New Year and new Chapter, enjoy everyone. No Liara in this chapter, but don't worry she will be back soon eough ;)
Chapter 10.
It was strange for Shepard to be on SR-2, old memories came back to haunt him every night. Images of old crew, of Saren and of Sovereign and his promise of destruction. John kept a picture of Liara at his bedside, it helps him take his mind off these things, filling it with fond memories of her, and the times they have spend together, he missed her very much. He got to meet the new crew, the highlights were his old pilot Joker, and Dr. Chakwas, he had a pleasant chat with both of them, remembering the old days. The new crew had a few standouts as well, first of all there was Kelly Chambers, she was assigned as his administrative assistant, but most of the time it seemed that she just told him he has new messages at his terminal, she was also the ship's councilor with overbearing feelings for alien races, strange for a Cerberus operative. Then there was EDI, the ship's AI, Joker wasn't too fond of the idea of having an AI on the ship, so he and the AI could go for each other's thoughts for hours, she did prove to be useful however, her intelligence was correct and her advices straight to the point. There were also Ken and Gabby, young ex-Alliance engineers who often sounded like a married couple, sometimes John wondered if they realized how much they are alike. Finally there was Rupert, the Mess Sergeant, he was in charge cleaning and cooking, not the best combination of skills, but John didn't have a lot to choose from.
John wanted to fly to Illium right away, but the mission was too important to abandon, so he followed Illusive man's orders. The first stop was Omega, it was a strange place, from the very first step out of the Normandy's airlock Shepard and his squad were being monitored. They picked up a mercenary contractor named Zaeed Masani, whose history was as messed up as his face. He seemed like a man who get the job done, granted that the payments were already transferred to his account. The group headed for the club Afterlife, where the local authority, an asari named Aria T'Loak, was located.
John walked into the Afterlife's private room, Aria's quarters, several armed bouncers were staring him down. He was scanned before he could even approach Aria, however they didn't try to take his weapons. John climbed a couple of steps towards the asari, as she broke the silence.
"That's close enough Commander Shepard."
"How did you know who I was? John asked.
"Please." Aria turned around and smiled, "We had you tagged as soon as you entered the system." she walked up to the couches and sat down, "Before you go on ahead and start shooting your guns left and right I just want you to learn one rule here on Omega." Aria quickly changed her tone, "Don't fuck with Aria."
John decided not to play coy, "I like it, easy to remember."
"And if you forget, someone will remind you." Aria quipped, "So what is it you want?"
"Information."
"Depends on what kind."
"I'm looking for Mordin Solus."
"The salarian doctor? He's got a clinic set up in the quarantine area, getting in won't be as hard, but getting out..." Aria smiled, "Anything else?"
John nodded, "I'm also looking for Archangel."
Aria chuckled, "You and half of the Omega, the mercenary groups finally got him pinned down in the warehouse area, the Blue Suns are recruiting people to join the assault."
"Thanks for the information Aria, maybe I will be back later." said John and started to walk out.
Aria smiled, "And maybe I will be here."
John had mixed feelings about this asari, she was not like most other asari he knew, not with this much ambition anyway. He was surprised how different Aria was from Liara, but it seems every race a nutcase of some sort, it just so happens that this one is also a powerful biotic and lives for a thousand years. Even so, she did provide him with the vital information and didn't ask anything in return.
John decided to go after Archangel first, since the recruitment office for the Blue Suns was right there in the Afterlife.
Miranda, Jacob and Shepard walked down from Aria's room and walked up to the recruitment officer.
"Is this the place to go after Archangel?" Shepard asked.
"This is the place." the merc stepped away and let the three pass into the private room. Inside sat another recruitment officer, a batarian.
"You three look like you could do some damage. I see you got your own weapons and armor. You all get a piece of the share, if your partners die you do not collect their share. Alright you are all set, go to the transport hub when you are ready."
Shepard paid a small freelancer fee and left, as he was leaving the next recruit walked in, a kid, eighteen years old, nineteen at most.
"I'd like to go after Archangel" he said proudly.
