17

"First minute, flight okay!" - that's exactly what I could say, as I was flying pretty good, at an eighty degree angle. And it would have been all right if I hadn't been flying into a rock!!! Yeah, a real mountain! And now I had to decide what to do, and fast! Still, I found a way out. I just started turning on the jet engines and the Mako started jerking forward. After the twentieth time, it worked. Now the Mako wasn't exactly flying uphill. He would land tangentially on the rock and then drive off on his wheels. Good plan. Now we have to wait. Damn, it's beautiful. White sun, blue sky, a surface of clouds, and the top of a mountain that protrudes above the clouds. Fascinating. And then, five kilometres to impact, three, two, one. И...

If I were a living person, there wouldn't be much left of me. The jump knocked me into the ceiling of the Mako, then into the floor, and my head against the dashboard. Afterwards, the APC landed again, and now it was driving down the mountain at a seventy-degree angle. Twelve seconds later I drove into the clouds, and another second later I saw good weather like that. A huge snowstorm and visibility of about five metres. I was also driving through a good one-metre-deep snowdrift, but that didn't really slow me down. The Mako was going by inertia, so I didn't have to use the brakes.

Suddenly, I saw a huge rock and automatically swerved to the left. The Mako swerved but still hit the boulder from behind, then I saw another boulder, swerved to the right and then, a metre later, drove into another boulder with the starboard side. The impact caused the first right wheel to come off, according to the gauges, and a few metres later I flew off the cliff. What the hell is another cliff?! Doing a double somersault, Mako still landed on the surface out of the snow. However, Mako didn't land on his wheels, but began to roll down the slope. Once again, I thanked all the deities in the galaxy for being a goet. For no one, not even a krogan, could withstand the stunts I was doing inside the Mako. I tried to grab onto something, but I couldn't do it. Even my vision wasn't enough to see anything to grab onto. And after five minutes of spinning, there was a sudden deceleration, and I hit Mako. However, contrary to the clichés in the movies, I didn't pass out and wake up in some arsehole of a world to kill the Strelka... Oh, that's another story. And why am I suddenly reminded of Stalker? Anyway, I stayed awake and immediately decided to get out. But as soon as I opened the door, I saw an entire wall of snow coming at me. I caused an avalanche! When I closed the door, a second later I felt a strong jolt, and then there was silence. Well, if it's this kind of weather and I'm also under snow, then we'll get out after I fix my arm. I had managed to break it in the elbow area because of the blows, and now my arm was dangling and turning all three hundred and sixty degrees. Eh, well, let's see what we've got.

Frigate "Normandy-SR1" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHEPARD?!" raged Khraston. Shepard was barely holding back from punching his face with enough force to knock out a krogan. However, there was one fact that held her back - he was right! She didn't track! The geth escaped, had a good time trolling them all, and even stole the Mako. "I'M ASKING YOU!!!" "That's how it is. It's my failure, so it's up to me to fix everything," Shepard began calmly, on the edge of her peaceful capabilities. "Well, I'm waiting for results! You're not doing anything to fix it! Know this, the Committee will receive a detailed report from me about the whole situation!!!" "We can't descend to the planet right now. On the part where the geth landed, it's night, and at night this planet experiences severe frosts and blizzards. Fortunately, the Mako has a beacon installed that's still working. We know where to search, and the geth won't escape the planet. So we have to wait. Besides, we have nothing to descend on," Jane continued in a still calm voice. Anderson and Hackett were standing in front of Shepard and simply did nothing while Khraston paced between them. Hackett was not going to scold Shepard. Neither Hackett nor Anderson were the type of people who yell at their subordinates. At the same time, Hackett was amazed at the captain's resilience and nerves. He often read her case, especially those thirty pages of psychiatric reports. A person like Shepard, according to psychologists, would have long since not just hit Khraston, but finished him off with her feet, and Hackett understood very well that he would not interfere with her, and might even help. In any case, he would definitely help get rid of the corpse, and then tell everyone that the geth killed him. "Dare to kill this geth! We need him intact and safe! If you turn him into a piece of scrap metal, you can cast yourself a medal as the worst officer of the Alliance!" Khraston practically spat the last phrase at Shepard. Along with his saliva onto the girl's face. But even after this, Shepard held on. She knew Khraston. He always liked to provoke various military personnel into an emotional explosion, and then his journalist lover would portray these same military men as almost insane. That's why Shepard held on. But oh, how she wanted to hit him! To punch his jaw so that he would choke on his own teeth. To hit so that she would push his larynx into his spinal cord, and then watch as he suffocates. She really wanted to put a spacesuit on him, puncture the oxygen tank, throw him into the airlock, and then watch as he would thrash around in zero gravity from the oxygen leak. But Shepard held on. Simply because she had to.

