A/N
tmroc725 here with a new chapter! I don't have much to say, and what I do is at the end.
As always, credit goes out to mivpus, my co-writer/beta reader. Lord knows I couldn't do this without him.
Let start the show!
xxxx
December 24
Lazarus Station
Bar, recreational section.
19:42
"So let me get this straight" Valkyrie began, propping her elbows up onto the bar counter, taking a new, strong drink from her beer; "You're from the past... You died and were transported here, by a god," Valkyrie said pointing at Alex; who was leaning against the counter next to Tyler. "And to cap it off, you've seen a lot of the shit that's supposed to happen within the next months? If it weren't for those 'memories' or yours, I'd call bullshit" 'She finished calmly, though it could very well be the alcohol kicking in.
Tyler just nodded slowly, knowing he was treading on thin ice as it was. Anna, or Valkyrie as he was supposed to call her, didn't seem particularly bothered by it though.
"Bartender!" She called loudly. "Vodka martini, two olives" she said holding up her fingers. Tyler looked down before the woman, seeing how she still had a half-filled glass of beer. A rather big one, to top it off. He winced at the mention of his 'memories'.
Apparently, the Mjolnir team was well within range of the Queens song. The Rachni that surrounded them hadn't helped either, in fact they had boosted the power of the memories. The only upside was that it was a lot easier to explain to them. Which wasn't really of in upside, in Tyler's opinion. At least he had been able to explain the rather digital quality by classifying it as a side effect of the song. It was the only way he could avoid questions such as 'why would Lawson bang a guy named Shepard while Taylor is alive?'. Those would have been excruciatingly awkward.
On the other side of the counter, the bartender appeared with drink already in hand. Roan was an aging Brit, with a smooth, yet gravelly voice; that seemed to have the female Cerberus staff swoon. Roan sat the drink down wordlessly, before disappearing.
Tyler cocked his head to the right to eye the team. Valkyrie, Kraken, Blue Tooth, and Loki were present. Heimdahl was still in the med-bay having his injured tended too. The only ones other than Heimdahl not present were Miranda and Jacob. They had been whisked away immediately to debrief with the Illusive Man. The rest of the able-bodied team had agreed unanimously to head to the bar. Tyler himself looked down on his hand, closed around a glass of ale as it was. He had, if anyone, needed to drink. What was it now, his fifth glass? Helluva piece of cybernetics that they kept him from being drunk. Alex seemed to read his mind, and just chuckled.
"Roan!" Miranda called walking toward the bar, Jacob close behind. "Two bourbons straight" she ordered, plopping tiredly into the free seat next to Valkyrie. She didn't exactly look like she had just had the best interview of her life.
The Brit nodded stiffly and reached under the counter. He produced a bottle of aged bourbon. Tyler chuckled quietly, taking a drink from his own glass. It appeared that even two hundred years later, Jack Daniels was still alive and kicking. Roan expertly filled the two shot glasses and placed them before Miranda. At least it wasn't Captain Morgan, cheap piss as it was.
There was a collective eye widening across the bar as Miranda downed both shots in rapid succession. Even Jacob looked mildly perturbed at her actions. Miranda made a small face as she slammed the glass onto the counter but said nothing. I was fairly clear she wasn't in the mood for casual Smalltalk, but rather, serious business.
She eyed the assembled team warily. "Since we're all here, most of us anyway, I think it's time we had that talk," she said looking at Tyler. The rest of the team nodded in agreement, albeit warily.
"So…" Tyler started. "Who the hell is Thomas Fisher? I mean, you all seemed to nearly piss yourself at the mention of his name… or is it a project?" he asked cautiously, doing his best to watch the overall reaction of the team. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watched the group. More than a few of the members growled quietly or hissed at the name, and Valkyrie winced. Miranda blanched slightly and Jacob idly touched his jaw, as their eyes lit up in some form of remembrance.
"Thomas Fisher… is like you, but a lot scarier" She started, eyes focused on the counter. Beside her Roan appeared and refilled both of her bourbon glasses. Miranda quickly slammed one of the shots back before continuing.
"He… appears as two separate personalities, two aspects of the same person." Miranda said with a slight shiver. "He hates Cerberus. Ever since Teltin, but I think his anger has been harbored toward us for far longer than thát," She said, meeting Tyler's eye.
"When you say two aspects… exactly what do you mean?" Tyler asked, looking around. Miranda seemed content with being quiet, so Jacob was the one who spoke up instead;
"He's not human. At least not fully human. We met him first time on Noveria, back when the first infestation pretty much laid Port Hanshan to waste. It was a Cerberus experiment that had gotten out of control, so we were sent to deal with it. But… we weren't the only ones."
"No shit…" Loki muttered.
"An Alliance team, as well as a Turian cruiser, the Centurion, was sent there to assist with dealing with the outbreak…" Jacob said. Tyler scratched his head;
"Outbreak? The Rachni?" Jacob shook his head.
"A lot of twisted shit happened where the Normandy went. When they left Therum, a new species of hostile aliens had been found there. Cerberus wanted it for biological weapons, so we gassed the hive and brought back what seemed to be a queen. Was too, but… things got out of control, and somehow the creatures took over Hanshan." Jacob had clearly not been there in person, but he still had a look of regret and fear to him when he mentioned the events.
"What creatures, and what about Thomas Fisher?"
"Ever seen those old movies, the ones called 'Aliens'? Well, as I said, twisted shit happened where the Normandy went, and somehow, we ended up with xenomorphs as a result." Jacob continued, even as Tyler's jaw went to the counter.
"Xenomorphs? Black, acid-spitting fuckers who… right…fuck me…" Jacob nodded at the sentiment.
"Yeah. They overwhelmed Hanshan, so we went in to save what was left of civilians and material. Thát's when we ran into Thomas Fisher the first time." Jacob once more touched his jaw. Tyler noted this, but decided it must be something subconscious; "He was part of the Alliance team. When I saw him the first time, he was just the regular marine. You know, guns, armor, that sort of shit."
"Right…" Tyler said.
"That's when Satan flipped a coin though." Valkyrie said, not looking up from her drink. Surprisingly, Jacob nodded, as if agreeing with her.
"Okay, just what happened?"
"They were being overrun by bugs, Thomas and his team. There was a Turian, a Krogan, and another human. They had been trying to seal up the vents, good idea, but useless in the end, when a big, and I mean big fucker jumped them. Then more followed and the shooting started. We joined in, but in the end it wasn't going to be enough." Jacob said.
"I'm guessing this is where said coin was flipped?" Tyler asked, looking at Anna, or Valkyrie as she wanted to be called. Jacob nodded again;
"Fisher started glowing green, that's what happened. Suddenly, the big fucker was thrown through the air and hammered against the walls and ceiling, like if it was a doll. The guy, Fisher, he was hovering in the air, completely covered in green fire and fog. He just started setting fire to everything hostile, like… like he was flooding them in fire."
"Guy's Lucifer incarnated, I tell you." Kraken said, slamming his shot-glass onto the desk.
"Maybe… fact remains, the people with him didn't seem all that startled, like they knew what he was. Then, he just calmed down and went back to being human. Of course, then they knew we were there, so we did what seemed wise, and went down there…" Jacob muttered.
"I'm guessing that was a bad idea?"
"Very. He recognized us somehow, as Cerberus. We weren't marked or wearing symbols or anything, so I still don't know how. Also, he knew me, as in he knew my name, face, past, everything." Tyler tried wrapping his head around it so far, but it was really starting to give him a headache. Or, maybe it was the beer finally catching up. Jacob was a nice guy, so…
"He was happy to see someone familiar I take it?"
"He punched me in the jaw. Almost broke it. Then, he started flipping off on the team, like he was mental. Dunno why… I really don't get it. Then, we were arrested. More Alliance teams came from behind, and we were tied up. I went to a brig on the Normandy, the team was shipped off on the Turians' ship."
