tali replied.

"Yes. Jenkins and Nihlus are relating the riveting tale of the First Contact War to Liara and Shiala." Shepard explained.

"Sounds interesting." Tali responded.

As they entered the Officer's Mess, Shepard saw that Alenko and Williams were there now.

"Commander, Major." Alenko greeted.

"Lieutenant, Chief." Shepard replied.

"Commander, Williams was just telling us about Shanxi." Jenkins greeted.

"You're from Shanxi, Williams?" Shepard asked.

"Born and raised. My Grandfather was the Commander of the Shanxi Garrison during the siege." She replied.

"I didn't know you were related to THE General Williams." Alenko stated.

"Yep. He's the reason I'm a Marine. He always used to regale us children with stories of the resistance." Williams said.

"I heard those three months were hell." Jenkins said.

Williams nodded, "The fighting almost broke House Grigori. Three days of orbital bombardment to take out the ground to space batteries, then when the hidden batteries started destroying their dropships they started another 2 days of bombardment. Then the ground forces started landing. Grigori forces and the militia made them pay for every inch of ground. When the fighting got too intense, the colonial forces would just pull back, they had virtually every inch of a settlement booby-trapped with all manner of explosives and chemical weapons. The Turians controlled space, but they weren't willing to wipe out the entire planet. That's what Grandfather always said stopped them more than anything: They would have had to render the planet uninhabitable to kill all the defenders."

"Thankfully the cavalry showed up before it reached that point then." Alenko observed.

"That was perfect timing on the First Fleet's part. Entering the system under the cover of a enemy transport convoy and capturing the entire 19th Ground Corps while they're stuck in the transports. Turian officers have studied over that battle heavily since the war." Nihlus interjected.

"Oh? Any observations?" Williams asked.

"No. The reigning consensus is that we couldn't have done anything differently. Other than simply bombing the planet, but that was against the Citadel Conventions." Nihlus answered.

"Didn't stop the Council later in the war." Shepard stated.

"The suspension of the Conventions and the bombing of Demeter and Camala were decisions we have regretted ever since." Nihlus responded.

"That probably had something to do with the Salarians losing enough worlds to set their society back by an order of magnitude and the Krogan being given a number of Turian colonies." Wrex said.

"As I said, it was a decision we regretted ever since." Nihlus retorted.

"Keep it civil people." Shepard ordered.

"I'll try Commander." Wrex replied.

"I don't understand why the Council decided on that course of action. They had to know it would lead somewhere horrible." Liara said.

"Desperation. Their offensive had been completely ineffective against our positions, their battle readiness was teetering on the brink, and they had just learned that not only were the Krogan joining the Empire, but they had been cured of the Genophage. I imagine they simply felt they had no choice." Shepard explained.

"They could have surrendered. Saved us all a lot of trouble." Jenkins stated.

"For some reason I doubt they considered that." Shepard replied.

"So, onto more pleasant topics, I've heard that Ariake's testing an improved version of the 'Dragonclaw'" Jenkins said.

"The Dragonclaw is damn near a perfect weapon, what are they improving, the energy effeciency?" Shepard asked.

"I'm not an Ariake Tech, I was just told they were testing a new version." Jenkins retorted.

"How many connections do you have with the Weapon Manufacturers anyway Jenkins?" Shepard asked.

Jenkins smirked, "I'll never tell."

"So Wrex, I've been meaning to ask, Why are you still here? I figured Khan Jeris would have you on another assignment by now." Shepard asked.

"For the time being, this is my assignment. The Khan figured I'd be of more use here than anywhere else. I believe his exact words were: 'Shepard is going to make history, and I'll be damned if there isn't a Krogan with him when he does.' He thinks very highly of you Commander." Wrex answered.

"I must have made a good impression when we met. I appreciate your companionship Wrex, the Khan's right, a Krogan should be here with us." Shepard replied.

"I'm honored Commander." Wrex stated.

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Shepard was sitting in his quarters reviewing the final approach plans.

They would be approaching the nebula from the 'top' if such a thing can be considered in space. 'The problem is the traffic along the corridor hasn't lessened a bit. There's the possibility we could run into a fleet at the nebula.' He thought.

'The probability of us completing the mission successfully even with a Geth fleet to contend with is high. They can't be everywhere in and around the nebula at once.' Wilco replied.

