Able didn't like having to stay behind, but Jane didn't give him any choice. On a mission like that, she needed people with her she could trust not to start shooting at friendlies once the enemies had run out. Grunt had volunteered to stay and spar with him and Jack had gone along, too; Jane had to admit that seeing Able fly across the room after a biotic shockwave barreled into him was quite satisfying. She made a mental note to stop by to watch more often, maybe videotape them for her personal collection. And for science; no doubt Mordin would get a kick out of seeing how fast the man could regenerate. So far, no one had gotten seriously injured (Jack was sporting a few new bruises in the mess hall later that night, but seemed proud of them) and Jane counted herself very lucky that the moderate containment procedures she'd enacted were holding up so far.
The looks she'd drawn when they'd unloaded the geth and taken it to the AI core ran the gamut from keen interest to outright fury. Tali had been beside herself and sputtered through all manner of reasons to space the thing immediately, but Jane had already run through all the possible scenarios on the way back to the ship and stopped her with a raised hand.
"I just want to talk to it first."
"What do you expect it to say? It's not going to give up any information on the geth's plans," Tali argued, her hands on her hips.
"This one is different, I know it. It had every chance to kill me, but it didn't. It knew my name, Tali. It called me 'Shepard-Commander', and it's wearing a piece of N7 armor that's sporting a color that looks an awful lot like the one I was wearing when the SR-1 exploded." Tali fell silent, weighing the implications. No one had ever had the opportunity to speak to an active geth before, and if this one wasn't hostile, like Jane was saying, the possible gains for her people could be enormous. Intellectually, Tali knew that, but the ingrained distrust the quarians held where the geth were concerned colored her thoughts.
"Shepard, I trust you. You know I do, but if it does anything-anything-to endanger the Fleet, I'll shoot it myself."
"And I'll give you the heatsink to do it, you have my word." Mollified, Tali headed back to the engineering deck with a baleful glance at the stretcher carrying the machine.
Garrus stepped up behind her and Jane didn't even have to turn around to know that he was just as unsure about her decision. "Can't say I disagree with her," he said simply.
"I know. Believe me, I have no compunctions about taking it out if it turns out to be hostile, but . . . well, you saw it. It could have shot me, but it didn't. And that armor . . . I don't know, Garrus, maybe it's all an elaborate con job, but considering the sheer number of geth out there, there has to be the possibility it's an anomaly, right?"
"Statistically, yes, but it's unlikely as hell." He draped his arm around her shoulders and said, quietly, "I won't argue with you over this, you know that. Just be careful, all right?"
"I will."
John stood before the newly-named Legion, deep in thought. A friendly geth—he never thought he'd see the day. He'd never considered that the geth he'd fought had been the exception rather than the rule, especially given their history with the quarians, but here it was, willing to fight the Collectors and the so-called Old Machines alongside him. He sighed heavily; while his team wasn't as large as some, it was certainly the most varied one he'd ever heard of. A geth, six different species of aliens, five humans with backgrounds that contained a variety of felonies, and an immortal sociopath. Juggling all their personalities and baggage was enough to make his head spin.
"So let me get this straight—you're asking to join my crew?"
"That is correct."
EDI suggested naming the geth (which was really a composite of 1,183 separate platforms working in sync) Legion, after a demon in the bible. The fact that EDI was familiar with ancient Earth texts was surprising, and he wondered why she'd stored the information in her databanks. John couldn't think of many instances in which such knowledge would be applicable to the mission.
"We are Legion, a terminal of the geth. We will integrate into Normandy."
John shook his hand, with some hesitation; clearly the geth had never shaken hands before, and seemed unsure as to how to do it, but they worked it out in the end. It seemed like a good beginning. As he was leaving, a thought occurred to him.
"Legion, can you convert physical data to digital?"
"Clarify."
"I have some files I picked up from a research facility a few days ago. Can you scan them and transfer the information to a datapad for me?"
"Affrmative. We can structure the data into a more easily accessible medium."
"Good, I'll bring them down."
A few minutes later, he brought the stack of files to the AI core and set them before Legion, who took a quick glance at them and declared, "Data transfer will take approximately two-point-three-four hours. Do you require any further assistance?"
"Not right now."