"Fuck… that… wait, then how are you all sitting here?" Tyler said.
"Thomas made a deal with me." Miranda suddenly spoke up; "One of the Normandy crewmembers had been jumped by an impregnator, the creatures implanting embryos into humans. I had the knowledge to remove it, and in return the crew was freed and dropped on Illium." Tyler nodded, thinking things over. Despite it all, Thomas Fisher was apparently loyal enough to his colleagues that he would release members of Cerberus in return for medicinal help.
"Sounds like he was just looking out for his friends." Tyler said. The words earned him a flat look from Miranda.
"He threatened with skinning Jacob alive if I didn't comply. Loyalty is fine, but Thomas Fisher is… I'd call him borderline sadist." Thát got Tyler to widen his eyes. What on Earth, both the old and present one, would make someone threaten to skin Jacob alive?
"Shit…but what happened?"
"Long story short, I managed to direct the doctor onboard to successfully remove the embryo. After that, Fisher kept his part of the deal and got the Turians to comply as well. Mjolnir-six was dropped off on Illium." Miranda finished, taking her second shot and downed it.
"Never been happier to be off a ship…" Anna said.
"Then, sometime went without actually encountering him. He killed a group of our operatives on the Citadel, a top-mark assassin among them. He even went via a direct link and threatened the Illusive Man himself." Miranda continued.
"Takes balls to do that, I'll admit that much." Loki said. Tyler had yet to actually learn his real name; "Then, what, the next encounter was on Pragia, right Freya?"
"…Yes." Miranda said, looking down. Apparently, there was a subject here that she wasn't happy to discuss. But, things were getting out in the open at the moment, so it would seem to be the best time to reveal one's secrets; "It was… not a pleasant experience."
"What happened? Was it something connected to Teltin?" Tyler asked, remembering that the facility that had "raised" Jack, had been located on Pragia. Miranda's eyes shot straight to him, then back down.
"You must understand Tyler… Cerberus has never claimed the moral high-ground in order to preserve and further humanity."
"I'm starting to not liking this…" Tyler muttered to himself, but kept from interrupting Miranda.
"Fisher had become too big a threat, and his abilities would have been a boon to Cerberus, if we could make use of them. Cerberus dispatched an assassin to retrieve his dead body, and that part was accomplished. However, Fisher he… this is where his second personality resurfaced again." Miranda said, her voice growing stressed as if she was reliving something uncomfortable.
"What happened?"
"He was dead as dead can be." Jacob said; "Neck broken in three places, zero heart-rate, post-mortem cold and shit. And yet…"
"When we wanted to… perform the procedure to find out more, he came back to life. Only, it wasn't all him. There was something demonic in him. Green fire, his eyes were made of green fire, his body covered in messed up symbols and fire. He was completely changed, cynical, murderous, insane, call it what you want. We tried to avoid a confrontation, odd as that might sound given the cause of his presence, but security arrived and things became… less than ideal." Tyler could feel cold sweat running down his back at the description.
"Symbols? Green fire? Sounds familiar…" Alex muttered, though seeing as no one reacted, Tyler was the only one to see him yet again.
"Fuck…" Tyler muttered, unsure of what else to say.
"He took down the entire team minus Private Colbert, and she was knocked out. He didn't leave anyone standing, and then went on to torture Lawson." Anna growled. It was obvious the distaste she had for the demonic character, and Tyler could agree to that sentiment.
"It wasn't as much torture as it was a simple interrogation. The fact that he went about it with that sort of detachment, like I was the one causing him to do it, is what frightened me. Odd though, as he treated my wounds after he had gotten what he wanted. Some humanity shining through maybe."
"I'm seriously confused now. Is he a shit-head or a good guy?"
"I'm not done." Miranda said. Tyler went silent and Miranda resumed the retelling; "At least, I thought it was humanity. Turned out it was simple… planning, or something. He needed me willing to do something in the future, however I am still unsure of what."
"Tell him what happened then, Freya." Loki said.
"Half an hour went by, then the reports started coming in. Apparently he had found Nilsdottir, Subject Zero, as the scientists called her, and-" Tyler jumped from his seat, ending Miranda's words.
"You… you ran the Teltin Facility?" He demanded, aghast at the idea that Miranda, an at least decent person, had managed the same facility that tortured children. Miranda looked shocked at his reaction, then understanding, and sadness dawned in her eyes.
"No…" She muttered, slowly shaking her head; "I wasn't in charge of the biotics-wing. I was there for the sole purpose of Fisher, and… and providing a base level of maternal care for Nilsdottir."
"Calm down Tyler. Miranda doesn't run everything in Cerberus. There are places and things not open to her." Jacob admonished. Tyler though, just stared at Miranda;
"What sort of care? And for how long did you know Cerberus had a child imprisoned there?" Miranda looked down for a moment before looking back up at him;
"I did my best to provide Jennifer with at least a sort of motherly presence. I taught her to read, write, and I tried giving her comfort when the tests had been conducted. She was… the newest arrival, barely six years old." Tyler was still simply aghast at the notion that Miranda hadn't done everything in her power to free a child, a six year old child, from the sort of satanic work that was going on in Teltin.
"Jesus Christ…" He wanted to say more, to scream and shout and curse… but he didn't. Instead he just slumped back down on his chair and stared at his glass, the beverage now suddenly so hostile and strange to look at; "…Why? I mean, seriously. Why would you, any of you, do that to a child?"
"We don't always have a choice. A disgusting action against one person today might save a thousand tomorrow…" Miranda said, not meeting his eye as he looked up at her.
"That's an awful nice way of saying the end justifies the means."
"It's not my choice. I do as I'm ordered, as do we all. Had we kept Nilsdottir, Cerberus could have produced the single-most powerful biotic ever to have lived. Instead… Fisher took her, slaughtered and maimed his way through the facility and escaped. Some elements of Cerberus want to go to Earth and recollect her, but… I managed to convince the Illusive Man to discard the idea."
"I imagine Thomas Fisher would like to thank you for that if he meets you again." Tyler said, not sure whether or not his voice held more anger or sarcasm. He was calming down, but still angered that such travesties had taken place in the current Cerberus.
"He would flay me alive, most likely." Miranda said, with an unentertained smile on her lips; "When he escaped Teltin, Security Sergeant Paulson tried to stop him. He burned her face off, then hurled her into the stairs."
"I can't imagine he'd have been in a good mood at that point then." Tyler muttered, seeking a refuge from his own anger, at the bottom of his beer-glass.
"No. He wasn't. A few days later, Teltin was raided by Alliance Admiral Oleg Petrovsky, Zarnov's brother. The director for Teltin snapped and started killing the children still in the facility. Petrovsky managed to save a dozen or so, but still…" Anna said, shaking her head; "fifty children died at that man's gunpoint."
"God… Roan! Another!" Tyler shouted. All conversation was halted as the bartender emerged, delivering a fresh glass to Tyler before he went back to what sounded like a sports-match. Tyler wasted no time delving into the liquid salvation, and after a moment, the glass was empty.
"I don't want to hear more about Teltin." Tyler said with a resolute voice; "What happened after that?"
"The next thing we heard, after we came back from a fucked up mission on Daratar, was that the Citadel had been attacked by Saren Arterius, and apparently Fisher had fought the Turian one-on-one. Crazy fucker won alright, but… was unnatural, is what it was."
"Saren? I thought Shepard was supposed to fight Saren. Why'd Fisher end up doing it?" Tyler asked, his tipsiness momentarily making him forget that the idea of other dimensions, gods and time-travel, was alien to these people.
"Dunno what you think should've happened, but might be well the same. Cerberus gathered enough intel on Saren that we knew he wasn't natural either. Good thing those two were let loose on each other." Jacob said, rubbing his forehead. Tyler dreaded the answer, but asked anyway.