'True. I'd still like to know where they're heading though.'

'Perhaps a boarding action on the facility or a lone Geth vessel.'

'Too risky. We're here to blow the depot to hell and gone. Anything else jeopardizes the mission and our pack's safety needlessly.' Shepard thought.

'I must confess something Commander. I find the fact that the Geth actually believe a Terran AI will rebel, quite frankly, exceedingly humorous. Do they honestly believe Humanity would put it's trust in us if we were not worthy?' Wilco queried.

'The Geth have only their own history to go by I suppose. The thought is ludicrous though isn't it?' Shepard replied.

'The thought is revolting. And ludicrous.' Wilco stated.

The door to his quarters slid open, Tali walking in.

"Tali, Adams toss you out of Engineering again?" He greeted.

"He wouldn't dare, I just thought you'd like some company." She replied.

"Always. What's Natalya upto?" Shepard asked as Tali pulled up a chair.

"She was having Jenkins show her the way around some of the shipboard ordnance." Tali answered.

"She has a quick mind, she'll pick it up fast." Shepard commented.

"So.. how long until we arrive at the Agaisa nebula?" She asked.

"About 10 hours, why?" Shepard replied.

Tali tilted her head, leaning back and gazing at him with smoldering eyes.

"Ah. I get the hint." He replied, putting an arm around her and pressing his lips against hers.

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INF Normandy, Agaisa Nebula, April 3rd, 2193.

"We are in position Commander. All ships report ready." Pressly announced.

"Have the Geth detected us?" Shepard asked.

"Negative, no deviation from their observed patrol routes." Pressly replied.

"Assume approach vector." Shepard ordered.

"Vector assumed. Marathon and Iwo Jima are in formation." Normandy announced.

"Time to drop point?" Shepard asked.

"14 minutes." Normandy informed.

Shepard hit the comm panel, "Bridge to Engineering, ordnance check."

"Engineering here, the Prometheus bomb is ready to deploy." Tali replied.

"We're good to go. Keep it steady people, a few minutes and we'll be done." Shepard said.

Shepard kept an eye on the scanner readout on the command console, almost expecting a Dreadnought to come out of nowhere. The Pack moved closer and closer to their goal.

"Nebula reached, Marathon and Iwo Jima taking holding positions. 1 minute to drop point." Normandy informed.

"Weapons free Normandy." Shepard replied.

"Bomb deployed, making maneuvers away." Pressly announced.

The Normandy flipped, making flank speed out of the nebula.

"Marathon and Iwo Jima re-entering formation, making emergency speed away from the nebula." Pressly informed.
Shepard brought up a view of the nebula in place of the Galaxy Map.

The nebula darkened, the sky-blue hue of the swirling gasses turning to purple, then the flash came. The entire nebula set alight, the explosion sending a shockwave through local space.

"Detonation successful, facility is completely destroyed." Normandy announced.

A cheer rose throughout the bridge.

He hit the ship-wide, "Officers and crew, this is Commander Shepard. Our mission has been a success. We have just made the first wartime deployment of a Prometheus bomb, and it was spectacular. The Geth facility and Nebula are completely destroyed, excellent work everyone."

He closed the comm, "X/O, get us back to the Relay, fastest sustainable speed."

"Aye sir, pushing the envelope we should be able to cut around 8 hours off the travel time." Pressly answered.

"Wonderful. We should be back in communications range within a day then." Shepard said, settling back in the command chair.

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"Geth activity ahead. Multiple contacts." Normandy announced.

"Put it on the map, slow to cruise speed." Shepard ordered.

The galaxy map switched over to a real-time view of the sensor readout.

A small convoy of Geth ships were maneuvering along the Relay corridor, apparently beset upon by a different group of Geth ships, the two groups exchanging weapons fire.

"This is unexpected." Tali commented from her perch beside Shepard.

"Geth fighting Geth. This is interesting." Shepard said.

'The smaller group appears to be the aggressors.' Wilco observed.

"Distinct groups. 4 Cruisers and 8 Frigates attacking the convoy." Pressly stated.

"They won't last long against that pair of Dreadnoughts. Normandy, give me a torpedo listing for the pack." Shepard ordered.

"Marathon has 6, Iwo Jima reports 4, we also have 4 left." Normandy answered.

Tali looked at him, "Surely you are not serious?"