"Understood."
He went up to his cabin to get some sleep and Tali was already there waiting for him. She stopped pacing (and had damn near worn a hole in the floor, from the look of her) and waited until he took her in his arms to speak.
"Shepard, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about what I said earlier," she began, staring at his chest to avoid his eyes. "I know you wouldn't allow any harm to come to the crew, Shepard. I trust you, it's that geth I don't trust."
"I know you're worried for the Flotilla, and I'll keep my eyes open for any sign Legion might be a spy—"
"Legion? You gave it a name?"
"Seemed better than calling it 'geth'." He stroked her back and tilted her chin up, her glowing eyes finally meeting his own. "It's okay, Tali. I don't want you to hold back just because we're together now—I love your mind just as much as the rest of you."
Her eyes crinkled with her smile and she pulled him close. "You just said you love me."
John kissed her temple and tightened his hold on her, as though if he could just hold her close enough he could protect her from the danger they always seemed to be hurtling toward. "And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to tell you."
"I might be tempted to forgive you, if you do one thing for me."
"Name it."
"Take me with you to Earth." John drew in a breath to argue, but she stopped him. "I know the risks already, John. You need someone at your back you can trust, and I can handle myself in a fight."
"It's not a firefight I'm worried about." If anything happened to her because of him, he'd never be able to live with himself. When Jane had this dilemma with Garrus he'd known it was coming for him soon, but that didn't mean he was any more prepared for the fear of losing her.
"We can talk about this tomorrow, if you want." She helped him out of his clothes, but didn't push it any further as they climbed into bed; they both needed sleep if they wanted to be at the top of their game at Site 25. Just the thought of seeing that place and retracing his steps through the facility again made his muscles clench in anxiety.
"Shepard, ETA to the Sol relay six hours," Joker informed him over the comm.
"Copy, Joker. Take us home."
"Aye, aye."
There was a message waiting for her when she woke the next morning.
Jane,
Meet me at the main transit hub in the city. I'll arrange transport from there.
-AC
'The city' referred to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the closest urban center to Site 25, a repository for the supernatural right in the Midwest. Jane didn't bother responding, she just saved the coordinates to reference when they took the shuttle to the surface.
As soon as they'd entered the Sol system, EDI informed them that they were being hailed by an unknown entity. She pulled her clothes on quickly and went to the cockpit, leaving Garrus to sleep a bit longer. God knew he got little enough sleep these days, between the mission and his calibrations and the situation with his mother that he'd only just confided to her a few days ago. Any reprieve he could get, no matter how temporary, she was willing to give him as long as she could.
"Commander," Joker said as soon as she hit the helm, "we're receiving a transmission from Neptune, but I don't recognize the source code. Want me to patch it through?"
"Do it," she said, and waited while he opened the comm link. At first it was silent, and then a high whistling sound like a whale's song slowly rose in volume over the static of dead air. It was like nothing she'd ever heard before. "EDI, can you clean this up at all?"
"I am unable to clarify the signal any further. The language of the message is not one I currently have on file."
"Well then what—"
"It's so dark."
Jane froze and Joker stared at the console, a creeping uneasiness stealing into both of them at the sound of the small voice. It was higher pitched, like a child's, and it whispered over the airwaves.
"Lonely . . . I'm so cold."
"Oh my god," Joker breathed. "That's a human voice."
"No. No, it isn't," Jane said, clutching the back of his chair until her fingers ached.
"Can I come home with you?"
"Should we go check it out, Commander?"
"Hell no, Lieutenant. Stay on course."
He let out a shaky breath. "I was hoping you'd say that."
" . . . hungry . . ." the voice growled.
"EDI, shut it off," Jane barked, and the transmission ended. She put her hand on Joker's shoulder and he grabbed it reflexively. He almost never touched anyone like this, but the disembodied voice had rattled him badly.
"It's good to be home, eh, Commander?" he said in a weak attempt at levity that fell flat.
"No place like it." At least, she hoped that was the case.
