"What are you going to do with Rolston?"
Remembering the childish drawing of the Citadel in his locker, Shepard could only state, "I don't know."
"You sure you're alright with this, Commander?"
"I am. Even if they weren't sending someone whose combat ability I'd seen first hand, I'd be inclined to accept simply to maintain diplomatic fluidity." Shepard bridged a hand over her brow as she stood behind Joker and watched the approach to the Ref'ken. "The Admiralty Board... wasn't pleased to hear about Tali. To say the least."
"Yea I bet. What do quarians do when they're angry, anyway?"
"Swear. You've heard Tali."
"The board was cussing at you? Priceless."
Shepard allowed a brief smirk, and she shook her head, "No, but they wield guilt like a gun. Never mind jumping to question whether Legion had some part in it." Patting the back of Joker's chair, Shepard walked away, murmuring, "Like I was the one who accused her of treason."
A team of three quarian marines would be transferring over to her command to help extract Tali'Zorah. Admittedly, Shepard hadn't liked the idea at first - and the Admiralty Board had proposed that they lead the operation initially. They had barely trusted to send more quarians to work with her.
Could she blame them?
Shepard sighed and met Garrus by the airlock, crossing her arms. The turian's stance matched her own, both soldiers equally fatigued.
"Kal'Reegar was on Haestrom, right?"
Nodding, Shepard kept her eyes on decon. The doors slid shut, signalling that the Ref'ken had docked.
"And the other two?"
Shepard shrugged. The light flashed to signal the outer lock was open, and in a moment it closed. The panel detailed the decontamination process.
"Should have brought Legion instead of me."
Eyebrows lifting, Shepard smirked and looked at Garrus, "They'll have to meet him."
"Oh without a doubt."
They both chuckled, and Garrus relaxed his stance as Shepard straightened her posture.
The doors opened and three marines strode in, halting under Kal's command. In proper stance, each saluted in unison, hands to the small of their backs as formalities were exchanged and the transfer verified.
Finally, Shepard ordered them at ease and said, "It's a pleasure to have you on board. You remember Garrus Vakarian - my second in command."
"Thank you ma'am, sir." Reegar followed Shepard as she moved.
Heads of the human crew turned as they strode back through the CIC. Shepard motioned to the elevator, "I can't deny I was surprised the Admiralty Board was so concerned. They were ready to exile Tali not long ago."
"They know how valuable she is to the Fleet - in many respects." Kal kept his hands linked behind him as they went down, and the doors opened on the crew deck.
"You'll have the observation lounge as your space. Feel free to sleep there, or in the pods." Shepard keyed open the door, and as they walked in the female marine spun around.
"Fel'Xen, ma'am - is it true you've got an active geth on your crew?"
"Cadet!"
Shepard raised a hand to Kal and grinned as she replied, "Yes. Legion is an integral part of my crew. It was my plan to introduce you."
The woman scoffed and Garrus made eye contact with the Commander.
"You're all part of my crew now - and while we are all accustomed to military standards, I have always encouraged my crew to speak their minds."
Shifting in her silver and gunmetal enviro suit, the young woman looked to Kal before saying, "It is just odd to me that you gave it a name."
"Have you much experience with geth, Fel'Xen?"
Lifting her chin, Fel replied, "Yes, Captain. I may be young, but I've been involved in two recon missions where we encountered geth incursions."
"Then forget all of that when you meet Legion." Her own jaw firm, Shepard looked amongst them, "I've killed more geth than all of you combined. And he isn't anything like any of them.
"You have free reign of the ship. We'll be en route to our target shortly." Shepard checked her omni-tool, "We'll reconvene here at 1400 to discuss the attack. I've reviewed the performance files provided - we'll go from that. Kal'Reegar, if you'd join us? Otherwise, dismissed."
Each marine saluted, and Shepard turned with the quarian and turian in tow. Once the doors were closed, Kal spoke up.
