Nexus Effect

Ch.29

[Year 2176]

“Lieutenant! The Four-Eyes are fleeing!” Corporal Sung cheered and Lieutenant Shepard breathed a sigh of relief as she ceased firing at the routed Batarian pirates from behind her cover of the engine block of an overturned truck.

“Hold! We are not giving pursuit! We need to reconnect with the regiment and prepare for a future engagement!” Lieutenant Shepard shouted to ensure her battalion knew better than to give chase and potentially fall into an ambush of enemy reinforcements.

“But ma’am! The civilians!” Another soldier that Shephard couldn’t remember with the adrenaline high at the moment was brought up and the mocha-skinned young woman from the streets of Earth grit her teeth and clenched her almond-shaped eyes at her impotence. She was stationed here. Those abducted civilians are on her head.

“We’re not abandoning them. We’re going to bring them home, just not right now.” Shepard replied as she checked her gear before looking to Elysium’s northwest. “Speaking of which, the cavalry's here!” Shepard grinned as the sight of the incoming fighters flying with all speed towards the pirate ships filled her with relief.

Thank goodness for whoever that anonymous tipster was. If they hadn’t delivered a warning to her, then her regiment could’ve been overrun when the pirates landed so fast it was almost like they did an orbital drop with their ships. She didn’t much care who they were, they clearly had good intentions if saving lives and stopping pirates was their goal.

“Form up! Captain Anderson is on his way and none of you should look anything less than exemplary!” Shepard shouted as she straightened up her hardsuit and brushed as much filth as she could from herself. The blood would stay of course, a soldier can’t help it if her actions in the name of duty get her suit stained.

True to expectation, Shepard stood at attention as a sleek gunmetal shuttle dove towards them and landed hastily yet professionally. The ramp on the side lowered and Captain Anderson, a very handsome and reputable soldier emerged and looked over Shepard and her battalion of four squads with his keen eyes that made her internally squirm. “Lieutenant, I’m glad to see most of you survived.” Anderson’s words stung, not because of the praise, but because it reminded her of the seven men and women under her command that wouldn’t be going home.

“Thank you, sir.” Shepard replied, looking forward at the middle-distance at attention while her soldiers did the same behind her.

“At Ease. When you preemptively sent that distress call, I as well as several other local brass members were a bit leery until you mentioned that anonymous tip. The attached name was Suited Citizen right?” At Anderson’s question, Shepard nodded. “Good. All info provided by Suited Citizen has proven to be reliable, you did the right thing.”

“Thank you sir. Permission to speak freely?” Shepard requested of her immediate superior.

“Granted.” Anderson replied as he looked over at the bodies of her dead troops being made dignified by a medic.

“When are we going to strike back at these pirates sir? I think I speak for everyone here when I say we want our friends and families back.” Shepard growled, some of her rough upbringing shining through her professionalism as the buzz-cut dark-eyed mocha-skinned woman of Japanese ancestry grit her teeth at these pirates attacking and abducting citizens.

“The fleet is mobilizing, but it's going to take at least a year to get any accurate info on the target.” Anderson spoke with his right hand on his chin as he thought it over. “Not to mention most of our resources are currently in some secret project with the Turians, so this military action will have less ships in it than it would a year prior.”

“You’re saying that we can’t save them now?” Shepard asked with regret.

“Unfortunately, that is correct. First, we need to know where they’ve been taken. The fleet has told me that the frigates they had in orbit are already bolting for the Relay. We really couldn’t fire on them for fear of the civilians, so now we need to figure out where they are going and FTL tracking is fairly hard until they exit. They won’t go straight to base either if they’re smart. Even if we get the fleet ready, we’ll have to act like we’re not going for them so they think it's safe to go to harbor.” Anderson replied with disappointment.

“Otherwise they might just keep jumping about the Relays until our people are either starved, spaced or eaten as their rations run out.” Shepard recited from her lessons on long-duration space travel logistics involved in the pursuit of the enemy and why pursuit beyond the system is often futile or infeasible.

“Correct, I-.” Anderson put his left hand to his ear and nodded. “Atten-hut!” Everyone bolted back to attention. “We’re evacing. Elysium is hurting and she needs her soldiers in tip-top shape. We just got a lead and you need to be ready to deploy.”

