A/N: okay, I know I said one chapter a week, and I posted this about 2 hours after one week. Therefore I'm giving you another long chapter :) I liked writing this chapter as it really gives the story its Alternate Universe theme, as intended. This chapter does contain a lot of plot points, especially in the second half. It also starts fleshing out some of the characters, particularly Garrus, Joker and some of Jack. I hope you enjoy chapter 7 and I'll try and get 8 up as soon as possible :)
"Interesting; Virus effecting physical appearance against hosts will. Shouldn't be so. Virus should be stable if diagnostics are correct."
Mordin, for probably the hundredth time, looked down at the data pad containing a detailed readout of the Blacklight virus' activity within Shepard's body.
"Can you figure out what's going on with it? I really don't want to go around looking like I'm half dead every time I get angry." Shepard asked.
"Of course Commander. Will take DNA samples and run tests, see what I can find."
"What I'm interested in is why the virus didn't destroy her gauntlet when her hand materialized into a blade?" Miranda asked, coming forward.
Shepard hadn't considered that; she had been too preoccupied thinking of a way to bring Jack around.
The human was locked down in the Cargo hold opposing Grunt's room. They had removed anything important from the room, and had laid out bedding. The door was secure, and even if she somehow managed to escape, Shepard was sure Grunt was more than capable of dealing with her.
"Readouts show energy patterns in Virus DNA." Mordin explained. "Virus is smart, knows how to adapt. Host and virus work together to create a stable link. Virus sensed that armour was important to host, and temporarily infected armour to suit your needs." He directed his last works at Shepard.
"That can't be right." Miranda objected. "The virus was designed to only be able to infect organics, originally humans to be precise. Shepard's armour is inanimate. It doesn't even have a built in artificial or virtual intelligence so there's no way that the virus could've mistaken it for being organic."
"No; virus too smart to make mistakes such as that, couldn't have been the case. Reason behind this anomaly unknown. Perhaps answer will be revealed when test results come in."
"Well whatever you find, let us know. The sooner we find out what's causing the virus to act up, the sooner we can find a way to counteract it." Miranda said.
"Yes, may need your help on this Miss Lawson. You are familiar with virus; studied it, enhanced it. Whatever help you could offer would be most helpful."
"Of course." Miranda smiled.
"So, is that it?" Shepard asked eager to get away from the lab. She didn't think she could take being a test subject any longer.
"That is all, Commander. Will notify you to anything we find." Mordin said, already busy typing on his data pad.
Shepard exited the lab and made her way to the elevator.
"Joker, set course for the Citadel." She said into the comm.
"Aye, aye Commander. Arrival to the Citadel should be in twenty four hours."
Shepard stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for engineering. She needed to resolve the problem with Jack now. The longer she remained cooped up in the Cargo bay, the higher her chances of escaping, and Shepard did not want her getting out while docked at the Citadel.
The elevator stopped at the crew deck, and the doors open to reveal Garrus, arms folded and looking very smug.
"Oh no you don't, Shepard," he chuckled, stepping into the elevator. "Remember our little talk the other day?"
"Yeah… what's that got to do with me going down to check on Grunt?" She asked innocently.
Garrus laughed. "Yeah, sure." He said sarcastically. "I know you're going down to have a wee chat with our biotic friend, and don't think I'm letting you go down without backup."
"Grunt's just across the hall." Shepard objected as the door shut and the slow-as-shit-elevator began its journey down. "I'm sure he can handle it if things go sour."
"And you've only known him for a few days." Garrus countered. "I'd prefer you'd bring someone you can trust."
"Okay," Shepard grinned mischievously. "Joker? Want to come with me to greet our new biotic friend?"
Shepard caught Garrus rolling his eyes.
"I'd love to, really I would. But you see, I'd rather be in this chair, rather than splattered against the cargo bay wall." Joker replied over the comm.
Shepard's grin widened. "That's fine. You stay there in your chair and we'll bring her up to meet you."
"I hate you." Joker groaned before switching the comm off.