"I apologize for Fel'Xen, ma'am."
"No need. Xen..." They followed Shepard's lead through to the mess, "Is she related to Admiral Daro'Xen by chance?"
"In a way, ma'am. Fel is her adopted sister."
"Something tells me her being here isn't coincidence."
Kal'Reegar chuckled as Shepard showed him more of the ship.
When the quarian was dismissed, Shepard lingered with Garrus, "I'm leaving you behind during the mission."
Almost grumbling, Garrus put his hands on the defined edges of his waist, "You sure? I'd be more comfortable being the one watching your back."
Shepard smiled close-lipped, patting his shoulder, "Which is exactly why I leave you in charge of the Normandy."
Hands press me down, baited breath meeting soft sighs as her thighs tighten against mine. Bitter sweetness on her lips, coffee and cream tasted before she sits up. Voluminous hair about her cheeks, torrent and wild from her exertions. In this I can breathe. Her nails dig into my shoulder.
Thane opened his eyes, his breath coming easier as he sank back into the navigation chair. A dime-sized sun glowed in the forward windows, distant and silvery cool in its light.
"Will you reconsider contacting Shepard?"
Jack looked at him, finishing the fuel adjustments before she threw an arm over the back of her chair with a sigh. "I guess she'll be pretty pissed, hey?"
"She will be more understanding if we contact her. You know as well as I that she doesn't enjoy relinquishing control."
Jack smirked and propped a knee onto the console, "I don't know, Krios, you saying something about playing house with Shepard?"
Thane sounded mildly annoyed, "No. She would want to coordinate with us."
"Alright, keep your pants on." Jack lifted her chin his way, grinning, "Unless you'd prefer otherwise? I've heard some pretty good things about drell."
Clasping his hands together, Thane closed his eyes, not dignifying her with a response. They sat in relative quiet some time before he spoke. "Do you have a plan for when we reach the base?"
Looking off through the stars, Jack's attention snapped to him as she said, "Well we go in and get whatever we can. If Tali's there, we bring her with us. If not, we do whatever we can to find out where she is. Anyone tries to stop us? They die. Simple enough."
"Then why did you bring Miranda?"
"I like her company that much," Jack smirked and crossed her arms, looking back into the shuttle. Though the operative's bleeding had stopped, her broken wrist had swollen. She had finally lapsed into unconsciousness after protesting some time. "I didn't know if she'd be useful, honestly. She might have access codes, or clearance or some crap we can use."
"You think she'll cooperate?"
"I'll sure have fun making her try."
Hands still bridged together, Thane turned his stoic gaze on Jack, "She will not simply bend to torture, Jack."
"Lucky me, then."
Thane blinked, complex lids closing both directions before he said, "Let me speak with her. I have more experience with situations like this than you might imagine."
Running a hand over her stubbly hair, Jack sighed and capitulated, "Fine." Keying the terminal, she said, "This is where we're going. It seems like a waypoint for military cells. There's a listening station, munitions - shit like that."
Thane downloaded the information to his omni-tool and ducked into the passenger compartment, shutting the door behind him. Miranda stirred as he administered a stim from the med kit. She didn't move from her place on the floor, merely tilting her head towards Thane.
The drell lifted his omni-tool and said, "I have medi-gel for your wrist if you help us infiltrate this base."
"I'm in no condition to fight."
"Fighting isn't the only way you may assist us, Miss Lawson."
Miranda closed her eyes and lay her head back with a sigh. How much of a double agent was she willing to be? Shepard might be able to protect her, but it wasn't her she cared about. Cerberus knew all the intimate details of Oriana's life.
"Why would you trust anything I might say?"
Thane kept his dark eyes upon her, expression flat, "I think you know enough about me not to lie."
Thane piloted the Kodiak down into the fog, his breathing deep and slow to try and mediate the choke in his lungs. His Kepral's had been without treatment since prior to the munity, when the injections had been a daily occurrence. The mist hanging on the planet would not help it.
