I own Faylin. The other items, characters, places, ect. used are products of Bioware. Thank you and enjoy.
My mind was so groggy at first. I could only make sense of a few simple things; I was submerged in warm water, there was some sort of mask on my face, and the container I was in was small. I reached out and touched the glass of the tank while opening my eyes and waiting for them to adjust. My vision was foggy at first, but after blinking profusely I managed to begin making out my surroundings.
The room my tank was in was small and my tank appeared to be perched in one corner of the room. Everything appeared to be made of metal; the floor, walls, ceiling, and even the desk. Several screens were set up at the desk, peculiar holographic looking things that were monitoring my vitals, tracking my brain activity, and mapping my body. The chair was knocked onto the floor as if it had been abandoned hastily. I banged on the glass a few times and waited, but no one seemed to be coming.
Suddenly, two orange lights attached to the ceiling on opposite sides of the room began to flash and a siren blared. Between the first few blaring screeches of the siren, a woman's voice came through an intercom I couldn't see. "Intruder alert," she declared in a calm tone. "Intruder alert. Security protocols initiated. Please evacuate to the designated areas." The recording repeated a few more times before it was shut off with the siren, but the lights kept flashing.
The bright white lights went out in the room, leaving only the flashing orange lights to illuminate my surroundings. I pounded relentlessly on the glass, holding the mask to my face with one hand. I looked around to find the door; another strange holographic screen in its center was colored red. It pounded and pounded on the glass, but the door didn't open, no one came for me.
I jumped in shock when two large screens flashed to life above the smaller three. On one screen I saw two people hovering over a similar computer, a third was behind them watching the door with his gun shouldered and ready to fire. One of the two at the computer was typing away. The other screen showed the area outside the room they were in. The surroundings looked similar to mine; all metal, but large crates were arranged around the huge room on the second screen. Men in white armors moved between the crates, using them as cover.
"We need to get to the level above us," a female voice came through to me. It was the person typing at the computer. I pressed myself to the glass and nearly jumped back again. She had blue skin and no hair, but on her head were some sort of tentacle like growth.
'An alien?' I thought. 'She's a freaking alien. No way. I've really lost it now.' But just as I thought that, my mind pieced together different things that I had noticed. The holographic screens, that woman, my tank, and even the weapons they were carrying. Everything was far more advanced than twentieth century technology. 'Just what the hell is going on?'
"Can you find us a way up there, Liara," the man next to her asked. His back was to the camera and I could not see his face, but he was definitely human, just like the one guarding the door.
"Of course I can," Liara answered him. "But I'm going to release her from the tank."
"Are you sure you should do that," the man at the door asked over his shoulder.
"Yes, James, I am," Liara answered him with slight irritation. "It will awaken her if she isn't awake already and give her time to recover while we make our way there. Just give me a moment. There, that should do it."
Suddenly the water started to drain quickly from the tank. I braced myself on weak knees and pulled off the mask when the water was almost drained. I leaned against the glass as I tried to support myself. The glass slid sideways quickly and I tumbled out of the tank, falling hard on my hip and barely catching myself with my hands. I coughed hard for a bit while I tried to breath in the very different air. The smell of smoke was creeping in from under the door. I gasped in great gulps of air, feeling my lungs ache as if I hadn't used them in some time.
"She's released. The data is downloading to an omni tool they left on the desk," Liara explained to James and the other man.
"Hello?" I manage to cough the word out.
"She's already awake," she seemed shocked.
"Can you get a visual," the man next to her asked.
"Yes. Here we go," she said. I looked up and saw that one of the screens near her had me on it and I was glad to see that my arm that was holding me up was covering my breasts from view.
"Ma'am, are you alright," the man asked.
I coughed again, my lungs slowly adjusting. "Relatively."
"There should be some clothes in a locker to your left," Liara said. "There may even be some armor."
"Liara how is she going to know how to put on the armor or even use a weapon," the man asked her.
"Oh, I hadn't-" she sighed, sounding disappointed that she hadn't thought of that.
"You could always walk me through it," I suggested, sitting back on my knees, keeping my breasts covered.
The man looked to Liara, but she went to typing away again. "That's a wonderful suggestion. Let me hack into the audio for the console in that room so I can talk to her on the move."
"Alenko, we need to hurry up man," James called from the door. "Cerberus troops are piling up out there."
"Right," Alenko shuffled on his feet nervously.
