I will Rise
By Spectre4hire
Chapter One: Distress
Shepard was fuming.
He stood in the communication room, after finishing up another debriefing with the Citadel Council. This was only the second one he had had with them, and he was already sure that these meetings were pointless.
He had given them the report on his mission on Feros. He included in his report his decision of killing every colonist on Zhu's Hope. Those colonists had become thralls. They were obedient servants of the ancient fauna life-form known as the Thorian. The Thorian had poisoned their minds, using them as cannon fodder to protect itself. Its plan failed. Shepard killed each and every colonist who fired on him, before killing the Thorian itself.
The Lion of Elysium let out a tired sigh, walking out of the communication room. He held neither regret nor remorse for what he did down there. His duty had been to stop the Thorian. The colonists had gotten in his way. They had to be dealt with.
Recalling his meeting with the Council, he felt a strong urge for a shot of whiskey. His mind went to the bottle of 'contraband' that Kaidan had delivered to him before the mission on Feros. Lieutenant Alenko had been under the belief that Shepard would dispose of the whiskey, which Shepard planned to. It probably just wasn't in the way that the Lieutenant would have thought.
Shepard allowed himself a smile; while he thought about cracking open the bottle of contraband. He walked past the saluting marine, who stood guard on the doors that led down the stairs and to the second level of the Normandy. He walked down the stairs, his thoughts unfortunately returning back to his encounter with the Council. He had thought being a Spectre would mean that he wouldn't have to listen to the pointless scolding or political ranting about unjust ramifications. However, he was not so lucky.
With his first meeting with the Council, he was scolded for destroying supposedly 'precious' prothean ruins when he rescued Liara from the clutches of Saren. Now, they were angry with him because he killed an ancient creature that was responsible for brainwashing hundreds of innocent colonists.
They never asked about the colonists or his choice to kill them. The lives of those innocent civilians meant nothing to the alien Council. They had wanted to study this ancient life-form. Because that worked so well for ExoGeni, he snorted in amusement before shaking his head as he descended the last stairs. He walked around the elevator and towards the lit pathway that led him to his chambers but when he turned the corner, he saw Ashley sitting alone at one of the Mess Hall tables. Her head in her hands as she stared down at the floor.
He knew his orders did not go over well with Ashley and Kaidan. He sighed, taking one last look at his door, and knowing his shot of whiskey could wait. He stepped towards Ashley.
"It's difficult isn't it?"
Her head shot up, her brown eyes fixing on him while he approached. He could see the self-doubt shimmering beneath her brown orbs.
"There was another way."
He knew what she was referring to. After leaving the ExoGeni Headquarters, Shepard and his squad met back up with the ExoGeni scientists who had taken refuge along the Skyway. One of the scientists, Juliana Baynham proposed using a nerve like gas distributed from the grenades that could effectively knock out the colonists under the Thorian's control. In theory, since the scientist had never tested the chemical to know for sure.
He stood in front of the table. "I know that."
She looked at him with disbelief. "Why didn't you take it?"
Shepard reached out to grab the edge of the table, his fingers gently tapping along the flat surface. "It was my call."
"We could have saved them, sir."
"Could?" he repeated, tilting his head to the side, noticing the doubt lingering behind her eyes, as she furrowed her brows, trying to make sense of what he just said. "I wasn't going to risk my life on a could have."
"Even at the expense of the colonists?"
"Yes," he answered flatly.
She shook her head. He could see in her eyes, she was fighting as hard as she could to reject his reasoning, his thinking. "I was taught to protect the innocent, not to gun them down, sir."
"They weren't innocent, Ash," he reminded her, his tone soft, but commanding. "They were trying to kill us."
"Because of that damn plant!" Ashley slammed her fists into the table, as she stood from her seat, her breathing heavy, her eyes cold and transfixed on him. "We could have distributed the medicine!" Her eyes softened, turning away from him and onto her fists which were anchored onto the table after slamming them, her cheeks flushed, realizing the tone of voice and the words she used to her superior officer. The Alliance Spacer was quick to look forlorn, meekly sitting back down.