"Was Saren what the Queen called an 'aura-wielder'?" Most of the team looked confused at the response, save for Miranda and Alex. Seeing how Alex had a weird way of being in and out of the others' consciousness's, Tyler looked to Miranda for the answer.
"It's possible. Until now we didn't even know such a term existed, but… it would make sense, considering the queen said Nazara, what the rest of the galaxy just knows as Sovereign, was an aspect of some sort. That would explain at least some of the abilities he displayed."
"Like what?"
"Pyrosis, for one. Non-biotic telekinesis was another, especially with water and metal." Miranda explained. Tyler understood the word 'Pyrosis' enough that it had something to do with fire.
"So… what, he was like an Avatar?" Tyler asked. Miranda looked confused for a moment, before Valkyrie… Anna, joined in.
"Yeah, kinda. Except only the Krogans and humans had an Avatar in those films. Unless they've made a new one while I wasn't looking." She said, then grabbed the remainder of her vodka and poured it down; "Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to bed and pretend this is all a dream until tomorrow."
"Sleep well Anna." Tyler said, then shook his head at her semi-amused look. She was pretty, but damn if Anna was confusing at times.
"I think that should count for the rest of us too." Miranda said, getting to her feet. Perfect human or not, she instantly stumbled and had to be saved by a chuckling Jacob Taylor, who supported her while walking towards the exit. As the rest of the team left the bar as well, Tyler was left sitting alone, looking at his glass.
"Well… I suppose that went well enough." He muttered, emptied the glass and headed for the sleeping quarters.
XXX
December 27
Command Center
0800 Station Time
December 27
Command Center
0800 Station Time
Miranda stifled a yawn as she stalked through the halls of the station, bound for the command center. While she was the 'perfect' woman, mornings had never been her strong suit. The only reason she was awake currently, was because the Illusive Man had called her with urgent news.
Miranda stepped hurriedly into the command room, quickly making her way to the QEC chamber. With a flick of the wrist, a small mirror appeared on Miranda's Omnitool. She adjusted her hair one last time, before stepping into the chamber.
There was a quiet humming sound as a small green beam bathed her in light. Miranda always hated this part of the QEC. When it first activated, she seemed to lose her sense for a moment; as virtual reality took over. It was the ultimate, digital immersion. It was fascinating and debilitating at the same time.
Miranda blinked furiously as she adjusted to her new surroundings. Gone was the bleak white of the QEC chamber, replaced the almost empty expanse of the Illusive Man's chamber. Miranda took long steps forward, her heels clicking with each step, toward her employer. The QEC was equipped with a multiball-floor that allowed a person to walk normally, and not move an inch. Old technology really, but why fix what wasn't broken?
The Illusive Man swiveled around to face her. He grinned as he took one last, long drag from his cigarette; before snuffing it out. He smiled at her, eying her like a piece of meat. Being the leader of Cerberus had come with many 'specialties', Miranda just happened to be his favorite. She knew it was her skills that had landed her this position, but…
"Miranda Lawson reporting as you requested sir!" Miranda declared coolly, snapping a crisp salute. She had to resist frowning. The Illusive Man wasn't discreet when it came to his observations, Miranda was just glad that he abstained from it around Jacob. Mankind's protector or not, the Illusive Man was very much human himself, and prone to less… desirable habits. This was a reason Miranda seriously considered dumping the cat suit and instead don an actual uniform.
It would be worth it, just to see the disappointment on his face.
The Illusive Man waved his hands at her, signaling for her to return to parade stance; which she did. He reached down and retrieved a cigar from his silver case before speaking. "Thank you for joining on such short notice Miss Lawson, but I have something that you might find interesting." TIM said before withdrawing a lighter from the case.
While he could've easily lit it electronically, it didn't feel right. A true Cuban cigar from Earth deserved better, in his mind at least. It was a habit, a weakness that some might exploit, he knew. Still, he wasn't going to discard such a piece of extravagance and culture.
"I'm all ears sir" Miranda replied, turning to face the large holographic monitors; which sat in front of her employer.
Turning in his chair, her boss activated the holographic display. The blank screens were quickly replaced with millions of pieces of data. With a few simple commands, the pieces were reduced to less than a dozen images. The Illusive Man wasted no time with the briefing.
"Two days ago, I was contacted personally by an information broker in Illium. She informed me that she located Commander John'Shepard's body." He said, taking a long drag from his cigar, waiting for Miranda to speak, to react.
"John'Shepard's body sir?" Miranda asked curiously. She wasn't sure what her boss would want with the body of the dead Captain of the Normandy. True, the man had done some good deeds for humanity, and the Quarians were now part of the Systems Alliance, thus forcing into consideration whatever plans Cerberus had concerning the Migrant Fleet.
Especially because there really was no Migrant Fleet anymore.
"Yes Miss Lawson, you heard right. This broker located his body. She attempted to recover it herself, but she was forced to retreat. According to the files she sent me as a gesture of faith, the Reapers and the Shadow Broker are working together to recover his body" TIM said activating his command console. Quickly, images of Reaper forces filled the screen to the brim. Picture of husks, cannibals, and brutes. The images of the husks weren't the most interesting though. What caught Miranda's eye were the images of human-sized bipedal insects wielding rifles and glowing a sickly yellow from each of their four eyes.
Miranda stared at the images completely rapt. She cocked her head to look at her employer. "Sir… are those… what I think they are?" she asked in a deadly serious tone.
The Illusive Man nodded grimly before taking an long drag of the cigar. "It would seem so, Miss Lawson. The science department is analyzing the images as we speak, but we already know what they are. It appears that these… are Collectors."
Miranda swallowed as she stared at the images. 'Collectors'… Collectors weren't supposed to even be real, were they? Ghost stories, told to children that if they misbehaved, they'd be taken by the nasty Collectors and never seen again. That was all these things were, wasn't it? Stories?
Yet, why then, was she looking at clear evidence to the contrary? "Did… did they manage to recover Shepard's body?" she asked nervously with a hint of grimness.
Her employer sighed. "No, they didn't manage to. The broker on Illium sent a team to recover the body, but they were intercepted shortly after entering the Omega Nebula. There were no survivors. The Reapers managed to track the communications to the broker who was on Omega at the time. The Shadow Broker deployed forces to apprehend her, but the broker managed to escape along with a few of her men."
Miranda nodded. "How does this involve my team sir?" she asked curiously.
His piercing blue eyes met hers. "She contacted me early this morning. She's currently on the Citadel, laying low. I told her that I would dispatch a team to retrieve her and the data she has in her possession. I want you to go to the Citadel, secure her, and wait for further orders."
Miranda saluted sharply. "Yes sir."
The Illusive Man coughed, exhaling smoke. "Make sure that only you and Mr. Taylor are informed of the true nature of this mission. I trust everyone in M-6 except…" He said, taking a drag; "…for Mister Stevens."
Miranda returned TIM's stare. "Sir may I advise you to reconsider that. He has shown great promise, especially during the recent mission to Noveria" she argued.
"That may be Miss Lawson" he said lowly "but I don't believe that he's trustworthy yet. He's just another Fisher in my opinion" her employer retorted. "And I don't want another Fisher" he all but growled. "Good luck Miss Lawson. I have complete faith in you…" he finished simply before cutting the connection.
Miranda sighed. She exited the chamber bound for the gym, where the team was scheduled for its daily training.
XXX
Gym
0820
"Damn Stevens! How much longer do you plan on running?" Valkyrie asked, fascination rapt as she stared at Tyler. "I said you had to run forty kilometers. I didn't think you'd actually do it."
Tyler grinned proudly, but kept his eyes forward, focused on running. He swiped unconsciously at the sweat which had amassed on his forehead. "I'm just getting started ma'am" he replied easily. Tyler and Valkyrie had spent the last hour testing the limits of his cybernetics. Apparently running was something he couldn't get enough of anymore.
He would later find thát particular skill very useful.
"It those –damn- cybernetics" Valkyrie retorted with a grin. "That's the only reason you have that kind of stamina."
