Hey and hello everyone. I'll be honest when I say this isn't my first story but will say admittedly it's been a while. Last time I updated any story was about a year ago on a different account and writer's block has been what it is and I've simply decided to start anew, if you will. Admittedly updates may be a bit scarce between work and what will happen when school starts again, on top of aforementioned writer's block, but I will try my best with it.
Truthfully, not sure what else to say other than to disclaim I don't either of these wonderful works nor seek to gain any financial benefit from them and that I hope you all enjoy. Please feel free to R&R and don't be afraid to leave an criticisms, will only serve to better the story.
A deep breath in, and out. His hands are clenched tightly and his eyes are fastened shut but another breath releases the tension in his muscles. In, and out. The gentle sound of running water around his spot of meditation further soothes his busy mind as he tries to empty it, make it one with the peace of the room. Given recent events however it was not an easy task. It never was easy.
Unable to release his negative energy the quick, the simple way, the Tenno clad in his Oberon unit rose from his knees without even the creak of his suit. Standing straight, he folded his hands together and took another deep breath, in, and out. Then he began to meditate, his arms moving in slow and graceful movements around him, shifting the balance between his feet as he pushed and pulled his energies alongside it. These negative thoughts, the bad energies had to be done away with lest they cloud his mind and judgement in the future and cause more irreversible harm. It's what the system deserved, what his clan deserved.
Saryn stood in the doorway of the zen garden, an arm raised as she leaned against the circular frame and watched Oberon silently. The sight hit her harder than the reason he had come here, why she had come here. The sound of footsteps caught her ears and Saryn turned to see Valkyr walking up, slowing her pace as she looked between Saryn and the Oberon unit meditating in their Juno water garden.
The younger warframe's posture dropped and she raised a hand as though to question if something was the matter, but it only took a small fall of the Saryn's helmet for her to realize and she too averted her gaze a bit before the both of them looked to the middle of the room again. Their clan, clan Conscious Umbra had never been a large one, having never gone beyond 15 members, but each was devoted and the smaller numbers meant everyone was close. However none were more devoted than the Oberon before them, their Archon, their leader who had founded it and recruited everyone himself and built the dojo from the bottom up practically on his own. He was strong, in body, will, and mind, but the loss of a fellow member of their clan hit no one harder than it hit him even if he was not on the mission where the casualty took place. Perhaps especially then.
And each loss hit harder and harder every time as their numbers were now growing so threateningly small, to the point the three that stood within the dojo now were all that was left. Saryn, who ranked as Seraphim just under the Archon himself, had been at her leader's side almost since the beginning. She had not been around when the clan was founded, the Dojo built and so on, but she had been the first recruited, the first to bare witness to the fruits of devotion of the Tenno before her now and was always there for him to support him even if she could not always find the words herself.
Valkyr meanwhile had been around for some time herself and was a Vanguard in the ranks of the clan, but still she had not been around long enough to know what it meant to walk in on their leader meditating in such a fashion. Certainly he meditated in the gardens but the water garden was never used by him outside of times when he really just needed the space and peace. That and he always used the same motions when he was mourning or at least trying to balance his energies at the news of the death of another clan member. His arms moved as though he was pushing and pulling in the air around him, moved slowly as he harnessed his emotions. Indeed, when Valkyr had joined there had only been five other members of the clan and while she had witnessed the death of their other clan member, a Volt she had grown close to, she had released her emotions...in her own way.
Being young and having gone through terrible, most likely traumatic experimentation by the Corpus, Saryn could hardly blame Valkyr for the rampage she went on considering how well she could control herself in most other situations. Even still though, the frame hysterical was a terrifying sight and Saryn was glad at the very least this time she seemed more somber at the news rather than filled with rage.
A few more minutes passed and at long last Oberon slowly finished his motions, bringing his arms in to fold his hands together and release another long breath, feeling the heat of his emotions escape on the wind from his mouth and with that he went down to one knee, one fist in the dirt and the other resting upon his knee. He prayed for Lotus' blessing, to keep them safe, to keep them strong, that soon they may be prosperous in recruiting more Tenno to keep them safe and find home and family in their fellowship. With that, Oberon sat a bit straighter and assumed the more standard kneeling position of meditation. Sure he dealt away with the negative emotions of the loss of their friends and those close enough to be family, but he never forgot them, their faces, their skills, their personalities, even of those who chose not to speak.
"True immortality is only ever achieved in death" was the saying and he wanted to make sure that even if a hundred or more fell he would never forget any of them and that was usually the purpose of his particular style used when he meditated on their deaths. Drawing in the memories and pushing away bad energies, harnessing everything and expelling anything which may prove to be a burden.
With a few final moments of peaceful clarity, Oberon took one more deep breath, in...and out before he opened his eyes and looked at the universe once more forever changed. Standing without a sound, he looked to the doorway to see Saryn and Valkyr standing there, the former pushing off the doorway and the latter taking a few meek steps forward to better see if he was alright. With a small bow of his head to signify he was, Valkyr seemed to relax a little and Saryn gave a bow of her head in return. Oberon walked back over to them and stopped in front of Valkyr, who wrung her hands and appeared hesitant to meet his gaze.
He placed a hand upon her shoulder and she looked up at him, smiling beneath his faceless helm and giving a reassuring tip of his head, to which she responded by wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. The action didn't surprise him as much as he may have thought, the frame not being as controlled with her emotions at times as most other Tenno tended to be but he could only imagine that given the circumstances it was much harder for her to reign in such things. As it was, he slowly shifted one of his arms around her back and held her in turn for several seconds until she let go, Saryn watching silently but with approval. It was good to see the other Tenno was at least getting her emotions out in some fashion that was also a tad...less hostile.
When at last the younger frame slowly pulled away, gaze lingering away still, Oberon replaced his hand on her shoulder until she looked at him and once more he nodded and patted it in a gentle gesture of support and comradery before he began to walk again. Passing Saryn, he felt something grab the fingers of his hand gently and glanced back expecting to see Valkyr again but instead the fingers of Saryn were wrapped around his own and he looked up to see her watching him quietly. He could sense the sad look she must have had upon her face but he returned it by giving her some of his own positive energy with a small smile, his fingers gripping hers just a bit tighter.
