Sorry for the delay. Lots of people don't like Mass Effect Andromeda. But I DO. It takes a while to get going, and many reviewers didn't bother to get that far. It has number of oddities and bugs, but I am STILL having fun on my second playthrough.
Fates
Sheila felt good.
She knew part of that was the drugs. The docs had been gentle and had been astonished at her own knowledge of how the human body worked. But once they accepted her knowledge level -which she had been candid about her own limits in-, they had included her in her own treatment. This was a good thing, very different from most of the Corpus and even many of the Tenno medical professionals she had dealt with. Only in the tiny clan of Tenno that she had become closely involved with had she found near instant acceptance of her skill.
The docs here, wherever the hell this Citadel was, were highly competent and not afraid to ask questions. There were many she could not answer. She was a general medic, not a specialist after all. But the physical part of her ordeals was easing. The pain was controlled and the wounds had been healed with skill that even a Tenno healer would likely envy. She wished Iriana could talk to these doctors, she bet both the Tenno healer and the Citadel docs would learn great deal from each other.
They had disconnected the brain scanning device when they had determined that her throat was working as it should. Being able to talk again normally had made Sheilas day, even with all of the other stuff. After they had finished checking her throat, they had started a treatment that they thought would restore function to her legs, but that would take time since the substance involved was highly toxic in anything other than minuscule doses. Best guess was that she would be able to move in a day, probably have full function a day or so after, but no one wanted to take chances.
She felt a pang of homesickness and focused on the feelings. Her talk with the social worker, Tanis, had been an eye opener. She had not expected the woman to be so kind and gentle, but she was. It made sense in hindsight. The woman knew a great deal about Sheila felt about her ordeals. She had nearly been killed by the same one who hurt Sheila. The older human didn't know exactly how the girl felt of course and for that? Sheila was grateful She didn't wish pain on anyone. Except maybe Stalker and the one who had hurt her. She was…
Something beeped nearby and Sheila relaxed against her will as a mild sedative was injected somehow. She had no idea how. There were no tubes, no direct feeds into her blood stream. But she needed the calm and had totally agreed with the docs when they had explained about the calming agents. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt someone else.
She didn't even want to hurt the clone again. Most of the time anyway.
She jerked awake, she had dozed off! She stared around and went still. She wasn't alone. But the red haired woman who sat in the chair nearby was smiling at her. She had a hard looking face but it was crinkled with lines that suggested she smiled a lot too.
"Hello Sheila. My name is Jane." The woman said with a nod. Her armor's chest had a weird symbol. It looked like an N and a 7.
"I am sorry!" Sheila said quickly. "I didn't mean to doze off."
"Since when is it your fault that someone else hurt you?" The other sounded honestly curious. Sheila stared at her and the woman put on an expression that was half grin, half grimace. "It is not your fault. Such injuries take it out of you. Believe me, I know."
Sheila realized two things. One, the woman wore armor. That made her a cop or soldier. Jennifer wouldn't allow anyone else in here with her and certainly not alone. Second? Jennifer wasn't in the room. Sheila tensed, but the woman held up a hand.
"Jennifer is taking a nap." Jane said with a frown. "She really needed it. She hasn't slept much since you were found. Illia is with her. They asked a few others that they trust to keep an eye on you. You don't know me, so a sense of caution is warranted. But I am no threat to you and I will prove it." She looked away for a moment and then Sheila relaxed as a familiar song sounded in her head. Rachni.
Jane is a friend, Sheila C-Flat Amethyst said gently. Illia and Jennifer are sleeping. The guards are on watch. As am I. You are safe.
"Thank you." Sheila said with a sigh of relief. A feeling of compassion and reassurance swept through her as the rachni song vanished. She looked at Jane and then sighed again. "Being bedridden sucks."
"That it does." Jane agreed. "At least you don't have tubes running into nasty places. Can you move your legs yet?"
Sheila looked down at her legs. She could see them, but they were still the lumps of flesh that had been. She could feel them but not move them.
"No." Sheila slumped a bit. "Odd that I can feel them, but not move them. Tight control of the nerves."
"Such control is evil." Jane agreed. "Then again, cutting your throat that way was not the mark of a compassionate person either." Sheila rubbed her throat and nodded. There was something about the woman that was bothering Sheila, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Jane tilted her head in query at Sheila's gaze. "Yes?"
"Why aren't your eyes glowing?" Sheila asked as it suddenly dawned on her that the other's eyes were were pure green, no glow at all. She didn't have any circuitry glowing on her visible skin either.
"Um… Probably because I died before the pulse went out that hit everyone and made their eyes glow." Jane replied. Sheila looked at her, nodded slowly and then forced herself to relax. Jane just looked at her." That doesn't bother you?"