"The code has kept security from alerting to our presence. I propose a stealth approach, given there are only two of us."
"You would - really?" Jack rolled her eyes before saying, "If there isn't a squad in transition, they'll only be skeletal staff. Them and the people who have the quarian."
"If we can make it inside with you seeming unassuming, Jack, they'll be caught all the more by surprise when you use your biotics."
"I'd rather just tear in."
Thane turned and said, "And what if Tali is here? What will they do to her when they see you coming?"
"Alright, alright." Jack looked away as she filled her pant pocket with heat sinks. "So what do you want to do then, hotshot?"
Thane brought up a display and quickly explained the identified weak points and his preferred entrance. He'd had less time to study the plans than he was accustomed to, but the few months spent with Shepard had been a baptism by fire in the art of quick raids in unknown territory.
"And we leave the bitch here?"
"That may be for the best."
Jack muttered to herself as she leant and looked out the window. The surface was rapidly approaching.
"She may try and take advantage of the situation once we are in the base."
"Yea, but what about her codes? Think they'd be disabled in the shuttle?"
"I'll input security blocks. Miss Lawson won't be going anywhere."
They flew the last few clicks in silence, immersed in the fog and relying solely on the Kodiak's sensors. Landing, they detected no one present near the drop zone. Donning his mask, Thane secured the systems and disembarked with Jack.
Advancing through the fog, they kept their senses alert, and gradually a facility came into view. Hesitating, Thane clasped his hands together and bowed his head in prayer.
"Krios?"
Another few moments passed before his head lifted and Thane advanced beyond Jack. It unsettled him how easily he slipped back into his solitary skin. Admittedly, it had only been a few months since he'd fought alone - months of always being at Shepard's side. If he fell here, he would never see her again.
Not a place for his thoughts to be. With a shallow breath, the soul melted back to leave the body, its honed skills, and the reflex that would guide them.
"Wait for my signal."
Thane disappeared through the fog, movements instinctive, and in no time he reached the face of the building. There were no guards, which he relayed to Jack. The side door of the facility slid open with ease. Back pressed against the door jam, he listened for movement before glancing into the decon chamber.
"The door's clear. Wait just outside."
"Damn it, Krios," Jack murmured over the comm.
"There hasn't been anyone. The longer we go without detection, the better."
"Yeah, yea."
Thane kept to the wall and slunk through the decontamination chamber. The beam swept over, and sensing his presence, the opposite door opened. Flat to the wall inside, he waited.
"Hello?
The slow steps of a weighted gait - human, husky. The voice indicated male, the vocal folds longer to produce the lower pitch. The shadow cast placed the man two to three inches taller, and showed him unarmed, but armoured. He had not yet entered the room.
Two manoeuvres and a third back up were formulated by the time the guard stepped into the decon chamber. The man's hardsuit covered the sides of his neck, dismissing the first, so Thane stepped in and swung a half fist into the tender tracheal region. The thyroid cartilage snapped, and the man choked a bloody gasp from the haemorrhage.
Catching the man's head at a better angle, Thane's fingers slid into proper placement, before he gave a jerk and quietly ended his life. He pulled the body with him and stepped out of view from the hall.
Immobile and silent, he waited and listened. No other sounds came.
"Decon is clear."
The short hall had an adjacent storage room separate from the wide double doors it led to. Jack appeared shortly, shot gun in hand as she looked over the body.
"Clean work."
"There is a networking junction in the storage room that leads ahead. I will go in through there." Thane turned into the room before Jack could reply, and her nose wrinkled.
Come all this way, and he gets to kill all the Cerberus flunkies?
"I don't think so," Jack murmured, and opened the double doors.
There was a team assembling rations and munitions for shipment, as well as a pair of individuals working at the arc of communication systems on the far wall. The workers at the crates stopped as they saw Jack, and a woman sprinted to a nearby station, only to be caught and flung in the air by Jack's biotics.
