Devil's Playground And Fallen Angels
Emily stripped out of her armor and deposited it into the armory. She had explored the ship with Joker and met the crew. She was surprised to find Dr. Chakwas in the medbay and spent a fair amount of time catching up with her. She turned her attention to her room, noting the wall to wall fish tank and the surround system. The alcove that held her private terminal, her medal display...and a picture of Kaidan. The latter causing a sharp pang of pain in her chest.
She walked over to the bed and sat down on the plush mattress in her black bra and underwear.
"EDI" She said out loud and watched a blue orb pop up on the platform by her door.
"Yes, Commander?" It asked, its synthetic voice definitely female.
"Disable all sound and audio bugs in my quarters please" Emily said softly as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"Negative Commander" EDI responded.
"Do it or I'll fry the AI Core" Emily said with anger tinting her voice.
"Understood...disabled" EDI said with a slight hint of fear in her voice.
"Thank you, EDI" Emily said as she laid on the bed and closed her eyes.
"Wake me when we're 20 minutes away from Omega" She said as she let sleep over come her.
"Logging you out, Commander" EDI said softly as she automatically dimmed the lights in the loft.
Emily dreamed. She dreamed the visions from the beacons, Saren's face, then the faces of her old crew. She dreamed of Ashley laughing as they made jokes about the movies they've watched. She dreamed of Kaidan's smiling face, of Clara's laughter and of Garrus' dry humor. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks as she hugged the pillow close to her chest as she mourned all that she's lost.
She walked into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face, causing her to wince slightly as the cold water hit the scars on her face. She took in her reflection, big dark brown eyes, a small nose and her full lips, glowing scars dotting her cheeks. She ran her hand through her hair and pulled it back into a low ponytail. She still looked the same, majority of her scars were gone but was replaced with new ones. She twisted her back to look behind her and noted that her tattoo was gone as well.
'Maybe I'll get a new one once we get to Omega' She thought to herself. She shook her head and went to her desk. Pulling up the information the Illusive Man gave her on her upcoming recruits.
They were heading to Omega, she needed to recruit Mordin Solus, and a Mercenary named "Archangel" who managed to piss off all the main gangs in Omega. She quirked her eyebrow at that and placed it on top of the pile. The other mercenary was just a pick up, he was also waiting at Omega. Someone named Zaeed Massani.
She sighed and stretched, quickly getting up and donning her armor. She made her way to the CIC and smiled at Kelly who handed her two cups of coffee.
"Thank you" She said softly to the woman as she made her way to the cockpit and stood behind Joker as Omega came to view. "Hey," She said as she handed him the other mug of coffee.
"Hey yourself" He said while taking a grateful sip of coffee.
"EDI, what information do you have on the two recruits we need to pick up?" Emily turned her attention to the blue orb that popped up by Joker's screen.
"It would seem that Dr. Mordin Solus is currently working on something in Omega, and the three main gangs are currently working together to try and take down Archangel. You will need to speak to Aria in Afterlife for more information" said EDI.
"Noted" Emily said as she patted Joker on the shoulder before heading to the docking door.
"Miranda, Jacob? Let's go" She said as she watched the two walk towards her.
Emily ran her hand down her side and admired her now blue armor. Actually happy how the paint job turned out. She gave a soft sigh as her finger brushed the N7 on her neck.
'Wonder how Cerberus got their hands on it' She thought to herself.
"Ah! Welcome to Omega! You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to-" A salarian with big dark eyes walked up to them with nervous, jittery energy.
Emily tilted her head to the side as a batarian walked up from behind the salarian. Her hand slowly reaching for her weapon.
"Oh...Hello, Moklan! I was just-" The salarian continued.
"Leave, Fargut. Now" Moklan said angrily as he shoved the salarian away.
"Of course, Moklan! Whatever she wants!" Fargut said as he took off running.
"Blasted scavengers, welcome to Omega... Shepard" Moklan sneered as he studied the humans in front of him.
