Eden Prime Part 3 Contracts and People

A.I.- This is correct. Nirali Bhatia is part of Ashley William's squad in away. She is an attachment. Suppose to die in the geth attack. Will still happen if you do not help her! So stop dallying about!

'Alright!' Leo went over and applied the omni-gel. Reaching into his inventory, he felt time slow down as he helped her change from the crappy armor as well. She was weary but coming to really quickly. "You will be fine. Just hang in there. Just a little change-up. The armor you had was to damage to help with Life Support functions."

"Run Williams! Run!" Nirali yelled. Fretting about based off her last memory really. It took some calming before she settled down.

Leo looked back seeing the others approach forward stealthily. He only noticed because a feeling from the A.I. it boosted his senses a lot really. It would take time for him to get a better handle on his Spiritual Sense. And the map was kind of in his brain from it mapping out from memory and updates periodically.

"Who are you?"

"Commander Leonardo Shepard. That is Jane Shepard and.." Leo stopped when she gripped his hands tightly. "Huh?"

"A Shepard here. We are definitely screwed but defintely gonna live." Nirali looked over, seeing Ashley run over made her feel better. Seeing confirmation the other was alive went a long way. "Glad you made it. So stubborn Williams. Would have ended up dead like the rest of us in no time."

"Their squad helped me out. Almost didn't make it. But you are gonna make it. Right?" She turned to Leo with a pleading look. Leo signaled Jenkins to pass over his omni gel as well. They tended to her until she was on her feet. "See, we are making it out of here."

"I just want to hear my husband's voice again. This was not supposed to happen." Nirali tapped her Omnitool but it was busted. Even with the switch out to the new armor. Leo was working on it really quickly for the interface to stop acting up. "What's the plan?" She wanted off the cursed planet asap.

"Kaiden, Jenkins, and yourself will head back to the shuttle, hopefully getting back to the Normandy after that." Jane said. "Myself, Leo, and Ashley will finish the mission. The Normandy might be in danger. The geth won't expect us splitting our forces either."

"Sounds good." Leo nodded but felt like he was missing something.

A.I.- Before you leave, grab the two crates to the right and the medkit across the clearing. One of the crates contains the Scorpion light armor, which has better defenses than the default Onyx armor and is thus probably worth equipping on yourself. The other crate contains some random loot. Once you have everything, head out and be prepared.

'Oh by the series of rocks. I need to take cover because there will be more geth that attack from the dig site itself. Using the cover and my squadmates to eliminate them is easy enough.' Leo rembered a good bit more from the game and novels now.

Equipping the new armor felt good. The sleek black was more stylish then the default gray. The medikit was tossed over to Jenkins to replace what was already used. The rest contained credits that were easily stashed away for himself.

The dead didn't need it at all.

"Stay safe." Kaiden said. He took point with Nirali taking the rear with Jenkins. 'After we check with them, We have to double back around to help.' Those were his thoughts anyway. He didn't like the thought of everyone separating, but communication needed to be relayed back.

"Sooo.. what is it?" Leo asked Jane.

"Nothing, just do not need you giving me special treatment is all. No need for you to take risks all the time."

"Well, it is not like I planned it. Plus, Willams over there is a little bit of a celebrity in some circles." Leo gave a lopsided smile. "Considering what she probably had been through would not be good for me hitting on her. One thing somebody barely under emotional control needs," Leo gave a small shrug. ".. a guy eyeballing her dirty."

"You could always not do that." Ashley said tersely. "I swear the rumors about you are just weird but true it seems." She looked between the two. "Silblings with drastically different personalities."

"Nahhhh. Don't want to Gunny. Dont like it, stay away from me then." Leo looked back at Jane who looked thoughtful. She gave him a tap against the chest. "Take it you are ready to go?" She nodded.

Moving up they finally made it to the former dig site. It was former because of the missing devices. Searching the grounds with Ashley giving a description about what used to be there helped.

Jane found a crate with some better armor and switched out. She also changed to a shotgun for some reason. Ashley switched to a rifle after doing a slight mod to it.

"A change of plans." Nihlus announced on comms. "I will be investigating a small spaceport and will wait for you there."

"Who was that?" Ashley asked.

"A turian by the name of Nihlus. He is sort of leading this OP." Jane's tone was pretty neutral as she filled her in. Which didn't take long considering what all took place so far. "He went on by himself. Says he moves better alone."

