BulgarianBarbarian: Your wait is over. I can't lie I like writing the fluff. It's fun. Guess we'll have to wait and see who takes the one way ticket to nuclear town... Well I don't have to but you do. ;)
The-White-Spiral: I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you!
Guest: Likewise. My favorite DLC by far was Citadel. Generally speaking everything I write will follow along with the story, but with twists thrown in. Sometimes happier. Sometimes more sad. Tali's date should be a load of fun though :)
Aftermath212: The rubber definitely meets the road. Let's hope my warped idea of humor translates lol
ivandundalov7: I want to keep making you say that lol Yes I plan to keep it going. Things might be sporadic once Andromeda releases, but this is too fun to let go.
LeviathaN7: Thanks. She's got such an attractive and unique personality it makes writing that kind of stuff loads of fun.
A/N: This is a longer one to make up for the time it took to get it out. I'm working on launching my own online retail store which takes quite a bit of my time, and working on training a new puppy. I'm not cooling off at all. Just have less time to set aside. Anyway enjoy.
*VIRMIRE, KROGAN CLONING FACILITY*
"Give a little ground Williams. Don't want them to turtle up." Catpain Kirrahe's voice crackled over the coms.
"Sounds like things are well in hand." Garrus observed as he eyed the dead Salarian in the cell in front of them.
"Sounds like it. Hopefully they don't run into anything like this..." Kraven agreed unable to tear his eyes away from the diminutive corpse on the other side of the glass. "I've never seen anything like that. Do you suppose it was just psychotropics in his system?"
Tali shook her head. "Maybe that was part of it, but he seemed lucid. Just crazy. The Bosh'Tets may have employed some kind of torture but I didn't see any visible marks."
"Either way I guess his ticket was punched as soon as we walked by. If I'd let him out we'd have been putting a bullet in him at some point for sure. Let's keep moving." Shepard motioned on with his gun although he had to catch his hand from reaching back to grasp the hilt of the Prothean sword out of habit. He'd started bringing it on almost every mission, and while this excursion was no exception he tended to keep it in reserve as his 'oh shit' button. He'd had the chance to use it several times purging the Armstrong Cluster of Geth, and while he'd embraced using the weapon completely his crew were still a bit leery.
On Solcrum in particular he'd gotten a real sense of what the blade was really capable of. Upon retrieving data from a random console his team had immediately been swarmed by cyclopian tin men. Himself, Garrus, Tali, and Liara had doled out a punishing fusillade of fire, but had barely even managed to slow the oncoming tide of homicidal robots. Once his gun's action had locked open in overheat he reached for his back up. After that everything became a bit of a blur.
He remembered triggering his biotics to close the gap, and bring his bladed weapon to bear. He remembered striking several bi pedal buckets and relishing the subdued explosions of their synthetic bodies disintegrating. He sort of remembered thinking that the sword must somehow amplify his own biotic potential, and focus it into a kind of disruptor detonation. Lastly he remembered that he REALLY wanted to see it happen again. And again. And again.
That had been where his recollection of Solcrum ended. The next thing he knew, he was back in the Normandy's med bay with a dour looking doctor frowning down at him. Later he had asked his squad what had happened, but only ended up with several colorful phrases describing the same thing. He'd gone off the reservation. Details weren't exactly forthcoming as to how, which had proven exceedingly frustrating. Despite that no one seemed terribly perturbed by his little episodes. Moreover he'd received the impression that while he was going ham, he'd managed to wreak no small amount of havoc. That alone made losing his marbles worth it so long as Geth were on the receiving end.
After that he'd requested that Liara redouble her efforts to ascertain just what it was he was carrying around on the off chance it was doing irreparable damage to his brain. She'd adamantly agreed having witnessed his literal descent into madness first hand. Regardless of the gravity of the situation she hadn't managed to hide the snickering smirk that fought to play across her features as she described how his episode ended.
"You drove that thing down through the middle of a Geth Armature like it was made of little more than wax. Even before both of it's halves hit the floor you looked around for something else to fight. Upon seeing nothing besides us you jammed the blade into the deck, went rigid, and fell flat on your face."
