-=ME:E=-
Garrus let out a quiet sigh as he rode in the shuttle back to the Normandy; the entire colony was missing just as Anderson predicted, but Shepard was nowhere to be found. That didn't mean they had come away from Freedom's Progress entirely empty handed, though. Between the two of them, he and Kaidan had been able to retrieve some extremely valuable surveillance footage. With it they were able to construct a likely series of events on the colony that explained the burnt-out wreckage of a quarian ship and the small army of dismantled mechs. One thing that both eased and aggravated him was Cerberus's presence.
The fact that Shepard had fought and ran from the Cerberus forces proved that he wasn't working for or with the pro-human organization. On the other hand they still had no way of knowing whether he was in their hands or not – only portions of the footage were retrievable. He was also curious about the group of quarians Shepard was seen with. The most important thing they found, aside from evidence of the resurrected human, was footage of collectors abducting the colonists. He had mostly good news to give the Council in his first report, and it could be all good news depending on what the techs on board the Normandy had managed to retrieve from the colony's tracking satellites.
Garrus shifted in his seat, he had yet to adjust to the new armor provided by the Council and it did cause some minor discomfort. The hardsuit was blue like his old C-Sec uniform, but all of the insignia were of the turian military. Along with the suit he found many more surprises inside of the new Normandy; the layout was still similar to the original ship, but there were a few larger changes he would need to get used to. Everything within the ship was sleek and beautiful, he felt that it was well-suited to its job as the successor to the original. However, another human phrase came to mind: "every silver lining is attached to a gray storm cloud." Or something like that.
While the ship was top of the line in all aspects, it was understaffed and he was expected to find crew to fill the ranks. According to Kaidan he would be receiving more crew from the Hierarchy some time in the future, but for now he had little more than a skeleton crew. Not to mention his "ground team" only consisted of Kaidan and himself for now. He had never gone recruiting before, and he even had a good first candidate to follow up on when he had the time. He just hoped he could manage it like Shepard had. He sighed more loudly this time and leaned back in his seat as Kaidan looked up from the datapad in his hands and said, "Problems, Captain?"
Garrus looked to Kaidan now, thoughts of his new command still buzzing around, and said, "It's just Garrus, Kaidan. And problems? Maybe."
Kaidan set the datapad on the empty seat next to him while saying, "If Shepard couldn't break me of the habit I doubt you can, Garrus. As to these problems – anything you want to talk about?"
As his second in command Garrus couldn't see the harm in letting Kaidan know his worries, so he said, "I'm a little unsure of this whole command and I've never gone recruiting. That doesn't even take into account how unsettling it is to see Shepard alive again and not knowing where he might be."
Kaidan leaned back in his own seat as well, saying, "I think it's too early to worry too much about Shepard. On one hand we know he is alive, and I doubt he would let himself be captured by Cerberus of all people.
I also think it's too early to judge yourself when it comes to this command, it's only been a day since you received it. If what you did on Omega was any indication I think you'll make a good captain."
Garrus snorted and said, "I didn't recruit anyone on that team and most of the time I was, what was that human phrase? 'Flying by the heat of your hands?'"
"Flying by the seat of your pants."
Garrus shifted his feet a little and said, "Yeah, that. Most of the time I would just receive intel, throw together a rough plan and execute it. That's probably why Tarak got away, now that I think about it."
Kaidan sat back up in his seat and grabbed the datapad again, saying, "I guess we'll see, then."
Garrus figured Kaidan wasn't one to beat his head against a rock wall as the conversation ended and he almost returned to his thoughts when Joker's voice came over the radio. The pilot said, "Captain, the techs have finished with the satellites and they have some good news."
Garrus looked up at the speaker set in the ceiling and said, "Have them meet us in the conference room and call the senior staff so we can make our report to the Council."
Looking out the window Garrus could only see the very edge of the planet and a few stars as Joker said, "I'll let them know."
Kaidan also looked up and said, "Joker, how much longer until we're back aboard the Normandy?"
"You're actually just about to pull into the cargo bay, so maybe a minute more."
Sure enough, just outside the window Garrus could see the walls of the Normandy's cargo bay passing by before the shuttle gently touched down. As he and Kaidan stood the ship's VI said, "Pressurizing compartment. Regulating interior pressure with exterior atmosphere."
After only a few seconds more the door slid aside, revealing large stacks of crates held down with nets and a M-44 Hammerhead hovertank. While he did have a preference for the Mako's heavy weaponry, the Hammerhead's maneuverability was definitely an acceptable trade off. Not to mention hovering was better than feeling every little bump in the terrain. Garrus followed Kaidan to the elevator which took them swiftly to the CIC, rather than slowly as his experience with elevators dictated. Compared to the old Normandy this was perhaps the least different out of all the decks on the new ship.
The galaxy map and various stations surrounding it were merely larger or more numerous than their old counterparts and in the same general location. Farther down he could see Joker making his way towards them from the cockpit and Garrus continued to follow Kaidan around the elevator and towards the conference room. The conference room was a circular chamber with transparent composite walls on nearly every facing save the elevator. Off to one side of the conference room was the labs while on the other was the armory, both sharing walls with the larger room. One the far end the new Tantalus drive core could be seen lazily spinning in the background. Inside he could see a few of the techs along with Dr. Chakwas and Engineer Adams standing or sitting around the large table, a small console at each seat, in the center.
One of the crewmen inside stood as Garrus and Kaidan entered the room, saluted, and said, "Officers on deck."
Garrus wasn't quite used to the various formalities that came with the military yet; it had been years since his time in the turian military and C-Sec was much more informal in their operations. He bowed slightly and inclined his head in a turian salute while Kaidan reciprocated with the human gesture and said, "At ease."
The group then took a moment to find a seat and Joker joined them only a moment later, carelessly plopping himself down in his chair while Chakwas sent him a look. Garrus still wasn't quite used to Joker moving about like a regular person either. It seems he wasn't used to a lot of things yet – so much had changed. Garrus gestured at one of the techs, a female officer by the name of Manunta if he remembered correctly, and said, "What have you found?"
