Okay, so here's chapter 4. If you didn't like the lighter mood at the end of chapter three, this should satisfy your cravings for something much darker. For those of you who are wondering where the explosions and sword-fights, and graceful space combat went, you won't be disappointed with chapter 5.
Shepard ran through the ghostly forest, unable to move her legs at the proper speed, feeling as if she was trying to run underwater. The boy was here somewhere, she caught a glimpse of him occasionally, just out of her reach. She tried to call out to him, but the forest seemed to muffle and distort everything she said. No matter, this time, she would save the both of them from the fire.
"Thanks skipper, it means a lot to me."
"Someone else might have gotten it wrong."
The ghostly voices distracted her from her pursuit, as she whirled around looking for the speakers, to find only the dark trees and thick moss covering the ground. She turned back around, realizing that she had forgotten which way the boy ran.
I will not let him die again. Shepard told herself, squinting into the darkness. The voices in the leaves continued to whisper, as if knowing otherwise.
"Does this unit have a soul?"
"Heavy fleet to Normandy and second fleet. There is a detachment of Reaper ships headed toward us. We recommend that you get out now while we cover you. May your gods watch over you."
She fought back her sadness and fear, spotting a flash of white in a clearing ahead and sprinting for it, praying that she would get there in time.
She arrived in the clearing just in time to hear the all to familiar foghorn like roar of a Reaper. A malevolent red light replaced the dim moonlight, and she could see the dim shapes of the massive ships in the sky, slowly descending, like hunters descending on a trapped rabbit.
She finally reached him, scooped him up into her arms, and carried him into the cover of the trees.
"Everyone's dead." the boy said, with more sadness than fear.
"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe, I promise." Shepard said, jogging through the twisted trees, looking for a storm drain or a manhole, any way to hide from the Reapers.
"YOU PROLONG THE INEVITABLE." Came the hideous booming voice of Harbinger. "EMBRACE YOUR GENETIC DESTINY."
The boy whimpered, hiding his face in Shepard's neck. Shepard continued to run, every breath an agony, her heart pounding in her temples. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the dark shapes running through the trees parallel to her course. She dug into her last reserves of strength and sped up.
"YOU ARE WEAK SHEPARD. I AM THE HARBINGER OF YOUR SALVATION."
Two of the dark forms stepped out from the trees in front of her, and she turned to see the husks surrounding her on three sides. Only these were not ordinary husks.
Ashley stood, most of her face scorched away, one of her eyes bloody and swollen, the other replaced with a pale blue glowing orb. Wires, valves, and the telltale blue streaks of Reaper cybernetics lurked beneath her skin, where her armor had been blasted away.
She saw Jacob, gaping chunks missing from his chest, just as he had died in the collector base. Loose wires sparked in the grotesque wound, and his eyes were empty pools of blackness.
Thane stepped out of the forest, his ribs highlighted by a horrible blue light shining from inside his chest.
Legion had chunks of dead flesh, crudely grafted on to his frame. His head bulb pulsed a sinister red.
Private Westermore was there, tendrils of blue circuitry growing like a fungus out of the gunshot wound to the side of her head that killed her.
"Run kid, get out of here, go back the way we came." Shepard told the boy, who quickly disappeared through the thick trees, leaving Shepard surrounded by the semicircle of her dead friends.
"HOPE IS FUTILE. WE ARE YOUR SALVATION. RELINQUISH YOUR PHYSICAL FORM."
The five husks stepped toward her, and she raised her fists, ready to fight until her last breath.
"Skipper, we're not going to hurt you." Ashley rasped through her scorched vocal cords. "We believed in you, that's why we were willing to die for your cause."
"We are still your friends commander." Jacob said softly. "We trust you."
"This unit does have a soul, and it is in agony." Legion said.
"You have to kill us." Westermore said, stepping forward, placing a pistol in Shepard's hand. Shepard glanced down to see that it was the same pistol she had shot herself with.
"Please shiha," Thane said. "end our suffering."
"I can't." Shepard choked out. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything."