— "We can only wait for now," Jane dryly stated. Thraston's eyes flickered with disappointment. He so wanted Shepard to lunge at him right now, for Hackett and Anderson to restrain her, and for her to struggle on the floor under the weight of these two strong men, unable to do anything. But Shepard knew how to endure.

— "Wait then. And don't worry about the transport. The 'Rome' has three shuttles, you can fly on them. Oh yes, and also, our assault group will fly with you. This geth now belongs to the Alliance, Shepard!" With these words, Thraston left the conference room, and Shepard, Hackett, and Anderson were left alone with their thoughts. Shepard was thinking only about how not to yell and curse Thraston with all the swear words, not only human ones, she knew, while Hackett was thinking about how not to let Shepard kill Thraston. Anderson fully shared Hackett's thoughts. After a few seconds, Shepard quickly left the room to the med bay, while Hackett and Anderson pondered what to do.

As soon as Shepard entered the med bay, she saw a strange sight - all her team, except for Ashley and Kaiden, nine quarian assault soldiers and Chakwas were playing Mafia right on the floor. Why, for what, when did they learn? - Shepard would have asked these questions if she was not so angry at the whole world. Fortunately, the sight of Liara calmed her down a bit. At least, the desire to kill everything alive disappeared. — "Shepard," Garrus, who was the game leader, said. "Will you join us?" Shepard did not answer, but simply walked past to a free bed, lay down on it, and curled up into a ball. A habit from childhood. — "Shepard? What happened?" — "I hate that bastard!" Shepard snorted, who really wanted to sleep now. — "Who exactly?" Kaiden asked incredulously. After all, she had been talking to three people. — "Thraston," Jane pronounced with a heart-wrenching hatred, making everyone present understand that the captain was very angry. — "Oh, by the way, the geth escaped," Shepard casually reminded. — "WHAT?!" — "WHAT?!" — "WHAT?!" Everyone said simultaneously. Even all nine Quarian assault soldiers said it at the same time. — "H-how is that possible?" Kaiden was surprised. — "Just like that. He took Mako and jumped onto the planet. So tomorrow we're going down there. Everyone except for the quarians," — the Quarian assault soldiers understood everything immediately. The mission is already a failure, and trying to take the ship by mutiny won't work. Firstly, the whole team was afraid of Shepard, but they respected her, since she never explodes without a reason. Secondly, Shepard would tear anyone who dared to take her ship into molecules. And thirdly, Rex. The Quarians certainly didn't want to quarrel with him because he alone is worth half the fleet's army. Well, definitely a quarter. So the Quarians already resigned. But Tali was unhappy. — "Wait! Am I not going either?" Tali was surprised. — "Yes. It's -65 degrees there during the day. So you're not going," Jane said in a strict voice, and Tali understood that it's better not to argue now.

