"Signal to find the task force." The Normandy is flying low along the valley, a strange and beautiful area. A large expanse of abrupt islands, dotted with dotted light green seas. The water between the islands is shallow and clear, and the depth of the water is only about the knee of a person. It looks more like a valley flooded by the sea.

"We seem to be in trouble...... Look at those towers, we can't just land. Pilot Joker said that as the ship approached the task force's signal source, Guangda detected a dense fortification ahead. On the top of almost every "island", there are geth anti-aircraft turrets, and the firing lines are crisscrossed like a net! This type of defense tower is made up of geth "Colossus" vehicles converted to anti-aircraft mode, indicating that there will be a large number of geth in front of you...... Joker is trying to keep the Normandy out of these batteries.

"To drop the Greytip Shark, we'll need to connect with the task force before confirming the next step." Shepard thought about it for a moment and decided to go ahead with the original plan.

"OK, I'll drop you into the radar blind spot...... Joker said.

When the Greytip Shark Tank was carrying Shepard and the other three people and was hoisted into the airborne area. Sister Xue, who was standing on the roof of the car, looked back at the boarding deck, but unfortunately, she did not find Annie...... Shepard jumped into the car with some annoyance, closed it and locked the cabin alloy door.

The six-man chariot was loaded with only three people, and the trunk was stuffed with a large number of reconnaissance planes, supplies for rescue, and communication equipment, filling the space in the car.

"Ready?" "Done!" "Start counting down!" All lights in the car are turned off. Only the fluorescence of the virtual image of the bridge could vaguely distinguish the presence of three heavily armed and helmeted personnel in the car. Shepard noted. The person who sat in the driver's seat to communicate with Joker was Kayden, and it used to be Ashley. Today, Ashley was wearing her red and white armor, holding a gun, and sitting silently in the passenger seat, which seemed a little dull.

Before Shepard could think too much, a warning voice came from Cayden's side, "Fix your body and prepare for impact!" ”

The body fixed in the seat feels weightless. The chariot left the Normandy. It was an ultra-low airdrop, and the graytip shark was more like it was smashed. Just three seconds later, the car shook heavily. Then it turned into a slow sinking.

"We fell into the water!" Cayden said loudly, he turned on the monitor outside the car, and the external equipment clearly saw that the Graytip Shark Chariot plunged headlong into the beach at the bottom of the sea, kicking off a large cloud of turbid sewage. After taking a look at the radar. Kayden started the tank. Drive up the shallow seabed. "Let's embark on a fantastic underwater journey for a while...... Five minutes later, I landed on shore. ”

Obviously, Cayden was trying to tell a joke to make everyone feel more relaxed, but Shepard felt a wave of anxiety, and Ashley turned her head directly out the window. Sister Xue realized that she couldn't continue like this, so she could only try to calm her emotions and then focus on the current task.

Then came the boring skirmish, scouting-shooting, and so on and on. The intensity of the battle was rather limited. They encountered four geth in succession, all of which were about six different types of geth combat squads. A defense tower was also solved in the middle and a tidal power station was captured......

With the cooperation of the detector and the chariot, the assault of Shepard's team went smoothly, and like a sharp pineapple knife, they keenly peeled off a layer of fruit on the geth's defenses until they joined the task force.

Because this radar blind spot originally concealed a disabled Serarui infiltration task force, they also attacked from all sides from time to time. This caused the geth to mistake Shepard's assault for the actions of the same team, so it didn't attract more attention from the geth......

*****

As a peculiar and reserved race, Lu Yuan knew far less about the Serrarui than he did about the Asari and the Turi. Because they did not have numerous heavy warships, nor a large army.

The military thinking of the Serarians is "preemptive strike" and "surrender without a fight". They will exclude small but elite forces, infiltrate high-risk areas, gather intelligence and prepare for special operations. In their thinking, ending the life of a dictator with a bullet to stop a war is a successful military measure.

The release of the "phage gene" virus on the Krogan people completely dearmed the entire Krogan race, and removed the threat of the Krogan people to the entire galaxy. This is a very successful operation in the social culture of the Serareans...... When they need to boost the morale of their soldiers, they often use this as an example...... That's why the Krogan hate them so much!

When Shepard met with Task Force Serari with "Ashley" and Cayden, they found that what they saw was not the same as they had previously expected - in Shepard's mind, the situation of the disabled Task Force of Seralis should be heavy casualties, demoralized, undercarried, and in urgent need of rescue......