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Ashley went stiff, a horrible red light shining from her eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. her legs buckled a little, then she started toward Shepard, Harbinger's voice coming from her mouth now.
"HOPE IS IRRELEVANT."
As the thing reached for Shepard's face, she jerked the trigger, firing the pistol into it's chest, knocking it back a few steps.
Ashley started forward again, and Shepard raised the pistol, putting a shot through it's forehead, the abomination that used to be her friend dropping to the ground.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Thane went stiff this time, rushing her with a flash of biotics and she shot him twice, once through each glowing eye, and he collapsed in a heap of arms and legs, laying very still.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Westermore leaped into the battle, Shepard's first shot only grazing her shoulder as she spun with inhuman speed, seizing Shepard and pinning her against a tree.
Shepard fought free of her grip, and placed the muzzle under Westermore's chin, blowing a mass of brains and wiring out the top of her head.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Jacob charged toward her, and she pushed Westermore's limp body into his way, stepping back as he tripped over the body. As he got to his feet, Shepard fired a quick shot into his face, the impact snapping his head back, a great gout of black fluid spraying out of the entry wound.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Legion took a running start at her, and she fired five times into his chest cavity, blowing through the fragment of her N7 armor that he had patched himself with. There was a puff of flame from inside him, and she smelled a mixture of scorched circuitry and burning flesh as he fell.
"YOUR EXISTENCE IS OVER. YOU CANNOT RESIST ME. YOU CANNOT SAVE YOUR FRIENDS. YOU CAN ONLY DIE."
Shepard ran after the boy, tears of sorrow, terror, and shame streaming down her face.
She found him back in the clearing where she first saw him and she ran faster, clenching the pistol in her hand, specks of flame appearing in the leaves around her.
Practically flying across the clearing, she grabbed the terrified boy with her free hand, and pulled him into the relative safety of the trees, just as the clearing burst into flames behind them.
After a few minutes of running, she set him down.
"Are we safe now?" He asked, a heartbreaking flicker of hope in his young eyes.
"YOU ARE NEVER SAFE FROM ME. YOUR RESISTANCE IS PITIFUL."
Shepard pulled the boy behind her, raising the pistol and scanning the dark woods for more threats.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Shepard spun around in time to see the boy's form horribly twisted as he grew, tentacles sprouting from his chest, his fingers lengthening into claws, his eyes emitting a bloody red light.
Now almost a foot taller than her, the thing stepped toward her. "Please, save me." It said, still speaking with the voice of a frightened child, swinging it's arm out, catching her in the chest and launching her through the air until she struck a tree and fell to the ground, holding her broken ribs and gasping with pain.
It stated slowly towards her, and Shepard raised the pistol in her shaking hand, trying and failing to steady her aim. Somehow, her shot connected with the thing's chest, and it stumbled, dropping to it's knees. She fired again, hitting it in the head this time, and the twisted, mutated body of the child fell facedown into the fallen leaves and moss.
Shepard clumsily sat up, sobbing uncontrollably, the pistol clenched in a death grip. She was not alone for long.
There was an earth shaking rumble, as Harbinger's true form descended in front of her, chitinous metal legs sinking into the ground under his monstrous weight, the massive being towering above her, threatening to consume her entire world and drive her to madness by his mere prescence. The three kilometer tall ship stood on it's thick claws, facing her, the point of it's back disappearing into the thick clouds. Shepard shielded her eyes from the red light of Harbinger's horrible, massive eyes.
"THIS HURTS YOU SHEPARD." The voice was deafening, and Shepard let out a whimper of fear. "NOTHING YOU DO CAN HARM ME. I WILL BREAK YOU FOR MY AMUSEMENT WHILE MY BROTHERS HUNT DOWN THE LAST REMNANTS OF YOUR SPECIES."
Shepard staggered to her feet, looking wildly around for somewhere to hide, or take cover, but there was nothing.