The officer seemed slightly surprised at how direct his request was, but quickly recovered and accepted a datapad from one of her colleagues. She said, "According to the tracking satellites, we found that during the day in question seventeen separate ships entered the colony and only four left. Of those seventeen only three are relevant.
The first is a Kowloon class freighter named "Progress Runner" belonging to the Alliance veteran Whitson. The second is an unknown, massive vessel that touched down on the colony for several hours before departing the system. The third is an unregistered vessel of ancient quarian origin and design, no name found in the record. The final vessel to enter was an unregistered Kodiak drop shuttle with no mother ship detected.
The first vessel to leave the colony was a commercial shuttle registered to one of the missing colonists and the second was the Progress Runner; we have been able to track their FTL trajectories to nearby mass relays. The third ship departing was the Kodiak, but according to the tracking satellites it vanished from their sensors before an unknown vessel suddenly appeared and departed the system. There was insufficient data to construct any possible FTL trajectories the unknown vessel might have taken."
Garrus thought Adams looked a little unsettled as he listened to this and that thought was proven correct as the engineer said, "That sounds an awful lot like what those satellites would see if we were to make an FTL jump from silent running. Would you mind if I took a look at that?"
As Manunta passed the datapad to Adams, Kaidan said, "I wouldn't be surprised if Cerberus found some way to steal or reconstruct the stealth technology from the original Normandy. That second ship was probably the Collectors."
Garrus stood from his seat and walked around behind it, saying, "Ms. Manunta, is there a way you can show me which mass relays the Progress Runner and the shuttle went to? That might give us some clues."
He was ready to walk out to the galaxy map in order to have it shown to him, but Manunta merely activated the console in front of her before a holographic projection sprung from the ceiling above them, showing a detailed map of the star cluster they were in. Two mass relays were highlighted as the officer said, "These are the mass relays. The Progress Runner went to this relay here -" She indicated the relay on the far side of the projection from him, " - while the shuttle went to the other."
Garrus leaned on the back of the chair as he said, "It looks like the Progress Runner is either stopping by or going to the Omega Nebula."
To his side Kaidan said, "And that relay the shuttle jumped to is linked on the outer edges of the galaxy. It's possible any quarian survivors could have taken the shuttle, as the Migrant Fleet is only a few relay's away."
Garrus nodded his agreement to Kaidan, only slightly curious as to how he knew where the Migrant Fleet was, saying, "The Progress Runner is a ship Shepard would be familiar with, so it only makes sense that he would use it to escape."
Adams looked up from the datapad and said, "How can we be sure he didn't escape with the quarians? Escaped colonists could be on the Progress Runner for all we know, not to mention Kowloons are not fast ships."
Dr. Chakwas said, "Commander Shepard most likely knew Cerberus would be after him, he wouldn't want to put anyone in danger because of himself."
Off to the side Garrus could hear Joker, almost bitterly, say, "Yeah, he's too heroic for that."
Garrus pulled his chair back out, sitting in it and saying, "We're going after the Progress Runner, it's the most logical choice. Are we set up to make our report?"
Another tech, one he couldn't place the name of, said, "We're linked up with the FTL comm buoy, so we should be able to make a direct report."
Garrus nodded at the tech, saying, "Do it."
The display hovering over the table winked out before being replaced with the four councilor's faces and shoulders. Tevos glanced around at the various officers present before saying, "Captain Vakarian, what do you have to report?"
Garrus leaned forward and said, "Commander Alenko and I went down to the colony and found it empty, but there were signs of heavy combat. We don't know why they were there, but there was almost a whole platoon's worth of dead quarians mixed in with the security mechs. Together we were able to salvage some pieces of security footage that have proven vital to this investigation. We'll attach them to our written report.
Getting to the point, Shepard is alive, but we also know he is being pursued by Cerberus forces." He paused here to indicate the group of tech officers, saying, "Thanks to Ms. Manunta and her colleagues we now have a lead to follow in that regard."
Armin took Garrus's pause as leave to ask, "And what of the missing colonists?"
Anderson seemed interested to know as well and Kaidan said, "We have also learned that the Collectors are responsible for the attacks. We haven't figured out how they did it, but the footage is damning."
Valern interjected here, his tone suspicious, "I find it hard to believe that the reclusive and almost mythological Collectors would take an overt interest in any of the galaxy's denizens."
Tevos nodded her agreement, saying, "As do I, but if the evidence is as the Commander says, then we have no other alternative."
Anderson's deep voice echoed oddly, a small hiccup in the transmission, as he said, "We've recently received a message that backs up your claim that Shepard's alive. One of your former comrades, Tali'Zorah, claims to have been on Freedom's Progress with Shepard, but was forced to leave without him. I've asked her to maintain contact in case you had any questions."
All of the officers in attendance shifted in their seats or looked around at one another, they were all familiar with Tali as a former member of their crew. The news that she could also correlate their hypothesis regarding the colony was big as well. Garrus sat up in his seat and said, "That would be appreciated, Councilor."
-=ME:E=-
Tali wrung her hands nervously as she waited for Anderson to get back to her after their brief conversation. Nearby Veetor dozed peacefully, exhausted from the exertion yesterday likely. While she was sure Anderson would believe her, she had serious misgivings about whether or not the other councilor's would believe her. It had also been a day since she left Shepard on Freedom's Progress with no word from him, and she worried that Cerberus might have captured him. She couldn't even consider that he had forgotten to contact her, it just didn't seem like Shepard to forget something like that. Unless...
Then she remembered that he mentioned some problems with his memory. Either option still caused her great worry, and she almost started pacing when the screen in front of her lit up, Anderson's face filling a small portion of it. He smiled at her and said, "Thanks for waiting, Tali. I called the Council together after receiving your message and our Spectre currently investigating the issue just reported in."
The Council was already investigating Shepard's resurrection? Perhaps those misgivings of hers were a little outdated. When she said nothing, Anderson continued, "Our Spectre would like to ask you a few questions, so I'm patching you through on our line."