"I apologize, sir."
He waved off her apology. He didn't mind the fire or her words. He respected the voice of every person on his ship, and was more than willing to listen to them. As long as they understood that his word was final.
"What if we charged the colonists," Shepard theorized, walking along the table, his fingers skimming along the surface. "They were firing at us, and we used this grenade and it didn't work."
He paused, looking up to see Ashley was hanging on his every word.
"And nothing happened," he finished, with a roll of his shoulders. "They remained under the control of the Thorian. They would have killed us, without thought and without hesitation."
She frowned. He knew that she had probably not thought of that possible and very likely scenario. She lightly combed her fingers through her honey brown hair, her eyes distant as she reflected on this scenario.
He stopped when he stood directly across from the Gunnery Chief.
"I…I didn't think of that."
He nodded with understanding, "You're not supposed to, Ash, because as your Commander, that's my job."
She let out a heavy sigh, before looking back up at him. In the dim light of the Mess Hall, and the vulnerability of the strong, fiery marine, Shepard noticed the subtle beauty of Ashley Williams. It was not an observation that a Superior Officer should make. He was quick to repress the thoughts from growing, knowing how dangerous one stray thought could lead to
"You don't regret it?"
"No."
She didn't look convinced, "Just like that?"
"Yeah, just like that," he said, "Remorse, regret can form seeds of doubt into one's consciousness. It is a poison that will bring with it hesitation and uncertainty. Your confidence as a leader will wither as will a growing inability to make the important decisions."
"Like with Torfan?" she asked, she widened her eyes at the slip of the question. She like all members of his crew had never brought up what happened on Torfan in his presence.
"Yeah, just like with Torfan," he answered. "As your leader, I must be above such emotions. I am given an objective and as such will do everything in my power to complete such duty, no matter the consequences."
"It must be difficult," she opined.
Shepard allowed himself to smirk, "only to those who are around me."
She gave him a puzzling look, but he made no attempt to further clarify his position. She must have understood that as well, since she pushed herself up from behind the table. He watched her walk over to the kitchenette cabinets, pulling out two protein bars. She raised one in his direction as a question.
He nodded in answer, and she brought both bars back over to their table. She gave him one, which he thankfully took, the rumble of his stomach, a reminder that hadn't eaten in several hours. He tore open the wrapper before sinking his teeth into the bar. The artificial oatmeal raison flavor almost made it easier to swallow. Almost.
"What did the Council say?" she asked, sitting back down at the table, and opening her own bar.
He let out a mirthless chuckle. "They rebuked me for not saving the Thorian."
He noticed the look of anger flash behind her brown eyes, before shaking her head, her lips pursed together. "Figures, the alien Council would neither care nor complain about the death of hundreds of human colonists."
The angry twinge in her tone at the mention of the Council did not go unnoticed by Shepard. He had had similar conversations with Ashley in the past, knowing her pro-human roots and lingering suspicion or doubt within the Alien Community. He didn't fault her feelings. He too held similar suspicions, but unlike Ashley's humanity's leadership was also under the microscope to the Commander, which included the Alliance. He held all accountable and viewed all with suspicion- Alien or Human and friend or foe.
"Probably not," He took another bite of the bar. It was difficult for him to make sure his face didn't contort into disgust when he swallowed the artificial taste.
"The Council isn't going to change, Shepard," Ashley remarked. "They're never going to have our best interests at heart. They will always look to protect their own interests first." She paused, uncertain if she should continue with her train of thought. He gave her an encouraging nod, permitting her to continue.
"Sure, they will throw us a bone here and then pat us on the head when we behave but they're not going to risk their lives for our sakes."
"And you think humanity is different?"
"No, humanity shouldn't be different," she finished her own protein bar, cradling the wrapper in hand before slowly closing her fist around the piece of plastic and squeezing.