"YOUR MIND IS WEAK. YOU HAVE NO HOPE. YOUR FRIENDS CANNOT SAVE YOU, YOUR GODS CANNOT SAVE YOU. I WILL END YOU."
Shepard was now shaking so violently, she dropped the pistol, making a soft thump as it landed in the dead leaves at her feet.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
Shepard tried to cry out in agony, but was unable, as her back arched, her muscles contracted, and a horrible alien presence entered her mind.
"NOW YOU WILL DIE." the booming voice came from the ship in front of her, but also from within herself.
She bent down to pick up the pistol, then she frantically tried to resist, as she was forced to place the still warm muzzle of the weapon against her head.
"SURRENDER YOUR MIND, EMBRACE DEATH."
She gave a final desperate struggle as her finger tightened on the trigger.
Shepard let out a scream, muffled by her pillow, as she tried to jump to her feet, getting caught on her blanket and crashing to the floor next to her bed. She took deep shaky breaths as she surveyed the dark room for threats. On the other side of the bed, Garrus sat up, wakened by the commotion.
Shepard's body tightened in terror as the tall, dark figure stepped toward her and took her by the shoulders
"Shepard," Garrus whispered, hating the way she flinched when he touched her. "It was just a dream, you're safe now."
Hearing his voice, she stopped struggling and clung to him wordlessly. He put one arm around her shoulders and pulled her face into his chest protectively. They stayed that way for a while, and he could hear her heart rate slowing as she relaxed.
"I love you Garrus." She said softly.
"I love you too Shepard." He replied, wishing for a selfish moment that they would never have to leave to go back to the war.
He picked her up, and carried her back to the bed, gently setting her down. He held her as she fell back asleep, breathing deeply the scent of her hair, and for one brief moment, they were at peace with the universe.
In the morning.
"EDI, give me an update on our situation. Shepard said as she got dressed and took her morning shower.
"Repairs are underway and the ship should be fully functional in four to eight hours depending on weather conditions. Specialist Traynor and I have detected a low level radio pulse coming from an aerostat station in the upper atmosphere."
"A pulse" Shepard asked. "Why didn't we detect this before."
"The pulse is a high frequency, low power emission, issued every six hours exactly. Each pulse lasts for one second. The range of the transmission is limited, it would only be detectable from low orbit or within the atmosphere."
"Could it be a remote system?"
"Unlikely. Three hours ago, the pulse was scheduled to activate, when a patrol flight of five Reaper destroyers entered orbit to scan the planet. The pulse was not emitted."
"So someone on the station want's to attract the attention of people already on the planet, and gets nervous around Reapers."
"Your assessment is correct commander. It is a logical course of action for an occupant of the station who wants to make contact with other ships that may be hiding on Venus."
"Once the ship is ready to leave at a moment's notice, in the very likely event this all goes horribly wrong, I'll take an away team over there in the shuttle."
Twenty minutes later, Shepard sat with Garrus in the mess hall, eating breakfast. Shepard was drinking coffee, Garrus, the dextro equivalent. The crew they encountered seemed energized and glad to have a purpose and a brief rest from the feverish pace the Normandy had been forced into in the past days.
The section of hull armor damaged in the battle was repaired, and the thruster was within a few hours of being fully functional. The crew would have completed the repairs in half the time, if not for the hindrance of having to wear full hardsuits while leaving the ship, allowing them to survive the massive atmospheric pressure, scorching temperature, and acidic winds.
Breakfast complete, and with Garrus off to calibrate the forward battery, Shepard found herself without a purpose. She decided to make her usual rounds of the ship, starting in the cargo bay and working her way up.
James Vega was not taking the loss of the battle well, and she made a note to take him on the away mission later to give him something to take his mind off of the tragedy. Steve Cortez was preparing the shuttle for it's use in scouting the aerostat later, giving her a quick anecdote about the times he had as a fighter pilot.
She headed from there up to engineering where she found engineer Adams and Tali working on the drive core. Spotting Shepard, Tali excused herself and stepped into the corridor with her.
"Shepard, I'm glad I have a second to talk to you." Tali said quietly.
