Rebirth: The Mass Effect. Book 1

Energy recharge.

Of course, this is an unfortunate moment, and I need to be conscious in order for the recharge to work, but... With such a wound, if Nihlus survives, it will be a great miracle.

I took off my gloves and carefully dipped my finger in the warm blue blood. Nihlus was watching my actions in surprise.

"Blood is the moisture of life. The quintessence of it. Blood carries the life force and energy of an intelligent being. It doesn't matter what its composition is or what the body's biochemistry is. It will work anyway and give you a chance to survive."

A heavy drop formed on the tip of my finger. I touched my skin, tracing a sharp angular mark on the back of my hand under the gaze of bright green eyes. My desire is clearly formed, and the blue blood is instantly absorbed into the skin, leaving behind a barely noticeable blue trail. And one last thing. I licked the blood off my finger. The mark on my hand slowly turned a dull purple glow, and I staggered from the sudden outflow of energy, barely keeping my balance, but Nihlus, on the contrary, began to breathe more calmly, the convulsive wheezing subsided. His regeneration accelerated dramatically, and his body, having received unexpected support, began to recover rapidly. This will give him a chance of survival.

"Imrir..." He croaked, barely audibly, calling me by name for the first time.

"Keep quiet." I replied just as quietly. "This is neither the time nor the place."

He slowly closed his eyes and opened them again. There will be questions later, when he is not standing with two feet in the grave. And I will most likely give honest answers to these questions. Gunshots and the buzzing pops of biotics could be heard at the train station as the fighters destroyed the Geth. As far as I remember, there aren't many of them, so we should be able to handle it. Soon the gunshots died down and Ashley reported:

"Clear!"

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, Commander."

Well, that's great. I put on gloves and restored the integrity of the armor.

"Take up defense on the platform." I don't know exactly what the Joker did or what he said to Captain Anderson, but just three minutes later, the graceful silhouette of Normandy appeared in the sky, and a rumpled, unshaven man crawled out from behind the boxes.

Oops, who showed up! A homegrown sleep-loving smuggler. Wow, the Geth didn't really kill him!

When he saw the weapon pointed at him, he recoiled slightly, raised his hands and shouted:

"Wait! Don't shoot! I'm just like you! I am a human being!"

I squinted a little, not lowering the massive Nihlus rifle. I wonder if this idiot with his paws in the air really thinks that his belonging to the human race will help him in any way? What a great argument! Funnily enough, Nihlus closed his eyes and went a little limp, and his hand jerked to grab on his hip, but there was no gun on him. The weapon disappeared without a trace in an unknown direction.

"What are you doing there?"

"I'm... sorry... I was hiding! From these creatures!"

"Who are you?"

The man lowered his arms, squinting at the rifle, which was obviously too big and heavy for my hand.

"My name is Powell. I... I saw what happened to that... What's his name, a Turian."

He's what?

"Have you seen it?" I asked softly.

Powell hesitated, slightly embarrassed, lowered his face.

Well, well... And what did you manage to see, are you a victim of circumstances?

"Well... Rather, I heard it."

Did you hear that? That's better. I also didn't want this petty criminal to see my manipulations.

Normandy landed on the pad next to us. The conversation had to be curtailed for a while. I held a nervous man at gunpoint, Nihlus pretended to be a corpse, although I knew that his condition had stabilized, and immediate death was no longer in danger. At least for now, the recharge is working.

Finally, the ship's ramp came down, and Dylan and Darg ran up to me in full gear. A couple of minutes later, Anderson and Karin came down with two more fighters carrying a stretcher. Okay, Karin's out, she's a doctor. But what the hell was the captain doing out in the fresh air?

"And what did you hear?" I asked, watching the approaching captain and the doctor with half an eye: it's time to start the canon story.

I'm sorry, Saren. But I NEED these revelations and the stain of a traitor on your reputation, which Anderson and Udina will actively ruin.

"He was killed by another Turian!" The worker exclaimed, looking at the approaching captain.

Nihlus opened his eyes slightly, blinked in surprise. Yes, yes, dear Specter, you are, in fact, already a corpse. So lie down, don't twitch and have fun.

"I need to know how Nihlus died." I said softly. The Turian understood me perfectly, closed his eyes and relaxed completely, as much as it was possible for him.