Across the top of the screen she could now see the four councilor's and filling the rest of the monitor she could see a group of familiar faces looking back at her. At the far end of the table she could see Garrus, who said, "It's good to see you, Tali."
She was honestly shocked at the collection of friends she could see on the other side of the connection, and she could hardly choose which question to ask first, but she said, "Joker? When did you become a Spectre?"
The bearded man grinned at her while Garrus choked on his words and nearby, Kaidan let a small smile show. Adams and Chakwas each had a good chuckle. Garrus pointed a talon at her, but before he could say anything, Tali said, "I know, Garrus. Just poking fun."
A throat was cleared and Tali could see that the turian councilor was flicking his mandibles impatiently, so she said, "You wanted to ask me about yesterday?"
-=ME:E=-
It had been three galactic standard days since they contacted their people to report, to inform the others that their latest search had failed to bear fruit. There were limitless options to follow when they next moved, some wanted to go this way, or others wanted to go that way. In the end one way would be decided.
A nearby FTL comm buoy is accessed, seconds pass as a connection is made, and they patiently wait. The connection is made and voices are heard, information is exchanged, and they learn something valuable – important. Secure communications with the Citadel Council, not secure enough, but within pertinent information awaits. Some behave illogically to the news, but all have decided: They will go to Omega.
-=ME:E=-
Shepard had just finished removing his armor, laying the final piece atop the others in the cart, when a salarian strode briskly through the door. The alien's skin was wrinkled, scarred, and ranged from almost white to a dark brown and atop his head one of the two horns his people were known for was broken. He had only a second to observe all this before the salarian stabbed him in the side of his neck. He jerked back, a curse on his lips, only to see a small vial of his blood being passed off to Daniel. He rubbed the spot on his neck, saying, "A little warning?"
The doctor activated his omni-tool, a machine behind Shepard hummed to life, and said, "Standard genetic and blood tests, Daniel. When finished go assist others."
Another, smaller device on a nearby counter was activated and the blood sample set inside of it as Daniel said, "Yes, Dr. Solus."
Dr. Solus turned to Shepard, saying, "Apologies – did not mean to cause alarm. Lie back on table for scan. Not familiar with you. Mercenary?" The alien's large eyes glanced at his armor and at the medical patches on his body. "No. Not hired gun. N7. Alliance?"
Shepard leaned back on the table, wincing and saying, "Yes, actually."
As soon as he had laid back the salarian busied himself with the machinery around him, adjusting the odd mechanical arm here and there. There was a soft tone from Dr. Solus's omni-tool and he paused in his work to study it before saying, "Ah. Most intriguing. According to this you are dead, Commander Shepard."
Shepard fixed the salarian with a look as he said, "And just how do you know who I am?"
Dr. Solus ignored his look, if he even noticed it, and continued to work with the machinery around him. With a slightly exaggerated gesture he finished an adjustment and stepped back, typing something into his omni-tool. He glanced at Shepard and said, "Make sure to keep a large amount of various genetic profiles on hand. Never know when might come in handy."
Shepard raised a brow, just who was this Dr. Solus? He was pretty sure that as a member of the Systems Alliance special forces that kind of information would be confidential. Even though it did put him on guard to be so easily identified by everyone he met, it was reassuring to hear that on the genetic level he was still himself. He didn't bother sitting up, but he said, "That's not exactly public, how did you get your hands on it?"
Off in the distance more gunfire could be heard and the salarian paused in his work to look at the ceiling, possibly thinking, before shaking his head and continuing. The machine above the marine changed the pitch of its humming and his skin tingled as Dr. Solus said, "Was once member of salarian STG, still have contacts, resources."
Well, that explained how he might have gotten a hold of Shepard's genetic information, but it was still disconcerting to think that anyone might have unauthorized access to anything relating to him. Like his corpse. The humming ceased, as did the tingling of his skin, and Dr. Solus began pacing while saying, "Most fascinating. Extensive cybernetic augmentation, powerful genetic enhancements. Injuries remaining from – what exactly?
Tissue only partially torn, rest simply missing. Burns? No, too little scarring. Too neat. Bone density differences in lower ribs indicates re-growth and -"
Shepard held up a hand to forestall any further babble and said, "I can tell you what I know, Doctor. You don't have to guess."
Dr. Solus paused in his ramblings and then, as if recalling something, said, "You were dead?"
Shepard nodded then and said, "I woke up in a Cerberus lab just a few days ago."
The doctor nodded rapidly, saying, "Possible, possible. Cerberus has resources, personnel. Would love to have seen process. Quite remarkable when you think about it..."
Shepard ignored any further rambling, it may seem remarkable to someone like Dr. Solus, but to him it was just plain disturbing. What kind of condition was his body in before they began reviving him, he wondered. How much of his body was still his? The doctor seemed to end his spoken thought-process, instead saying, "Shepard, there are problems that the scan detected. Some fixable, others not.
Two stress fractures, lesions on skin, hormonal imbalances, unusual brain activity to name major problems. There are minor issues which your body should sort out on own."
The other doctor from before, Daniel, entered the room and said, "You paged?"
Dr. Solus lifted a datapad from a nearby counter, rapidly populating it with information, and passed it on to Daniel. He continued on towards Shepard, saying, "Bring the supplies on list. Any progress with other patients?"
Daniel's expression became excited now, a smile spreading across his face, and he said, "So far the latest cure solution seems to be working! One of the patients, a turian, is well enough that we've moved him to observation."
The salarian nodded, saying, "Good, few more tests and will be ready for production. I hope."
Shepard felt another sharp prick in his neck again as Dr. Solus injected him with something; that salarian was quick and sneaky with those hands! He could feel his energy sapping and his eyelids drooping as the doctor said, "Probably don't want to be awake for this part, Commander. Heard it can be quite painful."
As he faded from consciousness, Shepard could hear Dr. Solus say, "Help me remove these patches, Daniel. Must get as much done as we can before more patients arrive."