"Also, Tali. You're not fully recovered. That brandy was... bad," continued Chakwas. "Come on! So I forgot once, it happens!" Garrus began. He still felt guilty towards Tali. "You're not to blame. It's my fault only," the girl replied, after which she felt a nasty twinge in her stomach again and fell silent. Whatever this brandy was made of, she would not drink it again. "Both good. One bought it who knows where, the other tried it. So, conversation closed." "Heh, no, Shepard, it's not closed," Rex decided to chip in his two cents. "You've managed to do something no one in this galaxy has ever done - you tamed me! With one crowbar in hand. So I want to tell you one thing. I respect strength, and you are stronger than me. So know this, wherever you go, I will go with you," Rex's voice was serious, so everyone immediately understood that he was not joking. But Shepard did not hear this anymore. As soon as everyone looked at the captain, they saw that she had fallen asleep and was now quietly snoring. So everyone decided to go to Liara's cabin. After all, the captain's order "not to leave the med bay" was not canceled.

The next day Unknown planet Alright, fixed my arm. Fortunately, the geth's memory has "Field Platform Repair." And luckily, there were enough parts in the Mako. Now the bad news - I lost my rifle. Damn it! Now another good news - I found a pistol in the Mako, Asari. Medium power, high accuracy, and high overheating speed. Seven shots and overheating. Hmm, maybe Liara forgot it. She must have had a pistol, just in case. The sensors are showing traces of Asari origin, namely sweat. Yes, Terum is a hot planet, so her hands must have sweated. Yeah, but there's nothing else. This is bad. There's more bad news - the Mako doesn't work. The cooling system is broken, the transmission is smashed to pieces, and there are no wheels. I won't be able to fix everything myself simply because of a lack of parts. Omni-gel won't be enough here. Well, I'll have to get out.

As soon as I opened the door, snow immediately fell on me, burying the entire cabin. It turned out, the Mako was buried under the snow. Well, let's dig. The snow was loose, like desert sand. No matter how much I dug, a new batch always covered me. I kept digging and digging, and the snow kept pouring and pouring. But after ten minutes of such digging, light finally showed. I began to dig even more actively, and after five minutes I finally got out.

So, here it is - the icy wasteland. That's how you could characterize the planet. A plain white desert without a single pebble. In front of me was a huge stone wall and snow, sprinkled at the foot of this very wall. It was down this snow that I rolled down in a heap. And there was also a mountain 17,482 meters high. Yes, Everest is nervously smoking on the sidelines. But what was strange: having walked around and looked around, I saw that this stone wall was everywhere! That is, it went in all directions and formed a kind of circle. The wall itself was five kilometers high. Something about all this doesn't sit right with me. Some form is familiar, what could it be…

Suddenly my inner radar sounded the alarm. Looking around, I noticed three drop shuttles flying out of the clouds and heading straight for me. And before I could even decide what to do, one of the shuttles fired a rocket at the Mako. An explosion occurred, which shattered the rover into parts. Damn it! They're likely trying to kill me for sure! Well, there are no other options.

And I ran. Just took off with all my might on my own two. And I can definitely say that I'm an Olympic runner. Only I don't get tired and can run until I rust or break something. However, as the radar showed, they flew after me. And there's nowhere to hide. At all! A single wasteland of ice and snow. Suddenly a shuttle flew over my head and began aiming at me. I immediately turned left and kept running. But after ten meters, the third one appeared in front of me. They surrounded me after all. Damn it! I could already see them pointing their guns at me, and soldiers sticking out of them pointing their weapons at me. Among them I noticed a Turian, who pointed a "Naginata" sniper rifle at me. From the same shuttle, only from the other side, a Krogan was visible, who pointed a "Cain" at me. Garrus and Rex. Damn, some of my favorite characters are now ready to turn me into a colander if I make a move. Well, I couldn't escape, they caught on quickly. I'll have to surrender. Taking out the pistol from my belt, I threw it into the snow, and then raised my hands.

It probably looks strange - a geth with its hands up. After about 35 seconds, all three shuttles landed, and all the paratroopers immediately got out. I saw Shepard's entire team. Shepard herself was dressed in "Colossus" armor. Red, with black segments. Or black with red segments. It's hard to tell. Armed with a "Predator" rifle. Liara, who was fully wrapped in biotics. Ashley and Kaiden in their armor and with their favorite weapons. Rex was in his red armor and holding a "Cain". And he wasn't in the first Mass Effect! Garrus had already kneeled and aimed his rifle at me. But Tali wasn't there. So, she's still with Chakwas.

