Book 3, Chapter 4 - Watch the Fires Burn
*****
Palaven was burning, that much was clear. I hadn't seen all of what the Reapers had done to Earth. We'd left barely an hour or two after they'd arrived. I figured what we could see on Palaven was what was happening to Earth. The turian fleets were outmatched, watching their ships absolutely pounded by the Reaper ships.
As soon as we were in shuttle range, Vega, Liara and I boarded, Cortez at the controls, the three of us watching the screens. Vega and I watched stony faced, Liara wearing her heart on her sleeve a little more. She might be the Shadow Broker, but she'd always had that side to her personality. I reached across and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "This is just the beginning," she muttered.
"We get the Primarch, hold the summit, then we start the fight back."
"Damn fucking right, Commander," Vega added.
Leaning back, I glanced back at the screens. "If Palaven is copping it like this though, how bad is Earth? We know the turians have the biggest navy, more ships than us, yet it doesn't look good already."
"Turians know how to fight, Commander. And they never back down," Vega stated.
"True, but I do wonder what tactics they'll use. The Reapers are like an enemy they've never faced before. I just hope they don't throw everything and the kitchen sink at them immediately, leaving themselves nothing for later. Guess we'll find out once we hit the ground."
We continued to watch the screens until Cortez announced we were approaching the LZ. I'd been on more than one moon. I'd been to Luna more than once. Going to the moon near Earth was no longer a big event. Millions had now visited it. Heading to one of Saturn's moons was always special, as it was the home of N-program training. I didn't know all that much about Menae. I'm sure it probably held a pride of place to the turians, just like our own moon.
"Commander, LZ is hot."
"Set us down, Cortez. We can handle it. Liara, get your biotics firing. I'll run amok as always. Vega, mow the fuckers down."
As soon as the door opened, husks appeared from everywhere. Vega, carrying what was basically an LMG (light machine gun) opened fire, Liara fired a singularity into the middle of a pack of husks and I biotically charged, detonating an enormous explosion that sent husks flying and left me slightly deafened. It helped thin their numbers, Liara and Vega able to step off the shuttle, hearing the engines fire and Cortez take off immediately.
We knew there was a base nearby. I would have preferred landing inside it, but apparently it was taking serious fire and our shuttle would have made an easy target. We wiped out the husks quickly, checked weapons and armour, and moved on. Thankfully, having wiped out all the husks, between us and the nearby fort, there was open ground. It gave us an opportunity to look up and take in what we could see. Palaven was... on fire. The sheer size must have been staggering. Entire cities appeared to be in flames. The size of some Reapers beggared belief. Sovereign had been large, but a few of the Reapers were simply enormous. I wondered how we could possibly take one down. I would never vocalise those sort of fears. If I had an air of negativity, it would only seep into those around me. I knew I would have to remain positive in front of everyone.
Noticing two of were Alliance, the fort was open for us to enter. Asking who was in charge, we were told to speak to General Corinthus. He was in conference with his subordinates, and I knew enough to let him issue his orders before interrupting. The turians were fighting for their lives. A small part of me even thought I was asking a favour too far. The turians were watching their own homeworld burn in front of their eyes. But I knew my idea, that of a grand fleet, was probably the right idea. Better fighting together than trying to do it alone. We didn't stand a chance that way.
"General Corinthus," I said once he was alone.
The turian glanced my way, looked me up and down. Noticed the armour. The N7 insignia on my chest. Probably recognised the face too. "Commander Shepard. I received word you were coming."
"That's good. I assume you know why I'm here."
"I've got news for you already, Commander. Primarch Fedorian is dead."
"What?"
"He was caught in the first wave of Reaper attacks. Man went down bravely with his men, but at the moment, I'm in the dark. No communications with Palaven Command."
"Why not?"
"Communications tower is out, and as you can probably see, I don't have the manpower to re-establish a link."
"Right, we'll sort that out, you get onto Palaven Command, and find out who the next Primarch is. That's what I need going forward."
Corinthus looked at me again. "I understand it's some sort of summit?"
"Correct. I can see you're getting battered. So are we. So it's obvious to my eye that doing this separately won't work. The Reapers will just make us bleed."
Corinthus snorted. "At least someone sees the reality. You get that link back up, I'll get who you need, Commander."
"Where's the tower?"
"Half a click south-west. I had a small team protecting it. No doubt they're dead."
"I'll sort it out." I opened my omni-tool and keyed a few commands. "Keep in contact, let me know if you need or hear anything."
The three of us headed out the other gate. It was definitely no mans land between the gate and the tower. We passed by more than one turian body, and a lot more Reaper monsters. We made it to the tower without facing any opposition, and considering Vega and I had few technical abilities, we sent Liara up to sort it out. Vega and I set ourselves, taking out my assault rifle, waiting for the enemy to appear.
They did, in significant numbers. I stayed in place, firing precisely, each husk taking a shot in the head, while Vega simply unloaded his LMG, smashing the husks to pieces. None of them got close enough to even cause us a moment of concern. Liara had the tower finished quickly, appearing beside us with his SMG, and the three of us moved slowly backwards. Thankfully, a team of turians appeared at our side helping our withdrawal, all of us making it back through the gate into relative safety.
I asked Vega and Liara to wander around, assess the situation, as I headed back to Corinthus. Now that the link was established, he was being inundated with information. I waited as patiently as I could, catching his eye more than once. "These things take time to sort out, Commander," he stated, "There is a plan of succession, but with the number of dead already, they're trying to figure out who's in charge."
"Look, I don't care if he's some ancient fart who spends most of his time dribbling at the conference table. I just need someone at the summit."
