Mass Effect: Legacies
By Lord Raine
Chapter 1: This Mission Just Got Complicated
Disclaimer: LEEEEROOOOOY JEEEENNNKINNNNNNNNNNNS is not owned by me.
The omnitool on KaidenÆs arm flashed twice, and issued a tone. ôThe perimeterÆs secure, Commander. Orders?ö
John Shepard looked around at the clearing. With sparse vegetation, a small pool of brackish water, and a few rocky outcroppings, there was little to recommend it beyond a spectacular view of the far-off cities and farming complexes. In the distance, the distinctive hum of automatic weapons firing was punctuated by the occasional crack of a rifle.
ôSounds like a fight. ThatÆs good. It means somebody is still alive. IÆll take point. Alenko, shotgun, Jenkins, cover us from the rear.ö
The two men nodded, unslinging their weapons as they moved forwards through the stagnant pools. A distinctively turian voice crackled over the coms.
ôThis place got hit hard, Shepard. Hostiles everywhere. Keep your guard up.ö
Shepard nodded. ôYou heard the man. Stay frosty.ö
The gulley ahead was a steep incline, a result of heavy rains washing off of the high plateau. In the wet season, it would undoubtedly be the crown of a truly spectacular waterfall, but at the moment, it was little more than a grassy slope. Barring a few large boulders scattered here and there, it was almost completely smooth. Shepard frowned. Almost no cover, an uphill climb, and they had been dropped in close enough that the Normandy could be physically seen by any enemies that might be in the area, rendering its cutting-edge stealth systems worthless.
Shepard held up his arm and made a fist, signaling the other two men to stop. ôIÆve got a bad feeling about this. This is exactly where I would set up an ambush if I was trying to kill us. Jenkins, hold here. Kaiden follow me at five.ö
Kaiden nodded, keeping a five yard distance behind Shepard as the two men carefully picked their way down the silt and gravel slope that emptied into the gulley.
Without warning, a rock just to the right of them exploded, showing the two soldiers with red-hot rock and dust. They immediately hit the ground and started sliding towards the bottom, and a sharp crack sounded from above them as Jenkins opened fire with his sniper rifle.
ôDrones at two oÆclock!ö shouted Jenkins, venting heat for another shot. ôI think thereÆs three! No, I see four!ö
Rolling onto his side, Shepard swung his assault rifle towards the top of the gulley and opened fire, dragging his targeting reticule across the flying blurs that his HUD painted red. Behind him, he heard another crack of rifle fire, and the throaty roar of another assault rifle.
Within seconds, the four drones were down. Getting to his feet, Shepard shook the dirt off of his gun and checked it for damage while Kaiden knelt over the shattered remains of their attackers, brandishing his omnitool. With a whoop, Jenkins slid down the slope and joined them.
ôCommander, weÆve got a problem. These are ours. Patrol drones. TheyÆve got Alliance serial numbers on them. Somebody must have reprogrammed them to seek and destroy anything that pings Alliance.ö
ôThatÆs not possible. Alliance IFF protocols are highly classified. You canÆt just overwrite them, it doesnÆt work like that.ö
Kaiden looked up, his face grim. ôSomebody just did.ö
Shepard swore. Jenkins looked confused. ôWait, why does that matter? Sure, itÆs bad that they got hacked, but itÆs not the end of the world, right? ItÆs just some colony defense drones. They were all over the place when I was growing up. TheyÆre just flying guns.ö
Kaiden shook his head. ôItÆs worse than that, Corporal. Two-thirds of the Systems Alliance ground forces are automated, and every ship Fighter Class and up has at least one dedicated Alliance VI onboard to handle logistics. Whoever did this didnÆt æjustÆ hack some colony drones. TheyÆve proved they can do much worse. If you can hack our IFFs, you can send our drones and mechs berserk, make your own IFF tags ping Alliance-friendly on our radars, and even mess with our suit HUDs.ö
Jenkins paled. ôIs it really that bad, Commander?ö
Shepard scowled. ôYes and no. The encryption protocols arenÆt set in stone; they can be changed. The problem is how much trouble this is going to cause. WeÆre going to have to rewrite the codes, which will take time, then weÆll have to distribute the codes to update everything, which will take even æmoreÆ time. And anything we miss becomes worse than useless, because it could be turned against us at any moment. The worst part is we donÆt even know who is responsible. The brass is going to throw a fit over this.ö
The radio crackled for a second time. ôIÆve got some burned out buildings here, Shepard. A lot of bodies. IÆm going to check it out. IÆll try to catch up with you at the dig site.ö
ôWeÆve stood around long enough. LetÆs move. Keep an eye out for any more drones, and be careful. They may not be ping as enemies until they open fire.ö
ôAye, Commander.ö
The three soldiers moved cautiously up the incline and moved towards the small grove of trees at the throat of the gully, weapons ready.
As they entered the edge of the grove, Shepard raised his arm, fingers splayed. ôWait a moment. You hear that?ö
Jenkins looked puzzled, and shook his head. Kaiden frowned. ôI donÆt hear anything, Commander.ö
ôI know. Neither do I. No background noise, no explosions. No gunfire.ö
The two other men paused, listening hard to try and hear something that would indicate that the colony defenses were still working. They heard nothing.
ôMaybe they won,ö Kaiden said jokingly, though his eyes looked grim.
ôWe can hope. Keep moving.ö
======
I know this is short. But there is a reason. This is only the first half of chapter 1. Why only post half? Because it's getting late, and I have stuff to do tomorrow. As much as I would like, I can't afford to stay up all night writing.
I'll finish and post the rest sometime tomorrow. In the mean time, let me know what you think.