He had unconsciously rubbed his nose which was still incredibly sore although thankfully not broken. Just another injury to add to his laundry list. "And I suppose it would have killed you lot to try and catch me huh?"
She laughed without remorse this time. "It caught us completely off guard Commander, especially given how slowly you had been moving up until that point. Using the sword flipped a switch and turned you into a whirling death machine. None of us wanted to be anywhere near."
He grunted. "I'll be sure to remember that the next time we have a team building exercise."
She'd snickered again as he excused himself from her office. That had been several days ago. Now he found himself prowling through the eerie halls of a cloning facility with his berserker's brand stowed at his back once again. He didn't like the idea of losing control of himself, but was somewhat vindicated by the revelation that he still maintained enough presence of mind to discern friend from foe. At least from what Liara had told him.
His reverie was broken once his team entered an office with a gorgeous seaside view. He raised the muzzle of his firearm to point at the cowering Asari that was doing a poor job of hiding behind her desk. "Come out where I can see you." He commanded.
"Wait please don't shoot I'm not one of them." She pleaded rising from behind cover with her hands shakily held aloft.
"Define them, and then explain what you're doing here." Shepard barked keeping the sights of his gun pointed squarely at her chest.
She gulped past the lump in her throat. "I… My name is Rana Thanoptis. I was hired as an independent contractor to work on formulating a cure for the Genophage."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure…"
Kraven's eyes narrowed. "Not much use to us then are you?"
"Wait! There was something else. Something more secret we were hired to investigate!" She practically shrieked as a noticeable dark patch started to expand through the fabric around her groin.
"I'm listening." He still didn't let his aim waver.
"Saren. He was trying to study indoctrination."
"What's that?"
She nervously wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of a gloved hand. "It's um. Difficult to explain. Saren was afraid that contact with that big ship Sovereign was affecting him somehow. Like it was controlling him. He ordered us to perform experiments with the Salarian infiltrators that had been captured."
Garrus stepped up to whisper in the Commander's ear. "Like our friend back in the cell block."
Shepard nodded. "And what did he find out?"
"From what we could uncover it seemed like proximity sped up the process. Given enough time a subject would lose their minds entirely, and become empty husks. It usually started with a subject hearing strange droning noises that wouldn't go away followed by severe headaches, anxiety, hallucinations, and eventually a kind of waking coma. The ones who resisted the hardest usually reached the burnout state the fastest."
Shepard cocked his head to other side. "Tali, do you think the Geth would have developed mind control tech like that? Something that could 'hack' an organic brain?"
She considered for a moment before shaking her head. "Doubtful. Their programming was based around conventional coding so it's unlikely their continued development would result in something like this. Especially since they haven't been outside the Veil in centuries."
"Hmm… Well that complicates things. Where did he get the ship from?"
Rana shook her head, but still kept her aching arms raised. "No one really knows."
"I suppose I'll have to ask him myself then."
"What do we do with her?" Garrus asked.
"That depends on how cooperative she's willing to be."
Palpable tension hung in the air for several seconds before her resolve broke as fear of the immediate threat overruled fear of the delayed one. "I… I can help you." She carefully stepped over to the door's console behind her, and keyed in her credentials. The portal whisked open on oiled tracks. "See? This should take you straight to Saren's command center."
The Commander considered his options before lowering his gun. "That works. We're going to blast this place to atoms. If I was you I'd start running while you have a chance."
All color drained from the hapless scientist's face as realization dawned. "You… What? Oh… Oh Goddess no!" She frantically raced past them without even a backward glance.
"Maybe don't stop for a fresh change of clothes. Just saying." Kraven called after her retreating form.
"As if she wasn't scared enough already you Bosh'Tet." Tali chided.
"Hey at least she got the chance to make a run for it unlike the poor souls she helped experiment on." He countered.
"Good point."
"Alright you two. Let's go knock and see if anyone's home. And remember, I am entirely ok with shooting first, and asking questions later."