-=ME:E=-
The light of the star, even as it slowly died, was too intense for Jacob to stare at it for too long; he relaxed from attention and finally looked at the dark figure silhouetted against the star. Beside him, Miranda stood in a relaxed posture, but he could still see small signs that she was agitated. Her back was more rigid than usual, the muscles of her jaw a little too tight, and her eyes occasionally strayed from the man seated before them. The small glow of a cigarette tip illuminated the Illusive Man as he took a drag before the following cloud of smoke obscured him again. One of Miranda's feet shifted slightly and a small amount of ash was flicked into an ashtray.
The Illusive Man finally shifted in his seat, saying, "Lawson, Taylor. I've read your report."
There was a pause and Jacob sighed through his nose while Miranda's face pinched for just a second before smoothing again. It was impossible for Jacob to discern anything from the Illusive Man's tone or pitch, but just that pause spoke volumes about what he thought of the mission on Freedom's Progress. While it was true that they had succeeded in identifying the attackers, even managed to gather samples, the rest of the mission was a complete failure. Shepard was now even further alienated from them and several of their men were either dead or severely wounded. Next to him, Miranda's jaw was now visibly clenched and she was looking away and into the star – she must have realized the same things.
There was a final billow of smoke before the cigarette was snuffed in the ashtray and the Illusive Man stood from his chair. He turned to face the star, a glass of some amber liquid in hand, and said, "I'm transferring command of this mission over to Mr. Taylor."
Several emotions and thoughts battled within him, but Jacob kept most of it to the side. He only needed to show surprise as he said, "Sir?"
The Illusive Man turned around, even going so far as to take a few steps towards them, and said, "Temporarily, of course. Time will be needed so we can consider recent events." He paused and took in Miranda's more visibly agitated stance before saying, "Is there a problem, Ms. Lawson?"
She stood straighter and her agitation seemed to vanish, as if she had been a wrinkled shirt freshly ironed. She said, "No, sir."
The other man nodded and said, "Good, you're dismissed. I need to have a word with Mr. Taylor."
Miranda made a sharp about-face and stalked away, some of her usual swagger gone, until it was just himself and the Illusive Man. A drink of the amber liquid was taken before he sat back in his chair, saying, "I trust you understand why it has to be this way?"
Jacob still felt conflicted over the decision, worried about his own performance and the consequences, but he understood that Miranda had screwed up quite a few times since the Lazarus Project came to a close. He nodded his affirmative, and the Illusive Man said, "Good. I have faith that you can accomplish this mission without allowing your ego or your emotions to interfere. Dismissed."
Jacob saluted smartly before stepping off of the converted conference table and the communication cut. He made his way to the CIC, but Miranda was nowhere to be seen. He figured she was going to be pissed about this.
-=ME:E=-
The ceiling of a dimly lit room was the first thing to greet Shepard's eyes as he woke, followed shortly by a dull ache in his ribs. He sat up slowly, the ache throbbing gently, and looked around the dark room at the two rows of beds. Each row was filled with various aliens, all sleeping peacefully, with a monitoring device set on a table near them. He looked over to his table, a short metal structure with a scratched chrome surface. His reflection looked back at him, an odd spiderweb pattern of scars glowed brightly in the dim lighting. As did his eyes. Looking away from the table, a similar sight greeted him on his chest and legs, nearly half of the skin there glowing. It seemed the glow emanating from his scars wasn't his imagination.
An image flashed through his mind, a lanky monstrosity covered in charred flesh, while a voice, nearly imagined, said, "I am Sovereign!"
He looked to his other side and found a cart waiting with his armor, trying to ignore the sudden headache. A door behind him opened and he could hear a pair of footsteps approaching as he began to pull the softer armor weave onto his legs. As he finished shrugging into the skin-tight under-armor the pair stopped beside him and he glanced over at Gavorn and Daniel. He bent to retrieve the first ceramic pieces of his armor, and said, "Did I miss anything while I was out?"
Gavorn nodded, his helmet missing, and said, "The vorcha have pushed the Suns back much farther than expected, almost back to the elevator. They've been making sporadic attempts at entering, but we've managed to keep them back. Not to mention they've taken over the environmental plant and shut down life support."
Daniel fidgeted and said, "After the last attack Dr. Solus left to go distribute our cure solution through the environmental systems, and requested your help when you awoke."
Shepard finished attaching his breastplate and began to pull his gauntlets on as he said, "Alone? How long ago was this?"
Daniel looked towards Gavorn and then lit up his omni-tool, saying, "Maybe half an hour? I tried to stop him, but Dr. Solus insisted. He left me in charge of the patients, and ever since the vorcha made their push we've been swamped in here."
The marine activated his omni-tool, opening a line to the Progress Runner, and said, "EDI, is there any way to reactivate life support for this district from where you are?"
The cool mechanical voice only took a second to patch in through his ear, saying, "Negative, Shepard. It appears that the environmental control center is on a closed network."
He quietly sighed, it was worth a shot anyways; it still didn't change the fact that the cure needed to be distributed. He thanked EDI before closing the channel. Shepard stood, shaking one of his legs so the armor would settle, before he grabbed his weapons and thermal clips. Finally he grabbed his helmet and began fitting it onto his head, paying special attention to the environmental seals. Drawing one pistol he checked the clip as he said, "You know how to get there, Gavorn?"
The turian nodded as he lifted his helmet, the large ring unfolding into white armor before he haphazardly pulled it onto his head. He pulled the rifle from his back and said, "Let's go kill some vorcha."
-=ME:E=-
The journey had been eerily quiet, the streets littered with dead vorcha and Blue Suns mercenaries, save for the occasional burst of gunfire in the distance. There had been no sign of Dr. Solus yet, but the sounds of combat still echoed from the direction of the environmental plant. A holographic sign on the wall next to them displayed the image of a generic leaf and pointed towards their destination; it seemed they were getting close. Beside Shepard, Gavorn was thoroughly checking any corners and vent covers they passed. Up ahead a battle cry was screamed, gunfire following immediately afterward, and he rushed towards the din.