Shepard and Garrus shared a laugh at Jokers expense.
"You're so mean." Garrus chuckled, shaking his head.
"Only with him… and with you." Shepard smirked.
The elevator arrived at the engineering deck and Shepard and Garrus stepped out, making their way to the cargo bay opposite to where Grunt resided.
"Okay, I'm sure being held against her will would have riled Jack up more than she was before, so be ready for anything she may throw at you." Shepard said in a serious voice.
The words were put into a more literal tense, as when Shepard opened the door, a medium sized crate came whizzing towards them, which Garrus just managed to duck under.
Shepard had dodged the projectile and used her biotics to pin Jack against the wall.
"Hey! We're not here to hurt you!" Shepard shouted, trying to defuse the situation.
"Fuck you!" Jack screamed, pushing outwards with her own powers. "Same words you said before you decided to knock me out and kidnap me!" She threw a shockwave at Shepard, sending her slamming against the opposite wall.
"You didn't give us much of a choice; you attacked us!" Shepard yelled back, though not angrily. She was trying to get the idea into the biotics head that they weren't the enemy.
"I told you that I'm not going anywhere with Cerberus!" Jack spat, preparing to throw a warp.
She didn't see Garrus charging at her until it was too late. He picked Jack up around the waist and seated her, not too violently onto one of the crates.
The non-violent action seemed to shock Jack.
"Just calm down," He said in a firm tone. "And tell us how much you exactly know about Cerberus."
Jack tensed as if she was going to attack, but instead she answered. "They're a bunch of hypocritical, tormenting, racist fucks that don't give a shit who they tear down to reach their goals. They say they only do what's best for humanity, oh sure, but all they really want to do is to put themselves over everyone else in the galaxy."
"Okay," Garrus breathed "now, if they're what you say they are, why am I on this ship?" he demanded, gesturing at himself. "A Turian, on a ship owned by a human supremacist group. Care to explain that?
Jack shrugged. "Because you're a dumbass?" She suggested.
"Because this isn't a Cerberus vessel." He said slowly.
Jack laughed mockingly. "Oh how silly of me for mistaking the logo and colours for being Cerberus."
"They have a tendency to stamp it on everything they make." Shepard muttered, before approaching. "They made this ship, but that doesn't mean it's their vessel. I'm in command and so long as I remain so, I'll have no part in any of Cerberus' extremist methods. I'm only working with them because they have the resources I need to stop the Collectors."
"What are the Collectors doing then?" Demanded Jack.
"They're abducting entire human colonies." Garrus explained. "Cerberus thinks they're working with the Reapers. Have you heard of them?"
Jack shook her head.
"In short, they're a race of gigantic sentient star ships that want to destroy all advanced organic life in the galaxy." Shepard explained." I'll set you up with an Omni tool and send you some info on them if you want, along with anything we have on the Collectors."
"Wait, wait, wait up. Who ever said that I'm gonna join you? You still haven't given me any reason to trust you. And anyone working with Cerberus, no matter how far down the line, or for what cause, is just as untrustworthy in my book."
"If we were to give you access to Cerberus data, would you be willing to at least help us until you make up your mind as to whether you can trust us or not?" Garrus suggested, looking at Shepard and hoping he wasn't overstepping any lines.
Shepard nodded, much to his relief and said. "We can give you full access to any data logs that we have on the Normandy, as well as set you up with a living space away from any Cerberus crew members."
"I'll stay in here." Jack muttered, looking down at the floor between her legs. "Just give me access to anything you have on Cerberus and I'll help you."
Shepard was surprised by how quickly she had accepted after being offered information on Cerberus. The young woman seemed to be deep in thought, so Shepard thought it wise to end the conversation.
"I'll send someone down with an Omni tool and terminal linked up to the ships information store."
Jack nodded, without looking up, so Shepard and Garrus took that as their queue to leave.
"Well, that went better than expected," Shepard said after the door had shut behind them.
She rubbed the back of her shoulder where she had hit the wall. Jacks biotic strength was astounding, and Shepard was eager to see how she worked on the field.