"Nope I just naturally have the stamina and prowess of an Olympic athlete" he replied with a smirk. "And I like to show it off."
Out of thin air, Alex appeared with a shit-eaten grin. "I bet you want to show her that 'Olympic' stamina in a different way" he said aloud, using his finger for air quotes. His grin threated to rip his face apart as Tyler reacted.
Tyler coughed violently, expelling any oxygen that his shallow breathing could've absorbed. At the same time, his legs gave out from under him, sending him plummeting forward; into the treadmill control panel. Then, by courtesy of physics, he was launched backwards from the apparatus with high speed, bumping across the floor. What followed was a series of curses that would put even Subject Zero to shame, had Fisher not freed her and changed that part of what Tyler knew as the timeline. Luckily for Tyler, this was the moment when Miranda appeared, a look of determination shown clearly on her expression.
"-bloody piece of shit! I swear to whatever gods there are that you- your whole family's going to get a fist up their-" Tyler continued to threaten, until Miranda cut him off. Her voice matching the icy look in her eyes.
"Mister Stevens!" Miranda barked loudly, silencing Tyler abruptly. "If you are quite done cursing, then we have some important business to attend too" Miranda finished, tapping her foot impatiently, a very unamused look on her face.
Tyler gulped, feeling a fierce blush creeping up the back of his neck. Sheepishly, he accepted the hand Valkyrie was offering quietly. She was grinning fiercely, seeming unaffected by his outburst. The two quickly made their way to the quickly growing semi-circle. The last to enter was Jacob, Miranda gaze lingered on him for an extra few seconds, as she chewed her bottom lip. Quickly, she turned her head to look back at the rest of the group.
Clearing her throat, she addressed the team. "I recently received orders from the Illusive Man. He wants us to go to the Citadel to recover an agent who's gone dark" she said in half-truth. No one knew she was lying, except for Jacob, and Tyler thought it seemed like something Cerberus would send commandoes to do.
"Two missions in a week Lawson? You're spoiling us" Kraken called out jokingly, leaning against a crate. Miranda smiled and nodded, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear as she did so;
"So, we get to go in blazy, or lazy?" Loki asked. Tyler raised a brow at the man's expression, but put it off as jargon or just camaraderie.
"Grab your gear and guns. Hopefully we won't need them, but better safe than sorry" she continued with a shrug. "Report to dock twelve in one hour. Dismissed!" she finished with a sharp command. The group snapped sharp salutes, before quickly making way for the armory.
XXX
MSV Phoenix
1.5 Hours later
1.5 Hours later
Tyler yawned as he propped his feet up on a nearby stool. The Phoenix wasn't a particularly large ship, but it was comfortable. It was an older Kowloon-class merchant ship that was registered to a Cerberus puppet corporation. Of course, being Cerberus, it was also outfitted with a plethora of concealed turrets, illegal barriers and shielding normally found on military frigates. The ship had something called "Mithril shielding", a type of protection Tyler had never heard of before.
It wouldn't stand a chance against a regular military vessel, but pirates would be sent crying for their mommas, he hoped.
The majority of the team had broken off to their individual rooms to crash. Not Tyler though, instead he had decided to relax in the mess hall. The mess hall barely qualified as one. In size, it was more akin to a cheap hotel's continental breakfast room, than a true mess hall.
Tyler surveyed the small room, bored. There was only one occupant in it besides himself. It was the Centurion from Noveria, of all people. In recent days, he had been added as an auxiliary member of the team, at Miranda's request surprisingly. Only now did Tyler begin to study the man. Many had thought Tyler to suffer from paranoia, but when you were a nerd; you had to keep your guard up 24/7. There was always the risk that someone would take an advantage of you.
He was a large man, at around six foot. He had jet black hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He appeared to be bi-racial, looking like a mix of Asian and European. The odd thing was his accent. He sounded almost British, but Tyler could never tell. The Centurion sighed, looking up from his Katana; which was on the table in-front of him, to look at Tyler.
"Is there something you need, Mister Stevens" the Centurion asked coolly. Yep, defiantly British.
Tyler shrugged nonchalantly. "Not in particular, just bored" he replied, before taking a swig from his water bottle. The centurion nodded, but didn't immediately return to maintaining his Katana. The sword looked like it was one of those monomolecular blades Tyler had seen before. Instead, he continued to stare Tyler down. Shifting uncomfortably, Tyler looked away.
Finally, the Centurion broke the silence. "So you're really not one of us, huh? That back on Noveria wasn't some figment of my bloody imagination?" the Centurion asked, trying to joke.
Tyler sighed, staring intently at his bottle. After a few moments he replied. "Nope, not really. Born on Earth, about 200 years ago" he said looking up. It was both scary, and rather funny, talking about it.
The centurion nodded, eyebrows raised high in response. He swallowed nervously. "What was it like? Earth 200 years ago?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "I major in history, and I've always been interested in our origins. Piss hard to find anything good on the era 1950 to 2070 though…" he shrugged.
Tyler smiled and rose, walking over to the man's table. He didn't sit, instead preferring to lean against the open chair. "Well by all accounts, it was far emptier. When I was there we had a population of seven billion-ish, and we were worried about the climate. Now we've got what? Eleven Billion? And most power comes from solar or fusion… honestly, I say this is better" he said, receiving a quick nod in response. "I grew up in the country of the US… Kentucky to be exact. From what I've read, we didn't grow as much as the other states did. That was before the United North American States were formed, of course" Tyler finished. And before some jackasses bombed the shit out of Lady Liberty… maybe I should tell someone that Hock has her head?
For another hour or so, the two traded questions. The Centurion was, in fact, a Brit; raised in New London, the first colony of Britain's outside of Earth. His mother from India, and his father North London. He, like Tyler, had a fascination when it came to history. During the entire talk, Tyler never got the Centurion's name, not that he cared too much.
XXXX
Citadel
9 Hours Later
Valkyrie chuckled quietly as she observed Tyler. He was an odd one, to say the least. Polite, yes, but still odd. There just was this… air of something alien about him, and if she hadn't known his secret, she'd have been mildly confused. True, he seemed to handle himself quite well, and she had been impressed by his prowess back on Noveria. Cybernetics or not, there were aspects one couldn't install with augmentations, and Tyler had displayed those. Also, and she was perfectly professional here, he was rather handsome. Just because there was nothing between them, no one had said she couldn't appreciate what she saw. Still, she kept those thoughts to herself, and continued observing him with quiet amusement.
He was wide eyed, as he looked around the Citadel docking bay. The bay itself was relatively cramped, with every species under the sun present. Understandably, Tyler was slightly perturbed by the presence of so many aliens, causing him to stick close to the group.
As they moved through the docking tube, Miranda held up a hand to stop them. She smiled at the plain-clothed soldiers. She herself was dressed in an Alliance uniform, though without ranks, marking her as an ensign. Someone no one would bother. "One thing I just 'happened' to forget" she said using air quotes for affect. "You've all been granted shore leave for the next four hours. You've earned it" she said with a grin.
A few celebratory 'whoops' were heard audibly. "Please do remain on or near the Presidium. I want everyone close-ish, in case something goes wrong" she said, more authoritatively. The group nodded, before quickly shuffling out of the tube.
Grinning, Miranda linked her arm through Jacob's, beaming up at him. "Come on, let's go find this broker" she said quietly. Jacob smiled down at her, before planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
She had no idea what kind of shitstorm was about to unfurl.
XXXX
Citadel
Presidium
Commercial Area
Tyler hummed quietly along to the Asari music, which drifted through the store. The team, except for Miranda and Jacob, had been given a few hours to wander the Citadel at the leisure; as long as they stayed near or on the Presidium. It was nice, getting a chance to stroll around the majestic center of galactic commerce, even if humans weren't as popular these days, given the insane fact that they had left the Citadel as a client race, and now simply held en embassy on the station. Tyler briefly wondered if this was something caused by his coming to the future, or this dimension.
