THIS DOOM OF OURS

Chapter: 2

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"Time check." the helmsman glanced at his instruments.

"Twenty two hundred galactic standard time Captain." the man nodded quietly as he glanced away from the glowing hologram to stared coldly at the other individuals gathered around the CIC display.

"He's been out of radio contact for nearly an hour," Muttered Shepard quietly as she gazed at the ghostly rendition of the space station that spun slowly just over half a mile off their starboard sized. "It's unsettling." the remark earned her a low chuckle from the Turian that was standing just a few feet away.

"That kind of comes with the territory when dealing with the Office of Special Investigations" declared Nihlus sagely as he took a long sip of his dextro coffee. "They're not the most sociable of departments."

"So we've seen." muttered the woman unhappily. "Is this something I should get used to if I'm going to be a spectre?" her assumed mentor grinned evilly.

"You have no idea." he turned to look away as a thoughtful expression flashed across his face. "Captain Anderson, correct me if I'm wrong but don't all Alliance soldiers have built-in cameras for after action analysis?"

"We have them for other reasons, but yes you are correct, why?" Anderson asked suspiciously.

"Well this 'Praetor' armour I believe you called it, was designed to meet Alliance regulations, so it wouldn't be so far-fetched to believe that it too had such a function." the captain scowled at the Turian as he pieced together what was being suggested.

"You're suggesting that we hack the operatives cam-feed, are you out of your mind Nihlus!" growled the man sharply. "I have explicit instructions not to interfere from both the Citadel Council and Alliance Command, I won't disregard that just so you can satisfy your curiosity, am I clear?"

"Crystal" replied the agent coldly; unfortunately any future conversation was quickly sidelined as the vessel shook ever so slightly underfoot.

"Joker what just happened?" barked Anderson as he stormed towards the cockpit, the others in tow.

"One of the habitat ring control towers just exploded, the whole station is barely keeping stationary orbit." explained the pilot distractedly as he hastily manoeuvred the Normandy around the rapidly expanding clouds of debris that surged out into space.

"Any indication for why it happened?" questioned Nihlus sharply as he glanced out the front window at the doomed installation.

"None that I could tell, standard scans didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary in the moments leading up to the explosion, there was a spike in the stations argent energy levels a few minutes before, but that could have been anything."

"Do we still have a reading on the operative?" Demanded Shepard as she elbowed her way into the conversation, "He should still be broadcasting an IFF signal on secure frequencies."

"He was but with all that background radiation now floating all over the place after the explosion we'd have better luck just trying to physically look for him." the commander let out a frustrated snort.

"You know the operative's reputation spectre, do you think he's still active?" commented the Captain his gaze never leaving the damaged construct.

"I wouldn't count him out yet." murmured the Turian thoughtfully as he mulled the question over in his mind. "But the lack of communication as the commander said is worrying and judging from the state of the station we can't assume that he escaped unscathed."

"You want to investigate." state the human pointedly. "Is that wise, the whole installation is under quarantine for a reason, this Doom Guy doesn't seem to be the kind of individual that would declare such things if they weren't necessary." the Spectre nodded.

"And normally I would wholeheartedly agree with you Captain, but as it is we can't guarantee the exact location of the OSI operative. On my authority as a Council spectre, I'm overriding your orders. We're going in." the special forces veteran scowled bitterly.

"If anything happens to my crew I'll hold you fully responsible Nihlus." he threatened.

"If anything does happen then the Council will have my head on a platter, but I'd rather go through that then inform them of the loss of one of their favourite operative's." declared Nihlus coldly as he jabbed a talon at Shepard. "The Commander and I will EVA over to one of nearby access hatches. That will limit the danger to your vessel."

"Much appreciated." sighed the Captain as he ran a hand over his tired eyes. "The two of you better go get geared up. Joker, try and contact the operative again, maybe we can sort this thing out before things get even more out of hand."

"I wouldn't bet money on that skipper." snorted the Pilot, only to yelp in indignation as his commanding officer slapped him lightly on the back of the head.


