47

- Legate," Xad asked when we were in the hangar.

- Yes, Xad.

- Just tell me one thing. What the hell is that? - he asked, referring to the massive thing in our third hangar. It was a flattened ball, 30 metres in diameter and 10 metres thick, or a thick pancake. It had three sharp but thick "legs" so the pancake ball could stand above the ground. Now it was folded, but that was not the point.

- I called it a "terraformer".

- What do we need it for? Are we going to terraform the planet?

- Sort of," I protruded lazily, eyeing the dragged device, but Xhasd persisted.

- So... What did you have in mind? - The last thing he needed was to cross his arms across his chest and stamp his feet. Then he'd be the evil dorm janitor, the one who'd caught the student who'd climbed in through the window and never saw her again until the very last moment.

- Well... Anyway, do you know about the vorka? - I asked, turning to the hologram.

- Yes. A race of stupid humanoids with super regeneration, super fertility, super aggressiveness, and their planet Heshtok is just hell in all its senses.

- Exactly. They could make good soldiers...

- They!? - Xhasad was taken aback by my idea. - It would be easier to make Elcorians into ballerinas or force the Krogan into nunneries and give up the violence and the drinking.

- Yes. But that's for now. But remember who we have. Tory.

- And what with... You... You're the...

- Yeah. We put Tori on Heshtok; he'll diffuse his spores and take control of the entire race. And then it's just a matter of doing the rest. Arm, train and prepare for the Harvest.

- Well... This could work. The Vorcs are so dumb Tory won't have much trouble getting them under her control. But why the hell would you want a Terraformer? You gave the Getas ultraviolet laser technology for it. They said they were developing the technology, but they agreed immediately when they saw the blueprints. I have one question, why did they need a terraformer?

- I don't know. But we really need it. There's a lot of volcanic activity on Heshtok. The terraformer will allow us to neutralise it. Then we disperse the spores into the atmosphere, and the works are ours.

- That could work. Except you'd need a lot of spores.

- There's no problem with that. Tory's been producing them for a week and loading them into special containers. It's still three-day journey to Heshtok, so there's enough spore to go around. How's it going in there, Shepherd?

- We're up and running. Station's in place, equipment's in place. We found the techs quickly; it only took a week. When you pay a hundred grand a month, everybody goes right for it.

- I see. The main thing is to supply them with resources and convince them that everything will work out," I was even surprised myself at how quickly it all worked out. We'd picked Shepard up from Alkera only a fortnight ago, and now she was back at the station with a lot of specialists and all the latest equipment. Work was already in full swing. We've got cameras up there so they don't suddenly start stealing things. It was like that. There was a debate going on for five hours between three Salarians and three humans about how to repair the Captain's brain until they finally came to an agreement. How they decided to do it, however, I did not understand. Oh, these neurosurgeons are of the highest order. I can't get enough of you guys. By the way, we invited him too, but he said that he did not know anything about neurosurgery and that it was impossible to revive a person. And I understood his reaction very well. I sent him a picture of Shepherd's corpse, but Mordin told me to go away and called me crazy. All right, we'll do it without him. You'll take it back when you see Shepherd alive. - All right, set course for Heshtok," I said and contacted our scientists.

****

Object Alpha. Cluster: Unknown. System: unknown. Neurosurgeon-azari Alia T'Solil

I was walking down the corridor to the quantum mechanical communication room with the 'Warden'. That was what our mysterious employer called himself. Most thought it was an Alliance project to revive their first SPECTRE and one of their best soldiers. A perfectly normal wish. Even the fact that there were so many non-humans didn't confuse anyone - you need the best specialists, and humans hardly have all the best. Others thought it was a Council project, citing that there were such resources involved, everyone was paid fabulous money, and there were doctors of many races, which was never a new thing in Citadel Space. Turian Valotris, a plastic surgeon, suggested it was a Hierarchy project. Like, they'd revive Shepard, and she'd tell the Alliance that Hierarchy was good, but even he agreed that wasn't the case. The Hierarchy wouldn't spend that money to revive a human being.

On the other hand, the hypothesis that it was a project of the Council of Matriarchs was more reasonable. Shepard had come into contact with a Protean beacon and had survived, retaining her sanity. She had a lot to say if she were alive. This was the version held by several Azari. There was even the idea that the Hegemony was doing it to blackmail the Alliance, but then someone said it didn't have the money to do that. Everyone amicably agreed and went back to watching the demands. And here's what the Warden demanded was staggering. Minimise the use of implants. Preserve all memories and identity. All in all, there was a lot of work to do.

