Kill Each Other Later
"EDI, run us through what you've found again." Commander Shepard ordered of the Normandy's AI, the rattle of the shuttle as it rapidly descended into the planet's atmosphere making the three women jolt and shake every so often. They would make the lightly tan skinned commander grip the safety bar nearest to her seat, pale blue eyes narrowed with thinly veiled discomfort. Tight black curls that didn't grow far from her head bouncing with the jolts.
"The shuttle is currently being piloted down to the planet's surface, the current temperatures and atmospheric content are at safe levels. You will not require any breathing aids." The feminine voice replied. "It is a rather arid planet however, I'd advise you take caution should a need arise for combat outside. It may prove to have lethargic results."
Miranda piped up at that point, body tensed when she looked at the other squad member in the small Cerberus shuttle. "Have you found anything else about this installation we're landing at? Have your attempts to identify it been successful?"
"They have not. However, I am able to detect large amounts of residue from ships landing and taking off, this appears to be a busy hub of some sort. Given the lack of registration within the whole area, it would be logical to assume this is a less then legal establishment. Of what particular nature, or for what reason, I am unable to discern." EDI informed them.
The other squad member decided to join the conversation at that point. "Smugglers?" Suggested a bald and heavily tattooed convict, hunched over in her seat with a malicious grin. "Damn I hope that means I can smear the walls with them."
"Must you always be so willing to kill?" Sneered Miranda, scowling over to the woman who instantly reacted, jumping up to her feet on the jolting floor.
"You don't get to say shit to me Cheerleader." Hissed Jack, Shepard cupping her brow with a muttered swear as another fight seemed to be brewing. "You kill just as much as I do on these missions."
Miranda didn't bother getting from her seat, refusing to give Jack the satisfaction of accepting her challenge. "Unlike you I don't brutally do it, I've put bullets between eyes while you rip them apart with your unrestrained, uncontrollable biotics."
Before she could offer a retort, the shuttle shook violently, sending Jack onto her rear with a loud set of swears, nearly banging her head against the metal wall. "Can't you fly this fucking thing straight?" She shouted to the pilot on the other side of the wall, fingers curling into fists as she started to get back up. Another jolt knocked her from her feet, and the woman rippled with biotics, storming over to the panel keeping the pilot safe from her immediate wrath. "If you don't fly this fucking tin can right I will tear you apart limb from limb!" Jack threatened.
The shuttle suddenly seemed perfectly still as they descended.
"Now that's more like it." Snorted Jack as she returned to her seat.
Miranda rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and leaning further back into her seat as the last few minutes of the flight seemed to drag out. "Please, don't kill each other until after this mission." Selene Shepard asked of them, looking with at them as if she already dreaded picking the two together for this mission. Which she most likely did, and it was only ten minutes in.
"If she keeps herself under control it won't be a problem." Miranda said coldly. "I don't need any help doing that."
Jack rose to the bait rather swiftly. "It's a miracle you can even breathe in that fucked up whore suit, is that your method of control? All tight and bitchy so no one can get close enough to see just how messed up I bet you are under that cold mask."
"At least I cover everything up." Miranda jeered back.
"Alright enough! Not a word out of you two until we land do I make myself clear?" Shepard cut in with a no-nonsense tone. Operative Lawson just scowled as she pressed her face against the headrest, refusing to look at the bald woman who was proceeding to flip her off. "Jack!" Scolded the commander.
"It's not a fucking word Shepard." Grinned the convict, laughing with obvious amusement at the deepening scowl on the lightly tanned woman's face. "Fine, not another word." Huffed the convict, crossing her arms in a similar manner as Lawson had and rolling her head to rest until they landed.
When they did, the shuttle door opened up to a blistering sun, the sound of people and animals echoing off desert rocks and sand. "Definitely something illegal." Remarked Jack as she walked off the metal tin can as she'd so deemed the shuttle, a wicked grin across her face. "Let's go fuck some shit up Shepard!" Excitement bubbled in the woman, wanting to put the thoughts and images she'd concocted of Miranda and just how she'd wipe the cold Cerberus cheerleader's smile off her face. Most of them involved biotics, and limp tearing.