"If he is heading there, why did we see a Turian head to the Outpost?" Ashley said what she thought without an issue. Her face furrowed into a frown not liking this even more so. She gave a bit of a description after Leo prodded her for more info.

"Nihlus, you are not alone. Another Turian is here causing trouble. The description matches your boyfriend Saren. Be careful." Leo heard static come through next. Whether Nihlus heard or not was a different matter. "Best to work on the assumption that the fool is dead. Work better alone," Leo looked exasperated. "..the Consort sweet ass he does."

"We should move." Jane tapped them and they sprinted off. "Up ahead looks bad."

"It is. We were ambushed here last. Better to keep our guard up." They stopped at a strange formation of tech parts. Seeing spikes pulse a little. Some cybernetic creatures on them did a slight twitch. "This is freaky."

"Get ready." Leo already sprinted to cover. He knew what they were but couldn't just outright say it without causing an issue. Jane followed suit and Ashley right after.

*Recede!* Suddenly, one spiked lowers. Then another right after.

"Really freaky." Ashley said in suprise. "I wonder what the Geth did to them."

*Pow!* A sniper shot from Jane took one out instantly. When she switched to the weapon, Leo had no idea.

*Pow! Pow!* Two shots from Ashley took another down. The last was still standing. Leo had it pinned against a crate with biotics. Already studying the creature and wanting to share some insights with them.

"Look really close you two. This thing use to be human. Most likely these are the colonists." Wrapping the Husk tightly in biotics further, he stretched the arms and legs apart. Part of his armor lighting up recording everything. "The strength and elasticity are way higher than normal for a human. Shit, an army of these could wreak havoc on the Citadel with ease."

*Snap!* Seeing that the other two had seen enough, and the camera getting enough, Leo snapped its neck. The fluids that shot out seeped into the ground. Staring at it until the eyes dimmed, Leo moved on.

A.I.- Don't leave before grabbing the upgrade kit behind the spikes, which are called Dragon's Teeth. There are also some crates in one of the shacks, the one with the window open. Grab the two crates inside the shack and head for the other.

"Maybe there are a few other survivors. Or better yet, some surveillance." Leo searched the places and acquired the gear. He also picked up another set of credits. The people were dead, they didn't need it. He was suprised when coming out, however. Another member of Ashley's team was alive. 'Well, that is something different to.'

Spotting the shelters in the back, Leo moved over to them with Ashley. Jane was tending to the other member.

*Chish!* Opening it up, they were greeted by two people.

"Dr. Warren you made it. That is good." Ashley says. "Can you tell us what happen?"

"Thank the Maker!" Dr.Warren announces coming from cover.

"She is the head of the archaeological team which was excavating the ruins." Ashley introduced. She gave the man to the side babbling a dismissive glance. Her gun was held firmly in hand, however.

"The Prothean Beacon, right." Leo said shocking them both. A plan already forming simply enough on how he knew some information. "The "Chatter" is nice around the place and very accessible if you listen just right. So how about getting a gun and helping fight your way out of here?"

"Commander, they are not fighters." The door opens revealing Jane and the other squadmate. He was bad off, but could move. His voice measured as he spoke. "They hid in the shelters near the dig site instead of helping earlier. A lot more of the team would have made it if they did. Good seeing you Gunnery Chief." He said to Ashley. Ashley gave a pained smile looking at his injuries. A regular man would have died already. "Do not worry about that coward with her Manuel."

"There was just so much death!" Manuel said slightly lucid for a moment. He started babbling again right after.

"Do not mind him." Dr. Warren tells them. "Commander Shepard, the beacon was moved to the spaceport this morning. "Me and Manuel stayed behind to pack up the camp before the geth attacked. The 232 marine unit resisted the geth long enough for us to hide, at the cost of their own lives. I am glad at least members of the 212 made it."

"Yeah, I bet you are. We told you all to run. If you did.. The others might still be alive. We did our job." Darryl Hudson was his name. Someone Leo had no idea about at all.

"Heading back to regroup with you all." A short burst comm came in. It was Nirali by the sounds of it. Either Kaiden and Jenkins got killed or something else happened.

Eden prime had most of them rattled in regards to what happened.

"Stow it marine." Ashley said sternly. "Focus on recovering. We are not out of the woods yet. And comms are still down. We need to find something else to help you." Nirali joins them to help search. She was also angry but kept it under control.