Both Garrus and Tali answered in the affirmative as they hurried through the newly unlocked door ahead. Within moments they burst through another door into Saren's inner sanctum. Every eye furiously scanned the interior of the multi-level chamber waiting for the rogue Spectre to come vaulting out of the shadows guns blazing. After a few seconds of almost silence it became clear that the room was empty. The only sound that could be heard was a low thrumming buzz coming from the lower level walkway. As the trio descended to investigate Shepard's heart sunk.
"Oh hell. Not another of these things." He groaned upon laying eyes on yet another Prothean Beacon.
"Is this like the one you found on Eden Prime?" Garrus asked plainly trying to keep his distance.
"Yes." Shepard complained. "Maybe we could just leave this one alone? It's going to get blown up with the rest of the facility anyway so no one would even have to know that it was here right?"
"But what if if there's something important in it?" Tali interjected.
He stared daggers at her. "Thanks Tali… I definitely hadn't thought of that." He sarcastically said through gritted teeth.
"Of course Commander." She replied sweetly.
He reluctantly turned to face the accursed beacon. The one on Eden Prime had nearly turned his brain into a bowl of mashed potatoes. He hoped this one would be more gentle. With excruciating slowness he reached out with both hands for the pulsing obelisk.
He yanked his hands back, and turned around. "Must be broken. Doesn't look like we'll get anything from this one. Best to just move on."
"Shepard!" Both Garrus and Tali scolded at once.
"Guh fine!" He growled turning back to the beacon, and walking up to touch it.
Just as before a nightmare slideshow of images paraded across his consciousness just like the ones he experience nearly every night. Only these visions were a great deal more vivid, and detailed. He still didn't have the slightest clue of what he was really seeing apart from the planet that came at the end.
He reflexively pulled his arms back once the vision was done, and tried to mentally downplay the indescribable sense of violation at having had memories forcibly stuffed into his mind. "Alright. That's absolutely the last time I do that. If we ever find another one of these things one of you gets to get brain fuc…"
"What did you see?" Tali interrupted before he could finish the last word in his tirade.
"Same as before." He grumbled. "Something horrible happening that involved some kind of machinery and what looked like liquified flesh. The planet at the end looks clearer, but I still don't recognize it."
"Well we won't get any more answers standing here. We should double back, and see if we can catch up to Saren." Garrus suggested.
"Fine by me." Shepard concurred, and started to lead them back up the ramp to take them out of Saren's lair.
He caught a faint flicker out of the corner of his eye as he was about to walk out the door. When he looked he saw a console on the upper deck had lit with crimson light. A single winking flasher broadcast that an incoming signal was waiting. Curiosity took over as he brushed past his companions to take a closer look. They both fell into step behind him as he strode up to the console, and keyed open the channel. A shiver ran up his spine as a holographic representation of the ship, Sovereign, materialized above the display.
"You are not Saren."
He was momentarily stunned by the proclamation, but quickly recovered. "He went to take a leak. Can I take a message?"
"Rudimentary creatures of flesh and bone. You touch my mind, fumbling in the darkness, but I am beyond your comprehension."
The projection's tone, or lack thereof, rankled. Especially when it referred to him as rudimentary. "Your programmer should have learned some better manners so someone like me didn't blast his creation's virtual ass into actual dust."
"Um… Shepard. I don't think this is a VI." Tali cautiously informed him.
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well shit then this thing better apologize for calling me rudimentary."
"Your vanity is irrelevant. Your primitive intelligences cannot even imagine the true nature of my purpose. You cannot fathom the level of existence so far above your own."
Now Kraven was beginning to get mad. "Vanity? Primitive? You better watch it you waste of space. Intelligent or not you're a machine, and machine's can be broken."
"Foolish Human. Your misplaced bravado will not spare you from the harvest. I am Sovereign. The arbiter of your ascension. The bringer of your salvation."
That was the last straw. Nobody got away with insulting him to his face. Especially not some damnable machine. "That does it!" He smashed an armored fist into the console causing the holographic image to sputter and die. "I'm going to teach that hulking tin can a lesson it won't soon forget. Let's get…"
He didn't have time to finish before Joker's voice crackled over the com. "Commander?"