"I'm sorry Tali, the Quarian fleets at the battle, well-"
"I know Shepard, but they stood next to you proudly and fought for freedom and peace. If that's not a cause worth dying for, I don't know what is."
"It's just that you had reclaimed your home, and had a chance to return, but I dragged most of your people away for Earth."
"Listen Shepard, you helped us take back our home from the Geth. Of course we would stand by you and fight for your home. Besides, it wasn't just about Earth. It wasn't like the Reapers would leave us alone if we sat around on Rannoch and built houses."
"Well, yeah, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it."
"Commander, standing next to you has been the proudest accomplishment of my life. Many of my people have died, but we still have to make sure that they didn't die for nothing."
Shepard hugged the little engineer. "We will, Tali, We will."
Diana Allers was at her usual post, the reporter taking the sudden turn of events in stride. She was keeping a documentary of the events on the ship, which she planned to release if they ever got back to civilization.
"This will win me every journalism award there is." Allers said cheerfully. "As long as you're down here, can you give me a quick interview? How has the tragedy of the battle for Earth affected the personal life of the great Commander Shepard?"
Shepard sighed and left.
She took the elevator to the crew deck, and had her dreaded chat with Kaiden where he tried to make her feel guilty for being with Garrus instead of him, then told her a sad story about his childhood.
Liara was going insane with nervous energy, cut off from all her contacts and sources of information. They shared a brief conversation and Liara cried a little about the battle, before resolving to dig into her databases for as much information as possible about the aerostat emitting the pulse.
Specialist Traynor was busy with analysis of the Reaper communication signals, so Shepard left her to her work. Heading to the cockpit, she found EDI and Joker watching an old Star Trek vid.
"The crew shows remarkable acceptance of his status as an AI, they treat him as a person, and help him in his goal to become more human. However, despite the fact that he repeatedly endangers the crew, becomes violently hostile, and attempts to take over the ship on several occasions, they still treat him with the same affection, dismissing this behavior as understandable for someone who is not human. I find this most confusing. Do not the dangers of having him as a member of the crew outweigh the benefits?"
"Ah, commander," Joker said cheerfully, spinning his seat around. "Perhaps you'd care to weigh in?"
"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about." Shepard lied.
Having completed her circuit of the ship, with the exception of Garrus, she pulled up the time feature on her omni tool.
"That only killed twenty three minutes." Shepard muttered in disbelief.
Forty eight seconds later
.
"If you even think the word 'calibrations' I will kick your ass Vakarian." Shepard barked, storming into the main battery.
Garrus glanced at her over his shoulder, from where he stood at the terminal, fluttering his mandibles in amusement. "Can it wait a minute, I'm in the middle of some-"
Shepard coked her fist back threateningly.
"Pyjak crackers." He finished, reaching into the bag in front of him, pulling out a small pyjak shaped wafer and popping it into his mouth smugly.
"Oh you think you're so slick don't you." Shepard said. "You probably had that bag of crackers waiting there for the last twenty three minutes."
"Well, more like twenty two and fifteen seconds. But that's not important, what brings commander Shepard to my perfectly cali- ,uh, decorated forward battery?"
"I'm bored Garrus," She whined. "Vega is going all roid rage, Liara is too sad to mess around with, and Kaiden is being, well Kaiden."
Garrus sighed. "Why don't you just watch Star Trek on your omni tool like you usually do?"
"Because EDI would see, and she'll tell Joker, and he'll make fun of me."
"Shepard, he already makes fun of you, everybody does, that show is ridiculous."
"Yeah, says the guy who bought the box set collector's edition of Voyager."
"Actually I bought before we were, well, together, in the hopes that we would spend more off duty time with each other, and you would be wooed by my incredibly charming personality and devilishly handsome appearance."
"You wasted some money then, cause Voyager sucked."
"Yes, you said so when I told you I was watching it, then you invited me up to your cabin later so you could show me what the 'real' Star Trek looked like and you made it about thirty minutes into the first episode of Next Generation and you were wooed by my incredibly charming personality and devilishly handsome appearance and we did the nasty on your couch. So, all in all, I consider it an investment."