She waited until they were well clear of the blue planet before taking back her hand from a slightly embarrassed Joker, and she went down to the shuttle after finding out from EDI that Garrus was waiting for her. They didn't bother with a pilot this time; this was an unsanctioned mission and the fewer people involved, the better. As they approached the surface of her home world, a faint but unmistakable feeling of disquiet lowered over them. She might have chalked it up to anxiety about the looming mission before talking with her fellow human teammates. Garrus had unconsciously decreased their speed and was gripping the steering wheel tightly, the tension radiating all the way up to his shoulders. She reached out to touch his arm and he startled.
"You feel it, too?" she asked.
"If you mean a sense of impending doom, then yes."
Her lips tightened into a thin white line. "It's this planet—something's wrong with it, Garrus. I wonder if the people living here even recognize it for what it is."
"I think I'm finally beginning to understand your people's tendency toward random violence, if this is the kind of emotion they have to live with every day," he said. "Not saying it doesn't exist among other species, but humans seem to have a special knack for it."
"No kidding. I remember when I found out that humans were all viewed as potential serial killers until a few years ago. I had no idea that sort of thing was so rare in the rest of the galaxy." She straightened up; at some point she'd started to hunch over, and it took more effort than usual to find the mantle of her Commander persona and pull it over herself like a protective cloak.
"You all right?" he asked, reaching out for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.
"No, Garrus, I'm not."
"Don't worry. We'll get this done fast, then give them the taillights."
"I hope you're right."
When the shuttle touched down on the airfield, Jane sent a message to Clef asking him where he was. A few minutes later, a clunky white van pulled up and the driver's side window slid down to reveal Doctor Clef's grinning face. He wore a fedora cocked at a jaunty angle and looked genuinely tickled to see them. Of course he'd be right at home here, Jane thought, and hated him for it.
"All aboard the party bus," Clef called, and the side door opened for them. The interior was plain, reminiscent of the ancient Earth models that used to be everywhere on this planet before fossil fuels were banned. Garrus couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a vehicle with real rubber tires and he cast a wary glance at them before ducking in after Jane.
"So what's the game plan?" she asked.
"I'll get you in, you find Cain, and then we bug out."
Jane glared at him. "Yes, I could have put that much together myself. Think you could part with a few more details?"
"'Fraid not. It'd spoil the surprise." He smiled at her in the rear view mirror, but it didn't reach all the way to his eyes. "By the way, you're gonna want to give up your guns."
"Not a chance," Garrus replied matter-of-factly. "My guns go with me."
"Trust me when I say that there's nothing in there you can kill with bullets. In fact, if you tried shooting any of them, you'd likely just piss them off. Now take off your guns and put them in the back." Jane started reluctantly unlatching her rifle and, after a long pause during which he weighed the pros and cons of putting a bullet in the back of Clef's head, he decided to follow suit. "A wise decision. As for your 'plus one', Jane, I've got to say that he's put a kink in my plan."
"How so?" she asked.
"I know your psych profile, but he's an unknown. No aliens have ever been exposed to the skips at twenty-five, and I don't know how they'll react to him."
"So do a quick profile on him. He'll answer your questions honestly." She turned to Garrus and said, "Right?"
"Absolutely."
Clef heaved a long-suffering sigh and rolled his eyes. "Your funeral. All right, then—what's your name, turian?"
"Garrus Vakarian, from Palaven."
"Have you ever tortured anyone, or been party to torture?"
He kept his eyes locked on Clef's reflection in the rear view when he spoke. "Once."
"How did that make you feel?"
"Sick. Guilty."
"Have any metallic implants?"
"There are some in my face where I was hit with a rocket."
"That could be problematic, depending on what they're made of." He thought for a moment, then continued. "Do you have any phobias?"
"No."
"How often would you say you get the hiccups in a normal month?"
"I don't even know what those are."
"Ever had an out-of-body experience?"
"I don't think so." He thought about it, then said, "There was one time on Omega, I was on stims for the better part of three days and by the end of it I felt like I was living in a dream sequence."
"That's a normal reaction to sleep deprivation. At least, it is for humans. Next question: have you ever exhibited signs of sexual deviance?"
Garrus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "What do you mean?"
"I mean do you find yourself wanting to fuck inanimate objects, wild animals, or the dead?"
His jaw fell open and he gaped for a moment before finally saying, "No. Unless you count selective xenophilia."
