Monsters - Part 1

Ok, so now we've got to the part where we know how the gang was infiltrated by Stealth, and we know how Thomson, Emi, Mia and Keating got involved.
Now on to planet Junthor.


The SF-2 glided between the clouds almost silently as it passed through Junthor's thick atmosphere, which consisted mostly of Carbon Dioxide and Chlorine.
Thomson was stood in the CIC, fastening his breather helmet on to his head. Emi had adjusted her helmet accordingly to supply her with air, instead of filtering the surrounding gases so they were free from bacteria and other harmful substances.
The Falcon hovered a few metres away from the ground and Thomson made his way towards the cargo ramp at the back of the ship.
Wind was blowing and dust was flying through the air - obscuring all view but a small one metre patch in front of them.
Thomson hopped down from the cargo ramp, helping Emi down a moment after.
"... I don't like it here..." Emi said, "... It feels wrong..."
A cracking noise behind him reached his ears and he spun, but there was nothing there.
"I don't like it either," Thomson sighed, raising his rifle, "If Revenge isn't here, I'm going to kill him. We have no idea if anything is living here."
Emi seemed to hide behind him, hugging the back of his shoulders tightly.
"Oh... I didn't mean to scare you. Are you ok?"
She nodded quickly, "... I'm scared..."
Another cracking noise, this time from the front. Thomson aimed his rifle ahead and tightened his finger on the trigger.
"Stand down, soldier," said a distinctly female voice, which was muffled by a helmet - giving it a slight echoed quality.
A figure stepped through the sand into their visual radius. The first thing Thomson picked up on was the N7 logo on her chest. The second was the fact that she was pointing a pistol at him.
"You first," he growled.
She holstered her pistol, "I'm Commander Keating of the SSV Naseby. Who are you?"
"I'm Thomson. Formerly Lieutenant Thomson of the SF-2 Falcon, and this is Emi'Derik. What are you doing here?"
She sighed, "You're not going to believe me if I told you."
"You're working for a Reaper, aren't you?"
She nodded, "I am. And by the sound of it, so are you. Do you know who else is turning up?"
Thomson shook his head, "Do you?"
"I have a Quarian named Mia a few metres away. She's inspecting the pillar. Other than that I have no clue. We could have an entire army on its way. Emi, is it? Are you ok?"
Emi nodded, "... I guess... I don't like it here... I want to go back to the ship..."
"You're scared?" Keating questioned, "Why are you scared? There's only us here."
"... I feel like someone's watching us..."
"I know what you mean," said Thomson, "It's a little eerie."
"We should get this over and done with," Keating sighed, "I have a pounding headache and all this nickel isn't helping."
"Nickel?" Thomson questioned.
"Yes, Nickel. Don't you read the mission logs? It's mainly aluminum and nickel on this planet. Oh, and if we do meet anyone, try not to get shot, it's about minus thirty degrees. You'll get cold."
"Understood," Thomson responded with a nod.
Keating turned and walked back the way she had came, so Thomson and Emi followed. The more they walked, the more they could see. It was difficult terrain - they had to climb over rocks of metal to follow the Commander. Emi was being careful not to damage her suit, but it was not needed, as due to attrition - Thomson guessed - all the rocks were smooth.
It only took them a few minutes to get to the pillar. By the time they reached there, they could see large towering structures either side. They were golden in colour, and consisted of several cylindrical towers of varying heights. The effect was like a few hundred metre tall organ like they used to use in churches.
"Holy shit," Thomson laughed, "They certainly know how to build."
"Yes," Keating nodded, "If I ever need a musical instrument for a giant I'll let them know."
The pillar stood tall, at least twice the size of Thomson, but looked small around the two large buildings either side of it.
Upon the metal work of the pillar, there were letters engraved in what appeared to be some kind of formal alien writing, judging by the distance between each letter and the height, which were all the same.
"'Walk among these works and know our greatness...'" hummed the Quarian who Keating had told them about.
"Mia," the Commander said, "We've found two more."
"Oh, hello," said the Quarian, being distracted from the pillar for a moment, "I'm Mia. Who are you?"