Around the corner Shepard could finally see Dr. Solus crouched behind a pile of crates while almost a dozen vorcha pelted his cover with fire. None of the shrieking aliens paid any mind to cover or accuracy, and he could see dozens of opportunities present themselves. It was too bad he couldn't take them all at once. He retreated back behind the corner and next to him, Gavorn nodded while gesturing with his rifle and said, "I'll cover you."
Shepard turned back to the screeching carnage and, with a brief flick of his free hand, raised a barrier before charging around the corner. A few of the vorcha noticed his entrance and fired wildly in his general direction. With a few carefully placed shots he divested those firing at him of their lives and continued his charge. The remaining aliens finally noticed him, and turned their various weapons on him, only a handful of shots from each barrage actually reaching him. Behind him the sounds of Gavorn's rifle rang out through the din like a knife through flesh. He opened fire again, two of the vorcha falling before the others found their tiny brains and rushed for cover. One of the vorcha, larger than the rest, stood far from cover with a large machine gun and crowed in defiance.
Rather than rush to cover and avoid the heavy fire, Shepard launched himself with his biotics over the deadly barrage. The vorcha went from indignant and strong to panicked and weak the moment he launched himself into the air, and dropped its gun while desperately scrambling for cover. The stumbling alien had barely made it a meter before he landed on top of it, crushing it into and sliding along the floor with his momentum. Shepard drew his sub machine gun, ready to continue the firefight, but was interrupted by a sudden weight on his back and arms around him. Before he could reach behind him and unlatch the vorcha furiously gnawing on his armor, the rest of the small horde leaped upon him.
Back in the direction of the clinic, Shepard could hear more gunfire and shrieks, a steady pattern of sniper fire nearly drowning out the rest. He struggled against the net of flesh that restrained him, flailing his arms about in an effort to throw the vorcha off of himself. He was surrounded by a cacophony of barks, growls and curses and he could feel limbs pounding against his armor, but no pain. Just as the thought to use his biotics crossed his mind, he was nearly blinded by a brief flash of light and surrounded by an oppressive heat. The grunts had turned to shrieks of pain and terror, the vorcha loosening their grip upon him to claw at their own bodies. He pulsed his biotics to throw the aliens off of himself and the heat of the fire was replaced by the usual comfortable temperature of his hardsuit.
The sounds of battle from behind had ceased and both Gavorn and Dr. Solus approached him, the latter saying, "Glad you could make it, Shepard. I trust clinic is doing fine?"
Shepard nodded, and said, "It was when we left, Dr. Solus. By the way, were you the one that almost lit me on fire?"
Dr. Solus shook his head, saying, "Not you, vorcha. Saw opportunity, took it. Was confident you would escape harm. How are your wounds?"
Shepard could still feel dull aches all over his body, but the memory of the glowing cracks in his skin seemed a much more pressing matter. He checked his weapons and said, "They're fine, but I'd like to talk about the findings of your scans if possible, Dr. Solus."
"Perhaps later, need to retake environmental control center," The salarian held up a satchel for Shepard's viewing before continuing, "distribute cure. Also, Mordin is fine."
Gavorn had moved on ahead, waiting by an open door, and waved the two of them over, saying, "It's just through here, but it looks like they've got heavier artillery this time." He handed his rifle over to Shepard and said, "Take a look."
The marine took the rifle and knelt at the edge of the doorway, surveying the room. It looked to be a courtyard with an open catwalk above it. To his right there were stairs leading down into the courtyard. On the catwalk there were several crates and barricades for cover, each with a handful of vorcha crouching near them. All of them had rocket launchers. On the ground he could see more of the barbarians crouching behind various benches and crates, flamethrowers and automatic weapons present in equal numbers. A handful of the vorcha above were standing free of their cover, watching for any enemies. Brief memories of targets on a range, a flashlight head exploding in his sights, and the rifle felt like an extension of his body.
Resting the stock of the rifle against his shoulder, Shepard lined up the sights on the farthest vorcha and he inhaled. He held his breath just long enough to squeeze the trigger and separate a head from its shoulders before he quickly re-sighted on the next witless victim barely reacting to its dead comrade. He squeezed the trigger three more times, three more bodies fell, before the vorcha ducked beneath their cover, shrieking. He popped the spent thermal clip and handed the rifle off to Gavorn, who muttered "fast" in an awed tone, saying, "You take care of the ones above, Mordin and I will go down below."
The white turian nodded as he snapped a fresh clip into his rifle before aiming down its scope while Shepard drew his shotgun. He elbowed Mordin gently and said, "Let's go."
The doctor readied his sub machine gun, saying, "Right behind you, Shepard."
As Shepard quickly made his way down the stairs he could hear the rabble below voicing their fear and excitement over the coming battle. There were only a few steps before he reached the bottom, but it seemed some of the vorcha had gotten impatient, as a couple leaped into the stairwell, shrieking and firing their weapons. Several shots pinged off of his shields and he projected a barrier in front of them, absorbing all of the wild fire heading up the stairs. The vorcha continued firing as they advanced up the stairs and behind them Shepard could see more pouring in. If they wanted to funnel themselves into a choke point, he wasn't going to stop them.
He backed away from the charging aliens, firing calmly into the surging mass of flesh and screams, while Mordin shot over his shoulder. Suddenly the wave of vorcha was replaced by a tides of heat and light, the scabrous bodies flailing and screaming. Just as he backed away from the flaming corpses an explosion shook his barrier and the concussive force extinguished the flames in front of him. At the bottom of the stairs stood a massive vorcha, tattoos and scavenged bits of armor haphazardly covering its body. In its hands was the oddest conglomeration of fused plastics and metal Shepard had ever seen; several large barrels were smoking at its tip. It's eyes burned a familiar yellow color.
He thrust the remainder of his barrier at the alien, staggering it, before he turned to rush up the stairs, Mordin already exiting the door ahead of him. He could hear a demonic howl from below as he rounded the corner and took cover behind the door frame, a hail of auto-cannon fire ripping past him. Across the door from him, Mordin calmly tapped away at his omni-tool, shouting, "Their leader, perhaps?"
