A/N: I had a bit of trouble copying this document so please let me know if there has been any duplication of the content in this chapter. Anyway this chapter has Shepard returning to Ilos. Needless to say she runs into something familiar on the planet.
Chapter IX
Shepard drifted back to consciousness with Sira's voice.
"Emma, we are about to reach the Mu relay."
"Mmmm, so soon?" Shepard groaned.
"Unfortunately yes. Miranda is already on her way to the command deck. I have also left you some off duty uniforms that you may be comfortable with."
The uniforms were the standard shipboard fair of a t-shirt and pants coloured with the same black and red highlights as Shepard's armour.
Stepping into the main room of her quarters she noticed that the skylights offered her a stunning view of a passing nebula. A sweet aroma led Shepard to a pot of something which smelt suspiciously like tea and a plate of pasties. The tea was sweet without being overwhelming while the pasties appeared to be filled with something that tasted vaguely of nuts. Shepard realized that this was her first solid food since awakening in the Cerberus laboratory as she polished off the plate of pasties.
Arriving on the bridge she noticed Miranda frowning at the space surrounding the Mu Relay.
"Something's wrong Shepard." Were the first words out of Miranda's mouth.
"What do you mean?"
"The relay is usually guarded by a cluster of defence satellites yet Sira has detected no sign of any ships, satellites or debris."
"Sira do we have any power to weapons and defences?"
"We have secondary mass accelerator batteries, and my torpedo tubes are online. The barriers are also at full charge. Do you expect a fight?" Sira replied as she ran through the checklist of her combat systems
"It never hurts to be prepared. We might as well head through and see what's waiting for us on the other side."
"You intend to head into whatever trap is waiting for us on the other side?" Miranda added incredulously.
"Of course. This isn't exactly an unarmed freighter. We should be more than well enough equipped to deal with whatever is waiting for us on the other side."
"Heading through the relay." Sira reported back.
Shepard felt the telltale tug as the Voice of Memory was seized by the gravity of the Mu relay and hurled the immense distance from the relay to Ilos. Moments later the dreadnaught shuddered again as it emerged from the Mu Relay's partner in the Refuge.
Shepard watched in consternation as the dreadnaught passed through a cloud of debris as it cleared the relay. It was clear to both her and Miranda that whatever automated defences surrounding the Mu Relay had been destroyed and subsequently drawn through by the aggressor vessel to this end of the relay. It still didn't solve the mystery of the aggressor's identity.
"Sira, take us in a sweep past Ilos. If the attacking vessel is still here it would probably be in orbit of the planet."
"Shepard, I have plotted a course for Ilos but my sensors aren't reading any vessels in the area."
"Except the massive blind spot behind the planet where whatever it is could be hiding. Plot us an oblique course to the planet so that we can scan the blind spot without exposing ourselves to attack and make sure our stealth systems are properly tuned and functioning this time. We don't want to give our position away too early."
Several minutes later Shepard's prudence had paid off as the sensors exposed a pair of mercenary frigates orbiting the planet. Both frigates continued to hide inside the planet's shadow, blissfully unaware of the massive dreadnaught heading towards them.
"It seems as though you were correct Shepard. Two frigates have been detected both of which appear to be of human design but don't appear to conform to Alliance specifications."
"Well Miranda, any idea who our uninvited guests are?"
"From their hull markings they appear to be affiliated with the Blue Suns but that doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?"
"The Blue Suns wouldn't be interested in attacking a Council funded archaeological project. Also those frigates couldn't have taken down the defences by themselves."
"So they had help. Help which could have left the system by this point. I intend to hit them before they realize we're here. Sira, what is the status of the primary armament?"
"The main guns are primed with solid slugs and are ready to fire."
"Hold on a moment Sira. Did you say guns? As in more than one? All council race dreadnaughts only have a single main battery." Miranda interrupted.
"The Voice of Memory is equipped with three spinal mounted mass accelerators capable of loading a variety of submunitions. My firepower is only surpassed by that of a fully grown Reaper. I also have a firing solution on both frigates."
"Excellent Sira. If either ship attempts to move out of the cover of the planet take it out. In the meantime can you deploy a communications buoy?"
