Mass Effect: Uprising

<<Civilian Transport: Yucatan-en route to Caleston, Hades CGA 12506, Hades G Cluster>>

<<Captain’s log: 2186/ [Data Corruption]>>

Cpt. O’Brien: The voyage has gone smoothly enough so far, it’s been two days since we left Sol. I am somewhat anxious about all this; I’ve clocked more hours in the Traverse than most captains these days, but ever since the Geth came out of the Veil three years ago, I’ve been getting this sinking feeling it’s only a matter of time before they give wiping us all out another shot.

<<Corruption>>

Cpt. O’Brien: That feeling’s getting stronger the closer we get to Caleston; it feels like something’s hovering over my shoulder but there’s nothing there.
Some of the crew have been talking about similar feelings they’re getting..... It’ll only be a few more hours before we land..... I don’t know if I’d feel better spending a few days with firm ground beneath my feet or heading right back for real civilization ASAP.

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

“Come on, move it! The faster you all haul the cargo, the sooner we get paid and be able to live comfortably for a couple months!” Lundro, the Yucatan’s salarian first mate shouted at the armored lifters.

“Lundro? What’s the status on the cargo dump?” Captain O’Brien asked through the com-link in the salarian’s headset.

“We’re getting there, Captain; Marquis and the others are working as fast as they can without being more clumsy than usual.” No sooner did the alien finish then a very heavy cargo crate, plus two armored humans slammed unceremoniously into the dirt of Calestine.
"What are we going to do about them?" Lundro muttered, shaking his head as the two humans struggled to their feet.

--------

<<Infiltration Drone- Alpha_2832-5316/ Status: Online/ Location: Human Cargo Transport- Yucatan>>

Unit Alpha’s orb-like eye lit up. Its mandibles flexed outward, as if yawning. Rising to its full height, Alpha ran a brief self-diagnostic.
When the systems check was complete, the synthetic scanned the room it was in. The space was small, an unused space between a layer of ablative armor and ship hull.

Without pause, Alpha crawled through a small hatch and sealed it shut after entering the ship. The Yucatan was dimly lit, a common trait of human vessels, energy conservation was a keyword.
Alpha’s mandibles clicked together, reducing the glow of its spherical optical receptor to a small enough point that it wouldn’t give away its presence.

The synthetic life form leaped up to the ceiling, its hands and feet adhering to the metal alloy. <<Priorities: 1. Eliminate target vessel’s crew and any other organic sentients. 2. Remain undetected unless there are extreme circumstances.>>
Infiltration Drone Alpha found a maintinance terminal and sent a remote hacking signal.

The Yucatan’s VI noticed a new user enter the system. Before it could begin to follow protocols and query the new user, an override command went out through its systems.
The command was identical to the one Cpt. O’Brien would use, so the VI waited for orders that were expected to come with an override..... It waited forty nanoseconds before its code was suddenly erased from memory.

Alpha flexed his mandibles into an expression similar to a smile, the ship’s VI was out of commission, and the crew was still unaware of any of these events.
The data-eating virus had been attached to the override, which had forced the VI to idle. Now that the annoyance it could pose was out of the way, Alpha could concentrate on its objectives, one of which, was gathering intel on the organics in Citadel Space.

----------

<<Citadel News Report>>

ExoGeni has denied reports that their mining operation on Caleston has been attacked. Corporate officials claim that the sudden loss of communications with Caleston is due entirely to technical difficulties.
And that the ship being sent to the Hades Gamma Cluster is a simply intended to supply and repair the facilities.

Many investors have pulled much of their funding until confirmation from ExoGeni that their report is not a cover-up.....

I guess it's a good thing I haven't played nor payed any real attention to that game. It keeps things new.

So we've got a pretty invader who can hack computer systems real quick. Someone is attempting to cover up the incident, probably to avoid panic and there are signs that this incident won't be the only one. So in short, things can get interesting here.

Isn't the actual name of the planet Caleston, not Calestine? I followed Mass Effect closely during its pre-release period, gobbling up any information about the game and speculating on its contents. I remember a video or two set on the planet Caleston, an ashy planet which resembled Mars. I used the name in my Halo fan fic, borrowing it from Mass Effect.

Anyway, regarding the fan fic, as Jack said things can get interesting. I can't wait until a Krogan join the action. From what I've seen and heard, those guys are all badasses to the bone. Well, if they have bones.