"I'm sorry that I kinda took command in there." Garrus said awkwardly, shifting on his feet.
"Don't worry about it," Shepard smiled. "I doubt I could have brought her around without your intervention."
"And what was that about you 'being able to handle it'?" Garrus asked, the usual cockiness returning to his tone.
"Oh don't even…" Shepard began, waggling her finger.
Garrus grinned at her. "You love it."
"Damn it." Shepard cursed, looking down to hide her smile.
"Well, I'm gonna grab something to eat; haven't had anything since before Purgatory. You coming?"
"Sure." Shepard smiled, getting into the elevator.
Shepard stared at the light blue paste on Garrus' plate. How the hell could he stomach the stuff?
"what?" Garrus demanded, catching her disgusted stare.
"I think," She said slowly. "We need some better Turian food?"
Garrus laughed. "I'm not complaining, you get used to it when spending time aboard a human ship. Not exactly appetizing, but still." He dug some off the plate with a finger before putting it in his mouth. "It'll do."
Shepard shuddered. "Well don't think I'll be eating it anytime soon."
"you can't eat my food remember?" Garrus smirked.
Oh it was the perfect opportunity to steal Garrus' thunder.
"Couldn't." Shepard corrected innocently.
Garrus spoon was halfway to his mouth when he paused. "What?" he asked puzzled.
"Oh I forgot to tell you didn't I?" Shepard said, a huge grin slowly spread across her face. Though she hated to do so, she swept her finger through the glop and before Garrus could stop her, put it in her mouth, and swallowed.
"Oh crap, that is absolute shit." Shepard groaned, screwing up her face in disgust.
"You can eat dextro food?" Garrus said astounded.
"Obviously." Shepard managed to smile.
"Oh if only Tali were here." Garrus said, breaking into a grin. "We'd have a night out at a classy destroy restaurant when we're on the Citadel."
"That would be so awesome. Oh imagine the look on her face!" Shepard laughed.
"You… can't see her face remember?" Garrus said in a serious voice.
Shepard froze before erupting into hysterical laughter. Garrus joined her.
"Okay, I walked right into that one." Shepard said once she'd calmed down.
"Yes," Garrus said, eating another spoonful of glop. "yes you did."
After dinner, they two of them sat down in the lounge for a few drinks.
"Ever think back to the good old days?" Shepard asked after swallowing her beer.
"Sometimes." Garrus replied, leaning back. "I like thinking of the Mako, and how well I fixed it up…"
Shepard swatted his leg. "You and your damn calibrations."
"And then how you'd bust it every time you went driving." He grinned.
"Aw I wasn't that bad." Shepard said.
"Yes you were." Garrus Chuckled. "I remember once how you came back from a mission with Kaiden and Wrex. Kaiden got out first and fell over instantly, and Wrex came up to me and said 'don't worry; it'll be your turn soon enough.'"
"He did not. I was there, and I would have heard him." Shepard objected.
"He said it quietly as he walked past. He wasn't always loud and stomping about, blowing people apart."
"Okay so maybe I wasn't very good in the Mako. I didn't see any of you volunteering to drive."
"It was built for humans." Garrus retorted. "my ass wouldn't fit behind the wheel."
"True. The alliance didn't have Dinosaurs in mind when they built it."
"What is it with that?" Garrus demanded, throwing up his hands. "What the hell is a Dinosaur?"
"Look it up." Shepard grinned.
"And you know, every single time you say that. Every time! I keep forgetting, so just tell me!"
"Hmmm… Nah." Shepard grinned, finding Garrus' distress amusing.
"Fine, I will look it up… later." Garrus huffed.
"So what else can we talk about, aside from the Mako?" Shepard wondered.
Garrus shrugged, suddenly very quiet.
Shepard looked at him. "You never explained how you lost your visor."
"It broke." He replied quickly
"Garrus, we both know that isn't true."
Garrus refused to look at her.
"Garrus, I know where you last had it." Shepard sighed.
