Mass Effect: Another Time, Another Place

Chapter 14: Feros: Krogan Beat Down

Summary:

Shepard, Garrus, Wyatt and Tali have made it to ExoGeni, and now must get inside. With more information revealed, the team must quickly detach the Geth ship if they want to get back out again. But Saren's forces are determined to stop them... Just what's so important about the seemingly insignificant colony?

Chapter 14:

I gave a sigh and nodded in agreement. "Aye... Alright, you guys stay here, I'll call you if it's clear." I told them. Everyone looked at each other uneasily...

Tali then approached me. "I should come with you... Just to be sure." she nodded with finality. I just chuckled, held her shoulders and shook my head.

I glanced at the hole. "I'll be fine, Tali." I smiled at her, touching the cheek of her suit.

She put her hand on mine and sighed, nodding slowly. "Okay..." she said to me, backing up a bit.

I turned and jumped down the hole, instantly aiming my weapon down the corridor. I slowly made my way down, keeping to the left wall as I did. No movement on motion sensor... "Anything?!" Shepard called as I walked.

I lowered my weapon a bit and turned my head. "No, not that I can-" I cut off as something sliced into my arm that was on the guard of my rifle. I gasped in pain and turned, seeing some kind of dog thing attached to my arm by the teeth. I ragged my arm from it's grasp, but it instantly leapt at me, pinning me to the wall. I used my forearm at it's throat to keep it's teeth from my head as it chomped it's teeth at me. I reached down with my free hand, pulling my pistol and shoving the barrel in it's stomach. I pressed the trigger once... Twice... Thrice.. And it finally went limp.

It fell off of me and I slid down the wall into a sitting position... Before I could get up, another one leapt at me, teeth bared... BANG! it's side opened up and it went flying. A shotgun blast. "'I'll be fine, Tali...''" said Quarian repeated my own words at me.

I grumbled as Garrus helped me up while she stood there, her arms crossed. Smugly, or angrily, I couldn't tell... "Well, I was... I had it under control." I stated to her a little embarrassed about all of this...

Shepard chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, we know." he nodded reassuringly as they moved off. I stood there for a few seconds, thinking before I turned and walked with them. I was behind Tali and was about to speak before I saw movement...

I quickly pulled Tali aside as a gunshot sounded out and it hit me in the abdomen. I grunted and took a single step back from the impact as we all aimed our weapons at the source...

"Damn it!" came a frustrated voice. A woman. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Geth, or one of those Varren..." she apologised to us, well, me.

I grunted a little. "No worries. Happens." I gave a shrug, some amount of pain following it...

Shepard nodded at that. "They won't be a problem now. But why were you here in the first place?" He asked her. Good question.

She gave a sigh. "It's my own fault. Everyone else was running to safety and I stayed to back up data." she explained to us. Wait, back up data?

I blinked once. "Wait... Geth were invading, so instead of engaging leg-it mode, you stay behind to save some data?" I asked her incredulously, folding my arms.

She looked down at that. "I'm not proud of it, but... Yes." she nodded. "Next thing I knew, the Geth ship latched on and the power went out." she continued to say. "I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked." she told us.

Shepard heard her out and then spoke. "We'll get you out as soon as we find what the Geth are after." he nodded to her reassuringly.

She then shook her head at us. "It's not the Geth, it's the energy field they put up. They don't want anyone else getting access to the-" she cut off then, looking away from us.