Mass Effect: After the Smoke Falls

Attack on Palaven pt. 4

Victus stood at the bridge of the Tarquin, looking at the battle unfold. His mandibles quivered at the sight. The helmsman of the Normandy, Joker, told him that Shepard and his team entered inside the flagship to sabotage the systems, but the ship looked intact minus the peace of Meane in its hull.

“Primach Victus!” yelled a Turian officer on the deck. “Admiral Hackett of the Alliance is on vid com.”

Victus nodded and walked back to the com room. There sat the platform where Hackett’s holographic form was displayed.

“Primach Victus? Our connection is a bit grainy.” Hackett said. “Can you hear me?”

Victus nodded. “We hear you, Admiral. The Normandy already offloaded Shepard and his team onto the Cerberus flagship to sabotage its systems.”

“Glad to hear it. Our fleets are on route and we shall-“ Hackett began to say, then he looked over at someone in the background. He looked back at Victus with a solemn expression. “I’m sending you some data. It’s not good.” On the data panel infront of Hackett, there were two larger masses heading towards Palaven, each having a distinct signature.

“Those are Salarian and Quarrian ships!” Victus said. “How the hell did Cerberus get those fleets to join them?”

“Admiral Xen and Linron are in cahoots with Mao Leng, the new leader of Cerberus.” Hackett explained. “I’m honestly not surprised that the fleets hadn’t joined. The only shred of news that is good is that it seems Xen is dead, according to Quarian fleet reports.”

Victus rubbed his temple. “This couldn’t get any worse. Have your fleets join up in defending Paleven. We cannot lose the planet.”

Hackett nodded and the hologram died. Victus went back to the bridge and saw Aliiance ships flowing in. ‘I hope that that flagship is destroyed on time.’ Victus thought.

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INSIDE THE FLAGSHIP

Shepard ducked as Leng’s sword buzzed overhead. He lunged up with his fist and felt it connect with his attacker’s jaw, but all it did was cause a fist to collide with Shepard’s helmet. He stumbled back, feeling the cracked casing of his Recon Hood. ‘He’s using biotics to enhance his physical strength.’ Shepard observed. He pulled his Disciple shotgun off of his back and fired, but Leng blocked the shots with a barrier.

“If you fought Kai, then you know that you’re weapons aren’t going to take me out.”  Leng said.

‘Kai? I thought this bastard was supposed to be Kai Leng.’ Shepard thought again as he watched Leng get closer. Zaeed and Grunt were pinned down, under heavy fire. No sign of any of the rest of the crew. Shepard charged his biotics up and lunged forwards, tackling Leng onto the ground. He punched him in the face, his biotics increasing his strength just enough to cause harm to his adversary. Leng grabbed Shepard’s fist and head-butted him, causing the Commander to fly back and his helmet’s optics to flash white. When he came to he saw Leng’s sword lunging towards his throat.  He held out his hand and caught the blade, the sharped end slicing through his glove. Blood rolled down the blade as he tried to keep it away from his throat. Then suddenly there was a figure behind Leng. He hit the Cerberus agent with a biotic blast and knocked him away. The figure then held out a hand to Shepard.

“Koylat?” He asked as he pulled himself up.

Koylat Krios nodded. “I couldn’t let you get killed commander. My father would’ve wanted you to be saved.”

Shepard felt humbled, but a little annoyed that the kid risked his life to save him. “I appreciate the help but your father would also want you safe.” They ducked as Leng’s sword buzzed overhead. Koylat grabbed the pistol at his waist and fired at Leng, running towards the assassin as the latter rushed at him. Shepard suddenly had a flashback of Kai Leng and Thane in the same situation on the Citadel, and he knew the results of what would happen next.

“Koylat no!” he yelled but it was too late. Leng jumped up and stabbed, the blade impaling Koylat by the stomach. The drell screamed and fell to his knees, slipping off the blade. Leng grabbed Koylat by the head and placed the sword in a chopping position. Shepard pushed Leng away with a wave of biotics, then proceeded to catch Koylat before fell back. “Koylat can you . . . can you . . . no!” It was too late. Koylat lay dead in Shepard’s arms.

Leng laughed as he stood up. “It seems like the Krios bloodline is finished. At least I wasn’t like my brother and was stopped by one that was terminally ill.”

Brother. It all made sense now. This wasn’t Kai Leng. It was his brother. But his dossier never said a thing about his family. “Who are you?”

“Mao. Mao Leng. You killed my brother, Shepard. And now I will kill you.” Leng picked up Koylat’s pistol and aimed it at Shepard’s head. Before he could pull the trigger, the ship rocked.

“PROPOLSION SYSTEMS DOWN! PROPOLSIN SYSTEMS DOWN!” said a robotic voice over the coms. Leng looked around as he saw the crew, Zaeed and Grunt, Shepard, and himself starting float in zero gravity.

Shepard and his squad turned on their Gravity boots and landed back on the deck.  They rushed back to the way they entered, Shepard carrying Koylat’s body. The ship crumbled around them. When they reached the extraction point there was no one there.

“Shepard to Normandy! Joker we need Evac now!” Shepard called.

Jokers voice came through choppy “Just finished . . . up the . . . team. Sending . . . to . . . “ Before long Cortez’s shuttle appeared. The trio jumped into the shuttle just as the passageway behind them exploded.  They dodged fire from Salairan GUARDIAN lasers and attacks from all sides. They nearly collided with a Quarian cruiser before they headed into the Normandy. The shuttle skidded into the Cargo bay, causing sparks to fly. Shepard got out and set Koylat’s body on a stretcher, then he rushed to the elevator. When he reached the deck he headed to the cockpit.

“Commander the readings on the flagship are off the damn chart.” Joker said. “It looks like . . . ah shit it’s going to explode! And I mean really freaking big!”

Shepard ran to the com room and pulled up two holograms of Hackett and Victus. “Get the ships out of there the flagship is going to go supernova!”

“We see the readings and we are pulling out as fast as we can. “ Hackett said.

“How big will this explosion be?” Victus asked.

Shepard shook his head. “I wish I knew but if Joker took it seriously then we have problems.”

The Normandy rocked, causing Shepard to fall to the ground. It must of happened to Victus and Hackett’s ships because they fell too. Shepard pulled up a picture on a third hologram. A chunk of Palaven was in flames. The flagship was destroyed along with any ship caught in the crossfire. Any other ships retreated or were captured.

“Send emergency crews to the burnt surface!” said Victus to a unseen crew member as he turned off his communications. Hackett cut his off without a word. Shepard removed his hood and wiped his forehead. He couldn’t take this much pressure anymore. Then one person came to his mind.

“Tali!”