Chapter 9: The Ruthless Calculus of War
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Slowly, shuddering I became aware of my surroundings as I struggled out of a dreamless drugged sleep. I was laying on an examination table in a med bay, naked, an IV in my arm. A women, unarmed probably a scientist, stood with her back to me at a medical workstation but my first priority was the two guards armed with M-96 Mattock's. I had no weapons but I did still have my expensive Cerberus cybernetic implants. Silently, I sat up unnoticed and ripped out the IV. Before the scientist could react I was behind one of the guards and with a single twist cleanly napped his neck. I pushed his lifeless body into the second guard knocking him to the ground and grabbing a Mattock, emptied three shots into his head at point black range.
The woman turned and screamed into her omnitool "Shepard! Hes awake! I don't understand why the sedatives aren't working. Get Security!" She ran out of the room an activated a barrier field locking me in. She stood observing me though an observation window taunting me with a smug expression, her fear gone. Quickly scanning the room for options I noticed her workstation had a panel for controlling medical mech's which were stored in the room she was now in. I activated a mech and cornered the woman with it, metal hands round her throat.
"My new friend doesn't seem to like you very much" I said with a smirk through the medical bay intercom system "I think you should let me out"
"Go to hell!" She said with the same messianic gleam in her eyes.
"Been there, came back" I said calmly "Now it's your turn" and the mech crushed her windpipe.
I directed it towards the door release mechanism. The field was down.
I quickly stripped one of the guards and suited up in his standard heavy armour and collected all the thermal clips I could find. Not before time. I could hear the sound of boots running towards my position. They outnumbered me at least five-to-one but luckily the guard's reactions were sluggish and drunken and they took far too many risks, possibly a side effect of indoctrination. Keeping in cover, I easily took out the first wave with the precise fire of the Mattock. Kenson shouted orders over the station intercom for the rest of the guards to regroup in the Project Control Room. I scooped up as many thermals as I could carry. This was going to be a long fight.
I ran through the near empty living quarters of the base reaching Project Control in minutes. It was crawling with guards, at least thirty in good cover, preparing to make a last stand urged on over the intercom by a now hysterical Kenson. I emerged from the cover of the entrance taking one guard down with a perfect head shot but was met with a hail of fire and tech attacks that instantly shattering my shields. I pulled back into cover to give them time to recharge which allowed two guards to move up to the entrance and attack me at point blank range. Dropping my rifle, I counterattacked with a series of cybernetically enhanced combat moves, snapping their necks.
Picking up my rifle again I moved into the Project Control Room and finding cover behind a workstation and began picking off targets retreating behind cover before my shields completely shattered and re-emerging quickly enough to prevent any guards flanking me or moving up. It was a slow gruelling war of attrition requiring perfect timing and almost instantaneous reflexes. Not for the first time I was forced to silently thank the Illusive Man for the 'upgrades' Project Lazarus brought me back with. Wave after wave of guards attacked only to be killed or forced back although I also was steadily taking hits and rapidly running out of medigel.
Killing the last guard, I staggered out from behind cover exhausted and bleeding towards the main computer workstation.
"Welcome to the Project. The Reapers will arrive in the Bahak system in 110 minutes 40 seconds and counting" the VI said with irritating politeness.
I gritted my teeth "I want to activate the Project" I said.
"Certainly, be advised however that activating The Project will result in over 300,000 causalities. Do you wish to proceed?" the VI replied cheerfully.
I recoiled feeling sick. Three hundred thousand dead, almost all slaves, people I had worked to save even at the cost of my relationship with Tali. Images flashed through my mind the firebombing of Dresden, the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, New York, and New Delhi and now Aratoht. I was about to go down as one of the greatest War Criminals in human history. A monster as Tali said. How could I ever look her in the eyes again?
As if reading my thoughts the VI spoke "Reaper arrival in the Bahak system in 100 minutes" it said calmly.
I sighed feeling something die inside of me. I had no choice. I had somehow somewhere stopped having choices since Eden Prime. I stepped forward, but having made my decision, I now found it almost impossible to articulate it. I felt only oily black tentacle's burrowing through my mind, whispering indecipherably. I swallowed hard.
"I… I want to activate the Project" I said thickly.
"Project Activated" the VI said pleasantly. It is recommended that the base be evacuated within the next 89 minutes.
I activated the communications panel on the workstation.
"Calling Aratoht, calling Aratoht,…" .
Silence apart from the sound of static. I repeated the my message
"H.. Hello. Who is this... are you the one who freed us?" said a woman's voice hesitantly"
"Yes" I said
"Oh thank you! I can't thank you enough for me and my daughter, the Batarian's were… sick… animals… the way they treated us…"
I cut her off "You need to get yourself and as many people as possible to shuttles right now" I said urgently "The Mass Relay will explode in" he checked the countdown clock "93 minutes. Anyone left in the system will be killed"
"What!" she cried desperately "please tell me you are joking, I don't even know were the shuttles are…"
"I'm sorry… there's nothing I can do" I said grimly
"No but there's something I can do" Kenson said breaking in "I can still cut power to the engines. Try to stop me!."
I growled "VI where is Dr Kenson?"
"Dr Kenson is heading for the Reactor Core Module"
I ran down the connecting corridors that connected the Project Control Room with the Reactor Core Module and entered with rifle raised ready to kill her if necessary.
Kenson was at Reactor workstation with her back to me when I entered.
"Step away from the reactor" I said
"You've ruined everything!" she sobbed banging her fists on the console "I cant hear the whispers any more"
I swallowed hard knowing exactly what she meant "Turn. Around. Now."
"You've taken it all away!" she screamed "I will never see the Reapers arrive!"
She turned round, with a manic gleam in her eye holding a detonator in her right hand.
"All you had to do was to sleep and none of this would have happened" she said darkly
"We can still get off this rock Kenson!"
"No Commander, we can't" she said with a smirk, pressing the detonator.
A/N Thanks for your reviews and comments