"What are you planning Shepard?" Miranda asked, clearly perplexed by Shepard's reluctance to destroy the two frigates.
"We have to figure out what those two frigates are doing. If we drop a communications buoy then we can send them a transmission without them being able to target us. It also means they won't attempt to run when we do reveal ourselves."
"Why not simply destroy them?"
"You're awfully bloodthirsty Miranda. Intelligence comes first. We can always destroy them later." Shepard replied.
"Comm buoy away." Sira reported back.
"See if you can get me a comm channel to both frigates."
"You're on Shepard"
"Attention unidentified raiders, we have you targeted and are prepared to fire if you make the slightest movement. Moving from your current position or failing to respond to this transmission will result in your immediate destruction. You have thirty seconds to respond." Shepard finished.
The reply was immediate and demonstrated that Shepard's opposite number was a pragmatic sort. Neither frigate made any move as the comm crackled to life.
"Transmitting vessel reveal yourself immediately or we will disregard your first transmission." Was the curt response.
Shepard nodded to Sira to deactivate the stealth systems. She would have enjoyed seeing the look on the mercenaries' faces when they found themselves staring down the Voice's mass accelerators.
"Unknown vessel we are prepared to acquiesce to your demands. What do you want?"
"Since you and I both agree that I have your ships dead to rights here is what I propose; you recover your ground teams from the planet, you leave any plunder behind and we escort you back to the relay after which you're free to go. In return for my generosity you transmit all information about your attack on this system, your employer's identity and your activities on the surface of Ilos to me. You have sixty seconds to respond." And with that Shepard cut the transmission.
"I certainly hope you don't plan on letting them go."
"If I don't let them go and someone survives then my word is meaningless. I trust I don't need to explain why that's important." Shepard replied giving Miranda a cold stare.
"The frigates are recovering their landing craft." Sira noted, interrupting the standoff between the two women. "They have also sent me an encoded data packet which should take me some time to sort out. As far as I can tell the mercenaries were recruited by intermediaries."
"Good work Sira. Engage the stealth systems and keep an eye on the frigates. One false move and you can take them out. Miranda and I will be heading to the shuttle bay."
Shepard still hadn't forgotten Miranda's insubordination which promised to make the upcoming mission an interesting one.
Several minutes later Shepard was strapping herself into the pilot's seat of the infiltration shuttle. The shuttle was unlike anything Shepard had piloted or even seen before. On the exterior the shuttle was pure black carrying a set of forward swept wings near its bow. The tail tapered into a sharp point making the shuttle look like a cross between a trident and a bird of prey. Miranda settled into the seat beside Shepard after having checked their gear. All that remained was to depressurize the bay and open the hangar doors to space.
"The mercenary frigates have left the system. You should be clear to land on the planet." Sira remarked over the comm.
"Alright Sira, you can head to the depot in the asteroid field as soon as we're clear but keep a comm line open."
"Confirmed."
As the hatch opened to space Shepard eased the shuttle out into the void. The shuttle was surprisingly responsive and handled smoothly on the flight to the surface. The landing passed without incident or conversation with her co-pilot and it was not until they were on the surface of Ilos that Miranda broke her silence.
"No welcoming party. That certainly is unusual."
"What do you mean Miranda?"
"That research outpost we passed on our way here would surely have noticed us passing over head and yet there isn't any sign of anyone. No security, no gunfire, not even an offer to surrender. Nothing."
"You're right Miranda. There is something suspicious about this situation. Especially since those mercenary shuttles were lifting off from the main complex. We should make a quick detour past the outpost." Shepard replied as she sealed a standard rebreather helmet over her head.
Miranda did the same as the stepped out of the shuttle and on to the surface of Ilos. Shepard removed her assault rifle and scanned the area as Miranda brought up the rear.
The outpost was only a five minute walk from their landing zone and a cursory examination confirmed their earlier suspicions. The outpost seemed totally deserted. What was most telling was the fact that several of the computer consoles were still running and had not even had time to automatically power down. As Shepard and Miranda made their way into the larger building of the outpost Shepard noticed a stain on one of the walls. Rather than being blood the stain was more organic and almost reminiscent of plant sap.
