Mass Effect: Massive Shock

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Mass Effect or the BioShock franchises or any characters or property that BioWare or Irrational Games has staked claim upon. However I do own copies of the games Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and BioShock and BioShock Original Characters I come up with are MINE to use and distribute.

A/N: Say what? This chapter is quite a whopper. 8000+ words. INSANITY! Hardest Workout of my life. Sorry, I'm getting distracted.

Alright! It's official: Part one of Mass Effect: Massive Shock is 30 chapters and 541 pages long. It's time to get to work on Massive Shock 2: Infinite Mass... I just now came up with that title. It's kind of crappy... like Massive Shock. Whatever. It'll be out... 22 weeks from now! Heh... that's long enough to get a fan base right?

I'd like to talk a little politics for a little, if you'll indulge me: Recently, I looked in on the SOPA and PIPA bills... Do you guys like this story? Do you guys like writing and reading fan fiction? Well I'm not sure exactly if they affect me but knowing the US government I wouldn't be surprised if fan fiction is put in jeopardy. Websites like Grooveshark and Youtube will be permanently shut down. That is incentive enough, really.

My fellow Americans, we must stand up and fight to restore our rights that the US government promised us 200 years ago. Send a letter or email of disapproval to your state representative or senator. Attend a protest. Do something to save the interwebs!

My international readers: Disregard this complaint.

Phew... Got a little intense there. I realized that I had my fist raised in righteous anger half way through writing that. Anyways thanks for reading, reviewing, and favoring. Please keep doing all those things!

Love

Mockingbird79

"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."

~Leonard Cohen~


Ch. 9: Search for a Friend - Part 3

Rescue

2:12 AM February 25, 2182


"So, Miss Lawson… Where do you spend your summers?"

No response…

"I keep busy."

Ah there we go. She's not totally socially inept then. Her voice is slightly muffled by the black cloth bag over my head. Just after we reached the shuttle, Miranda's goonies took off my helmet and put a bag over my head. Not before snapping a picture of my face however.

I'm terrible at estimating time but I think we've been traveling anywhere between 5 minutes and… a couple of hours or so. Of course time seems to slow down in an environment so awkward it could support awkward based organisms. At the speeds modern vehicles travel, we must be going far. Or maybe they're flying around in circles for a little (or a lot) to try and throw me off. Well it won't work!

I try and struggle with the ties binding my hands together in front of me and I shake my head violently in an attempt to get this hood off.

"Hey! Quit that!" The guard on my right exclaims before slapping me upside the head. I hear the guard on my left shift in his seat. There are five people in this shuttle total. Myself, the two fully armored Cerberus guards, Miranda, and the pilot, who is separated from us by the cockpit.

"Ah! Fine!" I sit still and sigh, half because I feel beaten and half because I'm bored.

"So Miss Lawson, what kind of tests will be performed on me?"

Silence for a second…

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Aw come on! I thought we trusted each other! Alright, then answer this for me: How long until you release my friends?"

"We'll release the quarian and the infant after a week of your incarceration. The turian will remain in custody as long as you are."

I see, as incentive. "Then how long will I be in custody?"

"Until we find out why you are the way you are."

A thought comes to my mind. "The way I am? Do you mean my 'exceptional biotic and tech abilities?'"

Miranda lets loose a sarcastic chuckle. "No that was a lot of bullshit. We did that to throw you off, think we were misinformed. No we know that you're somehow able to shoot fire from your hands and teleport. We want to know how. In fact, we will be traveling for a little while longer why don't you indulge us?"

I hear the guards shift in their seats. Apparently they want to know too. I might as well tell them the truth then. "Oh alright. I'm actually from an alternate universe. I was brought to another universe a little over 6 years ago one where I was trapped in an underwater city, in which I changed my genetic structure using recycled slug blood so that I can do the things you have seen. After exactly 6 years of surviving in the city, I was again transported to this universe. And for the past two months I've been making a name for myself in this universe as the hitman: Splicer."

The cabin is dead silent. Then I hear Miranda let out a disappointed sigh. "I see. Don't worry Mister Jackson we'll get the truth out of you."

I laugh. Oh those fools. I guess my life's story is a little farfetched. Little do they know that I plan on escaping the second that they take their eyes off of me and then, with luck, I'll escape wherever they're taking me with Nata and Hirvio... and Vaga, I almost forgot him for some reason.

