Rebirth The Mass Effect is old

The Krogan shook his head and growled an unintelligible expletive to the cheerful laughter of the former Citadel Security Officer. Garrus enjoyed our mission in a special way. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement, his movements were precise and economical, full of predatory grace and plasticity, there was none of the uncertainty and hopelessness that followed the Turian on the Citadel. It wasn't Garrus Vakarian who was with us now, but the one who would eventually be called the Archangel.

A rifle roared loudly: the geth in red armor jerked, hit the railing and flew down somewhere. The soft hiss of a cooling weapon, a barely audible satisfied rumble, and again:

"Clear."

Rex spat on the floor.

"Don't freak out, you'll have another chance to unwind." I tapped the disgruntled Krogan lightly on the shoulder. "There are many more Geth! Don't stop Garrus from having fun."

The Krogan grunted, gave the happy Turian an appraising look, and nodded slowly. The tunnel ended in a wide metal platform, leading us into a long cave, the far side of which was invitingly shimmering with an azure force barrier. The fighters dispersed along the platform, Rex rushed to the stairs: a shotgun rattled, a thin squeak of geth, a shot and a satisfied:

"Clear!"

Somewhere under the ramp that descended to a wide platform, three flights of red light flashed. Garrus jerked his rifle up, peering into the tangle of metal.

"Geth is downstairs." the Turian dropped to one knee, bent over, almost leaning over the edge of the ramp, barked loudly "Harpoon", and the reddish light disappeared. "I'm ready."

"Rex, Kayden, check the flight."

Garrus shifted slightly, so that he could see the curves of the ramp and the platforms leading to the ruins. Tali, clutching a heavy pistol tightly in her hands, walked a little behind, as the least protected member of our squad.

Before landing, we had to win a whole battle with this lovely girl, until we convinced her that her place was behind our backs near Garrus. We agreed that she is our technician, and her task is to clear the way from tightly locked doors, break into computers and locks on boxes with enemy weapons. Well, at the same time, to cover our sniper's back in the unlikely event that some enemy passes by us and the shooter himself. Garrus, armed to the crest, almost laughed then, despite all his tact, but, thank all the gods of this reality, he restrained himself. So now the Quarian was not trying to look for adventures on her ass and obediently sat behind Vakarian's broad back.

A long, winding ramp led us to an elevator shaft and a wide platform abutting against the blue film of a protective field that blocked the entrance to the Prothean structure. I couldn't bring myself to call an absolutely whole and fully functional tower ruins!

"Tali, check the elevator."

The Quarian quickly jumped off the platform and flew to the console. Garrus vaulted over the railing and ran lightly along the supports of the ramp to the cliff, gazing intently into the abyss gaping under our feet. The cave was VERY deep. By eye, it's a hundred meters, and maybe even deeper, as far as I could see by leaning over the railing. Kayden gurgled a muffled curse next to me, and I was pulled back in.

"Garrus, is there something?"

In response, a shake of the head.

"Too deep. I saw some movement, but I couldn't see it for sure."

The Turian folded the Harpoon and returned to us. Tali hacked the elevator's control panel, and the screen door obediently swung open.

The elevator took us deeper and deeper. Four-meter-high and seven-meter-long oval window sections swept by. Seven, eight, nine floors, by eye — seven or eight meters each. Some of the "windows" were blocked by an azure barrier, and some were not. The doors swung open, letting us out onto the same ramp as seventy meters above, but the ground was still not visible. A little further on, near the wall of the tower, another elevator was flashing invitingly at us with a red light on the console.

The ringing silence of the cave was broken only by our breathing and the barely audible hum of the protective barrier. For a moment, I thought I heard a soft whistle. She glanced at the tense Turian, caught his worried gaze, and touched her ear with her finger. In response, there was a short nod and the rustle of a rifle coming into firing position. So it wasn't my imagination. Rex picked up the shotgun and walked slowly forward, pointing the muzzle. Garrus knelt down, resting the barrel of the Harpoon on the edge of the metal shield, Tali crouched next to him, completely hiding behind dubious protection, Kayden was enveloped in a barely noticeable azure haze. I took off the Harpoon owl.

The whistling increased. Garrus raised his hand, swung his fist, thumb and forefinger sticking out: drones. Kayden and I crouched behind a metal shield a little to one side. Rex slowly moved forward.