I began to try and stand up, falling a few times before I could get to my feet. I turned to my left like Liara said to find a locker. A pain suddenly hit me in my head and I grabbed a fistful of my hair, crying out as the pain passed through me. Glancing at the screen without being too obvious, I saw Alenko and Liara exchange a glance.
"Are you alright," Liara asked me. I could hear the concern in her voice.
"I think so," I answered. Looking back to the locker, I froze. I didn't know how to open it. It didn't have any sort of handle I could see or even a button to push. I looked to the screen behind me.
"Take the omni tool from the desk," Alenko urged. Put it on and wave your hand in front of the locker. It will open itself."
"Alright," Liara spoke up. "I hacked the audio for the console."
"Ma'am, we're coming to get you," Alenko's voice was kind and reassuring. "Just ask Liara if you need help with anything."
"Alright," I answered him. Looking up from the desk to the screen, I blushed and turned my body. Most of my naked body had been visible for at least a few moments, save my breasts which I was still holding my arm over. "Just what does the omni tool look like?"
"Put on the glove that's lying on the desk," Liara instructed.
Though they were already walking away, I turned my body a little more so that I could use my right hand and pull the glove onto my left hand. It was black and slid up to my elbow. I turned back around to the locker and waved my hand over it, palm open, like Alenko had told me to. The orange holographic screen that flew up around my arm and hand startled me, but it only stayed long enough to hack into the locked locker. There was a small beep then the locker's door slid sideways to open. Liara had been right; there were clothes and a set of armor inside. Lucky for me they were for a woman, most likely meant for me. I slipped myself quickly into the clothes which, thankfully, included underwear while listening to Liara, Alenko, and James fight the Cerberus operatives. I heard Liara call Alenko by his first name, Kaidan, once when she believed he was in trouble for a second.
When I had my boots on, I prompted Liara that I needed her instruction. She guided me quickly through the steps to put on the armor set. Once the armor was on, I noticed a strange looking pistol. I picked it up and stuck it in the holster on my hip without telling Liara. I looked back at the screen, seeing them in the larger of the two rooms where the Cerberus operatives had been. There were fallen bodies all over now, and the team maneuvered through the room to the far side.
"We need you to stay in that room for a few more moments," Liara said to me. I heard her right next to my ear that time. The omni tool apparently was a communication device as well. "I'm downloading the data on what Cerberus was doing to you to that omni-tool I had you equip."
"Not a problem," I responded. Hearing Cerberus operatives coming down the hall I pulled the pistol from my holster. "Okay, I'm gonna say this fast because it is most likely sound weird to you. Will this pistol work mostly in the same way as pistols did in 2012?"
There was a short pause, "Yes. I believe the concept is still the same. Why do you ask?"
"I hear Cerberus down the hall outside. I think the door is locked because the hologram is red, but that won't hold them back long and I don't have any other way out of here."
"We must have tripped the door lock when we infiltrated this place," James said.
"Just hold tight, ma'am. We're on our way to you. Should only be a few more-"Kaiden's voice cut off and shots erupted in the hall.
I took cover behind the desk, aiming at the door. A slam against the door made me jump. I could hear Liara in my ear still. Listening to her fight made me think she was probably a very formidable enemy. The shots ceased and I could hear them navigating toward the door.
"I'll have to hack the door controls," Liara stated.
"I just hope she doesn't try to shoot us when you open the door," James stated.
"You know I CAN hear you," I said annoyed.
There was a series of beeps and the door slid open. When they walked in I stood up from behind the desk and lowered my pistol. It was difficult to hide the breath catching in my chest when Kaidan walked into the room. He was tall with thick dark brown hair and earthy eyes, his armor accentuating the size of his upper body. James was nearly twice his size, a little too muscular for my taste, but still attractive. Liara looked relieved to see me in one piece as she put her pistol away. None of them said a word as Liara stretched out a hand to me. I started to take it without thought, and then stopped.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You really think we'd fight all those guys just to come here and hurt you," James seemed baffled by my distrust.
"It's a logical question, Vega," Kaidan scolded him.
Liara, still holding out her hand, gave me a motherly look. "Cerberus was attempting experiments on you. At least we believe that's what they were doing. You have all the data of what they've done right there in your omni tool." I looked down at my left hand, the omni tool's holographic screen remaining off as my hand dangled by my side. "You can review all of that data in the shuttle. Right now we have to go." Her voice was soft but urgent, making me feel the truth of it.
I took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright," I said as I took her hand and saw Kaidan smile.