"We need to look out for our best interests as well. I mean if a bear attacks us, we'll sick our dog on it before we attack it. As much as we loved that dog, it still isn't human."
He frowned at her choice of words. He was aware of her suspicions of aliens and her discomfort in being around aliens on-board, but he was quick to note that she was getting a better in being in the constant company of the other alien crewmembers. Though, he would admit that she and the others still had a long way to go, before Shepard would consider his diverse squad, a true cohesive unit.
"These sound like some strong held beliefs," he noted, deciding not to mention that her words were on the verge of something you would find on a Terra Firma pamphlet.
"Experience," was her quick reply. Her eyes on the wrapper she had crushed into her hand, she dropped the crumpled piece of plastic onto the table, watching as the crumbs sprinkled onto the clean tabletop.
Shepard pocketed his half-eaten bar, deciding that he didn't have the stomach to finish it yet. He survey Ashley, whose eyes remained on the table, a possible revelation came to him at what she was referring to.
"You don't approve do you?"
"Sir?"
"At the side-missions we're doing," he clarified, "The missions for Wrex, Garrus, and Tali." He knew his words struck a chord upon seeing her flustered expression.
"I just don't think it's wise," she commented delicately, her fingers pinching the crumbs that had fallen from her crumpled wrapper. "It's stupid, sir, to risk our asses over some worthless, crummy armor or past vendettas."
"I think that these missions are absolutely crucial to our mission to stop Saren."
She looked up, showing him a puzzled look, her eyes watching him carefully.
"They're a part of our crew, my crew," he explained, running his fingers along the growing stubble of his chin. "They are alone on this ship, surrounded by humans. The only aliens on an Alliance ship, and yet they are risking their lives to help us."
"As their Commander, it is my responsibility to reward their loyalty, their service. So if they request a small detour or side errand, here and there, then I will make it a priority, just if it were yourself or Lt. Alenko."
"I never thought of it that way," Ashley acknowledged her eyes betrayed the disagreement she held for his choice.
He tried a new tactic. "If we can't put aside our petty differences to stop Saren then we might as well sound the trumpets when the Geth come. Since there will be no point in fighting them, if we're too pre-occupied in suspecting our ally is going to shoot us in the back."
"Commander Shepard?" The voice of XO Pressley echoed in the Mess Hall.
He instinctively looked up to the speaker that was broadcasting the Navigator's voice, "Yes, Pressley?"
"We have just received a distress signal with encryption that matches the known Cerberus codes from the bases and operatives we apprehended earlier."
"Very well, I'm on my way up."
"Very good Commander, Pressley out."
"Just what we need," Ashley commented sourly, wrinkling her nose in disgust, "More Cerberus."
Shepard regarded the Chief for a moment before motioning to the stairs, a silent gesture to follow him. She agreed with a nod, pushing herself from her seat, and following him to the staircase.
"I'm surprised by your thoughts on Cerberus."
She rounded on him, "They're terrorists, sir!" She shook her head, her eyes narrowing up the path ahead of them, while they continued to ascend up the staircase. "You saw what they did at those bases. What they did to the…Admiral," her eyes softening, bowing her head, to pay respect at the loss of the Rear-Admiral.
"I know, Ash," he said with a nod. He could easily recall the three bases, he and his squad had raided. Two of them had been crawling with creepers and strange, deadly…bugs. It wasn't until they reached the third base, it was abandoned, and there were eerie reminders of the past tenants, blood splattered walls, and of course the corpse of the deceased Admiral, who had been leading the Crusade in trying to stop Cerberus.
"You seem to share their pro-human stance," he observed, politely, not wanting to further ruffle her feathers.
"I would never join them," Ashley said firmly. "I'm Alliance through in through, sir. It's in my blood."
"Don't start thinking that the Alliance has clean hands, Ash," Shepard reminded the Gunnery Chief just as the door in front of them slid open. The soldier on call saluted Shepard as the two passed, to approach the Galaxy Map, Pressley stood below the map, typing away at his terminal, looking up at Shepard's arrival; he gave him a crisp salute.