"What is it Joker?" He asked still fuming.
"I don't know what you did down there, but that ship just showed up on sensors pulling a turn that would have sheered one of ours in half."
"Ha. Must have struck a nerve then." Shepard replied smugly satisfied.
Joker didn't appear to share his sense of accomplishment. "Uh… Whatever you say Commander. It's heading your way."
"Good. Maybe we can make it a candle for our nuclear cake. We'll be to the rendezvous in five minutes.
"Roger that. I've already got the rest of the team board. We'll meet you at the drop zone and pick up the Salarians and Ashley."
With that the line cut, and Shepard's team hurried off toward the agreed upon rendezvous point. Geth seemed to come out of the wood work, but in the end did little apart from slowing them down. Days fighting nothing but Geth in the Armstrong Cluster turned out to be excellent practice. Even a few lumbering Krogan showed up to impede their progress, but were swiftly brought down by concentrated fire from Garrus' long rifle, Tali's shotgun, and his assault carbine. All three knew what it meant to let a Krogan get too close, and so prioritized their targets to ensure that didn't happen.
As the last Krogan battle master barring their way fell, they came upon a giant sliding door which contained the stream of water that was used to cool the facility's reactors. As they stepped through they could hear the roar of the Normandy's thrusters as it came in for a landing at the mouth of the channel. Kaidan and Wrex started down the lowering cargo ramp along with several of the Normandy's crew carrying the nuclear power core of the Salarians' derelict ship. Liara lightly followed behind with her pistol drawn.
"Special delivery." Kaidan grunted with effort.
Shepard trotted forward to lend a hand. "Perfect timing. Let's get this thing rigged, and beat feet."
They slogged through the calf deep water rushing through the channel to deposit their deadly payload next to an enormous pump. Kaidan immediately set to work wiring up the trigger to detonate their parting gift. As his fingers dug into delicate mechanisms Ashley's voice broke over the com.
"Commander?"
"Go ahead Williams."
Sporadic gunfire temporarily drowned out the transmission.
"Say again Ashley. I didn't catch that."
"I said we're in tough up here on the North East Tower. Geth are swarming our position."
Shepard motioned for Tali, and Garrus to follow. "Understood. We'll be there in two minutes." He turned to Kaidan. "Make sure that thing is set to blow then clear out. Have Joker swing in to pick us up when you're done."
"Roger that Commander." The Lt acknowledged without looking up from what he was doing.
Kraven nodded then turned on his heel to head off toward another gargantuan sliding door on the far side of the channel. "We're on the clock so what's say we make this a quick smash and grab."
"Fine by me." Tali agreed.
"No argument here." Garrus concurred.
With that the trio cycled open the rolling slab, and began the arduous struggle through yet more opposition to reach their beleaguered squad mate. The climb was made all the more uncomfortable by the fact that Geth Leapers were crawling out of almost every nook and cranny. After bulldozing their way through the one eyed weirdos, Shepard's team made it through to a lift that would take them to the top of the Northern cooling tower. They hadn't taken more than five steps out of the car upon reaching the top before Kaidan's frantic shout.
"Shepard! A huge contingent of Geth just dropped in. We're getting overrun." A blast from a shotgun and Wrex's bellowing roar could be heard in the background.
"Shit. Ashley what's your situation? Do we have time to bail out Kaidan?" Shepard called.
Quiet for several seconds. "Negative Commander. There's too many, and they keep coming. Go get the Lt. We'll make a stand here to keep them off your back."
Kaidan quickly cut in. "No Shepard. I'll set the bomb to detonate. Go get Ashley and get out of here."
"Shut up!" They were both stunned into silence by his outburst. "I've left enough squad mates behind to last two lifetimes so don't be dumb. Tali, and Garrus are coming back to reinforce Kaidan. Ashley I'm coming for you myself. Joke are you listening?"
It took a moment for the pilot to respond. "Aye Commander."
"Good. Make a pass to pick up the bomb squad. Then come get me and Ashley."
