Massive Disaster 5-15 (Patreon)

“Hull… o-one-eighty C-Cel… and climbing.” The comms system crackled loud and not-at-all clear, the voice of Jeffrey “Joker” Moreau barely understood as he spoke from the Normady high in orbit. Zedd didn’t expect any different, especially considering he could feel the atmospheric shuddering in his bones. “Atmospheric… p-press… shuttle strain…”Even still, fully working comms weren’t needed for Zedd to put together how hard the vehicle was being pushed, common sense and gravity both suggestions the Kodiak ignored. Therum’s upper atmosphere battered and banged against the shuttle currently punching its way down to the surface, plating shrieking and grinding against the superheated friction of re-entry.

The shuttle cabin blared and flashed with alarms of all kinds, strobes blaring scarlet into Zedd’s eyes even as he did his best to ignore the concerning smell of cooking wiring. Never taking any transport I didn’t build myself. 

Fingers gripped his seatbelts tight as he did his best to keep his cool with John Shepard’s terrible piloting making him consider suicide. Never… never again.

He couldn’t afford to lose his cool, though.

Not with Kira right by his side.

And especially not with Ashley “Whiner” Williams here to say her piece about how he didn’t have the nerves for an Alliance mission. Rather fight Batarians naked and bare-handed than let this man drive me anywhere again.

"C-Climate control … running at one hundred.. fifty percent.” Joker crackled in again, readouts and updates read out to an audience that did not appreciate a single one. “Try n-not… melt d-damn thing …fore you even land, C-commander."

Said Commander’s hands stayed locked on the steering yoke, John Shepard gripping it hard enough to make diamonds. “A little heat never hurt anyone, Joker.” As steady as Shepard’s voice was, Zedd didn’t need X-ray vision or thermal imaging to know that the man’s forearms were corded like steel under his hardsuit as he fought the turbulence and crosswinds of Therum’s lower atmosphere.

Annoyingly steady for a guy piloting a falling brick. "Besides, there’s a reason we’re going in as close as possible. Just keep the ship ready for a hot extract."

Zedd Victors slouched back in his seat, crossing his arms over his cobalt coat as he kept his eyes straigh ahead. His own frames caught the strobes, the overlay feeding him a steady stream of telemetry that was a hell of a lot more accurate than the clunky Alliance dashboard John was currently squinting at. 

Unfortunately, it was less than helpful right now. 

Mainly because Zedd didn’t need to know that the structural integrity of the shuttle was 93% and falling because he couldn’t do anything to fix that. Thermal bleed is worrying too. Especially considering that it was cooking the outer ablative armor and, on top of that, the ambient radiation levels from their entry was bad enough that any unshielded comms system would be fried.

"Your climate control is screaming," Zedd tapped his armrest, words drawling out as lazily as he could manage. He was pretty sure he was doing a good job, considering they were currently riding a flaming meteor directly toward the landing spot. Why did I veto the drive? It seemed like an efficient idea back then considering the Mako seemed pointless, but not so much now. We should have just landed and fought our way up to the entry point. 

Fighting back a twitch in his eye, Zedd clicked his teeth. "Primary heat exchangers on this model are a few years out of date. Coolant is boiling in the lines." One finger tapped at the side of his glasses, another blink swiping away a non-critical error code detailing the Kodiak’s failing coolant system. " I’d be a lot more worried about our asses being cooked like turkeys instead of the shitty paint job, Shepard."

"Does he ever shuuuuut up?" The Gunnery Chief let out a groan from the rear, her own voice flat and strained by the G-forces pressing them back. “I mean, honestly. We get it, you’re smart or whatever.” Her hardsuit clanking as she leaned back in her seat; a dull thud of ceramite on metal. "And why are we flying into hell for some bullshit Asari archeologist anyway? Whole planet's on fire."

"Because Williams, that 'bullshit Asari archeologist'—" The heavy thump-click of a shotgun slide being racked sounded off from the co-pilot seat, Jane Shepard methodically checking her weapon before she finished speaking "—might be the key to stopping Saren. Need her alive and need her to spit up whatever intel she’s carrying on her or in her."

Her tone was dark and the words compressed, sounding ready for a fight and just as steady as her brother. No wonder, she’s probably no better. 

"So check your seals and stow it, Williams."

Violent shaking immediately swapped out for the stomach-dropping lurch of pure freefall as the Kodiak broke through the final cloud layer. Therum spread out in front of them, Zedd’s lenses polarizing against the immediate yellow glare of the landscape.A wall of sulfur parted to reveal the open wound that was the planet, jagged ridges of volcanic glass stretched out toward the horizon; black as the void they just left. Rivers of slow-moving molten rock eased down into the distance, the clear cause of the black spikes dotting the mountain ridges.