Her head fell a little and he knew what she was thinking but he shifted his grip to take all the fingers of her hand and squeezed them reassuringly, causing her gaze to return to him. Oberon gave a low bow of his head before at last Saryn nodded and he felt she had cheered up some, the message having passed between them silently as they were so good at doing. With one last reassuring squeeze, Oberon released Sayrn's hand and though she caught his ring finger and pinky for a moment to send her own reassurance to him, she did not keep him more than an instant. He nodded his gratitude and continued, leaving Saryn to comfort Valkyr as they too made to move to another room to meditate for a while.
They were not lost to the Abyss just yet for though only three strong they were still all very skilled and he knew they had lasted this long in a system as deadly as this one. He'd recently used some of his standing with the Arbiters of Hexis to procure a few void keys for as dangerous as the places were the Orokin towers could yield amazingly powerful prizes and if he got lucky he might just be able to get the receiver he required to finish a weapon he had been trying for quite some time to procure. Time would tell if their seeds would one day bear fruit but he was patient and knew they had the will to keep on. Above all though he had hope. Hope strong enough to quell the lingering doubt and anxiousness in the back of his heart and mind. He was not a fool to ignore its presence, but their options were limited and he would do all in his power to ensure the safety and well-being of his clan members.
With a pull of a trigger a bolt flew from the barrel of his Attica and pierced the faceplate of a corrupted heavy gunner and sent it toppling back and to the ground. Oberon's attention was directed at several different places: that which was in front of him, around him, what was upon his minimap, the vitals of his teammates, and the condition of the cryopods they were defending. For the average non-Tenno such a task would likely be extremely difficult, but to him it was simple, seamlessly switching his attention to lay a trail of whipping radiation upon the ground around the cryopod when he saw damage come its way, spinning and fire bolts into the crowd of corrupted beings assaulting their position.
He heard the familiar scream of rage from Valkyr and glanced over to see her mercilessly tearing into a massive group of the golden beings with claws of pure energy, each motion calculated and deadly, felling more and more beings with ease as she tore through them like a hot knife through butter. Knowing that area would be dealt with he pulled his arm back and smote a flying support drone, the machine exploding and sendding bolts of radiation bouncing through the air to pierce right through what unfortunate souls they ran into.
Seeing Saryn taking same heavy hits he glanced over to see three corrupted heavy gunners firing at the Tenno only for her to slide between them and leave a molt that drew their attention before they and every unit around them melted into paste with naught but the wave of the frame's arms. Saryn turned and ran back to their position, catching Oberon's gaze and nodding before she jumped and slammed her dual kama prime axes into a fusion MOA that had gotten into firing range of the pods. Turning his attention back toward the main entrance hall, Oberon saw the size of the enemies' final push pouring down the stairs and through the revolving door. With a deep breath he sprinted forward, dodging what shots he could and letting his shields take the brunt of what did manage to hit him before he slid right into the middle of the group, standing to raise a hand and lift every unit off the ground along with it with nary an effort.
Only an instant passed as he did not bother to take in the power behind the feat before he slammed every one of his foes into the solid floor hard as he could muster, hearing bones and metal crunch with the force of the impact. He stood and shifted his gaze around to survey his work and release a breath before he walked around and fired his Attica into those that made the motions to get up, eventually heading back when his grisly work was finished. Valkyr was breathing heavily as she stood hunched over, looking around for things to tear into whilst Sayrn drew her Daiku and pointed it at a corrupted Grineer that peered up from behind cover, whom was soon pinned to the wall behind it by the arrow embedded in its face.
The younger Tenno finally calmed down and dispelled her claws, withdrawing her Boltor from her back to jog back over to the pods, Sayrn walking back as well as Lotus' voice chimed over their comms. "Very impressive Tenno, you held them all back. Time to get out of here," Oberon watched as the pods shimmered before disappearing in a blink of light. With a nod to his clan mates they all ran to extraction without any resistance and climbed into their Lisets, all of them departing together to make their way out.
Standing in the front of the ship, Oberon checked on his rewards and was pleased to see he got exactly what he had required whilst his landing craft made its way to his Orbiter some distance away from the tower. Now it was only a matter of time until he procured the weapon he'd been striving after and he felt a certain sense of anticipation in that regard. In the meantime he released a sigh and knelt down at his navigation module, pulling up and pushing away holographic displays to plot an exit vector from the Void for when they docked at their Orbiters. However as he beginning to see the shapes of the Orbiters growing in the distance he spotted Saryn's ship trailing behind, noticing something was off about its motions as it began to pitch and veer.
"Operator," his cephalon, Rubic, suddenly sounded with a calm voice, "it would appear Tenno Seraphim Saryn is reporting her Void key is malfunctioning and causing technical difficulties with her Liset." His brows furrowed and he made to send a message to Valkyr when he noticed her Liset suddenly dip to the right and try to correct its course only to drift off in the other direction. His heart began to pound in his chest. They were approaching the Orbiters fast and if they did not correct their course soon they could crash into the large ships and who knew how much damage it'd cause...if they survived.
"Tenno Vanguard Valkyr reports similar issues, I would recommend tryin-zzz-to-zzzz-Operator-zzzz…" Oberon looked up as the lights flickered and his Liset began to rattle and veer off course. "You must-zzz-able the Key-zzz," understanding what the cephalon was attempting to tell him, he quickly stood and began to run to the back compartment only to lose his balance and get thrown into his codex terminal as the ship lurched. Ignoring the disorientation he felt he looked up to see his Void Key flashing brightly and quickly tried to stand when his cephalon sounded again.
"Operator! Brace!" Oberon looked out and caught a glimpse out at the space ahead of them, seeing the Void begin to distort and twist around before he heard cracking. Silence filled his world as he slowly turned to the Key and saw cracks forming along it. With one last effort to try and save them, he scrambled up and reached for it whilst the jump drive whined and prepared for an emergency jump out of the Void, only for the Key to explode in a shimmering gold light and send him flying.
