//------------------------------// // Collector Base - Arrival // Story: Mass Effect: Element of Kindness // by CommanderApplejack //------------------------------// Chapter 151 Collector base - Arrival Rainbow walked into engineering, glancing at the position where Kenneth and Gabriella would have worked. A fire lighting inside her as she too missed two friends due to the collectors. Tali stood over her own workstation, checking if everything was still working well, but she too looked out of it. Her movements were a bit snappy, she pressed buttons more harshly than usual, and where she would usually hum a tune she was completely silent now. “Hey,” Rainbow said, catching the quarian’s attention.  “Hey.” Tali pressed a couple more buttons before closing the holograms on her workstation and leaning her back against the wall, sliding down into a sitting position. Rainbow scooted up beside her and rested her head against her side. “Are you okay? You found home only to have to leave again.” “They’re safe… for now,” Rainbow sighed. “They’re not ready.” “No-one is,” Tali said. “My people they’re… I fear they’re making a mistake.” “What’s going on with the fleet?” Rainbow asked curiously, thinking through what mistakes the migrant fleet might be making. “They aren’t thinking about...” “The migrant fleet is recalling pilgrims, mining resources at unprecedented scale and selling them… There’s only one thing I can think of what those kinds of preparations are for.” “And what about the Reapers?” Rainbow asked astonished. “My kind has been shunned by the galaxy, the quarians have nothing in mind other than to retake our homeworld,” Tali sighed. “After this is done I must return to them, try to steer them from this course… I don’t know if I can.” “Whatever happens, I’ll be there for you.” “So you’d come with me to the migrant fleet?” Tali asked slightly surprised. Rainbow stayed silent as she thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I think I would,” she eventually answered. “I’m sure the others will understand. Fluttershy will probably stick to Garrus as well.” “Thank you.” Tali pulled Rainbow tightly against her. Legion then strode into the engineering bay, focussing on the quarian on the ground. “Creator Tali’Zorah, we offer our help running the engineering systems for the relay jump.” Tali looked down at Rainbow, squeezing lightly before letting go and standing back up. “Thank you, Legion. If you could monitor the Eezo core then I can focus completely on the power redistribution.” “Acknowledged,” Legion answered, walking up to the core’s interface and starting to monitor the systems. Rainbow sat to the side and watched as she didn’t have the technical knowhow to help the quarian and geth anyhow. Time ticked away as they prepared, eventually Joker’s voice coming in over the intercom. “Approaching Omega-Four relay. Everyone stand bye.” Rainbow’s heart started pounding faster as the drive core where Legion was working sparked to life, energy arcing over its surface. “Re-routing static electrical charge, Tali’Zorah,” Legion announced as Tali swiftly pressed buttons on her own console. “I’ve got it, dissipating it now!” she called back to the geth. The numbers on the screens changed drastically as Dash felt the ship lurch into a relay jump, the inertia dampeners doing their very best to counter the unnatural vibrations for an FTL jump. “Damnit...” Legion came running from the core to Ken’s station, sending commands to it at a rate Tali wouldn’t be able to keep up at and stabilizing the readings. The vibrations stopped as the Normandy fell out of its jump, new warnings popping up on the screens. “Re-routing power to engines!” She announced, waiting for energy levels to balance out again. All calmed down again as the Joker got the Normandy into a more stable flight. Tali just started laughing as she jumped towards legion and hugged him. “We did it! Take that, bosh’tets!” she exclaimed, suddenly realizing what exactly she was hugging and letting go of the geth. “Uhm… Well done Legion.” Rainbow smirked as she nudged Tali in the side with a wing. The Normandy suddenly shook again, pulling Legion and Tali back to their consoles. Rainbow grasped on to a railing to avoid being flung around. Red alarms blared through the engineering bays as the Normandy shuddered violently. “Alert, Hull breach on engineering deck,” EDI announced, Rainbow immediately got the bubble that encompassed her muzzle and activated the mass effect fields that kept air in a bubble around her head. “Rainbow, get to the cargo hold and stop the intruder from getting to our more vital systems!” Shepard called out, Rainbow immediately ran out into the hallway, knocking against the side of the walls as the ship bounced around. Looking through the window she could see a large ball of sorts floating in the hold and firing a laser from a lense in the middle of its casing. Let’s see what you got! Opening up the elevator Rainbow took it