"Tell us about the beacon." Jane said. She noticed that Leo was not paying attention at all. Almost bored even by it. He touched on his omni-tool as he looked towards the door. Working very quickly she might add. 'I would think something like this would interest him. But it doesn't. In fact, it is like he knows about this already. How much information has he recovered already from around the place?'

Dr.Warren is excited about the beacon and the possibilities it might hold. She started to identify the beacon as being part of a galaxy-wide communications network, but has not had time to learn more. Having survived the geth attack with the help of the marines, she is more concerned about taking care of Manuel, who has become unhinged by the experience.

Leo felt a change in his body take place. A bit of energy entered him. Nirali had agreed to the "contract" fully. Keeping a tight lid on the information she just received mentally. It was the best course for her to return home.

"Well get ready to move." Leo said after thinking it over. He waited till she finished of course. Information needed to be updated. Leo had spent the time getting used to the spiritual sense more. Outside, Jenkins and Nahli had made it back to them out of breath. 'Either they ran into trouble or Kaiden sent them back. Hopefully, it is the latter part.'

"You can not expect us to fight." The Doctor said.

"We are not leaving any troops to die for them." Leo said to Jane. "The geth are most likely going to make it impossible for a recovery team. We.."

"Our job is to protect." Jane countered. "That is what we do."

"No. Our job is to investigate. Find out what is going on and follow Nihlus lead. In case you forgot, we have to make it to him before something bad happens. The mission comes first over them. They are not injured so they can help." Leo countered back slightly angry. "You plan on disobeying that order to protect two corpses that didn't listen and got others killed? How disrespectful to those who died here."

Nirali and Jenkins came in at that time. The good news is they came back because of Kaiden and not an ambush. Kaiden had run into a few survivors himself. Jenkins comms were completely busted from an attack by a husk.

"That is not it at all." Jane shook her head angrily. He was right but she did not want to waste any time arguing about it. Leaving them to fend for themselves was not an option. "Nirali, Jenkins, and Darryl will remain behind. The injuries Darryl has will make it to dangerous for them to move anyway. I found a small communication radar in the other building. Maybe they can get in touch with the Normand better."

"Bad idea." That was all Leo said to her. "May the Maker take idiots like you to his side quickly. Ideals before Practicality. Disgusting little bugs."

The plan did not go over well with the others. But they followed orders. Leo said nothing the entire time. Just tapping away on his Omnitool adjusting things. As the three of them head out, they heard comms clear up finally.

Jane started talking with the Normandy and Kaiden. They reported the other team made it back. But they also reported not hearing from Nihlus.

"Double time it!" Jane ordered. Leo was already 10 feet ahead of her. He turned it into 30 feet easily. Ashley kept pace with Jane. At one point, Leo switched to a sniper rifle. 'He has been quiet. Defintely angry.' She spared Ashley a glance. She was as fine as she could be. 'Why did he provoke such a situation like that earlier? As if just testing how we would all react to it. Like... test subjects in an experiment.'

'Can you do it?' Leo thought to the A.I.

A.I.- I can. But it will be of poor quality. But it will help with future information.

The A.I. linked the scope with Leo's suit. It was also the reason he didn't keep switching out anymore. It felt odd everytime he reintegrated with it. Lining the scope up, he could see Nilhlus and Saren talking in the distance.

Nihlus seems to have taken the advice as he had a few gunshots in him. Saren had a broken mandible. It was either caused by a shot or a punch. Leo couldn't tell. Saren moved over the down Turian and was about to execute him.

*Kachow!* The round went out missing the gun. *Kachow!* The second shot caused Saren to turn, but Leo was way to far away for him to see. The fire was mostly to put the Turian on his toes.

Leo wouldn't get a good hit till he was closer. Pushing his body to the limit, the gap increased. Spiritual energy circulating in his legs as he did so. The small amount would have to do.

'This burns like hell!' Leo thought. His muscles screamed from the exertion. Jane and Ashley couldn't believe how fast he was moving. As well as him still trying to hit something in the distance.

Two things happened next that did not go the way either planned. Saren had decided to cut his losses. Which meant trouble for Leo and what he wanted to do.

*Pow!* Saren fired the same time Leo fired. *Kachak!* The sniper round went off slightly faster. But not fast enough. It clipped Saren's shot mid-flight sending it off course.

*Splurt!* Nihlus took it in the side and stopped moving. Saren took off after that.