Suddenly his world was black and for but a moment all he could he hear was his breathing. In...and out. That too soon faded as he drifted away.
"You hear that, precious? We're going to be friends. You, me, and every embarrassing little secret." Jack made no attempt to hide her disdain for Miranda as her voice dripped with pleased sarcasm that only spelled out trouble for the coming days. "I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic," she said as she turned to leave, the door opening automatically for the convict, "Keep your people off me. Better that way."
As she walked out Shepard caught Miranda's glance before watching the woman shake her head in disappointment and take her own leave. John rubbed the back of his neck and let out a deep sigh at the way everything went down but he wasn't exactly Cerberus' number one fan and it was a good way to get off on a good foot with someone otherwise not the most trusting of him. Given how powerful that someone was he certainly wanted to be on her good side too. He supposed he should be lucky everything had gone so well up to this point. Though Okeer had been a loss they had still managed to procure his 'legacy' in the form of his experimental krogan who chose to go by the name of Grunt.
Though young in most senses of the word, Grunt was still quite intelligent and quite the force to be reckoned with on the field. Though at first he seemed to present himself as possibly stand-off-ish and troublesome he actually listened to his orders obediently during a mission and proved himself quite the useful ally when it really came down to it. He thought it was pretty safe to say it surprised everyone on the Normandy, Shepard perhaps mostly so given how their initial...introduction went but first impressions were key so the saying went and he guessed Grunt wasn't an exception to the rule. Which was certainly a blessing no doubt.
With a deep sigh Shepard rolled his shoulder and made his own exit from the briefing room, cutting through the armory to get to the CIC and giving a mutual nod to Jacob as he did so. To say the Commander was conflicted with his stance on Cerberus was an obvious statement to anyone who'd known him. From what he experienced in the past he knew what Cerberus was capable of and what they did and he by no means forgot about that no matter how nice the Illusive man played. With that in mind though much of the crew had the best intentions and were overall good people who also had almost nothing but praise to give for the organization.
Honeyed words could give great sway over good people though, Shepard of all people knew full well, even to the point they'd recruited some of his old crew believing that Cerberus had nothing but good intentions. True as that may be from the outside looking in or just looking at Shepard's goal, but he had intuition enough to stay wary and not let the Illusive Man's seeming good nature get to him. Maybe he had all the right intentions at heart and was willing to make sacrifices where no others would, but that didn't excuse his methods he went about making those sacrifices.
"Joker, plot a course to the Omega Nebula, we have some guests to pick up."
"Aye, aye Captain, heading for the Mass Relay now. Don't suppose they're even more cutthroat than what we've already got are they?"
Shepard chuckled as he made his way to the elevator, maybe he'd stop and give Jack a visit after he finished filing his report in his private quarters, see what she was making of what he'd given her access to, "Who knows, genetically modified Krogan and super biotic criminals is a pretty tough bar to match and surpass."
"Guess we'll find out if you come back with a missing arm. Think you can ask Cerberus for a refund if you do?"
Shepard shook his head with a smile on his face, stepping into the elevator and pressing the holographic display to take him to his cabin. The soft hum of the elevator helped him relax a bit, releasing a deep sigh to help the process further before the doors finally opened and let him out to his private quarters; the music he had set kicking on quietly before progressively getting a tad louder. The Commander fell back into his chair and leaned back, closing his eyes and just letting tension slip away in the oddly comfortable chair. "I still think they turned this thing more into a cruise liner," he muttered to himself, deciding to be quietly content that at least the crew was comfortable as he returned to a normal sitting position and flicked his arms out to the side, placing his hands on his private terminal to begin his report.
...
He wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, being a fast typer and often getting caught up in the memory whilst he did so tended to cause time to become murky and get away from him. On the bright side he'd gotten most of the report done and after he had rubbed his eyes with a hand he leaned back in his chair a bit to glance at his clock on his nightstand. Only about 20 minutes give or take, "Huh, would have thought it'd been a bit longer than that," he mumbled but internally shrugged and made to finish his report when a blinking green light appeared and caught his attention. Incoming message...a quick check proved it had been an encrypted one from the Illusive Man so kindly decrypted by EDI already.
A brow was raised in slight suspicion, it wasn't often the Illusive Man sent him a message personally, and to think he hadn't even finished his report. Deciding it best to quell what wariness he had at least the moment he decided to read the message, eyes scanning over the words and his posture changing only slightly the further he got into the message. As soon as he finished reading he had to think over what he'd been told before pressing a button to get in contact with Joker, "Joker there's been a slight change of plans. Set course for Aganju, there's something we need to check out."
"Uh, alright boss, whatever you say. More secret Cerberus business?"
"Something like that, thanks," he closed the connection and sat back a bit in his chair with a hand positioned on his chin thoughtfully. The gist of the message was informing him that an energy disturbance had been detected over Aganju but it had been something unlike anything ever reported. Couldn't be a weapon with the distance away from the planet and it had only appeared for a reported 3.7 seconds before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. The Illusive Man had informed him of the possibility it was the byproduct of an FTL jump and as Shepard was the closest agent in the area it only made sense for him to check it.
The last sentence had been, "Expect anything" and he knew what the shady man meant by that: it could be Collectors or, worse yet, Reapers. After all, they had technology unlike anything they'd seen to date, anything was possible and thus he had to anticipate such. This could call for some serious artillery and nothing personal against Jacob or Miranda, but he'd seen what Grunt and Jack were capable of and wasted little time hitting the PA to inform them to come to the armory. At least they were on the same level, hopefully they didn't kill one another in the elevator but he had faith.
Making sure he took advantage of the elevator still being on his floor, he stepped into it and sent it down a floor just as he saw the call light for level four brighten. Least they were hasty. Whilst he outfitted himself with armor and prepped his weapons, Grunt and Jack strode in, the latter with a tight frown.
"Barely even got the chance to open any of the documents, what's the rush Commander Crewcut?" Shepard looked up with a raised brow as he shrugged his shoulder pad on, though she only rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and shifted her weight onto one leg, waiting impatiently for an answer whilst Grunt simply made for his weapons.