"Shepard I..." but he was cut off as the ship suddenly lurched, sending them both from their seats and onto the floor.
"Commander, you may want to get up here." Joker's voice blared over the intercom.
Shepard and Garrus looked at each other before hurrying to the elevator.
"What's the situation?" Shepard asked as they walked into the cockpit.
"We've got two frigates incoming. Ones already on our tail and has opened fire."
"Any identification?"
"The lack of markings indicates pirates," EDI explained, "But after doing a quick run of their systems I was able to learn that they are Blue Suns; more specifically the reinforcements headed for Purgatory."
Shepard cursed. How did they manage to find us so quickly?
As if reading her thoughts, EDI continued, "It seems that a tracking device was placed on the Normandy's hull soon after we arrived at the station. It was small enough so that it wouldn't show up unless I did a fully detailed exterior scan."
"They obviously didn't want the ship getting away after imprisoning us." Garrus remarked coldly.
"Get everyone to their battle stations." Shepard told Joker. "Garrus, I want you at the battery; get the guns ready to fire."
Garrus nodded before hurrying off.
Shepard made for the armoury, tuning her comm for the ship to hear. "All hands to battle stations. We're under fire from Blue Suns frigates. Grunt and Jack, I want you to meet me in the shuttle bay; make sure you're geared up and ready to fight."
"I'm always ready for a fight." Grunt said, his voice dripping with excitement. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle.
Grunt exited the Cargo bay, shotgun in hand. He though the rest of the day would be boring, uneventful. Apparently he was wrong.
As he waited for the elevator, he heard the door open on the other side of the deck, and looked over as Jack walked out, her face unreadable.
"Human." Grunt nodded at her.
Jack nodded back. "Krogan."
Grunt turned away and chuckled as the elevator doors opened.
This was going to be interesting.
Shepard stood waiting in the shuttle bay, armoured and armed for the skirmish ahead. They were going to board the enemy frigate using the Kodiak and disable it from the inside.
Joker would have to get them close enough to the frigates docking bay to reduce the chance of the Kodiak getting shot down before it docked. The Normandy would then engage the second frigate while Shepard and her team were inside the first.
She had chosen Jack and Grunt for this mission because Jacks biotics and Grunts shotgun would be invaluable at close range.
Shepard only hoped that Jack would not try and steal away on the frigate once they had the crew disabled. Sure, the biotic seemed content to join them so long as she got the data on Cerberus, but the way her mood had changed so quickly earlier just showed how unpredictable she could be.
Shepard's thoughts were cut short as the elevator doors opened, and Grunt and Jack stepped out. Grunt nodded a greeting and got into the shuttle.
Jack picked up a shotgun and heavy pistol off the weapons table and gave them a quick once-over.
"We up against Blue Suns?" She asked. Shepard nodded. "Good. I like killing Blue Suns."
"Join the club." Shepard muttered, thinking back to the encounter on Omega.
Jack looked over at Shepard and smirked. "What's your beef with them?"
"Let's just say they fucked with the wrong person, for the wrong reasons." Shepard said dryly.
Jack nodded slowly. "They're the ones who locked me up." She said. "They did things to me before we arrived at the station. Then it was them and a group of other prisoners when I was on my way back from the mess hall. I personally cornered and killed each and every one of the fucks that were responsible."
"Is that why you have trouble trusting people?" Shepard asked.
"Among everything else that's happened to me. Every person I've joined up with in my life has used me for one way or another. Eventually I'm just like 'Fuck this' and never trusted anyone again."
Shepard looked at Jack, trying to gauge her emotions.
Jack looked up at Shepard. "And you're not my fucking psychiatrist so don't get all sentimental on me. Let's just get on that ship and blow the fuckers to hell." She shoved past Shepard and into the shuttle.
Shepard shook her head sadly. Getting Jacks full cooperation may be tougher than she thought.
Getting into the shuttle, she took her seat beside Grunt, who had a look of impatience on his face.
"How long do we have to wait?" he demanded.