I Have one word to say to that....... crap. You are right, I did mispell Caleston, it doesn't play the role it did in the promotions (replaced by Therum), so I forgot how to spell it. And I will let it slip, there will be some krogan, and yes, they don't let obstacles get in their way...... especially when it comes to payback.

In the next update, the main character will be introduced. And yes, he is from the actual game, a certain turian. Btw, the alien race names are not capitalized (with the exception of the Protheans as a sign of respect).

Yes, I know about the naming conventions. As I said, I followed ME's development closely. Since human isn't capitalized, the names of alien races shouldn't be either. But still, it's more poetic if freaky names are capitalized. I mean, just compare Turian, Salarian, Avari, Krogan with turian, salarian, avari, krogan. It feels like there's been a typo snuck in there. For me, it just feels weird.

Anyway your story, your decisions and ideas. As a suggestion though, could you make the story somewhat more personal? I mean status reports, data files and 'corruption' are fine and all, but the story, as of the prologue, seems pretty cold. I mean, it's hard to get attached to any character or get a feel for the story itself. But you did say that you were gonna actually introduce the main character in the next update so I trust you.

Well, that was a prologue, it wasn't supposed to be incredibly immersive just to set the tone for the events to come. This will be the true beginning for the story, from Garrus Vakarian's point of view.



Garrus Vakarian picked his way through the growing crowds in Citadel Station's Presidium. Over the surface of the lake was a suspended memorial monument; a runed sphere with hundreds of ever-shifting segments, displaying thousands of names on its surface.
A large squid-shaped machine hovered beside the sphere. This was the collective tombstone for every asari, turian, salarian, human, elcor, and volus that perished three years ago, today. The wierd machine beside it was a scale recreation of a Reaper known only as Sovereign.

The Reapers were a group of artificial intelligences more ancient than anyone could comprehend; they’d been behind the Prothean extinction 50,003 years ago, and many more galaxy-wide extinctions before that.
They had also built the mass relays, a form of interstellar transportation that all space-faring races since then had relied on, as well as Citadel Station, not for themselves, but as relics for any and all organic lifeforms to discover. Thus causing all organic races to base their technology on a path the Reapers knew and were light-years ahead in.

But, three years ago, that cycle had been broken. Sovereign had been the vanguard of their return, opening the way for its kind to slaughter the entire galaxy once again. It had nearly succeeded, almost killing the Council and devastating the Human Alliance and Citadel Fleets before being blasted to millions of pieces.

Sovereign had only been destroyed because of some kind of recoil caused by its prime servant, a rogue turian Spectre named Saren Arterius, being destroyed. Saren's destruction left Sovereign temporarily stunned and defenseless against the remaining Alliance warships.
Garrus had never trusted Saren, he'd had a gut feeling the Spectre was up to something even before he'd met Commander Shepard for the first time. C-sec had been too restrictive, Garrus was relieved those years were behind him now, the paperwork, the red tape.....

As the young Spectre approached the area that C-Sec officers had cordoned off, he nodded casually to Executor Pallin, a slap in the face for the older turian, if he could recognize his former subordinate under the Colossus battle armor.
Pallin had been Garrus' C-Sec superior, the executor was C-sec through and through, they'd butted heads on nearly every occassion. Executor Pllin wasn't the only person Garrus knew who didn't agree with his way of doing things.

Garrus' father had been a legend at C-Sec, like Pallin he lived by-the-book, even after retiring. He'd talked his son out of enlisting into the Spectres at first, dissapproving of their ability to side-step the law in order to achieve their goals. Even after three years as a Spectre, Garrus had yet to hear anything but disapproval from his father.

The constables let him through, they knew better than to withhold a Council Spectre when he wanted to get somewhere. The congestion ended immediately; the crowd didn’t have the privileges of a Spectre agent, so they had to keep their distance during the ceremony.

Garrus walked down the grand staircase that lead down to a platform near the hovering monument. Normally this section was free to the public, but it was reserved excusively to the Council and all parties involved for this annual cerimony.
A middle-aged African human looked away from a salarian tech for a moment and spotted the armor-clad but familiar figure approaching. The salarian followed the councilor’s gaze and spotted Garrus; he retreated to whatever duties he had before the event.