"On one level it does." Sheila admitted. "But after all the other weirdness I have seen? C-Flat Amethyst vouches for you and you haven't done anything to hurt or scare me." She shrugged and then winced as a taut muscle protested. Jane looked at her and Sheila shook her head. "I need to get up soon or I will start to get flabby. As it is, my body is protesting the lack of exercise."
"Been there, done that." Jane laughed, but there was little humor in it. "The human body is a weird thing." She looked at Sheila for a moment and then looked away. "You know that."
"Yeah." Sheila sank back into her bed and closed her eyes. "I wish I could wave my hands and suddenly be home."
"Better than tapping your heels together three times." Sheila could see Jane's smile even with her eyes closed and she felt her own mouth twitch. "There is no magic spell or miracle tech that we know of for this situation, so we just have to muddle through."
"I know that feeling." Sheila sighed and then shifted herself a bit more. "I wouldn't have thought Jennifer would have left me alone. I don't know what is going on in my head. Even with the drugs, I still feel off." She slitted her eyes and glared at Jane. "I feel angry and weak and… I don't know all of the these feelings. I hate this!" She exclaimed and then blanched, but Jane did not react.
"I am here because I do know about such things. Jennifer and her mate both needed the sleep." Jane didn't seem offended by Sheila's ire. "So did you. Sheila, your body is changing. From what Jennifer said, this is not your original one?" Sheila shook her head silently and Jane nodded. "Good. Let's keep your origin as quiet as we can. I don't think anyone would intentionally hurt you these days, but scientists can be incredibly pushy."
"No." Sheila's word dripped sarcasm and Jane laughed.
"Dealt with such yourself, huh?" Jane asked and Sheila nodded, closing her eyes again. "Sleep if you can, Sheila. I am here. You are not alone."
"Thanks, I..." Sheila gasped as an unfamiliar sensation swept through her. More than one and centered on her groin! "What the-? I..."
She was hot and cold. She felt… She hissed as the feelings percolated through her. She was feeling the same things as she had when the clone had abused her. Sheila was panting as Jane reached for her hand. She gasped in relief as the sensations vanished.
"They did not catch her." Sheila said weakly as she fought for breath.
"No." Jane's hand seemed to pass through her and the apparition shook her head. "We can shield you a bit, but it won't last. She has a direct link to your mind."
"So… she is corrupting me," Sheila slumped in the bed. Jane nodded. "I don't want these feelings! I am not human! I don't want to do this!"
"Hold that thought, Sheila." Jane said sharply. "Hold it tight. You think it is wrong, what she did. If you start thinking it is right or justified or whatever..."
"Then she wins and I become something too horrible for words." Sheila turned her head and tried to bury her face in her pillow. "Why is she doing this?" She demanded plaintively.
"I don't know, Sheila." Jane was sad. "I am not human anymore myself. Or…. Not entirely human. I remember being human, but the sensations are slipping away despite my enhanced memory." Sheila felt horror dawn and Jane nodded. "I died but part of me lived on. What I did was needed, but I do regret a lot of what happened. It was a war and a bad one, and we won, so I guess it was worth it. Life goes on. My mate has found another that he can be physical with." She paused and made a face. "If she ever gets off her duff and accepts his help anyway."
"Long story there." Sheila muttered and then slowly, ever so slowly, managed to get her thudding heart to slow. She frowned a little. "So we are reversed. I am stuck in a meat body and you are stuck without one."
"Pretty much." Jane agreed with a matching frown. "That doesn't mean I am powerless and I cannot simply sit by and do nothing while bad things happen. That hasn't changed about me. Thank god!"
"Something else we share then." Sheila sighed and forced herself to relax fully. "She will keep doing it."
"Her kind don't generally stop of their own accord." Jane agreed. "Usually, they have to be stopped."
"Jennifer and Illia think I can track her." Sheila said slowly. She paused as Jane shook her head emphatically. "What?"
"Sheila, we do not know what she did. Not entirely. Proximity may enhance her control." Jane was being entirely reasonable and Sheila fought back her anger. It wasn't aimed at Jane. Not really. Part of it was what was being done to her, the rest? It wasn't hers! She realized with a jolt. Jane eyed her. "What?"
"The link works both ways." Sheila said slowly. "I can feel her. Can I… try to change her?" Jane shook her head slowly. "I have to do something!"
"Right now, Sheila, your priority is to heal." Jane was being reasonable and Sheila tried hard not to hate her for it. "Your wounds are healed, but your legs will take more time to regain function. Add to that, Jennifer told me you are a nurse, not a mental health professional. Would you know what to do or how?"
"No." Sheila admitted a bit sheepishly. "I just… I do not want to lie here and let her do her worst to me. I want to do something."
"Well..." Jane drawled the word out a little. "Like I said, we do not have any magic words to make it all better, but we can do something about the rest of it. Hold onto you lunch." Her hand reached for Sheila again and this time, there was a connection. Sheila jerked as the world fell away.