"Should be ready to deploy soon." Shepard replied. "Just try and hold on until we reach the frigate. I don't want you killing anything before we get there."
Grunt glance at Shepard out of the corner of his eye and chuckled. "No promises."
"This is Joker, you are ready for deployment, Kodiak."
"Okay people, here we go!" Shepard announced, closing the shuttle doors.
The Normandy gave a series of small jolts as the hostile ships bombarded its shields. The shuttle bay doors opened just as the Kodiak lifted off.
"Kodiak is away." Joker said and pulled away to engage the second incoming frigate.
Shepard leaned over the back of her seat to look out the cockpit window. The Blue Suns ship blocked out all other view as they neared it. The pilot aimed the shuttle towards the airlock as the frigates turrets began firing at them. The shuttle rocked as its shields absorbed the damage.
"Ma'am, we won't be able to connect to the frigate's airlock in this shuttle, you'll have to jump into the opening and hack the doors yourself."
"I will be able to access the ships mainframe and access the airlock doors for you Shepard." Came EDI's voice over the intercom.
"Good. Helmets on everybody." Said Shepard, donning her own helmet.
The shuttle approached the airlock as Shepard opened the doors, holding onto the railing to avoid being sucked out in the vacuum. She jumped first, floating briefly in the small space between the shuttle and the frigate. The door was already opened and she floated through the opening. Grunt and Jack followed suit.
Once the doors were locked and the chamber re-pressurized, the second door opened leading into the ship itself.
Shepard and company drew their weapons and cautiously entered the hallway beyond.
"Garrus, I thought you were good at this calibrating thing." Joker complained over the intercom.
"You can't rush perfection. And besides, these weapons aren't nearly as powerful as the ones on the original Normandy." He shot back.
"Well then at least tell Shepard to find an upgrade for the Normandy's main guns, because these things couldn't cut through butter."
"What the hell is butter?" Garrus smirked.
"A human spread usually put on- Never mind! It's not important right now and I need to concentrate on not flying us into incoming fire!"
"Hey, you're the one that mentioned it."
Shhh, I'm not listening, la, la, laa!"
Garrus laughed. "I trust you'll get us through this. You dropped us onto Ilos well enough didn't you?"
"What can I say? I have mad-ass skills."
"Which is why we're gonna make it through one little fire fight."
"Okay I get your- SHIT!" The ship rocked violently, slamming Garrus against the wall.
"What the hell was that?" Demanded Garrus, regaining his balance.
"I think they just fired harpoons at us!" was Jokers reply.
"Did they get us?"
"No, the shields stopped them from penetrating the hull."
"Why would they fire harpoons at us? They're not trying to capture us are they?" Garrus felt a pit form in his stomach as he remembered where Shepard was.
"Maybe they want to salvage the ship?" Suggested Joker.
"Any word from Shepard?" Garrus asked, changing the subject.
"Not since she left the Normandy." Joker replied, his tone worried.
Garrus brought up his Omni tool and tried to connect to Shepard's comm. A message came up on the display; Connection blocked.
"Joker, whatever you do, do not let that other frigate get away."
Shepard rounded the corner, taking down three Blue Suns mercs. So far she was pleased by how the operation was going.
Jack was amazing on the field, throwing groups of enemies around the place with her biotics like they weighed nothing. She had only used her weapons a little, preferring to stick to biotics. No matter how many mercs were thrown at her, she never seemed to tire, and would throw them back with five hundred times as much force.
Grunt seemed impressed by her display of strength at first, but quickly became irritated as the two females didn't leave much left for him.
Shepard would have let Grunt have a turn at killing, but she had left the Normandy with memories of Omega which fuelled her rage, and made her want to destroy every merc they encountered… personally.
With the room cleared out, they pressed onwards. They made their way to the door on the other side of the room and found it locked. Shepard's attempts to hack it were in vain as it seemed these locks were a step up from the ones she had previously encountered.
"Let's go back and try and find another way around." Shepard said, going back to the door they had come in through. It was locked as well, just as securely as the other one.