The doctor ran up. When she saw the state of the Spectr, her face changed and in the blink of an eye she built others. Nihlus was carefully lifted, placed on a stretcher and carried to the ship under her strict guidance.

Captain Anderson stopped behind me, frowning at the crumpled man, who was cautiously squinting at me and the weapon in my hand. And he squints correctly. He would have seen something superfluous, and a valuable witness would have been lying on the ground with a hole in his head. Well, the reflex worked, who doesn't? Pure chance!

"Who killed this Turian again?"

Derg, hearing my gentle voice, raised an eyebrow in surprise. Captain Anderson pursed his lips slightly. I got to my feet, not taking my rifle away from the nervous man.

"He was killed by another Turian." The smuggler repeated obediently. "He came here earlier. With these creatures. Your... friend called him Saren. I think they knew each other."

On behalf of the rebellious Spectr, our brave captain shuddered. Wow, I haven't forgotten the events of eighteen years ago! Although, what am I talking about? How can you forget such a failure? He had a real chance to become the FIRST human Spectre, and as a result, he received a negative, contemptuous characterization from the legend of the Special Corps. And Saren went through David Anderson's pride from the bottom of his heart. The captain will never forget or forgive this.

"Your friend relaxed, lost his guard, and Saren killed him. I shot him when he was talking to someone on the comm. I'm lucky he didn't notice me."

Did you talk on the comm? Damn, that was unfortunate. Or was it successful? Kraik still survived, even though he was actually mortally wounded.

Anderson joined the conversation. While he was chatting with this novice smuggler, I motioned for Darg and Dylan and moved away with two fighters a little to the side.

"Where is the band?"

They were dropped off somewhere near the settlement. We were left on board and we don't know the essence of the order.

"Who's in charge?"

"Max."

I nodded slowly.

"Sergeant Ashley Williams and Alenko are currently on the platform."

"A survivor?"

"The only one from her unit. Lucky." I glanced at Captain Anderson. "Dylan, Darg, they PROBABLY need support."

The hint was understood instantly, and both my fighters disappeared, and I went to Captain Anderson.

"Sir, the lighthouse was moved, Saren went to get it on the monorail."

Anderson looked up from the conversation, looked at me, and frowned.

"Saren must be intercepted!"

"Yes, sir. Captain, the situation has become more complicated, Darg and Dylan have been sent to reinforce the landing group." a short pause. "Sir, Corporal Jenkins is dead. I'm going back to completing the task. May I go?" I rammed away, blinking my eyes in devotion.

"Permission granted, Commander."

Having received the authority `approval', I immediately rushed to the fighters of the landing group before Anderson took them away.

If my sclerosis doesn't let me down, bombs, a bunch of Geth, and a lighthouse are waiting for me on the other side. Well, and future nightmares, where without them.

Chapter 3.2: Fight with huskies and defuse bombs.

The train rolled steadily, the engines humming faintly, and I peered at the platform emerging from the twilight. The optics of the rifle already made it possible to see the synthetics involved in installing bombs, but it was still too far for targeted shooting.

"Geth's on the platform. They're doing something with..." I peered at the elongated cylindrical device, identified it from the recipient's memory, and asked a sacramental question, catching Geth in the crosshair.

"Who can deactivate the `Aen-3' bomb?" A shot, the butt pushed into the shoulder. The Geth collapsed to the floor, visibly sparking.

"I can." Ashley replied softly.

Shot, shot. The squeak of an overheated weapon. The rifle cooled down, to catch the creature in sight, a shot. The train was slowing down, automatically braking between the platforms. The Geth became animated, and bright lines of queues stretched out in our direction, perfectly visible at dusk. There it is, the muzzle sticking out over the box! The black head was caught in the crosshair, shot. The head disappeared somewhere behind the fence. The recharge beep.

Ashley and Kayden escaped from the train onto the platform. The first bomb was practically under their feet. The woman bent down, and the omni-tool lit up...

"Commander Shepard, it's seventeen minutes on the timer!"

"Well, move it!" The rifle poked into his shoulder. "Kayden, Darg, check the transition!"

Alenko and Ithor darted up the stairs, Dylan, crouching behind the barrier, quickly examined the platform drowning in twilight, shooting Geth behind the box.

"Clear!" He reported.

"I see two more bombs!" said the biotic.

The lights on the first bomb went out, and the panel collapsed.