"We got a job to do is what, one which might involve the very reason I just picked you up in the first place." He elaborated before she could retort, "An unfamiliar energy reading was detected just near the third planet of the system and since we're so close we're being sent in to investigate." With a roll of his shoulder he fitted the other pad into place and returned his attention to her, "As it's fair to say we can expect anything, including the Collectors...or Reapers," the earned a raised brow from the convict, "I'm gonna need as much firepower as I can get and I've seen what you two can do. Grunt, toss me that would you? The one on the far right."
The Krogan raised a brow and turned to the table behind him where Shepard kept his collection of heavy weapons, pointing a thumb to large yellow beast on the end with the radiation hazard symbol stamped on the side. When the Commander gave a tip of his head Grunt smiled and chuckled slowly, "Heh heh heh, you really mean business this time huh?" he asked tossing the weapon to Shepard.
John caught it in his arms and sighed, "When you've seen what a Reaper can do, it's better safe than sorry," he stated stuffing the weapon onto his back and feeling it lock into place. He glanced to Jack as he picked up his Avenger assault rifle, "Well are you gonna get ready? Could always take the cheerleader instead," he folded his rifle and placed it on the small of his back before he picked up an M27 scimitar and offered it to her with a smile.
The heavily tattooed woman stared at him impassively for a moment before she snatched up the shotgun, "Alright Shepard, I'll play your game. Don't expect me to save your ass if you get into a pinch though."
"That's why I got this," Shepard retorted with a grin and pointed over his shoulder at the Cain.
"Hah! Shepard can handle himself in a fight; saw him punch out a turian and then knock out a Ymir mech on that station we picked you up on with only his pistol," Grunt offered, pulling the bolt back on his claymore. Shepard merely gave a shrug in his defense whilst he gathered the rest of his arsenal, Jack waiting placidly after she snatched a carnifex pistol off one of the tables.
Finally he slipped his helmet on and looked his team over before he gave a nod of approval, "Alright, let's get to the hangar and get ready to find out whatever is waiting for us by that planet."
Everything was dark, disorienting-fuzzy, like static. Everything hurt but pain was one thing she had tolerance for and at the very least it told her she was alive.
Slowly Valkyr tried to open her eyes, the darkness around receding while her vision shifted in and out of focus, her mind trying to make sense of where she was. Even though her mind was still spinning and ears still ringing the Tenno still tried to get up, pushing up and slowly peeling herself off the metal floor. Her muscles ached and there was a prickling pins and needles feeling on the tips of her fingers but she managed to get her legs under herself. Blinking repeatedly to clear her vision, Valkyr held herself up on all fours and hung her head between her arms before taking in a deep breath and sitting back on her haunches, having to catch herself as she almost tipped over to one side.
She really needed to collect herself, her balance, her energies were just all off. Nothing felt...right but first she had to realign herself before she could do anything and it took a few more seconds of deep breathing and the piece together of her senses before she at last could open her eyes without feeling like she might fall over, even if the buzzing in her ears persisted.
The first thing she noticed as she looked around her surroundings was that she was still in her Liset, near the bottom of the ramp facing her conclave console, everything was deactivated. Confused, she tried to recall everything that happened before she had blacked out when the memory came flooding back to her. Saryn's ship drifting off course, her own ship lurching and when her cephalon tried to correct their course Valkyr had been thrown forward from her kneeling position. She'd been told about a problem with her void key and went to see what was wrong when a gold flash had blinded her and she had tumbled back down the shallow ramp as her ship had jerked.
What happened after she couldn't recall but with a furrowed brow she stood and further assessed her surroundings, looking around before her eyes fell on the empty spot where the void key had been but something about it was...off. Walking over to the slot carefully she examined the slot more closely, noting it was covered in soot and seemed partially melted. That certainly didn't bode well.
She realized suddenly that she hadn't heard her cephalon yet and looked up, sure the ship was powered off but certainly the AI would have tried to keep itself active...unless the situation had been so dire it had to expend as much power as it could from non-essential systems to keep life support going. Including keeping itself powered. Valkyr frowned, she knew that cephalons would do all they could to ensure their Tenno survived if they could control the situation but she didn't know they'd go to such lengths if necessary.
The Liset gave a sudden lurch and while it wasn't a strong one it was enough for Valkyr to hold her hands out to balance herself out for a moment. Suspecting the situation might be worse than she had initially thought, she turned herself around and looked out at and truly studied the sight before her. A planet, she was slowly drifting toward the planet and the small lurch must have been her getting caught in its gravitational pull. What caused her the greatest worry was that she had been to every planet and early every moon in the Origin system but none of them, none of them looked like this. There was no doubt a cause for concern but not as much as one of when she realized just how quickly her ship was being pulled in. The Tenno slowly began to back up before turning and running to the back ramp, quickly sliding up to the control panel fit onto a small ledge to begin tampering with the wiring.
Valkyr's hands worked frantically as she tried fixing as many systems as she could, recognizing a great deal but not enough to find the engines and the numb prickling feeling in her fingertips felt as though it was spreading, making it further difficult. A familiar static buzz activated behind her and she could hear voices but it was too garbled and she was far too busy to make out the words. Besides, the device always just intercepted a lot of junk traffic and there was no way to know if it was important enough for her to redirect her attention so she paid it no mind.
Just as she thought she was on the right course to fixing the power, a sudden lurch of the ship sent her off balance and right onto her rear. Confused as the power was still off, Valkyr swiftly turned and gazed back around to see a shadow had been cast over her Liset and as far as she could tell it certainly wasn't the shadow of the planet. The Tenno glanced to the panel before slowly making her way toward the viewing area to see she was slowly approaching the underside of another ship, or rather she was being pulled in by it. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she studied the ship; it was much smaller than most Grineer and Corpus ships that she had seen and leaned more toward the latter in terms of design but even she could tell the differences were much too stark for it to clearly be one or the other.