“Garrus, it’s good to see you made it again.” David Anderson, the human representative on the Citadel Council, greeted with a grin on his face.
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the galaxy, Captain Anderson.” The turian Spectre replied, tilting his head forward to remove his helmet. Even though the former captain was a member of the Council, Anderson didn't mind that most people still refered to him by his previous rank, especially not if the people in question were old friends and allies.

Anderson glanced at the crowd and muttered, “Only the krogan don’t celebrate this holiday.”
“Have you ever heard of a krogan celebrating any holiday?” Garrus quipped; something he did exclusively with Cpt. Anderson on the occasions the two men had time for personal discussion.

“Fair enough, Garrus. I haven’t seen a single krogan on this station willing to have a pleasant chat since Wrex went with Tyrus and the others to the Traverse three years ago.” Garrus was silent for a few moments, remembering old, absent friends.

After Sovereign had been destroyed, Commander Shepard and the others (with the exception of Tali and Garrus, himself) had gone abroad to make preparations for the Reapers’ eminent arrival. The commander was never present for the celebration held today ever since then.
The turian let go of the unpleasant thoughts from his mind with a shrug. “Someone has to play poster-boy, although fame is more trouble than it's worth most of the time." At C-Sec I hated pushing paper, something I did half of my career. Now nearly everybody who watches the news knows who I a-

Garrus' eyes ran his eyes over the crowd, spotting a few hundred, asari, humans, and turians. There were also some hanar and elcor among them. Then the Spectre spotted a white environmental suit with a runed cowl around the helmet.
He knew a quarian who wore that specific armor. Garrus' mandibles went slack, "Tali?" In spite of the large distance, the quarian seemed to nod in reply and then retreat into the crowd. Garrus regained his composure, hoping that some random journalist had not managed to get a shot of that just now.

Anderson glanced at him, and Garrus shook his head. "I'll stay for the ceremony, then I'll go look for her." Why isn’t she with the Flotilla? She finished her Pilgrimage a long time ago. Tali wouldn’t be away from her people if something truly important hadn’t happened.
Garrus felt a chill run down his spine as he wondered just how bad things had to be.

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

Meanwhile, on the far side of the crowd, the quarian known as Tali’Zorah Nor Rayya silently pushed her way through the multi-racial crowd. Her mood was very distant from the festive atmosphere all around the Citadel, the galaxy for that matter.
Once free from the mob, she let out a weary sigh. Tali wished her being here was under better circumstances. If only this could be a happy reunion with an old friend......

She headed for the Wards, Flux would be a place Garrus could find her, and maybe the deafening music and partying all around her would be enough to divert her thought, Tali doubted that highly....

This is very interesting, all the more so when you say that you've not yet immersed yourself in the game world. The introduction at the end of the female Tali made it even more so ..

This has some intrigue going - nice. I'm interested to see what's happened and its got a nice pace to it.

I've never played the games but wiki has enough to more or less understand this.

Thirty minutes ago, the new vessel had landed in the mining colony’s spaceport. Alpha attached the final shaped charge where it needed to be before it heard most of the shore party coming up the loading ramp. It patched into the security systems to monitor their progress. They cleared the ramp, passing directly under the hidden drone, and then they split up and went their separate ways.

Minutes ticked by, Alpha waited for the opportune time to cut the crew off...... Then, all twenty-seven shaped charges scattered around the frieghter detonated. Several things happened: Primary power went out and the pressure doors slammed shut as they became nothing more than deadweight.
Alpha watched impassively as the crew suddenly flew into a panic, they could no longer move about the ship, nor could their communications penetrate the jamming signal Alpha was now projecting. They were woefully unprepared for something like this. The infiltration drone dropped down from the ceiling, making its way with a torturously carefree pace to the element zero core of the frieghter.

Like the Yucatan’s VI before it, the virtual intelligence of this vessel had been wiped out during the crew’s absence; this was but one of many strategic first moves toward the Geths’ true goals. Alpha_2832-5316 activated the transmitter in the corner as it entered the core room.
The single unit linked up with the Geth neural network. Normally any synthetic Geth unit, regardless of whether it was a simple trooper, a lumbering armature, or a prime unit, would only have the intelligence of a typical predatory mammal, albeit with knowledge of their own weapon’s use, if cut off from the nueral network that offered increased processing power for them.

