Ch.20 - Peak 15: First Encounter

The winding Aleutsk Valley was a rather treacherous path.

Icy walls of rocks, blowing winds compounded by the current blizzard, deep crevices and unstable ice shelves. But the inclusion of Geth made everything even deadlier.

I have no doubt that the standard, even mildly subpar, Grizzly we had found ourselves in would not have made it through the defenses they had prepared along the way to Peak 15 located on the Skadi Mountains. In fact, I have multiple pieces of evidence, in the form of the remains of three other still burning Grizzlies, which proved my point.

But that would no longer be an issue.

The trail of carnage left behind the Commander's wake, well it was clear to see her undeniable skills with the Mako even if I severely doubted the two squad mates accompanying her would be able to 'keep their lunches down.'

Wrex was rather jealous from being left out of such a battle, grumbling about 'Shepard taking all the best fights' and the likes, but a relatively peaceful ride up to the Binary Helix facility was appreciated by myself and Liara.

Pieces of blown apart units, remains of sentry turrets still smoking, crushed Geth partially buried in the snow from behind run over, slumped over Colossi and Armatures, the telltale signs of our commander.

From the few true remains I could properly account and the information regarding the cargo of the Matriarch… I would certainly say the vast majority of it now lies within the Aleutsk Valley. This would leave a minor force on top of the commandos to protect the Matriarch, with a high likely hood of the Geth being used as more disposable and waiting for any arrivals.

It took 15 minutes, after the 10 the Commander had as a head start, to reach Peak 15.

We immediately saw the slightly damaged Mako in front of a closed garage door, all understanding that either the current lockdown or the Matriarch had shut it down and necessitated the use of the secondary door to enter.

"Prepare for combat as soon as we enter. We have not heard from the Commander, but I expect they have at least faced the remaining Geth units within." I told my two squad mates as we exited the Grizzly and made our way to the entrance.

"Finally." Wrex replied with an excited grin.

"Signals are being scrambled Neo, I suspect the others have already met more Geth resistance." Liara informed us with urgency.

"Then let's get going!" Our Krogan friend roared as he went through the entrance without any hesitation.

A quick look shared between myself and Liara had me going next with my Mattock drawn, following after a battle hungry Wrex.

We walked into an active battlefield as the commander, Garrus and Ashley used the supporting pillars and containers as cover from the Geth shots.

The large garage containing many different vehicles, pillars and containers forming a mildly hazardous battlefield. The explosion from unstable material or a vehicle's engine would certainly not be optimal.

I could not feel any other beings besides my teammates, both good and bad.

I reflexively shot a hopping unit as it sprung past my line of sight, causing it to splatter against the wall it was aiming to cling to.

"Hey! Who stole my shot?!" Garrus cried out in annoyance.

"My apologies. It was a reflex." I answered him as it took cover behind a Grizzly's wheel near the trio.

"Good to see you made it to the party." Shepard shouted as she fired a few rounds at an approaching rocket unit.

Her shots broke through the shielding, but did not bring it down.

Ashely finished it.

"Yeah, a party. Let's give them their favors!" She then said as she loaded anti-synthetic rounds and moved up to a new cover while bringing down two more standard Geths attempting to gain a better position.

"Where's Wrex?" Shepard questioned as she looked around. "He's usually ahead of Ash."

"He is." Garrus answered with amusement in his tone as he picked off a sniper unit from a balcony above.

That answer made us look over to the explosion of a small shuttle as three Geth Troopers flew into the current 'No-Man's Land', swiftly shot by a very familiar shotgun as a pleased Wrex walked by.

"Hahaha! That felt goooood! Who wants to be scrap next?" He said with a very pleased smile.

"I will go and support the next push." I informed the Commander as I registered the current movement pattern and positioning of the nearby Geth.

"I'll support you." Liara said with determination as her biotics flared to life.

"Garrus and I will give you cover fire." Shepard added, readying her Spectre Sniper Riffle alongside the Turian sharpshooter.

We shared a nod between the four of us and began our push.

Moving from my position just in time for a sniping unit to attempt a shot towards Wrex, I placed three quick rounds in its heads before shifting to a rocket unit, placing bullet within the barrel of its rocket launcher and taking a quarter of its body alongside its head with the explosion.

I shifted my sight to a rushing pair of trooper units, only for Garrus, Ashley and the Commander to tear them apart in concentrated fire.

Wrex joined my push as he took care of a more advanced version of the standard trooper model with a quick combination of concentrated biotics on his head to burst its shielding and then creating a new hole in its torso.

Our charge was unstoppable as we moved to the only known remaining unit, their 'commander'.

The large unit was red as opposed to the usual metallic colors, with stronger shielding and evident armor.

It fired a spread of plasma, but Wrex and I split up to dodge the attack.

He strafed right as he returned fire, causing the machine to halt its advance from the impact, I went left as I peppered it with my Mattock in one hand and drew my Eviscerator to support it with the other.

My strength was more than enough to handle both and accuracy was even less of a problem in such close range.

The large unit was likely suffering from 'indecision' as it found itself under two direct threat and without a means to counter both without risking itself, but it seemed to pick the Krogan as a larger one.