"Alright double-check all your seals, we don't know what waiting for us on the station, but judging from what we've seen it's nothing good." instructed the Turian as he checked his equipment.

"Don't have to tell me twice." countered Shepard distractedly as she picked up a katana series shotgun before slotting it into the spot on her lower back.

"Your record said you favoured mid to long range combat." Nihlus said with mild interest as he cradled a matte black assault rifle in his talons.

"I do, but only a dead man deliberately limits their ability to fight in the field." countered the woman coldly.

"Smart decision, who taught you that?" the Commander paused ever so slightly before continuing.

"I learned the hard way." she muttered before jamming her helmet down over her head.

"Don't we all?" declared the Spectre as he quickly followed suit. "But that's what makes us stand out from the rest." he added.

"Because we lived?" snorted Shepard dismissive.

"Because we lived." replied the Turian.


The spacewalk was unusually unsettling, normally there was always some level of uncertainty when doing EVA but training and experience usually carried the day, this time, this time something was different, there was an almost indescribable pressure seemingly seeping out of the ruined structure in front of them.

"ETA thirty seconds." stated Nihlus as the pair drifted towards the nearest airlock. "Brace for impact."

"Be advised we still cannot establish communications with operative 'Doom Guy' we don't know if it's due to interference or something else, be extremely cautious." informed Captain Anderson over the team channels, Joker's laughing over the operatives' call sign just barely audible in the background.

"Acknowledged Captain, Shepard out" came the reply as the two figures gently came to rest either side of the sealed portal.

"Standard two man enter and clear scenario, you ready Commander?" questioned the Turian evenly.

"I was born ready." countered the woman as she raised her shotgun in cold anticipation.

"Good, entering the airlock in three...two...one." the hatch pulled apart to reveal the relatively cramped confines of the inner chamber. "Go, go, go!" the two specialists funnelled themselves into narrow space.

"Airlock secure." declared the human over the com-link.

"I've got positive readings on my omni-tool for atmosphere on the other side of the door." commented the spectre coldly as he glanced over towards his teammate. "Do you want to risk it?"

"On a station that's currently under quarantine, no thank you." the remark earned her an approving nod from the veteran agent.

"Good, I didn't either." there came a ping from somewhere above them as pressure equalized. "Look sharp."

"Understood" the pair level their weapons at the entranceway. "Scans?"

"Nothing on close range, background radiation is screwing with anything beyond that." growled the Turian coldly.

"So we're going in blind." muttered Shepard grimly as she pressed the release button on the waiting access panel. "Just great."


It's was so much worse than either of them could possibly imagine, blood and broken bodies lay strewn in rotting clumps all over the place as the two agents inched their way through the horrifying carnage.

"Spirits, what is going on in this station?" grimaced Nihlus as he gingerly poked a dead asari with a booted foot.

"Good thing we can't smell anything in these things, this place must reek to high heaven." declared the Commander as she glanced around at the gore soaked landscape. "Jesus, there's blood all over the place." she sidestepped around something that had once been human before it had been ripped to shreds. "The Captain needs to be informed about this."

"I've been trying for the last few minutes." admitted the Turian grimly as he flashed a light into a darkened room. "All I'm getting is static." Shepard flinched at the remark.

"That can't be good."

"Agreed." the pair suddenly fell silent as the unmistakable sound of shuffling footsteps cut through the stillness.

"I've got movement, fifty meters, twelfth o'clock closing!" snapped the spectre as a low moaning sound preceded the arrival of hostiles.

"I got a bad feeling about this." shouted the commander as multiple silhouettes could be seen plastered across a nearby wall, she couldn't be more right as dozens of figures came stumbling around a corner.

"Stay where you are we don't -" the warning was drowned out by a deafening wall of noise as the mob of hostiles spotted them.

"Fucking shoot them!" roared Shepard as she started blasting away at the surging mass of bodies that came surging down the corridor, her companion quickly followed suit though with significantly less success as round after round ripped through the frenzied attackers with little to no marked impact.

"Fall back right now!" shouted the agent as the pair backpedalled down the way they'd came.