They took my guns, but they failed to take my EVE hypos away from me. Funny too, they're in plain sight, lining my left pauldron. I guess they think it's just some fancy addition to my armor. Well they think they've taken all of my weapons away from me but I still have my most powerful weapon of all: Me! Wow… I am really conceited…

"Miss Lawson?"

The guard who has quickly become my best friend groans next to me. "Would you just shut up?"

"No. Where are you taking me?"

Silence for a moment. "A Cerberus research facility."

Hey hang on! "Are we not on the Citadel anymore?"

"Correct."

"How is that possible? I thought no ships were allowed to enter or leave the Citadel? I didn't even feel a mass relay jump." Not that I know what one feels like seeing as how I never left the Citadel before.

"Nothing is impossible. You of all people should understand that."

I nod. Let's see if I can elicit some information from her. "You said earlier that you'd release Vaga when I am no longer incarcerated right?"

Silence. "Right."

"Well could you clarify something for me then?"

"If it will shut you up then yes."

I smile unconsciously. "These tests you'll be performing. Will they kill me?"

Silence for a long while, and then I hear Miranda start to laugh. "Mister Jackson, take solace in knowing that you'll be spending your last few weeks with friends."

Yes! They're keeping Nata, Hirvio and Vaga on this research vessel as well! IDIOTS!

"What did you just call me?" The guard next to me hits me in the stomach with his elbow then his bashes me on the back of my head with his rifle.

Stupid inner monologue… hopefully they only heard that last statement.

"I'll show you who's an idiot!" My guard friend pulls me off of my seat and onto the floor of the shuttle he then starts beating me mercilessly. All I can do is try and protect my head. The guard is mostly just bashing me with his rifle, but I hear him throw it to the side. A pause in the beating makes me believe that it has ceased, but I feel something hard hit my ribs, probably his helmet, and then I feel his hard toed combat boot kicking me in the stomach and ribs.

I am mentally begging Miranda to stop the beating, but she remains silent. I'll bet she's smiling.

The guard beating me finally gets some sense and kicks me in my semi-exposed face, his foot connecting with my nose so hard that it loosens the hood and it flies off of my head. I feel blood spurt from my nose and bile rises in my throat from the sheer pain. I cough violently and I taste blood in my mouth. I spit and look up at my assailant. The guard looks down at me with pure hate, his teeth clenched into a sinister snarl.

He leans over and pushes me over onto my back. "Who's the idiot now, huh?"

The guard straightens and lifts his foot to deliver a curb stomp to my face. His foot comes down toward my face, but I catch it with my bound hands. I grunt and push him away from me. He crashes into the wall of the cabin and I cough violently. Isn't anybody going to stop this?

"You son of a bitch!"

I cough and attempt a smile. "You think that was bad you cowardly fucker? Untie me and I'll show you who the bitch is!"

I punctuate my statement by spitting a mouthful of blood onto his face.

The guard roars, taking a step forward to attempt another curb stomp.

"Aaron! Stop!" I hear a deep voice say from behind me. The other guard gets up from his seat and throws his helmet off. He pushes Aaron against the wall and fights to keep him restrained.

"Get off me Taylor! That bastard deserves it!" Aaron tries to push past the other guard named Taylor. Wait… nah it's just a coincidence.

"Dammit Aaron! He didn't do anything to you! So help me Aaron…" Taylor glows brightly with a biotic aura and holds a fist up to Aaron's face.

Finally Miranda intercedes. "Jacob! That's enough! Both of you! Mister Aaron, back to your seat! You too Jacob!"

The quarreling pair separate and Aaron retrieves his helmet and rifle and he returns to his seat.

Huh, I thought his name was Taylor not Jacob… Wait a minute… Wait a minute! Jacob Taylor!

Jacob turns and bends down to help me up. He helps me to my feet and supports me as I double over in pain. I look up and get a good look on his face. It's him! Wow, this galaxy is really small…

"Miranda, he looks bad. Eddy! You took it too far dammit!"

I hear Eddy Aaron grunt but remain mostly silent.

I have trouble formulating a sentence. "Y-you're Jacob Taylor…"

Jacob backs away and looks at me confused. "How do you know me?"

Miranda waves him off. "Don't think too much on it Jacob. He works for the Shadow Broker. He probably knows about all of us."

I nod and smile. "Yeah, like Eddy Aaron over there. I know he's a real cock-sucker."