Shepard stepped up the ramp that would give him full access and view of the Galaxy Map. "Can you bring up the signal, Pressley?"
"Of course, sir," Pressley said, after typing at the terminal, for a few seconds, an accented feminine voice broadcasted through the terminal speakers.
"This is Dr. Miranda Lawson. I am sending this distress signal because our facility has been attacked; we have already lost two-thirds of our staff. We are running low on supplies and will not be able to hold out much longer, we are requesting immediate assistance. Coordinates are as follows…"
Ashley was standing off to the side, her arms crossed. "It could be a trap, sir."
"Pressley, play it again."
Pressley obeyed his order. It was not until half way through the brief recording did Shepard catch what he was looking for. "Pause it."
Pressley did. The Navigator looked up at his superior officer with confusion.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, first looking to his XO and then to Ashley, they both shook their heads. "It was the sound of whimpering."
"Whimpering, sir?" asked Pressley.
"Yes, you know someone does it when they're either hurt or scared."
"I know what whimpering is," replied Pressley, quickly amending his reply, "I mean, sir."
"It could still be a trap, sir," Ashley suggested, stubbornly clinging to her earlier theory.
"No, it isn't Chief," He politely rebuked. "What would Cerberus gain?"
"Revenge on us," Ashley answered without hesitation. "They want vengeance for shutting down their other cells."
"Cerberus works in the shadows, Chief Williams," Shepard explained. "By kidnapping or killing the first human Spectre, they would expose their research. Not to mention lose precious resources and financial funding with my death."
"They could be rogue," Ashley claimed.
Shepard wasn't convinced. The whimpering he heard was genuine. The accented voice of this Miranda Lawson was laced in distress. "No, they are in serious danger."
"Commander, you can't be serious!"
He ignored Ashley's insubordination for the moment, turning his attention to his wisely silent XO. "Pressley can you give me a projected ETA to the system?"
"One moment, Commander," Pressley said respectfully, bringing his attention back to the console, while he typed on the terminal, a highlighted route appeared on the Galaxy Map. "Four hours, sir."
"Joker?"
"Yes, Commander?" the pilot asked through the Command Deck speakers. "I take it we got new coordinates, sir?"
"We do."
"Good, Commander, because I didn't get enough of the scary shit that Cerberus exposed us to last time."
Shepard smiled at his pilot's musings, but his smile turned into a frown when he turned to look down at Ashley. He didn't mind when his crew voiced their opinion, but openly questioning his orders in front of the Command Deck crew was not the time or place.
"Do not try to undermine my command again, Chief Williams."
Her shoulders slumped at the dress down, but she was disciplined enough to meet his stare in order to give him a crisp salute. "I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen again."
"That's all, Chief," he dismissed, satisfied with her response, he didn't give her a second glance, returning his attention to the highlighted route that lit up the Galaxy Map. His thoughts led him to the distress signal and the voice who gave it. Miranda Lawson, he mused, deep down, he knew that this mission was not going to be like the other missions he had been on. But then again, they never are, when Cerberus is involved.
-I will Rise-
It had been nearly four hours, since The Normandy had picked up the Cerberus distress signal. The ship's Commander was currently riding the galaxy's slowest elevator in the galaxy's most state-of-the-art warship. It was obvious to the disgruntled Shepard that elevator speed or convenience was not considered when this ship was put together. It's probably a turian design, he mused, referring to the Turian Hierarchy who co-funded this ship with the Alliance.
Slow elevator speeds would heighten morale or combat readiness, or battle discipline, he postulated with a bored wave of his hand. Trying to figure out a half-assed reason of why the Normandy's elevators were so damn slow. Slow elevators it's definitely an alien design, recalling the very slow elevators on the Citadel station.