"Tell me where the quarian is."
Before anything else could be said, the Cerberus workers mobilized and armed themselves. Immediately one, and then another were cut down with precise shots. The rest scrambled for cover as Jack recovered and sent a shockwave of energetic blue pulses after them.
On the far wall, the communications personnel tripped the base alarm, and were about to secure the systems when a throw field caught them. Screaming, they tried to grab hold of anything to keep from drifting. A 'thuck' of a bullet hit the man, and he floated dead-weight in the air.
A sleek black figure dropped from his vantage, SMG in hand. Along with Jack, Thane took out the armed shippers, their own shields flickering with the returned fire. He strode back, arm braced as he targeted the surviving communications officer.
"Do as I say and you will not be harmed."
The base alarms blared all around them, and the young woman that cowered on the ground nodded and instinctively covered her head.
"Where's the damned quarian!" Jack stalked up to the communications hub. Arm coiling to pistol-whip the woman, she found her bicep caught by Thane.
"Go search the other rooms. There is one there, and there." He flatly said, motioning with his gun.
Jack made a frustrated sound as she looked at him, but relented and tugged her arm away.
"Now speak quickly."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Get me all the data from the past week." Thane kept his eyes on her, his position relaxed as he holstered his SMG. The woman was trembling, so he motioned to the terminal. "Time is not an indulgence you have."
The tech pulled herself up to the terminal, a sweat on her brow as she worked to access the information.
"Have you had any prisoners come through?"
The woman looked at him, trying to gauge his expression as he stepped closer. "No. We - we don't deal with subjects or prisoners or that here."
Thane brought up his omni-tool, pleased with the tremor of truth in her voice. "Your cooperation is appreciated." He looked through the streaming data.
Jack came traipsing back towards Thane with a satchel of OSDs slung over her shoulder.
"No sign of Tali. Thought these looked useful, though."
"What are these?" Relaxed as ever, Thane looked at the Cerberus employee.
"Backups."
"Could have told you that." Jack crossed her arms. "So what about her?"
Thane was already walking towards the doors, "We have what we need. She was not lying."
Jack's eyes smouldered as she looked back at the woman, and she said to her, "Just keep in mind your boss makes people like me."
Checking to see Thane by the door, Jack turned and kneed the woman upside the head. The sound of her cry made Thane stop cold, his eyes on Jack.
"I didn't kill her."
"How is he doing?" Shepard stood by Mordin's bedside as Dr. Chakwas went through the routine monitoring.
"I'm sorry, Commander, he's not out of the woods yet." Dr. Chakwas replied, before going through a list of problems she was slowly addressing. He'd taken a great deal of fire that day, and the silica dust in the wounds complicated matters.
Shepard grimly nodded, looking down at the Professor. Somehow he'd grown more wrinkled, aged by the strain of recovery. She could only imagine his frustration at losing all this time - time he could be working.
"Is there anything I can do?" Shepard looked down as the doctor put her hand over the Commander's.
"Get some rest before your mission."
Lips quirked, Shepard said, "I meant for Mordin."
"I know," said Dr. Chakwas, ushering Shepard away, "I'll take care of him. You have enough to worry about."
Standing outside the medbay, Shepard put her hands on her hips and sighed. There was so much looming, but her thoughts kept returning to the dimple dread that Mordin would die. That selfishly, he would never have the opportunity to finish his work on Kepler's syndrome.
That Thane's death would follow, and the precious time they had was dwindling. That he wasn't receiving his standard treatments to keep it at bay.
Shepard shook her head and strode to the elevator, taking it to the loft. Stripping into her undergarments, she crawled into the emptiness of her bed for the first time since things had gone awry.
She had grown accustomed to the sound of his breathing in the bed beside her. She missed his voice. Each time her eyes fell heavily closed, wakeful and vivid dreams jarred her until finally she tossed the sheet aside and paced up through the room.