"Aren't you a little young to be freelancing?" John asked.
"I grew up on Omega, I know how to handle myself, I know how to use a gun!" the kid pulled out his gun, it was an old alliance military pistol. "Paid 50 credits for this!" the kid yelled out. Shepard stopped and turned around, he quickly walked up to the kid, and snatched the gun out of the kid's arms. With a quick glance he saw the faulty wiring sticking from one of the sides of the gun, John hit it with a side of his hand, sparked flew out from the gun, it was no longer functional.
"Get a refund, trust me, you'll thank me later." John gave the gun back to the kid and walked off.
The trip to Archangel's hideout was uneventful, when they arrived another Blue Suns mercenary met them.
"Finally! Someone who can actually fight. Did the recruitment officer tell you what the mission is?"
"He was a little vague." John replied
"If he wasn't we wouldn't get anyone to come. Archangel has been annihilating you freelancers. Go find Sergeant Cathka he will explain the plan of attack."
Shepard and the team moved through three mercenaries staging areas for different merc groups. The Eclipse, the Blood Pack and the Blue Suns. Each group expressed their disgust for the freelancers in one way or another. John decided to leave a little surprise for the Eclipse mercs.
"Commander, hacking the security mechs can give you an edge in the upcoming combat." EDI's voice echoed in the comm. channel.
"Let me do it Shepard, I have some hacking skill." Miranda stepped up the Ymir assault mech.
When the sabotage was complete they went straight for the Sergeant, after a quick chat and a temptation to stab him with his omnitool, the assault on Archangel's hideout started.
John and his team waited a bit, letting the freelancers to rush ahead, leaving them open for an attack. John had to give Archangel credit, the guy was a great shot, he took down half of the attack group till it reached the inside of the building, Shepard's team soon followed. Dodging shots from Archangel they infiltrated the building, taking out two mercs that were hesitating to go up the stairs. Two more were up the stairs on the second floor, and the last one was trying to hack the door to the room with Archangel in it. With a swift biotic charge and a swing of his shotgun, Shepard took out the last mercenary. The door unlocked without any need for hacking and all three walked in.
"Archangel?" John asked.
A turian is a polished blue armor was sitting at a window, he was wearing a matching helmet. He raised his hand asking Shepard's team to wait, and a moment later he took a shot, a short yell from the outside indicated that he did not miss. He slowly got up and turned around, he took off the helmet and put it down, he then sat on the nearby couch, putting his weight against the sniper rifle.
"Shepard... I thought you were dead..." the turian's voice displayed a whole plethora of emotions at the same time. John could not believe his eyes, the turian was no other than Garrus Vakarian his close friend from the times when they chased Saren
"Garrus! It's so good to see you!" John could not hide his happiness. He walked up to Garrus, the two exchanged a hearty handshake, John then waved at the window, facing the mercs staging area, "How did you get into this mess?"
Garrus sighed, "You have no idea what a relief it is to see a friendly face, and it's a long story. If you can get me out of this alive, I will tell you the whole thing."
"Don't worry we'll get you out, just tell me though, why Archangel?" John asked still smiling
"It's just a name the locals gave me for all my good deeds... but please it's just Garrus to you." John could have sworn he saw a turian blush just there.
"Alright, then let's get this over with, I bet the mercs just figured out that their assault failed."
Garrus walked up the window and aimed his rifle, "Yeah and they look pretty pissed too."
John walked up and tapped Garrus on the shoulder, "Let's say we give these bastards something to be really angry about."
"Right behind you Shepard..." Garrus made a bit of a grin, as turian smiling was an odd sight. "Just like old times huh Shepard?"
"Yeah, just like old times..."
"Commander, he should make a full recovery, but he took a pretty bad hit, it might take him a whi..." Jacob stopped talking as he saw Garrus walk into the room. "Tough son of a bitch." he said with a smile, saluted both and left the room.
"Shepard, how do I look, just be honest?" Garrus looked at John, it was clear he wasn't really worried. He had a brace for the right side of his neck and head. Some skin tissue was missing from his mandible and right side of his face.