All in all, they surrounded me well. The three shuttles formed the vertices of a triangle, and the paratroopers formed three lines of thirty meters each, as they all lined up. Haven't they heard about crossfire? It seems they just have paranoia that I'll run away. Well, I'll have to escape from captivity again.

Frigate "Normandy-SR1"

- Look at him go. Heh, it won't help you. You're ours and only ours, - gloated Hraston. He, Hackett, Anderson, and Joker were watching as the geth just bolted from the spot, running away from the shuttles. Hackett and Anderson abstained from commenting, and Joker was not allowed to comment in the presence of important persons according to the regulations. However, a second later Joker began to perform his direct duties - reacting to all the crap that happens around the ship, which the sensors react to.

- Admiral, an unidentified ship has emerged from FTL! - Joker rattled off. - Conducting... diagnostics... What the... - after that all three, who stood over his soul before, looked where Joker was looking. And instead of the salarian GOR frigate, which Hraston expected to see, instead of the batarian pirate ship, which Anderson expected to see, and instead of the geth frigate, which Hackett expected to see, all three saw something... Horrible/Huge/Magnificent (to each his own). It was the very dreadnought that was on Rannoch.

- WHAT IS THAT?! - Hraston interrupted the silence with his amazement.

- This... - Joker began. - This is the ship we saw on Rannoch. It appeared right from underground! It's not in any file!

- It's... Huge... - was all Anderson could say. He had never seen such a ship before.

- Destroy it! IMMEDIATELY!!! - Hraston started yelling, when suddenly all the lights went out, and the only thing that glowed in the field of vision of these four was a white dwarf. - What the... - Hraston started again, but the light, as if on purpose, turned on again.

- Joker? - Anderson asked the pilot, who had to turn on the holograms again, but he got a refusal to most of the requests.

- Damn-damn-damn! DAMN!!! - Joker started, and Anderson realized that something extraordinary had happened if Joker didn't care about the regulations.

- What's going on? - Hackett was already getting worried.

— Um, now… Damn! Yes, we've been hacked!

— WHAT?! — all three exclaimed in unison.

— Yes. That ship. We were hacked from it! — Joker kept going.

— What do we have? — Anderson got down to business, overtaking Hackett.

— Only artificial gravity and climate control. Everything else is locked!

— IMPOSSIBLE!!! — Hraston voiced. — The hacking defense system on this ship is the most advanced in the Alliance!!! Know this, if it's sabotage, you'll go to the tribunal along with Shepard, regardless of your illness!!! — With this, Joker had to muster all his strength not to hit this jerk. To hell with it, that in front of Hackett and Anderson. To hell with it, that the hand and fingers will break. But not being a pilot anymore... Joker cared about that. He loved this ship too much. So, he has to hold on. Just have to endure. That's what Shepard did, and that's what Joker will do.

— What is it doing? — Anderson suddenly asked, looking at the giant ship. Indeed, the ship, already having turned its front to the planet and its side to Normandy, began to do something strange. The space between the two forks of the ship began to glow, and after a few moments, there was a shot.

Unknown Planet

Out of all this crowd that surrounded me, only Rex was allowed to approach me. It was he who was now walking towards me, preparing a shotgun, but he did put away the "Cain". However, when he was already three meters away from me, I noticed something strange. Something was falling from the sky. It was glowing and flying at a speed of 50,000 km/h, and in a second, it crashed into the ground. At first, nothing happened, and these paratroopers didn't even notice anything, but then, most likely, there was a powerful underground explosion, and the shock wave was such that all the paratroopers, except me and Rex, fell to the ground. Rex immediately, just on reflex, pointed a shotgun at me so that I wouldn't run away, and everyone else cursed and tried to get up. And then I felt some jolts. A vibration that I didn't like very much.