Shepard smiled. "I remember that night. That was a good time."
"Yes, unfortunately we didn't turn the vid off first, so now every time I see that bald idiot giving a monologue, I get horny. It's pretty damn disturbing at times."
Shepard snickered.
"So anyway," Shepard continued, "They tell me the repairs on the damaged thruster are almost done, then they just have to do the final checks and we will be able to go check on that signal. So get ready to get your Archangel on, knowing our luck, we'll run into trouble."
4 hours later- cargo bay
Shepard climbed into the shuttle, behind Vega and Garrus. They were all wearing full hardsuits in the event that one of the aerostats they visited was no longer pressurized.
"Okay guys, I know everyone has cabin fever, so I'll lay out the briefing on the way there." Shepard said as her squad settled in. "Cortez, you good?" she asked the pilot.
"Ready to go commander." his voice came through her helmet radio.
"EDI, begin shuttle launch sequence." Shepard said.
"Bay is clear of personnel, matching conditions to exterior."
There was an explosive whoosh as the interior pressure was increased to match the outside atmosphere.
"Opening bay door."
The dim light of the permanently cloudy sky outside shone in the opening door.
"Shuttle is cleared to launch."
Cortez smoothly moved the shuttle out the door and engaged the thrusters, carrying the small stealth shuttle away from the landed Normandy and out of the canyon. Soon their ship was out of sight, only the bleak volcanic plains beneath them and the occasional gust of wind rocking the shuttle to relieve the monotony.
"So where are we headed commander? and please tell me I get to kick someone's ass when I get there." Vega asked.
"We are headed to Hades Observatory, a large aerostat station. Thanks to Liara and EDI, we know that the place is a top secret Alliance biological warfare, experimental research and genetic recombinant engineering research center."
"Oh what the hell?" Vega asked, "Couldn't they do that shit out in space or something."
"Actually Mr. Vega," EDI chimed in over their network, "This site was chosen for maximum safety and ease of purging the laboratory if necessary. While exposure to a vacuum will only serve to put more durable viruses, bacteria, and organisms into an indefinite state of preservation, while the atmosphere of Venus is acidic enough to kill most life forms on sustained contact. In addition, if the facility were to be destroyed and crash to the surface, the surface level temperatures and extreme air pressure would terminate any life form hardy enough to survive the acidic atmosphere."
"Right, I'll take your word for it." Vega said. "So why are we going?"
"The existence of this facility was a closely guarded secret." Shepard answered. "It is unlikely that the Reapers would know about it from scanning unencrypted data channels. This station is lower in the atmosphere than the others, well within the clouds, in order to decrease the risk of someone laying unwelcome eyes all over the place. If it hadn't been transmitting the pulse, we wouldn't know it was there. Anyone stationed there during the war could have survived."
"What about all the biological warfare and genetic research?" Garrus asked. "What do we do if we run into some really nasty stuff they've cooked up in there."
"That's the other reason we're going." Shepard said darkly.
"You know how much I hated Noveria." Garrus sighed.
"Not everyone in the Alliance blew off my warnings about the Reapers. There are references in the file to a project Ares, dedicated to combating a potential Reaper invasion with biological warfare."
"Uh, Shepard, are you sure we want to go digging around in that?" Vega asked.
"If it gives us a chance to turn this war around, we will consider any and all options." Shepard said, leaving no room for discussion.
"What about the structure of the station itself?" Garrus asked, "Do we know what condition it's in."
"It's an aerostat station, essentially four helium tanks with a research facility suspended between them. The whole thing floats through the atmosphere, about thirty miles off the ground. It's easier than trying to maintain a permanent structure on a planet plagued by volcanic activity and constant gale force winds, and unlike a space station, it doesn't require centrifugal force or a powerful mass effect core to induce gravity, and can filter oxygen from the atmosphere. That and for the reasons EDI mentioned for destroying potential outbreaks, and the place is practically invisible in the clouds unless you already know where it is."