The Commander and Garrus did not stand idle as they opened fire from afar, Ashley charging in as she freely fired upon the Geth as well.

Its shields failed in moment.

Immediately afterwards, the squad pounced on it and began tearing apart.

Wrex brought it to its knee by targeting the obvious weakness of joints.

Garrus managed to disable its gun with an expertly placed shot.

Shepard weakened its bodily integrity by targeting its chest.

Ashley forced it to protect its 'head' by aiming exclusively there.

Liara was making certain no one would be harmed unintentionally.

And I put away my Mattock, moved behind it and blew its head apart, causing it to fall forward.

Everyone stopped firing and began sweeping the surroundings.

Blocked systems returned, but this could be a trap to lessen our awareness.

Check the enemy fallen.

Check for signals.

Check local security.

Check cargo.

…

All negative.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, let's get moving people. We need to find out what Benezia wants here." Shepard ordered as we all gathered.

"User Alert. All Peak 15 facilities have suffered a great deal of damage.

Biohazard materials present through facility.

Virtual Intelligence user interface offline" A simulated female voice sounded as we headed forward.

"We'll need to get the reactors back online. The place is obviously running on back up systems." Garrus commented as we moved.

"This is not a good sign." Liara nervously noted.

"Bah. Those chumps couldn't handle an unarmed Volus, much less Rachni. No wonder things went to shit." Wrex dismissively responded with his distaste still very much present regarding the situation.

"I'm more worried about things going FUBAR and that Executive Board deciding to just erase the place." Shepard grimly said. "With us in it."

On that note, we reached the door to enter the facility proper, finding a set of security turrets pointing at the door leading 'in' instead of the one we just used to get 'out'.

"It would seem the situation has deteriorated more than we assumed if the Rachni have reached this far." I neutrally observed.

This might have been effective against most life forms, but insect-like beings such as Rachni would not limit themselves to corridors and doors like this. Such a defense would have limited effects and trap any potential survivors inside.

At least it assures us of the Matriarch's continued presence.

They do not appear deactivated and were likely set to open fire on any who 'enter' to leave.

So unless they deactivated the security systems, disabled the reactor, made it past the turrets and Rachni, left the Geth behind and made it off world without passing through Port Hanshan or being detected, our target was still here.

"Why are the turrets facing the wrong way?" Liara naively asked, showing how her academic background limited her current battlefield mentality at times.

"Gotta keep the space bugs from getting out." Ashley nonchalantly answered.

I do not believe she understands the threat Rachni could and have posed to the Galaxy. The deadliness of the species.

"And they probably don't want anyone working here getting out and telling everyone what's going on. A non-disclosure agreement certainly wouldn't be much of an issue if the Council hears that someone brought back Rachni." Garrus elaborated with a glimpse into the cruel nature of secret research.

Without another word, we entered a large enough elevator to fit us all and ascended into the facility proper.

What we found did not inspire confidence in the containment of the Rachni.

A corridor, filled with snow from the ongoing blizzard outside.

"Well, this doesn't bode well." Liara commented.

"As long as it isn't a Queen that escapes, it won't be a big problem." Wrex seriously informed us as he tightened his grip on his gun.

"Yeah, the alien queen escaping is never a good thing." Ashley dryly agreed.

"Earth has faced such a being before?" Liara questioned rather innocently.

"It's from a movie." Shepard answered with a teasing smirk.

"Oh. That makes more sense considering humans were not aware of the wider Galaxy until their conflicts with the Turians." Our embarrassed Asari friend self-explained in realization.

"It is remarkably similar though, you have to admit skipper." Ashley half-jested.

"You know, I can see a few ressemblances." The commander admitted after little thought.

The friendly conversation was then put on hold and we proceeded through the next room.

Here we found the source of the snow.

A large broken window leading to the remains of what must have been a welcome area for new arrivals as well as a probable security screening zone.

Snow covered floor and desk, tall walls creating a corridor behind it, stairs leading to an observation window and other rooms.

Complete with the advanced trooper model of Geth and its lesser versions.

As such, we fought.

Liara erected a barrier to halt the initial volley, synthetics usually possess better aim and reflexes, but are slowed by their processing speed. Our Asari teammate was faster.

Wrex and Shepard both followed through and [Charge]d the units directly in front, and Ashley sprinted for cover using the distraction, evading shots coming from an elevated position, revealing a standard unit on the stairs.

Garrus was offering covering fire, quickly taking down an interesting shield wall the advanced models seemed capable of deploying. It was capable of receiving a few shots before fading.

Useful.

Needs to be analyzed.

A possible grenade form maybe.

Portable and deployable shield which could save lives.

For another day.

New Geth coming from behind the wall.

Activate [Overload].

Shields down.

One shot.

One less 'flashlight'.

Shepard and Wrex had dispatched their own.

Liara and Ashley removed two more.

And the final one fell to a well placed shot from Garrus.

"We clear?" Shepard loudly asked as the team quickly swept the room.

One after another, we all responded affirmatively.

But then I felt something.

Desperation.

Fear.

Longing.