He looked up from the shopping terminal, scanning the department store he was in. It was deserted for the most part. Scattered among the stores were a few humans and the occasional turian. Behind the main counter were three Asari, who appeared to be in their maiden stages, looking utterly bored. Silly, how they were probably more than twice his age, and yet had the mindset of someone slightly younger than him.
Tyler sighed as he looked down at the shopping terminal. Maybe it was paranoia, but he felt as if he was being watched. It was natural, of course, to be paranoid when you belonged to an acclaimed terrorist organization, and walked the center of civilization in disguise. Sort of like a Taliban walking around in New York City. It was really strange, and uncomfortable, knowing that he would be arrested on the spot if people knew his employers.
Above Tyler, two figures watched him closely. Both were in Alliance issued hard-suits of the phase-II version, and both wielded a Viper sniper rifle. They were spaced apart so that they had a clear shot anywhere in the store, and on the entire section of the Presidium actually. Normally, it was illegal to be on the catwalks, and even more so to be pointing weapons from them, but they had a newly instated Spectre backing them, which essentially meant they could kill a baby and it would be perfectly fine.
The male of the two, a man with a European appearance and skin tone, grunted as he repositioned himself, adjusting his sniper rifle's scope to hover just above his targets head. He was muscular of build and had short-cropped dark hair. In a similar fashion, the Hispanic woman across from him panned her rifle to keep its sights on the unsuspecting man below. Had Tyler known he was being targeted with enough firepower to take out a Krogan, he might have been a little more worried than he was now.
"Roku confirms. That's our guy," a third, male voice announced, breaking the radio silence.
The Hispanic soldier's eyes furrowed slightly as she watched the man below. "Are you sure about that, Fisher? He looks more like a rookie than anything else. Then again, except for the eye, so do you." She chuckled the last part, though it didn't deter her from a perfect aim.
"According to Roku, he's more than some rookie" the voice replied. "Stick to the plan. Wait until he's alone, then we'll jump him. Nick and Tequila, you're on overwatch. Jane, Ash, and I will deal with the fucker. We will see what is so special about him... Then we'll make him regret ever joining Cerberus…" the man replied with a sinister chuckle. There was no sympathy to trace in the voice coming over the comms, and the two snipers nodded their ascent. The woman going by the name of the beverage shot a glance to her counterpart, the one called 'Nick'.
"And if there are other operatives with him?" She asked into the comms. There was a short pause.
"Depends on who they are. Identify before taking a shot, I'd say. Also, if you see a brunette, or blonde in a tight cat suit… she's mine." The last words were said with such malice and barely restrained contempt that the woman shivered slightly.
"Got it…" 'Tequila' muttered, ending the conversation. Next to her, 'Nick' sighed as he adjusted his aim;
"He's cold on this one…" He muttered. The speaker in the comms was the sniper's oldest friend, and as such he if anyone knew when something was troubling him.
"Yeah, I know. Still, I think I understand him. Cerberus had him killed more than once, and from what I've heard, that wasn't even the part that pissed him off." The woman said.
"You mean Jenny?" the muscular marine asked, not taking his eyes from the scope. He wasn't a natural sharpshooter, but had to fill the role as the best sharpshooter on the team was… unavailable. Courtesy of Cerberus, he supposed it could be called.
"Yeah… Christo, I swear. Who could do that shit to a child?" She cursed, finger dancing over the trigger. The grunt in the shop might just be a grunt, but he represented Cerberus. That equaled a target painted on his forehead. And Tequila had always been a crack shot.
Down in the store, Tyler quietly made his purchase. He had purchased a few articles of clothing, seeing how he was forced to walk around in his old clothes. Anything that lacked a Cerberus logo was fine with him at this point. As he retrieved his bag from the counter, Alex approached from the side, appearing pensive. He was invisible, as always, which meant Tyler had to be watchful of how much he spoke to the aspect. Alex waited for the cashier to drift off to help another customer before speaking;
"Alright, don't freak out, but you're being followed… and not by fans." he said quietly, looking upward toward the catwalks. Tyler repressed the urge to follow the aspect's glance.
"I'm being followed?" He hissed quietly. "By who?" he said glancing around, trying to not look conspicuous. Which was really hard, considering he was the only person looking the least bit agitated right now.
Alex rubbed his neck sheepishly. "That's the problem. I am not quite sure who is following us. All I know is that there are five of them and that they're heavily armed… enough to flash-kill a Krogan." he said glancing toward the entrance.
"What do you mean you don't know who they are? Aren't you supposed to be a god-?"
"-that's all knowing. Yes, yes I am. Normally I am anyway, but something is causing interference. That is why I am worried. We need to get out of here. Now!" Alex ordered sternly.
Tyler nodded grimly and retrieved his bag from the counter. Using his peripherals did his best to scan his surroundings, he walked down the hallways of the Presidium at a brisk pace. Nothing appeared out of place, which didn't mean anything in itself. Tyler began to mentally curse. The only weapon he had on him was a concealed Predator Heavy Pistol, which was more than illegal on the Citadel. While his cybernetics were strong, five armed and unknown opponents that were concealed threw any advantages out the window.
As Tyler began to walk toward the nearby Relay monument, something caught his eye. Someone to be exact. She was relatively tall at around 5'6. She had long raven hair that fell past her shoulders, and tanned skin. She was dressed in Alliance phase-II armor that seemed to hug her form tightly. She was actually quite beautiful, and she looked really familiar.
Tyler scoffed quietly. She looked almost like…like… Oh, fuck me sideways!
Ashley Williams.
Tyler's eyes widened as she turned to look at him. Time seemed to slow down as she faced him. In hand was an unfolding Avenger assault rifle, coupled with the look on her face; she appeared as if she intended to use it. Now, Tyler had always wanted to meet Ashley Williams, so he was mentally cursing his luck that the first time he saw her, she seemed ready to shoot him down on the street, in broad daylight even.
"That's one" Alex commented darkly as he eyed Ashley. "Turn around, two more on your six" Alex commanded quietly. The last thing he did before following the order, was to notice how he was pretty much alone on this part of the Presidium.
Tyler nodded numbly as he turned. There was a soft noise as his bag fell to the ground. Tyler's jaws dropped at the sight in front of him. There were two more people, both dressed for battle; wearing phase-II armor and toting assault rifles. Fuck my luck… with a big cactus.
To the right stood a tall woman with fiery red hair. Her green eyes observed Tyler with a predatory nature, a dark grin spread across her face. The thing that caught Tyler's eye was the N7 stripes, running along the right side of her armor. It was obvious who she was.
Jane Shepard.
"I thought you said that Shepard was dead?" Tyler internally hissed. Alex had told him Shepard was dead, so how the fuck was Jane Shepard standing here? She didn't have a clone, did she?
"He is. She however made it out" Alex replied calmly. Tyler bit the inside of his lip nervously.
"That would have been helpful to know, as in five minutes ago and not now when I'm faced with her, Alex" He responded with a hint of venom. For a god-like being, Alex wasn't much help at times.
Tyler's eyes flicked to the man next to her. He was about Tyler's height and appeared around his age, maybe a little older. It was obvious however, that the man had seen more than his fair share of combat already. The lack of a helmet revealed a vertical scar running across the left eye, as well as a glint that betrayed the fact that said eye was synthetic. There were remnants of a gash on the forehead, almost healed. Much of the left side was decorated by small, healed burns. His hair was cut into a low Mohawk, just enough that it was visible without being what some referred to as 'gansta'. There was a snarl on the man's face, the snarl of a killer.
Tyler blinked furiously for a moment. It almost appeared as if there were two men present instead of one, as if there were two personalities. Remembering what Miranda had mentioned, Tyler swallowed nervously as he watched the man. He was beginning to gain a shimmering green glow in his eyes, like there was something suppressed wanting to get out. So this was Thomas Fisher? He didn't look as scary as Miranda described. Then again, the last time he had judged a person by looks; Valkyrie had one-upped and kneed him in the blink of an eye.