However, infiltration drones like Alpha were a new sub-type, designed to function efficiently on their own. They didn’t need the “shared brain-power” of the neural network to be a very lethal threat. It was their purpose to execute complex objectives and adapt to their personal situation on the fly.
It took thousands of Geth with their cumulative processing power in order to equal the dynamics of Alpha's intellect and ingenuitity. Alpha almost felt pride at his own budding self-awareness, it couldn't be long before his full-fledged AI was as abstract and unique as any organic sentient, as well as ingenius as a renowned thinker. But that was still a way's away, and he refocused on his task.

Unit 2832-5316 sent a signal through the transmitter, reporting on its progress so far, and requesting pick-up for this evening. As the message was sent on its way, Alpha’s mandibles spread out wide; it took a nanosecond to aim.... Then a double bang! resonated throughout the ship as a high explosive slug launched toward the transmitter and detonated with bone-breaking force.

A thin cloud of smoke swirled from the center of Alpha’s “mouth.” Alpha 'coughed' the excess heat away to clear up its sensors. Its jaws then closed again like the petals of a flower and clicked tightly shut, forming a shield for its optical receptor. While one could be fooled into believing the drone was unarmed, an advanced mass accelerator was hidden inside its cranial armor, nestled behind and below its "flashlight head."

The drone turned and strode toward the terminal overlooking the pulsing element zero drive core. Alpha’s long, double-jointed fingers danced along the holographic keyboard, flipping toggles, typing code, and adjusting manual sliders with enough speed that they only appeared as blurs to the human eye.

The readout on the panel showed the core discharge was imminent. Alpha spun and rushed down the freighter’s corridors as fast as possible. The discharge would fry all of the crew, but the infiltration drone knew it had to move quickly if it was to escape its own deathtrap.
With no less than two minutes and five seconds to spare, Alpha arrived at the airlock. It grabbed another shaped charge, and armed the detonator expertly. The explosive blasted a hole with a three-foot diameter. Alpha dove through the gap and to freedom before the smoke could begin to clear.

Normally, a ship of this size would establish landlines to the ground around it, like static electricity on primitive aircraft the lines would channel the otherwise lethal discharge into the planet. However, the crew had yet to do so when Alpha had locked them all in their cabins and killed the bridge crew.
The countdown continued as the Geth drone tried to put as much distance between himself and the ticking time-bomb.....

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



"Listen to me, Dragus. I don't care about the details of your new job; this isn't some backwater hunting ground where you can rip up the place all you want in order to kill whatever you want, this is the center of galactic politics and commerce." Kale was a seasoned C-Sec lieutenant, probably on the verge of being promoted to captain at any moment. He knew who and what he was arguing with, and he had to admit, he was surprised he hadn't already pissed in his pants and sweated out a river by now.

The 6.11 foot tall krogan he was talking down to stared into his eyes with a cold, animal venom. Flanking Kale were two fellow officers, their shotguns down but at the ready, and a few meters behind them was another armed with a sniper.
Dragus leaned forward slightly, his cold reptilian eyes hovering close enough that Kale could make out his own reflection in them. "And I don't give a d*** about what you have to say. This could be the anniversary of the day my people drove the d*** rachni to extinction for the sorry little salarians, and I still wouldn't care."

The krogan was a mercenary of the worst sort, not a battlemaster, thankfully, but that didn't matter when he was breathing on your face. Kale knew that if Dragus lost it, he wouldn't have a chance in hell of living. If two shotguns and a sniper were enough to kill the bull mercenary, Dragus would still have enough time to kill Kale and a lot of bystanders in the middle of Citadel Security Headquarters.

Kale didn't have any power to hang over Dragus, and everyone concerned knew that. It was the human officer who had to make the choice, let the krogan be on his way and kill whatever poor fool was his mark, or do the stupid, but noble thing and try (and die failing) to arrest Dragus.
The lieutenant's shoulders drooped and he broke eye contact to stare defeatedly at the floor. Dragus grunted, pushed roughly past Kale and toward the elevator to the Presidium. The krogan growled at the turian officer with the sniper rifle as he passed.

For some odd reason, Alpha reminds me of that mini-decepticon from the Transformers movie. Call me insane...