Eddy Aaron stands and tries to attack me again but Jacob stops him. "Mother fucker! I'll fucking kill you!"

Jacob grunts with effort. "Eddy! Stop!"

Then what happens next seems to slow everything down. It's like everything happens at once.

Eddy draws the pistol on his hip and raises it at me from under Jacob's arm. Jacob spots it and tries to push him down. Miranda stands reaching a hand out, her mouth forming the words "No don't!"

I see this all as an opportunity.

I rush forward and disarm Eddy Aaron of his pistol as it levels with my chest. I spin around and whip Miranda across the head with it before she can react, knocking her out cold. I then spin again and put my bound hands over an unaware Jacob's head and onto his throat from behind him, with my pistol pointed at Eddy's unarmored head.

Things return to normal speed. Eddy Aaron looks at me shocked and he slowly raises his hands into the air. Jacob coughs and struggles against my hands around his neck.

I motion at the discarded rifles on the floor of the cabin. "Eddy would you be a dear for once and kick those rifles over to me. And keep your hands up."

Eddy keeps his hands raised and kicks the rifles over to Jacob's feet. "Thanks Eddy."

I then shoot him in the head with my pistol. Jacob shouts in pain.

Whoops, the proximity of his ear and the gun was a little too short. "My bad Jacob."

I loop my hands off of his throat and kick him to the other side of the cabin. He trips over Eddy's corpse and falls onto the seat we were on sitting before. Jacob turns over and looks at me with shock and confusion written on his face.

I look down at the ground and pick up Jacob's helmet off of the ground.

I toss it to him and he looks down at it then back up at me in further confusion. "Put it on."

Jacob does as commanded and puts on his heavy assault helmet. After he's done he puts his hands in the air again.

Time to get cool and cryptic. "Thanks for helping me Jacob. You're not a bad guy. I'm not going to kill you, or Miranda, as much as I want to. You two are destined for great things. I'll be seeing you."

I raise the pistol and shoot Jacob in the head. His helmet takes the full force of the projectile, but the concussion knocks him unconscious. Just in case I walk over and remove the helmet. I check his pulse.

I sigh in relief. I really shouldn't have risked that. Huh, quality armor. I turn around and crouch next to Miranda. I fish around in her pockets and find the key to my cuffs. I unlock them and toss the pistol to the side. I'd prefer my more powerful revolver-like handgun. My gun wouldn't have been stopped by a helmet. Let's see, where'd they put my stuff…

I pull the last of my taken equipment, my helmet from the overhead compartment, and put it on.

I jump as the pilot speaks over the intercom. "Miss Lawson, we're approaching the station. ETA 5 minutes."

I frown. The cockpit must be sound proof or something. I draw my pistol and open the cabin.

I walk inside and observe the pilot flying the ship. She's clearly Japanese and actually quite pretty. Not my type though. She's fairly tan and her very long hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail.

I draw my pistol and point it at the back of her head. "Hey."

The pilot jumps and looks over her shoulder, her eyes widen at the sight of me. "… I'm going to kill you…"

The pilot starts shaking and looks away from me. "… But, I don't know how to fly this thing. So if you land this thing on the station, and you don't try to resist or anything, then I'll just knock you out with a minor electric shock. Don't worry you won't feel it. Do we have a deal?"

The pilot gulps but nods.

"Good." I holster my pistol and the pilot lets a breath she'd been holding out.

I hold out my hand to her. "Name's Splicer. How about you?"

The pilot looks at my hand for a few seconds before taking it. "Jin Fushima."

I nod. "What can you tell me about this research station we're going to?"

"It's a relatively new facility in the Hades Gamma system. It doesn't have a project devoted to it yet but I think Miranda was going to head yours."

Wow a whole project just for little old me. "What was the project going to be called?"

Jin thinks for a second. "I think it was the Darwin Project. I think the goal was to find a way to evolve the human race."

Wow. I wouldn't say that I'm, in Miranda's words, Neo-Human. I'd hardly call myself human anymore; my genetic structure is more fucked up than a street corner whore who sells herself for pleasure.

"I'm sorry?"

Sigh… I'm not going to get mad at you anymore Inner Monologue, it's not really your fault.

"Who are you talking to? Who's Inner Monologue? Are you talking to yourself?"

Fucking Shit! Why? Why Inner Monologue? Why?

I look down at Jin who's looking at me confused. "Just forget that."

Jin shakes her head and looks back out the window. She points at a speckle quickly growing in the distance. "Look there it is."