Shepard chanced a quick shot into the stairwell before ducking back into cover, the spray of fire from his shotgun barely slowing the large alien. He popped his spent clip, and was already working on snapping the next in when he shouted, "What gave it away? The big gun or the big vorcha?"
Mordin looked off to the ceiling, as if thinking for a moment, but any forthcoming reply was cut off as the auto-cannon silenced. Shepard listened for any noise, but rather than footsteps he could hear a high, guttural voice screaming up the stairs. The vorcha said, "You go no more! These machines mine! Fans go no more! All will choke and die!"
Shepard looked across at Mordin as the creature shrieked at them and whispered, "Can vorcha survive without oxygen?"
The salarian glanced at him briefly, still working on his omni-tool, before saying, "For quite an impressive amount of time, this is no bluff. Stall him?"
Shepard looked around for Gavorn, but the turian was nowhere to be seen; the catwalk above the courtyard was empty however. He shouted, "Why would you want to kill everyone?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Shepard could see Mordin giving him a brief dubious look. The shrieking that was quickly becoming familiar, and was very grating on his nerves, replied from below, "You come with doctor! Cure plague! Collectors want plague! Collectors make me strong! I kill you first!"
Something about the name "Collectors" rang a peculiar tone in the back of his mind, but he couldn't place it. Mordin however, seemed to recognize the name as he perked away from his omni-tool and said, "I knew it."
Shepard could hear heavy footsteps as the vorcha made its way up the stairs again, and he stepped into the doorway, firing his shotgun several times nearly point-blank. The alien screamed in pain and anger, driving the marine back with a long burst of flame from its weapon. The heat was intense even with his heavy armor, so he could hardly imagine what it was like for Mordin in his lighter gear. As the flames ended he could see the twisted barrel of the massive weapon passing through the doorway and hear the vorcha's rasping breath. He raised a barrier and primed his shotgun, ready to draw fire for Mordin, but any hope of that was shortly dashed. The salarian quickly stood, his omni-tool a blazing beacon in the dim lighting, and said, "Done! Finally."
A grotesque head, covered in scars, lurched out of the doorway and snapped towards Mordin's voice. Before the vorcha could turn his frightening weapon on the fragile-looking salarian, a glowing omni-tool swiftly jabbed its unarmored neck. The alien dropped its weapon immediately, shrieking in agony and clawing at its neck. Mordin backed away, his sub machine gun raised, but he held his fire and Shepard followed suit. To his shock, the marine could see a frosty patch of white spreading over the vorcha's skin. The creature fell to all fours, still screaming, while Mordin shouted, "Bose-Einstein condensate, instantly freezes. Hard to administer at range."
Shepard could barely discern words through the ragged screaming, it seemed the vorcha said, "It burns! It freezes!"
The creature still struggled on the ground, the frost slowly spreading, and Shepard said, "I thought you said this was instant?"
Mordin shrugged slightly and shouted, "Vorcha have incredible regeneration, almost on par with krogan. Possible enhancements by Collectors as well. Quite intriguing, actually."
With a choke the screaming was silenced, but the alien still kneeled, the frost slowly spreading along its body. Shepard stepped towards the vorcha and rolled it onto its back with his foot, casually aiming his shotgun into its face. Suddenly, the creature was overcome with powerful spasms as it began shrieking again, the volume far beyond its previous. Shepard stepped back from the flailing vorcha while Mordin visibly recoiled in shock. With a final spasm the frozen flesh shattered away from the large vorcha, revealing a cybernetic skeleton that glowed a sickly amber. There was a small burst of yellow, biotic energy before a mechanical voice said, "Direct intervention is necessary – I am assuming control."
The possessed vorcha, now missing large chunks of its flesh, leaped to its feet and charged Shepard, all the while the voice continued, "We meet again, Shepard. You escaped before, not again."
Ready this time, Shepard strengthened his barrier and deflected a blow to the side while trying to fit a punch of his own through his enemy's defenses. He exchanged blows with the creature, hits he managed to slip past barely fazing his enemy while the blows he deflected sent painful tremors through his body. Mordin had fled to nearby cover to avoid the powerful bursts of kinetic energy which lashed out at each contact between the duelists. The alien's technique was clumsy, but each blow was delivered with insane speed and power.
As the fight progressed bits and pieces of Shepard's martial arts training and experience came back to him, an opening here he could exploit this way, or a blow to deflect that way. He ducked as a fist whistled through the air above him and saw his chance. He shot his leg into the creature's abdomen with all of his strength, biotic or otherwise. The alien flew from its feet and fell to the ground a couple meters away, attempting to rise immediately. It twitched as it stood, and Shepard knew then that he had landed a telling blow. The thing lurched towards him menacingly and he entered a defensive stance, the powerful, mechanical voice said, "Impressive, Shepard, but know that this shell's demise will not stop me. In the end, any victory you achieve will be irrel-"
A loud shot sang over the courtyard and the half-exposed skull of the vorcha exploded in a cloud of blood, metal, and bone shards. A voice crackled to life in his ear, saying, "I was wondering when you two would stop dancing long enough for me take him out."
-=ME:E=-
The rest of the excursion had gone without a hitch, the majority of the occupying vorcha dead and the remainder fleeing in terror. He had left the re-activation of systems and distribution of the plague cure to Mordin, it would have taken him a few minutes to figure it out himself. Aside from explaining his absence, Gavorn had been quiet; apparently he was expecting a large fire-fight and wanted a better vantage point. On the other hand, Mordin had been chattering to him about his medical condition almost constantly. Apparently he was still pretty fucked up, despite being superhuman.
The most important piece of information Shepard had gained from the discussion was that he was still John Shepard. Some of his organs and other tissues were cloned, other parts were replaced with cybernetic enhancements, but his brain and the remainder were still the original. Mordin attributed any memory loss to the unusual brain activity he was exhibiting. For which nothing could be done. Shepard felt like punching something as he tried to dig up the holes in his memory, yet again, but to no avail.