Tyler swallowed at the sight of the unnatural soldier. Thomas was, if anything, the perfectly eerie mix between human and something else. Miranda had called him a demon, so… could that be it? Enough shit had happened that Hell itself ought to exist. The only way Tyler could have described his expression was a mixture of pure hatred and rage. The glow in Thomas Fisher's eyes seemed to glow brighter as he examined Tyler. Tyler, on the other hand, simply gulped, frozen in fear.
When an unsettling smile appeared on Thomas Fisher's face, Alex made his opinion known;
"You do know that running would be a good idea right now?" The aspect asked in a monotone voice.
"Alright Cervie, hands in the air, else you'll lose them." Jane announced, approaching with her weapon at the ready. Tyler nodded curtly as he raised his hands, a desperate idea coming to mind. As Jane approached, Tyler felt the world becoming open, a panoramic view of energy coming to existence. Behind him, he felt the aura of Ashley Williams approach. He could see her blue silhouette, with its arms raised, Avenger ready to go. Behind Jane, Thomas approached with no weapons in hand, but glowing brightly. Tyler was actually hurting just looking at the marine.
When Jane was close enough, Tyler struck. In a flash, he grabbed the barrel of her rifle and violently slammed it forward. While Jane was battle hardened and reacted with trained speed, Tyler's cybernetics and short Cerberus training prevailed. Jane grunted in pain as she fell backward, blood flowing from her nose from where the stock of her rifle had hit her face. Tyler awkwardly fumbled with the weapon as momentum pushed him forward. He gave a mental sigh of relief as he found what he was looking for at the last second. The trigger. At least he was armed now, if still unarmored.
He awkwardly swung the newly acquired weapon around to face Ashley Williams, and pulled the trigger on her, an action he had never thought he would commit. The Avenger spat tungsten rounds viciously in Ashley's direction. Luckily, for her, her armor's barriers absorbed the oncoming fire with ease. Ashley fell back as the final round breached her barrier and struck her armored chest, knocking her backward with a pained grunt.
Tyler's eyes widened as a loud growl of anger alerted him to his next opponent. Beside him, Thomas launched himself forward, no longer merely glowing, but actively coating his hands in fire. Tyler brought the gun up to shield his face, only to have a fist that turned out to be bionic of make, smash through the metal and rip away faster than he could react. Tyler stumbled backward, but quickly brought his hands up into a defensive stance. Holy fuck, what is this guy!?
The two soldiers eyed each other for a moment, warily. Thomas was the first to strike, closing the distance deftly. Tyler grimaced as Thomas launched a fiery punch forward, aimed for his chest. Tyler, glowing green and blue, quickly shot his left hand outward to catch Thomas' punch in a t-block.
The sickening cracks of bones, metal and ceramics breaking and snapping was the only sound Tyler could fathom over the burning pain as the same hand that had struck clean through his rifle, impacted in the palm of his hand. While it didn't split his hand right open, he could hear and feel his arm breaking and his shoulder being dislodged by the single punch he had taken. As he stumbled backwards, in far too much pain to immediately even gasp in pain, Thomas kicked him in the chest and sent him flying backwards across the pristine walkways.
As Tyler went skidding and yelping in pain, Thomas knelt down next to the woman who, unbeknownst to Tyler, was his lover. The slug that had hit her had been taken by the armor, but the point still stood, seemingly, that Tyler had opened fire on and broken her defenses.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Tyler cried in pain as he clutched his left wrist, even though he knew it only increased the pain. Thomas Fisher had punched straight into God-given cybernetics, which was probably the only reason the arm was still attached. In a flash, Alex appeared beside him, kneeling.
"I bloody told you to run away." The aspect hissed as he placed his hands over Tyler's ruined arm. The pain grew even worse, and even the air needed to scream, failed to come to him. I fucking didn't know he was that strong!
"Did you miss the point where the Queen told you Saren had a god on his side, and then where Miranda told you Thomas had taken Saren out? Was it really thát hard to make a connection and draw the conclusion that he is not on anywhere near your level alone?" Alex seemed to simply hear Tyler's thoughts instead of voice, which suited the man just fine, seeing how he was only now starting to regain his full sight, escaping the blurry hell that had been his vision since the punch.
"Oh God it hurts!"
"He ruined your arm, what'd you expect, a sting?"
"It fucking hurts!"
"Dear Pantheon, of course it hurts. Lie still, I'm trying to fix your arm. By the way, brilliant idea to open fire on the single person Fisher cares for more than his own life." The sarcasm in his voice was easy to hear.
"How was I supposed… to… know… to know that they-"
"Maybe because… okay, that's a fair point. Still, stop shooting at random people. You could have run, but noooo, you had to give Shepard a broken nose and open fire on Ashley Williams." There was a fresh, sharp electrical jolt and Tyler felt his fingers move once more; "There, now run your ass off. I'll see if I can't hold him back."
"Ow…ow… okay." Tyler groaned as he fought to stand once more. Alex materialized into his regular combat armor, only now much bulkier and causing what civilians had stopped on the opposite side of the lakes, to stare wide-eyed at him. Taking his advice, Tyler started running, his cybernetically augmented legs soon helping him reach speeds only the best human runners could reach and hold.
Back where he had left Alex, the aspect in flesh turned to look at where Thomas Fisher and the rest of the team was rounding the corner, a good ten meters away. Alex held out his hand;
"Stop right there, Thomas Fisher of the Normandy, bane of Saren. You shall not pass me."
The marine stopped, as ordered, and stared first at the aspect, until he noticed something that, even being an aspect, Alex had forgotten about: The Cerberus logo on his armor. Thomas's stare became a green-glowing glare of wrath, and he picked up running towards Alex. The aspect was confident that he could stop this person, even if he had defeated Nazara's aura-wielder. He took a solid stance and prepared to take and return the punch levied onto Tyler before him.
Instead, Thomas ignited the palm of his right hand, formed what could only be described as a ball of emerald fire the size of a dodge ball, and hurled it straight at the aspect who, to the world, looked like and was a Cerberus soldier.
Alex was nowhere near prepared for the marine, who carried a feeling the aspect couldn't define, to hurl fire, concentrated energy as it was, at him. The solid and immobile stance became his downfall as the fireball connected and exploded, sending him through a wall and over a ledge, falling towards the Presidium lakes. He grunted in something as rare as physical pain, dematerialized once more and zipped off after Tyler. Meanwhile, Thomas gave little heed to the soldier he had, by all accounts, sent flying to his death. He simply kept running down the walkways, the ground bearing scorch marks where he went.
"Freya! Valkyrie! Loki! Anyone!" Tyler shouted into his concealed comms, running and panting as he raced across the Presidium. He dodged and weaved around multiple civilians and the occasional member of C-Sec, keeping up the speed and only avoiding collisions thanks to the implants that allowed him reflexes not unlike what Spiderman had been given.
"Freya here, what's the matter?" Miranda's voice came in through the comms, sounding both annoyed and worried at the same time. Tyler dived into a maintenance-room, all dark except for the glowing electronics and light-bulbs.
"Fuck am I glad to hear you voice! I found Thomas Fisher, and he's trying to kill me!" He hissed into the gadget. Miranda grew silent for what felt like forever.
"Hello?" Tyler demanded, fearing she had simply left him.
"Shore leave's off. Get to the docks as fast as you can, and we're ready to take off." She said, now sounding stressed and frightened. And Tyler suddenly understood why she was scared of Fisher.
"What? Miranda, I'm on the Presidium! I'm dead before I get halfway to the docks! And what docks even, there's like-" He was cut off when a tearing sound caused him to snap his attention to the locked door he was hiding behind. It was meant to be locked and closed, so the metal was more than five inches.