However, the reality is very different! Task Force Seralis did suffer heavy casualties, but their morale was not low at all. Even though the team is half-crippled, they are still under the command of the captain, and they are still attacking from all sides in an orderly manner, looking for weaknesses in the geth defense circle and actively planning to destroy Salen's base. When Shepard handed them the supplies on the chariot and told the task force that the Normandy was the only reinforcement, the captain of Serarui did not seem surprised.

Perhaps for the Serarians, they recognized two realities from the beginning: first, this is the Realm God Star Domain, so it is impossible to have large-scale reinforcements; Second, Salen's base has broken through the "phage gene" limit and is able to reproduce the Krogan people on a large scale. This has violated the taboo of the Serrarui, so this base must be destroyed at all costs!

From the very beginning, the entire contingent completely ignored the consequences of "all killed".

"You have an infiltration-type ship?! It's the best thing I've ever heard! We have a nuclear bomb that can destroy that base. But the carrier was unfortunately destroyed by the turret, and now you have made up for it. It's great...... Explain that our plan can be implemented smoothly...... "Shepard is helpless, because that's how it sounds. Something that really interests Captain Sellari.

"Nuclear bombs can't be dropped directly from the ship," he said, opening the electronic version, showing Shepard the full picture of the Salen base that the task force had detected through the constant attacks of Guò over time. "Only by placing it in this position by hand can the entire base be completely destroyed! So I'll lead the task force to attack from the front, get the geth's attention, and destroy the anti-aircraft batteries in the area. When we attract the attention of the enemy. You sneak in from behind and open the dome of the base...... Then the Normandy broke through from this side and delivered the nuclear bomb into the base. That's all we planned! ”

"It's a good plan, but if your men attack from the front, they're bound to suffer heavy casualties......"

"We're much tougher than we seem, Commander." Captain Serarius said categorically. "You're right. But we never expected from the beginning how many people would live to complete the task. ”

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can help you with? Shepard said apologetically and admiringly.

"I need one of your men to act with us, and he needs to be familiar with the rules of the Star Alliance's communication to coordinate our actions on both sides...... Of course, it's dangerous! ”

"I can, Commander!" After hearing Captain Serrarui's request, Cayden preemptively spoke. But "Ashley" straightened out her gun directly, then walked over and stood behind the captain. Although she didn't say a word. But the attitude is quite resolute!

"Okay......" tasks on both sides, both head-on to grab the geth's attention. Or sneak into the base in a roundabout way, it looks dangerous! Shepard looked at Ashley, who was already standing on the opposite side, hesitated slightly, and finally nodded, "Ashley. Lieutenant Williams will be with you. ”

She ended up choosing Ashley because Ashley is an elite fighter, but Kayden isn't just a fighter, he's also a tech officer. Considering that the nuclear bomb would need to be planted next, and that there would definitely be a team member who could solve technical problems at any time, Shepard chose to keep Kayden behind.

……

"Take care, Ashley!" As they said goodbye, Shepard and "Ashley" said solemnly. Shepard could feel Ashley's gaze staring deeply at her through the opaque visor, but she didn't say a word......

*****

"Ashley? Why are you here! "When Shepard infiltrated the base with Cayden and opened the dome to guide the Normandy to land. She was surprised to see that it was Ashley pushing a nuclear bomb down the boarding deck! When I boarded, I didn't know what to say.

"It was the vice-captain who informed me that the mission was cancelled, and she ordered me not to leave the dormitory until 3 o'clock, Captain." Ashley replied quickly.

"Damn it!" Shepard roared angrily, and she waved her hand vigorously at the others, "Immediately set up a defense line and plant a nuclear bomb!" Shepard then retreated into a corner and angrily turned on the communication channel with Serarui.

"Ashley! Answer Me ~ Ashley! Sister Xue roared loudly.

"Here's Ah... Miscellaneous... Leigh, we... is holding on to the air defense tower ... Casualty... It's great..."The communication didn't seem to be very good, and the staccato sound of "Ashley" coming from inside the headphones, and the fierce sound of fire.

"Fack! Annie! Ashley is right in front of me, how long do you want to continue to deceive me?! Shepard yelled into the microphone. There was silence on the other side, and after a few seconds, she heard the sound of communication suddenly become calm. "This is Anne, what are the instructions?" …… Captain. ”

After Anne finished speaking, the two ends of the communication suddenly fell silent. In the headphones, apart from the sound of intense shooting, even each other's breathing can be heard clearly......