"What the hell?" Demanded Jack, slamming a biotic fist against the door.
Shepard tried again to hack the door, but to no avail.
"This isn't working." Shepard spat, backing away from the door.
Grunt roared and threw a crate against the other door, causing no significant damage.
"I do not get trapped!" He yelled to no one in particular.
"Well it seems that you have been." Came a smooth, controlled voice from what must been the ships intercom.
Shepard brought up her Omni tool.
"That isn't going to help you". The voice said. "We've blocked off your communications, you no longer have contact with anyone outside this ship."
"What exactly do you want?" Shepard demanded. "You seemed content to shoot us down before."
"We merely tried to disable your ship enough to capture it. We never intended you death, oh no. You're much too valuable to us."
"Who is 'us'? The Blue Suns?" Shepard snarled.
"Hardly. They are merely tools used to fulfil our goals. We saw your little display from Purgatory's video feed. Out of everyone in the galaxy, we didn't expect you to have such a powerful and… dangerous weapon at your disposal."
"You know what it is?" Shepard asked, looking around the room, trying to find another way out.
"Of course we do. And I can say with all confidence that the Shadow Broker would be most pleased if you were brought to him. You see, he has been searching a long time for someone who's DNA contains the Blacklight virus. It's much easier than trying to get it away from its current safety on Earth.
"What do you mean on Earth?" Shepard asked. There didn't seem to be any way out of the room, but she needed to stall long enough to find one.
"The only current place where the Virus resides in its pure form is in a heavily guarded vault in earths most secretive and well-armed military establishments. You know it as Area 51, and the Brokers previous attempts to break in and get a sample were… worse than unsuccessful. He concluded that the only way to obtain a sample would be to find an individual already infected with the virus, capture them, and harvest their DNA. His searches have been unsuccessful, until now.
"Okay then," Shepard said, giving up on trying to find a way out. "What does the Shadow Broker want with the virus?"
"That is for the Broker alone to know. You are now under his custody, you have no means of escape and we will soon capture your ship, and use its crew as leverage to force your cooperation. I do believe that your fate is sealed."
"As sealed as this fucking door soon will be!" Shepard yelled, advancing on the door. Gathering up her anger, she transformed her forearm and hand into one massive spike, and drove it into the wall right beside the door. Then using her biotics, she send a power surge through the doors locking mechanism, causing it to open.
"Your resistance will only cost you more pain in the end." The voice warned.
"Go fuck yourself." Jack sneered, and crushed the intercom with her biotics.
"Let's go find this asshole so I can tear him apart myself." Shepard growled. No one would ever threaten her crew like that. She was going to show just how big a mistake these people had made.
Grunt had already run ahead. "I need to do some damn killing!" he roared.
Garrus and Joker had chosen a bad time to go shopping.
After witnessing the performance of the Normandy's guns, they decided that they should find a replacement in advance, knowing that its current weapons would have nothing on any Collector vessels.
However Joker was in the midst of outmanoeuvring the enemies' attacks as well as scrolling through the vast variety of weapons on the extranet.
"How about this one?" Joker asked, showing Garrus the screen.
Garrus had come up to the cockpit, and left EDI in charge of the battery. There was nothing he could do to make the guns any more effective that they currently were down there, so he concluded that trying to find a better weapon system for the Normandy was, in its own way, making the guns more effective.
"You do realize that is made for a cruiser right? That thing wouldn't comply with the Normandy's systems much less fit on the ship."
"Yeah. Still, having one of these would be pretty badass. If, you know, they shrank it down, and made it compatible- but you get the idea right?"
"Hmmm, well we could always go for what the Normandy used to have…"
"We've been over this a hundred times; those guns were ineffective against the Collector ship that tore the original in half, and isn't that what we're trying to avoid?"
"But they just ran so smooth." Garrus grinned.
"You didn't even calibrate the Normandy's guns back then!" Joker exclaimed
"As far as you know."
Joker pulled out of a hard right bank before looking suspiciously at Garrus. "How?"