Didn't mean it stopped a pair of hands, engulfed in emerald fire, from tearing through the metal. The fire was actually just centered on the fingertips, and the hands were retracted again as the hole had been made. There was a short conversation outside, something like a woman giving an affirmative to an order, before a pair of feminine hands came in, gripped the edges of the hole, and pulled.
In stark contrast to normal science, the thick metal curled like tin foil from the stress she put on it, and was torn outwards with a metallic shriek. Tyler stared in stupor as the metal was curled out like opening a flower, and allowed for a person to enter the small room he had hidden away in. Figures, really.
"Found you." There was no humor to trace in the voice, only a sort of ethereal echo to his voice as Thomas Fisher came fully into view. In the dim lighting of the room, his glowing eyes, as well as what looked like glowing tattoos covering his face, stood out in stark contrast to the darkness. Yeah… he's fucking scary!
"What the hell-" Tyler began. The bionic arm shot forward and grabbed him by the collar, hauling him out of the room. Outside, the rest of the team, including a pair of snipers, stood in a wide circle, a pair of them keeping spectators at a distance.
"Anyone caught that big one?" Thomas asked his companions. Tyler didn't know who the big one was, as he was fairly certain he was alone, except for… Alex?
"Not since you sent him through the wall. By the way, thanks for that. Udina will have my ass for destruction of public property." Shepard said, sounding a little annoyed. She glared at Tyler as she wiped annoyidly at the river of stream flowing from her shattered nose.
"Why are you trying to kill me? What did I ever do to you?" Tyler demanded, drawing Thomas's attention back to him. There was a cold expression on him, and the bionic hand lifted Tyler into the air.
"Well, at first this was simply because you represent Cerberus by being a member of their organization. Then, you shot Ashley." His visage darkened to a hateful scowl at those last words; "You wanna know what I've been through to keep her alive? And then you try killing her?"
The green glow vanished. Instead, it became outright fire streaming from Thomas's eyes, seemingly not surprising his colleagues in the least. The pair of dancing emerald flames seemed to come from hollow eye-sockets, as if the eyes had just dissolved. This was creepy as hell, and it was scary because Tyler actively feared he would be killed now, and it was extremely uncomfortable because the hand had changed to hold him up in a way the almost completely closed off his supply of air.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't- I was- I panicked!" He shouted, doing his best not to completely panic. He needed to know just where he would have to strike the demon, as that was definitely a valid definition of Thomas Fisher, to make him let go.
"Thomas, we can't kill him… not in broad daylight anyway." The muscular sniper said, stepping a bit closer. Tyler didn't dare have a hope that the newcomer would be his salvation in the long run though, but each second bought was one he could use planning, or waiting for Alex to show up and activate the aura. Where the hell was the bugger now?
"Maybe not…" Thomas said, looking to his right. Tyler chose that moment to strike, trusting his augmented strength to at least be fast and strong enough to knock the demon out. His fist connected with the side of Thomas's head, causing the marine to fall backwards. Tyler's perception allowed him to plant his feet on Fisher's legs, push off and land with a roll. It was over before Thomas had hit the ground, and Tyler sped away, finger on his ear-piece;
"Someone pick up for the love of God!"
"Valkyrie here, we're en route to you. What's your current status?" God, it had never felt so good hearing her voice as it had right now.
"I'm running my cybernetics to hell across the Presidium! There's a whole hit-squad of Alliance marines on my ass, and Thomas Fisher is leading them, plus the Jane Shepard! Get me a gunship or something! A shuttle, a cruiser!" It was remarkable how fast he was able to run while talking. This was a skill he could have used back in his school-days.
"Fuck, Miranda was right? Okay, we… we're trying to find a link-up. Can you get to the Tower Lift?"
"I've been running the direct opposite way! It's on the other side of the Presidium!" He yelled, no longer dodging the civilians. Instead, he simply jumped over them, drawing stares and prompting yells of outrage and shock.
"Give me a moment… okay, we're bringing a skycar around the Presidium. Keep close to the lakes, we'll find you." Valkyrie said. Tyler looked behind him, and nearly fell as he did.
Thomas Fisher was keeping up with him, somehow gaining on him. People were shouting and yelling, but the marine was running on the walls, one hand outstretched with a jettison of fire to maintain his place on the walls. This day was becoming increasingly fucked up as it progressed.
Suddenly, Alex was running next to him, a large scorch mark on his chest.
"Holy hell, that guy packs a punch!"
It wasn't hard to find Tyler from above. Valkyrie frowned as she leaned out of the aircar, rifle in hand, firmly held in place by her magnetic boots. Both of her targets were easy to see. Tyler was running at a dizzying speed through the Presidium, leaping over and dodging people, his speed not seeming to affect him. Beside him, a man in bulky Cerberus armor followed, seemingly unaffected by the armor.
Close behind, a fireball tailed him, leaving a wake of destruction. Valkyrie shivered as old memories came back to her. Years of training kicked in as she leveled her rifle, zeroing in on her target while adjusting for the fast moving skycar.
"Tyler, we see you! Keep moving there's a bridge up ahead. We'll try to meet you there" Loki radioed with a hint of worry in his voice as he glanced at the ground below. In the distance, C-Sec sirens could be heard clearly above the chaos.
Valkyrie swallowed and pulled the trigger.
The Phaeston in her hands kicked, sending tungsten rounds toward the fireball. Unfortunately, the rounds melted as they made contact with the inferno. Valkyrie gulped as the demon looked up at the car with a demonic snarl. Valkyrie growled in a mix of fear and anger before roughly depressed the trigger.
The rest of the tungsten rounds met a similar fate as they melted upon contact. The demon Fisher didn't seem the least perturbed by her actions. Instead, he merely raised his hands, and summoned softball sized emerald fireballs.
Valkyrie's eyes widened as the fireballs shot toward the shuttle. "Dive!" she barked to Loki, voice full of fear. Loki wasted no time in following the order, roughly slamming the stick downward. Valkyrie groaned as her stomach churched in response to the abrupt movement. Valkyrie quickly shot out both arms to latch onto a safety handle, her magnetic boots the only thing keeping her inside the car.
After a few terse seconds, the car leveled out, allowing Valkyrie to stand up again on her own. Valkyrie took a few calming breaths as she released the handle. She scanned the cabin quickly seeking the Phaeston she had wielded seconds earlier. She spotted in lodged unceremoniously between the seats, and quickly snatched it up. Looking outside, she spotted Tyler running at full sprint toward the car. Loki had brought the car to a hover next to a bridge that spanned the Presidium lakes. Valkyrie's eyes widened slightly as she saw Thomas approaching from behind Tyler.
With a loud grunt, Tyler launched himself off the bridge and into the car. The vehicle rocked as he collided with the closed door on the opposite side. To his credit, Tyler didn't seem the least bit affected by it as he screeched "DRIVE!" to Loki.
Loki immediately did as obeyed, and throttled the car forward. In the back, Valkyrie yanked the door she had been leaning out of closed, before reaching down to help Tyler up. He grimaced in pain as she pulled him to a standing position. Glancing down, her eyes widened. Tyler's arm was purple and bent in places to the point that she was skeptical on how he was using it at all.
"What the hell happened Ste-"Valkyrie was cut off as the shuttle rocked violently. Thrown off her feet, Valkyrie fell forward into Tyler, effectively pinning him against the closed car door. Tyler grunted in a mix of surprise and pain as he instinctively wrapped an arm around her, protectively. The two stared at each other in shock for a moment, before Loki chimed in fearfully.
"He's on the roof! He's on the bloody roof!" Loki screeched loudly, violently jerking the car left and right: in and attempt to shake the man.
Tyler resisted groaning as Valkyrie's folded arms dug into his very hurt ribs. The two traded a baffled look as they parted sheepishly, as if not noticing this situation occurring around them. Silently, Tyler extracted his Phaeston from in-between their legs; before replacing the spent thermal clip with the backup clip he carried at all time. Thank God for universal clips.