a floor down, having to roll out of the way immediately as a laser immediately came through the crack of the door as it opened up. Using her biotics, Rainbow picked up a barrel and flung it at the oculus to give herself some extra time to get into cover. “That all you got? A silly laser?!” Rainbow laughed, getting her shotgun and leaping onto her cover and blasting the sphere’s lens before diving away again. The elevator opened up again, revealing grunt with his massive shotgun. The krogan simply marched forward, pumping shots into the machine. “Nice of you to join!” “Couldn’t just watch and let you have all the fun!” Grunt laughed in reply. The oculus tried leaving through the hole it had created in the side of the cargo bay but Rainbow wouldn’t have anything of it. Wrapping her biotics around the large ball she forced it to stay inside, grunt abusing this opportunity to savagely batter it from point-blank range. It shuddered, venting something before fire erupted from its shell and it exploded. “Buck yeah!” “Nice work! Now hold on to something down there, the collectors sent out an old friend to greet us!” Shepard called out from the bridge. Both Rainbow and Grunt grasped a column as the Normandy shook violently again, the view outside giving glimpses of an energy beam passing the Normandy. Come on, come on, come- The mass effect generators went offline completely, the G-forces suddenly being applied to Rainbow’s body was more than she could handle. She crashed hard into the hangar bay door, her body in pain as she was flung in different directions throughout the hold. I’m not… going to the… hospital… again! Using her biotics Rainbow forced herself to stick to one of the walls, her wings felt like they were on fire but it was at least better than flying around the cargo hold uncontrollably. Thirty seconds later the vibrations stopped and the ship had come to a halt. “Nice flying, Joker!” Rainbow called out as she let herself drop from the roof. “You okay, Grunt?” “I’m good,” the krogan replied, holstering his shotgun. “Let’s go see how the rest are doing.” Luckily the elevator still worked which allowed them to head up to the others. The commander told them to go get to gather in the situation room. The rest of the strike team slowly filed into the room as well after some time. Shepard stepped up to the head of the central table and leaned on it, sighing. “This isn’t exactly how we planned this mission, the Normandy might not be able to take off again but that doesn’t matter. We came to stop the collectors and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station. EDI, bring up your scans.” A hologram of the base appeared above the table, showing various internal rooms as well. “You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control centre here.” A node appeared on the hologram as EDI spoke. “We’d pass right through the heart of the station near that large energy signature,” Garrus noted. “The central chamber… if our crew is anywhere, they’ll be brought there,” Shepard said, marking that location as well. “You’re missing something, there’s an offshoot from the main chamber here,” Fluttershy pointed out. “There’s a whole bunch of passageways leading there.” “That point is moot if we can’t get to the main chamber in the first place. See these two passageways? They’re the only way up to the main chamber but both are blocked,” Miranda pointed out again.” “There’s a ventilation shaft that can provide passage and open the door from the opposite end. Our platform is optimal for the task,” Legion pointed out. “Agreed. We’ll split up our forces into a small and large team to keep the collectors off balance and meet back up in the central chamber.” “Sound like a plan, I’ll lead the second team and meet up with you on the other end of the doors,” Miranda said but that proposal didn’t come without any resistance. “Not so fast, Cheerleader, nobody wants to take orders from you.” Garrus, Grunt, and Fluttershy all murmuring their agreement. “This is not a democracy, I’m the XO on this mission,” Miranda pointed out. “Live’s are at stake here and you need someone who knows how to command.” Shepard rubbed the side of his head and sighed. “Miranda is in charge of the second team. We’re on the same side here, Jack.” The human biotic grumbled but didn’t object further. “Now, I want two of you with me to keep Legion safe in the ventilation shaft. Any volunteers?” Surprisingly, Tali immediately stepped forward to volunteer… 1. Garrus [Archangel, Sniper] 2. Fluttershy [Angel of Death, Sniper/Adept] 3. Rainbow Dash [Vanguard] 4. Mordin [Former STG, Crazy Scientist] 5. Thane [Assasin, Sniper] 6. Jack [‘Subject Zero’, Adept] 7. Grunt [Tank bred pure krogan, Beserker] 8. Samara [Justicar, Adept] 9. Vortash [Former STG and Archangel squad, Explosive Expert] 10. Zaheed [Blue Suns Founder, Mercinary] [Vote link] (Non-POV choice) (also, please pick well. I prefer not to kill off my favourite characters.)