Between everything she had seen in the past few minutes and what her instincts told her, all her internal alarms were going off and left her with the feeling something was very awry here. However before she could act further her communications interceptor buzzed to life again and she was surprised to hear the old english language of ancient Earth being spoken; a man by the sounds of it. "Foreign object has been caught and we're hauling it in now. Still no signs of a power output like what we picked up on the sensors but it seems like it could be an escape pod of some sort. Let the Shadow Broker know we'll scan it just like he asked before cracking it on his word, over."
Shadow Broker? That didn't ring any bells in her head, and just as she was about to further contemplate the matter a reply to the first voice came on and it truly took her off guard. The second voice was deep and throaty and every word spoken almost seemed to be barked out in a completely foreign tongue even to her. However it did not say much before it disappeared.
Valkyr wasn't liking this, not one bit, and she wasted no time running back to the ramp to return to her work on the panel even faster than she had before but no matter how many modules she adjusted, fixed, replaced, it wasn't fast enough before she could tell her own ship had been engulfed by the one that had found her and her Liset shifted as it was locked into place. Now she was feeling her anxiety, her anger begin to grow, though she tried to quell it and made her way to the front of the ship as fast as she could; there was still one thing left for her to try. She climbed into the ship's rotary, hitting a switch that propelled it without the need for power in case of an emergency and pulled herself off when she saw a metal deck below her.
The Tenno dropped and landed gracefully without a sound, quickly pulling her Boltor off her back and surveying her surroundings to find she was in a cargo bay of some sort, large crates stacked around on either side of the closed bay doors she was crouched upon. There was a sudden static like burst across her vision that caused her to shake her head, though by that point it was already gone. Something must have been wrong, the static-like buzz in her ear and at her fingertips still hadn't gone away, it made her limbs feel heavier and made it more difficult to focus. She didn't get much time to think on her plight further as a door opened on the far side of the room and she made haste to get out of sight, sprinting to the side of the room and sliding behind a set of crates.
Distant voices reached her ears but they were almost all completely foreign, only catching bits of English every now and again. Judging from the voices though she predicted at least four individuals and one small peak around the corner of the crate revealed about eight, all wearing white and red armor and most of them almost seemed to be...different species altogether. Three stood at the very front of her Liset holding out their arms and scanning her ship with what looked like a holographic gauntlet of some sort while the rest stood around holding weapons of designs she'd never seen before.
So caught up in studying what she was seeing along with the annoying prickle in her ear that the sound of footsteps on metal caught her attention all too late and in an instant she spun to see someone round the corner, glance at her and then double take to raise their weapon and begin shouting in a language she did not understand. The all too familiar sound of running boots began to close in as the rest of the group started to close in on her location. Valkyr slowly lifted her Boltor to her back and let the magnet strip catch it, hearing the sounds of weapons raising behind her and she didn't need to even glance around to know she had all the rest of the group there surrounding her.
She lowered her hands to her side and spread her fingers, the sharp-ended digits moving restlessly as she felt a fear well inside her, a fear that twisted into a deep seething anger as so often it did. She would not become another test subject and all it took was a heavy hand on her her shoulder for a raging scream to escape her as her vision turned red and claws of pure energy sprung forth to begin their slaughter.
Shepard stood waiting patiently on the cargo deck of the Normandy, though the same could not fully be said for his companions. Jack was sitting tapping her boot on the floor, likely anxious to get the mission done with quickly so she could go back to reading the documents she had been given access to while Grunt would pace, check his weapons, crack his knuckles, roll his shoulders, and so on repeatedly, even if not always in the same order.
"Relax guys, we're just gonna be in and out as fast as we can, could be nothing for all we know," he assured them, only getting a scoff from Jack while Grunt rolled his neck.
"I'm more concerned with when we get into the fight, my trigger finger is just itching to shoot something."
"No one said we'll be getting into a fight, Grunt."
It was the Krogan's turn to scoff, "Around you Shepard? Don't make me laugh." The Commander gave a resigned sigh and said nothing; he certainly had a point to a certain degree, all things considered.
"Commander Shepard," EDI's voice sounded into his ear via his comm.
"What is it EDI?"
"It would appear there is a cargo vessel not far from where the energy signature was located. We have attempted to raise them over comms but I haven't received anything in return. It is possible that they detected the energy signature and picked up whatever caused it but the possibilities remain that something could be jamming their communications or worse…" She didn't need to explain for Shepard to get what she was implying and cause a form to frown under his helmet.
"Alright EDI, what do you suggest we do? Can we board them from an airlock?"
"I will continue attempting to raise them over communications but in the mean time yes, I can hack into an airlock for you and your team so you explore what is the cause for this particular disturbance."
He nodded, "Good, if you can get ahold of them before we board maybe we can find out what's going on or see if they know anything about our strange energy reading."
"Will do Commander."
With that Shepard turned to his squad members, both of them having heard the conversation and knew they had to head up to the CIC to enter their own airlock and get ready. Jack let out a heavy and frustrated sigh but gave no comment as the three of them made their way over to the elevator and moved to the airlock when the doors opened again. Shepard's squadmates stood by the doorway while Shepard continued forward to the cockpit where Joker sat, EDI appearing beside the pilot, "Any luck?"
"Not yet Commander, though I will admit I'm getting that weird Reaper heebee jeebee vibe I used to get around all those derelicts we found with husks and whatever else in them," Joker offered as he slowly sidled them in beside the cargo ship.
"I know what you mean, the pattern is all there...Alright, we'll get ready to head in. Let's find out what kinda mess we have in store for ourselves this time. After we enter close the hatch and pull away, just in case."
"You got it Commander, initiating connection now."
Shepard nodded and walked back to the airlock, the first set of doors opening to let the trio into the chamber, closing and locking behind Grunt who was the last to enter. They checked took out and checked their weapons one last time, "Everyone ready?" Shepard asked as the locking mechanisms connected to the ship and the lock began to unwind. When he got an enthusiastic nod from Grunt and an acknowledging tip of the head from Jack, Shepard gave one of his own, "Alright, no shooting till we're certain there's a threat," the airlock hissed open and the Commander turned with his rifle at the ready, "Move out."