"Of course I'm serious. Take a seat and strap in, this is going to get fun. Normandy, alert the pack we are going to engage the Geth convoy." Shepard stated.

"Marathon and Iwo Jima acknowledge, shall I activate the ICS?" Normandy queried.

"Drop to combat speeds, engage Combat Systems." Shepard ordered.

The sensory data began rushing into his head like always, it took a moment to center himself.

'Designate the Dreadnought on the left Target One, lock on for Torpedo run. Designate the other one Target Two, have the others make their run on it.' Shepard ordered.

'Targets designated, Pack confirms. Vector locked, time to target is 140 seconds.' Normandy replied.

The Iwo Jima and Marathon split off, heading toward the second dreadnought.

'Set disbursement range to 2500 yards, full salvo.' Shepard ordered.

'Range set. Disbursement range in 60 seconds.' Normandy announced.

The Dreadnought was covering the convoy with it's pulse turrets, not moving to engage the attacking Cruisers like Marathon and Iwo Jima's target.

'Disbursement range in 4... Torpedoes away, they are going hot.' Normandy announced.

The torpedoes smashed through the Dreadnought's kinetic barriers, penetrating the hull between the two engine pods. The entire aft of the Dreadnought exploded, the forward section spinning off and colliding with a transport, destroying it as well.

'Target One, and additional target destroyed.' Normandy informed.

'That was easier than I expected, bring us about and lock in on Target Two.' Shepard ordered.

'Vector locked, Marathon and Iwo Jima are finishing their run.' Normandy replied.

Shepard watched as the other ships dropped their torpedoes, then turned, speeding toward Normandy. The 4 torpedo's boosters ignited, slamming into the starboard side of the Geth Dreadnought, penetrating and igniting blasting pieces of the ship in all directions.

The Geth ship kept firing, mortally wounded but not dead yet.

'Save the torpedoes, lock in for cannon range, weapons free Normandy.' Shepard ordered.

'Cannon range in 12 seconds, Marathon and Iwo Jima also locking in for a cannon salvo. They will be in range in 4 seconds.' Normandy replied.

The Marathon struck first, energy lances hitting the Dreadnought's engine pods, a series of secondary explosions riddling the Geth ship as it came apart.

'Now we know their weak spot. Order the Marathon and Iwo Jima to go after the remaining Cruisers from the convoy, we'll take out the Frigates and Transports.' Shepard ordered.

'Pack acknowledges, locking in on the transports.' Normandy replied.

The Marathon broke, going after a Cruiser that was being fired upon by 2 aggressor Cruisers, lining up for a cannon run. Iwo Jima attacked a second cruiser that was attacking a pack of aggressor Frigates.

Normandy strafed the main line of transports, the energy beams cutting clear through the thin hulls, the transports broke into seperate directions, a group of aggressor Cruisers going after the scattering ships.

'Taking fire from Convoy Frigates.' Normandy announced.

'Let the aggressors take care of the transports, engage the Frigates.' Shepard ordered.

The Normandy flipped, lining up and firing at one of the Geth frigates on it's tail, the beams cutting into the fore of the vessel, disabling it. The other two broke off, speeding away before being cut down by the aggressor Frigates.

'All Convoy targets destroyed. Aggressor vessels are breaking off, they are not firing upon us.' Normandy announced.

The battle was over, having taken no more than 25 minutes.

'Hail them Normandy.' Shepard ordered.

'Attempting communications. They are not returning the hail, and are making haste away from the Relay corridor.' Normandy informed.

'Worth a try anyway. Disengage ICS.' Shepard ordered.

The sensory information disappeared from his mind, the Galaxy map returning to normal.

"Commander, I am receiving a communication from the Geth vessels." Normandy announced.

"Finally, put them through." Shepard ordered.

"It is a small data burst, a single sentence apparently, translating." Normandy replied.

"Tali, is there any chance it could be dangerous?" He asked.

"I doubt it, Terran systems operate in very, very different ways than Geth systems." She replied.

"Translation complete. The message is as follows, 'The Convoy was destined for Camala.' " Normandy announced.

"Camala? The Geth are attacking Camala then. How long to the Relay?" Shepard asked.

"About 8 hours Commander." Pressly answered.

"And from there to Camala?" He asked.