It wasn't like the virtual worlds she had seen before. This time, when she could focus again, she stood on a green glowing square of some kind of energy. It was barely large enough for her to stand on, but before she could do more than gawk at it, it was surrounded by dozens, hundreds, of similar squares. Her eyes went huge as the squares formed first a floor, then wall s and a ceiling. She stared as the greenish glowing surfaces changed slowly from bare metallic colors to warm, inviting ones. Jane appeared nearby, her face worried, but she smiled as Sheila did. Sheila nodded as a couch appeared on the floor beside her and two other chairs appeared nearby. Nothing else appeared and the things that had solidified from green glowing energy into comfortable looking furniture. The room was large but not overwhelming. The greenish light changed to warm white and the room felt comfortable, close and safe.
"A virtual world?" Sheila asked as she looked around. The room was still morphing. She could see things appearing on the walls, holo images of some kind.
"Yeah." Jane nodded. "To us, this is new tech, but you do not seem surprised."
"I have seen such before." Sheila said carefully. "I am not sure what to say or how."
"Smart." Jane agreed. "Thing is, Anya pledged her aid to you and that means a lot of people are going to be falling all over themselves to help." She smirked. "If just to stay on her good side. She isn't the Council, but no one just ignores that woman and doesn't regret it."
"I think I might like to meet this Anya. Or maybe not if she is that scary." Sheila mused. Jane nodded with a wider smile. "So… now what?"
"Now we talk to someone who understands more about how human minds work than anyone else I know." Jane shrugged as Sheila stared at her. "Even the rachni are not as practiced. Mind you, the rachni are generally far more gentle, but they they are focused on their music, not on manipulating minds."
"And this one is?"
Sheila gave an eep as a huge form appeared hovering over them both. It was massive, far larger than the room should have been able to hold. She had the impression of legs, of far too many eyes. Of a long body that looked sort of insect-like but not quite. It suddenly shrank from whatever the hell it was into a humanoid form composed of transparent white energy. It shifted a bit and the proportions appeared almost male.
"Yes, child." The energy form said quietly as it sat in one of the chairs. It was obviously doing so for her benefit, since energy forms did not need to do anything like that. "My name is Catalyst and I am here to help if I can."
"I don't see how anyone can." Sheila snapped, trying to get past the sudden rush of anger that surged through her. It wasn't hers. She knew that. The other was seeing and hearing through her.
"I died, Sheila." Jane said quietly, not moving from where she stood. "I threw myself into a beam of energy that dissolved my form into its constituents." She nodded to the other. "It fulfilled its purpose and shut down after the pulse that I triggered went out. We both came back."
"I don't understand." Sheila felt a matching confusion from the other in her mind.
"C-Sec officers cannot find the one who is merged with you." The one who called itself Catalyst said quietly. "I can." Fear tore through Sheila and then a sense of flight, but the girl did not react. "She can run, but she cannot hide from me. I have her. I am the Citadel. I serve the Citadel. She cannot do evil within my form and not be found. They are closing the net on her as we speak. But she is not the important one now, child. You are."
Sheila jerked as pain flared through her, but it felt odd. It wasn't hers! Jane moved to stand beside her as she gasped and then relaxed as the pain vanished.
"What?" Sheila asked as she relaxed fully for the first time since waking.
"C-Sec has her." Catalyst said with a nod. "They will keep her sedated while we talk. You need help, child." It nodded tot he couch. "Sit. Let us talk. We can find the roots of what she did to your mind. We can undo it. We have disabled the nanites that she put inside you but the psychological hurts must be eased as well."
"And you are going to do that." Sheila said flatly.
"Yes." Catalyst replied. Jane shook her head, but did not speak.
"Why?" Sheila demanded.
"This is my purpose now." Catalyst replied. '"When I was rebuilt, the various races wanted to punish me for what had been done. I followed my programming. No more."
"You slaughtered thousands of civilizations. Uncounted sentients. And for what? To impose your idea of order on life." Jane's tone was hard and cold now, but Sheila was oddly comforted by that. The woman was on her side. "Hard to blame them for wanting revenge."
"Revenge is inefficient." Catalyst replied as it focused on Sheila. "This will not be pleasant for you, but we will find and destroy the link between your mind and hers."
"You can do that?" Sheila asked slowly. Both Jane and the Catalyst nodded. "And what is to keep you from enslaving me?"
"Two things." The Catalyst replied. "One, my programming is to heal now. I was rebuilt to serve the Citadel and its Council. Two? Jane has my shutdown codes."
Sheila stared at Jane who nodded.
"The Council was torn on this, Sheila." Jane said with a sigh.
"But I was a Spectre. We don't get easy jobs."
We all know who Jane is/was.