And so, I entered the room. The door closed, the lights went out, a yellow holographic grid surrounded me, and then a hologram of the Warden appeared in a certain circle. More precisely, it was a hologram of a yellow-orange humanoid, as if "made" of cubes, without a face or other special features. The voice was also altered by filters. And how the hell did they manage to influence the quantum-mechanical communicator hologram. It would have to invade the structure of particles at the atomic level because no matter how hard you try, the particle transmits what it sees. One cannot achieve it by changing settings in a holographic projector either; they have tried. And here, on the contrary. All in all, you could only guess who was before you. Human, Azari, Battarian, Vorka. The Turian was unlikely, but they had a different torso structure, though the Goddess was not joking.

- Warden," I said hello.

- Alia. Good day. How was the work going? - As always, in his polite manner, he said hello. Everyone was surprised by such politeness of the essentially wealthy, intelligent man.

- Good. We have already begun to rebuild the circulatory system. We're getting ready to rebuild the nervous system, except...

- Am I listening?

- You told us to minimise the use of implants, but then how do we repair the organs? Donor ones aren't gonna help...

- Listen to me. The equipment and technology for growing organs on Shepherd's DNA will be given to you...

- Wh-What? G-growing organs?! That's impossible!

- Calm down," the Warden said in a calm voice. - It is possible; it is simpler than you think. Though you won't be able to grow a heart, you will need an implant, but it's better than making a cyborg. All right, wait for delivery.

- O... O-okay... - I still couldn't get over what I'd heard. Growing organs. That's just unthinkable. Now I needed help figuring out who we were working for at all. If there's that kind of technology involved, then... Oh, my poor head.

- Oh, by the way, Alia. Now let's talk about you," said the Warden, which made me uncomfortable. - Do you think I'm an idiot, or do you think I'm deaf-blind and dumb?

- Erm... I'm sorry... - I could barely make it out.

- You think I need to find out that you sent an entire report of your activities and even the station coordinates to the matriarch Elina. Who, by the way, is your mistress.

- I... Um... I, I...

- I see. We're being silly, aren't we? Well, now, listen to me very carefully. Elina didn't get your "report", but now she knows this. I won't kill you because you're the best neurosurgeon in Azari. You are an innovator in neurosurgery; even the Salarians will admit that, but my patience is not endless. If you do anything like that again, Elina will be sorry she ever met you.

- W-what? You'll... Will you kill her?

- I might. But I'd rather embarrass her in the political arena of Thessia. She wouldn't survive that," I was sure the Warden was standing there with a snide grin, mocking me. - Is that clear to you?

- Yes," I said dryly, still coming to my senses.

- That's good. Do your job and get your fee. End of the line," and the hologram disconnected, leaving me with my thoughts. He did find out that I'd been recruited by Elina. I mean, not drafted, but I asked her to report everything. Specifically asking me to get the technology. I promised her, and now? What do we do now? This "Warden" was able to trace the most secure signal in the known galaxy. What's more, he could track it, which was considered impossible. Goddess, where did I go?

With that in mind, I went to my room. I had to clear my head.

****

Heshtok Orbit. Dreadnought Light of Kila.

- There it is. Heshtok. A hell of a lot of vorcha," I pronounced, then turned to Tori. - Are you ready?

- More than ready. These creatures would make a good army under my command. Only the planet's core must be pacified first.

- That won't be a problem," I said. Suddenly Xad contacted me.

- 'Legate, we have a problem here. Go to the bridge,' that's what it is, eh? All right, we've got to go.

It took me a few minutes to get to the bridge, and I immediately turned to Chad.

- What have you got?

- Here," a map of some plain surrounded by mountain ranges appeared before me. - It's the only place on the planet where a terraformer could be set up. But here," the map moved to the east, and there was a spot painted in red shading. - There's an orbital defence system and a camp. A defence system so strong, it would shred a terraformer to pieces.

- Got it. Got a picture of the camp?

- Yes, there," the hologram of the plane changed to a screen that showed the camp from above.

- So... vorka... krogan... warrens... flamethrowers... Bloody pack," I said.

- Mercenaries? - Xhad asked. He seemed to know something of them already while learning about this galaxy.

- Yes. They only take on krogan and vork. They're probably here to recruit new meat. Can we finish them off from orbit?

- No. There's a tectonic rift nearby in the mountains. An orbital strike could cause a volcanic eruption and lava to flood the plain.

- Wouldn't the terraformer cause it? - I queried that little detail.

- No. First, we have to drill a hole in the planet's core with the laser and then affect it with the effect of mass. That's how the terraformer works.

- I see. Then we'll have to storm it from the ground. Well, let's think.

****

Three hours later. Heshtok

The plan was as follows. The main squad of 10 Primes and 50 Stormtroopers, supported by the three Colossi we've started producing on an industrial scale, go in head-on and begin making a semblance of an attack. Realising they're in the shit since the Geths are here, the pack pulls all their forces in. A small squad coming in from the other side, and I sneak into the camp, mine the orbital guns, which only three, go out as desired, explode, and then plant a terraformer; the good thing is he can do it himself, and rebuild Heshtok. All right, here we go.