"You know who I am?" Emily asked her hands going behind her back as she stood up straight, not showing any emotion.
"Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think" he mocked.
Emily smirked as she rested a palm on her cocked hip.
"Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife now and present yourself" He continued.
"Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega" she said with a wave of her hand.
"Things explode around you, Shepard. You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you" Moklan sneered as he gestured behind him. "Afterlife. Now."
"I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station. I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with Archangel. There is a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information on him" EDI's voice said softly into her comm.
"Well, it looks like we'll have to get Archangel first before the doctor" she turned to look at Miranda.
Miranda's face flashed quickly with anger then died at Emily's raised eyebrow.
"If the mercs are already moving to deal with him, we just have to be quicker. Dr. Solus is safe in his clinic for the time being" Emily said softly, her dark eyes never leaving Miranda's face.
Miranda clenched her jaw and nodded.
"So be it."
Emily strutted in front of the line, heading past the bouncers and the line of complaining guests. She could feel the music thumping in her body and she smiled to herself. She made her way into the club and looked around, noting the dancing half naked asari's here and there and the dark interior. She made her way to the bar and bought a bottle of ice brandy for Dr. Chakwas and had it sent to the ship.
She made her way to a platform over hanging from the side of the club, walking past guards and up a flight of stairs leading to a blue asari woman with small markings across her face.
"That's close enough" Aria said coldly as two of her guards trained guns on her. Emily smirked as both Jacob and Miranda pulled out guns. She balled a fist and allowed the crackle of biotics flicker across her body.
Aria gestured to her guards to drop their weapons and allowed a batarian to wave a omni-tool over Emily's form.
"If you're looking for weapons, you're not doing a very good job." Emily said as she pulled out her SMG and casually waved it.
"Can't be too careful with dead Spectres. That could be anyone wearing your face" Aria said without turning around.
"I was told you're the person to talk to if I have questions" Emily asked, a smirk flashed briefly across her face.
"Depends on the question" Aria said finally turning around.
"You run Omega?" Emily asked tilting her head back slightly.
Aria let out a cold laugh, her hands spread to the sides, "I am Omega. But you need more. Everyone needs more something. And they all come to me. I'm the boss, CEO, queen if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule. Don't. Fuck. With. Aria" she said with a cold smile as she sat down on the cushioned bench.
"Mmm I like it. Easy to remember" Emily smiled in return, her eyes dark and blank.
"If you forget, someone will remind you" she said looking up at Emily and gestured to the seat next to her.
Emily sat down, her focus on Aria as both Jacob and Miranda stood off to the side watching on.
"So what can I do for you?" Aria asked, a smirk on her face.
"I'm trying to track down Archangel" Emily said casually, leaning back in the seat.
"You and half of Omega. You want him dead, too?"
"Why's everyone after him?"
"He thinks he's fighting on the side of good. There is no good side to Omega. Everything he does pisses someone off. It's catching up to him"
"Just the kind of guy I'm looking for."
"Really? Well, aren't you interesting? You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now."
"What do you mean?"
"The local merc groups have joined forces to take him down. They've got him cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing him off. They've started hiring anybody with a gun to help them."
"Sounds like that might be our ticket in." Jacob commented from behind her.
"They're using a private room for recruiting...just over there. I'm sure they'll sign you up" Aria said dismissively.
"I appreciate the help" Emily stood up and gestured for Jacob and Miranda to follow her.
Emily led the way to the Blue Sun's Merc standing by a door and smiled chillingly.
"I hear you're recruiting" Emily said casually.
"Hmm. Why don't you step inside" the Merc said pointing to a door behind him.
The Blue Suns Trooper looked up and smirked.
"Who's next?" He asked.
"Well, aren't you sweet? You're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers' quarters are that way" He said with a smirk on his face.
Emily and Miranda shared a look then turned cold eyes back on the merc.
"Wow. Not even a smile. So you're here to fight, then?" He asked when he realized both females were staring at him coldly.