They hadn't been on the ship long before things got troublesome and truly amiss. They'd only gone down two corridors when they found the first of the bodies, an asari, a human, and a salarian, all torn to pieces to the point even Jack cringed a bit and commented on the brutality of it. What stood out to Shepard though was that that none of the three were wearing what you'd expect from a normal cargo crew, that being fairly heavy duty armor and he for one didn't recognize the make or color association. When he pointed it out it was offered back by Grunt that it could have been a security team and while Shepard had accepted that as a possibility, something still didn't feel right.
Continuing through the ship every scene they came across was the same, chaotic slaughter and all were wearing that same red and white armor as the first bodies. It wasn't long before Shepard paid attention to the weapons that were being used and he realized just how much force these people were packing.
"I don't think these were security, too well equipped...could be a merc group…"
That raised a brow from Jack and a quick glance to Grunt showed he didn't know what to make of it either. "Yeah? Doesn't seem like they were a very good one. Money to buy fancy shit doesn't mean the people know how to use it."
Shepard frowned and crouched beside another of the bodies, a human male not as gruesomely mauled as the rest. Though his face had been slashed deep by some sort of four pronged weapon he was at least in one piece for the most part... "It doesn't make sense…" he muttered and thought about all the scenes they'd stumbled upon up to this point.
When he simply sat there for several seconds without making a peep Jack began to get impatient, "Ya gonna leave us in the dark here, Commander?"
"Need to know what you've found if it is anything, Shepard," Grunt pitched in.
The Commander rubbed the chin of his helmet and tapped his knee, "These guys are too well equipped to be a run of the mill mercenary group. They gotta have a lot of resources yet I don't recognize what group they could possibly be affiliated with. Given you at least haven't said anything, Jack, I can only assume it's not some new organization that's popped up in my absence...And then there's what killed them…" he trailed off and studied the bodies around him again.
"What do you think it is?" that one from Grunt.
"Hm…" Shepard looked back to the man in front of him, "Given the looks of the wounds and the fact there isn't as much blood as you might expect from something so grisly, I'd almost say it was an energy weapon, but the marks themselves…" He made to trace the wound when something caught his eye, turning his hand and spreading his fingers to see they matched almost perfectly. "What could have possibly done that…?"
It took him but a second longer before he activated his comm to see if it worked, "EDI, it's Shepard, can you hear me?" here was the test if something was jamming the signal or if it was something else entirely.
His answer arrived in but a second, "Loud and clear, Commander."
"Listen, we have a few bodies here we can't seem to identify. We thought it could be a security force but there's too many of them here and they're too well equip for it to be just that. Has there been any new large mercenary organizations that popped up while I was...out of action?" he still wasn't quite used to the thought of having been dead, or at least detailing it in conversation, but it was behind him now.
"None within the Cerberus database that haven't already been put down by the other organizations or would be in this sector."
Shit. Well that ruled that out. So who the hell were these people? "I'm sending you a scan with my omni-tool now, think you can at least see if they got something on it?"
"Checking," a pause, "Shepard, these people are affiliated with the Shadow Broker," that got a frown from everyone. "Their armor matches those most often running missions for them directly according to recent reports from Cerberus run-ins with their agents."
Shepard had to digest that for a bit. It was obvious to reason why the Shadow Broker would be interested in the disturbance, but the question remained as to how they responded to it so quickly unless they themselves were passing through. Too many questions were being raised this mission and not enough of them were being answered for Shepard's liking. It felt too much like a coincidence... "Thanks EDI, seems like we have some more exploring to do. I'll update when we've made some progress."
"Roger, Commander."
"Shadow Broker, huh?" Jack piped up, "Great, shit just keeps getting better," she still had the same ever-unimpressed look on her face and if anything she seemed a tad more annoyed than before.
"Sure would seem that way. Come on, we should be getting close to the cargo bay, maybe we'll get some answers-" Shepard stopped as the distant sounds of shouts and gunfire echoed down the corridor before it was all rather abruptly cut off. It only took a second for them to raise their weapons and stand in place, as though waiting for their adversary to round the corner. When a moment had passed Shepard spoke up, "Guess we've had a change in plans. Let's move out team."
"Yeah, just follow the screams," Jack added idly, earning a chortle from Grunt as they began down the hallway.
Valkyr cut down what she expected to be the last of her attackers and stood breathing heavily, claws at the ready as she surveyed the bridge, searching for anyone to so much as look at her the wrong way but there didn't seem to be anyone left. Her energy had been slowly draining as she had carried out her hysteric frenzy but now as she calmed down she took a deep breath and slumped, the red in her vision clearing and her claws of pure energy dissipating.
The Tenno didn't look back to study her work and made for a console, stumbling slightly as the numb sensation had spread, her body feeling heavier. All that said she knew that the aliens with these humans were using foreign languages and it'd help to at least try to find something so she might better comprehend everything she could, gather information, try to find out where she was and what was going on. When she got to the console she looked around at the strange design and foreign markings, fingers itching to find what might be the right set of buttons to do what she needed.
She was Tenno, not only skilled in battle prowess but also nigh unrivaled when it came to intelligence and it took little time for her to work out the similarities between the make of this console and what Corpus and Grineer had on their ships. It was more similar to the latter and so she tried taking guesses at a few commands but nothing seemed to work. That's when she remembered some of the armed crew she had been fighting had strange interfaces that would appear on their forearms and looking back at the few she had killed when she'd entered, she made the assumption at least one of them had to have it.
Swiftly, Valkyr made her way over to the bodies of a male and lifted his left arm, studying the armor for anything that might give sign of how to activate the interface. It didn't take long for her to spy the slight creases of a latch and prying her nails into the slot she was able to pop it open and find the chip within. While it wasn't exactly what she was after it would have to do. Walking over to the console and finding no real way to interface the chip, she growled angrily and pounded the console, using her sharp claws to dig into the metal and begin prying wires out to try hotwiring it or at least figuring out how it worked.
