[Shattered Soul] 2 – The UNSC Last Stand

In the cockpit of the Normandy, Shepard and his allies listened to the broadcast Joler managed to pick up from planetside.

Wrex, leaning against a wall, spoke up as soon as the broadcast finished, “Seems some of you humans are in trouble down there, though I haven’t heard of the Covenant before. I wonder how they fight.”

“Is that really all you care about? If they can fight?” Garus questioned.

“No, I also think about guns, violence, and credits,” Wrex answered, his grizzled demeanor making him all the more threatening, though Joker seemed to find it funny as he tried not to laugh, which made the Krogan crack a menacing smirk.

Shaking her head, Tali ignored the two and said, “We don’t even know what we will find down there; there’s no telling just how long this signal has been broadcasting.”

“I know. We will all be working together on this. Joker is scanning the planet for the source of the signal. Once we learn more about the situation, we’ll check it out. So, prepare for anything, and meet me in the cargo bay. Due to the atmosphere, make sure you’re bringing extra breathing masks in case your suits get breached and for any survivors we find. Wrex? Garus? Once you’ve equipped yourselves, begin loading the Mako with supplies, breathing masks, and medicine,” Shepard ordered before focusing on Ashley, Kaden, and Tali. 

“You two, once we get down there, I want you to protect Tali; if we find the ship, I want Tali to pick whatever she can off from the ship’s computers and logs,” Shepard ordered, only to be interrupted by Joker.

“Uh…Shepard? I found the signal…and there’s a problem.”

“What is it, Joker?” Shepard asked, straight to the point.

“I found the source and the ship that was broadcasting the signal, but…you need to come see this,” Joker informed Shepard as he stepped forward to examine what Joker was talking about.

Pulling up a holographic image, Joker said, “The Normandy’s sensors picked up an abnormality on the planet’s surface around 600 miles east from our position. However…if the sensors are correct, and they are because I just triple-checked them, then the abnormality…is sitting at roughly 1,500 meters(nearly 5,000 feet) long…

“Get us over it. Let’s get a good look at it.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Joker answered, piloting the ship to fly towards the source of the signal and the abnormality the Normandy’s sensors picked up on.

It took only a few minutes for Joker to fly the ship to where the signal came from. As the Normandy floated high in orbit, the cameras in the ship's sensors picked up something none would have expected to see.

A wreckage of a truly gigantic ship, one that was over twice the size of the alliance’s biggest ships, and this ship was clearly not made by human hands, nor any other known race’s hands. The Alliance Navy was comprised of ships designed to be slick and sharp in appearance, but the ships before them were far too blocky and looked more like deformed rectangles. 

However…what was written on the side of the ship, in a human language, would suggest that it was designed by human hands.

‘UNSC - The Last Stand’

“I didn’t know the alliance built ships of that size,” Joker commented in awe, while Shepard looked at the crashed ship grimly, “They don’t.”

…

Calling everyone back to the cockpit, Shepard showed them the wreckage of the massive ship, making Wrex whistle and comment, “Never mind. It seems you squishes do know how to fight. Just look at all the weapons on that thing.” 

Ignoring Wrex, Shepard began briefing, “This ship is the source of that sos signal. Based on our scans and sensor readings, the ship had been crashed here…for sixty years.

“What?!” A few shouted.

“How is that possible? Humanity only came into contact with the Council and other races 26 years ago! This ship is in a section of the galaxy where Humanity would not have been able to reach, so how did it get here?” Tali questioned, baffled by what had been seen before them, quickly moving towards the console where she checked over the data itself.

“Something has to be wrong with the sensors. There’s no way-“ Garus started, only to be interrupted by Tali, “it’s true…based on the data on surrounding terrain and environmental factors, this ship crashed here 63.4 solar cycles ago…”

Letting everyone stir in their thoughts for a few moments, Shepard interjected. “I know. This can’t be possible…that’s why we’re going there. We’ll try to find a way into the ship and make our way to the bridge where, Tali,” he gestured to Tali, the most qualified engineer of the group, as well as an expert in other technical fields such as computers and electronics, “will see if she can gather any data or pull anything from the ship’s logs. We have no idea if anything is still alive down there. If the signal is still being broadcasted, then that means the ship still has power and, therefore, can still have automated security,” Shepard began, slowly forming a plan with everyone.