"We can't just go charging in Jack." Miranda cut in on her fun, blue eyes narrowed with disdain at the woman she saw behaving like a child like always. "There has to be a plan."
"Just gotta piss on all the fun right bitch?" Scowled Jack.
Selene frowned, took hold of Miranda's wrist and then Jack's without giving either woman a chance to argue, and pulled them close enough for her to growl in their ears at one time. "There is an unknown amount of potential hostiles up ahead. If you two can't get your shit together and cut it out, I'll send you both back to the Normandy and Samara and Garrus can do this with me." She threatened. "Because this is unacceptable, you're both acting like children. This stops here, do I make myself clear?"
"Shepard-"
"Do I make myself clear?" Shepard cut the raven haired operative off, pale blue eyes boring holes in the other woman's skull.
"Fuck- Fine Shepard!" Groaned Jack over-dramatically. "Just let go of me before I do it myself. There is no way I'm letting that shit-face and big tits have all the fun."
The commander didn't release them yet though, looking at the hesitating white catsuit garbed woman, fingers only tightening at the falter. "Alright Shepard, you've made your point." Relented Miranda at last, instantly both of them being freed.
"Damn Shep, you've got a mean grip." Commented Jack as she rubbed her wrist, red along the tattoos that had been forcefully held.
Giving them both one last glare, Shepard started marching towards the large metal complex amid the large sandy rocks. There were four sentry towers, each of them manned by a figure neither of them could discern the armament of. Snipers however, proved the most logical option. "They haven't shot yet." Shepard observed, leading them onto a path that wound its way up to a large gate, barbwire running along the top of a twenty foot wall that wrapped around the entire complex.
"Perhaps they think we're here to conduct business with them." Offered Miranda, carefully watching the towers on their approach.
"Maybe they're slavers, and figure they can capture us?" Jack suggested. "That is kinda what that skull-face warden tried to do to you on Purgatory."
"Don't remind me." Muttered Selene, remembering all the torn bodies and spilled blood she followed to find Jack. The screams as the station began to crumple around them. "And if they think they can do that to us too, then they've got another thing coming."
Nothing stopped them from walking right up to the gates until they were nearly running into it. "What do you want?" Asked a voice through a shutter, rough and alien. Instantly Selene narrowed her eyes. "You here to buy?"
"Like we'd come to this piss-poor shit hole otherwise." Snarled Jack. "Now open the damn door." Miranda shot her a cold look, blue gaze icy daggers. "Go fuck yourself, I'm getting us in." Hissed Subject Zero in a low voice. "The hell are you doing just standing there?"
The alien on the other side narrowed his four black eyes before the massive metal gate opened with a shattering tone. "Start any trouble and you'll be the next merchandise." He warned, the trio marching into a large open area surrounded by the walls. There was a massive stage across from them against the wall, and a pit occupying almost all of the remaining floor space, the sound of energy crackling filling the air. The cries of people in agony lifted out of the pit, chains clattering together, the inhumane pleas for rescue filling the dry desert air.
Mixing with it until there was little else one could comprehend. Forcing their only form of protest to the forefront of the mind, scratching at chances of sympathy only for the jeering laughter from above to reject them to the side.
"Slavers." Whispered Miranda with slightly widened eyes, taking in the sight, Selene Shepard tensing until she was near stone. "Commander-" She started only to be cut off by the N7 adept.
"Follow me." Ordered the commander, stomping her way towards an assembly of obvious buyers, from asari to batarians, humans and turians, there was no lack of lowlife scum wanting a slave of their own. The human commander sneered once she'd spotted even an elcor among the crowd. "These bastards are about to get a wake-up call." Hissed the woman.