All our shuttles entered the atmosphere 500km away from the camp to avoid being detected by radar and then flew two meters above the ground for the same purpose. And so, having passed through the gorge, they landed a hundred metres from the camp. After another minute, the Colossi opened fire on the towers and the Primes and snipers on anyone they saw. The fight began.

We sat by the cliff and watched as ours fired at anything that moved yet did not advance. From the chatter, the pack was already pulling in all their forces, but they were leaving something at the other entrance. Well, how does it go... 10 works and a Crogan brat. Well, we can handle that.

- Let's go," I ordered briefly, and we started down the steep wall, grasping at every ledge. A few minutes later, we were at the entrance to the camp. Vorki was kicking nonsense; Krogan was all nervous and angry because he had been put with the dirty Vorki to guard the passage, and all the movement was on the other side. Anyway, we had to act fast. Each of the five goths took his sniper rifle and picked out two vorka targets. On the other hand, I took my Gauss gun from Rahana and aimed at the krogan. As it turned out, this rifle penetrated the shields not only because the bullet flew faster than sound but also had a small charge of electric current, thanks to which the bullet, or rather the ball, quickly passed through the shields and barriers. I loaded the rifle full, aimed at my head and fired. The bullet flies so fast that it instantly pierces Croghan's head. Immediately the goths shoot the first targets, and five vorks go down. Five more looks at us but immediately fall down. We approach them and copy the communication codes so that if they try to contact us, the call goes to us, and we answer it. We had to maintain secrecy until the end. We enter the camp and immediately turn along the thin wall. We go to the corner of the base, turn right and lean against the wall of the living quarters. Thirty vorks run out of the next one across from us towards the main gate. They run through, and we go on. We jump under the box, which stands on stilts. We crawl under the box, and here's our first target - an orbital mass accelerator. It's guarded by two vorks and a krogan. Two goeth take aim at the vork, I take aim at the krogan. Simultaneous shot, and all three go down. After that, we run to the cannon. On the move, I lay down the Vorc, who comes out from behind the corner of the box next to where the gun was and opens fire on us. In just a minute, the bomb is set. We climb back under the box, as there are still vork and krogan in the camp. We crawl to the end, looking around. I only see one vork pissing in the corner. He gets killed by the get, and we run across the makeshift street, then past the corpse of the vork, stop, and I stand and shoot three vork and a krogan. The bullet pierces the Crogan and the two vorks, but the third vork is wounded in the neck. He goes down, but he's not going to die. I ran to him and finished him with a headshot when his neck almost healed. We plant the bomb. There's one left. Run for the last one. Running out of the alley between the boxes.

- HEY!!! - shouted a hoarse and just wild voice from the wolf. The cannon is at 30% charge all the time, so I just shoot him from the hip. The flamethrower on his back explodes and blows the vork to pieces, but that's no good. This attracts three running Crocs. One of them is the Master of War.

- FIRE! - All three krogan start shooting at us, and the Master punches my companion, but he manages to dodge, and we all hide in the alley. I order everyone to shoot at the Krogan and decide to go around them myself. I run out of the alley and immediately see one of the Krogan, who also decides to go around the box. I don't have time to shoot, and the krogan goes into the melee. I ram myself, crouch down, grab and deflect his arm with the shotgun, get behind him, grab the gun from his belt, and shoot him in the back. He's got no shields there. I shoot until it overheats, but the result is the same. He's dead. Then I jump onto the roof of the box, run across it, and stand on the edge. Master tries to hit the alley with punches and even singularity, but the alley is too narrow, so he can't hit it. I load my rifle, aim, and shoot. The Crogan gets hit right in the head. Then I see the last krogan trying to escape and warn my own as I jam the comms. I load the rifle and fire. I hit the back of the head, and the krogan goes down. After that, we go to the last gun. Nobody is guarding it anymore. After setting the charges, we run to climb back up the cliff, and all my prominent soldiers retreat. The pack doesn't pursue them, afraid it's a decoy and an ambush. On the other hand, we have already climbed the cliff and are running from its edge. After a minute of running, we detonate charges. There is a deafening explosion, a total of one kiloton, from which nobody survives, and the cliff collapses on them and covers the camp. Only after that do we start the terraformer.

****

The enormous machine, still 100 metres high, descends quickly, about the same way as the Reapers land on the planet, onto the broad plain. And then, all three "legs" stand firmly on the flat surface, shallowly, five metres, digging into the sand. After another minute, the powerful 70 terawatts laser begins to burn through the surface and moves towards the core. Only 10 hours later, it finally reaches the nucleus, immediately shoots a mass beam at it, and surrounds the heart with a mass field. After a further 24 hours, all volcanoes on Heshtok are extinguished for good.