"You could say that" Emily said coldly.
"Standard fee is 500 credits each. You get paid when the job's done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armor...looks like you've got that covered" he said as he studied them closely."Nice weapons" he commented as he took in their arsenal.
Emily nodded at the compliment and crossed her arms.
"So where do we go?" She asked.
"Just head out the club and go to the transport. Someone will drive you to the area" he said dismissing them with a wave of his hand.
Emily looked at Miranda and Jacob and shrugged.
"Let's roll."
"Are you going to put your helmet on?" Miranda asked curiously as Emily double checked her weapons.
"No point. With whatever crap you guys did to me, I'm pretty sure I can handle a few hits" she said softly as her eyes looked out the window.
Miranda pursed her lips and nodded. "Fair enough."
The transport car arrived at their destination. Emily gave her weapons another once over and climbed out, stretching a bit.
Another batarian waited for them and seemed happy to see a group that actually knew what they were doing. He briefed them quickly on the situation and ordered them to meet up with another merc before they start their attack. They moved quickly through the rooms and found a mech. She shared a smile with Miranda and began to hack the mech, disabling the friend or foe feature. They moved to a different room, seeing a guy fixing up a gunship. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied the batarian fixing it and gave him a cold chilling smile before shoving the electrical welding machine into his back.
Miranda tossed Jacob a worried look, both slightly surprised by this dark display. Emily picked up a datapad where it showed the leaders of the mercs were planning on going after Aria next.
'Aria might want this' she thought to herself.
Garrus was exhausted, he had taken the last stim hours ago and he was starting to feel worn out and knew he was reaching the end of his limit. He reached for the dogtag that dangled from his neck and lightly ran his thumb over it.
'I'll be seeing you soon, Emily' he said softly.
'Looks like they're sending in another batch of meat bags' he growled angrily, his eyes scanning the new group of mercs. 'What...Spirits that can't be!' His mind screamed as he took in the face of Emily through his scope.
'That's it, it's official I've gone crazy. She can't be here, she's dead.' He thought again, he blinked a few times and scoped down her body, seeing the N7 logo by her shoulder and the familiar red and blue stripe down the arm. He loaded a concussive shot into his rifle and took careful aim.
He pulled the trigger and watched his bullet strike her shoulder right on the logo. Biotic lightning flashed and her head turned towards his sharply, noting the snarl that crossed her face as the impact of the shot staggered her a bit.
'Spirits! She's real! Emily is alive!' He smiled darkly feeling hope blossom in his chest.
Emily let out a low growl as she felt her shield go down.
'The fucker shot me!' She growled out as she flickered her biotics over her body.
"Let's get this done and over with, it seems our new recruit is getting antsy" she smirked as she charged into a group of mercs in front of her, her shotgun blasting in their faces. Miranda and Jacob right behind her, struggling to keep up with her sudden burst of speed.
"Fuck! They're with Archangel!" One of the mercs shouted as Emily quickly shot him.
Garrus took that opportunity to snipe the mercs that moved close to her, giving her more room to maneuver with her charges and shockwaves.
'She's coming for me!' He growled out, joy in his heart.
Emily moved quickly, charging into groups, throwing shockwaves and slams left and right. She kept her eye on the sniper above her and on her two other teammates. She noticed how the sniper seemed to be able to keep up with her, while Miranda and Jacob still faltered a bit behind her.
'Who the fuck is he?' She thought as she crossed the bridge, clearing the mercs in front of her. She noticed the covered bodies by the stairs and felt a pang of pain. They raced up the stairs after clearing them out, and hacked open a door. She holstered her shotgun and made her way slowly towards the turian known as Archangel.
"Archangel?" She asked, her voice sending a shiver down his spine.
He held up a talon, signalling to give him a second as he sniped a merc hiding down below. He stood slowly, using his sniper rifle to help him up, showing slightly how exhausted he was. Once up, he slung the rifle behind him and slowly reached up to pull off his helmet before sitting down.