"What the hell are those things!?" demanded the Commander as the two individuals snapped of a few more shot, with only the shotgun doing any real damage as it blew off what could have once been a Turian's lower jaw in a shower of blue gore.

"We can find out later, right now shut up and shoot!" snapped the woman as she blasted of one of the attackers legs, sending it to the ground.

"Side room on our right, fall back and bottleneck them!" shouted Nihlus as he poured fire into a twisted asari's face until it disintegrated under the force of the impacts.

"Acknowledged." answered the woman as she ducked under his line of fire and barrelled into the poorly lit space. "Close it!" she bellowed as she saw one of the ghoulish assailants bearing down on them.

"What do you think I'm doing?" snapped the spectre as he slammed a fist into the emergency override and not a moment too late as the door slammed shut with a metallic thud, crushing an unfortunate human in between the panelling and sending crimson fluid flooding out in all directions as the pair slowly edged away from the sealed portal.

"What the fuck is going on?" snapped Shepard angry as she glared cold fury at her stunned teammate.

"How the hell do I know?" countered the Turian irritably as he sagged down onto a nearby table to catch his breath. "The only person that can tell us is the OSI operative and spirits knows if he's still alive." the pair jumped in surprise as the door suddenly shuddered ever so slightly, the pounding of numerous fists sounding finally making their way through.

"Is that going to hold?" questioned the woman quietly as she readied her shotgun.

"For the time being." muttered her colleague as he wiped the gore from his helmets faceplate. "But I don't really want to hang around to find out."

"Well unless you've got a better plan we're stuck in this glorified closet." grumbled the Commander as she glanced about at their improvised bolthole, it wasn't what one would call spacious.

"Look up." muttered Nihlus as he jerked a talon at the ceiling.

"A ceiling vent seriously?" stated Shepard in disbelief. "I think you've been playing too many holo games in your spare time spectre." the conversation halted as the door shook once more.

"Do you have any better ideas?" challenged the Turian sharply as he dragged the workbench that he'd been leaning on across the narrow room.

"Not really, but we better make this quick our friends seem to know that something's going on." and she was right the soul shuddering wails that echoed out from beyond the dented plating seemed to intensify as the shambling hoard picked up on the distinctive sound of movement on their side.

"Noted." muttered the agent quietly as he quickly clambered up to reach the sealed grate.

"How does it look?" Question the Commander as she glanced up at her colleague with professional interest. "Can you get it open?"

"I can, but it's going to take a few moments, these things are normal locked up pretty tight to stop children from crawling around inside of them." stated Nihlus distractedly as he pulled a small pry bar from his belt pouch.

"Neat little thing you've got there." stated Shepard interestedly as she focused on the piece of metal clasped in the turians clawed hand. "Where can I get one of those?"

"Standard piece of a sensible Turians survival kit." chuckled the spectre coldly as he jammed it into a barely visible gap. "It's also a good close combat weapon in a pinch."

"I like a man with a versatile tool." Sheppard said with a mischievous smile, earning a chuckle from her alien companion.

"Flirting in a life or death situation, thought they only did that in the vids." The Spectre said.

"Just trying to ease the tension." Was the humans reply before something struck her, metaphorically speaking. "Is everything you carry a weapon of some kind?" enquired Sheppard.

"First thing you learn as a spectre." declared Nihlus sagely over the sound of wrenching metal as he dug the implement in deeper. "Everything is a weapon; I once saw a Salarian colleague of mine beat someone to death with a piece of frozen fruit."

"Are you serious?" Spluttered the woman stunned disbelief.

"As a heart attack." came the reply.

"Damn," the Commander lost her humorous tone. "Kind of wish we had that piece of fruit right about now" she glanced down at her own weapon. "It would probably do a better job of killing these things then my crap weapon at this point."

"Do you know about ballistic trauma Commander?" the question earned him an unhappy glare.

"I'm an N7 operative, I think I know a thing or two about ballistic trauma." she responded sharply.

"Ok let me rephrase that then, do you know about the mechanics behind ballistic trauma?"

"We were given in depth medical training during training if that's what you mean" stated Shepard in mild confusion. "What are you getting at?"