EDI's concern was there in a moment, and Shepard waved it away, moving onto the couch to lie down. Her skin stuck to the leather, and she closed her eyes again. Tali's voice was there, as was Thane's, mingled with the Harbinger and buzz of seeker swarms. It made her shiver, and soon she was on her feet again, trudging to the bathroom to shower and prep for the day.
"Commander, 30 minute ETA to Gnosis."
"Thanks, Joker," Shepard strode to the elevator, "Kal, meet me in the cargo bay with your team." She switched channels, "Legion, report for duty."
Down in the hold, Shepard checked her armour and omni-tool, finding their weapons prepped to go. Legion was by her side in no time, and she clapped the geth on the shoulder.
"We'll be fighting with the quarian marines today, Legion. This is for you as much as them."
Legion's optics whirred as he methodically took his rifle and sinks from the supplies, attaching them to his battered armour.
"Affirmative, Shepard-Commander."
Though the marines and Legion had met in brief on the crew deck, this would be the first prolonged contact. And they would be defending each other. The elevator opened and Kal'Reegar led the trio out. Shepard could see the younger soldiers stiffen.
Should she be forcing this? It would add to her cause if more supported giving Legion a chance when he went to the Flotilla. So much gall. Shepard suppressed a smirk at herself.
"Good. We follow the brief. We don't shoot people who surrender or are unarmed. I give people a chance." Shepard secured the particle beam on her back. "I'm not certain Tali will be here, but the intel linked to here. Hopefully she is though, and we can resolve this."
On the Kodiak there was tense silence, with seating separating the quarians out. The young man, Itiao'Issrest fidgeted.
"Something on your mind, Itiao?" Shepard sat casually with her elbows on her knees.
"It is odd being here, ma'am, I am sorry." The lilt of his voice reminded her of a less socially awkward Veetor.
Kal lifted a hand, "They've never served with aliens, Commander. Let alone a geth..."
Legion sat unfazed.
"Not outside of my Pilgrimage, but that was... different." Itiao moved his feet, sitting back.
"Working with me will be different, even Reegar could tell you that." Shepard grinned and the red and gold-suited marine chuckled.
"We are approaching the docking clamp, Commander."
"Thanke, EDI." Shepard stood up and charged her pistol, the soft glow of cryo rounds blipping to life.
"That's quite the VI," Fel'Xen commented.
"Oh she's no VI," Shepard replied, standing by the door as the airlock and barriers released under EDI's hack. The young woman shot Shepard a glance, but nothing more was said as they rolled into the junction, pressing into cover. A flicker of the ship plans superimposed on Shepard's visor, she assessed the situation.
Swinging out, Shepard shot the security turret with a quick double-shot and said, "Legion, access the security systems."
The receiving room was strewn with munitions crates and wetware storage units. The sound of Legion's communicative jargon crinkled in the quiet space, and Fel'Xen shivered, following in with her rifle drawn.
"Camera's overridden."
"Good work." Shepard stepped through the room as the information he gathered relayed to her omni-tool. "Into cover!"
The pre-emptive contacts within her helm gave just enough warning as the far doors schicked open. The gunfire from the troop of mechs spattered to follow each of them.
Kal'Reegar found himself pinned down beside Legion, and he forced his focus away to the battle. A punting line of biotics tore from Shepard's position and threw most of the mechs off balance as the geth executed the Commander's order. The hacked mech turned on its counterparts, and the distraction let Kal open fire.
Soon enough, they were in bits on the floor, and Shepard sprinted to the door, motioning to the cover on either side of her. A quick hand motion brought Legion up, and the turret down the hall fizzled as he commandeered it.
Reegar couldn't deny he was impressed not only with the combative precision that the geth used, but that each order was followed without hesitation.
The hall they looked in on ran down the spine of the station, its ceiling arched high overhead, with junctions leading off to different shipping hubs and quarters.