Drones popped up from somewhere below: three assault types, more powerful and heavier than the ones that killed Jenkins on Eden Prime. The Krogan raised his shotgun, firing almost point blank into the massive flying Geth machine. The drone spilled onto the ramp and lay still. Garrus's rifle roared loudly from behind, and I caught a third drone in my sights, a shot just below the glowing flashlight on my cap. The car jerked, sparked, and toppled over on its side. The shotgun blast merged with the hum of Garrus' Harpoon, and the drones rained down on the dais.

The silence was deafening. We were in no hurry to leave the shelters. Wrapped in shields, Rex slowly walked around the ramps, but found no one and nothing.

"Clear."

While Tali was breaking down the elevator, Garrus peered through the powerful optics of the rifle into the darkness, but he couldn't see anything clearly. It seemed like there was nothing alive in this place except us, even though I knew it was a deceptive feeling.

"Ready!" Tali's pleased voice and the rustle of doors.

The elevator closed its doors and rolled down. The blue sections flashed one after another. Three, four, five, six, seven... when Garrus's warning cry coincided with the sound of gunfire: a Geth drone emerged from behind a support and opened fire. This brute did not hit us, having made holes in the elevator door, but damaged the mechanism, and the metal box rushed down with a bang and a creak! Tali screamed, clutched the handrail, Garrus calmly raised his rifle and shot the drone in three shots, swearing hollowly because of the miss.

The elevator clanged and rumbled through the last floor and crashed onto the swaying ramp. It shook well! Rex only swayed, holding the biotic that had fallen on him, Garrus easily jumped to his feet, picked up the fallen "Harpoon", carefully examining the weapon, Tali detached herself from the handrail, and I sat on my butt on the floor, tightly hugging the sniper rifle.

Is everyone okay?

"They're safe." Rex answered me, kicking out the warped door with one powerful kick. "Damn the drone! How are we going to get out of here?"

"On the supports." the Turian calmly reported, examining the spacious cave through optics. "It looks clean."

Indeed, the elevator shaft supports are a double I-beam with small square holes, using which it is quite convenient to climb up. Rex wasn't happy about the prospect.

"I'm not a lizard, I used to climb the beams!"

Garrus grinned and grabbed the rifle.

"If you have to, you'll climb!"

"Don't push yourself, Vakarian! This is not a Citadel, and you are not a security officer!"

Garrus just grinned, twitching his mandibles maliciously. Rex spat.

* * *

The collapsed elevator lowered us to the very bottom of the cave. The base of the tower was not visible, which means that there are more floors somewhere under the stone and caked soil. A little further on, a small mobile mining laser stood on supports, which the archaeologists used to clear the tower, followed by three tents and some construction debris piled against the wall. There were no Geth in sight, but they should be.

"You are welcome! Is anyone there? Help!" A loud, plaintive, desperate, and hopeless female voice rang out completely unexpectedly! Rex spun around, Garrus raised his rifle, and Tali ducked under the protection of the sagging pillars. Kayden looked at me questioningly. And I, lowering my rifle, ran down the ramp and stopped in front of the shimmering blue film of the barrier, behind which a helpless Asari hung in an azure bubble. Dr. Liara T"Sony. We made it in time.

"Can you hear me?"

The cute Asari stared intently at our faces, glancing from me to the Krogan, then to the Turian and the Quarian. She hadn't seen Kayden. The gray-blue eyes widened in surprise when Liara appreciated this... a multi-racial group.

"We can hear you." I replied calmly. Rex turned his back to the Asari, gazing intently into the gloom of the cave, Garrus stood in a half-turn, holding a Harpoon ready for battle. Tali stared with open interest at the console with glowing green and golden Prothean symbols, and did not pay attention to the Asari at all.

"Who are you?"

The girl blinked in surprise at my question, but answered:

"I am Dr. Liara T"Sony. I am the head of the archaeological team that excavated these ruins."

"And, in my opinion, they are completely intact." Tali noticed, touching the buzzing barrier with her finger.

Liara was embarrassed, blushing a little.

"Yes, this tower has been preserved surprisingly well. All the equipment is working."

"How did you end up in this bubble?"

"I've been researching ru... the tower, when the Geth appeared. They attacked my people and killed them! And I hid here!" The girl's voice faltered. "Can you believe it?! The Geth are here! Beyond the Veil!"