Hunger.

Anger.

No…fury.

.

.

.

.

…Emptiness.

Then we all heard it. Around us was movement.

In the walls and ceilings.

I felt them.

Some strong.

More…aware of their selves. Most much weaker. Smaller. But all alone even though together.

"How pitiful you all are." I unconsciously spoke as I looked around.

My words were heard, causing the squad to look at me in confusion and suspicion.

"What do you mean Neo?" Shepard urgently asked me.

Her voice centered me as I felt myself being overwhelmed by the waves of emotions.

She was exuding the… strength I always felt was waiting beneath the surface.

"They are all so lost. So afraid. So desperate. So…empty." I answered emotionally as the rattling within the walls ended.

The world stilled for a moment.

And then, from the overlooking walkway, it burst out from the vents.

Large chitinous insect with four dangerous, almost lance-like legs, a set of protruding pincers, clawed hands near its head, and thin protruding tentacles with hardened pods at the end.

A Rachni.

"What the fuck is that!!?" Ashley cried out.

"Shit." Garrus cursed as he took aim.

"Rachni!" Wrex essentially answered for everyone with a snarl as he opened fire without any hesitation.

The Rachni screeched in defiance, opening its pods and shooting out a compressed green liquid.

We dodged and it attempted to charge at us, running down the corridor to reach the stairs.

The liquid sizzled and fumed as it land in the snow. Acid.

We all opened fire with no hesitation.

Regardless of what I felt from them and my current… overwhelmed status, it was an enemy.

A danger to my friends.

A threat to the mission.

It would die.

[Inferno]

It screeched as it burnt and died.

But then I felt a flash of aggression from the side.

Rapidly approaching, but small.

I reacted.

My fist hit a much smaller insect.

It burst, splattering on my armor. I knew it was toxic and possibly acidic, but everything was sealed and resistant to such things.

"Be wary of the small ones. They attack suicidally to poison foes." I warned the others as I drew my pistol and exterminated them.

They must have been the ones I felt all around. The weaker ones.

The large one was obviously meant for combat, but these ones, they might be worker units.

"Damn! *Stomp* Rachni! *Squish*" Wrex grunted in distaste.

"That was…really gross." Ashley shuddered as she wiped her helmet to clear her vision from the green liquid staining it. "Kinda happy snarky insisted on armor sealing while on missions after Feros."

With her pointing at me with her thumb, it would appear I was 'snarky'.

Odd. I do not believe I was humorous, critical or sarcastic.

I should look into this matter of nicknames. Shepard seems to hold 'skipper' from Ashley. Something to talk about later.

"Biotics seem to keep them at bay, unless they are within the protections they offer." Liara informed everyone.

"Well isn't that great news for us, Ash?" Garrus joked sarcastically.

"Ugh. We get the back, Liara's in the middle, and our three biotic friends here get all the bug guts. Deal?" She suggested in good humor, but it was a sound formation.

"Deal." Shepard agreed with a smile.

"Although I cannot form barriers like Liara, I should be able to shroud myself if necessary." I informed the Commander.

"That's good enough." She replied with a nod. "At least we have some kind of a clue about what Rachni can do, and if they're this close to the exit I'm guessing we won't be facing many Geths, so now we need to keep an eye out for the facility's security measures and Asari Commandos."

"Oh? That's it? No Krogan mercs or other long dead species that almost brought the Galaxy to its knees?" Garrus japed with a grin.

"Not this time." The Commander answered with an eye-roll. "But let's make sure the Rachni can't really help the Reapers do it again."

"Won't hear any complaints from me." Wrex said before we all resumed our journey.

We had only just experienced part of the chaos in this facility.

It will be an interesting day.

_______________________________________

Hello everyone.

Part one of Peak 15 is done. I thought the first Rachni encounter was a pretty good place to stop overall.

Like before, Shepard and her Squads are all extremely skilled and powerful, so most enemies don't really pose too much of a problem and those that do can generally be dealt with using teamwork and some quick thinking.

I skipped the whole ride up to the Peak because 'why not?' Had Neo show up in the middle of the garage fight because I thought it was appropriate, but I did take away the Krogans because they made no sense being there. No one noticed them before, would never have worked as an effective security force for the peak and it made little sense for them to be there beyond having a variety of enemies in gameplay.

As for the current Rachni, well to me their biggest threats are their poison/acid, which the crew should have generally been ready for ahead of times, and their abilities in close range. Shepard and her crew have a lot of guns and work well as a team, plus two beings who can just shrug off their poison and beat them up at close range.

The real danger of the Rachni as a race would come from how they should be a hive mind, but that is not the case in Noveria as is learnt later, and their hazardous nests. Zero for two there, so as long as their numbers aren't too high, it's gonna be pretty manageable.

Sorry if this takes some tension away, I'm just trying to bring across the fact that Shepard and her team might race against time, but they are all extremely qualified and skilled individuals under strong leadership. I mean, even in games Shepard has an enormous body count and tears through enemies unless you play on Insanity or something.

So anyway, next part is probably going to be until they get to the survivors of Peak 15. I'll see how that goes.

Hope you enjoy.