She was too focused on her work, or at least as much as she could be with the growing persistence of the static in her whole person. After fiddling with the chip for about a minute she knew she was about to get something when suddenly she heard and felt and heavy footstep behind her, unable to react fast enough before large strong arms wrapped around her from behind. The grip was like iron and with her arms pinned at her sides she couldn't do much aside from struggle as hard as she could against her offender, her feet being lifted off the floor but the obviously very large individual. She thrashed and kicked and grunted and growled, even trying to slam her head back but was met with solid resistance and seemingly nary a care from them. Then it spoke.
The ship had turned out to be more winding than they had expected and along the way Shepard couldn't help but try to inspect some of the carnage to at least get a possible read on what they might be dealing with here soon enough.
"Seems like it was headed for the bridge," Jack offered as they waited for Grunt to pry a set of heavy doors open at the top of a set of stairs they'd climbed.
"In something of a rush too…" Shepard studied the opposing wall, noting the bloody footprints and claw marks upon it. It suggested the invader had scaled the wall and pounced at the asari sitting slouched against the wall beside them rather than waste time with the stairs. The brutality of it all and the apparent agility of the attacker was none too pleasing to Shepard and he raised his rifle with a frown as Grunt finally got a good hold on the door and pried it open. To their luck the thing must have been well oiled or something because the Krogan was able to pull the doors open without much hassle and they complied with hardly a sound. He made note of the dead merc by the keypad whom had their arm severed and was nearly bisected right beside the door, likely having managed to close the door but not quite fast enough it'd seem.
A glance back to his companions as he set a slower approach to the next set of open doors confirmed to him he didn't need to tell them to be quiet as they were likely coming up on their target, the sound of tearing metal and the sparking of wires was hopefully proof enough of that. Shepard took a position on one side of the and instructed Jack to do likewise on the other side to which she complied without hesitation, peeking into the room and giving a nod she could see their target. Giving Grunt a gesture to move in, the Krogan smirked and raised his shotgun as he stepped into the bridge with Shepard and Jack rounding the doorway a moment later.
Whatever the creature was, Shepard's eyes quickly found the purple and blue thing crouching over some machinery, watching as it seemed extremely focused on whatever it was working on to the point it didn't even seem to hear Grunt's footsteps. Sending a signal to Grunt, the Krogan looked back and Shepard made a gesture with his arms as though he was trying to hug something. It took a moment to click but eventually the Krogan gave an incline to his chin and put the heavy shotgun on the small of his back, continuing his slow approach on the slim creature. Taking this brief time to study the thing before everything possibly got out of hand, Shepard noted the slim feminine nature of its form and how it was either in a tight-fitting suit or was just simply very oddly formed on the outside. It also had two large protrusions from what looks like its shoulders; possibly horns of some sort, he speculated, and some sort of device at least on its right arm not to mention what looked like bladed wings on its back but those appeared to be weapons of their own sort.
He didn't have much more time to think on it though as it suddenly made to move to look back at them, Grunt deciding now was the best time to act by leaping forward and wrapping his large arms around the creature, pinning its arms at its side and lifting it off the ground kicking and struggling.
"I got it, Shepard!" Grunt growled out and continued to hold the thrashing creature in an iron bear hug even as it scratched deep marks into his armor where its sharp fingers could reach and tried to smash its head back against his. Shepard and Jack rounded in front of Grunt with their weapons raised at it and the former Specter finally got a good look at what was likely the cause for the slaughter around the ship.
It was a she, of that he could be fairly certain now based on its figure and breasts, and everything about just simply looked outlandish, deformed, as though it was a science experiment gone wrong. Her head was encased with a metal helmet, one half geometrically segmenting upward while the other side had what appeared to be an odd pointed growth of some sort. What previously he had thought were horns turned out to be part of some kind of collar wrapped around her neck while the devices that were actually on both arms were actually embedded in her. Indeed, she was an almost pitiful blend of organic and mechanical. Or at least an attempt at it.
A very angry one at that though if her growls and continued thrashing was any testament thereof.
Jack didn't seem too impressed as the signs of a sneer formed on one side of her face, or at least a disapproving scowl. Shepard couldn't help the thought that came to mind as he looked at the convict but for the moment he decided to put it aside, they needed to deal with this situation quick. "So what are we doing with this thing, Commander? Blow it out the airlock or what?" Shepard was about to reply when he felt his boot bump something and looked down at what it was working on, brow furrowing as he bent down to get a good look at it. "Shepard?" Jack asked with barely contained impatience.
"Shepard she's a bit stronger than she looks, better make up your mind quick," Grunt offered as he felt his arms jolt open a little as once again the thrashing bundle of anger tried to pry herself free only for the Krogan to once more lock his arms around her. Though that rewarded him with another headbutt that was hard enough to make another krogan dazed; he wasn't just any krogan he thought as he took the blow in stride.
The Commander didn't look up but went about his inspection a bit faster, trying to make out what was under all the wires she was working on when his eye caught sight of the large OMNI just barely under all the wires. What was she trying to do with an omni-tool chip? Shepard had to take a moment to think before he stood quickly and opened his omni-tool, raising his hand to show her the holographic device.
"Hey! Are you looking for this?" he exclaimed and Jack double-took at him.
"Shepard what are you-?"
"Just let me try something," he shot back quickly with a hushed tone, looking back to see he had managed to get her attention, her struggling slowing a bit as she caught sight of the omni-tool. She looked at it and then him and he could sense the anger build up again in her as she once again tried to free herself, Grunt barely managing to keep her in his grasp as she once more tried to break free.
"Shepard!"
"Hey!" he shouted again to once more try and get her attention, "Listen, I don't know if you can understand me but if you want an omni-tool just tell me what you need with it alright? We can help you."
"Shepard what are you doing?!" Jack turned to him and asked again, stupefied by what he was trying. "If Grunt lets that thing go what's to stop it from trying to kill us?"
"And what's to stop us from putting her down if she does?" he asked back, causing the convict to search for words before shutting her mouth with tight lips. "Listen, when you were freed from your prison you went on a rampage didn't you? Nearly tore the whole station apart. In fact, you did tear the station apart, killed anything and anyone that got in your way trying to get out. We detected what could have been a jump from the middle of nowhere and if she was recovered and brought aboard a ship filled with people armed with weapons she might have acted the same way."