As the station grows I notice that it looks similar to the station the Lazarus Project was housed in. If it is similar in structure and organization, then I shouldn't have too much trouble getting out.

Hopefully I can find Nata, Hirvio and Vaga before a station wide alarm.

"Actually I think I could help you with that."

Damn you inner monologue, but you may have yielded benefits this time, so truce… for now…

"What could you do to help me?"

Jin is hesitant, clearly, but she seems willing to help. At least not everybody in Cerberus is bad. "I think I could give you the Level 5 security access codes to the facility. Also there's a docked ship in the secure hanger on the top deck of the station. It's state of the art so it should out run anybody who comes after you."

I look at Jin surprised. "You're rather… forthcoming with this information."

Jin shrugs. "Cerberus pays well, but not that well. They expect me to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that they do? I don't fucking think so. And you have a gun."

I place a hand on Jin's shoulder. She's just gained a lot of respect in my book. "Listen Jin. I can't thank you enough for this help. If there's ever anything that you need, just find me on the Citadel after this."

Jin shakes her head. "I don't know if I'll live to see that day. Cerberus has sharp eyes and ears, they'll find out I helped you."

I straighten. "In that case, then I think I'll need a good pilot to fly me out of here. You'll be paid quite handsomely and when we get back to the Citadel, you can keep the ship."

Jin looks around at me wide-eyed, then her eyes brighten and she grows a huge smile. "You got yourself a deal, and a pilot."

I hold out my hand. "And a friend."

Jin looks up at me again and smiles. She claps her hand into mine and then refocuses on the station. I step into the shuttle cabin and start stripping Eddy of his armor. Jin looks a little shorter than him, but this should do.

After a moment Jin walks into the cabin. "The automated docking sequence is doing the job and… what are you doing."

I straighten and start handing Jin pieces of armor. "Listen, I had an idea. You're going to disguise yourself as Eddy and you're going to guide me through the station toward the cell blocks as your 'prisoner.' They'll figure us out when we start breaking out my friends; do you know how to use a gun?"

Jin starts putting on the armor. "Uh yeah but…"

I pick up one of the assault rifles and the pistol and hand them to her. "Good. You'll be a big help then."

Jin finishes putting on the armor and attaches the weapons to it. "Damn! This armor is so heavy!"

I hand her Eddy's helmet and she reluctantly puts it on. "How do I look?"

"Like an asshole. But it'll do."

I feel the shuttle hit the ground. "Quick! Put on my cuffs but give me the key. You know you're way around the station, right?"

"Well enough." Jin reattaches my handcuffs behind my back and places the key in my palm. "Ready?"

I nod. "Oh wait! Take my weapons off of me and… put them in that case there!"

I gesture with my head at a metal case sitting above the seat Miranda is sprawled in front of.

Jin steps towards it but kicks Miranda by accident. "Whoops."

She reaches for the case and pulls it out of its compartment, but the latches must've not been on right because the contents, what appear to be a lot of books come falling out onto Miranda.

"Whoops…" Jin says again, staring down at Miranda. She then dumps the remainder of the books onto Miranda then puts my assault rifle, shotgun, and handgun into a metal case. "What about your helmet?"

I shrug. "Just leave it on."

She nods. "Alright, let's go."

Jin places a hand on my bound hands with her other hand holding the metal case. She hits a button and the door swings open. She pushes me out and quickly closes it. There aren't many people in the hanger, one dockworker and two armed guards. These guards however are dressed in the simple Cerberus uniform that most wore on the Normandy SR-2. Wow, the Illusive Man can't bother with a fashion change every couple years or so?

Jin guides me down to the doors the guards are guarding. They salute her and she opens her omni-tool. She types into it for a few seconds. One guard opens his omni-tool and looks at it for a second. The guard nods and motions for us to move on with his rifle.

Jin hurries me through the door and we enter a long empty hallway. "Come on."

As we jog down the hallway I realize that this is in some ways similar to Star Wars! That makes me Chewie! Cool.

We enter and Jin pushes the button for the detention level, which happens to be level 83, two levels before the top floor: 85, which according to Jin is where the state of the art ship is.

We begin the long agonizing trip to level 83 from level 33.

I begin unlocking my cuffs. "Open the case. We'll just fight our way from here."

Jin nods and opens the case. She hands my weapons to me one by one after I uncuff myself. I check the sinks on each one before attaching them to my back, except for my shotgun which I keep at the ready.