Frenzy? Well, there are similarities between the two, so it's not that crazy to be reminded of Frenzy by Alpha. I've been thinking about that thing while writing from Alpha's point of view. The first image is of a Geth Hopper, similar in most regards to Alpha. Second is a screeny of Tali in Hydra I armor, and lastly is Garrus, twice I know, but one's awesome and the other shows his face better (Note: The armor he's wearing is not Collosus, but Agent I).



I might find time over the weekend to write up another update.

-Revan

I must compliment you to a well written story, intriguing and thrilling, although I´m not familiar with the game I still enjoy it.

While it's interesting, I feel myself falling into the same problems as Revan's story. There are so many plotlines being used right next to each other, I lose track. I hope they'll grow and become easier to link together as time goes on. After all, this is still essentially worldbuilding you're doing here, introducing the characters and stuff.


PS: Awesome armour that dude is wearing. So, Collossus is that only a tad bigger and stuff?

Well, unlike Revan these plotlines will meet and merge together. Can't say more than that. The collosus has a different color-scheme and is built by a different company (better materials/design, better armor all-around).



Flux had excellent sound-dampening; the din from the club was barely audible unless you were right beside the entrance.
Garrus walked up the stairway to Flux; he remembered stopping here a few times with Tyrus and the others when they weren’t hiking with extreme prejudice on alien worlds in search for Saren.

Instinct had led him here; if there was a place the old crew of Commander Shepard knew well, it was Flux. The turian glanced around the bar area, then made his way to the casino upstairs. As soon as he reached the top he spotted Tali, sitting alone at a table, staring plaintively at the dancing patrons below.

“Are you thinking of joining in?” Garrus asked as he scooted a chair over and sat opposite of the quarian.
“I wish that was what was on my mind, Garrus...” Tali replied softly, turning away from the rail to look back at him.

“Hit me, what’s bothering you, Tali? You wouldn’t leave your people just to see me or mope around a nightclub.” The turian muttered leaning forward.
Tali shook her head, “I'm here on behalf of my people, what’s left of them. We need to talk to the Council because things are going to get very complicated for everyone in a short while.”

Garrus peered at the faceplate veiling his old friend’s face, just making out the lights where her eyes should be. His face became grim and stoic, preparing himself for anything. “Okay, I need you to give me every detail before we go to the Council with this.”

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

“Come on, Dragus. Le.... Let’s jus..... Just take a moment to talk this through!” Roland knew smuggling was risky, but the nightmare staring him in the eyes was beyond his worst imaginings. They told me I was covered, they said they kept their assets anonymous!

“You’ve got the time it takes for my shotgun to charge up, better hurry.” The krogan muttered dryly.
“I’ll..... I'll give you everything! All the credits! The mods are worth a fortune too! If you'll just let me access my comp.”

Dragus’ shotgun winded down, and he lowered the barrel slightly. The smuggler didn’t need the bounty hunter to say anything; he nearly tripped trying to get to his private extranet terminal. Sweat glistened on the human’s face as he hastily typed out a series of potentially life-saving commands. He was so focused he didn’t hear Dragus draw his pistol.

“Ok... Ok, we’re good, everything’s here, you can pick up the mods in the lower market and the credits are right there.” The human pointed at the wall-safe in the corner. “It’s unlocked.”

“Good boy,” Dragus muttered in a dangerously pleased voice, if Roland knew anything about his reputation, he would have known what was coming.
"You got what you wanted, now le-” The smuggler never got to finish his last sentence before Dragus blew his head off. Roland's headless body collapsed onto his desk, his own life-blood short-circuited his computer terminal.

Beneath his helmet, the krogan mercenary smiled, “That will all make a well-deserved bonus.” Dragus strode over to the safe and popped it open. If krogans could whistle appreciatively, he would have done so, there had to be over $50,000 worth of credits in there.
Dragus settled with a gruff grunt of satisfaction and scooped up the credits into his pack. [i]Humans are so stupid; he actually believed I would let him go after he'd been marked.[b] Anyone who'd been in the business for more than a few months knew about bounty hunters, some would accept bribe money, most would just take it and the price on your head to boot.

The krogan was in his prime right now, a middle-aged bull who'd yet to be scarred by his quarry. But then Dragus hadn't gone hunting for primal game, he prefered the kind that walked on two legs and knew to respect the hunter with his gun sights on their head.
Korgan were often considered brutal and unforgiving, not that those were false descriptions, but many prized virtues like honor in battle and strength. Dragus was an extreme of the low end of the spectrum, he prized credits over honor and not one non-krogan had ever crossed him and lived long after that. Even among his people, he was a sadist and barabric with his targets..... and obstacles in his way.

Before the krogan could walk out the door his comm. unit chimed. Silently, the mercenary answered. “I just killed Roland, I’ll be at the docks in-”
The voice that interrupted him was not his employer, but familiar none-the-less. “It’s Tuhrus, I don’t care what you’re doing right now, Dragus, but you have to get you’re a** to the Artemis Tau Cluster! I don’t have time to spell it out for you, but the warlord is going to bring down so much hell right now; a fair share will be on you if you show up late!”

Tuhrus cut the line the moment his ranting was finished, Dragus sighed for a moment. “Alright, I’ll just pick up those mods and be there as soon as I can persuade some unlucky pilot to give me a lift.....” His fist clenched as he reflected on exactly which parts of the body he'd ruin for the poor b****** pilot that would be taking an unscheduled flight to the Artemis Tau Cluster.......

This isn't a long post, even though it's been about a month. I cite lack of commentaries as an excuse, now that I've established (somewhat) the krogan subplot, I can get back to the main characters.
----------------



An explosion shook the world around Theta; the synthetic was tossed through the air. It hissed as it stumbled back to its feet, glancing in the direction of the krogan.

The Geth drone spun and scrambled away as the young bull’s shotgun cycled out its waste heat. Theta could hear the other krogans nearby.
The rocky terrain of Therum offered some brief relief, but Theta had realized by now that there was little chance of surviving this operation.

The mission had been rather simple, infiltrate the krogan base and kill the coven of female mistresses of the warlord here.
It hadn’t been difficult to get inside, and overcharge the power grid. The coven was electrocuted and the primary power had gone out; everything had gone wrong since then.

Theta’s synthetic musculature was compromised, that last blast had burned much of it away. The infiltration drone had never felt true agony before, discomfort yes, but not the searing sensations lancing through his form.

It had underestimated the fury of the warlord here, Theta had expected a challenging retaliatory action, but the krogans’ wrath was truly terrible now that he’d felt pain for the first time.
After the females were dead, the surviving krogan had mobilized almost instantaneously. Theta had only finished transmitting his report when the krogan discovered it.

Above the roars and battle cries of the krogan, the erupting volcanoes of Therum shook the sky and earth. Theta spotted one of the warriors in his periphery, then the reptilian alien stalked out of sight.

Infiltration Drone 8301-6372 stared at the starry sky above, either the krogan would find him or power would run out, fate was a cruel mistress indeed.
--------------------------

Tuhrus scanned the area again; doing his best to ignore the warlord was beside him. He wouldn’t put it past his leader to shoot the next clan-brother to show up if they didn’t find the infernal machine that had killed the coven very shortly.

“It’s somewhere behind those rocks, I watched crawl there with my own eyes.” One of the younger bulls insisted over the comm.
Tuhrus gave a start when the black, grey blur of the warlord stormed past him and over to the ridge the others were referring to. He immediately followed his leader; silent, dutiful submissiveness could save you an unexpected and sudden death when it came to this clan.....

The warlord grabbed the bull’s shoulder and spun him around so their gazes met. “Search those rocks for that synthetic hrakhor; when you find it, you’ll tell me where it is so I can throw its pieces in the d*** lava to burn!”

The bull and many others scrambled up the ridge into the rocky labyrinth. Tuhrus watched silently, not drawing unwanted attention to himself. His effort failed miserably as the warlord turned his way. “When will the others get here? I’m rip them open and sell their organs to a salarian if they don’t get here within two days!”

For the millionth time Tuhrus wished he hadn’t qualified for the warlord’s assistant..... AKA: personal subject of him to vent his spleen. At least he vents everything else on the others; I’m too important to shoot and/or kill for no reason.

He was about to reply when there was a blue flash from atop the ridge, accompanied by a fair amount of cursing and bellowing.
Then the entire ridge ceased to exist with another flash of light and a thunderous shockwave. Tuhrus threw himself against the ashy ground. He squinted through the blinding dust cloud that enveloped him and the warlord.