“Suited Citizen?” Shepard asked with a wry smirk that she couldn’t help and Anderson returned it.

“Suited Citizen.” Anderson intoned and Shepard damn well wished she knew them, whoever they are. She owes them a drink.

[2178]

“Go, go, go!” Shouted a sergeant as men stormed out of the shuttles on the moon of Tofan. It was a rock like most planetoids with no atmosphere, but it had strong enough gravity that a person couldn’t just jump free of it.

It took two years to get here, following each lead Suited Citizen provided the Earth Systems Alliance, they routed each den of pirates and rescued hundreds of thousands of slaves, not just human ones either. This last bastion was a whole damn moon covered in pirate strongholds, this deployment was just against one of dozens of high-value targets.

Shepard was directly behind Anderson, the Captain had practically dragged her through every engagement, trusting her to watch his back and she did with the knowledge that he had her’s. She was his SiC and he her leader, it was as if some cosmic force guided them to victory. She felt as if with him at the head and her supporting him, that they could handle anything.

Heh, listen to her thoughts, as if they were married or something. He’s easily twice her age. Though he does have a nice ass...

“Alright people! Today the Turians are helping us mop up this scum! The Council even had the consideration to send us a Spectre! This is Saren Arterius, his commands take priority!” Captain Anderson announced over comms as Shepard and him stood in front of their assigned regiment.

“No Captain, this is your op. I’m just field support. I’ll be overwatch with my rifle as you close the gap with their den’s main entrance.” The tall and rather imposing Turian said as he shouldered his weapon, a god-awesome enormous rifle so big it might weigh as much as her and Shepard knew she was not a light lady with all the muscle she’s got. “Now, we need to move. The Unknown had attacked the last true Hegemony planet just four systems away. They might show up here, so we need to take this moon and evacuate before they show up! None of the Council wants to risk more resources being captured by these aliens until their conquest is over.”

“Understood Spectre Arterius. You heard the man! He’s got that anti-tank gun to cover us! We are going to storm that gate! Make efficient use of cover!” Anderson turned towards the cave entrance with a derelict frigate disassembled in front of it to act as an outer base as well as a defensive measure for the rest of said underground den.

A shot grazed Shepherd’s helmet as the Batarians mustered up the courage to attack them preemptively while they were still organizing. That was also when a tank shell took out the shuttle to their left as it started landing. “Move!” Shepard shouted furiously and the men took her initiative while Anderson supported her since that glancing blow rang her head like a church bell. It must’ve been an armor-piercing round for it to penetrate through her suit’s M.E field.

“The Hegemony supplied them with Military grade gear!” A corporal shouted in warning as the wreck of a frigate rained hell on the troops who were approaching to take this last bastion of the pirates and rescue what remained of their hoarded slaves.

“This moon doubles as a titanium mine as well as a former slave market. The Hegemony uses the slaves here to mine ore for the military!” Saren informed them all over comms as a massive round fired from behind them and impacted the top of the frigate with the force of a small artillery round, save for the lack of added explosive ordinance.

Shepard managed to get her head in order on the scramble for forward cover and joined Anderson as he took advantage of the opening Saren provided to advance. This took several heart-pounding moments, but each time Spectre Arterius fired that incredible cannon the Turian Hierarchy had the gall to call a rifle, they had an opening to approach. She needs to get one of those for her collection somehow.

“Corporal Jenkins! Take that rocket launcher off your back and cover us! I want to see those tanks reeling!” Shepard ordered the soldier nearest her that wasn’t her CO.

“Yes Ma’am!” The young man from Eden Prime yelled as he scrambled for the heavy ordnance and fired on the tank line. “You’re covered Ma’am, move!”

Taking her subordinate’s words, she sprinted the last stretch and dodged through the hail of bullets, her M.E field saving her life until she reached the repurposed frigate’s hull and began spraying blasting gel in a breach pattern. Anderson joined her moments later and added his own gel to ensure they’d be able to penetrate the hull of the rusting hulk. “Ready Lieutenant?”