Emily's face paled as emotions she couldn't name flashed across her face.
"Emily..." He said softly, his blue eyes studying her closely. "I thought you were dead."
"Garrus! What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice full of shock as she closed the distance between them, her arms going around his neck.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled her gently between her armored chest. Taking a deep breath he looked up at her.
"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice" he said with his version of a smirk.
'Spirits, its really her, she's in my arms...' he thought, resisting the urge to squeeze her tightly.
Emily turned her attention towards Miranda, quirking her eyebrow.
"You said your agents lost track of him" she asked casually, her arms still around his neck.
"So we did." Miranda said cooly.
Emily turned her attention back to Garrus and lightly pressed her forehead against his. She felt a small measure of peace in his arms that she sorely missed since she was resurrected.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly as her hands went up the back of his neck to his head, tilting it up slightly so they were face to face.
"Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face" He said as his eyes drank her face in. "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."
"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be as easy" Emily said softly finally taking a step back and looking at both Miranda and Jacob, noting the slight look of distaste on Miranda's face.
"No, it won't. That bridge has saved my life... funneling all those witless idiots into scope. But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way" he said gesturing to the path they had taken.
"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked as she took a step towards them.
Garrus narrowed his eyes at Miranda and took a closer step towards Emily.
"It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And with the three of you... I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but its a plan" he said with a flicker of his mandibles.
"If we fight as a team, we'll hold them off" Emily said with a smile on her face.
"You're right. Their numbers won't help them in here, anyway. Let's see what they're up too... Looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look, Scouts. Eclipse, I think" he said, handing her his sniper rifle to look through the scope.
She smirked as her finger pulled the trigger, killing one of the scouts. Garrus smiled approvingly at her.
"Looks like they're getting ready to move. I'll stay up here, and you...you can do what you do best."
Emily turned to smile up at him as her biotics flickered to life, surrounding her brown eyes with a circle of blue.
"Just like old times, Emily." He said softly as his hand cupped her cheek. Emily returned his smile and took a step back she looked at Miranda and Jacob, gesturing them down the stairs as the bands of mercenaries began to attack. Emily raced down the stairs, a grin on her face as she began to clear out the mechs Jacob and Miranda at her heels.
Making short work of them she raced back up the stairs to see Garrus standing there with a smirk on his face.
"Having fun?" He asked his dual toned voice sending a shiver down her spine.
"Of course" she responded, a grin on her face. Suddenly a loud sound came up from below them.
"Fuck, looks like they're coming in from the bottom, there are some shutters down there, why don't you go close em?" He asked as he reloaded his sniper rifle.
"Fine, but I'm leaving one of my guys with you" she turned to look at Miranda and smiled.
"Mira, if he dies, I'm going to rip every single strand of your hair on your head and skin your genetically perfect skin off with a paring knife. You dig?" She said with a evil smirk on her face.
Miranda rolled her eyes and moved to stand behind Garrus as Emily and Jacob raced down the stairs and began to clear the way again, closing the shutters as they went preventing more mercs from coming up the stairs.
Once all three were closed they raced back up after hearing one of the merc leaders had gotten through and cornered Garrus and Miranda.
Rage filled Emily's body as she charged ahead, not waiting for Jacob. She saw the krogan leader and charged into him, slamming him against a wall and filling his gut with bullets from her shotgun.
Garm went down quickly, as Emily strutted up to him, her armor decorated with blood and strands of her hair plastered to her face.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, she looked so alive, full of energy and he felt his lower plates shift slightly. His eyes widened and he let out a small cough as he tried to hide his reaction, watching as her head tilted to the side and that devil may care grin on her face.
"So that leaves the Blue Suns?" She asked as the sound of a gunship floated from the large windows.
"Fuck, thought I took that thing down already" Garrus yelled out as the gunship began to unload more mercenaries on the balcony. Emily let out a laugh, her hair flowing behind her as she charged into the group of mercenaries, a shockwave slamming them into the wall as she turned and quickly followed it with a burst from her shotgun.