"The two largest causes of death from ballistic injuries comes in two forms, blood loss and tissue displacement due to energy transfusion." commented the Turian distractedly as he let out a low grunt as he managed to get a hand into the widened gap. "Historically deaths from the round themselves are, statistically, relatively small." he let out a low sigh.

"Unfortunately modern firearms have been moving away from that format for some time now, mass effect weaponry have many advantages but stopping power is not amongst them." he jerked a talon at his rifle. "Take my assault rifle for example, yes it's extremely accurate and yes it pretty much has unlimited ammunition, but you sacrifice lethality; also have to worry about overheating the rifle." the Commander blinked in surprise.

"It still seems pretty lethal to me." she countered.

"In some regards it is, but as you saw those things shrug it off until I started aiming at their heads. Do you want to know why?"

"Ballistic trauma?"

"Give the girl a prize." came the reply. "Modern mass effect weapons do very little collateral damage to their target, they normally counter this by allowing their user a higher degree of accuracy to target vital areas to maximize impact, but they still suffer from massive over penetration from the rounds themselves since they're the size of a grain of sand, which is why you normally need several hits to bring down an assailant." the special forces soldier nodded in dawning understanding, she'd remembered numerous times when active hostiles had taken significantly more damage to down than had been anticipated, was this what Nihlus talking about.

"Was that why that OSI operative was using that chemical weaponry?" she enquired as a resounding thud indicated the panel removal.

"Because he knew that those things would be resistant to mass effect technology?"

"That's my guess." came the reply as the spectre started shedding unnecessary equipment.

"And before you ask yes it does open up a whole host of other questions, but right now I think we should really get moving."

"It has gone strangely quiet now that you mention it." added Shepard uneasily as she slowly inched away from the sealed doorway.

"Shepard?"

"Yeah?"

"Get in the vent." she didn't argue as a split-second late there came a primeval roar from the over side of the access hatch as something truly monstrous slammed into it, warping the metalwork and splitting the seal as a massive arm coated in brick thick muscle slowly forced its way into the narrow space.

"What the hell is that thing?" Shouted the woman loudly as the pair scrambled deeper into the ventilation system, the sound of shredding metal echoing behind them as the terrifying figure attempted to give chase.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know!" replied the Turain frantically as they crawled on their hands and knees to safety, the monsters bone chilling roars filling their ears. "Just keep going!"

"You don't need to tell me twice." replied the Commander forcefully as she emerged into what looked like some kind maintenance shaft that stretched out above them into the upper levels.

"Ladies first." stated the spectre as the two of them exchanged knowing looks.

"If we live through this remind me to strangle you." grumbled Shepard.

"If we live through this Mr. Doom will probably do it for you." declared the spectre in all seriousness as he watched the female human carefully disappear into the gloom.

"I'll bring popcorn." came the reply.


The weapon roared, sending brain and bone matter flying in all directions as the headless torso toppled onto the blood soaked floor.

"Surrounding area is now clear, recalculating time estimation to completion of mission." the voice leaked out of the helmet internal speakers as the operative paused to catch its breath. "Estimations complete, new completion time; two hours twenty minutes." it was acceptable, the longer a purge took the more likely something would go wrong, he'd learned that the hard way on Jump Zero all those years ago, unfortunately his internal contemplation's were quickly silenced as his personal VI surged back into life. "Alert; uncorrupted life-signs detected, mission parameters shifted, updating objectives, primary goal purge infestation; secondary goal, investigate non-hostile signatures." the man let out a barely disguised sigh; nothing was ever simple was it.


Shepard let out a loud sneeze. "Someone must be talking about me." She muttered quietly to herself as she came to a halt in front of an airtight hatch.

"Find something?" questioned Nihlus quietly as if half expecting monsters to come crashing in at any moment. Given their recent past experiences he felt it was an appropriate assumption.

"Looks like a way out, you want to risk it?" the Turian mulled it over in his mind for a few moments before nodding in agreement.

"Just do it quietly, we don't want to attract any unwanted attention." the pair shuddered, even if they were relatively hidden in the ventilation system it didn't stop the horrifying sounds that leaked in from the floors below, a sickening mix of death and devastation that would make even the most hardened veterans sick.