"It's hard not to believe when a geth is trying to shoot you." I replied ironically. "Go on, Dr. Liara."

"I've activated the tower's defenses. The defense is powerful, and I knew it would hold them back."

"Apparently, you clicked something wrong somewhere, and the security system caught you as an intruder." I chuckled, peering at the golden symbols. The missing linguistic barrier also worked for writing, though not always. I could read the Prothean symbols, although some of their meanings left me in a stupor.

"You... Can you read these signs?"

"Somehow."

"Oh! This is..." Liara's voice trailed off.

"Do I understand correctly that the field does not allow you to move and fixes you to the tips of your fingers?"

"Yes! I can't move! Help me get out of here!"

"Do you have any ideas how to help you?"

"There is a control panel here." The Asari squinted at the terminal. "She should turn off the device. But you need to get around the barrier somehow." Liara smiled guiltily. "That's the whole problem. It's impossible to disable the protection from the outside, but I do not know how to get in here. Be careful. There was a Krogan with the Geth. They tried to crack the barrier, but they failed! They're still here somewhere!"

"I got it" I turned to the team. "Any ideas?"

Garrus stared intently at my face and chuckled strangely.

"I understand you have an idea, Rir, but you don't like it."

"You won't like it either." I pointed at the open "window" two floors above.

"Oh!" the Turian froze in a couple of seconds.

If we don't find an alternative, I will. And you'll back me up. I suspect that our brave fighters will not be driven to the top. Kayden shyly averted his eyes, and Rex grumbled, but none of them protested. Why be outraged if both are afraid of heights?

"Can we get down?"

"I have a cable." I patted the carbine. "I felt like I needed to. Let's go see if the mining laser is working first. The tower goes deeper by several more floors, and it is quite possible that the lower one is not covered by protection." I turned my gaze to the Asari, who was listening intently to us. "Dr. Liara, wait."

The Asari just blinked. The bubble wouldn't let her even jerk her head. The Protheans are paranoid!

A short tour of the cave gave Rex an opportunity to let off some steam: two Geth stormtroopers were crowding around the tents, and the Krogan missed. Garrus graciously allowed Rex to kill one of the enemies and brazenly shot the second one as soon as the Krogan knocked down his shields. Rex's screams echoed through the cave.

"Garrus, you're going to jump." I barely whispered. "Rex's going to punch your face in one day for shooting you like that."

The Turian waved lazily, watching the Krogan through the Harpoon's optics.

"He caused me a lot of problems on the Citadel." The purring voice sounded ironic. "Can I get on his nerves now?"

"See for yourself. They'll punch your face in."

In response, a quiet, rumbling chuckle from a contented Turian.

"Who will give it to him."

"Clear!" The Krogan's angry growl interrupted the conversation.

We didn't find anything interesting in the cave, moreover, the control terminal of the mobile drilling laser was damaged by some kind of stray shot! Tali, after examining the device, just spread her hands helplessly. In all its glory, we faced an option we didn't like.

* * *

Kayden had been trying to talk us out of an extreme way of entering the tower for about five minutes, but neither Garrus nor I reacted to him. After some debate, we chose a way to climb: along a leaning beam that ran almost directly to the "window", and we only had to jump a couple of meters. Quite a normal distance. We were traveling light and had only pistols left of our weapons: you never know who we would meet there.

We got through the collapsed elevator with Rex's help, and then we got through ourselves. It wasn't difficult to climb, and after a couple of minutes I stopped, hanging from a beam two meters above the coveted floor. Garrus stopped just below me.

I was the only one with a rope and a carbine, but there was nowhere to catch on the beam, just to wrap it, but we would need a rope to get down to the right level, so if I somehow fell off, the Turian would serve as insurance for me.

Securing the carbine around his waist, Garrus wrapped the cable around his arm, tightly wrapping his armored fingers around a thin metal thread, barely three millimeters in diameter.

"Ready."

Pushing off abruptly, I flew over the opening and tumbled down the hard blue cells covering the floor of the "windows" section.

"There is! Now you."

A few moments later, Garrus easily crossed the distance between the beam and the tower. Now comes the most interesting part. There is nowhere to gain a foothold in the section: the floor is smooth, no protrusions, the edges are rounded. If Garrus slips, we will both fly to the darkening floor at a depth of six tiers, which is at least forty meters. No armor can save me!