Jack seemed like she might have been about to retort when Grunt interrupted, "Uh, Shepard…"
The two of them looked over and saw that the woman, or whatever she was, was still, simply looking between them silently. No longer was she growling or thrashing, simply watching with a still air about her as though she was taking the conversation in. Her focus went to Shepard and he straightened his posture, once more raising the omni-tool to watch as her gaze went to it though was still for several seconds before nodding slowly.
"Grunt, would you mind putting her down?" he asked slowly and the Krogan was hesitant a moment before nodding and complying. Grunt lowered the figure slowly to her feet and cautiously removed his arms from around her, making the motions to be ready to pounce on a moment's notice but she glanced back with nary a reaction. Suddenly, before anyone could react, she growled and spun her body, her foot flying high enough for her heel to catch the krogan across the jaw and send him toppling to ground. Jack reacted first, snarling as biotic energy wrapped around her and she sent a hard blast right at the creature, catching it right in the chest as it turned to face them.
It went flying across the room but it dug its claws into the metal floor and slowed itself to a stop, deep trenches left behind by its fingers. A frown formed on Shepard's features at the unfortunate turn of events but still brought his rifle to bare, Grunt standing up slowly and rubbing his jaw with a groan.
"By my Ancestors she hits hard for as small as she is," he shook his head and beat a fist against his temple before raising his shotgun, the odd thing standing straighter itself, though with a tense hunch as though it was ready to pounce.
"Be ready for anything..." Shepard warned as he slowly stepped to the side, spreading out their formation and making sure not to take his sights off the thing before them. There certainly wasn't an explanation for whatever it, she, was or what she was doing here and given as she hadn't said a word he didn't even know if it understood them. He had a lot of food for thought for after all was said and done with all that they'd found but right now wasn't the time for it. "We can still help you, just stand down and let us talk it out," the soldier admittedly couldn't help but feel pity for her and still wanted to try to talk her down and though she glanced to him and took a step back she didn't seem any less tense.
"I really doubt that's gonna work here, Shepard," Jack snapped with a frown, ready for even the slightest motion toward them to begin to unload on the thing.
An annoyed breath left him but he didn't respond, thinking of what else he could try as the tense silence persisted. Suddenly though she began to growl and threw her arms out to the side with a piercing shriek, causing them all to wince as claws of glowing energy burst from her fingertips. Jack and Grunt cocked the stocks on their shotguns but before anything more could happen the claws sputtered and burst in a puff of energy. She seemed confused as them before her head began to lull and without warning suddenly crumbled to her haunches like a puppet with its strings cut.
Unsure of what had just happened or if it was some sort of trick, the trio stood confused and motionless for several moments before Shepard glanced to his teammates, seeing them return the gesture with cautious expressions. The commander kept his weapon trained on the motionless heap and signaled for the two to fall in line as he stepped closer carefully. She was slumped over and still didn't make a single motion even as Shepard was standing right in front of her. Trying to examine her for a moment, he stepped forward and pushed her shoulder before leaping back ready to open fire. However, all that happened was that she slumped back, arms dangling and head lulling back limply.
With furrowed brows, Shepard finally lowered his weapon, glancing back to his companions with a shrug. "Well, what the fuck?" Jack asked, frustrated and Shepard honestly could hardly blame her as the question was aptly placed at the forefront of his mind.
"I dunno what it is, Shepard, but it's a lot tougher than it looks," Grunt offered rather nonchalantly, Shepard had little doubt the Krogan likely had some respect for that fact all things considered.
Shepard looked back to whatever it was before them and crouched down to inspect it more closely, though dared not touch it just in case. It seemed outfitted with weapons but seemed strong enough to certainly hold its own against the whole crew of the ship with nothing but its own personal capabilities. His mind wandered back to what he'd told Jack minutes prior, words that he'd meant then and still believed now. It was likely whatever this thing was could just be some terrified or traumatized science experiment, a cruel amalgamation between science and nature. A hundred thoughts went through his head but right now several things were clear to him, it was intelligent, it was capable, and right now it was deactivated.
With a sigh, he raised a hand to his helmet, "Normandy, this is Shepard, do you copy?"
"We're here Commander," Joker responded swiftly.
"Bring the Normandy back around and prepare the brig, we've got some company we're bringing back with us."
Jack wasted little time voicing her opinion, "I'm sorry, what?" she looked to Grunt with an angry, bewildered expression. The Krogan only shrugged nonchalantly.
"Understood Commander. Don't suppose the Shadow Broker would mind would he?"
"I suppose only time will tell. Shepard out," he deactivated his comms and looked at the blank faceless mask of the creature before he stood and gestured to Grunt to pick her up.
"Am I missing something here Shepard or are you out of your fucking mind?" Jack asked as she stepped up to him and got in his face. "That thing is a freak of nature and just tried to kill us, if did just kill the whole crew of this ship, and you're just gonna what bring it on board, give it some snacks and a chew toy or something?"
Shepard kept his cool and raised a brow at the former convict, "And how many would have said the same for you, Jack?" Her eyes narrowed and her lips tightened into a threateningly thin line. "Listen, if you don't like my decision then fine, but I meant what I said earlier so maybe think about that before jumping to conclusions yourself."
If biotics could shoot lasers from their eyes Shepard was certain he'd be burnt to a crisp under her gaze before she sneered and pressed a finger to his chest, "Don't forget that I at least came aboard willingly." With that she began to walk off, passing Grunt as he stood with the creature draped over one shoulder, looking between the two of them. "Oh and don't blame me if we all die cause it depressurized the ship or some shit."
Grunt looked back to the Commander and raised a brow, though he only shook his head and gestured for the Krogan to move out. This would certainly make for an interesting conversation with the rest of the crew.
AN, Update: Just because I've gotten several reviews about it, yes, I understand that Warframes are absurdly strong and by all means could throw a Krogan across a room with little issue. I tried to make it clear as I could that she was feeling weakened after waking up and I try to explain it more in the next chapter as well. However, if I didn't communicate it well enough I apologize. I hope it clears things up a little bit.