After an agonizingly long elevator ride we reach level 83 and the doors slide open.

I motion Jin forward and we proceed into a very large circular room with a console in the center and a worker at the console. There are several long, cell-lined corridors attached to the room.

I walk up to the worker and vault over the console. He chokes on his beverage as he takes notice of me. "What the hell? Who the hell are-"

I interrupt him by pointing my shotgun at his face. "I won't blow your head off if you cooperate. Find three prisoners. Nata the quarian… I forget her last name, the infant krogan, and Vaga Kotka the turian."

The worker nods and types furiously at the console. Finally he turns back around and jumps as he looks down the barrel of my shotgun.

He gulps and points down a corridor. "The quarian and the infant krogan are together down that hall in cell 18F." He points to another corridor. "The turian is down that one in cell 12D."

I gesture at the console with my shotgun. "Unlock their cells."

He types a little into it. "Done."

I grab his shoulder and give him a minor shock with my Electro Bolt and he falls unconscious.

I point down the hall leading to Vaga. "Jin, go get Vaga. I'll get Nata and Hirvio. He's a turian, with silvery skin and black face paint."

Jin nods and runs down the corridor towards Vaga's cell.

I turn and sprint down the corridor to Nata and Hirvio's cell. Let's see, 18A, B, C, D, E… F!

I skid to a halt and have to back pedal a little because I was going so fast. I run up to the cell which has a glass wall blocking my path to my friends. Inside I see Nata holding a much larger Hirvio. Finally! I run up to the glass and bang on it with my fist. Nata looks up and stares for a few seconds in shock.

She then stands quickly and puts Hirvio down. I open the cell door and Nata collides into me in a very strong embrace.

"Dammit!" Sobbing staggers her voice. "What took you so long?"

I chuckle. "If Vaga hadn't had to go and get himself captured I might not have had to get myself captured as well."

Nata pulls away. "You were captured? How did you get away?"

I shrug. "A little of this and a little of that. I also had help with a Cerberus pilot."

Nata jumps back. "What? How could you trust him?"

"Don't worry Nata. She seems okay. Come on we have to go, we don't have much time."

Nata nods reluctantly and grabs Hirvio's hand. Together we run back down the corridor to the main room. I look around for Jin and Vaga but am surprised when they don't appear to be here.

"She seems okay huh?"

I frown. "Dammit! Where is she?"

I shake my head and toss Nata my handgun. "Wait here."

I run down the hall toward Vaga's cell, 12D. When I reach it, I am surprised to see Vaga holding Jin in a headlock with her assault rifle pointed at me.

"Get the fuck back you son of a… Jackson?"

Jin struggles against Vaga's arm. "See I told you."

Vaga releases Jin and walks up to me and he gives me a bro hug that I taught him. "Damn, I thought that you were a goner for sure!"

I laugh. "Me? They wanted me alive."

Vaga shrugs and looks over his shoulder at Jin who has removed her helmet and is coughing. "What about her? Can we trust her?"

I nod. "Yeah she's fine."

Vaga holds the assault rifle out to Jin again but Jin shakes she head. "No thanks. I'm a better shot with my pistol. You hang onto it."

Vaga repositions the rifle in his arms and nods at Jin. "Thanks."

I motion at Jin. "You should put your helmet back on."

Jin shrugs and tosses it aside. "Nah I can hardly breathe in that thing. Besides my shields are strong enough."

I nod and start jogging back to the main room where Nata is using my handgun to prod the unconscious worker. She spots us and tosses my handgun back to me. Nata then walks up to Vaga and gives him a quick hug. She eyes Jin ruefully but that's the extent.

We walk as a group back to the elevator, Nata trailing behind slightly with Hirvio. Jin hits the level 85 button and we begin the long and horribly uncomfortable trip upwards.

As we travel upwards, I keep an eye on the level indicator; each one says what the level's purpose is. We get to level 83 marked Reactor. Oh!

I hit the stop button and everyone looks at me confused.

"What are you doing?" Vaga asks as the door opens.

"Sending a message." I say with a sinister smile. "Wait here."

I run out of the elevator and into the massive Reactor and Drive Core room. I am flanked on either side by massive hydrogen cell reactors. At the other end of the room is a large Drive Core which I assume is what's keeping up the kinetic barriers around the station.