Jenthra went down quickly too, taken out by one of Miranda's biotics and bullets combo. Garrus was impressed but he was more impressed by how Emily was fighting, she seemed stronger too. He had to get to the bottom of this.
Garrus got distracted, he made another mistake.
"Archangel! This ends now!" Tarak shouted as a missile flew into the window and went straight for Garrus' hiding space. He felt a burning sensation on the side of his face, and neck as blackness edged his vision.
'At..least I saw you again before I died...Emily' Garrus thought as he resigned to his fate.
"Garrus no!" Emily's voice shouted, filled with anger and pain. Blue lightning crackled around her as she sent a shockwave of energy towards the gun ship before unhooking the grenade launcher on her back and letting one fly into the window. Causing the gunship to explode. She immediately ran to Garrus' side and ordered Miranda and Joker to call the Normandy and have Dr. Chakwas prep the medbay.
She paced back and forth in the now empty mess hall. Everyone had taken one look at her face and scattered. No one knew how to deal with her anger so they stayed away.
"Emily" Dr. Chakwas' voice cut into her thoughts. Emily turned cold dark eyes on the doctor, not really seeing her.
"Emily, do not make me sedate you" Dr. Chakwas took a step closer to Emily and placed her hand on Emily's arm.
Emily flinched and pulled away, her face contorting in a silent snarl. Unfazed, Dr. Chakwas reached out a hand, and slapped Emily hard across the face.
Emily blinked at her in shock, her hand cupping her now reddening cheek.
"Are you fully there now, Commander?" Dr. Chakwas said with a cool voice as she appraised the blood stained woman standing in front of her. She smiled sweetly at Emily's mute nod.
"Good. Now go take a shower, and clean your armor and your guns. Garrus will be fine"she said as she began to push Emily towards the elevator.
"EDI? Make sure the Commander takes a shower." She ordered the ship's AI.
"Understood Doctor" EDI's voice said with a small hint of smugness.
Emily stood under the spray of hot water. She kept her mind carefully blank, not ready to start thinking about the thoughts that kept popping into her head. She moved mechanically, reaching into her bin of casual clothes she pulled on the skin tight bodysuit that hugged her curves. She dried her hair, and applied her small amounts of cosmetics, the soft pink lip gloss, the dark eyeliner and pale grey eye shadow finished off her routine.
"Commander, Jacob is waiting for you in the conference room." EDI's voice floated over the loud music blaring in her room.
"Okay." She said softly as she made her way down.
"Commander. We've done what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit" he said from the other side of the table, thinking being out of range would be safer for him.
"The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but..." He continued, noting her bowed head but her hands gripping the table tightly. He winced slightly when he heard it crack from between her hands.
The door whooshed open that moment and Garrus stood there, tall and battered but on his own two feet. He had brushed past Dr. Chakwas as soon he came too.
"Emily" Garrus drawled, a smirk on his face.
"Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet" Jacob said with a relieved sigh as he edged his way out the door.
Emily turned, a smile on her face, looking up at him.
"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" Garrus asked as he placed his hand on his chin.
"Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some face-paint on there, and no one will even notice." Emily teased, crossing her arms across her chest as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is" he said wincing as a spike of pain lanced his head. "Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are krogan..."
Emily blinked up at him in shock before her lips curved upwards and opened slowly rewarding him with a laugh that he wanted. Jacob chose this moment to finally make a run for Miranda's office as he struggled to contain his amusement.
"Frankly, I'm more worried about you. I've heard bad things about Cerberus these past few years." He said as he took a step closer to her.
"That's why I'm glad you're here, Garrus. If I'm walking into hell, I want someone I trust at my side" she closed the distance between them, just stopping short of his chest.
"You realize this plan has me walking into hell, too. Hah. Just like old times."he laughed as he lightly touched her cheek. "I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Emily. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries."