Mass Effect: Reaper Dreams

Assault on Amarantine (Part One)

"Soldier, soldier come from the wars,
Do you bring no sign from my true love?"
"I bring a lock of 'air that 'e allus used to wear,
An' you'd best go look for a new love."

Rudyard Kipling

June 29th, 2188

Ashley Williams

Jack Nought

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Ashley Williams had three ships under her command—the Salamis, the Brilliant Wind, and the Deliverance. Each was one of the fastest ships in their respective fleets—Systems Alliance, Asari, and Turian. In addition, all three ships had Cerberus IFF's installed, which allowed them to traverse the Cerberus Relay and travel to the Horsehead Nebula, arriving not far from an old Cerberus facility called Minuteman Station. The station had been reduced to debris, perhaps during the Reaper War, but it was irrelevant now. Their destination was the Fortuna System.

She sat in the conference room with several comrades she never thought she'd see again. Javik and Samara, who had recently returned from the Exodus Taskforce, insisted on being a part of this operation, and Ashley was happy to have them. If there were any more Cerberus Operatives like Nicholas, a Prothean and an Asari Justicar could mean the difference between life and death.

Kasumi was also present, which was curious. From everything Ashley had read in the file, Ms. Goto wasn't known for her heroism. Ashley suspected there was a personal motivation behind her presence, which probably had to do with the deaths of Zaeed and Olivia Free, but she didn't question the thief's interest in the mission. The Cerberus facility they'd be raiding would have top end security, which Kasumi was more than capable of handling.

Jack had insisted on coming as well, and though Ashley couldn't deny her, she suspected the once powerful biotic was more of a liability than an asset. She was still months away from a full recovery, and there was no way of telling where her head was. Ashley didn't want to come out and say it, but she planned on assigning Prangley the task of keeping Jack safe and out of the way.

Liara had transmitted classified files that detailed several Cerberus bases. These were matched to construction records that EDI had extracted from Cronos Station. Ashley had no idea how Liara had been able to access EDI's files, but she was grateful. It gave them a good sense of the layout of the base. Further analysis had indicated there was a lab facility that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was used by the Lazarus Research Facility. Ashley inhaled slowly. It was likely that Emma was born in that lab. What if there was another Shepard clone? She shook it off and highlighted an area on the map.

"Major," she said. "I want your team to assault the hangar in conjunction with the Turians, here. You'll need charges to break the lockdown arms on the lifts. It's more than likely you'll be facing two or three Atlas Mechs and a fire team supporting each. The Deliverance will cover you in case Cerberus gets fighters airborne, and if you can't break the lockdown arms, Captain Tarryn will use heavy weapons to blast through."

"So, we may be crawling through hot metal," said Vega. "Good to know."

"I'll be leading my team, Javik, Samara, a fire team of Turian Saboteurs, and a squad of Asari Commandos through the front door, here. We'll be facing the bulk of Cerberus's defense forces, but we'll have plenty of barriers, kinetic shielding, and turrets. They won't stand a chance against us," said Ashley.

"And where the hell will I be?" asked Jack.

Ashley knew this was coming, but she was ready. "You'll be leading a team here. There's a communications array that Traynor has to tap into, and then right here is a side entrance that's likely to have a strong security system, so Kasumi will accompany you. We're also sending Prangley, Cruz, and Duckworth along for additional support."