Zedd raised an eyebrow. "Looks like hell’s parking lot."

“Heh.” Wrex’s baritone rumbled from the very back, sounding a little wistful. “Looks more like home.” The massive krogan took up enough space to make the already cramped Kodiak feel impossibly small, his scarred head brushing the ceiling. 

Ashley shifted her weight, mouth opening to snap another complaint into the air.

She didn’t get a chance as a high-pitched alert blared over the console, drowning her out.

"Contacts!" Garrus’s voice spiked from the back, the Turian’s head in his omnitool with a video feed aimed at the outside.  "Multiple Geth dropships moving fast and headed our way."

Of course they were. Zedd bit down on a sigh. Thermal sensors choking on the noise from outside. These sensors… Calling them shit wasn’t fair, but he really really wanted to considering the trap was already sprung.

The Kodiak hit the dirt with a groan of suspension and a screech of shocks. John whipped the yoke, vehicle drifting sideways as the thrusters kicked up a blinding wave of black dust; enough to mask the arrival for a few simple seconds.

Finally. Zedd unclasped the harness with a sigh, the side hatch popping open as soon as the Kodia fully settled. 

Heat immediately pressed up against his face as his boots hit cooked red earth, thick and suffocating as he tasted burnt pennies on his tongue. Luckily, the taste only lasted all of two seconds, the environmental scrubbers in his shielding system fighting their best to filter out the sulfur.

Heavy pistol already out of his belt holster, Zedd glanced around the slaughterhouse of a dig site and the entrance to the tunnel right in front of them. Gutted research prefabs stared back at him, lightweight alu-carbon composite walls pockmarked with deep scores and other sections half-melted to slag. The ground itself was litrered with the end results of bad odds and worse cover, wounded human bodies and sparking Geth frames laying untouched and unmoving. 

Meat and metal, both useless.

"They’ve already hit the site hard." John stepped out of the Kodiak, M-8 already shouldered as he swept the killing field with commander’s eyes. 

Jane stomped out behind him, M-23 aimed and ready. “Odds she’s already dead?”

“Doubtful, Commander.” Garrus was behind the woman, omni out as he read something off the bright-orange holo. “Reading a repeating signal deep inside the main excavation tunnel. It’s faint…” The Turian lifted his head. “But someone’s still alive in there."

Kai, Kira, Ashley and Wrex made their way out behind the Turian as Zedd tilted his head, aural enhancers in the frames of his glasses bypassing the roar of the wind and geysers to feed him information his lenses immediately analyzed. 

Pop-pop-pop. Small arms fire, shots too spaced out to be a full or semi-auto, and not slow enough to be anything like a shotgun. A pistol. 

Most likely an M-3, considering.

And with it, the distinct tearing hiss of a strong but faint biotic discharge.

"More than alive," Zedd adjusted the collar of his coat, making sure the node beneath it was fully covered. "They’re fighting."

Shepard’s eyes roamed all the rubble choking the main entrance to the mine, twisted beams and hundreds of tons of rock doing its best to limit space. “They left us a bottleneck. This… this is definitely the path they want us to go down.” The man frowned. “They’ll be waiting.” 

He looked over his shoulder at Jane, sharing a look that was either twin telepathy or simple military logic. “We split up, then.” A grunt left Jane as she cracked her neck, shoulders rolling. “Me and the krogan’ll draw their fire with Ashley and the Turian as backup. Break down the front door and you find another way in.”

Other way in, huh? Zedd’s thumb swept across the bright blue holo-face of his omni, telemetry and data unfolding in front of him. Ground-penetrating sensors pinged his glasses, ripping Alliance topographic scans and cross-referencing those schematics with the current read-out in front of him. 

"There." A gloved finger aimed at the rock wall to their right, the far section clearly jagged with a fissure half-buried staring back at them. “A side tunnel. Moderately unstable, but our best bet.”A blue-eyed gaze from the tall war hero landed back on him. “When you say unstable…”“Nothing that’ll kill unless we set off some grenades on our way down,” Zedd shook his head at the unspoken question — I care about living too, man — before looking back at the male Shepard, “But my analysis suggests it’s the most direct route to the main chamber we’re trying to get down to. Less resistanc, too, and a faster approach."

"Alright." John didn't hesitate as he pointed two fingers at his eager sister. "Jane, you hit them hard and fast. Keep their attention. Zedd, you’re with me. Kai, Kira, on us. We’ll punch through the side and secure the target."

Twin stared at twin, commander and weapon. "Try not to have all the fun without us."

The Spectre wore a grin that was all teeth as she grinned up at him. "No promises, little brother."