A couple of rockets slammed into my biotic barrier, but Jane already had a sniper rifle in her hands, and she immediately opened fire on the enemy. Rebecca joined in a bit late, and Williams only started shooting at the very end.
I noted all of it in the corner of my mind, flicking my hand to lift a geth that was off to the side, and a shot immediately punched into it. That was how we worked: I protected the group, tossed geth into the air when my subordinates failed to notice them, and they shot them down. Even the ones sitting inside our armored vehicle found work, since several geth were especially large—not Primes, of course, but something between a standard model and a Prime. Those were being engaged with the vehicle's cannon.
A few more rocket blasts splashed harmlessly across my barrier.
"Damn... how the hell is that even possible?"
Williams' voice wasn't loud, but I heard her perfectly.
"None of the biotics I know could do that."
"It's just that most human biotics are pathetic trash..."
Jane replied, not bothering to hide what she thought about biotics.
"...No, there are decent ones among them—Kaidan, for example, he's inside right now... He doesn't have the captain's power, of course, but the skills he does have are honed to an insane level. I can name about ten more people I know who not only went through biotic school, but kept developing afterward. The rest are..."
"Jane, less talking."
I cut her off, even though her words were very pleasant to hear. Still, my power wasn't entirely mine—well, it was mine, but...
Shaking my head, I drove away another wave of memories and focused on the job—especially since we were closing in on the spaceport. That was obvious not only because the buildings had come into view, but because we started taking sniper fire. The shots were so intense and precise that I had to raise another small barrier right in front of my head: ten rounds struck the same point with almost no interval. At least, I managed to count ten. In theory, there should have been more.
"Why are you so slow?!"
"I've mostly shot with an assault rifle!"
Williams snapped back at Jane's irritation.
"And they never issued me enough ammo for proper skill practice!"
"Yeah, yeah..."
There was a hint of mockery in Jane's voice.
"...And the pink armor was issued to you too, right? Not you finding dye and painting it yourself. You had enough for armor dye and a bribe so no one would make a fuss, so you could've spent some on ammo."
"Ma'am..."
Whatever Williams wanted to say remained a mystery to us, because a whole hail of fire came down on us, and now both Jane and Rebecca had to climb back into their exoskeletons to return fire with the weapons mounted on them.
"Damn, ammo's burning fast..."
Rebecca said it like she was talking to the air, but I heard her.
"Well, sorry—at this caliber, even mass effect weapons with pseudo-infinite ammo stop having that pseudo-infinite amount. It's one thing to feed a rifle with rounds that weigh less than a gram, and a completely different thing to feed these monsters."
"I'm not complaining..."
Guilty notes crept into Rebecca's voice.
"...It's just that some spare 'magazines' wouldn't hurt—ones that would let us keep firing two or three times longer. I've already blown through two-thirds of my load. With a regular rifle, I could've fired twice as much again and still wouldn't have spent even half my ammo."
"Ha. Write a review after the mission."
"Huh?"
Rebecca sounded genuinely shocked by what Jane said, and Jane said it with a light smirk.
"John's known in the Navy not just for buying gear for squads out of his own pocket, but for demanding full written reviews from everyone who uses it. What you liked, what you didn't..."
"Wait, Jane, I heard something like that, but I thought it was just stories..."
Rebecca was still shocked.
"Not stories."
I answered the question—even though, by her tone, it hadn't really been a question.
"I often supply subordinates with experimental weapons. They've gone through testing, sure, but you understand that a range and real combat are not the same. Reviews help refine the equipment before it goes into full production."
"And these exoskeletons?"
"Yeah... except the Army already told me they're not interested."
"What?!"
Jane, Rebecca, even Williams were stunned by my words—and Chifuyu, Jenkins, and Alenko, who were still inside the armored vehicle, reacted over the squad channel too.
"Too expensive... not cost-effective to buy machines like these for the Army, so the exoskeleton line will mostly be sold to mercs."
"Fuck..."
Jane didn't like that.
"For our own people, I'll always have suits like these. And I know a couple of admirals—I served on their ships—so they'll push through their channels to get purchases approved for their fleets specifically. Not a whole division, of course, but a battalion, maybe a few platoons. It'll be case-by-case."
I allowed myself a slight grin.
"Alright, enough talking—time to fight. Chifuyu, get out. You won't be able to drive around at the arrival point, so we'll be operating on foot."
"Understood."
One word—and soon the rear compartment opened, and everyone inside climbed out.
"And where do you think you're going?! Get back in, now!"
I tried to throw my authority at Nihlus, but I didn't have that authority with him.
"I'm not your subordinate. I'm a Spectre, so I'll operate at my own pace."
All I could do was grimace at the Spectre's words. I couldn't argue—and there was no time anyway, because we'd reached the terminal station and ran into new enemies. Or rather, the enemies were familiar—but that didn't change the fact that there were a hell of a lot of them. There were really a hell of a lot of them!