"Roger that commander. But… There's still a lot of Geth down there. I don't know if we'll have time to do both…"
"I mean it! So help me if you leave me on this rock I will haunt you for the rest of your miserable life."
Joker didn't even try to hide his satisfaction at needling the Commander. "Whatever you say Shepard. Maybe see you in a few."
"That scummy little troll. Alright you two get the lead out." He commanded dashing off to support his faltering Gunnery Chief.
Tali stood frozen for several seconds watching him go before a nudge from Garrus' elbow snapped her out of it. As the two headed back the way they'd come she mentally said a Keelish prayer to keep Shepard safe.
Unbeknownst to her he was actually thinking something very similar in response as he sprinted toward the sounds of battle ahead. As he rounded the last bend he almost ran headlong into a stream of pulse rifle fire. He twisted awkwardly to roll away from the scintillating beams, and minimize any damage his barriers took. He scrunched up against a huge fan housing and readied his carbine.
"Ashley sound off!" He shouted.
"Here Commander!" She called back a couple dozen yards ahead.
He took a fortifying breath then scrambled to his feet, and ran toward her position, gun blazing. He was rewarded with a shower of sparks erupting from a Geth holding a sniper rifle. Unfortunately he didn't have long to admire the sagging robot before a ball of superheated gas blasted into the ground a few feet away, tossing him to the ground like a rag doll. He desperately moved to right himself, and look for the source of the blind side. His eyes raised toward the heavens and the unearthly hum of an anti-grav platform hovering above the battlefield.
His lips curled into a snarl. "Saren."
The horribly disfigured Turian let out a deep, throbbing laugh. A wave of his hand signaled his AI minions to cease fire. "Shepard. I'm impressed you managed to find me here."
"That's good. I'm disappointed though. I thought you were a better shot." The Commander snorted. Half of his hard suit felt like it was infested with fire ants, but the ugly son of a bitch didn't need to know about that.
"Charming as ever I see. I'm surprised the council saw fit to even entertain your application to become a spectre."
"Yeah, well somebody needed to show the has beens how it's really done. Hell of a place you picked to retire. Too bad I'm about to wipe it and you from existence."
Saren's ghostly glowing eyes narrowed. "Bold talk considering your history. Tell me, did you have the same attitude when your platoon was wiped out on Akuze?"
Boiling rage set Kraven's entire body ablaze with cobalt fire at the mention of his men. "I'm going to enjoy bringing your head back to the council on a spit." He growled through tightly clenched teeth.
Saren sniffed indignantly. "It seems I hit something vital. You're welcome to try Shepard, but your fate was sealed the moment you set foot on this planet. I have the powers of a God at my fingertips."
Shepard spit on the ground. "You mean the God that's taking over your mind, and that you're trying to figure out how to escape from?"
That caught the Turian momentarily off guard. Even through Sovereign's influence he still retained enough of himself to think twice. "What… No. That's… I've been granted a reprieve. I have, and continue to prove my value to the Reapers. In return I've been promised a place of leadership in the coming age."
"Reapers huh? And what is it these Reapers are trying to do?"
Saren raised his arms in a grand gesture. "They come from the deepest reaches of dark space to gather sentient life from across the galaxy. Every race is harvested for ascension before the Reapers disappear again. They are an unstoppable force in the universe, but I've brokered a deal that will ensure our place amongst them."
"You sound like a puppet. How can you be sure they aren't just messing with your head? If they're as powerful as you seem to think then you aren't leading anything but Jack and Shit. And Jack left town. If you really believed you were immune why go to all this trouble to experiment on captured Salarians?"
Saren's features twisted into a horrified mask. "No… You're wrong. Sovereign promised that I would ascend to immortality…" He buried his face in his hands for a moment before a sickly light started to shine through his fingers. He raised his gaze as his glowing eyes flared. "You would undo what I've accomplished. You could jeopardize the harvest!" He shouted maniacally and raised his clawed hand to loose another sphere of plasma at the Commander.