His helmet kept him from inhaling any potentially harmful micro-shrapnel. From his knowledge of technology and explosives, Tuhrus could guess what had happened. The synthetic drone had used whatever remaining power and its element zero power core to destroy itself and take the unfortunate clan-brothers with it.

As the ash and dust dissipated, Tuhrus picked out some very large pieces of volcanic rock jutting out of the ground that hadn’t been there three minutes ago.
The wonders of element zero... He mused silently; nearly jumping when a booming shotgun report echoed right next to him.

Dragus better get here before the warlord really feels like blowing someone’s head off..... Tuhrus thought grimly, setting a waypoint at his location for the others to rally for the warlord’s inevitable tirade.

<<Skyllian Verge/Camala>>

Infiltration Drone- Alpha_2832-5316 came on-line, his optical receptor brightened, and a welcome sight greeted him. A single orb of light hovered in the center of his vision, Eta returned his gaze.
“Reapers come with the dusk, on the winds of deliverance.” Among the infiltration drones, Eta was particularly dedicated to the Reaper faith. Alpha was more or less indifferent, but attended devotionals all the same.

“In the mean time we must suffer the blight of organics,” he chirped ineloquently. Eta studied him for a moment, then shrugged and offered a hand. Alpha’s “eye” flickered, the equivalent of a blink, before accepting Eta’s abnormally gracious gesture.
“The nearest eezo refinery is a couple of kilometers from here. Lambda, Kappa, Gamma, and Epsilon are already in progress of disabling their objectives.” Eta was a more combat oriented model than Alpha, who was similar in many respects to a ghost unit.

The former had armored plating, powerful heavy weapons, and dedicated programming to suit her specialization. Alpha was largely unarmored and was programmed to analyze and exploit the computer programs and databases that organics used.
His mandibles snapped shut and he said. “Then we should make haste, the organics won’t take long to send people, Reapers save us from Spectres, to investigate and reinforce their refineries when they start going out of contact.”
--------------------------------

<<Citadel Station: Twenty hours later/Citadel Tower>>

Garrus leaned against the railing around the large fountain in the council chambers. Tali had been restless since yesterday, pacing around and seemingly staring off into the distance. But, given the message she had with her he couldn’t blame her.

“Five days ago, the Migrant Fleet was attacked. It was the Geth, they must have stowed away in some of our mining vessels because nothing suspicious happened until after they returned.” Tali had explained.
“Geth attacked the Migrant Fleet? How could infantry, armatures, even combat drones pose a serious threat when they were stuck on a few ships?”

“There weren’t normal Geth heavy weapons and troopers; there were no more than eight intruders in all!” The quarian shook her head and clenched her right hand into a fist. “They must have known the conclave and Admiralty Board were meeting on a single cruiser at that time.”

Garrus Vakarian clenched the railing tightly, his expression particularly hard on his chitinous face. “Agent Vakarian, Miss Nor’Rayya, the council is ready for you.” A salarian clerk said formally, motioning them up the stairs as if they weren't fully aware of the directions to the council chamber.
I’ll bet they aren’t, the turian thought, but nodded and caught up to Tali before they both began climbing the stairs. As always, the spaces between the entrance and the council podium was filled with multi-racial diplomats, many of which stole sideways glances at the pair, Tali in particular.

The walkway to their podium seemed to stretch on and on until they finally stopped at the end. Garrus stood at attention, well aware of the observers on the balconies above, but shared an anomalous nod with Captain Anderson. “Tali’Zora Nor’Rayya, Garrus Vakarian, you requested this meeting under the pretense of quarian business and a threat to the security of Citadel Space. Please, explain.” The asari councilor began; on the surface she seemed to be the most sympathetic of the council.

Vakarian gave Tali a reassuring nod, both a government agent of peace and a close friend. The quarian stepped forward. “Everyone here knows about the threat posed by the Geth,” Tali started. “For three hundred years after their struggle against my people they never ventured past the Perseus Veil. Three years ago, the rogue Spectre Saren broke the isolation the Geth had maintained for three centuries.”

“They willingly fought for Saren because of the Reaper, Sovereign, that was manipulating him. Since Sovereign’s destruction, yesterday three years ago, they have not show any hostilities and appeared to have returned to their lives of isolation.” Garrus noticed some of the observers speaking with armed salarians or making notes as Tali spoke.
He also studied the councilors, Anderson and the turian councilor were both grim; most of the casualties in the final battle with Sovereign and the Geth were humans and turians. The asari councilor was completely impassive, patiently waiting for Tali to finish before making any judgments. And the salarian representative blinked slower than usual, committing everything going on to memory.