"Something we both agree on." whispered the Commander as she slowly activated the controls, on the other side, to the pairs eternal gratification, was a surprisingly empty looking workshop, tools and half-finished items lying around abandoned.

"Is it clear?" enquired the spectre from somewhere below her.

"Seems like it, or at least there's no blood or body parts." the statement earned her a snort from the more experienced agent.

"At this point I'll take what I can get, now will you please get moving, not that I don't enjoy staring at your ass but it's a little cramped in here." the Commander spluttered in indignation but nonetheless exited the narrow space, though if see hadn't been wearing a helmet everyone would probably have been able to see the flush of embarrassment that had painted itself across her cheeks.

"Inappropriate comments aside, do you have any idea where the hell we are?" asked the human as she glanced at their general surroundings. "Because I don't have a clue."

"That's not surprising in the least." snorted the Turian as he brought up his onmi-tool "Unlike some people I stopped by one of the automap stations when we arrived, it kind of helps to know where you're going."

"I'm starting to see why Doom Guy was strangling you this morning." muttered the woman as she calmly cradled her shotgun in her arms.

"Just trying to teach you an important lesson." replied the spectre dismissively as he examined the glowing display.

"Which is?" snorted Shepard as she began investigating a nearby holo screen that had been left open.

"That he who knows the battlefield controls it." came the sagely response as the agent tore his gaze away from the map. "Found something?" he quickly added as he noticed the look of concern that had darted across his colleagues eyes.

"It's some kind of written log, the owner of this shop, one Tibetus Papgius began keeping it a few months ago after weird things started to happen on the station." her tone had gone strangle quiet.

"What kinds of things?" questioned the spectre as he lent over her shoulder to get a better look.


[Codex entry: Argent Energy]

first discovered on Mars at the turn of the twenty second century by the highly respected human scientist Doctor Samuel Hayden Argent energy is a highly concentrated and self-reproducing energy resource. Initially only adopted by humanity and the Systems Alliance, it quickly gathered a massive following shortly after the latter's integration into the wider galactic community.

Matriarch V'crive, one of the republics most experienced and knowledgeable energy speculators was quoted as saying that it had, "For all intents and purposes, reshaped the basic fabric of commercial society overnight." It was not hard to see why, a seemingly clean and renewable power source had long been sought after by both the private and public sectors alike due to the excessive prices levelled against them by the few planets and corporations that had access to stockpiles of element zero a vital element need for modern society to exist.

Rather understandably these elements took a rather hostile view to the introduction of Argent energy onto the galactic market and attempted to have it outlawed, calming that it had not passed the necessary health and safety assessments; the matter was eventually settled in twenty one fifty nine after the Citadel Council took the unprecedented decision to federalize the acquisition and trading of the valuable resource with Citadel space, which turned out to be a rather wise decision in hindsight after several sources of the plasma were discovered on other worlds under a joint venture undertaken by the Citadel Department of Energy.

The regulating body set up after the federalization of Argent energy and the Union Aerospace Corporation, which under Doctor Samuel Hayden, had not only discovered Argent energy but also pioneered its use as an alternative to dark matter; today it is believed that the Argent energy market makes up a third of the Council's yearly GDP with most experts believing that this is only set to increase, with the boom in the demand for the seemingly never ending resource.


Here is the next chapter and yes this does mean that I've decided to take this on full time, but please understand that I've got other story's and work that will compete that have to factored in so please be understanding.

Please Read: Before any of you get angry in the comments at me about my opinion surrounding handheld mass effect weaponry I just want to say that based on reading up on Ballistic Trauma, Terminal Ballistics and Stopping Power this is the answer I came to, their guns would be highly accurate but would lack secondary damage options relying on the primary injury to kill opponents.

Please review if able, it takes a lot of energy and time to write my stories, so I politely ask that if you are able please leave a comment at the bottom, it really means so much to me when I get reviews, even if its just a thank you it real means a lot.

Thank you for reading this, see you all next time.

Gods-own.