Alright… how do I get it to blow up? Well, I know that hydrogen is violently explosive. I don't know much about Element Zero other than that it's toxic.

"Hey! Who the hell are you?" I hear someone behind me shout.

I whirl around and drawing my pistol as I turn. I aim it at the engineer's head causing him to go wide eyed and raise his hands in fear.

I nod at the reactors. "How do you get these things to blow up?"

"Excuse me?" He asks confused.

"You heard me." I say tightening my grip on my pistol.

He gulps. "Why would I tell you that?"

I chuckle. "Because, if you don't tell me: I'll shoot you right here. If you do: I'll let you run off to have a chance at life… On second thought? Never mind."

I zap him with an Electro Bolt. He spasms and falls unconscious.

I take his omni-tool and look through the operations. His omni-tool can do a lot more stuff than mine. But… Ha! No games. What a loser.

I find an operation marked Reactor Coolant Levels. I select it and look over the confusing charts and operations. Vent heat… no that would probably be opposite to my goal… Maybe I should get Nata to help me? No, I want to do this myself… somehow. Uh… Oh! Jackpot!

I press the Eject Coolant button and large cylindrical containers are dropped from the Reactors.

I go to the Reactor Diagnostics operation. A small meter shows the reactor heat levels which are rapidly rising.

A red warning appears on the omni-tool. It reads:

Warning!

Reactor Heat Levels approaching High Levels!

Please insert Coolant cylinders before Reactor Heat Levels reach Critical Levels to prevent permanent damage to Reactors!

I select a new operation, Reactor Power Output. A large row of sliders show power level output for various levels. I push all of them up to their highest.

The Reactors suddenly light up like Christmas trees and start making a high pitched whining.

A warning automatically appears on the omni-tool:

Warning!

Reactors are overheating! Approaching Critical Levels! Please shut off Reactors immediately!

Reactors will overload if not appropriately shut down, causing station wide destruction!

Time Remaining until Reactor Meltdown: 10 minutes and counting

The lights shut off momentarily and turn red. A warning similar to the one on the omni-tool sounds over the PA system. I smile. They won't bother me after this!

I run back into the elevator and hit the button for level 85.

"What did you do?" Nata asks frightened.

"I set the Reactors to overload. We got 10 minutes." I say rechecking the time on the engineer's omni-tool. "Scratch that. 9 minutes and thirty seconds… now 25 seconds."

Nata looks at me surprised. "You got the reactors to overload? By yourself?"

I smile. "Impressed?"

"Sort of." She admits. "But what's going to stop them from just shutting off the Reactors?"

… "Damn…"

I open the omni-tool again… Uh… "Nata what happens if I make the Drive Core vent Element Zero?"

"The room would fill with Eezo vapors. Duh." She says sarcastically.

I roll my eyes. "Alright, but what would happen to people who go inside said room?"

She nods understandingly. "Oh I see! Depending on how much Eezo you vent, they would either get poisoned and take weeks to die, or they'd get vaporized."

I smile maliciously. I open the engineer's omni-tool and select the Drive Core operations. "How do I do this?"

Nata sighs. "First vent the Eezo."

I do as she says. "Now what?"

"Now close the exterior vents and open the Drive Core cooling elements."

I do that and look up at her.

"Now fill the Drive Core with new Eezo."

I fill it up full.

"Now vent it again."

I press the button but a warning appears. "Warning. Exterior vents shut. Venting Eezo now will contaminate Reactor Room 7. Proceed?"

She nods. "Do it."

I press the button that says yes and close the omni-tool. "Am I done?"

She nods. "Yep, anyone who goes in there will be instantly vaporized."

"Cool… Whoops…"

"What?" Jin asks me.

Yeesh… "I kind of left the engineer in the room… He's probably dead now. I suck…"

Nata sighs. "You should've told me that. I could've told you how to lock down the room so no one could get in."

"You opted for killing everyone over being merciful?" I shout at her. "I don't know who you are anymore…"

"You didn't give me another option!" She retorts. "I thought you wanted people vaporized!"

I shake my head and sigh. "Never mind. Just forget it."

There's a slight pause.

"You guys are strange." Jin says suddenly. "Just saying…"

We finally reach level 85 and we all exit into the large hanger.

I spot the shop we're supposed to steal and my jaw drops.

The ship is huge!