Bing, the elevator door slid open and a restless Commander was quick to step off. He had come to the lowest level of the Normandy, because Joker had just reported that they should be entering the planet's atmosphere in ten minutes. It was time for the Commander to prepare the drop team and the Mako. Since Cerberus would likely be involved in this mission, Shepard decided to bring full strength-Wrex, Garrus, Tali, and Ashley would be accompanying him.
Kaidan and Liara had not been given medical clearance from Chakwas. Liara was still woozy from the mind melding she had with Shepard in retrieving and making sense of the Cipher, Shepard had been given by the asari on Feros. Kaidan was plagued with a nasty bout of migraines. He had his suspicions this particular bout had come due in large part to what had happened on Feros with the colonists.
However, Shepard gave his orders to the two remaining squad members, that if he and his team did not return in the agreed upon time. They would come down to the planet with a handful of Marines and send out a message to the Council, in case the worst should happen.
Shepard entered the hangar, and was quick to locate his entire squad. They were hovering around the Mako. They were spread out. There was no conversation between them. Each one was acting as if they were the only ones waiting by the Mako. He let out a breath at the disunity in front of him. He got along with each of them rather well. But for some reason or another, his squad had yet to mesh into a cohesive unit off the battlefield.
He cleared his throat, signaling his presence. Four heads turned in his direction, but it was the krogan mercenary who was the first to greet the human Spectre.
"Bout time Shepard."
Shepard offered Wrex, a friendly shrug. The two had slowly formed a mutual respect for the other, during the various missions they had fought in side by side. Shepard was sure that this respect stretched into friendship, after helping the gruff krogan in securing the armor of his ancestors. However, Shepard knew Wrex well enough to know that the krogan would never admit or acknowledge any sort of friendship between the two.
"Shepard, the Mako is ready for action," informed Garrus.
Shepard nodded to the turian. He had formed a quick friendship with the former C-Sec officer. The bonds of their friendship only strengthening when the two confronted the twisted, Doctor 'Heart,' and his assortment of mutated test subjects. After going through one of the doctor's labs, Shepard wasn't sure if he would ever rid his mind of the sight of the mutilated bodies with its rotting flesh, twisted shapes, torn muscles, and exposed innards…
"I take it you are driving?" He asked, noticing the turian was standing in front of the pilot seat door.
"After what you pulled on the Prothean Skyway," Garrus chuckled. "Yeah, I think I'll be doing the driving for now on." His remarked stirred life with the others, Wrex let out a deep, rumbling laugh. Ashley let loose a small smile from her tightly controlled hardened expression, while the young quarian known as Tali giggled at the jab.
Shepard let out a dramatic sigh, silently wondering if he was ever going to live down that mistake. With that one incident, he could never drive the Mako again? To be fair, he had almost driven the Mako off of the Skyway on Feros when he mistook the hydraulic jump for the missile launcher.
"That's fine; I only wanted to drive the Mako once, anyways."
"Mission accomplished then, Commander," Garrus joked, his small blue eyes shimmering with mirth.
It was Tali who stood up to defend him. "In his defense, the Mako on Feros was of a different design then this one."
Shepard smiled at the young quarian. Thankful for her kind hearted defense. He considered Tali to be the younger sister he never had. The one he desperately wished and hoped for growing up on frigates and Alliance bases because of his parents who were Alliance Officers.
The young quarian engineer was enamored by every facet of the ship, her knowledge and quick understanding of the ship had impressed the experienced and hardened Engineer Adams as well as Shepard. After helping her complete her pilgrimage he was very happy that she had decided to stay on-board the Normandy and continue the fight against Saren and the geth.
"Okay, let's file in," Shepard ordered.
It was a tight squeeze into the Mako, especially since it wasn't designed for alien passengers or even any passenger as large as Wrex. Who had elbowed his way towards the Mako's cannon in the back. Garrus had already camped himself out in the driver's seat, while Ashley took the seat next to him, as navigator and co-pilot. Shepard and Tali took to the back seats, separated by the large krogan manning the Mako's powerful turret and cannon.
"So what kind of planet is this, Shepard?" asked Wrex.