"Let's just say it was lucky that the ducts were large enough for me to fit through back then." Garrus smirked slyly.
"You climbed through the ducts to get to the Weapons systems…" It was more of a statement than a question.
"Hey, I'd never had the chance to calibrate something so powerful before. How could I resist?"
Joker shook his head. "It still doesn't solve our- SHIT!" he swerved and narrowly missed the harpoons coming straight at the cockpit window.
"Believe I may have solution." Came a familiar, fast-paced voice form behind.
Mordin walked into the cockpit, grabbing hold of the door frame so he wouldn't fall over as Joker preformed his combat manoeuvres.
"Hey Mordin." Joker greeted. "How are things going in the lab?"
"Good. Close to finding solution to Collector seeker swarms. Shouldn't be long now."
"Good news." Garrus grinned. "Means we're that much closer to taking the fight to them."
"Yes, yes, very good. However; problem at hand. Normandy's guns are not fit for taking down Collector vessel am I correct?"
"They can barely take down these bastards." Joker remarked, firing at the Blue Suns frigate.
"While working in STG, found reports of Turian scientists working on new weapon, codenamed Thannix. According to reports, weapons design was a scaled down replica of the main weapon Sovereign used when it attack the Citadel."
"How the hell did they manage to get a hold of that?" demanded Joker.
"Do not know. Suspect Turian councillor had it covered up that his salvage teams found the main weapon mostly intact."
"So in theory," Garrus said. "We could have a weapon capable or tearing nearly any ship in half with a single shot?"
"Correct." Mordin said smiling.
"Okay, but how are we supposed to get a hold of one of these things?" Joker asked.
"Will run idea past Miss Lawson. Cerberus contact may find a way to obtain Thannix cannon and have it installed to fit the Normandy's systems."
"Well I guess it solves that problem." Joker sighed, closing the extranet shopping page. "We should probably run this by Shepard when she gets back."
Garrus nodded. Shepard had been inside the other frigate for quite a while without word.
I hope she's alright.
Grunt blew open the chest of a merc with a blast from his shotgun, letting himself be splattered with gore. He laughed as his enemy fell to the floor dead.
Jack ran passed and jumped at a second merc, fist glowing. A single impact with the mercs helmeted head send him sprawling to the floor, unconscious.
Shepard was right behind her. She let loose a battle cry and she lunged at the next group with a bloodied blade extending two feet out of her forearm.
She stabbed the first merc through the chest, before spinning and slicing open another throat. She held up her other had and threw the remaining five mercs against the wall. Grunt finished them off with his shotgun.
"Okay, this is a lot more fun than I expected." Jack grinned, walking up beside Shepard. "You may be alright after all Shep."
Shepard grunted in response, too caught up in her own world to offer anything else. She had given up trying to fight the virus and just let it act on its own accord.
How far from humanity have I grown? She wondered.
"Hey! Are we gonna keep moving or what?" Demanded Grunt who was standing beside the door. Shepard nodded, and stabbed the wall just like she had before.
This was the seventh door they had come across that had been locked like this. Shepard suspected they were trying to slow them down enough to capture the Normandy and use the crew as leverage to make her stand down.
She wasn't going to allow that though. If the Blacklight virus was good for anything, it would be for getting the job done fast and effectively.
The door opened and instead of another hallway, they came into the main control room. Everyone looked up at the sound of the door opening and immediately went for their weapons.
Shepard raised a hand and lifted all the enemies' guns into the air, then crushed them with biotics.
"Where is the asshole who threatened my crew?" She thundered, looking from one terrified face to the next, yet no one spoke up.
"If none of you are going to talk," She said, allowing the viruses flange to enter her voice. "I'm going to begin killing you all, one by one until one of you comes clean."
"There's no need for that, Commander." Came the smooth voice. A holographic image stepped out from behind an alcove in one of the walls.
"I'm the one you seek."
"Uh huh, and where is your body? Too afraid to face you enemies head on?" Demanded Jack.
"My 'body' is in a safe and secure location, I assure you. It would be no good in a fight however, as it lacks what organics rely on to fight."