Once they had a suitable plan and made sure that everyone had plenty of Medi-Gel just in case, Joker dropped into the atmosphere while the team climbed into the Mako in the cargo bay.

The Mako was an all-terrain exploration vehicle designed for many environments and equipped with two turrets and a canon. Garus and Kaden took their seats at the consoles that controlled the turrets, and Wrex took his seat where he could control the cannon. Tali and Ashley took their seats in the back, where Tali could see everything on the Mako’s sensors, and Ashly helped where she could. Finally, sitting at the wheel was none other than Shepard, a decision the passengers would regret.

With a maneuver, Joker opened the cargo bay as he neared the ground and sling-shotted the Mako out of the Cargo bay and down to the ground, where it bounced across the planet's surface and sped towards the ship's wreckage. 

As the passengers were subjected to horrible driving and a very rocky ride, a mind began to awaken from its long slumber as the ship’s advanced sensors picked up the approaching life signs.

…

Just outside The Last Stand's outer hull, the Mako pulled up to an airlock half-buried under dirt.

A hatch on the back of the Mako slid open, and multiple figures rushed out as if escaping from horror while Shepard calmly exited the Mako last.

“All in favor of never letting Shepard drive again?” Kaden asked, looking sickly and getting a few ‘Ayes.’

“Come on, I wasn’t that bad,” Shepard commented with a roll of his eyes, only to be met with a wave of deadpans.

“Shepard. I’d rather walk than ever be in that Mako again with you as the driver,” Ashley stayed with a straight face, annoyance clear in her gaze.

“Have to agree with her on that, Shepard; I didn’t think it was possible for someone to flip a Mako on flat terrain, not to mention somehow roll it on flat terrain as well,” Garus spoke up, clearly not happy about Shepard’s… 'Driving.’

Exasperated, Shepard shook his head and turned around, opening one of the cargo compartments on the Mako and grabbing an Alliance Navy issue assault rifle, pistol, shotgun, and sniper, showcasing his extraordinary strength as he effortlessly put them on yet showed no signs of slowing down from the weight, nor exhaustion.

The others quickly equipped themselves as well, with Ashley and Kaden grabbing standard assault rifles and pistols, Garus with a sniper, pistol, and assault rifle, Wrex grabbing one of everything, the same as Shepard, and Tali grabbing herself a shotgun and pistol.

Wrex laughed upon seeing Tali grab herself a shotgun. “Now that’s a weapon, Quarian! If you need any help, just come to me! I can show you a few tricks!”

Put off by Wrex’s strange shift in his personality, Tali just gave him a meek nod, making Wrex crack a smug smile.

“Alright. I’m locking down the Mako. Is everyone ready?” Getting nods, Shepard looked towards the half-buried airlock and raised his weapon, ready for any possible fight.

“Everyone, stick to your helmet radios, keep chatter minimal, we have no idea what we’re going into,” Shepard ordered.

Moving towards the airlock, Shepard asked through his helmet’s comm, “Tali, can you get this airlock open?” 

As the others secured the area, Tali moved up to the airlock and yelped when it suddenly screeched open, sliding open just enough for everyone to climb inside.

“That wasn’t me!” Tali warned the others through her suit’s comm, making everyone raise their guard.

Wearily approaching the airlock, Shepard swept his gun across the empty corridor before turning on his flashlight.

Giving everyone a nod, he jumped down, landing on the metal floor of the airlock with a loud thud, a moment later his gun was raised to the dark expanse that lay past the corridor of the airlock. 

Everyone else climbed down one by one, with Tali being the last. Everyone jumped when the airlock abruptly closed behind them, trapping them in the ship.

With a flash, the ship seemed to come alive for a few seconds, with every light coming alive before suddenly flickering out and being replaced by the emergency lights.

That’s when the corridor wall past the airlock lit up with green light, seemingly pointing toward one direction.

Wrex growled, “I don’t like this.”

“I don’t either, Wrex,” Shepard answered, tense. 

With no way back out unless Tali tried to open the airlock herself, the crew was left with one option: advancing forward and finding out what the hell was going on.