Shepard paused for a breath.
"No Garrus, we don't know much about the condition of the place, other than the fact that it still floats and is emitting a signal every six hours. These things are built to last for years without proper maintnance though, and would probably stay intact all by itself for a few hundred years."
"Commander," Cortez said from the pilot's seat. "ETA to Hades Observatory is 5 minutes. I have attempted contact, but got no response. This place is very heavily armed and armored. The station is equipped with a large mass effect core, capable of shielding the compound against attack, but the core is not in use at the moment. For offensive weapons, it has a system of twenty flak cannons and ten mass accelerator turrets ringing the station, along with a number of missile ports, armaments unknown, but there is no sign of activity in any of the weapons at this time."
"Damn, that's a lot of firepower." Garrus remarked.
"I'm sure you'd love to calibrate all that." Vega said with a grin.
"I'm not sure what you're implying."
"Whoa shit!" Cortez shouted from the cockpit, banking the shuttle sharply.
"Report." Shepard called, grabbing a handhold and steadying herself.
"Guns and shielding on the station just activated and locked on to us, hold on, we have a transmission."
"Onscreen." Shepard ordered
Cortez looked back with confusion.
"Ah, shit, I mean patch it through." Shepard corrected.
An anonymous voice came over the radio. "Attention unidentified shuttle. Hold your current position. If you attempt to flee, you will be destroyed, If you attempt a transmission to anyone but us, you will be destroyed. Proceed to the docking bay, and await further instructions. If you exceed twenty kilometers per hour at any time, you will be destroyed. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we understand." Shepard said calmly, hoping to avoid bloodshed, as those station guns would swat them like a fly if they were operational.
"Good, proceed to the docking bay. On the way, you will give the names of all personnel on the shuttlecraft and your purpose here. Once inside, you will be subject to screening. Refusal will result in your termination. If you are here with innocent intentions, I apologize, we have gotten pretty paranoid lately."
"This is Commander Shepard, Alliance military, and active Citadel SPECTRE, in the shuttle with me are lieutenants Cortez and Vega, and Garrus Vakarian of the Turian Hierarchy. We are here to search for survivors of the Reaper invasion."
"Commander Shepard huh," The voice hesitated for a moment. "Well that remains to be seen. You sure as hell didn't come all the way here in just your shuttle though, where is the Normandy?"
"That's classified."
"We've got a lot more firepower down here than you have in that shuttle. I suggest you answer the question."
"Well I'm not telling, you're not the only paranoid ones out there."
"Okay then, proceed to the docking bay, no sudden moves."
Cortez piloted the shuttle as instructed. Shepard leaned to see out the cockpit window as the station came into view through the thick clouds.
The station was fairly large, four huge cylinders filled with helium to keep the facility buoyant in the thick atmosphere, the massive cylinders connected by sturdy metal beams in a square pattern, the living facility an irregular cube in the middle of the square, attached to the helium tanks by eight large supports, one diagonally from each cylinder, one perpendicular from each of the beams connecting the cylinders together. The huge structure measured out to about five kilometers per side, the living station only a quarter of that size.
Finally reaching the hangar bay door, near the bottom of the station. Cortez pulled the shuttle inside. Four Atlas mechs had their weapons trained on the shuttle. The hangar contained about twenty shuttles, neatly parked along the far wall. There was a large square on the floor in front of them, designated by blinking orange lights.
"Okay," Came the voice from the station. "Now land your shuttle in the square and power down your craft."
Cortez did so, a slight bump felt as the shuttle touched the floor.
"Allright, now open the door and step out real slow. I know better than to tell a SPECTRE to come out unarmed, so I'll settle for you having your weapons holstered."
Shepard entered the command sequence to open the shuttle door. The door slowly hissed open, Shepard, Vega, Garrus, and Cortez stepping out, keeping their hands in plain sight.