“But that isolation has been shattered once again.” Tali continued, her focus constantly on the councilors and not being distracted by the activity on the balconies. “The Geth committed an act of extreme hostility against the Migrant Fleet of my people.”

Garrus immediately saw Cpt. Anderson shift his weight, and the asari diplomat steal a glance at the salarian who shook his head. The turian councilor’s face hardened even further, but he did not interrupt.
“Five days ago, the Flotilla stopped momentarily to mine an asteroid belt in the Grissom System. At the same time, the Admiralty Board and the conclave were meeting on one of the old cruisers for a conference to decide where to head after the mining operation was over.”

The quarian paused almost undetectably to marshal her case and her pain. “The first units snuck onto the cargo vessels on the asteroids surfaces. Suddenly the comm. frequencies became clogged with false messages and transmissions.”
Tali paused again, glancing down at the garden below before lifting her head back up and continuing anew. “The Geth saboteurs hijacked the freighters; we don’t keep the kinetic barriers on our ships up, to conserve power. All four ships lifted off, and before anyone could break through the smokescreen or begin to come about, the ships had already collided with the cruiser.”

“Then an entire fleet of Geth ships emerged from the field, at least a hundred warships! Only the vessels that fled as the Geth attacked survived.” She let her arms drop to her sides. “40% of the Flotilla was destroyed; millions of quarians were killed, and the conclave....... The Admiralty Board, ever member is dead.”
Garrus lost his precise, military stance; his mandibles went slack for a second. The conclave was the civilian government of the quarians, and the Admiralty Board wielded, limited, power in their own right.
If everyone on the Admiralty Board is dead then.... The turian Spectre didn’t let himself finish. Tali had lapsed into silence; if they weren’t under scrutiny Garrus would have tried to comfort her in some way.

Captain Anderson looked to the other councilors with conviction in his voice and determination in his eyes. “This attack is an act of genocide against not just the quarians, but every single race in council space. We must take action!”
The salarian nodded almost simultaneously. “If the Geth were bold enough to attack a force as large as the Migrant Fleet it stands to reason that they intend more daring offensives. Half the worlds in Council Space are less protected targets than the quarian Flotilla was!”

Not only were the councilors vexed by the news, the entire room was suddenly alive with frantic discussion. Garrus glanced at Tali, the quarian had her head down and one hand tightly clenched in a fist.
Forget professionalism, everyone has gone crazy anyway. The council’s debate merged with the background noise as he stepped forward beside Tali. Garrus lightly rested one three-fingered hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Tali gave a start, and then returned his concerned gaze. “I’m sorry, Tali.” The turian whispered gently. She nodded slightly, “Garrus.... thanks.”

For all Garrus knew, the turian councilor brought order no more than a heartbeat later, or after several minutes of uproar. Regardless, the entire room was silenced. “This Geth assault is a disturbing development, but nothing we do will accomplish anything if we don’t remain calm.”
Cpt. Anderson stood tall, hiding the fact that he’d taken a hit to the gut like all the other councilors. “Where are the quarian survivors, Tali? What do they intend to do?”
Garrus could imagine Tali’s remorseful look under her visor. “Councilors...... The remnants are in the Utopia system; they’re coming here to the Citadel! I came ahead to tell you.” That was the equivilent of the hiroshima bomb in the human WWII....

Hundreds of warships? Ouch, that's bad. Really really bad.

Err, how much warships do the good guys have? (ignoring the fact that it will probably be special forces like Garrus who will determine the outcome on the ground)

Hey, a Mass Effect fanfic. I haven't read much I'll admit, but from the few pages I've seen it looks to be of great quality. Good job, Revan. I'll try and follow this...

It's never stated, but there are probably thousands (maybe a million) of combat-grade vessels in Citadel Space, but the Reapers (possible spoilers) would steamroll over them. In a head-to-head battle, the Citadel and assosiate races would probably win.

The quarian Flotilla had thousands of combat ships, but they got caught with their armor off and were too confused to stop the Geth from killing their leaders.

Having just finished Mass Effect (twice), this looks great. I like what you've done with the geth, not having to rely on force of numbers anymore.