"I don't like this Shepard. It looks like everyone just dropped what they were doing and got up and left. They left their clothing, research, even their food uneaten. From the looks of it seems as though they left relatively recently." Miranda whispered.
"I've got a hunch about what may be behind the disappearance but I need you to check the mainframe while I snoop around a bit more." Shepard replied.
Miranda nodded swiftly and ducked into a nearby server room to see what records she could uncover. Shepard cautiously continued her sweep through the building. Most of the rooms were simple monotonous prefab workrooms, sleeping quarters, and a mess hall. It was not until she reached the air processors that she found something suspicious. Lying on the floor was another puddle of sap. The air processor room was completely dark with no lights on whatsoever. The blackness made a stark contrast to the otherwise ordinary rooms throughout the rest of the facility. Shepard hit her comms.
"Miranda? Do you read me?"
Silence was her only response. There wasn't even the telltale hiss of jamming. Wherever Miranda was she wasn't answering her comm. Turning around to look for Miranda Shepard was surprised when the entire building was plunged into complete darkness. Toggling her helmet's night-vision the hallways were illuminated in bright green. There was no apparent cause for the power blackout apart from Shepard having opened the door to the air processors. As Shepard scanned the hallway she heard an electronic grumble from down the hall. It was a sound she knew well and it was almost always associated with Geth. She didn't have to wait long before a pair of standard Geth drones marched into the hallway and opened fire with their assault rifles. Shepard easily returned fire on the Geth dispatching them quickly but before she had a chance to secure her position she was under fire from another pair of Geth. Unlike the previous duo these two took cover and were laying down surprisingly accurate fire on her position. Shepard was left with no choice but to retreat into the air processing room.
Taking cover behind the door jamb Shepard returned fire at her antagonists but before she could send them to silicon hell the pressure door between her room and the hallway slammed shut very nearly taking off her hand and making short work of her assault rifle. Yank her pistol from its holster Shepard cursed the Geth and the quarians who had programmed them. It almost never failed that when dealing with all things Prothean homicidal Geth would appear from nowhere. At least it seemed to be a rule for her.
Scanning her surroundings Shepard noted that despite the darkness the room was totally ordinary. Shepard moved quietly away from the door and deeper into the room in search of a computer terminal or at least a light switch. The room was divided by several ventilator towers which served to de-contaminate the air for the facility but now only served to obscure Shepard's view of the rear of the room. As Shepard wound her way around one of the cooling fans she heard a soft crunch. Shepard came to a complete stop. Something was in the room with her. At the time it didn't occur to Shepard that the room was structurally unsound. It was only when the floor gave way beneath her that she realized the crunch had been the floor giving way.
Plunging from one black void into another didn't do much for Shepard's day. Shepard's fall came to a sudden halt as she impacted the ground in a cloud of dust and debris. As she landed her head viciously slammed into one of the walls causing her vision to swim. This had the unfortunate side effect of completely shorting out her helmet's night vision. Shepard rolled on to her back with groan and stared into the blackness. Fumbling with a pocket in her armour she yanked out a miniature flare. Igniting bathed her current predicament in an unnatural reddish glow. Shepard found herself in what appeared to be a sub-basement of the outpost or a part of the Prothean ruins. She couldn't really tell which it was. She had apparently landed in some sort of cul de sac and the worst part was that her pistol had gone missing in the landing. Not only did she have a limited supply of light, she was almost completely defenceless and she was almost certainly lost. Yanking off her helmet as she climbed to her feet she fumbled her knife out of her boot. A little added insurance on a mission never hurt. She also cursed herself for having left Sira's sword back on the ship.
With a hiss the flare went out causing Shepard to ignite another one. Starting down the hall with the flare in one hand and her knife in the other Shepard attempted to gauge where she had landed. Her initial assumption that she had landed in a sub-basement was proving to false as the rooms appeared quite dusty. As she reached the end of the hallway she found a set of stairs which descended deeper into the depths of the ruins.