As a cutting-edge battlefield communication equipment, the communication quality is originally very good. The effect of the intermittent sound of communication was originally a noise deliberately set by Anne for fear that Sister Xue would find out that she was using an "onomatopoeia device" to make Ashley's voice.

“…… Report on the situation, how is it on your end? In the end, Shepard asked in a businesslike tone. She temporarily ignored the previous false orders, non-compliance with orders, and so on.

"I'm sorry." Shepard's heart shook violently when he heard Anne's voice speak calmly. "There are so many geths that my squad is stuck on the air defense tower. I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to the retreat point, Shepard. ”

"No! I...... I command you! Not allowed! …… Joker, find a way to pick her up! ”

"I can't do it! Captain! The anti-aircraft fire is too fierce! Joker, the pilot of the Normandy, said immediately. The anti-aircraft tower that Anne's team had paralyzed allowed the Normandy to sneak in. But to get to the anti-aircraft tower to meet Anne, the ship would need to cross more anti-aircraft batteries, which simply can't be done!

"It will take a few minutes to install a nuclear bomb...... Wait for me! Annie. I'm going to pick you up! Shepard glanced at Cayden and Ashley, who were planting nuclear bombs, and gritted his teeth. This time. She's really starting to feel bad...... The whole person was constantly sweating, and terrible thoughts came to her heart in waves, making her desperate to see Anne.

"Don't ...... Come here! Stay in the ...... ...... over there" Anne's voice in the communication channel. Again it becomes intermittent!

"Damn it!" Shepard looked up and clearly saw several geth troop carriers in the distance, descending in the direction of the air defense tower. Because only when the battleship approached, static electricity on the surface of the hull. can have such a strong impact on the effect of short-range communication.

"Wait for me......" Shepard whispered. Whether Anne heard it or not. She pulled out the electronic copy and quickly searched for the way to the air defense tower. However...... Just as she was anxiously rummaging through the floor plan of the base, from the top of her head, there was a huge vibration engine sound of "woo~"! Shepard looked up in surprise, and then saw two geth troop carriers descend here!

Geth attacked both sides at once!

With the sound of "clanging" metal crashing, when it was less than fifty meters above the ground, the covers on both sides of the troop carrier were turned over, and the geth infantry jumped down from the battleship in the air in rows! A large number of geth charged in the direction of the nuclear bomb. Apparently Salen was aware of the problem, too.

"Commander, we're under attack!" Joker shouted. Machine guns stretched out from the landed Normandy and joined the defensive front. Almost everyone on board picked up their rifles, on the boarding deck, behind the equipment in the culture tank...... Shoot at the geth! In an instant, a large amount of steam smoke from the firefight covered the narrow dome! And the geth infantry was pouring out of the fog in waves, as if endlessly......

"Shepard!" As the airdropped troop carrier withdrew, Anne's voice finally became clear. It's just that the firefight on her side sounded more dense and intense. “…… Leave me alone and do what you should do! Once you've set up your nuclear bomb, retreat! ”

"No~" Shepard resisted weakly.

"Captain, take Cayden to pick up Anne!" At this time, Ashley's voice was inserted into the channel. "Let Joker leave in the boat, the nuclear bomb has been planted, I will stay to protect the nuclear bomb ......"

Everyone understands what Ashley means, and she wants to stay and buy time for everyone! After Shepard has reached Anne and retreated, he will manually detonate a nuclear bomb to blow up the base......

"No!" Anne didn't wait for anyone to speak, and decisively rejected Ashley's proposal on the channel. "No more sacrifices are needed!" Finally, she said to Shepard, "...... Shepard, my ...... Friend...... You know me! ”

There was no doubt about the firmness in Anne's words.

"I see......" Shepard tapped his helmet as tears welled up in his eyes, turning his visor opaque.

"Time the nuclear bomb to detonate in five minutes! All returned to the Normandy...... We retreat! She commanded loudly. When Ashley. When Williams and Kayden wanted to refute, they reluctantly found that Shepard had turned off the team channel and kicked everyone except Annie......

They knew that Shepard would like to say something to Anne at the last moment...... In desperation, Ashley could only set up the explosion of the nuclear bomb, and together with Cayden, she shot and withdrew the Normandy.

"Annie." Shepard said softly in the channel.

"I'm here." Anne was alone behind the bunker of the anti-aircraft tower, firing back. Inside the tower, the rest of the same squad of Serarians had all been killed.

"I love you, Annie, I love you!"

――――――

PS: Let's move on, big chapter. (To be continued......)