“Yes sir!” Shepard backed away and readied her Omni-tool. She may not be very tech-savvy, but she still knew how to use her kit. “Punching in three! Two! One!” She activated the trigger she’d planted in the gel and it detonated deafeningly despite the lack of atmosphere. Thankfully Shepard and Anderson had taken cover to the side and hadn’t suffered more than the overpressure shockwave.

“I’m here!” Kadien Alanko, a Lieutenant Junior Grade and one of the first wave of successful human Biotics. Shepard only recently met the man and his descriptions of how painful the process of becoming a biotic didn’t do much to dissuade her from opting into the program soon.

“Lieutenant Alanko, I need you front and center! Your Biotic shield will keep us from becoming Swiss cheese as we enter!” Anderson ordered the Sentinel as he readied several smoke grenades and Shepard mirrored him.

“Sir yes sir!” Alanko replied before summoning a blue barrier and walking forward into the breach as Anderson and Shepard smoked the interior.

Now that it was an indoor battle and their fortifications were penetrated, the pirates were easily routed. Shepard was almost disappointed. That rush towards the repurposed frigate and the breach were so exciting, but then it became more of the same once inside. Still, when the adrenaline high faded and she was allowed to rest, Shepard was glad it was over for now.

“You did good work out there Lieutenant.” Shepard looked up from where she was resting on a crate to see Spectre Arterius approaching her, that glorious weapon in his hands as if it weighed no more than a normal rifle.

“Thank you Spectre Arterius.” Shepard wasn’t quite sure how to speak to the towering 7-foot tall metallic raptor. She hadn’t spoken with many aliens before now aside from consoling distraught slaves. Then there was the fact that he was also considered a person of nearly the highest authority in Citadel space. The word of a Spectre is the word of the Council after all.

“My name is Saren, you’ve earned the right to call me by my given name, Penny Inoue Shepard. I haven’t seen such competence since the last Spectre I proctored.” Saren’s words had Penny stunned and gaping up at him in shock and he chuckled since her visor wasn’t polarized. “You look like a fish out of water. Are you that surprised by your own skill?”

“I just do my duty, sir.” Penny wasn’t sure what to think about that. She just followed orders and led by example like every officer should.

“As do we all. It’s those who perform above the rest that become Spectres. I’ll be keeping an eye on your career, Shepard.” Saren nodded to her and left her sitting on the crate before he halted and put a talon to his helmet. “Kriff! Look alive! Contact in orbit! Unknowns are enacting an orbital sweep! The fleet had to retreat from the planet for fear of provoking the thirteen dreadnoughts and two super-dreadnoughts! Unknowns have started dropping some unknown pods down to the surface! Beware of potential chemical ordnance!”

Shepard’s heart pounded as her adrenaline spiked and she didn’t know what to think when Saren suddenly pinned her to the crate and covered her with his body moments before an earthquake struck. She hissed and clutched the man acting as cover from any falling debris until the shaking stopped and he let her up. “That didn’t sound like the impact of a chemical bomb.”

“Those weren’t chemical bombs. They dropped heavy non-explosive ordinance and let gravity do the work. Systems are jammed. I’m not getting anything. Prepare for the worst.” Saren grimly warned Shepard as he aimed his anti-armor rifle at the entrance to the cave.

It was a tense half hour before radio silence ended. “This is Admiral Trukov. Stand down everyone. The Unknowns have finally deigned to speak to us lowly mortals and are requesting peace talks.” The admiral ordered with tempered irritation in his tone. “You’re likely to see aliens you have never seen before.”

“First Contact Protocols Captain?” Shepard asked Captain Anderson, who had reappeared from deeper in the mine shortly after Saren took a defensive position at the mine entrance.

“Yes, weapons down everyone. We’re not going to be the cause for another war on our end.” Anderson announced and hostered his weapons while Saren put the butt of his rifle to the ground and rested the barrel against his shoulder.

After perhaps another hour of hurrying-up to wait, white-armored troopers in a menacing and bulkier almost plastic-like design poured into the mine and took up parade rest positions to either side as a decorated woman with absolutely preposterously huge boobs wrapped professionally in what managed to remain a presentable dark gray officer uniform approached. The fact she had the head of a blue-furred horse was also boggling.