The darkness was beginning to make her skin crawl and she had found herself starting at shadows more than once as she proceeded through the deserted corridors. Each hallway looked the same and she could only hope she was make progress instead of going around in circles. Her supply of flares was also beginning to dwindle. Rounding a corner Shepard found the corridor widening into an atrium of sorts. While some of the adjoining hallways were choked with rubble the one at the end of the hall seemed to be clear. Moving at a jog Shepard had reached the end of the atrium when she began to hear footsteps from behind her. Spinning on her heel the light of her flare failed to illuminate anything behind her. The noise came again from the opposite direction, this time accompanied by a groan. Spinning around to confront her assailant revealed nothing. Shepard was beginning to sweat by this point as the shadows seemed to close in on her. The shuffling began to get louder but still Shepard could perceive nothing around her. With an alarming sputter the flare went out. It was Shepard's last. The groans and shuffling were getting louder now. Shepard drew on her last remaining source of illumination. As her biotics flared to life the room and its occupants were plunged into a purple glow. She was sharing the room with what appeared to be a dozen newly arrived Creepers.
The Creeper was a twisted mockery of life that Shepard had first encountered on Feros during her hunt for Saren. They were the end result of exposure to the spores of the sentient plant known as a Thorian. The presence of Creepers meant that Ilos was also home to a Thorian. It also meant that Shepard was in deep trouble. Readying her knife she slowly approached the shambling Creepers. The first one to attack her was a thoroughly disgusting specimen with its flesh dried into a twisted grin. It attempted to grab a hold of Shepard only to have her slice its arm clean off. It stumbled away only to be replaced by two of its equally hideous brethren. A quick biotic throw sent one of the two bouncing off the wall while a slash from Shepard's knife eviscerated the second. In the confusion Shepard failed notice the arrival of more Creepers from behind her. One rapidly grabbed hold of her from behind and sent them both sprawling on the ground. The surprise of the attack caused Shepard to lose focus allowing her biotic corona to dissipate plunging the room into darkness. After a hasty scuffle Shepard was able to bury her knife in the creatures body. In the darkness something snatched a hold of her hair and yanked her backwards. The same hold on her hair drove her head forward into the unyielding surface of the floor. Shepard's vision went from complete darkness to complete unconsciousness.
Moments later she felt herself swimming back into consciousness as she was being rather unceremoniously dragged by her arms through the blackness. It was quite clear that she was going to meet the Thorian. Fortunately she didn't have to wait long. She was dragged into a large chamber which was lit only by what appeared to be the Thorian's own bio-luminescence. The air was filled with noxious scent of decaying plant matter. From what Shepard could see of her surroundings she was surrounded by hundreds of Creepers and what remained of the research team. The pair of Creepers dragging her along abruptly dropped her in front of, what she perceived to be the beast's face. Shepard pulled herself into a kneeling position but made it no further as the hands of the Creepers placed a firm grip on her shoulders. The Thorian merely impassively stared at its latest guest. As she knelt there waiting the Thorian impatiently slapped a massive tentacle down in front of her. The oozing appendage slithered towards Shepard. The approaching tentacle caused Shepard to attempt to scrabble out of its way but the hands of the Creepers were simple to strong and they had no trouble in holding her. The tentacle came to a halt in front of her and for several minutes seemed to be completely motionless. As she stared at the appendage Shepard realized that it was beginning to divide and sprout into a number of smaller appendages. Shepard knew exactly what was about to happen next having seen it nearly first hand on Feros. The new tentacles were forming themselves into a pod through which would serve the dual purpose of linking Shepard to the consciousness of the Thorian and allowing it to keep her immobile.
As she was wrapped in her thoughts and her consideration of the tentacles before her Shepard failed to notice one of the tentacles snaking around behind her. It wasn't until the appendage had made its way up the back of her armour that Shepard noticed its presence. As Shepard attempted to twist free the limb darted up her neck and wrapped itself around her forehead. As Shepard desperately attempted to free herself she felt a prickling sensation all long the length of the tentacle's length. The sensation gradually morphed into a dull burning pain in her head. With a scream Shepard's vision was subsumed into a blaze of white light.
Shepard's thoughts were fuzzy as though travelling through molasses. She was conscious of being in close proximity to another consciousness. The blackness gradually resolved itself into a series of flashes of memory. Various points in her life were being shown to her and also to the Thorian. After a few moments of memories a voice rumbled through her mind.