Miranda kept her voice hushed, looking around as if they were not plotting against each of the present slavers and slave-owners. "What are you thinking Shepard?"
"We tear this place apart with biotics." The woman growled, instantly gaining a grin of approval from the convict. "We leave the slaves down below safe until we can figure out how to get them out, take out the sentries so they've lost their major support, and then just let all hell loose."
"Are you certain that's the most sound plan?" Questioned Miranda. "I know all about you Shepard, I know how your homecolony was destroyed by batarian slavers and you captured. Are you getting emotional in this?"
Selene Shepard lifted his chin in challenge to the woman, taking a small step towards her so she loomed above the raven haired operative. "I refuse to let anyone else have that life. When you brought me back I might have lost those scars on my skin, but I still remember those seemingly endless years though that I was a slave. The degrading way they treat slaves, everything they did is unacceptable and if I can stop it from happening to someone else I sure as hell am going to."
Jack gave an exuberant nod. "Come on Cheerleader, the Commander wants to let it all out. I say we fuckin' let her."
"You're not helping Jack." Scowled Miranda.
"I'm not getting emotional Lawson, I'm getting driven." Replied Selene firmly. "Now move out." The armor clad adept marched out through the crowd of people, shoving the eager buyers to the side and ignoring their shouts after her. The woman's mind was set on one thing and one thing alone.
"Do try to watch where you throw your biotics." Miranda said coolly to the bald woman. "We wouldn't want to harm the slaves."
A sharp glare was shot back at the Cerberus agent, Jack's fists clenching as she had to force herself not to attack her. After all, they'd promised Shepard they'd kill each other after the suicide mission, and oh how Jack couldn't wait for that day to come. "You know I wounder if you'll ever actually let yourself enjoy a good old fashioned ass-kicking."
"What is old fashioned about biotics Jack? And if you must know I enjoy a good fight just as much as you, I just don't live for them."
"Fuck you're real bitch huh." Replied Jack.
"Because I don't get myself hocked up on drugs, kill senselessly and take a pleasure in watching someone die?"
Jack snorted, they'd nearly gotten to the first tower entrance, the complex so large it could probably fit three hundred people in easily. "Did your daddy create you to be such a perfect bitch or is that something you just developed on your own?"
"Looks like Cerberus did a bigger number on you Zero."
"Go straight to hell! After this I'm going to send you there personally Cheerleader."
"Enough!" Ordered Shepard, looking over her shoulder at the pair that were nearly at blows. "Lawson, I expect my second-in-command to be better behaved then that. Now get ready to fight and kill each other later." With that the commander opened up the door with a simple bypass, and drew her locus pistol, the pair drawing their weapons behind her as they started up a long stairwell curving around the walls to the top. It was coated in layers of sand, their steps muffled though trying as they wound their way upwards. The sentry wasn't looking back behind him, four eyes trained out on the desert before him.
Jack jumped forward with a cry, and a bioticly charged fist went right through his exposed skull, a sick squelching sound filling the air at the impact. She pulled her fist out, shaking red blood free across the sand covered floor. Shepard just simply checked to see if the other sentries had gotten wise, and at the conclusion they hadn't, turned back down towards the stairs.
The convict looked down murderously happy at the corpse that slumped against the railing. Miranda scowled fiercely, but didn't quite say anything yet and turned on her black heels to follow Shepard.
No one seemed to notice them as they slunk around the second tower, Shepard's expressions steeled from the pair as they unlocked the door and started up. Halfway to the top, there was a loud noise as an intercom crackled to life. The trio paused to listen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction will start momentarily, please take your seats and get your credits ready. We'll be starting with our more tame, cheaper merchandise, and steadily move up to our more expensive and wild ones. We hope you'll find what you're looking for here, and if not remember that we get new catches all the time so maybe this time isn't for you, but the next one could." A surprisingly civilized voice purred through the speakers, his words only interrupted by a whir of sand howling outside the complex.