Shepard turned to Ashley. It had been her job to research the planet. By also making Ashley answer the question, he was hoping to encourage banter between his squad. All of the conversations tended to go through him.
"Frozen wasteland, Skipper, nothing but snow and hail," Ashley frowned."Why can't we ever be called to a nice planet, with a beach?"
Shepard laughed, silently agreeing with the Chief's blunt but honest assessment. They did seem to have an act to travel to planets that were mostly barren deserts or tundras or mountainous wastelands.
"A beach would be nice," he concluded.
"A beach?" asked Tali, the quarian who was raised not on a planet, but on her people's space faring fleet. She turned to Ashley in hopes for an explanation.
"Yeah, you know the beach," Ashley answered, as if by merely repeating the term would serve a nice enough explanation to the curious quarian. "You can go swimming, tan, build sand castles, and other…beach stuff."
"It sounds like a human thing," commented Garrus.
"It sounds like a dumb thing," added Wrex.
"Oh, I don't know Wrex, building sand castles can be a lot of fun."
Wrex chortled, "I'll pass Shepard."
The conversation ended when Joker radioed confirmation that they arrived at the drop point, giving them the green light to drop. Shepard watched the hangar doors open in front of him. The Mako was immediately assaulted by the powerful gusts of snowfall.
Garrus carefully drove the Mako at the edge of the Normandy's opening, before hitting the throttle; The Mako drove out of the hangar. Shepard's stomach immediately lurched while the Mako continued to freefall through the planet's atmosphere. He was pleased that the snow obstructed their view as they descended, since Shepard never liked watching the ground below them rapidly approach.
Ashley's voice cut through the silence of the Mako, "Landing in four-three-two-one." On cue, the Mako's accelerator's roared to life, allowing it to gracefully touch down on the barren tundra.
"Have you locked onto the signal?"
"Yes, Skipper. I'm programming it into the navi-computer now."
"ETA Garrus?"
"Ten minutes, Shepard."
"Good, alert Joker and Pressley that our landing was successful."
"No need to come down to scrape our corpses," commented a grim Wrex.
Silence filled the Mako afterwards; it was not a good sign for Shepard. He was hoping that this mission could bring some unity with his companions. They didn't have to be best friends, but any sort of dialogue or communication would be accepted by the Commander at this point. However, as they drove across the tundra, the only noise that could be discerned was the howling winds, and the fall of hail onto the Mako.
"We are coming up on the Cerberus facility, Skipper."
"Where is it?" asked Shepard, peaking out the front window, but saw very little in any direction. It was a miracle that Garrus could successfully and safely drive this vehicle in these conditions.
"It's on the left."
"Ease on the acceleration Garrus," Shepard instructed.
"Will do Shepard," Garrus affirmed, before turning his head, and adding. "Don't worry I won't mistake the missile launcher as the brakes."
The turian's quip unified the aloof squad into a mirthful atmosphere, with the trio laughing amongst one another.
"Hah-hah Garrus keep this up and I might leave you here."
"Testy Commander," Garrus called over his shoulder, as the Mako eased to a halt in front of a circular one level building which closely nestled itself along the edge of a high drop-off.
"Wrex?"
"No hostiles Shepard, too bad."
Shepard fastened his helmet, his assault rifle in his lap. He turned to the others, their helmets were strapped and they were favoring their own weapons. "Let's move out," he ordered, his voice carrying through the comm. system that was linked through their helmets. The doors of the Mako opened and the four squad-members were immediately greeted with the howling winds, snowfall, and the hail as they scrambled the short distance to the facility and the small crevice that hung over the entrance. It provided them a small refuge from the planet's conditions while Tali began hacking through the security console.
Thankfully, the squad didn't have to wait long, as the talented quarian was able to quickly bypass through the system, the doors opening in front of them. He took the quickness of the hacking with the combination of Tali's skill and the knowledge of the other Cerberus facilities that they had come across and hacked.
