Chapter Text
While hunting down the three folks in charge of water, power, and food, I stumbled across a datapad tucked atop some crates.
[BLACK BOX RECORDING – MSV BOREALIS]
CAPTAIN AKANDE: This is the MSV Borealis. We’re under attack. Repeat, under attack! Shields down. Damn it, starboard engine’s shot.
NAVIGATOR IVANOVA: Captain, our cargo modules … Geth have targeted them. Two and five are compromised!
CAPTAIN AKANDE: Just dump them, and let’s hope it distracts them long enough. Ledra’s damned fortune promise … we’re just food for the Geth.
[CRITICAL ALERT: HULL BREACH]
ENGINEER MURAKAMI: Direct hit! Port engine’s gone! Sir, we’ve got to put her down in the colony!
CAPTAIN AKANDE: Everyone brace! Mayday, mayday! This is the MSV Borealis … We are goin-
[END OF RECORDING]
It looked like the final moments of some of the crew: panic, desperation, and silence frozen in data. No undoing what had already happened. I sighed and moved on. No use crying over spilled milk, especially when the whole damn colony was already on fire. I needed to focus on what I could fix, starting with tracking down the people in charge of the essentials: water, power, food.
We were on our way to find Davin Reynolds, the guy supposedly handling food supplies when we passed through the medical bay. I paused in the doorway. Not because someone called out, but because the vibe inside was ... wrong.
A man sat on the edge of a cot beside a woman; his wife, I guessed. She was upright but completely unresponsive. Blank stare, lips slightly parted, like she hadn’t blinked in a while. Like she’d forgotten how.
I stepped closer, keeping my voice neutral. “Everything alright in here?”
The man didn’t meet my eyes. He rubbed his palms along his thighs and gave a shaky smile. “She, uh… she just needs rest. She’ll be better soon.”
Tali hovered behind me, visor tilted. Seb let out a low mechanical hum that could’ve been curiosity or concern; I wasn’t sure which, and I didn’t like either option.
The woman still hadn’t blinked.
“Alright,” I said slowly. “We’ll leave you two to rest.”
He didn’t respond. Just kept staring ahead, murmuring something to her too low for me to catch.
We stepped back out into the hallway, and I didn’t say anything for a few steps. Neither did Tali or Ashley. But I felt it: Seb’s head turned, watching the doorway even as we moved on.
As we made our way down the hallway, a man waved us over: David, if I remembered right. He looked tired, eyes sunken but alert enough to recognize us.
“You’re the ones who repelled that last wave,” he said. “They’ll be back. And if the geth don’t kill us… we’ll starve before long.”
I threw on my cheesiest grin. “Well, you’re in luck: I’m here to fix exactly that. What’s it gonna take to get your food situation back on track?”
He let out a quiet sigh. “I’ve been trying to stretch our supplies with varren meat, but I can’t go out there. The alpha varren’s still alive, massive, aggressive, and probably rabid. I can’t do anything until it’s dealt with.”
I gave him a nod. “Consider it handled. I’ll take care of it as soon as I can.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly, just enough to show the tiniest flicker of hope. “Thanks, Commander.”
With that, I turned and continued down the corridor, heading back toward the colony’s entrance. Still, plenty of people to check in with, and now one oversized—possibly frothing varren—to add to my to-do list.
May stood hunched over what looked like the colony’s main power relay, hands deep in a panel of exposed wiring. She looked up as we approached, offering a tight expression that I think counted as a smile.
“Nice work with those geth,” she said. “Still need those power cells for this generator, though.”
I gave her a nod. “Understood. I’ll keep an eye out.”
No time to linger, I pivoted to the next person on my checklist. A woman crouched beside a massive water pipe, wrench in hand and frustration practically radiating off her. Macha. Which, naturally, just made my stomach grumble and reminded me I’d rather be in bed with a strawberry matcha latte than dealing with colony plumbing.
“Macha, right?” I called out as I approached. “Fai Dan said you might need help with the water situation. What’s going on?”
She didn’t look up, just exhaled hard and muttered, “If you can find the mains and get them turned back on, we’ll have a chance. Until then? This colony stays dry.”
“Got it,” I said, already bracing myself for the string of monotonous tasks ahead. “I’ll do what I can.”
With that, we headed back toward the tunnels. The air was thick with recycled dust and tension.
Ashley broke the silence first. “Shepard… do you really think we can get this colony back on its feet?”