"So Shep, which were you classified as?" Jack suddenly asked.
Miranda whipped her head to the side to look at the slightly grinning bald woman. "Jack! That's highly inappropriate!" She scolded.
"Fuck off Princess, I wanna know."
Selene dropped her gaze to the pair that were only a step or two lower then her, pale blue eyes ice cold. "I was the most expensive, I was the wildest, and I was only bought by the richest bastard there was after a month of trying. My captors almost didn't want to let me go, they nearly kept me for themselves to have fun with. But when a rich batarian with lots of questionable friends wants to buy your slave for countless credits, most people end up selling."
"So this place brings back all those fucked up memories?"
"Jack..." Miranda lowly warned, watching Shepard's eyes only seem to harden at the thought. "I'm serious."
The convict laughed at her though. "Then Shepard, how about we make this place your Pragia and blow it the fuck up." Murder glinted in her brown eyes, thick red lips pulled into a twisted smile.
"We're destroying this place anyways, but only after the slaves have been freed and taken to safety." Miranda said firmly.
Shepard didn't respond to either of them, and started running up the stairs. The pair started after her, excitement on Jack's face and worry pulling at Miranda's. When they'd managed to get up to the top, Shepard had bashed in the slaver's chest, the man on the ground futilely trying to get her to stop as she kicked and kicked over and over again. With one more stomp she broke the few remaining ribs that hadn't been shattered, and he went still.
"Damn, a bit sloppy though Shep." Remarked Jack as she inspected the corpse. "I can show you how to do it better later."
"Jack!" Miranda said sharply. "Stop encouraging this type of reckless behavior. Commander I'm getting concerned that you're not really focused here, not on the right thing."
The commander ignored her however, as she picked up the sniper that the sentry had been using, and began to scope out the area. Beneath them as they'd heard the intercom tell, the buyers had all gathered in metal chairs before the stage, animatedly waiting for the show to begin. A batarian strolled across the stage, rather sharply dressed, and walked to where a microphone awaited. "The time has come, our first catch to display is a young asari maiden, hardly older then fifty, and was plucked from a dance recital on Cyone. That's right, the asari world that held back the krogan in the rebellions." He said, it was the same man who had spoken of the intercom, his surprisingly smooth voice catching the attention of all present.
He waved his hand, and the mentioned asari girl was raised from a platform onto the stage, biotic inhibitors clasped around her neck while metal bonds kept her hands and feet bound. Wide blue eyes looked around with fear, her small body shaking in the small rags they'd provided. "She's been so well behaved if it weren't a normal security precaution we'd have removed her biotic inhibitors." The man continued. "So who would like to start the first bet at around ten thousand credits?"
Shepard gritted her teeth, the low value placed on such a potential member of society, on a living being. She raised the scope up, and leveled it on the silhouette of one of the two remaining sentries, and pulled the trigger. He fell with a thump, the shot however was far from being as quiet. Quickly Shepard turned the barrel to the other sentry that occupied the tower diagonal from the one her squad occupied. He fell without a chance to see where it came from. The people down low were screaming, the finely dressed batarian scurrying off the stage.
"Come on!" Shouted Shepard as she dropped the sniper and ran right off the edge of the tower, jumping over the railing and landing on the nearby wall that was around five feet below them. Jack and Miranda followed without a moment of hesitation. The commander was barreling down the small ledge between the barbwire and the open air, electricity crackling at her side. Once she was near the stage, her body ignited in biotics. She jumped, an explosion of dark blue and purple light at the impact that shattered the stage and left a massive mark on the sand.
"Time to fuck shit up!" Shouted Jack, her own biotics building around her as she launched herself from the wall and landed with a larger explosion, Miranda using her biotics rather to get her safely to the bottom of the twenty foot drop, drawing her pistol as a sea of slavers came out towards them. "I'll tear you apart!" Screamed the convict, throwing a biotic shockwave at the mixed group of batarians, humans and turians. Three krogan kept on charging through her attack, a decent portion of the rest stumbling long enough for Miranda to slap them with a warp, Shepard's biotic attack reaching them to create an explosion.