It's not nearly as big as the Normandy SR-2, but maybe just as big as the Normandy SR-1. Though not as long or sleek as the Normandy SR-1, this ship looks a lot tougher. Its wide nose and body make it look strong. The ship is also mostly black with blue wings and stripes on it. The ship is also docked differently too. This dock is more similar to Star Wars. The ship is landed in the middle of the room with a ramp coming out of the bottom that's only chest high for some reason. I can see however that there is a door on the side for docking in places like the Citadel. Oddly enough there isn't a Cerberus insignia on it.

Jin gestures to it. "That's our way out: The Gambit. I'll go in and prep the engines. Make sure nobody gets into the hanger."

Jin starts jogging toward the ramp. She climbs up onto it and enters the ship.

Just then bullets start to wiz past me and strike my shields. I see Nata protect Hirvio and duck behind some crates. Vaga dives behind a large motorized cart nearby. I duck behind some large metal crates as well. I peek over my cover and see… Dammit!

Miranda is leading a small squad of 9 armed soldiers into the room.

A realization dawns on me. Shit, we can't kill Miranda! "Vaga!"

He looks over at me.

"Don't kill Miranda!"

He nods, a little reluctantly and pops out of cover to shoot down one Cerberus soldier.

I poke out of cover and shoot my shotgun at the nearest soldier. The force of the shot takes him off of his feet, but only his shield is gone. I holster my shotgun and draw my pistol. As he rises to his feet, I carefully aim a shot and shoot him in the head.

My next target is a biotic who is pinning down Vaga with a torrent of biotic attacks. I see a stray crate in the hanger and I use Telekinesis to throw it at him. The makeshift projectile collides with his head and he is sent flying into a wall.

Vaga had managed to gun down two more soldiers, leaving just 4 plus Miranda.

I lean out of cover and hit one with Electro Bolt, eradicating his shield. Vaga follows up by delivering a burst of assault rifle fire into the soldiers head, replacing it with a red mist.

I switch to Incinerate and snap my fingers at another soldier who immediately bursts into flames. He dies pretty quickly after running around a little, leaving just two more soldiers.

"Guys! The ship is ready! Let's go!" I hear Jin yell from behind me. I turn and see Jin gesturing on the ramp. Some gunfire strikes her shield and she retreats into the ship.

I poke my head out of cover and see that the three remaining attackers are laying down suppressing fire. I groan and activate Insect Swarm. Once enough bugs are swarming around my hands I direct them at the trio. They fly towards them in a horde and distract them, especially Miranda who seems to be freaking out.

I turn back into cover and sprint and slide down next to Nata. "Nata! Go now!"

She nods and grabs Hirvio's hand. Together they run down to the ship, but are forced to hide again when bullets start striking the boxes around them.

I poke out of cover again and see that the two soldiers have figured out that bugs can't hurt them if they're wearing armor. Miranda however is nowhere to be seen. I rise out of cover but am unable to do anything as a torrent of assault rifle fire strikes my shield. I fall backwards as bullet clips my shoulder.

Shit! Ah. I look down at the wound. Just a graze. Should heal quickly. I resituate myself behind cover and fire blindly over it with my assault rifle. I peek over and see that I have a little opening as the soldiers are ducking behind cover again. I motion for Vaga to fall back.

He and I reach the ships ramp and we lay down covering fire for the others. Vaga hops onto the ramp and runs inside first because I think he got a little bullet graze on his arm. I see Nata nearby behind some boxes and I motion for her to get on. She runs up to the ramp and ducks down as I continue my suppressing fire.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. It's Jin.

"Get on! I'll help Nata and the kid up! Just lay down covering fire!"

I nod. She fires the assault rifle she got from Vaga at Cerberus while I hop up onto the ramp. I start firing with my assault rifle again and she throws her rifle onto the ground and hops off of the ramp and hurries to Nata and Hirvio.

Jin helps them to their feet and protects them with her body and her shield takes many hits but holds as they hurry to the ramp. Nata tries to lift Hirvio up onto the ramp but she isn't strong enough. Jin helps her in instead and picks up Hirvio to hand to her. Nata takes him.

The echo of three powerful hand-cannon shots ring out in the room. All three hit Jin. Two for her shield, one for her. The bullet hits her in her right shoulder, but angles inward slightly and exits in her mid-chest. She collapses forward and falls onto the chest high ramp. I jump down to protect Jin from further harm and look back at the Cerberus soldiers.

It seems that Miranda has rejoined them with some heavier firepower. I spot her frantically trying to cool her hand-cannon.