Internally, I groaned. Honestly, I didn’t think this place should’ve ever been greenlit. A half-baked colony crawling with geth, barely holding itself together... If it were up to me, I’d evacuate the whole thing. I’d evacuate the whole thing. But that wasn’t the job.
“I sure hope so,” I replied, keeping my voice even. “After everything we’re about to do for it, they’d better throw us a parade.”
Tali chimed in, her voice softer, more thoughtful. “I think it’s admirable, what you’re doing. On the flotilla, we’re constantly putting out fires, barely scraping by with what we have. Most of it’s centuries old. But we don’t give up.”
Her words lingered for a moment, quiet and sincere. I gave her a small smile, grateful for the reminder of why we were still fighting.
Then the radar pinged.
“Geth,” I muttered, pulse spiking. “Again.”
We’d reached a narrow canal corridor. Just beyond the next door, my scanner lit up like a warning flare: several hostiles clustered ahead, waiting.
The moment of calm was over.
---
Hey, it’s me—Seb.
Now, I know you were all eagerly waiting for another thrilling geth encounter, pulse-pounding action, sparks flying, heroic one-liners, etcetera. But in the interest of everyone's time (and Shepard’s increasingly short patience), I’ve taken the liberty of summarizing what happened next.
Sebastian-Unit Mission Log – Big Trouble in Little Zhu’s Hope
Timestamp: Time is a construct. You're lucky I'm even logging this.
T + 00:00 — Geth. Again.
Team enters the tunnels. Shepard’s radar lights up like a birthday cake. Guess what’s behind the door? Geth. Spoiler: it's always geth. Ashley groans. Tali starts muttering about her suit’s air filters. I mentally check out.
T + 00:07 — Canal Cleared
Combat. Loud, flashy, entirely predictable. Geth scrap scattered like poorly sorted recycling. No one lost a limb. Disappointing, in a way. Efficiency: 9/10. Drama: 6/10. One-liners: underwhelming.
T + 00:12 — Main Water Valve Activation
Shepard locates the ancient colony plumbing system. It groans louder than Joker’s knees. Valve turned. Water achieved. Colonists celebrate by not blinking. Weird.
T + 00:18 — Alpha Varren Located
Target found. Large. Foaming. Angry. Basically me without a diagnostics update. It charges. Shepard handles it with ruthless grace. Ashley suggests turning it into jerky. No one objects.
T + 00:25 — Tunnel Encounter: Unwell Civilian
Lone man in a side passage. Eyes too wide, smile too calm. Claims everything’s fine. Nothing is fine. I quietly update my internal “Nope” counter to triple digits.
T + 00:31 — Power Cell Acquisition
Team stumbles upon an abandoned Mako. Clearly traumatized. Shepard steals its batteries with zero remorse. I pet it once. It deserves kindness.
T + 00:37 — Geth Transmission Tower Found
Tower located. Surrounded by more geth (try to act shocked). Firefight ensues. Biotics fly, bullets sing, Seb body-checks a sniper because no one else would. Tower goes boom.
T + 00:50 — Return to Colony: All Limbs Present
Mission complete. Water: restored. Power: humming. Food: one cooked varren away from edible. Team returns covered in minor grime and major concerns. Colonists still acting like Twin Peaks extras.
T + 00:55 — Personal Note
Still fluffy. Still functional. Still suspicious. If one more colonist stares at me without blinking, I will initiate emergency barking protocol.
Log sealed. Someone bring me snacks before I start chewing wires. Preferably not varren.
---
I let out a long sigh, more relief than breath. Finally: done with the endless chores of dragging Zhu’s Hope back from the brink. Water running, power flowing, weird colonists only mildly suspicious now. Close enough to functional.
Still, I was tired. Tired of geth. Tired of tunnels. Tired of things staring too long without blinking.
Of course, I already knew what was next. No more errands, no more warm-ups. Just a straight shot into whatever pit the geth were crawling out of.
Can’t wait.
We made our way into the elevator tucked deep in the tunnels, the kind of grimy, flickering old lift that probably hadn’t seen maintenance since colonization day. The ride up rattled with every shift in weight, but it would take us to the carport: the platform above where the Mako was parked and ready.
At least, that was the plan.
The doors opened with a groan… right into a firefight.
Two colonists—faces blank, weapons raised—stood beside a full assault group of geth drones. Fifteen at least, all clustered between us and the Mako like they’d been waiting for us to show up fashionably late.