"Hell Garrus, you were always ugly, just slap some face paint on it and no one will even know the difference." Shepard said with a wide smile.
Garrus let out a loud laugh and immediately put his hand to the injured side of his face. "Ohhh, don't make me laugh, my face is barely holding together as it is. But I guess it's only fair to let you have a shot. Everyone was always hitting on me and ignoring you."
John shook his head with a smile, having an old friend join his team gave him hope, for the first time after being brought back.
"I'll be in the Main Battery room if you need me." said Garrus and left the Comm. room.
John just stood there, thinking of the old days on the Normandy. And just as he was remembering his old days, Liara came to mind. Shepard clutched his fist, the separation was too much for him bare, he needed to see her soon, talk to her, embrace her. John left the Comm. room and went to his private terminal, there was work to be done and he will not waste any more time.
"Masani, Taylor, get geared up we are heading out. Meet me at airlock in 15 minutes." he spoke through the comm. system, then turned around and took the elevator to his quarters.
Shepard tightened the grip on his rifle as the airlock behind them sealed them in. John talked their way into the quarantine sector, but there was no way they were going to let them out unless the quarantine was lifted, they had to find Mordin first.
John and his crew moved through the apartment complex, getting in occasional firefights with the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack, witnessing the famine that the plague brought to this sector. Most of the apartments were looted already by human marauders, who were unaffected by the plague.
"Man, this sort of thing makes me ashamed to be human." said Jacob as they were passing by another apartment that was getting looted.
"Kid, you live as long as I do and you'll know that that aint the worst thing that we as a species are capable of." Zaeed quipped, "Besides, you're Cerberus, and most of these apartments don't belong to humans, so why do you care?"
"Just because I work for Cerberus doesn't mean I agree to everything Cerberus does. At least Cerberus actually does something and doesn't just sit on their ass like the Alliance does." Jacob replied.
"Fair enough." Zaeed nodded. "You know, this whole situation reminds me of that one time I ended up on a batarian slaving ship, there was an outbreak of a virus of some sort, I was the only one who made it out alive."
Finally, the team reached the clinic. The entrance was guarded by several armed mechs and a security guard, a volunteer by the looks of it.
"No funny business once you're in the clinic, unless you want to deal with those mechs." said the guard.
Shepard nodded to the guard and the airlock opened, inside there was a lobby, leading into several operating rooms. John walked up to the receptionists, also volunteers, "Hello, could you tell me where I can find Mordin Solus?"
"Doctor Solus is in the operating room to your right, just follow this corridor." said one of the receptionists.
"Thank you." John replied and headed down the corridor, as he walked he saw many of clinic's patients with different stages of the plague on them. As he came closer to the operating room he started to hear a distinct voice. It was talking fast, almost nonstop, going on about molecular structure and the genetic bonds. John took a right turn and walked into the operating room, inside were a salarian doctor, no doubt Mordin himself, and his assistant.
John walked up to Mordin, "Professor Mordin Solus?"
Mordin, paused, and walked up to Shepard, scanned him with his omnitool and looked at the results, "Hmm, don't recognize you from the area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect." he walked up to his terminal, "Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause." he turned back to face Shepard. "The plague? Investigating possible use for bio-weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists." he started to walk around, still talking, "Yes, yes. Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone? Yes. But who? Someone important. Valuable. Someone with secrets. Someone like me." John saw Mordin's arm reach down for his pistol and decided to intervene before this turned into a conflict.
"Relax, Mordin. I'm Commander Shepard and I came here to find you. I'm on a critical mission and I need your help." said John, watching Mordin closely.
Mordin's face expressed surprise, but at least he stopped reaching for his pistol. "Mission? What mission? No, no. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spread too fast. Who sent you?
John decided not to keep secrets from Mordin, since he probably figured out who sent him anyway and is just asking out of politeness. "Ever heard of an organization called Cerberus?"
Mordin nodded, "Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request salarian aid?"
"I'm on a mission to shut down the Collectors and I need your help." John replied.