Shepard was first to walk into the anteroom, his rifle raised while he scanned around the room for any sign of hostiles. The room was empty of people, only containing crates that were stacked four to five high, which lined the walls. There was no sign of combat, death, or invasion in the eerily calm room. But Shepard knew looks could be deceiving, noticing a terminal on the far side of the wall.
"Tali, can you see if you can recharge the terminal, to see what happened here?"
"Will do Shepard," Tali confirmed, heading over to the terminal, while the others milled around the room, weapons raised, and prepared for action.
"Smells like a trap," Ashley stated.
"It's always quiet before a storm," Wrex observed solemnly. He held his shotgun in a tight grip.
"So let's stay alert."
"No need to tell me twice, Shepard," Garrus replied, walking over to the terminal and Tali, cradling his assault rifle.
"Shepard, I found something," Tali called over her shoulder.
"What is it Tali?" asked Shepard, joining Tali and Garrus at the terminal, while Ashley and Wrex stood behind them.
"I think I found the location of the survivors," she answered, before amending, "If there are any."
"Until we know otherwise, we act as if there are survivors that need rescuing," Shepard instructed his squad.
"Great," Ashley mumbled under her breath. "Let's go risk our asses to save some terrorists from their own experiments."
"Chief Williams," Shepard said in a clipped tone.
She instinctively straightened up, before bowing her head in apology.
Satisfied, that Ashley got the message, Shepard turned back to Tali. "What's their location?"
"Through this room, we should come to a stairwell that should lead us to the facilities safe-room."
"That is if we don't run into what chased them in there," noted Garrus.
Wrex chuckled. "That would just be our luck."
Shepard smiled. "So what are we waiting for?"
"Our brave leader to lead the way."
Shepard ignored Garrus 'jab so that he could take point, the others filing behind him as they carefully made their way through the doors that would lead them deeper into the facility. The door sensing his presence, slid open to reveal a long stretch of empty corridor, the only light coming from the dim flashing of the overhead lights that were not shattered.
"Right here, Commander," Tali pointed out after the squad had taken a few steps into the facility. She walked in front of Shepard, her omni-tool glowing as she waved it in front of the wall of the corridor. "The entrance is hidden."
"Smart," Shepard praised, watching the once camouflage door, slide open, revealing a dimly lit spiraling staircase. "Lights," he said, going to his omni-tool, and entering the command.
Each squad member had lights wired into their suits that were placed on their shoulders on pivots so that they could rotate to provide maximum coverage. With the lights from the squad's suits on, their path was better illuminated as Shepard descended down the stairwell, cautious and alert for the first sign of trouble.
"We got bodies," Shepard called over his shoulder, noticing three bodies lay at the bottom of the stairs. It was a gruesome sight. The bodies lay in a pool of blood; deep lacerations had been made on the face, throat, and torso.
He looked up to see the bodies were laid in front a thick steel door. It seemed these three had been in the unfortunate position of being locked out of the safe-room, when it was sealed.
He turned to Ashley. "Still think they deserve their fate?"
She avoided his stare, and the corpses at her feet, instead she tightened her grip on her assault rifle.
"I thought the door was hidden," Wrex observed.
"It was," Tali put in.
"Then what happened to them?" Garrus asked, gesturing to the bodies at his feet with his rifle.
Shepard frowned, looking around the small corridor that was formed from the stairwell to the door's entrance. The length and width of the room could barely comfortably hold Shepard and his squad, who were huddled at the entrance of the safe-room.
"Be prepared," Shepard said, his eyes lingering on a roof panel that had slipped from its position.
"They were so close," Tali said with a note of sympathy in her voice as she looked down at the bodies.
"They must have heard them knocking. They should have let them in," Ashley growled.
"No, they shouldn't have," Shepard argued. "If you let them in, then you risk the life of everyone in the room. The sacrifice of these three to save the others within, it was the right choice to make."
"Then let's get these doors opened," Ashley retorted sarcastically, "So that you can congratulate the one in charge."