"There are no communications in the data logs regarding the presence of a quarian onboard the station - however, recent manifests may indicate something in transfer regarding one of the cells." EDI informed them over the comm.
"We need to seal most of these doors. This seems to be a training facility, and if we can minimize what forces come out, we can get the info and get out."
"Primary systems for this deck are located at the end of the hall, from where data storage and security are both monitored." EDI added.
"Legion, monitor and inform me if anyone is alerted."
"Affirmative."
With a jerk of her head, Shepard emerged out the door and moved at a quick pace. She kept her pistol in hand, scanning the space as the hall widened, railings on the walls directing them over an atrium below.
Somehow they made it across without detection, due in no small part to the AI's assisting in diverting surveillance and defence. Hacking into the primary control room, they raised their guns on the small contingent of employees within.
"Get on the floor." Shepard commanded and though most moved, she saw one reach for a pistol, "Don't make me shoot you. On the floor and you'll be unharmed."
Twitching, the man recoiled and sunk to his stomach.
"Watch them."
Pistol still in hand, Shepard followed Legion as he activated the main terminal.
"Patching into their systems, Commander." EDI quipped.
"The rooms are magnetically sealed."
Shepard her hands on her hips as she nodded, looking over the Cerberus employees as they huddled on the ground. They were just normal people in many respects.
"Yo - you're Commander Shepard, aren't you?" A middle-aged man with chestnut skin looked at her, hands where she could see them.
Shepard gave a terse nod.
"I thought you were with Cerberus."
Shepard looked at her omni-tool as EDI fed her some of the mined data that was singled out. A mask identified correlated with one Shepard's suit recorder had documented - one of the people who'd shot Mordin and taken Tali. They had transferred elsewhere. More data streamed over the silhouetted orange interface.
"No," was all Shepard offered the man in reply. "Now lie face down - all of you. Hands on the back of your heads."
"P-please don't kill us!"
"Legion?"
It was another minute before the geth moved and said, "Data mine complete."
"Alright, let's go."
"We're leaving them alive?" Fel'Xen asked, her gun still trained on the employees.
"They obeyed and didn't resist. Now move."
The quarian hesitated before following Kal'Reegar out. With a quick word from Shepard, Legion disabled security and communications, leaving just core systems running.
Dashing out through the arched atrium of a hallway, one of the doors on their right sputtered and was forced open.
"Halt and identify yourself!"
"Keep moving," Shepard huffed to her team, turning around as she ducked behind a wide planter. Concentrating, the biotic energy surged through the nodes in her body, and a wide blossom of directed energy pulled the armed pursuers off their feet. Gunfire spread wild, Shepard sighted them and a few of their helmeted heads burst with a spray of blood and cryogenic fluids from her precise shots.
One of the soldiers regained his footing, and Shepard's shields sparked under fire as she dashed back after the quarians. Sprinting over the remnants of the mechs in the receiving hub, they were slowed as a swarm of flying drones followed in hot pursuit.
The airlock was sealed, and Legion set to crack it as Shepard took cover beside Reegar.
"Good fun, mm?"
The quarian chuckled as they both propped out of cover and shot at a drone. Its stability thrusters fizzled, and it arced across the room with a whizz to crash against the wall, its frozen components shattering to pieces.
"Anything against Cerberus seems like a good time to me, ma'am."
Fel'Xen dodged out of cover to aggressively attack one of the drones, only to have the three remaining focus fire. Her shields drained, and her shoulder was clipped as she fell back, the sound of her frustrated pain over the comm.
"Task complete."
Turning at Legion's voice, Shepard corralled the quarian team through the lock just as more armed soldiers darted into the port. A wave of biotic bursts split through them, and they dove out of the way, letting Shepard grab the geth and throw them into the lock.
Panting, they scrambled onto the Normandy, and the ship broke from the clamps as soon as the doors sealed.