I throw a few Electro-Bolts their way and help Jin into the ship. After she's inside I run up the ramp and into the ship. The ramp leads to a cargo hold and I see Nata and Hirvio hanging around. Jin is on all fours clutching at her chest and coughing.

I kneel next to her. "Jin! Are you okay?"

She holds up a hand and staggers to her feet. "I'm fine. The suit applied medi-gel, I'm good. I can still fly."

We walk up some stairs towards the cockpit. "Are you sure? I'm sure Vaga knows a thing or two about flying…"

Jin holds up a hand again. "Save it. He's useless right now."

I glance over my shoulder and spot Vaga sitting in a chair around a galaxy map dabbing his graze with a cloth, muttering to himself. "It's good, it's good. Chicks dig scars, scars are badass… Oh god I hope this is a badass scar…"

I shake my head and follow Jin as she slumps into the pilot's chair. She starts the engines and the ship begins to float. She then guns the throttle and the ship rockets out of the hanger into space and toward a nearby mass relay.

A beeping sounds from a console in front of Jin.

She coughs into her hand and leans forward to take a look at the console. "Incoming attack ships. Splicer, get on the Defense guns and take them out."

I nod and run toward the back of the ship, past the galaxy map where there's an access ladder to the Defense guns on the top and bottom of the ship.

I climb the ladder to the top one and start shooting missiles at the incoming ships.

I fail miserably at the defense of the ship but they don't get too close. Then I realize there are targeting systems. Oh… That helps a lot actually. I dispatch three fighters before they're within firing range.

"Jackson!" I hear Vaga say over my communicator. "The reactor should meltdown in 10 seconds!"

I open the engineer's omni-tool. Sure enough it shows there are 6 seconds until meltdown. 5… 4… 3…

Crap. The omni-tool's red warning turns its normal orange color as another notification appears:

Meltdown averted.

Remote reactor emergency shutdown from security hub accepted.

So much for sending a message.

After a few moments I hear Jin's voice over the intercom. "Hitting… the relay in five… four… three…"

A blue light surrounds the ship and in an instant we are in the Serpent Nebula, and the Citadel is in view.

I laugh in joy, yes! We made it! I slide down the ladder and run back to the cockpit.

I put a thankful hand on Jin's shoulder. "You did it, Jin! You're in for a huge payout!"

No response…

"Jin?"

Jin falls forward onto her controls.

Blood flows freely from her mouth, and pours from her wound, I examine the wound. No medi-gel! "No! Jin!"

I pull her out of the pilot's chair and place her on the floor and hail C-Sec through the comms. "This is C-Sec traffic control. We apologize but we are only allowing government vehicles in and out of the Citadel due to docking malfunctions. Please return in one week."

"I need help! Out pilot has been shot! We need medical attention!" I yell into the comm. "Please it's an emergency!"

"Opening docking Cradle 12. Please approach. EMT's will be waiting for you."

I turn on the automated docking program and carry Jin into the airlock. After a few agonizingly long moments the airlock activates and the door opens into the Citadel. I carry Jin out and an emergency medical team waits with a stretcher. I put her on the stretcher and they start running her away, performing tests along the way.

They stop halfway down the walkway however and take Jin off of the stretcher and place her on the floor. What the hell are they doing? Then I see one paramedic performing CPR on her while another preps a defibrillator.

Fuck…


Epilogue…

"Nothing?"

The Cerberus soldier holds up the thick empty syringes that he found on the ground in the hanger. Miranda snatches it out of his hand and examines it. Empty.

"There might be some residue. Take it to the lab."

The soldier salutes and takes the syringes away. Miranda sighs and presses the ice-pack tighter against her throbbing head.

"Miss Lawson!"

Miranda turns around and looks at a soldier who is kneeling behind some crates.

Miranda sighs, rolls her eyes and walks over to the soldier. "What is it? This better be good…"

She stops when she sees that the soldier is kneeling next to a small bloodstain no bigger than her hand, still fresh.

"I thought I shot him. I remember him going down for a second after a burst from my rifle." The soldier says backing from the bloodstain.

Miranda kneels down and takes a small pipette and a test tube out of her pocket. She takes as much of the blood as she can off of the floor and puts it in the test tube.

Miranda stands after getting the paltry amount into the test tube. Wait a moment…

Miranda cups her hand over the test tube and places it over her eyes. Yes… it's glowing slightly. This is what we've been looking for…