"I'm Thomson," he told her.
"... And I'm Emi..."
"Hello," Mia said, "Do you happen to be the Thomson who organised the battle on Sur'Kesh?"
"Yes. Why? Were you involved?"
Mia nodded, "I had just been rescued from Noveria by Keating when she got the call and decided it would be a good idea to fly in the middle of it, kill some Dreadnoughts and then talk a Reaper into using manners."
Emi nearly laughed, but it was only very slight, "... Did you make him eat with... What are they called?"
"A knife and fork?" Thomson questioned.
"... Yes, those... They're human manners, aren't they...? ... Or am I wrong?"
Keating shook her head, "I made him say please."
"Keelah..." Mia interrupted, her omni-tool activated on her arm, "It seems there's a structure inside the pillar that's mechanical in nature... It's some sort of technology."
"Do you know how to activate it?" Keating asked.
Mia shook her head, "I was a Geth expert. I have no idea what this is."
"I do. Please stand back," said a distinctly Geth voice.
Mia turned away defensively and raised her shotgun.
"Do not shoot. I am Revenge."
Revenge's Geth unit stepped out from the nickel storm.
It was Keating who raised her weapon next, "You're no Reaper."
"I am in control of this form, as my previous body was destroyed."
"Open it, then," Keating growled, "But I still don't trust you. I have a headache and I'm not in the mood for this. You know I could be sat in my ship watching vids on the Extranet? But no, I'm in this place working with a bloody Reaper."
"I take it you don't like him?" Thomson questioned, "I'm partly responsible for the destruction of his first Reaper body, and he's working with me. The Reapers had their chance to destroy the galaxy and are only protecting themselves."
"Not exactly a noble cause," Keating shrugged, "But I see your point."
They stepped away from the pillar and Revenge raised his hand towards the metal.
A blue pulse of energy struck the pillar and a chunk of metal exploded, leaving a hole in the structure. A light began shining.
Seconds later, a figure appeared. Ghostly blue-white in colour, and shaped like no creature Thomson had ever seen. He felt Emi jump behind him in surprise, so he gave her arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Is this... some sort of AI?" Mia questioned.
Revenge nodded, "It's an emergency interface."
The AI made noises that couldn't be translated, not even to the Quarians with translators in their helmets.
It began switching language. Thomson heard German, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, then finally English.
"Apologies. I was linking this interface to your neural relay."
"... It's in our mind?" Emi questioned, "... Please get out... I don't like it..."
"It just has to check whether you are friend or foe," Revenge explained, "It is partly broken."
"What should we ask it?" asked Keating.
"We need to figure out where they are now," said Thomson, "So maybe we should ask it that?"
Mia nodded, "There was a race here a long time ago. Where are they now?"
The ghostly AI was silent for a moment, "Ploba," it said finally.
"What's Ploba?" Thomson questioned.
"... Really," said Keating, "I give up. You don't know what Ploba is or why it's special?"
Thomson shook his head.
"It's a gas giant with regular structures on the inside," Mia said, "No one knows why they're there or what their function is. Most people think that they're parts of planet-sized supercomputer that is millions of years old, but no one has ever returned from going there. Keelah... now we know the reason."
Keating nodded, "It seems we do. I'll call the Naseby."
There was a slight flickering in the air next to the AI and then a figure appeared. Thomson recognised him instantly, just from his helmet.
"Epsilon? What are you doing here?"
"I prefer the name Stealth. Epsilon was just in the gang. And, I'm working for Revenge. I've just scouted the area. You really should have activated your stealth drive before you landed."
"Why? No one's here," Keating sighed, "Now we have to go to a gas giant. Yay."
"Well actually, that's where you're wrong. Well technically you're right, but there are things here. It seems the Reapers had some troops left from the last cycle of theirs..."
"That is correct," said Revenge, "However, I thought they had died."
"No. They're amassing just inside that structure. They're Husk-things... I've never seen anything like them. There must be a few hundred easily."
"Right then," Keating said cheerfully, "Let's go kill some zombies."