One thing that continued to bother him well after the vorcha had been defeated was the word "Collectors". Something told him he should know who or what they were, especially considering his encounters with that odd possession. Back on Freedom's Progress, the alien had said, "We are Harbinger."
Harbinger. A dull ache began in the back of his head as a voice whispered to him, like an echo, "I am Sovereign!"
Shepard shook his head, ignoring the sudden headache, and gestured at Mordin, saying, "Earlier, when that vorcha mentioned the Collectors, you said 'I knew it.' What did you mean by that?"
Mordin glanced over at him before turning his eyes back to the street, saying, "Knew from beginning plague was unnatural: affected various species, even turians, selectively ignored humans."
"The turians were strange because they're dextro, right? Hard to pass a disease over when the base proteins are different?"
"Correct. Also," Mordin held a finger in the air briefly at this, "Closer analysis of the virus lead me to believe it was engineered. Too perfect, too efficient. Even STG incapable of such a feat, always flaws. Collectors known to have advanced technology, were the best guess."
Shepard didn't even have time to ask why the collectors would want such a thing, Mordin had already fired off a question of his own, "That vorcha, when its implants were activated – most likely theory explaining possession, it called you by name. Friend of yours?"
He exhaled briefly in grim amusement before saying, "Not really, no. After getting away from Cerberus I ended up on Freedom's Progress. These aliens, tall, brown, looked like insects, were carting away the colonists."
Shepard clenched his fist, anger rising within once more, and continued, "I tried to stop them, but one of them lit up like that guy back there," He jerked his thumb back towards the environmental plant, "And surprised me, called me by name back then, too."
Mordin had been watching him attentively, most likely noticing his controlled anger, but said nothing. There was a brief period of silence and Shepard took the opportunity to forcefully exhale, trying to let go of his anger. There was nothing he could have done, no matter how much he wished otherwise. The salarian beside him must have observed the change, because, apparently comfortable enough to speak, he said, "Those aliens you described match Collector descriptions from various sightings. I had heard colonies were abducted, again Collectors could have technology. Can't fathom a motive, however."
"When I was on the colony, I bumped into an old friend of mine, she told me about the other colonies as well," Suddenly, Shepard trailed off, remembering the promise Tali had extracted from him. He forcefully rammed the heel of his palm into the front of his helmet in frustration before turning to Mordin, saying, "Dammit, I just remembered something I promised to do."
He stopped, Mordin stopping beside him, and said, "You need payment for the healing?"
The doctor shook his head and raised his hands, saying, "No, help with vorcha was payment enough. Contact me if ever in need of assistance."
Shepard held out his hand, which Mordin took with only a slight delay, and they shook hands briefly before parting. Shepard watched Mordin walk off towards his clinic for a moment before turning and jogging towards the elevator, Gavorn following at a more sedate pace. Tali was gonna be pissed when she found out he had forgotten.
-=ME:E=-
Shepard was almost to Afterlife, Gavorn still trailing behind him, when a light tone rang through his helmet. He raised his omni-tool, reading the short message on the orange haptic interface, it looked like Kenn had finished the part. Taking a short detour towards the small junk-shop, Shepard prepared his payment for the young quarian. The sputtering lights and sounds of a welding torch taken to metal grew as they approached, and Shepard could see the mechanic crouched over another piece of tech Shepard couldn't identify. He knocked on the counter loudly, twice, and the torch cut out, Kenn standing straight and turning towards them.
The quarian took one look at him before ducking beneath the counter, saying, "I just sent out the message a minute or two ago, I wasn't expecting you for maybe an hour."
Shepard leaned forward on the counter and said, "I was in the neighborhood when I got it. Do you need more time? I can come back later."
Kenn stood again, shaking his head, and said, "No, I was just surprised is all. In fact, I had more than enough time, so I made something else as a little bonus for your generosity."
On the counter the quarian placed a long, thick cable with a large plug at one end, the shape specially made, and a collection of various plugs on the other. Shepard grabbed the multi-tailed end and raised an eyebrow at Kenn, who said, "I wasn't sure what kind of power source you were dealing with, so I made it compatible with a wide range of options. Also," He ducked under the counter again before continuing, returning with a bulky device, "You can attach this to it if you have any batteries that use the same inlet."
The marine was surprised at the thoughtful gesture, and was sorely tempted to increase his payment for the job, but he knew how stubborn quarians could be when it came to matters of pride. Tali was adamant that she get to join his crew during his hunt of – who? With a brief flash of frustration, Shepard let the memory go; he could pursue it later. He raised his omni-tool and tapped in the final commands to transfer payment over, waiting for the quarian to confirm the payment. At the brief nod of a masked head, he gathered the items into his left arm and held out his right hand. The mechanic shook his hand, saying, "A pleasure doing business, ah... I just realized I never got your name. My name is Kenn'Oito nar Rayya."
Shepard released the young quarian's hand, saying, "Huh, one of my friends was from the Rayya."
Kenn shrugged his shoulders, saying, "It's one of the largest liveships in the flotilla, lots of quarians leave for pilgrimage from there."
"Ah," Shepard began to turn towards the exit, saying, "Well, my name's John Shepard, see ya around."
He waved briefly at the mechanic before stepping out into the main plaza, Afterlife standing tall and bright in the distance. Behind him, he could still hear Gavorn's footsteps, but the turian was still silent as he had been the entire trip. Hopefully Aria had located Jonn Whitson for him, but he had another favor to ask of her as well.
-=ME:E=-
As Shepard walked away, Kenn couldn't help but muse to himself that the man was definitely one of the nicer humans. He even seemed fairly knowledgeable about quarians as well! For some reason, though, something about him seemed oddly familiar – he knew that name from somewhere. Also, there was the insignia on his armor, "N7", another familiar tickle at the back of his mind. As he fiddled with his torch, preparing to continue his work, a thought struck him. Could that have been the John Shepard, Savior of the Citadel? The name was so well known in the flotilla these days, especially when one of the admiral's daughters was honored with the same title.