Shepard glanced around at the Atlas mechs, the pilots invisible through the reflective cockpits. A door on the far side of the hangar opened, and three figures in armored hardsuits stepped out and walked toward the shuttle. Their weapons were mismatched, but top of the line equipment and modifications.
The closest of them stopped about fifteen feet away and removed his helmet to reveal a light skinned man, in his mid thirties, hair in a tightly kept military cut, a few scars marring an otherwise unremarkable face.
"Hello, I am captain Felder, currently in command of the military personnel on this station."
"Commander Shepard, SPECTRE." She said, removing her helmet and giving an indifferent salute as Garrus, Vega, and Cortez removed their helmets.
"No need for pleasantries commander," Felder said, his face betraying no emotion. "I think we're a little past that."
"So I'm guessing you're rallying together any ships that escaped the battle. See anybody else?"
"No," Felder said blankly. "Are you aware of the location of any other ships?"
"No." Shepard said, faint alarm bells going off in her head. She dismissed it for now, these guys had been out here since the initial invasion of Earth months ago, not daring to contact anyone for fear of attracting attention. Anyone would have gone a little weird.
"You should follow us to the labs, so you can speak to the others." Felder said, Turning back toward the elevator, his guards following.
With a quick shrug to her companions, they followed Felder and his two silent guards to the elevator. The elevator had a white tiled floor, with grey walls and ceiling. It was about ten meters square, with a high ceiling, clearly meant for transporting large cargo from the hangar to the rest of the station. Felder pressed a sequence of buttons on the control panel, and the elevator started upward.
"It's a cargo elevator, so this will be about ten minutes." Felder said, leaning against the far wall.
"Commander." EDI said from her earpiece, audible only by Shepard. "Upon reviewing the passive scans from the shuttle, I have detected a large number of destroyed ships on the surface of the planet, under the station. The damage done to the ships was not inflicted by Reapers, but instead is consistent with the flak cannons and mass accelerator weapons mounted on this station."
Felder's omni tool pinged and he activated it, glancing at a message. He turned to Shepard quickly. "All of you just received a transmission. Who was is from, and what is their location?"
Shepard saw the others inching their hands closer to their weapons, clearly having received the same message from EDI.
"Where is your ship?" Felder repeated, his right hand moving to the grip of the pistol holstered on his thigh.
Shepard was on him in a blur, slamming her fist down into his face, breaking his nose and sending a gout of blood down his neck. He staggered back, drawing his pistol from his holster when Shepard activated her Omni blade and plunged it into his chest, penetrating his armor effortlessly. He tightened briefly, then went limp and fell face down to the floor.
Meanwhile, the other two guards were quickly dispatched, Garrus fumbling the helmet off of one guard so Cortez slam his rifle butt into his neck, collapsing his windpipe and leaving him jerking on the floor, coughing blood, Vega picking the other up bodily and throwing him into the elevator wall, the crunch of his neck audible even through his suit.
"Okay, what the hell?" Shepard asked, drawing her rifle and checking her ammo, "Are these guys murdering people for their supplies."
"No commander, the ships were too large to dock with the station, and were not disturbed since their destruction."
"That means these guys are working for the Reapers then." Garrus said.
"Right then," Shepard said, "Cortez, try to get the elevator back down to the bay so we can get the hell out of here."
"Negative commander." the pilot said. "The station's guns would tear us apart before we got away, we'll have to disable them first, or come up with another plan."
"Why do all our missions go like this?" Shepard complained as Felder got back to his feet in the far corner of the elevator, unnoticed by the crew.
"They've probably only let us in to try and find the location of the Normandy." Garrus said grimly. "There's probably Reaper ships on the way here."
"Oh what the hell?" Vega shouted, his eyes going wide as he raised his rifle, seeing Felder back on his feet.
The squat whirled, training their weapons on the captain, who stared at them expressionlessly.
"Hands above your head and get down on your knees." Shepard ordered firmly, "or I make sure to kill you properly this time."
"Yeah, I saw your omni blade go through his chest," Cortez said wide eyed, "how is he alive?"
Felder stiffened.
"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL"