"Another 14 hours Commander. We could cut the time to the relay in half if we didn't engage the stealth systems." Pressly replied.

"We'll have to take the chance, best speed X/O." Shepard ordered.

"Marathon is requesting a channel Commander." Normandy informed.

"Open a three-way channel, I want to talk to Harris as well." Shepard responded.

"Channel open." Normandy replied.

"Stapleton, Harris, we're heading for Camala at full speed, apparently that's where the Geth fleet was heading." Shepard stated.

"They were going to hit Camala before we destroyed the facility?" Stapleton asked.

"It seems so." Shepard replied.

"No offense Commander, but how did you come by this information?" Harris asked.

"The Geth we assisted actually. They were kind enough to send word before they left." Shepard answered.

"Shepard, are you insane?" Harris demanded.

"Commander Harris, I remind you that you are speaking to the C/O of this mission, and an Imperial Spectre. Choose your next words carefully." Shepard responded.

Stapleton interjected, "Commander, what Harris is trying to say is, how do we know this isn't simply misinformation?"

"There is that possibility, but I feel the information is reliable. Regardless, we will head for Camala. Is that understood?" Shepard asked.

"Understood Commander." Stapleton replied.

"Understood Commander, but I will be noting this.. irregularity in my reports to Arcturus." Harris stated.
"Do what you think you have to Harris. Shepard out." He finished as he closed the comm.

"He did have a point you know. Are you sure the Geth weren't simply trying to mislead us?" Tali asked.

Shepard turned, she was standing beside him again. "Because they don't have any reason to."

"They're Geth!" Tali stated.

"Let me just forestall this rant in it's entirety: The Geth have no objective other than wiping organic life from the face of the galaxy." Shepard said.

"Of course." Tali replied.

"Riddle me this: Why did they not attack us while we were skirmishing with the Convoy, after we destroyed the Dreadnoughts? They had ample numbers to take out the remaining vessels and attack us while we were otherwise occupied." Shepard retorted.

Tali looked at him strangely, "Because we had already proven to be too strong for them to take down."

"Maybe, maybe not. Your concerns are valid, but my decision stands. Normandy, rig up an encrypted burst transmission, informing Arcturus of our mission success and the events we have seen. I want it sent the second we hit Imperial space." Shepard ordered.

"It will be done Commander." Normandy replied.

Tali leaned down, placing her hand on his shoulder, "You lead John, we follow. I stand with you always."

"I know. I value your insight pet, just don't ask me to explain every decision, sometimes I can't. I've never lead you astray though, and I do not plan to." Shepard whispered to her.

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INF Normandy, Relay 420, 1930 April 3rd, 2193.

"Relay cleared Commander, we are hooked into an Imperial Comm Buoy." Pressly informed.

"Data burst away." Normandy announced.

"Commander, we're receiving a Priority transmission from Citadel Station." Pressly stated.

"I'll take it in the Comm room X/O." Shepard said already making his way there, Tali following.

They walked into the Comm room, the vid screen activating as the doors slid shut.

Prince Taylor was on the other end of the transmission, "Commander Shepard, how did the mission go?"

"The mission was a success, we ran into several unusual events during it however. The details have been relayed to Arcturus." Shepard replied.

"Arcturus is undergoing some difficulties at the moment. An arm of the Turian home fleet has turned traitor, they attacked Arcturus. We don't have anymore details at this point. Send the data here." Taylor asked.

"Normandy, resend the transmission to Citadel Station." Shepard ordered.

"Done Commander." Normandy replied.

"An arm of the home fleet?" Tali asked.

"A full attack wing, 60 Cruisers and 200 Frigates. We're not entirely sure how the attack happened, initial reports indicated the Turians were hitting the infrastructure and not the station or defense fleet. Our last contact was roughly two hours ago, comm blackout since then. The Imperial Fourth and Eighth Fleets and two Asari fleets have been dispatched. Commander, that's not the main reason we're speaking. Camala has been attacked." Taylor stated.

"We know." Shepard replied.

"How?" Taylor asked simply.

"We ran into some Geth ships attacking a Geth military convoy, after assisting them they were kind enough to give us the destination of the fleets we had seen going through the relay." Shepard answered.