At the same moment his remaining Geth opened fire once again. Ashley and the Salarians, who had been quietly slinking away from the synthetic's firing ling opened up in response, but could only return fire in short bursts. Over an hour of constant fighting had taken it's toll on both their stamina and weapons. Shepard sprang away from the glowing orb, but wasn't quite fast enough. The barrel of his gun melted into useless slag from the deadly caress of chaotic energy.
"Damn!" He cursed and through the junked carbine away. He hunkered behind a pair of exchanger conduits to break line of sight.
As he did he heard his adversary's levitating chariot hover in close, and a pair of taloned feet thump to the ground. His hand reached up to grasp his backup's handle, and swore that he wasn't going to lose himself this time.
"Ashley!" He shouted over the cacophony of weapons fire.
"Skipper?" She called back.
"I'm about to break out the backup! Get yourselves clear!" Without waiting for a response he ripped the blade from it's magnetic clasps at his back and vaulted over the pipes he'd been using as cover.
He could feel his biotic energy starting to funnel into the sword as it too began to heat up with azure fury. His eyes locked onto the hulking Turian silhouette thirty feet away and threw himself forward. Several Geth attempted to interpose themselves between him and his target. They popped like overfilled balloons as focused gravitational forces from the sword's edge dissolved the bonds holding their atoms together. Euphoric satisfaction coupled with unspeakable anger washed through the Commander's consciousness with each enemy felled as he closed the gap on a now bewildered looking Saren.
The former Spectre unleashed another plasma charge, and while Shepard was aware it was coming he didn't entirely try to get out of the way. Hellish fire washed over the left side of his torso melting his hard suit like butter and sending jagged spears of pure agony lancing into his brain. It only made him angrier.
He roared and biotically vaulted into the air intent on pulverizing his antagonist into unrecognizable dust. Saren was forced to throw himself clear before Shepard came down on him like a ton of bricks. Chunks of concrete and steel shrapnel rocketed in all directions catching Geth that were standing too close and tearing them to ribbons. Saren whirled with lightning speed to fire another plasma shot, but the suddenly much faster Human was already bearing down on him. Dust swirled in arcing jet streams behind the rampaging Commander as he charged to close the distance between himself and Saren in the blink of an eye. In a last ditch effort Saren grabbed the Geth nearest him, and flung it into Kraven's path to slow him down.
The Prothean blade whistled through the air to messily disintegrate the unwitting roadblock before a plasma shot from Saren's palm erupted out of it's remnants to catch Shepard nearly square in the chest. His barriers almost instantly failed letting the shot wash across his breastplate. He tumbled back from the force of the strike and unceremoniously plowed into a cooling fan assembly. His biotic corona could be seen flickering beneath the rubble that caved in on top of him before winking out. Saren snorted a slightly out of breath laugh, and started to turn his attention to the retreating Human and Salarians. He would regret his hubris.
Shepard blasted out of the pile of wreckage with an ear shattering howl and surged at Saren with terrifying speed. The corona surrounding his body, and weapon had shifted hue from a cool electric blue to bloody crimson while a murderous scarlet fire blazed in his eyes. Saren attempted to sidestep the charge, but even with his Reaper enhancements couldn't manage to keep up with the Commander's suddenly blinding speed. His brain barely had time to direct his limbs movement when Shepard's shoulder impacted his sternum with the force of an angry freight train. They both surged on in line with Kraven's momentum toward the North Tower's edge. Just before reaching the precipice Shepard dug in his heels to slow himself just enough to whip his sword up, and through the off balance Spectre. To his credit Saren took full advantage of the movement to shove himself further away and out of reach. He sailed over the side of the tower as the Commander skidded to a halt just before the edge. Shepard bellowed with unbridled fury as Saren alighted on his anti-grav platform which had miraculously bolted out of nowhere to catch him.
With one thoughtful glance the Turian sped away leaving Kraven to impotently rage at his escaping query. Just as his adversary disappeared from view the red inferno engulfing him died. He went completely rigid as the burnt out biotic amps installed around his body finally gave up the ghost. He heard Ashley calling his name before darkness swallowed him entirely.