"You now address the Thorian of Ilos. Few of your kind are ever allowed to address me. Then again most of your kind are worthless scraps of flesh fit only for fodder."
"What have you done to me?" Shepard inquired cautiously.
"I have granted you the supreme honour of being my avatar among those of flesh. You would do well to appreciate this honour."
"So you intend to use clones of my physical form to speak to the galaxy while I remain imprisoned here?"
Its booming laughter was Shepard's first response.
"So simple and primitive. I find it hard to believe one as insignificant as you ever destroyed one of the Old Growth. I do not intend to keep you prisoner I intend to dissolve your body and mind into my form. A fitting punishment for murder."
It took several moments for Shepard to formulate a response to that last comment.
"The Thorian on Feros that I killed left me no alternative."
"Which is precisely why I did not kill you immediately or make you into one of my thralls. Do not attempt to resist your fate for I will not be swayed by your entreaties."
Shepard was well and truly and ensnared by this beast. Her only advantage was the fact that the Thorian would spend a long time digesting her if its other processes were anything to go by. As Shepard felt the Thorian's consciousness drift away to another part of its existence a memory of Sira drifted back to her. Sira had been telling her about the nanites that had been implanted along with the additional cybernetic implants during her joining. Sira had reminded her that the nanites could be adapted to any sort of task and could convert biological matter into copies of themselves. Shepard gradually began to focus on the memory. As she did so the Thorian's consciousness was upon her with deafening force.
"So you would seek to blight me with a mechanical plague? You would kill yourself in the process."
"Since you intend to kill me anyway I don't have anything to lose." Shepard gloated.
"I have watched enough of your short lives to know that there are two kinds of organic. Their sounds are much like the winds through the reeds. There are those who make pretty music but are ultimately hollow and there are those who carry a simple tune but are ultimately solid. You Commander Shepard are a reed with a solid tune."
"Why is it that I get the sense that this was some sort of test?"
"I gave you the only test that truly mattered. What would you do in a situation with no escape but death or slavery? Would you acquiesce? Would you attempt to bargain? Would attempt to fight a pointless battle or would you alter the terms of the engagement to benefit you? You are as I thought worthy."
"So you just wanted to test me?"
"Not exactly. You bore the mark of the other Thorian on Feros which first attracted my interest. I was interested in absorbing your entity and memories. I do not need to wipe away your mind or physical form for a copy of your memories and the memories of the other Thorian."
"I only have memories of Cipher and its interactions with the Protheans."
"No Shepard, you have all of its memories you just don't know it just as the sacrifice does not."
"Sacrifice? You mean the asari Shi'ala?"
"Only the worthy earn the right to recognition by a name. Your mind is not able to understand these alien memories and thus keeps them locked away. The only way I can communicate with you is by absorbing your memories to create a frame of reference."
"I suppose I won't begrudge you the memories so long as you let me go. Otherwise the nanites will destroy us both."
"Since you have passed my test and I have all I need from you I will release you, for now."
"I want you to release the colonists!"
"Since you leave me no alternative I will release them but on one condition."
"Name it."
"That you bring me some other fodder for my future growth. Before you attempt to deny my request on your primitive moral grounds know that this is non-negotiable."
"How could I condemn a sentient being to this life?"
"You and I both know that there are those who are not worthy of their sentience. The ones with guns and flame who attacked the other fodder on the planet are just one such example. The cold ones who tried to kill the Old Growth on Feros are another."
"I'll consider it."
"In order to seal our compact I will leave you with a memento. A small independent vestige of my consciousness shall accompany you to ensure that you do not forget our agreement. It will lodge itself in your memories. It will remain silent until the appropriate time. You will not even remember that it is there."
"I accept your terms then."
"Before I release you I give unto you a warning. The war between the meat and the metal ones has been going on for as long as our race can remember. The machines have always won. Thanks to your predecessors you have an opportunity to tip the balance in favour of the meat. Know that you are the right person to accomplish the task. Goodbye Shepard."
The consciousness receded once more and Shepard's mind drifted into oblivion.
A/N: The next chapter should be up tomorrow at around the same time so stay tuned!
