Ok one more bit. Sorry for the distinct lack of Miri, but it's the setup for Akuze (which is probably going to be the most important sequence). Still working on the Shepard/Toombs relationship, and this one needs dialogue cleanup for sure.
“Hold tight everyone” said the voice over the intercom. “Lowering kinetic barriers and preparing for re-entry. ETA to landing zone 20 minutes.”
Lieutenant Shepard felt queasy, and it wasn’t because of the turbulence as the SSV Midway entered the atmosphere above Akuze. This was his first mission in command of an entire platoon, and expectations were high… both his superiors’ and his own. He finished his final gear check, and looked over at the assembled Marines.
Some, like Sergeants Wayne and Nolan, were veterans of the Blitz. Others had experience as garrison troops, and had seen action driving off pirate and slaver attacks. Freeman and Chung had been part of the task group that responded to the attack on Mindoir years ago, and had made the Batarians pay dearly for their brutality. Many were green, fresh out of basic or only a few months into their first tour. Serviceman Casey was particularly nervous, having checked his rifle’s heat sink at least seven times in the past five minutes.
“You ready to go, Shepard?”
Shepard turned to face his friend. “That’s Lieutenant to you, Corporal Toombs,” he said with a laugh.
“Sir yes sir!” Toombs deadpanned. “Can’t imagine why you’re nervous sir, if you perform half as well as I heard you did in officer school we’ll kick the asses of whatever’s down there to Omega and back. Well, maybe just to Omega, because you’ll owe me a drink in that fabulous club they have.”
Shepard chuckled. “When did you become an optimist, Alan?”
“When I was assigned to your platoon, sir.”
“Oh, no pressure, Corporal” Shepard said. “Time for the final briefing. Can you check on your squad? I think Casey is going to break his rifle if he removes that heat sink one more time.”
“Yes sir!” Toombs replied. “Knock’em dead, sir. Preferably them and not us.”
Shepard rolled his eyes in mock disgust. Alan hasn’t changed a bit, he thought. He took a deep breath, and then addressed his men.
“Alright men, listen up. As you know, our outpost on Akuze went silent yesterday. Our orders are to go in and find out what happened. Our surveillance stations in the area have picked up no space traffic for the past week, but we’re not sure exactly what we’re going to find on the surface. There's an energy signature that's blocking our scans."
“Our first priority is to find and assist any survivors. Our secondary objective is to assess the state of the outpost and determine what happened, if we can. The New Delhi is en route, but they’re two days out. Until they arrive, we’re the only Alliance forces in the area. Stay alert, watch your six, and let’s get our people out of there.”
One more sneak: UNC: Dead Scientists ain't gonna have the Paragon ending.