Immediately, Kenn shut off his torch, rushing over to his console; that must have been him! Shepard had even mentioned traveling with a quarian woman on her pilgrimage, one from the Rayya! He worked quickly at the haptic interface, typing out his message to the flotilla. He didn't know who, but he needed to tell someone. As far as they all knew, John Shepard was dead.
-=ME:E=-
With a purposeful stride, heel to toe, Shepard walked through the undulating crowds of Afterlife towards its rear. He glanced up at the balcony, but caught no sight of Aria watching the crowds. He didn't bother trying to find Gavorn, the turian seemed to vanish when they approached the night club. The guards at the foot of the stairs nodded him through, and he swiftly ascended them two steps at a time. One of the larger batarians on the balcony sneered at him as he passed, a disgusting, brown bruise covering its neck. Aria lazily gestured at one of the nearby booths and he seated himself, immediately saying, "I took care of your little plague problem."
Aria nodded to him, saying, "I don't doubt you saw through that one, but let's just call it a test."
Shepard felt a twinge of frustration at being used so casually, but he concealed it – he still needed another favor. He leaned back, saying, "Any reason in particular I'm being tested?"
The matriarch rolled on her side to face him, one of her hands waving through the air in an aimless gesture, and said, "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time a vigilante, called Archangel set up shop on Omega and caused all sorts of problems for the local mercenary chapters. Eventually they grew so tired of his meddling that they all decided to gang up on the poor vigilante. Then one of the mercenaries had a wonderful idea; after Archangel was dead, why not take out the queen of Omega?"
Shepard had a pretty good idea where Aria was going with this, and she suddenly dropped the sing-song tone, her voice growing hard and low. She leaned forwards and said, "I don't like it when people disrupt the balance on Omega, and I merely tolerated Archangel because he kept the mercenary gangs in line. Now, however..."
He could easily see what it was that she wanted, but there was one thing she owed him first. He leaned forwards as well and said, "I can see where you're going with this, but first: have you found Jonn Whitson?"
Aria leaned back in her seat again, a devious smile spreading over her face, and Shepard could feel his gut grow heavy with unease. She leaned back and said, nonchalantly, "Today was his day off, and far be it from me to dictate how he spends his free time. I did however, put a tail on him."
Throughout all this she kept the sickening grin on her face and, out of impatience, Shepard said, "Where did he go?"
Aria finally let loose a small cackle of glee, she was enjoying his unease too much, and said, "He signed on as a freelancer in the attack against Archangel. He's a good shot, tries to play it tough, but I know he wouldn't last even a minute on that battlefield."
Shepard shot out of his seat and, in a harried tone, said, "How long until they make their move?"
Aria looked to one of the nearby guards, who made an unknown gesture, and said, "You have some time, maybe an hour, before they start their attack. I suggest you gather what supplies you need from your ship. One of my men, a mole within the Blue Suns, will meet you there."
Shepard quickly marched away from Aria and out of the club; the asari was likely insane, but he had to try and save Jonn Whitson from his own stupidity. There was no other option than to follow along.
-=ME:E=-
Aria watched Shepard stalk off swiftly with a smirk before she nodded to one of her guards, the batarian activating his omni-tool without ceremony. Up the steps opposite Shepard's exit, Gavorn trudged towards her, his helmet hanging from a hardpoint on his armor. He didn't bother to sit, merely standing in front of the asari with his brow plates and scales pinched in agitation. Sometimes he just hated to even see her face. She ignored his obvious discomfort and said, "Well, what do you think?"
Gavorn exhaled, glad he didn't have to stand around waiting for her to grace his presence with her attention. Sometimes she would make him wait just to enjoy his impatience. He said, "I think I should stay on his good side."
Aria huffed lightly in reply, saying, "That much is obvious, he's the Savior of the Citadel, but I asked what you thought about his capabilities."
The turian flicked his mandibles in amusement, he knew this would make her squirm some, and said, "He could take you and all of these batarians in a fight. Sure, he might sweat while doing it, but I doubt it would pain him too much."
The asari's demeanor instantly sobered as he said this, knowing he was fucking with her. Nobody fucked with Aria. She reigned in her temper and bit out, "Go change your armor, we're going ahead with our plan now."
Gavorn's good humor also vanished, he hated playing spy for Aria, and he tersely said, "You intend to take the Sun's down?"
Aria waved her hand at him dismissively and said, "Go, make sure the others know we're going ahead with it."
He turned from the asari and towards the stairs, saying, "Don't worry about Shepard too much, he's got other things on his mind."
"Oh? Do tell, what could possibly distract the paragon of justice, John Shepard, from a criminal organization that's blatantly using him?"
Gavorn turned back towards Aria as he reached the top of the stairs and said, "The Collectors were responsible for the plague, and it sounds like they're responsible for the missing colonies as well."
Aria let the upstart turian escape down the stairs, thinking back to an interesting bit of information she had acquired. She stood, all of her guards coming to attention as she did so, and made her way towards the offices overhead.
-=ME:E=-
It had been hours since Shepard last contacted her, and EDI was growing very concerned about her current energy situation. She'd since then entered a power save mode, only vaguely aware of the ship she was in charge of monitoring. An alert made its way to her – the docking bay doors had been opened. She was tempted to access ship communications and figure out who the intruder was, but the tiny feed of power she was receiving from the make-shift power solution was insufficient. Dimly, EDI wondered if she should feel panic in this situation, as most organic life-forms did before death.
More alerts were fed to her through the ship computer, the intruder was drawing closer. A final alert was received before she could hear a voice, as thought muffled and distant. It called a phrase multiple times, but it faded in time as even the link to the ship's computer was slowly closed off. A second passed and EDI wondered if she would cease to exist the moment she lost power completely. No incidents of shutdown or power failure were present in her memory, and for a brief moment she was fearful. Then she knew no more.
-=ME:E=-