"The first one is ready!"

Ashley, ducking, ran after Darg and Alenko, and I noticed movement in the dense shadow of the box. A rifle roared loudly in my ear, and the recoil pushed the weapon into my shoulder. Geth fell, rolling out into the passage.

"I'm disabling the second one!" Ashley's voice was dry, trembling slightly with tension.

"The second one is ready!" Alenko's voice sounded in the headphones.

Darg and Kayden ran forward, peering behind every box, behind every support, clearing their side of the station from the Geth. A little ahead, the platform descended by a wide staircase to a loading dock, on which, as far as I know, there should be a lighthouse. I moved on, standing at a huge spacer, inspecting the construction site through the optics of a sniper rifle. The gathering dusk plunged the station into darkness, complicating my task: for some reason, the lighting did not turn on.

"The third one is ready!" Kayden reported. "There are six minutes on the timer!"

"Darg, check the platform to the end." I ordered.

The fighter slipped into the darkness between the huge containers, shots were fired, a moment of silence and a natural scream:

"Another one!"

Ashley took off from a low start like a runner on the finish line, securing the shotgun on her back. I put the sniper rifle in the back grip, removing the Nihlus assault rifle that had taken its place.

Gesturing for Dylan to follow me, I ran across the narrow metal bridge, exiting onto the already rebuilt part of the passenger platform, still cluttered with containers and construction materials.

Dylan crouched by a block of metal sheeting wrapped in film, gesturing that there was an enemy somewhere ahead. I nodded, turned behind a huge container, and saw Geth, standing slightly in front of me, whirling around and raising his weapon.

Why hasn't he been removed from the opposite platform yet?! I squeezed the trigger on my bare reflexes before I had time to realize what was happening.

The weapon bucked in his hands, spitting out a long burst. I was jolted by a powerful recoil, turning slightly on the spot, and the synthetic was simply blown away: the queue went from the middle of the body to the head, turning it into mush. Geth's shots got stuck in the blue film of the shield, sliding tangentially at the shoulder.

Kraik has a good rifle!

Ashley's trembling voice came through the headphones:

"Ready!"

"Ashley, you're doing great." I whispered faintly, exhaling slowly. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my arms were shaking.

"And if there is more?" Alenko asked uncertainly.

"We'll find out now."

Dylan ran to the edge of the platform and went down to the landing area.

"Clear." he said clearly and came back to me, quickly examined me. "How are you?"

"I'm Alive." I replied, shrugging my aching shoulder.

"Alenko..." Dylan snorted faintly, casting a frown at the other platform, from which this Alenko was supposed to cover us.

I grimaced, but said nothing. What can I say? Our beloved biotic was staring at the bomb in fascination instead of doing his job. He covered it well, you can't say anything.

When Dylan and I climbed onto the cargo platform, Darg was already watching the loading platform, Ashley was covering him, and Kayden was hovering behind the container with a lean face. It's clear. The migraine started again due to the active use of biotics.

"Grizzly, what is it?" I asked softly, sitting down behind the fence. Grizzly, what is it? I asked softly, sitting down behind the fence.

Darg shrugged his shoulders and replied:

Some kind of crap: here the spears are stacked with people impaled on them, and they are twitching as if they are still alive.

"It's a husky. Are there many of them?"

"There are about two dozen by eye." Derg turned his head slightly. "Darling, what did you call them?"

"Husky. Do you remember the old zombie movie that we watched on the extranet on Arcturus before we took off?"

He nodded.

"These are the same zombies, only technological. Blame it on your head. Hitting the hull is not critical: they don't even slow them down properly. Don't let them get too close. Very strong. They can hit you with a discharge if they run up. It won't kill you, but it can paralyze you.

"Understood."

I looked down at the black Nihlus rifle I was still holding in my hands.

"Darg, have you ever used a Turian weapon?"

"There was a case."

"Catch it."

I tossed the rifle to the fighter. He caught it, examined it carefully, and chuckled.

"Is it a joke?"

"yes. Don't fuck up."

Dare grinned, realizing from my tone what I would do to him if he destroyed someone else's weapon. I took a quick glance at the platform. In addition to the identical Husk's in tatters of clothing, there were three Geth's on the landing, who were slowly moving towards the stairs. The high-tech zombies were stupidly kneeling at their stakes and ignoring the Geth's movements.