Tyler cocked his head to look at Loki, who was still frantically doing his best to pilot the now damaged skycar. "Loki? These things have a sun roofs?" he asked eyes the roof of the car. While the roof was made of solid metal, Tyler figured that it could have possibly been concealed.
Loki scoffed under what little breath he had. "Hell no. Sorry, I didn't exactly have time to steal a sedan" he griped sarcastically in response.
Tyler sighed annoyed. "Sorry man. Just needed to know if I had to do it the easy way or the hard way" he replied, oddly calm. Tyler eyed the roof, which was beginning to turn a shade of emerald. It appeared that Thomas was planning to melt his way into. Tyler eyed his uncovered fist. If he was in his armor, he would've had no qualms with what he was about to do. "This is going to hurt" he muttered grimly, cocking his arm to deliver a punch.
Tyler released a pain filled cry as he violently shot his fist upward, into the car's ceiling. The car jolted upward in response. The brittle metal shot upward, opening a fist sized hole in the roof. Through the hole, a stream of molten metal began to pour in, scorching the car's seat. Tyler tightened his hold on his Phaeston and hoped that Thomas took the bait.
If not in fear for his life, Tyler might have smiled at the sight. Thomas had taken the bait. Two glowing emerald hands became visible, latching onto the opening. A loud, resounding grunt filled the air, as the entire car roof was yanked away. Above them, Thomas hovered, his face contorted in an enraged snarl. Above them, Thomas brought his hands up, to unleash a fireball.
Before Thomas could fire upon them, Tyler brought his rifle to bear, and fired. The tungsten rounds leapt from the AR aimed straight for Thomas' chest. Quickly, however, they began to melt away turning into liquid, which surprised Tyler to a degree. Tungsten had a melting point of around 6,200 degrees.
"You actually know the melting point of tungsten off the top of your head? Nerd Alert" Alex quipped in-between shots.
Above them, Thomas grunted in pain as the hot liquid/solid mix of tungsten struck his armor and face. Tyler grinned; Thomas had reacted just as planned. Luckily for Tyler, the Phaeston was known for being an ammunition eater. As soon as the Phaeston was depleted of rounds, Tyler threw it to the car's floor. In a swift move, Tyler fired a single, cybernetically enhanced punch toward Thomas' chest. Tyler cried in pain as he made contact with Thomas, it felt as if he were quite literally on fire. Surprisingly, Tyler began to glow green once more as he made contact.
Above, Thomas cried out in more of surprise than pain. His chestplate buckled inward slightly, the metal poking him in the chest moderately. He felt himself begin to slip backward as he lost his hold on the car. The fire around him dimmed slightly as the wind began to beat against him. Looking back inside the shuttle, his eyes widened. The man he had been chasing for the last few minutes was pointing a Predator pistol at him. He was wearing an expression that was something between a smirk and a grimace. The last thing Thomas saw before he tumbled backward, off the car, a stinging sensation in his chest.
Inside, Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. He was surprised that any of that had actually happened, much less his plan work. With a grunt, he collapsed into the car's seat, energy spent. Beside him, Valkyrie watched him, her eyes sparkling with what he could only describe as astonishment.
Tyler cocked his head to look outside the window. Already, they were approaching the MSV Phoenix, the ship they had ridden in on. Standing at the entrance were Magnus, Kraken, and the Centurion. They were dressed for battle, in Cerberus armor, warding the civilians away calmly.
Loki landed the car ungainly near the Phoenix's entrance. Instead of using the door, he simply pulled himself up through the gaping hole in the ceiling. Valkyrie and Tyler quickly hustled out through the door, Valkyrie watching Tyler warily; her eyes locked onto his mangled arm.
Jogging up: Miranda, Jacob, and Kraken appeared weapons at the ready. The group was quickly hustled inside, not wanting to stick around for Thomas' wrath. Fortunately, the ship managed to break away from the Citadel, unmolested. As they were hustled inside, Tyler still managed to find the time to yell 'fly casually!' to the pilot. Tensely, M-6 prepared for combat. While it was unlikely, the possibility of Thomas attempting to board was present.
Once the Phoenix had cleared the Citadel, Miranda and the team moved to the medical room. Tyler gulped at the sight of Miranda, who looked –very- unhappy. Tyler held her cold stare for seconds, until he hissed in pain as the doctor roughly jabbed him with a needle. The needle in question broke on contact, leaving a bloody scratch across his mangled arm; which now hung limply at his side. The medic shook her head and quickly vacated the room, leaving them alone.
"What the hell was that back there?" Miranda asked coldly, crossing her arms. Beside her, Jacob nodded, his face stone cold, lacking even a minute amount of sympathy.
Tyler shrugged befuddled in response. "I'm not sure myself. One minute I'm buying clothes, the next I'm surrounding by Fisher and Jane Shepard" Tyler replied, emphasizing the latter name.
Miranda's cold expression softened slightly as she sighed. "I see" she replied simply. "Are you sure that you didn't do anything to 'earn' the attention you gained?" she asked.
Tyler nodded grimly in response. "I'm pretty sure, unless owning jeans are a crime" he replied jokingly. Tyler turned his head to look at Kraken. "You're right. The guy's Lucifer himself. I'm not even sure how we're alive right now." All Tyler received in response was a stiff nod from the elder member.
Miranda leaned back against the room's wall, placing both hands against the cool metal door supportively. She traded looks with the entire team before speaking. "Before we were forced to flee the Citadel, I was speaking with The Illusive Man and the Broker who provided us with Shepard's location. He wants us to deliver her and her men to Lazarus station and remain on standby. He has dispatched a few ships from the Cerberus fleet along with a marine battalion to rendezvous at Lazarus station. He plans to recover Shepard's body, by –any- means necessary" she stated.
Kraken raised his hand. "What do you mean exactly ma'am?" he asked curiously. For TIM to dispatch an entire Cerberus Marine battalion, meant that he was going to do something big.
Miranda ran a hand through her hair unconsciously. "It appears that the Shadow Broker had located Shepard's body, or at least the planet it is located on. Already, he has dispatched a sizable force to search for it. TIM feels that Mjolnir-six won't be able to recover his body successfully. While we recover it, the Cerberus marines will provide a –very- large distraction."
Beside her, Magnus grinned. "While you boys get to do the spook work, I get all the glory" he added, voice dripping with a mix of excitement and confidence.
Miranda smiled at his comment. Magnus was a nice, quiet guy most of the time; but when it came to combat, he was a monster. The Shadow Army wouldn't know what hit it. She straightened her back and addressed the team one final time before returning to her room on the ship. "You all know what the drill is. Armor up as soon as we get to the station, then move to docking bay four; that's where our ride will be. Dismissed!" she finished sternly. The group quickly filed out of the room. As Tyler went to leave, Miranda stopped him.
"Are you going to be alright to fight, Tyler?" Miranda asked seriously.
Tyler's eyes furrowed curiously. In the short time that he'd known Miranda, she had always referred to him as 'Stevens'. Meeting her gaze, Tyler smiled. "I'll be fine ma'am. I heal quickly" he replied. Miranda nodded stiffly and quickly filed out before him.
Tyler sighed lost in thought. It seemed as if the cannon he knew had crashed and burned rather quickly. As he stepped into the ship's mess hall, the butterfly effect came into mind. He began to wonder if it held any credibility at this point.
Only time would tell.
A/N
Hey guys, it tmroc725 again. So how'd you guys like this chapter? Leave a review and tell me, I'm always looking to hear peoples thoughts, and suggestions.
Also, I hate to say this, but this story -may- take a short hiatus. Not because I want too, but because I'm in my last month of school, i.e. a lot of end of the year tests. I plan to write during this time, but I'm not sure how much I'll be able to get done, so bear with me. Have no fear, I won't abandon this story. I plan to see it through to the end.