Clef's eyes darted between Garrus' downcast eyes and Jane's reddening face and burst out laughing until tears streamed down his cheeks. "'Selective xenophilia'! Now I've heard everything. Oh, this is too much! Jane, you've been busy these last few years, huh? 'Selective xenophilia', indeed." The giggles tapered off finally and he wiped at his eyes, chuckling.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Clef," Jane grumbled. Garrus mouthed Sorry at her, but she shook her head. She was embarrassed at being outed, but not ashamed of him.
"Oh, lighten up, Shepard."
"Lighten up? You've got me heading blind into a heavily-guarded facility full of nightmare fuel and you want me to lighten up?"
"That defeatist attitude never did anyone any good."
"Maybe, but at least I'm being realistic. Now, unless you've got more questions for Garrus, kindly shut the hell up."
"Temper, temper," Clef admonished, and Jane didn't care for the devious gleam in his eye at all.
They rode in relative silence down an empty stretch of highway for two hours before finally taking an unmarked exit that led to a long drive flanked by trees. The road tapered down to a single lane, and then the pavement disappeared altogether in favor of a pair of overgrown wheel ruts. The length of the drive alone would deter most people, but Jane was surprised at the lack of any other defenses. There was no fence or gate or guards (that she could see) or any other fortification to keep unauthorized people away.
There was a break in the trees ahead, and the road emptied out into a wide clearing with a small metal shed in the middle. Looking at it, no one would guess that the actual facility stretched out for about a mile in every direction and at least a hundred feet down into the Earth. The shed wasn't what her attention was focused on, however; there were six armed guards waiting for them, their rifles held at the ready across their chests.
"What the hell is this?" Jane asked. "I thought you said we were sneaking in."
"No, I said I'd get you in. Just let me handle them. Get out of the van slowly, and let me do the talking."
Jane looked at Garrus and saw suspicion painted clearly on his face. "I don't like this," he said. "Feels like a set-up."
"Agreed, but why would he do that? It doesn't make sense."
"I don't know. When we get out, stay close to me."
The three of them approached the guards and Clef greeted them, giving his name and ID to the one in the middle. The guard looked at the ID card and handed it back, satisfied.
"You disarmed them?" he asked.
"Yes, their guns are in the van," Clef answered.
"Good." He gestured to the two guards beside him, who aimed their guns at Jane and Garrus and fired simultaneously. Pain exploded across her body when the taser darts embedded in her neck and she saw Garrus fall to his hands and knees beside her. Before she knew it, her wrists and ankles were strapped into plastic zip-tie cuffs and the guards finally switched the taser off. Her muscles twitched erratically and she couldn't think straight, but she was still aware of Garrus struggling in his restraints beside her. When a guard grabbed her under her arms and started to drag her toward the facility, her mind went white with blind panic.
"No, no, you can't put me back in there! Don't, stop, you've got to—Clef! Clef, stop them!" But the doctor just stood by impassively and watched them be taken through the door and down the stairs. She thrashed in the guard's painful grip and screamed like a rabid animal. "No, not again! Please, not again! Garrus!"
Then something hard and heavy hit her in the back of her head, and the world went dark.
Clef watched Jane's boots disappear from view and the door slammed shut. He turned and strode into the woods, drawing a few confused looks from the guards, but the Foundation staff had learned long ago to ignore his comings and goings. The air was warm, and would only get hotter as spring wore away into summer. He didn't sweat, though, as he picked his way over rocks and fallen trees and thick undergrowth, the forest closing in around him.
Just before sunset, he stopped in his tracks in a spot no different from any other at first glance, looked around, and said, "She's inside. Meet me at the tree line tonight, and bring your friends." He gently stroked a nearby tree with one finger and it flickered once before dissolving into hundreds of blue-green butterflies. "Come now, 408. Time to play." There was a flurry of tiny wings that came together into a humanoid shape. With a few adjustments and color changes, the butterflies turned themselves into a perfect replica of himself. Clef smiled at his doppelganger and they left, heading back toward the facility.
A pair of dark eyes, curtained in matted brown hair, watched him go, then disappeared into the trees.
AN-SCPs referenced in this part are 1960: Neptunian Text Messages (only I changed them to audio messages), and 408: The Illusory Butterflies.