By Lord Raine
Chapter 1: This Mission Just Got Complicated
Disclaimer: LEEEEROOOOOY JEEEENNNKINNNNNNNNNNNS is not owned by me.
The omnitool on KaidenÆs arm flashed twice, and issued a tone. ôThe perimeterÆs secure, Commander. Orders?ö
John Shepard looked around at the clearing. With sparse vegetation, a small pool of brackish water, and a few rocky outcroppings, there was little to recommend it beyond a spectacular view of the far-off cities and farming complexes. In the distance, the distinctive hum of automatic weapons firing was punctuated by the occasional crack of a rifle.
ôSounds like a fight. ThatÆs good. It means somebody is still alive. IÆll take point. Alenko, shotgun, Jenkins, cover us from the rear.ö
The two men nodded, unslinging their weapons as they moved forwards through the stagnant pools. A distinctively turian voice crackled over the coms.
ôThis place got hit hard, Shepard. Hostiles everywhere. Keep your guard up.ö
Shepard nodded. ôYou heard the man. Stay frosty.ö
The gulley ahead was a steep incline, a result of heavy rains washing off of the high plateau. In the wet season, it would undoubtedly be the crown of a truly spectacular waterfall, but at the moment, it was little more than a grassy slope. Barring a few large boulders scattered here and there, it was almost completely smooth. Shepard frowned. Almost no cover, an uphill climb, and they had been dropped in close enough that the Normandy could be physically seen by any enemies that might be in the area, rendering its cutting-edge stealth systems worthless.
Shepard held up his arm and made a fist, signaling the other two men to stop. ôIÆve got a bad feeling about this. This is exactly where I would set up an ambush if I was trying to kill us. Jenkins, hold here. Kaiden follow me at five.ö
Kaiden nodded, keeping a five yard distance behind Shepard as the two men carefully picked their way down the silt and gravel slope that emptied into the gulley.
Without warning, a rock just to the right of them exploded, showing the two soldiers with red-hot rock and dust. They immediately hit the ground and started sliding towards the bottom, and a sharp crack sounded from above them as Jenkins opened fire with his sniper rifle.
ôDrones at two oÆclock!ö shouted Jenkins, venting heat for another shot. ôI think thereÆs three! No, I see four!ö
Rolling onto his side, Shepard swung his assault rifle towards the top of the gulley and opened fire, dragging his targeting reticule across the flying blurs that his HUD painted red. Behind him, he heard another crack of rifle fire, and the throaty roar of another assault rifle.
Within seconds, the four drones were down. Getting to his feet, Shepard shook the dirt off of his gun and checked it for damage while Kaiden knelt over the shattered remains of their attackers, brandishing his omnitool. With a whoop, Jenkins slid down the slope and joined them.
ôCommander, weÆve got a problem. These are ours. Patrol drones. TheyÆve got Alliance serial numbers on them. Somebody must have reprogrammed them to seek and destroy anything that pings Alliance.ö
ôThatÆs not possible. Alliance IFF protocols are highly classified. You canÆt just overwrite them, it doesnÆt work like that.ö
Kaiden looked up, his face grim. ôSomebody just did.ö
Shepard swore. Jenkins looked confused. ôWait, why does that matter? Sure, itÆs bad that they got hacked, but itÆs not the end of the world, right? ItÆs just some colony defense drones. They were all over the place when I was growing up. TheyÆre just flying guns.ö
Kaiden shook his head. ôItÆs worse than that, Corporal. Two-thirds of the Systems Alliance ground forces are automated, and every ship Fighter Class and up has at least one dedicated Alliance VI onboard to handle logistics. Whoever did this didnÆt æjustÆ hack some colony drones. TheyÆve proved they can do much worse. If you can hack our IFFs, you can send our drones and mechs berserk, make your own IFF tags ping Alliance-friendly on our radars, and even mess with our suit HUDs.ö
Jenkins paled. ôIs it really that bad, Commander?ö
Shepard scowled. ôYes and no. The encryption protocols arenÆt set in stone; they can be changed. The problem is how much trouble this is going to cause. WeÆre going to have to rewrite the codes, which will take time, then weÆll have to distribute the codes to update everything, which will take even æmoreÆ time. And anything we miss becomes worse than useless, because it could be turned against us at any moment. The worst part is we donÆt even know who is responsible. The brass is going to throw a fit over this.ö
The radio crackled for a second time. ôIÆve got some burned out buildings here, Shepard. A lot of bodies. IÆm going to check it out. IÆll try to catch up with you at the dig site.ö
ôWeÆve stood around long enough. LetÆs move. Keep an eye out for any more drones, and be careful. They may not be ping as enemies until they open fire.ö
ôAye, Commander.ö
The three soldiers moved cautiously up the incline and moved towards the small grove of trees at the throat of the gully, weapons ready.
As they entered the edge of the grove, Shepard raised his arm, fingers splayed. ôWait a moment. You hear that?ö
Jenkins looked puzzled, and shook his head. Kaiden frowned. ôI donÆt hear anything, Commander.ö
ôI know. Neither do I. No background noise, no explosions. No gunfire.ö
The two other men paused, listening hard to try and hear something that would indicate that the colony defenses were still working. They heard nothing.
ôMaybe they won,ö Kaiden said jokingly, though his eyes looked grim.
ôWe can hope. Keep moving.ö
======
I know this is short. But there is a reason. This is only the first half of chapter 1. Why only post half? Because it's getting late, and I have stuff to do tomorrow. As much as I would like, I can't afford to stay up all night writing.
I'll finish and post the rest sometime tomorrow. In the mean time, let me know what you think.