They stood exposed though, and the commander started running for cover behind some of the upturned metallic chairs, ordering Jack and Miranda to find some just as well. Three against an army, it seemed somewhat unfair in the eyes of the commander. "You sick bastards!" Snarled Selene as she rippled with another biotic attack, tendrils of blue reaching out to throw a small group like they'd been punched by the air.
Laughter filled the air as Jack unleashed biotic attack after biotic attack, manically finding pleasure in their cries of pain. Taking a deep breath for a moment to focus, the convict was silent until she screamed with fury, another shockwave ripping through the ground towards the sea of armor. Sand was thrown thickly into the air, forming a cloud that was starting to make breathing and seeing hard. "Come on Cheerleader! I'm racking up more kills then you!" Jack shouted over the hail of gunfire, someone screamed as a biotic attack ripped them into pieces.
"I'm not going to tire out like you are Jack, you're wasting energy!" Miranda called back from somewhere in the biotic-started sandstorm.
Another person screamed as they died, Shepard the cause of it. "I want this place to be nothing more then rubble once we get these people out!" She ordered, pulling her arc projector off her back and firing into the crowd of men. Screams of agony were filling the complex with renewed vigor. "How do you like it? That's not even a fraction of the pain you inflict on your prisoners!"
The trio started to slow down, noticing that there was a steadily growing lack of pirates and slavers to kill. The heat blazed around them, sand finally starting to settle. Jack was bent over trying to catch her breath, Miranda no where near as exhausted as the other two women. "I told you you'd just get tired if you went psycho like that." Miranda jeered with a superior tone.
"Just shut fuck up for once Cerberus bitch." Jack snarled, straightening up.
"You just-"
"Guys!" Shepard cut in, looking at them with sand blasted over her body. "We're not done here." She raised a hand to indicate the YMIR mech looming towards them, already beginning to engage them. "They've finally sent out the big guns." Two more mechs flanked the first, each of them taking thundering steps towards the trio. "We'll have to work together, so you'll have to wait to kill each other later. Miranda, focus using overload to take out their shields. Jack the second those shields are down you and I are going to slap them with a warp so strong their bolts will shatter. Once they're out of that top armor, just let them have it."
Miranda nodded her head, pulling out her heavy pistol. "Got it Shepard."
"Uh huh." Muttered Jack.
"Let's move!" They started running towards the machines, gunfire whirring around them and sending clouds of sand into the air. They dodged this way and that, and then once they'd closed enough of the gap Miranda pressed a button on her omni-tool and electricity crackled between the three, easily knocking their shields down a notch. Jack screamed out as she rolled to a side to dodge a missile, biotics reaching out to deflect it. The rocket careened right towards the raven haired operative, unaware of it until Shepard pulled her with a sharp biotic jerk right to the curly haired woman.
Her breath was knocked out of her, the genetically engineered woman hissing at Jack the moment she could speak. "Watch it!"
"Pay attention then!"
"You did that on purpose!" Miranda threw back as she fired an overload once more, the YMIR mechs trembling as their shields dropped. Jack and Shepard quickly started firing warps at them, Miranda joining the moment she could.
"For fucks sake bitch if I had wanted to get you killed then I fucking would have done it myself." Hissed Jack, running at one of the mechs with biotics rippling around her, throwing herself right through its torso and effectively destroying it with the one motion. She rolled to recover, jumped to her feet and shouted, "You're not so damn special bitch!"
Two of the machines remained, Shepard firing with her heavy pistol at the head that rested above the hulking white metal. "As if! You'd stoop to any level to get what you want!" Shouted Miranda, hand whipping outwards to throw a mech to its back, Shepard running up and finishing the incapacitated machine. The last one started firing missile after missile, rumbling steps shaking the desert. "You'd probably shoot a man in the back without telling him why if it seemed it would help you survive!"