Mordin started walking around, "Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting this sector is engineered. Collectors one of the few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." he turned around and walked to table with a container on it. "But must stop plague first. Already have cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them."
John nodded, "I'll get in and deal with the Vorcha." as Shepard said that, suddenly the alarm went off and the nearby air vent stopped its air flow.
"What the hell was that?" said Jacob.
Mordin activated his omnitool and looked at the data, "Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before the sector suffocates." he walked up to Shepard and handed him the container and his pistol. "Here. Take plague cure. Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. May come in handy against Vorcha." John took the container and the pistol, fastening both to his belt. "One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back."
John nodded, "I'll keep an eye out."
The team turned around and headed for the exit.
"Welcome to the Normandy Professor. It's an honor to have you onboard." said Jacob.
Mordin nodded, "Yes. Very exciting. Cerberus working with aliens. Unexpected. Illusive man branching out maybe? Not so human-centric?"
John raised an eyebrow, "You're very well informed."
"Salarian government well connected. Espionage experts. Had top level clearance once. Retired now. Still hear things. Informed of name only. No knowledge of man behind it. Anti-alien reputation listed as problematic."
John shook his head, "Don't kid yourself Professor. Humans still come first in the Illusive man's eyes. But this mission is too big for them to handle alone."
Jacob spoke up, trying to guide the conversation away from Cerberus and back on topic, "The Collectors are abducting human colonists out on the fringes of Terminus Space."
Mordin quickly began his analysis, "Hmm. Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple."
"Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any kind of attack." Jacob added, "There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all... except that every man, woman and child is gone."
Mordin began walking back and forth again, thinking out loud, "Gas maybe? No. Spreads too slow. Airborne virus? No. Slower than gas. Drugged water supply? No. Effects not simultaneous."
John interrupted Mordin's train of thought before it ran anyone over, "You don't have to sit there and guess. We collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyze them and figure out how the Collector did this."
"Yes. Of course. Analyze the samples. Going to need a lab." said Mordin.
A voice resonated through the comm., "There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking please place a requisition order."
Mordin's face brightened, "Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesized voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be... no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?"
Shepard nodded, "This ship is equipped with an artificial intelligence."
"AI on board? Non-human crew members? Cerberus more desperate than I thought." Mordin stated.
"The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we have to do to find and stop them." Jacob quipped.
Mordin nodded, "Yes. Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to the lab?"
Jacob headed towards the exit out of the comm. room, "Follow me, Professor."
Mordin and Jacob left, but John stayed in the comm. room for a bit thinking over what happened on Omega. This one phrase was stuck in his mind, the one that Aria told him. During the mission to recruit Archangel, who ended up to be Garrus, Shepard stumbled upon some data, that the mercs were going to attack Aria after they have dealt with Archangel. After Garrus was recovered John took the data to Aria. She was annoyed that she had no knowledge of this prior to Shepard bringing it to her.
"So can somebody tell me how this got past our security?" Aria threw the data pad at her personal bodyguard Anto, then turned back to Shepard, "Thanks Shepard." She eyed him from head to toe and smiled, "I see why she was so desperate to get you back." her smile quickly changed to a frown, "Now go, I have to deal with these idiots."
Shepard left before he had a chance to ask her what she meant, although John had a pretty good idea of who she meant. With his thoughts back on Liara, he left the comm. room and headed back to his quarters, where he kept a picture of her.
As Shepard was leaving the room he was suddenly greated by Miranda, "Shepard, aren't you going to report your progress to the Illusive man?"
John wasn't in the mood for this kind of conversation, "Isn't that your job Miranda?"
"True, but you look like you could take your mind off of things, concentrating on work does that." she replied calmly.
"On the contrary, Miranda, taking my mind off of things is something I don't want to do." John quipped.
Miranda sighed, "Look Shepard, I know you want to meet her, but we have two more priorities to take care of, before we can go to Illium."
Shepard didn't answer, he nodded and walked past Miranda towards the elevator. The sinking feeling of the imminent Reaper invasion was the only thing holding Shepard back from telling Joker to pilot the ship to Illium.