"Captain, we have a problem!"
Kaidan pulled my attention, but I couldn't turn—keeping the barrier up to protect us took full focus.
"What kind?"
"A nuclear bomb... turian make."
"You're recording everything?"
"Affirmative..."
"Then start disarming it if you can. If you can't, just tell me how much time we've got."
"Five minutes... and it's not the only one. It's linked to others."
"Can I lift it and carry it with me?"
"Not sure..."
Doubt crept into Kaidan's voice.
"Step back..."
The Spectre shoved Kaidan away from the bomb and immediately swore under his breath.
"What is it?"
"Old model. Krogan Wars era. Not removable... but you can carry it. As long as it stays networked with the other bombs, it won't detonate. Unless, of course, the timer runs out."
"Can you figure out where the others are?"
"One minute."
We stayed put, and the only thing that pleased me was that the enemy numbers were steadily thinning out.
"Kryik? Turian motherfucker, how much longer do I have to wait?!"
I tried to hurry the Spectre.
"Done. The directions of the other bombs are identified."
"Then move! Move, fuck! Or do you want to live forever?!"
"No, sir!"
Jane answered for everyone, then started driving the others forward with profanity—and it worked. Everyone moved faster, and I noted to myself that I'd made the right call giving her the deputy position instead of leaving it with Kaidan. He had the rank, but he wasn't a commander.
Soon we reached the second bomb. I lifted it with biotics too, and now I was hauling two bombs behind us. Then came the third... the last.
"Kaidan, barrier!"
"I can't..."
"Barrier, I said, you piece of imbecile trash! Or do you want the bombs to go off next to us?!"
He didn't answer, just raised a barrier in front of the squad. Everyone understood Kaidan's barrier was much weaker than mine, so they immediately started using cover. I stepped behind a wall and began shaping a biotic acceleration module...
"Jane, squad command is yours."
"What?"
She stared at me in surprise. I pushed every last bit of strength I had—not only forming a kind of acceleration module out of biotics, but also wrapping the three bombs in a barrier before firing them high into the sky.
One single shot—and my strength left me completely. I slumped against the wall and slid down it.
"Commander!"
Williams was beside me.
"Williams! What the fuck did you stop shooting for?! The geth just got reinforcements!"
"But..."
"Chicken! Nobody ordered you to think!"
I smiled weakly as Rebecca got to Williams, kicked her back toward cover, then tossed me a quick glance and returned to the fight.
"Clear!"
I opened my eyes when I heard that word from Jane.
"Check the area! Work in pairs! Chief and Revy, Kaidan and Jenkins, me and Williams! Move!"
With enormous effort, I got up off the floor and took a couple of steps, but I had to brace myself against the wall.
"Interesting skills..."
"Just had good teachers."
I answered Nihlus' short remark.
"Any asari who spent her life developing biotics could do that. And she wouldn't look like you do right now afterward."
"Hm... I once worked with an asari in the Corps, and that task was one of the simplest in my career... You saying you're on her level?"
"I don't know..."
I shrugged.
"You probably know my file..."
"Yeah. Your cover story wasn't a major obstacle for the Council. So I know you're a test-tube son of the late Henry Lawson and Aria's protégé. And honestly, I'm impressed by how hard she pushed to get you into this exam. Does she think you'll be her pocket Spectre?"
"Heh... You think that's so surprising?"
Kryik kept drilling me with his stare, and I sighed.
"I know at least three Spectres who don't mind cooperating with the Shadow Broker—for the greater good, of course. So tell me: why is working with him better than working with Aria? In my opinion, it's a hell of a lot worse."
"Well... you're right. At least Aria can be controlled... partially."
I snorted inwardly at that. Controlled? Aria only pretends to be obedient because it benefits her. As long as she's 'obedient,' certain shipments go through fully official channels. If she slips the leash, people will have to reinvent the wheel and route orders through the black and gray markets.
And with the Harvest coming—something she knows about, even if she doesn't fully believe it—she absolutely can't afford to turn the Council against her right now.
"Sir, we found the beacon."
Jane came over comms.
"But it's active."
"Active?"
"Affirmative. Some kind of energy is shooting into the air, and Williams says she's never seen this before."
"Nobody went near the beacon, I hope?"
"I gave the order... Williams! I said stand down! Stand down, you stupid fucking moron!"
We had no choice but to hurry—and we arrived just in time to see Jane slam her body into Williams' and knock her out of the energy field, after which Jane's back arched sharply.
"Fuck..."
I tried to grab her with biotics, but my strength still hadn't returned, and all I could do was watch her hanging there—then the beacon exploded, and her body was thrown to the ground.
"Rebecca, check Jane."
"I... I didn't want..."
"Chifuyu, put Williams under guard. And without my order—or the order of anyone who outranks me—don't let that bitch go!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Normandy..."
I opened a channel to the ship.
"...We found the beacon, but it's damaged. Awaiting evac..."