"Organics? What are you, so kinda computer program?" asked Grunt.
"I am an Artificial Intelligence to be precise. I offer personal aid to the current Shadow Broker and my main platform resides within his base of operations."
"You've seen what I can do." Shepard growled, her voice still distorted by the viruses effect. "You know now that you won't be able to hold me. So I suggest you tell me what I want to know before I-"
"Before you what, Commander? You have nothing to threaten. As I said before, these mercs are merely tools, and neither I nor the Shadow Broker will mourn their deaths. So I ask; what will you do if I refuse your terms?"
"I'll take any information from this ships mainframe, find out where you and the Shadow Broker are, and wipe you from this galaxy."
"That may prove… difficult." The AI said, the image smiling slightly. "Besides this ship, as well as the one the Normandy has engaged, has no information that could help you to find the Brokers location."
"Just you wait. I will find you, one way or another I will, and when I do, I hope you're ready." Shepard said quietly.
"It is unfortunate that you think that way." The AI said. "Kill all of them, save for Shepard. She is needed alive." And with that, the image faded.
"Are you really going to listen to him?" Shepard demanded, addressing the mercs. "You're unarmed, and you heard it yourself; you're merely tools to the Broker."
"They pay well." A Batarian sneered.
"Is it worth your life?" Shepard shot back, brandishing her hand-blade.
Kill them.
The Batarian hesitated before answering. "I guess not."
They are nothing. Kill them! Shepard ignored the voice.
"I'm going to, just this once, let the rest of you live. But first you have to tell your friends to stand down, unblock your Omni tool signatures, and give us access to both of your ships information mainframes."
The group murmured amongst themselves before a Turian spoke up. "Are we supposed to just take your word on it?"
"Do you have much of a choice?" Shepard shot back.
"Fine. The Batarian said, and accessed his Omni tool. "There, I've removed the block on your Omni tools and communications.
Shepard allowed her body to return to its normal shape before activating her Omni tool.
"Joker, do you read me?"
"Commander! The Blue Suns have stopped firing. Are you alright?"
"I managed to negotiate an end to hostilities, for now. We're all fine in here."
"Negotiate? What's going on?" Joker sounded puzzled.
"I'll explain when I get back on the ship. Is everyone in there okay?"
"We're fine. Some bumps and bruises but we're all alive. Also we- hey! Get off- Ouch! Watch the arm-dammit!"
"Shepard?" Garrus' voice rang over the comm.
"Hey buddy." Shepard smiled, glad to hear his voice.
"Are you alright? What happened? You went dark for a while in there." He sounded so concerned, Shepard found it rather cute.
"I'm fine Garrus. I'll explain everything when I get back to the Normandy."
"Okay. But next time, I'm going with you."
Shepard laughed. "Okay Garrus. Now let go of Jokers arm before you break it."
A sigh of relief could be heard on the other side of the line. "Yeah, just grab my Omni tool. Not like you have your own or anything." Joker muttered.
"EDI?" Shepard said.
"Yes commander?" Came the synthetic voice of the Normandy's AI.
"Sweep the systems of both Blue Suns ships; look for anything relating to the Shadow Broker or the Blacklight Virus.""
"Scanning…"
Shepard walked around the room while she waited. She looked over at Jack and grunt and saw the biotic teaching Grunt how to bump fists.
"It's called a bro-fist, or fist bump. It's a way of saying 'good job' or 'nice work' or 'your kicked some serious fucking ass!'" Jack explained.
Shepard chuckled.
"Commander, I have found a particular file that may interest you. It appears that you are a new second on the Shadow Brokers list of people to find, who have the Blacklight Virus."
"Second?" Asked Shepard startled. "Who's the first?"
"Alex Mercer."
A/N: CLIFFHANGER! So mercer will be in the story at some points and is a main theme for the plot. Also, a short note; for the AI that Shepard and co encounter, you can use any voice you want, but I'd recommend the voice of Mr House from Fallout New Vegas. :)