“Greetings. I am Commander Fizz of the Galactic Representative Empire. We come from Andromeda not only for expansion, but to seek out other galactic powers to become Friends. I hope that today we can begin what will hopefully be a wonderful Friendship between governments.” Commander Fizz intoned, then beamed brightly. “That said, let’s get you all cleaned up! We have both Levo and Dextro-friendly foods available in orbit and today finally ends the conquest of the Hegemony.”

“What about the slaves?” It wasn’t for a few seconds that Shepard realized she was the one to ask instead of her CO or Saren, who looked at her without reprimand on their expressions.

“They’re invited too of course! Now let's all get out of this dirty cave and party!” Fizz declared and nearly everyone there felt awkward at the overly buxom Commander having such a bubbly personality the moment levity was available.

[01001100 01101001 01101110 01100101]

This. Is. Weird. Not in a bad way. Shepard sat at the table she, Anderson and Saren were directed to. Shortly, delicious food that was both new and disturbingly familiar was served to them and they were told the Empress would be meeting with them soon since Admiral Trukov was on his way and Saren had the authority to speak for the Council.

This cafeteria, yes, a cafeteria, was absolutely filled to the gills with aliens of a vast multitude of species, not counting all the Humans and Turians that had composed the forces pushing for this last bastion of the Hegemony pirates along with the ex-slaves getting pampered by medics and food servers. These new species were so friendly that it was almost off-putting. Also, the average female had preposterous tits and Shepard felt inadequate compared to them.

A feeling she was sure was shared by the majority of her fellow humans on both gender spectrums since the males averaged six feet tall and were all built like bodybuilders or Olympic athletes. Just what kind of society breeds such Amazonian creatures?

“Hello! Sorry to hold you up!” Came a husky southern middle-eastern accent and an elegantly robed-is she made of slime?! “Greetings! I’m Empress Urta. Oh, wait, the Admiral hasn’t finished transferring ships yet has he?” The buxom glowing anthropomorphic fox woman questioned as she took a seat at the head of the corner table they were taking. She was just as over-sexualized as her female troops and radiated heat to the point she was visibly steaming, yet didn’t damage her clothing or anything she came in contact with.

“No, not yet.” Captain Anderson spoke up as he stood from his seat and bowed. “Admiral Trukov will be here shortly though. He just left on his shuttle.”

“Then I’m early! I told Twilight that I could be on time if I try!” Urta cheered as she straightened her robes, the massive amount of cleavage on display jiggling as she rubbed out any potential creases in her clothes. “Now then, I’m sure you all have questions, so feel free to ask anything that isn’t too official that I’ll have to repeat to the Admiral.”

“Are you a slime?” Shepard questioned with insatiable curiosity and Urta nodded. “So you’re from a species of sapient giant single-cell organisms or how does that work?” Penny may not have been big on science, but when encountering something so alien it was interesting. Also, she may have been a bit of a deviant before the military helped her suppress it

“It’s a complicated thing, involving magic-which exists-and my wife being ignorant of her body when we first met. I could be multi-cell if I wished, my magic is powerful enough now to reverse what was done or turn me back to a slime at a whim. Millennia of practice helps.” Urta declared and Penny’s brain stalled.

“Pardon, did you say millennia? As in multiple thousands of years?” Saren questioned incredulously.

“Yes. The process that turned me into a slime also completely halted my aging. So long as I’m not killed with violence, I’ll never die of natural causes. I’ve been alive for...Seven? I think about 7000 years. You tend to lose track when time isn’t really a factor for you anymore.” Urta announced casually and she grabbed a dinner roll to nom on. “Most of the crew are around 200 years old. Our lifespans are naturally extensive, so the majority don’t become ageless like I do. We also breed rapidly, but violence tends to take a lot of people.”

“Are they examples of average citizens in height and size?” Saren asked curiously.

“Our soldiers go through gene therapy, the average citizen doesn't become this big unless they want to, but that’s expensive.” Urta would’ve gone on, but then Admiral Trukov, a man of Indian descent was escorted in by...a 20-foot tall purple winged and horned anthro horse woman wearing similar robes to Urta. “Ah, Twilight! Come on over!”

Just what kind of bizarre universe has Humanity entered? Also, what do these ladies eat?!