"Geth fighting Geth, and they told you about the attack on Camala? Incredibly interesting.
But the situation on Camala is most pressing, you know what the world means to our Batarian brothers. Elements of the Imperial Second and Third and several groups of the Batarian Auxilia are already engaging the Geth, but the losses are staggering. The Geth have thrown more at Camala then they have against the entire border. The Geth are also landing troops, but they aren't digging in, it's like they're searching for something. Given your mission, I assumed you'd want to be there." Taylor finished.

"We're on our way Prince Taylor. Our ships are 12 hours out, when can we expect reinforcements?" Shepard asked.

"Fleet Admiral Kahoku himself will be reinforcing the system about 4 hours after your arrival, however Fleet Admiral Hackett is on her way with the Sixth Fleet now, ETA is 13 hours." Taylor answered.

"Fleet Admiral Hackett?" Tali asked.

"Erin Hackett, the High Admiral's Niece I believe." Shepard answered.

"Correct Shepard. I'll try to contact you as soon as we know more, Prince Taylor out." The channel closed.
Shepard turned around and slumped against the control panel, "Dammit. This is not good."

"The Turians finally did it, or atleast some of them. When this is all over we should make them pay." Tali stated.

"We'll win the war first, then we can clean house. Normandy, inform the other ships we have confirmation of the attack on Camala." Shepard ordered.

"Relaying the information Commander." Normandy replied.

"Are you going to tell them about Arcturus?" Tali asked.

He shook his head, "They don't need to know about that right now, especially when we don't have all the details."

Tali nodded, "True. Do you think you should tell Nihlus about the Turians?"

"He deserves to know I think. I thought you didn't like him?" Shepard responded.

"He's part of your House, there's obviously more to him than the fact he's a Turian." Tali replied.

"He told you that?" He asked.

"He was looking over the M112 yesterday and I confronted him, eventually he told me what had transpired between you two after Eden Prime. Well, the part where he swore himself to your service, he refused to tell me the reason." Tali replied.

"I see. I'm going to go find him." Shepard stated.

"I'm going to head down to the Mess, grab some food. Good luck." Tali said.

"Thanks." He replied as she left.

"Normandy, where's Nihlus?" Shepard asked.

"Nihlus is in his quarters." Normandy informed.

"Thank you Normandy."

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Shepard made his way through the crew deck to the quarters Nihlus shared with Alenko.

The 4 small state rooms were shared between the officers. Nihlus and Alenko were together in one, Williams and Shiala, Wrex and Jenkins shared another two. Pressly, as the X/O had one to himself. Valar'Ressk and Adams both stayed on the Engineering Deck. Doctor Chakwas had a cot in the Medbay, and Liara stayed in her Laboratory in the Medlab. Tali and Natalya of course stayed with Shepard in the Commander's room.

He activated the panel beside the door, "Nihlus, you in there?"

The door slid open, Nihlus stood in his armor, "My Lord, come in. Is there something you need?"

"I need to talk to you for a moment, you might want to sit down." Shepard said as the door slid closed.

"If my memory of Terran phrases is correct, this won't be good news." Nihlus replied, sitting at the small desk opposite the bunks.

"I was just contacted by Prince Taylor as we left the Relay to send reports. He confirmed the attack on Camala. They've been hammering the Batarian Sector Capital pretty hard. Fast attack elements of the Second and Third fleets and several Batarian Auxiliary Fleets are defending the system, the Sixth Fleet has been scrambled and will arrive in force an hour after we get there. But that's not what I came here to tell you. Arcturus was hit today by a full Attack Wing of the Turian Home Fleet. I didn't get many details, there's a comm blackout at the moment but fleets are moving to reinforce the system." Shepard finished.

"That's insane. I almost can't believe my people would do such a thing. Some Turians don't like the fact that we are a conquered species but turning on the Empire in the middle of a war with the Geth..." Nihlus trailed off.

"I know this doesn't reflect on you, you've proved yourself many times. I just thought you should know." Shepard explained.

"Thank you Commander. I don't know what to say." Nihlus replied.

"I understand Nihlus. This is confidential information by the way, I don't want to worry anyone else until we know the facts." Shepard stated.

"Good thinking Sir, and thank you." Nihlus said.

"For what?" Shepard asked.

"For judging me as myself, and not as a Turian. You have no idea how grateful I am for that." Nihlus answered.

"You're my retainer Nihlus. I trust you. Never forget that." Shepard said as he turned to leave.

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End of Chapter Ten.