"Sounds more like your style bitch."
Shepard lunged forward towards the machine, the sand kicking up behind her with each step. Jumping to the right, she threw herself at the machine's side, and clambered up the metal until she could easily fire her pistol right into the more critical systems. It fell forward with a synthetic scream. Out of breath, the woman's hands were on her knees, back hunched over as the duo walked over towards her. "Will you two just kiss and get it over with already?" Shepard asked playfully when she'd caught enough the sandy air in her lungs.
"What?" Miranda asked with disgust, her face instantly displaying a comical look at the revolting thought. "Shepard you might be into women but I am not, and if I were it would never been with this mistake."
"Fuck you too Cheerleader. Like I'd actually sleep with a tight assed bitch like you. Hell I bet you're as stiff in sex as you are with people." Jack sneered back, Shepard rolling her eyes at their reactions.
"You fight like an old married couple." Selene further said as she straightened up. "Now let's set these people free. EDI, call in a lot of shuttles from Cerberus to get them to safety, the Normandy can't hold all of them." She pressed her hand to the com, EDI quickly responding with an affirmative. The trio started looking around for a release switch to the electrical barrier over the pit, the people milling down there looking up with wide eyes in hope that their freedom really was at hand. "Just give us a minute, I promise you'll all be out of there safe soon." The commander assured them.
Cheers from broken bodies raised out from the pit.
It took them a bit of time, but soon enough the once-slaves were being led out of the base complex, hollowed bodies of varying degrees staring around themselves with eyes full of wonder. Some of the slaves were little more then skin and bones, other had obvious bodies of workers muscle still clinging tightly to them. There seemed to not have been a single person excluded from the slave trade, humans, asari, turians, salarians, even batarians of all age and gender were in shackles being led out into the open desert. A hum engines filling the air.
"Thank you." A small asari said as she clung to Shepard's arm, the little girl that had been first up for the auction. "Where are they going to take us?"
"First somewhere you can all be given the aid you need, food, water, medical attention." Shepard replied softly, the pair of blue eyes reminding her of one asari in particular. "Then they'll find each of you a home, hopefully the one you were taken from."
The asari girl gave her a half hug, unable to give a full one due to the chains that still clung to her. They hadn't found any keys, and so were forced to have to endure the chains just a bit longer. "Thank you." Tears of joy brimmed in her eyes, and then she started along with the other freed slaves towards the landing shuttles, Cerberus operatives lining out to help load them in.
"You know Shepard, this is why we brought you back." Miranda said at the curly haired woman's side, Jack watching the proceeding lines of ex-slaves with a faint scowl. "You inspire people, inspire hope. These people would be suffering if not for you."
"I wouldn't trust Cerberus though, what if they just take these people and put them through some worse shit like they did me?" Jack said tightly. "Wouldn't put them past it."
Miranda frowned. "We're not monsters Jack."
"Just the ones I was stuck with right? That's a load of bullshit and you know it."
"We make mistakes sometimes, obviously you're one of them."
"Enough you two!" Shepard cut in with exasperation. "On the shuttle now, you're both going to kill each other one day I'm sure but let's make it later. Like after the mission?" The human commander started towards their own shuttle to head back to the Normandy.
The pair glared at each other, and then slowly started after her. "Cheerleader bitch." Jack sneered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Psychopathic mistake." Spat Miranda.
They climbed into the shuttle, and it started off, leaving the destroyed slaver complex in its wake. A sea of corpses and a river of freed slaves, everyone just a bit more hopeful. Shepard glanced at the tense pair that sat on two separate ends of the shuttle, and gave a light sigh. "You two really are an old married couple." Once again they offered their protest, but she just waved it aside. "Say what you will, something's real there."
The two scooted a bit farther from one another in their seats, gaining a small smirk on the commander's face.