Suddenly one of the shuttles just sank into the snow, followed by one of the paratroopers. Then massive cracks began to appear here and there, and one of them ran right between me and Rex, and after three seconds a huge slab tilted, falling on one edge from the opposite side and Rex flew into the abyss. Precisely into the abyss, because there was darkness below. In half a second, I decided to jump after him. He can't die just like that, because of me. I owe it to him to save him. So I just jumped and started sliding, like on a sled, hoping to catch Rex. And just when he was only a meter away, he fell into the abyss. I grabbed the very edge with one hand, and with the other hand I still managed to grab Rex by the hand. I immediately looked him in the eyes, and although he was in a helmet, I could say for sure that he was flabbergasted. Without wasting time, I began to swing him from side to side to help him climb. After all, he weighed seven hundred kilograms, and I couldn't lift him. The most I could do was hold him at the limit of my servos. After swinging, I was able to pull him to the edge on the third try. He grabbed the edge, but couldn't climb up because the ice slab was tilted at about 45 degrees. But I managed to climb up. I immediately secured myself on the edge and grabbed Rex's hand. Maybe I couldn't lift him, but I could help. After 4 seconds he was finally able to secure himself on all fours on the ice, like me.

"RUN!" I shouted to Rex, and he didn't object. Together, on all fours, scooping up ice, we managed to crawl about twenty meters, and then, when we jumped onto a flat surface, the ice slab fell into the abyss. I immediately stood up and looked around.

Hell was happening here — everywhere there were holes, abysses, cracks, screams, curses, pleas, and two shuttles that managed to fly a hundred meters from the landing site so as not to fall, and now they were flying in the air, trying to find a place to land. I also saw Shepard, who was saving some paratrooper from a wide crack that separated me and Rex from the rest of Shepard's team. However, cracks were already forming under Jane, and Liara noticed this.

"SHEPARD!" she yelled at the top of her voice, grabbing Jane by the collar and pulling her away. At that very moment, the ice Shepard was standing on crumbled, and the paratrooper fell down. I looked to the side and saw that both shuttles were already waiting for their people. One had already loaded and took off, however, when it was about thirty meters high, a chunk of ice propelled by steam shot out from the surface and crashed right into the shuttle. It spun in the air, then fell. There were survivors there, but no one was planning to rescue them. There was one shuttle left, and it was beyond the abyss that separated me and Rex from it. However, it could be bypassed. And we ran. Together, as if thinking the same thing. We had to jump, stumble, curse, fall because our legs were sinking. Rex had already passed me, but Liara was running behind him, but before me. It seems she runs poorly. And then, out of nowhere, her foot sank into the ice, and she screamed at the top of her lungs - an open fracture of two tibial bones. Rex is already running at full speed, and the rest of the team is still catching up. They won't be able to save her in time. No, I won't let her die. Running up to her, I, ignoring her swearing in the Asari language, pulled her out of the ice, threw her over my shoulder and ran to the shuttle. And while I was running, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that another shuttle had flown up. And there were geth there! Yes, it was the geth. In the open door of the flying craft, I saw two geth rocket soldiers. There's my salvation, but first, I need to save Liara. The geth shuttle landed further away from Shepard's shuttle, as there was no other place. I was already running along an ice path about 5 meters wide, and steam was bursting out on the sides. Fortunately, Shepard's shuttle was open all the way through, so I jumped into it on the run, threw Liara in there, and ran out the other side towards my geth. A second later, I heard "DO NOT SHOOT!!!", and then a burst from a rifle. The voice was Shepard's, but who was shooting... I definitely didn't know that, and there was no time. Having jumped over a couple more cracks and made a couple of somersaults, I finally jumped onto the shuttle with the geth.

"Take off! Now!" I ordered. The doors immediately closed, and the shuttle took off. Through the windshield, I saw Shepard's shuttle, and also that right now, at this very moment, I escaped from a volcanic eruption, into the caldera of which I had landed. Lava and columns of steam were already starting to seep out of the cracks. Only when we were already at a height of thirty kilometers, did an eruption of unprecedented force occur. Chunks of ice and rock reached us, fortunately, our shuttle had good shields for some reason. But who cares about that now? Now I am safe. Now nothing threatens me.