“Really?” I muttered, already drawing my pistol.
The fight didn’t last long. Between biotics, bullets, and a very enthusiastic Seb, we took them down fast. At this point, I’m not sure if I’m becoming efficient or just numb to the whole synthetic murder routine. Not something I’d admit to Sebastian, of course; he’d spend the next week questioning the value of his metal soul.
Once the dust settled, I scanned the area, my heart still hammering from the ambush. The Mako was there, untouched, sitting like a loyal—if temperamental—beast. I started heading toward it, planning to toss Ashley the keys.
That was when the mistake happened.
“You’re driving,” Ashley said casually, arms folded across her chest, amusement clear in her eyes.
I blinked. “Me?”
Tali chimed in from behind her. “We’ve heard… things. About the way you handle the Mako.”
Ashley smirked. “Just want to see if the rumors are true.”
“Scientific curiosity,” Tali added helpfully.
I stared at them both. Betrayal. Pure, smiling betrayal. Still, I wasn’t about to back down from a challenge: even one that might kill us.
“Fine,” I muttered, sliding into the driver’s seat. The controls felt awkward under my gloves, like trying to grip a handshake with a bear.
The bridge ahead stretched long and narrow, suspended over what I assumed was a bottomless pit of “instant death” if we veered even slightly off course. My hands were already clammy. No pressure.
I eased the Mako forward, half expecting to spin out immediately, but to my surprise… it wasn’t awful. In fact, the first quarter of the bridge was almost—dare I say—smooth. No flips, no screaming. Just me, four oversized wheels, and a silent prayer that we wouldn’t become a flaming ball of wreckage.
Of course, that’s when the geth decided to join the party.
Gunfire rained down from both sides as we hit the halfway point. I swerved to dodge a rocket, clipped the railing, and sent the Mako bumping over a chunk of debris.
Then it happened.
We hit something—maybe a slope, maybe a conveniently placed bit of spite from the universe—and the Mako launched. Full-on airborne. The entire vehicle spun once, twice, and I swear we did a complete flip before slamming down squarely onto a geth armature like a divine punishment delivered in six tons of steel.
Tali screamed, “I’m never going to see Rannoch!”
Ashley was howling with laughter. I, meanwhile, kept both hands glued to the controls, teeth gritted, heart pounding as I’d just escaped re-entry.
“I had it under control,” I muttered, mostly to myself.
They didn’t respond. Tali had curled into herself like she was reevaluating every decision that brought her here, and Ashley was still wheezing.
Honestly? Maybe they were being a little dramatic… but, I didn’t let go of the wheel again until we were parked on solid ground. Just in case.
Before we knew it, we were at the end of the bridge, the Mako rolling up toward the facility. The structure loomed ahead, all industrial gray and bad vibes. This was where Lisbeth’s mother—whose name I’d already forgotten, sorry—and Jeong was supposedly holed up.
Sebastian’s voice crackled over comms. “Commander, picking up radio chatter.”
Then it cut in, scratchy and panicked:
Radio: “We’ve got movement—some kind of vehicle. Not one of the geth. They’re coming right for us. Damn it! Is this comm unshielded? Son of a-”
The feed cut off in a burst of static.
I sighed and rolled the Mako up to the entrance, throwing it into park with what I considered impressive restraint. The second we stopped, Tali looked two seconds away from throwing herself out of the hatch. I swore she almost kissed the ground.
I shut off the engine and casually removed the keys... Only for Ashley to snatch them right out of my hand like she’d been waiting for the opportunity.
She gave me a look. “As much as I enjoyed the full rollercoaster experience… I’d kind of like to survive the rest of this mission.”
She slipped the keys into her pocket like a parent confiscating a dangerous toy. I didn’t argue. I just stepped out of the Mako and tried not to feel personally attacked.
To be fair… I did almost flip us into the abyss. But we didn’t die. So, technically, I was still winning.
Sebastian chimed in. “Commander, for the record, I’ve logged that Mako performance under ‘vehicular assault.’ On us.”
There was a pause, then:
“Further note: Tali’s environmental systems recorded a brief spike consistent with emotional panic and possible soul-leaving-the-body symptoms. Also, please stop using the handbrake as a steering mechanism. It is not a sled.”
Ashley snorted. Tali groaned.
I rolled my eyes “I got us here, didn’t I?”
Sebastian didn’t answer. Just let out a very judgmental little processing hum.
Rude.